Donald Trump threatened the Democratic governor of Maine to her face during a meeting with governors at the White House on Friday (21 February).

The President of the United States, 78, told Maine Governor Janet Mills that she must comply with his executive order which bans transgender women and girls from women’s sport.

He said that if she doesn’t, she will risk losing federal funding.

“Are you not going to comply with it?” Trump asked the 75th governor of Maine.

“I’m complying with state and federal laws,” the 77-year-old responded.

That’s when the American businessman threatened: “We are federal law, you better do it.

“You better do it, because you’re not going to get federal funding… Your population doesn’t want men in women’s sports.”

“We’ll see you in court,” Mills replied.

“Good. I’ll see you in court. I’ll look forward to that. That should be a real easy one.” Trump said. “And enjoy your life after, governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”

Prior to the meeting, Mills said Maine ‘will not be intimidated by the president’s threats.’

“If the president attempts to unilaterally deprive Maine school children of the benefit of federal funding, my administration and the attorney general will take all appropriate and necessary legal action to restore that funding and the academic opportunity it provides,” Mills said (via The Independent).

Meanwhile, Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said that Trump’s attempt to cut federal funding ‘would be illegal and in direct violation of federal court orders’.

“Fortunately, the rule of law still applies in this country, and I will do everything in my power to defend Maine’s laws and block efforts by the president to bully and threaten us.” Frey said.

This comes after acting Education Secretary for civil rights Craig Trainor said Maine is being investigated for alleged Title IX violations, which are actions that discriminate against people based on their sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

“Maine would have you believe that it has no choice in how it treats women and girls in athletics — that is, that it must follow its state laws and allow male athletes to compete against women and girls,” Trainor said in a statement.

“Let me be clear: If Maine wants to continue to receive federal funds from the Education Department, it has to follow Title IX. If it wants to forgo federal funds and continue to trample the rights of its young female athletes, that, too, is its choice.”

According to PBS, earlier this month, the Maine Principal’s Association said it would continue to allow transgender female athletes to compete in women’s sports.

Their executive director, Mike Burnham, said that they would be following the Maine Human Rights Act, which goes against discrimination based on gender identity.

Mills said she’d be working alongside the general attorney in defence of Maine in court, however, she added in her statement: “But do not be misled: this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”

When we picture the training which NASA astronauts undertake, the first thing which comes to mind is most likely extended periods of time inside zero gravity machines, memorising every aspect of their spacecraft and gruelling physical training.

But it turns out there’s a lot whole lot more hoops astronauts must jump through before waving goodbye to the Earth’s atmosphere – including spending an afternoon hanging out by a swimming pool in your spacesuit.

Taken in June 1966, the photo taken at Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas may look like every space fanatic’s dream birthday party, but it was actually a critical part of pre-mission training.

The three men suited up and sat on yellow floats in the image are Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White and they were in the pool that day to practice emergency landing procedures in water.

Astronauts still train in water to this day, but this is now undertaken in training facilities which look a lot less picturesque than Ellington Air Force Base’s swimming pool on a summer afternoon.

However, the story of Grissom, Chaffee and White is one which would end in tragedy just six months later.

What happened to the astronauts onboard Apollo 1?

The Apollo 1 mission was scheduled to launch on 21 February 1967, however, the spacecraft would never reach that date.

During a pre-launch test on 27 January, a devastating fire would break out in the cabin and claim the lives of the three men.

On the day in question, the three men would enter Apollo 1’s control module in order to simulate a ‘plugs-out test’, which would see the spacecraft disconnected from electrical systems on the launch pad and make sure it was ready for launch.

Dressed in their pressurised suits, Grissom, White and Chaffee were strapped into their seats and began working through a checklist as the module’s three-part hatch was installed. After the hatch was sealed, all air inside the cabin was replaced by pure oxygen.

It is at this point that the unthinkable happened as the cabin suddenly burst into flames, with the heat inside meaning it was impossible for the men to open the hatch from inside.

“Fire,” Grissom is believed to shout, before Chaffee can be heard saying: “We’ve got a fire in the cockpit.”

The three men can then be heard scrambling inside the cabin before one of them cries out in pain as the flames take hold.

Grissom was 40 years old when he died, White was 36 and Chaffee was 31.

The tragedy would lead NASA to make major changes to future spacecraft, including using a 60/40 oxygen/nitrogen mix in the cabin, removal of flammable materials and a redesigned hatch which opened in seconds.

Going through a breakup can be tough but a woman on TikTok has insisted a simple change in behavior can make you feel much better.

Relationships can be hard to get right so breakups are bound to happen now and again.

The big problem a lot of people tend to face is how they healthily get over their partner and how do they do so sooner rather than later.

Well, TikTok influencer Lauren (@laurenjnicole) has given her ‘big sister’ advice on how to deal with the less-than-ideal situation.

She started by first pointing out a habit that a lot of people are guilty of in the technological age and why it is important to cut it out.

She said: “It’s time for some big sister advice.

“You have got to stop checking on them, you think it is helping you heal, keeping up with their life, you are checking their stories, you are checking their friends.

“You are making it so much harder on yourself and you are doing it because you still want to feel close to them.

“You think it is just a harmless check-in but you would be shocked at how much better you will feel if you stop.”

Lauren continued to break down why this behaviour isn’t practical in the long-term, especially if you want to focus on getting over your ex.

She continued: “Do you want to fall asleep every night for the rest of your life wondering how their day was, thinking about what they just posted, thinking about the person they are dating now?

“You doing that does not change the future, it doesn’t even change the present.

“But a lot of us spend months or years still in love with someone wondering why we can’t get over them.

“It is because your brain still thinks you are in their life.”

Lauren even spoke about her own difficulties dealing with a ‘nightmare’ breakup and how she eventually started to feel better when she stopped checking on her ex constantly.

She closed by saying: “It was the hardest thing I ever did blocking my ex, not looking at his stories.

“But after a couple of weeks I felt so much better, and it was insane. The only way I can describe it is you never realize how heavy something is until it is lifted off of you.”

Suits LA is set to premiere on Sunday (23 February), and while Gabriel Macht, who played Harvey Specter in the original, is set to feature in a few episodes of the new series, it is unknown if any other cast members will return.

But with the likes of Macht, Adams (Mike Ross), Gina Torres (Jessica Pearson) and Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen) still in touch, Torres spoke about Markle at last year’s Golden Globes admitting ‘they don’t have her number’ as the four reunited at the event.

However, Suits creator Aaron Korsh has now opened the door to a potential return for Markle, as well as other original cast members.

Markle’s character, Rachel Zane, moved to Seattle with on-screen husband Ross, played by Patrick J. Adams, to start their own law firm at the end of season seven.

While Markle never appeared on the show again for its remaining two seasons, Adams would become a recurring character in its final season.

Speaking on Thursday (20 February), Korsh hinted at the possibility of Markle returning, saying to People: “So, look, to me, we have thought about whether it be Meghan or any of the other cast members coming on and playing themselves as an actor.

“I think for me that’s a little … My brain blows up at the thought of that,” he admitted.

He added: “So I think it blows up the world too much, obviously, if Meghan wants to come back under any circumstances, Meghan can come back.

“But I think realistically, it would be too much of an explosion of the fourth wall to do that,” he suggested.

Last year, Adams himself commented on Markle, her closeness with the rest of the cast and how close the pair are years on from their time on screen.

The actor behind fraudulent lawyer Ross has since started a podcast called Sidebar with former co-star Rafferty, who played Donna on the show.

He joined Reddit after starting the podcast to answer questions, and was asked if he knew how Markle was doing, and replied: “We are not really in touch.”

Adams went on: “She leads a very different life now for obvious and important reasons. But upon hearing about the podcast. I got a lovely text, saying how excited she was for us and asking how she could help in any way.

“So lovely to still have that kind of support and friendship after so many years apart,” he admitted.

Fans also asked if she would ever join the podcast as a guest, thought this wasn’t answered.

Adams seemed content with the message of support, and even revealed on the podcast that the pair had filmed a pilot together before, though it didn’t get picked up.

Anthony Ricco has today (21 February) said he will no longer represent the Grammy-winning producer who is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.

“Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice,” his withdrawal filing read.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ charges

The music mogul, 55, has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges on 17 September and has been denied bail multiple times.

Racketeering conspiracy is a criminal offence and relates to dishonest and fraudulent business dealings. This involves fraud, extortion and bribery, among other things.

Combs has been accused of using his ‘power and prestige’ to drug sex workers during his alleged ‘Freak Off’ parties.

The indictment also alleges the rapper of having ‘abused, threatened, and coerced women and others around him to fulfil his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct’ since 2008.

120 people accuse Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs of sexual misconduct

120 accusers came forward with sexual misconduct allegations in October and Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee said the lawsuits were from 60 males and 60 females.

“When you talk about the ages of the victims when the conduct occurred, it’s shocking,” Buzbee said.

“Our youngest victim at the time of the occurrence was nine years old. We have an individual who was 14 years old. We have one who was 15.”

Combs’ lawyer has said: “In court, the truth will prevail: that Mr Combs never sexually assaulted or trafficked anyone – man or woman, adult or minor.”

‘Freak offs’ and baby oil

Combs’ alleged freak offs were afterparties he was said to have hosted, filled with sex trafficking, abuse, and drugs.

A person who claims to have attended a number of his parties previously alleged that was a ‘signal’ made to guests for ‘people to leave’ so the after party would begin.

The source told Us Weekly they attended Diddy’s ‘white parties’ on a number of occasions between 2006 and 2011.

They alleged that there would be a ‘signal’ for high-profile celebrities to leave around 2am/3am if they didn’t want to take part in the ‘after party’.

“Girls would start to lose their clothes — that was the signal for people to leave,” they said.

Another source added: “What happened before 2am pales in comparison to what happened at 5am.”

The indictment added that around 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant were seized from Combs’ homes in Miami and Los Angeles when they were raided.

Rape case filed over Tupac comment

In another lawsuit, accuser Ashley Parham alleged Combs and his accomplices raped her in 2018 after he overheard her claiming he’d been involved in the 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur.

Accuser drops rape lawsuit against Jay-Z and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

A lawsuit against Combs and Jay-Z, which alleged the rape of a 13-year-old girl in 2000, was dismissed.

“The frivolous, fictitious and appalling allegations have been dismissed,” the husband of Beyoncé said in a statement via Roc Nation.

“This civil suit was without merit and never going anywhere. The fictional tale they created was laughable, if not for the seriousness of the claims.

“The trauma that my wife, my children, loved ones and I have endured can never be dismissed.”

What has Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ lawyer said?

A lawyer for Diddy has denied all allegations in a statement issued to LADbible Group.

“He looks forward to proving his innocence and vindicating himself in court, where the truth will be established based on evidence, not speculation,” it read.

For anyone who has ever read a King novel, you’ll know just how high a bar that is setting.

The legendary horror writer has written some messed up things over the years, many of which far surpass the movies made from his work (as anyone who has read It or the story behind The Monkey will tell you.)

Therefore, if King says a Netflix horror show is ‘for sickos like him’, you can expect it to be some especially depraved sh*t.

King gave this badge of approval to a show that is beyond highly reviewed, with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and some viewers calling it the ‘scariest show ever’.

The series in question is called Marianne and has an absolutely wild concept.

Marianne follows a famous horror writer who realises that, not only are the things she writes about coming to life, but they are terrorising her home town.

In addition to this, one of them is a horrifying spirit that, prior to this, lived in her dreams.

Stephen King posted about the show saying: “If you’re one of those sickos–like me–who enjoys being scared, MARIANNE (Netflix) will do the job.

“There are glints of humor that give it a STRANGER THINGS vibe.

“It also has (I say it with all due modesty) a Stephen King vibe.”

When it comes to a show being co-signed, is there a higher honour?

One might be a dedicated horror website that deals predominantly with the spookiest and scariest shows and movies calling your show ‘nightmares personified’.

Meagan Navarro of horror website Bloody Disgusting said just this of the show, adding: “The more horror we watch the more desensitized to it we tend to become, making that adrenaline rush of fear so much harder to come by.

“Yet Marianne makes it seem so effortless.

“It offers gore, endless suspense, jump scares aplenty, and visceral terror that might make you question the decision to watch it before bedtime.

“If you’re like me, you’ll become addicted.”

Toussaint Egan of Polygon saw the same comparison King did, saying in their review: “With a decidedly Stephen King-esque inspired premise that feels like a combination of It and Misery and viscerally unsettling visuals edited with hair-raising precision, Marianne is a perfect recommendation for any horror fan.”

You’d think with these reviews, and the fact that viewers also rave about the show, that it would be a multi-season affair similar to Stranger Things at this point, right?

Alas, the series was cancelled after one season, entering the pantheon of amazing shows that never made it past the first instalment.

If you go off the word of the horror master himself though, that shouldn’t dissuade you one bit from watching.

Combs, 55, is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York and awaiting trial over allegations of racketeering, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.

The charges relate to incidents which allegedly occurred at ‘freak off’ parties which were held in his Los Angeles mansion.

Combs has strongly denied all charges against him and pleaded not guilty.

His trial is currently scheduled to take place in May.

The lawyer confirmed his decision to step down from the rapper’s legal team today (21 February) by filing a withdraw of counsel with a New York court.

The withdrawal filed by Ricco states the following: “Under no circumstances can I continue to effectively serve as counsel for Sean Combs, consistent with the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice.”

The withdrawal continues: “While I am aware that the Local Rule requires that an application for withdrawal of counsel is supported and granted ‘only upon a showing by affidavit or otherwise of satisfactory reasons for withdrawal,’ there are sufficient reasons (related to the protections afforded by the attorney/client privilege) for brevity in my application for withdrawal as counsel in this case.”

Ricco stated the decision had come after discussion between himself and lead counsel Mark Agnifilo but provided no further detail as to why he had decided to step down.

“This motion for withdrawal of counsel, if granted, will not result in a delay of the present schedule for the commencement of jury selection and trial, or the present schedules for briefing of pre- trial legal issues,” the motion continued.

“As a result, there will be no lapse in representation, as Sean Combs will continue to be represented by five other attorneys of record.

“It is respectfully but regrettably requested that the court grant the relief requested in the annexed notice of motion, and permit counsel Anthony L. Ricco to withdraw as attorney of record.”

It’s currently believed the decision won’t impact Combs’ 5 May trial date and will continue to be represented by attorneys Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos.

TMZ reports that last Saturday (15 February) two people drove up to the musician’s house in Florida, US and made it past security by claiming to be from a delivery company.

After that they reportedly drove up to DJ Khaled’s gate and propped the coffin up against it.

The phrases ‘RIP OVO’ and ‘RIP Drake’ were written on the box and the cross on it appeared to be upside down. The two people delivering the coffin then got down on their knees and appeared to pray to it, before getting back in their vehicle and driving off.

However, in that case the writing on the box was different and said ‘RIP King Von’, with it being delivered by two people who arrived at the private community in which the musician lived asking if they could deliver a gift to a resident.

The only thing inside the box was some hand sanitiser.

It would seem as though the names written on the coffins were chosen due to their links with beef between various performers.

Tekashi 6ix9ine and King Von had beef before King Von, real name Dayvon Daquan Bennett, was shot and killed in 2020.

The Mirror reports that restaurant manager Matheo Patris was driving past DJ Khaled’s property when the coffin was being put up outside, saying he got a video of it and then drove onwards.

He said: “I was passing in front of his house, and while I was passing by, we saw a coffin right in front. So I told my friend who was driving to make a U-turn.

“We passed in front of the house again, and that’s when I grabbed my phone and captured the moment with a video and took a picture.

“It seemed more like a decoration than anything else. They weren’t shooting a video clip or anything. We grabbed the video and then kept on driving.”

However, good looks aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, according to the unofficial ‘most liked man’ on Hinge.

That would be Alex Puxley, a 32-year-old from Market Harborough, Leicestershire who claims to have had 1,500 matches on the app since he joined in January 2024.

Now rating someone’s eligibility by the number of likes they get on a dating platform isn’t the most solid of metric granted, especially as Alex isn’t 100 percent sure if his likes mean he takes the crown as Hinge’s most eligible bachelor.

But you’ve got to admit that racking up 3,000 likes and an average of 40 prompts a day from interested women every day is pretty impressive.

With this amount of interest, you’d think that Alex would have no problem finding himself a partner – especially when you consider the fact that Market Harborough only has a population of 24,779 – but that’s not the case.

In fact, Alex has had a grand total of zero dates in the past year. So where is it all going wrong for the tech consultant?

According to Alex, the lack of a connection comes down to conversations about cold, hard cash.

“I’ve had a few matches ask how much money I earn each year which is a strange way to start a conversation,” he explained, adding that he was put off by suitors asking about his wage or the car he drives.

“So it would be nice to date someone who is just normal and doesn’t come across as materialistic.”

Revealing what he is looking for in a partner – single ladies if you’re reading listen up – Alex replied that he wants to find someone he can build a relationship and a family with.

“I think a lot of people on dating apps these days aren’t there for anything serious – they ask you how much money you earn, what car you drive etc,” he added.

However Alex did acknowledge that the blame may not solely lay with the women he matches with, as he’s been guilty of dropping some pretty cheesy pick-up lines.

Revealing some of the clangers he’s used in the past, Alex said that conversations stopped after he used lines such as ‘are you a parking ticket because you have ‘fine’ written all over you’ or ‘they say dating is a numbers game, so can I get yours’.

Might be worth investing a bit of time in your chat if that’s the case.