Author: SKYNEWS

Ariana Grande has responded to criticism about a change in her speaking voice after an interview clip went viral, explaining she shifts her tone intentionally to protect her vocals for singing.The clip was taken from an interview on the Podcrushed podcast with You actor Penn Badgley. In the footage, Grande begins speaking about recording new music in a deeper voice, before shifting to a higher-pitched register. Captioned “the voice change??”, it went viral on the video sharing app TikTok as fans commented on the difference in the US star’s tone. TikTok This content is provided by TikTok, which may be…

Bridgepoint, the London-listed buyout firm, is closing in on a takeover of Alpha Financial Markets Consulting (Alpha FMC), the FTSE-250 specialist consulting firm.Sky News has learnt that Bridgepoint and Alpha FMC are nearing agreement on a deal worth in the region of £550m. An agreement worth approximately 500p-a-share is expected to be announced before a Takeover Panel deadline expires on Thursday.A firm offer from Bridgepoint will come weeks after both it and rival private equity group Cinven approached Alpha FMC about a potential deal.The specialist financial services consultancy is the latest London-listed company to attract takeover interest from private equity…

American singer Taylor Swift impressed her fans in Cardiff on Tuesday by opening her concert in Welsh.She greeted the audience with “Croeso i Daith Eras” (“Welcome to the Eras Tour”). One of her backing vocalists also used the Welsh term “Ych a fi” – used to describe something disgusting – when the star passed the mic over as part of their performance.The Principality Stadium is known as the home of Welsh rugby, but the venue was transformed to host the 34-year-old’s concert on Tuesday.There were road closures in place in Cardiff city centre for much of the day, and commuters…

Wall Street’s biggest bank is lifting Brussels’ bonus cap for its London-based staff, weeks after rival Goldman Sachs fired the starting gun on a post-Brexit era in industry pay.Sky News can reveal that JP Morgan Chase was in the process of notifying staff on Wednesday that it would preserve some elements of the remuneration packages introduced after the European Union’s cap on variable pay came into force in 2014. The system prevents material risk-takers (MRTs) working in lenders’ operations in the EU from earning more than twice their fixed pay in variable compensation.Sources said that JP Morgan, which employs 22,000…

A police officer who pulled Justin Timberlake over before his arrest for alleged drink-driving did not recognise the star, according to a US media report.Timberlake had been in Long Island, in New York state, reportedly having dinner with friends before his arrest in the early hours of Tuesday. Sag Harbor police chief Robert Drake said the 43-year-old star failed to stop at a stop sign and could not stay in his lane while driving a 2025 BMW at 12.37am. Court documents stated his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy”. Image: Pic: Sag Harbor/Reuters Page Six, the New York Post’s celebrity and…

There was “possibly a criminal conspiracy” at the Post Office, according to an independent forensic accountant drafted in to investigate the controversial Horizon accounting system.Ian Henderson, one of the two forensic accountants from Second Sight paid by Post Office (POL) to review sub-postmaster convictions involving Horizon in 2012, told the public inquiry into the scandal that former chief executive Paula Vennells “frequently and consistently” tried to steer him away from probing miscarriages of justice. Mr Henderson explained how he had signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with the Post Office and claimed he later faced a “thinly veiled threat” from the…

Microplastics have been found in penises for the first time, with scientists raising questions about their impact on sexual health.A study, published in science journal Nature, assessed the tissue from six men who had undergone surgery treating erectile dysfunction. In 80% of the samples, seven types of microplastics were identified, with some as small as two micrometres – or two thousandths of a millimetre.”The detection of microplastics in penile tissue raises inquiries on the ramifications of environmental pollutants on sexual health,” scientists said in the study. Almost half of the microplastics found were polyethylene terephthalate, commonly used to make clothes…

Jeremy Vine has said the apology and £75,000 Joey Barton has agreed to pay him in damages is “not the final outcome” in his defamation case against the former footballer.On Tuesday Barton, 41, published an apology and agreed to pay the Radio 2 presenter, 59, the sum after Vine sued him for libel and harassment in the High Court over online posts in which he used a number of slurs and made unfounded allegations. But in a later tweet, Vine said: “The news of Joey Barton’s apology and commitment to pay damages and costs is not the final outcome of…

UK inflation has eased to 2% – increasing the prospect of an interest rate cut within months.The consumer prices index (CPI) rate for the year to May was confirmed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Wednesday. The figure indicates that prices are still rising, but at the slowest pace since July 2021.The ONS said the drop was largely down to falling food prices, while the cost of motor fuel rose slightly.Officials added that core inflation, which strips out volatile elements such as food and energy, fell to 3.5% in May, in line with expectations. However, some commentators expressed…

With help from artificial intelligence, researchers have identified a biological signature of Parkinson’s disease they hope could lead to a simple blood test for the condition at least seven years before symptoms appear.A predictive test for Parkinson’s could be game changing. The progressive condition affects more than 150,000 people in the UK and is currently the world’s fastest-growing neurodegenerative disorder.Parkinson’s is a broad spectrum of conditions, but the most common symptoms are slowness of movement, tremors, and muscle stiffness.There are currently no drugs that slow or stop Parkinson’s, and efforts to develop preventative treatments are hampered by the ability to…