The Minnesota Vikings have agreed to terms on a contract extension with tight end T

By Nancy Lapid The American Medical Association (AMA) on Wednesday said it will advise doctors to pay less

Italian special forces have secured control of a Turkish cargo ship that was attacked by armed stowaways off the coast of Naples on Friday, 9 June. Twenty-two crew members were aboard the ship, named Galeta Seaways, that was on its way to France when “unidentified people” were detected on board. Defense minister Guido Crosetto said special forces lowered themselves onto the Turkish ship from two helicopters to free crew held by around 15 stowaways, two or three armed with sharp objects. Mr Crosetto confirmed in a tweet that the ship’s hijackers were captured.

HAMAMATSU, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 23, 2023--

Toni Kroos has lashed out at Al-Ahli's move to bring Celta Vigo's Gabri Veiga from La Liga to Saudi Arabia. Al-Ahli have reached a £30 million agreement to sign the midfielder who was linked with moves to both Liverpool and Napoli earlier this summer after blowing away the Spanish league last season. In a response to a Fabrizio Romano transfer tweet announcing the incoming move, Real Madrid's Kroos decided to label the move as 'embarrassing', heaping more criticism on stars who are opting for the alternative riches of the Saudi Pro League instead of the usual expectation of trading between European club-after-club. Al-Ahli have been hefty 'antagonists' in the transfer war between European teams and Saudi Arabia clubs, signing handfuls of players in eyebrow-raising from top-flight teams. Veiga will join Edouard Mendy, Franck Kessie, Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin and former Liverpool man Roberto Firmino. Other stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, N-Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson and Neymar have also joined big-spending clubs in the region. It's clear what Kroos thinks of the young midfielder joining them at 21 years of age. As for Veiga, he'll enjoy a meteoric upgrade in lifestyle after scoring 11 goals in 28 games. The transfer window will draw to a close for European teams shortly, but there will be an entire month for Saudi sides packed by the state's Public Investment Fund to pinch top talent - and there will certainly be more criticism heading their way for that. Sign up to 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.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, a time when many Americans gather together to eat turkey and talk about what they’re most thankful for. Growing up in the United States, almost everyone can recall the “First Thanksgiving” story they were told in elementary school: how the local Wampanoag Native Americans sat down with the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in 1621, in what is now present-day Massachusetts, for a celebratory feast. However, this story is far from the truth - which is why many people opt out of celebrating the controversial holiday. For many Indigenous communities throughout the US, Thanksgiving remains a national day of mourning - a reminder of the devastating genocide and displacement that occurred at the hands of European colonisers following their arrival in the Americas. Every year since 1970, Indigenous people and their allies have even gathered near Plymouth Rock to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the day of Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the theft of Native lands, and the erasure of Native cultures,” states the official website for the United American Indians of New England. “Participants in National Day of Mourning honour Indigenous ancestors and Native resilience. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection, as well as a protest against the racism and oppression that Indigenous people continue to experience worldwide.” This year, the 54th annual National Day of Mourning takes place on 23 November - the same day as Thanksgiving. While not everyone can support the event in person, there are still many ways people can raise awareness toward issues affecting Indigenous communities from wherever they are - by “decolonising” their Thanksgiving dinner. Decolonisation can be defined as the active resistance against settler colonialism and a shifting of power towards Indigenous sovereignty. Of course, it’s difficult to define decolonisation without putting it into practice, writes Eve Tuck and K Wayne Yang in their essay, Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor. Rather, one of the most radical and necessary moves toward decolonisation requires imagining and enacting a future for Indigenous peoples - a future based on terms of their own making. Matt Hooley is an assistant professor in the department of Native American and Indigenous Studies at Dartmouth College, where he teaches about US colonial powers and Indigenous cultural production. “Decolonisation is a beautiful and difficult political horizon that should guide our actions everyday, including during holidays like Thanksgiving,” he tells The Independent. “Of course, Thanksgiving is a particularly relevant holiday to think about decolonisation because the way many people celebrate it involves connecting ‘the family’ to a colonial myth in which colonialism is inaccurately imagined as a peaceful event in the past.” By decolonising our Thanksgiving, we can celebrate the holiday with new traditions that honour a future in which Indigenous people are celebrated. This year, we can start by understanding the real history behind Thanksgiving as told by actual Indigenous communities. While Americans mainly dedicate one day a year to give thanks, Indigenous communities express gratitude every day with the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address - often called: “The words that come before all else.” The Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address is the central prayer and invocation for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which comprises the Six Nations - Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora. When one recites the Thanksgiving Address, they’re giving thanks for all life and the natural world around them. According to Hooley, one of the most straightforward actions people can take to decolonise their Thanksgiving includes supporting Indigenous land acknowledgments and land back movements. Land back is an ongoing Indigenous-led movement which seeks to return ancestral lands to Indigenous people and the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. While the movement is nowhere near new, it received international attention in 2016 during protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline - which continues to disrupt land and water sources belonging to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. This year, sit down with family and friends to discuss an action plan and highlight the concrete steps you plan on taking to support Indigenous communities. “Another, even simpler way would be to begin participating in what’s called a ‘Voluntary Land Tax,’ whereby non-Indigenous people contribute a recurring tax to the tribal communities whose land you occupy,” said Hooley. Food is perhaps the most important part of the Thanksgiving holiday, with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes taking center stage. However, there are many ways we can make sure our dinner tables honour Indigenous futurisms too. Donald A Grinde, Jr is a professor emeritus in the department of Africana and American Studies at the University at Buffalo. Grinde - who is a member of the Yamassee Nation - tells The Independent that crops such as corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, and potatoes are central to Indigenous history and future. “A good thing is to be thankful for the abundance in the fall and note that Native people created over 60 per cent of modern agricultural crops,” he said. “People can be thankful for the crops that Native people created, medicines created, and traditions about democracy, women’s rights and environmental rights.” Rather than buying food from major corporations this year, Hooly also recommended people consciously source their Thanksgiving dinner from Indigenous producers. “Industrial agriculture is one of the most devastating contributors to the destruction of land and water everywhere, including on Indigenous land,” he said. “Instead of buying food grown or made by colonial corporations, people could buy their food from Indigenous producers, or even simply make a greater effort to buy locally grown food or not to buy meat harvested from industrial farms.” Thanksgiving is just a day away. While it’s important that we’re actively working toward highlighting Indigenous communities on this special holiday, decolonisation efforts are something that should be done year-round. “People can also learn about political priorities of the Indigenous communities near them and support those priorities by speaking to their representatives, participating in a protest, or by making sure that their local school and library boards are including Indigenous texts in local community education,” Hooley said. Read More I made an air fryer Thanksgiving dinner so you don’t have to From turkey sandwiches to casseroles: What to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers Slandering mayonnaise doesn’t make you a foodie – it makes you boring I made an air fryer Thanksgiving dinner so you don’t have to From turkey sandwiches to casseroles: What to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers Slandering mayonnaise doesn’t make you a foodie – it makes you boring

Park rangers at Katmai National Park and Preserve spotted an unusually frail bear this summer.

A man has questioned whether he was in the wrong for refusing to move from his seat at the cinema to allow a mother to sit next to her young daughter to watch Barbie together. In a post to Reddit's "Am I the A**hole?" forum, the man outlined the situation and wanted to see if other people agreed with his actions or not. Like many people recently, the man went to the cinema with his girlfriend to go watch the Barbie movie after purchasing their tickets a few days in advance. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The couple ensured they got seats next to each other which were located in the middle row, however things didn't go exactly to plan upon arrival. "When we got into the theater a woman and her daughter were in our seats. I’m not sure how old the daughter was but she looked about 5 or 6," he wrote. "I let the woman know that they were our seats and I even showed her the tickets. She said when she purchased her tickets they only had two seats available, one in the front row and another in the far back He continued: "She said she wanted to sit next to her daughter and she didn’t want her sitting that far away from her so she asked if my girlfriend and I could swap seats." In response, the man told the mother that it "wasn't [his] problem and [he] paid for those seats," and added how he "politely asked" her to move from their chair. "The woman said she understood I paid for the seats but I didn’t have to be rude and inconsiderate." Another cinemagoer overheard the conversation and offered to swap seats with the mother and daughter. "As we were leaving the theater my girlfriend said she felt bad for the woman and giving up our seats would’ve been the right thing to do and I was being a bit inconsiderate." "At first I didn’t think I did anything wrong, I paid for those seats and the woman purchased the tickets knowing she wouldn’t be able to sit with her daughter." The man concluded: "Now I’m starting to feel a little bad because of what my girlfriend and the woman said. AITA?" Since sharing his situation, everyone appears to have sided with the man and so believes he's not the a**hole because he had booked the tickets in advance and believes the mother should have done the same if she wanted to sit next to her daughter. One person said: "NTA the woman should have chosen a different movie time instead of assuming people would move for her. She was being inconsiderate to her own daughter in the situation no one would move." "NTA. The woman purchased the two tickets far apart," another person said. "It was her decision, and it was a bad one, as her child is too small to send off to sit by herself." Someone else added: "NTA. Poor planning on their part does not constitute an emergency on your part." "They could have planned better or chosen a showing at a different time. You were not required to switch seats. Not sure I'd want to if I went to a movie with my SO as I'd want to watch with them." "NTA. I am a parent. If I can’t find seats together, I don’t buy the tickets. This applies to plane tickets, movie tickets, live theater tickets," a fourth person commented. "Her lack of planning should not be your problem." 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.

A recession is coming, and ESG investors may be among those who stand to lose the most. That’s

Fans of the actress Jenna Ortega have been left upset after footage emerged that appeared to show her smoking. The 20-year-old is well-known for her role portraying gothic teen Wednesday in the Netflix series of the same name, gaining a large and passionate fanbase online. But, some of her fans were left saddened when a video began circulating online showing Ortega smoking a cigarette, sparking a debate among Twitter users. The clip was shared by @wstgoat7 and appeared to show Ortega leaning against a wall and smoking while in conversation with someone. She had her hair tied back and sunglasses on her head while also clutching a handbag. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter It has been viewed almost 30 million times and ignited some strong feelings among her fans, many of whom have grown up with the former child actress on their screens in shows such as the Disney Channel’s Stuck in the Middle. One disappointed person replied to the video: “Yeah she’s off the roster.” Another said: “Major turn off.” But, others were more concerned by the fact that people were so shocked and concerned that a grown adult woman was doing something totally legal. Someone urged: “Stop infantilizing Jenna, anyways is that the Miu Miu Nappa leather pocket bag? She has good taste.” “Twitter users when their fav actor, who is an adult, does an adult thing,” pointed out someone else. For others, the Ortega smoking discourse reminded them of the moment One Direction fans discovered band member Zayn Malik smoked and launched a campaign in 2012 to urge him to quit. Amid the Ortega controversy, fans urged others not to put public figures and celebrities on a pedestal that they never asked to be on. 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.

The use of technology in football has been on the increase over the past few years but none seems to create as much heated debate and questioning as that of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). By and large, it is felt that minor and visible calls are improved across the course of the season with on-pitch referees getting extra help. However, there have been several high-profile incidents of late that have led to clubs, or personnel within them, complaining about the eventual decision or decision-making process, with the most recent coming in the Champions League. Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag felt aggrieved that a number of calls went against them in their 4-3 defeat to FC Copenhagen, including a decision to send off Marcus Rashford for serious foul play. Here’s everything on VAR you need to know, including the latest causes for complaint against it. What has gone wrong? Most recently, Man United complained about Rashford’s red card, given out for stepping across and onto the foot and shin of an opponent in a Champions League encounter. Ten Hag insisted his side had seen three “very debatable” penalties go against them in four games and called his forward’s sending off “very harsh”. In domestic football, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta complained over “unacceptable” errors from on-pitch and VAR officials as his team lost to Newcastle, while Wolves boss Gary O’Neil labelled a penalty decision given against his team and upheld by VAR as “scandalous” - also against Newcastle. Ange Postecoglou suggested recently that clubs have to shoulder part of the blame for long stoppages for VAR, saying: “Some of it is self inflicted because if we come out every week complaining about decisions that is what will happen, every decision gets forensically checked and we will be sitting around for a long time in every game trying to figure out what is going on.” However, it must be noted that the vast majority of these are subjective opinions and where Arteta sees fault, another manager, supporter or, indeed, official may see justification in decision. One incident which was not subjective, but instead a quite clear mistake, came with Luis Diaz’s goal for Liverpool against Tottenham being ruled out for offside and then allowed to stay disallowed, despite the VAR officials running their processes and showing the forward was onside. The “significant human error” came as a result of the official, Darren England, appearing to forget that offside rather than a goal had been awarded in the first place. To another extreme, Millie Bright criticised the fact there was no VAR in the first edition of the Women’s Nations League, after a clearly offside goal was allowed to stand against England which would have been simple to rule out. Further clear VAR errors which PGMOL have had to apologise for include no penalty being awarded to Wolves against Man United after Andre Onana clattered Sasa Kalajdzic, a Brentford goal against Arsenal not being checked properly with no offside lines drawn and a West Ham late equaliser being ruled out for a foul, where none was apparent. What has gone right? In truth, a lot. It’s overlooked when three or four calls are spot-on, when one causes serious complaint or at least is a subjective call which a majority seem to disagree with. As an example, in the incident-packed Tottenham vs Chelsea fixture, several goals were correctly ruled out for offside through use - or checking - of VAR and the penalty awarded which saw Cristian Romero sent off was also a result of VAR intervention. Generally speaking, these calls that are widely accepted as correct do not get highlighted, partially because the technology exists for that very reason: it’s expected to help officials make the right calls with a second look. That doesn’t mean they don’t occur, though. The Premier League reported that 82 per cent of decisions were correct in the season before VAR was introduced, rising to 94 per cent being correct in 2019/20. What is the process for VAR checks? From the Premier League website: VAR will be used only for “clear and obvious errors” or “serious missed incidents” in four match-changing situations: goals; penalty decisions; direct red-card incidents; and mistaken identity. When any of those match situations occur or potentially occur, VAR is constantly rewatching and monitoring match footage from the hub at Stockley Park. If there is a decision to be made, the VAR or Assistant VAR (AVAR) will relay to the referee that play should be halted while checks are made, before recommending either an overturn, a pitchside check of the monitor for the ref or a continuation of play with the on-pitch original decision. The video officials have until the ball goes dead to inform the referee that a check is underway if play is already ongoing. The referee can then either check the monitor or accept the VAR recommendation. Upon reviewing the pitchside monitor, they may then stick with their own initial assessment or overturn the original, before communicating their new decision to the crowd. What have PGMOL said? The refereeing chief of Professional Game Match Officials Limited, Howard Webb, took over the role last year to improve the standard of officiating in the English game and to help oversee a smoother use of technology. PGMOL confirmed to the League Managers’ Association “they are actively looking at how best to incorporate VARs into match-day refereeing teams, to ensure the dynamic between on-field referee and VAR is conducive to producing positive outcomes.” After the Diaz incident, the organisation “acknowledge[d] a significant human error occurred” and brought in additional processes to ensure no repeat happened. They also released the audio of that incident, an “unusual step” according to Webb, “to show everybody what was very quickly pretty apparent to us, a human error and loss of concentration.” Webb has suggested the pool of VAR-specific officials will be increased but Lee Mason presents a cautionary tale. The former referee was appointed a full-time VAR for 2022/23, but departed the role last season after the aforementioned error over Brentford’s goal against Arsenal. Mason, who had already been stood down from the officiating list that campaign previously for wrongly disallowing a Newcastle goal, was labelled a “serial offender” by ex-PGMOL boss Keith Hackett - however, at the start of the current campaign, Mason was re-hired as a referees’ coach for the lower leagues. It is not thought he has ongoing work with VAR but that has not been confirmed by PGMOL, nor why his credentials are suited to guiding less-experienced officials despite having been removed from his post already. Read More What is VAR, how does it work and what are the biggest problems? Mikel Arteta: ‘I’m completely with referees’ Mauricio Pochettino learned lessons from famous battle to mature as manager Unai Emery acknowledges good fortune opened the door for Villa’s victory ‘Great result’ cheers David Moyes as West Ham have another good European night Liverpool angered by VAR as Jarell Quansah goal ruled out in Europa League defeat

TOKYO Toyota Motor said it will introduce battery electric vehicles (EVs) employing next-generation batteries globally from 2026, developed