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We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
We have a curated list of the most noteworthy news from all across the globe. With any subscription plan, you get access to exclusive articles that let you stay ahead of the curve.
Matt Willis has expressed his gratitude to Jack Osbourne for aiding him in achieving sobriety following an altercation in New Zealand.
The former Busted member shared that during the filming of the show “Adrenaline Junkie” in 2008, he had a habit of drinking excessively, starting from the moment he woke up until he retired for the night.
After the incident, Matt recounted how his actions raised alarms for Jack, who had previously embraced sobriety after undergoing rehab at 17. Jack extended an offer to help by arranging a spot for Matt at a rehabilitation center in Los Angeles.
Matt explained, “We were in a major New Zealand city, and I had gone out drinking in the morning, ended up getting into a fight, and returned with police assistance, sporting cuts and bruises.”
He continued, “While at the airport, I was sitting at the bar, and Jack joined me. He frankly said, ‘I see what’s happening with you, and I recognize you have a problem, Matt.'”
Matt said Jack went on to offer him a rehab place, but he confessed he was ‘annoyed’ by his offer and reacted ‘rudely’ at the time.
Matt Willis has credited Jack Osbourne for helping him get sober during his battle with alcoholism after he was attacked in New Zealand
Speaking on his On The Mend podcast, he said: ‘I was p****d and I was a d******d, and I was like ”no mate, no I’m just going through a bit of a tough time. I’m all right. Everything’s okay.”
‘And he just sat with me and let say all that b*****t to him, he went ”look I’ve talked to the guy, there’s a place for you. You can be in there tomorrow and it’s going to be all right” And I was like ”no mate, no, you’re off your head see you later.”
‘And I got on the plane back to London instead of going to LA, and then three weeks later I checked myself into rehab. So, he was on the money. It was an amazing thing he did.’
Matt said he finally checked into rehab three weeks later before he was due to marry Emma, after she issued him with an ultimatum.
He said: ‘Emma went away on a work trip, and I was on my own. That’s when things got really scary and really, really dark for me.
‘And that’s when I checked myself into rehab…
‘[Jack] was the first person who really, truly saw me, saw the b******t I was living in, and called it out.’
Matt then married Emma just three days after he left rehab, with the couple renewing their vows on their tenth wedding anniversary.
He has now been sober for several years. His 2023 BBC documentary, Matt Willis: Fighting Addiction, won praise for its unflinching look at relapse, recovery and the impact on his family.
The former Busted star said Jack offered him a place at a rehab facility in LA after he was involved in a drunken fight while they were filming a show together
Speaking on his podcast, he reflected on how that film helped him ‘rewrite his story’: ‘I wanted to change the way people looked at addicts. I wanted people to go, “These are people who are struggling – how can we help them?” rather than dismissing them from society.’
He also discussed the process of making amends as part of his recovery – but admitted there’s one person he’s never formally apologised to: Emma.
‘When you do step work, you write down all the bad things you’ve done and go and make amends,’ he explained. ‘The one person I need to make amends to the most is Emma. My wife saw me at my darkest and stuck by me.
‘What I think people would be surprised about is I didn’t make a straightforward amends with her. I didn’t go and say, “I’m sorry”, because I don’t know what I would say. I don’t know if there’s enough words to do it justice and I didn’t want to not do it justice.’
He continued: ‘I was always like, when I feel like I’m in a good enough place, I’ll do it. And when I feel like I’m ready, and I feel like she’ll really appreciate it, I will do it. As time went on, I was like, actually, I think I’m doing it without having to go and say it.
‘It’s not because I’m wimping out… I think instead what I do is choose to be the man I am today for her. And I choose to turn up and I choose to keep promises that I give her. So I actually think I’m making amends to her every day.’
Matt admits that discussing his addiction with their children – Isabelle, 16, Ace, 13, and Trixie, nine – has been among the hardest parts of his recovery.
‘At some point, they’re like, “Why don’t you have a drink? Nanny does, Mummy does occasionally,” he said. ‘When do you tell a kid you’re an alcoholic? What do you say to that? It’s kind of a weird thing for a kid to hear.’
He added: ‘I’ve done it differently every time, but I think I’ve let them understand why I don’t and why, if I did, it wouldn’t be the same person that’s speaking to you now.
‘Something happens to me when I take a drink or I do drugs, I change… everything that’s important in my life goes away. And the only thing that’s important is that. And I don’t want to be that guy ever again, especially for you, because I love you and I want to be the best version that I can for you.’
Now, Matt says he’s finally found peace. ‘Taking control doesn’t mean pretending everything’s fine,’ he said. ‘It means saying, “This is where I am, and I get to decide what happens next”.’
Revitalize your leg strength outdoors with a simple routine that requires no gym or equipment.
As a seasoned personal trainer and fitness instructor at TRAINFITNESS, I often encounter older adults who mistakenly believe that weakening legs are an unavoidable part of aging. This is far from the truth. With four decades in the fitness realm, I assure you that leg strength can be rejuvenated with the right strategies, and a park bench can be an invaluable asset. These five exercises are designed to help you regain strength, enhance balance, and move through life with renewed confidence.
Once you cross the threshold of 60, your legs begin to lose muscle mass more rapidly than any other part of the body. This condition, known as sarcopenia, affects the lower body roughly twice as fast as the upper body. The quadriceps and gluteal muscles are particularly vulnerable, diminishing by 1-2% annually if left unchallenged.
Why Leg Muscle Loss Is So Dangerous
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The consequences extend beyond mere appearance. Weak legs are a significant risk factor for falls, which stand as the leading cause of injury-related fatalities among individuals over 65. Insufficient leg strength compromises balance, meaning a trip or stumble can lead to a fall when your legs fail to respond swiftly. Such incidents often result in fractures, and for seniors, a hip fracture can be a profoundly transformative event.
The danger isn’t just about how your legs look. Weak legs directly predict falls, which are the leading cause of injury-related death in people over 65. When your leg muscles can’t support you properly, your balance suffers. When you trip or stumble, weak legs can’t react fast enough to catch you. That’s when fractures happen — and for older adults, a hip fracture can be life-changing.
Your legs are also your metabolic engine. Muscle tissue burns calories even at rest. When you lose leg muscle, your metabolism slows down, making weight management harder. This creates a cycle — less muscle means less activity, which means more muscle loss.
The most overlooked danger is loss of independence. Weak legs make it harder to get up from chairs, climb stairs, carry shopping, or even get off the toilet. These aren’t small inconveniences — they’re the difference between living independently and needing help with basic tasks.
Why Squats Fall Short After 60
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Traditional squats require a level of mobility, balance, and strength that many people over 60 simply don’t have anymore. Ankle mobility decreases with age. Hip flexibility reduces. Knee joints might have some wear and tear. Asking someone with these limitations to perform a perfect squat from standing is setting them up to either do it incorrectly (which risks injury) or avoid it entirely (which means no progress).6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e
There’s also the fear factor. Standing squats feel unstable when your balance isn’t what it used to be. The lower you go, the more your brain screams at you to stop. This fear is protective, but it prevents you from working your muscles through their full range of motion.
Park bench exercises solve all of these problems. The bench gives you a reference point — you know exactly how low to go. When you feel the bench, you sit. This removes the guesswork and the fear. You’re not wondering if you’ll be able to get back up because you can use your hands on the bench to assist if needed.
Most park benches sit at around 16-18 inches high, which is slightly lower than a standard chair but not so low that it’s unrealistic for beginners. This height challenges your leg muscles without putting excessive stress on your knees. And because park benches don’t move, you have the confidence to push yourself harder without worrying about the bench shifting underneath you.
Bench Sit-to-Stand
This is the foundation of the routine. The bench sit-to-stand targets your quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings — the exact muscles you need to get out of chairs, beds, and cars without using your hands. After 60, these muscles weaken faster than others, making daily movements progressively harder.
Muscles Trained: Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings
How to Do It:
– Stand in front of the bench with your feet hip-width apart, about 6 inches away from it
– Lower yourself down slowly until you’re sitting on the bench — don’t collapse into the seat, control the descent
– Once seated, lean forward slightly
– Push through your heels and stand back up
– That’s one rep
Modifications:
– For balance issues: keep your hands on the bench beside you as you sit down and stand up
– For knee pain: don’t sit all the way down — go as low as comfortable, hold for a second, then stand back up
– For extra support: place your hands on the backrest as you stand
How to Progress:
– Remove hand support gradually: start with both hands, then one hand, then fingertips only, then no hands
– Once that’s comfortable, slow down the sitting phase — take 3-4 seconds to lower yourself down
– The slower descent increases time under tension, which builds more strength
Avoid These Mistakes:
– Don’t stand up by leaning too far forward and using momentum instead of your leg muscles
– Keep your chest up, push through your heels, and stand by straightening your legs — not by throwing your upper body forward
Bench Step-Up
This works your quadriceps, glutes, and hip stabilizers. It’s one of the best exercises for improving your ability to climb stairs and step up onto curbs — both of which become harder with age as leg strength declines.
Muscles Trained: Quadriceps, glutes, hip stabilizers
How to Do It:
– Stand facing the bench
– Place your right foot flat on the bench seat, making sure your whole foot is in contact — not just your toes
– Push through your right heel and step up onto the bench, bringing your left foot up to meet it
– Step back down with your left foot first, then your right
– That’s one rep on your right leg
– Complete the same number of reps on your left leg
Modifications:
– For balance: keep one hand on the backrest of the bench for support
– For knee pain: start with a lower step — find a curb or lower bench to practice on first
– Make sure you’re pushing through your heel, not your toes, as this reduces knee stress
How to Progress:
– Remove hand support, then slow down the movement
– Eventually, try stepping down with the same leg you stepped up with (right foot up, right foot down) rather than alternating — this is harder on your muscles and mimics climbing stairs more closely
Avoid These Mistakes:
– Don’t push off with your bottom foot to help yourself up — the foot on the bench should do all the work
– Your bottom foot should barely touch the ground; think of it as just brushing the floor for balance
Single-Leg Bench Squat
This targets your quadriceps, glutes, and balance. Working one leg at a time corrects strength imbalances — most people have one stronger leg — and dramatically improves stability, both of which reduce fall risk.
– Stand on your right leg in front of the bench, left foot hovering off the ground
– Extend your left leg out in front of you for balance
– Lower yourself down slowly until you’re sitting on the bench
– Stand back up on your right leg alone, keeping your left foot off the ground the entire time
– Complete all reps on one leg, then switch
Modifications:
– For balance: hold onto the backrest with both hands
– For knee pain: don’t sit all the way down — go as low as comfortable
– If this is too difficult: start by barely lifting your other foot off the ground — keep your toes touching for balance but do most of the work with one leg
How to Progress:
– Reduce hand support gradually
– Add a 2-3 second pause while seated before standing back up
– Eventually, try hovering just above the bench without sitting — lower until you’re an inch from the seat, then stand back up
Avoid These Mistakes:
– Don’t twist your body or lean to one side to compensate for weak leg muscles
– Keep your hips level and your chest facing forward
– If you can’t maintain this, use more hand support — don’t compromise form for the sake of removing support too soon
Bench Bulgarian Split Squat
This works your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors. It’s excellent for improving your stride length when walking and your ability to step over obstacles — both of which deteriorate with age.
Muscles Trained: Quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors
How to Do It:
– Stand about 2 feet in front of the bench, facing away from it
– Place the top of your left foot on the bench seat behind you so your shoelaces are in contact with the bench
– Position your right foot far enough forward that when you lower down, your right knee doesn’t go past your toes
– Lower your body by bending your right knee until your left knee nearly touches the ground
– Push back up and complete all reps on one leg, then switch
Modifications:
– For balance: hold onto a tree or the backrest of another bench in front of you
– For knee pain: don’t go as deep — lower only as far as comfortable
– If putting your back foot on the bench feels too unstable: rest it on the ground behind you instead (this is called a split squat rather than Bulgarian)
How to Progress:
– Remove hand support, then add a pause at the bottom position
– Eventually, try holding light weights in your hands — water bottles work perfectly
Avoid These Mistakes:
– Don’t lean too far forward — keep your torso upright
– Your front shin should stay as vertical as possible
– If your front knee is shooting forward past your toes, your front foot is too close to the bench — step further forward
Bench Calf Raise
This targets your calf muscles, which are critical for balance, walking, and preventing ankle injuries. Weak calves contribute to shuffling gait patterns that increase fall risk.
Muscles Trained: Calves (gastrocnemius, soleus)
How to Do It:
– Stand facing the bench with your hands on the backrest for support
– Place the balls of your feet on the edge of the bench seat, heels hanging off
– Rise up onto your toes as high as possible
– Hold for a second at the top
– Lower your heels below the level of the bench to get a stretch in your calves
– That’s one rep
Modifications:
– For balance: keep both hands on the backrest throughout
– For ankle pain or stiffness: don’t lower your heels below bench level — go from flat foot to toes and back
– If standing on the edge feels unstable: do this exercise standing on flat ground instead
How to Progress:
– Move to one hand for support, then fingertips, then no hands
– Once you’re confident, try single-leg calf raises — same movement, but on one foot at a time
Avoid These Mistakes:
– Don’t bounce through the movement instead of controlling it
– Go slow — pause at the top and bottom of each rep
– If you’re bouncing, you’re using momentum instead of muscle strength
How to Structure Your Weekly Routine
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Start with three sessions per week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday works well. You need rest days between sessions to let your muscles recover and rebuild. This is when the strength gains actually happen.
For the first two weeks, do 2 sets of 8-10 reps of each exercise. This will take about 20 minutes including rest between sets. Rest for 60-90 seconds between sets — enough time to recover without cooling down completely.
After two weeks, increase to 3 sets of 10-12 reps. Your sessions will now take 25-30 minutes. After another two weeks, increase to 3 sets of 12-15 reps.
The order matters. Do them in the sequence listed here — sit-to-stands, step-ups, single-leg squats, Bulgarian split squats, calf raises. This goes from exercises using both legs to exercises using one leg, which allows you to maintain good form as you tire.
If you’re very deconditioned or haven’t exercised in years, start with just 1 set of 8 reps of the first three exercises only. Add exercises and sets gradually as your confidence builds.
Don’t skip rest days. Your muscles grow stronger during recovery, not during the workout itself. If you’re still sore two days after a session, take an extra day off before your next workout.
The Best Time to Go (and Why the Walk Counts)
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Morning is generally better for most people over 60. Your joints are stiffer first thing, so the walk to the park serves as a natural warm-up. By the time you arrive, your body is ready to move. Morning sessions also mean you’re less likely to skip them — the day hasn’t had a chance to derail your plans yet.
That said, if you feel weak or unsteady in the morning, wait until mid-morning or early afternoon when you’ve been up and moving for a few hours. Listen to your body’s natural rhythm.
The walk to and from the park absolutely adds benefit. Walking is low-impact cardiovascular exercise that complements the strength work you’re doing at the bench. A 10-15 minute walk each way gets your heart rate up, improves circulation to your muscles, and counts towards the 150 minutes of moderate activity per week that’s recommended for older adults.
Don’t stretch before you’ve moved — cold muscles don’t stretch well. Walk to the park, do your bench exercises, then walk home. If you want to stretch, do it after your session when your muscles are warm.
Weather permitting, getting outside in natural light also helps regulate your circadian rhythm, which improves sleep quality. Better sleep means better recovery, which means better strength gains.
What to Expect in 4-6 Weeks
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Week 1: You’ll feel a little sore in your legs when you wake up in the morning. That’s a good thing — your muscles are working. By the end of Week 2, the soreness will have dissipated as your body adjusts.
Week 2: You’ll feel stronger while you’re doing the exercises. The things that seemed difficult on Day 1 won’t seem so bad anymore. You won’t notice much of a difference in your daily life yet, but your nervous system is getting more efficient at using the muscles in your legs.
Week 4: You’ll notice that it’s easier to get up out of your chair — you won’t be using the armrests as much. You won’t be avoiding the stairs as much either. You might even be taking the stairs instead of the elevator. You’ll feel more stable when standing or walking on uneven surfaces.
Week 6: Other people will start to notice that you’re walking better. You’ll be moving a little faster, even though you aren’t trying to. Getting in and out of the car will be easier. You’ll be standing up straighter because your leg and core muscles are helping you hold yourself up.
You won’t see much of a difference in the amount of muscle you have at this stage — that generally takes 8-12 weeks. But you will see a difference in your functional strength. You’ll be better able to do the things you need to do during your day because your nervous system adjusts faster than your muscles.
Week 6 is also when most people notice the greatest improvement in their confidence. You’ll be trusting your legs again. You won’t be questioning every move you make. And that is just as important as being physically stronger — because you’ll stop placing limits on yourself.
Five former contestants from Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette are reportedly contemplating legal action following the removal of their episodes due to her domestic violence controversy.
The scheduled season was abruptly canceled just before its premiere when a disturbing video from 2023 came to light, showing the 31-year-old Paul in a violent altercation with her then-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen, 33, while her young daughter, Indy, was in the vicinity.
In the footage, Paul is seen hurling a stool at Mortensen. In the background, Indy, now eight years old, can be heard crying, with Mortensen remarking, “Your daughter just got hit in the head by a metal chair.”
Following the incident, Paul, a mother of three, was arrested in 2023, with the video serving as pivotal evidence in the case. She eventually pled guilty to third-degree aggravated assault.
Although this case has been known to the public for years, a new investigation into another alleged domestic violence incident began this February. Consequently, Mortensen was granted a restraining order against Paul last Friday, citing her as an “immediate threat” to his safety.
Now it has been alleged that five men who went on The Bachelorette to compete for her hand are weighing the possibility of filing suit against the show’s network ABC and producers Warner Bros Discovery, sources told TMZ.
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for ABC and Warner Bros Discovery for comment.
Five contestants from Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette are allegedly considering the prospect of taking legal action after their episodes were pulled
The decision to cancel came hours after TMZ published a video of the reality TV star apparently fighting with her ex-partner, Dakota Mortensen, in 2023
The suitors are said to believe Warner Bros Discovery created an unsafe work environment for them by placing them in close quarters with Paul.
Further, the men paused their lives – in some cases supposedly giving up employment – in order to obtain a degree of fame that will now never materialize thanks to their episodes having been scrapped.
Disney Entertainment Television, which owns ABC, released a statement confirming the company had made the decision not to move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette, just hours after the footage of the domestic violence incident was released.
Disney said its ‘focus is on supporting the family’ after canceling the 22nd season of the reality show, which was set to begin airing on Sunday, March 22.
The canceled season will reportedly cost the network a staggering $28 million.
In the now-viral video of the altercation between Paul and her ex, the reality star is seen having an outburst, throwing a stool at Mortensen, while a child, her daughter Indy, now eight, was present.
Mortensen, who was filming the incident, said in the clip: ‘This is called physical abuse.’
The child can be heard crying as Mortensen and Paul continued fighting. Mortensen then said, ‘Your daughter just got hit in the head by a metal chair.’
Others noted that billboards in Los Angeles advertising the new season were still up as of March 19, despite the cancellation
Together, they have a son named Ever, who is two years old.
The reality star, who made her name appearing on Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, has released a statement alleging she suffered ‘extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation’ in silence for years.
‘Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.’
Paul’s rep said that ‘there are too many women who are suffering in silence as they survive aggressive, jealous ex-partners who refuse to let them move on with their lives.’
They further claimed Paul has been staying quiet ‘out of fear of further abuse, retaliation, and public shaming’ and is now ‘seeking support,’ going through her options and ‘preparing to own and share her story.’
The latest domestic assault allegations may have landed Paul in further legal hot water over her 2023 case.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill told TMZ that they are looking to determine if the new assault accusations may have violated her ongoing probation from that particular case.
‘We have received the police report for the new allegations, and it is our understanding the case is being screened by the Draper City prosecutor,’ Gill told the publication.
‘We requested the police report so our prosecutors could evaluate how those new allegations may affect the case for which the defendant is currently on probation.’
Mortensen has since denied ‘baseless claims’ made about himself and their relationship in a new statement for The Daily Mail.
In a statement, he said: ‘As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation. I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny.
‘I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same.’
Paul said she is ‘very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security’ through a representative on Thursday.
The Daily Mail has previously reached out to representatives for Paul and ABC for further comment.
James Gracey, a 20-year-old student at the University of Alabama, was found dead in Barcelona last Thursday. A law enforcement source has suggested the possibility that Gracey might have been drugged prior to his death.
Reports from FOX News Digital indicate that investigators believe Gracey may have fallen into the ocean near Somorrostro Beach while under the influence, whether due to intoxication, drugging, or a combination of both.
Authorities are awaiting the results of a formal autopsy and toxicology tests before making any conclusive determinations. It remains uncertain whether any drugs found in his system were self-administered or if he was drugged by someone else.
Preliminary autopsy findings, as cited by El Periódico, rule out foul play and align with the police hypothesis that Gracey accidentally fell into the sea, resulting in drowning.
As previously reported by CrimeOnline, Gracey, who hailed from Elmhurst, Illinois, disappeared on March 17. He was last seen at the Shôko beachfront restaurant and nightclub in Barcelona’s Port Olímpic area, where he was visiting friends who were studying abroad.
La VanGuardia reports that Catalan police located his body “four meters in the waters of Barcelona’s Port Olímpic.”
A video obtained by law enforcement showed Gracey walking alone, headed toward a dock area before falling into the water.
On Thursday, police found Gracey’s wallet floating in water near Somorrostro Beach. The discovery happened after aquatic and drone searches began searching the area. The wallet had cash, credit cards, and his identification inside.
Police also arrested a man who had Gracey’s phone.
According to FOX, a law enforcement source stated that the man is someone known to authorities, and has previous arrests for theft. Police believe he may have found the phone and picked it up without interacting with Gracey.
Gracey had been on a personal spring break trip to the country to visit friends who study abroad. According to CNN, Gracey’s flight back home was scheduled for Saturday.
“Our family is heartbroken as we confirm that Jimmy’s body has been recovered in Barcelona,” a family statement read.
“Jimmy was a deeply loved son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend, and our family is struggling to come to terms with this unimaginable loss.”
For avid runners, the mantra “more is better” might not hold true, especially when it comes to tackling extreme distances. Recent findings suggest that pushing your body to such limits could inadvertently accelerate its aging process.
In a study conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz, blood samples from 23 athletes were scrutinized both before and after they participated in either a 24-mile (40km) marathon or a demanding 108-mile (174km) ultra-marathon.
Pre-race evaluations revealed that these athletes possessed healthy red blood cells, essential for transporting oxygen efficiently throughout the body. These cells were notably flexible, allowing them to navigate tiny blood vessels with ease.
However, post-race analysis painted a different picture. The red blood cells became more rigid, a change that hindered circulation and indicated signs of inflammation and physical stress.
Among the participants, those who took on the ultra-marathon experienced substantially more damage to their red blood cells, highlighting the potentially adverse effects of extreme endurance activities.
Researchers said the deterioration of the cells closely matched what they would expect to record in an aging body, where the cells also become more rigid and less able to carry oxygen.
Dr Angelo D’Alessandro, a biologist and senior author of the study, said: ‘Red blood cells are remarkably resilient, but they are also exquisitely sensitive to mechanical and oxidative stress.
‘This study shows that extreme endurance exercise pushes red blood cells toward accelerated aging through mechanisms that mirror what we observe during blood storage.’
Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz analyzed the blood samples from 23 runners before and after they completed a marathon or an ultramarathon (stock photo)
Researchers found that the runners suffered damage to their red blood cells that mirrored changes normally seen with aging (stock image)
He continued: ‘Understanding these shared pathways gives us a unique opportunity to learn how to better protect blood cell function both in athletes and in transfusion medicine.’
Researchers said that the damage to the cells recorded during running was likely the result of inflammation and running-induced variations in fluid pressure as the cells circulated through the body.
They added that their results did not suggest that people should stop running altogether, but that they showed running these marathons led to red blood cell damage.
Participants only had their blood tested immediately after the race, meaning it was not clear whether the damage to the cells was permanent.
In the study, published in the journal Blood Red Cells and Iron, the team tested thousands of biomarkers in the blood.
Overall, 11 participants completed the Martigny-Combe a Chamonix, a 25-mile route from Switzerland to France, run by about 1,000 athletes every August.
Another 12 completed the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, a 108-mile route into France, Italy and Switzerland, considered one of the most ‘mythical and prestigious’ running races in the world. It takes place in August and is attended by about 10,000 runners yearly.
For comparison, both the New York City and London marathons are 26.2 miles (42km) long.
Shown above are runners in the 2024 New York City marathon, which is 26.2 miles (42km) long
Runners are shown above in the 2024 New York City marathon crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
Participants in the study were 36 years old on average. Fourteen were men and nine were women. It was not clear exactly how much blood was extracted.
In the analysis of their blood, researchers tested thousands of biomarkers to track changes that occurred during the endurance race.
Dr Travis Nemkov, a biochemist who led the research, told Runners World: ‘At some point between marathon and ultramarathon distances, the damage really starts to take hold.
‘We’ve observed this damage happening, but we don’t know how long it takes for the body to repair that damage, if that damage has a long-term impact and whether that impact is good or bad.’
Based on their results, they warned that as the length of a run increases, athletes can expect to lose more blood cells and accumulate more damage to those remaining in circulation.
In aging, red blood cells accumulate damage, making them more rigid and leading to a decline.
This means they carry less oxygen and nutrients to tissue, reducing oxygenation and raising inflammation levels and cardiovascular stress, as the heart works harder to supply the body with the same nutrients.
Older red blood cells can also clump together, making the blood more viscous and hindering blood flow, raising the risk of a stroke or heart attack.
Studies suggest that this starts in a person’s 50s, before becoming more pronounced in their 60s.
Doctors urge people to exercise, and suggest running as a great way to boost the cardiovascular system and improve overall health and fitness.
But some physicians also raise concerns over ultra-marathon events, warning that completing these may raise the risk of complications such as heart attacks. Emerging research has also previously linked them to a higher risk of colon cancer.
An estimated 50 million people participate in jogging or running in the US every year, while 130,000 complete ultra-marathons every year.
In a somber announcement early Saturday morning, AEW star Dax Harwood revealed the passing of Dennis Condrey, a revered figure in the world of tag team wrestling and a key member of the legendary Midnight Express. Condrey was 74 years old.
Starting his wrestling career in 1973, Condrey quickly made a name for himself by founding the Midnight Express alongside Randy Rose and Norvell Austin. This group later evolved into its most famous incarnation in Mid-South Wrestling, with Bobby Eaton joining the team and Jim Cornette taking on managerial duties.
Condrey’s wrestling journey saw him reunite with Rose, this time under the management of WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman in the AWA. This team continued to make waves, entering into memorable rivalries, including a notable feud with Eaton and Stan Lane in WCW.
Throughout his prolific career, Condrey achieved more than four dozen tag team championship reigns across several prominent wrestling organizations. His tenure included stints with World Class Championship Wrestling, the NWA, and Jim Crockett Promotions, solidifying his status as a tag team legend.
Condrey, who had more than four dozen reigns as a tag team champion in his career, wrestled for numerous promotions, including World Class Championship Wrestling, the NWA and Jim Crockett Promotions during his career.
“When I think of this business as a craft, Dennis Condrey is as good as any craftsmen professional wrestling ever had,” WWE’s Nick Aldis wrote on X. “For me, pro wrestling is at it’s best when it’s a combination of technical skill, perfect timing and rugged, believable aggression; Dennis Condrey embodied that combination flawlessly.
“I can [and do] watch classic Midnight Express matches over and over again, and appreciate something I didn’t notice before every time I watch it. Nuances, details, absolute commitment to making the opponent with selling. A PHD in Pro Wrestling is available for free by watching this man work.”
Condrey had his final match in 2011 to end a long run on the independent circuit that included clashes against the legendary Rock n’ Roll Express of Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson. Condrey last appeared on television during a segment in AEW, where Harwood, tag partner Cash Wheeler and CM Punk paid tribute to him.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his wife, Theresa, and Condrey’s family with funeral costs
“Dennis Condrey is one half of the greatest tag team of all time, The Midnight Express,” Harwood wrote on the GoFundMe page. “For years, they brought excitement and entertainment to millions of people. However, as great as he was in the ring, it doesn’t hold a candle to the human being he was.”
Robert S. Mueller III, a pivotal figure who reshaped the FBI into a formidable anti-terrorism entity following the September 11 attacks, and later led the investigation into Russian involvement with Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, has passed away at 81, as confirmed in Washington.
In a heartfelt statement released on Saturday, Mueller’s family conveyed the news of his passing on Friday night, requesting privacy during their time of mourning.
Mueller’s transformative influence on the FBI began just a week before the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Appointed by President George W. Bush, he served for 12 years, spanning both Republican and Democratic administrations, and set a new course for the bureau’s mission in the modern era.
The aftermath of the attacks required an immediate pivot in priorities, shifting focus from domestic crime to thwarting terrorism. This change demanded a near-perfect record in preventing terrorist activities, a daunting challenge for Mueller and federal agencies.
Later in his career, Mueller led the Justice Department’s inquiry into potential collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian operatives during the contentious 2016 election.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
A second act as an investigator of a sitting president
The second-longest-serving director in FBI history, behind only J. Edgar Hoover, Mueller held the job until 2013 after agreeing to Democratic President Barack Obama’s request to stay on even after his 10-year term was up.
After several years in private practice, Mueller was asked by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to return to public service as special counsel in the Trump-Russia inquiry.
Special counsel Robert Mueller speaks at the Department of Justice Wednesday, May 29, 2019, in Washington, about the Russia investigation.Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
Mueller’s stern visage and taciturn demeanor matched the seriousness of the mission, as his team spent nearly two years quietly conducting one of the most consequential, yet divisive, investigations in Justice Department history. He held no news conferences and made no public appearances during the investigation, remaining quiet despite attacks from Trump and his supporters and creating an aura of mystery around his work.
All told, Mueller brought criminal charges against six of the president’s associates, including his campaign chairman and first national security adviser.
His 448-page report released in April 2019 identified substantial contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia but did not allege a criminal conspiracy. He laid out damaging details about Trump’s efforts to seize control of the investigation, and even shut it down, though he declined to decide whether Trump had broken the law, in part because of department policy barring the indictment of a sitting president.
But, in perhaps the most memorable language of the report, Mueller pointedly noted: “If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state. Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards, we are unable to reach that judgment.”
The nebulous conclusion did not deliver the knockout punch to the administration that some Trump opponents had hoped for, nor did it trigger a sustained push by House Democrats to impeach the president — though he was later tried and acquitted on separate allegations related to Ukraine.
The outcome also left room for Attorney General William Barr to insert his own views. He and his team made their own determination that Trump did not obstruct justice, and he and Mueller privately tangled over a four-page summary letter from Barr that Mueller felt did not adequately capture his report’s damaging conclusion.
Mueller deflated Democrats during a highly anticipated congressional hearing on his report when he offered terse, one-word answers and appeared uncertain in his testimony. Frequently, he seemed to waver on details of his investigation. It was hardly the commanding performance many had expected from Mueller, who had a towering reputation in Washington.
Over the next months, Barr made clear his own disagreements with the foundations of the Russia investigation, moving to dismiss a false-statements prosecution that Mueller had brought against former national security adviser Michael Flynn, even though that investigation ended in a guilty plea.
Mueller’s tenure as special counsel was the capstone of a career spent in government.
A transformation of the FBI into a national security agency
His time as FBI director was defined by the Sept. 11 attacks and its aftermath, as an FBI granted broad new surveillance and national security powers scrambled to confront an ascendant al-Qaida and interrupt plots and take terrorists off the street before they could act.
It was a new model of policing for an FBI that had long been accustomed to investigating crimes that had already occurred.
When he became FBI director, “I had expected to focus on areas familiar to me as a prosecutor: drug cases, white-collar criminal cases and violent crime,” Mueller told a group of lawyers in October 2012.
Instead, “we had to focus on long-term, strategic change. We had to enhance our intelligence capabilities and upgrade our technology. We had to build upon strong partnerships and forge new friendships, both here at home and abroad.”
In response, the FBI shifted 2,000 of the total 5,000 agents in the bureau’s criminal programs to national security.
In hindsight, the transformation was a success. At the time, there were problems, and Mueller said as much. In a speech near the end of his tenure, Mueller recalled “those days when we were under attack by the media and being clobbered by Congress; when the attorney general was not at all happy with me.”
Among the issues: The Justice Department’s inspector general found that the FBI circumvented the law to obtain thousands of phone call records for terrorism investigations.
Mueller decided that the FBI would not take part in abusive interrogation techniques of suspected terrorists, but the policy was not effectively communicated down the line for nearly two years. In an effort to move the FBI into a paperless environment, the bureau spent over $600 million on two computer systems — one that was 2 years overdue and a predecessor that was only partially completed and had to be scrapped after consultants declared it obsolete and riddled with problems.
For the nation’s top law enforcement agency, it was a rocky trip through rough terrain.
But there were many successes as well, including thwarted terror plots and headline-making criminal cases like the one against fraudster Bernie Madoff. The Republican also cultivated an apolitical reputation on the job, nearly quitting in a clash with the Bush administration over a surveillance program that he and his successor, James Comey, considered unlawful.
He famously stood alongside Comey, then deputy attorney general, during a dramatic 2004 hospital standoff over federal wiretapping rules. The two men planted themselves at the bedside of the ailing Attorney General John Ashcroft to block Bush administration officials from making an end run to get Ashcroft’s permission to reauthorize a secret no-warrant wiretapping program.
In an extraordinary vote of confidence, Congress, at the Obama administration’s request, approved a two-year extension for Mueller to remain at his post.
A Marine who served in Vietnam before becoming a prosecutor
Mueller was born in New York City and grew up in a well-to-do suburb of Philadelphia.
He received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a master’s degree in international relations from New York University. He then joined the Marines, serving for three years as an officer during the Vietnam War. He led a rifle platoon and was awarded a Bronze Star, Purple Heart and two Navy Commendation Medals. Following his military service, Mueller earned a law degree from the University of Virginia.
Mueller became a federal prosecutor and relished the work of handling criminal cases. He rose quickly through the ranks in U.S. attorneys’ offices in San Francisco and Boston from 1976 to 1988. Later, as head of the Justice Department’s criminal division in Washington, he oversaw a range of high-profile prosecutions that chalked up victories against targets as varied as Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega and New York crime boss John Gotti.
In a mid-career switch that shocked colleagues, Mueller threw over a job at a prestigious Boston law firm to join the homicide division of the U.S. attorney’s office in the nation’s capital. There, he immersed himself as a senior litigator in a bulging caseload of unsolved drug-related murders in a city rife with violence.
Mueller was driven by a career-long passion for the painstaking work of building successful criminal cases. Even as head of the FBI, he would dig into the details of investigations, some of them major cases but others less so, sometimes surprising agents who suddenly found themselves on the phone with the director.
“The management books will tell you that as the head of an organization, you should focus on the vision,” Mueller once said. But “for me there were and are today those areas where one needs to be substantially personally involved,” especially in regard to “the terrorist threat and the need to know and understand that threat to its roots.”
Two terrorist attacks occurred toward the end of Mueller’s watch: the Boston Marathon bombing and the Fort Hood shootings in Texas. Both weighed heavily on him, he acknowledged in an interview two weeks before his departure.
“You sit down with victims’ families, you see the pain they go through and you always wonder whether there isn’t something more” that could have been done, he said.
nset: Krista Hunt (Skagit County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Juan Delgado appears in Skagit County court (KING/YouTube). I
In Washington, a man faces allegations of murdering his girlfriend and disposing of her body in a river, as investigators discovered blood and hair in his vehicle.
Juan Delgado, 42, is charged with the second-degree murder of 37-year-old Krista Hunt, as revealed by the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office. Delgado was already in custody at the Skagit County Jail on separate charges when the murder accusation was filed.
Authorities reported Hunt missing on February 1, according to an official flyer. The document mentioned that she was last seen in Concrete, a rural town in the northern region of the state.
Krista’s mother, Pamela Hunt, informed Seattle’s NBC affiliate, KING, that her daughter was last seen on January 25 with her boyfriend, reportedly Delgado. Krista had allegedly run out of fuel near a local restaurant and decided to walk. Pamela also claimed that Delgado was abusive toward her daughter.
“She indeed had a broken leg,” Pamela mentioned, recalling an instance when she took her daughter to the hospital. “She told me he had stomped on her leg and chest with his boot … and once set a timer, threatening to strike her every 15 minutes.”
An affidavit shared by the TV station shows that when a deputy contacted Delgado by phone on Feb. 1, the defendant said he had not heard from her in five days yet wanted to return her two dogs. Delgado also “explained there had been issues in his and Krista’s relationship in the past but believed they were currently on good terms.”
Two days after Krista Hunt was reported missing, Delgado reportedly shot himself at a bar in the small Washington town. He survived and later told authorities that he “missed Krista.”
Weeks after she went missing, a body was found in the Skagit River, which runs right beneath Concrete. The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office announced on March 18, the county coroner had confirmed the remains as belonging to Krista Hunt.
The coroner could not determine an exact cause of death but detailed injuries such as a broken neck, a broken jaw, and broken ribs, according to KING. Delgado had reportedly told friends his girlfriend had been hit by a car.
Delgado is being detained on $1 million bail.
The victim’s family has been left distraught by her death.
“I can’t imagine the pain my mom is going through right now,” Hunt’s brother told KING. “I know the pain I’m going through. And it’s hard … He stole 60 years of my relationship with Krista.”
Propaganda is certainly not a new concept, but militaries, governments and regimes can now control or disrupt the narrative with unfettered access to billions of people through social media.
The modern age of technology has opened the door for misinformation to flourish, allowing the truth to be manipulated with ease.
The war against Iran has been marked by a campaign of disinformation on social media. (Getty)
Today, people around the world can observe conflict as it unfolds, thanks to real-time communication.
Both the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are using platforms like Telegram and X to deliver their wartime messages directly to individuals’ smartphones.
This relentless flow of conflicting information is further complicated by the rise of citizen journalism, fabricated reports, and the use of artificial intelligence.
“You get flooded with information and you think you’re being informed, but often you’re just getting pummeled with unverified data,” Senior Policy Advisor at Australian National University (ANU)’s National Security College David Andrews told Nine.com.au.
“Almost no one has the tools to effectively sift through this barrage of information, and it can be detrimental to one’s mental health as well,” experts warn.
“It undermines your critical thinking, which is almost what these attempts rely on.”
There is a constant power struggle between Iran, the US and Israel to be percieved as the ”good” fighting “evil”.
And all sides use social media to alter public perception.
The IDF uses its Telegram account to share updates with over 170,000 subscribers. (Supplied)The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is regularly posting on X. (X)
Social media is now flooded with fake and unverified images, recycled footage and fabricated reports from on the ground in the war against Iran.
One disturbing AI video of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa up in flames circulated on Instagram, while another fake report claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed.
The sheer scale of AI images and videos on social media means the untrained eye cannot discern what is real and what is not.
There is no rush to correct the record on either side and, like an infection, the reports spread.
David Andrews, ANU. (Supplied)
Andrews said this unchecked disinformation highway is unprecedented.
“I think the disinformation campaigns are definitely ramping up now in a way that we haven’t seen before, which is a function of the information environment that we’re in,” he said.
“And that is an opportunity that our adversaries have taken advantage of, I think, quite effectively.”
AI is of particular concern as the conflict escalates and models become more sophistocated.
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting notes that AI acts as a “force multiplier, enhancing the speed, precision, and scale of military operations, while simultaneously enabling sophisticated, automated disinformation campaigns”
“And the more that AI-based systems and technology are normalised and pushed, I think those risks only accelerate to an enormous degree,” Andrews said.
Militaries have quietly spun narratives of fake victories or exaggerated attacks too.
This type of fake news is particularly powerful inside a regime.
“It could be creating a generalised sense of uncertainty and distrust, a generalised sense of that one side is doing much better than they are in reality,” Andrews said.
“But it could also be directed inwards and to say, ‘Well, look, there’s these reports of how wonderfully our forces are doing and how the enemy has been defeated’.”
The horse has bolted on AI and fake news.
But Andrews said the average person can try to separate fact from fiction in a few different ways.
It takes a level of personal responsbility for your own algorithm.
“You have to read widely and try and find things that sort of complement the quick and reactive with the slower and more considerate,” he said.
“Each has their place, but if we’re just relying on something like social media that provides that minute-by-minute update, none of us are actually equipped to translate that information effectively.
“You might look at the flow of social media for a little bit, but then you’ve got to sit back and then read reports that happen over multiple days to try and balance that out and apply that critical lens.”
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SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — In Georgia, a 31-year-old woman named Alexia Moore is facing murder charges after allegedly taking pills to induce an unlawful abortion, as stated by police.
Should state prosecutors pursue the murder charge filed by local authorities, Moore’s case could mark one of the inaugural instances in Georgia of a woman being prosecuted for ending a pregnancy since the state implemented a 2019 law that severely restricts abortions.
The arrest warrant for Moore cites language reminiscent of this legislation, noting that police concluded Moore was beyond six weeks pregnant “based on the medical staff’s observation that the fetus had a detectable heartbeat and was showing signs of struggling to breathe.”
Dana Sussman, senior vice president of the advocacy organization Pregnancy Justice, expressed strong opposition in a statement, asserting, “No one should be criminalized for having an abortion.” She described the charges against Moore as “an unprecedented murder charge for an alleged abortion.”
According to court documents, Moore visited a hospital on December 30, reporting abdominal pain. Medical personnel were informed by Moore that she had consumed misoprostol, a drug utilized in medication abortions, along with oxycodone, an opioid painkiller, as detailed in an arrest warrant from Kingsland, located roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Savannah.
The fetus survived for about an hour after being delivered at the hospital, the warrant says. The police investigator obtaining the warrant wrote that Moore told the nursing staff: “I know my infant is suffering, because I am the one who did the abortion. I want her to die.”
Georgia bans abortion after embryonic cardiac activity can be detected. That’s generally at about six weeks’ gestation – before many women know they’re pregnant.
Moore has been jailed in coastal Camden County since March 4 on charges of murder and illegal drug possession, according to online jail records.
More pregnant women charged with crimes since Roe was overturned
A 2024 study by the advocacy group Pregnancy Justice found that at least 210 women across the U.S. were charged with crimes related to their pregnancies in the 12 months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to enforce abortion bans.
That tally was more than the group found in any other 12 month period. Most of the cases involved allegations of substance use during pregnancy.
Moore’s mother said she had no immediate comment when reached by phone Thursday. A spokesperson for the Georgia Public Defender Council confirmed one of its attorneys is representing Moore but made no further comment.
Court records show Moore’s attorney has filed legal motions seeking a bond and a speedy trial. A court hearing was scheduled for Monday.
Ultimately, the decision on whether to prosecute Moore for murder will be left to District Attorney Keith Higgins of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit, who would first have to obtain an indictment from a grand jury. Higgins did not immediately return phone and email messages.
Some had warned Georgia abortion law could lead to murder charges
The warrant said medical records estimated Moore had been pregnant for 22 to 24 weeks, placing her fetus at the threshold of viability. It refers to Moore’s fetus as “a human being who was born alive and survived for one hour. Under Georgia law, the victim became a person at the moment of live birth.”
Georgia’s abortion law states that an embryo is legally a person once cardiac activity can be detected. Andrew Fleischman, a Georgia defense attorney who is not involved in Moore’s case, said that means authorities could seek murder charges against a woman who intentionally terminates her pregnancy after there’s cardiac activity.
“Murder is intentionally causing the death of a person,” he said, adding that he and others warned before the law passed that a mother could be charged in a case like this.
“I’m not sure prosecutors are eager to be the first one to jump this hurdle,” Fleishman said. “I think it’s a totally legally permissible case. I think they could do it. I’d be surprised if they go through with it.”
Elizabeth Edmonds, executive director of the anti-abortion Georgia Life Alliance, said any claim that the charges stem from the 2019 abortion law is “misrepresenting the facts and trying to again make it a fear-mongering thing that Georgia is prosecuting women on pregnancy outcomes.”
Edmonds said she believed the murder charge was appropriate in part because Moore is accused of illegally obtaining and taking oxycodone before her fetus died.
Coroner says he didn’t rule death a homicide
The warrant says a toxicology screening detected oxycodone in the fetus’ blood, but police were told the test would not be able to detect misoprostol. It says Moore told police she obtained the abortion pills online and got the opioid from a relative.
Camden County Coroner M. Wayne Peeples said Thursday that he was called to Southeast Georgia Health System’s hospital to take custody of the remains. He said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation declined to perform an autopsy, noting the fetus was delivered in a hospital.
The coroner said he didn’t rule the death as a homicide, instead finding both the cause and manner of death were undetermined.
Moore also faces charges for possessing oxycodone, a controlled drug that wasn’t prescribed to her, as well as possession of a dangerous drug for the abortion-inducing misoprostol.
The drugs misoprostol and mifepristone together are approved for terminating pregnancies during the first 10 weeks of gestation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Misoprostol can also be used alone if mifepristone is not available. It’s also used off-label for abortion in the second trimester.
In 2024, Louisiana classified mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled dangerous substances. Similar legislation has been introduced in some other states and in Congress, but has not been adopted elsewhere.
