At the US Open currently underway in New York, a single cocktail will surpass $10 million in sales before the tennis grand slam event ends September 8. The drink’s sales alone could cover the combined championship prize money for both the male and female singles winner — $3.6 million each this year. The Honey Deuce — a mix of vodka, lemonade and a raspberry liqueur, plus its signature melon balls — has become a major success for both Grey Goose and the tournament. It’s the result of a strategic marketing campaign that exploded as tennis’ popularity did. The US Open is one of the biggest sports events in the world, and this year, it’s beginning to burst at the seams. On opening day, August 25, a record 74,641 fans entered the grounds in Queens — much to the chagrin of some of the event’s biggest fans, who have been rubbing elbows with people they don’t necessarily want to be quite so close to. Massive crowds are expected to continue. The US Tennis Association aims to get 1 million fans to the US Open this year — the most in its 56-year history — according to the Sports Business Journal. StubHub told CNN that sales on the secondary-ticketing website are on track to outsell all previous US Open events. That’s a lot of people to buy the tournament’s popular — yet increasingly expensive —signature drink. Honey Deuce sales topped $10 million in 2023 and are expected to surpass that this year. Nathan Congleton/NBC/Getty Images Honey Deuce’s past and future The cocktail traces its roots back to 2007, when Grey Goose was in its second year of its vodka sponsorship with the US Open, a deal it extended in 2023 for another five years. The brand needed a drink that fit the parameters of being easy to serve in a high-capacity environment, like a busy sporting event, and had to have light and refreshing taste for the hot days. The drink was invented by a former Grey Goose ambassador and restaurateur Nick Mautone, who was at a farmer’s market when inspiration struck. “He saw a honeydew there and was like ‘What’s the taste of summer?’” Aleco Azqueta, vice president of marketing for Grey Goose, told CNN. And the Honey Deuce was born. Nick Mautone, the inventor of the Honey Deuce, in a 2012 picture. Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for Grey Goose The cocktail, which mixes Grey Goose vodka, lemonade and a splash of Chambord raspberry liqueur, topped with three pieces of honeydew scooped to resemble tennis balls, has become a photogenic star of the grand slam and social media feeds. (The deuce is a tennis term for when the players are tied at 40-40.) At last year’s event, a record-breaking 460,275 Honey Deuces at $22 each — with a commemorative plastic cup to keep — were sold at concession stands throughout the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, generating more than $10.1 million in sales. It’s become so popular that the tournament has several “Honey Deuce Express” bars scattered around the campus that only sell the drink. This year, taps filled with batched cocktail mix have been installed at some bars to speed up service. All told, more than 2.2 million Honey Deuces have been sold at the US Open since its creation nearly two decades ago, with sales likely breaking records again this year as US Open attendance keeps growing. $23, with a ‘commemorative’ cup Despite the drink getting more expensive — the Honey Deuce price has increased four times in the past five years, jumping another $1 this year to $23 — it hasn’t stopped sales. Azqueta credits some of the growth to its exclusivity, because it’s available for only two weeks a year. “What’s unique about the Honey Deuce is that it’s something that people really look forward to since you can only have the original at the US Open,” he said. Grey Goose has partnered with bartenders to sell the drink at roughly 140 New York-area locations and as a canned cocktail via delivery in New York and Chicago available only during the tournament as a way to give people a taste if they’re not heading to Queens. Tournament organizers are capitalizing on the Honey Deuce beyond the drink itself, for the first time selling hats, pins and T-shirts featuring the cocktail. The merchandise is selling so well that they have limited inventory left and have plans to restock, a US Open spokesperson told CNN. Although other events don’t break out specific sales numbers for specialty drinks, the Honey Deuce has solidified its space in “the royalty of cocktails that are identified with major sporting events throughout history,” according to Mea Leach, beverage director for Virgin Hotels New York. She includes the drink along with the Azalea, a vodka cocktail served at the Masters golf tournament and the Pimm’s Cup at Wimbledon. “You can’t have a US Open without the Honey Deuce,” Azqueta said. “It really is what the Mint Julep is to the Kentucky Derby but even more of a cultural phenomenon.” On Sunday, six-time US Open champion Serena Williams tried the Honey Deuce for the first time, posting her taste test to TikTok that has racked up 155,000 views so far. “Honey, that’s not deuce,” she mused. “That’s called Honey, ad-in, or Honey ace. Let’s rename it!”

  It may not feel like it yet, but things are about to cool off. That goes for travel prices as well as sky-high temperatures. “This time of year is really the best time of year to go pretty much anywhere,” says Hayley Berg, lead economist at travel platform Hopper. Crowds thin out, prices in some destinations come down from peak season rates and airfare drops significantly as fall arrives. “Airfare drops so considerably from summer to September and October that you can take one of those big, longer, expensive vacations for about 30% less across the board, no matter where you’re headed,” Berg said. She said it’s a great time to hit bucket list destinations. Pushing a late-summer trip back by as little as a few weeks can definitely pay off, agrees travel adviser Dave Hershberger, president of Prestige Travel in Cincinnati, Ohio. “There’s a lot of destinations that if you just kind of stretch outside that main popular time, that you’re going to get good value and a better experience,” he said. US national parks “A lot less people in national parks in the fall, so that’s always a good option,” said Hershberger, who is an avid national park visitor. Some of the United States’ stunning national parks have become so popular in recent years that they’ve started requiring reservations for certain peak times, especially during the busy summer months. But the hustle and bustle slow down come fall. At California’s Yosemite National Park, which required reservations every day during summer’s peak, reservations are now required only on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. And summer reservation requirements for popular areas of Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park, instituted for the first time this year, end on September 2. Airfare to Seattle, where the airport is about a 90-minute drive from Mount Rainier, sees a substantial drop of more than $100 from summer to fall, Berg said. But not every park fits the quieter-in-fall bill. Places such as Acadia National Park in Maine – where fall foliage is a huge draw – are going to be busy, Hershberger said. Santa Fe, New Mexico Fall is a great time to explore the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Tetra Images/Alamy Stock Photo Hershberger also mentioned Santa Fe as a good fall option “because it’s kind of in between seasons for them.” Hotels in Santa Fe are often booked near capacity on summer weekends, and parking can be a challenge. But crowds start to thin in the fall before things get busy for the holidays. There are still plenty of events in September and October, and the city’s Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Museum of International Folk Art are just two of its many attractions for art lovers. Scenic fall drives and outdoor recreation are also within easy reach. Japan Mount Fuji is seen in the distance behind the Tokyo skyline at dusk. Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images Japan drew record numbers of visitors over the summer, thanks to the weak yen and pent-up demand for Asian destinations following lengthy pandemic restrictions. While demand for Japan is still high and the yen has rebounded from a 38-year low against the dollar in July, pushing a pricey Asia trip to the fall can mean significant savings. According to data from Hopper, roundtrip airfare to Japan this fall is averaging $942, a 33% plunge from summer 2024 prices. And prices this fall are down 21% from the same time last year. “You know, $500, if you’re going as a pair or a family, per ticket in savings is substantial and fewer crowds because most of America and Europe are back to school and back to work,” Berg said. Hopper is seeing Japan emerge as a family destination, with cities that are easy to navigate via public transportation and low-cost options for entertainment and meals. Repositioning cruises Cruise lines are moving their ships from one region to another as the seasons change. That means some great deals for travelers who are willing to make an “open-jaw sailing.” (Not as fearsome as it sounds, that’s a voyage that departs from one port and arrives in a different one). “Rather than move empty ships, they sell these sailings to the public, often at a quite low cost. Aside from the savings, travelers are also able to enjoy itineraries that aren’t usually for sale,” said Aaron Saunders, senior editor at Cruise Critic. For example, a 13-night Transatlantic cruise on Norwegian Epic in October stops in Rome, Cannes, Ibiza, Cartagena (Spain) and Ponta Delgada in Portugal’s Azores before arriving at Port Canaveral in Florida. The cruise starts at $688 per person (or $53/night). Disney World Walt Disney World, including the Magic Kingdom park, tends to be less crowded in early fall after kids return to school. RSBPhoto1/Alamy Stock Photo Disney parks will be less crowded now that most kids are back in school, Hershberger said. Walt Disney World Resort theme park tickets for midweek dates in September are about as low as they go – starting at $109 for a single-day, single-park ticket to Animal Kingdom. And flights to Orlando and other popular spots in Florida are cheaper, too. Fall prices drop by about $80 a ticket to Orlando and Miami, Berg said. Albania The Vjosa in Albania is considered one of Europe’s last wild rivers. Ferdi Limani/Getty Images Hopper’s fall travel preview shows that autumn travelers are likely to save more than 30% on airfare to Europe by avoiding peak summer travel this year. But Europe prices are still pretty high, so it might make sense to choose a destination that’s increasingly drawing visitors with its great value. Beach lovers have been flocking to Albania for its Adriatic Sea beaches, but the Accursed Mountains and the wild Vjosa River have also earned raves with fewer visitors than the Albanian Riviera. And if you do want to hit one of the more popular European destinations, fall is still going to be cheaper than summer. “The price is lower, but there are also more deals,” Berg said. “So right now,

Ukraine launched one of its biggest-ever drone attacks on Russia over the weekend, hitting a refinery and power station deep inside the country, according to videos posted on social media and geolocated by CNN. The short videos show plumes of smoke rising from targets in Moscow and the neighboring Tver region. The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged the size of the Ukrainian attack, but downplayed its effectiveness, saying Sunday that 158 Ukrainian UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) “were destroyed and intercepted by on-duty air defense” overnight in 15 regions, including over the capital. A view shows an explosion caused by a drone that hit the Moscow oil refinery in Moscow, Russia September 1, 2024, in this screengrab from a social media video obtained by Reuters.  Obtained by Reuters Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said two drones were shot down in the area of the Moscow Oil Refinery. No casualties were reported, but the second downed drone damaged a technical building at the refinery and caused a fire, which the mayor said had been localized and did not affect the plant’s operation. The Tver region’s governor, Igor Rudenya, said on social media that a fire caused by the drone attack on the Konakovo district has been extinguished and that gas and electricity services to the area were operating normally. The Ukrainian drone strikes follow others in the past week, including one last Thursday that set fire to oil reservoirs at a refinery in the Rostov region of Russia, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Social media video geolocated by CNN showed a large cloud of black smoke billowing from the Atlas oil depot in Rostov following the strike. The recent wave of Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory began last month, when Kyiv’s troops launched a cross-border incursion into the Kursk region on August 6. Just on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that “people are going through tough ordeals, especially in the Kursk region,” as Ukrainian forces attempt to “destabilize the situation along the border.” But the attack has not stifled Russia’s offensive in the eastern Donbas region, added Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the Kursk offensive is going “according to plan,” but admitted “difficulty” in the eastern Ukrainian cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk. Rostov Oil Fire Telegram Zelensky said the most recent drone assaults deep inside Russia were justified by Moscow’s repeated attacks on his country. “Just in the past week, Russia has launched over 160 missiles of various types, 780 guided aerial bombs, and 400 strike UAVs of different kinds against our people,” Zelensky said in a post on X. On Monday, at least three people were wounded by strikes in Kyiv, as well as the eastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, according to Ukrainian authorities. Those came after 41 people were injured following a Russian attack on civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, local authorities said. “Russia is once again terrorizing Kharkiv, striking civilian infrastructure and the city itself,” Zelensky said on X, calling on allies to “give Ukraine everything it needs to defend itself.” “It is entirely justified for Ukrainians to respond to Russian terror by any means necessary to stop it,” Zelensky said, reiterating his call for Western countries to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons, which have that prevented their use to hit targets inside Russia. “This includes decisions to carry out long-range strikes on Russia’s missile launch sites, destroy Russian military logistics, and conduct joint efforts to shoot down missiles and drones – everything that will help us resist Russian evil,” Zelensky said. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missile and drone attacks since its invasion. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told CNN last week that he has presented the Biden administration with a list of targets inside Russia that Kyiv wants to hit with US-supplied long-range weapons, including the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). Fired from mobile launchers, ATACMS have a range of up to 300 kilometers (186 miles) and can deploy single high-explosive warheads or up to 900 submunitions, according to the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also urged allies to “abandon baseless fears” and “lift restrictions on the country’s legitimate right to self-defense.” “Ukraine is forced to fight with hands tied behind its back,” Kuleba said on Monday. “We have explained what kind of capabilities we need to protect the citizens against the Russian terror that Russians are causing us, so I hope we were heard,” Umerov said in an interview with CNN’s Alex Marquardt. But a US official said many of Ukraine’s high-value targets in Russia are outside the range of ATACMS. Russia’s military has pulled its high-value military assets far away from the front lines, including the aircraft launching glide bombs that have wreaked havoc on Ukrainian targets. Umerov has pushed back on the assessments, saying Ukraine has presented the US a list of targets they would use ATACMS to strike. An analysis last month from a Washington-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), supported Ukrainian claims there are high-value targets inside Russia within range of ATAMCS. ISW said it had identified 233 Russian targets – “large military bases, communications stations, logistics centers, repair facilities, fuel depots, ammunition warehouses, and permanent headquarters” – in range of ATACMS that are immobile assets, meaning Moscow cannot move them out of harm’s way. And ISW said Ukraine would only need to use ATACMS to strike some of those targets to have a significant impact on Russia’s ability to fight on the front lines. While it pushes for the US to lift the ATACMS restrictions, Ukraine has been developing new longer-range indigenous weapons. Zelensky announced last month that his country has a new jet-powered drone that can strike deep into Russia. He said the Palianytsia “missile-drone” had been used in combat for the first time and was much faster and more powerful than the country’s existing fleet of drones, according to Ukrainian state media. The Ukrainian president said he wouldn’t give any more specific details on

Since building a home for herself and her three kids over the past few years, Jennifer Garner has shown glimpses of the sunny farmhouse dwelling through her social media posts. The kitchen’s exposed wood beams and stone fireplace can be seen as she carries her fluffy cat, Moose, to places in the home he’s “never seen before” (inside the refrigerator and microwave, up high to peer at the family aquarium). She showed off her home gym and hillside pool views, too, filming herself as she trained to reprise the role of Elektra — and also, jokingly, announced that she had failed to make the Olympic Games. But until now, Garner hasn’t given a full tour inside her Westside Los Angeles property. That’s all changed with Architectural Digest’s latest cover story, which reveals a cheerful, rustic space designed and constructed from the ground up by Steve and Brooke Giannetti — with help from designer Laura Putnam — who are well-known with design circles for building spacious and light-filled arcadian houses integrated with the natural world. “I wanted (the home) to feel old and cool and historic, but I also wanted to make it work for a big family with a lot of things going on,” Garner told AD for the October issue. She had searched for a home with privacy, but the ones she toured all felt too “grand,” she explained. Instead, she tasked the Giannetti’s with building an entirely new space, which they based on the actor’s memories of her childhood in West Virginia, according to AD. Garner with cat Moose and dog Birdie in the light-filled kitchen and dining area. Frank Frances/AD The pool overlooks the surrounding hills, and was a picturesque spot for Garner to train for her reprised role as Elektra in “Deadpool & Wolverine.”  Frank Frances/AD “I had this idea of creating something that felt like a farmhouse and a barn,” Steve said in the cover story. “We wanted natural wood, coziness—a kind of warm embrace of a house for her because she’s such a lovely person.” The home reflects that sense of comfort, with natural materials and a neutral color scheme topped off with antique and repurposed furniture in the living room, brass chandeliers and marble countertops in kitchen, and a nickel soaking tub with views of the greenery outside. “There’s also something a bit whimsical about her,” Brooke added. “And she likes gentle shapes, curves. This place is kind of the house version of Jen’s personality.” The cover of AD’s October issue. Frank Frances/AD There’s plenty of opportunities to connect with nature, too. The kitchen opens up to the tranquil pool and a bucolic fruit and vegetable garden, while floral and arboreal wallpaper appear in the kids’ rooms and bathrooms. It’s a house fully in use, too, rather than siloed off — a rarity for a house with multiple pre-teens and teenagers. “I am happy that I feel like we use the space really well, and that the kids are all over the house,” Garner said. They’re as comfortable sitting in the living room as they are doing homework in the dining room. And that’s the dream, right?” That’s the vision that Garner had, the designers explained — a thoughtful approach to how everyone might use the space once it was built. Perhaps most touching are the stained-glass windows in the study and reading room, inspired by the children’s book “All the World” by Marla Freeze — a cherished book in the family. The windows were made by the author’s son, the artist Reed Bradley, as a tribute to his mother’s work. But he incorporated Garner and her family into the symbolism of the windows, with owls representing each of the kids, as well as an appearance by their dog, Birdie.

A team of NASA rocket scientists is developing autonomous underwater robots able to go where humans cannot, deep beneath Antarctica’s giant ice shelves. The robots’ task is to better understand how rapidly ice is melting — and how quickly that could cause catastrophic sea level rise. In March, scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory lowered a cylindrical robot into the icy waters of the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska to gather data at 100 feet deep. It was the first step in the “IceNode” project. The ultimate aim is to release a fleet of these robots in Antarctica, which will latch on to the ice and capture data over long periods in one of the most inaccessible places on Earth. There is an urgent need to better understand this remote, isolated continent; what happens here has global implications. A slew of recent research suggests Antarctica’s ice may be melting in alarming new ways, meaning the sea level rise forecast might be vastly underestimated. If Antarctica’s ice sheet were to melt entirely, it would cause global sea level rise of around 200 feet — spelling complete catastrophe for coastal communities. Scientists are particularly keen to understand what’s happening to Antarctica’s ice shelves, huge slabs of floating ice which jut out into the ocean and are an important defense against sea level rise, acting as a cork to hold back glaciers on land. The “grounding line” — the point at which the glacier rises from the seabed and becomes an ice shelf — is where the most rapid melting may be happening, as warm ocean water eats away at the ice from underneath. But getting a detailed look at the grounding line in the treacherous Antarctic landscape has been exceptionally difficult. IceNode: JPL’s Autonomous Underwater Robots #Shorts “We’ve been pondering how to surmount these technological and logistical challenges for years, and we think we’ve found a way,” said Ian Fenty, a climate scientist at JPL and IceNode’s science lead. NASA’s plan to release around 10 IceNode robots, each around 8 feet long and 10 inches in diameter, into the water from a borehole in the ice or a ship off the coast. They have no propulsion but will ride ocean currents, directed by special software, to their Antarctic destination where they will activate their “landing gear” — three legs which spring out and attach to the ice. Once in place, their sensors will monitor how fast the warmer, salty ocean water is melting the ice, as well as how quickly the cold meltwater is sinking. The fleet could operate for up to a year, capturing data across the seasons, NASA said. Once they have finished monitoring, the robots will detach themselves from the ice, drift to the surface of the ocean and transmit data by satellite. This data can then be fed into computer models to improve the accuracy of sea level rise projections. “These robots are a platform to bring science instruments to the hardest-to-reach locations on Earth,” said Paul Glick, JPL robotics mechanical engineer and IceNode principal investigator. The team is currently focused on developing the robots’ technical capabilities and there are more tests planned. There is currently no exact timeline for when they will be deployed in Antarctica, Glick told CNN, “but we’d ideally like it to be as soon as possible.” An IceNode prototype beneath the frozen surface of Lake Superior, off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, during a field test in 2022. NASA Robots have been used to look beneath Antarctica’s ice before. A recent research project used a torpedo-like robot called Icefin, a remotely operated vehicle which recorded information about ocean heat, saltiness and currents. But where Icefin included a propulsion system and remained attached to a tether, through which it was controlled and could send back data, the IceNodes will be entirely autonomous. Both systems complement each other, said Rob Larter, a marine geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey, which was part of the research project using Icefin. Where Icefin can release data in real time, deployments are limited by how long a borehole can be kept open before freezing over, usually a matter of days. IceNodes will be able to collect data over much longer periods but won’t transmit until its mission is over. Deployment of both machines is challenging and involves substantial risk to sophisticated equipment, Larter told CNN, “but such innovative approaches and risk taking are necessary to find out more about the critical hidden world beneath ice shelves.”

Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to Israel’s streets in fresh fury on Monday over the government’s failure to secure a ceasefire-for-hostages deal with Hamas. Demonstrations could be seen in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Caesarea and other sites across the country, fueled by the killing in Gaza of six hostages, whose bodies were retrieved by Israeli soldiers this weekend. Several gatherings targeted the homes of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with protesters lighting fires and chanting: “You are the leader – you are guilty!” near one of Netanyahu’s private residences in Caesarea. In Tel Aviv, protesters outside the US Embassy chanted “Shame!” late into the evening, video showed. Netanyahu has been accused of stalling efforts for a deal by some hostage families and their supporters. More than 100 hostages, including 35 believed to be dead, are still being held in Gaza – the vast majority of them taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, when some 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken captive The scenes outside the Israeli leader’s homes culminated a day of anger that brought much of the country to a halt, following a call by the country’s largest labor union, known as Histadrut, to shut down the “entire” economy. Flights in and out of Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport were also stopped for two hours. But in a press conference Monday evening, the Israeli leader struck a note of defiance, batting away criticisms – including from US President Joe Biden – that he is not doing enough to secure a deal. He asked for “forgiveness” from the families of the six hostages for failing to bring them back alive, but insisted it should be Hamas that “has to make the concessions.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024.  Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL/AFP/Getty Images He also vowed to retaliate and extract a “heavy price” from the militant group that controls Gaza, for the killing of the six hostages, whose autopsies showed they were shot at short range on Thursday or Friday morning. Hamas meanwhile escalated its own threats on Monday, with a public warning that more hostages held in Gaza would return “inside coffins” if Israel attempts to free them militarily. A statement released by the militant group said that its fighters guarding prisoners held in the Palestinian enclave had received “new instructions” on how to deal with hostages if Israeli forces get close, and released an illustrated poster apparently showing hostages threatened with a gun. Passengers wait for flights at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv during a nationwide strike on September 2, 2024. Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images Monday saw the largest general strike to have taken place in Israel since March 2023, when there was a similar mass walkout over Netanyahu’s controversial attempts to overhaul the country’s judiciary. According to union Histadrut, hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined the protests Monday, just a day after half a million took to the streets on Sunday for what protest organizers said was one of the biggest nationwide protests since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Hamas. Israeli police said they had seven demonstrators in Tel Aviv for “violating public order and disrupting traffic.” ‘Netanyahu has made it impossible’ Netanyahu’s defiant stance following the discovery of the six hostage bodies has thrown further doubt on the negotiations for a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. Even before the killing of the six hostages, the talks had become bogged down, with one key disagreement centering on control of a border area known as the Philadelphi corridor. Netanyahu says control of the 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt is needed to prevent Hamas from resuming arms smuggling through tunnels underneath it. However, the deployment of Israeli troops along the corridor has been a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas in the ceasefire talks, with Hamas saying Israeli troops must withdraw from the border zone. “Hamas doesn’t want us to be there and that’s why I insist on being there,” the Israeli leader said on Monday. During a cabinet meeting over the weekend, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had lambasted the Israeli government for what he said was prioritizing control of the corridor over a deal to free hostages, calling it a “moral disgrace.” The relative of one of the hostages who was shot dead in southern Gaza also blamed Netanyahu and his stance on the corridor for their deaths. Gil Dickmann, the cousin of Carmel Gat, told CNN that the Israeli government “cold-bloodedly” crossed a “red line” by prioritizing the corridor over the lives of the hostages. “We know that Hamas has agreed to a deal at some point, and Israel was the one putting on more and more terms and actually postponing the deal,” Dickmann said on Monday. “Right now, we know the decisions that our Prime Minister Netanyahu has made it impossible for Carmel and other hostages to return and put their lives in great danger, and that’s what killed them.” But on Monday, even as he acknowledged dissent within his cabinet, Netanyahu doubled down. “We’re not going to withdraw from the Philadelphi corridor,” Netanyahu told a press conference on Monday evening. “The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi corridor. We need to have it under our control,” he said. Disagreements over the corridor are only one of the splits within the cabinet over the conduct of the war that have become increasingly public and rancorous in recent months, reflecting deep divisions at the top of Israel’s government. Just on Monday, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he was using his power to prevent a “reckless deal” and ensure “that there will be no negotiations at all.” He was speaking to members of Gvura, a right-wing organization representing the families of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza. But American officials described new urgency in reaching a ceasefire-for-hostages deal. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said while meeting the families of Americans held hostage that “the next few days will be critical”

More than a dozen members of a Turkish national youth organization were taken into custody in Turkey after local authorities say they assaulted two US Marines. The Marines, assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, were on liberty in Izmir when the assault occurred Monday afternoon, the US Sixth Fleet said in a statement. The Marines were assaulted by members of the Turkish Youth Union, according to local authorities, a nationalist anti-American organization that has attacked US service members before. Video of the assault confirmed by a US official shows several people holding the Marines by force as a speaker on the street screams loudly. One of the Marines shouts “Help!” several times, while the crowd puts a bag over the head of another Marine. The crowd then starts chanting, “Yankee, go home!” The Marines were able to break away from the crowd with the help of other Marines in the area, the Navy said. They were screened at a local hospital and are not injured. The Marines have returned to the USS Wasp. The US and Turkey are NATO allies, but relations between the two have often been fraught. Since the start of the war in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vociferously criticized Israel, accusing the country of carrying out a genocide. In April, Erdogan hosted Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul. Turkey also blocked Sweden’s ascension to NATO, claiming that Sweden harbored Kurdish terror groups. Erdogan relented when the US moved forward with plans to sell Turkey modern American fighter jets. Local Izmir police and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the incident, the Navy said. No Marines were detained, and those involved in the incident are cooperating with investigators. “We can confirm reports that U.S. service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an assault in Izmir today, and are now safe,” the US Embassy in Turkey said on social media. “We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation.” Izmir Governorship said in a statement that local police intervened in the incident and that 15 suspects were taken into custody. It’s not the first time the Turkish Youth Union has attacked US service members. In a similar incident in 2014, members of the organization attacked three US sailors on leave from their ship in Istanbul, placing bags over their heads. The assailants chanted “Yankee, go home!” during the attack. For the Turkish Youth Union, placing bags over the heads of US service members is a reference to an infamous incident in 2003 known as the “hood incident.” Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, US troops captured Turkish soldiers and placed bags over their heads, detaining them for 60 hours. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is part of the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, which is operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid concerns of a regional escalation. The USS Wasp had pulled into Izmir one day earlier, and the Marines were allowed to leave the ship for a break.

As her 4-year-old son perused the Israeli museum’s ancient artifacts, Anna Geller looked away for just a moment. Then a crash sounded, a rare 3,500-year-old jar was broken on the ground, and her son stood over it, aghast. “It was just a distraction of a second,” said Geller, a mother of three from the northern Israeli town of Nahariya. “And the next thing I know, it’s a very big boom boom behind me.” The Bronze Age jar that her son, Ariel Geller, broke last week, has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered. It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C. What could be considered every parent’s worst nightmare became a learning experience Friday, as the Geller family returned to the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel. Ariel gifted the museum a clay vase of his own and was met with forgiving staff and curators. Alex Geller said Ariel — the youngest of his three children — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash last Friday, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head. The jar, which is at least 3,500 years old, was left in pieces at the Hecht Museum last month. Hecht Museum staff “I’m embarrassed,” said Anna Geller, who said she tried desperately to calm her son down after the vase shattered. “He told me he just wanted to see what was inside.” The jar was one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum. She said she wanted to use the restoration as an educational opportunity and to make sure the Gellers — who curtailed their initial museum visit soon after Ariel broke the jar last week — felt welcome to return. Related articleFive years after a $124-million museum heist shocked the world, recovered jewels returned home Nahariya, where the family lives, is in an area just south of Israel’s border with Lebanon that has come under Hezbollah rocket fire for more than 10 months, in a conflict linked to the war in Gaza. The family has been visiting museums and taking day trips around Israel this summer to escape the tensions, Alex Geller said. There were a lot of kids at the museum that day, and he said when he heard the crash he prayed that the damage had been caused by someone else. When he turned around and saw it was his son, he was “in complete shock.” He went over to the security guards to let them know what had happened in hopes that it was a model and not a real artifact. The father even offered to pay for the damage. Ariel Geller, 4, center, and his parents Anna, right, and Alex, center left, during their visit to the Hecht Museum. Maya Alleruzzo/AP “But they called and said it was insured and after they checked the cameras and saw it wasn’t vandalism they invited us back for a make-up visit,” Alex Geller said. Experts were using 3D technology and high-resolution videos to restore the jar, which could be back on display as soon as next week. “That’s what’s actually interesting for my older kids, this process of how they’re restoring it, and all the technology they’re using there,” Alex Geller said. Related article2,300-year-old tomb found in Israel may contain remains of Greek courtesan Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together. Shafir, who was painstakingly reassembling the jar, said the artifacts should remain accessible to the public, even if accidents happen because touching an artifact can inspire a deeper interest in history and archaeology. “I like that people touch. Don’t break, but to touch things, it’s important,” he said.

American Frances Tiafoe, who reached the US Open semifinals two years ago, is making another deep run in New York – and needed to shout out a certain member of the crowd before leaving the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Tiafoe, who had the fans loudly behind him Sunday night, went on to defeat his friend, No. 28 Alexei Popyrin of Australia – 6-4, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3 – in just over three hours to advance to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. “I always dreamt about playing on this court,” Tiafoe said after the win. “From a kid, you know, I used to hit against the wall and want to compete on this court. “Seeing the Williams sisters win titles here, seeing Roger (Federer) win here a million times, I was like, ‘I just want to play on this court.’ “It’s so iconic, obviously, named after Arthur Ashe, so I wanted to be a part of that. And it just brings out the best in me. And you guys are unbelievable fans, and it makes it so fun out here, honestly.” But when Chris Eubanks – an American tennis player who is friends with Tiafoe and is currently working for ESPN after losing in the first round on August 26 – tried to wrap up the on-court interview, Tiafoe took the microphone, saying, “Hold on.” “Tony Goldwyn was in the crowd,” Tiafoe said, referencing the actor. “Yo, I’m a huge fan of you, bro. Me and my girl used to watch ‘Scandal’ all the time. I’m a huge fan brother, I’m a huge fan, bro. I’ve got to say that.” Dimitrov up next for Tiafoe Now that Tiafoe has that box checked, he’ll be looking ahead to the quarterfinals. Tiafoe will face No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Dimitrov, the oldest man left in the draw at 33, defeated No. 6 Andrey Rublev in the round of 16, getting past the Russian 6-3, 7-6(3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 in three hours, 39 minutes. Dimitrov, who reached the US Open semifinals in 2019, is 3-1 in his career against the 26-year-old Tiafoe. It was the first time Tiafoe and Popyrin – who had upset Novak Djokovic in the third round – had played each other. Popyrin gave respect to Tiafoe, the No. 20 seed, applauding his friend’s forehand winner on match point. They then embraced at the net. “Obviously beating Novak is a huge win at any point, any time, no matter where, when,” Tiafoe said to reporters of Popryin. “I kind of feel like Alexei had the level. He showed it tonight. It was a really, really high level. So I had to come up with great stuff.” Popyrin gave Tiafoe his flowers after their match, saying of the American, “He’s playing some scary tennis.” Jamie Squire/Getty Images Popyrin told reporters he thought Tiafoe “was the better player no matter how close it was” and that the American “stepped up on the bigger points.” “He’s playing some scary tennis,” the 25-year-old Popyrin said. “If he continues it, he has a really good chance.” No American man has won a grand slam singles title since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003. At the 2022 US Open, Tiafoe gave fans hope he might end the US men’s grand slam singles title drought, shocking Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 and upsetting Rublev in the quarterfinals. His run ended in the semifinals, falling to the eventual champion, Carlos Alcaraz. Taylor Fritz also reaches quarterfinals Tiafoe is one of two American men so far that have reached this year’s US Open quarterfinals. Joining him is No. 12 Taylor Fritz, who came back from a set down to defeat No. 8 Casper Ruud 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 earlier Sunday. “I think, in the past, I’ve been very, very excited, very happy to make quarterfinals at slams,” said Fritz, 26, who advanced to his fifth grand slam quarterfinal of his career, including now at the US Open in back-to-back years. “I think I’m at the point now where I’m still happy to make quarterfinals, but I wouldn’t be happy with it ending here. I definitely am at the point where I really want more than that.” Up next for Fritz will be No. 4 Alex Zverev of Germany, who was runner-up at this year’s French Open and runner-up at the 2020 US Open. On Sunday, Zverev beat unseeded American Brandon Nakashima 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. At Wimbledon in the fourth round against Zverev, Fritz came back from two sets down to win in five. All time, Zverev is 5-4 against the American. “We’re in a quarterfinal of a grand slam stage. I think there’s no easy matches from now moving forward,” Zverev said. One American remains on the opposite half of the draw: No. 14 Tommy Paul will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Monday in the fourth round.

A man found frozen in a Pennsylvania cave in 1977 has finally been identified, closing the book on a nearly 50-year-long mystery. The Berks County Coroner’s Office identified the remains of the missing man as Nicholas Paul Grubb, 27, from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Surprisingly, advanced technology played no role in identifying the “Pinnacle Man,” a moniker inspired by the peak in the Appalachian Mountains near where Grubb was found. Instead, Berks County Coroner John Fielding told reporters at a Tuesday news conference that a Pennsylvania State Police detective discovered the missing link to the cold case the old-fashioned way, by digging through files. Hikers find ‘Pinnacle Man’ On January 16, 1977, hikers found a man’s frozen body in a cave just below the Pinnacle, in Albany Township, the Berks County Coroner said at the news conference. Hiker missing for 10 days in California mountains survived by drinking a gallon of water each day During the autopsy he was unable to be identified based on his appearance, clothing or belongings, according to George Holmes, chief deputy coroner of Berks County. The cause of death, according to Holmes, was determined to be a drug-induced overdose. There were no signs of trauma to Grubb’s body suggesting foul play, the coroner’s office said. Dental records and fingerprints were collected from the man’s body during his autopsy, according to Holmes, who added that the fingerprints were misplaced. A break in the case More than 42 years passed before authorities revisited the cold case, according to CNN affiliate WFMZ, which reported Grubb’s body was exhumed in 2019 after dental records linked him to two missing person cases in Florida and Illinois. Berks County forensic experts performed an exam in 2019, and DNA samples were taken to update his record in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, or NamUs. But they did not match the two missing person cases, the coroner’s office said.A woman’s killing was unsolved for 44 years. A cigarette butt just led to an arrest, police say Fast-forward to early August, when there was a major break in the cold case. Ian Keck of the Pennsylvania State Police found the lost fingerprint card from Grubb’s 1977 autopsy. Keck submitted the fingerprint card to NamUs on August 12, according to Holmes, and within an hour an FBI fingerprint expert matched the Pinnacle Man’s fingerprints to Grubb’s. One of Grubb’s family members was notified by the Berks County Coroner’s Office, who confirmed Grubb’s identity. The family member asked the office to place his remains in the family plot. “This identification brings a long awaited resolution to his family, who have been notified and expressed their deep appreciation for the collective efforts that made it possible. It is moments like these that remind us of the importance of our work to provide answers, to bring closure and to give the unidentified a name and a story,” Fielding said.

CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister spoke with the stars of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” about the timing of the sequel to the iconic 1988 film and Jenna Ortega’s hilarious childhood encounter with a terrifying Beetlejuice.

A man accused of killing his girlfriend in Boston and fleeing to Kenya has been extradited back to the United States — the latest twist in an international case that saw his arrest at a Nairobi nightclub and his escape from jail. Kevin Kangethe, 42, is accused of killing nurse Margaret “Maggie” Mbitu, whose body was found in a parked car last November at Boston’s Logan International Airport, two days after she was reported missing. Authorities say he then immediately boarded a flight and fled the country. For months, the suspect eluded authorities after he arrived in Kenya. In January, investigators spotted Kangethe at a nightclub in Nairobi and arrested him. He escaped from jail days later and was on the run for a week before he was rearrested in Nairobi in early February. Kenya has an extradition treaty with the United States. Kangethe’s extradition Sunday returns him to the jurisdiction of his alleged crime, some 7,000 miles away. He is expected to face a murder charge at Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday, said Renson Ingonga, Kenya’s director of public prosecutions. “I wish to reiterate my commitment and support, whenever needed, to the United States of America, and in particular the prosecution team as they proceed with the next phase of the case,” Ingonga said in a statement Monday. He boarded a flight the day before her body was found Mbitu, 31, lived in Whitman, a Boston suburb, and was the youngest in a family of health care workers. Her two older sisters and her mother are all nurses. She was reported missing in late October after she didn’t show up for work, which was uncommon for her. Maggie Mbitu was 31 when she was killed last fall. Ann Mbitu/GoFundMe Her family notified the police and called nearby hospitals to check if she was a patient. Investigators believed her boyfriend was a suspect, according to a criminal complaint from the state police. With the help of surveillance cameras, police tracked his Toyota SUV to the airport and found it in a parking garage. Inside they found Mbitu’s bloodied body with slash wounds on her face and neck, Massachusetts State Police said in an affidavit. The day before her body was found, Kangethe boarded flights from Boston to Kenya. Surveillance footage showed him leaving the parking garage and entering an airport terminal, police said. Investigators learned he had bought a plane ticket the previous morning, state police said. “Why her?” her sister, Ann Mbitu, told CNN in November. “Nobody’s daughter deserves this, but why my sister? Why Maggie?” “I’m so angry, I’m still trying to process everything. At 31, we’re not supposed to be planning her funeral. We’re supposed to be planning celebrations, birthdays, weddings, travel.” The fugitive was arrested in a Nairobi nightclub but escaped from jail a week later Kangethe has been arrested twice with the help of tipsters. After he arrived in Kenya, he eluded authorities for three months. Then in late January, someone alerted police that a man at a nightclub in Nairobi resembled images of the suspect they’d seen on social media, Kenyan authorities said. An undercover officer tracked him down and struck up a conversation with him, a police official told CNN. Within hours, authorities identified the man as Kangethe, whom authorities in Massachusetts had obtained an arrest warrant on a murder charge. A week later, a man claiming to be his lawyer appeared at the police station where he was being held and asked to speak with him. Officers released the suspect from his cell and left them alone in an office. The suspected escaped on foot and evaded authorities for days, police said. He was re-arrested a week later at a relative’s house in a suburb of Nairobi after another tip-off, Kenyan police said. Kevin Hayden, District Attorney of Suffolk County in suburban Boston, thanked the US State Department, the FBI, the state police, the Kenyan government and Kenyan law enforcement agencies for facilitating the arrest. “Their tremendous and untiring efforts will provide Margaret’s family and friends the opportunity to see Kevin Kangethe face justice for this terrible crime,” Hayden said in a statement in February. Investigators have not revealed a motive in the killing.

As kids head back to school, many schools aren’t allowing them to bring their phones to class. Legislation to ban phones in schools has been proposed or passed in many cities and states. Most schools already have policies prohibiting them for nonacademic use, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Parents often question these policies because they want to be able to reach their kids in an emergency such as a school shooting. Yet research suggests it’s not just a good idea for kids to put their phones away while in class — they shouldn’t bring them to school at all. Some 97% of 11- to 17-year-olds use their phones during school time, for an average of 43 minutes, according to a 2023 Common Sense Media study. If they’re checking their phones between classes or at lunch and recess, they’re likely preoccupied with what they’re seeing on their screens and therefore spending less time talking, playing or even just hanging out with their friends. Such preoccupation is not healthy because, as social psychologist Jonathan Haidt wrote in “The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness,” one of the most important things young people should be doing is playing with peers. In doing so, they learn to navigate social dynamics and build skills by figuring out how to do different activities. It teaches them they can handle other challenges they’ll face in the future, which Haidt said can help protect them from anxiety. Children may spend less time talking and hanging out with friends if they’re busy checking their phones at lunch or recess. Klaus Vedfelt/Digital Vision/Getty Images Smartphones aren’t making kids smarter But phones aren’t just intruding on kids’ time outside class. In a June Pew Research Center survey, 72% of public high school teachers said cell phone distractions are a major problem in their classrooms. If children are sneaking peeks at their phones, they can’t possibly be paying attention to what they’re supposed to be learning. A wide body of evidence tells us the human brain can’t multitask — we can only do one thing at a time. One indicator that students aren’t learning as much at school as they did in the pre-phone era is scores on the ACT — a standardized test that measures whether they have the English, reading, math and science skills needed for first-year college courses. Last year, ACT scores dropped to the lowest level in more than 30 years, according to the organization that administers the test. As a professor who has taught at five universities since 2010, I’ve witnessed this trend myself. When I first started teaching, before smartphones became ubiquitous, many of my students arrived better able to concentrate and work through long reading passages than they are now. Of course, it’s easy to imagine how kids will respond if we ask them to leave their phones home: They’ll promise not to check them during the school day. Unfortunately, it’s unreasonable to expect them to fight the urge to look at products that are designed to be addictive, with features such as bottomless scrolling and continuous notifications. The average teen gets 237 phone notifications a day on their phones, according to the Common Sense Media study — with a quarter coming in during the school day. Sending kids to school sans smartphones forces them to concentrate on what’s happening in front of them rather than on their screens. That’s another important skill to learn. “The phone-based life makes it difficult for people to be fully present with others when they are with others, and to sit silently with themselves when they are alone,” Haidt warned. Smartphones and safety What’s more, the idea that having a phone with them makes kids safer is often a myth. Phones can be dangerously distracting to teens. At one of my recent talks at a private school, the school psychologist told parents she regularly sees their children walk out of school looking at their screens while crossing the streets of Manhattan. So, phones may cause emergencies in the first place. Of course, if children have a crisis on the way home from school, in most places in the United States, there will be businesses and people around with phones who will be willing to let them call their parents. Similarly, while many parents wish they could reach their children in the unthinkable event of a school shooting, kids will be safer if they remain quiet and focused on the instructions they receive from school administrators or law enforcement. In addition, children often have extraordinarily dangerous experiences on their phones. In August, a report by Thorn, a nonprofit that combats child sex abuse, revealed that the great majority — 59% — of youth said they’ve had online experiences that have been potentially harmful. One in 3 minors and 1 in 5 preteens said they’d had online sexual experiences with someone they thought was an adult, according to the report. It’s true that letting kids bring phones to school can make coordinating things like pickups after extracurricular activities easier. If children truly need a phone to communicate with their parents — perhaps because they have a medical condition and need to be able to reach someone in an emergency or because their pickup arrangements are so complicated that a time and location can’t be set in advance — one option Haidt recommended is an old-fashioned flip phone. Having one lets them text or call but not log on to social media apps. Sending kids to school with smartphones is unlikely to make them smarter or safer. It’s more likely to distract them and make them unable to focus on learning. Without a phone, kids can focus on interacting with peers, learning and being fully present in their surroundings — rather than having these things compete for their attention with influencers and internet memes. Kara Alaimo is an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Her book “Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls — And How We Can Take

Social media influencers, reality stars and TV personalities were among the guests as the Norwegian king’s eldest child, Princess Märtha Louise, married an American self-professed shaman on Saturday in a wedding ceremony following three days of festivities. The 52-year-old Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett, who claims to be a sixth-generation shaman from California, tied the knot in the picturesque small town of Geiranger, one of Norway’s major tourist attractions, located on a fjord with stunning views. Following festivities that started on Thursday, the actual wedding ceremony took place in a large white tent set up on a lush lawn. Guests told media outlets that Norwegian and US artists performed at the event along with a gospel choir and a singer representing Norway’s indigenous Sámi people. The coupled were married in Geiranger, Norway. Heiko Junge/NTB/Reuters “It was fantastic! It was Hollywood meets Geiranger,” Norwegian TV personality Harald Rønneberg described the colorful ceremony to public broadcaster NRK. “It was gospel and love. We laughed, we clapped, and we were touched. It was absolutely beautiful.” The couple have sold the wedding photo rights to British celebrity magazine Hello! and the film rights to Netflix. The deals prompted protests from Norwegian media, which say the arrangement goes against local practices. The couple have often lashed out against the press while promoting themselves on social media. The 87-year-old King Harald, who has been in fragile health the past few years, attended his daughter’s wedding together with Queen Sonja and other members of the Norwegian royal house. Crown Princess Victoria and her husband Prince Daniel represented the Swedish royal house together with her brother, Prince Carl Philip, and his wife, Princess Sofia. No other European royals attended the wedding. The wedding comes amid widespread criticism of the couple’s actions and waning support for the Norwegian royals, who have also been plagued by negative reports about an unruly family member who faces preliminary domestic violence charges. Märtha Louise and Verrett, 49, have attracted headlines with their alternative beliefs. She is fourth in line to the Norwegian throne but said in 2022 that she’ll no longer officially represent the Norwegian royal house. The princess – she has retained the title – has said she can talk with angels, while Verrett claims that he communicates with a broad range of spirits and has a medallion which helps ward off spells and cure diseases. They became engaged in 2022. Following their marriage, Verrett will not have a royal title or official duties. In a 2019 deal, Märtha Louise and Verrett agreed not to use her connection to the royal house or her title for commercial purposes. But earlier this year Märtha Louise labeled bottles of gin with her title and launched the brand in time for the wedding, defying King Harald’s directive that she should not profit from her royal status. The label was eventually changed. Märtha Louise has three children from her previous marriage with author and playwright Ari Behn, whom she divorced in 2017 after 14 years of marriage.

The United States has seized Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro’s airplane after determining that its acquisition was in violation of US sanctions, among other criminal issues. The US flew the aircraft to Florida on Monday, according to two US officials. It’s the latest development in what has long been a frosty relationship between the US and Venezuela, and its seizure in the Dominican Republic marks an escalation as the US continues to investigate what it regards as corrupt practices by Venezuela’s government. The plane has been described by officials as Venezuela’s equivalent to Air Force One and it  has been pictured in previous state visits by Maduro around the world. “This sends a message all the way up to the top,” one of the US officials told CNN. “Seizing the foreign head of state’s plane is unheard-of for criminal matters. We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of US sanctions.” CNN has reached out to the Venezuelan Government, the US Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and State Department for comment. The situation in Venezuela has had implications for US politics as millions flee the country, many of whom have chosen to migrate to the US-Mexico border. For years, US officials have sought to disrupt the flow of billions of dollars to the regime. Homeland Security Investigations — the second largest investigative agency in the federal government — has seized dozens of luxury vehicles, among other assets, heading to Venezuela. The plane — a Dassault Falcon 900, according to flight records, is estimated to cost around $13 million — had been in the Dominican Republic in recent months. US officials didn’t disclose why, but it presented an opportunity for US officials to seize the aircraft. Multiple federal agencies were involved in the seizure, including Homeland Security Investigations; Commerce agents, the Bureau of Industry and Security; and the Justice Department. US officials worked closely with the Dominican Republic, which notified Venezuela of the seizure, according to one of the US officials. One of the next steps, upon arriving to the US, will be pursuing forfeiture, meaning the Venezuelan government has a chance to petition for it, and collecting evidence from the aircraft. The US recently placed pressure on the Venezuelan government to “immediately” release specific data regarding its presidential election, citing concerns about the credibility of strongman leader Maduro’s victory. Earlier this year, the US reimposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas sector in response to the Maduro government’s failure to allow “an inclusive and competitive election” to take place. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro alights from the plane upon his arrival at the Santa Maria airport, 22 km north of San Jose, on January 28, 2015 to take part in the III CELAC Summit. Ezequiel Becerra/AFP/Getty Images After the controversial reelection of Maduro on July 28, Venezuela suspended commercial flights to and from the Dominican Republic. Federal agencies, including HSI, have long been going after the Venezuelan government over corruption concerns. Over recent years, HSI has disrupted $2 billion worth of the Venezuelan government’s illicit proceeds or resources, including judgements, seizures, liquidation of bank accounts, according to one of the US officials. In March 2020, the US Department of Justice charged Maduro, together with 14 current and former Venezuelan officials, with narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption. “For more than 20 years, Maduro and a number of high-ranking colleagues allegedly conspired with [Colombian left-wing guerrillaa] the FARC, causing tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities.,” then-Attorney General William Barr said at the time. The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction. In 2017, two nephews of Maduro’s wife Cilia Flores were sentenced to 18 years in prison by a federal court in New York City for trying to smuggle up to 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States on a private jet; the two were later released by the United States in a prisoners’ exchange in 2022. “We see these officials and the Maduro regime basically fleecing the Venezuelan people for their own gain,” the US official said. “You have people who can’t even afford a loaf of bread there and then you have the president of Venezuela jetting around in a high-class private jet.” Poor economic conditions, food shortages and limited access to health care have pushed more than 7.7 million people to flee Venezuela, marking the largest displacement in the Western Hemisphere.

There have been some pretty incendiary public family feuds through the decades, but none more infamous than that of Liam and Noel Gallagher, the brothers behind ’90s Britpop band Oasis. After all, who else can say that they argued with their sibling for 15 minutes about who is more rock ‘n roll during a 1994 interview with NME, the audio of which went on to be released as a single called “Wibbling Rivalry”? The pair have publicly traded barbs for decades, at least until earlier this week when they announced that “the guns have fallen silent” on their 15-year feud for a long-awaited Oasis reunion. So while you continue to strategize about how to nab tickets to next summer’s reunion tour, or while listening to “Don’t Look Back in Anger” on repeat, here’s a look back at some of Noel and Liam’s deepest cuts at each other. Liam to Spin Magazine in 2005: “Noel and I don’t speak to each other. That’s probably best. We see each other, but I’ve got nothing to say to him. He’s got nothing to say to me. We make music and that’s it. Or we have the odd drink together and that’s it. That’s the way I like it.” (From left) Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher of Oasis performing in Las Vegas in 2002. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/File Noel to Spin Magazine in 2005: “I’ve kind of learnt that instead of arguing stuff out with him and ending up in a fight, I work on his psychology and he’s completely freaked out by me now. He’s actually frightened to death of me… I can read him and I can f—ing play him like a slightly disused arcade game.” Noel in 2009: Noel was quoted as saying that Liam is “the angriest man you’ll ever meet. He’s like a man with a fork in a world of soup.” Hilariously, in 2019, Liam referenced the decade-old jab in a video of himself talking about his solo tour while eating soup with a fork. “I want to thank all my brothers and sisters for buying tickets for the tour, I really appreciate it. You’ve made a very so-called angry man very, very happy,” he said in the video posted to his X page. Great stuff. No notes. Noel on the Oasis website in 2009: After Noel notoriously quit Oasis, he released a statement that appeared on the band’s website, which read, “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.” Noel in 2016: In the 2016 documentary “Oasis: Supersonic,” Noel said that “Oasis’ greatest strength was the relationship between me and Liam. It’s also what drove the band into the ground in the end.” Liam to the Guardian in 2017: “When I think about it, being in a band with him bores the death out of me.” Liam to BBC Sounds in 2019: “I guess it’s always one bad egg in the family, you know what I mean?” (From left) Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher of Oasis at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2008. Samir Hussein/Getty Images/File Liam on X in 2019: “Me growing my hair long is more exciting than anything noel gallghers high flying pretend spaced out pancakes will ever do.” (The quip was in reference to Noel’s post-Oasis solo band Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds) Noel to The Guardian in 2019: “I liked (my mum) until she gave birth to Liam.” In that same interview, Noel later said he doesn’t listen to Liam’s solo albums “because I can’t stand his voice. But I hear it on the radio… I think it’s unsophisticated music. For unsophisticated people. Made by an unsophisticated man. Who’s giving unsophisticated orders to a load of songwriters who think they’re doing the Oasis thing.” Liam to The Guardian in 2022: “I’m sure Noel’s very happy in his world. He wrote some great songs and I sang them. It’s the voice that people want to hear. I could get someone to play Noel’s guitar parts 10 a penny. Noel can’t get anyone to sing like me.”

Goalball is unique to Paralympic sports – a fast, skillful game without an Olympic counterpart in which visually impaired players seek to score by throwing balls into a goal defended by the other team. Remarkably, considering that the ball weighs 1.25kg (roughly 2.75 pounds) and is about the same size as a basketball, the best players in the world can throw it as fast as 60 kph (about 37.3 mph). So how do they do this, how is the sport played and who are the favorites at the Paris Paralympic Games? How is it played? First invented in 1946 as a way to help rehabilitate veterans who had lost their sight during World War II, goalball has become a regular feature at the Paralympic Games ever since its 1976 debut in the men’s event. It was introduced to the women’s program at the 1984 New York Paralympic Games. The object of the game is to score more goals than the opponent in the time allotted. Each match lasts 24 minutes, with two 12-minute halves. If the score is tied after regulation, there are two overtime periods played, each lasting three minutes and running under a ‘golden goal’ rule, where the first score wins the match. If there is no winner after the OT periods, a penalty shootout occurs, much like in soccer. Each team has three players on the floor and can make up to three substitutions throughout a game. Players from each team aim to throw a ball past their opponents and into a net, but must wear opaque eyeshades at all times and stay on their hands and knees while defending. They take turns throwing the ball, sometimes twisting their whole body around in order to produce as much power as possible, releasing it at speeds of up to 37 mph in the men’s event. For a goal to count, the ball must completely cross the goal line for it to be considered a score. The ball must bounce on the team’s side of the court and the neutral area in the middle of the court for it to count; if it doesn’t, it is punished by a penalty in which one player must defend the goal alone. If a ball rebounds over the center line or sideline in the neutral area after it has been blocked by a defending player, it is called a “ball over” and given back to the opposing team for another throw. Goalball is a sport with no Olympic counterpart. Koki Nagahama/Getty Images The goals stretch nine meters (roughly 29.5 feet) long, across the entire width of the court. The court is 18 meters (almost 59 feet) long and tactile string marks out the lines, allowing players to feel where they are. Often, players will orient themselves by running their hands along the goal too, assessing the best angles from which to throw the ball. Since players rely on senses other than sight, the arenas in which they play are kept deliberately silent so that they can hear the ball, which contains bells, as well as their opponents moving around. Which classifications can compete? John Kusku of Team USA during the men’s goalball semifinal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Koki Nagahama/Getty Images As all players are required to wear blackout eyeshades, different classifications can compete alongside each other even if they have varying levels of sight. Visually impaired athletes belong to one of three classifications – B1 for those who are totally blind, B2 for those who have some sight and can see shadows, and B3 for those who have less than 10% functional vision. Who are the favorites and when is it on? Turkey has dominated women’s goalball in recent years, winning the gold medal at the last two Paralympic Games as well as the world championship in 2022, and currently sits atop the world rankings. Their talisman Sevda Altunoluk will once again lead their challenge, as she attempts to replicate her remarkable performance at Tokyo in 2020, where she scored 46 goals in the competition, including eight in the final alone. Turkey’s Fatma Gül Güler blocks a ball during the goalball women’s final match between US and Turkey. Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images Japan and world silver medalist South Korea will be seeking to challenge Turkey when the group stages begin at the South Paris Arena on August 29. Group stage matches in both the men’s and women’s competitions are scheduled to finish on September 1 before the knockout stages which will run from September 2-4. The medal matches will take place on September 5. In the men’s competition, the USA has been drawn in a pool alongside reigning Olympic champion and world No. 1 Brazil. The Brazilians are a formidable force, having won the last three world championships as well as the Olympic title in Tokyo, and are familiar opponents for the USA who have lost to them in the last three Parapan American Games.

The past few weeks in the Ukraine war have felt like, to borrow an adage often attributed to Lenin, that decades have happened in them. It is perhaps the fastest moment of change in the conflict since it began, and heralds Kyiv throwing everything it has down on the table to try and bring palpable results before the US election alters its fate, maybe irrevocably. Since the surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk region in early August, Ukraine’s risk tolerance has rocketed. Its top brass unveiled Tuesday it had taken 100 Russian settlements, as reports emerged of its forces trying to break into Belgorod region too. The shock incursion is now turning into a longer-term project, although Kyiv insists it is a buffer zone it seeks, and not a revenge occupation. It is remarkable how powerless the Kremlin appears to be to halt Ukraine’s progress, now three weeks in, despite having diverted 30,000 troops in that direction, according to a Ukrainian assessment given during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s annual news conference Tuesday. But this bold move has company. The past months have seen Ukraine targeting Russia’s deepest infrastructure at will. Airfields. Oil refineries. Ammunition hubs. All daily. A Ukrainian drone attack last Wednesday seemed to get close to Murmansk, the northern naval hub on the Arctic circle, where much of Moscow’s nuclear submarine force is based, according to a local Russian official. This Wednesday, flights were reportedly interrupted in Kazan, a city east of Moscow halfway to the Urals, after another apparent drone threat. The reach of Kyiv’s drones is a complication unimaginable to Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2022 when he was told his war of choice would see his forces in Kyiv in a matter of days. Billowing smoke is not uncommon in Russia’s western and southern regions now. At some point, Moscow’s increased vulnerability, and the vast damage itself, will pierce the sanitary cordon of what state media allows to be said. Ukrainian servicemen ride a military vehicle near the Russian border in Ukraine’s Sumy region on August 11, 2024. Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters Zelensky also let slip that another new capability has had an impact: the newly arrived NATO F-16 fighter jets, which he opaquely said had intercepted Russian missiles this week. This step change in Kyiv’s abilities to project air power will only grow in the months ahead and stymie Russia’s singular, long-term advantage – control of the skies and the ability to bomb at will. Moscow has responded to attacks on its territory and infrastructure with the only way it has known – in strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, hotels, and civilian targets, in horrifying waves night after night. Bu the numbers of dead have been relatively small and those of interceptions large, Kyiv has insisted. And while Zelensky appears to be throwing all he can into the fight, Putin seems stuck peddling a familiar tune. The Kremlin is casting the Kursk debacle as if it were a natural disaster, some analysts have noted. The billowing smoke is something local officials must extinguish but Putin seems able to mostly ignore. Moscow talks of foreign mercenaries assisting Kyiv while its missiles target Western journalists in a Donetsk hotel. It may be clumsy and ignorant as a response, but Russia’s wider aim remains unchanged and in reach. Tens of thousands of Russian troops are bearing down on the Ukrainian military hub of Pokrovsk, as they have been since Moscow captured the last small-ish town in the east, Avdiivka, in February. The goal, the tactics, the geography, the pace – always the same. Yet it is usually successful. This is the wider gamble Zelensky appears comfortable with. The fall of Pokrovsk may be weeks away, by current assessments of the pace of Russian advance and speed of Ukrainian collapse in both positions and morale. It may, at best, submit to another slow, horrific winterlong grind before it falls. But the fall appears likely. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signs a national anthem next to F-16 fighting aircrafts during the Day of the Ukrainian Air Forces at an undisclosed location, Ukraine on August 4, 2024. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters After Pokrovsk, there is truly nothing to defend – no major town or position – until the city of Dnipro itself, on the other side of the vast Zaporizhzhia region, about a two-hour drive away. Unless the Kursk gambit causes Russia to stretch so thin that its Donetsk operations stall, Kyiv will need to wildly fortify the rear behind Pokrovsk, or risk a pacy Russian advance across open ground that could truly alter the future shape of Ukraine. Zelensky is, it seems, happy to accept that risk and has calculated that the damage he can do to Putin’s prestige – by taking out oil infrastructure and military targets deep inside the Motherland and annexing part of his borders – is a necessary and an urgent war aim, regardless of how oblivious Putin and his public seem to be to this embarrassment. It gives Ukraine a “win,” at least, which may fix two of Kyiv’s urgent problems: the will of NATO allies to provide arms to a losing campaign, and the willingness of Ukrainian men to fight in a losing war. He has assessed that the loss of Pokrovsk may be inevitable, and a sacrifice Ukraine can make in the pursuit of wider damage to the Kremlin’s borders. The heavy intwining with US politics was also evident when Zelensky said Tuesday he would in September present his ‘secret’ plan for victory – likely intense drone strikes, perhaps also using US-supplied longer-range weapons – to President Joe Biden, and candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. He is daring them to refuse him this chance, and trying to make being a Russia hawk part of the November election calculus. It may backfire, but more likely lead to some silent acquiescence, and Kyiv inflicting what damage it can as Moscow adapts again. Yet an unfamiliar new paradigm is emerging, one which Zelensky addressed directly too. The threat of Russian escalation is almost absent in the conversation. It is as

There’s dadcore, and then there’s Adam Sandler core. And while there is a family resemblance, the two should not be confused. Dadcore is a fashion trend that prioritizes functional, casual and gently tongue-in-cheek clothing pieces over overtly high-fashion garments. It’s Cole Sprouse in a JW Anderson baseball cap and a blazer; or A$AP Rocky pairing a tie and shirt with jeans. In the dadcore bible — which borrows heavily from menswear trends of the ’80s and ‘90s — comfort may be king, but the sensible sartorial approach is never without thought or style. Ad Feedback Sandler meanwhile, despite earlier this week being spotted with a shopping bag from quiet luxury label Khaite, is mostly just doing Dad: His Fila jacket, basketball shorts and calve-high socks are disarmingly sincere, not ironic. Adam Sandler dishes out fashion tips on TikTok while in his legendary, goofy dad attire. Mystery Fashionist/TikTok Yet in a TikTok video posted Monday, the actor and comedian was still asked to dish out his own style advice. “Adam, always got that drip,” says a TikToker who goes by the name “Mystery Fashionist” in the video that has garnered more than 12 million views and more than 2 million likes. “It just happened, I really didn’t think it through,” Sandler replies. “There’s sneakers, there’s some goofy shorts.” It’s clear the actor — whose eclectic taste has earned him a loyal Gen Z fanbase, with many chronicling their favorite examples of his outfits on TikTok — is authentically unbothered about his newfound fashion credentials. “Whatever is in the closet, I grab it,” he says. “I think I got a bunch of the same socks, underwear’s kinda similar too. I grab it, I don’t think about it much. Most people make fun of me and my family, but I keep moving,” Sandler adds with a chuckle. Still, pressed for the five fashion pieces he can’t live without, Sandler replies, “Sometimes my wife gives me nice socks that I throw on — you know, I got my kids on them and stuff.” Moving onto his color-clashing footwear, Sandler lists his top priority: “Sneakers that fit,” he says. “It don’t matter if they’re dirty or not, as long as they’re fitting and not hurting.” A key dadcore maxim. Many viewers responded to the video by commenting on how “humble” and “down to earth” Sandler comes across, despite his celebrity status. “He’s just a normal middle aged dad,” wrote one TikTok user. “Grabs anything from the wardrobe, doesn’t care what it looks like as long as it’s comfy. I love him.” “He reminds me of my dad lol,” wrote another user. And though dadcore is nothing new, dads are seemingly having a moment. TikTok’s doting reaction to Sandler compares to how former US President Barack Obama responded to “America’s Dad” Tim Walz relatable off-duty style of flannel shirts and plaid. Obama joked at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago last week, “I love this guy. Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics,” adding: “You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don’t come from some political consultant. They come from his closet. And they have been through some stuff.”

Renewed fears of ethnic cleansing against the stateless Rohingya Muslim community are mounting after reports that hundreds of people, including women and children, were killed by drone strikes while fleeing violence in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state last week. Videos shared widely on social media and geolocated by CNN showed dozens of bodies strewn across the muddy banks of the Naf River that separates Myanmar from Bangladesh. In one video, geolocated to the western edge of Maungdaw township’s Myo Ma ward on the banks of the river, a man sobs as he walks down a muddy path stained with blood. The bodies of men, women and children can be seen lying in the sand, grass and pools of water. Piles of their colorful clothing and belongings are scattered half-submerged around them. Witnesses and Rohingya activists told CNN that a series of drone strikes on August 5 hit civilians fleeing fighting and violence in their villages in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine. The displaced families had been waiting to cross the river to Bangladesh at the time of the attack, they said. Imagery verified by CNN shows the aftermath of an attack on the western edge of Maungdaw township’s Myo Ma ward. From X Unverified reports put the death toll at about 200 people, which, if confirmed, would be one of the deadliest attacks against civilians in Myanmar’s three-year civil war, a conflict that broke out following the military’s 2021 coup. Witnesses and activists who spoke to CNN claim the Arakan Army (AA), a powerful ethic armed group fighting the Myanmar military, were responsible for last Monday’s attacks on the Rohingya. The AA has denied involvement, saying in a statement that “these deaths did not occur in areas under our control and are not related to our organization.” But it added that it’s carrying out an offensive near Maungdaw to “completely capture” remaining military camps and had been warning civilians since June 16 to evacuate Muangdaw as quickly as possible. The AA said it was “saddened to learn” that Rohingya fleeing the town had “reportedly” been killed by “small arms fire, bombings, drownings, airstrikes or massive explosions near the coast of Maungdaw, causing great distress.” And it blamed the deaths on the Myanmar military and allied Rohingya armed groups. However, Myanmar’s military junta blamed the AA for attacks in Maungdaw in a state media report that claimed “AA terrorists fired at townships, wards and villages in Rakhine state using heavy weapons and drones and tortured the villagers.” CNN cannot independently attribute the reports of responsibility, or verify the number of people who were killed. A junta-imposed internet and telecoms blackout, and restrictions on access in the state is making it almost impossible for journalists, activists and international monitoring groups to verify exactly what is unfolding. Myanmar’s Rohingya have long suffered mass atrocities and forced displacement that many – including United Nations experts – consider to be genocide, perpetrated by the country’s military. The latest violence has echoes of attacks on the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017, when Myanmar’s military launched a brutal campaign of killing, rape and arson that is currently subject to a genocide investigation at the International Court of Justice. Fires and ‘forced conscription’ Reports by activists and local media suggest attacks in villages close to Myanmar’s border with Bangladesh, along the Naf River, continued in the days after August 5, with accounts of more deaths, sexual violence, the burning of homes and forced conscription by the AA. “The fighting is increasing,” Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist and co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition, who spoke with residents in Maungdaw, told CNN Monday. “There are about 4,000 to 5,000 people fleeing to AA-controlled areas and some 5,000 people in the downtown area.” Remote sensing data curated by NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System and viewed by CNN also suggests fires began in downtown Maungdaw in the early hours of August 6. Satellite imagery similarly indicates thermal scarring in Rohingya-majority areas of Maungdaw, though fire damage does not appear extensive. In a statement on Friday, medical NGO Doctors Without Borders said its teams in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh treated 39 Rohingya people who had crossed from Myanmar with “violence-related injuries” including mortar shell injuries and gunshot wounds. Patients, more than 40% of whom were women and children, described seeing people bombed while trying to board boats across the river and others said they saw hundreds of bodies on the riverbanks, said the statement from the NGO, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). MSF said it’s the first time in a year their staff have seen serious injuries on this scale. “It is clear that the safe space for civilians in Myanmar is shrinking more each day, with people… forced to make perilous journeys to Bangladesh to seek safety,” said Orla Murphy, MSF country representative in Bangladesh. Forced to flee Fighting between the AA and the Myanmar military have intensified around Maungdaw in recent weeks as the rebel group continues its offensive to seize more military posts and towns from the junta. Hasan, a 24-year-old student who spoke with CNN by phone from Bangladesh on Friday, said he fled his village north of Maungdaw on August 5, following a series of drones and artillery attacks that he said were launched by the AA. “In the first drone attack, 30 people were killed and in the second attack… I saw 50 people dead,” he said. Two villages were set on fire, he added. Hasan, who goes by one name, was shot in his right leg as he fled to the river, according to X-ray and medical records he shared with CNN. But Hasan said he is one of the lucky ones. He managed to board a boat and cross the 2-mile stretch of river to Bangladesh. “It was not easy to cross the border. During the attack I got to a boat. After one hour waiting in the middle of the river, we crossed the Bangladesh border,” he said. “People were dead in the river… Luckily I safely reached Bangladesh.” Rohingya refugees walk on road through

Traveling to western Mongolia’s Khyargas Lake from capital Ulaanbaatar isn’t for the faint of heart. The drive is roughly 1,800 kilometers (about 1,118 miles), which can take anywhere from one to three days to cover, depending on how comfortable you are behind the wheel on this country’s challenging roads. And then there’s the weather –- it’s not uncommon to experience three seasons in an afternoon when roadripping in Mongolia. Once you get to the lake, it’s another 43 kilometers over washboard roads, some stretches filled with deep sand, to reach its most famous landmark, Khetsuu Khad. But the journey is more than worth it – particularly at a time when stories and images of overcrowded destinations and fed-up locals continue to dominate headlines worldwide. Known for its whitewashed cliffs and crystal-clear waters, this little-known Mongolia site makes visitors feel more like they are in the Mediterranean than a remote corner of Asia. “The uniqueness of its landscape and the rocky formations surrounding the area compared to what you’d normally expect in other regions of the country is fascinating. Khyargas Lake looks and feels more like Greece than anything else. It’s almost other-worldly.” While joining the handful of locals who come to swim in these magical waters, there’s a feeling you’re witnessing something special. This untouched, raw beauty is part of the lake’s charm and makes the experience even more memorable. But, according to Vladimir, it isn’t just the scenery that’s other-worldly. “There’s a legend that says a giant blue bull lives within the depths of Khyargas Lake,” he explains. “And each fall, the bull would rise from the bottom of the lake to visit only but a few herder families and bless them with abundant livestock for the coming year.” One of Mongolia’s biggest lakes Want to avoid crowds? You’ve come to the right place. Uyanga Vladimir One of several salt-water lakes in the country, Khyargas is located in the northwest province of Uvs and feeds into the Zavkhan River basin, an area famous for its semi-desert climate. (You’re more likely to see the country’s famous Bactrian camels walking along the lake’s shores than people.) At 74 kilometers long, 31 kilometers wide and reaching depths of 80 meters, it’s Mongolia’s third-largest lake. Khetsuu Khad, the main attraction, is a natural rock formation that runs along the eastern shore. If planning to visit on your own, a 4×4 capable SUV that can handle deep sand is highly recommended. (Just ask all the Prius drivers that are seemingly rescued on an hourly basis). Alternatively, boats travel to Khetsuu Khad from the lake’s north shore, which is a popular beach and camping spot. There are a few lodges on the lake, including the Khetsuu Khad Tourist Camp and Baruun Beach Resort. Both are located 43 kilometers off the main road to Khyargas. The drive can take upwards of two hours, depending on whether you get bogged down in the dunes. There is also a free camping area in front of Khetsuu Khad, which is a popular choice for locals. While there’s no official entrance or designated ranger station, officials do roam around the lake. When making their rounds, they’ll ask you to pay a modest entrance fee of 9,000 tugrik, which is less than $3. Pockets of hot springs can be found around the lake, while natural springs sit to the north. Birder’s paradise There are plentiful bird species to be spotted here. Breanna Wilson For bird enthusiasts, the shores of Khyargas Lake, especially Khetsuu Khad, are a huge draw. Several globally threatened species can be found here. An early morning spotting session can include Dalmatian pelicans, bar-headed geese, great crested grebes, great cormorants, cinereous vultures, little owls, Eurasian kestrels, lesser whitethroats, Siberian stonechats, isabelline and desert wheatears and house and rock sparrows. Migratory birds arrive at the lake in April and are off again by mid-September. Most notably, travelers come to see the big, round great cormorant nests that sit atop the cliffs of Khetsuu Khad, where they lay and hatch their eggs. There is also an abundance of fish species such as the Mongolian grayling, Altai leuciscinae, lake osman and dace – all a great food source for the birds. The antidote to overtourism? As noted earlier, getting to Khyargas Lake from Ulaanbaatar is a long drive. Eager travelers could reach it within a day. Taking 2/3 days to cross the 1,800 kilometers is more realistic. Otherwise, travelers can fly from Ulaanbatar to Ulaangom, the capital of Uvs province, which sits just 220 kilometers away from the lake. Several tour operators offer journeys in the region that include visits to the lake as well. Meanwhile Uvs, in the northwest near the Russian border, is Mongolia’s largest province and also one of its most diverse. There aren’t just picturesque lakes here; snow-capped mountains and arid deserts also make up this unique part of the country. When immersed in the rugged rawness of this remote corner of Mongolia, one can’t help but contrast the experience with the overcrowded destinations many visited this summer, a season filled with news of Spanish towns fining tourists for hogging beach spots and spraying water guns at tourists in the streets, and Japanese officials being forced to take action against an overload of Mount Fuji visitors, to name just a few incidents. It’s a nice reminder that Mongolia’s lesser-known natural wonders, while by no means easy to reach, are great alternatives to some of the famed global destinations that are becoming increasingly challenging to enjoy.

  Namibia is planning to kill more than 700 wild animals, including elephants, zebras and hippos, and distribute the meat to the people struggling with food insecurity as the country grapples with its worst drought in 100 years. The animals set to be culled include 83 elephants, 30 hippos, 60 buffalo, 50 impala, 100 blue wildebeest and 300 zebras, the country’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism announced Monday. They will come from national parks and communal areas with “sustainable game numbers” and will be killed by professional hunters, the ministry said in a press release. The aim of the program is to help alleviate the impacts of drought in the southwest African country, the ministry said. Namibia declared a state of emergency in May as the impacts of drought worsened. An estimated 1.4 million people — around half the population — are expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity. The culling program will take pressure off water resources by reducing wildlife in areas where their numbers “exceed available grazing and water,” the ministry said. It also aims to reduce the potential for conflicts between elephants and humans, which can increase during drought when animals’ search for food and water can bring them into contact with people. “To this effect, 83 elephants from identified conflict areas will be culled, (and) meat will be allocated to the drought relief programme,” the ministry said. Southern Africa is a stronghold for elephants, home to more than 200,000. These animals have also been negatively affected by drought, with hundreds believed to have died across the region last year as their water sources dried up. Meat from other animals set to be killed will also be distributed to those struggling with hunger, according to the ministry, which pointed to people living in rural areas as being particularly affected. More than 150 animals have already been killed, providing more than 125,000 pounds of meat, the ministry said. “We are happy that we can assist the country in this very difficult time and when its absolutely needed,” it said. Namibia is one of several countries across southern Africa struggling with devastating drought driven by El Niño — a natural climate pattern which has led to sharply reduced rainfall in the region — and exacerbated by the human-caused climate crisis. A dearth of rain combined with scorching temperatures has led to shriveled crops and soaring levels of hunger for tens of millions of people in the region.

Khin Mar Cho worries for her 4-year-old son as she struggles to scrape together enough food to feed him in a makeshift displacement camp at a crowded monastery in western Myanmar. Soldiers had stormed their village of Byine Phyu, Rakhine state, and forced her and other family members out of their homes. They detained all the men and shot her brother and other neighbors, she said. Survivors like Khin Mar Cho fled to the monastery just outside the regional capital Sittwe. There, a lone monk is struggling to feed about 300 people who have sought refuge inside the camp as a three-year civil war intensifies around them, waged by Myanmar’s military junta against an armed resistance. “There are days that we have no food, even though we are hungry,” Khin Mar Cho said. “I cannot feed my kid anything more than meals donated by people because I don’t have a job or income, and all the male family members have been taken away.” Disturbing accounts from multiple aid workers suggest hunger is being used as a weapon of war in Rakhine state. The junta is preventing aid from reaching desperate people by imposing checkpoints, blocking roads and waterways, and refusing to issue access permits to humanitarian groups, multiple senior United Nations officials, and local and international aid workers in Rakhine told CNN on condition of anonymity because most weren’t authorized to speak. Rakhine has become a focal point of the conflict, where a powerful ethnic minority armed rebel group, the Arakan Army (AA) — which is accused of human rights abuses — has seized control of at least 10 of the state’s townships since a year-long ceasefire with the military collapsed in November. The aid officials said the junta is trying to “starve” civilians in AA-held territory, using tactics that have repeatedly been described as war crimes and crimes against humanity by UN officials and rights groups. “They are using food as a weapon,” a senior aid official told CNN. “That much is clear.” RelatedHundreds of fleeing Rohingya reportedly killed in Rakhine as fears mount of ethnic cleansing mount In a statement to CNN, Myint Kyaw, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Myanmar’s Ministry of Information, alleged rebel groups — not the junta — are restricting “people’s access” to territories they control. “The Myanmar government is committed to the equality of all citizens,” the statement said. “Every citizen has the right to travel freely without any restrictions.” Risk of starvation Aid workers say they don’t know the full extent of the suffering due to telecoms and internet blocks coupled with restrictions on access to affected areas. But they say the crisis is acute. The situation unfolding across the country is desperate, but in Rakhine — which is almost entirely dependent on food aid — the UN says that fewer than a quarter of the 873,000 people who need food assistance have received it. “There is a very real possibility that the most vulnerable… may die if they do not receive support,” a UN report warned in June. It is now August, and the situation has deteriorated. Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief Sen. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing at an army parade in 2021 AP Dozens of displaced families lie on mats as they shelter at a Rakhine State monastery in November. AFP/Getty Images Displaced residents in Rakhine told CNN they are growing increasingly desperate as they and their families struggle to cope with escalating violence and dwindling supplies of food and medicine. Prices for basic staples, like rice, fuel and cooking oil, have skyrocketed partly due to shortages created by the junta’s control of supply routes north from Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, aid officials said. Requests to transport goods, including food, into the region are being refused, they added. Meanwhile, food production in the state has plummeted, with farmers predicting a 50% drop in this year’s rice harvest, independent Myanmar news outlet The Irrawaddy reported. Mohammed, a 43-year-old father of three, has lived in a displacement camp with his family in Sittwe since 2012, when anti-Muslim violence forced tens of thousands of people from their homes. The latest fighting has not yet reached Sittwe, which the junta still controls. But since the collapse of the ceasefire deal between the AA and the military in November opened a major new front in Myanmar’s civil war, the camp has been all but cut off and conditions have drastically deteriorated, he said. Mohammed’s children attend a small, makeshift school within the camp, but he says it’s difficult to nurture their dreams when he can only feed them half a bowl of rice. “My children would cry and ask, ‘Are we not eating tonight?’ In those moments, feeling desperate, I would go to a neighbor and ask for some food to feed our children,” Mohammed told Partners Relief and Development, an aid NGO. Yet his neighbors are hungry too, and they have little to spare. Access denied Shayna Bauchner, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told CNN the junta is obstructing aid deliveries in Rakhine by blocking roads and waterways, seizing relief cargoes and confiscating medical supplies. “As the conflict has spread around Rakhine, we’ve also seen the destruction of roadways and bridges,” she said. “The result is, basically, no one has access to these places.” Aid groups, including UN agencies, must get “travel authorizations” from the state government, which reports to the ruling military council, before they can access territory that the junta considers “travel-restricted areas,” according to aid officials. In February, the junta stopped issuing nearly all travel authorizations to contested or rebel-controlled territory in the state, most of which are in northern Rakhine, according to seven aid officials with direct knowledge of the matter, all of whom requested anonymity. Without the travel authorizations, it’s impossible to pass through the junta’s road and waterway blockades, they said. “All we need at the moment is aid and support to survive this.” North Rakhine State villager One senior aid official said, “it is difficult to negotiate because the SAC does not want assistance to go to non-SAC controlled areas,” referring to the State Administration Council, the

Vice President Kamala Harris faces the next test in her presidential bid on Thursday with her first unscripted interview with a major media outlet since becoming the Democratic nominee. Harris will be hoping to extend the momentum she’s conjured at the start of her campaign – and to avoid the types of unforced errors that plagued her first presidential bid in 2019, as well as her early days as vice president. It’s also a chance for the newly anointed candidate to heighten a contrast with Republican nominee Donald Trump, to connect with undecided voters and to highlight her credentials to lead in the Oval Office at a tense time for the United States at home and abroad. Harris will appear alongside her vice presidential pick, Tim Walz, in a CNN primetime special airing at 9 p.m. ET from Georgia, where she is on a bus tour designed to put a swing state the GOP thought it was close to securing in November back on the board. The interview is the most important chapter of the campaign between last week’s Democratic convention in Chicago and the presidential debate set for Philadelphia on September 10. The interview, with Dana Bash, has taken on elevated significance because of the compressed race Harris is running after she became her party’s candidate and because of the way it mushroomed into an issue between the feuding campaigns. It’s the latest highly anticipated moment in a wild race that has seen Trump become the first major party nominee to be convicted of a crime and the ex-president survive an assassination attempt. President Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the CNN debate in Atlanta, meanwhile, set off a crisis that ended his reelection bid. Major television interviews like Thursday’s have also played an outsized role – the president agreed to several in an attempt to arrest his slide but only exacerbated concerns about his age and capacity to serve out a full second term. By not scheduling a major interview before now, Harris opened herself to complaints by Trump and some non-partisan observers that she is trying to dodge scrutiny. This raised the stakes for any potential gaffes will be seized upon by the Trump campaign. However, a strong performance by the vice president would be another challenge for Trump, who has struggled since Harris transformed the race by closing his leads in battlegrounds and raising half a billion dollars. Delegates cheer as Kamala Harris speaks on the last day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images/File Adding substance to a joyful rollout While Harris sparked intense enthusiasm at last week’s star-studded Democratic convention in Chicago, as well as in joyful rallies among Democrats who were previously demoralized over Biden’s chances of reelection, she is yet to enter a forum where her answers and policies can be cross-examined. Her speeches have been packed with what she wants to do as president — from easing the economic burden on Americans, to unleashing a housebuilding boom to winning the geopolitical contest of the 21st Century against China. But the vice president has not been specific about exactly how she would enact some of those aspirations and how she would finance them in deeply divided Washington. The interview will be watched for whether Harris creates space on key issues with Biden as she bills herself as a change candidate despite serving as vice president in an unpopular administration. Already, Harris has gone further than her boss in pledging to combat the high grocery prices plaguing millions of Americans. This populist twist might be politically smart but it was panned by many economists. The interview has become a hurdle for the vice president because Trump aides have been goading her into it for weeks, apparently believing she’ll flunk difficult questions, will blank on policy details and that she lacks nimble political instincts. In a statement on Wednesday, Trump’s campaign mocked Harris, saying that she had “mustered up the courage to sit for a *joint* interview — after 39 days of hiding out from reporters.” While she has not sat for a major interview, Harris has taken some questions from reporters traveling with her. After years as a prosecutor, California’s attorney general and senator who excelled in high-profile hearings, Harris has often seemed more comfortable asking penetrating questions than answering them. She lacks the decades of policy experience that helped former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, for example, turn interviews into policy seminars. And unlike Trump, she doesn’t swamp interviewers with torrents of falsehoods, outrageous statements and bombast, which means he often is able to distract attention from what he actually says. Republicans are convinced Harris will be exposed in high-pressure situations Republican confidence that Harris could be exposed by a televised interview springs from a one-on-one she conducted with NBC’s Lester Holt early in her vice presidency that focused on her role as emissary to Latin American nations that represent the source of much of the undocumented migration to the US. Asked why she had not by that point visited the southern border as vice president, Harris pointed out that she hadn’t visited Europe either since taking the job. Her discomfort provided fuel for years of Republican attacks and the interview still hangs over her tenure as vice president. In that interview, Harris seemed ill prepared — a scenario that seems unlikely to be repeated considering she is deep into debate prep. In more recent interviews, for instance, on CBS’ “60 Minutes” last October and with CNN’s Anderson Cooper in late June when she defended Biden, she seemed far more at ease. Heading into Thursday’s interview, Republicans are also demanding answers on why Harris has dropped some positions she held in her short-lived 2020 presidential bid, including “Medicare for All.” Her campaign has also indicated that she no longer opposes fracking — an important issue in Pennsylvania where Trump is highlighting the commonwealth’s carbon energy industry. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz visit Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Georgia, on August 28, 2024. Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters The Trump campaign and conservative media Wednesday portrayed the presence in the interview of Walz, the

Abdul Rahman sleeps in a battered car seat, rocked by his mother Niveen Abu al-Jidyan. For the moment, he’s blissfully unaware of the drones overhead, or the incurable disease crippling his body. “He can’t stand, sit, or move like before. He is very weak,”  Abu al-Jidyan tells CNN in a makeshift tent in Al-Mawasi refugee camp. “He will be one next month. He should be walking by now, but he suddenly stopped moving.” Abdul Rahman is the first person in Gaza in 25 years to be diagnosed with polio – once one of the world’s most feared diseases, but now easily preventable with a vaccine. Polio mostly affects children under 5 years old, and can cause irreversible paralysis and even death. It’s highly infectious and there is no cure; it can only be prevented by immunization, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). As a precaution, the Israeli military is already vaccinating troops on operations in Gaza. But Abdul Rahman was not so lucky. Living amid war, he has not been able to receive the standard infant immunizations that would have protected him. Polio vaccination is generally recommended to begin within a few months of birth. Before the war, Gaza had near-universal vaccine coverage, but it has since dropped to just over 80%. The resurgence of the virus – eliminated in most of the developed world – highlights the struggles facing Gaza’s two million residents, who have lived under Israeli bombardment since October last year. Many people in the enclave are deprived of food, medical supplies and clean water, with up to 90% of the population internally displaced. To curb the outbreak, WHO says it will launch alongside UN children’s agency UNICEF a mass vaccination drive to inoculate 640,000 children under the age of 10 in the besieged enclave. Abdul Rahman sleeps in a car seat. CNN Vaccine coverage needs to reach around 95% of the targeted population to prevent polio from spreading. If the vaccination drive fails to reach that threshold, WHO warns it would be “just a matter of time” before polio infects thousands of children in Gaza. But an operation of that scale under an ongoing Israeli military offensive that has killed more than 40,000 people and crippled infrastructure across the Palestinian enclave means the effort will likely be plagued with challenges – like the repeated evacuation orders that have forced thousands to flee their homes. “The administration of the vaccine is the easy part. The difficult part is everything else,” Sam Rose, director of planning at UNRWA told CNN’s Jeremy Diamond from Gaza. “We previously had 22 health centers across Gaza, only five of those are currently functioning. Bombardments in all areas of the Gaza Strip (mean there is) an increasingly shrinking space in which we’re able to operate.” The vaccination drive will begin on August 31 if conditions allow. COGAT, the Israeli government agency that coordinates movement into and out of Gaza, says it has allowed more than 25,000 vials of the polio vaccine into the strip, along with cooling equipment needed to keep the medicine at the required temperature. But it is already too late for Abu al-Jidyan and her son. “I feel helpless. It is difficult for me and the doctors because the situation is very bad,” she said. All she wants now is for her boy to be able to walk. While there’s no cure for polio, there are treatments that can help alleviate the symptoms – but these will be hard to find for the Abu al-Jidyan family given the state of Gaza’s battered healthcare system. From his mother, a plea: “Take him abroad for treatment or find a solution so my son can start walking and start moving again.”

  Mariah Carey is grieving the recent deaths of her mother and sister, who the singer says died “on the same day.” “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day,” Mariah Carey said in a statement to CNN on Monday. Details about what caused the deaths of Patricia Carey and Alison Carey, respectively, were not provided by the pop star. Patricia Carey was reportedly 87. Alison Carey, a resident of Coxsackie, New York, was 63, according to a Times Union newspaper article about her death. The “All I Want for Christmas” singer added in her statement: “I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed. I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time.” Patricia Carey was a Juilliard-trained opera singer and a vocal coach. She was married to Mariah Carey’s father Alfred Roy, from whom she separated when Mariah Carey was three-years-old. Roy died in 2002. In her 2020 memoir “The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” Mariah Carey opened up about her “complicated” relationship with her mother, writing that ″like many aspects of my life, my journey with my mother has been full of contradictions and competing realities.” Despite their sometimes-strained relationship, Mariah Carey included her mother in the opening dedication of the book. “And to Pat, my mother, who, through it all, I do believe actually did the best she could. I will love you the best I can, always,” she wrote. Mariah Carey was reportedly estranged from her sister Alison Carey, who sued her in 2021 for intentional infliction of emotional distress caused by some of the contents in Mariah Carey’s memoir. In the lawsuit filed in New York, Alison Carey claimed her younger sister used her book as a means to “to humiliate and embarrass” her, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by CNN. According to online court records, Mariah Carey never filed a legal response to the claim. Mariah Carey is one of three children. In addition to Alison Carey, Patricia Carey was also mom to son Morgan Carey.

British rock band Oasis have announced a comeback in a reunion tour in 2025, according to the band’s website. The tour begins on July 4 at Cardiff Principality Stadium in Wales and the band will play a total of 14 dates across the UK and Ireland. In a post on X by Oasis frontmen Noel and Liam Gallagher, the brothers said: “This is it, this is happening.” Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. local time in the UK (4 a.m. ET) on Saturday August 31. “There has been no great revelatory moment that has ignited the reunion – just the gradual realization that the time is right,” said the band in a statement, adding that they are also planning to play more dates outside Europe later next year. The announcement comes just two days shy of the 30th anniversary of Oasis’ 1994 debut studio album “Definitely, Maybe.” The album included popular tracks “Live Forever,” “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” and “Supersonic” and marked the beginning of Oasis’ remarkably fast rise to fame. Brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher have had a notoriously fraught relationship since they disbanded Oasis in 2009, often trading barbs in the media. Liam Gallagher (left) and Noel Gallagher (right) performing live onstage in the Netherlands in June 2001. Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images Both brothers have previously spoken about the possibility of a reunion. Noel put the onus on his brother in a 2023 interview with KPNW 89.9 radio, saying that his brother would “have to call me” as a start but that he’d be open to listening to his ideas. Before Liam kicked off a UK-based “Definitely, Maybe” anniversary tour in June, he said in an interview that Noel had declined an offer for a reunion tour. “We put an offer on the table for an Oasis thing – because we got offered it – and he said no,” Liam said in an interview with Mojo in February. “It was a big tour, a lot of money. He turned it down.” Next year will mark another milestone for Oasis with the 30th anniversary of their hit 1995 album “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” The album is Oasis’ second studio album and includes some of their most popular sonic offerings like “Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Champagne Supernova.” Noel Gallagher (left) and Liam Gallagher (right) pictured in London in 1995. Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Just one year after the album’s release and three years into their tenure as a Britpop-era band, Oasis drew 250,000 concertgoers over two nights of concerts at the Knebworth Festival at Knebworth House in England. According to the BBC, more than 4% of the British population applied for tickets to see the Knebworth shows, making the event one of the largest ever demands for concert tickets in British history. Their most recent studio album was 2008’s “Dig Out Your Soul.” Noel quit the band during an oft-discussed gig in Paris in 2009. “It’s with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight,” Noel Gallagher said in a brief statement on the band’s website at the time. “People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.” Both Liam and Noel went on to have successful solo careers. Liam has released three solo albums and several other collaborative albums. Noel formed his new band Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in 2010 and has released four studio albums. “Oasis’ greatest strength was the relationship between me and Liam,” Noel said in the 2016 documentary “Oasis: Supersonic.” It’s also, he said, “what drove the band into the ground in the end.”

IBM is cutting more than 1,000 jobs in China, according to multiple state media reports, as geopolitical tension between Beijing and Washington prompts many global companies to reassess their future in the world’s second-largest economy. Relations between the United States and China have deteriorated over technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and green technology, in part due to national security concerns. Some firms have quietly laid off or relocated staff. Yicai, a Chinese state-owned financial media outlet, reported on Monday that IBM (IBM) was closing its research operations in the country entirely. That included its China Development Lab, which opened 25 years ago in 1999, and the China Systems Lab, it said. In a statement sent to CNN on Tuesday, the company declined to comment on the number of job losses or whether it would retain any research staff in China. “IBM adapts its operations as needed to best serve our clients, and these changes will not impact our ability to support clients across Greater China region,” it said. Jiemian, another state-media outlet, wrote on Monday that the job cuts — which reportedly affected staff in Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian — were announced by Jack Hergenrother, an enterprise systems development executive. He reportedly told staff that IBM’s infrastructure business in China was “in decline” and the research work happening in the country would be transferred to other labs. The Wall Street Journal reported that some of the work may be undertaken by the company’s labs in India. IBM has a long history in China, having first supplied machines to a major hospital in the capital in 1934. After re-entering the market in 1984 following China’s opening to the world, the country was seen as a priority with massive potential. But in recent years, that enthusiasm has waned. A tech war between the world’s top two economic powers has intensified, making it increasingly difficult for American businesses to do business in China. “It’s a reality that market access for Western firms is constricting, if not closing in some sectors in China due to national security concerns,” David Hoffman, senior advisor of the Conference Board Asia, told CNN. He added that enterprise IT, which refer to complex systems used by large organizations to manage operations, was one of those areas, especially because large state-owned and state-connected firms form the bulk of the market. Falling revenue In the statement, IBM added that Chinese companies, especially privately owned firms, are increasingly focusing on hybrid cloud and AI technologies and that its strategy was to cater to those opportunities. After years as a growth market, China is no longer the promising bright spot it once was for a number of industries. IBM said in its most recent annual report that revenue in the country fell by 19.6% last year. The IBM news comes three months after Microsoft (MSFT) confirmed it had offered to relocate some of its employees in China. State media previously reported the company had made the offer to at least 100 staff. Like IBM, Microsoft has worked hard to build goodwill in China. It entered the market in 1992 and for decades counted on its influential research lab, Microsoft Research Lab Asia, to help it build influence. Its software is used by the Chinese government and companies, and Bing is the only foreign search engine with any traction in China. But it, too, has been facing challenges, as geopolitics cloud the business outlook for American companies working in AI and cloud computing research in China. Many US firms were persuaded by “Chinese incentives and bureaucratic urging” to move research into the country decades ago, according to Anne Stevenson-Yang, co-founder and managing principal at J Capital Research. “This was a key brag of the Chinese government for a long time. Now, political risk and IP [intellectual property] risk are reversing that trend,” she said.

The death toll from floods in Sudan has risen to 132, state-run news agency SUNA reported Tuesday, citing a government committee, in the latest tragedy for the northeast African nation already plagued by civil war. Flash floods triggered by heavy rains and a collapsed dam swept through villages, destroying more than 12,000 homes in 10 of the country’s provinces, with more than 30,000 families affected, the committee said. Many of the casualties were recorded in Sudan’s northwest Red Sea State where at least 30 people were killed after the collapse of the Arba’at Dam in Port Sudan on Sunday, the United Nations’s emergency relief agency said Monday. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the death toll could rise significantly with many still missing and displaced by the floods. It added that some residents were forced to escape to the mountains for safety while others were evacuated. OCHA said that disruption to the telecommunication network due to damage “has made it difficult to gather more accurate information on the situation.” It added in a statement to CNN on Tuesday that the damage to the dam, which supplies the “primary source of freshwater for Port Sudan,” the country’s fifth-largest city, would “impact water supplies” and worsen the humanitarian situation in Red Sea State. The latest flooding exacerbates the devastating impacts of floods which have wrecked parts of the country since June, leaving more than 100,000 people displaced, according to OCHA. The human-caused climate crisis is making extreme weather more frequent and more severe, scientists say. Sudan is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, grappling with deadly rainfall and flooding, as well as devastating droughts. More than 10 million people are already displaced by a year-long civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that has left at least 18,000 others dead. Over half the country’s population also faces acute hunger, OCHA said last month.

Just like urine and stool, semen can provide important clues about a man’s health. Variations in its color, texture, smell and volume can signal underlying health conditions. Understanding these signs can help men maintain their overall well-being and address potential issues early on. What is normal for semen? It is normal for semen to have minor changes in color, texture or smell. The quality may also vary from day to day or ejaculate to ejaculate — no two are exactly the same. Semen, or seminal fluid, is a mixture of fluid from the prostate, seminal vesicles and testicles. Normal semen parameters include a sperm concentration of at least 15 million sperm per milliliter, with at least 40% of the sperm showing motility and 4% having normal morphology or appearance, according to the World Health Organization. It typically has a slightly thick, gel-like consistency. It has a faint, bleach-like smell due to its alkaline pH. The volume of ejaculate typically ranges from 1.5 to 5 milliliters per ejaculation. Semen liquifies within minutes after exiting the body, going from thick gel to smooth liquid to support the movement of sperm. Simply said, each ejaculate has millions of sperm; not all of them have to be gold medal swimmers, and not all of them have to look normal. Also, it’s important to note that abnormal swimmers or appearance does not equal abnormal genetics or higher risk of congenital anaomolies. Color changes Semen is usually whitish-gray in color. The color may change as it mixes with urine, blood or other fluids in the urinary or reproductive tracts. Semen can change color from starting a B vitamin or medications. Just like there may be changes in the color of your urine when starting supplements and medications, the same can happen with the semen. Medical conditions like liver failure or jaundice, where the entire body appears more yellow, can also discolor the semen. Even smoking can alter semen parameters with not just changes in color but a decline in fertility. Yellow or green semen might suggest an infection, such as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), urinary tract infection or prostate inflammation (prostatitis). Red or brown semen, known as hematospermia, can be alarming but is often benign, typically caused by inflammation, enlarged prostate infection or even riding a bike for too long. Texture and consistency Normal semen is slightly thick and gelatinous, so thick and clumpy semen might be a sign of dehydration or infection. Men with chronic dehydration often have altered semen parameters, which include texture, which can lead to a decrease in fertility. Watery semen, on the other hand, can indicate a low sperm count or frequent ejaculation, which may temporarily reduce sperm quality. Smell Typically, semen has a light bleach or ammonia-like smell due to its slightly alkaline pH. A strong or foul odor can be a red flag for infections such as bacterial prostatitis or STIs. A sweet smell may signal abnormal glucose levels concerning for diabetes. Volume The average volume of ejaculate ranges from 1.5 to 5 milliliters—about 1/3 to 1.5 teaspoons—or roughly what you would find in a small packet of ketchup. Low volume can result from frequent ejaculation, low testosterone levels or blockages in the reproductive tract. A high volume of semen may be due to prolonged abstinence or in rare cases, an infection or inflammation. Frequency of Ejaculation While regular ejaculation is generally healthy, very frequent ejaculation can affect semen quality. It is well known that men who ejaculate multiple times daily may experience temporary reductions in sperm count and motility, though this typically normalizes with less frequent ejaculation. Pain during ejaculation Painful ejaculation can be a symptom of prostatitis, urethritis and conditions like Peyronie’s disease (abnormal penile curvature) or post-vasectomy pain syndrome. A recent guideline review found that 15% to 55% of men with chronic prostatitis may experience sexual dysfunction and/or pain during ejaculation, which can significantly impact their quality of life and virality. Lifestyle factors Diet, hydration and overall health profoundly impact semen quality. Poor diet, lack of exercise, and smoking can negatively affect semen health, while a healthy lifestyle can improve it. Medications and supplements Certain medications and supplements can alter semen’s appearance and quality. For example, testosterone replacement therapy can reduce sperm production, while supplements like zinc and folic acid can enhance semen quality. When to see a doctor Occasional changes in semen are usually not cause for concern. However, persistent changes should be evaluated by a healthcare professional. Regular check-ups and open communication with your doctor are crucial for maintaining sexual health and addressing any issues early. It’s important to remind your doctor of any medication or over-the-counter supplements you’re taking. Semen can provide valuable insights into a man’s health. By paying attention to its color, texture, smell and volume, men can detect potential health issues early. If you notice persistent changes, consulting with a healthcare provider can help ensure your sexual health remains in top shape.

For a short period last Thursday, first-class round-trip airline tickets from Australia to the US that normally cost up to 28,000 Australian dollars (about $19,000) were available from Qantas for a whopping 85% off. Due to a coding error, about 300 lucky people were able to buy them on the airline’s website for as little as $3,400 each before the mistake was corrected. “Unfortunately, this is a case where the fare was actually too good to be true,” Qantas said in a statement Thursday. However, not all hope is lost. Instead of canceling the tickets, Qantas said it would rebook the customers in business class “as a gesture of goodwill” at no extra cost. Alternatively, passengers who aren’t satisfied with business class can get full refunds. Flying business class on Qantas between Australia and the United States typically costs about $11,000. Qantas’ goodwill gesture follows a similar blunder that was handled differently by the airline last year. Last August, Australian regulators accused Qantas in a lawsuit of selling tickets for more than 8,000 flights that the airline had already canceled — affecting more than 86,000 passengers. Qantas agreed in May to pay nearly $80 million to settle the suit, with more than $13 million of that sum awarded to the affected customers. Its CEO Vanessa Hudson told CNN in June that the company had “let our customers down,” as well as its staff. Airlines regularly make errors, selling premium tickets at a flagrantly mispriced price, though some have chosen to honor them. In 2019, Cathay Pacific offered first- and business-class seats from Vietnam to North American cities for as low as $675 round-trip. The Hong Kong flag carrier honored the deal, tweeting #promisemadepromisekept and #lessonlearnt on its X account. But it’s not always the case. In 2010, American Airlines refused to honor first-class return tickets from the US to Australia, worth up to $20,000, that it sold for the economy-class price of $1,100. Instead, it offered $200 vouchers as compensation. A year earlier, British Airways also failed to honor mistakenly sold $40 flights from North America to India, offering $300 vouchers instead.

The family of the first Israeli hostage to have been reclaimed alive from inside Hamas’ sprawling tunnel network underneath Gaza have hailed his “unbelievable” rescue, saying it is as if he has been “brought back to life.” Farhan Al-Qadi, 52, a Bedouin Israeli citizen from Rahat in southern Israel who had been held hostage since October 7, is “in a stable medical condition” after being rescued from a tunnel in southern Gaza in a “complex operation,” an Israeli military spokesman told CNN Tuesday. Israeli special forces, acting on intelligence, were combing a network of tunnels in southern Gaza when they found Al-Qadi, two Israeli military officials told CNN. Al-Qadi was alone, without his Hamas captors, when Israeli forces found him, one of the officials said. Al-Qadi is the eighth hostage to be rescued alive in Gaza by the Israeli military since the beginning of the war, in four separate operations – but he is the first to have been reclaimed alive from inside Hamas’ tunnel network underneath Gaza, the IDF told CNN. “He was dead and is now brought back to life,” Al-Qadi’s brother, Juma’a, told CNN after Al-Qadi met family members at the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva, where he is being cared for following his rescue. He added that his brother had not expected to come back alive. “It was all tears. Tears of joy. What matters is that we saw him,” Juma’a said during an interview in the Bedouin village of Tarabin, in Israel’s Negev desert. He added that his brother had told him earlier today that his one wish was to “see you (the family) and then die.” Shlomi Codish, director general of Soroka Medical Center, said Tuesday the former hostage would “require another day or two of medical tests to make sure he is still okay.” Meanwhile, a friend of Al-Qadi, Mazen Abu Siam described jubilant scenes and a “big celebration” at the hospital, where “hundreds of friends and relatives” had arrived to visit the former hostage. Family members told CNN Al-Qadi is expected to return to Tarabin on Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, his brothers and 11 children, along with their cousins and neighbors, were busy putting up tents, chairs and lights ahead of his return to the village. in the closed women’s quarters of the village, Al-Qadi’s mother was awaiting her son’s return. Alya El-Sanae said that at first, her family hid the painful truth behind her son’s disappearance, telling her he was traveling. A few months after the October 7 attacks, she was told her son was held by Hamas in Gaza. Today, news of his release felt “unbelievable.” “My heart flew with joy,” El-Sanae told CNN. ‘It is hard for him to erase the things he saw’ Juma’a said that his brother had been shot in the leg and kidnapped on October 7, during an attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 others hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Juma’a added that his brother’s leg appeared poorly treated and that he was operated on without anesthesia, “as one does with animals.” The 11 months Al-Qadi spent in captivity would never leave him, Juma’a said. “It is hard for him to erase the things he saw there,” Juma’a said, adding that he too would never fully recover from losing his brother for nearly a year. Ata Abu Madighem, the former mayor of the Arab Bedouin city of Rahat in southern Israel, close to where Al-Qadi is from, said he had visited Al-Qadi in hospital. He said Al-Qadi had told him another hostage died next to him at the beginning of his captivity. “He told me that captivity was brutal. Constant darkness, did not see the light of day. He was treated like the rest of the hostages, like an Israeli in every way,” he said. Another one of Al-Qadi’s brothers, Abu Mohammad, suggested to CNN that his captors had fled when they heard Israeli troops approaching the tunnels, saying his brother had heard Hebrew voices and shouted out to communicate his whereabouts. Asked by CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Tuesday if he believes Al-Qadi’s captors abandoned him, IDF spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said that was “one of the options that are being looked at.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Al-Qadi, in a conversation released on video by his office. “Farhan, I am so happy to talk to you,” Netanyahu says in the video. I want you to know that we do not forget anyone, just as we did not forget you.” “I’m happy too. I’ve been waiting for this moment,” the former hostage told the prime minister. The Hostages Families Forum, which campaigns for the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, celebrated the return of the father of 11. Al-Qadi, right, is pictured in an Israeli hospital with one of his brothers on Tuesday. Channel 13 “(His) return home is nothing short of miraculous,” it said. “However, we must remember: military operations alone cannot free the remaining 108 hostages, who have suffered 326 days of abuse and terror.” Protests demanding the Israeli government do more to secure the release of the remaining hostages have been going on for months. Al-Qadi’s friend Abu Siam said he had taken part in some of those protests and that he asked Al-Qadi when he visited him in hospital whether he was aware of the demonstrations. “I asked him if he saw me on the roads and the streets calling to free him from the captivity and he told me his was disconnected from Israeli news,” Abu Siam told CNN’s Jim Sciutto. Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said a “daring and courageous” operation led to Al-Qadi’s rescue. Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he was “overjoyed” by the development. ‘Not a single drop of blood was shed’ The Bedouin community in Israel – a Muslim, semi-nomadic, and ethnically Arab group – is considered a subset of the country’s Arab population, which makes up about 20% of the total population. While

Ukraine’s military incursion into Russian territory in the Kursk region is covering some of the same territory on which the Soviet Union scored one of its most important victories over German invaders in World War II, one that some historians say turned the tide of the war in Europe almost a year before the D-Day invasion of Normandy. The June 6, 1944, landings on the beaches of France are often thought of in the West as the turning point in Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s conquest of Europe, but the die was cast for Germany’s defeat from July 5 to August 23, 1943, when millions of troops and thousands of tanks and armored guns did battle around Kursk, the historians say. With victory in Kursk, “the Soviets seized the initiative in the east and never surrendered it until the end of the war,” said Michael Bell, executive director of the Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. What was the Battle of Kursk? In the spring of 1943, Hitler’s army in the east was badly wounded by the Battle of Stalingrad, where the Germans lost almost a million men in their attempt to take the city on the Volga River, rout a battered Soviet army, and capture oil fields in the southern Caucasus that could provide the fuel for Germany’s full conquest of Europe. Soviet leader Josef Stalin ordered Stalingrad defended at all costs and German advances during the late summer and fall of 1942 were pushed back during the winter, and what was left of the German forces in the city surrendered by February 1943. As German forces were pushed back along the Eastern Front after Stalingrad, Hitler’s generals looked for a way to regain the initiative in the east and settled on trying to pinch off a Soviet salient, a 150-mile, north-to-south bulge in the German lines, defended by more than a million men and centered on Kursk. The generals wanted to attack in the spring, but Hitler pushed back the start of the operation, dubbed Operation Citadel, so some of Germany’s newest tanks could be dispatched to the battlefront. Battle of Kursk bulge, July 1943. Sovfoto/Universal Images Group/Getty Images This gave the Soviets ample time to prepare defenses for what was an obvious point for an attack, said Peter Mansoor, a professor of history at The Ohio State University and former US Army armored cavalry commander. “It was pretty easy to tell that the Germans would have an interest in squeezing this bulge out of the front,” Mansoor said. Germany would commit as many as 800,000 troops and around 3,000 tanks to take that salient. But they faced formidable defenses. Bell, from the World War II museum, said the Soviets prepared a series of defensive lines, dug 3,000 miles of anti-tank ditches and laid 400,000 land mines to defend the bulge, while putting 75% of its armor and 40% of its manpower on the Eastern Front in the Kursk salient or in reserve behind it. While the new tanks Hitler wanted in the battle were more powerful than Soviet armor, Stalin’s forces had the numerical advantage, Bell said. “The Germans have some superior equipment, but the superiority in numbers is clearly on the Soviet side,” Bell said. Some estimates of Soviet strength in the Battle of Kursk surpass 2 million troops and more than 7,000 tanks. The numerical advantage tipped even further to the Soviet side when on July 9, Allied forces landed on the Italian island of Sicily, opening a new front Hitler had to defend and prompting him to transfer some forces from the Eastern Front to Italy, the historians said. The German forces that remained could not break the Soviet defenses, falling well short of objectives and never penetrating deep into rear areas. The cost to Hitler’s forces was steep, with casualty figures ranging up to 200,000 or more killed and around 1,000 tanks lost, according to histories of the battle. “The Germans were never able to mass forces again to the magnitude that they attempt with this battle,” Bell said. “What Kursk did was eliminate the German armor reserves and thereby made it impossible for the Germans to successfully defend the Russian front for the rest of the war,” Mansoor said. “After Kursk, the Germans could no longer replace their manpower losses and they lost the cream of their armored corps there,” he said. The Kursk battlefield today When Ukrainian forces crossed the border into the Kursk region on August 6, they had an advantage that the Germans didn’t have in 1943 – surprise. The offensive was planned in complete secrecy, and troop movements were made to look like reinforcements of defensive positions or an exercise inside Ukraine. And Russia was not prepared to defend that territory like it was in portions of Ukraine which it has taken, Mansoor said. In fact, the defenses Russia set up – layers of trenches, mines, anti-tank weapons backed by artillery and armor – in parts of the Donbas region of Ukraine which it occupies are much like the Soviet defenses of Kursk in 1943, he said. “The Russians have not changed their way of war all that much,” Mansoor said. And that may play to Ukraine’s advantage today, said the former US Army armored cavalry officer. Ukraine has created maneuver space inside Russian territory using combined arms warfare – successfully synchronizing infantry, long-range artillery and aviation in support of each other – something Kyiv’s forces had not been able to do before. “It really changes the nature of the war, at least in that area of the front line,” Mansoor said.

When Mickey Guyton was asked to perform at the Democratic National Convention, the country star immediately felt the significance of taking the stage at the convention where Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept her party’s presidential nomination. Guyton is one of Monday night’s performers at the DNC, along with James Taylor and Jason Isbell. “I love my country so much and to get such an opportunity to bring unity to such an incredible movement is a great honor,” Guyton told CNN in an interview on Monday. Guyton, who became the first Black woman to receive a Grammy nomination for best country solo performance in 2021, said that seeing a woman of color possibly become the president of the United States is not something she was sure she could possibly witness in her life. It’s so inspiring to see someone who is not only exceptionally smart, but also happens to look like me, running for the highest office in our country,” Guyton said. “She represents so much to so many and I just think it’s incredible. I never thought I would see a woman be president in my lifetime and now it seems attainable.” Reflecting on Harris’ run, she added, “I’m elated, and it means the world to me to see this AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha member), biracial lawyer who attended a HBCU thriving and bringing so much hope to this country.” Guyton’s Grammy-nominated 2020 song, “Black Like Me,” was released during the summer of demonstrations about George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police. She has been outspoken about racism that she has experienced in country music and has said she is proud to be paving the way for other Black artists in the genre. “For me, this is beyond a genre of music. This is about humanity. This is about the culture,” Guyton said when reflecting on performing at the DNC. “This is about our country and I feel honored to be able to witness history.” Referencing the presidential race in 1972, Congresswoman Shriley Chisholm’s historic campaign as the first Black candidate to seek a major party nomination, Guyton said, “All I have to say is Shirley Chisholm flew so Kamala could soar.”

When archaeologists sift through layers of dirt to tell stories of the past, sometimes their discoveries capture stirring traces of humanity. Continuing excavations within the ancient city of Pompeii have revealed the remains of a man and a woman within a small bedroom buried by ash and volcanic glass in AD 79 from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It appears that the pair sought refuge in the temporary sleeping space while the home was under renovation. In death, the woman still clutches a cache of earrings and gold, silver and bronze coins. Meanwhile, a team aiming to restore a neglected and earthquake-damaged archaeological site in Turkey came across a tiny 3,500-year-old cuneiform tablet. The small clay piece, covered in wedge-shaped writing, is akin to a purchase receipt that could provide insights into Late Bronze Age society.  And new revelations about an iconic Neolithic monument may shed light on the people who built it. A long time ago An aerial photograph showcases the Neolithic monument Stonehenge on the Salisburty Plain in England. David Goddard/Getty Images Mysteries still swirl around Stonehenge thousands of years after its massive stones were erected in what’s now southern England. But a new study of the Altar Stone, which lies at the heart of the horseshoe-shaped monument, suggests that it traveled a great distance to get there. A mineral analysis found that the stone likely originated from 435 miles (700 kilometers) away in current-day northeast Scotland, rather than Wales, overturning a century-old theory. “This is the longest recorded journey for any stone used in a monument at that period,” said Nick Pearce, a professor of geography and Earth sciences at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Researchers believe the stone may have been transported over open water, which suggests that ancient Britain and its citizens were much more advanced 5,000 years ago than previously believed. Solar update German astronomer Johannes Kepler used a projecting device in 1607 to help him sketch the sunspots he saw just a few years before the first telescopic observations of the features. Now, the drawings have helped scientists solve a centuries-long solar puzzle. Astronomers use sunspots to help them track the 11-year cycle of waxing and waning activity the sun experiences. But between 1645 and 1715, the sun experienced a phenomenon known as the Maunder Minimum, a period of extremely weak and abnormal solar cycles. A new analysis of Kepler’s long-disregarded drawings shows that two of the solar cycles before this grand minimum occurred normally, which means that yet to be identified precursors of what was considered an anomaly likely exist. Ocean secrets The world’s largest iceberg, known as A23a, is rotating about 15 degrees a day in the Southern Ocean. Emily Broadwell/British Antarctic Survey The world’s largest iceberg has been slowly spinning in the Southern Ocean for months with no end in sight. The iceberg, known as A23a, initially broke away from Antarctica’s Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in 1986, forming a chunk of ice slightly bigger than Rhode Island. After drifting over a seamount, it got caught in a water vortex caused by ocean currents hitting the underwater mountain, which cause the iceberg to rotate about 15 degrees per day. Scientists are baffled by the phenomenon, and they are monitoring the frozen block to see how long it could remain trapped in the vortex as it gradually melts. Other worlds The InSight mission may have ended in 2022, but the NASA lander’s data has revealed evidence of a water reservoir deep beneath the surface of Mars. New estimates show there may be enough water, trapped in tiny cracks and pores of rock in the middle of the Martian crust, to fill oceans on the planet’s surface. The water is located between 7 and 12 miles (11.5 and 20 kilometers) beneath the surface, making it impossible to access. But if the water ever could be reached, scientists think the subterranean reservoir might represent a new place to search for life on the red planet. Across the universe A composite image shows the remains of supernova SN 1181, a cataclysmic collision of two stars. The spherical nebula has at its center a hot white dwarf, or “zombie star,” left behind after the likely merger. NASA/ESA/USAF/NSF Chinese astronomers first spotted what they called a “guest star” in 1181, and for six months, the dying star appeared as bright as Saturn in the night sky. And the supernova, observed long before telescopes, has baffled researchers ever since. Amateur astronomer Dana Patchick found a remnant called a nebula, or giant cloud of gas and dust, associated with the supernova in 2013. Now, scientists have created a model of the supernova’s evolution and uncovered a cosmic surprise. The event that created the nebula may have been a rare Type lax supernova, or the result of two white dwarf stars that collided and left behind a “zombie star.” And the so-called zombie star has shown intriguing signs of recent activity that could reveal insights into the life and death of stars. Take note Explore these unexpected stories: — NASA will soon announce its decision on how the crew of Boeing’s Starliner mission will return to Earth as it faces looming issues such as a limited supply of food on board the International Space Station. — A fossil hunter made the discovery of a lifetime when he found a giant intact tusk of an ice age mammoth in a Mississippi creek. — Invasive Jorō spiders continue to spread and build their large webs almost anywhere, and how the spiders “keep cool under pressure” may explain why, according to the lead author of a new study on the spiders’ heart rates. — The wreck of a torpedoed World War I warship has been located off the coast of Scotland in “amazing condition,” according to divers, but the shipwreck comes with a tragic tale of those aboard when it sank. —The asteroid that slammed into Earth 66 million years ago, setting off events leading to the demise of the dinosaurs, was a rare clay-rich mudball, scientists found. 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Wherever you go, the experience is usually the same. You enter a church or a cathedral, and an ecclesiastical hush descends. You admire the architecture, the artworks, the centuries of history and of faith that have stood the test of time. And then you enter a special chapel or museum, where the holiest of items resides. Behind a glass case stands the stuff of legend: the Holy Grail. Or is it? What makes this cup the Holy Grail – but not another? In Europe alone, there are said to be around 200 cups, each thought to be the Holy Grail – the cup used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. Believers flock to see them and pray over them. But which is the real grail – and does it even exist? A religious or cultural reality? In “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” the Holy Grail was a simple “cup of a carpenter” with miraculous healing powers. Lucasfilm Ltd/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock One thing’s for certain – the Holy Grail is embedded deep into our collective imagination. The idea of a quest is a constant theme in literature, art and movies, while we routinely refer to what would be our ultimate goals – but usually lie tantalizingly out of sight – as the “holy grail.” Major medical breakthroughs are often called the “holy grail” for the disease in question. It’s part of pop culture, too. Dan Brown made millions off his interpretation of the Holy Grail in the “Da Vinci Code,” in which he posited that the grail was not in fact an object, but a secret – that Jesus Christ had fathered children with Mary Magdalen. And who can forget Harrison Ford reaching out for the “cup of a carpenter” in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”? Even stories that have nothing to do with Christianity are often centered around quests – from Harry Potter to “Lord of the Rings.” Strip away those modern connotations, though, and we’re left with a simple explanation. The Holy Grail is, supposedly, the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. The goblet that Christ drank from before his arrest, sentencing and crucifixion would of course be of interest to Christians around the world. And the fact that, over the centuries, legends have arisen of “grails” producing miracles, has only added to the enthusiasm. There’s just one problem, says Joanne Pierce, professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. “I honestly do not think that the actual cup from the Last Supper still exists,” she says. “Jesus certainly used a cup at the Last Supper, but if you look at some Gospel accounts, the room was already prepared by someone else [before they arrived]. So it may not have been his cup.” For Pierce, a Catholic, the idea of the Holy Grail is more symbolic than realistic – in her words, “a cultural reality rather than a religious reality.” But for many people, the grail is a real object – and one that it’s possible to see if you go to Valencia. Or Léon. Or Genoa. Or any of the many places where, tradition says the Grail resides. You might even be able to feel the mystical power of the Grail if you visit one of the many places it is said to be hiding, just out of site. Up the mountain of Montserrat, outside Barcelona, for example. Or in the Polish countryside, where the shadowy Knights Templar might have hidden it. Or around Glastonbury Tor, the mysterious hill in southern England where, medieval legend declared, Joseph of Arimathea brought the Grail shortly after Jesus’ death. At Valencia, in eastern Spain, enter the cathedral, and to the right is a chapel, built expressly to house the “Santo Cáliz,” or “holy chalice.” “Tradition reveals that it is the same cup that the Lord used at the Last Supper for the institution of the Eucharist,” says the cathedral’s website about the “Holy Chalice of the Lord’s Supper.” They believe that St. Peter took it to Rome, from where it was sent to Spain in the third century CE. Valencia’s tourist board website also describes the cup as “the Holy Chalice… used by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper.” Announcing that you have the Holy Grail is, of course, a tourism draw. It has been since the medieval period, when Europeans taking part in the Crusades would bring back “relics” from Jerusalem. From worship to tourism Relics are commonly used during worship in Christianity. This lance, which supposedly pierced Jesus’ side, can be found in Etchmiadzin Cathedral in Armenia. Dean Conger/Corbis/Getty Images In fact, relics have been central to Christianity since the start, says Pierce. When early Christians were martyred, other believers would pray at their graves. “The martyr acted as a patron or intercessory for their prayers to be lifted up to heaven” – a practice taken from ancient Rome, where the “patronage system was an important part of society.” That idea of saints intensifying prayer, or flagging it to the right place, persists in Christianity today. But it wasn’t just the graves of martyrs that became holy; it was anything to do with their body, or things they had touched. “Objects they might have handled were considered to have that same grace – a connection with the holy,” says Pierce. Of course, the cup held by Jesus with which he showed the disciples how to perform the eucharist, on the table as he announced that he was soon to be betrayed, would be the holiest of holy objects. Little wonder that so much effort has gone into finding the Grail. During the time of the Crusades, interest in Jesus’ life on Earth increased, says Pierce. People were “going back and forth” between Europe and the Holy Land, looking for artifacts that could have been related. That’s why most of the supposed Holy Grails around Europe first arrived on the continent during those centuries. “It’s similar to the interest in the paranormal we have now,” says Mathew Schmalz,

China will impose export limits on antimony and related elements in the name of national security, its Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, in Beijing’s latest move to restrict shipments of critical minerals in which it is the dominant supplier. China accounted last year for 48% of global mined output of antimony, a strategic metal used in military applications such as ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, as well as in batteries and photovoltaic equipment. The restrictions are being imposed “in order to safeguard national security and interests, and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the ministry said in a statement. At a regular weekly briefing on Thursday, the ministry said the curbs were not directed at any specific country or region. “It’s a sign of the times,” said Christopher Ecclestone, a principal and mining strategist at Hallgarten & Company in London. “The military uses of Sb (antimony) are now the tail that wags the dog. Everyone needs it for armaments so it is better to hang onto it than sell it,” he said. “This will put a real squeeze on the US and European militaries.” The limits, effective from September 15, apply to six kinds of antimony-related products, including antimony ore, antimony metals and antimony oxide, the ministry said in the statement. The rules also ban the export of gold-antimony smelting and separation technology without permission. Dual use Exporters of affected products must apply for export licenses for dual-use items and technologies – those with potential military as well as civil applications – it said. The US and other countries are scrambling to ease their reliance on China for key materials, setting out policies and support packages for their critical minerals sectors, including rare earths. In an April research note, analysts at China Securities said increasing demand for arms and ammunition due to wars and geopolitical tensions was likely to see tightening control and stockpiling of antimony ore. Perpetua Resources, which is building a US antimony and gold project with support from the Pentagon and the US Export-Import Bank, had initially planned to begin production by 2028, should it obtain final permits this year. But China’s moves meant the company is studying ways to produce antimony faster. “We are looking at things that we can do during construction to get antimony out the door sooner for some of these strategic needs,” Jon Cherry, Perpetua’s CEO, told Reuters. “The (US) Department of Defense is aware of the critical nature of antimony and the short supply available. We’ve been hearing from a lot of different sources about the lack of supply for antimony, that the market is very tight and getting tighter daily.” Shares of Perpetua jumped as much as 19% on Thursday to levels not seen in three years. Widening curbs China’s latest curbs follow a wave of such restrictions introduced since last year. In December, China banned the export of technology to make rare earth magnets, which came on top of a ban already in place on exporting technology to extract and separate the critical materials. Beijing has also tightened exports of some graphite products, and imposed restrictions on exports of gallium and germanium products widely used in the semiconductor industry. Prices of antimony surged to record highs this year, fueled by tight supply and growing demand, especially from the photovoltaic sector, where the metal is used to improve the performance of solar cells. That has helped push up the share prices of Chinese producers including Hunan Gold, Tibet Huayu Mining and Guangxi Huaxi Non-Ferrous by between 66% and 93% so far in 2024. One antimony producer in Hunan province said they were waiting to see the results of the latest move, but added: “We believe in the short term prices should be supported by a wave of rush stockpiling from overseas buyers.” They declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media. While China is the biggest supplier of refined antimony, it is a net importer of concentrates and depends on ore from countries including Thailand, Myanmar and Russia, customs data showed. Imports from Russia have fallen sharply this year. “A lack of concentrate feedstock remains the key feature of the antimony market at present,” said Jack Bedder, co-founder of consultancy Project Blue.

A motorbike racer has died following injuries he sustained during a qualifying session for the 2024 Manx Grand Prix, organizers confirmed Sunday. Irish rider Louis O’Regan was injured during an accident on the 37.73-mile (60 kilometer) circuit of the Manx Grand Prix, a set of motorcycle races held annually on the Isle of Man, which are considered to be an amateur version of the famed Isle of Man TT races. “With great sadness, the organisers of the Manx Grand Prix can confirm that Louis O’Regan, 43, has died following injuries sustained in an accident at Kate’s Cottage during the opening qualifying session of the 2024 event,” the Manx Grand Prix said in a statement. Organizers referred to O’Regan as an “experienced competitor at the Manx Grand Prix.” He made his event debut in the 2013 Newcomers A Race where he finished 12th. The Irishman recorded his best lap speed in the 2019 Junior Race, lapping at an average speed of 114.7mph, per the Manx Grand Prix. “We extend our heartfelt condolences to Louis’s partner Sarah, his family, loved ones, and friends,” organizers said. The tragedy follows a series of deaths at the race in recent years, with two competitors – Gary Vines and Ian Bainbridge – dying in accidents suffered during qualifying of the 2023 edition. Inquests into the two deaths were opened by authorities in 2023, according to the BBC, with new tire regulations being introduced by race organizers after Vines’ death.

  When former “facialist to the stars” Dawn DaLuise received a sudden stream of text messages in late June, it triggered memories of the months-long stalking campaign that derailed her beauty career and landed her in jail charged with soliciting murder. A decade earlier, the messages might have contained threats from unknown senders, or responses to fliers offering “free” sex that had been printed with her contact details (alongside images of her and her daughters’ faces superimposed onto X-rated photos) and distributed on Santa Monica Boulevard. As it happened, however, the texts were from friends and clients informing DaLuise of the latest chapter in a life story that came to resemble a Hollywood thriller: She was being portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in a new movie. Hitting theaters today, “Skincare” tells the semi-fictional story of LA esthetician Hope Goodman (Banks), who becomes convinced that rival salon owner Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez) is out to ruin her. Her tires are slashed, she receives creepy videos and nighttime phone calls, and a man shows up at her clinic after a classified ad invites strangers to fulfill her workplace rape fantasies. Dawn DaLuise pictured in court in Los Angeles on March 19, 2014. Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images “My phone was a receptacle for all sorts of harassment… during my ordeal, so when (all these messages) popped up, and the first thing I see is a trailer about my life, it caused me to revisit a bit of that trauma,” DaLuise told CNN in a video interview ahead of the movie’s release. “Reputation is everything in this business,” Goodman observes in the movie, and hers is left in tatters by an explicit sexual email sent to her entire contact book from her account. Once-loyal customers flock over the street to Vergara’s booming salon, while an increasingly hysterical Goodman buys a gun for self-defense and follows her rival to his home. A friend’s offer of protection then takes a dramatic turn — as does her suspicion of who is really behind the harassment. Art imitates life Described in the movie’s opening credits as being “fictional” but “inspired by true events,” the story shares significant similarities with DaLuise’s. Now 65, the esthetician once counted Jennifer Aniston and Sarah Michelle Gellar among the clients at her Hollywood clinic, Skin Refinery. Best-known for “galvanic” facials, which use small electrical currents to help beauty products penetrate the skin, DaLuise — much like the character Goodman — launched a skincare range and developed a media profile of her own. In addition to the aforementioned fliers and texts, DaLuise’s tires were also slashed. She received hundreds of unwanted calls and multiple Craigslist ads were posted in her name claiming she was seeking a man to satisfy her sexual fantasies. She, too, came to (erroneously) believe that an esthetician who opened a clinic next to hers, Gabriel Suarez, was behind the unsettling incidents. “I was stunned and in awe of how precise everything (was), from the location (to) the mannerisms and the way in which our salons were both decked out,” DaLuise said of the production. “Somebody really did their homework and did it well.” (Banks, meanwhile, told Entertainment Weekly last month that she didn’t know the movie was inspired by a true story until “way later into the process.”) Dawn DaLuise erroneously believed Gabriel Suarez (pictured in 2014), who owned a neighboring skin care salon, had been behind a campaign of unsettling incidents. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images In “Skincare,” Luis Gerardo Méndez plays Angel Vergara, the owner of a rival beauty clinic. IFC Films But the movie’s plot subsequently deviates from reality in crucial ways — particularly when it comes to the crime DaLuise was accused of committing. In March 2014, DaLuise was arrested and accused of a murder-for-hire plot against Suarez. The case centered on a text she sent to then-friend, Edward Feinstein, saying she had “found someone who is going to take Gabriel out.” DaLuise argued that the message had not been serious (she described it to CNN as “venting”). The man she was accused of approaching about the hit, former NFL player Chris Geile, testified in court that he barely knew DaLuise and she had never asked him to kill Suarez. The jury took less than an hour to acquit her —  but not before she spent 10 months in prison awaiting trial, during which time she developed colorectal cancer. (She later sued the LA Sheriff’s Department for wrongful imprisonment, among other things, and settled with the county for failing to diagnose her cancer while in custody.) DaLuise believed she had been framed, and attention soon turned to the police’s informant, Feinstein. Authorities suspected that he and his friend (and one of DaLuise’s clients) Nick Prugo, a member of the infamous “Bling Ring” thieving gang that had targeted high-profile celebrities’ homes, were behind the nefarious acts, not Suarez. In 2016, Los Angeles County Superior Court sentenced Feinstein and Prugo to 350 hours of community service and three years of probation each on stalking misdemeanor charges. The pair were ordered to stay away from DaLuise and her two daughters, and to cease contact with one another for 10 years. Feinstein and Prugo were also accused of posting an online ad soliciting men to visit DaLuise’s home to rape her, though the judge dismissed that felony charge, saying there was insufficient evidence. The pair’s conviction followed a plea deal, and an alleged motive for their crimes was not published by the court. Offering her explanation in a 2015 episode of “Dr. Phil,” DaLuise said of Feinstein: “I just think it’s pathological, I think it’s sadistic and I think it’s psychotic.” Setting the record straight Despite DaLuise’s praise for the production, she is “disappointed” not to have been consulted by the writers or director, Austin Peters — or even invited to a preview screening (though she said she managed to “tag along” with other invitees to see the movie twice ahead of the release). Having explored the possibility of taking legal action against the studio,

The body of Mike Lynch, the 59-year-old British tech investor, has been recovered from the sunken Bayesian superyacht, Italian interior ministry office Massimo Mariani told Reuters on Thursday. Early Monday morning, a luxury yacht he was on was hit by a tornado and sunk off the coast of Sicily, Italy. Lynch garnered much of his wealth from cofounding Autonomy, a tech company purchased by Hewlett-Packard, or HP, for $11 billion in 2011. An attorney for Lynch recently revealed that the entrepreneur’s total worth is around $450 million. The Autonomy sale was one of the biggest British tech deals at the time but quickly went sour, with HP writing down Autonomy’s value by $8.8 billion within a year. The Autonomy acquisition was meant to fuel HP’s software business. Instead, the blockbuster sale has been bogged down by legal problems that recently culminated with a fraud trial. Prosecutors accused Lynch and former Autonomy finance executive Stephen Chamberlain of scheming to inflate Autonomy’s revenue before selling to HP. In June, Lynch was acquitted on 15 charges — one count of conspiracy and 14 counts of wire fraud — in a San Francisco court. The verdict came as a surprise to Lynch. “When you hear that answer, you jump universes. If this had gone the wrong way, it would have been the end of life as I have known it in any sense,” he told the Times, a UK newspaper. Lynch, his lawyer and four other people are among those missing after their luxury superyacht sank during a freak storm off Sicily. Alberto Lo Bianco/LaPresse/AP Autonomy, founded in 1996, became Britain’s biggest software company and a member of the blue-chip FTSE 100 index. Lynch was lauded at the time by academics and scientists and was asked to advise the British government on technology and innovation. The vessel Lynch was on, the Bayesian, is linked to his wife, Angela Bacares, who was among those rescued. Ownership records held by maritime information service Equasis show that the 56-meter yacht is owned by the Isle of Man-registered Revtom Limited, a company owned by his wife. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still missing, Mariani said, and divers are still searching the area where the vessel sank. Earlier Thursday, a fifth body was brought to shore from the wreck of the boat, which sank earlier in the week. A CNN team on the ground saw Italian authorities move the body from a rescue boat to ambulances at the Sicilian port of Porticello.

A three-year study of tirzepatide – a medication approved in the US as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss – found that when adults who had prediabetes and obesity or overweight used it weekly, it lowered their risk of progression to diabetes by 94% compared with a placebo, according to drugmaker Eli Lilly. The company said Tuesday that people who got a 15-milligram (mg) dose of the medicine also had an average decrease in body weight of nearly 23%, compared with 2.1% in those who got a placebo. During a 17-week off-treatment follow-up period, people who had stopped using tirzepatide began to regain weight, Lilly said in a news release, and there was “some increase in the progression to type 2 diabetes.” “The most frequently reported adverse events were typically gastrointestinal-related and generally mild to moderate in severity,” Lilly said. “The most common gastrointestinal-related adverse events for patients treated with tirzepatide were diarrhea, nausea, constipation and vomiting.” Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar, or glucose, levels are higher than normal but don’t reach the criteria for a diagnosis of diabetes. It affects about 1 in 3 adults in the US – 84 million people – and about 70% will go on to be diagnosed with diabetes. Lifestyle changes – especially weight loss – have generally been considered the most important management tool. Tirzepatide works by mimicking hormones that stimulate the release of insulin, increase feelings of fullness and reduce appetite. It targets two hormone receptors, GIP and GLP-1. It’s part of a new class of drugs that includes semaglutide, known as Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for weight loss, which have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. In earlier trials of tirzepatide, the medication was found to yield more average weight loss than other approved medicines, and in November, the US Food and Drug Administration approved it for people with obesity or those characterized as overweight with at least one weight-related health condition, such as high blood pressure or heart disease. Like similar drugs, it’s used as a shot patients give themselves once a week and is recommended on top of a reduced-calorie diet and increased exercise. The results of the new trial “will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal and presented at ObesityWeek 2024” in November, Lilly says.

Former Republican Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty on Monday to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges stemming from fraudulent activity during his 2022 midterm campaign. The guilty plea comes just weeks before the ex-congressman was set to stand trial on nearly two dozen federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports, all of which he had to admit to in an allocution statement Monday. Santos will serve a minimum of two years in prison as part of the stipulated agreement and pay restitution of $373,000. His sentencing hearing is set for February 2025. “I deeply regret my conduct,” Santos said in court Monday. “I accept full responsibility for my actions.” Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, the former congressman said he had “allowed ambition to cloud my judgment.” “Pleading guilty is a step I never imagined I’d take, but it’s the right thing to do,” Santos said. “It is my own recognition of the lies I told myself.” Prosecutors said they were prepared to show during trial over 500 exhibits of evidence, including cell phone evidence, information downloaded from Santos’ iCloud account and financial records. The plea to charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft marks an end to the nearly two-year saga that saw Santos lie about his resume as he sought election to New York’s 3rd Congressional District. He won the seat but was ultimately charged with 23 federal counts and was dramatically expelled from Congress last year. Prosecutors, in two batches of charges last year, alleged Santos committed fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misused campaign funds and lied about his personal finances on House disclosure reports. Santos pleaded not guilty in May 2023 to 13 federal charges, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the US House of Representatives. And in October, he pleaded not guilty to another 10 federal charges, which included allegations that he stole donors’ identities and ran up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on their credit cards, embezzled cash from his company, and conspired with his former campaign treasurer to falsify donation totals to hit fundraising targets, among other offenses. Santos, 36, insisted after the second wave of charges that he would not accept a plea deal and that he would seek reelection for his seat, telling reporters in October, “The No. 1 question you all ask me is, ‘Are you going to take a plea deal?’ No. The answer is, I will not take a plea deal.” Santos’ campaign fundraiser, Sam Miele, pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge as part of a plea deal in November. His former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to defraud the United States by committing one or more federal offenses. Expelled by House in rare move Santos, who represented parts of Long Island and Queens during his brief tenure in Congress, sparked shock and controversy on Capitol Hill over revelations that he fabricated large parts of his life story, including significant elements of his resume and biography. Against the threat of expulsion from Congress, Santos remained defiant. He argued that he was being bullied and that it would set a dangerous precedent if the House expelled him since he had not been convicted in a court of law. But calls for Santos’ expulsion from the chamber grew to a fever pitch after the House Ethics Committee released a major report that uncovered additional “uncharged and unlawful conduct” by Santos beyond the criminal allegations already pending against him. In a resounding 311-114 vote in December, with 105 Republicans voting with the overwhelming majority of Democrats in favor of his expulsion, the House used its most severe form of punishment for a member and expelled Santos. He became only the sixth lawmaker ever to be thrown from the chamber. Santos briefly attempted a congressional comeback, announcing in March that he would leave the Republican Party to run as an independent in New York’s 1st District. But he dropped his bid in April, saying at the time that he didn’t want to split the ticket with incumbent GOP Rep. Nick LaLota and “be responsible for handing the House to Dems.” This story has been updated with additional developments.

Scientists have found that human beings age at a molecular level in two accelerated bursts – first at the age of 44, and then again at 60. In a study published in the journal Nature Aging, scientists at Stanford University and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore followed 108 participants over several years to observe aging changes in their molecules — RNA, proteins and participants’ microbiomes. The scientists found that human aging does not happen in a gradual, linear way. Rather, the majority of the molecules they studied showed accelerated, non-linear changes at the ages of 44 and 60. Xiaotao Shen, an assistant professor in microbiome medicine at Nanyang Technological University and first author of the study, told CNN that the results show “we are not becoming old gradually.” Some points in time are particularly important for our aging and health, he added. For example, the ability to metabolize caffeine notably decreases – first around the age of 40 and once more around 60. Components involved in metabolizing alcohol also diminish, particularly around the age of 40, Michael Snyder, chair of the department of genetics at Stanford and an author of the study, told CNN, referring to the two waves of aging. Snyder added that, anecdotally, “people often get muscle injuries and see their fat accumulation hit in their 40s (related to lipid metabolism), and definitely sarcopenia (muscle loss) hit people in their 60s — this is a very big deal.” Both age groups experienced changes in proteins which hold tissues together, which likely helps explain skin, muscle and cardiovascular changes, he added. Disease risks also rise faster, particularly after the age of 60. The study found that people age 60 or older are more susceptible to cardiovascular disorders, kidney issues and type 2 diabetes. Finding patterns like these can help with the diagnosis and prevention of diseases, according to the study, which said it had also identified “clinically actionable markers” that can be used to improve health-care management and the well-being of aging populations. The study focused on participants between the ages of 25 and 75 for nearly two years, on average. Participants all lived in California, were healthy and came from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Samples of blood, stool, skin and nasal and oral swabs were taken from them every three to six months. Since accelerated aging in women could have been attributed to menopause (which is typically between ages 45 and 55), the researchers performed analysis on separate male and female datasets. To their surprise, they found the results were similar – suggesting a transition point around 55 could be a common phenomenon for both sexes. A previous study by researchers in Germany and the United States had found that there is another “wave” of aging around 75, but the latest research was not able to confirm those findings because of the limited age range of the cohort in the trial, Shen told CNN. As for what to take away from their findings, the researchers advise making lifestyle changes such as drinking less alcohol and exercising more when nearing these pivotal years in your 40s and 60s. Snyder advised people approaching their 60s to watch their carb intake and drink plenty of water to aid kidney function. “Take care of yourself more closely at specific time points during your life span,” advised Shen.