Russia began lifting emergency restrictions in an effort to restore normality after the dramatic end to an armed

xQc’s Instagram story shows him cuddling a woman who is wearing a large diamond ring which matched with one in Fran’s selfie

At least four people have been killed and others are being treated for gunshot wounds after a mass shooting at a popular bikers’ bar in California’s Orange County. The Orange County sheriff said those killed included the suspected gunman, identified by The Orange County Sheriff’s Department as John Snowling, 59. Three people died and six others were injured before Snowling was killed by law enforcement. The fatal victims have been identified as John Leehey, 67, Tonya Clark, 49, and Glen Sprowl, 53. The incident began with a domestic dispute between the gunman and his wife. Snowling, a retired law enforcement officer with the Ventura Police Department, opened fire on his wife Marie Snowling and her dining companion. Sheriff Don Barnes said on Thursday that Snowling then continued shooting indiscriminately. A man who approached Snwoling as the gunman retrieved more weapons from his vehicle was fatally shot. Ms Snowling had filed for divorce in December 2022, according to The Los Angeles Times. A neighbour of the couple told the outlet she had moved in with her ailing mother while Snowling was spending most of his time in Ohio, where he owned a property. Read More A ‘domestic dispute’ spilled into historic biker bar Cook’s Corner. It ended with a mass shooting Gunman in Cook’s Corner shooting identified as retired police officer John Snowling

Shares in Asia rose Tuesday following bullish trade on Wall Street as investors parsed further signs of stability

Russian drones have been hitting Ukrainian port facilities on the border with Nato member Romania.

Hurricane Lee has prompted a tropical storm warning over Bermuda and is expected to weaken over the next couple of days, though the system could remain "large and dangerous" through the week, forecasters said.

If you’re a young woman on your own at night, unsolicited attention from a stranger can be intimidating, to say the least. Fortunately, there are plenty of good samaritans out there who are quick to step in and offer a helping hand where it’s needed. And, in some cases, where it’s not. Such an instance occurred at a Starbucks in Texas, where an 18-year-old student was studying by herself when she was approached by a man she didn’t know. A female barista spotted the encounter and decided to take action – bringing a cup of hot chocolate over to the teenager that “someone forgot to pick up”. But really it was all a ruse, and written on the drink was a note reading: “Are you okay? Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup.” The girl’s mother, Brandy Selim Roberson, shared a photo of the thoughtful message to Facebook in February last year, explaining: “My 18-year-old daughter was at Starbucks, alone, the other night. A man came up to her and started talking to her. A barista handed her ‘an extra hot chocolate someone forgot to pick up’. “How grateful I am for people who look out for other people!” Brandy then added: “Side note: She felt safe and did not remove the lid, but let them know. She said the whole team was watching over her the rest of the time she was there. Thank you to Starbucks for having a great team.” Providing further details, Roberson told the New York Post: “The man was very loud and animated,” but her daughter was reassured to see “a row of baristas staring at her — ready to step in.” “This reaffirms my faith in humanity,” the proud mum stressed. “Maybe just seeing this story, others … if given the opportunity to say something or turn away, they would say something.” Clearly, the story continues to strike a note with people, because it has gone viral again after being shared on X/Twitter on Monday. The post has racked up more than 21.6 million views and 240,300 likes in just three days, with thousands of commentators offering their take on the encounter. Countless users joined Brandy in praising the Starbucks staff, with one gushing: “There still are some great people in the world!” A second wrote: “As a father of a daughter, I’m glad people are still looking out.” And a third said: “In today’s society more people should be proactive like this. You just never know what a situation really is. Kudos to the alert Starbuck’s staff. Never be silent and always ask.” However, others pointed out that the girl had felt “safe” with the stranger, and so they insisted that the intervention was a dramatic overreaction. “I feel so bad for younger guys that might want to go talk to a random chick,” one lamented. “I fail to see why a young woman needs to be ‘rescued’ in a situation like this,” wrote another. “It’s a public setting and there are many acceptable reasons why this man could have been talking to her! “It’s one thing to encourage reasonable precautions, quite another to instil fear and paranoia,” they added. And a third said despairingly: “Can't approach women in coffee shop (creepy); can't approach women at work (unprofessional); can't approach women at the gym (distracting, creepy); can't approach women at church (no singles); can't approach women in public (with friends) – what are men supposed to do??” Scores of commentators said the story was a perfect example of why many young men are too scared to strike up conversations with women. Indeed, a study published by Date Psychology in July found that nearly half of men aged under 25 had never approached a woman in person – with most citing a fear of rejection and/or the potential social consequences. Meanwhile, a number of X/Twitter users said more context was needed to establish exactly why the note was needed. One wrote: “All we have to go on is that a man talked to her. They did not state that he threatened or harassed her, which surely they would have clarified if he had.” To which another replied: “I like to believe they picked up on something sort of fishy, or intense about the man -- perhaps he was in her physical space, or looked a little out of it? We don't know. If it was like that, I think they were helpful.” Elsewhere, users suggested that the furious response from male commentators proved the baristas had been right to act. “Men in the quotes giving us great examples of why the employees stepped in,” one said. “Y’all are not entitled to speak to women simply because you think you can or perceive yourself as no harm.” 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

Senate President Warren Petersen unveiled the proposal, aiming to boost the average teacher's salary from $56,000 to over $60,000 annually

Finn Wolfhard became a household name as Mike Wheeler in Netflix's 'Stranger Things'

The memorial remembers five men who were on a Canadian Wellington Bomber that crashed in Broomfield.

Donald Trump returned to a familiar refrain on Thursday, insisting once again that he had done nothing wrong even as new challenges pop up seemingly every day for the ex-president who faces a bevy of criminal and civil investigations. Mr Trump returned to his favoured cable network, Fox News, for a town hall-style event moderated by primetime opinion host Sean Hannity, who is now the Fox star probably closest to the former president given the firing of Tucker Carlson, the network’s star pundit. And confronted with a new leaked recording indicating that Mr Trump knew that he was retaining classified materials after his presidential term ended, he once again insisted that he had done nothing wrong. “News broke yesterday there might be a tape recording where you acknowledged that you understood that these were classified documents [at Mar-a-Lago],” the Fox News host began. While asking also if the ex-president knew who had leaked the recording of the phone call, he questioned: “Do you know anything about this?” “No, I don’t know anything about it,” Mr Trump responded. “All I know is this: Everything I did was right. We have the Presidential Records Act, which I abided by 100 per cent.” He then moved on to attack President Joe Biden, before claiming: “I have the right to declassify as president.” The explanation was nothing new. Mr Trump has long claimed that any classified materials seized by investigators at Mar-a-Lago were in fact previously declassified by him during his presidency — though he has shown no evidence of an order to do so. And notably, the nod to the Presidential Records Act was another mistruth. The law does not allow for ex-presidents to retain original copies of presidential records after their terms end without the express consent of the National Archives, an agency that the former president has roundly denounced. Nonetheless, it was a familiar claim for the one-term president who escaped two impeachment proceedings despite bipartisan support for his removal; Mr Trump has long asserted that any investigation or civil suit filed against him is merely the work of his political foes in an attempt to block him from power. More follows... Read More Republicans want Biden to trip up – literally E Jean Carroll, Mary Trump, and Jennifer Taub are co-writing a romance novel Woman interrupts DeSantis speech to claim her son’s murder was covered up in Florida 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

Donald Trump attacked his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and Democrat Joe Biden in an interview aired on Wednesday as counter-programming to...