Guardian readers fund life-changing surgery for Somali boy injured in US airstrike After Guardian investigation uncovered drone strike that killed 12 civilians and injured many more, seven-year-old Abdiqadir Salah underwent vital operation in MogadishuOn the rickshaw ride to the hospital, Marian Haji Abdi Guled felt a mixture of joy and apprehension: the day they had been waiting for had finally arrived.Almost a year earlier, her then seven-year-old son, Abdiqadir Salah, had been seriously injured, alongside his two siblings, in what a Guardian investigation found was a US drone strike on the village of Jamaame in Somalia that killed at least 12 civilians, including eight children. Continue reading...
Skull fractures suggest servants of Egypt's ancient kings were sacrificed Study of remains taken from royal cemetery at Umm el-Qa'ab appears to confirm early Egyptologist's theoryCourt officials and craftspeople serving early Egyptian kings may have been sacrificed when their ruler died, according to research that found fractures in several ancient skulls.The royal cemetery of Umm el-Qa'ab near Abydos features the tombs and enclosures of the First Dynasty rulers of Egypt, and dates as far back as 3,000BC. Continue reading...
Egyptian journalist faces terrorism charges after entire newsroom detained Calls for release of six Matsadaash staff after one is charged, while whereabouts of other five remain unknownAn Egyptian journalist has been charged with joining a terrorist group, days after an entire newsroom was detained in what rights groups have said is a crackdown on press freedoms.Last week, authorities arrested six journalists from the independent fact-checking and investigative platform Matsadaash - literally meaning "don't believe" - accusing them in a statement of being unlicensed and publishing false news on behalf of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Continue reading...
Libyan unity talks upended as warlord's son linked to drone attacks on fuel facilities Western Libya's GNU say working with Saddam Haftar 'impossible' as US-backed merger plan breaks downAllegations that the son of the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar oversaw a "terror cell" that launched drone attacks on fuel storage facilities and power stations in western Libya have upended plans for the Tripoli-based government of national unity (GNU) to continue cooperating with Haftar on a plan to unify the country.Saddam Haftar, the deputy commander of the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), has increasingly been seen by the US as an important figure in its plans to unify Libyan security, judicial and political institutions. Continue reading...
Row erupts over Cairo mural depicting Tutankhamun and Nefertiti with dark skin Artwork created in Tahrir Squarefor Chinese president's state visit to Egypt is painted over amid allegations it revived Afrocentric claims about pharaohs' originsOn the eve of the Chinese president Xi Jinping's state visit to Cairo last month, the city authorities were busy removing a 66-metre-long mural from the esteemed guest's line of sight.Depicting the Pharaoh Tutankhamun and Queen Nefertiti, the painting was among 40 murals commissioned to beautify the city for Xi's arrival and was painted by a group of young volunteers, Rasmet Basma, in Tahrir Square. Continue reading...
Flávio Bolsonaro poised to win Brazilian presidency after shock first-round victory Progressive voters and supporters of incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva left reeling after far-right surgeFlávio Bolsonaro is in pole position to win Brazil's presidential election, after a far-right tsunami propelled him to a shock first-round victory over the incumbent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leaving progressive voters reeling.The 45-year-old rightwing candidate received 56.1m votes to Lula's 53.8m - 47.03% to 45.16% - meaning the 80-year-old leftwinger has a mountain to climb if he is to bounce back in the second round on 25 October. Never, since the return of democracy to Brazil in 1985, has the first-round runner-up managed to turn the game around and win the second ballot. Continue reading...
Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of oil companies' bid to stop climate suit Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of oil companies' bid to stop climate suitSeveral Supreme Court Justices appeared skeptical Monday of a request from oil companies to preemptively block a climate change lawsuit that could hold them liable for climate damages.Many of the justices raised questions about the court's ability to even take up the case at this time. "A number of the discussions that you've had with my colleagues make me think that we're really early in this case - that this is sort of premature from the standpoint of this court exercising its jurisdiction," liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson told Suncor Energy lawyer Kannon Shanmugam.
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While Jackson's skepticism is not necessarily a surprise, several of her conservative colleagues, namely Justices John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch, also asked tough questions of the fossil fuel firm.Suncor, alongside ExxonMobil, has asked the high court to toss a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court that allowed a suit to proceed. The suit alleged that the energy companies misled the public about their products' relationship to climate change and created a public nuisance. The case could have implications for similar litigation around the nation, as states and localities have sued oil and other fossil fuel companies seeking compensation for damages they've suffered because of climate change. The court could rule one of three ways: The justices could expressly block the case or expressly allow it to proceed, or they could rule that they don't have jurisdiction at this point, which could allow the case to move forward, but could see the issue back at the high court at a later date.Either of the latter two outcomes could be at least a partial win for the localities, as they would be able to move ahead with their case - at least in the short term. Boulder needs only four votes in its favor to win the case, as conservative Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself. The fossil fuel firms would need five justices on their side because in a split decision, the lower court's ruling would stand. As Shanmugam argued that Colorado state law shouldn't apply to the actions of out-of-state energy companies, Roberts asked about the potential for someone in one state to throw a rock over the border of the state they're in and hit a person in another state. When the oil company's lawyer noted that planet-warming emissions are not necessarily directed at Colorado, Roberts replied, "If you're in [State] B and you're aiming at [State] C, but you hit somebody in [State] A, that doesn't make a difference, does it?"However, it's not entirely clear which way the court will rule, as the justices also asked tough questions of Boulder County."Presumably, if you prevail the next day, a municipality in every single state will file a lawsuit," Roberts said. "How would you think that will work out on the ground?""There are other examples where a course of conduct causes mass liability across the nation in asbestos, in other kinds of product liability suits, and courts deal with them through litigation," Boulder lawyer Kevin Russell responded."I think maybe asbestos is a little different, since ... it doesn't have to be applied as broadly after a decision of the sort you're talking about," Roberts replied. "But there's always going to be greenhouse gas emissions affecting every state."The justices also considered whether the case was different from state-level suits related to tobacco or opioid products.Meanwhile, as the fossil fuel firms and the U.S. government argued that federal law preempts suits like Boulder's since this issue is one of national and international significance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also recently said the Clean Air Act does not authorize it to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars or trucks. Justice Department lawyer Sarah Harris argued during the proceedings that even as the EPA said it does not have the authority, cases like Boulders are still preempted under federal law, backing the oil companies' position. "Let's just hypothesize EPA is correct about greenhouse gases and its capacity to regulate them … let's say Congress decided 'we're going to carve that out from EPA's responsibility.' Does that mean that there couldn't ever be a federal common law cause of action for it just because Congress didn't grant it to EPA?" Gorsuch asked the government lawyer. Harris responded affirmatively, saying, "You're talking about a federal area where if Congress has not authorized it there's reason to think that federal common law shouldn't step in and fill the gaps.""So before the Clean Air Act, you'd have some federal common law cause of action to decide, but because of the Clean Air Act and Congress not addressing this issue, nobody can sue at all?" Gorsuch questioned. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.This article originally appeared on The Hill at https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/6129978-oil-companies-supreme-court-skepticism/
An Ohio man who was found guilty of murdering his wife and staging the crime scene to make it seem as if an intruder had broken into their home and fatally shot the mother of two was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.Caleb Flynn, 40, a former pastor who once appeared as a contestant on "American Idol" in 2013, was found guilty of aggravated murder and multiple counts of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of his wife, 37-year-old Ashley Flynn.Judge Jeannine Pratt called the former pastor's actions "abhorrent" and "quite honestly impossible to fathom" while handing down the life sentence on Monday.Caleb Flynn called 911 early on Feb. 16 to report that his wife had been shot by an intruder at their home in Tipp City, north of Dayton. He was arrested three days later. Prosecutors alleged that Caleb Flynn "executed" his wife by shooting her twice in the back of the head in bed so that he could be with his mistress and manipulated the crime scene to make it seem as if an intruder had broken in through the garage.Pool via ABC News - PHOTO: Caleb Flynn appears for his sentencing in the Miami County Court of Common Pleas, Oct. 5, 2026, in Troy, Ohio.Pratt said that after considering the evidence in the case, there is "one clear and obvious conclusion" -- that Caleb Flynn poses the "highest risk" of harm to the public -- and admonished the "layers of deceit, manipulation and cruelty" that he has shown."You could have walked away. You could have separated from her and left her here on this earth to be able to be with the people that need her, who loved her, who looked forward to having her in their lives. But instead, through your greed, your selfishness, your lust, and your cruelty, you chose to take Ashley's life, and in doing so, you did far more than take the life of your wife," Pratt said. "On that fateful day in February, the person who should have been protecting their children shattered their lives."Caleb Flynn addressed the court prior to learning his sentence, crying while reading from prepared remarks that he shakily clutched while in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit.He repeatedly denied killing his wife, saying, "I have unfortunately lied about a lot of things over the last couple of years. But as I stand here before God, who is my ultimate judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife.""I will continue to fight for my innocence as long as the Lord allows me to, since I did not kill my wife," he said.He apologized to his wife's family and asked for their forgiveness."I made vows to Ashley on our wedding day -- I failed those vows, and through my decisions, I have caused you guys an incredible amount of pain," he said. "Through those decisions, I'm sure you have felt betrayal, confusion, anger and so much more.""I take complete accountability for my words and my decisions," he said. "I am so sorry, I am so sorry, and pray that you can one day forgive me."Pool via ABC News - PHOTO: Caleb Flynn appears for his sentencing in the Miami County Court of Common Pleas, Oct. 5, 2026, in Troy, Ohio.Caleb Flynn also addressed members of his family, including his young daughters."I don't know if they'll ever be able to hear this, but I want them to hear it regardless -- I love you two," he said, calling them his "greatest joy in his life."He apologized for not being able to see them grow up and said through tears that he misses them "more than you'll ever know."The judge said she received over a dozen victim impact statements, and several members of Ashley Flynn's family addressed the court prior to the sentence being handed down, speaking to the impact the murder of their mother has had on his daughters, Alyssa and Ava, and asking for the maximum possible sentence.In a searing letter read on her behalf, Alyssa said, "You have already caused so much pain to your family and the world. The least you can do is tell everyone you did it and receive your outcome.""Did you really even think about how much pain you would bring your own two daughters?" the statement continued. "By the way, Ashley Flynn was the best thing that ever happened to you. You had the best life ever, and you decided to throw it away for a girl who was half your age."In closing, she said her family has "never been stronger" and she doesn't plan to visit him in prison.Her sister, Ava, asked their father in a statement read on her behalf, "Mommy was the perfect person, the absolute perfect person -- what did she ever do to make you hate her so much?""She was my best friend. And then you chose to kill the only mother I ever had. I miss her so much -- so, so, so much. You have no idea," the statement continued, calling on him to "confess and repent" to God.Caleb Flynn could be seen crying as the statements were read.Pool via ABC News - PHOTO: Caleb Flynn listens to the reading of his guilty verdict inside the Miami County Court of Common Pleas, Sept. 29, 2026, in Troy, Ohio.He faced up to life in prison without parole.Prosecutors asked for the maximum possible sentence, arguing in a sentencing memorandum filed ahead of the hearing that he is a "dangerous individual with no regard for human life and has refused to accept accountability or show any remorse.""It is important to note that Defendant could have lawfully left his marriage. Instead, he chose murder. He planned Ashley's murder for months. This was a planned and calculated execution," Prosecuting Attorney Paul Watkins stated.In his memo, Watkins said Caleb Flynn's "effort to escape responsibility did not end with the staged scene or the false intruder narrative," but that his two daughters described him instructing them on what to say in their forensic interviews and that their statements "could be the difference between life and death for him.""Thus, after taking their mother from them, Defendant attempted to use his grieving daughters to reinforce the story he had created to protect himself," Watkins stated.The defense, meanwhile, said in its memorandum that Flynn continues to maintain his innocence and has no prior criminal history while asking for a sentence that "preserves the possibility of parole and a return to society following his rehabilitation."Former 'American Idol' contestant found guilty of murdering wifeThe jury deliberated for nearly 2 1/2 hours before reaching a verdict on Sept. 29, finding him guilty of all charges.During closing arguments, Miami County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Joseph pointed to evidence including the physical scene and a side garage door he said was made to look as if an intruder had damaged it, Caleb Flynn's 911 call, text messages between the defendant and his mistress discussing the end of his marriage and digital records from the night of the shooting, which he argued "leads straight to the defendant.""The evidence showed that being the victim would allow the defendant to keep his lucrative job working for Ashley's family business, he would benefit from Ashley's life insurance, and he could keep his position as a working worship leader with zero impact to his reputation within the church," Joseph said during closing arguments on Sept. 29 in the Miami County courtroom. "The evidence does not tell the story of an intruder."Defense attorney Patrick Mulligan argued during his closing that the state's evidence is circumstantial, and that the only thing prosecutors proved was that Caleb Flynn was having an affair."Connecting a couple of meaningless dots doesn't solve the case," Mulligan told jurors.Ashley Flynn/Facebook - PHOTO: Ashley and Caleb Flynn.Caleb Flynn did not testify during the trial and the defense called no witnesses.He denied killing his spouse in an interview with police days after the deadly shooting, according to video shown during the more than weeklong trial.His former mistress testified for the state during the trial, reading from some of the more than 100,000 messages they exchanged over her two days of testimony."If I could literally kill her and not go to hell, I would do it in a heartbeat," Caleb Flynn said in one message from May 2025, Botner testified. Pool via ABC News - PHOTO: Caleb Flynn cries after being found guilty inside the Miami County Court of Common Pleas, Sept. 29, 2026, in Troy, Ohio.Following the guilty verdict, Mulligan told reporters that he expected there to be a notice of appeal filed.When asked what appellate issues they have, he said, "There's a lack of evidence on prior calculation and design."Watkins thanked the jury "for their dedication to justice in this case."Ex-mistress testifies against former 'American Idol' contestant: 'I believe that he murdered his wife'In a statement read by Watkins, Ashley Flynn's family said they "refuse to let the evil that ended Ashley's life have the final word in her story.""Ashley loved Jesus with her whole heart. Her faith wasn't simply something she simply spoke about. It was how she lived," the statement said. "She loved people well, found joy beyond her circumstances, prayed boldly for her family, and wanted her life to point people to Jesus.""Most of all, she loved being a mom," the statement continued. "She prayed over her girls, taught them to love God, and showed them what it looked like to live with faith, kindness, joy, and grace."
This article originally appeared on Good Morning America at https://abcnews.com/US/former-american-idol-contestant-sentenced-wifes-murder/story?id=136953520
"The only way for me to heal is to know what happened," the woman, identified as "Jane Doe" in a civil lawsuit, said during a Nov. 7, 2024, call, according to audio obtained by ABC News. "That's why I'm trying to just piece it together, you know, like I'm just like confused."
During the call, the Chi Phi fraternity member told her that she consented to having a threesome with him and another fraternity brother.
He also insisted that Jane Doe had told him she had not been drinking when she showed up.
"You did tell me you were sober, by the way," he said. "You said you hadn't been anywhere."
"That is not true. I never would have said that," she replied.Students walk on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., on Oct. 1.
Matt Rourke/AP
At one point during the call, Jane Doe told him, "If I wanted to take this somewhere, what y'all did would be classified as gang rape."
The fraternity member then suggested that their memories of what transpired may not be accurate.
"I have racked my brain for this mystery," he said. "You know, it's possible that both of us, like, remember this, and it's not true."
Jane Doe pushed back: "No, because I remember looking up and being like, 'That is too many people.'"
Other text messages published by ABC News suggested that some of the accused fraternity members attempted to contain the allegations in the weeks following the incident.
"What's the plan of action? Should I call [Jane Doe]? I don't think she would have reported this," the fraternity member in the recorded call wrote in a small group chat.
Jane Doe, who was 20 at the time of the alleged 2024 rape, reported the incident to Cornell University police on Nov. 8, 2024.
She fileda civil lawsuit on Sept. 16 against the school, seven current and former Chi Phi fraternity members, the Tri-Delta Alpha Beta sorority where she lived, and a local bar where she said she was served drinks on the night of the incident.
Lawyers for two of the men identified in Jane Doe's civil suit have denied they participated in a sexual assault,according to the Associated Press.A sign marks the entrance of the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, N.Y., on Oct. 1.
Lauren Petracca/Reuters
Cornell University has come under intense scrutiny for its handling of the case.
In an eight-minute video statement released on Saturday, Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff said the university "must do better."
"What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come. My heart aches when I think of what she experienced," Kotlikoff said. "It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanization and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use. It also raises questions around the investigations conducted after the allegations were reported."
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Friday that the woman was "failed" by those obligated to protect her, including university police and a prosecutor who initially declined to bring charges.
Hochul said that she had lost faith in Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten and appointed New York Attorney General Letitia James as the special prosecutor to oversee the criminal investigation.
"This young woman had already endured something that is utterly unspeakable," the governor said. "And then at every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her."
Meanwhile, Jane Doe's lawyer, Thomas Giuffra, said that his client has received "multiple threats" in recent days.
"There are people out there trying to track her down," Giuffra said on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday. "They said we're gonna shut you up. You're gonna still get hurt by us. You're gonna pull this lawsuit out or we're gonna do something to hurt you even more."This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/article/cornell-rape-case-jane-doe-sought-to-know-what-happened-in-call-with-one-of-the-accused-frat-brothers-the-day-before-reporting-incident-to-police-171906056.html
Is it her plane? New expedition sets off to solve the Amelia Earhart mystery. Is it her plane? New expedition sets off to solve the Amelia Earhart mystery.An expedition began on Oct. 2 as researchers left Purdue University on a mission that hopes to find the lost plane of aviator Amelia Earhart, who went missing along with her navigator Fred Noonan in 1937.Three members of the Taraia Object expedition, a joint effort among the Indiana-based university, Purdue's Archaeological Legacy Institute and the Purdue Research Foundation, then traveled from Los Angeles to meet others in the 17-person team. Next, they'll travel to Fiji and Kiribati in the South Pacific in search of the Lockheed Electra 10-E flown by Earhart nearly 90 years ago.On Oct. 7, the entire group will travel to Nikumaroro, a remote Pacific island between Australia and Hawaii, where a popular theory suggests Earhart and Noonan landed after failing to complete their journey to circle the globe at the equator."I am feeling very confident about this," lead archaeologist Richard Pettigrew previously told USA TODAY. "I'm pumped."The search, one of countless efforts to locate the lost aviator since her disappearance, centers around the "Taraia object," a visual anomaly discovered through satellite imagery in the island's lagoon.
The search through the years: Amelia Earhart vanished in 1937. New evidence could find her plane.The mission, originally set for October 2025, was delayed due to weather conditions. Permission from Kiribati's government was also a factor; Kiribati is the island nation that controls Nikumaroro, and has now allowed the mission to proceed."My conscious focus is on the execution of our fieldwork plan," Richard Pettigrew, executive director of the Purdue Archaeological Legacy Institute, said in a news release a few weeks before the expedition. "...I feel truly lucky to be in a position to possibly solve one of the greatest mysteries of all time, whether or not that happens."
What happened to Amelia Earhart?
Earhart was already a famed pilot when she and Noonan set out from Lae, Papua New Guinea, toward Howland Island, where a U.S. Coast Guard cutter waited to refuel the Lockheed Electra 10-E. They'd begun their around-the-world journey on May 21, 1937 in Oakland, California, but disappeared on July 2 as they neared the end of the trip, which would have been the first time anyone had flown around the world at the equator.Earhart messaged the Coast Guard to say she was almost out of fuel, but neither she nor Noonan knew Morse code, so there was no two-way contact, according to the Smithsonian Institution's analysis of government records of the incident. Nikumaroro is about 400 miles southeast of Howland Island, where Earhart and Noonan planned to land on the third-to-last leg of their attempt to circumnavigate the world around the equator. The U.S. government conducted what was at the time its largest-ever search for a lost aircraft, but after two weeks, with no trace of either Earhart, Noonan or their plane, the search ended. On Jan. 5, 1939, both were declared legally dead.One current theory is that Earhart and Noonan landed on Nikumaroro, but later died there. That theory is based on satellite imagery of the unidentified object in a lagoon on the island that came into view in 2015, as well as radio bearings that converge there, human bones discovered on the island that resemble Earhart's measurements and artifacts including a woman's shoe, a jar of freckle cream and a medicine vial that date to the 1930s, according to the Purdue Research Foundation.
'The discovery of a lifetime'
The expedition will start with video and still images of the site before any work on the site begins, followed by remote magnetometer and sonar. The team will then use an underwater hydraulic dredge to expose the object so it can be identified, and a walk-over survey of nearby land surfaces to check for any debris that might be washed up onshore. Pettigrew called the possibility of finding and identifying Earhart's lost aircraft "the discovery of a lifetime," and confirming the wreckage of a plane "the smoking-gun proof" of theories that placed her and Noonan on Nikumaroro.
What happens if Amelia Earhart's plane is found?
The Purdue Research Foundation originally funded the Lockheed Electra "Flying Laboratory" through the Amelia Earhart Fund for Aeronautical Research, so the institution hopes to return the plane or its remnants to Purdue, citing what it called "her intention to return it to the university."The Purdue Archaeological Legacy Institute said in a news release that "additional work and further conversations with Kiribati would still be needed to make that a reality, but we feel we owe it to her legacy at Purdue to try to find a way to bring it home if we find it."In the same release, Purdue quoted a Kiribati official who said the island of Nikumaroro is "part of our heritage," and noted that nation's "responsibility to protect and better understand it.""For Kiribati, Nikumaroro is much more than the possible setting for one of the world's great historical mysteries," said Mikarite Temari, head of Kiribati's Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development. The nation is happy to work with Purdue, Temari added. "We also see this expedition as an opportunity to build a lasting partnership that can help support important priorities such as regenerative tourism, cultural preservation, education, advances in aviation technology and economic development for our people."Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAYPhaedra Trethan is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writing about history and Americana. Contact her by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, on X @wordsbyphaedra, on BlueSky @byphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is it her plane? New Amelia Earhart expedition beginsThis article originally appeared on USA TODAY at https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/10/05/new-amelia-earhart-expedition-begins/92055309007/
Chicago-bound British Airways flight drops 28,000 feet in 7 minutes and returns to London Chicago-bound British Airways flight drops 28,000 feet in 7 minutes and returns to LondonA British Airways Boeing 777 similar to the one used for the Chicago flight. (John Keeble / Getty)LONDON - A British Airways passenger jet flying from London to Chicago descended 28,000 feet in just seven minutes after declaring an emergency due to an unspecified "technical issue," the airline said Monday.The Boeing 777 took off at 12:15 p.m. local time (7:15 a.m. ET) but started descending just 30 minutes later while flying over Ireland, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.The plane turned around and spent around four hours zigzagging over the Bristol Channel, a waterway to the west of England, before landing back at London Heathrow Airport at 5 p.m. local time (noon ET)."The aircraft landed safely after our highly-trained pilots returned to Heathrow following a technical issue," British Airways said in an emailed statement. "Customers disembarked the aircraft normally and our teams are working to get their travel plans back on track as quickly as possible."Heathrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Passengers will likely be put up in hotels by the airline until another flight can be arranged, as stipulated by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority.Britain's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) came under scrutiny last month after two technical problems in the space of two weeks caused major delays at several U.K. airports and hundreds of flights were canceled. NATS blamed software issues for the delays. Britain's Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged the situation had been "deeply frustrating" for passengers.With 84.5 million passengers last year, Heathrow ranked seventh in the table of the world's busiest airports, according to data published by Airports Council International.Travel from Heathrow was severely disrupted in March last year when a massive fire at an electricity substation caused a predawn power outage at the global transport hub.The closure affected more than 1,300 flights and 200,000 passengers.After investigating 600 items of evidence related to the substation, the National Energy System Operator ruled out suspicious activity in a report saying a preventable moisture fault caused the fire, leaving almost 70,000 homes without power.This article was originally published on NBCNews.comThis article originally appeared on NBC News at https://www.nbcnews.com/world/united-kingdom/british-airways-flight-chicago-drops-27000-feet-returns-london-rcna601668
When it comes to the battle for control of the U.S. Senate, Republicans are mostly playing defense. The lion's share of the races that will decide which party secures a majority in November are in red states - including Texas, Iowa and Ohio - where the GOP is hoping to hold on against ascendant Democratic challengers.
Minnesota is one of the few states in the country where the party is in a position to go on offense and potentially turn a blue seat red.
In pursuit of that goal, the GOP has put its hopes in Michele Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster and NFL sideline reporter turned politician who polls suggest has a real chance of winning in a state that has been dominated by Democrats in recent election cycles.
Tafoya is running for the seat currently held by Democrat Tina Smith, who is not pursuing re-election. Instead her opponent will be Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flannagan, a progressive who supports policies like Medicare for All and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Minnesota has been at the center of some of the biggest controversies of President Trump's second term, particularly his administration's sweeping immigration crackdown. Though a majority of Minnesotans disapprove of Trump's performance as president, Tafoya has steadily chipped away at Flanagan's lead in polls since the primary.
Here's what you need to know about who she is, what she stands for and how she went from the sidelines to the center of one of the midterms' most pivotal races.
Who is Michele Tafoya?
Tafoya was born and raised in Southern California. Her father was an aeronautical engineer, and her mother was a school teacher. She has Hispanic heritage on her father's side.
She married her husband, Mark Vandersall, in 2000. They have two children. Tafoya has been open about her struggles with infertility, which included several miscarriages. Her daughter, Oliva, was adopted from Colombia as a nod to her father's lineage.
After launching her sports broadcasting career in Los Angeles, she moved to Minnesota in the early 1990s to take a job at the KFAN sports radio station in Minneapolis. Before long, she moved on to a national role with CBS, which proved to be the jumping-off point for a decades-long career that made her one of the country's most recognizable sports broadcasters. She covered five Super Bowls, the NBA and the Olympics - winning five Emmys for her work along the way. Michele Tafoya looks on during Super Bowl LVI, the final game of her storied broadcasting career.
Kevin C. Cox via Getty Images
Tafoya's last broadcast was during Super Bowl LVI in 2022. Her political career began the very next day. Less than 12 hours after the game ended, she announced that she would co-chair the campaign of Republican Kendall Qualls in his bid to become Minnesota governor.
How did she go from NFL sidelines to the campaign trail?
Tafoya has said she always had strong political views, but made a specific effort to keep them out of her work as a broadcaster.
"I was not as free to be as vocal about world events that I'm concerned about," she told The Athletic in 2022. "It's not because I was told to shut up. I want to be very clear about that. But look, if you're on a show like Sunday Night Football … the last thing they want to do is invite controversy."
Tafoya was more open about her beliefs outside on social media, where she would regularly promote work fromconservativeoutlets. But she also made statements that broke from the GOP mainstream, including support for efforts to curb climate change. In an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2015, she described herself as a "pro-choice" conservative with "definite libertarian strains."
After retiring from broadcasting, Tafoya made several appearances as a speaker at Republican political events, including the Conservative Political Action Conference. She was also a guest host on The View, taking on the role of the conservative-leaning voice in contrast to the show's more liberal regular panelists.
In 2022, Tafoya launched a podcast that frequently touched on political topics and featured Republican politicians as guests. The most recent episode, released in January, includes an interview with former My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, who unsuccessfully ran for Minnesota governor this year despite an endorsement from President Trump.
Tafoya formally announced her Senate bid a few weeks later. In August, she comfortably won a crowded Republican primary to set up a head-to-head race against Flanagan in November.
What does she stand for?
In her pitch to Minnesota voters, Tafoya has leaned into her sports background.
"I'm not gonna stay on the sidelines any longer," she said while standing on a snow-covered football field in her campaign announcement video.
For years, I walked the sidelines when the stakes were the highest, and that job taught me how leadership really works.I'm running for U.S. Senate to bring that experience to Washington and deliver the real results Minnesota deserves. https://t.co/vDbHWpAXg9- Michele Tafoya (@Michele_Tafoya) January 21, 2026
Like other swing-state Republicans across the country, Tafoya has worked to find a balance between supporting Trump and pushing back on some of his most unpopular policies.
She has supported the president throughout the war with Iran, at one point telling Minnesotans to "take one less trip to Starbucks" to help offset the rising cost of gas. More recently, though, she has joined a growing list of GOP candidates who have called for Trump to end the conflict.
"No president of either party should have a blank check to wage war without the consent of Congress or the buy-in of the American people. That includes President Donald Trump," Tafoya told Twin Cities local news KSTP on Saturday.
Tafoya added that she would be "inclined to vote to end this war" if given the opportunity in the Senate. She has also said she didn't agree with ICE's tactics in Minneapolis and described Trump's tariff policies as "hit or miss."
Her policy views mostly align with mainstream Republican positions. She backs strong immigration enforcement and Trump's mass deportation campaign, a "tough on crime" approach to public safety, tax cuts, and laws barring transgender athletes from competing in women's and girls' sports. On abortion, she says she agrees with the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, but personally believes there should be "reasonable access" in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Tafoya's own opinions of Trump have evolved as well. In 2022, she published an open letter urging Trump not to run for a second term, describing his previous time in the White House as "absolute mayhem." She also said on her podcast around the same time that there was much about Trump that she found "difficult to accept."
But during the 2024 presidential campaign, Tafoya said she was supporting Trump with "more enthusiasm" than before. She also said she felt "sort of agnostic" on the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol. She celebrated Trump's victory later that year, describing it as "morning in America" - a reference to Ronald Reagan's famous phrase from the 1980s.
Tafoya has mostly left Trump out of her current campaign ads and speeches, instead focusing her messaging on issues like fraud, affordability and public safety. The president opted not to endorse a candidate in Minnesota's Republican primary and has yet to throw his support behind Tafoya in the general election.
What are her chances?
Tafoya is one of the few Republicans in major races across the country who is outperforming expectations in the polls.
In August, Flanagan held an average lead of about seven points, but Tafoya has been closing the gap. More recent surveys suggest the race is essentially up for grabs. Still, a win by Tafoya would likely be considered a significant upset. Two of the most respected non-partisan elections forecasters - The Cook Political Report and The Center for Politics - list Minnesota's Senate race as a "likely" win for Democrats.This article originally appeared on Yahoo News at https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/article/who-is-michele-tafoya-meet-the-sideline-reporter-turned-gop-senate-candidate-vying-to-turn-minnesota-red-192707788.html
Earhart messaged the Coast Guard to say she was almost out of fuel, but neither she nor Noonan knew Morse code, so there was no two-way contact, according to the Smithsonian Institution's analysis of government records of the incident. Nikumaroro is about 400 miles southeast of Howland Island, where Earhart and Noonan planned to land on the third-to-last leg of their attempt to circumnavigate the world around the equator. The U.S. government conducted what was at the time its largest-ever search for a lost aircraft, but after two weeks, with no trace of either Earhart, Noonan or their plane, the search ended. On Jan. 5, 1939, both were declared legally dead.
One current theory is that Earhart and Noonan landed on Nikumaroro, but later died there. That theory is based on satellite imagery of the unidentified object in a lagoon on the island that came into view in 2015, as well as radio bearings that converge there, human bones discovered on the island that resemble Earhart's measurements and artifacts including a woman's shoe, a jar of freckle cream and a medicine vial that date to the 1930s, 
In the same release, Purdue quoted a Kiribati official who said the island of Nikumaroro is "part of our heritage," and noted that nation's "responsibility to protect and better understand it.""For Kiribati, Nikumaroro is much more than the possible setting for one of the world's great historical mysteries," said Mikarite Temari, head of Kiribati's Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development. The nation is happy to work with Purdue, Temari added. "We also see this expedition as an opportunity to build a lasting partnership that can help support important priorities such as regenerative tourism, cultural preservation, education, advances in aviation technology and economic development for our people."Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAYPhaedra Trethan is a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writing about history and Americana. Contact her by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, on X @wordsbyphaedra, on BlueSky @byphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra.This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 
