Senators are racing the clock to pass a bill to to suspend the nation's debt limit through January 1, 2025 -- but it's not yet clear when a final vote will take place as the threat of default looms.

Siemens Energy AG is considering selling a substantial part of its 24% stake in a listed Indian affiliate

The search was sparked by allegations of child abuse, neglect, drug use, and mental health issues

The Lebanese militia Hezbollah has traded fire with Israeli troops along the border since the day after Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel sparked war in the Gaza Strip

SEOUL A passenger on an Asiana Airlines flight told police he opened a door on the plane minutes

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted a meeting with his Belarusian ally, who referred to this week’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and suggested that Minsk could join Moscow’s efforts to revive an old alliance with Pyongyang

Britain’s military chief has defended Ukraine’s counteroffensive and said its troops “continue to hold the initiative” amid criticism that the pushback against the Russian invasion is moving slowly. The comments have also come as the war-hit nation’s deputy defence minister on Thursday said “good news” had emerged in the eastern front of the battlefield. “In the north, they are holding and fixing Russian forces there and in the south they are making progress between 10km and 20km, depending on how you judge it,” Sir Tony Radakin was quoted as saying by The Guardian at the DSEI arms fair in London. “The idea that war is neat and tidy, and you can plan and predict it to the nth degree is nonsense,” said Britain’s most senior military officer. He said progress of the counteroffensive could not be measured by a predictable timetable and warned the UK is vulnerable to a potential missile or drone attack as he pushed for a further discussion on improving homeland security. There is an “aggressive world out there in terms of state threats”, he said, pointing out it is now easy to “get close to a country and fly drones in”. British armed forces were “having a bigger conversation about homeland defences”, the chief of the defence staff said and asked whether within that “we need to have a conversation about integrated missile defence”. Admiral Radakin has been closely monitoring the war with communication lines to Ukraine’s most senior military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi. The comments come a week after Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg shot back at recent criticism of “slow” counteroffensive from Ukrainian troops as he pointed out the numbers of mines in the battlefield Ukraine is encountering are at a historic high. “The starting point is that the Russian army used to be the second strongest in the world. And now the Russian army is the second strongest in Ukraine. That’s quite impressive by Ukrainians,” he said. “No one ever said that this was going to be easy,” Mr Stoltenberg told lawmakers at the European parliament earlier this month. “Hardly any time in history we have seen more mines on the battlefield than we are seeing in Ukraine today. So it was obvious that this was going to be extremely difficult. “The Ukrainians are gradually gaining ground. They have been able to breach the defensive lines of the Russian forces, and they are moving forward,” he said. Ukrainian officials said the war being fought in the country is unlike any other, as its air space has not been shut down and it does not have top-tier warplanes like F-16s. Last month, several US and other Western officials suggested the grinding war’s counteroffensive stage was falling short of expectations – but did not choose to be quoted on their claims. Some officials pointed holes in Ukraine’s strategy and blamed it for concentrating its forces in the wrong places. The counteroffensive has been backed by billions of dollars’ worth of Western military equipment. Read More Just 14 UK tanks for Ukraine? We must do better than that Sunak says Russian leader ‘doesn’t want to be held accountable’ at G20 US sends Ukraine controversial depleted uranium weapons that can pierce tank armour Zelensky needed to sack his defence minister – but it goes beyond just corruption scandals From Challenger to Leopard: How Ukraine’s tanks compare to Russia’s

According to skin influencers on TikTok, topical steroid creams are being ‘illegally sold’ in some black Afro hair and beauty supply stores, affecting black women in particular. Angela Mavalla, a pharmacist and skincare educator, has been sharing TikTok videos garnering thousands of views, encouraging black women to stop purchasing topical steroid creams from these shops – as they are meant to be prescription-only treatments used with appropriate guidance from a doctor. When used incorrectly, the creams can make potentially make skin symptoms worse and harder to manage. “Though these creams tend to address issues like acne and eczema very quickly, because of their potent nature, the skin becomes addicted to it and will flare up badly once you stop using them,” said Mavalla. “A lot my clients – [who are black women] – that I consult privately, were coming to me with issues relating to topical steroid use, such as having terrible flare-ups because they had stopped using the cream, and needed help with tapering off them. “I began making content based on these creams, mainly to warn people of them, and found that these TikTok’s would go viral in a short space of time, with lots of people relating to it, and giving their own testimonials of how the creams damaged their skin,” Mavalla added. “I have seen instances of accidental skin bleaching, worsened eczema and hyperpigmentation, topical steroidal withdrawal and addiction, and worst of all, a crippling low self-esteem and self image. It’s awful. “The first point of call when it comes to steroidal creams should always be a pharmacy. Pharmacists are always willing to help, advise and where necessary, signpost to the most appropriate medical profession, such as a dermatologist.” Dr Unnati Desai, the national GP lead, as well as safeguarding lead for GP services and dermatology lead at Nuffield Health, acknowledged that it can take sometimes take time to correctly diagnose these conditions, and might require a biopsy. It might also take a longer period of time to get symptoms under control, as skin conditions may require trying multiple different treatment regimes to find the one that suits each individual person, as well as getting to grips with individual triggers. What are topical steroid creams and what should they be used for? Doctors prescribe topical steroid creams to treat a wide range of skin complaints – but it’s important to have proper assessments first. “They are topical medications (synthetic corticosteroids) that have an anti-inflammatory action on the skin, by suppressing the skin immune system and constricting the blood vessels of the skin where applied,” Desai told the PA news agency. “They are used for dermatological conditions that result in inflamed, itchy or irritated skin – e.g. eczema, psoriasis, lichen simplex, lichen planus, lichen sclerosus and other autoimmune dermatoses.” Why do people experience topical steroid withdrawal after using steroid creams? When used incorrectly, topical steroids may have potentially significant side-effects. And as Desai warned: “Stopping any steroid treatment suddenly can often result in a flare-up of the condition, which may be worse than the original presentation.” There are some obvious signs and symptoms to look out for to figure out if you are experiencing topical steroid withdrawal, such as red, burning skin and a lumpy, papulopustular rash. “When using a steroid cream to get a dermatitis flare-up under control, especially when a more potent steroid cream has been used for a prolonged period of time, it is necessary to slowly come off the steroid cream and wean your skin off treatment by either reducing the potency of the cream, or the frequency [of application],” said Desai. “This gives the skin time to adjust to coming off the steroid cream slowly, but also clarifies whether the skin condition is coming under control with treatment. “Sometimes, severe dermatoses require long-term use of a medication to be controlled, in which case your doctor will consider alternative treatment modalities.” What damage can it do to your skin?Desai added: “Long-term use of potent steroid creams is not recommended, as there may be some systemic absorption, which can result in suppression of your body’s natural cortisol hormone at the worst. “In most cases, it is the long-term impact on the skin itself that is the concern, as regular or long-term use of steroid creams can impact the skin integrity and thickness, resulting in thinning of the skin, stretch marks, increased hair at the site of use, enlarged skin blood vessels and bruising. “Using a steroid cream when there is an underlying infection present on the skin will make the infection worse, or using steroid creams on the face can result in other chronic skin conditions, such as perioral dermatitis or other acneiform eruptions. “Occasionally, an allergy can develop to components within the cream that can make the dermatitis worse.” How can people remain safe? Desai stressed the importance of only using topical steroid treatments under the appropriate supervision of a qualified clinician. “In addition, as most chronic inflammatory skin conditions tend to result in drier skin, self-care at home with soap substitutes and emollients is important,” she said. “This includes gently cleansing the skin one to two times daily maximum (over-washing will negatively impact the skin barrier function, as will long hot bubble baths), and using unscented emollients (medical grade skin creams designed to gently hydrate the skin), which will better protect the skin and may, depending on the skin condition, make a flare-up less frequent or less severe. “If a steroid cream is needed, a doctor will recommend the amount of cream to be used according to the size of the area affected. We use the ‘Finger Tip Unit’ (FTU) – one FTU is the amount of topical steroid that is squeezed out from a standard tube along an adult’s fingertip – as a method of advising each patient how much cream they need to use with each application.” Read More House of the Year 2023 shortlist revealed by Royal Institute of British Architects Fatima Whitbread supporting new fostering campaign, as research finds ‘misconceptions put people off’ 5 key coat trends to complete your autumn/winter wardrobe 12 ways to weave some woodland wonder into your home Hibernation mode: 5 small self-care adjustments to make before the clocks change 13 possible cancer symptoms you should get checked out

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday that the "theories" put out by former President Donald Trump and his associates following the 2020 election were "unsubstantiated" and "did not prove to be true."

A former US intelligence officer has blown the whistle on the US government by alleging they concealed a programme that has physical evidence of a “non-human origin” craft. David Charles Grusch told The Debrief and NewsNation this week that he confidentially turned over classified information to Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General in July 2021 about the programme and possible evidence. According to Mr Grusch, he experienced retaliation when his identity was revealed – something he has filed a formal complaint regarding. But now, Mr Grusch wants the rest of the world to know about some of the information that he believes was being illegally concealed, even if it means putting himself at risk. “I am for real. I am sitting here at great personal risk and obvious professional risk by talking to you today,” Mr Grusch told NewsNation. Here’s what we know about Mr Grusch and the claims he’s making. Who is David Charles Grusch? Mr Grusch is a 36-year-old veteran of the US Air Force as well as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office. He is a decorated former combat officer in Afghanistan, according to The Debrief. From 2016 until 2021, Mr Grusch served as a senior intelligence officer with the National Reconnaissance Office. From 2019 until 2021, he was the office’s representative to the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) Task Force. From late 2021 until July 2022, he co-led the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s UAP analysis. In total, Mr Grusch has 14 years of intelligence experience. At the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Mr Grusch was a senior intelligence capabilities integration office and had Top Secret / Secret Compartmented Information level clearance. Mr Grusch told The Debrief that he reported to Congress on the existence of a “publicly unknown Cold War for recovered and exploited physical material” that identified UAP [Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena] crashes, landings and retrieved material for “exploitation / reverse engineering to garner asymmetric national defense advantages.” Mr Grusch told NewNation that the UAP task force was refused access to the materials recovery programme. “I thought it was totally nuts and I thought at first I was being deceived, it was a ruse. People started to confide in me. Approach me. I have plenty of senior, former, intelligence officers that came to me, many of which I knew almost my whole career, that confided in me that they were part of a program,” Mr Grusch told NewsNation. What are his claims? Mr Grusch is alleging that the materials recovery programme retrieved, “non-human origin technical vehicles” but kept it hidden from the public. “Call it spacecraft if you will, non-human exotic origin vehicles that have either landed or crashed,” Mr Grusch said to NewsNation. In a separate interview with the Debrief, Mr Grusch described how the government allegedly has evidence of spacecraft created by a “non-human intelligence” of “unknown origin.” “[This assessment is] based on the vehicle morphologies and material science testing and the possession of unique atomic arrangements and radiological signatures,” the former official said. He sounded the alarm to Congress and the Intelligence Community Inspector General in July 2021, confidentially alleging that the materials recovery programme was shielded from proper congressional oversight. However, he claims his identity was somehow disclosed and he suffered retaliation for disclosing the confidential information. “I hope this revelation serves as an ontological shock sociologically and provides a generally uniting issue for nations of the world to re-assess their priorities,” Mr Grusch said to The Debrief. The former defence official said he hadn’t directly witnessed or seen photos of the recovered alien objects himself, but has spoken extensively with colleagues who have. “We’re definitely not alone,” he told NewsNation. “The data points, quite empirically that we’re not alone.” He added that as part of his disclosures to Congress and the inspector general, he turned over verifiable “proof” of his claims. Altogether, Mr Grusch said his experiences have convinced him the US government has been systematically lying to the American people for decades about unidentified aerial phenomena. “There is a sophisticated disinformation campaign targeting the US populace which is extremely unethical and immoral,” Mr Grusch said in his interview with NewsNation. What has the US government said? Sue Gough, a spokesperson for the DOD said in a statement provided to The Independent that to date the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) does not have “any verifiable information to substantiate claims that any programs regarding the possession or reverse-engineering of extraterrestrial materials have existed in the past or exist currently.” The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) investigates unidentified flying objects and other phenomena in the air, sea, land or space. Ms Gough said the AARO is “committed to following the data and its investigation wherever it leads” adding that they are working with the Office of the General Counsel and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to establish “a safe and secure process for individuals ot come forward with information to aid AARO in it’s congressionally-mandated historical review.” “AARO welcomes the opportunity to speak with any former or current government employee or contractor who believes they have information relevant to the historical review,” Ms Gough added. The Independent has reached out to the Intelligence Community Inspector General for comment regarding the whistleblower complaint. Read More UFO ‘whistleblower’ says government has ‘intact’ non-human craft White House dodges question on UFO whistleblower Nasa holds first public meeting about sightings of UFOs White House dodges question on UFO whistleblower UFO ‘whistleblower’ says government has ‘intact’ non-human craft Chris Christie targets his former friend Trump as he sets up bitter 2024 battle

A foreign object found in a school meal in China was the head of a rat, Chinese authorities have concluded, overturning previous official reassurances that it was duck neck in the latest twist to a food safety scandal that gripped the nation for weeks.

GOP Rep. Nancy Mace has a warning for her party about some efforts to restrict abortion without exceptions -- and how it could affect moderate House Republicans on whom their narrow majority depends.