Russia is still sending one of the largest groups of athletes to the Winter Olympics despite doping ban

Russia may have been banned from the Winter Olympics but they are still going to have one of the largest groups of athletes at the games.

The Russia’s Olympic Committee announced on Thursday that it will send 169 athletes to South Korea to compete in the games.

Only three nations had at least 169 athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the United States, Canada, and Russia, which as the host nation in 2014 had 232 athletes competing.

Russia is sending the large contingency despite being banned from the Winter Olympics for manipulating the doping tests at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Russian athletes who still wanted to compete in the Olympics had to be cleared by a vetting process. The vetting included new evidence that could show if the athletes had previously attempted to "hide and modify" biological data that would have suggested steroid use.

Human History Gets Longer: Oldest Fossils Outside of Africa Found

The oldest fossils of modern humans outside Africa have been discovered in Israel, a new study finds.

The newly revealed jaw and teeth are estimated to be up to 194,000 years old. This makes these fossils at least 50,000 years older than modern human fossils previously unearthed outside Africa, and closer in age to when recent genetic results suggested modern humans may have first left Africa.

These new findings suggest that modern humans may have had more time to interact and interbreed with archaic human lineages outside of Africa than previously thought. The discovery also sheds light on the routes modern humans might have taken while dispersing from Africa. [See Photos of Our Closest Human Ancestor]

When humans left Africa

Modern humans originated at least 200,000 years ago in Africa. The oldest known bones of our species, Homo sapiens, may date back about 300,000 years.

Celebrities will wear white roses on the Grammys red carpet to send an important message

Several artists are planning on wearing white roses on the red carpet at the 2018 Grammy Awards.
The roses are intended to show support for the "Time's Up" movement.
This comes after many actors wore a "Time's Up" pin to the 2018 Golden Globes.
Artists such as Kelly Clarkson, Halsey, and Cyndi Lauper will reportedly participate.

In early January, several prominent members of the movie industry showed support for the fight against sexual misconduct by wearing the "Time's Up" pin on the Golden Globes red carpet. Now, the music industry is gearing up to show their support for the initiative at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

According to Billboard, several attendees including Kelly Clarkson, Halsey, and Cyndi Lauper are planning to wear white roses on the red carpet to show solidarity for the "Time's Up" movement.

Mexican drug lord, El Chapo promises not to kill any jurors ahead of his trial in court

El Chapo promises not to kill any jurors ahead of his trial in court


Notorious drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán promises he won’t kill any jurors seated in his upcoming federal court trial, arguing it’s therefore unnecessary to keep them anonymous and under armed guard as prosecutors have asked.

Affording any special protections to the panel “sends the message to each juror that he or she needs to be protected from Mr. Guzmán. From there, members of the jury could infer that Mr. Guzmán is both dangerous and guilty,” defense attorney A. Eduardo Balarezo wrote in a recently filed motion.

Grammy Predictions 2018: Who Will Win, Who Should Win

This time every year, as the Grammys loom on the horizon, we all try to second-guess the Recording Academy, hoping against hope that the best artists (or at least our favorites) will get to take something home from the big ceremony.

Once again, we've weighed the evidence and predicted who will be victorious, while also suggesting who should win and who should be angry they weren't nominated in there first place. How good are our guesses? We'll find out on Sunday. One thing's for sure: If the Grammy folks can deny Ed Sheeran a nomination for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year, then truly anything is possible.

Album of the Year

"Awaken, My Love!," Childish Gambino
4:44, Jay-Z
Damn., Kendrick Lamar
Melodrama, Lorde
24K Magic, Bruno Mars

WILL WIN: Melodrama, Lorde
With two hip-hop albums vying for attention, and lingering anti-rap sentiment among some of the elders in the electorate, this fantastic album might just suffer a problematic triumph. This is Kendrick's year, in the same way 2017 was Beyonce's, and a win would put Lorde in the same awkward position that Adele found herself in last year.

Australian woman kills two 'disabled' adult children for financial gains

Canberra: An Australian woman has been accused of murdering two of her adult children for financial gain before trying to claim more than $100,000 in death benefits.
Maree Crabtree, 51, was arrested on Queensland's Gold Coast on Wednesday morning over the deaths of her daughter (18) and son (26), who were originally thought to have committed suicide until suspicions were later raised.
Their bodies were found, five years apart, in separate houses on Queensland's Gold Coast.
The Australian mother allegedly forced prescription medication on her children who had disabilities.
Detectives allege Crabtree fraudulently received over $550,000 from an insurance payment, before allegedly attempting to receive another $125,000 death benefit and $238,000 permanent disability claim.

South Korea makes suicide pacts a criminal offence in effort to reverse world’s second highest rate

South Korea plans to make organising a suicide pact a criminal offence, it was announced on Tuesday, in an effort to reduce one of the world’s highest rates of self-killing.

The suicide rate in Asia’s fourth largest economy is the second largest globally, and the highest in the industrialised world after increasing sharply since 2000 to 25.6 per 100,000 people a year. In 2015, South Korea reported 13,500 suicides, or about 37 a day.

Ex-USA Gymnastics doctor sentenced to 175 years for sexual abuse

The former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar has been sentenced to between 40 and 175 years in prison for abusing athletes in his care. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina reached her decision after a sentence hearing that heard from dozens of women and girls, including Olympic champions Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney.


Nassar, who also treated athletes at Michigan State University, had already admitted in November to molesting seven girls in his care under the guise of treatment.

Danish submarine-owner charged with abusing journalist Kim Wall before killing her

Danish inventor Peter Madsen tied up and abused Swedish journalist Kim Wall before murdering her on board his home-built submarine, according to the indictment published on Tuesday.

Madsen planned the murder by bringing items, including a saw and screwdrivers, which were used to hit, cut and stab Wall while she was alive, the prosecutors said.

NASA pulls first black crew member from ISS mission

NASA is facing allegations of racism in the wake of its decision to bump Astronaut Jeanette Epps, who was slated to become the first black crew member on the International Space Station, from its upcoming expedition.

Rumors surrounding her prompt removal have swirled since NASA on Thursday announced Epps would be replaced on the flight by Serena Auñón-Chancellor, a member of Epps’ astronaut class slated to launch later this year, according a news release.

Henry Epps, in a now-deleted Facebook post, alleged racism was at the root of his sister getting pulled off Expedition 56-57.

Tax slips don't lie? Shakira under investigation for tax evasion

Judicial authorities in Spain say Shakira is under investigation for possible tax evasion during the three years before she officially moved to Barcelona.

The Colombian singer switched residences in 2015 from the Bahamas to Barcelona, where she lives with her partner, Barca soccer player Gerard Pique, and the couple’s two sons.

Tax authorities suspect the singer already lived in the northeast city between 2012 and 2014, when she allegedly failed to pay income taxes in Spain.

Porn star Ginger Banks reveals REAL reason behind spate of deaths in the industry

One was found face-down on a rented bed , naked from the waist down. Another had hanged herself in a park near the home she shared with her beloved husband. A third reportedly relapsed on prescription pills and died at rehab . The common denominator? These three women - and two others - were all stars of the porn industry. And they all died in the last three months.

The recent spate of tragic deaths is no coincidence, says Ginger Banks, an adult performer who is calling for porn stars to understand their rights.

Speaking to HollywoodLife , she revealed the real reason why some women in porn struggle - and it's all because of how they're treated by viewers.

Malia Obama is spotted cosying up to her posh British boyfriend who enjoys a cigarette in New York

Former First Daughter Malia Obama and her British beau, Rory Farquharson, both 19 and at Harvard University, enjoyed an afternoon in each other's company in New York city. Farquharson first entered the media spotlight, when he was caught passionately kissing President Barack Obama's eldest daughter before a Harvard-Yale football game in November. Malia, 19, who took a gap year before starting at Harvard this fall, met her sophomore boyfriend at their prestigious Ivy League university.

'I want my pin back': Scarlett Johansson calls out James Franco after actor was accused of sexual misconduct by five different women - as tens of thousands take part in Women's March in US

Scarlett Johansson delivered a powerful speech at the Women's March in Los Angeles on Saturday evening, calling out James Franco for claiming to support the Time's Up Movement.
 'How could a person publicly stand by an organization that helps to provide support for victims of sexual assault while privately preying on people who have no power?' the Avengers star asked, in front of the massive crowd as Black Swan actress Mila Kunis held up a microphone to her.
It comes as thousands of women march on Washington to commemorate a year since the historic Women's March on January 21 2017, a day after Trump's inauguration. This year, the marches also take on the momentum of the Me Too and Time's Up movements against sexual misconduct which were sparked with allegations against Hollywood heavyweights.

Ed Sheeran, 26, is engaged!

Ed Sheeran is engaged to his girlfriend, Cherry Seaborn.

The Grammy-winning singer announced his engagement on Instagram this morning. Posting a photo of them both, he revealed they got engaged right before the new year. He said they are “very happy and in love” and that their “cats are chuffed as well".