Author: Clayton Richardson

“I lived in this house exactly half a lifetime ago,” said Bruce Springsteen. It may not look like much, but this small bedroom in Colts Neck, New Jersey, which still sports the original orange shag rug, is where Springsteen made what he considers his masterpiece: his 1982 album “Nebraska,” ten songs dark and mournful. “This is the room where it happened,” he said. I saw her standing on her front lawn just twirling her batonMe and her went for a ride, sir, and ten innocent people diedFrom the town of Lincoln, Nebraska, with a sawed-off .410 on my lapThrough to…

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Arizona have seized a haul of endangered fish organs worth $2.7 million after they were found hidden in a commercial shipment of frozen fish fillets. Following DNA testing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service it became clear that the swim bladders belonged to an endangered fish species, Totoaba macdonaldi. “This seizure is thought to be the second-largest seizure of its kind in the U.S. and the largest Totoaba seizure in Arizona, to date,” the CBP said in a press release on Monday. The 270 totoaba swim bladders, weighing more than 240 pounds,…

The request made by Nikola Jokić seemed innocent enough. When the NBA Finals MVP beckoned Jamal Murray, his longest-tenured teammate, to follow him into the hallway that leads out the back of the Nuggets locker room, through the haze of cigar smoke and the spraying mist of Moët, he did so with a nonchalance that stood in stark contrast to the celebration roaring around them. So Murray followed. For all he knew, Jokić was looking for a quiet place to reflect on the moment, ruminate on the journey they began together seven years ago. But as soon as the point guard stepped away from the…

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. – Third Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) reactivated Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 311, an F-35C Lightning II squadron, at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar, California, April 14, 2023. VMFA-311 is the U.S. Marine Corps’ second F-35C squadron. The F-35C is a land and/or carrier-based platform boasting long-range flight and high weapons payload capabilities. Formerly VMA-311, the Tomcats have made their mark on Marine Corps aviation for decades, and now will continue their legacy. Notable Tomcats veterans include Ted Williams and John Glenn. Ted Williams left a Major League Baseball career for service in…

Lying at the crossroads of the North and South American continents and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Panama is of immense strategic importance. This has made it the frequent object of US attention. The United States supported its secession from Colombia in 1903, and secured a sovereign zone in which to build the Panama Canal – which remained under US control from 1914 until 1999. The US invaded in 1989 to depose a former ally, military ruler Manuel Noriega, over his repressive rule and use of the country as a centre for drug trafficking. Panama has the largest rainforest in…

A protest against the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal outside the office of Minister for Defence Richard Marles on March 24 attracted 30 people. It was the second such protest this year, organised by the Independent & Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) Geelong and Victoria south-west. Protestors chanted “Earth care not warfare”, “No nuclear subs”, “No AUKUS” and “No War on China”. Murray Noonan, convenor of IPAN Geelong, Julie Hart, an IPAN activist, Zelda Grimshaw from Wage Peace and Jackie Kriz, Australian Nurses and Midwifery Federation and Geelong Trades Hall Council delegate, all agreed that momentum is growing against $368 billion being committed…

Director of the Office for Democratization of the US Agency for International Development in BiH (USAID BiH), Peter Cronin, today visited the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he met with the president and members of the CEC BiH and informed them about the goals of the four-year project “Support to Electoral Integrity in BiH”, which will be financially supported by USAID, announced the CEC BiH. The President of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Suad Arnautović, reminded of the previous cooperation and thanked for the support that the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and…

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has contributed more than $250 million to TB control efforts in Nigeria since 2003. The agency noted that in 2022 alone, USAID programmes helped screen over 15 million individuals for TB and also supports the provision of TB screening, diagnostic, treatment and preventive services in 18 states through community and facility-based interventions. Deputy Director, Office of HIV/ AIDS and TB USAID Nigeria, Omosalewa Oyelaran, who stated this during a briefing to mark 2023 World Tuberculosis Day yesterday in Abuja, observed that since 2003, Nigeria remains in the top 10 countries affected by TB,…

A banking crisis in the U.S. and Europe has worsened the outlook for the global economy and increased the risks of an even larger financial calamity, according to managing director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva, who urged vigilance as more instability might make the task of reducing inflation without triggering a recession much harder for central banks around the world. The waters have not yet calmed after the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature in the U.S. and Credit Suisse in Europe, with shaky bank stocks including First Republic and Germany’s Deutsche Bank still making investors nervous. Banking woes are the latest sign that the…

Anthony Albanese is expected to detail Australia’s preferred nuclear submarine option on American soil next month, alongside US President Joe Biden and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak – raising the prospect of a potential new boat design involving all three allies. Planning is underway for the prime minister to travel overseas for the long-awaited AUKUS announcement on an “optimal pathway” to replace the Navy’s ageing Collins-class fleet, with Defence Minister Richard Marles flagging a “genuinely trilateral” solution. Details of the high-profile event involving three world leaders are yet to be confirmed publicly but anticipation is growing that it will take…