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Channel 7 star hospitalised over heart issue

<p>Former Brisbane Lions AFLW star Kate McCarthy’s celebrations following the Brisbane Lions men’s AFL grand final victory were cut short after she was hospitalised due to an ongoing heart condition.</p> <p>McCarthy, 31, who played 42 games in the AFLW for the Brisbane Lions, St Kilda and Hawthorn across seven seasons before retiring, has been an active presence in the world of AFL even after stepping off the field. She currently serves as a commentator for Triple M and Channel 7, having provided coverage for Channel 7 during the AFL grand final weekend. McCarthy also co-hosts panel shows <em>Armchair Experts</em> and <em>Talking W</em>.</p> <p>Over the weekend, McCarthy celebrated the Lions’ dominant 60-point grand final win over the Sydney Swans and their AFLW team’s two-point victory over the Adelaide Crows, which pushed the women’s team to second place on the ladder.</p> <p>However, McCarthy took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday to reveal she had been hospitalised due to a heart-related issue, sharing a light-hearted post about the situation: “When the @brisbanelions & @lionsaflw double over the weekend sends you into ventricular tachycardia."</p> <p>Ventricular tachycardia is a condition where the heart beats faster than 100 beats per minute, causing a rapid and irregular rhythm. This can become life-threatening if left untreated, especially for individuals with underlying heart conditions.</p> <p>McCarthy’s heart issues are particularly dangerous due to her reliance on a pacemaker, which was implanted after she suffered from seizures as a child. At the age of five, McCarthy was diagnosed with an intermittent third-degree heart block, a condition where the electrical signals that control the heart’s rhythm fail to fire properly. After several seizures during her childhood, including a severe episode when she was 12, she underwent emergency surgery to install the pacemaker.</p> <p>Despite these health challenges, McCarthy’s sporting career has been nothing short of remarkable. She represented Queensland in cricket and touch footy and played for Australia in the latter before making her AFLW debut for the Lions in 2017. Her AFLW career highlights include being named an All-Australian and the Lions’ leading goal kicker in their inaugural season.</p> <p>McCarthy’s heart condition appears to be under control, with her pacemaker functioning as intended. While her health scare has been concerning, she reassured her followers that she is on the mend, humorously comparing her pacemaker’s performance to that of the Sydney Swans on grand final day.</p> <p>"On the mend now," McCarthy wrote, "but Monday night review shows pacemaker performing like the Swans on the big stage.”</p> <p><em>Images: Twitter (X)</em></p>

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Cameron McCarthy's family break silence

<p>Cameron McCarthy's have broken their silence following the former AFL player's <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/afl-player-found-dead-at-just-29" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shock death</a> at just 29.</p> <p>The former Fremantle and GWS player died last Thursday after he was found unresponsive by paramedics at a house in Lake Coogee, Perth. </p> <p>McCarthy's family have shared a heartfelt obituary in The West Australian a week after his death. </p> <p>“CAMERON ALEX: Our beautiful son and brother, Cameron,” they wrote. </p> <p>“It is with heavy hearts that we’ve had to say goodbye for now.</p> <p>“A huge hole now exists in our lives. It will never be the same without you. Through the ups and downs we all rode with you, and you knew that we loved you so much.</p> <p>“You lit up every room with that gorgeous smile, and we will cherish our memories with you forever.</p> <p>“Until we meet again. Rest peacefully. Love you always, Dad, Mum, Jessica, Hannah, Drew, Ryan, Poppy.”</p> <p>Just two days ago, West Coast defender Tom Barrass also shared a heartbreaking tribute to his best mate. </p> <p>“Last week, this earth lost a beautiful man named Cameron McCarthy,” Barrass wrote.</p> <p>“A man who wasn’t concerned with money or power, instead creativity and experience. A man who approached all things with energy and excitement, as if viewing them for the first time.</p> <p>“A man whose presence will be sorely missed, but whose outlook and opinion can be heard any time we wish to listen. Enjoy the journey and lean in. Trust your intuition and have conviction, as that’s all you’ve really got in the end.</p> <p>“Men like these are hard to come by; so full of love, kindness and laughter. But that’s why they’re so special, and the lessons they teach last a lifetime.</p> <p>“I’m gonna miss you Universal Brother. Say Gday to the big fella for me and put in a good word please. Rest in Peace," he concluded his post, with AFL players sending their love and condolences in the comment section. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

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“The greatest American novelist” Cormac McCarthy passes away at 89

<p dir="ltr">American novelist Cormac McCarthy, the mind behind the classic works <em>The Road</em>, <em>No Country for Old Men</em>, and <em>All the Pretty Horses</em>, has passed away at the age of 89. </p> <p dir="ltr">The news was broken by McCarthy’s publisher, Alfred A Knopf, with a post to social media announcing that the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer had “died today of natural causes at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.”</p> <p dir="ltr">McCarthy enjoyed a near 60-year career, penning 12 novels, five screenplays, three short stories, and two plays. And while some may not have soared to commercial heights, many achieved critical acclaim, with late literary critic Howard Bloom even dubbing him the “true heir” of the likes of Herman Melville and William Faulkner. </p> <p dir="ltr">And in 2007, his novel 2006<em> The Road</em> won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, also for Fiction. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The Road </em>was arguably McCarthy’s best known work, and followed the journey of a father and his son in a post-apocalyptic world. It was adapted into a film in 2009, like McCarthy’s other two critically acclaimed books, <em>All the Pretty Horses</em> and<em> No Country for Old Men</em>. The latter saw great success in the 2008 Academy Awards, claiming the coveted title of Best Picture.</p> <p dir="ltr">And despite his literary accomplishments, McCarthy opted to remain in relative obscurity for the majority of his career. In 1992, the<em> New York Times Book Review </em>suggested that he might be “the best unknown novelist in America”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The media painted McCarthy as a reclusive figure, and it was well-known that the author preferred not to discuss his books, though Oprah Winfrey managed to get him in for his first - and only - TV interview after <em>The Road </em>featured in her book club.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You always have this hope that ‘today I'm going to do something better than I've ever done’," he told her. "I like what I do."</p> <p dir="ltr">“Some writers have said in print that they hated writing, it was just a chore and a burden. I certainly don't feel that way about it,” McCarthy went on to explain. “Sometimes it's difficult but you always have this image of the perfect thing which you can never achieve but which you never stop trying to achieve."</p> <p dir="ltr">Friends, writers, and fans took to social media in the wake of the news, with tributes to share their love for McCarthy and his works, as well as their agreement that he had achieved something very special throughout his life and literature. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Cormac McCarthy, maybe the greatest American novelist of my time, has passed away at 89,” author Stephen King wrote. “He was full of years and created a fine body of work, but I still mourn his passing.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“When a great artist dies, there is the moment when the world understands it will never again have a new creation from that mind, that heart, that vast soul. It is a loss beyond measure, but what that soul has left us is a gift beyond time,” writer Joseph Fasano shared. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I love every book McCarthy wrote,” one fan declared. “From a film point of view, his writing was so good that the Coen Brothers hardly changed a word of dialogue when they adapted <em>No Country For Old Men</em>. Why would they? You can't improve on perfection.”</p> <p dir="ltr">And as another said, “Cormac McCarthy’s writing was mean, and despairing, with a pretty withering view of humankind, and the cruel engines that drive it. but he had that faint flicker of belief that it could be different. ‘He can know his heart, but he don’t want to.’ gotta tend that flame folks. RIP.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

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Cricket star Nathan Lyon ties the knot

<p>Aussie cricket legend Nathan Lyon has tied the knot with Emma McCarthy in an intimate weekend wedding ceremony. </p> <p>They both shared snaps of their big day on Instagram, with the newlyweds smiling for their first official photos as husband and wife. </p> <p>McCarthy — who has changed her name to Emma Lyon on the social media platform — shared the picture with a simple love heart as the caption, while Lyon wrote, “Mr and Mrs.”</p> <p>The congratulations were quick to flood in for the couple, with NSW star Baxter Holt commenting on Lyon’s post, “Happiness is an understatement!! So happy for you two!!”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgY79LQOAmj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CgY79LQOAmj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Nathan Lyon (@nath.lyon421)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Former Australian bowler Trent Copeland wrote “congratulations lovers”, Alex Carey said “beautiful mate, congratulations guys” while Lyon’s fellow Test spinner Mitch Swepson added, “Yes Gazza! Congrats to you both.”</p> <p>Australian T20 star Chris Green chimed in with the obligatory “Nice Garry”, adding a GOAT emoji in reference to Lyon’s nickname.</p> <p>Nathan and Emma started dating in 2017, with heir relationship being made public after they were spotted together in Perth. </p> <p>The beginning of Lyon and McCarthy’s romance marked the end of Nathan’s 10-year relationship with ex Melissa Waring, who he shares two children with. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Relationships

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Meghan Markle’s amazing 40th birthday message

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To celebrate her 40th birthday, Meghan Markle has released a hilarious video with comedian Melissa McCarthy where she calls on her Hollywood friends to help make her 40th birthday wish come true.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the clip, the Duchess of Sussex traded jokes with the American actress, who both burst out laughing after Prince Harry hijacked the Zoom call and began juggling in the background.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meghan has launched the 40x40 initiative, urging 40 people to donate 40 minutes of their time to mentor women trying to return to the workforce.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the video, Meghan calls McCarthy via Zoom and asks her to be a mentor, with the comedian sharing her own ideas on how they should celebrate Meghan’s birthday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s my 40th birthday, and I’ve got an idea,” Meghan says, after McCarthy changes from a dressing gown into a fancier outfit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I know what it is,” McCarthy replies. “My first guess is another photoshoot under a tree where you’re looking very peaceful”, resembling her pregnancy announcement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meghan pushes back on the idea, saying she is peaceful under a tree everyday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead, McCarthy asks, “Are we finally getting matching tattoos?” as she holds up a drawing of herself and Meghan surrounded by flowers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You know I already have something similar across my back,” the Duchess replies, suggesting they save the idea for when she turns 50.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McCarthy then asks, “Are you finally going to do a </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Suits</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reunion?”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meghan says she “loves </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Suits</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">” but questions why she would do a reunion for her birthday.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Meghan continues, “I think the bigger idea is…” before McCarthy interrupts with her next suggestion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“A yacht party. Yacht party. Who’s ready for a yacht?!” McCarthy says while putting on a pair of huge sunglasses and a hat. “Like when you say no yacht, do you mean zero yachts?”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After all the jokes, Meghan finally gets to share her birthday idea.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Because I’m turning 40, I’m asking 40 friends to donate 40 minutes of their time to help mentor a woman who’s mobilising back into the workforce,” she says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If we all do it, and all commit 40 minutes to an act of service, we can create a ripple effect.:</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a lengthy message on her non-profit website, Archewell, Meghan says she came up with the idea after realising time was the most “essential gift”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In reflecting on my 40th birthday and the many things I am grateful for, I’m struck that time is among our greatest and most essential gifts: Time with our loved ones, time doing the things we love, time spent learning, laughing, growing, and the sacred time we have on this Earth,” Meghan says.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Amongst the most valuable gifts of time is also time spent in service to others knowing that it can contribute to incredible change. To that last point, and with my 40th lap around the sun in mind, it made me wonder: What would happen if we all committed 40 minutes to helping someone else or to mentoring someone in need? And then what would happen if we asked our friends to do the same?</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In the past two years, and in large part because of the Covid-19 pandemic, tens of millions of women around the world have left the workforce, including over two million women in the US. So many of these women are also shouldering the brunt of the crisis when it comes to unpaid labour, including schooling and caring for family members.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“And the latest research shows that fewer women than men will regain work as we recover from the pandemic.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Supplied</span></em></p>

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