admits

A 60-year-old man has admitted sending abusive social media messages to England footballer Jess Carter.

Nigel Dewale sent the posts to Carter’s TikTok account during the Uefa Women’s Euro 2025 tournament last summer, which defending champions the Lionesses went on to win.

The messages included a derogatory reference to Carter’s race and suggested people with brown skin were “murderers” and “groomers”.

Dewale, of Great Harwood in Lancashire, appeared at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to sending a malicious message via a public communications network between 19 and 23 June last year.

He also pleaded guilty to possession of an offensive weapon, namely an extendable baton, in a private place in February.

Magistrates adjourned the case until 25 March for pre-sentence reports and warned Dewale, of Prospect Street, that all sentencing options were open including prison.

Dewale was granted unconditional bail.

Central defender Carter plays her club football for American side Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League, having previously represented Chelsea and Birmingham City in the UK.

The 28-year-old, from Warwick, previously said she was stepping away from social media after she was subjected to racist abuse online during the tournament.

Lancashire Police said the UK Football Policing Unit launched an investigation in July and traced the messages to Dewale, who was arrested in August.

Mark Roberts, Chief Constable for Cheshire Police and the national lead for football policing, said: “Dewale’s comments were totally abhorrent, they caused emotional distress for Miss Carter and her family and I welcome the guilty plea entered today.

“We have been clear that hate crime online or in person, is not acceptable and as we have shown in this case, you cannot hide behind a social media profile to post vile comments and spread hate.”

AMANDA Holden has admitted her boobs have grown and shared the very unusual reason why.

Standing in the shade in Corfu with her close pal Alan Carr for their BBC series Amanda and Alan’s Greek Job, Amanda’s chest became the topic of conversation.

Alan says: “Your breasts have got bigger since the last one.”

Amanda, wearing a low-cut summer dress, replies: “They have. It’s because of the Saganaki cheese.”

Funnyman Alan quickly quips, “Have you just been rubbing it straight in?,” prompting Amanda to burst out laughing.

One viewer wrote on Instagram: “Amanda’s laugh is pure filth and I’m here for it.”

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Another posted: “Love these two, and Amanda’s cackle cracks me up.”

A third said: “Love these 2 and their renovations. Just what we all need – love and laughter!”

Just days ago Amanda, 54, wowed in a plunging dress, alongside Alan, as they rang in the New Year in Scotland with her husband Chris and lookalike daughters Lexi and Hollie.

Ageless Amanda wowed in the figure-hugging navy frock that showed off her cleavage and cinched at the waist.

She wore her hair down in her signature curly waves and beamed from ear to ear.

Daughters, Lexi, 19, and Hollie, 13, dressed up in sparkly gold and silver dresses which they both paired with matching boots.

Meanwhile, proud dad Chris stood with his family and opted for an all-black suit with a black shirt.

Amanda captioned the post: “Happy New year. From our family to yours…”

Her loyal followers flocked to the comments section to wish her and her family an early happy New Year.

Amanda also took to her stories to reveal that the family were joined by Celebrity Traitors winner Alan.

The pair posed for pictures, with Amanda planting a kiss on her pal’s cheek and the pair clinking champagne flutes.

Her hubby Chris’ arm was visible in the shot as she jokingly captioned: “Me and my husband, oh whoops, we managed to cut him out!”

Amanda and Alan host their own BBC travel show together which sees them travel to different locations including Italy, Spain and Greece and renovate a house from scratch.

Both presenters have also been in the running to take over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman on Strictly Come Dancing.

The Sun previously revealed that ten well-known faces had been selected by the BBC to undergo look tests, with Alan, Bradley Walsh and Alex Jones being the frontrunners.

Aside from Amanda, the other stars reportedly in the running are Rylan Clark, Rob Rinder, Zoe Ball, Holly Willoughby, Alison Hammond and Angela Scanlon.

However, we reported that Alan has had to pull out of the race as he cannot shift his tour dates.

A source revealed: “Alan is out of the Golden Ten possible hosts and won’t be taking part in the tests — the BBC are gutted.

“He was their favourite to take on one of the positions but he’s spoken with the BBC and basically he cannot move his tour.

“The dates which are scheduled for 2027 are not able to be rearranged and Alan has had to choose.

“The BBC understand his position but they are hugely disappointed.

“They thought Alan would be such a great choice for the job. Rylan has now replaced Alan as one of their top choices.

“It will come down to how Rylan gets on in the chemistry tests.”

Los Angeles Fire Chief Jaime Moore admitted Tuesday that his department’s after-action report on the Palisades fire was watered down to shield top brass from scrutiny.

Moore’s admission comes more than two weeks after The Times found that the report was edited to downplay the failures of city and Los Angeles Fire Department leaders in preparing for and fighting the Jan. 7, 2025, fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

“It is now clear that multiple drafts were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of department leadership in that final report,” Moore said Tuesday during remarks before the city’s Board of Fire Commissioners. “This editing occurred prior to my appointment as fire chief. And I can assure you that nothing of this sort will ever again happen while I am fire chief.”

Moore, who was appointed fire chief in November, did not say who was responsible for the changes to the report.

The report’s author, LAFD Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, declined to endorse it because of substantial deletions that altered his findings. Cook said in an Oct. 8 email to then-interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva and other LAFD officials that the edited version was “highly unprofessional and inconsistent with our established standards.”

Mayor Karen Bass’ office has said that the LAFD wrote and edited the report, and that the mayor did not demand changes.

On Tuesday, Clara Karger, a spokesperson for Bass said: “Mayor Bass fully respects and supports what the Chief said today, and she looks forward to seeing his leadership make the change that is needed within the department. Chief Moore is a courageous leader with strong integrity who continues to show his deep commitment to the people of Los Angeles and to the brave firefighters who serve our city every day.”

Villanueva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moore’s remarks, on the eve of the first anniversary of the Palisades fire, were the strongest admission yet of missteps by LAFD leaders. They amounted to an about-face for a chief who in November critiqued the media following a Times report that a battalion chief ordered firefighters to roll up their hoses and leave the area of a New Year’s Day fire even though they had complained that the ground was still smoldering. That fire, the Lachman fire, later reignited into the Palisades fire.

“This is about learning and not assigning blame,” said Fire Commissioner Sharon Delugach, who praised the chief for his comments.

The most significant changes, The Times found in its analysis of seven drafts of the report, involved top LAFD officials’ decision not to fully staff up and pre-deploy available firefighters ahead of the ferocious winds.

An initial draft said the decision “did not align” with policy, while the final version said the number of companies pre-deployed “went above and beyond the standard LAFD pre-deployment matrix.”

A section on “failures” was renamed “primary challenges,” and an item saying that crews and leaders had violated national guidelines on how to avoid firefighter deaths and injuries was scratched.

Another passage that was deleted said that some crews waited more than an hour for an assignment on Jan. 7, 2025.

The department made other changes that seemed intended to make the report seem less negative. In one draft, there was a suggestion to change the cover image from a photo of palm trees on fire to a more “positive” image, such as “firefighters on the frontline.” The final report displays the LAFD seal on its cover.

A July email thread reviewed by The Times shows concern over how the after-action report would be received, with the LAFD forming a “crisis management workgroup.”

“The primary goal of this workgroup is to collaboratively manage communications for any critical public relations issue that may arise. The immediate and most pressing crisis is the Palisades After Action Report,” LAFD Assistant Chief Kairi Brown wrote in an email to eight other people.

“With significant interest from media, politicians, and the community, it is crucial that we present a unified response to anticipated questions and concerns,” Brown wrote. “By doing so, we can ensure our messaging is clear and consistent, allowing us to create our own narrative rather than reactive responses.”

Maryam Zar, a Palisades resident who runs the Palisades Recovery Coalition, said that “when news came out that this report had been doctored to save face, it didn’t take much for [Palisades residents] to believe that was true.”

It was easy for Moore to admit the faults of previous LAFD administrations, she said.

“He’s not going to take any heat. It wasn’t him,” she said. “He’s not the fire chief who really should have stood up and said, ‘I didn’t do what I should have.’”

The after-action report has been widely criticized for failing to examine the New Year’s Day fire that later reignited into the Palisades fire. Bass has ordered the LAFD to commission an independent investigation into its missteps in putting out the earlier fire.

On Tuesday, Moore said the city failed to adequately ensure that the New Year’s Day fire was fully snuffed out.

He said that LAFD officials “genuinely believed the fire was fully extinguished.”

“That was based on the information, conditions, and procedures in place at that moment. That belief guided the operational decision-making that was made,” he said. “However, the outcome has made it incredibly clear that our mop-up and verification process needed to be stronger.”

“We have to own that, and I do,” he added.

Despite the behind-the-scenes difficulties, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star Jack Osbourne said he had a “great time” on the show and is “glad” he did it

I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! 2025 star Jack Osbourne said he “lost [his] s**t” with show producers, following technical difficulties during filming. The 40-year-old impressed hosts Ant and Dec, as well as viewers, with his bravery throughout the series, particularly when he earned all 12 stars for camp in an underwater challenge.

As part of his stint, the reality star also took part in a Dark Room Challenge alongside Shona McGarty, Eddie Kadi and Lisa Riley, where they had the opportunity to win photos from home.

During the task, the group was split into pairs: one pair entered a dark gallery to describe framed pictures to their teammates, while the other two searched the unlit room for matching photos based on those descriptions.

Each team had to find and match the correct photos in complete darkness, with limited visibility and creatures dropped on them in true I’m A Celebrity style.

Reflecting on this challenge, the Osbournes star said there was a tense moment during filming that wasn’t shown to viewers.

According to Jack, he and other campmates had to redo a part of a challenge due to technical difficulties.

Discussing his experience on the Trying Not To Die Podcast, the son of Sharon Osbourne and the late Ozzy Osbourne said: “I got really p****d at one point and went f*****g nuts.

“What happened was, I got selected to go and do a challenge, not a trial, and it was an opportunity to win pictures from home.

“I had to stick my hands in these boxes overhead that had these heavy light switches.”

While trying to complete the mission however, the reality star said there were “problems” with the trial and he kept having to stop and start.

“I’d be in there doing it and it wasn’t working correctly, I’d be getting eaten to s**t,” he recalled.

“And so I had to go in three times to do it and I just lost my s**t, I was like, ‘What the f**k is going on?’

“They were like, ‘Sorry it’s technical problems’ and this, that and the other and I just said, ‘This is b******t’.

“I was like, ‘I’m not earning anything more by keep going in because you guys didn’t properly prep this and test it, I’m having to get eaten alive by these crazy ants’.”

Jack said he had been so badly bitten by green ants after 15 minutes that he looked like he had “chickenpox.”

He continued: “It was late, it was at night, there were clearly some technical problems but I just didn’t like that they weren’t being straight up about it.

“Just be honest and be like, ‘Hey there’s a problem, we f****d it up, we didn’t get the shots we needed, can you just go back in please? We know it’s horrible’. I lost it.”

Reach PLC have contacted a representative for ITV for comment.

Despite these technical challenges, Jack said he is “glad” he did the show and had “a great time”.

Following his exit from the jungle, he reunited with his campmates for the Coming Out programme after Angry Ginge was crowned the new King of the Jungle.

Stefanos Tsitsipas says he considered retiring from tennis because of serious back pain during the 2025 season.

The 27-year-old has been as high as number three in the world and was runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open.

Now ranked 36th in the world after playing just two Davis Cup matches since a second-round exit at the US Open in August, he said he is finally seeing progress through ongoing medical treatment.

“I’m most excited to see how my actual training responds with regard to my back,” Tsitsipas said.

“My biggest concern was if I could finish a match,” added Tsitsipas, who said the injury had haunted him “for the last six or eight months”.

“I would ask, ‘Can I play another match without pain?'”

“I got really scared after the US Open loss [to Germany’s Daniel Altmaier]. I could not walk for two days. That’s when you reconsider the future of your career.”

Tsitsipas added he was satisfied with his current care plan after completing five weeks of off-season training without pain.

He will play for Greece, who are grouped with Naomi Osaka’s Japan and the Emma Raducanu-led Great Britain team in the United Cup, which will take place in Perth and Sydney from 2 to 11 January, the week before the Australian Open.

“My biggest win for 2026 would be to not have to worry about finishing matches,” he said.

“It makes great feedback knowing you had a pre-season without pain – I hope it stays that way. I want to deliver for 2026 and the United Cup.

“I put in the work. The most important thing is full belief that I can come back to where I was. I will try everything to do that.”

Ex-Gov. Jim Guy Tucker’s ex-business partner pleaded guilty to a Whitewater fraud charge that accused him and Tucker of arranging a sham bankruptcy that saved them $2 million in taxes. Boston businessman William J. Marks Sr. said Tucker and Tucker’s lawyer–who are scheduled for trial this winter–used falsified documents to understate the value of cable television systems Marks and the former governor owned in Texas and Florida. Marks told U.S. District Judge Stephen M. Reasoner in Little Rock, Ark., he had full knowledge of the plan. Tucker, then governor, was sentenced to 18 months’ home detention after being convicted in a separate Whitewater case last year.

EastEnders newcomer Ronni Ancona famously impersonated characters on the BBC soap years before the news she would join the cast as Linda Carter’s old classmate Bea

Comedian and actress Ronni Ancona has revealed all about joining the EastEnders cast, teasing twists and turns ahead.

The star, who famously performed impressions of the soap’s characters and cast in the Big Impression show, will take on the role of Linda Carter’s old schoolfriend Bea. Viewers will see her debut at a school reunion where she and Linda come face-to-face for the first time in years.

We’re set to find out more about Linda’s time at school, as Bea is left gutted by their different perspectives. Teasing the scenes, Ronni shared: “Bea was in a more senior year at school than Linda, but that didn’t stop her being intimidated by her. They have both got very different perspectives on what happened at school, and initially she is very upset and slighted by that.

“There are lots of twists and turns and lots of unexpected developments. She’s a mercurial character who is witty, and charismatic, yet vulnerable as well.” Teasing what fans can expect from her character, Ronni shared: “Ben [Wadey, Executive Producer] loves comedy and wanted to bring in a character who was both tragic and funny.

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“Bea is misunderstood, and there’s a touch of desperation about her. When she feels cornered, she can become rather dangerous. Deep down, she just wants to be loved and to fit in. She’s the sort of person who ‘window-shops’ other people’s lives, trying to reshape herself into whoever she thinks others want her to be.

“In her mind, that’s the only way to earn love and attention – which is, unfortunately, quite misguided. Bea is intelligent, but she’s never achieved what she hoped for, so there’s an underlying frustration that her life hasn’t lived up to her potential.

“She has shades of a Walter Mitty–type character; you’re never entirely sure how much of what she says is real. She’s complex, nuanced, and unusual – someone who has become convinced by her own narrative.” Ronni confessed it was “bizarre” to step onto the soap after years of impersonating its legendary characters. She revealed: “It all felt rather bizarre and completely surreal.

“We always made those sketches with real respect and affection for the show and its cast, so stepping onto the actual set for the first time was an especially strange experience. Although thinking about it I think they let us film our ‘EastEnders the Musical’ on the outside lot, which would have been the old set.

“My first scene was on the bench in the middle of Albert Square – exactly where Alastair [McGowan] and I had once filmed our sketch ‘The Bench of Tears.’ That moment was so surreal I immediately phoned him to say, ‘I’ve just done a scene on the bench of tears,’ and he practically shouted, ‘NO WAY!’

“To add to the oddness, several members of the crew had worked with me years ago on Big Impression and The Sketch Show with Lee Mack, so it felt like past and present were colliding. Filming in the Vic for the first time was unexpectedly emotional. I couldn’t help remembering my impression of Peggy Mitchell, played by the much-missed Barbara Windsor.

“I adored her, and I know she enjoyed the impression, so walking into her domain properly was a real moment. I’ll admit I was a bit nervous about meeting some of the cast I’d impersonated, but they all have a brilliant sense of humour.

“Jessie Wallace even did my impression of her back at me, which was hysterical. I may now have to do my impression of her impression, it could become an endless loop.”

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

RYAN Thomas has admitted he almost dumped fiancé Lucy Mecklenburgh after “self sabotaging” during the early stages of their relationship.

The pair are engaged and share two children now but the former Coronation Street star has revealed it all nearly didn’t happen.

The two first met on The Island with Bear Grylls before coming back to the UK and going on proper dates.

On the latest episode of his podcast with his brothers Adam and Scott, The Thomas Bros, the trio were joined by Lucy and Adam’s wife Caroline.

Talk soon turned to Ryan and Lucy’s relationship as they recalled what happened right at the beginning of their blossoming romance.

Love Island star Scott began: “Ryan asked you to be his girlfriend…”

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Lucy added: “On our first date yeah,” as Ryan jumped in: “But wait wait we’d been on an island for a month.”

Scott interjected: “No no wait but how did it… this is cringing me out.”

Lucy continued: “Well we’ve known each other for like two months, we’d been on the island for a month together.”

“Did you not say ‘Are we official?’, Scott asked as Ryan said: “I would never say that I’m old school.”

Former TOWIE star Lucy then dropped: “It gets worse. He later on told me he was meeting me, because I was working in Manchester, meeting me to say “No, no I’m not interested.’

Ryan interrupted to say: ‘I was just a bit like… ugh I dunno I just found it a bit unattractive that someone actually liked me and once I got them I was like “No it’s not for me.”‘

“Then when I went to meet her…”, he added, as Lucy said: “It’s mad isn’t it.”

Clarifying what he was intending to do, Scott exclaimed: “So you were going to break it off and then you saw her.”

Ryan divulged: “And she looked incredible. And she was like super cool and we had this kiss in the car, yeah in Adam’s car.

“I don’t know why you had your shoes off… but your foot were on the dashboard. And I went ‘Yeah I’m in.’”

The couple got engaged back in June 2019 while on holiday in Italy together.

They welcomed son Roman into the world in March 2020 before having daughter Lilah Rae two years later.

Ryan is also dad to singer and Waterloo Road star, Scarlett Thomas, who he shares with ex Tina O’Brien.

The Celebrity Big Brother star previously opened up about Lucy walking out on him during a big date night.

Speaking on the podcast, he expressed: “We got to the hotel, lovely room, went for dinner in this beautiful new restaurant overlooking the whole of Manchester.

‘It just slowly, I just started to feel it bubbling.

“And every time a conversation come up, it was a debate, right, rather than conversation it was like, you just felt the energy was all off.

“I thought she’s gone to the toilet, 10 minutes has passed, 15 minutes has passed, half an hour passed!

“And I was still sat there. So I text her and said ‘long toilet break’.

“I rang her, and it went boom down, I rang her again, and it went down, and then I was like okay, so she’s not coming back.”

Thomas Skinner was said to be ‘suing’ the BBC over his early exit from Strictly and has claimed that the BBC ‘rigged’ the votes to orchestrate his elimination from the dance competition

Thomas Skinner has hit back at press attention of his rumoured feud with the BBC in furious statement made on Good Morning Britain. Ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing live final on 20 December, it was reported that Skinner was ‘suing’ the BBC as he believed they had ‘rigged’ the votes to ensure he would be eliminated first, which the BBC strongly denied. The broadcaster made clear that they had not received any legal paperwork and Skinner did not confirm that he was suing.

However, after refusing to appear in the live final, Skinner posted a statement to X where he said he “received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying I’d received far more votes than it appeared and it wasn’t right”. Following the statement, The Mirror exclusively revealed that Skinner’s voting figures may not be as high as he believes.

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A source pointed to an independent exit poll of 125,000 viewers as “clear evidence of his unpopularity.” It showed how Skinner attracted just 1805 votes, which was the lowest of any contestant on the BBC programme. The source claimed: “The poll – which is larger than an exit poll for a general election – comprehensively shows that Skinner was the least popular contestant by a long way. There is no conspiracy. These are the cold, hard facts.”

Hitting back at the article in a statement shared on Good Morning Britain, Skinner said he was “struggling to understand” why his words on X were getting so much attention. He said: “I don’t hate the BBC – they gave me my big break on The Apprentice. I had discussions with my representatives on Wednesday evening which I believed to be private and confidential and I spoke openly with them in confidence.

“I was obviously gutted when I received the email on the evening I left the show, and at first I didn’t believe it was true. When I raised this in conversation, I was advised by the BBC to seek legal advice. I’ve had a difficult year with the press attention I didn’t seek, and I’m honestly struggling to understand why this continues to escalate. “

Similarly, when approached by The Mirror, Skinner said he did not believe the low voting figures were accurate but refused to reveal how he was able to verify the “anonymous email” his information came from.

He said: “Regarding the anonymous email and verification process, I don’t wish to comment further at this time or release anything publicly. As for the voting figures, I know for a fact that the information you have is not accurate. That said, it doesn’t materially matter to me now, and I’m not looking to contest this publicly.”

Despite “not looking to contest this publicly”, Skinner made a lengthy public statement on X where he insisted his elimination was “unfair” and that a BBC exec had told him that the broadcaster was angry over his friendship with JD Vance.

He wrote: “On the night I left the show, I received an anonymous email claiming to be from a BBC exec with stats, saying I’d received far more votes than it appeared and it wasn’t right. I’ve since had the email independently verified.”

“That same email mentioned the BBC was very angry an nervous simply because I had met JD Vance (USA VICE PRESIDENT). Let me be clear, I’m not a political bloke. Never have been. I just love my country and am patriotic. I’ve been made out by the press to be this political figure. If anyone was to get an opportunity like what I did, they would have taken it. I still think it is mad that a man like me who sells mattresses out of a van can call someone that senior in the world ’s politics a friend now.”

“I have asked to see the official voting figures to back up the ones I was sent in the email but was told they couldn’t be shown to me. And have never been shown in the history of the show. I have spoke about the email I had received to senior people and the BBC welfare team, who btw I genuinely respect. And they was the ones who advised me to get legal advice because of how unfair it all was. (This was not my idea).”

However, a BBC spokesperson said Skinner never shared the email he referenced. They told the Mirror: “”In response to Tom’s latest statement, the BBC said: “Strictly Come Dancing’s public vote is independently overseen and verified to ensure complete accuracy every week. Any claims to the contrary are entirely without foundation. Unfortunately, despite requests for it, Mr Skinner is yet to share the email he references with anyone from the BBC so we are unable to comment on it.”

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Loose Women star Christine Lampard has been hosting This Morning alongside Dermot O’Leary this week

Loose Women presenter Christine Lampard has joked that she felt a bit “guilty” whilst stepping in on This Morning.

The TV personality has been assisting Dermot O’Leary with presenting duties on the ITV programme this week after Emma Willis, who was scheduled to host with him this week, became unwell and was unable to participate.

Christine was at the helm of the show with Dermot on Wednesday (December 17) as chef Nisha Katona prepared a butter bean and cranberry tikka masala during the cookery segment. She admitted to feeling somewhat guilty about tucking into the food whilst her Loose Women colleagues went hungry in the adjacent studio, reports Belfast Live.

The presenter was savouring the dish as This Morning checked in with Loose Women’s Kaye Adams, who was telling viewers what was coming up on the programme.

Christine remarked: “When I am doing Loose Women, we are always jealous watching you cooking and we are sitting there going, ‘We want that.’ And here I am.”

Whilst introducing Kaye, she added: “I know, I know, I’m sorry! I feel guilty, but I’m going to carry on!” Kaye then encouraged her to “enjoy” the meal.

“That is absolutely beautiful, it’s exactly what I wanted,” Christine declared.

This Morning’s usual presenters are Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, who front the daytime programme Monday to Thursday, with Dermot and Alison Hammond assuming control on Fridays.

During holiday periods, they are typically substituted by a rotating selection of guest presenters, including Christine, Rochelle Humes and Josie Gibson.

Emma was scheduled to host the show this week, but Christine and Josie have been stepping in.

On Monday’s episode of the ITV programme (December 15), Dermot informed viewers about Emma’s absence, explaining she was unwell and couldn’t host.

“Full disclosure,” he announced. “Emma Willis was supposed to be in this week. Emma is a little bit poorly. So we are sending her big love.”

Pointing towards Josie, he introduced her to the audience: “Look who is back with me. It’s only Miss Josephine Gibson!”

“Thanks for having me, Dermot,” she responded.

This Morning and Loose Women both air on ITV

Gov. Pete Wilson challenged President Clinton on Thursday to make California a test market for a tamper-proof federal identification card designed to keep illegal immigrants from receiving public benefits or getting jobs in the United States.

Later, a Wilson aide said one option might be a national identification card that would be carried by every legal resident of the United States, including U.S. citizens.

Wilson’s news conference at U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service offices at Los Angeles International Airport was billed as the forum for a “major announcement regarding immigration.” In fact, Wilson’s statement expanded on his Aug. 9 program by only a small step–the proposed California test–while raising even more questions about his plan for the proposed identification card.

The governor acknowledged to a reporter that it probably is impossible to come up with a foolproof card because counterfeiters could fake birth certificates, passports or other documents that would be needed to get the card.

Wilson left unclear just who might have to possess the card: just foreign nationals living in the country legally or all U.S. citizens?

Asked who would have to carry the card, Wilson said: “Those who are applicants for employment and those who are applicants for benefits.”

Later, Wilson aide Dan Schnur said one possibility that arose during policy discussions in the governor’s office was a national identification card issued to all U.S. citizens and legal residents.

“A universal card is one option, but we’re not looking at it as an absolute condition,” Schnur said in telephone calls to reporters.

The form and scope of any card would be worked out in negotiations with the Clinton Administration, he said.

There have been periodic proposals for a national ID card, but they have always run up against strong opposition on civil liberties grounds.

Wilson was quoted by the Santa Monica Outlook while running for the U.S. Senate in 1982 that a proposed national identification card was “a lousy idea” because it would create a massive new bureaucracy. He also said he had some philosophical objections to the concept.

Schnur had no comment on that report, but he said conditions have changed greatly since the passage of immigration reform in the late 1980s and the heavy influx of illegal immigrants into California in recent years.

Thursday’s billing of a major new initiative drew a dozen television cameras and perhaps a score of reporters, a big turnout for any political event in Los Angeles. Although it turned out that Wilson’s statement was more of an expansion on a previous proposal than a major new initiative, the session did give the governor a platform for responding to critics of his Aug. 9 announcement.

Wilson said an identification card is the key to the enforcement of any of the sanctions written into federal law against employers who hire illegal immigrants for jobs in the United States. Without it, such sanctions are unenforceable, he said.

“Until we deal with the problem of document fraud, anyone proposing additional employer sanctions is simply blowing hot air,” Wilson said after examining stacks of phony passports, Social Security cards and other false documents confiscated by the INS.

Critics, including potential Democratic gubernatorial challenger Kathleen Brown, have said Wilson’s plan cracks down on illegal immigrants but not on the employers who also violate the law by hiring them.

Last week, Brown, the state treasurer, endorsed a national tamper-proof Social Security card that would have to be presented to a prospective employer before the cardholder could be hired.

In his lengthy Aug. 9 letter to Clinton, Wilson called on the federal government to compensate California for the cost of services to illegal immigrants, called for stricter enforcement of the California-Mexico border, and said children born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants should not automatically become U.S. citizens or be eligible to attend public schools in California.

Wilson made no mention of stronger enforcement against employers. He proposed an identification card as something that foreign nationals in the country legally would present to qualify for state services.

Wilson said California’s modern holographic drivers licenses could be the model for a federal card, but a reporter wondered if even they could be forged, since a photographic blowup of one was among the fake IDs on display.

“You know, I don’t dispute the ingenuity of counterfeiters. . . . I think it is possible to stay technologically ahead of even expert counterfeiters,” Wilson said.

“The question really is not whether you’re going to have an entirely foolproof system, but whether you have one that works to achieve its major goal, which is to screen out the vast majority of counterfeit documents.”

Later in the day, Democratic state Chairman Bill Press chided Wilson for intervening with the INS in 1989 on behalf of a San Diego supporter, Anne Evans, whose hotels were under investigation for hiring illegal immigrants. At the time, Wilson was a U.S. senator.

Evans ultimately was accused of 362 violations of employer sanctions provisions and fined $70,000.

Schnur described Wilson’s letter, which sought a conciliation between the INS and Evans, as a routine constituent service.

National treasure Dame Judi Dench has admitted she is concerned that social media is taking over, and believes that theatres could pay the price

Dame Judi Dench has admitted she fears for the future of theatre. In an interview to promote a new TV show with fellow theatre star Kenneth Branagh, Judi was asked if theatre had evolved since she first took to the stage in 1957.

She said: “All I can hope is that theatre has evolved. With the onset of social media and I believe a marked lack of interest in the Arts, I fear that the younger generations won’t have the benefit or interest in the theatre like we all had.”

Judi, 91,insisted the stage had been a huge help to her acting during an incredible career. She is known for starring in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth.

She said: “In every single play or production I have ever done, I’ve learnt something new. That comes not just from the play or the director, but also from your fellow actors. Each production offers countless opportunities to keep learning and growing.

“I knew in Antony & Cleopatra that there was a line of Cleopatra that was intended to get a laugh – on the 100th performance I got the laugh.”

In Peter Hall’s 1987 National Theatre production of Antony and Cleopatra, Judi Dench took Shakespeare’s character and re-created it from her own personality and imagination. She was alongside Antony Hopkins as Antony. Critics have described it as one of Dench’s greatest performances.

Michael Billington wrote in the Guardian: “Dench gave us a Cleopatra whose sexuality stemmed from her volatility, intelligence and wit: a woman of infinite variety who was enthralling company and an irresistible magnetic force, drawing Anthony Hopkins’s jaded warrior of an Antony back to Egypt.”

But it didn’t always go this week. Recalling her first ever stage performance playing Ophelia in 1957, Dench told Branagh: “I was in a kind of haze. We opened at the Liverpool Playhouse. It didn’t go well.

“They didn’t like somebody completely unknown playing the part. It was a bit dodgy.” Thankfully, she was encouraged and kept on in the theatre company and given smaller roles to build up her confidence again. She would go on to become one of the great British actors.

Dench has won an Oscar, two Golden Globes and six Baftas. As well as her stage performances, she is well known for portraying M in eight James Bond films.

Tea with Judi Dench sees her joined by Branagh for a one-off show on Sky Arts. They reflect on their remarkable careers and personal journeys in an intimate and insightful discussion. Dench said they share a similar sense of humour and she added: “What I admire most is his attitude to work, his commitment to what he does, and of course his sense of humour – those are the first things that stand out. Also, his respect for the theatre and the work he does.”

* Tea with Judi Dench airs 22 December on Sky Arts, Freeview, and streaming service NOW

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