Latest news with #Upton
The Advertiser
7 hours ago
- Sport
- The Advertiser
Tamika Upton named co-captain on return to Broncos
Tamika Upton has been appointed co-captain on her hotly-anticipated return to Brisbane. Often regarded as the NRLW's best player, the fullback will join Ali Brigginshaw in skippering the Broncos this season, the first of her new three-year deal. "With co-captaincy, you can bring out each other's strengths, you can work as a team and bounce off each other," Upton said. "I'm comfortable in my own skin now and I think that helps with this role. "'Princey' (coach Scott Prince) has put a good base together with this team in the last few years, so I have quite an easy role to just slot in and bring my strengths to it." The leadership role comes after Upton earned a release from the final three years of her Newcastle deal to return to Queensland and be closer to family. The 2023 Dally M Medallist won the 2019 and 2020 premierships with the Broncos before joining the Knights, with whom she won two more. Now that she is back, Upton insists she and veteran Hayley Maddick can co-exist in the same 17. Maddick has made the Broncos' fullback spot her own since Upton left, starting in the No.1 jersey in 25 of her 28 games and earning a State of Origin debut for Queensland this year. "How she's played the last few years has been incredible," Upton said. "I still think there's a spot for both of us. Who knows where that will be. "No spots are guaranteed in this team, you have to work for it, you have to fight for it. You have to put your best out there on the training field." Tamika Upton has been appointed co-captain on her hotly-anticipated return to Brisbane. Often regarded as the NRLW's best player, the fullback will join Ali Brigginshaw in skippering the Broncos this season, the first of her new three-year deal. "With co-captaincy, you can bring out each other's strengths, you can work as a team and bounce off each other," Upton said. "I'm comfortable in my own skin now and I think that helps with this role. "'Princey' (coach Scott Prince) has put a good base together with this team in the last few years, so I have quite an easy role to just slot in and bring my strengths to it." The leadership role comes after Upton earned a release from the final three years of her Newcastle deal to return to Queensland and be closer to family. The 2023 Dally M Medallist won the 2019 and 2020 premierships with the Broncos before joining the Knights, with whom she won two more. Now that she is back, Upton insists she and veteran Hayley Maddick can co-exist in the same 17. Maddick has made the Broncos' fullback spot her own since Upton left, starting in the No.1 jersey in 25 of her 28 games and earning a State of Origin debut for Queensland this year. "How she's played the last few years has been incredible," Upton said. "I still think there's a spot for both of us. Who knows where that will be. "No spots are guaranteed in this team, you have to work for it, you have to fight for it. You have to put your best out there on the training field." Tamika Upton has been appointed co-captain on her hotly-anticipated return to Brisbane. Often regarded as the NRLW's best player, the fullback will join Ali Brigginshaw in skippering the Broncos this season, the first of her new three-year deal. "With co-captaincy, you can bring out each other's strengths, you can work as a team and bounce off each other," Upton said. "I'm comfortable in my own skin now and I think that helps with this role. "'Princey' (coach Scott Prince) has put a good base together with this team in the last few years, so I have quite an easy role to just slot in and bring my strengths to it." The leadership role comes after Upton earned a release from the final three years of her Newcastle deal to return to Queensland and be closer to family. The 2023 Dally M Medallist won the 2019 and 2020 premierships with the Broncos before joining the Knights, with whom she won two more. Now that she is back, Upton insists she and veteran Hayley Maddick can co-exist in the same 17. Maddick has made the Broncos' fullback spot her own since Upton left, starting in the No.1 jersey in 25 of her 28 games and earning a State of Origin debut for Queensland this year. "How she's played the last few years has been incredible," Upton said. "I still think there's a spot for both of us. Who knows where that will be. "No spots are guaranteed in this team, you have to work for it, you have to fight for it. You have to put your best out there on the training field."
CBS News
16 hours ago
- CBS News
Baltimore's "arrabing" community reflects on police shooting that left man dead
Bilal "BJ" Abdullah Jr., who was shot and killed by Baltimore police on Tuesday, June 17, was a known "arraber," selling produce on a horse-drawn cart in the city, according to community members. Abdullah allegedly shot a veteran police officer in the foot as three officers opened fire on him, according to a preliminary report from the Maryland Attorney General's Office. Abdullah, who was shot in the exchange of gunfire, was pronounced dead at the hospital. "When we all stopped arabbing, BJ kept going. He kept it going," said Marqueatia "Weedy" Watters. "He kept the name going. Like, he kept it going." Bilal "BJ" Abdullah Jr., who was shot and killed by Baltimore police on Tuesday, June 17, was a known "arraber," selling produce on a horse-drawn cart in the city, according to community members. Stable Baltimore Watters said she worked as an arabber for Abdullah's family, who owned several horses. "I tell you what, if (BJ) love you, he gonna go against anything for you, "Watters said. "He don't care. He gonna be right there for you. He don't care, every step of the way." Attorney General's initial report As officers were patrolling Baltimore's Upton community, they saw a man whom they believed was armed, according to charging documents. The man was wearing a crossbow bag on his back when police attempted to stop him near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Laurens Street. He reportedly led officers on a chase, and during a struggle, shot an officer in the foot, according to police. Bilal "BJ" Abdullah Jr., who was shot and killed by Baltimore police on Tuesday, June 17, was a known "arraber," selling produce on a horse-drawn cart in the city, according to community members. Stable Baltimore Police said that as an officer grabbed the man, a gunshot was fired, which prompted the officers to take cover. That's when the man allegedly pointed a gun at the three officers, who shot the man. The officer is recovering after he was released from the hospital following surgery, police said. "A man ran from officers, and a brief truffle ensued," Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley said. "At some point, the male broke away, multiple officers returned fire, striking the man." Video shows community reaction Video shows the intense moments between neighbors and police moments after the shooting. WJZ returned to the neighborhood where neighbors were tight-lipped but were visibly angry. "I can tell you, he will be missed," a neighbor said. "The AG's office says that BPD will be releasing body camera footage by its policies. What is an arabber? Arabbing has a long history in Baltimore as a source of fresh produce in food deserts across the city. An arabber is a street vendor who sells fruits and vegetables from a horse-drawn cart. They used to be common in cities along the U.S. East Coast. Bilal "BJ" Abdullah Jr., who was shot and killed by Baltimore police on Tuesday, June 17, was a known "arraber," selling produce on a horse-drawn cart in the city, according to community members. Stable Baltimore However, arabbers are working to stay active on the streets of Baltimore. Holden Warren, the former president of Baltimore's Arabber Preservation Society and co-founder of Stable Baltimore, a nonprofit dedicated to healing and horse culture, said he was working with Bilal "BJ" Abdullah Jr. to revive arabbing. "He was one of the last real hardcore arabbers that was still doing it, about four or five years ago, meaning he had daily routes," Warren said. "He had customers along those routes, and the routes went all over the city."
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Nurse Sandie Peggie plea to MSPs during Holyrood visit
However, First Minister John Swinney and his Deputy, Kate Forbes, declined an invitation to meet, citing the ongoing employment tribunal. READ MORE Ms Peggie, an A&E nurse at Victoria Hospital, is suing her employer after being suspended following a confrontation with Dr Beth Upton. On Christmas Eve 2023, Ms Peggie experienced a sudden heavy period and was concerned she had bled through her scrubs. When she entered the changing room, she saw Dr Upton — a trans woman — and, said that in her view, the medic was a man and should not have been in the room. Dr Upton lodged a formal complaint shortly afterwards. Ms Peggie was placed on 'special leave' in late December 2023 and suspended in January 2024, pending an investigation into 'alleged unwanted behaviours towards another member of NHS Fife staff'. Her suspension was lifted in April, but the disciplinary process remains ongoing. She later lodged legal proceedings in the employment tribunal against NHS Fife and Dr Upton, 'alleging multiple breaches of the Equality Act 2010'. The tribunal was initially expected to conclude in February after ten days, but has been adjourned until 16 July. It is now due to sit for a further 11 days, in part due to NHS Fife's failure to disclose documentation as ordered by the tribunal judge. During her visit to Holyrood, Ms Peggie was accompanied by her solicitor, Margaret Gribbon, and Maya Forstater, chief executive of Sex Matters. The visit came as the organisation threatened the Scottish Government with legal action if it fails to comply with a recent Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex in the Equality Act. Ms Peggie's solicitor, Ms Gribbon, said it was vital that politicians heard her client's story directly. 'Politicians needed to hear directly from Sandie to understand the sheer depth of the discrimination and harassment she and women like her have endured in workplaces — in her case, as a nurse with 30 years' unblemished service, simply because she objected to having to undress in front of a man,' she said. 'We were grateful for the politicians' time and welcomed the opportunity to share insights into how misguided actions by public bodies such as NHS Fife have devastating real-life consequences and come at great expense to the Scottish taxpayer. 'We had productive meetings, and the door is always open for any politicians who were unable to meet Sandie today.' READ MORE Ms Forstater added: 'It was important for politicians to hear directly from Sandie Peggie, given that Scottish public bodies — from NHS Fife right up to the Scottish Government itself — are continuing to delay policy changes following the Supreme Court judgment. 'We urged politicians to consider this as a matter of urgency, as the Supreme Court made crystal clear that organisations which allow men to identify their way into female facilities are operating outside the law. 'We are very grateful for those who took the time to meet Sandie, Margaret and me today.' Mr Findlay said it had been a privilege to hear Ms Peggie's first-hand account of what he described as an 'appalling ordeal'. 'It is outrageous that a dedicated NHS nurse's career has been destroyed and her life consumed by a suffocating legal process simply because she stood up for women's rights,' he said. 'Sandie has paid a massive price for her brave and principled stand against the SNP Government's promotion of gender politics which now infects Scotland's entire public sector. "NHS Fife should stop squandering vast sums of taxpayers' cash on this nonsense and every state agency in Scotland must now respect the law and women's rights.'
Irish Independent
13-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Independent
From doer upper to dream home in Dublin 9: ‘We had to sleep in a tent in our living room for six months'
Asking price: €650,000 Agent: Movehome (01) 8844690 Some families like to take a week out to go camping at this time of year. But how many could live in a tent together for six months – and without ever leaving home? Electrician David Stuart and his wife, schoolteacher Rose Upton, had no choice but to camp in a tent in their own living room through the stripping-out phase during the renovation of their Drumcondra period home at No4 Glendalough Road in Dublin 9. 'With all the dust floating around, we had to sleep in it every night. It was in the depths of winter and without central heating,' says Stuart. 'Apart from the tent, all we had in that time was a double mattress, a kettle, an air fryer and a George Foreman grill.' At this point, their home was being torn asunder and becoming progressively more inhabitable. Upton adds: 'After six months of stripping the house out, the water was turned off to facilitate more work, so we couldn't stay there. We had to move back in with our parents for another six months.' The young couple from Portmarnock are proof that sometimes you have to go more than the proverbial extra mile to get your dream home. 'We actually lived with both sets of parents for years while we were saving,' says Stuart. 'When we went looking for a house, we found we were really limited by our budget to homes that needed a lot of work.' Then Covid-19 swept the country with all the restrictions it brought. 'We actually had to bid on the house before we had even viewed it,' says Stuart. 'Some estate agencies controlled the crowds by insisting on a bid being put in before viewing. ' Number 9 is a double-fronted Victorian redbrick, but when Stuart and Upton found it, the house was divided internally into two flats (above and below) and it had a bad dose of rising damp. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more It would need to be wholly stripped out, and a comprehensive damp proof course was required that would necessitate digging down a half metre below the ground floor. Replumbing, rewiring and replastering were also necessary, as well as altering the internal layout. The windows needed to be replaced, it had an unsightly aluminium and glass front door and it came with a BER of G. This was the sort of job that would send most average buyers running. Dating from 1896, No9 spans just under 1,000 sq ft, about the size of a typical, modern three-bed semi. 'There was a kitchen upstairs and a kitchen downstairs. Upstairs had this unusual configuration where there was a cooker on the landing, and the rest of the kitchen was in what originally would have been the main bedroom. There was no door to the second bedroom from the landing – we presumed it was blocked up at some point, and you had to access it through the main bedroom,' says Stuart. 'We stripped it back ourselves, living in the house during that process,' says Upton. The old lath and plaster proved extraordinarily messy to strip out with all the build-up of dust over a hundred years, and all the ceilings were cracked and had to come down. As an electrician involved in many larger commercial projects, Stuart had a big advantage through his extensive network of construction contacts. 'We were really lucky to get builder Ian Clarke, who is based in Monaghan. Ian did all the heavy ground works, the steel beam work, he changed the windows and put in the damp proof course,' says Stuart. 'He was absolutely meticulous in his work and vital to us in getting the job done.' Because the house is red brick and Victorian, there was no option to use external insulation. 'So we had to put it inside,' says Upton. 'In order to prevent damp, we had to use a very expensive lime-based plaster insulation and special paint.' Meanwhile, Stuart applied his 'sparks' skills. 'Because there were two flats, there were two different fuse boxes. It was a nightmare. We added space to the third bedroom from the bathroom, and we opened up a door for the second bedroom. We also took out one of the chimney breasts, which actually gave us a surprising amount of extra space in the kitchen downstairs and the master bedroom upstairs. 'In the early stages, with the floor already dug up, we realised we had already committed most of the cost of underfloor heating, which is cheaper than rads. So we installed underfloor with a semi-solid engineered timber floor, which would be expansion-resistant. Upstairs, we kept all the original floorboards and sanded them,' Upton adds. 'I hate white, so I wanted to make the place as colourful as possible.' She blended bold tones on both floors to achieve this. The work took most of three years, then went into overdrive when Upton got pregnant with their now 11-month-old son, Luke. But having got over the line, the couple must now sell up to move back to Portmarnock to take care of parents. Downstairs, the C BER accommodation includes an entrance hall with Victorian-style tiles; a kitchen/breakfast room with quartz countertops and an island with a boiling water tap; a dining area overlooking the rear garden; and a discreet WC. The first floor has three bedrooms with original wood flooring, original doors, traditional-style radiators with brass thermostatic valves, and fitted wardrobes. The main bathroom has a roll top bath and pump shower. The attic is insulated floored, and accessed via Stira stairs. Movehome seeks €650,000.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Maroons seek to avoid historic Origin sweep as Hayley Maddick makes up for lost time
Hayley Maddick makes her Qld Maroons debut against NSW Blues in Game 3 of the 2025 Women's State of Origin series in Newcastle on Thursday night. Hayley Maddick makes her Qld Maroons debut against NSW Blues in Game 3 of the 2025 Women's State of Origin series in Newcastle on Thursday night. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP The significance of the third Women's State of Origin game is not lost on Queensland's newest player Hayley Maddick, the fullback and former touch football ace drafted in for the Maroons' mission to restore pride on Thursday night. After two humbling defeats to New South Wales, Queensland's players are at risk of suffering the ignominy of the first women's Origin clean sweep since the series was extended to three games last season. Advertisement 'The shield's gone, but we still have plenty to play for,' Maddick said ahead of her Origin debut. 'We've got family coming down, we've got people watching the game, and we're playing for a bit of dignity.' Related: NSW Blues' historic State of Origin series win turns the tide for women's rugby league | Angus Fontaine Queensland fought back in last year's series to claim game two and then the decider, but this year the contest has been more one-sided. The Blues have been dominant in the first two games – with 32–12 and 26–6 victories – and the Maroons' fortunes took another blow when Jillaroos fullback Tamika Upton was ruled out of the third match. The 33-year-old Maddick's football fate has long been intertwined with Upton's. They both enjoyed outstanding touch football careers before joining the Broncos in the NRLW and both are elusive ball runners and playmakers. Maddick describes Upton, who is five years younger than her, as one of her best friends. The pair will even reunite at the Broncos this year after Upton's departure from the Knights. Advertisement Maddick's elevation from Maroons backup looked likely when Upton went down clutching her leg, but her debut was not guaranteed until a call from coach Tahnee Norris. 'I saw her calling and my heart started racing,' Maddick said. The former NRL touch player of the year only debuted in the NRLW in her late 20s, and speaks with reverence about the likes of Upton and Tarryn Aikin. 'It's funny, because I'm inspired by so many people that are so much younger than me, and I love listening to them speak and the way they think about the game, like Tamika and Tarryn,' Maddick said. She was invited to trial with the NRLW Broncos in 2020 but actually turned down her first contract offer. 'I was probably a little bit naive,' she said. 'I wanted to keep playing touch [football]. But the second I said no, I regretted it.' Maddick is now making up for lost time, and in 2024 produced the best season of her short career. 'It's not unusual in women's sport, because everyone has a different background, but I only really started playing footy seriously in my late 20s, and in all honesty, it felt like last year I've finally got a grasp on the game properly.' Advertisement She will face a confident Blues line-up, who made the most of an error-ridden Maroons in game one and adjusted better to torrential rain in game two. 'Conditions really were awful in the last game, so that obviously changes a lot of things in the style that you want to play,' Maddick said. 'It probably benefited New South Wales and the fact that they've got really big, strong girls, I think we've got really good, crafty, smart players, but conditions didn't really allow for a lot of ball movement.' Related: State of Origin success shows women's rugby league deserves to stand tall on its own | Ruan Sims The Maroons must also overcome an opponent buoyed by strong home support in Newcastle, the city which has become the capital for women's rugby league. But the team remains optimistic given the outcome at McDonald Jones Stadium last year, when Lauren Brown slotted a late field goal that swung momentum to the Maroons on their way to the shield. A near-capacity crowd of 25,782 attended that night despite the inclement weather, underlining the emergence of the women's game. 'I'd love to be a teenager at this point coming into the game now,' Maddick said. But she noted it still had some way to go. 'I hope it gets to a full-time wage – at the moment, it's not – but even still, just being a part of it while it's growing to that point is exciting.'
