'My Big Fat Fabulous Life' star Whitney Thore helped father Glenn Thore overcome Barbara Thore's death

By Takaya Yamaguchi, Makiko Yamazaki and Paritosh Bansal TOKYO Japan's financial regulator has sounded out top domestic banks

Australia’s Ramsay Health Care Ltd. and Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd. have agreed to sell their hospital unit

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi did not dress for a match at Atlanta United, the second match he missed this week

Ollie Watkins is the man of the moment: seven goals and four assists this season in a free-flowing Aston Villa side, including a recent hat-trick against Brighton in front of Gareth Southgate, meant it wasn’t a surprise when he was called up to play for England last week, 18 months after his last cap. Except that three weeks ago, he wasn’t the man at all. He still hadn’t scored in the Premier League. He was struggling to take chances and he was getting some stick, which is why he celebrated his first league goal of the season, against Chelsea in late September, with his fingers in his ears. Zoom out and his form has been exceptional for a year, but criticism is never far away. “I think all fans are quite fickle,” Watkins says. “If you go a few games without a goal, people will be saying, ‘he’s on a drought, he can’t score’. Then I score four goals in two games and everyone kind of loves you.” Watkins is sitting in a quiet room at St George’s Park, at ease with his surroundings at England’s headquarters. He is 27 and has just signed a new long-term contract with Villa. After a sporadic international career to date, he seems ready to add a lot more to his seven England caps, and is striving to make a first major tournament at Euro 2024 in Germany next summer. But getting there isn’t necessarily a given. Since Unai Emery took charge of Villa 12 months ago, no English player has recorded more than Watkins’ 25 Premier League goal involvements, yet he has not played for his country all year. “I think I go under the radar, maybe,” he concludes. “I don’t know if I’m not talked about enough, profile-wise.” Watkins is up against a truism of international football, certainly when it comes to England, that established names playing for renowned clubs find it a little easier to get in the team. It only takes a glance at the current squad to see that. And when there is a manager at the helm who has built up loyalties to long-serving players, they can be hard to dislodge. I’m content with where I am. The fame, the followers on Instagram – if it does come, it does. If it doesn’t, I’m not bothered really Ollie Watkins So perhaps players like Watkins need to do something special, like his role in thrashing Brighton, to get the same recognition as more experienced internationals who can rely on Southgate’s faith through rocky form. “I know I need to be scoring as much as them, if not more, to get into the team,” he says of his fellow strikers. He’s also conscious that his name does not carry the cachet of other England players. This is a curse of the modern game, a place where sporting talent meets celebrity hype, where players are scrutinised for what they do off the pitch as much as on it. It is a world Watkins has largely shunned, perhaps to his detriment. He doesn’t have Twitter, and his 374,000 followers on Instagram are dwarfed by teammates like Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford, who have online audiences of 16 million. A commercial guru at his agency has encouraged Watkins to use social media, to raise his status a little, but it doesn’t come naturally. “I wouldn’t want to put anything out there that’s not authentic and not myself,” he says. “You see how much money you can make on Instagram. But my saying has always been just be good at football and the rest will take care of itself. If I’m scoring 30 goals a year and someone wants to do a sponsorship deal with me then they are going to want to do it because I’m doing well on the pitch. “I’m content with where I am. The fame, the followers on Instagram – if it does come, it does. If it doesn’t, I’m not bothered really.” Being a Premier League striker at a historic club still brings its fair share of attention, something Watkins admits he doesn’t revel in. Life was different playing in the Championship for Brentford. “I used to just go and shop in Sainsbury’s, normal, and I came to try and do it at Villa and I couldn’t,” he laughs. “I had my earphones in and people took two looks and went, ‘Is that him?’. Once one person asks for a photo, then maybe it’s two or three, and then it’s hard to do shopping... I came home and I was fuming. I said to my missus, I’m never going out again. And since then I don’t do the shopping.” But he appreciates living at the gentler end of the mania scale, and cites Jack Grealish as an example. “I can imagine for Jack, it’s 10 times worse. He’s on another level, he’s like a superstar.” Out of the spotlight, Watkins has been playing some of the best football of his career. He credits his form to his demanding Spanish manager, who has given him direction to be a pure goalscorer after his struggles under Emery’s predecessor, Steven Gerrard. “It wasn’t down to him but I was just falling into a rut. I feel like I’ve gone on to a different path and really focused on being a striker. Before I’d be trying to cross it and then get on the end of my own cross and head it. Now I’m focused on being the main man.” This is his fourth season at Villa and he is producing his highest numbers so far. His expected goals and actual goals per 90 minutes are up on previous seasons, he is shooting a yard closer to goal, on average, and he is taking more than three shots per game under Emery, compared to only two under Gerrard. Those numbers are translating into eye-catching performances. He has set a target of 20 goals this season and it is a sign of his form over the past year that it almost sounds unambitious. But if he keeps delivering for Emery on the pitch, slowly but surely, the recognition will come his way. “I'm confident I'm gonna get to that number, and then I think people start talking and you get put into a bracket of the top players. I've got to where I am today from doing everything I believe in – the social media element is not my No 1 priority at the end of the day, football is – so I’ll just keep doing what I'm doing.” Read More Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen make England return but Raheem Sterling left out England squad announcement LIVE: Southgate names players for international break Josh Magennis determined to keep giving his all for Northern Ireland Josh Magennis determined to keep giving his all for Northern Ireland How Scotland became the one team Rodri could not defeat Charlie Savage impresses Rob Page during his Wales debut

Manchester City has needed two late goals to overcome resistance from West Ham and seal a 3-1 win at the London Stadium to stay top of the Premier League

Pokémon GO players might be wondering about the upcoming research breakthroughs coming out in September 2022

A Virginia Republican who describes herself as “Trump in heels” has lost her latest election bid in the state. Incumbent state Senator Amanda Chase was narrowly defeated by Glen Sturtevant in the GOP’s Virginia state Senate primary. The race was called earlier this week for Mr Sturtevant, who previously served in the Virginia Senate until 2020, by The Associated Press. The race was required after redistricting in the state. Ms Chase, who attended the January 6 rally for former president Donald Trump in Washington DC, was previously censured by the state Senate for a string of incendiary remarks and election denials. She says she did not take part in the violent riot that followed and that she was driving home when it took place. But Ms Chase later praised those who attacked the US Capitol and breached the building, insisting they were not “rioters and looters.” “These were patriots who loved their country and do not want to see our great republic turned into a socialist country,” she said. “I was there with the people. I know.” The Justice Department has said that it believes more than 2,000 people were involved in the riot, and more than 1,000 defendants from all 50 states have been charged in connection with it. She was defeated for the Republican nomination for Virginia governor in 2021 and called for Mr Trump to declare martial law to prevent Joe Biden from being sworn in as president. She has also drawn attention for openly carrying a firearm during senate sessions, and becoming embroiled in an altercation with a Virginia Capitol police officer over a parking spot. Following her latest defeat, Ms Chase appears to be following the Trump playbook of questioning the legality of her loss. She told WWBT on Thursday that her campaign should have been allowed in the room to watch the certification of machines ahead of early voting.“Right now, we’re in the process of raising money to hire a good attorney that can give us the legal counsel that we need,” Ms Chase told the station. “We know that the state law has been violated, clearly. So now we’re going to hold people accountable,” she said. Chesterfield Voter Registrar Missy Vera told the station that her office had complied with state law, which states that each political party may have one representative present during the machine certification process. Read More Trump news – live: Trump pleads for help from Congress as DoJ shares first classified documents evidence New ad mocks Trump’s excuse that he was too ‘busy’ to hand back boxes of secret government intel Fox guest says Trump’s special counsel looked as comfortable as ‘a monk in a strip club’ in front of committee Everything we know about Nancy Mace being tipped as Donald Trump’s new running mate New recordings of Trump revealed in classified papers investigation, documents show Writer's lawyers say Trump is wrong about $5 million sex abuse-defamation jury award

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 19, 2023--

Real Madrid are working on a plan to help Arda Guler overcome his injury problems.

Kim Kardashian has been flooded with praise following her acting debut on American Horror Story: Delicate. Earlier this year, when it was announced that the reality star would be joining the cast, some trolls were quick to turn to social media with harsh remarks and plans to stop watching the show. However, since the first episode aired on 20 September, the tunes have soon changed and diverted to how good her acting skills actually are. Kardashian plays publicist Siobhan Corbyn in the series, who is the best friend of Emma Roberts, who portrays Anna Victoria Alcott, a teen star turned A-list actress. "Kim is dead set on proving everybody wrong," one person wrote, while another added: "One thing about Kim …underestimate her and you’re done." "I actually love Kim’s acting here. It’s amazing," a third penned, while one TikTok user expressed how they "want to see Kim in more TV shows/movies." "Kimmieeee whatttt?!? YOU ARE AN ACTRESS GIRL! Fabulous," another commented. @kardashvideoo Kim is such a good actress #kimkardashian #emmaroberts #americanhorrorstory #ahs #ahsdelicate #fypシ #foryou #kardashians Some have even urged major Hollywood award ceremonies to give Kardashian "what she deserves" for her performance: Speaking about American Horror Story, showrunner Ryan Murphy said Kardashian's role was specifically designed for her. [Halley Feiffer] has written a fun, stylish and ultimately terrifying role especially for Kim, and this season is ambitious and unlike anything we have ever done," he told the Hollywood Reporter. The SKIMS founder went on to say: "Anytime you try something, you just have to have the intention of growing and challenging yourself – then you just kind of release and have fun." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

If you find the pungent aroma of gas pleasant at the pump, you're not alone. Here's why fuel tickles your brain.