However, it was writing where the University of Cambridge alum was perhaps best known, as he put together the mini drama series My Left Nut. The Belfast-born man was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2023, which causes muscle weakness that gets progressively worse over a few months or years, ultimately shortening lifespan. 

The neurological condition has claimed the lives of both Professor Stephen Hawking and rugby league star Rob Burrow in recent years. Just two months before his death, Michael took to social media to inform friends, family and fans that he didn't have long left and that he wouldn't be going ahead with a tracheostomy, which would have helped him to breathe.

He'd fundraised over £110k for the operation. He wrote: "Health update: Basically me and @nomsheehan were in hospital for over a week there - speaking to doctors and getting tests done etc.

"Talking about risks and implications of getting the trache put in. What day to day life would be like after the operation." "In short I'm not going ahead with the tracheostomy," he continued. "I had confirmation from it would be around 6-12 months before I could get home due to lack of staffing resources. 

"Thanks so much to everyone who helped push this - from senior social workers, to politicians, to the chief executive of the hospital. Everyone has tried so hard, but there just isn't the staff." He also spoke honestly about not wanting to spend his final moments suffering in hospital, with his quality of life likely to have been seriously impacted by the tracheostomy procedure.

   

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Michael added: "Also, my neurologist gave us the news that I likely have about one year left (obviously he can't say for definite and we still have hope for the drug trial to buy some more time too). So I don't want to risk a significant amount of that time being in a hospital bed. 

"Thanks so much for all the donations to the GoFundMe, even though I didn't go ahead with the trachesotomy - it will still go towards providing me with specialist care as I enter the final stages of life.

I'm still overwhelmed by all your generosity. "Anyway - still lots to live for and lots planned - here's my wee godson Micheál visiting me in hospital." Michael first noticed symptoms in 2023 while performing at the Dublin Fringe Festival, telling the BBC: "I had to dance in the play, and I kept falling over.

"I kept blaming the shoes, being like, why have they [got] me dancing in these clumpy shoes? "But afterwards it didn't get better." The MND Association says 'foot drop' is an early sign of the disease, 'where one foot sometimes feels weak or drags'. Less than a year after his diagnosis, Michael could no longer stand. 

He continued to act even after his diagnosis, earning an award for his portrayal of Richard III in a wheelchair during a Belfast play in 2024. In January, Michael reported an improvement in his condition, and said a new clinical trial drug had helped him regain some feeling in his feet. He told the BBC: "It was such a relief that the drug is doing something. 

I'm probably still going to die pretty soon, but maybe I'll get an extra year or two." But following a short spell in the hospice, his wife Naomi confirmed that he had passed away on 7 April, 2026.

She wrote: "Last night, Mick sadly passed away in the Northern Ireland Hospice. He was admitted 10 days ago and was cared for by the incredible team there. He passed peacefully surrounded by family and friends. 

"Words can’t describe how broken-hearted we are. It’s been said more than once that Mick was an inspiration to everyone who was privileged enough to come into contact with him, not just in the past few years during his illness but in every day of his life. "He lived a life as full as any human can live. Joy, abundance of spirit, infectious laughter. A titan of a ginger haired man." 

Tributes have been flying in for the Northern Irishman since his death was confirmed, with SNL UK star George Fouracres describing him as 'one of the greatest human beings I ever shared my time with here on this planet'. 

The Motor Neurone Disease Association explains how early signs of the devastating disease include: 

A source told PEOPLE that she is expecting a child with her partner Chris Abbott. "It was a beautiful surprise after an emotional year," the source said, adding that 'they feel very blessed'. PEOPLE said Plaza's representative confirmed the good news with the outlet. 

Plaza, 41, and the Poor Things actor Abbott, 40, worked together on 2020 film Black Bear and on the Off-Broadway revival of Danny and the Deep Blue Sea in 2023. Film and TV fans will know Abbott from Girls, Catch-22, Wolf Man, Possessor and The Testament of Ann Lee. 

Back in 2023, Plaza told the New York Times of working with Abbott: "He cares but he also doesn’t care; it’s the best recipe for me for a scene partner. It’s fun and it’s also good and it’s also safe." Abbott said of Plaza in the same interview: "We’re both unafraid to be ugly and weird and strange." (Mat Hayward/Getty Images for Audible) Jeff Ward, who directed Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, said: "From Black Bear, it was clear that it was going to be electric. There was no ‘getting to know you’ section. "There’s just something about the way they match up." Abbott and Plaza have managed to keep their relationship more or less private.

Speculation about the two began when a source told Deuxmoi they had spotted them together at The Chatham Berry Farm, about two and a half hours from New York, with Abbott's sister Christina last summer. Plaza was said to have been 'rubbing his back, and they were sitting very close to each other at a picnic table'. 

Then in November, pictures emerged of Plaza and Abbott attending a New York Knicks game together, sitting in the front row alongside Ben Stiller. Their relationship blossomed amid a very difficult time for Plaza after her estranged husband, Baena, an American film director, died by suicide at the age of 47.

Plaza and Baena secretly got married in 2021 and worked on 2022 film Spin Me Round, written and directed by her husband. "I think that when you're with someone that is in your field, they understand what you're dealing with on a deeper level," she told PEOPLE in 2019. The pair separated in September 2024 due to reported marital difficulties. Aubrey Plaza is pregnant with her first child (TheStewartofNY/GC Images) Last year, Plaza opened up about grief during a podcast appearance with her former Parks and Recreation co-star Amy Poehler. "Right in this very very present moment I feel happy to be with you," she said on A Good Hang with Amy Poehler. 

"I feel...overall I'm here, and I'm functioning, and I feel, you know, I feel really grateful to be moving through the world. I think, like, I'm OK, but you know, it's like a daily struggle." She went on to compare her grief with the horror movie The Gorge, which features a giant crevasse filled with monsters. Plaza's pregnancy comes 15 months after the death of her husband Jeff Baena (David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images) "That feels like what my grief is like, or what grief could be like," Plaza added. "At all times there's like a giant ocean of, just, awfulness, that's like right there and I can see it, and sometimes I just want to like dive into it, and just like be in it, and then sometimes I just like look at it, and then sometimes I just like try to get away from it, but it's always there."

According to research, in the days or months leading up to a heart attack, people experience certain symptoms known as prodromal symptoms. A research published in The National Library of Medicine, states that the prodromal symptoms are often overlooked by patients and primary clinicians. 

Some of those symptoms “include chest pain, chest heaviness, chest burning, palpitations, fatigue, sleep disturbance, shortness of breath (SOB), dizziness, anxiety, sudden heat or cold, back pain, and vomiting.” 

1. Fatigue 

Being extremely tired, sleepy, exhausted or lacking energy to perform even the slightest of tasks can be a sign of fatigue. One of the reasons it may affect a person are the lowered levels of blood that go to the heart. This usually takes place when arteries get narrowed. Fatigue can easily happen if someone experiences heart issues. Ketut Subiyanto/ Pexels

2. Shortness of breath 

The shortness of breath happens when the lungs don’t get the appropriate levels 

of oxygen needed for a proper function of the body. If you or someone you know experiences shortness of breath it is for the best to consult a doctor because it may be a sign of a potential heart attack. As per WebMD, “shortness of breath and feeling tired can be signs of [heart failure.]” Heart failure refers to the heart’s inability to pump blood around the body properly. 

3. Weakness 

If you start experiencing weakness all of a sudden because of a an unknown reason your body might want to remind you to take things slowly and reconsider your lifestyle. 

4. Dizziness and Cold Sweats 

Both dizziness and cold sweats can be a result of poor circulation, something that must not be ignored. 

5. Flu or Cold-like Symptoms 

A great number of people who have experienced heart attack say that they developed flu-like symptoms mere days before the attack took place. 

6. Chest Pressure 

A common symptom of heart attack is the chest pressure one might experience. This pressure will constantly increase until the attack itself happens.

Towfiqu barbhuiya/ Pexels

7. Swollen Feet 

If you have congestive heart failure, one or both of your heart’s lower chambers lose their ability to pump blood effectively. As a result, blood can back up in your legs, ankles and feet, causing edema. If you are interested to learn more about heart attack and some of the symptoms which pre-follow this condition go to the video below in which Dr. Travis Stork speaks on the Symptoms of Heart Attack.

   In addition, check out another useful video about Heart Attack Cough (Self Aid) Demonstration.

 

The 60-year-old wife of Brooklyn 99 star Terry Crews has spoken out about her struggles for the first time in a lengthy chat with PEOPLE Magazine, including how doctors initially dismissed her symptoms as 'anxiety'. 

She also appeared on The TODAY Show on Monday (6 April) to further speak about her diagnosis publicly after undergoing a new treatment procedure. Rebecca, who has been married to Terry, 57, since 1989, was eventually diagnosed in 2015 after experiencing four years of unexplained symptoms.

Parkinson's Disease is a progressive neurological condition that causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time. It affects 10 million people worldwide, symptoms generally develop slowly over years, and there is currently no cure. Rebecca Crews has opened up on her health battle with Parkinson's Disease (Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images)

Rebecca detailed how the first warning signs she noticed were that her left toes would go numb whenever she rode her bike, her leg began dragging, and she started forgetting where she parked her car. Her personal trainer also noticed that her left arm seemed oddly stiff when she was working out, in comparison to her right one. 

I was expecting “enough” to show up – enough to eat that I wouldn’t have to bother calculating the unit price of cereal anymore, enough heat so that our thermostat didn’t need to go above 65 degrees, enough emotion so that I could actually exist in our hallways without feeling like a ghost. What I discovered, though, is that “enough” wasn’t something you achieved. 

It was a fight. It was a constant battle waged at the checkout line, during the mad scratching of numbers into a checkbook, and in the late night moments of lying in bed awake, trying to do the calculations in my head to figure out our financial debt. Enough was a ghost that haunted me, and I was failing to catch it. It always started on Tuesdays, which were the absolute worst. At our place, Tuesday was known as “rice night,” which was a tactic made out to seem like a normal thing. 

As I stood at the kitchen counter gazing into a box of chicken thighs and some wrinkled carrots, I knew I had to make this pitiful bunch of food stretch to last an entire meal for three people, and even one more for lunch tomorrow, or everything would fall apart. I always found myself thinking about what bill I could ignore for ten more days until everything went dark.Stylish backpacks Pexels Dan came in off the garage floor looking like someone out of a movie of black and gray shadows. The grimy nails and slumped shoulders revealed that he had been working on automobiles that cost more than our yearly salary. We exchanged the familiar pleasantries – quick summaries about how the day went, and feeble jests at our daughter Sam’s addiction to her cellphone. 

However, my mind wandered away from the conversation because the focus of my attention was the stove and the steaming pot there.Food But then everything changed in our life course once again when Sam walked in and brought with her a girl I did not know, drowned in the dark and bulky hoodie. Holding on tightly to the straps of her tattered purple bag, the girl kept staring intently at her worn sneakers. 

There was no need for Sam to ask anyone for permission to let Lizie stay until dinner was ready. I will never forget the sudden shock of fear that ran through me. It wasn’t hatred; it was the stark reality of a mother who had already shared her food equally in exactly three and a half parts. My grip on the knife became firmer as I momentarily despised this child, as one more person I could not possibly provide for. Then I saw her. Really saw her. 

She was shaking in a warm kitchen and the sunken places under her cheekbones showed that she was hungry for much more than just a skipped meal. I stuffed my bitterness down into a shadowy crevice of myself and got out a fourth plate. Pexels To see Lizie eating was like witnessing an exercise in resignation. Unlike the average teenager, she did not plunge in with reckless abandon. Rather, she ate with a frighteningly precise politeness. Her rice portion was a scant bit of food. One chicken piece was all she allowed herself along with exactly two carrot slices. 

Her movements made her seem invisible to everyone as she flinched whenever there was any clinking sound or when Dan laughed loudly.Packaging The conversation that evening was a delicate affair. Upon hearing that Sam was her partner in physical education class, Dan attempted to smooth things out by bringing up their school. The voice that came from Lizie was soft and almost imperceptible. She admitted loving algebra because she enjoyed patterns. 

This was a chilling revelation—that a young girl loved math because everything else in her life was unpredictable and crumbling around her. On Lizie’s way out, Sam did something that made me feel a lump in my throat. She handed Lizie a banana, saying it is our “house rule” that no one leaves without receiving anything. Explosion took place the moment the door closed behind me.

I lashed out at Sam. “We are struggling to make ends meet,” I said, “and we cannot simply give what little we have left to whoever you feels pity for.” But Sam did not back down. With an intense look in her eyes, she explained how Lizie almost fainted in the bathroom, how her dad worked two shifts a day just to pay off their rent, and how they have been going on without electricity. Food Pexels The knowledge that my daughter’s “friend” was really just a teenage girl going through systemic collapse made my small calculations seem traitorous. I came to know that as I was worrying about the grains of rice and calculating in order to save whatever I could, a little girl in the neighborhood was really fading away. 

The following day, my concept of “enough” took on a completely different meaning. I stopped worrying about making my chicken last longer and just started purchasing whatever large packets of pasta I could find in the grocery stores. Lizie became a part of our life and a constant presence in our kitchen. Initially, she used to apologize for taking up so much space or fall asleep on the counter due to her exhaustion. 

It took about a week before we were fully aware of the severity of the situation. Lizie’s backpack knocked over, dumping a pile of “Final Warning” letters on top of a journal with an entry labeled, “What we take first if we get evicted.” The sight of a child’s meticulously written list of the items she would keep in case she and her family lost their home brought a realization to all of us.Stylish backpacks The situation escalated to a crisis level when Lizie’s father, Paul, finally showed up at our door to take Lizie home with him. 

At this point, he looked like a completely empty man, struggling under the weight of an emotional cocktail, consisting of his pride in himself and his grief over his wife’s death, trying to keep faith with his promise to “handle everything” alone. It was only a direct confrontation between parents that allowed Dan to talk some sense into him and make him accept the help available for the sake of his daughter’s well-being. Pexels The weeks that followed did not turn into a fairy tale but a marathon of organizing and sorting everything out. Every evening was filled with conversations with the school district, endless paperwork related to food pantries, and also discussions with the owner of the house regarding rent arrangements.

Dan became an expert of “clearance sales” sections in stores, and we managed to live on fewer funds so that Lizie could get a bit more.Food However, something unusual took place while we were going through these hardships. In spite of a tighter budget for the groceries we used, the house became freer in some way. 

For all these years, I had been operating under the assumption that my life was an example of a closed system; whenever I gave something away, I was losing something. However, Lizie taught me that “enough” is not about material possessions. It is a mindset, one which gives me the peace of mind that I am not going through everything alone. Pexels Eventually, when the electricity returned, and the possibility of eviction was put on hold, Lizie went back to her home. However, she did not really leave our table, either. She visited us not out of hunger but out of love. She held herself differently now, she spoke with authority, and the fearful look she used to give way to a hearty laugh. 

One night, several months later, as I stood in the kitchen staring at that very same stove which used to make me feel such resentment, I prepared dinner that was, by no means, lavish. As I heard the girls’ voices coming from the living room, I did not feel the old familiar twinge of stress. No, there was no need to check and recount carrots or calculate rice. 

I was simply arranging four plates on the counter when it occurred to me that the hunt had ended and that I had finally got hold of the elusive prey. No, it was not about having plenty of money or a well-stocked pantry. The truth is, I had found what I had been searching for all those years – in the form of a collective effort, an opened door, and an additional chair. That night, I knew without any calculations that there were enough plates for us to have more than enough.

Odom, a former two-time NBA champion, became an even more well-known celebrity in part due to his marriage to Khloe Kardashian and subsequent reality TV appearances. The pair tied the knot just a month after meeting in 2009. 

The doc sees Odom discuss being found unconscious at the Love Ranch brothel in Nevada in 2015, leading to a coma in which he suffered 12 strokes and six heart attacks. His ex-wife, Kardashian, speaks in the Netflix documentary about the process of how she ended up taking care of him during his coma despite the pair being separated at the time, including her interactions with Odom’s father, Joe.

Joe was a heroin addict, with Odom being candid about his father’s struggles with addiction in the past. Speaking to Tracey McGrady and Vince Carter on the Cousins podcast, Odom was asked where he thinks his struggles with addiction began, saying that he started smoking marijuana at 14 after his mother died. He went on to add: “My father was a heroin addict. If you start with pot and it doesn't get [you] high no more, you're like ‘maybe I'll try cocaine.’” Lamar Odom and his dad Joe (Noel Vasquez / Contributor via Getty Images) Odom's stroke took place due to an overdose, leaving the NBA star in a coma for several days. Kardashian and Odom were separated at the time and in the process of divorcing one another, however, it was yet to be finalised. 

In the documentary, Kardashian claimed that she took over care because Odom’s father Joe had suggested turning off his life support machine. She said: “His dad was there, I assume thought he’s now the beneficiary to Lamar and Joe just said ‘don’t put him on life support, turn those machines off’. “I remember walking in around that time and I kid you not it was a scene out of a movie, I was like ‘sorry Joe, I’m still his wife, what do you need?’” The NBA star was left in a coma after overdosing (Netflix) Kardashian said that Odom's dad asked for ‘$100 and a pair of Nikes’ and that after she gave him this he ‘never came back’. She added: “This is my husband. Through sickness and health, I have to be there for him. I have to show up for him.

And I was gonna do everything I could to make sure that he had the best fighting chance. I just trusted myself more than I trusted anyone in his circle.” Joe died in 2021, with Odom posting on Instagram: “Thank you to everyone who extended love and prayers to me during my time of bereavement ❤️ I appreciate every single one of you for sending me good. He suffered six heart attacks and 12 strokes during his coma (Netflix) “Life is not promised. My pops and I had our differences but at the end of the day I knew he loved me and I loved him and that's really all that matters. I encourage you to take some time and make amends with family and friends, tell someone you love them, smile a little more, laugh out loud, give your heart to those that deserve it because NOTHING is promised but death.” 

The Kardashian sister was left in charge of Odom's care after his father left and she revealed that, at first, anyone who knew her at-the-time husband was allowed into the hospital room to visit. Explaining why this changed, Kardashian said: “I had filters on who I would let into the hospital, that’s very true. At the very beginning I would let people come in and then I found out like three of them were drug dealers that were wanting to collect money rummaging through his personal bags. Khloe Kardashian speaks out in the doc (Netflix) “When that happened is when I said, ‘we’re on lockdown, whoever wants to come I need to authorise them being here.’” Liza Morales, Odom’s high school sweetheart and mother to three of his children, recounted visiting with their ‘whole family’, saying: “Kris Jenner’s bodyguard was like ‘before you come onto this floor, you guys gotta sign this’. 

“I was looking at him and he was like ‘not you’, and I was like I thought so. They didn’t give me the NDA but they gave it to his whole family. Liza Morales spoke about Odom's family being made to sign NDAs (Netflix) “It got so bad that somebody must have told the cops because the Vegas PD came upstairs with like five cops, two German shepherds, it was very intimidating. I think it was to keep the peace, but it made it worse, it was very triggering.” 

After coming out of his coma Odom described an upsetting reality of his everyday life, saying: “I couldn’t hold my bowels. Yeah, I won two championships. I’m Lamar Odom, can’t walk, can’t talk. “They come in to check my diaper. My wife, she helped wipe some of the sh*t up.” Kardashian and Odom ultimately finalised their divorce in 2016. 

If you want friendly, confidential advice about drugs, you can talk to FRANK. You can call 0300 123 6600, text 82111 or contact through their website 24/7, or livechat from 2pm-6pm any day of the week.

By taking it for 100 days and measuring her body fat, muscle mass and bone density before and after the experiment, she set out to see if it's as effective as everyone says it is. If you've ever spent some time with a member of the body-building community, or even just your mate from work who's trying to look a little more buff, then you may already know all about creatine. 

But what actually is it, and how does it work? Although some folks like to pump their bodies full of unnatural substances and drugs, creatine is actually a naturally occurring compound in our body, and taking the supplement is just a good way of boosting your numbers. 

It is produced in the kidneys, liver and pancreas and is one of the body's natural energy sources, particularly when it comes to muscle contraction. Creatine also helps to increase the body's stores of adenosine triphosphate, the primary energy-carrying molecule in the body, which allows for the sort of explosive movements you see in weightlifting or sprinting. Gym bros love their creatine (Getty Stock) However, too much of it could lead to explosive movements of a very different kind, as there have been concerns about creatine's impact on gut inflammation. 

What are the benefits of creatine? 

Naturally, it's the improvement of our muscles that a lot of people can focus on when it comes to taking creatine, with most just integrating a few mg into their daily diets. If all goes well, you're likely to feel more energised, stronger and have better recovery when taking creatine, so it's no surprise that it's so popular with those who treat the gym as their place of worship. 

A simulation recently showed off exactly how it benefits the body while explaining how it really works, highlighting the way in which it activates cells in your muscles to help you become stronger. It's not just the body which can benefit from creatine though, as numerous studies have also highlighted the positive impact it can have on the brain. The supplement is super for building muscle strength (Getty Stock) Some studies have suggested that it can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, while it can also stave off cognitive decline and keep away symptoms of fatigue or even long covid. In fact, some have theorised that it could also reduce the risk of certain cancers, so there certainly seems to be little downside when it comes to creatine. 

And that's backed up by Laura's experience, after the fitness influencer began taking the supplement when she was 40 back in 2023, taking it for 100 days and seeing some significant changes. 

What was Laura's experience with creatine? 

Speaking to Women's Health magazine, the content creator explained how the supplement boosted her recovery, energy levels and strength. She said: "It’s worth noting that I started taking it when I began a resistance training programme and a new meal plan, so the results would be a combination of those things. Despite putting everything I have into my workouts, full-on, ferocious effort, I recover quickly and can train hard again the next day.

"My cognition and thinking have definitely improved. I can work quicker for longer with less fatigue. It seems my brain is using creatine as fuel. "I’ve definitely got stronger. I know some of this is down to beginner gains, but creatine is helping me build strength and get extra reps by giving my body more fuel." 

She says after 100 days on creatine, she lost almost 6kg (13lb) of fat, gained 3kg (7lb) of muscle, and 200g of bone density. But she did acknowledge a lot of this will be down to her strict exercise and eating plan, but said 'the creatine would have been the icing on the cake, helping me lift heavier for more reps, which then increases muscle mass and supports long-term health'. 

She concluded: "I’m hoping this shows that creatine isn’t just for guys flexing their biceps in muscle vests. Creatine is good for regular folks too – it’s just that the marketing is stuck in the 1990s." 

The 44-year-old was arrested by California Highway Patrol on 4 March under suspicion of driving under the influence, with police saying she was 'driving erratically at a high rate of speed' and 'showed signs of impairment and submitted to a series of field sobriety tests'. Fans were concerned when the singer deleted her Instagram profile following the incident. 

However, it wasn't long before she returned to the platform and has since been busy sharing some happy family photos. In one post, Sean, 20, and his 19-year-old brother, Jayden James, were photographed on a boat with their pop star mum.

The trio were seen smiling together, with Spears looking delighted to be standing with her sons, who both wore white t-shirts. In the wake of her arrest, Sean has apparently updated his social media profile. According to TMZ, his name on Instagram now shows as 'Sean P Spears', revealing he has dropped his father Kevin Federline's surname online. 

Spears and Federline tied the knot in September 2004, before divorcing in November 2006. It had previously been reported that Sean refused to spend the festive season with her, instead choosing to be in Louisiana with his grandma, Lynne Spears, his aunt, Jamie Lynn Spears, and others.

But after Spears' arrest, the family seem to be rallying together. Fans are hoping that the appearances and the name change could be a sign that she has the support they so desperately want for her. 

Following the incident last month, police said: "At approximately 8.48pm, a black BMW 430i was reported to the CHP’s Ventura Communications Centre for driving erratically at a high rate of speed on southbound US-101 near the Borchard Road exit in Newbury Park." Spears is due in court on 4 May, relating to the arrest.

A representative for the star told BBC News: "This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law and hopefully this can be the first step in long overdue change that needs to occur in Britney's life. 

Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time. "Her boys are going to be spending time with her. Her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue needed plan to set her up for success for well being." 

Britney Spears: The last six months 

Social media blackout and cryptic posts (October - November 2025) 

In October, Spears posted a series of Instagram posts, one of which appeared to reflect on how her 2018 rehab stay had affected her. The post's picture, shared on 19 October, showed the singer riding a horse, while the caption compared her shoulder blades to 'wings' as she discussed the plot of 2014's Maleficent. 

According to People, the 44-year-old mentioned enduring a 'traumatic experience' which she wrote about 'at the end' of her 2023 memoir, The Woman in Me, where 'for 4 months I no longer had my private door and illegally was forced to not use my feet or body to go anywhere'. 

Spears then went on to say she felt 'like my wings were taken away and brain damage happened to me a long time ago 100 percent', meanwhile, another post on the same day described a conversation the 'Toxic' singer had with her grandfather before his death. 

Before this, Spears had shared posts of herself dancing and drinking from a teacup, while another showed her with bandages around her wrists and legs, which she clarified was a result of 'falling down the stairs at my friend's house', adding: "It was horrible." Her posts came amid her ex Kevin Federaline's promotional tour for his book, You Thought You Knew, and in November, her account was deactivated. 

Return to Instagram (November 2025) 

The 'Circus' singer returned to the social media site on 7 November with a post which described her 'crazy' year, writing: "So much has happened this year, it’s crazy ... Get your ballerina [slippers], circle, and own your boundaries. It’s incredibly strict and somewhat of a form of prayer but with so many endless possibilities in life, it’s important to do you and keep it simple."

Music catalogue sale (December 2025) 

In February, the BBC reported that Spears had sold her entire music catalogue to an independent music publisher, Primary Wave, for around $2 million (£146m), with the sale supposedly occurring on 30 December. 

According to a source who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, the sale included the rights to some of her biggest hits, including 'Hit Me Baby One More Time' and 'Oops... I Did It Again'. The singer has not yet publicly commented on the reported sale. 

'I will never perform in the US' (January 2026) 

In a lengthy Instagram post, Spears announced that she would 'never perform in the U.S.', citing 'extremely sensitive reasons'. However, she didn't rule out the possibility of performing elsewhere in the world, adding: "I hope to be sitting on a stool with a red rose in my hair, in a bun, performing with my son… in the UK and AUSTRALIA very soon." The last time Spears performed live was in Las Vegas in December 2017. 

Stalker restraining order granted (Early March 2026) 

TMZ reported on 5 March that the Crossroads star had been granted a permanent restraining order from a man who, according to court documents, had allegedly been harassing her online since 2013. The outlet further reports the 51-year-old man had been spotted by Spear's security guard when allegedly arriving at her residence, leading her guard to call police, with a deputy officer supposedly taking him into custody. In the documents, Spears said she didn't know who he was or have any relationship with him, and the court has ordered him to stay 100 yards from the singer at all times.

Busfield, 68, has been accused of engaging in unlawful sexual conduct with two 11-year-old boys by Albuquerque police. It's alleged that the actor met the two boys while he was working on the series The Cleaning Lady. 

The 68-year-old would go on to be indicted with four counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor under 13 by a grand jury in Bernalillo County, with all of these charges being third-degree felonies. They are also related to incidents that are alleged to have taken place between 2022 and 2023. According to police, the boys referred to Busfield as 'Uncle Tim', and initially complained he made them uncomfortable by tickling them when they were seven, but no sexual contact was reported.

Police revisited the matter in 2025 when the boys' mother filed a report with Child Protective Services, after one of them claimed Busfield had touched him in his private parts over his clothes. The boy said he was 'afraid' to tell anyone because 'he feared Tim would get mad at him'. Busfield has pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

He has said the claims are 'all lies, and I did not do anything to those little boys'. A trial has been scheduled to begin in May 2027. Gilbert has previously made her support for her husband clear, and reiterated that support in an interview with ABC News.

Asked about how the experience had affected them and what it had been like, she replied: "Hell." She added: “This has been the most traumatizing experience of our lives.” Gilbert went on to insist that her husband is innocent of the charges, saying: “[He’s] the last person in the world who would hurt a child. “And believe me, if I thought for a second that Tim Busfield hurt a child, he’d have a lot more to worry about than prison.”

A representative for Gilbert also told PEOPLE that Gilbert, as well as lawyer Larry Stein, who is representing Busfield, had decided to give the interview with Good Morning America host George Stephanopoulos because they 'decided it was time to sit down to clarify the facts of the case, which seem to have become lost to distraction, selective information and clickbait.' 

In a preview of the interview shared on YouTube ahead of its full release on April 6, Gilbert also spoke about how the court case has affected their life. “Our life as we knew it is done,” she said. “We are grieving what we had - all of our plans, all of our dreams, all of our ideas, all of our projects. "For Tim, it’s done. He’s canceled. Even if he’s exonerated, he will always be that guy.” 

When the case first started, Gilbert wrote a letter to the judge before a court hearing in January standing by him, calling Busfield 'my love, my rock, my partner in business and life'. If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico. 

An investigation from the Daily Mail has allegedly discovered some online messages and images of Bryon Noem, 56, who was taking part in a number of online fetish forums. Some of the photos included his face, as some included the former first gentleman of South Dakota sporting some pink hot pants and massive fake breasts which looked to be made of balloons. 

In a statement to the New York Post, a representative for Kristi admitted: "Ms. Noem is devastated. The family was blindsided by this, and they ask for privacy and prayers at the time."

It comes during a difficult few weeks for Noem. Last month, she was asked during a hearing attended by her husband if she had had 'sexual relations' with her advisor Corey Lewandowski. She hit back at Democrat representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove for 'peddling tabloid garbage' for asking the question.

President Donald Trump has now responded to the reports about Bryon's cross-dressing, as he told the Daily Mail: "I feel badly for the family." "They confirmed it? Wow, well, I feel badly for the family if that's the case, that's too bad, I haven't seen anything. "I don't know anything about it. That's too bad, but I just know nothing about it." 

What is bimbofication and why are the Bryon Noem revelations so controversial 

It was reported that Bryon had paid at least $25,000 to chat to models in what's known as the 'bimbofication scene', as it fetishises performers who willingly turn themselves into real-life dolls. They can use silicone injections and surgical enhancements to achieve this look. 

The publication reported that Bryon would praise these models and claim that he loves 'huge, huge ridiculous boobs', while allegedly hinting at his marriage to the government official. The real reason this is controversial is because Bryon allegedly did not take steps to conceal his identity on the fetish forums, raising questions of blackmail exposure and security clearance standards. 

Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos told the Daily Mail that if journalists had managed to track down this information about Bryon, then the intelligence services of hostile governments almost certainly had too. 

Who is Bryon Noem?

Kristi and Bryon attended the same high school in South Dakota. They were two years apart, but knew each other as Bryon was friends with Kristi's older brother. They married in 1992 when Kristi was just 20 years old. Before Kristi transitioned into politics, they worked on her family ranch together.

Nowadays, Bryon runs Noem Insurance, a crop insurance agency in Castlewood, South Dakota. Kristi and Bryon have three adult children together: daughters Kassidy and Kennedy and son Booker. They are grandparents to Kassidy and Kennedy's children, too. 

Why was Kristi Noem fired as DHS chief? 

Kristi was relieved of her duties as head of the DHS last month, as Trump reappointed her as special envoy to the newly created 'Shield of the Americas' initiative, which is focused on border security. 

She was constantly questioned over her policy decisions and management of the department, with her firing coming after she chose to personally review every Federal Emergency Management Agency contract and grant over $100,000. 

This meant that reimbursements to communities that were waiting for extended periods of time were delayed further, with tensions rising as regions who were in dire need of support were left in purgatory. The government official also faced backlash after the controversial killings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, earlier this year.

The whole of the world has been on edge ever since it was confirmed that the US and Israel had bombed Iran at the end of February, with both Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting that their aim was to rid Iran of any nuclear weapons, despite the Middle Eastern country insisting that they don't have any. 

Throughout the month of March, war has been raging on, with several soldiers killed in the conflict while a bomb also struck an Iranian girls school, killing almost 170 people, many of whom were girls between the ages of seven and 12. It was the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei which perhaps caused the most outrage however, with his son succeeding him recently, while Trump suggested that assassination attempts against him had failed by comparison. 

Although the president recently suggested that the US would be leaving Iran 'very soon', the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz is continuing to cause issues for the rest of the world, with no end in sight after Trump claimed that allies should 'get their own oil'.

And now he looks set to deliver the latest news on the conflict to the US population at 9pm Eastern Time, causing a literal blackout on all TV networks to ensure that his message properly gets across, which suggests that it's certainly going to be a significant one. 

It will be broadcast live across all four major US networks, CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox, beginning at 9pm ET, which means that shows such as The Masked Singer and Survivor will be interrupted, while talk shows such as The Late Show and The Tonight Show have been pushed back, no doubt so they can react to the president's remarks. 

What will Trump say when he addresses the nation? 

White House press officer Karoline Leavitt remained tight-lipped about what the president would discuss in his 20-minute speech. But Trump's recent remarks and Truth Social posts could provide clues as to the content of his address. 

On Tuesday (31 March), he said the war in Iran would end in 'two weeks, maybe three', adding this would be the case even if Iran did not agree a peace deal with the US. Then earlier today, he wrote on Truth Social: 

"Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!" He said, however, he would only consider it if Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz, adding: "Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!"

Following this suggestion the war could be winding down, oil prices in the US briefly dropped below $100 a barrel, with stock prices rallying around the world. Many will hope Trump's announcement will detail how the war in Iran could end. 

But a spokesperson for Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on X that Trump's claims the country had asked for a ceasefire were 'the delusions and falsehoods of criminals'. When CBS asked Trump what had to happen between now and the US declaring victory in Iran, he responded: "Not much. We want to clean up some ends, but we have done our job." 

Alternatively, the US president said in an interview with The Telegraph published today that he is contemplating leaving NATO. He called the alliance a 'paper tiger', and said the US pulling out was 'beyond reconsideration'. His frustration largely stems from what he feels is his NATO partners' unwillingness to help him reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This is something else we may hear more about this evening. 

Can Trump leave NATO? 

Trump can pull the US out of NATO - but it won't be easy. He'll need the support of two-thirds of Congress to exit the alliance, thanks to a law introduced in 2023. Taking the US out of the treaty after 77 years may well be a hard sell for the president.  It's not the first time Trump has butted heads with NATO, as his oft-discussed plans to annex Greenland are made all the more awkward by the fact that Denmark, which owns the island, is a NATO ally. 

Of all the NATO members, Trump has singled out the UK for its unwillingness to become embroiled in the Iran conflict, but prime minister Keir Starmer suggested this morning that the UK wouldn't be getting involved in the conflict under any circumstances.

His response was: "I would say [it’s] beyond reconsideration." The world leader brutally added, "I was never swayed by NATO. I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way." He also slammed UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and hit out at Britain's military after the refusal to back America in the war with Iran. 

“You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work,” he said. Trump's words came just hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that the US will ‘re-examine’ its relationship with NATO. Donald Trump is 'strongly considering' pulling America out of NATO (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The official told Fox News: "If now we have reached a point where the NATO alliance means we can’t use those bases to defend America’s interests, then NATO is a one-way street. 

"If NATO is simply about us having troops in Europe to defend Europe, but when we need them to allow us to use their military bases, their answer is no – then why are we in NATO?” And during a cabinet meeting last week, Trump said the war in Iran is a 'loyalty test' and hit out at NATO allies for not stepping up. 

As reported by C-SPAN, he demanded: “They weren’t there. So if there’s ever a big one … I don’t think they’re going to be there.” 

So, if he sticks to his word and pulls America out of NATO, what exactly would happen? Firstly, for context, NATO, aka the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a political and military alliance made up of 32 members that was established in 1949. As per its website, the core purpose of NATO 'is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries and their one billion people'. 

Its members are also 'committed to protecting each other from any threat'. A 2024 article in Modern Diplomacy outlines that if allies and partners of the US can’t count on them to be there, America will lose access to many military bases around the globe. 

Experts explain that the US needs 'bases around the world,' as 'without friendly ports, the United States Navy doesn’t look so much like a blue water force but rather a green water navy that can only operate closer to America’s shores'.

"Our bombers couldn’t reach targets halfway around the world without support from allies," the article outlines. While America can, of course, survive on its own, the US could also lose access to global markets, and it's reportedly likely that buyers for US arms will dry up, having an impact on the economy. 

And as reported by EJIL:Talk!, while the 1951 agreement doesn't explicitly state that US withdrawal would terminate it, the wording 'strongly implies that continued participation in the NATO framework is essential to its operation'. 

In 2023, the US Congress passed legislation requiring congressional permission for any withdrawal from NATO. So, there have been worries that NATO could fall altogether, in a worst-case scenario. But, as a matter of law, the treaty should remain in force for the other 31 members, despite a US departure profoundly affecting the alliance.