A Washington state man has sued the city of Seattle, alleging that taxpayer-funded diversity, equity and inclusion trainers told employees that “all white people are cannibals.”

Joshua Diemert, who is white, worked for the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) from 2013 until resigning in 2021, according to an appellate court opinion reviewed by the Daily Mail.

Diemert said he was never disciplined during his employment and consistently received satisfactory performance reviews. According to the filing, that changed after he took part in the city’s Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI).

He filed a lawsuit against the city in November 2022, claiming that RSJI training sessions led to discrimination against him in the workplace.

A district court judge dismissed Diemert’s claims in February 2025. However, on Monday, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court ruled that the incidents described in his complaint were “sufficiently numerous, frequent, and severe to create a triable issue” for a jury to consider.

All employees in the department, including Diemert, were required to participate in the RSJI program, which seeks to “undo institutionalized racism and achieve racial equity in city government and the Seattle community,” according to the opinion.

The initiative, first introduced in 2004, requires employees to attend training sessions. However, the legal document states that employees who do not participate “can still receive satisfactory performance reviews.”

Diemert attended a November 2019 session titled the “Undoing Institutional Racism Workshop.” During the training, an unnamed instructor allegedly said, “The real truth is… that all white people are cannibals,” Diemert recalled, according to the filing.

The same trainer also “ranted” that it was a “lie” that Christopher Columbus traveled to the Caribbean and that the Indigenous people living there were cannibals, the appellate opinion said.

Other trainers at the session allegedly said that “racism is in white people’s DNA” and that “white people are like the devil,” according to the filing.

Diemert also alleged that coworkers labeled him a “white supremacist” because of comments he made during the training. The opinion did not specify what he said.

He further described an incident involving his manager, Gloria Hatcher-Mays. Diemert said she discouraged him from applying for an open supervisory position, telling him she wanted someone who was bilingual and had connections within a marginalized community, according to the court document.

Hatcher-Mays, now the fire commissioner for King County Fire Protection District No. 20, ultimately filled the position with a person of color who, Diemert alleged, was inexperienced and unqualified, the opinion stated.

Although he was not selected for the job, Diemert claimed he was required to carry out many of the position’s responsibilities without receiving the corresponding title or pay.

Later that month, another unnamed HSD manager allegedly asked him, “[W]hat could you possibly offer our department…, being a straight white male?” according to the documents.

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Diemert also recalled seeing a coworker deny utility assistance to an eligible white applicant. The colleague allegedly justified the decision by saying the applicant had “white privilege,” the filing said.

When Diemert raised the issue with his coworker, Hatcher-Mays allegedly “berated him” and said that “it was impossible to be racist toward white people,” according to the appellate opinion.

Diemert also mentioned another one of his superiors in the complaint filing, Shamsu Said. 

Said, whom Diemert reported to at HSD, called Diemert a ‘colonist’ with ‘white privilege,’ according to the documents. 

He also told Diemert that he ‘was to blame for all injustices in the United States,’ the former HSD employee said, per the opinion. 

After his case was backed by the judges on Monday, Diemert’s lawyer, Laura D’Agostino, stressed that this is the kind of justice that they have been seeking for all these years. 

D’Agostino, who is representing Diemert pro bono, told the Daily Mail: ‘Title VII protects every employee from a racially hostile work environment, regardless of race. 

‘No one should have to endure years of racial hostility at work. The Ninth Circuit recognized that the repeated racial hostility Joshua Diemert endured deserves to be heard at trial. We look forward to returning to the district court so that Mr. Diemert can finally have his day in court.’ 

Although the judges ruled in his favor, they decided to toss Diemert’s equal protection claim on standing, the filing said. 

They ruled that the city’s race-based groups, like the White Caucus and the African Descent Caucus, and some race-based trainings were ‘explicit racial classifications,’ according to the documents. 

The court determined that Diemert was never forced into the White Caucus or barred from training, so he was not personally injured. 

Now, the hostile workplace claims are headed back to US District Judge Jamal Whitehead – the judge who threw out Diemert’s case to begin with. 

When approached for comment by the Daily Mail, Hatcher-Mays’s legal counsel said to direct inquiries about the matter to the attorney for the city of Seattle. 

The Daily Mail contacted D’Agostino, the Seattle Human Services Department, Said, and Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans for comment.

Few food brands have a worse reputation for healthy eating than McDonald’s.

The fast-food chain serves around four million people in Britain every day, yet its Big Macs, burgers and fried chicken have long made it the poster child for junk food.

But does McDonald’s really deserve its unhealthy image?

As a health editor who has spent more than a decade covering diet and nutrition, I am prepared to risk my professional credibility by arguing that the fast-food giant may not be quite as bad for you as many assume.

Over the past 10 years, McDonald’s has made a series of changes aimed at improving its menu, cutting levels of salt, sugar and fat. By April last year, 89 per cent of its core food and drink range in the UK contained 500 calories or fewer.

The chain has also rejected longstanding claims that its meat products contain poor-quality animal offcuts. McDonald’s says its chicken tenders, patties and nuggets are made with chicken breast, or beef from forequarter and flank cuts.

Even so, sales have fallen, while profits hit a four-year low last week. The decline has been attributed in part to consumers becoming increasingly health-conscious.

With help from Biomel gut-health nutritionist Holly Caske, we have examined McDonald’s meals that are no less healthy than an average chicken sandwich. In some cases, they may even be the better choice.

Hamburger (with optional small fries and milk)

Per burger: 255 calories, 3.5 grams saturated fat, 6.9g sugar, 13g protein, 2.1g fibre, 1.1g salt

Per small fries: 237 calories, 1.1g saturated fat, 0.4g sugar, 2.3g protein, 2.6g fibre, 0.44g salt

Burgers are often assumed to be high in fat, but this one is a notable exception. An egg-mayonnaise sandwich contains around three times as much saturated fat.

The burger is relatively low in protein, so it may not keep you satisfied for long. Add a bottle of milk, however, and the meal provides more than 20g of protein—roughly the amount experts recommend at each meal—for about 100 additional calories.

The sugar comes from the bun and ketchup, with some of it occurring naturally in the tomatoes.

Caske says: ‘A plain hamburger is one of the more sensible choices on the menu. I was surprised by how moderate the salt content is—combined with small fries, it totals around 1.5g, or a quarter of the daily maximum.

‘The main shortfall is fibre, which supports gut health and helps you feel full for longer. Adding a bag of carrot sticks or apple slices is a simple way to increase it.’

Chicken McNuggets® Happy Meal® with carrot sticks and milk

Per meal with four nuggets: 333 calories, 3.9g saturated fat, 18.2g sugar, 19.5g protein, 3.3g fibre, 0.74g salt

The meal contains about as many calories as a fashionable avocado-on-toast lunch, along with a similar amount of saturated fat—the type associated with artery damage and an increased risk of heart attack.

The sugar figure may look high, but Caske explains: ‘Almost all of it is natural sugar from the milk and carrots. It is not “free sugar”, which we are advised to reduce. That refers to sugar added to foods and drinks, as well as sugar found in honey, syrups and fruit juice.’

Despite being deep-fried, there’s less than 4g of saturated fat in a portion – just a fifth of a woman’s daily limit and less than a seventh of a man’s. 

The saturated fat limit varies for children, depending on age, but experts suggest five- to ten-year-olds have no more than roughly 19g daily.

Cheeseburger 

Per burger: 303 calories, 5.8g saturated fat, 7.5g sugar, 16g protein, 2.1g fibre, 1.4g salt

Caske says: ‘When you can, I’d choose the plain hamburger. The cheese slice only adds 48 calories but takes the saturated fat from 3.5g to 5.8.’

However, the cheeseburger is still no fattier than a bowl of pesto pasta or a curry made with coconut milk. 

The two teaspoons of sugar are entirely from the bun and the ketchup. 

Egg and cheese McMuffin®

Per muffin: 296 calories, 5g saturated fat, 2.6g sugar, 15g protein, 1.8g fibre, 0.96g salt

There are fewer calories, less sugar and virtually the same saturated fat as you’ll find in a ‘healthy’ breakfast of yoghurt, granola and fruit. 

While there’s a little less protein than a typical yoghurt pot, there’s about as much as a portion of bircher muesli – but without the additional sugar that comes from dried fruits and apple juice that’s found in many breakfasts. 

The low fibre is unfortunate for a breakfast food, as this tends to be the meal that delivers the most. 

‘At home, porridge or wholegrain cereal with fruit will give you more fibre, along with more vitamins and minerals,’ Caske adds, describing the McMuffin as a ‘reasonable’ breakfast.

Caske advises adding an apple bag for just less than 2g of extra fibre, which takes the total up to roughly the equivalent of a slice of wholemeal bread. 

Crispy tikka chicken wrap

Per wrap: 455 calories, 2g saturated fat, 4.2g sugar, 21g protein, 4.8g fibre, 1.8g salt

Caske says this wrap has more protein and more than twice the fibre of a hamburger, so it may keep you fuller. 

‘It’s a shame that McDonald’s got rid of its grilled chicken option, as it’s lower in calories,’ she adds. 

This is a sensible choice that offers a sixth of your daily fibre needs – and even more if you add a bag of apples and carrots.

The one teaspoon of sugar – from the mango and lime chutney – is worth it for the extra fibre from the fruit.

Crispy chicken salad 

Per salad: 355 calories, 3.5g saturated fat, 3.7g sugar, 21g protein, 3.5g fibre, 1.3g salt

As far as chicken salads go this one isn’t bad at all.

In fact, compared to Pret’s chef’s Italian chicken salad, it’s far less calorific, fatty and sugary. There’s also a gram less salt.  

You’ll also get more fibre here, but less protein – although only slightly (25.3g in Pret’s salad). 

The amount of saturated fat here – from the dressing – is only around a tenth of a man’s recommended daily limit and a sixth of a woman’s. 

‘The fibre is a little low, so I’d recommend adding a carrot or apple bag, or both, to top it up,’ says Caske.

McCrispy 

Per burger: 484 calories, 2g saturated fat, 6.9g sugar, 26g protein, 3.7g fibre, 1.9g salt

Sometimes, a larger burger is a better choice than a small, low-calorie option, says Caske.

‘If you’re having McDonald’s, a meal that fills you up may be a better choice than the lowest-calorie item, which can leave you hungry and snacking later. 

‘The McCrispy has 26g of protein and nearly 4g of fibre, which should be satisfying.’

However, she advises keeping salt low in the rest of the day’s meals, as the burger is on the salty side.

The sugar count is relatively high – all of which comes from the sweet sourdough bun and the chicken batter. 

Chicken Selects® with carrot sticks and apple slices 

Per three Chicken Selects with carrot and apple bags: 416 calories, 1.6g saturated fat, 15.8g sugars, 23g protein, 5.6g fibre, 1.8g salt

The sugar here is naturally occurring in the carrots, apples and the wheat used for the chicken batter.

There’s nearly twice as much protein in just three chicken tenders than a hamburger – making this combination a more satisfying choice. 

The salt is relatively high, so Caske suggests balancing with low-salt meals for the rest of the day.

Dame Esther Rantzen, the broadcaster and campaigner who founded Childline, has died aged 86, her family has announced.

She died after a battle with lung cancer, which she first disclosed publicly in January 2023.

Her family paid tribute to a “most wonderful mother” and “cherished grandmother”, remembering her for an “endless capacity for joy”.

In December 2023, Dame Esther revealed that she had joined the assisted-dying organisation Dignitas and was considering travelling there to end her life.

Earlier this month, she said it was now too late to “buzz off” to the Swiss clinic, as she spoke of the anguish caused by loved ones having to watch her suffer.

In a statement, she said that although she had “spent the money and made the plans” to travel to Dignitas, she had become “too physically fragile to make the journey”.

Her children revealed that Dame Esther wrote a poignant farewell message before her death.

The message said: “Dear Everybody, I am so sorry I cannot send you each individual thanks for the fun, the support and the help you have been to me. I have been immensely lucky in the friendship and the professional advice I have had from you which has enabled me to live such a long and happy life.

“If any of you would like to donate something to charity in my name, as a celebration of what we have had together, I do know that the Dignitas charity in Switzerland is facing serious challenges and would be very grateful.

“And Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington has also been wonderful to me. Cathy would, of course, like me to pay tribute to Cats Protection.

“Sadly, all good things come to an end, as they say. So I particularly wanted to say goodbye and thank you so very, very much. Perhaps I will see you eventually, on the other side. I do hope so. With very good wishes, as ever, Esther.”

A statement from her children, Miriam Wilcox, Rebecca Wilcox and Joshua Wilcox, said: “Our adored mother, Dame Esther Rantzen, died today. Her legacy of compassion and understanding will live on through her charities, Childline and Silverline, and through all of us who were lucky enough to love and be loved by her.

“We are grateful that she is finally at rest with her beloved husband, Desmond Wilcox, but we will miss her immeasurably. She was our sunshine. We will always remember her endless capacity for joy, her ability to comfort every heartache, her beautiful way with words and her expert guidance in all things.

“She was the most wonderful mother to the three of us and a cherished grandmother to her five treasured grandchildren. We have been so lucky for so long. However much time we had with Mum, it could never have been enough, but we are deeply grateful for our lives together.

“Mum’s charity work and campaigning, particularly on behalf of children, older people and the terminally ill, meant everything to her. Thank you to everyone who wrote to her, shared their stories over the years and worked alongside her.

“We hope the humour, ingenuity and audacity she brought to her work will continue to inspire you, as it will inspire us. We kindly ask for privacy and time to grieve.”

The broadcaster was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2023 and was later told that the disease could not be cured.

Dame Esther had previously said she did not expect to live long enough to turn 84, but outlived doctors’ predictions after receiving treatment with an experimental drug.

The presenter, who was made a dame in 2015, was best known as the face of long-running BBC show That’s Life! and for launching the charity ChildLine.

She had three children with her late producer husband Desmond Wilcox, who she had an affair with when he was her boss at the BBC.

Esther Louise Rantzen was born in Berkhamsted, Hampshire, in June 1940, shortly after Britain’s humiliating retreat from Dunkirk in the face of the Nazis’ rampage through France.

One of her earliest memories was of standing in her cot aged around 18 months listening to the wail of air raid sirens.

When she was five, her parents – Harry and Katherine – decided to move the family, which included younger daughter Priscilla, back to the leafy suburbs of Hampstead in north London.

During the war, Dame Esther’s parents sponsored a Jewish boy who had fled Germany aged seven.

When Dame Esther was 10, her father got a job with the United Nations in New York and so the family moved stateside for two years. 

On their return, they lived again in Hampstead. Esther was educated at North London Collegiate, an elite private school for girls.

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Dame Esther remembered the excitement of being the first house on her street to get a television. 

It was banished to the hall as her parents believed television ‘killed the art of conversation’. 

Instead it was enjoyed by the paper boy, who would spend hours watching it through their letterbox.

The broadcaster described herself as a naughty child, a trait inherited from her mother. 

She recalled an occasion when she invited a friend who had ‘an anarchist husband’ to tea. 

When her mother entered the room and he didn’t stand up she tipped his chair forward.

Later in life Dame Esther said: ‘The importance of family and hearth and home is central to Judaism and to me. 

‘My children will tell you I’m the archetypal Jewish mother. I have a little sign up in my house: ‘Mirror mirror on the wall, I am my mother after all.”

Her father also encouraged the rule-breaker and expected her and her sister to ‘have a career as if [they] were boys.’

Encouraged to go to university, she won a place at Oxford, where she studied English and appeared in plays and revues. 

After graduating, Dame Esther got a job at the BBC in a radio sound effects department and then was taken on as a TV researcher.

She was given her first role on screen by Canadian star Bernard Braden, who had his own programme, Braden’s Week.

But it was in 1973 that Dame Esther got her big break with the creation of That’s Life! 

She was handpicked as the star of the new show by her future husband, who was head of general features at the BBC. 

Dame Esther and Wilcox met when she was on Braden’s Week. The producer was married with three children but the pair could not help falling in love.

Their marriage in 1977 was followed by consternation among BBC colleagues.

Wilcox ended up resigning from his BBC job in 1980 amid accusations he had breached rules by employing his future wife.

But the couple were devoted to each other, to the extent that Wilcox even converted to Judaism. 

The birth of their first daughter Emily in early 1978 was followed by the arrival of Rebecca in 1980 and then son Joshua in 1981.    

As for Dame Esther’s career, it went from strength to strength. By the late 1970s, That’s Life! was pulling in an incredible 15million viewers. 

One of That’s Life!’s most iconic episodes came in the 1988 episode when hero  stockbroker Sir Nicholas Winton was introduced to some of the people who he had saved from death in the Holocaust.

In a moment that has been watched millions of times since, Dame Esther said: ‘Is there anybody in our audience tonight who owes their life to Nicholas Winton? If so, can you stand up please.’

After a short pause, four rows of middle-aged people stood up. All of them owed their lives to Sir Nicholas, who was knighted for his heroics in 2003.

Sir Nicholas stood up, acknowledged them all and then sat down to wipe away tears.

The hero had rescued 669 youngsters in Europe by organising Kindertransport trains that brought them to Britain before the outbreak of the Second World War.

He also organised flights that brought children out of Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia on the eve of the conflict. 

By the 1990s, what had been the revolutionary formula of That’s Life! looked tired. Amid dwindling viewing figures, the show was axed in 1994.  

Dame Esther had by then launched Childline, which grew out of 1986 programme Childwatch.

Nathan Cleary accepted his first Dally M Medal from home on Wednesday night as he recovered from a serious ankle injury, delivering an emotional speech that left his father, Ivan, close to tears at the awards ceremony.

The Penrith Panthers halfback claimed the NRL’s top individual honour with 67 votes, finishing ahead of Braydon Trindall on 53 and fellow Panther Dylan Edwards on 52.

The 28-year-old joined the ceremony at The Cutaway in Barangaroo via a live cross from his parents’ home in Sydney. His father, who coaches Penrith, watched from a table inside the venue.

“I’d like to thank my parents and my family. They’ve done everything for me. They’ve sacrificed so much and put so much time and effort into me growing up,” Cleary said.

“This whole year I’ve actually been living at home with them because my house is getting fixed, so they’ve looked after me well this year, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Cleary also reserved special praise for his partner, Mary Fowler, who plays for Manchester City in England.

“I also want to say a big thank you to my partner (Mary Fowler) as well. It’s tough doing long distance, but she always makes me feel supported and loved and that’s all I could ever ask for. She’s just amazing,” he said.

Fowler spends up to 10 months a year in England with Manchester City. The couple met at an Adidas store event in Sydney in 2023, the same year Fowler played a key role in the Matildas’ run to the Women’s World Cup semi-finals.

Ivan Cleary had left hospital earlier that day after undergoing two rounds of surgery for the shattered ankle his son suffered during a tackle by Knights player Phoenix Crossland at the weekend.

The double compound fracture to Cleary’s left leg is expected to require months of rehabilitation. Crossland received a four-game suspension for the hip-drop tackle, with the ban including Sunday’s grand final.

Although Cleary has been widely regarded as the best player of the decade, the Dally M Medal had previously eluded him because of a series of injuries and suspensions.

He played 23 matches this season, created 29 tries and led Penrith’s charge to the preliminary final before the Panthers were eliminated by the Knights.

Cleary had led the Dally M voting for most of the season and finished the count with 67 points, ahead of Trindall on 53 and Edwards on 52.

In the NRLW, Tamika Upton claimed her third Dally M Medal as player of the year, becoming the first woman to win the award three times.

Upton finished two votes clear of Wests Tigers star Raecene McGregor and eight ahead of the Sydney Roosters’ Tarryn Aiken.

“I still remember when I was seven years old playing for the Blackwater Crushers. I actually thought I was going to play NRL. There was no NRLW,” Upton said.

Among the other notable award winners was rookie of the year Ethan Sanders of the Raiders, and Rabbitohs star Jai Arrow, who played his 100th and farewell game for the Bunnies on September 4.

Arrow attended the ceremony alongside his wife, Berina Colakovic.

He made the tough decision to step back from NRL and focus on his health after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease earlier this year.

He was awarded the Peter Frilingos headline moment of the year and also the Provan-Summons Medal, for displaying the spirit of the game.

Executive Chairman Peter V’landys applauded all the players for an incredible 2026.

‘Rugby League has enjoyed another record-breaking season, with record attendances, highest ever number of viewers on our broadcast platforms and more participation than ever before,’ he said. 

‘Our players deserve all the credit. Week after week, they have delivered the skill, courage and fierce competition that makes our game so compelling and powerful.

‘To all our winners, congratulations. These honours recognise exceptional achievement, but also the years of hard work, sacrifice and determination behind it.

‘You should be immensely proud of what you have accomplished and what you have given your teammates, your clubs and your supporters.’

The 2026 season will come to an end with the grand final on Sunday.

The Sydney Roosters and the Newcastle Knights will compete for the premiership at Sydney’s Accor Stadium from 7.30pm AEDT.

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