Melissa Rein Lively is charged with assault by beating while Philipp Ostermann, 37, is charged with two racially aggravated public order offences and a further public order offence, after an incident at Bond Street Underground station on the evening of October 11 last year, British Transport Police said on Friday.

The search is on to find contestants for the second series of the show, which is hosted by Alan Carr and Susie Dent.

The first series attracted more than 2.1 million viewers for its opening episode.

A spokesperson for Mothership Productions said: “We are back with even more games, more twists and brand-new ways for viewers at home to play along and test their own smarts alongside the contestants.”

The show celebrates overlooked and underestimated intelligence, giving people a chance to prove just how clever they are through a series of immersive games inspired by Mensa-style challenges.

Adults from all backgrounds across the UK are invited to apply.

The spokesperson added: “Secret Genius celebrates people whose intelligence has been overlooked, underestimated or completely missed, giving them a chance to discover just how brilliant they really are.”

Producers are looking for people who have felt ‘misunderstood’ at school, at work, or even at home, and who believe their true potential has gone unnoticed.

The application process and eligibility details are available at www.geniuscasting.co.uk.

Applications are now open.

A total of 254 issues including problems with plants, street furniture, roads and pavements, along with fly-tipping and graffiti have been reported to City of York Council Neighbourhood Caretakers since October.

The eight-strong team will have been on 31 walkabouts by Monday, May 18 and have visited each of York’s 21 wards at least once since their launch in September.

A council report stated 234 of the 254 issues reported had been resolved, with the remaining 20 passed on to others, found not to be an issue or otherwise closed.

It comes as councillors are set to discuss the performance of the team on Tuesday, May 19.

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The team of seven caretakers and one foreperson is equipped with two light vehicles, one commercial sweeper and other tools.

They cover four areas, North, West, East and Central York, with the division influencing how jobs for the team are prioritised.

Neighbourhood Caretakers aim to address issues raised by councillors and in communities that are not picked up through routine work by other council staff.

They made their debut with a visit to Hull Road ward on Monday, September 29.

Council figures show most of the issues reported to Neighbourhood Caretakers were classed as vegetation problem, totalling 176.

Street cleaning requests numbered 48, with road and pavement problems totalling 25 and two reports made about fly-tipping.

There was one report each related to street furniture problems, graffiti and a category listed as ‘quick log’.

(From left to right) York Council Neighbourhood Caretakers Evan Webster-Barker, Marcus Preston, Chris Ferry, Andrew Wood and Salem Branch (Image: City of York Council)

October saw the highest number of reports to Neighbourhood Caretakers, 69, with the second-highest made in January, 58, the third in March, 44 and the fourth in February, 42.

A total of 26 issues were reported in December and 15 were in November.

Jobs have included clearing plants from an alleyway off Leeman Road and removing weeds from Pateley Place in Holgate.

Overgrown plants have also been cleared from a walkway and cycle route in the Clifton Road and Shipton Road area.

The team has visited Hull Road, Holgate, Westfield, Clifton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, Heworth, Guildhall and Micklegate twice each since September for walkabouts.

They have been to Copmanthorpe, Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington, Acomb, Strensall, Rural West York, Heworth Without, Osbaldwick and Derwent, Haxby and Wigginton, Wheldrake, Bishopthorpe and Huntington and New Earswick once.

A walkabout in Huntington and New Earswick is scheduled for Monday, May 18.

Walkabouts typically see ward and parish councillors, authority staff, volunteers, residents association members and sometimes police officers visit areas to find issues Neighbourhood Caretakers can deal with.

Residents are also encouraged to take part in community action days to help with lower-level issues such as litter-picking and painting fences.

For Liverpool, meanwhile, Arne Slot is once again left to pick up the pieces and he has yet more injuries to work around after losing both Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong ahead of this match. Catch up with the action as it happene below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, complete with expert insight and analysis.

Northampton: Furbank, Freeman, Litchfield, Hutchinson, Hendy, Smith, McParland; Iyogun, Smith, Millar Mills, Coles, Prowse, Kemeny, Pollock, Chick

Replacements: Walker, Fischetti, Green, Van Der Mescht, Pearson, Graham, Mitchell, Dingwall

Sin-bin: Prowse

Bristol: Lane, Rees-Zammit, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ravouvou, Jordan, Randall; Genge, Thacker, Kloska, Dun, Batley, Owen, Harding (c), Grondona

Replacements: Gwilliam, Woolmore, Lahiff, Taylor, Ivanishvili, Marmion, Moroni, Heward

Sin-bin: Ravouvou, Batley, Moroni

Referee: Luke Pearce

Southwest Airlines has banned all humanoid or animal-like robots from its flights, according to a new update on the carrier’s website.

The Dallas-based airline confirmed that these types of robots are now banned from both the cabin and the cargo hold, regardless of their size or intended use.

The carrier defines a “human-like robot” as any machine designed to imitate human appearance, movement or behavior. Similar definitions were applied to animal-like robots.

The policy change follows several incidents involving robots on Southwest flights that gained traction on social media.

In one instance, a flight departing from Oakland was delayed while crew members determined how to secure a robot. While the airline initially treated the machine as a carry-on item that could not occupy a seat, the flight eventually proceeded after the robot was moved to a window seat and its battery was removed.

A more recent case involved a 3.5-foot humanoid robot named “Stewie,” owned by Dallas entrepreneur Aaron Mehdizadeh.

As reported by CBS News Texas, Mehdizadeh purchased a separate seat for the robot for a flight from Las Vegas to Dallas rather than shipping it as freight.

“Most people were very excited to see a robot flying and [it] provided so much entertainment,” Mehdizadeh told the outlet. To meet security protocols, the robot was fitted with a smaller battery and filmed walking through the airport terminal.

Southwest has cited the lithium-ion batteries used to power such machines as a primary safety concern. According to the airline, these batteries have previously caused onboard fires, including one incident that resulted in an emergency landing in San Diego, NBC 5 Dallas reported.

Under the new guidelines, smaller robots and toys are still permitted on board, provided they fit within standard carry-on dimensions and adhere to existing hazardous materials regulations regarding battery size.

The airline’s updated baggage policy now explicitly states: “Southwest Airlines does not allow human-like or animal-like robots to be transported in the cabin or as checked baggage, regardless of size or purpose.”

DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday commuted the sentence of election conspiracy theorist Tina Peters following pressure from President Donald Trump, the latest instance of the president using his powers to reward those who echoed his baseless claims of mass fraud as the cause of his 2020 loss.

Trump has championed the case of Peters, a 70-year-old former county clerk who was sentenced to nine years behind bars after being convicted in a scheme to make a copy of her county’s election computer system. She gets released June 1.

In April, a Colorado appeals court upheld her conviction but ordered Peters to be resentenced because it said the judge who sent her to prison wrongly punished her for speaking out about election fraud, a decision that Polis praised.

In a letter to Peters, Polis wrote that Peters was convicted of serious crimes and deserved to spend time in prison. “However, this is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes,” the governor wrote.

He added Peters’ application “demonstrates taking responsibility for your crimes, and a commitment to follow the law going forward.”

President Donald Trump posted around the time of the announcement on his Truth Social platform: “FREE TINA!”

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‘Affront to the rule of law’

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said “it was a dark day for democracy” and ”selling out our state’s justice system for Trump is an affront to the rule of law.”

“A clear message is being sent to those willing to break the law and attack democracy for the president — they will likely not face consequences for their actions,” Griswold said at a news conference.

Peters has been serving her sentence at a prison in Pueblo after being convicted in 2024 by jurors in Mesa County, a Republican stronghold that supported Trump.

Peters snuck in an outside computer expert, an associate of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, to make a copy of her county’s Dominion Voting Systems election computer server as state officials updated it in 2021. After Peters joined Lindell onstage at a “cybersymposium” that promised to reveal proof of election rigging, video and photos of the upgrade, including passwords, were posted online.

After the commutation, Peters issued a statement through her attorney thanking Polis and apologizing.

“Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment. That was wrong,” Peters said. “I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make sure that my actions always follow the law, and I will avoid the mistakes of the past.”

She also condemned threats and violence against voters, county clerks and election workers.

Sen Michael Bennet, a Democrat who is running for Colorado governor, said he vehemently disagreed with the commutation and that Peters knowingly broke the law, undermined elections and was convicted by a jury.

“Lawlessness only breeds more lawlessness,” Bennet said. “With President Trump continuing to attack Colorado, we must do everything we can to stand strong for our institutions and the rule of law.”

Trump championed her cause

Peters was convicted of state, not federal, crimes, which put her beyond the reach of Trump’s pardon power that he used to free those convicted of crimes for the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. But the president still championed her cause.

Trump has lambasted both Polis, calling him a “Scumbag Governor,” and the Republican district attorney who prosecuted her, Daniel Rubinstein, for keeping Peters in prison. He has referred to Peters, as “elderly” and “sick.” Earlier this year, Trump uninvited Polis from a White House meeting with governors over the case.

The president said Colorado was “suffering a big price” for refusing to release her. His administration has been choking off funds, ending federal programs and denying disaster aid. It also announced the dismantling of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado and relocated the U.S. Space Command to Alabama.

Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said the commutation “signals that it is open season on our election and election officials.”

“Gov. Polis is bending the knee to the same political voices and conspiracy theories that are undermining belief in our democratic institutions,” Crane said. “This is now Gov. Polis’ legacy. He will not be able to run from it.”

Tina Peters’ declining health in prison

Peters’ lawyers have said her health has declined in prison. Peters, who had part of her right lung removed in 2017, started coughing frequently after the prison’s heating system was turned on for the winter and has had trouble sleeping on her mattress because of chronic pain from fibromyalgia, her lawyers said.

In January, Peters was involved in a scuffle with another inmate but was found not guilty of assault following a prison disciplinary hearing, Colorado Department of Corrections spokesperson Alondra Gonzalez-Garcia said. Peters was found guilty of being in a location without authorization.

The federal Bureau of Prisons tried but failed to get Peters moved to a federal prison. But in January, Polis said he was considering granting clemency for Peters, calling her sentence “unusual and harsh“ for a first-time, nonviolent offender. In March he repeated those arguments in a lengthy post on the social media platform X.

“Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly,” Polis wrote.

After receiving blowback from other top Democratic leaders in the state, including the attorney general and Colorado’s top elections official, Polis told a Denver television station that Peters would have to show “appropriate contrition, apology” to be considered for clemency.

In contrast to some other Democratic governors, Polis, who prides himself on being a political iconoclast, has taken a sometimes accommodating stance toward Trump. While he criticized Trump’s stance on tariffs and immigration, Polis praised earlier moves by the president such as the Department of Government Efficiency, run by billionaire Elon Musk, and the nomination of vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to run the Department of Health and Human Service.

Ben Shapiro has announced that his conservative outlet, the Daily Wire, cut 13 percent of staff this year, following reports that his media empire was “collapsing.”

Shapiro called the layoffs “truly sad” in a video clip from his podcast, The Ben Shapiro Show, released on social media Friday.

After reports from The Washington Post and New York Magazine’s Intelligencer about sizable layoffs at the Daily Wire, Shapiro admitted, “It’s true.”

“The Daily Wire laid off some 13 percent of our workforce since the beginning of the year. And that really sucked. It was truly sad because all those people are great,” he said.

Shapiro said he is personally helping as many of his laid-off workers find new jobs as he can “because everybody who we let go deserves a job somewhere else. They’re great folks.”

The Daily Wire was co-founded by Shapiro in 2015. The outlet describes itself as “opinionated” and “noisy.”

The Washington Post reported Saturday that Shapiro’s critics believe the Daily Wire’s “relevance to the right has irrevocably collapsed.”

Daily Wire spokesman Brad Bishop told The Washington Post that the company still has more than 200 employees and that most of the layoffs mainly occurred at its headquarters in Nashville.

Intelligencer then published a piece called “Why Ben Shapiro’s Media Empire Is Collapsing” on Thursday, which noted the Daily Wire’s website has become “one of the great traffic losers in conservative media.”

Shapiro defended his outlet’s popularity, noting in Friday’s video that DailyWire+ is ranked sixth on Podtrac’s top global podcast chart with more than 41 million streams, downloads and views as of April. The Daily Wire is one of Podtrac’s supporters.

At the center of both reports on the layoffs are claims that the outlet’s traditional conservatism no longer aligns with other members of the right.

“Ben Shapiro has become the avatar of a strand of conservatism that has been taking it on the chin for years,” Nicole Hemmer, a conservative-media historian at Vanderbilt University, told The Washington Post.

“And they are now losing favor within the conservative movement, which is as much a problem for [President Donald] Trump as it is for Ben Shapiro,” Hemmer added.

Shapiro claimed in his video that “the media left and the woke right…they are attempting to destroy traditional conservatism.”

The Daily Wire co-founder wrote on social media alongside his video, “All the haters can kiss my a**.”

The Independent reached out to the Daily Wire for comment, which referred to Shapiro’s podcast clip.

Mathew Gilkes, 47, from Chorley, has been jailed for 16 years, having previously pleaded guilty to 42 offences, including so-called ‘upskirting’ and child sex offences.

An indefinite sexual harm prevention order was also imposed to prevent further offending.

Gilkes was arrested after his car was traced from the leisure centre, where children reported seeing him with his phone held under their cubicle, taking photographs whilst they were changing.

More than 80 electronic devices, including mobile phones, computers, cameras, memory cards and spy pens were recovered from his address, which included over 5,000 indecent images and videos of children.

His devices also revealed he has been posing online as two different teenage boys, as well as a woman, in order to groom and manipulate young girls via social media.

Stacey Gosling for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Mathew Gilkes is a sexual predator and a danger to children.

“Not only did he abuse his position as a teacher by taking covert intimate images of children, but he also sought out other victims online and at the leisure centre for his own sexual gratification.

“He gave no thought to the lasting damage his abuse would have on young victims and, when caught by police, was found to have a staggering number of indecent images showing his depraved offending knew no limits.

“I would like to thank the victims for reporting the abuse and supporting the prosecution, as without their intervention, Gilkes’ online grooming operation may well have continued in secret.

“I hope today’s outcome sends a clear message that the Crown Prosecution Service are dedicated to bringing those who exploit children to justice.”

Gilkes’s offending came to light when two children in the changing rooms of a leisure centre reported that they saw a mobile phone under the door as they were changing after swimming on August 1, 2024.

Two weeks later, a similar incident was reported with Gilkes caught on CCTV at the centre.

Police arrested Gilkes near his home address on August 14 of the same year.

He did not comment in his police interview, and when his home was searched, over 80 electronic devices were found, including mobile phones, computers, cameras, memory cards and spy pens.

More than 5,000 indecent images and videos were found on his devices, of which more than half were images or videos taken under clothing without consent, offences more commonly known as ‘upskirting’.

Officers also found two fake social media accounts, where he was posing as a teenage boy.

Gilkes had spoken to a large number of girls under 16, where he engaged in sexualised communication, shared intimate images and encouraged them to engage in sexual activity despite being unable to consent as they were underage.

Conversations were also found on another platform where Gilkes was posing as a 29-year-old woman. He engaged in sexual communication with the profile of a girl who was just 14 years old.

His school-issued laptop also contained indecent images and search terms indicating he was seeking out indecent images of children.

One victim said it has impacted every part of her life, and another said she is frightened, insecure and has become distrustful.

Gilkes pleaded guilty to 42 charges on November 12, 2025, during a hearing at Preston Crown Court.

Sexual predator Mathew Gilkes’ prolific offending was unmasked when he was caught taking pictures of children at a leisure centre in Chorley in August 2024.

A trace of his vehicle leaving the leisure centre car park led to him being identified and arrested.

A search of his home and workplace uncovered more than 80 devices including mobile devices, computers and laptops.

This included a school issue laptop, spy pens, handheld cameras and memory cards containing thousands of indecent images of children.

(Image: CPS)

Many of the images Gilkes had taken were of pupils at his school where he worked as an ICT teacher using cameras disguised as pens and tiny cube cameras.

As well as taking images Gilkes also posed online as a teenage boy talking to a large number of underage girls, grooming them and pressurising them to send images to him.

Gilkes, 47, formerly of Harrison Road, Chorley, who taught at a high school in Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty in November last year to 42 charges.

The charges included operate equipment beneath clothing of another without consent, commonly known as upskirting, engaging in sexual communication with a child, indecent images of children offences and cause / incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity.

He appeared at Preston Crown Court this week where he was jailed for 16 years with an additional five year licence.

He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Mathew Gilkes (Image: Lancashire Police)

Det Con Holly McClave and Det Con Rachel Phillips, of Lancashire Police’s South Exploitation Team, helped bring Gilkes to justice.

DC McClave said: “Mathew Gilkes is a highly dangerous man who has shown persistent predatory behaviour towards young girls who he has taking advantage of, groomed and exploited for his own sexual gratification.

“The victims in this case have shown incredible bravery in speaking about what happened to them and I commend them for their courage. I hope this sentence gives them some sense that justice has been done.

“We will continue to target those who exploit and abuse young people, we will listen to victims, and we will do all we can to put offenders before the courts, as we have done here.”

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a sexual offence report it online via https://doitonline.lancashire.police.uk/ or call 101. You should do so knowing you will be believed, you will be listened to, and we will do everything in our power to put the perpetrator before the courts.

Specialist support for anyone in Lancashire affected by sexual violence is available through Victim Support. Funded by Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw, their specially trained professionals offer free, confidential, and non-judgemental support. They listen, provide emotional and practical help, and prioritise safety and confidentiality. Further information is available at victimsupport.org.uk/lancashire.