'The Voice' Season 24 singer Rachele Nguyen joined Team Reba McEntire

Clearing the last of the Christmas dinner plates is a special moment. It means it’s time for the traditional dessert.

Fox News' Maria Bartiromo served up a new conspiracy theory to the network's viewers, suggesting the US was "drumming up" news of internal strife in Russia to distract from Hunter Biden news. During Fox & Friends on Sunday, Bartiromo complained about a "double standard" she sees when it comes to Hunter Biden, and insisted that the biggest story of the weekend was not the dramatic break between the Wagner Group mercenaries and their Russian benefactors, but rather the president's son. “I know that the State Department and the White House would like everybody to move the Hunter Biden story off of the front page and start talking about all the drama in Russia over the weekend,” Bartiromo said. “We’re not going to do that on Sunday Morning Futures. The biggest story of the week was that WhatsApp message from Hunter Biden, and he is basically doing a shakedown that you would expect in a Francis Ford Coppola Godfather movie.” The "story of the week" Ms Bartiromo was referring to was a WhatsApp message in which Hunter Biden dropped his father's name to pressure a Chinese business associate to pay him. The message was reported after Hunter Biden accepted a plea deal from federal prosecutors over a misdemeanour tax charge and a felony gun charges. Bartiromo suggested the news out of Russia that the notorious Wagner Group, a mercenary organisation the carries out military operations for Russia, was revolting against its benefactors was a distraction handed to the media from Joe Biden. “The White House wanted to give the media something else to cover, and this is the MO. This is exactly the way they do things,” she said. She claims she predicted that the White House would try to cover up the WhatsApp message with a different story. "On Friday I said ‘Wow, what a blockbuster WhatsApp message. I’m sure there will be an enormous story over the weekend that the White House is gonna be pushing to take this story off the front page.’ And sure enough, we’ve got the State Department drumming up the drama that took place over the weekend in Russia," she said. "So I don’t know if it’s going to break through. The mainstream media has an excuse again not to cover it. They’re covering everything about Russia and the Wagner Group as if it really matters to the US right now." But even Bartiromo's network was covering the dramatic in-fighting in Russia, albeit with its own tinge of conspiracy theory. The day before, a Fox & Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy claimed that the US might be pulling the strings behind the Wagner Group's short-lived uprising. Despite her insistence that the Wagner Group's actions would be of little import to Americans, she led her Sunday Morning Futures show with an interview featuring Congressman Michael McCaul about the mercenary outfit. Read More Fox News choose Jesse Watters to replace Tucker Carlson in primetime shakeup Trump hits out at Fox News’s Bret Baier after incriminating interview: ‘It was nasty, unfriendly, no smiling’ Trump fumes about ‘illegally leaked’ CNN tape of him boasting about classified documents The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Croatia is on the verge of qualifying for next year’s European Championship after beating Latvia 2-0 on Saturday as its closest rival Wales dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Armenia

Bethany England says she stayed longer than she should have at Chelsea feeling “wasted” as the striker looks to take her fine form for Tottenham into the World Cup. After an impressive 2019-20 campaign with the Blues which saw her named PFA player of the year, the 29-year-old subsequently found herself in and out of their starting line-up, and was part of it only twice in the first half of the 2022-23 Women’s Super League season. She subsequently made a January move to Tottenham, went on to score 12 goals in as many league starts and earned an England recall – her first involvement since last September – when boss Sarina Wiegman named her squad in May for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. England said: “They (Chelsea) brought Sam Kerr in halfway through the (2019-20) season and I built up a great relationship playing with Sam, and then obviously it didn’t transpire to the next season where we didn’t play with a front two. “Emma (Hayes, the Chelsea manager) opted for singular number nine, which made my chances much more difficult based off Sam being who she is – and she is a prolific goalscorer. “So it was hard to kind of fight my way back in from that point and I think I probably overstayed maybe a year, a year-and-a-half too long, where I felt like I was just wasted there, and I wasn’t being used enough. “It was a very difficult time, but I think I built up a lot of resilience from that and was able to take that into other scenarios in football.” I think I probably overstayed maybe a year, a year-and-a-half too long, where I felt like I was just wasted there, and I wasn’t being used enough. Bethany England on Chelsea England, who joined Chelsea in 2016 and scored a total of 74 goals for them, added: “I think there was ultimately lots of reasons why I left, the World Cup being one of them. “I think the move has paid off for me and, as you would say, (it has been) vindicated. Ultimately, I think if I had stayed where I was, sat on the bench, I would never be here today.” England’s wait for an international recall initially went on after the January transfer despite her hitting goals for Spurs from the off, and she said: “I didn’t get selected for the (February) Arnold Clark Cup, and then I went and scored against Manchester United (running with the ball) from the halfway line. “I think that was my ‘have some of that’ type thing. It was more like: ‘Look, I know I am good enough’. “But equally, I had to balance not focusing too much on what was going on (with England), because ultimately if I didn’t do the job at club level, I wouldn’t have been here.” Having continued to flourish with Tottenham, England, who was a member of Wiegman’s Euro 2022-winning squad as an unused substitute, is now among three main number nine options in the World Cup 23, along with Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly. “I want to help the team and put the ball in the net, however they may go in,” said England, who has scored 11 goals in 21 international appearances. “The biggest thing I would say is leading into the World Cup Sarina has been able to see me more, playing regularly, scoring goals. “I am hoping, as a collective, everyone can see what qualities I can bring. They know I can bring that to this team and hopefully I am put in a position where I can help showcase that. “I think me and Alessia are very different players. I would say I am more similar with Rachel. I think we are all great in our own way and whatever tactics suit the game at that time is going to showcase that. “It’s a tough decision because we have all got different qualities, but whoever Sarina chooses to go for is her preference.” England open their campaign by playing Haiti in Brisbane on Saturday. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ICEC: Recommendations ‘too important to be put on back burner for lack of money’ FIFA criticised for lack of pro LGBTQ+ stance in new ‘Unite’ armbands England blind footballer targeting Paris 2024 alongside educational ambitions

Niantic, developer of augmented reality games such as Ingress and Pokemon GO, are expanding their reach and creating a new game for basketball fans. NBA All-World is a new AR game for casual and hardcore NBA fans alike.

Bella Thorne showed off her incredible figure as she rang in her 26th birthday

Colorado’s double-overtime victory against Colorado State, which ended in the early hours of Sunday morning in most of the country, drew 9.3 million viewers

Sir Elton John thinks the metaverse is "perfect" for the next stage of his career after teaming up with Roblox for a 10-minute virtual experience.

Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd. is close to paying A$730 million ($494 million) to its private equity owner

Americans increased their spending modestly last month as inflation eased in many areas and the job market remains remarkably strong

The Spanish women’s team have released a joint statement on Friday saying they will not play until the federation leadership is changed, mere hours after president of the Spanish FA, Luis Rubiales, comfirmed his intention to remain at the head of Spain’s football federation. Rubiales has faced increasingly fierce criticism after he grabbed fooballber Jenni Hermoso by the head and kissed on her lips during the Women’s World Cup final trophy presentation on Sunday. Video later emerged of Rubiales grabbing his crotch in celebration in close proximity to the Queen of Spain and her 16-year-old daughter. Speaking to media on Friday morning Rubiales doubled down on his position saying that he would fight to clear his name in court if necessary and refused to resign. The statement published by players’ union Futpro included Hermoso’s rebuttal of Rubiales’ earlier assertion that the kiss was consensual. “I want to clarify that, as was seen in the images, at no time did I consent to the kiss he gave me,” Hermoso said. “I do not tolerate my word being questioned and much less the invention of words I have not said.” Hermoso and her teammates called for “real change to help the national team to keep growing, to be able to bring this great success to the generations to come”. The joint statement, signed by 56 players including all 23 from the World Cup winning squad, says that the World Cup champions will not return to play for Spain while “the current management” remains at the Rfef. It read: “As a result of the events that occurred this morning and given the perplexity of the speech delivered by the president…the players of the senior team, recent world champions, in support of Jennifer Hermoso, want to express their firm and resounding condemnation of conduct that has violated the dignity of women, “In view of the statements made by the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Jennifer Hermoso wants to flatly deny that she consented to the kiss that Luis Rubiales gave her in the World Cup final. “After everything that happened during the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony, we want to state that all the players who sign this letter will not return to a call for the national team if the current leaders continue.” Elsewhere, Spain’s government has started the legal proceedings seeking to suspend the soccer federation chief with Victor Francos, head of the state-run National Sports Council telling a news conference: “The government starts today the procedure so that Mr Rubiales has to give explanations before the Sport Court and if the Sport Court agrees, I can announce that we will suspend Mr Rubiales from his functions.” The secretary of sport also added that he hoped this incident would become “Spanish football’s Me Too moment”. Spain’s acting labour minister Yolanda Diaz said: “What we have seen today in the Federation Assembly is unacceptable. The Government must act and take urgent measures. Impunity for macho actions is over. Rubiales cannot continue in office.” Fifa also opened its own investigation on Thursday and released this statement: “The events may constitute violations of article 13 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code. The Fifa disciplinary committee will only provide further information on these disciplinary proceedings once it has issued a final decision on the matter. Fifa reiterates its unwavering commitment to respecting the integrity of all individuals and strongly condemns any behaviour to the contrary.” The sections of the disciplinary code referenced in the Fifa statement cover “offensive behaviour and violations of the principles of fair play”. Read More It’s tragic this World Cup will only be remembered for one thing Spanish government starts legal proceedings to sack Luis Rubiales Spain striker boycotts national team in protest against FA president Luis Rubiales Jenni Hermoso slams Spanish football federation after Luis Rubiales incident Spain’s world champions refuse to play while Luis Rubiales is RFEF president Spain’s women’s football committee president resigns over Luis Rubiales controversy