Michael Carrick has signed a two-year contract to remain as Manchester United head coach and his four-word summary about adapting to the role is telling

Michael Carrick appears undaunted by the enormous challenge of reviving a club of Manchester United‘s stature. Indeed, the manager’s reaction to being given control of his former side may well reassure a huge number of United supporters.

Carrick, 44, will continue as United head coach after being confirmed on a two-year contract on Friday. Supporters are eager to witness the club’s first British appointment in more than a decade flourish following a succession of failures during that period.

It represents considerable pressure for Carrick, who became a beloved figure at Old Trafford throughout his 12-year playing career. Yet he offered former team-mate Wayne Rooney a calm and composed response when questioned about his feelings regarding his new role during an interview for United’s official YouTube channel.

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“It feels pretty natural,” said the former England midfielder, who lifted the FA Cup alongside Rooney after defeating Crystal Palace in 2016. Those four words alone and the relaxed manner in which they’re delivered should ease fans’ concerns after numerous predecessors buckled under the strain.

Carrick’s remark is appropriately made on the trophy-laden spiral staircase at United’s Carrington training ground. As though the role itself wasn’t sufficient reminder of the demands that accompany managing such a storied club, though it clearly doesn’t intimidate him.

Before taking charge of United, Carrick’s only previous senior coaching experience was a two-and-a-half-year spell at Middlesbrough. The Teessiders secured three successive top-half finishes under his stewardship but never returned to the Championship play-offs after his opening campaign.

Compare that with a United icon such as Sir Alex Ferguson, who accumulated 12 years of senior management experience in Scotland before heading south. Yet despite his limited background prior to assuming control of one of football’s giants, Carrick’s characteristically calm demeanour comes to the fore.

He added: “It feels big on the outside but when you’re in it, it just feels [shrugs shoulders]…Even though it’s different, the building’s different, some of the people are different, it’s kind of what you get used to from 20 years ago since I signed.

“So it’s all I’ve kind of known, really. So it’s a bigger role than what I’ve had before but actually it just feels like a natural step, to be fair. It’s nice to be here. A lot of responsibility but it’s good. I’m really enjoying it.”

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Little wonder why after steering United to third place and Champions League qualification. The Red Devils concluded their campaign with an emphatic 3-0 triumph at Brighton, opponents they’ve historically found difficult in recent seasons.

That result in itself highlighted how fortunes are evolving under Carrick. To underscore that progression even more, Bruno Fernandes shattered the Premier League assist record at the Amex Stadium and has been crowned Player of the Season.

Greater challenges undoubtedly await, though Carrick’s seamless transition at United is already yielding remarkable results as he seeks to return the club to its former glory.

Memories of those qualifiers – which both ended 1-1 – are still fresh, but a score will be settled on neutral ground this evening as one team has to emerge victorious. The winners will progress to Saturday’s final to face the winners of the second semi-final between India and Jamaica, while the losing side has to settle for a place in the third-place play-off. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog!

Members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet spend a noticeable amount of time flattering the president with praise, admiration or validation for his feelings toward his opponents, according to a new analysis by the New York Times.

In a review of Cabinet meetings, the New York Times found that, on average, one in every six sentences spoken by current members offers Trump some sort of flattery. It ranges from direct compliments and giving Trump credit to bashing his enemies.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke the most often during Cabinet meetings, was found to have flattered the president the most, according to the analysis. Rubio credited Trump with helping bring an end to multiple world conflicts – a claim the president also consistently makes.

Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance criticized Trump’s opponents most often, with one of every six sentences being an insult towards them, the analysis determined.

White House Spokesperson Allison Schuster said in a statement that Trump “has opened nearly all of his Cabinet meetings to the press, allowing his talented team to highlight the exhaustive list of accomplishments they have delivered on behalf of the American people to Make America Great Again.”

White House officials have often highlighted how the president has made his administration more transparent to the public by televising Cabinet meetings.

Cabinet meetings are historically closed-door to allow the president and his inner circle to discuss sensitive issues. But Trump has chosen to allow TV cameras and the press in the room to give Cabinet members an opportunity to explain what they’re doing and take questions from reporters.

However, the hours-long roundtable is generally filled with positive remarks about the administration and negative comments about Trump’s opponents.

Cabinet members seemingly use the meetings to flex their loyalty to Trump, who has high allegiance standards.

During a January 29, 2026, Cabinet meeting, Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler credited Trump with helping Americans affected by natural disasters, criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom and former President Joe Biden, parroted Trump’s claim that he ended eight wars and insisted Americans had lined up to thank Trump.

At a December 2025 Cabinet meeting, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told the president his team was “crushing it,” said he was grateful for Trump during the holiday season and insisted the president was “willing to take a bullet for this country.”

Many Cabinet members credit Trump’s leadership with accomplishments in their respective departments or agencies, often using the phrase “under your leadership” during sentences.

On April 30 last year, now departed Attorney General Pam Bondi raised eyebrows by claiming Trump had saved the lives of 258 million Americans – about 75 percent of the population of the United States – through the seizure by law enforcement agents of 22 million fentanyl pills.

Another former Cabinet member, ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, told the president in December: “Sir, you made it through hurricane season without a hurricane. You kept the hurricanes away.”

The New York Times analysis found that Rubio often asserted Trump deserved more credit for his foreign policy agenda and that no other leader would have been able to intervene in conflicts to make peace.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted Trump’s decision to bomb Iran would have a positive long-term outcome for the U.S. economy and criticized Democrats for underestimating the president during a March 26, 2026, Cabinet meeting.

Vance bashed Democrats during a December 2, 2025, Cabinet meeting, repeating various claims Trump had made about his predecessor, including that Biden had created an affordability problem.

Trump’s messaging often includes vilifying his predecessor. Despite winning the 2024 presidential election, Trump continues to compare his administration to Biden’s during Cabinet meetings, press conferences or rallies.

Members of the Cabinet often do the same.

During an April 30, 2025, Cabinet meeting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blamed Biden for the disastrous withdrawal in Afghanistan, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed Biden for adding overhead costs to infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Director Scott Turner blamed Biden for prioritizing migrants over Americans, and Director of the Office and Management and Budget Russell Vought blamed Biden for raising prices for families and more.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to intervene in a discrimination lawsuit led by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores against the NFL, allowing the case to proceed toward trial.

The justices rebuffed an appeal from the league, which wanted the case handled through its arbitration process rather than open court in New York. Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the decision not to hear the case.

Flores, who was fired by the Dolphins shortly before the suit was filed, is now the Minnesota Vikings’ defensive coordinator.

Wilks, who was fired as the New York Jets’ defensive coordinator in December, joined the lawsuit by claiming the Arizona Cardinals in 2018 hired him as a “bridge coach” — promoting him to interim coach after they fired another coach but then passing over him for the full-time role. He said the Cardinals didn’t provide him with a realistic chance to succeed.

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Barnard Castle – known locally as “Barney” – sits on the north bank of the River Tees in south‑west County Durham, about 21 miles from Durham city and an easy run up from Darlington.

It’s the main town in Teesdale, acting as a gateway to the dales, waterfalls and moorland that make this part of the North Pennines an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

A Norman fortress town

The town grew up around the Norman stronghold that still dominates the skyline on a rocky outcrop above the Tees.

Barnard Castle was begun in the 12th century by Bernard de Balliol and later passed through powerful families, including the Beauchamps and Richard III, who used it as one of his northern bases.

Today the ruined walls, towers and views over the river are managed as a visitor attraction, with the site typically taking a couple of hours to explore.

Cobbled streets and markets

Step away from the castle and you’re in a tight maze of cobbled streets, ginnels and squares lined with Georgian and Victorian buildings.

The main route, Galgate, runs into Horse Market and the cobbled Market Place, where a traditional Wednesday market and monthly farmers’ markets still bring stalls and producers into the town centre.

At the top of the cobbles stands the octagonal Market Cross, an 18th‑century landmark that anchors the high street.

Independent shops are one of Barney’s big draws: antiques and collectables, butchers, bookshops, galleries and cafés sit alongside everyday services and a supermarket.

For visitors, it’s the kind of place where you can park once and spend the day wandering between castle, museum, river and shops without needing the car again.

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

The Bowes Museum

On the eastern side of town, set in parkland, the Bowes Museum is Barnard Castle’s other flagship attraction.

Purpose‑built in the 19th century in the style of a French château, it houses an important collection of European fine and decorative arts, including well‑known works and the famous Silver Swan automaton.

Alongside the permanent collection, it runs a programme of exhibitions, family activities and events throughout the year.

(Image: STUART BOULTON)

Walks and the River Tees

Part of Barnard Castle’s appeal is how close town and countryside sit together. Riverside paths drop down from the centre to the Tees, where you can follow waymarked routes to the medieval bridge, through Flatts Wood or out towards Egglestone Abbey.

The town is also a natural base for exploring further up Teesdale to High Force, Low Force, Bowlees and the high moors, all within an easy drive.

Practical details for a visit

Most of Barnard Castle’s centre offers short‑stay free parking, backed up by car parks close to the shops, castle, riverside and Bowes Museum.

Buses connect the town with Bishop Auckland and Darlington, and there is a visitor information point in the town centre with maps, leaflets and local advice.

Between the history, the Bowes Museum and the simple pleasure of a wander around the cobbles, it works just as well for a quick stop off the A66 as it does for a full weekend in Teesdale.

President Donald Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for his second checkup with his physician since October as Americans continue to express doubts about his mental fitness ahead of his 80th birthday.

Trump arrived at the Bethesda, Maryland facility at 8:52 am on Tuesday for what the White House described as “his annual dental and medical evaluations” as well as visits with military personnel while there.

He left for the return drive to the White House after roughly three and a half hours of what he described as a “six-month physical” in a Truth Social post in which he declared that “everything” had “checked out PERFECTLY” during the checkup.

The medical exam was Trump’s third publicly disclosed checkup with his U.S. Navy physician, Dr. Sean Barbabella, since October 2025 — and his fourth since returning to the White House last January.

He previously visited Walter Reed for the first time in his second term for an annual physical in April 2025, after which the White House claimed he was in “excellent health” and weighing in at 224 pounds — a fully 20 pounds lighter than what he weighed five years earlier.

Trump then underwent an evaluation by Dr. Barbabella in July 2025 after photographs of his swollen ankles raised health concerns, followed by what the White House called a “semi-annual physical” in October after which the White House disclosed that he’d had a CT scan to rule out cardiovascular issues.

His latest examination comes amid rising scrutiny over his mental and physical condition as he nears the start of his ninth decade and as Americans express increasing doubts over his fitness to serve as president after regular episodes of falling asleep during public events, bizarre and often erratic behavior and evidence of physical decline.

Since the start of his second term, photographers have routinely spotted visible bruising on both of his hands that he attempts — unsuccessfully — to conceal with makeup.

The White House has repeatedly claimed that the bruising is the result of frequent and constant handshaking while carrying out official duties combined with the side effects of a high daily dose of aspirin, with White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt telling The Independent last year that the Oval Office under Trump is “like Grand Central station” since Trump returned to the presidency.

Yet no explanation has been offered for the similar bruising on the back of Trump’s left hand, which is not generally used for shaking hands.

After photographs of the president revealed visibly swollen ankles last July, Dr. Barbabella penned a memorandum stating that Trump was suffering from Chronic Veinous Insufficiency, which he described as a “common” vein condition that was benign and not evidence of more serious disease.

Barbabella separately acknowledged that Trump was using “a preventative skin treatment” to address a dermatological issue he did not describe further after photographs emerged of a blotchy red rash around Trump’s neck during an event earlier this year.

The U.S. Navy Captain has described the president’s “cardiac age” — a metric used by physicians to describe cardiovascular vitality as approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age. And Leavitt said the CT scan of Trump taken during his exam last October indicated that he is “exceptional physical health.”

Yet Trump’s condition is increasingly being questioned after he has appeared to fall asleep during several meetings, including a during a cabinet meeting late last year.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll in April found that 51 percent of Americans believe that Trump’s mental faculties declined over 2025 and early 2026. That same poll found that only a quarter of Americans believe he is “even-tempered.”

The same month, a Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that just four in ten Americans now believe that Trump has the mental sharpness required for the presidency, a drop of seven points in that category from several months ago. That poll also found that worries about Trump’s physical health were increasing as well.

Yet Trump frequently boasts about his cognitive condition — including his ability to pass a routine screening used to detect dementia.

During an Oval Office event in late March, he claimed to be the “only president that ever took a cognitive test.”

“I took it three times. It’s actually a very hard test for a lot of people. It wasn’t hard for me. But it’s a cognitive test,” he said.

“It starts off with an easy question. And by the time you get to the middle, it gets tougher. By the time you get to the end, very few people can answer those questions. They get very tough mathematical equations and things.”

Local councillors in the town told on Tuesday that a Sheriff had signed papers to serve notice.

Travellers occupying land at the Xcite campus in Linlithgow are set to be moved on.

Local councillors in the town told on Tuesday that a Sheriff had signed papers to serve notice.

It comes almost a week after travellers set up an authorised encampment at the site in McGinlay Way in the town- one of several set up across the county in recent weeks.

There have already been reports of nuisance and vandalism at the site including playing pitches torn up by vehicles with reports of cars “ donutting” on playing fields destroying playing surfaces.

READ MORE: West Lothian tenants with ‘overgrown and scruffy’ gardens may be left with bill

The travellers moved onto the site last Wednesday- the day after the council agreed its new policy framework into how to deal with an issue which hit communities across the county last summer and left the council with a clean up bill running into tens of thousands of pounds.

An unauthorised camp at the Linlithgow site last summer took contractors weeks to access and clear up because of soggy ground conditions.

The decree against the latest encampment was issued on Tuesday morning with immediate effect. The council’s legal officers arranged for Sheriff Officers to serve notice in the travelling families.

Should the travellers fail to vacate the site Police Scotland and an external contractor low loaders will attend to assist Safer Neighbourhood Team officers.

READ MORE: West Lothian business has four-figure sum of sports goods swiped by masked thief

Chairing a meeting of the Linlithgow Local Area Committee this morning, Councillor Sally Pattle thanked council officers for providing daily updates on the Xcite encampment, given the interest from local people and the question she and other members had faced over the latest arrival.

Last week the Local Democracy Reporting Service highlighted the difficulties that the council will continue to face under existing legislation. West Lothian, along with other local authorities has to seek written permission fro a Sheriff before it can act to move travellers on.

There were doubts expressed last week, as the LDRS highlighted that without a change of legislation there will be no improvement.

READ MORE: West Lothian councillors to get twice yearly updates on pothole and road repairs

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A woman at the heart of a murder probe in Rochdale has been identified. Keeley Aspinall, affectionately known as Kiki amongst mates, was discovered deceased at a flat on the Freehold estate on Monday afternoon (May 25).

Police responded to a welfare concern at the property near Tweedale Street at approximately 4pm. Greater Manchester Police confirmed a woman was located at the flat. Tragically, she was declared dead at the scene.

Keeley, 44, has now been formally identified and named by relatives, who are receiving support from specialist officers at GMP.

Her family paid tribute, saying: “Gone too soon.. we can’t believe you are gone. We will always love you and miss you, love all your family xx.”

One friend, speaking to the Manchester Evening News in remembrance of Keeley, described her as ‘like a sister’, stating: “She was the best friend anyone could ask for. I’m going to miss her so much, she will always be in my heart.”

A man in his 30s has been detained on suspicion of murder. He continues to be held in custody for questioning on Tuesday (May 26).

Police maintained their presence on the estate throughout the afternoon. A flat at the Hartlebury block was sealed off, with officers positioned outside.

Detectives were observed conducting door-to-door inquiries, while forensic specialists were also present at the scene. GMP confirmed there would be an increased police presence in the vicinity as investigations progress.

Temporary Detective Chief Superintendent Jamie Daniels, from GMP’s Major Incident Team, stated on Monday: “We appreciate this incident is likely to cause some distress amongst the public and local community. I would like to reassure you that we believe this to be an isolated incident, which does not pose any further risk to the wider public.”

He continued: “We understand the severity of events such as this, and whilst we are in very early stages, our officers will work tirelessly to establish the full details of this tragic death.

“A scene will remain in place at this time, and there will be an increased police presence in the area over the coming days. Thank you for your patience as our investigations continue.”

Social media has been inundated with tributes for Keeley. Naomi Parkinson wrote: “Oh this is heartbreaking I knew Keeley from my younger days x condolences to all her family xx.”

Anna Feeney commented: “When meeting you in Rochdale u was Such a lovely girl sending so much love and condolences to your family. rip Kiki a beautiful girl.”

Paul Ashi shared: “Lovely girl full of fun never a dull moment with her around.” Eleanor Smith remarked: “She was so lovely r.i.p keeley. so sad she was such a beautiful person to get to know condolences to her family xxx.”

Janine Wolstenholme expressed: “RIP keeley absolutley heartbreaking xx”

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Cole Palmer could potentially be sold by Chelsea in the summer transfer window, with his asking price and Champions League comments putting interested parties on red alert

Chelsea star Cole Palmer would reportedly cost at least £80million for either Manchester United or Manchester City to tempt Xabi Alonso’s side into negotiating a sale this summer. The Blues talisman, after being left out of England’s World Cup squad, looks set for months of uncertainty surrounding his future after his side failed to qualify for any form of European football next season.

In the midst of a turbulent campaign, links over a move to Old Trafford emerged with Palmer a boyhood United fan. However, those rumours died down somewhat with Michael Carrick and Co focusing on additions in other positions.

Interest from United could be reignited though with his asking price coming to light and some telling comments resurfacing that suggest he could leave. According to The Sun, £80m would be the starting point for any negotiations.

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Chelsea are not exactly in a strong position for any potential talks however, with defeat to Sunderland last weekend seeing them finish 10th and outside of any European qualification spots. Palmer made quite the Champions League claim prior to Chelsea’s run of one league win in five games.

He told TNT Sports: “Hopefully [I can achieve my ambitions at Chelsea]. I believe in the club, they spoke to us as players. Hopefully I, and we, can win a lot at Chelsea. If we’re not in the Champions League, everything changes. We need to finish in the Champions League.”

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Having finished third, United are back in Europe’s top club competition but could face competition from another Champions League side in Manchester City. Reports in Spain have gone as far as stating an £86million offer is on the table.

While that seems a tad far-fetched, a return to Etihad Stadium for Palmer is not out of the equation especially with his former manager Enzo Maresca set to replace Pep Guardiola.

The latter took charge of his final game as City boss last weekend and he is expected to be replaced by former Chelsea head coach Maresca, who had a stint as Guardiola’s No2.

The Italian, who arguably got the very best out of Palmer, departed Stamford Bridge earlier this year after he and the club’s hierarchy fell out with Liam Rosenior coming in as his replacement.

He was sacked just a few months into his tenure with Xabi Alonso, who was strongly linked to City, confirmed as their manager for the 2026/27 season.

United also looked set to be in the managerial market this summer but made the decision to stick with Michael Carrick permanently after he guided the club to a third-placed finish.

Midfielders are the priority for United but Palmer could be considered a unique market opportunity given Chelsea’s failings.