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The 2024 Republican presidential race is playing out in close quarters Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, as former President Donald Trump and his top-polling rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, join the crowd of thousands of potential caucus-goers.

Waterloo Road star Adam Thomas has announced he has rheumatoid arthritis ahead of his Strictly Come Dancing debut next month. In an Instagram post shared on 11 August, the actor, 35, told his followers that he initially thought that the condition was something people were diagnosed with “later on in life”. “As much as I act like a kid, my body is telling another story…” he wrote. “I thought that was something people, later on in their life get… but that’s not the case, clearly!” “I’ve been in a lot of pain since January,” he continued. “It started with my knees and then travelled to my wrists, fingers and now ankles and toes.” Thomas explained: “I never knew what was happening and finally after several blood tests and back and forth to doctors and hospitals, I’ve been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis!” The actor, who is competing in this year’s instalment of Strictly Come Dancing but has said that he is “up for the challenge”. “It really couldn’t have come at a better time I’m a firm believer of everything happening for a reason, and I know the journey I’ve been on was meant to happen, to never take small things in life for granted!” he assured fans. “…Like going for a run, playing with my kids and just being able to walk with no pain!” “I know it’s going to be tough and I’ve definitely got my work cut out but am up for the challenge and can not wait to get on that dance floor!!” What is rheumatoid arthritis? Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease and long-term condition that typically affects the hands, feet and wrists. Benjamin Ellis, a Consultant Rheumatologist and Senior Clinical Policy Advisor to Versus Arthritis (the UK’s largest arthritis charity), told The Independent: “Rheumatoid arthritis affects people of all ages, and happens when the immune system – the body’s natural defence system – goes out of balance and attacks the joints making them inflamed, swollen and painful.” Some people with rheumatoid arthritis also experience problems in other parts of the body, or more general symptoms such as tiredness and weight loss. According to the NHS, the condition often starts when a person is between 30 and 50, and women are more likely to be affected than men. What causes rheumatoid arthritis? The NHS states that it is not clear what triggers this problem with the immune system, but women, people who smoke, and people who have a family history of rheumatoid arthritis are at increased risk. Depending on how much pain a person experiences, their daily tasks can become difficult and take longer to do. Is there a cure for rheumatoid arthritis? There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis but an early diagnosis and treatment allows people with the condition to have long periods between flare-ups. The NHS states that the main treatment options include taking medicine to relieve symptoms, supportive treatments like physiotherapy and surgery to correct any joint problems. Ellis told The Independent that early treatment can reduce the risk of long-term joint damage. “Urgent and intensive treatments to rebalance the immune system improve symptoms and reduce the risk of long-term, disabling joint damage caused by this inflammation, but NHS delays mean that not everyone is getting the treatment they need, as quickly as they need it,” said Ellis. “Keeping moving is great for the joints, whatever type of arthritis you have. The best thing is to pick something you enjoy, and listen to your body to do the right amount that works for you, whether that’s walking, yoga, swimming or dancing.” What are the complications of rheumatoid arthritis? Having rheumatoid arthritis can sometimes lead to other conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome or inflammation of other areas of the body, causing additional symptoms. The NHS states that some complications can be more serious, like an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. But it advises that managing the condition early on can help to reduce the risk of complications. You can find out more about living with Rheumatoid arthritis on the NHS website here. For further support and information about arthritis, visit www.versusarthritis.org or call the free Versus Arthritis helpline on 0800 5200 520 . Read More Adam Thomas diagnosed with long-term health condition ahead of Strictly Come Dancing Husband ‘ruins’ dinner because of his wife’s typo: ‘The worst kind of control freak’ Fan who went into labour at Pink concert names newborn son after her Adam Thomas diagnosed with long-term health condition ahead of Strictly Come Dancing From Angela Scanlon to Zara McDermott: The fashion of this year’s Strictly contestants Linda Evangelista opens up about co-parenting with son’s stepmother Salma Hayek

Actor Adam Thomas has revealed he has been diagnosed with a long-term health condition just days after being announced as the eighth celebrity contestant who will compete in the forthcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing. Sharing a post to Instagram on Friday (11 August) to celebrate his 35 birthday, the Waterloo Road actor told his followers that he has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. “As much as I act like a kid, my body is telling another story…” he wrote. “I’ve been in a lot of pain since January,” he continued. “It started with my knees and then travelled to my wrists, fingers and now ankles and toes.” Thomas explained: “I never knew what was happening and finally after several blood tests and back and forth to doctors and hospitals, I’ve been diagnosed with rheumatoid Arthritis!” The actor, who is best known for playing Donte Charles in BBC school-based drama, said that he originally thought arthritis was something that people are diagnosed with “later on in life”. Last week, Thomas was announced as the eighth celebrity contestant to appear on Strictly Come Dancing, but has said that he is “up for the challenge”. “The reason I signed up to Strictly is because I just want to be able to move again, get fit and do it, all with a smile on my face!” he wrote. “It really couldn’t have come at a better time I’m a firm believer of everything happening for a reason, and I know the journey I’ve been on was meant to happen, to never take small things in life for granted! …Like going for a run, playing with my kids and just being able to walk with no pain!” “I know it’s going to be tough and I’ve definitely got my work cut out but am up for the challenge and can not wait to get on that dance floor!!” Thomas, who marked his birthday by sharing a picture with his wife, Caroline Daly and their two children, told his followers to “stay positive” and “get the right help where and when you can”. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease and long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. The condition usually affects the hands, feet and wrists and can cause flare-up periods, where symptoms become worse for a period of time. According to the NHS, the condition often stars when a person is between 30 and 50 years old, and women are more likely to be affected than men. Thomas played Adam Barton in ITV soap Emmerdale and also appeared in I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here in 2016, and went on to co-host the spin-off I’m a Celebrity: Extra Camp. Speaking in a statement ahead of his Strictly debut, Thomas said he has been a fan of the dance competition “for years”. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing it!” he said. “I can’t dance to save my life but I’m buzzing to learn and have a good laugh with my pro. Get me on that dance floor... I can’t wait!" Former Strictly contestants have been sharing their words of encouragement for Thomas as he embarks on the challenging training schedule. “You’re so strong and with your family behind you, you can conquer anything. Can’t wait to see you smash it on Strictly ,” wrote singer and presenter Fleur East, who competed in last year’s competition. TV presenter Angela Scanlon, who will be competing alongside Thomas this year, wrote: “You’ve got this.” Find the full Strictly Come Dancing 2023 lineup here. Read More Husband ‘ruins’ dinner because of his wife’s typo: ‘The worst kind of control freak’ Fan who went into labour at Pink concert names newborn son after her From Angela Scanlon to Zara McDermott: The fashion of this year’s Strictly contestants Linda Evangelista opens up about co-parenting with son’s stepmother Salma Hayek Katharine McPhee reveals she and David Foster suffered a ‘family tragedy’

The structure is made from 1,500 cardboard boxes and rises more than 45ft (14m) into the sky.

After agreeing to a €100m fee with Tottenham Hotspur, here's how Harry Kane's transfer ranks among Bayern Munich's most expensive signings of all time.

Kourtney Kardashian has slammed and branded "insensitive" to Hawaii fire victims for an Instagram remark. The reality star posted a series of snaps of her recent holiday with her husband, Travis Barker, proudly showing off her baby bump. The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star showed off beach pictures and balcony views of the sea. She captioned her social media post: "The ocean calms the fire in me." Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Fans have slammed the 44-year-old – who is pregnant with her fourth child – with the post coming just hours after wildfires broke out in nearby Hawaii. So far the death toll has hit 53 with 1,000 missing as locals evacuate the fire-torn island. President, Joe Biden has declared a "major disaster declaration." One fan said: "Maybe not the best time to say 'the ocean calms the fire.' “When people in Hawaii were forced into the ocean because of a fire." Natasa Hall said: "Gross caption." Another Instagram follower added: "Terrible timing for a terrible caption." Tiana Olson said: "Except when you're forced to jump into the ocean. “Because you and your car have been engulfed in flames as you try to escape the fire that's burning down your home. "I know you're just a celebrity and you won't even respond to this. “But my entire town just burnt to the ground, and it's like the people who have the ability to help just pretend not to know what's going on." Someone else added: "So insensitive to the people on Maui." Another follower said: "That’s a really inappropriate caption.” Laurie Somers added: "I wonder if you all have thought about the people of Maui? “You seem very insensitive. "Do we really care about your baby bump when the people of Maui are suffering? Really?" 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.

Geoff Butler jumped into his truck in the dark hours of July 11 as heavy rain battered the rural Vermont town of Johnson.

A bedrock federal law designed to protect the environment and empower local communities is being weaponized to block progress on climate change, infrastructure and housing.

The Pochaina neighborhood in the Ukrainian capital comes alive every weekend as hundreds of people flock to its famous flea market, looking for finds

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is playing a central role in the opening stages of the 2024 Republican presidential contest, with candidates eager to bask in her glow in hopes of elevating their own campaigns. She's pledging her neutrality in the race -- for now, at least.

On a balmy July weekend, a sea of purple and blue tents stretched across a field in Belgium,

After nearly three weeks of appealing to the United States and other allies for help restoring Niger’s president to power, friends and supporters of the democratically elected leader are making a simpler plea: Save his life. President Mohamed Bazoum, leader of the last remaining Western-allied democracy across a vast stretch of Africa’s Sahara and Sahel, sits confined with his family in an unlit basement of his presidential compound, cut off from resupplies of food and from electricity and cooking gas by the junta that overthrew him, Niger's ambassador to the United States told The Associated Press. “They are killing him,” said the ambassador, Mamadou Kiari Liman-Tinguiri, a close associate who maintains daily calls with the detained leader. The two have been colleagues for three decades, since the now 63-year-old president was a young philosophy instructor, a teacher’s union leader, and a democracy advocate noted for his eloquence. “The plan of the head of the junta is to starve him to death," Liman-Tinguiri told the AP in one of his first interviews since mutinous troops allegedly cut off food deliveries to the president, his wife and his 20-year-old son almost a week ago. “This is inhuman, and the world should not tolerate that,” the ambassador said. “It cannot be tolerated in 2023.” Bazoum sits in the dark basement, the ambassador said. He answers the phone when a call comes in that he knows to be his friend or someone else he wants to speak to. The beleaguered president and his ambassador, whom junta members have declared out of a job, talk one or more times a day. Bazoum has not been seen out in public since July 26, when military vehicles blocked the gates to the presidential palace and security forces announced they were taking power. It is not possible to independently determine the president's circumstances. The United States, United Nations and others have expressed repeated concern for what they called Bazoum's deteriorating conditions in detention, and warned the junta they would hold it responsible for the well-being of Bazoum and his family. Separately, Human Rights Watch said Friday it had spoken directly to the detained president and to others in his circle, and received some similar accounts of mistreatment. However, an activist who supports Niger's new military rulers in its communications said the reports of the president's dire state were false. Insa Garba Saidou said he was in contact with some junta members but did not say how he had knowledge of the president's lot. “Bazoum was lucky he was not taken anywhere,” Saidou said. “He was left in his palace with his phone. Those who did that don’t intend to hurt Bazoum.” Niger's military coup and the plight of its ousted leader have drawn global attention — but not because that kind of turmoil is unusual for West Africa. Niger alone has had about a half-dozen military takeovers since independence in 1960. Niger leaders have suffered in coups before, most notably when a military-installed leader was shot down in 1999 by the same presidential guard unit that instigated the current coup. Niger's return to reflexive armed takeovers by disgruntled troops is reverberating in the U.S. and internationally for two key reasons. One is because Bazoum came to power in a rare democratic presidential election in the Africa's unstable Sahara and Sahel, in the only peaceful, democratic transfer of power that Niger has managed. The United States alone has invested close to $1 billion in Niger in recent years to support its democracy and deliver aid, in addition to building national forces capable of holding off north and west Africa's al-Qaida- and Islamic State-allied armed groups. The U.S.-backed counterterror presence is the second key reason that Niger's coup is resonating. Americans have a 1,100-strong security presence and have built bases in Niger's capital and far north into its main outposts to counter West Africa's armed jihadist groups. The Biden administration has yet to call what has happened in Niger a coup, citing laws that would obligate the U.S. to cut many of its military partnerships with the country. Niger's region is dominated by military or military-aligned governments and a growing number of them have entered security partnerships with Russia's Wagner mercenary groups. The soldiers who ousted Bazoum have announced a ruling structure but said little publicly about their plans. U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with Niger's junta members in the capital this week but called them unreceptive to her demands to restore Niger's democracy. “They were quite firm about how they want to proceed, and it is not in support of the constitution of Niger,” Nuland told reporters after. The junta also told Nuland that Bazoum would die if the regional ECOWAS security bloc intervened militarily to restore democracy, U.S. officials told the AP. Late this week, the ambassador shrugged that threat off, saying the junta is already on track to kill Bazoum by trapping his family and him with little more than a shrinking supply of dried rice and no means to cook it. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken several times with the detained president and expressed concern for his and his family's safety. The U.S. says it has cut some aid to the government and paused military cooperation. Blinken has expressed broad support for ECOWAS, whose diplomatic efforts have been spurned by the Niger junta and which has warned of military force as a last resort. Blinken said in a statement Friday he was “particularly dismayed” that Niger's mutinous soldiers had refused to release Bazoum's family as a goodwill gesture. He gave no details. While the junta adviser Saidou denied that the junta threatened to kill Bazoum if ECOWAS invaded, he said Bazoum's death would be inevitable if that happened. “Even if the high officers of the junta won’t touch Bazoum, if one gun is shot at one of Niger’s borders in order to reinstate Bazoum, I’m sure that there will be soldiers who will put an end to his life," he said. Bazoum told Human Rights Watch that family members and friends who brought food were being turned away, and that the junta had refused treatment for his young son, who has a heart condition. Bazoum and his undetained allies want regional partners, the U.S. and others to intervene. With Bazoum vulnerable in captivity, neither he nor the ambassadors specify what they want the U.S. and other allies to do. Bazoum is a member of Niger's tiny minority of nomadic Arabs, in a country of varying cultures rich in tradition. Despite his political career, Bazoum has retained his people's devotion to livestock, keeping camels that he dotes on, Liman-Tinguiri said. For all his deprivations, the ambassador said, Bazoum remains in good spirits. “He is a man who is mentally very strong,” he said. “He’s a man of faith.” ___ Associated Press writer Sam Mednick contributed from Niamey, Niger. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Developers have Black families fighting to maintain property and history Rising political threats take US into uncharted territory as 2024 election looms A mudslide kills at least 2 in China while rain from Khanun cancels some trains in the northeast