With the arrival of April 1st, Fortnite has brought back the traditional April Fools’ Day quests. This time, they are freshly baked out of the oven and ready to take you on a quirky and unconventional ride. They are here to give you a break from your usual Battle Royale routine. These quick missions are […]
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WrestleMania season is here, and WWE is cooking up pure chaos in the best possible way. The top dogs, Roman Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins, are all heading into a triple-threat showdown at WrestleMania 41, and let’s be honest, it’s the kind of drama that deserves popcorn and a championship belt. The live SmackDown […]
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Ever since Stranger Things burst onto Netflix in 2016, it’s been a wild ride through monsters, mind powers, and enough ‘80s nostalgia to make you want to dust off a cassette tape. With four seasons packed full of Demogorgons, shady government experiments, and a bunch of kids who are way braver than most adults, the […]
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Jada Pinkett Smith has kept up a steady flow of controversies for the last few years. Be it the strange anecdotes in interviews, exposing shocking scandals, or her explosive memoir, the actress has made it a mission to continue making headlines at all costs. Her tumultuous marriage with Will Smith and its consequences not only […]
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JOE JOYCE returns to the ring this weekend to take on late-notice opponent Filip Hrgovic.
After difficult losses against Derek Chisora and Zhilei Zhang, this may be the 39-year-old star’s last run at having a chance to fight for a world title.
Originally, the bout was set to see the Juggernaut take on British rival Dillian Whyte.
But on March 4, Whyte was forced to pull out of the fight due to a horrific finger injury.
A replacement was quickly found in Croatian Hrgovic, who steps in to headline this weekend’s main event on just a month’s notice.
Hrgovic is coming into this fight after almost a year out of the ring – when he suffered the first defeat of his pro career to a brilliant KO performance from Daniel Dubois.
The 32-year-old star will be hoping to bounce back after this loss as he had gained lots of hype for his impressive 17-0 record (at the time) – with 14 of those wins coming by KO.
As for Joyce, retirement appears to be staring him in the face should he lose after three defeats in his last four and his only win coming against Kash Ali.
MODEL Christine McGuinness was a “recluse” for eight years and only left the house at 3am.
Springwatch presenter Chris Packham says it makes him a “task-centric workaholic who sees problems in everything he does”.
And recently, Bella Ramsey revealed they were diagnosed after struggling to wear thermals on the set of The Last of Us.
But what exactly is autism and why does it seem so different in everyone?
Leanne Cooper-Brown, neurodevelopmental lead at Clinical Partners, tells Sun Health: “Autism is considered a spectrum, so not all people share the same traits.
“Whereas we used to think of autism as a linear line, we have come to realise that terms such as ‘high’ and ‘low’ functioning or definitions of ‘mild’, ‘moderate’ or ‘severe’ aren’t helpful and can be misleading.
“Nowadays, we think of autism in terms of the strengths and needs of the individual, which can change over time depending on their environment and support network.”
About 700,000 people in the UK are thought to have autism – that’s one in 100.
But research by University College London suggests that number could be twice as high, as many people remain undiagnosed.
Cases are on the rise though. Figures released last year showed a 175 per cent increase from 2011 to 2022.
Dr Selina Warlow, clinical psychologist and owner of The Nook Neurodevelopmental Clinic, says: “Conversation around neurodiversity is becoming normalised, and that’s so positive to see. But more awareness is needed.
“Receiving a diagnosis can open access to expert resources that support autistic people to thrive in society.”
AUTISM is not an illness or disease. It’s a lifelong disability that means your brain works in a different way, also called neurodivergence, which influences how you experience and interact with the world, Leanne says.
Crucially, autism is a spectrum, so everybody with it is different.
IT’S long been associated with social difficulties, like problems maintaining conversations and forming relationships.
But research published this week in the journal Cell Press suggested that repetitive behaviours – like rocking or finger-flicking – and special interests – whether it’s TV shows or specific animals – are more indicative of an autism diagnosis.
Generally though, experts say the core characteristics include…
AUTISTIC people can be much more or less sensitive to sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells.
For example, they find bright lights or crowded spaces overwhelming, Leanne says.
They may also stand too close to others or need to move their whole body to look at something.
TO manage this sensory overload, some people use repetitive movements or sounds.
“This is called stimming, and includes rocking, tapping and hand-flapping,” Dr Warlow says.
“Though it’s something everyone does to some extent, those with autism are likely to engage with it as a form of self-regulation.”
MASKING is a strategy used by some autistic people, consciously or not, to match neurotypical people, Dr Warlow says.
“It’s a way of hiding your true characteristics, and could involve copying facial expressions, planning conversations in advance, or holding in ‘stimming’ – swapping hand clapping with playing with a pen, for example,” she adds.
BURNOUT is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion and is a common feature in autism.
“Being extremely tired, both mentally and physically, can be associated with the act of masking for a long period of time, or sensory or social overload,” Dr Warlow says.
“Symptoms of autistic burnout include social withdrawal, reduced performance and increased sensitivity.”
SOCIALISING can be confusing or tiring for autistic people.
They often find it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling, making it challenging to make friends.
Leanne says: “In adults, autism may present as difficulties with interpreting social cues such as understanding body language or sarcasm, struggling to express emotions or preferring to be alone. This can impact relationships and work.”
MANY of us have a fairly regular daily schedule.
But for autistic people, this becomes a “very strong preference for routine”, Leanne says.
This could be needing a daily timetable to know what is going to happen and when, or having rigid preferences about foods or clothing.
SOME autistic people have a literal view of language – like believing it’s actually “raining cats and dogs” or that someone really wants you to “break a leg”.
Dr Warlow says: “This can result in confusion with figures of speech, irony or indirect requests.
“For instance, being told to ‘pull your socks up’ might be understood literally, not as a motivational phrase.”
OFTEN associated with ADHD, hyperfocusing is also common in autistic people.
“It’s where you’re able to focus intensely on an activity and become absorbed to the point of forgetting about time,” Dr Warlow says.
“This is useful in work or hobbies but can result in neglect of other aspects of life, such as food or rest.”
WE all have hobbies and interests. But for autistic people, these are so compelling they often want to spend all their time learning about, thinking about or doing them.
“Special interests could include anything from dinosaurs to superheroes, and gardening to music,” Dr Warlow says.
“These usually begin in childhood, but can also form as an adult.
“Chris Packham is an example of an autistic person who turned his childhood special interest in animals into a successful career, becoming one of the UK’s best-loved natural world TV presenters.”
IF you think you or your child might be autistic, speak to your GP.
You may be referred for an assessment, which involves interviews, questionnaires and behavioural observations.
NHS waiting lists are long, so you can choose to pay privately.
Because autism isn’t an illness or disease, it cannot be treated or cured.
However, certain interventions, such as talking therapies and practical adjustments at school or work, can help.
Other support is available through the National Autistic Society and Autism Central.
WILLIE MULLINS’ ‘really special’ Grand National runner has been smashed into favourite – as terrified bookies revealed they are already counting the cost of their ‘worst result’.
A ‘big gamble’ has formed on defending champion I Am Maximus with William Hill.
The official sponsors of the world’s most famous race have been forced to cut him to 8-1 from 11s as he bids to do a Tiger Roll and win back-to-back Nationals.
I Am Maximus – who has been labelled ‘really special’ by owner JP McManus – made a mockery of his Grand National mark last year, powering clear to the line despite some dodgy jumping.
He has been lumped with top weight 11st12lbs this year.
Latest odds via William Hill
8-1 I Am Maximus
9-1 Stumptown, Iroko
10-1 Perceval Legallois, Vanillier, Hewick
12-1 Intense Raffles
14-1 Minella Cocooner
20-1 bar
But punters are keeping the faith in all-conquering Mullins – who sparked a dramatic jockey storm after poaching one of Paul Nicholls’ riders – being able to work yet more miracles despite I Am Maximus’ form.
He has looked sloppy in two runs this season and was pulled out of his intended prep run in the Bobbyjo Chase last month with an infection.
Mullins reckons I Am Maximus could be a Gold Cup horse in time, though, so he clearly thinks he is a proper Grade 1 animal.
And he must have been impressing in his work at home if word has got out to back him.
Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “Our Non-Runner Money Back Grand National market has been a real rollercoaster and there’s been another twist in the last 12 hours.
“The defending champion, I Am Maximus, has been the subject of a big gamble, where we’ve seen really good money for him, enough to make him the new standalone favourite at 8-1 from 11s.
“The wave of money has also propelled him to be our worst result in the race, jumping ahead of Stumptown, Meetingofthewaters and Beauport.
“There’s plenty more time for more gambles to take place, but right now, we’re fearing I Am Maximus ‘doing a Tiger Roll’ and landing back-to-back Grand Nationals.”
The top of the market has chopped and changed massively in recent days with bookies taking on different runners ahead of Saturday’s renewal.
Gavin Cromwell’s Vanillier was made one of three 8-1 co-favourites alongside stablemate Stumptown and British hope Iroko with Star Sports and PricedUp.
But it’s interesting that Hills, who sponsor Cromwell, have it differently.
They make his big two chances, Stumptown and Vanillier, 9-1 and 10-1 respectively.
And it is Cromwell’s other fancied runner, Perceval Legallois, who will be ridden by Gold Cup king Mark Walsh, who is also now 10-1 after being the subject of money in recent days.
Paddy Power see it differently, though, with Iroko their 7-1 favourite and I Am Maximus as big as 10-1.
So it pays to shop around if you want to get the best price about a horse you fancy to land the £1million race.
A responsible gambler is someone who:
Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
HE was the prickly Hollywood playboy who charmed some of the world’s most beautiful stars – and drove producers to despair.
Now, Val Kilmer, famed for his iconic performances in blockbusters like Top Gun and Batman Forever, has passed away at the age of 65.
The legendary actor died yesterday in Los Angeles due to complications from pneumonia, marking the end of a decades-long battle with health challenges that began in 2014 when he was diagnosed with throat cancer.
After undergoing aggressive treatment, which included a tracheotomy, chemotherapy and radiation, Kilmer was left with a permanent change to his voice, but his spirit remained unbroken.
And in 2022, he treated fans to the most heart-tugging reunion when he made a near-miraculous comeback in Top Gun: Maverick alongside his old sparring partner, Tom Cruise.
Grown men were left in tears watching the American star return to the role of cocksure Tom “Iceman” Kazansky that first made him famous in 1986.
The original transformed the then-unknown Kilmer into Hollywood’s hottest hunk, whose high-profile flings included Cher, Cindy Crawford, Daryl Hannah, Ellen Barkin, and Angelina Jolie.
But a reputation for being difficult to work with, financial woes and a brush with death appeared to wreck all hopes of ever seeing Kilmer in a blockbuster again.
Thanks, though, due to radical new artificial voice technology the actor was able to talk again.
Despite that, convincing the sequel’s producers that he was fit to return to active duty was a tough task for the never-say-die movie veteran.
Kilmer insisted, rightly, that there was no Top Gun without Iceman.
He stated: “Tom was Maverick, but Maverick’s nemesis was Iceman. The two went together like salt and pepper.
“It didn’t matter that the producers didn’t contact me. As the Temptations sang in the heyday of Motown soul, ‘ain’t too proud to beg.'”
That certainly wasn’t Kilmer’s attitude when he read the script for the original.
He thought it was “silly” and had to accept the role because he was under contract with the studio.
At that point Kilmer had only appeared in two comedies, Top Secret! And Real Genius.
The precocious, then 26-year-old, newcomer didn’t play it safe, choosing to ad-lib lines and deliberately create off-screen tension with Cruise.
He reportedly formed a team Iceman camp to rival anyone on the Maverick side and went off partying while Cruise diligently learned his script.
Kilmer said: “Tom refrained from our revelry, with good reason. From day one, he was laser-focused on a singular goal – to become the greatest action hero in the history of film.”
Reluctantly taking the role proved to be a fortuitous break because Top Gun was the biggest box office hit of 1986 and Kilmer’s line “you can be my wingman any time” is part of pop culture.
Two years later the ladies’ man met his future wife, British actress Joanne Whalley, on the set of Willow and they had two children, Mercedes and Jack.
His insistence on staying in character caused problems both for his marriage and his co-stars.
For the whole year he played tragic rocker Jim Morrison in The Doors he didn’t break out of the part on set or at home or prize himself out of the same leather trousers.
During an audition for the 1991 film with actress Caitlin O’Heaney he allegedly got so caught up in the moment that he slapped her, which resulted in a financial settlement.
Batman Forever director Joel Schumacher described Kilmer, who only played the caped crusader once, as “psychotic” and The Island of Dr Moreau director John Frankenheimer said: “There are two things I will never ever do in my whole life: I will never climb Mt. Everest and I will never work with Val Kilmer ever again.”
Kilmer acknowledged that, perhaps, he overstepped the mark now and again.
He said in a recent documentary: “I have behaved poorly, I have behaved bravely, I have behaved bizarrely to some”.
The women in his life have seen a different side to the troubled actor.
His actress daughter Mercedes, who was so close to her dad that she lived next door to him in California, said: “I think he has the reputation of being difficult, which is deserved and undeserved.”
Kilmer told how he was in love with former girlfriends, such as supermodel Crawford, and many of them remained close friends.
While his split from Whalley in 1996 proved to be acrimonious, tensions eventually cooled and they remained in regular contact.
Kilmer only learned that she had left him via the news and she sued him over alleged non-payment of child support in 2011.
In later years, though, he said: “Joanne and I have a tremendous respect for one another and she was and is a huge part of my life.”
The man who claimed to prefer the company of women to men remained, surprisingly, single in his last couple of decades.
In an interview in 2020 he said: “I haven’t had a girlfriend in 20 years. The truth is, part of every day I’m alone.”
It was singer Cher, who dated him in 1981, whose lasting devotion proved to be crucial to his survival.
Around 2015 Kilmer was living alone in a cottage in Malibu, Los Angeles, short of funds because a property deal in New Mexico had cost him millions in the property crash seven years earlier.
A lump in his throat that was making it difficult to swallow grew into a deadly tumour that could no longer go untreated.
I haven’t had a girlfriend in 20 years. The truth is, part of every day I’m alone
Val Kilmer
That became clear to Kilmer on the day he awakened in a pool of the blood he had coughed up.
“I presumed this was the day of my death”, he wrote in his autobiography I’m Your Huckleberry.
After calling an ambulance he crawled up the stairs of his home to the road so that the paramedics could find him.
In order to save his life he was given an emergency tracheotomy at nearby Santa Monica hospital.
But he needed ongoing care if he was going to beat the cancer and it was Cher who organised for him to be transferred to David Geffen’s School of Medicine at UCLA.
For the next two months he underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment before leaving to convalesce at Cher’s Malibu guest house
He wrote: “Once Cher works her way inside your head and heart, she never leaves.”
When fellow star Michael Douglas revealed in 2016 that Kilmer had cancer he denied it, before revealing the truth a year later.
And he became more open about his struggles.
In a documentary titled Val there was footage of him throwing up after signing autographs while sitting in a wheelchair at the fan convention Comic-Con.
But the religious actor wouldn’t credit medicine with his renewed state of well-being.
He believed that by praying to God his cancer had healed “much faster than any of the doctors predicted.”
What can’t be denied is that technology gave him the ability for his voice to be heard once more.
A company called Sonantic took old voice recordings of Kilmer and used artificial intelligence to turn them into words played through a speaker.
He said: “I was struck by throat cancer. After being treated, my voice as I knew it was taken away from me.
“People around me struggle to understand me when I’m talking. But despite all that I still feel I’m the exact same person.”
Kilmer, who wore scarves to cover up his tracheotomy, insisted he felt far healthier than he looked.
That allowed him to play an older, wiser Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick.
He concluded: “The characters never really go away. They live on, in deep freeze. If you’ll pardon the pun.”
