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Donald Trump’s MAGA base – and the Republican party – are divided over his threats to wipe out an entire civilisation. In this episode, Justin, Anthony and Sarah unpack how we got from Trump’s annihilistic threats to the start of a two week ceasefire and new claims from the US president, that Iran will stop enriching uranium.

With both sides claiming victory, what are Donald Trump’s options now for ending the war, and how big a factor is keeping the support of his MAGA Republican base? With several prominent influencers and MAGA supporters speaking out against Trump, and the war, the Americast team look at who Trump is listening to in the Republican party, and what influences him.

We also look at the bigger issues around what happens now with the Strait of Hormuz and reports that Trump has also suggested the US could impose its own tolls on vessels in transit through the channel.

HOSTS:
• Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter
• Sarah Smith, North America Editor
• Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent

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This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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Americast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Americast also makes lots of other podcasts, including Newscast. If you enjoy Americast (and if you’re reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below.

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Cheryl Bartley was charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter after Robert Smith died in 2023.

A 48-year-old pastor has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter following the drowning of a man at a baptism ceremony in Birmingham. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Crown Prosecution (CPS) said the charge was linked to the death of 61-year-old Robert Smith, who drowned at an address in Erdington on October 8, 2023.

Cheryl Bartley was charged with one count of gross negligence manslaughter in relation to her role as a pastor during the baptism, the CPS said. Mr Smith, from Brixton in south London, died at the address on Slade Road.

Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the CPS’s Special Crime Division, said: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings. We have worked closely with West Midlands Police as it has carried out its investigation.

“We remind all concerned that criminal proceedings against this defendant are active and that she has the right to a fair trial. It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.”

Bartley, from Erdington, will appear at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on Thursday May 14, the CPS added.

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Fans of the family are excited for the second series of At Home With The Furys

Paris Fury has addressed the future of her family’s Netflix series as she provided a ‘good, the band and the ugly’ tease.

Premiering back in 2023, At Home With The Furys follows Paris, Tyson and their seven children. The series was praised for showing them in a candid manner.

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With the second series set to premiere on the streaming service on Sunday (April 12), viewers will see how Tyson is doing at home after retiring from the ring. Tyson famously retired after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024.

However, Tyson is coming out of retirement for the fifth time on Saturday night (April 10) when he squares up against Arslanbek Makhmudov in a huge heavyweight clash. Russian native Arslanbek has lost just two of his 23 fights.

The synopsis for the second season of At Home With The Furys teases: “At Home with the Furys returns for a second season, following heavyweight champion Tyson Fury as he attempts to give retirement another shot and embrace life beyond boxing in Morecambe Bay.

“Surrounded by wife Paris Fury, their seven children and his ever-opinionated dad John Fury, Tyson channels the competitive drive that made him a world champion into new ventures – from a family road trip to Monaco to investing in a racehorse and finding creative ways to stay busy.

“Meanwhile, Paris is determined not to be left out of the mayhem. As she explores new business opportunities, she’s also juggling life at the heart of the Fury household while planning two major family milestones: a spectacular sweet sixteenth celebration for their daughter and an elaborate renewal of her wedding vows with Tyson.”

On Wednesday (April 8), Paris appeared on ITV talk show This Morning to speak to presenters Emma Willis and Rylan Clark. During the exchange, Paris shared that a third series has already been confirmed.

“We’re already on number three… we’ve signed up… I really enjoyed the whole filming process of the first one, I enjoyed it, it was good fun, it’s nice to have all the memories documented,” she said.

According to Paris, the reason it took three years for more episodes was due to Tyson being committed to his boxing career. The cameras began rolling again when he decided to briefly step away from the sport.

“We started it again and again, I do love it, because the cameras don’t bother me. I don’t act differently if they’re there or not there… the good and the bad. If they’re there or not there, I just get on with it like normal.

“The aftermath is great, and to know that I’ve got it all stored, like home videos for the future, even though I’m sharing the home videos with millions of people,” she said.

Paris continued: “We don’t act any differently on camera, it is what it is. We couldn’t do airs and graces, there’s too many of us to pretend anyway! You’re going to get the good and the bad and the ugly.”

There are two types of people in this world: those who complain about rain and those who rejoice because it’s good for their garden. If keeping your lawn lush is your top priority, one of the best garden hoses will see you in good stead. Hosepipe bans allowing, of course (we’ve covered how to keep your garden hydrated if there is below).

Our tested edit includes expandable anti-kink hoses, retractable hoses and heavy-duty designs, ranging in price from under £20 to over £200. I’ve chosen long hoses to suit large gardens, as well as short ones for balconies and patios. There’s even a former nominee for the RHS Chelsea Sustainable Garden Product of the Year made from 65 per cent recycled materials.

You can find my full reviews below, followed by an FAQ section with advice from expert gardeners. But first, here’s a quick look at my top five:

The best garden hoses: At a glance

JUMP TO REVIEWS

How to choose the best garden hose

Camilla Basset-Smith, television horticulturalist on ITV’s Love Your Garden and RHS Plant Committee Member, advises “a 13mm or 15mm diameter bare hose is fine for filling a pond or watering large pots (or trees) in the ground and a thumb over the end can vary the pressure/spray.

“But many of us use our hose for watering baskets, pots, bedding, borders, vegetables and more and in which case a spray gun or nozzle attachment is needed. Expandable hoses are lightweight to use, so pick these if heavy lifting is an issue. And before you buy a hose, always check if connectors come fitted as part of the kit to attach the hose to your tap.”

How we test garden hoses

The singer appeared on Good Morning Britain to promote his new album

Peter Andre has claimed that his children Princess and Junior are ‘eclipsing’ his success as he teased his retirement.

The 53-year-old is best known for his classic 1990s pop anthem Mysterious Girl. He also topped the charts with his nostalgic bops Flava and I Feel You and released three albums by the turn of the century.

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Peter went on to win more fans when he appeared on the third series of ITV reality show I’m a Celebrity in 2004. Famously meeting Katie Price in the jungle, Peter went on to have multiple TV shows with his now ex-wife and even took part in the 2015 edition of Strictly Come Dancing.

During their time together, Peter and Katie welcomed Junior, 20, and 18-year-old Princess into the world. Peter went on to marry Emily MacDonagh in 2015, who he shares Millie, 12, Theo, nine, and two-year-old Belle with.

Recent years have seen Junior and Princess beginning to follow in their famous parents footsteps. The pair feature in the latter’s ITV2 reality series The Princess Diaries.

Recently releasing its second series after premiering last year, the y-on-the-wall show focuses on Princess as she builds a brand as an influencer, launches a fashion career and steps into adulthood.

On Wednesday (April 8), Peter appeared on Good Morning Britain to promote his upcoming album Legacy. Speaking to Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley, Peter was quizzed on what would happen if his children’s success started to ‘eclipse’ his own.

“Princess has done the second series [of her show] and she’s on the third. I want them to just go and spread their wings. I think they already are [eclipsing my success]. I love it. I love it!

“How nice is it that they’ve got the schedules? ‘Oh you’ve got to be there at this time…’ I’m still hungry for it, and that’s why I’m still going but there will come a point when I just don’t want to do it as much,” Peter said.

On top of making music, Peter has also enjoyed success the world of theatre, having appeared in the West End production of Grease. Additionally, he will star in Mamma Mia! The Party alongside X Factor winner Sam Bailey.

“I’m just so happy, I’m always smiling. I’m gonna go on tour, the Legacy Tour, which we haven’t announced. But the album, it comes out on the 10th. You can pre-order it now, so we’re gonna see how that goes and then announce the tour,” he said.

Meanwhile, Princess recently revealed in an episode of her reality show that she’s eager to follow her dad into the music industry. She said: “I love music, and I’ve been wanting to get into music for a while.

“I posted a few videos with dad when I was younger but when it comes to performing in front of a crowd or getting in the studio where there’s people, I just can’t.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered a county sheriff who seized more than half a million 2025 election ballots to pause his probe into election fraud allegations while the judges review the legal challenge against it.

The order came after California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat, last month asked the court to step in, arguing the sheriff has no authority over election materials. A voting rights group is also challenging the ballot seizure.

The dispute started earlier this year and escalated last month when Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seized 1,000 boxes of election materials to investigate a complaint from a local citizens group about the ballot count from a November 2025 special election on redistricting. Local election officials told the county Board of Supervisors that the complaint was unfounded. After Bonta ordered Bianco to halt his probe, the sheriff seized another 426 boxes of ballots.

Bianco and his office “are hereby ordered to pause the investigation into the November 2025 special election and preserve all seized items,” the order reads.

Bonta said the Wednesday order is essential to stop the sheriff’s probe.

“What the Sheriff says and what he does are often two different things,” Bonta said in a statement. “Today’s decision by the California Supreme Court reins in the destabilizing actions of a rogue Sheriff, prohibiting him from continuing this investigation while our litigation continues.”

Bianco’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bianco is also one of two prominent Republican gubernatorial candidates in the state. He previously defended his investigation, noting it was approved by a county judge. The sheriff last week said he’s paused the probe because of mounting legal challenges.

The ballot investigation came as President Donald Trump has repeatedly disputed the results of the 2020 election, citing unsubstantiated instances of fraud. His administration recently seized ballots and other documents from an election office in Georgia. Some Republicans have mirrored Trump’s rhetoric on voting in their states.

CambridgeshireLive readers share strong views on plans to link Cambridge, Oxford, Bedford and Milton Keynes by rail, with concerns over costs, delays and local impact

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CambridgeshireLive readers have been sharing strong views on the latest plans to link Oxford, Bedford and Cambridge by rail. The comments below were posted under our earlier report. They show worries about cost, delivery, and local impact. Some ask for different priorities closer to home.

The latest details on a “once-in-a-generation” project to link Cambridge, Oxford, Milton Keynes, and Bedford have been revealed. East West Railway Company (EWR Co) has announced details of its last route-wide consultation on the latest designs for the scheme.

East West Rail plans to construct a railway line between Oxford and Cambridge. Proposals include upgrading an existing section of railway between Oxford and Bicester, bringing back a section of railway between Bicester and Bletchley, and building brand new railway infrastructure between Bedford and Cambridge.

EWR Co has confirmed that an eight-week consultation will run from April 14 to June 9. Communities along the route will be able to have their say on the proposals before a Development Consent Order is submitted in 2027.

One reader questioned who would benefit. Weneedqueenmeghan comments: “It’s a private railway for the university. Nobody else will use it. They should pay for it themselves.”

Camssurvivor says: “I travelled on the last train from Bletchley to Cambridge nearly 60 years ago. If the line wasn’t considered financially viable and essential then, it certainly isn’t now. Governments have thrown money around like water.”

Feelgood66 asks: “How many people have looked at what is being proposed, the actual plans, road closures, permanent. Where’s the benefit to the villages? There is none. Just years of pollution to look forward to. Destruction of the countryside.”

Calumen Nomen quotes: “‘Communities along the route will have an opportunity to have their say on the plans.’ Hilarious. Communities along the route have been vociferous in their condemnation of this eye-wateringly expensive white elephant for years now. In particular, the decision to build the country’s largest new town and then route a new (and their only) railway fifteen miles due south is black-belt mindlessness. We closed the old varsity line because no one used it. We have just cancelled half of HS2 because of its cost and general pointlessness. And yet this hapless and untalented administration carries on, like a super-tanker with a tree-sloth at the helm.”

Windypants simply says: “Delusional project.”

While over on our Facebook page, John M comments: “They’ve held this three or four times. The line from Oxford to Bletchley finished a year ago, but no trains yet as we can’t agree who shuts the doors on trains. There are no plans to have stations in local communities between Cambridge and Bedford, only two, one at Cambourne and one in a new unbuilt town.”

Alan W says: “All the time, as the months go by, the price increases by millions. I wonder, if they think they have endless meetings, whether this is a distraction from the fact that there may not be simply any money to pay for the section to Cambridge.”

Silvia KT writes: “This has been in the pipeline for a few years, and still nothing has been done about the Cambridge to Bedford bit, and then the whole thing from Cambridge to Oxford. They have held lots of meetings, but still no proposed route from Cambridge to Bedford or from Cambridge to Oxford.”

Carole CB feels: “Better links to Fulbourn would be a better idea.”

While Jeremy B adds: “Wish they could reconnect Huntington to Cambridge via train.”

Scott Peacock comments: “Another consultant meeting. You will get the same whining nimby’s objecting to the railway. Just look at the mess they made of the countryside when constructing the extension of the A428 near St Neots. You can’t make an omelette without the eggs.”

Where do you believe urgently needs a rail connection with Cambridge? Comment below or HERE to join in the conversation.

Armagh host rivals Tyrone in the Ulster SFC preliminary round as the 2026 Championship season begins

Championship season is finally upon us as the 2026 edition gets under way this weekend with a handful of cracking first round contests.

The pick of the games from the opening weekend is, undoubtedly, the huge Ulster derby clash between old foes Armagh and Tyrone.

The Blackwater rivals are both recent winners of the Sam Maguire Cup with the last of Tyrone’s four All-Ireland titles coming in 2021 while the Orchard men won their second back in 2024.

Kieran McGeeney’s men go into this preliminary round contest as strong favourites, however, after an underwhelming League campaign from the Red Hands with Malachy O’Rourke’s side struggling for form in Division Two.

The Ulster preliminary round is on Sunday afternoon at 4.15pm at the Box-It Athletic Grounds with RTÉ and BBC showing live coverage of the game.

The first live football game of the weekend comes from Connacht as Mayo travel to Ruislip to take on London on Saturday (2.30pm) with that game being streamed via GAA Plus.

On Sunday night, GAA Plus will also show live coverage of New York’s clash with Roscommon live from Gaelic Park in the Bronx at 8pm.

The finals of the Lidl Ladies Football Leagues also take place this weekend with all four finals being shown by TG4.

The Division Two final between Cavan and Donegal in Clones is at 3pm while the Division One decider between Cork and Galway at the TUS Gaelic Grounds is at 5pm – both games at live on TG4.

The Division Three and Four finals are on TG4’s YouTube channel.

The Camogie League finals are on Sunday with RTÉ2 covering the Division 1B final between Clare and Dublin at 12.15pm before the Division 1A final between Waterford and Galway at 2.15pm.

The Division 2A and 3A finals are also live on the Camogie Association’s YouTube channel.

Here’s a full list of which games are being shown live this weekend. . .

Saturday, April 11

Connacht SFC quarter-final

London v Mayo (Ruislip, 2.30pm, live on GAA Plus)

Lidl Ladies Football League

Division Three final

Antrim v Louth (Crossmaglen, 1pm, live on Spórt TG4 YouTube)

Division Two final

Cavan v Donegal (Clones, 3pm, Live on TG4)

Division One final

Cork v Galway (TUS Gaelic Grounds, 5pm, Live on TG4)

Centra Camogie League

Division 3A final

Armagh v Roscommon (Abbotstown, 2pm, Live on the Camogie Association’s YouTube channel)

Division 2A Final

Kerry v Meath (Banagher, 3.30pm, Live on the Camogie Association’s YouTube channel)

Sunday, April 12

Centra Camogie League

Division 1B final

Clare v Dublin (UPMC Nowlan Park, 12.15pm, live on RTÉ2)

Division 1A final

Waterford v Galway (UPMC Nowlan Park, 2.15pm, live on RTÉ2)

Lidl Ladies Football League

Division Four final

Carlow v Leitrim (Birr, 2pm, Live on Spórt TG4 YouTube)

Ulster SFC preliminary round

Armagh v Tyrone (Box-It Athletic Grounds, 4.15pm, live on RTÉ2 and BBC Sport NI)

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Roku has quietly added six free channels to its streaming platform.

The Roku Channel, which automatically comes with the purchase of any Roku TV or device, brings over 500 free live channels to customers without requiring any subscription fees.

After the most recent update launched Tuesday, viewers now have access to six new ad-supported options across a variety of genres, from Westerns to sitcoms to competition shows.Rawhide, The Beverly Hillbillies, Ink Master, Tosh.0, MTV en Español and Westerns are all available to watch now on the Roku Channel with commercial breaks.

Rawhide is an American Western TV series that aired from 1959 to 1965, starring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood. The show’s eight seasons will air on a loop available to channel 313 on The Roku Channel.

Viewers can get even more Western content on channel 6036, which is dedicated entirely to the classic films and series in the genre.

In another genre, the iconic sixties sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies is now playing across channel 314. The show, which ran in both black-and-white and color throughout its nine seasons, followed the fictional Clampett family who move to Beverly Hills after striking oil and becoming millionaires.

Over on channel 978, Spanish-speaking audiences can tune in to MTV en Español, which shows music videos, interviews and reality shows in Spanish.

Channel 624 features the long-running tattoo reality show Ink Master, in which tattoo artists compete against each other in design challenges.

Finally, anyone in the mood for a laugh can tune in to channel 815 to watch reruns of Comedy Central’s satirical show Tosh.0.

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In a format mimicking traditional television broadcasting, each of the platform’s channels stream continuously — allowing viewers to watch scheduled content without having to pick specific series or episodes.

The additions are just the latest in the platform’s massive content push this year. Roku’s ad-based strategy is to increase their free viewing options to bring in more engagement.

Last month, Roku debuted 16 new free channels. The platform also announced it was partnering with Amazon Prime to create Howdy, a new subscription service, for Prime Video subscribers.

The Laguna Beach reunion special will also air exclusively on the platform April 10, reuniting stars Lauren Conrad, Kristin Cavallari and Stephen Conrad, 20 years after the teen drama premiered.

The platform is also set to stream The Masters 2026 and the upcoming Paw Patrol special after joining in on the live coverage of Nasa’s Artemis II mission earlier this week.

As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

A 36-year-old man has been charged with 12 offences after a car was deliberately rammed into a house in Derry on Tuesday.

Police received a report of an ongoing incident in the Altcar Park area of Derry at around 2.40am on Tuesday, April 7. On arrival at the scene, officers found “a man armed with an axe” who was “deliberately driving a vehicle into a residential property.”

The four occupants of the property were shaken by the ordeal, but are otherwise uninjured. Police discharged an attenuating energy projectile (AEP), which struck the perpetrator in the leg, to mitigate the risk to the public and the man himself.

A PSNI spokesperson said: “A 36-year-old man arrested following an incident in Altcar Park in Derry/Londonderry on Tuesday, 7th April has been charged to appear before Londonderry Magistrates’ Court tomorrow, Thursday 9th April.

“He is charged with 12 offences – aggravated burglary, two counts of possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, four counts of threatening or abusive behaviour, threats to kill, and criminal damage. He has also been charged with dangerous driving, driving when unfit through drink or drugs, and interference with vehicles.“As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.”

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