Chelsea’s dominant record over United extends to the WSL, where they have never lost in 12 meetings, winning 10 of them.
But the gap has been closing.
This season, Chelsea needed an extra-time winner to knock United out of the FA Cup in their fifth-round tie and were held to a 1-1 draw in their WSL meeting in October.
It has been a turbulent time for the Londoners as they have fallen nine points behind WSL leaders Manchester City. Manager Sonia Bompastor has come under pressure and off-field issues – including the departure of much-loved head of women’s football Paul Green – have sparked debate and concern.
Suddenly, the ‘mentality monsters’ appear vulnerable – but can United take advantage?
“I don’t want to use this moment of vulnerability to do anything other than pretend we’re playing them at their best. Prepare for their best, and you can beat Chelsea,” Skinner said.
“We all know they’re an incredible team. Nobody’s denying that. But if we can get to our best levels in any game, I genuinely believe we can beat any team.
“Whatever form Chelsea are in, I’m going to challenge my team to be ready and focused on winning that game of football.
“Chelsea will do that. They’re not bothered about Manchester United, so we won’t be worried about them.”
Despite United’s strong campaign so far, some fans remain unconvinced.
This is the fourth successive season in which they have reached a domestic cup final, but they are yet to mount a genuine WSL title challenge and have lifted just one major trophy, the 2024 FA Cup, in their eight-year professional existence.
So can the club achieve more? Is Skinner getting the best out of his squad? Should United’s ambitions be more than just reaching finals?
“When you reach a certain level of experience in finals, you don’t want to not be experiencing them year-in, year-out. We also know that [in] the league, the teams behind the top four are investing more than enough to make it an open league,” said Skinner.
“The top-tier teams still spend the most and London City Lionesses are not far behind. We have to set our own markers at Manchester United. Whether you love it, or hate it – we’ve just got to compete. Sometimes we have to find different ways to do it.
“I’m not going to say my job isn’t to get us into cup finals and try to win them every year. All I’d ask is that if there’s a season where that doesn’t happen, you look at the context.
“If you’re not doing a good job [as a manager], then we all know what happens. You don’t have it any more and we move on.”
From “sticking a pen in a couple” while having a youthful flutter to owning a King George VI Chase winner and potential Cheltenham Gold Cup victor, Harry Redknapp has come a long way in horse racing.
The FA Cup-winning football manager’s love of the sport can be traced back to his grandmother Maggie Brown, who was a bookmaker’s runner in London’s East End, at a time when betting shops and off-course betting were illegal.
On Friday, his horse Jukebox Man will attempt to add the Cheltenham showpiece to his King George win in December.
The King George VI Chase is considered the biggest jumps race of the season before the Cheltenham Festival, while the Gold Cup is described by the Jockey Club as the most prestigious steeplechase in the world.
After claiming a photo-finish victory at Kempton Park on Boxing Day to topple 2024 King George winner Banbridge and 9-4 joint-favourite Gaelic Warrior, Redknapp said: “We’ve come into the Champions League today.”
But can he win jump racing’s equivalent of the Champions League?
“We have a chance, but it is a tough race,” Redknapp told BBC Radio 5 Live:
Among those standing in his way are Gaelic Warrior, Jango Baie, Haiti Couleur and last year’s winner Inothewayurthinkin.
Redknapp said: “Just to have a runner in the Gold Cup is a dream come true.
“We have had so much fun with Jukebox Man, which won the King George on Boxing Day, which is one of the most iconic races in the racing calendar.
“To go to the Gold Cup and to have a runner with a bit of a chance is great.”
Victory would be the crowning moment of a 70-year love affair with the sport that began during childhood.
“My nan would take the bets,” he said. “I’d come out for my school dinner when I’m eight or nine and she was getting put in the back of a police van and taken to Poplar police station.”
Redknapp’s nan would tell him to “stick a pen in a couple“ that would be her bets for the day.
Despite his love of the sport, he has never been tempted to ride – “not for all the money in the world”.
”They get injured, these jump jockeys, and then they come back about three weeks later, he said.
“They’re not like footballers, are they?”
Redknapp owns shares in 26 horses.
“You’re not always successful,” he said.
“For every Shakem Up’arry and Jukebox Man and Taurus Bay, there’s lots of others that never really did anything.”
Adicoff, from Sun Valley, Idaho, has been skiing since childhood – dabbling in both alpine and Nordic skiing before alpine was deemed too dangerous.
He competed against sighted rivals at junior level. After being selected for the US Para-Nordic team in 2013, he went to the 2014 Games in Sochi while still a high school student.
A first Paralympic medal came four years later in Pyeongchang when he finished second behind Canadian Paralympic legend Brian McKeever in the 10km classic event, but he retired after the Games before returning for the 2022 Beijing Games.
Despite high hopes of gold, Adicoff achieved two more individual silvers behind McKeever before anchoring the US team to relay gold for his first Paralympic title.
But it left Adicoff wanting more and with the retirement of 16-time Paralympic champion McKeever the division was wide open.
The American seized his chance to dominate, with World Cup and World Championship success ahead of the Games.
Unlike at Beijing, where supporters did not travel because of the pandemic, athletes at these Games have benefited from being able to be watched by friends and family and Adicoff’s entourage have been enjoying the experience.
Whether they are waving giant faces of Adicoff and his guides Reid Goble and Peter Wolter or wearing hats with his name on it, their presence has been felt at the Tesero Cross-Country Centre
Adicoff, who has another medal chance in Sunday’s 20km event and is also set to go in Saturday’s 4×2.5km mixed relay, may not be able to fully see them while he competes, but he has taken it all in and joined in the post-race celebrations.
“To have so many people that came out and supported us and are going to continue to support us throughout the week. It’s so nice having friends and family here,” he said.
“You see all those white hats up there? It’s so fun to have.
“I love skiing, love ski racing, so it makes finding the motivation kind of easy.”
Joshua Jackson says he knows he was “really just a footnote” in James Van Der Beek’s life, despite the “amazing” time they spent together as stars of the series “Dawson’s Creek.”
The star of “The Affair” is reflecting publicly for the first time about his former castmate, who died Feb. 11 at age 48 after a battle with colorectal cancer.
The time they shared on set was “formational” for them, Jackson said on “Today.” When the “Dawson’s Creek” pilot aired in January 1998, he was 19 and Van Der Beek was almost 21, playing characters who were 15.
“I know both of us look back on that time with great fondness, but I will also say that I know that I’m really just a footnote in what he actually accomplished in his life.”
Jackson spoke with great respect for his friend, who he said “became what we used to just call a good man, a man of the kind of belief, the kind of faith that allowed him to face the impossible with grace, an unbelievable partner and husband, just a real man who showed up for his family and a beautiful, kind, curious, interested, dedicated father.”
On the one hand, the 47-year-old said, “that’s beautiful.” On the other, “The tragedy of that loss for his family is enormous.”
Since Jackson and Van Der Beek played Pacey Witter and Dawson Leery three decades ago, both men had kids of their own — a 5-year-old daughter for Jackson, born during the pandemic with ex-wife Jodie Turner-Smith, and six kids for Van Der Beek with second wife Kimberly Brook. The latter couple’s children — two boys and four girls, ranging in age from 4 to 15 — were what Van Der Beek said changed everything for him.
“Your life becomes shared, and your joys become shared joys in a really beautiful way that expands your level of circuitry out to other people instead of just keeping it all for your own gratification,” the actor told “Good Morning America” in May 2023. “And the lessons, they keep on coming. It’s the craziest, craziest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s the thing that’s made me happiest.”
Knowing his colleague’s love for his family, Jackson said on “Today” that “for me as a father now, I think the enormity of that tragedy hits me in a very different way than just as a colleague, so I think the processing [of Van Der Beek’s death] is ongoing.”
The “Little Fires Everywhere” actor was on the morning show Tuesday to bring attention to colorectal cancer screenings.
Van Der Beek’s diagnosis, which went public in November 2024, was among the factors prompting Jackson to get involved with drugmaker AstraZeneca’s “Get Body Checked Against Cancer” campaign, which takes a lighter approach to a serious subject — cancer screening — through a partnership with Jackson, the National Hockey League and the Philadelphia Flyers’ furry orange mascot, Gritty.
“It is … true, the earlier you find something,” said “The Mighty Ducks” actor, “the better your possible outcomes are.”
A passenger onboard Southwest Airlines was removed from their flight after their call to prayer was mistaken for a ‘bomb threat’. Officials later called the incident a ‘misunderstanding’ after finding no credible threat, following the Florida-bound flight’s emergency landing in Georgia.
During an upcoming episode of the Channel 4 show, millionaire businessman Anthony Saxon Kearsley had an eye-opening experience with a homeless man.
Anthony has been partnered with 37-year-old Tilly, a North London barmaid who works three jobs and is involved with giving meals to the homeless through her charity.
While prepping meals, the wealthy contestant shared some out-of-touch opinions on those without a home, suggesting some people ‘don’t want to help themselves’.
He also compared homelessness to ‘camping’, however, Anthony quickly changed his tune when handing out meals himself.
When giving a McDonald’s to one homeless man, who had recently come out of prison, Anthony learnt the man was struggling to secure a job without an address.
He explained: “I’ve been out of jail for a while, I just feel like going back, I can’t stand it.”
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Sharing the hope that things worked out for him, it was clear Anthony was moved by the interaction with the homeless man.
While speaking to the camera, he confessed: “I am a bit [overwhelmed]. He wants to go back to prison because he can’t cope with life. It’s appalling.
“It’s really shocking. I was wrong to say some people don’t want help. It’s appalling, dreadful. Thank you [Tilly] for showing me. I won’t be as flippant again.”
As Tilly revealed that it was a small percentage of what she sees day in and day out, Anthony was in awe.
While getting choked up, he replied: “I’m amazed that you’re so positive and I’m amazed that you’ve survived this intact. Anyway, God love you. Terrible isn’t it. I’m quite cut up about it to be honest.”
Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing is available to watch or stream on Channel 4
If there is a lesson to be found in keeping the faith when faced with setbacks, look no further than the career of Anthony Cacace.
On Saturday in Dublin’s 3 Arena, the 37-year-old bids to become a two-time super-featherweight world champion when taking on WBA holder James ‘Jazza’ Dickens.
However, for much of his professional career, Cacace was something of a forgotten man.
His talent was never in question, but breaks were measured in x-rays rather than opportunities with injuries, opponent withdrawals and cancellations all too common.
Nonetheless, he kept grinding and grafting, pads by day and pizza delivery by night; waiting, hoping and believing his time would come.
The big chance arrived in May 2024 against IBF champion Joe Cordina on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Back with his old amateur team headed by Michael Hawkins, Cacace – born to a Belfast mother and Italian father – grabbed the opportunity with both hands, returning home to a hero’s welcome and given the ultimate honour of a mural painted close to his parents’ Andersonstown home in the west of the city to mark the occasion.
He hasn’t looked back, defeating Josh Warrington at Wembley Stadium later that year and after vacating the IBF title, beating Leigh Wood in Nottingham in May 2025, improving his record to 24 wins with one defeat.
“Fighting for my second world title, things can’t get better than that,” Cacace told BBC Sport NI as he prepared for another training day at Holy Trinity Boxing Club.
“I’ve had my fair share of letdowns and pull-outs at the last minute, but I can’t complain because it’s been all in God’s plan. I really do genuinely believe everything that’s happened has happened for a reason to set me up for times like these.
“To be up here with the boys [coaching team]: Ruairi [Dalton], Michael [Hawkins Jr], Barry [O’Neill], Micky [Hawkins] Sr – it’s been set for me, I genuinely believe.
“It’s like a dream come true, and I’m just really enjoying where I’m at at the moment.”
YouTuber Danny from the Honest Places channel visited different boozers in Rhyl in North Wales — a former tourist hotspot now dubbed one of Britain’s worst seaside resorts
Liam McInerney Content Editor
06:30, 09 Mar 2026
Danny and his pal walking through Rhyl(Image: Honest Places/YouTube)
A YouTuber who travelled to one of the so-called worst seaside resorts in Britain claimed he felt completely at ease there, where traditional boozers brimming with character were packed with locals enjoying affordable pints.
Danny, who operates the Honest Places channel, was visiting Llandudno and Rhyl in NorthWales, with the latter having earned the nickname “Costa Del Dole”.
The resort is littered with abandoned buildings and establishments which have closed down permanently. Despite once being a magnet for holidaymakers, the pier, funfair and shopping centre have long since faded into memory.
The Telegraph listed it amongst the worst seaside resorts in Britain three years ago and described it as “Blackpool after a neutron bomb”. Danny, however, labelled it “Britain’s saddest seaside town” in his YouTube headline before speaking about it affectionately upon arrival.
He commented: “We have come to Rhyl because I felt a bit too out of place (in Llandudno). I feel actually at home in Rhyl.
“This is the front — it is such a contrast to Llandudno. I know people say British seaside towns have gone to s***. But they have been s*** for ages. This is a real British seaside town. Most of them are s*** and that is a real seaside town.
“So Whitby is a seaside town but it’s not a real British seaside town because the real ones are the ones that are like this, like Blackpool.
“But the main reason I came here, I didn’t want to go to another pub in Llandudno because it is just a bit tepid really.”
He continued: “There are some proper tasty pubs I went into last time where the barman and bar staff were just shouting at the customers and stuff like that.”
The first establishment he and a friend visited was Victory Club on Queen Street which has been welcoming drinkers for more than 70 years.
He wasn’t particularly taken with his pint of Caffrey’s Stout but remarked: “The gaff is alright though isn’t it?” His companion responded: “Yeah, tidy and reasonably cheap.”
Yet, if they considered paying £4 a pint reasonable value, they were in for a pleasant shock at their next destination.
They were drawn to The Bodfor and after hearing the booming music from within, Danny chuckled: “It does look good in there, doesn’t it? It reminds me a bit like Benidorm!”
He continued: “People will watch this back and say you should have went in but I’ve got a better boozer for you.”
Danny then headed towards the Imperial Hotel pub and described it as being like stepping into somebody’s front room.
Whilst at the bar, he announced that he had never sampled a pint of Fosters in his life, before deciding to try one.
And staring at his drink, he commented: “That head is beautiful! I don’t think I’ve had better head.”
After taking a gulp, he then remarked it was “fitting” to have a Fosters in Rhyl, before his friend responded: “Absolutely, for what it is, it’s a good pint. You want a fizzy, cold, tasteless pint. That’s what you get.”
Danny then admitted he was enjoying it more than anticipated before he enquired how cheap it was. After discovering the pint was just £2.70, he enthused: “Granted, it’s Fosters. But at that price, you can’t kick off. That’s got to be a 10/10.”
His friend then suggested that one could have a smashing night out in Rhyl with just a tenner and some loose change.
Stepping outside post-pints, Danny remarked: “We got some nice little tasty pubs, we saw Rhyl, it hasn’t changed. I don’t think it will change.”
Last year, reports suggested that Rhyl, which boasts four beaches, would undergo transformation thanks to £200million invested over the past decade, as per Denbighshire County Council.
The town also benefited from a £20million injection from the government’s Levelling Up fund three years ago.
How did Jeff Shell, who is seven months into his tenure as president of Paramount Skydance, get entangled with a professional gambler with a penchant for controversy?
Now he’s facing new scrutiny after his Paramount bosses hired a law firm to investigate his surreptitious dealings with a Las Vegas high-roller and self-styled “fixer.” Investigators are reviewing whether Shell leaked sensitive corporate secrets, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.
The real-life drama features accusations of betrayal, vengeance and an alleged promise of a TV show deal.
Paramount declined to comment. An attorney for Shell also declined to comment, citing the ongoing review.
Last week, Paramount toppled Netflix with its $110-billion deal to claim HBO, CNN, Food Network and the storied Warner Bros. movie and TV studios, a key piece of Ellison’s ambitions to create a Hollywood behemoth by combining two century-old firms.
“The timing is terrible,” said Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. “The last thing Paramount wants when closing this deal is for one of its [corporate] officers to be faced with allegations, true or false, from a professional gambler who calls himself Robin Hood.”
An unusual meeting in 2024
This account is based on interviews with nearly a dozen industry insiders who are familiar with the players and details of the increasingly ugly dispute. The Times granted anonymity to the sources, most of whom were not authorized to speak publicly.
According to these people, Shell’s dealings with the blackjack player began with an odd meeting in August 2024.
At the time, Shell was just joining Ellison’s team as the technology scion was preparing to build a new Hollywood empire.
But Shell was facing a serious problem. Someone was trying to plant unfavorable stories about him from his NBC days just as he was poised to stage his second act, two of the sources said.
Enter Patty Glaser, the high-powered entertainment litigator who represents Shell, and, as it happens, the person they suspected was behind the whisper campaign: Robert James “R.J.” Cipriani.
Patty Glaser wanted to defuse the tensions between R.J. Cipriani and Jeff Shell.
To defuse the tensions, Glaser convened a meeting at her Century City offices between Shell and her other client, Cipriani, who is a self-professed whistleblower and high-stakes gambler who goes by the handle RobinHood702 (the Las Vegas area code). Shell attended the meeting at Glaser’s recommendation.
Cipriani wanted to meet the executive. He had been angry ever since Shell sacked his friend Ron Meyer, former vice chairman of NBCUniversal, in 2020.
One of the founders of talent giant CAA, Meyer filled a unique role at NBCUniversal as the self-deprecating and beloved sage in a wool vest who was often called on to finesse frayed relationships with producers, agents and talent.
Ron Meyer, former vice chairman of NBCUniversal, remains beloved in Hollywood.
(Kevin Winter / Getty Images for AFI)
Kirk had an affair with another studio boss, Kevin Tsujihara, who resigned as Warner Bros. chairman in 2019 after it was revealed that he tried to help her get parts in movies and TV shows.
Meyer had said that after the payment was made, associates of Kirk allegedly demanded more money to keep the affair quiet.
Kirk’s associates denied any wrongdoing, but those dealings ended Meyer’s 25-year tenure at Universal.
Cipriani, according to a source familiar with the situation, was galled that Meyer had been unceremoniously dumped, particularly after it was revealed that Shell also had been engaged in an improper relationship — with a CNBC anchor.
Other Hollywood friends shared the sentiment — a form of schadenfreude — after Shell got his comeuppance nearly three years later.
Jeff Shell in 2015.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
During the meeting at Glaser’s office, the two men discussed their families. Cipriani appeared to have a change of heart.
He told Shell that he would be his friend and personal “crisis PR” agent helping him with damage control, one of the sources said.
It was an unlikely pairing; the two men came from entirely different worlds.
Shell, 60, is a Los Angeles native — a relentlessly driven son of a Cedars-Sinai cardiologist and a teacher turned stay-at-home mom. Although only about 5-foot-9, Shell secured a spot on the University High varsity basketball team after spending long hours perfecting his jump shot.
He earned a degree in economics and applied mathematics from UC Berkeley, then an MBA from Harvard University.
“He’s often the smartest guy in the room,” a former high-level NBCUniversal executive said.
Jeff Shell previously ran NBCUniversal.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Shell has worked in the entertainment business more than 30 years, first at Walt Disney Co., then Rupert Murdoch’s Fox, where he briefly ran its cable networks. The TV executive moved to Philadelphia in 2004 to join Comcast, when its business was selling cable channels to subscribers.
When Comcast bought NBCUniversal in 2011, Shell’s stock was on the rise. He ran NBC’s international operations in London, then moved his family back home to Los Angeles when he became chairman of Universal’s prestigious film unit.
Meyer, who previously ran the studio, was tasked with showing Shell the movie business ropes.
Cipriani, 64, knew Meyer from gambling circles. The two men are friends, the sources said, although Meyer was not involved in the current dust-up, according to several of the people.
Cipriani grew up in Philadelphia, where his dad had worked for the Uniroyal tire company, according to an obituary.
It’s unclear when Cipriani came to L.A., but eventually he became a whistleblower who frequently made contact with journalists. He’s married to a former Brazilian model and actor/musical artist, Greice Santo, who had a small role in the CW’s “Jane the Virgin.”
Cipriani’s name went from the Vegas casinos to the headlines in 2017 when he was a key player in the arrest and conviction of a USC quarterback-turned global drug kingpin, Owen Hanson, who was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison.
Robert James “R.J.” Cipriani in Amazon Prime Video’s 2025 series, “Cocaine Quarterback.”
Cipriani has publicly taken issue with his portrayal as a money launderer in the popular Amazon Prime Video series “Cocaine Quarterback,” which brought the scandal to the screen. It’s a production of Mark Wahlberg and others.
Although Cipriani is often referred to as an “FBI informant,” the moniker rankles him. He prefers being called a “confidential human source for the feds,” who “goes after the bad guys,” according to those familiar with his thinking.
And Cipriani is not afraid to tangle with powerful people.
“Jeff Shell may have [gone to] Harvard Business School but R.J. Cipriani comes from the hardscrabble streets of Philly,” Cipriani’s attorney Steven Aaronoff told The Times. “Who’s going to win that war?”
Cipriani was arrested in 2021 on the casino floor of Resorts World Las Vegas, allegedly for snatching the cellphone of another gambler who Cipriani said was recording his movements.
The charge was dropped, but Cipriani has since brought a RICO lawsuit against Resorts World that alleges the firm allowed “known criminals involved in illegal gambling” and “money laundering” while also spearheading his ban from Vegas casinos.
Cipriani alleged his arrest and subsequent treatment was in retaliation for raising his concerns with casino management and law enforcement. A former president of the casino called the claims “ridiculous,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Cipriani and Shell texted on-and-off for about 18 months, according to the knowledgeable people.
In the first half of last year, as Ellison and his team were waiting for the blessing of President Trump and the Federal Communications Commission to finalize the Paramount takeover, the group was bedeviled by press leaks.
Some were reported by Hollywood newsletters, including a scoop that Matt and Ross Duffer, who created the blockbuster horror series “Stranger Things” for Netflix, were decamping to Ellison’s Paramount. Shell was not aware of the Duffers’ deal before it was announced, said a person close to the executive.
Fallout over a TV show
But Shell and Cipriani had a major falling out when Cipriani began angling for a television show.
According to people familiar with the dispute, Cipriani worked for months without compensation but, at one point, Shell had thanked him for his efforts and offered to help him out. That’s when Cipriani asked Shell to greenlight an English version of a Spanish-language music show that streams on Roku TV, “Serenata De Las Estrellas.”
The TV project, like the Spanish-language version, would be co-executive produced by Cipriani and his wife, Santo.
But Shell failed to deliver, and Cipriani became furious.
“Mr. Shell promised to give my client, to produce the English language version of the show that was already a Spanish language hit,” Aaronoff said. “It was not something that was risky … It was not some crazy idea,” adding that Shell “did not keep his word to my client.”
Cipriani — who also has producer credits on the 2020 documentary about Vegas, “Money Machine: Behind the Lies,” and the 2015 movie, “Wild Card” — had intended to make “Serenata” as a homage to his late mother, Regina.
It was inspired by a song that Cipriani used to sing to her when he was growing up.
Jeff Shell became president of Paramount Skydance last summer.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
Cipriani has threatened to file a lawsuit that makes a range of allegations, including that Shell had been slipping Cipriani sensitive corporate information, according to sources who have seen a copy of Cipriani’s draft complaint.
Shell, who officially joined Paramount in August with the Ellison takeover, immediately disclosed Cipriani’s legal threat to Paramount’s top lawyer and his previous employer RedBird Capital Partners, a Paramount investor partner.
“We were presented with a draft complaint riddled with clear errors of fact and law,” attorney Glaser said in a statement last week. “We will strongly respond.”
The lawsuit hasn’t been filed, but Paramount hired Gibson Dunn lawyers to investigate Shell’s conduct and allegations contained in the draft, which was sent to Paramount.
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison.
In addition to the prison time, Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Tricia Walker sentenced 20-year-old Caiden Stachowicz to seven years of extended supervision, court records show.
Stachowicz, of Menasha, pleaded no contest to an arson charge in November. Prosecutors dropped burglary and property damage counts in exchange for Stachowicz’s no contest plea, which isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for the purposes of sentencing.
According to a criminal complaint, a police officer responded to a fire outside Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s office in Fond du Lac, about 55 miles northwest of Milwaukee, at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2025, and saw Stachowicz standing nearby.
He told the officer that he started the fire because he doesn’t like Grothman, according to the complaint. He initially planned to break into the office and start the fire inside. But he couldn’t break the window, so he poured gas on an electrical box behind the building and around the front of the building, lit a match and watched it burn, according to the complaint.
He said he wanted to burn down the office because the federal government was shutting down TikTok in violation of his constitutional rights and peace was no longer an option, the complaint states. He added that Grothman voted for the shutdown, but he didn’t want to hurt Grothman or anyone else.
Grothman voted for a bill in April 2024 that required TikTok’s China-based company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operation. The deadline was Jan. 19, 2025, but President Trump has issued multiple executive orders prolonging it. TikTok finalized a deal two months ago to create an American version of the social video platform. Trump praised the deal.
Danielle Gorsuch, one of Stachowicz’s attorneys, told the Associated Press after the sentencing that the incident was the culmination of a mental health crisis for her client and stressed that no one was hurt.
“Caden took every caution to make sure no one was present in the building at the time of the incident, as he only wanted to hurt himself,” Gorsuch said. “He took responsibility from night one.”
A spokesperson for Grothman’s congressional office didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday released additional Jeffrey Epstein files involving uncorroborated accusations made by a woman against President Trump that the department said had been mistakenly withheld during an earlier review.
The department said last week that it was working to determine if any records were improperly withheld after several news organizations reported that the massive tranche of records that had been made public didn’t include some files documenting a series of interviews conducted in 2019 with a woman who made an allegation against Trump.
The accuser was interviewed by the FBI four times as it sought to assess her account but a summary of only one of those interviews had been included in the publicly released files.
On Thursday, the department said those files had been “incorrectly coded as duplicative,” and therefore were inadvertently not published along with other investigative documents related to the disgraced financier, who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.
“As we have consistently done, if any member of the public reported concerns with information in the library, the Department would review, make any corrections, and republish online,” the department said in a post on X.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. The department noted in January that some of the documents contain “untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
The new disclosures come as Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi faces continued turmoil over the department’s handling of the files released under a law passed by Congress after months of public and political pressure. Five Republicans on the House Oversight Committee joined Democrats in voting Wednesday to subpoena Bondi, demanding that she answer questions under oath in a sign of mounting frustration among members of the president’s own party.
The Trump administration has faced constant political headaches since the rollout of the files began in December, with critics accusing the department of hiding certain documents or over-redacting files, or in some cases, not redacting enough. In some cases, the department inadvertently released nude photos showing the faces of potential victims as well as names, email addresses and other identifying information that was either unredacted or not fully obscured.
Department officials have defended their handling of the files, saying they took pains to release the files as quickly as possible under the law while also protecting victims. Department officials have said errors were inevitable given the volume of the materials, the number of lawyers viewing the files and the speed at which the department had to release them. The department has said it’s entitled to withhold records that exposed potential abuse victims, were duplicates or protected by legal privileges, or related to an ongoing criminal investigation.
Some of the new records published Thursday pertained to a woman who contacted the FBI shortly after Epstein’s 2019 arrest and claimed that a man named “Jeff” living in Hilton Head, South Carolina, had raped her there in the 1980s when she was around 13 years old. The woman told the agents she didn’t know the man’s identity at the time, but decades later concluded he was Jeffrey Epstein when a friend texted her his photo from a news story.
In a follow-up interview a month later, the woman added a host of other claims, including that Epstein had schemed to have her mother sent to prison, beaten her, arranged sexual encounters with other men and once flew her to either New Jersey or New York, where she claimed to have bitten Trump after he tried to sexually assault her.
Agents spoke with the woman two more times, at one point asking her to provide more detail on her supposed interactions with Trump, but reported that she declined to answer additional questions and broke off contact. There’s no indication that Epstein ever lived in South Carolina and it was unclear whether Trump and Epstein knew each other during the time period involved.
The woman’s report was one of a number of uncorroborated, sometimes fantastical, reports that federal agents received from members of the public alleging misconduct by Trump and other famous people in the months and years after Epstein’s arrest.
Four games ago at West Ham, Manchester United were “stodgy'” by Carrick’s own admission. It took an injury-time Benjamin Sesko goal to salvage a point.
At Everton, Sesko finished off the only notable passage of play from either side. On Sunday, Manchester United‘s response to going behind early to Crystal Palace was muted until Matheus Cunha won the penalty that also brought the red card that turned the game on its head.
Carrick’s team have been getting results. However, their most-recent performances have not matched those that beat Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham at the start of his time at the helm.
Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have not been a goal threat; Kobbie Mainoo’s performance levels have dipped, while penetration from full-back areas has reduced.
It is a basic reality that they do not have limitless numbers of top-quality players. By the final whistle at St James’ Park, Matthijs de Ligt, Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu were all absent because of injury. Casemiro and Luke Shaw were off the pitch feeling the effects of two hard games in four days. Carrick does not have the squad depth to cover those losses and still keep standards high.
So, embarrassingly, Manchester United lost against 10 men for the second time in just over three months. The damage was done by William Osula – a player who, as an 11-year-old, appeared on the pitch at Old Trafford to collect a Soccer Schools World Skills final victory prize.
His goal came after he got the better of Tyrell Malacia, who was making only his second appearance of a season he started as a member of Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’. The previous one was against Newcastle too.
The damage is not too bad though. Liverpool lost 24 hours earlier against the league’s bottom club before Aston Villa suffered a heavy home loss to Chelsea on Wednesday.
Manchester United remain third. They remain, out of the sides scrapping it out for three Champions League places in addition to the ones Arsenal and Manchester City will claim, the ones with no European or domestic cup distractions.
“We need to learn from this,” said Carrick.
“There is no sense in not learning lessons and understanding how tonight happened.
“We can’t lose sight of the bigger picture though – we have put ourselves into a position that can be really exciting.
“We’ve got to be positive going into the next game and look forward to it because there is a lot to play for.”
Carrick is right about that.
He needs to make sure his team’s response to this defeat is just as sure footed.
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been handed a 15-month suspended sentence by a Greek court following an incident on the island of Mykonos in August 2020.
England international Maguire was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and 10 days in prison in 2020, after initially being found guilty of repeated bodily harm, attempted bribery, violence against public employees and insult.
The following day Maguire’s legal team lodged an appeal against the verdict. In accordance with Greek law, the appeal nullified his conviction and meant there would be a full retrial.
The retrial was postponed on four occasions between 2023 and 2025, before it restarted in Syros on Wednesday.
It concluded that Maguire was guilty of non-serious assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.
In accordance with the reduced severity of the defender’s crimes, Maguire’s sentence was reduced to 15 months.
Sources have told BBC Sport that Maguire denies wrongdoing and plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Maguire has rejected a number of opportunities to settle the case out of court, as he is determined to clear his name legally.
The 32-year-old is in the Manchester United squad for Wednesday’s Premier League game at Newcastle United (20:15 GMT), despite having to come off during the win against Crystal Palace on Sunday with illness.
Laurence Higham died while paragliding in South Africa
The mother of a UK paraglider who died in a devastating accident in South Africa has paid tribute to her much-loved son and said the thought of him flying free brings his family comfort. Laurence Higham, 55, crashed in the mountains near Porterville in the Western Cape on the last day of an advanced paragliding event
A fellow paraglider scaled a high mountain ridge, clambering through rocks, thorns and thickets to find him. A rescue helicopter also arrived but it was too late. Laurence’s partner Victoria Turner had been due to join him for a holiday, but instead she flew out to retrieve his body.
His mother Lesley said: “Laurence was our light and inspiration. He was a highly experienced paraglider pilot and always very well prepared. His adventures and flying trips were planned meticulously. He wanted to develop and challenge himself. He was a pioneer.
“He got the most out of life in every way. Everything was an adventure. That is what I will take from his life. Our enduring desire is for him to ‘fly free’ without earthly constraints.”
Laurence spent most of his childhood in Stortford, Hertfordshire, and read business studies at Middlesex University before attending the University of California. When he returned to the UK he settled in Muswell Hill, north London.
His parents had run a travel company for schools and this inspired him to set up his own successful business, Varsity Travel Ltd, which ran European courses in languages, history and art.
Fluent in French, Spanish and Italian, he enjoyed history and philosophy. He was also a cook who delighted in creating feasts for friends and family, inspired by his travels.
When the Covid-19 pandemic began, he decided that the time was right to move out of London and return home to Stortford.
He started a new phase of life with partner Victoria and divided his time between his home and Victoria’s house in Norfolk.
Lesley said: “Laurence was very funny. He lit up any room. He was incredibly entertaining, but I knew of a side that was very contemplative, studious and curious about the world around him. He was very well read.”
Laurence and his brother Richard, four years his junior, were inseparable and Lesley said the tragedy had left her younger son absolutely devastated. “I told him to take Laurence’s courage and his sense of adventure to strengthen his heart, not break it,” Lesley said.
She added he was a “hugely fun, devoted and inspiring” uncle to his brother’s children Deen and Katherine. Laurence, a previously fearsome squash player, was a long-term member of Bishop’s Stortford Lawn Tennis Club.
Manager Natalie Dwyer said: “Laurence was a fantastic club member and will be remembered fondly by all who had the pleasure of meeting and playing with him. He would light up the court with his positive attitude and gregarious nature. Win or lose, Laurence was always smiling and showed a love for the sport. He will be sadly missed by everyone at the club.”
Laurence’s family and friends said goodbye at a funeral service at St Michael’s Church, in Broome, Norfolk, last week, which celebrated his thirst for adventure and how he lived for the joy of exploring a beautiful world. Lesley said the family was deeply grateful for the wonderful and inspiring life of their darling boy, adding: “Fly free, beloved Laurence.”
