National

The 118th edition of the National Western Stock Show officially kicks off this weekend on its historic stomping grounds, which are in the middle of a makeover to turn the 250-acre complex in northeast Denver into a year-round attraction. Depending on the weather, the 16-day event could set an attendance record, said Paul Andrews, stock show CEO and president. The record is 726,927 visitors, set in 2006 on the event’s 100th anniversary. Last year’s total of approximately 702,000 visitors was the stock show’s fourth-highest…

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain What would you do if everyday life was suddenly turned upside down? Thanks to recent Hollywood blockbusters, the increasing popularity of everyday survivalism and a climate of volatile, uncertain times (war, weather, accelerating technology), visions of the apocalypse seem to be having a moment. Preppers—those who…

The proposed national ecommerce policy being formulated by the commerce and industry ministry is in the final stages and expected to be announced very soon, union minister Piyush Goyal said on Thursday. In August, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) held a detailed discussion with representatives of ecommerce firms and a domestic traders' body on the proposed policy. "It is at the final stages of discussion at the highest level in the government. We hope to come out very soon," the commerce…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeFormer James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan has been given a police citation for straying off the path in Yellowstone National Park, records show.A legal notice seen by The Independent, and first reported by CNN, chides the Mamma Mia! star for "foot travel in a thermal area" on 1 November 2023 in Wyoming.It also alleges the petty offence of "violating closures and use limits", ordering the…

National Amusements, the cinema chain and corporate parent giant of media giants Paramount and CBS, has confirmed it experienced a data breach in which hackers stole the personal information of tens of thousands of people. The private media conglomerate said in a legally required filing with Maine’s attorney general that hackers stole personal information on 82,128 people during a December 2022 data breach. Details of the December 2022 breach only came to light a year later, after the company began notifying those…

For horror film fans it looms large like the Lincoln Memorial or Washington Monument. An official city plaque announces that a precipitous stone staircase in Georgetown, Washington DC, will forever be known as the Exorcist steps. It marks the spot where “Father Karras plummets the seventy-five steps to his death” at the movie’s climax.Joggers who work out on the steps might get some company on Tuesday from Exorcist devotees savouring a milestone: the 50th anniversary of the release of a movie that prompted reports of…

If you somehow haven’t seen National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation yet, you're missing out on one of the best Christmas movies of all time. Please, for the love of holiday cheer, do yourself a favor and use your Hulu subscription to stream it now. The movie is a holiday classic that millions adore, hilariously depicting the chaotic pursuit of the perfect family Christmas, with Chevy Chase giving an incomparable performance as the family patriarch, Clark W. Griswold. What's surprising is that the zany holiday flick was…

For about as long as I can remember, the first movie I watch each holiday season after putting up the tree and decorating the house is National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Not only is it one of the greatest Christmas movies of all time, as well as the best entry in the Vacation franchise, it has become a tradition that gives the season a little extra cheer and a heavy dose of sarcasm, stress, and eventual breakdowns.After watching Chevy Chase find the biggest tree possible, get stuck in the attic, and give one of the…

A volcano that had rumbled for weeks erupted in southwestern Iceland, spewing semi-molten rock into the air in a spectacular show of Earth's power in the land known for fire and ice.The eruption that started Monday night occurred about four kilometres from the town of Grindavik, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. The town near Iceland's main airport was evacuated in November after thousands of earthquakes damaged homes and raised fears of an imminent eruption.On Tuesday, fountains of orange lava shot into the…

As if last year’s fabulous Dual Asteroid Redirection Test firing a satellite bullet into an asteroid wasn’t enough, now researchers are doing detailed simulation of the nuclear deflection scenario envisioned in 1998 space disaster film “Armageddon.” At Lawrence Livermore National Lab, a team led by Mary Burkey (above) presented a paper that moves the ball forward on what is in reality a fairly active area of research. As they point out, using a satellite as a missile isn’t always practical, and in fact detonating a…