Cancer Milestone, 'Dilbert' Cartoonist Dies, and Pigs on Trial

 Need To Know 

Iran Protest Toll

The death toll from protests in Iran has surpassed 2,500 people, with arrests exceeding 18,000, according to a US-based rights group relying on activists inside the country. A nationwide internet blackout has restricted information, and the Iranian government hasn’t released casualty figures, but state television yesterday acknowledged for the first time that many have died. 

Unrest began in late December among Tehran merchants after the national currency collapsed and inflation topped 40%. Protests have since spread nationwide, reflecting broader anger at Iran’s theocracy. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei has long consolidated power and suppressed internal dissent, but the current unrest may be the deadliest of his over 36-year rule. Khamenei, 86, has not publicly named a successor; meanwhile, some protesters have expressed support for exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. 

Pahlavi has reportedly met with the Trump administration, which imposed 25% tariffs on Iran’s trading partners Monday. Yesterday, President Donald Trump canceled talks with Iranian officials and urged civilians to continue protesting. 

Cancer Survival Rises

The five-year cancer survival rate in the US has reached 70% for the first time, according to an American Cancer Society report released yesterday. The figure, based on diagnoses from 2015 to 2021, is up from 49% in the mid-1970s and 63% in the mid-1990s.

The ACS attributes the rise to wider and earlier screening, lower smoking rates, and advances in targeted and immunotherapy treatments. Survival has improved across most major cancer types, including thyroid (98%), prostate (98%), testis (95%), melanoma (95%), and breast (92%), though racial, economic, and regional disparities persist. Myeloma (blood cancer) survival nearly doubled to 62% since the 1990s, and liver cancer survival more than tripled to 22%. Rates were lowest for cancers of the lung (28%), liver (22%), esophagus (22%), and pancreas (13%).

Between 1991 and 2023, advances in cancer care prevented an estimated 4.8 million deaths. The ACS projects about 2.1 million new cases and over 626,000 cancer deaths in 2026. Explore the best resources we've found on cancer here.

'Dilbert' Cartoonist Dies

Scott Adams, the author and cartoonist behind the “Dilbert” comic strip, has died at age 68 after a battle with prostate cancer. 

“Dilbert” offered a satirical take on corporate America, inspired by Adams’ own experiences at Crocker National Bank and the Pacific Bell Telephone Company (acquired by AT&T). The comic featured a cubicle-dwelling middle manager named Dilbert, who wore glasses and an upturned black-and-red striped tie. Other characters included Dilbert’s anthropomorphic pet Dogbert as well as Catbert, the company's head of human resources. By 2013, the strip was syndicated in over 2,000 newspapers across 65 countries. In 2023, many newspapers cut ties with Adams after comments he made encouraging white people to stay away from Black people; Adams later said the comments were intended to be hyperbolic.

Adams also published several books, including “Win Bigly," which analyzed President Donald Trump's persuasion techniques in his 2016 campaign, and “The Dilbert Principle,” which suggests ineffective workers are systematically promoted to management.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Zoe Saldaña becomes highest-grossing actor ever with combined estimated box office gross of over $15.4B about a month after "Avatar: Fire and Ash" release (More) | K-pop band BTS releases 79-show world tour dates after more than three-year hiatus (More) 

> Mike Tomlin steps down as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach after 19 seasons (More) | Sports merchandising company Fanatics to launch content studio; first projects include 2028 Olympic Games film and Tom Brady docuseries (More) 

> Trevor Noah to host his sixth and final Grammy Awards Feb. 1; this year is the show’s last broadcast on longtime home CBS ahead of 10-year Disney deal (More) | Actor Kiefer Sutherland arrested, released after Hollywood ride-share driver altercation (More) 

Science & Technology

> US greenhouse gas emissions rise by 2.4% in 2025, ending two-year decline; researchers link uptick to 13% increase in coal power, driven partly by AI data centers' energy demands and rising natural gas prices (More) | Explore the best resources we've found on climate science (1440 Topics)

> Moon dust suggests lunar chemistry was altered by an ancient massive impact, offering an explanation for why the nearside is smooth, dark, and covered in lava plains while the farside is lighter and crater-scarred (More) 

> Analysis of 99 bee tongues suggests queen bees retire once worker bees are born because worker bees' tongues are better suited to collect nectar (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -0.2%, Dow -0.8%, Nasdaq -0.1%) as JPMorgan Chase kicks off earnings season; shares in America's biggest bank fell 4.2% after missing estimates and reporting a $2.2B hit from Apple Card deal (More)  

> Consumer price index rose 2.7% year over year in December, unchanged from November's pace and in line with economists' expectations (More) | Everything you want to know about inflation (1440 Topics)

> Boeing reports it outsold Airbus last year for the first time since 2018, with 1,173 airplane orders for 2025, while Airbus reported 889 sales for 2025 (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Six federal prosecutors resign from the US attorney's office in Minnesota amid alleged Justice Department pressure to investigate the widow of Renee Nicole Good, who was killed by an ICE agent last week (More) 

> Trump administration announces it will end temporary protected status for Somali nationals, a program dating back to 1991; an estimated 2,500 Somalis with TPS status will be required to leave the US by March 17 (More) 

> South Korean prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty for former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who imposed martial law for six hours in December 2024 (More) | See previous write-up (More)

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AI programs are getting tricked by optical illusions.

About four in 10 teens support cell phone bans in classrooms.

Some sea lions are "supersucklers," nursing after reaching maturity.

Analyzing the etiquette of one-word text replies.

Dispute leads to record-breaking traffic cone collection.

In medieval France, pigs were once put on trial.

A goat and four monkeys are running loose in St. Louis.

Why some people are sober dating.

Clickbait: The newest interior design trend is analog rooms.

Historybook: Astronomer Edmond Halley dies (1742); “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” author Lewis Carroll dies (1898); Actress Faye Dunaway born (1941); Franklin D. Roosevelt arrives in Casablanca, Morocco, as the first US president to travel on official business by airplane while in office (1943); NBC’s “Today” debuts (1952).