Author: BBC

A pair of ruby red slippers worn by actress Judy Garland in the classic movie The Wizard of Oz have been sold for $28m (£22m) at a US-based auction on Saturday.One of four surviving pairs used in the film, the famed sequined pumps were once stolen from a Minnesota museum.Online bidding started a month ago, with the slippers expected to fetch as much as $3m (£2.35m) at auction, according to Heritage Auctions – an under-estimate by $25m (£20m).The auctioneers called the slippers the “Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia” and said their selling price made them the most valuable movie memorabilia…

BBCWendy Swain said the surgery left her feeling even more disabledPatients who had probes located in the wrong part of their brain due to failings at an NHS trust suffered unnecessarily for years, a damning report has found.The leaked report into deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, seen by the BBC, also shows a whistleblower was ignored, intimidated and disciplined.Wendy Swain, who had electrodes in the wrong place for 11 years, leading to difficulty walking and a facial twitch, said: “They’ve made my life hell.”The trust, already under fire following an inquiry that exposed…

Getty ImagesIt’s that quintessential British tradition that we have been enjoying for hundreds of years.The answer to every crisis, a bonding ritual when you welcome someone into your home and the first drink many people wake up to.“Fancy a cuppa?” or even simply “Tea?” is music to your ears, right?Well, maybe not for everyone.”I suppose there’s kind of an association with tea as an old person’s drink,” says Gillie Owen, aged 20.The student from London says he and his friends prefer water or diet soda drinks.Gillie thinks of tea as “an old person’s drink”Layba, meanwhile, doesn’t drink tea at all.”I…

TikTok’s bid to overturn a law which would see it banned or sold in the US from early 2025 has been rejected.The social media company had hoped a federal appeals court would agree with its argument that the law was unconstitutional because it represented a “staggering” impact on the free speech of its 170 million US users.But the court upheld the law, which it said “was the culmination of extensive, bipartisan action by the Congress and by successive presidents”.TikTok says it will now take its fight to the US Supreme Court, the country’s highest legal authority.The US wants TikTok sold…

ITV plcThe swimmer-turned-cyclist had hit the ice rink after winning Paralympic gold again in ParisDame Sarah Storey has said she is “absolutely gutted” to have to pull out of the upcoming series of Dancing on Ice after fracturing her ankle falling over in training. Britain’s most successful Paralympian posted on social media on Friday to say that an “awkward stumble and fall”, while her left foot was “stuck on the ice”, meant she was unable to take part in the ITV series from January next year.Dame Sarah thanked those involved with the show and medical staff for ensuring she is…

Adele DarlingtonA year on, Adele and her daughter Jasmine are looking forward to spending the Christmas holidays at homeIt was almost a year ago that Adele Darlington, who is 41 and from Warrington, was in a critical condition in hospital following massive bleeding while giving birth to her baby girl.She was losing so much blood that she needed the equivalent of around three people’s blood volume given back to her, says NHS Blood and Transplant. Doctors treating her used 65 units or bags of blood and blood products to save her life. An average woman has nearly five litres of…

Ros Atkins on… How the New York shooting unfoldedThe manhunt for a suspect who gunned down a healthcare chief executive in New York is now in its third day, with police chasing several different leads.UnitedHealthcare boss Brian Thompson, 50, was fatally shot in the back on Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Police say Thompson was targeted in a pre-planned killing, for which they do not yet have a motive. Investigators are using surveillance photos, bullet casings with cryptic messages written on them, and the suspect’s movements to track him down. They are also working with the…

Lizzo has won a key ruling in her ongoing legal battle with a stylist who claims she was subjected to racial and sexual harassment and a hostile work environment by members of the singer’s management team while on tour in 2023, as well as unpaid over time.A Los Angeles federal judge ruled on Monday that wardrobe assistant Asha Daniels could not sue the Grammy winner as an individual, after identifying the singer’s touring and payroll companies as her employers. But Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc remains a defendant in the ongoing case.US district judge Fernando L Aenlle-Rocha dismissed all seven…

Getty ImagesCould AI supersede traditional gift giving inspiration?Like many of us at this time of year, Josie Hughes wracks her brain to think of gifts for friends and family.However, last month she decided to try a different approach.Being familiar with artificial intelligence (AI), particularly through her work at the Institute of Analytics, she decided to see if AI could generate Christmas present ideas for her nine-year-old brother.“I use AI all the time for my job, for example, help writing emails as I have autism and ADHD and I struggle…and I thought with Christmas coming up, I wonder if it can…

EPAFamilies of children operated on by a disgraced surgeon have labelled independent reports into their care as a “whitewash” and a “final insult”.Yaser Jabbar, a former surgeon at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), carried out procedures including leg lengthening and straightening. He also operated on children with complicated disorders.But some cases linked to him resulted in harm, including life-long injuries and amputation.Mr Jabbar left the hospital in 2023 after a report by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) found some of the surgery had been “inappropriate” and “incorrect”.Following the RCS report, GOSH said each of Mr Jabbar’s 723 patients…