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Voices: ‘Same gang, different seats’: Readers unimpressed as Andy Burnham names new cabinet
Andy Burnham has unveiled his first cabinet as prime minister, but Independent readers have reacted with widespread scepticism, arguing the reshuffle simply reshuffles familiar Labour faces rather than delivering genuine change. Many commenters noted that most of the top team, including John Healey, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood, previously served under Sir Keir Starmer, with…
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The 1974 acid-fuelled Nevada road trip that resulted in Warren Zevon’s marriage: “Pouring down vodka the whole way”
The article recounts a wild 1974 road trip taken by singer-songwriter Warren Zevon that ended with him getting married in Nevada, an anecdote drawn from recollections about his personal life around the time he was establishing himself in the Los Angeles music scene. The story is notable as one of many colourful, hard-living episodes associated…
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Hasbro Is Betting On Fewer, Bigger Video Games After $56 Million Write-Down
Hasbro has cancelled several video games planned for 2028 and beyond and taken a $56 million non-cash write-down on related development costs. The move signals a narrower digital strategy, concentrating investment on fewer projects where the company believes it has the strongest commercial advantage. The company will prioritise trading card and role-playing games, its own…
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Houthis threaten to attack shipping tankers if they use Saudi Arabian ports on Red Sea
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement has warned shipping companies that tankers using Saudi Arabian ports risk being attacked, moving quickly to enforce a naval blockade it announced a day earlier. The threat, coming alongside Iran’s separate moves against shipping in the strait of Hormuz, could hit Saudi oil exports that had until now escaped disruption from…
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Where will Andy Burnham find the money to fund his spending pledges?
Andy Burnham has made cutting the cost of living his first major policy move as prime minister, announcing an immediate cut to VAT on energy bills, but he faces mounting scrutiny over how he will fund this and other spending pledges. With bond investors already wary of Britain’s high borrowing and debt levels, and fiscal…
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Connor Bedard is all about the Blackhawks bringing back franchise great Patrick Kane, but is that a good idea?
Chicago Blackhawks rising star Connor Bedard has voiced his support for the club re-signing franchise legend Patrick Kane, who remains a free agent. The suggestion has sparked debate over whether reuniting Kane with Chicago would benefit the rebuilding team, given his advancing age and the franchise’s focus on developing young talent such as Bedard. Kane,…
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Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk sues US rival over ‘materially misleading’ ads
Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic, has filed a lawsuit against US rival Eli Lilly, accusing it of running “false and materially misleading” adverts for its competing weight-loss and diabetes drugs. The Danish pharmaceutical giant alleges that Lilly used outdated and selectively chosen trial data to make its products, Zepbound and Mounjaro, appear superior, in a…
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Liverpool owner in talks to sell stake to QPR co-owner Amit Bhatia
Liverpool’s US owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), is in talks to sell a significant minority stake in the club to a consortium led by Queens Park Rangers co-owner Amit Bhatia, backed financially by his father-in-law, the Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. FSG confirmed the negotiations in a statement to the Financial Times, describing the approach…
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Burnham has forced greater clarity at Thames Water. Now he must choose
Andy Burnham’s credible threat of special administration has jolted Thames Water’s bondholders into offering fresh concessions, including a “golden share” for the government and new “supervisory structures” to secure greater public control, after 18 months of what the article characterises as inadequate proposals. This shift exposes the weakness of the previous government’s preference for a…
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One ‘Odyssey’ Actor Actually Turned Down Christopher Nolan and Still Got the Part
Actor Logan Marshall-Green revealed he initially turned down a callback audition for Christopher Nolan’s big-screen adaptation of *The Odyssey*, yet still ended up landing a role in the star-studded epic. Speaking to Collider ahead of the film’s release, Marshall-Green explained the decision reflected a personal philosophy of trusting his instincts, even at the risk of…