
'I'm incredibly jealous': 'Today' host Hoda Kotb admits she envies Savannah Guthrie for her Paris gig
Savannah Guthrie is in Paris to cover the 2024 Summer Olympic Games
1970-01-01 08:00

'Selling Sunset' star Chrishell Stause reveals tips to tackle trolls after she was dubbed 'little snake'
'Selling Sunset' star Chrishell Stause emphasized the power of ignoring the trolls and finding joy in the blissful moments of life
1970-01-01 08:00

AI chatbots offer comfort to the bereaved
Staying in touch with a loved one after their death is the promise of several start-ups using the powers artificial intelligence, though...
1970-01-01 08:00

'The Gorgas really hit rock bottom': 'RHONJ' star Melissa Gorga slammed for shading Teresa Giudice with new merchandise
Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga were accused of fighting like 'kindergartners' at 'RHONJ' reunion
1970-01-01 08:00

Ukraine dam: Floods devastate tracts of rich farmland
The long-term consequences for agriculture will be severe in one of Ukraine's most fertile areas.
1970-01-01 08:00

He grew up with the world's best waves but Rio Waida found surfing success the hard way
Rio Waida might be one of the best surfers on the planet, but he still remembers the days when, paralyzed with fear, he would be coaxed onto a board by his parents and dragged out into the middle of the ocean.
1970-01-01 08:00

'I'm going to miss him': Niall Horan opens up about Blake Shelton, recalls what he said after winning 'The Voice'
'When we left the seat, they announced the winner and I stood up, and then he came for a big hug. I gave him a big hug,' said Niall Horan
1970-01-01 08:00

Tom Holland says he's on a break from acting after 'difficult' experience filming 'The Crowded Room'
Tom Holland learned about the value of prioritizing his mental health after producing and starring in his upcoming AppleTV+ miniseries "The Crowded Room."
1970-01-01 08:00

Why is Mark Cuban on 'RHOC' Season 17? 'Shark Tank' star spotted dining with Heather Dubrow
Soon after the 'RHOC' Season 17 trailer dropped, fans started speculating about 'Shark Tank' star Mark Cuban's involvement with Heather Dubrow
1970-01-01 08:00

GOP conservatives shutter House to protest McCarthy-Biden debt deal, setting up next budget brawl
Speaker Kevin McCarthy is suddenly confronting a new threat to his power
1970-01-01 08:00

Trump’s ex-adviser Steve Bannon subpoenaed by Jack Smith’s Jan 6 probe, says report
Donald Trump’s former White House adviser Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith as part of a grand jury in his investigation into the January 6 insurrection, says a report. The Washington DC grand jury is separate from the investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago home after he left the White House. The subpoena is for both documents and testimony and was sent out in late May, sources told NBC News. Bannon was convicted in July 2022 on two charges of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with the congressional January 6 committee. In October US District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced Bannon to four months in federal prison, but the sentence was suspended while he appeals his conviction. The former chairman of Breitbart News served in the Trump administration for its first seven months before leaving. Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement
1970-01-01 08:00

Mapped: The damage caused by Ukraine’s devastated dam
War-torn Ukraine is reeling from the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which saw its reservoir burst causing chaos for miles around. The catastrophe on Tuesday forced thousands of residents of nearby towns and villages to evacuate their homes as the floodwater barrelled towards them and left some climbing onto rooftops or into trees to escape the raging torrents. Hundreds of thousands more have been left without access to clean drinking water in the region as a result of the eco-disaster on the Dnipro River, prompting relief workers to rush fresh supplies to the area as they struggle with the problems of mass resettlement. While the official tallies report that over 2,700 people have fled from flooded areas on both the Ukrainian and Russian-controlled sides of the river, a true picture of the disaster has yet to emerge given that more than 60,000 people live in the vicinity. Kyiv has blamed Russia for deliberately destroying the Soviet-era infrastructure, with Moscow, inevitably, protesting its innocence and contemptuously suggesting that Ukrainian saboteurs are responsible. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has called the incident “a war crime” and the “largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades”. Russia would certainly appear to have the most to gain from the disaster and President Zelensky did warn as long ago as last November that he believed enemy soldiers had mined the dam and were plotting its destruction. He reiterated that stance in a tweet on Tuesday: “It is physically impossible to blow it up somehow from the outside, by shelling. It was mined by the Russian occupiers. And they blew it up.” For now though, the priority remains coming to the aid of the stricken people of Kherson. Ukraine’s deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov has warned of the threat to their wellbeing posed by hazardous chemicals and infectious diseases carried by the water as well as from landmines previously placed near the war’s frontline, which have been disturbed by the floods and are now likely to explode. The water in the reservoir feeds a wide area of southern Ukrainian farmland, including the annexed peninsula of Crimea, as well as providing all-important cooling water to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, lying nearby as indicated on the map below. A United Nations nuclear watchdog has attempted to reassure the public by saying that there is “no immediate risk” to the plant, even if it were to run out of water for its cooling systems. There is no such good news for the region’s farmers, however, with the flooding expected to spell instant disaster for this year’s harvest: crops are likely to be washed away, fields left waterlogged and livestock drowned in water that is at serious risk of being contaminated by machine oil, already seen gushing into the Dnipro. The depleted reservoir is also considered unlikely to be able to supply adequate irrigation to the surrounding fields for several years to come, a huge setback for Ukraine’s eventual hopes of economic recovery. All of which is also likely to have consequences for a global food market that has increasingly relied upon Ukraine for the supply of agricultural produce since the end of the Cold War. “There is no doubt that this will lead to large-scale environmental, economic and human consequences,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a chief adviser to President Zelenksy, told The Independent. “The instantaneous death of a large number of fish and animals, the waterlogging of drained lands, and the change in the climatic regime of the region, will later be reflected in the food security of the world. “A one-time reduction of water in a huge reservoir will lead to unpredictable ecological consequences.” Mr Podolyak warned that he expected the floodwaters to reach Mykolaiv, lying 56 miles from the dam and decried the drowning of the entire population of animals at the Kazkova Dibrova zoo on the Russian-held eastern bank of the river as particularly tragic. President Zelensky has already rebuked the officials installed by Moscow to run occupied territories along that bank for failing to respond adequately to the emergency. The Russian authorities he criticised have conceded that they have evacuated fewer than 1,300 people so far in an area where as many as 40,000 people were said to be affected. That compared unfavourably with the estimated 1,700 evacuated on the Ukrainian side to the west, where the population was reportedly around 42,000. According to the independent Russian news outlet Vyorstka, residents of the Moscow-run village of Oleshky, for one, remain stranded, the publisher quoting one woman as saying that her mother, who could not make it to the roof, was in the water clutching a ladder. A volunteer confirmed to Vyorstka that those still awaiting evacuation included children and disabled people. Civilians in Kherson itself were seen clutching personal belongings as they waded through knee-deep water in the streets and rode rubber rafts. Video on social media showed rescuers carrying others to safety and what looked like the triangular roof of a building floating downstream. Aerial footage showed flooded streets in the Russian-controlled city of Nova Kakhovska itself, where Mayor Vladimir Leontyev said seven people were missing, although they were believed to be alive. But perhaps most striking of all has been the aerial shots of the region captured by Maxar Technologies, which give the fullest picture of the damage done seen so far. Additional reporting by agencies Read More Ukraine-Russia war news – live: Exploding mines float through floodwater after Kherson dam attack Massive destruction after Ukraine dam collapse revealed in new satellite images Watch view of flooding in Kherson after destruction of Dnipro river dam The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary
1970-01-01 08:00