Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan revealed Thursday that he secretly underwent 44 days of radiation treatments for prostate cancer while serving out his second term in City Hall. He said he is now free of all signs of disease.

Riordan seemed to suggest that, after months of conspicuously weighing whether to run for governor of California, he had resolved to do so. Asked in a brief interview, he said he was making his ordeal public now “because I’m running for office and I think the voters have a right to know about it.”

Riordan said he plans to make a final decision on a bid next month.

The cancer was discovered in October during a routine examination, Riordan and his doctors said. His radiation treatments stretched from late February until May 1. Riordan left office on June 30.

Cancer specialists say that men with the type and degree of cancer that afflicted Riordan have a high rate of long-term survival, if promptly treated.

He has a “clean bill of health,” said Dr. Derek Raghavan of USC, who coordinated Riordan’s cancer care. “His prognosis is excellent.”

In his opinion, Raghavan said, the 71-year-old Riordan would be fully capable of serving as governor for two terms.

Opponents of his presumed statehouse bid have already sought to make an issue of his age, and Riordan acknowledged that detractors are likely to try to use his health history to suggest he isn’t up to running a state with the world’s fifth-largest economy. He is 13 years older than Gov. Gray Davis, the probable Democratic candidate. If elected governor in November 2002, Riordan would be 76 at the end of the first term and, if reelected, 80 at the close of a second.

By disclosing his successful bout with the disease, which is the second most common cancer in men, Riordan evidently sought to allay concerns about his health weeks before he announces his plans.

Riordan and his doctors consented to separate interviews Thursday that were arranged by his gubernatorial exploratory committee. He said he had informed a dozen or more associates and supporters in recent days about the affliction and treatment.

His bout with cancer is certain to heighten talk of whether he has the endurance to be governor of the nation’s most populous state.

Even without formally entering the governor’s contest, Riordan, a Republican, has absorbed age-related barbs from Davis supporters. In a recent press missive, Garry South, the governor’s chief campaign strategist, noted that no incumbent has been denied a second term in California in 60 years.

“Of course, the only potential candidate around who remembers that last one is Dick Riordan,” South jibed.

The announcement of Riordan’s recent cancer adds to the national debate over how much personal information, particularly regarding illness, officials should disclose. New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani’s withdrawal from the U.S. Senate race last year because of prostate cancer is among the cases that stirred discussions of a candidate’s right to privacy and the voters’ right to know.

Riordan said he wanted to announce that he had cancer right away, but his oncologist advised against it because the ensuing hubbub would distract him from his duties and treatments.

“I felt he would be able to do his job better if he kept it private,” said Raghavan, chief of oncology at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Political experts and ethics experts said Riordan’s handling of the problem appeared to strike a reasonable balance between public and private interests, though the unwritten rules that guide disclosures vary widely.

“It’s very tricky,” said Gale Kaufman, a Democratic strategist who worked for former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley’s presidential campaign, which was hampered in midstream by revelations of the Democrat’s heart arrhythmia.

She suggested there was one standard when Riordan was leaving City Hall and another now that he may run for governor. “During the last six months as mayor he may have felt it was nobody’s business,” Kaufman said. “But now it’s a different situation. As a candidate, or at least a prospective candidate, he opens himself up to a whole other level of scrutiny.”

A similar standard was voiced by George Annas, a law professor at Boston University and a specialist in medical ethics. Candidates have a responsibility to inform the public of any affliction that might affect their job performance, he said.

But officeholders have no obligation to disclose medical problems unless they significantly impair functioning, he said. And just having cancer, he added, probably would not qualify as requiring disclosure.

Moreover, a political culture that demands detailed medical information from officials could be self-defeating, he said, if it ultimately deters them from seeking treatment for serious illnesses lest they be exposed.

“We’re all better off if our public officials get treated,” said Annas, who lauded Riordan for keeping the problem to himself.

Riordan’s cancer was detected by a blood test taken as part of a physical exam last October, said his personal physician of more than a decade, Santa Monica internist Charles R. McElroy.

A subsequent biopsy of the prostate gland confirmed the cancer, known as adenocarcinoma. Further tests, including CT and bone scans, provided no evidence that the tumor had spread elsewhere in the body, McElroy said. He added that the tumor was confined to the inner prostate and had not penetrated the outer capsule of the walnut-sized gland.

The physicians would not specify the tumor’s so-called grade, which describes its aggressiveness.

The primary treatment consisted of external radiation aimed at the prostate five days a week for 44 days, in February, March and April. The treatment ended on May 1–the mayor’s birthday. He also took the drug Proscar, which is thought to reduce prostate swelling.

Riordan underwent the radiation treatments, which lasted less than half an hour, at an undisclosed hospital in the Valley before going to work, he said.

Remarkably, he and his doctors said he developed no side effects from the regimen, which can cause fatigue, impotence, diarrhea and other problems.

“I didn’t feel any effect whatsoever,” Riordan said. “I did as much exercise” as usual, he said, “and worked just as hard.”

The former mayor and his oncologist said the decision to treat the disease with radiation, rather than a more disruptive surgical procedure, was based exclusively on the medical prognosis and not on any desire to keep the treatments secret. Only his security detail and a close aide were aware of it, Riordan said.

Body scans and other tests performed after the treatments ended and as recently as a month ago have found no evidence of cancer anywhere in his body, his doctors said. Riordan is not undergoing any treatment for prostate problems and is taking no medication other than an anti-cholesterol drug.

“I think his illness is in complete remission and his prognosis is super,” Raghavan said. He has a good chance of being cured, Raghavan added, a term justified only if the disease vanishes for some years.

According to American Cancer Society statistics, Riordan’s outlook is good. Of those men whose prostate cancer is detected early and eradicated, 100% survive at least five years unless they die of something else. And 72% of all prostate cancer patients, regardless of at what stage the disease was found, are still alive 10 years after diagnosis.

Dr. Timothy Wilson, director of urology at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, estimated that a man diagnosed and treated as Riordan was would have an 80% to 85% chance of having no recurrence of the disease.

Because prostate tumors grow slowly, short-term survival rates are generally good, added Wilson, who was not involved in Riordan’s care. “You’ve got to follow men for 10 or 15 years to see if they’re going to die of the disease,” he said.

Prostate cancer, the second leading malignancy among men after skin cancer, strikes 198,000 men annually. It is also the second most deadly cancer, after lung cancer, killing 31,500 men annually. More than 80% of men with prostate cancer are over 65.

Riordan said he didn’t think voters would even consider the cancer and will instead reflect on his record as mayor and whether he has the energy to be governor.

“I’m probably more likely to get killed crossing the street or having a tree fall on me than from something like this,” he said.

SEATTLE — Rashid Shaheed returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Kenneth Walker III rushed for three scores and the Seattle Seahawks advanced to the NFC championship game with a dominant 41-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.

Sam Darnold threw a touchdown pass and got his first career playoff win in his first season with the Seahawks (15-3), who will host either the Chicago Bears or the Rams next Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl at stake.

The Seahawks led 7-0 13 seconds into the game thanks to Shaheed, who fielded the opening kick and took it 95 yards to the end zone. It was the fourth kickoff return for a touchdown to open a playoff game since 2000 and the longest postseason kick return in franchise history.

Darnold, who had been listed as questionable because of an oblique injury, guided the Seahawks on two more scoring drives before San Francisco got on the board with the first of its two field goals.

After he flopped in his playoff debut last season with the Minnesota Vikings by taking nine sacks in a 27-9 loss to the Rams, Darnold completed 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards and connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba for a touchdown in the star receiver’s playoff debut.

The 49ers (13-6) were never competitive in the second-most lopsided playoff loss in franchise history. San Francisco lost 49-3 to the New York Giants in the divisional round in the 1986 season.

The Niners were missing three injured All-Pros: tight end George Kittle, linebacker Fred Warner and defensive end Nick Bosa.

San Francisco’s Brock Purdy completed 15 of 27 passes for 140 yards with an interception and a lost fumble against the Seahawks’ “Dark Side” defense. Seattle also recovered a fumble by tight end Jake Tonges.

Walker’s three rushing touchdowns tied him with Shaun Alexander for the most in a playoff game in franchise history.

United States President Donald Trump has begun to invite world leaders and other prominent figures to be part of his so-called “board of peace“, reportedly outlining a wider vision for a long-term body that responds to global conflicts beyond Gaza.

Trump had initially unveiled the board as part of phase two of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas to end Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, envisioning that the body would oversee “governance capacity-building, regional relations, reconstruction, investment attraction, large-scale funding, and capital mobilisation” in the enclave.

But letters written by Trump, which were posted to social media on Saturday by two leaders invited to be part of the board – Argentinian President Javier Milei and Paraguay’s leader, Santiago Pena – pointed to wider ambitions. A so-called “charter” that accompanied the letter also pointed to loftier goals, according to several reports.

In Trump’s letter to Milei, the US president said the board would seek to “solidify Peace in the Middle East”, adding that it would “embark on a bold new approach to resolving Global Conflict” at the same time.

The Financial Times, meanwhile, quoted the accompanying “charter” as saying that “the Board of Peace is an international organisation that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict”.

“Durable peace requires pragmatic judgment, common sense solutions, and the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed,” said the charter, which did not directly reference Gaza, according to the newspaper.

Two diplomatic sources also told the Reuters news agency that the invitations included a “charter” that outlined a wider mandate for the body.

“It’s a ‘Trump United Nations’ that ignores the fundamentals of the UN charter,” one diplomat aware of the ‌letter told the news agency,

A senior US official, meanwhile, told The Associated Press news agency that an expanded role for the board of peace remains “aspirational”.

The official added that Trump and his advisers believe such a role is possible, particularly as Washington and other UN members have repeatedly expressed frustration with the international organisation.

However, the official said the board of peace was not intended to replace the UN.

Gaza focus

To be sure, the Trump administration has so far publicly said that the board of peace will initially focus on Gaza.

On Friday, Trump announced that Tony Blair, the United Kingdom’s former prime minister, would be among the board’s founding executive members, alongside Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

Also initially announced were Marc Rowan, the CEO of Apollo Global Management, World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, and Robert Gabriel, a US deputy national security adviser.

Many of those figures were also named to a separate “Gaza executive board”, which is set to oversee a technocratic committee of Palestinians, named the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). The committee is expected to handle day-to-day governance in Gaza in lieu of Hamas.

The 11-member executive board includes Blair, Kushner and Witkoff, as well as Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Qatari diplomat Ali Al Thawadi, UN Middle East peace coordinator Sigrid Kaag, United Arab Emirates Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy, and Israeli-Cypriot billionaire Yakir Gabay.

Beyond Argentina’s Milei and Pena, Turkiye and Egypt have confirmed their respective leaders, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, have been invited to join the wider board of peace. A European Union official said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had also been invited to represent the EU.

Four sources told Reuters that the leaders of France, Germany, ⁠Australia and Canada were also invited to sit on the board, although there was no official confirmation.

The White House said it would announce more members in the coming weeks.

Still, the initial announcement of board members sparked outrage among many in the Middle East for not including any Palestinians, but instead elevating staunch supporters of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, raised opposition to the Gaza executive board on Saturday, saying its composition “was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy”.

A statement from Netanyahu’s office did not specify what exactly it opposed about the board’s makeup.

Remarkable videos have emerged showing the dramatic failure of an Israeli Air Force (IAF) helicopter sling-load operation, involving a CH-53 Sea Stallion carrying a UH-60 Black Hawk, resulting in the transported rotorcraft plummeting to the ground. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported among any of the crew or on the ground, but the incident does illustrate the fine margins involved during these kinds of missions.

WILD FOOTAGE ?

Fresh video shows a damaged Israeli Air Force UH 60 Black Hawk going down during transport near Gush Etzion (close to Jerusalem) pic.twitter.com/abJ4L3M398

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) January 16, 2026

According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the sling-load operation was originally launched to recover an IAF Yanshuf medium-lift helicopter — the local name for the S-70/UH-60 Black Hawk. The Yanshuf had made an emergency landing earlier this week when it encountered bad weather in the Gush Etzion area, directly south of Jerusalem, in the West Bank.

Earlier today, a Yasur (S-65/CH-53 Sea Stallion) heavy-lift helicopter was sent to recover the Yanshuf, using the sling-load method. It’s unclear what exactly went wrong at this point, but the IDF confirmed that the damaged aircraft became detached while being airlifted.

Subsequent images reveal the Yanshuf lying on its side in rocky terrain, with the tail boom broken off, but otherwise largely intact. Nearby is another Yanshuf, which had landed at the crash site, having also been involved in the recovery effort.

The chief of the IAF, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, has ordered a military investigative committee to work out what happened.

The CH-53 has long been a go-to platform for sling-load operations, most prominently with the U.S. Marine Corps. The Marine Corps, in particular, is expected to undertake these types of recoveries both in peacetime and especially during a conflict. For a fight in the Pacific, being able to rapidly pluck stricken aircraft from remote locales is regarded as a critical capability, with the latest CH-53K King Stallion version bringing additional performance in this regard.

The CH-53K was originally cleared to conduct a 27,000-pound external lift, subsequently increased to 36,000 pounds. The CH-53K can also lift heavier objects for longer distances compared to its predecessor. Externally, it is designed to carry up to 27,000 pounds over a distance of 110 nautical miles in a high and hot environment. This is compared to the CH-53E’s ability to carry 9,654 pounds over the same distance.

CH-53K lifts F-35C

Sling-load operations involving aircraft are an especially delicate balance act. As well as the sling being strong enough for the load, the overall set-up of the rig, as well as the pitch and bank attitudes of the aircraft being transported, and its control surface states, where applicable, need to be worked out in advance. Should something go wrong during the flight, there remains the option of jettisoning the load, as in the video below. This could be required if the payload starts moving dangerously outside of parameters, or if there is any issue with the transporting aircraft, such as a loss of power. In this case, we don’t know if the crew deliberately jettisoned the load.

A CH-53E jettisons a CH-47 carried as a slung load during operations in Afghanistan, after it began to swing out of control:

CH-53e lost control over CH-47 Chinook

As to the aircraft involved in the mishap, the Yanshuf (Desert Owl in Hebrew) is the workhorse of the IAF’s rotary-wing fleet. First acquired in the mid-1990s, the fleet comprises ex-U.S. Army UH-60A/L aircraft as well as new-build UH-60Ls, the last of which arrived in 2002. More recently, Israel has ordered ex-U.S. Navy SH-60F Seahawks as its new naval helicopters, which will be used aboard the Israeli Navy’s Sa’ar 6 class missile corvettes.

The Yanshuf has been widely used in the IDF’s various campaigns and has undergone local modifications, including a new self-protection system and hoist. Some of the aircraft have been additionally configured with external fuel tanks and an in-flight refueling probe for longer-range missions. The Yanshuf fleet is split between two squadrons at Palmachim Air Base and Hatzerim Air Base.

As for the Yasur (Petrel in Hebrew), this is very much the veteran of the IAF’s helicopter fleet.

The first S-65s began to be supplied to Israel in 1969, during the War of Attrition. These aircraft were then supplemented by former U.S. Marine Corps CH-53As, delivered in two batches in 1974 and in 1991. In the 1990s, survivors were upgraded to the Yasur 2000 standard and, with no replacement in sight, they were then brought up to the Yasur 2025 standard in the 2000s.

Between them, the Yasur 2000/2025 upgrades brought modernized avionics, structural improvements, new self-protection equipment, communication systems, and terrain-avoidance systems.

Two IAF squadrons were equipped with Yasur helicopters, both operating from Tel Nof Air Base, but these have more recently been combined as a single super-squadron at the same location. Some aircraft have been converted for electronic warfare missions, as you can read about here.

For both the Yanshuf and Yasur, the primary role is troop transport, but they also regularly fly search and rescue and combat search and rescue (CSAR) missions. The latter usually involve carrying teams from the elite Unit 669.

Due to its age, the Yasur fleet is becoming more difficult to operate and maintain, something that has become increasingly apparent in recent years. In November 2019, a Yasur made an emergency landing after a fire broke out on board. Everyone on the helicopter escaped unscathed, but the CH-53 was destroyed. The incident led to the grounding of the entire fleet. In January 2020, two weeks after that grounding was lifted, another Yasur had to make an emergency landing due to a technical issue. Three months later, yet another one of the helicopters suffered a technical fault that forced it to land. More recently, the Yasur has suffered combat attrition, with one example being destroyed by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, with no casualties reported among the dozens of troops (plus crew) on board.

The IAF is now looking forward to updating its helicopter fleet, while retaining and even enhancing its heavy-lift capabilities, through the acquisition of the CH-53K — which will be named Onager (a type of wild donkey).

In 2021, Israel officially selected the CH-53K, which was developed for the U.S. Marine Corps, and which was chosen in favor of a variant of Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook. An initial batch of 12 is on order at a cost of around $2 billion.

“It [the CH-53K] is essential to the IDF’s ability to carry out a wide range of operational activities,” the then Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz said at the time. “The new helicopter is adapted to the [IAF’s] operational requirements and to the challenges of the changing battlefield.”

Once the CH-53Ks arrive, the Israeli Air Force will be even better equipped to carry out heavy-lift rotary transport tasks, including sling-load operations. While we don’t yet know what went wrong in this morning’s sling-load sortie, the incident does underscore the inherent challenges in these kinds of movements. For now, we should be thankful that no one was injured as a result.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

LAMAR Odom has allegedly been arrested for driving under the influence in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The former basketball player, 46, who was previously married to Khloe Kardashian, has battled drug and alcohol addition in the past.

According to TMZ, who reported the arrest, Lamar was also given two traffic violations during the arrest.

The celebrity news site claims that he was slapped with the violations for driving more than 41+ miles per hour over the limit and improper lane change/failure to maintain lane.

TMZ also claimed that Lamar remains in police custody currently.

The Sun has reached out to Lamar’s rep for comment.

ALL DOLLED UP

Kim Kardashian files trademark to create North West DOLLS and puppets

APPLE TURNOVER

Apple Martin stuns in playsuit as she poses upside down for fashion campaign

Lamar has made no secret of his struggles with alcohol and drugs in the past, and in 2023, fronted a TMZ documentary titled Lamar Odom: Sex, Drugs & Kardashians.

During the documentary and in his memoir, Darkness to Light, Lamar detailed his struggles with substances and his journey getting clean from cocaine.

His recovery came following a highly publicized near-death experience back in 2015, when the sportsman overdosed in a brothel.

Following a four-day bender, Lamar was found unresponsive after having 12 seizures, six strokes, and his heart stopping twice.

“My doctors from Cedars-Sinai said, like, I’m a walking miracle,” he previously told ABC.

After the harrowing experience, Lamar admitted to having “no memory” of taking drugs that day, despite the near-lethal doses.

The incident – which came shortly after his split from wife Khloe – pushed Lamar to have a stint in rehab the following year.

However, he previously detailed how he has used small doses of ketamine under medical supervision in order to get clean.

In 2019, Lamar told ABC that he does occasionally have a social alcoholic drink, but has steered clear of any other substances.

Lamar rose to prominence for playing in NBA team Los Angeles Lakers, winning several accolades during his run in the professional league.

At the height of his fame, he married Keeping Up With The Kardashians star Khloe and the pair even had their own reality show, Khloe and Lamar.

However, things took a downward spiral for the couple as Lamar’s drug addiction worsened and he admitted to infidelities.

He has apologized publicly several times to his ex-wife, whom he split from in 2013 following four years of marriage.

The divorce was finalized two years later, in 2016.

MINNEAPOLIS — Hundreds of counterprotesters drowned out a far-right activist’s attempt to hold a small rally Saturday in support of the Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, as the governor’s office announced that National Guard troops were mobilized and ready to assist law enforcement though not yet deployed to city streets.

There have been protests every day since the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ramped up immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul by bringing in more than 2,000 federal officers.

Conservative influencer Jake Lang, who was among the Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by President Trump, organized an anti-Islam, anti-Somali and pro-ICE demonstration, saying on social media beforehand that he intended to “burn a Quran” on the steps of City Hall. It was not clear whether he carried out that plan.

Only a small number of people showed up for Lang’s demonstration, while hundreds of counterprotesters converged at the site, yelling over his attempts to speak and chasing the pro-ICE group away. They forced at least one person to take off a shirt they deemed objectionable.

Lang appeared to be injured as he left the scene, with bruises and scrapes on his head.

Lang was previously charged with assaulting an officer with a baseball bat, civil disorder and other crimes, serving four years in jail while awaiting trial, until Trump pardoned him last Jan. 20 along with other Jan. 6 defendants and convicts. Lang recently announced he is running for U.S. Senate in Florida.

In Minneapolis, snowballs and water balloons were also thrown before an armored police van and heavily equipped city police arrived.

“We’re out here to show Nazis and ICE and DHS and MAGA you are not welcome in Minneapolis,” protester Luke Rimington said. “Stay out of our city, stay out of our state. Go home.”

National Guard ‘staged and ready’

The state National Guard said in a statement that it had been “mobilized” by Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to support the Minnesota State Patrol “to assist in providing traffic support to protect life, preserve property, and support the rights of all Minnesotans to assemble peacefully.”

Maj. Andrea Tsuchiya, a spokesperson for the Guard, said it was “staged and ready” but yet to be deployed.

The announcement came more than a week after Walz, a frequent critic and target of Trump, told the Guard to be ready to support law enforcement in the state.

During the daily protests, demonstrators have railed against masked immigration officers pulling people from homes and cars and using other aggressive tactics. The operation in the liberal Twin Cities has claimed at least one life: Renee Nicole Good, a U.S. citizen and mother of three, who was shot by an ICE officer during a Jan. 7 confrontation.

On Friday a federal judge ruled that immigration officers cannot detain or tear-gas peaceful protesters who are not obstructing authorities, including while observing officers during the Minnesota crackdown.

Living in fear

During a news conference Saturday, a man who fled civil war in Liberia as a child said he has been afraid to leave his Minneapolis home since being released from an immigration detention center following his arrest last weekend.

Video of federal officers breaking down Garrison Gibson’s front door with a battering ram Jan. 11 become another rallying point for protesters who oppose the crackdown.

Gibson, 38, was ordered to be deported, apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision. After his recent arrest, a judge ruled that federal officials did not give him enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked.

Then Gibson was taken back into custody for several hours Friday when he made a routine check-in with immigration officials. Gibson’s cousin Abena Abraham said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials told her that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller ordered the second arrest.

The White House denied the account of the rearrest and that Miller had anything to do with it.

Gibson was flown to a Texas immigration detention facility but returned home following the judge’s ruling. His family used a dumbbell to keep their damaged front door closed amid subfreezing temperatures before spending $700 to fix it.

“I don’t leave the house,” Gibson said at a news conference.

DHS said an “activist judge” was again trying to stop the deportation of “criminal illegal aliens.”

“We will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

Gibson said he has done everything he was supposed to do: “If I was a violent person, I would not have been out these past 17 years, checking in.”

Brook writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

‘Your home is gone, you won’t need to come here anymore’

Once a bustling community, it was home to numerous farms, a pub, cemetery and over 200 men, women, and children whose forebears had cultivated the land for generations. However, within a few months, centuries of history were erased as Epynt became a ghost town – its voices hushed, its homes abandoned, its livestock gone.

In September 1939, following the onset of World War Two, an Army officer arrived to survey this secluded area in mid Wales. By Christmas, each of the farms (whose names the officer had difficulty pronouncing) received notices, informing the incredulous residents that they had until the end of April 1940 to vacate their ancestral homes.

The Ministry of Defence had set its sights on the region’s 30,000 acres, intending to use it as a training ground. The locals were informed that their sacrifice was crucial to the war effort and that they would be compensated for their inconvenience. With bombs already dropping, the War Office was in dire need of additional land and facilities.

For a fleeting moment in 1940, the predominantly Welsh-speaking community believed they had persuaded the MoD to rethink their plans. However, as Hitler’s Nazis stormed through Europe, London dismissed the heartbroken community’s pleas, instructing them to find new places to live, raise their families and rear their animals, reports WalesOnline.

Regrettably, there were limited local alternatives for the 54 farming families who needed to relocate, resulting in many being compelled to leave the area. Many held the belief that this arrangement would be temporary and they would return once the conflict ceased. However, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) today still owns the 30,000 acres of Mynydd Epynt, now known as the Sennybridge Training Area, which continues to serve as a training and live firing ground for British soldiers.

Nearly all of the original structures, including the farmhouses, have been demolished. The Drovers Arms Inn pub remains standing, along with the gravestones in the cemetery. These are virtually the only remnants of the families who resided there 80 years ago in what was more a community than a clearly-defined village. Although satellite images on Google Maps reveal a small network of roads in the area, many are inaccessible from Street View.

‘We’ve blown up the farmhouse — you won’t need to come here anymore’

Back in 1940, families held onto hope that they would eventually be permitted to remain – or at the very least, make their return. As late as March 1940, St David’s Day festivities were held at the chapel, known as Capel y Babell.

One resident, Thomas Morgan, would allegedly make regular journeys back to kindle a fire in his fireplace to protect the stonework from weathering until he and his family could come home. He continued this daily ritual until two soldiers approached him with devastating news that his house no longer existed — it had been demolished. They purportedly told him: “We’ve blown up the farmhouse. You won’t need to come here anymore.”

A descendant of one of Epynt’s families, Bethan Price, revealed her great-grandmother left a key in the lock of her front door, maintaining faith she’d return. Others, however, were more conscious of the permanent nature of their departure.

One woman even demanded to take her front door with her when she abandoned the village. For many it marked the conclusion of an era and the world they had cherished was finished.

In June 1940 the school and chapel shut their doors, the Army even began removing hedgerows and on July 1, 1940, heavy artillery bombardment commenced.

According to NFU Cymru, Elwyn Davies, who was 10 at the time, remembered how his grandmother was compelled to relocate, ultimately securing a new residence in Carmarthenshire: “It was a very sombre time. It was war time, and there weren’t many options locally. Just a week after she left, they flattened her house. They flattened everything.”

Iowerth Paete, the previous curator at St Fagans National Museum of History, was dispatched there to document the event with his camera. He remembered horses drawing carts piled high with belongings travelling down the road away from the village and an elderly woman weeping whilst seated in a chair outside the house she was being compelled to abandon.

The current MP, Ben Lake, is the grandson of Beryl Lake, the final infant to be born at Epynt. He informed NFU Cymru: “The takeover of the Epynt 80 years ago is a significant but often overlooked chapter in the history of Wales. An entire community was displaced, and families had to vacate farms that had been farmed by their ancestors for generations.”

Nevertheless, despite the fury experienced at the time, voicing opposition was considered tantamount to undermining the war effort and the Allied forces’ battle against Hitler. Consequently, the compulsory evacuation of Epynt did not achieve the same historical prominence as, for instance, Capel Celyn in Tryweryn Valley, which was intentionally flooded in 1965 to supply drinking water to households in Liverpool. Indeed, 81 years later, Epynt’s memory has faded, rather like the names of its former inhabitants carved on the worn gravestones at its 19th century chapel.

Can you visit Epynt today?

You can traverse the Epynt Way on various walks of differing lengths where “sheep roam freely on artillery ranges and red kites soar above troops on exercises” but “the sound of the wind is punctuated by booming mortars”. The Epynt Way visitor centre is housed in one of the original farmhouses.

It cautions: “If you see any military debris, don’t worry, you are safe but please don’t pick things up. You may see soldiers training but you are more likely to see red kites, hares and other wildlife.”

Earlier, Nix threw three touchdowns to book the Broncos’ first appearance in the AFC Championship game since winning the Super Bowl in February 2016.

Nix has played an instrumental role in Denver finishing as top seed in the AFC with a 14-3 record in the regular season.

The second-year quarterback has led eight game-winning drives this season, the most by any player in the Super Bowl era aged 25 or under.

He has thrown 25 touchdowns, rushed for four and thrown for 3,931 yards in the Broncos’ best season since last winning the Lombardi Trophy.

Stidham is in his third year in Denver but appeared in just one game this season and has not attempted a pass in the NFL since the 2023 season.

“We’ll be ready for the next challenge,” said Payton, who now has to plan how to make it to the Super Bowl without their star man at quarterback.

Jan. 17 (UPI) — Eight NATO member nations will be subjected to tariffs if they don’t remove recently deployed troops from Greenland, President Donald Trump said.

Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom will be assessed 10% tariffs as of Feb. 1, which would more than double to 25% on June 1, if they do not remove their troops from Greenland, Trump said Saturday.

Greenland is a territory owned by Denmark, which Trump wants to make part of the United States for military purposes and says will be occupied by China or Russia if it does not become a U.S. territory.

“World Peace is at stake!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “China and Russia want Greenland, and there is not a thing that Denmark can do about it.”

He said Greenland has “two dogsleds as protection, one added recently,” and could not defend itself against an incursion by Russia or China.

“Only the United States of America … can play in this game, and very successfully, at that!” the president said. “Nobody will touch this sacred piece of land, especially since the national security of the United States, and the world at large, is at stake.”

He said the eight NATO nations targeted with tariffs “have journeyed to Greenland for purposes unknown” and called it a “very dangerous situation for the safety, security and survival of our planet.”

The president said Greenland is needed to deploy the proposed “golden dome” aerial defense system and other modern weapons systems that can support offensive and defensive military operations to protect North America against military attacks.

“This very brilliant, but highly complex system can only work at its maximum potential and efficiency, because of angles, metes and bounds, if this land is included in it,” Trump said.

“The United States of America is immediately open to negotiation with Denmark and/or any of these countries that have put so much at risk, despite all that we have done for them, including maximum protection, over so many decades.”

The president wants to buy the whole of Greenland, which has been rejected by leaders in Denmark and Greenland.

The United States has a military base on Greenland, which has become more strategically important due to new shipping lanes emerging near it and more natural resources becoming accessible in the region as the world continues to warm.

U.S. officials have tried to buy Greenland for more than 150 years, but Denmark consistently has opposed such offers.

Doumbouya was declared victor in the West African country’s first election since he led the 2021 military takeover.

Mamady Doumbouya, a general who led a 2021 military takeover in Guinea, has been sworn in as the West African country’s president.

The Saturday event, which took place in front of tens of thousands of supporters and several heads of state, came after Doumbaya was declared the victor in last month’s election.

The vote was the first since Doumbouya toppled President Alpha Conde four years ago.

Although he initially pledged not to run for president after seizing power, Doumbouya ultimately stood for election against eight other candidates. However, his most prominent opponents remained in exile, with the opposition calling for a boycott of the poll.

The West African country’s Supreme Court later said Doumbouya received 86.7 percent of the vote.

Dressed in a traditional gown, Doumbouya swore an oath to uphold the constitution – which had recently been altered to allow him to stand – during an hours-long ceremony at the General Lansana Conte Stadium on the outskirts of the capital, Conakry.

“I swear before God and before the people of Guinea, on my honour, to respect and faithfully enforce the Constitution, the laws, regulations and judicial decisions,” he said.

Heads of state from Rwanda, The Gambia, Senegal and other African countries joined the event, as did the vice presidents of China, Nigeria, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea, as well as officials from France and the United States.

Assimi Goita, a general who has led neighbouring Mali since a military takeover in 2020, was also in attendance.

The election came after Guineans approved a new constitution in September that permitted members of the military leadership to run for office. It also lengthened presidential terms from five to seven years, setting a two-term limit.

Doumbouya has said the military takeover was justified due to alleged corruption and economic mismanagement under Conde, who in 2010 became the country’s first freely elected president since its 1958 independence.

During four years in power, the military dissolved state institutions and suspended the constitution, as it negotiated with regional bodies, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), over a return to democratic civilian government.

Doumbouya has cracked down on civil liberties, banned protests and targeted political opponents during his time as leader.

With about 52 percent of the population living in poverty, he has promised to tap the country’s vast natural resources, which include untapped iron ore deposits, as well as the world’s largest bauxite reserves.

Hit drama Landman will be heading on hiatus as the second season finale drops this Sunday, so what should die-hard fans check out next?

Landman season two is coming to an end this weekend with what’s shaping up to be a jaw-dropping finale.

After Tommy Norris (played by Billy Bob Thornton) is fired from his role as M-Tex President by his boss Cami Miller (Demi Moore), he faces an impossible decision now his purpose in life is unclear for the first time in years.

Thankfully, Tommy still has his unpredictable ex-wife Angela (Ali Larter), loyal daughter Ainsley (Michelle Randolph) and ambitious son Cooper (Jacob Lofland) to support him.

But will their dysfunctional dynamic prove too much to handle in this precarious stage of the landman’s career? Find out today (Sunday, 18th January).

As the hit drama’s second season comes to an end, let’s count down five must-watch Western series fans should check out during the wait for the confirmed third outing.

5. Yellowstone – Paramount+ and Netflix (UK)

A list of the best modern Westerns wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of Sheridan’s most iconic series to date, the Kevin Costner-led ranch drama Yellowstone.

While it’s safe to assume most fans of Landman will already be caught up on the Dutton family saga, they may not be aware that the first four seasons of the global phenomenon are currently streaming on Netflix in the UK.

Plus, the thrilling story is set to continue this year with both Marshals and The Dutton Ranch hitting Paramount+, following John’s son Kayce (Luke Grimes), his daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly) and her husband Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) as they continue his legacy.

While the series’ reputation has somewhat dwindled in recent years, the earlier seasons received acclaim from fans and critics alike. One 10/10 IMDb review raved: “Yellowstone stands as a modern Western masterpiece, a gripping tale that transcends the genre’s conventions, and at its core is the formidable Dutton family.

“Taylor Sheridan’s creation is a compelling blend of family drama, political intrigue, and breathtaking landscapes that make it a must-watch series.”

4. Dark Winds – AMC+ (US) Netflix (UK)

This lesser-known drama is a darker thriller set in the 1970s that follows three Navajo Tribal Police officers investigating chilling conspiracies. It stars Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, and Jessica Matten, in addition to The Office’s Rainn Wilson in the first season.

Based on the novels by Tony Hillerman, Dark Winds is perfect for Western fans who want something a little different after Landman. Not only does the period setting offer plenty of nostalgia for older fans, but the exploration of Navajo culture as well as its subtle supernatural horror makes it stand out among other recent titles.

The first season of six episodes are currently available on Netflix in the UK, which one fan on IMDb described as “well written, well acted, well paced. Two episodes in and I’m hooked.”

Someone else gushed in a 10/10 review: “I really loved the 2 seasons of this show. Suspenseful, gripping storyline and great acting.”

3. Deadwood – Paramount+ (UK) HBO Max (US)

One of the most iconic period Westerns of the 21st Century, the hit HBO drama Deadwood is still fondly remembered for its three seasons of cutthroat cowboy drama and a stark, unsanitized portrayal of the Old West.

Iconic performers such as Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif and many more starred in the thrilling series, which is currently available on Paramount+.

One fan made a bold claim: “Every aspect of the series was perfect. From the setting, cast, acting, writing, and just the entire idea of what this show is. I think most people who have had the opportunity to enjoy this show would say this is maybe the most beautifully written drama since Shakespeare.”

While another said: “This is one of the best shows I’ve ever watched. The acting is just incredible.”

**For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website**

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2. Lawman: Bass Reeves – Paramount+

Sticking with the period theme, this riveting historical drama set just after the American Civil War follows iconic star David Oyelowo as Bass Reeves, one of the first-ever African American Deputy U.S. Marshals west of the Mississippi river.

After his escape from slavery, Reeves becomes a legendary lawman in Arkansas whilst balancing his responsibilities to his family. An A-list cast feature alongside Oyelowo, including Barry Pepper, Dennis Quaid and one of the final performances of Hollywood legend Donald Sutherland.

One positive IMDb review called it “Another great show from Taylor Sheridan!”

They went on: “Well, I was looking forward to seeing Bass Reeves and it didn’t disappoint! A top-notch cast did a great job bringing the characters to life. The locations and cinematography were fantastic and it had a sense of grit that many western series don’t.”

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Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.

This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Bridgerton.

1. Ransom Canyon – Netflix

This recent Netflix drama is a more subdued offering for Landman fans who stick around for the heartfelt family drama rather than Tommy’s cartel clashes or violent drilling disasters.

Starring Josh Duhamel and Minka Kelly, this romantic-drama is centred around another land dispute, similar to Yellowstone, but focuses on the burgeoning relationship between a grieving rancher and a longtime family friend, the owner of the local dancehall.

However, the sudden appearance of a mysterious drifter with a secretive past threatens to throw their community off its axis. While the stakes aren’t quite as high, fans have all agreed Ransom Canyon is well worth a watch.

One IMDb user promised in a 10/10 review: “If you’re a fan of emotionally rich dramas like Yellowstone and Virgin River, this show is about to become your next obsession. While it begins with a slow burn, give it an episode or two and you’ll be completely hooked.”

Landman season 2 concludes Sunday, 18th January on Paramount+.

Santa Anita’s experiment of placing a similar version of Historical Horse Racing at the race track on Thursday came to an abrupt halt on Saturday afternoon when law enforcement officials physically removed the machines after racing ended.

Two officials at Santa Anita confirmed that representatives of the state Department of Justice removed the betting machines that were installed on Wednesday and have been confiscated and removed from the track.

According to eyewitnesses a representative of the Arcadia Police Department, along with several law enforcement officers with patches that read “California Department of Justice Attorney General,” came into the grandstand area where the Racing on Demand machines were located and unplugged them, placed them on handcarts and removed them from the building.

The employees working in the area were told to leave as about 15 officers confiscated the machines, including all the cash in the machines.

The machines, which allow people to bet on past horse races in a slot-machine-type format, were put into the grandstand area of Santa Anita on Thursday with no notice. Santa Anita did not advertise the machines or mention it in its fan newsletter. It was called a soft opening. The move to install the machines came without advance notice to the California Horse Racing Board.

It’s unclear who or what precipitated the removal but the tribes, which control most non-pari-mutuel wagering in the state, told The Times that it would have a “full throated” response to the installation of the machines, which it says violates the tribal compact on gambling. The tribes are a very powerful force in state politics and contribute millions of dollars to political candidates.

A tribal leader who specializes in gambling did not respond to a message.

Santa Anita believes the machines, which offer first, second and third betting on three past races, does not violate the rules for pari-mutuel gambling. The tribes contend the slot-machine-like machines are a game of chance and under its purview. Santa Anita says because the mutuel pool is not held in-house but between bettors that it is a game of skill and allowed.

No doubt this is headed for litigation and the fact that the machines were removed so quickly by the state attorney general’s office might tip which side has the early edge. The consortium that was trying to bring this type of wagering to California said it sent a copy of its legal opinion to the attorney general in advance of the installation.

The CHRB also called for a legal opinion on the issue although the contents have not been made public.

At stake is the future of California racing. The state is one of the few that receives no supplemental income from casino-type gambling. Historical Horse Racing, allowing people to bet on past races with little handicapping information, has greatly increased purses in Kentucky and other states, where it is legal.

California is at a big disadvantage in purses because it does not have the supplemental income. Santa Anita has not disclosed how much of this type of wagering would go to purses.

Jan. 17 (UPI) — Ongoing altercations between protesters and federal law enforcement spurred Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to mobilize the state’s National Guard on Saturday.

The National Guard units were not deployed as of Saturday evening but eventually are expected to help state and local police to maintain peace in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

Walz urged protesters and others to “stay safe and stay peaceful today” amid the protests and continued federal immigration law enforcement activities by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies.

“Our public safety team has the resources, coordination, and personnel on the ground to maintain public safety and respond if needed,” Walz said. “Thanks to local law enforcement for keeping the peace.”

The governor on Jan. 9 ordered the state’s National Guard members to be “staged and ready” for a potential deployment after an ICE officer shot and killed anti-ICE activist Renee Good as she tried to flee as federal officers tried to arrest her for obstructing them on Jan. 7.

A second ICE-involved shooting in Minneapolis that did not cause a fatality happened Wednesday night when a Venezuelan who ICE said had illegally entered the United States fled during a targeted traffic stop.

That man and two others assaulted the ICE officer with a snow shovel and a broom handle, and the officer shot the primary suspect in the leg to end the attack.

National Guard units on Saturday were “staging to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies,” the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a social media post.

A federal judge on Friday restricted ICE’s use of crowd-dispersal tools, such as tear gas and pepper spray, to protect peaceful protesters and banned ICE from initiating traffic stops of protesters who have not broken any laws.

While a federal judge has restricted ICE activities, the Department of Justice on Friday opened an investigation of Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and others for potentially conspiring to impede ICE and other federal law enforcement in Minnesota.

President Donald Trump also has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota if protest violence continues, but he said there was no need to do so as of Friday, KSMP-TV reported.

These are the key developments from day 1,424 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Sunday, January 18:

Fighting

• The General Staff of the Ukrainian military has estimated that Russian forces have lost about 1,225,590 personnel since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
• The office also reported that Russia has lost an estimated 11,569 tanks, 23,914 armoured fighting vehicles, 74,601 vehicles and fuel tanks, 36,261 artillery systems, 1,615 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,278 air defence systems, 434 aeroplanes, 347 helicopters, 108,605 drones, 28 ships and boats, and two submarines. Casualty figures for both sides since the beginning of the war have been difficult to independently verify.
• The Russian TASS news agency reported that Russian forces have captured the settlement of Pryvillya in the Donetsk region and Pryluky
  in the Zaporizhia region, citing the Ministry of Defence in Moscow.
• The ministry said that Ukrainian forces lost about 1,305 personnel in the last 24 hours, and that Russian air defences shot down 214 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones and two long-range Neptune missiles.
• Russia’s Defence Ministry also said that it carried out attacks on Ukrainian energy and transportation infrastructure across 167 locations over the past 24 hours, along with deployment areas for Ukrainian forces and “ammunition depots, assembly workshops, storage sites, pre-flight preparation and launch sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles”.

Energy strikes

• Russian forces continued their campaign of strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over Saturday night, carrying out attacks in the Kyiv and Odesa regions, according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy. Ukrainian authorities have characterised the Russian attacks as an effort to weaponise the current cold weather, degrading the country’s energy system.
• Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said in a post on the messaging app Telegram that more than 20 settlements in the Kyiv area were left without power as a result of the strikes.
• The mayor of the city of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said that constant Russian attacks were straining the energy system of Ukraine’s second-largest city, stating the system that provides residents with essentials, such as heating and electricity, was “constantly operating at its limits”. He said that three people were injured in overnight strikes.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an energy coordination meeting that the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia are facing the most acute energy challenges. He added that the country must increase energy imports and seek additional equipment from allies.
• The Ukrainian news outlet Kyiv Independent reported that foreign embassies plan to stay in Kyiv despite the power outages, infrastructure issues, and predictions of extreme cold, with weather forecasts predicting temperatures as low as –20 degrees Celsius (–4 degrees Fahrenheit) later this month. The outlet reported that about 80 foreign diplomatic missions are based in Kyiv.
• Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence body has said that Moscow is planning attacks meant to disconnect Ukraine from three nuclear power plants in the coming days. The intelligence agency said those efforts seek to degrade the country’s energy infrastructure and “force Ukraine to accept unacceptable capitulation demands to end the war”.

Peace talks

• A Ukrainian delegation arrived in the United States for peace talks, with Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Kyrylo Budanov, saying he was set to meet with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Secretary of the US Army Dan Driscoll.
• Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Davyd Arakhamia will also take part in the talks in Miami, Florida, on Sunday.
• Zelenskyy said on Friday that the weekend talks would focus on finalising proposals for a future peace agreement on issues such as post-war security guarantees and economic rebuilding.
• Zelenskyy said the delegation would also emphasise the destructive role of continued Russian strikes on Ukraine, adding that the attacks are “constantly worsening” the already strained possibilities of reaching a peaceful settlement to end the war.
• If the Trump administration reaches an agreement with Ukraine on a proposal, the two countries could sign a document at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week. Any such proposal would also have to gain Russian support.

Diplomacy

• The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the Trump administration’s threats to seize control of Greenland and slap tariffs on European allies that defy him should not be allowed to undermine the focus on bringing an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which she called the bloc’s “core task”.
• Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev ridiculed European leaders for deploying military members to Greenland as Trump continues to threaten the self-governing Danish territory and NATO member, saying in a social media post targeted at EU chief Ursula von der Leyen that European countries should not “provoke the daddy”.
• French President Emmanuel Macron expressed support for Denmark and Greenland, saying that the concept of sovereignty motivates France’s support for Ukraine and that Europe must take steps to ensure that the continent’s “sovereignty is upheld”.
• Zelenskyy announced Ukrainian sanctions targeting individuals and organisations tied to Russian athletics ahead of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, saying that Moscow uses “sports venues to spread anti-Ukrainian narratives and Russian propaganda”. The Russian national team is banned from competing, but Russian athletes may participate as “neutral athletes”.

THERE will be plenty of fans desperate to see Gareth Gates’ raunchy new stage show – but his ­teenage daughter isn’t one of them.

The singer admits his only child Missy is “mortified” at the thought of him stripping off ­during nostalgic concert, Boyband In The Buff.

And despite being supportive of his career, the schoolgirl, 16 — who is just a few months younger than Gareth was when he first found fame on 2002’s Pop Idol — doesn’t want to see posters of her topless dad promoting the Magic Mike-style extravaganza.

The show is a nostalgic, cheeky concert tour starring a scantily clad Gareth and a cast of male performers — also in minimal clothing — belting out hits from Nineties and Noughties boybands including Take That, Blue, NSYNC and Backstreet Boys.

In an exclusive interview, Gareth says: “Missy is mortified. She goes to school in Wiltshire and she’s very pleased that I’m not going to a ­theatre near there.

“She says she couldn’t handle ­seeing Daddy topless on a poster so close to her school.

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Pop Idol legend Gareth Gates strips off for Boybands in the Buff show

“When I first told her about it, she was speechless. She went, ‘What?!’

“She was shocked. She’s always been a big fan of everything I’ve done, but she’s sceptical about this one. She may well want to see some of the other lads on stage — she’s of that age — but not her dad!”

Gareth and Missy have a close bond and the singer, who lives mostly in West London, has even bought a second home near her boarding school to see more of her.

He says: “Any opportunity I get to go down there and see her, I do.

‘Raunchy and cheeky’

“I just gravitate there when I’m not on the road because it’s tough being away from her.

“I bought it a year before Covid and locked down there with her – which was perfect, as I hadn’t ever had that amount of time with her before.

“We have a great relationship and I feel very lucky. She’s a beautiful soul inside and out. I’m very proud of her.

“Fatherhood changes you as a person — your whole perspective of life.

“You’re not living for yourself any more, you are living for ­somebody else.

“I’ll always perform because I love it and it’s what I do best, but I invest in other areas, such as property, and I’m producing now.

“It’s all to give her the best life possible and to leave her a bit of an empire when I’m not around.”

Gareth continues: “The hardest thing about being on tour is being away from her. As I’m getting older, I’m trying to put into place that I don’t have to be away as much.

“I can produce shows and be at home with her a bit more, because you miss out on key moments when you’re away, which is tough.”

I’ll always perform because I love it and it’s what I do best, but I invest in other areas, such as property, and I’m producing now

Gareth Gates

Gareth reckons that as his daughter hits her late teens, it won’t hurt to have him around keeping an eye on her.

He says: “Missy is 16 now, which is quite scary for Daddy. She’s a very sensible girl, though.

“She goes to dance class and singing every night of the week, so she’s keeping busy and keeping away from boys – or so she tells me!”

At a similar age, Gareth, now 41, had a colourful love life.

After finishing as runner-up on Pop Idol to Will Young, he hooked up with Katie Price while she was pregnant with her son Harvey.

And in her book, Being Jordan, she claimed that she took his virginity.

Then, in 2008, Gareth married Missy’s mum — dancer Suzanne Mole.

The pair split after four years amid claims he cheated on her with Corrie actress Faye Brookes.

Gareth and Faye were together on and off for seven years, before splitting for good in 2018.

And from 2020 to December 2022, he was in a relationship with DJ Chloe McLennan.

Gareth has been with West End actress and singer Allana Taylor, 26, for the past three years after they appeared together in panto.

He says: “The show’s name was actually Allana’s idea. She’s in the industry herself, so she’s fully supportive. Our relationship is going from strength to strength.

“We live together and we have a brand new puppy together called Lady Gates, so we’ll see what ­happens in the future.”

Gareth has had a successful career after finding fame on Pop Idol and releasing his single Unchained ­Melody, which went to No1 in 2002.

Boyband In The Buff is not just a male strip show. It has elements of that. There’s water involved — there’s a shower scene — so we’re in ­swimwear. It’s raunchy and cheeky

Gareth Gates

He recorded three studio albums, starred in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Les ­Miserables in the West End, and appeared in nationwide tours of ­Boogie Nights and Footloose.

‘Marrying passions’

He not only stars in Boyband In The Buff but he produces it, too.

The idea for the musical came from seeing the success of the Magic Mike films and West End show.

And part of his research involved going to strip shows for real.

Gareth says: “With my producer hat on, I saw that Magic Mike was doing very well and I wanted a slice of that pie, so there’s that same look and choreography.

“Boyband In The Buff is not just a male strip show. It has elements of that. There’s water involved — there’s a shower scene — so we’re in ­swimwear. It’s raunchy and cheeky.

“We get girls on stage and we ­celebrate the male form, but it’s not full frontal nudity.

“I have seen a ­couple of these types of shows for research and there are ones that make you cringe.

“Ours isn’t that show. Plus, we sing, so it’s a pop concert as well.

“Obviously, a lot of the people who come to see it will remember the hits — it’s a very nostalgic night — so we’ll take them back to their youth.”

Gareth has transformed himself from a skinny Bradford teenager into a man with bulging muscles.

He works out every day for two hours, lifting weights and bench pressing almost 19st.

The star says of combining his first loves on stage: “I’ve always loved boyband music – I sang the Westlife song, Flying Without Wings, for my Pop Idol audition.

“I’m also a big gym-goer, so it’s marrying my two passions.

“I’ve cast four amazing lads who are all big West End performers — great singers and great dancers — but they just so happen to look half decent without a top on.

‘Held back by stutter’

“There’s nothing like the fear of getting your kit off on stage to kick you up the backside to go to the gym.

“The show is actually just an ­extension of what I do.

“I train very hard in the gym — I won Celebrity SAS two years ago – and now I’m a male stripper. Some people have said that the pictures of me with my shirt off look like AI, but it really isn’t.

“I rarely go out these days, I rarely drink and I feel better for it. Hand on heart, I feel the best I’ve ever felt.”

I rarely go out these days, I rarely drink and I feel better for it

Gareth Gates

When the Boyband In The Buff tour ends in October, Gareth is ­producing his first panto — Beauty And The Beast in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk – in which he also stars.

And he is producing a new West End show, which is a transfer from Broadway and likely to open in early 2027, plus two soon-to-be released films.

Meanwhile, he has written a ­musical entitled Speechless, about a man who stammers, which is based on his own experiences. Gareth’s stutter dates back to his childhood.

These days he manages it with the help of a speech therapist and a speech coach, who sits in remotely on all his interviews to ­support him and remind him to talk more slowly.

Gareth explains: “Stammering isn’t just repetition of sound. It really controls you.

“You can’t be the person that you want to be because you’re held back by your affliction. That can be very hard at times. The thought of a live interview on TV still, 24 years on, fills me with terror.”

• For more information about Gareth’s musical stage show or to buy tickets, see boybandinthebuff.com.

Quarterback Josh Allen endured more play-off heartache as the Denver Broncos beat the Buffalo Bills in overtime to move within one win of the Super Bowl.

Having secured the AFC’s top seed, Denver had home advantage and led 23-10 during the third quarter, before the Bills twice came from behind to make the final score 30-30.

Allen had a chance to clinch victory in overtime, but the Broncos claimed an interception before kicking a field goal to win 33-30.

That means that despite reaching the play-offs in seven straight seasons, racking up eight play-off wins, the NFL’s reigning Most Valuable Player is still to reach the sport’s biggest game.

The Broncos, however, have claimed their first play-off success since winning the Super Bowl for the third time in February 2016.

That game took place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, which will also stage this year’s edition, Super Bowl 60, on Sunday, 8 February.

Now, Denver can look forward to the AFC Conference Championship game next weekend at home to the winners of the Houston Texans at the New England Patriots on Sunday (20:00 GMT).

More to follow.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Denmark to show support for Greenland and reject United States President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to take control of the self-governing Danish territory.

Waving the flags of Denmark and Greenland, the protesters formed a sea of red and white outside Copenhagen city hall on Saturday, chanting “Kalaallit Nunaat” – the Arctic island’s name in Greenlandic.

Rallies were also organised throughout the day in the Danish cities of Aarhus, Aalborg and Odense, as well as in Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.

“I am very grateful for the huge support we as Greenlanders receive … We are also sending a message to the world that you all must wake up,” said Julie Rademacher, chair of Uagut, an organisation for Greenlanders in Denmark.

“Greenland and the Greenlanders have involuntarily become the front in the fight for democracy and human rights,” she added.

The demonstrations come as Trump said 10 percent tariffs would be imposed on several European allies opposing US control of Greenland from February 1, hitting ​Denmark, ‌Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The US president, who says the move is critical for his country’s interests, added that those tariffs ‌would rise to ‌25 percent on June ⁠1 and would continue until an agreement is reached ‌for the US to purchase Greenland.

While Greenland and Denmark have rejected the idea of the island being “owned” by the US, efforts to get the US administration to change its stance have so far appeared to fail.

The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland left a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, DC, this week, saying that they “didn’t manage to change the American position”.

“It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters.

According to the latest poll published in January of last year, 85 percent of Greenlanders oppose the territory joining the US, while only 6 percent were in favour.

Reporting from Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands said Saturday’s rally was expected to be a large one.

“This is … the capital city, but [home to] only about 19-20,000 people. Everyone we spoke to yesterday said that they were going to be coming out and marching today,” Challands said.

“This essentially is Danes and Greenlanders coming together. Everyone here believes that at some point, there should be some form of independence [for Greenland],” he added.

“But for the moment, Denmark and Greenland are saying that their best way out of this crisis is to remain united.”

Some US lawmakers – including members of Trump’s own Republican Party – also have raised opposition to the president’s push to take control of Greenland, saying it threatens global stability and the US commitment to NATO.

A bipartisan group of US Congress members travelled to Denmark on Friday, led by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who said there was no security threat to Greenland to justify the Trump administration’s stance.

“Greenland is a part of Denmark. Denmark is our NATO ally. That should be the end of this discussion, in my view,” Coons told reporters in Copenhagen.

Trump has repeatedly accused Denmark of failing to do enough to secure Greenland’s territorial waters in the Arctic.

European NATO members are deploying troops in Greenland for a military exercise designed to show that they will “defend [their] sovereignty”, French armed forces minister Alice Rufo said this week.

Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have announced they are sending small numbers of military personnel to prepare for future exercises in the Arctic.

Zach Sutton, a mechanical engineer from Detroit, calls his car Bak2Bak. It is built from the front ends of two old Chrysler vehicles, one made in Canada, the other in the United States.

Sutton says he didn’t know the origins of the parts when he bought them, but later found the pairing felt serendipitous. He describes the two countries as close “sister countries” making the hybrid design feel fitting.

The quirky vehicle turns heads on the streets of Detroit. Sutton says the project was never meant to be serious, but fun and accessible, a light-hearted symbol that delivers, as he puts it, “a lot of smiles per gallon.”

Video by Eloise Alanna

If you’re looking for a great watch in the cinema, this could be the film for you.

My mum, being a Sky Cinema member, receives two complimentary cinema tickets each month – and she alternates between taking my sister and me to catch the latest films. It’s a cute little tradition, made all the more convenient by the fact that her local Vue cinema (the only chain where the tickets are valid) is just a five-minute drive away.

This time around, The Housemaid was on the cards; having only seen the trailer and a few TikTok videos of women shielding their boyfriends’ eyes during certain scenes, I was bracing myself for an uncomfortable viewing experience. However, I found the film to be fast-paced, mildly risqué for about five minutes, and packed with unexpected plot twists.

The Housemaid initially focuses on Millie (Sydney Sweeney), an ex-convict on parole who is desperately in need of employment. Soon enough, she finds herself sitting across from Mrs Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), who just so happens to be looking for a live-in maid.

The offer seems too good to pass up, particularly as Millie has been sleeping rough in her car and washing in public restrooms.

Once hired, Millie’s quickly introduced to Mrs Winchester’s handsome husband, Andrew (portrayed by Brandon Sklenar), who initially appears to be a devoted family man dealing with an unstable wife.

In a job she can’t afford to walk away from, Millie finds herself biting her tongue as Mrs Winchester’s demands become increasingly chaotic.

Witness to his wife’s tantrums, Andrew begins to feel sorry for Millie and tries to comfort her, which predictably turns into an affair – but that’s when the predictability stops.

Unexpected plot developments arrive one after another, maintaining the film’s brisk momentum; before long, Mrs Winchester’s viewpoint emerges, and the audience are shown what really drove her to madness.

The two-hour runtime flies by remarkably quickly, making for genuinely compelling viewing. Plus, Amanda Seyfried delivers an outstanding performance as an emotionally fragile mother justifiably worried about her wandering husband.

Notably, Sydney Sweeney excels in her part – creating a character audiences find themselves supporting as she seeks retribution against the charismatic unfaithful spouse, convincingly brought to life by Brandon Sklenar.

What other people are saying

The production has earned a remarkable 92% popcornmeter score on movie review platform Rotten Tomatoes, with viewers hailing it as “one of the best thrillers” they’ve experienced – a sentiment I wholeheartedly share.

One reviewer stated: “Honestly, one of the best thrillers I have watched. Absolutely nerve-racking and exciting, would definitely watch again.” Someone else said: “Phenomenal. Much better than I expected. Definitely worth the watch.”

Provided you don’t scrutinise the conclusion too closely once everything appears resolved, this gripping thriller offers plenty to appreciate.

TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone.

(APPLAUSE)

Sorry to keep you waiting; complicated business; complicated.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: I’ve just received a call from Secretary Clinton.

(APPLAUSE)

She congratulated us — it’s about us — on our victory, and I congratulated her and her family on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, she — she fought very hard.

(APPLAUSE)

Hillary has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe her a major debt of gratitude for her service to our country.

(APPLAUSE)

I mean that very sincerely.

(APPLAUSE)

Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division; have to get together. To all Republicans and Democrats and independents across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s time. I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.

(APPLAUSE)

For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people…

(LAUGHTER)

… I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great country.

(APPLAUSE)

As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign, but rather an incredible and great movement made up of millions of hard- working men and women who love their country and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their families.

(APPLAUSE)

It’s a movement comprised of Americans from all races, religions, backgrounds and beliefs who want and expect our government to serve the people, and serve the people it will.

(APPLAUSE)

Working together, we will begin the urgent task of rebuilding our nation and renewing the American Dream. I’ve spent my entire life and business looking at the untapped potential in projects and in people all over the world. That is now what I want to do for our country.

(APPLAUSE)

Tremendous potential. I’ve gotten to know our country so well — tremendous potential. It’s going to be a beautiful thing. Every single American will have the opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

(APPLAUSE)

We are going to fix our inner cities and rebuild our highways, bridges, tunnels, airports, schools, hospitals. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild it.

We will also finally take care of our great veterans.

(APPLAUSE)

They’ve been so loyal, and I’ve gotten to know so many over this 18-month journey. The time I’ve spent with them during this campaign has been among my greatest honors. Our veterans are incredible people. We will embark upon a project of national growth and renewal. I will harness the creative talents of our people and we will call upon the best and brightest to leverage their tremendous talent for the benefit of all. It’s going to happen.

(APPLAUSE)

We have a great economic plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest economy anywhere in the world. At the same time, we will get along with all other nations willing to get along with us. We will be.

(APPLAUSE)

We’ll have great relationships. We expect to have great, great relationships. No dream is too big, no challenge is too great.

TRUMP: Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.

America will no longer settle for anything less than the best.

(APPLAUSE)

Track what’s next »

(Mark Wilson / Getty Images )

We must reclaim our country’s destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We’re going to dream of things for our country and beautiful things and successful things once again.

I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone — all people and all other nations. We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict.

And now I’d like to take this moment to thank some of the people who really helped me with this what they are calling tonight very, very historic victory.

First, I want to thank my parents, who I know are looking down on me right now.

(APPLAUSE)

Great people. I’ve learned so much from them. They were wonderful in every regard. I had truly great parents.

I also want to thank my sisters, Maryanne and Elizabeth, who are here with us tonight. And, where are they? They’re here someplace. They’re very shy, actually. And my brother Robert — my great friend. Where is Robert? Where is Robert?

(APPLAUSE)

My brother Robert. And they should all be on this stage, but that’s OK. They’re great. And also my late brother, Fred. Great guy. Fantastic guy.

(APPLAUSE)

Fantastic family. I was very lucky. Great brothers, sisters; great, unbelievable parents.

To Melania and Don…

(APPLAUSE) … and Ivanka…

(APPLAUSE)

… and Eric and Tiffany and Baron, I love you and I thank you, and especially for putting up with all of those hours. This was tough.

See how Trump won »

(APPLAUSE)

This was tough. This political stuff is nasty and it’s tough. So I want to thank my family very much. Really fantastic. Thank you all. Thank you all.

And Lara (ph), unbelievable job, unbelievable.

Vanessa, thank you. Thank you very much.

What a great group. You’ve all given me such incredible support and I will tell you that we have a large group of people. You know, they kept saying we have a small staff. Not so small. Look at all the people that we have. Look at all of these people.

And Kellyanne and Chris and Rudy and Steve and David. We have got — we have got tremendously talented people up here. And I want to tell you, it’s been — it’s been very, very special. I want to give a very special thanks to our former mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

(APPLAUSE)

Unbelievable. Unbelievable. He traveled with us and he went through meetings. That Rudy never changes. Where’s Rudy? Where is he? Rudy.

Governor Chris Christie, folks, was unbelievable.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you, Chris.

The first man, first senator, first major, major politician, and let me tell you, he is highly respected in Washington because he’s as smart as you get: Senator Jeff Sessions. Where is Jeff?

(APPLAUSE)

Great man.

Another great man, very tough competitor. He was not easy. He was not easy. Who is that? Is that the mayor that showed up?

(LAUGHTER)

(Saul Loeb / AFP/ Getty Images )

Is that Rudy? Oh, Rudy got up here.

Another great man who has been really a friend to me. But I’ll tell you, I got to know him as a competitor because he was one of the folks that was negotiating to go against those Democrats: Dr. Ben Carson. Where is Ben?

(APPLAUSE)

Where is Ben?

TRUMP: And by the way, Mike Huckabee is here someplace, and he is fantastic. Mike and his family, Sarah — thank you very much.

General Mike Flynn. Where is Mike?

(APPLAUSE)

And General Kellogg. We have over 200 generals and admirals that have endorsed our campaign. And they’re special people and it’s really an honor. We have 22 congressional Medal of Honor recipients. We have just tremendous people.

A very special person who believed me and, you know, I’d read reports that I wasn’t getting along with him. I never had a bad second with him. He’s an unbelievable star. He is…

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: That’s right. How did you possibly guess? So let me tell you about Reince, and I’ve said this. I said, Reince — and I know it, I know. Look at all those people over there. I know it. Reince is a superstar. But I said, “They can’t call you a superstar, Reince, unless we win,” because you can’t be called a superstar — like Secretariat — if Secretariat came in second, Secretariat would not have that big, beautiful bronze bust at the track at Belmont.

But I’ll tell you, Reince is really a star. And he is the hardest-working guy. And in a certain way, I did this — Reince, come up here. Where is Reince? Get over here, Reince.

(APPLAUSE)

Boy oh boy oh boy. It’s about time you did this, Reince. My God.

(APPLAUSE)

Say a few words. No, come on, say something.

RNC CHAIRMAN REINCE PRIEBUS: Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States, Donald Trump.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you. It’s been an honor. God bless. Thank God.

TRUMP: Amazing guy.

Trump vows America will ‘no longer settle for anything less than the best’ »

Our partnership with the RNC was so important to the success and what we’ve done.

So I also have to say I’ve gotten to know some incredible people — the Secret Service people.

(APPLAUSE)

They’re tough and they’re smart and they’re sharp, and I don’t want to mess around with them, I can tell you. And when I want to go and wave to a big group of people and they rip me down and put me back down on the seat. But they are fantastic people, so I want to thank the Secret Service.

(APPLAUSE)

And law enforcement in New York City. They’re here tonight.

(APPLAUSE)

These are spectacular people, sometimes under-appreciated unfortunately, but we appreciate them. We know what they go through.

So, it’s been what they call a historic event, but to be really historic, we have to do a great job. And I promise you that I will not let you down. We will do a great job. We will do a great job.

(APPLAUSE)

I look very much forward to being your president, and hopefully at the end of two years or three years or four years, or maybe even eight years…

(APPLAUSE)

… you will say, so many of you worked so hard for us, but you will say that — you will say that that was something that you really were very proud to do and I can…

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: Thank you very much.

And I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really just beginning.

(APPLAUSE)

We’re going to get to work immediately for the American people. And we’re going to be doing a job that hopefully you will be so proud of your president. You’ll be so proud. Again, it’s my honor. It was an amazing evening. It’s been an amazing two-year period. And I love this country.

(APPLAUSE) Thank you. Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you to Mike Pence. Thank you.

@latimespolitics

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Sierra Canyon, ranked No. 1 in high school basketball in the Southland, traveled to Springfield College on Saturday for the Hoophall Classic and came away with a 75-58 win over Miami Columbus.

Brandon McCoy earned game MVP honors by scoring 24 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Maxi Adams also had 24 points.

Sierra Canyon (18-1) has an even bigger test coming on Wednesday in Mission League play when it faces defending champion Harvard-Westlake (21-2) in a home game that should be sold out quickly.

Fairfield (Conn.) Notre Dame Prep 72, Mater Dei 57: The Monarchs (14-9) were beaten at the Hoophall Classic.

Los Alamitos 73, St. Francis 70: The Griffins won in overtime behind Tyler Lopez, who had 25 points. Sophomore Cole Ragsdale scored 19 points for St. Francis, which played without 7-foot-4 Cherif Millogo (illness).

Damien 53, North Torrance 32: The surging Spartans improved to 20-4 behind Eli Garner, who scored 20 points on eight-for-12 shooting from the field.

Heritage Christian 68, St. Anthony 45: Dominic Loehle finished with 24 points and 10 assists for Heritage Christian.

Girls basketball

Brentwood 73, La Jolla Bishops 42: The Eagles received 21 points from Mikaella Kawahito in the win in San Diego.

South Torrance 53, St. Anthony 51: Laila Hughes of St. Anthony had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Birmingham 84, El Segundo 43: Kiara Wakabi had 21 points while Jaydin Walker 20 points and 11 rebounds for Birmingham.