Today’s Big Story

Smart Move for a Dummy

A more realistic female crash test dummy will make cars safer

This is both surprising and yet also, somehow, kind of predictable. That in the year 2025, when a woman gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, she is protected by safety features—from seatbelts to airbags—that have largely been designed to protect the average man from about 50 years ago.

This fact might explain why female drivers in the United States are 73% more likely than a male driver to be severely injured in vehicle crashes, and they are 17% more likely to die, according to government data. Thankfully, the Department of Transportation has taken a small but important step toward adopting and mandating the use of female crash test dummies that actually resemble women.

Calls for an accurate female crash test dummy date back decades. Consumer Reports has traced them back to 1980. In the early 2000s, regulators added a small "female" dummy to tests—but it was just a scaled-down version of the male dummy, with breasts attached. That didn’t really reflect the real anatomical differences between male and female bodies.

But now, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has unveiled an advanced female dummy, dubbed the THOR-05F, that could help close that gender gap in vehicle crashes. With the technical specifications in place, manufacturers can start building female dummies for carmakers to test in their vehicles within the next few years. Advocates say it’s a big step toward safer vehicle designs and updated regulations.

“The pelvis for a female is more rounded and does not hold the seatbelt the same way,” Chris O'Connor, the CEO of manufacturing company Humanetics, tells NPR. He also pointed to anatomical differences in the neck, and significant differences in the lower leg that are correlated with much higher rates of leg injuries in women. The dummy’s design had previously been embraced by some regulators overseas, with European officials indicating plans to add it to tests within a few years. Similarly, here in the States, the use of the new dummies in actual federal safety tests is still a few years away.

Ukraine Peace Plan Inches Forward

Trump’s signals to Zelensky and Europe: Accept this plan or you’re on your own

Ukrainian and American officials said they had made good progress on Sunday in talks about a contentious U.S. plan to end the war with Russia, even as President Donald Trump lashed out at Ukraine, accusing its leaders of ingratitude and suggesting he is in no mood to negotiate. Since then, Trump has sent mixed messages, saying the plan was not his final offer but adding that if Zelensky did not accept it he could “continue to fight his little heart out.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is leading the U.S. delegation, sought to downplay widespread claims that the plan was originally written by the Russian side. According to the Washington Post, the leaked draft ignores many of Kyiv’s red lines: It would force Ukraine to shrink its army, give up land that Russia hasn’t managed to grab in nearly four years of war and would bar the presence of NATO troops, among other concessions. But U.S. officials said the draft agreement has since been revised.

Ukraine’s European allies, some of whom sent representatives to Geneva to participate in the discussions, have been working to respond to the U.S. proposal and to demonstrate their continued support for Kyiv. In their statement on Sunday night, Ukraine and the United States said they would “remain in close contact with their European partners as the process advances.” European officials, including those from France and Germany, have been working on a counterproposal, which would begin territorial negotiations at the front line—not beyond it—and give Ukraine “robust, legally binding security guarantees, including from the U.S.”

X’s New Location Transparency

The platform confirms what we already knew: That many of the loudest MAGA accounts aren’t actually American

Did you hear that X is rolling out a new feature called “About This Account” that displays more information a user’s profile. Not only will it display username changes, the feature also makes public which country the account was created in, where it’s currently located and whether it's connected via the web or a specific app store. According to Engadget, X began testing this feature out last month, but more recently, users have been posting screenshots of the new feature being rolled out.

Almost immediately, people started noticing that many rage-bait accounts focused on U.S. politics appeared to be based outside of America. The Verge reports that profiles with names like ULTRAMAGA🇺🇸TRUMP🇺🇸2028 were revealed to be based in Nigeria. A verified account posing as border czar Tom Homan was traced to Eastern Europe. And America_First0? Apparently from Bangladesh. An entire network of “Trump-supporting independent women” claiming to be from America was really located in Thailand.

Messy? Of course. X’s director of product Nikita Bier said over the weekend that the feature is being rolled out globally, describing this as “an important first step to securing the integrity of the global town square.” However, Tech Crunch reports that some users have complained that their listed location is wildly inaccurate. Bier acknowledged that the “data was not 100% for old accounts” and suggested that “a few rough edges … will be resolved by Tuesday.”

Will Shoppers Cut Back for Black Friday?

People at low- and higher-income levels are feeling the pinch from inflation

It’s become a behemoth of a shopping extravaganza, but the term “Black Friday” entered the popular vernacular in the 1950s, when retailers began focusing on the Friday after Thanksgiving as a date to host major holiday kickoff sales. The name came from the Philadelphia police, who used it to describe the chaotic and overwhelming crowds of shoppers and traffic on the day.

Of course, in more recent years, retailers have been launching early Black Friday promotions earlier and earlier—blurring the once strict 24-hour timetable of the event. This year, though, consumers are looking to shell out less, new data from Deloitte shows. Surveyed shoppers said they plan to spend 4% less than last year between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, citing higher costs of living and more fear of the economy.

The pullback is expected to hit both ends of the income spectrum. Consumers making less than $50,000 a year are expected to spend 12% less than last year, according to the business services firm. Shoppers making more than $200,000 a year say they’ll cut their spending by 18%. Still, around 64% of Americans plan to shop on Black Friday this year, with over a third expecting to spend at least $500.

Huckberry Hits the Sale Button

Smart upgrades, solid discounts and zero buyer’s remorse

Why wait when Huckberry’s early Black Friday lineup is already delivering the good stuff. Think rugged layers, sharp footwear and everyday staples at solid discounts. You can grab Flint and Tinder’s quilted shirt jacket and stretch denim, Astorflex’s easygoing loafers, plus Relwen’s Heritage Trap blazer. Smart upgrades, better prices, all worth grabbing before sizes disappear.

Give yourself a break.