Mike Oldfield celebrates the 35th anniversary of Amarok with a newly remastered vinyl reissue

Newsmax Broadcasting filed a lawsuit today in the Southern District of Florida against Fox News and the Fox Corporation. Newsmax alleges that Fox has engaged in illegal activities. Their goal is to block Newsmax and other networks from appearing on cable and pay TV systems around the country. They are calling Fox News a monopoly […] The post Newsmax Sues Fox News, an Abusive Monopoly appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM Amid a challenging retail climate, one familiar sight on British high streets is not just surviving but thriving. Waterstones, the country’s largest bookshop chain, is finding renewed momentum as young adults reach for books as a wholesome alternative to endless scrolling. CEO James Daunt says the stores’ success comes down to creating “a place which is an enjoyable and effective way to buy books.” With 320 UK locations and heritage names like Foyles, Hatchards, and Blackwell’s under its wing, the chain is proving that brick-and-mortar bookshops can still inspire in a digital age. A cultural nudge from BookTok One factor behind the surge is the influence of social media trends. BookTok, which is the community of readers sharing recommendations on TikTok, has nudged countless younger adults back to paperbacks. “They want to do something not staring at a screen and relatively inexpensive,” Daunt explains, adding that once people begin collecting books, “they just buy more.” He’s quick to note that this isn’t just about TikTok itself but about a wider craving: “This is about people wanting to read and talk about books.” Whether it’s romance, fantasy, or the newer “romantasy,” certain genres have caught imaginations and sparked waves of readers back into shops. Fiction on the rise Figures support the trend. Fiction sales across the UK jumped more than 12 percent last year, according to the Publishers Association, and Waterstones reports that the boom has carried into 2025. This growth has helped balance out dips in nonfiction and children’s books, even as overall print sales declined slightly while digital formats climbed by 17 percent. Parents also remain a driving force, bringing children into stores to nurture a love of reading. Waterstones has leaned into that role, redesigning shops with cafés and displays curated by local booksellers to make them welcoming community spaces. More doors opening Rather than retreating, Waterstones is expanding, adding 10 new stores a year in the UK. Some of the latest are inside John Lewis department stores, in places like Cheadle and Bluewater, following the success of its Oxford Street branch. The company has also opened outlets in Next stores, aiming to meet shoppers where they already are. Importantly, the chain has held on to locations in towns where other retailers pulled out. Daunt points to Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria as an example, where Waterstones stayed even when others left, and is now seeing new energy in the community. “If you stay in these places the pendulum does swing back,” he says. A transatlantic chapter Waterstones is also part of a larger story. Its parent group owns Barnes & Noble in the United States, where Daunt also serves as CEO. There, the rebound is even stronger after years of heavy losses in independent bookshops. Barnes & Noble now plans to open 60 new stores annually, drawing on lessons learned in the UK about empowering booksellers and building inviting spaces. A wholesome escape At its heart, the growth of Waterstones tells a simple, reassuring story: people are still drawn to the tactile, communal joy of books. For younger adults in particular, reading has become both an affordable escape and a way to connect offline. In a world saturated with screens, it’s a trend that feels not just wholesome but hopeful.The post UK-based bookshop Waterstones grows as young readers rediscover the joy of books first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM We all know them: that friend, colleague, or neighbor who somehow manages to squeeze in a long run, clear their inbox, and make headway on a passion project before we’ve even finished our morning coffee. From the outside, it might look effortless. But look closer and you’ll see their success rests on a foundation of habits. Practical, learnable, repeatable habits. Decades of research across fields like business, athletics, and creative work point to three habits in particular that separate these so-called superperformers from the rest. The good news is that none of them require billionaire backing or Olympic-level genetics. Let’s break them down. 1. They set transformative goals, not transactional ones A big difference lies in how goals are framed. Instead of setting goals based on external outcomes such as“I want to run a marathon to lose 10 pounds”, superperformers link their goals to identity by saying to themselves something along the lines of: “I want to run a marathon because I am a runner.” Research by behavioral scientists, including Elliot T. Berkman, shows that identity-linked goals engage deeper motivational circuits in the brain, making us far more likely to persist. As Jonathan Myers, PhD, a health research scientist at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System, puts it, these goals tap into reward pathways and self-regulatory networks. When people say “dream big,” think of it not as a bigger paycheck, but as imagining a bigger, fuller version of yourself. 2. They work backwards with precision Superperformers don’t just set a finish line. Instead, they actually map the path in reverse. Once the goal is clear, they ask: what needs to be true one year from now? Six months from now? Tomorrow? Each step becomes a rung on the ladder. Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer’s work on “if–then” planning shows how effective this is. By turning each step into a specific plan, such as “If it’s 7 a.m., then I’ll start my workout”, our brains run more smoothly on autopilot. The result? Less wasted effort and fewer false starts. Instead of staring at a lofty end point and wondering how to get there, working backwards breaks the impossible into manageable milestones. From there, the only thing left to do is act. 3. They prioritize actions that bring real returns Finally, superperformers spend their energy where it counts. The Pareto principle (the 80/20 rule) applies here: a small fraction of effort produces most of the results. Once goals are clear and steps are mapped, the work is in prioritizing what drives progress toward that vision of identity. That doesn’t mean forcing yourself to always “eat the frog” first thing in the morning. It simply means making sure the highest-impact work gets its rightful spot at the top of the list. And here’s the nuance: prioritization also includes room for exploration. Google’s famous “20 percent time” was designed for exactly that. Side projects, experiments, or skills that seem tangential today could spark breakthroughs tomorrow. The takeaway Superperformers aren’t superhuman. They’re people who align their goals with who they want to be, who chart their path with clarity, and who dedicate their focus to what matters most while leaving space for curiosity. These are habits anyone can adopt. The invitation is open: link your goals to identity, reverse-engineer the steps, and make sure your daily actions reflect the bigger life you’re building.The post The 3 habits that help superperformers get ahead (and how you can use them too) first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.

An 18-year-old man who was detained at the site of a lethal triple shooting at an apartment complex had killed two of the victims, according to California police.The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said they were called to the Lance Apartments along El Camino Avenue in Carmichael on Sunday at about 7 a.m. over a report of bullet holes and possibly dead people.Police did not release the identities of the three men killed and later said they were gang-related and knew each other. When they arrived, they found three men dead from gunshot wounds at the apartment and detained one man, identified as 18-year-old Jaylen Davis. All of the men were in their twenties, and they were all found with guns next to them.Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper criticized a low-income housing complex for delaying its investigation by not providing security video when requested. After obtaining a subpoena, police identified a witness that aided in the investigation.Police determined that two of the men were robbing the third man at the apartment and shot him during a struggle. That man died.Davis, who also lived at the apartment complex, then retrieved his gun and killed the two robbers. The witness interviewed by police confirmed the details relayed by Davis.The sheriff's office said the four men in the incident had prior felony convictions and were restricted from possessing guns.RELATED: California couple ran over man until he was pinned under truck wheel, then pepper-sprayed him Police said the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office would not seek homicide charges against Davis.However, Davis is going to face charges related to the gun possession and also because he was on parole and had an ankle monitor at the time of the incident. He is not eligible for bail.Police did not release the identities of the three men killed and later said they were gang-related and knew each other. Sgt. Amar Gandhi told KTXL-TV that Davis would not likely face a strict punishment for the low-level offenses.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A comedian lands at Heathrow and finds himself met by officers as though he posed a terrorist threat. His offense? A social media joke about trans people. He’s released on bail on the condition he doesn’t post on X.Another man prays silently outside the “safe zone” of an abortion clinic and is hauled off, given a two-year conditional discharge, and fined £9,000 (just over $12,000).We hope Britain pulls up from its nosedive, but let’s not delude ourselves. America faces the same temptations.A third man waves the Union Jack at a pro-Palestinian march in England — only to be arrested. Reuters quickly ran interference: not for the flag, they said, but for a “racially aggravated public order offence” and “homophobic abuse.” As if that makes it better.And we’re still not mentioning the Islamic child-rape scandal that grows worse with every new revelation. The United States watches Britain collapse into a kind of Reformation-era persecution, this time in the name of Islam, paganism, and sexual license. Americans shake their heads, maybe reassure themselves: We fought a revolution to escape this. Charles II jailed Christians. Charles III praises Islam. And we have the First Amendment. Case closed.Not so fast. We may be on the same road. Once you begin policing speech to protect feelings, the end point looks very much like the UK. And we have plenty of warning signs.The university test caseUniversities may be the clearest early indicator. Professors tell us every profession must “look like” society — except their own. If a field is 97% male, they call it systemic bias. But in the academy itself, where atheists and leftists dominate, they see no problem.The numbers don’t lie. At Arizona State University, a December 2024 survey found just 19 Republicans among 544 faculty members. At the University of Arizona, only eight Republicans out of 369. Entire departments lacked a single Republican. A 2023 Harvard Crimson study found only 2.5% of Harvard faculty identify as conservative. If any other profession looked this skewed, professors would scream about bias. In their case, they call it “normal.”And the consequences? They’ll defend freedom of speech for burning an American flag. Burn a trans flag, and suddenly you’ve committed a hate crime. That is one step removed from Graham Linehan’s arrest in the UK for an X post.Censorship in practiceStudents already know what this means. A 2022 FIRE survey found they self-censor in class. They parrot leftist slogans on gender and race, not because they believe them, but because they want the grade. We are teaching them to lie to advance. No one is being asked to confess Christ; they are being asked to confess Ibram Kendi and John Money.I’ve seen it firsthand. At ASU’s Honors College, faculty blocked Charlie Kirk, Dennis Prager, and Robert Kiyosaki from speaking, smearing them as “white supremacists.” That label alone was enough to push the event off campus. These professors weren’t interested in argument. They wanted silence.RELATED: Why the English flag now terrifies the regime Blaze Media illustrationTruth vs. liesHow do they justify it? With “hate crimes.” Not crimes that incite violence, but crimes of opinion. Disagree with LGBTQ ideology? That’s hate. Straight to jail. Professors sleep well at night because we’ve accepted their framework: society divided into oppressors and oppressed. Bad outcomes aren’t the result of choices, but of systemic injustice. Victims must be coddled, even at the expense of truth.Once you accept that, feelings erase the First Amendment.We need a spine. Sexual sins are real and destructive. Abortion ends a life. A comedian may say this through jokes; a philosopher may say it through essays. Either way, it’s the truth. The mob can gnash its teeth, plug its ears, strip away free speech, and jail comedians, but reality doesn’t change.We hope Britain pulls up from its nosedive, but let’s not delude ourselves. America faces the same temptations. We must pray for the end of abortion, speak plainly about the damage sexual ideology inflicts on children, and reject the false frame of “oppressors and oppressed.” The real categories are truth and lies. Choose wisely, while you still can.

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