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People near me at the Iowa State Fair were frantic. Do you see him yet? they panted. Do you think hell come out into the crowd to talk? When the presence of Secret Service officers made it clear that former President Donald Trump would appear at the Steer N Stein restaurant on the Grand Concourse, fairgoers formed a line whose end was out of sight.

Not all of them could squeeze into the restaurant, so they filled the street outside, one giant blob of eager, sweating Iowans. When the former president finally appeared, the scrum was so dense that they could barely make out his silhouette through the restaurants open side. You know, the other candidates came here, and they had like six people, Trumps giddy voice said through the speakers above us. The audience responded with hoots and cheers.

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One of the few rules of American politics to have withstood the weirdness of these past tumultuous years is that anyone who wants to be president of the United States must endure both the many splendors and the equally many ritual humiliations of the Iowa State Fair. It is an essential audition, at least for the GOP. (The Democratic Party has recently shuffled the order of its primary season, demoting the Iowa caucus from its first-in-the-nation status.)

If a Republican candidate, drenched in sweat and stuffed with fried butter, can pique the interest of Iowas choosy voters, then that candidate has a real shot in the caucuses and, perhaps, the White House. Sometimes, a long-shot outsider can work the crowds and gain an unexpected edge, as Rick Santorum did in 2012, and Ted Cruz did in 2016.

So the fair is a place to charm and be charmed. Early on in the weekend, it seemed to be working its magic.

Hes really very engaging, Shirley Burgess, from Des Moines, said of Mike Pence. I thought he delivers a much clearer message in person than what Im getting from him on TV. The former vice president had just wrapped one of several Fair-Side Chats hosted by Republican Governor Kim Reynolds. This was a new feature at the fair, at which the governor asks the candidates such hard-hitting questions as Whats your favorite walkout song?

The night before, Pence had been heckled by a man who asked how he was doing after Tucker Carlson ruined your career. Another said, Im glad they didnt hang you!

But on Friday morning, Pence drew a respectful crowd for his conversation with Reynolds at J.R.s Southpork Ranch. Attendees asked him polite questions, and half a dozen people personally thanked him for his integrity when Trump was trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Pence had company, however. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, and the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy also attracted crowds at the Pork Ranch and at the Des Moines Registers Soapbox venue. Most of the undecided Iowans who attended told me that theyd supported Trump in 2016 and in 2020. These voters appreciated his service, they said, but after eight years of idiotic rants on social media, baseless but relentless assertions of election fraud, and a string of criminal indictments, they were hankering for some new energy. You know, a leader without so much baggage, they told me; someone more classy.

Everything out of his mouth is like, Shut up, Donald, Charles Dunlap, a two-time Trump voter from Johnston, Iowa, told me. He was eager to hear from Ramaswamy and Haley, people he believed would institute similar policies to Trumpsjust without the drama.

But the intimate enchantment of the fairthe promise of thoughtful, measured considerationdissipated around 1 p.m. Saturday, when the former president arrived. What very quickly became clear was that the Trump-exhausted, change-minded Iowans Id met that morning were in the minority. Most folks? They still love Trump.

The former president skipped possible speaking slots at the Soapbox and with Reynolds (because of his strange beef with the governor), but showed up to mingle with his people. They packed into every fair establishment where the president might conceivably speak. Because his event wasnt on any official schedule, everyone was kept guessing. Parts of the fairground came to a standstill. People who just wanted to slurp lemonade and admire the prize-winning steers were annoyed. Why did we have to come on the day that all the politicians are here? a man pushing a stroller through the throng asked his wife. (Almost every Iowan, for the record, has at one point uttered the phrase.)

Given his commanding lead in the GOP primary polling, its not so shocking that Trumps presence would create such fervor. But seeing it, feeling it, was different. By contrast, the crowds that had gathered for the other Republican candidates didnt seem impressive at all. Suddenly, the entire GOP primary contest felt painfully futile, pathetic even. Why are they even doing this? For the also-ransbasically, the rest of the field alreadywas suffering the abuses of the campaign trail worth even the best-case scenario of being anointed Trumps running mate?

On Saturday, while Pence stood in the sun flipping pork burgers, people in the crowd whispered about him. Look at him sweat, someone behind me said. Hes a dweeb, and so is DeSantis, a young man from Cedar Rapids named Jacob, who declined to give his last name, told me. You just want to take their lunch money. Its instinct. Ramaswamy, whose big personality has charmed many Republicans, apparently felt the need to put on a non-dweeb showing after his interview with the governor, and rapped confidently to the Eminem song Lose Yourself. A sea of silver-haired onlookers, who found themselves trapped near the front of the stage, were obliged to awkwardly bob along.

DeSantis, more than anyone else, suffered at the fair. While he spoke with Reynolds, a plane flew in circles overhead, carrying a long sign that read Be likable, Ron! DeSantis pretended not to notice it. When the Florida governor took his turn in the Pork Tent, Trump supporters gathered behind his photo op, wearing green-and-yellow trucker hats handed out by the Trump campaign. They chanted and yelled insults as DeSantis and his wife flipped burgers.

And when Trump finally arrived on Saturday afternoon, he brought with him a posse of Florida lawmakers who had endorsed him over DeSantis. (Representative Matt Gaetz warmed up the crowd by saying that hed grilled burgers well done at the Pork Tent, but the most done you can be is Ron DeSantis.) Will the humiliation pay off in the end? DeSantiss campaign has to hope so. At least in Iowa, the Florida governor is running somewhat closer to Trump than he is nationally.

Earlier in the day, Id interviewed Matt Wells, a DeSantis supporter and a county chair from Washington, Iowa, who had been following the candidate around the fair all morning. Trumps people dont really know what theyre doing; its all an emotional thing, he told me. Wells worked for Ted Cruzs campaign in 2016. Theyd had a strong ground game then, as DeSantis does now, he said. Trump, Wells added, doesnt have any ground game here.

Helen Lewis: The humiliation of Ron DeSantis

Cruz may have won Iowa, but he quite memorably did not go on to win the 2016 election. I was about to bring up this fact when someone near us gasped. A dozen fingers pointed toward the sky, and people began to scream with excitement. There, in the bright-blue ocean above us, was a plane with TRUMP emblazoned on its side heading for the nearby airport. Someone whispered, Did I tell you that I shook his hand twice? The clamor grew louder.

Trump would be here soon. The man, the myth, had landed.

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Jeff Stewart: Actor who played Reg Hollis in The Bill helps police arrest shoplifter

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Jeff Stewart: Actor who played Reg Hollis in The Bill helps police arrest shoplifter

The actor who played PC Reg Hollis in hit TV series The Bill has been praised by officers after helping them arrest a shoplifter.

Jeff Stewart stepped in when a thief attempted to escape on a bicycle in Southampton on Wednesday.

In a statement, a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “The thief, 29-year-old Mohamed Diallo, fell off the bike during his attempts to flee, before officers pounced to make their arrest.

“To their surprise, local TV legend Jeff Stewart, who played PC Hollis for 24 years in The Bill, came to their aid by sitting on the suspect’s legs while officers put him in cuffs.

The Bill actors, from left to right; Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri
Image:
(L-R) Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri celebrating The Bill’s 21st anniversary in 2004. Pic: PA

“In policing you should always expect the unexpected, but this really wasn’t on The Bill for this week.”

The Bill was broadcast on ITV between 1984 and 2010 and featured the fictional lives of police officers from the Sun Hill police station in east London.

Mr Stewart, who was among the original cast, appeared in more than 1,000 episodes as PC Hollis.

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Still of police footage of actor Jeff Stewart who played PC Reg Hollis in The Bill helping arrest a shoplifter in Southampton
Image:
Police released footage showing their pursuit of a shoplifter in Southampton. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary

Still of police footage of actor Jeff Stewart who played PC Reg Hollis in The Bill helping arrest a shoplifter in Southampton
Image:
As the suspect falls to the floor, PC Hollis (aka Jeff Stewart) sits on his legs. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary

In praising Mr Stewart’s actions, the force said: “Long since retired from Sun Hill station – but he’s still got it.”

Police from the Bargate Neighbourhoods Policing Team were alerted by staff at a Co-op store in Ocean Way to a suspected shoplifter on Wednesday.

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Mohamed Diallo, 29, of Anglesea Road, Southampton, was subsequently charged with five offences of theft relating to coffee, alcohol and food from the Co-op and two other Sainsbury’s stores on three dates in April and July.

He pleaded guilty at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was bailed to be sentenced on August 29.

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Jeff Stewart: Actor who played Reg Hollis in The Bill helps police arrest shoplifter

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By

Jeff Stewart: Actor who played Reg Hollis in The Bill helps police arrest shoplifter

The actor who played PC Reg Hollis in hit TV series The Bill has been praised by officers after helping them arrest a shoplifter.

Jeff Stewart stepped in when a thief attempted to escape on a bicycle in Southampton on Wednesday.

In a statement, a Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “The thief, 29-year-old Mohamed Diallo, fell off the bike during his attempts to flee, before officers pounced to make their arrest.

“To their surprise, local TV legend Jeff Stewart, who played PC Hollis for 24 years in The Bill, came to their aid by sitting on the suspect’s legs while officers put him in cuffs.

The Bill actors, from left to right; Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri
Image:
(L-R) Jeff Stewart, Roberta Taylor, Mark Wingett, Trudie Goodwin and Cyril Nri celebrating The Bill’s 21st anniversary in 2004. Pic: PA

“In policing you should always expect the unexpected, but this really wasn’t on The Bill for this week.”

The Bill was broadcast on ITV between 1984 and 2010 and featured the fictional lives of police officers from the Sun Hill police station in east London.

Mr Stewart, who was among the original cast, appeared in more than 1,000 episodes as PC Hollis.

More from UK

Still of police footage of actor Jeff Stewart who played PC Reg Hollis in The Bill helping arrest a shoplifter in Southampton
Image:
Police released footage showing their pursuit of a shoplifter in Southampton. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary

Still of police footage of actor Jeff Stewart who played PC Reg Hollis in The Bill helping arrest a shoplifter in Southampton
Image:
As the suspect falls to the floor, PC Hollis (aka Jeff Stewart) sits on his legs. Pic: Hampshire Constabulary

In praising Mr Stewart’s actions, the force said: “Long since retired from Sun Hill station – but he’s still got it.”

Police from the Bargate Neighbourhoods Policing Team were alerted by staff at a Co-op store in Ocean Way to a suspected shoplifter on Wednesday.

Read more from Sky News:
Hungary bans rappers Kneecap
Tributes paid to Hulk Hogan

Mohamed Diallo, 29, of Anglesea Road, Southampton, was subsequently charged with five offences of theft relating to coffee, alcohol and food from the Co-op and two other Sainsbury’s stores on three dates in April and July.

He pleaded guilty at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on Thursday and was bailed to be sentenced on August 29.

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‘I’ll never shut up’: Fantastic Four’s Pedro Pascal on using fame to highlight issues he cares about

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'I'll never shut up': Fantastic Four's Pedro Pascal on using fame to highlight issues he cares about

Pedro Pascal is everywhere right now.

You walk into the cinema and he’s on most of the film posters there: Fantastic Four: First Steps, Eddington, The Materialists and The Uninvited.

With that level of public attention, you wouldn’t be shocked to see the actor become closed off.

Shielded by a sea of publicists maintaining a studio’s desired image and an influx of influencers replacing film reporters, public figures speaking their mind in Hollywood have become somewhat of a rarity.

Perhaps this is why the delayed yet meteoric rise to fame for Pedro Pascal feels refreshing for his fans.

Pic: Disney
Image:
Pic: Disney

In between self-promotion for his latest projects, the Chilean-American uses his fame to highlight causes he cares about by wearing “Protect The Dolls” T-shirts in public settings, posting about food blockades into Gaza and linking non-profit organisations, Doctors Without Borders and The Trevor Project, on his Instagram account where he has over 11 million followers.

In a time where a single sentence can be taken out of context in a TikTok post or altered to suit a narrative driven by a headline (and yes, the irony of writing this does not go unnoticed), speaking candidly can feel like you’re walking into a trap.

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“I think it’s very easy to get scared no matter what you sort of talk about,” the actor tells Sky News.

“There’s so many different ways that things can get kind of fractured and have a life of itself really.”

He adds: “It’s sort of a business part of the way media can work really. There’s one thing that you can say and no matter what your intention behind it, it is absolutely lost in all of these different headlines, I suppose, but I’ll never shut up.”

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Pedro Pascal arrives at the premiere of "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" in Los Angeles earlier this week. Pic: AP
Image:
Pedro Pascal arrives at the premiere of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” in Los Angeles earlier this week. Pic: AP

It’s the last line, “I’ll never shut up”, that echoes after our four minute and two second conversation in the midst of a days-long “press run” in London for the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The 50-year-old knows one misstep in an increasingly reactive media industry can shatter the careers of many. Pascal is aware of the dangers but uses his voice anyway.

It’s that decision that makes him “fantastic”, maybe more so than his role as Dr Richard Reeds in The Fantastic Four: First Steps – a character quite literally weighed down with the worries of the world on his shoulders whilst simultaneously welcoming new life with his wife Sue Storm.

The film, directed by WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, stands alone in its own universe within the MCU and also features Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss Bachrach and Joseph Quinn.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in cinemas now.

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