By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER and HARRY HOWARD

Published: 10:11 EST, 12 December 2025 | Updated: 10:18 EST, 12 December 2025

Andrew Marr has sparked concerns amongst fans after he began struggling while live on radio last night.

The former BBC political editor has been inundated with goodwill messages over an incident while he was presenting his LBC show at around 6.30pm yesterday.

Listeners feared he was struggling for breath but some sources have claimed it was caused by a heavy cold and he was fine to continue after a few minutes break.

In the concerning clip, shared on social media, Mr Marr is heard faltering while talking about podcasts made by LBC’s owner, Global.

Mr Marr continued to speak quickly about a feature on the ‘hell’ living of in prisons in Alabama and struggled to finish each sentence. 

The Daily Mail understands that despite the glitch, Mr Marr was able to continue and finished the show, which is not yet available on LBC’s catch-up service, Global Player.

Listeners reacted with concern while listening live to the show. 

Andrew Marr sparked concern amongst listeners on LBC last night when he sounded unwell on air

One fan said: ‘I hope Andrew Marr is ok? Currently broadcasting recorded piece’.

‘Andrew Marr doesn’t sound well’, another listener said. 

A third person who tuned in live said: ‘Is Andrew Marr ok?’.

A fourth person said: ‘I was listening live, it was really horrible to hear, but thankfully he seemed okay afterwards’.

A further LBC listener said he was not a fan of Mr Marr but added: ‘This is heartbreaking, I really hope he’s OK’. 

The Daily Mail has asked Mr Marr and LBC to comment. 

Andrew was struggling for breath with around 30 minutes left of his show.

‘Now, something momentous I need to take the time to tell you about – the winners of the Global Player Awards 2025 have been announced, and I’m speaking as the only white man, I think, in the south of England without my own podcast’, he said.

Mr Marr spoke about prisons in America but was audibly struggling. He was able to continue.

In 2013, Marr suffered a stroke while working out on his rowing machine.

Andrew Marr, pictured reacting to the budget on November 26 at Westminster, was struggling

His family was told he was going to die, but after two months in hospital and extensive physiotherapy, he recovered enough to return to work.

It left him partially paralysed on his left side and he admitted in 2023 that he can no longer tie his laces, cycle, run or swim.

The presenter had previously suffered two ‘mini strokes’ – known as transient ischaemic attacks – which he had dismissed at the time as ‘funny turns’.

In 2018, Marr had to have surgery to remove a cancerous tumour on his kidney.

He again took time off presenting his BBC show, but has not spoken publicly about his treatment.

Share or comment on this article:
Andrew Marr sparks health concerns as he appears to struggle for breath while presenting his live LBC radio show

SOURCE PAGE

While many people use the cleaning product on a weekly basis, the Which? expert chooses to avoid it

The expert revealed why she doesn’t use the product (stock photo)(Image: Getty)

A Which? expert has revealed that a common cleaning product used in most homes is ‘not allowed’ in her house. Rebecca Jakeman, a Which? senior researcher and writer, explained she never uses fabric softener in a blog post for the consumer champion.

“I’m a laundry expert, and it’s not allowed in my house,” Rebecca shared. “Many people rely on fabric softener for that fresh, clean scent and comforting touch. It can also help to reduce static, plus manufacturers claim it can help protect clothes from the stress of a wash cycle, and help prevent colour fade.

“But the reality is that its key perceived benefit – making clothes softer – is often short-lived and can come with hidden drawbacks.” Rebecca went on to explain that the ingredients used in fabric softeners can damage fabrics and cause skin irritation.

The cleaning product can also cause a waxy coating to build up on your clothes, making it harder for detergent to remove dirt and making the fabric more flammable, according to the expert.

She added that towels and sportswear items are often the worst affected, as fabric softener can make towels less effective at absorbing water and prevent the wicking ability of your gym clothes.

Content cannot be displayed without consent

Breaking down the science behind the problem, Jus Rai, a Which? senior scientific advisor, explained: “Fabric softeners contain emulsifiers, which coat the fabric in a thin layer that repels water and works as a lubricant, making fabric feel soft.

“They also contain cationic surfactants – positively charged substances that cancel out the static charge that washing can create. Regular use can create a build-up of these substances, which can have a negative impact on some fabrics, such as reduced breathability of athletic wear or degradation of fibres in delicate materials such as wool.”

As such, using fabric softeners can shorten the lifespan of your clothing and towels, costing you more money in the long run.

People often use fabric softener in their laundry (stock photo)(Image: Getty)

When Which? shared an Instagram post discussing the drawbacks of using fabric softener, there were comments from social media users who have ditched the product and never looked back. In a video shared on the platform, a Which? team member said: “Stop using fabric softener. You’re wasting your money.”

Instead, he recommended keeping towels soft by adding them to the tumble dryer to spin for ten minutes before hanging them up outside, or soaking the towels in water and white vinegar before rinsing and then washing them as usual, noting that over time vinegar can cause damage to washing machines.

Commenting under the video, someone who gave up fabric softener shared: “We’ve ditched it completely and now only use white vinegar and a few drops of tea tree essential oil (in the softener department).”

SOURCE PAGE

NewsFeed

Rescuers pulled bodies from under the rubble of a collapsed house in Gaza’s Beit Lahiya after heavy rain and winds brought the heavily damaged building crumbling to the ground. At least 12 people have died over the last 24 hours as Storm Byron inflicts further damage on the remnants of Israel’s genocide war.

Published On 12 Dec 202512 Dec 2025

Click here to share on social media

share2

Share

SOURCE PAGE

Ione WellsSouth America correspondent, São Paulo

‘The journey was not fun. It was cold, it was very wet’ – Bryan Stern

The rescue operation to get Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado out of Venezuela involved disguises, two boats through choppy seas and a flight, the man who says he led it told the BBC.

Dubbed Operation Golden Dynamite, the dangerous journey was cold, wet and long – but the “formidable” Machado didn’t complain once, said Bryan Stern, a US special forces veteran and founder of the Grey Bull Rescue Foundation.

“The seas are very rough. It’s pitch black. We’re using flashlights to communicate. This is very scary, lots of things can go wrong.”

Despite the risks, they didn’t. Machado arrived safely in Oslo, Norway to collect her Nobel Peace Prize just before midnight on Wednesday.

Machado had been living in hiding in her own country since Venezuela’s widely disputed elections last year, and hadn’t been seen in public since January. Her grown-up children, who she hadn’t seen in two years, were in Oslo to greet her.

Grey Bull specialises in rescue missions and evacuations, especially from conflict and disaster zones. A representative from Machado’s team confirmed to CBS News, the BBC’s US media partner, that the organisation was behind her rescue operation.

Mr Stern said that Grey Bull had been building up a presence in the Caribbean, including inside Venezuela and the neighbouring island of Aruba, for months to get ready for potential operations in Venezuela.

“We’ve been building infrastructure on the ground in Venezuela designed to get Americans, allies and Brits and other people out should the war in Venezuela start,” he told the BBC.

Speculation has been mounting over possible US military action against Venezuela, after US President Donald Trump called on President Maduro to leave office, accusing him of sending narcotics and murderers to the US.

Mr Stern said the challenge in this case was getting somebody out who is as well-known as María Corina Machado – a household name in Venezuela for the opposition.

None of the infrastructure his firm had built up in the country, he said, was “designed for the second most popular person in the damn country with a target on her back.”

Watch: María Corina Machado on her ‘very dangerous’ escape from Venezuela

When he was first put in contact with Machado’s team, they did not initially disclose her identity, but Mr Stern said he was able to guess.

When they got in touch with him in early December, though a contact who knew Machado’s team, it was apparently the second attempt to get her out of Venezuela, after an initial plan “didn’t go well,” Mr Stern said.

The operation was dubbed “Golden Dynamite” because “Nobel invented dynamite” and Machado was trying to get to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize award.

Matters moved quickly. Mr Stern said he spoke with the team on a Friday, they deployed on the Sunday, and by Tuesday, their mission was complete.

His team had explored various possibilities to get Machado out of the country, and settled on a plan that involved a tumultuous sea journey.

To protect his future work in Venezuela, Mr Stern can only reveal so much about the trip.

By land, they moved Machado from a house where she was in hiding, to a pick-up spot for a small boat, which took her off the coast to a slightly bigger boat where she met up with him.

The voyage was in “very rough seas” with waves of up to 10ft (3m) in “pitch-black darkness,” he said.

“The journey was not fun. It was cold, it was very wet, we were all soaked, the waves were very rough, and we used that to our advantage. We got her to land and to where her plane was, and she flew to Norway.”

Amanda Pedersen Giske/NTB via Reuters

Machado was finally pictured landing in Oslo in the early hours of Thursday

Throughout the journey, he added that various steps were taken to mask and disguise Machado’s face, as well as her digital profile because she is so well-known.

“The biometric threat is so real,” he noted, adding steps were taken to make sure she could not be traced via her phone.

He said that Machado was “formidable” despite the conditions, accepting a jumper for warmth, but not asking for anything else.

“She was soaking wet and freezing cold and didn’t complain once,” he laughed, acknowledging the operation was very dangerous because water is “unforgiving”.

“If I am driving a boat and blow an engine, I’m swimming to Venezuela.”

When asked how he could guarantee the safety of Venezuelans who helped with the operation, Mr Stern said they kept their identities secret and “we [Grey Bull] do a lot of deception operations”.

Many of those who helped didn’t even realise they were working for him, Mr Stern said, while others think they “know the whole story”, but they really don’t.

“There are people who did things that were benign from their perspective – but mission-critical from our perspective.”

Grey Bull Rescue/Handout

Bryan Stern’s Grey Bull Rescue held missions during Hurricanes Helene and Milton in the US (he is pictured here in Tampa, 2024)

He said the operation was financed by donors, and not by the US government: “We’ve never had a thank-you note from the US government, let alone a dollar.”

Mr Stern said he did coordinate with some nation states, and with intelligence and diplomatic services of several countries. This included alerting the US in an “informal” manner.

Machado has said she intends to return to Venezuela, but Mr Stern said he advised her not to do that.

“I told her, ‘don’t go back. You’re a Mum. We need you.’ She’s going to do what she’s going to do… I understand why she wants to go back because she’s a hero to her people.

“I wish she wouldn’t go back; I have a feeling she will.”

Watch: BBC speaks to Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado

SOURCE PAGE

The wedding stage looks inconspicuous at first glance: marigold-laden, bright cheery yellow tones adorn where the bride and groom sit.

It seems like a typical Pakistani Mehndi — part of the country’s traditional three-day wedding festivities — yet a closer look reveals something unusual: the groom is a woman. This isn’t a same-sex marriage but a “fake wedding.”

Pakistan’s fake wedding trend, which has been gaining traction since 2023, replicates the aesthetics and festivities of a “real” wedding, but without the lifelong commitment or family pressures that usually define Pakistani marriages.

This type of event increased in popularity after a fake wedding organized by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in 2023 gained considerable national and global attention on traditional and social media.

Viral fake wedding triggers backlash

The media coverage caused a significant backlash and criticism alongside its increasing popularity among young people and influencers. 

Pakistan’s wedding ecosystem is estimated to be worth at least €2.7 billion ($3.2 billion) annuallyImage: Shaam-e-Mastana Bazm

Sairam H. Miran, a former president of the LUMS Student Council, told DW that students at the university faced considerable “online abuse” after footage from the event went viral.

“There is a tendency that people and media focus more on LUMS as an elite university which is out of touch with reality that gets far more traction than any positive news about the same students,” said Miran.

“Just like in the rest of the world, it is possible for university students in Pakistan to have fun and excel at their core jobs at the same time.”

LUMS, like many other Pakistani universities, organizes weekly social events for students and believed that fake weddings provided a more traditional and socially-sanctioned space for celebration and fun.

However, following the backlash, the student council and university took several precautions to ensure students’ safety and privacy, such as not allowing influencers post on public pages.

“There were consequences for the admin who are answerable to donors and parents, and we students who did not consent to becoming viral faced problems with our families as well,” Zara*, a LUMS student who graduated in 2023, told DW.

“The groom didn’t face problems with his family but the bride’s family were very angry,” she added.

Zara asked DW not to use her real name due to negative consequences after footage from the fake wedding went viral.

Fake weddings as gendered safe spaces

Enjoying wedding festivities without societal or family’s watchful eyes is exactly why these fake wedding events are so attractive — especially to women.

The Mehndi event of a traditional Pakistani wedding brings women together to apply henna, sing, dance and celebrateImage: Rahmat Gul/AP Photo/picture alliance

Rida Imran, founder of Hunar Creative Market organized a collaborative women-only fake wedding with other artisans, artists, content creators and event managers last month.

Imran told DW that the Mehndi event of a traditional Pakistani wedding, usually the first-day event of a typically three-day wedding, especially brings women together to apply henna, sing, dance and celebrate.

However, for most families, women are still under social pressure to behave in a non-boisterous way at weddings.

“Even though wedding celebrations are such an integral part of our culture and tradition, women still face a lot of scrutiny in how they act, look and celebrate,” said Imran.

“Having this women-only Mehndi gave women the opportunity to enjoy the wedding without any social pressure or family scrutiny.”

Authenticity outshines Western wedding templates

Punjrush, a stand-up comedian and content creator who played the role of “bride,” shared that, as a single woman, she never imagined experiencing such a “drama-free wedding.” She usually feels there is tension between family members or pressures to follow social norms.

She added that the event felt like a “decolonizing moment,” since brand promotions and exhibitions follow a Westernized template, whereas Pakistan’s shaadi (wedding) culture is authentically South Asian.

In addition to authenticity, the sense of safety women feel at fake weddings stands in sharp contrast to other events in the country, such as raves and parties, which are often shadowed by  uncertainty and safety concerns.

For example, in October 2024, police raided a Halloween party in Karachi, the capital of Pakistan’s Sindh province, an event widely circulated through news reports and social media and labeled as a “vulgar activity,” with many female attendees having their photos and videos leaked online, breaching their privacy.

According to Shifa Leghari, a journalist and social commentator, Pakistan’s fake weddings provide a much safer space to women without attracting suspicion from authorities or family members as it is a socially acceptable form of celebration.

“These events are also often ticketed or curated so they have controlled entry points and are very culturally appropriate, so people especially women are free to enjoy and men know to act respectfully as well as it is part of the culture of the wedding,” said Leghari.

The sense of safety women feel at fake weddings stands in sharp contrast to other events in the countryImage: Shaam-e-Mastana Bazm

A growing market for celebration

Within the industrial complex of Pakistani weddings, fake weddings have carved out a considerable niche, yet there is speculation about whether this trend fuels the ever-expanding lavish wedding industry or provides an alternative market outside the mainstream.

Pakistan’s wedding ecosystem — including venues, catering, designer fashion, jewelry, photography and makeup artists — is estimated to be worth at least 900 billion Pakistani rupees (€2.7 billion/$3.2 billion) annually.

Some organizers of fake weddings argue that rather than toeing the line, they provide alternative standards, ideas, vendors and services as they are based on creativity rather than a “copy-paste style” of most traditional weddings.

More affordable and innovative wedding services are mushrooming, driven by social media and the marketing boost provided by fake weddings. 

For instance, organizers of a fake wedding in Islamabad called ‘Shaam-e-Mastana’ (celebratory evening) are trying to set a new standard for what weddings can be, by bringing together folk music, fashion and cultural tradition.

Aqeel Muhammad, an event curator, compared Pakistan’s fake weddings to the annual Met Gala, a parade of jaw-dropping outfits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

“You are free to express your style and self in an elevated way if done creatively,” he told DW.

*Name changed to protect identity.

Why Pakistan’s traditional pipe bands are fading out

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Edited by: Keith Walker

SOURCE PAGE

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

A group of soldiers of the Syrian army was documented chanting a jihadi declaration of war on Israel during a military parade in Damascus on Tuesday, prompting a minister for the Jewish state to issue a chilling prediction.

Amichai Chikli, Israel’s minister of Diaspora Affairs, posted on X, “War is inevitable.” Chikli embedded a video from Visegrád 24 that showed Syria’s new army marching through Damascus. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa attended the military parade.

The footage, according to Fox News Digital’s independent verification of the Arabic, showed them chanting “Gaza, Gaza, our rallying cry, Victory and steadfastness, night & day. We rise against you, enemy, we rise. From mountains of fire we make our way. From my blood I forge my ammunition. From your blood, rivers will flow.”

SYRIA’S NEW PRESIDENT TAKES CENTER STAGE AT UNGA AS CONCERNS LINGER OVER TERRORIST PAST  

Military personnel perform during a military parade, as Syrians mark the first anniversary of Bashar al-Assad’s fall, in Damascus, Syria, Dec. 8, 2025. (Khalil Ashawi/Retuers)

In a statement to Fox News Digital about his posts on X, Chikli said, “The harrowing testimonies coming from our Druze brothers about what is happening in Sweida leave no doubt. A regime that kills like ISIS, rapes like ISIS, and destroys like ISIS everything that is not itself — it is ISIS, even if it wears a suit and plays basketball.”

The Trump administration is pushing for a security deal between Syria and Israel that would stabilize the heartland of the Middle East. Al-Sharaa met with Trump in the White House last month.

Speaking at a Jerusalem Post conference on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Tom Barrack, who is U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria, said Damascus is not interested in aggression toward Israel, according to the newspaper.

TRUMP TEASES ‘LOADING UP’ ABRAHAM ACCORDS WITH NEW NATIONS AFTER MIDDLE EAST SHAKEUP

Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa delivers a speech on the first anniversary of Bashar al-Assad’s fall, in Damascus, Syria Dec. 8, 2025. (Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)

“Syria joining the anti-ISIS coalition was unthinkable not long ago.” Barrack said the U.S. and Syria have eliminated nine Hezbollah cells and several Islamic State cells over the past few weeks. “After Oct. 7, Israel doesn’t trust anyone,” he said at the event, adding “That’s why we’ve offered to serve as a peacekeeping force. Verification replaces trust.”  

Barrack claimed Jerusalem sees Syria as “the softest play” in the complex Mideast security situation. “Syria has no alternative path,” he said. “And neither does Israel, if it wants to avoid perpetual military confrontation on every border.” He said the Abraham Accords, which normalized diplomatic relations between moderate Sunni states United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Israel, could be expanded to Syria.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack, speaks during a press conference after his meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the presidential palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The Associated Press reported that al-Sharaa said at a conference over the weekend in Qatar that “There are currently negotiations, and the United States is participating and engaged in those negotiations.”

The Syrian president wants Israel to withdraw its forces from Syria and recommit to a 1974 truce agreement.

ISRAEL RELEASES BODY-CAM VIDEO OF DEADLY SYRIA RAID TARGETING MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD-AFFILIATED TERRORISTS

Israeli forces secure the area around Beit Jann after detaining two suspects and coming under fire in one of the most serious clashes on the Syrian front this year. (IDF)

Israel says it seized the 400-square-kilometer (155-square-mile) demilitarized buffer zone in southern Syria in a preemptive move to prevent militants from moving into the area after Islamist insurgents toppled Assad.

Israeli troops have regularly carried out operations in villages and towns inside and outside the zone, including raids snatching people it says are suspected militants. At least 13 people were killed in an Israeli operation against suspected terrorists last month.

When questioned about his record as an al Qaeda member (the U.S. scrapped its $10 million bounty for al-Sharaa’s arrest for terrorism last year) at the Doha Forum in Qatar, the Syrian president said: “What is the definition of terrorism or a terrorist? Saying that I was a terrorist and judging me as a terrorist is politicized… we saw wars in Afghanistan, in Iraq — all of those that were killed were innocent.”

TRUMP TO SIGN ORDER LIFTING SANCTIONS ON SYRIA

He added that “Judging people as terrorists needs to be proven. There’s been 25 years of us hearing this word in the world, but there’s a lot of confusion in understanding the word ‘terrorist.’ Terrorists, in my opinion, are those who kill innocent people — children and women — and who use illegitimate means to harm people.” He noted that he fought “honorably.”

Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital, “The ongoing security situation in Syria is of the utmost complexity. Israel and Syria, under U.S. mediation, are in highly intensive talks to reach a formal security arrangement between the two countries, while the Iranian regime and its proxies are engaging in armed subversion to prevent any possible agreement between the sides. The United States, CIA and military forces are reportedly deeply involved in securing and stabilizing the situation in Syria, which accounts for President Trump’s recent statements to Israel in helping maintain the framework in Syria.”

He added, “It must be emphasized that Iran’s Hezbollah proxy and associated cells and groups are doing everything to torpedo a security arrangement between the al-Sharaa government and the Israeli government. The Iranian regime and associated terror groups tried to assassinate al-Sharaa several times. They are mobilizing terror cells in southern Syria and sending them toward the Israeli border, which is what has triggered ongoing Israeli counterterrorism strikes, just like we saw in Bet Jinn.”

An Israeli army Merkava main battle tank crosses the barbed-wire fence into the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone separating Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights near the U.N. Quneitra checkpoint on March 2, 2025. ( Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently visited reserve soldiers who were wounded in clashes with Syrian terrorists in Bet Jinn, where he said, “After Oct. 7, we are determined to defend our communities on our borders, including the northern border, and to prevent the entrenchment of terrorists and hostile actions against us, to protect our Druze allies, and to ensure that the State of Israel is safe from ground attack and other attacks from the border areas.”

He added, “What we expect Syria to do, of course, is to establish a demilitarized buffer zone from Damascus to the buffer zone area, including the approaches to Mount Hermon and the summit of Mount Hermon. We hold these territories to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel, and that is what obligates us. In a good spirit and understanding of these principles, it is also possible to reach an agreement with the Syrians, but we will stand by our principles in any case.”

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

SOURCE PAGE

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Get our free Inside Washington email

A group of Republicans in swing districts plan to defy both House Speaker Mike Johnson and the Senate and try to force a vote on an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act health-care subsidies that expire at the end of the month.

This comes as Johnson has largely opposed holding a standalone vote on the ACA, or Obamacare, subsidies. The Senate also voted down legislation from Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and Mike Crapo that would transfer the money to health savings accounts.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) filed a discharge petition for his legislation that would extend the enhanced tax credits until 2027 and includes some small changes for eligibility. A handful of Republicans and Democrats in swing districts, who face tough re-election prospects, have signed on to the petition.

“We want to get the legislation passed, and we want the Senate to take it up,” Fitzpatrick told The Independent. “But, what you’re seeing here is rank and file members of the House kind of leading the charge on this.”

The 2021 American Rescue Plan Act legislation that provided relief during the Covid-19 pandemic expanded tax credits for people who buy insurance on Affordable Care Act’s marketplace. In 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act signed by Joe Biden extended the subsidies until the end of 2025.

open image in gallery

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) (Right) is joining a handful of Republicans trying to extend enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces, which expire at the end of the year. (Getty Images)

Fitzpatrick’s district is one of only three districts that elected a Republican and voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. The other two Republicans from those districts — Reps. Mike Lawler from New York and Don Bacon from Nebraska — signed on to his petition.

Bacon is retiring at the end of next year and has said that despite his opposition to the Affordable Care Act, Republicans need to avoid a crisis of the premiums spiking at the end of the year.

“It feels more realistic that our push will inspire the Senate to come up with some kind of compromise, because we gotta get 60 votes,” Bacon told The Independent. “At some point, they’re gonna realize everybody’s premium is going on, and they’re gonna say, we’ve done nothing, and that’s not a good answer.”

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 21.4 million people enrolled in the health insurance marketplace during the last open enrollment period. Bacon pointed out how his fellow Republicans often say that they did not vote for the Affordable Care Act 15 years ago or the enhanced credits.

“There is some truth to that, but the ACA is imploding, but we’re in charge, and our constituents will be paying a lot more for premiums,” Bacon said. Many customers on the marketplace risk seeing their premiums double or even triple.

Any individual member can file a discharge petition to force legislation on the floor. But before then, a member has to get 218 signatures, then the petition must sit on the calendar for seven legislative days before speaker must call the time and place for a vote within two legislative days.

Most recently, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) earned enough signatures to successfully force an almost unanimous vote to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is gathering signatures to gain enough support to force a vote to ban individual members from trading stocks.

open image in gallery

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) is leading an effort to force a vote to extend enhanced tax credits for two years. (Getty Images)

There is another discharge petition on health care led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). Fitzpatrick also signed onto that. The discharge petitions also serve as a a way for rank-and-file Republicans dissatisfied with the way Johnson has run the House to register their frustration.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who criticized the fact Republicans had not come up with a plan to stave off the rising premiums, signed the Fitzpatrick petition. In addition, Rep. Kevin Kiley, who criticized the fact Johnson closed the House during the government shutdown signed the petition.

“I actually proposed to him yesterday, why don’t you just put the bills on the floor,” Kiley told The Independent. Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the House has largely taken a backseat to lawmaking compared to the whims of the president.

“I don’t really know what what their plans are, but ultimately, this is an issue for Congress to take the lead up,” Kiley said. “Like we need legislation, and I think this is a great opportunity for the House to sort of put itself back in the driver’s seat when this chamber has been absent in a lot of ways in recent months.”

But Fitzpatrick also said he understood the impossible position that Johnson faces.

“You got to let him answer that. I mean, he would say he’s representing the will the conference,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re representing our constituents. So we all have jobs to do.”

SOURCE PAGE

NEED TO KNOW

• In a CBS News town hall, Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk addressed the impact that political violence has had on her family
• Erika’s husband Charlie was killed while hosting an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10
• “I will never agree with political violence. My husband is a victim of it. I’m a victim of it. But what I’m trying to say here is that we can blame everyone else,” Kirk said in the town hall

Erika Kirk is telling parents to “look in the mirror” and think critically about how they’re raising their children in a politically polarized world.

Speaking at a town hall hosted by CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss that will air on the network on Saturday, Dec. 13, Erika addressed the impact that political violence has had on her family, and argued that all parents have a responsibility to keep their children away from online content that could radicalize them.

“I will never agree with political violence. My husband is a victim of it. I’m a victim of it. But what I’m trying to say here is that we can blame everyone else,” Erika said. “We have to look in the mirror. When you become a father, when you become a mother, how are you raising your kids?”

Erika’s husband Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative organization Turning Point USA, was shot and killed as he spoke at a campus event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. His alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, was reportedly “radicalized” by political content he consumed online, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Fox.

Erika Kirk.

Michele Crowe/CBS News

“Clearly there is a lot of gaming that was going on … that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep,” Cox said on Meet the Press on Sept. 14.

Erika also told parents to “step up” and consider the impact that spending time on electronic devices is having on their children.

“Are you taking responsibility, or are you giving them a device and saying, ‘Go down that rabbit hole. I’m tryin’ to go to Pilates class,’ ” Erika said. “You can just sit in the corner and look at your iPad or look at your phone and go down that rabbit hole and see what you can learn from that, instead of being a parent.”

Bari Weiss (left) and Erika Kirk.

Michele Crowe/CBS News

Erika continued the town hall with a “call to action” for parents, asking them to consider an important question about what they want for their kids. “Do you want your kid to be a thought leader or an assassin?” she asked. “That’s where we’re at.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

When asked by Weiss whether or not she thought that political leaders had a “responsibility to turn the temperature down” right now, Kirk said that she was “doin’ [her] part.”

“Well, I think everyone has a responsibility to do that, and I’m doin’ my part,” she said. “I’m not in control of other people.”

Following her husband’s death, Erika was unanimously voted in by the Turning Point USA board as his replacement and the organization’s new CEO.

A Town Hall With Erika Kirk will air on Saturday, Dec 13, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The event will stream on Paramount+.

SOURCE PAGE

Bestselling author Joanna Trollope has died at the age of 82, her bereft family revealed today.

Ms Trollope, nicknamed the ‘Queen of the Aga Saga’ due to her much-loved books about mid-life romance and intrigue in middle England, passed away at home in the Cotswolds yesterday.

Her most famous books included The Rector’s Wife, Marrying the Mistress, Daughters in Law, The Choir, City of Friends, A Village Affair and The Other Family.

In a statement, her daughters Louise and Antonia said of the grandmother of nine: ‘Our beloved and inspirational mother Joanna Trollope has died peacefully at her Oxfordshire home, on December 11 aged 82.’

Her literary agent James Gill said: ‘It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Joanna Trollope, one of our most cherished, acclaimed and widely enjoyed novelists.

‘Joanna will be mourned by her children, grandchildren, family, her countless friends and – of course – her readers.’

A distant descendant of Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope, Joanna sold more than 8million books worldwide after a career at the Foreign Office and as a teacher, writing in her spare time after her children went to bed.

Joanna became a full-time author in 1980, writing more than 40 books including 22 bestsellers, which were turned into six TV mini-series and films. Her most recent novel was Mum & Dad in 2020.

In 1996, Trollope was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to literature and later made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019.

Her death on Thursday came just 24 hours after ​Sophie Kinsella, author of the Shopaholic novels and another titan of popular women’s fiction, died of a brain tumour aged 55.

Joanna’s close friend Jilly Cooper also died this year after a fall at home in October.

Author Joanna Trollope is awarded a CBE for services to literature Investitures at Buckingham Palace in 2019. Joanna, who was awarded an OBE in 1996, has died aged 82

Ms Trollope passed away peacefully at home in Oxfordshire

f Queen Elizabeth II meeting Joanna Trollope at Bloomsbury Publishing in London in 2001

Ms Trollope with Queen Camilla  in 2011

More than 8million people bought Ms Trollope’s books worldwide plus there were several TV and film adaptations of her novels.

Her writing was once dubbed Aga Sagas, a term which the author strongly disliked.

She said: ‘That was a very unfortunate phrase and I think it’s done me a lot of damage. It was so patronising to the readers too.’

But despite romance being a central theme of her novels, she recently admitted to having finally given up on men – claiming she didn’t need them.

She had been twice married but said she in 2020 she had been happily single for more than 20 years.

‘I’ve certainly taken myself off the market, yes,’ she said. ‘I think many women do. I’m not interested. I don’t need a man for anything’, she told the Daily Mail.

‘I’ve had two husbands but I haven’t been married for about 20 years — and they’ve been the best 20 years of my life’. 

She said her closest male friends are gay and, as a committed grandmother of nine, she was very content with her lot. 

Her daughters have five children between them and her two stepsons have four more. 

She was devoted to her family.

Early in her own life, she joined the Foreign Office – but since women had to resign their posts upon marriage, Trollope was forced to begin her career again when she married David Potter in 1966 and, instead, became a teacher at Farnham Girls’ Grammar School, taking a big pay cut.

She began writing ‘to fill the long spaces after the children had gone to bed’ and for years combined it with working in schools. She became a full-time writer in 1980.

Her novels, which include The Choir, Marrying The Mistress, A Village Affair and The Other Family, plus the TV dramas adapted from her books, are rumoured to have earned her around £15 million as well as a CBE for services to literature.

Ms Trollope, pictured in her kitchen in 1995, was nicknamed the ‘Queen of the Aga Saga’ due to her fiction about romance and intrigue in middle England

Joanna Trollope (pictured) revealed recently that she’d taken herself off the market because she doesn’t need a man for anything 

One of the great chroniclers of the lives of mid-life women, Trollope published dozens of novels, most about love.

The Oxford-educated grand-daughter of a rector, Joanna had two long marriages. 

She met her first husband, City banker David Potter, at Oxford and married in 1966 when he was 21 and she was 22.

They had two daughters, Louise, now 51, and Antonia, 48, and split up after 17 years in 1983.

In 2020, she revealed: ‘I’d have liked masses more children but I was married to someone totally unfaithful so I just wasn’t going to risk it.’

She met her second husband, TV dramatist Ian Curteis, in her late 30s. When they married in 1985, he brought two stepsons into her life.

They rented an enormous house in Gloucestershire — though with four children between them of university age, she says they couldn’t afford to put the heating on for the first three years.

And yet everything seemed rosy. 

An interviewer who visited the couple back in 1993 observed: ‘They are, you sense, a couple who are scrupulously attentive to one another, who derive pleasure from easing each other’s lives.’

Their friend and fellow author Jilly Cooper described them as ‘absolutely devoted’.

At the time, Joanna was writing historical novels. 

Her husband encouraged her to write about what she knew.

The Choir was Joanna’s first contemporary novel, followed by A Village Affair and A Passionate Man. 

But it was her fourth novel, The Rector’s Wife, which knocked Jeffrey Archer off the bestseller spot in 1991 and stayed there for 50 weeks.

Joanna met her second husband, TV dramatist Ian Curteis, in her late 30s and the pair rented an enormous house in Gloucestershire. Pictured: Joanna and her second husband Ian Curteis

Joanna (pictured) said she had a ‘mini-breakdown’ when her marriage to Ian disintegrated after 13 years

She had three top ten bestsellers that year — and, suddenly, they could very much afford the gas bill.

So it came as a great surprise to many when the marriage disintegrated after 13 years.

Joanna had what she described as a ‘mini-breakdown’, leaving her, at times, ‘absolutely sodden’ with her own tears.

But, she said, it was a relief to admit she wasn’t happy.

At the time, she was told she was imagining it all; that it was her fault. But she knew she couldn’t stay.

One day, she just put the dogs in the car and left Gloucestershire for London. ‘I just needed to get the hell out,’ she said.

She and Curteis divorced in 2001. He married another woman that same year.

‘The men I was married to had grown up in the generation when their expectations socially were quite different from the way they are now. They behaved very much like the Prime Minister and dug their heels in and pretended that everything was OK. They resented being undermined’, she said.

‘There were tensions in the relationships because of that. But stepping away from them made me realise that I didn’t have to carry the can for all of the mistakes.’

Joanna in 1994. Her books sold millions of copies over more than 30 years

Joanna Trollope, announces the shortlist for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2012

Early on, her books were dubbed ‘Aga sagas’ because of their middle-class Home Counties domestic settings. 

Over a 30-plus year career, she tackled adoption, adultery, lesbianism, contested wills and post-traumatic stress.

Writer Fay Weldon once said that Trollope has ‘a gift for putting her finger on the problem of the times’. 

‘She likes to tackle the apparently easy, but really very difficult subjects — how parents get on with their children, and vice-versa — which many a lesser writer prefers to avoid.’

A constant theme in her books is couples finding love in mid-life, much to the horror of their adult children.

‘Whatever the modern zeitgeist problem is that nobody is talking about, I’m trying to get the conversation going. We’re English and very reticent culturally’, she said.

The Oxford graduate recalled being told by a ‘dismissive’ careers adviser in 1964 that ‘you could nurse or teach or she said you could sit the Civil Service exam’.

She added: ‘I remember my friend Jill saying, “I think we’re going to have to get married”. That’s not a million miles away from Jane Austen. Just think how far you girls have come – but not far enough.’

SOURCE PAGE

Consumer group Which? has spent the past year reviewing more than 2,000 products and has now whittled them down to its best 50

Savvy shoppers have been urged to check reviews before splashing out on big brands(Image: Which)

A smartwatch costing a fraction of Apple’s best-seller and a supermarket ketchup have been named among the best products of 2025.

Consumer group Which? spent many hours testing more than 2,000 products to see if they are any good, or worth the money. It has now published its best 50 products of the year, that stood out for all the right reasons. Some were judged to be genuinely the best, while others were ingenious, and some are “cheaper than they’ve any right to be”.

Top was the budget-friendly Amazfit Bip 6 smartwatch which, at under £63 in some places, is about just under a quarter of the cost of tech giant Apple’s cheapest version, but with “practically the same level of quality”. Which? hailed the exercise-tracking and GPS enabled gadget a “revelation”, and gave it five stars for ease of use and screen quality. It gushed: “It deserves to be seen, worn and championed because the Bip 6 exemplifies the ethos of high quality for less and every brand from every area should take note.”

Third in the list is Asda’s Classic Tomato Ketchup, praised for its “rich with tangy tomato and a well-balanced sweetness that doesn’t taste saccharine or artificial.” It scored the same as bestseller Heinz in a taste test but costs around 70% less per 100g.

Aldi washing up liquid costs a fraction of the big brands(Image: Which)

Just above Asda’s £1.39 ketchup – in second – is the most expensive product in the top 50, Skoda’s Elroq electric car, at more than £30,000. Which”? said of the SUV: “It’s cheap to run and cheaper to buy than most of its rivals, but nothing feels cheap about this breathtaking car. We were thunderstruck.”

Another budget product that did well against more expensive rivals was Aldi Magnum Premium Washing Up Liquid, after bagging the number 10 spot in the annual top 50 ranking. The discount supermarket’s offering, at 95p for a 500ml bottle, was given an overall score of 73%, just beating big selling rival Fairy Original, with 72%.

Which? called the Elroq Skoda’s ‘best cad yet’(Image: Getty)

The remainder of the top 50 includes everything from electrical appliances and the latest technology to a duvet, pushchair and chainsaw.

Harry Rose, editor of the Which? Magazine, said: “Each year, Which? experts rigorously assess real-world performance, reliability, energy efficiency and value for money on thousands of products – from everyday essentials to the latest innovations in tech. Whittling these items down is no easy task and only a small fraction earn the right to be on our list of the standout products of the year.”

He went on: “In 2025, one clear theme was that products that rose to the top were ones that genuinely enrich life at home. Whether it’s a great value TV that transforms film nights, a stylish turntable that does justice to your favourite albums, or a pizza oven that elevates home cooking to pizzeria level, these winners don’t just perform well – they reflect a growing desire for products that combine quality, convenience and joy.”

Top 10 from Which?

1. Amazfit Bip 6 smartwatch

2. New Skoda Elroq car

3. Asda Classic Tomato Ketchup

4. TCL 55C7K-UK TV

5. Google Pixel 9a mobile phone

‘Pixel 9A has a diamond-sharp, richly coloured display, impressive speed and astonishing battery life’(Image: Which)

6. Beko Pro AeroPerfect BBIE12401AMP built-in oven

Which? says the oven ‘bakes cakes Mary Berry would be proud of’(Image: Which)

7. Shark NZ780UKT vacuum cleaner

Which? said of the product: ‘Suction is so good that it’s the top-scoring corded vac on the market(Image: Which)

8. RSPB Skylark Binoculars 8×42

Which? said: ‘You could easily pay much more for this sort of quality’(Image: Which)

9. Microsoft Surface Laptop, Copilot+ PC, 13-inch (2025)

Microsoft’s laptop praised(Image: Which)

10. Aldi Magnum Premium Washing Up Liquid

SOURCE PAGE