Month: July 2025

Sue Jenkins and Richard Fleeshman both appeared on Coronation Street – but many fans had no idea about their real-life connection

Coronation Street has seen more than its fair share of real-life family members treading the cobbles, with cousins Brooke Vincent and Ellie Leach among those who’ve found fame on the show.

The late Rick Neelan (played by Greg Wood) was actually the real-life brother of footballer Tommy Orpington (Matt Milburn).

However, they’re not the only ones with familial ties both on and off the screen. Fans were recently surprised to discover a mother and son duo who appeared on the soap years ago.

In 1985, Sue Jenkins joined the cast of Coronation Street as Gloria Todd, a regular character who worked as a barmaid at the iconic Rovers Return. She also shared scenes with Julie Goodyear, who famously played landlady Bet Lynch, reports the Daily Star.

Beyond her stint on Corrie, Sue portrayed Jackie Corkhill in Brookside for nine years from 1992 to 2001, and made a brief appearance in Emmerdale in 2008 as Bonnie Drinkwater.

Interestingly, Sue’s son is Richard Fleeshman, who also had a role on Coronation Street.

Richard played Craig Harris, joining the cast in 2002 as part of the Harris family, who were hiding under the witness protection programme.

His character, Craig, had some significant storylines, reports Leicestershire Live.

He embraced a goth lifestyle, much to his father’s dismay, and became Rosie Webster’s (Helen Flanagan) first boyfriend.

The plot thickened when Katy Harris, Craig’s sister, killed their father after a heated row about her secret relationship with Martin Platt.

Their mother, Angela Harris, tried to shield Katy, but overwhelmed by guilt, Katy ended her own life.

In the aftermath, Craig planned to escape to Berlin with Rosie, but ultimately left alone, saying goodbye to the cobbles in 2006 for good.

The revelation of Sue and Richard’s time on Corrie left fans gobsmacked. On X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer posted about Sue’s stint on Corrie.

Another fan replied: “That’s Richard fleeshmans mum!”

Another person remarked: “Wow, all this time watching and I never knew that, I can see her son in that photo now.”

A third chimed in: “Her real life son played Craig Harris, son of Psycho Tommy!”

Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX

Désiré Doué scored in the 78th minute, and Paris Saint-Germain moved a step closer to another trophy with a 2-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup on Saturday, a game marred by a gruesome injury to young German star Jamal Musiala.

With PSG two men down after a pair of late red cards and Bayern throwing everyone forward, Ousmane Dembélé added an insurance goal deep into stoppage time to send the French powerhouse on to the semifinals Wednesday.

Dembélé, whose goal was set up by Achraf Hakimi’s brilliant dribbling through five Bayern defenders, celebrated by sitting with his legs crossed to honor Liverpool player Diogo Jota, who was killed along with his brother in a car wreck early Thursday. A moment of silence was held before the opening kick.

“We do what we have to do to take the victory,” Hakimi said. “We are really happy. We know Bayern is one of the teams that plays similarly to us. They are a strong team. It was a really good effort today, a really good game.”

PSG, which claimed its first Champions League title with a 5-0 rout of Inter Milan five weeks ago, broke a scoreless deadlock when João Neves stole the ball from Harry Kane near the halfway line to send the French team sprinting toward the Bayern goal.

Neves got the ball back off a give-and-go and found Doué lurking just outside the top of the area. His left-footed shot caught Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer flat-footed as it skidded inside the right post.

But PSG had to hold on for dear life to preserve the win after Willian Pacho and Lucas Hernández were both sent off with red cards. Pacho was called for a reckless challenge and Hernandez earned red for doling out an elbow.

Bayern had two apparent goals flagged for offside, including a header by Kane. In the waning seconds, the German club was awarded a penalty kick, only to have it waved off after a video review.

Musiala’s injury marred the outcome. As he chased a loose ball near the end line in first-half stoppage time, PSG keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma darted off his spot and dived for it — only to crash into the left ankle of the 22-year-old German.

As Musiala rolled over, his foot dangled awkwardly, the ankle appearing to be cleanly broken.

Donnarumma walked away with the ball but kneeled down in horror when he looked back and realized the seriousness of the injury.

A stretcher was immediately summoned to take Musiala off the field.

Real Madrid beats Borussia Dortmund

Kylian Mbappé’s spectacular bicycle kick was among three goals in second-half stoppage time, and Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a Club World Cup quarterfinal match as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois used his fingertips to palm away the potential tying goal on the game’s final play.

Gonzalo García and Fran García scored in the first 20 minutes as Madrid built a 2-0 lead.

Courtois used all of the lengthy arm on his 6-foot-7 frame to tip away Marcel Sabitzer’s shot just before the final whistle.

Chelsea wins, reaches semifinal

Chelsea scored the go-ahead goal on Malo Gusto’s 83rd-minute shot that went in after a pair of deflections, beating Brazilian club Palmeiras 2-1 on Friday night in Philadelphia for a spot in the Club World Cup semifinals. Chelsea will meet Fluminense on Tuesday at noon.

July 5 (UPI) — Entrepreneur and former Department of Government Efficiency Director Elon Musk on Saturday announced the creation of the America Party.

Musk says the American Party will restore democracy and freedom after suggesting he would a new political party amid a high-profile feud with President Donald Trump.

He conducted a straw poll on his social media platform X on Friday, Politico reported.

“By a factor or 2 to 1, you want a new political party, and you shall have it,” Musk said Saturday afternoon in a post on X.

“When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” Musk continued. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.”

Musk suggested the political party would focus on two or three Senate seats and between eight and 10 House seats during the 2026 mid-term elections, CNBC reported.

Given the narrow margins among House and Senate majorities in recent years, a small number of seats in both chambers would be enough to significantly influence legislation, Musk said.

He said the party would caucus independently of Democrats and Republicans but enter into legislative discussions with both.

Musk did not say if he registered the party with the Federal Election Commission, but an “America Party” search of the FEC website did not produce any results on Saturday.

A frantic search for survivors is under way in central Texas after flash floods killed at least 43 people, including 15 children.

Many were asleep when the Guadalupe River rose more than 26 ft (8m) in less than an hour in the early hours of Friday.

Officials in Kerr County have said 27 children are missing from a Christian youth camp located along the river. Some 850 people have been rescued so far.

Weather forecasts suggest that more rain and, potentially, more flooding could be on the horizon for the area.

Among the areas most severely hit by the floods were mobile homes, summer camps and camping sites where many had gathered for 4 July holiday celebrations.

At a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had signed an expanded disaster declaration to boost search efforts.

He said officials would be relentless in ensuring they locate “every single person who’s been a victim of this event”, adding that “we will stop when job is completed”.

It remains a search and rescue mission, officials said, not a recovery effort.

They said rescuers were going up and down the Guadalupe River to try to find people who may have been swept away by the floods.

Much of the rescue has focused on a large all-girls Christian summer camp called Camp Mystic.

The camp, where 27 remain missing, is on the banks of the Guadalupe River near Hunt, Texas.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick told the BBC’s Radio 4 PM programme that of the 27 children missing from Camp Mystic “many of these girls are younger girls under the age of 12”.

He also said that many more people were likely to remain unaccounted for across the region, because some were visiting for the holiday weekend.

In an email to parents of the roughly 750 campers, Camp Mystic said that if they haven’t been contacted directly, their child is considered missing.

Some of the families have already stated publicly that their children were among those who were found dead.

US President Donald Trump has said his administration is working closely with local authorities to respond to the emergency.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the president was “devastated” by the loss of life and promised full federal support.

Noem joined Governor Abbott at Saturday afternoon’s press conference and said the federal government would soon be deploying the Coast Guard to help search efforts.

Elsewhere in central Texas, in Travis County, officials say another two people have died and 10 are missing because of the flooding.

Forecasters have warned that central Texas may see more flooding this weekend.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said the area could see 2 to 5in (5cm to 12cm) of rain on Saturday.

Up to 10in of rain was possible in some areas that are still reeling from Friday’s deluge.

Some parents were the lucky ones, having received confirmation on Friday morning that their children were safe.

They awaited their children’s return at the reunification centre.

Rachel Reed drove five hours from Dallas to pick up her daughter. She told the BBC that members of her church and children’s school district were among the girls dead and missing.

“The families of those campers are living every parents’ worst nightmare,” she said. “My heart is just broken for those families, just in pieces. Our whole community is just in pieces.”

“Of course,” she added, “it could have been me.”

Others started returning home in the flooded area, and the damage was enormous.

The floor of Anthony’s apartment in Kerrville was full of mud and debris. His refrigerator fell on the floor, and belongings were not salvageable, except a box holding childhood photos and his baby blanket.

“I lost everything I own,” he told the BBC.

Anthony had sought food supply from a Red Cross shelter; he said he had no family in the area.

“Now I’m trying to figure things out,” he said.

In the hands of director John Badham, “The Jack Bull” is a moral drama in genre drag, with an impressive physical sweep. A Canadian mountain vista, standing in for a swath of the American frontier, is referred to as “a church without a roof,” and it lives up to the description.

In the HBO movie, which premieres tonight, the underused actor John Cusack portrays Myrl Redding, a stubborn horse breeder in the Wyoming Territory who forms an army of paid vigilantes to redress what appears to be (to everyone but him) a minor grievance. The title refers to the behavior of the scrappy Jack Russell terrier, which supposedly never lets go once its teeth are embedded in your calf. “That’s Myrl Redding right about now,” says worried wrangler John C. McGinley.

Redding has decided to pick a fight with greed-head rancher Henry Ballard (L.Q. Jones), who is systematically buying up and fencing off the wide open spaces. He’s even begun charging his neighbors a fee to cross his expanding spread. Cusack’s rock-ribbed family man, who has already angered Ballard by speaking up for Wyoming statehood, is forced to leave a matched pair of prize stallions behind with the rancher as collateral, along with their Native American trainer (“Dances With Wolves’ ” Rodney A. Grant). When man and beast alike are sadistically mistreated, and corrupt lawyers and judges fail to act upon Redding’s righteous lawsuit, he mounts his own effort to force the rancher to pay compensation to the trainer, and nurse the animals back to health with his own hands.

Richly carpeted with visual and behavioral details, “The Jack Bull” is a revisionist western that wrestles with the genre’s classic conflicts, as the free-for-all atmosphere of the frontier is brought to heel by political institutions and the rule of law. Caught on the cusp between the lawless and the lawful, even a forward-looking statehood advocate like Redding has no choice left: He has to grow his own. The film is consistently supportive of Redding’s extra-legal activities, portraying him as a desperate idealist even when he assembles a massive posse that intimidates witnesses, burns barns and accidentally causes several deaths. “Myrl Redding didn’t fail the law,” snarls a tough-nut judge played by John Goodman, “the law failed Myrl.”

“The Jack Bull” is “based upon a true story,” although you won’t find the underlying legend in any history of the Wild, Wild West. The source is the fact-based German novel “Michael Kohlhaas,” by Heinrich von Kleist, originally published in 1808. (Director Volker Schlondorff filmed the Kohlhaas story in 1969, with David Warner in the title role, and the character Colehouse Walker, in “Ragtime,” was named after him.) The novel still occasionally crops up on Libertarian reading lists.

The German influence adds a spice of novelty to what is, in the western context, a familiar tale, a taming-the-wilderness saga like the OK Corral legend. Screenwriter Dick Cusack (John’s dad) has translated the action smoothly to the American frontier (in the original the horse trainer was a gypsy rather than an Indian) but the “noble outlaw” subtext lingers, redolent of 19th century romanticism. Viewers who don’t know the background may be puzzled by some of Myrl’s philosophical pronouncements, which include the assertion that the law he obeys “was there all along, in my mind. That law was there before we were born.”

John Cusack, who has been especially good (as in “Say Anything”) at portraying characters with complex inner resources, may seem a strange choice of casting for a staunch western role–until you realize that this character is no ordinary blunt-minded Westerner. He’s a slow but fierce thinker, one of nature’s noblemen. Redding communes with the Lord in his outdoor cathedral, and picks up the message loud and clear: “Remember who made this. Don’t get too big for your britches.”

* “The Jack Bull” premieres tonight on HBO at 9, with repeats Tuesday at 8 p.m. and April 25 at 10 p.m. The network has rated it TV-14VLD (may be unsuitable for children younger than 14, with special advisories for violence, language and suggestive dialogue).

Banda, 25, came into the tournament off the back of a stellar 12 months which saw her also named BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, score the winning goal for club side Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League Championship final, and become Africa’s all-time leading scorer – male or female – in Olympic football.

However, she had been forced to wait a long time to make her mark at a Wafcon.

An unused member of the Copper Queens squad in 2018, she saw the 2020 edition cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic and missed out in 2022 amid confusion over ‘gender eligibility’ rules, with the situation later resolved.

But her first contribution on African football’s biggest stage caused obvious fear in the Moroccan rearguard, with three defenders backing off as Banda carried the ball from the halfway line to the edge of the box.

Her shot was on target but should have been saved by goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi, who somehow allowed it to squirm past her to provide a truly electric start.

But Morocco, who dominated with over 70% of possession throughout the game, were not behind for long.

Play was initially waved on by referee Shamirah Nabadda following a clumsy challenge inside the box by Grace Chanda on fellow midfielder Najat Badri, but the video assistant referee advised Nabadda to go to the monitor and the Ugandan duly overturned her original decision.

Jraidi made no mistake from the spot, hitting the ball high into the net to level proceedings in the 12th minute, lifting the volume inside the Olympic Stadium, the venue which will also host the final on 26 July.

Orlando Pride forward Banda then showed her class again 15 minutes later, finding time on the ball to slide a defence-splitting pass into the path of another player based in the USA, Bay FC’s Racheal Kundananji, Africa’s most expensive player, who finished calmly past Er-Rmichi.

And deep in first-half injury time, Banda looked set to tap home another goal at the back post, only to see Morocco full-back Hanane Ait El Haj pull off an amazing headed clearance from her own goal line.

July 5 (UPI) — Three Turkish mayors who are members of a political party that opposes Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were arrested on corruption charges Saturday morning.

The three mayors are Nuhittin Bocek, Abdurrahman Tutdere and Zeydan Karlar and are members of Turkey’s Republican People’s Party, Politico reported.

Karalar is the mayor of Adana, while Tutdere is the mayor of Adiyaman and Bocek the mayor of Antalya.

Republican People’s Party Chairman Burhanettin Bulut said the arrests are politically motivated, Euronews reported.

“Those who use the judiciary as a stick for political revenge do not care about the law, but about protecting their own power,” Balu said in a social media post.

“We will never submit to this dirty system that strikes a blow to the will of the nation.”

Police detained Tutdere at his house in Ankara in the morning and then took him to Istanbul.

Reports do not say if Karalar or Bocek also were taken to Istanbul.

The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office made the arrests as part of its investigation into an alleged criminal organization operating in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Erdogan has supported the investigation and similar arrests, which he says are due to political corruption by the respective mayors and others.

Hundreds have been detained during recent raids in several of Turkey’s largest cities.

The first raids were carried out in Istanbul and spread to locations in Izmir Province and other cities.

The bulk of England’s issues seemed to stem from midfield as Georgia Stanway and Walsh were overrun and their opponents were devastating on the break.

Wiegman admitted sloppiness in possession played into France’s hands as they pressed hard and took advantage of individual errors.

Captain Leah Williamson was visibly frustrated at full-time and described the errors as “some cheap sort of emotional defending”.

France winger Sandy Baltimore won her individual battles with her Chelsea team-mate Lucy Bronze – the England defender losing six duels, the most by any player.

And until Walsh’s 87th-minute strike, the Lionesses had not achieved a shot on target.

“I think we played like we were a little bit scared,” said Carter.

“Maybe we weren’t aggressive enough, maybe we were worrying about their threats in behind and what they can do rather than doing what we can do.

“We didn’t do as well on the ball, or off the ball. The only positive to take is the last 10 minutes. I really believed we would get a [second] goal.”

England’s level seemed to surprise French media, who had largely written off their side’s chances when key centre-back Griedge Mbock was ruled out through injury.

“I didn’t think the French could play at this level already and I didn’t think England could be so disappointing like they were for an hour,” French journalist Julien Laurens told BBC Radio 5 Live.

France manager Laurent Bonadei admitted England’s explosive start, that saw Lauren James create a handful of chances, took them by surprise. But he felt his side controlled proceedings after that and “physically it was not easy for England”.

James’ apparent free role certainly looked exciting at the start – but did it leave her side exposed in midfield?

Wiegman’s response to that question was emphatic.

“[James] didn’t have a total free role. We got exposed by losing balls in moments where we didn’t want to lose the ball,” she said. “That was the main topic we wanted to find a solution for.”

Following the introductions of Chloe Kelly, Grace Clinton and Michelle Agyemang, the Lionesses responded, but too late to change the outcome, and former midfielder Karen Carney was far from impressed.

“It wasn’t good enough. We were bullied all over the pitch. We didn’t win enough duels. We looked like we’ve never played together,” she told ITV.

“This is our trophy and that wasn’t good enough. We played into their hands a little bit too much.”

Sex Education star Simone Ashley will return to screens in the fourth season of Bridgerton, and the actress has opened up about filming intimate scenes for the hit Netflix show

Bridgerton sensation Simone Ashley has opened up about feeling “very safe and comfortable” while shooting steamy scenes for the smash-hit series, Bridgerton. The star of Sex Education, who is also on the cusp of dropping her first album, labelled the Netflix sensation Bridgerton as pure “fantasy”.

Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar, she said: “It’s about, ‘What if?’ and how love conquers all. Bridgerton represents nudity with a sense of romance, and I felt very safe and comfortable in what I was choosing to show to the world.”

With the fourth instalment of the period drama set to hit screens next year, Ashley shared with the publication: “‘That show just gets bigger and bigger. Everyone has gone off to do incredible things, but we come back and it’s like time hasn’t moved.”

READ MORE: Bridgerton star facing ‘Hollywood erasure’ despite acting alongside Brad Pitt

Recounting her bold move to Los Angeles at the tender age of 18, she revealed: “I was really scrappy. Since I was little, if I wanted something, I would do anything I could to get it. So, I took some modelling jobs to pay the bills and got into acting through that.”

Gracing the digital cover of Harper’s Bazaar, Ashley divulged that her upcoming album was born out of a recent split. She explained: “It’s going to be somewhat confessional… and beautiful and messy.

“Good songs don’t come from times when my life is regimented and predictable. They come when I am feeling vitality, and usually you either feel that way when your heart’s broken, or you’re euphoric. This work has been an amazing channel to put all those feelings into.”

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This new career move comes after Ashley’s recent role in rom-com Picture This. Following the release of that movie, the Bridgerton star opened up about the importance of diversity in romantic-comedies.

The Sex Education icon, who was born to Tamil parents, stars as photographer Pia – who is juggling a failing business while dealing with the arrival of her ex and her parents’ concern for her love life. The feel-good movie was released on Amazon Prime Video on 6 March and also stars Hero Fiennes Tiffin.

She added: “I would say the younger me is kind of like, ‘Oh my gosh, we did a rom com and it’s an Indian girl leading it!'” Although she wishes she could have seen diverse characters when she was younger, she hopes Picture This helps with it. She said: “To put it simply… When it comes to this movie, I just want brown women to have it and to just win!”

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Kylian Mbappe was among the scorers as the French forward continues comeback in Real Madrid’s 3-2 win against Dortmund.

Kylian Mbappe’s spectacular bicycle kick was among three goals in the second-half stoppage time, as Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a Club World Cup quarterfinal match.

The drama was not restricted to the late goals, with Real keeper Thibaut Courtois using his fingertips to palm away the potential levelling goal from the game’s final play.

Gonzalo Garcia and Fran García scored in the first 20 minutes as Madrid built a 2-0 lead.

Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier scored three minutes into stoppage time, and Mbappe, who entered in the 67th, restored a two-goal lead with his bicycle kick one minute later.

Serhou Guirassy converted a penalty kick in the eighth minute of added time after he was fouled by Dean Huijsen, who received a red card and will miss the semifinals.

Courtois used all of the lengthy arm on his 200cm (6ft 7in) frame to tip away Marcel Sabitzer’s shot just before the final whistle.

Madrid advanced to a semifinal match against Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, a day after Chelsea meets Brazilian club Fluminense.

On a sunny afternoon, in 30 degrees Celsius (86 F) at the 3pm kickoff, Gonzalo Garcia scored in the 10th minute and Fran Garcia in the 20th.

Garcia, a 21-year-old who made only five Spanish league appearances in the past two seasons, was given the start by new Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso over Mbappe, who is still regaining fitness after acute gastroenteritis.

Garcia has four goals, tying Benfica’s Angel Di María and Al Hilal’s Marcos Leonardo for the tournament lead.

Mbappe came on for Jude Bellingham, who missed a chance to play against his brother, Jobe, who was suspended for yellow-card accumulation.

Madrid beat Dortmund 2-0 in the 2024 Champions League final and overcame a two-goal halftime deficit in a 5-2 victory in this season’s league phase. Los Blancos were eliminated by Arsenal in this year’s Champions League quarterfinals.

Madrid has won five consecutive games against Dortmund and is unbeaten in seven since a 2014 Champions League quarterfinal defeat.

American midfielder Gio Reyna did not get off the bench and finished the tournament with one 13-minute appearance for Dortmund in five matches.

This game drew 76,611 fans to MetLife Stadium, the site of next year’s World Cup final. Seats looked filled, except for a completely empty suite level on one side.

There was a moment of silence before kickoff for Liverpool’s Diogo Jota and his brother, Penafiel’s Andre Silva, who died in a car crash on Thursday.

TORONTO — Addison Barger hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning and the Toronto Blue Jays extended their season-best winning streak to seven by beating the Angels 4-3 on Saturday.

George Springer added a two-run home run, his fifth in five games, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits for the Blue Jays, who won their second straight in extra innings. Toronto won 4-3 in 10 innings Friday.

Barger, who broke his bat over his thigh in frustration after striking out against Kenley Jansen to send the game to extra innings, gained a measure of redemption when he lined the winning hit to right field off Angels right-hander Ryan Zeferjahn (5-3).

Toronto’s Braydon Fisher (3-0) pitched two shutout innings for the win.

Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer gave up two runs and five hits in four innings, the shortest of his three starts since coming off the injured list last month.

Scherzer threw 72 pitches, 46 strikes.

Angels outfielder Jo Adell opened the scoring with a bases-loaded walk in the first, but the inning ended when Barger caught Jorge Soler’s fly ball in right field and threw out Mike Trout at home plate. The outfield assist was Barger’s sixth.

Barger’s RBI single off Jack Kochanowicz tied the score in the bottom of the first but Adell restored the lead with a sacrifice fly in the third.

Nathan Lukes walked to begin the third and Springer followed with a 413-foot homer to straightaway center, his 16th.

The Angels tied it in the seventh on Nolan Schanuel’s two-out single off rookie Lazaro Estrada.

After throwing a ball to Logan O’Hoppe on his first pitch of the second inning, Scherzer struck out the side on nine straight pitches.

Up next

RHP Kevin Gausman (6-6, 4.18 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale against Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-5, 4.12).