Companies with plants and factories that are only served by one railroad may soon be able to get a bid from another railroad if their current service is bad enough

Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov doesn't view himself as a predictor of the future. But he said his International Booker Prize-winning dystopian novel...

Doja Cat is facing a backlash after speaking out about the practice of pop stars’ obsessive fan bases using collective nicknames to describe themselves. Taylor Swift has the "Swifties", Ariana Grande has the "Arianators" and Lady Gaga has the "Little Monsters". And until recently, Doja Cat had the "Kittenz". However, in a now-deleted post on social media platform Threads, the pop star said: “My fans don’t name themselves s***. If you call yourself a ‘kitten’ or f***ing ‘kittenz’ that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house.” The backlash was strong and immediate, in the latest instance of hordes of devoted fans getting just a teensy bit too invested in what musicians say and do. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter One of her fan accounts, The Kittenz Web, said: “Just delete the entire account and rethink everything. It’s never too late.” Another fan on Twitter said: “Imagine telling your fans to get a job when they are the ones that buy your music, merch and concert tickets.” Another asked on Threads if she could tell her fans that she loves them. Doja Cat replied: “I don’t though cuz I don’t even know y’all.” One fan hit back: “And we don’t know you. But we have supported you through thick and thin. Mind you, you’d be nothing without us.” But Doja wasn’t having it. She said: “Nobody forced you. IDK why you’re talking to me like you’re my mother... You sound like a crazy person.” The singer eventually deleted her account on the platform following the backlash. It’s not the first time 27-year-old Doja Cat, whose real name is Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, has been forced to stand up for herself in the face of fanatical social media followers. She was previously accused of blocking people who weighed in on her relationship with Twitch streamer J Cyrus. “I DONT GIVE A F**K WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT MY PERSONAL LIFE,” she wrote on Instagram. “I NEVER HAVE AND NEVER WILL GIVE A F**K WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT ME OR MY PERSONAL LIFE.” Meanwhile Doja Cat fan pages like Doja HQ, The Kittens Room and Doja Cat News have all deactivated their accounts since the most recent incident. The Grammy award winning musician is expected to release her fourth studio album later this year. According to reports, that will likely steer away from the pop music she has previously released and draw more from hip-hop and R&B. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The suspect is accused of pushing two women into a ravine at Neuschwanstein Castle and raping one of them.

Italy has begun removing the names of gay mothers from their children’s birth certificates, as part of the right-wing government’s crackdown on same-sex parenting. The move comes after populist prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition announced in March that state agencies should no longer register the children of same-sex couples, a move that sparked protests in Milan. Families have begun receiving letters from the state prosecutor, with PinkNews reporting that 27 parents in the northern city of Padua have been issued notices that they were being removed from their child’s birth certificate. Other families have received letters in Milan, Florence and Fiumicino, near Rome. Michael Leidi and her wife Viola were reportedly among one of the three lesbian couples to be targeted by the crackdown, with Ms Leidi telling LGBTQ+ Nation that she “cried for 10 days” after receiving the letter. It informed them that the inclusion of Ms Leidi’s name was “contrary to public order”, as she was not the biological mother of the couple’s daughter Giulia, the site reported. The policy means only the recognised biological mother has parenting rights, and if she was to die, her children can be handed to relatives or taken into the state’s care. “It was as if I did not exist,” Ms Leidi told LGBTQ+ Nation. “I suspect the government is afraid that a family that looks different, like ours, can be happy - maybe even happier, sometimes - as a traditional family. “On paper, they say Guilia has one mother but we know she has two. We will do everything possible to prove we are a good family.” Speaking to the Daily Mail, Ms Leidi said that the couple had been together for 11 years and were both teachers of children with special needs. After Viola became pregnant through artificial insemination, their local mayor had signed Giulia’s birth certificate and had been “very supportive”. Despite this, they were recently sent a letter informing them of the changes to the birth certificate. It was followed by an unsuccessful legal attempt to overturn the removal of her name and a rejection by local judges of their bid to take the case to Italy’s Supreme Court. Italy’s first female prime minister had rallied against the ‘LGBT lobby’ and ‘gender ideology’ as part of her successful campaign last year to win power. Despite Ms Meloni comparing herself to British Conservatives and denying she is homophobic, her party rose to power with tough rhetoric against same-sex parenting and support for traditional families and moral values. In a recent speech, she said: “We want a nation in which – whatever each person’s legitimate choices and free inclinations may be – it is no longer a scandal to say we are all born from a man and a woman.” Her coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, of the far-right League party, had previously called gay parents “unnatural” while the government opposed a Brussels plan for a parenthood certificate that would be valid across the EU. In 2016, Italy’s former centre-left government legalised same-sex civil unions, however stopped short from issuing full adoption rights following opposition from the Catholic church. Gay couples are forced to go abroad if they want children, as they are banned from accessing reproductive medical treatment such as IVF and surrogacy is also prohibited. Italian law does not rule if same-sex couples can both be recognised as parents on official certification, which meant local mayors were left to make the call based on their own personal views. However, now the message from the interior ministry to town halls is that such arrangements are illegal. This follows a Supreme Court ruling last December against a male same-sex couple who brought a child obtained through surrogacy into Italy. Pro-LGBTQ politicians have condemned the move, arguing that it is clearly discriminatory. Elly Scheink, the leader of the centre-Left party, who is also in a same-sex relationship, said: “These families are tired of being discriminated against. “We’re talking about boys and girls already growing up in our communities and going to schools.” Meanwhile, a poll last month found that two-thirds of Italians hold positive views on same-sex parenting and adoption, demonstrating a surge of support in recent years. Read More UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologizes for a previous ban on LGBTQ+ people in the military Russian lawmakers pass a bill outlawing gender-affirming procedures to protect 'traditional values' Thousands march at Budapest Pride as LGBTQ+ community voices anxiety over Hungary's restrictive laws Italy begins removing gay mothers from children’s birth certificates Six-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister drown in Texas river New drug to protect babies and toddlers from RSV gets FDA approval ahead of cold season

IShowSpeed recently went live on a streaming platform to prank call medical services

Back in March 2021, Merrick Garland pledged on his first day as attorney general a return to what he calls the “norms” of the Justice Department

Prosecutors say an American man has been charged with murder and other offenses for attacking two women from the U.S. near Neuschwanstein castle in Germany in June and pushing them into a ravine

Forecasters in Bermuda are warning of dangerous swells and rip currents as Hurricane Nigel spun through open waters in the northern Atlantic

Sheffield United paid a poignant tribute to Maddy Cusack ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match against Newcastle. The 27-year-old, who was the longest-serving player in the Blades’ women’s side and also worked in the club’s commercial department, died earlier this week. Boss Paul Heckingbottom said on Friday that the club were “suffering” following the tragic news and they paid a fitting tribute ahead of Sunday afternoon’s game at Bramall Lane. The Blades, who worked with Cusack’s family over how they could commemorate her, redesigned their matchday programme to put a picture of their midfielder on the front and the flag at Bramall Lane flew at half-mast. There was a eulogy read out, accompanied by a video tribute on the big screen, before kick-off, with United great Tony Currie and women’s captain Sophie Barker accompanying Cusack’s mum and sister when laying a wreath on the centre circle. United entered the pitch wearing shirts with Cusack’s name and number eight on the back and also wore black armbands, while club staff were dressed in black ties. There was a minute’s silence before kick-off, impeccably observed by all four sides of the ground, while Newcastle chief executive Amanda Staveley also laid flowers outside the stadium before the game. In the eighth minute fans stood for a minute’s applause to remember Cusack. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

A rabbi who survived the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history says he immediately recognized the sound of gunfire coming from elsewhere inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh that day and that he tried to get members of his congregation to safety

Frank Reich has coached long enough to know his rebuilding and injury-depleted Carolina Panthers had a narrow margin for error while playing at Seattle