Sharon Osbourne: 'I've Had Double Mastectomy'

Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she has had a double mastectomy as a precaution against further cancer.

The former X Factor judge, who had cancer of the colon a decade ago, made her choice after finding she carries a gene which increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

Meanwhile, singer Bernie Nolan has insisted that she is staying positive in her own fight against the disease and is planning to try a "revolutionary" new drug to try to beat it.

Nolan, who was told she was clear of breast cancer two years ago, recently discovered it has spread to her brain, lungs, liver and bones.

Doctors have told her it cannot be cured but it is treatable.

Both women have been talking about their hopes and fears to Hello! magazine.

Osbourne, the wife of Black Sabbath lead singer Ozzy, said: "As soon as I found out I had the breast cancer gene, I thought: 'The odds are not in my favour'."

The 60-year-old added: "I've had cancer before and I didn't want to live under that cloud. I decided to just take everything off, and had a double mastectomy."

Nolan pinning hopes on drug

She underwent a 13-hour operation but refuses to feel sorry for herself.

"For me, it wasn't a big decision. It was a no-brainer," she said. "I didn't want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me."

Prior to the treatment she also learned that her breast implants had leaked into her stomach wall, which has now put her off cosmetic surgery for good.

Nolan, 52, told Hello! she felt a weight had been lifted after she went public about her illness.

She said: "There's no point dwelling on it, I've got to fight it, be positive and get on with it. I say a positive mantra to myself every day."

She added: "There's a new drug coming out in January called T-DM1 and that's supposed to be a revolutionary."

Her husband of 16-years, Steve Doneathy, said: "I still get very angry. You do think 'why us?' But what can you get furious at? It's an anger that you don't know what to do with.

"I can have my own private thoughts when I'm alone and scared. Bernie is brilliant."

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Jail For Paedophile Who Kidnapped Young Boy

By David Crabtree, Midlands Correspondent

A predatory paedophile who kidnapped, tied up, sexually assaulted and threatened to kill a ten-year-old boy has been jailed indefinitely.

Michael Jackson, 50, who changed his name by deed poll from Albert English to that of the pop singer, also admitted abducting a girl of 11.

The boy had been on his way back from shops in the Oldbury area of the West Midlands in November last year when he vanished.

He was held captive at Jackson's ground floor flat for around three hours.

In that time the boy was tied up with tape and rope, gagged, thrust into a cupboard with a pillow case over his head and sexually assaulted.

Holding a knife Jackson told the boy: "It's time to die if you make a noise."

He also told the terrified youngster his father would be murdered and he would never see his mother again.

After bundling the boy into an airing cupboard Jackson went out to play computer games with friends to "build up an alibi".

The boy was later spotted at the window of Jackson's flat by a passer-by

The boy managed to free himself from some of the bindings and got out of the cupboard. He later told police that it was "scary, scary, scary".

He found a Stanley knife, pliers and a hammer in the flat and thought they were the tools he was going to be killed with. He armed himself with the hammer should Jackson come back.

A woman spotted the boy at the window of the flat and raised the alarm. Police were called and the youngster jumped from the window into the arms of a police officer. Jackson was arrested a short time later.

Jackson admitted a total of five charges relating to the boy's abduction and that of an 11-year-old girl a few weeks earlier. She was also taped and tied up but was released physically unharmed.

Passing sentence, Judge Walsh stressed it was likely to be "very many years, if ever" before Jackson was judged to be safe to be freed from prison.

"I am satisfied that had (the 10-year-old boy) not escaped, he would have been subjected to further serious sexual abuse or worse.

"He was, fortuitously, able to escape from the cupboard. When he entered the bedroom, he saw a knife, pliers and a hammer - articles he believed would be used to kill him.

"It is simply impossible to imagine the sheer terror experienced by that young child as a result of your actions."

In the days after the boy's abduction, hundreds of people held demonstrations in the area calling for action to protect children from paedophiles.

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'Teen Footballers Racially Abused By Spectators'

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

Police are investigating allegations that under-15 footballers were racially abused by spectators.

The incident happened last month during a fixture between Leicester Nirvana and Blaby and Whetstones FC.

Parents, players and coaches from Nirvana reported opposing spectators who allegedly made monkey noises and gestures towards several youngsters.

It is also alleged that spectators made racist comments and invaded the pitch threatening violence.  

Leicester Nirvana chairman Kirk Masters told Sky News his players and their parents never want to return to the ground again. 

He said: "I am disgusted with what I have heard from those in attendance and want some immediate action taken.

"We as a club are not under any circumstances going to allow this behaviour to occur against our players."

Mr Masters is due to hold meetings with the football authorities in Leicester and is seeking assurances the matter will be dealt with quickly and transparently.

Leicester Nirvana FC draws players from a wide variety of backgrounds in the city and aims to ensure sport provides opportunities for young people.

Campaigner Peter Herbert of the Society of Black Lawyers said: "Such humiliating scenes demonstrate the ugly repercussions that the Suarez and John Terry incidents have at a local level.

"The failure of the FA to hand out severe penalties clearly serves to encourage such behaviour."

Keith Murdoch, chief executive of the Leicestershire and Rutland County FA, said: "These are serious allegations coming from a local under 15s match.

"There is an on-going investigation and we are still gathering information, however we are determined to be as thorough as possible."

Leicestershire Police confirmed inquiries are on-going following the incident.

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Glasgow Police Officer Dies In Shooting

A police officer has died in a shooting at a Glasgow police station.

A statement from Strathclyde Police confirmed that the officer had been killed at the Baird Street Police Station.

Sky News understands no-one else is being sought in connection with the incident.

Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said: "It is with great sadness that I have to tell you that a serving Strathclyde Police officer died today, Monday, 5 November, in an incident where a firearm was discharged at Baird Street Police Office.

"No details of the officer involved will be released until family members have been informed."

He added: "Our thoughts are with the officer's family and friends at this difficult time."

An ambulance was called to the station, which is in the north of the city, at around 11am.

Officers from an independent force, Lothian and Borders Police, have been appointed to oversee an investigation into the death.

Brian Docherty, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "It is too early to speculate as to the circumstances surrounding the tragic death and our thoughts turn immediately to his family who have lost their loved one and colleagues who have lost a friend."

More follows...

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Savile's Freeman Honour Set To Be Revoked

Jimmy Savile's name is set to be wiped from Scarborough's list of Freemen of the Borough.

Councillors will debate a motion to take his name from the roll of honour as a gesture of support to the 300 people he allegedly abused over six decades.

The disgraced BBC star was awarded the accolade in 2005 to celebrate his links with the North Yorkshire resort, where he owned a second home and was buried overlooking the sea a year ago.

Councillor Tom Fox, who proposed the motion, said: "This council wishes to send its heartfelt support to, and acknowledge the courage of, those who have come forward having suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of the alleged serial predatory sexual offender Sir Jimmy Savile.

"In addition, this council, in further acknowledgment of the serious predatory sexual allegations spanning over six decades, agrees that if the council had been aware of such revelations at the time of Sir Jimmy Savile's nomination for honorary freeman of the borough of Scarborough, the council would have refused it.

Savile's family have removed his headstone from a Scarborough cemetery

"It is therefore proposed that his name be removed forthwith from the honour board for freemen of the borough pending the final report from the Metropolitan Police, when this council will make a permanent decision in relation to the matters referred to in this motion."

Historically, anyone made a freeman was exempt from tolls and given special privileges.

It is still awarded to "persons of distinction and any persons who have rendered eminent services to the borough".

Scarborough has granted freeman status to 20 individuals and groups since the local government reshuffle of 1974, including playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn, retired boxer Paul Ingle and the Yorkshire Regiment.

The motion to remove Savile's name from the honour board will be considered at a full council meeting later.

Savile's ornate triple headstone in Scarborough's Woodlands Cemetery was knocked down and sent to landfill last month at the request of his family.

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Obama And Romney In Final White House Push

Who Will Win The Presidency?

Updated: 11:01am UK, Monday 05 November 2012

By Adam Boulton, Political Editor

In predicting who is going to be the next US president, all we have to go on are the opinion polls - the rest comes down to hunches and conscious or unconscious prejudice.

What's more, opinion polls in America are particularly unreliable. Polling just a few thousand people in a country where around 140 million are expected to vote is a risky business.

In many polls the margin of error, typically plus or minus 3%, is much bigger than the arithmetical 'lead' enjoyed by the top candidate.

There are also differences in the representative sample used by the pollsters. For example, that venerable organisation Gallup seems consistently to favour the Republicans by as much as 6% more than its rivals in national opinion polls.

As things stand, national opinion polls are mostly a dead heat, when a margin of error is allowed for.

Mr Obama's popularity declined after his poor performance in the debate on October 3 and he has not recovered his big lead since then. But Mr Romney had no "momentum" by the beginning of November.

At the weekend, the RealClearPolitics (RCP) National Poll Average stood at 47.5% for Mr Obama and 47.3% for Mr Romney.

Mr Obama is clearly not on course to do as well as he did in 2008 against John McCain when he polled 52.9% of votes cast, compared to 45.7% for the Republican.

Indeed conventional wisdom has now placed at least two of the states he won then - Indiana and North Carolina - firmly in the Republican column.

National opinion polls reflect the popular vote across the country, and winning that is not how you get to be president. You win the election by winning the vote state by state, thus stacking up the majority of the 538 electoral college votes.

It's perfectly possible to win the popular vote and lose the electoral college. That's what Al Gore did against George W Bush in 2000. And it's what some Republicans fear Mr Romney may do this time.

So to work out who is going to sleep in the White House next January, you need to follow the state polls.

Working from this data, America's leading analysts have come up with different snapshots of the state of the electoral race.

With 270 college votes needed to win, RCP allocates 201 to Mr Obama, 191 to Mr Romney and 146 votes in 11 states to play for.

Calling states on a solid and leaning basis, the Washington Post gives Mr Obama 243 electoral votes, Mr Romney 181, with 89 up for grabs in the toss up states - Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Nate Silver at the New York Times' controversial FiveThirtyEight blog makes a different probability-based analysis of the same polling data. 

He says there is now an 85.1% chance of Mr Obama being re-elected compared to just 14.9% that Mr Romney will become the 45th POTUS.  He calculates final electoral vote share at 306.9 for Mr Obama compared to 231.1 for Mr Romney.

You get a similar result if you apply the latest state polls to the toss-up states in the Washington Post and RCP models. With two days to go these state polls do not point to a dead heat - they suggest that Mr Obama is going to be re-elected.

In the latest polls from most of the swing states - Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire, Virginia and above all Ohio - the President is ahead, not by much but consistently. He has also edged ahead in Florida, where he held his biggest rally on Sunday.

The Romney campaign shifted its focus to Pennsylvania at the weekend, in an attempt to suggest that more states than the usual suspects may be in play. But here and in Minnesota and Michigan, which the Republicans are also citing, the latest polls are also against them.

David Axelrod, Mr Obama's campaign chief, has promised to shave off his moustache if the President loses any of these three.

So why is there such confidence among Republicans that their man will win? Basically they say the opinion polls are wrong - and they point to surveys of early voting which show that Mr Obama's support amongst key voters is well down on 2008.

This argument, best articulated by George W Bush's old aide Karl Rove in the Wall St Journal, says the pollsters are over-representing democrats in their samples. On the ground they say Democrats are de-motivated to vote, while Republicans are fired up, and independents are breaking their way.

No wonder so many pundits are sitting on the fence, pointing out that this is a very close race according to the polls - with Mr Obama's edge in most circumstances in the margins of error.

Those who are making a guess, have to fall back on hunches and rules of thumb.

There are plenty of personal bellwethers to choose from.

No president since Franklin D Roosevelt has ever been re-elected with unemployment this high (although at 7.9% it is only a tenth of a per cent above the level where they have been returned).

At the start of the campaign, 25% of the electorate said the would never vote for a Mormon.

"As goes Ohio, so goes the nation" is pretty good but not infallible, but it is the case that no Republican has ever won without carrying what pundits insist on calling the Buckeye [i.e. Conker] State.

Then there are the lessons from recent history.

Incumbent presidents generally have some squatter's advantage. In modern times the only two incumbent presidents denied re-election have been George Bush senior and Jimmy Carter. But both had stronger negatives against them than Mr Obama.

Mr Bush's 1988 election pledge "read my lips no new taxes" was a demonstrable lie by 1992, while in 1980 Mr Carter was humiliated by American hostages held in Iran and a disastrous military mission to rescue them.

In contrast, Mr Obama presided over the killing of Osama bin Laden, economic indicators are at last moving in the right direction, and he's enjoyed high approval and endorsement in the past week for his handling of Hurricane Sandy.

It's also the case that the more charismatic candidate tends to win the presidency. Mr Carter outshone Gerald Ford but was put in the shade by Ronald 'Morning in America' Reagan; the reserved George Walker Bush was no match for 'Slick Willy' Clinton.

This year, by common consent, Mr Obama has the star power although Mr Romney is making the best of his buttoned-up big businessman demeanour.

Fifty-one-year-old Mr Obama is playing the man of the people: most often open-necked, shouting till he is hoarse and allowing himself the occasional blunt epithet such as "bull****er" about his opponent.

A well-preserved 65-year-old Mr Romney presents more formally as a president in waiting, he's even had his campaign plane painted to look like Air Force One. He's less inclined to dive into the crowd and typically delivers more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger pep talks about the state of Mr Obama's nation. A bit like the harangues most managers subject their employees to these days.

There is also a clear choice between the two men's visions of America - although both claim they are the man to unite the country across the political divide.

Arguing "we are all in this together" Mr Obama argues that government has a role in directing the country, the rich he says, need to contribute more.

Mr Romney champions the private sector, volunteers and individuals. He argues that lower taxes, even for the better off, will benefit all.

So who do I think will win?

I think it's unlikely that all the polls are as wrong as they would have to be for a Republican victory.

I note that the Republicans are under-performing in their ambitions for the US Congress - unlikely to take control of the Senate and set to lose a few seats in the House.

It also seems to me that the Republican Party is a house divided against itself. With powerful voices on the right such as the Tea Party pulling it a long way from the centrist ground which saw Mr Nixon, Mr Reagan and even the Bushes first elected. If Mr Romney is elected, I suspect that the internal rows are only just beginning. Swing voters don't like divided parties.

Shifts in the US population do not favour Republicans - if this was a 'whites only' election Mr Romney would be home and dry. But as the Republican Senator Linsey Graham quipped this summer: "We are not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business for the long term."

Disappointment yes, almost everywhere, but I don't detect widespread anger and contempt for Mr Obama. The mood seems more about pressing on in hard times. A mood which may well have been strengthened by the travails of Hurricane Sandy in this closing week.

So my guess is that the President will be re-elected taking Ohio and probably Florida. But it is only a guess, America has two credible leaders to take it forward.

But most of the real votes have not been cast yet in spite of early polling, and they won't be until Tuesday.

Paddy Power is already paying out on an Obama victory. If you've got a bet on, my advice is to get down to the bookies ASAP.

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Cregan Denies Murdering Two Policewomen

Dale Cregan has denied murdering policewomen Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in a gun and grenade attack.

Cregan, 29, of no fixed address, pleaded not guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to the murders of the Greater Manchester Police constables.

The officers were killed on the morning of September 18 as they responded to a report of a burglary in Hattersley, Greater Manchester.

Relatives of the PCs attended the hearing flanked by police family liaison officers.

Cregan, who appeared by videolink alongside nine co-defendants, denied another seven charges including the murder of Mark Short, 23, on May 26 and the murder of Mr Short's father David, 46, on August 10.

He also denied four counts of attempted murder and one count of causing an explosion.

Luke Livesey, 27, from Hattersley, and Damien Gorman, 37, from Glossop, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mark Short and three counts of attempted murder.

Anthony Wilkinson, 33, from Beswick, denied the murder of David Short, possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, attempted murder and causing an explosion with a hand grenade.

Jermaine Ward, 24, denied the murder of David Short, one count of attempted murder and an allegation of causing an explosion with a hand grenade.

They were remanded in custody until their trial at Preston Crown Court on February 4.

The remaining defendants, Matthew James, Ryan Hadfield, Leon Atkinson, Francis Dixon and Mohammed Ali, were not asked to enter their pleas.

James, 33, of Clayton, Hadfield, 28, from Ashton-under-Lyne, and Atkinson, 34, of Newton-le-Willows, are charged with the murder of Mark Short and three counts of attempted murder.

Dixon, 37, from the Stalybridge area, is charged with the murder of David Short, attempted murder and causing an explosion.

Ali, 23, from Chadderton, is accused of assisting an offender.

They were remanded in custody to return to Liverpool Crown Court on December 20 to enter their pleas on that date.

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Election: Celebs Join Final Push For White House

President Barack Obama has enlisted an army of A-list performers and public figures ranging from Billie Jean King to Jay-Z to help with his election campaign.

All are being deployed to carry his message to television and radio in the final hours of a nip-and-tuck campaign.

On Saturday, Stevie Wonder played a surprise concert for voters waiting in line to vote early in Cleveland, Ohio.

Others involved in the last-minute push for the President are Lady Gaga, Samuel L. Jackson, Anne Hathaway, and Scarlett Johansson,  who have all been speaking to radio stations.

Jackson and comedian Chris Rock were on the airwaves with primarily African American audiences, urging voters to go to the polls on Tuesday.

Others on Mr Obama's list include Black Eyed Peas' front man will.i.am, Lady Gaga, and rock band leaders such as Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.

Big name supporters of Mitt Romney and the Republican party include Kid Rock, Kelsey Grammar, Chuck Norris, Honey Boo Boo, Meat Loaf, Donald Trump, Jack Nicklaus and country music stars the Oak Ridge Boys and Lee Greenwood.

Clint Eastwood has made the most high profile commitment to Mr Romney in the Republican campaign.

The action movie star and former mayor spoke to an empty chair at the National Republican Convention as if Mr Obama were sitting in the seat.

Kid Rock has performed at several of Mr Romney's campaign rallies, and his song Born Free is the candidate's campaign theme.

Whether or not celebrity endorsements will help bring in more voters remains to be seen.

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Ched Evans: Nine Fined For Naming Victim

Nine people have pleaded guilty to revealing online the identity of a woman raped by former Sheffield United and Wales footballer Ched Evans.

The victim's name was circulated on social network sites, including Twitter and Facebook, following Evans's conviction at Caernarfon Crown Court in April.

Some of the defendants also launched abuse at the victim, calling her names like "money grabbing slut" and "poor little victim".

They all claimed that they were not aware that naming her was a criminal offence.

The law gives the victims and alleged victims of rape and other sexual offences lifelong anonymity.

The defendants appeared at Prestatyn Magistrates' Court charged with publishing material likely lead members of the public to identify the complainant in a rape case, contrary to the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 1992.

The defendants are Benjamin Davies, 27, of Elwy Drive, Rhyl, Michael Ashton, 21, of Gwelfor Terrace, Llanddulas, Dominic Green, 23, of Oakwood Road, Rhyl, Craig MacDonald, 26, of Greenacres Caravan Park, Prestatyn, Holly Price, 25, of Derwent Close, Prestatyn, and Gemma Thomas, 18, of South Drive, Rhyl, all North Wales.

Paul Devine, 26, of Buchanan Road, Daniel Cardwell, 25, of White Lane, Chapeltown, and Shaun Littler, 22, of Ashbourne Road, Handsworth - all in Sheffield - also pleaded guilty.

Evans was found guilty of raping a 19-year-old woman in a Rhyl hotel room.

Evans played for Premier League champions Manchester City from 2007-2009

The player admitted having sex with her, but the woman told the jury she had no memory of the incident - and the prosecution said she was too drunk to consent to sexual intercourse.

He is due to appeal against the conviction at the Court of Appeal tomorrow.

Nita Dowell, prosecuting, told the court that following Evans' conviction the case attracted a huge amount of interest nationally and internationally and that there were 6,000 hits about it on Twitter alone.

Miss Dowell said the victim was subjected to abuse and that North Wales Police received numerous complaints from members of the public and from groups such as Rape Crisis.

District Judge Andrew Shaw ordered the defendants to pay the victim compensation of £624 each - the maximum penalty the charge could attract.

He said each of the defendants had identified the victim and others had added abuse.

"You did so without proper knowledge of the facts and without any heed of the feelings of the victim, " he said.

Mr Shaw said that the defendants, who were related to or were friends of Evans, had posted the comments with "deliberate malice".

He added: "Your actions have re-victimised this woman again."

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Wales House Fire: Fifth Person Dies

A fifth person has died following a house fire in Prestatyn last month, said North Wales Police.

Liam Leonard Timbrell, 23, died this morning at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.

He had been in a critical condition since the fire swept through his home in Maes y Groes on October 19.

Firefighters had rescued Liam from the first floor

Mr Timbrell's was the partner of Lee-Anna Shiers and father of 15-month-old Charlie Timbrell, who both died as a result of the fire.

He had been rescued by firefighters from the first floor of the house along with his son, who succumbed to his injuries two days later.

Lee-Anna's niece and nephew, Skye and Bailey Allen, also lost their lives in the incident.

Detective Superintendent John Chapman said: "This is the fifth death as a result of the fire in Prestatyn. 

"My sincere condolences go out to the families at this tragic time."

Melanie Jane Smith, 42, has been charged with four counts of murder, one count of arson with intent to endanger life and threats to commit criminal damage.

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