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Salfordian comedian Jason Manford was forced to defend himself when Royal Variety Performance viewers went in on him after he hosted the annual televised charity event

Jason Manford got defensive on social media when Royal Variety Performance viewers slated him on social media after it was aired on Sunday. Salford native Jason, 44, hosted the annual charity event, which saw the Prince and Princess of Wales enjoy the show.

But Jason Manford appeared to divide opinion with his jokes about class, opening the show with a quip about his kids being middle class, after he was brought up as a working class lad. Kicking off proceedings on the ITV show, Jason stated: “I’ve created monsters,” before explaining his kids refused warm ‘smashed avocado’, joking that it was actually mushy peas from the chippy.

Although his comedy seemed to go down well with the royals, even getting a chuckle from the Prince of Wales, viewers at home were more critical of the comedian. One viewer commented on social media: “Can’t believe Jason Manford is rehashing all this stuff about his brother and class. Been doing it for years #royalvariety.” Another added: “Nice enough bloke but he ain’t that funny. #RoyalVarietyPerformance.”

A third viewer wrote: “You complete ****hole! 99% of Uk can’t stand u!!” But Jason wasn’t accepting any negativity, replying to the unhinged comment: “Merry Christmas mate.” Not letting go, the viewer added: “You jumped up halibut! You’re a pauper in most eyes!” Jason responded: “And a Happy New Year xx”

Another viewer – who also had no profile picture – commented: “It would be better if he did not shout so much.” On one, Jason added: “It’s a a big room sweetie.”

Someone else commented that they thought Jason is being eyed up for the Strictly job, to which Jason joked: “Funnily no one has called, unless it’s a surprise to me too.” Oblivious, another viewer replied: “No one will either.” Jason got shirty, hitting back: “That was the joke f*** face.”

When another fan commented that Jason was “smashing it”, a disgruntled viewer replied: “We must be watching different shows,” to which Jason said: “Maybe you’re just not in the mood.”

But for every critic, there was praise for Jason’s hosting skills. One viewer posted: “You’re brilliant on Royal Variety! Definitely need to host again next year!” Others realised they’d caught feelings, with one typing: “How good does @JasonManford look!!! I mean DAMMN the crush I have on him wasn’t on the bingo card for 2025 #RoyalVarietyPerformance”

The event, which was recorded in November at the Royal Albert Hall, but aired on Sunday, raises funds for the Royal Variety Charity. The organisation supports entertainers and their families facing hardship and poverty.

For this year’s show, Westlife performed World Of Our Own ahead of their huge tour in their matching black suits and bowties. It was followed by a special performance from the Live Aid musical ‘Just For One Day’ followed, with Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure making an appearance to tell the story.

Stephen Fry appeared as Lady Bracknell from The Importance of Being Earnest, while Jessie J performed an emotional version of her track I’ll Never Know Why. Elsewhere, Britain’s Got Talent winner Harry Moulding performed an trick with the help of members of the audience, while Strictly’s Johannes Radebe led a performance from musical Kinky Boots.

Impressionists followed, with impressions of political leaders including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson, while Jason went on to take part in a panto section. The show concluded with a Les Misérables performance, which saw 400 performers, including Michael Ball, Matt Lucas, Katy Secombe, Bradley Jaden and Killian Donnelly, mark the show’s 40th anniversary.

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Dec. 19 (UPI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was determined to continue the war in Ukraine until his conditions are met, which include taking Ukrainian territory.

Putin spoke at his annual press conference and touted Russia’s recent gains in the region.

“The strategic initiative is completely in the hands of the Russian forces,” Putin said. He added that Russia is “ready to end the conflict peacefully” if Ukraine cedes large areas of its eastern territories.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine won’t give up its land, which is set by the country’s constitution.

Russia has also demanded that Ukraine give up its bid to join NATO and said that if NATO members sent troops, Russia would view them as “legitimate targets.”

“The ball is entirely in the court of our Western opponents,” he said, adding that Russia had agreed to compromises proposed by the United States in its peace plan negotiated by the President Donald Trump administration.

Earlier this week, Zelensky was asked if Kyiv would give up its attempts to join NATO. He said Ukraine’s “position remains unchanged.”

“The United States don’t see us in NATO, for now,” he said. “Politicians change.”

European leaders have agreed to continue funding Ukraine in its fight against Russia with a two-year, $105 billion loan for munitions in the ongoing war.

European leaders couldn’t agree on their first choice to arm Ukraine using frozen Russian state assets to back the loan.

The plan to use frozen Russian assets fell apart in the final moments after Belgium pushed back, fearful that it would be at legal and financial risk. The bank holding the assets is in Belgium, and Russia has sued to block the plan.

European leaders announced Thursday that they will instead use money from the EU budget. The new plan could be more costly and difficult to mobilize.

Let the annals of this country show it was the murder of a Jewish couple on the first night of Hanukkah that showed how profoundly un-Christian Donald J. Trump is once and for all.

The prosecution rests, and there can no rebuttal: We are a nation led by President Meathead.

Except unlike the character of the same name famously played by Rob Reiner in “All In the Family,” our Meathead in chief lacks any sense of moral decency.

The weekend saw the tragic deaths of Hollywood legend Reiner and his wife, Michele. Their son, Nick Reiner, is currently in jail without bond and is facing murder charges. Normal people mourned the loss of a couple who delighted and improved the world with their creative and political work while trying to free Nick from the ravages of drug abuse and mental illness for most of his adult life.

Our president, of course, is not normal. He’s a weirdo who gets off on being mean. If there was a CruelHub, he’d be on it daily.

And so on the day after Romy Reiner found her parents’ bodies at their Brentwood home, Trump posted on social media that they died not due to stab wounds but “reportedly due to the anger [Rob] caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”

The president doubled down on his crocodile tears to reporters at the Oval Office the day after, claiming Reiner “was very bad for our country” without offering any proof and describing the director of big-hearted film classics like “When Harry Met Sally…” and “The Princess Bride” as “deranged.”

We’re in the middle of the holiday season, a time when people traditionally slow down their lives to take stock of their blessings during the coldest and darkest time of the year and try to spread cheer to friends and strangers alike.

But goodwill is simply impossible for Trump. Where a moment calls for grace, he offers ethical filth. When tragedies inspire charity in the hearts of good people, the president makes it about himself.

While Trump demanded all Americans speak no ill of Charlie Kirk in the wake of his assassination, he invited all to ridicule Reiner, whose apparent sin was criticizing our eminently criticizable president.

While everyone is rightfully focusing on the ugly attacks Trump launched against Reiner and his wife, also telling about the president’s soul was the address he gave at a White House reception marking Christmas and the start of Hanukkah hours before news broke of the Reiners’ murder.

Earlier that day, two gunmen killed 15 people who were celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia, in what authorities are describing as an antisemitic attack. The night before, someone killed two people at Brown University in a case that’s yet to be solved.

Trump offered lip service to those massacres before turning to the reason for the season:

Trump.

Actor, writer, director, producer and activist Rob Reiner photographed at his home in Brentwood in 2017.

(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

He insulted his predecessor, Joe Biden, and claimed his disastrous tariffs were paying off. He brought up Bryson DeChambeau so the U.S. Open golf champion could gush about how the president was a “great golfer [and] better human being.” The president plugged his planned arch for the nation’s capital that he claimed will “blow … away” the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. He bragged about winning over Latinos during the 2024 election — without mentioning that’s he’s already losing them, fast — and blasted the “fake news” for not appreciating the Christmas decorations of First Lady Melania Trump.

You would think Trump was running for president again instead of marking two important religious holidays. But Trump was being spiritual in a sense: he was practicing his true faith, which is smite.

The word and its conjugates appear hundreds of times in the Old Testament, spoken by an admittedly “jealous” God as he instructs the Israelites on how to treat their enemies, or used as a threat against the Israelites if they stray from his commands.

If Trump and his henchmen and henchwomen ever read the Bible, you might well bet they read only the parts that involved smiting.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth — he of the medieval cross chest tattoo — continues to play Solomon as he authorizes the bombing of boats off the coasts of South America that he insists are carrying drugs while offering no justification other than his will that it be done. Immigration agents indiscriminately pick up citizens and noncitizens alike in pursuit of remigration, the far-right movement to make minority groups return to their ancestral countries in the name of white makes right.

Twice, the Department of Homeland Security has invoked the Book of Isaiah in social media campaigns to justify its scorched-earth approach to booting people from the country. Specifically, they have cited a verse where the prophet tells God “Here I am, send me” as Yahweh calls for a messenger to warn heretics of the hell he will rain down on them unless they repent. The most recent clip starred Border Patrol commander at large Gregory Bovino, he who has spread Trump’s fire-and-brimstone gospel of deportation.

Smiting and annihilation are the Gospel of Trump and they do play a big role in the Bible. But their ultimate redemption for Christians is what we’re gearing up to celebrate next week: the birth of Christ, the Son of God who came to the world to preach one should love thy enemy, bless the meek, renounce wealth and a whole bunch of other woke stuff.

Trump may not be the literal anti-Christ, but Trump sure is anti-Christian. He stands for and embodies everything that Jesus decried.

More and more Christian thought leaders are starting to understand this about Trump the more he rages. In the wake of Trump’s selfish sliming of the Reiners, Christianity Today editor at large Russell Moore slammed his “vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior” while conservative commentator and longtime Trump apologist Rod Dreher wrote “something is very, very wrong with this man.”

That’s a start. But more evangelical Christians, 80% of whom voted for him in the 2024 election, need to finally repent of blindly supporting him. They, more than any other group, have excused Trump’s sins.

They often compare him to major figures from the Bible and Christian heroes from the past — King David, Cyrus the Great, Constantine — who were imperfect but still did God’s will.

That’s laughable. This man isn’t just imperfect. We’re all that.

No, Trump is more than imperfect. He is a throbbing mass of malevolence, turned up — to reference Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap” — to 11.

US President Donald Trump has said he is ordering a “a total and complete” blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into and out of Venezuela.

In a post on Truth Social, he said Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro’s government had been designated a foreign terrorist organisation and accused it of stealing US assets, as well as “Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking”.

“Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” he added.

His remarks came a week after the US seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. In a statement, Venezuela’s government said it rejected Trump’s “grotesque threat”.

In his post, Trump said Venezuela was “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America”.

He added that it will “only get bigger” and “be like nothing they have ever seen before”.

Trump also accused Maduro’s government of using stolen oil to “finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping”.

The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Venezuela of drug smuggling, and since September the US military has killed at least 90 people in strikes on boats it alleged were carrying fentanyl and other illegal drugs to the US.

In recent months, the US has also moved warships into the region.

Venezuela – home to some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves – has, in turn, accused Washington of seeking to steal its resources.

The US, under both Trump and former President Joe Biden, has opposed the Maduro government for years and pressed for him to be removed by instituting stringent sanctions.

Last week, the US imposed fresh sanctions on six more ships it said were carrying Venezuelan oil.

Sanctions were also placed on some of President Maduro’s relatives and on businesses associated with what the US called his illegitimate regime.

A day earlier the US said it had seized a tanker off Venezuela’s coast.

The White House said the seized vessel, called the Skipper, had been involved in “illicit oil shipping” and would be taken to an American port.

Venezuela’s government denounced the seizure, with Maduro saying the US “kidnapped the crew” and “stole” the ship.

The US had built up its military presence in the Caribbean Sea, which borders Venezuela to the north, in the days before the raid.

It involved thousands of troops and USS Gerald Ford – the world’s largest aircraft carrier– being positioned within striking distance of Venezuela.

JEFF Brazier has admitted that he’s “spending time reflecting on life” after his split from his wife and ongoing family feud.

The This Morning star, 46, who split from wife Kate Dwyer, 35, after seven years of marriage was taking a time out in St Kitts.

Jeff took to Instagram and posted a series of beautiful snaps, with one showing the star standing alone on a sandy beach staring out at a gorgeous sunset

He captioned the snap: “Just had the perfect week in St Kitts thanks to @stkittstourism.

“Celebrating the sunshine and time to reflect on life & work while spending time with the team filming for one of our big @itvwin January competitions.

“Thank you to @mickarchy @roscoyule PB & Anita for being such great company and doing a really top class job.

FEUD OVER

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He then posted some recommendations based on his stay before he said: “Don’t forget to check out the Atlantic and Carribean views from Timothy Hill Overlook.”

Jeff announced he had split from his wife, Kate back in November.

In an emotional statement, Jeff said: “I’m so full of love and gratitude for Kate.

“For all we achieved, for how much we grew, for everything we endured.

“We separated in the Summer and kept it private for as long as we could to give us some time to adjust.

“For 12 years we have been each others safe space, each others biggest supporters at a time when our lives have been busy, painful & complex.

“I’m so proud of how hard we worked, how we kept showing up, we gave everything and more.

“I’m also so full of respect and admiration for the successful career Kate has built and the way she cared for me unconditionally.

“It’s credit to the woman she is that she still checks in to ask how the boys are doing because she is so invested in their lives.

“They love her and I have many friends that love her too. I will miss her family who always went above and beyond to support us.

“My words don’t tell the full picture because they don’t need to.

“We will carry on supporting each other and I know I’ll be celebrating her inevitable wins just like before.

“We both deserve complete happiness and we’re upset that we ultimately couldn’t be that for one another and It felt time to let it go.”

Last week The Sun revealed that his son Freddy was embroiled in a furious row with his pregnant ex girlfriend over their baby’s future.

The 21-year-old is facing devastating consequences before his first child is even born as he continues to clash with Holly Swinburn, 22.

Freddy — son of late Big Brother legend Jade Goody — risks not being on the birth certificate after their latest fallout.

Sources claim they’re at loggerheads over custody of their shared dog, an American Bully named Pablo.

Holly has been accused of backing Freddy into a corner – as she threatens to block him being legally named as the father of her child.

As the former couple are not married, Freddy’s name can’t be automatically included on the birth certificate.

Holly spoke to The Sun on Sunday about why her relationship ended, claiming she dumped him after he held a 3am drugs party with girls at her home while she was away.

Meanwhile, Jeff is still involved in an ongoing family feud between him and the late Jade Goody’s mum Jackiey Budden.

But reports reveal that he has “landed a new fly-on-the-wall reality show” with his sons Bobby and Freddy that allow the Brazier family to set the record straight on a number of things.

HOLLYWOOD star Timothee Chalamet has finally broken his silence on rumours he is living a secret double life as Scouse rapper EsDeeKid.

The Call Me By Your Name actor, 29, has faced increasing speculation over the past few weeks that he is the man behind EsDeeKid – one of this year’s biggest rap breakthroughs in the UK.

EsDeeKid has never revealed his identity or anything connected to his personal life and keeps his face covered by masks at all time.

However, social media became awash with theories that the rap star was actually New Yorker Timothee thanks to a series of coincidences.

Now, the Wonka star has addressed the rumours for the first time in an interview on BBC Radio One with Greg James ahead of the release of his next movie, Marty Supreme.

Greg simply started by saying the name EsDeeKid to Timothee to which he quickly said: “No comment.”

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SECRET STAR

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The actor then coyly added with a smirk upon his face: “All will be revealed in due time.”

Greg then went on to explain the theory and showed Timothee images of EsDeeKid in which his piercing blue eyes, which bear a striking resemblance to the Dune actor’s, could be seen through gaps in his masks.

The radio host asked Timothee if he agreed that they were “beautiful eyes”, with the actor simply replying: “Yes.”

Greg then asked once again if the star was him leaving Timothee to repeat: “All… will be revealed in due time.”

Little is known about EsDeeKid but he began to emerge in 2023 and achieved recognition for his 2024 song Bally.

He previously revealed he still lived in the council house he grew up in.

His debut album, Rebel, released this June has become one of the most popular hip-hop albums of the year after reaching the top ten in the UK as well as charting in America and Australia.

Speculation that Timothee is behind the mask gained traction online last month.

“Their eyes are extremely similar, I haven’t seen anything like it,” wrote one user on Reddit earlier this month.

While another user was convinced they have the same hands: “Guys i did a huge analysis looking at pics of Timothy’s hands VS Esdee kids hands. Same exact hands. Same vein placement and everything. I should make a video about it because it’s literally proof.”

Their similar fashion sense has also been used as a way of comparison between the two.

Timothee is currently in the UK ahead of the release of his new movie, Marty Supreme.

He was seen getting cosy with girlfriend Kylie Jenner at the launch of the film earlier this week where they coordinated in matching orange Chrome Hearts outfits.

The couple have been dating for almost three years having first been linked in April 2023 but have often kept their romance private and under wraps.

Dec. 11 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Thursday said he granted “a full Pardon” to election denier Tina Peters who was convicted for helping outsiders illegally breach voting machine security, though Colorado officials say he has no power to do so for state crimes.

Peters, a 70-year-old former Mesa County, Colo., clerk, is serving a nine-year prison sentence. She was convicted in August 2024 of attempting to influence a public servant and criminal impersonation for aiding an unauthorized person in copying voting-machine hard-drive data during a 2021 software update.

That data, including sensitive election-system information, was later leaked online by election-fraud conspiracy theorists who claimed it proved Trump’s Big Lie that the 2020 election had been stolen from him.

While maintaining the unfounded claim that the 2020 election was stolen, Trump has been a vocal supporter of the effort to secure Peters’ release, describing Peters as a pro-democracy activist.

“Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the ‘crime’ of demanding Honest Elections,” Trump said Thursday evening in a post to his Truth Social account.

“Today I am granting Tina a full Pardon for her attempts to expose Voter Fraud in the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election!”

Colorado state officials have been adamant amid Trump’s demands for Peters’ release that he does not have the authority to pardon her, as she was convicted on state charges.

“Tina Peters was convicted by a jury of her peers, prosecuted by a Republican District Attorney and found guilty of violating Colorado state laws, including criminal impersonation,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Thursday in response to Trump’s announcement.

“No President has jurisdiction over state law nor the power to pardon a person for state convictions,” Polis continued. “This is a matter for the courts to decide, and we will abide by court orders.”

Trump has feuded with Polis, a Democrat, over Peters’ incarceration, calling the governor a “SLEAZEBAG” earlier this month on Truth Social for refusing “to allow an elderly woman, Tina Peters, who was unfairly convicted of what the Democrats do, cheating on Elections, out of jail!”

Trump’s declaration of Peters’ pardon came hours after her lawyer, Peter Ticktin, announced he had formally asked Trump to pardon his client, whom he called “a necessary witness in exposing election misconduct.”

“Tina Peters is rightfully in Colorado state prison,” Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said in a statement on X on Thursday.

“Trump’s corrupt and political attempts at a pardon won’t work here. Once again, if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”

Since returning to the White House, Trump has used his powers to issue pardons to many of those connected to the effort to overturn the 2020 election who were convicted on federal charges, including the more than 1,500 people who stormed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

As the players walked out at a packed Celtic Park, and a stirring rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone echoed around the stadium, the camera cut to Nancy.

The disco lights, which were splurged out on for these European nights, flashed towards the Frenchman.

Hart said the ground in the east end of Glasgow is a “special place” on such occasions but the mood of that place has turned sour in recent times.

Long before Nancy’s arrival, the club was riven with disharmony.

The events of last summer – recruitment issues, Champions League dismay, Brendan Rodgers’ acrimonious departure – had cast a long shadow.

Martin O’Neill’s interim stint back at the club steadied matters, with seven wins from eight games and an uplift in the mood.

But by the time Roma had a fourth goal ruled out in the closing stages on Thursday, large swathes of the crowd had gone home. Many fans had seen enough.

“It breaks my heart to see [Celtic Park] like this,” said Hart. “The atmosphere just isn’t there. This is such a special football club, but it’s only special when it’s united.

“It’s not easy for a new manager and new system, but it’s not rocket science and Nancy’s got to learn quick.”

Perhaps one thing all of a green and white persuasion could agree upon was that Roma were rampant as they cantered to a second win in Glasgow this term.

“It wasn’t good enough, especially first half, we lost too many duels and too many sloppy balls,” midfielder Arne Engels – who missed a first-half penalty – said.

“We know we can do better and hopefully we can move on because we have a final in a few days. We need to keep our heads high and move on.

“It’s up to us to react. We need to look to ourselves to keep performing.”

ROBBIE Williams has revealed he’s planning to get a WIG as he admits he’s going bald – weeks after claiming fat jabs were ‘making him blind’.

The Angels singer, 51, has always been something of an open book, and during his latest appearance on a popular podcast, he opened up about his hair woes.

Robbie, who is sporting a salt and pepper stylish spiked hair do at the moment, said: “I’m losing my hair… This is all powder and scaffolding now.

“I’m thinking about getting one of them hair systems.”

He continued on the Games Gone: The Steve Bracknall Podcast: “So I’m a pop star. That’s what I do for a living, you know…you’re supposed to have some sort of looks and some sort of hair.

“I’ve got powder in. That’s why it looks alright now. But it’s on its way out. And I’m thinking about getting one of them hair systems.

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Fat jabs are making me blind, fears Robbie as he vows to keep using them

“Have you seen the hair systems? You go to a guy and he sort of shaves it here, and then you get a wig that’s shaped for that bit.

“And then you get some, um… glue. And then you glue it on and it stays on for a couple of weeks, but you have to get it fixed.”

Robbie’s latest admission comes after he told The Sun he feared fat jabs were making him blind.

He said: “I was quite an early adopter of the jabs but what I’m also noticing is that my eyesight’s not very good.

“It’s been blurry for a while now, and it’s only getting worse. I don’t believe it’s age; I believe it’s the jabs.

“Everybody’s experiencing it, because I’ll say to people, ‘Blurry, right?’. And they go, ‘Oh s**t, that the thing?’.

“Of course it’s worrying and by being honest today, obviously I want to warn people reading this of the potential risks, to make sure they do their research.

“But seriously, I’m that sick I’d probably stay on it until the sight in one eye has completely gone.”

Last year a US study found patients using some fat jabs for Type 2 diabetes were four times more likely to be diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) — a lack of blood flow to the optic nerve which may lead to sight loss.

Meanwhile, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received 296 reports of eye disorders thought to be linked to Mounjaro.

Of those, 164 specifically claimed the drug had damaged their vision.
But scientists have not agreed that the medicines actually cause the condition — or by how much they increase the risk.

SHAKOPEE, Minn. — Mike Lindell, the fervent supporter of President Trump known to TV viewers as the “MyPillow Guy,” officially entered the race for Minnesota governor Thursday in hopes of winning the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Tim Walz.

“I’ll leave no town unturned in Minnesota,” Lindell told the Associated Press in an interview ahead of a news conference set for Thursday.

He said he has a record of solving problems and personal experiences that will help businesses and and that he will fight addiction and homelessness as well as fraud in government programs. The fraud issue has particularly dogged Walz, who announced in September that he’s seeking a third term in the 2026 election.

A TV pitchman and election denier

Lindell, 64, founded his pillow company in Minnesota in 2009 and became its public face through infomercials that became ubiquitous on late-night television. But he and his company faced a string of legal and financial setbacks after he became a leading amplifier of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. He said he has overcome those setbacks.

“Not only have I built businesses, you look at problem solution,” Lindell said in his trademark rapid-fire style. “I was able to make it through the biggest attack on a company, and a person, probably other than Donald Trump, in the history of our media … lawfare and everything.”

While no Republican has won statewide office in Minnesota since 2006, the state’s voters have a history of making unconventional choices. They shocked the world by electing former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura as governor in 1998. And they picked a veteran TV pitchman in 1978 when they elected home improvement company owner Rudy Boschwitz as a U.S. senator.

Lindell has frequently talked about how he overcame a crack cocaine addiction with a religious conversion in 2009 as MyPillow was getting going. His life took another turn in 2016 when he met the future president during Trump’s first campaign. He served as a warm-up speaker at dozens of Trump rallies and co-chaired Trump’s campaign in Minnesota.

Trump’s endorsement could be the key to which of several candidates wins the GOP nomination to challenge Walz. But Lindell said he doesn’t know what Trump will do, even though they’re friends, and said his campaign isn’t contingent on the president’s support.

His Lindell TV streaming platform was in the news in November when it became one of several conservative news outlets that became credentialed to cover the Pentagon after agreeing to a restrictive new press policy rejected by virtually all legacy media organizations.

Lindell has weathered a series of storms

Lindell’s outspoken support for Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen triggered a backlash as major retailers discontinued MyPillow products. By his own admission, revenue slumped and lines of credit dried up, costing him millions. Several vendors sued MyPillow over billing disputes. Fox News stopped running his commercials. Lawyers quit on him.

Lindell has been sued twice for defamation over his claims that voting machines were manipulated to deprive Trump of a victory.

A federal judge in Minnesota ruled in September that Lindell defamed Smartmatic with 51 false statements. But the judge deferred the question of whether Lindell acted with the “actual malice” that Smartmatic must prove to collect. Smartmatic says it’s seeking “nine-figure damages.”

A Colorado jury in June found that Lindell defamed a former Dominion Voting Systems executive by calling him a traitor, and awarded $2.3 million in damages.

But Lindell won a victory in July when a federal appeals court overturned a judge’s decision that affirmed a $5-million arbitration award to a software engineer who disputed data that Lindell claimed proved Chinese interference in the 2020 election. The engineer had accepted Lindell’s “Prove Mike Wrong Challenge,” which he launched as part of his 2021 “Cyber Symposium” in South Dakota, where he promised to expose election fraud.

The campaign ahead

Lindell said his crusade against electronic voting machines will just be part of his platform. While Minnesota uses paper ballots, it also uses electronic tabulators to count them. Lindell wants them hand-counted, even though many election officials say machine counting is more accurate.

Some Republicans in the race include Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth; Dr. Scott Jensen, a former state senator who was the party’s 2022 candidate; state Rep. Kristin Robbins; defense lawyer and former federal prosecutor Chris Madel; and former executive Kendall Qualls.

“These guys haven’t lived what I live,” Lindell said.

Lindell wouldn’t commit to abiding by the Minnesota GOP endorsement and forgoing the primary if he loses it, expressing confidence that he’ll win. He also said he’ll rely on his supporters to finance his campaign because his own finances are drained. “I don’t have the money,” he acknowledged.

But he added that ever since word got out last week that he had filed the paperwork to run, “I’ve had thousands upon thousands of people text and call, saying from all around the country … ‘Hey, I’ll donate.’”

Karnowski writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — President Trump will road-test his claims that he’s tackling Americans’ affordability woes at a Tuesday rally in Mount Pocono, Penn., — shifting an argument made in Oval Office appearances and social media posts to a campaign-style event.

The trip comes as polling consistently shows that public trust in Trump’s economic leadership has faltered. Following dismal results for Republicans in last month’s off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump.

The president has consistently blamed his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for inflation even as his own aggressive implementation of policies has pushed up prices that had been settling down after spiking in 2022 to a four-decade high. Inflation began to accelerate after Trump announced his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs in April. Companies warned that the import taxes could be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices and reduced hiring, yet Trump continues to insist that inflation has faded.

“We’re bringing prices way down,” Trump said at the White House on Monday. “You can call it ‘affordability’ or anything you want — but the Democrats caused the affordability problem, and we’re the ones that are fixing it.”

The president’s reception in the county hosting his Tuesday rally could give a signal of just how much voters trust his claims. Monroe County flipped to Trump in the 2024 election after having backed Biden in 2020, helping the Republican to win the swing state of Pennsylvania and return to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

As home to the Pocono Mountains, the county has largely relied on tourism for skiing, hiking, hunting and other activities as a source of jobs. Its proximity to New York City — under two hours by car — has also attracted people seeking more affordable housing.

It’s also an area that could help decide control of the House in next year’s midterm elections.

Trump is holding his rally in a congressional district held by freshman Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who is a top target of Democrats and won his 2024 race by about 1.5 percentage points, among the nation’s closest. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, is running for the nomination to challenge him.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is running digital ads during Trump’s visit on the Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader website that criticize Bresnahan for his stock trading while in Congress and suggest that Trump has not as promised addressed double-dealing in Washington.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said on the online conservative talk show “The Mom View” that Trump would be on the “campaign trail” next year to engage supporters who otherwise might sit out a congressional race.

Wiles, who helped manage Trump’s 2024 campaign, said most administrations try to localize midterm elections and keep the president out of the race, but she intends to do the opposite of that.

“We’re actually going to turn that on its head,” Wiles said, “and put him on the ballot because so many of those low-propensity voters are Trump voters.”

Wiles added, “So I haven’t quite broken it to him yet, but he’s going to campaign like it’s 2024 again.”

The challenge for Trump is how to address the concerns of voters about the economy while simultaneously claiming that the economy is enjoying an historic boom.

Asked on a Politico podcast about how he’d rate the economy, Trump leaned into the grade inflation by answering “A-plus,” only to then amend his answer to “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”

Trump has said he’s giving consumers relief by relaxing fuel efficiency standards for autos and signing agreements to reduce list prices on prescription drugs.

Trump has also advocated for cuts to the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate — which influences the supply of money in the U.S. economy. He argues that would reduce the cost of mortgages and auto loans, although critics warn that cuts of the scale sought by Trump could instead worsen inflation.

The U.S. economy has shown signs of resilience with the stock market up this year and overall growth looking solid for the third quarter. But many Americans see the prices of housing, groceries, education, electricity and other basic needs as swallowing up their incomes, a dynamic that the Trump administration has said it expects to fade next year with more investments in artificial intelligence and manufacturing.

Since the elections in November when Democrats won key races with a focus on kitchen table issues, Trump has often dismissed the concerns about prices as a “hoax” and a “con job” to suggest that he bears no responsibility for inflation, even though he campaigned on his ability to quickly bring down prices. Just 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a November survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Boak and Levy write for the Associated Press. Levy reported from Harrisburg, Penn.

Stephen Alderton’s callous refusal to answer questions over the murder of father and son Gary, 57, and Joshua Dunmore, 32, will be shown in the second episode of 24 Hours In Police Custody: A Family Vendetta airs on Channel 4 at 9pm tonight

This is the moment a widower who “executed” a father and son remains stony-faced as he is confronted with chilling details of the double murder.

Stephen Alderton, 67, blasted his daughter’s ex-partner Josh Dunmore, 32, and his 57-year-old dad Gary with a Beretta shotgun after a bitter custody battle over Alderton’s grandson. Police footage following his arrest – shared with the Mirror – is revealed in a new episode of Channel 4’s hit series 24 Hours In Police Custody being aired tonight.

In never-before-seen interviews, detectives quiz murderer Alderton over the callous moment he coolly fired two rounds from his shotgun into Gary’s body, before emptying the cartridges, reloading and firing again. Detectives ask: “We know there were four gunshots at Gary’s house. We know, from the gunshot spray that one has been fired into the staircase in the property.” But Alderton replies: “No comment.”

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The detective continues: “He appears to have been shot twice to the body – the chest – and once in the head. Would you agree that that shows an element of perseverance and intent?” Without showing a flicker of emotion, Alderton replies: “No comment.” He is then asked: “How many times did you have to load your shotgun for a double-barrelled over-under gun, to be able to fire six shots?”

But again Alderton simply says: “No comment.” The detective then says: “So to load it, bang, bang, empty your cartridges, reload, bang, bang, break the shotgun, empty the cartridges, reload, bang, bang.”

Alderton’s two victims were found dead in March 2023 at their homes – six miles apart in Cambridgeshire – just two days after a family court hearing over his seven-year-old grandson. Following his arrest Alderton told police: “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do, even if it’s wrong in the eyes of the law.”

The ex-chartered surveyor, who admitted double murder, was jailed for life at Cambridge crown court and must serve a minimum 25 years. Last year the sentence was increased to 30 years after it was referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

After being arrested Alderton initially refused to answer questions and only showed a shred of emotion when quizzed about his grandson. When asked by the custody sergeant how he was feeling as he was booked in, Alderton replied: “It’s not exactly the best day.”

During his interview, a a detective asked Alderton: “Do you think what you did was justified?” He replies: “No comment.” The detective continues: “How do you think your grandson is going to feel about the death of his father and his other grandad? Talk to me about your grandson, are you close?” Alderton replies: “Yes.” The detective says: “He’s lost his dad, he’s lost his paternal grandfather, and it’s looking like he’s not going to see his maternal grandfather for quite some time.” Seeming to breakdown, Alderton says: “No comment.”

Later he told the Channel 4 cameras: “Down in Texas, they have a particular approach that you have to respect because ion red-kneck country they have guns and things like that.” After his arrest, he was also recorded saying: “I come from a world where you look after your family.”

Alderton’s rampage on March 29 2023 came two days after a family court hearing involving his grandson, who cannot be named. Josh had stopped his ex – Alderton’s daughter – Samantha Stephen, and her US airman husband, Paul, taking the seven-year-old to live in America.

Alderton shot Josh twice in the hallway of his home in Bluntisham at 9.09pm. Thirty-one minutes later, he shot Gary three times in the hallway of his Sutton home, six miles away. The killer fled in his motorhome but was arrested the following day on the M5 near Worcester.

Before the killing, he wrote a series of text messages saying he would “override any court decision” and that there was “always a plan B” following the custody row. After Alderton was arrested, he told police that “sometimes you have to do what you have to do even if it’s wrong in the eyes of the law”, prosecutor Peter Gair told Cambridge crown court. Judge Mark Bishop said the killings amounted to “an execution”.

The second episode of 24 Hours in Police Custody: A Family Vendetta airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4