Kristi Noem celebrated the unveiling of a life-sized bronze statue honoring her years as South Dakota governor on Friday - but the two men at the center of her personal life were conspicuously absent.

The former Homeland Security secretary was joined by her grandchildren and mother as she stood alongside the likeness of herself in Pierre, assuming one of her favorite poses as a smiley yet determined cowgirl standing alongside her beloved horse 'Iceman.'

Noem served from 2019 to January 2025, when she joined the Trump administration.

The installation, created by sculptor John Lopez, is the newest addition to the Trail of Governors that adorn the capital city. 

'Well, thank you all for coming today,' a cheerful Noem told the gathering at the state Capitol grounds. 

'I will admit that I thought with everybody's busy schedules and everything, there was this little thing in the back of my head wondering if anybody would come to the celebration.'

But Noem's alleged lover and longtime aide Corey Lewandowski, with whom she was photographed earlier in the week canoodling at a restaurant in

Labour's plan to release thousands of killers, thugs and paedophiles looks set to be thrown into chaos as probation officers are expected to vote in favour of industrial action.

The results of a ballot of thousands of probation staff represented by the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) is expected as early as tomorrow, with sources saying that a vote in favour looked 'fairly clear-cut'.

Voting closed tonight and the poll is only 'indicative', meaning another official ballot must be held for any strike to be legal.

But with the dry-run result expected to be in favour, it means walkouts could be underway by the end of the year, coinciding with Labour's early release scheme.

Under the scheme, around 5,000 serious criminals – including killers and wife-beaters – will be released early over ten months from October.

Following an urgent review, around 1,000 rapists and the most serious sex offenders will be excluded.

But among those set to be released are PC Andrew Harper's killers, which has sparked a furious row in recent weeks.

Daily Mail

A university student was on the phone to his girlfriend when he was stabbed in the heart after falling out with a friend over a fake Rolex, a court heard.

Khaleed Oladipo, 20, was walking home when he was knifed five times in the chest by fellow student Harper Dennis, 18, after they argued about a 'perceived debt', jurors were told.

The attack was caught on a passing motorist's dashcam who told how she saw 'a snowstorm of feathers' from one of their puffer jackets, Leicester Crown Court heard on Monday. 

Dennis, a first year student at Leicester University, denies murder, claiming self defence. 

On the first day of his trial, jurors were told Dennis and Mr Oladipo, who was in his third year studying cyber security at Leicester's De Montfort University, were friends through online gaming and were both part of a group chat, Clownshow, a court heard.

But they had fallen out over money – with Dennis claiming to be owed £3,000. He had allegedly threatened Mr Oladipo's girlfriend if he did not pay up.

Jurors were told Dennis had also been left 'embarrassed' when a Rolex watch Mr Oladipo had given him to sell turned

President Donald Trump has hit back at Tehran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, insisting Iran must first compensate the United States for decades of regime-backed attacks.

Tehran wants US forces out of the region and a compensation check for the damage, terms Washington has consistently ruled out

Trump responded by demanding Iran pay compensation for decades of attacks, citing deaths from roadside bombs and conflicts. 

'Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protesters that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months,' he wrote on Truth Social.   

'I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations.'

The President's comments come after US spy agencies have blamed Iran for cyber attacks across more than a dozen states over the last month. 

In late July, Iranian regime hackers hit a water utility in western Arkansas as part of the wider campaign, US intelligence officials believe, according to the Washington Post. 

Suspected Iran-linked cyberattacks have also struck water systems in

Labour has been accused of setting a 'bonfire of patient safety' with a new Health Bill that rips up key safeguards and removes protections for whistleblowers.

Ministers have made a 'catastrophic misjudgement' that risks another scandal on the scale of Mid Staffs unless Andy Burnham intervenes to stop the changes, the Liberal Democrats warn.

The Bill will remove the duty for the NHS to cooperate with the Care Quality Commission, will remove automatic 'safe space' protections for whistleblowers and result in the closure of local Healthwatch organisations, which provide independent advocacy for patients and uncover failings.

The Liberal Democrats have tabled amendments to the Health Bill that would cancel these changes and are urging the new Burnham administration to adopt them.

They have vowed to robustly fight the Government in the House of Lords, where Labour does not have a majority.

It comes after figures revealed the NHS in England recorded 403 'never events' in 2025/26 - serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents that should not occur if appropriate safeguards are in place.

Many patient protections currently at risk, including Healthwatch and

Scots who have turned to fat jabs to lose weight are shunning sweet treats and alcohol as they switch to healthier options, new research has revealed.

Those on GLP-1s including Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro are cutting calorific items such as cakes and confectionery from their diet.

Instead they are turning to better alternatives such as fruit and vegetables, according to the study from marketing experts, The Knowledge Bank.

And as the pounds are lost many spend more on clothing to buy a new wardrobe for their slimmed-down figures.

Nearly nine in 10 Scots say they know about the fat-busting drugs, with some six per cent of those north of the Border currently on GLP-1s, the research shows.

Another eight per cent are thinking of using weight loss injections or tablets while five per cent of those surveyed have used them in the past.

While GLP-1s suppress appetites, they do not automatically mean those on them switch to healthier alternatives.

But among Scots who have experience of the medications is that snacks become the biggest casualties as appetites are suppressed.

Daily Mail

A huge earthquake has struck Colombia, burying people across the country beneath collapsed buildings. 

Colombia's geological service said the magnitude of the quake, which struck at 7.30am local time (1.30pm UK time), was 7.4 and that its depth was 60 miles. 

It reported the epicentre as being in San Jose Del Palmar, a community about 250 miles west of Colombia's capital, Bogota, adding that this was the strongest quake the country has suffered in the last decade. 

At least 111 people have been killed and Colombia has declared a state of emergency following the quake, which has also injured at least 87.

Harrowing footage taken from across the country showed the façades of buildings crumbling and people huddling in the street, unable to stand up straight as the ground beneath them rocked violently. 

In one particularly shocking video, a church's spire was seen falling off and crumbling into rubble in front of a terrified crowd of onlookers. 

Families were held back from the scene by local police as a cloud of dust filled the air.  

The quake was felt as far away as Ecuador, Panama to the north, and Venezuela – which was

Joanna Cherry has accused Nicola Sturgeon of not being open about her sexuality or having a proper job as she hit back at the former first minister for calling her 'obsessed'.

The ex-SNP MP told an audience at the Edinburgh Fringe: 'Don't worry, Nicola, I'm not obsessed with you. Unlike you, I have a very happy and meaningful career to fall back on.

'And also, perhaps in contrast to her, I have a very strong and happy relationship with my girlfriend, and I'm open about my sexuality, and have been for a very long time.'

Ms Cherry, an eminent KC, said Ms Sturgeon 'flirts and teases us with the idea that she might be a lesbian' but had no 'hinterland' in gay rights.

She also predicted the SNP would 'probably throw Nicola under the bus' as she had become an 'embarrassment to the party'.

Ms Cherry, a long-term critic of Ms Sturgeon's botched gender reforms and the SNP's former justice spokesman, was speaking on a podcast recording with broadcaster Iain Dale.

Appearing

Nick Clegg's former special advisor denied sexually assaulting a woman at a party conference when he appeared in court this afternoon.

Neil Sherlock worked for the former Liberal Democrat leader from January 2012 until March 2013, when he was deputy prime minister.

The 62-year-old is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman at the party's conference in Brighton, on September 18, 2007. It was reported to police in September 2023.

The former civil servant and consultant appeared in the dock at Hove Crown Court wearing a blue pin-striped suit and yellow tie and spoke only to confirm his name and enter his plea.

Sherlock was told that he would go on trial on Monday, November 29 next year and that the trial was expected to last four to five days.

He was remanded on conditional bail and ordered not to contact or attempt to contact the complainant, who was 30 at the time of the alleged assault.

At the time of the alleged assault, he was a partner at professional services firm KPMG, where he worked from September 1985 until December 2011,

A predatory refugee who sexually assaulted two women while roaming the streets of a Scottish town 'looking for a good time' has been jailed for four years.

Asylum seeker Muhammad Sheikhi 'deliberately targeted women who were alone and vulnerable' as they walked home after a night out.

In addition to the prison sentence, Sheikhi was placed on the sex offenders register for life, and made subject to a ten-year non-harassment order preventing him from approaching or contacting either of the women he attacked.

The 33-year-old appeared for sentence yesterday after being found guilty by a jury in May of attacking his 'terrified' and 'violated' young victims in Falkirk in the early hours of a Sunday.

Last night, the father of one victim said he blamed the UK Government and lack of border security for the incidents.

He said: 'If the Government had done its job correctly Sheikhi wouldn't be in this county and this wouldn't have happened. He shouldn't be in this country – he's illegal.'

Both women, who had been in different nightclubs, were attacked separately within little more than an hour. CCTV footage showed him also approaching a third, who

A girl found dead in a river has been named as police said her death remained unexplained.

Faith Curran, 11, was reported missing around 12.40pm on Thursday before being found hours later.

The girl, who went missing from the Gore Glen area, near Gorebridge, Midlothian, was described as 'happy, adventurous and outgoing' by her family.

Faith's body was found in the Gore Water, near Shanks Bridge, around 4.25pm the same day and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers said her death was being treated as unexplained but the circumstances were not thought to be suspicious.

Her family thanked those who helped to search for Faith for their support and kindness, asking that their privacy be respected.

An investigation is underway and Police Scotland said a report would be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.

A teddy bear and flowers were among the tributes left to Faith at the beauty spot near Edinburgh where she went missing.

Faith Curran's body was found in a

Daily Mail

They are coming in masses, seeking to make the most of Edinburgh with the least amount of money.  

As the Scottish capital's Fringe Festival kicks off - the world's largest performing arts event - hundreds of thousands of people are flocking to the city. 

And now visitors in campervans are crowding out other motorists from on-street parking.

Up to a dozen motorhomes have been parked in Fettes Avenue close to one of the main police stations and near the festival action.

The spot has been chosen because a day's parking there costs just £11 and is free overnight, meaning tourists can also skip the city's tourist tax.

Even if they are slapped with a parking fine, which is £50 if paid within a fortnight, the stay makes financial sense amid soaring accommodation fees.

Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, said: 'It's no coincidence that Edinburgh's streets are filling up with a convoy of campervans just as the Festivals get underway.    

Daily Mail