Tom McKibbin strengthened his bid to qualify for next year’s Masters and Open Championship with a third-round 65 as he continued to lead the Hong Kong Open.
After opening the tournament with a course record of 60 and carding a second-round 65, McKibbin registered one bogey and two birdies in the opening four holes of day three in Fanling.
The 22-year-old would add another birdie on the 12th before consecutive birdies on hole 16 and 17 took his total to 65 on the penultimate day.
The winner of the event will qualify for the 2026 Masters, while the highest-placed non-exempt player who makes the cut will earn a place at the 154th Open.
The Northern Ireland native is attempting to qualify for next year’s Masters for the first time, and the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July.
McKibbin’s lead over M.J. Maguire was reduced to one after 54 holes, with Peter Uihlein two shots behind and Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Scott Hend three off the pace.
Tom Aspinall’s first defence of his undisputed heavyweight title ended in bitter disappointment after an accidental eye poke from Ciryl Gane left the Briton unable to continue at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi.
At the end of a competitive first round, France’s Gane poked Aspinall in both eyes while attempting a punch, with the referee stopping the contest.
Aspinall, 32, could be seen telling the doctor “I can’t see” as he held a cloth to his eye, and with the Briton unable to fight on the referee deemed the bout a no-contest.
The result meant Aspinall retained his title – but not in the way he wanted to and he showed his frustration in his post-fight interview as the crowd booed the outcome.
“Guys, I just got poked knuckle deep in the eyeball. Why are you booing? I can’t see,” said a crestfallen Aspinall.
“The fight was just getting going. I can hardly open my eye. Look! It was a double eye poke.”
Aspinall was taken to hospital after the fight and did not appear for the post-fight news conference.
Calling the fight a no-contest means the referee deemed the foul accidental rather than intentional, which would have resulted in a disqualification.
A disqualification would have gone down as a win for Aspinall.
Gane was equally annoyed at the outcome and could be seen pacing around the edge of the octagon, shaking his head, as the result was announced.
“I feel sorry. I’m sorry for the crowd, for the fans, I’m sorry for Tom Aspinall and sorry for myself,” said Gane.
“We put a lot of energy in this fight so I’m disappointed, but this is the sport, this is life.
“I don’t know what is going to happen for the future, but we will see.”
“I’ve absolutely loved my time at Saracens and have made some friends for life,” explained Reading-born Willis, whose brother Jack plays for French club Toulouse.
“I will continue to give everything for this club for the remainder of the season and I’m very excited about what this squad can achieve.”
The Telegraph, external has reported that Willis is set to rejoin Bordeaux-Begles, having left them for Saracens in January 2023.
Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall said he is “disappointed” by Willis’ desire to leave but respected the player’s “decision to pursue a new challenge”.
“He [Willis] has made a great impact on the field and been a popular team-mate off it,” McCall added.
“I know he is determined to give everything to the group over the coming months.”
But when he’s not in the public eye, he lives a quiet family life with his husband Dustin Lance Black and their two children.
The star, 31, has been married since 2017 and became a dad for the first time the following year, and has been open about what family life means to him.
“I used to define myself by diving,” the Mirror quoted Tom as saying in 2021. “If I dived well it reflected on me as a person. Now I’m first and foremost a father and husband.” So who is Tom’s husband?
Is Tom Daley married?
Tom first came out to his fans in a YouTube video in December 2013, in which he shared that his “whole world changed” when he fell in love with a man.
He started dating Dustin, who is a screenwriter, director and producer known for movies such as Milk and J Edgar.
Tom told The Guardian earlier this year that the pair met at a dinner in 2013 and that they “talked and talked until we both realised how similar our lives were”.
“He had just lost his brother; I’d lost my dad,” he said of Dustin, who is almost 20 years older than him. “He had just won his Oscar; I had just won an Olympic medal. It was the first time I could complain about success to somebody who knew I wasn’t really complaining about success.”
The couple revealed their engagement in October 2015 with a traditional wedding announcement in The Times.
They tied the knot in 2017 in Dartmoor National Park, with Tom telling fans on Instagram at the time: “On 6th May 2017, I married the love of my life, @dlanceblack.”
Does Tom Daley have any children?
In 2018, the couple welcomed their son via a surrogate and named him Robert ‘Robbie’ Ray, a tribute to Tom’s dad Robert, who died in 2011.
Second son Phoenix was born in 2023, also via a surrogate.
The following year, Tom announced he was retiring from diving, revealing his decision after the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Tearing up in a moving interview with the BBC, he said: “It’s hard to talk about, it’s emotional… I want to be with my family.”
Prior to his first appearance on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, Tom Skinner revealed he had a two-week “fling” behind his wife Sinead’s back, just weeks after their wedding.
09:22, 12 Oct 2025Updated 09:23, 12 Oct 2025
Tom Skinner’s wife Sinead revealed she kicked him out after he came clean about his affair
Thomas Skinner’s wife has revealed that after his affair, she kicked him out of their family home. He made headlines for all of the wrong reasons prior to his short stint on Strictly Come Dancing after admitting to having a “fling” behind his wife Sinead’s back, and now Tom‘s other half has revealed exactly what happened when he came clean about the affair to her.
One week before his first appearance on the BBC One show, The Apprentice star, 34, confessed to a “two-week fling” with a beauty clinic boss and said, “it was the biggest mistake of my life.”
Speaking about her husband’s infidelity for the first time, Sinead admitted she kicked him out of the family home after being left devastated by the news. She explained: “When he first told me what had happened, I made him leave. I was devastated.
“I will never forget Thomas telling me. I remember thinking, ‘I never thought this would happen to me’. It was one of the worst days of my life. I only told one friend, nobody else.”
Sinead added to The Sun: “But we eventually worked it out. I just knew how much I love him and I wanted to work it out. He made a mistake. It was a tough time. One of his friends had just died.”
She explained that the cheating was in the past for them and they are now “stronger than ever”. Despite his scandal, Sinead admits that the couple are stronger than ever and have gone on to welcome their twin daughters together. But it was his stint on Strictly which brought the cheating to light. “It has been hell,” she revealed.
The mum-of-three went on to explain that it’s been “horrendous” having to re-live that chapter all over again, especially since the pair had put it behind them in an effort to start again.
Back in September, the BBC star said that he had a two-week fling with Amy-Lucy Rourke, 35, and “it is the biggest mistake of my life.” He continued: “I met her in a pub. She was a single mum. We chatted on the phone, and she offered me some kind of cosmetic slimming treatments.”
He told The Sun: “It was nothing more than that. It was the one time; it was a mistake. I woke up feeling absolutely terrible about it. I felt so guilty. I told my wife. I let her down in that brief moment of madness where I wasn’t thinking, where I didn’t appreciate what I had. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”
However, just days after he went public with the affair, Amy came forward and claimed he had told her she was the “love of his life” and the fling had actually been three months long.
She claimed to the Daily Mail: “We were originally friends, but with his sweet-talking and his lies, he made me believe we were in love. He would stand in the mirror with me and say, ‘Look, we’ll be Mr and Mrs Skinner’. That is actually traumatising to me.
“You don’t say that to someone when you’re already happily married. I fell in love with him, but Thomas is nothing but a liar and a cheat.” Thomas and Sinead first met at a bar in London in 2018 and got engaged two years later. The fling occurred shortly after their wedding in May 2022, when they were already parents to their son, now four years old.
The pair also now have identical twin daughters who are two years old. Tom and his Strictly partner Amy Dowden were the first to be eliminated from this year’s show after landing in the bottom two with Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova. All four judges unanimously decided to save Chris over Tom.
During his exit interview with Tess Daly, he gushed: “Thank you, Amy – sorry that we haven’t done too good, ’cause you’re a different class.
“I’ve never danced before and my stay was short, but Amy’s amazing. It’s been great fun and I’ve enjoyed it. I can’t really dance that well but I’ve had fun!”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Sunday night at 7:15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
As California voters receive mail ballots for the November special election, which could upend the state’s congressional boundaries and determine control of the House, billionaire hedge-fund founder Tom Steyer said Thursday he will spend $12 million to back Democrats’ efforts to redraw districts to boost their party’s ranks in the legislative body.
The ballot measure was proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and other California Democrats after President Trump urged Texas leaders to redraw their congressional districts before next year’s midterm election. Buttressing GOP numbers in Congress could help Trump continue enacting his agenda during his final two years in office.
“We must stop Trump’s election-rigging power grab,” Steyer said in a statement. “The defining fight through Nov. 4 is passing Proposition 50. In order to compete and win, Democrats can’t keep playing by the same old rules. This is how we fight back, and stick it to Trump.”
Steyer’s announcement makes him the biggest funder of pro-Proposition 50 efforts, surpassing billionaire financier George Soros, who has contributed $10 million to the effort.
Steyer founded a hedge fund whose investments included massive fossil fuel projects, but after he learned of the environmental consequences of these financial decisions, he divested and has worked to fight climate change. Steyer has spent hundreds of millions of dollars supporting Democratic candidates and causes and more than $300 million on his unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign.
Steyer plans to launch a scathing ad Thursday night that imagines Trump watching election returns on Nov. 4 and furiously throwing fast food at a television when he sees Proposition 50 succeeding.
“Why did you do this to Trump?” the president asks. The ad then shows a fictional TV anchor saying that the ballot measure’s success makes it more likely that Trump will be investigated for corruption and that the records of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein will be released. “I hate California,” Trump responds.
The advertisement is scheduled to start airing Thursday night during “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The late-night show was in the spotlight after it was briefly suspended by Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC last month under pressure from the Trump administration because of a comment Kimmel made about the slaying of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The esoteric process of redistricting typically occurs once every decade after the U.S. Census to account for population shifts. The maps, historically drawn in smoke-filled backrooms, protected incumbents and created bizarrely shaped districts, such as the “ribbon of shame” along the California coast.
In recent decades, good-government advocates have fought to create districts that are logical and geographically compact and do not disenfranchise minority voters. At the forefront of the effort, California voters passed a 2010 ballot measure to create an independent commission to draw the state’s congressional boundaries.
But this year, Trump and his allies urged leaders of GOP-led states to redraw their congressional districts to boost Republicans’ prospects in next year’s midterm election. The House is closely divided, and retaining Republican control is crucial to Trump’s ability to enact his agenda.
California Democrats, led by Newson, responded in kind. The state Legislature voted in August to call a special election in November to decide on redrawn districts that could give their party five more seats in the state’s 52-member congressional delegation, the largest in the nation.
Supporters of Proposition 50 have vastly outraised the committees opposing the measure. Steyer’s announcement came one day after Charles Munger Jr., the largest donor to the opposition, spoke out publicly for the first time about why he had contributed $32 million to the effort.
“I’m fighting for the ordinary voter to have an effective say in their own government,” Munger told reporters. “I don’t want Californians ignored by the national government because all the districts are fortresses for one party or the other.”
A longtime opponent of gerrymandering, the bow-tie-wearing Palo Alto physicist bankrolled the 2010 ballot measure that created the independent commission to draw California’s congressional districts.
Munger, the son of a billionaire who was the right-hand man of investor Warren Buffett, declined to comment about whether he planned to give additional funds.
“I neither confirm nor deny rumors that involve the tactics of the campaign,” Munger told reporters. “Talk to me after the election is over.”
After starring in The Night Manager, Tom Hollander plays another villainous character with shady motives in The Iris Affair, sharing the spotlight with a Malpractice star.
Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander share the spotlight in The Iris Affair
Niamh Algar is no stranger to shaking things up. After gripping viewers as Dr Lucinda Edwards in Malpractice, she’s stepping into even higher-octane territory as Iris Nixon in Sky Atlantic’s new thriller, The Iris Affair.
“I’ve loved playing Iris – she’s so many characters in one,” Niamh Algar says. “Then there’s the adrenaline side: gunfights, jumping off boats, leaping from buildings, blowing up things. Racing a Ferrari at high speed was the absolute highlight.”
Created by Neil Cross and filmed in Italy, the eight-part series sees Iris as a brilliant codebreaker, living life on the run with a bounty on her head.
“She is obsessive, manipulative and unpredictable,” Niamh says. “She’s not motivated by romance or defined by trauma, but shaped by her intelligence and curiosity.”
She’s recruited by Cameron Beck (Tom Hollander), a charismatic tech billionaire who believes he needs her to relaunch a quantum computer nicknamed Charlie Big Potatoes. Cameron believes the machine could change – even save – the world, but Iris is convinced it could destroy it.
The quantum computer was originally launched by Jensen Lind, a Norwegian scientist played by Game Of Thrones alumni Kristofer Hivju. Jensen and Cameron once worked together on the project, until Jensen stopped it.
“Something makes Jensen try to destroy 10-15 years of working in this compound making the biggest revolutionary device in history,” Kristofer says. “That’s the mystery – why?”
Kristofer admits the science was a challenge, saying, “My Chat GPT has overheated. I have had to go into Hindu cosmology and quantum physics just to understand my lines.”
Meanwhile, Tom Hollander insists his character isn’t the villain audiences might expect. “He’s not a bad guy. He wants good outcomes,” Tom says. “He thinks it’s capable of curing climate change.
What’s really motivating Cameron is he’s in fear for his own life. He’s a rich man who has over-borrowed, so effectively he actually doesn’t have anything.”
Cameron faces a shadowy organisation called The Money, with Harry Lloyd joining the cast as the cryptic Hugo Pym. “He is this guy who is somewhat psychotic and deranged,” Harry says.
“The Money are this ‘Intra Group Committee’ and Hugo is someone who has recently been made head of it.” Caught up in the middle is Joy Baxter, played by Meréana Tomlinson, with whom Iris forms a connection.
“Iris sees something of herself in Joy,” Niamh says. “Joy is essentially a token child in a wealthy household that doesn’t really notice her, and Iris has always felt like she didn’t belong in any system or structure.”
When Cameron kidnaps Joy to pressure Iris into working for him, the stakes become terrifyingly personal. “It becomes a real test for her,” Niamh says. “It also highlights how much she cares for Joy.”
Joy is loyal to Iris but this is tested when she meets Cameron. “Cameron is more alike with her in terms of her emotional wellbeing and her emotional state,” says Meréana. “She latches on to him for survival and then that turns into companionship.”
Meréana bonded quickly with the team, saying, “I have a quote book in my Notes app. It’s just funny things that people have said.” And Neil Cross’s reaction to the book was priceless, she adds. “He sat there giggling at it for five minutes.”
The Iris Affair airs on Thursday, October 16th on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
Kelsey Parker appeared on Loose Women this afternoon to speak about the process of grieving her stillborn son Phoenix, as she shared her daughter’s heartbreaking reaction
The podcast host and widow of The Wanted’s Tom Parker sadly announced her third child was born stillborn at 39 weeks in June. Kelsey looked forward to welcoming her first child with partner Will Lindsay, who she found love with two years after Tom’s tragic death from an inoperable brain tumor in 2022.
Kelsey Parker announced the happy news in January, but tragically, five months later, the 35-year-old broke the devastating news that the little boy who they had named Phoenix, was stillborn. She then took time away from both work and social media.
The star appeared on Loose Women to talk about her grief during Tuesday’s episode, in which spoke about the heartbreaking moment she had to tell Aurelia, six, and Bodhi, four, that the family had experienced death again with their younger sibling.
“Time has been really tough,” she said. “Because Aurelia’s six, I wasn’t giving her the right answer to what she wanted. I said, ‘Pheonix has died and Pheonix is with daddy now.’
“And she was like, ‘I hate dad, why does dad keep taking everyone?’ So that wasn’t the right answer. Again, you’re trying to find out for your children, what’s the right way to navigate this?
“And I think with my little Bodhi, he’s been through so much. I was 35 weeks pregnant when Tom was diagnosed, he was only 18 months when Tom died. I’m his hero, so as long I’m okay, he’s okay. But with Aurelia, she’s beyond her years.”
Earlier this year, sitting down to speak with Christine Lampard on Lorraine for the first time since the devastating loss, Kelsey opened up on how she grief once again with her two little ones.
“It’s being honest. It’s telling them facts. Because I never want them to feel like I’ve not been honest and years later they say, ‘Oh but mum, you didn’t tell me this and you didn’t tell me that!'” she said.
“They’ve lost their dad, they know their dad’s with the angels now, so we told them, ‘Phoenixhas gone with your daddy,'” Kelsey revealed she told her children as she shared the devastating news.
The star emphasised how important she felt it was to talk about grief, after she took time off social media to spend time with her family and allowing herself to grieve.
On this afternoon’s Loose Women, Kelsey explained how she went straight back to work following Tom’s tragic death, but this time, she made sure to take the time to grieve for herself.
“You need that moment for you. And I’ve listened to myself this time. I did rush back into work when Tom passed. But I listened to myself this time, and I’m actually proud that I took some time to sit with this.”
With great power comes a great risk of injury, it seems.
Tom Holland, 29, who plays Spider-man in the most current iteration of the web-slinger film franchise, suffered a mild on-set concussion that has resulted in a one-week production pause on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” Variety reported Monday.
Filming is expected to restart Sept. 29, the trade said, and the delay shouldn’t keep the fourth Holland-as-Spidey movie from swinging onto the big screen on its scheduled release date.
Holland is taking it easy “out of an abundance of caution,” a source close to the production told the outlet.
Since production began in early August, the actor has been sharing his experiences on his Instagram, hyping fans before the film is released.
“Someone is cooking … again,” chef and fan Gordon Ramsay commented on one post, adding a winking emoji to capture his excitement.
Holland posted a video last month where he revealed the film‘s release date while wearing the iconic Spidey suit. A few days later, he posted behind-the-scenes footage where he was interacting with fans on set. It was the first time, he wrote, that fans were on set on Day One of filming.
The fourth film in Peter Parker‘s Holland era will reunite him with his on-screen girlfriend and offscreen fiancée, Zendaya, and actor Jacob Batalon, who plays his friend Ned Leeds.
ACTOR Tom Holland was rushed to hospital after a stunt on the set of the latest Spider-Man blockbuster went wrong.
It is believed he cracked his head in a fall and was treated for concussion.
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Tom Holland was rushed to hospital after a stunt on the set of Spider-Man went wrongCredit: Splash
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It is believed Tom cracked his head in a fall and was treated for concussionCredit: PA
A woman, thought to be a stunt double, was also taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Filming of £150million Spider-Man: Brand New Day was suspended at Leavesden Studios in Watford, Herts, on Friday and could be on hold for weeks.
British star Tom’s comedian dad Dominic, attending a charity dinner in Mayfair, confirmed his son would be away from filming “for a while”.
Tom, 29, was there too and even posed for pictures with co-star and fiancée Zendaya, 28.
However, he left early after feeling ill.
The fall could lead to an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive.
The film — Tom’s fourth standalone Spider-Man movie — is due out next July.
Leavesden Studios and Sony Pictures were contacted for comment.
An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called at 10.30am on Friday to attend to a patient who had sustained an injury at Leavesden Studios in Watford.
“An ambulance was sent to the scene, and the patient was transported to hospital for further care.”
Popular fashion brand slammed after setting off massive fireworks display in Himalayas ad stunt
White House Border Czar Tom Homan, pictured during a television interview in September, allegedly accepted a $5,000 bribe from undercover FBI agents before President Donald Trump retook office, when Homan did not hold an official government position. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Sept. 21 (UPI) — “Border czar” Tom Homan reportedly accepted a $50,000 cash bribe from undercover FBI agents posing as business contractors prior to Donald Trump‘s election as president in 2024.
According to a report from MSNBC, FBI agents recorded a conversation with Homan in which he allegedly promised to assist in securing government contracts for work in the border security industry if Trump were elected to a second term.
The report says the FBI and justice department intended to wait and see if Homan would follow through on his alleged promises if Trump were elected to a second term. However, an investigation into the matter was scuttled after Trump was elected, MSNBC reported. The administration recently closed it.
Current FBI director Kash Patel and Todd Blanhce, the deputy attorney general, told MSNBC the allegations are baseless.
“This matter originated under the previous administration and was subjected to a full review by FBI agents and justice department prosecutors,” Patel said. “They found no credible evidence of any criminal wrongdoing.”
The cash payment was delivered inside a bag from the Cava fast food chain, The New York Times reported.
Justice Department officials closed the case, citing doubts of whether prosecutors would be able to prove that there had been any specific promises made in exchange for the money, and because he was not in any official position at the time of the money exchange.
Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told reporters Thursday that he does not game plan with team minority owner and Fox NFL broadcaster Tom Brady — at least not “on a weekly basis” — despite a report during “Monday Night Football” this week that suggested otherwise.
During the first quarter of the Chargers-Raiders game at Allegiant Stadium, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported from the sideline that “Chip Kelly told us that he talks to Brady two to three times a week. They go through film. They go through the game plan.”
After the game, Raiders coach Pete Carroll called the report “not accurate” and said that while he and Kelly speak with Brady “regularly,” those conversations are “about life and football and whatever.”
Kelly was asked about the ESPN report during media availability Thursday. His response echoed Carroll’s.
“I’ve spent a lot of time just talking football with [Brady], but it’s not on a — we don’t talk about game plans,” the former UCLA coach said. “We spent a lot of time over the summer, a couple Zooms … and we would just talk ball, you know, ‘What did you like against this?’ So really, when I use Tom, and I just use him as a resource of, ‘Hey, you know, when you faced a Mike Zimmer-type defense, what did you like protection-wise and play-wise?’
“But on a weekly basis, he’s not game planning with us or talking to us.”
Kelly later added: “In terms of weekly game plans, like, that’s not a collaboration that we do. I mean, he’s also a busy guy, so I haven’t even thought of using him to do that, and I don’t think you can, so — you know, our staff does all that.
“But he’s been a guy that I could talk football with, just shooting it about, ‘Hey, have you ever faced a two-trap defense?’ and, ‘With the inverted, Tampa two that everybody’s running now, what was your best thoughts about that?,’ things like that. But we don’t talk game plan at all or any of that stuff in terms of on a weekly basis.”
The Times reached out to ESPN for comments from Schrager or the network on the matter. A network representative declined to comment.
During Schrager’s report, “Monday Night Football” showed a live shot of Brady sitting in the Raiders coaches’ booth and wearing a headset. Kelly told reporters Thursday that he thinks Brady did the same thing during the Raiders’ preseason game last month against the San Francisco 49ers, also at Allegiant Stadium.
“But he doesn’t talk to the coaches when he’s up there,” Kelly said. “I think he just — he’s watching football.”
NFL chief spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday that Brady was doing nothing wrong.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” McCarthy said. “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner.”
Brady faces a number of NFL-imposed restrictions on what he’s allowed to do as a broadcaster given his dual status as a team minority owner. Last season, Brady’s first in both roles, he was prohibited from attending the weekly production meetings during which the Fox crew meets with coaches and players ahead of that week’s game.
“Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,” McCarthy said in his statement. “He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl.
“Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”
Yet the phrase “conflict of interest” has come up quite a bit on social media — go ahead, search it on X (formerly Twitter) — regarding the optics of an NFL broadcaster hanging out with Raiders coaches and apparently communicating with others in the organization through a headset,
The NFL said Tuesday, however, that Brady doesn’t appear to have done anything wrong.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game. Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner,” NFL chief spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement emailed to The Times. “All personnel sitting in the booth must abide by policies that prohibit the use of electronic devices other than league-issued equipment such as a Microsoft Surface Tablet for the Sideline Viewing System.”
Also during the Raiders’ 20-9 loss to the Chargers, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported that Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told him that Brady speaks with Kelly multiple times a week to discuss game plans and break down film. Asked about the report after the game, Raiders coach Pete Carroll said it is “not accurate.”
“We have conversations — I talk to Tom, Chip talks to Tom — regularly,” Carroll said. “We have a tremendous asset and we all get along well and we respect each other. And so we just talk about life and football and whatever. … He has great insight and so we’re lucky to have him as an owner.”
During the 2024 season, Brady’s first as both a broadcaster and a team owner, he was not allowed to attend the weekly production meetings during which the Fox crew meets with coaches and players ahead of that week’s game. That restriction was lifted going into this season.
While McCarthy did not specifically answer a question from The Times about Kelly’s reported comment about his talks with Brady, it would appear that the NFL is confident that the restrictions it has in place would prevent Brady from acquiring any information any non-owner wouldn’t be able to gather.
“Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,” McCarthy said in his statement. “He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl. Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”
Adam Schefter, the most plugged-in NFL reporter anywhere, did in fact begin an X.com post Monday with the words “Tom Brady is coming out of retirement” — but he didn’t mean that the greatest quarterback of all time was actually doing so.
He won’t suit up to spell Joe Burrow while the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback nurses his turf toe back to health. He won’t nudge Russell Wilson into retirement and join the New York Giants.
What Brady, 48, will do is play in a flag football tournament in Saudi Arabia next March.
At least that’s what Schefter wrote.
Brady will join fellow retired New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski and a host of current NFL standouts including Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Maxx Crosby, Sauce Gardner and Myles Garrett in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, a three-team tournament to be held March 21, 2026, in Riyadh.
Pete Carroll, Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan will coach the three five-player teams. The tournament will be held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh and televised by Fox Sports, with comedian Kevin Hart hosting.
The whole thing sounds like fun. It is, however, a business plan disguised as a promotional stunt.
The NFL makes no secret that it is going global — witness the season opener in São Paulo between the Chiefs and Chargers. And Saudi Arabia makes no secret about broadening its sports holdings, investing billions through its Public Investment Fund in an attempt to expand its oil-based economy and mend its international image.
“It is just a great opportunity to expand the game globally,” Brady said in a statement. “Sometimes, you have to get outside your comfort zone to create awareness.”
The NFL will play six more regular-season games overseas this season, three in London and one each in Dublin, Berlin and Madrid.
Flag football has become an easy way to introduce the game to new markets. The NFL has encouraged states to play flag football in high school, and it has become particularly popular as a girls sport.
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STRICTLY Come Dancing star Thomas Skinner has revealed that he had terrifying death threats after meeting up with the vice-president of the United States JD Vance.
The American politician reached out to him after seeing his social media posts saying he admired his positive attitude for life.
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Tom Skinner, left, says he received death threats after he posted a snap of himself with US vice-president JD VanceCredit: Instagram
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The Apprentice star has confessed he has cheated on his wife SineadCredit: Instagram
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JD Vance invited Tom to the barbecue of the summer at 18th-century Dean ManorCredit: Getty
And he invited him to the barbecue of the summer at 18th-century Dean Manor near Chipping Norton in the Cotswolds.
But afterwards The Apprentice star and market stall holder proudly posted a photo of them together on social media – and received a shocking backlash.
In an exclusive interview he admits: “Since I posted that picture I’ve had loads of death threats. People saying they want me dead, saying I am this political figure that I’m actually not. I actually really ain’t. I couldn’t tell you what’s going on in the world right now.
“Now the left seems to be attacking me every day on social media. The right seems to see me as this figurehead and it’s all been a bit much for me, if I’m honest with you.
“I was getting death threats and people calling me controversial. I was thinking, what have I ever done? What have I ever said that’s controversial? When you actually go through my tweets, apart from saying that knife crime is bad in London, yeah?
“I’m not this political figurehead that people believe that’s got my hand.
“I’ve had loads of death threats over the years, you know.
“I didn’t see it as anything more than a barbecue, if I’m honest with you. But I’ve been turned into this political figure that I’m actually not.”
But the East Londoner does admit he was nervous after accepting the invite along with Cambridge academic James Orr and Tory MP Danny Kruger.
He said: “I was very nervous about it, I didn’t know what to wear. When I arrived he literally was like, ‘Why have you got a suit on?’
Strictly shock as Thomas Skinner STORMS OUT of launch in furious rage
“He was actually a normal bloke. We spoke about English cheese being so much better than American cheese, West Ham United and how they call football ‘soccer’.”
Fry-up fan Thomas was blown away by the food, laid on by the local pub, describing it as “the b******s.”
He said: “There was a pub in the town, and Jay wanted to go to a traditional English pub, but he knew by going to this pub it would obviously have to shut, because I’ve never seen so many security guys in my life… a proper entourage… he didn’t want it to affect the locals.
“So he asked the pub if they would kindly – he paid them a lot of money – bring some of their staff to cook at the place, and they did, they actually left this beautiful pub in the Cotswolds, they’d come round to the garden, and they cooked this fantastic spread, it was steaks, kebabs, halloumi, honestly it was unreal. Everyone was really friendly.”
He didn’t take pictures, he says, because he didn’t want to “disturb his privacy”.
Joking, he adds: “When Trump comes he might invite me to a BBQ too.”
NO REGRETS
Despite the furore online Thomas insists he doesn’t regret posting the picture. He said: “I don’t regret it, I am a normal bloke and it was an amazing opportunity.
“Put yourself in my shoes. What would you do? You’re a normal person. And, I’ve been given this opportunity to sit with the Vice President of the most powerful country in the world, the United States of America. To me that was, “Wow’.
“And I would have gone, whether it was the leader of France, Germany, I think to sit there and learn, and experience that, whether you agree with him politically or not, it wasn’t about that for me, it was literally to say, ‘I’ve sat there and met the Vice President of the United States of America’.”
Sinead has been by his side since they got together nearly a decade ago.
Thomas began working part time as a market trader at 13 after being expelled from school. He found several businesses before starring on The Apprentice in 2019 after Sinead encouraged him to apply.
But he is also known for his motivational videos on social media where he shares his love of kebabs and pints.
It was his conservative political views that led to US Vice President JD Vance actually getting in touch with him.
SPREADS POSITIVITY
He says he loves spreading positivity.
He said: “Even when JD Vance sent me a DM, he was like, ‘Look I love your energy, keep it up, I love seeing the high energy and the positivity you spread’.
“Which is literally all I do, all I do is share videos of me having a roast dinner, and do a morning video to say, ‘Have a good day’, because I know what it’s like to wake up and feel like you can’t do this. I’ve been there, and that’s why I won’t ever give up spreading the positivity.”
Throughout the ups and down in his life Sinead – who he dubs Super sensible Sinéad – has been at his side throughout.
He admits the past few weeks have been tough and he has struggled with the public scrutiny.
He said: “It does affect you. I’ve always put on this brave face. But it’s alright to be vulnerable and be down and be upset. There are times I’ve felt low.”
CLOSE PALS WITH RYLAN CLARK
His close pal Rylan Clark also faced backlash recently over his views on migrant hotels which sparked over 700 Ofcom complaints.
Thomas said: “Rylan has been a friend of mine since I was a teenager. I love him. He’s a family friend, he comes to our family events. I go round to his and I bring him round to ours.
“He’s a top guy. And the thing that I just worry about is nowadays, whether someone’s got a different opinion to you, or you say something that might be slightly incorrect or you don’t agree with, everyone should be allowed to have their opinion, and everyone should be allowed to express it and argue it and talk about it.
“But if your opinion is different to someone else’s, people shouldn’t be able to attack you and ram it down your throat, and I think that’s wrong, if I’m honest with you.
“Poor old Rylan got a bashing, and obviously I know what it feels like, because I’ve had a bashing in the last couple of years.”
What Rylan said was: “How come if I turn up at Heathrow Airport and I’ve left my passport in Spain, I’ve got to stand at that airport and won’t be let in? But if I arrive on a boat from Calais, I get taken to a four-star hotel?
“I find it absolutely insane that all these people are risking their lives coming across the Channel like they are. But when they get here, it seems, ‘Welcome, come on in’.”
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Tom says he doesn’t deserve the backlash against himCredit: Twitter/@iamtomskinner
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The TV celebrity is now putting on his dancing shoes for BBC’s hit show Strictly Come DancingCredit: BBC
He later said he was angry at being “put in a box” over his opinions and called for more intelligent debate. Rylan posted on X: “You can be pro immigration and against illegal routes. You can support trans people and have the utmost respect for women.
“You can be heterosexual and still support gay rights. Stop with this putting everyone in a box exercise and maybe have conversations instead of shouting on Twitter.”
Thomas says the pressure that he and other celebrities receive due to fame can be hard to deal with.
And key to helping keep his mental health stable is the group of friends from the market that he still meets every Friday for “a pint”.
He said: “I think that’s so important, they think it’s funny I’m going on Strictly.
“Every Friday, and I’ve done this for years, you know, since I started out, no matter what, me and my group of little pals have a pint on a Friday afternoon.
“Some of us could be skint on our arse, some of us could be flying, we’re all having the same beer, in the same circle, talking the same thing, and we always, we always talk about what’s been a bad week, sad week, a happy week, a good week, a great week, and we all support each other, and I think that’s so important.”
And his biggest fan – his mum couldn’t be prouder.
Both his parents still work and are real “grafters” – which is where he says he gets his work ethic from.
His mum works in a call centre – but until this week hadn’t revealed who her famous son was, because she says they “never asked”.
He said: “She’s one of the people, when your boiler goes, she’ll ring up, my mum’s the one that you abuse on the phone saying, ‘My boilers gone,” she’s got one of the hardest jobs in the world. bless her.
“When she asked for the day off she said her son was on Strictly. They said, ‘What who’s your son? What do you mean?’ She showed them a picture of me.”
Her son is still a market trader with his own stall selling mattresses and pillows. He survives on just five hours sleep a night and even when rehearsing for the BBC show he says he will set up his stall first.
He still loves his work and feels proud to be helping Britain’s High Street.
Thomas said: “I’m going to try and set up at 6am. Markets help the shops, but then the shops are suffering, the high street’s dying.”
One thing that isn’t dying is his fan base.
Thomas confesses that he has been inundated with direct messages from celebrities on social media offering support for the new dance show.
He said: “I’ve had hundreds of messages, footballers, TV stars, all sorts.
“But I don’t think it’s fair to say who, because they’ve said that to me confidentially, and I respect that.
“People like my energy and the positivity I spread, which is literally all I do.”
Thomas has experienced financial highs and lows, and even homelessness.
He said: “I know what it’s like to have a few quid in my pocket, when everything’s going well, and your business is flying, and you’ve got everyone around you.
“But I also know what it’s like to be on your a***, not having anywhere to live, and not knowing how you’re going to pay your next bill. I’ve been at both spectrums.
“It’s taught me to be strong, and taught me to try and help other people, because life can be so hard.”
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Tom says he’s had ‘loads of death threats’ over the yearsCredit: Louis Wood
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Tom first appeared on The Apprentice in 2019 and has gone on to star in on Celebrity MasterChef, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and Michael McIntyre’s Big ShowCredit: Getty
England flanker Tom Curry has undergone wrist surgery and will miss the start of the new Premiership season with Sale, but could be fit for the Autumn Nations Series in November.
Curry had an operation on a long-standing wrist ligament injury after returning from the British and Irish Lions’ series victory in Australia and will be absent for the start of Sale’s campaign, which begins against Gloucester on Thursday, 25 September.
But he has an outside chance of being fit for England’s autumn fixtures against Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Argentina.
“You are more likely to see him in an England shirt than you are a Sale shirt,” said Sale’s director of rugby Alex Sanderson.
“His return to play sits him somewhere around the Autumn Internationals.
“But you never know. He has a habit of defying comeback dates and what surgeons say. He’s on good form, healing well, dead positive.”
Curry navigated his way through six matches for the Lions despite his wrist injury.
He revealed he had a new cast fitted in Australia following the Lions’ shock defeat by Argentina in Dublin.
“We had this cast which we had to change in Sydney, because we realised that I wasn’t actually catching many balls,” he said.
“We had this thick one that covered my palm and it was really tough because I had to catch [the ball] with my fingertips. I remember playing in the Argentina game and I kept dropping it.”
England begin their campaign against Australia at Allianz Stadium on Saturday, 1 November.
Sept. 8 (UPI) — Police on Monday shot and killed a man they believe is a suspect who had evaded capture for more than 3 1/2 years after he disappeared into rural New Zealand with his three children.
Police have been hunting Tom Phillips since December 2021 when took his three children — Ember, Maverick and Jayda — into the New Zealand bush, with only brief sightings reported since.
Phillips faced a range of charges including aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Police shot and killed Phillips early Monday following a reported burglary in Piopio, a North Island town home to around 400 people located about 280 miles north of the capital Wellington. One officer was seriously injured in the shooting, and was undergoing surgery, authorities said.
“The formal identification of this male has yet to take place but we believe him to be Tom Phillips,” acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers with New Zealand Police told reporters during a press conference.
One of his three children was with him, and is receiving care, Rogers said, adding that they “hold serious concerns” for the welfare of his other two children.
“We are making urgent inquiries to locate Tom Phillips’ other children,” she said.
“Our focus is finding them.”
Ember is now 9 years old, Maverick is 10 and Jayda 12.
An early morning burglary of a rural supply store in Piopio was reported to police at around 2:30 a.m. NZST, authorities said.
The member of the public reported to authorities that the store was being burgled by a man wearing a headlamp and farm clothing and “a shorter person” also wearing a headlamp, police said.
The two suspects loaded their all-terrain vehicle with the alleged stolen wares and fled the scene at about 2:45 a.m., authorities said.
A statement from New Zealand Police states that based on the descriptions provided, officers believed that man was likely Philips, and additional resources were called in.
Police laid spikes at an intersection at about 3:20 a.m., with the suspect driving over them minutes later, and coming to a stop shortly after.
The suspect then fired multiple rounds at the responding officer, who was shot as he was exiting his police vehicle and fell to the ground, Rogers said.
A statement from New Zealand Police said the officer was struck twice, once in the head and once in the shoulder.
The suspect was then fired upon by a second police unit that arrived at the scene, “incapacitating him,” the statement said.
First aid was provided to the suspect, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The injured officer was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition at about 4:50 a.m. and was undergoing surgery as Rogers was speaking to reporters. She said he would require multiple surgeries.
“This has been a deeply traumatic incident this morning for those involved,” she said. “It has been confronting and challenging in a small rural, isolated location.”
Rogers said multiple firearms were located on and near the all-terrain vehicle. Though she would not state the number nor specify what type of firearms were retrieved, she did say the wounded officer had been shot with a high-powered rifle.
Phillips had initially disappeared into the New Zealand bush with his children in September 2021, but then emerged two weeks later.
Then they disappeared again in December of that year. An arrest warrant was issued for Phillips after he failed to appear in court in January 2022.
Man who absconded with his three children in 2021 shot dead after firing on police, authorities say.
Published On 8 Sep 20258 Sep 2025
A New Zealand father who absconded with his three children after a dispute with his ex-partner nearly four years ago has been killed by police, authorities have said.
Tom Phillips, who had been on the run in the New Zealand wilderness with his children since December 2021, was shot dead after he was confronted by police following a burglary in the rural town of Piopio, police said on Monday.
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Phillips, who had been involved in a dispute over custody of the children, was killed after he fired “multiple shots” at the first responding officer at the scene, causing him serious injuries, police said.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said Philips, who had yet to be formally identified, was accompanied by one of his children, who was not injured in the incident.
Rogers said authorities were urgently seeking to locate his two other children.
“Following the incident, we have been in contact with Phillips’s family and we will be working to provide them with all available support,” Rogers said.
In a statement to Radio New Zealand, the children’s mother, Cat, said she was “deeply relieved” for her children.
“They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care,” she said.
Philips’s disappearance from the remote community of Marokop with his three children – now aged 12, 10 and nine – gripped New Zealand and generated global headlines.
Despite a number of sightings over the years and appeals by his family, Philips, who was facing criminal charges including aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm, managed to continually frustrate efforts by authorities to pinpoint his whereabouts.
Authorities had announced the most recent sighting of Philips less than two weeks ago, releasing security camera footage appearing to show him and one of his children breaking into a rural store.
Having earned three national championship rings playing volleyball for UCLA, 6-foot-8 Tom Stillwell knows a little bit about competition and commitment to sports excellence.
Nothing, though, compares to his joy being a Girl Dad.
“That’s a full-time job, and being a volleyball dad is the best,” said Stillwell, an All-American at UCLA.
It was never planned that his two daughters, Maya, a 6-4 senior, and Lucy, a 6-0 sophomore, would become volleyball players at Harvard-Westlake. Stillwell and his wife, Julie, met at UCLA. She’s 5-6 and neither was thinking how tall their kids might be. But it happened. They were raising giants.
“We felt they needed to be involved in something and as they started to get really tall, I started to talk to friends who had tall females and their recommendation was get them involved in sports because it’s going to turn their tall from being awkward to cool,” Stillwell said. “For them, whether it was tennis, swimming, basketball or volleyball, it didn’t really matter to us. It was whatever they became connected with. They both had journeys.”
Maya had little interest in sports growing up.
“I was not athletic,” Maya said. “It was originally a way to get my body moving. I was into art and music. I started in club when I was 12 and hated it. It wasn’t for me. When COVID happened, we were forced to move to another club and I loved my teammates and coaches and started to like it.”
She became a top middle blocker, playing on a national championship club team and receiving a scholarship to Northwestern. She’s taken advantage of a mini-grass court in the family backyard and her father’s experience having switched from basketball to volleyball during his high school days at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
Lucy followed her sister into volleyball after trying other sports. She’s a backup at Harvard-Westlake, which started the season 7-0 until running into Marymount. The team is 10-2. Both have grade-point averages above 4.0.
Except for their mom, the Stillwells share a common experience — receiving stares because of their height.
Said Maya: “People at school are used to it, but walking outside, it’s like, ‘Oh you’re so tall. Do you play basketball?’ I never get, ‘Do you play volleyball?‘”
“It’s very funny,” Tom said. “I think all tall people have a similar experience with people coming up to you and asking, ‘Do you play basketball?’ When you play sports it helps to have that community because of a lot of their club people are similar height.”
But who gets the extra leg room when flying?
“I’m older and taller,” Maya said.
“She does,” Lucy said.
“Let me tell you who gets the worst seat. Julie, my wife,” Tom said. “She’s like, ‘I’m the mom. I birthed you. I get the worst seat?’”
The daughters never got to meet their legendary grandmother, Liz Shapiro, who was always at Tom’s games at Notre Dame and UCLA. Her generosity to both schools in terms of support will never be forgotten. She died of cancer after Tom’s volleyball career had ended.
“She was a rabid fan,” Tom said. “She would have been at every game, every tournament, club, high school, probably trying to watch practice.”
Tom, 51, has been helpful offering tips whenever his daughters ask, but he has tried to let them listen and learn from their coaches and not impose his own athletic beliefs on them.
“Volleyball just connected with them. It was fun to watch,” he said. “I told them they’re not doing it for me or my wife. They have to enjoy it and if they don’t, they shouldn’t do it. This is their journey, not mine.”
As a Girl Dad, Tom has adopted a specific philosophy no matter what he sees or hears.
“All I’m trying to be is their dad,” he said. “That’s my No. 1 focus. Not their volleyball coach, not their mentor in volleyball. It’s hard enough for these teenage girls. They don’t need to hear their dad yelling.”
