Moving vans become a last resort in summer travel chaos
Some people ended up driving miles in moving vans after all other travel options fell through.
2023-07-01 10:28
Suffolk father who hunted for daughter's killer was a hero, son says
A funeral is being held for John Ward, who spent decades trying to work out who killed his daughter.
2023-06-30 13:46
Pete Davidson reportedly enters rehab amid mental health struggles
Pete Davidson has reportedly checked into a rehabilitation center amid ongoing struggles with his mental health. The Saturday Night Live alum, 29, is receiving treatment for his previously diagnosed borderline personality disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, Page Six initially reported. According to People, sources said Davidson “should be getting out” of the in-patient treatment center “pretty soon”. “Pete will often check himself into rehab to work on these issues,” another source told the outlet. “His friends and family have been supportive during this time.” Davidson has previously been open about his mental health struggles. In 2017, the King of Staten Island actor shared he had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD) during an appearance on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast. He explained that he had checked into a rehabilitation center in December 2016 after struggling with symptoms of the disorder. “I started having these mental breakdowns where I would, like, freak out and then not remember what happened after. Blind rage,” the comedian said, noting that he originally thought smoking weed caused his extreme mood swings. He stopped smoking weed and entered rehab, though he resumed the habit and soon had a “really bad mental breakdown”. Davidson was eventually diagnosed with BPD several months later. “I found out I have BPD, which is borderline personality disorder,” he said. “One of my psychiatrists… He was always saying before this big meltdown, ‘You’re probably bipolar or borderline, we’re just going to have to figure it out.’” The Bupkis star also admitted that he was “depressed all the time” but praised therapy for improving his mental health. “It is working, slowly but surely,” he said. “I’ve been having a lot of problems. This whole year has been a f***ing nightmare. This has been the worst year of my life, getting diagnosed with this and trying to figure out how to learn with this and live with this.” That same year, he went on SNL’s “Weekend Update” to further discuss his diagnosis and urge others to seek medical treatment if they think they have depression. “As some of you may know, I was recently diagnosed with borderline personality disorder — a form of depression,” Davidson told viewers. “Depression affects more than 16 million people in this country and there’s no cure, per se. But for anyone dealing with it, there are treatments that can help. “First of all, if you think you’re depressed, see a doctor and talk to them about medication. And also be healthy: eating right and exercise can make a huge difference.” Bipolar personality disorder (BPD) is a type of a mental disorder characterised by unstable moods, behaviour, and relationships. It’s estimated that 1.6 per cent of the US population have BPD. In an interview with Variety in 2019, Davidson shared that he’s been “in and out of mental health facilities” since he was nine years old. His father, Scott Matthew Davidson, was a firefighter who died at the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks in 2001, when Davidson was just seven. Speaking with Jon Bernthal on his Real Ones podcast last March, Davidson said that the event had an impact on his “fear of abandonment” as well as his PTSD. More recently, he underwent “trauma therapy” in April 2022 due to online harassment from Kanye West while Davidson was dating West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian. “The attention and negativity coming from Kanye and his antics is a trigger for [Pete], and he’s had to seek out help,” a source told People at the time. Pete Davidson’s latest stint in rehab comes after he was charged with reckless driving in connection with a Beverly Hills car accident, in which he and current girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders crashed into the side of a house. He was reportedly driving in the affluent Los Angeles neighbourhood when his vehicle went over the curb, hitting a fire hydrant and collided into the home. He is expected to be arraigned in court on 27 July. The Independent has contacted Pete Davidson for comment. Read More Pete Davidson charged with reckless driving in connection with Beverly Hills car crash Pete Davidson opens up about borderline personality disorder diagnosis: ‘The weight of the world feels lifted’ Pete Davidson says he learned his firefighter dad died on 9/11 while watching TV Pete Davidson reportedly enters rehab amid mental health struggles Influencer angers fans by tanning in bikini weeks after having skin cancer removed Naomi Campbell welcomes second child at 53: ‘It’s never too late’
2023-06-30 13:18
Scot Peterson did not stop the Parkland school shooting. Should he be jailed?
A trial of a police officer for failing to protect Parkland students raises legal and moral questions.
2023-06-29 09:49
Fraudsters likely stole over $200 billion in Covid relief aid, watchdog says
The Small Business Administration distributed more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent Covid-19 relief funds, according to a federal watchdog.
2023-06-28 21:20
Madras high court: A new India verdict recognises value of women's work
The judgement in a domestic dispute case allowed a housewife equal share in her husband's property.
2023-06-28 16:46
Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg: Who would win a fight between tech titans?
Who would win a fight between Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg? It’s the sort of question that might be asked over a drink in the pub. But a clash between the two of the world’s tech tycoons may no longer be hypothetical after Mr Zuckerberg apparently agreed to a cage fight with Mr Musk. When rumours emerged earlier this month that the Facebook boss – a Jiu Jitsu enthusiast – was looking for a rival, the Space X and Tesla founder tweeted that he was “up for a cage match”. Mr Zuckerberg then posted a screenshot of the tweet with the caption “send me location”. Now that a fight appears on the cards, how would the two men match up inside the ring? At more than 6ft tall, Mr Musk would have a clear reach advantage over Mr Zuckerberg, who measures up at 5ft 8in. His height also means he would also have a significant weight advantage over his opponent, but Mr Zuckerberg’s Jiu Jitsu skills - he recently won his first gold and silver medals at a Silicon Valley tournament - would undoubtedly enable him to get out of a few sticky situations on the canvas. Mr Musk joked he had a “great move” to show off, noting that his workout regime consists mostly of spending time with his children. “I have this great move that I call ‘The Walrus’ where I just lie on top of my opponent & do nothing,” he tweeted. He added: “I almost never work out, except for picking up my kids & throwing them in the air.” In 2020, Mr Musk also told Joe Rogan that he “wouldn’t exercise at all if [he] could”. Although Mr Zuckerberg is smaller and lighter than Mr Musk, his technical ability and aerobic capacity could prove too much for the Tesla boss, who earlier this year said that his typical breakfast included a bowl of ice cream, biscuits and a donut. Mr Zuckerberg says he used to “run a lot” and got into surfing and then MMA after the Covid pandemic. “I really like watching UFC for example, that’s because I also like doing the sport [MMA],” he said on the Joe Rogan Experience. “It really is the best sport, five minutes in I was like ‘where has this best my whole life?’ To some degree, MMA is the perfect thing because if you stop paying attention for one second you’re going to end up on bottom.” In addition to his martial arts skills, Mr Zuckerberg also recently participated in the “Murph Challenge,” a gruelling workout named after Lt Michael P Murphy, a Navy Seal who was killed in action in 2005. The challenge, which the 39 year old said he tries to do each year with his daughters, involves 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and a mile-long run, all while wearing a 20-pound weighted vest. “This year I got it done in 39:58. The girls did a quarter-Murph (unweighted) in 15 mins!” he wrote on Instagram on 29 May. According to Total Shape, a health and fitness platform that provides resources and expertise from fitness experts, Mr Zuckerberg’s ability to “complete extreme fitness challenges and technique with mixed martial arts showcases he has substantial ability and endurance”. When it comes down to who would win in a fight, “it is agility vs strength,” experts at Total Shape say, while noting that, based on “general endurance and skill for cage fighting, Mark Zuckerberg would have the upper hand”. However, “having strength and longer reach can give a fighter a lead when it comes to forceful striking and make it more difficult for the opponent to strike back”. Ultimately, the health and fitness experts at Total Shape conclude: “Placing both titans in a cage, Mark Zuckerberg would have the edge of agility and endurance needed to take Mr Musk down, given Mr Musk isn’t able to forcefully strike him earlier on in the fight.” The potential face-off comes amid rumours that Mr Zuckerberg is preparing to create a new app to rival Twitter, which is expected to be called Threads. The app, internally codenamed Project 92, will reportedly feature a continuous scroll of text, buttons similar to Twitter’s like and retweet functions, and a 500-character limit on posts. It is not the first time Mr Musk has called for a fight with a global figure. In August last year he challenged the Russian president to a scrap. "I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to a fight. The prize is Ukraine," he wrote. Putin didn’t respond to the goading but the irony was apparently lost on his Chechen war lord ally, Ramzan Kadyrov. "A word of advice: don’t measure your strength against Putin’s, you’re in two different leagues," the henchman warned. In a statement to Verge about whether a fight will indeed take place between Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Musk, a spokesperson for Meta said: “The story speaks for itself.” Read More Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s battle of the billionaires is an ego trip worth taking Elon Musk confirms cage fight with Mark Zuckerberg Mark Zuckerberg takes a swipe at Twitter over handling of Hunter Biden laptop story Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg: Who would win a fight between tech titans? Elon Musk’s sister says she’s been overcharged due to her last name Holiday hygiene horrors: Summer health risks to avoid, from flying to hotels
2023-06-27 17:23
Victims' families, united in grief, face 2 paths to justice as Pittsburgh synagogue shooting death penalty trial moves to next phase
Federal jurors in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial will soon decide whether to sentence the convicted gunman to death or life in prison -- two potential avenues for justice that in the years since the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history have found varying levels of support in an otherwise unified community.
2023-06-26 19:18
Mark Rylance says he initially took a ‘distilled garlic solution’ instead of Covid vaccine
Mark Rylance has revealed “alarm bells” rang for him when the British population was encouraged to get the Covid vaccine in 2021. In a new interview, Rylance, 63, said he wasn’t convinced he needed the vaccine, adding that “science started to sound like religion” during the pandemic. Speaking to The Sunday Times, the Dunkirk star explained he relied on taking a “very distilled garlic solution”, along with vitamin C. “And I sailed through Jerusalem,” he said. Rylance reprised one of his most well-known roles, as Johnny “Rooster” Byron, in last year’s revival of the 2009 Jez Butterworth play Jerusalem. He told the publication he finally took the Covid vaccine when he travelled to visit his father in the US. Rylance’s comments were made in the context of his forthcoming play Dr Semmelweis, based on the life of maverick Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis. The British actor reportedly wrote Dr Semmelweis with playwright Stephen Brown before the pandemic began. Rylance said he was researching alternative cancer treatments at the time, adding that he’s sceptical about the effects of chemotherapy. He recalled how a friend allegedly “broke up the cells of a tumour” by using the vibrations from a Tibetan sound bowl. Rylance added: “The body knows how to heal itself. “We don’t need to go in and bombard it with poison. It’s like bombing a city to try and get rid of a little sect of terrorists. You may wipe them all out, but you’re going to breed 25 or 30 [more].” Earlier this month, Rylance revealed that his brother, Jonathan Waters, had died in a cycling accident, aged 60. “I am so sorry to tell you that on the 28 May, my dear brother Jonathan Waters was knocked from his bicycle and tragically died of his injuries,” the statement read. Rylance, who was very close to Waters, said the loss made him question the point of life. “It just makes everything that follows a little bleak. But also that hollowness can be a positive thing, a kind of grail or cup or vessel,” he continued. Rylance also said he believes in life after death, adding: “I think you really can have a very healthy conversation with a soul who has passed over.” The actor said he has spoken to his late grandmother and step-daughter Nataasha van Kampen, using a medium. He admitted that while his views may not be conventional or mainstream, but “don’t cause any harm”. Dr Semmelweis opens at the West End this Thursday 27 June. Read More Billy Nomates asks BBC to take down Glastonbury footage after wave of ‘personal abuse’ Guns N’ Roses review, Glastonbury 2023: Frontrunners for the worst Glasto headline set of all time Wes Anderson took a cast of stars to the Spanish desert and made his best film in years Too cool to love these acts 10 years ago? This year’s Glastonbury is for you Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan breaks silence on Kevin Costner’s dramatic exit
2023-06-25 21:47
Strathclyde University's shock and sadness at student's Titan sub death
Strathclyde University student Suleman Dawood was one of those who died in the Titan submersible implosion.
2023-06-23 19:56
Burkina Faso media guide
An overview of the media in Burkina Faso, including links to newspapers and broadcasters.
2023-06-21 19:55
US-China tensions: Biden calls Xi a dictator day after Beijing talks
The US leader makes the remark just after talks aimed at easing tensions between the countries.
2023-06-21 09:28