The public might soon be encouraged to aim for up to 90 minutes of daily exercise, following groundbreaking research that suggests current guidelines are insufficient for significantly reducing the risk of heart disease.

Although the NHS currently advises a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly, the recent study revealed that engaging in more physical activity substantially lowers the chances of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure.

Chinese researchers, publishing in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, propose that the traditional ‘one-size-fits-all’ exercise guidelines may need to be re-evaluated based on their findings.

The research team from Macao Polytechnic University delved into data from 17,088 participants in the UK Biobank study, who had an average age of 57, utilizing comprehensive medical and lifestyle records from individuals across the UK.

To evaluate cardiovascular fitness, the researchers focused on participants’ estimated VO2 max, an essential indicator of the body’s oxygen utilization efficiency during exercise and a crucial marker of heart and lung health.

Participants, more than half of whom were women, wore wrist devices to track their activity levels, while their VO2 max was monitored over seven consecutive days.

Researchers also accounted for factors such as smoking, alcohol intake, diet, overall health, body mass index, resting heart rate and blood pressure.

Over an average follow-up period of nearly eight years, 1,233 participants – around 7.2 per cent – experienced a cardiovascular event.

Researchers have found that exercising for 560 and 610 minutes per week – the equivalent of around 80 to 90 minutes per day – is required to significantly feel heart health benefits

Of these, 874 were cases of atrial fibrillation – an irregular heart rhythm disorder that can increase the risk of blood clots and stroke.

There were also 156 heart attacks, 111 cases of heart failure and 92 strokes.

Those who met the 150-minute weekly target were found to be around eight to nine per cent less likely to experience such an event.

By contrast, those exercising for between 560 and 610 minutes per week saw their risk reduced by around 30 per cent – though only 11.6 per cent of participants reached this level.

The study also found that people with the lowest fitness levels needed an additional 30 to 50 minutes of exercise per week, on average, to achieve the same cardiovascular benefits as fitter individuals.

For example, achieving a 20 per cent reduction in cardiovascular risk required 370 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise per week for those with the lowest fitness levels, compared with 340 minutes for those with the highest.

As the study was observational, it cannot prove that exercise directly caused the reduced risk in cardiovascular events.

However, the researchers believe that their findings show that while the current 150–minute guideline is effective, advising certain people to exercise more often could be beneficial.

The NHS advises that adults should do some form of physical activity every day, but says exercising just once or twice a week can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

This makes up their guidance to exercise for at least 150 minutes per week at moderate to vigorous levels.

Moderate exercise, they say, ‘will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer.’

They add: ‘One way to tell if you’re working at a moderate intensity level is if you can still talk, but not sing.’

Vigorous exercise, meanwhile, ‘makes you breathe hard and fast’, the NHS says, adding: ‘You will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath.’

WASHINGTON (AP) — The YOLO caucus is convening.

In a Republican-controlled Congress often characterized by its loyalty to President Donald Trump, a small but gradually expanding group is emerging—those willing to diverge from the White House line. While Trump continues to command considerable support among Republican voters, this growing faction could pose challenges to his policies, affecting issues from the Iran conflict to border security funding, particularly when the party’s majority in Congress is fragile.

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana has recently joined this group. Following his primary loss to a challenger backed by Trump, Cassidy made a notable shift by siding with Democrats on legislation to limit U.S. military actions in Iran.

“Our Constitution is designed for Congress to hold the executive branch accountable,” Cassidy remarked to reporters the day prior to the vote.

Senator John Cornyn of Texas might follow suit, as Trump has thrown his support behind Ken Paxton, Cornyn’s opponent in the upcoming Republican primary runoff.

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is perhaps a founding member of the YOLO caucus, having frustrated Trump since the president’s first term, and his status was solidified after losing his primary on Tuesday to a Trump-backed challenger.

Massie has enraged Trump by voting against his signature tax and spending bill and by pushing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

He hinted there’s more to come before he leaves office.

“I got seven months left in Congress,” Massie said with a grin during his concession speech as the crowd erupted.

More Republicans feel free to shrug off Trump

Other similarly situated Republicans include Sen. Thom Tillis, who was a fierce critic of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has more recently turned his attention to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. There’s also Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who joined Democrats last week in a bid to curb Trump’s war powers in Iran. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have voted against some of Trump’s Cabinet picks. And in the House, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska has pushed to reclaim congressional power over tariffs.

“If the legislative branch always votes with the president, we do have a king,” Massie said in his concession speech Tuesday.

This hardly amounts to a revival of the Never Trump movement that some Republicans unsuccessfully hoped would curb the president’s excesses during his first term or block him from returning to office. Many in the party, including Trump’s occasional detractors, have either stood by or been unable to block the president as he launched the war in Iran and presided over an aggressive immigration enforcement operation and the dismantling of the federal workforce.

Today’s unencumbered Republicans don’t fit into an ideological box. But they are united by a sense of emboldenment that can only be attained in a few ways in Trump’s Washington.

Many, like Tillis, McConnell and Bacon, have decided to retire and can cast votes knowing they’ll never again have to face Republican primary voters. Others like Collins and Murkowski have more leeway because they represent states that tend to reward political independence. And some like Massie banked on the idea that voters could support both Trump and someone who occasionally crossed him.

It’s a paradox for Trump. As he demands total loyalty and pushes out Republican dissenters, he’s left with a growing cohort who, for one reason or another, owe Trump nothing.

Democrats look to capitalize

That could be a problem for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who are already governing with threadbare majorities. Shifting loyalties of even a few Republican lawmakers could dramatically complicate the ability for either chamber to pass substantial legislation ahead of the November midterm elections.

The next tests could come later this week as Thune pushes a funding package for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol designed to pass on a party line basis.

Democrats are eager to pounce.

Speaking at an event in Washington on Tuesday sponsored by the Center for American Progress, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said he would aim to drive a wedge between Republicans by using a so-called discharge petition to bring issues directly to the floor for a vote.

That tactic has been successful in securing House passage on issues ranging from the Epstein files to temporary protection of Haitian immigrants.

“When we’re disciplined and when we’re focused and when we put pressure in particular on the so-called swing seat Republicans, they have been breaking with us,” Jeffries said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters on Tuesday that Trump’s endorsement of Cornyn’s rival was a sign that his political power lies within the Republican base — not the American public at large.

“He’s showed the only influence he has, and that’s an outsize influence within the base of the party,” the potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender told reporters in Washington. “Otherwise he’s shown little to no influence with the American people.”

Counting the votes

That leaves Republicans gaming out how they might cobble together the votes needed to pass legislation.

Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota called Cassidy a “good friend” and said the loss was “tough for him.” He said Cassidy “will always vote in line with what he thinks is best” but doubted he will become a less reliable Republican vote.

His fellow Louisianan, Sen. John Kennedy, said Cassidy deploys power “rationally and maturely” and “will continue to do the same thing.”

Cassidy repeatedly rejected the notion that he will spend his final months in Washington as a troublemaker for Trump, saying he’s going to do “what’s good for my country and my state.”

Yet the independent streak that ended his political career quickly resurfaced. A week after Trump visited China, Cassidy spoke of a western alliance that’s “totally falling apart” and will be unable to “push back on the threat China represents.” He seemed stunned that the administration would create a nearly $1.8 trillion fund to compensate Trump allies who they believe have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.

“I just came off the campaign trail,” he said. “People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent.”

___

A Chicago man with a criminal record spanning nearly a decade is expected in court on Wednesday after being accused of killing a police officer and severely injuring another. This situation has prompted one city leader to denounce the legal system as a “joke” that endangers the lives of law enforcement officers.

Alphonso Talley, 27, faces charges for the murder of Officer John Bartholomew, 28, which took place at Swedish Hospital on Saturday, April 25. Prosecutors claim that Talley also wounded another officer during the violent encounter.

Talley is slated to attend a status hearing at the Cook County Circuit Court on Wednesday.

According to authorities, Talley was apprehended just hours before the shooting, in connection to a suspected armed robbery at a Family Dollar store. Officials allege he assaulted a female employee with a firearm, taking her wallet and keys in the process.

Alphanso Talley was charged with murder after allegedly shooting two police officers. (Cook County Sheriff’s Office)

Immediately after his arrest, Talley allegedly told authorities he had swallowed narcotics and requested to be taken to the hospital. 

While receiving medical treatment, police say Talley retrieved a gun from underneath a blanket and shot both officers before attempting to escape custody. 

“He was going to attempt an escape when he pretended to swallow drugs,” prosecutors previously told the court while arguing for Talley to remain behind bars. “He knew police would take him to the hospital for his own well-being. He knew he would be uncuffed at that time. He did that to officers who simply took him to the hospital for his own well-being.”

John Bartholomew was shot and killed on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital in Chicago. (Chicago Police Department)

Following his initial court appearance, Judge D’Anthony Thedford ordered Talley to remain in custody ahead of his trial. 

“It is clear to this court that you pose a threat to any person you’re around,” he said. “If you’re out — you’re dangerous. I cannot trust that you will follow any orders that this court gives. No conditions that I can propose can keep the community safe from you.”

The alleged shooting comes as the latest in a long line of violent crimes involving Talley spanning the past nine years, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.

Chicago police officers stand outside a hospital in Chicago awaiting updates on two officers shot during a prisoner transport incident at Swedish Hospital on April 25, 2026. A suspect was taken into custody after a brief manhunt in the neighborhood. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

His rap sheet includes a conviction for four counts of aggravated robbery with a firearm in 2017, unlawful use or possession of a firearm by a felon with a prior conviction in 2021, battery on a peace officer in 2023 and possession/aiding and abetting a stolen motor vehicle.

At the time of the alleged shooting, Talley had been released from custody under the Illinois SAFE-T Act, which established cashless bail in 2021. 

“As city workers, you see the reasons that lead to this shooting,” Chicago alderman Anthony Napolitano told Fox News Digital. “And this neighborhood and myself have pointed it out for years.”

According to Napolitano, the city’s “weak” judicial system coupled with the SAFE-T Act puts both law enforcement and Chicago’s residents at risk. 

“It’s a joke of a system,” Napolitano said. “It’s flawed and it’s broken.” 

WATCH: Funeral for CPD officer raises outrage for soft-on-crime policies

Talley was also wearing an ankle bracelet at the time of the alleged robbery and shooting, leading city officials to question Cook County’s electronic monitoring program.

“[Officials] don’t know where the [electronic monitored felons] are or how to attest for them or how to get in contact with them. They’re basically on the run,” Napolitano said. “We should know as residents of the city, what is the threat level setup that you as a judge are allowing these people to go on an electronic monitoring system?”

Napolitano also pointed to the city’s relaxed bail system creating a culture of frustration and low morale among police officers. 

“With [officials] pushing this ‘catch-and-release’ SAFE-T Act, you’ve got coppers that are two, three, four generations of Chicago police officers that couldn’t wait to be a police officer, [and have] pride to put that uniform on and protect what we believe is the greatest city in the country by proactively going after crime,” Napolitano told Fox News Digital.

“And then to find out that when you’re working your butt off, and almost dying on a regular basis because people are emboldened and they’re not afraid of shooting or killing the police anymore,” he added. 

From 2021 to 2024, more than 170 Chicago Police Department officers had been shot or shot at in the line of duty, including two fatally, according to data released by officials.

Napolitano stresses that the amount of violence against officers has taken a toll on the department, while citing the influx of memorial ribbons scattered throughout Chicago’s neighborhoods in remembrance of each fallen officer.

“We’re losing them at an alarming rate on a regular basis,” Napolitano said. “And those f——- ribbons do not come off the poles now, because we keep losing our officers.”

ABC 7 reported that in December, Judge John Lyke — who had presided over Talley’s criminal cases for at least three years — said Talley’s “mind is finally developing” and that he “may be on the path to making better decisions” before releasing him from custody in a separate case with only an ankle monitor.

Authorities subsequently issued a warrant for his arrest on March 11 while he was on pretrial release for the alleged armed robbery after he had two electronic monitor violations in early March, according to court documents.

Talley is charged with murder, attempted murder, aggravated unlawful restraint, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated battery of a peace officer, aggravated battery, escape and unlawful use of a weapon.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Cook County prosecutor’s office and the public defender’s office for comment.

Fraudulent activities in California under the leadership of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom have reached such staggering levels that they make Minnesota’s issues seem trivial, a conservative commentator remarked on the recent “Pod Force One” podcast. The commentator highlighted that, at one time, California had merely two officers dedicated to combating these scams.

“The magnitude of fraud in California is on a completely different scale,” shared Chris Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, during his conversation with “Pod Force One” host Miranda Devine. Rufo is recognized for being among the first to expose the fraud issues in Minnesota’s Somali community.

Rufo noted that since Governor Newsom took office in 2019, California has turned into a “prime target” for fraudulent schemes.

“People from various backgrounds, countries, and regions have come to see California’s government as a welcoming ground for fraud operations,” Rufo explained to Devine.

As a filmmaker and author, Rufo emphasized that “fraudsters siphoned off around $32 billion from the state’s unemployment insurance program” during the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the state’s vulnerability.

In one notorious case highlighted by Rufo, Tennessee rapper Nuke Bizzle was caught ripping off taxpayers only after he released a music video “detailing precisely how he was able to defraud the state of California.” 

“But there is also this ethnic, ethno-political element,” the influential author continued. “And you see certain populations, for example, the Armenians in Southern California, that seem to be perpetrating fraud at scale. 

“One police detective I talked to said Romanians, Armenians, Nigerians, there are certain kind of sub-populations or national populations that have been caught over and over and over ripping off the state government.”

“For whatever complex historical and cultural reasons,” these groups, according to Rufo, “have a culture of exploitation, fraud, ripping off the government.” 

“They come to the United States, they come to California in particular, and one insider told us the thing about California is this, you’re most likely to not get caught, and if you get caught you’re most likely to not face charges, and if you do face charges and get convicted, you’re most likely to not serve much, if any time at all,” he added. “And so, it’s a means, motive and opportunity. It’s a classic story of criminal conduct, and that’s why I think you see it happening in California at such scale.”

Rufo, who also led the fight to expose critical race theory and DEI in education, argued that fraudsters have largely been able to get away with stealing from the state because “’no effective fraud controls” have been implemented. 

“Just to use the example of unemployment insurance, when California was spending billions of dollars per week at the height of COVID, losing tens of billions of dollars to fraudsters, in our reporting we showed that in the entire state, there were only two individual bureaucrats assigned to actually give oversight to the system to ensure that there wasn’t fraudulent activity,” Rufo said, “and so when they’re being flooded with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of pieces of paperwork per day, two people is obviously insufficient to oversee that amount of funding.”

Aside from the criminals themselves, others benefiting from fraud in California include political groups, like labor unions, and Democratic politicians, including Newsom, Rufo argued. 

Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington on ‘Pod Force One.’ Subscribe here!

“[H]e benefits from the perception of an increase in employment,” Rufo said of Newsom. “So, if there are people working for in-home supportive services, which is probably the most fraud-ridden program in California, it looks like California is adding jobs, even if many of those jobs are fraudulent.” 

“And second, and relatedly, the public sector and rather the private sector or semi-public sector unions benefit,” the Manhattan Institute fellow continued. “So, if money is flooding through the healthcare system, those healthcare-worker unions take their cut, they get now hundreds of millions of dollars per year by skimming wages off the top, and then a lot of that money goes back into the coffers of California State Democrats.

“So, when you look at the system as a whole, it resembles a circle, and the money flows from taxpayers to fraud schemes, to unions, to politicians, and then it’s kind of crisscrossing between those various entities.” 

Rufo warned “the system will not change so long as the people who have the levers of power benefit from the system.”

“That’s the lesson that we’ve seen over and over.”