BELZONI, Miss. (AP) — With another wave of dangerous cold heading for the U.S. South on Friday, experts say the risk of hypothermia heightens for people in parts of Mississippi and Tennessee who are entering their sixth day trapped at home without power in subfreezing temperatures.
“The longer you’re exposed to the cold, the worse it is,” said Dr. Hans House, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Iowa. “The body can handle cold temperatures briefly very well, but the prolonged exposure is a problem.”
The National Weather Service said arctic air moving into the Southeast will cause already frigid temperatures to plummet into the teens (minus 10 degrees Celsius) on Friday night in cities like Nashville, where more than 79,000 homes and businesses still lacked power nearly a week after a massive storm dumped snow and ice across the eastern U.S.
People who are more vulnerable — the elderly, infants and those with underlying health conditions — may have started experiencing hypothermia symptoms within hours of being exposed to the frigid temperatures, explained Dr. Zheng Ben Ma, medical director of the University of Washington Medical Center’s northwest emergency department. That includes everything from exhaustion to slurred speech and memory loss.
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But almost a week in and the situation is nearing a turning point, he explained: Younger people who are generally healthy could potentially begin to fall victim to these symptoms as well.
“Once you get into days six, seven, upwards of 10, then even a healthy, resilient person will be more predisposed to experiencing some of those deleterious effects of the cold temperature,” he said.
Hundreds of National Guard troops mobilized Thursday in Mississippi and Tennessee to clear debris and assist people stranded in cars or stuck at homes.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said Guard troops were delivering meals, blankets and other supplies by truck and helicopter. And in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee said crews had distributed more than 600 units of warming supplies and over 2,200 gallons (8,328 liters) of gas and diesel.
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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said that they have the most line workers, crews and vegetation support workers in the city utility’s history as they work to get electricity back for everyone.
But the exact timeline for power to be restored, especially in more rural areas, remains unclear.
At least 85 people have died in areas affected by bitter cold from Texas to New Jersey. Roughly half the deaths were reported in Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana. While some deaths have been attributed to hypothermia, others are suspected to be related to carbon monoxide exposure.
Dr. Abhi Mehrotra, an emergency medicine physician with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said it’s important to make sure heat sources used indoors, including generators, are not emitting carbon monoxide, which could be deadly.
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More than 230,000 homes and businesses were without electricity Thursday night, according to the outage tracking website poweroutage.us. The vast majority were in Mississippi and Tennessee, with roughly 87,000 each.
Mississippi officials say it’s the state’s worst winter storm since 1994. About 80 warming centers were opened across the state, known as one of the nation’s poorest.
Forecasters say the subfreezing weather will persist in the eastern U.S. into February and there’s high chance of heavy snow in the Carolinas, Virginia and northeast Georgia this weekend, possibly up to a foot (30 centimeters) in parts of North Carolina. Snow is also possible along the East Coast from Maryland to Maine.
The National Weather Service said there was a chance of freezing rain Thursday night in parts of Mississippi, and light snow showers could hit Nashville overnight Friday. Forecasters said the extreme cold and subzero wind chills (minus 18 C) represented the greatest danger.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanawala from Atlanta. Associated Press writers Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Jonathan Mattise and Travis Loller in Nashville, Tennessee; Sarah Brumfield in Washington; Devi Shastri in Milwaukee and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
The Lloyd Mullaney previously left the ITV jungle after just four days
Former Coronation Street star Craig Charles has revealed why he couldn’t watch I’m A Celebrity after his brother’s death.
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Known for playing Lloyd Mullaney on the ITV soap from 2005 until 2015, as well as starring in Red Dwarf as Dave Lister, the actor and DJ appeared on the Ant and Dec reality series back in 2014. However, he only stayed in the Australian jungle for four days.
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Craig had to go back home to the UK after he was informed that his brother Dean had suffered a fatal heart attack. Dean was just 52-years-old when he lost his life.
However, Craig is now taking part in I’m A Celebrity All Stars. Serving as an All Stars version of the series, he’s taking part with the likes of his former Coronation Street colleague Beverley Callard, TOWIE’s Gemma Collins and football legend Harry Redknapp.
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Viewers on Monday night (April 6), saw Craig and Gemma introduced as the season’s first late entries. Speaking to ITV, Craig reflected on how Dean’s passing affected how he viewed the programme.
“The death of my brother, Dean, changed my life the last time I was on I’m A Celebrity… I was 50 at the time, my brother was 52, I had been in Corrie for ten years and I came in to do the jungle, then Dean passed away.
“It made me re-evaluate things. I just thought if that had happened to me, would I be happy with what I’d achieved? I came up with the answer and it was ‘no’. I had been in Corrie for ten years and I felt in a rut.
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“I was really enjoying my time in the Australian jungle and it got sadly cut short. I knew I wanted to have some new adventures after that. “But since I left, there have been years of ‘What ifs?’ It’s nice to put that to bed,” he said.
Craig continued: “At first, I’m A Celebrity… felt bittersweet after I’d left,” he admits. “And in the first few years I couldn’t watch the show. It made me sad and it opened a world of loss.
“Every year it came around, I would feel a sense of loss and a feeling of what might have been – both for my brother and for me. He was only 52 and he would have been 63 now, which is no age.
“But that feeling has decreased over the years, and the last few years I have been able to watch it again without feeling the pain and the grief. And so, when this came round, it was at the right time. I feel strong and confident enough to face it again and have a laugh!”
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Asked if Dean were still alive today, would he like to make him proud by going into the jungle again, Craig noted that his brother did get to see him in the jungle before he died.
“I found out when I got back for the funeral that after the first episode, he turned to his wife and said: ‘he is going to win that’. But sadly, Dean never woke up and so hopefully I will make him proud,” she stated.
ITV doctor has shared a lesser-known menopause symptom that can occur when driving
Fiona Callingham Lifestyle writer
03:00, 07 Apr 2026
A GP has revealed a little-known symptom that can emerge while driving and impacts “lots of women”. The expert says this can happen during perimenopause or menopause.
Menopause is a natural phase of life that typically affects women aged between 45 and 55. It happens when hormone levels in the body drop to a level where periods cease.
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Because of these hormonal shifts, the body can go through a variety of symptoms that can affect both physical and mental wellbeing. Most people are familiar with some of the more widespread effects, including hot flushes, mood swings, and brain fog.
However, Doctor Amir Khan, who is widely recognised for his appearances on ITV, highlighted a possible symptom you might not be aware of. In a video shared on his Instagram page, Dr Amir cautioned that women may begin to feel more anxious when in a vehicle.
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He said: “Earlier today I was told by my sister, I was just chatting to her while I was driving, and she told me that she’s suddenly become really anxious when she gets into cars. Either when she’s driving or when she’s a passenger in the car, and that’s when it’s worse actually, when her husband or her kids are driving her somewhere.
“And she said she has to like hold on really tight and she comments on their driving and it’s not like her, it’s not like her at all. She actually used to be a bit of a girl racer, I remember when she was younger she was racing up and down the streets of Bradford.”
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Dr Amir noted that this is actually “really common”, yet it’s not something people “talk about it enough”. He went on to say: “Anyway, I told her driving anxiety is really common around the perimenopause and menopause. Really common, and actually we don’t talk about it enough. And I think her hearing that and normalising it really helped her.”
Dr Amir went on to outline why this phenomenon can happen. “Because when oestrogen levels drop, remember chemicals in your brain are linked to oestrogen, so when oestrogen levels drop and progesterone levels drop as well, serotonin, your happy brain chemical goes down.
“GABA, that’s the big one, GABA, which is your calming brain cushion is taken away. And suddenly things that didn’t feel like a threat before suddenly feel really threatening and your brain goes into fight or flight mode.
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“So that’s what’s happening to her and that’s what happens to lots of women during the peri and menopause and they don’t even know why. So that kind of driving anxiety is linked to low oestrogen, progesterone causing low serotonin, and GABA in your brain and it’s completely normal.”
Dr Amir outlined several approaches that might ease this symptom. He said: “So knowing that might help, HRT [hormone replacement therapy] might help, cognitive behavioural therapy might help, breathing exercises, grounding exercises can help as well but just knowing you’re not alone.”
Other symptoms
As listed by the NHS website, “common” symptoms of perimenopause and menopause can include:
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Changes to your mood, like low mood, anxiety, mood swings and low self-esteem
Problems with memory or concentration (brain fog)
Hot flushes, when you have sudden feelings of hot or cold in your face, neck and chest which can make you dizzy
Difficulty sleeping, which may be a result of night sweats and make you feel tired and irritable during the day
Palpitations, when your heartbeats suddenly become more noticeable
Headaches and migraines that are worse than usual
Muscle aches and joint pains
Changed body shape and weight gain
Skin changes including dry and itchy skin
Reduced sex drive
Vaginal dryness and pain, itching or discomfort during sex
Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs)
Sensitive teeth, painful gums or other mouth problems
Symptoms can last for months or years. The NHS says you should see a GP or nurse if you think you have perimenopause or menopause symptoms.
Apollo astronaut sends inspirational message to Artemis crew on journey to moon
NASA’s Artemis II moon mission has safely circled the moon, making history as it reached the farthest point any human being has ever been from Earth.
“Houston, Integrity, comm check,” said mission specialist Christina Koch as she re-established communications with Mission Control after a 41-minute blackout. “It is so great to hear from Earth again!”
In the final minutes before the blackout began, pilot Victor Glover cited the teachings of Jesus Christ as he delivered a message of “love” to the people of Earth.
“To all of you down there on Earth and around Earth, we love you from the moon,” he said.
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The mission marks NASA astronauts’ first close encounter with the moon in over 50 years, carrying commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen a maximum of 252,760 miles away from Earth.
In this image from video provided by NASA, the Moon is seen from a camera outside the Orion Spacecraft as the Artemis II astronauts acknowledge the Apollo 13 astronauts as the crew and spacecraft surpass the farthest distance ever travelled by humans from Earth (AP)
It will take the astronauts four days to get back, with a splashdown in the Pacific set to conclude their test flight on Friday.
What do you do after witnessing the indescribable? For Artemis II, it’s all been planned out in advance.
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Having completed their lunar fly-by and observations, the Integrity crew are now “cleaning up” their notes and uploading the photos from their camera S.D. cards to send to NASA.
Overnight, NASA’s science team will beaver away going over all the data. When the astronauts wake up in the morning, they’ll hold a conference with the scientists to go over their personal experiences while the memories are still fresh.
After that, it’s all meetings. There will be a public affairs event, a private health check-in with NASA’s medical team, and a flight director conference.
Finally the crew will undertake their “hygiene activities” and eat their dinner before sleeping once again.
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Io Dodds7 April 2026 03:05
No words
Victor Glover is audibly awed as he struggles to describe what he is seeing during the solar eclipse.
“If you’ve ever seen the spotlight off the top of the Luxor at night in Las Vegas, this looks like what that wants to be when it grows up,” he says at one point.
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Later, he requests that Mission Control add “about 20 new superlatives” to the English language, so that he has words to capture it.
Io Dodds7 April 2026 02:43
Video: An ‘indescribable’ solar eclipse
Here’s an incredible video from NASA of the solar eclipse, giving a tiny sense of what the Artemis II crew witnessed as the sun dipped behind the moon.
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But it’s clear that video can’t hold a candle to what the astronauts are actually seeing as they fly through intense darkness.
“I know this observation won’t be of any scientific value, but I’m really glad we launched on April 1. Because humans probably have not evolved to see what we’re seeing,” says pilot Victor Glover said.
“Truly hard to describe. It is amazing… indescribable.”
Glover says the crew have eliminated every possible light source inside the cabin, turning all their screens down as low as they will go to avoid affecting their view of the stars and planets.
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“No matter how long we look at this, our brains are not processing this image in front of them,” he says.
“It is absolutely spectacular, surreal, there’s no adjectives. I’m going to need to invent some new ones to describe what we’re looking at out this window.”
Io Dodds7 April 2026 02:18
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‘Our scientists are jumping up and down’
Integrity has just reestablished bidirectional contact with Houston. And what they’re telling us has got NASA literally dancing on the live stream.
The Artemis II crew has spent the last half hour viewing the eclipse through special goggles, and what they saw was apparently stunning.
“This continues to be unreal,” said pilot Victor Glover as he observed the sun’s corona shining around the edges of the moon. “Wow. It’s amazing.”
Astronauts said they saw the surface of the moon illuminated by “Earthshine” — the sun’s light reflecting off our planet — and vivid views of stars and planets.
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“The entire moon is lit-up. It’s glowing behind the entire moon,” said mission specialist Jeremy Hansen. “I thought it would look dark against the black sky or deep space, but the sun is lighting up the entire limb [edge] of the moon. You can see the entire perimeter of it.
The crew also said they saw at least five flashes of meteors impacting the moon — something that Mission Control said made members of its science team “jump up and down, literally”.
On the live stream, one person in the control room could be seen dancing joyfully as Hansen described his observations.
“Even now, with the sun far behind the moon, you can still make up little bit of photography right around the entire limn, just bumps.”
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Io Dodds7 April 2026 02:11
Nutella enjoys being in lunar spotlight
A jar of Nutella spread was seen floating through the capsule during day five of the Artemis mission, and the brand was quick to promote itself being in space.
Graeme Massie7 April 2026 01:59
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‘Sun has gone behind the moon’
Solar eclipse from the moon (NASA/ YouTube)
Graeme Massie7 April 2026 01:40
Crew now observing a unique solar eclipse
It is only visible to the crew on the spacecraft and no one on Earth!
Graeme Massie7 April 2026 01:36
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But when do we land?
For those just joining us, there won’t be any moon landing today. That mission is still in the future.
Its roughly ten-day mission has involved a period in Earth orbit to do systems checks, a powerful “trans-lunar injection” engine burn to catapult the Integrity capsule towards the moon, and a “lunar fly-by” that uses the moon’s gravity to slingshot Integrity round Earth’s largest satellite and back towards home.
“We’ll get eyes on the moon, kind of map it out and then continue to go back in force,” flight director Judd Frielin said before the mission.
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During the flyby, the astronauts split into pairs and took turns capturing the lunar views out their windows with cameras. They’d studied and practiced extensively beforehand to know what to look out for.
One highlight of the four-day return trip will be Integrity’s conversation with the International Space Station, where NASA currently has five astronauts.
It’s the first time ever that a moon crew has colleagues in space at the same time, so NASA can’t pass up the opportunity for a cosmic chitchat.
Next year’s Artemis III won’t be landing on the moon either. Its job, as currently planned, is to conduct further tests — including docking with the lunar lander, which will be launched into lunar orbit beforehand.
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Io Dodds7 April 2026 01:33
What’s next for Artemis II?
With the moon in their rear-view mirror, the Artemis II astronauts are now enjoying some well-earned downtime.
Integrity is now oriented away from the moon, meaning there are no more photo opportunities for a little while.
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It’s currently around 4,600 miles away from the moon, and around 252,000 miles from earth — the former decreasing, and the latter increasing, every moment.
The spacecraft is also taking the opportunity to charge its batteries from its on-board solar panels. We’re in a “forward link loss of signal” right now, meaning Integrity can’t hear Earth but we can hear them.
Soon, the crew will witness something never seen before by any human being: a solar eclipse as seen from the moon.
Io Dodds7 April 2026 01:11
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A small celebration ritual — and ‘toilet maintenance’
Roughly 250,000 miles away from Earth, a little ritual has just taken place to mark Integrity’s return from the dark side of the moon.
On the comms a few minutes ago, Christina Koch said all crew members had now flipped over their mission patches, which are double sided.
Until now, the patches were showing side A: the moon massive in the foreground, the Earth far away in the background.’
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But now they’ve been flipped to side B, showing the Earth in the foreground and the moon beyond it. It’s a symbol that the moon is now behind them.
And now, having earlier been in a state of “moon joy”, it’s back to normality. Maintenance checks must be done, including a “a shortened toilet maintenance” routine.
Steve Dyson, landlord of The New Inn in Selby, was presented with a dedicated service award by Heineken-owned Star Pubs to celebrate more than 20 years’ service, 12 of which have been spent running the historic pub with his partner Alison and their daughters.
Before entering hospitality, Steve’s life was full of twists and turns. He started out racing bikes and spent several years as part of a travelling stunt show, even appearing on BBC1’s Late Late Breakfast Show.
Former motorbike stuntman Steve Dyson in action in the Kamikaze Stunt Show in 1986 (Image: DAVID HARRISON)
Former motorbike stuntman Steve Dyson in action in the Kamikaze Stunt Show in 1986 (Image: DAVID HARRISON)
From there he went on to run a motorbike shop, followed by a move into property development.
Fate eventually steered him towards pubs when a repossessed property he’d bought in Barnby on Marsh failed to get planning permission for conversion into homes.
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A fall from a roof then made him step back and reassess his future. Rather than sell up, he decided to run the pub himself – an unexpected decision that sparked a lifelong love affair with the trade. Bitten by the bug, at one point he built up a portfolio of ten pubs.
Today, he operates both The New Inn in Selby and The New Inn in Barlby, a village pub that was facing closure when his daughters persuaded him to take it on ten years ago.
The New Inn in Selby (Image: Supplied)
Steve said: “I can’t imagine not running a pub.
“I have had very hard and very good times in the pub business.
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“Selby has seen 12 pubs close since Covid with five closing since Christmas, so we’re doing something right.
“You can’t have a successful pub without great customers.
“So, thank you to all our regulars for your support over the years and thank you also to Alison and our daughters, without whose help The New Inn wouldn’t be what it is today.
“For those worried about its future, you can rest assured I am here for the duration.
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“I have no intention of retiring anytime soon. We’ll be continuing with our karaoke and disco for which we’re renowned.”
Steve Dyson (left) celebrates his achievement (Image: Supplied)
Rachel Greenley, business development manager at Star Pubs, said: “Steve has created the go-to pub in Selby.
“It’s somewhere where people of all ages come in to chat and socialise.
“Although it’s Steve’s dedicated service award, knowing Steve, I am sure it is one he wants to share with Alison and his wider family, and of course his many regulars.
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“So, congratulations to Steve and to all on creating a unique thriving institution and preserving Selby’s only independently run pub.”
As Artemis II astronauts travelled behind the Moon, they lost contact with Earth for about 40 minutes.
The communications blackout had been expected as the spacecraft signals were blocked by the Moon. Nasa says the crew flew to the furthest point from Earth during the blackout at 252,756 miles (406,771km).
Once contact was regained, astronaut Christina Koch said: “It is so great to hear from Earth again.”
On the night in question, he had been spiked by Nicola Mitchell (Laura Doddington), who was acting on behalf of Harry (Elijah Hollway), hellbent on revenge for Ravi’s role in her son’s traumatic hostage ordeal and subsequent relapse last year.
Ravi was also working as an informant for the police in order to stay out of prison, which added an extra layer of stress – especially when drug dealer Mark Fowler (Stephen Aaron-Sipple) worked out that he was the informant.
Priya therefore managed to convince Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) to put an end to Ravi’s informing. Upset that she did so, Ravi convinced suspicious Mark to follow him to the woods, where he admitted that he was the informant – and Mark retaliated with violence.
Priya has been very worried about Ravi in recent months (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
As Priya cleaned up his wounds, she discovered that he’d been self-harming and urged him to get help.
It’s been a few weeks since we last saw the characters but they’re back on our screens next week as Ravi decides to help Vinny (Shiv Jalota) with some manual labour at the shop. Harry sees this and finds it amusing, proceeding to mock Ravi.
Nugget, meanwhile, is left devastated to learn that someone filmed him having a seizure and posted it online.
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Ravi is helping Vinny (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Priya does her best to defuse the situation but Ravi vows to sort it, leaving her worried. The following day, her concerns continue as it’s clear that Ravi hasn’t slept.
Nugget puts two and two together, realising Will Mitchell is the one who filmed him and thus he confronts him on the Square – as a despondent Ravi watches on.
Honey and Billy Mitchell (Emma Barton and Perry Fenwick) get involved, taking Nugget and Will to the cafe to discuss further, but when Ravi doesn’t intervene, Nugget storms off.
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Suki speaks to Priya about Ravi and makes an offer (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Later, Suki is alerted to Ravi’s worsening state and thus heads to speak to Priya, who reveals everything. Taken aback, Suki offers to pay for private therapy to help – but Ravi is upset to realise that Suki knows what he’s been going through.
Will he accept her offer?
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One or stream from 6am on BBC iPlayer.
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Santander will shut 40 high street branches by end of May 2026 with 291 jobs at risk as customers shift to digital banking
Santander is set to shut dozens of its high street branches across the UK before the end of May. The Spanish banking giant announced at the beginning of the year that 44 of its locations nationwide would close, with four already shutting in January.
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The bank confirmed that an additional 40 branches would cease operations by May’s end, attributing the decision to customers increasingly turning to online services. The company revealed that 96% of customer transactions are now conducted through digital channels.
The lender also disclosed that 291 positions were under threat as a consequence of these closures. This latest round follows less than 12 months after Santander revealed in March 2025 that it would shut 95 branches, impacting 750 staff members.
Last July, Mike Regnier, who was then Santander’s UK chief executive, revealed that approximately 2,000 jobs had been cut in the previous year as part of the bank’s reorganisation. At that time, he indicated that additional redundancies were “might well be” probable.
Santander has committed that branches facing closure will be replaced by “community bankers” operating through Santander Local outlets or shared banking hubs. The bank maintains this arrangement will ensure continued access to services for customers in communities affected by the shutdowns, reports the Mirror.
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The wave of closures will commence by April 2026’s end, with additional sites following in May. The complete list of affected branches in this latest round, along with their closure dates, is detailed below.
She’s innocent, but things have got so bad that Moira decides to plead guilty just to get it over and done with, serve her time and get back to her sons sooner. This is bad news for everyone as it would guarantee her an extended prison stay on a lie.
Robert is feeling guilty as he’s the reason Moira is in prison in the first place. He decides he needs to do something, without incriminating himself if possible, and visits Bear (Joshua Richards) in prison to lean on him to provide some evidence that would free her.
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‘He goes to Bear because he’s his absolute last chance, race against the clock,’ Robert star Ryan Hawley said. ‘Robert’s going to have to turn himself in and confess to all the things that he’s done by planting the evidence to prevent Moira from getting a really long sentence and being away from her family and her kids and all her family suffering.’
Is Moira’s prison nightmare finally set to end? (Picture: ITV/Mark Bruce/Shutterstock)
Aaron (Danny Miller) is also searching for evidence as he can see the toll all of this is taking on his best mate Mack (Lawrence Robb).
When Paddy (Dominic Brunt) finds out Robert had a go at Bear he loses it, but they’re interrupted by Sam Dingle (James Hooton), who reveals Kyle has done a runner.
The entire village goes on the search, but it’s Robert who finds him, and his guilt is piqued when the young lad confesses that he overheard that his mum is pleading guilty and he can’t cope with the idea of losing her.
Robert makes a massive decision – he needs to come clean.
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Ryan added: ‘[Robert’s] made the decision that he’s going to have to go to prison, or at least, it’s very, very probable that he will go to prison, to prevent Moira from going to prison.’
It’s a race against time to rescue Moira – but can Robert, Aaron, Paddy and Mack pull it off? (Picture: ITV)
Problem is, Moira has already decided to plead guilty, so there is a race against the clock to stop her. Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) tries to convince her but he has no luck. But then Bear comes up trumps and gives Robert something that might save both him and Moira – Bear reveals he hid a number plate for Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) and it’s in a storage container.
Aaron and Robert race to the storage facility and are overwhelmed with the number of containers they find, but then Marlon remembers he found a key at Celia’s. Have they finally cracked the case, and can they get the information back to Moira before she appears in court?
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The war between the Tates and the Sugdens is far from over (Picture: ITV)
Emmerdale star Ryan Hawley couldn’t be more excited to be back at the helm of the legendary Sugden clan, the show’s original family, as it is thrust into a brand new chapter.
Now, he’s become the village pariah after moving into Butler’s Farm when Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) succeeded in his mission to evict the Dingles from the land.
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But despite the cold reception from the locals, Robert still had the support of Aaron, who resolved to be by his side as they take the reins of Butlers, renaming the land to Emmerdale Farm to honour the Sugden legacy.
It’s a huge changing-of-the-guard moment for the ITV soap as the Sugdens come home, and star Ryan said he felt ‘honoured’ to be at the centre of it.
‘It feels like the show is building a foundation for the Sugden family for hopefully when Victoria returns,’ he said.
‘It does feel like there are these tribes that are emerging, which is nice, because there’ll be a lot of conflict and siding with people. It’s an exciting time to be back at the show. We’re very blessed that my personal involvement is as a legacy family.
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‘The Sugdens getting to have Emmerdale farm is really cool. A few people have mentioned to me, “That’s great, isn’t it?”. I do feel very, very honoured and blessed to have that.
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‘I actually watched an episode from the 80s, it was before Robert was born, and it was when Jack and Sarah were there and it was really quite cool. I don’t know how to describe it. To look at the show then and look at it now, and see that continuity and be a part of that. It’s great.’
Robert’s dream of continuing his family’s legacy, however, has come with a number of drawbacks, largely due to Joe and his manipulative ways as the Home Farm schemer has proven time and again that – even when you share a common goal – you simply cannot trust him.
Not only did he use Robert’s desire to get back into the farming game to cause trouble with the Dingles, thus driving a wedge between the clan, but he also blackmailed Robert after he took the reins of the land.
‘It’s just compounding misery for him,’ said Ryan of Joe’s involvement. ‘This dream of the farm but Joe is just constantly dangling the carrot and moving it away and toying with him and making his life more difficult and enjoying seeing Robert struggle. It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be, the farming life.’
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Robert also feels guilty for planting the ID cards up at Butlers at Joe’s request – an action which ultimately led to Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) being arrested on human trafficking charges.
Robert is determined to honour his family legacy, restoring the Emmerdale Farm name (Picture: ITV)
Upcoming scenes will see him consumed with regret, so much so that he contemplates turning himself in to the police so that Moira can walk free and reunite with her loved ones – particularly Kyle, who is struggling with the prospect of losing another relative.
‘Robert feels the weight of the consequences of what he’s done, and feels that the only way that he can make things right is by putting himself back in the situation where he’d get charged with tampering with evidence and then have to go to prison,’ said Ryan.
But there is soon a glimmer of hope, when Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards) makes reference to a number plate belonging to Ray Walters (Joe Absolom), which leads Robert and Aaron in search of clues to help free Moira.
As for whether they’ll succeed remains to be seen but fans can expect more to come whether Joe Tate is concerned. ‘He’s very manipulative,’ said Ryan of Robert’s adversary. ‘I’m Team Robert. I want him to get the best of Joe, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Joe’s really got him in a pickle!’.
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Joe has proven a constant thorn in Robert’s side (Picture: ITV)
And as for whether Robert could ever take over Home Farm? Ryan’s not so sure, reflecting on how much his alter-ego has changed since his last stint in the village.
‘When I came into [Emmerdale] last time, Robert was like, “I’m going to be king of Home Farm, and I’m going to show everyone that I’ve made something of myself”. And it feels like this is a very different kind of Robert, a very different stage of his life.
‘And what he really wants is he recognises the values of family and of bonds and of love and less destructive behaviour, despite the Moira things that are happening right now.
‘It feels like he’s a much more sympathetic character. I think perhaps his intentions are less power and dominion and more of creating a family and creating the things that are important to him, attaining the things that are important to him.’
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 or stream from 7am on ITVX and YouTube.
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Stagepoint Studio in Shildon is one of five organisations to have made the ‘Rising Star’ award shortlist at the UK StartUp Awards for 2026, which recognises entrepreneurs.
Based at the Railway Institute, the school puts on acting classes for adults and youngsters alike and has managed to get onto the shortlist despite just opening in November.
The award ceremony will take place on June 16 at the Everyman Cinema in Leeds.
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Reacting to the news, founder Jarone Macklin-Page said: “To be named a finalist for such a massive region so early in our journey is incredibly humbling.
“This isn’t just our achievement; it belongs to the families, local businesses, and organisations in Shildon who believed in us from day one.
“It shows what can happen when a community gets behind an idea.”
As for what comes next, the bosses are hoping to expand and have a total of ten schools across the country within the next three years, eventually creating a world-class school in Shildon.
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