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A tree surgeon who was electrocuted by a 11,000 volt powerline has recalled fearing for his life.

CCTV footage shows Josh Pocknell maintaining some hedges shortly after midnight on 19 January, 2024, when he suffered a powerful electric shock after making contact with an overhead cable.

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He was quickly rushed to hospital after suffering from life-threatening injuries. “My whole body locked and I felt hot and cramping,” he later recalled.

“I could hear the electricity in my head and thought I was going to die.”

Mr Pocknell’s employer, Upton Specialised Tree Services Ltd, was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £6,237 in costs atBristol Magistrates' Courton Friday (1 May) after the company wad determined to have failed to assess the dangers of overhead power lines.

Tina Knowles revealed the lessons she learned after her 2024 breast cancer diagnosis

NEED TO KNOW

• She shared how she's since embraced slowing down and focusing more on self-care

• Tina updated her 2025 memoir, Matriarch, to include more about her journey and inspire others to prioritize their health

Tina Knowleslearned an important lesson after herbreast cancer diagnosis.

While appearing on a panel at the 2026 L.A. Times Festival of Books on April 18, Tina, 72, encouraged those in the audience to "get your mammograms" as she acknowledged that she "missed two" screenings before receiving her diagnosis in July 2024.

She explained it was a "miracle" that doctors were able to find it at an early stage. "So go and get your mammograms — it is so important to take care of yourself," she urged.

Tina also said that surrounding yourself with an "inner circle" — whether "they're related to you by blood or if they're friends" — is so important.

"When you hear the word cancer, it is the most frightening thing that you can ever go through, and you need people around you that are gonna support you and get you through it," she shared.

She added, "I had plenty of people that helped me get through it, but some people are not that fortunate."

As for other lessons that Tina took away from her cancer journey, she said she learned that she had to "slow down" and "stop being so codependent."

Now, she explained, "I just really take care of myself and take time to enjoy my life and not be so stressed all the time."

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"That was the biggest lesson that came from this," Tina continued. "It's still hard because, you know, I'm getting on a plane tonight and then I'll get on a plane in two days for one day, and I still fall short sometimes in taking the best care of myself. At least I'm conscious of it now because, you know, you can give and give and give, but you're not gonna be there to give to those people one day if you don't take care of yourself. So that's really important."

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Tina, who is the mom toBeyoncéandSolange Knowles, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer after doctors found it in her left breast. At the time, she was in the middle of writing herMatriarchmemoir.

"I struggled with whether I would share that journey [in the book] because I'm very private," she told PEOPLE in April 2025 of her cancer diagnosis. "But I decided to share it because I think there are a lot of lessons in it for other women."

She added, "And I think as women, sometimes we get so busy and we get so wrapped up and running around, but you must go get your test. Because if I had not gotten my test early, I mean, I shudder to think what could have happened to me."

In the book, Tina wrote that Beyoncé, 44, “took it well, staying positive, and I could already feel her mind racing, focusing on this as a task to tackle with precision.” Solange, 39, told her, “Mom, we are going to take care of this.”

For the new paperback version ofMatriarch, Tina added another chapter to share more of her journey. “I end the book with finding out I have breast cancer and going through surgery, just a little bit about it,” she said at the festival panel. “I've had so many people ask me, ‘Well, what did you do? How did you take care of yourself? You know, how was your mental state?' And all of that."

“I just thought that would be a good idea to update it and just put a paperback out because you reach a different audience with paperbacks,” she explained. “And I love the idea of that because I wanted that to happen, but I also wanted to catch people up on what happened since that time and all the lessons that I learned from having that experience because it was a tough ordeal.”

Tina underwent surgery to remove the tumor in late 2024. She also had a breast reduction — and was given the all-clear as of April 2025.

“I'm doing great,” she told PEOPLE previously. “Cancer-free and incredibly blessed that God allowed me to find it early."

"I want to give people hope," she added of sharing her personal story. "What scares me now is not making the best of every day that I have left in this life."

Matriarch: A Memoiris out now.

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Jon M. Chu revealed he once doubted himself and thought he didn’t deserve to be in Hollywood

NEED TO KNOW

• His film, Crazy Rich Asians, became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the 2010s, earning $239 million

• Chu is next set to direct a Britney Spears biopic, a live-action Hot Wheels movie and an animated Dr. Seuss adaptation

Jon M. Chu, the directorial force behind some of Hollywood's biggest movies over the past decade, recently admitted there was a time when he was struggling to find his footing in the industry.

Chu, 46, recalled that time in his career while discussing how he chooses film projects during the Canva Create 2026’s Building Worlds: From Script to Spectacle panel at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 16.

"And it either sparks me or not, or I have to go on some journey to find if I connect with it. Other times I'm like, 'I have to tell this story,' " theWickeddirector said about how imagination guides him.

"That's how I start. Because without that, I can't tell you what colors. I can't tell you what we should build for and it doesn't mean anything to me," Chu continued.

He also pointed out that "every project's different" and "I remember in what I realized, as I had done this over and over again, you are so conscious of ... doing it because you're not like the greats, but the greats are the ones that inspired you. You want to be like that so badly you don't have quite the language or the tools or the ability of the craftsmanship yet, how to express that."

He asks himself "Why am I the person to tell the story?" typically at the start of his creative process. However, sometimes he hasn't felt sure that he "deserved" to be the person doing so.

"When you said my list of movies, it lit up and you saidCrazy Rich Asians. That was a big point in my life. I didn't think I deserved to be in Hollywood," he said. "I was discovered and I got very lucky. And when you win the lottery, you think you actually don't know how you got there. So you actually can't win the lottery again."

Chu added, "I had to learn how to win in a different way or how to tell my story. ... As I go through my career, that moment, choosing to do something that only I could tell was a scary ... I was like, 'No one's going to see this movie.' I actually told my team, I was like, 'I'm going to make a movie. I'm going to take five years and I'm not going to make you any money.' Luckily they were fine with it."

Since his team "believed" in both him and "this Asian culture, diaspora from all around the world," Chu trusted himself and "knew that audience, whether you were Asian or not, would fall in love with the things that I fall in love with my family, the meals that we eat, the conversations we had, we could make fun of ourselves and how we are, and we had all walks of life in there."

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Crazy Rich Asians, after it premiered in theaters in 2018, made $239 million worldwide on a $30 million budget, perBox Office Mojo. The film starredConstance Wu,Henry Golding,Awkwafina,Gemma Chan,Michelle YeohandKen Jeong.

From there, Chu went on to direct 2021'sIn the Heights, 2024'sWickedand 2025'sWicked: For Good. The firstWickedmovie was nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars.

As for what's next for the acclaimed director, Chu signed a multiyear film and TV deal with Paramount Skydance in December.

He has also been attached to direct aBritney Spearsbiopic for Universal, a live-actionHot Wheelsmovie and an adaptation of Dr. Seuss’Oh, the Places You'll Go.Ariana GrandeandJosh Gadhave been linked to voice in the latter animated film, according toVariety.

"Never been more excited to go places. We are dreaming up something very very special for you," Gad, 45, shared in an Instagram post in July. "Warner Brothers Animation has put together a truly all-star team. I've been dying to work with Ariana, Jon, Jill, JJ, Gregg Taylor, Bill Damaschke, and Pasek and Paul for ages."

"🧚🏻 Oh, the Places You'll Go ! 💭" Grande, 32, captioned her Instagram post.

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The film is slated for a 2028 release, and will be Chu's first foray into directing animation.

Read the original article onPeople

Iranwarned the United States on Monday not to approach or enter theStrait of Hormuzas the American military launches a new effort to “guide” stranded ships through thecritical waterway.

President Donald Trumpannounced that starting Monday morning the U.S. military would help free ships that have been “locked up” and unable to transit the key trade route amidthe maritime standoff between Tehran and Washington.

It's the latest bid to break Iran's stranglehold over the strait, which has left global shipping at an effective standstill and sentenergy prices spiraling.

Iran quickly pushed back.

The strait’s security remains under the control of Iran’s armed forces and any safe passage must be carried out in coordination with Tehran, Iran's military command cautioned.

“We warn that any foreign armed force, especially the aggressive military of America should they intend to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz, will be subjected to attack,” Major General Pilot Ali Abdollahi said in a statement carried by state TV channel IRIB.

He added that “any aggressive action” by the U.S. to disrupt the situation will result in “nothing but further complication and jeopardizing the security of vessels in this area.”

In a lengthy TruthSocial post late Sunday,Trump said the U.S. will “guide ships”of countries not involved in the Middle East crisis safely out of the strait, “so that they can freely and ably get on with their business.”

Trump added that what he dubbed “Project Freedom” would begin Monday morning Middle East time, but it was not clear when the operation would formally begin.

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U.S. Central Command, which has been enforcing Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports, said that 15,000 service members, guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft and multi-domain unmanned platforms will be involved in the new operation.

The Joint Maritime Information Center said that the U.S. has established an “enhanced security area” to the south of usual shipping routes to support transit.

It said vessels should consider routing via Oman territorial waters as usual routes should be considered “extremely hazardous due the presence of mines that have not been fully surveyed and mitigated.”

It was not immediately clear whether any ships had begun using the route or the U.S. mission.

Hundreds of ships and their crew have been stranded in the area since Iran launched attacks and threatened shipping in the wake of thejoint U.S.-Israeli assaultmore than two months ago.

Many of these crews are running low on food and other necessities, Trump said, calling his move to free them up a “humanitarian gesture” by the U.S.

Two shipswere attacked in the strait this weekend, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said.

Trump's announcement came hours after Iran said it was reviewing the U.S. response to its latest proposal to end the war, though neither side has offeredmuch optimismabout moving beyond the current ceasefire.

Mediator Pakistan said Monday that it had facilitated the transfer of 22 Iranian sailors fromthe “Touska” container ship seized by U.S. forces last month. It described the move as a “confidence-building measure.”

The sailors were flown to Pakistan on Sunday night, a statement from the country’s foreign ministry said, and will be handed over to Iranian authorities. The ship will be taken to Pakistani territorial waters, the statement added, to be returned to its original owners after necessary repairs.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A judge has ruled an 18-year-old man charged with murder in the killing of apaddleboarderin Maine is competent to stand trial.

The death of Sunshine “Sunny” Stewart, 48, of St. George, last year shocked the community around Crawford Pond in rural Union, Maine. Authorities charged Deven Young of Frankfort, Maine, with murder in Stewart's death in July, about two weeks after Stewart's body was discovered.

The court system has thus far treated Young as a juvenile. Prosecutors in the state want to charge Young, who was 17 at the time of Stewart's death and is 18 now, as anadult. First, he needed to be deemed competent to stand trial, and a judge ruled this week that he is.

"The court finds that the defendant is competent to proceed based on the court’s finding that the juvenile has a rational, as well as a factual, understanding of the proceedings and a sufficient present ability to consult with legal counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding," wrote Maine District Court Judge Eric J. Walker on Wednesday.

Young is due back in court on May 7. Police have said a medical examiner determined Stewart's cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma.

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Jeremy Pratt, an attorney for Young, declined to comment on Thursday. Prosecutors in the case also declined to comment Thursday.

Authorities have not publicly stated a possible motive in the case. Court documents about the case, which were briefly made public before being removed from the state's courts website, contained little detail other than stating that Young “did intentionally or knowingly cause the death of another human being, namely Sunshine Stewart.”

Audio recordings by the Waldo County Sheriff's Office that were obtained by news agencies earlier this year provided details about Young's history of violent behavior and mental health challenges prior to Stewart's death. The Portland Press Heraldreportedthat Young had been waiting for behavioral health services from the state.

Stewart went missing at Crawford Pond, where she was paddleboarding, on July 2 and her body was found the next day. The pond is a popular summertime attraction for swimming, boating and fishing. Stewart lived about 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the pond in the Tenants Harbor neighborhood in St. George.

Stewart's friends and familycelebratedher life with a maritime service last August. The memorial included a procession of boats, some decked out with flowers, in Tenants Harbor.

On the boats were pictures of Stewart smiling and a large sign that read, “Shine On.” Over the years, Stewart worked as a fisherman, boat captain, biologist, carpenter and bartender, friends have said.

A driver of aLand Roverwho crashed into a school in South Londonand killed two girlshas been charged.

Claire Freemantle, 49, has been charged with causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving after two eight-year-old girls were killed when a 4×4 crashed into at The Study Prep school inWimbledon, south London, in July 2023.

SchoolgirlsNuria Sajjad and Selena Lau diedin the incident as the school was celebrating the last day of the summer term.

Freemantle’s lawyers have said she will plead not guilty to the charges when she appears at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 June.

The charges come after the girls’ families criticised the Metropolitan Police for its investigation into the crash, with the force saying in June 2024 that the driver had suffered an epileptic seizure and would face no criminal charges.

Freemantle was rearrested and released under investigation in January last year.

Her lawyers said there are “serious questions to be answered” over why the decision not to charge her was reversed in a statement issued after she was charged.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct is currently investigating officers for alleged racism in their handling of the case.

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The watchdog previously said it was probing allegations that officers provided “false and misleading information” to the families following complaints about the standard of the investigation.

Confirming the watchdog’s investigation, IOPC director Amanda Rowe said in April: “The complaints relate to concerns about the standard of the investigation, including its management and direction, the conduct of the investigation team, and their engagement with the victims.

“We are also investigating allegations that Met officers provided false and misleading information to those affected and whether the officers’ treatment of those affected was influenced by their race.

“We have now served notices advising four serving officers, whose ranks are commander, detective chief inspector, detective sergeant and detective constable, and a former detective inspector, that their conduct is being investigated at the level of gross misconduct.

“Two detective constables are being investigated at misconduct level.

“Our investigation is ongoing and should any further conduct issues be identified then officers will be served notices.

“All officers served notices will be interviewed in due course.

“The serving of notices does not mean that proceedings will necessarily follow.”

SirKeir Starmerhas issued an extraordinary warning to Labour over “political infighting” and urged his rivals not to oust him as speculationover his future as prime minister intensifies.

TheLabourleader called on the party to be more "united" as it braces for what are expected to be disastrous election results across England, Scotland and Wales this weekwhich could place his position in peril.

He warned his party against repeating the mistake of the last Conservative government and "descending into political infighting". Three Conservative prime ministers were ousted by their own party between 2019 and 2022.

As the row escalated, transport secretary Heidi Alexander hit out at those within her party who want a leadership contest, saying they should “give their heads a gentle wobble” and that voters did not want the party to become a “self-indulgent debating society”.

The PM’s fightback follows reportsAndy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, is formulating a plan for a swift return toWestminster, potentially "within weeks," from where he could challenge Sir Keir, while others within Sir Keir’s own cabinet have leadership campaigns ready to go.

The Labour leader has been forced to spend much of the last month in the run up to these elections battling the fallout from his handling of the Lord Mandelson scandal.

Labour is forecast to lose up to 1,850 council seats across England on Thursday, in what would be a bloodbath for the party, and rack up terrible results in its former fiefdoms of Wales and Scotland.

Mr Burnham has reportedly identified a path back to Westminster - and a possible challenge to Keir Starmer - after the PM and his allies previously blocked him, through a by-election where a sitting Labour MP would be prepared to step aside.

He was dramatically prevented from standing for Parliament earlier this year by Labour’s powerful ruling body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), but it is thought that would also no longer be a hurdle.

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Meanwhile, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, and Angela Rayner, Sir Keir’s former deputy, are thought to have the backing of the more than 81 MPs needed to trigger a leadership contest.

Setting out his case in The Observer, Sir Keir told his party: “We have a choice. We could sink into the politics of grievance and division. Or we could rise to this moment – together – in a national effort that matches the scale of the threats and turbulence we face.

“I am talking about a national mission to become a stronger, more resilient, and more united nation, allowing us to take control of our future, raise our sights, and reach towards something better.

“When the nation rallied together to deal with Covid, the last government could have channelled that spirit to build a better nation.

“But instead, they descended into political infighting and let the country slump back to the old status quo. Not this time.”

He continued: “This government will reshape our nation. Over the coming weeks, through the King’s speech and beyond, we will set out our agenda of radical reform – with activist, interventionist government building a stronger and fairer country.”

Doubling down on his plans to forge closer ties with Europe, theprime ministersaid: “Recovery depends on rebuilding the strength of our economy to make us more resilient to these kinds of shocks in future.

“That means deepening our economic relationship with the EU.

“The world has changed since 2016. And Brexit today looks quite different. It has damaged our economy and there’s no doubt in my mind where the national interest lies.

“Britain must be at the heart of a stronger Europe on defence, on security, on energy, and on our economy. I will be at the European Political Community summit today to take this forward.”