94-year-old can't hold back tears when grandson tells him 'he loves him very much'

By Samuel Wightwick

This is the emotional moment a grandad couldn't hold back his tears when his grandson told him “he loves him very much."

Brent Hancel Webb, 37, captured the moment when his grandad Alan Witherspoon was staying with him after the family he was living with had to move.

The video shows Alan becoming teary-eyed as Brent tells him how much he has loved spending time with him and that he loves him very much.

Alan passed away in January this year at the age of 94 after suffering from Alzheimer's dementia, so Brent is glad that he managed to capture this moment that he can look back on.

Brent, who works as an environmental scientist in Seattle, Washington, USA, said: "I had been wanting to capture that moment for a long time.

"I wanted to have a video showing how much I care about him but just to show the world how much I meant to him and he meant to me.

"With him suffering from Alzheimer's dementia, it made him more emotional but it also brought out a lot of who he was."

Brent was able to spend lots of quality time with his grandfather while living together.

He took him out to sports games, concerts, and they even took a trip to Canada.

Being out and socializing really helped his grandfather, so Brent made sure to get him out of the house as much as possible.

Brent Hancel Webb, 37, with his grandpa Alan Witherspoon, 94, at a Huskies football match. (Pix via SWNS)

He said: "When I would take him out to gigs and sports events, he was like the old witty and smart Alan - he was all there.

"I tried my hardest to do lots of stuff to bring back his old self and fight through the chaos of the disease as much as possible."

Brent also adapted to the way his grandad did things and created an environment where it was as easy as possible for him to live.

Brent said: "I made sure to do things like putting up little notes with his name on them and I made sure I used black writing on white paper to not confuse him.

"With his condition, he had bad hearing too, so when I walked round the corner it would scare him.

"That's why I would always knock and alert him before entering the room - like you see in the video too."

Alan Witherspoon, 94. (Pix via SWNS)

Brent is extremely proud of the way that he was able to care for his grandfather and was told by doctors that it actually allowed him to live longer.

Brent said: "Doctors had told me that the way I cared for him, taking him out, putting him in situations where he was happy and socializing really helped him go longer in life.

"He did so much for me growing up was one of the rare people that helped me the way he did.

"I am so happy that I can share this video with people."


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“I waited 34 years to transition to a man and starting a family with my fiancée - using both our eggs”

By Emma Dunn

A trans man and his partner are set to undergo IVF using her womb and HIS eggs from before he transitioned.

Taylor Winters, 40, was assigned female at birth but always identified "like a boy" growing up.

He would cut his hair short and refuse to wear dresses but didn’t realize he was transgender until he reached his early 20s and saw a trans woman being interviewed on TV.

Taylor moved to the US nine years ago and began looking into transitioning - starting testosterone aged 34.

He found it “exciting” growing a beard, hearing his voice drop and felt “whole” after having top surgery.

Before Taylor started his transition, he decided to freeze his eggs and is now beginning IVF with his fiancée, Chloe, 30.

They are using a sperm donor and plan to use Taylor’s frozen eggs in their first transfer, and Chloe’s in their second – so they can each have a biological child.

Taylor, a social media director, living in Watford, Hertfordshire, said: “I feel complete now.

“I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

“I was waiting my whole life for something but I didn’t know if it was going to happen.

“I never lost hope.”

Chloe said: "It was amazing noticing how each injection would transform his body but most importantly, I loved seeing how confident he grew as each month passed.

"I feel it’s so brave to show the world who you truly are, so I'm really proud of him for aligning his physical appearance to who he is inside.

"I’ve always wanted a family of my own, ever since I was little. Having our own biological kids just felt right for us as it does for a lot of couples - we’re no different.

"Having IVF as an option for us is such a blessing. We both have a lot of love to give and have the best family and support around us, and our children would always be loved and accepted for who they are.

"You can be in a healthy and happy relationship if you’re transgender."

Taylor before transitioning — one of the rare moment he wore a dress while identifying as female. (Pix via SWNS)

Taylor, who grew up in Transylvania, Romania, told his parents he was a boy from the age of five and would cut his hair, refuse to wear skirts and tried to “pee like a boy” - and says they were supportive.

He said: “I was saying I’m more of a butch lesbian but I felt like a boy.

“There was no visibility [of trans people] at all.”

Taylor wore baggy clothes and only saw someone like him when he started properly researching in his early 20s.

He said: “I saw a Romanian trans person on TV. I felt compassion for the trans girl and a bit envious as well.”

Taylor moved to Germany with his then partner in March 2014, before moving to the US in March 2015 when the relationship broke down.

There he began properly looking into transitioning and met fiancée Chloe in 2016 - who helped him through the process.

After going through physiological assessments and testing he was able to start testosterone in November 2017.

Before starting Taylor decided to freeze his eggs as he had always wanted the chance to be a parent – but had never seen himself being pregnant.

Taylor Winters, 40 with fiancé Chloe, 30. (Pix via SWNS)

He said: “I was becoming something I always saw myself to be.

“It was amazing.

“It was exciting.

“I started seeing facial hair. My voice started to drop after a few months.

“It was a rollercoaster.”

Taylor had top surgery in October 2019 and a hysterectomy in November 2023.

He said: “It was such a liberating feeling.

“It was amazing not having to hide my chest - to go to the beach and not have to wear a bra.”

Taylor proudly wears his top surgery scars after having the operation in 2019. (Pix via SWNS)
Taylor Winters, 40, began transitioning when he was 34, and had top surgery in 2019. (Pix via SWNS)

Now happy in himself, Taylor and Chloe have been looking into starting a family and have picked out a sperm donor.

They hope to have their first round of IVF later this year – using Taylor’s eggs – to have a baby.

The couple would love to then have another child – using Chloe’s eggs and the same sperm donor.

Taylor said: “From my perspective, I always wanted to have biological kids but I didn’t want to be pregnant.

“We’re using both our eggs to start a family so we each have a biological connection.”

Taylor hopes sharing his story can show people that it’s “never too late” to transition.

He said: “I feel like this is a new life since transitioning.”


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'Split' boxing glove from Muhammad Ali's 1963 fight with Henry Cooper at auction for £500k

By Kate Pounds

An auctioneer is selling what he claims is the famed 'split' glove from Muhammad Ali's 1963 fight with Henry Cooper - for £500k.

The glove has gone down in boxing lore after a tear was allegedly made to buy Ali, then Cassius Clay, time after being knocked down.

Clay had been floored by a left hook from Cooper - known as 'Enry's 'Ammer - and was literally on the ropes.

But his shrewd trainer Angelo Dundee widened the split to give his man more time to recover, or so the story goes - and he eventually won the fight.

A pair of gloves featuring a split and said to be from the fight were sold by Christie's in 2001.

But Stuart, of Chard Auctions in Somerset, is now selling a glove - signed by Cooper.

He has set a guide price of £300,000 to £500,000 - with the lot description calling it "genuine".

The boxing glove has gone down in boxing lore after a tear was allegedly made to buy Ali, then Cassius Clay, time after being knocked down (Pix via SWNS)
The boxing glove has gone down in boxing lore after a tear was allegedly made to buy Ali, then Cassius Clay, time after being knocked down (Pix via SWNS)

Stuart, 53, said: "I'm so excited about this sale. When I saw the pictures of the glove and all the evidence of its provenance it blew me away.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to bits that I've been chosen to promote this and to sell it on."

The glove is being kept in a secret location and will be auctioned on June 18 - the 61st anniversary of the fight, which took place at Wembley Stadium.

Stuart claims the glove was returned to makers Baily's, based in Glastonbury, straight after the fight.

It remained there until Richard Mayers, a since-deceased managing director, gave the glove to his partner, Stuart claims.

(Pix via SWNS)


(Pix via SWNS)

The woman's son, Simon Hawkins, 54, from Seaton, Devon, is now selling the glove.

A handwritten letter from Richard to his partner, that Stuart has, says he joined the company in 1963.

It said: "I declare this glove to be genuine. I've always been aware of it's significance, safety, and provenance."

The Christie's gloves were sold to an advertising executive for £37,600 in 2001, according to newspaper reports.

They featured in an Ali exhibition some years later.

Christie's declined to comment.

Listing: https://www.stuartbullauctions.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR3p6RjOWTbDUt67jXFvjz1ZyERjWC4yfb_PtZXdx_QhUk_jsoosWT2W62g.


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“Wearing underwear as outerwear helped me overcome body dysmorphia”

By Hannah Van De Peer

A woman wears underwear as "outerwear" to overcome her body dysmorphia - and dons lingerie, corsets, and boxers to go to the beach and on nights out.

Abbie Fidgett, 22, began experiencing body dysmorphia after enduring bullying throughout school and college.

She spent 20 weeks on a waiting list for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and declined to revisit the doctor after they wanted to weigh her.

She bundled up in winter coats year-round to conceal her body but in November 2020 decided to swap them out for underwear instead - after attempting exposure therapy wearing different outfits.

She has started to feel better and enjoys expressing herself through fashion.

Now, she plans to run errands wearing boxer shorts and a jacket and frequently wears lingerie on nights out.

Abbie, a content creator, from Stafford, West Midlands, England, said: "I began expressing myself through my fashion because it felt like I was finally doing something for myself.

"I feel confident wearing underwear as outerwear, and I’m so proud of myself.

"I love getting creative with fashion; it gives me my power back.

"I'm always wearing lingerie tops on nights out - I'll wear my boxer shorts on holiday, along with a bikini top.

"When it gets a bit warmer, I’ll be pairing my boxers with a blazer or jacket to go to the shops."

Abbie Fidgett at home in Stafford. (Pix via SWNS)

The bullying started when Abbie was in year seven, in 2012, and persisted until 2017.

While she used to be a "confident, outspoken" teenager, Abbie quickly became withdrawn and started feeling bad about her body.

She says bullies would make fun of her skin and weight, and it was "relentless" - lasting the entirety of her time at school.

She says her prom - which took place on July 7, 2017 - was the "worst day of her life."

She said: "I struggled mostly in high school.

"I got heavily bullied - so for me, the priority was to just find any piece of clothing I could hide my body in.

"I used to wear big winter coats, even in the summer, to hide myself.

"I’d get stared at a lot, which I did find really embarrassing, but it was more bearable than walking out the door wearing something that showed my body off.

"I just wanted to be able to feel comfortable again and wear things I actually liked."

Abbie Fidgett at home in Stafford. (Pix via SWNS)

Abbie visited her GP for the first time in the summer of 2017 - but she says there were no body dysmorphia-specific treatments available, and the waiting list for CBT was 20 weeks long.

She felt uncomfortable with the way her condition was being discussed by doctors - and she claims they told her they'd "get you out of that winter coat in no time."

"I couldn’t get any CBT during high school because the waiting list was too long," she said.

"I remember walking into my appointment in my big coat, stepping on the scales in front of the doctor, hearing them making comments.

"I left that appointment in tears."

With the support of her friends and family, Abbie joined a gym in Stafford to improve her mental health instead and started seeing a personal trainer.

As her relationship with her body slowly improved over the years, she began exploring her love of fashion by experimenting with different outfits - and in October 2022, she started posting style videos on TikTok.

She said: "You can't grow your confidence overnight - it was years before I felt good enough in myself to start changing up my style.

"The gym made me feel better - and it made me more body-confident, as well.

"I used to feel too ugly to leave my house - but slowly, I started experimenting with different looks.

"It was this voice of encouragement I had in the back of my mind, like 'come on, Abs. You've got to start doing more for yourself'."

In the summer of 2023, Abbie noticed a passerby in Stafford wearing blue-striped boxer shorts as outerwear.

Her love of analyzing other people's outfit choices made her think she could pull the look off herself - so she decided to buy a pair.

Besides styling them for her followers on TikTok, she also plans to wear the same boxers for upcoming girls' holidays, as well as in bars and clubs, and even while running errands.

Abbie Fidgett, 22, styling boxer shorts as part of her outfits. (Pix via SWNS)

She says she now feels confident wearing lingerie out-and-about - and it’s all about not caring what other people think.

"I can wear boxer shorts with a pair of heels, and head to a club dressed like that," she added.

"Or, I can dress them down - wearing leg warmers and a blazer, just to run to the shops in.

"Now, I can wear anything I want. I'm sure a lot of people think I have a 'weird' sense of fashion, and think I dress strangely.

"But I don't fear other people's opinions anymore. I think I show people how to look funky.

"I wouldn't be here today without the help of my mom - I used her as a verbal punching bag for so long but she stuck by me. She's my biggest supporter.

"When you recover from body dysmorphia - it can still be a battle, everyone has their bad days but don't let that affect your ability to express yourself."


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Man living on first floor makes DIY ‘cat-elevator’ – to let his cat out easily

By Leo Black

A man who lives in a first-floor apartment devised a contraption to let his cat out easily - a DIY "cat-elevator."

Kai Liebe, 33, pulleys his cat down every morning from his kitchen window and then back up when the cat is done with his walk.

Kai adopted Miso, four, in 2018, but the cat loved being outside so much that he couldn't bear keeping him inside.

So he decided to build a DIY "elevator", which he pulleys using his window handle, with a duffel bag and a rope.

Kai, a journalist from Munich, Germany, said: "You can't keep him inside. If I let him in and try to go back to sleep, he will wake me up by screaming.

"The idea comes from my neighbor. He lets the cat out like that and has been for eight years.

"I always wanted an outdoor cat because my neighbor's cat is always roaming free and it seems happy."

Now, Miso goes outside to roam all the time, and Kai can track him using a GPS on his collar.

Kai Liebe, 33, has designed a 'cat elevator' using a duffle bag with a rope attached to pullie his cat Miso up and down from his first floor apartment window. (Pix via SWNS)
Cat Miso pokes his head into the 'cat elevator'. (Pix via SWNS)

Miso is a well-behaved cat, so Kai doesn't worry about him disappearing.

When he sees him come near the house, Kai whistles, and Miso runs right back to the "elevator."

Kai said: "We've been doing it every morning and evening for the last four years.

"As soon as I see him nearby, I open the window and whistle, and he comes running back to get in the bag."

Aside from convenience, Kai's favorite thing is seeing how much joy Miso's elevator brings passers-by.

Kai Liebe with his cat Miso. (Pix via SWNS)

He said: "It always makes people's day. My roommate lets Miso down sometimes and always texts me things like: 'An old lady saw me, and she was cracking up.'"

Kai sometimes worries that someone might think Miso is a stray, but the animal is tagged and has Kai's contact information on him.

He said: "The only streets are 100 to 200 meters away, so I'm not worried about him going into the road.

"I get a lot of comments on Instagram saying: 'What if a coyote gets him,' I live in Munich, there are no coyotes here.

"In winter, I was worried that someone would try to rescue him, but it's never happened."


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Beyoncé mega fan has spent $80k on tour and merch

By Hannah Van De Peer

Is this the world's biggest Beyoncé superfan?

Meet the woman who has spent $80k on merch and tour visits, appeared in two of her films, and has a separate bank account dedicated to spending on the star.

Agren Blom, 28, first became a Beyoncé mega-fan when she saw the singer promoting her 2006 album ‘B’Day’ on TV.

Since then, she’s been to 43 shows, spent $14k alone on merchandise - and even had a conversation with Jay-Z about how much she loves his wife.

The prison therapist works seven days a week to pay for her hobby - and says her shows are an "escape" from real life.

Devoted Agren says the star is "family" and she feels just as close to her as she does her parents, and once attended TEN dates on one tour.

She's been to so many shows with the same banner Bey now recognizes her from the stage.

And when she showed it to Jay-Z he signed it and snapped a pick - presumably to show his other half.

Agren's connection to the singer is so deep she says she feels every time she struggles with something in life, Beyoncé releases a new song with the answer.

Agren Blom, 28, at a Beyonce concert. (Pix via SWNS)

Agren from Appingedam, Netherlands, said: “I’m so thankful to Beyoncé for giving me all of this - her music resonates with me like nothing else.

"I work hard to dedicate myself to her - even though we don’t personally know each other.

“I have my full-time job and my side hustle - I work seven days a week and I even opened up a new bank account just for her. I call it my Beyoncé bank account.

“Her shows give me an escape from real life. You always feel good when you’re there.

“She’s as much a part of my life as my mum or my dad - she’s like family.”

Agren remembers dancing along to ‘B’Day’ with her school friends at the age of eight.

Agren's Beyonce merchandise. (Pix via SWNS)
Agren's Beyonce wristbands and lanyards. (Pix via SWNS)

The singer was, at the time, on her ‘The Beyoncé Experience’ world tour - but Agren’s parents said she was too young to go.

Instead, they bought her some posters - and she put them up around her classroom.

Three years later, she went to her first concert - the ‘I Am…’ world tour at the Sportpaleis van Ahoy in Rotterdam, on May 2, 2009.

She said: “I looked up at her, and she just looked like a doll to me. It was like she wasn’t real.

“All I could do was cry - I was so overwhelmed from what I saw.

“From that point, my love for her just grew.”

When the star was next on tour, between 2013 - 2014, Agren had already opened up her Beyoncé bank account - and she spent around $14k to attend ten dates.

She watched her perform in cities like London, Rotterdam, Brussels and Antwerp - and even traveled to Chelmsford to watch her headline V Festival in August 2013.

Over the last 10 years, Agren has been to 33 more stops across four more tours - including On the Run, Formation and Renaissance.

She created a banner to take to each show, which she regularly updates with the number of times she’s seen Beyoncé.

“I’m always VIP, always front row,” Agren added.

“One of the best shows I’ve ever seen was when I saw ‘On the Run’ in Paris. I’m a huge Jay-Z fan, too, and I was so excited when they brought out Nicki Minaj.

“I edit my banner every time - but it’s actually the same banner I’ve been bringing with me since the ‘Mrs Carter Show’.

"She sees it, every single time, and always points it out.

“When she announced her mini London residency in 2023, I went to every date and showed her my banner.

“She picked me out from the crowd and said, ‘wow - 43 shows, thank you so much.’ And I was like, don’t thank me! I should be thanking you.

“I spotted Jay-Z in Club Renaissance on one of the dates. He signed my banner, and was so wowed by it he even took a photo on his own phone.”

Agren Blom, 28. (Pix via SWNS)

Agren has to work a full-time job and a side hustle to be able to afford concert tickets, flights and accommodation - as well as the $14k worth of merchandise she already owns, including albums, t-shirts, and the star’s line of sportswear, Ivy Park.

By day, she works as a prison therapist - and after work each evening, she trains horses.

She said: “I’ve spent around $70k on tour tickets, plus accommodation and flights.

“On merchandise, it’s easily an extra $14k. I’ve got all the special, VIP tour lanyards, the Renaissance tour fan, all her t-shirts and caps, as well as Ivy Park clothes.

“I’m waiting on her to release her perfume, Cé Noir, outside of the US - and when she does, I’ll be buying it.”

Agren says it’s a “weird coincidence” that every time she struggles with something in life, Beyoncé releases a new song.

She believes it makes their connection even stronger.

“Literally on Sunday,” she added. “I was struggling with a psychology study I was working on. There was a big part of me that really didn’t want to do it, but I thought it’d be best to carry on.

“But then she dropped ‘16 Carriages’ and I was like, that’s decided it for me. And it gave me the confidence to quit something that wasn’t serving me.

“I can link a personal story to every one of her songs - which is why I don’t really have a favorite.”

Source: SWNS
Agren Blom became a Beyoncé mega-fan when she saw the singer promoting her 2006 album ‘B’Day’ on TV (Pix via SWNS)

Agren’s dedication to Beyoncé hasn’t gone unnoticed - and she’s featured in multiple behind-the-scenes videos for different tours - as well as the concert film, ‘Live in Atlantic City’.

She said: “I was looking very closely at the ‘Renaissance’ film, trying to see if my banner featured - but I don’t think it did.

“I was in Beyoncé’s YouTube behind-the-scenes videos for the ‘Mrs Carter Show' - and I somehow featured in ‘Live in Atlantic City’, even though I wasn’t there!

“They must’ve used some footage from another concert, but when I saw it - I was absolutely gobsmacked.”

The superfan can’t wait for the release of Beyoncé’s upcoming album, ‘Act II’, which is due to be released on March 29.

She said: “I fear this may become my favorite album of hers to date - and I’ve only heard two singles!”


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Mum who had two miscarriages has rare triplets – “we got all our babies back”

By Jake Meeus-Jones

A mom who had two miscarriages before getting pregnant for a third time was "shocked" to discover she was having rare triplets.

Natasha O'Grady, 34, and her husband, Ryan, 36, were expecting bad news for a third time when they went for a first scan.

All three babies had their own placenta - known as a trichorionic pregnancy - which is very rare.

They saw the triple pregnancy as "like we'd got all our babies back from previous miscarriages" and rejected advice to terminate one baby to lower their risks.

After a "stressful" pregnancy, Natasha and Ryan welcomed a trio of girls - Quinn and identical siblings Onyx and Maddox - weighing 3lbs each on May 5, 2021.

Now three years in, Natasha says they do up to 14 loads of laundry a week, and when the triplets were still babies, they would go through 21 diapers a day.

They've even had to change cars and move to a house to accommodate their three new arrivals.

Natasha, a content creator, from Surrey, said: "When we went in there, I couldn't even watch the monitor as I was preparing for bad news.

"The lady said 'I don't know how to tell you this but someone up there wants you to be a mom as there's three heartbeats'.

"We were shocked and bewildered - it felt like for an eternity we were saying the same thing over again, questioning it.

"We went for a walk to clear our heads and they refer to babies born after miscarriages as rainbow babies and there was a rainbow at the end of the walk which was bizarre.

"The pregnancy was completely natural and two are identical - but they've all got bright blue eyes so none of them look like me!

"Until we physically had them here no one thought it was going to happen.

"I'm navigating being a first-time mom and a last-time mom and that's been difficult.

"I'm learning and that's it - there's no second go.

"So for me, it's so hard and I'm constantly toying with trying to survive with three toddlers and time has just disappeared.

"But they are three very strong girls."

Natasha, 34 and Ryan, 36. (Pix via SWNS)

Natasha believed she was miscarrying the very same week she was told to come in for her first scan.

She said: "They kept telling me to come in for a scan and I thought we were going to be told bad news again.

"I'd been suffering really badly from depression from the two miscarriages and I was still having therapy and it was on the last day of my therapy I found out I was pregnant again.

"The doctor told us that we'd be advised to reduce the pregnancy - which is where they terminate one of the babies so the others have a higher risk of surviving.

"I knew from the start there was no way I was going to be doing anything like that.

"We decided to stick with the three in the end and this felt like we'd got all our babies back from previous miscarriages."

On May 4, 2021, Natasha was admitted to Padding St Mary's hospital where she delivered all three babies the following day by caesarean section and they spent two weeks in the hospital.

The last two and a half years have been "wild," she said.

She added: "So many things cater towards twins, but not triplets.

"The last house had two beds but the second bedroom wasn't big enough to house three cribs."

The triplets, Onyx, Maddox and Quinn, waving. (Pix via SWNS)
Natasha, Ryan and their triplets, Onyx, Maddox and Quinn. (Pix via SWNS)

Natasha, a content creator, who posts content about life as a triplet mom, says she gets lots of help from her mom and dad.

"It's a lot of pressure and I know it's only one-time round," she said.

"I would probably say I'm quite on top of it laundry-wise. I usually do one to two a day.

"But that's not the mad side of it - it's the constant cleaning up now they're known as the triplet tornado!

"We used to do 18-21 diapers a day when they were babies and I used to feed every three hours.

"I need to get a cow for the amount of milk we go through!

"Even now, we make breakfast on the weekend and we use all the big cartoons of eggs.

"It's how we used to buy food for just two people to suddenly have to buy for a family of five overnight."

Natasha's page: https://www.instagram.com/la_sidhu/


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Man breaks into winery and pours away more than $2.8M worth of luxury wine

By Leo Black

A man poured away more than $2.8M worth of luxury wine during a break-in.

CCTV footage shows a hooded figure slipping between the tanks at a Spanish winery and releasing 60,000 liters of two of the company's most expensive wines.

During the break-in, which took place around 3:30 am on February 18, the intruder opened five tanks at Cepa 21's facility in Castrillo del Duero, Spain.

The wines, Horcajo and Malabrigo, retail for around $112 and $49 a bottle, respectively, and the equivalent of 80,000 bottles were lost.

The total cost of the wine lost was given as $2.8 million (€2.5million).

Representatives of the winery have speculated that the perpetrator knew the building as he was able to navigate the premises easily in the dark.

They have also said that the tanks that were emptied were not easy to open, which seems to indicate knowledge of winemaking.

Police continue to investigate the incident.


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Do look up! Out-of-control satellite will plummet to Earth

By Dean Murray

Do look up! An out of control satellite is set to plummet to Earth today (21 Feb).

Scientists say they have no idea where the 2294 kg European Remote Sensing 2 satellite (ERS-2) will land.

The latest information the ESA (European Space Agency) shared at 9 am Wednesday (21 Feb) of time of reentry into the atmosphere of their doomed sat is 3:49 pm.

However, that crash prediction comes with a margin of error less than two hours either side.

Artist illustration of the European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) satellite. (Pix via SWNS)

The UK Space Agency has tried to predict where they think ERS-2 is expected to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

Issuing a world map on Tuesday with possible flight routes, they added: “Risk to individuals and property is deemed to be very low.”

The UK Space Agency said Friday they are on alert ahead of the impact and have been working with satellite tracking company HEO to observe the rogue sat.

ERS-2 re-entering the atmosphere, photographed at 11:49pm UTC on 29 January 2024. (Pix via SWNS)
Timeline of European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) satellite's mission. (Pix via SWNS)

The images captured from space by HEO – an Australian company with an office in the UK – were taken by other satellites between January 14 and February 3 and show ERS-2 as it rotates on its journey back to Earth.

ESA describes the ERS-2 reentry as ‘natural’ as it is no longer possible to control the satellite.

The only force causing ERS-2’s orbit to decay is atmospheric drag, which is influenced by unpredictable solar activity.


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“I’m a leap year baby – I should be 55 but I’m only 13 and still throw kids parties"

By Emma Dunn

A "leap year baby" who should be 55 but has only celebrated 13 birthdays loves to throw herself children’s parties – and says she gets to be "young forever".

Liz Duren, 55, was born on February 29, 1968 - a leap year - and has always seen the rare birthday as "lucky" and "special".

When the date rolls around every four years Liz loves to have a children's party – throwing a bash fit for a 10-year-old complete with a magician and games for her 44th.

This year she is turning 56 – although it is only the 14th time the date has recurred in her lifetime – and plans to have an ET themed party.

 

Liz, a podcaster and local historian, from Charleston, South Carolina, USA, said: “When I turned 44 I threw a 10th birthday party.

“I had a magician and games.

“I’m 55 but also 13.

“I can be young forever.

“I look great for 56 but crappy for 13.”

Ever since she was little, Liz has always loved her leap day birthday.

Liz Duren with her father Harry Bennett. (Pix via SWNS)

Her family threw her a first birthday party when she turned four and she ended up on the front page of her local paper.

When it is not a leap year Liz celebrates on the following day – March 1 – but doesn’t mind when her friends wish her a happy birthday.

She said: “It’s very confusing for all my friends for when to wish me happy birthday.

“I’ve got two birthstones.

“I’m really very relaxed about how people want to celebrate my birthday.

“I try to make the 29th special.”

This year Liz will be acting in a play on her birthday and holding an ET themed party that weekend.

She said: “I consider myself the luckiest person in the world.

“I make a joke about myself.”

Liz - who is adopted - also said her rare birthday helped her track down her birth parents when she was 44.

Liz Duren. (Pix via SWNS)
Liz Duren on her 'tenth' birthday. (Pix via SWNS)

She was able to track down her birth mum - who does not want to be named - by contacting strangers on Facebook who went to her mother’s high school and jogging their memory with her unique date of birth.

She was also able to track down her biological dad, Harry Bennett, 83, who she now has a close relationship with.

Liz said: “Through my adoption documents I was able to work out her high school.

“I contacted people she went to school with.

“I was able to spark people’s memories with the date.

“Being born on a unique day was easier to find my birth mum.”

Liz hopes other leap babies can feel “lucky” to have such a special and rare birthday.

She said: “I have only met a handful of people that have my birthday.

“I hope they embrace it.”


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