NEW YORK (AP) — A chief of staff to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams and several other people have been arrested as part of an investigation into an alleged bribery scheme involving a city contract, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Frank Carone, along with his brother and two others, were taken into custody, said the person, who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity.

No other details were immediately available. Indictments were expected to be unsealed later Wednesday.

Carone’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, called the indictment “weak” and “based on purely circumstantial evidence that’s not worth the paper upon which it is printed.”

“Today’s indictment is a sad day for our criminal justice system,” Aidala said in a statement. “It epitomizes the government first finding a target and then spending three years and enormous taxpayer resources to find a crime.”

In a separate statement, Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Adams, said Carone “dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York.”

“This is an ongoing legal matter and my prayers are with his family,” Shapiro’s statement said.

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The Cadbury Dairy Milk Grab & Go bars will be available from July, offering consumers a resealable 56g option in three flavours: Dairy Milk, Dairy Milk Marvellous Creations, and Dairy Milk Chopped Fruit & Nut.

Intended for portability, the bars are designed to be portioned and enjoyed throughout the day rather than eaten all at once.

The bars are smaller and encourage chocolate to be eaten in stages (Image: Jam Press/Cadbury)

Cadbury launches new twist on classic Dairy Milk bars

Phoebe Morris, junior brand manager at Cadbury’s parent company Mondelez International, said: “We’re seeing a clear shift in consumer behaviour, particularly among younger shoppers, towards more frequent, on-the-go snacking throughout the day.

“Shoppers are looking for options that fit seamlessly into their routines, creating a strong opportunity for formats that deliver convenience without compromising on taste.”

The new bars will be priced at £1.29 and will be positioned alongside Cadbury’s Duo range, as reported by creatorzine.com.

Phoebe added: “Our Grab & Go bars bring the trusted Cadbury Dairy Milk chunk taste into a format designed specifically for these high-frequency snacking moments.”

The Grab & Go range follows another recent launch from Cadbury aimed at younger consumers.

Discontinued UK sweets and chocolates

Earlier this month, the confectionery giant introduced the limited-edition Dairy Milk Strawberries & Creme Frappe bar, inspired by chilled summer drinks.

The bar combines classic Dairy Milk chocolate with a strawberries-and-creme-frappe-inspired filling and is designed to be eaten chilled.

Why are Cadbury’s chocolate bars getting smaller?

If you’ve noticed Cadbury’s chocolate bars getting smaller recently, you’ll probably want to know why.

Dirk Van de Put, chief executive of Mondelez International, told BBC Radio 4’s The Big Boss podcast that Cadbury tried to keep prices relatively the same for consumers, which meant they had to reduce the size instead.

He explained: “Most consumers love their Cadbury.

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“They want to have their daily Cadbury, but when they were paying £1, they don’t want to then pay £1.50 or £2 for the same quantity.

“They would like to continue to buy something at £1.

“So what do we do? Yes, we reduce sometimes the size.

“We don’t do that in a malicious way.

“But if we look at how consumers make their decisions, the price point at which they can buy is very important to them.”

What’s your favourite chocolate bar? Tell us in the comments below.

Part of the Government’s Best Start in Life campaign, the film highlights how inclusive early years settings can help children in the North West from these communities thrive.

It features the voices of real parents and teachers, including Cherelle, a Traveller parent who shares the value nursery education brought to her children.

Cherelle said: “My kids went for three days in the nursery, and it got them mingling with Traveller kids and non-Traveller kids.

“It gave them a really good start and helped prepare them for starting school.”

Filmed at two primary schools, the project shows what respectful, culturally inclusive early years education looks like in practice.

Early education minister Olivia Bailey said: “Early years education changes children’s lives – building the confidence, friendships and skills children need to thrive at school.

“This film celebrates the families and teachers showing what real inclusion looks like.

“As we expand funded childcare to give more families access to high-quality early education, I want every family – including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families – to feel welcome taking up the support their children need to flourish.”

The film was produced in close collaboration with the Gypsy and Traveller community members, and was written, filmed and directed by Jake Bowers, who has 54 years of community membership and 30 years of experience as a community journalist.

The majority of the crew making the film was drawn from the community in accordance with the ethical journalism principle of narrative sovereignty.

Esther Stubbs, trustee at Friends, Families and Travellers, said: “For many Gypsy, Roma and Traveller families, feeling their children are welcome, understood and safe in play and learning is key to engagement in early years education.

“Positive early experiences support children’s confidence, wellbeing and future education.”

Children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds are statistically less likely to meet expected levels of development by age five.

A spokesman for Friends, Families and Travellers said: “We welcome this film highlighting the positive impact that inclusive early years education can have for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children and families.

“When early years settings build trust, value families’ cultures and create genuinely welcoming environments, children are better supported to develop, learn and thrive.”

The Best Start in Life campaign offers advice for parents and carers on topics such as infant feeding, childcare, and school readiness.

More information is available at beststartinlife.gov.uk.

Around half of the services between York and Leeds, via Harrogate, have been cancelled today, with further cancellations expected until Friday.

Northern Trains confirms that its other routes are also affected.

A Northern spokesperson said: “Due to the extreme heat, we have had to reduce the number of trains running on various routes until Friday, and those that are running will be much busier than usual.

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LNER issues ‘do not travel’ as red heat warning hits

“We are strongly advising customers to check their full journey before setting off and be prepared for longer waiting times and cancellations.

“Customers who have booked tickets for a journey on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday will be able to travel at a different time at no extra cost.”

The move follows LNER urging passengers not to travel on Wednesday and Thursday this week after a rare red weather warning for extreme heat.

Services on the East Coast Main Line are expected to be heavily reduced and subject to last‑minute changes.

A previously reported, the rail company is strongly advising customers booked to travel today (Wed) and Thursday, June 25 not to travel because of forecast extreme temperatures and a red Met Office warning covering parts of England and Wales.

The operator says customers should check before they travel throughout this week, as the heat is expected to cause widespread disruption across the route.

Network Rail has warned it may have to impose emergency speed restrictions on sections of the East Coast Main Line on Wednesday and Thursday for safety reasons, with rails and overhead lines at risk of damage in the heat.

That will mean longer journey times and fewer LNER services running across both days, with passengers urged to switch to “alternative, cooler dates” where a more regular timetable is expected to operate.

New figures revealed a fall in the level of rural crime in 2025 – but the costs topped £3.8million as the issue was raised with the First Minister at Holyrood.

The issue of rural crime has been put in the spotlight after new figures revealed the cost of offences in 2025.

It is a decade since a specialist multi-agency group, the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC), was formed with the aim of tackling crime faced by rural communities – including the theft of machinery, fuel and livestock, fly-tipping, equine incidents and heritage crime.

Data released by SPARC has outlined a fall in the number of rural crime incidents from 1,040 in 2023/24 to 545 in 2025/2026.

But despite that drop, the cost of rural crime reached almost £4.3 million in 2025, up from £3.8 million in 2024.

The issue was raised in the backbench edition of First Minister’s Questions by Stirling MSP Alyn Smith, who quizzed John Swinney on figures published by the NFU Mutual group which showed the cost of rural crime had surged by 74 per cent in 2025.

Mr Swinney acknowledged actions taken by the Scottish Government and added: “The issues that Mr Smith raises are certainly familiar to me from my own constituency workload and also were issues that were very visible at the Royal Highland Agricultural Show that I visited on Thursday morning.

“The government is supporting action to tackle this issue through the work of the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, which is a multi-agency partnership led by Police Scotland, which works with a variety of justice and rural sector partners to provide the necessary action in this respect.

“We do of course support Police Scotland in their work financially and we are increasingly concerned by the link between machinery theft and serious organised crime, which is a focus of the partnership to try to address this practice within rural communities.”

As SPARC marks the ten-year anniversary of its formation, representatives from the agencies involved has spoken of the importance of getting to grips with rural crime.

Chief Superintendent Gregg Banks said: “Rural crime has a significant impact on individuals, families, businesses, and the wider community.

“The financial loss impacts all of those working directly in local industry and can have far wider repercussions. The personal impact from certain crimes can be long-term and profound.

“Strong partnership working is making an impact. SPARC enables us to share information and intelligence, to pro-actively prevent crime, to educate the public, and ultimately bring offenders to justice.

“But we can only work with the information provided to us. While reported incidents may have fallen, we believe some crimes, such as livestock worrying and rural theft, may be under-reported.

Tom French of NFU Scotland added: “Rural crime is not victimless. It affects livelihoods, mental wellbeing, animal welfare and business confidence.

“NFU Scotland remains committed to working closely with partners to ensure rural communities are properly supported and that crimes affecting agriculture are taken seriously.”

And Iain Batho, who leads on wildlife crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: “COPFS values the critical role which SPARC plays in combating rural crime in Scotland.

“COPFS takes such offending extremely seriously and strategic thinking and partnership working is fundamental to ensuring that those who commit rural crimes are brought to justice through the courts.”

In recent days, there has been a dispute between the US and Iran over the issue of UN nuclear inspectors visiting sites in the country.

On Monday, following talks in Switzerland with Iran’s chief negotiator, US Vice-President JD Vance said Iran had “agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country”.

The next day, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said there had been “no detailed discussions” and that Iran had no plans to grant IAEA inspectors access to nuclear facilities which were bombed by the US during a 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June 2025.

US President Donald Trump then dismissed Iran’s “protestations and false statements to the contrary”, saying the country had “fully and completely agreed” to inspections.

“There’s a war or words here. Some say ‘yes’, the others say ‘no’,” the IAEA’s chief said on Wednesday. “I can understand political statements. They are part of the reality.

“But the fundamental thing… is that there has been a memorandum of understanding signed by both presidents,” he added. “[It] says explicitly that the nuclear activities that are going to be carried out, with regards to nuclear material, facilities, will be supervised by the IAEA, in bold letters. This is going to happen.”

Grossi said the inspections would take place in collaboration and co-operation with the Iranian government. “Whether this happens the day after tomorrow, or in one week, or in 10 days, it’s important but not essential.”

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi appeared to push back at the comments.

He wrote on X that access to Iran’s damaged nuclear facilities and its nuclear materials would only be addressed within the framework of a final agreement with the US and after practical steps had been taken to lift all sanctions.

“Media noise cannot be used to impose facts on the ground,” he added.

Under the 14-point memorandum of understanding, the US and Iran have committed to negotiating a final deal within 60 days.

It says they have “agreed to resolve the disposition of stockpiled enriched material, pursuant to a mechanism that will be mutually agreed upon… with the minimum methodology to be down-blending on site under the supervision of the IAEA”.

The IAEA said in a recent report, external that its inspectors were allowed to visit Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant earlier this month, but that they were still not given access to the sensitive nuclear facilities that were bombed last June.

The watchdog said that meant it could not provide any information on the current size, composition or whereabouts of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, or whether Iran had suspended all enrichment activities. Much of the stockpile is believed to be inside underground tunnels at the Isfahan site.

Enriched uranium can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons.

Before the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran on 28 February, the IAEA reported that Iran had 440kg (970 lbs) of uranium that was enriched up to 60% purity, which is near weapons grade. That would theoretically be enough, if enriched to 90%, for as many as 10 bombs.

Iran insists its nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and that it would never seek to develop or acquire nuclear weapons.

Under a 2015 deal with the US and five other world powers, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities and allow continuous and robust monitoring by the IAEA’s inspectors in return for relief from crippling economic sanctions.

However, Trump abandoned the agreement during his first term in 2018, saying it did too little to stop a pathway to a bomb, and reinstated US sanctions.

Iran retaliated by increasingly breaching the restrictions of the deal, particularly those relating to uranium enrichment.

There are few films this year as ambitious as director Julian Schnabel’s In the Hand of Dante. Combining manuscript mystery, gangster thriller and spiritual odyssey, the film moves between medieval Italy and the 21st-century criminal underworld in pursuit of questions about creativity, faith, power and redemption.

This film is a big, gutsy gamble. Casting a heavily costumed Martin Scorsese in an acting role with overwrought philosophical dialogue was always going to be a risk. Your enjoyment of it will hinge on your ability to tolerate its tonal dissonance. At various points it functions as a black comedy, an earnest exploration of art and its creation, a spiritual romance and a gangster thriller. Schnabel appears determined to make all four at once.

Adapted from Nick Tosches’ cult novel, of the same name, Schnabel’s sprawling literary crime drama attempts to bridge centuries and genres. At the centre of the story lies a discovered manuscript of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, passed through the hands of collectors, academics and gangsters.

High culture and organised crime

Oscar Isaac occupies two time lines here: playing both novelist Nick Tosches in 2001 and Dante himself in medieval Italy. The manuscript takes on mythical significance, drawing characters towards it with varying mixtures of greed, reverence and curiosity.

The first act of the film is the strongest. The 2001 storyline unfolds as an absorbing literary detective story, with intriguing questions surrounding the manuscript’s authenticity. The process of its authentication becomes a suspenseful investigation, while the criminal interests circling the document create a constant sense of danger.

Schnabel stages this material in stark black and white, giving the film a hallucinatory quality. His approach suits the film’s unlikely mixture of scholarship and extreme violence, where discussions about literature and cultural inheritance plunge into the brutal world of organised crime.

The collision between high culture and organised crime is frequently fascinating, even if the abrupt shifts in tone occasionally produce a sense of whiplash. At times, though, the juxtaposition veers close to parody. Earnest reflections on art, redemption and spiritual longing are delivered by an array of heavily costumed Hollywood stars (John Malkovich, Scorsese, Isaac) before the film abruptly returns to gangsters, shoot-outs and criminal conspiracy. This contrast – which sits at the heart of Schnabel’s vision – is intriguing, but it does not always convince.

The cast embraces the film’s unusual ambitions. Isaac brings conviction to both roles, navigating the demands of a dual performance without reducing either character to a simple reflection of the other. The medieval scenes chart Dante’s artistic and spiritual development, while the 2001 narrative allows Isaac to play a man caught between intellectual fascination and dangerous circumstances.

Gerard Butler’s Louie is a character who embodies many of the film’s contradictions. Violent, philosophical and frequently darkly comic, Louie can feel closer to a cartoon than a fully rounded character. Butler nevertheless commits fully to the role, embracing its extremes without a hint of self-consciousness.

The result is bizarre, often absurd and consistently memorable. Elsewhere, familiar faces drift through the story, including Al Pacino, Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot. Their appearances contribute to the sense that Schnabel has assembled a cinematic fever dream rather than a conventional ensemble drama.

Alongside the manuscript mystery runs Dante’s own journey. These medieval sequences trace his artistic and spiritual awakening, charting the experiences that would shape one of the most influential works in Western literature.

Schnabel approaches this material with obvious reverence. Medieval Italy is rendered as a landscape of imagination and symbolism. The film’s treatment of female characters (Gal Gadot’s Beatrice and Giulietta, and Sabrina Impaccatore’s Susanna Pelice) is similarly symbolic. They function as sources of inspiration, temptation or spiritual guidance rather than fully realised people.

As the story progresses, philosophical reflection displaces the momentum established in the opening hour. The manuscript mystery recedes into the background as the characters drift in and out of focus and scenes unfold according to what feels like dream logic rather than dramatic progression. What begins as a gripping literary thriller evolves into something increasingly abstract and elusive.

That tension defines In the Hand of Dante. Schnabel reaches for something vast, attempting to connect artistic creation, spiritual longing and criminal violence within a single work. While the scale of that ambition gives the film its character, it also explains why parts of it may feel frustratingly out of reach.

At a time when so much cinema feels carefully calibrated and thoroughly familiar, there is something refreshing about a film willing to embrace risk on this scale. In The Hand of Dante is messy, eccentric and frequently bewildering. It is also inventive, visually striking and impossible to confuse with anything else released this year.

Like the manuscript that drives its plot, In The Hand of Dante attracts both admiration and scepticism. Mysterious, unwieldy and often captivating, it refuses easy categorisation. The question of whether Schnabel has made a great film here is open to debate. Some viewers will find it profound and others will find it ridiculous. Both responses feel entirely reasonable. He has certainly made one that nobody else would have attempted.

Barcelona opted against signing Marcus Rashford on a permanent deal despite the Man United star impressing in Spain

Sections of the Spanish media have been left unimpressed with Anthony Gordon’s performance for England on Tuesday night against Ghana. The former Newcastle man’s underwhelming showing could leave Barcelona questioning their decision to sign Gordon rather than Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford.

Gordon came in for criticism from the press for the second match running following England’s tepid draw with Ghana. After the exhilarating 4-2 victory over Croatia, Thomas Tuchel’s squad were brought back down to earth as they were held to a goalless deadlock in Boston.

Despite dominating possession, England carved out very little against a resolute Ghana outfit, though qualification for the last-32 looks all but certain. One of the most compelling storylines heading into the tournament has been the battle for the left-wing position between Gordon and Rashford.

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The former recently completed a £69.3million switch to Barcelona from Newcastle, while the latter has seen his hopes of securing a permanent deal at the Nou Camp dashed, leaving his future uncertain. However, with Gordon’s performances found wanting, it’s entirely possible Barcelona could reconsider their stance on Rashford if they wished.

Rashford, 28, concluded a highly profitable season-long loan at Barcelona, where he won La Liga while contributing 14 goals and 14 assists. However, the Catalan club’s decision leaves Rashford at something of a loose end as he prepares to return to United once World Cup 2026 concludes.

Tottenham have expressed interest in the forward with The i Paper revealing the north London outfit are eager to strike a deal for Rashford. Yet it’s tough to see any club offering the £40m fee that United values the striker at.

A staggering weekly salary of around £325,000 is also a major obstacle, although he did accept a reduced wage when joining Barca last summer.

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Despite a lacklustre showing against Croatia, Gordon was handed another start by Tuchel, with Rashford once again consigned to the substitutes’ bench. After failing to make any real impression, Gordon made way for Bukayo Saka on 65 minutes, while Rashford had to bide his time until the 83rd minute before entering the action, replacing Noni Madueke.

Spanish media didn’t hold back when assessing Gordon, with La Vanguardia describing his display as “lacklustre.” The Barcelona publication said: “As against Croatia, the winger failed to make a significant impact on the game. Although he was more involved in the play, he was imprecise in some of his dribbling, and his assists, while more purposeful, were wasted by his teammates.”

AS’s evaluation of Gordon featured both commendation and critique, stating he was “excellent defensively but lacklustre in attack.”

Madrid-based Las Razon highlighted how Ghana “shut down the flanks” with full-backs Marvin Senaya and Gideon Mensah “effectively marking Gordon and Madueke.” ABC suggested Gordon “lacked the necessary finesse” to penetrate the Ghana backline and labelled his second-half shot, which was easily saved, “tame.”

Given Gordon’s limited influence thus far, Rashford could well take his place in England’s starting line-up for their group decider against Panama on Saturday. Victory for the Three Lions will likely see them top Group L and guarantee a more straightforward path, theoretically, in the knockout phase.

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Six people responsible for the murder of Joanne Penney who was shot at point blank range have been sentenced to life imprisonment. The 40-year-old died after the bullet penetrated her heart and left lung and lodged itself in the rear of her chest. She was pronounced dead at a property in Llys Illtyd, Talbot Green, at around 6.10pm on March 9 last year.

Marcus Huntley, 21, pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Penney and being the person who pulled the trigger. Jordan Mills-Smith, 34, Joshua Gordon, 28, Kristina Ginova, 22, and Melissa Quailey-Dashper, 40, were found guilty of Joanne Penney’s murder. Convicted murderer Renaldo Baptiste, 39, was also found guilty or murder, having arranged the murder of Ms Penney from his prison cell.

He was convicted of murdering a man in Leicester and was serving a sentence of life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years when he orchestrated the shooting of Ms Penney. Day one of the sentencing hearing on Monday saw the prosecution detail each defendants’ involvement in the murder. You can read more about that here.

The court heard the background to the killing was a “clash of rival organised crime groups”, one headed by defendant Joshua Gordon, of the “Rico OCG”.

The court was also told the expansion of Gordon’s activities into South Wales, specifically Talbot Green, was “not taken well” by a rival group of drug dealers, lead by Daniel Joseph, known as “Jimmy”.

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees KC said during the original trial: “On two occasions in the lead-up to the murder on March 9, 2025, Jimmy and his men had confronted, and humiliated, members of the ‘Rico’ group when they were in the Talbot Green area.”

In the days following, the court heard Huntley, Gordon and Baptiste discussed obtaining a firearm and ammunition to “send a message” to their rivals.

The court heard that on the day of the murder Quailey-Dashper knocked on the front door of 10 Llys Illtyd.

Mr Rees said: “The trigger may have been pulled by Marcus Huntley, but the prosecution’s case is that each of Joshua Gordon, Marcus Huntley, Jordan Mills-Smith, Melissa Quailey-Dashper, Kristina Ginova are jointly responsible for her murder.

“They each played their part in the death of Joanna Penney – knowing that they were acting to bring about, or assisting/encouraging others to bring about, at least really serious injury to another person.”

Mr Justice Fordham gave the following sentences to each of the six murderers:

• Marcus Huntley was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 27 years
• Renaldo Baptiste was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 42 years
• Joshua Gordon was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 32 years
• Jordan Mills-Smith was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 27 years
• Melissa Quailey-Dashper was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 14 years
• Kristina Ginova was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 12 years

Most of the defendants appeared emotionless as they were led down to the cells. However, Huntley was seen to briefly wipe his face with his hand after he learnt his fate and Ginova stifled tears and wiped her eyes as she was led away.

Following the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Lianne Rees of South Wales Police read a statement on behalf of the family, outside the court steps.

In their statement, the family said losing Joanne has “left an irreplaceable gap in our family, and the pain of losing her is something we will carry with us every day”

Speaking on behalf of South Wales Police, DCI Rees said the case “lays bare the devastating consequences of organised crime”, adding: “Let this sentence serve as a stark warning — if you bring violence, drugs and firearms into South Wales, we will relentlessly pursue you, dismantle your networks, and ensure you face the full consequences of your actions.”

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