George

WHAM! star George Michael has raked in almost £75million from beyond the grave — and is set to bank even more, accounts show.

The singer’s firm, Nobby’s Hobbies Holding Limited, has turned over £74.7million since he died aged 53 on Christmas Day 2016.

Royalties poured in after the band’s 1984 classic hit Last Christmas, which he wrote, was the festive No1 in both 2023 and 2024.

George’s estate earned £6.6million from the 2023 chart success alone.

Cash also came from the 2023 Netflix documentary Wham!.

The company’s latest accounts end in March 2024, meaning earnings from Christmas 2024 are yet to be included.

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George left a £98million fortune when he died, mostly to his sisters.

We revealed earlier in the year how George Michael’s dilapidated £10m London mansion is showing signs of improvement after major renovation work.

A bitter row with neighbours over the chopping down of a number of historic trees hasn’t deterred the late star’s sister from updating the property.

George’s only living sibling, Yioda Panayiotou, was handed ownership of the property following the singer’s tragic death on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53. 

There was outrage when Yioda’s design team asked the local council to remove a number of trees and prune others at the front and rear of the property, which is in a conservation area. 

One residents association was furious that the works were also going to occur during the peak nesting season, which runs from March to July. 

“I thought, in terms of attitude, the ability to stick in the game for 80 minutes was the most pleasing.”

Those were Harlequins coach Jason Gilmore’s words after his side stuck to cross-town rivals Saracens with a performance of cunning and commitment back in October.

He has not seen much to please him since. Quins have lost three out of their last four Prem games, with Bristol running in four unanswered first-half tries to wreck the hosts’ Big Game party at Allianz Stadium.

It was a worryingly feeble showing on the biggest stage.

Their tackle success was down at 76% and despite shading 22 entries 17 to 12, they had little of Bristol’s attacking glint, until Marcus Smith jinked over late on with the game already gone.

Quins have plenty of quality. Luke Northmore and Oscar Beard are a punchy, play-making midfield duo, Cadan Murley and Rodrigo Isgro offer pace and panache out wide while Tyrone Green and Nick David are consistent top-flight performers.

Up front, Harry Williams and Guido Petti arrived in the summer to add grunt and snarl to a pack that already contains Fin Baxter, Chandler Cunningham-South, Alex Dombrandt and Jack Kenningham as well as Will Evans’ ground game.

But it isn’t clicking.

GEORGE Clooney is mourning the loss of his sister Adelia Zeidler who has died aged 65.

The Hollywood star’s sibling passed away on Friday (December 19) following a battle with cancer.

Clooney, 64, described his sister – known as Ada – as his “hero” and praised her bravery.

He said: “My sister, Ada, was my hero. She faced down cancer with courage and humor.

“I’ve never met anyone so brave. Amal and I will miss her terribly.”

Ada’s official biography says she died “peacefully” while “surrounded by the people she loved” at St Elizabeth healthcare in Kentucky.

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‘Talented artist’

She was born on May 2 1960 in Los Angeles to mum and dad Nina and Nick, and was described as a “talented artist”.

She was named after her great-grandmother.

Her obit states: “A talented artist, she shared her skills as an elementary art teacher at Augusta Independent School for several years.

“In high school, her academic achievements qualified her to be a National Merit Scholar.

“Her love for reading connected her with other readers in a local book club.

“She was also a member of the Augusta Art Guild and was a past grand marshal of Augusta’s Annual White Christmas Parade.”

Ada married Norman Zeidler, a retired army captain, in Augusta in 1987.

While she led a very private life, she supported her brother publicly over the years, including attending his wedding to wife Amal in Venice in 2014.

Ada was snapped standing next to Clooney on a boat as they rode along a canal in the Italian city.

The siblings grew up together in Kentucky.

Clooney told CBS This Morning in 2015: “My sister, I’m very close to.”

Their mum Nina told HGTV in 2006 how she once came home to find her children had thrown a house party, and had thrown cooked marshmallows all over the walls.

WASHINGTON — A Minneapolis jury’s conviction of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd has reignited debate about what policing should look like in the United States.

In the weeks following Floyd’s death and the ensuing outrage that caused millions of Americans to pour into the streets to protest in the midst of a pandemic, Congress promised fundamental change to policing.

There was legislation to standardize training across the country, to keep problem officers from moving between departments without their records following them, to ban the use of chokeholds and no-knock warrants.

But Congress failed to reach an agreement that could pass both the House and Senate and attention moved to other things.

Negotiations for a bipartisan deal on police reform continue informally on Capitol Hill, and the lead House sponsor, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that she is hopeful because those involved are “very sincere, and it’s a bipartisan group.”

Bass is working with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.). She told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that she is optimistic they will reach an agreement and get a bill to President Biden’s desk in the coming months.

“I believe that we want to make something happen,” Bass said.

Last month the House passed Bass’ George Floyd Justice in Policing Act by a 220-212 vote, with no Republican support and two Democrats voting no.

The legislation, which would ban chokeholds, end “qualified immunity” for law enforcement officers and create national standards for policing in a bid to bolster accountability, passed the House last summer but was not considered by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Democrats in turn blocked consideration of a Republican policing reform bill proposed by Scott last summer, saying though it was similar to their proposal in some ways, it did not go far enough because it did not modify so-called qualified immunity for police officers, which has made it harder for victims of brutality to file civil lawsuits over excessive force, or make it easier to prosecute police officers for criminal behavior.

Even now that Democrats control the Senate, hurdles remain for passing policing reform out of the Senate, where most legislation faces a 60-vote threshold, Bass said.

“It’s one thing to pass legislation in the House; it’s a super hurdle to get it passed in the Senate,” Bass said in the CNN interview. “But we are working.”

A clear favourite has emerged to take the Strictly Come Dancing crown, say bookies and fans.

Three nervous celebrities are going into the Strictly Come Dancing final but only one can win – and it’s increasingly clear who that will be. Despite the final being touted as the closest in years, a single star is surging ahead in the battle for the Glitterball trophy that will take place on Saturday night.

Former England footballer Karen Carney, 38, has leapt ahead of all the others in the running and has been named as the far-ahead favourite to take the title, with people piling in to back her. It’s something of a last-minute upset since social media star George Clarke, 26, has long led the market, but is now drifting away.

West End star Amber Davies, 29, who has been in the dance-off for two weeks running now but managed to survive, is now thought to be the least likely to win the competition with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin and is predicted to finish third behind runner-up George and winner Karen.

One fan wrote: “The odds are slowly beginning to suggest we do have our winner” but added: “I think it’ll be the closest final we’ve had in years which is always a refreshing change after the past few years!”

Others said they would be switching their vote from Balvinder to the football star. One wrote: “Karen! I like George but I’ve been less moved by his story and I think the Karen/Carlos pairing is endlessly fun.” Another agreed: “As a Bal fan, im now gonna be voting for Karen.”

Lee Phelps for William Hill explained: “Karen Carney has taken firm control of the Strictly betting ahead of the final, and her move into 2/5 from 6/5 shows just how strongly punters are backing her to lift the Glitterball. After weeks of favouritism see-sawing between the two, Clarke has now eased out to 15/8 from 4/5, indicating that momentum has swung decisively in Carney’s favour at the ideal moment.

“Amber Davies’ survival in the dance-off hasn’t gone unnoticed either, with her trimmed into 20/1, but the market is clearly focused on a straight fight at the top as we head into the final.”

Others dismissed the predictions, with one fan writing: “Omg why is Karen such a strong favourite to win when George is going to win?” Another pointed to the huge fanbase he has thanked to his vast online following who are ready to vote for him.

They said: “I hate to get my hopes up, but I saw the strictly results show post of Facebook, and majority of the comments were saying their votes go to George and they want him to win. Not only that but he has his fanbase, and has been top of the polls. It’s looking promising.”

Another agreed: “What also helps George is the same thing that likely helped Ginge win I’m A Celeb – he’s in with some of the biggest stars in the UK YouTube scene, so if they post the vote link the same way they did for Ginge I think it’ll be a real uphill battle for Karen or Amber.”

Strictly Come Dancing’s live final is at 7pm on Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer