A long-time NFL offensive lineman is hanging up his cleats. Jason Peters is retiring from football, per The 33rd Team. Peters last played for the Seattle Seahawks during the 2023 season. Peters didn’t play an NFL game in 2024. He spent time on the Seahawks’ practice squad. He’s had quite an illustrious career after going […]
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The Montreal Canadiens are falling out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. With 57 points in 57 games, the trade deadline could be the time when they sell off their pieces and set up a pivotal offseason. Jake Evans has been the most-talked-about piece on the Canadiens roster, whether he is a trade piece or […]
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The Calgary Flames have had a surpringsly successful season in 2024-25. They came in with an over/under of 80.5, according to Hockey-Reference and are currently on a 90-point pace. After a win over the Sharks on Sunday, the Flames are headed on a six-game road trip that could be the difference between making the playoffs […]
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THE Budget’s tax raid on business is going to be challenging for all firms.
But the national insurance hike is an indirect tax on skills and training — the very things we need to fuel economic growth.
We know some supermarkets and factories may replace staff, who are suddenly much more expensive, with self-checkouts and automation.
But a lot of retailers and service providers rely on skilled workers, like our garage technicians or bike mechanics.
These workers have received hours, months or years of training.
But these jobs also provide a route to fulfilling work with the potential to earn more. And it’s a chance for younger workers to develop their skills.
Someone can start at a Halfords store earning £23,500 if over 21 but if they join our garage as a technician they can boost their salary by around £5,000.
This of course comes at a cost, but it’s one we want to keep investing in.
The problem with the Budget is the extra costs came out of the blue.
Halfords faces £23million of extra costs and £14million of this was the unexpected national insurance contribution changes.
We made £36million profit last year, so two thirds will be wiped out.
We’re fortunate we can manage this, partly due to scale, growth in market share and efficiency improvements.
But not every business can absorb these costs.
Many will be forced to cut back on training or even reduce staff.
This could lead to a skills shortage in critical sectors, from healthcare to hospitality.
We need measures that encourage businesses to invest in their workforce, not penalise them for it.
Let’s ensure that the road to economic recovery is paved with skilled workers, not burdened by short-sighted tax hikes.
The government’s NIC increase could have serious consequences for businesses that rely on hands-on expertise.
HALFORDS wants to boost the number of its apprentices who are over the age of 50 — to help solve a growing skills gap in garages.
The company, which has 277 shops and 636 garages, has its own “Retyrement Plan” to encourage older workers to take restart their careers.
The retailer currently has 260 apprentices on its books who are on route to becoming qualified car mechanics, but wants to increase that tally.
Graham Stapleton, the firm’s CEO, said: “We want to bring more skilled people back into the workforce, particularly those who took a break during Covid and didn’t return.”
The overhaul of its garages and mobile vans has also been a gear change to attract more women into the profession.
DESPITE the Budget cost headwinds Halfords is to invest £14million at 150 sites to improve car repairs and services.
The investment will transform the pop-up canopies outside its stores where basic services such as wiper and bulb-fittings currently take place.
It is now rolling out permanent fixtures across five to ten sites a month.
It will mean its car technicians can do more detailed checks on vehicles and book them into Halfords’ garages straight away if more work is needed.
Halfords said sales had increased by 50 per cent at 30 trial sites that had the new fixture models, which it calls “Fusion”.
The garages have greater capacity while the stores have greater capacity and have been revamped.
CEO Graham Stapleton said: “We want to be a one-stop-shop for your car, and this way our technicians can spot the work that’s needed in a garage when helping our retail customers”.
ONE in ten retail jobs, equivalent to 160,000 workers, will be at risk in the next three years due to the Budget’s tax raid, claims the British Retail Consortium.
A separate survey shows the majority of firms (58 per cent) will change recruitment plans, and 54 per cent will up prices, according to the British Chamber of Commerce.
Its policy director Alex Veitch said businesses “are sitting on a powder keg of costs”.
MARMITE maker Unilever has pushed out chief executive Hein Schumacher after less than two years in an effort to speed up its turnaround.
The Dutchman has been immediately replaced by Unilever’s Argentinian finance chief Fernando Fernandez.
It comes just two weeks after the multinational finally chose the Netherlands for its ice-cream unit spin-off.
Tellingly, chairman Ian Meakins said there was “much further to go”.
The board, he went on, had been “impressed with Fernando’s decisive and results-oriented approach and his ability to drive change at speed”.
Unilever had to realise benefits of its growth action plan “with urgency”, he added.
Analysts at Berstein contrasted Mr Fernandez’s “fiery and charismatic” character to his predecessor’s “understated” nature.
Investors, including activist Nelson Peltz, have been impatient for progress.
WHEN ALL ELSE fails there is always Southampton.
And so Chelsea, decimated and dishevelled in early 2025, were granted 90 minutes in the company of the Premier League equivalent of The Samaritans.
Just one hour and a half session and Enzo Maresca and his players emerged rejuvenated and believing life is good again.
Pre-match protests aimed at the board’s management of the club and a stuttering season gave way to a resounding win and climbing back into the top four and the prospect of Champions League football next term.
It may only be temporary with a batch of games on Wednesday but after the run of results Chelsea have endured of late they will seize on any crumb of self-confidence.
And one thing that hopeless Southampton are good at is making even the most uncertain opponents feel like world champions.
Goals from Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto and Levi Colwill had three points wrapped up by half time.
And following a run of just two wins in the previous ten Premier League games, shocking defeats against Brighton and chucking away the lead at Aston Villa last weekend, this felt like a change in the air – much like the subtle approach of Spring time at this time of year.
It wasn’t text book. It came against a backdrop of angry fans outside the ground, nervous ones inside and even resentment of the way Chelsea are playing.
The players dilly-dallied when the crowd wanted to see some old-fashioned boot through the ball and they let them know it.
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There remains a sense that more hardcore supporters are not buying into the project of buying young players at vast expense and sitting around to wait for success to come.
A knot of them gathered at the stadium gates to voice their discontent before kick off.
While not large in number, the blue smoke bombs and chanting made a point.
They were calling for their Chelsea back, where just before Christmas they were singing about having their Chelsea back.
When they beat Brentford on December 15 to move second in the table it was all Christmas festivity and winter sparkle.
Just a couple of months later and the world seems wonky as they scramble to keep pace with the top teams.
Yet Chelsea remain favourites to win a European trophy this season – albeit the third-rate Conference League.
That’s something even if it’s taken a billion quid spent on the squad to get there.
Try being one of the 3,000 Southampton supporters who must have trooped past that gaggle of mardiness wondering what all the fuss is about.
The bottom team are plummeting headlong back to the Championship a season after coming up to the top flight via the Play Offs.
And that was a year after they finished bottom of the Premier League in 2023. Not even Hamley’s make yoyos as big as Southampton Football Club.
Yet the gallows humour of the visiting fans was in stark contrast to Chelsea’s demo brigade parading banners digging out co-chairman Todd Boehly over his involvement in the Vivid Seats ticket resale website. Fair dos.
But they also sang for former managers Thomas Tuchel, long departed Jose Mourinho and even sanctioned former chairman Roman Abramovich.
These are confusing times at Chelsea on and off the pitch.
Team selection is also a guessing game. Fragile skipper Reece James on the bench having played 90 minutes at the weekend. Neto up front in the absence of a fit striker eventually giving way to rookie Tyrique George.
The fans would argue there is little they recognise about their Chelsea at the moment.
And it looked that way when Southampton bagged the first meaningful chance of the game when Paul Onuachu belted a powerful shot over the bar from inside the box on 14 minutes.
It didn’t seriously test keeper Filip Jorgensen but it was closer than anything the home side had produced in the opening spell as they struggled to find a pattern of play.
The lack of confidence was picked up by the crowd who groaned as their team dithered in front of its own goal, with Jorgensen and his defenders determined to build from the back when the fans called for more route one stuff.
When Chelsea got their breakthrough against the worst team in the division it was a characteristically muddled moment.
A 24th minute corner was headed on by Tosin and Nkunku battled shoulder to shoulder with Will Smallbone at the far post. It’s still debatable who actually got the last touch before the ball was bundled over the line.
Number two which arrived 12 minutes later was far more slick and underlined how Chelsea were finally growing in confidence despite Cole Palmer and Fernandez having missed glaring chances.
It was handed to them on a plate when Saints’ midfielder Flynn Downes passed directly to Marc Cucurella with the Chelsea defender then feeding Nkunku through the middle.
Neto drifted to his left, picked up the pass and was ruthless in his finish through the gloves of Aaron Ramsdale.
Centre half Colwill made it 3-0 a minute before the break with a powerful downward header onto Neto’s curling free kick from deep.
Marc Cucurella made it 4-0 with 12 minutes to go – with teenager George claiming the assist.
But there was no goal for Cole Palmer, with the England star’s drought now extended to seven matches.
And the frustrated ex-City maestro has not even registered an assist since December 1.
SAM Thompson has taken a cheeky swipe at his split from ex Zara McDermott in a hilarious new video.
The podcast host enlisted the help of fellow co-star Pete Wicks, who poked fun at the newly-single star.
The Instagram post playfully mirrors that of commentary on a sports game on Thomspon TV.
Pete teased his best mate telling him that ideas for content were slim pickings since his split from Zara.
TV star Pete said: “He’s going to be concerned how he’s going to get the views for the brand.
“He’d normally look to his subs bench at this point for the video but with no girlfriend, he’s… running out of tactics.”
In the tongue in cheek video, Sam attempted to film an ad for his latest brand partnership with Coco Cola.
Commenting on the video, Sam said: “I always start my day saying it’s going to be a good one, but it’s the small wins that make it good!
“I was surprised how many wins I actually noticed when I started to look out for them – from nailing a tricky recipe, to just catching up with my sister.
“Celebrating those little moments together makes them even better!”
Sam’s fans were left in stitches at Pete’s cheeky jibe.
One wrote: “Pete commenting ‘with no Girlfriend’,” followed by a string of laughing emojis.
A second posted: “The next girlfriend knows she’ll have to participate in these skits.”
A third said: “Best thing I’ve seen !! LOVE THIS.”
Another added: “My little win is baring witness to this AD.”
It was revealed last month how the Made In Chelsea legend, 32, and the former Love Island star, 28, had ended their five-year-long relationship.
Sam and Zara have both been keeping busy since their shock break-up.
The I’m A Celebrity champ has been working on multiple TV projects including the Love Island podcast, whilst Zara has been working on a new documentary for BBC3 in Thailand.
Speaking on another recent episode of the pod, he revealed how much he’d love to do Love Island.
“I have never been in the villa, but I would LOVE TOO!” Sam revealed.
The former couple first started dating in May 2019.
Just 16 months later Zara confessed to having a fling with music exec Brahim Fourad while taking part in The X Factor: Celebrity.
Zara and Brahim crossed paths when she signed up to the singing show in October 2019.
Sam then ended their 16-month relationship after getting wind of what happened, after The Sun exclusively revealed a year late she had been unfaithful.
They got back together after Zara publicly apologised on Made In Chelsea.
The pair then lived together in Sam’s house where they would often post loved up selfies, comedy reels and pictures of their home transformation.
Last month a devastated Sam broke his silence on his “tough” split with Zara.
On Sam and Pete Wicks‘s Staying Relevant podcast, Pete asked him about his “bad Christmas“.
He said: “What’s been going on?”
Sam admits: “It was tough. It’s been a tough month. A real tough month.”
He also jokes: “This is not a good time to be going bald either.”
Pete says he wasn’t sure if Sam would be in a fit enough state to do the podcast, telling him: “I didn’t know if we were gonna be here or not.”
A source lifted the lid on the reasons behind the split, telling Mail Online: “Sam and Zara have ended their relationship.
“It’s been an incredibly difficult decision for them to part ways; they still care and have a lot of love for each other.
“But after a tough year of working hard at their romance, they have split and will be focusing on their individual careers going forward into 2025.
“There has been no scandal or fallout between them, it’s just the result of a difficult year, where they both had to spend a lot of time focused on their own projects.”
LIFE’S a breeze for singer Nicole Scherzinger as she has a sunny break from Broadway.
The ex-Pussycat Doll, 46, is in Hawaii following rave reviews for her performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard in New York.
The former Pussycat Doll was in peak shape when she exercised barefoot on a hill last month.
The Masked Singer panellist kicked off her shoes on a break in Hawaii from Broadway show Sunset Boulevard.
She posted: “One of my favourite things is seeing the light on the horizon just before sunrise.
“Nature has a way of grounding you — reminding you to breathe deeply and stay in the present.”
Sunset Boulevard charts the tale of silent film star Norma, who enlists the help of an aspiring screenwriter to revive her Hollywood career.
Soon, the characters begin to discover feelings for each other.
Andrew Lloyd Webber revived the show in the West End last year, casting Nicole and Tom, who have already won Oliviers for their performances.
Now, the Broadway version is creating a real buzz as one of the ‘hottest tickets in New York’.
American Nicole won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical and earned $1million in sales in the first week of October.
Martin Amidu has urged President John Dramani Mahama to address what he describes as an “economic crime scene” within the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) before tackling irregularities elsewhere. According to Amidu, the unlawful appointments and payroll violations under William Kissi Agyebeng’s tenure at the OSP need urgent attention to establish Mahama’s credibility in […]
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