Author: USA Facts News

Captain John Smith of the X-Stream fishing team said they were participating in an annual competition off the coast of Port Stephens in New South Wales last Saturday (15 February).

As the team were trying to attract legal shark species to their boat, a five-metre great white shark, which would have weighed over 1,500 pounds, approached.

After distancing themselves from the first shark, a second approached the boat only half an hour later.

When they eventually managed to shake it off by feeding it, a third shark then popped up.

“I’ve been game fishing since I was 12 years old, I’m 54 now, and I haven’t seen a great deal of whites,” Smith told The Canberra Times.

“I’ve seen one 20-odd years ago, a big fella, but to see three in a day, it’s just next level.

“A fish that big, they don’t have any fear factor.

“We teased them up with the burley bag and got some unbelievable footage.”

Smith added: “We had it chewing on the back corner at one stage.

“They’re a protected species so we’re not allowed to fish for them, so we don’t target them, we don’t try to catch them, we just try to get rid of them we best we can.”

Newcastle and Port Stephens Game Fish Club president Troy Radford warned that the second fish ‘could have done some damage’ to the five-and-a-half metre boat.

“They’re seasoned fishermen and they’ve seen a lot of sharks, but it still blew their mind seeing one of them up close, they’re beautiful creatures,” he said.

“Earlier, it was chewing on the corner of the boat, it was chewing on its side gunnel,” Radford also told Daily Mail Australia.

“It’s so big that it managed to pull the boat down [into the water] a bit… Big fish, small boat.”

During the second day, the completion was called off due to bad weather and Radford joined the group for some beers when they showed him the footage.

He praised how calm they were under such terrifying circumstances.

“They were still so excited. They were in awe. The adrenaline was still pumping,” Radford added.

The club president noted that it’s very ‘uncommon’ to witness so many sharks in a single day.

From theme parks to every bit of merch you can imagine, there’s everything to do with the Wizarding World that Potterheads could ever want.

But when someone created a special Airbnb, it was left looking more like something from a horror film than a fantasy.

The owner was apparently met with the ‘most horrific scene’ after letting out the special Harry Potter-themed spot.

Taking to TikTok with the username homelea.stays, they shared how they spent an ‘amazing six months’ making the ‘place as magical’ as possible for fans.

Videos say the spot in Watford (perfect for those going to The Making of Harry Potter attraction at Warner Bros. studios) gives a ‘taste of Hogwarts’.

Not an official Harry Potter place but rather a totally decorated and themed spot, the account seems to let out a number of ‘Potter themed’ Airbnbs.

And a clip shows what one of the lettings look like as the owner assures it’s not the same one that was ‘destroyed’.

The voiceover explained: “Someone has turned our Airbnb upside down, they have literally trashed the entire place.

“Things are all out of place, the TV has been smashed with bleach poured all over it.

“Frozen chips all over the floor, Fanta splashes all over the walls and the windowsill.”

There was also an ominous brown substance all over the bed which the owner explained it seemed to be a mixture of ‘coffee and coca butter’ and not blood or bodily fluids which users had originally suspected.

Before the destruction, the house sported a ‘Gryffindor common room’ accompanied by a ‘Slytherin themed bedroom’ with the walls totally covered in murals from bookshelves to wanted posters for Bellatrix Lestrange.

There are even Hogwarts capes hung up and framed images of characters with plenty of Harry Potter blankets, cushions and toys draped around.

In the bedroom, the bed, of course, has Slytherin bedding with a huge mural of the crest above it.

There’s even special wallpaper to create the vibe you’re really at the school, with a desk featuring even more merch and drawers that look like the Hogwarts suitcases.

It’s seriously impressive stuff with a huge design of potion bottles and fake windows on the walls.

But while it looks like the perfect place for Potterheads to stay, the owner claims one of the letting was totally destroyed by a Booking.com customer as they called them the ‘worst guest ever’.

Britain’s Got Talent is usually seen as a wholesome family show, but viewers have been left fuming after a ‘vile’ act left children ‘screaming’ in fear.

Simon Cowell and co returned for a new series this weekend, but fans are less than impressed with some of the acts which were shown.

Viewers questioned whether younger fans had been considered when the talented hopefuls were picked, with families raging that the chosen contestants had upset little ones.

The first performer to ruffle feathers was called Akira, who treated fans to a slapstick show where he appeared completely naked.

He showed up on stage using a silver plate to cover his modesty, before swapping the item for things like a beach ball and a tissue box.

Viewers of the ITV show at home were spared the sight of his bare backside as producer’s edited in a Union Jack flag to cover things up, but audience members in the theatre weren’t quite so lucky.

Parents were unhappy that the act was chosen for a family show. On YouTube, one ranted: “Absolutely Ridiculous! I had to tell my own children to look away! Kids are watching this!”

Another added: “How did this get through screening? It’s not past 9pm?”

“Why is there a bum on my TV at 19:53 on a Saturday evening?” asked one concerned viewer.

“May well be funny for adults. Nevertheless, not at this time of evening on main stream TV,” fumed another.

Then, children were apparently left ‘screaming’ when a gothic daredevil act appeared.

Called Auzzy Blood, the performer appeared in black and red make-up and a warning flashed up on screen, urging viewers not to try what they were about to see at home – just in case you thought shoving giant corkscrews through your face was a good idea.

A three-time Guinness World Record holder, the shocking act has appeared on America’s Got Talent as well as a Spanish edition of the show.

Viewers were horrified when the act wielded two giant spirals, the first of which he put through one nostril and out the other.

Fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, but then he put the second spiral in his mouth and out through his nose.

Auzzy Blood’s eyebrow raising routine continued as he pulled a plastic pipe through his nose, before asking Simon Cowell to drink from it.

He then inserted another hook into his nose before hoisting himself skyward with a rope.

“Noooo nooooo, I’m 100% having nightmares tonight,” trembled another.

“I’ve got one kid screaming. One kid in awe. One kid hiding behind a pillow,” said one parent, while another asked angrily: “Family friendly?!”

“This act should not be shown on tv. It’s disgusting! Kids watch this!!!” cried another.

Simon Cowell defended the choice to show Auzzy, insisting: “It’s spooky horror where you don’t want to watch it, but you do want to watch it. That’s obviously why we’re going to show it. We probably will get some complaints. Hopefully.”

He added: “I love it when they say ‘don’t try this at home’ like we’ve all got screws and things just waiting to do that.”

Sharing the damage via TikTok, the owner, who goes by the username homelea.stays, appears to run a series of rental properties in Watford allowing fans travelling to the popular The Making of Harry Potter tourist attraction at Warner Bros studios to immerse themselves in the Wizarding World for the entire trip.

However, a recent update saw the owner horrified to discover the place had been completely trashed by recent guests and in desperate need of some supernatural cleaning help.

In the viral clip, which has been viewed 5.5 million views, footage is shown of smashed cups, ‘bleach’ poured over a TV and one of the beds completely covered in brown stains.

“A few days ago I walked into my Airbnb to clean it, only to walk into the most horrific scene ever,” the voiceover explained.

“Someone has turned our Airbnb upside down, they have literally trashed the entire place.

“This was made for families and children,” the devastated owner added. “Now we have had to close it down until it is safe.”

The destruction left viewers horrified, with several users particularly concerned about the source of the brown stains left on the mattress.

“Please tell me you have reported this to police, that’s criminal damage,” one person wrote, while a second added: “I thought this was the crime scene cleanup channel when I saw the bed.”

“Thought it was a crime scene cleaning page I’m so sorry they did this,” a third person wrote.

In a follow-up video, homelea.stays clarified that the guest in question had booked the property through Booking.com not Airbnb, as the rental is available to book on both sites.

“Had this guest come from Airbnb they would have had a profile and if the ratings are bad we of course wouldn’t have gone ahead with the booking.” they clarified.

The user also explained that Hertfordshire Police had been notified about the damage and given the guest’s name, postcode and booking reference.

The user also clarified the source of the ominous brown substance on the bed, explaining that it was caused by a mixture of ‘coffee and coca butter’ and not blood or bodily fluids which users had originally suspected.

Whether people are trying to weigh up whether they could finally outrun Bolt (answer: no) or if they’re just wondering if he’s slowed down now he’s not running professionally, it seems to be a common question.

The former Olympian appeared on The Obi One Podcast, and revealed he constantly gets asked how quick he is in 2025.

“Everybody asks me that question!” he exclaimed.

The host asked cautiously: “I don’t want to insult you here, but would you still be under 11 seconds?”

“Yeah, of course!” said Bolt incredulously. “10 and a half, that would be me.”

The host offered him some running spikes to see how he would get on, and Usain replied: “I’ll probably rip my hamstring.”

Maybe not then.

“I’d probably run reserved but I’ve said this now… everyone asks me this, so I thought I’m going to go home, I’m going to train for three weeks, do the work for three weeks, then go to a track and run and see how fast seriously, so I can pull it out!”

Commenters rushed to leave their encouraging comments. “Miss this man on the track. Mr 9.58 himself,” said one.

“He hates training so we will never know,” joked another, while one said it really doesn’t matter: “Bolt’s coach told him before he retired that he could continue running for a long time. Because nobody else to this date is getting faster, Bolt was just getting slower! Think about that, that’s how great this man was.”

Others urged him to just enjoy his retirement: “You did your time bro, and exceptionally well…now relax and enjoy your life now!” as another said: “You don’t need to prove yourself, we love you.”

Bolt retired back in 2017, after winning eight gold medals at the Olympics.

He decided it was time to call it a day after he sustained a hamstring injury at the World Championships towards the end of the 4x100m relay.

He told talkSPORT that he’s previously been offered big money to come out of retirement: “I talked to my coach [Glen Mills], my coach was like, ‘Absolutely not’.

“It was like two years after I retired, but my coach told me, ‘Listen, if you’re going to retire, that’s it. I’m not going to coach you again, this is it. There’s no coming back after this.”

He continued: “So when I went to him he was like, ‘No, absolutely not.’ I was like, ‘You know what? I would do it,’ because when you go away from a sport, then you start missing it.”

Bolt confessed he had been tempted to try again, but his coach ‘shut it down real quick’ and saved him from himself.

“I miss the competition,” he revealed. “When I sit and watch the World Championships or the Olympics now, your blood starts to boil, you just want to be out there.

“Especially the guys that are not doing that well so I’m like, ‘If I was there, I’d be doing so much better.’ You know what I mean?

“So you really want it, but then you remember how hard you have to train and you’re like, ‘Nah forget it.'”

The Dutch woman paid a horrifying price of looking and smiling directly at a gorilla named Bokito, who she believed used to laugh with her anytime she did.

Back in 2007, Bokito managed to escape from his enclosure at the Diergaarde Blijdorp zoo, in Rotterdam, and in doing so brutally attacked one woman before crashing into a restaurant on the park and injuring a further three people.

It wasn’t until armed zookeepers managed to bring his terror to an end as they sedated him through the use of a tranquilliser gun.

Following the incident, authorities were trying to piece together what had caused Bokito to become enraged enough to break out of his enclosure.

According to reports at the time, it all kicked off at the zoo when Bokito responded to children who had been throwing rocks at him.

But after jumping over the walls of his enclosure, he initially only had eyes on the woman who he attacked – by way of dragging her around before biting her, causing multiple fractures and leaving her hospitalised.

When officials spoke to the woman she explained that she was a regular and would visit Bokito’s enclosure around four times a week since he was four months old.

In that time she had grown a habit of making eye contact with Bokito and smiling at him – which her husband said she had been advised not to do by a zookeeper.

In an interview with newspaper De Telegraaf, the woman later said: “If I laugh at him, he laughs back.”

But according to the website, Gorilla Trek, making eye contact with a gorilla is a huge no-no.

“To mountain gorillas, any person who keeps direct eye contact with them is a challenger and an enemy who comes to destroy the family,” they explain.

“Direct eye contact will therefore force the silverback to charge and fight you in order to defend his family. If you want to be peaceful with gorillas, you should avoid eye contact.”

Discussing the incident, one person shared their own experience on Reddit: “I once worked in a zoo on work experience at 15. I made the briefest of eye contact with a sliverback at the back feeding part of the enclosure, (not dissimilar to silence if the lambs prison, but with fencing) that was enough to of caused it to run at me and smash against the weak looking fencing with both fists and grunting heavily.

“He then grunt called to the others, who sloped off there platforms and started trying to get me with sticks and throw hay at me, I was quickly escorted out.

“It was prob because a cute baby gorilla was bashing its chest till it fell backwards and I was watching that, and the silverback was watching me in the background.

“They are very much not to be messed with and like pretty much all other animals, not to be imprisoned for our viewing curiosity.”

Last month, the President of the United States signed an executive order titled ‘Declassification of Records Concerning the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.’.

The order was put in place because ‘the victims’ families and the American people deserve the truth’.

House Oversight Chairman James Comer has put together a task force who are aiming to carry out the 78-year-old’s orders.

Also before the inauguration, Trump said he would release documents related to ‘Epstein Island’ and information on Area 51.

Chairwoman for the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, told Daily Mail podcast Welcome to MAGAland: “I don’t think the government’s been 100 percent truthful with the American people about what may or may not exist out there, especially in Area 51.”

Meanwhile, Trump has explained why he wants the files to be released.

“I have now determined that the continued redaction and withholding of information from records pertaining to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is not consistent with the public interest and the release of these records is long overdue,” he said.

“And although no Act of Congress directs the release of information pertaining to the assassinations of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I have determined that the release of all records in the Federal Government’s possession pertaining to each of those assassinations is also in the public interest.”

But Comer also noted: “When President Trump ordered the release of the JFK assassination files and classified documents, what we learned a week and a half later is the agency didn’t release all the documents.

“There were still 1000s of more pages.

“So we felt like this task force could follow up, and ensure that these agencies do what they’re supposed to do, because what we’ve seen over the past two decades in Washington is these bureaucrats don’t comply with Congress.

“They don’t obey the president. They have their own agenda.

“They’re all liberal activists and they’re arrogant.

“They don’t think the American people deserve the truth.

“They think they could spend tax dollars any way they want, the law doesn’t apply to them.”

Before becoming president, Trump promised: “When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!”

Reeves has starred in countless classics over the years, from John Wick and Speed to Constantine and The Devil’s Advocate.

But without a doubt, it’s The Matrix series which made him a superstar.

The sci-fi franchise didn’t only catapult him to A-List status – but he also made a tonne of cash in the process.

How much Keanu Reeves earned from The Matrix series (1999-2022)

• $10 million for The Matrix

• $15 million for The Matrix Reloaded

• $15 million for The Matrix Revolutions

• $12-14 million for The Matrix Resurrections

However, the salary alone barely scratched the surface on how much he made in total.

Reeves has made over $200 million from continued negotiated backend fees, according to the outlet.

This means he got a share of the $1.7 billion the franchise earned at the box office.

And another clause, that’s mentioned in all of his contracts, is that he won’t allow studios to digitally alter his face.

“I don’t mind if someone takes a blink out during an edit,” Reeves explained to Variety in 2023.

“But early on, in the early 2000s, or it might have been the ’90s, I had a performance changed.

“They added a tear to my face, and I was just like, ‘Huh?!’ It was like, I don’t even have to be here.”

On the whole, Reeves just doesn’t like digital alterations.

“What’s frustrating about that is you lose your agency,” the actor said.

“When you give a performance in a film, you know you’re going to be edited, but you’re participating in that. If you go into deepfake-land, it has none of your points of view.”

He went on to say how he is scared of ‘deepfake’ cinema and how younger people ‘don’t care’ if it’s not real.

“People are growing up with these tools: We’re listening to music already that’s made by AI in the style of Nirvana, there’s NFT digital art,” the film star continued.

“It’s cool, like, ‘Look what the cute machines can make’, but there’s a corporatocracy behind it that’s looking to control those things. Culturally, socially, we’re gonna be confronted by the value of real, or the non-value.

“And then what’s going to be pushed on us? What’s going to be presented to us?

“It’s a spectacle. And it’s a system of control and manipulation.

“We’re on our knees looking at cave walls and seeing the projections, and we’re not having the chance to look behind us.”

Gordon Cordeiro, from Maui, Hawaii, was sentenced to life without possibility of parole for the killing of Timothy Blaisdell on a remote dirt road on the island.

According to court documents, Blaisdell had been shot after travelling to purchase pound of marijuana with $800 (£633) in cash.

His body was later found at the bottom of a ravine.

Cordeiro, aged 20 at the time of the killing, was later found guilty of murder, robbery and attempted murder in a second retrial and received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Over the next couple of decades, Cordeiro’s family would continue to argue his innocence, with his case later being picked up by The Hawaii Innocence Project, who argued the now 51-year-old should be released after new DNA testing indicated that he was not present at the crime scene.

This backs up an alibi presented by Cordeiro’s attorneys, who argued that he was at home with his family on the day of the killing and nowhere near the remote road, which is referred to by locals as Skid Row, Associated Press reports.

Three decades on from the conviction and Cordeiro has now been freed from prison, after judge Judge Kirstin Hamman ruled that the new evidence presented would likely change the outcome of another trial.

“And the judgement and sentence is vacated and the defendant is ordered to be released from custody,” she told the court, while gasps and cries could be heard in the courtroom.

Cordeiro has since branded his release ‘Freedom Friday’ and thanked his family and supporters for sticking by him.

“[I’d like] to thank all these people. This is the people that helped me out,” he told Hawaii News Now, adding: “Without them, I wouldn’t have made it out.”

He will also be eligible to file for $50,000 (£39,582) compensation for every year he served, totalling $1.5 million (£1.1 million).

His joy was shared by Kenneth Lawson, co-director of the Hawaii Innocence Project, who said: “He cried, we all cried.”

Cordeiro’s attorney’s had previously argued that a man named Michael Freitas, who had accompanied Blaisdell on the day of his killing, was actually involved. Freitas has since passed away in 2020.

“The police botched this case from the beginning and turned the number one suspect into the state’s star witness, resulting in a 30-plus-year nightmare and miscarriage of justice for Gordon and his family,” Lawson added (via The Daily Mail).

Regional prosecutors have since disagreed with the ruling, with Maui County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Martin stating that he is seeking for bail conditions to be imposed.

“None of the judge’s findings exonerate him in any way,” Martin said (via CBS), adding Cordeiro was a flight risk.

The ISS has been operated by the likes of NASA, Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos, the Canadian Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the European Space Agency since 1998.

However, its lifetime is limited by its primary structure from wear and tear.

“NASA has examined several options for decommissioning of the International Space Station, including disassembly and return to Earth, boosting to a higher orbit, natural orbital decay with random re-entry, and controlled targeted re-entry to a remote ocean area,” NASA explained.

All but Russia have committed to operating the station through 2030, but the Vladimir Putin led country have only committed to at least 2028.

“The safe deorbit of the International Space Station is the responsibility of all five space agencies,” NASA previously said.

Musk, whose SpaceX company has been tasked with building a deorbit vehicle for the ISS, wants to decommission the space station by 2026.

The SpaceX boss, 53, is hoping to colonise Mars from 2050 so reckons that the International Space Station (ISS) is no longer needed.

“It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the [ISS]. It has served its purpose,” he wrote on X.

“There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars.”

When he was asked by a follower when he’d like to begin deorbiting the ISS, he responded: “The decision is up to the President, but my recommendation is as soon as possible.

“I recommend 2 years from now.”

This comes after the ISS had 50 ‘areas of concern’ on board last year.

The American space agency and its Russian counterpart have been aware of leaks on the ISS, which have been there since 2019.

NASA told the Washington Post that Roscosmos has used ‘a combination of sealant and patches’ to cover up the cracks.

“We have conveyed the seriousness of the leaks multiple times, including when I was in Russia earlier this year,” NASA associate administrator, Jim Free, told the outlet.

As a fix, they instructed astronauts to keep the hatch closed as much as possible ‘in the evening’.

“We’ve asked them to minimise how long that hatch is open, and they are minimising it,” Free said.

“We’ve come to a compromise that they close it in the evening.”

The space agency believes that the ISS is still safe enough for operation.

That being said, the leak rate still ‘ranges from 2 to 2.5 pounds (of air) per day above space station baseline,’ NASA said a few months ago.