Latest news with #apocalypse
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
40 Acres review – Danielle Deadwyler is driving heart of post-apocalyptic home-invasion horror
In the event of an apocalypse, the world will no doubt divide into two groups: people intent on survival no matter what, and those of us who take the view living will only prolong the suffering and get it over with. Hailey Freeman in 40 Acres is the former – it's in the genes. Her great-great-grandfather was a slave who escaped a plantation and made his way to Canada to farm. Now the land is Hailey's and helpfully she's ex-military, which comes in handy fending off cannibalistic marauders in a post-apocalyptic hellscape. Even better, she's played by Danielle Deadwyler, the actor inexplicably snubbed for an Oscar nomination for Till. Set 14 years after a fungal pandemic wiped out the planet's animal life, 40 Acres is essentially a home invasion thriller. Unfortunately, not everyone has gone vegan; gnarly cannibals prowl in packs, human body parts dangling from their necks as trophies. On the farm, Hailey (Deadwyler) lives with her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes), his daughter, their kids, and her teenage son Manny (Kataem O'Connor). Galen is of Indigenous heritage, and is teaching the family Cree. To survive, Hailey rules her household like a general: iron discipline and daily push-ups. Deadwyler plays it with grit and feeling; her beautifully expressive eyes convey Hailey's strength but at the same time the constant terror. Deadwyler's performance is the driving force here. Without her, the audience's attention might drift to the predictability of a plotline that hinges on Manny's adolescent rebellion against his mum. There's also the matter of some unnecessary flashbacks filling in backstories, leaking out tension. Which is a shame because first time feature director RT Thorne skilfully executes the cat-and-mouse games between the farm and the invaders, resulting in some uncomfortably suspenseful moments. And there are really interesting ideas, too, about this new horror in the context of Black and Indigenous experiences: displacement, generational trauma and survival. 40 Acres is in UK cinemas and on MGM+ from 1 August.
Arab News
5 days ago
- Climate
- Arab News
Wildfires threaten Turkiye's fourth-largest city as locals are evacuated
ISTANBUL: Wildfires that have engulfed Turkiye for weeks threatened the country's fourth-largest city early Sunday, causing hundreds of people to flee their fires in the forested mountains surrounding Bursa in northwest Turkiye spread rapidly, bringing a red glow to the night sky over the city's eastern governor's office said in a statement Sunday that 1,765 people had been safely evacuated from villages to the northeast as more than 1,100 firefighters battled the flames. The highway linking Bursa to the capital, Ankara, was closed as surrounding forests Saribal, an opposition parliamentarian for the province, described the scene as 'an apocalypse.'By morning, lessening winds brought some respite to firefighters, who continued efforts to bring down the flames. However, TV footage revealed an ashen landscape where farms and pine forests had earlier has been hit by dozens of wildfires daily since late June. Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yamukli said fire crews across the country confronted 76 separate blazes fires are being fueled by unseasonally high temperatures, dry conditions and string General Directorate of Meteorology said Turkiye recorded its highest ever temperature, 50.5C (122.9F) in the southeastern Sirnak province on Friday. The highest temperatures for July were seen in 132 other locations, it said the country's northwest was under the greatest threat, including Karabuk, where wildfires have burned since people have died in recent weeks, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers killed Wednesday in a fire in Eskisehir in western Minister Yilmaz Tunc said late Saturday that prosecutors had investigated fires in 33 provinces since June 26, adding that legal action had been taken against 97 severity of the fires led the government to declare two western provinces, Izmir and Bilecik, disaster areas on Friday.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Hollywood Is Feeding the Frenzy Around the Epstein Files
What did the president really know about a cushy remote getaway for the private-plane elite? No, not that president and not that conspiracy — I'm talking about Paradise, Dan Fogelman's crackling Hulu drama in which James Marsden plays a commander-in-chief with secret plans to ferry the privileged to a deep-in-the-mountain community when an apocalypse befalls Earth. More from The Hollywood Reporter Trump Files $10 Billion Lawsuit Against News Corp., Rupert Murdoch Over Story on Epstein Ties Epstein, Diddy Prosecutor Maurene Comey Speaks Out After Firing: "Fear Is The Tool of a Tyrant" Trump Reacts to 'Late Show' Ending: "I Absolutely Love That Colbert Got Fired" The show earned a surprise Emmy drama nomination this week, just as some figures on both the right and left were busy resurrecting their favorite real-world thriller: the tangled conspiracy theories surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. Paradise is fiction. The Epstein saga is not. But both feel cut from the same cloth of powerful people and the secrets they keep from us. Hollywood has actually spent decades on exactly this kind of story, chronicling conspiracies at the highest but darkest levels of government, crimes committed by the very people charged with protecting us. From the moment Warren Beatty started hunting around for a Senator-assassination coverup in The Parallax View back in the '70's, we've been subject to a steady parade of buried files, vanishing witnesses and covert programs — and inevitably the lone heroes who root them all out. Mulder and Scully solved those mysteries the FBI didn't want solved on The X-Files, Jason Bourne figured out what Conklin was actually up to at the CIA in The Bourne Identity, and most recently, The Night Agent and Paradise had some very plucky marginal types figure out what's really happening at the White House. So when a story pops up like Epstein, with all its mysterious millions and powerful people in the (sometimes literal) background, with all its legitimately open questions about a suspect with White House connections dying in federal custody, we're primed not just to see a news story — we're primed to see a movie. Without them or even us knowing it, the entertainment industry has been readying us for this story for fifty years. On their own, of course, most of these Hollywood government-coverup tales are harmless and even welcome entertainments, fertilizer for the human imagination. But pour on it the fuel of our polarized politics and algorithmic outrage and watch it explode. A story like Epstein is colliding with personal beliefs and prejudices (it's hard to avoid the anti-elite and at times, frankly, antisemitic undercurrents here), along with Trump's own history of Hollywood-derived conspiracy showmanship on QAnon and Obama birther theory, to detonate in, well, exactly the ways we're seeing now. Hollywood tells these stories by dramatic imperative — dangling that the truth is out there makes for much better storytelling than suggesting those mysterious lights were just illuminating the path of an airplane. So It feels too easy to implicate film and television in this factless frenzy. But it's also a cop-out to exempt them entirely. As the film critic Laura Venning wrote in the journal Curzon last year, while movies like Oliver Stone's JFK feel 'akin to a guilty pleasure' and 'you could certainly question whether there's any harm' to them, a 'decade ago the idea that a former President could instigate an insurrection over patently false claims that an election had been stolen from him would [also] have been unimaginable.' Sometimes Hollywood stories do involve real criminality, as with All the President's Men. More often though they have tilted toward JFK, cozying up just close enough to the truth to make us believe in non-existent cabals. And nothing suggests a cabal like the news story du jour. The Epstein Files is fast-becoming the JFK of our time, only it's playing out not in a lone Oliver Stone weekend movie-theater release but in our pockets and on our laptops, on airport cable-news broadcasts and bar-side phone-scrolling, the appeal of drama lapping the need for verification. A convicted sex offender killed himself in 2019 in federal prison awaiting trial after a whole set of fresh revelations of alleged sex trafficking. That left both a black hole where the alleged perpetrator's testimony would have gone and a juicy mystery left unsolved; if it wasn't a suicide, as the government was saying, who might have wanted Epstein dead? Numerous investigations followed, with many Rolodexes and other material published to sate the beast. All accompanied by tell of elusive 'files' that would supposedly implicate all kinds of powerful people on some mythical list. With so many Internet sources to listen to and publish on, the public had a chance to be the hero of the story, all these hints of Gilbert Joubert Three Days of the Condor supervillainy just begging us to summon our inner Robert Redford to find him out. Thus began the years of theories that Epstein was murdered as part of a conspiracy to conceal the sex crimes of powerful people, fed by noticeable but mostly unremarkable anomalies, like the modification of prison footage. With his opaque history and sources of wealth, his super-powerful friends and his immoral appetites, Epstein became the perfect avatar for our at-home Hollywood heroism. The story also uncommonly played to both sides of the political spectrum, the right's suspicion of government and the left's suspicion of the wealthy — a perfect horseshoe. As producers of The Fugitive and its Big Pharma bogeyman could tell you, a good conspiracy is made even better when it can be aimed at someone or some group already disliked. The Epstein Files became the ideal slate onto which both Democrats and Republicans could each project their supervillain fantasies. Trump himself led the charge. In his first term, he retweeted an outlandish theory that Bill Clinton was involved in Epstein's murder — his and his allies' go-to family secretly behind all kinds of killings (Seth Rich, Vince Foster). Trump at the time said that 'I want a full investigation, and that's what I absolutely am demanding.' J.D. Vance played along, during the campaign last year, saying that it was 'an important thing' to release the list, never mind if it actually existed. But once a MAGA-driven phenomenon, the script has flipped. Democrats are hammering the president on the issue now, trying to rally support in Congress to force Trump to reveal more findings, a push that resonates with an increasingly conspiracy-minded segment of the left and its distrust of legacy media. The story is playing to their favorite supervillain: Trump. (That narrative was fed this week when the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump in 2003 had sent Epstein a birthday card with a lewd drawing that implied the two had a 'secret.') Meanwhile, the president himself has uncharacteristically gone from Mulder to Scully, casting himself as the skeptic in the primetime conspiracy-drama he once created. 'Their [the left's] new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker,' the president wrote on Truth Social Wednesday, after telling reporters on Tuesday night 'I don't understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody; it's pretty boring stuff' and after Attorney General Pam Bondi said a few days earlier the investigation was closed. The truth is not out there, and can we please go back to talking about Rosie O'Donnell? One way to view this two-party interest is expediency — each side, at one time or another, believed the other had more figures on whatever list probably doesn't exist. But the dual Democrat-Republican fascination with The Epstein Files also testifies to a truth Hollywood has forever known: a love of conspiracy stories tugs at us all. The Jason Bourne movies sold $800 million-worth of tickets in the U.S., and Democrats and Republicans each bought lots of them. The rise of conspiracy theories is a massively complex topic, with studies suggesting a whole slew of social and technological factors. No batch of fictional movies, no matter how exciting, would directly lead to the rise of any conspiracy theory. But it's easy to see how Hollywood has primed us to be ready to jump on one when it presents itself, especially if it comes at a moment already seeded with huge mistrust of elites and media and, yes, a growing culture of antisemitism. The anti-Jewish codings in all this are hard to avoid, with the longtime ridiculous and hateful caricature of Epstein as a Mossad agent running a blackmail ring for the Israeli government continuing to abide. Last weekend's Elmo hackers demanded an Epstein file release even as they were saying 'Kill All Jews,' among other antisemitic vileness and insanities, such as the idea Trump wasn't releasing the list because Netanyahu told him not to. Conspiracy theories are fun. The real world is monochromatic, straightforward, boring. Occam's Razor doesn't cut very deep. More complex hidden explanations are thrilling. (And, as with periodic events like Watergate or Iran-Contra, real just often enough.) True-crime podcasts and its unofficial streaming spinoff, Only Murders in the Building have long realized this fact and savvily played to it, as have earlier 21st-century TV hits like Search Party and Veronica Mars. Like the people 'seeking answers' on Epstein, these stories flatter their protagonists and the audience: Only the sharp few have the vision to spot what's really going on. And the real-world interest in conspiracy theories provides a feedback loop for Hollywood to make more of these stories see under: Ryan Coogler developing a new X-Files for these jittery 2020s times — which powers and makes these real-world theories even more fun. Of course, fun and true are two entirely different creatures. In recent years, the proliferation of digital content and those invidious algorithms have also personalized the phenomenon, turning us all into active amateur gumshoes, even if the truth we sleuth becomes nonsense like COVID-19 vaccines as government tracking devices and a Hillary Clinton-led sex ring run out of a pizza shop. Why watch Alan Pakula when we can be Alan Pakula? One of the rare recent TV exercises not to indulge conspiracy-theory tropes but deconstruct and criticize them was Netflix's winter limited series Zero Day, in which the British actor Dan Stevens played a villainous YouTuber peddling such theories. Asked how much tech platforms were responsible for these theories compared to politicians or the peddlers themselves, Stevens told THR, 'The system. The system is driving it. Those putting it out, those consuming it, everyone. It's a triangle.' What he left out is that Hollywood may be yet another point on that geometry, with its enjoyable but potentially incept-y ideas of an alternate truth the government doesn't want us to see. To be clear: Hollywood can and should tell conspiracy-theory stories. They're exciting entertainment, and that should always be the industry's first objective. But that doesn't mean they don't influence the culture. Venning, the Curzon critic, was writing her essay on Fly Me to the Moon, last year's Apple film, with another harmless but still potentially insidious idea that a moon landing was shot on a sound stage. Nearly half of all people under the age of 45 now are at least unsure of whether NASA actually landed on the moon, according to a recent University of New Hampshire study, and obviously, school didn't teach them that. In the film, Scarlett Johansson even has the cheeky meta line 'I think we should have gotten Kubrick.' As it happens, Kubrick himself sits at the center of Epstein conspiracy-mongering, with a running Internet theory that the sex-party scene in Eyes Wide Shut was an attempt by the late director to stealthily expose Epstein. You don't want to know. 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Sustainability Times
20-07-2025
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'They're Warning Us': Scientists Stunned as Three Massive ‘Apocalypse Fish' Emerge From the Deep and Wash Ashore Within Days
IN A NUTSHELL 🐟 The mysterious appearances of oarfish on Tasmania and New Zealand shores have sparked intrigue and myth. on Tasmania and New Zealand shores have sparked intrigue and myth. 🌊 Known as the 'fish of the apocalypse,' these deep-sea creatures can reach up to 26 feet, capturing public imagination. 📚 Scientists emphasize no proven link between oarfish sightings and natural disasters, advocating for rational investigation. and natural disasters, advocating for rational investigation. 📰 Journalist Chloé transitioned from sports to wildlife reporting, exploring the natural world for The mysterious appearances of the oarfish on the shores of Tasmania and New Zealand have reignited discussions about their elusive nature and the myths surrounding them. Often called the 'fish of the apocalypse,' these deep-sea creatures capture the imagination with their striking looks and rare sightings. While these events stir intrigue and speculation, scientists urge a rational perspective, emphasizing the need for empirical understanding over superstition. As we explore the enigmatic world of the oarfish, we delve into the myths, scientific insights, and the captivating journey of a journalist who brings these stories to life. The Unusual Surge of Oarfish Sightings The recent surge in oarfish sightings began on Tasmania's west coast, followed by two more in New Zealand. These creatures, belonging to the Regalecidae family, are known for their elongated bodies that can reach up to 26 feet, making them hard to miss. Andrew Stewart, fish curator at New Zealand's Te Papa Tongarewa Museum, described them as 'magnificent and otherworldly,' highlighting the repetitive nature of their bodies. Despite their fascinating appearance, oarfish sightings remain rare, with only about twenty confirmed cases in New Zealand. Stewart emphasized the rarity of these occurrences, noting that the museum hoped to secure one specimen for research. Unfortunately, natural predators had already consumed the heads, depriving scientists of valuable data such as otoliths, teeth, and gill rakers. While these events fuel curiosity and speculation, they are isolated incidents rather than common occurrences, underscoring the need for further research and understanding of these deep-sea dwellers. Debunking Myths Around Oarfish and Natural Disasters The eerie appearance of oarfish has long fueled myths associating them with natural disasters, particularly earthquakes and tsunamis. In Japan, they are known as ryugu no tsukai, believed to be messengers warning of impending cataclysms. However, scientific studies, including one from 2019, have found no correlation between oarfish appearances and seismic activity. Andrew Stewart advocates for a science-based approach, emphasizing the absence of any proven link between these sightings and natural disasters. Oarfish live in the deep ocean, primarily in open oceanic areas, making their observation rare and contributing to the mystique surrounding them. Nick Ling, a fish ecologist at the University of Waikato, explains that this scarcity fuels numerous myths. He describes their unique vertical swimming style, where they undulate their dorsal fins, calling them 'truly beautiful fish' with an 'extraordinary lifestyle.' By understanding their true nature, we can appreciate these creatures without the shadow of superstition. The Fascination with Abyssal Creatures Beyond their mythical status, oarfish captivate scientists and the public alike due to their enigmatic existence. These deep-sea residents remain largely a mystery, with much of their biology and behavior still unknown. Their sudden appearances on shores offer rare opportunities for study, though these are often thwarted by natural predators or environmental factors. For researchers, examining these creatures up close can provide invaluable insights into deep-sea ecosystems. Despite challenges in accessing intact specimens, oarfish continue to draw interest from marine biologists and enthusiasts worldwide. Their allure lies not only in their size and appearance but also in the secrets they hold about Earth's most uncharted frontiers. As scientists strive to uncover more about these mysterious creatures, the oarfish remain a symbol of the wonders and mysteries that the ocean still holds. Chloé's Passionate Journey from Sports to Wildlife Reporting Chloé's journalism career began in areas far removed from mysterious sea creatures, initially focusing on women's and sports media. Yet, her passion for travel and wildlife always tugged at her heartstrings, leading her to where she now writes about animals and explores their habitats. Her diverse experiences enrich her storytelling, offering readers a glimpse into the wonders of the natural world. Chloé's tales are not just about wildlife but also about the human connection to these creatures and the environments they inhabit. Her work invites readers to ponder the delicate balance of nature and the role we play in preserving it. As we marvel at the enigmatic oarfish and the stories they inspire, we are reminded of the vast unknowns that still exist in our oceans. What other secrets might the deep ocean hold, waiting to be discovered by curious minds? This article is based on verified sources and supported by editorial technologies. Did you like it? 4.4/5 (23)
Daily Mail
18-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Massive ladybird swarm descends on UK, largest Since 1976
Britons have been forced to take shelter in their cars as thousands of ladybirds descend on towns and cities across the country. In seaside resorts like Weston-Super-Mare, beachgoers faced a 'ladybird apocalypse' as 'millions' of the insects covered every available surface. On Thursday, a sudden swarm of beetles even brought about a temporary pause in play at the Lord's test match against India. Experts say this is the largest sighting since the famous 'ladybird invasion' of 1976. Scientists say that these sudden swarms are due to the recent spell of hot weather, just like the exceptionally hot summer of 1976. On TikTok, several users have shared videos of ladybird swarms descending on UK towns. In one viral clip, a woman is covered in the swarming bugs as the caption reads: 'Take this as your sign not to go to the beach today.' Other posts show ladybirds crawling in their hundreds over prams, cars, umbrellas and even people's food. Professor Stuart Reynolds, an insect biologist from the University of Bath, told MailOnline: 'Ecology is complicated and this is a multi-factor problem, but it's for sure that the recent hot, dry weather has something to do with it. My suggestion is that favourable weather conditions over the last few months have led to a boom in aphid numbers on crop land and woodland. Ladybirds eat aphids, so this has led to a consequent boom in ladybirds.' Although the sightings might seem alarming, Professor Reynolds claims there is 'absolutely nothing to worry about.' Professor Reynolds says: 'It's happened before and will happen again. Boom and bust cycles are common in nature. Ladybirds may give you just a little nip sometimes - just to check whether you are edible or maybe because your skin is a bit salty - but they won't do any damage. It's not a plague! Ladybirds are lovely and we should celebrate them! Everyone loves a ladybird!' Over the last few weeks, Britain's weather has been exceptionally warm, with temperatures peaking at 34.7°C (94.5°F) last Friday. Like all insects, ladybirds and aphids speed up their life cycles during the warm weather, which means more insects are born. However, the recent heatwaves have been so hot and dry that both vegetation and aphids have started to die off. 'The last few weeks have been unfavourable to aphids, so that the poor ladybirds now have nothing to eat,' says Professor Reynolds. This leads them to fly off looking for grub elsewhere.' In addition to food, the ladybirds are also coming together to find mates, which leads to even larger local swarms. Although it might seem like it on social media, the insects probably aren't deliberately making their way to the beach. Professor Reynolds says that there are probably swarms 'all over the place', but they just happen to be more obvious in busy seaside towns like Weston-Super-Mare. Despite their alarming appearance, the experts say that we should welcome the swarms with open arms. Seeing so many ladybirds is a particularly good sign since they are a key predator as well as being a food source for larger animals like birds. Professor Tim Coulson, science author and biologist at the University of Oxford, told MailOnline: 'Predators, like ladybirds, are incredibly important components of ecosystems. Take away predators, and all hell breaks loose. We should cherish our ladybirds! Definitely do not kill the ladybirds as they keep the numbers of pest species down. Much better to have ladybirds than to spray crops with insecticides to kill the aphids.' Likewise, Professor Helen Roy, one of the world's leading ladybird experts from the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, told MailOnline: 'Ladybirds are much-loved insects. So, I hope people can enjoy seeing so many ladybirds and celebrate these incredible insects.' Ladybirds aren't the only insects to have swarmed the UK amid the recent warm weather. Britain has also faced a surge of wasps, an expert has warned. Andrew Dellbridge of Ace Pest Control in Norfolk said the spring sunshine had lured wasps out of hibernation early, giving them more time to grow. And though they'll die off come winter, the head start means this year's nests are already surpassing last year's in size, with months still to go. Now wasps are experiencing a 'population explosion', Mr Dellbridge said, and Britain faces a wave of jumbo nests before winter.
