Jamica Love, the first chief diversity officer at the Virginia Military Institute, has resigned, the college's superintendent announced on Thursday.

A group of advocates is calling out New Mexico’s Democratic governor for disbanding a task force that crafted recommendations to address the high rate of killings and missing person cases in Native American communities

Hong Kong police on Sunday detained more than 20 people, including key pro-democracy figures trying to commemorate the anniversary of the bloody Tiananmen Square crackdown, as hundreds in Taiwan...

With the tragedy and horror wreaked in Morocco last week, it's unsurprising that people’s focus hasn’t been on the skies. And yet, Friday’s devastating earthquake, has also sparked renewed interest in a mysterious aerial phenomenon. Footage shared to social media just moments before the 6.8-magnitude tremor struck the High Atlas mountains appears to show blinding lights flashing across the sky. Experts have suggested that the jaw-dropping sight is evidence of an enigmatic natural occurrence called “earthquake lights”. Reports of these bright flashes go back centuries. And yet, very little is known about them, to the point that scientists aren’t even sure they’re real. Indeed, some experts have concluded that there isn’t sufficient proof to support their existence, the United States Geological Survey notes. Nevertheless, “people have wondered about them forever," Karen Daniels, a physicist at North Carolina State University, told the New York Times. "It's one of those persistent mysteries that hang around and never quite get nailed." The issue with studying earthquake lights is that since earthquakes are impossible to predict, so are any preceding celestial pyrotechnics. Not knowing when or where they will occur means researchers can’t preemptively install the necessary equipment needed to detect them. Essentially, the only evidence we have comes from eyewitness accounts and, more recently, video recordings. And there is an abundance of the former, with a 2014 study noting that aerial luminous phenomena were reported in relation to 65 earthquakes which occurred in Europe and America over a period of 200 years. These descriptions of earthquake lights vary in their details, with some recalling on-and-of lightning-style flashes, and others minutes-long glows of different colours. “All of these have been reported by observers,” John Ebel, a seismologist at Boston Collegel told the NYT. “Which ones are actually true, and which ones are products of their imagination, we can’t really say.” One theory behind the formation of earthquake lights is that they are the result of friction between tectonic plates generating electricity. However, most experts are unconvinced by this hypothesis, including Dr Daniels. She told the NYT: “Rock on rock is not a situation where people have been able to generate large charge separation. And so it just doesn’t seem like a very good explanation for what people see.” Other scientists have suggested electrical arcing from power lines shaken by earthquakes could be responsible for the sky flares. But Dr Daniels acknowledged it’s still possible that there’s no link at all between the lights and tectonic events. “We’re comforted by things that we can understand, and we’re scared by things we don’t,” she pointed out. “I think that’s part of the reason we’re so fascinated by this phenomenon.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Joel Embiid had 35 points and 15 rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey added 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 126-98 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night

New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán, who was on top of the baseball world after throwing a perfect game in June, has voluntarily agreed to enter inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse and was placed on the MLB's restricted list, the team announced Wednesday.

In an interview break, contestant Bryan White shared a hilarious anecdote about a contest that he once won on a cruise

By David Milliken and Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's economy is so far proving resilient to a surge in interest

F1 heads to the US again for the highly-anticipated Las Vegas Grand Prix on the world-famous strip and the penultimate race of the 2023 season. Max Verstappen won his 17th grand prix of a sensational season last time out in Brazil, with Lando Norris claiming second place once again and Fernando Alonso clinching third spot ahead of Sergio Perez after a tremendous late battle in Interlagos. Mercedes endured a torrid weekend to forget in Sao Paulo, while Charles Leclerc was forced to retire before the race even began due to a mechanical issue with his Ferrari car. F1 now returns to Vegas for the first time in 41 years for a 50-lap race around the picturesque 3.8 mile, 17-turn circuit. The race has a 10-year contract and will take place under the lights on Saturday night in Sin City. There will also be a unique opening ceremony tonight. Follow live updates from the Las Vegas Grand Prix with The Independent Read More How Formula 1 cracked America Lewis Hamilton makes F1 ‘circus’ plea after backlash from Las Vegas locals ‘I would not be shocked if King Charles showed up’: Las Vegas opens its doors to Formula One

Chelsea secured back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since March after coming from behind to thrash Burnley 4-1 on Saturday. Looking to end a run of four successive home defeats on their return to the top flight this season, promoted Burnley raced into a 15th-minute lead, Wilson Odobert scoring his first goal in English football to stun the visitors. Chelsea offered little in response until Ameen Al Dakhil put through his own net in the most unfortunate circumstances three minutes before the break to get Mauricio Pochettino’s team back level. The visitors completed the turnaround early in the second half, Cole Palmer converting from the spot after Raheem Sterling had been fouled in the penalty area. A fine Sterling goal and a fourth from substitute Nicolas Jackson put the game beyond the hosts, lifting Chelsea to ninth in the standings, with Burnley remaining in the relegation zone with only one win this season.

Japan’s finance minister issued his second salvo of warnings to players in foreign-exchange markets in a day after

Ineos star Tom Pidcock was weighing up his Tour de France tactics Monday as the riders took a well-earned rest...