UK hospitality firms demand more help with business rates amid questions over Heathrow discount

Struggling hotels, restaurants and nightclubs are calling for more financial help with business rates after it emerged that Heathrow is among the biggest beneficiaries of a multibillion-pound package of state support.The UK’s biggest airport is in line for a discount of nearly £900m on its rates bill over the next three years. That is a fifth of the total £4.3bn “transitional relief” fund announced by the chancellor in the budget for all businesses facing big bill increases.Heathrow’s rates bill will still rise by £50m to £171m this year, according to figures compiled by the property firm Avison Young and first reported by the Sunday Times

Employers are spreading raises like peanut butter – and workers are paying the price | Gene Marks

Looking forward to a raise in 2026? You may be getting “peanut butter”.A new report from compensation software and data provider Payscale predicts that in 2026, many employers will be giving “peanut butter raises” to their employees – increases given “across the board” as opposed to being calculated individually based on performance or merit. They’re spread evenly, like peanut butter on a slice of bread.“In total, more than 40% of organizations are either using or actively considering standardized across-the-board or peanut butter pay increases in 2026,” the report said. “This increases to 56% for top performers (organizations who reported that they would exceed their revenue goals in 2025)

‘It’s really sad’: US TikTok users rethink app over concerns about privacy and censorship

Many TikTok users across the US say they’re rethinking their relationship with the platform since its ownership and terms and conditions have recently changed, with some citing censorship and lack of trust as reasons why they’re removing themselves from the app.Keara Sullivan, a 26-year-old comedian, says TikTok jumpstarted her career and provided a pathway to getting a manager and a literary agent.“I’m not one of those creators who’s a TikTok hater,” said Sullivan, who has more than half a million followers on the platform. “I’m very transparent about the fact that where I am in my career is largely because of TikTok.”That’s why, she said, it’s “really sad” for her to step away from the platform – at least for now

Why TikTok’s first week of American ownership was a disaster

A little more than one week ago, TikTok stepped on to US shores as a naturalized citizen. Ever since, the video app has been fighting for its life.TikTok’s calamitous emigration began on 22 January when its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, finalized a deal to sell the app to a group of US investors, among them the business software giant Oracle. The app’s time under Chinese ownership had been marked by a meteoric ascent to more than a billion users, which left incumbents such as Instagram looking like the next Myspace. But TikTok’s short new life in the US has been less than auspicious

Brighterdaysahead topples favourite Lossiemouth to win Irish Champion Hurdle

There was a full-throated roar from the stands as the 2026 Dublin racing festival finally got under way on Sunday and another as Lossiemouth, the favourite, went to post for the Irish Champion Hurdle later in the afternoon, but the cheers 10 minutes later were for her market rival, Brighterdaysahead, as Gordon Elliott’s mare convincingly reversed the form of the December Hurdle here last month to win the big race of the day.Lossiemouth and Brighterdaysahead were foaled within three weeks of each other in March 2019 but last month’s Grade One was the first time that the two mares had met on the track.Lossiemouth emerged as the winner by a length, recording a ninth Grade One win in the process, but she did not look comfortable at any stage here on Sunday as El Fabiolo, a stable companion at the Willie Mullins yard, set a steady pace with Brighterdaysahead in close attendance.Paul Townend, Lossiemouth’s rider, made some ground on the turn for home as El Fabiolo dropped away, but Jack Kennedy soon pushed Brighterdaysahead into a useful lead and a good jump at the last set the seal on a three-and-a-quarter length success.The result prompted some abrupt and significant moves in the ante-post betting for next month’s Cheltenham festival, as Lossiemouth, who set off as the narrow favourite for the Champion Hurdle on 10 March, was pushed out to a top price of 7-1 and simultaneously cut to around 11-10 for the Mares’ Hurdle, a race she has won in the past two seasons, on 12 March

Tuskegee basketball coach ‘violated’ after being handcuffed by police at end of game

Tuskegee men’s basketball coach Benjy Taylor is considering legal action after being handcuffed and led off court at the end of his team’s loss to Morehouse College on Saturday.Tuskegee athletic director Reginald Ruffin said Taylor had attempted to make sure protocols were followed when opposing Morehouse football players joining the basketball players in the postgame handshake line.“You don’t do that … that’s a security breach,” Ruffin told HBCU Gameday. “We have security measures for our protection of our officials, our student athlete coaches and spectators.”Videos of the incident soon spread online