There were emotional scenes on the final day of the Games
The Winter Olympics ended in emotional scenes on Sunday as the United States men’s ice hockey team honoured their late teammate after winning their first gold medal in 46 years.
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A thrilling final saw the US beat their neighbours Canada 2-1, with Jack Hughes winning the game in overtime after his side withstood relentless pressure from their opponents throughout the contest. The victory meant they topped the Olympic podium for the first time since the ‘Miracle on Ice’ at Lake Placid in 1980, and came after the women’s side also beat Canada 2-1 in their final to win gold.
But the historic win was also tinged with sadness as the team paid tribute to their former teammate Johnny Gaudreau, who would have likely been on the podium with them if not for his tragic death in August 2024.
The NHL winger and his brother Matthew were killed when they were hit by an alleged drunk driver while cycling together in New Jersey on the eve of their sister’s wedding. He was just 31 years old, while Matthew – also an ice hockey player – was only 29.
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Gaudreau would have been expected to be part of Team USA at the Milano-Cortina Games, with his family admitting representing his country at the Olympics was “one of his greatest dreams”.
Having been cruelly denied that opportunity, the team made sure to honour his memory throughout their Olympic campaign, with two jerseys bearing the brothers’ names hanging in the United States changing room since their first match in the competition.
Members of the Gaudreau family watched on as the United States sealed the gold medal on Sunday and there were more emotional scenes in the aftermath, as Johnny’s jersey was unfurled and carried around the ice by members of the team.
Gaudreau’s father was left in tears by the touching moment, while those watching inside the stadium and at home were also choked up as the late star’s young children – Noa and Johnny Jr – were escorted out onto the ice to join the team and hold their father’s jersey for the Team USA group photo.
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Ahead of the Games, the Gaudreau family wrote on X: “As the Olympics are set to begin, our family is filled with both pride and heartache knowing how much this moment meant to John. Representing Team USA at the Olympics was one of his greatest dreams.
“In that final summer, John was training harder than ever, with his dad, pushing himself to be in the best shape of his life. He was determined to earn his spot on that Olympic roster. While it breaks our hearts that John won’t be there to live out that dream, we know he will be so very present with Team USA and all of his close friends competing throughout these games.
“Our family will be cheering for every player wearing the red, white, and blue, and celebrating so many friends representing teams around the world. As we work to ensure that John and Matty’s lives and legacies continue to be honored, moments like these remind us of the dreams they held and the impact they made on everyone who knew them.
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“John loved this game and loved representing his country,” they added. “Though the Olympics will be bittersweet for our family, we find comfort knowing that in the hearts of his teammates, friends, and everyone who loved watching him play, John will be right there. Go Team USA. We know John and Matty are watching with pride. With love and gratitude, The Gaudreau Family.”
Coach Mike Sullivan described Gaudreau as “an inspiration” as he added: “He provides a lot of inspiration for all of us with how he lived his life, his dedication to the game, his family.
“He’s just a good person on the ice and off the ice, and I think he’s an inspiration to our players to this very day.”
Rebecca Davies bravely stood up to describe the cruelty inflicted on her by drum teacher Ben Coffey who frequently told her to die and kill herself.
13:18, 19 Mar 2026Updated 13:19, 19 Mar 2026
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A brave woman has stood up in court to recount the horrific abuse she endured at the hands of her former partner in a harrowing victim impact statement.
Rebecca Davies took to the stand at Swansea Crown Court to detail how “cruel” drum teacher Ben Coffey treated her during his sentencing on Monday, March 2.
She said: “He told me to die. He told me to crash my car. He told me I deserved to get cancer and suffer slowly…Even now I struggle to look at myself in the mirror without hearing the words that were used against me, some of which included being called fat, spotty, gormless and disgusting.”
Rebecca was made to feel worthless by controlling Coffey during their four-year relationship which spanned between 2021 and 2025. Coffey – who taught at Roo’s Rhythm Drum School based in Neath, South Wales – repeatedly told her to kill herself, isolated her from her family and friends, and even locked her out of her home.
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One incident saw Rebecca left with a black eye after Coffey had hit her after he had returned home from a night out, reports WalesOnline.
In another, Coffey was said to have become angry just because there was not enough laundry detergent. The resulting outburst saw Coffey throw the bottle at Rebecca before punching her and telling her that he didn’t care if he went to jail.
Coffey, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to three counts of assault by beating and one count of coercive control in January. Roo’s Rhythm Drum School shut down on February 1 according to its Facebook page.
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He was jailed for 18 months and handed a 10-year restraining order preventing him from contacting Rebecca during sentencing.
Reading her statement during the hearing, Rebecca said: “It is incredibly difficult to put these experiences into words, because for so long I lived behind a mask, pretending everything was fine while silently falling apart. To everyone on the outside, our relationship looked perfect.
“People saw smiles, photos, and moments that looked loving and stable. But behind closed doors, I was breaking piece by piece, losing myself without even realising at the time.
“I was made to feel worthless and constantly walking on eggshells all while others admired the image he presented. I never knew when the next outburst or threat would come.
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“While others saw a loving partner I was blamed, insulted and broken down.
“He convinced people, including myself that I was the problem, which made the abuse even harder to speak about. I felt invisible, isolated and terrified – like no-one would ever believe me.
“Although the relationship included occasional positive moments, these typically occurred after moments of conflict. This pattern contributed to emotional confusion and instability rather than a genuine sense of stability or joy. With every insult, punch and slap I received, I lost part of me.”
Rebecca also described an occasion where a black eye he had given her prevented her from going to work. It was just one example of how his vile actions impacted her career and personal life outside of the relationship.
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She said: “What I experienced had caused me to become isolated from friends and family and restricted my independence.
“I altered my behaviour in order to manage the abuse and avoid further harm, which at the time led to withdrawal from social contact…The behaviour had a serious and ongoing impact on my employment and financial stability. Due to Ben’s controlling behaviour and unreliability, I was frequently left without childcare at short notice as he would leave the house despite agreeing to have our daughter in advance.
“This resulted in me having to cancel work shifts unexpectedly. In addition, the anxiety caused by the abuse affected my ability to attend work consistently.
“I lost income as a result and faced pressure and scrutiny at work consistently. I lost income as a result and faced pressure and scrutiny at work, placing my employment at potential risk.
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“On one occasion I had no choice but to cancel shifts, to hide the black eye I had received, again to hide what had happened and defend his actions. The financial instability caused by his behaviour further increased my stress.”
Rebecca also told the court that Coffey would degrade her and that it reached a point where she was left with low confidence and a fragile sense of identity.
She continued: “The abuse I experienced was sustained coercive and controlling behaviour, the seriousness of which I did not fully recognise at the time. I was subjected to ongoing psychological abuse, intimidation, manipulation and degradation that gradually broke down my confidence, independence and sense of identity.
“I was repeatedly told to die and kill myself. I was always consistently made to believe that I was the problem in the relationship and that my reactions were due to my own mental health rather than the abuse I was experiencing.
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“I was led to believe that I needed antidepressants to numb me and that there was something wrong with me, rather than recognising that I was reacting to prolonged emotional harm.
“I was subjected to repeated verbal abuse about my appearance and worth. Even now I struggle to look at myself in the mirror without hearing the words that were used against me, some of which included being called fat, spotty, gormless and disgusting.
“These words have stayed with me and caused lasting damage to my self-esteem and self-worth.”
Even once the relationship ended, Coffey’s abuse continued.
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She said: “It changed in form and in many ways it got worse. He continued sending me abusive messages and voice notes – sometimes daily. He told me to die; to kill myself. Over and over and over. The cruelty became relentless.”
Rebecca also detailed how she continued to endure psychological pain in the form of anxiety, sleep trouble and intrusive thoughts after she left Coffey.
She continued: “He told me to die. He told me to crash my car. He told me I deserved to get cancer and suffer slowly – knowing I had been through it personally with my mum going through a cancer diagnosis shortly before I met him.
“Hearing those words from someone who was supposed to love and care about me didn’t just hurt; it broke something inside me each time it was said. Those words carved wounds that no-one else can see, but which I feel every single day.”
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On top of navigating her own emotional scars, Rebecca said she also worried about what impact the abuse towards her would have on her two daughters.
“As a mother the pain runs even deeper,” she read. “One of the most distressing aspects of this abuse is the guilt I carry knowing that my daughters witnessed the effects of it…This guilt continues to affect me deeply.
“Everything I do is now driven by my determination to keep my two daughters safe and far away from the kind of behaviour I endured.
“I worry about what they saw, what they felt and what they might remember. I’m trying to heal wounds that no-one should ever be given while also trying to be the strong stable mother they deserve.”
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Reflecting on her ordeal and looking towards the future, she stated: “This was not a single incident but a sustained pattern of behaviour that affected every single aspect of my life.
“At the time I did not fully understand the seriousness of the abuse, which reflects the extent of the psychological manipulation and control involved.
“The long term impact has been devastating. My mental health, my trust, my confidence – everything was damaged.
“The lasting impact includes damage to my mental wellbeing, my confidence as a parent, my financial security and my sense of self.
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“Despite everything I am trying to rebuild my life. Slowly, painfully, but with determination. I am trying to reclaim my voice, my strength and the parts of myself that he tried to destroy.”
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There are heavy delays around the A688/South Church Road roundabout after the incident as police remain on scene.
AA Traffic Maps are showing heavy traffic along the A688 on approach to the roundabout.
AA Traffic maps is showing heavy delays in the area (Image: AA TRAFFIC MAPS)
A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary said: “Please be aware, a large trailer has tipped on the roundabout at South Church as displayed below – officers will shortly be closing the road if the area can be avoided.”
Afroman, best known for his 2000 hit Because I Got High, responded by using home security footage in viral videos that ridiculed the deputies. His video for the song Lemon Pound Cake was inspired by a deputy apparently eyeing a cake in his kitchen, while another video attributed personal and sexual transgressions to the officers.
Customers have left scathing reviews of The Farmer’s Dog in Oxfordshire, with one diner claiming their 30th birthday meal felt like a ‘production line’
Jeremy’s transformation of the venue into its current form was documented on his Amazon Prime Video programme Clarkson’s Farm. Since opening, thousands of viewers have visited the premises. However, it has faced a string of critical reviews.
On Tripadvisor, they posted: “No ambience, felt like a production line, head em up, move em out, was like being served by robots.
“No acknowledgement of his birthday even though I stated it when booking. Really disappointing for a special birthday, it was a let down.”
“Won’t be returning or recommending like I have in the past. This was like going to a cafe or McDonald’s – in fact I’ve probably sat longer in a fast food outlet than here for a special meal.”
Another critic commented: “Over £25 for a pie? Rip off. Without the star name it would be only a nice pub.”
A third reviewer took issue with the venue’s cashless payment system. They posted: “Lovely place but doesn’t support the British pound, as in card only, disappointing.” Another diner advised people to “save their money” by avoiding the establishment.
They commented: “Both ordered pork and it arrived in less than 10 minutes (not a good sign) and was nearly cold, meat was so dry, the singular carrot was hardly cooked, potatoes like mush and Yorkshire pudding so dry it was crumbling.
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“There was no crackling as written on the menu. We weren’t asked once if we had enjoyed the food.
“It seems they value churning food out, over any sort of quality. Really disappointing.”
Other patrons, however, have been impressed by the venue. One remarked: “For our mains two of us had the sausage and mash and they were some of the best sausages we have eaten. The mash was smooth, light and delicious.
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“The other member of our party had the steak pie which was full of meat and gravy and again extremely tasty. The food may have cost a little more than you would normally pay but you get what you pay for, fresh, local produce. We felt it was well worth the money.”
Another visitor noted: “My partner and I had booked The Farmers dog, of course because of the TV show. I was a little apprehensive as with somewhere so hyped there’s always the chance it will be terrible in reality.
“I needn’t have worried. We arrived early so we had time to go into the Grand Tour tent/shop which we found to be well stocked and the staff there were lovely and friendly.”
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Jeremy Clarkson’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
What is it about Gail’s that raises the hackles of Londoners? It depends on who you ask. Some deride the bakery chain as Greggs for posh people; a yummy mummy Mecca where the jam is organic and the oat lattes are reassuringly expensive. For others, Gail’s is a bellwether of gentrification and a venture capital backed Goliath which independent cafés fear. More recently, it has been boycotted by pro-Palestine protesters over its supposed links to Israel.
For one of its co-founders, Tom Molnar, the furore is confusing. “We’re just a bakery, you know?” he shrugged in an interview last year. So how did just a bakery become a political football, whose £5 sourdough divides the chattering classes?
When a new branch of Gail’s opened in Archway, north London in February, it presented a confusing sight for passers-by. There was the cherry red awning, the pristine window display stacked with sourdough loaves, and a pastel-coloured sign outside advertising elderflower iced matcha. It was all perfectly curated quaintness.
Yet one morning, staff arrived to find that someone had taken a hammer to all of the windows in the night. Red graffiti was daubed across the walls, instructing Archway’s inhabitants to “Reject corporate Zionism”, boycott Gail’s and “support local businesses”. The week before, “Free Gaza” had been spray painted on one of the walls. Staff said they were scared to come into work, wondering what it could be next. “We want to serve the best possible food to our communities, and the vandalism we experienced in Archway serves as a distraction from doing just that,” said Molnar in a statement to the Standard.
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In its first week of opening, Gail’s Archway had its windows smashed and its walls sprayed with graffiti
This week, in a now-amended Guardian column, journalist Jonathan Liew wrote that the “very presence” of Gail’s in Archway, a stone’s throw from an independent Palestinian café, felt like “an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression”. The claim sparked accusations of antisemitism from across the political spectrum, and led a pro-Israel campaign group to organise a protest outside the Guardian’s offices. Attendees toted Gail’s paper bags in a show of solidarity.
The bakery is named after Gail Mejia, an Israeli businesswoman who moved to London in 1978. Mejia set up a wholesale bakery called The Bread Factory in the 1990s, which supplied bread to some of London’s top restaurants. In 2003, Mckinsey investors Molnar (from Florida) and Ran Avidan (from Tel Aviv) bought half of the business, and two years later the trio opened the first Gail’s branded bakery on Hampstead High Street. From the beginning, the brand identity was strong. Employees were, and still are, called “breadheads”, and the interiors were designed to look artisanal and eclectic, with oak countertops and exposed brick walls. “Even the guacamole is handmade here,” Avidan said proudly in a 2007 interview. The plan was clear: Avidan said they wanted to open “as many shops as we can, as fast as we can, as long as we can stick to what we believe in”.
On some corners of the internet, the fact that two of the founders of Gail’s are Israeli is enough grounds for a boycott. In one Instagram video with over 1,700 likes, a man walks into a Gail’s and announces to the queueing customers: “Hey, just to make you aware, this is an Israeli-owned coffee shop.”
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Gail’s has said in statements that it is “a British business with no specific connections to any country or government outside the UK”. Mejia and Avidan are no longer involved in the business, but subsequent investors have brought fresh controversies. Mejia was bought out in 2011 by Luke Johnson, the former chairman of Patisserie Valerie, which collapsed in 2019 after alleged accounting fraud. Johnson often posts on X about things which he thinks are nonsense: the Covid lockdown, net zero, and the “disease” of woke that has infected everything from universities and corporations to the Financial Times. He also hates Sadiq Khan. “London has had a Muslim socialist mayor since 2016. It’s like a city committing slow suicide,” he posted last year. In late 2023, the barrister Jolyon Maugham called for a boycott of Gail’s over Johnson’s views. He even offered to send one of his X followers some sourdough starter to help wean them off the bread.
A 500-million-pound behemoth
Since 2021, the chain has been majority owned by Bain Capital, an American private investment firm which bought Avidan’s stake and a proportion of Johnson’s. In the intervening years, it has rapidly expanded. When Bain invested, there were 73 Gail’s across England and the company was estimated to be worth £200 million. Now there are around 200, with plans for 40 more this year. When Gail’s enlisted Goldman Sachs to drive further investment in 2024, the company’s estimated value had ballooned to £500m.
Before the Archway branch had its windows smashed, there was a protest outside organised by Islington Palestine Solidarity Campaign. The organisers have said that their protest had “nothing to do with the fact that Gail’s founders are Israeli”, nor were they responsible for the vandalism. Rather, they objected to Bain Capital’s “predatory growth model” which harms local businesses, and the fact that it invests in Israeli tech and cybersecurity companies.
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Second to the politics are the price tags. Gail’s is comfortably at the upper end of London’s flat white index with its £4.10 offering — though it is no more expensive than comparable upmarket chains like Rosslyn and Redemption Roasters. Gail’s says that it is committed to quality, even if it comes at a higher price. The milk they use comes from a family-run farm in Lancaster, while their beans are sourced by London-based Union Coffee.
Gail’s £4.10 flat white is on par with other upmarket chains
Gail’s
Molnar has said that the rapid expansion of Gail’s is happening because “we need more points of sale for good bread”. And in the world of good bread, £4.80 for a sourdough loaf is actually quite reasonable. A similar loaf from popular east London bakery The Dusty Knuckle will set you back £5.80, while M&S’s “craft collection” signature sourdough costs up to £5.75.
Its stores may have sprouted up across the breadth of England, from Essex to Ellesmere Port, but Gail’s still identifies as a “neighbourhood bakery” and paints a cutesy image of itself. “Whilst we are ordinary people, we want to make extraordinary things,” intones the About Us page on the website. All the loaves are “lovingly crafted”, and Gail’s stated raison d’être is to “bring humanity back into the food world, and back to local communities”. Most locations are partnered with local charities who they donate leftover food to, though staff say that lots of sandwiches have to be thrown out each day, as they are not kept refrigerated. This makes them taste better but means they can only be on display for a few hours.
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Molnar is insistent that Gail’s branches are called bakeries (he repeatedly corrected a podcast host, who kept calling them “stores”), though it is something of a technicality. While the muffins and sandwiches are prepared in-store, the bread and most of the pastries and cakes are baked in a factory on an industrial estate in Hendon — or in Gail’s lingo, “our central craft bakery”.
“I definitely don’t see them as a neighbourhood bakery,” says Sanne Wigbels. In November last year, a Gail’s opened directly opposite Wigbels’ plant shop and café, Ivy and the Wolf, in Crystal Palace. “A chain that opens up large scale cafés in areas which are already saturated with cafés and bakeries is not a neighbourly thing,” she says. Wigbels’ main concern is that the arrival of Gail’s has “opened the door for bigger businesses that have deeper pockets and can afford longer term rents”, which would in turn drive up rent for others. Molnar told the Standard: “we believe a healthy high street is a diverse one made up of many different businesses”.
Protests and efficiency drives
Gail’s used to be concentrated in leafy west London neighbourhoods, where it earned its reputation as a bakery for posh people. When top brass are scouting out new locations, farmer’s markets and schools are green flags they look for. But really, anywhere will do nowadays — even Gatwick airport. Beyond the prices, there is a sense that Gail’s is designed to cater for a certain stratum of the English bourgeoisie. According to Milla, a former barista at Gail’s East Sheen, her branch was a hotbed for “yoga mummies”, who would come in to “drop their children on the floor together and have a coffee”. Perhaps that image is why the residents of Walthamstow (once named the “coolest” neighbourhood in the UK) objected so strongly to the arrival of a Gail’s in 2024. A petition against the bakery opening received over 1,800 signatures from locals, who felt it would take away from the character of their high street. Earlier that summer, the Liberal Democrats had used the chain as part of its election strategy. When looking for seats they might win from the Tories, one of the questions they asked was “Does it have a Gail’s?”
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Gail’s now has around 200 locations across England
Since Bain took over, various processes have been implemented to make the bakeries as streamlined and profitable as possible. Staff must aim to fulfil each hot drink order within two minutes, and every week, managers are sent a “coffee efficiency report” for the store. “It made zero sense,” recalls Jake (not his real name), who worked as a barista at Gail’s in 2025. There was a screen above the coffee machine with orders which hadn’t yet been fulfilled, and a timer for each one — whether it was a single espresso or six drinks with different milks.
“During a rush, it would pressurise you to be sloppy and potentially mix up drinks, and it took out the more conversational, community-building part that Gail’s is supposedly meant to be preaching,” Jake says. A poor coffee efficiency score led to “unnecessary hounding” from the manager, and added time pressure the following week. Molnar told The Standard that Gail’s is focused on great service, and “like most in the hospitality industry we use delivery targets to support this.” For other baristas, the coffee timer did sometimes come in handy with impatient customers. “I’d get a lot of people that would be in my face and rude, or trying to grab someone else’s coffee,” recalls Milla. “I’d say, ‘You’ve been waiting for 1 minute 54 seconds, chill out.’”
Managers receive quarterly bonuses based on five key targets — one of them being the profitability of their branch. At busy London outlets, the turnover is high enough not to split hairs. But the Gail’s Jake worked at was in a sleepy commuter town and was under “constant financial strain”. Jake says that if it was quiet at the start of the week, his hours for later that week were often cut down. Or, on days with low footfall, “it would be strongly suggested that I could finish my shift early and lose out on two or three hours of work.” Gail’s assert that they “plan and publish rotas at least two weeks in advance so our employees can organise their time outside of work”.
Gail’s now has over 2,000 “breadheads” and turned over nearly £220m last year (up over 20 per cent from the year before), with an operating profit of £25m. Critics argue that the company uses investor money to overwhelm competition. Critics of the critics say that this is just an aversion to success and growth — and at what point does a bakery’s multiplication become unacceptable? Cult favourite Pophams has three branches across east London, but what about Buns From Home, which has opened over 20 locations across the city in the past few years?
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The woman who gave her name to Gail’s now lives a quiet life in Portugal with her husband. In a rare interview with Airmail a couple of years ago, Mejia said she found the idea that Gail’s was a gentrifying force “uniquely distasteful”. She accepts that “not everything is perfect” (she said that the coffee was “shit”) but ultimately, love it or hate it, Gail’s has a captive audience. “It’s insanely successful,” she said. “You can’t argue with that.”
Liam Rosenior’s side currently sit sixth in the division, three points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa, but several clubs are hot on their heels – including Everton.
The Toffees, led by David Moyes, are pushing for a potential first European campaign in a decade.
They lost 2-0 at league leaders Arsenal last time out but remained eighth in the table, with just five points between themselves and Chelsea before kick-off.
Both sides have been dealing with injuries in key defensive positions recently, which could make for a free-scoring affair on Merseyside.
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Date, kick-off time and venue
Everton vs Chelsea is scheduled for a 5.30pm GMT kick-off on Saturday, March 21, 2026.
The match will take place at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Where to watch Everton vs Chelsea
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TV channel: In the UK, the game will be televised live on Sky Sports, with coverage starting on Sky Sports Main Event at 5pm GMT.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers can also catch the contest live online via the Sky Go app.
Live blog: You can follow all the action on matchday via Standard Sport’s live blog.
Everton vs Chelsea team news
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Everton were unexpectedly missing first-choice centre-back duo James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite for their visit to the Emirates Stadium last Saturday, and Moyes kept his cards close to his chest both pre- and post-match, insisting he had “nothing to say about them” at full-time.
It is believed that Branthwaite’s workload is being managed after he missed the first several months of the campaign with a hamstring injury.
Tarkowski, meanwhile, reportedly picked up an injury in training before the Arsenal trip.
If neither have sufficiently recovered by this weekend, the back-up pairing of Jake O’Brien and Michael Keane may be deployed again.
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Elsewhere, there is a chance Charly Alcaraz could play a role but Jack Grealish is still expected to miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his foot.
Tyrique George is ineligible to face his parent club, but former Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall should keep his regular starting spot.
Regular: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
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Rosenior said Chalobah, who has played the third-most minutes in all competitions for Chelsea this term, would be assessed on Wednesday, with an update expected later this week.
The Blues boss may have Malo Gusto to call upon for the trip to Merseyside, with the French full-back having missed the PSG game due to illness. Benoit Badiashile was also out with a bug.
Blow: Trevoh Chalobah
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Everton vs Chelsea prediction
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Much of how this match plays out will likely depend both on how each team bounces back from defeats in their most recent outings, as well as how each manager addresses their defensive issues and shortcomings.
Chelsea, who have now lost three in a row in all competitions, desperately need a win like the one they managed at Villa Park a few weeks ago to get their top-four challenge back on track before rivals pull too far away.
Their notably low tally of clean sheets under Rosenior (one in 14 league matches) suggests they may struggle to keep the Toffees out, so scoring against Everton – who beat Burnley in their last home game but have generally struggled when hosting the so-called bigger clubs this term – is a must.
The Toffees will be thinking similarly, particularly with backline absences for both sides, so we’re expecting a high-scoring evening that the visitors may just edge thanks to the comparatively superior quality of their attack.
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Head to head (h2h) history and results
In the past 10 meetings between these clubs, Everton has won just twice: 1-0 in 2022, and 2-0 in 2023.
Both of those results came at their old stomping ground Goodison Park, where Chelsea – who have a much better recent home record against this opponent, including a 6-0 triumph in 2024 – actually emerged victorious from only one of their final eight visits (D2, L5).
The Toffees have been better on the road this term (W7, D3, L5) than at their new home (W5, D4, L6), though, and one of their six away losses came against the Blues in December.
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Last season, the corresponding fixture last season ended in a goalless stalemate.
China is not currently planning to invade Taiwan next year, according to US spy agencies.
Instead of military intervention, Beijing is looking to gain control of the key island in the Pacific without force, an intelligence assessment states.
The annual report said that although Chinese Communist Party leaders did not plan to retake Taiwan by force, the People’s Liberation Army was developing its military capabilities that could be used in any bid to seize the island.
It read: “Chinese leaders do not currently plan to execute an invasion of Taiwan in 2027, nor do they have a fixed timeline for achieving unification.”
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The assessment comes as Beijing ramps up pressure on Taiwan through frequent military drills in one of the world’s biggest potential flashpoints.
Image: Taiwanese briefing on China’s drills. Pic: Reuters
The Pentagon said last year that the US military believed China was preparing to be able to take Taiwan through “brute force” by 2027 – the centenary of the founding of its People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
But the latest report, released on Wednesday, said Beijing would prefer to ‘peacefully’ pursue its goal of ‘reunification’ with the democratically governed island.
“China, despite its threat to use force to compel unification if necessary and to counter what it sees as a US attempt to use Taiwan to undermine China’s rise, prefers to achieve unification without the use of force, if possible,” the report said.
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It added that the PLA was making “steady but uneven” progress on the capabilities it could use to capture Taiwan.
Image: Explosive barrels placed by Taiwan military at the Tamsui river. Pic: Reuters
China’s foreign ministry responded to the report by saying that the US should correct its understanding of China and that resolving the Taiwan question was a matter for China only.
But Japan rejected claims in the report there had been a “significant shift” in Tokyo’s stance on Taiwan, after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on the island would launch a Japanese response.
Minoru Kihara, Japanese chief cabinet secretary, said: “The government’s position of judging an existential crisis situation with all the information it gathers is consistent with the past.
“The assessment that there has been a major shift is not accurate.”
China responded furiously to Ms Takaichi’s remarks that Japan would take military action in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan, urging its people not to travel to Japan and choking off some exports.
Ms Takaichi has maintained that her position – which increases the risk of a Chinse attack on Taiwan triggering a regional conflict – was consistent with longstanding Japanese policy.
The US report said: “China is employing multi-domain coercive pressure that probably will intensify through 2026, aimed both at punishing Japan and deterring other countries from making similar statements about their potential involvement in a Taiwan crisis.”
Three things you may have missed from China
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US President Donald Trump, who delayed his planned trip to China at the end of this month over the Iran war, has repeatedly touted his “great relationship” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and downplayed the threat of Chinese drills near Taiwan.
He said Mr Xi told him he will not attack Taiwan while the US president is in office, though Beijing has never confirmed this.
China views Taiwan – which was established in 1949 when the nationalist government retreated after Communist forces seized power on the mainland – as its own territory, and has never renounced the use of force to take the island.
Taiwan rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide its future.
The police are continuing to search for the body of a missing man after the car entered the River Nene near Wisbech St Mary.
Cambridgeshire Police are continuing to search for a missing man after a car entered the River Nene on North Brink near Wisbech on Tuesday, March 17, at around 8.20pm. A specialist operations unit will be carrying out the search on the river on Thursday (March 19).
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The car had five people aged between 16 and 19 in it at the time of the crash. Three people, two females and one male, were able to get out of the vehicle and were taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn with non-life threatening injuries.
The police recovered the body of the missing teenage girl during the search on Wednesday (March 18). Detectives from the Serious Collision Investigation Unit are continuing to work with local enquiries.
A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Officers from our specialist operations unit will be on the river today and the search for the missing man will continue.
“In addition, detectives from our Serious Collision Investigation Unit will be supporting with local enquires and continued engagement with families and witnesses.”
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The police are asking for anyone with information about the incident to come forward. You should contact the police quoting incident 515 of 17 March.
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Taylor Frankie Paul has found herself surrounded by controversy one again with reports suggesting filming of season five of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been paused
The addictive reality series follows a group of Utah-based women who popularised the online subculture known as MomTok, which was founded to break the stigma surrounding strict gender Mormon roles and create an online outlet for young mothers.
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Earlier this week, news broke that filming of the fifth season had been halted due to an alleged domestic violence involving ringleader Taylor Frankie Paul and her ex Dakota Mortensen, who is the father of her youngest child.
TMZ reported that production had “hit an unexpected pause” due to a “blowup” between Taylor and Dakota, claiming the situation was “intense enough that filming couldn’t continue as planned.”
Fans of the SLOMW have been following Taylor and Dakota’s turbulent relationship since season one aired in 2024 and will be aware this isn’t the first time filming has been halted.
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In the very first episode, Taylor was arrested for allegedly hitting, choking and throwing metal chairs at Dakota and she later pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault.
The series premiere episode featured actual police body camera footage of the 2023 arrest, which caused a major delay between the filming of the first and second episodes leaving fans wondering whether season five could also be impacted by the latest news.
However, this time is different as MomTok members Whitney Leavitt, Macyi Neeley, Jennifer Afflect, Mikayla Matthews, Jessi Draper, Layla Taylor and Miranda McWhorter have become established stars in their own right and have stepped out of Taylor’s shadow over the past two years.
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The women are now embracing their individual projects with Macyi releasing her own book and both Whitney and Jen landing spots on Dancing With The Stars in 2025 while still making their iconic TikTok dance videos which made them famous in the first place.
Stand-out star Whitney is currently playing leading role Roxy Hart in Chicago on Broadway and it was recently announced the fan-favourite made box office history for garnering sky-high ticket sales during her since-extended run.
While some viewers find Whitney polarising or “villainous,” I personally see her as a central, interesting character who has helped boost the show’s popularity and could easily step in to lead MomTok if Taylor was ever to take a break.
They’ve all welcomed the cameras into their homes and opened up about personal issues from eating disorders and health battles to emotional affairs, and have earned their own fans across the globe individually.
Collectively the woman boost millions of followers across their own social media platforms, which proves that fans are interested in their every move and proves the show can gone on with or without Taylor.
MomTok may have skyrocketed to fame after it Taylor revealed on TikTok Live that the group was involved in a “soft-swinging” scandal but the popularity of the other cast members proves fans are invested in more than just Taylor’s drama.
In the show, the women are often left questioning if Taylor is the right leader for MomTok and if the group can survive another scandal but I think there’s definitely plenty more dirty sodas and DadTok bashing to come.
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The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives is available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu
Lidl GB hopes to open the first supermarket in Cambridgeshire’s newest town. The company has submitted a planning application for a store to serve Northstowe and surrounding villages.
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The planning submission to South Cambridgeshire District Council follows a public consultation. A Lidl GB spokesperson said more than 2,500 respondents backed the proposals.
The proposed Lidl would be near Station Road, on the former Pentair Hypro EU site, and is expected create around 40 new local jobs. A spokesperson said: “Feedback from the consultation highlighted strong community demand for a discount foodstore in the area, with respondents welcoming the additional choice and competition a new Lidl would bring.
“A key theme emerging from the consultation was the desire for more convenient local shopping options as Northstowe continues to grow. Respondents said the store would make it easier for residents to access affordable groceries locally and help reduce the need to travel further afield for their weekly shop.”
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Andrew Hodgkinson, Regional Head of Property at Lidl GB, said: “This marks a significant step forward in our plans to bring a new Lidl store to Northstowe. The proposed store would enhance shopping choice for the growing community, providing convenient access to our high quality, affordable products while also creating around 40 new jobs for local people.”
The proposals include a bakery and customer toilets. The store would have a net sales area of 1,529 sqm and provide 118 car parking spaces, including six disabled bays, six parent and child spaces, and electric vehicle charging points with capacity for additional chargers in the future.
There would be more than 40 covered cycle spaces. Pedestrian and cycle routes would pass the store.
The planning application can be viewed on South Cambridgeshire District Council’s planning portal under reference 26/00951/FUL.
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