Harley Moon Kemp has revealed that she never receives an invite to the pub from her brother Roman as they made their debut together on Celebrity Race Across The World
Harley Moon Kemp makes heartbreaking complaint to Roman about their relationship(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC/Studio Lambert)
Harley Moon Kemp has revealed that she never receives an invite to the pub from her brother, Roman. The photographer,36, who is the daughter of TV legend Martin Kemp and pop singer Shirlie Kemp, has stayed largely out of the spotlight, whilst her sibling, 32, has carved out a successful career as a radio host, One Show presenter and general television personality.
In their introduction, Roman admitted: We’ve got some slightly different traits. Harley was always the one going out, getting in trouble; I was more boring!”
Harley Moon responded: “Roman is going to be practical; and the planning and the budgeting,” as he replied: “You’re in charge of cups and ice.”
It was then that she explained: “We’ve got that conventional family thing going on when you call each other when you need stuff,” before Roman replied: “I don’t know what it’s like to hang out with Harleymoon.”
Implying that was his fault, Harley Moon hit back: “You never invite me to the pub,” before the former I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! star clarified: “Because I never go!”
Just months before taking on Celebrity Race Across the World 2025 with his older sister, which will see the sibling duo competing with other stars as they race 5,900km across Central America on just £30 each a day, Loose Men star Roma opened up about the struggle he remembers most vividly from his childhood.
In a conversation with singer Tom Grennan on their You About? podcast, Roman shared memories of him and Harley Moon featuring in national magazines alongside their famous parents during a period when finances were tight for the family.
My parents had no money at the time because my dad had all these operations and s*** for his brain, so, like, they were trying to get more money,” Roman explained to podcast co-host Tom. He went on to admit that even though they had appeared in magazines as a family, Martin and Shirlie were still anxious about their children being snapped by paparazzi on holiday.
Roman continued: “But then, even up to when I was maybe 13, if we’d gone on holiday, we were never allowed to go to the beach because when we went on the beach, my mum and dad would always be like, ‘there it is’ and you’d see a boat come past, quite far out, and then, like, stop, and there would just be a long lens camera just taking pictures of kids on beaches.”
Roman heartbreakingly revealed his mum would often be left in tears after seeing pictures the paparazzi had taken of them appearing in the press. He shared: “It’s mad in that sense, you see it less and less now, like those old celebrity pictures on the beach, you see that a lot less now.
“But at the time, my whole life, me growing up, was my mum crying because they’re taking horrendous pictures and they’d only use the worst picture.” Reflecting on a specific traumatic moment following a holiday, Roman said Shirlie “cried for, like, five days” when photos of the family on a banana boat were published in the press.
Ahead of Celebrity Race Across the World airing on Thursday night, Harleymoon explained she was previously given the chance to go on the BBC show with her mum, but Shirlie had concerns, so the pair missed out.
Harleymoon told the Radio Times: “My mum was asked to be in the first Celebrity Race Across the World and was going to take me, but thought it sounded too hard. I was glad to have another chance to go.”
Sharing his own motivations to sign up to the series, Roman, who has been open about his struggles with anxiety and depression, said: “I came off all medication [antidepressants] over a year ago and the race was a good test for my anxiety.”
Septuagenarian TV star Kelsey Grammer is still growing his family, most recently with the arrival of his newest child.
The beloved “Cheers” and “Frasier” actor, who turned 70 in February, is now a father of eight. Grammer announced he and wife Kayte Walsh welcomed their fourth child together during his appearance on the “Pod Meets World” podcast.”
We just had our fourth one, it just became eight kids,” he said during the podcast episode, published Monday. “Christopher, that’s [who] just joined the family.”
The Emmy-winning TV veteran said his newest son arrived “three days” before the episode taped and joked with podcast hosts Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel and Will Friedle that he has “clusters” of children of different ages.
Grammer and Walsh, 46, married in 2011 and also share a teenage daughter and two sons. People reported in June that the couple was expecting a child again, publishing photos of the two taking a stroll through London.
The five-time Emmy winner has been married four times. Before Walsh, he was married to dancer-model Camille Donatacci. He was also briefly married to Leigh-Anne Csuhany, and dance instructor Doreen Alderman before that. His seven other children, the eldest being actor Spencer Grammer, hail from those previous relationships.
The sitcom star became a grandfather in October 2011, when his son Spencer welcomed a son with ex-husband James Hesketh.
In the past, Grammer has been open about the “beauty of being an older dad.” He told the Guardian in 2018 that raising children later in life he feels fortunate to “get a chance to kinda try it again. That’s been a real gift.”
The actor announced the arrival of his eighth child while promoting his book “Karen: A Brother Remembers,” released in May, about the brutal murder of his sister at age 18 and his lifelong battle with grief. During the episode, Fishel asked the actor how much his children knew about his late sister.
He explained his older children have varying degrees of knowledge about his sister, while his younger kids will have to wait to learn more and read his book. “Some of the stuff is too brutal, they don’t really need to be exposed to that yet,” he said.
Throughout the podcast episode, Grammer also recalled the proceedings in his sister’s case and learning how to process the loss while delivering laughs on TV.
“I didn’t walk around talking about it a lot, it’s been with me since the day it happened,” he said.
When Gigi Perez took to the stage at the Austin City Limits Festival earlier this month, it felt like the universe was holding up a mirror, reflecting back all the growth she’d done in the four years since her last performance there.
Back in 2021, the Cuban American singer-songwriter had a newly-minted record deal and a handful of viral SoundCloud singles — the wistful acoustic guitar track “Sometimes (Backwood)” and the devastatingly raw “Celene.” The 2021 edition of ACL was the first festival she ever performed, and though her early afternoon slot at one of the smaller stages attracted a few dozen audience members, Perez had spent so many years dreaming of the opportunity that it didn’t matter. She was happy just to be there.
This month, Perez returned to Austin no longer an emerging artist, but as a rising star. Her mega-viral single, the lovesick folk ballad from 2024, “Sailor Song,” had topped the U.K. singles chart and earned more than 1 billion streams on Spotify. On the back of its success, she spent the first half of this year opening for Hozier in support of her 2025 debut LP, “At the Beach, in Every Life.”
So when she took the stage at ACL in October, this time it was for a coveted golden hour set, with a sea of people stretched out before her — and a chorus of voices singing along to her every word.
“It was magical,” Perez told De Los. “There were people there who were actually at my first set in 2021, standing in the front. It meant a lot to me. I think that there’s a shock that I still experience with people coming to my set at a festival.”
At 25 years old, Perez has lived more life than most. Born in New Jersey and raised in West Palm Beach, Fla., the singer grew up in a devoutly Christian Cuban household, the middle child of three sisters.
As a teenager, the religious values she’d been steeped in were beginning to clash with her own realizations about her sexuality — and music provided a lifeline. The queer artists she listened to, like Hayley Kiyoko and Troye Sivan, tapped into feelings she hadn’t been able to articulate, and inspired her to write music that would allow her to express them in her own words.
At 18, just as she was preparing to head to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, her grandmother and uncle passed away, just weeks apart from each other. These dual losses set off a wave of grief and sparked difficult questions about her faith. She was struggling to regain her footing over the next year when, just months into the pandemic, her family experienced the sudden loss of her older sister Celene.
Perez felt unmoored. Her whole life, Celene had been a north star, a guiding light who inspired her to take up music, and who wanted to be a singer herself. Perez did what she knew how: wove her pain and anger and devastation into music, writing the soul-stirring tribute, “Celene.”
“The other day, I thought of something funny, but no one would’ve laughed but you,” she sings. “And mom and dad are always crying. And I wish I knew what to do.”
(Cat Cardenas / For De Los)
Her first original songs gained traction on TikTok, getting the attention of Interscope Records. From there, her career began to take off. She opened for Coldplay and Noah Cyrus, releasing her first EP, “How to Catch a Falling Knife,” in April 2023. Then, just months into a string of performances scheduled in London that summer, the label released her from her contract.
“I remember just being dumbfounded,” she said. “It was this immediate, very deep sense of fear and failure.”
But the funny thing about grief — that all-consuming force that had dragged her out to sea multiple times over the last several years — was that as suffocating as it could be, it was also surprising and unpredictable. So despite the depth of complicated emotions washing over her, Perez was acutely aware that this news was nothing compared to the loss of her sister. “So many things that happen in my life don’t affect me in that same profound way,” she said. “That was one of the things that made me. I don’t know, it’s hard to find the words even now.”
Growing up, Celene had her sights set on Broadway. She introduced Gigi to several musicals, from a bootleg version of “Legally Blonde,” to her first live theater experience in “Wicked,” to the cast album of Lin–Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights.” They played one song from the soundtrack, “Breathe,” on repeat. It’s sung by the character Nina, the daughter of immigrants in Washington Heights, who returns home in shame after having to drop out of Stanford University.
“That’s how I was feeling at the time,” Perez professed.
In London, she listened to the song on repeat. Then, she started writing. From the beginning, her style has always been instinctual; a freeform jam session where she sits at the piano or with her guitar and just lets her ideas flow out. The title came to her first — “At the Beach, in Every Life” — and the song poured out of her, nearly word for word.
“I remember the first time I played those chords on the piano, I had no idea what was going to happen,” she said. “I just knew something was opening up inside me, but I had no idea how deep the well was going to be, or that I was going to be an artist who gets to travel the world. I just had these desires, these visions, but to really live it is something else.”
After finishing out her commitments in the U.K., she moved back home to Florida. From her childhood bedroom, she began to rebuild. She taught herself music production and kept writing more songs. Without intending to, the puzzle pieces of the last few years of her life began to fall into place, and the grief that had consumed so much of her story finally had an outlet.
“At the Beach, In Every Life” details a breaking down of Perez’s walls. Her sadness and regret washes over tracks like “Sugar Water” and “Crown,” building into fiery passion on “Chemistry” and “Sailor Song,” before cresting into the haunting resolution of the title track that closes it out. It’s a portrait of loss and yearning, made up of vivid recollections from her childhood, her family, and her previous relationships. In short, it’s the album she wishes she could’ve listened to five years ago when her pain seemed insurmountable.
“I had just been operating blind for so long,” she said. “Being able to share my experience of loss in this specific way, it’s something that my 20-year-old self would be in disbelief of. At the time, it was like being without air, the isolation was so suffocating.”
Not long ago, Perez’s sadness could sometimes make her self-conscious. She wanted to share what she was going through, but she also didn’t want to be defined by it. “I didn’t want to be that girl who was always talking about her sister, but there was this very genuine desire to cry out for help, or acknowledge her,” she said. “Everyone is different, but for me, I needed to acknowledge her in order to be well.”
Fans of Gigi Perez at the barricade during her performance at this year’s Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, Texas.
(Cat Cardenas / For De Los)
Now, not even five years later, it feels like she’s finally turned the page and started a new chapter. “I’ve been able to build a life around my grief, and honor the loss of my sister in a way that’s helped me,” she said. “I don’t know exactly what healing should look like, but her death affected me and continues to affect me in these very profound ways. This is the best case scenario for me, because I get to share it with others — that’s one of the things that makes it so difficult to navigate: the feeling that no one understands you.”
“Knowing that we’re not alone has really saved my life,” she said. “I used to be the person thinking, ‘What’s the point of being alive?’ But knowing there are other people with the same question, I know now that we can hold each other’s hands through that. That’s given me a purpose and that helps me continue to move through it.”
In the process of writing the album, Perez found ways to bring both of her sisters along for the ride. There are voice memos from Celene, along with a snippet of her singing on “Survivor’s Guilt.” But there’s also “Sugar Water,” a track she co-wrote with her younger sister, Bella, who joins her onstage to perform the song on tour. “Anyone who has two sisters knows the chaos and intensity that can bring,” she said. “But we loved each other, and we still do. My relationship to what it means to be a woman was shaped by having sisters, and Celene and Bella are the closest reflection that I have of myself.”
Amid this wild, almost unbelievable year, Perez has been grounded by her family’s presence. Her mom is part of her management team, and her dad has joined them on the road.
“There’s something to be said about being in it so much that it’s almost hard to physically feel it on the level you want to,” Perez said. But over the last few weeks, as she’s gotten the opportunity to revisit the places where she first found her footing as a performer, she’s had the opportunity to reflect on just how much she’s grown since then.
For now, she plans on heading back home to Florida once her tour is over to spend time reflecting on everything. “I think that’s when I’ll start to see the confetti fall,” she said. “Life is uncertain, and we never know what it’s going to throw our way, but this was a year that I prayed for. And I think it was a year that a lot of people who love me prayed for too. So for that, I’m very grateful.”
One Corrie star is celebrating their little sister’s huge new career move as she joins the cast of the hit ITV soap in an episode as the daughter of an iconic character
Eva is back on the cobbles with her new family
Coronation Street is becoming a family business for one of its stars as his little sister is set to join the show. The ITV soap’s newest cast member is making her debut on the show in Monday’s (27 October) episode.
Bobby Bradshaw, who plays Jake Windass, is the older brother of Aurora Bradshaw. He announced on his Instagram that his sister was joining Corrie as Susie Price, the daughter of Catherine Tyldesley’s Eva.
He posted a picture of the new family, the Driscolls, which feature both Susie and her mother, and captioned it: “The news is finally out!!! Congratulations to my little sister aurora! She is part of the new family and her first episode airs 27th October.”
Fans will remember Susie as the baby Eva had in 2018. When Eva learned she was pregnant, she struck a deal with Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor) to give the child to her and Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) after their surrogate had a miscarriage. Toyah faked a birth certificate so that Peter would never know Susie wasn’t born via the surrogate.
Eva struggled being away from her baby, but eventually the two ended up together and have been living away from Weatherfield since 2018. But Eva and Susie are now returning.
The mother and daughter are moving into the Rovers Return alongside Eva’s new husband Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker). Ben is the person the pub was sold to, as he bought it as a surprise for his wife. Alongside Ben, his mother Maggie Driscoll, played by Pauline McLynn of EastEnders fame, will also be moving in. Catherine Tyldesley told the Mirror that Maggie is the “mother-in-law from hell”.
“There are so many twists and turns with the Driscolls. The mother-in-law from hell feels like a harsh title but I don’t think I am far off,” she said. “The constant swipes at each other, and Ben is very much stuck in the middle. Things do start to come to a head and he has to make that decision of whose side are you on here. They both get frustrated with him.”
These Driscolls are relatives of Ollie Dirscoll (Raphael Akuwudike), who is already on the show and dating Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown). Dee-Dee is more than a girlfriend to Ollie, she is also his legal representation after he was involved in a car accident.
Though Aurora and Bobby are siblings, their characters are not. Jake Windass is the son of Gary Windass and Izzy Armstrong, born via surrogacy with the help of Tina McIntyre. Jake currently lives with his dad and his step-mother Maria Connor, who is not best pleased to see Eva return.
On the latest episode of Gogglebox, viewers tuned in to some exciting news as two different Channel 4 stars shared their engagement
21:57, 24 Oct 2025Updated 22:15, 24 Oct 2025
On Friday night, Gogglebox sibling duo Sophie and Pete Sandiford opened the Channel 4 show with some exciting news.
Sophie, who has been part of the series with her brother since 2017, announced her engagement on social media ahead of the show’s airing, with many fans quick to send their congratulations.
However, it seems her engagement bubble may be getting to her brother Pete. As the episode began, Sophie got her phone out to play a special song.
She said: “I’ll play a little tune for you now, if you know it, sing along.” The Channel 4 star then played the song Chapel of Love by The Dixie Cups.
Sophie started to giggle as her brother looked fed up with the mention of her big news as he joked: “I won’t have anyone say that you’re milking this.”
She replied: “Well, it’s not everyday you get engaged” He added: “That’s the idea!”
The Channel 4 star shared that her partner Ben McKeown had proposed on Instagram, showcasing her ring to her followers. She captioned the post: “WE’RE ENGAGED.”
Although it looks as though Pete gave his brother in law to be a warm welcome into the family as he replied: “The three amigo’s have officially become 4”, adding in a five-word response: “Welcome to the wolf pack.”
Her co-star Izzi Warner added: “Congratulations to you both, gorgeous! And aren’t you buzzing you had the perfect engagement nails.”
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While TOWIE star Amy Childs commented: “So happy for you.” Soap star Natalie Ann Jamieson, wrote: “Ahhhh congrats gorgeous girl!”
As Jenny And Lee wrote: “Congratulations to you both much love to ya Jenny and Lee x.”
It wasn’t only Sophie who was celebrating a proposal as Georgia spoke about her engagement with her best friend, Abbie.
Admiring her ring, she asked: “Isn’t it stunning?” as Abbie told her the ring was beautiful, she asked how it felt to be engaged. Georgia replied: “It feels phenomenal, I’m actually a fiancé!”
Georgia and Abbie joined the series back in 2018 and quickly became fan-favourites.
Throughout their time on the show, viewers have seen Georgia become a mum to two boys, Hugh and Ralphie, whom she shares with partner Josh Newby.
The Channel 4 star announced this month that Josh proposed to her while on holiday in Dubai.
Liam Payne’s sister Ruth has slammed people who are using her brother’s death for fameCredit: Roo0900/InstagramLiam died on October 16, 2024 after falling from his hotel balcony in ArgentinaCredit: PAHis girlfriend at the time of his death, Kate Cassidy, shared a video of their last dance on the anniversary of his deathCredit: Instagram
Taking a swipe about people “using his death for fame” in her moving tribute for Liam on the one year anniversary of his death, Ruth didn’t hold back.
“Everyone only seems interested in the public side of this.
“Some sadly seem more interested in the fame they can gain off this, but on the human side people need to remember when they speak, there is a son without his Dad, parents without their child and I am lost without my brother,” she said.
This comes after a video was shared of Liam lifting his girlfriend Kate Cassidy in a final dance before his tragic death.
On the one-year anniversary of Liam’s death in Argentina, Kate wrote: “This video was taken during the last hour and last day Liam and I shared in this lifetime.
“I am forever grateful for the beautiful moments we shared. I will miss you for the rest of my life Liam.”
Elsewhere in Ruth’s tribute for her late brother, she said: “1year, 12months, 52weeks, 365days… whichever way I say it, it still means the most heartbreaking truth that you’re not here any more.
“When you used to go away on tour, and l’d cry that you’d be gone for a while, I always knew you’d come back, but now I can’t get you home, I can’t meet up with you somewhere in the world, I can’t facetime or text to see how you’re doing, it’s an eternal homesick feeling because we can’t go back.”
She continued: “I underestimated grief, woah did I underestimate it.
“I am paralysed by it daily. I thought I had felt it before but I know the losses before you were just intense sadness, you are the loss of my life, the one person who l will miss at every single occasion in my life.
“I’d taken for granted that my little brother would be there through life, what a cruel lesson to learn in our 30s, that a sibling is not guaranteed to be a lifer, that I have to face this without you.”
Ruth went on: “Your death will never make sense, no matter how much I study it, whatever angle I look at it, it never makes sense. You shouldn’t have died.
“I have a reoccurring nightmare where I am in your hotel room just before it happened and you can’t hear me screaming for you, my brain is locked on your last minutes on this earth, the unaccounted minutes, the minutes I will never have the answers to, the minutes that changed everything.
“So much has happened in a year, so much to tell you, our kids have changed massively, you would continue to be in awe of your son!
“I’ve definitely got funnier (I know you’re thinking how is that possible right?!) – some of the jokes I make really make me smile because I know they would have earned me a ‘ruuu’ off you, l’ve visited some beautiful places but each place has confirmed, no matter the view, I will still feel your void from all corners of the earth.”
She later added: “I think of my grief as a clock, I explained to you years ago when I was nagging you to be better at answering your phone, that my head was like the ‘Weasley’s clock’ out of Harry Potter, where it would check everyone in our family in before I could switch off and with you travelling the world, it’d really need your confirmation of being safe and sound before I’d settle.
“Only now, there is a number missing off the clock, which means nothing in my days makes sense and it feels like noone is safe and sound.”
Liam’s sister Ruth shared an emotional and lengthy tribute on the anniversary of his deathCredit: Instagram/@roo0990Kate Cassidy has also been sharing multiple tributes about his passingCredit: Snapchat
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, a lovable, quick-witted nun who became a national phenomenon for her relentless support of the Loyola Chicago University basketball team during its magical Final Four run in 2018, died Thursday, the school said. She was 106.
Sister Jean, as she was known, was 98 during Loyola’s March Madness splash. Her ever-present smile and the sparkle in her eyes were trademarks as she cheered on an unheralded underdog team that notched upset after upset before falling in the semifinals.
After each victory, she was pushed onto the court in her wheelchair and Loyola players and coaches swarmed to her, believing Sister Jean had somehow authored divine intervention.
“Just to have her around and her presence and her aura, when you see her, it’s just like the world is just great because of her spirit and her faith in us and Loyola basketball,” Loyola guard Marques Townes said at the time.
“At the end of the prayer I always ask God to be sure that the scoreboard indicates that the Ramblers have the big W,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “God always hears but maybe he thinks it’s better for us to do the ‘L’ instead of the ‘W,’ and we have to accept that.”
Sister Jean lived on the top floor of Regis Hall, a campus dormitory that housed mostly freshmen. She’d broken her left hip during a fall a few months before the March Madness run, necessitating the wheelchair. But once she recovered, the barely 5-foot-tall firebrand was plenty mobile in her Loyola maroon Nikes.
She compiled scouting reports on opponents and hand-delivered them to the coaching staff. She sent encouraging emails to players and coaches after games, celebrating or consoling them depending on the outcome.
“If I had a down game or didn’t help the team like I thought I could,” Loyola star forward Donte Ingram said at the time, “she’d be like, ‘Keep your head up. They were out to get you tonight, but you still found ways to pull through.’ Just stuff like that.”
Sister Jean could also be quick with a joke. And she was hardly self-effacing. Told that the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum sold a record number of Sister Jean statuettes, she cracked during a special media breakout session at the Final Four, “I’m not saying this in a proud fashion, but I think the company could retire when they’re finished making my bobbleheads.”
Even the Covid shutdown couldn’t dampen her spirit. In 2021 at age 102, Sister Jean traveled to Indianapolis and watched Loyola upset top-seeded Illinois 71-58 to earn a berth in that year’s Sweet 16. The Ramblers players waved to her in the stands after the game.
“It was a great moment,” Sister Jean told reporters. “We just held our own the whole time. At the end, to see the scoreboard said the W belonged to Loyola, that whole game was just so thrilling.”
Dolores Bertha Schmidt was born in San Francisco on Aug. 21, 1919, the oldest of three children. She felt a calling to become a nun in the third grade, and after high school joined a convent in Dubuque, Iowa.
After taking her vows, she returned to California and became an elementary school teacher, first at St. Bernard School in Glassell Park before moving in 1946 to St. Charles Borromeo School in North Hollywood, where she also coached several sports including basketball. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Mount St. Mary’s College in L.A. in 1949.
“At noon, during lunch on the playground, I would have the boys play the girls,” she told the Athletic. “I told them, ‘I know you have to hold back because you play full court, but we need to make our girls strong.’ And they did make them strong.”
Among her students were Cardinal Roger Mahony, who served as archbishop of Los Angeles from 1985 to 2011, Father Thomas Rausch, chairman of the theology department at Loyola Marymount, and Sister Mary Milligan, who became the first U.S.-born general superior of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary.
Sister Jean earned a master’s degree from Loyola Marymount University in L.A. in 1961 and took a teaching position in Chicago at Mundelein College, a school near Loyola that was all women at the time. She later served as dean.
Mundelein merged with Loyola in 1991 and within a few years Sister Jean became a team chaplain, a position she held until earlier this year.
“In many roles at Loyola over the course of more than 60 years, Sister Jean was an invaluable source of wisdom and grace for generations of students, faculty, and staff,” Loyola President Mark C. Reed said in a statement. “While we feel grief and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy. Her presence was a profound blessing for our entire community and her spirit abides in thousands of lives. In her honor, we can aspire to share with others the love and compassion Sister Jean shared with us.”
Asked about her legacy, Sister Jean told the Chicago Tribune she hoped to be remembered as someone who served others.
“The legacy I want is that I helped people and I was not afraid to give my time to people and teach them to be positive about what happens and that they can do good for other people,” she said. “And being willing to take a risk. People might say, ‘Why didn’t I do that?’ Well, just go ahead and try it — as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody.”
ROSEMONT, Ill. — At first, landing Lauren Betts was not a plus when it came to getting her little sister to follow her to UCLA.
When Bruins women’s basketball coach Cori Close called Sienna Betts about Lauren transferring from Stanford at her parents’ request, the younger sibling didn’t hide her displeasure.
“UCLA was my school,” Sienna told Close. “I don’t want to go where my sister’s going.”
It took some massaging of the situation to get Sienna back on board with becoming a Bruin. Big sister helped convince Sienna by delivering a PowerPoint presentation about why she should come to Westwood for Lauren’s final college season.
“By the end, there were tears everywhere,” Close said Wednesday at Big Ten media day inside the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. “It was very heartfelt, it was very genuine. It was just why she wanted to share this experience with her sister and why they needed to share it together.”
It could be a seasonlong joy ride for the sisters after Sienna agreed to join a team that’s been picked to win the Big Ten and contend for the national championship. Lauren and point guard Kiki Rice were selected to the preseason all-conference team and could be joined on the postseason version by teammates Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA center Lauren Betts goes to the basket against Maryland forward Amari DeBerry, left, during the first half of a game last season.
(Nick Wass / Associated Press)
Sienna is an early candidate for Big Ten freshman of the year based on her dynamic skill set. The 6-foot-4 forward has been playing a lot alongside her 6-7 sister in practice, leading to some unusual exchanges.
“Every once in a while on the court, you’ll hear, like, the bickering from a sister standpoint, you know what I mean?” Rice said. “Like, it’s a special tone, you know, it only happens between siblings and they’ll be like, ‘Lauren, shut up’ or something like that and they get on each other and it happens quick and they move on pretty fast, but it’s always funny.”
Having her sister around could free Lauren to operate more on the perimeter, where she’s been working on her outside shot. Plus, it has the added benefit of reducing a little wear on the elder sibling.
“I told her, I was, like, ‘Listen, it’s exhausting running baseline to baseline all the time,’” Lauren cracked. “She can do it once.”
Lauren said she’s helped her sister with learning plays and persevering through tough practices while letting Sienna mostly hang out with fellow freshmen off the court. She’s always wanted what’s best for her sister, as demonstrated by that PowerPoint presentation.
“It was just to show her that, like, this recruiting process isn’t about me, and it’s not to get the Betts sisters to play with each other,” Lauren said. “It’s, I want her here because she’s Sienna Betts and she’s a really important part of our team and she would bring so much to us and she would help us win a national championship.”
Might Lauren put together another UCLA presentation for brother Dylan, a 7-2 center who is another top high school prospect?
“Yeah, his recruiting process is a little different,” Lauren said with a laugh, “so we’ll see.”
Fighting on
Don’t ever expect a concession speech from USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
After losing the reigning national player of the year to injury and a starting frontcourt who is now in the WNBA, Gottlieb said her team’s goals don’t change.
“That’s a lot of talent to replace,” Gottlieb said, referring to sidelined star JuJu Watkins and departed post players Kiki Iriafen and Rayah Marshall, “but we look at it in the collective and we say USC women’s basketball is not going anywhere. All the goals that we still have are in front of us. … I think we’ll have the ability to compete at a really high level.”
How do the Trojans replace Watkins, who is out for the season because of a torn knee ligament? It will be a collective effort led by returning guard Kennedy Smith, freshman phenom Jazzy Davidson and five transfers.
“No one’s gonna be JuJu, no one’s trying to be JuJu,” Gottlieb said, “but I think we can put a team on the floor that’s incredibly versatile, that plays an exciting brand of basketball and we’re going to take our shot at achieving our goals.”
Davidson, a 6-1 guard who was the nation’s top high school prospect, is already creating a buzz for a team that was picked by the media to finish third in the Big Ten.
“I don’t compare her to anybody else,” Gottlieb said, “but in terms of the way I felt when JuJu walked in the door as a freshman about her readiness for college basketball, I think Jazzy’s a pretty unique talent and will make an incredible affect not only on us but I think on the national scene.”
Finally united
Six years later, the voicemail that Gottlieb saved from a 14-year-old has additional meaning.
That teenager is now on her team.
Gottlieb was recruiting Londynn Jones when she coached at California and accepted a job with the Cleveland Cavaliers, becoming the first head women’s college coach to be hired by an NBA team. Jones left a congratulatory message tinged with sorrow.
“ ‘Coach,’” Jones said, “‘I’m happy for you, but I’m sad for me, don’t forget about me.’ ”
Now they’re together after Jones transferred from UCLA after helping the Bruins reach the Final Four.
“Here we are,” Gottlieb said, “all these years later.”
After averaging 8.5 points and making 35.1% of her three-pointers last season, Jones could play a new role across town.
“She’s a ballhandler, a distributor, she shoots the three really well,” Gottlieb said, “so I think she was looking for that just sort of ability to be dynamic and show what she’s capable of, but we just need her to be a really kind of solid, all-around contributor.”
Twice as nice
Dreams really do come true. As a freshman, UCLA softball slugger Megan Grant told roommate Amanda Muse, a forward on the basketball team, that it was her dream to play college basketball. Now Grant is on the verge of her debut in a second sport. Close described Grant as a “bully ball kind of player” who would add screening, rebounding and hustle.
First-year girls’ basketball coach Will Burr of Harvard-Westlake High has already concluded more than a month before the season begins that 6-foot-2 freshman Lucia Khamenia is going to be an impact player.
She’s the sister of former Harvard-Westlake All-American Nikolas Khamenia, who is now a freshman at Duke.
Burr said Khamenia can play different positions because of her size and versatility, go inside or make threes like her brother.
She’s not the only high-profiled freshman on the Wolverines’ roster. Valentino Collins is the daughter of former Harvard-Westlake and NBA player Jarron Collins. Her sister, Alessandra, is a junior for the Wolverines.
Senior Valentina Guerrero will lead a young Wolverines team.
Burr is a highly regarded coach, having guided Oak Park to three straight Southern Section titles after winning one at Viewpoint.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
MADELEINE McCann’s sister is giving evidence today against a stalker who turned up at the family home claiming to be the missing youngster.
Julia Wandelt allegedly sent unwanted emails, made multiple phone calls and even turned up at the home of Kate and Gerry McCann.
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Both Sean and Amelie McCann will give evidence todayCredit: Getty – Pool
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Julia Wandelt believed she was Madeleine
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Maddie vanished in 2007Credit: PA
The 24-year-old falsely claimed she was Madeleine, who vanished on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007.
She believed she had memories of the three-year-old’s childhood and disappearance before being supposedly trafficked to Poland.
Madeleine’s brother Sean and sister Amelie, both 20, are giving evidence today at Leicester Crown Court.
The twins, who were sleeping in the same room as their sibling when she vanished, have never publicly spoken about Madeleine.
It comes after their parents yesterday took to the stand to open up about their daughter’s disappearance for the first time in eight years.
Wandelt yesterday had to be escorted from the courtroom after yelling “why are you doing this to me?” at Kate.
The mum had told jurors how Wandelt and her co-accused Karen Spragg, 61, showed up at the family home in December 2024.
She said she was unloading the car in the dark and immediately felt “distressed” at the situation.
The mum added: “[Wandelt] called me mum”.
Kate told how the second woman was “slightly more aggressive” and was asking: “Don’t you want to find your daughter?”
Madeleine McCann: the secret evidence on prime suspect Christian B | Sun Documentary
She said she went inside and felt “invaded in my home” as the two women continued to bang on the front door.
Wandelt then posted a letter to the next day to “mum” and signed from “Madeleine”, the court heard.
Kate said: “It was the thing I wanted the most – through all this pain – for Madeleine to be back and calling me ‘mum’.”
She continued: “Referring to me as mum was hard and she said a few times about Gerry being controlling – which had no truth.”
Kate told jurors she first became aware of Wandelt in 2022 after she phoned Gerry at the hospital he works at.
The mum said Wandelt had also emailed the Find Madeleine campaign but she received no direct contact herself until 2024.
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Amelie and Sean were sleeping in the same room as Maddie when she vanishedCredit: Rex Features
Kate said police officers investigating Madeleine’s disappearance sent her and Gerry a photo of the alleged stalker after she claimed she was the missing youngster.
Both parents concluded she was not Madeleine but Wandelt continued to contact them – claiming: “I never lied, I’m not crazy, please let me prove it.”
She also allegedly left a voicemail on Kate’s phone, saying: “If I am her, then everything should be OK but if I’m not, which you probably think, then I’ll leave you alone.
“I know my accent is Polish because I live here… I’m not pretty like Madeleine but I know what I know and I know and what I remember.
“Please give me a chance, you don’t give up on your daughter, I’m not crazy.”
But Kate said today: “I know I can’t say what Madeleine looks like now, but I know I’d recognise her.”
The mum said after the disappearance of her daughter, and knowing that her mobile number was in the public domain, she did not change it “on principle”.
She added: “I didn’t feel I should have to do that.”
Kate told the court she “didn’t want to engage” but almost agreed to a DNA test as Wandelt’s campaign was “getting to me”.
She added: “I almost wanted a DNA test to put it to bed… from the photographs.. I knew it wasn’t her.”
The mum said the “final straw” came when she discovered Wandelt had allegedly messaged her 20-year-old daughter, Amelie.
Kate told jurors she went to police to discuss the case after that.
Letter ‘stalker’ posted through McCann’s front door
“Dear Mum [Kate],
“I’m so sorry for causing you so much distress, but when I saw you yesterday, my emotions were so strong.
“I felt a close connection to you. I don’t like seeing you upset.
“All I want is to find out the truth. I have memories and I have gathered a lot of evidence supporting my case.
“I think that inside your heart you believe and know who I am and I am your daughter.
“I don’t understand why you don’t want to do a DNA test with me.
“I think you are scared, but whatever makes you scared, just remember that you are stronger than that.
“Yesterday, I heard a lot of care and love in your voice. I hope you will find a way to contact me.”
The letter was signed off with “Madeleine”.
She said since the arrest of the defendants, her stress levels had gone down.
Kate added she did not want anything like this to “put extra focus” on Sean and Amelie.
“What they’ve had to deal with, and still have to deal with, is a lot and we try to keep that to a minimum,” the mum said.
Gerry’s voice cracked as he also gave evidence today and he grew emotional when discussing his other children Sean and Amelie.
He said: “After everything that has happened with Madeleine we want to protect them.”
Gerry added: “We want them to be known as Amelie McCann and Sean McCann not missing Madeleine McCann’s brother and sister.”
Jurors heard previously how Wandelt tried to persuade “anybody prepared to listen” that she was the British toddler.
The alleged stalker, from Lubin in south west Poland, burst into tears and had to take a 10-minute break after the court was told she is not Madeleine.
Mr Duck added: “There could never have been a legitimate belief by Julia Wandelt that she was Madeleine McCann.
“At the time of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, Julia Wandelt was not of the same age.”
‘Stalking’ campaign
The court heard she compared herself to images of Madeleine and tried to convince the younger McCann daughter, Amelie, they were related.
She even signed letters to the McCann family from Madeleine, it was said.
Mr Duck said the “well-planned campaign of harassment” had a “substantial adverse effect on the day-to-day activities” of the McCann parents.
The court heard Wandelt initially called the hospital where they work and emailed the Met Police investigation codenamed Operation Grange.
She later messaged Gerry: “In June 2022 I started to think maybe I am Madeleine McCann. I am not joking, please take this seriously.”
Jurors heard she went on to call and message Kate over 60 times during a single day in April 2024, writing: “I never lied. I am not crazy. Please let me prove it.”
Recorded voicemail messages were played in court where Wandelt was heard pleading: “I beg you, you are my real mother, I remember you and our home, give me a chance to prove it
“You are mummy. You know it’s me. I remember how you hugged me and a pink teddy bear.”
Mr Duck said: “One of the many tragic consequences for Madeleine’s parents has been their consequent inability to escape that unwanted glare of publicity that came with that tragedy.
“Their faces have become immediately recognisable to a worldwide audience and the attention they have received has not always been compassionate. Far from it.
“They have been embraced by millions of people around the world who sympathise with their position. But there remains a group of individuals which continues to fail to acknowledge their plight and perpetuates conspiracy theories which simply heap further misery upon them.
“Unfortunately, these two defendants belong to that latter group – but as far as they are concerned, their observations and behaviour are not an offhand comments or a Facebook/Instagram posting, but a well-planned campaign of harassment which extended, in Julia Wandelt’s case, for over two-and-half years.”
Wandelt and co-accused Karen Spragg, 61, from Cardiff, deny stalking causing serious alarm and distress to Kate and Gerry between June 2022 and February this year.
The trial continues.
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Madeleine disappeared when she was three years oldCredit: PA
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Wandelt turned up at Kate and Gerry McCann’s home
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She was accompanied by co-accused Karen SpraggCredit: PA
Dolly Parton’s sister has asked fans to pray for the American country singer, who last week postponed a forthcoming Las Vegas residency due to unspecified health issues.
The 79-year-old country music legend has delayed the December concerts, telling fans she needs “a few procedures” to deal with ongoing “health challenges”.
“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly,” Freida Parton wrote on Facebook. “Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately.
“I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.”
Freida ended her message on an upbeat note.
“She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine,” she wrote.
“Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”
A spokesperson for the singer told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, that she will be posting a social media message on Wednesday that “will address everyone’s concerns”.
Parton had been scheduled to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in December.
Parton did not disclose the nature of her health issues, but she was recently forced to pull out of a Dollywood event after being diagnosed with a kidney stone that she said was causing “a lot of problems”.
She later dedicated a new song, If You Hadn’t Been There, to his memory.
The musician is best known for a string of country crossover hits including Coat of Many Colors, I Will Always Love You, 9 To 5 and Jolene.
Her Las Vegas stint would have been her first visit to the Strip since the 1990s, when she performed alongside her Islands In The Stream duet partner, Kenny Rogers.
Dolly Parton’s younger sister is calling on fans “to be prayer warriors and pray with me” as the beloved pop culture icon takes a break from the spotlight for her health.
Freida Parton penned her public plea for support on Facebook, writing on Tuesday that she had been “up all night praying for my sister, Dolly.” Freida is one of the “Jolene” singer’s 11 siblings.
“Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately,” she added, asking that the “world that loves her” lend its support. “She’s strong, she’s loved and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine.”
She concluded her post: “Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”
Freida publicly expressed concern for her sister a week after she called off numerous upcoming concerts in Las Vegas to address her health. The “9 to 5” star announced on social media she would delay six concerts at Caesars Palace scheduled for December.
“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” Parton, 79, said in a statement posted to her Instagram and X accounts. “As I joked with them, it must be for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”
Parton did not share additional information about her condition at the time. A representative for the entertainer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, Parton also missed the announcement of a new Dollywood attraction as she was recovering from a kidney stone. In a video about her absence, she explained the “little problem,” noting the kidney stone had led to an infection and that it was doctor’s orders to stay put. She reassured fans she was at the reveal event in spirit.
Parton has also put writing new music on the back burner following the death of her husband in March. Carl Dean, who was married to the “I Will Always Love You” hitmaker for almost 60 years, died at age 82. She opened up about grieving the loss in a July episode of Khloé Kardashian’s “Khloé in Wonder Land” podcast.
“Several things I’ve wanted to start, but I can’t do it. I will later, but I’m just coming up with such wonderful, beautiful ideas,” Parton said. “But I think I won’t finish it. I can’t do it right now, because I got so many other things and I can’t afford the luxury of getting that emotional right now.”
Eddie Hearn has opened up on why you wont see his sister Katie in the family’s new docuseriesCredit: Getty
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Katie acts as Director of Programming while Barry and Eddie take up more public-facing rolesCredit: Getty
Explaining why to The Sun, Eddie said: “My sister has no interest in the limelight.
“We are chalk and cheese in so many ways.
“She was an A-star student, I really wasn’t and when we did the deal with Netflix they were like, ‘oh and we’ll see your sister as well?’
“But she’s in the office all the time, hiding every time the cameras come in.
“I definitely took the extrovert side out of us.”
Eddie still backs himself as dad Barry’s favourite as he prepares to take over the business.
But Katie is a key player behind the scenes – with 40 years of experience in producing and globally distributing live sporting events.
Since becoming the first female to work on the Premiership and International production team at Sky Sports, Katie is now Director of Programming and CEO of Matchroom Media.
Eddie added: “Katie’s a massive part of the business. She runs all the TV production and she’s a little bit of a kind secret star.
“She’s very talented, but she wouldn’t tell you how talented she is. I’m not very talented, but I’ll tell you how talented I am.”
Barry Hearn opens up on his Matchroom empire in Netflix trailer for The Greatest Showmen
Eddie also opened up about the decision not to include his wife and kids in the TV series that shot straight to the top of Netflix’s charts.
“It was mainly for the children,” he says.
“They already get a load of stick really through being my daughters. I’ve got two daughters and I want them to be able to live as normal a life as possible without someone having a preconceived perception of who they are or what they might be.
“It’s not like they’re hidden away, but I’ve seen some other documentaries where the kids are there and I just feel like it’s a huge amount of pressure, especially at that age, 13 and 15.”
It hasn’t stopped his kids from giving their opinions about his performance on the show.
Eddie laughed: “My eldest is watching the series and her first comment was ‘yeah, it’s good, but you lose a lot in it’.
“But that’s the real part of it. In an ideal world, AJ would have beat Dubois. We would have won the 5v5, but that wouldn’t be a great show.
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Hearn is most known for his involvement in the world of boxingCredit: Reuters
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Matchroom also work with the PDC and World Snooker TourCredit: Getty
“I think it’s good for them to understand as well that it’s not just you go to work, you win, you make money, you go to work, you lose, you have bad days. You have a lot of pressure.”
Asked whether they’re likely to join the family business once he takes the top spot, Eddie added: “I’ve always said no to the thought of my daughters joining the business but as they get a little bit older, I think if they have a passion for it then why not.
“When I left school, I didn’t want to work for my dad. Everyone said to me growing up, ‘well, you’re just going to work for your dad anyway’.
“I thought no, I’m going to go out and I’m going to do my own thing and I did for probably four or five years, but then realised I’m putting all this energy and time into someone else’s company instead of putting that into what my dad built.
“Suddenly it felt like my role and responsibility was to carry on what was important to him.
“So, yeah, if they have a passion for it, then I wouldn’t stop them. But maybe not boxing. I’ll probably keep them away from boxing…”
It looks like wowing the judges on “Dancing With the Stars” is now an Irwin family tradition.
Robert Irwin hit the stage Tuesday for the first time with pro partner Witney Carson on the Season 34 premiere of “Dancing With the Stars,” knocking out an upbeat jive set to “Born to Be Wild.” The first thing the wildlife conservationist did after nailing the routine was run to hug his sister, Bindi Irwin, who was in the audience along with other family and friends.
The judges called the performance, which closed out the night, “absolutely brilliant.”
“Crocs are my comfort zone, dancing is not,” Robert Irwin said in the introductory package that was shown right before his performance. In the same compilation, Carson explained that a jive is difficult for a first dance and praised Irwin’s positivity.
Bruno Tonioli was the first judge to address the pair, getting on his feet to tell Irwin that the performance “wasn’t [just] good, that was great.”
Derek Hough, who was Bindi’s pro partner when they won the Mirror Ball during “Dancing With the Stars” Season 21, told Robert that he was “so relieved because you had some big shoes to fill.”
“You didn’t just fill them; you owned those shoes,” said Hough, who asked if Irwin had been practicing for this moment for the last 10 years. “That was probably the best first dance I’ve ever seen on this show.”
Earlier in the episode, Irwin said that when he watched his sister win 10 years ago, he had thought, “One day, that’s going to be me.”
Watching Bindi win in 2015 also served as preparation for Robert.
“I feel like I had a good idea of what this show was about coming into it, cause my sister had done it,” Irvin told E! News. “Bindi just said, ‘Take a breath and enjoy every single second of it … really try and enjoy this cause it goes by so fast.’”
Irwin and Carson was awarded 15 points, which put them in a tie for top marks alongside team Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas.
Venus Williams had made it to the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open women’s doubles competition five times. Each time, she was partnered with younger sister Serena Williams.
Venus Williams is back in the U.S. Open quarterfinals this year, for the first time since 2014, with new doubles partner Leylah Fernandez.
Williams’ retired sibling hasn’t made it to Flushing Meadows for any of this year’s action so far, but the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion made a plea for that to change following her and Fernandez’s 6-3, 6-4 victory over Zhang Shuai and Ekaterina Alexandrova on Monday.
“She’s so happy for Leylah and I, and she’s given us advice,” Williams said of her sister during an on-court interview. “We just need her in the box. So, my message is: Serena, you need to show up.”
Williams was responding to a question about a recent TikTok post by Serena in which the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is watching Williams and Fernandez on TV and rolling her eyes. Once she notices she is being filmed, however, Serena forces some humorously fake-looking smiles.
“When you see your sister @Venus Williams has a new doubles partner @leylahanniefernandez and you are really happy she’s winning with someone else…” the caption reads.
Venus Williams called the post “very funny.”
The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam titles (including the U.S. Open in 1999 and 2009) and three Olympic gold medals as doubles partners. While Serena hasn’t played since the 2022 U.S. Open, Venus returned to the court after a lengthy hiatus for July’s D.C. Open.
At that tournament, the 45-year-old Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match with a first-round victory over 23-year-old Peyton Stearns. Williams also won a first-round doubles match with 23-year-old partner Hailey Baptiste.
At the U.S. Open, Williams lost her first-round singles match to 29-year-old Karolina Muchova in three sets. But she and Fernandez, a 22-year-old Canadian who played in the 2021 U.S. Open singles final, have been on a roll. They have yet to drop a set in three rounds of play.
Williams told reporters that Serena has actually been very supportive.
“She’s definitely coaching from afar, and she’s so excited,” Williams said. “She gets so nervous watching, and she’s got the kids watching. They’re all at home, just really on our side.”
Williams also addressed her earlier request for her sister to “show up” for Tuesday’s quarterfinal match against the top-seeded duo of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova.
“If she came, it would be a dream for both of us,” Williams said. “We’d have her on the court coaching. And we’d force her to hit, even though she doesn’t hit often.”
She added with a laugh,”So it’s probably best she doesn’t come because we’d just like, probably bully her.”
Kim Yo Jong (L), the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said South Korea would never be a diplomatic partner, stare media reported Wednesday. She is seen here in Tsiolkovsky, Russia, during a state visit in 2023. File Kremlin Pool Photo by Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik/EPA
SEOUL, Aug. 20 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un‘s influential sister repeated her dismissal of Seoul’s outreach efforts, state media reported Wednesday, saying that South Korea “cannot be a diplomatic partner.”
Kim Yo Jong “sharply criticized the essence of the deceptive ‘appeasement offensive'” by the administration of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
“We have witnessed and experienced the dirty political system of the ROK for decades,” Kim told North Korean Foreign Ministry officials during a meeting on Tuesday, using the official acronym for South Korea.
“The ambition for confrontation with the DPRK has been invariably pursued by the ROK, whether it held the signboard of ‘conservatism’ or wore a mask of ‘democracy,'” Kim said.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
Kim’s remarks come as the United States and South Korea are holding their annual summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise. The 11-day exercise began Monday and includes live field maneuvers, computer simulation-based command post exercises and related civil defense drills. Some 21,000 troops, including 18,000 South Korean personnel, are participating this year.
President Lee has stressed that the drills are defensive in nature and has made a series of overtures to North Korea since taking office in June in an effort to improve strained ties.
In a speech Friday marking the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee vowed to “respect” North Korea’s political system and said Seoul would not pursue “unification by absorption.”
“We have no intention of engaging in hostile acts,” Lee said. “Going forward, our government will take consistent measures to substantially reduce tensions and restore trust.”
Kim called Lee’s defensive characterization of the joint military exercise “gibberish” and said his administration’s “stinky confrontational nature is swathed in a wrapper of peace.”
“Lee Jae Myung is not the sort of man who will change the course of history,” she added.
The Blue House, South Korea’s presidential office, responded to Kim’s comments Monday, calling them “regrettable.”
“The Lee Jae Myung administration’s preemptive measures for peace on the Korean Peninsula are not self-serving or for the benefit of one side, but rather are for the stability and prosperity of both South and North Korea,” the office said in a statement. “It is regrettable that North Korean officials are misrepresenting and distorting our sincere efforts.”
Kim Yo Jong has made multiple public statements in recent weeks dismissing Seoul’s rapprochement efforts, which include removing its anti-Pyongyang propaganda loudspeakers from border areas inside the DMZ.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday said the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise demonstrated the allies’ “will to ignite a war” and called for the rapid expansion of Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities
But the famous couple have rekindled their romance and continue to parent their daughter Bambi, two, together.
Now, it seems Zoe and Tommy’s relationship has improved after Molly-Mae showed them working out in the same gym with Bambi in tow.
She took to her Instagram stories to film Zoe showing her niece how to do a burpee on the gym floor.
In Molly-Mae’s next story, Tommy is running on a treadmill as Bambi looks on sceptically.
“I think she may feel the same about the gym as I do,” she captioned a close-up photo of Bambi’s face.
The three adults then went for a stroll in the town they were in, where Zoe and Bambi watched a local artist do some painting and the Tommy held his daughter on his shoulders.
Molly-Mae admits real reason she’s not filming with Tommy Fury after breaking down in tears on camera
Molly-Mae recently opened up to fans about the real reason Tommy doesn’t appear frequently on her vlog – like he used to prior to their split.
The influencer addressed criticism levelled at Tommy by some fans who accused him of being an absent dad.
In hurtful comments, they claimed that Molly’s sister Zoe, 28, is more of a father figure due to her regular appearance in the videos.
Ex Love Island star Molly explained: “I’ve seen so many comments saying ‘Zoe is more the dad’ I only vlog when I am not with Tommy, I am with Tommy literally 80 per ceent of the week and he is with Bambi the majority of the week.
Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury – Reunion Clues
MOLLY-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury are on holiday in Dubai after splitting in August. Yet have they dropped clues about their reunion before?
“But I vlog when we are here and he is at his because it’s just something that I am not ready to like open up with yet and like flinging the camera around like when we’re a family.
“I just think like we’re not there yet and still figuring out life and living situations. I’m not ready to vlog like we used to.”
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The couple and Bambi attended Zoe’s wedding before their split last yearCredit: instagram/@tommyfury
Kim Yo Jong denies claims that Pyongyang has removed propaganda-blaring loudspeakers at the inter-Korean border.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister has accused South Korea of misleading the public about ties between the Koreas, denying claims that Pyongyang removed some propaganda-blaring loudspeakers from their shared border.
In a statement carried by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency on Thursday, Kim Yo Jong blasted the claim by South Korea’s military as an “unfounded unilateral supposition and a red herring.”
“We have never removed loudspeakers installed on the border area and are not willing to remove them,” Kim said.
Kim accused Seoul of “building up the public opinion while embellishing their new policy” towards Pyongyang.
“It is their foolish calculation that if they manage to make us respond to their actions, it would be good, and if not, their actions will at least reflect their ‘efforts for detente’ and they will be able to shift the responsibility for the escalation of tensions onto the DPRK and win the support of the world,” Kim said, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Such a “trick” is nothing but a “pipedream” and “does not arouse our interest at all,” Kim added.
“Whether the ROK withdraws its loudspeakers or not, stops broadcasting or not, postpones its military exercises or not and downscales them or not, we do not care about them and are not interested in them,” she said, using the acronym of South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
“The shabby deceptive farce is no longer attractive.”
In a statement quoted by local media, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification did not directly address Kim’s claims, but said it would continue its efforts toward the “normalisation” and “stabilisation” of inter-Korean ties.
Kim’s broadside comes after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday that Pyongyang had removed some of the loudspeakers, days after the South Korean side took down similar speakers on its side of the border.
North Korea is highly sensitive to criticism of the ruling Kim family, which has ruled the isolated state with iron first for nearly eight decades and is treated with God-like reverence in official commentary.
Since the inauguration of left-leaning South Korean President Lee Jae-myung in June, Seoul has been seeking rapprochement with its reclusive neighbour, after years of elevated tensions between the Koreas under the conservative ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol.
But Kim Yo Jong, who oversees the propaganda operations of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, has repeatedly shot down the possibility of reconciliation between the sides.
In a scathing dismissal of Lee’s rapprochement efforts last month, Kim said there was no “more serious miscalculation” than believing that relations could be repaired “with a few sentimental words.”
In her remarks on Thursday, Kim also poured scorn on South Korean media reports suggesting that Pyongyang could use Friday’s summit between United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to communicate with Washington.
“This is a typical proof that the ROK is having a false dream,” she said.
“If a dream is dreamed very often, it will be an empty one, and so many suppositions will lead to so many contradictions that will not be solved. Why should we send a message to the US side.”
Lisa Berns, the niece of retired Gen. Colin L. Powell, passed by a newsstand in Los Angeles over the weekend and found herself reacting with dread and alarm to the news that Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin had just been assassinated.
The Orange County woman’s reaction surfaced again Wednesday, when her uncle announced he would not be running for President, a decision that, in Berns’ words, “hasn’t ruined my day. . . . It takes a lot of the pressure off of us. It takes the worry away.”
“People in public office just put themselves at risk every day, so I’m not unhappy that he decided not to run,” she said.
Lisa Berns’ mother, Marilyn Berns, whose only sibling is Powell, said she had never discussed the dangers of running for office with her brother, “But I know that it concerned us–my husband and our family. I think Colin’s decision was made prior” to Saturday’s tragedy in Israel.
“I wasn’t surprised [by Wednesday’s announcement] because Colin called me [Tuesday] night and told me what his decision was,” said Marilyn Berns, 64, a teacher at Martin Elementary School in Santa Ana until her retirement in June. “I’m pleased about the decision. It’s important to us that he do the thing he feels most comfortable with. . . . We were all getting very edgy about it.”
Berns said that her brother’s consideration of seeking the presidency had left his family subject to prolonged stress.
“There was this monumental decision that had to be made,” Marilyn Berns said. “Both of them [Powell and his wife, Alma], along with their kids, were just meeting and meeting and thinking it over. I didn’t realize until I spoke to him the gravity of what my brother was dealing with. That was very disturbing to me. I got a little teary over that.”
Elsewhere in Orange County, the response was less personal and more political as Democratic and Republican leaders found a common ground: Albeit for their own reasons, both parties agreed that Powell had done the right thing–the only thing he could do, really–in not seeking the White House.
But private citizens throughout the county reacted glumly, saying that Powell’s decision deprived American voters of a candidate whom many felt was potentially the best President of anyone in public life.
Others expressed relief, however, saying the timing just didn’t feel right.
Numerous political pundits said Wednesday that Powell’s wife had been “adamant” about having him decline, language with which both Berns women took issue.
Marilyn Berns said that her sister-in-law “has a lot of input” into her husband’s choices and that “they do things together as a team”–to a point.
Even if Alma Powell had strongly resisted her husband’s running, “she’s not the type of woman who is so forceful that she would ram her views down someone’s throat. That’s not Alma Powell’s style. She gives her input, and that’s it. She doesn’t beat a dead horse.”
“I haven’t talked to my aunt [Alma, Powell’s wife]. I don’t know that she’s adamant about him not running,” said Lisa Berns, a computer saleswoman in Orange County, “but I don’t think she’s got a burning desire for him to run.
“I don’t know what she feels precisely about Rabin’s assassination. I don’t know that it played a big part in their decision, but I will tell you this: I was in L.A. over the weekend visiting friends. I hadn’t been watching the news, or reading the newspaper.
“But at 5 o’clock when I walked by a newsstand and saw that Rabin had been assassinated, my heart sank. I don’t know if anybody else in the family had it cross their minds, but it certainly crossed mine.”
The Berns family is so concerned about its own privacy that both mother and daughter asked not to have published the name of the Orange County community where the family lives.
Despite her uncle’s decision, “I think he would have been great” as President, Lisa Berns said. “I think he would be good at anything he sets out to do. He’s obviously very bright, very well spoken, level-headed, cool. . . . He knows how to work under tremendous pressure in various capacities. He’s a fair person, an eminently decent person.”
On other fronts, Democrats and Republicans across the county were not about to try to persuade Powell to change his mind.
“If he had run, it would have made the Republican [presidential] race even uglier than it is already,” by pitting the moderate Powell against GOP conservatives, said Irvine attorney Jim Toledano, chairman of the Democratic Party in Orange County.
“The announcement comes as no surprise to me,” countered Thomas A. Fuentes, chairman of the Republican Party in Orange County. “I never met a party activist who was favorable to [Powell’s] nomination during all the time the press was touting it.”
It was always the media and never the GOP constituency who wanted Powell to run, Fuentes said, claiming the negative feeling was far more prevalent in the ultraconservative, Republican stronghold of Orange County.
“If there were ever a media-contrived candidacy, this was the best example,” Fuentes said. “To carry our banner requires some time of service to the party and also the full embrace of the values and ideals of the party–and that was lacking.”
Fuentes suggested that party regulars felt the would-be candidate had not yet paid his dues, noting that Powell’s most trusted advisers “obviously shared with him the reality that there was no Powell ground network. There has to be some structure, some network, some reality to a campaign. That not being in place, I think he just came to grips with reality.”
But some people reacted to Wednesday’s news with disappointment.
At the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda, about 150 people watched Powell’s announcement on a big-screen television. Many were both surprised and crestfallen at his decision. “I really thought he had the impetus and the appeal to win,” said 54-year-old Beverly Nocas of Pasadena. “He’s very articulate and I think he could have done a lot for us.”
Norma Canova, a 50-year-old resident of Yorba Linda, said, “I think he could have had a great role in healing racial problems in this country.”
But several onlookers, who had gathered to watch a fashion show called “Dressing the First Lady,” expressed relief.
“I couldn’t vote for him because I don’t know what he stands for,” said 81-year-old Henry Boney of San Diego. “I know that he’s a good salesman though. He created a lot of publicity for his book.”
Newport Beach resident Elaine Parks said she was “very impressed” with Powell, but was heartened by his decision to stay out of the race.
“It would have been divisive to the party, and we need complete unity to beat the current President, which I sincerely hope happens,” Parks said.
