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Reviving an idea they floated last year with an op-ed urging President Obama not to seek a second term, pollsters Patrick H. Caddell and Douglas E. Schoen are out Monday with a new op-ed drafting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to be the Democrats’ 2012 nominee.

Obama should “abandon his candidacy for reelection in favor of a clear alternative,” Caddell and Schoen wrote in Monday’s Wall Street Journal, because “the kind of campaign required for the president’s political survival would make it almost impossible for him to govern — not only during the campaign, but throughout a second term.”

“Never before has there been such an obvious potential successor — one who has been a loyal and effective member of the president’s administration, who has the stature to take on the office, and who is the only leader capable of uniting the country around a bipartisan economic and foreign policy,” they wrote of Clinton.

The two pollsters have worked for a number of high-profile Democrats — Caddell for George McGovern, Jimmy Carter and Joe Biden, and Schoen for President Bill Clinton and for Hillary Clinton in 2008. But they are also known for taking positions that are at odds with the Democratic Party.

Most recently, Schoen has worked with a group called Americans Elect to put a third candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.

The group plans to hold a nominating convention next summer to select a candidate to challenge Obama and the Republican nominee. Participants will draft candidates by putting their names to a Web-based vote. Hillary Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — another former client of Schoen’s — are often mentioned as potential nominees.

Like they did last year in an op-ed for the Washington Post, Caddell and Schoen argue that running for reelection will prevent Obama from governing.

“By going down the reelection road and into partisan mode, the president has effectively guaranteed that the remainder of his term will be marred by the resentment and division that have eroded our national identity, common purpose, and most of all, our economic strength,” they wrote.

The pollster duo believes that: “If President Obama were to withdraw he would put great pressure on the Republicans to come to the table and negotiate — especially if the president singularly focused in the way we have suggested on the economy, job creation, and debt and deficit reduction. “

They argue that Clinton would stand a better chance at winning in 2012 because she enjoys her best-ever approval rating and is favored over Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Perry in a Time magazine poll. And they call on Sen. Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to urge Obama to step aside “for the good of the party and most of all for the good of the country.”

Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said that she has no ambitions to run again for president. She has brushed aside talk of replacing Joe Biden as the vice presidential nominee on the Democrats’ ticket.

“I’m out of politics, happy to be out of politics,” she said last week when asked by NBC’s Chuck Todd to weigh in on the field of Republican hopefuls.

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WASHINGTON — A Florida janitor and his wife identified themselves Monday as the source of a clandestine tape recording of House Speaker Newt Gingrich and his aides and said that they had turned it over to the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee not knowing that it might be illegal.

John Martin, a school custodian in the small town of Fort White, Fla., and his wife, Alice, a teacher’s aide, insisted that they were not motivated by partisan politics when they hand-delivered the tape recording to Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.).

Republicans deny that the speaker said or did anything improper by participating in the call. Moreover, they suggest that McDermott has tainted the ethics process and possibly violated federal law by providing the tape recording to the news media. McDermott has declined to discuss the accusations.

“This case is so open and shut that even Barney Fife could solve it,” said GOP Conference Chairman John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who was vacationing in northern Florida when the call occurred and used his wife’s cellular phone to participate. The Martins’ police scanner apparently picked up the transmission from the Boehner phone.

Boehner criticized the Justice Department for not quickly launching an investigation of the circumstances surrounding the tape recording, as requested Friday by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.).

McDermott declined to comment on the Martins’ account of events. He issued a brief statement late Monday noting that he had discussed the matter with Rep. Nancy L. Johnson (R-Conn.), who chairs the Ethics Committee.

“I have not made comments about the substance before the committee in the past,” McDermott said. “I have no comment now.”

*

“These are very serious allegations,” Johnson said. “I would need more information before commenting further.”

Rich Galen, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, asked: “How can the Democrats allow James McDermott to participate any further in this case knowing he is implicated in a potential felony?

“Secondly, what do the leaders of the Democrats in Congress intend to do with their colleague or is this the beginning of a cover-up?”

Appearing at a news conference with their lawyer in Gainesville, Fla., the Martins said that they were listening to a police scanner in their car during a Christmas shopping trip on Dec. 21 when the scanner picked up a telephone conference call between the speaker and other top Republicans.

The couple said they began taping the call, using a hand-held tape recorder that they had with them in the car, after hearing the Georgia Republican’s ethics case mentioned in the conversation and deducing that the participants were prominent congressional Republicans. Public disclosure of the conference call has sparked a political firestorm.

The conference call occurred on the same day that Gingrich admitted wrongdoing to the Ethics Committee and pledged not to organize a campaign to counter the effects of his admissions. Democrats say that the recording shows Gingrich was orchestrating the Republican response to the Ethics Committee’s initial findings.

Gingrich has admitted violating House rules in connection with a college course he once taught and is awaiting a decision on the punishment he will receive.

While the interception of cellular telephone calls is a violation of federal law, there was disagreement among attorneys on whether a case against the Martins or McDermott would stand up in court.

Former House Counsel Stanley Brand cited an exemption in the federal wiretap law for transmissions of “private land mobile communications, including police or fire or information readily accessible to the general public.”

“It seems like nobody in the chain of the transaction is without some serious defenses to any charge,” Brand said.

The Martins’ attorney, Larry Turner, acknowledged that the couple had unknowingly risked state and federal prosecution when they taped the conversation. Still, he said, the facts ought to discourage officials from pursuing charges against them.

“Once it’s understood that these folks are Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Citizen, who happened to discover something they thought was pertinent to the Ethics [Committee] and did what I think we want citizens to do. . . . my hope is that those who are responsible for making prosecuting decisions will decide [that] it shouldn’t be prosecuted,” Turner said. “If they determine to prosecute it, we’ll defend it.”

Although disclosure of the Dec. 21 conference call has raised questions about Gingrich’s compliance with the agreement he struck with the ethics panel, it appears to have created significant political problems for Democrats as well.

“I think you’re going to see Republicans jump on [the tape controversy] and say, ‘Look at what the Democrats are willing to stoop to in order to politicize the ethics process,’ ” said David M. McIntosh (R-Ind.). “I bet McDermott will hear from his own people: ‘What did you do? You just blew it for us.’ ”

Asked what should happen to McDermott if it were proved that he leaked the tape, McIntosh said: “I think he should certainly step down from the ethics panel and consider resigning his seat in Congress.”

McDermott sent the tape to the Ethics Committee Monday afternoon. The committee’s chief counsel, Theodore J. Van Der Meid, wrote McDermott that “the material you sent to the committee at 4:33 p.m. this afternoon was not accepted.

“By direction of the chair and after consultation with the chief of the criminal division of the Department of Justice, the contents of the envelope including the audio cassette tape and the cover letter were hand delivered to the Department of Justice early this evening,” Van Der Meid’s letter said.

The cover letter was from McDermott to the committee, Van Der Meid said. He did not release it.

The Martins said that, first, they delivered the tape in a sealed envelope to the Gainesville office of their local congresswoman, Rep. Karen L. Thurman (D-Fla.). Staff members there sent it by overnight mail to Thurman’s Washington office but the congresswoman returned it to the Martins unopened when the couple visited Washington several days later.

Thurman suggested that the Martins give the tape to the Ethics Committee, aides said. The Martins proposed to deliver the tape to the highest-ranking Democrat on the panel and Thurman aides said that they provided the name of McDermott.

The Martins are both active Democrats in northern Florida. John Martin served as treasurer of the Columbia County Democratic Party, while Alice Martin served as secretary. The couple recently attended a campaign event for freshman Rep. Allen Boyd Jr., who invited them to Washington for last week’s congressional swearing-in ceremony.

Speaking outside their lawyer’s office with their grown children nearby, the Martins downplayed any political motives and said that they are simply interested citizens who suddenly found themselves at the center of a political maelstrom.

“This fell into their laps,” said Robert Griscti, one of their attorneys. “They follow the news and knew it was significant. These are common, everyday, ordinary American people but they’re not stupid people. While they’re Democrats and somewhat politically active, they felt it was their responsibility as Americans to do what they did.”

*

John Martin, 50, said that he purchased a 200-channel police scanner from Radio Shack in the fall and had picked up some cellular telephone conversations before. Alice Martin, 48, said she began taping the conversation because she was excited about passing along a piece of history to her grandson, who is due to be born at the end of the month.

“I was so excited to think that I actually heard a real politician’s voice,” said Alice Martin, who appeared to be fighting back tears at one point during the news conference. “We were thrilled.”

After their recent trip to Washington, the couple gushed about the magnificence of the Capitol, how they had become lost while trying to find the Ethics Committee’s basement offices, and how they had relied on a Capitol Hill police officer to point out McDermott.

“We told [McDermott] we had something to turn over to the Ethics Committee,” Alice Martin said. “He took the envelope in his hand and said he would listen to it.”

The cast spent two weeks in the former British colony to film the storyline involving harrowing scenes of death and destruction but also of love and hope

The Call the Midwife Christmas specials were nearly thrown off course by a force 10 typhoon during filming in Hong Kong. But while the cast were ordered to stay in their hotel rooms and not venture out for two days, the filming was completed and now viewers will have not one but two specials on BBC1, airing on Christmas Day ad Boxing Day.

In the plot, half of the Nonnatus House medics make a mercy dash to Hong Kong after the mission building collapses, causing fatalities and leaving the orphans and expectant mothers with nowhere to go.

There is further danger when the nuns have a run-in with gun-toting gangsters and are threatened by a triad leader who steals the keys to the new building they have just secured for the mission.

READ MORE: Best TV to watch this Christmas – 15 shows you won’t want to miss

Jenny Agutter, who has played head nun Sister Julienne since the series launched in 2012, said that filming in Hong Kong was hampered by a typhoon so severe they were ordered to stay inside their hotel rooms and not leave.

“The winds became really bad on the Saturday night, when we weren’t working but we were told to be careful because it was going to get bad. In the early hours of the morning, it really was stronger. On Sunday, they said not to open the curtains of the hotel in case anything hit the window. But we were facing the water so there was little chance. Of course, I had a jolly good look outside because it was rather amazing seeing all the water whipped up.”

Jenny, 72, said that the Christmas special felt “quite epic” for being set in two locations many thousands of miles apart. “Hong Kong is a very peculiar, complex place. It’s no longer cosy because in many ways, not unlike we are today with the changes that are happening, it feels a little dangerous. What makes it easier is this community that are cohesive and are actually supportive.”

Annabelle Apsion, who plays Poplar’s Mayor and haberdasher Violet Buckle, said the storm was thrilling. “Our hotel looked out over the sea and you could see things going down the streets, it was exciting. I was in Hong Kong 35 years ago for Soldier, Soldier so it was amazing to go back all these years later. It was boiling hot so we had fans on us all the time because otherwise the perspiration would have shown on camera.”

Cliff Parisi, who plays her husband Fred, said he hadn’t been keen to fly half way around the world – but was glad when he did. “Hong Kong was extraordinary, a real eye opener. I’ve never been that far east before. I’ve always wanted to go but I don’t like flying long-haul. Of course, I went because it was work. But I got there, and we had the most fabulous time.”

“I do my own research so I became very immersed in the world of Chinese-Hong Kong organised crime,” Heidi, 63, explained. “I had to make up names of gangsters and gangs and when I handed the script over to our Triad advisor – which we’ve never had before – I got the message back that the names I’d chosen were so realistic that I’d have to change them or we’d all be in trouble. I was quite pleased with myself.”

Next year will see the hugely popular series take a break, while a prequel set in 1939 is made, featuring young versions of Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), the late Sister Evangeline (Pam Ferris) and Sister Monica Joan (Judy Parfitt).

But ahead of that comes the dramatic two-part Christmas special followed by and the 15th series set in Poplar, where the year has reached 1971.

At Christmas, the younger nurses left behind in London make the most of their freedom by throwing a party in Nonnatus House involving cocktails, cross-dressing and a cramped game of sardines.

Helen George, who plays Trixie Aylward, said she didn’t mind not going to Hong Kong. “I get to wear an angel costume to the carnvial. It’s probably the favourite costume I’ve ever worn. It’s got a 1970s twist. It’s a beautiful white coat with a fur trim and angel wings coming out of the back, and then these really cool glittery stars. For me, it was a lot of fun dressing up.”

But Laura Main, who plays Shelagh Turner, said she had loved every second of filming abroad. “It was just a life highlight, if I’m honest. All the places I’ve been over the past 15 years – South Africa, the Outer Hebrides, and now Hong Kong. What this show has allowed me to be part of is just amazing and I’m so grateful for it.”

– Call the Midwife, BBC1, Christmas Day and Boxing Day

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The unions demand the laws be withdrawn before nationwide protests they plan to hold on Wednesday.

Ten large Indian trade unions have condemned the government’s rollout on Friday of new labour codes, the biggest such overhaul in decades, as a “deceptive fraud” against workers.

The unions, aligned with parties opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanded in a statement late on Friday that the laws be withdrawn before nationwide protests they plan to hold on Wednesday.

One of the trade unions, Centre of Indian Trade Unions, organised protest marches on Saturday in the eastern city Bhubaneswar, where hundreds of workers gathered and burned copies of the new labour codes.

Modi’s government implemented the four labour codes, approved by parliament five years ago, as it seeks to simplify work rules, some dating to British colonial rule, and liberalise conditions for investment.

It says the changes improve worker protections. While the new rules offer social security and minimum-wage benefits, they also allow companies to hire and fire workers more easily.

Unions have strongly opposed the changes, organising multiple nationwide protests over the past five years.

The Labour Ministry did not immediately respond on Saturday to a Reuters news agency request for comment on the union demands. The government has held over a dozen consultations with unions since June 2024, an internal ministry document on the labour codes shows.

The rules allow longer factory shifts and night work for women, while raising the threshold for firms that need prior approval for layoffs to 300 workers from 100, giving companies greater flexibility in workforce management.

Businesses have long criticised India’s work rules as a drag on manufacturing, which contributes less than a fifth to the country’s nearly $4 trillion economy.

But the Association of Indian Entrepreneurs expressed concern that the new rules would significantly increase operating costs for small and midsize enterprises and disrupt business continuity across key sectors.

It asked the government for transitional support and flexible implementation mechanisms. Not all unions oppose the overhaul.

The right-wing Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, aligned with Modi’s party, called on states to implement them after consultations on some of the codes. Indian states are expected to craft rules aligning with the new federal codes covering wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety.

Clad in close-fitting black outfits, two performers get into stance for a fight scene. The cameras surrounding the massive stage in Playa Vista start rolling.

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One turns around slowly, pantomimes being shot, and carefully, deliberately, arches himself backward, clawing at the air before a stunt coordinator helps ease him toward a black mattress.

That movement is translated into dots and lines on a nearby computer, transmitted by the round, white sensors embedded in the suits’ colorful almond-shaped patches. Later, those will be fleshed out into characters and scenes in the new “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” game, which debuts Friday.

It’s all part of the blockbuster production effort that goes into making one of the most popular video game franchises ever. “Call of Duty,” from Santa Monica publisher Activision, has ranked as the top-selling video game series in the U.S. for 16 straight years and has sold more than 500 million copies globally since the first installment was released in 2003.

And as one of the few franchises with an annual release schedule, hitting that deadline takes an army. About 3,000 people worked on “Black Ops 7” over the course of four years.

Activision executives declined to discuss the game’s budget but called it a “significant investment.” Top video game franchises can have production costs of $250 million or more — higher than most big-budget Hollywood films.

“It’s like, every year we have to launch a new ‘Star Wars.’ Every year we have to launch a new ‘Avatar,’ ” said Tyler Bahl, chief marketing officer at Activision. “So we have to think about, how do we do this in an unexpected way?”

“Ultimately, we want to treat our games like an absolute blockbuster,” said Matt Cox, general manager of “Call of Duty” at Activision, who has worked on the franchise for more than 10 years. “The investment is there for them.”

Activision’s Treyarch game production studio is where Call of Duty video game is produced.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The franchise has become a key driver of Activision’s success, analysts said.

The base game consistently sells more than 20 million units annually, not including the live services components that update after a game’s launch and keep players engaged, monthly battle passes that unlock rewards or even the mobile game, all of which add up to an estimated annual sales of about $3.5 billion to $4 billion, said Eric Handler, media and entertainment analyst at Roth Capital.

In fact, the huge popularity of “Call of Duty” helped spur tech giant Microsoft’s interest in acquiring Activision, a $69-billion deal that was completed in 2023.

“It revolutionized the first-person shooter and has done a great job, year in and year out, of being the best of breed, building the largest community and evolving, pivoting to where video game players are all over the world,” Handler said. “There are other [shooter] franchises that are trying to replicate its success … but nobody’s been able to match the consistency of ‘Call of Duty.’”

To maintain its annual cadence, Activision rotates game development among several of its studios, including Playa Vista-based Treyarch, which co-developed “Black Ops 6” and “Black Ops 7” in parallel — the first time that two “Call of Duty: Black Ops” games came out in subsequent years.

The previous game is set in the ‘90s, while the newest installment jumps ahead to 2035, meaning designers and animators had to envision what gear and gadgets might look like in the future (“Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” was eerily accurate in its predictions for the year 2025).

“It was a huge opportunity for us to tell two unique but also connected stories at the same time,” said Yale Miller, senior director of production at Treyarch.

Unlike the linear nature of film production, many things happen in tandem when producing a game like “Call of Duty.” The game has a campaign mode that follows a story, a multiplayer option to play with friends and the ever-popular zombies portion, meaning each designated team is thinking in parallel about things like tone, features and playable moments that they want fans to experience, Miller said.

While an actor is recording lines, another team may be building the weapon they mention and making it interactive, while another group builds the explosion that the lines and weapon will be part of.

“It’s not just, ‘Oh, we got the shot. We’re done for the day,’ ” Miller said. The acting performance is “an anchor for a lot of the things that we build, but then it’s the whole world in parallel, and that’s how we get to such big teams working on stuff, and everything has to get thought about.”

The franchise has become known for its intense, cinematic quality, a reputation enhanced by the live-action film and television backgrounds of many who work on the games, including some stunt performers and Treyarch performance capture director Mikal Vega, who worked on the 2017 NBC drama “The Brave” after a long career in the military.

“It’s theater-in-the-round,” he said during a Zoom call from the stage. “A lot more like theater-in-the-round than film in some cases, and very much like film in other phases of it.”

And there is a bit of a learning curve, particularly because of the motion-capture technology used, which can make movements awkward.

In the new game, “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia plays Lt. Cmdr. David Mason, a character who first appeared in 2012’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” and is now on the hunt for a former arms dealer who caused the death of his father and was previously believed dead.

Acting in “Black Ops 7” was “more technical” than his previous film and TV roles since it required getting used to a boom mic or camera that jutted out in front of him, he said. In one early instance, Ventimiglia went to scratch an itch on his cheek and was told by the crew not to put anything between his face and the camera, and to pantomime scratching outside of the camera, not realizing it wasn’t acting.

Then there were four-hour sessions in the sound booth, saying lines dozens of times in dozens of ways with any number of weapons.

“It’s super, super taxing, hard work, but fun at the same time,” Ventimiglia said. “When are you going to talk about calling out grenades and flash bangs and using different weapons? Very rarely.”

Adding to the cinematic quality are the hyper-realistic portrayals of actors, gear and costumes, which are the result of scans on a light stage that can re-create items in 3-D. Principal and background characters sit on a chair inside the sphere and do poses, surrounded by 16 DSLR cameras and dozens of hexagonal lights that emit a hazy glow. In 1.3 seconds, more than 256 images will be shot. Principal characters like Ventimiglia will typically do up to 120 poses — all to make sure the nuances of someone’s face are captured.

Evan Buttons, Activision director of technical projects, is photographed inside the face scanning studio.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

In a nearby room with a 22-foot ceiling and black, soundproof walls, an even larger sphere with more than 140 cameras and several video cameras are used to capture full body scans, gear and costumes. Everything captured then goes to the character art team, which will tweak it to their specifications and put it in the game.

Even in the days leading up to the game’s release, the team was still busy. In an era when internet speeds are faster, work doesn’t end with a game’s initial release. Content will be released regularly in the months after “Black Ops 7” debuts, all to keep it fresh for players, who can put more than 1,000 hours into the game.

“The No. 1 reason why they play ‘Call of Duty’ is actually because their friends are there,” said Bahl of Activision. “Those bonds and those social connections, I think, is really what makes this game different and stronger, and it’s made it last for so long.”

Queen guitarist Brian May was a guest on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh on Sunday afternoon.

Queen’s legendary guitarist, Brian May, opened up about his health scare during a chat on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh.

This follows the star’s recent update to fans about his ‘future plans’ on the programme.

Last year, the 78-year-old rocker experienced a minor stroke that left him unable to use one of his arms, an ordeal he described as ‘scary’.

Acknowledging that this “little health hiccup’ came out of the blue, Brian has since told his fans that he’s now regained movement in his arm.

Alan commented: “We were concerned, you had a bit of a stroke. But, you seem to be fully recovered, that was last year.”

Brian responded: “I’ve had a number of things, Alan, yeah, the stroke was one of them.

“I’ve been lucky, I get these things, but I seem to be able to get out of them. They give you a wake-up call.”

The iconic guitarist told Alan that experiences like these teach you that it’s time to make changes in your life, reports Devon Live.

When asked how he’s made adjustments, Brian revealed he’s ramped up his exercise routine and started paying more attention to his diet.

He added: “I keep moving, I do my biking a lot of times a week. I do a hundred lengths in the pool once a week. To me, that’s what’s keeping me going. That’s what’s keeping me alive.

“I have proof! I have all the bloods that they do and all the evidence that we get and they go, ‘you’re doing the right things Brian’. So, for now, I’m still here.”

Alan remarked: “We’re delighted you’re still here. We’re glad to have you with us here.”

Brian’s wife and actress Anita Dobson has also spoken out about the stroke, revealing to the Sunday Telegraph that he had been ‘diligently following medical advice’

She remarked: “He takes his tablets, does his exercises. He’s a good boy.”

When questioned if she needs to nudge him, the actress added: “Sometimes with the tablets. I’m not often dictatorial but it’s important, because it’s his life.”

Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh is available to watch on ITVX.

After 28 caps on the wing, Hansen was entrusted at full-back for the first time with Hugo Keenan and Jamie Osborne both injured.

For him, it was a case of picking up where he left off in the summer. The 28-year-old was in great form on the British and Irish Lions tour before injury wrecked his dream of making the Test team.

And having returned for Connacht last month, he picked up a foot problem that ruled him out of the All Blacks and Japan games.

After revealing his team on Thursday, Farrell said Hansen had “the bit between his teeth” and they were clearly not empty words as the former Brumbies player gave his head coach an intriguing selection headache in the near future.

“Well my first thoughts were, ‘You better play well in those two different coloured boots!’,” said Farrell, referring to Hansen’s decision to wear one black and one white boot.

“I actually thought that was how it should have been but apparently Mack just did that himself anyway. So he’s drawn attention to himself before he’s even started.

“I said to him before the game, ‘Good players don’t need excuses, they can get on with it and just be themselves, you can get the man of the match if you want,’ and he went, ‘Yeah, I agree.’

“So he’s that type of player, he prepares well, he’s got a great attitude to get across his detail and so that’s why he slotted straight back in and he was able to be himself because of that.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Portugal boss Roberto Martinez held a different opinion of the incident, and having defended his captain, took a swipe at Hallgrimsson for speaking about the referee in the build-up.

“The red card is just a captain that has never been sent off before in 226 games – I think that just deserves credit – and today, I thought it was a bit harsh because he cares about the team,” said Martinez.

“He was 60 minutes or 58 minutes in the box being grabbed, being pulled, being pushed and obviously when he tries to get away from the defender.

“I think the action looks worse than what it actually is, I don’t think it’s an elbow, I think it’s a full body, but from where the camera is, it looks like an elbow. But we accept it.

“The only thing that leaves a bitter taste in my mouth is at the press conference yesterday, your coach was talking about the aspect of the referees being influenced, and then a big centre-half falls on the floor so dramatically at the turn of Cristiano’s body.”

Crop residue burning, along with emissions from vehicles, industries and construction, engulf the capital in smog.

Crowds have demonstrated in New Delhi as the Indian capital faces another winter engulfed in smog.

Pollution levels in New Delhi surged again on Monday morning as the city was immersed in a thick smog. The annual degradation of air quality in the capital to harmful levels has led to rare protests.

On Sunday, demonstrators mounted a rally at the city’s India Gate monument to demand action over the lethal pollution that envelops the area each year.

Crowds held up banners and chanted slogans while some disrupted traffic. Police officers detained some of the protesters by putting them on buses and dispersed others.

By Monday morning, the city’s air pollution index had surpassed 350, squarely landing in the range classified as “very poor” by India’s Central Pollution Control Board.

Anything below 100 is considered good or satisfactory, while an index of more than 400 is classified as “severe”.

Some areas of the Indian capital experienced an index of more than 400 early on Monday morning as a thick blanket of smog was trapped over the city amid falling temperatures.

The right to clean air is a basic human right.

The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by our Constitution.

Why are citizens who have been peacefully demanding clean air being treated like criminals?

Air pollution is affecting crores of Indians, harming our children and… https://t.co/ViPZiO16lT

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 9, 2025

India has six of the 10 most polluted cities globally and 13 of the top 20. New Delhi is the most polluted capital city in the world, according to the Switzerland-based air quality monitor IQAir.

Air quality dramatically deteriorates in the city every year as the cold season approaches.

The smoke created by farmers burning crop residue in nearby states blows into the capital and is trapped by the cooler temperatures.

As it mixes with vehicle and industrial emissions, the resulting smog causes respiratory illnesses and has become a key factor in thousands of deaths each year.

Efforts to prevent the annual envelopment have struggled to have a significant effect.

The authorities have launched a tiered emergency system that restricts construction, bans diesel generators, and limits vehicle entry when pollution hits severe levels.

The government has also introduced crop-burning control subsidies with limited success.

A cloud seeding effort last month failed to trigger artificial rain and cut pollution levels.

“The right to clean air is a basic human right,” Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition Congress party, wrote in a post on X, criticising how the protesters were treated.

Manjinder Singh Sirsa, environment minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party, said the government “will continue every possible effort” to prevent pollution.

The Football Association of Ireland has called for Israel’s immediate suspension over the Israeli FA’s violation of UEFA’s statutes in occupied Palestinian territory.

Members of Irish football’s governing body have approved a resolution instructing its board to submit a formal motion to UEFA requesting the immediate suspension of Israel from European competitions, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said.

The resolution passed by the FAI members on Saturday cites violations by Israel’s Football Association of two provisions of UEFA statutes: its failure to implement and enforce an effective antiracism policy and the playing by Israeli clubs in occupied Palestinian territory without the consent of the Palestinian Football Association.

The resolution was backed by 74 votes, with seven opposed and two abstentions, the FAI said in a statement.

UEFA considered holding a vote early last month on whether to suspend Israel from European competitions over its genocide in Gaza, but the voting did not take place after a US-brokered ceasefire took effect on October 10.

The Irish resolution follows calls in September from the heads of the Turkish and Norwegian football governing bodies for Israel to be suspended from international competition.

Those requests came after United Nations experts appealed to FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel from international football, citing a UN Commission of Inquiry report that said Israel had committed genocide during the war in Gaza.

‘Israel is allowed to operate with total impunity’

In October, more than 30 legal experts called on UEFA to bar Israel and its clubs.

The letter highlighted the damage that Israel is inflicting on the sport in Gaza. At least 421 Palestinian footballers have been killed since Israel began its military offensive in October 2023, and the letter explained that Israel’s bombing campaign is “systematically destroying Gaza’s football infrastructure”.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino brushed aside the calls by indirectly addressing it as a “geopolitical issue” at the FIFA Council on October 2.

“We are committed to using the power of football to bring people together in a divided world,” Infantino said.

The apparently preferential treatment given to Israel’s football team was an extension of the “total impunity” the country has enjoyed amid the two-year war, according to Abdullah Al-Arian, associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar.

“Sporting bodies often mirror the broader power politics that are at play [in the world] and so they’re only doing what we’ve seen happen across all walks of political life, in which Israel has not been held to account,” Al-Arian told Al Jazeera.

“It [Israel] has been allowed to operate with total impunity throughout this genocide and has enjoyed this impunity for many decades.”

In 2024, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) presented arguments accusing the Israel Football Association (IFA) of violating FIFA statutes with its war on Gaza and the inclusion of clubs located in illegal settlements on Palestinian territory in its domestic football league.

The PFA wanted FIFA to adopt “appropriate sanctions” against Israel’s national side and club teams, including an international ban.

It called on FIFA to ban Israel, but the world body postponed its decision by delegating the matter to its disciplinary committee for review. Al-Arian termed that “a move to keep the bureaucratic machinery moving without making any real progress”.

“Ultimately, it’s a political decision being made at the highest levels of the organisation,” he said.

United States lawmakers have written to Andrew, Britain’s disgraced former prince, requesting that he sit for a formal interview about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a day after King Charles III formally stripped his younger brother of his royal titles.

Separately, a secluded desert ranch where Epstein once entertained guests is coming under renewed scrutiny in the US state of New Mexico, with two state legislators proposing a “truth commission” to uncover the full extent of the financier’s crimes there.

On Thursday, 16 Democratic Party members of Congress signed a letter addressed to “Mr Mountbatten Windsor”, as Andrew is now known, to participate in a “transcribed interview” with the US House of Representatives oversight committee’s investigation into Epstein.

“The committee is seeking to uncover the identities of Mr Epstein’s co-conspirators and enablers and to understand the full extent of his criminal operations,” the letter read.

“Well-documented allegations against you, along with your longstanding friendship with Mr Epstein, indicate that you may possess knowledge of his activities relevant to our investigation,” it added.

The letter asked Andrew to respond by November 20.

The US Congress has no power to compel testimony from foreigners, making it unlikely Andrew will give evidence.

The letter will be another unwelcome development for the disgraced former prince after a turbulent few weeks.

On October 30, Buckingham Palace said King Charles had “initiated a formal process” to revoke Andrew’s royal status after weeks of pressure to act over his relationship with Epstein – who took his own life in prison in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.

The rare move to strip a British prince or princess of their title – last taken in 1919 after Prince Ernest Augustus sided with Germany during World War I – also meant that Andrew was evicted from his lavish Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor and moved into “private accommodation”.

King Charles formally made the changes with an announcement published on Wednesday in The Gazette – the United Kingdom’s official public record – saying Andrew “shall no longer be entitled to hold and enjoy the style, title or attribute of ‘Royal Highness’ and the titular dignity of ‘Prince’”.

Andrew surrendered his use of the title Duke of York earlier in October following new abuse allegations from his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, in her posthumous memoir, which hit shelves last month.

The Democrat lawmakers referenced Giuffre’s memoir in their letter, specifically claims that she feared “retaliation if she made allegations against” Andrew, and that he had asked his personal protection officer to “dig up dirt” on his accuser for a smear campaign in 2011.

“This fear of retaliation has been a persistent obstacle to many of those who were victimised in their fight for justice,” the letter said. “In addition to Mr. Epstein’s crimes, we are investigating any such efforts to silence, intimidate, or threaten victims.”

Giuffre, who alleges that Epstein trafficked her to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, twice when she was just 17, took her own life in Australia in April.

In 2022, Andrew paid Giuffre a multimillion-pound settlement to resolve a civil lawsuit she had levelled against him. Andrew denied the allegations, and he has not been charged with any crime.

On Thursday, Democratic lawmakers also turned the spotlight on Zorro Ranch, proposing to the House of Representatives’ Courts, Corrections and Justice Interim Committee that a commission be created to investigate alleged crimes against young girls at the New Mexico property, which Epstein purchased in 1993.

State Representative Andrea Romero said several survivors of Epstein’s abuse have signalled that sex trafficking activity extended to the secluded desert ranch with a hilltop mansion and private runway in Stanley, about 56 kilometres (35 miles) south of the state capital, Santa Fe.

“This commission will specifically seek the truth about what officials knew, how crimes were unreported or reported, and how the state can ensure that this essentially never happens again,” Romero told a panel of legislators.

“There’s no complete record of what occurred,” she said.

Representative Marianna Anaya, presenting to the committee alongside Romero, said state authorities missed several opportunities over decades to stop Epstein.

“Even after all these years, you know, there are still questions of New Mexico’s role as a state, our roles in terms of oversight and accountability for the survivors who are harmed,” she said.

New Mexico laws allowed Epstein to avoid registering locally as a sex offender long after he was required to register in Florida, where he was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.

Republican Representative Andrea Reeb said she believed New Mexicans “have a right to know what happened at this ranch” and she didn’t feel the commission was going to be a “big political thing”.

To move forward, approval will be needed from the state House when the legislature convenes in January.

Coronation Street fans are convinced Cassie Plummer and Becky Swain are linked in some way, and now a scene on the ITV soap featuring a phone call has added fuel to the theory

Fans think there’s a secret link between two Coronation Street characters, and the latest episode may have ‘confirmed’ this.

Cassie Plummer spoke about helping someone with business in Spain, before speaking in Spanish on the phone. With fans already suspecting prior to this that Cassie could be somehow linked to villain Becky Swain, this scene left fans wondering if it was a given now.

After all, Becky returned from the dead months ago and it was revealed for the past four years, she has been hiding out in Spain. She’s now being told she has to return there to stop her cover being blown, with Becky wanting daughter Betsy to go with her, as well as her ex Lisa Swain.

All the sudden talk about Spain, and a scene last week that involved both Cassie and Becky, has sparked a theory that they secretly know each other. So when Cassie spoke in Spanish and revealed all about her link to the country, fans wondered if this was proof that she and Becky know each other, and that Cassie knows all about her dodgy dealings.

READ MORE: Coronation Street fans ‘work out’ Glenda’s new love interest – and he’s a familiar faceREAD MORE: Coronation Street’s Jodie Prenger promises more comedy after criticism over dark scenes

Taking to social media, one fan said: “Cassie speaking Spanish and knowing someone in Spain… helped him with his business… she must know Becky!! The links are starting to link.”

Another fan agreed: “If this isn’t a clue to Cassie knowing or recognising dodgy business in Spain *couch* Becky I don’t know what is. Surely this isn’t coincidence.”

A third fan added: “So Cassie can speak Spanish and helped an ex out with his ‘business’ in Spain. Oh she is so gonna be the one to reveal backhand Becky’s dodgy dealings!”

A final comment read: “So, Cassie’s talking about a Spanish boyfriend, Peter’s name being dropped recently, and Becky’s been living in Alicante. Is this all a coincidence??”

It follows another theory suggesting Cassie might know Becky, and could trigger her downfall. Fans noted her watching as Carla Connor confronted Becky for kissing Lisa Swain, and she seemed very interested.

Viewers may recall Cassie was sleeping rough while she was taking drugs. She’s now in recovery, but could Cassie and Becky have crossed paths when Cassie was on drugs?

One theory is that Becky was her dealer as others wondered if she arrested her. A fan commented: “Cassie looked like she thinks she’s seen Becky somewhere before!”

Another said: “Right it can’t just be me, it’s going to transpire Cassie knows Becky somehow isn’t it? ISN’T IT?!” A third fan wrote: “That was a look of recognition for Cassie surely. Has Becky arrested her in the past?”

A theory suggested: “Oh she’s come across her before in her past… drugs?” as another read: “I reckon she was a mate of that Tia and was in the shadows and witnessed her murder/death.” A further tweet said: “Sold her drugs is more like it.”

The theories kept on coming with one reading: “Has Becky arrested her at some point?” as someone suggested they met in Spain. A final tweet said: “I’m thinking Cassie may have had some dealings with Rebecca in the past.”

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

The Los Angeles Police Department has released a report that identifies several shortcomings in its response to the devastating Palisades fire, including communication breakdowns, inconsistent record-keeping and poor coordination at times with other agencies — most notably the city’s Fire Department.

The after-action report called the January blaze a “once in a lifetime cataclysmic event” and praised the heroic actions of many officers, but said the LAPD’s missteps presented a “valuable learning opportunity” with more climate-related disasters likely looming in the future.

LAPD leaders released the 92-page report and presented the findings to the Police Commission at the civilian oversight panel’s public meeting Tuesday.

The report found that while the Fire Department was the lead agency, coordination with the LAPD was “poor” on Jan. 7, the first day of the fire. Though personnel from both agencies were working out of the same command post, they failed to “collectively establish a unified command structure or identify shared objectives, missions, or strategies,” the report said.

Uncertainty about who was in charge was another persistent issue, with more confusion sown by National Guard troops that were deployed to the area. Department leaders were given no clear guidelines on what the guard’s role would be when they arrived, the report said.

The mix-ups were the result of responding to a wildfire of unprecedented scale, officials said. At times the flames were advancing at 300 yards a minute, LAPD assistant chief Michael Rimkunas told the commission.

“Hopefully we don’t have to experience another natural disaster, but you never know,” Rimkunas said, adding that the endeavor was “one of the largest and most complex traffic control operations in its history.”

Between Jan. 11 and Jan. 16, when the LAPD’s operation was at its peak, more than 700 officers a day were assigned to the fire, the report said.

The report found that officials failed to maintain a chronological log about the comings and goings of LAPD personnel at the fire zone.

“While it is understandable that the life-threatening situation at hand took precedence over the completion of administrative documentation,” the report said, “confusion at the command post about how many officers were in the field “resulted in diminished situational awareness.”

After the fire first erupted, the department received more than 160 calls for assistance, many of them for elderly or disabled residents who were stuck in their homes — though the report noted that the disruption of cell service contributed to widespread confusion.

The communication challenges continued throughout the day, the report found.

Encroaching flames forced authorities to move their command post several times. An initial staging area, which was in the path of the evacuation route and the fire, was consumed within 30 minutes, authorities said.

But because of communication breakdowns caused by downed radio and cellphone towers, dispatchers sometimes had trouble reaching officers in the field and police were forced to “hand deliver” important paper documents from a command post to its staging area on Zuma Beach, about 20 miles away.

Several commissioners asked about reports of journalists being turned away from fire zones in the weeks that followed the fire’s outbreak.

Assistant Chief Dominic Choi said there was some trepidation about whether to allow journalists into the fire-ravaged area while authorities were still continuing their search for bodies of fire victims.

Commissioner Rasha Gerges Shields said that while she had some concerns about the LAPD’s performance, overall she was impressed and suggested that officers should be commended for their courage. The department has said that dozens of officers lost their homes to the fires.

The report also recommended that the department issue masks and personal protective equipment after there was a shortage for officers on the front lines throughout the first days of the blaze.

The Palisades fire was one of the costliest and most destructive disasters in city history, engulfing nearly 23,000 acres, leveling more than 6,000 structures and killing 12 people. More than 60,000 people were evacuated. The deaths of five people within L.A. city limits remain under investigation by the LAPD’s Major Crimes Division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The LAPD reports details how at 11:15 a.m., about 45 minutes after the first 911 calls, the call was made to issue a citywide tactical alert, the report said. The department stayed in a heightened state of alert for 29 days, allowing it to draw resources from other parts of the city, but also meaning that certain calls would not receive a timely police response.

As the flames began to engulf a nearby hillside, more officers began responding to the area, including a contingent that had been providing security at a visit by President Trump.

Initially, LAPD officers operated in largely a rescue- and traffic-control role. But as the fire wore on, police began to conduct crime suppression sweeps in the evacuation zones where opportunistic burglars were breaking into homes they knew were empty.

In all, 90 crimes were reported in the fire zone, including four crimes against people, a robbery and three aggravated assaults, 46 property crimes, and 40 other cases, ranging from a weapons violation to identity theft. The department made 19 arrests.

The new report comes weeks after the city of Los Angeles put out its own assessment of the fire response — and on the heels of federal prosecutors arresting and charging a 29-year-old Uber driver with intentionally setting a fire Jan. 1 that later grew into the Palisades fire.

The LAPD’s Major Crimes and Robbery-Homicide units also worked with the ATF to investigate the fire’s cause.

President Donald Trump has thrown himself into the ongoing debate over the United States government shutdown, calling on the Senate to scrap the filibuster and reopen the government.

But that idea was swiftly rejected on Friday by Republican leaders who have long opposed such a move.

The filibuster refers to a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to overcome objections. Currently, that rule gives the minority Democrats a check on Republican power in the Senate.

In the chamber that’s currently split 53 to 47, Democrats have had enough votes to keep the government closed while they demand an extension of healthcare subsidies. Yet, neither party has seriously wanted to nuke the rule.

“THE CHOICE IS CLEAR – INITIATE THE ‘NUCLEAR OPTION,’ GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER,” Trump said in a late-night social media post Thursday.

Trump’s sudden decision to assert himself in the now 31-day-long shutdown – with his highly charged demand to end the filibuster – is certain to set the Senate on edge. It could spur senators towards their own compromise or send the chamber spiralling towards a new sense of crisis. Or, it might be ignored.

Republican leaders responded quickly, and unequivocally, setting themselves at odds with Trump, a president few have dared to publicly counter.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly said he is not considering changing the rules to end the shutdown, arguing that it is vital to the institution of the Senate and has allowed Republicans to halt Democratic policies when they are in the minority.

The leader’s “position on the importance of the legislative filibuster is unchanged”, Thune spokesman Ryan Wrasse said Friday.

A spokeswoman for Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, the number-two Republican, said his position opposing a filibuster change also remains unchanged.

And former Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who firmly opposed Trump’s filibuster pleas in his first term, remains in the Senate.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also defended the filibuster Friday, while conceding “it’s not my call” from his chamber across the Capitol.

“The safeguard in the Senate has always been the filibuster,” Johnson said, adding that Trump’s comments are a reflection of “the president’s anger at the situation”.

Even if Thune wanted to change the filibuster, he would not currently have the votes to do so in the divided Senate.

“The filibuster forces us to find common ground in the Senate,” Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah posted on the social media platform X on Friday morning, responding to Trump’s comments. “Power changes hands, but principles shouldn’t. I’m a firm no on eliminating it.”

Debate has swirled around the legislative filibuster for years. Many Democrats pushed to eliminate it when they had full power in Washington, as the Republicans do now, four years ago.

But ultimately, enough Democratic senators opposed the move, predicting such an action would come back to haunt them.

Trump’s demand comes as he has declined to engage with Democratic leaders on ways to end the shutdown, on track to become the longest in history.

He said in his post that he gave a “great deal” of thought to his choice on his flight home from Asia, and that one question that kept coming up during his trip was why “powerful Republicans allow” the Democrats to shut down parts of the government.

But later Friday, he did not mention the filibuster again as he spoke to reporters departing Washington and arriving in Florida for a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago home.

While quiet talks are under way, particularly among bipartisan senators, Trump has not been seriously involved.

Democrats refuse to vote to reopen the government until Republicans negotiate an extension to the healthcare subsidies. The Republicans say they won’t negotiate until the government is reopened.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on CNN that Trump needs to start negotiating with Democrats, arguing the president has spent more time with global leaders than dealing with the shutdown back home.

From coast to coast, fallout from the dysfunction of the shuttered federal government is hitting home. SNAP food aid is scheduled to shut off. Flights are being delayed. Workers are going without paychecks.

And Americans are getting a first glimpse of the skyrocketing healthcare insurance costs that are at the centre of the deadlock.

“People are stressing,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as food options in her state grow scarce. “We are well past time to have this behind us.”