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(SeaPRwire) - A friend of mine, typically not picky about food, refuses to eat octopus. “I just can’t bring myself to eat any creature smarter than I am,” he says—and he has a fair point. Octopuses excel at solving problems and concealing themselves from predators. They use tools, recognize individual human faces, and may even possess a sense of humor. These traits alone might give anyone pause before ordering that grilled, tentacled dish.Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures, directed by Olivia Newman and based on Shelby Van Pelt’s 2022 novel, could have a similar effect. Sally Field stars as Tova Sullivan, an elderly widow who works night shifts as a cleaner at a Puget Sound aquarium. Though scrubbing away the day’s accumulation of schoolchildren’s smudges isn’t most people’s idea of enjoyment, Tova doesn’t mind: the quiet of the nighttime suits her, and she forms a quiet bond with one of the aquarium’s main attractions—a clever, sardonic octopus named Marcellus.We know Marcellus is intelligent because we hear his thoughts, voiced by Alfred Molina, and he harbors plenty of opinions about humans. He resents life in captivity. “There’s no silence like the depths of the ocean,” he remarks, watching a group of loud children with his sharp, penetrating gaze. Adults don’t fare much better in his view. “I’m subjected to a species inferior to me in every measurable way,” he complains.Yet Marcellus remains attuned to beauty: he observes that the fingerprints left by schoolkids on his tank’s glass are “as intricate as a moonshell.” And despite his efforts to deny it, he’s emotionally sensitive to the humans who hold him captive—especially Tova. He senses her deep sorrow, and rightly so. Her only son died years earlier, and she still wrestles with guilt, wondering if she played a role in his death. She’s also confronting a difficult decision: before passing away, her husband enrolled them both in a retirement community. For decades, she’s lived in a charming log cabin built by her father. Now, facing the uncertainties of aging, she questions whether it’s time to leave—though it’s clear she’s reluctant to do so.Sally Field as Tova with her octopus companion —Courtesy of NetflixOne day, a stranger rolls into town in a battered chartreuse-and-cream minivan. Lewis Pullman plays Cameron, who claims he’s come to collect a debt from the gruff-but-friendly owner of the local general store, Ethan (played by Colm Meaney). But his van has broken down, and he lacks the money for repairs. Meanwhile, Tova has just fractured her ankle after slipping on the wet aquarium floor. Perhaps Cameron could fill in for her until she recovers? He reluctantly agrees—but since Tova can’t stay away from the aquarium, she insists on stopping by to teach him the right way to mop, polish, and clean away daily grime. As Marcellus watches—and occasionally escapes his tank for brief adventures—Tova and Cameron grow closer. Marcellus becomes convinced that these two troubled humans might help heal each other, but only with his intervention.For a creature without a backbone, Marcellus is remarkably meddlesome. And perhaps not surprisingly, his intuition proves correct: the story unfolds through a series of coincidences set in a small tidal pool—highly improbable, yet soothing in its resolution. Remarkably Bright Creatures does lose some momentum when Marcellus isn’t on screen: watching him glide through his tank is captivating, his supple skin patterned like the weathered red of an old barn, his tentacles moving with balletic elegance. Molina’s voice-over is so persuasive that you begin to believe you’re truly hearing Marcellus’ thoughts. By comparison, the human characters can feel underwhelming.Still, W.C. Fields warned against performing with children or animals—only because he never worked with Sally Field. Her decades-long career, spanning roles from Gidget to Mary Lincoln, stretches behind her like a radiant ribbon. She knows how to be fully present, even when acting opposite an octopus, and she renders Tova’s grief—and her longing for solitude—with authenticity and depth. Pullman makes a perceptive, empathetic counterpart: he seems to invest more in listening than speaking. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a film, much like its cephalopod co-star, with a gentle heart and an ethereal quality. It may not linger in memory for long, but it leaves behind a subtle, lasting impression. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

Voters cast their ballots at a polling location inside Abingdon Elementary School during a special election in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. —Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - The Virginia Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Democrats’ redistricting referendum was invalid, delivering a significant setback to the party as the national battle over gerrymandering intensifies ahead of the fall midterm elections.President Donald Trump described the court’s decision as a “huge win for the Republican Party” in a statement posted on Truth Social on Friday.The Democratic effort aimed to flip four additional seats in the U.S. House, shifting Virginia's congressional delegation from six Democratic seats and five Republican seats to ten Democratic and one Republican seat. The court’s ruling upholds the current voting map used in the 2024 elections, which includes several competitive districts, and effectively secures Republicans an advantage of six to eight more seats in the upcoming midterms.This decision follows another recent blow to Democrats, when the U.S. Supreme Court last week weakened a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, reducing electoral influence for minority voters, particularly in Southern states.Several Southern states have already acted on the Supreme Court’s ruling, including Tennessee, which approved a new congressional map just before the Virginia decision—likely eliminating the state’s only traditionally Democratic district.Trump initiated the push for mid-decade redistricting last summer by urging Republican-led states to redraw their district boundaries outside the usual decennial cycle, which typically aligns with census data updates to reflect population shifts and migration patterns.Below is what you need to know about the Virginia ruling and the current state of the redistricting conflict between Democrats and Republicans. —Graphic by Lon Tweeten; Artvea—Getty ImagesMillions of votes rendered voidMore than three million Virginians voted in the April 21 referendum to redraw the state’s congressional map, with the measure passing by a narrow margin—about 1.6 million voters supported it, compared to 1.5 million who opposed it. The outcome was seen as a major victory for Democrats.“Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress,” said Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger in a statement following the vote. “Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input—and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box.”However, the court’s Friday decision invalidated those votes.Tram Nguyen, co-executive director of the voting rights organization New Virginia Majority, called the ruling “deeply troubling.”“Millions of Virginians voted and decided that it was appropriate to redraw Virginia's map, and approved that, and the Supreme Court of Virginia just tossed out the will of the people,” she told TIME.House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York issued a statement saying that “the decision to overturn an entire election is an unprecedented and undemocratic action that cannot stand,” and added that lawmakers were considering legal options to challenge the ruling.Revised definitions of election periods in state lawIn a 4-3 ruling, Justice D. Arthur Kelsey wrote that the Democrat-controlled state legislature placed the mid-decade redistricting referendum on the ballot “in an unprecedented manner” and violated established procedures.“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” Kelsey wrote.The court determined that the April ballot measure breached the state constitution by redefining the timing of elections.Under Virginia’s constitution, referendums must be passed by the legislature twice, with an intervening election between the two legislative votes. However, when the legislature first approved the amendment, early voting had already commenced—a period the court deemed part of the election process and therefore unconstitutional under state rules.“This constitutional violation incurably taints the resulting referendum vote,” the majority opinion stated, “and nullifies its legal effect.”In his dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Cleo Powell argued that the majority’s interpretation “broadened the meaning of the word ‘election,’ as used in the Virginia Constitution, to include the early voting period. This directly contradicts how both Virginia and federal law define an election.”Nguyen emphasized that the implications of the decision extend far beyond redistricting. “The consequences of the decision actually extend well beyond the map,” she explained, “based on this reinterpretation of what constitutes an election period. Their ruling now essentially says that an election in Virginia lasts 45 days, rather than being limited to Election Day—which goes against longstanding precedents across the country.”A setback for Democrats in TennesseeOn Thursday, Tennessee’s Republican-led legislature passed a revised congressional map that splits Memphis, the state’s sole majority-Black district and Democratic-held seat.The new map was signed into law by Republican Governor Bill Lee and divides Memphis, currently represented by Rep. Steve Cohen, into three separate districts. This change disperses Democratic voting strength by spreading it across rural, predominantly Republican areas.“The Supreme Court has opined that redistricting, like the judicial system, should be color-blind,” Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton wrote on social media on Wednesday. “The decision indicated states can redistrict based on partisan considerations. Today, Tennessee joins other states—both red and blue—in updating its congressional maps.” This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

The GE Vernova logo is displayed at the 8th China International Import Expo in 2025. —Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - To understand the future of the energy economy, look no further than GE Vernova. The company’s equipment currently generates a quarter of the world’s electricity, and its stock has surged alongside rising global power demand. On the surface, it appears to be a traditional industrial firm, yet in the stock market, it performs like a high-growth tech company.At first glance, this success seems driven largely by increasing demand for its gas turbine division. However, much like the broader transformation unfolding across the energy sector, GE Vernova’s growth trajectory is far more nuanced. The company has chosen not to invest in new gas turbine manufacturing plants; instead, its research and development spending has increasingly shifted toward its electrification segment. Meanwhile, expanding sales to technology clients have spurred innovative, unconventional strategies.“We’re not just selling gas turbines—we’re also providing electrical equipment, substation hardware, and software that helps manage the load of data centers connected to our turbines,” CEO Scott Strazik said during an interview on the sidelines of the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills this week. “While gas gets a lot of attention, in practice, our fastest-growing segment is electrification.”When asked to summarize the company’s current focus, Strazik describes it as delivering the “resilient electron,” regardless of its source. GE Vernova’s competitive advantage lies in its refusal to lock into any single vision of the energy future. In a landscape rife with conflicting narratives and no clear consensus, the smartest strategy may be to position itself at the intersection of all of them.Those who only loosely follow GE Vernova’s story are likely to hear mostly about gas. Industry observers closely track developments in the company’s gas turbine order book—which is largely booked through 2030. On earnings calls, analysts frequently question whether the company will expand production capacity to boost profits. Climate advocates, meanwhile, warn that the new gas-fired power generation enabled by GE Vernova’s products could further jeopardize climate goals.The company can sometimes appear to be solely a gas turbine manufacturer. Yet unlike some of its eager customers, Strazik adopts a more cautious stance. He has invested in optimizing existing manufacturing facilities to extract additional capacity but has stopped short of committing to new plant construction, citing multiple market uncertainties. According to him, challenges such as construction logistics, gas pipeline availability, permitting delays, and grid interconnection issues pose greater constraints than turbine production itself. “Even if we could magically produce more gas turbines, the truth is, there aren’t ready-made sites around the world just waiting for them,” he explained.Gas still represents a growth area. In a significant shift, some of the largest purchasers of these turbines—accounting for roughly 20% of globally contracted capacity—are now data center developers. These companies are securing gas capacity to accelerate data center deployment, even if it means compromising on climate objectives.Serving this emerging customer base has compelled GE Vernova to evolve, Strazik noted. In effect, its expertise in gas has created opportunities to offer complementary technologies. Demand from major tech firms is pulling the company deeper into the power value chain—from turbines and grid infrastructure outside the data center toward electrical systems and software closer to the server racks.The company recorded $2.4 billion in data center equipment orders in the first quarter alone—surpassing total sales in this category for all of last year. It has also increased R&D investment in electrification. Analysts expect this segment to soon become the company’s second-largest business. “We don’t currently supply electrical equipment inside data centers, but we’re actively developing solutions,” he said.Clean energy technologies offer another layer of strategic flexibility. For instance, tech companies are increasingly ordering generators from GE Vernova designed to accommodate future carbon capture systems—even though significant hurdles remain to retrofitting them. The company has also placed a long-term bet on small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs), collaborating with partners to build its first unit in Canada and potentially many more in the U.S. The aim is to revive the dormant U.S. nuclear supply chain and secure a sustainable future for SMRs. Additionally, despite wind energy facing political headwinds in Washington, D.C., Strazik remains committed to the sector. The current wind business primarily involves servicing and maintaining existing installations, but he sees potential for broader applications ahead. “This is certainly not the time, in my view, to walk away from wind,” he said, noting that “it’s clearly at its lowest volume point, at least in the U.S.”While gas is fueling GE Vernova’s current momentum, its long-term growth hinges on a far more diversified technological portfolio—all converging through electrification. This shift is a trend that both corporate leaders and policymakers should heed.To receive this story directly in your inbox, subscribe to TIME's Future Proof newsletter here. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

—Malte Mueller—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - Several years ago, while living alone in New York City, I struggled to figure out how to feed myself without relying on DoorDash, Seamless, or UberEats.Most days, sometimes twice daily, I placed food delivery orders. Even though what I ordered—whether greasy, lukewarm fast food or a favorite $18 kale Caesar salad—rarely felt worthwhile, it almost always filled me with varying levels of guilt.I earned a decent salary at the time, but my habit of ordering food delivery—alongside my online shopping addiction—was not financially sustainable. I’d simply charge everything to my credit card and hope things worked out. Cooking (and even worse, grocery shopping, let alone doing dishes) was, for much of my 20s, one of the most dreaded responsibilities of adult life.At least when I had a partner, we could share those burdens, dividing up grocery runs, recipe brainstorming, preparing meals together, and tackling cleanup afterward (even if arguments often ensued).But when I lived alone? Everything changed. With no one else to judge me, it became shockingly easy to succumb to the convenience these apps offered—no effort, no movement, no thought required. Just a few taps, payment of $20 that didn’t feel real since it existed only as digital currency, and food would appear at my door.Food delivery apps aren’t just changing how we eat; they’re transforming our relationship with labor, money, and self-care.Growing up in the 1990s, food delivery was a simple transaction between restaurant and customer. We’d call our favorite spot, and the restaurant would pay an employee to drive or bike deliver it to us. We’d leave a cash tip.Delivery didn’t need Silicon Valley-style disruption. Like ride-share apps and taxis, delivery apps used venture capital to offer a slightly more convenient version of an already existing service. In doing so, they shifted consumer behavior and weakened a once-sustainable business model.Moreover, delivery apps don’t always provide a better experience. Social media is flooded with horror stories about food delivery mishaps. A common scenario: the wrong order arrives two hours late, and the app refuses any refund. I’m sure you, dear reader, have your own tales.How many times have you used a delivery app only to wait longer than it would take you to walk, drive, or use public transport to get to the restaurant and back? How often has your order arrived cold, incomplete, crushed, spilled, or otherwise ruined? And how frequently—even when you receive the correct meal, properly heated and intact—have you glanced at the ever-increasing “service” fees added to your bill (most of which go to corporate profits rather than the workers who cooked or delivered your food) and thought, Yeah, this really was worth it?Even during my addiction to delivery apps, I believed they were overpriced. Now, I’m far more aware that they often undercut restaurants operating on razor-thin margins. I’m horrified by reports that some apps exploit delivery drivers who are frequently paid less than a living wage. At some point, no generous tip feels like enough to justify these harms.Yet many people continue using these apps, despite good intentions, because they’ve become so normalized. Because they’re easy. Worse than easy: mindless.I can’t claim moral superiority here. Over the past couple of years, I’ve largely quit using food delivery—but it wasn’t easy, nor did it happen quickly.If I were still in the same situation—same job, same salary—I might never have stopped relying on delivery, not to mention my other addictions. It took losing my job, moving to the U.K., and starting over in a new industry for me to realize that paying more than £20 after ever-rising fees for a fast-food burger and fries is, frankly, ridiculous.It’s not just the cost. I was also concerned about what the culture of instant convenience was doing to my mind and spirit. I didn’t want to become a passive person confined to my home, outsourcing every aspect of life, interacting less and less with real people in the real world, and spending more and more time staring at screens.I believe we all need—as The Cut noted earlier this year—to embrace friction by rejecting the escapism of predictive algorithms and single-tap commands. Nothing less than our shared humanity is at stake.In his upcoming book, Against Convenience: Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease, journalist Gabe Bullard argues that delivery apps may promise easier lives, yet threaten long-term physical and mental well-being.“We’re surrounded by tools, gadgets, apps, and schemes claiming to spare us unnecessary effort and stress,” he writes in the book’s introduction. “If our so-called conveniences do save time, money, or energy, the savings are fleeting, while the costs persist. These costs come in dollars and in the erosion of everyday life.”I understand all too well that when you’ve just returned home from a long day at work, the temptation to disengage is overwhelming: open your phone, scroll through endless short-form videos, order something cheap and full of empty calories, maybe have a drink or two, then collapse on the couch before finally heading to bed.Financial necessity forced me to get creative in those moments—and surprisingly, even when exhausted, irritable, and unwilling to cook anything elaborate, not every meal needs to be a grand culinary event. It just needs to be nourishing and satisfying.Rice, frozen vegetables, and a fried egg on top takes ten minutes at most (my rice cooker is a lifesaver). I’ve learned that batch cooking works best when it’s not about preparing whole meals I’ll grow tired of by the third serving; instead, it’s about spending five or ten minutes here and there making small upgrades—like packing a jar of quick-pickled onions to jazz up bland meals, baking trays of chicken thighs on Sundays for versatile packed lunches, or simmering chia seeds with frozen berries, honey, and lemon for fiber-rich breakfasts.I wouldn’t say I’ve fully converted into someone who loves cooking; there are still plenty of days when I open the fridge and sigh. But I’ve come to appreciate it far more: the meditative rhythm of putting on music and getting lost in chopping garlic and onions, the deep satisfaction of creating something with my own hands. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

President Donald Trump speaks with workers who have been painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., on May 7, 2026. —Kent Nishimura––AFP/Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - A U.S. trade court has issued another setback to President Donald Trump’s proposal for global tariffs set at 10%, coinciding with his threat of imposing significantly higher duties on the European Union.In a 2–1 ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade found on Thursday that Trump overstepped his legal authority when he implemented sweeping global tariffs in February.“Well, we were surprised,” Trump said when questioned about the court’s decision. “We had one very favorable vote, but two radical left judges who voted against it. Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to the courts.”The tariffs were enacted by Trump following the Supreme Court’s rejection in February of his use of emergency powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which had been central to his strategy for imposing reciprocal tariffs on various countries.“The Supreme Court’s judgment regarding tariffs is deeply disappointing! I am disheartened by certain members of the court for lacking the courage to do what is right for our nation,” Trump stated at the time.The small businesses involved in the lawsuit argued that the administration was attempting to circumvent the Supreme Court’s decision through an alternative legal approach.In February, immediately after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump announced he would issue “an order to impose a 10% global tariff, under Section 122, in addition to our standard tariffs already in place.”The trade court determined that the type of trade deficits cited by Trump did not justify such extensive tariff authority and emphasized that Section 122 of the Trade Act was designed to grant tariff-setting power to Congress, not the Executive branch.“Section 122 is a limited, temporary mechanism intended to address specific balance-of-payments emergencies—not a blank check allowing the executive branch to impose worldwide trade restrictions due to ordinary trade deficits or to evade prior judicial rulings,” said the Liberty Justice Center, the law firm representing the plaintiffs.The ruling applies exclusively to the state of Washington and the two companies involved in the lawsuit, with the judges declining to issue a nationwide injunction. Nevertheless, the plaintiffs will be entitled to refunds for tariffs paid under Section 122, along with interest.“Nothing surprises me. So, we always find another way; we get one ruling, but then proceed differently,” Trump remarked in response to the court’s decision.Thursday’s decision marks another obstacle for Trump’s economic agenda and may pave the way for further legal challenges.“This ruling represents a crucial victory for American enterprises that depend on international manufacturing to deliver secure and affordable products. Unauthorized tariffs hinder businesses like ours from competing effectively and expanding,” said Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!“We are encouraged by the court’s acknowledgment that these tariffs went beyond the President’s authorized powers. This decision provides essential clarity and stability for firms operating within global supply chains,” Foreman added.The Administration has also commenced processing refunds related to Trump’s initial IEEPA tariffs, with corporations expected to receive billions of dollars in repayments.Meanwhile, Trump announced on Thursday night a new deadline for finalizing a trade agreement with the European Union.“I have been patiently waiting for the EU to honor their part of the historic trade deal we agreed upon in Turnberry, Scotland—the largest trade deal ever negotiated!” he said.Trump further stated that despite having a “productive conversation” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tariffs “will immediately increase to much higher levels” if the agreement is not concluded by July 4.President Donald Trump and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen shake hands as they announce a U.S.-E.U. trade deal after a meeting at Trump Turnberry golf club on July 27, 2025 in Turnberry, Scotland. —Andrew Harnik––Getty ImagesThe agreement, reached in July of last year, established a maximum tariff rate of 15% on most European goods. In exchange, the EU committed to eliminating duties on U.S. industrial products, including automobiles.However, EU negotiators have yet to pass the necessary legislation to enact the agreement, a delay that has provoked Trump. Last week, he warned the bloc of introducing a new 25% tariff on automobiles, accusing it of failing to comply with the terms of the deal.EU officials failed once again this week to present a finalized agreement, although von der Leyen maintained an optimistic tone following her discussion with Trump.“We remain fully dedicated, on both sides, to implementing the agreement. Substantial progress is being made toward reducing tariffs by early July,” she said.Trump noted that he and von der Leyen also discussed the ongoing conflict with Iran, emphasizing that both parties are “completely aligned” in their belief that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon.Tensions between Trump and several European leaders have intensified amid the conflict with Iran, as the President has repeatedly criticized allies for refusing to support U.S. military operations alongside Israel.Trump has also considered withdrawing from NATO and threatened to remove troops stationed in Germany, Italy, and Spain. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

Hantavirus samples are seen in Ankara, Turkiye on May 06, 2026. —Arman Onal/Anadolu via Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - At least five U.S. states are currently monitoring residents who have returned home from the MV Hondius cruise ship in late April, following the outbreak of the rodent-borne hantavirus that continues to put health authorities worldwide on alert. The Texas Department for State Health Services (DSHS) said Thursday it was notified by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that two state residents had disembarked from the ship and returned to the U.S. before reports of the outbreak. DSHS said that the residents “are not experiencing any symptoms and did not have any contact with a sick person while aboard the ship,” in a statement. “They have agreed to monitor themselves for symptoms with daily temperature checks and contact public health officials at any sign of a possible illness.”Georgia’s Department of Public Health has confirmed that it is monitoring two passengers who disembarked the vessel. “The individuals are currently in good health and show no signs of infection. They are following current recommendations from CDC,” a spokesperson told TIME. In Virginia, one person who was on the ship and has since returned "is currently in good health and is under public health monitoring," director of communications at Virginia's Department of Health Maria Reppas told TIME on Friday. "Our understanding is that fewer than 30 U.S. Citizens were on board the ship. A small number [under five] of other potentially exposed Virginians might be identified in the days ahead," said Reppas. Arizona is also reportedly monitoring a resident who left the ship on the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean on April 24. California’s Department of Public Health is also said to be monitoring an unspecified number of residents, bringing the total of passengers back in the U.S. to at least seven. These public health departments have said that none of the residents are showing symptoms of the illness, according to multiple reports. On Friday, the latest suspected case of hantavirus was reported by the U.K. Health Security Agency, in a British national on Tristan da Cunha, one of the stops on the MV Hondius itinerary. The UKHSA also confirmed that two other British nationals have hantavirus and are currently being treated. Director General of the World Health Organization Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday that five cases had been confirmed as hantavirus, including three deaths. Ghebreyesus emphasized that the WHO continues to assess the public health risk as low. Hantavirus is predominantly spread by contact with the urine, droppings, and saliva of rats or mice, according to the CDC. It can also, on rare occasions, spread through scratches or bites from rodents.The virus generally does not spread through human contact, but the Andes strain, one of the hantavirus family, can spread through droplets among close contacts, Kartik Chandran, professor of microbiology and immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine told TIME. In response to the development, the CDC has reportedly classified the outbreak as a “Level 3” emergency response—the lowest classification—according to multiple reports cited by ABC News.President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that he has been briefed on the virus, without providing further detail as to what the briefings entailed. “It’s very much, we hope, under control,” he told reporters. “I think we’re going to make a full report about it tomorrow.”Authorities prepare for arrival of MV Hondius in Canary IslandsAfter three passengers suspected to have hantavirus were evacuated from the vessel in Cape Verde on Tuesday, the cruise ship has continued on its scheduled journey to the Canary Islands. The Spanish archipelago, which sits 60 miles off the coast of Morocco, is set to receive all remaining passengers and crew onboard the MV Hondius on Sunday. “They will arrive at a completely isolated, cordoned-off area,” said Spain’s head of emergency services Virginia Barcones on Thursday. “They will board vehicles that are isolated and under guard, and will proceed to a section of the airport that will be completely cordoned off.”Barcones clarified the procedure so that residents of the Canary Islands “can rest assured that there will be absolutely no possibility of contact” with passengers from the cruise ship. The scheduled arrival of the MV Hondius in Tenerife this Sunday comes despite pushback from the islands’ president, Fernando Clavijo. On Tuesday, Clavijo said that he “cannot allow” passengers to disembark on the islands, which he claimed would “blindly endanger the safety of the Canary Islands population.”The Spanish government had previously announced that it would welcome the vessel to its territory, something which Clavijo said went against what he had already agreed upon with health officials on the islands.A number of national health authorities are preparing to assist passengers once they arrive in Tenerife. According to Barcones, the U.S. is sending a plane to the Canary Islands to repatriate the 17 American citizens still onboard the ship. The UKHSA said that it will have personnel on the ground, and that “British passengers and ship crew not displaying any symptoms of hantavirus will be escorted by U.K. Government staff to an airport and given free passage back to the U.K.”Barcones said on Friday that Spain will "guarantee total safety” in the repatriation efforts for all 23 nationalities represented by the passengers and crew of the ship. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - Earlier this week, I dropped by a lunch eatery in London where several people in their 20s were hard at work behind the counter. Just to their left sat something far from ordinary: a food-assembly robot that could one day put these workers out of a job.I visited the location to check out a pilot program run by London-based startup Kaikaku AI. With roughly $1.8 million in funding, it is one of a growing group of startups that see recent breakthroughs in AI and robotics as a chance to cut out repetitive kitchen tasks, lower labor costs for food businesses, and—at least according to Kaikaku CEO Josef Chen—reduce prices for consumers while also improving the taste of food.As someone who never shies away from first-hand reporting for the public good, I arrived with a healthy appetite.I entered my order into an iPad and walked over to the robot. From above, it looked just like any standard food-assembly counter, with trays holding shredded carrots, onions, salad leaves, and sweet corn. I then crouched down and peered through a clear plastic window, where I saw funnels leading down from each tray to a conveyor belt below.My empty paper bowl moved in short jerks along the belt, pausing under each funnel in turn. A cascade of spring onions came first, followed by a heap of mango chunks and edamame beans. Next, the bowl stopped under a device that looked like a downward-pointing revolver, with each chamber holding a different sauce. My requested chili-garlic sauce was dispensed as ordered. Finally, a handful of raw salmon chunks tumbled out of the last chute. The conveyor belt carried my bowl to a small lift, which raised it up through an opening at waist height, ready to be picked up by a human worker.What came next was not automated at all. A human worker brought over a separate bowl of rice and sliced cucumber. (The machine can dispense rice, Chen explained, but it cannot yet do so as neatly as this restaurant prefers.) The worker mixed the ingredients portioned by the robot by hand, tipped them into the bowl of rice, then seasoned the mix by hand with sesame seeds and crispy onions. I dug in, and it tasted just like any other salmon poke bowl I’ve ever had.Kaikaku is not the first company to try automating salad assembly. Back in 2021, chain Sweetgreen acquired a startup called Spyce Kitchen to pursue a nearly identical project. The idea never gained traction, and Sweetgreen sold off the venture last year. But according to Chen, a mix of current factors gives Kaikaku a real shot at success: robotics parts have gotten cheaper, new innovations in food-safe 3D printing have emerged, and human labor has grown more expensive. Kaikaku uses proprietary machine learning systems that leverage recent AI advances to accurately weigh and dispense food, Chen says. The company’s machine, called Fusion, can theoretically process 360 bowls per hour—far more than even a team of human workers working at full speed. What I witnessed during my visit, which took place during an admittedly low-footfall lunch hour in London, was far slower than that maximum rate; roughly one bowl per minute.After my experience eating a lunch that was (sort of) prepared by a robot, I could have left the restaurant feeling skeptical. It’s true that assembling a salad is far simpler than cooking a complex meal. And most of the work required to get the food to my plate was still done by humans: farmers, fishermen, drivers, suppliers, and of course the worker who mixed everything together. Many of these workers already use machines, such as automatic crop planters that have automated the tedious work of sowing edamame beans by hand. What difference does one more machine make, simply because it is added at the final step of the process?Instead, I left thinking about what the future holds for the worker who handed me my bowl. When I asked her how she felt about the robot, she had nothing but good things to say. “It’s definitely a good idea,” she replied. “Right now, we struggle a lot to find good team members. So extra help like this really makes our work go faster.” But speaking with Chen made it clear that Kaikaku’s end goal is the full automation of the type of work she does. “Instead of having 20 people in the kitchen slicing vegetables, or three chefs whose only job is timing how long pasta cooks, all of that will be automated,” he told me. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

A portrait of Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi is seen as people visit the exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, on December 8, 2023. —(Photo by Sergei Gapon/Anadolu via Getty Images)(SeaPRwire) - The family of Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi states she is in critical health in Iran, alleging officials are refusing the jailed activist urgent heart care.Speaking to TIME, her brother Hamidreza says his sister has Prinzmetal angina, a condition that leads to coronary artery spasms and can cause heart attacks and other severe issues. "We are deeply concerned that Narges's heart could stop," he stated in a phone call from Oslo.Mohammadi, detained in Zanjan Prison in the northwest since December, was moved to a local hospital last Friday after a rapid decline in her health. Her family asserts the condition emerged during her imprisonment.Her brother reports that relatives visited her at the hospital this week under strict monitoring by Iranian officials.The family is calling for her transfer to a Tehran hospital to obtain specialized care, a request Iranian authorities have denied, according to Hamidreza."The crucial point is that she needs to be seen by multiple specialists—and she has previous doctors who know her case,” he said. “It's an emergency—every moment is critical.” Worsening health in custody Mohammadi, a leading Iranian human rights defender, has spent decades advocating for women's rights, free speech, and an end to capital punishment, despite frequent arrests and jail time. The 54-year-old received the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize for her work combating the oppression of women in Iran and promoting universal human rights and freedom.“I will never cease working toward achieving democracy, freedom, and equality,” she declared upon accepting the award. According to her foundation, Mohammadi has been arrested 13 times, receiving cumulative sentences of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. She was granted temporary release from Tehran’s Evin Prison on health grounds in December 2024, but was detained again a year later after addressing a memorial for a human rights lawyer.Her brother alleges she was badly beaten during and after her arrest, resulting in severe headaches and major vision impairment in one eye. He adds she has had serious chest pain, nausea, fainting episodes, blood pressure instability, and a suspected heart attack in March.Hamidreza recounts that a Tehran prosecutor's deputy went to Zanjan and, with six local doctors, concluded Mohammadi was critically ill and needed specialist care for “a minimum of one month outside prison.” He states this advice has been ignored by authorities.“The authorities are attempting to cover this up and leave her in that state, wishing for her death,” Hamidreza said.He adds that contact with his sister and family in Iran is still “extremely restricted" because of ongoing nationwide internet disruptions after lethal mass protests. Growing calls for Mohammadi’s release The Norwegian Nobel Committee has urged Iranian authorities to “promptly move” Mohammadi to a suitable medical facility in Tehran.“Lacking this care, her life continues to be endangered,” the committee said in a release. “Narges Mohammadi is jailed only for her non-violent human rights activism. Her survival now depends on the Iranian authorities.” The committee had earlier demanded Iran “free Mohammadi at once and without conditions” from her “arbitrary and unfair” detention, listing numerous abuses she has faced in prison, such as frequent assaults, isolation, and questioning.Her children, Ali and Kiana, who head the Narges Mohammadi Human Rights Foundation, have also consistently called for their mother to get proper medical attention. In a comment to TIME, Ali called the denial of necessary heart treatment “an intentional act of torture.” “We carry on our mother's fight by amplifying her voice and the voices of all human rights defenders within Iran who are working for a brighter future.” The siblings have not met their mother in a decade. “Growing up in a political family in Iran means responsibility arrives very young,” Kiana remarked. “You understand that staying silent is not a choice.” Family appeals to President TrumpHamidreza contends Iran is exploiting the conflict with the U.S. and Israel as a pretext to crack down on dissenters like his sister. “They have employed the war as a justification to execute and arrest numerous individuals without fair trials,” he stated, observing that “history is repeating itself” regarding the thousands of political prisoners executed during the Iran-Iraq War.Mohammadi’s family is appealing to President Donald Trump to include political prisoners and dissidents in any upcoming talks with Iran.“Do not allow the Iranian government to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage, and insist that any discussions be contingent on freeing prisoners, halting executions, and ending the killing of individuals like Narges,” Hamidreza said. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

A man holds a placard with a picture of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh on September 24, 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands. —Robin Utrecht/SOPA Images/LightRocket—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - On the night of April 1, 2026, agents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence detained renowned human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh. Her arrest occurred amid ongoing conflict in Iran and as the Islamic Republic intensified its suppression of domestic dissent. Sotoudeh, who has dedicated her career to defending political prisoners, human rights defenders, and women’s rights activists, now finds herself imprisoned for political reasons.This marks another chapter in Sotoudeh’s long history of persecution. Since 2010, the 62-year-old lawyer has faced repeated arrests and extended periods of solitary confinement. She was previously handed a sentence of approximately 38 years in prison, 148 lashes, and a two-decade ban on practicing law. International pressure and declining health had previously secured her temporary releases and furloughs.Yet in a system where torture is widespread and executions are sharply increasing, the risks Sotoudeh now faces are greater than ever. Her latest detention thus represents not only a loss of freedom but potentially her life.Sotoudeh’s ordeal reflects the broader plight of lawyers across Iran and around the globe.Worldwide, legal professionals are coming under increasing assault. Authoritarian regimes are weaponizing the justice system to target and prosecute their critics, deploying an ever-expanding array of fabricated charges and show trials. As dissidents are rounded up, journalists imprisoned, and freedom of speech suppressed, lawyers often serve as the final line of defense—which has made them prime targets. They are being transformed from legal advocates into defendants, from upholders of the constitution into alleged criminals.In the fight against authoritarian rule, it may appear pointless to rely on compromised and corrupt judicial systems to protect citizens. Nevertheless, the resolve and bravery of lawyers who continue to demand proper application of the law—even under repressive and dictatorial regimes—constitute a potent form of resistance. By targeting lawyers, autocrats reveal their deep-seated fear that fair trials and adherence to the rule of law pose a genuine threat to their authority.As Czech dissident and later president Václav Havel wrote in *The Power of the Powerless*, “demanding that the laws be upheld is thus an act of living within the truth that threatens the whole mendacious structure at its point of maximum mendacity.” The hollow “ritual” of legal procedure is essential for tyrants to maintain the illusion of fairness. By invoking this ritual and insisting on the real enforcement of legal safeguards and due process, courageous lawyers expose authoritarian regimes for what they truly are.Consider Russia, where Vladimir Putin has long exploited the “ritual of the law” to simulate a fair and independent judiciary, permitting lawyers to represent even his most outspoken critics—despite the certainty of unjust outcomes. The subjugation of Russia’s courts has been a deliberate and gradual process, resulting in a system where rulings often amount to “telephone justice,” with judges complying with directives from state officials. Recently, however, the Kremlin has moved to silence any lawyers willing to take on such cases, leading to the exile and imprisonment of some of Russia’s most skilled and principled legal defenders.The prosecution of Alexei Navalny’s former attorneys—Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser, and Igor Sergunin—exemplifies the Kremlin’s ongoing campaign to eliminate authentic legal representation. These lawyers defended Navalny in the period leading up to his death at a remote Arctic penal colony. They were arrested in October 2023 on baseless “extremism” charges. Following their detention, Navalny’s already harsh conditions deteriorated further, his isolation deepened, and he was ultimately killed by poisoning.By going after these lawyers, Putin effectively eliminated one of his most prominent political opponents. Another of his well-known pro-democracy rivals, opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, saw his attorney, Vadim Prokhorov, forced into exile under threat of prosecution at the conclusion of Kara-Murza’s fraudulent trial. Other human rights lawyers in Russia have also faced recent prosecution, including Maria Bontsler, a leading defender of individuals targeted by politically motivated charges. Bontsler has remained in pre-trial detention since May 2025, with her health continuing to decline dangerously.As international legal representatives for both dissidents and their embattled lawyers, we have witnessed this pattern of repression extend beyond national borders. One of us survived an assassination attempt in Canada and believes he was poisoned in Russia for defending Iranian human rights lawyers and Russian dissidents.Beneath these overt acts of aggression lies a disturbing trend: transnational repression spilling from autocratic regimes into democratic nations, endangering lawyers of all nationalities.Tragically, at this pivotal moment for the legal profession, some countries that once upheld the rule of law are now actively weakening protections for lawyers instead of safeguarding them. Efforts to intimidate, co-opt, or dismantle judicial institutions are becoming as alarming in their frequency as they are in their impact—even within free societies. The situations in Iran and Russia should serve as urgent warnings about where such erosion can lead—and as a rallying cry to defend the rule of law.To uphold the rule of law globally, we must employ measures like targeted Magnitsky sanctions, which not only publicly identify perpetrators but also impose tangible consequences such as visa restrictions and asset freezes. Complaints to the International Criminal Court concerning acts of transnational repression within member states’ territories could also be pursued. Strengthening international legal standards protecting legal professionals is essential—a need underscored by the timely launch of the Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, which merits broad support.To halt the escalating attacks on lawyers, we must ensure that targeting them carries consequences far outweighing any perceived benefit for authoritarian leaders.We believe that, when it comes to safeguarding our freedoms and the future of democracy, the price of inaction is far too great. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

A man holds a placard with a picture of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh on September 24, 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands. —Robin Utrecht/SOPA Images/LightRocket—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - In the early hours of April 1, 2026, agents from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence took prominent human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh into custody. Her detention occurred during Iran’s ongoing conflict and as the Islamic Republic ramped up its crackdown on domestic critics. Sotoudeh—who has dedicated her career to representing political prisoners, human rights defenders, and women’s rights activists—now finds herself a political prisoner too.This isn’t Sotoudeh’s first time behind bars. Since 2010, the 62-year-old attorney has been arrested multiple times and held in long-term solitary confinement. She once received a sentence of roughly 38 years in prison, 148 lashes, and a 20-year suspension from practicing law. Public outcry and her declining health resulted in her release and temporary furloughs.Yet in a system where torture is widespread and executions are surging, the risks for Sotoudeh are greater than ever before. Her latest arrest isn’t just a loss of freedom—it could cost her her life.Sotoudeh’s ordeals mirror those of countless lawyers in Iran and across the globe.Lawyers worldwide are facing increasing attacks. Authoritarian leaders are misusing legal systems to target and prosecute their opponents, using an expanding array of fabricated charges and mock trials. When dissidents are locked up, journalists imprisoned, and free speech silenced, lawyers are often the final barrier to injustice. For this reason, lawyers have become targets themselves—shifted from being advocates to the accused, and from upholders of the constitution to labeled criminals.Fighting authoritarianism often feels like a losing battle when relying on broken, corrupt justice systems to protect citizens. However, the bravery and resolve of lawyers who demand the law be applied fairly—even in corrupt, dictatorial regimes—serve as a potent form of resistance. By targeting lawyers, authoritarians expose their deep-seated fear that fair trials and the rule of law pose a threat to their hold on power.As Czech dissident-turned-statesman Václav Havel noted in The Power of the Powerless: “Demanding that the laws be upheld is thus an act of living within the truth that threatens the whole mendacious structure at its point of maximum mendacity.” The hollow “ceremony” of the law is critical for a tyrant to maintain the illusion of fairness in an authoritarian state. By using this ceremony and insisting on the real implementation of these empty legal safeguards and processes, brave lawyers unmask despotic regimes for everyone to see.Consider Russia, where Vladimir Putin has long employed the “ceremony of the law” to create the impression of a free and fair legal system—allowing lawyers to represent its most outspoken critics even when a just result is impossible. The takeover of Russia’s judiciary has been a deliberate, long-term process, leading to courts that often deliver nothing more than “telephone justice”: judges following orders from state officials who call in their desired verdict. But recently, the Kremlin has clamped down on lawyers handling these cases, resulting in the exile and arrest of some of Russia’s most skilled and brave attorneys.The prosecution of Alexei Navalny’s former lawyers—Vadim Kobzev, Alexei Liptser, and Igor Sergunin—shows the Kremlin’s ongoing push to erase authentic legal representation. These lawyers stood by Navalny until his death at a remote Arctic penal colony. They were arrested in October 2023 on baseless “extremism” charges. Following their detention, Navalny’s already harsh prison conditions deteriorated sharply, and his isolation from the outside world deepened until he was ultimately poisoned to death.By going after lawyers, Putin eliminated one of his most high-profile political foes. Another of Putin’s pro-democracy opponents—opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza—saw his lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, forced into exile under threat of prosecution after Kara-Murza’s mock trial. Other human rights lawyers in Russia have faced recent prosecution, including Maria Bontsler, a prominent attorney who represented people targeted with politically motivated charges. Bontsler has been in pre-trial detention since May 2025, and her health is worsening dangerously.As international lawyers representing both dissidents and their persecuted legal advocates, we’ve witnessed this type of repression spread across borders. One of us was even the target of an assassination plot in Canada and believes he was poisoned in Russia for defending Iranian human rights lawyers and Russian dissidents.Beneath these overt acts of aggression is a hidden trend: transnational repression spilling from authoritarian regimes into democracies, oppressing lawyers of all nationalities along the way.Sadly, at this critical juncture for the legal profession, some countries that once stood for the rule of law are now actively undermining lawyers instead of protecting them. Attempts to intimidate, co-opt, or weaken judicial institutions are growing both more frequent and alarming in free societies. The examples of Iran and Russia should serve as a wake-up call about the consequences of this trend—and a call to action to defend the rule of law.To safeguard the rule of law worldwide, we need to use tools like targeted Magnitsky sanctions—measures that not only identify and shame perpetrators but also impose tangible consequences, such as visa restrictions and asset freezes. We could also pursue complaints at the International Criminal Court for transnational repression occurring on member states’ territory. Strengthening international legal standards to protect lawyers is essential, making the recently launched Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer particularly timely and deserving of broad support.To put an end to the growing attacks on lawyers, we must ensure that targeting them is more costly for authoritarians than it is beneficial.We believe that when it comes to our freedoms and the future of our democracies, the price of doing nothing is far too steep. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

Sir David Attenborough attends the Global Launch of BBC Studios' "Planet Earth III" at Frameless on Oct. 12, 2023 in London, England. —Dave Benett—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - Butterflies, wasps, concerts, and a documentary are among the many ways the world is commemorating lifelong environmentalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday. Over several decades, he has captivated global audiences with the wonders of nature through television and championed urgent calls for environmental conservation and climate action. His birthday on May 8 is being celebrated by fans across the U.K. and worldwide.The BBC, where Attenborough launched his career as a presenter and produced the landmark 1979 series Life on Earth, will host a live tribute event on May 8 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. The program will highlight compelling wildlife stories and feature reflections from public figures and environmental advocates, alongside special musical performances by artists who have contributed to his documentaries—including Dan Smith of Bastille and the Icelandic band Sigur Rós, which will perform their song “Hoppípolla.” This week, the BBC also premiered a documentary revisiting the original Life on Earth, featuring an appearance by Attenborough himself.Meanwhile, composers Pete Wyer, Brian Eno, and Pete Townshend are organizing a separate global virtual concert on May 9, uniting choirs from around the world—including those in New York, Wisconsin, the Amazon, Ghana, and Venice—in a collaborative song celebrating Attenborough’s legacy and echoing the message of his 2020 film A Life on Our Planet: Sir David Attenborough's Witness Statement.In Witness Statement, Attenborough laid bare the devastating impact of human activity on the planet. “The living world is a unique and spectacular marvel. Yet how we humans live on Earth is driving it into decline,” he warned. “We have overwhelmed the world. We are replacing wild habitats with tame ones.”The Attenborough Nature Reserve, which he opened in 1966, is marking both its 60th anniversary and his centenary with three days of festivities. “To coincide the reserve’s 60th anniversary so closely with Sir David’s 100th is truly special, especially given his deep connection to the site,” said Paul Wilkinson, Chief Executive of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. “So, we felt it appropriate to celebrate both occasions together with a gathering focused on the reserve and its rich wildlife.”A number of organizations he has long supported—including Future for Nature and the Whitley Fund for Nature—have released videos expressing gratitude for his lifelong dedication to conservation. Meanwhile, a butterfly farm in Stratford-upon-Avon that he visited during his 1983 documentary Wildlife on One: A Touch of the Butterflies plans to release 100 Blue Morpho butterflies in honor of the milestone. Clive Farrell, owner of the farm, noted that the documentary drew large crowds and inspired him to expand operations, opening six additional butterfly houses in the U.K. and internationally.The animal rights group PETA announced it would name a rescued bull after him. The animal, now called David Attenbullock, was saved through PETA India’s Delhi Mechanisation Project, which aims to phase out animal-drawn carts in favor of electric vehicles. “We chose his name not only out of affection, but because he embodies something of your gift,” wrote Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA, in a letter addressed to Attenborough. “He encourages visitors to pause and notice—the birdsongs, the movement in grass and trees, the countless other creatures sharing this home. It seemed fitting that such a strong yet gentle creature, who quietly inspires appreciation for nature’s richness, should bear your name.”A newly discovered species of parasitic wasp native to Chile has also been named Attenboroughnculus tau in recognition of his profound influence on biodiversity science and public engagement with the natural world.Like millions around the globe, Attenborough has reflected on his legacy and the monumental significance of Life on Earth. At age 100, one cherished memory stands out—an encounter with gorillas in Rwanda’s mountains during the filming of the series. “It was extraordinary, really,” he recalled in an interview for Making Life on Earth: Attenborough’s Greatest Adventure, which aired earlier this week. “It remains one of the most privileged moments of my life.” This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

The Widener Library on the Harvard Campus in Cambridge, Mass., on June 4, 2025. —Cassandra Klos—Bloomberg/Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - It’s finals season across many U.S. schools and universities, but for some students and teachers, the already stressful period has been aggravated by a cyberattack on a widely-used learning system that could put at risk the personal information of millions of its users.Multiple schools have reported that Canvas, a web-based platform by ed-tech firm Instructure that is used for course content, assignments, and grades, went offline on Thursday. According to Instructure, Canvas has more than 30 million active users.The Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper, reported that around the afternoon, those who accessed the platform were redirected to a message from hackers who identified as ShinyHunters and claimed responsibility for the breach.“ShinyHunters has breached Instructure (again),” the message reportedly said, which TIME could not independently verify. “Instead of contacting us to resolve it they ignored us and did some ‘security patches.’” In a statement to TIME Friday, Instructure said that “out of an abundance of caution,” it temporarily took Canvas offline to contain access and further investigate. “We have confirmed that the unauthorized actor exploited an issue related to our Free-For-Teacher accounts,” the statement read. “As a result, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily shut down our Free-For-Teacher accounts. This gives us the confidence to restore access to Canvas, which is now fully back online and available for use.”The hackers’ message reportedly came with a link to a text file containing a list of schools it claimed were affected by the breach, and the hackers added that those who wished to prevent the release of data should reach out to them for a settlement. “You have till the end of the day by 12 May 2026 before everything is leaked.”Instructure had posted on its website late Thursday evening that Canvas was “available for most users,” while its Canvas Beta and Canvas Test platforms remained “in maintenance,” hours after putting all three “in maintenance mode.”Threat intelligence tracking platform Ransomware.live posted a copy of a previous ransom letter from ShinyHunters to Canvas on May 3, when the group claimed that it had 275 million individuals’ data from nearly 9,000 schools. “This is a final warning to reach out by 6 May 2026 before we leak along with several annoying (digital) problems that’ll come your way,” the message warned.On May 1, Instructure noted that it had experienced a “a cybersecurity incident perpetrated by a criminal threat actor.” By May 2, the ed-tech firm said the situation had been “contained,” but it disclosed that names, email addresses, student ID numbers, and messages among users, could have been among the information obtained from the breach.What schools have been affected?A number of higher-learning institutions across the country, including Harvard, have been severely impacted by the outage and are now in crisis-solving mode.Some universities resorted to cancelling scheduled exams and coursework deadlines, including Penn State, the University of Illinois, and James Madison University in Virginia. Columbia said it was “working actively with schools to minimize academic disruption, create alternative mechanisms to prepare for and deliver exams, and provide appropriate flexibility during this period.”Besides flexibility, universities also urged users to be vigilant. Georgetown said to be mindful of unsolicited emails or messages appearing to come from Canvas, particularly those requesting login credentials or personal information. University of Michigan users have been advised to log out of the Canvas platform immediately “out of an abundance of caution.” The University of California said it ordered all its campuses to temporarily block or redirect Canvas access, which will not be restored “until we are confident the system is secure.”Other schools that have reported similar outages include the University of Chicago, Baylor University in Texas, and the University of Maryland. What do we know about ShinyHunters?ShinyHunters took responsibility for the latest attack on Instructure as well as for a similar attack on the firm earlier this month. Luke Connolly, a threat intelligence analyst at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, described ShinyHunters to the Associated Press as a loose group of teenagers and young adults based in the U.S. and the United Kingdom. The group is believed to have been formed in 2020 and has been involved in previous high-profile hacking incidents. In 2024, Ticketmaster owner Live Nation confirmed “unauthorized activity” on its database after ShinyHunters claimed to have stolen the personal details of 560 million customers, including phone numbers and partial credit card details.The same year, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that 22-year-old French citizen Sebastien Raoult, an alleged member of ShinyHunters, which the DOJ described as a “notorious international hacking crew,” was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than $5 million for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The announcement said Raoult and his co-conspirators hacked companies to steal confidential information and customer records for ransom or sale on the dark web. Other previous targets of the group include Salesforce, where TIME co-chair and owner Marc Benioff is CEO, AT&T, and Rockstar Games, among others. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

Television presenter and naturalist David Attenborough, photographed in connection with his new series 'The Life of Birds'. —Peter Nicholls—The Times/News Syndication/Redux(SeaPRwire) - For nearly everyone who grew up in the United Kingdom, Sir David Attenborough transcends being merely a broadcaster; he is regarded as a secular saint. He stands as an essential pillar within the national culture, just as integral to daily life as enjoying a cup of tea. His gentle, almost-whispered narration has served as the soothing background soundtrack to countless homes, transforming weekend nature documentaries into a cherished national ritual.To Americans, I believe, Attenborough often appears less like a distinct personality and more as a familiar archetype: the "Voice of Nature." He is the quiet, elegant authority figure guiding viewers through the high-definition wonders of series such as *Planet Earth* or *Blue Planet*. Regardless of whether one grew up eating "biscuits" or "cookies," Attenborough is the man who unveiled our world through an extraordinary lens. He has earned global trust not by commanding attention, but by captivating us with the sheer wonder of the natural world. In his approach lies a crucial lesson for our era: that genuine awe serves as a powerful foundation for care, teaching us that we can only protect what we first come to truly value.As we celebrate Attenborough’s 100th birthday on May 8, I find myself reflecting less on the monumental scope of his work and more on the personal moments that revealed his humanity beneath it all. Brief flashes of amusement when things did not go according to plan. Unmistakable delight when animals treated him not as a presenter, but as a natural part of their environment—sometimes surprising him, interrupting the carefully crafted narrative, reminding us that nature cannot be controlled or predicted. Those moments always seemed significant, because they revealed something deeper than technical expertise: a profound sense of reverence and curiosity. And I suspect they brought him the greatest joy—those rare instances when he felt completely connected to the natural world, where the creatures he was observing accepted him as one of their own, perhaps the purest form of acceptance nature can offer.Attenborough’s calm demeanor and complete lack of agenda mean that the warnings he voices carry even greater weight. When a man who has witnessed so much in his long life begins to speak urgently about the planet’s destabilization, he is not issuing provocations. Instead, he is reporting from the front lines of a world he has known intimately for longer than almost anyone else alive.His most profound contribution has been systematically dismantling the belief that climate challenges are occurring "somewhere else." For many, the natural world remains a distant destination experienced only through screens, safely detached from everyday pressures, offering moments of peace, perspective, and escape. Attenborough has made such detachment impossible, helping us recognize that remote glaciers, forests, and rivers are far more than scenic landscapes—they are vital components of the systems upon which our communities depend. His work has also deepened our understanding of how seemingly unrelated modern consumption patterns can exert immense pressure on the ecosystems that sustain us.This transformation in how we perceive our relationship with nature has had its deepest impact on those who grew up alongside his influence. These individuals did not learn about extinction from dry textbooks; instead, they watched it unfold in vivid detail, narrated by a voice they trusted. His voice.Even as his messages have grown increasingly sobering, Attenborough’s ability to engage younger audiences has only strengthened. By embracing the platforms where young people spend their time—social media and streaming services—he has reached millions directly. Rather than preaching or lecturing, he shares a perspective shaped over a century. To a generation overwhelmed by noise and uncertainty, Attenborough embodies credible authenticity. Young people continue to turn to him not only for the spectacle of nature but also for a sense of continuity in an unstable world. From him, they learn that environmental stewardship is a lifelong commitment built on careful observation and the courage to remain engaged, even when the data is discouraging.Attenborough’s credibility stems from decades of unwavering consistency and a quiet determination never to look away from uncomfortable truths, no matter how difficult they became to witness. He has provided the global audience with both a detailed map of the damage and a vision of what still remains intact. For today’s leaders, adopting his unique perspective—a rare fusion of childlike wonder and unflinching realism—is essential to any meaningful progress.I believe his lifetime spent immersed in close observation of the natural world has nurtured within him some of the most human qualities: humility, curiosity, patience, and deep reverence for all life. By cultivating these traits, today’s youth can channel their climate concerns into focused, purposeful advocacy.At 100, Sir David Attenborough has devoted his entire life to sharing facts with patience, honesty, and wonder. He has shown us the world in all its brilliance and fragility, leaving humanity with both a precious gift and a solemn responsibility. The question now is whether those in positions of power will choose to act decisively before more of our planet—our shared life support system—is lost forever. 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(SeaPRwire) -The Saudi Aramco Marjan oil and gas gathering and transportation platform, the largest international offshore oil and gas platform constructed by China, was shipped from Qingdao West Coast New Area in Qingdao, Shandong province, China, on August 16, 2024. —FOTOFuture Publishing—Getty Images This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

Pope Leo XIV meets with Secretary Of State Marco Rubio during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on May 07, 2026 in Vatican City, Vatican. —Simone Risoluti––Vatican Media/Vatican Pool/Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - In a Thursday meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pope Leo highlighted their “shared commitment to promoting peace,” against the backdrop of a continuing dispute between the pontiff and President Donald Trump.Rubio’s arrival at the Vatican on a significant diplomatic trip came shortly after Trump charged the Pope with “endangering Catholics” due to his stance against the war in Iran.Their conversation lasted approximately two and a half hours, covering “the situation in the Middle East and topics of mutual interest in the Western Hemisphere,” according to State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.Pigott stated that the encounter “underscored the strong relationship between the United States and the Holy See and their shared commitment to promoting peace and human dignity.”Rubio additionally conferred with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who had defended Pope Leo from Trump’s criticisms the day before the meeting.“To attack him in this way or to reproach what he does seems a bit strange to me," Parolin remarked on Wednesday.The discussions also touched on “mutual cooperation and pressing international issues” and included a review of “ongoing humanitarian efforts in the Western Hemisphere and efforts to achieve a durable peace in the Middle East.”According to the Vatican, the conversations addressed the “need to work tirelessly in favor of peace.”A Vatican statement noted the parties exchanged perspectives on current affairs, “with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations.”A “shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America” was also affirmed.The gathering was clouded by Trump’s comments days earlier, which misrepresented Pope Leo’s view on the Iran conflict.“I think he's endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people. But I guess if it's up to the Pope, he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said on Monday.These remarks led Pope Leo to publicly reaffirm his and the Catholic Church’s position, asking critics to be “truthful.”“For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point,” he stated Tuesday.Steve Millies, a Public Theology professor at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, informed TIME that the visit was a crucial diplomatic event for the Trump Administration, as “the Holy See is very important, even for a power like the United States,” considering its worldwide sway.By Thursday, the strain seemed to have diminished.In a gift exchange at the Vatican, Rubio gave Pope Leo a small crystal football-shaped paperweight, alluding to the Pope’s backing of the Chicago White Sox baseball team."You're a baseball guy, but it has the seal of the State Department," Rubio said. "What to get someone who has everything?" he quipped, displaying the paperweight.Pope Leo reciprocated by presenting Rubio with a pen apparently crafted from olive wood. "Olive being of course the plant of peace," the Pope explained, noting it bore his coat of arms and was accompanied by a picture book of Vatican art.Pope Leo XIV exchanges gifts with Secretary Of State Marco Rubio during an audience at the Apostolic Palace on May 07, 2026 in Vatican City, Vatican. —Simone Risoluti––Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty ImagesThe feud between Trump and the Pope explainedThe first American Pope, Leo, has frequently been at odds with the Trump Administration on matters from immigration to the Iran wars and the persistent U.S. blockade of Cuba.Conflict intensified when Trump openly assailed the Pope, labeling him “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy” following the Pope’s appeal to halt the Iran war.Trump’s censure of the Pope, along with a since-removed AI-created image portraying him in a Christ-like manner, also provoked a negative response from Christians and conservatives.Even with the criticism, Trump kept misstating the Pope’s Iran stance, leading Leo to reaffirm his advocacy for diplomatic solutions.“I always believe that it is much better to enter into dialogue, than to look for arms, and to support the arms industry, which gains billions and billions of dollars each year,” he declared.Rubio continues his diplomatic missionPrior to his Vatican journey, Rubio maintained the trip was scheduled well in advance, though he conceded “obviously we had some stuff that happened.”Rubio also came to Trump’s defense, contending the President’s words were misinterpreted.“What the President basically said is that Iran can't have a nuclear weapon because they would use it against places that have a lot of Catholics, and Christians, and others,” Rubio explained.Millies told TIME the disagreement arises at a politically delicate time for Republicans before the U.S. midterm elections. “For most Catholics, having the President of the United States attack the Pope over and over in this pointed way, pushes a button. It excites a reaction, and the reaction is not one that's going to play well for President Trump or for the Republican Party,” he said.The voyage also served as a political challenge for Rubio personally, as he is broadly considered a top candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028.The Secretary of State will proceed with his diplomatic tour in Italy, with scheduled meetings on Friday with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.These talks are anticipated to further challenge Rubio’s diplomatic abilities, as friction between Washington and Rome grows following Trump’s threat to pull U.S. troops from Italy and Spain over their lack of support for the Iran war. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

—Richard Drury—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - Regret, that persistent sense of sorrow and disappointment from choices like picking the wrong partner or career path, often weighs heavily on people. Throughout life, these pivotal moments can multiply, leading some to assume that regret increases with age. However, a new study published in the journal Emotion reveals a different truth: older individuals tend to have fewer regrets and cope with them more effectively than younger ones.“Older adults generally seem to retreat inward more and reflect less deeply on their regrets or potential solutions,” explains lead author Julia Nolte, an assistant professor of psychology at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. “We wanted to explore how this shift functions within the broader psychological aging process.”To investigate, Nolte and her team surveyed 90 participants ranging from 21 to 89 years old. They asked each person to list five recent regrets and five from earlier in life. Participants then categorized these regrets as either “hot” (anger, embarrassment, irritation), “wistful” (nostalgia, sentimentality, contemplation), or “despairing” (desperation, sadness). They rated how intensely they felt each emotion. Finally, they described any strategies they used or might use to fix regretted actions or accept what had happened.“Our focus was on how individuals manage regret—what steps they’re taking now to address those feelings and what they envision for the future,” says Nolte. “For example, if someone has a health-related or work-related regret, do they think, ‘How can I change the outcome? Can I prevent this from happening again?’”The results were striking. Older adults were far less emotionally affected by recent regrets compared to younger adults. While both groups reported similar levels of long-term regrets, older individuals expressed significantly less anger, irritation, and embarrassment about past mistakes.“Older adults experience fewer intense emotional reactions,” notes Nolte. “This pattern held true for both recent and longstanding regrets.”The researchers also examined two types of regret: regrets over actions taken (regrets of commission) versus actions not taken (regrets of omission). The former involve conscious decisions, such as moving cities or marrying someone; the latter stem from missed opportunities, like skipping college or missing out on a job offer. Younger people reported more regrets about things they did, while older adults had more regrets about things they didn’t do.In terms of coping mechanisms, younger individuals were far more likely than seniors to devise plans to correct or mitigate their regrets. Older adults, it appears, are more inclined to accept regret as an inevitable part of life. “They engage in less psychological repair,” observes Nolte.The study does not definitively explain why this gap exists. It may be that older generations are more comfortable accepting reality as it is, rather than striving for an idealized version. Nolte also suggests generational influences—perhaps Baby Boomers developed a more accepting outlook toward regret compared to younger cohorts like Millennials or Gen Z.“It could be tied to the era in which people were raised,” Nolte remarks. “That means future research might yield different results if repeated today compared to 50 years from now.” This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

—Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: skynesher/Getty Images)(SeaPRwire) - Most of us believe that a good listener maintains steady eye contact, nods appropriately, reflects feelings with empathy and stays fully present—without glancing at their phone.But here’s the truth, according to one of the top researchers in listening: That ideal is largely a cultural construct.“Good listening is a myth,” says Graham Bodie, a professor of media and communication at the University of Mississippi who studies how people listen, comprehend, and respond. “The notion that there’s one universal set of behaviors everyone should follow or a single way everyone ought to listen” is just an illusion, he explains.Bodie has spent his career challenging the clear-cut “active listening” checklists found in workplace training sessions and relationship advice columns—such as making eye contact, nodding, paraphrasing, asking open-ended questions, and avoiding interruptions. He acknowledges these aren’t bad suggestions, but the issue lies in treating them as a universal rule—as if being a good listener were something you could mimic like a pose, rather than a dynamic decision made in real time.The real question, he argues, isn’t whether you’re a good listener. It’s whether you’re listening in the right way for that specific conversation.You're listening—just not the way they wantMost disputes about listening usually aren’t really about attention at all, Bodie says. They stem from a disconnect between what the speaker hoped for and what the listener provided.“When we judge someone as a good or bad listener, we rely on a particular framework of what we think makes up effective listening,” he explains. “And if that doesn’t align with what the other person expects, we end up in confusing arguments. ‘You’re not listening to me.’ ‘Yes, I am.’ ‘No, you’re not.’”He offers a common example: Your partner returns home upset after a difficult day at work. Your natural response is to shift into problem-solving mode. You believe you’re being a great listener—but they feel dismissed.“Advice can be risky,” Bodie notes. “When someone offers advice, it implies we’re unable to manage our own challenges. And most of us don’t like feeling incapable. Sometimes, all the person wants is to be heard, comforted, and supported while expressing their emotions.This scenario often affects analytical thinkers. Those who naturally lean toward a questioning, detail-focused style—asking “Where’s your source?” or “Can you prove that?”—are frequently seen as cold or confrontational. But Bodie points out they may actually be listening effectively—just not in the manner the speaker needed at that moment. “Am I a poor listener because I expect you to cite credible sources?” he asks. “Or am I simply using a listening approach that doesn’t match what you need right now?”Pay attention to what they’re reaching forIf there’s no universal standard for good listening, how do you listen well? Bodie says it boils down to a simple yet obvious principle: Focus on the language the other person is actually using.“What exactly are they saying?” he says. “What phrases keep repeating? What clearly matters to them?” Then, reflect and adapt accordingly. If someone uses emotional expressions—like “I feel…” or “I’m so frustrated”—they likely want deeper emotional engagement. If they speak in facts and figures, they probably prefer a discussion grounded in data. Relying on a default approach across every conversation is precisely how well-meaning listeners often fall short.If you know the person well enough, Bodie says it’s perfectly acceptable to ask: “I want to support you best—what would be most helpful to you right now?”Most people operate from a default listening style—analytical, advisory, emotionally attuned, or distracted—and apply it indiscriminately to everyone, constantly. Then we wonder why the people we care about repeatedly say they don’t feel truly heard. The solution, he argues, isn’t improving your listening performance. It’s simply paying closer attention. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.

An excavator works to clear rubble after the East Wing of the White House was demolished on Oct. 23, 2025 in Washington, D.C. —Eric Lee—Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - President Donald Trump is defending the growing cost of his White House ballroom project after estimated costs to complete its construction have nearly doubled.In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump acknowledged that the construction project’s price tag has gone up from around $200 million to “something less than 400.” But he claimed that the end result “will be magnificent, safe, and secure.”“The only reason the cost has changed is because, after deep rooted studies, it is approximately twice the size, and a far higher quality, than the original proposal, which would not have been adequate to handle the necessary events, meetings, and even future Inaugurations,” Trump said. “This was a necessary change, it was done long ago, but the Fake News failed to report it, trying to make it look like there was a cost overrun. Actually, it is coming in ahead of schedule, and under budget!”The President’s post comes after Senate Republicans included a stipulation in a funding bill for immigration enforcement that they are seeking to push through, in which they allocate $1 billion “for the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features.” The bill does not explicitly name Trump's proposed ballroom. A separate bill put forth by a group of GOP senators, led by Lindsey Graham, proposed providing $400 million in funding for the ballroom project, which would be offset by customs fees.Trump previously said that the project would be funded by private donations.Democrats have pushed back on the ballroom project. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called it a “vanity project that resulted from the destruction that was unauthorized of the East Wing of the White House.”On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed his opposition to the funding package that Republicans are seeking to pass, which includes the $1 billion for White House security enhancements.“Republicans are on a different planet than American families,” Schumer said in a post on X. “Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom.”The Administration began tearing down the White House’s East Wing in October, in order to begin construction on the President’s ballroom project.In December, a preservation group filed a legal challenge against the project, arguing that the construction was unlawful. In March, a judge ruled that the Administration had to halt construction until Congress authorizes the initiative—but that some work could continue if it was “necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House.”The President and members of his Administration have responded by arguing that the project will enhance security measures, particularly because it includes a large military complex underneath the ballroom that will replace the Presidential Emergency Operations Center—a secure underground bomb shelter that was built during World War II.“The ballroom essentially becomes a shed for what’s being built under the military, including from drones and including from any other thing,” Trump told reporters on March 29. He added that the ballroom would have “high grade bulletproof glass.”On March 31, he told reporters that, per the judge’s ruling, the Administration was “allowed to continue building as necessary to cover the safety and security of the White House and its grounds.”“Well, that’s what we’re doing, because everything’s bulletproof glass, etc. etc., including the ballroom,” the President said. “We have bio defense all over. We have secure telecommunications and communications all over. We have bomb shelters that we’re building. We have a hospital and very major medical facilities that we’re building. We have all of these things, so that’s called: I’m allowed to continue building as necessary.”Administration officials have disclosed little else about the underground portion of the project. White House director of management and administration, Joshua Fisher, said at a National Capital Planning Commission meeting earlier this year that “there are some things regarding this project that are, frankly, of top-secret nature that we are currently working on.”After the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ dinner in April, Trump and Republican lawmakers reiterated their claims that the ballroom project is important for security purposes, with some suggesting that Congress provide the $400 million needed to fund its construction. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. 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Margaret Atwood photographed at Detroit Opera House on January 26, 2026 —Getty Images(SeaPRwire) - Warning: Spoilers ahead for The TestamentsHulu’s six-season adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s celebrated 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale became a symbol of opposition to Donald Trump during his first presidential term. As for how its sequel series, The Testaments, loosely adapted from Atwood’s 2019 best-selling book of the same name, will resonate with audiences under Trump’s second administration, “that’s not up to me,” the 86-year-old author tells TIME. “Readers and viewers will decide for themselves what it represents.”The Testaments, now available on Hulu, continues four years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale’s 2025 finale. In that episode, protagonist June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss), known as the titular handmaid, escapes the totalitarian theocracy that forced her into sexual servitude for infertile couples but vows to continue fighting for those still trapped within, including her teenage daughter, Hannah—now known as Agnes MacKenzie after being adopted by a prominent Gilead commander a decade earlier.The Testaments TV series offers a young-adult perspective on the world of women in this hyper-patriarchal society, following Agnes (Chase Infiniti), a wide-eyed teenager navigating high school, growing hormones, and arranged marriages alongside her friends. Among them is Daisy (Lucy Halliday), a vengeful Canadian teen recently brought into Gilead who shares ties with June.At its core, the speculative series centers on “someone on the inside deciding they want to bring down the system,” says Atwood. That individual is Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd), who, as revealed in the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale, transitioned from a ruthless enforcer of the regime to a covert operative for the resistance.Below, Atwood discusses the show’s themes of rebellion and its commentary on traditional wife culture.Ann Dowd and Chase Infiniti in 'The Testaments' —Courtesy of HuluTIME: You’ve stated you wrote The Testaments to illustrate what happens when a totalitarian regime collapses from within. What can the book—and now the TV show—teach us about organized rebellion?Atwood: There is extensive literature on resistance movements and people actively involved in them. One of the major narratives of the 20th century—and likely one of the defining stories of the 21st century—involves double agents or individuals working from within to dismantle corrupt systems. That’s exactly what Aunt Lydia becomes.In one episode, we learn how Lydia transformed into the most influential Aunt turned mole within Gilead. Do you view her as an anti-hero or a villain?Oh, “this is good,” “that’s bad”—it’s rarely so black-and-white. Most of us exist somewhere in between. It’s also true that well-intentioned actions can lead to harmful consequences.The story focuses on girls being groomed to become wives of Gilead’s most powerful men. They’re taught how to appear prim and proper while serving the perfect cup of tea. Are you familiar with the online subculture of trad wives?Oh yes. But when someone refers to a “trad wife,” they’re not talking about women in the 19th century. Back then, if you were a farmer, you needed a wife—someone to cook, garden, raise chickens, quilt. These were modest roles, requiring practical skills like repurposing every scrap of fabric. That’s very different from what modern self-identified trad wives believe they’re doing.How would you describe what they’re doing today?Well, it’s rather like Marie Antoinette pretending to be a milkmaid—it’s not authentic rural life. While some trad wives do engage in certain domestic tasks, they are far removed from running a 19th-century household. Most trad wives live comfortably in financially stable families; otherwise, they couldn’t afford the lifestyle.The message of The Testaments is that “there’s nothing more powerful than a teenage girl.” Yet most women don’t fully grasp their own power during adolescence until later in life. Is there something you wish you had known as a teenager that you learned only later?I don’t know. Many of the choices I made, a sensible person wouldn’t have made them. Deciding at age 16 to become a writer—especially in Canada, where no visible writers existed at the time—was unusual. So where did that drive come from? I think ignorance often protects you: if I’d known how difficult it could be or what the odds were, I probably wouldn’t have pursued it.Maybe ignorance truly is bliss.It can be. Willful ignorance differs from simply not knowing things—a common phase of adolescence, when you test ideas to see if they fit. The notion that you can be anything you want isn’t accurate. I couldn’t have been a ballerina—I get dizzy just turning.What’s the best part about being in your 80s?Friends and family. One important piece of advice: cultivate younger friendships. A lot of your older friends will pass away—they won’t be around forever. If you don’t make new, younger connections, you’ll end up quite alone. This article is provided by a third-party content provider. SeaPRwire (https://www.seaprwire.com/) makes no warranties or representations regarding its content. Category: Top News, Daily News SeaPRwire provides global press release distribution services for companies and organizations, covering more than 6,500 media outlets, 86,000 editors and journalists, and over 3.5 million end-user desktop and mobile apps. SeaPRwire supports multilingual press release distribution in English, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, and more.