Real

Mainstream US media continues to celebrate the supposed strength of the US economy. Almost daily, headlines speak of hopeful numbers, sustainable growth, positive trends and constant gains. The reality on the ground, however, tells of something entirely different, which raises the questions: Are Americans being lied to? And for what purpose?

“US Economy Grew 1.7% in Fourth Quarter, Capping a Strong Year,” the New York Times reported. “US Economy Grew 5.7% in 2021, Fastest Full-Year Clip,” the Washington Post added. Reuters, Voice of America, the Financial Times, CNN, Market Watch and many others all concurred. But if that is the case, why then is US President Joe Biden’s approval rating at an all time low? And why are many Americans literally going hungry?

In a national opinion poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos and published on 3 February, only 41 per cent of US adults approved of Biden’s performance in office. A whopping 56 per cent disapproved. The numbers were not a complete shock as the downward trajectory of the Biden presidency has been in effect since soon after he moved to the White House over a year ago.

The truth is, Biden was not the Democrats’ top choice nominee for president. Judging by various opinion polls and the early results of the Democratic primaries in 2020, it was Bernie Sanders who represented the Democratic hope for real, substantive change. Party politics, liberal media insistence that Sanders was not ‘electable’ and fear-mongering regarding a second Trump term in office pushed Biden through the ranks of nominees to be presented as America’s only hope for salvation.

READ: Taliban calls on Biden to reverse move to halve frozen Afghan funds

While Republicans remain committed to the Donald Trump legacy and are still largely politically and ideologically united, Democrats are growingly unconfident in their leadership and uncertain regarding the future of their democracy, governance and economy. Of course, they are blameless in holding such views.

While the Democratic leadership continues to obsess with its fear of Trump, and while liberal media insists that the US economy is as healthy as it can be, the average American continues to struggle against encroaching poverty, inflation and lack of future prospects.

Here are some sobering numbers: 56 per cent of all Americans cannot produce a meager $1,000 as an emergency expense from their existing savings, CNBC reported; one in 10 US adults went hungry last December as a result of poverty, Forbes.com reported; Columbia University Center on Poverty and Social Policy revealed that child poverty rate in the US stands at 17 per ent, “one of the highest among developed countries”.

If American workers are studied separately from the larger population, the numbers are even more grim: three quarters of American workers said that “it was very or somewhat difficult to make end’s meet,” according to a study conducted by Shift Project, and reported in NBC News online. Forty per ent of the polled workers said that they are not able to come up with $400 in emergency money. But the most shocking of all, according to the same study, is that “around 20% said that they went hungry because they couldn’t afford enough to eat”.

Homeless on the street in front of a Police Station in Los Angeles, California on 16 February 2022. [FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images]

Aside from occasional government handouts, which were provided by both the Trump and Biden administrations, little has been done by way of structural changes to the US economy that would ensure greater equality among all sectors of society. Instead, the administration’s priorities seem to be allocated to something else entirely.

Writing in Politico, David Siders describes the current political discourse within Democratic Party circles, where “Democrats are losing their minds over 2024”. Since the Democratic President’s public approval ratings are “dismal”, Democrats fear the return of Trump. “All anyone can talk about is Trump —donors, policy folks, party insiders, the media,” Siders quoted a Democratic adviser as saying. The same adviser described “a weird cycle” where the “conversation keeps coming back to Trump”.

Whether conscious of this obsession or not, the Biden administration seems to operate entirely according to a political strategy that is predicated on tarnishing Trump and his supporters, retelling, over and over again, the story of the January 6 insurrection, hoping for a Republican split or any other miracle that would bolster their chances of maintaining their Congressional majority in the next November mid-term elections.

While doing so, the Democratic leadership seems oblivious to the harsh reality on the ground, where food prices are skyrocketing and where inflation has reached unbearable levels. According to new data, released on 10 February by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US consumer price index (CPI) rose by 7.5 per cent in January compared to the same month a year ago, making it the “fastest annual pace since 1982,” the Financial Times reported.

READ: Putin wants to turn the clock back and must be reined in

The rise in inflation is not a one time off event, as CPI has been rising at a sustainable level of 0.6 per cent on a monthly basis. Ordinary people can feel this increase almost every time they go shopping. Small business owners, especially restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores, are left with one out of two options: either increasing their prices or shutting down completely. Consequently, large segments of the already vulnerable US population are growing more desperate than ever.

To avoid providing real answers to difficult questions about the welfare of millions of Americans, about the real function of their democratic institutions and about existing corruption within the US political system – regardless of who controls the Congress or resides in the White House – Democrats and their media are either blaming their Republican rivals or creating foreign policy distractions. They continue to speak of a ‘China threat’ and an ‘imminent’ Russian invasion of Ukraine and such, while the real threat is that of detached politicians who are amassing wealth, fighting for power and prestige while their countrymen and women continue to go hungry.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

Joseph Kosinski didn’t want to direct “F1” unless he was able to do it the hard way. That was the germ of an idea for what would eventually become one of the biggest hits of 2025: Create a movie about an underdog Formula One team that didn’t fake being at F1 races, but actually became a part of them.

“It was kind of like, ‘Yes, this is a little insane,’” said Kosinski, “‘but if we can pull it off, we’ll get something totally unique.’”

Kosinski doesn’t present as your average adrenaline junkie. He’s mellow and looks like he could work at a bank — in fact, he pursued architecture before finding a calling in film as a David Fincher protégé. Kosinski was trusted with blockbusters from his debut, 2010’s “Tron: Legacy,” and in 2022 broke through with “Top Gun: Maverick,” which strapped Tom Cruise and other insurance liabilities into actual fighter jets as an alternative to relying on CGI.

“I think on ‘Maverick,’” Kosinski said, “I found out that the audience does appreciate when you shoot something for real. They can tell the difference between something done on a soundstage and done in a real situation. It’s something we are very attuned to and connect to.”

“F1” tells the story of Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a leathery road dog of a driver who gets called back into Formula One by an old racing friend (Javier Bardem), who’s now the owner of a struggling team, desperate for a Hail Mary. The film is partially based in reality; the Hayes character is inspired by Martin Donnelly, whose promising career was cut short in 1990 by a gruesome crash. It’s also partially based in a fantasy in which someone old enough to have seen the 1966 epic “Grand Prix” in theaters would be allowed to sit in the driver’s seat of a modern F1 team.

Director Joseph Kosinski on the set of “F1.”

(Apple TV)

But the fantasy elements were designed to be offset by a hyperrealism that’s rarely afforded to film productions — not just in the ability to feature the actual teams and drivers, but also to film a significant portion of the movie at the races themselves. It helped that the production had Lewis Hamilton, one of the best drivers in the history of the sport, on board as a producer to help grease the wheels with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, the governing body of F1. Even with Hamilton, though, Apple — which ultimately spent over $200 million on the movie — had to prove to the FIA that they could set up at an event like the fabled British Grand Prix at Silverstone and not cause a pileup.

“We had to rehearse the blocking and staging for about two weeks with a stopwatch in front of the FIA to prove to them that we could actually shoot a scene and get off the track before the race started,” said Kosinski, referring to a crucial scene when the characters played by Pitt and Tobias Menzies first meet.

Unlike “Maverick,” in which military pilots flew the jets, “F1” features driving from Brad Pitt and co-star Damson Idris, in some sense because it was the only way to get the shots they needed. “They’ve got four cameras in front of them that are whipping around and they’re having to do their lines and perform,” said Kosinski. “But mostly they’re trying not to die in front of 100,000 people.”

Every department — from the actors to craft services — had to learn how to operate at dangerous speeds and with higher stakes. Ben Munro, who did the production design with Mark Tildesley, explained that, normally, his department would have two weeks to build a set; in some cases on “F1,” such as a scene filmed at the McLaren headquarters, they would have just 12 hours, overnight.

“When you try to integrate with the real world, ultimate control becomes harder,” Munro said. “And as filmmakers, we’re used to being in ultimate control.”

The “F1” team developed new cameras to capture the film’s ultra-realistic high-speed racing.

(Apple TV)

The camera team too had to be adaptable and mobile (no VistaVision here), all while figuring out how to capture footage at 180 miles per hour that couldn’t be covered with more than a few takes. “First, we had to make a camera that didn’t exist yet,” said Claudio Miranda, the film’s cinematographer.

Miranda, who won an Oscar for “Life of Pi,” worked with Sony to develop small, agile “sensor-on-a-stick” cameras with Imax-worthy lenses to place around the cars. Coverage became essential — there were 16 camera positions to capture as much as possible. With both the racing itself and the hoopla around race weekend, the usual filmmaking mindset simply had to change: “I’m not always able to shoot sunset for this shot, or backlight for this quarter,” said Miranda, describing his thinking. “We traded all that in for the realism of the movie. But I think that’s unbeatable.”

Other than a few spinouts (and a stray Brad Pitt fan ruining a shot to get a selfie), the production was miraculously accident-free, despite taking almost two years to film. That may be due in part to the fact that, if you squint, it turns out that a film crew is similar enough to an F1 team to fit right in.

“Everyone had to be prepared for those nine-minute shoot windows in the same way that you’d have to be ready for a pit stop,” Kosinski said. “There was a really interesting kinship. And we really did feel like the 11th team after spending two seasons with them.”

The moment that sticks with Miranda is from the end of the production, in Abu Dhabi, when all the real F1 teams got their cars out for one grand scene together — a million-dollar setup, to undersell it by a few digits. “In the beginning, it did feel like we were this annoying little buzzard,” Miranda said. “I think that’s why I got really emotional when everyone wanted to help us out in the final race and bring the cars out. Because it felt like, at the end, we were kind of loved.”

Voters in the Central American nation of Honduras are set to go to the polls for Sunday’s general election, as they weigh concerns ranging from corruption to national and economic security.

The current president, Xiomara Castro of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) party, is limited by law to one term in office.

But the race to succeed Castro is slated to be a nail-biter. Three candidates have surged to the front of the race, but none has taken a definitive lead in the polls.

They include Rixi Moncada from the LIBRE party; Nasry Asfura from the right-wing National Party; and Salvador Nasralla from the centrist Liberal Party.

The race, however, has been marred by accusations of fraud and election-tampering.

Those allegations have raised tensions in Honduras, whose political system is still recovering from the legacy of a United States-backed 2009 military coup that was followed by a period of repression and contested elections.

“Honduras is heading into these elections amid mounting political pressure on electoral authorities, public accusations of fraud from across the political spectrum, and paralysis within key electoral bodies,” said Juanita Goebertus, director of the Americas division at the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

“These dynamics have created real uncertainty about the integrity of the process.”

Who are the candidates, what will voting look like, and what are the stakes of the election? We answer these questions and more in this brief explainer.

When is the election?

The election will take place in a single round of voting, held on November 30. The candidate with the most votes will be declared the winner and should take office on January 25, 2026.

How long is the presidential term?

Each president may serve a single four-year term in office.

Who is eligible to vote?

There are about 6.5 million Hondurans eligible to cast a ballot, including about 400,000 living abroad in the United States. That group, however, is restricted to voting on the presidential candidates.

Voting is obligatory in Honduras, but there are no penalties for those who do not participate.

Who are the candidates?

Three of the five presidential candidates have emerged as main challengers in the race.

Competing as the candidate for the left-leaning LIBRE Party is Rixi Moncada, a close confidant of President Castro who has served first as her finance minister, from 2022 to 2024, and later as her secretary of defence.

Moncada resigned that position in May to pursue her presidential bid.

If elected, she has pledged to “democratise the economy”, pushing back against efforts to privatise state services. Her platform also promises greater access to credit for small businesses and a crackdown on corporate corruption.

Another contender is Salvador Nasralla, a familiar face in Honduran politics. A candidate for the centrist Liberal Party, he is running for president for a fourth time.

A 72-year-old with a background in civil engineering, Nasralla formerly served as Castro’s vice president before resigning in April 2024.

Nasralla has said that he will streamline government functions while seeking to bring informal workers, who make up a large portion of the country’s labour force, into the formal economy.

Finally, running as the candidate for the right-leaning National Party is Nasry “Tito” Asfura.

Previously a mayor and representative for the capital of Tegucigalpa, Asfura has said he will run the country as an “administrator” and “executor”, promoting pro-business policies to attract investment.

How have foreign relations played a role in the election?

On foreign relations, Moncada is expected to continue her predecessor’s pursuit of closer ties with countries such as China and support for other left-wing figures in the region.

Both Nasralla and Asfura have said they will orient Honduras towards the US and its allies, including Israel and Taiwan.

On Wednesday, in the waning days of the presidential race, US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Asfura.

Trump also cast Honduras’s presidential race as part of his broader campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, blaming the South American leader for drug trafficking and the establishment of left-wing governments across the region.

“Democracy is on trial in the coming Elections in the beautiful country of Honduras on November 30th. Will Maduro and his Narcoterrorists take over another country like they have taken over Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela?” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social.

“The man who is standing up for Democracy, and fighting against Maduro, is Tito Asfura.”

What do the polls say?

Though pre-election surveys have shown Moncada, Nasralla and Asfura to be in the lead, no clear frontrunner has emerged.

In September, a poll released by the firm CID Gallup found that Nasralla had 27 percent support, Moncada 26 and Asfura 24. Those percentages separating the three candidates were within the poll’s margin of error.

An additional 18 percent of respondents in that survey indicated they were undecided.

Why has election integrity been a concern?

Questions of corruption have long dogged Honduras’s fragile democracy, and this election season has brought those fears back to the fore.

During the March primaries, for instance, there were “irregularities” in the distribution of election materials, and some polling stations reported delays, long lines and thin staffing that forced the vote to stretch late into the night.

There has also been discord between the two government agencies that handle Honduras’s elections: the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Electoral Justice Tribunal.

Congress elects the main leaders for each of the two agencies. But both the tribunal and the CNE have been targeted for investigation recently.

In October, prosecutors opened a criminal probe into CNE leader Cossette Lopez over alleged plans for an “electoral coup”.

The Joint Staff of the Armed Forces has also asked the CNE for a copy of a vote tally sheet for the presidential race on election day, prompting concerns over possible interference by the armed forces.

The Electoral Justice Tribunal, meanwhile, has faced an investigation into whether it has voted without all of its members present.

Both President Castro and members of the opposition have spoken about the potential for fraud in Sunday’s vote, heightening scrutiny on the vote.

Organisations such as Human Rights Watch and the Organization of American States (OAS) have expressed concern over the pressure facing election officials.

“What matters most now is that electoral institutions are allowed to operate independently, that the Armed Forces adhere strictly to their limited constitutional role, and that all political actors refrain from actions or statements that could inflame tensions or undermine public trust,” said Goebertus.

South Africa secured a declaration from the rest of the G20, despite United States objections.

Washington boycotted the meeting over President Donald Trump’s accusations that South Africa persecutes its white minority, a claim widely rejected.

The document calls for more funding for renewable energy, fairer critical mineral supply chains and debt relief for poorer nations.

The first G20 summit on African soil broke with tradition by releasing the document at the start.

And there was no ceremonial handover between the outgoing South African and incoming American chairs.

Also, can Britain’s Labour government satisfy both businesses and households?

Plus, the weight-loss drug booming industry.

Margam Country Park in Wales transforms into a magical winter wonderland in December, with a miniature fairy village, elf workshop and Santa feeding the deer

A magical fairy village is hidden in the picturesque Margam Country Park, a sweeping gothic estate nestled in the old coal lands of Wales.

The park, near Port Talbot, is surrounded by stunning purple rhododendrons during the summer months and transforms into a winter wonderland in December with its enchanting miniature fairy village. This Welsh estate boasts a grand gothic country house, nestled within a vast expanse of land. The 19th-century mansion was crafted by architect Thomas Hopper for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot in 1830, using sandstone sourced from the nearby Pyle quarry, according to Margam Country Park. The impressive staircase hall and octagonal tower offer panoramic views over the park, which offers a plethora of activities for the whole family, particularly during the festive season, reports Wales Online.

The Elf workshop provides children with a unique glimpse into Santa’s workshop, where they can participate in craft activities under the guidance of the head elf. Meanwhile, visitors can enjoy a festive winter walk in the gardens and watch Santa feed the deer. The fairy village consists of charming storybook-like buildings, including miniature houses all themed around fairytales, a willow cathedral, and a giant chess and draughts board. The fairy village is encircled by beautiful, award-winning Grade I listed gardens, complete with their own orangery. The Orangery is home to several large Tulip Trees, a Cork Oak and a very large cut-leaved Beech.

Margam Country Park, recognised for having the 2020 tree of the year – a historic fern-leaved beech with an impressive canopy surrounding the remains of one of the country’s first Cistercian abbeys, is also home to around 500 deer and other thriving wildlife hubs.

The park, built on former coal lands, witnessed extensive deforestation as allied forces scrambled for timber during the war. Now, the grass and scrubland is home to foxes, badgers, hares, grey squirrels, voles, moles and shrews, while woodland birds like the nuthatch, jay, blue tit, stonechat and reed bunting also inhabit the park.

Just two miles south of Port Talbot, Margram is easily accessible via the M4 motorway at Junction 38. Most attractions within the park open at 10am and close at 3.30pm, with fishing hours starting from 9.15am and Charlottes Pantry Café opening from 10.30am.

Car parking charges apply and can be paid using the on-site pay and display machines or with MiPermit, costing £8.50 per car, with an option to purchase an annual season parking ticket. Disabled parking is available at the rear of the estate, with additional disabled parking in the Orangery car park.

Great documentaries are sometimes lucky accidents, the product of being at the right place at the right time and then having the wherewithal to produce something extraordinary out of those unlikely circumstances. When director Julia Loktev traveled to Russia in October 2021, all she wanted was to chronicle a handful of smart, dogged journalists trying to tell the truth who, for their trouble, had been branded foreign agents by Vladimir Putin’s vindictive government. She didn’t know she would be arriving mere months before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But thanks to a quirk of coincidence, she ended up having a front-row seat to history.

She made the most of it: Running five-and-a-half hours without a minute wasted, “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow” takes us inside TV Rain, one of Russia’s last independent television channels. Divided into five chapters, the documentary begins as Loktev, who was born in the former Soviet Union before leaving when she was 9, returns to her homeland armed with an iPhone to shadow veteran TV Rain reporter and host Anna Nemzer. Over the next four months, a period that ended shortly after the invasion began, Loktev embedded herself not just with Nemzer (who is credited as the film’s co-director) but several other journalists as they fear being arrested for their reporting.

Loktev hasn’t completed a film since 2011’s “The Loneliest Planet,” which starred Gael García Bernal and Hani Furstenberg as soon-to-be-wed lovers backpacking through the Georgian countryside, their seemingly close bond shattered after a harrowing encounter. In that movie and her previous feature, 2006’s “Day Night Day Night,” a spare procedural about a nameless suicide bomber in New York, Loktev explored the mysteries of human behavior under pressure. But with “My Undesirable Friends,” she takes that fascination to a new level, introducing viewers to a group of compelling subjects, many of them women in their 20s, who open up in front of her camera while hanging out at TV Rain, their apartments or in cafes, candidly processing their country’s terrifying descent into authoritarianism in real time.

These intrepid journalists couldn’t foresee the invasion that was coming, nor the brutal local crackdown on free speech in its wake, but Loktev makes those dire certainties clear from the start, solemnly intoning in voice-over, “The world you’re about to see no longer exists.” Since its premiere at last year’s New York Film Festival, “My Undesirable Friends” has been compared to a horror movie and a political thriller but perhaps more accurately, it’s a disaster film — one in which you know the characters so intimately that, when the awful event finally occurs, you care deeply about the outcome. (“My Undesirable Friends” bears the subtitle “Part I” because Loktev has nearly finished a second installment, which catches up with the women after they fled Russia.)

In its avoidance of interviews with experts or historians, the documentary offers a kind of personal scrapbook of Loktev’s subjects, showing what everyday life is like in an oppressive society: strikingly banal with a constant background hum of paranoia. Each woman comes into empathetic focus. Nemzer, who is a little older than her colleagues, balances her demanding job with marriage and motherhood. Meanwhile, her younger co-worker Ksenia Mironova keeps diligently filing stories despite her fiancé, journalist Ivan Safronov, being imprisoned for more than a year. (He would subsequently be sentenced to 22 years.) Investigative reporter Alesya Marokhovskaya has a girlfriend, whose face we never see, and eventually details grim memories of a violent childhood. And then there’s Marokhovskaya’s best friend and partner Irina Dolinina, who combats anxiety while her politically unconscious mother harangues her about not being able to find a man now that she’s been labeled a foreign agent.

The stress and uncertainty of these conversations is palpable but, remarkably, so is a spiky sense of humor. When a co-worker is temporarily locked up, Mironova cracks jokes outside his prison while awaiting his release. The journalists wear their foreign-agent designation as a badge of honor, mocking the comically lengthy disclaimer text they’re forced to run with their broadcasts, a pitch-black coping mechanism to make sense of their tense, surreal moment.

“My Undesirable Friends” captures dark times with some of the funniest people you’d ever hope to have as sisters-in-arms. Defiant, emotional and life-affirming, the film presents us with endearing patriots who love their country but hate its leaders, sucking us into a riveting tale with a powerful undertow.

The audience anticipates the frightening future that awaits these journalists, which makes their relentless advocacy all the more moving. If our 20s are a period of unbridled optimism — a hopefulness that slowly gets beaten out of us as we grow older — “My Undesirable Friends” stands as a touching display of the resilience of youth. There is nothing naive about these women who came of age during Putin’s cruel regime, but they nonetheless believe they can change things. While Loktev rarely inserts herself into this epic, we feel her admiration from behind the camera. The film inspires while it challenges: What were any of us doing at that age that was comparably heroic or meaningful? What are we doing now?

Those questions should stick in the craw of Americans who watch this masterwork. Loktev has made a movie about Russia but its themes spread far beyond that country’s borders. During a year in which the worst-case scenarios of a second Trump presidency have come to fruition, “My Undesirable Friends” contains plenty of echoes with our national news. The canceling of comedy shows, the baseless imprisonment of innocent people, the rampant transphobia: The Putin playbook is now this country’s day-to-day. Some may wish to avoid Loktev’s film because of those despairing parallels. But that’s only more reason to embrace “My Undesirable Friends.” Loktev didn’t set out to be a witness to history, but what she’s emerged with is an indispensable record and a rallying cry.

As media executives wrestle with the use of artificial intelligence, radio giant iHeartMedia wants to stand out.

“We don’t use AI-generated personalities. We don’t play AI music that features synthetic vocalists pretending to be human,” Tom Poleman, the company’s programming chief, wrote in an email to employees.

“The podcasts we publish are also Guaranteed Human,” he wrote.

Radio station DJs now are expected to say “Guaranteed Human,” as part of their hourly on-air disclosures, which include announcing the station’s call letters, as required by the Federal Communications Commission. The new branding campaign has its roots in iHeartMedia’s research that listeners turn on the radio for more than just music and information.

“Consumers aren’t just looking for content, they’re looking for connection,” the company’s president of insights, Lainie Fertick, wrote in an October blog post. “In a world of tech overload, consumers are searching for something real.”

The move comes as Hollywood creators, agents and executives come to grips with rapid advances in artificial intelligence, which has assisted workers with routine tasks but also caused a stir with the release of realistic AI actors, such as Tilly Norwood, which has more than 66,000 followers on Instagram. Entertainment behemoths, including Walt Disney Co. and Comcast’s NBCUniversal, also have sued AI companies for copyright infringement.

To be sure, iHeartMedia uses “AI-powered productivity and distribution tools that help scale our business operations,” Poleman wrote in his note. Such AI tools are used for “scheduling, audience insights, data analysis, workflow automation, show prep, editing and organization,” he said.

iHeartMedia is the nation’s largest radio operator with more than 850 stations, including KFI-AM 640, KLAC-AM 570, KOST-FM 103.5 and KIIS-FM 102.7 in Los Angeles.

The company also has a growing podcast business, producing such shows as “Stuff You Should Know,” “Questlove Supreme” and “Drama Queens.” It also co-produces podcasts with the NFL, NBA and Shonda Rhimes’ Shondaland Audio, which includes “The Laverne Cox Show.”

Previously known as Clear Channel Communications, the company has experienced the dark side of automation and programming centralization.

In 2002, its radio stations in Minot, N.D., aired canned music as a toxic cloud blanketed the community after a train transporting anhydrous ammonia for fertilizer derailed and exploded. One person died, and dozens of others were injured. Congress then drilled into alleged harms of media consolidation and the failure of broadcasters to alert the community during the disaster in Minot, where Clear Channel owned six of the eight commercial radio stations.

Clear Channel later said local police failed that night to activate the emergency alert system, which would have allowed the broadcast of special bulletins.

The company has since championed its responses to other disasters. An iHeart spokesperson pointed to its award-winning coverage of Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C., in 2024 as well as its efforts during the devastating Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires in January, “delivering crucial lifesaving information and working with local organizations to collect and distribute essential disaster relief supplies,” the spokesperson said, noting that Clear Channel was run by a different management team.

“At iHeart, we make service to our communities our number one priority,” the spokesperson said.

iHeartMedia, like other entertainment and news outlets, is dealing with advertising declines, and it has been looking for ways to keep listeners engaged amid media fragmentation. The company this fall cut several staff members at historic KFI, including Morris “Mo” O’Kelly, who had hosted the station’s evening talk show for nearly three years.

Radio host Chuck Dizzle also announced on Instagram that he’d been laid off from iHeart’s Los Angeles hip-hop station KRRL-FM, which brands itself as “Real 92.3.”

The company said its research shows that consumers crave interactions with real people, and they have deep concerns about the growing use of AI and its potential societal changes.

Poleman pointed to a recent survey that showed two-thirds of respondents were worried about losing their job to AI.

iHeartMedia employees should embrace “Guaranteed Human” as more than a marketing tagline, Poleman wrote.

“When listeners interact with us, they know they’re connecting with real voices, real stories, and real emotion,” Poleman wrote. “Sometimes you have to pick a side — we’re on the side of humans.”

OVER the last 12 months, Kate Brazier has found her life completely turned upside down as a family feud, abusive behaviour, and rows over being a stay-at-home-wife rocked her marriage.

The PR guru, 35, – who took on the role as stepmum to Jeff’s grieving two sons – clung onto her marriage to Jeff Brazier for as long as she could, before finally calling it quits for good a few weeks ago. Here, insiders tell us what finally broke Kate, and reveal the heartbreaking battle she was fighting behind the scenes.

Our insider revealed: “The last year has been incredibly hard on all the family and unfortunately Kate is the one who has really suffered in it all.”

Last night The Sun told how Kate and Jeff, 46, who were together for twelve years, are now living apart after “a year of hell” involving issues with Freddy Brazier, 21 — Jeff’s youngest son from his relationship with tragic Big Brother star Jade Goody.

Amongst those issues was an escalating rift with stepmum Kate. In a cruel post, Freddy listed things he “hates” which included: “Step parents”, which was said to be “like a dagger in the heart” for Kate. 

The insider explained: “It’s no secret that Freddy has been struggling and has a number of issues, which has meant everything else has taken a back seat. 

Kate knows she’ll always come second to the boys.

Insider

“Freddy has been quite vocal about not liking Kate and is said to have been verbally abusive towards her at times. 

“Kate really thinks Jeff could have stuck up for her more in it all but instead she felt pushed out.

“People seem to forget that Kate has been a mother figure to both the boys since they were very young and has really given her all to support them and Jeff.”

Kate was just 24 when she first met the boys, it was five years after their mum had died and she admits she became a part of their life “without a clue what I was doing or how to help”.

From the outside Jeff appeared to have it all under control – Bobby his oldest lad, 22, was on EastEnders and Strictly, he was living the dream hosting on This Morning and Freddy was finding his feet in the world.

But behind the occasional picture perfect instagram posts, the truth was far darker and Freddy was battling his inner demons.

What followed was a devastating and very public family fall out, which saw Jeff launch legal action to block Freddy from seeing his gran, Jade’s mum Jackiey Budden, 68,

He accused Jackiey of being a bad influence on Freddy amid fears for his welfare.

In another bombshell, Freddy announced he was to become a dad for the first time with influencer girlfriend Holly Swinburn.

Jeff immediately stepped up and made it clear that he would do what he could to make sure the baby was safe and happy – which appears to have come at the detriment to other things in his life. 

The insider continued: “Things reached breaking point when Freddy revealed he was having a baby.

“Jeff is incredibly involved and Kate just knows it’s going to be a chaotic nightmare. Jeff is desperate to make the situation OK for his son.

“But it’s meant the issues he had with Kate have been massively amplified by the pregnancy and its caused a lot of stress.

“Kate knows she’ll always come second to the boys – and that’s fine. She gets it. But it’s all become way too much.”

In a new twist, Freddy has since split from Holly after a row over their dog, throwing decisions about the baby into chaos.

‘A RETREAT FOR EXTENDED FAMILY’

Over the weekend Jeff hinted his marriage was over in online posts and made it very clear where his priorities lay – with his soon to be extended family.

Revealing he had bought a new home, he wrote in a thinly-veiled dig: “After three years in the commuter belt to make things easy for everyone else, it was when I ultimately became a storage facility that I realised it was time to suit myself and open fields make me happy.”

He went on: “I wanted to be in a home that felt like a calm retreat for my soon-extended family.

“I realised some time ago that success equals peace and I’ve found the perfect environment for what feels like a transitional time in all our lives.”

But it seems Kate feels like the right decision has been made, she is back living in her apartment in Hackney and jetted to Vegas for the weekend for the US Grand Prix.

In her selfie from the trip, Kate wrote: “Possibly one of the best days of my life.”

Her words will no doubt be a crushing blow to Jeff, who is said to have been desperate to make things work after everything they have been through.

But yesterday he was not wearing his wedding ring as he reported for ITV’s Good Morning Britain from Reykjavik in Iceland.

A MOTHER FIGURE IN THEIR DARKEST TIMES

The couple first got together in 2013 before tying the knot in 2018, where the boys played a big part. 

The wedding was a huge milestone for Bobby and Kate because it was the first time he told he loved her.

She recalled:  “Fred says it to me every day, but Bobby is more reserved, so for me that was truly amazing and shows how far we have come.”

Bobby joked in his speech about how he struggled with their relationship initially, saying: “This is a bit awkward, but to cut a long story short, I didn’t really rate you to begin with,”

“But now I’m so glad I can genuinely tell you I love you. You being around has made things a lot easier for us boys, and we appreciate you a lot.”

Fast forward to this year though and there has been a huge shift in relationships.

Freddy, who lost mum Jade, then 27, to cervical cancer in 2009, when he was just four, heartbreakingly told his followers: “I don’t know how to love because I’ve never been loved.”

But Jeff and Kate briefly split at the end of 2022, partly due to clashes over their lifestyles — Jeff is a homebird while Kate enjoys socialising.

Back then Kate told pals she did not want to be a “stay-at-home wife”. But the couple agreed to give their marriage another go after Jeff revealed he was the loneliest he had ever been.

And things certainly looked rosy for some time – but as Freddy’s personal crisis escalated, Bobby also made a surprising decision to quit EastEnders and the spiritual lad moved to India to join a Hare Krishna commune

He said Freddy “needs to grow up” after images emerged of his younger brother and his nan Jackiey smoking a suspicious-looking cigarette next to the Thames in London.

Jeff reluctantly backed down from his legal action in August, and while he started communicating with Freddy again sources said his relationship with him remains strained.

And it seems despite his best efforts, drama continues to follow Freddy and whether he will be back with the mother of his child by the time they are born remains to be seen. Kate for one isn’t prepared to wait around to find out. 

Jeff and Kate have been contacted for comment.

Madrid, Spain – Real Madrid fans were divided over plans announced this week by club President Florentino Perez to allow private equity investors to buy up to a 10% stake in the club.

Some fans of “los merengues” said it would mean selling off part of the club, even though Real Madrid remains the wealthiest football club in the world.

They also noted that in recent years, Real Madrid had already changed membership rules, contravening promises to keep memberships within families and diluting its character.

Others supported the investor plan, saying it made good business sense and would not alter the trajectory of a hugely successful club that has won the Spanish domestic title 36 times and collected a record 15 UEFA Champions League trophies.

Perez insisted that allowing private equity investors – who often deploy large amounts of capital into companies not listed on public stock exchanges – to take a stake in the club was an “indispensable project” for the future of football.

Speaking to club members on Sunday, Perez said he will propose a statutory reform during an extraordinary assembly to allow for the possibility of outside investors to take a minority stake in the club, according to reporting by The Associated Press news agency.

“We will continue to be a members’ club, but we must create a subsidiary in which the 100,000 members of Real Madrid will always retain absolute control,” he said.

“On that basis, this subsidiary could simply incorporate a minority stake, for example, 5% – never more than 10% – from one or more investors committed to the very long term and willing to contribute their own resources.”

Perez said that would be “the clearest and most compelling way to value our club”.

The 78-year-old added that it would allow the club to pay dividends to club members, which it is presently forbidden from doing.

Perez insisted investors would be obliged to “respect our values”, contribute to the growth of the club and “help us protect our assets from external attacks”.

He said Real Madrid could have the right to buy its assets back from investors.

Perez reiterated several times that members would never lose control of the club.

He said his proposal would make sure that the current 98,272 members are recognised as the real owners of the club, with the number of members fixed for the future.

“With this protection in place, no one will be able to diminish our status as owners or alter the balance that guarantees the independence and stability of Real Madrid,” Perez said. “It will be us, the members of today, who will have the responsibility of safeguarding our culture of values and ensuring that our club continues to lead world football for many generations to come.”

The Real Madrid president further explained the reform would “shield the club from external and internal attacks on our assets, and to highlight their value so that we are all aware of the treasure that we, as members, have in our hands”.

Spanish club ownership versus English

Real Madrid, like Barcelona and a small number of other Spanish football clubs, is classed as a nonprofit organisation as it is owned by its club members, or socios. Real Madrid, founded in 1902, has only ever had this ownership model.

This ownership structure prevents large private investors from forging a majority controlling stake in the clubs; it also means they can claim tax concessions.

This is despite the fact that Real Madrid was named the world’s wealthiest football club for the fourth straight year in 2025, with an estimated market valuation of $6.75bn, according to the Forbes List. It was also the first club to earn $1bn in revenue.

The nonprofit status allows Spanish clubs to preserve some traditions of their clubs and for members to take an active role in the organisations.

Graham Hunter, a British football journalist who specialises in Spanish football, pointed to the example of Joan Laporta, the current president of the other Spanish mega club, Barcelona.

“Laporta went from being a member and a lawyer to being [club] president in seven years,” he said.

In stark contrast, football clubs in England or the United States – Manchester United or Inter Miami being just two examples – can be owned by individuals, corporations and in some instances, acquired on public stock exchanges, resulting in more commercialised ownership structures.

It means their club’s performances are often centred on more short-run processes like profit maximisation, whereas in Spain, the club is in the hands of fans – not large private investors – allowing scope for longer-term business strategies to be enacted.

If Perez’s plan goes ahead, this could open the door for this famous Spanish club to become more like its foreign rivals.

The high-profile, multi-billionaire boss of Louis Vuitton, Bernard Arnault, was named in Spanish media on Monday as a potential investor in the club, should the new minority ownership rules be adopted.

Fans reaction

Some Real Madrid fans did not share Perez’s enthusiasm to open up the club to large private investors.

David Garcia, a former season ticket holder at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, said Perez had previously told fans he would preserve the club for members.

“On Sunday, Florentino [Perez] misled the members again. He had told us that access to the club was restricted to the children or grandchildren of members to prevent a Russian or Chinese person from joining,” he told Al Jazeera.

Garcia added that in recent years, the rules of admission to membership had been changed several times, and Chinese and other foreigners had appeared on membership lists.

Alejandro Dominguez, a former vice president of the Real Madrid Veterans Pena, questioned why outside investors were needed to boost the coffers of such a profitable club.

“I don’t understand why we need more money when we are already the richest club in the world?” he told Al Jazeera.

However, Fernando Valdez, a lifelong Real Madrid fan who is part of La Gran Familia supporters club, said he believed the reform would not harm the character of the club.

“If we were selling off huge chunks of the club to raise money to compete with Paris Saint-Germain, then that would be worrying, as it would change the club forever. But it is not like that,” he said.

“We need to know more details about this, but on the face of it, it does not seem like anything to worry about. Five percent or 10% is nothing.”

David Alvarez, who writes about Real Madrid for El Pais newspaper, said Perez’s ownership plan was not designed to compete with other high-spending clubs like Manchester City.

“This will allow the club to pay dividends to socios (club members). At present, the law stops them from doing that. They would have to sell a much bigger stake to be able to compete with the other big clubs in Europe, so they are not trying to do that.”

Jude Bellingham’s 87th minute equaliser rescued Real Madrid from defeat at Elche as Los Blancos return to top of ladder.

Jude Bellingham struck late on to secure Real Madrid a 2-2 draw at Elche on Sunday, taking his team top of La Liga by a point.

Xabi Alonso’s side struggled against their mid-table opponents in an entertaining battle in which Madrid twice came from behind.

Aleix Febas fired the hosts ahead before Dean Huijsen levelled for the league leaders, with Bellingham stabbing home from close range after Alvaro Rodriguez blasted Elche back in front.

Barcelona cut Madrid’s lead by two points over the weekend after they thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Saturday in their first match back at Camp Nou.

Alonso afforded Rodrygo Goes a rare start as part of the attack, while benching Vinicius Junior. The coach also gave Trent Alexander-Arnold his first start since August.

The England international missed several weeks injured and is yet to find form following his summer switch from Liverpool.

Alexander-Arnold was also partly to blame for Febas’s goal, with the midfielder sneaking in behind him to break the deadlock in the second half.

Elche sets the tone

Elche impressed against Barcelona a few weeks ago and gave Madrid a tough night at the Martinez Valero stadium.

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a fine early save to deny Andre da Silva after Hector Fort teed him up.

The forward was involved in an unfortunate incident earlier in the day at Real Madrid’s annual general meeting, when Los Blancos displayed his photograph by accident in a tribute to former Liverpool striker Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who both died in a car crash in July.

Former Barca goalkeeper Inaki Pena denied Kylian Mbappe after the French forward broke through on goal and then stopped the French superstar’s volley in Madrid’s best chance of the first half.

Elche stunned Madrid early in the second half with a slick move to take the lead.

German Valera’s superb backheel allowed Febas to dart behind Alexander-Arnold and squeeze a shot across the goal, past Courtois and in off the post.

Alonso responded by sending on Vinicius Jr and then young striker Gonzalo Garcia. Alexander-Arnold earned some redemption with his contribution to Madrid’s equaliser.

His cross was deflected against his own crossbar by a defender and behind for a corner. Alexander-Arnold whipped it in and Bellingham flicked it on into Huijsen’s path to bash home.

Elche took the lead again when Rodriguez caught out Courtois with a powerful drive from the edge of the box.

However, three minutes later Madrid equalised for a second time, with Mbappe only just keeping the ball in for Bellingham to convert from point-blank range.

The England midfielder was in the spotlight back home earlier in the week after he was unhappy to be taken off by national team coach Thomas Tuchel.

Bellingham was not at his best against Elche but was involved in both Madrid goals, highlighting his game-changing ability in the box even when otherwise quiet.

IT’S been an incredibly choppy lead up to his big day – and this week Adam Peaty and his wife-to-be Holly Ramsay felt they had no choice but to speak out, saying they felt “targeted” and “hurt” by the drama.

But there was one part of the couple’s statement that struck me the most – Adam’s repeated mentions of his sister Bethany, seemingly the one family member he is still talking to – who he mentioned even before his future wife. Now, I can reveal the truth behind their close bond, the real reason they are sticking together and how Bethany is also now estranged from their mum.

The statement was the latest twist in the ongoing drama surrounding the Olympian, 30, and his family – making it very clear just how divided camp Peaty really is. 

Interestingly, it was Bethany, 32, that Adam mentioned first when discussing the pain his family were suffering.

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings tells us: “The mention of his sister Bethany in a positive light is a small lighthouse of loyalty in a storm of familial conflict.”

His sister has had her head turned by all the glitz and glamour.

family friend

At this point, Bethany is the only family member who is still going to Adam and Holly’s upcoming nuptials next month – after they disinvited his mother and others in the group took a stand. 

In fact, she’s so close to Adam and Holly that she has been asked to be a bridesmaid and was front and centre at the hen do – rubbing shoulders with Victoria Beckham.

A friend close to the family told us: “Bethany has always been very close to Adam and she is really taken with the celebrity lifestyle.

“She’s had her head turned by all the glitz and glamour. She was over the moon to be at the hen party, hanging out with Victoria Beckham and couldn’t wait to tell all her friends about it.

“She really fits in with the glam world – she’s blonde and very pretty.

“She got on with Holly straight away and has been asked to be a bridesmaid.”

The siblings grew up in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, but Adam now spends much of his time travelling or in London. Bethany, who now lives in Derby, is thought to spend time with both him and Holly whenever they are back in the UK.

It’s no secret just how much Adam’s life has changed since he became such an acclaimed swimmer – and is now set to marry a woman whose dad is worth £200million.

In contrast, Adam’s working-class family are living the same lives they always have – while he is said to have become “seduced by the fame and glamour of the Ramsays”, which those close to the star tell me Bethany has also now fallen for. 

In his 2021 autobiography The Gladiator Mindset, he openly addressed how it’s all impacted his relationships.

He wrote: “Some of the closest people to me take it personally and despite my reassurances that I really do care, they think that I’ve changed through success and as a result I am ashamed of them and that I should spend more time with them.”

But as well as enjoying the flashiness of Adam and Holly’s life, Bethany and Adam have something else in common – being young parents.

Our insider said: “She’s also a young mum so has really bonded with Adam since he became a dad. It’s made them closer than ever.”

News of the Peaty family rift has sent shockwaves through the showbiz world, but we can reveal it’s not the first time they have all fallen out.

We are told that like in all families they have had ups and downs over the years, but there was one huge row years ago that started it all. 

ADAM’S TOUGH LOVE

They continued: “Adam was always close to his two brothers as well, particularly James, 34, but something happened a number of years ago, which sparked the first fallout.

“Their mum Caroline sides with James, because he has his struggles – his ADHD and mental health problems – and she felt he needed support.

“Caroline feels James is the weaker one and is looking after him right now.

“She felt that Adam was being too tough on his older brother, he can be a real sportsman at times and gives tough love.”

Adam himself admitted in the past that he can lack ’empathy’ and branded himself a ‘selfish athlete’.

The family friend said: “There have been a number of fallouts over the years, and they often fall in and out with each other, but this time feels different.”

And things are now so bad that mum-of-two Bethany is in the same boat as Adam and has been ostracised from the rest of the family – which explains why he has taken her under his wing so much. 

They added: “Caroline is now not talking to Bethany. It’s very sad because it means she’s not seeing the children either. 

“They all feel it’s gone too far now, and they won’t be able to make things up any time soon – let alone within time for the wedding.”

In Adam’s statement he accused his family of “encouraging” false claims about him and his fiancée.

It reads: “Over the past few days, a lot has been reported and comments posted about the private life of Holly and myself.

“My sister Bethany, has also been targeted. This has been almost entirely one-sided and, in many cases, excessive and intrusive. It has been deeply hurtful and upsetting to read, especially given the false basis upon which we have been targeted.

“What makes it worse is that it has been encouraged by members of my family.”

The swimming champion assured fans there were two sides to the story and insisted he only has good intentions.

He continued: “Bethany, Holly and myself cannot go into detail given an ongoing police investigation into serious matters that arose long before recent events.

“For those who know me personally, you know that I work so hard on trying to improve myself as a person who wants to contribute to making the world a better place. I am continuing to learn about myself and how I can be the man I want to be; a worthy partner, father, businessman, friend and athlete; even through these challenging times.

“Bethany, Holly and I will get through this – we do not ask for sympathy. We just need people to be aware that there are always two sides to every story. To those of you who have reached out and shown kindness and understanding – thank you. It is deeply appreciated.”

‘STABILISING THE NARRATIVE’

Behavioural/media psychologist Jo has analysed the statement and believes he is making a clear point with his choice of words.

She explained: “By calling out Bethany positively, Adam is signalling that she occupies a safe harbour in a turbulent sea. He’s saying: ‘Here is someone I still trust, someone on my side, someone whose presence matters to me.’

“In the turmoil of exclusion, perceived betrayal and hurt feelings, naming one person as being on his side helps to stabilise the narrative for him – and for us as observers.

“The fact that only Bethany appears singled out for praise suggests a selective boundary-setting. It appears he is differentiating between ‘us’ and ‘them’ in his family sphere – Bethany is part of his chosen ‘us’ whereas others are very much in the ‘them’ category, including his outspoken mother and aunt.

“In publicly acknowledging Bethany, Adam may also be signalling a hope (or at least an intention) for reconciliation, but on his terms. He may be saying: ‘We will – at least – stay connected at this sibling level, even if other layers of the family relationship are fractured’. It shows that despite the rift, there is at least one relationship bridge he is keeping intact.”

She went on to discuss the impacts of weddings on family dynamics, saying: “Weddings, especially high-profile ones, often precipitate identity shifts: you take on your partner’s family, you step into new social circles, you leave things behind. 

“By praising his sister and by positioning her as part of his inner circle, Adam is implicitly affirming: ‘I’m still anchored in my roots.’ In doing so, he signals to himself and to others that even as his life changes (new partner, new family-in-law, maybe new social position), he hasn’t entirely left behind who he is or where he comes from.

“The mention of Bethany is a soft way of acknowledging that there is hurt, that there is estrangement, that there is a dividing line being drawn. By choosing to publicly show gratitude to one family member, he implicitly reveals that others are excluded or wounded – without naming them or going into all the gritty detail. It’s a controlled way of saying ‘this family situation is fractured’ but with focus on who remains.”

Adam’s aunt Louise previously branded his fiancée Holly “divisive and hurtful” in a bitter online rant after her sister Caroline wasn’t invited to her hen do at Soho Farmhouse, which of course Bethany attended.

Caroline was later banned from the couple’s wedding at Bath Abbey next month.

NO WAY BACK

In a heartbreaking interview, Caroline said she has reached rock bottom over the family feud, which has seen Adam pull closer to the Ramsays.

Worried Holly called the police last weekend while Adam was on his stag do in Budapest over concerns he could be assaulted by his brother James when he got back to the UK.

Adam was escorted by five police officers through passport control upon touching down in the UK. His brother was later arrested at his Staffordshire home.

His father Mark previously told The Sun that the feud had spiralled out of control.

He said: “They’re brothers.

“They’ve always been close but like any normal family, brothers fight, argue, fall out, make-up and start all over again. But it’s got out of hand.

“There’s been very little empathy towards Jamie’s genuine mental health difficulties.”

Over the years Adam, who is heavily religious, has written extensively about his alcoholism and mental health problems, so knows more than anyone what it’s like to go through a hard time.

He has certainly changed a lot from the boy who first hit headlines all those years ago – and as his statement suggests – his sister, his partner and their future are his priority. And at the moment there is no room for anyone else. 

Vogue Williams has reportedly signed up for I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! ten years after husband Spencer Matthews was removed from camp three days into the 2015 contest

Spencer Matthews will not be able to fly to Australia to support wife Vogue Williams during her time on I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, it is reported.

The TV personality, 37, is instead in Cape Town, South Africa, where he is gearing up for his third full Ironman triathlon, part of a challenge of seven in seven continents in just 21 days. This would secure Spencer, who was in Made in Chelsea for four years, a Guinness World Record.

The timing, though, is so unfortunate that Spencer won’t even be able to watch Vogue, 40, take on Bush Tucker Trials as she navigates the jungle’s challenges and she won’t know if he completes his “Project Seven”. A source said it was extremely unlikely the couple could avoid the diary clash, as Spencer has just finished his second triathlon — taken in Arizona — and must complete the set within the 21-day deadline.

And Vogue, meanwhile, has been tipped as “one of the most glam signings” I’m a Celebrity has had in years. A source said: “It has been a hard decision to go on the show, because it will mean so much time away from her kids, but she wants to fight her fears and go for it.”

READ MORE: I’m A Celeb star Aitch reveals campmate has broken huge show rule alreadyREAD MORE: Lisa Riley makes shock I’m A Celebrity admission – revealing which host is ‘juicy’

Spencer himself was in the jungle — for a mere three days in 2015 until he was booted out for taking steroids and failing to tell producers beforehand. In an interview since, he said “vanity” was the reason for his misdemeanour.

Now he can’t even get there to support his wife of seven years. Vogue, the Irish presenter and model, faces the creepy crawlies in the Australian jungle as one of the show’s late arrivals.

A source told the Daily Mail: “The timing isn’t ideal at all, but sometimes these things happen, and Vogue and Spencer’s diaries just clash. Of course, Spencer would want nothing more than to support Vogue in Australia and be there waiting for her when she leaves the jungle but both committed to their own projects, and unfortunately, the schedules overlap.

“They’ll both be missing their children, who will stay in London, continue attending school, and no doubt support their parents from afar – catching Vogue on TV whenever they can.”

READ MORE: Celebrity MasterChef fans say same thing minutes into show as new judge makes debut

Spencer’s latest extreme challenge has seen him embark on a global mission to complete seven triathlons, each involving swimming, cycling and running, across seven continents in just 21 days.

The father of three, originally from Grantham, Lincolnshire, has already ticked off Europe and Arizona, and is now flying to Cape Town for race number three, all while documenting the journey on his podcast, Untapped.

And in the summer, the TV personality completed 30 desert marathons in 30 days, earning a Guinness World Record, a feat he now hopes to replicate with his triathlon mission.

BELGRADE, Serbia — Thousands of protesters in Serbia symbolically formed a human shield Tuesday around a bombed-out military complex, vowing to protect it from redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Youth-led protesters drew a red line as they encircled the sprawling buildings in the capital, Belgrade that were partially destroyed in a 1999 NATO bombing campaign. The site faces demolition and redevelopment under a plan backed by the populist government of President Aleksandar Vucic.

The $500-million project to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad, as well as the Serbian public. But last week Serbian lawmakers passed a special law clearing the way for the construction despite legal hurdles.

Vucic’s pro-Trump government says the project would boost the economy and ties with the U.S. administration, which has imposed tariffs of 35% on imports from Serbia. It has also sanctioned Serbia’s monopoly oil supplier, which is controlled by Russia.

However, critics say the building is an architectural monument, seen as a symbol of resistance to the U.S.-led NATO bombing that remains widely viewed in the Balkan country as an unjust “aggression.”

Serbia’s government last year stripped the complex of protected status and signed a 99-year-lease agreement with Kushner-related Affinity Global Development in the U.S. But the redevelopment project came into question after Serbia’s organized crime prosecutors launched an investigation into whether documents used to remove that status were forged.

The buildings are seen as prime examples of mid-20th century architecture in the former Yugoslavia. The protesters demanded that the protected heritage status for the complex be restored, and the buildings rebuilt.

“This is a warning that we will all defend these buildings together,” one of the students said. “We will be the human shield.”

The issue has become the latest flashpoint in yearlong street protests that have shaken Vucic’s firm grip on power. Protesters have accused his government of rampant corruption in state projects. The protests started after a concrete canopy collapsed at a train station in the northern city of Novi Sad after renovation, killing 16 people.

Tens of thousands of people marked the tragedy’s anniversary on Nov. 1 in Novi Sad.

Serbia was bombed in 1999 for 78 days to force then-President Slobodan Milosevic to end his crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Anti-NATO sentiment remain strong in Serbia, and the U.S. role in revamping the military buildings is particularly sensitive among many Serbians.

Earlier this year, the government in Albania, another Balkan country, approved a $1.6 billion plan from Kushner’s company for a project to develop a luxury resort on a communist-era fortified island on the Adriatic coast.

Gec writes for the Associated Press.

EXCLUSIVE: With the Celebrity Traitors final just hours away, a PR expert has revealed which stars are coming out to TV opportunities – and which have been left worse off

The Celebrity Traitors airs its huge finale tonight on BBC One – and while fans are asking whether the Traitors or Faithful will win the game, others are wondering what’s next for its viral stars. Tonight’s episode will see finalists Alan Carr, Cat Burns, David Olusoga, Nick Mohammed and Joe Marler compete for the chance to win up to £100,000 for their chosen charities.

However, celebrity PR specialist Kayley Cornelius has revealed who the real winners from the BBC One series are – as well as who hasn’t come of as well as they had hoped. One of those coming out on top is ex rugby player Joe Marler, who is rumoured to be taking on a big presenting role with the BBC after the show.

Speaking on behalf of Online Casino provider Slingo, Kayley said that Joe has gained a whole new fanbase thanks to the Celebrity Traitors. “He has a lot to gain from this show – he’s recently retired from his sporting career and stepped into this new chapter of his life,” she said.

“Celebrity Traitors was his first bash at giving a reality career a try and he’s going to attract a lot of new listeners to his podcast. People have been so impressed with how clever he’s been throughout the process. He’s proven himself as being entertaining, clever, he comes across very well on screen.

“I can see him being lined up for every show under the sun – he’s probably going to be on Strictly next. He would be perfect for the glitz and glam. He’s such a good team player and he’s from sport so has discipline. He’s going to be a very booked and busy man.”

However, he’s not the only finalist who’ll be going on to bigger and better things – Kayley reveals that Cat Burns’ brand awareness has shot up thanks to the show. “She entered as this quiet underdog among line-up of really well known names. This show was a great opportunity for brand awareness for her,” she said.

“She’s just had to push back her tour but I have no doubt that it is going to sell out in no time. She’ll be able to headline bigger stages, do more arena-based shows. She might get a support slot on a stadium tour. It’s an exciting time where she’s going to be in demand.”

Kayley added that Cat could also go into fashion after showing off her style on Celebrity Traitors. “Some of her looks from the show, she came across as like quite cool, quite grungy and I think that aesthetic from an editorial sense, she’ll probably make thousands off the back of that.”

While there are rumours that the treacherous Alan Carr could become the next host of Strictly Come Dancing, Kayley doesn’t think it would be the right fit for the standout star. “When I think about what he will realistically do next, I can’t imagine it being Strictly,” she said.

“I think with the position that Strictly Come Dancing is in at the moment, as they’re recovering from these scandals, I think they want to keep two female presenters so I don’t know if I can quite see him taking Strictly on, even though it would be brilliant.

“I suppose for Alan, he’s just made a nation fall in love with him again and there’s chats of Chatty Man being revived – I can see it.”

As for the stars who haven’t found success from the show, YouTube star Niko Omilana is one of them thanks to his early banishment. The influencer was the first person to be accused of being a Traitor on the show and left in episode two.

“Niko unfortunately has lost out on quite a lot from doing this show,” Kayley said. “This is the kind of move that should have been a massive career break for Niko as he goes from online reality star into a mainstream celebrity. Like what we’re witnessing with George Clarke on Strictly at the moment.

“Unfortunately, with him being on the show for such a short amount of time, he wasn’t in there long enough to make much of an impact on this new audience.”

Another is Paloma Faith, who was the first to be killed by the Celebrity Traitors – and ‘threw a wobbly’ after being murdered by pal Alan, a source told The Mirror.

“I think Paloma might have some damage control to do,” Kayley says. “She’s quite angry with Alan Carr and how the game panned out. People might see her as a bit petty and a bit pathetic. Originally, the public said, ‘We need Paloma back – she was done so dirty.’ They’re now turning on her and saying she’s been a sore loser.

“From that perspective, she just needs to be a bit cautious and careful about how she speaks about her experience on the show and there might be more behind the scenes than we’re being let on to know at the minute, but I think if she is going to be a bad loser about this situation, it’s not going to go down well with viewers at home.”

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