WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 14, 2023--

Asian shares are mostly higher after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a final agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. national debt ceiling

It’s not often that a single scientific discovery manages to change the way we think about the entire history of humanity. An ancient footprint has been newly uncovered, and it turns out that humans were walking around 30,000 years earlier than we previously thought. Two-legged homo sapiens were living in South Africa, it’s been proven, following the discovery of a 153,000 year old track. It was found in the Garden Route National Park near the coastal town of Knysna on the Cape South Coast. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The footmarks outdate the oldest previous discoveries, with the previous oldest found in nearby areas dated at 124,000 years old. The discoveries were made possible thanks to the optically-stimulated luminescence dating method, which analyses how long it’s been since a grain of sand has been exposed to sunlight. Researchers Charles Helm of Nelson Mandela University and the University of Leicester's Andrew Carr wrote in the Conversation: "In 2023, the situation is very different. It appears that people were not looking hard enough or were not looking in the right places. "Today, the African tally for dated hominin ichnosites (a term that includes both tracks and other traces) older than 50,000 years stands at 14. "Given that relatively few skeletal hominin remains have been found on the Cape coast, the traces left by our human ancestors as they moved about ancient landscapes are a useful way to complement and enhance our understanding of ancient hominins in Africa." The scientists involved believe that the area could be home to many illuminating discoveries given the makeup of the soil. They wrote: "We suspect that further hominin ichnosites are waiting to be discovered on the Cape South Coast and elsewhere on the coast. "The search also needs to be extended to older deposits in the region, ranging in age from 400,000 years to more than 2 million years. "A decade from now, we expect the list of ancient hominin ichnosites to be a lot longer than it is at present – and that scientists will be able to learn a great deal more about our ancient ancestors and the landscapes they occupied." 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 Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told CNN that his chamber might have to take matters in its own hands and push through a must-pass bill to fund the government amid deep divisions in the House and a looming shutdown by next weekend.

By Helen Coster (Reuters) -CNN CEO Chris Licht will be leaving the media company, news website Puck reported on Wednesday.

Rex Heuermann was arrested on Thursday by plainclothes police near his office in Fifth Avenue, midtown Manhattan

Christine Baumgartner was reportedly unhappy as Kevin Costner was 'obsessed' with filming 'Horizon'

Long-time political kingmaker Bola Tinubu was sworn in as president of Nigeria on Monday, succeeding Muhammadu Buhari, a former general who stepped down...

Robyn Brown was reportedly pulled over for 'cell phone violation' in 2021

Lawyer Joe Tacopina is the head of the legal team representing former President Donald Trump in the civil rape trial against former Elle advice columnist E Jean Carroll. Mr Tacopina began closing argument in the trial on 8 May, stemming from Ms Carroll’s allegation that Mr Trump raped her in a New York City department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996. The attorney is also representing the ex-president in the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into his alleged hush money payments to women claiming to have had affairs with him. A Manhattan grand jury voted earlier this year to indict Mr Trump for falsifying business records in connection to a 2016 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels for her to remain silent about a 2006 affair she claims to have had with Mr Trump, a claim he denies. Here’s what we know about the ex-president’s top lawyer: Brooklyn-born lawyer known for explosive media appearances Mr Tacopina, 56, was born in Brooklyn and has made a name for himself with explosive media appearances as he defends Mr Trump. He has also represented rapper Meek Mill and baseball player Alex Rodriguez, according to the New York Post. Mr Tacopina is the founder and managing partner of the law firm Tacopina, Seigel & DeOreo in New York. “The Law Offices of Tacopina Seigel & DeOreo has built a reputation as a law firm that tackles high-profile criminal and civil cases,” its website states. “We have proudly served our national and international clients for more than 20 years, and our distinguished attorneys have more than 70 years of combined legal experience.” Before becoming a criminal defence lawyer, Mr Tacopina was a prosecutor in Brooklyn. He was initially hired by Mr Trump in January of this year to defend him in the civil lawsuit filed by Ms Carroll. 1-800-Save-My-A** In March 2007, GQ Magazine published a piece entitled 1-800-Save-My-A**. The introduction states: “Suspected of murdering that blond girl in Aruba? Having some problems with your appointment as homeland-security chief? Made the mistake of having sex with Christie Brinkley’s husband? Call Joe Tacopina, the best-dressed, smoothest-talking, hardest-working criminal-defense attorney going, and for a mere $750 an hour, everything will be okay.” Mr Tacopina has five children with his wife Tish, The Post notes. ‘Most experienced American owner’ in Italian football In August 2021, he acquired the Italian Serie B – second-tier – football club Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, also known as SPAL. In November of last year, Forbes wrote that he has spent “more than a decade as a top executive across four Italian soccer clubs,” and they called him the “most experienced American owner” in Italian football. What Tacopina has said about the hush money case Mr Tacopina criticised the indictment of Mr Trump, appearing on Fox News earlier this year saying that “I’ve never been more angry about a charge because today, the rule of law in the United States of America died. It’s dead. It’s dead”. Speaking about Mr Trump, he said, “he’s ready to fight. You know, he’s the toughest guy I know. He was shocked, you know, because we really weren’t — I was shocked”. Twitter user Acyn posted a clip of Mr Tacopina from 2018, in which he appears on a CNN panel discussion with Frank Bruni of The New York Times and CNN’s Laura Coates. Mr Tacopina appeared to say that alleged payments and subsequent falsification of records were an “illegal agreement”. “I mean, you know, once that net is out, once the microscope is on you, everything is fair game,” Mr Tacopina said on 14 March 2018, according to a CNN transcript. “And it’s hard to argue, ‘oh, you can’t look at this or you can’t look at that’. So, yes, if there’s an issue with that payment to Stormy Daniels being that it was made on behalf of the candidate. Okay. And it was not declared. That’s fair game. Unfortunately, if that’s the case.” “And you know, quite frankly, you know, Michael Cohen, again has made statements that would give rise to suspicion,” he added. “For any prosecutor to say that doesn’t make sense, that a lawyer took out a home equity loan with his own money, paid somebody that he didn’t even know on behalf of a client who, by the way, had the wherewithal and the money to afford $130,000. And, by the way, didn’t tell the client about the settlement agreement. It’s an illegal agreement. It’s a fraud, if that’s, in fact, the case.” “It doesn’t pass the straight-face test, and quite frankly, if that is what happened, we have a potential campaign finance issue,” he added. When reached by The Independent for comment, Mr Tacopina emphasized that twice during his 2018 appearance, he said, “if that is in fact the case”. “I was opining on a hypothetical that was posed by the host without [knowing] any of the facts. That is [why] I qualified my statements. The facts as I have now learned clearly show, that is NOT in fact the case,” he said in an email. “My mind hadn’t changed about the issue but what has changed is that I learned the facts,” he added. “My response was based on a hypothetical question … which is why I qualified my response TWICE,” he noted. The E Jean Carroll lawsuit Ms Carroll claims that Mr Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in 1995 or 1996 and that he later defamed her in 2019 as president when he rejected her allegation. As he began cross-examining Ms Carroll on 27 April, Mr Tacopina brought up a draft of her book What Do We Need Men For? in which she writes about the episode involving the former president. “You wrote that you thought Donald Trump was trying to kill you, to poison your water,” he said. “That’s a draft. That was not published,” Ms Carroll responded. On 8 May, Mr Tacopina said during closing arguments that Ms Carroll “became a star” after she went public with her story. In a podcast interview played for the jury, Ms Carroll said she got her “revenge” on Elle following her 2019 firing because she’s now more successful after becoming an independent Substack writer. Mr Tacopina went on to claim that Ms Carroll, and witnesses Lisa Birnbach, and Carol Martin “colluded” to create fake claims about Mr Trump. The attorney said both Ms Birnbach and Ms Martin testified that they didn’t tell anyone else about the incident. He added that Ms Martin didn’t bring it up on election night in 2016. Mr Tacopina told the jury that she didn’t say “Oh, my God. He’s going to win. He raped my friend,” according to Law & Crime. The attorney went on to mock Ms Birnbach for testifying that she wasn’t thinking about the alleged rape on election night 2016. “I wasn’t thinking about it,” she said. Mr Tacopina said there’s “no way that’s truthful testimony”. Kings County prosecutor Mr Tacopina attended Bridgeport Law School, which is now called Quinnipiac University School of Law, located in North Haven, Connecticut. Before entering private practice, he was a prosecutor at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. A rapper, a baseball star, a state senator, and a long line of New York City cops Meek Mill was sent to jail in 2008 on charges relating to gun and drug violations. The rapper was convicted in 2017 for violating his probation. Mr Tacopina was able to get him out after five months. In January, the rapper was pardoned by the outgoing governor of Pennsylvania, Democrat Tom Wolf. Mr Tacopina represented baseball star Alex Rodriguez in the appeal of his 2014 suspension after he tested positive for human growth hormones and testosterone. The attorney has also represented several New York police officers. New York Democratic state Senator Hiram Monserrate faced charges of felony assault in 2009 following allegations that he dragged his girlfriend down a hallway, but Mr Tacopina helped him get acquitted.

Adam Thomas has admitted that he’s “struggling” and in “pain” after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis ahead of his appearance on Strictly Come Dancing. The Waterloo Road star is one of the 15 celebrities preparing to put themselves to the test as they compete on the 21st series of dance competition series Strictly. Just days after it was announced that he had joined the cast, Thomas shared on his 35th birthday that he had recently been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. An autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. It usually affects the hands, feet and wrists and can cause flare-up periods where symptoms become worse for a period of time. On Sunday (3 September), the former Coronation Street star posted a shirtless selfie to Instagram following a swimming session. Writing in the caption, Thomas said that he was posting the image “to get comfortable feeling uncomfortable”. “Am not in the best shape of my life, but I could be worse,” he wrote. “This year has been tough there’s no doubt about that… but I’ve just got to stay focused now! I’m still struggling and the pain is still there but I’m putting on a brave face I’ve got to stay strong [sic]!” Thomas continued: “Swimming helps me so much with my arthritis, I mean as much as it kills me getting my top off and going for a swim, I know it’s helping me and I know it’s also helping me deal with the issues I’ve got with me and my body. Which is a good thing!” “Got a feeling am going to get a lot more out of the next few months than I bargained for [sic]! Let’s go!” Thomas announced that he had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis last month, explaining that he had “been in a lot of pain since January”. “It started with my knees and then travelled to my wrists, fingers and now ankles and toes,” he wrote. “I never knew what was happening and finally after several blood tests and back and forth to doctors and hospitals, I’ve been diagnosed with rheumatoid Arthritis!” The actor had originally said that he signed up for Strictly – which begins later this month – in order “to be able to move again, get fit and do it, all with a smile on my face”. Strictly Come Dancing returns in September on BBC One. Read More Kanye West and ‘wife’ Bianca Censori banned from Venice boat company after ‘obscenities’ on board Yellowstone season 5: Kevin Costner finally explains why he quit the show Fyre Fest 2.0? Chris Rock and Diplo escape Burning Man festival as 70,000 stranded in desert How to look after your joints, as women experience ‘significantly higher’ pain than men How can parents and children battle back-to-school anxiety? Khloe Kardashian officially changes son Tatum’s last name

Southeast Asian leaders meet with top US, Chinese and Japanese officials at a series of summits in Indonesia on Wednesday, where big power rivalries and regional issues from the South China Sea to North...