Ludlow is a beautiful market town in Shropshire, which has everything you could want, from regular food festivals to historic sites and stunning countryside walks

Those seeking a peaceful escape from Britain’s bustling cities should consider Ludlow, a picturesque market town in Shropshire that offers everything from regular food festivals to historic landmarks and breathtaking countryside walks. Whilst sometimes overshadowed by neighbouring Shrewsbury and Hereford, Ludlow remains an essential destination for anyone visiting the region.

From its medieval castle and museums to restaurants housed in ancient halls and pubs within 16th-century buildings, Ludlow’s rich heritage is proudly showcased throughout. The castle dates back to the Norman Conquest and ranks among the “finest medieval ruins” in Britain, according to the Ludlow Castle website.

Given its location near Wales, Ludlow Castle served a crucial function during the English-Welsh conflicts. In 1223, King Henry III and Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Iorwerth held peace negotiations at the fortress.

Throughout history, Ludlow Castle has housed many prominent personalities, including Roger Mortimer, who joined forces with Queen Isabella to depose her husband, Edward II, in 1327.

During the 15th century, Edward IV frequently visited Ludlow and established a governing council there to oversee his Welsh territories.

Edward IV also dispatched his sons, the future King Edward V and his brother Prince Richard, to reside at the castle. The brothers would subsequently become infamous as the Princes in the Tower, after they vanished from the Tower of London in 1483, reports the Express.

Ludlow Castle also holds profound historical significance as the place where Prince Arthur died in 1502, a tragedy that ultimately paved the way for his younger brother to ascend the throne as King Henry VIII.

Since the Civil War, Ludlow Castle has gradually crumbled into ruins, though much of its impressive exterior remains intact, making it well worth exploring.

Another must-see attraction is St Laurence’s Church, which, like the castle, traces its origins back to the Norman invasion. As Shropshire’s largest parish church, St Laurence’s has earned the nickname “Cathedral of the Marches”.

Those seeking outdoor relaxation can visit Ludlow Millennium Green or enjoy a walk along the Mortimer Trail, a long-distance footpath stretching from Ludlow to Kington on the Herefordshire-Wales border.

No trip to Ludlow would be complete without stopping at the renowned Ludlow Farm Shop, which promises a “one-of-a-kind” shopping experience, according to the town’s official website.

The town regularly plays host to Antique, Local Produce and Craft Markets. It’s worth checking the Ludlow Market website before your visit if you fancy attending any of these events.

As the festive season approaches, families will be delighted to learn that Santa will be taking up residence at Ludlow Castle from 6 to 23 December, giving children the chance to enjoy a magical encounter with Father Christmas in the castle’s stunning grotto.

South Asians have played a prominent role in President Trump’s universe, especially in his second term.

Second Lady Usha Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants who came to California to study and never went back. Harmeet Dhillon, born in India and a devout Sikh, is currently his U.S. assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division. And the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, is (like potential New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani,) of Indian descent by way of Uganda.

Some Republicans have taken pride in this kind of diversity, citing it for the gains Trump made in 2024 with Black and Latino voters.

But these days, the MAGA big tent seems to be collapsing fast.

Last week, MAGA had a total anti-Indian meltdown on social media, revealing a deep, ugly racism toward South Asians.

It comes amid the first real rebellion about rampant and increasingly open antisemitism within the MAGAverse, creating a massive rift between traditional conservatives and a younger, rabidly anti-Jewish contingent called groypers whose leader, Nick Fuentes, recently posted that he is “team Hitler.”

Turns out, when you cultivate a political movement based on hate, at some point the hate is uncontrollable. In fact, that hate needs to be fed to maintain power — even if it means feasting on its own.

This monster of white-might ugliness is going to dominate policy and politics for the next election, and these now-public fights within the Republican party represent a new dynamic that will either force it to do some sort of soul searching, or purge it of anything but white Christian nationalism. My bet is on the latter. But if conservatives ever truly believed in their inclusive talk, then it’s time for Republicans to stand up and demand the big Trump tent they were hailing just a few months ago.

Ultra-conservative commentator Ben Shapiro, who opposes much of Fuentes’ worldview, summed up this Republican split succinctly.

Fuentes’ followers “are white supremacists, hate women, Jews, Hindus, many types of Christians, brown people of a wide variety of backgrounds, Blacks, America’s foreign policy and America’s constitution,” Shapiro explained. “They admire Hitler and Stalin and that splinter faction is now being facilitated and normalized within the mainstream Republican Party.”

MAGA’s anti-Indian sentiment had an explosive moment a few days ago when a South Asian woman asked Vice President JD Vance a series of questions during a Turning Point USA event in Mississippi. The young immigrant wanted to know how Vance could preach for the removal of nearly 18 million immigrants? And how could he claim that the United States was a Christian nation, rather than one that valued pluralism?

“How can you stop us and tell us we don’t belong here anymore?” the woman asked. “Why do I have to be a Christian?”

Vance’s answer went viral, in part because he claimed his wife, although from a Hindu family, was “agnostic or atheist,” and that he hoped she would convert to Christianity.

“Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that,” he said.

Vance later tried to do some damage control on social media, calling Usha Vance a “blessing” and promising to continue to “support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she’s my wife.”

But many South Asians felt Vance was dissing his wife’s heritage and attempting to downplay her non-whiteness. They vented on social media, and got a lot of MAGA feelings back.

“How can you pretend to be a white nativist politician who will ‘bring america back to it’s golden age’ … when your wife is an indian immigrant?” wrote one poster.

Dhillon received similar feedback recently for urging calm and fairness after a Sikh truck driver allegedly caused a fatal crash.

“[N]o ma’am, it is CRYSTAL CLEAR that sihks and hindus need to get the hell out of my country,” one reply stated. “You and your kind are no longer welcome here. Go the [expletive] home.”

Patel too, got it, after posting a message on Diwali, a religious holiday that celebrates the victory of light over darkness. He was dubbed a demon worshipper, a favorite anti-Indian trope.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “Duh, of course MAGA is racist.” But here’s the thing. The military has been scrubbed of many Black officers. The federal workforce, long a bastion for middle-class people of color, has been decimated. Minority cabinet members or top officials are few. Aside from another South Asian, Tulsi Gabbard, there’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer and HUD head Scott Turner.

South Asians are largely the last visible sign of pluralism in Republican power, an erstwhile proof that the charges of racism from the left are unfair. But now, like Latinos, they are increasingly targets of the base.

At the same time anti-Indian hate was surfacing last week, a whole load of MAGA antisemitism hit the fan. It started when Tucker Carlson, who in his post-network life has re-created himself as a hugely popular podcaster with more than 16 million followers on X, invited Fuentes on his show.

In addition to calling for the death of American Jews, Fuentes has also said women want him to rape them and should be burned alive, Black people belong in prison and LGBTQ+ people are an abomination.

Anyone who is not his kind of Christian “must be absolutely annihilated when we take power,” he said.

Turns out far-right Charlie Kirk was a bulwark against this straight-up American Nazi. Kirk’s popularity kept Fuentes — who often trolled Kirk — from achieving dominance as the spirit guide of young MAGA. Now, with Kirk slain, nothing appears to be stopping Fuentes from taking up that mantle.

After the Fuentes interview, sane conservatives (there are some left) were apoplectic that Carlson would support someone who so openly admits to being anti-Israel and seemingly pro-Nazi. They demanded the Heritage Foundation, historical backbone of the conservative movement, creators of Project 2025 and close allies of Tucker, do something. The head of Heritage, Kevin Roberts, offered what many considered a sorry-not-sorry. He condemned Fuentes, saying he was “fomenting Jew hatred, and his incitements are not only immoral and un-Christian, they risk violence.”

But also counseled that Fuentes shouldn’t be banished from the party.

“Join us — not to cancel — but to guide, challenge, and strengthen the conversation,” Roberts said.

Are Nazis really all bad? Discuss!

The response from ethical conservatives — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — has been that you don’t politely hear Nazis out, and if the Republican Party can’t clearly say that Nazis aren’t welcome, it’s got a problem.

Yes, the Republican Party has a problem.

The right rode to power by attacking what it denigrates at “wokeism” on the left. MAGA declared that to confront fascism or racism or misogyny — to tell its purveyors to sit down and shut up — was wrong. That “canceling,” or banishment from common discourse for spewing hate, was somehow an infringement on 1st Amendment rights or even terrorism.

They screamed loud and clear that speaking out against intolerance was the worst, most unacceptable form of intolerance itself — and would not be tolerated.

You know who heard them loud and clear? Fuentes. He has checkmated establishment Republicans with their own cowardice and hypocrisy.

So now his young Christian white supremacists are empowered, and intent on taking over as the leaders of the party. Fuentes is saying what old guard Republicans don’t want to hear, but secretly fear: He already is dangerously close to being the mainstream; just read the comments.

Roberts, the Heritage president, said it himself: “Diversity will never be our strength. Unity is our strength, and a lack of unity is a sign of weakness.”

Trying to shut Fuentes up or kick him out will likely anger that vocal and powerful part of the base that enjoys the freedom to be openly hateful, and really wouldn’t mind a male-dominated white Christian autocracy.

The far right has free-speeched their way into fascism, and Fuentes is loving every minute of it.

So now this remaining vestige of traditional conservatives — including senators such as Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell — is faced with a painful reckoning. Many mainstream Republicans for years ignored the racism and antisemitism creeping into the party. They can’t anymore. It has grown into a beast ready to consume its maker.

Will they let this takeover happen, call for conversation over condemnation to the glee of Fuentes and his followers?

Or will they find the courage to be not just true Republicans, but true Americans, and declare non-negotiable for their party that most basic of American ideals: We do not tolerate hate?

From Jack Harris: The celebration had hardly begun, when Shohei Ohtani first voiced the theme of the day.

“I’m already thinking about the third time,” he said in Japanese, standing atop a double-decker bus in downtown Los Angeles with thousands of blue-clad, flag-waving, championship-celebrating Dodgers fans lining the streets around him for the team’s 2025 World Series parade.

Turns out, he wasn’t alone.

Two days removed from a dramatic Game 7 victory that made the Dodgers baseball’s first repeat champion in 25 years, the team rolled through the streets of downtown and into a sold-out rally at Dodger Stadium on Monday already thinking about what lies ahead in 2026.

With three titles in the last six seasons, their modern-day dynasty might now be cemented.

But their goal of adding to this “golden era of Dodger baseball,” as top executive Andrew Friedman has repeatedly called it, is far from over.

“All I have to say to you,” owner and chairman Mark Walter told the 52,703 fans at the team’s stadium rally, “is we’ll be back next year.”

Continue reading here

Photos: World Series champion Dodgers parade through Downtown L.A.

Fernando Valenzuela to be considered for National Baseball Hall of Fame induction

DODGERS POLL

Yoshinobu Yamamoto was the pitching star for the Dodgers, but who would you consider to be the hitting star in the World Series?

Shohei Ohtani, who hit .333 with three doubles, three homers, five RBIs and six runs scored

Will Smith, who hit .267 with two doubles, two homers and a team-leading six RBIs, including the go-ahead homer in the 11th inning of Game 7

Max Muncy, who hit .214 with two homers, including a clutch homer in the eighth inning of Game 7 to bring the Dodgers within one

Miguel Rojas, who only went two for 10 but hit that tying, ninth-inning homer in Game 7

or someone else?

Vote here in our poll and let us know.

LAKERS

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: After Nick Smith Jr. had scored eight consecutive points, slashing to the rim for a layup followed by two deep threes, Rui Hachimura could tell the 21-year-old guard was going to deliver a big game just when the Lakers needed it.

“Keep going,” Hachimura encouraged Smith during a second-quarter timeout.

Smith did. Straight to the tunnel, where the third-year guard got sick.

With their three biggest stars out, the Lakers literally gutted out a 123-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at Moda Center as Smith fought through an uneasy stomach to notch 25 points and six assists in the Lakers’ fourth consecutive victory.

Smith, playing on a two-way contract with the South Bay Lakers, gave the Lakers (6-2) the perfect substitute off the bench as Luka Doncic (leg) and Austin Reaves (groin) sat out. He delivered electric shooting, making five of six shots from three-point range. With the team’s primary ball-handlers sidelined against an aggressive Portland defense, Smith steadied the offense. He also ignited it with 17 second-half points.

Continue reading here

Lakers box score

NBA standings

CLIPPERS

Bam Adebayo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Norman Powell added 21 points in his return to Southern California and the Miami Heat held off the Clippers 120-119 on Monday night.

Powell was a key member of the Clippers for three seasons before being traded to the Heat before this season

Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points and Kel’el Ware added 16 to help the Heat end a two-game losing streak and win on the road for the second time in five games. Miami is 1-2 to open a four-game trip.

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Clippers box score

NBA standings

RAMS

From Gary Klein: Puka Nacua returned to the Rams’ lineup in spectacular fashion, catching a touchdown pass, amassing nearly 100 yards receiving and picking up key yardage on a fourth-down jet sweep during a victory over the New Orleans Saints.

But that rushing play, which ended with a crushing hit, came with a cost.

On Monday, Nacua was scheduled to have a scan of his injured ribs, though coach Sean McVay said during a videoconference with reporters that “I feel optimistic … in regard to where we’re potentially heading.”

McVay on Monday said he felt “sick” about leaving Nacua susceptible to injury because of the play call.

“I’m kicking myself about putting him in that spot where he sustained that shot to the ribs,” McVay said

Continue reading here

CHARGERS

From Sam Farmer: A bad situation on the Chargers offensive line just got worse, as the team announced Monday that standout left tackle Joe Alt will undergo season-ending ankle surgery.

Alt, who missed three games earlier in the season because of an ankle injury, re-injured the same ankle during Sunday’s victory at the Tennessee Titans when linebacker Jihad Ward was blocked into the back of his legs.

“Feel bad for Joe,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. “I know it’s going to be OK. It’s not going to be life-altering. Feel bad for him.”

Continue reading here

UCLA BASKETBALL

From Ben Bolch: It was the sort of postgame rant that Mick Cronin usually saves for a bad loss at a time when he’s trying to swing a season back in the right direction.

This one came after a victory in the season’s first game.

That’s how few positive takeaways there were for UCLA on Monday night on its home court.

Having beaten two quality opponents in exhibition games, the 12th-ranked Bruins struggled mightily in a game that counted against a team from the Big Sky Conference.

Most of the problems came on the defensive end.

“There’s so many mistakes,” Cronin said after his team held on for an 80-74 victory over Eastern Washington at Pauley Pavilion, “I’d like to fire myself for our defense.”

Continue reading here

UCLA box score

————

From Kara Alexander: The No. 3 UCLA women’s basketball team won its first game of the season, defeating feisty San Diego State 77–53 on Monday at the Honda Center.

The Bruins (1–0) built an eight-point lead in the first quarter, but the unranked Aztecs (0–1) managed to cut the deficit by three by the end of the period.

San Diego State struggled to score in the second quarter when UCLA went on a 12–2 run.

The scoring gap continued to increase as the Bruins extended their lead to 15 points, ending the first half with a 37–22 advantage.

Continue reading here

UCLA box score

USC BASKETBALL

From Andrés Soto: For most of Monday night, USC played exactly like a team with 13 new players.

Coach Eric Musselman’s preseason concerns about the Trojans’ offense likely were not abated after USC struggled in the first half of its season opener against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at Galen Center.

Cal Poly, a mid-major coming off a 16-19 season, wouldn’t let USC run away with the game, with the Trojans clinging to a six-point lead at halftime.

But then sophomore forward Jacob Cofie — one of 10 transfer portal additions — came alive in the second half, notching a 23-point double-double as the Trojans pulled away for a comfortable 94-64 win.

Continue reading here

USC box score

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1934 — The Detroit Lions rush for an NFL-record 426 yards in a 40-7 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The only bright spot for the Pirates is scoring the first touchdown against Detroit this season, ending the Lions’ shutout streak at seven games.

1951 — The U.S. wins six of eight singles matches and ties another to win the Ryder Cup 9½-2½ over Britain at Pinehurst in North Carolina.

1960 — Wilt Chamberlain of Philadelphia scores 44 points and sets an NBA record by missing all 10 of his free throws in the Warriors 136-121 victory the Detroit Pistons.

1984 — Seattle’s Dave Brown returns two interceptions for touchdowns in a 31-17 triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs.

1987 — NBA announces four new franchises; Charlotte and Miami for 1988 and Minneapolis and Orlando for 1989.

1989 — Sunday Silence holds off the late charge by favorite Easy Goer to win the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a neck at Gulfstream Park.

2000 — R.J. Bowers rushes for 128 yards to become the first player in NCAA history to gain 7,000 yards in his career, leading Grove City past Carnegie Mellon 14-10.

2000 — In the highest scoring Division I-AA game in NCAA history, Ricky Ray passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns and scores three more to lead Sacramento State over Cal State Northridge 64-61.

2006 — Rod Brind’Amour of Carolina scores his 1,000th career point, assisting on a goal in the Hurricanes’ 3-2 win over Ottawa.

2007 — Adrian Peterson runs for an NFL-record 296 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s 35-17 win over San Diego.

2012 — Andrew Luck breaks the NFL’s single-game rookie record by throwing for 433 yards in leading Indianapolis to a 23-20 win over Miami

2016 — Cam Atkinson, Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Josh Anderson score two goals apiece and the Columbus Blue Jackets beat Montreal 10-0, matching the biggest loss in the Canadiens’ storied history.

2017 — Quarterback Ahmad Bradshaw rushes for a career-high 265 yards and Army ends Air Force’s 306-game scoring streak with a 21-0 victory.

2017 — With a 31-24 overtime victory over Nebraska, Northwestern becomes the first Football Bowl Subdivision program to win three consecutive overtime games.

Compiled by the Associated Press

THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

1959 — Cubs shortstop Ernie Banks wins his second consecutive NL MVP award.

1976 — Baseball holds its first free agent draft with 24 players from 13 major league clubs participating. Reggie Jackson eventually signs the most lucrative contract of the group, $2.9 million over five years with the New York Yankees. Others free agents are Joe Rudi, Don Gullett, Gene Tenace, Rollie Fingers, Don Baylor, Bobby Grich and Willie McCovey.

2001 — Luis Gonzalez’s RBI single caps a two-run rally off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth, and the Arizona Diamondbacks win their first championship by beating the New York Yankees 3-2 in Game 7.

2009 — The New York Yankees win the World Series, beating the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 behind Hideki Matsui’s record-tying six RBIs.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Nov. 4 (UPI) — Indigenous communities in the Yurúa district, on the remote border between Peru and Brazil, have raised the alarm over the growing presence of members of Brazil’s Comando Vermelho criminal organization in their territory.

They say the group is exploiting what they describe as a “state vacuum” that leaves those living there unprotected against the advance of organized crime.

The armed Brazilian group has been crossing from Brazil into the Peruvian Amazon, taking part in drug-trafficking routes, illegal logging and other illicit activities that threaten the physical, cultural and territorial integrity of the Amazonian peoples, according to reports.

Those reports come from the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest, the Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali and the Association of Native Communities of the Yurúa-Sheshea District.

In the Yurúa and Breu river basins, residents have reported sightings of small planes landing on improvised airstrips in the early morning hours, establishment of unfamiliar camps inside Indigenous reserves and movement of boats carrying cargo without government oversight.

The situation has reinforced perceptions that Comando Vermelho and allied criminal networks are operating with relative impunity in the region.

After a large-scale operation at the end of October against organized crime in Rio de Janeiro, the Comando Vermelho’s main base of operations, alarms sounded over possible attempts by senior members of the criminal organization to seek refuge in neighboring countries.

Indigenous organizations are not only denouncing the problem but also demanding immediate and coordinated action from the Peruvian government, La República reported.

To that end, they have outlined five key areas for response: maintaining a permanent security presence, coordinating efforts between the Interior and Defense ministries, protecting Indigenous leaders, promoting alternative development for local communities and granting legal recognition to a “Transborder Indigenous Guard” to monitor the frontier with Brazil.

Former Interior Minister Rubén Vargas warned in an interview with Radio Exitosa that Comando Vermelho is conducting criminal operations in Peru, mainly along the Amazon River route, reinforcing community warnings in Yurúa and surrounding areas.

And the reach of this criminal network has expanded into the regions of Pasco and Huánuco, in the area known as Puerto Inca, a hub for drug trafficking and illegal mining.

“There are two businesses that interest Comando Vermelho: cocaine and illegal mining,” Vargas said.

Although press reports dating to 2019 have documented the activities of the criminal organization in Peru’s Amazon territories, many details about Comando Vermelho’s operations along the Peru-Brazil border remain unclear because of the region’s inaccessibility, lack of disaggregated official data and clandestine nature of the networks.

The burst of energy was likely triggered when an unusually large star wandered too close to the black hole.

Scientists have documented the most energetic flare ever observed emanating from a supermassive black hole, a cataclysmic event that briefly shone with the light of 10 trillion suns.

The new findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Astronomy, with astronomer Matthew Graham of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) leading the study.

The phenomenal burst of energy was likely triggered when an unusually large star wandered too close to the black hole and was violently shredded and swallowed.

“However it happened, the star wandered close enough to the supermassive black hole that it was ‘spaghettified’ – that is, stretched out to become long and thin, due to the gravity of the supermassive black hole strengthening as you get very close to it. That material then spiralled around the supermassive black hole as it fell in,” said astronomer and study co-author KE Saavik Ford.

The supermassive black hole was unleashed by a black hole roughly 300 million times the mass of the sun residing inside a faraway galaxy, about 11 billion light years from Earth. A light year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

The star, estimated to be between 30 and 200 times the mass of the sun, was turned into a stream of gas that heated up and shined intensely as it spiralled into oblivion.

Almost every large galaxy, including our Milky Way, has a supermassive black hole at its centre. But scientists still aren’t sure how they form.

First spotted in 2018 by the Palomar Observatory, operated by the Caltech, the flare took about three months to reach its peak brightness, becoming roughly 30 times more luminous than any previously recorded event of its kind. It is still ongoing, but diminishing in luminosity, with the entire process expected to take about 11 years to complete.

Because of how far away the black hole is located, observing the flash gives scientists a rare glimpse into the universe’s early epoch. Studying these immense, distant black holes helps researchers better understand how they form, how they influence their local stellar neighbourhoods, and the fundamental interactions that shaped the cosmos we know today.

KATIE Price looks worryingly thin in new snaps – after admitting she’d been to hospital over weight loss mystery.

The pics came just a day after the former glamour model, 46, showed off her super-toned stomach following a new beauty procedure.

They are also hot on the heels of the mum of five’s medical trip, where fans were left concerned when she was rushed to hospital.

Katie, who has claimed medics are baffled by her slimmed-down frame, was seen posing in all-black attire for a recent photoshoot.

The reality TV star pulled on a snug black zipped tracksuit from brand JYY London, giving her Facebook followers a glimpse from both the front and the rear.

Katie flashed a huge smile as she struck her poses against a brick wall in a garden, and gushed in the image caption: “So comfy it’s unreal.”

KISS & TELL

Katie Price stuns live show audience as she claims she kissed Jack Grealish

health check

Katie Price shares snap of son Harvey in hospital after fat jabs weight loss

Yet instead of honing in on the loungewear, some social media users opted to make distasteful remarks on her shape.

One female Facebook user posted: “Shame isn’t it she was stunning once.”

One then posted: “U must be freezing all the time.’

Katie’s loyal fans were quick to have her back and one sarcastically clapped back at the user: “Very mature.”

Another posted: “Calling people names is why a lot of people begin to hate themselves and go to far with plastic surgery. Not nice at all.”

Earlier this week, Katie revealed her “snatched and defined” look as she headed for lymphatic drainage in Greater Manchester.

A series of images posted to Drain and Define’s Instagram page showed her lying on her back, with her bare tummy and array of body artwork exposed.

Katie, who sought further medical advice for her weight just last month, has undergone an “ultimate reset” with full-body lymphatic drainage treatment.

Katie Price surgery boxout

KATIE Price’s love for surgery is no secret – here’s the details

1998 – Katie underwent her first breast augmentation taking her from a natural B cup to a C cup. She also had her first liposuction

1999 – Katie had two more boob jobs in the same year, one taking her from a C cup to a D cup, and then up to an F cup

2006 – Katie went under the knife to take her breasts up to a G cup

2007 – Katie had a rhinoplasty and veneers on her teeth

2008 – Katie stunned fans by reducing her breasts from an F cup to a C cup

2011 – Going back to an F cup, Katie also underwent body-contouring treatment and cheek and lip fillers

2014/5 – Following a nasty infection, Katie had her breast implants removed

2016 – Opting for bigger breasts yet again, Katie had another set of implants, along with implants, Botox and lip fillers

2017 – After a disastrous ‘threading’ facelift, Katie also had her veneers replaced. She also had her eighth boob job taking her to a GG cup

2018 – Katie went under the knife yet again for a facelift

2019 – After jetting to Turkey, Katie had a face, eye and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift and a tummy tuck

2020 – Katie has her 12th boob job in Belgium to correct botched surgery and a new set of veneers

2021 –  In a complete body overhaul, she opts for eye and lip lifts, liposuction under her chin, fat injected into her bum and full body liposuction

2022 – Katie undergoes another brow and eye lift-and undergoes ‘biggest ever’ boob job in Belgium, her 16th in total

2023 – Opting for a second rhinoplasty, Katie also gets a lip lift at the same time as well as new lip filler throughout the year

2024 – Katie has her 17th boob job in Brussels after revealing she wanted to downsize. She performed at Dublin Pride just days later and surgeons warned the lack of recovery posed a risk of infection

HEALTH CONCERNS

Just last month, Katie uploaded a selfie to social media with a concerning caption.

She wrote: “First day off and straight to the doctors to find out what’s happened to my weight.”

She also shared another snap of herself in a pink hoodie and said: “Doctors for bloods to see why I’m losing weight.”

This comes after she revealed she was in hospital last month after drastically shedding the pounds over the past 12 months.

The Celebrity Big Brother winner told her fans on Snapchat at the time: “I’ve been up early at the doctors so she could do some bloods and because my veins are so s*** they had three attempts.

“They could only fill two tubes up, so I’ve got to go back in two weeks.

“And I’ve got to have my stitches out then because they looked at my little stab wound that I did.”

Her frail frame has been a cause of concern for her fans over the last few months, with many of her loyal followers taking to the comments section of her pictures to share their worries.

FAMILY CLAP BACK

Her fans aren’t the only ones who have shared their concerns as the former glamour model’s family have also said their piece.

In August, while filming the first episode of her new podcast, The Katie Price show, she was joined by her sister Sophie.

As the podcast was wrapping up, the sister duo were joined by Sophie’s dad and Katie stepdad Paul as talk soon turned to Katie’s weight loss.

On the episode, Katie, who recently showed off her newest surgery, asked her dad: “What are you looking at?” to which he replied: “Look how thin them legs are, terrible they are, my hand can go round them.”

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She replied: “They’re obsessed with my weight,” as Sophie chimed in: “You are thin.”

Katie was heard insisting: “I am happy,” as her dad retorted: “No it’s not right, it’s probably that vaping crap.”

A village in the UK has been hailed for its “insane” chippy and for providing visitors with an accurate taste of life in the past thanks to its “trapped in time” aesthetic and feel

A village in the north of England has been praised for its “insane” chip shop and its ability to transport visitors back in time with its “trapped in time” atmosphere. The UK is home to a wealth of scenic and historical locations that are well worth a visit.

One such place is Beamish, an open-air museum village located in County Durham, England – north-east of Stanley. It offers 350 acres of rural countryside, as well as being a “living” museum, complete with vintage shops and restaurants, Georgian gardens, historic modes of transport like trams and buses, and much more. This charming and fascinating destination has been designed to give visitors a realistic glimpse into the history of northern England, attracting hundreds of thousands of people each year who come to experience it first-hand.

The official Beamish website states: “Step into the past at Beamish, The Living Museum of the North.

“Beamish is a world famous open air museum which brings the history of North East England to life at its 1820s Pockerley, 1900s Town, 1900s Pit Village, 1940s Farm, 1950s Town and 1950s Spain’s Field Farm exhibit areas.”

It’s a mix of original buildings, replicas, and relocated structures that together create a functional “living museum” that visitors can experience as if it were the real thing.

Food content creator Callum recently embarked on a journey to the village, which look like a seemingly untouched, historic British town.

He made a stop at the renowned Davy’s Fish and Chips, known for its traditional cooking methods.

In a video tour of the chippy and the town, Callum said in a voiceover: “This is the fish and chip shop trapped in time – one of the last in the world that uses coal to heat the original 1950s fryers, with fish and chips cooked in beef dripping.”

He added: “The sweet shop makes candy by hand, the bakery makes the same cakes as a century ago. There’s no mobile phone reception up here so people actually have to talk to each other.

“A slice of England unchanged. It’s one of the most incredible fish and chips, it’s Davy’s in Beamish.”

In the caption alongside the video, he added: “Insane chippy stuck in history. Absolute scenes. Davys Fish and Chips, Beamish”.

TikTok users were quick to share their thoughts in the comments section. One user enthused: “Beamish museum if you’ve not yet been then go, it’s brilliant, them chips and fish best ever”.

Another reminisced: “We went on a school trip to Beamish when I was about 10. Loved it! I’m 57 now”.

A third said: “Wonder if no mobile reception is a specific tactic. What a world with no mobiles and social media.”

One enthusiastic fan shared: “I’ll just tell ya right now fish in beef dripping from that shop heated by coal is the BEST fried fish you will ever eat in your f***ing life”.

Another declared Beamish’s fish and chips the “best fish and chips [they] have ever had.”

While another user pleaded: “Make the WHOLE of the UK like this”.

A final commenter confessed: “Not me Googling if people live here, in attempt to escape modern society”.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom stepped to the microphone at the state Democratic headquarters in mid-August with the conviction of a man certain he was on the right side of history, bluntly saying California has a moral obligation to thwart President Trump’s attempt to tilt the balance of Congress.

Over the next 2½ months, Newsom became the public face of Proposition 50, a measure designed to help Democrats win control of the U.S. House of Representatives by temporarily redrawing California’s congressional districts.

Newsom took that leap despite tepid support for a gerrymandering measure in early polls.

With Tuesday’s election, the fate of Proposition 50 arrives at a pivotal moment for Newsom, who last week acknowledged publicly that he’s weighing a 2028 presidential run. The outcome will test not only his political instincts but also his ability to deliver on a measure that has national attention fixed squarely on him.

From the outset, Newsom paired his conviction with caution.

“I’m mindful of the hard work ahead,” Newsom said in August, shortly after lawmakers placed Proposition 50 on the ballot.

It was familiar territory for a governor who has built a career on high-stakes political bets. As San Francisco mayor, his decision to issue same-sex marriage licenses in 2004 made him a progressive icon. It also drew accusations he’d energized conservative turnout that year in the presidential election that ended with George W. Bush winning a second term.

As the state’s newly elected governor, he suspended the death penalty in 2019 despite voters having twice rejected measures to do so, calling it a costly and biased system that “fails to deliver justice” — a move that drew fury from law enforcement groups and victims’ families. His decision to take on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a 2023 prime-time debate hosted by Sean Hannity on Fox News was intended to showcase his command of policy and political agility, but instead fell flat amid an onslaught of insults.

With Proposition 50, Newsom placed himself at the center of another potentially career-defining gamble before knowing how it would land. Ahead of Tuesday’s special election, polling suggests he may have played his cards right. Six out of 10 likely voters support Proposition 50, according to a survey by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies that was co-sponsored by The Times.

“You know, not everybody would have done it,” veteran Democratic strategist Gale Kaufman said. “He saw the risk and he took it.”

If approved by voters, the ballot measure would redraw California’s congressional maps to favor Democrats beginning with the 2026 midterm elections in hopes of discounting Republican efforts to gerrymander more seats for themselves. California introduced the measure in response to Trump and his political team leaning on Republican-led states to redraw their district lines to help Republicans retain control of the House.

The balance of power in the closely divided House will determine whether Trump can advance his agenda during his final two years in office — or face an emboldened Democratic majority that could move to challenge, or even investigate, his administration.

And while critics of the governor see a power-craving politician chasing headlines and influence, supporters say this is classic Newsom: confident, risk-tolerant and willing to stand alone when he believes he’s right. He faced intense backlash from his political allies when he had conservative personality Charlie Kirk as his inaugural guest on his podcast this year, on which Newsom said he believed it was “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports. After Kirk was killed, Newsom regularly brought up that interview as a point of pride, noting the backlash he received from his own party over hosting a Trump ally.

In recent months Newsom struck a deal to stabilize struggling oil refineries, pushed cities to ban homeless encampments and proposed walking back healthcare coverage for undocumented immigrants — a series of moves that have tested his standing with progressives. Supporters say the moves show his pragmatic streak, while critics argue they reflect a shift to the center ahead of a possible presidential run.

“In so many ways, he is not a cautious politician,” said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School. “His brand is big, bold decisions.”

With Proposition 50, Newsom has cast the redistricting counterpunch as a moral imperative, arguing that Democrat-led states must “fight fire with fire,” even if it means pausing a state independent redistricting process largely considered the gold standard. The measure upends a system Californians overwhelmingly endorsed to keep politics out of the map-drawing process.

Levinson said Newsom’s profile has been rising along with the polling numbers for Proposition 50 as he has booked national television shows like ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and appeared in an ad in favor of the ballot measure with former President Obama, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other prominent Democrats that ran during the World Series.

“We are talking about Proposition 50 on a nationwide scale,” Levinson said. “And it’s really hard to talk about Proposition 50 without saying the words ‘Gov. Newsom of California spearheading the effort to pass.’”

California Republicans have called the effort misguided, arguing that the retaliatory response creates a slippery slope that would erode the independent redistricting process California voters have chosen twice at the ballot box.

“When you fight fire with fire, the whole world burns,” said California Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), whose district is among those that would be overhauled under Proposition 50. “Newsom is trying to claim that Texas did a bad gerrymandering, but what California is doing is a good gerrymander because somehow it’s canceling it out … I just think gerrymandering is wrong. It’s wrong in Texas and it’s wrong in California.”

Kiley said Newsom never has been one to shy away from national attention “and for pursing explicitly partisan goals.”

“He’s certainly used this as an opportunity to do both of those things,” Kiley said.

Out of the gate, the redistricting plan had lackluster support. Then came the flood of ads by proponents peppered with talking points about Trump rigging the election.

Supporters of Proposition 50 took in more than four times the amount that opponents raised in recent weeks, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state by the three main committees campaigning about the measure. Supporters of Proposition 50 raised so much money that Newsom told them “you can stop donating.”

Political analysts said the redistricting fight has given Newsom what every ambitious politician craves: a narrative. It’s allowed him to cast himself as a defender of democracy while reenergizing donors. That message sharpened when Trump administration officials said they’d monitor polling sites in several California counties at the state GOP’s request, prompting Newsom to accuse the Trump administration of “voter intimidation.”

Republican strategist Rob Stutzman said the campaign gave Newsom something he’d struggled to find: “an authentic confrontation” with Trump that resonates beyond California.

“And I think it’s worked well for him nationally,” Stutzman said. “I think it’s been great for him in some ways, regardless of what happens, but if it does lose, it’ll hurt the brand that he can win and there will be a lot of disgruntled donors.”

While Newsom has framed the measure as good for the country, Stutzman said it’s clear that Proposition 50 has been particularly good for the governor.

“He’s used it for his own purposes very, very effectively,” Stutzman said. “If he becomes the [presidential] nominee, you could look back and say this was an important part of him getting there.”

Nov. 4 (UPI) — British Chancellor Rachel Reeves signaled Tuesday that she was likely to raise taxes on ordinary people in her upcoming budget this month in spite of an election pledge by the Labour government it would not do so.

In a speech in Downing Street, Reeves said she would make “the choices necessary” to ensure the foundation of the economy was sufficiently strong for the government to deliver on its mandate to protect the NHS, get down the national debt and rebuild the economy.

Notably, she did not repeat the manifesto pledge the party ran on in the 2024 general election, in which it swept to power to leave untouched the three main taxes — income tax, National Insurance and VAT.

Instead, seeking to explain her actions in advance of her watershed budget, which she will deliver to Parliament on Nov. 26, she said people needed to “understand the circumstances we are facing” and that everyone needed to do their bit to rectify the situation.

“As I take my decisions on both tax and spend I will do what is necessary to protect families from high inflation and interest rates, to protect our public services from a return to austerity and to ensure that the economy that we hand down to future generations is secure, with debt under control.

“If we are to build the future of Britain together, we will all have to contribute to that effort. Each of us must do our bit for the security of our country and the brightness of its future.”

Reeves dangled the prospect of rewards down the line, stating that getting it right now would yield more resilient public finances with the headroom to withstand global shocks, which in turn would provide businesses with the confidence to invest.

She said that would in turn leave the government with more leeway to act when necessary, investing in infrastructure and industry to build a stronger economy and get down the cost of government debt, spending less on interest and more and schools and the NHS.

Reeves is betting on the budget, her second, to win the endorsement of the market for her management of the country’s finances by showing she can stick to the fiscal rules she set for herself in October 2024.

Those rules state she must balance spending with revenue — within a plus or minus margin of 0.5% of GDP — within five years, meaning no borrowing for everyday spending from the 2029-30 financial year onward. In addition, the ratio of government debt to GDP must begin falling within the same timeframe.

To do that, however, she must demonstrate how she plans to plug a fiscal hole of as much as $40 billion and boost lackluster economic growth.

The only options to close the gap and balance the books are a return to austerity — which the government has categorically ruled out — or boost the amount of money flowing into government coffers.

Reeves raised some taxes on business in her first budget in November 2024 and to come back for more after promising she would not do so, particulary when it comes to raising the basic rate of income tax — currently 20% — is very high risk, politically.

It hasn’t been done for 50 years and it didn’t work out well for then-Labour government with the country plunged into a currency crisis and forced to seek a bailout loan from the IMF.

Reeves mostly laid blame at the feet of the previous Conservative administration’s policies, including Brexit, austerity and cuts to infrastructure spending, all of which she said had led to falling productivity.

She also cited high inflation globally and economic uncertainty created by the trade tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump in recent months.

Conservative shadow chancellor, Mel Stride, said it was now certain tax hikes for families and businesses were on the way.

He said that if Reeves proceeded to go back on her word, she should quit.

Daisy Cooper, Treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said the government could no longer dodge responsibility.

“It’s clear that this budget will be a bitter pill to swallow as the government seems to have run out of excuses,” she said.

Russia has reserves of 15 rare-earth metals totalling 28.7 million tonnes, according to the Natural Resources Ministry.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his cabinet to draw up a roadmap for the extraction of rare-earth minerals by December 1, as global interest in the metals heightens due to their use in modern technologies and a desire to reduce reliance on the Chinese-dominated market.

In a list of tasks for ministers published on the Kremlin website, Putin on Tuesday also ordered the cabinet to take measures to develop transport links at Russia’s borders with China and North Korea.

Rare earths – used in smartphones, electric vehicles and weapons systems – have taken on vital strategic importance in international trade.

In April, United States President Donald Trump signed a deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that will give the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in the country’s reconstruction.

Russia says it is also interested in partnering with the US on rare-earth projects.

In March, Putin’s investment envoy – Kirill Dmitriev – claimed that Russia and the US had started talks on rare-earth metals projects in Russia, and that some US companies had expressed an interest in them. However, prospects between the US and Russia have been held up by a lack of progress towards ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.

China, the dominant producer of rare earths, has hit back at US tariffs this year by placing restrictions on rare earths exports. Its almost total global control has focused Washington’s attention on developing its own supplies.

Putin’s order – a summary of action points from a Far Eastern Economic Forum he attended in Vladivostok in September – did not go into detail about Russia’s rare earths plan.

The US Geological Survey estimates Russia’s reserves of rare earth metals at 3.8 million tonnes, but Moscow has far higher estimates.

According to the Natural Resources Ministry, Russia has reserves of 15 rare-earth metals totalling 28.7 million tonnes, as of January 2023.

But even accounting for this possible margin of error, Russia still only accounts for a tiny fraction of global stockpiles.

Among other points, Putin also instructed the government to develop “multimodal transport and logistics centres” on the Chinese and North Korean borders.

Putin said the locations should include two existing railway bridges linking Russia and China and a planned new bridge to North Korea, which he said must be commissioned in 2026.

Both of Russia’s far eastern neighbours have deepened economic ties with Moscow since Western countries imposed sanctions on it over its war in Ukraine.

As one century gives way to another, a child is born in Mumbai. “The millennium’s gift,” Chandni Contractor, is a source of joy to her parents. When Chandni turns 4 and reveals herself to be a musical prodigy, she becomes a source of wonder. At the age of 13, she dazzles audiences across India with her piano and sitar performances. Five years later, she enthralls Majnoo, the playboy son of billionaire parents, and the pair go on to have a spectacular wedding. But their marriage sours and her in-laws turn overbearing. Eventually Chandni snaps and wreaks havoc by playing a different kind of music, one that has the power to destroy livelihoods and lives.

“The Musician of Kahani” is one of five stories in a new collection by Salman Rushdie. “The Eleventh Hour” sees the acclaimed Indian-born British American author exploring the weighty matters of life and death. That he should choose to craft tales around these twin themes is hardly surprising. In 2022, he was nearly killed in a frenzied attack at an event in upstate New York. Two years later, in his up-close-and-personal memoir, “Knife,” he recounted his ordeal and told how he had come to embrace what he called “my second-chance life.” Rushdie’s brush with death and new lease on life renders his latest stories — his first fiction since the attack — all the more potent and poignant.

The collection’s opener, “In the South,” gets underway both innocently and ominously: “The day Junior fell down began like any other day.” What follows is a chronicle of a death foretold. Senior and Junior are two octogenarian neighbors in Chennai, India, who spend their time together arguing. The former has had a rich and fulfilling life, but as so many of his friends and family have died — or “gone to their fiery rest” — he now longs for death. The latter, afflicted by “the incurable disease of mediocrity,” has led a disappointing life yet still possesses a lust for it.

When a tsunami hits the city, it kills Junior. At first Senior is angry (“Why not me?” he rages), but his dominant emotion turns to sadness after he realizes he has lost a man who was his “shadow.” Or so he believes. For Junior’s passing is not the end. Senior continues to see, and quarrel with, his fallen friend. As Rushdie puts it: “Death and life were just adjacent verandas.”

One of the finest stories here, “Late,” involves another apparition. English academic S. M. Arthur wakes up in his university college (an unnamed King’s College, Cambridge) and discovers he is dead. Feeling like “a broken entity trapped in a kind of prison,” he finds peace by communing with the one person who can see him, Indian student and fellow lonely soul, Rosa.

The pair form a bond in the empty college over the Christmas holidays. Despite their affinity, Arthur harbors secrets. When Rosa is tasked with sorting his papers, she comes across a mysteriously locked box file, the contents of which he refuses to disclose. Then Arthur takes stock of his situation and decides he can’t rest until Rosa helps him get even with a past persecutor. What is in the box and why the need for revenge?

Weighing in at over 70 pages, “Late” constitutes more a novella than a story, as does “The Musician of Kahani” and the equally substantial “Oklahoma.” This last offering about writers, writing and elaborate vanishing acts is artfully structured and formally daring, made up of multiple layers, diverse references, literary ventriloquy and slick twists and turns. In a lesser writer’s hands, this novella might have been too clever for its own good; however, Rushdie, a seasoned pro, achieves the perfect balance.

He hasn’t done so in recent years in his long-form fiction. “The Golden House” (2017), “Quichotte” (2019) and his last novel, “Victory City” (2023), were blighted in places by digressive riffs and monologues, bottomless subplots, “humorous” character names (Evel Cent, Thimma the Almost as Huge) and excessive magic-realist high jinks comprising talking revolvers, ferocious mastodons, an Italian-speaking cricket and a demigoddess who grows a city from seeds and lives for 247 years. Sometimes this hocus-pocus worked wonders; at other times it felt like cheap tricks.

Rushdie has far more success in “The Eleventh Hour.” His narratives are more streamlined. His flights of fancy— malevolent music, undead scholars, imaginary brothers, a cult led by a guru with 93 Ferraris in an “experimental township” called the Moon — are more controlled and add subtle strokes of color. Some groan-inducing puns aside, Rushdie’s comic touches are deftly managed, appearing as sharp satirical swipes or witty repartee. “You look like a man who is only waiting to die,” says Junior to Senior, who in turn retorts: “That is better than looking, as you do, like a man who is still waiting to live.”

Rushdie exhibits further playfulness by scattering clues and inviting his reader to trace connections. Arthur is in part a crafty composite of the writer E.M. Forster and the computer scientist Alan Turing — all three being, like their creator, King’s College alumni. “And at midnight, the approved hour for miraculous births in our part of the world, a baby was born to a Breach Candy family,” Rushdie writes of Chandni, with a knowing nod to the key time, place and circumstances in his 1981 masterpiece “Midnight’s Children.”

The book’s last and shortest entry, the fabular “The Old Man in the Piazza,” makes for a somewhat slight coda. Otherwise, this is an inventive and engrossing collection of stories which, though death-tinged, are never doom-laden. With luck this master writer has more tales to tell.

Malcolm Forbes is a freelance writer and critic from Edinburgh, Scotland, who writes for the Economist, the Washington Post and other publications.

WASHINGTON  — The Supreme Court’s conservatives face a test of their own making this week as they decide whether President Trump had the legal authority to impose tariffs on imports from nations across the globe.

At issue are import taxes that are paid by American businesses and consumers.

Small-business owners had sued, including a maker of “learning toys” in Illinois and a New York importer of wines and spirits. They said Trump’s ever-changing tariffs had severely disrupted their businesses, and they won rulings declaring the president had exceeded his authority.

On Wednesday, the justices will hear their first major challenge to Trump’s claims of unilateral executive power. And the outcome is likely to turn on three doctrines that have been championed by the court’s conservatives.

First, they say the Constitution should be interpreted based on its original meaning. Its opening words say: “All legislative powers … shall be vested” in Congress, and the elected representatives “shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposes and excises.”

Second, they believe the laws passed by Congress should be interpreted based on their words. They call this “textualism,” which rejects a more liberal and open-ended approach that included the general purpose of the law.

Trump and his lawyers say his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs were authorized by the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, or IEEPA.

That 1977 law says the president may declare a national emergency to “deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat” involving national security, foreign policy or the economy of the United States. Faced with such an emergency, he may “investigate, block … or regulate” the “importation or exportation” of any property.

Trump said the nation’s “persistent” balance of payments deficit over five decades was such an “unusual and extraordinary threat.”

In the past, the law has been used to impose sanctions or freeze the assets of Iran, Syria and North Korea or groups of terrorists. It does not use the words “tariffs” or “duties,” and it had not been used for tariffs prior to this year.

The third doctrine arose with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and is called the “major questions” doctrine.

He and the five other conservatives said they were skeptical of far-reaching and costly regulations issued by the Obama and Biden administrations involving matters such as climate change, student loan forgiveness or mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for 84 million Americans.

Congress makes the laws, not federal regulators, they said in West Virginia vs. Environmental Protection Agency in 2022.

And unless there is a “clear congressional authorization,” Roberts said the court will not uphold assertions of “extravagant statutory power over the national economy.”

Now all three doctrines are before the justices, since the lower courts relied on them in ruling against Trump.

No one disputes that the president could impose sweeping worldwide tariffs if he had sought and won approval from the Republican-controlled Congress. However, he insisted the power was his alone.

In a social media post, Trump called the case on tariffs “one of the most important in the History of the Country. If a President is not allowed to use Tariffs, we will be at a major disadvantage against all other Countries throughout the World, especially the ‘Majors.’ In a true sense, we would be defenseless! Tariffs have brought us Great Wealth and National Security in the nine months that I have had the Honor to serve as President.”

Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer, his top courtroom attorney, argues that tariffs involve foreign affairs and national security. And if so, the court should defer to the president.

“IEEPA authorizes the imposition of regulatory tariffs on foreign imports to deal with foreign threats — which crucially differ from domestic taxation,” he wrote last month.

For the same reason, “the major questions doctrine … does not apply here,” he said. It is limited to domestic matters, not foreign affairs, he argued.

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has sounded the same note in the past.

Sauer will also seek to persuade the court that the word “regulate” imports includes imposing tariffs.

The challengers are supported by prominent conservatives, including Stanford law professor Michael McConnell.

In 2001, he and John Roberts were nominated for a federal appeals court at the same time by President George W. Bush, and he later served with now-Justice Neil M. Gorsuch on the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

He is the lead counsel for one group of small-business owners.

“This case is what the American Revolution was all about. A tax wasn’t legitimate unless it was imposed by the people’s representatives,” McConnell said. “The president has no power to impose taxes on American citizens without Congress.”

His brief argues that Trump is claiming a power unlike any in American history.

“Until the 1900s, Congress exercised its tariff power directly, and every delegation since has been explicit and strictly limited,” he wrote in Trump vs. V.O.S. Selections. “Here, the government contends that the President may impose tariffs on the American people whenever he wants, at any rate he wants, for any countries and products he wants, for as long as he wants — simply by declaring longstanding U.S. trade deficits a national ‘emergency’ and an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat,’ declarations the government tells us are unreviewable. The president can even change his mind tomorrow and back again the day after that.”

He said the “major questions” doctrine fully applies here.

Two years ago, he noted the court called Biden’s proposed student loan forgiveness “staggering by any measure” because it could cost more than $430 billion. By comparison, he said, the Tax Foundation estimated that Trump’s tariffs will impose $1.7 trillion in new taxes on Americans by 2035.

The case figures to be a major test of whether the Roberts court will put any legal limits on Trump’s powers as president.

But the outcome will not be the final word on tariffs. Administration officials have said that if they lose, they will seek to impose them under other federal laws that involve national security.

Still pending before the court is an emergency appeal testing the president’s power to send National Guard troops to American cities over the objection of the governor and local officials.

Last week, the court asked for further briefs on the Militia Act of 1908, which says the president may call up the National Guard if he cannot “with the regular forces … execute the laws of the United States.”

The government had assumed the regular forces were the police and federal agents, but a law professor said the regular forces in the original law referred to the military.

The justices asked for a clarification from both sides by Nov. 17.

Remember when soccer was being touted as the next big sport in the U.S.? Well, it looks like that moment has finally arrived.

Or not. It all depends on who you ask and how you interpret what they tell you.

On one hand, there’s the recent Harris Poll that found 72% of Americans profess an interest in soccer, a 17% increase from 2020. A quarter of those are “dedicated” fans and 1 in 5 say they are “obsessed” with the sport.

On the other hand, there’s the stark decline in attendance and TV viewership for the country’s top two domestic leagues, MLS and the NWSL, and the underwhelming crowds that showed up last summer for the FIFA Club World Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

LAFC fans lift up a banner honoring Carlos Vela during a ceremony to honor him before a match against Real Salt Lake at BMO Stadium on Sept. 21.

(Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

These contrary findings — a growing fanbase at the same time attendance and viewership numbers are falling off a cliff — come at an important inflection point for soccer in the U.S., with the largest, most ambitious World Cup kicking off at SoFi Stadium in fewer than 200 days.

“The short answer is yes, the World Cup will be a watershed moment for soccer in America. However, it’s unlikely to immediately lead to a significant increase in ticket sales for MLS and NWSL. Soccer fandom in America develops differently from that of other sports,” said Darin W. White, executive director of the Sports Industry Program and the Center for Sports Analytics at Samford University, which next year will launch a major five-year study to explore how soccer can become mainstream in the U.S.

“The World Cup will bring millions of new Americans into the pipeline. Over the next few years we expect these new fans to progress through the pipeline, giving soccer a substantial enough fan base to tip the scales and help make soccer part of the ongoing mainstream sports conversation. I am confident that the World Cup will enable soccer to reach that critical mass.”

Steven A. Bank, a professor of business law at UCLA who has written and lectured extensively on the economics of soccer, isn’t as optimistic.

“The risk isn’t that U.S. soccer will be in the same place in 10 years, but that it will have regressed,” he said.

“For the World Cup to benefit domestic leagues’ attendance, ratings, and revenue, as well as youth and adult participation rates in playing soccer, it will have to be the catalyst for more domestic investment in the game. The question isn’t whether the World Cup will convince enough people to become fans or to move from casual to dedicated or obsessive fans. It’s whether it will convince enough wealthy people and companies to risk the kind of money necessary to compete with the top leagues for the top talent.”

U.S. captain Christian Pulisic drives the ball during an international friendly against Ecuador at Q2 Stadium on Oct. 10 in Austin, Texas.

(Omar Vega / Getty Images)

That investment could be a boost to both first-tier domestic leagues, which saw their attendance and TV rating fall dramatically this year. After setting records in both 2023 and ‘24, MLS watched its average attendance fall 5.4% — to 21,988 fans per match — this season. According to Soccer America, 19 of the 29 teams that played in 2024 saw their attendance drop; more than half saw declines of 10% or more.

The TV audience also appears to be relatively small, although the fact Apple TV, the league’s main broadcast partner, rarely releases viewer data has hampered efforts to draw any firm conclusions. MLS said last month that its games attracted 3.7 million global aggregate viewers a week on all its streaming and linear platforms, an average of about 246,000 a game on a full weekend. While that’s up nearly 29% from last year, the average viewership figure is about 100,000 smaller than what the league drew for single games on ESPN alone in 2022, the last season before Apple’s 10-year $2.5-billion took effect.

NWSL also saw overall league attendance fall more than 5%, with eight of the 13 teams that played in 2024 experiencing declines. And TV viewership in the second year of the league’s four-season $240 million broadcast deal was down 8% before the midseason July break, according to the Sports Business Journal.

That follows a summer in which both the expanded Club World Cup and the Gold Cup struggled to find an audience. Although the 63-match Club World Cup drew an average of 39,547 fans per game, 14 matches had crowds of fewer than 20,000. The Gold Cup averaged 25,129 for its 31 games — a drop of more than 7,000 from 2023. And five matches drew less than 7,800 people.

“There’s a danger of taking this year’s decline out of context,” said Stefan Szymanski, a professor of sports management at the University of Michigan and author of several books on soccer including “Money and Soccer” and “Soccernomics” (with Simon Kuper). “Last year was a record year. It’s really about the diminishment of the Messi effect.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a moment of crisis. And the way MLS is looking at this strikes me that they’re entirely focused on a post-World Cup [bump], which they think they’re going to get. I’d be skeptical myself about that. I don’t think it will do that much for them.”

Szymanski said the World Cup could hurt the league by underscoring the huge difference in the quality of play between elite international soccer and MLS.

“Americans are not dumb,” he said. “They know what’s good quality sport [and] not good quality sport. And they know that MLS is low level. The only way, in a global marketplace, you can get the top talent to have a truly competitive league is to pay the salaries.”

Which brings us back to Bank’s conclusion that fixing soccer in the U.S. isn’t about the soccer, it’s about the money being spent on the sport. For next summer’s World Cup to have a lasting impact, the “bump” will have to come not just from an increase in attendance and TV viewership but in investment as well. And, as Szymanski argues, that means additional investment in players as well.

“If all it does is attract eyeballs for this competition,” Bank said “I’m not sure it does more than the Olympics does every four years when it temporarily raises the profile of a few sports for some people who were not casual fans before.”

England have been drawn with Spain in their qualifying group for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

Spain beat the Lionesses in the 2023 World Cup final, but England gained revenge when they beat the world champions in the Euro 2025 final in July to retain their European title.

Iceland and Ukraine have also been placed in Group A3 alongside Sarina Wiegman’s side.

Qualifying for the World Cup, which will be held in Brazil, follows the same format as the Nations League and is split into three tiers.

Only the four group winners in League A will automatically qualify for the finals, with the remaining teams having to go through the play-offs for the remaining eight places.

Scotland have been paired with Belgium, Israel and Luxembourg in Group B4, while Wales will face the Czech Republic, Albania and Montenegro in Group B1.

Northern Ireland have been placed in Group B2 with Switzerland, Turkey and Malta, and the Republic of Ireland are in Group A2 alongside the Netherlands, France and Poland.

The qualifiers will be played across six matchdays, on a home and away basis, during 2026, starting on 3 March and finishing on 9 June.

Uefa has been allocated 11 places for the 32-team 2027 World Cup.

An additional European team could also qualify through Fifa’s intercontinental play-offs.

The annual TV licence fee is set to rise in April 2026

Calls have been made to scrap the BBC TV licence fee and introduce either advertising or a paywall system before the annual price increase in April. A new online petition has urged the Government to make changes to the TV licence system.

The current fee stands at £174.50 and households must pay this if they watch or record live television, or face potential fines. This charge usually increases alongside September’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate, which reached 3.8 per cent.

Such a rise would push the licence fee up by £6.65 to £181.15 for the 2026/27 financial year. The Daily Record reports that this isn’t guaranteed and awaits confirmation from the UK Government later this month, typically around the Autumn Budget on November 26.

From April 1, 2024, the UK Government determined the licence fee would increase annually with CPI inflation for the Charter period’s remaining four years. The BBC’s current Charter continues until the end of 2027.

Campaigner David Gilmore contends that “even if you don’t watch the BBC you still have to pay for it”. He continued: “You don’t have to pay for content put on by theatres or cinemas if you don’t watch it so why should you be required to pay the BBC if you don’t watch their content?”

The petition titled “Scrap the BBC TV licence and replace funding with adverts or paywall” appears on the UK Government’s petitions-parliament website. At the time of reporting, it had over 1,300 signatures.

The petition needs 10,000 signatures to receive a written response and at 100,000 signatures, it would be considered for debate in Parliament. The petition can be viewed online here.

Other calls to change the TV licence

Over 15,200 people have signed a similar petition, urging the UK Government to cover the TV licence fee for all State Pensioners and those who reach the current official retirement age of 66. As per the current rules, only those over the age of 75 who are receiving Pension Credit are entitled to a free TV licence, saving them £174.50 on the annual fee.

Michael Thompson, the creator of the petition, argues that “many pensioners live on the breadline with only the TV for company”.

He further stated: “With the cost of food soaring and utility bills ever higher, we feel there is a desperate need to provide all pensioners with at least this concession.”

Mr Thompson added: “We feel it is a double outrage that those who have given their all to this country in taxes and raising children have to pay a TV licence fee and are only exempt if they receive means-tested Pension Credit. Meanwhile, some media figures draw huge salaries.”

The “Fund free TV licences for all pensioners” petition can also be seen on the UK Government’s petitions-parliament website.

LAST Christmas, Gavin and Stacey was the TV show everyone was waiting for, and now there’s another autumn treat to delight fans.

But rather than just standing outside of Trinity Street when you head to Barry Island to take a look around the filming locations, you can actually book to stay inside one of the famous houses used on the show.

The home in question is called ‘Lush House’ (of course), which fans will recognise as Doris’ home used in the original series and last year’s finale.

You can now book out the entire house on Trinity Street with Sykes Cottages.

Inside you’ll find a kitchen fitted with everything you need for your stay – including a hob for whipping up one of Gwen’s signature omelettes.

There’s a cosy lounge with bright orange chairs and a squishy-looking sofa with a working fireplace.

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The lounge is open plan connecting to the dining room which has room for family meals or even a curry night.

Upstairs are two bedrooms, one with a double bed, and another with twin beds and a bunk – which has room for three, along with a bathroom.

During the summertime, take advantage of the great weather by heading out onto the deck in the garden.

The house sleeps up to five guests, in November, the house can be booked out for £631 for seven nights – which works out as £18 per person.

If you really want to hit all the Gavin and Stacey spots, make sure to head to all the local gems.

Spend some time on Whitmore Bay, in the arcade on the slots, or grab a coffee from Marco’s Cafe.

Barry Island Pleasure Park is bound to be a hit with the kids – take a ride on the Giant Wheel, zip down the Log Flume, and head onto the spooky Ghost Train.

For another filming location, stop in at The Tadross Hotel which doubles as Uncle Bryn’s local, The Dolphin.

Along with a drink, you can watch live music performances, have a game of pool and enjoy plenty of screened football matches.

Head into Barry town centre to explore its independent shops, cafés and the Goodsheds urban market.

Goodsheds is a new development on an old dockyard with street food and bars and lots of independent shops.

Another spot nearby is Porthkerry Country Park which has 220 acres of woodland and meadowland, and is crossed by a huge Victorian-era viaduct.

There’s also a children’s play area, a café and a number of picnic tables.

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The Sun also recently interviewed the real owners of the Barry cafe that appears in Gavin and Stacey.

Plus, the UK holiday destination with great family attractions for all types of British weather.