Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz topped a rain-hit practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix. With persistent rain falling at Spa-Francorchamps, not one driver completed more than eight laps. Sainz headed the timing charts, half-a-second clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri with team-mate Lando Norris third. Max Verstappen, who is set to serve a five-place grid penalty following a gearbox change, was among five of the 20-strong field who did not complete a timed lap. Qualifying is due to take place at 5pm local time (4pm BST), but the running is under threat given the bad weather and poor visibility generated by the spray in the Ardennes. Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, said their priority is to ensure qualifying for Sunday’s main event takes place with other sessions throughout the weekend – including Saturday’s sprint schedule – likely to be sacrificed. Heavy rain is expected to continue on Friday, and into Saturday with conditions forecast to improve on Sunday. One option is to move qualifying to Sunday morning, as the FIA did in Japan in 2019 when Typhoon Hagibis struck. If qualifying can not take place, the FIA confirmed the grid for Sunday’s main event will be set by championship order. Conditions worsened through Friday’s one-hour session with Logan Sargeant crashing out at the midway stage. The Williams rookie lost control of his car under braking for Les Combes, heading straight into the barrier. The American was unharmed in the accident but the red flags were deployed to recover his stricken machine. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu also grazed the barrier after he ran through the gravel. The FIA’s decision whether or not to run in the wet conditions will be heightened following the death of 18-year-old Dilano Van ‘t Hoff at Spa-Francorchamps earlier this month. The Dutch teenager was killed after a crash in a rain-hit Formula Regional European Championship (FRECA) race on July 1. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How Max Verstappen and record-breaking Red Bull compare to Formula One greats I held my breath – Lewis Hamilton enjoys ‘extraordinary’ run to pole in Budapest Max Verstappen gives hope to rivals after coming 11th in Hungarian GP practice

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 1, 2023--

Air Canada reported a smaller adjusted quarterly loss on Friday, as Canada's largest airline benefited from resilient travel

Sam Brown, a retired Army captain who was severely burned by the explosion of a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, announced his plans to enter Nevada's Republican primary Monday to take on Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen next fall.

Only 37% of eligible American citizens voted in all three of the most recent national general elections, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center -- even though those elections saw some of the highest turnout in decades. The analysis, which tracked individual Americans' voting decisions over the past six years, highlights both the limited share of the public that consistently votes, and the degree to which the fluctuations in turnout can alter the electoral landscape. The findings, taken in conjunction with other, sometimes-conflicting sources of election data, help to draw a more detailed profile of the 2022 electorate.

By Nandita Bose and Steve Holland WASHINGTON The White House on Friday said President Joe Biden and fellow

'He was so hard and so tough on us that my brother and I’s imaginations really started to flare up,' said Jake Paul

A new species of snake has been named after Harrison Ford - and the actor has shared his amusing response to this news. The name of the snake species found in Peru has been named Tachymenoides harrisonfordi to pay tribute to the 81-year-old Hollywood legend for his environmental and conservation work. In May last year, the discovery was made of the snake which is 16 inches long and has yellow-brown colours with black spots on top and black on its stomach underneath. Ford is well-known for his starring role as archaeological professor Indiana Jones, who famously said: “Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?” It's not the first time Ford has had a species named after him, there is the Calponia harrisonfordi spider and the Pheidole harrisonfordi ant. Since finding out he can now add a snake species to the list, the Star Wars actor provided a hilarious reaction but also described the honour as "humbling". "These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it's always the ones that terrify children," Ford told Conservation International, a non-profit where he is vice chair. "I don't understand. I spend my free time cross-stitching. "I sing lullabies to my basil plants, so they won't fear the night." “The snake’s got eyes you can drown in, and he spends most of the day sunning himself by a pool of dirty water – we probably would’ve been friends in the early 60s,” he said. “In all seriousness,” Ford continued. “This discovery is humbling. It’s a reminder that there’s still so much to learn about our wild world – and that humans are one small part of an impossibly vast biosphere.” Neil Cox, manager of the Conservation International-IUCN Biodiversity Assessment noted how "important" snakes are within our ecosystem. “Most people likely don’t find snakes as cute as a fluffy panda cub, but their role in the world’s ecosystems is just as important,” he said. “This discovery helps us better understand how snake species exist and survive in the world, and I hope that its fun name will help draw attention to the threat of extinction facing reptiles globally.” 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.

Google says it’s rolling out its AI-powered chatbot Bard across Europe and in Brazil, expanding its availability to hundreds of millions more users

Nolan Arenado’s streak of consecutive Gold Gloves has ended at 10

WUHAN, China--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 23, 2023--

Three generations of Lynda Jackson's family have worked in Detroit's auto plants, and three generations have been union members.