Take a look at the top Taylor Swift updates of the day

Senators voted Tuesday to confirm President Joe Biden's nominee for US ambassador to Israel, filling a crucial posting that had been vacant for months as America's closest ally in...

Senior officials from some 40 countries including the United States, China and India have begun talks in Saudi Arabia that Kyiv and its allies hope will lead to agreement on key principles for a peaceful end to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The two-day meeting is part of a diplomatic push by Ukraine to build support beyond its core Western backers by reaching out to Global South countries that have been reluctant to take sides in a conflict that has hit the global economy. Russia is not attending, though the Kremlin has said it will keep an eye on the talks. It comes after a Russian oil tanker attacked in the Black Sea overnight was hit by a Ukrainian maritime drone carrying 450 kg of explosives, it is claimed. The attack briefly halted traffic on the Kerch, the 12-mile bridge linking Moscow-annexed Crimea to Russia, as well as ferry transport. Friday night’s attack was the second sea attack involving drones in one day. Ukraine said its sea drones also struck a major Russian port Friday and damaged a warship in an attack that underlined Kyiv’s growing naval capabilities as the Black Sea becomes an increasingly important battleground in the war. Read More ‘Extremely dangerous’ Wagner fighters seeking to destabilise Nato, Poland warns EU imposes sanctions on dozens in Belarus over protest crackdown and support for Russia What Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska wants the world to know ‘With you until the end’: Defence secretary Ben Wallace’s dramatic pledge to Ukraine after first lady’s plea

By Chris Helgren, Nia Williams KELOWNA, British Columbia (Reuters) -Thousands of British Columbia (B.C.) residents were on high evacuation alert

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes acknowledged the fan's request to honor Taylor Swift in his X post

Shares in Asia opened mixed after Wall Street saw a late-day rebound in trading, helping the S&P 500

By Alexandra Ulmer Casino billionaire and mega Republican donor Miriam Adelson met in Las Vegas with 2024 presidential

Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus criticised Texas governor Greg Abbott for deploying “cruel and inhumane” tactics like razor-tipped buoys as part of his controversial effort to lock down the US-Mexico border. “Today was eye-opening,” Rep Sylvia Garcia of Texas wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, sharing a video of orange buoys used in the Rio Grande which are separated with blade saw-like barbed disks. “Seeing the barbaric, inhumane, and ungodly practices in my home state of Texas. This is beyond politics and crosses a line into human rights violations.” “Everyone needs to see what I saw in Eagle Pass today,” said Texas congressman Joaquin Castro in his own dispatch from the border. “Clothing stuck on razor wire where families got trapped. Chainsaw devices in the middle of buoys. Land seized from US citizens. Operation Lone Star is barbaric — and Governor Abbott is making border communities collateral damage.” The Texas governor has insisted that the buoys and razor wire he’s installed across the border between the state and Mexico will save lives by deterring migration. However, as The Independent has reported, advocates and Texas troopers are warning the tools are already putting people at risk. In July, a Texas state border medic named Nicholas Wingate went public with allegations that the border barriers were already causing severe injuries, and that he and his fellow troopers were ordered, as part of the governor’s Operation Lone Star, to push exhausted migrants back into the river and refuse to offer them water. (The state denies this order existed.) “I believe we have stepped over a line into the inhumane,” he told his superiors, in messages shared with media outlets. Last week, Mexican officials informed the state of Texas that two bodies were found in the Rio Grande: one ensnared in Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial floating border wall, and another in a nearby area. Critics allege the border build-up cause these deaths, though the cause of death for the two people found hasn’t been determined yet. Despite years of border security installations and billions invested across multiple state and federal administrations, migration continues to increase, hitting a record in December. “It’s been proven time after time that these so-called prevention through deterrence strategies don’t work,” Fernando García of the Border Network for Human Rights told The Independent last month. “They have not stopped immigration flows, but what they have done is they have put immigrants at risk.” “It’s very likely that with [the floating buoy wall] they are looking for more remote and isolated places to come across so that whenever they are in danger by heat exhaustion, by drowning, they will not have anybody to help them,” he added, saying he worries it could be a record year for migrant deaths in the Rio Grande. Members of Congress and human rights activists aren’t the only ones taking issue with the border barriers. Last month, a local kayak guide in Eagle Pass named Jessie Fuentes sued the state, arguing it doesn’t have authority to erect a floating border barrier in the Rio Grande. “You’ve taken a beautiful waterway and you’ve converted it into a war zone,” he toldThe Independent. The Department of Justice has also sued the state, arguing it violated federal waterways laws. Texas has insisted it has legal authority to carry out such measures, some of which it argues are allowed under a controversial reading of the US Constitution granting states war powers when theyr’e under invasion. Legal experts told The Independent this is a mistaken reading of the clause, which was intended to cover invasion by military forces, not regular immigration by civilians. “The theory that Abbott is relying on here is that the influx of undocumented individuals is an actual invasion. That also doesn’t pass muster,” Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center’s Liberty & National Security Program, told The Independent. Read More How governor Greg Abbott is using an obscure ‘invasion’ legal theory for a border power grab in Texas Republicans and Democrats agree: They want to kill migrants at the US-Mexico border Buoys, razor wire, and a Trump-y wall: How Greg Abbott turned the Rio Grande into an immigration ‘war zone’ After a glacial dam outburst destroyed homes in Alaska, a look at the risks of melting ice masses District attorney threatens to charge officials in California's capital over homelessness response Judge is asked to block Florida law making it a crime to drive people who are in the US illegally

Ana Navarro took a dig at the app while reposting an 'adorable' video she came across

A decade after they were envisioned in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy’s destruction, two of the largest flood control projects designed to protect densely populated cities in New Jersey just outside New York City are getting underway

Mayim Bialik accepted a response with incorrect spelling after she evicted nine-day champion over same mistake

Being one of the most popular users on TikTok, Dixie D'Amelio's 56.9 million followers take great interest in her relationship status