ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Republicans are waging their latest fight over party identity in runoffs Tuesday that decide the nominees to face U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and defend the governor’s office against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

President Donald Trump is at the center of each contest.

In the Senate race, the president made a late endorsement of Rep. Mike Collins, a second-term congressman who calls himself a “MAGA warrior,” over Derek Dooley, a first-time candidate and former football coach who has the backing of outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp.

Trump picked his candidate for governor 10 months ago, endorsing Burt Jones, the Georgia lieutenant governor who was part of Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden. In that race, it was Kemp who made a late-hour endorsement, announcing his support for Jones on Sunday.

The power of Trump’s endorsement — and Kemp’s — is being tested by billionaire Rick Jackson, whose campaign has spent more than $100 million, mostly out of his own pocket, to win the nomination.

Senate contest previews a titanic fall fight

Georgia is key to the national fight for control of Capitol Hill. Ossoff, first elected in the 2020 cycle, is the only Democratic senator running in a state Trump won in 2024; Democrats desperately need to keep his seat if they hope to notch a net gain of four seats they’d need for a majority.

Republicans’ choice hinges on a familiar debate over electability, with Dooley, 58, insisting his newcomer status is a benefit.

“We have got to get the best candidate to beat Jon Ossoff,” Dooley said Monday in one of his final campaign stops before Tuesday’s polls open. “The Republican Party has not won a Senate race in 10 years. … We have to learn some lessons from that.”

He fleshes out the argument using football metaphors from his lifetime association with the sport.

“You’ve got to have somebody who can stay on offense” against Ossoff, Dooley often tells voters.

Before becoming a college and NFL coach himself, Dooley hailed from a storied family in Georgia sports lore. His father was legendary University of Georgia football coach Vince Dooley.

The younger Dooley also has criticized Collins for a House ethics complaint accusing the congressman of abusing taxpayer money by paying the girlfriend of a former top aide for a congressional job she allegedly did not perform. An initial inquiry yielded a referral of the matter to the House ethics committee.

Collins, the son of a congressman, celebrated his endorsement from Trump. But he argues that his record actually makes for the best contrast with Ossoff, especially on immigration, and can attract a broader coalition.

“We’ve got a great organization with the right voting record and the right message,” he said during his closing runoff swing.

Collins, 58, sponsored the 2025 Laken Riley Act, which requires immigrants accused of certain crimes to be held without bond. The law is named for a Georgia nursing student killed in 2021 by a man who had entered the U.S. illegally. Ossoff voted against the measure before flipping to back it after Trump returned to the White House.

Collins also emphasizes his ownership of a trucking company, saying it’s exposed him to the struggles workers and business owners endure. “We must protect Americans first, protect our people, put them first, get the federal government off the backs of hardworking men and women out there,” he said.

Whoever wins the nomination will face an immediate campaign finance gap and depend heavily on national GOP resources. By the end of May, neither GOP hopeful had reached $5 million in fundraising and both had less than $2 million on hand. Through late April, the last time Ossoff had to file before his uncontested primary, the senator had raised $60.4 million and had $32.5 million on hand.

Gubernatorial primary is a unique challenge for Trump

The president’s preferred primary candidates have a strong record so far in 2026. But none have faced a self-funded rival with Jackson’s spending power.

Jackson, a 71-year-old businessman, amassed a fortune from his company that provides contract healthcare personnel, and he’s used it to blanket television and online platforms with ads. Appealing to hard core Trump supporters, he’s pledged that immigrants in Georgia illegally will be “deported or departed.” He promises a slew of tax cuts. And previewing a potential general election argument, he’s played up his biography as a product of the state foster care system and featured his grandchildren advising him on how to make friendlier ads.

Jones, 47, comes from a wealthy family but is running a more modest campaign. Framing himself as a “proven leader,” Jones proposes eliminating Georgia’s state income tax — without detailing how he’d make up the revenue. And he trumpets his presidential seal of approval and time as a University of Georgia football player in the 1990s. As lieutenant governor, Jones pushed legislation that ultimately did not pass but would have disqualified Jackson’s company from receiving taxpayer-funded contracts.

Trump did not travel to Georgia to campaign with Jones but he’s given the lieutenant governor a fresh round of social media accolades and called in to a tele-rally during the early voting period.

“Burt was strongly committed to my Campaign in 2016, 2020, and 2024, and worked tirelessly to help us WIN. He has been with us from the very beginning,” Trump posted on Truth Social last week.

Runoffs for elections chief carry 2028 undertones

Georgia’s secretary of state election is open for the first time since Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election, famously pressuring outgoing Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,800 votes” to overtake Biden. Raffensberger refused.

For his potential successor, Republicans are left to choose between an outright election denier, Vernon Jones, and a state lawmaker, Tim Fleming, who avoids explicitly disputing the president’s 2020 election lies.

Jones, a perennial candidate who was once a Democrat, embraced Trump’s “stop the steal” movement and says he stands “with those who believe there was election fraud.” Fleming, who once served as deputy secretary of state, says there were “irregularities” in 2020, a word choice that has become code for Republicans who want neither to ratify nor call out Trump’s errant claims.

Democrats will choose between Dana Barrett, a Fulton County commissioner, and Penny Brown Reynolds, a former state judge in Fulton County who also served in the Biden administration as deputy assistant secretary for civil rights for the Department of Agriculture.

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Today, what difference will banning social media make to children’s lives?

Speaking the day after the announcement of a ban on social media for under-16s the education secretary speaks to Adam in the Newscast studio.

They discuss; if children need to be bored more whether it’s OK for parents to watch youtube with their children and whether the school day should be longer?

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say “Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you’re in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Bethan Ashmead and Anna Harris. The social producer was Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The technical producer was Jonathan Greer. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

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The David Platt actor has been heard supporting his son’s huge next move as he prepares to take to the stage in Manchester

Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd has been heard supporting his son’s huge next move as he prepares to take to the stage in Manchester.

The actor, who is famed for playing David Platt in the ITV soap, has kids, Nyla Rae and Ruben, with ex-girlfriend Lauren Shippey, and a son, Greyson, with his former partner, Sammy Milewski.

He’s also expecting his fourth child, but his first with his wife, Hanni Treweek. The couple announced on Valentine’s Day (February 14) that they were expecting, seven months after they were seen tying the knot in July 2025, with the ceremony taking place at none other than Manchester Cathedral.

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They revealed their sweet baby news in a sweet social media update, as Hanni posted a video showing them walking through the grounds of a country house before Jack cradled and kissed her bump. She captioned the clip: “We’ve been keeping a secret…June 2026. Thank you so much to the dream team who made this so special for us.”

As he awaits the arrival of his and Hanni’s first child, Jack has been heard speaking about his son, Ruben, who is following in his acting footsteps. Back in 2024, the youngster, who was a part of his dad’s bridal part on his wedding day, bagged his first TV part in Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, playing Curtis, the son of Grace Black.

But now he’s set to take to the stage in the city. Speaking on his podcast, On the Sofa, which he co-hosts alongside Corrie pals Ben Price and Colson Smith, Jack said: “He’s got a part in um a new musical. Well, it’s a new musical coming to Manchester… It’s called Fun Home. It’s a coming-of-age sort of story about kids growing up in this funeral home.

“He’s playing one of the kids. Yeah, he’s got a part, and it’s a month run at the Royal Exchange in Manchester.” When Ben asked if his son is “looking forward to it”, Jack replied: “He’s buzzing. I’ve taken him to a few of the rehearsals last weekend, and he has to be there 10 until five. It’s a full job!”

The regional premiere of the Tony Award-winning musical sensation will begin at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre on July 3. Jodie McNee stars as Alison Bechdel alongside award-winning actor Nigel Harman as Bruce Bechdel.

The synopsis reads: “Join cartoonist Alison Bechdel on a journey through childhood memories, family secrets and first love, as she looks back on growing up in a funeral home and discovering who she is.”

The series based on the late Dame Jilly Cooper’s novel returned with its second season last month

Rivals’ future has been confirmed by Disney+ as fans continue to express their frustrations with a major decision surrounding the programme’s second season.

Based on the novel from the late Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series, Rivals premiered back in 2024. Fans became hooked at seeing careers, marriages and reputations destroyed in the blink of an eye.

The series set in the 1980s follows the rivalry between David Tennant’s Tony Baddingham and Irish newsman Declan O’Hara, played by Aidan Turner, as they battle for control over an independent commercial television station. Full of twists and turns, it’s been branded essential viewing.

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Rivals also focuses on Rupert Campbell-Black’s (Alex Hassell) forbidden romance with Declan’s daughter Agatha (Bella Maclean), Freddie Jones’ (Danny Dyer) affair with Lizzie Vereker (Katherine Parkinson), and Sarah Stratton’s (Emily Atack) attempts to launch a TV career.

It was announced last year by the family of Dame Jilly that the author passed away on Sunday, October 5, at the age of 88 following a fall at her home. Her work had received a big boost in popularity through the success of the adaptation.

After nearly two years of waiting, Rivals initially returned with three episodes last month, before airing one episode last week. Despite the series being 12 episodes long, the second half of the season won’t drop until November.

This decision has left many fans on X, previously known as Twitter, annoyed as they fumed that it may have taken the momentum out of the engrossing storylines. @stealyocat said: “wow rivals season 2 is sooooo goooddd, cant believe we have 2 wait till november for pt 2 what kind of release model is this?”

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@australbird wrote: “Got really into the show Rivals while being bed ridden this weekend only to find out it’s still running and Hulu decided to put season 2 out in 2 parts I’m so mad what am I gonna do til November.”

@lilacfoxes commented: “no rivals until november feels like they personally attacked me.” @solarilya stated: “Started rivals thinking the whole season 2 was gonna drop right now and turns out I have to wait til November? NOVEMBER whatever.”

While there may not be new episodes for several months, Disney+ finally announced on Tuesday (June 16) that Rivals is getting a third series. Fans were left unsure if this would be the case due to the second season nearing the end of the book.

A Disney+ spokesperson said: “As the dust settles post the scandalous revelations in Season Two, we see the stakes become higher and the alliances more fragile, with nothing staying buried for long.

“New romances blossom, old flames rekindle and shocking secrets will be spilled in this third series which takes everyone’s favourite rivalries to the next level. In a world of power, passion and betrayal, everyone has something to lose.”

One novel which may be adopted next is Polo, which came out three years after Rivals. Season two even featured a tense Polo match that may have hinted at what’s to come.

However, as readers of the books know, not all of the characters featured in Rivals return for the sequels. One thing that’s for certain is that Rupert will be involved due to featuring throughout the bulk of the novels.

Pebbles Academy was graded ‘good’ and ‘satisfactory’ in two quality indicators.

An independent special school based in Muirkirk was placed under the microscope during a visit from the HMIE Scotland.

Pebbles Academy was graded ‘good’ across the quality indicator relating to learning, teaching and assessment and ‘satisfactory’ in the quality indicator relating to raising attainment and achievement.

According to the report, Pebbles Academy Muirkirk is an independent special school. The proprietor is Pebbles Care.

The school is registered to provide education for up to 25 secondary aged young people. There are 20 young people on the school roll.

All young people are care experienced and have faced “significant disruption” to their wellbeing and education, the report says.

An extract from the report outlined the school’s key strengths, saying senior leaders and staff successfully built a “respectful and nurturing” environment where young people form “positive relationships” with staff.

In addition, they ensure that they treat young people with “dignity,” helping young people engage in their learning and behave “respectfully.”

The report also notes how staff provide “motivating activities” which were “matched well” to young people’s needs and interests. They use digital technologies effectively to introduce and prepare young people for learning.

The praise continued; young people who regularly attend school achieve Qualifications Scotland National Qualification awards across a “range of subjects.”

And the young people are developing “valuable skills” for life beyond school including decision‑making, teamwork and vocational skills.

Areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the headteacher and a representative from the head of education.

The report states: “Staff should further strengthen approaches to help young people become more independent when learning.

“Senior leaders and staff should work with partners to improve young people’s attendance and reduce late coming at school. They should work with local authority partners to ensure all young people receive their entitlement to a full-time education.

“Senior leaders and staff should continue to develop approaches to raising attainment. They should work to ensure that all young people leave school with appropriate qualifications.”

David McKellar, HM Inspector, said in a letter: “We are confident that the school has the capacity to continue to improve and so we will make no more visits in connection with this inspection. The proprietor will inform parents/carers about the school’s progress as part of its arrangements for reporting on the quality of its schools.”

The new club shop has officially opened at The Bridges, promising a fresh shopping experience for supporters and visitors alike.

The new store launched on Friday, June 12, and was opened by SAFC legend Gary Bennett MBE and club mascots Samson and Delilah.

(Image: The Bridges Sunderland)

The city centre shop complements the club’s flagship store at the Stadium of Light and will stock a wide range of gifts and merchandise, including the newly launched Hummel training wear collection.

More product ranges, including home, away, and third kits, are set to be released throughout the summer.

Saturday, June 13, saw further celebrations with giveaways and a mascot appearance.

(Image: The Bridges Sunderland)

Karen Eve, centre director at The Bridges, said: “The arrival of the official SAFC store is a fantastic addition to the centre and is highly anticipated by fans who are still celebrating the team qualifying for Europe.

“Sunderland AFC supporters are incredibly passionate, and we’re delighted to bring them a new store ahead of the new season.”

Terry Stephenson, head of marketing at Sunderland AFC, added: “This is about being where our supporters are.

(Image: The Bridges Sunderland)

“It’s great to have the club back in the city centre, and The Bridges is exactly the right home for our new store.

“Working with Fanatics, we now have two stores our fans can be proud of, and with the feel-good factor from the end of last season still alive and kicking, there’s never been a better time to open our doors.”

The opening marks the club’s permanent return to The Bridges since 2018, following several highly successful festive pop-up stores in Central Square.

(Image: The Bridges Sunderland)

Pamela Morrow, director of retail stores at Fanatics, said: “We’re excited to be opening a new official store in The Bridges, giving supporters an additional destination for official club merchandise in the heart of the city.

“Sunderland fans are incredibly passionate and deserve the best, and we’re committed to continuing to enhance their retail experience, both at this new store and at the Club Store at the Stadium of Light.”

The new store opens Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, and Sundays from 10am to 4pm.

Mally Stubbings was on a family holiday with her three children, two grandchildren, son-in-law, brother and sister-in-law when she fell ill

A grandmother from Lincolnshire is stuck in Spain with no idea when she can return home after she had a brain haemorrhage on holiday in Benidorm. Mally Stubbings, from Boston in Lincolnshire, was placed in intensive care on Tuesday, June 9, following a CT scan which detected a minor bleed on her brain.

While she has since been moved from the intensive care unit, she continues to be hospitalised a week on, with her family uncertain about when she might be discharged, let alone able to travel home, reports Lincolnshire Live.

Her sister-in-law, Natalie Hancock, said: “She’s still stuck in the hospital in Benidorm, she’s not in intensive care any more, she’s on a normal ward, but they have told us she’s not allowed to fly back to England because of the air pressure. They’ve got no idea when she’s going to be discharged.”

The 50 year old had been enjoying a family break in Spain with her three children, two grandchildren, son-in-law, brother and sister-in-law when the incident occurred. Mally has stage three terminal lung cancer, and on Friday, May 8, she completed two years of treatment aimed at prolonging her life.

Natalie explained that owing to Mally’s treatment, they had been prevented from taking a proper family holiday and were keen to do something meaningful together to create lasting memories. Mally travelled out with her children and grandchildren on Tuesday, June 2, and was later joined by her brother Stuart and Natalie on Tuesday, June 9, which they had arranged as a surprise.

However, Mally became severely ill at the beginning of the holiday due to a stomach infection, and was taken into hospital on Monday, June 8, before being discharged the next day. Then on Wednesday, June 10, she lost the ability to walk and experienced several vacant seizures, prompting her family to rush her to A&E.

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Natalie said: “An ICU doctor came and said we are going to admit her to the ICU as she has a small bleed on the brain. She was in the ICU for a full day and night, and then she was moved to a normal ward and has been there since.”

Mally’s partner Carl, her daughter Gypsy and two grandchildren have remained in Benidorm to be with Mally. They were forced to leave the hotel on Saturday, their scheduled return date to the UK, and secured an Airbnb, which cost them £1,000 for the week.

Natalie said: “They have insurance, but it seems you have to pay for everything and then claim it back from the insurance company lately, so we’re in a bit of a predicament, really.”

Natalie, 47, set up a GoFundMe page to assist the family members who have stayed in Spain with Mally, while others had to return home due to work obligations or financial constraints.

She said: “We can’t leave her out there on her own. There’s a massive language barrier in the hospital as well; there is a translator, but you can’t always get hold of her, so they’re having to use Google Translate all the time.”

Natalie added: “We have no clue how long she’s going to be out there.”

The family have explored hiring a private company to organise transport for Mally back to the UK, but say they received quotes exceeding £30,000. Having saved “really hard” for the holiday initially, this is simply not feasible for the family.

Natalie said: “It’s absolutely insane, no normal person has that type of money. “They had all saved really hard, and this holiday was to make memories, and we have no memories, we just have bad ones now.”

You come home after a stressful day and reach out to your cat for a bit of comfort. It hisses. Maybe takes a swipe. Or simply flicks its tail and saunters off without so much as a meow. A dog, by contrast, greets you as though they’ve just won the lottery.

Of course, some owners will argue their cats are very loving, but is it a cat or dog that is actually better for your mood? A Dutch study has just tried to find out. The researchers tracked pet owners across five days to see whether interacting with a dog or cat influences mood in real time.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, used an app, sending out around ten notifications a day for five days – including non‑working days – to catch people in the act of playing with their pet. Whenever participants were pinged, they had to answer quick questions about whether they were interacting with their pet, their current mood, and how stressed they felt (the owner, not the pet).

The researchers found that interacting with a pet was linked to short-term mood improvement – and the species didn’t matter. Both dogs and cats made their owners feel good for a short time. However, despite providing a short boost of happiness, cats and dogs were not able to reduce their owner’s stress. And while dogs just didn’t seem to help, cats seemed to be making things worse.

The results are intriguing, but the study has some limitations. For one, there were far fewer cat owners (36) than dog owners (75), so the comparison isn’t exactly fair. Also, the study simply doesn’t have enough “statistical power” to draw firm conclusions. The researchers acknowledge this themselves.

It should also be considered that real-life data can be messier. For cleaner statistics, the researchers needed to exclude instances in which a cat and dog were present at the same time. But many pet owners, or anyone who has watched an episode of the cartoon Tom and Jerry, will know that multi-pet households don’t always operate in a neat fashion. Sometimes the positive impact may not come from one pet but a combination; however, more research is needed to explore this further.

Pets have personalities

And let’s be fair here, pets have personalities. Just like humans, a dog or cat could be aloof or adoring, lazy or active, goofy or serious. The interaction between owner and pet personality traits can change how we bond, reflecting the psychological concept of attachment. Attachment theory suggests that early-life relationships can shape how we form bonds in adulthood.

It’s also worth noting that the researchers used single‑item questions to measure things like pet interaction. There are clear benefits to this – it keeps the survey short, but it also means we don’t really know what kind of interaction people were having (Were they having a cuddle? A quick pat?). Without that detail, it’s difficult to know how the quality of interactions influenced the findings.

This is important because dogs and cats need different things from our interactions with them. While dogs were domesticated for cooperation with humans, cats were domesticated to manage pests like rodents.

Cats have undergone far less intensive selective breeding than dogs, so they still share traits with the solitary and territorial wildcat – a fact that many owners can attest to. When it comes to understanding our feline friends, it looks like we might be quite bad at recognising when cats are displeased. In fact, those communication problems are also true with dogs – owners don’t always spot when they are anxious or uncomfortable.

Despite this, animals have been used to help improve human wellbeing since the 18th century and decades of replicated evidence doesn’t lie. But the quality and type of interaction between pet and person probably matter a great deal. If your cat curls up on your lap for a nap, your stress might just melt away. But if they want nothing to do with you and meow in sassy objection, then scooping up kitty for a cuddle might just frazzle you further.

Police have released a picture of a man they want to speak to after the group left the Crathorne Hall Hotel without paying, having knocked back drinks at the bar and dined on room service.

It happened on May 11 when a man had booked two rooms at the hotel near Yarm for three adults and four children.

North Yorkshire Police said the party racked up a “large” bar and room service bill, and when asked to pay they left without coughing up.

Police would like to speak to this man. (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

A card used to book the rooms also had insufficient funds to take payment, leaving a “large unpaid bill”.

The man pictured is believed to have “important information” that could help police investigating the alleged fraud.

The man or anyone who knows him is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police by emailing ian.butterfield@northyorkshire.police.uk or calling 101, quoting reference 12260086487.