Author: Olive Metuge
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. This story was originally published in our Dispatches newsletter; sign up to receive notes from our journalists. In late October, ProPublica published one of its most prophetic stories in our history. You can be forgiven if you missed it at the time. There was a lot going on in the days before the election, and the headlines were dominated by seemingly consequential issues like the racist humor of a comedian who addressed Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden. But if you weren’t among the several hundred thousand people who…
Pope Francis will be discharged from Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Sunday, doctors treating him said on Saturday.The 88-year-old has been recovering from double pneumonia and will need at least two months of rest at the Vatican after leaving hospital.He has only been seen by the public once since he was admitted to hospital on 14 February, in a photograph released by the Vatican last week, which showed him praying in a hospital chapel.The Vatican had said on Friday that the Pope’s condition was improving, although one official said he may have to “relearn to speak” following his prolonged use of…
Oleg Gordievsky, a high-ranking KGB officer who spied for the West during the height of the Cold War, has died at the age of 86.Gordievsky died on March 4 in England, where he had lived since defecting from the Soviet Union in 1985. Police said on Saturday that they are not treating his death as suspicious. The BBC reported on Friday that Gordievsky “died peacefully” at his home in Surrey.The world learned his name four decades ago, when the British Foreign Office announced on Sept. 12, 1985, that Gordievsky — initially described as being a senior official of the KGB —…
CASE PREVIEW By Amy Howe on Mar 21, 2025 at 1:51 pm The March session will begin on Monday with Louisiana v. Callais. (Amy Lutz via Shutterstock) In 2022, the Louisiana legislature adopted a congressional map that included only one majority-Black district among the six allotted to the state, though a third of the state’s population is Black. The map was challenged in federal court as a dilution of the votes of Black residents and in 2024 the legislature drew another map, this time with two majority-Black districts. On Monday, the Supreme Court will take up the latest stage in…
Home Daily News Lawyer convicted in fatal shooting of man… Criminal Justice Lawyer convicted in fatal shooting of man who attacked him in law firm parking lot By Debra Cassens Weiss March 10, 2025, 10:07 am CDT A Connecticut lawyer was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter Friday for fatally shooting a man who attacked him in the parking lot of his law firm. (Image from Shutterstock) A Connecticut lawyer was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter Friday for fatally shooting a man who attacked him in the parking lot of his law firm. Robert L. Fisher Jr., 78, of Connecticut was…
Sand, sea, and zero spend…Not every great beach day in Dubai comes with a price tag. Some of the city’s best stretches of sand are completely free. Whatever you’re in the mood for – a quiet day by the water, a scenic swim, or a lively spot for people-watching – these free beaches in Dubai have it all. Here are 6 of the best free beaches in Dubai 2025 where the only thing you need to bring is yourself, a towel, and maybe some sunscreen.Click through the gallery 3 of 12 Kite BeachFor those who like a bit of action…
After the loss of her daughter Autumn, Debbie Haine Vijayvergiya discovers that more than 20,000 stillbirths occur every year in the U.S. — and at least 1 in 4 is likely preventable. She goes to Washington, battling political inertia as she fights to make stillbirth research and prevention a federal priority. Kanika Harris, a maternal health advocate and doula, tells the story of her twins, Kodjo and Zindzi, as she trains a new generation of Black birth workers. And Stephanie Lee, a nurse leader at a Manhattan hospital, seeks answers about what might have led to her daughter Elodie’s stillbirth…
Sofia Ferreira SantosBBC NewsBettmann via Getty ImagesForeman exchanging punches with Muhammad Ali in their famous Rumble in the Jungle fightGeorge Foreman, the boxing heavyweight legend, has died aged 76, his family said.Known as Big George in the ring, the American competed for decades starting in the 1960s, winning gold at the Olympics and numerous title belts, including the world heavyweight title twice.Bettmann via Getty ImagesBorn George Edward Foreman on 10 January 1949 in Marshall, Texas, his amateur boxing career peaked at the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City, where he won a gold medal and famously waved a small US…
Columbia University agreed Friday to put its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhaul its rules for protests and student discipline, acquiescing to an extraordinary ultimatum by the Trump administration to implement those and other changes or risk losing billions of dollars in federal funding.As part of the sweeping reforms, the university will also adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand “intellectual diversity” by staffing up its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, according to a letter published Friday by the interim president, Katrina Armstrong.The announcement drew immediate condemnation from some faculty and free speech groups, who…
SCOTUS FOCUS By Ed Bershitskiy on Mar 21, 2025 at 3:15 pm In 2023, ChatGPT mistakenly claimed that Ginsburg dissented in Obergefell — now it’s corrected that mistake. Just over two years ago, following the launch of ChatGPT, SCOTUSblog decided to test how accurate the much-hyped AI really was — at least when it came to Supreme Court-related questions. The conclusion? Its performance was “uninspiring”: precise, accurate, and at times surprisingly human-like text appeared alongside errors and outright fabricated facts. Of the 50 questions posed, the AI answered only 21 correctly. Now, more than two years later, as ever more…