Home Blog Page 29

Robin Hood ancient oak tree dead 1,200 years old



A massive ancient oak tree linked to the legend of Robin Hood may have been loved to death.

The 1,200-year-old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is believed to have died after it didn’t sprout leaves this spring, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said Thursday.

Visitors who viewed the tree’s gnarled limbs and sprawling canopy in Nottingham over the past two centuries compressed the soil around it, making it difficult for rain to reach its roots, the conservation group said.

The 1,200-year-old Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is believed to have died after it didn’t sprout leaves this spring, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said Thursday. AP Photo/SIMON DAWSON

The forest has been under threat for years and the tree had been rumored to have died in the past — only to have the group confirm it was still alive.

That is no longer the case.

“The tree’s failure to produce leaves this year is heart-breaking for everyone,” Hollie Drake of the RSPB said in a statement announcing the death.

The tree is said to have sheltered Robin Hood, the legendary 13th century bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor and took refuge in the forest when being pursued by the sheriff of Nottingham.

It got its name after being mentioned in a book on oaks by Major Hayman Rooke in 1790 that led to the first wave of fans who flocked to the forest.

The tree is said to have sheltered Robin Hood. AP Photo/SIMON DAWSON
Robin Hood is a legendary 13th-century bandit who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Ann Ronan Picture Library/Photo

It’s impossible to say what killed the tree, but the footprint of millions contributed to its downfall along with intervention to shore up its massive limbs using cables and poles.

Climate change that has brought heat waves and drought was also blamed.

Tree experts found the root system strangled and starved.

“Ancient trees like the Major Oak are the ‘conservation white rhinos of the U.K.’ but their decline is far less visible,” said Ed Pyne, of the Woodland Trust. “Saving them is vital to the health of the world we live in and yet most disappear quietly, without the recognition or care given to the Major Oak.”

In addition to its place in folklore, the forest is known for Sherwood oaks that floated the ships of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson’s Royal Navy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and as timbers in the roof of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

Major Oak was spared from the saw and has been protected by a fence since the 1970s.

“The Major Oak will continue to stand at the heart of Sherwood as a natural monument for visitors to come and see, living on in the legend of Robin Hood and continuing to provide as much support to the forest’s ecosystem in death as in life,” Drake said.



Source link

Train crash that killed one man and injured four others could have been avoided



One person described being knocked unconscious before hearing people shouting and seeing people on the floor.



Source link

'Urgent' DBS system review after BBC investigation



Kristian Parry was able to get a job in a nursery while on bail for sex offences involving children.



Source link

Hegseth urges Europe to take lead in ‘NATO 3.0’ reboot


US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that America’s allies in Europe must take the lead on the defense of their own continent and help turn NATO into “a read hard-line military alliance.”

At a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Hegseth called for a reboot of the 32-nation organization to turn it into a “NATO 3.0” capable of deterring any threat.

His remarks came a few weeks after the United States told its allies that it would no longer supply certain warships and aircraft if one of them comes under attack. European allies and Canada are trying to work out how to plug the gaps.

“NATO 3.0 is post-Cold War recognition that (NATO) needs to go back to a real hard-line military alliance that has real military capabilities capable of deterring right here on the continent and taking the lead for the conventional defense of Europe,” Hegseth said.


US War Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a joint conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels, Belgium, on June 18, 2026.
US War Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during a joint conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels, Belgium, on June 18, 2026. Anadolu via Getty Images

As part of that, he told reporters, the United States would be investing $1.5 trillion in its own defense in 2027, sending “a message to the world” that America is building an “arsenal of freedom.”

Hegseth said that this arsenal “first and foremost protects America and American interests but also backstops the strength of NATO and our allies.”

He said he would tell US allies they “have to be willing to stand up and do something in a strong way about” the defense of their own continent.

NATO’s supreme allied commander, an American, is working on backup plans to defend Europe after the US signaled on June 3 that it would no longer supply an aircraft carrier and support ships, aerial refueling planes and dozens of fighter jets, among other military assets, in a crisis.


US War Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver joint statements at NATO Headquarters on June 18, 2026.
US War Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver joint statements at NATO Headquarters on June 18, 2026. Anadolu via Getty Images

The Trump administration insists that it needs to be able to plan for two simultaneous conflicts and wants more military resources at hand should a conflict break out with China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Under NATO’s collective security guarantee – Article 5 of its founding treaty – the 32 allies pledge that an attack on one of them will be considered an attack on all. It does not oblige them to provide military support, although many likely would.

In essence, the United States is scaling back how it might help should an ally trigger Article 5.

The US has by far NATO’s biggest armed forces. It does not intend to withdraw its nuclear weapons in Europe, which are key to NATO’s deterrence.



Source link

Jane Seymour says finding love in her 70s with fiance John Zambetti feels like a ‘miracle’



Jane Seymour found a “miracle” in her future husband, John Zambetti.

The happy couple, who recently announced their engagement after dating for three years, were all smiles as they walked the red carpet at the 33rd annual Race to Erase MS benefit in Los Angeles, Calif., earlier this month.

Seymour, 75, admitted she was the luckiest girl in the world for finding love with Zambetti, 78, which all came down to perfect timing.

While relationships at any age may be a challenge, Zambetti confessed that staying optimistic for love brought him exactly what he needed: his future bride.

“I think you just have to be out there and be open to it,” the Malibooz musician told Fox News Digital. “I mean, just don’t be in a shell, just be open to it, because it’s all out there.”

“There’s lovely people out there everywhere. I mean this is just kind of a miracle in my opinion.”

Jane Seymour found a “miracle” in her future husband, John Zambetti. janeseymour/Instagram

Seymour agreed completely, and said, “In my opinion, too. It’s a miracle.”

“I love him. I cannot believe that I got lucky enough to find the perfect person at this time in my life,” she continued. “I was not available before, and he wasn’t available before. So, you know, now is it, right now.”

The “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” actress said they’re equally invested in each other’s lives outside of their love.

“He understands that I love what I do. I understand how much he loves what he does,” Seymour said. “And we’re just equally supportive of one another, and it’s great.”

John Zambetti and Jane Seymour at the 33rd Annual Race To Erase MS Gala, Arrivals, Los Angeles, California, on June 5, 2026. Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

“I go off and make a movie, he is there with me. I turn around, and he’s put out four albums. I’m like, what?”

She added, “And then I’ve become his muse. So, now he’s written some amazing songs.”

Seymour said that she and John “wake up like teenagers” every day together.

“It’s like we’re at our parents’ house, but our parents never come home,” Zambetti said.

“It’s great,” she added. “And then the kids come, and then we have to behave.”

Seymour, 75, admitted she was the luckiest girl in the world for finding love with Zambetti, 78, which all came down to perfect timing. @janeseymour/Instagram

The proposal was equally as romantic as it was somewhat chaotic. Zambetti told People magazine that he proposed the day before Seymour’s birthday at their Malibu home.

“It got to be close to her birthday. It was actually Valentine’s Day, the day before her birthday. I thought, ‘This is insane. I’m just gonna do it,’” he said.

“I got down on my knees, the whole thing. I had the ring hidden in the safe, pulled out the ring. I opened the box, and the ring popped out of the box, onto the bed.”

He added, “Then I had to climb under the bed, and then I couldn’t get out, and she had to get out of the bed and pull me out of the bed.”

Jane Seymour as Solitaire in an exotic costume from the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die. Getty Images

Seymour noted that neither of them were “wearing any clothes.”

“Serious bedhead involved,” she said. “But the funniest part was that he couldn’t get up afterwards. His knee was now stuck from being under the bed and I’m not strong enough to pull him up because he weighs almost twice what I do. We looked at one another and started laughing hysterically.”

The “Harry Wild” actress has been married four times and has six children.

She first married theater director Michael Attenborough in 1971, before the couple split in 1973. Four years later, Seymour married Geoffrey Planer before they ended their relationship in 1978.​

In 1981, the Bond girl tied the knot with businessman David Flynn. The former couple welcomed daughter Katherine and son Sean before going their separate ways in 1992.

Seymour was then married to actor-director James Keach from 1993-2015, and they share twins Kristopher and John. She ended her nine-year relationship with David Green in 2023.

Zambetti was previously married for more than four decades and has two children with his late wife, Joan Zambetti.



Source link

Dear Abby: My daughter stopped speaking to me and I don’t want her at my deathbed



DEAR ABBY: For years, my only daughter and I got along pretty well. Then she stopped visiting or speaking to us, meaning we didn’t see our grandchildren or my son-in-law. That went on for six to eight years. Suddenly, she has responded on Facebook but refuses to tell me what the problem was. 

When you don’t communicate with somebody for this long, it’s difficult because so much has happened in the interim that conversations are now as if I’m speaking to a stranger. I deeply resent this, though I pretend I’m fine because if I don’t, all communication will cease again.

As I near the end of my life, I don’t want her to know or come to my “deathbed” (whenever that might be) because the only thing I’m going to want to know is “why,” and she will never tell me. It interfered with my relationship with my three granddaughters, so I don’t want to see her. 

I truly feel if she didn’t want any part of me all these years, she shouldn’t bother paying lip service now. When that time comes, I only want to be around people who truly loved and cared about me. I can’t get my son and my best friend to understand that when the time comes, I just want peace. How can I? — WEARY IN WASHINGTON

DEAR WEARY: Tell them the truth — that you maintain contact with your daughter only because you love your granddaughters and don’t want to be further estranged from them. Then explain that when your time comes (hopefully, many years from now), you only want at your side those who showed you love, which does not include the daughter who iced you out for years with no explanation, and you do not want to discuss it further. (From your description of your history with her, she’s unlikely to show up.)

DEAR ABBY: I would like to offer some advice to your readers over 50: Think carefully before getting a dog. You may be active and able to care for a pet now, but where will you be in 15 years?

My husband and I are in our 70s and caring for an elderly dog. When we got our puppy 13 years ago, I figured even if things went wrong, one of my three kids would be able to take the dog. Well, for various practical reasons, they can’t. So, guess who has to take “Skip” out in the rain and snow, risking life and limb (his and mine) four times a day? 

In addition, traveling — something we always hoped to do in retirement — is difficult to arrange. So think twice, people! Your dog depends on you to care for it until it arrives at the Rainbow Bridge. — TIED TO SKIP

DEAR TIED: I’m sure you love your senior dog despite the hardships advanced age has brought to both of you. Thank you for hanging in there even though it’s not always easy.

People of all ages take in pets without thinking of the long-term responsibilities involved. An important part of the pet adoption process is considering how you will provide for it when you travel or are no longer physically able to handle it yourself. Skipping this step is unfair to the animal.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.



Source link

Michelle Obama reveals she rescued a choking friend at dinner



Michelle Obama recently revealed that she casually saved a friend who was choking on food while they were out at dinner.

The former first lady made the revelation during a conversation with her brother, Craig Robinson, and comedian Kevin Hart on her and Craig’s podcast, “IMO,” in an episode released on Wednesday.

The trio were talking about health scares when Obama brought up the incident.

“I gave one of my girlfriends the Heimlich maneuver at dinner,” she said, to the amazement of Robinson.

Obama explained that she was eating dinner with her friend, her daughter Malia Obama, and two of Malia’s friends.

Michelle Obama revealed that she saved a friend who was choking on food while they were out at dinner. Michelle Obama/YouTube

“We’re the same age and you know, you start having… swallowing problems,” Obama said.

“Things just stop. But she had chewed her food — she had told me before that she had this esophageal issue where things will get stuck, so I knew that about her.”

At one point during the dinner, the woman stood up and coughed, Obama said.

Obama made the revelation to her brother Craig Robinson and comedian Kevin Hart on her “IMO” podcast. Michelle Obama / YouTube

“I think she coughed up something, and it got stuck in her throat,” she recalled. “She was straining, and I said, ‘Are you OK?’” to which the woman shook her head.

Obama then positioned herself behind her friend and began performing the Heimlich maneuver.

“I had never done the Heimlich before, and it dislodged it. It just popped up right away,” she said.

Obama said she had never performed the Heimlich maneuver before and was surprised when it worked immediately. AFP via Getty Images

Once everything was fine, Obama turned her attention to her daughter and the two friends, who had “pushed away from the table” when the incident began.

“I looked at the kids and I was like, ‘What were you all doing?’” she asked them.

“They were like, ‘You’re right,’” Obama said. “‘We were useless.’ They realized that that was a mother moment.”

Hart quipped that the tale wasn’t just a “casual story.”

“That’s one you’ve got to pull out at some dinners. That’s actually a story,” he said.

“Yeah, I saved a life,” Obama responded.



Source link

People starting new jobs at lowest level in five years



The Office for National Statistics says some areas of the jobs market are weakening, as vacancies continue to fall.



Source link

‘We had to get out of the way’: The backlash over delivery robots


The robots, more formally known as autonomous urban delivery vehicles, have started to appear on pavements in a number of cities across the US, plus in the UK, Japan, South Korea and Germany, transporting groceries and fast food, using cameras, sensors and GPS to navigate.



Source link

ICE officer Gregory Simmonds rescues 6-year-old girl drowning in Florida pool



An ICE officer made a snap decision to leap into a Florida pool when he spotted a child struggling to stay afloat, an act of heroism that comes as the agency faces intense criticism and protests outside immigration detention facilities.

Gregory Simmonds was at a community pool in Pasco County on Florida’s Gulf Coast when he noticed a young child floating unconscious in the water.

Closed-circuit footage from the pool showed Simmonds look over at the child and, without hesitation, jump into the pool fully clothed and quickly reach the child to render aid.

Simmonds carried the child back to the edge of the pool where they were resuscitated on dry land.

An officer with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Tampa, Simmonds administered CPR to the child until the child regained consciousness.

Law enforcement said the child is now expected to make a full recovery, according to ICE.

“This officer swiftly sprung to action and delivered life-saving medical care to this 6-year-old who drowned,” said Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis.

“Our agents truly are the best of the best. They put their lives on the line to arrest the worst of the worst. Instead of demonizing ICE law enforcement, sanctuary politicians should be thanking them for removing criminals from their communities.”

Gregory Simmonds was at a community pool in Pasco County on Florida’s Gulf Coast when he noticed a young child floating unconscious in the water. ICE
Simmonds carried the child back to the edge of the pool where they were resuscitated on dry land. ICE

Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. J. Leathers added in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital that due to Simmonds’ quick thinking and decisive actions – and “willingness to place himself into action during a critical incident, the child survived and is expected to make a full recovery.”

“His actions directly contributed to saving the life of the child and reflect exceptional courage and selflessness.”

Simmonds’ heroism is only the latest example of DHS officers saving lives on the spur of the moment.

In March, an agent who was supporting the Transportation Security Administration at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Howard Beach, New York, helped save the life of a 1-year-old experiencing a medical emergency.

When a father was heard screaming in the terminal, the agent “sprang into action and saved [their] life,” according to Sen. Markwayne Mullin.

“Despite the endless smears and lies told about them by sanctuary politicians and the media, our ICE officers show up every day to protect the Homeland and their fellow Americans.”

An officer with ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Tampa, Simmonds administered CPR to the child until the child regained consciousness. ICE
Law enforcement said the child is now expected to make a full recovery, according to ICE. ICE

In another case, multiple off-duty ICE agents saved another child from drowning in a hotel pool in February.

While dining in Plymouth, Minnesota, the agents were approached by a woman seeking help.

The agents swiftly went to the pool where they performed CPR for several minutes until police and EMS arrived.

The rescues come as ICE agents face protests outside facilities like New Jersey’s Delaney Hall, where demonstrators have labeled them “fascists” and “mercenaries.”

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report. 



Source link