By Los Angeles Times Staff
UCLA coach Bob Chesney and the Bruins are ranked No. 8 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, a remarkable turnaround for a program that recorded three wins last season.
Chesney has led a revival in his first season that has the Bruins on track to host a playoff game if they can navigate formidable games at Minnesota on Saturday, at home against Illinois on Nov. 13, at Michigan on Nov. 21 and at home against crosstown-rival USC on Nov. 28.
The Trojans (7-2) were ranked No. 20 in the poll after their defiant 30-18 win over No. 12 Ohio State Saturday at the Coliseum.
USC has a bye this week before playing at No. 4 Indiana on Nov. 14, against Maryland on Nov. 21 and then the UCLA showdown. If the Trojans sweep those games, they likely would be in the mix for a spot in the 12-team playoff.
Miami was ranked No. 1 in the poll, followed by No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Utah and No. 4 Indiana.
Boise State was ranked No. 25 and the only Group of Six team included, putting the Broncos on track to succeed Chesney’s former James Madison squad as the small conference representative in the playoff.
The College Football Playoff rankings will be released every Tuesday until the final rankings and 12-team playoff bracket are revealed on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 9 a.m. PST. The selection committee voting on the rankings includes six current athletic directors, four former head coaches, two former All-American football players and one former sportswriter.
1. Miami (8-0)
2. Georgia (7-1)
3. Utah (8-0)
4. Indiana (8-1)
5. Alabama (6-2)
6. Kentucky (7-1)
7. Texas (6-2)
8. UCLA (8-0)
9. BYU (7-1)
10. Ole Miss (6-2)
11. Notre Dame (7-1)
12. Ohio State (6-2)
13. Tennessee (6-2)
14. LSU (6-2)
15. Texas Tech (7-1)
16. Wake Forest (7-1)
17. Houston (6-2)
18. Missouri (6-2)
19. Iowa (6-2)
20. USC (7-2)
21. South Carolina (5-3)
22. Arizona (6-2)
23. Oregon (5-3)
24. Florida (5-3)
25. Boise State (7-1)
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff and Republican opponent Mike Collins made their final appeals to voters in Georgia ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections.
Published On 3 Nov 20263 Nov 2026
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By Eric OlsonAP College Football Writer
NEW YORK — Ohio State dropped out of the top 10 of the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday for the first time in five years, UCLA entered the top five for the first time in 25 years and New Mexico earned the first ranking in program history.
The Buckeyes plummeted from No. 2 to No. 11 following their 30-18 loss at USC, making it four weeks in a row the No. 1 or 2 team has lost to an unranked opponent.
Miami was No. 1 for the third straight week after escaping North Carolina with a 38-35 victory. Georgia moved up a spot to No. 2 and was followed by Utah, Notre Dame and UCLA.
The Hurricanes, who visit Notre Dame on Saturday for their much-anticipated top-five matchup, received 62 of 70 first-place votes from the media voting panel. Georgia got seven first-place votes and Utah got one.
Indiana slipped two rungs to No. 6 after a 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota. Brigham Young, Kentucky, Alabama and Texas rounded out the top 10.
Ohio State hadn’t been out of the top 10 since Sept. 26, 2021. The Buckeyes slipped to No. 11 after beating Akron by 52 points and were back in the top 10 the next week after a 39-point win over Rutgers and stayed there for 86 consecutive polls.
UCLA is 8-0 for the first time since 2005 under first-year coach Bob Chesney. The Bruins stepped out of conference play and shut out Nevada 27-0. At No. 5, UCLA has its highest ranking since it was No. 4 following a 6-0 start in 2001.
New Mexico, which has been playing football since 1892, cracked the AP rankings for the first time at No. 22 following a 21-16 win at San José State. The breakthrough comes in Jason Eck’s second season and after the Lobos’ first 7-1 start since 1982.
In: No. 18 USC’s win over Ohio State was the biggest in Lincoln Riley’s five seasons and put the Trojans right back into the playoff hunt.
In: No. 21 Iowa continued its recent domination of Wisconsin with a 30-0 victory and is back in the poll after a one-week absence.
In: No. 22 New Mexico is the only Mountain West team unbeaten in conference play and is a serious contender for the Group of Six playoff spot.
In: No. 23 South Carolina’s season and Shane Beamer’s tenure with the Gamecocks were all but written off a month ago, but now they’ve won three straight and are ranked for the first time since September 2025.
Out: SMU’s playoff hopes, barring an ACC championship, are fizzling with its 30-27 last-minute loss at Syracuse.
Out: Northwestern led into the fourth quarter but couldn’t finish the job at Oregon.
Out: Oklahoma State gave Iowa State a short field for a walk-off field goal because of unsportsmanlike conduct and lost a 51-49 shootout in Ames.
Out: Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell, who got a one-week reprieve with a dominant win over USC, is back on the hot seat following the humiliating loss at Iowa.
1. Miami (Fla.)
2. Georgia
3. Utah
4. Notre Dame
5. UCLA
6. Indiana
7. BYU
8. Kentucky
9. Alabama
10. Texas
11. Ohio State
12. Ole Miss
13. Texas Tech
14. Wake Forest
15. LSU
16. Tennessee
17. Houston
18. USC
19. Missouri
20. Boise State
21. Iowa
22. New Mexico
23. South Carolina
24. Arizona
25. Florida
Others receiving votes: Northwestern 79, Oregon 55, UTSA 43, SMU 27, Virginia Tech 12, Duke 10, Minnesota 8, Liberty 4, Oklahoma State 3, Louisville 1
Olson writes for the Associated Press.
ATLANTA — Two years after Kamala Harris lost the presidential election to Donald Trump, she still delights Democratic donors and activists with jabs against him, saying the Republican is “callous, corrupt and incompetent” and calling him the “decorator in chief” for his White House renovations and gold adornments.
The former vice president also has plenty to say about what her party, the electorate and the country should do next as she also considers whether to run again.
“This is the moment where we turn that anger into action,” Harris said more than once during a busy schedule in the final stretch of the midterm campaign.
Harris campaigned for candidates across seven states, ending with a recent two-day visit to Georgia. It was, in part, the kind of nostalgic tour seen from Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — two-term presidents whose last campaigns are behind them — and the barnstorming from potential future contenders such as Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
As the first Black woman elected to nationwide office, Harris urged fellow Black Americans to “honor the ancestors” with their votes. She also said she has become unapologetically “transactional” by demanding more from politicians.
Harris, a U.S. senator and attorney general from California before joining Joe Biden on the 2020 ticket, also pushed fellow Democrats to govern aggressively and she called for “structural work” that she said was necessary to reinvigorate American democracy: Supreme Court expansion, statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and reconsideration of the electoral college.
“I think she’s hitting all the right notes,” said Melinda Johnson, a retired nurse who attended a Fulton County Democratic Party fundraising gala that Harris headlined in Atlanta.
Harris made it to early presidential primary states, including Nevada, New Hampshire and Michigan. She also went to Mississippi, not exactly a hotbed of presidential politics, on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Scott Colom.
“The South is in play,” she said. “When Democrats invest in the South, we can win in the South.”
In Georgia, Harris delved into civil rights history as she accused the U.S. Supreme Court of “backdoor racism” with its decision to gut the Voting Rights Act and allow Republicans to redraw boundaries for congressional districts that now elect nonwhite lawmakers.
“Ruthlessness” is key, she said at the Democratic dinner in Atlanta. “Not ruthlessness in the sense of cruelty … but in our willingness to use our power to deliver on our commitments.” Democrats, she said, “can no longer let process stand in the way of progress.”
Throughout her stops, Harris nodded implicitly to her loss to Trump.
“You know we’ve been spending the last year and a half, so many of us, going through a range of emotions,” she told students. “Anger, depression, sadness, frustration, a sense of helplessness and powerlessness.”
Warning that Trump could try to meddle in Tuesday’s election, she echoed one of the president’s mantras to encourage people to vote.
“In this case,” she said at Atlanta’s Elizabeth Baptist Church, “we just need to turn out in really large numbers that would be too big to rig.”
Barrow writes for the Associated Press.
FORMER Coronation Street actress Georgia May Foote looked stunning as she playfully posed in a green bikini.
The star has been enjoying a getaway in Dubai and wowed her followers by opting for the colourful two-piece.
Georgia, 35, showed off her killer curves and had a white sarong to cover up whilst taking a stroll on her holiday.
She added to her post: “Swipe for a happy happy girl.”
Her brunette locks fell in front of her face as she left her followers wowing with the jaw-dropping snaps.
Georgia’s trip away comes just weeks after she went public with her new boyfriend following her sudden marriage split last year.
The star split from her husband Kris Evans last year but she has now moved on for good.
Georgia has been romancing a top record producer who has worked with the likes of Aitch and Central Cee.
Taras Slusarenko, who goes by LiTek online, was unveiled by The Sun after he swept Georgia off her feet.
Taras, who is originally from Russia, lives just outside of Manchester and around 30 minutes from where Georgia resides.
Talking of the new romance, a source revealed to The Sun: “Georgia met Taras earlier this year at a running club and they’ve been smitten ever since.
“He has brought the smile back on her face and they’re in a bubble together.”
ATLANTA — Keisha Lance Bottoms talks a lot about the policies she would pursue as Georgia governor. The Democratic nominee is less likely to talk about the history she would make by winning the job.
Never has a Black woman been elected governor in any state. The former Atlanta mayor and onetime White House adviser to Democratic President Biden is trying to do it in a Deep South state where her lineage extends back to antebellum enslavement.
“I am at least a fifth-generation Georgian,” Bottoms, 56, says as she campaigns. “I say ‘at least’ because we can only trace our family back five generations to a plantation in Crawfordville.”
Bottoms rarely if ever mentions slavery, Jim Crow segregation or even race explicitly. But that story — hers, Georgia’s and the nation’s — shadows her battle with Republican nominee Rick Jackson.
The billionaire, a 72-year-old white man who grew up in Atlanta but now lives on a sprawling suburban estate, has hammered the former mayor as a failure, painting her four-year tenure as a crime-ridden decline. Other Republicans, up to Donald Trump, have joined in, with the president accusing Bottoms of ruining a once-great city.
“It’s a long-standing playbook to paint Atlanta as this big bad place,” Bottoms said, dismissing the Republican frame as ridiculous for a town that once hosted the Olympics and recently staged eight World Cup soccer matches.
One of her most recent ads pushes back by featuring clips of the news conference she held with the city’s law enforcement leaders during the peak of 2020 street protests of police violence in Atlanta and nationwide against Black men. “If you care about this city, then go home,” she said. “We are better than this.”
Bottoms would have her chance to answer Trump and Republicans at a rally Wednesday headlined by Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president.
Republican coalitions in most states, and certainly in Georgia, are overwhelmingly white and anchored in suburbs, smaller cities and small towns. Those are places where many voters look skeptically, even scornfully, upon big cities and the people who run them. But some of the rhetoric directed against Bottoms is steeped in the specter of race and gender in a state where all 83 governors since 1776 have been white men.
Jackson’s TV ads, a deluge funded by more than $200 million of his own money, feature footage of the demonstrations and violence in Atlanta in 2020, along with grainy images of Bottoms. The protests followed the police killing of Rayshard Brooks, an unarmed Black man, by a white Atlanta police officer.
The Republican campaign effort has not gone unnoticed among some Bottoms supporters, especially other Black women.
“It’s easy for people to attack Atlanta and Mayor Bottoms based on their own biases,” said retired educator Beverly Rice, a Bottoms supporter.
Bottoms’ bid marks the third consecutive time that Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman for governor. Stacey Abrams lost in 2018 and 2022 to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who is leaving office in 2027 after eight years due to term limits. Abrams came as close to winning a governor’s race as any Black woman before her.
In an interview, Abrams was reluctant to assign race and gender as the deciding factor in her defeats. But she said Black women running for governor face a higher bar because there is no example yet for voters who place a special emphasis on executive experience. Abrams, also an Atlantan, had served previously as state House minority leader, a role Republicans minimized as insufficient experience.
Abrams said that executive standard “does not apply equally across candidates” in politics. She said Bottoms “has a sound argument” because she has held the executive’s role. Before that, Bottoms was a City Council member, magistrate judge and prosecutor. That resume, Abrams and others said, is why Republicans have so aggressively criticized Bottoms’ experience.
“Bad mayors don’t make good governors,” Jackson has said over and over in the closing stretch of the campaign.
He has taken special notice of her decision not to run for a second term as mayor, instead joining Biden’s White House as a senior adviser – a move Bottoms said she deliberately put off to finish her four-year term. In Jackson’s telling, Bottoms “turned her back on Atlanta.”
Other conservatives have gone further than Jackson.
“Keisha Lance Bottoms let Atlanta burn,” top Jackson surrogate John King, a former Atlanta police officer and now state insurance commissioner, sometimes says at the candidate’s rallies.
That is a reference to protesters setting fire to a Wendy’s fast food restaurant close to where Brooks was killed. The reference carries an extra weight in a city whose symbol is a phoenix rising from the ashes — a symbol adopted because Union forces burned parts of a young Atlanta during the Civil War.
At a Trump rally last weekend in Macon, a smaller city in middle Georgia, the president hammered away, too. Bottoms “destroyed Atlanta with her crime and filth and constant riots,” Trump said, echoing the kind of sometimes profane attacks he has leveled against many places with large or majority Black populations.
“I always viewed Atlanta as a great city,” he insisted. “It’s not considered that anymore.”
In a 2017 dispute with then-U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Trump called the civil rights icon’s district, which includes Delta Airlines’ and Coca-Cola’s world headquarters and the Georgia Institute of Technology, “crime-infested” and said it was “falling apart.”
Atlanta did see a crime spike during Bottoms’ tenure, but it was not an outlier alongside the COVID-19 pandemic surge across the country, according to federal statistics. After the pandemic waned, U.S. and Atlanta crime rates dropped significantly. Bottoms did sign an executive order blocking the Atlanta jail from holding federal immigration detainees.
Republicans have exaggerated her action on bail. Bottoms signed a city ordinance that eliminated cash bail for certain nonviolent crimes, intending to reduce the jail’s population and what she and other city officials deemed excessive punishment for low-grade offenses.
Her latest advertising retort follows a surge of fundraising that she did not have throughout Jackson’s summer advertising onslaught. “When a national crisis poured into Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms stood up,” a voice-over says.
Besides her exhortation for people to leave the streets, the mother of four said, “Above everything else, I am a mother, so you are not going to out-concern me and out-care about where we are.”
Her aides see the ad — and the reality of how she handled the matter in real time — as depicting a political figure who is tough and empathetic, aware of public safety concerns and the realities for Black Americans.
But Bottoms’ advisers, and the candidate herself, also say they want Georgians to make their decisions on tangible policy distinctions, most notably her emphasis on addressing economic struggles and expanding Medicaid insurance eligibility — a move that would reach urban and rural populations across racial lines.
That is the point of the governor’s office, said Rice, the retired educator.
“I have 100% faith that she can win if people just judge her with their values,” she said. “I don’t look at her and see a ‘Black governor.’ I see a governor for all the people.”
Barrow writes for the Associated Press.
The sons of Snoop Dogg, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jon Bon Jovi and John Mellencamp all gave big-time football the old college try. None made a big impact on the field.
Maybe Bo Bryan, son of country music superstar and “American Idol” host Luke Bryan, will be the first to do so. A three-star quarterback from a mid-sized private high school in Tennessee, Bryan announced on Sunday that he has committed to Georgia, telling Rivals “it was literally a dream come true.”
Although landing a roster spot at a major college is a noteworthy achievement under any circumstances, Bryan faces steep odds. Georgia, a perennial top-10 program and national championship contender, typically recruits passers of Matthew Stafford-level pedigree. Stafford, the current Rams quarterback and slam-dunk Hall of Famer, was the first pick in the NFL draft out of Georgia in 2008.
Bryan, currently sidelined with a broken collarbone, is ranked No. 141 nationally at his position in the 247/Sports Composite. His scholarship offers were from small-school FCS programs such as Tennessee Martin, Austin Peay and North Alabama.
It’s not surprising that the Bulldogs carved out a roster spot for Bryan. His family has been Georgia fans for decades and his coach at the Franklin, Tenn., Battle Ground Academy is a longtime friend of Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. As a child, Bryan attended camps run by Georgia head coach Kirby Smart.
“I remember being at games and my parents holding me,” Bryan told On3. “I’ve always been a Georgia fan.”
Bobo called with the offer, and Bryan gave the answer he had already rehearsed.
“I told myself, are we going to shoot for the stars at a place like Georgia, or are we going to stay in the FCS or potentially a smaller FBS school?” he said. “Eventually, I told myself, just shoot for the stars.”
Bryan is hardly the first child of a rich and famous music superstar to take a stab at high-level college football, with the mid-2010s experiencing a rush of attempts.
Cordell Broadus, son of rapper and cultural icon Snoop Dogg, was a four-star receiver at Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High, and his 2015 recruitment by UCLA was considered a coup. However, he quit before the season started, gave it another shot the following spring and quit again before the 2016 season began.
“He’s going to pursue other passions in his life and we encourage that,” UCLA coach Jim Mora said.
Broadus’ attempt came on the heels of a four-year stint at UCLA by Justin Dior Combs, the son of music mogul Diddy. The 5-foot-7, 170-pound defensive back saw limited times on special teams and was credited with four career tackles. Combs graduated from UCLA with a degree in sociology.
Meanwhile, Jesse Bongiovi, son of rock musician Jon Bon Jovi, spent the 2013-2016 seasons as a walk-on defensive back at Notre Dame. He appeared in one game in each of his four seasons and was credited with one tackle.
Still another son of a popular musician to suit up for major college football was Hud Mellencamp, a two-time Golden Gloves boxing champion in Indiana who walked on as a wide receiver at Duke. He appeared in two games in 2014 and one in 2015, making zero receptions, and graduated with a degree in history.
Bryan will be competing against a Georgia quarterback commit with more traditional bloodlines: Colton Nussmeier, whose brother Garrett is a backup quarterback with the Kansas City Chiefs after a standout career at LSU. Their father, Doug, is offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints.
Whether Bo Bryan eventually fulfills his lifelong dream of succeeding on the Georgia gridiron, he is likely to make a mark in business if his predecessors are a fair indication.
Hud Mellencamp is president and co-founder of Mellencamp Whiskey Company. Bongiove is co-founder of the Hampton Water Wine Co. Combs is an actor who starred in Power Book II: Ghost and was co-host of the popular interview series, “Respectfully Justin.” Broadus is the creative director of Snoop Dogg’s ice cream company Dr. Bombay.
Wirestock/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
President Trump said Saturday that Volkswagen’s (VWAGY) (VLKAF) Audi subsidiary plans to build a $4.2B assembly plant in Georgia that will produce 200K SUVs annually.
Volkswagen (VWAGY) (VLKAF) will build the new plant in Macon, Georgia, to manufacture the Audi
WASHINGTON — President Trump is hoping that $5,000 checks can juice Republican turnout in November’s midterm elections — but even some of his devoted fans are doubting that government payouts would arrive.
“I mean, I guess it’s good for some people. I really don’t care,” said Jamie Alvarez, who attended Trump’s recent Alaska rally in a red, white and blue outfit. “I don’t feel like your vote should be bought. I feel like you should vote for who you feel is going to do the best job.”
Joseph Eatherton was attending that same rally and said he was “not sure if it’s necessary.” When asked whether Trump could deliver on the promised money, he said, “I don’t know, and I hate being an armchair quarterback.”
The offering of government checks has become a go-to tactic for Trump when he faces a political jam. He’s previously endorsed $2,000 in dividends from tariff revenues and large refunds from spending cuts achieved by the Department of Government Efficiency, neither of which materialized. The latest example could reveal how much voters still trust Trump as they decide control of Congress in the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
Staunch supporters such as Lucy Martinez, the president of a Republican women’s club who attended a recent Trump rally in Texas, said there’s no doubt in their minds.
“I think that I will get the $5,000,” she said. Out of all the presidents, Trump is someone “who kept his promises to his people and all the United States.”
However, many voters are already embittered by his economic leadership. His critics see a president who failed to tame inflation and keep America out of overseas conflicts, and whose agenda has fueled higher prices as the war with Iran appears to be at a stalemate.
“The trust on this is already gone for most people,” said Amy Frederiksen, a former Republican Minnesota Senate majority leader who now runs a public affairs firm.
“I just don’t see the energy around that line,” she added. “Most people know that’s a blatant over-the-top promise like several he’s made in the last couple of years, and they’re not buying it.”
As the midterms approach, Trump has also pledged a $90 payment to 20 million Medicare enrollees and $500 “rebates” for people the administration says were overcharged for their Obamacare plans. He has automatically enrolled every U.S. child in “Trump accounts” to invest in stocks.
The $5,000 payouts would only occur, Trump says, if Republicans keep their majorities in the House and Senate. Trump acknowledges that the cost would exceed $1 trillion, but it’s not clear that the White House is seriously engaging with the proposal’s ramifications, from the increased deficit to the likely boost to inflation.
The White House said the payments are possible because of Trump’s trade deals, investment commitments by foreign countries, government stakes in private companies and deals for oil and minerals.
The administration’s position is that the payments will help people recover from the inflation that began in 2021 under then-President Joe Biden, though Republicans, at the time, attributed that inflation to excessive government checks tied to pandemic relief.
When The Associated Press asked several weeks ago if the administration was modeling the economic impact from the checks, Christopher Phelan, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said he would “refrain” from answering.
Roughly half of registered voters say Donald Trump does not keep his promises to Americans, according to an AP-NORC poll from September. About 3 in 10 say Trump tries to keep his promises but is unable to, while only about 2 in 10 say he keeps his promises.
Republican voters are more accommodating. About half say Trump tries to keep his promises but is unable to, and about 4 in 10 say he keeps his promises.
Trump is talking about the payments as a sure thing.
“If the Republicans win, you’ll each have $5,000 in your pocket and economic success for our country like we have never seen before,” he said at a Saturday rally in Kentucky. “And remember, ’cause they like to say, ‘Oh, well, maybe he won’t do that.’ Uh, I always do it.”
Campaign spending tracked by AdImpact suggests that Republicans are not running advertisements either on television or online about the promise. The few advertisements that do exist are from pro-Democratic groups such as Rolling Sea Action Fund that conclude with the voiceover, “Come on, do you really think he’s sending you a check? Yeah, right, we won’t get fooled again.”
At a Friday rally in Georgia, Trump noted that he had previously delivered a $1,776 “Trump dividend” to troops in the military. But those payments came from a congressionally approved housing supplement.
Trump claims the nation could not afford the payments if Democrats hold a chamber in Congress because the nation would be “flat broke.” But he said that one caveat is that the money could only be spent in the U.S., rather than in China, Japan or France. He joked that people should spend the check at his luxury club in Palm Beach, Florida.
“Let’s have lunch at Mar-a-Lago, where for $5,000, you’ll get one hamburger and a small dessert,” he told the crowd in Georgia.
Some in the crowd took Trump at his word that he would fight to get them the money. But they added the caveat that if he didn’t come through, it would not be his fault.
“I could use $5,000,” said Mike Boatman, a 58-year-old from Evansville, Indiana, who travels the country attending the president’s rallies. “I mean, he’s done everything he’s said he’s going to do.”
Boak, Bohrer and Barrow write for the Associated Press. Bohrer reported from Wasilla, Alaska, and Barrow reported from Dalton, Georgia. AP reporters Aaron Kessler and Linley Sanders in Washington and Lekan Oyekanmi in San Antonio, Texas, contributed to this report.
DANNY Jones shared an affectionate moment with his wife Georgia Horsley at the Pride of Britain Awards after she stood by him through their marriage woes.
The married McFly singer, 40, was caught snogging Love Island star and TV presenter Maura Higgins at the BRIT Awards afterparty in 2025.
This led to Danny publicly apologising to Georgia after the drunken kiss – with his wife of 10 years agreeing to stand by him.
Showing they’re united, Georgia and Danny shared a clip of them posing together on the red carpet.
The pair shared a get ready with me clip with Georgia stunning in a burgundy dress and Danny opting for an all black suit.
Danny captioned the post: “Last night at Pride of Britain Awards we celebrated the courageous & extraordinary.
“In what can be a very scary world sometimes it’s so important to acknowledge the kindness & selflessness of these individuals.
“Truly inspiring stories and even more incredible & inspiring humans.
“Be kind, always.”
Meanwhile, Maura – who is currently competing on Dancing With the Stars in the US – was thousands of miles away.
On Sunday, Maura sizzled in a white PVC skintight bodysuit and corset as she attended the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Los Angeles.
The Sun revealed how Danny and Maura, who appeared together in I’m A Celeb last year, shared a brief kiss during Universal Music’s Brit Awards.
The duo then travelled separately to the five-star Nobu Hotel for more drinks.
Last March, Danny made his emotional statement on Instagram, and showed his regret for putting his loved ones “in this situation.”
The dad-of-one, who shares son Cooper with Georgia, 38, wrote: “Hello everyone.
“Sorry it’s taken me a while to post this but I’ve taken some time out to be with those closest to me.
“I want to deeply apologise to my wife and family for putting them in this situation.
“I love them so much and we’ll continue to deal with this privately.”
Danny continued: “I love you guys, thank you for your patience, understanding and support.
“See you all soon, Danny.”
At the time, pals previously said that Danny was keen to draw a line under the scandal, which saw him holding crisis talks with Georgia, his wife of ten years.
A friend said: “Danny wants to draw a line in the sand and move on.
“He has talked with Georgia, and they just want to carry on with their lives.
“His actions were incredibly embarrassing, and he has expressed how much he regrets it.
“Now is the time to move past it and try and get back to normal.”
It came after it was claimed Georgia had issued The Voice panelist with a “final warning.”
By Will Weissert and Seung Min Kim
WASHINGTON — President Trump signaled Friday that his embattled new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, may be on her way out — a mere week after he picked her for the post.
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn as he left for a rally in Georgia, Trump said he’d spoken to Zacharia and that he felt she didn’t deserve what he called negative media coverage.
Recounting what was said in that conversation, the president suggested that Zacharia might not stay on the job for long: “I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy.’”
He added: “I said, ‘Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this,’” and that he wanted “her to have a good life” and not be subjected to criticism, which he likened to being “brutalized by the media.”
The president said he’d make a final determination later, perhaps after his campaign travel on Friday and this weekend, adding, “When I get back, we’re gonna talk.”
Zacharia’s short tenure has been defined by questions about her professional background and lack of polish in fielding questions from journalists.
She was a surprise choice when Trump announced her appointment on Oct. 9, as the successor to Karoline Leavitt, the youngest-ever White House press secretary who had been part of Trump’s inner circle for years.
Zacharia came under immediate scrutiny when she appeared uncomfortable during her inaugural briefing, delivering halting remarks touting the president and his accomplishments.
She took questions from just three reporters, all from conservative-leaning or Trump-friendly outlets, and left after only about 14 minutes.
Zacharia has said she wanted to keep her briefing short to ensure Trump had enough time later that morning for his own question-and-answer session with reporters, and that she had not been fully briefed by White House staff beforehand.
She later traveled with Trump when he held rallies on Wednesday and Thursday in Alaska, Arizona and Montana — but did not hold more press briefings.
In an appearance on Fox News Channel earlier Friday, Zacharia was asked if she had the president’s confidence and responded: “I hope to be able to build the trust and confidence of everyone around me.”
But she also wouldn’t say when her next press briefing might be.
Zacharia, a Pepperdine University law graduate, also faced criticism for calling herself a “lawyer” when she had not passed a bar exam or was otherwise credentialed to practice.
She had described herself as such when appearing as a commentator on conservative television outlets. Zacharia said the term was a proper one to use when she was offering legal analysis, and said she had worked as a lawyer in China.
Zacharia said Friday on Fox News that she wasn’t asked about passing the bar before becoming press secretary, and Trump noted in his subsequent comments that she was hired as a spokesperson for the White House, not as an attorney.
Before joining the White House, Zacharia had been working in communications for Trump Media, the company that oversees the president’s social media site, Truth Social. She also briefly worked at the Department of Homeland Security during the second Trump administration.
Weissert and Kim write for the Associated Press.
Stanway’s strikes in the last five days capped off a season in which she finished as England’s top scorer and netted 11 times in her last 11 matches.
She also ranks inside the top three for most goals scored by European players in international football since Euro 2025.
While Wiegman was frustrated by her side’s lack of ruthlessness in Greece, Stanway always looked dangerous and made sure she got on the scoresheet.
It felt inevitable she would join in the fun in Leicester when Alessia Russo and Lauren James grabbed a double each.
Stanway came close to matching them when the Arsenal midfielder coolly took control of a long ball inside the box with one deft touch and, with the second, fired it powerfully into the bottom corner.
It would have been the perfect strike to mark an impressive few days but it was ruled out for offside, much to Wiegman’s dismay.
“She is always so eager to go towards goal. She has that tenacity in her,” said the England boss when asked about Stanway’s goalscoring form.
“She is always aggressive out of possession but also in possession. She scored a great header and controlled that really good ball from Alex Greenwood.
“That was really good athleticism and composure. Unfortunately that was disallowed but it was really good!
“Football is about scoring goals, but also playing in the pockets, keeping the ball and connecting with other players – and I was happy with her [doing those].”
Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis told BBC Radio 5 Live that Stanway was “unplayable at times” against Greece on Tuesday night.
She won all her tackles, had a 90% passing accuracy rate, took four shots, scored once and had another disallowed.
It was also a slightly different role for Stanway for most of the match as she played more as a right winger after changes in the midfield.
“She has something different to others,” Wiegman told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“She is goal-orientated, has a great shot and the disallowed goal showed her great mobility and athleticism.
“When you really need a fight, or a duel, or a counter-attack breaking up, she is there. She is a warrior who you can play a possession game with too.”
One person has died and several others were injured in an incident at Six Flags ‘Over Georgia’ theme park near Atlanta. Witnesses reported seeing a man fall from the Goliath rollercoaster, but authorities have not confirmed how the person died.
Published On 13 Oct 202613 Oct 2026
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By Eric OlsonAP College Football Writer
NEW YORK — UCLA jumped to No. 12 in the latest Associated Press top 25 poll following its upset of Oregon and USC retained its No. 19 ranking following its win at hostile Penn State.
The poll saw many changes following a Saturday filled with upsets.
Georgia moved up to No. 1 after its win at Alabama, Texas dropped six spots to No. 7 after its loss to rival Oklahoma and Oregon was unranked for the first time in four years after losing for the second time in the past month.
The Bulldogs, who had been No. 2 for five straight polls while rolling off five straight lopsided wins, went on the road and beat Alabama 20-17 with the help of what appeared to be a missed pass interference call in the end zone late in the game.
Georgia received 66 first-place votes from the panel of 70 media members after its first victory in Tuscaloosa since 2014 and ascended to the top of the poll for the first time since Sept. 8, 2024.
Notre Dame, which tuned up for this week’s top-10 matchup at BYU with a 58-7 rout of Stanford, moved up one spot to No. 2. The Fighting Irish got one first-place vote and have their highest ranking since they were No. 2 in the final poll of the 2024 season.
No. 3 Miami, which received two first-place votes, is followed by Ohio State and Indiana. The Hoosiers, who received the remaining first-place vote, got a two-spot promotion after their narrow win at Nebraska.
Alabama remained No. 6, and Texas, BYU, Mississippi and Texas Tech completed the top 10.
Oregon came into the season with its highest preseason ranking ever at No. 2. The Ducks’ turnover-fueled 17-15 home loss to UCLA dropped them to 3-2 and knocked them out of the poll for the first time since they went from No. 11 to unranked following a 49-3 loss to Georgia in the 2022 opener.
No. 12 UCLA and No. 15 Kentucky got the biggest promotions. The Bruins moved up nine spots with their win over Oregon, and the Wildcats went from unranked to No. 15 with their 35-34 overtime win over LSU, which dropped from No. 10 to No. 22.
In: Kentucky, which dropped out last week after beating South Carolina, is back in the poll with its highest ranking since early October 2022.
In: No. 21 Wake Forest is 5-1 and ranked for the first time since late October 2022.
In: No. 25 Northwestern, at 4-1, earned its first ranking under fourth-year coach David Braun.
Out: Oregon hasn’t lost two of its first five games since the 2016 team opened 2-5 and finished 4-8.
Out: Florida has gone from No. 8 to No. 16 to out of the rankings in two weeks following its 38-19 home loss to South Carolina.
Out: Pittsburgh managed just one touchdown on eight second-half possessions in a 21-17 home loss to North Carolina.
— This is the second time in three years there have been three or more No. 1 teams in the first six polls. Georgia, Texas and Alabama took turns holding the top spot in the first six polls in 2024. The only other time in the Top 25 era that three teams had been No. 1 at this point of a season was 1990.
— Notre Dame and Miami, dubbed “Catholic vs. Convicts” rivals since their classic game in 1988, haven’t been together in the top three since Nov. 9, 1993.
— Texas’ six-spot fall from No. 1 to No. 7 matched its drop following a season-opening loss to Ohio State last year.
SEC (9 ranked teams): No. 1 Georgia, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Texas, No. 9 Mississippi, No. 13 Missouri, No. 14 Tennessee, No. 15 Kentucky, No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 22 LSU.
Big Ten (6): No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Indiana, No. 12 UCLA, No. 17 Iowa, No. 19 USC, No. 25 Northwestern.
Big 12 (5): No. 8 BYU, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 11 Utah, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 20 Houston.
ACC (3): No. 3 Miami, No. 21 Wake Forest, No. 24 SMU.
Pac-12 (1): No. 23 Boise State.
Independent (1): No. 3 Notre Dame.
Olson writes for the Associated Press.
ATLANTA — Not long ago, Georgia gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson eagerly compared himself to his fellow billionaire in the Oval Office. He promised to be Donald Trump “with a Southern tone.” And sharing a summer rally stage, Jackson pointed at the president and declared, “I’m going to be this man’s favorite governor.”
On the debate stage this week with his Democratic opponent, however, Jackson discussed Trump only when Keisha Lance Bottoms brought him up. And he assured his audience that he’d “stand up to anybody.”
Jackson is not alone in his recalibration: Republican nominees for Senate, the U.S. House and governor’s offices across the country are sidestepping President Trump or openly distancing themselves as they debate before Election Day.
Those tactics, not unlike Republicans scrubbing Trump from their campaign websites, are the latest signs of how much Trump’s standing has fallen because of voters’ frustration with inflation, the Iran war and other matters. And the dynamics highlight the perilous options many Republicans face as they try to stitch together winning coalitions that go beyond Trump’s core supporters.
“Republicans right now are facing a voter turnout problem” in their own party, said GOP pollster Paul Shumaker, and must win “unaffiliated voters” who care most about the economy.
“You have to have something significant to change this narrative,” Shumaker said. But, he explained, that means “a significant victory in Iran” and seismic economic improvements — not something any Republican midterm candidate can force from behind a debate podium.
Some Republicans are taking specific positions at odds with the president.
Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers said in his debate Thursday with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed that he’d urged the White House privately to reach a trade deal with Canada and end the president’s tariffs. Canada is Michigan’s largest trading partner, as it is for many Great Lakes and Midwestern states.
Days before, Rogers unveiled a new ad in which he said, “We know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end the tariff war — now.”
That’s a noticeable departure from Rogers’ earlier, less specific statements praising Trump’s “America First” economic agenda while saying tariffs are not a “one-size-fits-all” solution.
Another Michigan Republican, Rep. Tom Barrett, already had bucked the president by voting for a war powers resolution intended to assert congressional authority over military actions in Iran. But debating Democrat Will Lawrence in their central Michigan district, Barrett added a criticism of Trump’s rhetoric Monday in Nebraska, where he floated the possibility of Iran attacking San Diego and Los Angeles.
The president mentioned those cities as part of his argument that higher gas prices because of his Iran war are a “small price to pay” to keep the country safe. But Democrats seized on the remarks, some insisting that Trump was calling for Iran to attack U.S. cities.
Barrett was asked whether Trump’s words were acceptable. Given the opportunity to echo the White House explanation that Trump was offhandedly mentioning a worst-case scenario he was trying to prevent, Barrett offered no defense.
“Nope,” he said flatly.
Reflecting the complex electoral balance, most Republicans have attempted to separate themselves without naming any firm difference with the president.
Running for a promotion to the Senate, Iowa U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson tried in her debate Wednesday against Democrat Josh Turek to reconcile her earlier promises to be a Trump ally in Congress’s upper chamber. She said it would be “really easy” to keep her word and still be bipartisan — a buzz word she’s already been featuring in her campaign.
“I’ll be President Donald Trump’s ally when it is important for Iowa, but I will push back on him — he knows this, because I talk to him regularly — on things that are wrong for our state,” she said. “That’s true no matter who’s in the White House. That’s true no matter who is governing and who has the gavel.”
That’s the same path Jackson took in Georgia, as he pivoted away from Trump by embracing outgoing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who has clashed with the president, starting with Trump’s false claims that he won Georgia in the 2020 presidential election.
“I will stand up to anybody, just like Brian Kemp has done,” Jackson said.
Another Republican House member, Mike Lawler of New York, made a point of name-checking a Democratic colleague, New Jersey’s Josh Gottheimer, and discussing bills they’d work on together. It was part of his argument that he’s able to challenge Trump and the party line.
“When I agree with the president I say it. When I disagree with the president, I say it,” he said in his closing remarks.
Hinson, meanwhile, referenced bills she’s worked on in the House that have been signed into law by both President Joe Biden and Trump.
But she also avoided criticizing Trump when asked about the president sending Affordable Care Act rebate checks to some Americans and promising a $5,000 bonus after the midterm elections if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate.
She said she “cares very deeply” about making sure Congress maintains the power of the purse and thinks it’s important to “live better within our means.”
Regardless of the Republican efforts, Democrats have continued peppering them with attacks and retorts about Trump. The most heated moments came when Democrat Cait Conley repeatedly said Lawler always voted with Trump.
“No matter how many times you say 100% of the time,” the congressman answered, “it’s provably false.”
When Rogers conceded in his back-and-forth with El-Sayed that the administration “probably” made errors in its mass deportation strategy, the Democrat answered swiftly.
“He said it was probably not right. I mean, it’s definitely not right,” El-Sayed said. “They killed two people.”
And while Georgia’s Jackson seemed uncomfortable talking about Trump, Bottoms was more than happy to mention him.
“I’m not running to be his favorite governor,” she said. “I’m running to work on behalf of people like you.” ___ Associated Press reporters Joey Cappelletti in Washington; Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa; and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
Barrow writes for the Associated Press.
Watch highlights as Northern Ireland end the extended window with a 0-0 Nations League draw against Georgia at Windsor Park.
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With this new four-game window presenting something different for managers across Europe to tackle, a myriad of approaches emerged.
Germany boss Jurgen Klopp named virtually two separate squads for his side’s two pairs of games, while Ukraine made 10 changes between their first two games and then nine for their defeat by Northern Ireland.
Having spoken before the start of the campaign about how the condensed schedule would be more difficult for smaller nations, O’Neill kept changes to a minimum.
He started only 15 different players across the four games with two of his changes enforced by Ballard’s injury and Ethan Galbraith’s absence against Ukraine to attend the birth of his child.
Despite the relatively small pool of starters, this still feels like a window when Northern Ireland’s depth was tested and passed with flying colours.
O’Neill was without talisman Bradley and the reliable Ali McCann coming into the window, and then lost Ballard to a hamstring injury after the first game in Tbilisi.
Young centre-backs McConville, 21, and Tom Atcheson, 20, looked ready to play at this level, while Ciaron Brown started all four games and drew plaudits having often had to bide his time in past squads.
Kieran Morrison, Terry Devlin and Brodie Spencer all impressed when given a chance against Ukraine.
O’Neill’s praise for his squad is across the board.
“For me it’s been one of the most enjoyable windows I’ve had as an international manager, and that’s been because of the players,” said O’Neill.
“How they’ve applied themselves, how desperate they are to do well, that’s a real positive.
“We’ve a brilliant group of players and a lot of them I think will play international football for a long time.”
