Nate Silver shocked and annoyed US newspaper pundits by correctly predicting the outcome of the 2012 US election

Statisticians' predictions have revolutionised political punditry and basketball alike. How did the big data revolution come about?

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The 10 Best garden games

Have fun with the children, and the rest of your family, this summer with this range of old and new games to suit all budgets

Bowled over... Indiana (not India) to build $6m cricket ground

If you were to hear that a brand new cricket ground was being constructed in India, you’d think nothing of it – but Indiana?

Hudderfield 60 Catalan Dragons 16 match report: Huddersfield seize on slip by Wigan to close the gap at the summit

It is 80 years since Huddersfield finished on top of the league, but the Giants moved to within a point of the pinnacle with what was eventually an overwhelming victory.

LeBron James of the Miami Heat celebrates after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 95-88 to win Game Seven of the 2013 NBA Finals
Pat McQuaid has failed to secure the nomination of his own national cycling organisation

Sport In Brief: Irish say they don’t want Pat McQuaid to be cycling chief

Pat McQuaid has failed to secure the nomination of his own national cycling organisation in his bid for a third term as president of the International Cycling Union.

I don't expect any Britain's Got Talent favours from Simon Cowell - MckNasty

DJ-ing drummer MckNasty says he expects no special favours on Britain's Got Talent, despite his chart-topping brother Labrinth being signed to Simon Cowell's label.

His position as the 42nd player chosen overall is the highest ever achieved by a born-and-bred British player

American Football: Menelik Watson is highest Brit in NFL draft

Menelik Watson from Manchester has been selected in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. His position as the 42nd player chosen overall is the highest ever achieved by a born-and-bred British player.

D.L. Wilson, a state trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety

Texas fertiliser plant blast: Survivors tell their stories

One local doctor: 'The whole street is gone'

The meaning of March madness

Why do Americans go nuts for this annual basketball competition?

Small Business Saturday set for British launch

Labour's business spokesman backs day to promote independent retailers

Basketball: GB women opt for Damian Jennings as coach

Damian Jennings has been named the new head coach of the Great Britain women’s basketball team ahead of a crucial summer.

Thusha Kamaleswaran on ITV1's Daybreak programme

Thusha Kamaleswaran, paralysed after being gunned down in London shop, takes first steps

Now seven years old, she was told she'd never walk again

LeBron James is happy to be centre of the media’s attention

Kevin Garside: It might take the heat off if Alex Ferguson copied nakedness shown in the US

James stood in front of his locker bold as brass in his boxers

Student who fried a flatmate's hamster sentenced

The 21-year-old could not remember the drunken incident

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Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

Special report: How my father's face turned up in Robert Capa's lost suitcase

The great war photographer was not one person but two. Their pictures of Spain's civil war, lost for decades, tell a heroic tale
The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

The unmade speech: An alternative draft of history

Someone, somewhere has to write speeches for world leaders to deliver in the event of disaster. They offer a chilling hint at what could have been
Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Funny business: Meet the women running comedy

Think comedy’s a man's world? You must be stuck in the 1980s, says Holly Williams
Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

Wilko Johnson: 'You have to live for the minute you're in'

The Dr Feelgood guitarist talks frankly about his terminal illness
Lure of the jingle: Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life

Lure of the jingle

Entrepreneurs are giving vintage ice-cream vans a new lease of life
Who stole the people's own culture?

DJ Taylor: Who stole the people's own culture?

True popular art drives up from the streets, but the commercial world wastes no time in cashing in
Guest List: The IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Guest List: IoS Literary Editor suggests some books for your summer holiday

Before you stuff your luggage with this year's Man Booker longlist titles, the case for some varied poolside reading alternatives
What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

Rupert Cornwell: What if Edward Snowden had stayed to fight his corner?

The CIA whistleblower struck a blow for us all, but his 1970s predecessor showed how to win
'A man walks into a bar': Comedian Seann Walsh on the dangers of mixing alcohol and stand-up

Comedian Seann Walsh on alcohol and stand-up

Comedy and booze go together, says Walsh. The trouble is stopping at just the one. So when do the hangovers stop being funny?
From Edinburgh to Hollywood (via the Home Counties): 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Edinburgh to Hollywood: 10 comedic talents blowing up big

Hugh Montgomery profiles the faces to watch, from the sitcom star to the surrealist
'Hello. I have cancer': When comedian Tig Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on

Comedian Tig Notaro: 'Hello. I have cancer'

When Notaro discovered she had a tumour she decided the show must go on
They think it's all ova: Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Bill Granger's Asia-influenced egg recipes

Our chef made his name cooking eggs, but he’s never stopped looking for new ways to serve them
The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

The world wakes up to golf's female big hitters

With its own Tiger Woods - South Korea's Inbee Park - the women's game has a growing audience
10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

10 athletes ready to take the world by storm in Moscow next week

Here are the potential stars of the World Championships which begin on Saturday
The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

The Last Word: Luis Suarez and Gareth Bale's art of manipulation

Briefings are off the record leading to transfer speculation which is merely a means to an end