Wayne Rooney is set to be appointed as the new head coach of Birmingham City. He recently left his role at D.C. United, while he has previous experience managing in the Championship with Derby County,

Jorge Martin won Saturday's sprint race at the San Marino and Rimini Riviera MotoGP to close the gap on...

The car was seen speeding into a border checkpoint before bursting into flames.

Netflix has seen its subscriber base grow rapidly – suggesting its crackdown on password sharing has gone even better than expected. The company has launched a range of schemes intended to encourage more people to sign up, amid slumping user numbers. They include a cheaper version of the streaming service with ads, but also a password sharing crackdown that proved controversial among users who characterised it as invasive or mean. It appears to have worked to encourage users to sign up, however. The company said in its latest results that it had added 5.9 million users, almost three times what analysts had expected. Netflix ended June with 238.4 million worldwide subscribers. Investors seemed unsatisfied, perhaps rattled by management commentary in a shareholder letter warning “quite a competitive battle” continuing to unfold against the backdrop of ongoing strikes by both the writers and actors union in the US that is already bogging down much of Hollywood and threatening to clog the pipelines feeding entertainment to streaming services. Netflix's stock price fell 4 per cent in Wednesday's extended trading. The decline also could have reflected some investor locking in profits that have accrued while the shares have climbed by more than 50 per cent so far this year. The second-quarter performance marked Netflix’s biggest spring —- traditionally the company's slowest stretch of growth — since gaining 10 million subscribers during the same period in 2020 under dramatically different market conditions. In 2020, people were still largely stuck at home and looking for ways to keep themselves entertained while governments around the world struggled to find a way to contain the spread of pandemic. Now, Netflix finds itself trying to bounce back from a growth slowdown amid stiff video streaming competition and inflationary pressures that have caused many households to clamp down on spending, especially on discretionary items such as entertainment. As an antidote, Netflix last year introduced a low-priced option that includes commercials and then began to block the rampant sharing of passwords that has enabled an estimated 100 million people worldwide to watch its TV series and films for free. Freeloading viewers are now being required to open their own accounts unless a subscriber with a standard or premium plan agrees to pay an $8 monthly surcharge to allow more people living in different households to watch. In its shareholder letter, management said the crackdown on password sharing is resulting in a “healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships.” And Netflix still isn’t done tinkering. As part of Wednesday’s earnings release, Netflix also revealed it’s phasing out its cheapest ad-free plan – a service that costs $10 in the U.S. Existing subscribers already paying for this basic plan will be allowed to keep it. The shift appears designed to get more people to switch to the $7 monthly plan that includes commercials in hopes of boosting ad revenue or sign up for its $15.50 monthly standard plan or $20 monthly premium plan. “While we’ve made steady progress this year, we have more work to do to reaccelerate our growth,” Netflix management told shareholders in its letter. The pricing changes that have already been made helped Netflix boost its second-quarter revenue by 3% from the same time last year to $8.2 billon, falling below analyst forecasts. Netflix earned $1.49 billion during the period, compared with $1.44 billion last year. But earnings per share came in at $3.29 per share, eclipsing the average analyst estimate of $2.85 per share, according to FactSet. Netflix didn't delve into the potential fallout from the current walkout by in the U.S. by writers and actors. The dispute revolves revolve largely around the payment system used in video streaming and the rise of artificial intelligence technology threatening to exploit the work of humans and eventually replace them. Unlike traditional movie and TV studios in the U.S., Netflix has been able to keep feeding its entertainment pipeline with shows that it has been able to use to keep luring in and retaining subscribers. Additional reporting by AP Read More Stolen ChatGPT accounts for sale on the dark web Geothermal breakthrough uses oil drilling tech to tap renewable energy Solar panel tech breakthrough generates electricity from rain Stolen ChatGPT accounts for sale on the dark web Geothermal breakthrough uses oil drilling tech to tap renewable energy Solar panel tech breakthrough generates electricity from rain

New Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has admitted last week’s meeting with Harry Kane was “nothing earth-shattering” but still a good chat amid Bayern Munich’s growing efforts to lure the forward to Germany. Kane has entered the final 12 months of his deal with Spurs and speculation over his future has heightened in recent weeks. The England captain returned to training on Wednesday and held a meeting with Postecoglou, but the Australian has played down its significance. Postecoglou told reporters at a press conference, via football.london, from the WACA Ground in Perth: “I had a good chat with Harry. “Nothing earth-shattering as people are seeking. Just a good chat, introduced myself, spoke about the club and where we can improve.” Bayern appeared to up the ante regarding Kane at the weekend with the club’s honorary president Uli Hoeness claiming an agreement over personal terms had been reached with the Spurs forward. “Harry Kane has clearly signalled in all conversations that his decision stands – and if he keeps to his word then we’ll get him, because then Tottenham will have to buckle,” Hoeness told German TV channel Sport1. “Kane wants to play internationally and luckily for us Tottenham will not be active internationally next year. “He now has another opportunity to come to a top club in Europe. “Up to now, the father and the brother have always stood by what they promised. If it stays that way, that’s OK.” Kane was spotted interacting with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy upon arriving in Australia this weekend for the club’s tour of Perth, Bangkok and Singapore. While Bayern continue to push to secure the services of the England captain and have reportedly lodged two bids for the forward, Spurs’ stance remains the same, they have no intention of selling Kane. Spurs’ record goalscorer has also been offered a new contract that is a significant increase on his current £200,000-a-week terms, the PA news agency understands. Kane is yet to make a decision on the new deal but Tottenham and chairman Levy continue to stand firm on their desire to keep the striker. Bayern honorary president Hoeness added: “Levy is clever, he doesn’t name a number. First we have to get him to name a number. “Of course he plays for time. I think he’s a savvy, super professional, I appreciate him a lot – but I don’t think there are people on the other side who have been doing it since yesterday.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Wimbledon 2023: Women’s history made as men’s game has a changing of the guard It will be surreal – Chloe Mustaki cannot believe she will play at a World Cup From Chris Eubanks to Mirra Andreeva – Wimbledon’s headline makers in 2023

DC Universe Online is coming to the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles.

Microsoft Corp. will appeal a decision by the US Internal Revenue Service that the software maker owes at

A man who attended Sunday night's New England Patriots game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, said he witnessed a "violent confrontation" leading up to the death of a fan, according to an interview with CNN affiliate WCVB.

The world wants to master the process of corralling carbon, and Occidental Petroleum Corp. is building a futuristic

Sarah Jessica Parker has shared a rare glimpse inside her family life with husband Matthew Broderick. In a recent appearance on the Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi podcast, the Sex and the City alum revealed the daily routine that she and her husband share with their three children: son James, 20, and 14-year-old twin daughters Tabitha and Marion. “We cook every night,” she told host Bozzi during Tuesday’s episode. “It’s a source of a huge amount of pride for everybody.” The And Just Like That star even admitted that the family rarely orders takeout, adding how surprised she is to hear when other families order to-go. “It’s also mystifying because we just don’t order in as a family,” Parker said. “And on the rare occasion we have - we always hear other families, they do it, and then like one kid orders from this place and one kid…it’s so confusing.” While Parker’s iconic Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw is notorious for her lack of culinary skills, the 58-year-old actor assured that her family “really [does] cook five to six nights a week”. “We have always have a Sunday dinner - we invite people,” she added. Throughout the years, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick have kept much of their family life out of the spotlight. Although the longtime couple have been married since 1997, the Hocus Pocus star recently revealed that they haven’t “spent a night apart” from each other in more than three decades. While speaking on Sirius XM’s The Howard Stern Show earlier this month, Parker recalled that her first date with the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off actor took place on 8 March 1992, and that she and her partner have “been together” ever since. “We’ve never spent a night apart since then, with the exception of work on location,” she told host Stern. “Or, his mother was ill for a bit so he went to take care of her. But from that first night, we’ve never been apart.” Parker said that “pretty soon into” their relationship, she felt like she was “in love” with Broderick and thought he was “really incredible”. The actor explained how she “admired” her soon-to-be husband before they started dating, noting that she had “loved” his work. “He’s so smart, he’s so funny, I like this choice of friends, the way he was living in New York, what was important to him, how he kind of travelled around the city,” she said. “He was always travelling around on his bicycle, he’s been riding bikes since he was 14.” The two also shared a common interest in raising a family in New York. “I love being home in New York,” Parker said. “I wanted to build a life here and he was born and raised in the West Village, literally, he’s never lived north of 11th Street.” Last month, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary. “Happy 26th anniversary my husband,” she wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of a champagne cork. “That sure was a nice celebration and a real nice bottle of champagne. And a gorgeous walk home. Oh the miles we have strolled together. I love you. XOX, your SJ.” Read More Sarah Jessica Parker reveals she and husband Matthew Broderick haven’t ‘spent a night apart’ in 31 years Sarah Jessica Parker says she ‘missed out’ on ‘old-fashioned facelift’ as she reflects on ageism Sarah Jessica Parker rewears iconic Vivienne Westwood wedding dress in And Just Like That Mother asks if children should be ‘forced to share’ after park incident Scientists share habits that could take 20 years off your life Mom left ‘appalled’ after water park says she can’t breastfeed son in lazy river

The setting is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: home to the world-famous Indy 500 race. Ahead of the 2005 United States Grand Prix, at a circuit modified for Formula 1, ITV pundit and former F1 driver Martin Brundle is interviewing the sport’s long-term supremo and commander-in-chief Bernie Ecclestone on the grid. And you may well say, nothing unusual about that. What is more unusual is Brundle’s direct, bordering on combative, line of questioning. A huddle of camera crew and journalists huddle around, eager for answers. Because F1’s only race in the land of the free is about to become a farce. Out of 20 cars, only six take to the start line. For the sport and its tempestuous 55-year relationship with the US, it is the ultimate moment of absurdity. “The future of Formula 1 in America?” asks Brundle. “Not good,” Ecclestone replies. It is a far cry from where the sport is stateside now. Formula 1 is pushing boundaries and breaking the glass ceiling in a manner which would be unambiguously imposing if it wasn’t in the United States. There are now three races, with this week’s grand prix on the Las Vegas strip following on from a highly successful rebirth of the US Grand Prix in Austin and a street track in Miami. After 75 races at 11 different American venues, F1 has finally cracked the American code. “At my kids’ soccer game, you’ll see someone with a Red Bull shirt on,” says Scott Speed, a Californian native who raced in F1 for two years in the 2000s. “It’s been a long time coming but there is a noticeable difference when you see people walk around in F1 apparel. That’s very different to when I was in the sport.” But sometimes to understand the scale of the current highs, you have to revisit the lows of yesteryear. That ludicrous weekend in Indianapolis 18 years ago was, in his own words, a “super huge” weekend for Speed. He was testing for Red Bull at his home race, a week on from his first F1 test in Canada, but his team along with six others would not be racing come Sunday. Fourteen of the cars were using Michelin tyres which had resulted in several tyre failures in practice and qualifying at the final corner, including a heavy shunt for Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher, due to the abrasive nature of the high-speed banked turn. Installing a chicane to reduce speeds was suggested and rejected on the grounds that it would be unfair to the Bridgestone tyre runners – which included Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari team. Unable to take the risk of a serious accident, all Michelin cars did not start the 73-lap race. Schumacher won the six-car race to a chorus of boos in the grandstands. “The penalty if you went off there [turn 13] was just too hot, it was a big shunt,” Speed recalls. “I remember in my meeting with the engineers, they said ‘your tyre was two laps from blowing up as well.’ That was a really surreal feeling and then I had a big feeling of relief. It was very scary knowing I’d have been in the same situation that Ralf [Schumacher] was in.” F1 did race in Indiana again, fulfilling its contract for two more years. But Lewis Hamilton’s win in 2007 was F1’s last venture at a track simply inadequate for both the basics and spectacle of the sport. One of F1’s lowest moments had been the catalyst for a period of nonexistence, with the sport undergoing a four-year period of inactivity across the Atlantic. Brundle closed that Ecclestone episode with one of his most famous lines. Trundling over to speak to the chief’s then-wife Slavica, he asks: “Mrs Ecclestone, this needs a women’s intuition on this don’t you think?” She refuses to comment. “I think you should have something to say,” quips Brundle. “And give him a jolly good slapping.” *** There have been years of ingenuity, dissatisfaction and scandal ever since the United States first hosted a race in Formula 1 in the sport’s inaugural year in 1950. Back then, the Indy 500 was classed as a championship race. In the decades since, Ecclestone and his team of millionaire race-makers had flirted ferociously with the American market – a crowded field of ultra-popular US sports, college competition and their own brand of motorsport with Indy Car and NASCAR. But the first signs of a rebirth after the Indiana farce came just over a decade ago. The composition and creation of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, gave F1 a lifeline in the United States. “They finally got their location right,” Speed tells The Independent. “Austin is a booming demographic, it’s like having a grand prix in New York. You’re in close proximity to a lot of fans and they’ve built a fantastic racetrack. That helps a lot, it’s a really special circuit.” But it was still merely a foothold; hardly the stamp it craved. A proposed race in New York, with the Manhattan skyline and Hudson River in the backdrop, was crafted and discarded. COTA’s attendance of 265,000 at the inaugural race in 2012 dropped consistently to 224,000 by 2015. But Ecclestone’s 40-year stranglehold on the sport was loosening. New suitors showed their hand and Liberty Media – the world’s biggest sports media company – completed an $8billion takeover in January 2017. What followed was a revolutionary revamp of Formula 1, its leaders and, most significantly, its output. Liberty took full control, revitalising the sport’s social media output and relaxing out-of-date restrictions on teams publishing their own content. The immediate target demographic was young people and expanding the audience beyond its traditional European borders. But they still lacked a crown jewel. Enter Netflix and production company Box to Box Films. The US has been ahead of the curve in the department of fly-on-the-wall sports documentaries, with Hard Knocks on HBO and more recently All or Nothing on Amazon Prime proving popular with sports fans stateside. Now, F1 was making their own dive into the arena with Drive to Survive. “Fans have a lot of games to watch live, highlights to see, stories to read – all of that,” says sports media expert Brian Moritz. “But sports fans are typically insatiable in their desire for content, right? There’s never too much. “Going behind the scenes is exciting for fans. And I do think F1 was ahead of the curve in terms of taking a sport that Americans didn’t know or care a ton about and getting them to care. When you haven’t followed a sport your entire life, it can be hard to jump into a sport as an adult. I think Drive to Survive provided an entry point for American fans into the sport.” The growth of the series, year-on-year, has been staggering. Since the show’s first season in 2019, the viewership has increased by more than 350,000. F1’s audience for live races has skyrocketed to above one million per-race. Cards fell favourably too: the Covid pandemic meant more people were stuck at home browsing and streaming online, while the 2021 title battle for the ages between Hamilton and Max Verstappen engaged a wider range of people too. The “Man on Fire” episode in season three – when Romain Grosjean’s car dramatically bursts into flames in Bahrain – is rated the most popular episode, according to IMDB. “F1 has this kind of exotic feel to it,” adds Moritz. “It’s primarily European and with all the money, glitz and glamour… I think that appeals to American viewers. Never underestimate the appeal of fast cars and rich people.” It would be a form of content that became almost a necessity when the professional tennis and golf tours went a similar way earlier this year with their first Netflix shows: Break Point and Full Swing. F1 has shown the path for all sports to draw in more engagement from an American market who, unequivocally, live and breathe for sport – but perhaps absorb the personalities of the stars and the elaborative storylines even more. Never underestimate the appeal of fast cars and rich people.” Drive to Survive’s impact is undeniable. But for Formula 1 and Liberty, there was still more to strive for – and two of the sport’s biggest stars has their sights set on unparalleled glitz and glamour. When asked in Australia in 2017 what their one wish from the sport’s new owners would be, Red Bull’s Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo and Hamilton did not hesitate. “Race in Vegas!” beamed Ricciardo. “Miami, race,” added Hamilton. It was met with laughter among the media assembled. Even the drivers themselves perhaps were speaking more in hope than expectation. But boy how F1 have delivered. Miami was first proposed in 2018 and after tossing and turning over location and logistical plans for a few years, the sport landed on a custom-made street track around the city’s Hard Rock Stadium. It debuted last year and while initial impressions of the circuit and the racing have been mixed at best, it gives F1 a marquee event on the East Coast. And with Austin in the centre of the country now attracting 400,000+ spectators, there was one obvious slot left to fill. *** So to Vegas, where slots are at every turn. F1 has tried and failed in Sin City before, toiling in an ineffective track in the car park of the Caesars Palace hotel for two years in the 1980s. But a race down the iconic Las Vegas Boulevard – the strip – was former F1 CEO Chase Carey’s dream concept when he took over the sport from Ecclestone. Indeed, Carey insisted F1 needed to start arriving in “destination cities.” But while the pandemic delayed plans, it didn’t derail them. F1 has spent $500m on a state-of-the-art pit building, the length of three NFL fields. Cars will zoom around the city’s new $2.3bn MSG Sphere. The sport is expecting to bring in $1.28 billion for the city in year one alone. There has been anger and frustration among locals and tourists in recent months due to construction and road closures but the vision of an unparalleled ambition is now on the cusp of its grand opening. “It will be the biggest race in racing history,” famous American ex-driver Willy T Ribbs said. “The most talked about and the most glamorous. Vegas will be the one which is going to take Formula 1 in this country to a bigger level.” Yet where does F1 in the United States go from here? Like any sport, the spectacle can only do so much when the sport is not at its most enthralling. Verstappen’s two-year supremacy has not aided the product but periods of domination are not uncommon in Formula 1. This weekend’s race for example – in contrast to Saudi Arabia’s debut two years ago – does not have any world title at stake. Other factors can improve F1’s reach in the US further still. A driver capable of challenging at the top, with the only present American driver Logan Sargeant last out of all the current drivers this year, would entrap a significant following. Andretti’s application to join Haas as an American team – decision pending – could have a similar impact. Much like in Brazil, American fans are usually left rooting for seven-time world champion Hamilton, whose ground-breaking impact should not be forgotten as well. Ultimately, the world is their oyster. But more so than a likely upward trajectory, just how far will F1 push in search of further growth in the US? And will it lose its core, its traditionality, in the pursuit of further grandeur? Some may argue that’s already happening. Nonetheless, F1’s expansion in the United States can be decreed as nothing other than a roaring success. The most lucrative sporting market on the planet – in terms of fans and finances – has finally taken to Formula 1. It is now a sport and a product virtually unrecognisable from the shambles of Indiana in 2005. Read More ‘I would not be shocked if King Charles showed up’: Las Vegas opens its doors to F1 F1 2023 season race schedule: When is the Las Vegas Grand Prix? On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion On this day in 2010: Sebastian Vettel becomes youngest ever F1 world champion F1 2023 official calendar: All 23 Grand Prix this year Michael Schumacher fans set for rare insight into F1 legend’s life in new documentary

A ferry carrying traffic across Lake Michigan has suspended trips indefinitely after a mechanical failure of its ramping system