Volatility is rising in UK bond markets ahead of a knife-edge interest-rate decision from the Bank of England.

Lori Vallow’s attorney claimed that the “cult mom” who murdered her two children and conspired to kill her new lover’s wife is “misunderstood” and is actually “all about love” as he asked the judge for leniency at her sentencing hearing. The 50-year-old convicted killer appeared in Fremont County Courthouse in Idaho on Monday morning to be sentenced for the murders of her two youngest children Tylee Ryan, 16, and Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and conspiracy to murder her new husband Chad Daybell’s first wife Tammy Daybell. Sitting slouched cross-legged at the defence table, Vallow kept her head down and refused to look her victims’ devastated family members in the eyes as they gave heartwrenching impact statements to the court and as prosecutors asked that she spent the rest of her life behind bars with no chance of parole. In a defence statement, Vallow’s attorney John Thomas asked the judge to give her “hope” that the “most hated woman in America” could one day be free from prison. “I think Lori Daybell is the most hated woman in America right now and maybe in the world. That hate will never bring closure to the victims,” he said. The attorney began his bizarre statement by saying that he used to be a prosecutor but realised that “I don’t think Jesus Christ was a prosecutor”. “He is our greatest advocate. And now I sit next to Lori Vallow,” he said. He went on to claim that Vallow – who conspired to kill her children and love rival – is “misunderstood” and people who know her, know she is actually “about love”. “People who truly know her know she’s about love. We didn’t always get along and our team has had a lot of misunderstandings,” he said. “But Lori’s overarching theme is about love. She is very different than who she plays on tv. She’s smart, insightful, witty.” Mr Thomas argued that Vallow’s sentence should be a fixed term to give her an incentive to rehabilitate herself with an eye to possibly being released from prison aged 70. “If we give her a fixed term we protect her from society until her 70s and she helps other inmates and becomes a better person.” After Mr Thomas finished his sentencing recommendation, Vallow took the opportunity to address the court herself. She shockingly claimed that “no one was murdered” as she broke her silence for the first time over the horrific murders of her two children and her lover’s wife in a chilling statement at sentencing. In the bizarre remarks, the so-called “cult mom” read out a Bible quote, spoke of visiting “heaven” and continued to channel her doomsday cult beliefs while claiming “I have had many communications with Jesus Christ”. While her victims’ loved ones were forced to listen in horror, she claimed that she had communicated with her murdered children Tylee Ryan and Joshua “JJ” Vallow as well as “her friend” Tammy Daybell from beyond the grave – and that they are “very happy”. Ultimately, Judge Steven Boyce was not swayed by either argument and Vallow was sentenced to five life sentences, three consecutive, without the possibility of parole. Read More Lori Vallow had two alleged accomplices in her children’s murders. One will never face justice Cult beliefs, hazmat suits and charred remains: Key revelations from Lori Vallow’s murder trial A doomsday cult, murders and children buried in a pet cemetery: The twisted case of Lori Vallow Lori Vallow claims ‘no one was murdered’ as she breaks silence in bizarre sentencing statement

Christian McCaffrey scored a touchdown in his 12th straight game, Brock Purdy threw two TD passes and the San Francisco 49ers won their 13th straight regular season game, 30-12 over the New York Giants

SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 10, 2023--

Canterbury Crusaders coach Scott Robertson backed David Havili to be fit for the World Cup after the All Blacks centre was ruled out Thursday for up to...

The heavyweight division is a bad pantomime now with Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, a chorus of fighters, a few promoters and some hefty backers all trying to work out what part of the dancing horse they are. Moving away from the ugly sisters, there is every chance that the gap between the last championship fight and the next will be the longest in over 50 years. This break is not common, ignore people telling you that. Fury defended his WBC title last December against his old, old friend, Dereck Chisora, and Usyk beat Anthony Joshua for the second time last August in Saudi Arabia to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Fury has no date, just social media plans, and Usyk is due to defend in Poland in late August against Daniel Dubois. It is hard to find a solitary reason for the break and even more difficult to put the blame on just one single person. There are a lot of people on the stage, and they all have a role to play. And to be honest, during the last six months they have all said too much. Sure, greed, rivalries, stupidity, lies and ego are at the very core of the problem, but boxing at the highest level has always had the same flaws, the same fluid obstacles. The standard excuses are there to overcome - that is how boxing works. Fury and Usyk for all the tarnished marbles was meant to have been signed and sealed last September. It was scheduled for April and is now a plan for December. Both boxers have insulted the other, and the theme of their mutual abuse is simple: greed. Obviously, both deny they are the greedy, money-grabbing party in the sad affair. Actually, the righteous outrage from both sides is comedy gold at times. Fury’s father, the unstoppable “Gypsy John” Fury, has demanded that Usyk apologise for his criticism. He has warned that if there is no apology, there might be a straightener in a field somewhere, man-to-man. There is honour at stake. It is endless mirth, it really is. c. Some of boxing’s wisest, richest and smartest brains have been involved in this ongoing lunacy. The men and women in the Fury camp blame Usyk, and the men and women in the Usyk camp blame Fury. The two main players in the Fury business, Bob Arum and Frank Warren, have a combined total of 98 years of promotion; they are both battling this madness. There is, according to some insiders, a one-off offer on the table from the government of Saudi Arabia for Fury and Usyk to fight there at the end of the year. Usyk has signed his deal. This offer is non-negotiable, and we know this because the media flown out to Saudi by the Saudi government have reported it as fact. As a guide to the way boxing works, there are seldom any facts involved when deals are being made, broken and made again. The real insiders are furious that Usyk and Fury, the biggest fight in boxing, is not yet across the line. The sanctioning bodies, who get paid a fee for fights, have promised to get tough with their heavyweight champions, but have not said a word or done a thing; everyone is holding out for a slice of the Saudi cash pie. ‘Hey, it’s a business,’ they will say, but that little claim is wearing very thin. Fury, meanwhile, has mentioned 10 possible opponents in his social media rants in the last few weeks, including a plan to fight two UFC icons in one night. Usyk and Dubois went to purse bids, which is one of boxing’s ancient rituals, and Usyk’s team won. The fight is scheduled for August. Looking in from the side of the crowded stage is Joshua. His fight with Fury was announced by Fury on 10 June, 2020; it would have been a fight for the ages, for all the belts and all the bragging rights. It never happened and it has come close a couple of times since then. Joshua, meanwhile, will fight in August and it might be Dillian Whyte. There is a rumour that Whyte wants too much for the fight; the flip side of that rumour is that Whyte was offered too little. In America, Deontay Wilder, twice beaten in classics by Fury, has not fought since last October. There is a plan, under the Saudi deal, for Wilder to fight Joshua in Saudi Arabia on the same night as Usyk and Fury fight. There is, so the paid publicists insist, a total purse of $400million on the table for the four boxers to split. It must be a strong table. There are bold plans right now for the deadlock to be broken soon and some concrete dates and fights to finally be announced. The traffic, as they say in the world of espionage, is heavy. Let’s hope for some fights – the old game needs the best heavyweights back in action and out of the back end of that horse suit. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Tyson Fury claims UFC has offered him ‘hybrid fight’ with Jon Jones Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones Why has Saudi Arabia become big player in world sport and what does future hold? Tyson Fury claims UFC has offered him ‘hybrid fight’ with Jon Jones Tyson Fury promises ‘imminent’ announcement of ‘big fight’ Joe Joyce on knockouts, oil painting, and teaching 60-year-olds to swim

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