Karoline Leavitt cut an exhausted figure alongside Donald Trump a day after announcing she is quitting the White House at the end of the month, a decision that stunned Washington. 

The 28-year-old press secretary was at the President’s side on Friday as he traveled to New York to speak at a police academy.  

She stood and watched as Trump addressed reporters at Joint Base Andrews before the pair boarded Air Force One. 

Leavitt held her poker face as the press pack jostled around her boss. But she glanced back down toward the photographers as she climbed the stairs to the aircraft, her expression appearing to betray a flicker of regret.  

Leavitt announced on Thursday that she was leaving the White House to devote more time to her young family, a decision understood to have frustrated Trump, who had begged her to stay. 

She is among the President’s closest confidantes and had been expected to play a central role in the midterm campaign, with the election less than three months away.  

Leavitt returned from maternity leave only last month after giving birth to her daughter in May, her second child in the space of two years. 

She came back early at the insistence of the President, sources told the Daily Mail. 

Karoline Leavitt appeared forlorn on Friday as she accompanied Donald Trump just hours after announcing she is to quit the White House in a move that stunned Washington

The White House Press Secretary boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump is on his way to Garden City, New York, to speak at a police academy before continuing to Bedminster, New Jersey, to spend the weekend at his golf club

Donald Trump speaks to the press as Leavitt looks on at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland

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Leavitt returned from maternity leave only last month after giving birth to her daughter in May 

No replacement has been announced, although Trump’s former lawyer Alina Habba is the odds-on favorite with bookmakers. 

Leavitt admitted it was a ‘bittersweet decision,’ calling it ‘the most rewarding yet challenging season of my life, to say the least.’ 

‘The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary – and that is why I have ultimately made the bittersweet decision to depart the White House and embark on a new chapter in my life,’ she wrote on X.

Trump posted on Truth Social that it was ‘a decision I totally understand and respect’, calling Leavitt ‘one of the best White House press secretaries in the history of the office.’

The President said Leavitt would remain a ‘top outside adviser’ and an ‘influential voice’ at the top of the Republican Party as the White House gears up for crunch midterm elections in November.

Leavitt is known for her tenacity at the podium in the White House briefing room, frequently mirroring the behavior of her boss in attacking ‘fake news’ journalists and dishing out tongue lashings to any reporter who dares to cross the administration.

She entered Trump’s orbit in 2018 during the first administration, first as a presidential writer and then as an assistant White House press secretary.

Leavitt worked as communications director for New York representative Elise Stefanik, a close Trump ally, from 2021 to 2022.

Trump speaks to the media after disembarking Marine One, before boarding Air Force One

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Leavitt looks on as US President Donald Trump speaks to the press

Leavitt prepares to board Marine One on The Ellipse near the White House en route to Joint Base Andrews

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She joined Trump’s re-election campaign as a national press secretary in 2024 and was announced as White House Press Secretary on his return to the Oval Office. 

If Leavitt does return to work, she is likely to have her pick of high-profile roles in Republican politics, conservative media and political communications.

Leavitt has a two-year-old son, Niko, and a three-month-old daughter, Vivi, with her real estate developer husband, Nicholas Riccio, 60, whom she married in January last year.

Leavitt’s resignation comes just two weeks after one of her top deputies, Abigail Jackson, left the White House for the private sector.

Social media has been reporting the pub was due to re-open on Sunday, something the Brewery has declined to confirm.

However, John and Margaret, who recently took the reins of the Blacksmith Arms at Skelton opened the historic venue located next to the Old Samiel Smith’s Brewery at 12-noon.

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Margaret told the Press: “It’s quite busy”, before handing over to husband John.

He said: “We have opened it until the next man is going to come in.”

The couple, who have been managing The Blacksmith Arms on a temporary basis, say managers have been found for the Skelton village pub and it remains open.

The Angel and White Horse is reportedly going to be run by a Chris Matejack, who previously ran a pub in Settle. He has been recruiting for staff on social media.

Social media has been reporting he would be re-opening the pub this Sunday.

The Press has approached Chris for comment.

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any worse for Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) in Coronation Street, a brand new spoiler video has proved us wrong.

Sarah is left feeling the pressure when her relationship with ex-boyfriend Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) comes back to bite her and she’s left with a decision to make.

Elsewhere, Lucy Parkinson (Anya Dewin) is struggling to adjust to life with Tim and Sally Metcalfe (Joe Duttine and Sally Dynevor) following her dad Richie’s (Nathan Sussex) arrest.

And later in the week, Idris Nazir (Junade Khan) is up to no good in the name of making some quick cash, and he drags Ollie Driscoll (Raphael Akuwudike) into his plan.

Too excited to wait until after the weekend? Then take a look at our collection of spoiler videos!

Monday, August 17

Sarah’s new-found friendship with fellow prisoner Kacey takes a turn on Monday night when Kacey asks Sarah for a favour.

When Kacey enters Sarah’s cell, Sarah asks her about her visit with her son, only to learn that he hadn’t come because he’d been arrested.

As Kacey reveals that he’s been accused of armed robbery and laments that she’s hardly setting a good example, Sarah tries her best to comfort her.

Kacey is adamant that her son is innocent, and begs Sarah to have a word with Kit. When Sarah admits that her and Kit are no longer an item, Kacey continues to push.

Could Sarah be in danger if she doesn’t do as Kacey asks?

Tuesday, August 18

Tim and Sally are trying their hardest to give Lucy some stability, and Tim intends to do this by taking her shopping.

As Sally lays down the ground rules for the trip, Lucy comes downstairs ranting about how unfair it is that she isn’t allowed to see her dad when Joanie and Shanice get to visit Mick.

When she complains that she should at least be allowed to talk to him, Tim assures her that she’ll be able to as soon as social services give her the okay, which Lucy can’t see happening any time soon.

As Lucy storms off, Sally tells Tim to go shopping alone while she tries to calm Lucy down.

Wednesday, August 19

Idris and Ollie get their covert poker game underway on Wednesday, and Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) can sense that Brody Michaelis (Ryan Mulvey) isn’t happy to have been overlooked, though he denies being bothered when she questions him.

Meanwhile, Idris talks Ollie through their plan to cheat, before warning Lauren not to tell Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) or Alya Nazir (Sair Khan) about how the premises are being used.

When the other players begin to arrive, villain Fiona is among them, and Lauren pulls Ollie aside to share her concerns about the dodgy game.

Ollie assures her he knows what he’s doing, but is he putting himself at risk?

MORE: Newcomer Lucy spirals in Coronation Street as terrified Tim fears her wrath

MORE: Who is Harry Platt’s dad in Coronation Street?

MORE: Todd stages return and immediately declares his love in Coronation Street

After the emergency alert was distributed, telling people that they “should not undertake any activity that could start a fire, including disposable barbecues, firepits, garden incinerators or fireworks”, Mr Burnham wrote on X: “Please do not light any fires in gardens, the countryside or other open spaces, including parks, moorland and wooded areas.

The people of Clacton have spoken. Well, 44% of them have, with the majority of eligible voters staying at home rather than cast their ballot in the byelection. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, the winning candidate, also stayed away – snubbing the count at Clacton leisure centre after claiming police had warned him of an organised campaign to disrupt proceedings.

In the end, Farage received 63% of the vote, amounting to an endorsement from only 28% of the eligible electorate. That his second-place rival was a joke candidate standing as an “independent space warrior” wearing a bin-shaped helmet would seem to bear out the Daily Mail’s observation that “when voters are shouting at you, it’s bad. When they’re laughing at you, it’s over”. Count Binface received 9,455 votes – one in four of those cast.

Byelections are supposed to take place because a member is no longer able to serve. In Farage’s petulant speech of July 7, when he stood down as MP for the Essex constituency, he objected to being held accountable for undeclared payments from a foreign national. He stated that he could make some “real big money” in the US, where he said he had “plenty of offers”.

Farage went on to say he wanted the people of Clacton to judge him and now – after the votes have been counted – says the result “speaks for itself”.

À lire aussi :
Why Nigel Farage is resigning as an MP, only to stand again – expert analysis

But this byelection was not an opportunity for the voters of Clacton to scrutinise the sources of Farage’s finances. No hard evidence was presented to them. And they have other things to do with their time than pursue the kind of forensic investigation that a parliamentary standards commissioner will be able to carry out. Now that Farage is once again an MP, the previously opened probe resumes.

It is not as if the voters of Clacton don’t have other pressing issues to think about. According to government findings, one part of the constituency (Jaywick) is the most deprived area in England. The number of people in Clacton leaving school with no formal qualifications is reckoned to be the second highest of any town in England. Parts of the district has one of the lowest life expectancies and highest under-75 mortality rates nationwide. Nearly half of the working-age population is economically inactive, heavily exceeding the national average.

This is a population that may well want to be pick a fight with “the establishment”. But promoting the career of a multimillionaire politician is probably not the best way to go about it

An expression of mood, not politics

So what does this byelection say about contemporary British politics? The Farage narrative suggests that it is about the heroic representation of the real people by a leader who is uniquely capable of speaking their language.

But what was most striking in the Clacton panto-plebiscite, where a record 34 candidates faced off against each other, was the cynical disconnect between Westminster politics and the experiences of people who feel ground down and institutionally neglected. (Not to mention so far from political decision-making that one in four of them chose to vote for a bloke with his tongue in his cheek and a bin over his head.)

This byelection was less about political choices than the expression of a public mood – democracy as a register of feelings rather than the “who gets what, when and how” summed up by American political scientist Harold Laswell.

Farage does not offer his followers a way out of their deprived status. After all, the one cluster of policies that really motivates him – ending mass immigration – is hardly going to invigorate Clacton. It is one of the least ethnically diverse constituencies in England, with 96% of residents classed as white.

The story that Farage tells – and he does so masterfully – is of a last-ditch attempt to save Britain from contamination by globalism, as if any contemporary nation state could possibly stand alone against the might of transnational corporations and the all-powerful bond markets.

Fittingly for a coastal town MP, Farage is a King Canute, publicly promising to hold back the cosmopolitan waves while privately accepting gifts from overseas billionaires.

The problem with Farage’s narrative is that it requires ongoing supplies of rhetorical fury to stir the passions of its believers. Reform UK faces competition from Rupert Lowe’s far-right Restore Britain party, with its support from Elon Musk, who fell out with Farage apparently over the Reform leader’s unwillingness to back far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.

The narrative of deep resentment has a self-inflating quality. For every outrage identified or manufactured, there is always greater public fury that can be ignited. The competition between rival groups to arouse ever-greater degrees of what Farage has called “pure cold rage” can have dangerous consequences.

It is unclear whether the electoral absurdity at Clacton will be seen by historians as a precursor to Farage’s reputational rehabilitation and onward march to Downing Street, or a further step on the slippery slope towards greater political ugliness. Either way, Count Binface’s footnote status in the chronicles is assured – along with the nearly 10,000 voters who believed that their future would be best represented by a dustbin.

By CONNIE RUSK, ASSOCIATE SHOWBUSINESS EDITOR

Published: 22:01 BST, 14 August 2026 | Updated: 05:21 BST, 15 August 2026

Joan Collins caught up with her friend Elizabeth Hurley in St Tropez on Friday over lunch. 

The actress, 93, looked effortlessly glamorous in a blue and white dress and large hat for the meeting at Club 55. 

Joan and Elizabeth have had a close-knit friendship spanning decades. They played mother and daughter in the E! drama series The Royals.

And Elizabeth, 61, had flown out to see Joan alongside her son Damian, 24, and boyfriend of just over a year, Billy Ray Cyrus, 64.

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Sharing an Instagram video, Joan told her followers: ‘Here I am, with all my friends and we’re all spending her money. So happy, whatever day it is. Thursday or Friday, Saturday.’

Elizabeth replied: ‘ Thank you mummy dearest,’ to which Joan shot back: ‘Forget the mummy’. 

Joan Collins caught up with her friend Elizabeth Hurley in St Tropez on Friday over lunch

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Joan captioned the video: ‘#friends @leclub55officiel #95farenheit @elizabethhurley1 @damianhurley1 @fennelltheo @louise.fennell @rene_horsch @billyraycyrus.

The actress has had her villa in St Tropez for three decades. She purchased the five-bedroom property in the early 1990s and has spent three to four months there every summer for more than 30 years.

Throughout her career, Joan has offered a glimpse at the regime that’s helped to maintain her famous looks, and she’s insisted it has nothing to do with Botox or any other plastic surgery.

Joan has shared that as she’s gotten older, she’s learned that one way to maintain her figure is by ‘eating less’, and said she now eats a quarter of what she did when she was 25.

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The star said that she hopes she’ll live until she’s 100 with her healthy lifestyle, adding she’ll do a quick fix of ‘broccoli and boiled eggs’ if she needs to lose a few pounds.

In an interview with The Express, she said: ‘No knives. Had Botox once, years ago. Hated it. I’m an actress, I have to have expression.

‘You need half the food at 50 as you ate at 25. Half as much again at 75. I’m going to live to be 100, and I am telling you: look after your skin. Never leave the house without make-up. 

‘Don’t diet, just eat less. Never drink tap water. If you need to drop a few pounds to fit into something, eat boiled eggs and broccoli for three days.’

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Is it inspiring or out of touch for celebrities to joke about wealth and aging while vacationing in luxury?

The actress, 93, looked effortlessly glamorous in a blue and white dress and large hat for the meeting at Club 55

And Elizabeth, 61, had flown out to see Joan alongside her son Damian, 24, (pictured) and boyfriend of just over a year, Billy Ray Cyrus , 64

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While she has been captivating audiences for decades, Joan’s fitness and nutrition have been just as enduring. 

‘My exercise regime has changed a lot over the years. I was very active as a young girl. From the time I was 16, I went to discotheques, dance halls, and nightclubs and danced the night away for hours and hours,’ she told Platinum magazine.

After that, she would do a lot of gym workouts and Pilates, but admitted as you get older you ‘cannot put that amount of stress on your body’.

In fact, she had to scale back her movement in recent years due to a trapped nerve, which led to her not being able to function for two months.

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Liverpool have just over a week until they kick off their Premier League campaign against Newcastle United

It hasn’t been a particularly busy summer transfer window for Liverpool so far, with just two weeks left for the Premier League giants to do business. However, things can change quickly and the club are currrently chasing to sign Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola.

The French champions are nearing the signings of Mika Godts and Ferran Torres, which could accelerate negotiations with the Reds over the Frenchman’s future. Yet to acquire a replacement for Mohamed Salah, new Reds boss Andoni Iraola will be feeling the pressure to strengthen his squad.

The Spaniard has been informed of a significant issue he could face at Anfield, while the race for Barcola’s signature has received its latest update. Mirror Football takes a look at the biggest stories coming out of Merseyside.

Iraola’s ‘huge’ problem

Iraola’s side have yet to add incomings in midfield this summer – a situation Jamie Carragher believes could cause harm to the club’s progress this season. Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, the Reds icon said: “The midfield for me is still a huge problem for Liverpool.

“I haven’t watched all the pre-season games, but I watched the last two against decent opposition – it was Leeds and then Monaco. And the problem Liverpool had last season was there was space everywhere in midfield. That has not gone away at all.”

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Carragher explained that Szoboszlai’s return to midfield, having played a portion of last season at right-back, will only exacerbate Liverpool’s issue in the engine room. He added: “That’s only going to get bigger with the deployment of [Dominik] Szoboszlai in midfield.

“It looks like they’re going to play him, rather than as a number 10, almost as a central midfield player alongside [Ryan] Gravenberch and that is just pure box-to-box.”

Barcola update

The sticking point in a deal for Barcola looks to be the fee. PSG are said to be demanding £145m for the 23-year-old, with Liverpool hoping a compromise can be found to secure his arrival.

Despite the lack of clarity over the figure, Fabrizio Romano reported on his YouTube channel that the two clubs remain in constant contact with the financial aspect of the deal holding up a move.

Countdown to Kickoff: The Essential 26/27 Sky Sports Bundle

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He claimed that personal terms with Barcola have already been verbally agreed, with the Reds his first choice. The winger was an unused substitute in PSG’s UEFA Super Cup victory against Aston Villa on Wednesday.

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Samantha Mitchell, 39, from Stoke-on-Trent, who requires dialysis five times a week, was travelling from London Stansted to Reggio Calabria in southern Italy on July 26 when the error occurred.

Ms Mitchell, a special educational needs (SEN) teacher, had checked in her 43kg dialysis machine but was told by a Ryanair agent that the machine was “too heavy” to be taken on board.

But after producing a medical waiver, she claims a supervisor reassured her the medical equipment would be on the flight.

Ryanair admitted that a staff error meant a holidaymaker’s dialysis machine was not loaded onto a flight in July (Image: Kennedy News and Media)

It was only when Samantha landed and turned on her phone that she discovered her machine had been left in London.

Samantha was in tears as Ryanair staff contacted Stansted Airport, fearing she could have a heart attack without the treatment, and was later told it would be sent the following day.

She was due to do dialysis that evening and began ringing around hospitals ahead of her machine arriving at 5pm the following day when she started feeling ill.

Samantha claimed she even stopped eating and drinking to prevent further toxins entering her bloodstream.

The airline flew the machine out and sent it via taxi to her accommodation by the end of the following day, but by this point Samantha claims she was unwell and “swelling up” from toxins.

Ryanair said the machine wasn’t loaded due to “an error made by the check-in agent” but that as soon as the airline was alerted, the machine was “rushed” onto the next available flight.

This is the second time Samantha has had issues flying with her dialysis machine, after hitting headlines in 2018 for being denied boarding on a previous occasion due to the same weight issue.

Samantha’s dialysis machine weighs 43kg and it’s not the first time she has had an issue travelling with it (Image: Kennedy News and Media)

Samantha said: “I’ve got kidney failure so my kidneys are non-existent.

“They don’t work and I need dialysis five times a week.

“Without it I would be very swollen and it would have become hard to breathe.

“I would start being sick and the worst thing would be a heart attack as the toxins in my blood would be too much.

“I went to check-in my machine, [the agent] rang supervisors to make sure everything was okay and the documentation was okay.

“He said it was all fine and they’d take it through.

“As soon as I got through security, they were asking for me to go back and speak to a supervisor about how heavy my machine was.

“It was 43kg, the supervisor said it was too heavy to go in the cabin with me but I wanted it in the hold.

“She said [that] was fine and it would go in the plane.

“As soon as I landed, I had a phone call from my dad.

“He’d got an email to say they were refusing to put in the machine because it was too heavy.

“I was literally fearing for my life. I was crying because I was panicking, my machine was all the way in London.”

Samantha added: “I’ve travelled with it [the machine] many times.

“I don’t think they realised how serious it was that they had done this, it was full on panic and anxiety [mode].

“I had to stop drinking and eating because I didn’t want any more toxins in my body.

“I had started to swell up because I didn’t pass urine and felt a bit sickly.

“It’s been a very traumatic experience, a horrible start to the holiday.

“I am scared of the way back, it makes me not want to travel again in my life.”

Samantha’s mum, Elaine Mitchell, said it was a “life and death” situation and that it was traumatic for the whole family.

Elaine said: “This is not a case of clothes gone missing, this is a life-saving machine. It was traumatic for all of us.

“We immediately rang the baggage team […]and they told us it’s a matter of health and safety.

“We were saying ‘she’s got a waiver, it’s not a health and safety issue, it’s a life and death issue.’

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“If Sam doesn’t have dialysis, she will be ill or worse. All [they] kept saying was that it was too heavy.”

A spokesman for Ryanair said: “Due to an error made by the check-in agent at Stansted Airport, this passenger’s medical device was not loaded on this flight from Stansted to Reggio Calabria (26 Jul).

“As soon this check-in agent’s error was realised, Ryanair rushed the device onto the next available flight to Reggio Calabria via Lamezia and arranged for a taxi to swiftly deliver the device directly to the passenger, which she received the following day (27 Jul).”

Stansted Airport said the issue was for the airline to address, not the airport.

Have you ever had trouble with missing luggage or equipment on flights? Let us know in the comments below.

Fires across England and Wales have prompted a national government alert warning people not to light anything that could spark a wildfire.

The warning on Friday evening came as it was revealed 19 homes were destroyed and a further 18 damaged in a huge fire in Stourbridge, West Midlands, that spread rapidly through grass and woodland on Thursday before damaging homes.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told members of the public to take the warning “seriously”, adding it was triggered at the request of firefighters.

West Midlands Fire Service chief fire officer Simon Tuhill said the Stourbridge blaze was one of the most significant incidents the service had ever dealt with.

It was one of several fires being dealt with across England and Wales on Friday.

Investigators said they were working with other emergency services to establish how the Stourbridge fire started, with police saying they were keeping an open mind.

Some of the worst-affected areas have been cordoned off and many residents who were evacuated, including the Bishop of Dudley, the Right Reverand Martin Gorick, have not been able to return home.

The 41-year-old has been found dead at a property in South London, according to reports.

Former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday has been found dead at a property in South London, according to reports.

Mr Arday, 41, was found ‘unresponsive’ at the scene in Battersea, with police saying his death is being treated as unexpected but is not believed to be suspicious.

The Metropolitan Police said officers attended Daley Thompson Way, in Battersea, where the academic lived, on Friday afternoon.

A statement said: “Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 15:12hrs on Friday, 14 August following a report that a man had been found unresponsive inside a property on Daley Thompson Way, SW8.

“Sadly, a 41-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

“His next-of-kin have been informed and are being supported by officers.

“At this time his death is being treated as unexpected, but is not believed to be suspicious. The case is being investigated by officers from the Met’s Central South Command Unit. A file will be prepared for the coroner.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 3.06pm on Friday 14 August to reports of an incident on Daley Thompson Way, SW8.

“We sent a number of resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an advanced paramedic in a fast response car and members of our Hazardous Area Response Team.

“Sadly, a person was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Mr Arday stepped down from his role as the University of Cambridge’s professor of sociology of education on August 5 amid accusations of plagiarism. He had been the university’s youngest ever black professor.

His resignation came just hours after Cambridge announced an investigation examining his appointment and tenure at the university.

In a statement, University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Prentice said: “We are desperately saddened to hear this tragic news. Our heartfelt sympathies go to Jason Arday’s family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.”

Prof Arday quit following a series of media reports alleging he plagiarised his PhD thesis – completed at Liverpool John Moores University – and other research.

Further questions were asked in the press about the truth of other claims he made, including saying he ran 600 miles in six days and that he had raised £5.5 million for charity.

An investigation at Liverpool John Moores University cleared Prof Arday of wrongdoing.

Durham and Glasgow universities are investigating the circumstances around Prof Arday’s appointment to academic posts there and Cambridge’s Jesus College accepted his resignation from his fellowship.

Prof Arday said in his open resignation letter that the “only way to bring this chapter to an end is to step away”. Over the weekend, he cancelled events promoting his forthcoming memoir.

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