speak

THERE are a few villages in the UK that give an insight into old England, let alone destinations from across the pond.

There’s a city in North Carolina that has a hint of British about it as they speak “Elizabethan English”.

Ocracoke is a village on Ocracoke Island, part of North Carolina’s coastal Outer Banks region.

It’s a 16-mile long barrier island – which is a long long sand ridge parallel to the mainland coast, separated by a shallow body of water like a bay or lagoon.

The island, considered the ‘Pearl of the Outer Banks’ is home to around 800 people of whom who have their own unique way of speaking.

One visitor described the locals’ accent as being “Elizabethan English”.

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Brian Carlton told the BBC: “People here just have their own way of speaking: it’s like someone took Elizabethan English, sprinkled in some Irish tones and 1700s Scottish accents, then mixed it all up with pirate slang.”

He even made a remark about being called a “dingbatter”.

The dialect is called ‘Hoi Toider’, which is a rare mix of English, Irish, and Scottish accents mixed with early maritime slang.

It’s almost only spoken on the Outer Banks islands in North Carolina.

Residents all live in the central Ocracoke Village which is also where visitors will find shops, restaurants and bars – but none that you would have seen before.

It has strict regulations about preserving its small town charm, so only independent, regional brands are allowed.

Every shop, hotel, and restaurant on the island is locally owned and operated.

Standing high in the town is its 75ft tall lighthouse which is the oldest operating light station in North Carolina.

Being an island, there are lots of beaches along a 16-mile stretch – one called Ocracoke Village Beach is one is just beyond the main town.

On Tripadvisor, one visitor called it the “Best Beach on the Outer Banks”

Another said: “Beautiful beaches on Ocracoke and always special. When you look around you on the beaches, you see and feel peace.”

Along the shore, a second beach is South Point which is a popular fishing spot and where visitors are likely to find a a Scotch Bonnet which is the rare state shell of North Carolina.

The island has rich history too as it was once a popular hideout spot for notorious pirate, Blackbeard.

The shallow waters around the island provided ideal cover and Ocracoke Inlet allowed him to trap merchant ships.

Ocracoke Island was actually the site of Blackbeard’s final battle in the 1700s.

The best way to get to the island now is also by ship, but luckily, it’s much safer.

The most frequent is the Hatteras Ferry which takes around two hours and it’s completely free.

Others involve getting a ferry from Cedar Island of the Swan Quarter.

For those wanting to fly, the airport is so small there aren’t any commercial flights.

Instead travellers will have to charter a flight, or arrive in their own plane.

July 28 (UPI) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear sent a letter Monday to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., telling him to address Kentuckians about his absence from Congress or resign.

Beshear is a Democrat and is considering a run for president.

McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since June 14 for a fall. His office has released photos of McConnell and his wife, former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao.

“As Governor of the state you serve, I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign,” Beshear wrote in a Monday letter shared with the media.

“Per our research, a vacancy in the Senate occurs when a senator dies, resigns, or is expelled by a vote of the Senate itself,” the governor wrote. “If you are unwilling to voluntarily show that you still have the capacity to serve, I will insist Leader [Sen. John] Thune [R-S.D.] fully investigate your condition, report to the American people, and begin the process if warranted.”

CNN first reported details of the letter, which was also sent to Thune.

On July 8, Beshear requested details of McConnell’s condition. McConnell’s office has said that he is recovering and working closely with doctors and medical staff. But McConnell himself hasn’t been shown in video or heard publicly via phone call. Images released of him have been met with public skepticism.

In the latest letter, Beshear said that “important events are happening in our country right now during your absence.”

“President Trump is stuck in a war of his own making and has greatly strengthened the very country he claims is a threat,” he said. “Prices continue to rise, crushing Americans who are working hard but not getting ahead. Americans’ voting rights are being eliminated by the Supreme Court and threatened by congressional action. All while you are absent and refuse to communicate clearly and directly to the people you serve.”

McConnell’s office released a statement Monday about the Senator’s health from the hospital’s Office of the Attending Physician.

“Senator McConnell continues his recovery from a fall at home in June. OAP physicians visit with the Senator every day, discussing all aspects of his rehabilitation care. Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation, including multiple sessions a day designed to rebuild strength and reduce the risk of future falls. His bout with childhood polio continues to be a significant factor in his mobility. He is not yet medically cleared to leave the rehab facility and return to the office.”

McConnell also said in the update that he is sad to miss the annual Fancy Farm picnic in western Kentucky, an event that draws thousands to hear speeches from political candidates from around the state. The picnic is scheduled for Aug. 1.

Beshear noted the update but said it isn’t enough.

“I understand anyone’s desire for privacy, but when you run for office and serve as one of a state’s two U.S. senators, you willingly abdicate much of your personal privacy,” he said in the letter. “That’s the deal, and we all know it when we run.”

McConnell has said he will retire at the end of his term in January. He was hospitalized in February for flu-like symptoms and has fallen in the U.S. Capitol several times.

SCOTT Thomas has revealed a secret row between him and brother Ryan that led to the two not speaking to each other for six months.

Former Love Island star Scott and his actor twin Adam, 37, are the younger brother of ex-Coronation Street actor, Ryan, 42.

All three Thomas siblings joined Sam Thompson on his Staying Relevant podcast, where he asked the trio questions that had been sent in.

They addressed how long they’d gone without speaking to each other after an argument.

Turning to Scott, Ryan said: “You can answer that one, can’t ya?”, while Adam added: “They fell out for a while.”

Scott elaborated: “Me and Ryan didn’t speak for six months. This was back in the day.”

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He further explained how Ryan “used to be really stubborn” regarding arguments.

Continuing, Scott added: “There was one time… he was playing a charity football game.

“I was just meant to come down and mind Scarlett while you were playing the game.

“Bearing in mind, he had other people there, but wanted me there.

“I was so hungover. And I couldn’t get there. So next minute, we didn’t speak for six months.”

Ryan jokingly quipped: “You let the family down.”

Scott said: “He was punishing for me for going on a night out basically and being hungover.

“Bearing in mind, now I never drink, I don’t punish you.”

July 14 (UPI) — Two Supreme Court Justices are planning to testify before Congress Tuesday about the Court’s budget ask for extra security amid growing threats.

Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett plan to appear before the House Appropriations subcommittee that approves funding for the Court to discuss the request for a $16.6 million budget increase to improve security for the justices at work and home. But questioning could veer toward several recent controversial decisions the Court made in its 2025-2026 term.

The budget increase requested is $20.6 million for fiscal year 2027. It asks for $14.6 million to give each justice six more security agents and 25 extra officers at the Supreme Court building, The Washington Post reported. The request also includes $2 million for a residential security office to coordinate home security.

It will be the first time Court justices have gone before Congress since 2019.

Supreme Court justices regularly face personal attacks from politicians and the public who may be displeased with their decisions.

Barrett’s home was “swatted” in May, when a caller reported gunshots at her home to lure police there. In October, a woman was sentenced to eight years in prison for planning to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Chief Justice John Roberts spoke out in March against personal attacks on judges after President Donald Trump criticized the justices for striking down his tariffs.

“Personally directed hostility is dangerous and has got to stop,” Roberts said during a speech in Houston.

Sending justices to Congress has become rare. Until 2011, at least one justice had appeared before Congress every year. Since then, there have been only three appearances.

May 30 (UPI) — President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social Saturday that he may take the stage for a rally at the “Freedom 250” event series set for June 25 to July 10 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Trump posted at noon Saturday that “Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance[s]” so he may step in.

“I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate “Artists,” and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!”

He went on to say he would do an “America is Back” rally on “Wednesday,” though he didn’t clarify which day. It appears he means June 25, which is when Martina McBride was scheduled to perform, though she and Brett Michaels both backed out on Friday.

“Two years ago, the United States was DEAD. Now we have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy. I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN. So, by copy of this TRUTH, I am ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally on Wednesday, Washington, D.C., same time, same location. Only Great Patriots invited — It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

The concerts were scheduled for each Thursday, Friday and Saturday night of the 16-day festival, also billed as “The Great American State Fair.”

As of now, only two artists appear to still be on the bill: Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida.

Along with McBride and Michaels, Young MC, Morris Day of Morris Day and The Time, and The Commodores were among the other artists to drop out of the event.

May 21 (UPI) — President Donald Trump has said he will speak with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te about a stalled $14 billion arms deal, a call that would be precedent-setting for a sitting U.S. president and likely anger China.

“I’ll speak to him,” Trump said Thursday from the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.

The president was responding to a reporter’s question on whether he planned to call Lai before making a final decision on the Congress-cleared weapons deal, the future of which remains uncertain following Trump’s visit last week to Beijing for meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Taiwan has requested the weapons package as it faces an aggressive China, which claims sovereignty over the self-governing island it views as a breakaway province and has said it will take it back by force if necessary.

The weapons deal was pre-approved by Congress in January 2025, and Taiwan’s legislative body earlier this month approved a special defense budget of $25 billion to buy weapons from the United States. The package now requires Trump to sign off on it.

But Trump on Friday told reporters aboard Air Force One while en route back to the United States following his visit with Xi in Beijing that they had “talked a lot about Taiwan” and that he would “make a determination over the next fairly short period” on whether to give the arms deal final approval.

Taiwan was a significant topic during the trip, with Xi warning Trump that the island was “the most important issue” in bilateral ties and that, if mishandled, could trigger “clashes and even conflicts.”

Amid the uncertainty, Lai issued a Facebook post Sunday night stating Taiwan-U.S. security cooperation and arms sales “are key elements in maintaining regional peace and stability” and that the island’s security is the region’s security.

Trump did not say Wednesday when he would speak with Lai or discuss specifics concerning the arms deal.

“We have that situation very well in hand,” he said, adding that he had an “amazing” meeting with Xi.

“We’ll work on that,” he said.

Trump spoke with Taiwan’s then-President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, when he was the president-elect, but no sitting U.S. president is known to have spoken with the leader of Taiwan since Jan. 1, 1979, when the Carter administration formally severed diplomatic ties with the Republic of China, the official name of Taiwan’s government, and established relations with the People’s Republic of China in Beijing.

Spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian of Beijing’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office gave reporters a standard answer during a press conference Wednesday, stating: “We firmly oppose the United States conducting any form of official exchanges with China’s Taiwan region, and we firmly oppose the United States selling weapons to China’s Taiwan region.”

“This position is consistent and clear,” she said.

UPI has contacted Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry for comment.

Democrats and some Republicans have urged Trump to approve the arms deal and expressed concern over its future as the president was in Beijing.

“Trump must not sell out Taiwan, period,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a social media statement.

The Republic of China, the current government of Taiwan, once governed mainland China but retreated to the island following its defeat by the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The Chinese Communist Party views Taiwan as part of China under its One China principle and seeks reunification with the island — an act Taiwan says would amount to an illegal annexation.