French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes, buoyed by Socialist backing after he pledged to suspend President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform until after the 2027 election. Motions from France Unbowed and the National Rally drew 271 and 144 votes, short of the 289 needed to fell his days-old...
Skygazers in the Northern Hemisphere are getting a rare, twin-comet show: bright green Comet Lemmon and Comet SWAN. Both possibly hail from the Oort Cloud, well beyond Pluto. Lemmon makes its closest pass around Tuesday; SWAN’s flyby comes Monday but it’s receding from the sun and will likely grow dimmer....
Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the first expedition to reach Everest’s summit, has died in Kathmandu at 92, his family said, noting he had recently become unwell. At 19, he joined the 35-member 1953 team led by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay as a porter despite no mountaineering...
An American tourist was fatally stabbed during a late-night clash in Cascais, Portugal, after three men tried to touch a man’s hat, police said. Around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, a 34-year-old was punched after objecting and called his 35-year-old friend from nearby TAJ nightclub. The dispute turned violent; a suspect used...
Researchers link early cell death in Alzheimer's and delayed death in cancer to shifts in programmed self-destruction. In eLife, Randal Halfmann's team shows "death fold" proteins unleash energy like hand warmers crystallizing, triggering rapid polymerization that kills immune cells. The same hair-trigger chemistry may help explain how misfolded amyloid harms...
A Vatican commission warned that the Catholic Church’s mishandling of clergy abuse allegations is inflicting ongoing harm, in a searing annual report released Oct. 16. The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors urged greater transparency, reparations for survivors, and disclosure when bishops resign over abuse or negligence. It criticized...
JD Vance downplayed leaked racist and sexist Young Republicans texts—including messages praising rape and Hitler—as youthful missteps, despite participants being 24–35, Mother Jones reported. In Gaza, Israel threatened to resume fighting after Hamas said it cannot recover more hostage remains without special equipment; Hamas returned two more bodies, nine in...
German prosecutors charged a 21-year-old Hamburg man known online as “White Tiger” with 204 offenses, including murder linked to a 13-year-old American’s livestreamed suicide. Authorities say he groomed more than 30 children in a global abuse network called “764” between 2021 and 2023, coercing victims to create sexual content and...
A new AP-NORC poll finds most Americans view the third-week shutdown as a serious problem, with roughly six in ten assigning significant responsibility to Trump and congressional Republicans, and 54% saying the same of congressional Democrats. More favor than oppose extending health insurance subsidies, a key Democratic demand, though 42%...
Netflix's The Diplomat returns with Season 3, the first since the 2024 election, leaning into escapist fantasy while refocusing on its core: Kate and Hal's combustible marriage. After President William Rayburn's death elevates Grace Penn, the new president offers Hal the vice presidency over Kate, jolting their fragile equilibrium and...
