3 d. ago Want to scare a Hollywood star? Just set up a fundraiser in their name | Emma Brockes

More horrifying to a celebrity than any scandal is having the public believe they’re down on their luck. Just ask Mickey RourkeIt’s a tough time to be famous in Hollywood, what with dwindling respect levels for movie stars and the inability of anyone under 35 to recognise that George Clooney’s lips weren’t always that thin or that Brad Pitt, at one time, was a thing. Add to this a painful new pitfall for celebrities; not defending their unremarkable offspring from accusations of nepotism or explaining how big a role Ozempic has played in their new look, but rather the small, horrifying possibility that in the event of a bad year, some enterprising fan or assistant will whip up a GoFundMe for them.Most of us know instinctively that there’s nothing worse for business than admitting that business is bad. Unless you’re a parent soliciting donations to fund your Munchausen-by-proxy syndrome, or have just committed an act of heroism and are rightfully in line for a reward, being the benef...

Politics

1 week ago At the turn of the year, I’m facing a pivot point. Midlife crisis? No thanks | Emma Brockes

At 50, I find myself in a gazing-up-at-trees phase. What does it all mean? It’s not completely clear – but it’s certainly bothering my kidsAccording to research undertaken by Stanford Medicine in 2024, adult human beings are subject to two “massive biomolecular shifts” – spikes in ageing, in other words – one at 44 and another at 60, confirming what most of us instinctively know to be true: that we get older in jagged bursts – not with gentle, steady progression. As the new year issues its annual invitation to stocktake, the thing I keep thinking is where we might place the equivalent emotional pivot points, those periods in which, after years of – God willing! – pottering along feeling roughly the same, suddenly, one day, there’s a change.I bring this up because I seem to be in the middle of one, an inflection point that manifests in the number of times on the walk back from the school drop-off I stop to look at a bird in a tree, or a snail on a wall, or any number of other overwro...

Events

2 w. ago Epstein's Amazon purchases from trove of DoJ docs hints at pedophile's sick fantasies: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Thousands of new files linked to Jeffrey Epstein's case were made public by the Department of Justice this morning.

Politics

2 w. ago FBI accused of 'corrupting' Epstein jail footage after his death, bombshell memo claims: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Thousands of new files linked to Jeffrey Epstein's case were made public by the Department of Justice this morning.

Events

2 w. ago Fake passport Epstein kept is exposed in new trove of damning DoJ files: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Thousands of new files linked to Jeffrey Epstein's case were made public by the Department of Justice this morning.

Politics

2 w. ago Epstein used a fake Austrian passport while travelling, damning new DoJ documents suggest: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Thousands of new files linked to Jeffrey Epstein's case were made public by the Department of Justice this morning.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump sidesteps commenting on Epstein revelations as files sees multiple new mentions of the president: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Thousands of new files linked to Jeffrey Epstein's case were made public by the Department of Justice this morning.

Politics

2 w. ago Trump mentions in Epstein files are 'untrue' and 'sensationalist', DOJ says as 30,000 documents are released: Live updates

LIVE UPDATES: Thousands of new files linked to Jeffrey Epstein's case were made public by the Department of Justice this morning.

Politics

3 w. ago Every time Donald Trump and Bill Clinton are featured in Epstein Files as deadline hours away

Billionaire financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein had links to many world leaders and famous icons before he was found dead in a prison cell while awaiting trial over sex charges

Politics

3 w. ago Keir Starmer appoints career diplomat Christian Turner as US ambassador

Turner, appointed ambassador to UN in May, now replaces Peter Mandelson who was sacked over Epstein linksKeir Starmer has appointed the career diplomat Christian Turner as the UK’s ambassador to Washington, replacing Peter Mandelson who was sacked over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.Turner, who was appointed ambassador to the UN in May, had previously been political director at the Foreign Office and had brokered a close relationship with the new Labour administration before taking up his UN role in New York. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Starmer appoints career diplomat Christian Turner as US ambassador

Current ambassador to UN to replace Peter Mandelson, who was forced to quit over Epstein linkKeir Starmer has appointed the career diplomat Christian Turner as the new ambassador to Washington, government sources have confirmed.Turner will be replacing Peter Mandelson who was forced to quit over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago How many big names have paid the price for being linked to Jeffrey Epstein? Fewer than you might think | Emma Brockes

Remarkably, most of the men connected to the convicted sex offender have barely experienced any fallout. That says as much as the scandal itselfA couple of weeks ago, the annual DealBook Summit got under way in New York. It’s a series of public talks billed as conversations with “the world’s most consequential people”, and is part of that circuit of live events in which the worst people on Earth gather on stage to address the second-worst people on Earth, their paying audience. Hosted by Andrew Ross Sorkin, the conference was a characteristically starry affair, but in a lineup that included Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and “changemaker” Halle Berry, it was Ehud Barak, the former prime minister of Israel and a former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, who really caught the eye.My first thought about Barak’s appearance was: Larry Summers must be spitting. Summers, the former president of Harvard and another Epstein associate, was very much not...

Politics

3 w. ago Renfrewshire Council to consult with Andrew Avenue residents on prospect of renaming Renfrew street

It follows the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's titles amid growing scrutiny over his links with Jeffrey Epstein.

Politics

3 w. ago Fresh blow for Andrew as more streets could be renamed in wake of Epstein scandal

A council in Renfrew has opened a consultation to rename Andrew Avenue in the wake of the scandal surrounding the former Prince over his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

Politics

3 w. ago Nearly 90 flights linked to Epstein ‘came to or from UK airports’

Flight logs reveal three British women onboard who were allegedly trafficked by convicted sex offender, according to BBCNearly 90 flights linked to Jeffrey Epstein reportedly arrived at and departed from UK airports, some with British women onboard who allege they were abused by the convicted child sex offender.Analysis by the BBC found three British women who were allegedly trafficked appear in Epstein’s records of flights in and out of the UK and other documents related to the late disgraced billionaire. Continue reading...

Transport

last month Schmaltz, theatre and sharp teeth: Wrexham reveal the hard truth about football | Barney Ronay

With the arrival of US hedge funders at Wrexham, there is no pretence any more. This is just another project, as it always wasTea and cake. Cobble-close streets. Collectivism. Sugar rush. Hollywood fairytales. And also, as of this week, a minority owner with historical links to celebrity paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.Wait! Welsh cakes! Welsh tea! Aggregated tourism benefits. The sloeblack, slow, black, crowblack, fishingboat-bobbing sea. And also, at one remove, historical links to deceased celebrity paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Politics