President Joe Biden will issue blunt new warnings about ongoing threats to US democracy in a major address Thursday, sharpening the central argument in his potential rematch with Donald Trump, who he's accused of trying to "destroy" bedrock American institutions.

England face hosts Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-finals as the Lionesses come up against not just the Matildas but an entire nation in Sydney. The stage for the latest chapter of England and Australia’s historic rivalry could not be bigger as both teams aim to reach their first-ever Women’s World Cup final, with the hosts gripped by Matildas fever and set for their biggest sporting occasion since the 2000 Olympic Games. The Lionesses rode the wave of home support as they won the Euros last summer but will now look to spoil the party as Sarina Wiegman’s side attempt to make history of their own. England have overcome several challenges to reach the semi-finals and are now faced with their biggest yet as they take on a near-80,000 capacity crowd at Stadium Australia. A place against Spain in Sunday’s final is up for grabs, with ‘La Roja’ defeating Sweden 2-1 yesterday. Follow live updates from England vs Australia in the semi-finals and get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here Read More How to watch England vs Australia: TV channel and kick-off time for Women’s World Cup semi-final England and Australia’s old rivalry has new stage as World Cup arrives at its biggest moment The Lionesses will need to beat an entire nation in the grip of World Cup fever

If you have a furry friend at home, it’s safe to say they are your best friend – and just as much a part of the family as anyone else. Indeed, according to home renovation and design platform, Houzz, more than three-in-five pet owners actively consider their pets when making decisions about home renovations, with designers on the platform noting a rise in pet-specific requests during home remodels. “Whether it’s considering the best materials or layouts for our furry friends, or even integrating bed nooks, built-in dog showers or clever feeding stations, pets are an important consideration when designing a home that works for all the family,” says Katie Greenhalf, director at KG Lifestyle & Interiors. “And as a result, people are keen to integrate items for them within their interior design scheme,” she enthuses. Bespoke storage is all the rage “For many people, storage is a key part of designing where they live – and considering your pet within this, is integral to a design that works for everyone in the home. Greenhalf continues: “We’ve had clients request bespoke cupboards in the kitchen for a pet’s food; easily accessible for pets but also hidden away to keep things clean and tidy, and tucked away from toddlers too; integrated dog showers into the utility room and creating dog beds in the under-stairs area.” Stylish sleep spaces are trending For proud pet owners, dedicated spaces for pets are no longer hidden away, but are now at the centre of the design. According to Houzz’s survey, a quarter of pet owners have created a built-in nook for their pet’s bed. “It isn’t as crazy as it might sound, as a dedicated nook can be positioned out of the way, rather than in the middle of the floor like standard pet beds and cushions,” explains Amanda Pollard, senior editor, Houzz. “It also allows owners to locate their pet’s bed in a kitchen or living space, rather than having them sleep in a separate space away from family life.” If you’re thinking about commissioning a bespoke piece of furniture for your living room, she suggests including an integrated sleep space for your dog – so it ties into the design of your room. “For furry friends of the smaller variety, such as cats or petite pooches, you can carve out an area in a sideboard for a little built-in bed,” suggests Pollard. A-list access is also top of the agenda And it’s not just sleep spaces being incorporated into design plans either – how pets can get in and out of your home is another important factor to consider. Especially with big swathes of glazing becoming increasingly popular, deciding where the humble old cat flap should go can be a slight hurdle. Dominic McKenzie, director at Dominic McKenzie Architects came up with an innovative idea to overcome this. “We recently designed a house with wall-to-wall glazing across the rear elevation, but the owners’ cat needed a way to get in and out. “We devised this special entrance through one of the cupboard doors in the kitchen, which leads onto a cat flap to the outside,” he explains. “We made the cat’s doorway house-shaped to give it a special character – the cat is very happy.” Homeowners are always very keen to make their pets’ lives better as part of a renovation – as well as everyone else in the family, says McKenzie. “There’s usually a dedicated area devoted to the pet – and often their ways in and out of the property are high on the list of priorities when planning the project!” But what if there isn’t any space on the ground floor for a cat flap? Leah Chisnall, interior design project manager for Absolute Project Management, shares a creative approach for cat access in these instances… “We’ve had two projects that included rear extensions with beautiful full-length glazing, and no space for a cat flap,” says Chisnall. “As a solution, we created cat flaps on the first floor (in a study and a bathroom) and included bespoke cat staircases from the first floor to the garden, for the family cats to use.” Feeding stations are increasingly fashionable And for those muddy paws and messy food bowls, innovative spaces for feeding and bathing are also high on the renovation wish list. According to Houzz’s survey, one in five homeowners have added a built-in pet area for bathing or feeding into their homes – and for Absolute Project Management, it’s a top request from recent clients. “The dog featured here is the very lovely Biscuit, belonging to one of our previous clients,” discloses Chisnall. “As part of their terrace house renovation, we converted a fairly snug ground-floor WC into a dog shower room. “We built a short tiled shower wall to enclose the space, fitted a stone (splash-proof) shelf for shampoo bottles and fur brushes, hooks for towels and dog leashes, and made sure the shower waste was large enough (with an adequate catcher) for the excess dog fur!” explains Chisnall. Cats aren’t missing out on dedicated spaces either, as Leah shares another project where her team created a beautiful cat litter room for a client. “We carved out a small space in an under-stairs cupboard with a hole in the hallway door for the cat to get in – and beautiful stone flooring for the litter box to go on,” says Chisnall. “It was a very luxe and practical solution to keep it out of sight!” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sex Education season 4: How vintage finds help characters get their unique style Groundbreaking migraine treatment offers ‘new hope’ for patients ‘Millions of women and girls suffer severe pain’ during periods – research finds

James Maddison is set to leave Leicester following their relegation to the Championship, but Newcastle and Tottenham are currently unwilling to meet the Foxes' £60m valuation of the England midfielder.

Ukrainian and Russian forces clashed more than 80 times on Sunday as fierce fighting was witnessed in three major fronts that saw the use of guided air missiles, drones, rockets, artillery and mortar shells, military officials in Kyiv said. The announcement by Kyiv’s officials comes amid reports that Russia rushed more troops to Avdiivka to replace their heavy losses. Officials have said fighting on three fronts has remained particularly “hot”. Fighting in the direction of Avdiivka, Marinka and Kupiansk has intensified in the past few months but aggravated assaults have been particularly strong this month as Russian forces are eyeing the capture of Avdiivka. “During the day, 82 combat clashes took place. In total, the enemy launched 10 missiles and 36 air strikes, carried out 35 attacks from rocket salvo systems on the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas,” the General Staff of the Ukraine Armed Forces said in a daily update on Sunday evening. The Russian military is deploying personnel from Russian territory directly to Avdiivka positions to replace personnel losses, Ukrainian spokesperson for forces in the south Oleksandr Shtupun said. Another military observer from Kyiv, Kostyantyn Mashovets, said the Russian military command has recently transferred several Russian regiments comprising mobilised personnel to the Avdiivka direction suggesting Moscow does not plan to abandon its military operations in this direction, noted The Institute for the Study of War. It added that Vladimir Putin’s forces failed in their renewed push on 19-20 October and are now funnelling additional forces to this front despite suffering challenges with frontal mechanised assaults. “Russian forces are likely once again pausing following a failed major push which suffered heavy losses. A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces ‘unexpectedly’ counterattacked in the direction of Pisky (8km southwest of Donetsk City) and pushed Russian forces from positions in the area,” the US based think-tank said in its latest assessment on Sunday. In Kupiansk, Ukrainian forces repelled 15 attacks by Russian troops in Kharkiv’s Sinkivka and Ivanivka districts. Russian forces also fired artillery and mortar on the region, the General Staff said. Similar artillery shelling and mortar attacks, targeting 15 settlements, were carried out by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk where the Lyman direction lies. The besieged city of Bakhmut also suffered Russian strikes. “At the same time, the Defence Forces of Ukraine continue offensive operations in the Melitopol direction, offensive (assault) actions in the Bakhmut direction, inflicting losses in manpower and equipment on the occupying troops, exhausting the enemy along the entire front line,” the General Staff said. Troops amassed on both sides are engaged in daily shelling, but Russian forces are likely facing “positional deadlock”, a Kremlin-affiliated military blogger said, citing difficulties. “The milblogger claimed that it is difficult to conduct manoeuvre warfare on a static front line with a large number of personnel and fortified areas on both sides. The milblogger noted that Ukrainian drones and other precision weapons have made armoured vehicles increasingly vulnerable and have made ground attacks increasingly difficult,” the ISW said. He said Russian forces are “facing difficulties in overcoming Ukrainian minefields near Avdiivka and are unable to completely destroy Ukrainian logistics, allowing the Ukrainian command to quickly transfer personnel to critical areas”. Read More Ukraine-Russia war - live: Putin forced to increase number of soldiers on ground as UK estimates death toll Six killed and 16 injured in Russian missile strike on Kharkiv mail depot A price cap on Russian oil aims to starve Putin of cash. But it's largely been untested. Until now

PG&E Corp. will pay a $45 million penalty for its role in starting the second-largest wildfire in California

University athletic departments and college conferences use independent sports-betting monitoring services to make sure athletes and personnel do not bet on sports

A man who spent thousands of pounds to look like a dog has revealed what his life is like. In July, the man who goes by Toco on YouTube, went viral after he posted a video of himself walking around Tokyo wearing a realistic Border Collie suit, which cost him £12,500 to have custom made. He explained in the video that his life-long dream was to become a dog and explained that he chose to become a Border Collie due to the breed's size. Now he has shared more about his life as an animal in a series of press interviews. “My desire to be an animal is like a desire to transform, a desire to be something that I am not,” he told the New York Post. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter He added that he wears the costume once a week, mostly at home and his family are accepting of him. “The family was surprised, but received it favourably,” he said. 【驚愕】人が犬に変身！　リアルな着ぐるみで外を散歩してみた！ www.youtube.com “I am very happy that they accepted it.” In a separate interview with the Mirror, he said: “I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird. “My friends and family seemed very surprised to learn I became an animal. But he told the Daily Mail his colleagues are less accepting. “They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I can’t show my real face.” But that won't stop him living the life he loves. “I’m just sad that people can think that,” he said. “I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie.” He continued: “This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

First, it was Girl Scout cookies. Now, inflation is hitting Chipotle's burritos and tacos.

A 47-year-old dad dies and his two children suffer shrapnel wounds as the old ordnance explodes.

Before debuting on TV, Jeffrey Carlson was a part of Broadway productions like 'The Goat or Who is Sylvia?', ' Tartuffe' and 'Taboo'

Thousands of families in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are struggling with deep food insecurity two months after being cut from the United Nations’ main food assistance program