Texas is suing Shell, alleging a fire at the oil giant's Houston-area petrochemical plant damaged the environment

The presidents of 13 universities are elevating free speech on their campuses this academic year, as part of a new nonprofit initiative announced Tuesday

Gabon is refinancing $500 million of its debt through a deal aimed at directing more funds to ocean management

California’s only native sunfish, Sacramento perch, was once so abundant it was a regular staple in San Francisco’s markets, but its numbers declined with the introduction of non-native fish in the early 20th century and today it exists in little more than a couple dozen isolated lakes

Clarence Avant, the manager, entrepreneur, facilitator and adviser who helped launch or guide the careers of Quincy Jones, Bill Withers and many others and came to be known as the "Black Godfather" of entertainment and beyond has died at 92

UK health authorities and civil servants repeatedly warned Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government about the potential for an

Chance the Rapper will take Apple store customers in Chicago on his hip-hop journey as part of an audio series celebrating the genre’s 50th anniversary

By Michael Erman NEW YORK A new COVID vaccine is due out next month, but health experts and

Shoppers are looking beyond just the price tag of a skirt or a pair of pants in the wake of still stubbornly high inflation

New Zealand has removed the last of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions, marking the end of a government response to the pandemic that was watched closely around the world

Republican Senator Ron Johnson amplified a number of Covid-19 conspiracy theories in a Fox Business Network segment bloated with false claims about the disease amid a growing number of hospitalisations and infections. While public health officials are urging Americans to stay up to date with vaccinations, the Wisconsin senator and Fox personality Maria Bartiromo falsely refuted vaccine efficacy and safety while wrongly stating that ivermectin is an approved treatment. The senator also revived baseless conspiracy theories circulated by anti-vaccine influencers like Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has faced ongoing scrutiny for his bogus suggestion that the virus is a biological weapon used to target certain demographics and spare Jewish and Chinese people. “This was all pre-planned by an elite group of people,” Mr Johnson said on the network on 11 August. “We’re up against a very powerful group of people … We are going down a very dangerous path, but it’s a path that is being laid out and planned by an elite group of people that want to take total control over our lives, and that’s what they’re doing bit by bit.” Mr Johnson and Ms Bartiromo also falsely claimed that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved ivermectin to treat Covid-19. Their bogus claims follow a recent appeals court hearing in a lawsuit from three doctors who have accused the federal agency of overstepping its authority by telling people not to take the drug. A federal judge appointed by Donald Trump dismissed the lawsuit last year. FDA attorneys argued that the agency did not prohibit doctors from prescribing the drug but had issued guidance recommending against its use. Right-wing media falsely interpreted those statements to mean that the agency now is endorsing the drug. Ms Bartiromo also admitted to taking ivermectin – which still is not authorised or approved for use in preventing or treating Covid-19 – before falsely stating that the FDA says it’s “fine” to use. “It was hard to find my doctor to finally, you know, address this and prescribe ivermectin,” she said. “He did, my Covid was gone in a day when I took ivermectin. And now three years later, the FDA says, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s fine. Take ivermectin.’” The FDA has not said that. The segment aired as Covid-related hospitalisations begin to surge across the US, increasing 12.5 per cent over the last week to more than 9,000, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. EG.5, an offshoot of the omicron variant that sparked waves of new infections, has been circulating in the US since April, now accounting for more than 17 per cent of Covid infections, according to the CDC. Last month, Mr Kennedy – a prominent anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist who is seeking an extremely long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination for president – revived an antisemitic conspiracy that blames Jewish people for the emergence of the disease. He baselessly stated during a press event that “there is an argument to be made” that the disease is “ethnically targeted”. The Independent has requested comment from Fox and a spokesperson for Mr Johnson. Read More Everything we know about EG. 5, the Covid subvariant dominating the US Data from pharmacy chain suggests Covid cases in California have nearly doubled since June RFK Jr’s ‘horrific antisemitic and xenophobic views’ detailed in explosive report Fox News promotes conspiracy theory linking Bronny James collapse to Covid vaccine

While technology experts sound the alarm on the pace of artificial intelligence development, philanthropists — including long-established foundations and tech billionaires — have been responding with an uptick in grants