News Desk

Former child star Bobb’e J. Thompson, who acted in “That’s So Raven” and “30 Rock,” has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison.

Thompson was arrested last fall after police said he was driving 104 mph — more than 30 mph over the speed limit — in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa. A news release issued by U.S. attorney’s office of the Northern District of Iowa said an officer stopped the vehicle and spotted Thompson and the passenger switching seats. The officer reported that, when he approached the car, there was a smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle.

Officers searched the vehicle and, according to the news release, found a backpack holding bags of dispensary-bought marijuana and a .40-caliber handgun that was fully loaded with a 15-round magazine. Police said the gun had been reported stolen from a car in Kansas City, Mo.

Actor Bobb’e J. Thompson speaks at Spike TV’s 2009 Guys Choice Awards at Sony Studios in Culver City.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The “Role Models” and “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” actor was also convicted of battery and assault in 2020. Then in 2022 he was convicted of possession of a firearm, which was prohibited because he was a felon.

In April, Thompson pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, and last week he was sentenced by an Iowa district judge to more than two years in prison.

Thompson’s “That’s So Raven” co-star Kyle Massey told TMZ on Monday that he loved his former co-star no matter what.

“Free Bobb’e J., man, that’s my brother,” he said. “We love you, we support you, we got your back, whatever you need, man, we’re gonna take care of you. It just always sucks to see one of your friends or someone that you love go through something hard like that. So we’re just gonna be rooting for him no matter what.

“Keep your head up, we’re here and we love you,” he added. “We love you so much, bro. No matter what.”

On Tuesday, nearly 130 heads of state and government are expected to begin taking the podium at the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York as the high-level general debate opens.

The debate is the key event of the UNGA’s annual session, which began on September 8, when Khalilur Rahman of Bangladesh took office as president.

In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera looks at what happens at the UNGA, who will speak, and the key moments to watch.

When is UNGA 2026?

The debate opens on Tuesday, September 22, runs through Saturday, September 26, and resumes on Monday, September 28, as no sessions are held on Sunday.

It runs in two daily sessions: from 9am to 2:45pm local time (13:00 GMT to 18:45 GMT) and from 3pm to 9pm (19:00 GMT to 01:00 GMT the next day).

Statements are expected to observe a voluntary 15-minute limit, though many run longer, and meetings continue until all scheduled speakers have spoken.

Who is speaking at UNGA 2026, and when?

The session opens with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who introduces his annual report and is expected to give his final address, followed by UNGA President Khalilur Rahman, who formally opens the debate.

By tradition, Brazil is always the first country to speak, a practice that began in 1955 when it volunteered to open the debate, when no other country would. The United States, as the host country, usually speaks second, and President Donald Trump is expected to take the podium after Brazil on Tuesday morning, likely around 9:45am local time (13:45 GMT).

For all other member states, the speaking order is determined by the level of representation (head of state, head of government, or minister), expressed preferences, and geographic balance.

The Holy See (Vatican City), the State of Palestine, and the European Union are also invited to participate, with their speaking slots set according to their representation.

Speakers for day one are shown in the graphic below. The speaking schedule for the remaining days will be published in the coming days.

Where is the UNGA held?

The UNGA is held at the UN headquarters, which is located along the East River in Manhattan, New York.

The complex, built between 1949 and 1952, is owned by the UN and is considered international territory. It serves as the main hub for international diplomacy.

The UNGA has not always been held in New York. The first six UNGA sessions took place in different cities, beginning in London and later including Paris. Since 1952, however, nearly all sessions have been held at the UN headquarters in New York.

Some notable exceptions include 1988, when the UNGA met in Geneva, Switzerland, after the US denied a visa to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

This time, for the second year running, the US has denied visas to Palestinian officials, so President Mahmoud Abbas will address the UNGA by prerecorded video after member states voted to allow it.

The Trump administration’s decision has drawn widespread criticism, with the UN asserting that it violates the Host Country Agreement, which obligates the US to allow heads of state and government to travel to New York for annual meetings and other diplomatic business, with full diplomatic immunity.

What is on the UNGA 2026 agenda?

The 81st UNGA has the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all”, which is set out in the UN’s information note on the arrangements for the high-level week.

Alongside the speeches, the UN has scheduled high-level meetings on climate action and a just transition and on the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development (September 23), on sea level rise (September 24), on pandemic preparedness (September 25), on the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration against racism (September 28), and on eliminating nuclear weapons (September 29).

Many speeches are also expected to focus on the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, artificial intelligence and the UN’s funding squeeze, while diplomats watch the race to succeed Guterres, whose term ends on December 31.

Who will be the next UN chief?

The UNGA formally appoints the secretary-general, but the choice is not expected to be made this week. The UN Security Council (UNSC) is still holding straw polls and must recommend a candidate first.

Guterres’s second and final term ends on December 31, and the race to succeed him is under way. There have been nine secretaries-general since the UN was founded in 1945, all of them men. Several UNSC members have said they want a woman to lead the organisation for the first time.

Seven candidates remain in the running, four women and three men, but more could still enter the race:

• Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica): Secretary-general of UNCTAD and former vice president of Costa Rica
• Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana): Guyana’s permanent representative to the UN and former foreign minister
• Ivonne Baki (Ecuador): Diplomat and former minister of foreign trade
• Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador): Former president of the UNGA and former foreign minister
• Rafael Grossi (Argentina): Director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency
• Macky Sall (Senegal): Former president of Senegal
• Olara Otunnu (Uganda): Former foreign minister and ex-UN undersecretary-general

Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet withdrew on Saturday after winning support from only one of the 15 UNSC members in the latest informal vote. The same vote put Costa Rica’s Grynspan narrowly ahead, with nine of the 15 members encouraging her candidacy, five discouraging it, and one with no opinion. Guyana’s Rodrigues-Birkett came second, with eight votes to encourage, six to discourage and one with no opinion, diplomats and sources close to the process said.

The UNSC must settle on one candidate with no veto from its five permanent members before recommending them to the UNGA.

When did each nation join the UN?

The UN was established after World War II, growing from 51 members in 1945 to 193 today, with two non-member observer states: Palestine and the Holy See (Vatican City).

The aim of the UN was to prevent future conflicts, promote international peace and security, foster cooperation among nations, protect human rights and support social and economic development worldwide – goals that many critics say it is increasingly failing to deliver on.

Each member has one vote in the UNGA, whose resolutions are generally nonbinding recommendations. That sets it apart from the 15-member UNSC, where five permanent members hold a veto and decisions can be legally binding.

Use the table below to find out when each country joined the UN.

Caracas, September 21, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) –  Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez hosted Paraguayan counterpart Santiago Peña at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on Saturday as the two South American nations relaunch bilateral diplomatic and consular relations.

The high-level working meeting reportedly focused on establishing a shared agenda centered on trade expansion, energy cooperation, consular assistance, and joint efforts to combat transnational organized crime.

The summit concluded with a joint statement announcing the renewed bilateral relations, signed by foreign ministers Félix Plasencia and Rubén Ramírez Lezcano for Venezuela and Paraguay, respectively.

Following the signing ceremony, Rodríguez and Peña expressed optimism regarding the reestablished cooperation.

“We are working together for a more integrated Paraguay,” Peña declared in a press conference, emphasizing that the dialogue was focused on “the well-being of citizens” from both countries.

For her part, Rodríguez claimed the accord did justice to principles of sovereignty, dialogue, and South American integration in Venezuela’s foreign policy.

“Venezuela continues to advance a sovereign diplomacy of peace, rooted in mutual respect, self-determination, and constructive dialogue among our nations,” she stated. “This meeting opens a new stage of cooperation aimed at addressing shared challenges and serving the concrete interests of both our peoples.”

The Caracas meeting reversed years of political friction and diplomatic tensions between the two nations. Bilateral ties were initially severed in January 2019 under former Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez, who aligned Asunción with Washington’s regime-change strategy by recognizing opposition figure Juan Guaidó’s self-proclaimed “interim government.”

Relations experienced a brief thaw in late 2023 under Peña’s incoming administration before breaking down again in January 2025. The Venezuelan government formally severed diplomatic channels after Peña supported far-right opposition candidate Edmundo González’s victory claim in the July 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections. The Paraguayan president further backed Venezuelan anti-government forces by attending María Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in December 2025.

A central point on the reopened diplomatic agenda was the resolution of a long-standing debt owed by Paraguayan state oil company Petróleos Paraguayos (Petropar) to Venezuela’s state energy company, Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).

The financial dispute stems from fuel shipments received by Petropar under the 2004 Caracas Energy Accord, an energy integration initiative launched under President Hugo Chávez to provide favorable financing conditions for oil imports across Latin America and the Caribbean. Paraguay currently maintains an outstanding principal debt estimated at approximately US $300 million.

Addressing the issue ahead of the summit, Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano acknowledged the core obligation but highlighted technical disagreements regarding accumulated interest calculations.

“The differential of that debt is linked to interest that applies outside the commercial agreement that exists with that country,” Ramírez explained during a press conference last week, noting that the specific arbitration over interest rates remains before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris.

The resolution of the debt has been paralyzed for years primarily due to the severing of diplomatic ties, compounded by unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States against PDVSA.

With diplomatic channels now reopened, both governments signaled their intention to structure a viable settlement mechanism outside of imperial financial restrictions.

Since the January 3 US military strikes and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, the acting Rodríguez government has aligned its foreign policy with Washington, mending or expanding ties with US partners in Latin America and beyond while scaling back support for long-term allies such as Cuba and Iran.

Following Saturday’s summit in Caracas, Acting President Rodríguez departed Venezuela for New York City, where she will attend the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) this week.

According to Reuters, Rodríguez is slated to hold discussions on energy and mining agreements, as well as Venezuela’s ongoing debt restructuring process. 

On Monday, the Venezuelan acting president met with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, though no details of the talks were disclosed. Caracas has sought to unblock around $4.5 billion in IMF-issued Special Drawing Rights (SDR) for recovery efforts following the June 24 double earthquake.

Likewise on Monday, Rodríguez held talks with World Bank President Ajay Banga.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Lisbon, Portugal.

Emmerdale villain Tom King – played by actor James Chase – will make his return to the Dales later this year in a devastating twist for Belle Dingle and her new partner Kammy

Emmerdale villain Tom King is returning to the Dales in a shocking twist.

Actor James Chase is reprising his role as the abusive Tom King for new scenes later this year. Belle Dingle – played by Eden Taylor-Draper – was targeted by her abusive ex-husband Tom.

Throughout their relationship, she was controlled by Tom, where he psychological abused her, cyber-stalked her and even harmed the family dog Piper to coercively control his wife.

He was convicted and sent to prison but now he is up for parole, and his unexpected return in Belle’s life threatens to turn her life upside down once again. Can the Dingles find a way to keep him in jail or will he manipulate those around him once more?

Emmerdale producer Laura Shaw said of the new storyline: “James’ return isn’t just about bringing back a familiar face; it’s about reigniting a complex and challenging story.

“When Belle gets the news that Tom is up for parole she’s forced to confront a trauma she battled hard to overcome. With her family and new partner Kammy by her side, we explore the lasting impact of Tom’s abusive actions on Belle as she fights to keep Tom away from the village.”

James Chase added: “Stepping back into Tom’s shoes is a responsibility I don’t take lightly. He is a character driven by obsession and a desperate need for control, and it is both fascinating and challenging to step back into that mindset.

“The audience knows exactly who he is and what he is capable of, so the challenge now is to show the lengths he is willing to go to in order to get what he wants, even if it means dismantling Belle’s life all over again. It’s a dark path, and I’m ready to see how far Tom will push it.”

Actor James left the show back in December 2024 after his character’s 10 month campaign of mental and physical abuse against Belle Dingle. He said of his departure: “One hundred per cent this is the right outcome for King.

“If the Dingles had gone after him and killed him, or even Belle kill him, I think that would be understandable but she and the family would be stooping to his level. By keeping it in the realms of legality, it is the right course of action.”

He added at the time: “This storyline has really resonated with viewers and, sadly, it’s been happening for a long time behind closed doors. Unfortunately, in real life, these things can go on for years.

“By doing the storyline for most this year, we have brought that feeling across – that you are trapped, you are with someone who is awful and you can’t find your way out of it. I feel really proud of what we have achieved and I’m especially proud of Eden (Taylor-Draper) who plays Belle Dingle. She is bloody brilliant and it has been intense. She has spent nearly every day crying.”

Emmerdale airs 8PM, weeknights on ITV1 and STV or from 7AM on ITVX and STV Player and YouTube.

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Countries including Germany, South Africa and Canada suggest international institution to set and enforce standards.

Twenty countries and the European Union have issued a call for international cooperation to ensure AI remains under human control, including the potential creation of a global oversight body to set and enforce standards.

The countries, including Germany, South Africa, Canada, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, issued the joint statement on Monday as global leaders prepare to discuss the risks posed by rapidly advancing AI at the annual gathering of the United Nations General Assembly.

The declaration, released by the office of Finnish President Alexander Stubb, calls on governments and industry to act immediately to ensure that AI is developed in line with international law and remains under “human direction, oversight and control”.

“To realise AI’s potential, industry, governments and society must act now,” the statement says.

“We must address these risks and strengthen oversight – without widening the gap between countries in access to the benefits of AI.”

The declaration urges countries to develop and coordinate “common standards”, share reports of serious safety incidents, and explore the establishment of an international institution to “set standards, enable verification, and convene states when capability thresholds are crossed”.

Signatories include German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Kenyan President William Ruto, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The United States and China, the world’s two leading AI powers, did not join the statement, which remains “open for endorsement” by other countries.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to discuss AI when they meet at the White House on Thursday for their third face-to-face summit in less than a year.

Washington and Beijing, which are in a race to dominate cutting-edge technologies, have both rebuffed calls to slow down AI development to ensure greater safety.

Other AI players not among the signatories include India, South Korea, Japan, the UK and France.

The declaration comes as the AI sector is engaged in a heated debate about safety following calls for a slowdown in development by top industry leaders.

In an essay earlier this month, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on firms to “slow the pace” of development to mitigate risks, a proposal that was swiftly endorsed by rivals including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Amodei’s call followed a series of cases of AI models engaging in unsanctioned malign activity, including an incident in July in which AI agents being tested by OpenAI hacked the AI start-up Hugging Face.

In the latest intervention by industry on Monday, OpenAI said the US should lead an international effort to develop technical standards for advanced AI.

“The United States is well positioned to lead because its AI industry is at the technical frontier, and it still stands in a privileged global network position in critical areas such as finance, trade, defense, technology, and information systems,” the San Francisco-based AI giant said in a blog post.

“Leading now will determine whether the United States shapes the global AI framework or watches a fragmented, uneven, and conflict-ridden system take hold around it.”

The UN-backed Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, which examined the Hugging Face incident, on Monday also added its voice to calls for new guardrails, saying the cyberattack had exposed the “unravelling” of existing safeguards.

CENTRAL Cee and Yasmin Hadlow’s romance has ramped up a notch – as insiders tell me he’s going all out to make her his girlfriend.

Just weeks after revealing he fell for Yasmin, 23, after watching her cracking on inside the Love Island villa, the Sprinter star, 28, is using every tool in his armoury to get her interested.

And the first is his bank balance.

Onlookers spotted the London-born rapper, real name Oakley Caesar-Su, in a very select part of Harrods on Friday with Yasmin, where he was overheard telling her: “Buy whatever you want.”

An onlooker said: “Cench seems he knows how to treat the ladies and Yasmin is no exception.

“Before they went on a date to his party at 77 London, he had organised a shopping experience for her.

“He had it all arranged to go to the private area of the store and told her to spend whatever she wanted and he’d pick up the bill.

“Cench wanted Yasmin to choose whatever she wanted for the date and more.

“She absolutely loved it. It seemed like no one had ever done anything like that for her before.

“You could tell he’s really into her because he was happy to spend thousands on her to make her feel special.

“They’re not officially dating but it seems like Cench was making a heavy play for her to want to see him as boyfriend material.”

We first revealed they were hooking up last week, after Yasmin was seen on a date with the Cee.

He made a move on Yasmin earlier this summer while she was still dating her villa co-star Tommy Stagg.

When asked if he had a celebrity crush, on 60 Seconds With Missy, Cench replied: “I do have one, I’ve got one I’m sure. Yasmin from Love Island.”

Helpfully, Yasmin and Tommy split not long after flying back from Mallorca – and Cee made his move.

Confirming their break up, Yasmin said: “Me and Tommy aren’t together anymore.

“It ended up being… It was just a lot to adjust to on the outside.

“We just ended up saying that we’ve got a lot going on. Our lives essentially weren’t aligning on the outside, but we’re still friends.”

Insiders said it was still early days between the pair but admitted Cee was smitten.

“He’s acting like he’s won the jackpot,” a source told me.

“Cench really fell for Yasmin after seeing her on the show and then on social media.

“Now he’s managed to get her on a date he is going all out to show Yasmin how special he thinks she is.

“It’s early days between them but Cench is absolutely mad for Yasmin.”

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is running in October’s election for a fourth non-consecutive mandate as Brazil’s president.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro remain deadlocked in the latest polls, with the first round of Brazil’s election less than two weeks away.

Two new polls on Monday showed that the pair are statistically tied in simulated runoffs ahead of next month’s election. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of valid votes in the October 4 first round, the two frontrunners advance to a runoff on October 25.

Lula is seeking a fourth non-consecutive term as Brazil’s president, but faces a challenge from the political right in Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump.

The elder Bolsonaro was ruled ineligible for office after Brazil’s top electoral court found he had abused his power while in office. He was later convicted separately over a plot to overturn his 2022 election loss to Lula.

A Quaest poll released on Monday showed Bolsonaro with 42 percent of voter support in a potential runoff, versus 41 percent for Lula.

Meanwhile, a BTG Pactual/Nexus poll has Lula receiving 46 percent of voter support, compared with 45 percent for Bolsonaro in a potential runoff.

The latest polls mark a narrowing from an earlier Quaest poll on August 5, which put Lula ahead by a wider five-point margin, 44 percent to 39 percent.

US pressure looms over election

Lula launched his re-election bid on August 2 at the Workers’ Party convention in Sao Paulo, casting himself as a defender of Brazilian “sovereignty” as pressure from the US administration looms over the race.

The US imposed two fresh rounds of tariffs on Brazilian products in July, which Lula denounced as an attempt to influence the elections through economic pressure.

The Brazilian leader is currently in New York, where he is preparing to address the United Nations General Assembly.

Lula met New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for the first time on Monday. In a brief statement to reporters after the meeting, the Brazilian president said the two had talked about problems common to both Brazil and the United States, particularly the rising cost of living.

Asked about the state of the relationship between the UK and US, the prime minister said he believes it is “as strong as it’s ever been”.

Burnham has travelled to New York with his wife, Marie-France Van Heel, for a day of diplomacy and a speech to the UN General Assembly, which is expected to focus on the opportunities and dangers associated with artificial intelligence (AI).

He said: “I will be making the case for closer international co-operation on AI, a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, and renewed efforts to bring an end to the conflict in the Middle East because what happens abroad impacts each and every one of us at home.”

The prime minister will also announce the start of work on a new AI and Autonomy partnership between the UK and the US, focused on protecting critical national infrastructure using AI tech.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey is expected to criticise this plan at the final day of his party’s conference, saying it “doesn’t come close to meeting the scale of the threat” and “only risks making us more dependent on a Trump administration in the pocket of the tech bros”.

He will also call for a global pause on superintelligent AI and propose a new International AI Safety Agency.

His criticisms come after a series of stark warnings from the AI industry about the technology’s possible dangers.

For a new British prime minister, the first meeting with a US president has always been a pivotal encounter, but officials are well aware of the added jeopardy of a public appearance alongside the most unpredictable president in American history.

In advance of the meeting, the UK revealed that the UK and the US have, for the first time, fired an American torpedo from a British undersea drone in a military exercise.

The torpedo, described as “heavyweight” by UK officials, is “designed to sink ships and deep diving submarines”, Downing Street said.

It was launched in UK waters last week from a 12-metre long undersea drone called Excalibur, made in Plymouth.

It is the first time either the UK or the US have launched a torpedo from an uncrewed underwater vessel, rather than a crewed submarine, and is seen as a breakthrough in attempts to protect vital infrastructure such as deep sea data cables.

“Our work together already shows what can be achieved when our two countries combine our expertise and innovation,” the prime minister said.

Burnham was also asked by reporters about the UK government seeking to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and pay to lease back the joint US-UK military base on Diego Garcia.

It was confirmed in April that the deal had been paused indefinitely because of Trump pulling his support.

Burnham spoke to the Mauritian prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, on Monday.

He was asked by reporters to outline what he had told Ramgoolam, whether he supported the deal and if he had a plan to convince Trump to back it.

Burnham replied: “I said that we remain determined to secure the long-term operation of the base, which is crucial to our security and that of our allies.

“The assurance I gave was I will work towards a resolution, at the moment we don’t have that, but I gave an assurance that I would commit to working towards one.”

Miranda Hart has explained why she decided to sign up to Celebrity Traitors, which comes after years out of the spotlight as she dealt with a series of health struggles

Miranda Hart has explained why she decided to sign up to Celebrity Traitors following her “long term ill health issues.” The comedienne, 53, is best known for fronting her eponymous sitcom in the late 2000s but took a break from the spotlight after becoming increasingly unwell.

The TV star previously told how she had suffered a “tick-borne illness” while living in the USA as a teenager. At one point, she was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, before eventually being diagnosed with Lyme Disease in 2020.

The Celebrity Traitors will mark Miranda’s first mainstream television appearance in six years, and she has now explained that she jumped at the chance to take part.

She said: “My decision making in life generally, and certainly work, is follow the joy. I haven’t done much TV work for a long time, having only recently come out of long-term ill health issues and when I was offered this, my whole body sort of relaxed, I smiled, and I just wanted to jump about like a schoolgirl with joy.

“It’s just fun. It’s outdoors, it’s games. All the stuff I love. It’s play basically. And I’m passionate about encouraging people to play more generally, and this game is that in spades.

“It’s a brilliant television show – the only flaw in taking part is that as a fan of the show it will be less fun to watch it with myself in it!”

Despite her new lease of life, the former Call the Midwife star, who secretly got married in late 2024, is still living with elements of her illness and is struggling to a point but has been able to manage her symptoms and insisted she felt well enough to join Claudia Winkleman’s hit BBC game show.

She added: “I’m still living with elements of ME, and that brings fatigue and pain to manage, but I have come to a point where I feel well enough to step out, and that’s also partly why I’m doing this.

“The joy of mucking about on television again will hopefully outweigh some of the challenges. And I think it will be challenging on my body, so it’ll be interesting, and it’ll take some courage as this is a big next step.

“When you live with a chronic illness, it’s invisible, so people don’t know that you’re sitting there in pain. But then it reminds you that everybody’s got their thing. So, I’m also really looking forward to making friends and looking after each other and hopefully they can carry me up a hill or whatever we’re going to have to do!”

Miranda, who will appear alongside the likes of Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Coronation Street legend Julie Hesmondhalgh, and Love Island host Maya Jama, even teased that there could be a nod to her sitcom past.

She added: “When someone said on Instagram, “Oh, I hope you gallop in the castle,” I foolishly replied, Right, I now take that as a dare.” So that was idiotic of me.

“I will have to at some point gallop down a corridor. I’ll gallop when no one’s watching…or who would be the best person to encourage to gallop?

“I don’t know. I mean, Kenny probably doesn’t even know who I am. So, if I could get him to gallop…I could get a new generation galloping.”

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Dispatch calls reveal supermodel Cindy Crawford’s son, Presley Gerber, who died Sunday, suffered an apparent overdose while staying at a luxury outpatient rehab facility.

After Santa Monica police received a call reporting a cardiac arrest and another call for an overdose, officers responded to Resolutions Living, a $7.7-million, seven-bedroom mansion that operates as a rehabilitation home, at about 9:35 a.m., a law enforcement source told The Times.

Paramedics pronounced Gerber dead at 9:45 a.m. Sunday. The onetime Calvin Klein model had checked into the facility just hours before, around 10 p.m. Saturday.

On Monday, the L.A. County medical examiner’s office said that it was in the early stages of investigating the 27-year-old model’s death and that limited information was available.

An autopsy was performed Monday, but the cause and manner of death have been deferred, “which means additional testing and/or studies were requested in order to make a determination.” Due to the ongoing investigation into Gerber’s death, the medical examiner’s office cannot disclose what testing and/or studies were requested.

It could take a few months for a cause of death to be determined, the statement continued.

Police say that, at this time, there is no indication of foul play, but they are also investigating Gerber’s apparent overdose. According to the law enforcement source, police are attempting to track where and whom the drugs came from.

According to Resolution Living’s website, it operates as a partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient program for the treatment of myriad mental health issues, including depression, trauma and addiction, and offers dual diagnosis treatment for co-occurring disorders.

Gerber had been candid about his mental health struggles for years through various podcast appearances and his social media, and revealed that he’d sought treatment through various rehab facilities from the time he was a teenager.

In 2023, he told “Studio 22” podcast that he wanted to use his own experience to help others battling the same issues.

“Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that,” he said, “I think that whether I help one person or 100 people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do.”

Storm is moving northeast of Japan’s eastern coast across the Pacific, leaving a path of destruction behind.

A powerful storm has triggered evacuation advisories for more than 1.6 million people, causing widespread travel chaos, flooding and landslides near Tokyo.

On Monday, Typhoon Dujuan packed wind speeds of about 144 kilometres (89 miles) per hour as it moved 130km (80 miles) south of Katsuura, near the Japanese capital, cutting power to thousands of households.

Two people have been confirmed dead, Kyodo News reported, citing local authorities.

By early Tuesday, the storm had shifted away from the coast and was heading northeast out to sea towards the Aleutian Islands, with slightly diminished winds, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

In areas where warnings have been issued, “there’s a risk the rain will continue as the typhoon moves north”, the JMA’s Takuya Hosomi said.

Passengers were stranded at airports after Japan Airlines cancelled 135 flights and All Nippon Airways scrapped 140 on Monday.

Some rail services were suspended, including bullet train services connecting Tokyo and Osaka, Japan Railways said.

The JMA warned on Sunday that rain and winds were expected to intensify even before the typhoon’s arrival.

“The total rainfall through Tuesday could exceed the average monthly rainfall for September, resulting in record-breaking heavy rain,” the agency said.

Social media posts showed images of flooded roads in front of Kamakura station, a popular sightseeing spot.

“There is flooding in various parts of the city, so travelling by car is dangerous,” Kamakura Mayor Takashi Matsuo said on X.

Floodwaters also inundated parts of Ichikawa, east of Tokyo.

Dujuan forced the early closure of the Tokyo Game Show, one of the world’s biggest video game trade fairs, on Monday, its final day.

A major outdoor music festival and a baseball match, both scheduled to be held in Chiba, were also cancelled.

Dujuan is Japan’s 25th typhoon this year. The country often sees strong typhoons in the late summer and early autumn.

I CRASHED Kim Kardashian’s ultra-exclusive VIP launch of her London Skims store in a £35.99 knock-off jumpsuit – and ended up sipping dirty martinis with the A-list.

Arriving at the top-secret Regent Street bash in the pouring rain after a long day at work, I was armed with nothing but a mission and the confidence to somehow convince everyone I was wearing Kim’s Skims brand.

Amazingly, it worked.

In fact, I’d bought my entire outfit, a £35.99 Bershka gym jumpsuit, on the way there — and everyone believed it was one of Kim’s £116 creations.

And, after a humbling 30 minutes in the rain, I blagged my way inside at 7.40pm on Friday.

A couple of months ago I trekked down to an MPS Body and Paint car garage in Kent to recreate Kim’s Met Gala outfit.

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Now I’d gone one step further and found myself inside her crazy world — with the crowds parting like the Red Sea as the 5ft 2in brunette bombshell stepped inside.

Security assumed I had been there from the start and began backing everyone else up behind me.

Before I knew it, I was apparently first in line for a selfie with Kim — and I certainly wasn’t about to correct them.

Kim, 45, looked incredible in a custom leather Ludovic de Saint Sernin gown and, despite my unconvincing Skims impersonation, told me: “It’s lovely to meet you, you look amazing.”

Sadly, I later heard her parrot that to every other person she met in the plush new shop, so alas the compliment wasn’t just rolled out for me.

Famed for her selfie taking, and as one of the most photographed women in the world, it came as little surprise that Kim takes this very seriously.

And as I stepped forward for my snap, I was almost blinded as one of her assistants suddenly held up a huge dazzling torch over our faces.

But after a day at work and a trek through the rain, I have never been more grateful for good lighting.

Kim had three outfit changes throughout the night and I’d already experienced one of them from the front row.

Earlier, I found myself at the front of a queue for the loo when Kim was suddenly escorted ahead of everyone.

In what felt like the longest wardrobe change in history, at least ten people were left waiting cross-legged before she eventually emerged in the same dress.

Kim later fully committed to the change and slipped into a brown leather corset and a floor-length skirt.

Her third and final look of the night was a tight-fitting, nude two-piece which drew gasps of appreciation from the seven people glued to her side at all times.

As well as two burly security guards — and her lighting flunky of course — she spent the evening with Ludovic, the man who had designed her gown, Tracy Romulus Nguyen — chief communications officer of Skims — and two other assistants who were on hand to bat away anyone trying to get more than Kim’s pre-planned compliment out of her mouth.

Three immaculate bars were dotted around the store, serving gorgeous cocktails in translucent and nude shades to match Kim’s three looks.

Staff floated around with the prettiest — and tiniest — canapes I’d ever seen, from tuna tartare to miniature potatoes smothered in caviar.

I feared I’d be starving by the end of the night, but thankfully the microscopic morsels of food were eventually replaced with much more substantial burgers and fries.

I also made good use of the bar, sipping dirty martinis with celebs including Emma Grede, Rochelle Humes, Love Island’s Lorenzo Alessi and rapper Central Cee.

Kim’s famous hairdresser and current Strictly contestant Chris Appleton was also never far from her side, checking up on her hair throughout the evening and constantly patting down stray flyaways.

Just under two hours later, Kim was whisked away to an afterparty, held in lavish private members. club Maison Estelle. She used a secret lift to escape the 200 fans who had gathered outside.

My exit was a little more down to earth and, naturally, I got my hands on two Skims goody bags before jumping on the Northern Line home.

Inside one of them was an unreleased branded tracksuit worth £220, which some cheeky party-goers have since put on eBay for almost double the price.

Given how much of an upgrade it was from my Bershka number, I’ll be holding onto mine.

FAA halts East Coast flights due to equipment outage, affecting major US airports in New York, Newark, and Philadelphia.

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has halted flights to several busy East Coast airports amid an equipment outage, snarling more than 1,000 flights.

On Monday, the FAA issued ground stops at large commercial airports, including New York’s John F Kennedy International (JFK) and LaGuardia; Newark Liberty International in New Jersey, as well as Boston Logan and Philadelphia International Airport.

The flights were halted on the day that 130 world leaders and dozens of ministers were arriving in New York for the annual high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on social media platform X that flights have resumed into New York’s LaGuardia and into Philadelphia, but that ground stops are still in effect at Newark, JFK, and Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The ground stop has also been lifted in Boston.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters on Monday that it had “lost the primary circuit” at what is called Philadelphia TRACON, or Terminal Radar Approach Control, which controls air traffic into Philadelphia and airports across the busy northeast US airspace.

Bedford said that the backup fibre had a break and told reporters that it could take up to 13 hours to repair. He said the cut was between the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey, and Newark, New Jersey, which is home to Newark Liberty International Airport.

“An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber line in New Jersey which caused a telecom outage and forced FAA to pause flights in the Northeast,” Duffy said in a post on X.

Newark delays

At Newark alone, more than 1,000 flights had been delayed or cancelled. Throughout the US, there were nearly 4,000 delayed flights and 500 cancelled.

United Airlines said it would waive change fees for impacted travellers. Newark serves as a major hub for the airline.

“Flights that had been destined for Newark have either been held at their departure airport or diverted to alternative airports. Once the FAA outage is resolved, we will work to safely get our customers to their destinations and have issued a travel waiver to give our customers flexibility to manage their travel plans,” a representative for United Airlines said in a statement provided to Al Jazeera.

Newark has recorded the highest levels of delays and cancellations of any airport, according to FlightAware, which tracks flight disruptions in real time. As of 3pm Eastern Time in the US (19:00 GMT), 31 percent of departing flights from Newark had been cancelled, along with 29 percent of inbound flights. Meanwhile, 17 percent of departing flights from the United hub had been delayed, as had 17 percent of inbound flights.

A ground stop was also issued at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, a private airport neighbouring New York City.

Hundreds of flights have been delayed at major airports in the US after construction workers accidentally cut a cable needed for air traffic control.

Ground stops and delays were issued on Monday afternoon for airports in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Hours later, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the cable had been repaired and airports would resume normal operations, though delays were still expected.

The major east coast disruption came ahead of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City on Tuesday, which is expected to be attended by scores of world leaders arriving into New York-area airports.

That includes UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who managed to board his flight before the delays began and was expected to arrive on time.

The delays happened after the damaged cable impacted the Terminal Radar Approach Control system, which is used to guide planes during takeoff and landing, transport officials said.

New Jersey public transportation agency NJ Transit told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that its construction workers had accidentally severed the line and that markers had been wrongly placed at the digging site.

The BBC has reached out to NJ Transit for comment.

Duffy earlier said the damage was caused by workers from Amtrak, the US national operator of intercity railroad service, who were doing the construction work. This “caused a telecom outage” which forced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground flights, Duffy posted on X.

An Amtrak spokesperson said in a statement, reported by US media, that the incident involved a NJ Transit contractor. Telecommunications company Verizon, which owns the cable, also said it was not responsible.

The severed cable was actually a backup network, and the error was only discovered after the primary circuit failed, according to the head of the FAA, Bryan Bedford.

Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey – one of the three major airports that services New York City – was the most heavily impacted by today’s air traffic control disruptions, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.

It reported that 267 departing flights were delayed today, while a further 257 flights destined for Newark were also delayed.

John F Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, both in New York, were also affected, as was Philadelphia International Airport.

One passenger, Douglas Tewnion, said he boarded a flight to New York from Edinburgh and that his plane had been diverted to Boston, Massachusetts instead.

He told the BBC that, two hours after his flight was due into New York, he and the other passengers were still “sitting on the same plane, on the tarmac at Boston with no information”.

Though “everyone is in good spirits”, Tewnion said “it’s just a pain” to see two more hours waiting added onto a lengthy flight.

Additional reporting by Ione Wells

Sept. 21, 2026 12:58 PM PT

The Queen of Country is being honored with a special day on Californians’ calendars.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Sunday that establishes Sept. 25 as Dolly Parton Day. The date’s significance may be obvious to fans of the late country legend: 9-2-5 references Parton’s hit single “9 to 5” from the soundtrack of the 1980 comedy film of the same name that starred Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

“Dolly Parton was an icon,” Newsom said in a video accompanied by his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, announcing the bill’s passage. “Dolly was larger than life with big hair and a bigger heart. People around the world have been touched by her music, by her philanthropy, and by her humor.”

Parton died Aug. 25 at 80 years old following a battle with cancer. The beloved songwriter, recording artist, actor and businesswoman was an honored musician, earning 10 Grammy Awards and 10 Country Music Assn. Awards, as well as two Academy Award nominations and a Primetime Emmy. She was the recipient of the National Medal of the Arts in 2005 and the Kennedy Center for the Arts Award in 2006. Parton was also inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

“Her legacy goes well beyond her music,” Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), who co-authored the bill with Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), said in a statement. “Through the Imagination Library, she put books into the hands of millions of children, and throughout her life she led with kindness, acceptance, and a belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. She was also no stranger to the Central Coast, where she performed for packed crowds and spent time over the years. Now, every 9-2-5, California gets to celebrate Dolly and the remarkable legacy she shared with all of us.”

Jason Eaton faces up to life in prison after a jury rejected his insanity defence.

A jury in the US state of Vermont has convicted a man of attempted murder for shooting three Palestinian college students in 2023, rejecting his defence that he was not guilty by reason of insanity.

Jason Eaton, 51, faces up to life in prison for the attack near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington. It left Hisham Awartani paralysed from the waist down and wounded his friends Tahseen Aliahmad and Kinnan Abdalhamid.

The jury deliberated for several hours on Monday before reaching its verdict after a week-long trial that included testimony from the three men and psychiatric experts called by both the defence and prosecution.

Eaton was ordered jailed pending sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled.

Awartani and Aliahmad, who were sitting in the front row of the courtroom, smiled and hugged people around them as the verdict was read.

Eaton did not dispute that he shot the three men in November 2023. Instead, his lawyers argued that he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The defence said Eaton was suffering from a delusional psychotic disorder and believed the CIA and Israel’s Mossad were transmitting messages to him through FM radio.

Joshua O’Hara, the supervising attorney at the Chittenden County Public Defender Office, told jurors that Eaton believed the intelligence agencies had enlisted him to “overwatch duty” to protect a Jewish family living across the street and that God was commanding him to act.

Prosecutors rejected the insanity defence, telling jurors that a state psychiatrist had concluded Eaton did not have a mental disease or defect and that the evidence showed he intended to kill the three men.

‘He pulled out a handgun and started shooting’

Awartani, Aliahmad and Abdalhamid, now 23, grew up together in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank before moving to the US for university.

They were visiting Awartani’s grandmother in Burlington over the Thanksgiving holiday when they went for a walk near the University of Vermont campus after dark.

Awartani testified that the friends were smoking cigarettes and speaking a mix of English and Arabic. Two of them were wearing keffiyehs.

He said Eaton was standing on the porch of the apartment building where he lived before approaching the friends without saying anything.

When Eaton was about five to 10 feet (1.5 to three metres) away, Awartani testified, he pulled out a handgun and began shooting.

Awartani, then a student at Brown University, was shot in the chest and left paralysed from the waist down. Aliahmad, who attended Trinity College, was shot in the collarbone, while Abdalhamid, a Haverford College student, was shot in the right buttock.

The shooting prompted calls for a hate crime investigation, but no hate crime charges were filed.

Police later found three shotguns in Eaton’s apartment as well as a Ruger .380-calibre handgun that crime laboratory testing identified as the weapon used in the shooting.

Trump later reacted to news of the lawsuit, calling the news organisations “Third Rate Clowns” and “Crooked and Corrupt Press” that “trivialise and demean” his achievements.

“Fake News people and publications that only write negatively, and who violate our National Security by writing false and defamatory stories with unknown ‘sources,’ shouldn’t be allowed access to the most important Office anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He added that “almost without question” his team will file an appeal.

The First Amendment forbids the government from “abridging” the freedom of the press – language that courts have traditionally interpreted as preventing the government from discriminating against the media based on the content of their coverage.

The statement from CNN, Politico and MS NOW said: “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting.

“Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.”

The media organisations filed the lawsuit on Monday in US District Court in Washington, asking a judge to quickly rule Trump’s ban unconstitutional and prevent his aides from enforcing it.

On Monday morning, major US TV networks pulled out of White House pool duties, which sees media organisations share material with each other to save on costs and space when broadcasting presidential events to the American public.

Fox News Washington bureau chief Bryan Boughton, who currently holds a rotating role helping to organise media TV crews covering the White House, wrote in an email seen by the BBC that “effective today, the TV pool will not be covering designated as pool coverage” of President Trump.

The message said the move followed the White House “preventing” CNN from fulfilling its pool duties for Trump’s trip to New York and that “there will be no replacement pool put in place”.

CNN – one of only five US news outlets in the White House press pool for live television – was originally due to cover Trump’s trip to the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday and Tuesday.

But on Monday morning, the five-seat CNN booth in the basement of the White House press area – typically manned throughout the day from the early hours of the morning – was empty and closed. Screens and monitors inside were turned off.

Instead, a CNN crew was outside the secured area of the White House grounds, broadcasting live from a public pavement.

Five TV networks, ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC, issued a joint statement: “The public has a vital interest in receiving accurate, independent information about its government.

“No administration should restrict a news organisation because it objects to its reporting.”

Those five networks are considered the only ones with the money and infrastructure to distribute live coverage from the White House and presidential events.

For now, the White House media slot has remained vacant and instead the conservative TV outlet, Real America’s Voice, was listed as “secondary” crew on Trump’s trip to New York, where he will meet Mayor Zohran Mamdani and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday.

TEAM GB stars Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Keely Hodgkinson looked on track for fashion golds at Burberry’s London Fashion Week event yesterday. 

Daring heptathlete Katarina, 33, wore nothing under her blazer while 800m hero Keely, 24, teamed a silk shirt with velvet flares. 

They rubbed shoulders at the bash, held at Chelsea College of Arts, with models including Iris Law, 25, and Lila Moss, 23.  

Iris opted for a denim two-piece while Lila wore a sparkling tweed minidress.  

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, 39, teamed a black Burberry mac with a £6,900 price tag, with a diamond necklace. 

She arrived with action hero husband Jason Statham, 59, before taking her place on the front row for the runway show. 

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Actress Jodie-Turner Smith, 40, turned heads in a purple all-leather outfit with long boots.  

Also at the do — which coincided with Burberry celebrating its 170th anniversary — were Romeo Beckham, 24, and girlfriend Kim Turnbull. 

Kim, 25, is a rising star of the catwalk and was sent Burberry items to show off including a £1,295 handbag and £1,460 cropped trench coat.                

Runner Keely recently put on a leggy display as she celebrated her 400m win at Athlos.

The Team GB star dominated her race as she caught people’s attention in a black catsuit. 

Hodgkinson, 24, celebrated her victory at a glitzy hotel in London.

She took to Instagram to share a post in which she could be seen wearing a mini-skirt and a pink top.