Here's a glimpse of the Taylor Swift updates of the day

xQc's Instagram account was suddenly deactivated or taken down and his fans speculated possible reasons behind it

Several residential buildings were damaged as a result of a Tuesday morning drone attack on Moscow, the city’s

A former Greek defence minister has urged the Greek government to seek help from Russia to fight the devastating wildfires. Panos Kamennos claims it is impossible to cope with the fires without the support of the Russian Be-200 amphibious aircraft. “Without Beriev, nothing happens. Let’s bow out heads and ask for help now. We will be given...” he said in a social media post. Read our live coverage of the Greece wildfires Russian aircraft manufacturer Beirev specialises in amphibious aircrafts that can take off and land on both solid ground and water. Its giant planes have proved to be a devisive weapon in extinguishing flames during the Greek fire season. In particular, the Beriev Be-200 Altair is said to be designed for such a task as well as search and rescue, cargo, maritime patrol and passenger transportation. The plane can also scoop up 12 tonnes of water in just 14 seconds and its tanks can also be filled on the ground. Its enormous potential will be missed from Greece’s arsenal of fire fighting services. Dangerous wildfires have been ravaging the country for almost two weeks, spread by high winds. Thousands of tourists, including 10,000 UK holidaymakers, have been evacuated from the country and its islands. Rhodes and Corfu are bracing for at least another 48 hours of inferno as forecasters predict temperatures in southern Europe will not peak until Wednesday. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of tough days ahead, with conditions possibly improving after Thursday. “All of us are standing guard. In the face of what the entire planet is facing, especially the Mediterranean which is a climate change hot-spot, there is no magical defence mechanism,” he said. Other areas affected by wildfires include Evia and the Peloponnese region. Russia’s Beriev Be-200 can empty its water tanks over an area engulfed by flames in 0.8 to 1.0 seconds when flying above the minimum drop speed of 140mph. The aircraft was used in Greece to fight the forest fires of 2007 and again during the summer of 2021. This summer, the Greek Fire Brigade has been battling more than 500 fires countrywide without the use of the aircraft. Weather maps show the latest heatwave to hit Europe is set to peak on Wednesday when temperatures will surpass 44C in some parts of Greece. Last weekend, the island of Rhodes saw the biggest evacuation in Greek history, with more than 20,000 people forece to flee homes and hotels. In Corfu, 2,500 people have already been evacuated in the face of dozens of blazes on the island. France, Portugal, Turkey and Croatia are among other European countries that have been battling wildfires in recent days. Extreme weather conditions on the continent are being mirror worldwide, from the US to Asia. Read More Wildfires: Is it safe to travel to Greece right now? Evacuation from Rhodes was ‘hell’, say family from Northern Ireland Are Greece wildfires caused by climate change? The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Pope Francis’ monthlong meeting on the future of the Catholic Church is wrapping up

Rube Franke, a 41-year-old mother-of-six was charged after her 12-year-old son was found with open wounds and duct tape on his limbs

Jessica Pegula is the richest tennis star in the world, even richer than soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo

Fred Cain III was transferred to Solano County jail to face charges of Jeremy Stoner's murder

The illegal party drug MDMA – also known as ecstasy – may have led to an astonishing turnaround for a former white supremacist, according to one study. The man, referred to only by his first name, Brendan, took MDMA in February 2020 as part of an University of Chicago research project about whether the drug increased the pleasantness of social touch, Rachel Nuwer, author of new book I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World, wrote for the BBC. Brendan had become indoctrinated into white supremacy while at university in Illinois and gone on to become active within extremist circles, even attending the infamous 2017 rally in Charlottesville and taken on midwestern leadership roles within his organisation. After using MDMA and filling out the standard questionnaire at the end of the study, run by psychiatry and behavioral science professor Harriet de Wit, he added in bold letters: “This experience has helped me sort out a debilitating personal issue. Google my name. I now know what I need to do,’” Ms Nuwer reported. Upon googling his name and realizing his connection to white supremacy, the researchers contacted Brendan to ensure his cryptic message did not refer to violence or other worrying behaviour – but he told a research assistant: ‘Love is the most important thing. Nothing matters without love,” Ms Nuwer wrote. Prof de Wit, speaking to the author nearly two years later, still expressed astonishment at the results. “Isn’t that amazing?” she said. “It’s what everyone says about this damn drug, that it makes people feel love. To think that a drug could change somebody’s beliefs and thoughts without any expectations – it’s mind-boggling.” The use of MDMA and psychedelics such as psilocybin – the hallucinogenic component in magic mushrooms – is gaining traction in the medical community, showing promising results for the treatment of disorders such as PTSD and alcoholism. Brendan later told the author that the MDMA “helped me see things in a different way that no amount of therapy or antiracist literature ever would have done. “I really think it was a breakthrough experience,” he said, while explaining that many white supremacists had used MDMA previously and the drug alone was unlikely to spontaneously change minds. Ms Nuwer’s new book explores the uses of MDMA and whether it could “transform people’s beliefs too”. “MDMA does not seem to be able to magically rid people of prejudice, bigotry, or hate on its own,” she wrote. “But some researchers have begun to wonder if it could be an effective tool for pushing people who are already somehow primed to reconsider their ideology toward a new way of seeing things. While MDMA cannot fix societal-level drivers of prejudice and disconnection, on an individual basis it can make a difference. In certain cases, the drug may even be able to help people see through the fog of discrimination and fear that divides so many of us.” Read More Oregon's magic mushroom experiment steps toward reality Psychedelic drugs to treat depression without causing hallucinations may finally be near ‘Mystical’ experience using psychedelics may improve mental health, study reveals Dealer who bought 100,000 paracetamol he thought were diazepam given away by blue lips Psychedelic drug trip improves symptoms of depression for six months, breakthrough study finds Trump can’t bully his way out of his latest legal woes | Andrew Feinberg The 25-year-old party chairwoman who wants to turn North Carolina blue Trump floats special counsel conspiracy as he claims Fox abandoned ‘King’ of Maga

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman said the US central bank may need to raise rates further in order

Beyond his investments in sports, Magic Johnson also has a 60% stake in Iowa-based life insurance company EquiTrust, which he acquired in 2015

A man who says he is armed has barricaded himself in a room at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, police say, where the individual is holding a female hostage. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said they received a complaint of a domestic disturbance at around 9.15am on Tuesday. When they arrived at the hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, the man refused to come out and told officers he was armed, police said. Vegas police said the man pulled a woman into his room “by force” and that she remains inside. “She is still in the room at this time,” a police spokesman said on Tuesday morning during a press update. “The female has been heard from and is still OK.” The officer added that no shots have been fired and no weapons have been seen. SWAT teams and crisis negotiators have been sent to the hotel on the 3500 block of South Las Vegas Boulevard. Police asked residents to avoid the area and watch out for emergency personnel. “We are actively trying to resolve this situation,” the LVPD said in a tweet. North Carolina real estate broker Alyssa Hellman told The Independent she was at the Caesars Palace pool with her wife when she heard a loud bang at about 1.30pm. She said she looked up to see that a window had been broken on about the 10th floor, and a man inside started throwing furniture out onto the concourse. “We heard a bang and then one of the windows was broken open, and the guy was throwing things out. Lamps, a TV and a minibar. He’s drawn the curtains now,” Ms Hellman said. Ms Hellman said guests were evacuated from the pool area, but staff did not explain what was going on. The couple had retreated to a safe distance and said everyone around them seemed “pretty calm and content”. “We’re tucked back hidden away, closer to the Bellagio,” she said. A video posted to Twitter showed security guards duck for cover as a television fell to the ground behind them. One guest told 8NewsNow that she had been swimming in the pool when a security guard ordered everybody out. The witness said she saw chairs being thrown from a window, which appeared to be completely smashed out. Caesars Entertainment said in a statement: “We are aware of the security incident at Caesars Palace. Our team is cooperating fully with law enforcement officers on scene who are handling the investigation.” Read More Caesars Palace standoff news - live: SWAT teams respond to ‘armed’ man barricaded in Las Vegas hotel room Las Vegas police officer set to go on trial over $165k stolen in 3 casino heists Oklahoma county sheriff and three other officials allegedly caught on tape talking about killing journalists Ex-student sentenced to 16-plus years in prison for 2022 attack on Las Vegas high school teacher