split

DENVER — When the Dodgers arrived in Colorado on Sunday night they had a golden opportunity to pad their narrow division lead against with the worst team in the majors. The best they could do was hold serve, needing Thursday’s 9-5 win over the Rockies to earn a split of the four-game series.

Now they head to San Diego for a crucial three-game series against the Padres with the division lead once again up for grabs.

“I wish we had won all four, but it just didn’t happen,” Dodger manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s just the way baseball is. So we’ve got to go out there and regardless of the standings, we’ve got to beat those guys.”

The standings, however, loom large. On July 7, the Dodgers led the division by six games. The margin is now just a game.

The Padres, who have won 12 of 19 games in August, are the third-hottest team in the National League this month. The Dodgers are a game over .500.

“It is what it is,” Roberts said. “It’s where we’re at right now and I can’t change it. I feel good about our club going into San Diego.”

His club will have a bit of momentum on its side after scoring 20 runs on 30 hits in the two wins at Coors Field. Thursday’s matinee saw four players finish with multiple hits, including third baseman Alex Freeland, who was a career-best three for five with a run scored and another driven in. Freeland had six hits in the final three games in Denver.

“It’s just like I’m building confidence now,” said Freeland, who entered Thursday hitting .180 since his call-up from Triple A Oklahoma City three weeks ago. “I’ve kind of spent a little time here now and I’m getting comfortable.”

The Dodgers also got a fourth straight strong effort from starter Clayton Kershaw (8-2), who gave up three runs in 5 2/3 innings. Kershaw has allowed just five runs over 23 2/3 innings this month, dropping his season ERA nearly 50 points to 3.13.

That was also good enough to keep his team in first, something he noted afterward.

Fans applaud as Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw heads to the dugout after being pulled from the mound in the sixth inning Thursday.

(David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

“You can’t take anything for granted in Colorado, obviously,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we’re [one] up going in [to San Diego]. So we feel good about it.”

Freeland agreed.

“We definitely could have produced more. But you know what? We’re going to take this one today and take this momentum and bring it into San Diego,” he said.

After Kershaw won the opener of a three-game series with the Padres at Dodger Stadium a week ago, the teams were even atop the N.L. The Dodgers wound up sweeping that series and have won eight of 10 with the Padres overall this year.

“We’ve played well against those guys this year,” Roberts said. “They’re going to give us everything they have this weekend.”

The Dodgers got started early Thursday with Mookie Betts, who reached base four times, opening the game by walking on five pitches. Freddie Freeman followed with a two-run home run, his 16th of the season, to center field.

The Rockies cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning on a popup that got lost in the sun, a sacrifice bunt, a balk and an RBI groundout. But they would get no closer, with the Dodgers scoring in each of the first five innings to take an 8-2 lead.

Freeland had his first career triple along with a double and single, falling a homer shy of the cycle. He had six hits in the final three games in Denver. Betts finished two for three with two walks and two runs scoring while Freeman, who was two for five, raised his season average to .304 and is hitting .328 for August.

Notes: Roberts said pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani is fine after taking a line drive off his right thigh in Wednesday’s game. Ohtani was scheduled to have Thursday off and Roberts said he’ll be back in the lineup Friday. … The Dodgers will activate reliever Tanner Scott before Friday’s game in San Diego and reliever Kirby Yates on Saturday. Scott has been out a month with inflammation in his left elbow while Yates has missed three weeks with lower back pain. … Right-hander Roki Sasaki made progress in his second rehab start Wednesday, going 3 1/3 innings and giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits. He walked three and struck out two before leaving after 60 pitches. He will make another rehab start next week before the Dodgers make any decision on his role in September. The team had talked about using Sasaki in a relief role.

PERRIE Edwards has revealed how her ex Zayn Malik contacted her after his split with Gigi Hadid – and how her footballer fiance Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain reacted to this.

The Little Mix star’s very public engagement to first love Zayn, now 32, fell apart before millions of fans.

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Just one year after Zayn found fame in One Direction on The X Factor, Perrie burst onto the scene on the same show in 2011.

Both teenagers at the time, they met when 1D returned to perform on the ITV singing contest that her band Little Mix went onto win.

Just months later, the young stars were a fully fledged couple, sharing sweet selfies from places like Disneyland.

But it was never plain sailing as Zayn was alleged to have cheated with an Australian waitress in a London club, and was later hit with more claims of infidelity.

In 2013, he demonstrated his commitment by getting a portrait of Perrie tattooed on his arm and even bought her mum a house in Dorset.

But in 2015, they split — and she was left devastated, with reports at the time that he had ended their almost four-year romance by text.

The ordeal inspired one of Little Mix’s biggest hits, the chart-topping Shout Out To My Ex.

‘TOXIC’ RELATIONSHIP

Now 32, the mother-of-one, who is happily engaged to her fiancé, footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. has discussed her “toxic” relationship with Zayn.

Speaking on this week’s Paul C. Brunson’s We Need To Talk podcast, she said: “I think definitely, at the time, I thought everything we experienced in our relationship was normal. Because it was my first relationship, first love.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is how it’s supposed to feel. It’s supposed to feel a little bit toxic. In some ways, this is probably normal, right?’.

“And then, when I became single, I was almost thinking, ‘I never, ever want to go through that again’. I didn’t even want to meet anybody. I was like, that’s me done. I don’t think I could bear that pain.

“But now, I’m thinking, ‘Oh, that probably wasn’t good’. And I’ve noticed it a lot.”

Perrie also talked about how her past pain affected the early days of her relationship with Alex, who she started dating in 2017 – two years after her Zayn split.

“Like in the start of the relationship, I would handle things differently with Alex, and he’d come at it with such a level head that it would throw me,” she said.

On what kind of man Alex is, Perrie continued: “He’s very mature. He’s very laid back. He’s very level-headed.

“He’s not the type to get mad or get angry or get funny about things. It might sound boring to some, but it’s so unproblematic.”

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ZAYN GETS IN TOUCH

Following his split from Gigi, Perrie said Zayn got back in touch with her – something that left her “uncomfortable”, especially when she had to tell Alex.

She shared: “My ex reached out and I didn’t know how to handle the situation. I’d only been with Alex like a year and a half, two years. And I felt a bit uncomfortable about it.

“And I remember sweating and panicking, thinking, ‘I’ve got to tell him that obviously I’ve spoken to him.’ And I would be terrified… And he was like, ‘Okay, well, I really appreciate you telling me, thank you for letting me know. That’s fine. Like, hopefully he doesn’t contact you again.’

“And I was thinking, ‘Okay, cool. That’s it.’”

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

Perrie is now embracing life as a wife-to-be, and a mother-of-one.

The singer and her fiance Alex welcomed their son Axel, four, in 2021, and the pair are enjoying being parents.

The footballer asked Perrie to marry him in 2022, when he got down on one knee on holiday.

The happy couple have been together since November 2016, although they didn’t make their relationship public until February 2017.

CAT Deeley has taken off her wedding ring as she was seen for the first time since her split with Patrick Kielty, and trip with a male friend. 

Cat and Patrick – who share sons Milo, seven, and James, five – announced that they were separating last month. 

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Now photos show This Morning host Cat, 48, without her ring on her wedding finger. 

The TV presenter has instead swapped it onto her right hand, in a nod to this new chapter of her life. 

Cat was spotted without the bling on her left hand while stepping out to run errands in a very chic outfit. 

She had a crisp white shirt on and denim jeans, and wore her hair down in loose waves. 

The mum-of-two clutched onto her purse while out and about near the former couple’s marital home. 

Cat looked sunkissed following her recent trip to Spain with a hairdresser pal. 

The star was seen out for dinner with a male friend in Sitges, Spain on August 2 – just days after she and Patrick, 54, split. 

Onlookers told the Daily Mail how the presenter looked “crestfallen” during the “difficult time”. 

The snaps obtained by the publication show Cat without her wedding ring as she and hairdresser pal Ben Skervin tucked into dinner at restaurant Chiringuito de Garraf.

Ben is a celebrity hairstylist and has worked with the likes of the Spice Girls, Mariah Carey and Madonna. 

A fellow diner said: “Cat looked a bit down and a touch crestfallen, not her usual spritely self, which is understandable given her marriage split.

“Her accent was recognisable to a number of Brits at the restaurant, which is popular with celebrities, and she had interacted with a few British kids also dining there

“She clearly needed to be around her nearest and dearest during such a difficult time.”

Cat was a no-show at the funeral of Patrick’s mother in March, his family “knew the marriage was over”. 

One said: “Whatever rockiness was going on in the marriage, something as momentous as his mother’s funeral, you would make up even temporarily and just put your ‘best face’ on as we say in Northern Ireland.

“Cat obviously knew how close Patrick was to Mary and she should have come to be by his side, a hand on his shoulder as he buried his mother. 

“The fact that she stayed in London and presented This Morning on the day, it’s not been forgotten.

At the time of Mary’s funeral, Cat insisted she’d stayed in London to be with their sons Milo, seven, and James, five.A spokesman for Cat told the Mail: “Cat remained at home to be there for her two young children before and after school on this very sad day.”

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MSNBC is being renamed after parent company Comcast spins the cable news channel off into a separate corporate entity later this year.

MSNBC will be known as MS NOW once it becomes part of Versant, a new company, and is no longer associated with NBC News, staffers were told Monday.

“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough informed viewers of the pending change on his program.

In a memo obtained by the Times, Versant Chief Executive Mark Lazarus indicated it was Comcast’s decision to remove NBC and its famous peacock logo from the MSNBC name.

“The peacock is synonymous with NBCUniversal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family,” Lazarus wrote. “This gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities, and establish an independent news organization following the spin.”

One person familiar with the name change discussions said the re-branding will be backed by a significant marketing campaign.

The MS NOW acronym will convey that the channel has a point of view, as the acronym stands for “my source,” news, opinion and world.

MSNBC will no longer share the resources of NBC News. The network is building its own news organization from scratch, with some NBC News journalists such as Jacob Soboroff choosing to join the cable operation.

MSNBC will also be leaving NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters for another Manhattan location.

Key MSNBC personalities such as Scarborough, Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber and Lawrence O’Donnell will remain a part of the channel after the spinoff.

Versant is the new stand-alone home for nearly all of the current parent company Comcast’s cable networks, which includes USA Network, the Golf Channel, CNBC and MSNBC. Comcast is spinning off the cable networks because it believes the mature outlets face a bleak future due to pay TV cord-cutting and are an albatross weighing down its stock price.

MSNBC, the second most watched cable news channel behind leader Fox News, has seen its reach into pay TV homes decline by 33% over the last 10 years.

MSNBC was founded in 1996 as a joint venture between NBC News and Microsoft. A name change was considered when Microsoft divested its stake in 2005, but NBC stuck with the moniker that had become entrenched in the media culture.

EX-England footie ace Andy Carroll has revealed he is back with girlfriend Lou Teasdale after a stormy split — and vowed to cut down on booze to save their relationship.

Opening up about his feelings for stylist Lou in an exclusive interview with the Sun on Sunday, Andy said: “I love Lou and I love her family. We row like any couple.”

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The pair have been dating since his split last summer from ex-wife and former Towie star Billi Mucklow, 37. They are currently divorcing.

The 36-year-old former Premier League star said: “Things have been difficult for me and I’m going through a divorce.

“Some of our rows have been about alcohol, as Lou has been teetotal for 14 years and I have a beer or wine at dinner and a drink after the game, but it’s not a problem in my life.

“I’m a professional footballer and that’s not the case. I play sport every single day so my level of fitness is really good. I play football every day so I’m fit.”

The Sun revealed on Wednesday the couple had split, with Andy unfollowing celebrity make-up artist Lou, 41, on social media.

But now he has told The Sun on Sunday that after a misunderstanding in Spain, he and Lou have patched things up.

Former Liverpool and Newcastle striker Andy, who now plays for non-league Dagenham & Redbridge FC, said: “We’re better off together and we’re trying to work through our difficulties.”

In June, we reported Carroll was twice quizzed by police over bust-ups with Lou during a break on Greek party island Mykonos.

He was questioned about rows with her at a packed beachside restaurant and then at their hotel.

He was taken to the police station after the second incident.

Speaking about the restaurant incident now, Andy — pictured with Lou, above, as he signed for his new club last month — insisted: “There was no alcohol involved. We argued about me having three coffees in the morning. She was worried I was addicted to coffee and it went from there.”

A joint statement from them at the time said: “Whilst having a private dinner in a restaurant on a quiet holiday in Mykonos, we had a heated discussion of the sort that most couples have had on occasion.

“It quickly became apparent to the police that there was no reason for them to be there.”

It added: “As far as we are concerned, the situation has been blown out of all proportion by an interested member of the public.

“No one was arrested and no one was charged with anything.

“We are very happy, in love and looking forward to our future together and we are disappointed that a private disagreement has become a public matter.”

I don’t want to be with Lou anymore… she gives me ultimatums about everything

What Andy told us last week

Andy returned to England last month, having left French fourth-tier side Bordeaux to play for Dagenham & Redbridge and to be close to his children, who live in Essex.

He said: “I just want to focus on my kids. They’re more important than anything. I’m loving life back in England.

“Obviously when I was working in France, I was there alone, and I was out with the lads a lot. Now I’m back home with the kids and it’s just a different way of life.”

Last September, the Sun on Sunday reported Andy and Billi, who have three children, were divorcing after two years of marriage.

The couple started dating in 2013, soon after he joined West Ham.
And he popped the question during a romantic holiday in Rome in 2014.

That year Billi said: “He is one of the most genuine and caring people I have ever met.”

Gateshead-born Carroll, who has two children from a previous relationship, has often been in the news over his romps, brawls and court cases.

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He said meeting Billi turned his life around.

Carroll’s boyhood dreams came true when he began his professional football career with Newcastle United in 2006.

The big centre-forward was soon a hit with Toon fans, following in the footsteps of another local idol Alan Shearer.

In 2009-10, Carroll scored 17 goals in 39 games, and 11 in nine games the following season.

In 2011, he earned a £35million transfer to Liverpool, a then record fee for a British player.

At his peak he was picked for England in nine games between 2010-2012, including scoring against Sweden at Euro 2012.

I love Lou and I love her family, we row like any couple

What he told us this week

He was sold by Liverpool to West Ham but struggled with a series of injuries.

His career saw him moving on to a succession of clubs including back to Newcastle, later to Reading and then West Brom.

Carroll’s career, although full of ups and downs, has brought him enormous sums of money.

In May 2019, he was listed as the 14th wealthiest sports person aged 30 or under in The Sunday Times Rich List.

His fortune at the time was said to have increased to £19million.

“This reality definitively buries the idea of a Palestinian state.” Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced a plan to effectively split the occupied West Bank in half, approving thousands of new Jewish settler homes between occupied East Jerusalem and the Maale Adumim settlement.

Suki Panesar looked like she had lost everything in tonight’s EastEnders as the character was exposed for her request to pregnant granddaughter Avani Nandra-Hart

It was an emotional night for the Panesar/Gulati family in tonight’s EastEnders, as Suki was ‘disowned’ by her whole family after the truth about Avani’s pregnancy was revealed. Now fans fear we could be seeing an exit for the character – especially after the actor’s recent Strictly announcement.

Last night, Eve took Avani to get a termination without Suki’s knowledge. In previous scenes, we had seen Suki asking Avani to keep the baby for herself and Eve to bring up. Although Avani was up for the plan at first, she later disclosed to Eve that she had changed her mind.

In tonight’s episode, the aftermath of the revelation continued, with Ravi and Priya unleashing their fury onto Suki for her actions. An angry Priya even went as far as to slap Suki across the face, but that wasn’t the least of her troubles.

READ MORE: EastEnders’ George faces ‘worst nightmare’ as Kojo arrested following shock drug twistREAD MORE: EastEnders’ Oscar Branning gets close to unlikely resident – leaving Lauren in shock

Later on in the episode, she took Avani to hospital after she was experiencing heavy bleeding, and once again met a furious Ravi and Priya in the hospital corridors.

As she left them alone to make their way back home, Suki was left with even more panic when she found her grandson Nugget and son Vinny packing their things to move out the house. However, they weren’t the only ones, as wife Eve also had the same idea.

A tearful Eve then called out Suki for opening her up to the hurt of losing out on motherhood – something she had never been open to in the past.

“I don’t know what we’ve got left anymore,” Eve said as she made her way out the door, leaving Suki in tears.

Now, fans fear a split between one of their favourite couples – especially as it was recently announced actor Balvinder Sopal would be appearing on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

“Oh dear! Is Suki about to have a #strictly sized break after a massive argument with Eve?” said one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter, while another said: “Don’t think #SukEve will survive this!”

A third said: “I think the suki and avani storyline is a build up to suki temporary exit for strictly and also maybe the reveal of joel recording avani…”

But is this the end of SukEve as we know it? With nothing left in Walford for Suki – will she be making a sharp exit?

When Balvinder’s Strictly announcement was made, many fans were convinced the character would be leaving for an extended period of time.

Many believed she would go off to visit her daughter Ash in Canada to try and make amends after the rest of her family has ultimately disowned her.

However, the actor revealed she’d still be working alongside Strictly rehearsals, as she said: “I’ll still be working here so I’ll be doing two jobs. I don’t know how I’m going to handle it. I don’t know what’s gonna happen but I’m looking forward to it.”

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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ROCHELLE Humes gave Myleene Klass’s ex-husband a place to stay after their bitter split, pals have revealed.

The Saturdays singer, 36, lent a helping hand to showbiz security manager Graham Quinn, 51, in 2013.

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Their continued friendship is said to have caused a rift between Rochelle and ex-Hear’Say star Myleene — who believes she took Graham’s side.

It comes after Myleene, 47, claimed she saw Graham and an unnamed celebrity “unzipping” each other at her birthday party.

Last week, we told how Myleene was locked in a feud with Rochelle and Saturdays’ bandmate Frankie Bridge, who were both clients of Graham.

Rochelle and her JLS pop star husband Marvin were also pictured with Graham in Ibiza.

A source last night told The Sun: “Rochelle was doing what she saw as looking out for a friend in a time of need.

“Rochelle and Marvin are still clearly very much friends with Graham.

“Myleene is of the view that Rochelle took sides from the beginning of her marriage breakdown.

“The fact Rochelle and Graham’s friendship is still there after all these years has put an everlasting rift between Myleene and Rochelle.

“They both do everything in their power to avoid each other.”

Rochelle and Frankie, 36, previously enjoyed a close friendship with Classic FM host Myleene.

In 2012, Myleene and Frankie, both hosts on Loose Women, attended Rochelle’s hen do.

But they have not appeared together on the ITV show since an awkward episode last year.

The alleged unzipping incident is said to have happened before Myleene and Graham married.

The couple — who share daughters Ava, 17, and 13-year-old Hero — wed in 2011 and divorced two years later, with Myleene citing “unreasonable behaviour”.

The Sun on Sunday reported yesterday that Graham said he had been stopped from seeing his children since 2014 and had suffered from depression.

Representatives for Rochelle and Myleene did not reply to a request for comment yesterday.

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On August 6, 1945, the United States became the first and only country in history to carry out a nuclear attack when it dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

While the death toll of the bombing remains a subject of debate, at least 70,000 people were killed, though other figures are nearly twice as high.

Three days later, the US dropped another atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing at least 40,000 people.

The stunning toll on Japanese civilians at first seemed to have little impact on public opinion in the US, where pollsters found approval for the bombing reached 85 percent in the days afterwards.

To this day, US politicians continue to credit the bombing with saving American lives and ending World War II.

But as the US marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, perceptions have become increasingly mixed. A Pew Research Center poll last month indicated that Americans are split almost evenly into three categories.

Nearly a third of respondents believe the use of the bomb was justified. Another third feels it was not. And the rest are uncertain about deciding either way.

“The trendline is that there is a steady decline in the share of Americans who believe these bombings were justified at the time,” Eileen Yam, the director of science and society research at Pew Research Center, told Al Jazeera in a recent phone call.

“This is something Americans have gotten less and less supportive of as time has gone by.”

Tumbling approval rates

Doubts about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the advent of nuclear weapons in general, did not take long to set in.

“From the beginning, it was understood that this was something different, a weapon that could destroy entire cities,” said Kai Bird, a US author who has written about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

His Pulitzer Prize-winning book, American Prometheus, served as the basis for director Christopher Nolan’s 2023 film, Oppenheimer.

Bird pointed out that, even in the immediate aftermath of the bombing, some key politicians and public figures denounced it as a war crime.

Early critics included physicist Albert Einstein and former President Herbert Hoover, who was quick to speak out against the civilian bloodshed.

“The use of the atomic bomb, with its indiscriminate killing of women and children, revolts my soul,” Hoover wrote within days of the bombing.

Over time, historians have increasingly cast doubt on the most common justification for the atomic attacks: that they played a decisive role in ending World War II.

Some academics point out that other factors likely played a larger role in the Japanese decision to surrender, including the Soviet Union’s declaration of war against the island nation on August 8.

Others have speculated whether the bombings were meant mostly as a demonstration of strength as the US prepared for its confrontation with the Soviet Union in what would become the Cold War.

Accounts from Japanese survivors and media reports also played a role in changing public perceptions.

John Hersey’s 1946 profile of six victims, for instance, took up an entire edition of The New Yorker magazine. It chronicled, in harrowing detail, everything from the crushing power of the blast to the fever, nausea and death brought on by radiation sickness.

By 1990, a Pew poll found that a shrinking majority in the US approved of the atomic bomb’s use on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Only 53 percent felt it was merited.

Rationalising US use of force

But even at the close of the 20th century, the legacy of the attacks remained contentious in the US.

For the 50th anniversary of the bombing in 1995, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, had planned a special exhibit.

But it was cancelled amid public furore over sections of the display that explored the experiences of Japanese civilians and the debate about the use of the atomic bomb. US veterans groups argued that the exhibit undermined their sacrifices, even after it underwent extensive revision.

“The exhibit still says in essence that we were the aggressors and the Japanese were the victims,” William Detweiler, a leader at the American Legion, a veterans group, told The Associated Press at the time.

Incensed members of Congress opened an investigation, and the museum’s director resigned.

The exhibit, meanwhile, never opened to the public. All that remained was a display of the Enola Gay, the aeroplane that dropped the first atomic bomb.

Erik Baker, a lecturer on the history of science at Harvard University, says that the debate over the atomic bomb often serves as a stand-in for larger questions about the way the US wields power in the world.

“What’s at stake is the role of World War II in legitimising the subsequent history of the American empire, right up to the current day,” he told Al Jazeera.

Baker explained that the US narrative about its role in the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan — the main “Axis Powers” in World War II — has been frequently referenced to assert the righteousness of US interventions around the world.

“If it was justifiable for the US to not just go to war but to do ‘whatever was necessary’ to defeat the Axis powers, by a similar token, there can’t be any objection to the US doing what is necessary to defeat the ‘bad guys’ today,” he added.

A resurgence of nuclear anxiety

But as the generations that lived through World War II grow older and pass away, cultural shifts are emerging in how different age groups approach US intervention — and use of force — abroad.

The scepticism is especially pronounced among young people, large numbers of whom have expressed dissatisfaction with policies such as US support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

In an April 2024 poll, the Pew Research Center found a dramatic generational divide among Americans over the question of global engagement.

Approximately 74 percent of older respondents, aged 65 and up, expressed a strong belief that the US should play an active role on the world stage. But only 33 percent of younger respondents, aged 18 to 35, felt the same way.

Last month’s Pew poll on the atomic bomb also found stark differences in age. People over the age of 65 were more than twice as likely to believe that the bombings were justified than people between the ages of 18 and 29.

Yam, the Pew researcher, said that age was the “most pronounced factor” in the results, beating out other characteristics, such as party affiliation and veteran status.

The 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing also coincides with a period of renewed anxiety about nuclear weapons.

US President Donald Trump, for instance, repeatedly warned during his re-election campaign in 2024 that the globe was on the precipice of “World War III”.

“The threat is nuclear weapons,” Trump told a rally in Chesapeake, Virginia. “That can happen tomorrow.”

“We’re at a place where, for the first time in more than three decades, nuclear weapons are back at the forefront of international politics,” said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the nuclear policy programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a US-based think tank.

Panda says that such concerns are linked to geopolitical tensions between different states, pointing to the recent fighting between India and Pakistan in May as one example.

The war in Ukraine, meanwhile, has prompted Russia and the US, the world’s two biggest nuclear powers, to exchange nuclear-tinged threats.

And in June, the US and Israel carried out attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities with the stated aim of setting back the country’s ability to develop nuclear weapons.

But as the US marks the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombings, advocates hope the shift in public opinion will encourage world leaders to turn away from nuclear sabre-rattling and work towards the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Seth Shelden, the United Nations liaison for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, explained that countries with nuclear weapons argue that their arsenals discourage acts of aggression. But he said those arguments diminish the “civilisation-ending” dangers of nuclear warfare.

“As long as the nuclear-armed states prioritise nuclear weapons for their own security, they’re going to incentivise others to pursue them as well,” he said.

“The question shouldn’t be whether nuclear deterrence can work or whether it ever has worked,” he added. “It should be whether it will work in perpetuity.”

It was the return of one of the most iconic challenges in tonight’s Love Island, the baby challenge – but it lead to some tense conversations between Yas and Jamie…

The Love Island villa were moved to tears by tonight’s shock dumping, but they didn’t have long to mope around, as they had some babies to take care of…

Tonight saw the return of the iconic Love Island baby challenge, as the Islanders put their parenting skills to the test. The challenge has been part of the show for as long as fans can remember, with clips of Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae taking part in series three still floating around to this day.

Despite a number of couples being over the moon at the challenge, Yas was less than impressed, as she told her partner Jamie that she’s not maternal and has no interest in becoming a mother. Despite seeing kids in his future, Jamie assured Yas it wasn’t a deal breaker for their relationship. However, fans aren’t so convinced.

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During the tense conversation, Jamie told Yas he was surrounded by children in his family, and “probably would” like kids down the line, although Yas said she’d rather spend time with her friends babies as she can “give them back”.

“I’ve never had the desire to have a family,” Yas said.

“It’s not a complete deal breaker, but it’s definitely up there,” Jamie responded, as Yas said she definitely wouldn’t change her mind.

Many fans agreed with Yas on X, formerly known as Twitter, as one fan wrote: “Having this conversation about motherhood is very refreshing.”

However, some are now concerned for the future of her relationship with Jamie on the outside world. “Oh dear – Yas & Jamie might fall out over wanting kids…” wrote one concerned fan, while another penned: “Not sure Jamie likes Yas’s reaction….”

A third concerned fan said: “i fear this is slowly the end of jamie and yas,” while a third penned: “i love yas and jamie but this will not work out unfortunately, when two people can’t see eye to eye on a family it’s a huge thing.”

It was a different story for Ty and Angel, as the challenge brought them even closer together. Despite only meeting a couple of weeks ago, the pair formed a strong connection from the start – as they took things to the next level.

“I really do enjoy spending time with you. I do really see a future with you,” Ty told Angel, adding: “I’ve never got on with anyone this well. It’s only right we make this exclusive.”

The chat between the two comes just days after Yas and Jamie closed things off – with Dejon recently making Meg his girlfriend.

LOVE ISLAND CONTINUES TOMORROW NIGHT AT 9PM ON ITV2 AND ITVX

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Late in Italian writer-director Giovanni Tortorici’s pop-up book of a coming-of-age movie “Diciannove (Nineteen),” there’s a great scene in which his arrogant, neurotic protagonist, Leonardo (Manfredi Marini), a student of classical Italian literature in Siena, is visiting a cousin (Zackari Delmas) attending university in Milan. As the two commiserate over crazy adventures, the chatter turns to disagreements and griping (culture, language, kids today, drugs aren’t fun anymore) and suddenly they sound like middle-aged men bemoaning why anything ever had to change.

The cusp of 20 is a laughably unformed time to be convinced of anything, but what Tortorici’s higgledy-piggledy debut feature makes breathlessly clear is that when you’re in the middle of it, youth is a candy-colored tornado of temptations and responsibilities. You’re the star of your own solipsistic, hallucinatory epic, even if what you imagine for yourself might be a straightforward affair with a clear-cut message about the meaning of life.

“Diciannove” hums with the dissonance of repression plus expression in Leonardo’s consequential 19th year. If you notice a similarity to the playful moods and textures of Tortorici’s countryman Luca Guadagnino, there’s a reason: The “Call Me by Your Name” filmmaker produced his protégé Tortorici’s autobiographical debut feature and a lineage of tenderness and vivacity in evoking the emotional waves of adolescence is more than evident.

We meet Leonardo as a nosebleed-suffering, dreamy-eyed Palermo teen with a haranguing mom. He’s headed to business school in London, where his older sister Arianna (Vittoria Planeta) also lives. But once there, after a round of hard-partying with her friends and the sense that he’s replaced one hypercritical family member for another, he makes a last-minute decision to change the course of his educational life and enroll as a literature student back in Italy.

Cut to picturesque Siena and cue the baroque score. In this ancient Tuscan city, Leonardo is awakened by his writerly ambitions, a swoony love for medieval Italian authors like Dante and an intellectual disdain for the 20th century. But it also turns him into a lonely, rigidly neoclassicist oddball who scorns his professors, prefers books to his flighty peers and still can’t seem to take care of himself. Sealing himself off in a stuffy, antiquated notion of personal morality only makes the trappings of real life (desire, depression, cleanliness, online enticements) harder to deal with, leading his journey of self-discovery to some internally and externally messy places.

And some messy filmmaking too, even if that’s the point of this elegantly shapeless headspace travelogue. With unapologetic brio, Tortorici, cinematographer Massimiliano Kuveiller and editor Marco Costa empty out their tool kit of angles, splits, tracks, smudges, zooms, smashes, jumps, needle drops, montages and text cards. Though never disorienting or obnoxious (à la “Euphoria”), it can get tiring: a restlessness of spirit and technique that occasionally separates us from this lost antihero when we crave a closer connection to him. Especially since first-time actor Marini is stellar casting. There’s an easygoing inscrutability to his demeanor and his sad, mischievous eyes compel our curiosity — he’ll never let you think you’ve watched a thousand coming-of-age movies.

Tortorici doesn’t give his searcher a tidy ending. There’s a hilarious psychoanalysis by a wealthy aesthete (Sergio Benvenuto) who sees right through his posturing. But the night air beckons. As Leonardo walks away from us at the end after serving up a rascally smile (in a very “400 Blows”-ish freeze frame), Tortorici has him stumble briefly on the cobblestones, and somehow it feels like the wit of “Diciannove” in a split second of screen time: Youth means missteps, so why dwell on them?

Helena was fuming in the latest episode and left questioning if her couple with Harry was ‘one-sided’ after Harry went for another flirty chat with new bombshell Angel

Love Island star Helena was left ‘fuming’ in Sunday night’s episode after Harry went for another chat with new bombshell Angel. Helena was sitting at the firepit with Connor and watched as Harry went into the snug with Angel, before she decided to step in and pull him away for a chat.

Helena told Connor: “If he’s acting like this infront of my face here, imagine what he would act like on the outside”, as she questioned if their relationship was ‘one-sided’. Helena then told Harry she didn’t appreciate him flirting with Angel, before Harry agreed and said he needed to ‘bin it’.

Helena was also unhappy after the latest kissing challenge where Harry voted Shakira and Emma as better kissers than Helena, despite her trying to give him clues that it was her kissing him.

It comes after the villa’s latest bombshell walked in and was immediately coupled up with Ty. Angelique ‘Angel’ Swift became one of the new entrants to ITV’s long-running dating show this week, and the ripple effects were immediate.

Lauren, who had been coupled with Ty, was made single and therefore dumped from the Love Island villa. While Angel is coupled up with Ty, she has also expressed her interest towards Harry, who is currently coupled up with Helena.

Harry and Helena have embarked on an on-off relationship since the show started and haven’t yet ‘closed things off’, with Harry saying in Friday evening’s episode that he is ‘open’ to getting to know bombshell Angel. Only time will tell if he has a better connection with Angel than he has with Helena.

Angel’s relationship history reportedly included TOWIE star Dan Edgar, who has appeared on the reality series since 2015 and famously previously dated co-star Ella Rae Wise.

Dan and Ella began dating in early 2024 but broke up at the beginning of this year. In recent months, Dan and Angel reportedly got close. However, it seems the romance did not pan out as Angel is searching for love in the villa.

A friend of the dating show star told The Sun: “They were together during one of the May bank holidays in Marbella and spent time hanging out. They were seen at various events, it was casual dating, but they had fun together.”

A friend of Dan also told the outlet: “It was just one date really, and it was after he split from Ella. Dan was very much single at the time.”

Love Island continues tomorrow night at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX

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Cardi B, who wonders “Am I the Drama?” on her upcoming album, now faces a different question from curious fans: Did she split with Stefon Diggs?

The Grammy-winning “Bodak Yellow” rapper sparked breakup chatter this week after eagle-eyed followers noticed she had taken down photos featuring NFL star Diggs from her Instagram page. Cardi B, 32, and Diggs, 31, hard-launched their relationship during the NBA Playoffs in May and made things Instagram official in June.

Representatives for Cardi B and Diggs did not immediately respond to The Times on Tuesday.

In June, Cardi B flaunted her relationship with the New England Patriots wide receiver, sharing very intimate photos from a steamy boating trip in a since-removed Instagram carousel. “Chapter 5 ……Hello Chapter six,” Cardi B captioned the collection of photos, which is no longer publicly visible on her profile.

Cardi B and Diggs first sparked dating rumors in February, when TMZ published video of the pair arriving at a Miami hotel during Valentine’s Day weekend. In April, they were spotted together again partying it up at a Manhattan nightclub. Photos of the rapper dancing on the athlete’s lap spread online and even got a thumbs-up from the musician’s estranged husband, Migos rapper Offset.

Cardi B reportedly filed to divorce Offset in 2024. Since then, their relationship has been far from friendly as the pair — who share three young children — continue to spar on social media.

While Cardi B’s Instagram does not currently feature any photos of Diggs, it’s worth noting that they still follow each other on the app. Cardi B and Offset, on the other hand, are no longer Instagram mutuals.

Speculation about the status of Cardi B’s romantic life surfaced as she arrived at Paris Fashion Week sans Diggs. She appeared at the Schiaparelli showcase at Petit Palais wearing a body-hugging gown with a dramatic neckline and fringe. A live crow was perched on the “W.A.P.” artist‘s right hand, evoking imagery from her forthcoming album.

Cardi B revealed in late June that her long-anticipated sophomore album, “Am I the Drama?,” is set to drop Sept. 19, seven years after her debut, “Invasion of Privacy.” Her social media announcement included a look at the theatrical album cover: She wears an abstract red body suit and matching fishnet stockings, grabbing one heel as a dark bird rests on her shoe and more of them swarm around her.

Before the announcement, Cardi B reflected in a teaser on “seven years of love, life and loss” and trading in grace for hell.

“I learned power’s not given. It’s taken,” the Bronx native says in the video. “I’m shedding feathers and no more tears. I’m not back. I’m beyond.”

This Morning star Vanessa Feltz has opened up on life since her split from partner Ben Ofoedu in 2023

This Morning star Vanessa Feltz has made a sad admission after her split from her partner.

The 63-year-old broadcaster initially tied the knot with surgeon Michael Kurer back in 1983, before their marriage ended in divorce in 2000. Together they welcomed daughters Allegra and Saskia, and now have four grandchildren.

Vanessa later got engaged to musician Ben Ofoedu in 2006. Despite initially planning to wed the following year, the couple remained engaged throughout their time together without getting married.

In February 2023, Vanessa revealed that she and Ben had called time on their relationship.

Shortly after their separation, Vanessa opened up on This Morning about coping with the split, reports Wales Online.

“People have been amazing. Absolutely amazing, and of course it helps a lot,” she told presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby at the time.

“I can’t sleep at all, so reading thousands and thousands of messages from lovely people on Instagram is something to do in the night.”

She added: “When you have to end a relationship it’s very hard. I’ve had what feels like millions of messages from so, so many people going through it.

“I wouldn’t want to minimise in any way what it’s like when you’re heartbroken. It’s horrible.”

More than two years later, Vanessa has provided a fresh insight into her life post-split, where she made a sad admission.

During an interview with Radio Times, Vanessa was quizzed about who has control over the television remote in her household.

She candidly replied: “I live on my own these days. I’ve been out every night for two years and five months.

“There have only been maybe five nights where it’s been me in front of the TV with my dinner on a tray, because I don’t want to be at home, eating alone.”

Vanessa currently presents her self-titled Channel 5 daytime talk show, which was advertised as a rival to ITV favourite Loose Women.

Yet, the programme has come under fire recently, racking up nearly 2,000 Ofcom complaints following an episode that sparked controversy over allegedly “misleading” content regarding breastfeeding.

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am. Vanessa Feltz’s full interview can be read in the upcoming issue of Radio Times

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Elon Musk said he’s carrying out his threat to form a new political party after his fissure with President Trump, announcing the America Party in response to the president’s sweeping tax cuts law.

Musk, once an ever-present ally to Trump as he headed up the White House advisory team, which he calls the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, broke with the Republican president over his signature legislation, which was signed into law Friday.

As the bill made its way through Congress, Musk threatened to form the “America Party” if “this insane spending bill passes.”

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk said Saturday on X, the social media company he owns. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

The formation of new political parties is not uncommon, but they typically struggle to pull any significant support away from the Republican and Democratic parties. But Musk, the world’s richest man who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump in the 2024 election, could affect the 2026 elections determining control of Congress if he is willing to spend significant amounts of money.

His reignited feud with the president could also be costly for Musk, whose businesses rely on billions of dollars in government contracts and publicly traded company Tesla has taken a hit in the market.

It wasn’t clear whether Musk had taken steps to formally create the new political party. Spokespeople for Musk and his political action committee, America PAC, didn’t immediately comment Sunday.

As of Sunday morning, there were multiple political parties listed in the Federal Election Commission database that had been formed in the the hours since Musk’s Saturday X post with versions of “America Party” of “DOGE” or “X” in the name, or Musk listed among people affiliated with the entity.

But none appeared to be authentic, listing contacts for the organization as email addresses such as ” [email protected]″ or untraceable Protonmail addresses.

Musk on Sunday spent the morning on X taking feedback from users about the party and indicated he’d use the party to get involved in the 2026 midterm elections.

Last month, he threatened to try to oust every member of Congress who voted for Trump’s bill. Musk had called the tax breaks and spending cuts package a “disgusting abomination,” warning it would increase the federal deficit, among other critiques.

“The Republican Party has a clean sweep of the executive, legislative and judicial branches and STILL had the nerve to massively increase the size of government, expanding the national debt by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS,” Musk said Sunday on X.

His critiques of the bill and move to form a political party mark a reversal from May, when his time in the White House was winding down and the head of rocket company SpaceX and electric vehicle maker Tesla said he would spend “a lot less” on politics in the future.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who clashed with Musk while he ran DOGE, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that DOGE’s “principles” were popular but “if you look at the polling, Elon was not.”

“I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not his political activities,” he said.

Price writes for the Associated Press.

Fiona Phillips has sensationally revealed that she had secretly split from her husband Martin Frizell as tension grew in their marriage before Alzheimer’s diagnosis

To the outside world, Fiona Phillips’ marriage was nothing short of perfect. But now, the former breakfast TV presenter has revealed that her relationship was anything but a happy one as Alzheimer’s disease was starting to take its toll on her and her family – unknowingly.

The relationship between Fiona, 64 and her husband – former This Morning producer Martin Frizell – had broken down beyond repair as she recalled the moment he announced he was moving out of their family home.

In a first person piece for the Mail On Sunday, the TV star, who was one of the main presenters of GMTV, opened up on the fact she was not aware she had developed the disease which had taken both her parents.

In the run up to their secret separation, Fiona explained that she was in denial over the fact she was experiencing the initial symptoms of the disease and put it down to the menopause instead.

Their marriage became more and more fractured as Martin felt Fiona was becoming increasingly distant from him and their children and their arguments were becoming far too regular.

Fiona explained: “Was I worried that there might be something sinister lurking beneath the surface? That Alzheimer’s could one day be coming for me too? “

She added: “On one level I did think I would get the disease, but there was also another part of me that was in a strange sort of denial about it all. This illness has devastated so much of my life already, surely it’s not going to come for me too?’ I’d tell friends.”

Fiona went onto reveal that she’s sure that the disease was “at least partly responsible” for her marriage breaking down but that neither she nor Martin could see that. She became “more and more disconnected” from her family, with Martin accusing her of zoning out of their marriage.

She said: “But, if I’m honest, I think he was right. I just didn’t seem to have the energy for any of it any more. I didn’t realise quite how seriously Martin felt about it all until one evening he announced he was moving out.”

In that moment, Fiona did not believe that her marriage was completely over, in fact she said that she felt he was simply “trying to shock me into behaving differently”.

They had separated for three weeks before they started to exchange text messages between each other and then arranged to meet at a hotel in Hampshire, in a desperate bid to save their marriage.

They reconciled their differences but Fiona recalled that she was still suffering with the same symptoms. In 2023, at the age of 62, Fiona revealed that she had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

READ MORE: Emily Atack’s Dune sandals look just like Hermes Oran pair and cost £500 less

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Helena ended things with Harry after she found out he had kissed Yasmin three times in the Hideaway behind her back, but after she pulled him aside for a difficult discussion viewers think they know how she really feels about her former flame

Tensions have escalated in the Love Island villa with Helena Ford set to confront Harry Cooksley for what she wants to be the final time tonight, and fans think they have worked out her true feelings towards him.

In tonight’s (23 June) dramatic episode of the ITV reality show, the Islanders faced another recoupling ceremony where the girls got to choose who they wanted to couple up with this time. After Helena decided to move on with somebody else, she took Harry aside for a difficult chat where she let him know exactly where she stands after his sneaking around in the Hideaway.

She told him: “I know we said yesterday we’d be friends but I can’t be your mate in here, you’ve not even apologised for anything that you’ve done.”

Harry attempted to explain his actions, saying: “I thought it was too good, I’ve done it in the past where I self-sabotage because I think it’s too good to be true. I’m 30 years old I get it, I’m not making excuses, but all I’ve ever seen is things with an expiry date.”

But Helena stood strong, replying: “It’s done now, you can’t go back on it. I can’t really be around you right now.” While she appeared quite upset by how Harry had treated her, and seemed on the verge of tears as she walked away from their conversation, fans thought this exchange proved that she doesn’t actually care about him and is only jealous that he has moved on to someone new.

One fan took to X, saying: “I see right through Helena and her jealousy for Shakira, you only want Harry now cause he’s moved onto Shakira.” Another agreed: “Helena doesn’t even like Harry. Her ego just can’t handle that he chose Shakira over her.”

A third chimed in, adding: “I don’t want to hear Helena slag Shakira off today for being with Harry. I hope she keeps her anger directed at Harry.”

The conversation with Helena left Harry visibly emotional, and Dejon later tried to comfort him, saying: “I’m gonna pray tonight and hope there’s a miracle you two can get back together.”

But a despondent Harry replied: “There ain’t no me and Helena. I’ve got to forget about it for now.” Helena’s announcement that she is no longer willing to even be around Harry comes after she was shocked by the discovery that Harry snuck off to the Hideaway with Yasmin, where they shared three kisses.

He initially denied the extent of what happened, which led to him being berated by one of the girls in the villa. After it came out that Harry had been dishonest about how many times he locked lips with Yasmin, Megan put him on blast, shouting: “You owe it to Helena to be f****** honest, you p****… Grow a pair of b******* mate, honestly, grow the f*** up.”

Harry’s rollercoaster experience in the Love Island villa has even been criticised by his own mum, who joked that she has “disowned him” multiple times while watching the ITV dating show during her appearance on Aftersun.

When show host Maya Jama asked her how she felt watching his behaviour live on telly, she groaned: “I’ve disowned him. On more than one occasion. Harry who? Harry who? Oh my God, it just rolls off his tongue, I don’t know. How can you forget the camera’s on you?”

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