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Yes, The Ice Bucket Challenge Is Back In 2025 – This Is Why

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In news that will make many of us feel old, the Ice Bucket Challenge is back, over a decade since the first iteration in 2014.

We’ll try to not think about how much has happened in the world since then…

If you weren’t familiar, the Ice Bucket Challenge started in America to raise awareness of the condition ALS, which is the most common form of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

The challenge involved pouring a bucket of ice water over yourself, nominating your friends to do the same and making a donation to an ALS charity.

On their website, the MND Association explains: “In the UK, the Ice Bucket Challenge hit over the August Bank Holiday weekend, and it wasn’t long before a surge of donations flooded into the [MND] Association’s JustGiving page, set-up by volunteers Paula and Robert Maguire. In just a few short days, the Ice Bucket Challenge raised £7.25million, changing the course of the Association’s work for good.

Now, with TikTok heavyweights like James Charles and Haley Kalil taking part, the challenge is having a resurgence.

Why is the Ice Bucket Challenge back?

Forbes explains: “The newest ice bucket challenge was created by students at the University of South Carolina’s Mental Illness Needs Discussion club, which first posted on Instagram about the challenge on March 31 and said the effort was to raise awareness and funds for mental health causes.”

Since then, the trend has raised $245,000 for US mental health charity Active Minds and over 20,000 people have used the tag #icebucketchallenge on TikTok.

The trend has come under some criticism from ALS advocates with Brooke Eby, an ALS advocate and sufferer stating that she is “fuming” watching “people steal the ALS ice bucket challenge for a different cause when ALS still doesn’t have a cure.”

However, the ALS Association posted on Instagram supporting the new take on the challenge saying: “The Ice Bucket Challenge is back! Mental health impacts everyone, including people affected by ALS.”

What are the symptoms of ALS?

The Motor Neurone Disease Association share that these are common early signs of the condition saying, “MND is a fatal, rapidly progressing disease that affects the brain and spinal cord”:

  • Muscle twitching
  • Tingling or pins and needles
  • Fatigue or extreme tirewdness
  • Tripping and one or both legs getting thinner
  • Dropping things due to weak or stiff hands
  • Slurred or faint speech
  • Swallowing difficulties
  • Breathing problems
  • Emotional outbursts
  • Changes to thinking and behaviour

The charity also adds that if you’re worried you may have the condition, you should speak to your GP.

MND Association provides support to people living with MND, carers, family members, health and social care professionals and anybody else affected by the condition.

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Harry And Meghan Call For ‘Urgent’ Protections For Kids On Social Media

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined families in mourning in New York City on Wednesday evening as they unveiled a powerful memorial that calls for urgent reform of social media.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended a private vigil for a temporary installation called “The Lost Screen Memorial,” which features 50 smartphone lock screens. Each lock screen is in a lightbox displaying the image of a child whose life ended too soon as a result of social media.

The parents of the children featured in the installation are all part of Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation Parents’ Network and its No Child Lost to Social Media campaign. Parents submitted these “deeply personal images” of their children “to call attention to the urgent need for safer online spaces,” according to a statement from Archewell.

At the memorial, the affected parents gathered to view the installation and meet with other parents, as well as the duke and duchess, who spent nearly two hours connecting with each person at the event.

“It is a universal truth that our children are in harm’s way by what’s happening online,” Meghan said at the event. “No matter how polarised the world is or what people may or may not agree on, one thing that we can all agree on is that our children should be safe.”

Prince Harry got visibly emotional while talking about the harrowing stories he’s heard from parents over the last several years about their children who lost their lives due to cyberbullying or other dangers on social media.

“The easiest thing to say is to keep your kids away from social media,” Harry told HuffPost at the event. “The sad reality is that the kids that aren’t on social media normally get bullied at school because they can’t be part of the same conversations as everybody else.”

“Life is better off of social media,” Harry continued. “I say that as a parent, and I say that as someone who’s spoken to many of the kids here tonight who are not on social media because they’ve lost a brother or a sister to social media. But clearly, enough is not enough. Enough is not being done.”

During the emotional unveiling of the installation, many people wept when they first saw their child’s photo. Families were able to place flowers in front of their child’s lightbox, and some parents described the overwhelming feeling of seeing their child on the screen. As the evening progressed and the sun set, the photos became even brighter, illuminating the entire space, which overlooked the city.

“That moment of coming around the corner and seeing it was a touch overwhelming, and that’s probably where I cried the most,” Amy Neville, who lost a son named Alexander, told HuffPost on Wednesday.

“But then going to my son’s lightbox, he’s cremated in his bedroom and so we don’t have a place to go,” she continued. “And so, that feeling came over me when I got over there – I’m like, ‘Oh wow, this is kind of like visiting the gravesite’ … and so that was a feeling I didn’t anticipate.”

Joanna Bogard, who lost her son Mason, said that “Any time you lose someone, a child, someone you love dearly — just having something tactile, something to look at, something to touch, something to say they were here and they were so important, it’s just such a gift. And this is such a gift.”

In addition to the lightboxes, parents were able to record their memories of their child in a digital version of the memorial.

“They were remembered for who they were, and not so much how they passed,” Bogard said. “And this gave us a chance to connect as a community of grieving parents – to talk about our kids in a way we don’t typically talk about them.”

“So many of us [parents] advocate through education, state legislation, federal legislation. We’re on Capitol Hill; we’re in the state lobby offices. We’re just doing so much. And we’re telling how they passed, but it’s not very often that we get to say, this is my child,” Bogard continued.

Bogard said Mason loved to fish and hike, and that he was adventurous.

“He loved so much about the world, and he was loved and he loved,” she said. “And this gives us that chance to exhale and focus on who Mason was and who our kids were, and then it gives us a chance to say thank you for giving us this opportunity to connect.”

One parent, Tammy Rodriguez, said that her daughter Selena “always loved the city.”

And now, with the exhibit, “she’s right in the middle, and she’s overlooking it.”

“Just seeing that really meant a lot to us,” said Rodriguez, who attended the memorial with her daughter Destiny.

“It’s been an absolute honour and pleasure just to be able to be here and exist with everyone and just kind of feel that mutual love and kind of grieve as well,” she added.

Both Tammy and Destiny Rodriguez spent time with Harry and Meghan, whom they described as “so down to earth” and “so sweet.”

Harry and Meghan have made the dangers of social media, especially as it concerns children, one of their core initiatives.

HuffPost previously reported on a panel on behalf of the Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit in New York City in October 2023, where parents of children who died by suicide spoke about their experiences.

The parents told audience members about how certain social media algorithms led their children down dangerous digital rabbit holes, and how tech companies and platforms outpaced parents who would consider themselves well-versed in social media.

Meghan said she found it “just devastating” to hear from the parents Archewell worked with, and said it was “impossible to not be in tears” when they shared their stories.

The Duchess of Sussex has spoken out about being the victim of cyberbullying on a global scale. In March 2021, she told Oprah Winfrey she was suicidal while living in the United Kingdom because she felt so isolated by royal life.

“I’m told that in 2019, I was the most trolled person in the entire world – male or female,” Meghan said during a joint interview with Harry on the “Teenager Therapy” podcast in 2020.

“Eight months of that, I wasn’t even visible. I was on maternity leave with a baby,” the royal shared. “But what was able to be manufactured and churned out – it’s almost unsurvivable.”

“That’s so big you can’t even think of what that feels like,” the royal added.

Help and support:

  • Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
  • Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
  • CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
  • The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
  • Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
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Farage Slammed Over 1 ‘Wildly Inaccurate’ Claim About Children’s Health

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Nigel Farage has been called out for claiming children in the UK are being “over-diagnosed” with “mental illness problems and other general behavioural disabilities”.

The Reform UK leader told a press conference today that the rising number of children diagnosed with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a “massive problem”.

He said: “I think we are massively – I’m not being heartless, I’m being frank – I think we are massively over-diagnosing those with mental illness problems and those with other general behavioural disabilities. And I think we’re creating class of victims in Britain that will struggle ever to get out of it.”

The Clacton MP also claimed that it’s a “massive mistake” to let family GPs diagnose SEND children.

But his comments have sparked significant backlash, with Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the National Autistic Society, accusing the MP of perpetuating “stigma”.

Merritt said: “Nigel Farage’s comments are wildly inaccurate and show that he’s completely out of touch with what autistic children and adults have to go through to get a diagnosis or any support at all.

“For the record, absolutely no one has got an autism diagnosis through the GP – this is just incorrect, wrong, fake news.

“Children with SEND and disabled adults, including autistic people, are not victims who are being ‘over diagnosed’.

“They are people who face huge delays and long fights to get the most basic support across every aspect of their lives, including diagnosis, education, health and social care.

“Spreading misinformation only perpetuates stigma and makes life harder. We’re calling on all politicians to drop the political point scoring and stand up for their autistic and other disabled constituents.”

Similarly, Guardian columnist John Harris – who has written about his autistic son and their shared love of music – wrote on BlueSky: “Farage talking arrant and nasty shit here.

“You can’t get an autism/SEND diagnosis from a GP. People are having to wait years for one.

“This is just Trump/Kennedy stuff, with a flavour of Badenoch & the right wing UK media.”

Minesh Patel, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns at Mind, told HuffPost UK: “The only victims in this discussion are facts – which are continuously overlooked in favour of fuelling culture wars.

“We agree that disabled people, people on benefits and those out of work are more likely to struggle with their mental health.

“And evidence shows three quarters of all mental health problems are established by the age of 24. But instead of asking what is driving this, our politicians choose to demonise those who are struggling most in our society.”

He added that “mental health does not exist in a vacuum” and pointed to the current squeeze on public finances, the pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis.

“We will not solve the mental health crisis by stigmatising people who are already suffering,” Patel said, adding: “It is time to face the facts.”

Ahead of next week’s local elections, Lib Dem education spokesperson Munira Wilson accused Farage of “laying the groundwork to axe crucial special needs provision in councils he’s got his eye on”.

She said: “If Nigel Farage had spent any time speaking to parents in his constituency, he’d know he’s barking up the wrong tree.

“The special needs crisis needs urgent repair – not his lazy rhetoric. We need a National Body for SEND to end the special needs postcode lottery now.”

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Trump Attacks Zelenskyy Yet Again, Accusing Him Of ‘Inflammatory Statements’ Over Crimea

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Donald Trump has just accused Volodymyr Zelenskyy of making “inflammatory” statements over Crimea while the US is still pushing for a quick end to the Ukraine war.

The US has been trying to broker peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv for months, but Vladimir Putin – who started the war in February 2022 – has repeatedly dragged his heels.

Even when Trump has offered to resolve the conflict on terms favourable to the Kremlin with very few concessions, Putin has resisted.

Instead, the White House has reportedly suggested Kyiv recognise Russia’s illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula Crimea to secure peace.

But the Ukrainian president has already rejected this idea, telling reporters on Tuesday: “There is nothing to talk about. This violates our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of the people of Ukraine.”

In a lengthy post on Truth Social on Wednesday, the US president hit back.

Trump accused Zelenskyy of “boasting” that Ukraine will not legally recognise the occupation of Crimea.

He said: “This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion.

“Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”

He continued: “It’s inflammatory statements like Zelenskyy’s that makes it so difficult to settle this War.

“He has nothing to boast about!

“The situation for Ukraine is dire — He can have Peace or, he can fight for another three years before losing the whole Country.

“I have nothing to do with Russia, but have much to do with wanting to save, on average, five thousand Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, who are dying for no reason whatsoever.

“The statement made by Zelenskyy today will do nothing but prolong the ‘killing field,’ and nobody wants that!

“We are very close to a Deal, but the man with “no cards to play” should now, finally, GET IT DONE. I look forward to being able to help Ukraine, and Russia, get out of this Complete and Total MESS, that would have never started if I were President!”

Before he was re-elected last year, the US president promised to resolve the conflict within 24 hours.

Now, more than three months after his January inauguration, Trump and his top team have repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the whole peace process unless they see significant process.

Trump’s secretary of state Marco Rubio also surprised western allies when he announced – at the last minute – that he would be skipping the planned peace discussions in London on Wednesday, citing scheduling issues.

The whole occasion was then downgraded from a meeting between senior ministers to officials.

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Nigel Farage Dubbed ‘A Con Artist’ For Suggesting Climate Change May Not Be Man-Made

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Nigel Farage has been dubbed “a con artist” after he suggested climate change may not be man-made.

The Reform UK leader also called for the government to ditch its net zero policies because they “make no difference whatsoever” to global warming.

Asked on Radio 4′s Today programme if he accepted climate change was at least partly man-made, Farage would only say: “It may well be.”

He added: “Let’s go with the scientists. Let’s say that the 3% to 5% of CO2 emissions in the world every year that are man-made, as opposed to natural, are having a detrimental, or at least a warming effect on the world. Let’s start from that position.”

However, he avoided the question when asked if that was his own position.

Farage also said politicians should not “commit economic hara-kiri” in order to tackle the problem.

“I think we should scrap the net zero targets, yes, absolutely. I think they’re going to make zero difference in the world,” he said.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay condemned Farage, and challenged him to a public debate on climate change.

He said: “Nigel Farage is a performer, a con artist. He will say or do anything. He will happily dance to a populist tune regardless of its impact.

“This morning’s performance suggested he hasn’t got the slightest grasp of even the most basic climate science. But I think it’s worse than that. He understands all too well human-made climate change, but he is willing to pretend he doesn’t and stand in the way of climate action for his party’s populist agenda.

“If he really does believe what he says, let’s see if his ridiculous rhetoric stands up to actual scrutiny – let’s see if he is prepared to take part in an hour-long TV debate about climate change and the challenge of reaching net zero?”

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Supreme Court Ruling Is Anything But Clear – And Endangers All Women’s Rights, Trans Group Warns

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A leading trans advocacy group has hit out at the “widespread confusion and fear” caused by the Supreme Court’s ruling that a woman is defined by biology.

The momentous judgement came after years of campaigning from gender-critical groups and has left the trans community in disarray.

Keir Starmer has shifted his stance on trans rights recently too. His spokesperson said on Tuesday that the PM no longer believes a trans woman is a woman – even though he said the opposite in 2022 – and said the government welcomes the judgement.

But, in a new letter to the prime minister, campaigners from TransActual challenged the government’s repeated claim that the top judges’ decision had brought “clarity” and pointed out the 14 issues the ruling has not addressed.

The letter asked: “How is ‘biological sex’ to be defined other than by certification on original birth certificates? Hormonal? Genital? Chromosomal? How will outliers in these be treated?”

The campaigners also looked at how women who are not trans will be impacted by the Court’s decision, particularly women with “gender non-conforming appearances or attributes”.

The group said: “In the course of early legal analysis, a number of huge risks have been identified for all LGBTQ+ people, as well as women with gender non-conforming appearance or attributes, which arise from this deviation from the clear original intentions and definitions in the Equality Act.”

It also asked: “What mechanisms will be available to correct ‘administrative’ mistakes such as the young girl recently reported as having M marked on her original birth certificate last autumn, or the woman who discovered a few years ago that she was legally male when she went to marry her long-term partner and father of their child?”

The campaigners then questioned single-sex issues around policing.

TransActual asked: “How will policies like that of the British Transport Police (BTP) – who announced that trans women would be strip-searched by male officers – not create a huge risk to all women?

“How will the BTP determine who is trans and who is not? What will the remedy be for those women who are not trans who end up being strip-searched by male BTP officers? What is the impact on trans people’s privacy?”

The group also looked at the issues around public places after the minister for equalities and education secretary Bridget Phillipson said people should use toilets according to their biological sex.

“How would access to single-sex spaces be policed?” the campaigners asked. “How would this be funded? What laws would be brought in to enforce this as, for example, the only laws around public toilets are around their provision, not who accesses them?”

It also asked: “If trans women should be barred from female single-sex spaces, and trans men be barred from female and male single-sex spaces, which facilities should trans men use, and how will you ensure trans women’s safety and dignity?”

This morning we wrote to the Prime Minister to express concern in respect of last week’s Supreme Court’s ruling and the confusion that has brought to all equalities law. You’ll find more info on what we said, and the letter itself, at: transactual.org.uk/blog/2025/04… #Trans #Nonbinary

— TransActual (@transactualuk.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T19:00:19.941Z

TransActual head Helen Belcher concluded the letter by writing: “We hope that these urgent questions demonstrate this ruling has brought widespread confusion and fear, not clarity, and that equalities law in the UK must be immediately returned to a sound legal footing.

“There are many other questions which also arise from the judgement which will follow as legal study is done and the practical effects continue.”

When LBC presenter Nick Ferrari asked about the British Transport Police policy that male officers would now be conducting strip-searches on trans women, policing minister Diana Johnson appeared to support it.

She said: “My understanding from the Supreme Court judgement last week is, that it would be done on the basis of biological sex…yes, that’s the law of the land. And I support the law of the land.

“I’m very pleased we’ve got that clarity from last week as to biological sex being the basis of that.”

But Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer, later hit back at the government’s response.

She told HuffPost UK: “Sadly for women, both trans and not, many of [our] rights have been eroded in recent years.

“Cuts to healthcare, a rise in misogyny and transphobia, and government neglect of public services have made us all less safe and less supported.

“I’m deeply concerned that this government’s response to the recent Supreme Court ruling will entrench these problems for trans people, while doing nothing to address the real issues facing all women – making it harder for trans people to exist in public spaces, to access support, or to get healthcare.

“I am also worried that rather than standing up against a tide of hatred and fear directed against trans people, this government is giving ground to those who would see trans people pushed out of public life.”

All of us, whether we’re trans or not, deserve dignity and respect, and the freedom to go about our daily lives without fear of abuse or harassment. Govt has urgent Qs to answer about how it will ensure those rights for trans people – sadly I didn’t get those answers yesterday.

— Carla Denyer (@carladenyer.bsky.social) 2025-04-23T09:46:20.689Z

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Bridget Phillipson Brutally Slaps Down Lee Anderson In Angry Commons Clash

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Bridget Phillipson brutally slapped down Lee Anderson as the pair clashed angrily in the House of Commons.

The Reform UK MP infuriated the education secretary during a debate on last week’s Supreme Court ruling that sex is defined by biology.

Anderson asked Phillipson: “I don’t need a Supreme Court judgment or ruling to tell me that a bloke shouldn’t be in a women’s changing rooms.

“I want to ask the secretary of state a very simple question for more clarity: can a woman have a penis?”

The minister replied: “I’ll tell you what, blokes shouldn’t beat up women. Maybe he should have a word with his colleague.”

That was a reference to another Reform UK MP, James McMurdock, who was jailed 19 years ago for repeatedly kicking his girlfriend, according to court documents.

He spent 21 days in a young offenders’ institution after admitting the attack.

The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, who was elected last July, told Sky News last year: “Nearly 20 years ago, at 19 years of age, at the end of a night out together, we argued and I pushed her. She fell over and she was hurt. Despite being 38 now and having lived a whole life again I still feel deeply ashamed and apologetic.

“Despite us both being very drunk, I handed myself into the police immediately and admitted my fault. I was charged for what I did, not for what has been claimed, and I faced the consequences then and paid for my action in full.”

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Lee Anderson(Reform MP): Can a woman have a penis?

Bridget Phillipson: \"I’ll tell you what, blokes shouldn’t beat up women, maybe he should have a word with his colleague.\" pic.twitter.com/Xs2W6rWRE8

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) April 22, 2025

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Lee Anderson(Reform MP): Can a woman have a penis?

Bridget Phillipson: “I’ll tell you what, blokes shouldn’t beat up women, maybe he should have a word with his colleague.” pic.twitter.com/Xs2W6rWRE8

— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) April 22, 2025

Phillipson had also raised the incident during an earlier exchange with Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice.

He said: “Now we have got confirmation from the Supreme Court what the definition of a woman is, could the secretary of state confirm that all public sector and private sector bodies will apply that definition with immediate effect?”

Phillipson replied: “The Equality and Human Rights Commission will set out a statutory code of practice that will provide further clarity.

“But I would just say to [Mr Tice] that I will take no lectures from his party about the importance of defending women’s rights, given that one of his own number, that sits on those benches, was convicted and went to prison for assaulting his former partner.”

Nigel Farage last year described Mr McMurdock as “good example to young tearaways” who “picked himself up from a terrible situation and made a big success”.

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