List of All Articles with Tag 'r'

Over the weekend, Elon Musk appeared in a Twitter post to endorse the idea of taking the right to vote away from people without children. The billionaire Tesla co-founder replied “Yup,” to a series of posts from Twitter user @fentasyl, which argued “democracy is probably unworkable long term without limiting suffrage to parents.” The exchange came as Mr Musk continued his recent run of interacting with right-wing figures on the social network. The posts from fentasyl themselves were a response to a previous post from Mr Musk. On Saturday, in the comments under an Islamophobic nonprofit’s video, where commenters insinuated that single white women were turning France into a majority-Muslim country, Mr Musk claimed, “The childless have little stake in the future.” The Independent has contacted Mr Musk for comment. These opinions are hardly surprising for Mr Musk, who has long expressed concerns about declining birth rates in the US and the lack of “smart” people having enough children, views which critics have argued are verging on eugenicist. In 2022, Musk, who has fathered nine children, wrote on Twitter that, “A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far. Earlier this year, he elaborated, telling former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson that society hasn’t “evolved” to respond to abortions and contraception, which the billionaire incorrectly claimed were invented in the last 50 years. “I’m sort of worried that hey, civilisation, if we don’t make enough people to at least sustain our numbers, perhaps increase a little bit, then civilisation’s going to crumble,” Musk said. “The old question of, will civilisation end with a bang or a whimper?” (In fact, the world population has doubled in the last 50 years to more than 8 billion, according to the UN, though the birth rate has slowed in some places.) Observer argue that such so-called “natalist” views are often entangled with eugenicist ideas about intentionally manipulating future births to privilege and center certain groups of people. Mr Musk has previously lamented that “smart” people aren’t having enough children. “If each successive generation of smart people has fewer kids, that’s probably bad,” he once told a biographer. The tech billionaire has touted a prototype robot as a solution to a hypothetical world where declining numbers of workers are available to toil in Tesla factories. For someone concerned with human civilization’s long-term longevity, Mr Musk lives a fabulously carbon intensive life. The carbon footprint from his 2022 private jet flights alone was 132 times greater than the average US resident’s total footprint, a doubly astounding figure given people in the US consume far more resources than less wealthy nations. Read More Twitter rival Bluesky halts sign-ups after huge surge in demand following Musk’s rate limits Tweetdeck down: Major Twitter client not working amid chaos on site Thousands of Twitter users complain of issues with social media website and app Twitter users run into service issues after Elon Musk imposes daily limits on reading tweets Threatened by shortages, electric car makers race for supplies of lithium for batteries

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson and Utah Solicitor General Melissa Holyoak to

For singer Norah Jones, the “Little Broken Hearts” album is a lesson in making the most of a bad experience

Workers are picketing major Southern California hotels after walking off the job during the holiday weekend to demand better pay and benefits

A South Carolina man has been arrested for allegedly attempting to murder the sole survivor of a house fire that killed six members of a family. Ryan Lenard Manigo, 33, was taken into custody following the fire on Sunday, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. First responders arrived at the home in the unincorporated community of Green Pond around 11am after they were alerted to a blaze. Six people were found dead inside the burning residence, and a surviving individual was airlifted to an area hospital in critical condition. Law enforcement said that an interview with the survivor led to the arrest of Mr Manigo on one count of attempted murder. More charges are expected once autopsies are completed on the six fatal victims, according to the Colleton-County Sheriffs-Office. “Today’s events which occurred in this quiet, nestled community of Green Pond are tragic,” Hiram Davis, a close friend of the victims, told local news station, WCBD. “We ask everyone to please give law enforcement time to do their jobs.” Mr Davis added: “We should always be vigilant. We should always have an eye on our surroundings.” Authorities have not released the name of the victims or a motive for the crimes. It is unclear whether they are related to Mr Manigo, or whether he was the one to start the fire. A neighbour also told WCBD that he was on his way home when he saw emergency vehicles rushing to the victims’ home. “We don’t have that in this community. No violence to that degree,” the man, who wished not to share his name, said. “God help their souls. This community is better than that.” Mr Manigo remains in custody at the Colleton County Detention Center ahead of his bond hearing at 2.30pm EST local on Monday. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s Arson Team is working along with the Colleton County Sheriffs-Office in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 843-549-2211. Read More Chilling moment man arrested after killing wife and children in drunken rage France riots – live: ‘Insulting’ fundraiser for officer who shot teen hits €1m as fraction raised for victim Man accused of killing and dismembering girlfriend is tied to disappearance of second woman

More than half of Americans believe US Supreme Court justices decide cases largely on the basis of their partisan political views, a figure that has shot up 10 percentage points from January 2022. That figure – 53 per cent – appears to be driven by the gulf between perceptions of the conservative supermajority court among Republican and Democratic voters following several controversial rulings at the end of its latest term, according to new polling from ABC News/Ipsos. Roughly three-quarters of Republican voters and 26 per cent of Democratic voters support the court’s decision to reject affirmative action in university admissions. Sixty-eight per cent of Republicans approve of the decision to allow businesses to deny services to same-sex couples. And 71 per cent of Republicans support the court’s ruling against President Joe Biden’s plan to cancel student loan debts, compared to just 17 per cent of Democrats. Overall, a bare majority of Americans (52 per cent) support the court’s decision against race-conscious admissions in higher education. That majority includes majorities among white (60 per cent) and Asian (58 per cent) Americans, while 52 per cent of Black Americans disapprove of the ruling. Despite their views on affirmative action, most Americans still do not believe that Black and Hispanic students have a fair chance of getting into the college of their choice compared to their white and Asian student counterparts. Roughly two-thirds of Americans believe that white and Asian students have a fair chance for admission to the college of their choice, compared to only 47 per cent and 50 per cent of respondents who would say the same for Black and Hispanic students, respectively. Americans’ views on the court’s actions against student debt cancellation also track closely with their age, polling finds. Older Americans are more likely to support the court’s actions – 61 per cent of people age 65 and older endorsed the ruling that struck down the president’s plan, while only 40 per cent of people aged 30 to 49 and 31 per cent of those under 30 years old support the ruling. “I know there are millions of Americans … in this country who feel disappointed and discouraged, or even a little bit angry, about the court’s decision today on student debt. And I must admit, I do, too,” Mr Biden said in remarks from the White House on 30 June following the court’s decision. Public support for the decision making at the nation’s highest court – with three justices appointed by Donald Trump during his one-term presidency – sank precipitously in the wake of the decision to overturn Roe v Wade and revoke a constitutional right to abortion care last summer. Following that ruling, among other actions under the court’s new conservative majority, the court has come under greater public scrutiny, alongside the decades of maneuvers among Republican officials to seat similarly ideologically minded judges across the federal judiciary, the actions of Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife Ginni Thomas surrounding attempts to reject 2020 election results, and a series of investigative reports that revealed apparent ethics lapses among conservative justices. Such scrutiny has called the court’s legitimacy into question, with Democratic lawmakers and critics of the court pressing for ethics investigations, impeachment proceedings and the resignation of justices. Read More Harvard sued over ‘legacy admissions’ after Supreme Court targets affirmative action Biden reveals ‘new path’ to student debt relief after Supreme Court strikes down president’s plan The ‘fake’ gay marriage case in the middle of the Supreme Court’s latest threat to LGBT+ rights The Supreme Court risks inflaming the prejudices that America sought to banish

Civil rights lawyers argue that legacy admissions benefit the wealthy at the expense of minority students.

Hong Kong police are offering HK$1,000,000 ($127,650) rewards for information leading to the arrest of eight pro-democracy activists

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled Monday that his country is not ready to ratify Sweden's membership in NATO, saying Stockholm had to work harder on the “homework” it needs to complete. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, Erdogan also renewed his condemnation of a Quran-burning protest that took place in Sweden last week, describing the action as a hate crime against Muslims. “We have made it clear that the determined fight against terrorist organizations and Islamophobia are our red line," Erdogan said. “Everyone must accept that Turkey’s friendship cannot be won by supporting terrorism or by making space for terrorists.” Turkey has delayed giving its final approval to Sweden’s membership in the military alliance, accusing the country of being too lenient toward anti-Islamic demonstrations and groups that Ankara regards as security threats. These include militant Kurdish groups that have waged a deadly, decades-long insurgency in Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, has waged a 38-year insurgency against Turkey that has left tens of thousands dead. It is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S and the European Union. NATO wants to bring Sweden into the fold by the time NATO leaders meet in Lithuania on July 11-12 but Erdogan said Stockholm still had obligations to fulfill. NATO requires the unanimous approval of all existing members to expand, and Turkey and Hungary are the only countries that have not yet ratified Sweden’s bid. “Instead of wasting time with distraction tactics, we believe that keeping to the promises will be a more rational, more beneficial method,” Erdogan said. “We advise them to scrutinize themselves and do their homework better." He was referring to a memorandum that Sweden and Finland signed with Turkey last year under which they agreed to address Ankara's concerns. Fighting Islamophobia was not included in the memorandum. Last week, Swedish police allowed a protest outside a mosque in central Stockholm citing freedom of speech after a court overturned a ban on a similar Quran-burning. “The vile attack on our holy book, the Holy Quran, in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, enraged us all,” Erdogan said. “This perverted disregard for the feelings of 2 billion Muslims cannot be compatible with the most basic human values, let alone freedom of thought.” Sweden and Finland abandoned their traditional positions of military nonalignment to seek protection under NATO’s security umbrella, fearing they might be targeted by Moscow after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Finland joined the alliance earlier this year after Turkey’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid. Sweden changed its anti-terror legislation since applying for NATO membership, but Turkey argues supporters of militant groups can freely organize demonstrations, recruit and procure financial resources in the country. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last week called a meeting of senior officials from Turkey, Sweden and Finland for July 6 to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military alliance. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Jordan's foreign minister calls for investment into war-torn Syria to speed up refugee returns Q&A: Violinist and singer Sudan Archives brings 'fiddle soft punk' to Glastonbury debut Biden will host Sweden's prime minister at the White House as the Nordic nation seeks to join NATO

Novak Djokovic literally took matters into his own hands on the wet Wimbledon grass by using his towel and some elbow grease to help dry the surface

Thousands of people will gather at Coney Island on Tuesday to watch competitive eaters scarf down mountains of sausages and buns during the annual Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

The PGA Tour is sending two leading figures to next week's Senate panel reviewing its surprise business agreement with the Saudi backers of LIV Golf