Channel 4 is bringing back One Born Every Minute for a 12th series, filmed at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester. The new series focuses more on parents’ experiences and includes stories about caesarean births, pregnancy loss, health anxiety and complicated pregnancies.
Key Facts
The first episode airs on Sunday night.
The series is made by Dragonfly for Channel 4.
Executive producer Will Rowson said the show reflects greater willingness among parents to share personal experiences.
The series shifts its focus toward parents and their stories, rather than medical staff.
The programme features caesarean births and other surgical procedures.
Faye discusses multiple miscarriages and the anxiety she experienced during a later pregnancy.
Peace shares her experience of having twins and concerns about their growth.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Former President Barack Obama campaigned for Democrats in Ohio and Michigan ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. He criticized President Donald Trump’s Iran war, tariffs and trade policies, and urged voters to reject Republicans.
Key Facts
Obama spoke at rallies in Cleveland, Ohio, and Michigan on Saturday, 10 days before the elections.
In Cleveland, Obama backed former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown.
Obama said Trump’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and start a war had raised oil and diesel prices.
Obama cited attacks on U.S. bases, American casualties and disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as consequences of the war.
Obama argued that tariffs raise costs for consumers and for U.S. manufacturers that use imported parts.
Trump has threatened 50 percent tariffs on Canadian vehicles and auto parts starting in January 2027, according to the article.
Obama said the federal debt had reached $40 trillion; the article notes that this is accumulated debt, not the annual budget deficit.
Senate and gubernatorial races are taking place in both Ohio and Michigan.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Egypt is considering whether to send forces to help defend Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, but officials say any role would be defensive and not target the Houthis. Cairo is wary of becoming drawn into Yemen’s conflict, partly because Egypt suffered heavy losses in its 1960s intervention and wants to avoid broader regional entanglements.
Key Facts
Egypt sent thousands of troops to Yemen in 1962 to support republican forces against royalists.
Egyptian forces withdrew after heavy losses and Egypt’s defeat in the 1967 war with Israel.
President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said a possible deployment would focus on defending Saudi Arabia, not attacking Yemen’s Houthis.
Egypt’s foreign minister called for a political solution to the Yemen conflict.
Saudi Arabia has faced Houthi missile and drone attacks, including a strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport that killed 13 people, one of them Egyptian.
Egypt’s National Defence Council said on October 18 that Egypt was ready to provide necessary and possible support to Saudi Arabia.
An Egyptian combat deployment abroad requires parliamentary approval, and a vote was scheduled for Monday after a one-week delay.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The article examines Matthew McConaughey’s video urging Americans not to dismiss independent votes as wasted. It checks his claims about party primaries, independent voters and Congress, and notes both support for some claims and limits to his argument.
Key Facts
McConaughey said he was not endorsing a candidate or party, but was speaking in favor of “fairness and reality.”
San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones criticized the video and urged voters to support Democrats; Hillary Clinton called it “really unfortunate” on her podcast.
The article cites Unite America’s estimate that 87 percent of U.S. House seats in 2024 were effectively decided in party primaries by 7 percent of eligible voters.
The article reports that Gallup found 45 percent of Americans identified as independents, including 20 percent who leaned Democratic, 15 percent who leaned Republican and 10 percent who leaned neither way.
Independent senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King caucus with Democrats, which helps them obtain committee assignments, according to the article.
Independent candidate Ross Perot received nearly 20 million votes, about 19 percent of the total, in the 1992 presidential election but won no electoral votes.
The article says McConaughey’s claim that no one has offered voters an independent candidate is contradicted by Perot’s campaign.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Alyce Collins recounts that her 18-month-old son, Deacon, was taken to a hospital after an emergency at his daycare on October 5, 2016. She says responders had cut off his Baltic amber teething necklace and that doctors saw a strangulation mark on his neck; the article title says he died.
Key Facts
Collins says she was a single mother and had researched natural parenting practices.
She put a Baltic amber teething necklace on Deacon, believing it could ease teething pain.
Collins says Deacon was 18 months old in October 2016.
She dropped him off at daycare on the morning of October 5, 2016, then went to work.
After hearing sirens, Collins drove to the daycare and found emergency vehicles there.
The daycare owner told Collins that firefighters had cut off Deacon’s necklace.
At the hospital, Collins says she saw doctors trying to resuscitate Deacon and saw a strangulation mark on his neck.
The article title states that Deacon died.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Households in Upper Teesdale are facing sharply higher heating oil costs ahead of winter. A local buying group combines orders to seek lower prices, but some residents say oil is too expensive and use other ways to heat their homes.
Key Facts
A 500-litre heating oil delivery in rural areas including Teesdale, Weardale, Northumberland and parts of North Yorkshire costs about £600, or around £1.19 per litre.
Domestic heating oil cost about 52p per litre in October 2025.
Many homes in Middleton-in-Teesdale rely on heating oil because they do not have access to mains gas.
UTASS runs a buying group that combines household orders into monthly bulk purchases and can lower prices by about 3p per litre.
The UTASS scheme allows orders from 500 litres, while discounts typically require purchases of more than 1,000 litres.
Kim Richardson, a local resident, said she needs 1,000 litres and described the price as double last year's cost.
Pauline Thompson said she avoids heating oil because she cannot afford it and uses electric oil-filled radiators instead.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Families in the UK are reducing Halloween costs by swapping or buying second-hand costumes and making outfits from materials they already have. Charity shops and community workshops are helping families reuse clothing and other household items as Halloween costumes and decorations.
Key Facts
A survey found that 36% of shoppers planned to celebrate Halloween in 2026, up from 27% in 2025.
Some parents use Facebook groups to swap or sell costumes and search resale sites for cheaper outfits.
Birmingham mother Mandy Thomas said she often finds character costumes on eBay or Vinted for about a quarter of their original price.
A charity shop in Coundon, Coventry, sets aside donated costumes for Halloween sales.
The shop sells some costumes for as little as £1.50; items in original packaging are often priced at about a quarter of their retail value.
Coventry-based organisation Cov Cloth runs workshops where families make costumes, decorations and accessories from unwanted textiles and household items.
Workshop founder Adele Harrison encourages families to use materials such as old tights, cereal boxes and unwanted clothing before buying new items.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Wastewater estimates indicate that cocaine consumption in England rose 26% from 2021 to 2025, reaching an estimated 123,000kg in 2024-25. Survey data suggests the number of users has not grown in step, while treatment figures point to more people seeking help and a shift toward older age groups.
Key Facts
Home Office scientists estimated that people in England consumed 123,000kg of cocaine in 2024-25, with an estimated street value of £9.8bn.
Wastewater samples indicated a 26% rise in cocaine consumption between 2021 and 2025.
Crime survey data shows reported past-year use has remained flat or fallen slightly since the pandemic, though surveys may miss some users.
The National Crime Agency said wholesale prices reached historically low levels in 2025 and showed signs of rising in 2026.
An expert tracking advertised prices found that an ounce fell from about £1,300 in March 2022 to about £700 in September 2025, then rose to about £1,000 in July 2026.
In England, 33,612 people started treatment for cocaine problems in 2024-25, 57% more than in 2019-20.
People in their 30s were the largest age group seeking treatment; a decade earlier, people in their 20s were the largest group.
Guardian-collected figures from 39 police forces showed a 10% rise in recorded crime rates mentioning cocaine since 2019.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Cookie theft occurs when malware steals active session cookies from a device, letting fraudsters access accounts without entering a password or triggering some login checks. Logging out, limiting downloads, clearing cookies, and using a password manager can help reduce the risk; suspected victims should scan devices, end active sessions, and change passwords.
Key Facts
A session cookie keeps a person logged into a website as they move between pages.
An active stolen cookie can let a fraudster use an account and may bypass multifactor authentication.
The article says malware, often hidden in downloaded software or browser extensions, can steal cookies from a browser’s database.
Fraudsters may use hijacked sessions to access bank accounts, redirect purchases, or scam a victim’s contacts.
Signs of possible malware include unusual slowdowns, fast battery drain, crashes, browser redirects, pop-ups, or a changed homepage.
Closing a browser tab does not necessarily end a session; manually logging out invalidates the session cookie.
The article recommends careful downloading, using a dedicated password manager, and clearing cookies regularly.
If an account may be compromised, run an antivirus scan, log out of accounts on all devices, and change passwords.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Novelist Zadie Smith told Dua Lipa that rising inequality and the decline of public services have made cultural differences feel more threatening. At a London literature festival, Smith also reflected on multiculturalism, her novel “White Teeth” and the value of public education, health care and literary criticism.
Key Facts
Smith linked sharper divisions in Britain to inequality, unemployment and problems with housing, schools and hospitals.
She said that when people have secure housing and access to health care, differences can feel interesting rather than existential.
Smith said her state education helped her communicate with people from different backgrounds.
She argued that people could look back to the social democracy of earlier decades while rejecting the era’s racial prejudice and LGBTQ+ discrimination.
Smith began writing “White Teeth” at 21 and published it at 24 in 2000.
She said she finished the novel on Valentine’s Day after a breakup and then went out clubbing.
Smith called literary criticism essential because it helps develop taste.
The Southbank Centre’s London literature festival runs through 1 November.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Hundreds of thousands of people marched across France to protest rising living costs, and clashes broke out in several cities. Police arrested nearly 1,000 people, while authorities said the response was more controlled than during the previous week’s unrest.
Key Facts
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said police arrested nearly 1,000 people nationwide on Saturday.
Riot police used tear gas in Paris and cities including Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nantes.
Authorities deployed about 70,000 security personnel for the demonstrations.
The previous week’s unrest led to vandalism of public buildings, looting of hundreds of businesses and 2,700 arrests.
Nunez said police made faster interventions, conducted more checks before demonstrations and better protected commercial areas.
At least two people were seriously injured, including a man in Toulouse and another person in Clermont-Ferrand.
Rights advocates and protesters criticized what they viewed as restrictions on freedom and the right to demonstrate.
France is due to elect a successor to President Emmanuel Macron in six months.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israel said it will restrict Palestinian workers from entering most areas of the occupied West Bank from Sunday through Monday and close all crossings on Tuesday, the day of its general election. The measures follow a lockdown and raids in Hebron after an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and two Palestinian gunmen; Israeli officials say about 2,000 people have been displaced, while Hebron’s mayor put the figure at 2,200.
Key Facts
The Israeli army announced the worker restrictions and Tuesday closure of crossings.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a full lockdown of the occupied West Bank after the attack.
Two Israeli soldiers and the two Palestinian gunmen were killed in Friday’s attack on an Israeli army reserve base.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said about 2,000 people had been displaced from Hebron.
Hebron Mayor Yousef al-Ja’bari said 2,200 people had been forced from their homes and described the city and nearby villages as under a complete blockade.
The Palestinian Authority called for international pressure and described Israel’s actions as collective punishment.
The Israeli military said its operation would last several days; Netanyahu said he was planning a large-scale operation.
Israel’s general election is scheduled for Tuesday, and Netanyahu is seeking another term.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A three-part Netflix documentary, *The One About Matthew Perry*, explores the actor’s addiction, relationships and efforts to help others. It features accounts from his sister and longtime friends and is scheduled to premiere October 27, 2026, shortly before the third anniversary of his death.
Key Facts
Perry’s sister, Mia Perry Bowick, says he spent more than $7 million pursuing sobriety.
The article notes that this figure differs from reports about Perry’s 2022 memoir, which put his rehabilitation spending above $9 million.
Bowick says Perry had recently left treatment when his family watched the *Friends* episode featuring Chandler and Monica’s wedding.
Bowick says Perry was exhausted after filming the 2021 *Friends* reunion; comedian Kevin Pollak also recalled Perry struggling on camera.
Perry let Tim Harrington, whom he met through recovery, move into his home for about a year and attended recovery meetings with him.
The documentary is directed by Mary Robertson, who said Perry’s 2022 memoir prompted her interest in telling his story.
Perry’s five *Friends* co-stars did not participate in the documentary.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Divorce attorney Hannah Hembree Bell describes a “medium-suck” marriage as one without a major crisis but marked by ongoing unhappiness. She shares signs of this situation, including feeling unsure whether to leave and judging a marriage by the problems it lacks rather than by whether it brings happiness.
Key Facts
Bell says her first marriage ended after she recognized that she was quietly unhappy, despite no single major problem.
Bell describes a “medium-suck” marriage as one in which a person feels they are functioning rather than flourishing.
One sign Bell identifies is feeling that there is no clear reason to leave but also no strong reason to stay.
Another sign is measuring a marriage by the absence of major problems, such as abuse, infidelity, or frequent arguments.
The article says researchers estimate that about 40 percent of first marriages in the United States end in divorce.
A study cited in the article found that divorced participants most often named lack of commitment, infidelity, and excessive conflict as contributors to their divorce.
The study also listed financial problems and substance abuse among commonly cited contributors to divorce.
Bell is now a divorce attorney and says she is happily married in a blended family with four children.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Businesses in Devon say high employment costs are delaying hiring and making it harder to grow. Ahead of Wednesday’s Budget, they are asking the government to reduce employer National Insurance costs and consider cutting VAT for hospitality businesses.
Key Facts
Links Publishing owner Tim Randell said he is holding back from filling two positions because of employment costs.
Businesses at the Devon Business Show said they have struggled with higher employer National Insurance contributions and increases to the National Minimum Wage.
From April 2025, employers pay National Insurance at 15% on salaries above £5,000, compared with 13.8% on salaries above £9,100 before the change.
The minimum wage for workers aged 21 and over rose from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour in April 2025.
Business representatives called for lower employment costs and tax relief for small businesses.
Hospitality representatives called for VAT on pubs and restaurants to be cut from 20% to 10%.
A charity representative said tighter household spending affects how much the charity can raise and how many families it can support.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The UK government has introduced a statutory code for private parking operators after cases such as Rosey Greenwood’s, who faced a £1,906 demand despite having paid to park. Many protections in the proposed code already appear in the parking sector’s voluntary code, and the new rules are still subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
Key Facts
Greenwood was told to pay £1,906 after paying more than five minutes after entering a Derby car park, despite having paid for parking and having bank records to show it.
The parking sector later banned the five-minute payment rule in its own code of practice.
The government’s statutory code was laid before Parliament and is subject to a 40-day period for MPs and peers to object.
The proposed code gives drivers at least five minutes to decide whether to park and a 10-minute grace period to leave after their permitted stay; the sector’s code already provides both.
The proposed code sets a maximum parking charge of £100, reduced to £60 if paid within two weeks, matching the sector’s existing code.
Under four specified circumstances, charges should be reduced to £20 on appeal; the sector’s code already includes those reductions.
Operators may still add a £70 debt recovery fee, as well as court fees and legal costs, if drivers do not pay.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Police forces across Britain recorded a 10% rise in crimes mentioning cocaine between 2019 and 2025, while estimates show cocaine use has increased in England. The figures include drug offences, violence, sexual offences and driving offences, but a cocaine mention in a crime report does not establish that the drug caused the offence.
Key Facts
Police recorded at least 29,922 crimes mentioning cocaine in 2025, or 63.4 per 100,000 people, compared with 57.7 per 100,000 in 2019.
Home Office estimates indicate cocaine use at sites across England rose 26% between 2021 and 2025.
Wastewater analysis estimates that people in England consumed 123,000kg of cocaine in 2024–25.
Of crimes mentioning cocaine in 2025, 18% were violent offences and just under 4% were sexual offences; the reports included 344 rapes.
Nearly six in 10 people arrested on suspicion of domestic abuse who received a police drug test between July 2025 and June 2026 tested positive for cocaine.
In 2025, 30,707 drug-driving offences were added to driving licences, up 28% from 2022; 29,769 drink-driving offences were added, down 17%.
The article notes that drug tests in domestic-abuse cases are not representative and that a cocaine mention in a crime record does not prove the drug caused the offence.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
The CBS News listing describes a “48 Hours” report about a man who is murdered and his wife, who is found dead near Dale Hollow Lake. The deaths fuel a local legend that a nearby house is cursed; correspondent Peter Van Sant reports on the case.
Key Facts
The report is titled “The Mansion Above Dale Hollow Lake.”
It is a “48 Hours” segment from CBS News.
The story involves a murdered man and his wife, who is found dead.
The deaths feed into a local legend that a house is cursed.
Peter Van Sant is the correspondent.
The listed segment runs for 41 minutes and 54 seconds.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
A shooting near Florida A&M University in Tallahassee on Saturday night left 11 people with gunshot wounds and one other person injured, authorities said. Police said a physical altercation came before the shooting and reported that at least three victims had serious injuries; the department’s violent crimes unit is investigating.
Key Facts
The shooting happened near Florida A&M University’s campus on Perry Street in Tallahassee.
Police counted six adults and six juveniles among the injured.
At least three victims had serious injuries, while nine others were reported in stable condition, police said.
Police said initial findings showed a physical altercation preceded the shooting.
The university said students, faculty, and staff safety remained its highest priority.
The department’s violent crimes unit is investigating the circumstances.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
Israel is set to vote on October 27 for all 120 seats in the Knesset, in an election that could reshape Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Polls cited in the article show neither main bloc near a majority, so coalition talks and possible support from Palestinian-led parties could determine who governs.
Key Facts
The election is the first since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.
Recent polling cited in the article projects 52 seats for the opposition bloc and 50 for Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist alliance.
A party or coalition needs at least 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats to hold a majority.
Netanyahu could seek to form another government with traditional allies, including Jewish Power, Religious Zionism, Shas, and United Torah Judaism.
Four opposition parties signed a pact in late September to work together to try to unseat Netanyahu.
The opposition has not named a candidate to lead a government; the article identifies Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett as possible candidates.
The Joint List and Ra’am, both Palestinian-led parties, are projected to win about 13 seats combined.
Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas has signalled openness to joining an opposition-led coalition, while several opposition leaders have ruled out such an alliance.
Read the Original
Want the full story? Tap a source to open the original
article.
