The man third in the line of presidential succession has appeared in five Batman movies. Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, is President pro tempore of the Senate, making him the third in the presidential line of succession. He appeared The Dark Knight, alongside the late Heath Ledger, as well as Batman Forever, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman & Robin and Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. On his acting cameos, he said: “If you live in the real world all the time, it can be kind of boring.”
A conspiracy theory has emerged in China that Covid-19 originated in America. The social media hashtag “American’s Ft. Detrick” was used at least 1.4 billion times last week after a Foreign Ministry spokesperson called for a World Health Organization investigation of a biological weapons lab in the US. An expert said the purpose of the hashtag is “to shift the blame from mishandling by the Chinese government in the pandemic’s early days to conspiracy by the US”.
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Haggis sent to space for first time
A packet of haggis has been launched to the edge of space for the first time. Scottish butcher Simon Howie worked with space education and research firm Stratonauts to launch the 454g haggis in honour of Burns Night. He said he wanted to start the year by “lifting the spirits of the general public” and enjoyed the chance “to take Scotland’s national dish to new heights”.
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Big-time money squabbles: the conflict over California’s proposed billionaire taxTalking Points Californians worth more than $1.1 billion would pay a one-time 5% tax
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‘The West needs people’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
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Filing statuses: What they are and how to choose one for your taxesThe Explainer Your status will determine how much you pay, plus the tax credits and deductions you can claim
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Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
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Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
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Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
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China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
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Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
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Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
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Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
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US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
