When people think about protecting their health, bone health often takes a back seat to more prominent concerns like cancer or heart disease.
But for women, bone density can become a real issue with age, as osteoporosis weakens bones and increases the risk of fractures.
Dr. Mary Claire Haver, a board-certified OBGYN, certified menopause specialist, and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, talked to Fox News Digital about the severity of this threat.
“About 50% of women can expect to have an osteoporotic fracture before they die,” she said. “That is triple the rate of men.”
Osteoporosis is defined as a “bone disease that develops when bone mineral density and bone mass decreases, or when the structure and strength of bone changes,” according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
Fifty percent of women will experience an osteoporotic fracture by age 50, while only 20% of men will experience the same, according to Haver.(iStock)
The condition can cause the bones to become so weak and brittle that a fall or even mild stress, like coughing, can cause a break.
Haver — who is also founder of The ‘Pause Life, a health and wellness platform focused on supporting women through midlife changes — noted that the “downfall” after these fractures can be “pretty devastating.”
Fractures can lead to disability, death and high medical costs, according to a blog post by Haver on The ‘Pause Life’s website.
Risks and warning signs
Haver emphasized that osteoporosis is a “largely preventable” disease.
“Paying attention to the lifestyle, the behaviors, possibly the medications that can prevent osteoporosis earlier in life, will really help stave off some of the loss of independence that women are suffering from as they age,” she told Fox News Digital.
The expert recommends engaging in weight-bearing exercise and resistance training to build bone density.(iStock)
The condition is more likely to occur in those who have hormone imbalances, have undergone gastrointestinal surgery, have low calcium intake or experience disordered eating, according to Haver and Mayo Clinic. Those with a family history of osteoporosis may also face a higher risk.
People who have taken corticosteroid medicines for conditions like seizures, gastric reflux, cancer and transplant rejection are more susceptible, as are those with celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, kidney or liver disease, multiple myeloma and rheumatoid arthritis.
Although osteoporosis is sometimes referred to as a “silent disease,” which can progress without symptoms until a fracture occurs, there are a few subtle clues that may indicate “lower than normal” bone density, Haver said.
Mayo Clinic reported, “People who spend a lot of time sitting have a higher risk of osteoporosis than do those who are more active.”
Haver agreed that staying physically active, while getting enough calcium and vitamin D through a healthy diet or supplementation. can help maintain healthy bone density.
“Engage in weight-bearing exercise and resistance training, avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption, and talk to a doctor about any medications that may affect bone health,” she wrote in her blog post.
“Regular bone density testing may also be recommended for some individuals to monitor their bone health and identify any potential issues early on.”
Angelica Stabile is a lifestyle reporter for Fox News Digital.
Reform UK’s flagship council has been accused of telling a “blatant lie” after its claim of nearly £40m in savings on net zero was found to be based on hypothetical projects for which there was no documentation.
Kent county council, which has a £2.5bn annual budget, is one of 10 where Nigel Farage’s party has outright control and is seen as a test case for whether the insurgent party can govern competently.
Soon after being elected, the council leader, Linden Kemkaran, promised the party’s “department of local government efficiency”, or Dolge, would bring a “laser-like focus on getting value for money”.
The council’s leadership claimed it had found £100m in savings, £39.5m of which come from what it said was two net zero-related projects: £32m by scrapping a programme to make properties more environmentally friendly, and £7.5m by not making the council’s fleet of vehicles electric by 2030.
After Kemkaran announced these at a council meeting last July, Polly Billington, a Labour MP in Kent, requested details of the apparent savings via a freedom of information request, setting off a months-long battle with the council.
The eventual answer said the two projects were documented in two lines of a “potential capital projects” section of the council’s 2025-26 budget plans, but added they had no business cases or identified funding.
Billington said the response showed Kemkaran’s claims about the savings were “a blatant lie”.
“These supposedly cancelled net zero projects never existed, and the fantastical £39.5m savings figure she is spinning is something she completely made up.
Polly Billington said the council’s response showed Kemkaran’s claims about the savings were ‘a blatant lie’. Photograph: Polly Braden/The Guardian
Billington accused Kemkaran, of trying to claim credit for “fantastical” savings for political reasons.
“The reality is that Reform had no plan to deliver savings at Kent county council, and now they’re lying to people rather than admitting their council is in chaos and they’re hiking council tax to cover up their mess. Linden Kemkaran needs to stop peddling these false figures and focus on delivering better services for the people of Kent.”
The council rejected this assessment, saying that while the only detail on the projects was two lines in an appendix to a budget document, and that they had not been approved or made subject to a business case, they were a “future cost‑avoidance measure”, and thus legitimate to claim as a saving.
The row comes after one of the Reform councillors charged with finding major savings at the council admitted that the party had not found significant waste when it took over the local authority last year.
Paul Chamberlain, who headed Kent’s Elon Musk-style department of local government efficiency, later apologised for a “lapse of judgment” with the comments and stepped down from the role.
A Kent spokesperson said: “Kent county council categorically rejects any suggestion of impropriety, fabrication of figures or attempts to mislead. As we have already set out clearly in previous correspondence and our FoI response, the figures referenced relate to forward‑looking assumptions in the published budget book, not approved or designed projects.
“The two items cited were listed in the potential capital projects section – high‑level, unfunded and unapproved possibilities for which no business cases existed. Local authorities routinely include such indicative items in medium‑term planning. The decision not to progress them is therefore a future cost‑avoidance measure, reflecting borrowing and expenditure the council will no longer need to incur.”
The Reform leadership in Kent sent a separate statement, saying: “Only in Westminster bubble politics could stopping waste before it happens be spun as dishonesty. Reform prevented bad spending, and we make no apology for it.
“This story is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how public finances work, and a deliberate attempt to mislead readers … Polly Billington’s claim that these projects ‘never existed’ is demonstrably false.”
Late last year, Kemkaran appointed a paid political adviser, Michael Hadwen. The move was condemned by the Liberal Democrat group on the council as a waste of money. They also expressed concern at previous social media posts by Hadwen that expressed support for Enoch Powell’s ideas about immigration.
Fox News’ Jesse Watters criticizes Gov. Gavin Newsom’s, D-Calif., video announcing construction of California’s high speed rail beginning construction after over a decade and $15 billion spent.
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In the dystopian novel “1984,” George Orwell wrote, “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” The true meaning of that line was never more clear than watching the truly bizarre photo op of Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom heralding the success of the greatest boondoggle in history: his high-speed train to nowhere. Without laying a single yard of track after burning $12 billion, Newsom showed a diesel freight train on a conventional track to create the appearance of a working railroad.
I have been writing about this boondoggle for years. Newsom promised years ago that the project would be transformative. It was, but not as he promised.
Voters approved a $9.95 billion bond issue in 2008 after absurdly low estimates of the projected cost. Influential figures and companies stood to make a fortune, and the key was to secure a “buy-in” worth billions, so that it would become increasingly difficult to abandon the project as overruns and delays sent costs soaring.
Now the official estimate of future ridership has dropped by 25% , and it demands billions more to complete a project delayed by decades. Remember that this entire project was meant to create a rail line of only 171 miles. It is projected to exceed $128 billion and could ultimately cost a billion dollars per mile. There are still uncompleted environmental assessments and challenging rail lines through the mountains.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is promoting his alleged success on high-speed rail, though it hasn’t laid one track.(Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
There is still no train and not a yard of track almost 20 years later.
The inspector general, Benjamin Belnap, issued a scathing report on the first phase of the still uncompleted project. That is only the stretch from Merced to Bakersfield which was supposed to be completed by 2033. Belnap wrote:
“With a smaller remaining schedule envelope and the potential for significant uncertainty and risk during subsequent phases of the project, staying within the 2033 schedule envelope is unlikely. In fact, uncertainty about some parts of the project has increased as the authority has recently made decisions that deviated from the procurement and funding strategies that were part of its plans for staying on schedule.”
Rather than deliver on the promise of high-speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco, the Merced-Bakersfield line would now cost $35.3 billion, exceeding the 2008 projection for a complete system.
Merced and Bakersfield have a combined population of just 500,000 for the most expensive rail project in the state’s history.
However, Newsom still wants to be president, even as citizens are fleeing his state in record numbers. The “train to nowhere” is a problem. Even the New York Times is writing editorials on whether Newsom will be the next mistake of the Democratic Party.
Newsom’s response is to arrange for gushing columns like Maya Singer’s embarrassing piece in Vogue:
“Let’s get this out of the way: He is embarrassingly handsome, his hair seasoned with silver, at ease with his own eminence as he delivers his final State of the State address…
California’s high speed rail ‘boondoggle’ will one day cross this bridge over CA-99 in Fresno.(Reuters)
Newsom’s lanky frame was folded onto a sofa a bit too low-slung for him. This made him lean back—away from me. Or it could be that his body language had nothing to do with ergonomics and is a function of Newsom’s quality of being at once gregarious and aloof.”
It is the type of teenybopper heartthrob coverage that Newsom is counting on from the media. It is not the billions burned on a non-existent railway but his glorious hair and “eminence.”
However, others beyond Vogue readers may be interested in his actual record. Hence, the need to release this absurd photo op that would make a propagandist blush:
“All of the hard work behind us. Now we’re going to see the fruits of that. We’re going to start seeing precisely what you see here. Real tracks, real progress.”
Merced and Bakersfield have a combined population of just 500,000 for the most expensive rail project in the state’s history.
It is like paying for a meal at a restaurant and the Chef charging you ten times what was on the menu, not producing the meal for hours, and then showing you a picture of a different dish as a sign of his progress.
The difference is that Newsom has taken almost two decades to deliver and cut the original dish to a fraction of its original size while increasing the price exponentially.
Californians are now captives on a train to nowhere. The state must continue to burn billions because too much is invested economically and politically. They must ride the train with Gavin Newsom to the very end.
He is a nationally recognized legal scholar who has written extensively in areas ranging from constitutional law to legal history to the Supreme Court. He has written over three dozen academic articles that have appeared in a variety of leading law journals.
Professor Turley also served as counsel in some of the most notable cases in the last two decades including the representation of whistleblowers, military personnel, former cabinet members, judges, members of Congress, and a wide range of other clients.
Professor Turley testified more than 50 times before the House and Senate on constitutional and statutory issues, including the Senate confirmation hearings of cabinet members and jurists such as Justice Neil Gorsuch. He also appeared as an expert witness in both the impeachment hearings of President Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.
Professor Turley received his B.A. at the University of Chicago and his J.D. at Northwestern. In 2008, he was given an honorary Doctorate of Law from John Marshall Law School for his contributions to civil liberties and the public interest.
But he acknowledged that Starmer is facing a “serious” battle to keep his job.
“I mean, there’s always speculation. It happened to me, it happened to Tony Blair. It happens to everybody about how their future should be gauged,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“But this is serious, and the task is very clear. The task is we’ve got to clean up the system, a total clean-up of the system, an end to the corruption and unethical behaviour. And if we don’t do it, we’ll pay a heavy price.”
When asked if Starmer was the right man to take the country forward, he said: “I can look in his eyes and I can see that he is a man of integrity. He wants to do the right things.
“Perhaps he’s been too slow to do the right things, but he must do the right things now, and let’s judge what he does, on what happens in the next few months when he tries to, and I believe (he) will try, to clean up the system.”
Green party Gorton and Denton byelection candidate Hannah Spencer taking a selfie with Zack Polanski. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PAZack Polanski and Hannah Spencer with her four rescued greyhounds. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesZack Polanski at the campaign event at Granada Park in Denton. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
In case you missed it, the Guardian reported yesterday that Reform UK will face a police investigation in Gorton and Denton after admitting it sent out letters from a “concerned neighbour” which did not state they had been funded and distributed by the party.
Dozens of voters in the Greater Manchester constituency reported receiving letters from a pensioner written in a handwriting-style font. The letters do not include an imprint saying who they have been funded and distributed by, as required by electoral law.
Read the full report here:
Daniel Boffey
Away from the Mandelson scandal, Keir Starmer has been accused of hypocrisy after cutting funding to the World Food Programme (WFP) by a third while pledging to tackle “suffering and starvation”.
The reduction of UK funding to the WFP from $610m (£448m) in 2024 to $435m last year is part of a wider reduction in aid spending that campaigners said was putting lives at risk.
On top of the WFP cuts, government has also failed to make any financial pledge despite hosting a two-day conference last year on starvation and malnutrition in Afghanistan.
A government spokesperson said the UK remained the fifth largest donor to the WFP.
Michael Bates, a former Conservative aid minister in the House of Lords, said ministers were cutting funding as cases of starvation were growing “exponentially”.
He said:
If this was just a UK story it would be bad enough, but we are seeing it is a French story, it is a German story and a US story.
All these countries are cutting. There will be a time lag but this will cost lives. We have a responsibility to protect these lives.
The UK made it a commitment to spend 0.7% of gross national income on development in 2015 in order to align with a UN target. The Conservative government cut that commitment to 0.5%.
On entering government, Starmer told a G20 summit in Brazil that his administration would prioritise “the fight against hunger” and would tackle “suffering and starvation”.
Commenting on Rennard’s suspension, a Lib Dem spokesperson said:
Rennard has had the Liberal Democrat whip in the House of Lords and his party membership suspended, and the party is conducting a new investigation into these allegations.
The party has now received legal advice that the 2013 investigation into allegations against Rennard was flawed in several respects.
Ed Davey has made clear he believes Rennard should not be a member of the House of Lords and that it should be made easier for peers to be expelled from the Lords for serious misconduct.
You can read the full story here:
Lib Dem peer suspended from party
Geraldine McKelvie
The Liberal Democrat peer Chris Rennard has been suspended from the party amid a new investigation into sexual harassment allegations.
The party said it had received advice that a 2013 inquiry into the claims made by four women against Lord Rennard was “flawed in several respects”.
The Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey, believes Rennard, 65, should not be a member of the House of Lords, the party added.
In turn, Rennard, a former chief executive of the party who was awarded a life peerage in 1999, pointed to a series of investigations by police and lawyers that had concluded the allegations against him could not be proved.
He previously said he was sorry if he had “inadvertently encroached” upon anyone’s “personal space”.
Three of the women involved in the original claim welcomed the move as “the first signs of change” by the party.
The former deputy party chair Alison Goldsworthy, the academic Alison Smith, and Bridget Harris, a former adviser to Nick Clegg, issued a joint statement after the latest developments.
They said:
We decided to speak out in 2013 so that future generations of women could participate in politics safely. We did not expect a fair investigation to take so long and hope that the next steps will finally put the matter to rest.
The fourth complainant, the former councillor Susan Gaszczak, resigned from the party in 2014 after the original investigation. She said at the time she “could no longer remain a member of a party that feels it acceptable for the then chief executive to invite me to his hotel room to advance my political career”.
Speaking of Polanski, the Guardian’s Simon Hattenstone has been on the road with the Green party leader, from protests and podcasts to Soho’s legendary Heaven nightclub.
You can read Simon’s piece here:
Green party leader Zack Polanski has called on Starmer to resign, claiming the Mandelson scandal “erodes trust in politics”.
Polanski said the PM “needs to go” after showing a “catastrophic level of misjudgment” by making Lord Mandelson the ambassador to the US.
He told the Press Association:
I think the Peter Mandelson scandal actually is bad for democracy in general. I think it erodes trust in politicians.
I think we already know that people deeply mistrust the political system and, actually, I just think it reflects on everyone really badly.
I do think Keir Starmer needs to go though.
Keir Starmer knew that Peter Mandelson was still friends with a notorious paedophile, was still staying in his house and he brought him into the heart of government because he knew he could whisper into Donald Trump’s ear.
That’s a catastrophic level of misjudgment. It wasn’t just one mistake – with Keir Starmer we’ve seen misjudgment after misjudgment.
Starmer claims he was misled by Mandelson over the extent of his ties to Epstein post-conviction.
Peter Walker
Reform UK’s flagship council has been accused of telling a “blatant lie” after its claim of nearly £40m in savings on net zero were found to be based on hypothetical projects for which there was no documentation.
Kent county council, which has a £2.5bn annual budget, is one of 10 where Nigel Farage’s party has outright control and is seen as a test case for whether the insurgent party can govern competently.
The council’s leadership claimed it has found £100m in savings, £39.5m of which come from what it said was two net zero-related projects: £32m by scrapping a programme to make properties more environmentally friendly, and £7.5m by not making the council’s fleet of vehicles electric by 2030.
After the council leader, Linden Kemkaran, announced these at a council meeting last July, Polly Billington, a Labour MP in Kent, requested details of the apparent savings via a freedom of information request, setting off a months-long battle with the council.
The eventual answer said the two projects were documented in two lines of a “potential capital projects” section of the council’s 2025-26 budget plans, but added they had no business cases or identified funding.
Read the full report here:
John McDonnell, a Labour MP and former shadow chancellor under Jeremy Corbyn, has questioned (again) why senior party figures did not raise concerns over Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador at the time. “I did,” he said in post on X.
He described Starmer as “a leader who in denial looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights” and railed against “deluded leadership contenders fighting like rats in a sack”.
He added: “If we are to save our party and Labour in government we need a thorough cleansing process which exposes not just the role Mandelson played but also the influence of other wealthy individuals and corporations and the way a brutal political culture has undermined party democracy.”
Summary of developments so far
Amid mounting speculation that Keir Starmer could quit over the Mandelson scandal, Gordon Brown has described the prime minister as a “man of integrity” but said he faced a “serious” challenge to remain in his role.
In a statement this morning, the deputy assistant commissioner Hayley Sewart said the investigation into a 72-year-old man over alleged misconduct in public office would “take some time” after officers finished searching the properties in London and Wiltshire.
“He has not been arrested and enquiries are ongoing,” the statement read.
“This will be a complex investigation requiring a significant amount of further evidence gathering and analysis.It will take some time to do this work comprehensively and we will not be providing a running commentary.”
Scotland Yard launched its investigation after allegations that Mandelson sent market-sensitive information to Esptein while he was business secretary during the financial crisis in 2008.
Here are some images from the newswires last night showing police searching two properties connected to Mandelson:
A police officer leaves a London property linked to Mandelson carrying a box. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesPolice officers look at a car outside the property in north-west London. Photograph: Maja Smiejkowska/PAA police officer exits the London residence with boxes. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesPolice at a house linked to Mandelson in Wiltshire. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PAAn unidentified man looks through the letter box of the Wiltsire house. Photograph: Maja Smiejkowska/PA
Henry Dyer
A Labour minister commissioned and reviewed a report in 2023 on journalists investigating the thinktank that would help propel Keir Starmer to power, the Guardian has learned.
The research was paid for and subsequently reviewed by Josh Simons, now a minister in the Cabinet Office, when he was director of Labour Together, according to sources and documents seen by the Guardian.
Simons is close to the prime minister’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who had previously run Labour Together and whose own role in the operation to gather material on journalists is under scrutiny.
In an agreement addressed to Simons, drawn up by the PR firm APCO Worldwide, the firm agreed to “investigate the sourcing, funding and origins” of a November 2023 Sunday Times report about the thinktank, in addition to other journalistic investigations into the group.
The agreement noted APCO would “establish who and what are behind the coordinated attacks on Labour Together”.
Read the full report here:
Starmer’s position ‘irredeemable’, says Kim Johnson
“I think he needs to seriously consider his position,” Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, told Times Radio.
“He’s on the ropes and we have to think about the benefit of the country and the party. We have to consider the likelihood of what could happen, the stability of the country could be at stake.”
Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, at a teachers strike in London in 2023. Photograph: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures/Getty Images
Rayner warned Starmer not to appoint Mandelson – report
Angela Rayner, Starmer’s former deputy, reportedly told the prime minister not to appoint Mandelson as US ambassador.
While Rayner is widely viewed as a potential successor to Starmer, she is said to not want to be the one who launches a challenge against the prime minister, The Times reported.
Alleged leak to Epstein may have cause huge commercial damage, says Brown
Brown said the market-sensitive government information that Mandelson allegedly leaked to Epstein could have caused “huge commercial damage”.
The former prime minister, who appointed Mandelson as business secretary in his government in 2008, said he felt “shocked, sad, angry betrayed, let down”.
“This was financially secret information, it meant Britain was at risk because of that, the currency was at risk, some of the trading that would happen would be speculative as a result of that and there’s no doubt that huge commercial damage could have been done and perhaps was done,” Brown told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
It comes as the Liberal Democrats have urged the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK’s financial regulator, to immediately investigate Mandelson, saying the apparent leaks may have led to insider trading.
Daisy Cooper, the MP for St Albans and the Lib Dems’ deputy leader, wrote to the FCA saying the sharing of confidential information with a private financier “could easily have provided an unfair and lucrative advantage in the financial markets, either by Epstein himself or by his associates”.
Our banking correspondentKalyeena Makortoffhas more on this story below:
Police executed search warrants at two properties connected to Mandelson as part of an investigation into “misconduct in public office offences”. Officers searched a house near Regent’s Park in central London and a property in Wiltshire on Friday. Mandelson has been living in a rented property in Wiltshire since being sacked as ambassador to the US over his links to the late convicted child sex offender.
You can read our full report on this story here:
Brown: Starmer a man of integrity but faces serious task amid leadership speculation
But he acknowledged that Starmer is facing a “serious” battle to keep his job.
“I mean, there’s always speculation. It happened to me, it happened to Tony Blair. It happens to everybody about how their future should be gauged,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“But this is serious, and the task is very clear. The task is we’ve got to clean up the system, a total clean-up of the system, an end to the corruption and unethical behaviour. And if we don’t do it, we’ll pay a heavy price.”
When asked if Starmer was the right man to take the country forward, he said: “I can look in his eyes and I can see that he is a man of integrity. He wants to do the right things.
“Perhaps he’s been too slow to do the right things, but he must do the right things now, and let’s judge what he does, on what happens in the next few months when he tries to, and I believe (he) will try, to clean up the system.”
There is a systemic failure to do proper vetting in government, says Gordon Brown
Former prime minister Gordon Brown said there was a “systemic failure’ in the way senior appointments are carried out in government.
While he believed Starmer was “misled and he was betrayed” by Mandelson when appointing him as US ambassador, he said that it was “not sufficient explanation for what happened”.
“There is a systemic failure to do proper vetting, to go through the proper procedures and to actually have, in my view, what should be public hearings for anybody who is going to be in a senior position representing the British government,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in 2009. Photograph: WPA/Getty Images
Writing in the Guardian, Brown said he “greatly regrets” making Mandelson a peer and bringing him back into government in 2008 as business secretary. He said he was told at the time that Mandelson’s record as EU trade commissioner had been “unblemished” and he did not know about any Epstein links.
“No one could say I promoted him out of favouritism,” he wrote. “I did so in spite of him being anything but a friend to me, because I thought that his unquestioned knowledge of Europe and beyond could help us as we dealt with the global financial crisis.
“I now know that I was wrong.”
You can read Brown’s opinion piece in full here:
PM says ‘significant volume of material’ needs reviewing before Mandelson documents can be released
Good morning and welcome to our UK politics blog.
Prime minister Keir Starmerhas said a “very significant volume of material” related to his appointment of Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US will need to be reviewed before any documents can be released.
Starmer believes the documents will prove Mandelson lied about the extent of his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during the vetting process before he was given the top diplomatic job in Washington last year.
The prime minister had previously said he wanted to release the documents sooner and raise it at PMQs but was advised by police that doing so could risk prejudicing a future investigation or legal process.
Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), a cross-party group of MPs and peers with access to highly sensitive information, will play a role in sifting through the emails, messages and documents, which could number in the tens of thousands, before they are released into the public domain.
Starmer wrote a letter to Lord Beamish, the chairman of the ISC, saying: “It is important that documents are made available to parliament as soon as possible, noting that there is likely to be a very significant volume of material that will need to be reviewed to establish whether it is in scope.”
Former prime minister Gordon Brown has said he “greatly regrets” making Mandelson a peer and appointing him to a ministerial role in 2008.Writing in the Guardian, Brown said the news that Mandelson was passing information to Epstein while he was business secretary was “a betrayal of everything we stand for as a country”.
The trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson’s action thriller “One Battle After Another” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Teyana Taylor. Released by Warner Bros. Pictures.
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The film that’s been praised by critics for its timeliness may be benefiting from the news cycle at the right time.
“One Battle After Another,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s politically-charged thriller, has maintained its frontrunner status for Best Picture at this year’s Oscars since the fall. If you read my review, then you’d know I recommended it for those who are able to compartmentalize their personal politics because it’s very left-wing.
It’s about a group of self-described revolutionaries on the run from a cabal of white nationalist authoritarians. The opening scene literally depicts them freeing illegal migrants from a detention center — not to mention that they also bomb courthouses and offices of anti-abortion lawmakers. One man’s revolutionary is another man’s domestic terrorist.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson in “One Battle After Another.” A Warner Bros. Pictures Release.(Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Putting that aside, “OBAA” is a well-made film. Despite its nearly 3-hour running time, it never lags. The performances from the cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, the score, the editing were top-notch. Would I give it Best Picture? No. 2025 was a weaker year for films overall — I’d vote for “Hamnet” if I was a member of the Academy — nonetheless, a Best Picture win was always feasible.
Now, with all the turmoil that’s unfolded in Minnesota, a Best Picture win may already be locked up.
“OBAA” won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy or Musical (it’s neither a comedy nor a musical. Don’t even get me started on how films and TV shows are classified at the Golden Globes). It has since received 13 Oscar nominations, more than any other film besides Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller “Sinners,” shattering records with its 16 nominations.
(L-R) Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Sara Murphy, Chase Infiniti, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Thomas Anderson and Sean Penn accept the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Award for “One Battle After Another” onstage during the 83rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California.
But the current political climate will likely propel “OBAA” in the Best Picture race. Liberal Hollywood isn’t shy about making a statement. Just look at all the “Be Good” pins worn at the Golden Globes honoring Renee Good and the marathon ICE bashing at the Grammys last week. They’ll use “OBAA” as a giant “F you” to Donald Trump and his administration despite the irony that “OBAA” would’ve been released regardless of whether Trump or Kamala Harris won the 2024 election.
On top of that, many in the Academy probably feel that Paul Thomas Anderson is finally owed an Oscar. Anderson is now a 14-time nominee and was previously snubbed for films like “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “There Will Be Blood.” In other words, he’ll get the same treatment as Christopher Nolan did two years ago with his Best Picture winner “Oppenheimer” after going decades without a win.
Between national politics and Academy politics, the wind is surely hitting the back of “OBAA.”
The unrest in Minneapolis has been top of mind in Hollywood between the “Be Good” pins worn at the Golden Globes and the anti-ICE rhetoric at the Grammys. (Getty Images)
Are there chances for there to be an upset? Of course, “Sinners” — surpassing previous record holders “Titanic,” “La La Land” and “All About Eve” in total nominations — is clearly adored by the Academy and will likely nab a few trophies in the craft categories. But as we’ve seen before like last year with “Emilia Pérez,” having the most nominations doesn’t always translate to a Best Picture win. And the Academy may believe that since 39-year-old Coogler will likely have a long career ahead of him as a writer and director, voters will wait before giving him an Oscar and hand it to 55-year-old Anderson instead.
“Hamnet” may be the darkest of dark horses in this race. It did pull an upset over “Sinners” in winning Best Drama at the Golden Globes, though notably has an entirely different body of voters (mostly foreign press). However, the Academy has increasingly welcomed more and more foreign filmmakers and actors in recent years, which is why we’ve seen more and more foreign films being nominated for Best Picture. They may rally behind the Shakespeare family drama over the very America-centric “OBAA” and “Sinners.” However, perhaps working against “Hamnet” is the fact that its writer/director Chloé Zhao just won two Oscars for her work on the 2021 Best Picture winner “Nomadland.”
Paul Thomas Anderson, the director of “One Battle After Another,” is a 14-time Oscar nominee spanning decades, but with zero wins, perhaps encouraging Academy voters to finally give him a trophy.(John Shearer/WireImage)
The only true indicators that will affirm the frontrunner status of “OBAA” between now and the Oscars are how the various guild awards play out in the coming weeks, mainly the Producers Guild Awards, the Directors Guild Awards, the Writers Guild Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (now called the Actor Awards) since many guild voters are also Academy voters. If “OBAA” sweeps those, it will be incredibly likely a Best Picture win will follow. If other films like “Sinners” and “Hamnet” emerge as big winners, that could spice up the race.
With all of that in mind, “OBAA” still has the edge. And since the firestorm over ICE isn’t likely to melt away anytime soon, “OBAA” will almost certainly be our next Best Picture winner.
Spain and Portugal are bracing for a new storm, just days after Storm Leonardo’s deadly floods killed at least two people — one in Portugal and one in Spain — and forced more than 11,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
On Saturday, authorities in Portugal mobilised more than 26,500 rescuers as Storm Marta approached, forcing three municipalities to postpone Sunday’s presidential vote until next week due to severe weather.
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Both countries issued warnings of further flooding after previous heavy rains had submerged roads, disrupted train services, and displaced thousands. Portuguese forecasts warned of heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas, with alerts active across the country.
In Spain, much of the south, particularly Andalusia, and the northwest were placed on orange alert for heavy rain and violent storms, the national meteorological agency Aemet said.
Other regions, including Castilla‑La Leon, Galicia, Murcia, and the Valencian Community, also received warnings. While rainfall was expected to be less “exceptional” than during Storm Leonardo, authorities cautioned that saturated ground increased the risk of flooding and landslides.
New downpours in Andalusia added to earlier rain that had already caused widespread flooding, landslides, and forced more than 10,000 people from their homes.
Many roads remained closed, and rail services were largely suspended, with officials urging residents to limit travel wherever possible.
Mario Silvestre, commander at Portugal’s civil protection agency, described the forecast as “extremely worrying”.
Juan Manuel Moreno, president of the Andalusia region, wrote on X that the “rivers have hit their limit,” warning of gusts of wind reaching 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour), landslides, and flash floods.
“All the furniture is completely destroyed, the water broke the window, forced the doors open and then burst through the window from the other side,” Francisco Marques, a municipal employee in the central village of Constancia, told the AFP news agency.
After flying over flood-hit areas in southern Spain near Cadiz on Friday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned that “difficult days” lay ahead for the region as a result of the “very dangerous” weather forecast. Sanchez added he was “bowled over at seeing the endless rain”.
Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the damage exceeded four billion euros ($4.7bn).
Portugal was already reeling from the effects of Storm Kristin, which led to five deaths, hundreds of injuries, and tens of thousands without power, when Leonardo struck earlier this week.
Portugal’s National Meteorological Institute (IPMA) has placed the entire coastline on orange alert due to heavy seas, with waves reaching up to 13 metres (43 feet) high. Eight of the 18 districts on the mainland, mainly in the centre and south, are also on orange alert.
“All river basins remain under severe pressure,” particularly the Tagus River in the Lisbon region and the Sado River further south, a spokesperson for the National Civil Protection Authority told AFP.
One person died during Storm Leonardo in Portugal, and 1,100 people were evacuated across the country. A succession of atmospheric depressions forced Portugal’s dams to release “a volume of water equivalent to the country’s annual consumption” in just three days, Jose Pimenta Machado, president of the Portuguese Environment Agency, said on Friday.
Ukraine and Russia are reportedly working on a U.S.-set deadline to reach a peace deal that would end the nearly four-year-long war.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that the U.S. had set a June deadline for Moscow and Kyiv to strike an agreement, according to The Associated Press. The outlet noted Zelenskyy’s remarks were embargoed until Saturday morning.
“The Americans are proposing the parties end the war by the beginning of this summer and will probably put pressure on the parties precisely according to this schedule,” Zelenskyy said, according to the AP. The Ukrainian president also said that if the June deadline is not met, the Trump administration would likely put pressure on Moscow and Kyiv to meet.
“And they say that they want to do everything by June. And they will do everything to end the war. And they want a clear schedule of all events,” Zelenskyy added, the AP reported.
People react looking at debris after a stray dog shelter was destroyed by a Russian air strike killing and wounding animals in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.(Kateryna Klochko/AP Photos)
Zelenskyy posted a video message on X on Friday saying Ukraine’s negotiators “report on the sensitive aspects of the negotiations in Abu Dhabi that cannot be discussed over the phone.” He added that Ukraine was preparing for “next meetings,” which he said would be “trilateral.”
The Ukrainian president told reporters that the U.S. had proposed it host the trilateral talks next week, likely in Miami, and that Ukraine had already confirmed it would participate, the AP reported.
President Donald Trump on Friday expressed optimism about the Russia-Ukraine talks while speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One.
“We have very good talks going with Russia and Ukraine,” Trump said.
In a readout of the trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi that took place on Feb. 4 and 5, the U.S. described the discussions as “constructive” and said they were focused on creating “the conditions for a durable peace.” The U.S. also said that the delegations had reached an agreement under which Russia and Ukraine would each release 157 prisoners of war, noting that it would be “the first exchange in the last five months.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the U.S. gave Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to end the war.(Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images; Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Kristina Solovyova / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
Additionally, the U.S. said it and Russia agreed to open a new channel of communication by establishing a military-to-military dialogue, which would be led by General Alexus Grynkewich, commander of U.S. European Command. The dialogue was suspended prior to the war in Ukraine, the U.S. said, adding that it was “crucial to achieving and maintaining peace.”
Despite the apparent progress, Russia and Ukraine’s war remains ongoing, with Moscow striking Kyiv’s energy infrastructure as the nation faces a brutal winter. Zelenskyy said on Saturday that the overnight attack involved 400 drones and approximately 40 “missiles of various types.” The Ukrainian president said that an apartment building and a college administrative building were hit.
President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan receives the heads of delegations participating in trilateral talks between the U.S., Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 23, 2026. (Hamad Al Kaabi/UAE Presidential Court/Handout via Reuters)
“Every day, Russia could choose real diplomacy, but it chooses new strikes. It is crucial that everyone who supports the trilateral negotiations respond to this,” Zelenskyy said. “Moscow must be deprived of the ability to use the cold as leverage against Ukraine. This requires missiles for Patriot, NASAMS, and other systems. Every shipment helps us get through this winter.”
“I thank all our partners who understand this and are genuinely helping,” he added.
Trump previously said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to temporarily stop attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, citing the brutally cold weather.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the State Department for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
Talks between Iran and the US held in Oman on Friday have been described as ‘positive’ by officials. Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem asked people in Tehran whether they were optimistic.
An important traffic advisory has been issued for drivers traveling in South Delhi on Saturday (7 February) night. Due to metro construction work, the road will be temporarily closed on a major part of MB Road and traffic will be diverted towards alternative routes. In such a situation, people may have to face problems if they travel without information.
According to the information given by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the stretch from Khanpur T-Point to Hamdard Red Light on MB Road will be temporarily closed from Saturday night. This closure is being done due to metro construction work, so that the work can be completed safely and smoothly.
How long will this part remain closed?
This traffic diversion will come into effect from 11 pm on Saturday (7 February) and will remain in effect till 8 am on Sunday (8 February 2026). During this period, movement of common vehicles will be restricted. Downline traffic going from Saket towards Sangam Vihar will be diverted from Khanpur T-point towards Chirag Delhi. Drivers have been advised to follow this route and not go towards the closed road unnecessarily.
Traffic Advisory | MB Road, South Delhi
There will be a temporary traffic diversion & road closure on MB Road from Khanpur T-Point to Hamdard Red Light, Sangam Vihar due to metro construction work tonight (ie Saturday, 7th February 2026) from 11 pm till 8 am tomorrow (ie… pic.twitter.com/CGnyBNkIrf
Upline traffic going from Sangam Vihar towards Saket will be diverted towards Ravidas Marg, Tara Apartment and Govindpuri from Hamdard Red Light. The map of this route has also been made available by the traffic police for reference.
DMRC has appealed to the people to plan their journey in advance and if possible, choose an alternative time or route. Following the rules will not only save your time but the traffic system will also remain smooth.
