DAILY NEWS Stream – May 14, 2026

US public schools across 30 states are shrinking as record-low birth rates, high living costs, and migration away from major cities drive steep enrollment declines, forcing districts from Los Angeles to Portland and Pittsburgh to cut personnel, confront multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls, and consider closing schools after losing up to a quarter of their students over the past decade (Báo Tin Tức)

Interpol [International Criminal Police Organization] says a two-week global operation across about 90 countries has led to 269 arrests, the dismantling of 66 criminal groups, and the seizure of 6.4 million doses of fake or unlicensed medicines worth an estimated US$15.5 million, as investigators shut down thousands of suspect websites and warn of rising trafficking in drugs like ivermectin and fenbendazole that are falsely marketed as cancer treatments (Báo Tin Tức)

The US National Nuclear Security Administration says it has removed 13.5 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from Venezuela’s retired RV-1 research reactor, completing a fast-tracked operation with the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], the UK and Venezuelan authorities to ship the material to the Savannah River Site nuclear facility [US] for processing, a move officials say reduces regional proliferation risks (US National Nuclear Security Administration)

According to a Medivet poll of 2,000 UK caregivers of pet-people, 78% wished they could ask their pet-folks whether they are in pain, while nearly half said they only realized their pet companion was suffering after a vet told them. Medivet vet Dr. Rhian Littlehales warned that dog-people and cat-folks often hide chronic pain, especially from arthritis, joint disease, or soft-tissue injuries. Subtle warning signs include excessive grooming, changes in eating, sleeping, or drinking habits, and small mobility changes such as moving more slowly or losing interest in walks and play. Vets say regular checkups and mobility screening can help catch problems earlier, when they are easier to treat (Daily Express)

Vibrio bacteria are spreading along the US East Coast as warmer ocean temperatures fuel severe infections linked to raw seafood and seawater exposure. Scientists have detected the bacteria as far north as Maine, while outbreaks have increased after heatwaves and storms in Florida, North Carolina, New York, and elsewhere (The Guardian)

Taiwan (Formosa) urges families to support alcohol recovery as relatives comprise nearly half of counseling seekers. Alcoholism devastates mental health and stability, thus the government offers over US $1,200 per person per year in treatment subsidies. Officials encourage compassionate support over blame to help loved ones overcome addiction and rebuild their lives (Taipei Times)

A new University of California Davis [US] study published in the academic journal Science tracked nearly 67,700 plant species globally and found many are shifting through seed dispersal toward cooler regions or higher elevations as temperatures rise. Scientists warn 70-80% of high-risk species still face extinction because suitable habitats are disappearing entirely (Earth.com)

Rising temperatures and drier air are driving wildfires higher into Europe’s mountain forests. A 25-year satellite study shows fires accelerating across the Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians, threatening water supplies, carbon storage, and fragile alpine ecosystems (Earth.com)

An intense marine heat wave stretching from Washington state [US] to northern Mexico has pushed ocean temperatures in coastal waters as much as 4 degrees Celsius above normal over the past few months. Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers in the US warn the event is disrupting marine ecosystems, with seabird-people starving as the marine food chain breaks down under record ocean heat (Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Animal-people rights groups in Taiwan (Formosa) warn that millions of small animal-folks — including rabbit-, mouse-, bird-, and hedgehog-folks — are transported in overcrowded, poorly regulated Taiwan (Formosa) Railway mail and baggage cars yearly, prompting the agriculture ministry to say it will draft new guidelines as officials investigate potential abuse (Taipei Times)

Brazil’s Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna region separate from the Amazon, contains wetlands that store far more carbon than previously known, holding up to six times more carbon per hectare than the lowland Amazon. Researchers estimate these wetlands may cover up to 16.7 million hectares and store as much as 20 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. But they warn that the carbon-rich wetlands are vulnerable to drying, fires, drainage, and shifting rainfall, which could release large amounts of stored carbon. The findings challenge the view of the Cerrado as a low-value “sacrifice biome” for agriculture and strengthen calls for better legal protection as farming expansion continues to degrade soils, drain springs, and threaten traditional communities (Mongabay)

UNIDO [United Nations Industrial Development Organization], backed by the UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero, opens a global call for large-scale clean energy and industrial decarbonization demonstration projects in developing countries, offering US$1–5 million grants under the Accelerate-to- Demonstrate Facility until the June 18, 2026 deadline (Gov.uk)

National Geographic photographer Jasper Doest documents Uganda’s 2025 mountain gorilla-people census in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, capturing newborn gorillas, silverbacks, rangers, trackers, conflict-resolution teams, and community groups whose work underpins the survival of the fewer than 1,100 mountain gorilla-people remaining in the world (The Guardian)

Croatia launches Europe’s first commercial self-driving taxi service as startup Verne begins operating a fleet of 10 Pony AI [artificial intelligence]- powered electric vehicles in Zagreb, offering €1.99 rides across a 90-square kilometer zone, while still carrying safety drivers to meet regulations (Báo Tin Tức)

Jewish scholar Dr. Richard H. Schwartz (vegan) urges Jewish religious leaders to advocate for vegan diets. He argues that shifting food systems is essential to upholding his faith’s values and preventing environmental catastrophe (The Times of Israel)

Two vegan bodybuilders, Joey Bilotech and Charlie Ziegler, win overall titles in their respective classes at the OCB [Organization of Competition Bodies] Spring Naturals competition in Illinois [US]. Both athletes earn OCB Pro Cards [attainment of professional bodybuilder status], proving vegan diets successfully fuel elite muscle growth (Plant Based News)

The Edinburgh Vegan Festival returns to Edinburgh College, Granton Campus [Scotland, UK] on May 16. Over 80 stalls will offer vegan food and eco-goods alongside interactive workshops and global veganism talks to promote ethical living (The Vegan Society)

New York City Police Department [US] bodycam footage shows officers rescuing a panicked 41-year-old woman from a 58-story Brooklyn rooftop. An officer holds her hand and provides reassurance, with the team successfully guiding her to safety after tense negotiations on the skyscraper’s ledge (Daily Mail)

Storm chaser Ashton Lemley rescues a kitten from tornado wreckage in Bogue Chitto, Mississippi [US]. After finding the baby beneath trailer park debris, he hands it to volunteer disaster responders of the group United Cajun Navy who provide care and transport it to safety (AP)

Patsy, a rescue dog companion who slipped out under the garden fence just one day after adoption and was missing for six weeks, leads her caregivers through the dense Herefordshire [UK] woods to her hidden litter. After finding four puppies beneath an oak tree in freezing conditions, the family saves the newborns and plans to keep one as a permanent pet-person (Daily Mail)

Thoughtful quote of the day: “Childhood means simplicity. Look at the world with the child’s eye – it is very beautiful.” – Shri Kailash Satyarthi (vegetarian) Internationally Acclaimed Children’s Rights Activist and Nobel Peace Laureate (BrainyQuote)

Previously in Parts 1 through 3 of a multipart series of Crystal Faith’s near-death experience, 17-year-old Crystal suffered an amniotic fluid embolism during childbirth, leaving her unable to breathe. She prayed for God to let her leave her body and found herself above the hospital room as doctors tried to revive her for 45 minutes before giving up. After entering the Light, Crystal co-created a living garden, entered a courtyard, and sat in conversation with Lord Jesus Christ (vegetarian) Later, three babies appeared before her. When one of the babies responded to a thought Crystal had not spoken, the shock of that moment shifted Crystal’s awareness again.

Now in Part 4, Crystal suddenly finds herself in a black void. And now I had this sudden 360-degree, if not more, experience of looking outwardly into this black void. So, as my awareness popped out, I became aware of this black void space. And I shouldn’t even say I became aware. I became a state of being with what I call the black void. And I was just there, a state of being, for what felt like billions of years. And it was definitely a very long, boring — retrospectively, looking back, I was just — it’s the absence of even wanting to create. The absence of awareness, absolutely nothing. I call it the master reset, or “in the beginning there was nothing.” That’s where I was.

And after billions of years, quote-unquote, it got boring. And I think it created a frequency imbalance, like, “This isn’t right. This isn’t right.” And all of a sudden, I felt a pop. And as I felt the pop, I became aware of myself. I’m like, “Oh, there I am. I’m not alone. I’m aware of myself.” I’m like, “Wait a minute. That means there’s something outside of me.” And then, after a long time, perhaps billions of more years, I really don’t know because we are outside of space-time, I said, “OK, there should be something here.” And, of course, I thought, let’s create Light. Like, it’s so funny how the Bible goes that direction, right? So, I was like, there should be Light here. That’s literally what I thought. And I used my willpower to create Light. And out in front of me was this plasma lightning strike. And I saw this streak or this lightning streak going through out in front of me. And it was all these different hues and colors. I was like, “Oh, wow. That’s beautiful. I’m going to do that again.” And I felt so full of life and joy, and I was so excited. And pretty soon, I had a fireworks show going on. And then, I was like, “OK,” and then, stillness, “I can create. I have the ability to create anything I want. This is fun.”

And then I sat there for another billions of years, it felt like. And then, I was like, “Wait a minute. I’ve been here for billions of years.” Like, I’m recognizing time. This is interesting. Wait a minute. Didn’t I just have a lifetime? I did have a lifetime. And then everything flooded back. I began to remember my daughter, the situation. Just as Crystal was on the edge of panic, she was suddenly transported elsewhere — into an artificially lit, oval-shaped room, tethered to what felt like a bed, aware of countless presences observing her.

And this interdimensional angelic being now stepped forward by the left foot of my bed. And as it stepped forward, my eyes recognized that it was this pure, bright white being. And it was so blinding white. I had to adjust my spiritual eyes to see it. And as I’m adjusting my spiritual eyes to see it, I noticed its body comes more and more into form. And it does have like a facial feature. And I remember looking at her eyes — his or her eyes, I don’t know if it was a masculine or feminine presence, it didn’t matter. I knew the eyes were like pure, pure blue, lightest blue you can imagine.

And I remember saying, “Look at me in the eyes so I can understand what’s going on.” And it was like, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” And I was like, “It’s a good idea. Look at me in the eyes. I want to know what’s going on.” And I commanded it. And it said, “OK.” And it brought its eyes down to my eye level. And as soon as it did, I felt this surge of electric energy just surge me backwards. And I felt like the end of a lightsaber or lightning bolt. And I was just surged. I was like, “Oh my gosh, I could see what she meant.” But instead of resisting, I allowed it to flow through my whatever I was, my temple.

So, she or he looked at me in the eyes, and instantly, I knew everything there is to possibly know. And I was in complete surrenderance, complete Love, and it was the most Divine Light. And something really interesting happened when I began to go into conversation with it. I recognized it was — every time I asked a question, it would simultaneously receive the question, and rather than answering the question to me with its own knowing, it had this yearning for the answer energy coming out of its chakra system. And that’s where angels get the illusion of wings. So, really, it was this closed circuit of energy that went out from the back of the chakra into the quantum space around it, where all of knowledge is actually stored. So, if you can imagine God, Source Love energy, being the quantum field, the space between you and I, it was yearning to understand the information and simultaneously bringing the information back in. And that’s how angels are Divine messengers of God.

In Part 5, Crystal’s encounter with the angelic being turns from wonder to urgency, as she pleads to return to her newborn daughter. And I said, “I know, I believe you, but I want that baby to have a mother to hold, I want that baby to have experiences in life, having a loving mother, looking at it and holding it.” Join us tomorrow for Part 5 of a multipart series of Crystal Faith’s near-death experience. [IANDS (International Association for Near-Death Studies) Podcast]