News from October 24, 2025

CNN host Christiane Amanpour battling cancer again and urges people to ‘listen to their bodies’

CNN’s chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour has revealed she is again battling ovarian cancer, four years after announcing her initial diagnosis. The 67-year-old British-Iranian journalist shared the news during an appearance on the “Changing the Ovarian Cancer Story” podcast this week. “I have it again, but it’s being very well-managed,” Amanpour said, urging greater public understanding of how some cancers can recur and be treated effectively. “I did reveal [it] publicly in 2021 because I was off the air for four weeks and people started to ask questions about where I am, have I been fired, am I alive, dead, whatever,” she said. “I decided to say something because I actually wanted to do a service, not just to my viewers, but also to those who might be in a similar situation. I wanted to say what had happened to me and to listen to your body, because part of the reason I got such quick care was because I listened to my body and went straight to the doctors,” Amanpour told host Hannah Vaughan Jones. She described how she sought an initial diagnosis after noticing a pain in her side, “which wasn’t anything I was familiar with”, and then found “it really did hurt when I went to the loo”. After visiting the her doctor several times, she eventually got an ultrasound scan, which revealed the cancer. Dr Angela George, a consultant medical oncologist in gynaecology at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, is working on Amanpour’s treatment plan and also appeared on the podcast. She said: “Most women, by the time they get a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, will have often been going back and forth to the GP for sometimes a year or so with abdominal symptoms. It often gets misdiagnosed as reflux or indigestion, urinary tract infections, irritable bowel syndrome, so it’s really common for women to have that kind of experience of going back and forth until they finally get a test. “Many women may have had the cancer for three or four years before it finally gets diagnosed.” The announcement on the podcast has prompted an outpouring of support and well wishes for Amanpour as she continues treatment. “Christiane, I am also rooting for you. You are such an inspiration to everyone. Thanks for sharing your story,” one person wrote on X. “Thank you for sharing your journey,” wrote another. “It's incredibly important to advocate for ourselves and stay attuned to our bodies, especially when navigating complex health challenges like ovarian cancer.”

Next-gen Xbox console will focus on "connecting all your devices in one place," Phil Spencer teases, with the handheld ROG Xbox Ally a sign of things to come

Microsoft executive vice president of gaming (or Xbox boss, as he's otherwise known) Phil Spencer has hinted at what we can expect from future Xbox hardware, and the recently released handheld ROG Xbox Ally X is probably our biggest clue. Speaking to Famitsu, with quotes translated via DeepL, Spencer made clear that while the ROG Xbox Ally has the company's brand slapped on top of it, it's not fully considered Xbox's "next console." For that, we'll need to wait for the Xbox hardware made and designed by Xbox itself. The Microsoft Gaming boss then went on to explain how, even though the ROG Xbox Ally isn't the company's next proper console, its melting pot approach to cloud gaming, console gaming and the PC experience is indicative of where official Xbox hardware will go from here on out. "This product suggests how the Xbox software platform will evolve in the future, connecting all your devices in one place," he adds, per translations from Twitter user Genki. You can already see some of that thinking with Xbox's growing Play Anywhere initiative, which lets you buy a game on console and then play it via PC or the handheld, and vice versa. Xbox president Sarah Bond recently said the next-gen console is "gonna be a very premium, very high-end, curated experience," and also hinted that we can "see some of the thinking that we have" in the ROG Xbox Ally, which retails for $599 and $999 for the more powerful version. All of this points to an upcoming console that is A) probably gonna puncture your wallet, and B) might look like the company's attempt at a PC hybrid experience. On the surface, that sounds like a good idea to differentiate what Xbox offers from PlayStation and Nintendo – on the other hand, I can't imagine an ultra-expensive device with no exclusive games appeals to enough people, especially with those recent Game Pass price hikes. Time will tell, I guess.

Man confesses to cold case murder: "A serial killer who's only killed once"

When Stephan Smerk called Fairfax County Police Detective Melissa Wallace on Sept.7, 2023, she was shocked to hear what he had to say."He says, I'm at the police department to turn myself in," Wallace told "48 Hours" correspondent Anne-Marie Green, in "Closing the Cold Case of Robin Lawrence," airing Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+. "And I said, turn yourself in for what?" Smerk, a married 52-year-old father of two living in Niskayuna, New York, was calling to confess to the 30-year-old cold case murder of Robin Warr Lawrence. "A million things start going through my mind," Wallace said. "The adrenaline was pumping so hard because the reality hit … of what this means and that we're getting ready to close this case."Robin Warr Lawrence, an artist and mother, was brutally murdered in her home in Springfield, Virginia, in 1994. For two days, her daughter Nicole, just 2 years old at the time, roamed the house alone before her mother's body was discovered. And for three decades after that, detectives tried to figure out who could have done this to Robin. "Who would do such a thing? Why?" said Mary Warr Cowans, Robin's sister. "I remember thinking at the funeral, Robin's killer could be in this room with us. We didn't know."It took decades, but eventually the family would get their answers. DNA evidence — in the form of blood left on a washcloth — had been found at the crime scene back in 1994, and at the time it had turned up no matches when investigators ran it through CODIS — the FBI's national database. Years went by and new techniques were developed, including a process called genetic genealogy.In genetic genealogy, a suspect's DNA is used to find their relatives. Then investigators research those relatives' family trees until a potential person of interest is found — someone who would have been the right age and in the right place at the right time to commit the crime. Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company that often works with law enforcement, did not have high hopes for solving Robin's case using this technique because the database matches were very distant."Parabon gave us a solvability rate of zero on the case," said Wallace.Fairfax County Police Department volunteer Liz, who asked that her last name not be used, thought she'd take a crack at it anyway. The process proved difficult. "I was ready to give up a number of times," Liz told "48 Hours." "But I kept thinking, well, I'll just finish this or just do this one more thing."After three years of doing just one more thing, Liz came up with a possible suspect. He'd lived in Virginia in 1994 and would have been around the right age to commit the murder. His name was Stephan Smerk."I wasn't very hopeful at the time," Wallace said. "I was just looking at this guy's background. I'm thinking, there is no way."Smerk had a completely clean record, without so much as a speeding ticket. He worked as a computer programmer in suburban Niskayuna.Though they had their doubts, Detectives Melissa Wallace and Jon Long took the trip up to Niskayuna to talk to Smerk. Their goal was to get his DNA, to see if he was related to the person who had left their DNA at the crime scene – or if he was that person."He comes to the door right away," Wallace said. "All we said is we are detectives from Fairfax County, Virginia, and we're looking into a cold case from the 90s."Smerk, detectives say, had no reaction. "Stone-faced," said Long. Smerk gave his DNA willingly, and Wallace and Long went back to their hotel. Then Wallace got that call. "I was freaking out," Wallace said. "I run down to [Long's] room, while I'm still on the phone, and I'm banging on his door, and he comes to the door, like, what is the problem? I'm like, we got to go to the police department." When they met Smerk at the Niskayuna Police Department, officers had taken him into custody and he was ready to talk. Wallace and Long sat him down in an interrogation room, and without much prompting, Smerk confessed to the murder of Robin Warr Lawrence. He had gone to Robin's home that night in 1994, he told them, for no other reason than wanting to kill someone."I knew that I was going kill somebody," Smerk told the detectives. "I did not know who I was going to kill." At the time, Smerk was in the military and posted at a base nearby and was familiar with Robin Warr Lawrence's neighborhood because a friend had stayed there. He said he had no idea who lived in Robin's house. "There could have been 50 people in that house. I don't know. They could have all had guns and shot me dead. I wasn't even thinking about that." All Smerk was thinking about, he told detectives, was killing. He said he had compulsions that he couldn't control."I honestly believe that if it wasn't for my wife and my kids, I probably would be a serial killer," Smerk said. "I am a serial killer who's only killed once.""It's such a shocking statement," Wallace told "48 Hours." "It makes no sense. You know, if you're a serial killer, you don't kill once. But, on the other hand, he was very candid and open and honest throughout the rest of the interview. So, it could be true that he has only killed one person."Is it possible for someone with the impulses of a serial killer to kill just once? Former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O'Toole says it can happen."We have learned over the years with cases like BTK and the Golden State Killer and other cases where they do stop," she explained. "The compulsions don't go away … they tell us that they rechannel it. They put it into a different activity. So that activity can be something that is less than murder, but it could involve, for example, Peeping Tom behavior, autoerotic behavior … but you don't just cut those urges off. Something has to replace them." Smerk had zero incidents on his record. O'Toole says it's possible he never committed another crime, but she doubts the ideas in his head went away. She said she'd like to know more about his ideation in order to determine whether he could be a threat in the future."That ideation that really led to the murder in the first place, that would be troubling to me until I knew a lot more about that. What triggered it? What are you doing with it now? Don't tell me it's never there. Don't tell me that it just went out the window after you committed that murder." In his interview, Smerk expressed no remorse for what he had done. When asked if he had anything he'd like to tell Robin's family, he replied, "How do I say this? I know you're recording … I don't feel anything for the family. …I feel bad that I did it because I knew someday my personal freedom would be affected."Smerk pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2037, when he is 65. Robin's family said they are glad to have closure as long as Smerk spends the rest of his life behind bars, but the consequences of his actions will never leave them."It helped to know that a person was found and being held responsible," Warr Cowans said in her statement to the judge at Smerk's sentencing, "but it didn't help to know what he did to [Robin] and how she suffered … it doesn't help and it doesn't bring her back. She would have been in our lives for the past thirty years. But that was taken from us."She told "48 Hours" that for a long time she lived in fear, not knowing who had committed this horrible crime."I actually felt afraid at home, in my bed," she said. "Thinking about someone just from out of the blue could show up from anywhere and kill you in your house ... That's just a scary thought that you're not safe anywhere.""It's scary," echoed Long. "From a community perspective, that's like your worst nightmare. Like, that's the reason why you tell like your loved ones to make sure that your doors are locked at night. He is the boogeyman."

What Makes Shaquille O’Neal’s $180K Range Rover Special? Custom Modifications, Model, and Luxury Features

Shaquille O’Neal is famous for many things. 7-foot-1 domination, a laugh that fills arenas, and a car collection that many envy. So when a bespoke $180K Range Rover, built to adapt his frame and comfort his legend, vanished during transit, it didn’t feel like ordinary theft.  The vehicle left a customization shop, boarded a carrier, […]The post What Makes Shaquille O’Neal’s $180K Range Rover Special? Custom Modifications, Model, and Luxury Features appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease explained as Nashville 9-1-1 star dies aged 23

Nashville 9-1-1 star Isabelle Tate has died at the age of 23, her agency has confirmed. The actress, who wanted to 'change the world,' died on Sunday, October 19, from a 'rare form' of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Her talent agent, The McCray Agency, shared their 'complete heartbreak' over her death in an Instagram post. The agency stated: "I’ve known Izzy since she was a teenager, and she recently returned to acting. "She booked the first series she auditioned for, 9-1-1 Nashville. She had a wonderful time." Tate played a bachelorette party guest involved in an accident in the ABC show's pilot episode, which aired on October 9. Also a Middle Tennessee State University graduate in business, she 'never once' made excuses for her disability, an obituary shared by her family read. The tribute went on to describe Tate as 'full of fire' and 'a fighter,' adding: "Isabelle loved volunteering her time to all things, particularly animals - her idea of a fun outing was visiting an animal shelter and doling out lots of love." "She was also quite musically inclined, often spending hours writing and recording songs with friends and even publishing a few," it continued. "What she loved the most, though, was spending time with family and friends, always the life of the party. "Her sister was her best friend and her mom was her shining beacon of light." What is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease? According to the Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association (CMTA), CMT is a group of 'multisystem, multiorgan diseases' caused by mutations in more than 130 genes. It impacts the peripheral nerves that connect the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body, responsible for movement, sensation, hearing and organ function. Symptoms can include weakness and the wasting away of muscles in the arms and legs; spinal deformities; hip dysplasia; hearing loss; and breathing difficulties. It could also manifest as chronic pain, muscle weakness, difficulty walking, balance problems or numbness. Symptoms are lifelong and get progressively worse. More than three million people are affected by CMT worldwide. The disease is named after the three doctors who first identified the disease in 1886, Jean-Martin Charcot, Pierre Marie and Howard Henry Tooth. Isabelle Tate's experience with CMT In a 2022 Instagram post, Tate opened up about her experience with CMT since being diagnosed at just 13-years-old. CMT impacted her leg muscles, and over the years, she noticed 'little things' would get more difficult. But in 2022, the disease progressed to the point of her needing to use a wheelchair. She said having to 'accept and surrender' to the condition's progression 'has been extremely hard.' "I don’t know why these were the cards I was dealt in life, but I can’t change it, so I’m choosing to embrace it and not let it define me," she added. "This has really changed my perspective on life, and if I’ve learnt anything from this, it’s to appreciate the little things that are easily taken for granted." In lieu of flowers, Tate's family has requested donations in her name at the CMTA.

Benn names world champion who is ‘highly likely’ to be next after Eubank Jr rematch

Conor Benn already knows who he wants to fight after next month’s rematch with Chris Eubank Jr

Allen Iverson Wants Cooper Flagg To Remember Two Things After NBA Debut Fails

Before today we were sure there was one ROTY to be crowned in 2026. Kind of like how everyone was sure about Victor Wembanyama in 2024. Now the ROTY race is split with 76ers’ VJ Edgecombe. Those who were sure Cooper Flagg was the second coming of the Chosen One are thinking, ‘hmm, maybe next […]The post Allen Iverson Wants Cooper Flagg To Remember Two Things After NBA Debut Fails appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Rita Chidinma: How Do Arguments Start Between Couples?

It started with toothpaste. Or maybe the laundry. By now, neither of them could remember. Tunde slammed the wardrobe door shut, muttering something under his breath. Amaka turned from the mirror, eyes narrowing. “So because I said you left the toothpaste open, you’ll now act like I insulted your ancestors?” He shot back, “It’s not what you said. It’s how you said it.” “Ah, here we go again,” she exhaled. The air thickened. They both went quiet. They’d promised themselves it wouldn’t get this far again, yet somehow, it always did. At first, their friends thought they were just being dramatic. Every couple fights, right? But if you listened closely, you’d realise it wasn’t about toothpaste, or socks, or who forgot to take the trash out. They always seemed to be fighting over different things, but the arguments were always the same. Slowly, they started withdrawing from each other. Tunde had grown up in a house where volume meant survival. If you wanted to be heard, you had to speak louder than everyone else. For him, raising his voice wasn’t disrespect; it was proof he cared or mattered. But it was different for Amaka. She grew up in a home where arguments were hurricanes. So every time Tunde got loud, her body went into defence mode. She would retreat, cross her arms, and emotionally check out. And when she did, Tunde felt ignored and unwanted, the same way he’d felt as a boy when no one listened. They didn’t know it yet, but they were dancing to music they didn’t compose, a rhythm they learned long before they met each other. That’s the thing about marriage: it’s the mirror that shows you the patterns you didn’t know you had. You don’t notice them until someone presses the same old button in a brand-new way. Most couples think they’re arguing about who’s right or wrong. But underneath, they’re reacting to what feels familiar. The tone, the silence, the defensiveness, all echo from the past. Old emotions wearing new costumes. That’s why the fights sound the same. Different day. Same script. Same ending. Amaka once told a friend, half-jokingly, “We need subtitles when we fight. He’s arguing about one thing, and I’m arguing about another.” But she was right. He was arguing to be heard. She was arguing to feel safe. Both valid needs, just lost in translation. If you find yourself in a similar situation to Tunde and Amaka, healing starts the moment one person notices the loop. When someone says, “Wait, we’ve been here before. Let’s pause.” That pause can save hours of pain. It doesn’t fix everything overnight, but it slows the pattern long enough to rewrite it. Because love isn’t proven by who wins the argument, it’s proven by who dares to respond differently when everything in them wants to react the same way. Maybe your own “toothpaste fight” isn’t really about toothpaste either. Maybe it’s about an unhealed memory showing up in a familiar scene, waiting to be noticed, understood, and finally healed. Patterns don’t break on their own. They break when love becomes patient enough to stop rehearsing the wound and start creating a new rhythm. Every marriage tells a story. But the healthiest ones are written by two people willing to edit the parts that no longer serve them. Featured Image by Diva Plavalaguna for Pexels.

Russia's central bank trims interest rate to 16.5% as economy slows

Russia's central bank trims interest rate to 16.5% as economy slows

Career resilience: Do you have it and how is it developed?

Not everyone who experiences difficult times in the workplace has career resilience, but never fear, there are ways to fix that.Read more: Career resilience: Do you have it and how is it developed?

Plexus Corp. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation

Plexus Corp. 2025 Q4 - Results - Earnings Call Presentation

Istanbul's porters keep centuries-old trade moving

Istanbul's porters keep centuries-old trade moving

Salem receives additional tourism grants to boost visitor attraction

The City of Salem recently received additional grants from the Virginia Tourism Corporation, all aimed at attracting moreThe post Salem receives additional tourism grants to boost visitor attraction first appeared on News/Talk 960-AM & FM-107.3 WFIR.

Aaron Rodgers at home with Steelers, at peace with Packers

There's a fire still burning inside the QB who's happy in Pittsburgh but respectful of his time in Green Bay.

European indexes flat as investors read economic indicators

European indexes flat as investors read economic indicators

Third man charged with murder of Anthony Callender

Kadeem Obrian Clarke is now on remand at Dodds Prison after appearing in the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on a murder charge.   The 26-year-old general worker of…The post Third man charged with murder of Anthony Callender appeared first on Barbados Today.

Chief Elections Officer voter confirmation numbers: ‘So far, so good”

Internal Competition in OSU Locker Room as Jeremiah Smith’s Strong Decision Challenged by Teammate

Talking about the pressure of college football programs? For Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s 10x more. After all, they carry the burden of defending national champions. But there is no reason to fear when the rivals and your roster constantly challenge each other. Day and Buckeyes are running with a 7-0 clean sheet. Their […]The post Internal Competition in OSU Locker Room as Jeremiah Smith’s Strong Decision Challenged by Teammate appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Pittsburg Unified sees progress in student test scores

A new assessment showed that students in the district who met or exceeded standards in English rose by 4.6%, math by 1.5%, and science by 2.9% when compared to 2024.

A’ja Wilson’s Dad Sends Emotional Message to Aces’ Star After USC Honor

She already has a statue standing tall outside the arena, her jersey hanging proudly in the rafters, and the undisputed title of the best player in the world. You’d think there’s not much left that could truly move her. But this one hit differently. This week, A’ja Wilson was inducted into the University of South […]The post A’ja Wilson’s Dad Sends Emotional Message to Aces’ Star After USC Honor appeared first on EssentiallySports.