56 m. ago From bank robber to scholar: the Knoxville dropout fighting to change how we see addiction

Kirsten Smith was 19 when she first tried heroin; within a few years she was in prison. She says she willingly made bad choices and wants society to stop treating addiction as a diseaseKirsten Smith was 16 when a boy from school injected her with morphine, 18 when she and a date Googled how to crush up and inject themselves with oxycodone, and 19 when she first shot up heroin. Living in Knoxville, Tennessee and modelling herself on Pulp Fiction’s freewheeling Mia Wallace, Smith spent her days experimenting with alcohol, cannabis, ecstasy, mushrooms, LSD and benzodiazepines. She read Kurt Vonnegut and the Beats, and wrote poems on an actual typewriter while listening to the Velvet Underground. For Smith, as for thousands of Americans who came of age in the early 2000s, drug use was a seemingly harmless lifestyle choice.That is, until she ran out of money. After Smith dropped out of high school and started regularly using heroin, she was caught stealing credit cards and chequebooks fr...

Events

71 m. ago Rick Astley VIP tickets now on sale – enjoy the 2026 tour in luxury from £99

From balcony seats to private suites, we break down the best VIP options for Rick Astley’s UK 2026 tour.

Economics

86 m. ago Dear Coleen: After fighting to fix our relationship I realise I want out

Something inside me flipped – like a light going on – and I realised I didn’t want to be with him and feel insecure all the time.

Politics

2 h. ago 'A soul for sale': Morrissey says he is putting his cut in the Smiths on the market as he has 'had enough of malicious associations'

Morrissey, the 66-year-old former frontman of 1980s rock band The Smiths, put all of his rights to the Smiths brand up for sale today.

Economics

2 h. ago Expert's £7.50 radiator trick could slash your bills if you act right now

As the weather begins to get cooler you might start to worry about your energy expenditure - luckily, this cheap and easy radiator hack can help you keep costs down

Economics

4 h. ago Eric Adams not dropping out of NYC mayoral race after reports Trump officials may offer him place in administration

There has been speculation Trump may intervene in the mayor’s race to thwart Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani

Politics

4 h. ago I have lost 21kg on Mounjaro, dropping from a size 18 to a size 10 in just six months... but now I fear coming off it will trigger the debilitating condition that's haunted my life

Scrolling through her online application for weight-loss jabs, Lauren Malone came to the section she had dreaded: Have you ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder?

Politics

4 h. ago How FIFA’s ‘dynamic’ pricing for 2026 World Cup tickets will see tickets priced $60 to $6,000

FIFA said the percentage of stadium seats set at its cheapest price points will “not be insignificant”

Economics

4 h. ago How much a Thursday Murder Club retirement REALLY costs: The luxury developments that rival Coopers' Chase

While there are plenty of choices of plush and 'sedate' retirement villages for pensioners to spend there golden years, there are also several costs that come beyond the monthly rent or the property's price.

Events

5 h. ago Fury at Kemi Badenoch as Tory leader is accused of giving Angela Rayner 'an easy ride' over tax admission

Mrs Badenoch urged Sir Keir Starmer to show 'backbone' and sack his deputy at the start of the exchanges, but used the rest of her questions to tackle the PM over the economy.

Politics

5 h. ago NYC Mayor Eric Adams insists he isn't ending his reelection campaign

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is insisting that he isn’t dropping his reelection campaign after reports he had been approached about potentially taking a job with the federal government

Politics

5 h. ago New cheapest UK supermarket announced by Which? with savings of £45

The latest supermarket price comparison by Which? shows a shop with 75 items cost £127.92 on average at this supermarket in August 2025

Economics

7 h. ago American Eagle sees sales drop after controversial Sydney Sweeney ad sparks MAGA love

Sales for the clothing company slightly dipped in the second quarter, despite President Donald Trump saying the jeans were ‘flying off the shelves’

Politics

7 h. ago Michelle Dockery reveals she is pregnant with first child at Downton premiere

The actress wore a light blue gown which showed her baby bump at the premiere of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

Politics

7 h. ago Odds on Eric Adams dropping out of NYC mayoral race spike as Trump advisers reportedly mull offering him place in administration

There has been speculation Trump may intervene in the mayor’s race to thwart Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani

Politics

8 h. ago Warning West Lothian drug deaths drop could be reversed by synthetic opioids

The head of West Lothian’s Health and Social Care Partnership Alison White said “one death is too many" after 2024 figures revealed drug deaths had fallen across Scotland.

Events

8 h. ago Morrissey puts his business interests in the Smiths up for sale ‘to any interested party’

Musician says he has ‘no choice’ after being ‘burnt out by any and all connections’ to his former bandmatesMorrissey has announced that he “has no choice” but to put up for sale the entirety of his business interests in the Smiths “to any interested party/investor”.The deal, made in apparent seriousness on his website, Morrissey Solo, in a post titled “A Soul for Sale”, would include the band’s name and artwork, which he created, as well as his share of merchandising rights, lyrical and musical compositions, synchronisation, recordings and publishing contractual rights. Continue reading...

Economics

8 h. ago 'Childish' Bruno Fernandes is not fit to captain Man Utd, says Liverpool legend

Former Liverpool star John Aldridge laid into Bruno Fernandes and says he isn't fit to captain Manchester United, adding that he sums up the club's woes in recent years

Society

8 h. ago Wyoming plane crash horror as schoolgirl, 13, killed and family rushed to hospital

Loved ones have remembered teen pageant queen Amelia Palmer as a 'light like no other' following her death this week in a fatal plane crash in the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming

Events

8 h. ago Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale review – this silly, enjoyable nonsense should go on for ever

News of Lady Mary’s divorce is presented with impeccable seriousness in a watchable outing that shouldn’t be the lastGrand finale? Oh please. Let’s get real; there is no reason why this particular brand of gibbering, wittering, blithering and surreally enjoyable nonsense shouldn’t go on for ever, like Frank Sinatra’s farewell tour or shortbread manufacture in the Scottish Highlands. Both of the previous Downton films had a sentimental last-hurrah message that didn’t preclude another one dropping off the production line. We could make the next film Downton Abbey: The Royal Finale and the one after that Downton Abbey: The Imperial Finale.The last but one film finished on a funereal drone shot of Downton Abbey at sunset and the one after that was subtitled “A New Era” – but this one, it seems, has taken us back to the very end of the old era, inviting us to swoon loyally at the passing of something special and yet also at the same time doff our caps at the bluebloods’ insouciant gift f...

Politics