Author: USA Facts News

Relationships can be complicated, especially if you keep your partners on a pyramid-based schedule to ensure all four of them are happy like Ne-Yo supposedly does.

Some blokes even manage to date mums and their adult daughters at the same time, so no matter how messy things get in your relationship, remember that things could always be worse.

You’ve probably read plenty of studies from experts offering advice on when your marriage or relationship might be over, but let’s focus on the positive, shall we?

A new study has identified one telling act as the sign of a healthy relationship, and for those of you concerned, it doesn’t involve anything weird in the bedroom.

In fact, it’s probably something you already do on a regular basis.

Researchers at the University of Reading recently published their findings, which suggest that periods of silence with a significant other could be a sign of emotional intimacy.

The study’s authors explained: “Consider two exchanges between romantic partners: They look into each other’s eyes sharing intimacy and mutual understanding, or, a glance instead expresses judgment and displeasure as now they achieve a shared understanding that one partner has let down the other.

“In both instances, nothing is said yet much is communicated.”

Participants in the study were asked to think about recent instances in their relationship or a previous poor experience with a partner, and explain what caused the silence and how they felt after it occurred.

In her final summary, study author Professor Netta Weinstein said: “Findings across studies showed that intrinsically motivated silence was felt with more positive affect and less negative affect, and that relationships were closer and more need satisfying during intrinsically motivated moments of silence.

“Introjected and externally motivated silences, on the other hand, were often linked to more negative affect and lower relational outcomes.”

Ronan Keating was clearly ahead of the time in his 1999 banger ‘When You Say Nothing At All’, when he sang ‘It’s amazing how you can speak right to my heart. Without saying a word.’

So, if your partner is giving you the ‘externally motivated’ silent treatment, maybe don’t take that as a positive sign that everything is alright. But if you and your partner enjoy sitting in silence together while doing your own thing then good news, chances are you’re in a healthy relationship.

The US lifted its suspension of military aid for Kyiv yesterday (11 March) as Russia is considering the new proposal.

But it seems Trump could be threatening Putin with great consequences if he doesn’t agree to it.

Ukrainian officials have signalled they are open to a 30-day ceasefire backed by Washington as the US president says he wants to end the war.

While discussing the administration’s efforts to bring an end to the three years of fighting, he again said it could lead to World War III.

Trump said he hoped ‘it is not going to be necessary’ that he has to take measures to pressure Russia into the ceasefire, while criticising previous presidents for their record of dealing with Moscow.

“They never took anything from me. They took them from Obama and Bush, and they took from sleepy Joe Biden. With Biden, they wanted to take the whole country, but I think I’ve stopped that, but we’ll see,” the president said of his own previous dealings.

However, as reporters asked how he could secure a deal with Russia, Trump said that if needed ‘there are things you can do that wouldn’t be pleasant in a financial sense’.

“We could do things very bad for Russia. Would be devastating for Russia. But I don’t want to do that because I want to see peace,” he added.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it is important not to ‘get ahead’ of the question of responding to the new ceasefire proposal. He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting ‘detailed information’ from the US and suggested that Russia must receive that first before it can take a position.

Now lifted, the US’ suspension of military aid came after a heated exchange between Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House. The American warned Zelenskyy he was ‘gambling with World War III’ as the world watched on as tensions grew.

This decision to then resume US assistance after talks on Tuesday with senior Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia marked a sharp shift in its stance.

And Trump said ‘it’s up to Russia now’ as his administration presses Moscow to agree to the ceasefire.

“And hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,” he said today in the extended exchange with reporters during an Oval Office meeting with Micheál Martin, the Taoiseach of Ireland.

“And if we do, I think that would be 80 percent of the way to getting this horrible bloodbath ended.”

On Monday (10 March) morning, Solong, a Portuguese flagged cargo ship, smashed into the Stena Immaculate off the coast of the UK.

It has since been revealed by the Solong’s owner, Ernst Russ, that the captain is a Russian national and he was arrested in connection with the crash yesterday.

The collision in the North Sea, near to Hull, East Yorkshire, saw both ships burst into flames just before 10am with one of them now extinguished.

HM Coastguard said 36 people had been rescued and taken safely to shore, while the Russian national captain of Solong is under suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter following reports of a missing crew member.

A search for the missing crew member of the Solong was called off on Monday evening and they are presumed dead.

The recently released clip of the moment the cargo ship crashed into the oil tanker comes from another vessel, which was anchored nearby. The black-and-white footage sees the Solong seeming go directly into the Stena Immaculate.

The US tanker was carrying 220,000 barrels of aviation fuel in 18 containers to be used by its military and was stationary and at anchor when it was struck.

Initially, it was feared the Solong was carrying sodium cyanide, but Russ said this was misreported and that four containers had previously been carrying the chemical.

As Humberside Police confirmed this morning the captain ‘remains in our custody’, American-based maritime news website gCaptain reported it was told by a US official in the White House that foul play had not been ruled out.

However, UK transport minister Mike Kane told MPs yesterday that something went ‘terribly wrong’ for the crash to happen, but that there was ‘no evidence’ of foul play.

Shadow transport minister Jerome Mayhew told the PA news agency: “Where military assets are damaged it is vital that motives are fully investigated to exclude foul play.

“The nationality of the captain of the Solong raises further questions about potential motivation that the Government must now get to the bottom of.”

Port state control (PSC) inspection documents show the Solong failed steering-related safety checks in July 2024, and Irish officials deemed that its ’emergency steering position communications/compass reading’ was ‘not readable’. The inspection in Dublin highlighted 10 deficiencies.

Other issues raised included ‘inadequate’ alarms, ‘not properly maintained’ survival craft and fire doors ‘not as required’.

And another PSC inspection by Scottish authorities in October found two deficiencies with Solong, including lifebuoys ‘not properly marked’.

The ship was not detained after the inspections in Dublin or Grangemouth and an Ernst Russ spokesman said all of the deficiencies found in 2024 were ‘promptly rectified’.

The teacher appeared to be smirking away his screen, not even realising the 13 and 14-year-olds were filming him as the pornography was shown behind him.

The 62-year-old was teaching a physics lesson in Tashkinovo village, near the Russian city of Neftekamsk. But at the same time, he was seemingly watching an X-rated video on his laptop.

And pretty unfortunately for him, it was connected to the electronic blackboard behind him, with a pupil sneakily filming the whole thing from behind his physics textbook – causing it to go viral.

At first, a school source tried to point the blame on the teens, saying they were playing a prank on the veteran teacher.

But he ended up admitting to education officials: “I clicked on something, and some website opened.”

He claimed he’d been trying to open up an online journal and hadn’t intended to watch the explicit content – that was certainly more biology adjacent than physics. It’s reported that the teacher had forgotten his laptop was connected to the screen in class.

The school’s headmistress described the teacher as being ‘in shock’ after footage from the classroom went viral.

Unsurprisingly, there was a whole load of anger from parents and he decided to quit with immediate effect. The school had apparently wanted him to stay on his role, having had what was said to be an exemplary career to that point.

A source said it wouldn’t be an easy task to find a physics teacher up to the standard to be able to replace him.

The teacher was ‘valued and respected at the school’, having been there for nearly 40 years. It backed up that this NSFW broadcast was ‘accidental’.

After the footage of the incident went viral on social media, the school launched a review.

In her initial response to the scandalous situation, the headmistress said ‘comments will come later’.

“I need to hear both sides: I have already talked to the children, the parents, and I will talk to the teacher,” she said.

“Only after I hear both sides will I make a decision. No comments yet.”

It’s reported that the laptop that had this ‘accidental’ showing of the porn onto the electronic board in class has been confiscated with a law enforcement probe underway in the region of Bashkortostan.

While many remember Neil Armstrong for taking the first steps on the Moon, it’s easy to forget that Buzz Aldrin was the subject in one of the most memorable snaps in the history of the human race.

Unfortunately, a minority may believe that the moon landing was fake, as conspiracy theorists over the years have chosen not to accept the historic event, for whatever reason.

Scientists have worked hard in the decades since the first landing to gather information about our sole Moon, and while our knowledge about it may have increased, the photos taken on its surface haven’t got any better.

It also doesn’t help that humans last stepped on the Moon in December 1972.

But now, one ‘digital archaeologist’ on Reddit has gone out of his way to find more details in these existing NASA images.

Michael Ranger began his journey with the photo above, taken by Commander Neil Armstrong of Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin.

Unfortunately, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins was made to man Apollo 11 and remain in lunar orbit while his colleagues explored the Moon and collected samples.

If you look closely, you can see the reflection of Armstrong in the visor, as well as our own planet – if you squint hard enough.

So, how did Ranger do it?

Speaking to PetaPixel, he explained: “The visors of the spacesuits are coated with gold, so I colour corrected the gold out of it using the full photo as a colour reference to the real world colours.”

Ranger managed to sharpen what was in the visor, and turn it into a panoramic 360° image.

He explained: “I also added more room in the initial photo crop around the edges of the visor so that when it was unwrapped it would more accurately account for the space in the final 360° image that represents the inside of his helmet.”

Then, he points out: “Notice the pale blue dot.”

That’s our planet – over eight billion lives wake up and go to sleep every day, on that tiny ‘blue dot’.

In the image, you can see Armstrong in higher resolution, next to the Eagle lunar lander, operating the chest-mounted Hasselblad camera.

You can see our world in the top-right of the frame.

He also turned it into a panoramic ‘POV’ video, which you can view here.

People were amazed in the comments, as one wrote: “This is actually amazing. Super unique idea I can’t believe I’ve never seen before. I bet you could do this with a lot of Apollo pictures!”

Another said: “Well damn. You just made it possible for people to live the moment. Thank you!”

A third pointed out: “Wow that’s so cool to just discover another angle of the famous moon landing”.

Bin Laden led the terrorist group Al-Qaeda and was the man who organised the 9/11 attacks in the United States. He was discovered and killed during a raid in his Abbottabad, Pakistan compound on May 2, 2011.

Robert J. O’Neill, who shot to fame (pardon the pun) after killing the world-renowned terrorist, has undergone a big change of career in recent years, and now sells cannabis to help fellow former soldiers deal with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

But he recalled his days as a Navy SEAL in Netflix’s latest documentary, which was due to arrive on our screens on Monday 10 March, but was inexplicably delayed.

The three-part series will feature rare footage and will provide an in-depth look at how the world mobilised to hunt down bin Laden, founder of the militant Islamist organisation al-Qaida, after his orchestration of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

Featuring interviews with key figures in the US government who assisted in the global pursuit, American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden recounts the decade-long mission to capture one of the world’s most notorious terrorists.

Speaking on the documentary, Robert said: “These could be suicide bombers, but we can beat them, but we’ve gotta go now. I turn this way and standing in front of me, two feet away is Osama bin Laden.. It was one of those moments in life where things slow down.”

He added: “He’s taller than I thought, he’s skinnier than I thought, his beard was grey/white, but I recognised his nose, this is definitely him. He’s not surrendering, he’s a threat, not only to me but to my entire team, he has to die.”

The ex-SEAL has also previously spoken about what happened in the aftermath of Bin Laden’s death, including the humanity he showed towards the terrorist’s two-year-old son following his father’s graphic death.

He said: “I can hear bin Laden taking his last breath. When I shot him he fell to the foot of the bed.

“I shot him in the face three times. I moved Amal [bin Laden’s wife] and… his two-year-old son is now standing there, and this is the humanity of everything. This kid has got nothing to do with this. I’m a father. I picked him up and I move them to the back of the bed.”

There has been no update from Netflix thus far about the documentary, with screens still telling fans that the series is ‘coming soon’.

Jordan Adams, who is part of the ‘FTD Brothers’ lost his mum to dementia when she was just 52, and he and his brother Cian have inherited the rare gene which means they will also develop symptoms in their 40s.

The heartbreaking illness takes away people’s memories, and is linked to Alzheimer’s, which traditionally impacts people over the age of 65, but there are rare cases where younger people can suffer from the disease.

Jordan found out about his diagnosis with the cruel disease back in 2018, two years on from his mother’s passing. Only one percent of dementia cases are caused by inherited fault genes but Jordan and his brother were both unfortunate enough to receive the devastating diagnosis.

He said: “It’s cruel because I know exactly what is coming. I’ve watched every stage of that process of seeing my mum being stripped of everything that made her who she was and the effect that it had not only on her but the people around her.

“I’ve got a great opportunity, despite the sadness of my circumstances, to make a difference to change the lives of thousands of people in the future.”

Jordan is now an ambassador for Alzheimer’s Research UK and he recently discussed his diagnosis with award-winning actor and fellow ambassador Brian Cox in a recent film.

Brian said: “I am full of admiration for Jordan. Not many people of his age would have the courage to accept their diagnosis the way he has. This has taken huge courage on his part and that is something one has to admire and have respect for.”

Brian, whose brother and brother-in-law died after being diagnosed with dementia, has teamed up with Jordan to support the Omaze Million Pound House Draw in Scotland, with money raised from the draw going towards Alzheimer’s Research UK and the charity’s ongoing search for a cure.

Jordan said: “It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience sitting down with Brian and sharing my story with him, to support this fantastic campaign between Alzheimer’s Research UK and Omaze.

“Brian was very compassionate. As well as listening to my story, he also shared his own experience with dementia within his family, which just goes to show that anyone can be impacted by this devastating condition.”

He added: “Sharing my story to raise awareness and support dementia research has opened up some incredible opportunities for me, like this one with Omaze.

“The money raised from this partnership will do so much to help ensure other families won’t be devastated by dementia like my family has been.”

From today (12 March), there will be a 25 percent surcharge on any of the metals which are brought into the US from abroad, including on imports from the UK.

Industry bosses on our side of the pond have warned that Trump’s hike in taxes on goods is comparable to ‘taking a sledgehammer’ to free trade, with UK Steel saying it will have ‘huge ramifications’.

A host of people have been left pondering over what this actually means for our country, considering the US is our second largest export market for steel and aluminium after Europe.

William Bain, head of trade policy for the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), has now shared his expert opinion on what consequences Trump’s tariffs will have for the average person in the UK.

He explained that this plunges both countries on either side of the Atlantic into a ‘new age of uncertainty’, while sharing a wartime-inspired call to action for business owners in Britain.

“Keep calm and carry on exporting,” Bain told LADbible. “These are quite difficult times, but it’s important to emphasise just how important our US/UK commercial relationships are.

“They’ve gone on for centuries, they will go on for centuries. We’ve had tariffs from the US before and we carried on trading. The important thing is not to panic.

“There will be some impacts here, but we can work to mitigate them.

“I think the strength of our commercial, cultural and many other ties with the US will win – we will get through this period and still continue to have a close relationship with the US economy and society.”

Starting off with a dose of positivity might hopefully make the rest of Bain’s assessment of the tariffs a bit easier to swallow – but don’t worry, us lot don’t come off too badly.

The trade policy chief, who advised on Brexit, explained that the BCC has been advising a host of UK firms over the last week about how to handle this situation – down to how to best go about contacting US customs.

Bain said it’s a ‘really worrying and uncertain time’ for a host of business owners who are being forced to navigate this unknown territory alone, as these tariffs apply to a ‘broad range’ of steel and aluminium goods.

It’s not just the likes of car manufacturers who will feel the hit, as the former Labour MP explained that a lot of ‘downstream products’ are also slapped with the 25 percent tariffs too, rather than just large-scale exports.

“Things like tinfoil, a sofa that’s got a steel frame in it, construction materials that have steel plus a concrete element in it…it’s goods that have steel in them which are now affected as well,” he continued.

“So there’s a big range of companies affected by it, and it is a concern.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he intended to take a ‘pragmatic approach’ to the tariffs while negotiating an economic deal with the US.

Bain believes that the UK will probably start to notice the effects that the tariffs will have on trade with the US by mid-March, as he reckons there’s going to be a significant reduction in what we’re exporting.

Still, he remains certain that better days will be on the horizon soon enough…and if not, companies ought to consider prioritising commerce in other countries instead.

“Things will correct themselves over time,” Bain said. “Companies are putting strategies in place, they’ll look at diversifying trade as well. So they’ll adjust, but it could be a painful few weeks or months ahead.”

But it’s our American counterparts who are going to bear the brunt of this fallout, as they are the ones who have to put their hands in their pockets and fork out for the 25 percent tariffs.

Bain reckons that consumers in the States could end up coughing up at least another £14billion a year for these costs.

Despite this, Trump insisted the introduction of the tariffs marks the ‘beginning of making America rich again’, promising they will protect US manufacturing and increase jobs.

“It is a matter of fact that it is going to be the importers in the States who have to pay these taxes in order for the goods to be released from the port and go into supply chains or warehouses or shops,” Bain went on.

He added: “I think the concern for businesses over here is, will the customers in the US still want to buy at those prices? That is the concern, and also the uncertainty.

“[Trump] has chopped and changed an awful lot, sometimes every couple of hours. So businesses don’t know whether they are coming or going.”

I’m A Celebrity… winner Jones turns 39 today, however his birthday may look a little different from normal, as the musician is currently facing media scrutiny after a video which showed Love Island star and fellow campmate Higgins leaning in to kiss him in viral footage.

The clip came as a shock to viewers, as Jones had previously spoken about his 10-year marriage to wife Georgia Horsley while in the ITV camp.

Neither Jones, his wife or Higgins have since addressed the video publicly, which had been shared by The Sun on 1 March.

However, the McFly singer has now resurfaced on Instagram to reshare a number of birthday posts from friends and fans — which included numerous messages of support.

“Happy birthday to someone who can light up a room with just a simple smile,” read one kind fan message, alongside a snap of Jones on stage.

“Hope you have a wonderful day Danny. you so deserve it please remember especially today how loved and cared about you are by so many people hope you are well keep smiling that amazing smile.”

“Happy birthday @dannyjonesofficial please just have a good birthday ur amazing never forget that,” penned another fan, finishing the message off with a strong of celebration emojis.

“Happy birthday, mushy. You will shine again,” read a third message.

Messages also included kind words from the likes of bandmate Tom Fletcher, who wrote: “Happy birthday, mush Looking forward to standing on stage with you soon.”

Jones’ campmate and Coronation Street actor Alan Halsall also chimed in with a picture of the pair in camp together, alongside a ‘Happy Birthday’ message and a king emoji.

Jones spoke about the importance of his marriage during his time in the ITV jungle, with Georgia later seen emotionally reuniting with the singer after he was crowned King of the Jungle.

Georgia has been relatively active on the social media platform, sharing images of the couple’s seven-year-old son. However she has turned comments off on recent posts.

Meanwhile Higgins has shared a roundup of images detailing her outfit from the fateful Brit Awards evening, with the post seeing a several comments from fans asking what had happened between her and Jones.

She has since stayed away from posting grid photos, but has kept followers up to date with her work commitments in the US.

It might be one of the most bizarre occurrences ever, and something you’d only really experience in a bad dream, but Rev Mike Hall went through this in 2021.

The British reverend had bought the Luton home in 1990, but found out over three decades later that somebody had impersonated him and sold the property on for just £131,000.

Hall had been working in North Wales when he was told by his neighbours back in Luton that the lights at his property were on, and that someone was in.

After the long drive back, he found that a new owner was carrying out some building work.

BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours did some further investigating, as the locks had been changed and all of the Hall’s furniture and belongings had been taken out.

“I tried my key in the front door, it didn’t work and a man opened the front door to me – and the shock of seeing the house completely stripped of furniture, everything was out of the property,” he said.

The team managed to obtain the fake driving license that was used to impersonate him, a bank account set up to receive the payment, and even phone recordings of someone pretending to be Hall, telling solicitors to sell the property.

But this week, the reverend finally received some good news.

On Monday (10 March), the BBC reported that Rev Mike Hall was told by Judge Elaine Vignoli at Luton County Court that he would be granted outright possession of the home within 14 days.

He admitted he was ‘quite angry’ about the course of events in the past few years, calling the situation ‘quite sad’ for him and the family that have now been ordered to move out of the home.

This comes more than a year after his name was listed as the owner of the terraced house on the Land Registry back in November 2023, shortly before another problem came up.

Upon arriving at the property at the time, he found that one of its back windows was smashed, while the front door’s lock was ‘punched out’.

Hall believed squatters were living in the home, as curtains were closed, lights were on, and the boiler was being used.

At the time, the reverend said that approximately £60,000 worth of damage had been done, with Bedfordshire Police advising him to obtain an Interim Possession Order to get the two alleged squatters arrested.

After Hall reclaimed rightful ownership of the home, a BBC reporter went to the address, speaking to a man, woman, and young child that lived at the residence through a forged rental contract.

Luckily, Hall has finally managed to have the property returned to him after years of drama.