Port Adelaide found an odd way to win against Melbourne, says coach Ken Hinkley.
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Port’s odd way to win leaves coach satisfied
Man Utd ‘decide who to sell between Hojlund and Zirkzee’ with striker set for ‘immediate’ transfer
MANCHESTER UNITED have made a major decision regarding the future of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee at Old Trafford.
Hojlund, 22, and Zirkzee, 24, moved to United for hefty fees worth a whopping £72million and £36.5m respectively but both have failed to live up to expectations so far.
Thus, the two strikers have been linked with moves away from Man Utd amid manager Ruben Amorim’s planned summer squad overhaul.
According to Corriere dello Sport, however, the Red Devils have decided to hold on to Zirkzee.
This comes amid intense interest from Inter Milan for Hojlund, whom the Manchester giants are open to selling this summer.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter are so keen on the Denmark international they are set to go “full speed ahead” for his signature.
The two Italian sources claim United are much more interested in a permanent deal.
And Amorim’s side value the Dane at around €40-45m (£34-38m) this summer.
Inter prefer a loan deal with a purchase clause which is almost an obligation to buy in 2026.
The Nerazzurri’s offer would also include a hefty loan fee for the initial year.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
United are not in a hurry to sell Hojlund as his contract runs until 2028.
Inter feel like that could work to their advantage as they can wait until the Red Devils sign a new striker.
Man Utd are keeping tabs on the likes of Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
And if the Premier League giants manage to get a new centre-forward, who will almost certainly command a high transfer fee as well as expensive wages, then they might have to make room in the squad and salary bill.
Hojlund is keen to move to Inter with the Serie A giants’ officials working on a potential deal from the US, where the club is taking part in the Club World Cup.
There’s already been an initial meeting in Milan and another via intermediaries is expected to take place in the coming days.
JoJo Siwa postpones US tour amid Chris Hughes romance – and drops hint she could stay longer in UK
CELEBRITY Big Brother star JoJo Siwa has hit her own US gigs with a shell-shocking tour-nado.
Bulletproof star JoJo shared on her website: “I’ve got some news that breaks my heart to share… my US tour has to be postponed.
“I promise I’ll be back before you know it to perform for all the beautiful people in the US!…
“Announcements will be coming soon, including some Europe shows!:).
“Thank you so much for your understanding and support. I can’t wait to see you all soon!
“To my Dream Guest VIPs, my team will be reaching out to you individually to plan something special.
“Refunds will be issued at point of purchase.”
The couple have been busy spending time together while JoJo was in England for her tour.
JoJo – who has performed two gigs in London – had an 11-date tour booked for July back home in the States.
The singer and Love Island star Chris have been enjoying a whirlwind romance after meeting in the Celebrity Big Brother house in March.
JoJo, 22, has revealed the extent of her special connection with Chris, 32.
The former Dance Moms star said she struggled to go back to normal life without him when she returned to the US for a month.
Now, the Nebraska-born star plans to spend more time in the UK after falling head over heels for Chris.
However, the singer is said to have been dropped by Columbia Records who signed JoJo in 2024 alongside artists including Miley Cyrus and Halle.
The dancer is no longer listed on Columbia’s website, where she was previously featured.
She released her single Karma and an EP called Guilty Pleasure with the music giant and is said to be on the hunt for a new label while in the UK.
It comes after JoJo hit back at Miley Cyrus after the star appeared to mock her relationship with Chris.
In a pre-recorded video played at WorldPride 2025 in Washington, the former Disney star is seen standing in front of a pantry.
She said: “Enjoy coming out of the closet if this Pride is the time for you. It’s Miley, I just want to tell you to have an amazing World Pride.
“Is it a month?! It should be a year, it should be infinite.”
The Party In The USA songstress then proclaimed: “I’m going back inside [the closet] to get more pretzels and find JoJo Siwa and bring her back out.”
Following the dig, JoJo then told fans how she had tackled the issue head-on.
She admitted: “I messaged Miley light heartedly about it and she replied and said “All love. Always.'”
JoJo recently returned to the US before travelling to Mexico following her Celebrity Big Brother stint – but isn’t set to return anytime soon.
Historic pool that’s one of the world’s most beautiful where you can book private midnight swims
A BEAUTIFUL swimming pool dating back to the 1890s lets you book your own private sessions at midnight.
The pool is in Berlin at the 4-star Hotel Oderberger which was actually a former bathhouse.
Hotel Oderberger Berlin is a historic hotel that was formerly a city pool that operated from 1898 to 1986.
After its closure, nobody swam there until 2016, when the hotel opened after an extensive renovation.
Now, it’s a boutique hotel with 70 rooms and two apartments – but the highlight is the underground pool.
Located just at ground level, the swimming pool has a neo-Renaissance style with vaulted ceilings and natural stone finish.
All guests of the hotel can use the pool at whatever time of day – but for those wanting an extra-special swim, they can go at night.
The hotel offers two people an exclusive evening in the pool from 10pm until midnight.
The pool will even be illuminated in the colour of your choice, and you can chill in the empty spa during the evening too.
Included are towels, bathrobes and a bottle of rosé sparkling wine.
This of course has to be booked in advance and costs €329 (£276.97)
It’s a popular spot within the hotel, one visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: “The pool is striking and I had a lovely swim and relaxation in the comfy lounge chair by the side.”
Another added: “The pool was beautiful, and seemed popular among locals as well.”
A third wrote: “AWESOME hotel with a gorgeous pool and excellent breakfast.”
And the pool isn’t just used for swimming, for special events, a hydraulic lifting floor comes up.
This means people dance and even hold meetings on the water.
The hotel offers lots of events to be held in the pool space from Christmas parties to networking events, galas, award ceremonies, to photoshoots and filming.
It’s not just the pool that is historic, the hotel’s restaurant is located in the former thermal power station of the historic town baths.
It’s industrial design means it’s spread across three levels with high ceilings.
It offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails too.
The hotel is in central Berlin, an hour north of the airport.
Back in the UK, this Victorian church has been turned into one of the UK’s most beautiful swimming pools.
And this hidden Grecian swimming pool that’s one of the grandest in the UK.
How to save £5k even if you’re on a low income earning £25k a year – it’s all about the 50-30-20 rule
SETTING aside money can feel like an impossible task right now as bills and food costs climb higher and higher.
But even very small amounts can add up over time, and there’s things you can do to help you start saving even if you’re on a lower than average salary.
The Sun has chatted to Plum’s personal finance expert Rajan Lakhani about how you can start saving on a salary of around £25,000.
Here’s what he said…
Work out how much you can afford to save
The first step you should take is to sit down and work out what’s affordable for you to save.
You might want to do this manually by listing all your incomings – such as your salary and any benefits you receive – and then all your outgoings, such as rent, bills and average food costs.
From here you can work out how much you have left over per month.
Alternatively you can use an app like Plum which connects to your bank account and can calculate how much you can afford to save based on your outgoings.
Rajan says most people are surprised by how much they can save, but you shouldn’t be put off if you can only afford to set aside £5 or £10 a month for now.
“That might not sound like a huge amount but that money will build, particularly if it’s earning interest,” he says.
“It’s really important just to take that first step and then see what you can do.”
Reduce your spending
If you want to give your savings an extra boost, you should look at where you can cut costs.
Many people saw their bills rise in April but there are some ways you can reduce the costs of essentials.
For example, you should use price comparison websites to look for better deals on your mobile phone, broadband and energy bills.
Of course you’ll need to take into account any exit fees if you currently have a contract with a provider.
“A lot of these organisations are relying on you not taking any action and just simply renewing.
“And actually, it really, really does pay to have a look, compare the markets, compare the different prices,” Rajan says.
“If you really want to stay with your provider, there’s no harm in giving them a call and saying ‘look I found this deal, I might switch to it, what’s the best offer that you can give me’.”
You should also do a sweep of your subscriptions to make sure you aren’t signed up to anything you’re not using.
Another option to save money is to sign up to as many loyalty schemes as you can – if you’re happy with shops using your data.
You can often get cheaper prices or build up points to spend in stores when you sign up to shopping loyalty schemes, such as Tesco’s ClubCard or the Boots Advantage Card.
Check if you can get any benefits
You could give your income a boost by taking advantage of any benefits you’re eligible for from the Government.
For example, lots of parents are unaware of the benefits available to them such as 30 hours of free childcare, Child Benefit, and extra Universal Credit payments.
If you’re married, you can get Marriage Tax Allowance which could help you reduce the amount of tax you pay.
By cutting your outgoings and boosting your income, that can give you more breathing space to save extra.
Have an emergency fund in place
If you’re earning around £25,000, it’s really important to have an emergency fund to fall back on in case you have an unexpected big expense or you lose your job.
Experts typically recommend you have about three to six months worth of your salary set aside.
So if you’re on £25,000, this would work out at between £5,316 to £10,632 after tax.
This emergency fund should be in an easy access savings account so you can get it quickly if you need to.
Rajan says it’s better to have this money in cash savings rather than invested as you want your money to be secure in case you need to dip into it.
He recommends looking for savings accounts that have interest rates above 4% currently as these will give you a decent return on your savings.
How much should you aim to save?
Exactly how much you can save will depend on factors like your outgoings, your lifestyle and whether you have children or not.
Rajan says a ballpark figure you can use is the 50-30-20 rule.
This means spending 50% on your “needs” like housing costs and bills, 30% on your “wants” like clothes and entertainment, and 20% on your savings.
So if your take-home pay is £1,772.58 per month, you can expect to spend £886.29 on your “needs”.
Then you would spend £590.86 on your “wants” and save away £354.52 per month.
However, Rajan says saving 20% of your salary can seem like a “large figure” and whether that’s possible depends on your circumstances.
For example, households have seen expenses like rent, energy bills, council tax and water bills increase recently.
“For a lot of people, 20% will be very difficult to put aside.
“Having that 20% ambition can encourage you to save more but it depends on your circumstances and what works for you,” he says.
“The key thing is just to start giving saving a go and you may be surprised by how much you are able to set aside.”
Small ways you can save
If you’re not sure how to start saving, Rajan recommends using apps to automate setting money aside for you.
Plum has a round-up feature that rounds up every purchase you make to the nearest pound and then saves away the extra money.
So if you’ve bought something for £1.60, the app will automatically save 40p for you.
Another feature you can try is the rainy day rule, which sets money aside whenever there’s a day it rains in the UK.
Or there’s the 1p Challenge, which starts off by saving 1p on your first day and then sets aside a penny more every day.
It means you’ll save up to £667.95 over the course of a year.
SAVING ACCOUNT TYPES
THERE are four types of savings accounts: fixed, notice, easy access, and regular savers.
Separately, there are ISAs or individual savings accounts which allow individuals to save up to £20,000 a year tax-free.
But we’ve rounded up the main types of conventional savings accounts below.
FIXED-RATE
A fixed-rate savings account or fixed-rate bond offers some of the highest interest rates but comes at the cost of being unable to withdraw your cash within the agreed term.
This means that your money is locked in, so even if interest rates increase you are unable to move your money and switch to a better account.
Some providers give the option to withdraw, but it comes with a hefty fee.
NOTICE
Notice accounts offer slightly lower rates in exchange for more flexibility when accessing your cash.
These accounts don’t lock your cash away for as long as a typical fixed bond account.
You’ll need to give advance notice to your bank – up to 180 days in some cases – before you can make a withdrawal or you’ll lose the interest.
EASY-ACCESS
An easy-access account does what it says on the tin and usually allows unlimited cash withdrawals.
These accounts tend to offer lower returns, but they are a good option if you want the freedom to move your money without being charged a penalty fee.
REGULAR SAVER
These accounts pay some of the best returns as long as you pay in a set amount each month.
You’ll usually need to hold a current account with providers to access the best rates.
However, if you have a lot of money to save, these accounts often come with monthly deposit limits.
How to put your savings to work
Once you’ve started saving, you should make sure you get the most out of your money.
That means helping it grow by either putting it in a savings account where you are receiving interest above the rate of inflation, or investing it.
For reference, the current inflation rate is 3.5%.
Rajan says you can get better interest rates by putting your money into a fixed-term savings account – but you should make sure you have an emergency fund set aside first for any immediate expenses.
If you lock away your money into a fixed account, your interest rate will typically be higher than with an easy access account.
You should also shop around for the best rates.
Often online-only banks offer higher rates as they have fewer costs, but you should check they are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and that your money would be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Rajan also recommends looking at ISA accounts as you’ll be able to earn interest on your savings tax-free up to £20,000 per tax year.
Plus, the interest rates on Cash ISAs are some of the highest available right now.
Another option is to invest your money.
Rajan says investments have typically outperformed cash savings over the years – but there are things you should consider.
Firstly, you’ll need to be willing to put your money away for a longer period of time – at least five years – because markets can fluctuate and it will give your money a better chance of growing if you keep it invested for longer.
You should be aware that you can lose money by investing and be prepared to take that risk.
Because of this, it’s crucial to still have an emergency fund in case you have any unexpected expenses.
Rajan says: “The most important thing for you is, is this something that I’m happy to do? Is this something that I’m comfortable doing?
“When it comes to your savings it’s really important to make sure that you are comfortable with the choices you make.”
How to get the best savings rates
Consumer reporter Sam Walker offers some top tips for getting the best savings rates in 2025.
Use comparison sites – use comparison sites like MoneySavingExpert.com, MoneySupermarket and Go Compare to compare the best deals on the market within a specific sector.
Depending on the site, they will let you know about any minimum pay ins, when interest is paid and how to open the chosen account.
Make sure the account matches your needs – different savings accounts offer different perks so choose the one that suits your needs best.
For example, easy-access savings accounts tend to offer lower interest rates, but more flexibility if you need to withdraw money on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, cash ISAs are ideal if you have a bigger pot of money you want to stash away as any interest earned is tax-free.
Look beyond high street banks – sometimes smaller banks and building societies will offer you better rates than the bigger, more notable names.
Last year, Which? warned that the biggest banks were offering “meagre rates compared to digital banks and building societies.
Read the fine print – make sure you read all the terms and conditions before opening an account so you’re aware of any drawbacks.
Some banks penalise you by dropping your interest rate if you withdraw money from your savings account over a certain amount of times.
Others only start offering you a certain interest rate when you have deposited a minimum amount too.
Keep up-to-date – savings rates change all the time so it pays to stay informed of what banks and building societies are offering.
You can do this by visiting price comparison websites like MoneySavingExpert and MoneySupermarket.
My family is haunted by finding my 9-month-old brother dead in his cot after we put him to sleep the wrong way
I WILL never forget the morning we found my nine-month-old brother Neil dead in his cot.
Mum had come to wake me first so we could get the baby up and dressed together.
I was three and a big girl now, with big sister responsibilities and a grown up-looking bedroom with orange flowery wallpaper – the sort interior designers now call retro.
I was already awake, and I held mum’s hand as we walked to Neil’s room. She let me go in first.
I peeked over the top of the cot and said: “Neil’s not there, where is he?”
Mum rushed over, pulled the blanket back and her face was frozen. It was so scary.
Did I scream or was it her? Someone screamed. And then it becomes a blur.
The shockwaves of that morning continue to affect our family, from Beckenham, London, over 40 years later.
It was February 1973, and cot deaths, as they were then referred to, were something that happened to other people, spoken about in hushed tones, and, let’s be honest, often viewed with an element of suspicion.
It was also a time when the best-selling book on babies, which had pride of place on my parent’s bookshelf, told mums and dads to put tots to sleep on their stomachs and wrap them up warmly.
In 2025, thank goodness, there is far more awareness of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) – the sudden and unexpected death of a baby where no cause is found – which killed my brother.
We now know the safest way is on their backs and a cool environment, with no danger of overheating, but SIDS still affects around 200 families every year in the UK, and the emotional toll of the losses remains as difficult as ever.
After Neil died, my mum Carol and dad Ian became advocates for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, which is now The Lullaby Trust.
Dad, a journalist, wrote a heart-wrenching story for the local newspaper, which described that terrible morning.
I even stayed up ‘late’ with nan and grandpa to watch him speak about it on the BBC TV show Nationwide, and there were numerous bake sales at local fetes to raise funds.
When my brother Andrew came along in 1974, I think it was this very newspaper that published an article with a photo of our family alongside an article about how it’s possible to exist after losing a child.
We looked happy – but the problem was, we were falling apart.
We’d had no proper support, no room to grieve, and we still had so many questions about how and why Neil was gone.
This came to something of a halt when dad’s job took us to live in Paris.
A line of some sort was drawn, except, of course, it wasn’t.
We were left with the black silent hole of his absence. There was nothing that could fill the ghastliness of my son not crying
Carol
Mum threw herself into Paris life. She had learnt French as a teenager and had already lived there in the 60s, working as a bilingual secretary for the Ariane space project.
But she had changed. I knew it, and I could feel it more and more as I grew older.
Dad’s job, now foreign correspondent, took the family to different places – Brussels, Jerusalem, Bonn.
Mum played the part of the supportive other half, but she had lost her mojo.
She’d had all sorts of ambitions – teacher training college, a master’s degree, the job for Arianne – but she never really went back to work.
Over time, she stopped being sporty, when she used to play tennis, hockey and swim a lot, and she put on weight.
There was drinking, perhaps not that unusual in an expat journalist house in the 70s and 80s, but still, it was different.
Don’t get me wrong, Andrew and I had a marvellous childhood, full of love, fun holidays, travel, fascinating people, and lively chats.
But as we got older, we could feel the tension growing between mum and dad.
One day, there was yet another stressful exchange between our parents, with mum flouncing off to bed.
This time, Dad, teary-eyed, said: “She has never been the same since Neil died.”
I was stunned. I had never heard him say Neil’s name before.
I must have been about 18. I’d grown up used to saying: “Oh yes, I had a brother who died of cot death,” without really connecting the words with my memory of that morning or my understanding of what it must have done to my parents.
After that, I did ask a few more questions.
My aunt sent me that first article dad had written; my uncle agreed that mum was never the same since Neil’s sudden death.
Then, in 2000, Dad died, aged just 59, of cancer. He missed meeting his first grandchild, my daughter, Izzy, by four months.
What is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)?
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden and unexpected death of a baby under the age of 12 months where no cause is found.
Around 89 per cent of deaths happen when the tot is under six months old.
It is relatively rare, with 182 babies dying from SIDS in the UK in 2021.
While doctors don’t know exactly what triggers it, there are ways to significantly reduce the chances of SIDS occurring:
- Put your baby on their back for all sleeps – day and night
- Share a room with your baby for the first six months
- Place your baby on their own, clear, flat sleep surface (e.g. cot or Moses basket)
- Keep your baby smoke-free during pregnancy and after birth
- Never sleep on a sofa or armchair
- Do not co-sleep if you or anyone in the bed has been drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking drugs or medication that makes you drowsy
These things are especially important for babies who were born prematurely or of a low birth weight, as they are typically at higher risk of SIDS.
Source: The Lullaby Trust
Again, this was all played out in public, with dad writing his final article days before he left us.
He described his feelings, the ones he wouldn’t talk to us about, to the readers of The Times newspaper.
In that article, he wrote: “My pregnant daughter has a little lump inside her kicking and fighting for life.
“I have a little lump in me which is kicking and fighting for my life and it will win.”
He must have been thinking about Neil, but, again, we did not talk about it.
Dad’s death catapulted mum into a deep despair.
More drink, angry moods, strange behaviour, until eventually, she moved to a home in Deal, Kent, where she left us in February 2025.
Did my mum resent me because I survived?
In her last years, mum had started talking about Neil, but our relationship was so strained by then, I didn’t have the courage to ask her more.
Did she resent me because I survived? Was she worried that Andrew might feel he was here because Neil wasn’t? Did she blame dad for the media coverage?
So many questions. In the end, I asked none.
Who could ever get over the death of a child? I can’t imagine anything happening to my amazing three children, Alfie, Maddie and Izzy, or to my brilliant niece and nephew, currently living, as fate would have it, in Paris.
My family’s experience could have turned me into an anxious mother.
But by the time Izzy arrived, there was so much good advice on how to keep babies safe when they are sleeping, I was able to build a bedtime and sleep routine quickly, and with confidence.
It’s thanks to The Lullaby Trust, the charity that mum and dad were such great advocates for in its early days.
We were pleased to reconnect with them when mum died to make them the beneficiaries of all donations for her.
It was at mum’s funeral that I met her friend from the local writer’s club.
She asked me if I had read mum’s story, written as part of their ‘17 minutes series’, where members were given 17 minutes to write something down.
You have heard my story, now here is my mum’s.
Carol Anne Murray, mum of three, survived by two, written in 17 minutes, 45 years after losing her son, Neil.
We talked together, Ian and I. We spoke about everything under the sun, except for the one great hole that was in our lives.
How could it have happened? We had a beautiful daughter, chatty and bubbly. We now had a son.
How wonderfully lucky, we thought, one of each. How neat.
But then, one morning, I went to his cot to get him up and there was no response.
The unbelievable had happened. Why? How? I screamed. Ian came upstairs. He was silent.
It was then that I knew he had already gone into the bedroom and found what I had found. He had gone downstairs in disbelief.
We called an ambulance, of course. We hoped desperately that something could be done.
But what could they do? They just swaddled him and took him away.
Forty years later I still feel it, just as if it had happened yesterday
Carol
We were left with the black silent hole of his absence.
Later that day the doctor told us that it was certainly a case of SIDS.
It now had a name. But that was all. There was nothing that could fill the ghastliness of his not crying.
Neil had cried a lot. I wondered if his crying had been a warning. Had he known all along he would die?
But there was no going back, his absence was so obvious.
Our daughter’s tears said it all. We would never be able to see him again.
One day, as we walked home from nursery, we passed by a dead pigeon.
“Hmmmm,” she commented. “He’s just like Neil Bruce John, he won’t move again either.”
Her philosophical analysis became an acceptance.
We went on to have another son a year later.
Forty years later I still feel it, just as if it had happened yesterday.
I have never forgotten Neil Bruce John.
The ABCs of safer sleep
EXPERT help is freely available from The Lullaby Trust, which exists to keep babies safe by offering advice, and support grieving families.
By investing more than £12million in research, the charity has overseen the reduction of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) by 80 per cent, saving 30,000 babies since 1991.
It wants all families to know the ABCs of safer sleep:
- Always sleep your baby on their back, in a clear cot or sleep space.
Following these rules, day and night, will help reduce the risk of SIDS.
If you are grieving, you can find support on The Lullaby Trust website, by calling the bereavement helpline on 0808 802 6868, or emailing support@lullabytrust.org.uk.
How glam lawyer turned lawless ‘Lady Mafia’ scammer swindled $10m from pals and clients – and blew it all in Las Vegas
SARA King – AKA Lady Mafia – had the designer clothes, pink champagne and a husband descended from royalty – but her addiction to excitement turned this glam American lawyer into a lawless criminal.
Dressed in head-to-toe Christian Dior, Sara looked every inch the high-powered lawyer as she strutted into federal court in Orange County, California.
Her hair extensions were pulled back into a sleek bun and she was ready to do business.
But she wasn’t there to defend a client. It was the summer of 2023 and the 41-year-old attorney was facing charges of financial fraud and money laundering.
It was part of a criminal career that saw her swindle an estimated $10million from friends and business associates to fund a lavish lifestyle that included designer clothes, jewellery, a suite at the Wynn Las Vegas hotel and the best seat in all the casinos.
In a case that both baffled and gripped America, King was dubbed “the Anna Delvey of the OC”, “the Slot Whisperer” and – her favourite nickname – “Lady Mafia.”
After pleading guilty to her crimes, she was sentenced on May 5 this year by an Orange County federal judge to 21 months in prison, and ordered to pay more than $8million in restitution.
Her shocking story has been laid bare in podcast The Binge Crimes: Lady Mafia, in which investigative journalist Michele McPhee spends hours with the glamorous scammer trying to unpick her tall tales.
“Her charisma pulls people in. She’s obviously very attractive – she’s not just pretty, she’s glamorous – so I’m sure that helped her navigate her way around the shady underbelly,” Michele tells Fabulous.
“I think she spent most of the money on clothes. She’s one of those people who has to be head-to-toe in designer labels,” says Michele, who believes that King doesn’t quite comprehend the damage she has done, and points out that she changes her story many times during the podcast.
“It’s very unusual that somebody would participate in anything like this podcast before they’ve faced a judge [for sentencing]. But I think she was motivated by wanting people to think she’s innocent and that it was all a big mistake.”
King grew up in Newport Beach, Orange County, home to sprawling mansions, golf courses and Ferraris.
Money wasn’t tight, and her parents enjoyed a happy marriage and were successful insurance brokers. She wanted what they had – and more.
Before embarking on a life of dodgy deals, King built a successful career in law, fuelled by her burning ambition to be a badass businesswoman instead of a trophy wife.
“I wanted to be the ‘It’ girl. I wanted to have a seat at the boys’ table, without sleeping around,” she said in the podcast. “I can sell anything. I can sell fire to the devil.”
With a million-dollar home in Newport Beach, and an ambitious husband, Gerar Jamal – a consultant in the environmental industry, who she married in 2014 – King soon had everything she’d dreamed of. But she didn’t stop there.
I wanted to have a seat at the boys’ table. I can sell anything – I can sell fire to the devil
Sara King
Describing her high-flying job at a law firm as “a lot of work and not a lot of money,” by 2017 King was looking for new opportunities to fund her pink-champagne lifestyle.
She and Gerar began to invest in different ventures, including money lending, where they would rake in high interest for funding short-term loans.
King – who hung out in Orange County’s hottest spots, where she met men who’d offer her more chances to invest in their dodgy deals – said: “I was looking for a way out of law. It was so miserable and I needed to make money.”
She soon earned a reputation as a “fixer” who could help rich people get anything they wanted, from prostitutes to puppies.
In May 2018, after her marriage had broken down, a mutual friend introduced her to Kamran Pahlavi, the handsome grandson of Iranian Princess Ashraf, who apparently invested in real estate.
After a two-hour dinner in Beverly Hills, the pair clicked.
“I was just taken aback by the pizzazz of it all,” said King. “I felt a connection, and to this day I wish I never did.
“He told me, ‘I have no money, all my watches are fake, I have nothing to my name, so if that’s what you’re interested in, please walk.’ He came clean about everything, saying, ‘I have a lot of baggage, I have three ex-wives, I have kids. But I want to make something of myself’.”
Fixer for the rich
Besotted, King suggested they start a business together – but the pressure to make more money led her to take more risks.
“I think they genuinely had love for each other,” says Michele.
“She was the female Bernie Madoff [the US fraudster who was jailed for operating a dodgy ‘pyramid’ investment scheme] and he was the real housewife of Orange County, who got to sit around and not do much.”
In January 2022, business was booming for her company, King Family Lending.
She established herself as someone who could supply short-term loans to celebrities and professional athletes – as long as they were happy to pay the 30% interest.
Hobnobbing with NFL stars, including Tom Brady, bragging about her high-profile connections and shopping for designer clothes were all in a day’s work for her.
She also reportedly harboured ambitions of going into politics.
She and Kamran married in February 2022 – but behind the facade, King was doing less lending and more spending.
She was using her investors’ money – which was intended to fund high-interest loans – to splash out on her own lavish lifestyle and gambling habit. And the collateral she claimed she had collected to guarantee them didn’t exist.
By November 2022, Kamran had called time on their relationship – later claiming it was due to all her lies – and moved to Morocco.
By the end of the year, they were divorced, after Kamran cited “irreconcilable differences”.
Meanwhile, King moved into a $6,000-a-night suite at the Wynn in Vegas, which she’d been gifted because she was such a “good customer” – complete with marble counters, a private infinity pool and a butler.
In the casinos, where she was once known as The Slot Whisperer for her winning streaks, King’s luck was starting to run out.
At one point, she was gambling away $20,000 a day.
“I always had that kind of money, so 20 grand a day is no big deal,” she said. “It got scarier when I was dropping $50,000 to $100,000 a day.”
On November 11, 2022, it all fell apart. King was lying in the bath of her suite when hotel staff burst into her room and ordered her to leave.
Gambling $20k a day
A Beverly Hills lawyer named Ronald Richards, who was representing one of the clients she’d swindled, was on her tail and had informed the Wynn of her dodgy deals.
He also set about shutting her gambling down by making sure she was barred from casinos.
“As she got kicked out of each one, I’d call her and say, ‘How was your escort today?’ because I wanted her to know I was on to her,” Ronald told Michele in the podcast.
“Sometimes she was mad, because she was embarrassed. I told her, ‘I’m going to cut off everything you like to do. Your days of gambling are over and we’ll make sure no casino allows you to ever wager a dollar’.”
On February 11, 2023, he filed a lawsuit against King on behalf of the man named “Laurent R”, just one of the investors in King Family Lending who’d lost millions, and the federal prosecutor drew up a criminal complaint of wire (financial) fraud and money laundering charges.
Ronald also tipped off the media, and King hit the headlines for being a scammer.
That’s when she realised she’d reached the end of the road.
In March 2023, she checked herself into rehab – then checked out again, heading to her LA apartment, where eviction notices were waiting for her.
Betrayal, lies and theft
Her parents took her home to Orange County, then her mum drove her to the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles.
There was no warrant for her arrest, so she claims she wrote to the Attorney General to get a meeting about her case.
In June 2023, King appeared in federal court and pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering, admitting she’d caused five investors to lose more than $8million.
Three of them – all former close friends – were watching from the gallery, including trauma surgeon Amal Obaid-Schmid, who’d lost her family’s life savings of $400,000.
While King agreed to pay restitution of at least $8,785,045, the real total of her scamming has been estimated to be nearer to $10million, with more possible victims who, as yet, haven’t come forward.
Before King’s sentencing, which was postponed twice, she was lying low in a small apartment with her parents back in Orange County and joking that she was taking Prozac to get through it all.
Kamran is still in Morocco, a non-extradition country, and hasn’t faced any charges.
“She betrayed me. Lied to me. Stole from me. Embarrassed me. Humiliated me. That’s not bad for a reason to break up,” he has said.
He added: “When I realised what she had done, I left and never looked back. To tell you the truth, it kills me to do this, but she is sick and she needs to be stopped before she scams the wrong person and she gets in real trouble.”
He also claimed that King had sent him threatening messages following their split, including one that warned: “Just wait and see, your time is coming.”
“Obviously, he’s going to want to separate himself from all this,” says Michele.
Anna Delvey comparisons
While awaiting her sentencing, King tried to find employment.
“Everybody recognised her, so she couldn’t work,” reveals Michele, who says she forged a genuine friendship with King over the course of making the podcast.
“She got a job at Nordstrom [the department store], but got fired once they realised who she was, so ended up working as a home helper for the elderly, which was a huge step down.
“People have compared her to Anna Delvey, but Sara herself points out she’s not a total fraud because she had money, she was an attorney and she’s savvy,” says Michele.
“I have respect for her work ethic. She was definitely a hustler and that’s what’s so mesmerising. She could have easily lived that Real Housewives life and gone to Pilates at the country club all day long, but she wanted to work.
“She’s a smart woman, but she had such a facade, and she told so many little white lies.”
- Live News The Binge Crimes: Lady Mafia is out now on all podcast providers
Marcus Rashford one of four wingers ‘crazy’ about Barcelona with Man Utd star battling Liverpool rival and ex-Prem ace
MARCUS RASHFORD is one of four wingers being eyed for a stunning transfer by Barcelona.
The La Liga champions saw their attack explode last season with Ballon d’Or candidates Lamine Yamal and Raphinha contributing to 102 goals by scoring themselves or assisting a team-mate.
However, Hansi Flick wants to add even more firepower to the ranks in a bid to retain the Spanish league title and better their semi-final appearance in the Champions League – where they lost to Inter Milan.
According to Mundo Deportivo, after adding goalkeeper Joan Garcia in a £21million transfer, the priority now is to add a left-footed attacker.
A four-man shortlist has been drawn up to that end.
The number one target on the shopping list is Liverpool star Luis Diaz, who has been on their radar for some time, while exiled Manchester United ace Rashford is also on there.
Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams is another name on the list, along with cut-price option Ivan Perisic who is available on a free after being released by PSV.
Below we take a look at each of the options and what they offer the Camp Nou outfit.
Luis Diaz – Liverpool
Colombia talisman Diaz – a childhood fan of the club – has been flirting with a move to Barcelona for some time now and is said to have “made up his mind” on wanting a transfer to Barca.
The 28-year-old is said to not feel valued at Anfield, where he scored 17 goals and added eight assists in all competitions.
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The Reds have not offered him a new contract ahead of his deal expiring in 2027, and he could fall down the pecking order with the imminent arrival of £116.5m ace Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen.
Reports suggest Diaz has been told he can leave Liverpool for £51m, although that is above the price Barca want to pay and his current employers have already rejected an approach this summer.
Marcus Rashford – Manchester United
Rashford is on the for-sale list at boyhood club Man Utd after being exiled by Ruben Amorim.
The 27-year-old was offered to Barcelona last January before he completed a loan transfer to Aston Villa, where he put in some impressive displays while racking up 10 goal contributions in 17 games.
It is understood Rashford will be available for £40m this summer, while he would also be willing to take a wage cut from his current £325,000-per-week earnings at Old Trafford.
Barca transfer chief Deco has already said Rashford is a player the club “likes” and Rashford is said to have told his agents to push for a move to Spain.
Nico Williams – Athletic Bilbao
The Spanish winger was the club’s primary target last summer after a breakout season for club and country, and while he added more goals to his game in the last 12 months, he overall had a more low-key year.
Barcelona now have rival interest in the attacker in the form of Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
However, the 22-year-old is reportedly desperate to join Barca as he hopes to link up with Yamal and made his ambitions clear to Deco.
He is understood to have a release clause of £53m.
Ivan Perisic – Free agent
Former Tottenham star Perisic is a seasoned veteran and could be the perfect foil to the relatively inexperienced attacking set-up at Flick’s disposal.
Flick knows him from their time together at Bayern Munich, when Perisic bagged 14 goal contributions in 26 games.
As a free option on the market Barcelona could do far worse, and the 36-year-old Croatia international is said to be willing to wait for Barcelona to make an approach before deciding on his future.
His plan is to reach the World Cup with Croatia and knows competing for a spot at Barcelona will improve those chances.
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World Cup of Darts 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Final day UNDERWAY as Luke Littler and Humphries suffer SHOCK early exit – updates
THE final day of the World Cup of Darts is now UNDERWAY – but Luke Littler and Luke Humphries have suffered a SHOCK early exit at the hands of Germany.
Defending champions and top seeds England – with World No 1 Humphries and world champ Littler – lost 8-4 to the pair of Ricardo Pietreczko and Martin Schindler representing the hosts in Frankfurt.
Elsewhere, Belgian pair Mike De Decker and Dimitri Van den Bergh were BEATEN by the Philippines, who went on to lose to now-favourites Wales with the pair of Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton.
- Start time: From 12pm BST
- TV channel: Sky Sports Action
- Live stream: NOW/Sky Sports app
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Mum-to-be slammed for naming her baby girl after global disaster because ‘it sounded nice’
EVER heard a name that left you completely gobsmacked?
A post on Reddit has gone viral after a woman shared a baby shower invite, which revealed the name planned for an unborn baby.
Traditionally, parents share the name of their child after it’s been born, rather than beforehand.
This is usually down to superstition, but also to avoid scrutiny and negativity over the chosen name.
Posting in the group r/tragedeigh, the Redditor said: “I’m speechless…
“Welp.. I just got invited to a baby shower…”
The invite read: “Please join us for a baby shower. Join us to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a little bundle of joy.
“In honour of Chernobyl Hope.”
The time and place was redacted but the invite concluded with: “We can’t wait to celebrate together.”
Someone replied: “I refuse to believe this is real lol.” But the original poster added: “I have a feeling they don’t know what Chernobyl meant. I asked them where they got the idea from and said it just sounded nice????”
Another was unconvinced: “This has to be fake. There’s no way this is real.” But the OP doubled down: “Imagine my shock when I received the invite.”
The OP later explained how the parents of Chernobyl wanted their daughter to be known by the nickname ‘Cherry’.
“I’ll let you guys know when I have an update. This invitation was sent in a group chat and was also personally sent to me,” they added. “I just can’t believe they would name a baby girl Chernobyl. I’ll gather enough courage to tell them my thoughts.”
One comment read: “This has gotta be a top ten worst names posted in the sub.”
Someone else felt the baby name was finally suitable for the Reddit thread and said: “FINALLY! a child named after a LITERAL tragedeigh!”
One person hoped the parents-to-be could be convinced to change their unborn baby’s name: “Thankfully it’s just the baby shower; there’s still time for someone to talk sense into them.”
But another thought the name wasn’t that uncommon: “I worked with a lady named Chernobyl. She went by Che.”
The struggle of choosing a baby name
CHLOE Morgan, a Senior Writer at Fabulous, has revealed her dilemma on choosing a baby name...
At 35 weeks pregnant, by far the trickiest part of pregnancy for me in the past few months (minus the insomnia and countless night-time wee breaks!) has been trying to decide on a baby name.
The dilemmas are endless…
My partner and I went for a private scan to find out the gender as early as we could – partly due to the fact we thought it would make baby naming so much easier because we’d only have to come up with a list of names for one gender rather than two.
How wrong we were…
I was absolutely thrilled to be told I was expecting the baby girl I’d already dreamed of, but being one of the last of my friends to fall pregnant, I’ve had countless conversations over the years with excited pals discussing their top baby names…something which I wish I could go back in time and un-hear.
With each friend mentioning at least 10 possible monikers, I can’t help but feel like several are now a no-go even though I know it’s something that none of them would mind in the slightest – it’s a total me problem!
The debate comes up time and time again on social media forums – can you choose the same name that was a “potential” for a friend’s baby?
It’s a very divisive topic and opinions are always mixed…and I don’t want to be THAT person.
While some will argue there’s thousands of other names out there to choose from, others will say you need to choose YOUR favourite…after all, there’s no guarantee that person will even have another baby.
Then there’s also the issue of finding a name you adore…only to research it online and read one negative comment amongst hundreds of positives that you just can’t shake off.
I made that very mistake when I fell in love with a certain name (I won’t reveal it because I don’t want to ruin it for others!) …only to see someone point out that it constantly gets autocorrected on a phone to something rather rude instead.
So, back to the drawing board we went..
Just five weeks to go and it looks like our little one is going to be known as ‘baby gal’ for a little while longer!
“Kid is going to think it’s cool that she was named after a show and then find out the origins of her name, lol,” a Redditor remarked.
What is the meaning behind ‘Chernobyl’?
The word Chernobyl refers to the Chernobyl disaster which was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat, in the Soviet Union.
During a late-night safety test, a sudden power surge led to a reactor explosion and fire, releasing massive amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
The explosion killed two workers immediately, and acute radiation sickness claimed 28 more lives within weeks.
However, around 600,000 ‘liquidators,’ involved in cleaning up the accident, were exposed to high doses of radiation, with various studies reporting that those affected by the blast could be in their thousands.
The Chernobyl disaster was a devastating tragedy, meaning it’s not a word associated with a person’s name.
But, there are other meanings to the word Chernobyl. One defended the possible new baby’s name, writing: “I mean, the word Chernobyl was originally the name of a common mugwort plant, a medicinal herb.”
They followed up their sentiment with the phrase: “But there’s a reason we don’t name children Adol[f] any longer, even if that name was relatively innocuous before 1939.”
“This is so, so bad. They have to be told. Give them a book about Chernobyl as a gift for the baby shower. Because no,” replied someone else.
