|
Recent Articles
| Image | Title & Summary |
|---|---|
|
The New Face of American Power
Opinion | Editorial America’s Doctrine of Power in 2026 The opening week of 2026 has stripped away any lingering illusions about the trajectory of U.S. foreign policy. In Caracas, a military raid removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power. Days later, Washington floated the possibility of acquiring Greenland by force. These are not isolated provocations. They clearly show a belief that control over land can be bargained for, valuable resources are seen as rewards, and military power is used as a way to gain economic advantage. Venezuela: Justice or Oil? Officials framed the Caracas operation as a crackdown on corruption and narcotics trafficking. Maduro and his wife were flown to… |
|
Rail regulators accused of ignoring safety recommendations
More than 3,000 rail accidents, causing 23 deaths and nearly 1,200 injuries over the past decade, have been attributed to human error and track defects. Yet, federal railroad regulators have largely ignored most safety recommendations arising from these investigations, according to a new study. An analysis by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland reveals a powerful industry behind these failures, using its influence to thwart federal safety reforms. It is accused of actively lobbying President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce track inspection and repair requirements and loosen rules aimed at preventing crew fatigue. The center’s analysis of data … |
|
Story has been removed.
Story has been removed. |
|
World faces food catastrophe if Strait of Hormuz disruption persists
A prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could result in a global food “catastrophe”, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned, as shipments of critical agricultural inputs remain blocked in the key waterway due to the US-Israel war on Iran. Food prices have not risen yet because existing stocks are absorbing the shock, the United Nations body’s chief economist, Maximo Torero, said in an interview on Monday, alongside David Laborde, director of FAO’s agrifood economics division. But if traffic through the strait does not resume, the shocks to energy and fertiliser markets will translate into higher commodity and retail prices later this year and into 2027, Laborde added. … |
|
Nine-year-old Girl Killed After She Left Her Classroom
A Child’s Ordinary Day, Interrupted Forever On a November afternoon in Tucson, Arizona, nine-year-old Arlette Chavira left her classroom with the same joy she carried every day. She was an honor student, known for her kindness and eagerness to help. Walking with her seven-year-old sister, she headed toward her mother, who was waiting nearby. It was supposed to be routine—the kind of moment parents treasure: the daily reunion after school. Instead, a heavy rolling gate—long neglected, reportedly “busted” and awaiting repair—collapsed. It crushed Arlette in front of her sister. The gate did not fall because of chance. It fell because adults responsible for its upkeep failed to act. A lawsuit l… |
|
Iran will not bow down to US pressure in nuclear talks
Iran’s ?President ?Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged not to fold to pressure from the United States after his American counterpart, Donald Trump, said he was considering limited strikes to force a deal on Tehran’s nuclear programme. Pezeshkian’s comments on Saturday came amid high tensions in the Gulf, with the US continuing to grow its military presence with the deployment of two aircraft carriers and dozens of jets. “We will not bow down in the face of any of these difficulties,” Pezeshkian said at a ceremony to honour members of the Iranian Paralympics team. “World powers are lining up with cowardice to force us to bow our heads. Just as you did not bow down in the face of difficulties, we wi… |
|
Project Hail Mary Breaks Box Office Gravity
There is a moment—quiet, almost easy to miss—when a theater stops behaving like a marketplace and starts breathing like a single organism. Not the usual roar, not the hollow thunder of spectacle, but something tighter, more intimate. A held breath. A calculation unfolding in real time behind hundreds of eyes. That is where Project Hail Mary found its audience. Not in noise. In attention. And attention, in today’s box office economy, is the rarest currency left. The numbers came in like a contradiction. Week after week, the film refused to taper off the way industry models insist it must. Not a spike and collapse, not a front-loaded surge engineered by hype, but something steadier, stranger—l… |
|
Nvidia CEO Huang denies he is unhappy with OpenAI says 'huge' investment planned
Business TAIPEI, Jan 31 : Nvidia plans to make a "huge" investment into OpenAI, probably its largest ever, CEO Jensen Huang said on Saturday, denying he was unhappy with the ChatGPT maker. The chipmaker in September announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, a deal that would give OpenAI the cash and access it needs to buy advanced chips that are key to maintaining its dominance in an increasingly competitive landscape. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the plan had stalled after some inside the chip giant expressed doubts about the deal. The report said Huang had privately underlined to industry associates in recent months that the original $100 billion agreement … |
|
Pope Leo not afraid of Trump and we should not be either
This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. “I’m not afraid.” With these three words Sunday morning, Pope Leo XIV offered as powerful a rebuke of President Trump and everything he has wrought on the world as anyone ever has. Three words to inspire all good people to fight against Trump — because if a mild-mannered man of God such as Leo isn’t afraid, no one should be. Pope Leo’s words thrilled me as an American—becauseially as a Catholic. His quiet, confident witness since becoming pontiff in May had already reignited a spiritual light in me to adhere closer to the faith I was brought up in. Rather than cower before a despot who makes the Pharaoh in … |
|
Ecuador Chone Killers gang as now terrorist organisation
The US? State Department has designated the Ecuadorean gang Chone Killers as a foreign “terrorist organisation”, imposing sanctions on a crime ?group that Washington has accused of carrying out attacks on civilians and public officials. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the gang ?has also been classified as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”. “Chone Killers has committed numerous attacks targeting civilians, law enforcement officers and government officials, including high-profile assassinations of public officials,” Rubio said in a statement announcing the designations. The move against the Ecuadorian street gang ?is part of a broader campaign by US President Donald Trump’s admi… |
|
US Olympic medalist Jenny Simpson rushed to hospital after collapsing during North Carolina race
Jenny Simpson collapsed at an event in North Carolina on Tuesday night Removed from bookmarks I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Olympic bronze medalist and world champion runner Jenny Simpson suffered a medical episode and collapsed while pacing a mile group at a community event in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Tuesday night. The 39-year-old 1,500-meter specialist received CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED) was used at the track before she was transported to a hospital. The incident was first reported by LetsRun. Simpson was participating in a Sir Walter Running event, which encourages runners of all levels … |
|
|
They Married When He Was Supposed to Die
Human Interest He was dying, and it was the saddest thing for their relatives, friends, and even the hospital staff. Most of all, Arlaine, his longtime girlfriend, was with him in the hospital. They'd been together for decades before the illness. Now, the room smelled of antiseptic and overripe flowers—the kind people buy when they’re afraid they’ve waited too long. The lights were too bright, and the machines emitted steady, monotonous noises. Bendigo Davies lay flat on his back, staring at a ceiling he hadn’t chosen, while Arlaine stood beside him, holding his hand like it was the last solid thing in the room. But they looked and admired each other, the smiles hiding dreadful worry. They h… |
|
Why is Iran bombing Gulf states while avoiding US naval assets and Israel
As the United States escalates its strikes on Iran, Tehran is hitting back, targeting military and civilian infrastructure across the Gulf states and Jordan while avoiding attacks on US naval assets deployed near its coast and on Israel – a strategy that analysts say is intended to pressure US President Donald Trump without expanding the scope of the war. While Washington has struck railway stations, power facilities, telecommunications networks and drinking-water infrastructure in Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has responded by attacking civilian airports and water and power stations in Kuwait and Bahrain. Military analysts said there’s a logic to this strategy. Targetin… |
|
Crossing Trump and his Insurrection in Minnesota
Editorial Minnesota is standing on a line most people pretend doesn’t exist until it’s under their feet. The killing of Renée Good didn’t just spark protests. It tore open a fracture that’s been widening for years, one where federal power shows up without consent, accountability drifts upward into silence, and states are left holding the consequences. The question now isn’t whether order returns. It’s who gets to impose it, who they answer to, and which law they plan to hide behind when it goes wrong. That law has a name, and it’s older than most Americans realize. The Insurrection Act of 1807 sits on the books like a quiet threat, rarely mentioned, almost never explained, waiting for the mo… |
|
Father grieves for his teen daughter who died in devastating flood
18-year-old Chloe Childress was one of the 27 kids and staff who lost their lives as a result of the floods that occurred at Camp Mystic in the previous summer. According to a recent article in New York Magazine, hChloe's father identified her battered body. She was the 18-year-old Camp Mystic counselor who was killed in the tragic flood last year. The Guadalupe River rose 20 feet in three hours due to the torrential rains that swept over Central Texas that morning on July 4th. More than 130 individuals lost their lives as the catastrophic flood destroyed structures and devastated the area. Following the tragic murders of 25 kids and two counselors, including Chloe, the century-old Christian… |
|
Los Angeles population falling which could haunt us for decades
This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here. Long the epicenter of population growth in the United States, Los Angeles is slowly losing its people because of a series of demographic shifts that experts say could have profound implications for the county if trends continue. High housing prices have led a growing number of residents to leave the region for more affordable parts of the country. Immigration — long a pipeline for population growth — has ebbed significantly under a federal crackdown. A rapidly aging population is adding to the concern over how these declines will affect the local economy. “We’ve been depending on immigrants all along to sor… |
|
Trump announces 25 percent tariffs on European Union cars and trucks
United States President Donald Trump has said he will increase tariffs on automobiles from the European Union to 25 per cent. The announcement on Friday could jolt the world economy at a time when it is already fragile from the knock-ons of the US-Israel war with Iran. It came months after the US and the EU had forged a trade deal as Trump imposed sweeping reciprocal tariffs on trade partners across the world. The agreement set tariffs on most goods at 15 percent, lower than the 30 percent Trump had previously threatened. In a post on Truth Social, Trump accused the EU of “not complying with our fully agreed to Trade Deal”, without providing further details. Trump added that he “fully unders… |
|
Trump to raise US global tariff to 15 percent after Supreme Court ruling
United States President Donald Trump has doubled down on his new global tariffs, raising them from 10 percent to 15 percent, days after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping levies on imports. The move on Saturday came as businesses and governments around the world sought repayment for the estimated $133bn that Washington has already collected. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump announced the raise “effective immediately” and said the move was based on a review of the “ridiculous, poorly written and extraordinarily anti-American decision” issued by the Supreme Court on Friday. By a six-to-three vote, the court had ruled that it was unconstitutional for Trump to unilaterally s… |
|
Michael Caine Biography
When Michael Caine led a squad of English gangsters to participate in an ambitious heist of gold from Italy in the film "Italian Job" (1969), it became another famous film of the 1960s. Later on, the film was recreated, and it became famous for the chase scenes that included Mini Coopers. Although he was born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, he chose the stage name Michael Caine later in his career. With a voice that is distinctly associated with the working class, Michael Caine is widely considered to be one of the most famous English actors of the post-war era. He has appeared in more than one hundred films. On March 14, 1933, Michael Caine was born in Rotherhithe, which is located in London, E… |
|
18-year-old girl killed in fiery crash
A a teenage girl was among the teens killed in a violent incident that occurred early Sunday morning. Near Farley, Missouri, on State Highway 45, an overturned automobile carrying 18-year-old Tessa Walker caught fire and killed her. The accident injured four other teenagers. Tessa Walker, a Park Hill School senior, was preparing to start her college career in the autumn at Northwest Missouri State. Besides being an accomplished athlete, Tessa was a hard worker in the classroom. She participated in track, girls' flag football, and volleyball. She participated in the AVID college-readiness program for all four years, and her dedication paid off with many awards, including academic scholarships… |