Married at First Sight UK’s Laura confronts groom Arthur over internet vows – and fans are all saying the same thing

By Codie Bullen For Mailonline

Published: 19:08 EDT, 20 September 2023 | Updated: 20:59 EDT, 20 September 2023

Married at First Sight UK viewers slammed Laura after she confronted her groom Arthur during Wednesday’s episode.

Arthur left Laura and her friends cringing when he told her he loved her at the end of his vows despite having met Laura just minutes earlier.

After the ceremony, Arthur’s friends revealed that he had found his vows on the internet, leaving Laura unimpressed. 

Deciding to address her feelings head-on, Laura asked her husband how he felt about his vows before revealing she knew he hadn’t written them.

Arthur admitted: ‘That’s the perfect example of me trying to be someone I’m not.’

Brutal: Married at First Sight UK viewers slammed Laura after she confronted her groom Arthur during Wednesday’s episode

Arthur admitted: ‘That’s the perfect example of me trying to be someone I’m not.’

Viewers were left fuming with Laura, with one penning on Twitter: ‘I really do NOT like Laura’

Another said: ‘Arthur and Laura… this is a train wreck waiting to happen’

A third added: ‘Laura is just looking for an excuse not to like Arthur’

Later in the episode, Arthur rewrote his vows to prove his commitment to Laura during their honeymoon in Mexico.

She said: ‘I can see that Arthur has genuinely put his heart and soul into this. He’s made it clear that his priority is our marriage.’ 

The finance manager, 34, made no secret of the fact she likes ‘the finer things in life’, admitting she spends most of her weekends in the upmarket bars of London’s Chelsea.

Laura, who describes herself as a ‘boss b**tch’, insisted she was ready to throw herself into the experiment after her former marriage ended after 10 months, however she felt let down when she was matched with tennis coach Arthur, 34.

Viewers were left fuming with Laura, with one penning on Twitter: ‘I really do NOT like Laura’

Sweet: Later in the episode, Arthur rewrote his vows to prove his commitment to Laura during their honeymoon in Mexico

Polish-born Arthur came to the UK when he was 16 and decided to pull his vows directly from the internet, claiming his English was not up to scratch for him to write them himself.

After Laura set eyes on Arthur, she insisted her ‘very firm criteria has not been met’, while she later said in a piece to camera that Arthur is not as ‘posh’ as her usual type.

She explained: ‘He is definitely an attractive guy for sure. But he doesn’t look like a Chelsea boy.

‘I love a posh accent. Very firm criteria has not been met.’

And show fans were left unimpressed by Laura’s vows, in which she told Arthur: ‘I promise to appreciate you as much as I appreciate my first oat milk latter of the morning.

‘Please don’t talk to me before I’ve had it.’

Elsewhere during the episode, Nathanial Valentino and Ella Morgan’s relationship hit the rocks in Wednesday’s episode, after he dropped a bombshell during a furious row.

Explosive! Married At First Sight UK’s Nathanial Valentino and Ella Morgan’s relationship hit the rocks during Wednesday’s episode, as he dropped a bombshell during a furious row

While the pair’s romance had started well at their wedding, with Nathanial openly accepting his wife was transgender , things turned sour in Wednesday’s episode mere hours after arriving for their honeymoon in Mexico .

Nathanial claimed that Ella was keeping a secret from producers that she’d confessed to him behind closed doors, before claiming to the cameras that he was refusing to show any intimacy.

He then revealed that Ella used to work as a stripper, which she insisted she ‘wasn’t ashamed of.’

Could this spark one of the earliest splits in the show’s history?

Married at First Sight UK continues on Thursday at 9pm on E4.

Married At First Sight UK: Meet the series seven contestants

Name: Arthur 

Age: 23

From: London

Occupation: Tennis coach 

Why: ‘I’m ready to find the love of my life’ 

Name: Ella

Age: 29

From: Weston-Super-Mare

Occupation: Clinic Consultant

Why: ‘This experiment is so much more than just me getting married. I see this as a big deal for someone who has transitioned’

Name: Brad 

Age: 27

From: Grimsby

Occupation: Model

Why: ‘I trust the experts with all my heart that they have matched me well’

Name: Jay

Age: 31

From: Lancashire 

Occupation: Sales manager 

Why: Hopefully, they’ve found someone who is right for me and I do have faith that everything happens for a reason’

Name: Georges

Age: 30

From: Surrey

Occupation: Sports Rehabilitator 

Why: ‘I said to the Experts that I will give 120%. I trust them and I’m going to trust the process’

Name: Laura

Age: 34

From: Hampshire

Occupation: Finance Manager

Why: ‘I have my fingers firmly crossed for a positive outcome – I don’t want another divorce’

Name: Luke

Age: 30

From: Clacton

Occupation: Sales executive

Why: ‘I’m really open so I know I can make things work and build, I’m just hoping she has the same attitude’

Name: Peggy

Age: 32

From: Kent

Occupation: Technology risk partner

Why: ‘I want that lover and someone who can also be my best friend’

Name: Nathanial

Age: 36

From: Manchester

Occupation: Events marketing manager 

Why: ‘I don’t trust anyone but myself, but I hope they’ve done a good job that’s all I can say’

Name: Porscha 

Age: 36

From: London

Occupation: Executive assistant 

Why: ‘I’m trying not to think too much about the fact that I’m marrying a total stranger because I’ll probably psych myself out’

Name: Paul

Age: 26

From: Chesham

Occupation: Account manager

Why: ‘I hope the experts literally hand delivered my best friend and life partner’

Name: Rosaline

Age: 28

From: Crewe

Occupation: Florist

Why: ‘I’m excited, but I’m also feeling quite nervous. It doesn’t feel real1’

Name: Terence 

Age: 40

From: Reading

Occupation: Youth Worker/DJ

Why: ‘I’m looking forward to it and I’m excited. The only bit I’m worried about is whether she’ll like me’

Name: Shona

Age: 31

From: Nottingham

Occupation: Performing arts teacher

Why: ‘My happily ever after would be for him and I to go through the experiment and really try and grow together’

Name: Thomas

Age: 27

From: Wiltshire

Occupation: Investment communications

Why: ‘I’m excited to meet this person and see what we could do together’

Name: Tasha

Age: 25

From: Leeds

Occupation: Childcare assistant 

Why: ‘I have faith in the experts that I could find the love of my life – the Ant to my Dec!’

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy demanded ‘accountability’ on U.S. aid to Ukraine and vowed to question President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington, amid heightening tensions among Republicans over funding the country’s defense. 

‘Is Zelenskyy elected to Congress? Is he our president? I don’t think I have to commit anything and I think I have questions for him,’ McCarthy said Tuesday, in just the latest remarks exhibiting skepticism about billions in U.S. military and other support.

‘Where’s the accountability on the money we’ve already spent? What is the plan for victory? I think that’s what the American public wants to know,’ he said, ABC News reported. 

McCarthy spoke at length on the topic as Zelensky attended UN General Assembly meetings in New York, and was on hand for President Joe Biden‘s speech where he blasted Russia’s invasion and blasted its ”illegal war of conquest.’

McCarthy spoke days before U.S. government funding is set to run out, setting up a possible government shutdown amid howls of protest form conservative Freedom Caucus members about a temporary spending measure.

The Biden administration is hoping to cut through the tensions to deliver a $24 billion aid package amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive.  

‘Look what Russia has done — invade — is wrong,’ McCarthy.

‘It’s an atrocity, we want to make sure that ends. I also have always said from the beginning, no matter what the issue is, I want accountability for whatever the hardworking taxpayers spend their money on. I want to plan for victory. So no, I will listen to the American public. I will follow what happens in Congress, but I will have questions for President Zelensky,’ he added.

‘I will have questions for President Zelensky,’ said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, amid deep skepticism within his caucus about funding Ukraine’s war to turn back Russia’s invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky watched as President Joe Biden told the United Nations General Assembly that no nation is safe if the world allowed for Ukraine to be ‘carved up’ by Russia

President Joe Biden addressed the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday morning in New York City. In his speech, he went after Russia’s ‘illegal war of conquest’ in Ukraine and recommitted the U.S. to the cause of assisting Ukraine

 It came as a key alley, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, continued to fume about Ukraine aid on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

‘I will not vote to fund a single penny to the war in Ukraine, COVID anything, and the political weaponized government,’ she said.

She also agreed with Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that she would oppose a temporary measure negotiated between conservatives and more centrist Republicans that would still slash domestic non-defense funding by 8 per cent.  

‘Oh absolutely. I’m a NO! Funding [special counsel] Jack Smith’s persecution of Trump is one of my red lines. No money for Ukraine or COVID insanity either. And continuing Pelosi’s policies for even one day is unacceptable.’

Biden warned at the UN that no nation can be secure if ‘we allow Ukraine to be carved up.’

‘I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the United States to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?’ Biden said. ‘If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?

‘I’d respectfully suggest the answer is no,’ he said.

Biden has an ally in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is pushing to continue U.S. funding. 

‘Helping Ukraine retake its territory means weakening — weakening — one of America’s biggest strategic adversaries without firing a shot,’ McConnell said recently on the Senate floor.

Conservatives are warring over the spending bill, called a CR, and the Ukraine aide.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), promoted the short-term bill – in part by touting its lack of Ukraine funding.

‘The 30 day CR does 2 things: 1. Secure the southern border. 2. Cut government spending by 8%. **There is NO Ukraine $$$** The truth is Congress needs more time to do the necessary spending cuts and reforms to stop the weaponization of our government and save our country,’ he wrote.

Said Gaetz, who has threatened to push essentially a no-confidence vote in McCarthy, ‘Lumping disparate agencies of Goverment [sic] into one big vote is a terrible idea. My friend Byron left off his list that the Donalds CR funds the election interference of Jack Smith. I am a NO. We must be better than this. 

An Australian actress has divided fans with ‘cringe’ moments from her lavish wedding.

Scarlet Vas, who is best known for her role as police officer Mishti Sharma in Neighbours, tied the knot with TikTok star Tayo Ricci in Mykonos, Greece over the weekend.

The bride, 28, looked stunning on her special day, wearing a gorgeous white boho-inspired BERTA gown and her hair styled up and then later down in loose curls with a diamond headpiece. 

She completed her look with a diamond necklace, drop earrings and opted for elegant makeup with a neutral palette.

But Scarlet’s wedding day left fans wincing, after a video was shared to Instagram of her and Tayo exchanging vows.

Scarlet Vas, who is best known for her role as police officer Mishti Sharma in Neighbours, tied the knot with TikTok star Tayo Ricci in Mykonos, Greece over the weekend

Scarlet’s wedding day left fans wincing, after a video was shared of her and Tayo exchanging vows

In the footage, Tayo asks his new wife to rate his kiss ‘out of 10’.

‘Okay,’ Scarlet says in a baby voice. ‘You may kiss the bride.’

The pair lean in for a sweet kiss before Scarlet speaks again with the same squeaky voice.

Fans took to the comments on Instagram to poke fun at the awkward video and the voice Scarlet used in the video

‘Oh my gosh… One thousand!’ she answers.

‘Just one thousand?’ her husband asks, before she replies, ‘One thousand million trillion out of 10!’

Fans took to the comments section to poke fun at the awkward video and the voice Scarlet used in the video.

Scarlet also shared a clip of her and her husband cutting their three-tiered iced wedding cake while sharing a kiss

‘Imagine you have to listen her voice every day,’ one user wrote.

‘Cringe,’ another simply added, while one commented, ‘Clout chasers. I predict divorce in less than 2 years.’

‘Serious question. Does she really talk & laugh like that in real life or is it just for the camera? Having to listen to that as her friend would make me cringe,’ someone added.

One clip showed the newlyweds dancing up a storm to Psy’s hit K-Pop song Gangnam Style

She also posted a gallery of videos to her Instagram Stories, capturing her unique approach to celebrating her special day with Tayo

She also posted a gallery of videos to her Instagram Stories, capturing her unique approach to celebrating her special day with Tayo.

One clip showed the newlyweds dancing up a storm to Psy’s hit K-Pop song Gangnam Style.

Another loved-up video showed the lovebirds enjoying a kiss as husband and wife on the venue’s balcony against the sunset background.

The pair then put on a risqué display for their guests, as Tayo performed a strip-style dance for his wife

It ended with her being pinned to the floor

Scarlet also shared a clip of her and her husband cutting their three-tiered iced wedding cake. 

The crowd could be heard roaring with excitement as the newlyweds hammed it up for the cameras.

The pair then put on a risqué display for their guests, as Tayo performed a strip-style dance for his wife which ended with her being pinned to the floor.

‘Ceremony and Mykonos sunsets. Epic,’ she wrote next to the footage.

Scarlet also shared a clip of her and her husband cutting their three-tiered iced wedding cake 

The couple exchanged vows in a first ceremony held in town 

Scarlet is seen posing with her bridesmaids at her second ceremony 

Her bridesmaids wore nude coloured dresses 

The pair shared a dance under the gorgeous Mykonos sunset 

Scarlet’s real voice can be heard in previous episodes of Neighbours, which she starred in from 2017 to 2018. 

She’s since become a successful OnlyFans model.

The stunner appears to be living her best life after leaving Australia for the U.S. several years ago.

She now boasts an impressive 982,000 followers on Instagram and has appeared in a number of viral TikTok videos. She has 5.2million followers on TikTok.

Scarlet is best known for her time playing police officer Mishti Sharma on Neighbours (pictured)

Actress-turned-OnlyFans model Scarlet (pictured) boasts an impressive 988,000 followers on Instagram

A group of lawmakers is planning to put the search for the truth about UFOs front and center by demanding a special committee with the power to prize information from government that could prove whistleblowers’ claims of a secret program hiding ‘non-human’ crashed craft.

Four members wrote to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday requesting a Select Committee on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena to ramp up their probe.

One of the signers, Republican congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, told DailyMail.com she and her colleagues would not stop until they got to the bottom of the UFO mystery, and threatened to defund Pentagon bosses’ salaries if they didn’t cough up their alleged secrets.

The news comes after an historic congressional hearing last Wednesday where 14-year intelligence veteran David Grusch testified under oath that he had evidence of a secret alien ship crash retrieval program – including photographs and interviews with insiders.

Republican congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna first got interested in UFOs when serving in the Air Force. She is pictured with husband Andrew Gamberzky, an Air Force combat controller

Four members of Congress, three Republican and one Democrat, wrote to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday requesting a Select Committee on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena to ramp up their probe

House Oversight Committee member Luna – who says she first became interested in UFOs while serving in the Air Force – revealed she is asking the Defense Department and intelligence agencies for the classified reports Grusch made, including his alleged evidence.

She also vowed to probe his claim that he had been threatened for coming forward, and that others may have even been killed.

Rep. Luna wants to find information about UFOs that she says could ‘possibly protect lives’

‘To me, that is extremely scary. That’s not how a republic runs itself, that’s how a mob runs itself,’ Luna, 34, told DailyMail.com.

‘We’re trying to go after all of them,’ the Florida congresswoman – who is expecting her first child – said. ‘This is a massive deal and we have to get to the bottom of it.

‘We are requesting the Inspector General report that Grusch was testifying to in the hearing. That’s going to be pretty important, because that contains a lot of bombshell information from what we’re gathering.

‘We’re actually trying to get a select committee under Oversight so that we can do the subpoenaing,’ she added.

Luna joined Republicans Matt Gaetz and Tim Burchett as well as Democrat Jared Moskowitz writing a letter on July 27 to Speaker McCarthy requesting the new UFO committee.

If granted new powers, Luna said she would be hauling in front of lawmakers ‘people that know more information that can divulge and can possibly even protect lives.’

Luna joined Republicans Matt Gaetz and Tim Burchett as well as Democrat Jared Moskowitz writing a letter on July 27 to Speaker McCarthy requesting the new UFO committee. Luna is pictured with Rep. Burchett, Rep. Eric Burlison and Rep. Moskowitz last month at a news conference to discuss the committee meeting on unidentified aerial phenomena 

Rep. Matt Gaetz signed the letter to Kevin McCarthy requesting to create a committee on UFOs with subpoena power

‘I want to see names, documentation, images and footage. According to what Grusch says and what I have seen, that exists. So let’s try to declassify it,’ she said.

In Wednesday’s hearing, Grusch even offered Congresswoman Nancy Mace to write a list of ‘hostile’ and cooperative witnesses for the committee to target – though Mace’s spokesman said the former top intelligence official has not followed through yet.

Among other measures Luna and Tennessee congressman Burchett are proposing in their UFO hunt are ‘field hearings’, to grill Pentagon officials at locations where they believe crashed craft may be stashed.

They are also planning to give teeth to whistleblower protection laws, with ‘punitive actions for those that try to harm, intimidate or intentionally discredit whistleblowers that are coming forward with information that is pertinent to national security and the US government,’ Luna said.

‘It needs to be so tight, that people will fear if they come after a whistleblower.’

And if denied records or access, the Florida Republican said she is ready to strip government officials of their salaries.

‘We pay these people’s salaries, we’re paying into these programs billions of dollars and yet they don’t want to share this information. I just disagree with that,’ she said.

‘If we continue to see this wall of silence, where they’re giving us the runaround, we reserve the right to actually defund positions.’

David Grusch – a former high-ranking intelligence official – is one of three military whistleblowers who testified under oath that they know firsthand about secret programs involving technology far surpassing the US’s capabilities

Retired Navy Commander David Fravor (left) testified at the hearing, as did Ryan Graves, who told the committee that he and more than 30 aircrew members and veterans have experienced UAPs along with members of Congress who have confided in him

Fravor discussed the Tic Tac-shaped object seen in the sky over California on November 10, 2004. Video of what the Navy could trace of the object was leaked in 2017, and the Pentagon declassified the case in 2020

Although he dropped several bombshells, including sworn claims of a decades-long government coverup of crashed ‘non-human’ spacecraft, Grusch answered many of the lawmakers’ questions by saying he was unable to divulge classified data outside of a secure environment.

Luna and Burchett complained that they had tried to book a session in a Secure Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) ahead of the hearing, but intelligence agency civil servants turned them down.

‘The reasoning for why we could not get the SCIF according to the Hill was that Grusch did not have active security clearances,’ Luna told DailyMail.com.

A source close to Grusch said he retained his clearance after leaving government, as is normal for recent veterans, but that he needs the Pentagon to ‘read him back in’ and provide new non-disclosure agreements for him to sign before he can talk freely to House members. 

Grusch claims one of the alien spacecraft crashed in Northern Italy in 1933 and was secreted away by Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Pictured is a handwritten memo claiming to describe the crash

Fravor said there are multiple witnesses coming forward who say that they have first-hand knowledge of UFOs.  A Marine claims he and five comrades saw a flying saucer being loaded with weapons while serving in Indonesia in 2009

‘It’s pretty disturbing. We’re talking about him saying he was in fear of his life, that people have been harmed in the process, technology that we don’t necessarily have,’ Luna said.

‘And yet we were not authorized any access to any of that information. And we have ‘Need To Know’ clearances. ‘We have to find out what happened.’

Luna revealed that her interest in UFOs was first piqued while serving as an Air Force airfield manager at Portland Air National Guard Base, Oregon, in 2018 before becoming a politician.

‘During shifts one day, there had been a response from some of the pilots to something that had violated our airspace,’ she said.

‘When they got back, I asked them what happened. They said ‘we can’t really talk about it.’ Later on, one of the pilots pulled me aside and was like, we think it might have been a UFO or UAP.

‘This was a pretty credible person, I obviously knew them to be sane, of sound mind.’

Speaker Kevin McCarthy vowed the house would probe what went wrong with the response to the Maui wildfires that have left 115 and over 1,100 missing. 

‘I’m very concerned about the response,’ the speaker said during an appearance in upstate New York on Wednesday. 

He went on: ‘We still have hundreds of individuals that are missing. I think there’s gonna have to be a congressional investigation in response of what happened. How could we lose that many Americans in today’s age? And the federal response seems very delayed.’ 

The California Republican then knocked the president for originally not offering comment and taking over a week to visit the devastation. 

‘The president’s response – to have no comment? That’s unacceptable. So I’m going to work with committees too to look at investigating what went on so that never happens again as well.’ 

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised congressional investigations into the response to the Maui wildfires that have left 115 dead and over 1,000 still missing

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden greet first responders as they tour areas devastated by the Maui wildfires, Monday, Aug. 21

No single cause has yet been determined for the fires, but experts suggest power lines were not shut off despite high winds and may have caught fire when they fell. 

The GOP-led House has launched oversight investigations into nearly everything under Democratic President Biden’s purview – from the Afghanistan withdrawal to the Biden family business dealings to a broad range of federal agencies. 

The number of missing people  in Maui ticked up to 1,110 on Wednesday – two weeks after the deadly inferno ripped through the island. Already the fire is the deadliest since the 19th century as the death toll is expected to rise. 

The tourist town of Lahaina, home to 12,000 people, was all but wiped off the map, with over 3,000 structures burned to the ground and an estimated $5 billion’s worth of damage. 

The FBI is working to release a list of the missing later this week – and is calling on relatives of the missing to send in DNA samples to help identify the charred bodies that have been discovered. 

A new Associated Press report details how the only paved road out of a West Maui neighborhood and onto the highway was blocked off. Those who drove around the barricade were safe. Many of those who were caught up in a pile-up just behind the blockade died in their cars while others tried to run for safety.

Meanwhile, Maui’s top emergency management official resigned last week after finding himself in hot water for failing to sound the island’s alarm system as the blaze closed in.  

Herman Andaya, the administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, had defended his decision not to sound the alarms as he said he feared coastal residents would think the ringing signaled a tsunami and flee inland toward the flames. 

‘The public is trained to seek higher ground in the event that the siren is sounded,’ he said. 

In slow signs of recovery, Maui public schools began the process of reopening and highways have allowed traffic again as of Wednesday. Additional cadaver dogs arrived that day to help teams searching for the remains of the dead. 

But cell service and access to electricity has been spotty at best, and survivors say they’ve struggled to find housing, medical aid and daily necessities. 

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has pledged one-time $700 payments for necessities to nearly households affected by the fires – and over 6,000 have applied so far. 

DailyMail.com revealed on Wednesday that FEMA responders dispatched to Maui have been lodging in luxury at $1,000-a-night hotels a 45 minute drive away from fire-ravaged town of Lahaina. 

FEMA surged up to 1,000 agents to the Hawaiian island to assist with the response, and teams have checked in at three five-star hotels – the Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Seasons, and the Grand Wailea Astoria where past guests include members of Hollywood’s elite. 

And amid growing criticism at the perceived lack of federal support, Biden and First Lady Jill visited Maui on Monday – and were met with mixed reactions. 

FEMA’s search and rescue team member works in a residential area consumed by a wildfire in Lahaina, Hawaii

The visit was always going to be contentious, and the president’s motorcade was drove past both boos and jeers, with some showing their middle finger and waving Trump 2024 flags.

The president’s speech promised Maui the federal government’s support would be ‘with you as long as it takes.’ 

‘The country grieves with you, stands with you, and we’ll do everything possible to help you recover, rebuild, and respect culture and traditions when the rebuilding takes place.’ 

But otherwise Biden did little to endear himself to the traumatized islanders, delivering a rambling speech referencing the death of his wife and baby daughter in 1972, and later telling an anecdote about a 2004 kitchen fire in his Delaware home.

Tyler Perry has vowed to help a 93-year-old grandmother of 40 who says property developers are trying to force her from the house that has been in her family since the Civil War.

Josephine Wright’s bungalow in Hilton Head, Carolina sits in the middle of an area being developed by Bailey Point Investment.

They wanted to buy her land, but she refused: they have since sued her, claiming parts of her property are on their land.

‘I’ve been pretty much a fighter all my life,’ she said. ‘It puzzled me at first. But then it got me angry.’

Perry, the billionaire film producers and studio owner based in Atlanta, Georgia, saw the local news report about her case and has now said he wants to help.

Josephine Wright, 93, is fighting to save the Hilton Head, South Carolina home (pictured) which has been in her family since the Civil War

Billionaire film producer Tyler Perry, seen in November, has vowed to help Josephine Wright

Perry wrote on Twitter: ”I’ve pretty much been a fighter all my life’ said 93 year old Josephine Wright. Well, that makes two of us. 

‘Ms. Wright, please tell where to show up and what you need to help you fight.’

Film producer Will Packer commented: ‘I also got Ms. Josephine’s back. Count me in TP.’

Singer Fantasia agreed, adding: ‘I will stand with you as well Tyler.’

Wright told WSAV that the property had been her family’s home for generations.

‘This house means it’s a home, a place where I want to be at this age,’ she said.

It has been in the family since just after the Civil War. 

Her husband was a Gullah Geechee Islander, descendants of Africans who were enslaved on the rice, indigo and Sea Island cotton plantations of the lower Atlantic coast along the Carolinas. Many came from rice-growing regions of West Africa.

His relatives were escaped slaves and were freed by Union soldiers.

Bailey Point has started construction of a 147-unit site, set over 29 acres.

They wanted to buy her land: when she said no, she claimed a campaign of harassment begun. She said her tires were slashed, trash thrown on her property and a snake hung from one of her windows. 

Bailey Point says Wright is blocking their construction progress, and they have sued her, accusing her of having her porch on their land.

The developers have sued Wright, claiming her porch sits on their land

Wright said she had been harassed after she refused to sell her land

Wright already paid to move a shed, which cost about $1,900, and got rid of a satellite dish. 

Former State Representative Bakari Sellers is now working with Wright’s legal team, and is asking people to call the developer and lawmakers to help Wright keep her property.

‘We sent a letter two weeks ago simply asking the developer to communicate. Simply asking the developer to speak to us. Speak to her. Just to have a common conversation about how to move forward,’ said Sellers. 

‘I think more disrespectful than a no is a non-response.’

Wright has a lawyer and is fighting the lawsuit, but her family is asking for help paying the legal bills for that battle. A GoFundMe has been set up to help Josephine with her legal expenses.

‘We are very big on generational wealth, or trying to accrue it,’ explained Sellers. 

‘When you talk about poverty in our communities it’s because we don’t have land, and when we do, people want to take it away. 

‘There are a lot of people to pick on. Pick on me. 

‘Don’t pick on a 93-year-old woman who has lived her life doing nothing wrong.’

Wright’s neighbors are now involved, working to protect her and the land.

‘We don’t have the right to change what has already been approved; that ship has sailed. We can’t change the zoning,’ said Kelly LeBlanc, part of the newly formed Jonesville Preservation Society. 

‘The town is looking very closely at the permitting, at the approval phase. The town is making sure it is done to the letter of the law.’ 

Kelly LeBlanc, part of the newly formed Jonesville Preservation Society (pictured), said they are working to fight back against the developers

Wright said she intended to fight to keep her home. 

‘I guess they figured I would become so unnerved with the harassment that I would say take it. But they don’t know me. I am here to fight for what I have,’ she said.

‘I don’t want to say anything that can be used against me, but I think they are unscrupulous and greedy and they want all the property they can get their hands on.’

Perry is known for his generosity, particularly in the Atlanta area.

In February, he made a $2.75 million donation to assist low-income seniors with their property tax payments through the Invest Atlanta Partnership nonprofit.

He had already donated $750,000 for the first year to cover the back taxes and any increase in property taxes, and has pledged $500,000 each year over the next four years to ensure the residents don’t pay any more in such taxes. 

Perry hosts annual food giveaways in time for Thanksgiving, and has helped out numerous organizations that have fallen victim to criminals.

His charitable efforts also include building a home for a great-grandmother of seven who lost everything in a fire; surprising kids with a trip to Disney World; and holding a camp quarantine at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. 

Labour has vowed to embrace new technology and artificial intelligence to slash NHS waiting lists as new figures reveal the service still uses 79,000 pagers.

Wes Streeting, the party’s shadow health secretary, will set out his plans to get the latest breakthroughs into hospitals faster and at a lower price.

Speaking at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in Manchester he will outline how AI can be used to speed up cancer diagnoses and free-up staff time.

It comes as a Freedom of Information request reveals 80 per cent of NHS trusts are still reliant on bleepers, which former health secretary Matt Hancock promise to scrap in 2019.

Only one company in the world still manufactures pagers, with the NHS estimated to own one in ten of any brand still in use.

The number of people waiting for routine hospital treatment in England soared to a record 7.42million (red line) in April, figures show. More than 370,000 people in the queue for routine ops, such as hip replacements, were waiting for more than a year (yellow bars)

A new pager costs up to £400 today, meaning the NHS has spent as much as £32million on its remaining inventory.

Mr Streeting will say in his speech to NHS leaders that the failure to move on from fax machines, paper, and pagers shows the NHS is ‘stuck in the analogue age’.

He will add: ‘It’s a bit rich for Rishi Sunak to promise to make Britain a world leader in AI, when he can’t even axe the fax or purge the pager.

‘Staff’s valuable time is wasted, as they are forced to work around this totally outdated equipment, when they could be caring for patients.

‘There are huge opportunities in emerging technologies which could change the face of healthcare, but how long will it be before they reach the NHS?’

Mr Streeting will point to advances in AI that can diagnose cancers as accurately as the human eye.

This could free up doctors to spend more time with patients, helping to address the NHS workforce crisis, as well as cutting missed cancer diagnosis.

Other AI tools can help to map radiation therapy onto cancer cells more precisely and faster than a doctor working manually.

The technologies are widely used in the US and Europe, but have not yet been adopted in most of the NHS.

Breast cancer patients could also receive their mammogram results much sooner, rather than being left waiting and wondering for weeks, using technology that can spot signs of cancer doctors miss.

The AI has been used in parts of Europe since 2021, but developers are struggling to sell the technology into the NHS.

The technologies all work alongside radiologists, but can reduce their workload significantly.

The breast cancer screening AI can cut radiologists workload by up to 30 per cent and improve detection of cancer by 13 per cent, studies show.

Slow adoption of new technology has created a postcode lottery in the NHS, where only some patients have access to the new kit, because companies have to sell to each individual trust.

Only half of NHS patients are in areas where they can access at-home kidney tests, which use a smartphone app to detect early signs of chronic kidney disease.

Using an app on their phone and a urine test kit sent to their homes, it is designed to reduce unnecessary trips to the GP and hospital by encouraging more people to seek an early diagnosis. Labour’s plan will include allowing the NHS to bulk buy the latest technology, so innovators are not forced to sell into each of the country’s 227 trusts, meaning products can be bought at cheaper rates.

It will cut the unnecessary red tape that requires new technology to be re-evaluated by several different bodies.

And it will join up data records, so it is easier and faster to recruit patients to trials for new medicines and technologies.

Mr Streeting will say: ‘The revolution taking place in medical science, technology, and data has the potential to transform our healthcare.

‘There is no reason why the NHS should not be leading the rest of the world in this field.

‘Artificial intelligence that is already available can free up staff, provide better and faster care for patients, and get more bang for taxpayers’ buck. There’s no time to wait.

‘Labour will arm the NHS with the best available technology to fight disease.

‘We will cut unnecessary red tape and drive change to finally bring our health service into the digital age and make it fit for the future.’

NHS trusts spent £112 million on postage last year, despite Jeremy Hunt’s promise in 2013 to go paperless.

And dozens of NHS trusts still use fax machines, despite Mr Hancock banning them in 2018.

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which represents healthcare organisations and is co-organiser of the conference, said: ‘There are huge opportunities for patients and the provision of care in technology but NHS leaders across the country routinely tell us of their frustrations with the challenges in adopting and rolling it out quickly and at scale.

‘A focus on improving the procurement of new technology and joining up data records will be welcome.’

A Conservative spokesman said: ‘If Labour want to cut waiting lists they should start in Wales, where they are in power and where patients are over 600 times more likely to wait over two years for treatment compared to England.

‘In England, we have virtually eliminated the longest waits and are investing £123 million in our NHS for new AI technology, as we work to deliver on our promise to cut waiting lists.’

EXCLUSIVE – I’ll make sure those 17 recordings of Joe and Hunter are released: Republican Steve Scalise vows to ‘press’ to make Burisma exec’s phone calls public – and says Americans are furious the Bidens have gotten away with ‘web of corruption’

By Kelly Laco, Executive Editor Of Politics For Dailymail.Com

Published: 15:37 EDT, 13 June 2023 | Updated: 16:00 EDT, 13 June 2023

Top Republican Steve Scalise is vowing to uncover all information related to the Biden family’s ‘web of corruption,’ including alleged phone recordings linking Joe and Hunter to a $5 million bribe from a Ukranian energy company executive.

Scalise told DailyMail.com Tuesday on the sidelines of practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game this week that the American people are beginning to see the ‘whole Biden family web of corruption’ that’s been laid out by the House Oversight Committee led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley revealed on Monday that the Burisma Holdings Limited executive who allegedly paid then-Vice President Joe Biden the $5 million bribe has kept 17 audio recordings of phone calls as an ‘insurance policy.’ 

He claims they were kept as an ‘insurance policy’ in case the foreign national was in a ‘tight spot.’ 

Scalise spoke with DailyMail.com Tuesday on the sidelines of practice for the annual Congressional Baseball Game this week

According to a ‘highly credible’ whistleblower, an internal FD-1023 memo created in 2020 based off information from a highly-paid FBI informant apparently details the ‘arrangement’ for an exchange of money for policy decisions. Republicans are pressing the FBI to make the document public to the American people.

Scalise told DailyMail.com that ‘we’re gonna press to get everything we can out’ related to the 17 alleged audio recordings.

‘Senator Grassley has done a great job through his career at getting whistleblowers to step forward,’ the top House Republican continued. 

He said Grassley’s work with Comer on uncovering the whistleblower’s allegations led to the subpoena of the FBI last month – which Director Wray did not comply with. Republicans are now mulling contempt of Congress charges against him. 

Scalise continued: ‘We’re gonna keep digging’ and work with other whistleblowers ‘to get the facts out.’

He slammed the ‘mainstream media’ for not caring about the web of payments between foreign nationals and the Biden family.

In early May, Republicans led by Comer and Grassley released a report digging in on over $10 million received by Biden family members from foreign actors, including previously undisclosed $1 million in Romanian-linked payments, and a ‘web’ of 20 companies created while President Joe Biden was vice president and pushing anti-corruption efforts abroad. 

He says it ‘angers people’ who see the different treatment given to Biden and to Trump, who is Miami, Florida, Tuesday. 

He was arraigned on a 37-count federal indictment for his alleged mishandling of classified documents and obstruction of justice and pleaded ‘not guilty.’

Scalise slammed the ‘mainstream media’ for not caring about the web of payments between foreign nationals and the Biden family

The former president gives a wave as he disembarks his Boeing 757 on Monday afternoon ahead of his showdown with a judge 

Local law enforcement were preparing for thousands of protestors outside the courthouse. 

‘It seems like justice is not being administered fairly,’ he continued, pointing to how Hillary Clinton did not get charged with destroying over 30,000 emails off her server and the Biden family has been so far off the hook for being involved in an alleged bribery scheme. 

‘That’s not how justice works, and it undermines the what’s good about our justice system. And so I think that’s the biggest frustration.’

He slammed the mainstream media for ignoring the alleged Biden bribery ring, and instead focusing all coverage on Trump’s indictment. 

‘That should be alarming to everybody,’ he continued.

Vice President Kamala Harris enthusiastically reaffirmed her support for President Joe Biden‘s re-election bid on Sunday even as a growing number of their fellow Democrats cast doubt on the commander-in-chief’s 2024 ambitions.

During a wide-ranging interview on NBC News’ Meet The Press, Harris also tried to avoid weighing in directly on the Justice Department’s bombshell investigation into Donald Trump‘s handling of classified documents.

However, she did say that ‘people are going to demand justice’ in a broad sense, calling upon her past as a US prosecutor,  and added that they would ‘rightly’ be doing so.

It comes as the White House continues to maintain that the president himself has not been briefed on the operation nor has he discussed it. 

Ever since the FBI raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida last month, concerns have been raised about the visual of a Democrat president’s government investigating a political rival – should the ex-president formally declare his 2024 candidacy.

Asked whether Biden has any plans to file for re-election after the November midterm elections, Harris replied, ‘Listen, the president has been very clear that he intends to run again.’

‘And if he does, I will be running with him proudly,’ she added in the pre-taped discussion.

Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for a wide-ranging pre-taped interview with NBC’s Meet The Press that aired on Sunday, September 11

The California Democrat’s vote of confidence for Biden comes as other members of their party raise concerns about his prospective candidacy – chiefly, his age.

Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, who is running for Senate there, called for a ‘generational change’ in leadership just a day before Biden visited his state.

And another left-wing Senate hopeful, Wisconsin Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes, opted not to appear with Biden during a Labor Day speech in Milwaukee. 

The president will be 81 years old on Election Day 2024, a new record that surpasses the one he currently holds.

Harris would not say on Sunday if or how she and Biden had discussed the ‘worst case scenario’ of his passing away while in office.

‘I pray that it does not. And listen, I think that there is no question that the role and the responsibility of vice president is a very important one. And Joe Biden knows that more than anybody. He and I talk about it,’ the vice president said.

‘And it is the job of working with the president, doing what I can to be a great partner, to take on and help take on some of the biggest issues that impact our country, both domestically and in terms of foreign policy. And so that’s the work that I do.’

Harris’ enthusiastic support for President Biden running for re-election comes as multiple Democrats running for higher office have tread gingerly around him and his local appearances

Meanwhile she took a swipe at Donald Trump when asked her thoughts on the DOJ charging him over the classified documents scandal, stating: ‘The president and I and our administration, unlike the previous administration, have been very, very careful to make sure that there is no question about any kind of interference’

Another future campaign trail concern for Biden and Harris would come if the Justice Department went forward with charging Trump, in the event its investigation proves he mishandled classified documents in violation of federal law.

Political experts have said it’s highly unlikely that federal charges will get in the way of Trump mounting a campaign. 

But it may pose a headache for Biden amid already-mounting GOP accusations that his officials are weaponizing the Justice Department against his top political opponent.

On Sunday, Harris declined to weigh in on whether those concerns should factor into the government’s potential charges against the former president.

However, she did later suggest she supported calls for ‘justice’ when asked if charging Trump would prove too divisive.

The interview aired as she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff took part in New York City’s September 11th memorial

‘I wouldn’t dare tell the Department of Justice what to do. As a former prosecutor, I will tell you, I am not in the business of telling a prosecutor what to do with their case because they know best the facts and the evidence as applied to the law,’ Harris said.

Taking a shot at Trump’s tight hold over his own Justice Department, she said: ‘And certainly, the president and I and our administration, unlike the previous administration, have been very, very careful to make sure that there is no question about any kind of interference in terms of the decisions that the Department of Justice makes.’

Host Chuck Todd pressed, ‘Let me try to go to 60,000 feet. What do you say to the argument that it would be too divisive for the country to prosecute a former president?’

‘I think that our country is a country that has gone through different periods of time where the unthinkable has happened, and where there has been a call for justice, and justice has been served,’ the vice president answered.

‘And I think that’s potentially going to always be the case in our country that people are going to demand justice and they rightly do.’

GOP Senate candidate vows to ‘actively campaign’ against Trump in 2024: Joe O’Dea hails Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Tim Scott as ‘great Republicans’ to replace the ex-president in next White House race

• Construction executive Joe O’Dea, a Republican, is running to unseat Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennet in the November election
• He’s maintained a wide distance from Trump for the entire election so far
• Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell called O’Dea the ‘perfect candidate’ in July
• O’Dea has been endorsed by establishment Republicans like George W. Bush, Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott among others 

By Elizabeth Elkind, Politics Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 16:15 EDT, 16 October 2022 | Updated: 19:29 EDT, 16 October 2022

A Republican vying for Senate in Colorado pledged on Sunday that he’ll ‘actively campaign’ against Donald Trump if the former president runs again in 2024.

Joe O’Dea, who is running to unseat Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, appeared on CNN‘s State of the Union with less than a month before the November 8 midterm elections.

The businessman has separated himself from the majority of GOP Congressional hopefuls with his moderate stances – giving hope to the Republican establishment that he could flip a state that President Joe Biden won by 14 points. 

He also hasn’t shied away from speaking out against Trump, including on Sunday, when he repeated his call for a new de facto leader of the Republican Party.

‘I don’t think Donald Trump should run again,’ O’Dea said.

‘I’m going to actively I’m going to actively campaign against Donald Trump and make sure that – we’ve got four or five really great Republicans right now.’

In an indication of the establishment GOP’s thinking, O’Dea instead suggested candidates like Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, former Trump administration United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

All three have been floated as potential 2024 contenders, though it’s not clear how many would try to primary Trump.

Colorado Senate candidate Joe O’Dea, a Republican construction executive, is running to unseat Democrat Senator Michael Bennet

‘They can run and serve for eight years,’ O’Dea said after listing off the trio.

‘I’m gonna do my job as a US senator to make sure that they have good campaigns in the primary here, so we have a good selection of candidates for 2024.’

During the interview he also repeated his past criticism of Trump over last year’s riot at the US Capitol on January 6 – but did not answer a question on whether it should prevent him from being president again.

‘Look, I believe that the- January 6 was a black eye on the country. I’ve been very vocal that I thought [Trump] should have done more to keep the violence from heading towards the Capitol,’ O’Dea said.

‘Anybody that was violent at the Capitol or tore something apart, they should be held accountable. We’ve got processes in place that hold people accountable, and we need to move the country forward.’

He’s largely shunned Trump, in a strategy that’s been watched as a test run for Republicans in territory that solidly went to Joe Biden in 2020

Scott campaigned with O’Dea earlier this month, while Haley formally endorsed him in late September.

O’Dea is well-liked within the Republican establishment, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell telling donors in July that he was the ‘perfect candidate,’ according to Axios.

He’s also campaigning with former President George W. Bush, according to NBC News, who has shown support for other anti-Trump Republican candidates this cycle. 

Trump has not weighed in on the race.

The Colorado Republican has reportedly raised $3 million between July and September, including $1 million from his own money.

O’Dea floated a few other big GOP names for consideration, including Trump’s former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley (left) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (right)

He said of Trump during a talk radio appearance in August, ‘I hope he doesn’t run. I don’t want to see him as president again.’

‘I think that seeing a Biden-Trump rematch again in 2024 would rip the country apart. I think a lot of people are ready to move our country forward. So, I wouldn’t support him running again,’ O’Dea added.

Most polls show him trailing Bennet in the increasingly blue state, though O’Dea is not far behind as the midterms loom less than a month away.

A left-leaning pollster called Public Policy Polling found O’Dea trailing Bennet by 11 points.

Meanwhile the Trafalgar Group’s late September survey saw Bennet just 6 points ahead.

The Republican Attorneys General Association’s poll with the Tarrance Group put the Democrat just a point over O’Dea.