Erased

Light pollution is erasing natural darkness from urban night skies, and the Guardian reports on how city regulation of artificial lighting could help bring it back. Astronomers, environmentalists and residents are debating the health and ecological costs of ever-brighter streets, with growing calls for lighting rules that preserve dark skies.

Major League Baseball is highlighting moments where an automatic ball-and-strike system review overturned a called third strike, erasing what would have been a game-ending or inning-ending strikeout. The plays show umpires' calls being corrected in real time under the ABS challenge process, a feature being tested as MLB moves toward expanding electronic strike-zone reviews. Fans and commentators are weighing in on how the technology is changing the game.

Astrophysicist Charles Liu joins StarTalk to explain why the observational evidence for the Big Bang could one day vanish from our view. As the universe's expansion accelerates, distant light may eventually become unreachable, potentially erasing the cosmic microwave background and other key clues that support the Big Bang theory for future observers. The discussion has drawn significant attention from audiences interested in cosmology.

Actress Selma Blair has announced a new documentary, 'Hineni', exploring antisemitism and her own experience of being, in her words, 'erased' from Hollywood projects. The announcement follows professional fallout after comments she made that were criticised as Islamophobic. The documentary is expected to cover her Jewish identity, the backlash she faced, and her broader views on antisemitism.

Part 24 of the Fat Tail Notes series is out, continuing the analysis from Part 23, which found that a 10% exemption expectation erases 64% of a financial backstop's protective damage. The new instalment examines the price of breaking a promise, questioning whether the exemption rate can really be treated as fixed by the market rather than chosen by policymakers.

Catholic bishops in the European Union are warning about the risks of removing names from baptismal registers. Church officials argue the records have lasting religious and canonical significance and should not be erased, raising concerns over proposals or demands to strike people from parish rolls. Catholic media outlets are reporting the bishops' statement, which touches on the tension between church record-keeping and individuals' wishes to leave the institution.

Crews have started demolishing a townhome in Loudoun County, Virginia, that was the scene of a murder. The property is being torn down, and local residents are following the demolition as the community moves to erase the site of the killing. Details about the original case have not been added in this round of coverage.

Archivists of Sudanese-Armenian heritage are working to document and preserve the shared history of their two communities, countering attempts at erasure so that future generations can access it. The effort highlights the little-known story of the Armenian diaspora in Sudan, and comes as Sudan's ongoing war has destroyed cultural institutions and driven many in the diaspora to safeguard records and memories before they are lost.

The New York Knicks have beaten the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, with US outlets reporting the win came via a record comeback. The result reportedly sets a new mark for the largest rally in a Finals game. The series is drawing major attention, though details of the score and the deficit erased are not given here.

Doxx.net is presenting itself as a privacy company building a 'parallel internet' designed to erase surveillance and tracking of users online. The venture, listed on startup data platform Dealroom, claims its services let people browse and communicate without leaving the data trails that advertisers, data brokers and governments routinely harvest. Details on funding, team and how the technology works remain sparse.

A legal expert told Crux Now that requiring churches to delete baptismal records would infringe on religious freedom. The warning comes amid ongoing debates in some countries over data protection rules and whether church membership registers, including baptismal records, must be removed or erased at individuals' request. The expert argues such mandates would interfere with the internal life and sacramental record-keeping of religious communities.

True Crime Maps has begun a new series, When Power Erases People, presenting ten stories involving government secrecy, whistleblowers, disputed deaths and powerful institutions. Each installment will set out the historical context and aim to separate documented facts from speculation, under the stated principle that suspicion is not proof. The project focuses on cases where official accounts have been contested and institutions accused of suppressing information.

A new benchmark warns that widely used gene pathway scoring tools can silently erase disease signals from genomic data, potentially distorting research findings. The warning matters because pathway analysis underpins many studies of complex diseases, and researchers may be reporting false negatives without knowing it. Scientists are discussing which methods are affected and how to validate results before relying on these tools.

Actress Selma Blair has publicly addressed claims that she was 'erased' from projects or public platforms following an Islamophobic comment attributed to her. She broke her silence on the fallout, which reportedly cost her professional opportunities. The story is drawing attention to questions of accountability and consequences for public figures' remarks.

A piece of horror fiction describes a resort ceasing to exist as a real place, becoming a silhouette being erased. Trees lose their shape, flowers blur into gray smears, and the sky dims as if painted over by invisible hands. The excerpt is tagged horror and dark fiction and is dated 20 October 2026 under the title Sol Dysis.

New analysis argues that the real economic contest between electric and gasoline cars in Saudi Arabia hinges less on battery performance or charging costs than on how quickly vehicles lose value. Resale prices for electric models in the Kingdom remain uncertain, and steep depreciation can erase fuel savings, making resale value the decisive factor for buyers weighing EVs against combustion cars.

Psychologists say children who repeatedly restart a drawing until it looks 'right' may be showing more than typical childhood fussiness. The behaviour can point to early perfectionist tendencies or perfectionism-driven anxiety, where fear of mistakes outweighs enjoyment of the activity. Parenting writers suggest adults respond by praising effort over outcome and reassuring children that errors are part of learning rather than failures to be erased.

A memorial event in the Chicago area has been held to honor victims of murder, with participants reflecting on grief that endures long after the loss. Coverage of the gathering carries the message that the pain for surviving families 'cannot be erased,' underscoring the emotional weight of remembering those killed.

Researchers have documented the medicinal plant knowledge of a Himalayan tribe amid concerns that climate change is altering the region's ecosystems and threatening both the plants and the traditional practices built around them. The effort aims to preserve centuries of indigenous medical knowledge before warming temperatures make the species and cultural traditions disappear.

An adviser to the European Court of Justice has indicated that EU data protection rules may give people the right to have their baptismal records erased. The opinion suggests Catholic Church registers could fall under GDPR, raising questions about religious institutions' record-keeping obligations. The non-binding advice has drawn attention from religious and rights groups as the court weighs the case.