Author: Lucas Bennett

A powerful new synthetic drug known as flakka has been spreading rapidly across parts of the United States and has been reported in Australia and potentially parts of Europe, prompting serious concern among law enforcement and health officials about its extreme and sometimes deadly effects. The substance, which gets its street nickname “gravel” from its appearance as small colourful crystals resembling decorative aquarium stones, belongs to the same chemical family as the bath salts drugs that made international headlines several years ago. It can be snorted, smoked, injected or swallowed, making it accessible through multiple methods of consumption. The behavioural…

Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio used a speech in Detroit to set out his case for a sweeping overhaul of the American tax system, arguing that the kind of pro-business reforms he is proposing could breathe new life into cities that have struggled through years of economic decline. Speaking before a packed audience of business and political leaders at the Detroit Economic Club, the Florida senator described the city as the perfect backdrop for a conversation about building a new American economy, pointing to Detroit’s recent rebound as evidence of what can be achieved under pro-growth leadership. Rubio outlined a…

American airlines collected more than $38 billion in charges on top of base ticket prices in 2014, according to a new report from the minority staff of the Senate Commerce Committee, which found that passengers are routinely kept in the dark about the true cost of their travel until it is too late to make informed decisions. The report, released following pressure from constituents contacting members of Congress, identified a range of practices that senators say make it extremely difficult for travellers to accurately compare the full cost of flights before purchasing. Among the most striking findings was that the…

A giant sinkhole swallowed a car, a towable caravan and a motorhome at a popular Queensland beach campsite on Saturday night, forcing the emergency evacuation of around 300 people in scenes that left witnesses shaken. The hole opened gradually at Inskip Point at around 10.30pm local time, giving campers enough time to get clear before it reached its full extent. Initial assessments estimated the sinkhole to be approximately 325 feet wide and around 10 feet deep — larger than a football field — though authorities warned it could continue to grow. No injuries were reported and all persons at the…

The question of what wiped out the woolly mammoth has been debated for decades, but a closer look at recent research reveals that headlines claiming climate warming drove the animals to extinction may be telling only part of the story — and in some cases, telling it backwards. A study published in Science, titled “Abrupt Warming Events Drove Late Pleistocene Holarctic Megafaunal Turnover,” was widely reported as evidence that rising temperatures were responsible for the disappearance of mammoths and other large prehistoric animals. National Geographic, Democratic Underground and several other outlets ran headlines pointing to warming as the primary cause.…

CD Projekt Red has revealed that its upcoming Witcher 3 expansion will be comparable in size to the entirety of The Witcher 2, offering players a substantial new chapter in Geralt’s story rather than a brief add-on. The expansion, titled Hearts of Stone, is a ten-hour adventure that sends the series’ protagonist into a dangerous region known as No Man’s Land, where he takes on a contract for a mysterious figure called the Man of Glass. The scale of the content has drawn significant attention from fans of the series, many of whom had expected post-launch additions to be considerably…

A memorial service at Westminster Abbey will bring together more than 2,000 guests to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, in which over 8,370 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were systematically killed by Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995. The service, organised by UK charitable initiative Remembering Srebrenica, will see twenty candles lit in honour of the victims, with the President of the Mothers of Srebrenica association, Munira Subasic, sharing her personal testimony before the congregation. The United Nations has described the massacre as the worst crime committed on European soil since the Second World War. Prime Minister…

An ice cream product bearing the name and image of Adolf Hitler has been found on sale across India, drawing condemnation from Jewish communities and international observers who say it reflects a significant gap in Holocaust education across the country. The product, sold as Hitler-branded ice cream cones, features an unsmiling image of the Nazi dictator dressed in military uniform printed on its packaging. According to reports, the cones are available nationwide rather than being limited to a specific region, suggesting the brand has achieved widespread commercial distribution. Commentators have pointed out that the use of Hitler’s name and likeness…

President Donald Trump has issued a stark public warning to Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, threatening severe military consequences if any mines are found in the critical waterway and are not immediately removed. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday evening, Trump demanded that any mines placed in the strait be cleared without delay, warning that failure to do so would result in military action at a scale he described as never seen before. “If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want…

American electronics importers facing shipment detentions and seizures at the border will gain new procedural rights under a rule change that came into effect in October, following widespread industry concern about delays and a lack of transparency in the existing process. The updated regulations, issued as a final rule by US Customs and Border Protection effective October 19, 2015, introduce several key changes to how detention and seizure cases are handled. Manufacturers will now be permitted to play a greater role in helping customs officials verify the authenticity of detained products, while importers will be able to request samples or…