American performances at the swimming world championships have been eclipsed by an Australian gold rush but backstroker Justin Ress said Saturday there was no...

By Nandita Bose WASHINGTON President Joe Biden's re-election campaign enlisted former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday

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Most of Reddit has now gone “dark” in protest against the management of the online forum. The controversy began when Reddit announced that it would start charging for access to its API, the technology that allows other developers access to its data. Some of those developers immediately announced that the pricing was so high that it would make their apps unsustainable – and one, widely-respected client Apollo, has since said it will have to shut down. That set off outrage across Reddit. While that initially focused on the decision to start charging for access to its data, it has since grown, with many users suggesting that they are generally dissatisfied with the way the site is being managed. What has happened to Reddit? On June 12, many of the world’s biggest subreddits went “dark”. That meant setting their privacy settings to private, so that only anyone who is already a member can see them. For anyone who tries to visit those forums and is not a member – which includes most of those on Reddit, including many of its biggest – they will see a message that it has gone private and is therefore not available. In a widely circulated message explaining the outage, users explained that it was intended as a protest. Some will return on 14 June, after 48 hours of darkness, it says, but others might opt to never come back again if the problem is not addressed. That is because “many moderators aren’t able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app” the message reads. “This isn’t something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.” Why did Reddit change its policy? All of this began because Reddit announced that it would start charging for access to its API. Many of its users – including Christian Selig, the developer of the Apollo app that is at the centre of much of the controversy – say that this is reasonable. Reddit’s data is used by sites such as Google and to train artificial intelligence systems, for instance. And at the moment, Reddit is not paid for that usage, despite the fact that it costs the company (which is not profitable) to host that data. But it was the pricing and the way it was rolled out that caused such controversy. Mr Selig said that the pricing would cost his app $2 million per month, which is much more than storing the user data is thought to cost Reddit, and he and others were given only 30 days to respond. Which Reddit forums are part of the blackout? Almost all of them. The latest numbers suggest that 7259, out of 7806, of the site’s subreddits are currently unavailable to the public. Of the seven subreddits that have more than 30 million subscribers, all but one – r/pics – have been made private. A full, live list that shows both the subreddits that are down and the overall impact of the protest can be found on this tracking page. How can this happen? Reddit is unusual among social networks in that it depends heavily on its users, who administer the forums and moderate the content that appear on them. That saves it a lot of money – Meta, for instance, spends vast sums on ensuring that problematic content does not appear on Facebook and Instagram – and means that those users feel as if they should be listened to when it comes to such issues. It also means that they are able to take decisions that the management of Reddit might not like them to, including turning those subreddits private. Some 30,000 moderators are thought to be running the subreddits that are involved in the protest, and working together has given them considerable power to grind the site to a halt. Read More Reddit is in chaos – and it’s CEO has finally responded Reddit’s blackout protest is set to continue indefinitely Reddit down amid major protest Popular Reddit app Apollo shuts down as site’s users revolt against it Millions of Reddit users face a blackout over pricing revolt Scientists reveal the ‘violent, catastrophic’ origin of Geminids meteor shower

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The Oakland Athletics have been a disgrace to Major League Baseball this season, sitting at 10-38 ahead of their four-game series with the Seattle Mariners, who have also been disappointing so far in 2023.A season removed from an ALDS appearance, the Mariners are in fourth place in the AL West w...

So far, so good with Dansby Swanson and the Cubs. The star shortstop is proving Chicago right for making a major investment in his future.Yes, Alex Anthopoulos saved a lot of money by letting Dansby Swanson walk. However, Swanson looks like a legitimate star with the Cubs, and that could make Br...

By Philip Pullella and Catarina Demony LISBON (Reuters) -Pope Francis closed an international festival of Catholic youth on Sunday with

Scientists have resurrected a parasite which has been dormant in the frozen permafrost of Siberia for 46,000 years. The microscopic creatures were first uncovered as part of a remarkable discovery back in 2018. At the time, researchers led by Anastasia Shatilovich found two of the worms in sub-zero temperatures in the soil. At first, it was previously thought that the creatures could stay in their slumber for just 40 years. However, it was later revealed that they could stay inactive for tens of thousands of years. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The creatures tend to shut down their systems when they are in unfavourable conditions. This means they won’t move or reproduce, and their metabolism stops. Carbon analysis has revealed that the worms – also known as nematodes – came from a prehistoric era. The developments could change the way experts approach bringing back other extinct species, too. During an analysis, the research team discovered the worms were Panagrolaimus kolymaensis - a species that was previously thought to be extinct. The scientists wrote in their paper: “Previously, we had shown that nematodes from the Siberian permafrost with morphologies consistent with the genera Panagrolaimus and Plectus could be reanimated thousands of years after they had been frozen. “Several viable nematode individuals were found in two of the more than 300 studied samples of permafrost deposits spanning different ages and genesis.” It’s not the only thing that scientists have recovered from permafrost, either. It was announced earlier this year that scientists are busy working on reviving 'zombie viruses’ that have been lying dormant for tens of thousands of years in Arctic conditions, and while it sounds absolutely terrifying, it could be important when it comes to protecting us all in the future. 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.

By Blake Brittain (Reuters) -British biopharmaceutical giant GSK sued Pfizer in a U.S. court on Wednesday, alleging that Pfizer's respiratory

Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to comply with a voter ID requirement mandated by voters in November

It was a eulogy from Pep Guardiola about a midfielder. He reflected on the excellence he can show when in a deeper role and celebrated his goalscoring exploits. He said how keen he is to keep him and that the club hierarchy know that. He was hailing Ilkay Gundogan, understandably after a tour de force. Just as predictably, Kalvin Phillips was not the object of his affection. The German’s afternoon at Goodison Park brought two goals. The Englishman’s brought two minutes of football. One could be bound for Barcelona on a free transfer in a couple of months. The other still has five years left on his Manchester City contract. Perhaps, when Gundogan plays as majestically as he has against Leeds and Everton, it is unfair to compare anyone to him. Yet in effect, Guardiola had to when Rodri sat out the games against Sheffield United and Leeds; on each occasion, he opted for Gundogan to anchor the midfield. Phillips was supposed to be the specialist defensive midfielder. Instead, he is the specialist substitute. Rodri is the most overworked member of City’s squad, with 4104 minutes under his belt. It is in part because Phillips has been trusted with just 407. Some 55 games into City’s season, Phillips has started just two: against a Bristol City team in the Championship and a Southampton side bound for that division. Guardiola’s side lost at St Mary’s, in their worst performance of the season, in the Carabao Cup. A bit-part role is not explained purely by a shoulder injury in autumn. City have scored 92 league goals, but none with Phillips on the pitch; indeed, they have a negative goal difference during his outings. Leicester scored one, and came close to getting three, after Phillips’ introduction a month ago; the midfielder described his own performance as “a bit of a stinker”. Since then, votes of no confidence have come from Guardiola, with cameos that have begun so late that nothing could go wrong: he came on injury time against West Ham, with a three-goal lead, slightly earlier at Goodison, and with the same scoreline. Scan Phillips’ season and Guardiola often brings him on so late he is destined to be the no-impact substitute: he was also introduced in injury time against Borussia Dortmund. He got one minute against West Ham in August, three against Arsenal in February, four against Chelsea in January, nine at Southampton, 12 against Sevilla, 13 at Wolves. A total of 17 appearances feels deceptive; even then, 161 of his minutes have come in the FA Cup. He may be having the worst treble-winning season ever, remembered in part for Guardiola branding him overweight after the World Cup. And if many could envy the medal collection he may soon have, Phillips in a better state could be the endearing success story – the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ who was transformed by Guardiola’s hero Marcelo Bielsa, integral for England on their run to the final of Euro 2020. Now he seems an afterthought, City’s third-choice defensive midfielder – fourth-choice if John Stones’ reinvention puts him ahead of Phillips – getting token appearances and meaningless minutes. For a while, it was possible to take solace in history. Many a player has flourished in his second season under Guardiola, after belatedly adjusting to his complex demands. Yet, even without being automatic choices, they were not marginalised. Bernardo Silva’s maiden season brought 53 appearances; 35 of them were in the Premier League, where he played 1520 minutes. Thus far, Phillips has played 105. Riyad Mahrez’s debut campaign brought 1338 top-flight minutes, Jack Grealish’s 1917, Rodri’s 2488. Each kicked on thereafter but, seemed with the benefit of hindsight, it was apparent he had a part in the manager’s long-term plans. It seems less likely that Phillips does; 10 days ago, Guardiola refused to confirm he will be at the Etihad Stadium next season and said the £42m man had to earn his confidence. So far, he has not. All of which feels more damning given Guardiola’s playing days and his status as the godfather of the midfielder. Rejection should be more painful. It could provide City with more of a problem, too. With Gundogan likely to go to Barcelona, with the prospect of another summer of interest from the Nou Camp in Silva, Phillips may present an unwanted problem; likely to be pursued elsewhere in the Premier League but adding to City’s need for reinforcements. As players of the calibre of Ronaldinho, Deco and Zlatan Ibrahimovic can testify, Guardiola can be swift to exile even the most distinguished; as Joao Cancelo knows to his cost, he can still be ruthless. Phillips faces a different form of public humiliation, embarrassed by the brevity of his contributions. He could finish the season with more medals than starts but, in a strange way, it would be a sign of how his move has gone wrong. Read More Man City being driven to title by man of the moment – and it’s not Erling Haaland It’s not necessary what he does – Pep Guardiola hits out at Everton’s Yerry Mina Kevin De Bruyne is Man City’s man for the big occasion but has he met his match?