thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Love Island 2020: 22 Things Everyone Is Thinking After The First Episode

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It’s only been six months since we closed the door on the last series of Love Island, but just like that, the villa has been filled up with new contestants for us to obsess over during the next six weeks.
Sunday’s opening episode introduced us to the 12 singletons before they coupled up for the first time, as well as marking the first appearance of new presenter Laura Whitmore.
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And what would the first episode of a new series of Love Island be without a twist, which came in the form of the show’s first-ever female twins.
As ever, social media was alight with the musings of the show’s millions of fans, who shared hilarious commentary on the goings on.
Here’s the 22 main takeaways from the first instalment of Island action...
1. Things were a bit awks for those watching on the ITV Hub
Think ITV2 need to update their website #loveisland pic.twitter.com/FTPIXBiCDb — Pádraig Prendergast (@prendergast) January 12, 2020
2. The sound of the theme tune was like a comfort blanket
Me hearing the #loveisland intro song after 6 long months pic.twitter.com/OdwxmjoXzC — Nicole Morley (@NicoleMorleyPet) January 12, 2020
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3. Although, hearing it in January just felt wrong, at least to start with anyway...
It feels so wrong watching this in the winter #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/GDXITuw11s — 🌟 Joanna Montgomery 🌟 (@joannamont) January 12, 2020
4. But it didn’t take long at all for everyone to come round
And yes, I have gone from saying I “can’t be bothered with the winter series” to being fully invested within 18 minutes #LoveIsland — Louise Saunders (@louise_saunders) January 12, 2020
5. However, some felt like their minds were being messed with, and they didn’t care for it
I swear love island has got me thinking it’s actually june, it’s summer & life is good when in fact it’s still just fucking january. #loveisland — Benny James (@Beno_ldn) January 12, 2020
6. And others thought producers had missed an real opportunity with their first winter series
I still think #LoveIsland should have done winter Love Island with cheese fondue and ski suits because everyone looks hot in a bikini, the real test is a ski suit and damp hair from the snow tbh. — Em Sheldon (@emshelx) January 12, 2020
7. New host Laura Whitmore slotted in perfectly for many
And it’s as if @thewhitmore has always been at the #LoveIsland helm — David Farrell (@DavidJ_Farrell) January 12, 2020
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8. But for some, she did not pull off the slo-mo walk in quite the same way as Caroline Flack
The slo-mo walk is Flack’s and only Flack’s #LoveIsland — Khalilah (@kha_lilah_) January 12, 2020
9. When Lewis Capaldi’s ex-girlfriend Paige was introduced, people already spotted an opportunity for a Casa Amor bombshell
Can’t wait for Lewis Capaldi to rock up to Casa Amour #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/LMrWqLOSNi — Luke Ridley (@lukerids) January 12, 2020
10. The rejection of Nas during the coupling up ceremony was hard to take
Nas has been rejected twice in five minutes therefore I am now his biggest supporter #Loveisland — Emma Kelly (@TooManyEmmas) January 12, 2020
11. This response to Ollie’s brags about his wealth and his next door neighbours was inspired
“My next door neighbours are Prince Charles & Camilla”#LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/2yPgCoI8nT — Elliot Gonzalez (@elliot_gonzalez) January 12, 2020
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12. Within minutes of arriving, Siannise had already coined one of this year’s catchphrases
Zara: I’m Miss GB. Marcel: I was in Blazing Squad. Dani: My dad’s Danny Dyer. Siânnise: mY sUrnAmeS fUdgE. #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/3rwkeqPVUZ — Rufus redding (@rufus_redding) January 12, 2020
13. Connor and his veneers soon became the most famous set of teeth in the UK
Want to thank Connor from #LoveIsland for taking the heat off me for a bit. Cheers mate 👍🏼😬 — Rylan Clark-Neal (@Rylan) January 12, 2020
14. When no-one spotted the (obvious) similarity between Sophie and her sister Rochelle Humes, she was clearly dying for someone to ask her about it
“I’m so close to my sisters. We all look the same.” - Sophie’s trying SOO hard to tell someone that Rochelle is her sister. #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/xsrkuy0EWJ — Anmol🌹 (@anmolmustafaa) January 12, 2020
15. Mike already has everyone completely in love with him
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16. And we were not at all prepared for his moves
Nahhhh how did we just see Mike twerking on Leanne #loveisland pic.twitter.com/oCg5fykBSZ — Umarah 🤪 (@Umarah24) January 12, 2020
17. Connor’s OTT reaction to Sophie’s joke about his threesome did not go down well
Connor having a pop at Sophie already. He’s so fucking #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/EwL5IVJVzH — Hayley Piller (@HaylStonee) January 12, 2020
18. Like, at all
Connor already being problematic, why he look like he was about to lose his shit over a joke girl RUN #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/3rakAp2j6o — TaeJin⁷ (@Bang_tannie17) January 12, 2020
19. While the twins’ entrance was certainly unexpected (to the Islanders, at least), there were some who were expecting more
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20. No-one was buying it when they claimed to never fight over lads
The twins in two weeks fighting over the same guy #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/Gf54gBdGxL — liamirvine1 (@liamirvine11) January 12, 2020
21. And people are not ready to see them break up two of the existing couples
Going to bed knowing one of the twins is probably going to pick Callum tomorrow and break Shaughna's heart #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/LF1DnbUlnk — Hannah (@hbrear) January 12, 2020
22. Although, perhaps they’ll chose to couple up with this mystery man
Anyone else see the guy in the bushes #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/00tv9iqBCB — Arron Townend (@arrontownend) January 12, 2020
Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--My Dad Was Murdered By A Killer Out On Early Release

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Courtesy of the author HuffPost UK
A man out of prison after a life sentence burgled and killed my dad. Then a coroner ruled my dad would still be alive today if probation services had done their job, says Nicola Gogarty.
I was walking to my gate at Dublin airport, waiting to fly to Spain with close friends, when I found out my dad, John, had died.
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My brother’s number came up on my phone screen but it was his mum, Alison, whose voice I heard. In a rush to catch our flight, she asked me if I was sitting down.
“Nicola, your dad’s dead,” she said.
She said it again two or three more times before I dropped my phone, hysterical, my legs coming out from under me. I’d seen my dad only a few days before and though he’d been sick recently, he seemed fine.
My dad moved to the UK when I was young, after the recession hit Ireland in the early ’80s. My mum and I moved over but as my mum didn’t like living in London, we came home, my dad stayed to work. Their long-distance relationship fizzled out because of the back and forth, but my father and I remained very close. I still saw him a lot, and he came home to Ireland often too. He met Alison, moved north, and after being a quite spoiled only child my brother and sister came along. With the other kids and me in school I wasn’t able to go over as much but as I got older I got even closer to him – he was always a huge part of my life.
“At 2am in a nearby hotel, a family liaison officer called to tell me it was presumed somebody had murdered my father”
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Numb and in shock, I spoke to my brother. I could tell immediately he was in immense shock too. “How do you know he’s dead?” I asked, I suppose in denial. He was completely dead, he said, with blood everywhere and his home had been trashed, like something “sinister” had happened.
My husband and I arrived at his home in Wombwell, Yorkshire, later that night. As my husband drove to my dad’s house, we explained who we were but were stopped by a police cordon. Obviously it was a crime scene and they wouldn’t let me go up, but that was hard to understand for me at that time – as silly as it might sound, at that point I didn’t know exactly what had happened to him but I just didn’t want him to be on his own.
At 2am in a nearby hotel, a family liaison officer called to tell me it was presumed somebody had murdered my father. Suddenly, I was in a bad nightmare I didn’t wake up from. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t eat. It got even more surreal the next day when the police came to interview us – not in a critical way but to gather info: did he have any enemies? Did he have anyone who disliked him? To this day, those questions are too surreal to contemplate, like I was in a movie. We stayed in the UK for nine more days. More shock, numbness, great physical pain in our hearts and in our stomachs. Every time you slept – if you even could – you’d open your eyes, and feel a horrendous pain I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
Nicola as a child alongside her father Courtesy of the author
After those nine days they still hadn’t caught anyone yet, and I had three children I needed to go back to. We were only home in Ireland a day when the officer rang again in the middle of the night to say they had charged two people with my dad’s murder. She told me their names: Ian Birley and Helen Nichols.
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“I have something else to tell you,” she added. Birley had been on life license after a previous murder conviction, and only left prison a short while beforehand.
I woke my husband up, went downstairs, and just cried my eyes out for hours. I was happy they’ve got somebody, to hear ‘oh by the way, this person’s not been out of prison long’ added insult to so much injury. Why was he on the street, if he’s capable of doing this?
“Anger drove me to fight for three years to get more justice for my father, to get the inquest into his death reopened”
After my family found out about Birley’s behaviour and had a meeting with the Probation Service, I remember walking out angry, saying ‘you haven’t heard the last of me’. I meant it. That anger drove me to fight for three years to get more justice for my father, to get the inquest into his death reopened. Birley killed my father but as he was out of prison, it was like ‘oh no, we’re finished with that’. I knew there was more to the story. I knew I couldn’t rest until I knew for myself how this actually happened.
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What I found was that the system needs to change. It’s not over when the victim who dies, there’s whole families left behind who have to have this for the rest of their lives but I don’t think the probation services really see us, see the trauma, see how affected we are. They say they are overworked, don’t have enough hours, enough staff – well, there’s a lot of companies like that, but when you’re dealing with people of such violent nature, you need to take a little bit more care. You’re dealing with really violent people who have committed huge crimes already. The stakes can’t really be any higher.
Those years had a huge effect on my mental health. It throws you into another world is the only way I can describe it. I entered therapy, and I had to go on antidepressants because I just cried all the time, every day. I didn’t want to get out of bed, I just wanted my father back. The initial months and months after I struggled to be the person that I was, to be the mother that I was. My husband took on a lot of the burden; I couldn’t work, so my husband was working, minding our kids, and minding me too.
Courtesy of the author HuffPost UK
When we finally had the inquest last April, the coroner’s narrative throughout was there were huge missed opportunities in my dad’s case. He said he believed that if the Probation Services had done things correctly, my father would still be alive today.
When I came out of the courtroom, my head was spinning, and I was hysterical. Everything went our way, we got a ‘good’ result. But we also got confirmation that someone didn’t do their job properly, and that contributed to my dad’s death. What I had been thinking for four years had finally been confirmed, and that was a very hard pill to swallow.
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My dad was my hero, the man I went to for everything, and it’s going to take a few more years for us to simply not be sad any more. While we’ll never ‘get over’ losing my dad, I suppose we will just get more used to it. We talk about him most days, and with our kids. They’re only six and eight so of course they don’t know what really happened, but I know, one horrendous day years down the line, I’m going to have to sit down and tell them. I don’t know when I’m going to do that – I would love to never have to – but these days all they have to do is search his name and it’ll come up. It’s just one more way our family has been ripped apart.
Families like mine are the ones given the real life sentences, not perpetrators. We’re the ones who have to live with my dad’s death, every day.
Nicola Gogarty appears on episode one – “Freed to Kill Again” – of Slater and Gordon’s The Case Files podcast. Find more information here.
Have a compelling personal story you want to tell? Find out what we’re looking for here, and pitch us on ukpersonal@huffpost.com


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--This Warm Braised Bean Salad Will Help You Keep Your Healthy Resolutions

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Eating healthy can be a little tough during the colder months. We tend to crave hearty and comforting foods like braised stews, stick-to-your-ribs mac and cheese and big, delicious bowls of ramen noodles. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want as I’m cozying up to the fireplace is a plate of cold salad.
I used to think the word “salad” only described the green kind ― with chilled lettuce and accompanying vegetables. But then I realised a salad can be anything I want it to be. And in the winter, I want it to be a warm one. Enter my warm braised bean salad. It’s a dish I can make on a Sunday night and enjoy throughout the week ― either as a main lunch course or as a side for dinner when paired with a lean protein.
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Jeremy Paige
The base of this recipe starts with white cannellini beans. I prefer to soak overnight to speed up the cooking time the next day. It also removes the indigestible sugars that cause flatulence. Yes, I just said “flatulence.” The key to really flavourful beans lies in just two ingredients ― salt and bay leaves. The bay leaf will make it taste like it’s been cooking all day, and the salt will give it flavour.
After the beans cook, I toss them with some sumac-roasted vegetables and sautéed spinach.
I like to use sweet potato, carrots, red onion and squash, but you can choose whatever fits your taste. Broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash or winter beets would also taste great. Lastly, I dress the salad with a bright, zesty lemon-and-herb vinaigrette. It gives the salad some brightness and acidity to balance the heaviness of the white beans.
This winter, don’t get stuck in a rut eating cold salads. Think outside the box and try this warming, nourishing bowl of beans. The best part? It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and still delicious. Say it isn’t so.
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Jeremy Paige
Warm Braised Bean Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 pound dried cannellini beans
1 bay leaf
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 red onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch half-moons
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 squash, halved, seeded and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon sumac
3 cups fresh baby spinach
Lemon Herb Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon for pan
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chives
Directions
1. Rinse beans under cold water to remove any dirt or debris. Then transfer to a large bowl and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Soak for at least 6 hours or up to overnight.
2. Drain and rinse the beans, then transfer to a large soup pot. Cover with at least 2 inches of water and add 1 tablespoon of salt and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes to 1 hour, until tender. Drain and set aside.
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3. Preheat oven to 425 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Toss together cut vegetables with olive oil, sumac and 2 teaspoons salt. Transfer to prepared baking sheets and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until tender and browned.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together Dijon, lemon juice and salt. Slowly whisk in olive oil until it’s emulsified, then stir in fresh herbs. Set aside.
6. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat in skillet. Add spinach and season with salt. Cook until wilted, about 2 minutes.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Love Island's Curtis Pritchard Addresses Speculation He Cheated On Maura Higgins Over New Year

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Curtis Pritchard has hit back at claims that he was unfaithful to his girlfriend and former Love Island co-star Maura Higgins.
Since leaving the villa last summer, the pair have pursued a romance away from the show, making time for when another when the Irish former Islander is in the UK.
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However, over the weekend it was suggested that Curtis had been unfaithful to her, after grainy footage was published online apparently showing him embracing another woman on New Year’s Eve.
On Monday, Curtis set the record straight, telling Lorraine Kelly on her ITV daytime show: “[The] New Year photo is nonsense... you can’t hug somebody or talk to somebody in this day and age without something coming out.”
Curtis Pritchard on Lorraine Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock
He added: “Me and Maura are completely fine.”
Curtis also pointed out that he’d been in the audience on Sunday night when Maura made her debut on Dancing On Ice, skating through to the next round of the competition after her first routine with partner Alexander Demetriou.
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“I’ve watched AJ [Pritchard, his brother] doing Strictly Come Dancing so many times, but I got more nervous watching Maura on this because I was thinking, one little slip and that’s it, you could be out of the competition,” he explained.
“She’s her biggest critic, she wants to be so good. She wants to be perfect.”
Curtis and Maura at the Radio 1 Teen Awards last year Dave J Hogan via Getty Images
Of last year’s Love Island contestants, Curtis and Maura are among the few to still be in a relationship, as are influencer Molly-Mae Hague and boxer Tommy Fury.
The new series of Love Island launched on Sunday, and continues every night on ITV2. Meanwhile, Lorraine airs every weekday from 9am.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Meghan Markle Not 'At All' Subject To Racist Attacks From The Press, Says Priti Patel

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Meghan Markle has not “at all” been the subject of any racist attacks from the press, Priti Patel has said.
The Duchess of Sussex is set to join crisis talks with the Queen on the phone from Canada on Monday after she and Prince Harry announced they wanted to step back from their frontline roles in the royal family.
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The couple has been subject to intense media scrutiny, and the prince has previously hit out at the “racial undertones” of the coverage of his wife.
Home Secretary Priti Patel has said there has been no racist press coverage of Meghan Markle "at all". Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live this morning, Patel dismissed the accusations of racism from the press.
“I’m not in that category at all where I believe there’s racism at all. I think we live in a great country, a great society, full of opportunity, where people of any background can get on in life,” the home secretary said.
Asked if the media had been in any way racist, she said: “I don’t think so, no.”
“I certainly haven’t seen that through any debates or commentary or things of that nature,” she added.
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Anti-racism campaigner Patrick Vernon told HuffPost UK the media had a problem with the “visibility and success” of non-white Britons. “When you call racism out you are punished with little support,” he said.
PA Wire/PA Images
The duchess is with their baby son Archie in Canada, but a royal source told PA Media it was likely she would join the crisis talks by phone.
She flew out of the UK a few days ago where the family spent an extended Christmas holiday break in British Columbia.
The duke, however, will come face to face with the Queen later as senior royals race to thrash out plans for Harry and Meghan’s future.
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thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--2020 Critics’ Choice Awards: The Complete Winners List

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The critics have spoken! Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood picked up a slew of awards at the 2020 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday night, including the top prize of Best Picture.
The 25th annual ceremony mirrored last week’s Golden Globe Awards in the acting categories by making winners out of Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor, Renée Zellweger for Best Actress, Brad Pitt for Best Supporting Actor and Laura Dern for Best Supporting Actress.
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Quentin Tarantino accepts the Best Supporting Actor award for 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood on behalf of Brad Pitt during the 25th Annual Critics' Choice Awards. Kevin Winter via Getty Images
Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic The Irishman, which led the nominations heading into the ceremony with 14 total nods, won the trophy for Best Ensemble.
Setting the stage for a fierce race in the Best Director category next month at the Academy Awards, Bong Joon Ho and Sam Mendes tied for Best Director for Parasite and 1917, edging out Greta Gerwig, Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, Noah Baumbach, Tarantino and Scorsese.
Gerwig, who was shut out of the Golden Globe nominations, picked up the award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Little Women.
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As for television, Netflix’s When They See Us also bounced back from Globes snubs, scoring a handful of trophies, including Best Limited Series. Amazon’s Fleabag and Succession took home awards for Best Comedy series and Best Drama Series, respectively.
The ceremony, hosted for the second time by Taye Diggs, paid tribute to both Eddie Murphy with the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award and Kristen Bell with the #SeeHer Award, which recognises women who “push boundaries on changing stereotypes and acknowledge the importance of authentic portrayals of women across the entertainment landscape.”
Check out the complete list of nominees and winners below.
Best Picture
“1917”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Joker”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (WINNER)
“Parasite”
“Uncut Gems”
Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix – “Joker” (WINNER)
Antonio Banderas – “Pain and Glory”
Robert De Niro – “The Irishman”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Adam Driver – “Marriage Story”
Eddie Murphy – “Dolemite Is My Name”
Adam Sandler – “Uncut Gems”
Best Actress
Awkwafina – “The Farewell”
Cynthia Erivo – “Harriet”
Scarlett Johansson – “Marriage Story”
Lupita Nyong’o – Us
Saoirse Ronan – “Little Women”
Charlize Theron – “Bombshell”
Renée Zellweger – “Judy” (WINNER)
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Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe – “The Lighthouse”
Tom Hanks – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony Hopkins – “The Two Popes”
Al Pacino – “The Irishman”
Joe Pesci – “The Irishman”
Brad Pitt – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (WINNER)
Best Supporting Actress
Laura Dern – “Marriage Story” (WINNER)
Scarlett Johansson – “Jojo Rabbit”
Jennifer Lopez – “Hustlers”
Florence Pugh – “Little Women”
Margot Robbie – “Bombshell”
Zhao Shuzhen – “The Farewell”
Best Young Actress
Julia Butters – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Roman Griffin Davis – “Jojo Rabbit” (WINNER)
Noah Jupe – “Honey Boy”
Thomasin McKenzie – “Jojo Rabbit”
Shahadi Wright Joseph – “Us”
Archie Yates – “Jojo Rabbit”
Best Acting Ensemble
“Bombshell”
“The Irishman” (WINNER)
“Knives Out”
“Little Women”
“Marriage Story”
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
“Parasite”
Best Director
Noah Baumbach – “Marriage Story”
Greta Gerwig – “Little Women”
Bong Joon Ho – “Parasite” (WINNER)
Sam Mendes – “1917” (WINNER)
Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie – “Uncut Gems”
Martin Scorsese – “The Irishman”
Quentin Tarantino – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
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Best Original Screenplay
Noah Baumbach – “Marriage Story”
Rian Johnson – “Knives Out”
Bong Joon Ho and Han Jin Won – “Parasite”
Quentin Tarantino – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (WINNER)
Lulu Wang – “The Farewell”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Greta Gerwig – “Little Women” (WINNER)
Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue – A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”
Anthony McCarten – “The Two Popes”
Todd Phillips & Scott Silver – “Joker”
Taika Waititi – “Jojo Rabbit”
Steven Zaillian – “The Irishman”
Best Cinematography
Jarin Blaschke – “The Lighthouse”
Roger Deakins – “1917” (WINNER)
Phedon Papamichael – “Ford v Ferrari”
Rodrigo Prieto – “The Irishman”
Robert Richardson – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Lawrence Sher – “Joker”
Best Production Design
Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran – “Joker”
Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales – “1917”
Jess Gonchor, Claire Kaufman – “Little Women”
Lee Ha Jun – “Parasite”
Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (WINNER)
Bob Shaw, Regina Graves – “The Irishman”
Donal Woods, Gina Cromwell – “Downton Abbey”
Best Editing
Ronald Bronstein, Benny Safdie – “Uncut Gems”
Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker – “Ford v Ferrari”
Yang Jinmo – “Parasite”
Fred Raskin – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Thelma Schoonmaker – “The Irishman”
Lee Smith – “1917” (WINNER)
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Best Costume Design
Ruth E. Carter – “Dolemite Is My Name” (WINNER)
Julian Day – “Rocketman”
Jacqueline Durran – “Little Women”
Arianne Phillips – “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”
Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson – “The Irishman”
Anna Robbins – “Downton Abbey”
Best Hair and Makeup
“Bombshell” (WINNER)
“Dolemite Is My Name”
“The Irishman”
“Joker”
“Judy”
“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”
“Rocketman”
Best Visual Effects
“1917”
“Ad Astra”
“The Aeronauts”
“Avengers: Endgame” (WINNER)
“Ford v Ferrari”
“The Irishman”
“The Lion King”
Best Animated Feature
“Toy Story 4” (WINNER)
“Abominable”
“Frozen II”
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World”
“I Lost My Body”
“Missing Link”
Best Action Movie
“Avengers: Endgame” (WINNER)
“1917”
“Ford v Ferrari”
“John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum”
“Spider-Man: Far From Home”
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Best Comedy
“Booksmart”
“Dolemite Is My Name” (WINNER)
“The Farewell”
“Jojo Rabbit”
“Knives Out”
Best Sci-Fi or Horror Movie
“Ad Astra”
“Avengers: Endgame”
“Midsommar”
“Us” (WINNER)
Best Foreign Language Film
“Atlantics”
“Les Misérables”
“Pain and Glory”
“Parasite” (WINNER)
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
Best Song
“Glasgow (No Place Like Home)” – “Wild Rose” (WINNER)
“(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” – “Rocketman” (WINNER)
“I’m Standing With You” – “Breakthrough”
“Into the Unknown” – “Frozen II”
“Speechless” – “Aladdin”
“Spirit” – “The Lion King”
“Stand Up” – “Harriet”
Best Score
Michael Abels – “Us”
Alexandre Desplat – “Little Women”
Hildur Guðnadóttir – “Joker” (WINNER)
Randy Newman – “Marriage Story”
Thomas Newman – “1917”
Robbie Robertson – “The Irishman”
TELEVISION
Drama Series
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“David Makes Man” (OWN)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“The Good Fight” (CBS All Access)
“Pose” (FX)
“Succession” (HBO) (WINNER)
“This Is Us” (NBC)
“Watchmen” (HBO)
Actor in a Drama Series
Jeremy Strong – “Succession” (HBO) (WINNER)
Sterling K. Brown – “This Is Us” (NBC)
Mike Colter – “Evil” (CBS)
Paul Giamatti – “Billions” (Showtime)
Kit Harington – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Freddie Highmore – “The Good Doctor” (ABC)
Tobias Menzies – “The Crown” (Netflix)
Billy Porter – “Pose” (FX)
Actress in a Drama Series
Christine Baranski – “The Good Fight” (CBS All Access)
Olivia Colman – “The Crown” (Netflix)
Jodie Comer – “Killing Eve” (BBC America)
Nicole Kidman – “Big Little” Lies (HBO)
Regina King – “Watchmen” (HBO) (WINNER)
Mj Rodriguez – “Pose” (FX)
Sarah Snook – “Succession” (HBO)
Zendaya – “Euphoria” (HBO)
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Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Billy Crudup – “The Morning Show” (Apple) (WINNER)
Asante Blackk – “This Is Us” (NBC)
Asia Kate Dillon – “Billions” (Showtime)
Peter Dinklage – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Justin Hartley – “This Is Us” (NBC)
Delroy Lindo – “The Good Fight” (CBS All Access)
Tim Blake Nelson – “Watchmen” (HBO)
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Jean Smart – “Watchmen” (HBO) (WINNER)
Helena Bonham Carter – “The Crown” (Netflix)
Gwendoline Christie – “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Laura Dern – “Big Little Lies” (HBO)
Audra McDonald – “The Good Fight” (CBS All Access)
Meryl Streep – “Big Little Lies” (HBO)
Susan Kelechi Watson – “This Is Us” (NBC)
Comedy Series
“Barry” (HBO) (WINNER)
“Fleabag” (Amazon)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
“Mom” (CBS)
“One Day at a Time” (Netflix)
“Pen15” (Hulu)
“Schitt’s Creek” (Pop)
Actor in a Comedy Series
Ted Danson – “The Good Place” (NBC)
Walton Goggins – “The Unicorn” (CBS)
Bill Hader – “Barry” (HBO) (WINNER)
Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop)
Paul Rudd – “Living with Yourself” (Netflix)
Bashir Salahuddin – “Sherman’s Showcase” (IFC)
Ramy Youssef – “Ramy” (Hulu)
Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate – “Dead to Me” (Netflix)
Alison Brie – “GLOW” (Netflix)
Rachel Brosnahan – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
Kirsten Dunst – “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” (Showtime)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “Veep” (HBO)
Catherine O’Hara – “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge – “Fleabag” (Amazon) (WINNER)
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Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andrew Scott – “Fleabag” (Amazon) (WINNER)
Andre Braugher – “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (NBC)
Anthony Carrigan – “Barry” (HBO)
William Jackson Harper – “The Good Place” (NBC)
Daniel Levy – “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop)
Nico Santos – “Superstore” (NBC)
Henry Winkler – “Barry” (HBO)
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Alex Borstein – “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon) (WINNER)
D’Arcy Carden – “The Good Place” (NBC)
Sian Clifford – “Fleabag” (Amazon)
Betty Gilpin – “GLOW” (Netflix)
Rita Moreno – “One Day at a Time” (Netflix)
Annie Murphy – “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop)
Molly Shannon – “The Other Two” (Comedy Central)
Limited Series
“Catch-22” (Hulu)
“Chernobyl” (HBO)
“Fosse/Verdon” (FX)
“The Loudest Voice” (Showtime)
“Unbelievable” (Netflix)
“When They See Us” (Netflix) (WINNER)
“Years and Years” (HBO)
TV Movie
“Brexit” (HBO)
“Deadwood: The Movie” (HBO)
“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” (Netflix) (WINNER)
“Guava Island” (Amazon)
“Native Son” (HBO)
“Patsy & Loretta” (Lifetime)
Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television
Christopher Abbott – “Catch-22” (Hulu)
Mahershala Ali – “True Detective” (HBO)
Russell Crowe – “The Loudest Voice” (Showtime)
Jared Harris – “Chernobyl” (HBO)
Jharrel Jerome – “When They See Us” (Netflix) (WINNER)
Sam Rockwell – “Fosse/Verdon” (FX)
Noah Wyle – “The Red Line” (CBS)
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Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television
Kaitlyn Dever – “Unbelievable” (Netflix)
Anne Hathaway – “Modern Love” (Amazon)
Megan Hilty – “Patsy & Loretta” (Lifetime)
Joey King – “The Act” (Hulu)
Jessie Mueller – “Patsy & Loretta” (Lifetime)
Merritt Wever – “Unbelievable” (Netflix)
Michelle Williams – “Fosse/Verdon” (FX) (WINNER)
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television
Asante Blackk – “When They See Us” (Netflix)
George Clooney – “Catch-22” (Hulu)
John Leguizamo – “When They See Us” (Netflix)
Dev Patel – “Modern Love” (Amazon)
Jesse Plemons – “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” (Netflix)
Stellan Skarsgård – “Chernobyl” (HBO) (WINNER)
Russell Tovey – “Years and Years” (HBO)
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made For Television
Patricia Arquette – “The Act” (Hulu)
Marsha Stephanie Blake – “When They See Us” (Netflix)
Toni Collette – “Unbelievable” (Netflix) (WINNER)
Niecy Nash – “When They See Us” (Netflix)
Margaret Qualley – “Fosse/Verdon” (FX)
Emma Thompson – “Years and Years” (HBO)
Emily Watson – “Chernobyl” (HBO)
Animated Series
“Big Mouth” (Netflix)
“BoJack Horseman” (Netflix) (WINNER)
“The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” (Netflix)
“She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” (Netflix)
“The Simpsons” (Fox)
“Undone” (Amazon)
Talk Show
“Desus & Mero” (Showtime)
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“The Kelly Clarkson Show” (NBC)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
“The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS) (WINNER)
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC) (WINNER)
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Comedy Special


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--The 20 Funniest Tweets From Women This Week

The ladies of Twitter never fail to brighten our days with their brilliant and succinct wit. Each week, HuffPost Women rounds up hilarious musings of 280 characters or less.
Scroll through this week’s great tweets from women below. Then visit our “Funniest Tweets From Women” page for past roundups.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--2020 Critics’ Choice Awards: All The Fashion From The Red Carpet

Stars arrived at the 25th annual ceremony at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica to celebrate achievements in film and television. The event, which was hosted by Taye Diggs for the second time, is all about empowering the voice of critics ― so what better time to sit at home and judge all the red carpet looks from the comfort of your couch.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--The Funniest Tweets From Parents This Week

Sometimes I like to mess with my family and hide their stuff where they can't find it.
Like I put their shoes in the shoe closet, their jacket on a hanger and their keys on the key hook.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Like Harry And Meghan, It's OK To Take A 'Step Back' From Your Family

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost US.
Meghan Markle has set quite the example since she stepped into life as the Duchess of Sussex. As a biracial American woman, she’s modernised the British monarchy. She has also focused on the advancement of women through charitable causes and broken down myths about pregnancy after the age of 35.
Now she and her husband, Prince Harry, are demonstrating how to take care of your own mental health ― even if it leads to some tough changes with your family.
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You’ve probably heard by now that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced on their Instagram page they’ll be taking a “step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family” in order to carve out a new, progressive role within their family. While there’s mostly speculation over what’s occurring and we don’t have all the details on their decision, one thing is pretty clear: They’re slapping some boundaries in place.
It's okay to spend less time with your toxic parents. It's okay to move across the globe and start ignoring your father. It's okay to marry a prince and teach him about boundaries. It's okay to dismantle a dynasty because they're toxic colonizers. Do what you need to cope. — Eve Ettinger (@eve_ettinger) January 8, 2020
Jokes aside, this is a pretty valid move. Though Meghan and Harry may have a distinctly unique experience — given the fact they’re navigating royal waters and all — what they’re going through isn’t all that rare. Most of us have probably dealt with iffy family dynamics at some point.
Setting clear boundaries with your relatives — and telling them what you are and aren’t comfortable with — isn’t always the easiest, but doing so can make your life (and theirs) much, much smoother in the long run.
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Here’s why we need boundaries.
When we’re young, our parents or guardians more or less govern our lives. They call the shots, and we pretty much go along with it. As we grow up, however, we start to become our own person.
“We take in [information] from our family, but then we also take in from the world, and then we make sense of those pieces and apply them to who we are — and we start to learn more about ourselves within the context of all that information,” said Mayra Mendez, a licensed psychotherapist and program coordinator for intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental health services at Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center.
As we make sense of the world around us and how we fit into it, we develop a stronger idea of what we stand for and what defines us. And in order to meet what we want and need, like and dislike, we may have to make some adjustments — AKA throw up some boundaries — so we can live in a way we’re comfortable with.
Because we are always learning more about ourselves (even well into our golden years), this process never really ends, Mendez said. As we evolve and change, so do our needs — which puts us on a constant quest to find our truest selves in the world.
DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS via Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced this week that they’ll be taking a “step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family” in order to carve out a new, progressive role within their family.
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Without boundaries, resentment builds.
Think of a time someone crossed a line. Oftentimes, this plays out in someone forcing an expectation or obligation on another. Maybe your parents expected you for Sunday dinner each week, your sister put too much pressure on you to be someone you’re not, or perhaps your partner forced their politics onto you.
When another person is constantly telling you to behave or act in a certain way, it can be taxing. And that struggle to balance other people’s needs and wishes with your own can cause a major build-up of guilt and resentment. Without a healthy boundary in place that essentially says, “Hey, please stop, this makes me super uncomfortable,” negative emotions build and build until you reach your breaking point.
“If you feel guilty about something — that you really inside don’t want to do — resentment starts to build, you start to maybe back away from the family, reject the family, speak angrily to the family — we get all sorts of really negative feelings that come out,” Mendez said.
Jessy Warner-Cohen, a senior psychologist at Northwell Health, added that avoiding the issue is one of the worst things to do. Not only does it not resolve the challenge and lead to resentment, but it ultimately undermines — and sabotages — the relationship. Your needs are just as important as your relatives’ needs, so any clashes need to be addressed.
Solid boundaries start with honest, open communication.
This is where healthy, fair boundaries come into play. But before you start building walls, you need to figure out, specifically, what’s working and what’s not working for you.
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“First, they need to look at themselves, look in the mirror,” Mendez said. Once you’ve identified the issue at stake, try to determine why it’s bothering you along with what needs to change in order for you and your family’s lives to be in sync.
Remember: Boundaries are two-sided, and compromise is huge, Mendez said. You can’t just determine what’s best for you and call it a day. Talk to your family members about what’s going on and try to work together to come up with a solution. Aim to be open and collaborative, not underhanded or dismissive.
Warner-Cohen recommended explaining your reasoning and offering actionable suggestions for how to move forward (i.e. “I can’t make it for dinner every Sunday, but once a month might be a more realistic plan — what do you think?”).
“The difficult part is negotiating differences in perceived appropriateness of boundaries,” Warner-Cohen said, “as there may be incongruences that must be navigated.” Some people’s sense of boundaries, even the most toxic ones, may be totally integrated with their identity (and culture, like Meghan and Harry’s case), so it can take some serious patience and negotiating.
Ideally, your family will react in a receptive, responsive way — and you’ll be able to establish some boundaries that work for everyone. Ultimately, you gotta do what feels right. Be compassionate, but always go with your gut.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Majority Of Women Who Have An Abortion Do Not Regret It

Mengwen Cao via Getty Images Stock image.
The overwhelming majority of women who have an abortion do not regret their decision, new research has found – counteracting the rhetoric of regret often pushed by anti-abortion campaigners.
Five years after having an abortion, more than 95% of women in a landmark study by University of California San Francisco said it was the right decision for them.
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The researchers spoke to 667 women who had abortions at the start of the study. They were then spoken to every six months over the next five years.
Over time, the participants reported that both their positive and negative feelings about the abortion diminished. And at five years, the overwhelming majority (84%) had either positive feelings, or none at all.
While women did not report regretting their decision, many struggled initially to make it. Almost a third said the decision to terminate their pregnancy was very difficult (27%) or somewhat difficult (27%), while the rest (46%) said it was not difficult.
About 70% said they felt they’d be stigmatised by their communities if people knew they had sought an abortion, with 29% reporting low levels and 31% reporting high levels of community stigma.
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These findings echo a 2019 study by Marie Stopes International, which found women in the UK feel unable to tell their friends and families if they’re considering an abortion, due to fears of stigma and repercussions.
In the UK, more than half (56%) of those who have abortions already have children. Last year, HuffPost UK spoke to four women in this position about why the decision was right for them.
Sally had her first abortion at 40 when her son was 10, and a second abortion six years later. She said she wasn’t in a financial position to have another child at the time of her first abortion. For her second abortion, she was “in the best position [she’d] ever been in to have a baby”, but decided it wasn’t what she wanted.
“My son was 16 and it felt like the timing was completely out,” she said. “I felt like I was just getting my life back. We’re really happy, we have lots of freedom. It was the right decision.”
Jennifer, 35, had an abortion in 2015 after experiencing postnatal depression with her first child. “I didn’t believe my marriage, nor I, would survive if I had to relive that experience again,” she said.
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“There are so many misconceptions. I wanted more children, I really did, but I chose not to because of my mental health. That’s still one of my most unselfish decisions I’ve made to date, in my mind.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Senior Royals Meet At Sandringham For Crisis Talks

Senior Royals Meet At Sandringham For Crisis Talks
As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seek to change their roles as members of the royal family, the Queen has called Prince Charles, William and Harry to Sandringham Castle to discuss the future, with Meghan dialling in to the meeting from Canada.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Japanese Billionaire Has A Bonkers Proposition That Is Simply Out Of This World

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Are you a single woman (aged 20 or over)?
Sick of the endless Tinder–Bumble–Hinge rotation, have a “bright personality”, are “always positive”, “want to enjoy life to the fullest”, “wish for world peace”?
Have a desire to be catapulted to the moon with your new billionaire life partner on Elon Musk’s spaceship?
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This could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.
Japanese fashion mogul Yusaku Maezawa, 44, is set to become the first civilian passenger Space X’s maiden tourist trip around the moon – and he wants you (subject to a lengthy application process) to come with him.
As the first lunar journey made by humans since 1972, the excursion in 2023 is going to be kind of a big deal – not the kind of experience you would share with just anyone.
That’s why Maezawa has launched an online appeal to find his special someone, complete with a website and an eventual “serious matchmaking documentary” called – wait for it – Full Moon Lovers.
[WANTED!!!]
Why not be the ‘first woman’ to travel to the moon?#MZ_looking_for_love https://t.co/R5VEMXwggl pic.twitter.com/mK6fIJDeiv — Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) 前澤友作 (@yousuck2020) January 12, 2020
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The billionaire entrepreneur, who started out in a band and made his fortune running a fashion label, recently broke up with his actress girlfriend Ayame Goriki, 27, but isn’t wasting any time looking for his dream (space) woman.
In a section of his website entitled “Yusaku Maezawa’s real decision”, he sets out his reasons for launching the search, writing: “I’m sure I’ve been able to acquire my share of money, social status, and fame along the way.
“But now I’m restarting my life. I’m 44 now. As feelings of loneliness and emptiness slowly begin to surge upon me, there’s one thing that I think about: Continuing to love one woman.”
When you’re a billionaire, apparently, that also means finding a woman willing to be launched beyond the confines of the earth’s atmosphere.
After being told he’d been selected to ride on Space X’s maiden voyage, he explained, he “started to think that this was a good chance to seriously face up to the idea of ‘continuing to love one woman’”, which he’d ‘only really had a hazy image about’.”
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He added: “I made my decision and finally decided to go on the program. I want to find a ‘life partner’.
“With that future partner of mine, I want to shout our love and world peace from outer space.”
Interested? Better get moving – applications close on January 17, before four further rounds of the selection process begin.
Billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is preparing to fly around the moon, and he wants YOU (maybe) to come with him. DAVID MCNEW via Getty Images
A personal statement won’t be quite enough here; candidates will be whittled down on paper by the end of January, could find themselves on matchmaking dates by mid-February, be whisked away on “special dates” in the middle of March, and just in few weeks be chosen as the one “life partner”.
You could call it efficient.
It’s not the first time Maezawa has incited some level of audience participation from his legions of followers – just weeks ago he pledged to share 100m yen (£725,000) amongst 100 randomly selected people who shared one of his tweets.
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The fashion tycoon was named publicly as the first Space X passenger in September 2018.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Labour Should Hold Leadership Hustings In Towns It Lost, Not Big Cities, Urge MPs

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Labour leadership candidates are among MPs who have criticised the party for failing to hold leadership hustings in regions of the country it needs to win back.
The party plans to hold debates between the would-be leaders over the next month in Liverpool, Durham, Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham, Glasgow and London.
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Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, who is running to replace Jeremy Corbyn as party leader, hit out at the plan.
“The Labour leadership campaign can send a powerful message to the country about whether we are ready to listen. We can start by putting some of our hustings events in the places we need to win back,” she said.
“If we’re planning a hustings in Wales, why not north Wales where we lost seats? If we’re planning a hustings in Manchester, why not have them in Bury or Bolton?”
The MP for Wigan, who has made focusing on towns rather than cities a central part of her campaign, said on Twitter: “As I have repeatedly said, the Labour Party has lost seats for the first time in our history in areas like Bolsover, Wrexham and Stoke. The failure to debate the future of our party in communities like these shows that we are part of the problem.”
I have written to the Party asking that it makes a firm commitment to hold leadership and deputy leadership hustings in each region and nation we seek to represent.
I am inviting the other contenders in both contests to sign up to this letter. pic.twitter.com/3gYVHs2AZt — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 13, 2020
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Jess Phillips, the Birmingham Yardley MP who is also standing for leader, said the party should add more hustings events to the list.
It will take a lot more than holding a local hustings to win back trust in the seats we lost at the general election, but it would be a start. Let’s have more events in every region and nation - and not just in big cities! — Jess Phillips MP (@jessphillips) January 13, 2020
Angela Rayner, a candidate for deputy leader who is supporting Rebecca Long Bailey in the leadership race, said hustings should be “held in all regions”.
“It’s important members get the opportunity to listen and ask questions from all candidates,” she said on Twitter.
I lost four amazing colleagues in West Yorkshire alone. Why are we not having a hustings in Yorkshire? To win back the red wall we need to connect with the people who live there. Not 🚀 🧪 — Tracy Brabin MP 🌹 (@TracyBrabin) January 12, 2020
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It can’t be right, can it? We (@UKLabour) lost 9 seats in Yorkshire and Humber yet no leadership hustings? Think we might need to listen and learn from the bitter experience from our incredibly hard working (now former) colleagues and their CLP’s as to what went wrong? 🤷🏼♂ — Karl Turner MP (@KarlTurnerMP) January 12, 2020
We lost three seats in South Yorkshire alone yet not a single hustings in Yorkshire?! https://t.co/tsk5h0w3Ta — Louise Haigh (@LouHaigh) January 12, 2020
Jon Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said Nandy was right to criticise the party.
“Lisa is right on this. I don’t know who was elected to sit on the NEC Procedures committee but I hope they arrange hustings urgently in the areas we need to gain at the next election,” he tweeted.
Candidates in the race have until 2.30pm on Monday to secure the 22 nominations from Labour MPs and MEPs they need to go forward to the next stage of the contest.
Four contenders – Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Nandy and Phillips – already have the numbers they require to go through.
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But as of Sunday, Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, had only 10, while Clive Lewis had just four.
With a significant number of MPs yet to decide who to back, Thornberry said at the weekend that she was “fairly confident” of making it, but Lewis admitted getting the numbers was “hard”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Jeff Bezos Scorned For £530,000 Donation To Australia Fire Relief

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Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos caught flak over the weekend after announcing the company would donate $1 million Australian dollars (around £530,000) to the wildfire crisis.
“Our hearts go out to all Australians as they cope with these devastating bushfires,” Bezos wrote on his Instagram account. “Amazon is donating 1 million AU dollars in needed provisions and services.”
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Critics called out Bezos, whose personal net worth is estimated to be around £85 billion, for the amount, arguing it is a meagre percentage of his and his company’s net worth. They also compared his donation to that of other public figures.
Other high profile donations so far have included a £2.3 million pledge from Leonardo DiCaprio, whose net worth is around £200 million. Chris Hemsworth, Kylie Jenner and Elton John all pledged £770,000, and others including Pink, Bette Midler, Nick Cave, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, and Kylie Minogue’s family, all donated £385,000 to the cause. One Instagram model says she’s raised nearly £800,000 by selling nude photos in exchange for donations.
Here’s some of the commentary on Twitter:
I don't know how much has been raised total for Australia, but let's go over-the-top and assume $10 billion has been raised worldwide (which is way, way more than the probable figure).
If Jeff Bezos personally matched this, he would still have $100 billion.
Think about that. — Charlotte Clymer🏳🌈 (@cmclymer) January 12, 2020
This is approximately how much money Jeff Bezos accrues in 3 minutes. https://t.co/jGmkFCGSvY — Jeff Bezos Math (@BezosByTheBooks) January 13, 2020
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Lmao Jeff Bezos just rounded up on his purchase to donate to The Fires https://t.co/WAJbUt7n20 — Melanie Schmitz (@MelsLien) January 13, 2020
In my imagination, Jeff Bezos took the "do you have a few minutes to hear about" charity pitch literally https://t.co/112He2jDdb — Jared Holt (@jaredlholt) January 13, 2020
This feels like the equivalent of me donating a $5 dollar bill I found in a pair of jeans https://t.co/62TKogKmez — Lindsey Wasson (@lindseywasson) January 12, 2020
This is how much money #JeffBezos makes in 3 minutes. https://t.co/HL9dYadpVQ — Peter Daou (@peterdaou) January 12, 2020
Let's put this in perspective . Nick Cave donated $500,000 and Jeff Bezos donated $690,000 pic.twitter.com/dYAltFe0OW — Ryan (@daftpuck) January 12, 2020
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Pink is worth 1/100th or less than Bezos and she gave 500k. Yes I’m charity shaming @JeffBezos — ᒪᗩᗪY O'GᗩGᗩ (@holleyr) January 12, 2020
Are we supposed to be impressed? https://t.co/j2gYaTtN3s — Markos Moulitsas (@markos) January 13, 2020
Kylie Jenner is donating a million. She's worth several billion less than Bezos. https://t.co/sdl4MyoQ4H — Oliver Willis (@owillis) January 12, 2020
Very kind of the world's richest man to donate slightly more than P!nk but less than Thor https://t.co/GyMkoMjtzj — Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) January 12, 2020
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He spent $10 million on a Super Bowl ad last year... https://t.co/FZbRgcaBgh — Greg Price (@greg_price11) January 12, 2020
The instagram chick who gave out nudes raised more than this guys. https://t.co/BO2R29Qbbm — Nick Palmisciano (@Ranger_Up) January 13, 2020
Elton John donated $1 million
Chris Hemsworth donated $1 million
Kylie Jenner donated $1 million for fucks sake
You cheap prick @JeffBezos https://t.co/9psQzSbXsj — Danny Ocean (@The_UnSilent_) January 13, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Caroline Flack Breaks Social Media Silence To Send Message To Love Island Replacement Laura Whitmore

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Caroline Flack made a brief return to social media ahead of Sunday night’s Love Island launch show, to send a sweet message to her replacement, Laura Whitmore.
Last month, Caroline made the decision to step down from the new series of Love Island following her arrest and subsequent charge with assault, claiming she did not want to be a “distraction” from the show.
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Since then, Caroline has pleaded not guilty to assault, and revealed to her followers shortly after her initial hearing that she’d been advised against posting on social media.
However, on Sunday night she did post a short message on her Instagram story, addressed to Laura.
Caroline Flack Lia Toby via Getty Images
“Massive good luck to Laura, Iain [Stirling, the comedian who provides voice-over commentary for Love Island] and the team for tonight’s launch show,” she wrote.
“The first one[’s] always the best one.”
Laura Whitmore Raquel Fernandes/ITV/Shutterstock
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Caroline previously said: “Been advised not to go on social media... but I wanted to say happy Christmas to everyone who has been so incredibly kind to me this year... this kind of scrutiny and speculation is a lot to take on for one person to take on their own.
“I’m a human being at the end of the day and I’m not going to be silenced when I have a story to tell and a life to keep going with …. I’m taking some time out to get feeling better and learn some lessons from situations I’ve got myself into to. I have nothing but love to give and best wishes for everyone.”
Since then, Caroline was pictured at Heathrow airport, amid reports she was flying to LA by herself.
Love Island airs every night on ITV2.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--How A Stranded Man Survived 22 Days In Alaska's Wilderness

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A man who spent more than three weeks stranded in Alaska’s freezing wilderness has revealed how he managed to make it out of the ordeal alive.
Tyson Steele, 30, spent more than 20 days exposed to the elements after his cabin ― located about 20 miles from the isolated village of Skwentna ― burned down. The blaze also killed his beloved dog and left him with no means of communication.
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On Thursday, an Alaska State Patrol helicopter located Steele, who was waving his arms near a makeshift shelter and an SOS signal stamped in the snow. The first responders were checking the area after Steele’s family requested a welfare check request, police said in a Facebook post.
Steele had been stranded since either December 17 or 18 when his homestead burned down after he mistakenly sent a spark through the chimney and onto the roof, state police said.
“It’s 1 or 2 in the morning and I’d been awakened to a cold cabin, right? So, it takes me a while to go back to sleep. And, drip, drip, drip ― there’s fiery drips of plastic coming through the roof above me. So, I go outside to pick up some … snow and I just see that the whole roof’s on fire,” Steele told Ken Marsh, a spokesman for the Alaska State Troopers.
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Steele said the most difficult aspect of the entire ordeal was losing his 6-year-old chocolate lab, Phil, in the fire.
“And the worst part of all of this ― I can survive 23 days again - but my dog was in there, asleep by my side,” Steele said.
As he fled the cabin, Steele said he grabbed coats, sleeping bags and a rifle. Once the fire died out, he salvaged what canned food he could find, even though much of it was burnt or partially melted. He then created rations, allowing himself just two cans a day for 30 days.
“Last night’s meal was probably one of the worst. I was leaving the burned-off stuff for the last. And last night’s dinner was a can of plastic-smoked refried beans,” he told police on the day of his rescue while eating a McDonald’s combo meal.
Steele said he considered making a trek to his nearest neighbour ― he’d heard there might be someone living five miles away ― but with the deep snow, he was not prepared to attempt the journey until absolutely necessary.
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Tyson Steele is greeted by Alaska State Trooper's tactical flight officer Zac Johnson after more than 20 days in the wilderness. Alaska DPS
“So, the first two nights I slept in a snow cave. It was just big enough for my sleeping bags and me and a couple things of food. And that stayed, you know, snow caves are pretty nice for survival. There’s a lot of insulation. It can be negative-40 outside and if you have a candle – which I didn’t – but if you do, it can be above 30 degrees,” he said. “But I just huddled into that dark cave and I slept. I slept for a really long time. And it was, it was warm. Warmer than outside.”
After stamping out a big SOS sign in the snow, highlighted with ashes from the fireplace, Steele built a domed, tent-like shelter from pieces of tarp and scrap lumber around the wood-stove from his former home. He spent much of the next few weeks remaining near the stove to stay warm.
Now that he’s been rescued, Steele plans to spend time with his family in Utah.
“I’m probably going to go back home to Salt Lake City. Not ‘back’ home, because this is my home, but to my family,” he said. “They’ve got a dog... and that would be some therapy.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Laura Whitmore's Love Island Debut Sparked A Lot Of Reactions On Social Media

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Laura Whitmore made her Love Island presenting debut on Sunday night’s launch show, and fans have already been having their say.
She took over the role from Caroline Flack, who hosted the first five series of the hit ITV2 reality show but stepped down ahead of the first ever winter run, following her arrest and subsequent charge with assault.
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During the episode, viewers had a lot to say as Laura entered the brand new villa in South Africa for the first time.
Laura Whitmore debuts her slow-motion walk ITV/Shutterstock
And for the most part, her chirpy presenting style seems to have gone down well with long-time fans of the show…
And it’s as if @thewhitmore has always been at the #LoveIsland helm — David Farrell (@DavidJ_Farrell) January 12, 2020
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I know it’s been 20 seconds but I’m massively obsessed with Laura Whitmore already #loveisland — Rishma Dosani (@Rishma_Dosani) January 12, 2020
Loving @thewhitmore presenting @LoveIsland perfect presenter for it. So natural, confident and genuinely happy to be there. Canni wait for rest of series now. https://t.co/k5IS8nvxgj — LJStewart ⚫ (@LornaJStewart) January 12, 2020
She had big shoes to fill but @thewhitmore is totally smashing it she also nailed the slow mo strut and she looks incredible #loveisland — Samantha Essex (@towiessex1984) January 12, 2020
@thewhitmore brilliant fresh host to #LoveIsland thankyou thankyou thankyou — Clare Boyle (@lupanast1973) January 12, 2020
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I think @thewhitmore is a breath of fresh air on #LoveIsland 😍🥰 — lauren walsh (@LWalshMusic) January 12, 2020
Wasn’t sure what to make of winter #LoveIsland but it actually felt rather refreshing🌴new host in @thewhitmore who is fantastic as expected👏new location🇿🇦new villa🏡although the format is the same, overall vibe feels different in a good way😌slightly more diverse islanders too — Alice Pennington (@AliceP104) January 13, 2020
It was a hard gig, but @thewhitmore you smashed it, seamless and so naturally done! 👌🏽 — markystweet (@Markystweet) January 13, 2020
@thewhitmore you nailed it! Loving the first episode and feeling this season so much already! Yes girl! ❤💚💙💜 — Sarah (@sarahsimpson92) January 12, 2020
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However, change isn’t always an easy thing, and of course there were others who admitted they weren’t fully adjusted to having Laura at the helm of the show…
Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird watching @LoveIsland without @carolineflack1 in it? — Brandon Ley (@BrandonLeyXx) January 12, 2020
Not sure if I'm liking Laura Whitmore 😬 #LoveIsland — Clare Palmer (@clarep1987) January 12, 2020
Ah not gonna lie I love Laura Whitmore but it’ll take some getting used to #LoveIsland — dont cough near me I am poor (@heylaurahey_) January 12, 2020
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As if love island without Caroline flack isn’t weird enough... watching it in January just feels odd #LoveIsland — Natalie 🦄 (@natnatz89) January 12, 2020
It feels so weird without caroline flack and her walk into the villa 😬 #LoveIsland — Rai 🥀 (@rfqxox) January 12, 2020
I miss Caroline Flack but we are giving Laura Whitmore a chance. #LoveIslandUK — Banke (@bankeey) January 13, 2020
Meanwhile, Maya Jama – who had been heavily tipped to succeed Caroline Flack in the presenting job – was also still on a lot of people’s minds…
Yeah true say they should have let @MayaJama present love island, imagine that energy !?!?😍😍 #LoveIsland — kelc shand (@kelceyshand1) January 12, 2020
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I still feel like @MayaJama should be hosting #LoveIsland — Lands (@Just_Lands) January 12, 2020
Maya Jama as the love island presenter >>> — stay lit (@ayledgend) January 13, 2020
here’s where the new #LoveIsland has gone wrong: not hiring Maya Jama as presenter, not having it in the alps all cosy in a log cabin, recruiting Lewis Capaldi’s ex — 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬 🌹 (@alexadionef) January 12, 2020
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Absolute madness they didn't hire Maya Jama #LoveIsland — I have a squeaky wheel (@wokestofscrolls) January 12, 2020
Last week, ITV2’s commissioning editor Amanda Stavri made it clear that Caroline could potentially return for a future Love Island, with two series set to air in 2020.
She said: “We are continuing to talk to Caroline. We are in constant contact and the door is open.”
Laura Whitmore also recently revealed she received a text from Caroline shortly after she stepped down from the show, saying she hoped that she would land the job in her absence.
“When Caroline stepped down she actually sent me a text message saying, ’I really hope you get to do this series,” she told The Mirror.
She also revealed that she had to ask for her mum’s permission to meet with ITV2, as she was supposed to be flying home to Ireland for her birthday.
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Love Island airs every night on ITV2.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Phoebe Waller-Bridge Reveals Jennifer Lopez Inspired Fleabag As Show Wins Big At Critics’ Choice Awa

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Reveals Jennifer Lopez Inspired Fleabag As Show Wins Big At Critics’ Choice Awards

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Phoebe Waller-Bridge has revealed how one of Jennifer Lopez’s hit songs influenced Fleabag.
The show’s winning streak continued on Sunday night, picking up two more prizes for its acclaimed second series at the Critics’ Choice Awards.
Fleabag, already a Bafta, Emmy and Golden Globe winner, was named Best Comedy Series while Phoebe won Best Actress In A Comedy.
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Phoebe Waller-Bridge accepts the award for best actress in a comedy series for "Fleabag" at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello) Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Taking to the stage to accept the show’s prize, the 34-year-old actress thanked J-Lo for inspiring a portion of Fleabag.
“This is a bit of a random shout-out,” she said. “But you have no idea how you can accidentally inspire people just by doing your work and somebody inspired this show in a way that you’ll never know – and that’s J-Lo!”
Jennifer Lopez arrives at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
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Phoebe told the star-studded audience, which included J-Lo, she decided the Priest’s favourite song was Jenny From The Block.
She said the choice of song “opened the entire character up for me”.
“So, I don’t know where she is, but that’s really genuine, so thank you, thank you J-Lo,” Phoebe added.
During the same acceptance speech, the actress and writer also thanked her sister and Fleabag composer Isobel Waller-Bridge, saying her music “covered and elevated” the “slightly mediocre bits” of the show.
Phoebe also revealed her sister inserted an Easter egg of sorts for Latin speakers, with “completely filthy” words used in some of the songs.
(L-R) Brett Gelman, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Andrew Scott pose in the press room with the award for best comedy series for Fleabag at the 25th annual Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020 Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
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“So thank you for keeping the DNA of the show right in even to the classiest music possible,” she added.
Other big winners at this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards included Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, which was named Best Picture.
The Best Director prize was shared between Parasite’s Bong Joon Ho and 1917’s Sir Sam Mendes after Broadcast Film Critics Association voters could not split them.
Andrew Scott, who plays the Priest in Fleabag, won Best Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--'Dumbest' Trump Lie Of 2020: White House Nailed Over Bizarre Weather Tweet

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Donald Trump’s White House came under fire on Sunday after a tweet that critics are already slamming as the “dumbest” lie of 2020.
And it’s all about the weather.
In what would on most days be a non-controversial message, the White House’s official account tweeted about snow:
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The White House The White House
The problem? It not only didn’t snow in Washington on Sunday, but it was also unseasonably warm, with temperatures reaching a high of 20C. And if it did snow, it wouldn’t have been the first of the year for the capital.
It’s possible the tweet was written Tuesday, but not sent as the Iran crisis unfolded. If that’s the case, it’s not clear why it was then sent on Sunday, when it was so clearly not snowing in Washington.
The Washington Post reported last month that Trump has unleashed a blizzard of lies, with more than 15,000 false or misleading claims since taking office in 2017.
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Several have been about the weather.
At one point, Trump showed off a doctored map to make false claims about a nonexistent hurricane threat.
But critics on Twitter say his administration lying about an easily verifiable weather event should have a special place on the list:
It's 52 degrees.
It's snowing in DC to the same extent that Trump is innocent.
These folks aren't even competent at lying. https://t.co/yviQcyY5B0 — Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) January 13, 2020
This is the dumbest lie and I am furious. https://t.co/eeRJpRzlP7 — Emily Keller (@egkeller) January 13, 2020
Narrator: it’s 53 degrees in Washington DC right now. https://t.co/gFH3HOqYUK — Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) January 13, 2020
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This White House lied about rain at Trump's inauguration. They used a Sharpie to change a weather map to lie about a hurricane headed to Alabama. And they continue to lie about climate change. Why wouldn't they lie about the first snow of the year when it's 53 degrees in DC? pic.twitter.com/QmunL6ySjA — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 13, 2020
Early entry for stupidest Trump lie of 2020. https://t.co/amEKgkjveV — JoeMyGod (@JoeMyGod) January 13, 2020
First snow of the year! ❄ pic.twitter.com/VF0IpARVtn — Matt Ford (@fordm) January 13, 2020
Possibly the stupidest lie since the Bowling Green Massacre. 🤥 pic.twitter.com/zKE3LJ1X0A — Cosmichomicide (@Cosmichomicide) January 13, 2020
It was 70 degrees in DC. WTF is wrong with these people. They literally lie about the dumbest things. https://t.co/Lt9mXUw6d0 — Josh Kail (@THATJoshKail) January 13, 2020
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It is currently clear and well above freezing in Washington, DC. https://t.co/iXHZ2nULHm — Adam Lance Garcia (@AdamLanceGarcia) January 13, 2020
they're doing the stupidest lies possible on purpose to underline that you can't do anything about it, that's why https://t.co/RjF9UADetZ — Nathan Bernhardt (@jonbernhardt) January 13, 2020
Why. Why would you lie about THIS. — Jessica Ellis (@baddestmamajama) January 13, 2020
It’s been snowing in Russia for two weeks — Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) January 13, 2020
This is indeed the truest form of gaslighting, to lie about the stupidest, most disprovable thing, only to cause division and prove to the most suggestible in society that there are no such things as objective facts. https://t.co/OxJMCtUuse — E.J. Kalafarski (@ejkalafarski) January 13, 2020
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It's 54 degrees. Is there anything you don't lie about? — Helen Kennedy (@HelenKennedy) January 13, 2020
It was 70 degrees today. There is no snow out there. https://t.co/XqoRgpiRZZ — Bradley P. Moss (@BradMossEsq) January 13, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--British Backpacker Dies In Australia After Falling From Cliff

Diamond Bay, Sydney Szilard Toth via Getty Images
A British backpacker is reported to have died after falling from a cliff in Sydney early on Sunday morning.
Emergency services were called to the Diamond Bay clifftops in Sydney’s eastern suburbs at about 6.30am following reports that a woman had fallen off the cliff.
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The Sydney Morning Herald named the woman as 21-year-old Madalyn Davis, a make-up artist from Lincolnshire who had only been in Australia for a few weeks.
The paper reported that Davis had been at a party in the area the night before, and had joined friends to watch the sunrise at the popular lookout spot.
Police, Fire & Rescue New South Wales and NSW Ambulance paramedics searched with the assistance of PolAir and the Marine Area Command, and the body of a woman was retrieved from the water about four hours later.
Australian police are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “Staff at the British Consulate in Sydney are in contact with local authorities following the death of a British woman at Diamond Bay, NSW.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--How Does The Labour Leadership Contest Work?

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Jeremy Corbyn’s potential successors as Labour Party leader have until 2.30pm on Monday to secure the combined support of 22 MPs and MEPs if they want to make it to the next round.
As of the time of publication, this is how the six contenders are doing:
The candidates
The candidates who reach the magic number of 22 will then go forward to the second stage.
They must get the nominations of 5% of all constituency Labour parties or three Labour affiliates – of which at least two must be trade unions – comprising at least 5% of the fully paid-up affiliate membership.
The freeze date for new members to join and be eligible to vote is January 20.
People will also be able to join as a registered supporter for a fee of £25 provided they are on the electoral register and meet the membership qualification criteria of membership of the party.
Applications to become a registered supporter open at 5pm on January 14 and close at 5pm on January 16.
The second stage of nominations from constituency parties and affiliates then opens on January 15 and runs to February 14.
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The ballot of members and registered supporters opens the following week on February 21, closing at midday on Thursday April 2.
Top, left to right: Lisa Nandy, Jess Phillips, Keir Starmer, (bottom, left to right) Rebecca Long-Bailey, Clive Lewis and Emily Thornbury, the six Labour Party MPs that are running in the leadership election. PA Wire/PA Images
Hustings
Saturday 18 January: Liverpool Saturday 25 January: Durham Saturday 1 February: Bristol Sunday 2 February: Cardiff Sunday 9 February: Birmingham Saturday 15 February: Glasgow Sunday 16 February: London


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--How Shiregreen's Children Are Coming To Terms With A Barbaric Double Murder

“Mummy, you won’t kill or hurt me, will you?”
Hearing her daughter’s words, Sam Parker felt her heart wrench. These were not thoughts that should plague a 10-year-old girl.
But an unimaginable tragedy on their doorstep has left children and young people in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield struggling with some existential questions.
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Teenagers Tristan and Blake Barrass were killed by their own parents – incestuous couple Sarah Barrass and Brendon Machin – in May. The rest of the country has simply labelled the case “The Shiregreen Murders”.
Tristan Barrass, 13 Facebook
Barrass, 35, and Machin, 39, were jailed for a minimum of 35 years in November after admitting two counts of murder; conspiracy to murder all six of their children, including Tristan and Blake; and five counts of attempted murder.
Blake Barrass, 14 Facebook
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Unknown to Barrass’s six children, Machin – her half-brother – was their father. They had been told their dad was dead.
Fearing their children would be taken into care, the couple hatched a plan to kill them.
Sheffield Crown Court heard how Barass would regularly tell the family: “I gave you life, I can take it away.”
First, she tried to kill her four eldest children by collecting tablets and forcing them to swallow them, the court heard.
When it became apparent the plan had failed, she began to search online for other ways of murdering them including suffocation, strangulation and drowning.
She contacted Machin to tell him the children were still alive, and the pair strangled the two older boys – Tristan, 13, and Blake, 14. They then ran a bath and repeatedly tried to drown one of the younger children, but failed.
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Following the murders and attempted murder, Barrass took the surviving children into her bedroom and called the police. Barrass told police she had planned to kill the two younger children and herself after the older four had died.
For those living in the Shiregreen community, this is not just a grisly news story but a reality. The media and television crews have disappeared since the conclusion of the case, but families and young people are still living with the repercussions.
To outside appearances, Barrass was a single mum with six children who was heavily supported by her half-brother Machin.
Mother of four Sam Parker, 31, told HuffPost UK parents have tried to shield their children from the frightening nature of the teenagers’ deaths, but it is an impossible task.
Sam has three children at Hartley Brook Primary School, where the air ambulance landed following the tragedy.
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It is also where Barrass and Machin’s younger children were being educated.
“It has shaken everybody around here up,” said Sam. “It is sick that parents could do that to their own kids.
“It hits children particularly hard and it makes them question everything. Even as an adult, it makes you question humanity and what people are capable of.
“It makes you want to keep your own children close to you and safe and you realise you don’t know what is going on behind closed doors.”
Kerry Corbridge, who works at Jack’s Plaice chippy in Shiregreen Aasma Day
Kerry Corbridge, 45, works at the nearby Jack’s Plaice chippy.
“We bring them up not to talk to strangers,” she told HuffPost UK, “but you think they’d be safe with their own parents.
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“It will affect children. They don’t expect kids their own age to die suddenly in such a horrible way.”
The tragedy is something that will ripple through the community for a long time, said Kerry. Months on from the deaths, people still come into the chip shop discussing it.
“It is not something people are going to get over quickly,” she added.
Many in the community lay the blame at the foot of social services, saying staff should have realised the children were at risk – but Kerry doesn’t share these sentiments.
“Social services were on to her.” she said of Barrass. “I think the reason she did it was because they were digging too deep. She was worried they would find out he was her brother.”
Susan Allen who works at Queenies Chippy and the local shop in Shiregreen, Sheffield Aasma Day
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How a mother can deliberately end the life of children she brought into the world is something Susan Allen cannot comprehend.
Susan, who works at Queenies Chippy and the local shop Allen, has a 21-year-old son of her own.
“Most people would die for their kids, not kill them,” she said. “What they did was completely unnatural.
“When you give birth to a baby, you have unconditional love for that child. How can a mother have the mindset to think: ‘I want to kill my child?’ Even if she felt that way, why didn’t she get help?
“We are all shocked and upset and can’t understand how someone from this community could be so wicked and cruel.”
Susan told HuffPost UK Machin used to come into the shop where she works to buy cigarettes and bread, and she would cheerily greet him like she does all her customers.
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Shrugging her shoulders in bewilderment, she said: “He was just friendly and like a normal person. I was shocked when I found out it was him.”
Lyndsey Prie, 31, whose partner used to work with Brandon Machin Aasma Day
Lyndsey Prie, 31, who has five children and a step-daughter, says her partner worked as a security guard with Machin for a few years and was quite friendly with him.
“My other half was shocked and felt really bad when he found out what had happened,” she said. “He thought Brandon was perfectly fine. It just shows you never really know someone.
“I think there will be a lasting effect on some children. It will make them afraid that parents who are supposed to look after and care for you can kill you.
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“I had to explain to my own children that [Barrass and Machin] were bad people to do that to their kids.
“I feel sorry for the kids who lost their lives and their siblings who survived. With parents like that, they didn’t stand a chance.”
Chloe Mahmood, 16, who went to Firth Park Academy and was friends with Tristan Barrass Aasma Day
Student Chloe Mahmood, 16, went to Firth Park Academy with Tristan and Blake Barrass.
Although the two boys were in years below her, she spent time with Tristan as part of the INSPIRE project for mental health and well being.
“When you have anxiety and mental health issues, you have time out together,” she explained.
“Tristan was quite a nervous person and had some troubles and issues and would sometimes get picked on. But he was such a loving and caring person and did nice things such as dye his hair to raise money for Children In Need.
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“I was just about to leave for a school trip for the weekend when I heard what had happened. It really upset me and I started crying.
“I was friends with Tristan and we used to talk as we had the anxiety in common. It upset a lot of people in school.”
Outside Firth Park Academy is a white bench decorated with blue ribbons and flowers in the boys’ memory. Behind closed doors, the school has been offering counselling to pupils affected by their murder.
The bench in memory of Tristan and Blake Barrass outside Firth Park Academy Aasma Day
Such a tragedy can leave a lasting mark on young people, says psychologist Dr Amanda Gummer, and it is important they get the support they need.
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Dr Gummer is the founder of Fundamentally Children, which is dedicated to promoting the value of play in healthy childhoods.
If children ask a question, they should always be given an answer and their fears and anxieties shouldn’t be fobbed off, she told HuffPost UK.
“Thankfully, these kinds of incidents are very rare,” she said.
“But it is really hard for a parent when a child turns around and asks: ‘You’re not going to kill me, are you?’”
Dr Gummer advised: “Don’t belittle their worries and acknowledge their fears. Say things like: ‘Come and give me a hug,’ and tell them you couldn’t hurt someone you love so much.
“Highlight the differences between your family and a family who clearly had psychopathic behaviour. Emphasise how rare it is and talk about the positives around your own family and how something like that would not happen in your home.”
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However, Dr Gummer says, parents shouldn’t make false promises. “Tell them that bad things do happen in the world and that is really sad, but you will try to keep them as safe as possible.”
Giving age-appropriate information is also important, and Dr Gummer says parents shouldn’t overload youngsters with unnecessary information and make things more horrendous for them if they don’t ask for a certain level of detail.
At the other end of the spectrum are children who knew the young people directly. In some cases, their parents might want to consider professional therapy. Even if they seem fine at first, they can have a delayed reaction.
“If you break your leg and don’t treat it, it won’t heal and you will always limp,” she reasoned. “In the same way, if you experience an emotional trauma, the sooner it is dealt with, the less long-term the impact.”
A vase of flowers outside the house Aasma Day
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The house where the family lived, and where the horrific events unfolded, is boarded up and empty.
In the immediate aftermath of the murders, it was a sea of floral tributes; among them was one left by Chloe.
Now, a lone vase of flowers stands outside the gate with the words: “Tristan and Blake, never to be forgotten.”
Posters featuring photographs of the teenagers are stuck on the boards alongside a photo of birds being released in their memory.
Floral tributes left outside the house in the aftermath of Tristan and Blake's deaths PA Archive/PA Images
The house is within close proximity of both Hartley Brook Primary School, where the younger Barrass children went, and Firth Park Academy itself.
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Many parents and children walk past the property every day. It is a permanent reminder of the horrors that occurred within and the children who lost their lives.
The boarded-up property. Almost all the tributes have now gone Aasma Day
“It sends a shiver down my spine whenever I walk past that house,” admitted Caitlin Pearson, 28, who has a four-year-old son at school nearby.
“Ideally, I’d like to see it knocked down, but I don’t think that will happen as it is attached to other houses.”
Sanctuary Housing, the landlord, said no decisions about the future of the house had yet been made.
Caitlin added: “The whole tragedy has put a downer on the community and it is like a dark cloud has descended.
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“We need positive vibes and to look out for each other to get through it. It has scared a lot of young people and opened their eyes to the fact that parents can be capable of terrible things.”
Caitlin Pearson, 28, who walks past the property each day as she takes her son to and from school Aasma Day
A neighbour, who didn’t wish to be named, told us: “It is terrible living on the same street as where something so awful happened.
“Every time you go out and see that house all boarded up, it brings it all back and it’s horrible.”
He added: “The pair who did it want hanging.”
Shiregreen is a close-knit working class community. Even those who didn’t personally know the two boys recognise them – particularly Tristan, who was distinguishable by his bright blue hair.
Joanne Norfolk, who works at Queenies Chippy and remembers serving the two boys who were killed Aasma Day
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Joanne Norfolk, who works at Queenies Chippy, remembers serving the two boys who died when they were younger.
“They were lovely lads and had good manners,” she said. “They were polite and always smiling. I remember them for their bright hair colours.
“Those two little boys would still be here if it wasn’t for their parents.”
Another woman, who works in the Co-op store at Shiregreen but didn’t wish to be named, said: “I remember serving those boys when they came to buy sweets. It makes you feel so sad that two people so young with their whole life ahead of them had it ended deliberately. It is a waste of life.”
Sheffield City Council has initiated a serious case review into the murders. It’s expected to take up to six months.
John Macilwraith, the town hall’s executive director of people services, said: “We need to understand, alongside all partners in the city, as much as we can about why and how these tragic events happened, as much as it is ever possible to understand such a terrible act.”
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Chief Superintendent Stuart Barton, district commander for Sheffield, said South Yorkshire Police were working to help young people affected by the incident get specialist support.
He said: “Incidents like this are fortunately rare. Sheffield is a place where people care for each other – a place where they look out for each other and a place that has community at its core.”
Sure enough, people in Shiregreen have united in their grief to raise money in memory of the boys.
Chantelle Needham, 32, a mum-of-two who works in the One Stop Shop, put out a donations box to help with the cost of the funeral.
She was amazed when the community donated £3,000.
But when she contacted funeral director Michael Fogg to hand over the money, he told her he wouldn’t take a penny and would meet the funeral costs himself. Instead, the money was put into four separate accounts for the surviving siblings.
Hundreds of motorcyclists and two Lamborghinis led the boys’ funeral cortege into the crematorium in August, in honour of their love of bikes and cars.
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“Everyone pulled together,” said Chantelle. “You don’t realise how strong a community is until something like this happens. You don’t need to be recognised for it – you just do it as a human being.”
Lamborghinis and motorbikes escort the funeral cortege arriving at Grenoside Crematorium, Sheffield, prior to the funeral of Tristan and Blake Barrass. PA Wire/PA Images
The funeral cortege arriving at Grenoside Crematorium, Sheffield, prior to the funeral of Tristan and Blake Barrass. PA Wire/PA Images
Mention the name Soham and many will think first – or only – of the murders of 10-year-old Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. Say Dunblane and people remember the mass shooting of children at a primary school.
Elected in 1972, Peter Price is Sheffield’s longest serving councillor. He hopes Shiregreen won’t be similarly tarred by association with a tragedy he described as “horrendous” and “beyond comprehension”.
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“A tragedy like this is bound to taint a community,” he said. “It is a terrible loss for everyone and it will be particularly hard for young people as it makes them realise how fragile life is.
“Shiregreen has its problems like all estates, but it is a super place and was a nice and settled estate before this happened.
“I am very proud of the way the community has rallied together and done things in memory of the children, and they handled things with dignity when the media and TV crews descended.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-01-13--Here’s What Your Tongue Tells You About Your Health

VectorWiz via Getty Images
When was the last time you had a good ol’ gawp at your tongue? If you can’t remember, that’s as good a sign as any that it’s time to do it – now.
“I always like to use the phrase ‘the mouth is the mirror to the body’,” says oral and maxillofacial surgeon Peter Dyer, the British Dental Association’s chair of hospital dentists. Simply put, your tongue can flag underlying factors about your health. Who knew?
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With oral cancers on the rise – the rate of people being diagnosed with tongue, tonsil and oropharyngeal cancers has increased by almost 60% in the last decade – Dyer is urging people to be “tongue aware”.
“Know what a healthy tongue looks like,” he says. Next time you visit your dentist, ask them to hold a mirror up and stick your tongue out – look at the surface and under surface, move your tongue left and right to see the sides.
A healthy tongue, says Dyer, is “nice and pink with a slightly rough surface”. If you notice swellings at the back of your tongue, don’t worry – these are your tastebuds.
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Changes can happen to the tongue which may be a sign of a health issue. While Dyer doesn’t want to scare anyone, he does want people to be aware of symptoms that may need further exploration.
Below are some of the most common changes that may happen to your tongue – and what they signify. But if you have any concerns – don’t self-diagnose. The NHS says a pharmacist can look at your tongue and might be able to tell you: what’s causing it; if you can buy anything to help with any pain or irritation; or if you should see a dentist or GP.
White or yellow coating across the tongue
The most common issue is when people develop a “white coating” across their whole tongue, says Dyer, caused by a build-up of cells on the surface. This could be because of irritation or food debris. In babies, it can be due to suckling – a build-up of milk.
People might also experience a build-up of yellow coating on the surface of the tongue, which often occurs for the same reason, but the yellow colouring can be caused by smoking (nicotine stains), or drinking tea or coffee.
These are oral hygiene issues, rather than health issues, says Dyer, so they don’t require treatment. If you have a white coating, give your tongue a scrub every time you clean your teeth. And if it’s yellow, quitting smoking could keep it at bay.
You might also find it useful to invest in a tongue scraper – both Dyer and Dr Nigel Carter, CEO of the Oral Health Foundation, recommend their use. “Bacteria that cause bad breath live on the back of the tongue, so by tongue-scraping you can [also] scrape those bacteria off and stop some of the bad breath,” adds Dr Carter.
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Tunatura via Getty Images Oral thrush
White patches on the tongue
White patches across the tongue and elsewhere in the mouth can indicate thrush, caused by an organism called candida. This is usually an indication that a person is run down, says Dyer. It could also occur in those who have been taking antibiotics, or using asthma inhalers. If left untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of the body, states the NHS.
Anti-thrush medication can be used to treat this, prescribed by your dentist or GP. “Oral thrush is usually harmless,” states the NHS. ”[It] can be easily treated with a mouth gel [and] treatment usually lasts at least seven days.” For a natural remedy, Dyer recommends natural yoghurt.
“If you get isolated [single] white patches, it can be a bit more worrying,” explains Dyer – especially if you have a normal, healthy pink tongue.
It’s not always serious – it could be down to the fact the tongue is rubbing against a tooth or filling – but there’s also a chance it could indicate oral cancer. A localised white patch or red patch which has been there for more than two to three weeks should be checked out by your dentist or GP.
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Ulcers on the tongue
Ulcers on the tongue are less common than general mouth ulcers, which occur on the inside of cheeks or other soft tissues in the mouth. They’re usually a result of trauma to the tongue – for example, if you accidentally bite it. There’s not really a treatment option, it should clear up in a week or two, but if you want to help it along, Dyer recommends a DIY mouth rinse with hot water and salt.
Some teens and young adults are prone to getting crops of ulcers on the tongue, four or five at a time, which last about five days. These can be very painful. “Some patients can suffer a lot from these, so I’d recommend going to the dentist when you’ve got the ulcers,” Dyer says. It’s likely your dentist will prescribe a topical steroid gel, cream or mouth rinse.
Any ulcers that stick around for two to three weeks should definitely be looked at by a professional – either a dentist or GP. Mouth cancers are one of the few cancers increasing in number, says Dr Carter, partly down to HPV-related cancers. In November, the Oral Health Foundation revealed that new cases of mouth cancer had increased for the 10th year in a row.
Symptoms of tongue cancer can include a patch, spot or lump on the underside of your tongue – or top of it – which doesn’t go away. Key risk factors are smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol, and infection with HPV. People with tongue cancer might also experience pain when swallowing, numbness in the mouth that doesn’t go away, or unexplained bleeding from the tongue.
trumzz via Getty Images Tongue ulcers
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Lumps and localised swelling on the tongue
If you’ve got a localised swelling on your tongue, opposed to the whole thing swelling up, it could be because you’ve bitten it accidentally. The swelling should settle after 48 hours – and there’s not much you can do about it, other than wait it out.
People who have a lumpy swelling that’s pink in colour might have a polyp (tissue growth), which is usually “not nasty in anyway” and can be cut off by dentists, says Dyer.
Others might develop a wart on the tongue, which is caused by HPV, often as a result of unsafe oral sex. It can also happen if you touch a wart with your hand and then put your hand in your mouth. Dyer says any localised swelling that’s been there more than three weeks should be looked at by your dentist or GP.
The whole tongue is swollen
If your whole tongue is swollen, that’s slightly more unusual, suggests Dyer. It might signal an allergy, but it could also be caused by certain types of medication – for example, blood pressure drugs.
If the tongue is very red and swollen, or there are patches of red, it could be a sign that you have a vitamin B12 deficiency or anaemia (from lack of iron). Dentists call it ‘beefy tongue’. For either of these issues, you should speak to your GP or call NHS 111.
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