Author: Reporter

He wears a black bodysuit and a white mask, speaks in an electronically altered squeaky voice, and makes creepiness his signature mode of art. Uketsu, whose name literally translates to “rain hole,” both words that he loves, is Japan’s latest YouTube star and million-selling mystery writer. And he is beginning to take on the global stage. His knack for making everyone “feel uneasy” is the reason for his success, he told foreign journalists in Tokyo in January. His debut book “Strange Pictures” came out in 30 nations, including in English in the U.S. in January. It sold 1.5 million...

Many U.S. adults believe the federal government is overspending — but polling also shows that many Americans, including Republicans, think the country is spending too little on major government programs such as Social Security. The polls from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggest that as President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk push for extensive cuts throughout the federal government, slashing funding for humanitarian aid and turning their attention to the Department of Education and the military, Americans may not agree with where Trump and Musk’s cuts should ultimately fall. About two-thirds of Americans say the...

In the about 1,000 days between her drunken driving crash in May 2022 and her death, South Korean mainstream news organizations published at least around 2,000 stories on film actor Kim Sae-ron. A quick search in the country’s press database yields a wave of sensational headlines that illustrate how the local media often cover a celebrity’s fall from grace. Previously one of the brightest young stars in South Korean cinema, Kim was condemned and ridiculed for driving drunk, for talking about her financial struggles after losing roles, for taking a job at a coffee shop, for attempting a comeback...

In its first direct criticism of the Trump administration, North Korea lashed out at U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for calling it a “rogue” state and warned that such “coarse and nonsensical remarks” will never contribute to U.S. interests. The statement is the latest in a series of North Korean signals that it is not interested in resuming diplomacy with the United States anytime soon, though Trump has said he will reach out to its leader Kim Jong Un. Many experts say that Kim, preoccupied with his deployment of troops to Russia, is likely concentrating on developments in...

The charred remains of at least 26 victims of the Bashar Assad government were located in January by Syrian civil defense workers in two separate basements in rural Damascus. The discovery adds to the growing tally of mass graves unearthed since the fall of the Assad government in December. The remains, which are believed to include men, women and children, showed evidence of gunshot wounds and burning. Members of Syria’s White Helmets, a volunteer civil defense group, exhumed the fragmented, weathered skeletal remains from the basement of two properties in the town of Sbeneh, southwest of the capital. Wearing...