Amy Dowden has shared “the hardest step” of her cancer journey with fans as she shaved her head. The Welsh dancer, who has competed on Strictly Come Dancing since 2017, was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Dowden, 33, has been documenting the journey for her fans, and recently described in a candid video how she “cries every day” as her hair falls out due to treatment. On Thursday (21 September), with Dowden over halfway through her chemotherapy, the dancer made the brave decision to “take control” and shave her head. In a montage shared on Instagram, Dowden was shown dabbing at her eyes while her “loved ones” cut off chunks of her hair down to a short, cropped style. The remaining hair was then shaved off, with the Strictly star growing more emotional and pausing to cover her face with her hands. However, she was in the end shown admiring the end results in the m “This too shall pass,” Dowden wrote, before describing the haircut as “the hardest step so far”. “I tried my best to save it. I know it’s only hair but these past few months I’ve had what feels like so much taken away from me that has made me not feel like Amy. I’m missing every possible aspect of dancing. I just wanted to keep my identity with my hair and I tried telling myself it wouldn’t go. But I would dread the pain of waking up to the shredding everyday.” She continued: “I’ve not been able to take control of this journey so far, but as you can see with some of my loved ones I took the courage and CONTROL. “It’s going to take some time to get use to and learn to love and embrace but, I’m now focusing – not on the hair I’m losing but the hair I’m going to get back and the happy dancing, tea lover who talks way to fast whilst rolling every rrrrr who is still there inside with or without hair!” Dowden said that she could now “see the finish line” after shaving her head, explaining: “This for me was a hurdle I couldn’t even bring myself to think or speak about. I’ve done it and I’ve also crossed the halfway chemo line! I’m feeling empowered and positive!” Dowden’s fellow Strictly pro Dianne Buswell commented: You are still all the things you were before, just with added courage, strength and determination. One thing about you is that you don’t let anything take over! “I cannot wait to have you back on the dancefloor with us chatting away, making endless cups of tea! We all love you so much and I’m such a proud friend.” Due to her treatment, Dowden has not been given a professional partner during this series of Strictly Come Dancing. However, the team paid tribute to Dowden during Saturday (16 September) night’s launch show. Host Tess Daly called Dowden their “Welsh dragon” and explained that she would be missing “the start of the series”. Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 23 September at 6.15pm on BBC One. Read More Strictly’s Bobby Brazier: ‘I don’t think happiness or fulfilment lies in what TV show I’m gonna do’ Strictly’s Amy Dowden says she ‘cries every day’ as she opens up on losing her hair during cancer treatment Strictly Come Dancing’s biggest stars this year are 50 plus – it’s refreshing to see Stacey Solomon leads tributes to cancer campaigner Nicky Newman who has died aged 35 Is a four-day week a good idea? | You Ask The Questions Yoghurt could be the cure for bad garlic breath, study finds

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Prospects for a renewed military dialogue between China and the U.S. remain dim, with Beijing saying their defense chiefs will not hold a bilateral meeting while both are attending a weekend security conference in Singapore

By Steve Holland WASHINGTON U.S. President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is traveling to Denmark this

A man who pleaded guilty to assaulting Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota in the elevator of her Washington apartment has been sentenced to more than two years behind bars

Several fans of Megyn Kelly's podcast agreed as she called the POTUS out for his statement regarding the Jacksonville shooting

A prisoner suspected of stabbing Larry Nassar at a federal penitentiary in Florida said the disgraced former sports doctor provoked the attack by making a lewd comment while they were watching a Wimbledon tennis match

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Ted Cruz was among more than 30 senators urging US Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint Davis Weiss as special counsel to lead investigations into Hunter Biden. That was 19 September 2022. Less than a year later, on 11 August, Mr Garland announced that Mr Weiss would receive special counsel status. But the Republican senator from Texas is now calling the appointment of the same person he was urgently recommending a “wildly inappropriate” pick to lead the investigation. “This appointment is camouflage and it’s cover-up. I think it’s disgraceful,” he told Fox News on 13 August. Mr Weiss, who has served as the US Attorney for Delaware since 2018, has led federal investigations into President Joe Biden’s son since 2019. Last month, Hunter Biden was reportedly prepared to enter a plea deal following charges stemming from unpaid taxes and a federal application for a firearm. That deal appeared to fall apart, and Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to two of the charges after a federal judge questioned whether the deal would prohibit other potential prosecutions. IRS whistleblowers speaking to Republican members of Congress who are eager to prosecute the president’s son have claimed that it was necessary that Mr Weiss be designated special counsel powers because he could not pursue prosecutions in other jurisdictions outside of Delaware, as the US attorney for that state. Whistleblowers also testified that US Department of Justice officials had prevented Mr Weiss from seeking felony tax evasion charges in California and Washington DC. Mr Cruz is now accusing Mr Weiss of either being an “active participant” in covering up “criminality” and obstructing justice by “protecting” the president, or “he was just complicit.” “He was so weak that he couldn’t stop the partisans in main justice from turning it into a political effort to protect Joe Biden,” Mr Cruz said. But in their letter to Mr Garland last year, Mr Cruz and 32 other senators said it is “important” that Mr Weiss receive special counsel status to “allow him to investigate an appropriate scope of potentially criminal conduct, avoid the appearance of impropriety, and provide additional assurances to the American people that the Hunter Biden is free from political influence.” Mr Cruz now accuses Mr Weiss of spending “the last five years covering it up”. The senator has also been requesting information from Mr Weiss this month, sending a letter with a list of questions surrounding whistleblower testimony, none of which accuse Mr Weiss of wrongdoing. The Independent has requested comment from his office. His apparent about-face follows other objections from GOP officials who had also previously called for Mr Weiss to step in as special counsel. Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn, another senator who signed last year’s letter, claimed that Mr Garland only appointed Mr Weiss because “he knows Weiss will protect Hunter Biden.” In her appearance on Fox News, she called Mr Weiss “a collaborator”. “The sweetheart deal that he had cooked up for Hunter Biden, now they’re going to give him a sweetheart deal with a special counsel and run out the plot,” she said. “Merrick Garland, he owes the American people better than to do something like this.” South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham – another signatory – told NewsNation that the appointment “poured gasoline on a political fire.” He told Fox News that he believes Mr Weiss has been “compromised” after a “sweetheart” plea deal fell apart. And Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley – who acknowledged signing the letter during an appearance on Fox News – said that Mr Weiss has “pulled punches” and “didn’t investigate as he should’ve.” Read More Matt Gaetz suggests he wants to be America’s next attorney general: ‘A boy can dream’ Trump and Hunter Biden legal blockbusters rock Washington – but offer a contrast House Democrats call for investigation into Clarence Thomas over corruption claims Georgia prosecutors have text messages linking Trump team to voting system breach, report says

John B. Goodenough, the Nobel Prize-winning engineer whose contributions to developing lithium-ion batteries revolutionized portable technology, has died. He was 100.

By Humeyra Pamuk and Michael Martina NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese Vice President

The boy died from the brutal attack, suffering more than 60 wounds after Latina Marie Oates stabbed him with a metal rod