elimination

Strictly Come Dancing fans have reacted to news of the latest elimination after a spoiler leaked online following an eventful Halloween Week on the BBC competition

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left ‘heartbroken’ after a spoiler revealed who has been eliminated from the BBC dance competition. Fans will know that the results show traditionally airs on Sundays but is pre-recorded immediately after the live show on a Saturday evening, and news is often leaked online.

This time around, it was Halloween Week on Strictly, and it was eventful from start to finish. With judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke and Motsi Mabuse all dressed up in spectacular spooky gear, and the contestants all embodying creepy and kooky personas for the evening, it was Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope who topped the leader board with a perfect score of 40, a first for this series.

Vicky Pattison burst into tears after Motsi predicted she would make it all the way to the final, and fans also started demanding that La Voix be made the new host after he momentarily stood in for Tess Daly.

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Just before the result was confirmed, rumours had already started to swirl and one fan wrote: “Genuinely worried this will come true again. Why are my faves always in danger?” Another said: “ffs I hope this is wrong,” and one fan admitted: “I ain’t sleeping until that spoiler drops, I’m on EDGE”

Another admitted: “got strictly spoiled for me last week bc someone updated the wikipedia page by like midnight based on the leaked spoiler while me and my sister were in depth examining the judges evil scoring HOWEVER this week im looking intentionally bc im getting nervous.”

A fourth fan said: “I wish there was a poll on X where we can see a live accurate version of what the votes look like cause waiting for the strictly spoiler poll is painful.”

At the end of Saturday’s show, it was revealed that Shirley would have the deciding vote when it came to deciding who would survive the dreaded dance off.

While the Mirror have decided not to leak the spoiler, fans have already been reacting online to the leaked elimination news. One simply wrote: “Noooooo,” and left a sad emoji and a broken heart with their tweet.

Another said: “the strictly spoiler. omg,” whilst a third admitted: “I had a feeling this was going to be the result. Devastated for the parson who left but it was the correct result sadly. Heartbroken for the other person too but I hope this means they’ll come back fighting next week.”

Last week, footballer Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley were sent home following a tense dance-off with musical theatre star Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin.

Speaking after the elimination, Jimmy said he never expected to enjoy the show so much. “I can only say thank you very much for letting me have this experience and to my daughters for pushing me to come here and do this.

“I never expected that I would enjoy it this much. The people behind the scenes, from the wardrobe people to the hairdressers to the make-up people, are absolutely magnificent – thank you very much.

“This experience is going to live with me forever. Most importantly, [to Lauren] this girl, she is just absolutely incredible. She has been absolutely amazing with me. You are a diamond,” he told Lauren.

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Kennedy Fuller and Maiara Niehues scored and Angel City staved off elimination from postseason contention with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Dash on Sunday at BMO Stadium.

Angel City (7-11-6), which would have been eliminated with a loss or a draw, ended a five-game winless streak with the victory.

Dash goalkeeper Abby Smith pushed away a cross from Hina Sugita, but Fuller scored her fourth goal of the season off a rebound in the 53rd minute to break a scoreless stalemate.

Niehues scored an insurance goal in the 86th minute, charging forward and taking advantage with Smith well out of her goal.

It appeared the Dash might be awarded a penalty after a handball was called on the field in stoppage time, but the decision was overturned after video review.

Houston (7-10-6), which finished last in the league last season, had lost just two of the previous 10 matches. The Dash were not yet eliminated.

Because of Sunday’s result, the Orlando Pride clinched a playoff berth.

THE first celebrity eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing has been revealed.

Controversial reality star Thomas Skinner found himself losing the public vote alongside professional partner Amy Dowden after weeks of chaos around his inclusion in the BBC show.

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After landing near the bottom of the leaderboard, Thomas ended up facing off against former England rugby star Chris Robshaw and his partner Nadiya Bychkova, in the dance-off.

All four judges opted to save Chris and kick Thomas out of the competition.

Speaking about his time on the show, Skinner said: “I’ve loved it. I’ve never danced before and my stay was short, but Amy’s amazing.

“It’s been great fun and I’ve enjoyed it. I can’t really dance that well but I’ve had fun! Thank you, Amy – sorry that we haven’t done too good, ’cause you’re a different class.”

The news leaked late on Saturday night after Sunday’s episode was recorded.

Viewers were delighted with the result with one writing: “The strictly spoiler results have absolutely made my evening. I can sleep well now. #Strictly #StrictlyComeDancing” 

A second said: “If the spoiler I just saw is true I cheered so loud thank you British public thank you Strictly.”

Another added: “Absolutely the right result!! Good job for once public!!”

The judges’ decision came after the couples’ scores from week one and two were added to the public vote.

It came after Skinner, who has made his name as a social media star, ended Saturday’s show with a joint score of 29, having scored just 13 for his performance.

Dowden added of her time with Skinner: “I’ve got to know the real Tom and he is adorable. He’s looked after me.

“We’ve laughed so much. We’ve worked so hard and a glitterball would have been amazing, but what I’ve learnt in the last few years is happiness, health and being alive is more important than anything. I’ve made a new friend for life and I wouldn’t change a thing.

“There is a ballroom boy in there, so I’m a bit gutted he didn’t get to do the ballroom, but the last three years, as you know, have been quite difficult for me.

“I lost all confidence as a dancer – but walking into the room with you with a massive smile and a laugh, you brought me back and, honestly, thank you.”

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It comes after Skinner hit the headlines after he admitted to cheating on his wife just weeks after their wedding in an interview with The Sun, having previously apologised for picking up a journalist’s phone and walking out of a press event for Strictly midway through.

The remaining 14 couples will take to the dancefloor next week for movie week when Strictly Come Dancing returns at 6.05pm on Saturday October 11, on BBC One and iPlayer.

An oversight body that has documented and exposed substandard jail conditions for decades would cease to exist if the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors moves forward with a cost-cutting plan.

L.A. County could save about $40,000 a year by eliminating the Sybil Brand Commission, according to an August report prepared for the supervisors by the board’s Executive Office.

The Sybil Brand Commission’s 10 members serve a key oversight role, regularly conducting unannounced inspections of county jails and lockups.

Named for a philanthropist and activist who worked to improve jail conditions for women in L.A. starting in the 1940s, the commission’s findings were recently cited in a state lawsuit over what Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta called a “humanitarian crisis” inside the county jails.

“In June 2024, the Sybil Brand Commission reported that multiple dorms at Men’s Central were overcrowded with broken toilets … and ceilings that had been painted over to cover mold,” Bonta’s office wrote in its complaint, which seeks to compel reforms by the county and sheriff’s department.

The recommendation to “sunset” the commission comes amid a spike in in-custody deaths with 38 so far this year, which puts the county on track for what Bonta’s office said would mark at least a 20-year high.

The Executive Office for the Board of Supervisors responded to questions from The Times with a statement Friday that said its report’s “purpose was not to eliminate oversight or input,” but to demonstrate “where responsibilities overlap and where efficiencies could strengthen oversight and support.”

The unattributed statement said the report found issues with “commissioner availability” that led to meeting cancellations and put “limits on their ability to conduct inspections.”

The Sybil Brand Commission took up the possibility of elimination at its meeting earlier this month, when commissioners and advocates railed against the proposal as a shortsighted way to cut costs that will leave county inmates more vulnerable to mistreatment and neglect.

In a separate move, the Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors is reassigning or eliminating a third of Inspector General Max Huntsman’s staff, slashing funding to the watchdog that investigates misconduct by county employees and the sheriff’s department, according to Huntsman.

“At the back of all this is the fundamental question of whether the board wants oversight at all,” Eric Miller, a Sybil Brand commissioner, said in an interview.

Miller added that the “sunsetting of Sybil Brand seems to be part of a persistent attempt to control and limit oversight of the sheriff’s department.”

The report from the Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors said its recommendation to do away with the jail oversight body came after a review of “225 commissions, committees, boards, authorities, and task forces” funded by the county. The proposal would “sunset” six commissions, including Sybil Brand, and “potentially merge” 40 others.

The report noted that “jail and detention inspection duties are also monitored by the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission.”

But that commission, which was established less than a decade ago, takes on a broader range of issues within the sheriff’s department, from deputy misconduct to so-called deputy gangs. Unlike Sybil Brand, its members do not go on frequent tours of jails and publish detailed reports documenting the conditions.

The Executive Office’s statement said “unannounced jail inspections would continue, either through a COC subcommittee or coordinated oversight structure.”

Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said the proposal to get rid of the commission is the latest in a recent succession of blows to law enforcement accountability.

That list includes the ousting of former Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission chair Robert Bonner earlier this year, and the introduction last week of a county policy requiring oversight bodies to submit many of their communications to the county for approval.

Eliasberg said losing the Sybil Brand Commission would be a major setback.

“Sybil Brand has been incredibly effective in shining a really harsh spotlight on some terrible things going on in the jails,” he said. “Sybil Brand, I think, has done some really important work.”

Huntsman, the inspector general, said during a Probation Oversight Commission meeting Monday that his office expects to lose a third of its staff. The “current plan proposes to eliminate 14 positions including vacancies,” according to the Executive Office statement.

Huntsman told the commission that the Executive Office of the Board of Supervisors informed him on Sept. 11 that “a number of positions in my office will be taken away from me and moved to the Executive Office and will no longer be available for independent oversight.”

The inspector general added that “there’s a group of staff that have been specifically identified by the Executive Office and taken away, and then there are positions that are curtailed. So the end result is we have a third fewer people, which will impact our operations.”

The Executive Office’s statement said the changes would “save more than $3.95 million” and avoid “deeper cuts” elsewhere.

“We remain confident that the OIG’s remaining staffing levels will allow the OIG to fulfill its essential duties and carry out its mandate,” the statement said.

Late Friday afternoon, Edward Yen, executive officer for the Board of Supervisors, sent out an email “retracting” the new county policy that required many communications by oversight bodies to undergo prior approval.

“While the intent of the policy was to provide long-requested structure and support for commissions and oversight bodies,” Yen wrote, “we recognize that its rollout created confusion and unintended consequences.”

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) is calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to explain why the Trump administration has repeatedly ordered cuts to HIV/AIDS programs both at home and abroad.

In a letter to Kennedy dated Thursday, Garcia asserted that the cabinet secretary has a history of peddling misinformation about the virus and disease, and that the planned cuts — which he called “alarming and unprecedented” — would cost lives.

“We are concerned that your motivations for disrupting HIV funding and delaying preventative services and research are grounded not in sound science, but in misinformation and disinformation you have spread previously about HIV and AIDS, including your repeated claim that HIV does not cause AIDS,” wrote Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

A Health and Human Services spokesperson said Kennedy remains committed to science-based public health, that critical HIV/AIDS programs will continue under his leadership, and that ongoing investments in such work demonstrate that commitment.

Both President Trump and Kennedy have previously defended the sweeping cuts to Health and Human Services programs and staff under Kennedy’s leadership. Agency spokespeople have said they would allow for a greater focus on Kennedy’s priorities of “ending America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins.”

Kennedy has said the department under his watch “will do more — a lot more — at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”

Garcia’s letter — which he co-wrote with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the ranking Democrat on the Health Care and Financial Services subcommittee — requested that the health department produce a list of all HIV/AIDS-related funding it has cut and an explanation for how those funds were identified for elimination, as well as other documentation and communications around several of the largest cuts.

The letter is the latest attempt by Democrats, in coordination with health experts and LGBTQ+ organizations, to challenge what they see as an inexplicable yet coordinated effort by the Trump administration to dismantle public health initiatives aimed at controlling and ultimately ending one of the most devastating and deadly epidemics in human history.

It comes the same day that Senate Republicans agreed to a Trump administration request to claw back billions of dollars in funding for public media and foreign aid, but declined an earlier White House request to include in those cuts about $400 million in HIV/AIDS funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which is credited with saving millions of lives in some of the poorest nations around the world.

The House had previously voted for an earlier version of the measure that did cut the funding for PEPFAR, which was started by President George W. Bush in 2003. However, senators pushed for the restoration of the funding before agreeing to sign the broader rescission package.

The House must now approve the Senate version of the measure by Friday for it to take effect.

In an interview with The Times, Garcia said he has long viewed Kennedy as a dangerous “conspiracy theorist” who has “peddled in all sorts of lies” about HIV, vaccines and other medical science. Now that Kennedy is Health secretary, he said, the American people deserve to know whether national and international health decisions are being driven by his baseless personal beliefs.

“Folks need to understand what he’s trying to do, and I think that he has to be responsible and be held accountable for his actions,” Garcia said.

In their letter, Garcia and Krishnamoorthi noted that recent scientific advancements — including the creation of new preventative drugs — are making the eradication of HIV more attainable than ever. And yet Kennedy and the Trump administration are pushing the nation and the world in the opposite direction, they said.

“Since taking office, the Trump Administration has systematically attacked HIV-related funding and blocked critical HIV-related services and care for those who need it most,” Garcia and Krishnamoorthi wrote. “These disruptions would threaten Americans most at risk of contracting HIV, and many people living with HIV will get sicker or infect others without programs they rely on for treatment.”

The letter outlines a number of examples of such cuts, including:

• The elimination of the HIV prevention division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and termination or delay of billions of dollars in HIV prevention grants from that office.
• The termination of a $258-million program within the National Institutes of Health to find a vaccine to prevent new HIV infections.
• The termination of dozens of NIH grants for HIV research, particularly around preventing new infections among Black and Latino gay men who are disproportionately at risk of contracting the virus.
• The targeting of HIV prevention initiatives abroad, including PEPFAR.
• The U.S. drawing back from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Many in the medical and foreign aid community expressed grave concerns about Kennedy being appointed as Health secretary, in part because of his past remarks about HIV/AIDS. Kennedy told a reporter for New York Magazine as recently as June 2023 that there “are much better candidates than H.I.V. for what causes AIDS.”

In their letter, Garcia and Krishnamoorthi called out a specific theory shared by Kennedy that the recreational drug known as “poppers” may cause AIDS, rather than the HIV virus, writing, “We are deeply concerned that the Trump Administration’s HIV-related funding cuts are indiscriminate, rooted in a political agenda, and not at all in the interest of public health.”

Kennedy’s skepticism about the link between HIV and AIDS conflicts with well established science that has long been accepted by the medical establishment, and by the federal government. Studies around the world have proved the link, and found that HIV is the only common factor in AIDS cases.

In August 2023, about a week before Kennedy threw his support behind Trump, his presidential campaign addressed the controversy surrounding his “poppers” comment, stating that Kennedy did not believe poppers were “the sole cause” of AIDS, but contended they were “a significant factor in the disease progression” of early patients in the 1980s.

Garcia and Krishnamoorthi also noted a successful effort by local officials and advocates in Los Angeles County to get about $20 million in HIV/AIDS funding restored last month, after it and similar funding nationwide was frozen by the Trump administration.

The restoration of those funds followed another letter sent to Kennedy by Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and other House members, who cited estimates from the Foundation for AIDS Research, known as amfAR, that the nationwide cuts could lead to 127,000 additional deaths from AIDS-related causes within five years.

Garcia and Krishnamoorthi cited the same statistics in their letter.

In his interview with The Times, Garcia, who is gay, also said the LGBTQ+ community “is rightly outraged” at Kennedy’s actions to date and deserves to know if Kennedy “is using his own conspiracy theories and his own warped view of what the facts are” to dismantle public health infrastructure around HIV and AIDS that they fought for decades to build.

TV chef Lorraine Pascale has hit out at Love Island over what she believes to be ‘tokenism’ after Alima was dumped from the villa and Billykiss coupled up with Conor

TV chef Lorraine Pascale has shared her opinion, claiming Love Island is ‘reinforcing the idea there’s only room for one Black cast member’ at a time after newbie Billykiss Azeez replaced OG contestant Alima Gagigo. The recent episode saw Alima and bombshell Ryan Bannister get kicked out of the villa in a double elimination.

As per the show’s format, the stars chose who to partner up with in the recoupling. Conor Phillips chose to couple up with Billykiss after they bonded during their first date, leaving Alima single and dumped from the villa. This Morning chef Lorraine took to her X, formerly known as Twitter, to complain about the show’s “tokenism”, writing: “Wow @LoveIsland. You finally cast a Black woman who was thriving, and then you replace her with another Black woman?

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“This isn’t representation, it’s tokenism. You’re reinforcing the idea that there’s only room for one of us at a time. That’s not diversity – that’s damage. Do better.”

It is understood ITV refutes any suggestion that any editorial decision it makes is based on race

Some fans shared how Alima could have been saved, with one user writing: “This is actually Ben’s fault when you think about it cause if he really liked Alima he would’ve recouped with her a few days ago, then Connor and Helena would’ve been coupled up and she would’ve been dumped tonight.”

“Bro, they should’ve asked if anyone wanted to couple up, Ben would’ve stood up for Alima, Helena would’ve been finally dumped ffs we were so close ugh,” another said.

During her time in the villa, Alima formed a connection with Remell; however, it came crashing down when she learnt he had shared a number of kisses with Poppy at the sleepover.

Upon her exit, Alima has spoken out about where she stands with Remell on the outside, and all things villa life. “Remell and I were getting stronger and stronger by the day,” she said of their relationship.

“When he got the text about the sleepover, I was with him, and as soon as he started smiling.

“I knew this guy; he wasn’t going to be up to any good. When I saw the clip, from that moment on, I knew it would take a lot for us to go back to how we were before. I wasn’t surprised by his behaviour at all.”

She was asked whether she’d be open to having a conversation with Remell after leaving the show. She said: “I don’t hate him and I’m more than happy to be civil, he was part of my experience after all! But in terms of anything romantic, I’ll keep myself away from that.”

After Remell left the villa, Alima found a connection with Ben, but her time was cut short before they could really give it a go. However, Alima’s departure doesn’t mean the end of the road for the couple.

“I want to see how he acts now that I’m not there and if he finds a connection. If he comes back single, I would be interested in seeing if there’s something we could continue…” she teased.

Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX*

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OMAHA, Neb. — UCLA head coach John Savage walked out of the dugout and to freshman pitcher Wylan Moss. The righty sat down the first two batters he faced Tuesday morning but stepped into trouble with a walk and a base hit. When Moss’s first pitch to LSU’s Steven Milam didn’t catch the strike zone, Savage wanted to give the righty encouragement.

Milam singled to continue the two-out rally. It was the first of four Tigers two-out RBIs on Tuesday, fifth of the game. LSU went 7-for-15 with two outs. It didn’t matter if it was Moss or one of the seven other Bruins pitchers that faced LSU. Even reliable closer Easton Hawk gave up a final RBI in the bottom of the eighth, preventing UCLA from building momentum from a scrappy eighth inning.

“Just seemed like we were swimming upstream a little bit most of the game,” Savage said.

LSU leapfrogged UCLA’s three-run first inning by scoring four, giving the Tigers an early lead on Monday night. They maintained that lead for 15 hours as storms rolled over Charles Schwab Field, forcing the game to continue Tuesday morning. LSU scored two when play resumed in the fourth. UCLA scrapped together an eighth-inning rally until Phoenix Call, the potential tying run, grounded out to shortstop, dooming the Bruins to a 9-5 loss in the Men’s College World Series. The Bruins now face Arkansas and possible elimination at 4 p.m. PDT Tuesday. The game will air on ESPN.

“We put up three and then they put up four. Then they come out and do a good job with two outs in the fourth, and they got two there,” Savage said. “And it seemed like we were just trailing a little bit from the mound, mostly.”

None of the eight pitchers used in the loss recorded more than six outs. Landon Stump allowed five runs in two-plus innings before Chris Grothues ended the third inning going into the weather delay. Moss only pitched two outs. Sophomore Cal Randall came in to provide 1.2 innings of one-hit relief. Ian May, Jack O’Connor, August Souza and Hawk combined to throw under three innings, allowing three hits, two runs and two walks.

“They were competing. Just some days you have it better than others,” said Cashel Dugger, who caught all eight pitchers. “We’re in the World Series. They’re giving it their all. Just some days you don’t have it as good as others.”

UCLA sophomore pitcher Cal Randall delivers the ball from the mound during a Men’s College World Series game against LSU on Tuesday, July 17, 2025. The Bruins lost the game that started Monday night and resumed Tuesday following a weather delay.

(Mac Brown / UCLA Athletics)

The Bruins’ bats struggled to answer the call. Collectively, UCLA lead-off batter went 1-for-11 (.091) in the game. The Bruins went 2 of 10 with two outs, 4 of 14 with runners on base. Dugger was one of three Bruins with two hits, joining Mulivai Levu and AJ Salgado.

At the core of UCLA’s offensive struggles is standout shortstop Roch Cholowsky. While his sacrifice bunt against Murray State on Saturday started a rally, he’s still without a hit in the College World Series after going 0-for-5 against LSU. He hadn’t done that since early March against UConn. Cholowsky is now hitless in his last 12 at bats.

He popped out in foul territory to start the eighth inning, where UCLA made it’s last stand. Payton Brennan scored Levu on a fielder’s choice and Blake Balsz sent an RBI single up the middle to give the Bruins momentum. Dugger then walked to load the bases. LSU brought in sophomore righty Chase Shores to face Phoenix Call, the tying run. Call swung at the first pitch, a dribbler to the shortstop. The rally ended with a flip to second.

“We had some opportunities, but at the end of the day I just thought they were the better team today,” Savage said. “So we’ve got to regroup and focus on Arkansas now.”

The Bruins dodged bad Big Ten weather all season. Now they will play their first doubleheader of the season in the College World Series. Awaiting them in the elimination game is a team riding the emotional high of a 19-strikeout no-hitter on Monday.