Donald Trump stepped up his war on the media on Tuesday night with a new attack on the reporters who cover him.

Over the weekend, Trump banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House and had the journalists’ press credentials deactivated. Then, just before midnight on Tuesday, he posted on Truth Social:

“All of the SLEAZEBAGS, like Third Rate ‘Reporter,’ Kaitlan Collins, of Fake News CNN, a truly unhappy person, said they weren’t going to be covering me. Then why were they ranting and raving like Lunatics, in the Press Area, at the United Nations? Why was she there?”

Although no network or news organisation said it wouldn’t cover Trump, TV pool coverage was suspended in protest of the ban. That means no video of certain events, but not a lack of coverage of the president. As for Collins, she was at the United Nations to cover the General Assembly in New York City.

Trump continued to attack her.

“She’s got a ‘TRUMP’ addiction, and so does CNN and MSDNC. They’re all sick, treasonous, and demented!”

For good measure, he also blasted the judge who is overseeing the federal lawsuit the news outlets filed against him in an attempt to overturn the ban.

“The ‘good news’ is that they have a great, for them, and totally disloyal Judge,” Trump wrote, referring to U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump appointed in 2017 but who ruled against him in another media case.

Minutes later, Trump posted a strange video of a man putting on a dress and makeup so he could pretend to be a “fake news” reporter for CNN.

On Tuesday night, Trump’s Justice Department also tried to justify his media ban in a legal filing. Read more about that here.

Andy Burnham has slammed Vladimir Putin’s “repulsive and insidious” attempts to sow division in the UK through the spread of misinformation online.

The prime minister has ordered security chiefs to set up a new unit to tackle the problem, which he said included trying to influence the 2019 general election.

A new National Centre for Information Defence will tackle online lies and deepfakes damaging British interests, the PM told the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Burnham said the UK and its allies had been subjected to an “industrial-scale assault” by hostile states, including Russia.

“Russian agencies have used every means at their disposal to spread lies and disinformation and prey on people’s fear,” he said.

“They’ve used bots and fake websites. Falsified newspaper articles. Forged the branding of 28 British organisations – including universities and the BBC. They’ve amplified far-right narratives.

“And we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 general election.

“We also know that they have tried to stoke tensions and unrest in the wake of horrific events. The idea that anyone would try to use such things to their advantage is just repulsive – but it is what they do.”

The PM said the Kremlin spends around £1.3 billion a year on “manipulating information”.

And he said the rise of artificial intelligence means the problem is only set to get worse unless it is tackled urgently.

“We’re talking about an insidious campaign that reaches into people’s homes and twists what they feel about their own country and community – creating a narrative of decline, stoking division and sowing despair,” he said.

“On top of that, we have seen cyber-attacks on our companies and institutions. And we know that AI will multiply the threat.”

Young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) are “much more vulnerable” to Russia’s campaign of online misinformation and it was now time to fight back, Burnham said.

He said: “We have tiptoed around this for too long.

“Over the last decade we have given too much ground to those who want to run a negative, corrosive narrative about life in Britain, which bears no resemblance to reality. Well, no more.

“We are going to face the new decade in a different way – with our eyes wide open.

“We are going to be much prouder in standing up for our values and the rule of law.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Zia Yusuf has been mocked online after launching another thinly-veiled swipe at some of his own Reform UK colleagues.

The party’s home affairs spokesman hit out at “former Tory ministers”, despite the fact that most of Reform’s senior figures served in the last Conservative government.

In a late-night rant on X, Yusuf said they were “the most nefarious people outside of those in prison”.

That seemed to be a direct attack on the likes of Robert Jenrick, Suella Braverman, Nadine Dorries, David Jones and Nadhim Zahawi, who all served in Conservative cabinets before switching to Reform.

His attack came just a day after he hit out at “deadbeat Tory ministers” in another social media post.

Yusuf’s latest tirade seems to have been triggered by the fact that Rishi Sunak and Jacob Rees-Mogg are back in the news.

Former PM Sunak won praise for hitting back at claims non-white people cannot be English, while Rees-Mogg warned about the threat of war with Russia.

Yusuf said “people are furious” at what the two senior Tories were saying.

He said: “They’re former Tory Ministers. The most nefarious people outside of those in prison. They betrayed our country and caused incalculable harm. Ignore them. Vote Reform. Then we will hold them to account.”

X users were quick to point out to Yusuf that many of those “former Tory ministers” are actually his Reform frontbench colleagues.

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Cate Blanchett has made a plea for theatre audiences to keep their phones away while they’re watching people performing.

The two-time Oscar winner is currently starring at the National Theatre’s Electra/Persona, and during her curtain call on Friday, she took a moment to get something off her chest.

She began: “There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together, and be present.

“I understand you like filming the curtain call – and it is kind of flattering in a way – but for anyone who was filming the show, please don’t.”

Cate continued: “It spoils it for the next group of people who come in and are present with us. So, thank you very much.”

One Instagram user commented on a clip of Cate’s message: “I was there on Friday, so just to clarify what happened: after the first act, while they were changing and preparing for the second, latecomers were being let in, the staff were cleaning the stage, and the cast were doing their makeup onstage.

“Cate noticed someone recording during that break. She came towards the front of the stage and gestured ‘no, no, no’ with her finger for them to stop. She also mentioned it to the audience at the very end before they left.

“The person wasn’t filming the actual performance, but the interval between the two acts while the cast were still onstage. To be fair, people do this quite often and the staff usually don’t say anything. It was my third time seeing the play, and I’ve seen people film during that break every time. Friday was simply the first time I saw Cate notice it herself, just after she had finished doing her makeup.”

Another added: “I was there. Great show. And I was appalled she felt she had to make this statement.

“I didn’t see anyone taping from where I was. But clearly people were. Get a life. If you’re only going so you can put it on Instagram then don’t bother. You’re not wanted.”

Cate is far from the first performer to call out people’s phone use in theatre during recent memory.

Back in June, Rosamund Pike called out an audience member during the curtain call of her show Inter Alia for using their phone in the auditorium, while Cynthia Erivo went as far as pausing a performance of Dracula when she noticed she was being recorded.

Since then, Amber Davies also made her feelings known on the “selfish actions” of those who chose to use their phones in a theatre environment.

Meanwhile, Broadway legend Patti LuPone has been vocal on this issue for years, infamously once swiping an audience member’s phone after seeing them on it during a performance in 2015.

Similarly, Gemma Arterton once claimed during an interview on The Graham Norton Show that she had done the same thing when she spotted a patron filming her while she was performing in the West End musical Made In Dagenham.

I’ll be honest: I always thought that solstice lasted an entire day. But the Met Office explained that it’s actually a “very specific moment which is over almost as soon as it has begun”.

“Solstice” comes from the Latin for “sun standing still” and refers to a moment in which the sun appears to stall in the sky. This year, the winter solstice will happen on December 21 at 8:50am GMT.

It’s the astronomical opposite of the equinox (the next of which is due on Wednesday, 23 September at 1:04am GMT ).

Here’s what the word means, as well as what’s actually happening in the sky when the phenomenon occurs.

Equinox comes from two Latin words: “aequus”, meaning “equal”, and “nox, which means “night”.

Given that daytime and nighttime last roughly the same amount of time in an equinox, the name’s pretty apt.

There is, however, another day when light and dark hours are exactly even. This is called an “equilux” and happens “a few days before the spring equinox and a few days after the autumn equinox,” per the Met Office.

The Earth is tilted at an angle, which is why we have seasons. If we weren’t angled, the amount of light we get throughout the year would stay stable.

This means that there will be a point in the year where the North Pole is the closest, or furthest away, it’ll be to the sun in that cycle. This is a solstice (either the longest or shortest days).

Meanwhile, an equinox happens when the sun is as close as possible to the equator. This is why night and day seem equally divided: the amount of light we recieve depends on our angle in relation to the sun, so with minimal tilt, sunshine is divided about evenly.

Without that slant, the Earth would have an equinox everyday.

If you remember from earlier, the day in which we actually get equal sunlight is called an “equilux,” not an “equinox”.

Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, told the BBC this is because sunlight has to get through Earth’s atmosphere before it reaches us.

“This means when the sun’s near the horizon it appears to be slightly higher than it is because the light is refracted through the atmosphere. So, you get slightly longer than the 12 hours of sunlight,” he explained.

Sir Tom Jones has thanked his supporters for backing him after his abrupt departure from The Voice UK.

The Delilah singer was one of The Voice UK’s original coaches, and had been part of the show’s panel for every series bar one until earlier this month, when it was announced he would no longer be judging the upcoming series.

“We have loved working with Sir Tom Jones over the past nine years on The Voice UK. While he will no longer be a full-time coach on series 15, we continue to talk to Sir Tom and his team about his involvement in the next series,” an ITV rep told HuffPost UK when the news was confirmed.

Meanwhile, the man himself later claimed that it was not his decision to leave The Voice UK’s panel, accusing bosses of “firing” him “because of a financial difficulty with insurance”.

In the weeks that have followed, many fans have been voicing their disappointment in ITV’s decision, with a Change.org petition calling for The Voice UK to reinstate him having reached more than 60,000 signatures at the time of writing.

“So many heartfelt messages, comments and even petitions of support,” the 86-year-old wrote on social media on Sunday. “It doesn’t go unnoticed and it’s been really lovely to receive these! Thank you!”

This message was shared alongside a clip of Sir Tom from the most recent season of The Voice UK, in which he was heard crooning one of his signature hits, It’s Not Unusual.

In his previous statement, Sir Tom claimed: “To be clear, I did not want to leave The Voice as I love the show and really appreciate the audience. ITV made this decision – obviously a while ago, and I was told just recently.

“The reason given is because of a financial difficulty with insurance. They now say in the press they wanted to ‘refresh’ the show, and with a new coaching line-up there wouldn’t be a chair for me.”

He added: “They are offering a much-reduced role where I would make an appearance but without being actually involved from the start, and I’m not thrilled about that.

“So, the only thing I know right now, is that there’s never a good time to fire an 86-year-old who’s still pretty good at his job.”

Mis-Teeq singer Sabrina Washington’s assertion that the group are going their separate ways following their recent reunion show has not gone down well with all of her bandmates.

Earlier this month, Sabrina came together with former Mis-Teeq stars Alesha Dixon and Su-Elise Nash (not to mention OG Mis-Teeq star Zena McNally in a surprise appearance) for a one-off show at London’s Wembley Arena, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their debut album.

Although the show was well-received by critics and fans, just one week later, Sabrina made it clear that Mis-Teeq would not be moving forward as a band when she announced a string of solo shows for 2026.

“There aren’t any further Mis-Teeq dates or new music planned and we’ve all gone back to doing our own things now,” she told The Sun. “For me, though, I wasn’t ready for the celebration to end there.”

However, after Sabrina’s interview was published, Su-Elise claimed that this wasn’t a version of events that she necessarily agreed with.

On Monday evening, she wrote on Instagram: “As far as I was aware, today was our deadline to make a decision on some incredible Mis-Teeq offers for 2027… including headlining a major UK festival, performing at another huge UK festival and potentially taking the show regional for everyone who couldn’t make Wembley.

“After the incredible response to our sold-out Wembley Arena show, I genuinely believed these were opportunities we were all excited about and hopefully saying YES to today as Mis-Teeq! So to find out that a press release went out [to the media] today saying ‘Mis-Teeq have split’ has taken me by surprise.”

“That’s news to me,” she claimed. “Either way, I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved at Wembley and so grateful to everyone who came out and supported us.”

HuffPost UK has also contacted Alesha Dixon’s team for comment.

During their time together, Mis-Teeq racked up a string of top 10 hits, including All I Want, One Night Stand, Can’t Get It Back and Scandalous.

They went their separate ways in the mid-2000s after their record label, Telstar Records, entered bankruptcy proceedings.