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  • Fact-checking Trump’s claims as he rolls back some recommended vaccines

    Fact-checking Trump’s claims as he rolls back some recommended vaccines

    On Monday, former U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office that alters the national recommended childhood vaccine schedule, cutting the number of vaccine-preventable diseases covered from 18 to 11 and recommending that the combined mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine be split into separate individual doses. However, during the signing ceremony, Trump made a series of misleading and outright false statements about childhood vaccinations that have been widely refuted by public health experts and leading federal health agencies.

    One of Trump’s most high-profile false claims was that federal policy required young children to receive as many as 72 vaccine doses. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt amplified this claim after the announcement by sharing a graphic showing an infant surrounded by needles labeled “72 injections”. Fact-checkers quickly confirmed that this framing is deeply inaccurate on multiple counts. First, while federal vaccine guidance influences policies across the country, requirements for school entry are set individually by U.S. states, meaning the total number of doses administered to children varies by location. Second, the 72-dose count cited by the White House tallies every potential vaccine dose a person could receive between birth and age 18, including annual influenza shots and routine COVID-19 boosters — not doses given only to young children or infants.

    Trump also made a false claim about the volume of vaccine doses administered, stating that a single MMR shot contains an amount of liquid comparable to an entire bottle of soda. According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) data, a standard single dose of MMR is just 0.5 milliliters, which equals a tiny fraction of a single teaspoon. Josh Michaud, associate director of the Global and Public Health Policy Program at the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), confirmed that even the combined total volume of all vaccines recommended for childhood is nowhere close to the volume of a bottle of soda, and is dramatically smaller than Trump’s description.

    When arguing for splitting the combined MMR vaccine into three separate doses, Trump claimed that combining the three vaccines into a single shot “could be a possibility they’re quite lethal”. This claim directly contradicts decades of public health data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC confirms that the vast majority of people who receive the combined MMR vaccine experience no serious adverse reactions. Getting vaccinated against the three diseases is also far safer than contracting measles, mumps, or rubella, all of which can cause severe long-term illness and even death. The most serious potential side effects of MMR vaccination are febrile seizures and severe allergic reactions, both of which the CDC classifies as extremely rare; only one in 3,000 to 4,000 vaccinated children experience a febrile seizure after vaccination.

    Finally, Trump repeated the long-debunked claim that vaccines are linked to rising autism diagnosis rates, claiming that autism rates have grown in lockstep with expanded vaccine schedules and citing a wildly inaccurate historical rate of one case per 10,000 people 20 years prior. While autism diagnosis rates in the U.S. have indeed risen over the past two decades, the growth has not matched Trump’s claims: the CDC estimated a rate of one in 110 children in 2006, which rose to one in 88 just two years later. Leading public health experts overwhelmingly agree that rising diagnosis rates are explained by broader changes to diagnostic criteria, increased public awareness of autism, and expanded access to screening, not any change in vaccine schedules.

    Decades of large-scale peer-reviewed studies have found no causal link between vaccination and autism. Most recently, a comprehensive 2025 review conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) analyzed data from dozens of independent studies covering millions of children across multiple countries, and formally concluded there is no causal connection between vaccination and autism. Experts explain that the false public perception of a link stems from a coincidental timeline: routine childhood vaccinations are primarily administered between birth and age five, which is also the age window when autism is most commonly diagnosed. This overlap creates a misleading correlation that is often misinterpreted as causation.

    In its 2025 report, the WHO noted that unsubstantiated claims about theoretical vaccine risks have fueled ongoing public controversy, particularly at a time when widespread misinformation and disinformation online has driven growing rates of vaccine hesitancy across much of the world.

  • UK prosecutors argue Tate brothers a flight risk ahead of bail hearing

    UK prosecutors argue Tate brothers a flight risk ahead of bail hearing

    A high-stakes extradition drama is unfolding in a Florida federal court this week, as British law enforcement officials push to keep controversial influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate behind bars for the duration of US extradition proceedings. The dual British-American citizens have been held in a Florida correctional facility since their arrest last month, when UK prosecutors unsealed a sweeping set of 38 new criminal charges against the pair. Both men have repeatedly denied all wrongdoing in connection with the allegations.

    The 38 new charges add to a 2025 indictment that already brought 21 counts against the brothers, bringing the total number of criminal charges to 59. The full list of allegations includes rape, sexual exploitation through sex trafficking, and possession of indecent images of children. The new charges stem from accusations made by four additional complainants, with alleged offenses dating between 2010 and 2017. The original 2025 indictment covers accusations from three other victims connected to crimes the UK says occurred between 2012 and 2015 in Bedfordshire, southeast England.

    The Thursday detention hearing will see a US judge rule on whether the brothers should be granted bail and released from custody ahead of the full extradition process. In new court filings submitted to the Southern District of Florida Federal Court on Monday, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) – the public prosecuting body for England and Wales – laid out its argument that the pair poses extreme flight risk and a serious danger to witnesses in the case. The official prosecution position was backed by a formal request from the British Embassy in Washington, submitted through the US Department of State, opposing any grant of bail.

    “Both Andrew and Tristan Tate have significant resources available to them, both in terms of money and in social media networks,” prosecutors argued in their filing. The CPS added that if released, the brothers would almost certainly attempt to use their wealth and online influence to evade extradition and intimidate the vulnerable people who have brought accusations against them. Prosecutors noted that multiple complainants have already reported being assaulted and threatened with weapons by the pair, saying the accusers “are vulnerable and in fear of Andrew and Tristan Tate” because of that prior violence and the brothers’ ability to retaliate. Prosecutors also highlighted past social media posts from Andrew Tate, in which he allegedly mocked UK law enforcement and suggested he could change his identity to avoid capture.

    Former kickboxer Andrew Tate first rose to public prominence in 2016, when he appeared on the UK edition of the reality TV series *Big Brother*. A self-described misogynist, he has built a massive global online following, boasting more than 10.8 million followers on the social platform X. He is well-known for posting content that showcases a lavish luxury lifestyle of private jets, high-end sports cars and yachts, which prosecutors cited as further evidence of his ability to fund an escape from US jurisdiction. The brothers have long claimed their controversial public statements have been taken out of context and were intended only as jokes.

    The path to the Florida arrest stretches back years. The pair relocated to Romania in 2016, and were first arrested on local sexual assault charges in 2022. That case has not progressed to trial, and Romanian authorities lifted all travel restrictions against the brothers in early 2025, allowing them to travel to the United States. UK law enforcement first secured a European Arrest Warrant for the pair in 2024 to bring them back from Romania to face the original 2025 charges. After their arrival in the US, UK officials moved to extradite them from Florida instead.

    In their own court filings ahead of Thursday’s hearing, defense attorneys for the Tates acknowledged that pre-extradition bail is rare in international cases, but argued the brothers have no intention of fleeing prosecution. The BBC has reached out to the brothers’ legal team for additional comment on the case. If the pair are ultimately extradited to the UK and convicted on all charges, they could face sentences of life in prison.

    The case has attracted minor political attention due to Andrew Tate’s public support for former President and current 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump. The White House has already confirmed it will not intervene in the legal proceedings to influence the outcome. Under US extradition rules, US courts will first review the extradition request, and a final decision on whether to transfer the brothers to UK custody will ultimately be made by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

  • Watch: What is it like to travel on Air Force One with Trump?

    Watch: What is it like to travel on Air Force One with Trump?

    A surprising behind-the-scenes incident from a recent NATO summit held in Turkey has shed light on an unexpected maneuver by former U.S. President Donald Trump that caught even his embedded press corps off guard. Last month, as the summit drew to a close and leaders prepared to depart Turkish territory, Trump executed a last-minute, unannounced plane switch that left reporters assigned to travel with him none the wiser.

  • Watch: Severe storms overturn vehicle and trigger flooding in Ohio

    Watch: Severe storms overturn vehicle and trigger flooding in Ohio

    A devastating outbreak of severe storms has swept across parts of Ohio, leaving a trail of destruction that includes flipped vehicles, widespread flash flooding, and at least one confirmed human fatality. Local emergency management officials have issued urgent warnings, urging residents across the state to make immediate preparations for a new round of intense storm activity that is projected to hit over the coming days.

    Footage captured from impacted areas shows the full force of the extreme weather: multiple vehicles were flipped onto their roofs by powerful wind gusts, while low-lying neighborhoods and roadside corridors quickly became submerged under rushing floodwater after hours of heavy, unrelenting rainfall. First responder teams have already been deployed across hard-hit regions to conduct rescue operations, clear blocked roadways, and assess the full scope of property damage.

    Officials have not yet released detailed information about the victim who lost their life in the storm event, but have emphasized that dangerous conditions will persist as additional weather systems move into the region. Residents in flood-prone and high-risk zones have been advised to stock up on emergency supplies, monitor official weather alerts closely, and follow evacuation orders immediately if issued by local authorities. The National Weather Service has also noted that the ongoing pattern of unstable atmospheric conditions across the Midwest creates a high risk of repeated severe thunderstorms, flash flooding, and damaging wind events through the end of the week.

  • US says helicopter fired missiles to disable ship breaking Iran blockade

    US says helicopter fired missiles to disable ship breaking Iran blockade

    Escalating tensions in the Middle East have taken two sharp new turns this week, as the United States Central Command (Centcom) confirmed it carried out a missile strike on a commercial cargo ship attempting to violate Washington’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports, while an Iran-backed militant group in Yemen launched the first deadly attack on shipping in the Red Sea since regional hostilities erupted earlier this year.

    In an official statement released this week, Centcom announced that an MH-60 military helicopter launched two Hellfire missiles at the Panama-flagged bulk carrier M/V Vela Nova on Tuesday, targeting the vessel’s engine room as it traversed the Gulf of Oman. The strike was carried out after the ship’s civilian crew disregarded multiple repeated warnings from U.S. naval forces deployed in the region, according to Centcom. Following the attack, the vessel abandoned its course and is no longer en route to an Iranian port, the command confirmed.

    The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remains in full force, months after a regional war erupted between Israel, backed by the U.S., and Iran, which began on February 28. Diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire and end the conflict have so far failed to produce a lasting agreement. After the latest ceasefire collapsed in June, direct exchanges of fire between U.S. and Iranian forces have become an almost daily occurrence in the Gulf. Centcom’s update on Tuesday noted that since the blockade was implemented, as of August 11, U.S. forces have redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to bypass the restrictions, disabled three non-compliant ships, and boarded two others to enforce the order.

    Iran has responded aggressively to the U.S.-led blockade and the ongoing war, launching retaliatory strikes against Israel and U.S. allied states across the Gulf region. Most critically, Tehran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most vital chokepoint for global energy supplies. Before the outbreak of hostilities, roughly 20% of the world’s total oil and liquefied natural gas shipments transited the strait daily. Since the closure, global energy markets have seen extreme and ongoing price volatility, with costs swinging wildly in response to every new development in the conflict. International mediators from multiple neutral nations have spent months attempting to negotiate a deal to reopen the waterway, but no breakthrough has been achieved to date. Iran has not yet issued any public comment on the Tuesday strike against the Vela Nova.

    In a separate but connected development Tuesday, the internationally recognized government of Yemen announced that six people were killed and 10 others injured in an attack carried out by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement on a cargo ship transiting the Red Sea. The Houthi group quickly claimed responsibility for the strike, stating that the targeted vessel was carrying military equipment bound for Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the region. This attack marks the first time the Houthi movement has caused fatalities in a shipping attack in the Red Sea since the regional war began in February, raising new fears that hostilities will spread beyond the Gulf and disrupt another critical global shipping lane.

  • Inside the Secret Service ‘shell game’ to hide US presidents in plain sight

    Inside the Secret Service ‘shell game’ to hide US presidents in plain sight

    In early July, following the NATO summit hosted in Ankara, Turkey, a dramatic and little-known security maneuver unfolded that has now drawn fresh attention to the lengths U.S. Secret Service agents go to protect the sitting American president. On July 8, Donald Trump boarded the iconic Boeing 747 Air Force One in full view of broadcast cameras, but by the time the aircraft departed Turkish airspace, the president was nowhere on board. According to multiple security and intelligence sources, Trump was secretly smuggled off the plane via an on-board catering truck before departure, and transferred to a smaller C-32A – the military-modified variant of the Boeing 757 – which then carried him to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. The passengers who remained on the original Air Force One were unknowing decoys, with no advance indication that the president had already left the aircraft.

    This extraordinary aircraft switch is far from a one-off security trick, experts on presidential protection explain. Deception has long been a core pillar of U.S. Secret Service operations designed to confuse potential adversaries targeting the commander-in-chief. “That’s very common,” noted Ronald Kessler, an acclaimed author who has extensively covered the Secret Service’s operations and history. “There’s a long history of strategies to mislead anybody who might be trying to harm the president.”

    Smaller-scale deception tactics are already a routine part of presidential travel, even within the United States. Robert McDonald, a retired senior Secret Service agent who served on presidential protection details during the George W. Bush administration, explained that decoy assets are integrated into nearly every presidential movement. For example, presidential motorcades – which often include more than 30 security, support, press and emergency vehicles – almost always carry two identical “Beasts”, the heavily armored presidential limousine. One carries the president, while the second acts as a decoy, and the two frequently switch positions out of public view, such as under highway overpasses or in tunnel sections. “It’s what we call a shell game,” McDonald explained. “Even when we traveled from Washington D.C. to Joint Base Andrews, those two limousines would change position out of sight of anyone outside the motorcade. Different things are used to mix up the bad guy.” The order of vehicles in the motorcade is also regularly shuffled en route to obscure the president’s location from potential threats.

    The same logic applies to air travel: Marine One, the presidential helicopter, almost always travels in a formation of three identical craft, with the helicopters switching positions mid-flight to prevent hostile actors from identifying which craft carries the president. For high-risk international trips, far more elaborate deception plans are prepped and can be activated at a moment’s notice.

    Paul Eckloff, another former Secret Service agent, told BBC World Service’s *Newshour* that while full aircraft switches are not a daily occurrence, they are a permanent contingency option for executive protection teams. “When the president travels to war zones, there are frequently tactics and techniques used to create doubt in an adversary of which aircraft or which movement that he’s going to make,” he said.

    This tactic has a well-documented history in high-stakes presidential travel. In March 2000, then-President Bill Clinton flew from India to Islamabad, Pakistan, aboard an unmarked executive jet, which landed only after a decoy jet painted with full Air Force One markings touched down first. Three years later, the White House publicly announced that George W. Bush would spend Thanksgiving at his Texas ranch, only for the president to arrive secretly in Baghdad aboard a blacked-out Air Force One. More recently, in 2023, Joe Biden was quietly transported into Ukraine with only a skeleton press contingent of one reporter and one photographer, with the full details of the trip kept secret until he was safely on the ground. In all three cases, reporters aware of the plan agreed to hold their reporting until the operation was complete to protect the president’s safety.

    To date, the exact nature of the threat that prompted the Ankara deception remains undisclosed. The Secret Service has declined to comment on the incident, while the White House has neither confirmed nor denied the maneuver, only stating that it “uses every tool available to protect the president.”

    Security experts note that while comprehensive contingency plans are drafted for every presidential trip, the Secret Service maintains the flexibility to improvise tactics when new intelligence emerges, particularly when traveling abroad. According to McDonald, the decision to deploy such an extraordinary measure indicates that the threat was deemed serious by multiple U.S. security agencies. “That tells me that the threat level in Turkey was relatively substantial and quite high,” he said. “The president’s staff, the Secret Service and the White House Military Office were almost certainly immediately alerted, got together in a room, reviewed the intelligence, and put together a plan to negate the threat.”

    That assessment is shared by Marc Polymeropoulos, a 26-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency who oversaw clandestine operations across the globe and served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The key part of this is the nature of the threat, and what was so severe that the Secret Service would put forth such a deception operation,” he said. Polymeropoulos raised one key unresolved question: whether U.S. intelligence and government officials had a duty to warn the passengers who remained on the decoy Air Force One of the potential threat. “Let’s say the plane was blown out of the sky, and we knew about it,” he said. “If we know a terrorist group is going to attack a target, we warn relevant parties to prevent civilian casualties. That precedent raises questions about this case.”

    It remains unclear just how much danger the passengers on the original Air Force One faced, or if they faced any danger at all. Reporters on board the decoy aircraft noted that they were repeatedly instructed to keep their window blinds closed – a measure McDonald says is not unusual, and was intended to protect all passengers on the flight. “A large plane flying overhead where somebody could see it, with the shades up and windows illuminated, could tell somebody that it’s a particular type of aircraft,” he explained. “I appreciate the need for transparency, but [the passengers] are also part of the movement. We’ve got to make sure that you and everybody gets home safe.”

    McDonald added that the Secret Service is under no legal obligation to disclose potential threats or detail active protection operations to the public or even to non-cleared passengers, with any decision to release information resting with the White House and other senior agencies. “The Secret Service is not in the business of public relations,” he said. “We’re very good at keeping secrets, as our name says. Everybody doesn’t need to know everything.”

  • Looking to see the solar eclipse from North America? Here’s where and when to catch a sliver

    Looking to see the solar eclipse from North America? Here’s where and when to catch a sliver

    After back-to-back blockbuster total solar eclipses that drew millions of skywatchers across North America in 2017 and 2024, the cosmic spotlight has shifted to Europe for this week’s highly anticipated celestial event.

    On Wednesday, a total solar eclipse will carve a path across parts of the Northern Hemisphere, bringing the rare phenomenon of midday darkness to regions that have not experienced totality in more than two decades. Totality will first touch down near the North Pole before tracking southeast across Greenland, Iceland, mainland Spain, and a small section of northern Portugal. At maximum duration, the total phase of the eclipse will last just a couple of minutes at any given location — far shorter than the nearly four-and-a-half-minute maximum totality that crossed North America in April 2024. Even so, this event marks the first time a total solar eclipse has been visible from continental Europe since 1999, with the next longer totality set to cross Spain, North Africa and the Middle East in August 2026.

    While the full total phase is restricted to the European path of the eclipse, skywatchers in far northern parts of the United States and Canada will still have the opportunity to view a partial eclipse, when the moon will appear to take a visible “bite” out of the sun’s surface. NASA has released detailed viewing information for major population centers across North America, outlining local start, peak, and end times, along with the expected percentage of the sun covered by the moon.

    Among the cities included in NASA’s data, St. Johns in Newfoundland and Labrador will see the most significant partial eclipse, with 53% of the sun obscured at peak, which is scheduled for 3:35 p.m. local time. Anchorage, Alaska, follows with an expected 28% coverage at 8:21 a.m. local time, while Bangor, Maine, will see 24% coverage peaking at 1:53 p.m. Montreal, Quebec, will observe an 18% partial eclipse at 1:45 p.m., with other centers seeing smaller coverage percentages: New York City at 9% (peak 1:54 p.m.), Toronto at 8% (peak 1:40 p.m.), Philadelphia at 7% (peak 1:53 p.m.), Winnipeg at 5% (peak 12:02 p.m.), Washington, D.C. at 4% (peak 1:53 p.m.), and Detroit at 3% (peak 1:36 p.m.).

    North American skywatchers waiting for another coast-to-coast total eclipse will need to be patient: the next total solar eclipse stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast of the contiguous United States will not occur until 2045. NASA reminds all skywatchers that even during a partial eclipse, looking directly at the sun without certified solar viewing glasses can cause permanent eye damage, so proper safety precautions are required for anyone planning to observe the event.

    This reporting is produced by the Associated Press Health and Science Department, which receives educational funding support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP retains full editorial control over all content.

  • Miss Universe Canada contestants apologise for wearing indigenous dress

    Miss Universe Canada contestants apologise for wearing indigenous dress

    The 2026 Miss Universe Canada pageant has become the center of a national debate over cultural appropriation, after two contestants drew widespread criticism for wearing designs that borrowed sacred and culturally significant elements from Indigenous communities. The controversy unfolded during the competition’s annual national costume segment, which requires participants to showcase looks inspired by Canadian history, traditions and national heritage.

    Contestant Karisa Haverkamp stepped onto the stage in a look centered on a feathered headdress — a garment traditionally reserved for highly respected Indigenous leaders across North America — alongside a red handprint painted across her face, a symbol widely used to show solidarity with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement. The second contestant, Jasleen Kaily, presented an outfit themed “Arctic Beauty” that featured a full fur dress, traditional fur boots called mukluks, and two styled braids, a hairstyle that carries deep cultural meaning for many First Nations peoples across Canada.

    After public backlash erupted over the costumes, both contestants issued public apologies acknowledging the harm their outfits caused. “I acknowledge and recognise that my outfit for the national costume caused hurt and offence to people in the indigenous community,” Haverkamp wrote in an Instagram post, adding, “I appreciate what I have learned from this experience.” Kaily echoed the apology, noting that while her goal had been to honor and celebrate one of Canada’s First Peoples, she never intended to misrepresent or disrespect Indigenous culture.

    The pageant’s organizing body also released an initial statement, saying, “If any costume caused offence, hurt, or misunderstanding, please know that it was never our intention.” But the response failed to satisfy Ashley Callingbull, a former Miss Universe Canada winner and a Plains Cree woman from the Enoch Cree Nation, who was co-hosting the competition’s final event. Callingbull interrupted the live broadcast to publicly address the controversy, saying, “It’s 2026, we should know better.” Callingbull, who was not present when the costumes were shown and first saw footage of the segment after the fact, explicitly labeled the designs an act of cultural appropriation against Indigenous peoples.

    Speaking later to CBC Indigenous, Callingbull shared her shock at seeing the costumes on stage. “This cannot be real. I just couldn’t get over that this was happening,” she said. “Who allowed this on stage? Who approved this? Anything traditional or sacred should not be allowed. I was very, very upset.”

    Following Callingbull’s intervention, pageant leadership took additional accountability. Director Sonny Borrelli accepted full responsibility for the oversight, saying, “We will learn from it, we will make it better, we will make it right.” Organizers have since announced concrete changes to prevent similar missteps in future competitions: a new comprehensive costume guide will be introduced to establish clear standards and expectations for all contestants, and Callingbull — who made history as the first First Nations woman to win the Miss Universe Canada title — has been invited to serve as the official liaison for the national costume segment moving forward.

    Callingbull praised organizers for their willingness to engage with criticism and implement change, framing the moment as a step forward for reconciliation. “A part of reconciliation is that we educate and learn and understand and move on from these things in a good way,” she said, adding that the new framework would “make sure that everyone is going to be respected and honoured properly.”

    This is not the first time Miss Universe Canada has faced criticism for cultural appropriation in the national costume segment. Back in 2015, contestant Paola Nunuz Valdez wore a totem pole-themed costume, which both she and organizers later clarified was intended to reference her Dominican heritage, with the organization calling the backlash a misunderstanding. Even then, Callingbull publicly recommended that the pageant hire a permanent cultural consultant to review designs before they reach the stage, a suggestion that is now being implemented a decade later through the new liaison role.

  • Anne Hathaway pokes fun at ‘fake baby bump’ theories

    Anne Hathaway pokes fun at ‘fake baby bump’ theories

    When A-list Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway stepped onto the red carpet for the Los Angeles premiere of her upcoming feature *The End of Oak Street* on Sunday, her bold maternity outfit quickly became the center of a heated social media debate — and the 43-year-old star has not shied away from responding to unfounded criticism.

    Hathaway, who announced she is expecting her third child with husband Adam Shulman back in June, turned heads in a head-turning custom ensemble: a sculptural high-low halter crop top from Atelier Prabal Gurung paired with low-rise La Ligne jeans and bold red Aquazzura stilettos. The look, designed to deliberately show off her growing pregnant belly, was described by designer Prabal Gurung as a “sculptural high-low halter top with a cascading train.” Almost immediately after photos of the appearance spread across social platforms, a wave of skeptical comments flooded comment sections, with users questioning the authenticity of her bump, claiming it looked unnatural and fake. Beyond doubting her pregnancy, other critics attacked the outfit itself, dismissing it as tacky, ridiculous, and bizarre.

    It did not take long for Hathaway to respond directly to the negativity. On her personal Instagram, the actress shared an inside look at her day getting ready for the premiere and walking the red carpet, captioning the clip, “Fake hair, real bump. Enjoy The @endofoakstreet Block Party chaos with my outfit literally melts in the heat!!” The sharp, playful response put an end to any lingering speculation and aligned with Hathaway’s long public history of advocating for body positivity and women’s autonomy over their own bodies.

    The incident has sparked broader conversations online and in media circles about the endless public scrutiny of celebrity women, particularly during pregnancy. While a subset of social media users joined the criticism, many other public figures, fans, and industry commentators rushed to Hathaway’s defense. One viral social media comment put the debate in perspective, writing, “A lot of people in these comments have never seen a pregnant belly on someone who has abs.” Another called out the overreach of public judgment, asking, “Can women exist, damn?”

    Mainstream fashion and entertainment outlets have also weighed in to support the actress, framing her choice as a radical act of self-acceptance. In an op-ed for *Vogue*, writers argued that the public still needs to learn a basic lesson: a woman’s pregnant body is no one’s business but her own. “What if, instead, we celebrated the fact that a woman’s body is doing something amazing, rather than telling her that she looks shameful, fake, ‘over the top’ or ‘awful and a bit weird’? Now that really would be radical,” the piece read.

    Charlotte Cripps of *The Independent* echoed this sentiment, noting that while the outfit may not be to the taste of Hathaway’s online critics, it serves as a powerful public statement. “It might be an outfit that her social media critics wouldn’t be seen dead in, but it’s a clear message of body positivity, strength, and gender equality – and it’s her unique expression of the next chapter of her life,” Cripps wrote. The Telegraph’s Rebecca Cope added that the look is just one more example of modern celebrities choosing to reject outdated red carpet expectations, “literally letting it all hang out” on their own terms.

    Beyond the debate over body autonomy, Hathaway’s appearance has also driven a surge of public interest in her subtle beauty look for the event, specifically her viral “coconut water” manicure that has already started trending among fashion followers. This red carpet appearance is just the latest in a busy summer of press for Hathaway, who has already toured premieres for another upcoming project, *The Odyssey*, with stops in London in early July and New York City mid-July, where she wore more traditional elegant maternity red carpet looks. For this latest appearance, however, Hathaway chose to break the mold — and in doing so, has reignited a long-overdue conversation about who gets to judge a woman’s body.

  • Russia releases former US Marine reported in poor health

    Russia releases former US Marine reported in poor health

    In a high-profile cross-border humanitarian move that draws direct attention to U.S.-Russia detainee relations, Moscow has freed a former American Marine who had been imprisoned on Russian soil since 2022, after reports emerged that his health had deteriorated to a life-threatening state. The released man, Robert Gilman, a 30-year-old native of Massachusetts, was cleared for release “from detention for humanitarian reasons” according to Kirill Dmitriev, special envoy for Russian President Vladimir Putin. By Tuesday, Gilman was already en route to Washington, D.C. aboard a U.S. government aircraft, Dmitriev confirmed.

    Gilman was first taken into Russian custody in 2022 at the age of 28. At the time of his arrest, he was intoxicated while traveling on a train bound for Moscow, and faced charges for assaulting a local police officer during the incident. In the weeks leading up to his release, his health declined sharply, prompting urgent intervention from U.S. political leaders. Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, who had advocated for Gilman’s release, shared grave details of his condition on social media prior to the announcement: before the release, Gilman was “essentially catatonic” while fighting a severe case of pneumonia, Markey reported. Around 50 days before his freedom, Gilman received a diagnosis of dissociative stupor, a neurological condition that left him unresponsive, unable to interact with others, and incapable of eating independently, Markey added. As of the release announcement, Markey noted that full details of Gilman’s current stable health status were still emerging.

    Multiple medical professionals have been assigned to care for Gilman during his flight back to U.S. territory, Reuters confirmed. A senior unnamed U.S. official told reporters that initial assessments show “he seems to be in good shape” after the transfer. Per CBS News, the U.S. news partner of the BBC, Gilman’s family has gathered at a military medical facility in Texas to await his arrival for ongoing treatment.

    In a public statement following the release, Gilman’s sister Lexie Hudson credited former U.S. President Donald Trump for securing her brother’s freedom. “I am so grateful to President Trump for saving my brother’s life,” Hudson said. “There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action.”