The office of US Senator Dianne Feinstein has confirmed that the California Democrat was suffering worse health complications from a recent shingles case than she had previously claimed. A spokesperson for Sen Feinstein, 89, told CNN Ms Feinstein, the Senate’s oldest lawmaker, experienced Ramsay Hunt syndrome and encephalitis as part of the diagnosis. “While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome,” the spokesperson said on Thursday. Ramsay Hunt syndrome can occur when a case of shingles affects the facial nerve close to the eye, sometimes causing facial paralysis and hearing loss, according to the Mayo Clinic. Earlier in the day, Sen Feinstein claimed to CNN she didn’t have encephalitis, saying, “It was really a bad flu.” The California senator’s health and mental fitness have long been subjects of scrutiny. Some of her colleagues have called on her to resign. She returned to the Senate last week after being absent for 10 weeks as she recovered from shingles. Upon returning to the Senate, Sen Feinstein told reporters that she had never left. “No, I haven’t been gone,” she said to LA Times’s Ben Oreskes when asked how her Senate colleagues have responded to her return, reported Slate. Mr Oreskes then asked her whether she had been working from home. “No, I’ve been here. I’ve been voting,” she said. “Please, you either know or don’t know.” The absence of Sen Feinstein halted the work of the Senate judiciary committee, where Republicans demanded the California Democrat either return to work or resign from the Senate, rather than allow a temporary replacement. The infighting halted the confirmation of federal judges, one of the main ways Democrats can cement their influence in a divided Congress. As The Independent has reported, Sen Feinstein is part of a generation of elderly leaders at the top of the US political system, leading critics to argue more should be done to make elected office accessible to young people. The present Congress contains the second-oldest Senate and third-oldest House in US history. Generationally, the US population fits roughly into four, equal-sized blocks of about 20 to 25 per cent: ages 0 to 18, 19 to 34, 35 to 54, and 55-plus. The composition of Congress, meanwhile, is drastically tipped toward the elder part of that range, with the median House member aged 57.9 and the median senator aged 65.3. According to Professor Munger, Kevin Munger, assistant professor of political science and social data analytics at Pennsylvania State University, author of Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture, the age of America’s most senior politicians – Sen Chuck Schumer is 71, Sen Mitch McConnell is 81 – often means that issues that matter to other generations don’t get top billing, leading both to disaffection and to bigger-picture existential issues, like a lack of serious climate legislation or the impending funding crisis of social security. “It’s been clear that because of the size of the boomer generation, at a certain point, we were either going to have to raise taxes on the workforce or cut the benefits,” he said. “We didn’t do either of those things. Sometime in the 2030s, it’s going to run out. They’re not going to cut benefits to boomers. Instead, younger generations are going to have to fully fund this obvious 30-year shortfall.” In the case of social security in particular, many of the leaders deciding on the issue are current recipients, while those younger generations who will likely pay more or get less in the future aren’t represented in office. A similar problem arises with climate change: the leaders holding up urgent action on the climate likely will not be alive to see the very worst impacts of their inaction. “The issues that matter to younger generations don’t get on the agenda at all,” Prof Munger added. Read More Dianne Feinstein’s decline is heartbreaking and difficult to discuss — but we can’t avoid it Democrats have behaved shamefully around Dianne Feinstein and Republicans are taking advantage The danger of America’s ageing politicians Diane Feinstein denies she was ever absent from US Senate California lawmakers block bill allowing people to sue oil companies over health problems Feinstein's office details previously unknown complications from shingles illness

Cam Whitmore has had an incredibly productive Summer League. Did the Houston Rockets get the steal of the draft with Whitmore at No. 20?On draft night, most projected Cam Whitmore to be a top-10 pick. However, the 18-year-old Villanova standout took a huge dip on the draft boards.Eventually,...

A priest pays tribute to the man who died after an explosion while he was working in Bunbeg.

Cities including Phoenix and El Paso are expected to see an unusually long stretch of intense heat.

In the 1840s, Ada Lovelace wrote the world’s first machine algorithm for an early computer that existed only on paper.

If the Chicago Bulls decide to trade Zach LaVine, here are three avenues that feel mutually beneficial.With under three minutes left in the final Eastern Conference play-in game, the Chicago Bulls led the Miami Heat. We know how that story ended: Miami came back, sent Chicago packing, and rocket...

Elliot Page is sharing a lot in his new memoir.

Australia's Travis Head marked his World Cup bow with a century after he and fellow opener David Warner blitzed...

One person is dead and seven others have been injured after a rollercoaster derailed in Sweden. The horror unfolded at the Grona Lund amusement park in Stockholm when the Jetline roller coaster partially came off the tracks mid-ride. Emergency services including a helicopter, ambulances and fire engines were seen arriving soon after the incident on Sunday. Police confirmed seven people, including both children and adults, had been hospitalised. One of the ride’s carriages was reportedly seen coming off the rails at a “great height” before falling towards the ground. Journalist with Swedish broadcaster SVT, Jenny Lagerstedt, happened to be at the park with her family and said her husband witnessed the horror take place. “My husband, who was sitting outside, saw how a carriage came loose and fell from a great height, and that there were people in it,” she told local media. Another witness told Swedish outlet Expessen that he saw the rollercoaster’s wheels come off. The injured and uninjured passengers who were stuck in other carriages had to be removed from the ride with the help of rescue crews. The park has been evacuated while emergency services tend to the injured. Head of information at the park Annika Troselius, said the full extent of the injuries and damage to the rollercoaster was unclear. “It is incredibly tragic and shocking. Unfortunately, we have received the news that one person has died and that several others are injured,” she said. “This must not happen and it should not happen. We are all very taken and shocked and are currently focusing on taking care of all those affected and our staff.” Grona Lund’s website now includes a black banner which acknowledges that a “serious accident has taken place on the Jetline”. The Jetline reaches speeds of 90kmh and is 30m high at its peak. Read More Roller coaster derails in amusement park in Sweden, killing 1 person and injuring several others Alton Towers crash victim shares inspirational video documenting journey over eight years since ‘life flipped’ A routine chiropractor visit left her paralysed at 28. One year on, this is what her mother wants you to see Soldiers accuse Wagner chief of ‘walking off’ after Putin deal Watch: Wagner convoy leaves Voronezh region after Putin deal Time running out for Spain to deal with its darkest chapter

After news of Eric Smith's hospitalization came to light, claims of him being affected by the Covid-19 vaccine started floating on the Internet

There are plenty of names in the swim game, but when an intimates brand doggy paddles its way into these waters, it makes us very excited. Parade — which you likely know from its size-inclusive, ultra-comfortable, and cheerful bras and underwear — has graced us with equally colorful swimsuits, available in sizes XS through 3XL for the summer. Among the brand’s signature colors are a few fresh colorways, such as a sea blue, deep orange, bright yellow, and palm green. The tropical palette is available in a range of bikini separates that can be mixed and matched as well as some unique one-piece swimsuits and funky coverups.

An entire family including a newborn baby girl and her 12-year-old brother were among seven people killed during intense Russian shelling in a village in southern Kherson on Sunday. Russian shells hit the village of Shiroka Balka, on the banks of the Dnieper River, and killed a family that included a husband, wife, 12-year-old boy and 23-day-old baby girl, Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry said. Another resident was also killed, as well as two men in the neighbouring village of Stanislav. Ukraine’s interior minister Igor Klymenko said the shells hit the family’s home in Shiroka Balka, adding: "Terrorists must be stopped. They must be stopped by force. They don't understand anything else." A photo shared by Mr Klymenko on Telegram showed plumes of smoke rising from the family's home in the aftermath of the attack. Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year. But the Ukrainian forces are said to be making gains against the Russian invaders. Ukrainian military officials this weekend claimed that Kyiv's forces had made progress in the south, with some success near a key village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and capturing other unspecified territories. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s forces are trying to pierce Russian lines in the western parts of the Donetsk region, where waves of Ukrainian fighters were used to gain a foothold to the east of the town of Staromaiorske, according to a Russian-installed official in parts of Zaporizhzhia controlled by Moscow. The official, Vladimir Rogov, also claimed there had been intense fighting south of Velyka Novosilka as Ukrainian troops try to pierce Russian lines to push down to the coast on the Sea of Azov. Mr Rogov said: "The enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest battles for this settlement." He added that Russian soldiers still controlled the southern part of Urozhaine and that Ukrainian forces were clearly aiming to take control of the town of Staromlynivka further south. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June, attempting to retake swathes of territory captured by Russia in the south and east of the country. It has so far recaptured several villages in the south and some territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east. Meanwhile, a Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards. This is the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month. Russia in July halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea and Moscow cautioned that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons. Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. Russia said the vessel was making its way towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail. Refinitiv shipping data showed the ship was currently near the coast of Bulgaria and heading towards the Romanian port of Sulina. "To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministry said, adding that its forces boarded the vessel with the help of a Ka-29 helicopter. "After the inspection group completed its work on board, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail," the defence ministry said. A Turkish defence ministry official said he had heard an incident had taken place involving a ship heading for Romania. A spokesman for Ukraine's defence ministry said officials had no details about the incident yet but that it was "clearly another hostile act" by Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff claimed that panic is growing among the Russian forces amid a growing number of desertions, the Kyiv Post reported. It claimed Moscow military officials conducting house-to-house searches for deserters in Hornostaivka in the Kherson region. Drinking and drug use among newly-conscripted troops has also increased with individuals leaving their positions and hiding in abandoned buildings, it said. Read More Russia fires warning shots at ‘Ukraine-bound’ international cargo ship in Black Sea 7 killed in Ukraine's Kherson region, including a 23-day-old baby girl Yes, inflation is down. No, the Inflation Reduction Act doesn't deserve the credit The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary