They were charged with a number of offences including murder, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and threats to kill.

Two men have been charged in connection with the death of Nicholas Gordon in east Belfast. The 51-year-old, who was also known as Nicky, died in hospital on Saturday four days after an assault in an apartment complex on the Holywood Road. The men, aged 25 and 31, were arrested in Scotland on Monday on suspicion of murder and were transferred to Northern Ireland. On Thursday, they were charged with a number of offences including murder, possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and threats to kill. Both are due to appear at Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Friday. A police spokesperson said: “As is normal procedure, all charges are reviewed by the PPS.” A 24-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman previously arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary with intent to commit grievous bodily harm in the case were released unconditionally.

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CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who won more races than anyone across NASCAR’s three national series, has died. He was 41.

The Busch Family, Richard Childress Racing and NASCAR issued a joint statement Thursday saying Busch died after being hospitalized. No cause of death was given.

Busch’s family said earlier Thursday that he was hospitalized with a “severe illness,” three days before he was to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch was testing in the Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord on Wednesday when he became unresponsive and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, several people familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because details have not been disclosed by Busch’s team or family.

Busch was the younger brother of Kurt Busch, a NASCAR Hall of Famer. He’s survived by wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix.

“Our entire NASCAR family is heartbroken by the loss of Kyle Busch,” the statement said. “A future Hall of Famer, Kyle was a rare talent, one who comes along once in a generation. He was fierce, he was passionate, he was immensely skilled and he cared deeply about the sport and fans.”

The statement went on to say that “throughout a career that spanned more than two decades, Kyle set records in national series wins, won championships at NASCAR’s highest level and fostered the next generation of drivers as an owner in the Truck Series. His sharp wit and competitive spirit sparked a deep emotional connection with race fans of every age, creating the proud and loyal ‘Rowdy Nation.’”

The news comes 11 days after Busch radioed into his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen asking a doctor to give him a “shot” when he finished the race. According to the TV broadcast, Busch had been struggling with a sinus cold exacerbated by the intense G-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.

Busch finished the race in eighth place.

Busch competed at Dover last weekend and won the Trucks Series race for Spire Motorsports. He then finished 17th at the NASCAR All-Star race, his final race.

“Absolutely cannot comprehend this news,” NASCAR driver and former teammate Denny Hamlin posted on social media. “We just need to think of his family during this time. We love you KB.”

Added driver Brad Keselowski on social media: “Absolute shock. Very hard to process.”

A polarizing figure known as “Rowdy” and “Wild Thing” for his post-race fights, regular feuds with other drivers and sometimes outlandish behavior, the multi-talented Busch stormed on the Cup Series scene in 2005 by winning Rookie of the Year.

He went on to win championships in 2015 and 2019 for Joe Gibbs Racing.

“His impact on our organization and on the sport of NASCAR will never be forgotten,” the team said in a statement.

From Las Vegas, Busch experienced unrivaled success across NASCAR’s three national series winning a combined 234 Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Trucks Series races. He had 63 Cup victories along with 102 O’Reilly Auto Parts wins and 69 Trucks victories — both records.

Busch was fired early in his career by Hendrick Motorsports to make room on the team for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“Kyle and I had a really challenging existence for many years,” Earnhardt said in a statement. “But we luckily took the time to figure out our differences and that was something he instigated with a conversation in his bus around how we each managed our racing teams. I was super eager for us to get on better terms. But it was he who made the effort for that to be possible.”

Busch moved on to Joe Gibbs Racing where he experienced the vast majority of career success. But Busch was let go when there was no sponsor after the 2022 season and joined Richard Childress Racing, where had struggled to win races.

His lack of success led to a recent spat with former JGR teammate Hamlin, who appeared to criticize Busch on the “Actions Detrimental” podcast. Hamlin said, “If you’re expecting Kyle Busch to just go back to victory lane on a regular basis, you are kidding yourselves.”

While Hamlin later said he meant no harm by the comments and was just making an observation, Busch took exception and said he could make Hamlin’s life “hell” on the racetrack.

While several laps down at last month’s race at Kansas, Busch raced Hamlin hard instead of allowing the race leader to pass. That decision held up Hamlin during a crucial stage of the race and Tyler Reddick won the race after Hamlin faded late.

After winning the Trucks race at Dover last week and showing an uptick in speed, Busch seemed to make a veiled jab at Hamlin, saying “I guess I just remembered how to drive.”

After earning his win at Dover, Busch was asked how many races he wanted to win in his career.

“You take whatever you can get, man,” Busch said. “You never know when the last one is going to be, so cherish them all — trust me.”

Busch’s unexpected death is just the latest tragedy to hit NASCAR. Last December, former driver Greg Biffle, his wife and two children and three others died in a plane crash in Statesville, North Carolina.

The announcement of Busch’s death came after teams had already left Gasoline Alley on media day at the Indianapolis 500. As word spread on Main Street in Speedway, Indiana, just a short walk from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, race fans — IndyCar and NASCAR — were saddened.

NASCAR officials confirmed to The Associated Press the Coca-Cola 600 will go on as planned Sunday.

Drivers are expected to begin making their way to Charlotte Motorsports Speedway in Concord on Friday with practice and qualifying beginning on Saturday. Earlier in the day, RCR had announced that Austin Hill would replace Busch in the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

___ AP freelance writer and former AP auto racing writer Jenna Fryer and AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report. ___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.   

Michelle Ferguson , CBI Scotland director, said: “Our message to the new Scottish Government, and to new and returning MSPs, is a simple one: against a backdrop of rising costs and global volatility, growth really is the ‘only game in town’ – so it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get on with it.

The Late Show finale will be a star-studded event with a leaked list of celebrity guests that includes singer Paul McCartney.

Stephen Colbert and his crew tried to keep tonight’s guest appearances under wraps, but some details have been revealed after the show was taped earlier today.

McCartney was one of the guests in the Ed Sullivan Theater today, returning again to the studio where he and the rest of The Beatles performed live in 1964, Deadline has reported.

Other stars include actors Paul Rudd, Bryan Cranston and Ryan Reynolds, according to the outlet. Former Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste also reportedly performed for the finale.

The cancellation of the Emmy-winning comedian’s show was announced last July and came days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, over a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump.

Trump’s legal team accused 60 Minutes of deceptively editing a 2024 interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump said he would “have a message at a later date” when asked for his thoughts on the end of Colbert’s show.

After hosting the show for more than a decade, Colbert’s “extended” finale will air at 11:35 p.m. ET Thursday night.

Late Show makes big effort to hide surprise guests for finale

The Late Show has taken the secrecy of tonight’s guests very seriously, with a security tower stationed outside the Ed Sullivan Theater to shield the identity of anyone entering.

The tower at the stage door had heavy curtains and security guards around it, Deadline detailed.

“Whoever you are, we love you!” one fan yelled.

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Rachel Dobkin22 May 2026 02:00

Trump’s political rivals shower Stephen Colbert with praise ahead of Late Show finale

President Donald Trump’s political rivals have showered Stephen Colbert with praise ahead of the Late Show finale.

“There aren’t many who can make people think and laugh at the same time. For years, Stephen brought wit, heart, and honesty to late night television,” former President Joe Biden wrote on Instagram.

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“America could always count on a laugh — and sometimes a needed reality check. Congrats on an incredible run, my friend,” he added.

Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent during the 2016 election, wrote on Instagram, “Alongside his great wit, Stephen brought deep thoughtfulness, empathy, and humility to the late-night stage.”

Rachel Dobkin22 May 2026 01:30

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Late Show staffer shares video of Colbert’s warm up act before finale

Paul Mecurio, a comedian at the Late Show, has shared a video of Colbert’s warm up act before the finale.

In the video posted to X, Colbert’s colleagues are seen and heard clapping. Colbert then bangs onto a storage rack backstage, joining in on the beat.

After one final look at his crew, Colbert walks on stage to the taping of tonight’s show.

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The live audience can be heard cheering loudly as the host appears from backstage.

Rachel Dobkin22 May 2026 01:00

Stephen Colbert walked on stage to ‘deafening cheers’ during Late Show taping: report

Stephen Colbert walked on stage to “deafening cheers” during the taping of the Late Show finale, according to CNN’s Brian Stelter.

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Rachel Dobkin22 May 2026 00:30

Who will be on the Late Show tonight?

The Late Show has decided to keep its finale a surprise to fans.

Viewers won’t know who tonight’s guests will be until they walk out on stage, and the segments have also been under wraps.

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There are some guests we could presumably cancel out, including his longtime friend Jon Stewart. The comedian appeared on the show earlier this week.

It’s also unlikely his fellow late night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver will appear tonight, since they were on the show last week.

Rachel Dobkin22 May 2026 00:00

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Kamala Harris thanks Stephen Colbert for ‘so many memorable conversations’

Former Vice President Kamala Harris has paid tribute to Stephen Colbert’s time on late night TV, thanking him for “so many memorable conversations.”

“Stephen Colbert has a talent for making people laugh and encouraging them to stay curious, stay engaged, and stay hopeful about the world around them,” she wrote on X ahead of his final show.

CBS’ Late Show was canceled days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, over a $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump.

The settlement was part of a legal dispute in which Trump’s team accused 60 Minutes of deceptively editing a 2024 interview with Harris, his political opponent in the last presidential election.

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Rachel Dobkin21 May 2026 23:30

Trump sends Stephen Colbert a warning ahead of final Late Show airing

Donald Trump isn’t letting Stephen Colbert fade into the sunset without having the last word.

The White House also issued its own statement to The Independent, celebrating Colbert’s final show.

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Rhian Lubin21 May 2026 23:00

Why was the Late Show canceled?

The network announced the cancellation last July in a statement, describing Colbert as “irreplaceable” and citing a “financial decision.”

“As someone who’s always been a proud employee of this network, I am offended. And I don’t know if anything will ever repair my trust in this company,” the host said. “But just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”

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Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a frequent Colbert guest, questioned CBS’s motives, demanding that “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”

“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump – a deal that looks like bribery,” she suggested on X, alongside a clip of Colbert’s show in which he denounced Paramount’s settlement.

Inga Parkel21 May 2026 22:30

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Stars pay tribute to Colbert ahead of final show

The stars have been paying tribute to Stephen Colbert on social media ahead of his final Late Show tonight.

Fellow late-night host Conan O’Brien said Colbert was moving on to “bigger and better things,” while Star Wars actor Mark Hamill thanked him for “decades of laughs.”

Rhian Lubin21 May 2026 22:00

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Pictured: Fans line up in the rain ahead of Colbert’s final show

Rhian Lubin21 May 2026 21:30

Can spending more time engaging with the arts, such as visiting galleries, museums, singing or painting, really lead to a longer and healthier life? It’s certainly an appealing idea. And it’s not implausible.

Stress is bad for your health, and spending your free time doing something engaging, like visiting an art gallery, seems like a good way to reduce stress. But there’s a big difference between a plausible idea and an established scientific fact. And if scientists like me want to advise people on how to spend their time, we need to be confident that our advice is based on solid evidence.

A recent study, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, offers a case in point. The study, led by a team of researchers from UCL, reported that those who engaged in arts and cultural activities more often, and in a wider range of such activities, appeared to be ageing more slowly according to certain biological clocks.

Unfortunately, determining whether arts engagement truly improves your health and slows your ageing is very difficult. There are three main challenges.

First, you need to distinguish whether arts engagement causes slower ageing or whether accelerated ageing (and poorer health) simply makes it harder to engage in the arts (an issue known as “reverse causation”).

Second, you need to account for the fact that the people who spend more time engaging with arts are generally very different to those who don’t; that is, they’re typically wealthier and living healthier lifestyles (an issue known as “confounding”).

And finally, you need to account for the fact that those who spend more time engaging in the arts may simply have more leisure time. This means being very clear about what you are comparing the time spent engaging with the arts against.

It seems plausible that visiting a gallery would be better for reducing stress than caring for a dying relative. But is it better than going for a walk? Or spending more time sleeping? Without a clear comparison, it’s impossible to tell whether spending time engaging with the arts is any better than any other leisure activity.

So how might we clearly study the causal effect of, say, spending time visiting galleries versus spending the same time watching TV on subsequent health and ageing?

The classic approach would be to conduct an experiment. Take a large enough group of people and randomly assign them to one of two groups, with one encouraged to visit galleries and the other to watch TV.

The snag is how exactly you would encourage people – and would it work?

You could pay them. But whatever effect you observed would not then represent the effect of freely visiting a gallery versus freely watching TV.

The more popular option is to study patterns in people taking part in long-running research studies. But to do this well would require repeated and detailed data on how people spend their time and their changing health, ageing indicators and other characteristics. In theory, this would allow you to study how an increase in, say, gallery attendance versus TV watching changed subsequent health or ageing indicators, after carefully accounting for everything mentioned above.

What does the research actually show?

Alas, most studies examining the effect of arts engagement on health and ageing fall well short of these requirements. The recent UCL study offers a textbook example. It examined the effect of arts and cultural engagement on biological ageing without stating a comparison.

So, at best, it studies the effect of having more time to spend on arts and cultural engagement. And it’s probably not that either, because of the other problems of reverse causation and confounding.

Since the study only had single-timepoint measures of arts engagement and ageing, there’s no way to distinguish the effects of arts engagement on slower ageing from the effects of accelerated ageing (and poorer health) on arts engagement.

The study did account for some of the differences in the profile of those engaging in more and less arts activities. But only partially, with several factors ignored – such as wealth, childhood circumstances and disease – and others overly simplified (employment was represented by a simple yes/no variable).

Several of the most important lifestyle factors, like smoking, alcohol use and body mass index (BMI) were also only examined as a secondary concern. When these were accounted for, the apparent effects shrank by 30-80%. And, again, these were all overly simplified. For example, only smoking status, not amount of smoking, was considered.

In the resulting media coverage, the researchers said the effects of more versus less arts engagement were “comparable to the difference between smokers and those who have given up smoking”, and the lead author suggested arts engagement should be promoted “just like we promote 10,000 steps a day or five-a-day of fruits and vegetables”. If you’re a smoker, I’m afraid visiting a few museums is unlikely to offer the same life-changing benefits as giving up smoking.

For everyone else, by all means spend more time visiting museums, galleries, singing, or painting. Your life will probably be richer for it. But if you want to live a longer, healthier life, then there’s probably no substitute for increasing your physical activity, improving your diet and reducing your alcohol intake.

The authors of the study on arts and ageing were offered the right of reply. Here is their response:

Researching arts engagement is indeed challenging as it’s a complex human behaviour. We used the same methods previously used to identify other behaviours related to biological ageing, like exercise, and are currently using the findings to design experiments.

We examined many confounders, selecting those that influence arts engagement most strongly (e.g. household income and neighbourhood deprivation, which are highly correlated with wealth). Lifestyle factors can both influence and result from arts engagement (e.g. festivals can encourage substance use, while dancing can reduce BMI) – that’s why we compared results with and without them. Without lifestyle factors, biological age was 0.8 years lower among arts participants. With lifestyle factors, it was 0.65 years lower.

Experimental studies on other health outcomes suggest benefits arise not just from leisure time, but the emotional, cognitive, physical and social elements of the arts. We don’t advise substituting arts for other health-promoting behaviours, but experiments show that adding arts on top of these behaviours can lead to even greater improvements in health and wellbeing.

With unpaid carers saving Scotland over £13 billion per year according to government ministers, a report on local initiatives was presented to a recent council meeting.

Councillors have endorsed a range of initiatives designed to support unpaid carers in North Lanarkshire.

With unpaid carers saving Scotland over £13 billion per year according to government ministers, a report on local initiatives was presented to a recent council meeting.

Research shows that carers in North Lanarkshire have more positive experiences than those in many other areas, but there is still much that could be done.

In 2024 councillors agreed to invest in voluntary sector groups which support unpaid carers, resulting in established partnerships with five organisations Action For Children Young Carers Project North Lanarkshire, Alzheimer’s Scotland, Getting Better Together, Lanarkshire Carers and North Lanarkshire Carers Together.

They have now also agreed to commit remaining funds allocated to the council under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 implementation to appoint solicitors to set up power of attorneys for carers.

Powers of attorney can help prevent delays in discharging patients from hospital in cases where otherwise guardianship orders need to be pursued, especially in relation to adults with dementia.

Work is underway to recruit a solicitor or law firm to work under the new scheme, which would see referrals made by psychiatrists, with consent from their patients, to grant power of attorney to their carer. If this referrals procedure is a success and funding is available, this programme may in future be expanded to include referrals from other sources.

Currently the cost of granting a power of attorney can otherwise put people off, especially in situations where a carer has reduced or given up their paid employment. £100,000 in funding has been allocated to this work.

READ MORE: North Lanarkshire councillors approve £100m contract covering demolition works

A further £150,000 (over two years) will be used to expand the Carer Breather programme, which sees various organisations provide opportunities for carers to enjoy other activities ranging from paddle boarding to knit and natter sessions.

Some of these activities are entirely for carers while others also involve the person being cared for.

Initially the Carer Breather network involved 11 organisations and has grown to 15. This next expansion will take that to 19 groups including two new carer sitter options, and also help ensure the council is well prepared for the right of carers to time off being enshrined in law.

A two-year total of £100,000 will also be used to continue working with Strathclyde University on projects helping people with dementia, and this will be matched by a contribution from the university itself.

This money will expand CARE_PAC, which supports those approaching end of life, and CONSOLIDATE which is a rehabilitation programme. These will help unpaid carers continue to provide care and prevent or delay admissions to hospitals, care homes and hospices while also reducing carer stress and the need for paid support.

READ MORE: North Lanarkshire Council asked to approve conversion of gym in Newmains

PAMIS is a family support service currently helping some 80 families in North Lanarkshire who have a member with complex and profound multiple disabilities, and support from paid carers can exceed £400,000 annually, meaning investing in the support from PAMIS for unpaid carers is an example of “spending to save”.

Funding has been allocated at almost £85,000 over two years for assistive technology to support the assistive technology team by creating a new staffing post. The team helps carers get comfortable with using technology in a planned way rather than having to adapt during a time of crisis.

An additional £100,000 over two years will be used to support a range of arts activities for carers, helping them build resilience and socialise, in addition to improving numerous aspects of physical and mental health. It is also intended to increase the funding available by pursuing external grants.

An additional £50,000 will be invested in following up on a pilot scheme focusing on individual budgets for children and young people with additional support needs. A mid-point review of the pilot shows that this has had a significant impact on parent carers and young people.

READ MORE: Council receive application to construct new industrial buildings in Cleland

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Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives slammed Republicans for abruptly cancelling a vote to rein in President Donald Trump’s war in Iran before the House left for the Memorial Day weekend.

Lawmakers claimed that Republicans pulled the vote because they did not have enough votes to block the War Powers Act resolution to end the White House’s wildly unpopular war.

The resolution, which comes as members of both parties have attacked Trump over his Middle East policy, would require troops to withdraw within 60 to 90 days of deployment if Congress had not declared war or authorized use of military force.

The American public has also largely not been sold on the war. A New York Times/Siena College poll showed that 65 percent of voters disapproved of Trump’s handling of the conflict.

Republicans on Thursday kept open a vote to create a museum honoring women’s history, which ultimately failed. At that point, Rep. Jim McGovern, the ranking Democrat of the House Rules Committee, asked why the House was not voting as scheduled on the resolution.

“Are we not voting on it because the American people are sick and tired of this illegal war that is costing tens of billions of dollars?” McGovern asked amid heckling.

“Gas prices are through the roof. People can’t afford their groceries,” he said, which led to leadership hitting the gavel. “You guys don’t have the guts or the b**ls.”

The delay came after Trump and his Republican allies defeated the reelection attempt of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the biggest critics of Trump and of the Iran War. Republicans also had several absences, which likely meant the resolution could have passed. Earlier this week, Senate Democrats had enough Republicans join them on a War Powers Act resolution.

But just off the floor, Democrats were even angrier. Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton, a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer, told reporters that Republicans had “p***ied out.”

His colleague Rep. Pat Ryan of New York, a West Point graduate, was also furious.

“These chicken hawk motherf***ers are gonna send us home for Memorial Day weekend, where I’m gonna honor my fellow veterans that I served 27 months in combat with, and they are gonna not even give an up or down vote on continuing this war almost three months in,” he told The Independent.

The Trump administration launched the Iran war at the end of February. But House Speaker Mike Johnson has insisted Congress should not take action and said that the United States is “not at war right now.” The White House has gone back and forth between calling it a war or a “skirmish.”

Over time, more House Republicans have joined Democrats in War Powers Act resolutions.

“I think the American public wants this vote, but somebody doesn’t want to see the vote,” Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) told The Independent. “ Last time it was tight, right? And I’m hearing that we’re going to have enough votes to pass it, so that’s the issue.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) made fun of her fellow Minnesotan, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, for failing to get the votes to stop the resolution.

“When the vote failed on the women’s museum bill, they knew that they didn’t have the votes for the war powers,” she told The Independent.

It capped off a whipsaw day on Capitol Hill.

Earlier, Senate Republicans met with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche after many had questions about the new $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and whether any money would go to people who assaulted police officers on January 6.

In response, Republicans chose to go home rather than vote on a bill to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection. Shortly thereafter, House Speaker Mike Johnson called off votes for Friday.

We previously reported that the group had set up in the car park outside New Bury Community Learning Centre, but since then they have moved inside the grounds of the centre itself.

(Image: Dan Dougherty)

Though around six caravans have made it inside the community centre gates, there are still a large number in the car park outside.

Farnworth South Cllr Julie Pattison said: “Yes, we’re definitely working towards sorting it out.

“We have been in touch with Be One Homes about it, as they actually own the community centre.

“The council have also been made aware of it, so I should imagine the council liaison officer will go down and talk to them and ask them to move on, as is standard procedure.”

(Image: Dan Dougherty)

The group is very large, totalling around six caravans inside the grounds of the community centre and a further ten or so outside in the car park.

The council have legal powers to deal with encampments if the group do not move when requested to do so, but the process can take up to a week.

The New Bury Community Learning Centre provides learning courses for people moving on to further education and training, according to the Bolton Council website.