A verified Twitter account related to Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, has caused confusion after the account tweeted that she had a crush on Elon Musk. The account, which has over 90,000 followers, does state it is a parody account, which is required if the user has paid for Twitter Blue and is pretending to be another individual or company, as per Twitter’s rules. However, because the Twitter display name is so long - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (Parody) - sometimes the “parody” can be cut off, especially if the tweet has been quote retweeted. Which makes confusion much more likely. On Monday, the account tweeted: “This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on @elonmusk”. The tweet has over 50,000 likes, and now has a community note letting viewers know that the account is a parody to try and clear up confusion. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The tweet came as a surprise to many who thought it was an official AOC account, seeing as the Congresswoman has publicly criticised Musk on multiple occasions. Musk himself even replied to the tweet with a simple fire emoji. Many didn’t get the joke at first, with a lot of Elon fans/AOC haters seemingly getting annoyed at the fact that AOC would want to date Musk. Others criticised the account’s existence all together, saying that it was rooted in the right’s misogyny and hatred towards AOC: This is not the first time the parody account has gained a lot of attention (and confusion). Previously government officials from Ted Cruz to Laura Loomer have interacted with the account not knowing it was a parody. 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 recently released picture of Joe Biden and Lady Gaga has gone viral over the internet

The singer, however, regrets not being able to fulfill her late husband’s dying wish

Organizers of the Pan American Games say the times of the women's 20 kilometers walk race were annulled due to “a measuring problem.”

By David Randall NEW YORK A potential U.S. government shutdown at the end of September could add to

Carsten 'Bergie' Bergersen will be asked to 'throuple up' in the next episode of 'Love Island USA' Season 5

California's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against a local school district over its new policy requiring parents to be notified when a child tells a teacher they want to be recognized by a different gender identity or pronoun than the one listed on their birth certificate.

Kendall Jenner, 27, has candidly opened up about her fears about having children. In a recent episode of The Kardashians, the model said that while she loves being an auntie, she's "scared" at the thought of having her own. She went on to make a heartbreaking confession to Scott Disick while talking about her dog Pyro. "I swear he [her dog, Pyro] has really bad separation anxiety," she told Disick, Kourtney Kardashian's ex. "I have anxiety and I think he has anxiety. Maybe I’m the problem, maybe he feels my anxiety? I could be the problem. I’ve been really bad lately. It’s one of the reasons why I’m actually scared to have children." Disick went on to acknowledge that while "it is scary," she "can’t not have kids because of it". Speaking about her mental health, Jenner responded: "The scariest part for me is am I just going to get worse throughout life? Because I feel like it’s worse than ever right now." Jenner then opened up about the first time she experienced anxiety at the age of eight when she told her mother Kris Jenner to take her to the hospital. "I thought there was something physically wrong with me," she said. "At that time people didn’t talk about anxiety the way they do now. I never knew that’s what that was until later in life." This isn't the first time the star has opened up about her anxiety struggles. In an interview with Vogue last year, she explained how she winds down with a cup of tea and reading a book or journaling. She added that 15 minutes of meditation helps "settle my anxiety so I can get a good night’s rest". How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel 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.

An entire family including a newborn baby girl and her 12-year-old brother were among seven people killed during intense Russian shelling in a village in southern Kherson on Sunday. Russian shells hit the village of Shiroka Balka, on the banks of the Dnieper River, and killed a family that included a husband, wife, 12-year-old boy and 23-day-old baby girl, Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry said. Another resident was also killed, as well as two men in the neighbouring village of Stanislav. Ukraine’s interior minister Igor Klymenko said the shells hit the family’s home in Shiroka Balka, adding: "Terrorists must be stopped. They must be stopped by force. They don't understand anything else." A photo shared by Mr Klymenko on Telegram showed plumes of smoke rising from the family's home in the aftermath of the attack. Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year. But the Ukrainian forces are said to be making gains against the Russian invaders. Ukrainian military officials this weekend claimed that Kyiv's forces had made progress in the south, with some success near a key village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and capturing other unspecified territories. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s forces are trying to pierce Russian lines in the western parts of the Donetsk region, where waves of Ukrainian fighters were used to gain a foothold to the east of the town of Staromaiorske, according to a Russian-installed official in parts of Zaporizhzhia controlled by Moscow. The official, Vladimir Rogov, also claimed there had been intense fighting south of Velyka Novosilka as Ukrainian troops try to pierce Russian lines to push down to the coast on the Sea of Azov. Mr Rogov said: "The enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest battles for this settlement." He added that Russian soldiers still controlled the southern part of Urozhaine and that Ukrainian forces were clearly aiming to take control of the town of Staromlynivka further south. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June, attempting to retake swathes of territory captured by Russia in the south and east of the country. It has so far recaptured several villages in the south and some territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east. Meanwhile, a Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards. This is the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month. Russia in July halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea and Moscow cautioned that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons. Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. Russia said the vessel was making its way towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail. Refinitiv shipping data showed the ship was currently near the coast of Bulgaria and heading towards the Romanian port of Sulina. "To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministry said, adding that its forces boarded the vessel with the help of a Ka-29 helicopter. "After the inspection group completed its work on board, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail," the defence ministry said. A Turkish defence ministry official said he had heard an incident had taken place involving a ship heading for Romania. A spokesman for Ukraine's defence ministry said officials had no details about the incident yet but that it was "clearly another hostile act" by Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff claimed that panic is growing among the Russian forces amid a growing number of desertions, the Kyiv Post reported. It claimed Moscow military officials conducting house-to-house searches for deserters in Hornostaivka in the Kherson region. Drinking and drug use among newly-conscripted troops has also increased with individuals leaving their positions and hiding in abandoned buildings, it said. Read More Russia fires warning shots at ‘Ukraine-bound’ international cargo ship in Black Sea 7 killed in Ukraine's Kherson region, including a 23-day-old baby girl Yes, inflation is down. No, the Inflation Reduction Act doesn't deserve the credit The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Former president Donald Trump spoke at two Republican state conventions on Saturday in Georgia and North Carolina, just one day after he was indicted for keeping highly-classified information at his Florida home, Mar-a-Lago. The 49-page, 38-count indictment was unsealed on Friday after Mr Trump released a series of social media posts revealing that he has been indicted by a grand jury under the supervision of Special Counsel Jack Smith. The indictment details the charges against Mr Trump and Walt Nauta, a former US Navy noncommissioned officer who left government service to work for Mr Trump after his term ended in January 2021. The former president has fumed online about the charges and lashed out at Mr Smith calling him a “deranged lunatic”. The special counsel for his part gave a brief explanation of the sweeping indictment and reiterated that in America, the law applies to everyone. Mr Trump repeated his attacks on Mr Smith onstage in Georgia before flying up to his second event. On the flight, he told Politico he would not quit the 2024 primary race even if convicted. Read More What is an indictment? Here’s what Donald Trump is facing Trump indicted in classified documents case in a historic first for a former president Conspiracy, false statements and retaining national defence documents: The federal charges against Donald Trump Trump has been caught on tape. Congratulations, Donald – you played yourself Trump lashes out at ‘deranged lunatic’ and ‘psycho’ Jack Smith as startling secret papers charges revealed

Spain face Sweden in the first Women’s World Cup semi-final as both nations go in search of their first tournament crown. Sweden produced their best performance of the World Cup to defeat Japan 2-1 in the quarter-finals, knocking out the team of the tournament with a display of high-tempo pressing while continuing to take their chances at set-pieces. Centre-back Amanda Ilestedt is Sweden’s top-scorer with four goals so far, with the defender in the race for the World Cup golden boot. Spain required Salma Paralluelo’s extra-time goal to defeat Netherlands and have navigated a player mutiny under head coach Jorge Vilda to reach their first ever World Cup semi-final. Despite uncertainty off the field, Spain have shone on it, led by Barcelona stars Aitana Bonmati and the returning Alexia Putellas. The winner will play either England or Australia in Sunday’s World Cup final. Follow live updates from Spain vs Sweden as the semi-finals get underway, and get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today The Lionesses will need to beat an entire nation in the grip of World Cup fever Women’s World Cup golden boot: Who’s leading the top-scorer standings?

Over the past week alone, two political outsiders have taken steps to launch independent or third-party presidential bids