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HUNDREDS of people took to the streets of Worcester to challenge violence against women and girls.

An estimated 400 women, male and non-binary allies joined forces at Boston Tea Party at 7.30pm on Thursday evening (November 25) before making their way through Worcesters city centre.

Attendees were encouraged to make as much noise as possible when they passed pubs and venues where women had experienced violence and sexual assaults.

Powerful banners were also on display, conveying messages such as My body, My property, Your respect.

Organisations including Worcestershire's Women's Equality Party, West Mercia Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre, West Mercia Women's Aid, Joy Project, Out2gether, University of Worcester and Worcester Community Trust all took part.

Sarennah Longworth-Cook, co-founder of Out2gether, an LGBTQ+ group for Worcestershire, said: "We're here tonight because we have a lot of women members, and that includes a diversity of women, so we have lesbians, bisexual women, trans women and non-binary persons.

"But we also find anyone who's visibly LGBTQ+ on the streets experiences the same violence - whether that's verbal abuse, physical violence or the threat of violence from straight men - as the rest of the women who are here.

"So we really want to add our voice to the women's voice, and say 'this is just not good enough.

"We all have a part to play in this, the statistics for male violence are so high.

"It means it might not be all men, but it's probably men we work with and live alongside, they're in our lives whether we know it or not."

After making their way through the city centre, the march came full circle to Boston Tea Party, where walkers warmed up with teas and coffees and further talks were held.

One woman, who wished not to be named, said: It is amazing to see so many people have come out for the march, there are so many more here than I was expecting.

But at the same time, I think it shows the shere amount of women who have been affected by male violence, and there will be countless others at home who couldnt make it here tonight, too. It has to stop.

Edward John McCrorie Mayne was one of the male walkers who was supporting from the back of the demonstration.

He said: "Two out of three women are sexually harassed or assaulted on the street, that just isn't acceptable.

"As a guy I feel like we need to stand behind the women and say 'this is not ok', we need to make the streets safe again.

"It's all good women coming forward and speaking out, but this actually needs to be backed by us as well, and it starts by us showing our support.

"So that's why I came out tonight, to show my support.

"I think some men can feel offended when they're asked to come and support women because they think 'I'd never do anything like that, so why should I support it?'

"Well, we need to stand behind women and show we're with them."

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PICTURES: Hundreds took to the streets for Reclaim the Night march - Worcester News

If Donald Trump tries to run for president again, one of his former campaign advisers has a plan to dissuade him. Anticipating that Trump may not know who Adlai Stevenson was or that he lost two straight presidential elections in the 1950s, this ex-adviser figures he or someone else might need to explain the mans unhappy fate. Theyll remind Trump that if he were beaten in 2024, he would join Stevenson as one of historys serial losers. I think that would resonate, said this person, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity to talk more freely. Trump hates losers.

Trump might not listen to his former campaign confidant. But the mere fact that someone who worked to elect Trump the first time is rehearsing arguments to stop a comeback suggests that the former presidents tight grip on the Republican Party may be slipping. A few other developments in recent weeks point to the early stirrings of a Republican Party in which Trump is sidelined. Glenn Youngkins recent victory in the Virginia governors race demonstrated that a Republican candidate could win in a battleground state without yoking himself to Trump. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, now making the rounds to promote a new book that counters Trumps claim that he won the 2020 election, signaled that he might run for the 2024 GOP nomination whether or not Trump enters the race. A poll last month offered encouraging news for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in New Hampshire, the state that traditionally holds the first primary contest of the presidential-election season. Though Trump was the first choice among likely Republican voters, DeSantiss favorability rating had climbed to 62 percent, eight points higher than Trumps.

Unlike past presidents who willingly ceded the stage after defeat, Trump has made himself impossible to ignore since leaving office earlier this year. Hes behaving like a candidate-in-waiting. Id be shocked if he doesnt run, Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and Trump ally, told me. I think Trump is our best pick, to be honest with you, because everybody knows his flaws, but his successes are in stark contrast to what were experiencing now. (A pandemic, two impeachments, and an economic collapse dont sound like triumphs, but thats a topic for another time.)

Read: Whatever happened to Donald Trump?

Many GOP politicians covet a Trump endorsement in the upcoming midterm races, and he is raising tens of millions of dollars that he can spread among congressional candidates who are protective of his interests. Hes continually in the news as investigators unpack his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results. When families gather for Thanksgiving this week, its a fair bet that there will be a lot more people stewing over Trump than musing about the sitting president, Joe Biden. This will be the sixth consecutive Thanksgiving where Trump talk will be on the menu, Kellyanne Conway, a former counselor to the president, told me. People are still obsessed with him.

Trump wants to keep it that way. His status within the GOP helps him command the boundless attention he craves, and hes not about to lose that dominance without a fight. He lashed back at Christies impertinence in suggesting that its time to accept that Biden won the 2020 election. Christie, Trump said in a statement, was absolutely massacred for such heresy. Privately, the former president has been dismissive of maybe his most formidable potential rival for the 2024 party nomination: DeSantis. When DeSantiss name pops up in conversations, Trump is prone to reminding everyone in earshot that his endorsement in Floridas 2018 GOP gubernatorial primary lifted DeSantis over the presumed favorite, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, one person close to the former president told me. Trump reminds everybody that he made DeSantis, this person said. Theres no doubt that Trump made him, and no doubt that Ron resents that he gets reminded of that all the time.

Trumps most potent means of retaining his hold on his party is perpetuating the idea that hell be back on the ballot in three years. Whether he goes through with launching a reelection campaign may be beside the point. Stepping aside would be tantamount to inviting a slew of Republican candidates to jump in the 2024 presidential-nomination race and fill the space hes vacating. Trump is not about to let his relevancy plummet.

Imagine what would happen if he said, After careful consideration, I wont be a candidate in 2024, John Bolton, the former Trump White House national security adviser, told me. You can hear the spotlight switches turning off. Hell talk about it [running for president again] right up until the point when he doesnt.

Boltons belief is that, in the end, Trump wont run and risk another defeat. On this point, the signs seem mixed. Trump has been coy. He gave an interview to Fox News earlier this month saying he would probably wait until after the midterm elections to announce whether hell run, though he added, I think a lot of people will be very happy, frankly, with the decision. Hes lost some weight, perhaps an indication that hes girding for one more race, or maybe just the natural result of less stress-eating, as some in his orbit told me.

Read: What I saw at the White House on Trumps last day

Earlier this year, a group of Trump-administration alumni started a nonprofit called the America First Policy Institute. Its a kind of placeholder for the next Trump administration should he run again and win, a second former campaign adviser told me. (Trumps son-in-law and former senior White House adviser, Jared Kushner, is not involved in plotting Trumps possible return, a person familiar with the matter told me. Kushner is writing a book that is due out next year.)

A more immediate test of Trumps clout will come during the midterms. Hes so focused on punishing perceived enemies within the GOP that he may wind up endorsing challengers with no real chance of winning. Take Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the only Senate Republican who both voted to convict Trump in the impeachment trial this year and will be on the ballot next November. Trump has already endorsed one of her opponents, Kelly Tshibaka. But Murkowski, who has served in the Senate for nearly two decades, has proved a tenacious campaigner. In 2010, she won a write-in campaign against a conservative Tea Party opponent, the first senator to pull off such a feat in a half century. Tshibaka will have trouble deposing the resilient Murkowski, and if she fails, Trump wont seem like the kingmaker he imagines himself to be.

Much the same dynamic holds true in Wyoming. Trump has targeted Representative Liz Cheney, who voted to impeach him in January and now serves on the House committee investigating the insurrection at the Capitol. He endorsed one of Cheneys primary challengers, Harriet Hageman, after meeting with other possible rivals at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club. Polling shows that Cheney will have a tough race. Yet if she and Murkowski both win, Trump will look like a fucking dummy because he endorsed the wrong people, the second former campaign adviser said.

Trumps bond with the Republican base is emotional, not rational. If it were rational, his voters might recognize that the party struggled on his watch and risks further losses if he remains its putative leader. After all, when he returned to Mar-a-Lago as a private citizen, the House, Senate, and White House were under Democratic controland they still are. Even Graham concedes that Trump could blow the next election too, if he runs a general campaign that obsesses about his 2020 defeat. If it becomes a grievance campaign, were in trouble, he said.

Perhaps the Adlai Stevenson example will prove persuasive. If Trump sees his poll numbers sliding over the next couple of years, if his involvement in the midterms backfires, he might stand down, as some of his allies predict. I dont think he wants to risk losing twice, Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker, told me. Once, you can argue about the outcome. Twice, it becomes a repudiation.

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Will Trump Run for President in 2024? - The Atlantic

Its the final of The Great British Baking Show! The last 10 weeks have just flown by and we are down to the last three bakers! Each of them has won the star baker title twice and the ultimate honor of two handshakes from judge Paul Hollywood. The challenges they faced were tricky but allowed them to show off their considerable talent.

Signature Challenge

For the signature challenge, the bakers were asked to make a decorated carrot cake. They could use whatever complementary flavors, fillings, and decorations they wanted. They had two hours and 15 minutes to make their cake. This was not a lot of time considering the bakers needed to be able to cool their cakes to decorate them. The bakers were all evenly matched in this challenge, receiving a mixture of positive and negative feedback.

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Crystelle decided to be ambitious and made a four-tiered spiced carrot cake. Her cakes were sandwiched with orange curd and decorated with pistachio and mascarpone frosting and pistachio praline. Her four-tiered cake didnt go down too well with the judges though. Due to it being so tall, the sponges had retained some heat and so her curd and frosting had melted slightly. This meant that her sponges had moved and were slightly wonky. Crystelle even had to use dowels to keep her cake upright. However, they loved her flavors and thought they were very well-balanced.

Chigs, who only started baking 18 months ago, was making his second ever carrot cake. His sponges were sandwiched with star anise infused pineapple jam and topped with classic cream cheese icing. The judges loved his decoration and his pipework and also enjoyed the flavor of his pineapple jam. However, they thought his cake was rubbery and stodgy due to the large number of carrots he had used.

Giuseppe made an orange-zest infused carrot cake sponge, sandwiched with fig and walnut jam. This was then decorated with orange cream cheese icing, candied walnuts and fresh figs. Whereas Crystelle and Chigs had made the challenge easier for themselves by baking individual sponges for their layers, Giuseppe made one large cake that he then sliced up. This meant that his cake took a lot longer to bake and didnt have much time to cool. As a result, his icing had melted slightly and his cakes had shifted a little. The heat also meant that the jam and cream cheese had soaked into the hot sponges, making the judges question at first whether the cake was underbaked or stodgy. Despite this, his cake was pretty but more importantly it was delicious. The judges particularly loved the fig flavor.

Technical Challenge

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For the technical challenge, they were asked to bake 12 Belgian buns filled with sultanas and lemon curd. The judges expected a coiled, slightly chewy bun with a hint of sweetness from the lemon curd. They had two and a half hours to follow the pared back recipe and the bakes were then ranked from worst to best in a blind judging. However, the bakers didnt quite realise how pared back the recipe would be this week. It contained only two instructions!

Crystelle seemed to be at a slight advantage because she had made a curd in the signature challenge and she knew what Belgian buns were. At first, it seemed like Chigs was going to come in last place due to rolling his dough the wrong way. The way he rolled his buns meant that they were very tall and did not have enough spirals. However, the turning point in this challenge came down to how long to leave the buns in the oven for. Crystelle and Chigs pulled their buns out of the oven quite early to leave themselves with enough time to cool and decorate them. However, Giuseppe decided to leave his in the oven for longer.

Giuseppes buns were neatly iced and perfectly shaped. The judges commented that they were exceptional and would have come in first place if he hadnt left them in the oven for so long. His buns were very dark in color and were very dry and overbaked. This left him in last place.

Chigs came in second due to rolling his buns wrong. They were also a little bit too chewy and solid. This left Crystelle in first place, winning her first ever technical challenge! Her buns were a nice uniform color, had good lemon curd, and tasted nice, even if her icing was a little erratic as she rushed at the end.

Showstopper Challenge

For the showstopper challenge, the bakers had four and a half hours to make a Mad Hatters tea party display. The judges wanted a display of sweet and savoury afternoon tea treats, showcasing at least four different baking disciplines. They wanted the bakers to capture some of the craziness of Alice in Wonderland whilst producing perfect bakes.

Chigs centrepiece was a blue Cheshire Cat cake, flavored with orange curd. This was accompanied by jammy dodger biscuits shaped like playing cards with strawberry, elderflower, and black pepper jam. He also baked chicken and mushroom pocket watch pies and brioche toadstools, filled with lemon and lime crme patissiere. The judges were impressed with the overall look of the display, particularly the cat cake and the playing card biscuits, which were beautiful. However, they were a little disappointed with the lack of smile on the Cheshire Cat because he ran out of time. They thought his pies and brioche were delicious. The playing cards were particularly good with an excellent buttery biscuit but Paul was disappointed that he couldnt taste the elderflower or black pepper. The cake was delicious and the flavors were very well-balanced.

Giuseppe made a chocolate and hazelnut tear and share brioche mushroom as his centrepiece. This were accompanied by mango and passionfruit drink-me panna cottas, orange and fig heart-shaped muffins, and asparagus and pea-filled choux buns used to make a caterpillar. Giuseppe was really pushing it with the time restraints as he had a lot of baking to do. It almost ended in disaster when he went to put something in the oven and realised that his oven was cold. He had left the door slightly open during pre-heating and so it had turned off. This lost him a lot of valuable time but he managed to pull it together.

The judges thought that Giuseppes display was simple but effective. The choux buns were delicious but a little too soft because of the creamy filling. They loved his brioche, though, as it was very complicated with multiple layers but was crisp and delicious. The muffins were cute, soft, and a lovely flavor. The standout were his panna cottas. The judges couldnt stop eating them! They thought they were delicious and the perfect texture. Both Paul and Prue took their bottle to finish off.

Crystelles centrepiece was a focaccia bread clock flavored with zaatar and garlic. This was accompanied by chickpea curry top hats, cardamom and pistachio toadstool nankhatai biscuits, and chai-flavored sponges decorated as talking flowers. Her display looked stunning and very colorful. The judges loved her biscuits which were something they werent familiar with. They liked the blend of spices and the fudge-like texture. They also loved her sponges and thought they were delicious and well-balanced. Crystelles pies were also lovely and the curry had a nice kick to it, even if the curry was a little solid. However, it all went wrong with her focaccia. The judges said it did not resemble a focaccia at all! There was no rise to it; it was raw and completely inedible. Sadly, this knocked Crystelle out of the running for winning the competition.

Results

For the results this week, there was a garden party for everyone who had been working within the Baking Show bubble. They got to try the bakers showstopper treats.

It was a very close decision with all of the bakers receiving mixed feedback on their bakes this week. It was finally announced that Giuseppe was the winner! No one was surprised with this decision except for Giuseppe. It was amazing to watch his reaction go from a complete blank look of shock to pure joy. Crystelle and Chigs were so unbelievably happy for him and he thoroughly deserved the win. He stood out as an amazing baker from week one and was consistent throughout the competition.

The win meant a lot to him personally as well. He got into baking because of his dad, who also loves baking. His dad is currently elderly and in poor health and so Giuseppe was emotional to win this title for him. They now plan to write a recipe book together to pass on their Italian bakes.

Baking Show Best Bits

Here are some of my favorite non-baking moments from this weeks episode!

Weve thoroughly enjoyed this season of The Great British Baking Show and we cant wait for it to return next year. Make sure you check back here for all the latest news.

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'The Great British Baking Show' Recap: Season 12, Episode 10 "The Final" - Nerds and Beyond

Minutes after a bitterly divided U.S. House of Representatives handed President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats a major victory in their push to pass a sweeping partisan social spending and climate change package, the tweets and emails in New Hampshires political world started flying.

Pappas Votes to Lower Everyday Costs for New Hampshire Families, read the headline in an email from the office of Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who represents New Hampshires First Congressional District.

And longtime Rep. Annie Kuster, the Democrat from Hopkinton who represents the states Second Congressional District, tweeted that the nearly $2 trillion social-spending and climate change-combating measure was a big deal for NH and added in a statement that Today is a monumental day for New Hampshire.

The Democratic majority in the House passed the bill along party lines, with only one Democrat opposing the measure. That lawmaker was Rep. Jared Golden of neighboring Maine. Every Republican in the chamber opposed the bill, which now heads to the Senate, where it will likely be trimmed over the coming weeks.

While we have details left to finalize through the Senate process, the House-passed economic package includes important provisions that would help lower costs for Granite Staters and get people back to work, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan emphasized in a statement.

The dean of the states all-Democratic congressional delegation Sen. Jeanne Shaheen spotlighted in her statement that the legislation builds on Democrats determination to deliver assistance to our states and put money in the pockets of middle-class families.

The delegations emphasis on lowering costs for average Americans as they all highlighted the benefits in the spending plan for Granite Staters is no surprise. The rise in inflation this summer and autumn has fueled the deteriorating political climate for Democrats a year ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, when the party aims to defend its razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House and Senate. Hassan, Kuster and Pappas are all up for reelection next year.

Democrats have completely abandoned hardworking Granite Staters by voting for Joe Bidens Build Back Broke agenda, which is a huge tax cut for the wealthiest Americans and a slap in the face to Granite Staters who are already experiencing skyrocketing prices and economic hardships thanks to Biden, Andrew Mahaleris, the Republican National Committees spokesperson in New Hampshire, charged in a statement.

And Mahaleris predicted that this reckless vote will cost Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster their seats next November.

While Kusters 2nd CD seat appears safe for Democrats, Pappas is being heavily targeted by Republicans in the 1st CD, which for a generations been one of the nations top congressional battlegrounds.

Rep. Chris Pappas Delivers Huge Win for New Hampshire with Historic Build Back Better Act, argued the headline from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the reelection arm of House Democrats.

But Republican Matt Mowers, the 2020 GOP nominee in the 1st CD whos running again in 2022, charged that Pappas voted to abandon New Hampshire families and he pledged that I will make sure that Chris Pappas pays for this with his job next November.

National polling illustrates the popularity of the Democrats spending bill as well as the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package, which the president signed into law on Monday, ahead of stops Tuesday in New Hampshire and Wednesday in Michigan to tout the benefits of the measure.

Fifty-seven percent of Americans questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey conducted Nov. 11-15 said they supported the infrastructure bill, with 58% giving the Democrats spending bill a thumbs up. The Quinnipiac poll was the latest survey to indicate majority support for both measures, which are key parts of the presidents domestic agenda that he spotlighted during the 2020 campaign.

But the bills are much more popular than the president and his party.

Bidens standing with Americans is now well underwater, thanks to a continued drop in his approval ratings in recent months. Fueling the decline is the well-documented rise in inflation this summer and autumn, the surge in COVID cases over the past five months among mainly unvaccinated people, the worst pandemic to strike the globe in a century and Bidens much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan.

And two national polls released over the past week that grabbed plenty of national attention indicated a surge in support for the GOP in next years Senate and House races.

Earlier this month Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin edged former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia in a state that Biden carried by 10 points a year ago over former President Donald Trump and where Republicans hadnt won statewide in a dozen years. Republicans also captured the lieutenant governor and attorney general offices from the Democrats and flipped the states House of Delegates.

The GOP victories in Virginia coupled with Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarellis near upset of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey along with GOP legislative pickups in the very blue Garden State are seen as ominous signs for the Democrats as they try to hold their razor-thin House and Senate majorities in the 2022 midterms.

But Democrats point to the infrastructure and social spending bills as major selling points in their bid to retain their congressional majorities.

One year from Election Day 2022, our key to victory is clear: President Biden and House Democrats are delivering on their hopeful, unified vision for Americas families, stabilizing the U.S. economy and making robust investments in our future, a DCCC memo released on Monday said.

But signature legislation doesnt have a proven track record in helping the presidents party keep control of Congress.

The Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Acts of 2010 the landmark legislative achievements of then-President Barack Obamas first two years in office didnt save the Democrats from getting annihilated by a Tea Party-fueled red wave in that years midterm elections.

And Trumps major domestic achievement during his first two years in office the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 didnt prevent the Democrats from convincingly winning back the House the following year.

Any strategy based on a signature piece of legislation more often than not does not work, veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance noted. Theres something about the American electorate in midterms where its an opportunity for voters to sort of keep the party in power in check. Thats the norm. Signature pieces of legislation rarely provide a buffer against that instinct from the voters.

Lesperance, the vice president of academic affairs at New England College in Henniker, emphasized that what the American people appear to be really focused on is their everyday expenses, their kitchen table issues how much does it cost to put food on the table and fill up your car with gas.

And he said that the challenge that the Biden administration and the Democrats have is showing how this legislation is going to make peoples lives more affordable. And thats not obvious.

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On the Trail: Instant fireworks in NH over US House passage of Democrats' spending bill - Concord Monitor

FANS of The Great British Bake Off rushed to Ofcom to complain about Jrgen Krauss' shock exit from the show last week.

The German baker impressed viewers throughout his time on the Channel 4 show with his elaborate bakes but was booted from Bake Off the week before the final.

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Despite wining the technical on last week'sGBBO, the 56-year-old's showstopper caused him to fall at the final hurdle and he was voted off a week before the final.

As a result more than 100 people sent in complaints to the media watchdog to complain the show was 'fixed' against him.

In its latest weekly report, Ofcom revealed it had received 115 complaints about last Tuesday's semi-final episode.

Bristol resident and fan favouriteGiuseppe ended up winning the 2021 season after going up against client relationship managerCrystelle, and sales managerChig in the final.

Despite Giuseppe's popularity many fans still claimed Jrgen was the 'people's champion' and the results were fixed.

"I am speechless. Jurgen leaving was 100% the wrong decision," wrote one angry fan on Twitter.

Another added: "Ive got to be honest, Im still feeling a sense of betrayal that they got rid of Jurgen last week."

And a third wrote: "And the true winner is ...Jurgen."

Giuseppe's win means the Italians sweep theEurovision song contest,Euro 2020, the100m final at the Olympics(as well as being the incredible joint winner in the high jump too) and now, and most importantly of course,The Great British Bake Offthrone.

The final showstopper challenge of 2021 tasked the finalists with creating a Mad Hatter's Tea Party display using both sweet and savoury treats, and showcasing a minimum of four baking disciplines.

Giuseppe opted for a giant tear-and-share brioche mushroom, with mango and passionfruit "drink me" panna cottas, heart-shaped orange and fig muffins, and an asparagus and pea filled choux caterpillar.

The showstopper proved to be a winner after he came bottom in the technical with burnt Belgian buns.

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