Jackie Young said it was a dream come to true to be taken first in the WNBA draft. The Notre Dame guard, who decided to enter the draft early and skip her senior season, was selected No 1 by the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday night. She’s the second Irish player to be drafted first…
Author: THEJOHNANTONIOBLOG
Japan’s Olympic minister resigns over Fukushima gaffe
Japan’s Olympic minister resigned Wednesday after making remarks deemed offensive to the people affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, a gaffe that prompted some to question his credentials. Yoshitaka Sakurada said he submitted his resignation to the prime minister, Shinzo Abe. He said he made comments that hurt the feelings those in the disaster-hit…
South Korean court rules abortion ban must be lifted
A court in South Korea has ruled that the country’s decades-old ban on abortion must be lifted, in a historic decision that sparked celebrations in Seoul. Thursday’s decision by the constitutional court marks a major victory for pro-choice campaigners, 66 years after the country banned abortions in all but a few cases. Under the current…
Roll Red Roll: behind the chilling documentary on high school rape
Roll Red Roll opens on a quiet street. The moon looms over several middle class homes, a couple of front porches, a single street lamp. It could be last week; it could be 10 years ago. “That girl,” a guy says in dubbed audio. “What did they do to that girl?” Laughter, grainy from a…
Students accused of cheating Apple out of nearly $1m in fake iPhone scheme
Many of us have waited trepidatiously in the Apple Store, clasping our broken iPhone we’ve long since lost the receipt for, while the Genius Bar overlords decide whether to take pity on us and give us a new one or show us the gladiatorial thumbs down. But two Oregon students had rather a lot more…
Damn you, Netflix! Why won’t you let me kill Bear Grylls?
Bandersnatch was fine. Better than fine, in fact. It was bold, it was inventive, it pushed a new method of interactive storytelling into the mainstream. But it failed in one key area: it wasn’t specifically about trying to murder Bear Grylls. Fortunately, Netflix seems to have remedied this. Today the platform released You vs Wild;…
Stanley Cup playoffs roundtable: our writers forecast the postseason
Most entertaining team that didn’t make it From 3 November to 27 December, the Buffalo Sabres lost only one game. But after that, they dropped off horribly. Through their final 19 games of the year, the Sabres won only four, and on Sunday, the team fired head coach Phil Housley. It was fun while it…
The vigilante shaming influencers for bad behavior in national parks
When California exploded in a “super bloom” of flowers this spring, Instagram exploded with it, as hordes of selfie-taking tourists descended on the delicate florae. Now an anonymous online vigilante is trying to shame influencers who are trampling the plants they claim to love. On an Instagram account called Public Lands Hate You, the author…
Justine Damond shooting: fiance tells US court he told her to call police
Justine Ruszczyk Damond’s fiance has given heart-wrenching testimony in a US court about his confusion and shock when a police officer called to say the Australian woman had been shot dead. Don Damond, a US casino executive, wept on the witness stand in Minneapolis on Tuesday as he told how he was in Las Vegas…
Google’s world-first drone delivery business wins approval in Canberra
A world-first drone delivery business has been granted approval to take to the skies over the Australian capital. For the past 18 months, Project Wing, an offshoot of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has been trialling drone delivery of food and drinks, medication and locally-made coffee and chocolate. The aviation watchdog confirmed on Tuesday it had…