Hegseth said that the issue around younger people transitioning was not limited to a right-wing discourse but should expand over to the left as well.

'There was drama on set, and I witnessed it and I heard a lot about it,' said Romjin

Last May, Casemiro won the Champions League. This May, he has qualified for it. It sounds the lesser achievement. A player who played in four Champions League final victories is now mathematically assured of a top-four finish. As Manchester United returned to the top table of European football, it owed much to Casemiro. Over the season, he has been a catalytic force. On the night when they condemned Chelsea to defeat and Liverpool to the Europa League, he was again. United had been short of goals of late but Casemiro started a rout of the 2021 Champions League winners. Erik ten Hag bought a defensive midfielder, but Casemiro has contributed much in attack. He scored the opening goal and helped set up the second with a sand wedge of a pass. Anthony Martial scored it, Bruno Fernandes added a third from the penalty spot before the substitute Marcus Rashford became the first player to score 30 goals in a season for United since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. But the name that echoed most around Old Trafford, unsurprisingly, was Casemiro’s. He signed in August after the embarrassment of the 4-0 demolition at Brentford; undeterred, Casemiro has helped lead a revival. United’s season, which began disastrously, will end with Ten Hag in credit. With a trophy in the cabinet and a top-four finish, there is a sense his mission has been accomplished, even if the mood will partly be affected by whether United end Manchester City’s treble hopes in the FA Cup final. There was a pragmatic element to buying Casemiro, paying £63m for a player in his thirties. There was a need for a short-term return on their investment, but United have got it. As Ten Hag had noted on Wednesday, and in relation to Chelsea, money is not enough without strategy. Some £600m later, the Londoners played some enterprising football at Old Trafford but departed with an eighth defeat in 10 matches under Frank Lampard. United instead showed the flair to get four goals and, with Chelsea’s defence disintegrating, could have had twice as many. A third successive win took their tally to 40 victories this season and 29 games unbeaten at Old Trafford. Casemiro is the serial winner who has assumed a symbolic importance. Ten Hag revamped and upgraded United’s midfield last summer and his signings combined effectively. Casemiro’s aerial ability at set-pieces has proved a welcome benefit and he headed in Christian Eriksen’s free kick. Until the Dane was injured in January, he ranked second only to Kevin De Bruyne for assists in the Premier League, and the quality of his delivery has added another dimension. Casemiro had opened his United account against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Bought to give ballast to the midfield, he has proved more prolific than most expected; a seventh goal of the season equalled the best haul of his career. It is a moot point if this was his most important goal for United – he did score in the Carabao Cup final – but the significance of Champions League football means it could be. Jadon Sancho and Martial were particular culprits as United’s attackers took poor decisions and bad touches until, in a moment of redemption, the winger sprang the offside trap to meet Casemiro’s pass and centre for the striker to have a tap-in. Thereafter, Fernandes hit the post after being found by Sancho. Eriksen ought to have added a third from about three yards but was denied by that rarity, a wondrous save by Kepa Arrizabalaga. Fernandes did when tripped by Wesley Fofana, scoring the spot kick himself. Fofana’s traumatic afternoon continued as he gifted the ball to Fernandes. He found Rashford, who ended up rolling the ball in to become the first United player to reach 30 since Robin van Persie. Rashford had come on when Antony was stretchered off, his chances of appearing in the FA Cup final presumably over, head in hands after an innocuous challenge by Trevoh Chalobah. Luke Shaw came off at half-time with a minor back injury that is less likely to rule him out. For Chelsea, the relief may be that there is only one more game to go in a harrowing season. Frank Lampard named Chelsea’s youngest ever team in the Premier League. The youngest of them acquitted himself well: for the second time in five days in Manchester, Lewis Hall was their best player. He twice could have had an assist, inviting crosses bringing an awful miss from Mykhailo Mudryk and a header wide by Kai Havertz, and had a shot parried by David de Gea. Carney Chukwuemeka showed glimpses of talent, too, and the substitute Joao Felix drilled in a consolation goal. But, when Alejandro Garnacho hit the bar, they came perilously close to conceding a fifth. It is little over a year since they faced Casemiro, then with Real Madrid in a Champions League quarter-final. He will be in the competition again next year. Chelsea certainly won’t be. Read More Erling Haaland aims to cap stunning debut season with Man City by winning treble Manchester United vs Chelsea LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Pep Guardiola: Disallowed Haaland ‘goal’ proves Man City success is on own merit Chelsea the title favourites as Leicester look to survive – WSL talking points How Chelsea match is pivotal to Man Utd’s hopes of signing Mason Mount Rumours: Man Utd in £55m Mount bid as Arsenal consider Smith-Rowe sale

The District of Columbia had its outlook revised to negative from stable by Moody’s Investors Service, just days

Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are among 10 drivers who will be absent from first practice at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Friday. Last year, Formula 1 implemented a mandatory programme in which each car has to be driven by a rookie – defined as a driver who has started two or fewer F1 races – in at least one practice session per season. A lot of teams and drivers have left it to the 22nd and final race of the season to sit out, with Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris and Sergio Perez also missing out on FP1 at the Yas Marina Circuit. Formula E champion, 28-year-old British driver Jake Dennis, will fill in at Red Bull alongside F2 driver Isack Hadjar. Two British 18-year-olds will also be in the cockpit: Oliver Bearman will once again drive for Haas after making his F1 practice debut in Mexico last month, while Formula 3 runner-up Zak O’Sullivan will drive Alex Albon’s Williams car. Danish driver Frederik Vesti, currently second in the F2 standings ahead of this weekend’s finale in Abu Dhabi, takes Lewis Hamilton’s place. He also drove in George Russell’s car in Abu Dhabi. American driver Pato O’Ward will drive in Norris’ McLaren, while 2022 F2 champion Felipe Drugovich will fill in for Fernando Alonso on Friday. Israeli-Russian driver Robert Shwartzman replaces Leclerc at Ferrari . Jack Doohan and Theo Pourchaire, Alpine and Alfa Romeo junior drivers respectively, will also have a chance to impress in first practice. AlphaTauri are the only team not running a rookie driver on Friday, with Liam Lawson and Hadjar having driven in practice/race sessions already in 2023. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Williams’ Logan Sargeant are rookies anyway, so is not required to forgo a practice session this season. The purpose of the young driver programme is to give inexperienced drivers time out on track in an F1 car, as well as giving them the opportunity to build up the requisite super-licence points in order to compete in F1 in the future. Read More Hamilton ‘made contact with Red Bull and Ferrari’ before signing new Mercedes deal Guenther Steiner to produce new hit ‘workplace comedy’ show F1 Juniors broadcast an admirable idea – but all kids want to be is grown up

'Danny has proven to be an amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure to me,' Mila Kunis wrote

Ecuador's energy minister said Wednesday that a vote to halt drilling in an Amazon oil block set a "terrible precedent" and it would be a long and...

By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday submitted a bill approving Sweden's NATO

Rachel Daly’s former school teacher has hailed the Lioness as a “one-off” player as England aim for World Cup glory on Sunday. Sarina Wiegman’s side reached their first ever World Cup final with a 3-1 win against co-hosts Australia on Wednesday in front of 75,784 in Sydney. Aston Villa forward Daly, the WSL’s top scorer last season, has played a key part in their campaign – often featuring at wing-back for the side and scored in England’s 6-1 victory against China in the group stages. The 31-year-old started her career at Killinghall Nomads in Yorkshire and Michael Sweetman, who was her teacher at Rossett School, admitted her mental and physical attributes stood out from an early age. Mr Sweetman told the PA news agency: “She was a one-off, she was completely different and the attributes she had, those winning attributes, it’s just pure focus on winning the game. “It can in some ways not be great, but on a football pitch it’s ideal, it’s perfect. She’s been a success at every team she’s played in and that’s why I think, but she had the physical attributes as well. “She wasn’t amazingly quick or amazingly fit, but she just played the game. Her touch was amazing, she was strong and nothing fazed her. “She could take a boot, get up and get on with it. She’s skilful, she’d play up front or in midfield for me and she scored two or three a game.” England are aiming to achieve back-to-back success in a major tournament final after their European Championship win at Wembley last year. Daly was part of that Lionesses squad and Mr Sweetman reflected on how far she has come in her England career. “I definitely believed she’d play for England, whether I believed she’d get to a World Cup final I don’t think you could ever comprehend that really,” he added. “You just want your kids to achieve the best they can be, so to get to England is great. “I actually rang the FA when she was 14 and asked them to come down and watch her. They came down to a final at Harrogate Town and we beat a school in York 5-0 I think, she scored two and that was the start of it.” Beginning her domestic career with Leeds, Daly moved over to America to play in college for St John’s University and was selected by the Houston Dash in the 2016 NWSL draft. She spent six seasons in Texas before moving to the Women’s Super League last year to play for Aston Villa, where she instantly made a mark in her debut season by finishing with 22 goals. Those performances earned Daly the Barclays WSL’s Player of the Season award and on Wednesday she was nominated for the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award. Mr Sweetman expressed his pride at her success, adding: “I don’t want to say I feel responsible, because I’m not, I was a small part for five years and basically I just let her play. “The only thing I did differently was that football was just developing at the time. “They were trying to say that there may be careers ahead and if you can keep playing, keep improving on your game maybe you could go to America or you could do this or you could do that. “I never say I was responsible but the only thing I did let her do was let her play football with the boys in PE. “You don’t feel responsible, but there is a sense of pride that one of your kids that you did your best to nurture during those years is playing at the highest level.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Holly Bradshaw makes giant leap to overcome anxiety before World Championships Gus Atkinson feeling ready for World Cup duty after surprise England call-up FA chief Mark Bullingham says Sarina Wiegman could be an England men’s candidate

A soft-spoken Republican state lawmaker in Louisiana shot down a bill that would ban affirming healthcare for transgender youth in the state, the sole southern state that has not outlawed gender-affirming care amid a wave of restrictive measures targeting LGBT+ people across the country. State Senator Fred Mills, the chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, cast the committee’s tie-breaking 5-4 vote to block the bill’s progress in the GOP-dominated state legislature on 23 May. Following the vote, Mr Mills has faced a barrage of attacks from anti-trans far-right activists on social media, his businesses have received harassing messages, and the Louisiana Republican Party is pressuring state lawmakers to sidestep the committee process and put the bill on the Senate floor for a vote. Louisiana’s House Republicans also plan to sabotage other legislation to send a message to the state Senate. Mr Mills, who is not seeking re-election and delivered congenial farewell remarks to his Senate colleagues on 25 May, appears unfazed. “Anytime you have to break a tie vote, no matter which way you vote, there’s going to be backlash, and this is a national topic,” Mr Mills told the USA Today Network. “I did like I always do. I listened to the debate and made the vote I thought was right. Why would I want to handcuff a doctor and his or her decision? I think they know more about this than politicians.” Anti-trans self-described fascist pundit Matt Walsh issued a threat to his nearly 2 million Twitter followers and claimed that Mr Mills “sided with the butchers and the groomers,” using the transphobic smear to falsely suggest that the St Martin Parish state lawmaker supports pedophilia. “He will regret it,” Walsh said. “This is the biggest mistake of his political career, and also the end of his career. He’s going to be infamous and disgraced by his own base. We’ll make sure of that.” Far-right activist Greg Price with the State Freedom Caucus Network told his followers to “let Senator Mills know how you feel about him single-handedly killing this bill to ban sex changes for kids.” Louisiana is the only state in the US South that has not banned gender-affirming care for trans youth. Nineteen states have enacted legislation to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth, and at least eight other states are considering similar legislation, against the guidance of major medical organisations, including the Americans Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, that recommend affirming treatment for trans youth experiencing gender dysphoria. House Bill 648, authored by Republican state Rep Gabe Firment, would ban health providers in the state from administering affirming care to patients younger than 18, or face the revocation of their professional licence. That care can include hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers, which are also often prescribed for cisgender or nontransgender youth, as well as social transitioning measures, mental healthcare, and affirming surgeries, which are not recommended under major medical guidelines. A statewide report from the Louisiana Department of Health found that no affirming surgeries were performed on Medicaid-enrolled minors in the state between 2017 and 2021, and the prescription of affirming medications for trans youth within that same time period was also exceedingly rare. Mr Mills said the witness testimony and reporting from the health department persuaded him to vote against the bill. “All the testimony I heard by the proponents that children are getting mutilated, I didn’t see it in the statistics,” he told the Louisiana Illuminator. “Always in my heart of hearts have I believed that a decision should be made by a patient and a physician. I believe in the physicians in Louisiana,” he added. “I believe in the scope of practice. I believe in the standard of care.” After national backlash from far-right groups, the Louisiana Republican Party issued a statement calling for “procedural action that will result in a Senate floor vote” on House Bill 648 to give “all senators” a “chance to weigh in on this pivotal piece of legislation.” “The Republican Party of Louisiana is deeply disappointed in Senator Fred Mills’ tie-breaking vote” to kill the legislation in committee, according to a statement from the party. The bill passed through the state’s House of Representatives by a vote of 71-24. Louisina Trans Advocates said the GOP’s strategy “would be a complete disrespect of the process and would be undemocratic.” The onslaught of legislation and volatile political debate surrounding the bills have also negatively impacted the mental health of an overwhelming majority of young trans and nonbinary people, according to polling from The Trevor Project and Morning Consult. A separate survey from The Trevor Project found that 41 per cent of trans and nonbinary youth have seriously considered attempting suicide over the last year. “When you prescribe hormone therapies to these kids, they get better,” Louisiana psychologist Clifton Mixon told the state Senate health committee this week. “They want to live. They go to school. They get better grades. Their relationships improve, and they can begin to live a more normal teenage life.” Read More DeSantis wants to model America after Florida. Civil rights groups are sounding the alarm on his ‘hostile’ agenda Senator who voted for anti-trans bill that passed by one vote admits she wasn’t paying attention Trans teen misses high school graduation after judge rejects plea Trans rights groups pledge Texas lawsuit over gender-affirming care ban: ‘Anti-science, discriminatory fear-mongering’

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Jalen Milroe passed for 197 yards and three touchdowns before sitting out the second half of No. 8 Alabama’s 66-10 rout of Chattanooga