A huge fireball exploded at a waste facility in an Australian suburb in western Sydney, sending flames 100 metres into the sky. Authorities are investigating the fire’s cause, but say a chemical tank exploded in the blaze, sending concrete debris flying and causing damage to nearby buildings.
Published On 30 Nov 202530 Nov 2025
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WITH rain and snow battering the UK, trying to keep the kids busy can be tricky.
Thankfully there are some amazing indoor play attractions to go to – including one that claims to be one of the biggest in Europe.
The Playhive is found at Stockeld Park in North Yorkshire, which is one of the biggest indoor playgrounds.
Having opened in 2022 after a multi-million pound project, it has since won a number of awards including being named the best in the country.
Earlier this year it has won an Association of Indoor Play award for the second year running.
The website states it is a “journey through four interconnected worlds of space, air, the jungle, and sea”.
Inside is everything from massive spaceships – with rocket walkways, ladders and nets – to planes and submarines.
Jungle-themed climbing walls and under-the-sea play areas are also part of the attraction.
There are even toddler-friendly areas too although parents must leave buggies outside.
The attraction is open from 9:30am to 5:30pm.
Ticket allow a 90-minute session start from £13.50, or pay £23.50 to allow access to the full Adventure Park.
There is also the Playhive Pizzeria for when kids get hungry, serving hot snacks and drinks.
Previous parents have raved about the attraction.
One said: “Playhive is a magical indoor play area, unlike anywhere we have visited before. Not a usual softplay.”
Another said: “The indoor Playhive is out of this world, and truly outstanding. The outdoor areas and the beautiful Enchanted Forest are a really wonderful and magical experience for little ones.”
And there are loads of other exciting Christmas attractions in the rest of Stockeld Park.
This includes ice skating and light trails, both ticketed events.
Or there is the huge The Christmas Adventure, where kids can meet Santa and watch live theatre shows.
There are also onsite food and drink areas, such as the Woodland Cafe and Gretel’s Cabin.
When the weather is better, there are also mazes and huge outdoor playgrounds to explore.
The nearest cities to Stockeld Park are Leeds and York, both around a 40 minute drive.
In the mean time, here are some other indoor attractions to explore in the UK.
And here is one of the newest indoor attractions in the UK.
RAY Donovan star Liev Schreiber has been rushed to a New York hospital after suffering a massive headache.
The Tony award-winning actor is reported to be going through a series of tests since he was hospitalised, according to TMZ.
Isaac Liev Schreiber, 58, experienced the massive headache on Sunday and called his doctor.
He was then directed to go to hospital immediately.
Doctors have been unable to determine the exact cause of the pain.
However, Schreiber is said to be able to speak and walk without any issues – having full use of his arms and legs.
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In the past, the Emmy-nominated actor has experienced a sudden episode of memory loss triggered by a migraine.
This occurred once when he was starring in a Broadway production of Doubt: A Parable.
He spoke about the episode on an appearance with Late Night host Seth Meyers last, describing it as “the worst nightmare that an actor could possibly ever experience”.
Schreiber added: “I was in my dressing room and I had a terrible headache. I thought it was maybe a fast food headache, but it felt a little stronger than that. I’m walking down the stairs and I’m thinking – this is not normal.
“I don’t feel okay.”
He recalled knowing “something was really wrong” when he could not remember his co-star Amy Ryan’s name backstage before having to perform.
An MRI led to the father-of-three being diagnosed with transient global amnesia.
He shares his 18-year-old son, Sasha, and 16-year-old daughter, Kai, with ex-partner Naomi Watts.
The two actors ended their relationship of 11 years in 2016, and both remarried.
Schreiber is now married to former beauty queen Taylor Neisen who was crowned Miss South Dakota in 2012.
They welcomed their first child together in August 2023 after marrying in July.
Schreiber list of acting credits includes Scream, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Mixed Nuts, Party Girl, and The Daytrippers.
He has in the past been nominated for nine Primetime Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards.
THE best way to keep kids busy is to head to an indoor waterpark for the day.
So we’ve rounded up some of the biggest and best in Europe where is is always warm, with some as hot as 32C.
Having opened in 2020, Suntago Water World is now Europe’s biggest indoor waterpark.
Remaining around 32C, the 75,000sqm attraction has three zones – Jamango, Relax Suntago and Saunaria
Inside are 18 swimming pools, including a wave pools, thermal pools and baby pools.
And guests have a choice of 35 slides, ranging from big dual-riders to more gentle ones for smaller guests.
Relax Suntago is for adults only, with thermal pools and hot tubs, while Saunaria is the spa area with steam rooms and saunas.
New this year was Crocodile Island, part of the Jamango area, which has climbing areas and games inside.
The rest of Jamango is great for smaller guests, with lazy rivers and baby pools.
Next year it will also be opening a new four-star hotel
Until then, guests can stay at the onsite ‘village’ with 92 bungalows sleeping up to eight people.
The best way to get to Suntago Water World is to fly to Warsaw, with the attraction around an hour by car.
Tropical Islands was the largest indoor waterpark in Europe until Suntago opened.
Built inside a former aircraft hangar, it still has a number of record-breaking attractions.
This includes the world’s biggest indoor beach, and the world’s biggest indoor tropical rainforest.
The 10,000sqm waterpark has four sections – Water Worlds, Tropical Rainforest, Tropical Village and Amazonia.
Water Worlds is the main area with the large beach, sunglounger and palm trees as well as a swimming pool, water lagoon and water playground.
Tropical Rainforest has everything from 50,000 plants to flamingos and turtles while Tropical Village is the food, drink and souvenir area.
Themed by destination, it includes Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and Bali as well as the new Hawaiian themed Ohana Town last year, with overnight lodges, bowling and karaoke.
Amazonia is the huge outdoor area, although most of this closes during the winter.
While there are lots of overnight lodges and camping areas for guests to stay in, there are plans for a new hotel although an opening date is yet to be confirmed.
The best way to get to Tropical Islands is to fly to Berlin, with the attraction around an hour away by car.
Rulantica is the waterpark of the Europa-Park theme park in Germany and opened back in 2019.
Spread across 32,600sqm, there are 14 themed zones a well as 50 slides and attractions.
It is always 32C so you can grab one of the 1,700 sunloungers to warm up.
For kids there are playgrounds, ‘water carousels’ and wave pools, with enough for both older children and toddlers.
Otherwise it has everything for adults too with swim up bars, steam rooms and saunas.
New last year was a huge outdoor water attraction although this is closed for the season.
The best way to get to Rulantica is to fly to Basel Airport with the waterpark around an hour away.
When it comes to the UK, you need to head to Blackpool for the biggest indoor waterpark.
Sandcastle Waterpark opened in 1986 and sits at 29C all year round.
It is home to the UK’s longest indoor rollercoaster waterslide, Master Blaster, as well as a number of other slides.
Otherwise there are treehouses, lazy rivers, wave pools and even the biggest water cannon in the UK.
There are also treehouses and forts for kids to play on, as well as a wave pool and lazy river and the UK’s biggest water cannon.
You can even hire Tiki Cabanas where you have a hot tub and drinks, or just visit the Waterfall Cafe for snacks.
A MASSIVE new £37m waterfront park with a skateboard site and tightrope has been unveiled just minutes from a town centre.
Tourists and residents will be able to walk across a 55-metre bridge from the High Street to the revamped riverside, which will also feature a huge amphitheatre for live events.
In Stockton, the local authority is overseeing one of the most ambitious regeneration projects in Europe as it buys up swathes of land in the struggling town centre.
The amphitheatre – with 402 granite steps – will gaze down on the River Tees, home to the Teesside Princess pleasure boat, the North-east town’s iconic tourist attraction, which hosts everything from Taylor Swift-themed boat parties to birthday celebrations, weddings and wakes.
The huge site – three times larger than London’s Trafalgar Square – will also include 10m watchtowers, an oval lawn and a land bridge.
“That’s going to mean people can mean people can walk from the High Street to the riverside, which is quite exciting,” councillor Paul Rowling, deputy council leader and cabinet member for resources and transport at Stockton Borough Council, told Teesside Live.
Activities for children will also include a toddler trail, swings, climbing nets, trampolines and “exhilarating” slides connecting the amphitheatre to the riverside.
On its website, Stockton Council says “significant work has also progressed” on changes to Riverside Road, which will pass under the land bridge, reduced to a single carriageway each way.
Stockton Council says it has worked with members of the Stockton Parent Carers Forum to ensure that the park features meet the needs of as many families as possible.
The final design has been shaped to incorporate their advice and feedback.
The site is set to open in spring 2026.
It includes tactile and sensory experiences, motion, sounds with musical instruments, social interaction and quiet spaces.
Councillor Richard Eglington, cabinet member for regeneration and housing at Stockton Council, said: “We know how popular our play areas are with families and that’s why we’ve ensured Stockton Waterfront will be a unique space like no other in the region for residents and visitors to spend quality time outdoors.
“The park’s feature elements, two huge play towers, will take children to new heights and we are looking forward to welcoming families when it opens.
“The play areas will complement the numerous exciting additions in the urban park, which is set to transform the town centre.
“It’s part of our commitment to make the borough a great place to live, work and visit, providing an environment where all generations can thrive.”
The waterfront park is the latest regeneration project for Stockton – which straddles two English counties and six separate towns.
Work to refurbish the Globe Theatre in the town began nearly 15 years ago and was completed in 2021 at a cost of nearly £30m.
With a capacity of 3,000 it is the largest live entertainment venue between Newcastle and Leeds.
Acts to have played the venue recently include Paloma Faith, The Waterboys and Fontaines DC.
DUA Lipa helped music boost the UK economy to the tune of £8billion last year.
The singer — whose hits include New Rules and Levitating — was one of the industry’s biggest money-makers as its contribution to the country’s coffers leapt by five per cent.
She saw album Radical Optimism debut at No1 in the charts, while dates in Singapore, Japan and Malaysia took export revenues to a new high of £4.8billion.
Tours from Taylor Swift, Liam Gallagher, Take That and Bruce Springsteen also drove the figures, along with Charli XCX’s global success with album Brat.
Of the £8billion total — up from £7.6billion in 2023 — £1.49billion came from physical sales, downloads and streaming.
A record £1.02billion was paid out in songwriting royalties while merchandise sales rose too.
The findings are in UK Music’s annual economic report This Is Music 2025.
It said the industry employs 220,000 people here, but warned growth was slowing down after taking off immediately after the pandemic.
UK Music’s Chief Executive Tom Kiehl welcomed the figures but issued warning signs amid the challenges faced by the sector.
He said: “In recent years UK Music has reported that the music industry has enjoyed double-digit annual growth.
“That growth has now halved indicates a levelling off of the immediate post-pandemic boost that we experienced, as well as other underlying issues set out in this report.
“This points to the need for urgent action. If problems are not addressed then future growth cannot be guaranteed.”
Dua, 30, is in Argentina on tour.
She shared a snap of her with sister Rina at River Plate’s match against rivals Boco Juniors after two gigs at the Buenos Aires stadium.
Arrival of US aircraft carrier off Latin America fuels speculation that US could try to overthrow Venezuelan government.
The Venezuelan government has said it is preparing its armed forces in the event of an invasion or military attack by the United States.
A statement shared by Minister of People’s Power for Defence Vladimir Padrino on Tuesday said that the preparations include the “massive deployment of ground, aerial, naval, riverine and missile forces”, as well as the participation of police, militias and citizens’ units.
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The announcement comes as the arrival of a US aircraft carrier in the region fuels speculation of possible military action aimed at collapsing the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a longtime US rival.
Tensions between the two countries have escalated since the return of US President Donald Trump for a second term in January.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon confirmed that the Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group — which includes the world’s largest aircraft carrier — had arrived in the Caribbean Sea, bearing at least 4,000 sailors as well as “tactical aircraft”.
In recent weeks, the US government has also surged troops to areas near the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago, for training exercises and other operations.
The Trump administration has framed such deployments as necessary “to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland”. Trump officials have also accused Maduro of masterminding the activities of Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang with a relatively modest presence in the US.
But Maduro and his allies have accused the US of “imperialistic” aims.
Questions remain, however, about whether Venezuela is equipped to fend off any US military advances.
Experts say the Maduro government has sought to project an image of military preparedness in the face of a large buildup of US forces in the Caribbean, but it could face difficulties from a lack of personnel and up-to-date equipment.
While the government has used possible US intervention to rally support, Maduro is also struggling with widespread discontent at home and growing diplomatic isolation following a contested election in 2024, marred by allegations of widespread fraud and a crackdown on protesters.
The military buildup in the Caribbean region began after the start of a series of US military strikes on September 2.
The US has carried out at least 19 air strikes against alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, killing approximately 75 people.
Trump has suggested that land strikes “are going to be next”. But when asked in late October whether he was considering attacks within Venezuela, Trump replied, “No”.
Legal experts say that a military attack on Venezuela would likely violate international law, and recent polling from the research firm YouGov suggests that about 47 percent of people in the US would oppose land attacks on Venezuelan territory. About 19 percent, meanwhile, say they would support such attacks.
While Venezuela’s armed forces have expressed support for Maduro and said they would resist a US attack, the Reuters news agency has reported that the government has struggled to provide members of the armed forces with adequate food and supplies.
The use of additional paramilitary and police forces could represent an effort to plug the holes in Venezuela’s lacklustre military capacity. Reuters reported that a government memo includes plans for small units at about 280 locations, where they could use sabotage and guerrilla tactics for “prolonged resistance” against any potential US incursion.
A MASSIVE UK train station is set to shut for 9 days for a “once-in-a-lifetime overhaul”.
Network Rail are investing £8million in the upgrade in order to reduce future disruptions on train services.
Manchester Piccadilly train station is set to receive track and signalling upgrades in February next year.
The southern approach to station was built in the 1980s and upgrades to its critical stretch of track has been due for some time.
Network Rail explained that issues with its outdated infrastructure can disrupt all trains running in and out of Manchester.
This amounts to around 400,000 trains into the station every year.
In a prior warning to passengers, they have advised that no trains from the south and east of the city will run into Manchester Piccadilly.
This will last for nine days over February half term (Saturday 14 – Sunday 22).
Some trains from across the north will also be impacted as well as direct connections to Manchester Airport station.
Services normally running to and from Manchester Piccadilly will terminate at other stations, including Stockport.
Platforms 1-12 will be closed but the concourse will remain open to the public.
There will be a limited service westbound from platforms 13 and 14.
More detailed information about alternate travel plans are to follow in due course.
Julien Dehornoy, Network Rail’s North West & Central deputy regional managing director, said: “We’re investing £7.9m in renewing the Piccadilly corridor, a stretch of track critical to the journeys of around 400,000 trains into Manchester every year.
“This work is going to significantly reduce disruption for the many passengers who regularly use this route.
“Once the job is done, we will have a better, more reliable railway.
“The major overhaul over six railway lines can only take place during a full railway closure and we are working closely with train operators, TfGM and Manchester City Council on alternative travel plans to keep people on the move.
“The full details on which will be published in mid-November.”
U.S. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jae Myung, shake hands during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on August 25. To coincide with Lee’s visit, South Korean companies pledged to invest $150 billion in the United States. File Photo by Al Drago/UPI
SEOUL, Nov. 7 (UPI) — After the inauguration of the Donald Trump in January, the South Korean government and its corporations were pressed to invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the United States to avoid high tariffs.
Observers expressed concern Friday that such large-scale overseas investments could end up harming Asia’s fourth-largest economy, which heavily depends on the manufacturing industry.
Late last month, Seoul agreed to invest $200 billion in cash and $150 billion in shipbuilding and other industrial projects in the United States over the coming years, with an annual ceiling of $20 billion.
In return, Washington would reduce tariffs on Korean exports to 15% from 25%, honoring the terms agreed upon in late July. Trump also vowed to provide propulsion technology to help the key U.S. ally in East Asia build a nuclear-powered submarine.
The deal coincided with Trump’s visit to Korea to meet his counterpart, President Lee Jae Myung, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit.
“Beginning next year, our annual investments in the United States are expected to double compared to 2025. When corporate funds move abroad, companies will have less capacity to invest at home,” Sogang University economics Professor Hur Jung told UPI.
“The problem is that it appears to become a long-term trend, which is feared to lead to the hollowing out of Korea’s manufacturing sector. The government is required to put forth great efforts to address this,” he said.
Hur recommended the country to prioritize traditional industries, such as semiconductors and automobiles, rather than concentrate on artificial intelligence-based innovations, which have been the main focus of the incumbent Seoul administration.
Other analysts note that the worries go beyond the $350 billion investment plan, as many Korean corporations have announced major spending initiatives in the United States to avoid high tariffs.
For example, Korea’s state-backed companies and private enterprises promised up to $150 billion in investments in the United States in August, when Lee had his first summit with Trump.
Back then, Hyundai Motor Group unveiled a plan to funnel $26 billion in the United States until 2028, while Hanwha Group committed $5 billion to expand its shipyard in Philadelphia, which the Korean conglomerate acquired late last year.
Korean Air also plans to purchase 103 aircraft from Boeing by the end of the 2030s, which is expected to total $36.2 billion in value.
“Korea Inc. invested $106 billion in domestic facilities last year. And its companies are now ready to spend $150 billion in the United States alone after a single meeting between the two countries’ political leaders in August. Does it make sense?” economic commentator Kim Kyeong-joon, formerly vice chairman at Deloitte Consulting Korea, asked rhetorically in a phone interview.
“Our foreign exchange reserves stand at just over $400 billion, and we are preparing to pour more than that amount into a single foreign market. Such an approach could weaken our ability to invest domestically, weighing heavily on the manufacturing-based economy,” he said.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, manufacturing accounts for 27% of South Korea’s gross domestic product, which is almost double the average among other member countries.
Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources is set to establish a forum involving related researchers and businesses to deal with the expected crisis. The Bank of Korea also warned of the gravity of the situation in an August report.
“As in past crises, our corporations, the government and households need to share a sense of urgency and work together to overhaul the country’s aging economic structure,” the central bank said at the time.
However, critics take issue with the complacency of top policymakers like Kim Yong-beom, chief presidential secretary for policy in the current administration, who downplayed fears about the hollowing out of the domestic manufacturing sector.
“Such assessments may be premature because many partner firms and key operations, including research and development centers, still remain based in Korea,” Kim told a conference in early September.
South Asians have played a prominent role in President Trump’s universe, especially in his second term.
Second Lady Usha Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants who came to California to study and never went back. Harmeet Dhillon, born in India and a devout Sikh, is currently his U.S. assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. And the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, is (like potential New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani,) of Indian descent by way of Uganda.
Some Republicans have taken pride in this kind of diversity, citing it for the gains Trump made in 2024 with Black and Latino voters.
But these days, the MAGA big tent seems to be collapsing fast.
Last week, MAGA had a total anti-Indian meltdown on social media, revealing a deep, ugly racism toward South Asians.
It comes amid the first real rebellion about rampant and increasingly open antisemitism within the MAGAverse, creating a massive rift between traditional conservatives and a younger, rabidly anti-Jewish contingent called groypers whose leader, Nick Fuentes, recently posted that he is “team Hitler.”
Turns out, when you cultivate a political movement based on hate, at some point the hate is uncontrollable. In fact, that hate needs to be fed to maintain power — even if it means feasting on its own.
This monster of white-might ugliness is going to dominate policy and politics for the next election, and these now-public fights within the Republican party represent a new dynamic that will either force it to do some sort of soul searching, or purge it of anything but white Christian nationalism. My bet is on the latter. But if conservatives ever truly believed in their inclusive talk, then it’s time for Republicans to stand up and demand the big Trump tent they were hailing just a few months ago.
Ultra-conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who opposes much of Fuentes’ worldview, summed up this Republican split succinctly.
Fuentes’ followers “are white supremacists, hate women, Jews, Hindus, many types of Christians, brown people of a wide variety of backgrounds, Blacks, America’s foreign policy and America’s constitution,” Shapiro explained. “They admire Hitler and Stalin and that splinter faction is now being facilitated and normalized within the mainstream Republican Party.”
MAGA’s anti-Indian sentiment had an explosive moment a few days ago when a South Asian woman asked Vice President JD Vance a series of questions during a Turning Point USA event in Mississippi. The young immigrant wanted to know how Vance could preach for the removal of nearly 18 million immigrants? And how could he claim that the United States was a Christian nation, rather than one that valued pluralism?
“How can you stop us and tell us we don’t belong here anymore?” the woman asked. “Why do I have to be a Christian?”
Vance’s answer went viral, in part because he claimed his wife, although from a Hindu family, was “agnostic or atheist,” and that he hoped she would convert to Christianity.
“Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that,” he said.
Vance later tried to do some damage control on social media, calling Usha Vance a “blessing” and promising to continue to “support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she’s my wife.”
But many South Asians felt Vance was dissing his wife’s heritage and attempting to downplay her non-whiteness. They vented on social media, and got a lot of MAGA feelings back.
“How can you pretend to be a white nativist politician who will ‘bring america back to it’s golden age’ … when your wife is an indian immigrant?” wrote one poster.
Dhillon received similar feedback recently for urging calm and fairness after a Sikh truck driver allegedly caused a fatal crash.
“[N]o ma’am, it is CRYSTAL CLEAR that sihks and hindus need to get the hell out of my country,” one reply stated. “You and your kind are no longer welcome here. Go the [expletive] home.”
Patel too, got it, after posting a message on Diwali, a religious holiday that celebrates the victory of light over darkness. He was dubbed a demon worshipper, a favorite anti-Indian trope.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Duh, of course MAGA is racist.” But here’s the thing. The military has been scrubbed of many Black officers. The federal workforce, long a bastion for middle-class people of color, has been decimated. Minority cabinet members or top officials are few. Aside from another South Asian, Tulsi Gabbard, there’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer and HUD head Scott Turner.
South Asians are largely the last visible sign of pluralism in Republican power, an erstwhile proof that the charges of racism from the left are unfair. But now, like Latinos, they are increasingly targets of the base.
At the same time anti-Indian hate was surfacing last week, a whole load of MAGA antisemitism hit the fan. It started when Tucker Carlson, who in his post-network life has re-created himself as a hugely popular podcaster with more than 16 million followers on X, invited Fuentes on his show.
In addition to calling for the death of American Jews, Fuentes has also said women want him to rape them and should be burned alive, Black people belong in prison and LGBTQ+ people are an abomination.
Anyone who is not his kind of Christian “must be absolutely annihilated when we take power,” he said.
Turns out far-right Charlie Kirk was a bulwark against this straight-up American Nazi. Kirk’s popularity kept Fuentes — who often trolled Kirk — from achieving dominance as the spirit guide of young MAGA. Now, with Kirk slain, nothing appears to be stopping Fuentes from taking up that mantle.
After the Fuentes interview, sane conservatives (there are some left) were apoplectic that Carlson would support someone who so openly admits to being anti-Israel and seemingly pro-Nazi. They demanded the Heritage Foundation, historical backbone of the conservative movement, creators of Project 2025 and close allies of Tucker, do something. The head of Heritage, Kevin Roberts, offered what many considered a sorry-not-sorry. He condemned Fuentes, saying he was “fomenting Jew hatred, and his incitements are not only immoral and un-Christian, they risk violence.”
But also counseled that Fuentes shouldn’t be banished from the party.
“Join us — not to cancel — but to guide, challenge, and strengthen the conversation,” Roberts said.
Are Nazis really all bad? Discuss!
The response from ethical conservatives — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — has been that you don’t politely hear Nazis out, and if the Republican Party can’t clearly say that Nazis aren’t welcome, it’s got a problem.
Yes, the Republican Party has a problem.
The right rode to power by attacking what it denigrates at “wokeism” on the left. MAGA declared that to confront fascism or racism or misogyny — to tell its purveyors to sit down and shut up — was wrong. That “canceling,” or banishment from common discourse for spewing hate, was somehow an infringement on 1st Amendment rights or even terrorism.
They screamed loud and clear that speaking out against intolerance was the worst, most unacceptable form of intolerance itself — and would not be tolerated.
You know who heard them loud and clear? Fuentes. He has checkmated establishment Republicans with their own cowardice and hypocrisy.
So now his young Christian white supremacists are empowered, and intent on taking over as the leaders of the party. Fuentes is saying what old guard Republicans don’t want to hear, but secretly fear: He already is dangerously close to being the mainstream; just read the comments.
Roberts, the Heritage president, said it himself: “Diversity will never be our strength. Unity is our strength, and a lack of unity is a sign of weakness.”
Trying to shut Fuentes up or kick him out will likely anger that vocal and powerful part of the base that enjoys the freedom to be openly hateful, and really wouldn’t mind a male-dominated white Christian autocracy.
The far right has free-speeched their way into fascism, and Fuentes is loving every minute of it.
So now this remaining vestige of traditional conservatives — including senators such as Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell — is faced with a painful reckoning. Many mainstream Republicans for years ignored the racism and antisemitism creeping into the party. They can’t anymore. It has grown into a beast ready to consume its maker.
Will they let this takeover happen, call for conversation over condemnation to the glee of Fuentes and his followers?
Or will they find the courage to be not just true Republicans, but true Americans, and declare non-negotiable for their party that most basic of American ideals: We do not tolerate hate?
The burst of energy was likely triggered when an unusually large star wandered too close to the black hole.
Published On 4 Nov 20254 Nov 2025
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Scientists have documented the most energetic flare ever observed emanating from a supermassive black hole, a cataclysmic event that briefly shone with the light of 10 trillion suns.
The new findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Astronomy, with astronomer Matthew Graham of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) leading the study.
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The phenomenal burst of energy was likely triggered when an unusually large star wandered too close to the black hole and was violently shredded and swallowed.
“However it happened, the star wandered close enough to the supermassive black hole that it was ‘spaghettified’ – that is, stretched out to become long and thin, due to the gravity of the supermassive black hole strengthening as you get very close to it. That material then spiralled around the supermassive black hole as it fell in,” said astronomer and study co-author KE Saavik Ford.
The supermassive black hole was unleashed by a black hole roughly 300 million times the mass of the sun residing inside a faraway galaxy, about 11 billion light years from Earth. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).
The star, estimated to be between 30 and 200 times the mass of the sun, was turned into a stream of gas that heated up and shined intensely as it spiralled into oblivion.
Almost every large galaxy, including our Milky Way, has a supermassive black hole at its centre. But scientists still aren’t sure how they form.
First spotted in 2018 by the Palomar Observatory, operated by the Caltech, the flare took about three months to reach its peak brightness, becoming roughly 30 times more luminous than any previously recorded event of its kind. It is still ongoing, but diminishing in luminosity, with the entire process expected to take about 11 years to complete.
Because of how far away the black hole is located, observing the flash gives scientists a rare glimpse into the universe’s early epoch. Studying these immense, distant black holes helps researchers better understand how they form, how they influence their local stellar neighbourhoods, and the fundamental interactions that shaped the cosmos we know today.
