Proud

THE apple doesn’t fall far from the tree for Heidi Klum and her daughter Leni.

The German-born supermodel, 53, posed with her 21-year-old to show off lingerie brand Intermissi’s latest collection.

The mother and daughter duo wore long sleeve pyjama tops and pants from the new range.

Back in 2023, Heidi and Leni caused controversy for posing in lingerie together.

Heidi wore a lacy nude bra and matching panties while Leni donned a fuchsia version in the snaps.

At the time, Heidi was 50 and Leni was 19.

HEIDI-WEEN

Heidi Klum drops NSFW clue about highly-anticipated Halloween costume

RED HOT

Heidi Klum rocks see-through lingerie as she stands against Las Vegas hotel window

Earlier this year, Project Runway star Heidi told People: “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, I don’t know about mom and daughter doing this together’.

“But for us? I’m proud of my daughter. She’s fine with me like that.

“She’s fine with me like that.

“I’ve always been very open with my body.

“When I’m suntanning in the backyard, I might not have a top on.

“I’m European… my kids don’t know me any other way.”

Many believe Leni is a “nepo baby” because she was born into riches and has gone on to follow in her mother’s modeling footsteps.

Her biological father, Flavio Briatore, is a big name in Italy, leading various sporting teams into championships.

She’s also the adoptive daughter of singing superstar, Seal.

THE son of Dame Deborah James has honoured her “amazing” legacy by following in her fundraising footsteps.

Hugo Bowen ran the Royal Parks Half Marathon at the weekend, smashing his target to raise £3,000 for her Bowelbabe Fund, in true Dame Debs style.

7

7

7

The 18-year-old told The Sun: “Running was something Mum and I used to do when I was younger, we often did park runs and I think I spurred her on to run a little faster.

“It was amazing, there was so much support along the route, which really helped motivate me to run harder and faster than I would have.

“It meant so much to be able to run in memory of her, and the amazing change she has inspired.”

Reflecting on the advice his running-obsessed mum would’ve given before the race, he added: “She would definitely have told me to make sure I had had a poo.

“And to ‘go smash it’, which I probably did a bit too much at the start, so I was super tired towards the end.”

Hugo was 14 years old when Dame Deborah died at the age of 40 in June 2022, five and a half years after being diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer. 

In the last weeks of her life, the Sun columnist launched her Bowelbabe Fund, aiming to raise £250,000 to help fund research into the disease to help prevent “any future Deborahs”, and give cancer patients the hope of new and better treatments.

So far, the Fund has supported more than 11 different projects, including a state-of-the-art interventional radiology machine at The Royal Marsden hospital where Deborah was treated.

Other scientific studies that have received a contribution from the Fund include one that is investigating personalised medicine for patients with bowel cancer, a cause Dame Debs was very passionate about.

And earlier this year, Deborah’s husband Seb Bowen, parents Heather and Alistair James and brother Ben James were on hand when the new Bowelbabe Lab was unveiled at The Francis Crick Institute, home to a team of scientists using ‘mini bowel tumours’ or organoids to test new and more targeted treatments.

Just days later Heather and Alistair were invited to a reception with King Charles where His Majesty hailed Deborah “an inspiration to us all, in sickness and health”.

The King went on to quote Debs parting message to her followers before she died: “Find a life worth enjoying; take risks; love deeply; have no regrets; and always, always have rebellious hope.”

“I’m honestly so proud of Mum and everything the Fund has done to help others,” Hugo added.

“I remember when she set it up she had a target of £250,000 and now we are at over £18million raised – it is beyond what any of us could’ve imagined.

“It’s such a beautiful legacy for my Mum and the research it is funding will save so many lives.”

Inspired by his mum, Hugo has already added another £4,300 to the Fund’s total, and thanked all those who have supported him so far.

“Everyone has been so supportive, I thought £3,000 would be a really difficult target to hit but we’ve smashed it and I’m so happy and honestly so surprised,” he added.

“I’m really grateful to everyone that has donated.”

Hugo was just the latest in the family to take on a running challenge, with Debs’ brother Ben and sister Sarah taking on the London Marathon this year – Sarah wearing the same poo emoji costume her sister was often seeing running in.

To donate to Hugo’s efforts, visit  https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/hugos-royal-parks-half.

7

7

7

7

‘The people’s champion” is how Benjamin Zephaniah is fondly remembered in his home town of Handsworth, Birmingham. The words, spray-painted in fiery-red ballooned letters, leap out of a colourful mural that wraps around one side of a local Sons of Rest building, a place where retired war veterans once met and socialised. To the side looms an image of the late poet and writer, his face full of expression and thought. For a moment, it feels as if he’s there with you.

A couple of years earlier, and he may well have been. “Seriously, you could come into Handsworth Park and he’d just be walking through, just leisurely. Benjamin, he’d sit with you, he had time for you,” says Marcia Dunkley, one of the founders of the organisation Black Heritage Walks Network, which commissioned the mural.

It’s a chalky blue-skied August day in Birmingham, and while many of the city’s residents have flocked to the centre for the annual Caribbean music and food festival, I’m on a walking tour in Handsworth, the neighbourhood where much of the creative legacy of Birmingham’s Caribbean population was first felt.

The tour, launched in 2018 by the Black Heritage Walks Network, explores the history and legacy of the influx of Caribbean migrants who settled in Handsworth after the second world war.

The walk largely takes place along Handsworth’s Soho Road, a bustling high street north-west of the city centre where elaborate saris and glistening wedding jewellery spill out of shops and on to pavements. Fifty years ago, the high street, now dominated by south Asian traders, wore a different face.

“Black-owned, Black-owned, Black-owned,” says Dunkley, pointing at an array of mismatched buildings that were once the nightclubs, restaurants, law firms and banks that made up the Black economy in Birmingham, after thousands migrated to the neighbourhood from the Caribbean in the 1950s and 60s.

On any given day, they are buildings that might not warrant a second glance. Take Garvey House – a neglected and disused Victorian house, with a faded white painted front and boarded-up windows. Named after Jamaica’s national hero Marcus Garvey, the space once brimmed with life, offering temporary accommodation to waves of migrants arriving for the first time in the city. The only remnant of its past life is a faint sign above the door.

Black Heritage Walking Network was born out of the ambition of three history buffs, frustrated by Birmingham’s lack of recognition as a city steeped in Black history and heritage. Since creating the Madiba tour in Handsworth, named after Nelson Mandela’s famous visit to the area (Madiba was his Xhosa clan name) the company has developed a plethora of walks, exhibitions, and educational workshops that highlight the history and legacy of the African-Caribbean community in Birmingham.

“People who want to know about Bob Marley and Malcolm X and so on, if you don’t tell them, then they’ll just go to London to find it … People are used to the culture in London and having access to all of that at their fingertips, which means they don’t want to come to Birmingham,” says Dawn Carr, who co-founded the network.

Along Soho Road, unkempt and derelict buildings are contrasted with an array of colourful murals, commissioned over the years, to highlight the neighbourhood’s diverse and evolving identity. On Soho Bridge, a hand-painted mural shows Strikers in Saris to commemorate a group of south Asian women who famously protested poor working conditions at the Grunwick film processing factory in the late 1970s.

Close to the mural of Benjamin Zephaniah in Handsworth Park, is a brightly painted tribute of 13 Birmingham-born reggae artists that Dunkley brings to life by playing Steel Pulse’s Handsworth Revolution and UB40’s Food for Thought out of a portable speaker.

Where the rich cultural history of Handsworth escapes its outward appearance, Dunkley’s evocative storytelling brings it to life. Her passion for uncovering the lost history of Birmingham streets pours out in theatrical re-enactments and poised reflections on the ways we are taught the past.

While narrating the rich cultural and economic life of old Handsworth, Dunkley is careful not to gloss over the more painful realities of the racism and brutality that marked many residents’ lives.

Remembering that the Black and Irish communities ran 24-hour blues parties hosted in the interlinked cellars of houses along Soho Road known as shebeens, she’s quick to remind us that this was often the only nightlife available to residents, who risked returning “blue and beaten” if they ventured into the city centre.

In the same vein, we are frequently reminded of the strength and resilience of the community. “What you had were elders of the community … who would literally stand vigilante along here,” says Marcia at the edge of a road leading to the city centre.

“They stopped the youths from going down there. But they also stopped the neo-Nazis, the skinheads, coming up here, because that’s what was happening. Big clashes there. It was murderous. It was brutal.”

Some of the most painful accounts of the difficult reality for Handsworth residents are discussed outside the austere redbrick building with tall, narrow windows and stone lintels that was once the local police station. Then called Thornhill Road police station, Dunkley recalls a passage from Benjamin Zephaniah’s autobiography, where he describes a room with dreadlocks pinned to the wall, kept by police as trophies after alleged brutality.

Walking tours can at times feel like lectures, only with heavier legs and a burgeoning craving to sit down. On this tour, Marcia keeps us alert by making us work. At every twist and turn in the narrative, she interrogates the group for answers, sparking debate and conversation.

The tour ends at Handsworth leisure centre, the unexpected site of a visit from Nelson Mandela in October 1993. When news spread of his visit, residents of Handsworth flocked in droves to the sports hall– some even camping out the night before – to hear him speak. According to Dunkley, it was a visit city leaders fervently tried to block, fearing it might spark unrest in the part of Birmingham they referred to as the “ghetto”.

“But where’s the statue? Where’s the narration board?” says Dunkley, voicing her frustration at the lack of any physical commemoration to mark the event, a theme she reflects on throughout the tour. “Where’s the celebration?”

Black Heritage Walks Network offers guided tours all year round, weather permitting. Tickets can be bought through its website and start from £17 for adults and £5 for children under 12

GIRLS are aloud and making us proud!

OK, no more nostalgia about 1990s ‘Girl Power,’ but the times they are a-changing and then some.

3

3

The Red Roses blossomed last weekend as the England women’s rugby team won the World Cup in front of a record 82,000 Twickenham full-house.

That came hot on the heels of our Lionesses’ back-to-back European Championships successes and proves that women’s sport is here to stay.

Rewind two or three decades and women, when mentioned in the same breath as football, was something approaching a dirty word. Just look at the history books.

In 1921 there were over 150 women’s football clubs playing games in front of 40,000-plus gates.

So what did the FA do? They banned it, saying it was “unsuitable for females.”

It only took nearly five decades for the FA to change their minds and growth in the women’s game in the 70s and 80s was slow.

In fact, the national team had to wait until 1998 to have its first full time coach, Hope Powell.

The 2012 London Olympics handed the women’s game a massive boost. TeamGB were watched by over 70,000 at Wembley against Brazil and footie for females was finally freed.

SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN

Last year, an FA study revealed a 56 percent rise in the number of women and girls playing football in the previous four years.

The number of registered female football clubs has more than doubled in the last seven years and just look at crowds in the WSL.

Seven seasons ago the highest gate at any game was 2,648 for Chelsea against Manchester City. Last season it was nearly 57,000 for the North London derby.

A new sponsorship deal with Barclays is worth £15million a year and WSL clubs’ revenues soared 34 percent in 2023-24 alone. So from the grassroots all the way up, women’s football is on the up.

Thankfully, that kind of progress is being repeated in other sports and not just rugby, where there has been significant growth in recent years to the tune of a 60 percent rise in registered players since 2017.

What about cricket? Our girls took a pasting against the Aussies, but the World Cup is upon us with England aiming for a fifth title.

3

In other sports, women do us proud. From netball’s Jade Clarke to tennis star Emma Raducanu, to athlete Keely Hodgkinson and world champion boxer Lauren Price… the list is long and shows just how women are flourishing.

Having said that, I was stunned to read that middle-distance runner Georgia Hunter Bell still worked full-time in tech sales just a few months before winning a bronze at last year’s Paris Olympics.

I cannot imagine a male elite athlete doing the same.

Georgia won silver at the World Championships last month and hopefully being a 24-7 athlete will help her go one better next time.

I’m obviously aware of the lack of female representation in the corridors of power within football and other sports, but I hope that is slowly changing.

Both the FA and PL chairs are women — Debbie Hewitt and Alison Brittain — and are doing a fine job.

Right now, though, I’d rather concentrate on the progress that has been made in a relatively short time.

The WSL is in rude health and will get bigger and better, underlining the fact that we, as a nation, are leading the way in the men’s and women’s game.

We should celebrate that because ‘girls just wanna have fun’.

Olympic swimmer Ben Proud has become the first British athlete to join the controversial Enhanced Games – but says he would never do anything to undermine ‘clean’ sport.

Proud, 30, is a world and European champion at 50m freestyle, and won silver at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

But he has now committed to an event which allows athletes to take banned performance-enhancing drugs.

He never won Olympic gold or broke the 50m freestyle world record, which has stood since 2009, but feels that the Enhances Games “give me a new opportunity to continue this pursuit and see how far I can take things”.

Asked if he thinks the event undermines clean sport, Proud told BBC Sport: “No. I think it opens up the potential avenue to excel in a very different way.

“Speaking for myself, I think realistically I’ve achieved everything I can, and now the Enhanced [Games] is giving me a new opportunity. I definitely don’t think that’s undermining a clean sport.

“I really respect the sport I’ve been part of, and I would never step back in knowing I’ve done something which isn’t in the rules.”

Proud has previously supported UK Anti-Doping’s Clean Sport Week while British team-mates Adam Peaty and Duncan Scott have been outspoken against doping.

Proud said he sees ‘traditional sport’ and the Enhanced Games as “two very separate entities”, and that he found athletes breaking the rules “incredibly frustrating”.

“I see doping in clean sports as a complete no-go,” he said. “I don’t have any time for that.

“The fact it’s still happening is a problem. It’ll always be a cat and mouse game, there will always be people developing new techniques or people getting away with things.

“That’s one thing that has ruined sport for a lot of people. The anti-doping agencies just don’t have the ability to completely make sure everyone is clean and on a level playing field, and that to me has always been the biggest frustration.

“If you were part of my life for the past 12, 13 years, you’d see how much time you have to allocate to making sure we’re available to be tested on a daily basis, making sure we’re constantly giving our samples.”

BBC Sport has asked the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) for comment.

Wada’s latest Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) report, external was published in July, covering 2022. It said that from 241,143 samples, 1,979 (0.82%) were reported to be adverse findings, of which 1,376 (69.5%) resulted in an ADRV.

As “Madame Web” star Sydney Sweeney remains mum on allegations of promoting eugenics via her American Eagle advertisement, she has seemingly stirred up even more support from far-right figures after recently gaining the favor of President Trump.

A black-and-yellow banner covering a billboard on the 91 Freeway in Corona boldly states: “Proud Boys Love Sydney Sweeney,” according to a photo that one Corona resident shared with ABC7.

The banner, which uses the neo-fascist group‘s signature colors, also references the hot-button American Eagle ad. “She has the best blue genes,” the banner says. Note “genes,” not “jeans.” It’s worth remembering that President Trump during a 2020 presidential debate ordered the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” when pressed about condemning right-wing violent extremists.

It’s unclear who put up the banner bearing the far-right group’s name, according to ABC7.

A representative for Sweeney did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Friday.

Earlier this month, jeans retailer American Eagle dropped a string of commercials for its latest campaign featuring the “Euphoria” star. In one advertisement, the Emmy-nominated actor who is blond says, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” she says.

Posters for the American Eagle campaign also featured the totally innovative, never-before-seen wordplay on “jeans” and genes.” A slogan reads, “Sydney Sweeney has great genes,” with the final word crossed out and replaced with “jeans.”

Sweeney, who seems to have a penchant for odd marketing opportunities, and the ads quickly faced criticism on social media, with users alleging the campaign leaned into the language of eugenics. Eugenics is a discredited practice that essentially touted the idea of improving the human race through selective breeding. It gained traction in the early 20th century and was used as a justification for Hitler’s Nazi Germany to wipe out millions of Jewish people, and U.S. authorities to forcibly sterilize more than 60,000 people in California and more than 30 other states.

In an attempt to quell the ire, American Eagle posted a statement stating that its campaign “is and always was about the jeans.”

Sweeney and the American Eagle campaign notably found support among the conservative crowd — it wasn’t the first time for the 27-year-old “Immaculate” actor. Days after the ad dropped, public records revealing her most recent voter registration history resurfaced, unveiling she registered as a Republican in June 2024. Trump found that irresistible to post about on his Truth Social platform.

“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ ad out there. It’s for American Eagle, and the jeans are ‘flying off the shelves.’ Go get ‘em Sydney!” he posted Monday. In an earlier version of his post, Trump misspelled the actor’s name as “Sidney Sweeney.”

He also used the post to diss brands he claimed used “woke” marketing, including Jaguar and Bud Light. Trump also couldn’t resist throwing shade at pop star Taylor Swift, who openly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential election.

Amid the fashion fracas and social media discourse, it seems neither Sweeney nor American Eagle had anything to lose.

Sweeney shrugged off her latest bout of controversy last week as she was spotted doing karaoke with some “Euphoria” co-stars in Santa Monica. She also hit the red carpet on Monday to promote her latest film, “Americana,” from writer-director Tony Tost.

American Eagle, on the other hand, saw its stock surge this week.

England’s Chloe Kelly says she is ‘so proud to be English’ after she scoring the winning penalty in the final of Euro 2025 as the Lionesses beat Spain.

FOLLOW: England defend European title with dramatic shootout win over Spain – reaction & report

Available to UK users only.

Linfield manager David Healy felt his side “stood firm” in order to bring a single-goal deficit back to Windsor Park for next week’s second leg of their Champions League first qualifying round tie against Shelbourne.

The League of Ireland Premier Division champions got the better of things at Tolka Park courtesy of Mipo Odubeko’s second-half strike.

Coming in with only the Charity Shield final against Dungannon Swifts last week as preparation, and against a side 25 games into their domestic campaign, Healy was pleased with how his side did not allow their hosts to turn plenty of possession into a glut of chances.

While Evan Caffrey twice went close, as did substitute Sean Boyd, the Blues defended resolutely for large periods.

“It was never going to be easy coming down here, they are a very, very good side with talented players,” said Healy.

“It’s disappointing, of course, but in terms of where we are, it’s our first real competitive game. Proud of the effort and the organisation of the players, we stuck together.

“An excitable crowd down here at Tolka Park can sometimes suck the ball into the net and we stood firm and we got ourselves in with a goal deficit.”

Linfield will have the suspended Chris Shields back for next week’s second leg, while Cammy Ballantyne should be available too.

Although Healy felt that Shelbourne play “some of the best football” he has seen in Europe as Linfield manager, he believes his team have “nothing to lose” back at Windsor Park on Wednesday in a game that will be shown live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

“We’ll be better for the game next week at Windsor,” the former Northern Ireland striker added.

“We’ll empty the tank, we’ve got nothing to fear and nothing to lose.”

June 6 (UPI) — Former Washington, D.C., Police Intelligence Chief Lt. Shane Lamond got 18 months in a federal prison Friday for obstructing an investigation by lying regarding contact he had with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio.

Lamond leaked information to Tarrio that he was being investigated and then lied about doing that, according to prosecutors.

Lamond was convicted of one count of obstructing justice and three counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement.

Judge Amy B. Jackson said Lamond showed no real contrition for his actions.

“The entire attitude throughout has been, ‘How dare they bring these charges!,” Jackson said.

Lamond attorney Mark Schamel urged Judge Jackson to not incarcerate Lamond. He told the judge he fundamentally disagrees with her about the facts in the case.

He said Lamond’s destroyed police career should be enough punishment.

The investigation into Lamond’s communication with Tarrio revealed hundreds of message exchanges that included encrypted Telegram messages.

Lamond contended they were intended to gather intelligence on extremist groups.

Tarrio was pardoned for his federal conviction by President Donald Trump, who also pardoned hundreds of other people convicted in connection with the violent pro-Trump attack on the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021.

Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, but Trump freed him with a presidential pardon.

Tarrio testified for Lamond and urged Trump to pardon the D.C. police officer.

When Lamond was convicted in December 2024, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said in a statement, “As proven at trial, Lamond turned his job on its head-providing confidential information to a source, rather than getting information from him-lied about the conduct, and obstructed an investigation into the source.”

A MUM who was “proud” to quit smoking after 20 years has been “left on her deathbed” and will die if she lies down – after taking up vaping for a year.

Loyda Cordero Faliero, 39, says she made the switch from smoking cigarettes to vaping around 18 months ago because she “thought it would be the healthier option”.

4

4

But at the start of March 2025 – after vaping “24/7” for “little over a year” – she was rushed to the emergency department after her oesophagus “closed-up” and she choked on a sip of her drink.

Loyda was diagnosed with pulmonary bullae [large air spaces] in her lungs and a collapsed lung, which doctors told her was a result of a build-up of fluid from vaping.

The 39-year-old says doctors told her it could “kill her at any moment” if the sacs were to rupture and has to sleep sat up as she could choke to death if she lies down.

Loyda was advised to avoid any physical activity and claims she was told that even lifting a gallon of milk (eight pints) would be too strenuous as it could increase the risk of one of the air-filled sacs rupturing.

The mum-of-two was forced quit vaping in order to be eligible for surgery to remove the sacs from her lungs – and was warned that if she continued the habit then she might not be alive in five years’ time.

Loyda, who is now recovering from the potentially life-saving surgery in hospital, says she wants to warn others of the dangers of vaping.

Speaking before the surgery, Loyda, from Franklinville, New York, US, said: “My doctor said that my lung collapsed because they were building up with the liquid from my vape and one of the pulmonary bullae ended up rupturing.

“My oesophagus is out of place to where the pulmonary bullae sac is putting pressure onto that and if that ruptures, it could cause a bleed on the brain or internal bleeding which could kill me instantly.

“It’s causing a lot of problems. If I lay down when sleeping instead of sitting up I can choke to death on my own spit or I can suffocate and die.

“I literally have to sit up in bed or on a recliner when I sleep because I’m no longer allowed to sleep lying down until after the surgery – it’s pretty much a life or death situation.

“It’s made me very emotional. I quit something thinking that it was going to be healthier but unfortunately it destroyed me more than it benefited me.

“I was so proud of myself for quitting cigarettes and going to something which I thought was healthier.

“I have two grown kids and even if they’re grown, I’m still a mum. I still have responsibilities and I still want to be here for my grandkids.

“Basically I’m on my deathbed and it’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.”

Loyda says she experienced breathlessness, nausea, dizziness and pain in the weeks before her hospital admission – but had put it down to her poor overall health.

After receiving the diagnosis, she says she was ordered by doctors to stop all physical activity in order to reduce the risk of one of the pulmonary sacs rupturing and killing her.

Vaping is 100 per cent more dangerous than cigarettes

Loyda Cordero Faliero

Loyda continued: “I’m not allowed to be active at all as in cleaning, washing dishes or going up and down the stairs.

“They say that even lifting a gallon of my milk is overdoing it for my body because the way that my lung has collapsed, it flares me up really bad.

“I can’t even cook dinner or stand up to do dishes because by the time I’m done with dishes I’m literally crying in pain and gasping for air.

“It really has taken over my life more than I ever thought it would.

“I was told my doctors that I had to quit vaping in order to be accepted for surgery.

“And I can’t go back to smoking after the surgery because this is just going to happen to me again.

4

4

“I’m going to be stuck with this health issue for the rest of my life.

“The doctors said that if I carried on vaping then within the next five years I would end up on life support and I wouldn’t make it because of how badly this damaged my lungs and how badly the liquid has built up in my lungs.”

After giving up vaping completely, Loyda underwent surgery to have the pulmonary sacs removed from her lungs on April 30.

She is now recovering in hospital and wants to help raise awareness and warn others of the potential health problems vaping can cause – and says she believes that it is both more dangerous and harder to quit than smoking cigarettes.

Loyda said: “With a cigarette, you can put it out and do what you’ve got to do but with a vape it’s like a cell phone – it’s literally stuck in your hand 24/7 and you’re hitting it even when you don’t want to hit it just because it’s there.

“It’s horrible. Vaping is 100 per cent more dangerous than cigarettes.”