Rishi Sunak to announce scrapping of HS2 high-speed rail line from West Midlands to Manchester tomorrow, BBC understands

Kevin McCarthy has been sensationally ousted as Speaker of the House in a historic vote sparked by a tumultuous civil war in the Republican party. He became the first Speaker in the 234-year history of the United States Congress to be kicked out and have his gavel taken away by fellow lawmakers. The humiliating end for McCarthy, 58, sent shockwaves across Capitol Hill and meant he is the shortest-serving Speaker since 1875, following a rollercoaster tenure of less than a year. It came after a rebellion led by his nemesis, Florida congressman Matt Gaetz , and a small group of hardline Republicans who viewed McCarthy as a weak conservative.

Millwall got their first away win in the Championship since late April as they inflicted a rare home defeat on Plymouth Argyle.

Argyle had the best of a goalless first half as Morgan Whittaker, Bali Mumba and Kaine Kesler-Hayden all tested Bartosz Bialkowski in the Millwall goal.

Duncan Watmore should have put Millwall ahead soon after the restart as his close range effort was saved by Conor Hazard's legs before the forward set up Zian Flemming to calmly put the Lions in front.

Millwall defended their lead well before securing victory in the seventh minute of stoppage time as Flemming dispossessed Kesler-Hayden before playing in George Saville to score.

The defeat was just a fourth home loss in 28 games for the Pilgrims going back to the start of last season - a record that was the best in the EFL.

It sees Millwall jump above Plymouth into 11th place in the Championship as the hosts drop to 15th position.

Elye Wahi starred as French side Lens came from behind to shock Arsenal in the Champions League.

A Leyton Orient fan who was receiving CPR on the side of the pitch after a medical emergency has died.

Around 20 fans were forced to storm the pitch to stop the match and to get the man suffering a suspected heart attack treatment from stewards.

Despite medics arriving within four minutes of being called at 9.30pm the patient was pronounced dead at the East Stand of Brisbane Road during Tuesday’s match against Lincoln City.

Security came under fire for tackling supporters who wanted to draw attention to the medical emergency.

The victim was seen receiving treatment on the side of the pitch yards away from his linesman but referee Stephen Martin urged the game to go on to the horror of fans.

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson told The Independent: “We were called yesterday at 9:28pm to reports of a person becoming unwell at Leyton Orient Football Club, on Brisbane Road.

“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an incident response officer, two medics in fast-response cars and an ambulance crew.

“Our first medic arrived in approximately four minutes.

“We treated a man at the scene, but very sadly, despite our teams’ best efforts, he was later pronounced dead.”

Chicago Fire have offered a financial incentive for fans attending Wednesday's MLS match against Inter Miami, whose star player Lionel Messi could miss out through injury.

Chicago Fire have sold more than 61,000 tickets for the game at Soldier Field.

Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi has missed Miami's past three matches.

Fire will give $250 (£207) credit towards "new memberships for the 2024 season" or $50 (£41) credit to "single-game ticket buyers".

They said fans would receive the credit "regardless of which players are able to make an appearance on the pitch".

A Fire statement read: "While we don't yet know the official status of Lionel Messi's availability for our match tomorrow, as there's never a guarantee that an athlete will play on any given night due to several factors, we understand that many of our fans may be disappointed if they don't get the chance to see him play.

"We realise that there will be many in attendance who are coming to a Chicago Fire match at Soldier Field for the first time, and we're excited to welcome them to the Fire Family and give them an opportunity to become long-term fans by creating a wonderful, fan-focused atmosphere."

Fire's highest attendance at Soldier Field 37,122, against LA Galaxy in their inaugural season in 1998.

Argentina's World Cup winner Messi has played once in six games for Miami since 3 September and watched their 2-1 defeat by Houston Dynamo in the final of the US Open Cup last week from the stands.

Messi, 36, signed for Miami in July after his contract with Paris St-Germain expired.

Ben Stokes is a doubt for England's World Cup opener against New Zealand on Thursday because of a hip issue.

Captain Jos Buttler played down the new issue on Wednesday but England are unlikely to take a risk on Stokes at the start of a seven-week tournament.

England's Test captain, 32, came out of retirement for the defence of their 50-over world title despite his long-running knee injury .

"It's not the time to take big risks on someone," said Buttler.

"Nearer the end, maybe you do take more of a risk with people's injuries but it's going to be a long tournament."

If Stokes is not fit, batter Harry Brook, who was only called up as a late change for Jason Roy, is the obvious replacement.

England train at the cavernous 130,000-seater Narendra Modi Stadium later on Wednesday - the venue of the tournament curtain-raiser a day later.

Stokes has not played since hitting an England-record 182 in the third one-day international against New Zealand on 13 September, having sat out Monday's warm-up game against Bangladesh.

Leyton Orient Football Club is devastated to confirm that the supporter who was taken ill at Tuesday's game against Lincoln City has sadly passed away. Rest in peace, Derek ❤️

Celtic endured late heartbreak as Pedro's 95th-minute winner consigned the defending Scottish champions to another Champions League defeat.

Kyogo Furuhashi showed great composure to slide in his first goal in the competition to ignite a rowdy Celtic Park early on.

However, indecision in the home defence was punished midway through the first half as Matias Vecino was afforded space to glance in a header.

Brendan Rodgers' side thought they had snatched a late winner through Luis Palma only for the video assistant referee (VAR) to intervene, and Celtic's anguish would grow further as the Italians dramatically struck with just seconds left.

With Atletico Madrid beating Feyenoord 3-2 in Spain, it means Celtic, who have now not won at home in the Champions League for 10 years, sit bottom of Group E with no points after two games before a double-header against the Spaniards.

Cricket World Cup

England's defence of their World Cup title began with a nine-wicket hammering at the hands of New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

The rematch of the final four years ago offered none of the tension of that Lord's epic with the Black Caps cantering home in pursuit of 283.

They reached their target with 13.4 overs to spare - Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra both hitting stunning centuries.

Conway ended 152 not out and Ravindra unbeaten on 123 as the pair combined for a sensational 273-run partnership - the fourth-highest in men's World Cup history - which rendered England's attack toothless.

In contrast, England struggled to 282-9 in a lacklustre batting performance. Joe Root made 77 but a series of soft dismissals checked their progress.

They have to wait until Tuesday for their next match - a meeting with Bangladesh in Dharamshala.

The tournament continues with Pakistan facing Netherlands in Hyderabad from 09:30 BST on Friday.

Timothy Treadwell (born Timothy William Dexter; April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003) was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coastal brown bears (Ursus arctos horribilis), a population of grizzly bears, in Katmai National Park, Alaska, for 13 summers.

On October 5, 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard were killed and almost fully eaten by a 28-year-old male bear whose stomach was later found to contain human remains and clothing.

Treadwell's life, work, and death were the subject of Werner Herzog's critically acclaimed documentary film Grizzly Man (2005).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDQkLF1Vd3o

Lady Cathy Ferguson, the wife of former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, has died aged 84.

The couple married in 1966, spending 57 years as husband and wife, and had three sons, including Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson.

"We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing yesterday of Lady Cathy Ferguson," a statement from the Ferguson family said.

"The family asks for privacy at this time."

Flags at Old Trafford have been lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect, and the men's and women's teams will wear black armbands in their fixtures this weekend.

Manchester United said in a statement: "Everyone at Manchester United sends our heartfelt condolences to Sir Alex Ferguson and his family on the passing of Lady Cathy, a beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother, and a tower of strength for Sir Alex throughout his career."

Cathy and Sir Alex, 81, met in 1964 while they were both working at a typewriter factory.

For 27 of their years together Sir Alex was manager of Manchester United, and Cathy is said to have played a key role in persuading him not to retire in 2002.

Writing in his autobiography, Ferguson said she had told him: "One, your health is good. Two, I'm not having you in the house. And three, you're too young anyway."

When Sir Alex did announce his retirement 11 years later, he said: "My wife Cathy has been the key figure throughout my career, providing a bedrock of both stability and encouragement.

"Words are not enough to express what this has meant to me."

Several clubs paid tribute to Cathy on social medial.

Manchester City posted on X: "Everyone at Manchester City sends their condolences to Sir Alex Ferguson and his family at this very difficult time."

Arsenal offered their "heartfelt condolences", adding: "May Lady Cathy rest in peace."

Sir Alex's former club St Mirren said: "Everyone at St Mirren Football Club sends its deepest condolences to Sir Alex Ferguson and family following the sad news of the passing of Lady Cathy Ferguson."

Aberdeen, another of Sir Alex's former clubs, also sent their condolences, while Peterborough said: "Everyone at Peterborough United Football Club offers our sincere condolences to Darren Ferguson and his family on the passing of his beloved mother, Lady Cathy."

Former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling is to stand down as an MP at the end of this Parliament.

Mr Grayling, who also served as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Chancellor, has been the MP for Epsom and Ewell in Surrey since 2001.

In a statement to his local Conservative constituency association on Friday he revealed the decision came following a prostate cancer diagnosis.

The association will now select a successor as Conservative candidate.

In the statement Mr Grayling said: "Earlier this year I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and although the treatment has been successful, it has prompted me to think that after 22 years it is time for a change.

"I am very grateful to you for the support I have been given by you all over the years.

"I will obviously carry on working as normal until the election and will hope to see you at one of the upcoming events."

Mr Grayling's political career has not been without criticism, during his tenure as Transport Secretary he was dubbed "Failing Grayling" by opposition MPs.

It followed a series of transport policy mishaps including his handling of rail timetable changes and a £33m Breixt payout to Eurotunnel.

He stood down in the role when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister.

In September 2020 he secured a position advising some of the UK's top ports, despite watchdog concerns it would give Hutchison Ports an unfair advantage.

Wilko is set to shut the doors of its last remaining high street shops for the final time tomorrow after 93 years on the high street.

The discount hardware and furnishings chain has been shutting its 400 UK stores over the past month after tumbling into administration in August.

Store shelves have already become bare as it sells off its last remaining products in order to recover more cash to help repay outstanding debts.

It will bring to a close one of the largest high street failures in recent years, with almost all of Wilko's 12,500 workers being made redundant.

Over the past two months, workers at the high street chain have attempted to make memories at the stores before they shut down.

A man proposed to his long-term partner in the Wilko branch where she worked at the end of August.

A moving video showing the moment he proposed went viral as staff had their cameras at the ready.

Now Nick, 46, has explained to MailOnline why he opted for the unlikely proposal setting: 'I decided on Wilko because it is a very special place to Sally.

'She loves her job there, she has made some really close friends and with what is going on at the moment with the threatened closure, I thought it would give everyone a lift. If it was to close down then what a memory to take with you.'

Swansea City's upturn in form continued as they came from behind at Plymouth Argyle to secure a fourth successive Championship victory.

Luke Cundle gave Plymouth a first-half lead against the club he played for last season, the on-loan Wolves midfielder steering into the net after Carl Rushworth could only parry Ryan Hardie's cross.

Goalkeeper Rushworth then made a number of important saves for a Swansea side who levelled thanks to Jerry Yates' tap-in early in the second half.

A game that could have gone either way was settled by two moments of quality.

First Ollie Cooper scored his first goal of the season from 25 yards just moments after coming off the bench.

Swansea put the result beyond doubt when Jamie Paterson's fabulous pass allowed Josh Key to guide home his first goal for the club.

A second away success of the campaign continues a sharp turnaround in form for Swansea, who failed to win in their first seven league games under Michael Duff but now climb to 12th.

The Welsh side head into the second international break of the season in upbeat mood, having taken 13 points from five games since an abject display in last month's south Wales derby prompted questions about Duff's future.

Plymouth must hope to produce their own improvement when they return to action at West Bromwich Albion in a fortnight's time, having slipped to 18th after winning only one of their past six matches.

comment by Choice City (U6187)

posted on 31/5/16

Two extremely rare birds which were blown across to the UK due to prolonged wind currents could remain in the country due to their dislike of sea crossings, experts have said.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he can see "zero" characteristics of himself in Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, who worked alongside him for several years at Etihad Stadium.