News

MARRIED At First Sight star Hannah Norborn has hit out at her co-stars’ ‘double standards’.

Hannah quickly became of this series’ most controversial contestants with her flirty antics and husband swapping – but she thinks she’s been unfairly treated.

The bride made her feelings clear as she shared a video of herself, with the words: “When  you get ambushed for asking someone if their shoe has fluff in but others can actually WRAP their legs around each other. Make I make sense.”

She accompanied the TikTok video with the audio of Gemma Collins on Towie, saying: “It’s tongue in cheek Danielle, it’s funny.”

Despite her antics, Hannah believes others have behaved just as badly and is comparing herself to Adam and Lacey in the TikTok post.

Adam sparked upset with wife Polly when she danced with Lacey, lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him.

And Hannah caused an uproar on the show when she was accused of massaging another groom’s feet.

A huge row erupted when Polly mentioned that she found some of Hannah’s behaviour towards other grooms on the experiment inappropriate.

She told her friends: “Last night after the commitment ceremony she’s gone up to Shannon and Ryan’s room and she was rubbing Ryan’s feet in front of Shannon and going ‘ain’t you got nice blue eyes, your feet are so soft, isn’t it nice and warm in there?’”

Hannah, who was then excluded by the group, later claimed she was just picking some lint off his shoe.

But despite her pleas of innocence, Hannah does end up with Ryan and in a shock move the pair ended up returning to the show together last night.

A WOMAN and two schoolgirls have been stabbed in a horror attack this evening as a man was arrested.

Cops rushed to First Avenue in Dagenham, East London, at around 5.35pm.

Officers, London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance also attended, police said.

A woman and two female children were found suffering stab injuries and have been taken to hospital for treatment.

A man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder and was also taken to hospital after being taken unwell.

A crime scene remains in place, the Metropolitan Police said.

Enquiries into the circumstances continue, the force added.

NASA is preparing to launch a floating space station built to orbit around the Moon.

The Lunar Gateway is meant to act as a space home and science lab – and serve as a base for astronauts to make trips to the Moon’s surface.

Nasa

The Lunar Gateway is a floating space station that will orbit the Moon[/caption]

Thales Alenia Space

The Moon-orbiting craft will host up to four astronauts[/caption]

Nasa says it’ll be “the first permanent infrastructure at the Moon”.

And it’s designed to be a key part of Nasa’s Artemis missions to return humans to the lunar surface.

With the Apollo missions, Nasa simply dropped astronauts straight onto the Moon.

But Nasa says having the Gateway orbiting the Moon will allow for longer stays on and around our rocky space neighbour.

It’s around a fifth of the size of the International Space Station, and will orbit the Moon at speeds up to two miles per second.

The 63-ton station will be around 141 x 62 x 67 feet and can house four astronauts.

And it’ll be orbiting anywhere from 1,000 miles above the Moon at its closest approach to as far away as 43,500 miles.

It’s difficult to say exactly when Nasa will put the Gateway into orbit as space launches don’t always go to plan.

But Nasa says it’ll have a “minimum 15-year lifespan” once it’s up there – with the “potential for extension”.

Nasa says it’ll need at least four rocket launches to get the parts for Gateway into space.

And that process of launching and assembling it in orbit “will take approximately six years”.

That might sound like a long time, but it’s far less than the 13 years and 42 flights it took to build the ISS.

The first two modules are expected to arrive ahead of the Artemis VI mission.

This is the second crewed lunar landing mission in the Artemis program, expected to take place in 2028.

Thales Alenia Space

Mock-ups of parts of the station have already been created for testing, like this Lunar I-Hab module replica[/caption]

Thales Alenia Space

This concept shows what the Lunar I-Hab module will look like from the outside in space[/caption]

Nasa / Maxar Technologies

The Lunar Gateway will feature a Power and Propulsion Element (PPE) – it’s a high-power 60-kilowatt solar-electric propulsion spacecraft that can provide comms between the station and Earth[/caption]

Then the Lunar I-Hab will reach the Moon “no earlier than 2028” as part of that mission.

It’s during that mission that astronauts will enter the space station for the first time.

And the plan is that astronauts will use the Gateway to descend to the Moon’s surface.

“Gateway’s unique polar orbit will provide Artemis astronauts and their spacecraft access to the entire lunar surface,” Nasa explains.

Nasa / ESA

The Lunar View module will allow for cargo storage – but will also feature large windows for views of Earth, the Moon, and space[/caption]

ESA

British astronaut Rosemary Coogan is seen here inspecting the Lunar I-Hab[/caption]

“Including the critical lunar South Pole region which is the focus of the Artemis missions.

“It will also ensure uninterrupted communications between the Moon and Earth, provide unique scientific opportunities within the deep space environment, and its high stability will enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs.”

The Gateway will be made up several different parts.

There’s the Lunar I-Hab, which is a living quarters with life-support systems and cameras.

ESA

The Lunar I-Hab will host life-support systems and equipment for scientific research[/caption]

ESA

Astronauts will use the Lunar Gateway as an orbiting base, allowing for transfers down to the Moon’s surface[/caption]

You’ve also got the Orion spacecraft that shuttles astronauts from Earth to the Gateway and back.

Then there’s HALO, which is also a habitation module with life-support systems, fire-detection and suppression, and a moon comms system called Lunar Link.

There’s also an area called the Lunar View, which contains fuel tanks but also giant windows for astronauts to capture “stunning images” of the Earth and Moon, according to Nasa.

Nasa is currently testing mock-ups of Gateway modules to see if they work as intended.

Thales Alenia Space

The Lunar I-Hab will be one of the most important parts of the Gateway station[/caption]

Nasa

Nasa hopes that the Lunar Gateway will provide support to a Moon base for 15 years – and potentially even longer[/caption]

This included a trial of the Lunar I-Hab module in Turin, Italy in the summer of 2024.

LAST week, doctors announced that the arteries feeding my heart were like something you’d find hanging from the roof of a cave in the Peak ­District and that I needed extremely urgent surgery.

You might imagine this was all very scary but honestly, it wasn’t.

Rex Features

The doctors were skilled professionals and they had all the tools they’d need, so during the procedure I was so relaxed that at one point, I nodded off.

I felt like a car. My fuel lines had become all clogged up and they were mending them. Easy.

Sure, they said there was a five per cent chance that my heart would stop but there’s a five per cent chance I’ll be eaten by a lion this afternoon and I’m not worried about that.

What is scary though is what came ­afterwards. The advice on how I must live my life from now on.

Literally, I am not allowed to have fun any more. I must live in a ­Liberal ­Democrat, holier-than-though fog of weeds, seeds and yoga. This is terrifying.

And if I go to a party, I must stand in a corner, nursing some refreshing elderflower juice, before going home at about 9.30. That’s ­terrifying too.

Then there’s my work, which I love. I like it so much in fact, I currently have ten jobs. I honestly make Elon Musk look like a slacker.

I write three newspaper columns a week, I have a brewery, a pub, a shop, I host Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, run a farm, make a television show about that and this week, my latest book came out.

“Yes well, a lot of that will have to go” said the doctor.

“And what would I replace it with? “Golf’s good”, he ­suggested.

No, it isn’t.

What do people do when they stop work?

It wouldn’t be so bad if I had a hobby but I’ve always thought that hobbies are for people who were caught playing with themselves by their mothers when they were younger. “Stop doing that and get a hobby.”

Have you ever tried kale? Well, don’t, because it’s like eating the contents of a AAA battery

Clarkson

I wasn’t, and that’s why I don’t make Airfix models or play the piano.

Which means that if I didn’t work, I’d just sit at home all day, rotting.

The worst problem though is diet. To cut my alarmingly high levels of cholesterol, I need to cut out, completely, ­everything I like eating.

Bacon, sausages, beef, lamb, pork, butter, chips, proper milk, Cadbury’s fruit and nut bars and the interesting bit in an egg.

I’ve had a week now to live in the new regime and it’s horrific.

Have you ever tried kale? Well, don’t, because it’s like eating the contents of a AAA battery.

And then there’s Greek yoghurt. What’s that all about?

I’ve suspected for some time that yoghurt is made from the cheese found in a homeless person’s ­genitals, and now I know this is so.

It’s disgusting.

High on my own supply

But it’s not as bad as almond milk. Which a) isn’t milk and b) tastes like ­liquefied marzipan. Which is the only foodstuff worse than Greek yoghurt.

Booze? Technically, this isn’t necessarily high in cholesterol, but it does make you fat so that has to go too. All of it.

So, I own a brewery and pub and at the shop, a butcher’s counter.

Yum yum.

Except now, I can no longer get high on my own supply.

Instead I have to buy my “food” from some kind of wholefood store that sells nothing but South African nuclear-free peace beans.

We must now move on to the question of exercise.

I’ve always seen this is something you do when travelling from the car to the pub, or from the lunch table to the sitting room.

But apparently, when I’ve rec­overed from the operation, I must do more.

Simon Jones

The TV star says he has always loved a drink[/caption]

I must even go on the sort of “walk” where I end up back where I started. What’s the point of that?

And I must pick things up with the sole aim of putting them down again.

I’m also encouraged to sit up, using nothing but my stomach muscles.

And why? So I can lie down then repeat the process, over and over again until I’m exhausted.

Of course, you may well argue that I had it coming, that the wonkiness of my arteries is all my fault and that I shouldn’t moan.

And you do have a point.

The problem is that I see the gift of life as being about the same as the gift of, let’s say, a million pounds.

Some people would invest this money and live carefully and parsimoniously on the interest.

I wouldn’t, and indeed I didn’t. I ­grabbed the gift by the scruff of its neck and went berserk.

Blizzard of hangovers

I wanted to see every country in the world, and have a Ferrari and always be the last to leave a party and never say no to anything that sounded exciting.

Not many people have dropped a laser-guided bomb from an F-15 fighter bomber. But I have.

I lived in a blizzard of hangovers and jet lag for 30 years.

Smoking? Yup. Started at 14 and became a world champion, sucking down sixty Marlboro Reds a day.

Drink? Big time. When doctors asked how much I was putting away each day, I’d tell them straight.

“Three or four pints.” They’d be reasonably happy with that, till I added: “Of wine.”

I always knew this lifestyle wasn’t going to cause me to live to 112, and I didn’t really care.

Because why deny yourself all that fun in your thirties and forties and even ­fifties just so you can have as long as possible with a grey face and a tube up your nose in an old people’s home?

Here’s the thing, though. I’m now 64 and last week, when the Grim Reaper poked his nose round the door, I decided that actually, I quite fancied living a little bit longer.

ITV

Jeremy has 10 jobs, including hosting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?[/caption]

I want to see my grandchildren grow up. I saw the dawn this morning and it was magnificent, so I’d quite like to see a few more of those too. Also, I still want to visit the Galapagos Islands.

To achieve all this, I must live on water and steamed fish, and exercise.

But it’s going to be my eleventh job. Not dying. Of course, there will be those who say I should have started on this new career path earlier.

They have a point, except for one thing.

If you want to avoid spending the last few years of your life in a festival of boredom and denial, you must start the festival when you’re about 32.

And I can’t see the point of that. Living a long life of misery to avoid a short bit of misery at the end.

My recommendation then is to keep your foot hard down until you run out of fuel. And that’s when you buy the Tesla Lib Dem lifestyle.

When you no longer have a choice.

In short, je ne regrette rien.

COSTCO is selling a “fantastic” £21 gadget that will keep you warm throughout the winter – and is even cheaper than the Aldi version.

And, the simple, budget-friendly item could even save you money on your heating bills.

Getty

The budget-friendly item has popped up on the Costco website[/caption]

costco

The Berkshire Life Heated Throw, a heated blanket, is on sale for as little as £21.58[/caption]

The Berkshire Life Heated Throw, a cosy electric blanket, is on sale on the Hot UK Deals website for a modest £21.58.

On the Costco website, it is listed for a reasonable £23.98.

Electric blankets work by having electrical wires embedded in the fabric.

The Costco version is made from faux fur, with a velvety underside, designed to keep you extra warm in the winter months.

It has four heat settings and a four-hour shut off setting to mitigate overheating or fire risks.

It is available in brown, grey and dark teal colours and is even machine washable.

How does it compare to other electric blankets?

The comforting throw is even cheaper than Aldi’s version, which retails for £29.99.

This Ambiano Heated Throw, which has nine settings, comes in a snowy white, cool grey, and toasty charcoal.

It is also cheaper’s than Asda‘s £30 electric teddy fleece.

However, shoppers looking to cut costs even further could opt for an £18.99 version on Amazon.

On the other end of the spectrum, Lakeland offers an £84.99 electric blanket, with The White Company version coming in at £150.

How much can you save on your electricity bill?

With heating costs being a hot topic of conversation this year, these blankets could be a solution to keeping those bills down.

Many homes are set to be subjected a detrimental change in their energy bill as the cold snap approaches, with some set to rise by £149 each year.

Electric blankets generally run at only a few pence per hour, while opting for cooler settings can further reduce costs.

SEX beast Mohamed Fayed’s ex-head of security has revealed horrific details about him ­­— including his lust for sex workers and attacks on women at his mansion.

He said the late Harrods owner also referred to female staff he wanted to target for sex as “non-typist secretaries” as he moved them close to his office at the West London store.

AFP

Mohamed Fayed’s ex-head of security has revealed horrific details about him[/caption]

Marc Giddings

Andre Steele said he is ‘haunted’ by his time working for him at his mansion and at Harrods[/caption]

SAS-trained Andre Steele — who worked for Fayed from 2004 to 2008 — also said a young female member of staff at Fulham FC had to be shielded from boss Fayed whenever he visited the club.

Police have confirmed they are probing 40 fresh claims of sexual assault against Fayed, bringing the total to 61.

Former soldier Andre, 57, told The Sun he is haunted by his time working for the predator at his mansion and at Harrods.

He eventually left his job after refusing to use his ex-military security teams to carry out surveillance — run by Fayed’s former cop henchman John MacNamara — on young shop girls at weekends.

Andre said Fayed “toured the floors of Harrods twice a day and spotted girls”.

He and head of investigations MacNamara, who died in 2019, used the term “non-typists” as code for ones the boss wanted to be moved close to his office.

He said: “That was code for ones he was grooming. I did not realise at first what he was doing and thought he just liked being surrounded by pretty girls.

“After a few years, I could see in his eyes that he knew that I knew what was going on. But I never had evidence to confront him.”

Model Bianca Gascoigne, daughter of ex-England star Paul Gascoigne, this week told how Fayed molested her after she started working at Harrods, aged 16.

And Fulham women’s ex-captain Ronnie Gibbons, 44, says she was twice lured to Harrods and sexually assaulted by Fayed in 2000-2001.

Andre said: “At Fulham, I was head of security for the close protection teams and the bodyguards.

“We were made aware that there were allegations against Al-Fayed.

“One girl in question was in her mid-20s and she took a complaint to a supervisor or managers there.

“Fulham always made sure a male member of staff was with her when Al-Fayed was there. We knew she was not to be left with him.”

Fayed — who died last year aged 94 — was finally exposed by a BBC documentary last month which focused on his time at Harrods.

Surrey Police is also investigating a report of sex abuse at Barrow Green Court, his mansion in Oxted.

Andre revealed how Fayed told security teams at his home when “masseuses” would be visiting.

Talking of his behaviour at the sprawling pad, Andre said: “I know of at least three women who left their jobs because of his behaviour.

“And he always said he had masseuses coming. They would arrive at eight or nine o’clock and would leave around midnight or 1am.

Alamy

Fulham’s Ronnie Gibbons says she was twice lured to Harrods and sexually assaulted by Fayed in 2000-2001[/caption]

Rex

Bianca Gascoigne told how Fayed molested her after she started working at Harrods, aged 16[/caption]

Rex

“I assume they were high-class prostitutes, usually tall and mainly blonde, which was his type. This even happened when his wife, Heini, was there. It was a high volume of girls. I was also aware of girls groomed or targeted at Harrods and made to go to the estate.

“Al-Fayed would pick them out on the shop floor and ‘reward’ them by moving them to work at Barrow Green Court.”

Andre told of a young female chef who fled the estate after one incident.

He said: “As team leader I went to speak to her. She said, ‘He’s done it again, Andre, touching me and trying to get me to do things I didn’t want.’

“It happened again with another female maid there — and I never saw either of the girls again. There was a nanny the boss accused of taking money and used that to get rid of her. But it boils down to she would not have sex with him.

“I never witnessed any assaults. I would have taken action if I had.”

Andre, of Hereford, who trained with 22 Regiment of the SAS, said: “I am speaking out because the professionalism and integrity of my guys is being called into question.

“I can honestly say the close protection teams, the residential teams and bodyguards had no idea what he was doing. I never saw him seriously assaulting women.

“However, at Harrods, there were four occasions when I witnessed him putting his hands into the girls’ blouses and up their skirts.

“He told me, ‘Andre they are all prostitutes. I give them money and they give me what I want.”

Harrods has said it is “utterly appalled” by the Fayed allegations.

HARVESTER has launched its biggest plate of food yet – a gut-busting mountain of meat for £50.

The restaurant chain has added the enormous dish to its latest menu and it contains a whopping 3,769 calories.

Instagram @harvesteruk

Harvester is selling its biggest ever plate[/caption]

Instagram @harvesteruk

It’s a 3,769-calorie mountain of meat[/caption]

Greedy diners can feast on half a rotisserie chicken, a half rack of BBQ ribs, a short of beef rib and a massive cheddar and jalapeño sausage.

The giant plate is finished with a heap of salsa, pink pickled onions, corn bread, chips and coleslaw.

If that’s not enough, food fans can still top it off with a bowl of Harvester’s famous self-service salad bar.

The Ultimate Rib Roundup is described as a ‘sharer’ dinner on the menu and comes with a price tag of £49.99.

Harvester, however, has told customers: “Perfectly grilled, packed with flavour and made for sharing (or keeping all to yourself).”

Brenda Gliddon visited her local branch in Kent with her grown-up son to try the Ultimate Rib Roundup.

She said: “My son can out eat anyone I know but even he left some.” Other Harvester fans have also been eyeing up the new calorific dish as a meal for one.

One wrote on the restaurant chain’s Facebook official page: “I love sharing but I’d rather keep this all to myself!”

Another added: “That’s a single portion!”

Tagging in a pal, third commented: “You’ve got to try this. You might get more than 4 ribs on your plate!”

The Ultimate Rib Roundup is available in all 165 UK branches of Harvester.

It has been added as a new addition to the eatery’s Grills and Combos section of the menu.

Listed as a ‘Supreme Flavour Fan Sharer’, the description reads: “A hearty feast for true grill lovers: half of our succulent rotisserie chicken, a half rack of BBQ glazed ribs, a tender short beef rib and a Cheddar & jalapeño sausage paired with charred corn & black bean salsa and pink pickled onions.

“Served with sage & onion seasoned chips, our new hot honey drizzled corn bread and hot slaw.”

FOR three months the ­people of Reeves Street have been living a nightmare – in fear of next week’s Halloween Budget.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is this weekend making final preparations for her first Autumn Statement.

Paul Tonge

Dave Sargent, 59, who runs the local pub, believes soaring energy costs & alcohol duties may finally kill off his business[/caption]

Paul Tonge

Taxi driver Mohammed, 53, said taxes are already so high that he has to drive his minicab from early morning until late at night[/caption]

And as seven out of ten ­people say they feel worried about Wednesday’s Budget, we visited a street near Walsall that shares its name with ­Labour’s ­Chancellor.

Bloxwich — one of the ­poorest districts in the West Midlands — has suffered hard times as its traditional ­engineering firms and foundries closed.

Reeves Street boasts 15 houses, a garage, a building firm, two residential care homes, a cab rank, a closed-down Indian restaurant and a local boozer.

Dave Sargent, 59, took over the street’s pub, The Hatherton Arms, three years ago and turned it into a popular ­community hub.

But he believes soaring energy costs, alcohol duties, income tax and business rate rises may finally kill off his business.

‘We’re being screwed’

Landlord Dave’s message to Rachel Reeves is: “Stop killing the pub trade — we’re under enough pressure as it is.

“It seems they want to close every little pub down. They are doing nothing for us — we’re being screwed to the ground.”

The married father-of-four, who packs in punters with karaoke, bingo and live DJ nights, says his energy costs alone are now £1,000 a month.

He also fears rises in alcohol duty will force him to increase his prices beyond the reach of punters, who have already been taxed to the hilt on their income.

Dave says: “You’ve got the cost of fuel and the tax on beers. The cost of electricity and gas is phenomenal.

“I’m paying £1,000 a month here just for electricity and we have to scrimp and scrape to make that £1,000.

“Trying to ban smoking in the pub garden was a ridiculous idea — thank goodness it looks like that is now being delayed or scrapped. It’s bad enough for landlords as it is. It’s bleak for us because we are working on a small ­margin, and if it gets to a stage when what I take at the till is below what is acceptable for the hours I’m putting in, I will have to finish.”

I never expected Labour to be as hard on everyone as they have been

Dave Sargent

On July 4, Labour’s Valerie Vaz won the Walsall and Bloxwich seat, where the Tory vote was split by Reform and an independent, Aftab Nawaz.

Dave says: “I’ve never voted for Labour and I didn’t vote at all this year because I thought they were all as bad as each other.

“But I never expected Labour to be as hard on everyone as they have been.

“It’s promises, promises — and I think it’s going to get worse over the next four years. It’s a nightmare.”

Pensioners Stephen and Julie Barnett, who own their terraced house on Reeves Street, are Tory voters who ignored the last election after becoming disillusioned with the Conservatives.

They are horrified by ­Labour’s first three months in power and fear their £300 Winter Fuel Allowance will be axed because their income takes them over the Pension Credit threshold.

If I had Rachel Reeves here now, I’d say get on to the energy suppliers and start taxing them heavily and subsidising us

Retired mechanic Stephen Barnett

They also worry that the £1,200-a-year tax bill on their combined ­public and private pensions will increase because earnings thresholds are being frozen, possibly past 2028, and the Triple Lock will push them into a higher tax band,

Ex-school worker Julie, 66, says: “I suppose they call us wealthy pensioners, but we’re not really.”

Retired mechanic Stephen, 68, says: “If I had Rachel Reeves here now, I’d say get on to the energy suppliers and start taxing them heavily and subsidising us. I left school at 15 and have worked all my life. I used to do 44 hours a week. You would think that after all those years of paying into the system, they would leave you alone. But they don’t. They still want their pound of flesh. Starmer ain’t a politician — he’s a policeman.”

Jamie Harper and wife Sue run a thriving family building firm, Alvaston Loft Conversions, from a unit in Reeves Street.

Paul Tonge

Care worker Tammy Field, 37, struggles to cover the cost of feeding her four children[/caption]

He wants the Chancellor to stay away from hikes in income tax, VAT, company tax and National Insurance because companies and their workers just cannot afford to pay more.

Jamie, 59, who employs 15 highly skilled staff, fears Angela Rayner’s workers’ rights package will take control away from business leaders.

He continues: “It is the tax that worries me — everyone seems to be working just to pay the tax man.

“Labour always increase tax and spending — that’s what they’re about — and it looks like they are going to increase them again next week.

‘We can’t go on’

“We can’t afford it. We have only just recovered from Covid. There are all sorts of problems in the world and we can’t hope to pay for them all.”

Jamie adds: “You have got to look after your own country’s interests first.”

Taxi driver Mohammed Choudhury, 53, who lives on Reeves Street, said taxes are already so high that he has to drive his minicab from early morning until late at night.

People who work pay too much tax and there are others on benefits who get too much

Care worker Tammy Field

The dad-of-five says: “Business is not good. It’s gone down in the past few years and we’re ­paying too much in tax.

“Sometimes I can do just one job an hour and that will be a £5 fare, but after tax and ­petrol costs, I’ll maybe make £2.60. It is not enough.

“I want to tell Rachel Reeves to cut taxes — we can’t go on like this.”

Care worker Tammy Field, 37, struggles to cover the cost of feeding her four children, aged 12 to 20.

She says: “People who work pay too much tax and there are others on benefits who get too much.

“It’s hard just paying for food in the shops and gas and ­electricity.

“My eldest daughter’s going to have a baby, so we’re going to have another mouth to feed. I’m also worried about my nan and grandad. They’re going to lose their Winter Fuel Payments.

“Labour should be looking after ordinary people like us, not the ones who have all the money.”

• Additional reporting: Cyril Dixon

Reuters

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is this weekend making final preparations for her first Autumn Statement[/caption]

WITH just ten days until the US chooses its next president, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are level in the polls – with just seven “swing” states set to decide the winner.

In the US system instead of votes being counted nationally, the winner in each state is awarded a certain number of “electoral college” votes, partly based on the state’s population.

AP

AFP

There are 538 college votes in all, and the winner is the one who bags the most.

Now the two rivals for the most powerful job on the planet are fighting hardest in the seven states where just a few thousand votes could make the difference.

A Betfair spokesman said: “As things stand, Donald Trump is favourite to win in all but one of those seven key battlegrounds, and if the punters are right, he will win by a significant margin.”

Today we look at which way those seven states may swing.

NEVADA

TRUMP 47.3% | HARRIS 47.3%

EVEN the bravest gambler in Las Vegas might hesitate to bet on who will win the state ­known for its casino city.

Different polls have put either Harris or Trump ahead in Nevada, which has backed every ­Democrat candidate since 2008.

The state has the highest unemployment rate in the US at 5.1 per cent and that could persuade enough undecided voters to pick the Republican.

Campaigning in Nevada this week, Trump praised the state’s “amazing Filipinos”, some of who were at the rally.

He told them: “It’s an honour to have you here. Beautiful clothing – the colours, I want to wear colours like that.”

ARIZONA

TRUMP 48.6% | HARRIS 46.8%

WITH a 370-mile border with Mexico, the big issue in this southern state is illegal immigration.

Trump has made up ground on Harris in the past couple of weeks in Arizona by relentlessly focusing on how unauthor-ised crossings hit record levels under Joe Biden.

Harris tried to counter that by ­visiting a small border town and vowing to make the border between the US and Mexico more secure.

Meanwhile security is being tightened ahead of voting after bullets were fired at the Democrats’ campaign office in Phoenix.

WISCONSIN

TRUMP 47.6% | HARRIS 47.8%

THIS week former US president Barack Obama was out campaigning for Harris in this state, which voted for the Democrat candidate in seven elections prior to Trump emerging victorious in 2016.

On that occasion, his rival Hillary Clinton didn’t campaign hard enough in Wisconsin, but Harris is not making the same mistake.

Trump, though, is hoping his message that immigrants are ­stealing jobs could see him get the northern state back after losing here to Biden in 2020.

MICHIGAN

TRUMP 47% | HARRIS 47.7%

THE state’s long- established car industry has been losing ground to foreign competitors for years.

Another problem for Harris is that Michigan’s 400,000 Muslims are turning against the Democrats due to Biden’s support for Israel in its wars in Gaza and ­Lebanon.

Many back Trump despite his friendship with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

PENNSYLVANIA

TRUMP 47.9% | HARRIS 47.6%

THIS so-called “rust-belt” state in the North East of the US was won by Trump in 2016 and by Biden in 2020.

At the moment it is too close to call, but surging inflation could dent Harris’s hopes in Pennsylvania, which last year saw the highest rise in the cost of grocery shopping anywhere in the country.

Democrat candidate Harris was there on Wednesday trying to win over working-class voters in an area which is still trying to bounce back from decades of industrial decline.

NORTH CAROLINA

TRUMP 48.3% | HARRIS 47.1%

TRUMP won this southern state by a margin of just 1.3 per cent in 2020 and polls suggest it could be even closer this time.

At his first outdoor rally in North Carolina following his attempted assassination in July he said: “This state is a very, very big state to win.”

Voters in the state who are still suffering from the ­aftermath of Hurricane Helene last month, which left 95 people dead and many without running water, could turn away from the Democrats.

GEORGIA

TRUMP 48.5% | HARRIS 47%

AFTER losing the last Presidential election, Trump told Georgia’s ­Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” for him.

That would have given him one more vote than Biden – but that attempt to influence a state official could still land the Republican candidate in court.

As for the 2024 election, two million of the state’s 11 million population have so far voted early.

Most of the recent polls have Trump slightly ahead, but just a few thousand polling cards could make all the difference again on November 5.

It's been a frustrating start to the season for the New York Islanders.