Former First Lady Melania Trump—the wife of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump—laid out her supportive position on abortion rights in a new interview on FOX’s Sunday Morning Futures, which aired on Oct. 6.
Reporter Maria Bartiromo introduced the topic by reading out a portion of Melania’s upcoming memoir, Melania, including a section where she writes she is pro-choice, and a passage that states it “is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, based on their own convictions, free from intervention or pressure from the government.”
When asked whether she spoke with her husband about her articulation of abortion rights before publishing them in her memoir, Melania backed up her comments.
“Yes, he knew my position and my beliefs since the day we met, and I believe in individual freedom,” she said. “I want to decide what I want to do with my body. I think… I don’t want government in my personal business. I think it’s very important.”
Advertisement
The interview comes after The Guardian reported earlier this week that Melania’s new memoir includes strong declarations of her support for abortion rights.
“Why should anyone other than the woman herself have the power to determine what she does with her own body? A woman’s fundamental right of individual liberty, to her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes,” Melania writes in the memoir, according to The Guardian. She goes on to say she has held these pro-choice convictions for the entirety of her adult life.
Melania’s reported statements in the memoir were followed by a promotional video posted on her official X (formerly Twitter) account, where she told the camera that “individual freedom is a fundamental principle that [she] safeguard[s].”
Advertisement
Donald addressed his wife’s stance in an interview with FOX News’ Bill Melugin, which aired Oct. 3., soon after The Guardian’s reporting. When Melugin asked what the former President thought when he read the book, he replied that he told his wife to “write what [she] believe[s].”
“I’m not going to tell you what to do,” Donald said, “I said [to Melania], ‘You have to stick with your heart.’”
Melania’s comments come just one month before the presidential election, in which her husband and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris have been embroiled in battles over abortion rights. Harris has repeatedly called out the Republican candidate for his role in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling that rolled back abortion rights, particularly because the former President appointed three of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who ruled in favor of overturning the landmark decision. In the nominee’s presidential debate in September, the Republican candidate falsely claimed that the Democratic party’s position on abortion rights includes the support for “execution after birth.”
Meanwhile, during the vice-presidential debate on Oct.1, Donald’s running mate, J.D. Vance, spoke more moderately on the issue, saying he “never supported a national ban” for abortion—while in the past he said that he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” He went on to say during the debate that the Republican party has “to do so much better of a job at earning the American people’s trust on this issue where they frankly just don’t trust us.”
Advertisement
Beyond the presidential ballot, abortion rights will be on the ballot in 10 different states during the general election on Nov. 5.
Housebuilders say they have thousands of affordable homes ready to be built but no buyers
England has a housing crisis – more than one million families and individuals are on the waiting list for a social home.
Experts think 90,000 of these homes need to be built every year for a decade to house everyone – but less than 5,000 were completed in the past year.
And there are fears the problem will become even worse.
We spoke to organisations working in the planning, building and management of social homes who tell us they are in a “perfect storm” of financial uncertainty, unsuitable construction and huge bills for repairs.
Advertisement
The result, they say, is that thousands of sites earmarked for affordable and social housing are not being built despite the enormous need.
The Home Builders Federation, which represents housebuilders, told the BBC their members have at least 13,000 affordable properties, including social homes, ready to be built right now.
But they can’t start because there are no housing providers to buy these properties.
“It is a major and growing problem that is increasingly threatening affordable and overall housing supply,” says Steve Turner, executive director at the Home Builders Federation. “Small sites are being prevented from starting and larger sites are being halted as a result.”
Advertisement
Tragedies of Grenfell and Awaab
The largest problem, experts tell us, is that housing providers – predominantly housing associations – no longer have as much money to spend on buying new properties as they did before.
Housing associations are mostly not-for-profit organisations that buy up affordable properties and rent them as social homes to low income tenants at discounted rates, receiving a government subsidy to do so.
They’re having to spend more money on repairing the homes they already own, they say – meaning less to spend on buying new properties.
The National Housing Federation (NHF), which represents housing associations, estimates it will cost their members £6bn.
They also say they are spending more money on fixing damp problems following the death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died of breathing problems caused by mould.
Housing associations are making less money from renting out social homes, too, they say.
Marie Chadwick, policy leader at the NHF, explains that over the last decade the government has been cutting and capping the rent paid by social housing tenants.
“This equated to £3 billion in lost rental income for housing associations last year,” she says.
As well as having less money than expected, the frequently changing rent levels mean housing associations struggle to predict how much rental income they will have in future, they say.
Advertisement
They say that this uncertainty makes budgeting how much they can spend on buying new properties more difficult and reduces the amount of money banks are willing to lend them to fund these purchases.
High interest rates also make borrowing this money more expensive.
‘Financial havoc’
The situation has gotten so bad that several councils warn they could go bankrupt unless more social homes are built – because of the money they’re spending on temporary housing for people on waiting lists.
Advertisement
In the past year they spent more than £1 billion on temporary accommodation for people with nowhere else to go.
If their areas had more social homes, they could house these people instead of paying for them to stay in hotels and hostels.
Some councils still buy and manage their own social homes – but the financial pressure they’re under means they can’t afford to buy the new properties being offered by housebuilders, they say.
These financial problems, affecting housing associations and councils, were described to us repeatedly as the main reason why thousands of sites earmarked for affordable and social housing are not being built – despite England’s enormous need for them.
‘Not what we want’
There’s also the problem of the social homes not matching what the housing associations want.
Housing associations also say too many of these homes have gas boilers, which don’t fit their plans to be more environmentally friendly. The UK is legally obliged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Several organisations told us that more of these planned social homes might have been bought if housing associations had been more closely involved at the start of the planning process.
Housebuilders say their homes were approved by councils and that changing them now to suit the wishes of housing associations would be costly.
“It’s a perfect storm,” says Ms Chadwick, an assessment several other people we spoke to agreed with.
Advertisement
“These factors have inevitably led to a reduction in plans for building new affordable and social housing at a time when they are needed more than ever.”
Government’s conundrum
What might help? Housebuilders say that homes previously agreed to be built as affordable housing, under what are known as Section 106 contracts, could be allowed for sale on the open market.
They say this would allow them to build more homes and help meet the government’s overall target for house building – 1.5 million in the next five years.
Advertisement
In return, housebuilders would give some money from these sales to councils.
But that doesn’t help councils get the social homes they need for families stuck on the waiting list.
Another possibility is for the government to alter the rules around the way housing associations can spend the money they are given or – as was often said to us – they could give them more money overall to buy newly built social homes.
The government says itrecognises the need, with the ministry of housing telling us the next five years would see the “biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation”.
Ms Neate adds: “If we truly want economic growth in this country, we can’t afford not to build.
Advertisement
“The government must set a clear target and invest in a new generation of social rent homes – building 90,000 a year for ten years will clear social housing waiting lists and end homelessness for good.”
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
UK businesses have put hiring on hold because of uncertainty over the government’s plans on tax, industrial strategy and workers’ rights, a closely watched survey showed on Monday.
Recruiters placed fewer people in jobs in September, in a continuation of a market slowdown that has lasted two years, the monthly report from KPMG and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation showed. Meanwhile growth in starting salaries was at its weakest since February 2021.
Advertisement
Jon Holt, UK senior partner at KPMG, said businesses had put the brakes on recruitment in the run-up to the Budget to “wait for clarity on future taxation, business and economic policy”.
Recruitment agencies responding to the survey said they had placed fewer people in permanent positions that month because “unclear government policy” had made their clients cautious.
An index measuring permanent placements rose from 44.6 in August to 44.9 in September, but remained well below the reading of 50 that would signal stable activity. Meanwhile a decline in temporary billings gathered pace.
The figures are the latest sign that confidence in the UK economy has been rattled by ministers’ warnings that tough decisions on tax, benefits and spending would be needed in the Budget to balance the books.
Advertisement
A separate survey published last month showed the prospect of a painful Budget had also hit households’ morale, with consumer confidence dropping sharply in September, even though the Bank of England’s August interest rate cut was starting to feed through to mortgage rates.
Since then, chancellor Rachel Reeves has been seeking to convey a more upbeat message, telling the Financial Times last week that the Budget would be about investment, and not about fresh public sector austerity.
“The government needs to continue to give chief executives confidence in the UK’s macroeconomic conditions and the country’s route to stronger growth,” said Holt.
Recruiters polled by KPMG and the REC have been reporting falling demand for staff for more than a year. In September, the drop in demand for permanent roles was sharpest in retail, construction and in the technology sector. The only significant growth in demand was for medical, nursing and care workers.
Advertisement
Because of the drop in demand, businesses that struggled to fill vacancies a year ago are now finding there are far more candidates looking for work, the survey indicated — some recently made redundant.
The KPMG/REC survey is closely watched by policymakers at present, because ongoing problems with the Office for National Statistics’ labour force survey mean there is no reliable gauge of unemployment.
REC chief executive Neil Carberry said any further move by the BoE to cut interest rates would boost business, but that “eyes are also on the government” to set a clear industrial strategy and give employers more certainty over its plans for sweeping reforms to employment law.
SHOPPERS are racing to get a Home Bargains dupe of a beloved M&S chocolate snack scanning at a cheaper price.
A savvy shopper posted the dupe in the Food Find UK OfficialFacebook group, where bargain hunters regularly share new items they discover in supermarkets.
2
Home Bargain’s M&S dupe is scanning at tills for just £1.99Credit: Facebook
2
Advertisement
M&S launched their Outrageously Chocolatey range last yearCredit: Ocado
Home Bargain’s new Elkes Temptations is a dupe of M&S’ popular Milk Chocolate Custard Creams.
The knock-off treats are scanning at the popular discount chain’s tills for only £1.99.
This is just over £1 less than the price at which M&S is selling their chocolatey snack.
Home Bargain fans can choose from a Chocolatey Custard Cream or the sought-after Chocolatey Bourbon Creams.
Advertisement
The caption for the post read: “Found these in-home bargains today they are £1.99 bit cheaper than the M&S ones not tried them yet.”
Hundreds of fellow bargain hunters have left likes and left comments expressing their desire to snap up the tasty treats.
One user cried: “I need these.”
“I need to go on the hunt for these,” another wrote.
Advertisement
A third commented: “Need cause the M&S ones are banging.”
“Thanks so much for sharing,” a fourth added.
‘We need to go NOW!’ Home Bargains shoppers say as sold-out viral Polar Express PJs return, but you’ll have to be quick
Last year M&S made a shock change to its bourbons and custard cream biscuits, as fans revealed the new versions taste like another classic chocolate bar.
The high street retail giant launched the new range from its Food brand, prompting people to pile in with reviews on social media.
Advertisement
The new Marks & Spencer offerings included savoury snacks as well as sweets.
Yet the ones that appeared to get the most responses were the custard creams and milk chocolate-coated bourbon-style biscuits.
The company deliberately fashioned their new treats on long-established “customer favourites”, it acknowledged.
The products had names such as Outrageously Chocolatey Chocolate-Coated Custard Creams and Outrageously Chocolatey Chocolate-Coated Bourbons, both priced at £2.50 per pack.
Advertisement
Comments on the official M&S Instagram channel in reply to the new arrivals included “These are insanely good” and “You have absolutely knocked it out of the park”.
Another fan posted: “These are like TimTams on steroids!”
University of Oxford historian Dr Francis Young said: “The words ‘historic’ and ‘breakthrough’ get bandied about a lot, but in the case of chocolate-covered custard creams we could be looking at something that genuinely changes the world for the better.”
And writer Anna Tuckett posted on X, formerly Twitter: “The rumours were true, this is an improvement on standard custard creams.”
Advertisement
How to save money on chocolate
WE all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don’t have to break the bank buying your favourite bar.
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs…
Go own brand – if you’re not too fussed on flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you’ll save by going for supermarket’s own brand bars.
Advertisement
Shop around – if you’ve spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it’s cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like Trolley.co.uk let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you’re getting the best deal.
Look out for yellow stickers – supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they’ve been reduced.
They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best before date or the packaging is slightly damaged.
Advertisement
Buy bigger bars – most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar.
So if you’ve got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.
One man has died and three people have been injured following an explosion in a block of flats in Alloa, Clackmannanshire.
The man, who has not yet been identified, was inside the property when the explosion occurred and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police and emergency services declared a major incident at the property in Kellie Place on Sunday evening.
Police Scotland Sergeant Neill Drummond said the force was “still working to establish the full circumstances of what happened at this property”, but the cause of the explosion was still unknown.
Advertisement
“However, we can confirm that one male has passed away,” he added.
“Our inquiries to confirm his identity and provide his next of kin with all the necessary support they may require are ongoing.”
Three other individuals who were injured were taken to Forth Valley Royal Infirmary for treatment.
Police Scotland said they had been alerted at about 18:00 that a building had been badly damaged.
Advertisement
Eleven vehicles were sent including specialist units, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said.
Alloa Town Hall has been opened as a respite centre for occupants of the other flats within the address, while gas and electrical work is checked.
Police said they would be “appropriately supported with alternative accommodation” if their homes were not deemed safe to return to.
The fire service said specialist urban search and rescue units and a heavy rescue unit were among the resources it had deployed.
Advertisement
A spokesperson said: “Crews are working with emergency service partners to make the area safe.”
A number of road closures along the A907, B9096, Kellie Place and Tullibody Road that had been implemented by police are in the process of being lifted, but further utilities work may be required, resulting in additional closures they said.
Fidelity International, Mercer, Penny and Pension Lab are the latest companies to join the Pensions Dashboards Operators Coalition (DOC).
This now brings consumers’ choice of potential dashboards to 15.
The existing member firms of the Pensions DOC are Aviva, Just Group, Legal & General, Mintago, Moneybox, Moneyhub, NatWest Cushon, Scottish Widows (part of Lloyds Banking Group), Smart Pension and Standard Life (part of Phoenix Group), and the MoneyHelper pensions dashboard from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).
Fidelity International supports retail and workplace savers with their plans for retirement. To help them achieve their financial goals, it will explore opportunities to offer savers a single, consolidated view of their pension wealth through its online services, via a commercial pensions dashboard.
Advertisement
Mercer is now looking to further enhance its communication and engagement by adding in a commercial pensions dashboard or Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service (QPDS).
Penny makes it seamless for individuals to locate and consolidate their pension pots. It intends to include a QPDS within its simple modern app providing customers with a secure and enjoyable experience.
Pension Lab is a leading provider of white-labelled pension transfer and consolidation dashboards. The company now aims to extend its Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) permissions to become an authorised QPDS operator.
Independent Dashboards consultant Richard Smith leads the DOC initiative.
Advertisement
He said: “Especially since the onset of the FCA’s Consumer Duty requirements, more and more pension providers are deciding they can only properly help their customers with retirement planning if they can show them all the pensions they’ve got, together.
“It’s going to be so good for UK consumers to have so many opportunities to see their total pension position on whichever is their favourite and most trusted app, emulating the success on this we’ve seen in Norway. Soon, providers who don’t intend to offer a QPDS will be the exception.”
Fidelity International head of workplace investing distribution Dan Smith said: “We believe pensions dashboards are fundamental to improving savers’ retirement outcomes. Providing them with a single view of their pensions savings will help to increase levels of engagement, while addressing the challenges presented by a proliferation of small pots.
“The Coalition presents an excellent opportunity for the industry to work together and share best practice, to support with the implementation of dashboards. We look forward to collaborating with its members to support the delivery of commercial pensions dashboards for the benefit of our retirement savers.”
Dashboards provide consumers with a consolidated view of their pensions, making it easier to track and manage their retirement savings and make informed decisions about their retirement.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login