May 15 (UPI) — Authorities in western New Jersey arrested and charged a mother and stepfather after their 18-year-old daughter whom they had chained up and locked in a dog create for years escaped their home last week.
Circumstances of her escape were not made public, but authorities said the unidentified girl had fled her home Thursday and received assistance from a neighbor.
The girl told authorities that she had been physically, mentally and sexually abused by her parents since about 2018, when her mother removed her from school.
The girl’s parents, Brenda Spencer, 38, and Branndon Mosley, 41, were arrested and charged Sunday with a slew of offenses, including kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal restraint and assault with a deadly weapon. Mosley, the stepfather, faces additional charges of sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child by sexual assault.
“This is the most abhorrent, heinous crime anyone could commit,” Camden County Prosecutor Grace MacAulay said during a press conference Wednesday.
“You see criminals all over the country doing horrific, horrible acts, whether it’s physical or sexual abuse. When it comes at the hands of a parent to a child, there’s nothing worse.”
Authorities said the 18-year-old girl told detectives that shortly after being removed from sixth grade at Spencer’s discretion to be allegedly homeschooled, she was confined to live in a dog crate, where she lived for one year, before being chained up and forced to live in a padlocked bathroom, where she was let only only when family visited.
She was also forced, at times, to live in a bare room with just a bucket to use as a toilet, according to authorities who said she informed detectives that it was armed with an alarm system that would alert the defendants if she tried to leave.
She informed police that Mosley had sexually abused her and beat her with a belt.
MacAulay told reporters that the girl was “living in squalid, filthy conditions” alongside numerous animals, including large dogs and chinchillas.
During the press conference, it was also revealed that the girl’s 13-year-old sister was also living in the same residence, though it was not stated if she was subjected to the same treatment, but that she, had also been removed from school years earlier at Spencer’s discretion to be homeschooled.
In New Jersey, parents are only required to notify the school district of their intent to homeschool their children without requirements from the state’s Department of Education to follow up or to confirm attendance or accreditation, MacAulay explained.
“Homeschooling may be the right choice for many families. Unfortunately, it can be used by others as a means to hide abuse,” she said.
MacAulay said both girls were safe but did not elaborate on their conditions as they are minors and victims of abuse.
“As you can imagine, anyone who’s been confined for a period of seven years, held in these conditions, living in squalid filth, is going to be damaged psychologically, physically, emotionally, mentally,” she said.
“And as you can appreciate when it comes to cases involving child endangerment and child abuse and sexual assault, confidentiality to protect the victims is paramount.”
Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins explained the several-day gap between the 18-year-old’s escape and her parents’ arrest was due to authorities not knowing the extent of the situation.
He said on Thursday when police were contacted, what the girl had described was “a domestic violence-type situation” and that “she did not want to disclose all this information.
“She did not disclose this information about being held to this level,” he said.
An investigation was conducted Thursday following the girl’s escape, but based on the information they had, their investigative authorities were limited.
“Without a corroborating victim, there’s only so much we could do,” he said. “We offered her services. We gave her some resources at that time. She was looking for homeless services.”
On Saturday, the girl contacted authorities again, at which point they learned to what degree she was being held, Harkins said.
“This is one of the most despicable cases that I’ve ever run across,” he said.
Spencer was described as unemployed, and Mosley worked as a train conductor with the SEPTA Regional Rail system.
Both defendants were being held at the Camden County Correctional Facility, pending detention hearings.
YouTube is getting another piece of the NFL by landing its first exclusive live pro football broadcast in the first week of the season.
The streaming platform will have worldwide rights to the Sept. 5 meeting between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs from São Paulo, Brazil. The teams will face off at Corinthians Arena, home to Brazilian soccer team SC Corinthians.
YouTube is already the home for the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package, which for an annual fee gives fans access to network TV game telecasts outside of their home markets. The Brazil game will be available free to all YouTube users.
Although the NFL has a multiyear media rights deal with Fox, NBCUniversal, CBS, ESPN and Amazon, the league has managed to peel off games for streaming. Netflix landed two Christmas games last season and will be back in the 2025-26 season.
While the NFL values the reach that its traditional TV partners continue to provide, the league is aware that the younger viewers are turning to streaming platforms — especially YouTube — for video content. Executives have made it clear that they need to reach those consumers to replenish its fan base going forward into the future.
YouTube will team up with the NFL for a multiyear deal for the annual Super Bowl Flag Football Game. The event scored more than 6 million live views when YouTube first presented it in February. The game’s teams were led by YouTube stars IShowSpeed and Kai Cenat.
When survivors from January’s wildfires in Los Angeles County apply to rebuild their homes, their first interaction might be with a robot.
Artificial intelligence will aid city and county building officials in reviewing permit requests, an effort to speed up a process already being criticized as too slow.
“The current pace of issuing permits locally is not meeting the magnitude of the challenge we face,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said when announcing the AI deal in late April.
Some 13,000 homes were lost or severely damaged in the Eaton and Palisades fires, and many families are eager to return as fast as they can. Just eight days after the fire began and while it was still burning, the city received its first home rebuilding application in Pacific Palisades.
Wildfire recovery foundations purchased the AI permitting software, developed by Australian tech firm Archistar, and donated it to the city and county. When property owners submit applications, the software first will examine them for basic compliance with zoning and building codes, suggest corrections and provide a standardized report on the submission for human plan checkers to review.
L.A. County officials hope the software — believed to be the first large-scale use of such permitting technology nationwide after a natural disaster — will slice the time its employees now spend performing menial tasks, such as measuring building heights, counting parking spaces and calculating setbacks, said Mitch Glaser, an assistant deputy director in the county’s planning department.
“We see our planners doing things that are more impactful for our fire survivors,” Glaser said.
Disaster relief and government technology experts said they’re encouraged by the initiative. Municipal permitting is the type of highly technical, repetitive and time-consuming process that AI software could make more efficient, they said, especially as residents are expected to flood local building departments with applications to rebuild.
Still, they warned that for the AI software to be effective, the city and county would have to integrate the technology into its existing systems and quickly correct any errors in implementation. If not, the software could add more bureaucratic hurdles or narrow property owners’ options through overly rigid or incorrect code interpretations.
“This could be fabulously successful and I hope it is,” said Andrew Rumbach, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Urban Institute, where he studies disaster response. “But experimenting with technology in the context of people who’ve lost a lot is risky.”
Immediately after the fires, leaders at all levels of government pledged to waive and streamline rules for property owners to rebuild, promising that regulatory processes wouldn’t hold up residents’ return. Noting the pace of ongoing debris removal, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has called the region’s recovery “on track to be the fastest in modern California history.” A mayoral spokesperson said that the building department is completing initial permitting reviews twice as fast as before the fire.
More than 200 Pacific Palisades property owners have submitted applications to rebuild or repair their homes, according to a Times analysis of city permitting data, with 11% approved. Last week, 24 property owners submitted applications, the highest amount since the disaster, the analysis shows.
L.A. County, which is responsible for permitting in Altadena and other unincorporated areas, has a separate system for tracking permits which the Times has not been able to independently verify. On Monday, the county listed 476 applications for zoning reviews on its data dashboard, with eight building permits approved. By Tuesday, the number of zoning reviews listed had increased to 486 while the number of building permit approvals dropped to seven.
Besides Newsom, architects, builders and homeowners have grumbled about the permitting process, expressing frustrations at what they say are confusing and inconsistent interpretations of regulations. Last week, actress Mandy Moore, whose family had multiple homes damaged or destroyed in the Eaton fire, blasted the county for “nonsensical red tape” that is making it difficult for her to rebuild.
The wildfire recovery nonprofit Steadfast LA, started by developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, took the lead on securing the Archistar software and is covering much of the up to $2-million tab for its implementation. LA Rises, the foundation started by Newsom after the fires, will pay Archistar’s $200 fee per application.
Caruso, who declined an interview request from The Times, has said that turning to AI was a no-brainer.
“Bringing AI into permitting will allow us to rebuild faster and safer, reducing costs and turning a process that can take weeks and months into one that can happen in hours or days,” Caruso said in the news release announcing the deal.
Archistar’s AI permitting software has been in development since 2018. The company has contracts with municipalities in Australia and Canada and is expanding to the United States. In the fall, after a successful pilot program in Austin, Texas, Archistar signed an agreement with the city to perform initial assessments of building projects, similar to its intended use in Los Angeles. Austin has not implemented the software yet, but city officials said they believe it could cut preliminary reviews there to one business day from 15.
Once Archistar’s program is online in L.A. County, Glaser said, officials hope it will reduce the first analysis for rebuilding projects to two or three business days from five.
It could save additional time for projects by minimizing revisions and corrections, said Zach Seidl, a Bass spokesperson.
“The biggest potential for reducing permitting time comes from improving the quality of initial plans that homeowners submit to the city,” Seidl said.
Land use consultants and architects in Los Angeles said they were happy with any technology that could hasten approvals of their projects. But they said that AI wouldn’t ease the hardest parts of the permitting process.
Architect Ken Ungar, who is working with roughly two dozen Palisades property owners who are rebuilding, said his biggest headaches come from needing multiple city departments, such as those that oversee fire safety and utilities, to sign off on a project. Applications can get stuck, he said, and even worse sometimes one department requires changes that conflict with another’s rules.
Artificial intelligence, Ungar said, “sounds great. But unless the city of L.A. changes its whole M.O. on how you get building permits, it’s not super helpful.”
The state’s Archistar deal allows the city of Malibu, where the Palisades fire destroyed more than 1,000 homes, to receive the donated software as well. Malibu officials say they’re still deciding on it, noting that the community has specialized building codes addressing development on coastal, hillside and other environmentally sensitive habitats.
Governments are right to look to technology for help in speeding up disaster permitting, Rumbach said, but they also should ensure that human plan checkers provide oversight to account for nuances in zoning and building codes.
“I hope there are people more seasoned in communicating with disaster survivors who are the face of this,” he said. “A lot of people could be frustrated because they don’t want to deal with AI. They want to deal with a person.”
Although L.A. city and county might be the first to use AI for permitting after a major disaster, experts expect the technology to become mainstream soon.
“I’m confident there is no way back,” said Sara Bertran de Lis, director of research and analytics at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg Center for Government Excellence.
L.A. County expects to implement the Archistar software within six weeks after programming and testing, Glaser said. At a recent disaster recovery panel, Bass said the city will do so “in the next couple of months.”
She was just seven years old when they were displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Elizabeth Bitrus and her family fled to Taraba State, where they lived in an internally displaced persons (IDP) Camp. That was the first time Elizabeth had to adjust to a home that was not her home.
Three years later, she and her aunt boarded a bus bound for Edo State, South South Nigeria, where her aunt resides.
No one told Elizabeth Bitrus exactly where she was headed, but she knew it meant a fresh start, a chance to return to school, and she could hardly contain her excitement. She had dropped out after displacement upended her life. Elizabeth was only ten. Her aunt had told her stories of what it was like living there and how children attend a free school, with provisions for food, books, and even toiletries.
They eventually arrived at Uhogua, a rural community in Edo State. Their destination was the Home for the Needy Camp, a sprawling compound dotted with blocks of buildings roofed with rusted zinc sheets. When they arrived, her aunt dropped her off at the camp and said she was leaving. Her house was a few minutes away, but students lived in a boarding school arrangement.
Founded in 1992 by Solomon Folorunsho, a Nigerian pastor, the camp provides free accommodation, feeding, and education for displaced people. It currently houses over 4000 people.
“I thought I would be living with my aunt while attending the school,” Elizabeth recalls with a chuckle. “I started crying profusely. I immediately started to miss my mum and told my aunt to take me back home.”
The memory is still fresh in her mind. She can laugh about it now in hindsight, but at the time, it was terrifying. She didn’t know anyone. How would she fit in?
“I didn’t find it very hard to fit in, thankfully. There was a group of girls who were eager to make friends with me, the new girl. When I kept crying, saying I wanted to leave, they advised me to be patient and stay to study,” Elizabeth said.
Slowly, she grew accustomed to the routine of the camp.
“Soon enough, I started to enjoy being in the camp, so much that I didn’t even care about going back home anymore,” she recounted.
‘Home for the needy’
Over three decades ago, Solomon started caring for children in Edo who were abandoned by their parents and those out of school.
“I rented an apartment and put them in a private school. These children became wonderful. I saw how they were competing [with other students], which encouraged me. That is how I started,” he said.
The capacity grew from a one-bedroom apartment to a three-bedroom apartment, then a seven-bedroom apartment. But with more children came greater responsibilities and shrinking resources. Solomon could not manage alone anymore. He began seeking donations from individuals and organisations, and when the children’s school fees became exorbitant, he started a school, employed teachers and got volunteers to run it.
When the Boko Haram insurgency began, “friends from the north were calling me. This was around 2012. I thought about what we could do for the children, and gradually some families started coming here,” Solomon tells HumAngle. Elizabeth was one of them.
They live in large tents, each housing up to 50 students. They sleep on mats and attend prayers every morning, before heading to classes in modern brick-walled classrooms. Oddly, however, only the teenage girls were required to cook. They did so in groups, taking turns according to a schedule. Then they shared the food with everyone, both the girls and the boys.
After dinner, they’d form study groups. Some would do their assignments, others would study for tests. If one didn’t have a torch to read with, they’d go under the tall solar-powered streetlights in the camp’s compound.
The longing for home
Elizabeth often thought about her mom and three siblings in the early days.
She never once spoke to her mother for seven years at the camp. She discovered that she had cousins in the camp, and one day, as they chatted with their mom over the phone, Elizabeth heard her mother’s voice. She spoke with her briefly, and a sudden longing for home started to sweep over her.
“I missed them so much. I knew I needed to go back and see my family,” she recounts.
It had taken a long time to properly reestablish contact with her mom after that brief call on her aunt’s phone in 2021. Her mom didn’t have a phone, so they didn’t speak again until three years later, in 2024.
Elizabeth stands between two tents in the Kuchingoro IDP Camp, Abuja. Photo: Sabiqah/HumAngle.
Living conditions in the camp were deteriorating: there was hunger, the toilets were full, and some were breaking down. More and more, Elizabeth craved her mother’s embrace. Over the call, she told her mother she wanted to return home, and her mother sent money for transport.
She was excited and nervous the day she was finally leaving Edo for Abuja, North-central Nigeria. It had been nearly a decade since she’d left her family in Taraba, and so much had changed. She is now 18 years old. Her family moved. She wondered how much taller her siblings had grown, whether her mother had aged at all.
“When I saw her waiting for me at the car park after we arrived, I ran into her arms and started sobbing, and sobbing. I couldn’t control it,” Elizabeth recounts with a smile.
When HumAngle met her at Kuchingoro IDP Camp, an informal settlement in Abuja, where she lives with her mum, Elizabeth was sitting under the shade of a tree. She had just returned from work as a domestic help in a house close to the camp. Across the street, the grand terrace buildings of the estate where Elizabeth sweeps and mops floors stand in sharp contrast to her lowly tent, made out of rusted zinc roof sheets and rags.
Elizabeth’s tent and the tree where she sits at the Kunchingoro Camp. Photo: Sabiqah Bello/HumAngle
Since she came here, she has not enrolled in school because her mother cannot afford it, and her father is absent. The last time Elizabeth saw him was when they were in Taraba in 2015. He had visited briefly, then left for Lagos. No one has heard from him since.
Elizabeth’s mom, Abigail Bitrus, told HumAngle that her husband had always worked in Lagos and only visited occasionally, even when they lived in Borno. But he has not been in contact with the family since his last visit a decade ago.
“Some of his relatives say he’s alive and well, others say they haven’t heard from him in years. But he and I didn’t fight or anything, and I just wish he’d at least call us,” Abigail explained, tears welling up in her eyes.
Abigail is 38 years old. She moved to Abuja near her parents, who live in Nasarawa, a neighbouring state. She has lived in the camp for four years, but now faces the threat of eviction. After settling on privately owned property, she and many others were uprooted from their tents, forced to move to a smaller space on another piece of private land.
Of hope and struggles
Elizabeth wishes to go back to the camp in Benin City. Although it is not her ideal place to live, she gets to study at least. Education is crucial to her, and she has lofty dreams, but is not allowed to return to the camp.
“I’m now in SS2. I want to graduate and go to university to study medicine. I want to graduate as the best student and get a scholarship to study abroad, like one of my seniors, who is now in the United States,” Elizabeth said.
Solomon told HumAngle that over 300 students have proceeded to university after graduating from the camp. They studied courses ranging from engineering to medicine and nursing. One student emerged as the best graduating student in his class at Edo State University and later secured a scholarship to the University of Illinois, Chicago.
He said the decision to stop students like Elizabeth from returning to the camp after leaving depends on each family’s situation and financial need.
“If you have a home and can afford transport to Abuja or Maiduguri, then you can stay at home, because we want to help those in need… if your father or mother has a house, at least let us give that chance to someone else,” Solomon explains.
Solomon tells HumAngle that donations and aid were consistent in the early days. However, that is no longer the case. Solomon has been appealing to individuals, organisations, and the government to bring more support, but the response has been slow. Globally, humanitarian aid has shrunk.
The cost of paying teachers became unsustainable, forcing the employed staff to leave. The camp now relies on volunteers and former students to keep the school running. Even feeding the children has become a struggle.
“Food is at a critical level right now,” he says. “We’re struggling to feed the children just once a day. Some of those in university aren’t allowed to write exams because they haven’t paid the fees. We really need support at this time.”
Solomon says he usually pays to harvest from farms in neighbouring villages when food runs out. But it is not nearly enough to meet nutritional needs or satisfy the children.
Displacement doesn’t just uproot homes—it disrupts education. Over 4.6 million children have been affected by the conflict in northeast Nigeria, according to UNICEF, and 56 per cent of displaced children in Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe are still out of school. Initiatives like Home for the Needy attempt to fill that gap, but without sustained support, many children like Elizabeth risk being left behind.
They are left waiting, left in search of home, education, and the hope for a better future.
Elizabeth still dreams of becoming a doctor. She believes her story doesn’t end in her mother’s arms in Abuja, nor does it find resolution in the dusty tents of Edo. She is a brilliant dreamer and believes in the possibility of more.
Goodison Park is to become the home of Everton’s women after the club scrapped plans to demolish the 132-year-old stadium.
The Blues will move to their new 53,000-seater arena at Bramley-Moore Dock this summer.
During construction of the new facility on the Liverpool waterfront, Everton’s previous ownership group announced plans for an £82m post-demolition renovation project at the Goodison site, which was set to include housing, a care home, retail units and a park.
But after being taken over by private equity firm The Friedkin Group in December, the club conducted a feasibility study about maintaining the stadium as a home for the women’s team, and have now opted to continue operating the site.
With a capacity of 39,572, Goodison Park will now be the largest dedicated women’s football stadium in the country.
“This long-term vision reflects the club’s commitment to investing in the women’s game and ensuring that Goodison Park continues to play a vital role in both football and the community,” Everton said.
“The club’s regeneration plans will retain Goodison Park’s proud identity while giving Everton Women a world-class platform in the heart of Liverpool 4. For supporters, it offers the chance to be part of a new era in one of football’s most iconic venues.”
May 13 (UPI) — Police in Britain early Tuesday arrested a 21-year-old man accused of setting fires to three north London residences this month, including a home owned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The most recent fire occurred at a residence in Kentish Town and was reported to the London Fire Brigade at about 1:35 a.m. local time Monday. Metropolitan Police did not identify the owner but said counter-terrorism officers were investigating due to the home’s connections “with a high-profile public figure.”
Local reports confirmed that the residence was owned by Starmer, who, as prime minister, was living at his official 10 Downing Street residence with his family and was renting out the north London home at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported.
The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and remains in police custody.
Authorities said they are considering the man as a suspect in two other arson cases this month.
“All three fires are being treated as suspicious at this time, and enquiries remain ongoing,” Metropolitan Police said Tuesday.
Th police are investigating Monday’s fire as being potentially linked to a fire set Sunday in the entrance of a north London residence and a Thursday vehicle fire, also located in north London.
The prime minister, through a spokesperson on Monday, thanked emergency services for their work in responding to the incident.
In June, three activists were found guilty of public disturbance offenses for holding a pro-Palestine protest in front of Starmer’s home in April 2024.
Mark and Anna Newlands have spent £20,000 to get home from a US holiday for the FA Cup final before flying back outCredit: David Hartley
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The pair say the club is in their DNA – so they have to be there for the finalCredit: David Hartley
The couple booked it months ago for a cousin’s birthday before the Eagles got to the final.
So they have bought flights to get back the day before and will return to the US the day after.
Mark said they would miss the big birthday but their relatives understood.
The retired risk manager, 61, from Newbury, Berks, said: “The club is in my DNA.
“We have to be there.
“I’m not bothered if this is sensible or not. It’ll be worth every penny.”
Anna, 62, is just as devoted to the South London club and did not hesitate when Mark suggested the plan.
The pair, pictured at the semi-final win over Aston Villa, hope it will be third time lucky after Palace lost their two previous finals.
The couple’s son James, also a Palace season ticket holder, is attending the final although he is not on the New York trip — while their daughter Alice will stay in the Big Apple.
Crystal Palace fans earn club an FA charge within 30 SECONDS after engulfing Wembley in smoke by sneaking in flares
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How the couple will fly from the US to watch Crystal play in the FA Cup final – then jet back
When Morgan Wallen abruptly sauntered offstage during the curtain call that closed his most recent “Saturday Night Live” appearance in March, he quickly sparked online backlash and was accused of disrespecting the comedy institution. Now months since the viral moment, the country music star says he has no bad blood with “SNL.”
The Grammy-nominated “Last Night” singer publicly addressed his controversial exit for the first time in the latest episode of Caleb Pressley’s “Sundae Conversation,” published Sunday. During the nearly six-minute chat, Pressley joked with Wallen about home maintenance habits — like taking out the trash and cutting grass — to segue into the “SNL” matter. “Could you fix a TV if it was on ‘SNL’?” Pressley asked.
Wallen, chuckling, responded: “I could change it for sure.”
Earlier this year, “Saturday Night Live” tapped Oscar-winning “Anora” star Mikey Madison to host its March 29 episode and recruited Wallen to return as a musical guest. He made his “SNL” debut in December 2020, delayed by some pandemic-era controversy. During the March episode, Wallen performed a pair of tunes from his album “I’m the Problem,” due out this week.
In typical “SNL” fashion, the episode concluded with Madison and Wallen joining the show’s cast for the “goodnights” curtain call. Usually, both the host and musical guest hang around with the “SNL” stars as the credits roll, but Wallen seemingly had other places to be. After Wallen said goodbye to Madison, he walked in front of the camera toward the audience and left the stage. Shortly after, Wallen shared a photo from his private plane in his Instagram story. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over the image.
It’s worth noting that when Wallen debuted on “SNL” nearly five years ago, he appeared alongside host Jason Bateman in a sketch mocking his COVID-19 partying and stayed through the credits to mingle with the “SNL” cast.
The singer’s unexpected departure and social media post quickly generated headlines in March and became fodder for social media critics, some of whom saw Wallen’s “God’s country” line as a dig at New York. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, longtime “SNL” star Kenan Thompson acknowledged Wallen’s walk-off was a “spike in the norm” and a “pretty visible thing.” He also said he found the musician’s “God’s country” post odd.
“What are you trying to say? You trying to say that we are not in God’s country? We’re not all in God’s country?” Thompson told EW. “We’re not all under God’s umbrella? That’s not necessarily my favorite.”
The incident inspired reports about Wallen’s behavior before the live show, including that he did the same exit during rehearsals. The Hollywood Reporter said that Wallen passed on appearing in one of the episode’s sketches and Joe Jonas took the spot instead. “God’s country” and Wallen’s premature exit, of course, found their way back to “SNL,” which referenced the moment during the cold open and “Weekend Update” segments of its April 6 episode.
When Pressley asked “Did [‘SNL’ ] make you mad?” Wallen replied, “No, no.”
“I was just ready to go home,” he added. “Been there all week.”
“Sundae Conversation” touched on more that just one of Wallen’s recent controversies — the singer’s chair-throwing arrest last year also loomed over the chat, albeit more subtly. The “One Thing at a Time” and “Whiskey Glasses” singer, who was arrested in 2020 for public intoxication and faced scrutiny in 2021 for using a racial slur, was arrested in April 2024 on suspicion of hurling a chair from the top of a six-story Nashville bar. In December, the 31-year-old country singer entered a conditional plea in Davidson County Circuit Court to two misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to seven days’ incarceration at a DUI Education Center, two years’ probation, a $350 fine and payment of court fees.
“I want you to name a thing that you can sit in that also flies through the air,” Pressley prompted his guest.
Wallen responded: “I mean there’s one obvious answer. Why do you want me to say that though? I mean, yeah, a jet.”
Pressley suggested there was another answer to his riddle and Wallen, finally catching his drift, answered: “A chair.”
Toward the end of the segment, Pressley also chatted with Wallen about motorcycles, new music and his Morgan Wallen Foundation. In one gag, Pressley suggested Wallen puts the “chair” in “charity.”
“I put the ‘-ity’ in ‘idiot,’ maybe,” Wallen responded.
Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla and former staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.
Leonie has revealed how she managed to get her home and why people think she’s rich because of itCredit: tiktok.com/@building_ribbons
But one woman managed to bag her dream home by making some sacrifices.
Leonie, who is known as ‘building_ribbons’ on TikTok, shared a video on her social media account explaining how she lived in a caravan for eight years to be able to afford her dream home.
She went on to explain that people now assume that she is rich because of it, but instead she just managed to save thousands on rent.
Speaking to her 122.7k TikTok followers, Leonie did a tour of her home which was in the countryside.
The kitchen was large and open plan with an island in the middle, and wooden beams in the ceiling giving a luxurious touch to it.
She also had large glass doors which looked out onto her garden, and allowed for plenty of sunlight to shine through.
Her video also showed her bathroom, which had a standalone large bath in it as well as her living space which had a fireplace lit to give a warm cosy touch to it.
Having so much garden space also allows her to keep animals on it including a goat, and two dogs which her son plays with.
Leonie explained that it was self-built in the English countryside and she was able to style it whilst also doing some bargain hunting.
Speaking to her followers, she adds that “you guys probably think I’m rich but in reality we spent eight years living in a caravan to achieve the dream of building our own home and it was so worth it.”
Living in a Static Caravan and getting paid for it!
Revealing that she is a “country girl at heart,” Leonie loves that she can spend time with her family, horses, animals, and “gorgeous son”.
Her video, which was shared in October, has gained 105.6k views and gained 67 comments.
One person who was in a similar situation, wrote: “I spent 10 years in our Mobil while we built our home. It was worth it, no mortgage.”
Whilst a second complimented her “beautiful home” saying that her situation was “a dream.”
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She now lives in her dream family homeCredit: tiktok.com/@building_ribbons
A third asked: “Your home is beautiful, can you please talk us through how you found the land and the process of building?
Leonie replied: “We already owned the land….. planning took us nearly 10 years…the build took around 18 months. Yea we lived on site.”
How much does it cost to live in a caravan?
LIVING in a caravan can be an economical and flexible lifestyle choice in the UK. Here’s a breakdown of potential costs:
Initial Costs
Caravan Purchase: £8,000 – £40,000 (depending on size, age, and condition)
Caravan Insurance: £200 – £800 per year
Ongoing Monthly Costs
Pitch Fees: £150 – £600 (varies by location and facilities)
Utilities (Electricity, Gas, Water): £40 – £120
Maintenance and Repairs: £20 – £80
Internet and TV: £20 – £50
Gas for Heating/Cooking: £15 – £40
Other Potential Costs
Waste Disposal Fees: £8 – £25
Transport Costs (if moving locations): Variable, depending on distance
Optional Add-ons (Awning, Solar Panels, etc.): £400 – £1,600 (one-time)
Sample Monthly Budget
Pitch Fees: £400
Utilities: £80
Maintenance and Repairs: £40
Internet and TV: £40
Gas for Heating/Cooking: £25
Total: £585
Annual Estimated Cost
Total Monthly Costs: £585 x 12 = £7,020
Insurance: £500
Maintenance and Repairs: £480
Total Annual Cost: £8,000
Tips to Save
Off-Peak Pitch Fees: Look for lower rates during off-peak seasons.
DIY Maintenance: Handle minor repairs yourself.
Energy Efficiency: Invest in solar panels to reduce utility costs.
While initial setup costs can be significant, ongoing expenses for living in a caravan can be relatively low, making it a viable option for those seeking an affordable and mobile lifestyle in the UK.
The dining room ceiling, adorned with an unexpected burst of orange floral wallpaper, breathes new life into the 100-year-old house. Similarly, the living room’s coral, pink and green wallpaper, the den’s bold blue and yellow stripes, and the red pattern-filled speakeasy lounge are delightful surprises that keep you guessing what’s next.
Standing beneath a glittering tiered chandelier in her pink “cloffice,” designer Dani Dazey shares the essence of her colorful style: “From the wallpaper to the artwork, my home is a reflection of me right now,” she explains. “It’s a personal and hip twist on traditional design.”
Rather than embrace rustic farmhouse style or minimalist Midcentury Modern design as is often the case in Los Angeles, Dazey has taken the Highland Park home she shares with husband Phillip Butler and given it an over-the-top maximalist spin.
Dani Dazey and her husband Phillip Butler stand in the living room of their home, which connects to the adjacent dining room and alcove. Dazey designed the colorful furnishings, wallpaper, textiles and many of the artworks. “I am very pro printed furniture,” she said. “I’m a very big fan of matching my colors and having a tight color palette.”
Their home is proof, as Dazey outlines in her new book, “The Maximalist: Colorful Interiors for Bold Living,” out May 20, that our homes should make us happy by reflecting who we are. In Dazey’s case, that translates to bold color, lush textures and retro vibes.
“Throughout my career, my core message has been to empower people to be who they are and not be afraid to embrace the things they love,” said Dazey, 34.
“Our homes are where life unfolds. They should offer a narrative of who we are and what we like, and I doubt anyone’s story is a boring white box.”
— Dani Dazey in “The Maximalist”
From the outside, the couple’s home exudes a subtle charm. However, stepping through the front door unveils a captivating burst of vibrant color and Dazey’s signature flower prints, all surprisingly harmonious.
“I worked as an apparel graphic designer and I applied all that to interior design,” she said. “I know how to put all these things together and make them look nice.”
Dazey designed the kitchen to look like an old Italian villa.
“Curtains help the rooms not feel too cluttered and crazy,” said Dazey. “I can make everything very cohesive. The fifth wall — the ceiling — it makes a big difference.”
The “fifth walls,” as Dazey calls the ceilings, are painted bright orange, red and turquoise blue. Floors are lined with vibrant green checkerboard patterns and wall-to-wall carpet. Likewise, the lawn in the back is decked out in checkerboard artificial turf. The speakeasy lounge, accessible through a hidden door sliding bookcase, is a ‘70s-inspired sanctuary with a modular sofa, curtains and wallpaper in the same floral pattern. Underneath the living room ceiling, Dazey has created a plant-filled ledge that cascades over the dining room, adding a touch of nature to the vibrant spaces.
Dazey outfitted the chairs, modular sofa from Joybird, wallpaper and curtains in the same ‘70s-inspired pattern.
Everyone — including the couple’s two dogs, Franklin and Yuki, who luxuriate on a pink velvet daybed in the sun — is happy here.
“Living in a maximalist space brings me joy,” said Butler, who handles operations for Dazey’s interior design business and their Airbnb and Peerspace rentals. “Even just looking at the ceiling makes me happy.”
Like the Madonna Inn, where the couple recently hosted their wedding, their home is “fun and quirky and anything but traditional,” Dazey said. “As a creative person, you get burned out by doing the same thing over and over again.”
The couple discovered the 2,300-square-foot, two-story home on a 3-acre lot two years ago. Dazey said there wasn’t a lot of interest in the house, as it featured an unusual floor plan with a separate apartment on the first floor with its own entrance. “The house blew us away,” she said, “but the strange floor plan confused us.”
The house they purchased for $1.75 million was “turnkey,” and Dazey had fun adding skylights to the beamed ceilings in the living room and redoing the kitchen to feel like an old Italian villa. The couple worked quickly over six months so that Dazey could share her projects on social media. “Much of our work comes from social media so having a project to share was helpful. That’s a big part of our job — creating these spaces.”
Dazey transformed the gravel driveway into an outdoor living space with turf, a cowboy pool and chaise lounges.
Her efforts paid off. The entrepreneurial couple now rents their home, along with a pink California bungalow and a bungalow in Palm Springs, for celebrity photo shoots and music videos. (Janelle Monáe, Camille Cabello and James Marsden have all been featured in their rental homes.)
It’s a unique side hustle, and the couple’s success is impressive. “They are such fun, wacky rentals,” Dazey said. “Between our Palm Springs Airbnb and L.A. photo shoots, we made $30,000 last month — our biggest month ever.”
Added Butler: “People tell us their kids love our houses.”
The home’s unconventional layout allows the couple to reside in the adaptable space downstairs while renting out the top floor for photo shoots. Following the recent fires in Los Angeles, they were able to provide housing for families in need on a monthly basis. “It’s been rewarding to be able to help in this way,” Dazey shared.
Dazey brightened the home’s first floor suite, which felt like a basement, with colorful textiles, wallpaper, stripes and FLOR tiles.
Dazey grew up in Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains. Her parents were creative, encouraging Dazey and her sister to be “colorful and engage in art and pursue” their passion. Not surprisingly, the family had a raspberry-colored kitchen. “My mom just painted the cabinets in her condo bright yellow,” Dazey said. “It’s wacky. I appreciate it.”
After studying fashion design, she made a name for herself in Los Angeles as a fashion designer for Dazey LA and, most recently, as an interior designer. She started her clothing line with $4,000. Over eight years it took off on social media and she eventually sold to stores including Anthropologie. “There were a few years where it nearly grossed a million dollars in revenue,” she said. “It helped me purchase the Palm Springs house.” Still, she is best known for her collaboration with drag performer and singer Trixie Mattel on the design of the Trixie Motel in Palm Springs.“Trixie’s aesthetic is similar to mine,” Dazey said with a laugh. “We both love bright colors and florals and retro design.”
Dazey prefers to work on the pink velvet daybed that fits the alcove off of the living room like a glove.
The collaboration opened doors for Dazey, including an opportunity to design her first collection of home textiles and wallcoverings for Spoonflower and a furniture line for Joybird, which are featured in her home. It also attracted clients who appreciate her fun-loving aesthetic. She has since worked for Andy Hurley of Fall Out Boy and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney. “I’ve been lucky to work for cool, interesting people,” Dazey said. “I think that people with a quirky sense of style and taste are interesting and dynamic.”
Despite her colorful interiors, Dazey knows what it’s like to struggle in a sterile work environment. “I used to work as an apparel graphic designer in a corporate office and didn’t feel inspired as a creative person,” she said. “When I went out on my own, I worked in coffee shops and I loved it.”
Today, she works out of a wall-to-wall pink velvet alcove covered in floral pink wallpaper and dog hair.
Dazey, pictured with Butler and their dogs Franklin and Yuki, believes in designing spaces that make people happy.
“I’ve designed some office spaces since then and try to make offices feel like a living room,” she said. “It can affect you creatively and inhibit your productivity. Now that I work from home, I love it.”
When asked what it’s like living with a maximalist, Butler said he trusts his wife’s instincts. “She went running with color when we got our first place together in Beachwood Canyon. It took a little arm twisting, but it all made sense when I saw it all come together. I learned to trust her process. There hasn’t been a single project where it hasn’t worked for me.”
Dazey, having shifted her focus from fashion design to creating happy interiors, sees the two processes as deeply transformative. “In my creative journey, whether it’s fashion or interiors, I’ve discovered the power of self-expression. It’s about defining who you are and sharing that with the world. The right outfit can change your entire day, just as the act of decorating your home can significantly impact your comfort, productivity and happiness. I love relaying that message — self-expression is more meaningful than aesthetics.”
“The Maximalist” features 16 of Dazey’s design projects, including several that have never been seen before, such as a colorful mansion in Alabama.
The Dazey Dream House tips & tricks
(Excerpted from “The Maximalist: Colorful Interiors for Bold Living,” Abrams).
The old one-two punch
When mixing prints, I always like to think of a primary and secondary print. The primary is the main character print, which is more complex and illustrative. The secondary is the companion print — something less bold and usually a different scale.
Get some plants already!
A houseplant adds color and makes a space feel more homey without making any drastic changes to any of the walls. Plants breathe literal life into a space and help it feel complete. If your rooms don’t have any greenery in them, get yourself to your local plant shop — stat!
Make your home a gallery
This house is bursting with my personal design — and it feels so good. People are often hesitant to display their own artwork, but I say use the walls of your home to broadcast your creativity.
Stripes cut sweetness
I designed some almost-old-fashioned floral wallpapers for this house, but they’re often purposefully paired with a stripe. A strong, graphic pattern, like a stripe or a check, has the power to temper the sweetness of a floral-y-print.
Double the fun
Half walls abound in this home because I wanted to max out my opportunities for pattern and color play. Adding a half wall to a room in your home is a great way to start experimenting with design on a more complex level.
Appreciate the bedroom set
Matching bedroom sets have a very 1980s reputation (and not in a good way!), but if the furniture is cool, a coordinate set can be a smart strategy to help a maximalist bedroom feel more uniform.
Reconsider wall-to-wall
I am predicting a carpet comeback. People love rugs, so why not consider a completely carpeted room? Everything in design circles back around, and I think wall-to-wall is due to be done in a new way.
Former British Home Secretary Charles Clarke has expressed little faith that United States President Donald Trump’s “combination of bullying and flattering” will produce a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine.
Trump, on April 17, presented Russia and Ukraine with a “final” ceasefire offer, which forces Kyiv to legally cede Crimea to Moscow, without offering it security guarantees.
“My picture from the outset, which is essentially pessimistic, is that Trump wanted his big moment and in the same way as with North Korea, he thought he could [coax Russia] into a situation,” said Clarke.
Trump had similarly tried to force North Korea into nuclear disarmament in 2019.
“I don’t myself see how [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy or Ukraine as a whole could ever concede de jure control of Crimea to Russia. They could concede de facto control, but Trump didn’t seem to take that distinction,” Clarke said.
“He’s shaken things up, but I think he’s been obviously far too credulous to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and to Russia in the whole process.”
Clarke spoke to Al Jazeera on the sidelines of the 16th Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe, hosted recently by Cambridge University’s Centre for Geopolitics, which Clarke co-directs with Brendan Simms, a professor of European geopolitics.
Can Europe face Russia?
The prospect of a possible ceasefire is rarely out of the headlines.
Over the weekend, Putin said Russia would engage in direct talks with Ukraine “without preconditions” – a rare offer throughout the conflict – after European leaders met Zelenskyy in Kyiv to call for a 30-day truce.
Ukraine and Europe have presented a ceasefire document, which, unlike Trump’s plan, makes no territorial concessions to Russia three years after it invaded Ukraine. The question is whether they are willing and able to back it with continued military effort if Russia and the US reject it.
“The scenario of a complete American withdrawal may be overly bleak right now, but it’s definitely a possibility,” said Simms.
Should Europe then offer Ukraine an independent security guarantee?
“I do think we should do that, but I think we should only do it if we are genuinely committed to going the full mile with Ukraine,” said Simms.
“I could quite easily see, for instance, a discourse in a country like Germany, which would say something like, ‘Well, it’s awful what’s happening in Ukraine, Trump is awful, [but] no we’re not going to do anything to help Ukraine, and we are going to use Trump as an excuse to walk away from supporting Ukraine’,” Simms said. “That is very much a discourse you’re beginning to hear in German public opinion.”
Both Clarke and Simms believed the Russian army’s ability to win an uncontestable military victory in Ukraine has been overestimated thanks to narratives touted by the Kremlin.
“There’s been far too much belief that the Russians have got an effective military and economic machine,” said Clarke, citing the Russian failure to take Kyiv in 2022 and losing control of the Black Sea to an adversary without a navy.
Russia’s territorial gains in Ukraine have slowed down dramatically, two separate analyses found last month.
The Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom estimated that Russian forces seized 143sq km (55sq miles) of Ukrainian land in March, compared with 196sq km (75sq miles) in February and 326sq km (125sq miles) in January.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, DC-based think tank, spotted the same trend, estimating Russian gains of 203sq km (78sq miles) in March, 354sq km (136sq miles) in February and 427sq km (165sq miles) in January.
This pattern of diminishing returns had started in 2024, a year when Russia wrested away just 4,168sq km (1,610sq miles) of fields and abandoned villages – equivalent to 0.69 percent of Ukraine, the ISW determined in January.
Those meagre gains came at the cost of 430,790 soldiers, the equivalent of 36 Russian motorised rifle divisions, outnumbering Russia’s losses in 2022 and 2023 combined, said Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence.
As Russia prepared to celebrate the 80th anniversary of victory in World War II, its losses in Ukraine were approaching the one million mark, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said.
Al Jazeera is unable to independently verify casualty tolls.
“They do have weight of numbers on their side, but weight of numbers only counts if you’ve got willing fighters,” said Clarke. “And there’s a great deal of evidence that there’s real problems for the Russian leadership in terms of the attitude of Russian troops and Russian positions.”
While Europe could ultimately step up defence industrial capacity, Clarke cautioned that Europe would nonetheless struggle to replace US intelligence, political coherence and command and control.
A European force for the Baltic
These issues have recently come to the fore, as Europe grappled with the possibility of fielding a peacekeeping ground force in Ukraine.
Simms argued in favour of creating it, but against deploying it in Ukraine as a peacekeeping force.
One reason is that European militaries are not trained for the drone warfare now being developed in Ukraine and will not be effective, he said.
“The other consideration is that the Ukrainian army is our most effective ally. If we deploy forces as part of a peace deal, which will end the war in Ukraine by definition and take the Ukrainians out of the conflict, we will end up in a situation where our mobile force, our only deployable force, the preponderance of it will be fixed in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin will no longer be fixed in Ukraine. He can pivot to face the Baltic states in the high north, and the Ukrainians will no longer be in the field. So that will be almost like … a self-inflicted wound.”
A European mobile force should keep its powder dry for deployment wherever Putin strikes next, said Simms, most likely in the Baltic states, while Europe helps Ukraine in long-range fires – drones and missiles – and provides air cover.
Russia’s psyops: Nuclear blackmail
Clarke said it is “absolutely possible” that Europe and Kyiv can win the war without Washington’s support, but warned of a “high risk strategy” should Ukraine “hold on so long that Russia would fall over”.
Europe and Ukraine could win if Europe overcame its fear of nuclear blackmail, said Simms.
Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons from the outset, he said, but did not use them when Ukraine claimed back 20,000sq km (7,720sq miles) of its territory in September 2022, nor when Ukraine counter-invaded Russia in August 2024.
An injured woman near her house, damaged by a Russian air attack, in a Kyiv neighbourhood, Ukraine, April 24, 2025 [Evgeniy Maloletka/AP Photo]
Yet fear of nuclear retaliation prevented Germany from giving Ukraine its 500km-range (310-mile) Taurus missile, which carries a 450kg warhead and impacts at high speed, devastating its targets.
“It’s not at all clear that if a power station in Moscow were destroyed by a Taurus, that [Putin] would use nuclear weapons. In fact, I think it is unlikely,” said Simms.
“But he has achieved through his rhetoric and through, I think, a misunderstanding of the nature of deterrence, a chilling effect on the West, which has cost the Ukrainians dear and has wasted three years that we had to sort this out – before Donald Trump appeared on the scene.”
