John

Countryfile viewers were quick to share their excitement on Sunday night over a huge show update

Countryfile favourite John Craven shared a heartwarming show update on Sunday’s episode.

The latest instalment saw presenter Anita Rani continue her east coast road trip, visiting a nature reserve on the Essex coast and also joining a group of fossil hunters on the search for new historical treasures.

However, BBC show veteran John, 85, issued an important show update halfway through the episode as he revealed that the 2026 Countryfile Photographic Competition is now open. This year’s theme is Signs of the Seasons.

Anita, 48, said: “I could take a photograph in any direction and capture a moment in time, a perfect day at a British seaside resort. There’s buckets and spades, there’s ice creams, there’s dogs running around, we’ve got the lot. And if you want to enter our photographic competition in aid of Children In Need, then here’s our John with the details.”

John then appeared in a pre-recorded segment to promote the competition, saying: “From dramatic landscapes to fleeting wildlife moments, there are certain things that really capture the feel of the season and make you want to stop and reach for your camera. And that’s exactly what we want to celebrate in this year’s photographic competition.

“Our theme is Signs of the Seasons. So get out into the summer with your cameras during the next few weeks, but also check through your camera galleries for shots that you might have taken in winter, autumn or spring because we want photographs that really show the beauty of the British countryside right through the year.”

John then explained: “From all the entries received, 12 photographs will be selected to star in the Countryfile calendar for 2027. All in support of BBC Children in Need.

“Once all the entries are in, a panel of judges will choose the winning photos to appear in the Countryfile calendar 2027, sold in aid of BBC Children in Need. And then the overall winning image will be chosen by you, the Countryfile viewers.

“Not only will that picture feature on the cover of the calendar, but the winner will also get a £1,000 gift card to spend on photographic equipment of their choice. And whoever takes the judge’s favourite photo will receive a gift card for £500 to spend on their choice of photographic equipment.”

After explaining the terms and conditions, and how to apply as well as find out more information, John ended his segment with: “So now it’s over to you. The very best of luck, and we can’t wait to see your Signs of the Seasons.”

Taking to social media to respond to the show update, one person said: “Looking forward to entering!” with a hands up emoji to which another account shared heart emojis over the announcement.

Meanwhile, another show watcher quipped: “Blimey! I swear the #Countryfile Calendar competition comes round earlier every year! Better get the sprouts on!” to which a different viewer joked: “Christmas tree up!”

Countryfile airs on Sundays on BBC One and BBC iPlayer

John L Esposito, a prominent scholar of religion and international affairs at Georgetown University, passed away on July 15, 2026, due to complications from heart surgery.

He was a towering intellectual who published more than 55 books, mainly with Oxford University Press, which have been translated into dozens of languages. He uniquely shaped the modern study of Islam and Muslim societies during the late 20th and early 21st century, particularly in the area of Islam-West relations during key moments of friction following the 1979 Iranian revolution and 9/11.

John was born into a working-class Italian-American family in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940. His worldview was shaped by his devout Catholic mother and his father’s commitment to social justice. He aspired to become a Catholic priest and, at a young age, joined the strict Capuchin Franciscan Order. John left the seminary before ordination and opted for graduate school instead. He earned a doctorate in religious studies at Temple University under the supervision of Ismail al-Faruqi, the late Palestinian-American scholar of religion.

John’s family and friends questioned his career choice because they feared for his employability. When he entered the job market in 1974, there was only one advertised position in Islamic studies. The study of religion, particularly Islam, was absent in many institutions of higher learning, and international relations programmes at universities ignored the role of religion in global affairs.

Telling stories was one of Professor Esposito’s many passions. Reflecting on his career, he frequently joked that he owed his livelihood to two famous “radical” Muslims, one Shia and the other Sunni: Ayatollah Khomeini and Osama bin Laden.

After the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, interest in the relationship between Islam and politics skyrocketed in the West. The same happened after 9/11. John’s expertise was suddenly in high demand. He responded by publishing several groundbreaking books on the relationship between Islam and politics, Islam’s normative ideals, Islam-West relations, and the diverse political and social structures of Muslim societies. He was frequently quoted in the media, and governments now sought his counsel.

This story about John’s career, however, has a steep downside.

The Western interest in Islam and Muslims emerged due to threats to United States national security. This meant the ability to understand this topic in a free, unbiased and independent way was absent for most Westerners. The enveloping context that shaped the policy and public debate on Islam and Muslims was themes of political revolution, mass violence and perceived threats to global order.

John’s educational efforts were always an uphill battle. Establishment academics dominated the intellectual, policy and media debates. Bernard Lewis wrote about the alleged “Roots of Muslim Rage” at modernity that purportedly explained turmoil in the Middle East. Around the same time, Samuel Huntington advanced a popular thesis on the “Clash of Civilizations”. These views had a wide following, in part because they reinforced pre-existing Western biases about Islam and Muslims. They were further enhanced by US and Israeli national security narratives about an alleged Islamic threat in the aftermath of the Cold War.

John was an early and courageous scholar who challenged Orientalist misrepresentations of Islam and Muslims in an era of deep polarisation. His scholarship created room for understanding in lieu of prejudice, and his intellectual insights allowed a younger generation of scholars to build on and expand upon his pioneering research.

Professor Esposito advanced a new understanding of religion by criticising the dominant social science theories about political development. He astutely drew attention to a “secular bias” that informed mainstream intellectual debates in the West on the relationship between religion and politics. These modernisation theories purported to be universally applicable based on the assumption that religion was a relic of the past that no longer mattered in the modern world. In truth, these claims were ideologically biased, based on a set of specifically Western experiences.

By contrast, John interpreted the politics of the Muslim world not from a Western normative framework but rather from the Muslim world’s own experience. In other words, not from the outside in, but rather from the bottom up, from the perspective of the masses, many of whom held onto a religious identity.  In doing so, he advanced a historically grounded and sociologically compelling analysis of religious politics in the Islamic world. Critiques of the legacy of colonialism, authoritarianism and US foreign policy were central to his intellectual work.

Professor Esposito’s work on political Islam was pioneering. He wrote about the social conditions and collective aspirations that rendered political Islam appealing to diverse constituencies across the Middle East and the broader Muslim world. While most mainstream Western scholars and liberal intellectuals focused on the Islamist desire to implement “Sharia”, Esposito focused on the core aspirations that animated political Islam: dignity, justice, self-determination, and opposition to external domination. These same aspirations made political Islam a resilient and enduring force.

In reflecting on John Esposito’s legacy, I’m reminded of an observation by Edmund Burke III. Commenting on the work of the late Marshall GS Hodgson, author of The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History of a World Civilization, Burke noted that Hodgson, like Esposito, refused to view Islam as the “other”. Instead, he understood the Islamic tradition as “a venture alongside others that marked human efforts to bring about a just and moral world”.

We are unlikely to see a scholar in our lifetime again who can match John Esposito’s moral and intellectual caliber. His impact on our collective education and understanding of Islam-West relations is unique and immeasurable. Those who care about universal values rooted in international law, human rights, democracy, and cross-cultural understanding are deeply in his debt.

John Esposito is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jean Esposito, his partner and primary supporter in all his endeavours, and the enduring love of John’s life.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Don Iwerks, an Academy Award-winning special effects pioneer whose innovations transformed film and Disney theme parks, died peacefully Thursday at the age of 96, the Walt Disney Co. announced.

For Disney and his own studio, Iwerks Entertainment, Iwerks helped develop technologies and techniques like Circle-Vision, the 360-degree camera behind “America the Beautiful” and other early Disney attractions, and the 3-D effects used in attractions like Captain EO and the Star Tours ride.

“There was a ‘can-do’ attitude I learned from Walt and my father,” Iwerks said, according to a statement shared by the Disney Co. “Walt gave everyone a feeling that they were creating things that others had never thought of before, of being a part of history.”

Born July 24, 1929, Iwerks received his first camera at age 14 as a gift from his father, animator Ub Iwerks.

The elder Iwerks met fellow artist Walt Disney when both men were teenagers working at a Kansas City, Mo., art studio. They would go on to work together at the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, where Iwerks designed and animated “Plane Crazy,” the first Mickey Mouse cartoon.

After a stint at his own animation studio, Ub returned to Disney as a special effects engineer, pioneering techniques like the 360-degree motion-picture camera.

“He was absolutely my inspiration because he was technically minded. He made my childhood and formative years one of the greatest times of my life,” Don Iwerks told The Times in 1998.

The Iwerks family moved to the San Fernando Valley in 1936, where Don graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1947.

He served as a photographer in Germany during the Korean War and joined his father at Disney following his 1952 discharge from the U.S. Army. An allergic reaction to chemicals used to develop film led to his transfer to the company’s Studio Machine Shop, where he spent the next 34 years.

Don spent three months in the Bahamas manning underwater cameras for the 1954 Disney film “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” He then worked as the camera technician on “A Tour of the West,” an original Tomorrowland attraction at the soon-to-be opened Disneyland. The immersive 360-degree film was shot on the Circarama camera system his father invented.

Together, Don and Ub developed technologies like the “endless loop” system that enabled a single film print to run for up to 10,000 performances with minimal intervention and refinements to the photography processes used in “Mary Poppins” (his favorite of the Disney films) and other movies.

His own hands were used as the model for those of the Abraham Lincoln Audio-Animatronics figure in “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln,” which opened at Disneyland in 1965. The “Iwerks Hands” now appear on similar figures at Disney parks around the world, according to his family.

In 1986, he co-founded Iwerks Entertainment, which soon became a major player in the film and theme park industries. The company specialized in large-format films and created the 3-D projection system used in the Terminator rides at Universal Studios parks in Hollywood and Florida.

His innovations were honored with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ honorary Gordon E. Sawyer Award and an Academy Scientific and Technical Award, among other prizes.

“It’s very obvious that computers are playing a big role in motion pictures today. The digital technology in film is able to put elements of scenes together on a film and have them look lifelike. It’s hard to know where that will go,” Iwerks said in a 1998 interview.

“My view is that technology should support a good story and add to it. Technology for technology’s sake?” he said with a shrug. “You still need good films.”

Iwerks is survived by his wife of 54 years, Betty; his sons, Larry and John; John’s wife, Chris; his daughter Leslie, and great-nephew,Mike, both of whom have also worked for Disney, according to an obituary shared by his family. His daughter Tamara preceded him in death.

“Like his father, he was a humble genius, a consummate problem solver, and delighted in sharing knowledge, encouraging others, and approaching every challenge with confidence and grace,” his family said in the statement from Conejo Mountain Funeral Home in Ventura.

Both Don and Ub Iwerks are commemorated in a storefront window on Main Street U.S.A. in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Located above the Main Street Bakery, the window is a lasting tribute to a family who made some of the park’s magic possible.

“Iwerks-Iwerks Stereoscopic Cameras,” the lettering reads. “No Two Exactly Alike.”

John H. Rousselot, the conservative Republican who represented part of the San Gabriel Valley in Congress for 14 years, was an officer of the John Birch Society and who tried to buy Charles H. Keating Jr.’s failed Lincoln Savings and Loan Assn., died Sunday. He was 75.

Rousselot, of Mission Viejo, died at Irvine Medical Center of congestive heart failure, said his son, Craig. He said his father had suffered a heart attack a year ago.

A glad-hander and energetic campaigner, Rousselot was controversial and colorful as he surfed the changing waves of political power as public relations expert, legislator or lobbyist.

He first gained office in 1960 when he ousted incumbent Democratic Rep. George Kasem in the 25th District. But he was so outspoken in defending the right-wing Birch Society, which he had just joined, that he failed to win reelection. In 1970, he was returned to Washington for half a dozen two-year terms in the 26th District, which included his native San Marino.

The congressman’s elective status ended in 1982 after redistricting threw him into a new 30th District, stretching from Bell Gardens to Azusa. Too long out of office and tainted by his association with Keating, Rousselot failed in a 1992 comeback campaign for the 25th District.

In Congress, Rousselot became active on the Banking and Currency Committee, and later the Economic and Budget and Ways and Means committees, where he staunchly opposed spending and tax increases, proposed cuts in the food stamp program, and worked for deregulation of the savings and loan industry. He also advocated U.S. military occupation of Cuba two years before the Cuban missile crisis.

As then-Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy and others criticized the Birch Society in the early 1960s, freshman Congressman Rousselot defended the group: “They are calm, firm, dedicated people who are merely trying to inform themselves about communism.”

If Kennedy read the group’s “blue book,” Rousselot told The Times in 1961, he’d know that “one of the main purposes of each chapter is to keep its members and guests who attend fully informed as to the nature, purpose and intent of the Communist conspiracy in this country.”

First turned out of Congress in 1963, Rousselot was named regional director of the Birch Society — heading the group in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada and Idaho from an office in San Marino. He also served as national Birch Society public relations chairman. In both positions, he continued to insist that the organization’s purpose was to educate rather than advocate or indoctrinate.

But Rousselot resigned from the Birch Society with characteristic drama on April 17, 1979, when he was contemplating running for the U.S. Senate [he didn’t], “to demonstrate to the citizens of California that I am my own man, controlled by no organization or individual.” He also said that he had become disillusioned because Birch Society founder Robert Welch had besmirched President Eisenhower as a Communist agent and Winston Churchill as a traitor.

After Rousselot left Congress, he was in the Reagan White House as special assistant for business matters, then served as Western states coordinator for Reagan’s 1984 reelection campaign.

From 1985 to 1988, Rousselot was president of the National Council of Savings Institutions, a Washington-based lobbying group for banks and savings and loans. In addition to deregulation he worked to enable savings institutions to expand their business beyond mortgage lending.

In 1989, after lobbying for Keating, Rousselot was named the final chairman and chief executive of Lincoln Savings and Loan. With four others, he tried to buy the institution shortly before it was shut down by federal regulators who said that its assets were dissipated. Critics alleged that the attempted purchase was a scheme to delay the federal shutdown in the largest thrift collapse in U.S. history.

“I did nothing illegal, improper or unwarranted,” Rousselot told The Times a few years later.

Nevertheless, in 1993 his former association with the scandal-plagued thrift forced Gov. Pete Wilson to withdraw his appointment to the California Board of Prison Terms when legislators refused to confirm him.

John Harbin Rousselot was born Nov. 1, 1927, in San Marino and majored in political science and business administration at Principia College in Elsah, Ill.

In the 1950s, he established a public relations firm in Los Angeles and became president of the California Young Republicans.

From 1958 to 1960, when he resigned to run for Congress, he was national director of public information for the Federal Housing Administration.

Twice divorced, Rousselot is survived by his son, Craig of Irvine; two daughters, Robin Edwards of Lake Forest and Wendy Sirugo of San Dimas; a brother, Norman of Sonora, Texas; and five granddaughters.

A public memorial service will be planned at a later date.

JOHN Bishop has revealed that he and wife Mel have secretly renewed their wedding vows after “tough times’ in his marriage.

The comedian, 59, admitted that his marriage had “failed” and “everything had gone s***” before he found a particular musician that helped him heal the problems in his relationship.

John, who has been married to Mel for 33 years, said he really connected to artist David Gray’s music during his lowest times.

Speaking on stage at Silver Clef on Thursday, John said: “Tonight I could never imagined that I’d get the opportunity to say thank you to this artist.

“My marriage had failed, everything had gone s*** and like most men I had no-one to talk to, and the magic of songs is that you listen to them and you hear what that artist is feeling and you hear what that artist thinks of the world.”

John said he was introduced to the singer’s 1998 album White Ladder, which is David’s fourth studio album.

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The stand-up comic said that the Babylon singer became a “constant part of his life” and pulled him through some difficult times.

John continued: “Somebody gave me White Ladder and I listened to it and I realised sometimes there’s an artist that sings songs that tells you what you are thinking and feeling of the world, so when I was at my lowest I was introduced to David Gray and he’s been a constant part of my life ever since.

“I would say 90 per cent of the gigs that I do afterwards I get in the car, I put my headphones on and I listen to David Gray.”

John then dropped the news that he secretly renewed his wedding vows with Mel and even played one of the artist’s biggest tracks, Sail Away

“He [David] was there at the lowest point of my life but then when me and my wife reconciled and then went on to renew our wedding vows we played Sail Away as we walked down the aisle,” John added.

“He’s been there at the highest point of my life.”

John married Melanie in 1993 and they had three boys — Joe, now 29, Luke, 27 and Daniel, 25. But the stresses of life led the couple to split up for 18 months — and they almost signed their divorce papers in 2000.

While performing at an open night, John made a gag about missing his soon-to-be former wife so much that he kept her “severed head in the fridge”.

But unbeknown to the Liverpool-born comedian, she was right there in the audience.

The remarkable tale of John’s stand-up career and marriage inspired a movie directed by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, which was released in January.

John said about his marriage: “There was no huge fight or a revelation about someone else. We just grew apart.

“Maybe it had something to do with having three kids so quickly.

“For six years there was always someone in the house in nappies. Our marriage just faded.”

Feeling “depressed”, he went to the Frog And Bucket Comedy Club in Manchester, which has helped launch the careers of acts including Peter Kay and Jack Whitehall.

He did not want to pay the £4 entrance fee, so put himself down on the list of comedians for the open mic night.

John recalled: “I clambered up on stage, picked up the microphone and thought, what on Earth am I doing here? I had no jokes, and ­absolutely no material. I just talked about life.”

The audience laughed as he riffed on his marriage woes, so John was invited back to perform again.

One of the routines would make the audience go, “Aww!” — when he spoke about splitting up from his wife. He would then tell them: “Don’t worry, we haven’t divorced — I’ve just killed her.

“But I knew I would miss her so I’ve kept her head in the fridge for three months.”

Melanie turned up with ­workmates for one of those gigs in 2000, and when John saw her ­afterwards he started to apologise for his jokes.

To his surprise, she said: “The man I saw on stage was the man I married. Where did he go?”

The couple went for marriage counselling at Relate and are still together today, 25 years later.

John said: “The pain we had in our relationship, it sounds cliched but it made us stronger.”

It then took John another six years to give up his job in pharmaceutical sales in order to become a comedian full-time at the age of 40.

The decision was the right one because he is now one of the nation’s most popular funnymen.

John Slattery was jet-lagged in Budapest late one night after a day of shooting the 2025 drama “Nuremberg” when his old “Mad Men” co-star and friend Jon Hamm texted him with the kind of pitch that would send many actors sprinting in the opposite direction.

Would he be willing to play an out-of-work version of himself who hadn’t had a gig in a decade and was shamelessly coasting on his “Mad Men” fame?

Reading the script for “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass” through the haze of fatigue, Slattery fixated on that one detail: “Hasn’t worked in 10 years, huh?” he recalls by phone from his home in New York. “I had to go: Wait a second. Let me IMDb myself.”

As it happens, the 63-year-old Slattery — best known for his four-time Emmy-nominated turn as the silver-haired ad executive Roger Sterling on “Mad Men” — has racked up some 30 film and TV credits since that show ended in 2015. Still, he says he was happy to detonate his cool, unflappable persona in the latest comedy from “Wet Hot American Summer” and “Role Models” filmmaker David Wain.

The gleefully unhinged “Gail Daughtry,” which premiered earlier this year at Sundance and opens Friday, casts Slattery as a washed-up version of himself who is enlisted by a Midwestern woman (Zoey Deutch) who flies to Los Angeles determined to cash in on a celebrity sex pass with Hamm after discovering her fiancé cheated on her with Jennifer Aniston.

For Slattery, what begins as an exercise in comic self-demolition gradually becomes the movie’s biggest surprise, with the actor turning a desperate, delusional version of himself into its most unexpectedly lovable character.

From left, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, John Slattery, Ben Wang, Ken Marino and Zoey Deutch in the movie “Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass.”

(Sundance Institute)

Speaking with The Times, Slattery reflected on cheerfully becoming the butt of the joke, why broad comedy is anything but easy and what it’s like navigating Hollywood at a moment when fading away feels a little less far-fetched than it once did.

Actors spend years building a certain cool image, but within seconds of appearing onscreen in this movie, you’re whining, farting and generally making an ass of yourself. What appealed to you about that?

I never considered it risky. Not that it was foolproof, but it was just such a silly idea and I was a fan of David Wain and those guys anyway. These kinds of comedies take skill and experience. I mean, you have to be really smart to make a movie this stupid.

You’re always looking for something that’s different and this was such a funny way to depart from myself — ironically, by playing myself. It seems like the wildest character I’ve played in a while, and it’s me. I thought: What kind of research am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to watch myself and imitate myself? But there was really nothing to do. You just learn the lines and show up.

Was there ever a moment where you thought: This is either going to be really funny or the end of my career?

I didn’t have that feeling on this. There’s nothing funnier to me than a confident moron. My favorite thing in the world to watch or try to do is somebody who has full confidence in their idiocy.

I’m not somebody who dives into the deep end right away. First I want to know I can trust the people in charge of what I’m about to deliver to them. If I do all this, whose hands am I leaving it in? With David, that wasn’t even a consideration. He’s just so good at what he does, and that gives you permission to just go all in.

Have you always been able to laugh at yourself or is that something that’s gotten easier as you’ve gotten older?

I come from a large family of piss-takers. They’re all really good at ball-breaking and really funny. My mother had six kids, and all her brothers had five or six kids. I had a million cousins, and they will shred you. Somebody would always knock your feet out from under you if you took yourself too seriously.

John Slattery and Jon Hamm in a scene from the AMC drama “Mad Men.”

(Frank Ockenfels / AMC)

Every successful actor probably has a nightmare that one day the phone stops ringing and you’re coasting on fading glory. Did you ever have that feeling after “Mad Men” ended?

After going through COVID and the strike and directing an independent movie [2023’s black comedy “Maggie Moore(s)”], which doesn’t pay very well, I hadn’t acted in a while. I was like: Oh, I wonder if this is going to continue. I don’t know.

The business has contracted. It seems like there’s an endless list of titles on every streaming menu, and yet they’re making less and people are struggling. So I’m glad to be working. I’ve had a pretty lucky run of late and I’m not taking it for granted.

At this point in your career, what makes you say yes to something?

Money. [laughs] No, it’s really the same as it’s always been. You always want a big, fat, juicy part, but sometimes it’s just a functioning part in a really good story.

You kind of roll with the punches. You do something, you have some success with it and then you get a lot of offers for things that are a lot like that. If that’s all that comes in, you pick the best one and keep going. People say, “Well, it’s not ‘Mad Men.’” And you go, “Well, what do I need to do that again for? I did that.”

This is a perfect example of something that’s every bit as interesting and fun in a completely different way. If they could all be like this one, I could die tomorrow. You want them all to be this fun, because they’re not. Sometimes you’re stuck in a courtroom all day and it’s pretty dry. This was anything but that.

Hollywood feels like a deeply anxious place right now. You’ve worked through a lot of different eras of this business. How does this moment compare?

I have a job coming up, so that’s always hopeful. Having just come off something, and knowing you’re about to do something else, gives you a sense of security. But there’s definitely a palpable anxiety. You hear it when people get jobs: “Thank God.” Or, “It’s about time.” Or, “I don’t care what it is, I’m going to do it.”

I was listening to Taylor Sheridan recently talking about how people who don’t tell stories are governing the telling of stories. That’s more than disconcerting. And now AI is the overlord of all that. It’s very strange.

It’s always been a youth-oriented business. There are definitely more movies about people who are 27 than people who are 63. Maybe it all kind of shakes out. I don’t know. Sometimes I wish it were 1943 and I was in a suit playing a detective.

I would watch that movie. Meanwhile, Hollywood doesn’t make many broad theatrical comedies like this anymore. Why do you think that is?

I don’t know why the studios have given up on comedies in movie theaters. They used to be the thing, right? Those big Will Ferrell movies were huge moneymakers.

Maybe this will turn the tide. When you think about the condition of the country right now, and how pissed off and divided everybody is, you roll out this silly, smart-but-stupid comedy, and it seems like the perfect amelioration of everybody’s anxiety. Go get some popcorn and laugh your ass off. You’ll feel better.

In 2012, when Mark Walter and his partners bought the Dodgers, team president Stan Kasten declared mediocrity would no longer be acceptable.

Would the Dodgers improve their minor league system? Yes. Would the Dodgers improve their major league roster? Also yes. Would spending in one area preclude spending in another? Absolutely not.

“These fans expect and deserve a team that can win,” Kasten said then.

So do Angels fans. For the first time this decade, with the arrival of John Mozeliak as interim general manager, they have legitimate hope.

Mozeliak, whose St. Louis Cardinals teams reached the playoffs more often than not in his 18 years running baseball operations there, is here to end baseball’s longest postseason drought, or at least steer the Angels in that direction.

At first, I was shocked to hear him say he does not believe the Angels need to rebuild. Under owner Arte Moreno, the Angels have resisted rebuilding, preferring to add lower-tier free agents and rush college players to the major leagues in an effort to field a competitive roster. That has failed: For the first time in franchise history, the Angels could finish in last place for a third consecutive season.

But, when Mozeliak and I sat down in the Angels’ dugout the other day, he explained that the path forward in Anaheim should not be tanking. It should be acting like the major-market team the Angels are — and were, during Moreno’s first decade of ownership.

“The one thing you have to realize about the Los Angeles Angels is: they do have resources,” Mozeliak said. “From Mr. Moreno to the market size, this is a place that could be a very, very special place.”

In Moreno’s first decade, under Bill Stoneman and Mike Scioscia, the Angels were a player development machine. In 2003, in his first winter as owner, Moreno signed the best position player on the free-agent market in Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero and the best pitcher on the market in four-time All-Star Bartolo Colon.

The questions Mozeliak asks and answers now are the same ones Kasten did with the Dodgers. Can the team deploy resources to upgrade scouting and player development? Yes. Can the team do the same with the major league roster? Also yes.

“There are many franchises in the game of baseball that cannot do that,” Mozeliak said. “They have trade-offs. They have to make a decision: If I’m going to give you $20 million for your infrastructure, that’s $20 million less for your payroll.

“This place is different.”

The Dodgers parallel only goes so far. Walter and Kasten inherited a core of Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier. Mozeliak will work with Mike Trout and a long-touted “young core” that has shown by now it is not the foundation of a championship-caliber team.

No one expects Moreno to spend like the Dodgers do (and even Walter’s fellow owners want a salary cap in an attempt to stop the Dodgers). Yet, in St. Louis, Mozeliak built winners without the Cardinals owners ever paying a luxury tax.

The first step in revitalizing the Angels comes Saturday, in the draft.

“We’re going to take the best available player,” Mozeliak said.

Mozeliak said he is not interested in two recent Angels trends: paying less to a first-round pick in order to spread the savings around longer shots in the lower rounds, or targeting a polished college player in part because he could get to Anaheim in a hurry.

“I’m not wedded to a high school player or a college player,” Mozeliak said. “I want the best player.”

The second item on the agenda: the Aug. 3 trade deadline, which would afford Mozeliak the opportunity to collect prospects for such players as pitcher Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano and outfielder Jo Adell.

In 2020, Moreno nixed a trade that would have brought Andy Pages – then a Dodgers prospect, now an All-Star – to the Angels.

In 2023 and 2024, Moreno rebuffed trade offers for Shohei Ohtani that could have returned the likes of Junior Caminero or Jackson Merrill. No player of that caliber would be coming in return for what the Angels have to offer now.

Mozeliak said the Angels should not consider a trade proposal in isolation, without considering how to flex their major-market muscles to fill whatever hole a trade might create.

“If we understand what we’re doing today can help make us stronger tomorrow, and then look at potentially what we could do on the free-agent market,” he said, “that should be something we are doing in parallel thinking.”

Mozeliak said he does not believe any player should be untouchable. As if on cue, Trout walked by.

Trade Trout? That’s not happening, right?

“That’s not happening,” Mozeliak said.

In his hours of conversations with Moreno, Mozeliak said, the topic of whether the owner might sell the team “never came up.”

Does Moreno appear interested in staying for the long haul?

“Absolutely,” Mozeliak said.

Mozeliak said he had presented Angels President Molly Jolly with a 100-day plan for what the team calls a consulting role: run baseball operations on an interim basis; do a deep dive into how the Angels do things now and how they can do them better; recommend a new general manager. Maybe he stays in that role, or in a supporting role, or he simply leaves when his contract expires in December.

“I’m certainly confident in what we need to do, and I’m certainly confident this is a market that could be amazing,” he said. “It’s exciting times for me. I’m energized.

“I’m smart enough to know that one person cannot change everything. But one person can begin change, and that’s what I’m going to start to do.”

Distinguished executives, including the likes of Dave Dombrowski and Andrew Friedman, have wanted no part of the Angels. Then again, Mozeliak is only committed for six months. If Moreno does not do what Mozeliak believes should be done, and if Mozeliak is not allowed to begin that change, he can just walk away.

“I think I have that authority,” Mozeliak said, “and I think he understands that he can embrace change, because that is what is going to be required.”

Based on Moreno telling you that?

“Yes,” Mozeliak said.

The last time the Angels hired an experienced general manager from outside the organization: 35 years ago, when they also looked to St. Louis for Whitey Herzog. That didn’t work. Herzog won a power struggle in the front office, then quit anyway, amid disputes with ownership.

This might work, or might not. But think back to 2020, when then-Angels president John Carpino said this: “Obviously, we’re not doing it the right way. We’re not winning games. So something is not right in our organization.”

Carpino retired in April, without ever explaining what was not right in the organization or, based on the standings, repairing it.

Jolly replaced him and, within two months, secured Moreno’s approval to hire the architect of a World Series championship team to figure out what was not right in the organization, and to fix it.

In one bold step, the Angels admitted they had a problem and set out a path to remedy it. With three months to go in this wretched season, the MVP of the 2026 Angels is abundantly clear: Molly Jolly.

LISA Faulkner and John Torode have been dealt another blow following her breast cancer diagnosis earlier this week.

The TV couple have reportedly learned that their cookery show, John & Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen, has been shelved after ten series.

Amid ongoing budget cuts at ITV, the show is notably absent from upcoming schedules.

According to The Mirror, the couple remain hopeful that the popular cookery programme could return to the channel at a later date.

An insider told the publication: “John remains a regular contributor to This Morning, where he has been fully supported by everyone, including hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley.

“The truth is there are no current plans for series 11 of Weekend Kitchen but no final decision has yet been made over whether it will return in the future.

CANCER SHOCK

John Torode’s wife Lisa Faulkner, 54, gives fans update after cancer diagnosis

END OF TORODE

John Torode’s ITV cooking show with wife set to be axed after BBC sacking

“And John is very much a part of the ITV family through his role as a regular chef on This Morning.”

ITV confirmed that no final decisions have been made yet regarding the future of the show.

The news comes after John suffered a major career setback last year when he left MasterChef.

An inquiry, ordered by MasterChef’s production company, upheld a claim that the chef had used an “extremely offensive racist term”, which he said he had “no recollection of”, and he subsequently departed the show.

His wife Lisa announced her shock cancer diagnosis on Thursday, revealing that she had already undergone surgery and was awaiting a course of radiotherapy.

Lisa is best known for her acting roles in shows including Holby City and EastEnders, and in recent years has carved out a successful career as a TV chef.

She won Celebrity MasterChef in 2010 before going on to front John & Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen alongside her husband.

JOHN Torode’s wife Lisa Faulkner has given fans an emotional update after revealing her shock breast cancer diagnosis.

The 54-year-old announced the news on Thursday and divulged that she had already undergone surgery and will be moving onto a course of radiotherapy.

She took to her Instagram stories today to thank her fans for all of their support over the last 24 hours.

Lisa penned: “Thank you for all of your support and your lovely messages. i promise I will read every word.

“So many of you going through this or someone who is. Your love and kindness has really touched me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

The former EastEnders actress told her fans yesterday why she’d been quiet on social media.

READ MORE ON LISA FAULKNER

BREAST AWARE

The easily-missed signs of breast cancer after Lisa Faulkner’s diagnosis

END OF TORODE

John Torode’s ITV cooking show with wife set to be axed after BBC sacking

She divulged: “I know I’ve been very quiet on here, reason being I have had to have surgery for the early stages of breast cancer.

“I had surgery two weeks ago, it was quite a big op but it’s all good and I’ve my results back and they’ve got everything out.

“So it’s all clear and I just need now to have some radiotherapy in a few weeks.

“I just wanted to say I’ve got a bit of healing to do but I’m good. I’m well and feeling so much better and I’m so grateful I went for my mammogram.

“I just wanted to say don’t put them off, go, because they found this and without that mammogram it wouldn’t have been picked up.

“Thank you to our wonderful NHS and the fact we can have these mammograms and we can get treatment early.”

Within moments of her sharing the difficult news, Lisa was inundated with support from her famous pals and followers.

Actress Tamzin Outhwaite said: “Love you Lise. You’ve got this my darling.”

Another added: “Sending so much love your way, lovely xx.”

Before a third said: “Sending love and hugs.”

Lisa is best known for her various acting roles and in recent years has become prolific as a TV chef.

Her famous telly husband John Torode has yet to comment on the gutting news about his partner.

It is the latest in a long line of blows for John who was sacked from his role on MasterChef following an investigation at the BBC.

He was given the boot from the programme following an investigation which was launched based upon the conduct of his co-star, Gregg Wallace.

SIR Elton John has signed a multi-million pound deal for an un- limited residency in Las Vegas — as a hologram.

The pop superstar, 79, will be immortalised using cutting-edge tech so fans can enjoy his live performances for decades more.

Elton, whose sight is failing, retired as a touring artist in 2023, but is still set to appear at special one-off gigs.

Dua Lipa, 30, who had No1 song Cold Heart with Elton in 2021, will also appear as part of the residency.

So will Kiki Dee, 79, who topped the charts with Elton with Don’t Go Breaking My Heart in 1976.

The immersive experience is set for the new Hard Rock Hotel, opening next summer.

WHINY DANCER

Elton John brands Labour ‘absolute losers’ in BBC tirade over copyright plans

HEADING HOME

‘Frail’ Elton, 79, passes airport security as he jets home after Dua’s wedding

Elton is booked to film his performances with Dua and Kiki at Pinewood Studios, Bucks, this autumn.

A source added: “Elton, Dua and Kiki will be holograms. It’s similar to the Abba Voyage show in London, but far more advanced as the technology has come on so much.

“Elton signed a seven-figure deal with Hard Rock. It’s a shift away from a traditional residency and is billed as a fully immersive experience.

“It’s going to look phenomenal.”

It’s no joke: John Oliver of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” is checking into “General Hospital,” the ABC soap opera.

The host of the weekly series that takes sharply comedic aim at government and institutions announced during his June 28 episode that he will appear on the daytime soap “General Hospital” on July 2, 3 and 6. No details about his role were revealed except that it will be a “substantial guest role.”

And that’s not the only soap he’ll be in this summer. He will also have a role on “Days of Our Lives,” streaming on Peacock, on Aug. 11, 12 and 14.

The appearances are the culmination of Oliver’s pleas to soap opera producers during the March 8 installment of his show that they consider him for a part. An unapologetic devotee of the outrageous antics and high melodrama which characterize the genre, Oliver said, “Write me a role and I will be on your set so fast it will make your head swim.”

In a statement, Oliver celebrated the realization of his dream: “‘General Hospital’ was everything I hoped it would be. It’s a true honor to be a small stain on the history of this illustrious show.”

The series’ executive producer Frank Valentini said in a separate statement that Oliver made an offer they could not refuse.

“When John Oliver publicly threw down the gauntlet and said he wanted to appear on a soap, we didn’t hesitate for a second,” he said. “He was everything you’d hope he’d be: prepared, professional, funny, and genuinely kind to everyone on set. He plays an integral character in the story, and I can’t wait for fans to see who he crosses paths within Port Charles.”

“General Hospital,” which airs weekdays on ABC and streams on Hulu, is in its 64th year and stands as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production.

On the March 8 episode, Oliver said he was jealous of celebrities such as Katy Perry, Snoop Dogg and Smokey Robinson who would pop up on various soaps. He was particularly envious of sports pundit Stephen A. Smith who has had a recurring role on “General Hospital,” playing a shady figure known only as “Brick.”

Oliver made it clear that he was not interested in a brief walk-on playing himself. He wanted to play a character, and have a “juicy role” that involved murder or “slapping.” He also required that there be a close-up of his face.

John Mozeliak is in Anaheim for one clear-cut reason: to set the foundation for the Angels to get back on track.

At his introductory news conference at Angel Stadium on Saturday, the team’s new baseball operations consultant and interim general manager laid out his vision for success — while acknowledging recent woes — alongside Molly Jolly, one day after the first-year Angels president relieved general manager Perry Minasian of his duties amid his sixth straight losing season.

“Obviously, [the Angels] lacked consistency in terms of when you think about winning, right? Because that’s the proxy,” Mozeliak said. “There’s a lot of things we can use to determine if the organization is healthy or not. … Where Molly and I are connecting on this is like, we understand wins and losses matter, but how do you get to a place where that becomes consistent?

“Look at the best clubs in baseball [and] what you admire; whether they’re large-market or small-market, they have a philosophy, they have direction, and they stick to it, right? … That’s ultimately what we need to do here, and that’s hopefully something I can help bring to them.”

Mozeliak spent 18 seasons (2008-25) as general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, a tenure consisting of 10 playoff appearances and a World Series victory in 2011.

The 57-year-old intends to “audit” the Angels in this new role alongside Jolly, with plans to hire a general manager by the time Mozeliak’s contract is up “sometime in December.”

“I brought on board John Mozeliak to assist me in preparing a baseball operation strategy as well as guide me in the search for a new general manager,” Jolly said, mentioning that her decision to fire Minasian and bring in Mozeliak had brewed for weeks.

“I did this because John has a proven track record of building and maintaining winning baseball cultures, and my goal is to bring that here to the Angels.”

Mozeliak didn’t rule himself out as the long-term answer at general manager and was emphatic about not speaking in absolutes. However, the longtime executive said he’d rather help Jolly “bridge the gap” during the Angels’ transformative period before anything else.

The Angels have plenty of gaps entering Saturday’s matchup with the Athletics. The Angels are tied for last in the American League with a 34-49 record while on the road to a 12th consecutive finish out of the playoffs.

And all of that is before mentioning the “sell the team” chants that flood the right-field upper deck at Angel Stadium at each home game oas ex-Angel Shohei Ohtani thrives with the Dodgers.

Mozeliak understands that the Angels have lacked direction in recent seasons. He asked for patience in rebuilding the team alongside Jolly.

“I knew coming in, this isn’t going to be something where Molly and I had a light switch and everything just starts working perfectly,” Mozeliak said. “It’s not going to work that way. … I would ask for some patience. We need a little time to sort of work through this … when we come out on the other end of this tunnel, we hope to be in a very successful place.”

Jolly said of Angels fans’ discontent, “I know what’s happening. I see it, I hear it. Fans have a right to have their voices be heard. Didn’t influence the decision that I wanted to make, but we all want to win. Our owner wants to win. I do. The fans deserve that, and that’s what we’re going to work toward.”

Mozeliak acknowledged he’d already forgotten some names of Angels personnel he was introduced to Saturday. But he also said that first-year manager Kurt Suzuki and the rest of the coaching staff’s jobs are secure through the season.

“I met with most of them this morning, and I told them they’re all fine for this year,” Mozeliak said. “There’s nothing they have to worry about. We’re not making any coaching changes right now. I really just need to get to know them, right?”

Mozeliak spoke to Suzuki on Saturday and said that he and his staff are “very impressive.”

Across the board, Mozeliak — who hasn’t yet met owner Arte Moreno since moving into this role — is focused on knowing who the Angels are at this point, with an “aggressive timeline” looming in the background.

With that said, Mozeliak shared that he isn’t “overly concerned” with the Aug. 3 trade deadline, nor is he worried about the MLB Draft, which starts July 11.

“My philosophy on the draft is to let the scouting director and his team do their jobs,” Mozeliak said. “The only real input I’m going to have is … understanding their process … and then if there are some financial decisions that are being banked into who we pick and why.”

Jolly brought in Mozeliak to help the Angels hire their fourth full-time general manager since 2012.

And while many might believe not much will change as long as Moreno remains the owner, Jolly said she has “autonomy” to assess the Angels’ baseball operations and is “confident in my authority and scope within the organization.”

Those invested in the Angels will believe it when they see it.

“When I think about the Angels right now, I just look at it as a very opportunistic time here,” Mozeliak said. “New leadership on the business side; we’re going to put a great team on the baseball side.

“But it’s going to be a place that I hope, in a couple years, we’re all proud of.”

GREENBELT, Md. — Former Trump administration national security adviser John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally retaining classified information, sealing a deal with federal prosecutors that could allow him to avoid a prison term.

Bolton, who became an outspoken critic of President Trump after serving in the Republican’s first administration, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28 by U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Greenbelt, Md.

Bolton pleaded guilty to a single count of illegally retaining classified information. His plea agreement with the Justice Department may enable him to avoid time behind bars, but the judge ultimately will decide his punishment.

The plea agreement recommends capping any prison sentence at five years but the judge isn’t bound by that part of the deal. Bolton can withdraw his guilty plea if the judge issues a longer prison sentence or a fine greater than $2.25 million.

Bolton was charged last October with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes that he shared with relatives as he wrote a memoir about his career in government.

Other Trump adversaries have been charged with federal crimes during his second term in the White House. While some of those cases have collapsed under judicial scrutiny and amid claims of political retribution, Bolton didn’t mount a vigorous defense against his charges before cutting a deal.

FBI agents searched Bolton’s Maryland home and Washington, D.C., office last August, but the investigation began before Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Bolton served for more than a year in Trump’s first administration before getting pushed out in 2019. He later published a book called “The Room Where it Happened” that presented an unflattering portrait of Trump’s leadership.

The Trump administration fought unsuccessfully to block the book’s release, claiming it contained classified information that could jeopardize national security. Trump derided Bolton as a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”

Bolton’s indictment focused on notes that he shared with his wife and daughter rather than the contents of his book. After sending one document, Bolton wrote in a message to his relatives, “None of which we talk about!!!” In response, one of his relatives wrote, “Shhhhh,” prosecutors said.

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.

First, Scott McKenna was caught on the ball by Bournemouth forward Rayan and Vinicius Jr skipped past Angus Gunn to score.

Gunn and full-back Nathan Patterson were then caught under a Bruno Guimaraes cross as Vinicius Jr nodded in his and Brazil’s second before half-time.

And Manchester United’s Mateus Cunha made it three after the break on a night where Scotland huffed and puffed, but were ultimately outclassed.

“We lose poor goals at poor times against a team that can punish you with quality,” McGinn told BBC Sport. “We had a few chances but we’ve got to wait now.

“The lads are gutted, we fell short on quality but we gave it absolutely everything. The lads are empty now. It’s unlikely [that we qualify] but we’ll wait and see.

“It’s a bit raw at the minute but we appreciate the support of the fans, we know it’s difficult to be there. Hopefully the journey is not over and if we have to go again, we will go again.”

Juliet Aubrey, who has enjoyed a long and varied acting career, previously recalled her experience working with John Nettles on Midsomer Murders

An actress who previously worked alongside John Nettles on Midsomer Murders has used just one word to sum him up.

Juliet Aubrey appeared with the DCI Tom Barnaby star in a 2006 episode, and has reminisced about her experience on the much-loved ITV crime drama.

The screen and stage performer, perhaps best recognised for portraying Dorothea in the BBC’s 1994 adaptation of Middlemarch, which earned her a Bafta, has since appeared in Snatch, Primeval, All Creatures Great and Small and The White Queen.

However, when questioned about one particular role, she had nothing but praise to share.

“That was fun, that was a really fun role because she was quite an extreme character,” Juliet revealed, discussing Midsomer Murders.

She continued: “She’s a horse-riding nymphomaniac basically! [It was] lots of fun doing that.”

Reflecting on her experience with the ensemble, Juliet remarked: “The cast on Midsomer Murders, they were lovely, they were great… John Nettles was wonderful,” reports the Express.

“It’s nice going in and doing a storyline and then coming out and doing something else, rather than being stuck in a series for a long time.”

Despite her extensive catalogue across numerous television programmes, Juliet maintained she doesn’t pick favourites.

She explained: “There are just so many wonderful parts, and at the time you think they’re a favourite and then the next one comes along and you go, this one.

“I mean, there’s so much variety… to be able to asked to play all these very, very different characters, it’s been wonderful, love it.”

Having taken on a variety of screen roles, Juliet has returned to the stage, and is presently appearing in a production of The Marquise.

“I always used to do loads of theatre, that’s my whole background,” she shared.

Discussing the Noel Coward play in which she’s currently performing, she added: “It’s very fast-paced, lots of laughs, and it’s about love and betrayal and lust and hope and new beginnings, all of that, it’s really good fun.”

She continued: “It’s completely different to anything I’ve ever played before. It’s comedy, and it’s really nice to be getting into a really happy place every day, and she’s fantastic.”

Midsomer Murders is available to watch on ITVX.

The 79th Tony Awards telecast kicked off with a bang by giving out two major awards in the first 30 minutes — and before viewers could blink both John Lithgow and Laurie Metcalf had each won the third Tony Award of their careers.

Lithgow won best performance by an actor in a leading role in a play for his portrayal of the controversial, beloved British author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s poignant drama “Giant,” directed by Nicholas Hytner. Times theater critic Charles McNulty called Lithgow’s performance “at once terrifying and never anything less than human,” and “one of the bravest” of the Broadway season.

Lithogow’s win, however, was far from assured. He was in the running against Nathan Lane in the season’s most talk-about show’s “Death of a Salesman,” and many bets were surely placed on the latter to sweep.

Lithogow is among a cadre of accomplished film and television actors who have a deep love of the stage. His first Tony win came for best featured actor in a play for his 1972 Broadway debut in “The Changing Room.” His second came 30 years later in 2002 when he he won for best actor in a musical for “Sweet Smell of Success.”

Metcalf won best featured actress for her portrayal of Willie Loman’s protective wife, Linda Loman, in “Death of a Salesman.” This is Metcalf’s third win in less than a decade, and was not a surprise as she has inherited “Helen Hayes’ mantle of First Lady of the American Theater,” according to McNulty.

Perhaps that explains her perfunctory, somewhat rote speech — which still didn’t detract from the joy of her win. Viewers know a towering talent when they see one.

Lithgow, to the contrary, was clearly stunned — and deeply honored.

“I’ve had dozens and dozens of static, ecstatic moments on stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best,” he said as he held his award.

DUA Lipa partied with friends until 6am at the finale of her three-day Sicilian wedding after Elton John sang and played piano for her ceremony.

The Be The One singer, 30, downed Negronis, drank champagne, smoked cigarettes and snogged new husband Callum Turner, 36, through the night, insiders said.

But The Sun can reveal security downed two drones by jamming their signals after they flew over the party, causing a huge security scare for the A-Lister guests.

We can also reveal she wore two dresses over the course of the night, both believed to have been designed by Donatella Versace.

Both dresses were white and floor length, and described by onlookers as “glittering”.

Dua, who wore her hair down, had a long train for her wedding ceremony, but slipped into a more comfortable one so she could dance at the afterparty.

I KABOOM

Watch Dua Lipa & Callum Turner’s huge 10-min firework display after saying ‘I Do’

MAFIA ISLE

Brutal past of ‘mafia chic’ wedding isle loved by stars Dua Lipa & Charli XCX

Guests wept earlier in a hugely emotional moment as Sir Elton John serenaded Dua by playing piano and singing Your Song.

But a source told The Sun there were concerns for the Rocket Man legend, who was visibly struggling with his eyesight and appeared frail as he had to be supported by two men holding him.

A source told The Sun: “He had a person on each arm to guide him because he couldn’t see but he played the piano so well.”

They were then treated to a wedding feast which included a catalan lobster salad, tuna, and pasta with lobster.

Guests also had cannoli – Sicilian sweet pastry treats.

Sir Elton John left after the dinner, around the same time as Versace left too.

An Albanian community group based in Palermo also danced at the reception for Dua as bands played live music to guests whose cheers could be heard from the neighbouring streets.

Kosovo-Albanian singer Besnik Qaka and his band performed inside the venue in the evening.

A spectacular ten-minute firework display wowed guests at 11.30pm, before they moved inside the Villa Valguarnera for the afterparty. DJs played music including discotech.

A huge security presence threw a ring of steel around the event, and staff all signed NDAs and had to hand their phones in at 11am and did not get it back again until they left in the early hours.

Dua and Callum Said I Do in the Garden before the reception began.

Guests sat on wicker chairs adorned with white ribbon and gifted hand-embroidered white handkerchiefs with ‘Stay Mad with Me Forever’ on them in red.

They also got a white cotton bag with a red ‘D and C’ on the chair, which was filled with biodegradable confetti.

Elton, 79, who flew in by private jet for the ceremony, and Dua are close friends after they collaborated on the track Cold Heart in 2021.

Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace, 71, was also at the wedding, held in the grounds of the 18th-century Villa Valguarnera in Bagheria, and is believed to have designed Dua’s dress.

Yesterday’s service followed an official one at Old Marylebone Town Hall in central London last week.

A-list guests in Sicily included Brit actor Joe Alwyn, American actress Grace Gummer and her husband DJ Mark Ronson, and pop star Charli XCX and her husband George Daniel, the drummer with The 1975.

Some guests were understood to have signed non-disclosure agreements to protect the privacy of the star-studded three-day celebrations, which kicked off on Friday.

A ring of steel surrounded the venue with metal barriers erected along the roads leading to it.

The villa, which featured in the opening credits of HBO drama The White Lotus 2, is widely considered one of the most historically and culturally significant villas in Sicily.

One Kiss singer Dua, who has an estimated net worth of £150million, and Callum hired the venue for a reported £86,000.

It was once a Mafia hideout but has since been taken on by 76-year-old Italian author and translator Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca, the Princess of Valguarnera, who still lives in the estate.

A huge floral installation of white peonies, hyacinth and lily of the valley from a local florist served as the backdrop for the couple’s vows in the striking courtyard.

Meanwhile the grand entrance to the villa was adorned with purple bougainvillea flowers — a defining feature of Sicily.

Dua is understood to have walked down the aisle with her dad and manager Dukagjin through the courtyard. Pale wooden chairs draped with a cream ribbon were arranged for 200 guests in a semicircle for the ceremony.

Wedding favours included white hankerchiefs embroidered in red with “Stay mad with me forever” and there was also a photo booth.

Guests arrived in chauffer-driven cars and were served wine and popcorn while waiting for the ceremony to commence.

The ceremony was followed by a traditional Sicilian menu from chef Tony Lo Coco’s Michelin-starred Bagheria restaurant I Pupi.

Guests then partied into the night with an outdoor DJ set.

Dua and Callum — who is among the favourites to be the next James Bond — are staying in a £6,000-anight suite at the five-star 19th Century Palazzo Villa Igiea in nearby Palermo.

They are reported to have reserved two floors of the hotel and are staying in the Donna Franca Suite with the private terrace offering panoramic views of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

They also shut down two city centre squares in Palermo for the first of three days of parties.

Last week The Sun revealed that Dua paid £5,000 to residents who live around the area to thank them.

But she was criticised by locals who stuck up posters accusing the singer of making their public space a “living room for the rich”. Others said: “Palermo is not for rent.”

Sir Elton John left Palermo in a private jet just after 12.30pm local time today.

The music legend, 79, was accompanied by husband David Furnish, 63, who took a photo of the singer with ground staff.

The £24,000 private jet headed towards Farnborough, near his home in Windsor. Elton was a blue tracksuit while David wore a yellow suit.

DUA Lipa has tied the knot for a second time to actor Callum Turner in a picture perfect Palermo-based ceremony.

The popstar and her new husband, who made it official last week with a London town hall wedding, exchanged vows in front of family and famous friends as part of their £1.5m wedding extravaganza in the Italian holiday hotspot.

Dua, 30, and Callum, 36, said ‘I Do’ to one another in an outdoor ceremony adorned with high trees at the magnificent 18th century Villa Valguarnera with A-list pals Charli XCX, Mark Ronson and Tame Impala in attendance.

The Sun can exclusively reveal that bride Dua, 30, walked down the aisle with a bridal bouquet made up of lily-of-the-valley, peonies and hyacinths from a local florist.

Amid the vow renewal, music legend Elton John serenaded the couple with a rendition of his smash hit ‘Your Song’ in an incredibly emotional and touching moment.

The special performance prompted tears all round as the 79-year-old belted out the classic love song for his beloved pal and her new husband.

THESE WALLS

Dua Lipa and Callum Turner’s wedding prep is underway as security ramps up

WHITE HOT

Dua Lipa & husband Callum are cheered by A-list guests at wedding cocktail party

Elton, 79, and the Be The One singer have a firm friendship with the two previously collaborating on single Cold Heart back in 2021, a remix of his iconic song Rocket Man (1972).

The ceremony kicked off at 5pm and lasted for around an hour with guests arriving from 3:30pm in a whopping 60 minivans.

The bride and groom turned up in a luxury Mercedes Maybach Class V at 3pm prompt to greet their guests ahead of the nuptials.

Post-ceremony, a posh dinner is expected to be laid on by a two Michelin star chef from Rome, and speeches, before the celebrities dance the night away with a party set to go well into the early hours. 

The evening is split into three moments: ceremony in the courtyard, a dinner, followed by an outdoor DJ set by four prominent names on the international music scene.

A huge amp system has been set up in anticipation, with diffusers positioned towards the estate and the villa park to limit sound waves travelling into the Bagheria town

Dua’s wedding dress – a well-kept secret – is rumoured to have been designed by Donatella Versace, who attended a pre-wedding drinks reception last night as she and Callum kicked off their celebrations. 

They shut down two city centre squares in Palermo as famous music pals gathered to celebrate the couple. 

Dua stunned in a white, backless Bottega Veneta dress and also had a £2580 Bottega Anidamo leather clutch bag and Bulgari jewels – including a classic £185,000 Manchette watch. 

She was seen dancing to Le Freak and Kylie Minogue’s Spinning Around.

Waiters later bought out Margarita pizza for guests on silver trays. 

A ring of steel was put around the Piazza Sant’Anna and Piazza Croce dei Vespri with police and private security blocking off access to the public.

The Sun revealed that Dua paid £5,000 to residents who live around the Piaza Croce dei Vespri, where the party was held, to thank them.

But she faced a battle against some protestors who stuck up posters in nearby streets accusing the singer of making their public space a “living room for the rich”, insisting: “Palermo is not for rent.”

Dua and Callum are staying in a £6,000 a night suite at the five-star Villa Igiea.

Their Donna Franca suite has stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea and is described as the hotel’s crowning jewel. 

WASHINGTON — Former Trump administration national security advisor John Bolton has agreed to plead guilty to a single count of retaining classified information under a deal with the Justice Department that could allow him to avoid prison time, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The deal would resolve a criminal case filed in October that charged Bolton with 18 counts of either retaining or disseminating classified information, including diary-like notes from his time in government that officials say he shared with his family members as he was preparing a memoir about his time in office.

Under the agreement, Bolton would also face a $2.25-million fine, said the person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss a deal that had not been made public. Any prison sentence would be capped at five years, but the agreement allows for him to avoid time behind bars, though the punishment will ultimately be up to a judge.

The case against Bolton, filed weeks after prosecutors secured indictments against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James, unfolded against the backdrop of concerns that the Justice Department was using its law enforcement powers to pursue perceived adversaries of President Trump. The investigation burst into public view last August when FBI agents served search warrants at his Maryland home and Washington office, but it had been well underway by the time Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Bolton is a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on U.S. power. He served for more than a year in Trump’s first administration before being fired in 2019 and publishing a critical book that portrayed the Republican president as deeply misinformed, an unflattering portrait of his leadership and decision-making.

Trump’s administration fought unsuccessfully to block the publication of “The Room Where it Happened” on the grounds that the book risked disclosing classified information. The plea deal that Bolton will enter covers the notes he shared with relatives as opposed to information published in the tell-all book.

A rearraignment, which typically signals a plea agreement, is scheduled for June 26 in federal court in Greenbelt, Md.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

The indictment’s 18 counts carried a threat of a substantial prison sentence in the event of conviction.

Court documents alleged that he shared with two family members “diary-like” entries with information classified as high as top secret that he had learned from meetings with other U.S. government officials, from intelligence briefings or talks with foreign leaders. After sending one document, Bolton wrote in a message to his relatives, “None of which we talk about!!!” In response, one of his relatives wrote, “Shhhhh,” prosecutors said.

The indictment said that among the material shared was information about foreign adversaries that in some cases revealed details about sources and methods used by the U.S. government to collect intelligence. One document related to a foreign adversary’s plans for a missile launch, while another detailed U.S. government plans for covert action and included intelligence blaming an adversary for an attack, court papers say.

In a statement released after his indictment, Bolton described the charges as part of an “intensive effort” by Trump to intimidate his opponents, to ensure that he alone determines what is said about his conduct.”

Bolton also served in the Department of Justice during President Reagan’s administration and was a State Department point person on arms control during George W. Bush’s presidency.

Bolton was nominated by Bush to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the strong supporter of the Iraq war was unable to win Senate confirmation. He resigned after serving 17 months through a recess appointment that allowed him to hold the job on a temporary basis without Senate approval.

In 2018, Bolton was appointed to serve as Trump’s third national security advisor. His brief tenure was characterized by disputes with the president over North Korea, Iran and Ukraine.

Those rifts ultimately led to Bolton’s departure, with Trump announcing on social media in September 2019 that he had accepted Bolton’s resignation.

Bolton subsequently criticized Trump’s approach to foreign policy and government in his book, alleging that Trump directly tied providing military aid to Ukraine to that country’s willingness to conduct investigations into Joe Biden, who was soon to be Trump’s Democratic rival in the 2020 presidential election, and members of the Biden family.

Trump responded by slamming Bolton as a “washed-up guy” and a “crazy” warmonger who would have led the country into “World War Six.”

Tucker writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

Nigel Wood, chair of the RFL, said that after his 10-year playing career at Cas, Kear had “found his passion for coaching”.

“John was also an excellent broadcast summariser with a great turn of phrase and an undiluted love and positivity for the sport,” he said.

“On behalf of the whole sport, our thoughts and condolences are with John’s wife Dawn, his family, and with those who played or worked alongside him over the last 50 years.”

Commentator Dave Woods, who worked with Kear at the BBC and became a close friend added: “He was a great rugby league man, the most passionate and eloquent of evangelists for the sport, who relished the opportunity to do that on radio and television for the BBC.

“But I’ll remember him as simply the best of blokes, humble, friendly, cheerful, always smiling, always happy to talk to anyone, especially about rugby league.”

York: Dagger; Galeano, Wood, Mata’afa, Nofoaluma; Roberts, Hunter, Martin, Inman, Vuniyayawa, Buchanan, Field, McShane.

Interchanges: Balmforth, Va’a, Hudson, Hingano.

Catalans: Staines; Russell, Laguerre, Faataape, Cotric; Sexton, Aispuro-Bichet; Allen, Tison, Navarrete, Lipowicz, Maria, Garcia.

Interchanges: Satae, Condon, Wilson, Lis.

Referee: Matty Lynn

ALLEN, Texas — President Trump on Tuesday endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, supercharging his effort to oust incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a Republican primary runoff.

“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on social media.

When news of the endorsement broke, Paxton supporters began cheering and dancing to “YMCA,” a Trump campaign anthem, at an event in Allen, Texas, where the attorney general was scheduled to speak.

Paxton and Cornyn qualified for the May 26 runoff after a March 3 primary, while Rep. Wesley Hunt finished third and did not advance.

Although the four-term Cornyn has backed Trump’s agenda in Washington, Paxton pitched himself as a political warrior for the Make America Great Again movement. Trump’s endorsement puts him at odds with his party’s establishment, which is convinced that Cornyn is the better candidate for November’s general election. The Democrats nominated Texas State Rep. James Talarico as their candidate for Senate.

In response to Trump’s endorsement, Talarico said in a statement that “it doesn’t matter who wins this runoff. We already know who we’re running against: the billionaire mega-donors and their corrupt political system.”

Cornyn’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, the senator said he believed that Trump had decided not to weigh in with an endorsement.

“I think the president doesn’t want to disappoint some of his own political base, and some of the Paxton people have been talking to him and encouraged him to support him, I think that was a bridge too far for the president so he’s just opted to say out of the race,” he said.

Cornyn also argued that Paxton is a liability in a general election, where Democrats hope to flip the seat blue, and “Ken Paxton would hand it to them on a silver platter.”

Trump, in his social media post, said Cornyn was “a good man” but “he was not supportive of me when times were tough.” He complained that “John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination.”

The runoff between Cornyn and Paxton had been shaping up as a bitter and expensive battle for the future of the Republican Party, and one that was diverting resources from other competitive races elsewhere in the country.

Trump frustrated some Republicans by declining to endorse earlier in the race. On the Friday before the March 3 primary, he said that he had “pretty much” decided whom to support — but declined to say who — when asked by reporters on a visit to Corpus Christi.

On the day after the primary, Trump promised to make an endorsement and said he would expect the candidate without his support to drop out. Paxton had said that he would not leave the race.

Trump has had an at-times cool relationship with Cornyn, notably after the senator suggested in 2023 that Trump could not win the presidency again in 2024 and that his “time has passed him by.”

Cornyn also was an early critic of Trump’s plan for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico — a project he now supports.

A former state attorney general and state Supreme Court judge, Cornyn was first elected to statewide office 36 years ago. His understated style and judge’s temperament contrast with the fiery rhetoric of Trump and his Make America Great Again movement.

Cornyn has had support from Senate Republican leadership, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who warned that “it is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our nominee.”

Some Republican leaders have worried the party will need to spend much more money to defend the seat if Paxton is the nominee — money they could be spending on Senate races in more competitive states. Paxton was acquitted in a 2023 impeachment trial on corruption charges. He also reached a deal in 2024 to end a long-running securities fraud case.

Trump stoked the competition on Feb. 27 in Corpus Christi, noting there’s “a little bit of a race,” while acknowledging their attendance.

“We have a great attorney general, Ken Paxton. Where’s Ken? Hi, Ken,” Trump said. He continued, “And we have a great senator, John Cornyn. Hi, John.”

“It’s going to be an interesting one, right? They’re both great people,” he added.

Trump mentioned the third candidate, Hunt, after running through the long list of Texas lawmakers present.

“Another friend of mine who is doing very well, Wesley Hunt,” he said. “Wesley Hunt, what a good job.”

Beaumont, Bedayn and LaFleur write for the Associated Press. Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa, and Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas.