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Suzanne Somers, the actress who starred in the 70s sitcom Three’s Company, has died at the age of 76.

The actress and businesswoman was best known for playing Chrissy Snow on the American sitcom as well as Carol Foster Lambert on Step By Step.

She died on Sunday, the day before her 77th birthday, at her home in California after living with breast cancer for more than 20 years.

Joyce DeWitt, John Ritter and Suzanne Somers
Pic:IPX/AP
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Joyce DeWitt, John Ritter and Suzanne Somers – the stars of Three’s Company Pic: IPX/AP

“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of 15 October,” a statement from her publicist said.

“She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years. Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family.

“Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on 16 October.

“Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”

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Somers revealed in an Instagram post in July that her breast cancer had returned.

“As you know, I had breast cancer two decades ago, and every now and then it pops up again, and I continue to bat it down,” she wrote.

“I have used the best alternative and conventional treatments to combat it.

“This is not new territory for me. I know how to put on my battle gear and I’m a fighter.”

Actress Suzanne Somers poses at the 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala in Palm Springs, California, January 3, 2015. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)
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Somers in 2015

She also praised her husband, Alan Hamel, who she said had been by her side “every step of the way”.

“I can’t even explain how much he has done for me. If it’s even possible, we are even closer than ever,” she added.

“My incredible family has been so supportive.”

Somers was first diagnosed in 2000 and had previously battled skin cancer.

Alan Hamel  and Suzanne Somers arrive at the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2019
Pic:AP
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Suzanne Somers and her husband Alan Hamel at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2019 Pic: AP

She faced backlash for relying on what she described as a chemical-free and organic lifestyle to treat her cancers.

She argued against the use of chemotherapy in books and on platforms like The Oprah Winfrey Show, which drew criticism from the American Cancer Society.

Somers starred in the first five series of Three’s Company, starting in 1977, as the ditzy blonde friend alongside John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt.

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“Creating her was actually intellectual,” she told CBS News in 2020. “How do I make her likeable and loveable… dumb blondes are annoying. I gave her a moral code. I imagined it was the childhood I would’ve liked to have had.”

However, she was phased out of the show and fired when she asked for a raise from $30,000 an episode to $150,000.

“The show’s response was, ‘Who do you think you are?'” Somers told People in 2020. “They said, ‘John Ritter is the star.'”

Her character was replaced by two different roommates for the remaining years the show aired.

Suzanne Somers poses for photographs next to her newly unveiled star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
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Suzanne Somers poses with her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003

Other television shows she appeared on in the 1970s included The Rockford Files, Magnum Force and The Six Million Dollar Man.

In the 1990s, she returned to the screen on the popular sitcom Step by Step.

She competed on Dancing with the Stars in the US in 2015 alongside partner Tony Dovolani.

Somers also wrote several self-help books and launched her own health and beauty product line.

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Donald Trump’s tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

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Donald Trump's tariffs will have consequences for globalisation, the US economy and geopolitics

For decades, trade and trade policy has been an economic and political backwater – decidedly boring, seemingly uncontroversial. 

Trade was mostly free and getting freer, tariffs were getting lower and lower, and the world was becoming more, not less, globalised.

But alongside those long-term trends, there were some serious consequences.

Trump latest: US president announces sweeping global trade tariffs

Mature, developed economies like the UK and US became ever more reliant on cheap imports from China and, in the process, saw their manufacturing sectors shrink.

Large swathes of the rust belt in the US – and much of the Midlands and North of England – were hollowed out.

And to some extent that’s where the story of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” really began – with the notion that free trade and globalisation had a darker side, a side he wants to remedy via tariffs.

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He imposed a set of tariffs in his first term, some on China, some on specific materials like steel and aluminium. But the height and the breadth of those tariffs were as nothing compared with the ones we have just heard about.

Not since the 1930s has the US so radically increased the level of tariffs on all nations across the world. Back then, those tariffs exacerbated the Great Depression.

It’s anyone’s guess as to what the consequences of these ones will be. But there will be consequences.

Consequences for the nature of globalisation, consequences for the US economy (tariffs are exceptionally inflationary), consequences for geopolitics.

President Trump with his list of tariffs for various countries. Pic: Reuters
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Imports from the UK will face a 10% tariff, while EU goods will see 20% rates. Pic: Reuters

And to some extent, merely knowing that little bit more about the White House’s plans will deliver a bit of relief to financial markets, which have fretted for months about the imposition of tariffs. That uncertainty recently reached unprecedented levels.

But don’t for a moment assume that this saga is over. Nothing of the sort. In the coming days, we will learn more – more about the nuts and bolts of these policies, more about the retaliatory measures coming from other countries.

We will, possibly, get more of a sense about whether some countries – including the UK – will enjoy reprieves from the tariffs.

To paraphrase Churchill, this isn’t the end of the trade war, or even the beginning of the end – perhaps just the end of the beginning.

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‘A genius actor’, ‘firecracker’, and ‘my friend’: Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

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'A genius actor', 'firecracker', and 'my friend': Tributes paid to Top Gun star Val Kilmer

Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.

The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.

She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.

Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.

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He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.

“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”

Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”

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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.

“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”

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Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.

Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.

Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.

“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”

The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.

Nicolas Cage added that “I always liked Val and am sad to hear of his passing”.

“I thought he was a genius actor,” he said. “I enjoyed working with him on Bad Lieutenant and I admired his commitment and sense of humor.

“He should have won the Oscar for The Doors.”

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role ‘fake news’

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Elon Musk calls reports he will step back from government role 'fake news'

Elon Musk has called reports that he will leave his government role in the coming months “fake news”.

A senior White House official previously told NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, that Donald Trump had discussed the Tesla and X boss transitioning back to the private sector at a cabinet meeting last month.

Donald Trump walks with Elon Musk before attending a viewing of the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., November 19, 2024 . Brandon Bell/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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The Tesla boss has headed DOGE since 20 January. File pic: Reuters

After reports emerged of the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “garbage” and added: “Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”

Mr Musk added in response on X: “Yeah, fake news.”

NBC News reported that the official said Mr Musk would leave at the end of his 130 days as a special government employee.

That would be 30 May, but it is unclear if the billionaire businessman will indeed leave on that date.

Previously, the White House said that as a temporary organisation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would be terminated on 4 July next year – the 250th anniversary of the US.

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It comes days after Mr Musk said some members of his DOGE team were getting death threats on a daily basis.

Mr Musk had drawn criticism over his efforts to downsize the US federal government.

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In just weeks, entire agencies were dismantled, and tens of thousands of workers from the 2.3 million federal workforce have been fired or have agreed to leave their jobs.

A number of lawsuits were filed in state and federal courts over cuts recommended by DOGE.

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