65 m. ago ‘Too far? I don’t think we’ve gone far enough!’ The founder of Peta on gruesome stunts and her bloody fight for animal rights

After 45 years as chief fake blood thrower, Ingrid Newkirk is still waging war on everything from leather to cashmere. Is she still relevant?Ingrid Newkirk was 54 when she thought she was going to die in a plane crash. It was late summer and the founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) was flying from Minneapolis in the US to the company HQ in Norfolk, Virginia when her plane encountered strong wind shear. The pilot attempted an emergency landing, but failed; back up they went.On the third attempt, with “a teaspoon of fuel” in the tank, he finally got the plane down safely. During those moments, Newkirk, now 76, scribbled a will on a napkin. She has tweaked it over the years, but it still reads like a horror movie prop list: her liver is to be sent to France to be made into foie gras, her skin to Hermès to create a handbag and her lips to whichever US president is in power, to shame them for granting a “patronising” pardon to a turkey each Thanksgiving. As wills...

Events

86 m. ago Benefits claimants eligible for DWP Christmas Bonus unchanged Since 1972

The DWP is set to issue a 10 Christmas bonus to millions of pensioners and benefit claimants in the first week of December and it hasn't changed since the scheme was launched in 1972

Politics

94 m. ago Scots could be in line for income tax rises in January Budget under SNP Government

The Scottish Government's Budget will be heavily linked to tax changes in the UK Budget this month.

Politics

1 hour ago Accidental prisoner releases have gone up under Labour, minister admits

Asked about accidental prisoner releases, Lisa Nandy said ‘even one is too many’ but the government is ‘gripping’ the crisis

Politics

1 hour ago Shona Robison may ‘potentially revisit’ Scottish taxes in response to UK Budget

The Finance Secretary said the Scottish Government had a ‘very limited’ set of levers to respond.

Economics

3 h. ago Novels I haven’t finished reading are piling up by my bedside. What if that’s a good thing? | Hanna Thomas Uose

Authors are sounding warnings about the length of the modern attention span, but my series of abandonments is a sign of something elseThis is embarrassing, but here goes. There are five novels beside my bed, all partially read. On my phone, I am partway through 36 audiobooks, which pales in comparison to the 46 ebooks I have abandoned on my Kindle. This doesn’t count the growing pile of advance copies beside my coffee table, vying for blurbs, now that I am a published novelist myself.At first glance, these stats seem to corroborate Ian Rankin’s words. Commenting a fortnight ago on how easy it is to lose a reader’s focus, when it is fragmented by social media and the news cycle, the writer said: “Maybe as people’s attention spans change the literature will have to change with them.” But as someone who used to doggedly finish whatever I was reading, I now consider it a human right to put down a book that I’m not in the mood for.Hanna Thomas Uose is a writer and strategist. She is the ...

Politics

4 h. ago Darts star breaks down in tears and pulled from press conference after Grand Slam win

Michael Smith secured an emotional victory over Nathan Aspinall at the Grand Slam of Darts after battling back from his injury hell

Politics

4 h. ago America’s men’s grand slam drought is not Taylor Fritz’s burden to carry

Back at the ATP finals one year after reaching the last hurdle, Fritz remains a top-five talent. It’s a reminder that a certain major-title drought is not his burden to bearI would like to have some words with ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler about what he said after Novak Djokovic beat Taylor Fritz, for the 11th straight time, in the US Open quarter-finals. Look – Fritz is American, Fowler is American – and sports often lend themselves to nationalism. A little bit of disappointment was appropriate. Instead, Fowler invoked the continued drought of American men at the majors: none of them had lifted a trophy since Andy Roddick in 2003, and Fritz had been the last one standing in the tournament.We all love a narrative, myself included. But come on. Even if Fritz had beaten Djokovic for the first time, force of nature Carlos Alcaraz was waiting in the next round, who Fritz has yet to beat in an official match. And if he’d somehow survived that, it would have been defending champion Jannik...

Politics

4 h. ago Kim Kardashian defiantly vows 'I'll be a lawyer one day' despite failing bar exam

Reality TV star reveals she has failed failing her bar exam... ‘Well I’m not a lawyer yet, I just play a very well-dressed one on TV’

Events

6 h. ago 'Horny boyfriend thinks it's alright to have six other women on the go'

JUST JANE: Today our agony aunt Jane O'Gorman is dealing with a new issue from a Daily Star reader who has returned from a work trip to find a queue of rivals vying for her bloke's attention

Politics

7 h. ago Kim Kardashian reveals she has failed the California Bar Exam

Kardashian’s father, Robert Kardashian, was a successful attorney and part of OJ Simpson’s defense team during his 1995 murder trial

Events

7 h. ago Amid squabbles, bombast and competing interests, what can Cop30 achieve?

Climate summit in Brazil needs to find way to stop global heating accelerating amid stark divisions“It broke my heart.” Surangel Whipps, president of the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, was sitting in the front row of the UN’s general assembly in New York when Donald Trump made a long and rambling speech, his first to the UN since his re-election, on 23 September.Whipps was prepared for fury and bombast from the US president, but what followed was shocking. Trump’s rant on the climate crisis – a “green scam”, “the greatest con job ever perpetrated”, “predictions made by stupid people” – was an unprecedented attack on science and global action from a major world leader. Continue reading...

Events

7 h. ago Why world will fail to tackle climate change unless politicians realise one simple fact

Politicians need to maintain the support of their electorates if they are to succeed in the fight against climate change

Politics

7 h. ago Jon Bon Jovi: ‘There have been days where I thought I was done’

The New Jersey rock star is preparing for his band’s first tour in four years after undergoing risky but crucial vocal surgery. He speaks with Roisin O’Connor about new album ‘Forever (Legendary Edition)’, why he’s OK with being vulnerable, and his joy over his growing family

Politics

7 h. ago Fears care workers sponsored by SNP Government will face 'indescribable levels of exploitation'

Union bosses have called for care workers sponsored to work by the Scottish Government to boost the publicly-run social care sector

Politics

8 h. ago College students, stressed about federal food aid uncertainty, look to campuses for support

U.S. college students who receive federal food aid are looking to their campuses for support because the program known as SNAP is in limbo during the government shutdown

Society

8 h. ago Whistleblowers could earn millions as HMRC targets tax fraud

US-style incentive scheme expected to be announced at Budget later this month

Economics

8 h. ago Scottish social justice secretary urges Chancellor not to slash Motability car scheme

SNP’s Shirley-Anne Somerville writes to UK ministers warning them not to balance the books at the expense of disabled people.

Society

8 h. ago SNP government accused of 'passing buck' over LPS tower block safety fears

Hundreds of Scots are thought to live in Large Panel System (LPS) high-rise buildings which could be vulnerable to gas explosions and collapse.

Politics

9 h. ago Armed forces head says UK security ‘not responsibility of military alone’

Sir Richard Knighton took over as Chief of the Defence Staff in September.

Events