SINGAPORE Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose 4.7% year-on-year in May, official data showed on Friday. The May

It’s not clear why cops and an ambulance were repeatedly called to Krystal Cascetta's home

Germany’s players expected they would have qualified for the knockout round by now at the Women’s World Cup because, well, they usually have

One year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and ended the enshrined right to seek an abortion, Christian conservatives convened in Washington DC to size up the GOP’s leading 2024 candidates. The Faith and Freedom Coalition held its Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton over the weekend, where every major Republican 2024 candidate appeared to try to win over the crucial evangelical wing of the party. Former president Donald Trump closed out the event on Saturday evening; former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former vice president Mike Pence; former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, Sen Tim Scott (R-SC), Florida Gov Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy also made their case to social conservatives. Last year’s Dobbs v Jackson decision has caused a split among Republicans. Some have said that the Supreme Court’s decision likely cost Republicans the opportunity to win the majority in the Senate as the GOP failed to flip a single seat, and Republicans only won a narrow majority in the House of Representatives. An NBC News poll showed that 61 per cent of Americans disapprove of the Dobbs decision, with 80 per cent of women between the ages of 18 and 49 and two-thirds of suburban women saying that they disapproved of it. But Republican candidates did not reflect any anxiety about the decision in their remarks to the crowd of Christian conservatives who consider abortion to be murder. “We have to start with tomorrow’s anniversary and thank God Almighty for the Dobbs decision,” Mr Scott said in his speech. “We are creating a culture of life in America, and that’s a really good thing.” Mr Pence, an ardent social conservative, said Dobbs was only the beginning. “Now some you will hear from at this very podium will say that the Supreme Court returned to the issue of abortion only to the states and nothing could be done at the federal level,” he said. He also criticised Republicans for saying some abortion legislation was “too harsh.” “Some have even gone on to blame the overturning of Roe v Wade for election losses in ‘22,” he said. “But let me say from my heart, the cause of life is the calling of our time and we must not rest and must not relent until we restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law in every state in this country.” In turn, Mr Pence called for passing a national 15-week abortion ban. But many attendees said they preferred to leave abortion to the states. “It’s a state issue, I think it ought to stay a state issue,” Gay Dillard told The Independent. Ms Haley called herself “unapologetically pro-life,” but said that people needed to not “demonise” the issue.” Ms Haley said she thought there was a place for a federal law restricting abortion, but noted it would require a House majority and 60 Senate seats to overcome a filibuster. As a result, she talked about reducing late-term abortions, focusing on adoption and foster care. “We have one goal: To save as many babies as possible and protect as many mothers as possible,” she said, something Ms Dillard repeated. “We need to just make sure we have enough support, emotionally, physically, financially, to support women who do choose,” she said. “So it’s not just about having, not having an abortion, it’s about if they keep their baby. We have to embrace them and help and help surround them.” Max Fisher, a candidate for state legislature in Virginia, said that the focus should be on increasing options. “So make sure that adoption is an option on the table and make sure that people have the information that they need to make sure that they’re not doing, like, you go to a bar and get drunk and then you make bad decisions,” he said. “It’s the same reason why you can’t get a tattoo when you’re drinking. Make sure that you have all of the information that you have available in order to make a well-educated choice for yourself from whether that’s adoption, whether or not as another decision, but that’s entirely up to the individual.” Despite the fact that Mr Trump nominated three of the Supreme Court justices in the majority on Dobbs, the former president has at times not fully embraced the anti-abortion decision. The “too harsh” criticism that Mr Pence cited was how Mr Trump characterised Mr DeSantis’s six-week abortion ban in Florida. In fact, Mr Trump refrained from supporting any new abortion restrictions during his closing address to the conference, but instead focused on attacking Democrats. “I will continue to stand proudly for pro-life policies just as I did for four strong years,” he said. “They are the radical extremists.” Ken Cuccinelli, who runs the Never Back Down Super PAC that supports Mr DeSantis, said the Florida governor is more sufficiently pro-life. “Well, for one, he has a central core belief system that supports faith and, and you can see it reflected in policies like his pro-life stance,” he told The Independent, noting how Mr DeSantis supported abortion restrictions as a member of Congress and implemented them as governor. “He signed the heartbeat bill, while the resident is condemning it. And that’s still the biggest issue here to these voters. And then the cultural battle that these voters care about.” But Mr Trump mentioned that his actions with judges will give Republicans more power. “You have tremendous negotiating power now,” he said. “We've now given pro-life people tremendous power to negotiate something that will be happy, that will be good for everybody and you have power for the first time.” Read More Trump news – live: Trump’s legal team handed over tapes to Jack Smith as MAGA loyalists turn on each other Trump takes credit for overturning of Roe v Wade while raising questions about DeSantis’ six-week ban Chris Christie defiant as conservative crowd boos Trump criticism Trump quietly changes political fundraising site to funnel funds toward legal woes Trump celebrates anniversary of anti-abortion ruling as he tells religious crowd ‘I’m getting indicted for you’ The religious right used to be uneasy about Trump – but his dominance is now complete

A Taylor Swift lookalike has come under fire for causing chaos when she went out in public pretending to be the pop star as part of an internet prank. Ashley Leechin - who has 1.6m followers on TikTok - sported a white top, blue jeans, accessorised with a red bag, red leather cap, and signature red lipstick in a look reminiscent of Swift's Red era. With several 'security guards' surrounding her, Leechin turned up to The Grove, a popular shopping mall in Los Angeles where she was swarmed by Swifties who believed they were seeing the Anti-Hero singer in the flesh. Leechin then showed up at Downtown Disney, the shopping district of Disneyland in Anaheim, California where she repeated the prank and appeared to fool members of the public. @paolaamarcella Yall think this was taylor? #viral #taylorswift #thegrove #fyp #losangeles The two instances were part of a prank video by YouTuber Victor Galvan (Vic In The Game) who has posted videos of similar stunts, with his latest video being a "Fake Bad Bunny prank.". Clips of Leechin being swarmed by fans quickly made rounds of social media, with people criticising her for pretending to be the popular musician out in public, calling the stunt "irresponsible," especially in light of fans recently congregating outside a restaurant where the real Taylor Swift was eating. One person wrote: "You guys are really irresponsible for doing this given the recent events and the likelihood of security concerns that could arise. Also, this is disgusting!" "This is such weird behavior," another person said. Someone else added: "How is this Ashley girl gonna say she did it because other celebrities hire dupes in the past??? Taylor didn’t hire you, you did it for attention." "Taylor should sue them or get a restraining order against that Ashley," a fourth person commented. Leechin has since responded to the negative online reaction and took to TikTok where she explained she collaborated with Galvan, so wasn't the one who hired the bodyguards, and described the stunt was a "social experiment." @noitisashley13 Sorry late post. ‘A day in the life of a celebrity’ - only because it was Taylor everyone is blowing this out of proportion. If it were anyone else, it would have had a completely different outcome. This is why celebrities would hire decoys so they can enjoy their private event or quiey evening. Thank you to everyone who was so kind & sweet yesterday. Not going squash any other rumors because that is pointless. Just a friendly reminder, please do not bully any of my friends. You can bully me because it seems to be an okay thing to do in the ‘swiftie’ fandom but please do not bully my friends because they were incredible to work with. #itsjustashley #vicinthegame #taylorswift "This social experiment was to live a day in the life of a celebrity to see what would happen if I went out looking like Taylor Swift and so from all the videos that you guys have seen [of] fans swarming, this goes to how far a fandom will go," she said. Leechin also said the stunt was a "positive experience," and added it "was not to be malicious it was not to mock anyone," but admitted the timing was "horrific" referring to Swift recently being swarmed by fans. "It was not a 'malicious act' by any means & I want everyone to know that words do not affect me," Leechin wrote in a recent Instagram Story. "Decoys have been hired multiple times by celebrities in the past (many more than just JLo & Ben [Affleck]). The massive amount of positivity I have received outweighs your negativity. "This really shows how far a fandom will go & the true possessiveness that some fandoms have over a celebrity." In another story, she added: "Please don’t expect me to turn off my comments, stop making content or disappear for that matter. It is called freedom of speech for a reason and you have as much air as you want to say what you need to say. "The videos surfacing are taken way out of context & I just want to say to those who have messaged me and have said very kind things, I see you and I thank you. I just hope those who are angry over speculation do not dwell on this and can eventually enjoy their day." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Asian markets fell broadly Wednesday after ratings agency Fitch downgraded its US debt credit rating from the highest level, citing "a steady deterioration in standards of governance."

SPRING, Texas & IRVING, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 11, 2023--

As House Republicans' impeachment drumbeat grows louder, White House officials are focused on whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy can summon enough votes to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, according to two people familiar with the White House's thinking.

FanSided MLB Insider Robert Murray is at the GM Meetings in Scottsdale. Here's what he's hearing from sources across baseball.

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have sheltered with their families far from their homes and struggled to survive since the Israeli military decided to cut off the water and fuel and prevent aid convoys from entering

India's Ravindra Jadeja took two prize wickets but Australia remained in command of the World Test Championship final despite an error-strewn display...

Israeli assets declined Tuesday as investors mulled a law passed in parliament that will weaken the power of