dropping

Adams bows out, leaving the race between Democrat Zohran Mamdani and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

New York Mayor Eric Adams has announced he is dropping his re-election bid, leaving the race likely between Democrat Zohran Mamdani and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

“Despite all we’ve achieved, I cannot continue my reelection campaign,” Adams said in a post on X on Sunday.

According to public opinion polls, Adams had been running far behind Mamdani and Cuomo, who is contesting as an independent. The polls indicated Mamdani has a sizeable lead before the November 4 election in the most populous city in the United States.

Adams, who became mayor in 2022 as a Democrat, had become a divisive figure due to corruption allegations and alleged cooperation with US President Donald Trump, a Republican.

In a video statement, Adams said: “The constant media speculation about my future and the campaign finance board’s decision to withhold millions of dollars have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign.”

Funds were cut after the board could not verify the billing address for more than 200 contributions, raising questions over their sources.

Adams was indicted in September 2024 on charges that include wire fraud, soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations and a bribery conspiracy involving Turkish citizens and at least one Turkish official. He has denied the charges.

In February, the US Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop charges against Adams. The move triggered a wave of resignations in the US Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and at the Justice Department in Washington, DC.

Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official who ordered the charges to be dropped, has denied allegations that the decision was a “quid pro quo” in exchange for the Democratic mayor’s support for Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Adams’ reputation was also tainted by his alleged friendly working and political relationship with Trump. US media reports suggested the Trump administration offered him a job if he backed out of the election to give Cuomo a better chance of beating Mamdani, whom Trump believes is left wing.

Trump welcomed Adams’s decision to pull out of the race in an interview with the Reuters news agency, saying he believes votes that would have gone to Adams will now likely go to Cuomo.

The New York mayor in April said he would run as an independent, a move that spared him from the competitive Democratic primary, which was won by Mamdani.

Adams has been critical of Mamdani, who has zeroed in on the high cost of living in New York by promising regulated rents, free bus travel and daycare to cement his appeal.

“Major change is welcome and necessary, but beware of those who claim the answer [is] to destroy the very system we built together over generations. That is not change. That is chaos,” he said.

US President Donald Trump says that Sunday’s US air strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites have caused the “total obliteration” of its nuclear programme.

But the US Joint Chiefs of Staff says the final analysis is yet to come.

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran insists the US attacks won’t affect its work – and that the nuclear material had already been removed.

So, what do we know about the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities?

And if the strikes were effective, with the right technological know-how, could Iran easily rebuild?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests: 

Laura Rockwood – Senior fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

Roxane Farmanfarmaian – Director of Global Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge and senior associate fellow at the European Leadership Network

Imad Khadduri – Former nuclear scientist at the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission and author of the book Iraq’s Nuclear Mirage: Memoirs and Delusions

FORGET Game of Thrones, nobody understands the art of forming alliances better than Meghan Markle – but her latest friendship might just be her most fruitful yet. 

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend… and having been blacklisted by David and Victoria Beckham, she and Harry have now made their allegiances very clear, while also bolstering their own “cool” social standing in the process. 

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And it’s all thanks to their new friendship with Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz.

After all, it’s no secret that Meghan is making every concerted effort right now to re-establish herself as a lifestyle guru and online influencer. 

Since launching her lifestyle brand, As Ever, last month, she’s upped her output on social media in a bid to cement herself as the ultimate domestic goddess and yummy mummy.

Having the endorsement of the Beckham-Peltzes – who have a massive social media following between them and are hot property right now, thanks to all the whispers circulating about tensions with Brooklyn’s family – would only help her cause.

What’s more, having seen their friendships with the likes of George and Amal Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and Brooklyn’s parents, David and Victoria Beckham, fall flat, Meghan and Harry can use all the star power they can get right now. 

As the Sun exclusively revealed this week, the Sussexes and the Peltz-Beckhams came together last week at a dinner at the Sussexes’ mansion in Montecito, California.

The VIP event, which included 18 other guests, had been planned for weeks – but its timing, just days after Brooklyn and Nicola skipped his dad David’s 50th birthday celebrations amid a very public fall-out, was significant. 

According to insiders, the two couples “found a lot of common ground” – as Harry and Meghan lent an empathetic ear, and shared their own tales of battle with Harry’s family. 

As far as they are concerned, they’ve both been treated unfairly, prompting their estrangements. 

And in the aftermath, the two couples have potentially formed a powerful alliance.

This may be an unlikely quartet, but it might just be a friendship that pays dividends. 

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Speaking exclusively to The Sun, brand and culture expert Nick Ede believes Meghan is well aware of the benefits that come from this new foursome. 

“Meghan is a very strategic player,” he tells us. “She knows how to maximise her influence by associating herself with those who have more than her.

“This move is positioning her away from old Hollywood stars who have already established themselves, like Oprah and the Clooneys, and it’s bringing new blood into the Montecito establishment.”

He adds: “No one saw this friendship coming, but Meghan really looks like she’s creating a new ‘Fab Four’ with Harry, Brooklyn and Nicola.”

Fab Four

Let’s not forget, this isn’t the first time the Sussexes have attempted to form a solid quartet. 

Back in 2018, months before they got married, Harry and Meghan teamed up with Prince William and Kate Middleton to launch a charity partnership. 

The two couples were dubbed “the Fab Four” – representing a new and exciting era for the royal family.

But, as we all know by now, alliances change and – having once been tied by brotherly bonds – the two couples fell out amid Harry and Meghan’s acrimonious departure from royal life.

Since then the Sussexes haven’t held back in airing their grievances against the Waleses, most notably in Harry’s memoir Spare. 

In it, the former senior royal alleged that his brother had physically attacked him amid their Megxit negotiations, and claimed that Kate had made Meghan cry before their wedding over a disagreement about Princess Charlotte’s flower girl dress. 

These days the warring couples have reportedly cut all communication, and that ‘Fab Four’ alliance is splintered beyond repair. 

‘Blacklisted’

Meanwhile, other A-list friendships have also fallen by the wayside.

Take George and Amal Clooney, who were proudly in attendance at Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding, and hosted them at their mansion in Lake Como soon after. 

The two couples don’t seem to have spoken for years, and the Clooneys have made their indifference to the Sussexes known by snubbing them from several high-profile events they’ve hosted. 

Likewise, fellow wedding attendees David and Victoria Beckham have also blacklisted their former friends. 

No one saw this friendship coming, but Meghan really looks like she’s creating a new ‘Fab Four’ with Harry, Brooklyn and Nicola

Nick EdeBrand and culture expert

As we’ve reported, the two couples were historically close, and Meghan even wore a Victoria Beckham dress in her first post-Megxit appearance as a mark of respect to her famous friend. 

But – after the couple accused Victoria of selling stories about them to the press – the lines of communication went dead. 

The Beckhams duly switched their own allegiances to the royals, and have since been getting closer than ever to Harry’s estranged father and brother. 

They’ve further demonstrated their antipathy by failing to invite the Sussexes to either one of their big 50th birthday celebrations – which, as we’ve seen, included a long list of A-list attendees including Tom Cruise, Eva Longoria and Gordon Ramsay.

So, having been declared personae non gratae by the Beckhams, it seems as if all bets are off.

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Raft of opportunities

With relations between David and Victoria and their eldest son Brooklyn reportedly at an all-time low, this Montecito dinner has made a very public statement indeed. 

Yet this isn’t simply a case of trying to get back at the Beckhams.

For all intents and purposes, Brooklyn and Nicola’s friendship could hold the key to a raft of opportunities for Harry and Meghan at this critical juncture in their own lives.

As she strives to promote her brand As Ever – in tandem with her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, and her recent Netflix series With Love, Meghan – Meghan’s been relying on her A-list connections. 

To that end, she’s been sending out her homemade jams, and other products including shortbread biscuits and herbal teas, to friends including Kris Jenner and Chrissy Teigen, in the hope that they might plug them on their Instagram pages. 

But so far, her connections haven’t quite paid off when it comes to promoting her business.

Indeed, one of the biggest complaints when it came to her Netflix series was that, while we know she’s enjoyed friendships with the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams in the past, she didn’t deliver on serving up A-list cameos on camera. 

Her biggest signing was Mindy Kaling, but even that interaction seemed awkward and not representative of a genuine friendship. 

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So, having Brooklyn, 26, and Nicola , 30 – who both have a massive social media standing – on side could be highly advantageous to Meghan’s brand and online popularity. 

While Brooklyn, in particular, may be the butt of several jokes when it comes to his career as an online “chef”, there’s no denying that his fans love watching him cook up a storm on his social media. 

The nepo baby now has a whopping 16.3million followers on his Instagram account – which eclipses Meghan’s following of 2.9million.

With that kind of popularity, Brooklyn’s endorsement of Meghan’s jam, and her brand in general, would be a big win for As Ever. 

It’s time to build on her credibility and build an audience who are authentic and buy into her brand.

Nick Ede

What’s more, Brooklyn and Nicola bring a hip and fresh factor to this new dynamic. 

The Clooneys and the Beckhams may be established and dynastic couples, but the Peltz-Beckhams represent the next gen of showbiz influencers.

This potential leverage among younger followers will not have escaped Meghan’s attention. 

It’s worth noting that the Duchess of Sussex has already made attempts to broaden her showbiz squad. 

Earlier this year, she gave an online shoutout to Billie Eilish, the ultimate Gen Z cool girl, after the latter helped her with a charitable endeavour.

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She and Harry also recently stepped out at Beyonce’s LA concert – packing on the PDA and later thanking the singer online for a very fun “date night”.

This new Meghan is one who wants to be perceived as laid back, personable and fun – countering claims made in the past year that she’s a “bully” and difficult to work with. 

Having the endorsement of a young, cool couple like Brooklyn and Nicola at this time could be beneficial – and Meghan knows it.

Meanwhile for Harry, having Brooklyn on side, who – as a Brit abroad – represents a piece of home at a time when he remains largely estranged from his family, might just be the source of comfort he needs. 

Building a business should be Meghan’s priority

Nick Ede

But, as Nick tells us, she shouldn’t rely on her A-list friendships to guarantee her brand’s future.

She may be hoping to garner attention, but – ultimately – consumers want high quality products, regardless of who’s endorsing them.

“Whether this is a good move for Meghan is something we will have to wait and see,” Nick says. “The As Ever brand is still in its early days, and so is her TV career as a lifestyle expert.

“It’s time to build on her credibility and build an audience who are authentic and buy into her brand. 

“Building a business should be her priority – this relationship may just serve as a distraction, rather than a positive step for both parties.”

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