insists

On Monday, Louisiana State fired football coach Brian Kelly.

On Wednesday, the state governor Jeff Landry said the university’s athletic director, Scott Woodward, should have no say in the selection of the new coach.

On Thursday, Woodward and LSU “agreed to part ways,” according to the school’s athletic department.

And on Friday, the interim athletic director attempted to assure everyone that, despite all that has transpired in this week, the department is not in disarray.

“This place is not broken,” Verge Ausberry said during a news conference at which he sat between two members of the LSU Board of Supervisors at the front of a meeting room inside Tiger Stadium. “The athletic department is not broken. We win.”

Ausberry has been given “full authority” to run the athletic department and lead the search for a new football coach, board member John Carmouche told reporters.

“We’re going to hire the best football coach there is,” said Ausberry, a former Tigers football player who has worked in LSU athletics administration since 1991. “That’s our job. We are not going to let this program fail. LSU has to be in the playoffs every year in football.”

Woodward, a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate, had served as the university’s athletic director since April 2019. During that span, the Tigers won two national titles in baseball and one each in football, women’s basketball and gymnastics.

One major move made during Woodward’s tenure was the 2021 firing of football coach Ed Orgeron, who had led the Tigers to the national championship following the 2019 season, and subsequent signing Kelly, the former Notre Dame coach, to a guaranteed 10-year contract worth about $100 million.

This week, days after LSU suffered its third loss in four games, Kelly was fired with more than six years remaining on his contract. Running backs coach Frank Wilson was named interim head coach.

“When Coach Kelly arrived at LSU four years ago, we had high hopes that he would lead us to multiple SEC and national championships during his time in Baton Rouge,” Woodward said in announcing Kelly’s firing. “Ultimately, the success at the level that LSU demands simply did not materialize.”

The move leaves the university on the hook for a substantial buyout. Louisiana’s governor said Wednesday he was involved in the discussions that led to Kelly’s ouster but made clear that he was unhappy with the finances of the situation.

“My role is about the fiscal effect of firing a coach under a terrible contract,” said Landry, who was speaking to reporters about other matters but was asked about recent developments at LSU. “All I care about is what the taxpayers are going to be on the hook for.”

Unnamed private donors are said to have pledged to cover the cost of Kelly’s buyout.

“If big billionaires want to spend all that kind of money, no problem,” Landry said. “But if I’ve got to go find $53 million … it’s not going to be a pleasant conversation.”

Landry also made it clear that he had no intention of allowing Woodward to play a role in the hiring of the next coach.

“Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select him before I let [Woodward] do it,” the Republican governor said.

The next night, Woodward was out.

“We thank Scott for the last six years of service as athletic director,” LSU Board of Supervisors chair Scott Ballard said in a statement. “He had a lot of success at LSU, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future. Our focus now is on moving the athletic department forward and best positioning LSU to achieve its full potential.”

The news of Woodward’s departure dropped during a women’s basketball exhibition game between LSU and Langston. Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who was hired by Woodward in 2021, did not attend a postgame news conference, with associate head coach Bob Starkey telling reporters Mulkey was “heartbroken” over the news.

Woodward wrote in an open letter to Tiger Nation: “Others can recap or opine on my tenure and on my decisions over the last six years as Director of Athletics, but I will not. Rather, I will focus on the absolute joy that LSU Athletics brings to our state’s residents and to the Baton Rouge community. …

“Our University will always hold a special place in my heart and I will never be too far from LSU.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This Morning’s Cat Deeley appeared to make a shock confession regarding the ITV show’s competitions during Monday’s episode

A cringe-worthy moment unfolded on This Morning when Cat Deeley seemed to confess she and co-presenter Ben Shephard “cheat” whilst hosting one of the programme’s competitions.

The pair returned to television screens on Monday (September 29) with a fresh edition of This Morning, where regular contributors Gyles Brandreth and Ashley James joined them.

Cat and Ben started concluding the episode’s news section and revealed details about This Morning’s Spin To Win competition, which invites viewers to ring in for a chance to participate in a game and secure cash prizes on the ITV programme.

Ben outlined all the competition’s terms and conditions, whilst Cat disclosed that viewers could bag up to £12,000, with both wishing fans the best of luck.

“Yes, good luck!” Cat exclaimed, before turning to Ben and enquiring: “Are you saying that to me? Because of the competition?”

He responded: “Well, we know what happened when we’ve done this in the past,” prompting Cat to suddenly blurt out: “We cheat a little bit!”

Gyles appeared stunned by her admission and swiftly protested: “I don’t think we do!”.

“We know, we never have, we never will. We can’t!” Ben also interjected. Beaming, Cat declared: “We will never cheat! Sometimes, people don’t pick up the phone..”

Gyles and Ashley burst into laughter whilst Ben kept attempting to silence his co-presenter, with Cat smirking directly at the camera, reports Wales Online.

“You know Ralf [Little] and Will [Mellor] have that button that they can hit when someone’s going to say something… Someone should’ve hit that!” Ben remarked to Cat, who carried on chuckling.

The competition segments on This Morning are typically hosted by Andi Peters or Jeff Brazier, with stars like Kate Lawler occasionally stepping in to announce the competitions.

Cat and Ben helm This Morning from Monday to Thursday each week, while Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary usually present the ITV show on Friday mornings.

Gyles and Ashley are frequent guests on the programme, offering their insights on the latest news and headlines.

Other regular contributors include LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Nicola Thorpe and Tom Swarbrick. The ITV programme recently invited former GMB host Piers Morgan to discuss the day’s news.

This Morning airs on weekdays at 10am on ITV1

STRICTLY pro Lauren Oakley has QUIT social media just a day before the first live show – saying “everyone has feelings”.

The dancer, who is partnered with football manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink this series, urged viewers to not troll the stars.

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Lauren, 34, shared a message with her followers before she takes a break from her X platform while the show is on.

She wrote: “Live show tomorrow. That’s me deleting X for now, have fun everyone. Enjoy the show. Don’t be mean. Everyone has feelings and everyone is trying their best. Think before you type. Love.”

Last series Lauren stepped in for Amy Dowden as her replacement after health concerns and danced with JLS singer JB Gill.

Taking to the stage for the inaugural Icons Week, the pair blew the judges away and received an incredible 39 points.

On social media, viewers praised Lauren’s talent – and called for her not to be “benched” next series.

One wrote on X: “NEVER and I mean NEVER not give Lauren a partner again! Love her.”

Another commented: “Dear strictly. never bench lauren oakley again. thank you.”

A third chimed in: “Lauren Oakley is SO SO good.

“Its an absolute crime she was never given a partner this year.”

A fourth remarked: “lauren better get a partner next year i will start a riot if not #strictly.”

In 2023, Lauren partnered newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy, with the pair placing 8th overall.

Strictly Come Dance 2025 lineup

Strictly Come Dancing news and the latest line up

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CORONATION Street star Adam Hussain has broken his silence after quitting the soap.

The 24-year-old, who played Dev and Sunita Alahan’s son Aadi for five years, insisted it’s “not goodbye forever”.

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The ITV actor joined Corrie in 2020 when he took over from Zennon Ditchett, who had already played the character for ten years.

He announced his plans to leave in April this year – and has now revealed he’s landed a role in a new feature film.

In a video message shared by Coronation Street, Adam says: “I just want to say thank you so much to everyone for watching Aadi on Corrie over the years.

“These past five years have been so educational and such an experience.

“I’ve made friends that will last a lifetime.

“And I’ve grown not just as an actor, but as a person as well.

“But I just want to say that it’s not goodbye forever, more like a see you later.

“And if you want to keep watching me, then I will be around in other stuff so keep your eyes peeled.”

In an interview with the Mirror, Adam – who has been auditioning for new roles since filming his final scene in June – said: “I want to spread my wings a little, go out in the big world and see what else I can do.

“I am really excited as I’ve got a new role in a horror feature film. I can’t say too much yet, but I am looking forward to it.

“It’s very relieving to know I can always return whenever I want to.

“And they’ve told me the door will always be left open if I ever want to come back.”

He was flooded with support from fans in the comments.

One said: “Such a huge talent… all future tv and film dramas should count themselves very lucky that he is now available!”

Another added: “Wish you were staying! Your character had so much potential and would have loved to see your journey but wish you well in the future.”

Someone else wrote: “You are an amazing actor so we hope to see you back on TV very soon. All the very best buddy.”

Despite Nuno’s latest comments, it seems clear there is considerable friction behind the scenes at the City Ground.

If Forest continue to win games, then sacking him becomes that much tougher.

But can Nuno really expect to come out on top in a dispute with the owner and head of football?

“This is a battle that Nuno will lose,” European football expert Julien Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“We all know that once you start questioning your owner, it’s done. For him to come out with this unprompted, he offered it to the whole world, he knows that it is coming and that he can’t win this battle.

“We also know that him and Edu don’t get on. He was already there when Edu arrived at the club, and we all know when a new sporting director arrives, they like to come with their own people.”

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha said Nuno may consider resigning now that the relationship was “broken”.

“Nuno’s stock is so high with the fanbase, they will want to fully believe in him,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“But it is also so awkward for them because they will be grateful for what the owner has done for the club in the last few years.

“With Edu coming into the club in such an important position, he will want his own people in play, because they will never really fully trust the person that is already in play? If he could pick a manager now, would he pick Nuno? No.

“That will be nagging for as long as possible, but Marinakis and Edu won’t be rooting for him to fail so they can make the change.

“But the relationship is broken and I would not be surprised if Nuno walks before he is sacked.”

A WIFE is sharing her secret ‘3-hour rule’ that keeps her marriage alive, and other married couples can’t get enough of it.

TikToker Rachel Higgins posted a video sharing the simple way she and her husband manage to reconnect after long days.

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Higgins and her husband began following a three-hour night back in 2024, and the mother said it has been a “game changer” in their relationship.

What is the three-hour night? Higgins explains it as dividing up three hours into three different sections, which allows them to accomplish chores and connect.

Higgins and her husband would previously spend the entire night taking care of their young daughter, lounging on the couch while scrolling through their phones, and then going to bed.

However, after prioritizing their relationship, their nights take on a slightly different look.

“What we do is after my daughter goes to bed…we take an hour of productive time,” Higgins explained.

“Anything that’s productive for the household.” 

During the productive hour, they do chores that they couldn’t accomplish throughout the day, such as cleaning the kitchen or laundry.

“The second hour we’re dedicating to our marriage.

“During this time, we put our phones away and we’re solely dedicated to each other and to our marriage.”

Higgins said that this hour can look a little different every night.

Some nights it may mean taking a shower together, while others it may just be as simple as playing a game together.

The purpose of this hour is to debrief, discuss, and connect.

“The last hour is about taking time to yourself,” she said.

In the final hour, both of them can do whatever they want without judgment.

This may be lying on the couch, on your phone, or any other self-care activities you need to do.

“Main point is to inspire you to be intentional with your time if you feel stuck doing the same thing every night like we did,” Higgins wrote in the comments.

“No hard rules.”

Higgins said that they don’t necessarily accomplish their three-hour night goal every night, but they try to do it three to four times a week. 

The mother said that even just succeeding one night a week can be enough.

Higgins’ three-hour night drew the attention of over 300,000 TikTok users, with many people rushing to the comments to support the idea or question how she manages to make it work.

“Such a good idea,” one woman commented.

“Good for us empty nesters too! The phone scrolling is outta control!”

Ozzy Osbourne tragically passed away on 22 July aged 76

Ozzy Osbourne’s family recently joined fans in paying an emotional farewell to the heavy metal star during an emotional procession in Birmingham.

Black Sabbath legend Ozzy tragically passed away on 22 July aged 76. The family statement announcing his death read: “It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love.

“We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.”

Appearing on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, who has worked with both Ozzy’s wife Sharon and his son Jack, shared her condolences to the grieving family.

Ekin-Su, 30, was on Celebrity Big Brother with Sharon in 2024, where the two were friendly and bonded on the show.

Meanwhile, former Love Island star Ekin-Su is currently starring on Cooking with the Stars with Jack, 39, which was filmed before the death of his father.

Appearing on Friday’s GMB, Ekin-Su was asked about the heartbreaking news by hosts Kate Garraway and Adil Ray.

Ekin-Su said of Sharon: “She is such a motherly figure and I think she’s just so loving. Honestly, I feel like he was everything to Sharon and the family so for this to happen so tragically I just want Sharon to look after herself.”

Host Kate, 58, then jumped in saying: “She looked very vulnerable” to which Ekin-Su repeated: “Very vulnerable!” Kate continued: “We all wanted to hug her.”

Ekin-Su added: “Bless her, I’m sending all my love to their family. I mean Jack, such a sweet guy! A loss is always heartbreaking and when it’s such a known person and it’s such an iconic person that’s passed away, it hits us all.”

Host Adil, 51, then said: “It must be difficult for them as they have lived such a public life, of course all those reality TV shows that they did, suddenly these moments, these incredibly personal moments, ‘we want to see the funeral, we want to feel part of it’, but for them I wonder can you come out of that and really grieve on a personal level.”

To which Ekin-Su responded: “We are all obviously involved in it but I feel like that is quite private though and I feel like they do need some privacy and some time to grieve privately as well.”

It comes as Ozzy’s family recently joined fans in paying an emotional farewell to the heavy metal star during an emotional procession in Birmingham.

Sharon, who was married to the musician for more than four decades, became emotional as she stepped out of a car to view the hundreds of floral tributes and balloons laid around the Black Sabbath bench.

The former X Factor judge, 72, was helped out of the first vehicle in the cortege by her and Ozzy’s son Jack, who joined her at the event along with Ozzy and Sharon’s daughters Aimee and Kelly. At one emotional point, the family all raised their hands in a peace sign while paying their respects.

The family members wiped away tears at the bench as they inspected tributes, with members of the crowd shouting “we love you Ozzy”.

Good Morning Britain continues on weekdays at 6am on ITV and ITV X.

NATO chief Mark Rutte has said he is “optimistic” that members will agree to a major boost in defence spending and stressed that Washington is “totally committed to the alliance”, on the second day of the organisation’s annual summit.

Leaders of the transatlantic alliance’s 32 members are meeting in the Dutch city of The Hague on Wednesday under pressure from the Trump administration to approve new targets of spending 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, amid swirling questions over United States President Donald Trump’s commitment to the alliance.

But, speaking before a leaders’ meeting on the second and final day of the annual summit, NATO Secretary-General Rutte insisted there was no question of Washington, NATO’s most powerful member, backing away from the alliance or its underlying principle of mutual defence.

“There is absolute clarity that the United States is totally committed to NATO, totally committed to Article 5,” he said, referring to the cornerstone collective defence principle enshrined in NATO’s founding treaty, which holds that an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.

“And yes, there is also an expectation, which will be fulfilled today, that the Canadians and the Europeans will speed up their spending, making sure that we are able to defend ourselves against the Russians and others,” he said.

He expected the summit to be “transformational” for the alliance, he added.

Trump sows doubt

Trump has repeatedly complained that Washington carries too much of the military burden, and questioned whether the alliance should defend members who failed to meet its defence spending targets.

His administration has demanded that NATO allies agree to increase their defence spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP), up from the current target of 2 percent.

Nine NATO members currently spend less than the existing 2 percent target on defence, according to NATO estimates.

En route to The Hague on Tuesday, Trump further stoked doubts over his commitment to the alliance when asked whether Washington would abide by NATO’s mutual defence guarantees.

“Depends on your definition,” Trump told reporters. “There’s numerous definitions of Article 5. You know that, right? But I’m committed to being their friends.”

But speaking to journalists before the summit opened, Trump sought to reassure allies over the US committment to mutual defence, saying: “We’re with them all the way.”

Washington’s ‘problem with Spain’

In response to the US demands to boost defence spending , some NATO countries like Germany and the United Kingdom have already announced major new investments in their militaries, acknowledging the need to respond to the threat posed by Russia, in particular.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Tuesday that Germany would increase spending to become “Europe’s strongest conventional army”, while the UK, which has already said it will meet the new spending targets, has announced the purchase of a fleet of fighter jets capable of carrying tactical nuclear missiles.

But other countries signalled their resistance to the proposed targets, which are to be met by a 2035 deadline. Spain, NATO’s lowest defence spender last year, according to NATO estimates, has said it will not be able to meet the target by 2035, calling the figure “unreasonable”.

Belgium has also indicated that it will not make the 5 percent target, while Slovakia said it reserves the right to determine its own defence expenditure, The Associated Press news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Trump singled out Spain’s stance, saying: “There’s a problem with Spain. Spain is not agreeing, which is very unfair to the rest of them, frankly.”

‘A more balanced NATO’

Other NATO leaders, however, expressed their full support for the alliance and the increased defence spending targets on Wednesday.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said “Article 5 is clear … and means collective defence and there is no discussion about this article,” as he arrived at a meeting.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters that the boost to military spending was important and necessary.

“The disarmament was allowed to go on for too long,” she said.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, whose country borders Russia, told reporters that he believed the alliance was evolving.

“I think we’re witnessing the birth of a new NATO, which means a more balanced NATO, and a NATO which has more European responsibility,” he said, according to the Reuters news agency.

The US bombed Iran’s nuclear sites Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan on June 22.

United States President Donald Trump has insisted that the strikes on several of Iran’s nuclear sites last week “completely destroyed” the facilities, rejecting US media reports citing a Pentagon assessment that the attacks only set Tehran’s nuclear programme back by a few months.

An initial intelligence evaluation suggested that the US bombardment failed to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN reported on Tuesday, citing officials familiar with the military intelligence report from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

Two people familiar with the assessment had told CNN that Iran’s “enriched uranium was not destroyed” and the centrifuges were “largely intact”.

Another source told the US broadcaster that, according to the assessment, enriched uranium had been moved before the US strikes on Sunday.

Trump has maintained that the US strikes destroyed nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

“Fake news CNN, together with the failing New York Times, have teamed up in an attempt to demean one of the most successful military strikes in history,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“The nuclear sites in Iran are completely destroyed!” he wrote.

When reporters asked him about Iran rebuilding its nuclear programme on Tuesday, Trump said: “That place is under rock. That place is demolished.”

The White House said the intelligence assessment was “flat-out wrong”.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN in a statement: “Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”

Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy to the Middle East, also dismissed the intelligence report.

“All three of those had most, if not all, the centrifuges damaged or destroyed in a way that it will be almost impossible for them to resurrect that programme,” Witkoff told Fox News on Monday night.

“In my view, and in many other experts’ views who have seen the raw data, it will take a period of years.”

Witkoff also called the leaking of the report “treasonous”.

“It ought to be investigated. And whoever did it, whoever is responsible for it, should be held accountable,” he added.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi said an information war is under way.

“There are clearly figures in Washington who are very keen to leak a very preliminary Defense Intelligence Agency bombing assessment,” he said.

He noted that White House reporters received a press statement, saying the “leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear programme”.

“This is the first moment we are seeing, post-bombing, of the information landscape and how this information will be used and what effect it might have on Donald Trump going forward,” Rattansi said.