Motsi Mabuse had a tough time with her health in 2025 but is feeling better and move positive about life and her body
Motsi says she has to not be too hard on herself and remember to love her body(Image: Ian Harrison / Women’s Health UK)
Motsi Mabuse says she has begun a health routine in the run up to Strictly Come Dancing returning. The judge on the hit BBC show, 45, says she does her best to look good for the cameras, without putting too much pressure on herself.
She said: “I’ll eat healthily, I’ll swim – and it’s not about dieting, it’s about giving back to my body. I expect so much from my body. I expect it to perform, to be a mum, to work, to travel, to dance. When I step on to the beach, I’ll be like, ‘Body, now it’s your turn.’”
She added: “I have to remind myself to have love for my body. If I see somebody with a six-pack, I’ll channel my mind: ‘You’re healthy, you’re doing the best you can for your body.’”
Motsi also opened up about the impact of perimenopause after she started experiencing symptoms last year. She says it has impacted her body and mind in the last 12 months, and she struggled to cope with the changes.
She told Women’s Health UK: “I’d go: ‘Which Motsi am I meeting today? Is it the one who’s going to make me cry? Is it the one who’s happy? Is it the one who doesn’t want to see anyone?’.
“You wake up every day discovering a new side of yourself. That’s menopause…I noticed a complete shift in my energy levels and I started having pain in my knees.
“I had moments when I thought, ‘I’m not feeling [okay] in my body, I’m not comfortable with myself’…I love dancing with my husband, I love moving – and I couldn’t do that any more. It was making me unhappy.”
Struggling Motsi had a health assessment, which showed a range of issues, including high cortisol and inflammation. She said: “We did a full-body check-up and my doctor said, ‘Mrs Mabuse, you can’t continue like this.’
“My parents and grandparents have type 2 diabetes and I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and my doctor said, ‘The numbers show that you’re at risk.’ He said, ‘If you want to stay healthy in the long term, we need to make some changes.’” She also urged other women to get checked out to push to get better healthcare and not feel guilty about doing so.
Motsi added: “I have a deep sense of empathy and pain for women because they’re never going to get it right. Women are shamed all their lives and I’m not here to shame anyone.
“I have very close friends who need the help of GLP-1 and I’m not going to make them feel guilty…For me, this journey was never about becoming smaller. It was about becoming stronger. That’s my message to women: live your life. Do what you need to do to get healthy. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.”
* The full interview is available in the September issue of Women’s Health UK.
EastEnders’ Sean Slater is back on the BBC soap with actor Rob Kazinsky soon reprising the role for fresh drama and ‘heartfelt chaos’ while the reason for his comeback is under wraps
21:00, 17 Aug 2026Updated 21:01, 17 Aug 2026
Sean Slater is returning EastEnders(Image: BBC)
Sean Slater is returning EastEnders, the BBC soap has confirmed.
Actor Rob Kazinsky will reprise his role, with it expected to be a full-time appearance. The show has not revealed how long he is back, with no suggestion it will be a small stint like his previous returns.
Instead, the soap has teased a mystery storyline will trigger his comeback, with actor Rob pictured on set. His character Sean was last seen in 2022 briefly, having made an earlier return a year earlier in 2021.
Prior to this, Sean’s first comeback after years away from Walford came in 2019, 10 years after he left the Square for good in 2009. The popular character will rejoin the Slaters later this year, with his reasons for heading back to the show set to become clear closer to his arrival.
Actor Rob has teased “heartfelt chaos” when he heads back, while the soap also promised more drama from the character. A statement read: “Sean returns later this year, and if his previous stints are anything to go by, it’s only a matter of time before Sean will find himself embroiled in drama.”
On returning to EastEnders, actor Rob said he is happy to be back and exploring who Sean is all these years later. He said: “I left EastEnders in 2008 as a 23-year-old boy and was lucky to spend the next 19 years of my life working around the world.
“Always championing EastEnders and stating the fact that one day I wanted to walk in Sean’s Shoes again. But this time as a man to see who Sean the man might also be.
“I wanted to do it for Sean, I wanted to do it for the fans that have supported me in every role since I left the Square but, mostly, I wanted to do it for me. I’m home, and I can’t wait to bring a new level of heartfelt chaos to Albert Square in the way only Sean Slater can.”
Executive Producer of EastEnders Ben Wadey also teased what cans can expect from Sean being back onscreen. Ben shared: “I’m delighted to welcome Rob Kazinsky back to EastEnders as he reprises the role of Sean Slater later this year.
“Sean Slater was a big part of the Slater family and as viewers will already know, where Sean goes, drama is not far behind.” More will be revealed soon about when Sean will come back and why he’s returning to Walford.
Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer is in talks with West Bromwich Albion about returning to The Hawthorns on a permanent basis.
Collyer has been part of Michael Carrick’s squad during pre-season and featured in the second half of last week’s draw with Leeds United at Croke Park as Mason Mount was unavailable because of injury.
However, it had been anticipated all summer that Collyer would eventually leave Old Trafford.
Talks are said to be at an early stage.
Collyer joined West Brom on loan last summer but returned to United in January after making 12 appearances including three starts.
The 22-year-old then joined Hull City after recovering from a calf injury, but only made five appearances after suffering more fitness issues.
Hull were thought to be keen on bringing Collyer back to the club following their promotion to the Premier League but a deal is yet to materialise.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — NFL rosters must be set in two weeks.
Will defensive tackle Aaron Donald decide in the days ahead if he will return to the Rams?
Rams coach Sean McVay is not putting a hard timeline on it.
“I’m hopeful that it will be sooner than later, but I also want to respect when he does feel like that clarity will come,” McVay said Saturday after the Rams’ 20-12 preseason victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. “I think there’s a chance that we’ll be closer to that than not. But again, I don’t want to say too much or put some sort of invisible deadline on something that doesn’t exist in my mind for him.”
Donald, 35, retired after the 2023 season. But after the Rams traded for two-time defensive player of the year Myles Garrett in June, Donald has contemplated rejoining a Rams team that is favored to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium.
During training camp, Donald did a workout in front of defensive line coach Giff Smith and Rams trainers. In videos posted to social media, he also was captured hitting a blocking sled at UCLA, and going through speed and agility drills at the Rams’ facility in Woodland Hills.
If Donald returns, it would impact Rams roster decisions and also have possible implications for players that are in the final years of their rookie contracts and eligible for extensions.
McVay said he has had “great dialogue” with Donald, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year and eight-time All-Pro.
“We’ve had some tentative discussions behind the scenes,” McVay said. “There’s a lot of stuff, without getting to granular with it. … He knows himself in terms of, ‘Am I able to stack back-to- back days? Am I able to do some of the benchmarks’ that he’s set out for himself.
“And what I don’t want to sit here and do is put a timeline on it, and then something comes up where I’ve got to kind of push it back. … We have some loose things where we’ve identified, you know, dates that we’d like to be able to hit. But what I don’t want to have is any sort of unnecessary pressure on him if there’s some unforeseen circumstances.”
McVay emphasized he wants to respect the decision-making process Donald is going through.
“If he’s put himself in a position to be able to say yes or no, I think he’s earned that right to have clarity on that,” McVay said. “We’re not at that point quite yet.”
The Rams will hold a joint practice this week against the New Orleans Saints, and then play the Saints on Saturday at SoFi Stadium. Their final preseason game is Aug. 27 against the Chargers.
The roster must be set three days later.
“I feel great about our football team as it currently stands,” McVay said, “and I know he’ll add value if he decides to come.”
ROMANTIC David and Victoria Beckham returned to the hotel where they sealed their love on a first holiday in 1997.
The couple went back this weekend to the retreat where they holidayed in secret 29 years ago before making their relationship public.
David and Victoria Beckham returned to the hotel spot where they sealed their love on a first secret holidayCredit: Mert Alas & Marcus PiggottThe A-list pair shared a photo of themselves on a balcony overlooking the MedCredit: Instagram
Posh and Becks shared a photo of themselves on a balcony overlooking the Med at the Splendido hotel in Portofino on the Italian Riviera.
Mum-of-four Victoria, 52, wrote next to the image: “Back in Portofino where we began in 1997.”
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David, 51, also shared a video of his wife walking into the £2,000-a-night hotel and wrote: “29 years ago we came to Portofino to this hotel before anyone knew we were dating and here we are back again.”
In a Netflix documentary, Victoria revealed a never-before-seen picture from the 1997 trip, saying it was the first time they had met away from a car park where they secretly dated.
She said: “I know, it makes it sound like we’re really dodgy. We’d already fallen in love before then, but it was definitely the first time that we’d been somewhere so romantic and so private.”
They got engaged the next year.
On their current trip, the pair stopped for a drink before returning to their yacht moored at Portofino.
They are holidaying with son Cruz, 21, and daughter, Harper, 15.
Posh and Becks at Portofino in ’97Credit: Instagram/@victoriabeckhambeautyThey are on holiday with children Harper and CruzCredit: Instagram
A fundraiser created by Dudley Council to help residents “rebuild their lives” has surpassed £25,000.
Another by the Heart of England Community Foundation to help families impacted by fires across the West Midlands has hit £50,000.
Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles urged anyone who needed additional support to reach out for help.
“I’m on hand to support however I can, the Town Hall remains open for food, clothes, pet supplies, phone chargers, general inquiries,” she said.
“Counselling is available and being offered by several local professionals free of charge for adults and children.”
The Stourbridge and District branch of the RSPCA has also shared posters, external about several cats who have gone missing from the area since the fire.
In Stoke-on-Trent, four homes were completely destroyed by a fire that started in a park in Sandyford and 13 other homes suffered structural, roof and window damage.
Marie Leese told how her treasured garden went up in flames after fire ripped through properties in Maureen Avenue.
When she was allowed to return home, she discovered she had also lost the summer house her husband built before he died three years ago.
Police have arrested a man and woman on suspicion of arson in connection with the Stoke-on-Trent fire.
Investigators are still working on what caused the blaze in Stourbridge.
Johnson-Thompson achieved the sixth global podium of her career at last year’s World Championships – and her third in as many years since recovering from a devastating Achilles rupture.
But she withdrew from the Commonwealth Games last month to focus on being in shape for the Europeans after battling to be fit following an unspecified injury.
“We would always expect with Kat to be coming in, especially with the Europeans, to try and win it,” former Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford said on BBC TV.
“This sport is brutal and you are never allowed to enjoy the championships if you are not winning. That’s how it is always put to us, so you never have those moments where you can go in front of a home crowd and just enjoy doing the sport.
“I feel like that’s what she is doing at the moment. It’s not about her coming here to win medals.
“She’s enjoying it rather than stressing herself for medals and that is a big change.”
Former Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill added: “She’s at the stage where there is probably going to be very few times that she comes out and is feeling great and has no niggles.
“So you have to make that decision – do I go out and compete anyway or do I step back and potentially miss a load of championships because I am not feeling 100%?”
The heptathletes will return to Alexander Stadium for the long jump on Saturday morning with Sulek-Schubert leading the way on 3,968 points.
Sofie Dokter of the Netherlands sits second on 3,944 points, while Ireland’s Kate O’Connor, who won Commonwealth gold this month, is a further 18 points behind in third with the long jump, javelin and 800m remaining.
Count BinFace (C) is joined on stage by other candidates in Clacton in the early hours of Friday as he celebrates his second place finish in Thursday’s byelection. Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage, who won, did not attend after his party claimed there had been a “credible” threat made against him. Photo by Andy Rain/EPA
Aug. 14 (UPI) — Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage was re-elected to parliament on Friday, five weeks after he resigned his seat specifically in order to ask voters to back him amid a probe by parliamentary standards authorities into a $6.8 million gift he received before the 2024 general election.
With a turnout of 44.4%, Farage won the Clacton byelection with a 12,784 vote majority — winning about 1,000 votes more than when he won the seat the first time around in the July 2024 general election — but Thursday’s vote was boycotted by all main political parties who dismissed it as a political stunt by Farage to distract from the investigation.
As a result, the election was contested by an array of more than 35 parties including Reform rival Reclaim, independents and several novelty candidates including Count Binface, who came second with 9,455 votes, and three from the Monster Raving Loony Party that included Nick the Incredible Flying Brick, Howling Laud Hope and Baron von Thunderclap.
“The result in Clacton speaks for itself,” Farage wrote on X.
Farage didn’t attend the count or declaration of the result at Clacton Leisure Center early Friday with a party spokesman citing “a credible threat against him.”
Speaking at a victory party nearby Farage said the county police had advised him to stay away.
“I’m sad to say that after 33 years of being a candidate in active politics, I’ve been advised tonight by Essex Police that there is an organized campaign to disrupt and degrade the result. I’m damned if I’m going to stand on a stage having won a resounding victory, a ringing endorsement of all that I’ve tried to fight for and you’ve tried to fight for and be demeaned and humiliated by nobodies,” said Farage.
The BBC said Essex Police had told it the force had not warned any candidate not to attend.
Runner-up Count Binface, whose real name is Jonathan Harvey, told reporters he had sought and received assurances from Essex Police that there was no threat to the election events and it was 100% safe to proceed as normal.
“Let’s all meet for part 2 of the Clacton byelection, coming soon to a leisure centre near you,” said Harvey, referencing the possibility of doing it all again in a few months if the House of Commons votes to suspend Farage in the event he is found in breach of parliamentary rules.
A suspension of 10 or more parliamentary business days would automatically trigger a recall petition that requires the signatures of at least 10% of registered voters in the Clacton constituency to remove Farage and trigger another byelection.
Neither the sanction from the parliamentary standards commission, censure from his fellow MP’s or a recall would make him ineligible to try to win the seat back.
Farage is being investigated for allegedly failing to inform parliamentary authorities about a $6.8 million gift from Christopher Harborne, a British cypto billionaire based in Thailand.
Farage denies the allegations and says he has followed all the rules, arguing he was not required to declare the money because it was before he decided to run for parliament and it was a personal contribution to pay for his private security.
He is also under scrutiny, although not by the parliamentary standards commission, over his ties to convicted U.S. fraudster George Cottrell, with Reform acknowledging Farage accepted security, staff and accommodation from Cottrell in the run up to the 2024 election.
The developments come three weeks after London’s Met Police launched an investigation into payments to Reform U.K. allegedly from George Cottrell’s mother, Fiona Cottrell, that are alleged to have been routed via a company owned by the party’s deputy leader.
Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famed “I Have a Dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on August 28, 1963. The speech galvanized the nation’s civil rights movements and led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 1968 Fair Housing Act. File photo by UPI | License Photo
One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Weatherfield, more than a decade after she departed the ITV soap, and fans have “worked out” how
16:48, 12 Aug 2026Updated 17:13, 12 Aug 2026
Amber Kalirai has not been seen on Coronation Street since 2012(Image: ITV)
One former resident of Weatherfield could be about to make a shock return to Coronation Street – almost 15 years on from her departure. Fans are convinced Amber Kalirai is making a comeback.
In the latest scenes on the ITV soap, Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) has decided to sell her share of the Speed Daal restaurant, leaving her colleague Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) a little surprised to say the least. Leanne’s new boyfriend Idris, who turned up as Alya’s long-lost cousin before hastily announcing he was in fact her long-lost uncle, seems determined to get his hands on it.
But now, fans have claimed that they would like to see Amber Kalirai, the daughter of shopkeeper Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin), make a comeback and snap up the business for herself.
One fan wrote on X:”Totally random Amber Devs daughter should be the new speed daal owner,” and the idea quickly spread across social media.
Taking to Facebook, one fan said: “Wouldn’t it be interesting if the new co owner of speed daal was Devs daughter Amber,” and another said: “Be good to see her back, she is never mentioned.”
A third wrote: “Great little actress. I would love to see her back in Corrie!” and a fourth said: “Loved her-underrated character-stood up to Dev.” A fifth simply demanded: “Bring Amber back!”
Amber was played by actress Nikki Patel, 36, who made her debut on Coronation Street in 2005 and stayed with the programme for four years.
In the summer of 2011, Amber made a comeback and stayed for just under a year, bowing out in March 2012. During her final few months on the cobbles, Amber made friends with Rosie Webster (Helen Flanagan) and Sophie Webster (Brooke Vincent), who fell for her in what was a case of unrequited love.
In the end, though, unable to mend her already-tricky relationship with stepmother Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati), she got a job in London and has not been seen since.
When Sunita was killed off after being trapped in the fire at the Rovers Return in 2013, Amber was informed but was unable to attend the funeral as she was travelling with her new boyfriend.
Away from Coronation Street, Nikki has appeared in Waterloo Road, Holy City and Call The Midwife but has also performed in numerous plays, and, earlier this year, announced that she had written a new BBC sitcom titled The Patels, which, if commissioned, will focus on two Gurajti women who must put their difference aside for the sake of their sons.
Speaking to Female Pilot Club, she explained: “There are some heavy issues that they’re talking about but they do it in such an accessible, beautiful way, with a normalised family, which could be difficult. And that’s kind of presented in a dramatic setting.
“I just want to be part of a conversation with that community, potentially help people, [because] there are families going through this right now now where the kids are afraid to be and show who they really are.
“And I think it’s so sad and it’s crazy to me … so I kind of want to be part of a change. Maybe that’s really big wishful thinking. But like I said, comedy is a way to try and do that.”
There is no timetable for NFL analyst Tony Romo’s return to CBS Sports, the division’s president David Berson said Tuesday.
Romo was placed on leave by CBS after he was arrested in Milwaukee on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated on July 23. JJ Watt, a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, will work alongside Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson as CBS’ lead broadcast team during Romo’s absence.
No decision has been made on Romo’s long-term future at the network, Berson told journalists at the network’s annual press briefing on the NFL season at parent company Paramount’s New York headquarters.
Berson called Romo’s legal matters “an evolving situation.” He added that naming Watt, who joined CBS as an NFL analyst in 2023, as an interim replacement was necessary as the first kickoff is a month away.
“Since it continues to evolve, and we’re on the eve of the season,” Berson said “I felt it’s very important that our team, the many, many hundreds of people work on the NFL and CBS, have certainty and direction, so we can definitively plan and focus on the production and marketing as we kick off the season.”
Romo has a court hearing scheduled for Sept. 21, He was arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and received citations for having an open container in a moving vehicle and unsafe passing.
Romo joined CBS as an NFL analyst in 2017. He had a 14-year career as a quarterback with the Dallas Cowboys. He led the team to six playoff appearances and was named to the NFL Pro Bowl team four times.
The Lakers will see a familiar face for its annual Christmas Day game this season.
LeBron James, who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers last month, will be making his return to Los Angeles on Dec. 25 when the Lakers host Philadelphia at Crypto.com Arena, the NBA revealed Tuesday morning in what it called a “sneak peek” of the 2026-27 schedule. The game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. on ESPN and ABC.
The full schedule will be revealed Thursday.
The league also unveiled its opening week slate, with the Lakers set to host the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21 in a game scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN.
James, entering his 24th season in the NBA, will also figure prominently in the opening week broadcast schedule as the 76ers will take on the New York Knicks on Oct. 20 at Madison Square Garden on NBC and Peacock. The game will be James’ first with his new team and will feature the Knicks raising a banner to mark their first NBA championship since 1973.
Two days later, the 76ers will play their home opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that drafted James in 2003, in game that will be broadcast on ESPN.
Despite risks in the Strait of Hormuz and Black Sea, seafarers from the Philippines are still competing for jobs.
Manila, Philippines – Monsoon rains may have forced schools to shut down and suspended government services in the Philippine capital last week, but applicants at shipping companies and employment agencies still formed long lines that snaked around street corners.
The rain was the least of their worries. They were taking the first step on a journey that would take them to increasingly treacherous waters – and they say they are fully aware of the risks.
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Gerald, a veteran sailor, was sorting out some last-minute paperwork for his next deployment next week. He is going to board the same ship he was last on – a cargo vessel off the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The last time he was there, he was stuck for two months. He was due to return to the Philippines when the United States and Israel launched air attacks on Iran in late February.
“There was one missile that flew over. The navy intercepted it right when it was above us, so we hid,” recalled Gerald, who asked for his full name not to be used to protect his job. “We knew fragments could land on our ship. But what can we do? There was nowhere safe.”
He said he had never had to face and fear and uncertainty in 15 years as a commercial seafarer. As the US-Israel war on Iran spread across the region, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, he and his stranded colleagues for weeks watched projectiles from both directions blow up mid-air. Shrapnel mostly ended up in the water, but the crossfire prevented their usual rations from coming through. They had to brave the danger and fish on the deck to survive.
But none of that has deterred him – not even the on-and-off diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
“I was able to save enough to buy a property after just two years of sailing,” he said. “I was able to build a house for my parents.”
The sea had always been a source of food and income for Gerald. He grew up in a fishing village. And while he says he was never hungry, sailing in waters beyond his hometown changed his life.
“This job has provided me with a decent income. And it’s the only job I’ve known for a long time. I can’t just go into business or farming. That’s easier said than done,” he said.
‘If I die, my family will be set for life’
At the height of the war in March, nearly 20,000 sailors on 1,500 ships were trapped in the Strait of Hormuz. At least 17 have been killed in attacks since then.
The Philippines supplies more than a quarter of the world’s seafaring workforce. Among the 6,000 sailors currently stranded in the waterway, approximately 2,500 are Filipinos, according to data from the International Maritime Organization in July.
But even when the US and Iran struck an interim deal in June to end the war, there was no mass repatriation of Filipino sailors. The Department of Migrant Workers said more than 60 have since returned home from the Gulf, but most Filipinos on vessels that have been able to transit the Strait of Hormuz remain on board.
Alberto Lobaton was also due to return to sea and was staying at the same apartment complex near Manila Bay where Gerald was. The place has served as a halfway house for seafarers for years and was fully booked despite escalating maritime conflicts.
In addition to the conflict in the Gulf, there has been an increase in attacks on merchant vessels in the Black Sea as the war between Russia and Ukraine intensifies. In July alone, 35 ships were struck, and more than 20 sailors were killed, including at least three Filipinos.
Lobaton witnessed one such strike last year.
“I felt the ship shake because the explosion was so close. It was just around 300 metres (984 feet) away; I was in our quarters, but those who were on duty that night stood up and ran,” said Lobaton.
The Philippine government has appealed to shipowners to avoid high-risk areas or disembark their Filipino crew. It’s also reminded Filipino sailors they have the right to refuse to sail.
Lobaton says it would be a lie to say he is not concerned for his safety, but the financial rewards outweigh the risk of injury or death.
“If I die, my family will be set for life because we are insured. So if something were to happen to me, I’d prefer it happened while I’m at work at sea.”
Tarik Skubal made his home debut Monday, but the down-on-their-luck Dodgers still needed every bit of offense they could muster to back him up.
They held off Kansas City 6-5, salvaging the Dodger Stadium introduction of baseball’s premier trade-deadline acquisition.
Skubal, the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner, pitched five innings, giving up four hits and three runs. He struck out six.
It was a solid outing, but the Dodgers needed their slumbering bats to come alive too.
Max Muncy had a bases-loaded triple in the sixth to give the Dodgers a 5-3 advantage, their first lead of the game.
But the Royals answered in the seventh with a two-run homer by Kyle Isbel, forging a 5-5 tie.
In the bottom of the seventh, Freddie Freeman put the home team up for good, hitting a single to right that drove in Shohei Ohtani.
Impossible to know if the win marked a turnaround or simply a tourniquet for the Dodgers, who entered having lost eight of nine, including sweeps by Boston and the Chicago Cubs. They had lost seven in a row before finally winning Saturday at Arizona, then resuming the slide Sunday with a loss to the Diamondbacks.
On the flight home, manager Dave Roberts had a jarring realization.
“We’re a wild-card team right now,” he said. “We’ve got to get going and play with urgency.”
The Dodgers had 10 hits, a welcome development for a team that has had a terrible time seeing and reacting to pitches — and particularly fastballs.
The Athletic crunched the numbers and found no team in baseball has had as dramatic an increase in fastball percentage, with the Dodgers seeing that number climb steadily since May.
“It never feels good to be bullied,” Roberts said. “And to know that teams go after us with the fastball more than any team in baseball, that’s bothersome. That would bother me. … We’ve scored a lot of runs — fourth in baseball — but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The story is being the best version of ourselves, and that’s hitting the fastball and making adjustments in at-bats, situationally, all of it.
“So yeah, it’s something that I hope our guys will take that personally. We shouldn’t get bullied.”
By the fifth inning, the Dodgers were out of ABS challenges, with Miguel Rojas tapping his helmet to check on a called strike that was, well, squarely in the strike zone.
That came after an unsuccessful challenge by Andy Pages in the fourth, and his track record on those inquiries is grim. Thirteen of his 24 challenges were confirmed strikes.
Kansas City’s Jac Caglianone had 20/20 vision, with a pair of two-strike hits that gave the Royals a 3-0 advantage. The first was a low-velocity groundball threaded up the middle to drive in a run. In the third, he hit a two-run shot over the right-field wall.
It wasn’t until the fifth that Skubal finally punctuated “Jac” with a K.
By that point, the Dodgers had clawed their way back to 3-2, driving in runs with clutch hits by Ohtani and Freeman that got the crowd buzzing again.
Tuesday marks the return of Blake Snell, who underwent left elbow surgery and hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers since May 9. That’s back-to-back nights featuring multiple Cy Young Award winners.
Roberts said he would like to see Snell throw five innings, roughly 75-80 pitches, in his return.
“I feel very confident,” Roberts said when asked about Snell getting back up to speed. “I had a great conversation with him yesterday. He’s on a mission, and I like when great-talent players have that mindset.”
Likewise, Roberts said catcher Will Smith, recovering from an inflamed disc in his neck, is “pain free” and on track for an imminent return.
“He’s been throwing, the weight-room stuff each day,” he said. “It’s been better, so this is going to be a big week for Will. And my expectation is that he should be taking some pitching, some coaches’ batting practice at some point this week.”
Filming for the new series of the popular crime drama is officially in full swing.
16:21, 09 Aug 2026Updated 16:22, 09 Aug 2026
The third series of Irish drama KIN is currently in production(Image: BBC)
The series first broadcast back in 2021.
Since its debut, Irish drama KIN has been a huge hit with viewers over the years and features the likes of Aidan Gillen, Charlie Cox, Clare Dunne and Ciaran Hinds.
It also features Emmett J Scanlan, known for his roles in Peaky Blinders, Hollyoaks and Fool Me Once. The 47-year-old plays the role of Jimmy Kinsella in the hit show.
KIN follows a fictional Dublin family who are at war with a drug cartel. The second series aired back in 2023 with fans eager to see more of the tense moments and gripping scenes.
The programme, which was originally broadcast on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player in Ireland before it was acquired by the BBC, is currently filming it’s third series, which is expected to air next year.
Actor Emmett Scanlan shared an update on his social media, sharing that they are currently in production, reports Belfast Live.
In a video, he confessed that it had been ‘years in the making’, before sharing how ‘utterly grateful’ he was that the programme was back in production.
He shared that it was ‘day one’ of season three, before adding, “the feeling is good”.
It wasn’t long before people commented on the post, with many thrilled that series three was on the way.
One person said: “Yess!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Finally!” Someone else wrote: “I absolutely loved kin.. I’m so ready for season 3”
Another fan added: “Have to rewatch seasons 1 & 2. Bl**dy loved both and can’t wait for 3!”
Someone else wrote: “Bro, is this real. Don’t play with my emotions like this…… I have been praying for season 3. The best of Irish tv hands down. What a cliffhanger season 2 was.”
He captioned the post: “Day 1. KIN. Season 3. As you were.”
While the official cast list is yet to be revealed, it looks as though Emmett will be reprising his role as the villainous Jimmy Kinsella.
Kin seasons one and two are streaming on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
When Tim Tanner Jr. talks, people listen. When he says he’s going to do something, believe him.
As a junior last season, the 6-foot-1 Sylmar High quarterback in his rookie passed for 2,343 yards and 31 touchdowns and ran for 661 yards and nine touchdowns. If you like quarterbacks who improvise, Tanner is your guy. Then, in basketball, after breaking his collarbone, he returned to play in 16 games (Sylmar went 15-1 with him in the lineup) to average 20 points and help the Spartans reach the Division V state championship game.
This season, he intends to be busier than ever with football, basketball and he hopes a return to baseball, the sport he played since he was 4 until high school. He’s a pitcher and plans to join the team but baseball coach Ray Rivera has never seen him pitch.
“He told me get through football, get through basketball, then we’ll talk,” Tanner said.
The maturity Tanner has achieved in recent years through dealing with adversity has enabled him to be selected a captain for the football team, so he knows he has to keep his composure and show others how to respond in a time of need. He’s growing up after once being academically ineligible.
He has so much sports equipment in his room at home that he could hold his own backyard games. “Footballs everywhere, cleats everywhere, basketballs, jerseys,” he said.
He’s going to need lots of skills in trying to balance his sports commitments with academics. But the coaches know they have someone passionate about succeeding.
A large-scale security operation is in place in the Republic of Ireland as the authorities prepare for the extradition of alleged crime boss Daniel Kinahan.
The plane is expected to return to Dublin on Sunday and Kinahan will then be taken to the Special Criminal Court.
Ahead of the extradition, the Irish Prison Service bought a bulletproof and bombproof van which can be used to escort prisoners who are considered high-risk.
Irish authorities are expected to prosecute him for his involvement in leading an organised crime group.
Kinahan is not only wanted by the authorities in Ireland – the US Treasury Department once described the Kinahan cartel as one of the most dangerous in the world.
The US government imposed sanctions on Kinahan in April 2022 after he and other members of his family were identified as leaders of the Kinahan organised crime cartel.
He fought attempts to extradite him back to his native country, where the Kinahan cartel was involved in a long-running gangland feud that claimed 18 lives.
Kinahan himself became a target for murder and escaped an attempt on his life during a fatal shooting at a Dublin hotel in 2016.
He left Ireland and spent time living in Spain and more recently in Dubai, where a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Irish courts in April.
He appealed the extradition order over the past few months but his attempts were unsuccessful.
It is expected that shortly after his arrival in Ireland he will be taken to the non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin to face charges for alleged involvement in leading an organised crime group.
Chamonix sits in the shadow of Mont Blanc and is a world-renowned ski resort – but if you don’t visit in the summer, you’re missing out
The glacier close to the resort of Chamonix
It’s one of the most iconic destinations for skiers, sitting in the shadow of Europe’s highest peak, Mont Blanc.
Few who have a passion for snow sports won’t have heard of the charming French town of Chamonix, which transforms into a bustling and busy winter wonderland as soon as the white flakes start falling.
Now, surely one of the best known ski resorts in the world it wasn’t until the 18th century that this legendary town truly put itself on the map – and that was down to to two Englishmen, William Windham and Richard Pococke, who while they were exploring the valley discovered the stunning Glacier des Bois.
Uttery enthralled by the huge expanse of ice they named is Mer de Glace, which translates to Sea of Ice, and after returning to London couldn’t help but praise it’s incredible beauty.
This led to a slew of visitors, flocking to see this incredible sight for themselves and the Chamonix tourist industry was born.
Certainly a sight to behold when the snow is falling but if you think Chamonix isn’t worth a visit during the summer months, you’d be sorely mistaken.
Filled with cobbled streets, pretty flowers and a fast flowing river heading straight through the centre filled with adorable shops and delicious restaurants and bars, there’s nothing better than whiling away a day strolling its streets and stopping for treats, all the while overlooked by the immense Mont Blanc.
If you visit a must-see attraction is the glacier itself, don’t worry no climbing or travelling up a mountain on the back of mule as Windham and Pococke did, you can ride there on an actual piece of history – the Montenvers Train.
First built in 1919 by the then French President Armand Fallieres, the striking little red train takes people from the heart of Chamonix to the top of Montenvers.
A rack and pinion railway – one of just five in the whole of France – you can’t help but feel you’re travelling through time on this vintage train, chugging its way up the site of the mountain.
Twenty minutes later and you’re at the top, more than 6,000 feet above sea level – that’s 2,000 feet higher than Ben Nevis – with incredible views of Les Drus, Les Grandes Jorasses and Les Grand Charmoz – it feels like you’re flying.
Stop for a hot chocolate at the top to really soak in those views and have a stroll around the viewing platforms before hopping back on the train and back into the heart of Chamonix for a very well-deserved wine next to the magical river.
Ski resorts may come into their own during the winter months but for me the real magic happens when the sun is shining and the weather is warm.
You can book the 8-day Goldenpass, Mont Blanc & Jungfrau Express from £2,799pp. Find out more at greatrail.com.
The ongoing explosion of revival screenings in Los Angeles is an opportunity not just to revisit accepted classics, but also to give a spotlight to undersung oddball picks deserving of broader attention.
Take for example 1988’s “Tapeheads.” An offbeat comedy about two friends trying to break into the then-emergent world of music videos, the film stars John Cusack and Tim Robbins just as their careers were starting to take off. A snapshot of a specific moment in Los Angeles — some shots of downtown’s skyline at sundown have an unexpected beauty — the film has never been lost exactly, but it is deserving of renewed interest.
The movie will show on Monday as part of the American Cinematheque’s Cinematic Void program at Los Feliz Theatre, screening from a rare 35mm print provided by the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Director and co-writer Bill Fishman will be there along with producer and co-writer Peter McCarthy, producer Eric Barrett and production designer (later turned director) Catherine Hardwicke.
Cusack and Robbins star as Ivan and Josh, friends since childhood now working as nighttime security guards until they figure out their future. Cusack’s Ivan has ambition and drive while Robbins’ Josh is sensitive and creative. Together they launch a music video business and take it upon themselves to revive the careers of their favorite soul singers, the fictional Swanky Modes (played by real-life soul legends Sam Moore and Junior Walker). Josh and Ivan soon find themselves accidentally wrapped up in a blackmail scheme involving a sex tape and a conservative politician, complicating everything.
“It was a hustler and an artist and the merging of the two, trying to get some sort of balance with your creative side and what you needed to do to make a living,” explains Fishman, now 68, during a recent video interview from Venice, Calif. “We came up with the credo ‘You do what you gotta till you can do what you wanna.’ And that was really where it came from.”
Before making his feature debut with “Tapeheads,” the native New Yorker had already found success in his 20s as a music video director himself, creating clips for songs such as Suicidal Tendencies’ “Institutionalized” and the Georgia Satellites’ No. 2 hit “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.” Straddling the music scene and Hollywood, Fishman found that a satire of conservative politics came to him naturally.
“Music videos seemed to be an easy thing for me to do because I knew that world,” he says. “Even though the story was what we thought would be completely ludicrous, it ended up being much more realistic than we believed.”
John Cusack, left, and Tim Robbins in the movie “Tapeheads.”
(American Cinematheque)
James Branscome, who programs the Cinematic Void series for the American Cinematheque, calls the rare chance to show the film a bucket-list experience.
“It was a weird movie that felt lost, especially when it stars John Cusack and Tim Robbins being zany in a way they don’t often get to be,” he says by phone. “It felt like this very organic, perfect movie, like: This checks so many boxes for me.”
Among the producers on the film is Michael Nesmith, a former member of the Monkees, and through him the project fell under the production umbrella of NBC. Fishman remembers being invited to the home of Brandon Tartikoff, president of NBC Entertainment and a green-lighter of titles including “Miami Vice” and “Seinfeld.” What he thought was going to be a relatively brief meeting was instead hours of Tartikoff patiently going through the script page by page.
“I did not know anything,” remembers Fishman, whose most recent credit is the 2024 film “Waltzing With Brando,” starring Billy Zane. “I thought Hollywood was always going to be like this. But I didn’t realize that my best experience was my first and then we were going to have to fight and claw for the rest of it.”
It was young casting director Victoria Thomas (lately of “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” and “Michael”) who brought in Cusack and Robbins. Cusack, a Chicagoan, was in Los Angeles to appear onstage with Robbins’ theater group the Actors’ Gang and the two of them came in to audition together.
“They had really prepared,” says Fishman. “And after an hour or more of the interview, which went great, I said, ‘I want you guys to switch roles.’ And that freaked them out. They were like, ‘We can’t do that. We rehearsed. We can’t just throw this together for you.’ I said, ‘I really think you should.’ And they said, ‘OK, give us 15 minutes.’ And they walked out onto the street in Venice and they came back in as the other characters, redid the audition and that’s how they were cast.”
Mary Crosby and John Cusack in the movie “Tapeheads.”
(American Cinematheque)
Fishman made sure to show Cusack the 1957 film “Sweet Smell of Success,” with Tony Curtis’ smarmy press agent an influence on his character. Fishman also says Cusack’s greased-back hair and pencil mustache were partly inspired by Eric Roberts in “Star 80.”
“Tapeheads” captures a specific moment in Los Angeles history, sure to be nostalgic for some, from a desolate downtown to a percolating music scene. Legendary local party band Fishbone provided music for the score and appears briefly as a country-and-western bar combo. Devo rerecorded a version of their song “Baby Doll” in Swedish to stand in for an international boy band’s hit. The film is also full of cameo appearances by real-life music figures, including “Soul Train” host Don Cornelius, MTV’s Martha Quinn, comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, rapper Doug E. Fresh and musicians “Weird Al” Yankovic, Ted Nugent and Stiv Bators. (A then-largely unknown Courtney Love has an uncredited appearance as a dominatrix on a sex tape.)
“The soundtrack and the people we used in the film were reflective of the wide spectrum of what was unifying, I thought, for the counterculture in specifically L.A.,” says Fishman. “It wasn’t a film about punk rock, it wasn’t a film about rhythm and blues or hip-hop. It was a film about young people expressing themselves.
“When you would go out in Los Angeles at that time, you would go to nightclubs and all these bands would be playing in the same club,” he says. “If you were part of the counterculture you could play anything or dress any way and you were sort of accepted. It was a creative scene and that’s what the film was about.”
One highlight of the movie is a commercial Ivan and Josh make for local L.A. eatery Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles (still going strong), featuring a memorable rap by blues singer King Cotton and done with a bold yellow and black look.
“I grew up in New York City and chicken and waffles was not a thing,” says Fishman. “People here would go get it late night in Hollywood and when I was looking for some business that they could do a video for, it just struck me as an absurd combination, which was all about what the film was about: absurd combinations. And it happens to be delicious.”
“That Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffle commercial is incredible,” says programmer Branscome. “Which is the most California thing because outside of L.A. no one knows what a Roscoe’s is unless you’ve been here. It’s full of very niche stuff that is elevated. It works on one level, but if you know exactly what it is, it gives it a different dynamic.”
Tim Robbins in the movie “Tapeheads.”
(American Cinematheque)
When “Tapeheads” was released in October 1988 (after a berth at the film festival that would be later renamed Sundance), it struggled to find theaters. Moore and Walker performed on “Late Night With David Letterman” as the Swanky Modes. According to Fishman, Cusack and Robbins were both reluctant to do press for the film at the time “because they thought it was uncool.”
It was not until it hit the VHS market that the movie truly began to find its audience. That said, it has never been on Blu-ray and is available to stream from only a few scattered sites. Perhaps this sold-out L.A. screening, with the support of some of the key behind-scenes-team, will help spur the film toward a broader renaissance. It deserves to be seen as more than just a cult curio.
“As soon as people saw the film, they said, ‘Oh, this is a cult film’ and I always hated that,” says Fishman. “I was like, ‘No, it’s not a cult film — it’s a pop movie.’ We wrote it to play to everybody.”
Deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina says she will return in December despite facing a death sentence in absentia, as Dhaka seeks her extradition and India and Bangladesh work to repair strained ties.
After three years, “Ted Lasso” has returned to the pitch. Did it need to? The third season finale, which seemed until now to be a series finale, brought most every character’s arc to a satisfying, credible conclusion — the less satisfying ones were just as credible — while pointing to a future you were free to imagine, or think nothing more about. Or you could write fan fiction. (People do.) I loved the show, but its absence has not been a painful one.
Anyway, it’s back, beginning Wednesday on Apple TV, and I am glad enough. Strictly speaking, it’s a new adventure, as one Indiana Jones movie might follow another, with Jason Sudeikis’ title character returning to Richmond to manage a new women’s soccer team, a project raised way back at the end of Season 3, and which now has “been three years in the making.”
Where are we now? Star player Jamie Tartt has departed the show all the way to Barcelona; kit man turned coach turned competition turned kit man Nate Shelley is nowhere to be seen. But as much may be said of the whole of AFC Richmond, apart from Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), who took over as manager when Ted returned to Kansas City, Mo., to spend more time with son Henry (Grant Feely, replacing Gus Turner), and Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), who has turned into an uncommunicative mass of hair. This is not at all that team’s story, though certain fans within (and perhaps without) the world of the series might prefer that it was.
Four episodes out of 10 have been made available for review. The first is something of a hurdle, bogged down in contrivances to get Ted back to Richmond from Kansas City, where he has been “trying to help [Henry] become the best version of himself.” The question is whether Ted, working part time as the assistant manager of a supermarket, is living the best version of himself. The answer, as everyone but Ted recognizes, is no. Naturally, he spreads sunshine all over the place, being who he is, but this is not the future you would have written for him, nor one suggested by the third season finale, where we saw him coaching Henry’s soccer team. But it gives him a place to come back from.
Hannah Waddingham, left, and Juno Temple in “Ted Lasso.”
And so club owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), director of operations Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift) and queen of all marketing Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) show up on Ted’s doorstep to propose that he manage the Lady Greyhounds, “to lay the foundations of the Richmond culture that you created with our men.” (He has not been checking his messages, apparently, necessitating this in-person, three-person visit.)
In addition to dragging the pieces into place, much of the opening episode seems meant to satisfy an impulse to show off Kansas City — Sudeikis grew up in that area. There are multiple excursions for barbecue, each resulting in stained clothes for Rebecca. There’s a trip to CPKC Stadium, “the first privately funded stadium in the world solely for pro women’s soccer,” to see the Kansas City Current play.
Finding the American Jazz Museum closed, Higgins (earlier established as a double bassist) wanders across 18th Street to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, where a friendly docent (Milan Carter) schools him on its history, including a long tribute to pitcher Satchel Paige, with oddly interpolated documentary footage. (Higgins ventures that their experience is “quite similar to how women in England weren’t allowed to play football for years,” an idea his Black host shoots down with a well-aimed, “Mmmmm.”)
“They didn’t do it for fame or fortune. They did it ‘cause to not play would have been unacceptable,” he’s told. Or, as former AFC Richmond striker Dani Rojas said of soccer: “Football is life.”
Things improve in the more natural second episode (and improve from there), which takes us finally back to Richmond. Ted’s only real objection to leaving Kansas City is almost too easily overcome by suggesting that Henry and his mother, Michelle (Andrea Anders), the ex- but not estranged wife, come with him. Having won over all doubters over the first three seasons, Ted needs someone new to charm, and that will be coach Alice Chilton (Tanya Reynolds), who had hoped for the manager’s job. She’s a little rain cloud of a person, dour and humorless, though perhaps rightly offended by being passed over. Reynolds, who’ll certainly emerge as the season’s star, makes a big impression by holding things in, acting almost entirely with her eyes, so that when she cracks a smile in spite of herself, it registers as huge.
Jude Mack as player Boots in “Ted Lasso.”
Among the players, our attention is directed to Boots (Jude Mack), whom we notice because of her short-cropped hair, and because she’s the goalkeeper, and has a quirk — though she’s a powerhouse, “none of the big clubs will touch her because she won’t wear gloves.” (She prefers to keep things tactile. “What’s the point of life if you’re not feeling it?” Boots asks in another of the show’s sampler sentiments.) Lizzie (Faye Marsay) stands out because she arrives to an open call with a cute child in tow and is older and more mature than the others, Gemma (Abbie Hern), by virtue of having unresolved old business with Alice, and having, like Ted, to be talked onto the team.
The underdog aspect of it all will be emphasized, of course — a new team, in a money-losing second division, with second-rate locker room accommodations, seasoned with sexism that may or may not reflect actual British attitudes toward women’s soccer. Feminist themes, always present vis-a-vis Rebecca and Keeley, not unreasonably take the foreground, with Rebecca overcorrecting the thought that she might not be one — a funny conversation with Harriet Walter as her mother comes out of this — and Tracey Ullman arriving in Episode 4 to be badass.
By the end of that episode, there will have been enough sweet, celebratory moments to have rewarded your investment. (I gauge this scientifically by how often I choke up.) Where the story is going in any substantial way, other than, you know, win games, maybe get Roy and Keeley back together, do something interesting with Henry and/or Michelle, it’s too soon to tell. I assume it’s going somewhere, but we’ll find that out together.
Rashford is contracted to Manchester United until 2028. His salary of £325,000 a week makes him the club’s top earner at a time when minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is trying to stay on top of wage costs, which is, by some distance, the club’s highest expenditure.
United’s transfer activity has slowed since Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans joined them for £35m on 14 July.
While uncertainty over Rashford’s future is not the entire reason for this, it is a basic truth that Manchester United‘s search for a left-sided attacking player, or another striker, will be impacted if he stays at the club because he can play in both positions.
Equally, the amount United can pay in wages will differ depending on whether Rashford’s salary is part of the overall bill.
Many fans are conflicted.
Plenty feel Rashford’s fallout with Amorim over his performances in training was reflective of someone who no longer felt the joy of playing for his boyhood club.
Comparisons were made with his performances prior to his exit from United and those at Aston Villa, with England and then Barcelona.
Others think Rashford is too good to be discarded; a local lad who would benefit from an arm around the shoulder and is capable of making a significant impact in Carrick’s team.
The secondary point to that is could United sign a player of similar standing for £26m, given that is the fee sources close to Rashford feel would not be exceeded given it had been agreed with Barcelona?
