You didn’t spend long in evangelical circles of the Church of England during the late 1970s without bumping into an outwardly charming young man named John Smyth. A famous barrister, who’d acted for morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse in blasphemy and pornography cases against Gay News, Channel 4 and the National Theatre, Smyth also chaired the Iwerne Trust, a charity which ran Christian summer camps in Dorset each year. His annual retreats, at which largely well-bred young men swam, played sports, and attended Bible study classes, were designed to attract ‘future leaders’ who might go on to greater things.

Donald Trump supporters surprisingly revealed how popular Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is actually very similar to the new president-elect. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, reached out to her supporters on Instagram Sunday, asking if any of her followers had voted for both her and 78-year-old Trump and why. ‘This is not a place of judgment. I’m not gonna like put your stuff on blast or anything like that or dunk on it… I actually want to learn from you,’ she said.

Billionaire Kamala Harris supporter Mark Cuban has quietly wiped some of his social media comments endorsing the Vice President. The Shark Tank entrepreneur was one of the first from Camp Kamala to publicly concede defeat on election night, sending a message of congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump by about 1.30am. In the message, he also congratulated X owner Elon Musk, who emerged as one of Trump’s most outspoken – and generous – supporters during his campaign.

When champion strongman Scott Maw was hurt in a car crash, he told his GP he struggled carrying shopping bags. As he claimed for a whiplash-style shoulder injury, he failed, however, to mention he was still a dab hand at lifting logs, concrete balls and even a Transit van. The decision to seek compensation for his accident injuries, in what solicitors said was a ‘blatantly dishonest’ insurance claim against the other driver, has left him £25,000 out-of-pocket.

Donald Trump’s second term as president will largely be shaped by the loyal allies who have stood by him during his four years outside of the White House. As the clock ticks down to his inauguration on January 20, all eyes will be on Mar-a-Lago as Republicans jostle for a cabinet spot or a senior role in the West Wing. And those are filling fast. In the past two-plus days, nine potential appointees have emerged for top Cabinet or West Wing roles and a handful of contenders for other vital positions have emerged.

Controversial plans to build a megafarm with up to 870,000 chickens and 14,000 pigs between two villages have attracted nearly 15,000 complaints. Cranswick, the food giant behind the plans, says the two sites will be set 400 yards apart and operate separately to act as a ‘bio-precaution’. But locals fear the giant facility will belch out foul odours including ammonia fumes, attract swarms of flies and result in thousands of lorries driving past homes.

Resurfaced footage showing Kevin Rudd calling Donald Trump a ‘village idiot’ and ‘incoherent’ has reignited calls for his removal as Australia’s ambassador to the United States. The footage, aired by Sky News’ Sharri Markson on Monday night, captured Rudd speaking in a 2021 webinar with Indian politician and former diplomat Dr Shashi Tharoor. ‘The United States, in the past four years, has been run by a village idiot,’ Mr Rudd said.

New Zealand’s deputy prime minister has taken aim at Australia for deporting Kiwi criminals back to his country while Aussies remain locked up in NZ. Winston Peters, who is also foreign minister, urged the Albanese government to ‘show a bit of gratitude’ towards Kiwis. ‘Ned Kelly should show a bit of humility on this matter and don’t come the raw prawn with us, to use an Aussie expression,’ he said.

One of the founders of the world’s oldest breastfeeding support charity has quit in protest at its inclusion of transgender women. Marian Tompson denounced La Leche League International as an ‘organisation that has become a travesty of my original intent’. In a damning resignation letter from the board of directors, the 94-year-old condemned the group’s shift from focusing on mothering to ‘indulging the fantasies of adults’.