Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

Lewis Adams BBC News, Essex NCA Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is awaiting sentence for importing cannabis into the UK As a footballer, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas seemed destined for greatness. But a drug-smuggling conviction has left his career and reputation in tatters. How did things unravel so dramatically for a player once tipped for the top? Hailed by legendary…

BBC Anna Holligan’s bike meant a lot to her and other people I was planning an ordinary afternoon out – bags packed, ready to roll – when I bounded downstairs and was hit by a jolt of disbelief. The space where my cargo bike should have been was empty, and the double lock that had…

The Ferrari driven to victory by Formula One legend Michael Schumacher at the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix has been sold for 15.98m euros (£13.43m) at auction. He also raced in the F2001 to win the Hungarian Grand Prix and clinch the fourth of his seven world titles in that year. The car was sold by…

Rebecca Morelle Science editor Reporting fromAlberta, Canada Alison Francis Senior science journalist A tour of the bones being unearthed at Pipestone Creek Hidden beneath the slopes of a lush forest in Alberta, Canada, is a mass grave on a monumental scale. Thousands of dinosaurs were buried here, killed in an instant on a day of…

Cannes faced a citywide power cut on Saturday, disrupting the prestigious film festival and closing restaurants, and businesses. French police are investigating suspected arson as the cause of the outage, after a a substation in the village of Tanneron, which supplies Cannes, was attacked by arsonists in the early hours. Despite the disruption, the Cannes…

Spanish newspaper Marca, external reported last weekend that an unnamed Brazilian club had made an offer to Ronaldo. Botafogo are one of four Brazilian teams to have qualified and their coach Renato Paiva was asked about Ronaldo, external last Sunday. He laughed before saying: “Christmas is only in December. But if he came, you can’t…

Joseph Kabila, the ex-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has lashed out at the government of his successor – calling it a “dictatorship”. The 53-year-old made a 45-minute speech live on YouTube on Friday evening from an unspecified location a day after the Senate lifted his immunity from prosecution. DR Congo’s authorities intend to…

A power cut in south-eastern France has temporarily disrupted screenings on the final day of the Cannes Film Festival. About 160,000 homes in the city of Cannes and surrounding municipalities lost power on Saturday, France’s electricity operator RTE said. Police are investigating a possible arson attack as being the main cause of the incident. Organisers…

Mike Wendling Reporting fromDresden, New York BBC Listen to Mike read this article For the last five years, a loud hum has been a continual backdrop to birdsong and the occasional barking dog in the village of Dresden, New York state. Coming from the nearby Greenidge Generation power plant, which had been mothballed for years…

Students at the University of Maryland received encouraging words during their graduation ceremony from Kermit the Frog, who was this year’s commencement speaker. The last time Kermit the Frog delivered a commencement address was in 1996 to the graduating class of Southampton College of Long Island University. Jim Henson, the creator of the beloved frog,…