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Princess Kate and William say teen with terminal cancer invited to photograph the royals “inspired us both”
London — Getting a hug from Catherine, the Princess of Wales, wasn’t even on 16-year-old Liz Hatton’s bucket list. But the budding photographer, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer early this year, not only got an emotional embrace from Princess Kate at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, but was lauded for inspiring Kate as she recovers from her own bout with cancer.
Kate announced only weeks ago that she’d completed chemotherapy after doctors discovered cancer following an abdominal surgery in January. It was that same month that doctors told Hatton she had the extremely rare cancer desmoplastic small round cell tumor — and that she likely only had six months to three years to live.
Scans revealed tumors on Hatton’s ovaries and liver after she experienced abdominal pain over Christmas. Only about a dozen people are diagnosed with the aggressive form of cancer in England every year, according to cancer charity Sarcoma UK, and no standard treatment regimen exists.
In May, with time ticking, Hatton’s mother Vicky Robayna published her daughter’s photography bucket list on social media.
“We hope every day for a lifetime for her but if we can’t achieve that we hope to create her a lifetime of memories,” wrote Robayna. “If we can make even one of her photography bucket-list happen for her she will be beyond delighted.”
Hatton’s list included photographing a major West End musical, the catwalk runway at London Fashion Week, famous music festivals and professional models. It did not include photographing the future British monarch, but Hatton’s mother noted that she’d appreciate “any other photography-based opportunities.”
“Please help us to give her the life she deserves in the short time she has,” her mother said to end the post.
Princess Kate, an avid amateur photographer herself, invited the teenager to help document a private royal award ceremony after her husband William, the Prince of Wales, learned about Hatton through his support of London’s Air Ambulance Charity. On Wednesday, William and Kate welcomed Hatton to Windsor Castle for the event, and then stood with Hatton and her family for some more photos.
“A pleasure to meet with Liz at Windsor today. A talented young photographer whose creativity and strength has inspired us both,” the royal couple said in a post on their shared social media account. “Thank you for sharing your photos and story with us.”
“Such lovely, genuine and kind people, I’m over the moon that my family and I had this experience,” Hatton wrote in reply.
“It’s a day none of us will ever forget and we are so very grateful to you all,” added her mother.
In June, Hatton’s mother told CBS News’ partner network BBC News that her daughter’s end-of-life diagnosis had “changed all our lives in a way we didn’t expect.”
“We were out looking at universities a month before. It all happened very suddenly,” said Robayna.
Hatton’s mother and father have told their daughter that from now on, just “follow your heart.”
Hatton has since received offers to photograph the productions of “Wicked” and “Cabaret” in London’s West End, in addition to the Royal Marines — and she has already had the opportunity to watch a filming of her favorite TV show.
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With average credit card interest rates recently surpassing 23% and retail credit card rates sitting above 30% on average, many Americans have found themselves trapped in a cycle of minimum payments and mounting balances. That can be a tough road to navigate in any economic environment, but in today’s landscape, where prices on essentials continue to climb and household budgets remain stretched, it can be even more difficult to conquer. As a result, more cardholders are maxing out their credit cards and becoming delinquent on their credit card payments.
Late payments and maxed-out credit cards can have a real impact on your credit and your financial health, so if you’re facing this issue, it’s important to find ways to get relief. Fortunately, there are many potential debt relief strategies to consider, including credit card debt management programs. These programs were created to help cardholders consolidate multiple credit card payments into a single monthly payment while potentially securing lower interest rates and fees. The appeal is obvious: simplified payments, reduced rates and a clear path to becoming debt-free.
However, some cardholders may be hesitant to enroll in one of these programs due to concerns about the impact it could have on their credit. But will enrolling in a credit card debt management program actually hurt your credit? The answer isn’t entirely straightforward.
Explore the debt relief options available to you now.
Will enrolling in a credit card debt management program hurt your credit?
Enrolling in a debt management program can have both positive and negative effects on your credit score. One of the immediate impacts is that your creditors may add a notation to your credit report indicating that you are participating in a debt management program. While this notation itself doesn’t lower your score, it could raise red flags for lenders, as it signals that you’re receiving help to manage your debts.
Another consideration is how the program affects your credit utilization ratio and credit age. Your creditors will likely close your credit card accounts when you enter the program. This action can negatively impact your credit score in two ways. First, it reduces your available credit, which increases your credit utilization ratio. Second, it can slightly shorten your average credit age if these are long-standing accounts, which could lower your score temporarily.
However, the program’s positive effects often outweigh these initial setbacks. As you make consistent payments through the program, your payment history – which accounts for 35% of your FICO score – strengthens. As your balances decrease, your credit utilization also improves, positively impacting another 30% of your score.
It’s also worth noting that debt management programs don’t carry the same negative credit implications as more drastic measures like bankruptcy or debt settlement. While your credit report will show that you’re paying through a debt management program, this notation itself doesn’t factor into your credit score calculations.
So, the short answer is that ultimately, the effect a debt management plan has on your credit depends heavily on your starting point. If your credit score is already suffering due to late payments or high balances, a debt management program may help stabilize and eventually improve your credit over time. If your score is in good shape but you’re struggling with mounting debt, the short-term impact of closing accounts and creditor notations might bring a noticeable dip in your score.
Tackle your expensive credit card debt today.
What other credit card debt relief options are worth considering?
Debt management programs are just one tool in the debt relief toolbox. Depending on your financial situation, you might want to consider these other alternatives:
- Debt consolidation: With debt consolidation, you take out a single loan to pay off all your credit card balances. This simplifies your payments and can lower your interest rate if you qualify for a competitive loan. However, you’ll need good credit to access the best rates.
- Balance transfer: If you have a solid credit score, a balance transfer card with an introductory 0% APR period can help you save on interest and pay down debt faster. Just be cautious of transfer fees and ensure you can pay off the balance before the promotional period ends.
- Debt settlement: You can contact your creditors, either with the help of a debt relief company or on your own, to try and negotiate a settlement for less than you owe. While this requires negotiation skills, it’s a more direct approach that can yield favorable results.
- Bankruptcy: If you’re facing overwhelming debt with no feasible way to repay it, bankruptcy may provide a clean slate. However, it comes with significant long-term consequences for your credit and should be a last resort.
The bottom line
Enrolling in a credit card debt management program can impact your credit in both positive and negative ways. While the immediate effects — such as account closures and creditor notations — might cause a temporary dip in your score, the long-term benefits of consistent payments and reduced interest rates can outweigh these drawbacks. For many, the opportunity to regain control over their finances and work toward becoming debt-free is worth the trade-off.
It’s been almost 25 years since the movie “Gladiator” took the world by storm.
“I saw it in the movie theater when it came out,” said actor Pedro Pascal, who plays the Roman general Marcus Acacius in “Gladiators II.” “I saw it twice.”
In “Gladiator II,” the highly anticipated sequel that comes out on Friday, Rome is led by two emperor brothers. Caracala is played by Joseph Quinn, who was just 6 years old when the original “Gladiator” came out.
“I think there was a legacy from the first film that demanded reverence and respect,” Quinn told “CBS Mornings.”
To prepare for the film and understand his environment better, Quinn spent two weeks wandering around Rome.
“I think it’s just something so humbling about Rome, and inspiring, and the fact that this civilization that was so ahead of its time collapsed, it’s kind of a little haunting,” he said.
For the actors who had fighting roles in the movie, they said training was grueling as not all of it was performed by stunt actors.
Caracala’s co-emperor in the movie is his brother Geta, played by Fred Hechinger, who said he always wanted to work for director Ridley Scott, who also directed the original movie.
“I remember finding out that the same person made all of these different movies that I love. ‘Thelma & Louise’ and ‘Alien’ were made by the same person, and it kind of expanded my sense of what a director can be,” Hechinger said.
Unlike others, Scott will shoot certain sequences from start to finish without cutting. On some movie sets, actors have to react to things off camera that aren’t really happening, but not with Scott.
“The action was all there and it’s all off camera. Normally, under any other circumstance, you would be looking at a tennis ball or two pieces of tape as a cross for your eyeline and imagining what’s happening, but no, Ridley will place that in front of you and have it play,” said Pascal. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. And it’s likely not something I’ll ever experience again.”
“Gladiator II” opens in theaters Nov. 22.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KDKA) — The House task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on President-elect Donald Trump issued subpoenas on Monday to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for testimony from two ATF employees regarding the response to the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting.
The subpoenas follow letters from the task force’s chairman, Rep. Mike Kelly, Republican of Pennsylvania, and Ranking Member Jason Crow, Democrat of Colorado, seeking documents and testimony on Oct. 3 and Nov. 6.
A shooter opened fire at Trump’s July 13th rally in Butler, wounding Trump when a bullet grazed his ear. A rally-goer was killed and two others were wounded before Secret Service snipers shot and killed the gunman, later identified as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man. Since then, Trump won the presidential election and will be headed to the White House in January.
In a release from Kelly’s office, the task force said the ATF had not produced any requested documents or made any personnel available for interviews with the task force, and the ATF made its first set of documents available less than an hour after served the subpoenas for depositions.
One of the two subpoenas for depositions was issued to an agent who participated in the agency’s response to the shooting in Butler, the release said. The other is for testimony from a supervisory agent, according to the media release.
Excerpts from Kelly’s letters to the two ATF employees stated that the task force “specifically outlined seventeen requests for document production, even going so far as to note which were the priority items. In addition, the Task Force identified three categories of requests for transcribed interviews with relevant ATF agents.”
The bipartisan House task force said last month that the incident was “preventable,” detailing in a report that there were communication and planning shortcomings.