The Formula 1 paddock returns to Budapest this weekend for the Hungarian Grand Prix at the popular Hungaroring circuit. Max Verstappen is looking for a seventh grand prix victory in a row at a track where he won last year from 10th on the grid. The Dutchman is cruising to a third world championship this season, currently holding a 99-point to Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in second. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Daniel Ricciardo is back – and this time he wants to go out on top Yet the biggest talking point this weekend is Daniel Ricciardo’s return to the grid with AlphaTauri. The Australian, dropped by McLaren last year, replaces Nyck de Vries for the remainder of this season and starts at a track where he claimed his second F1 victory in 2014. Lando Norris will be hoping to back up his strong performance for McLaren at Silverstone two weeks ago, a race where Lewis Hamilton finished third for Mercedes. Hamilton is an eight-time winner in Hungary. Follow live updates from the Hungarian GP with The Independent Read More Lewis Hamilton reacts to Nyck de Vries axing: ‘That’s how Red Bull work’ Daniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top Nyck de Vries breaks silence after AlphaTauri exit

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Abortion wasn't technically on the ballot in Ohio's special election. But the overwhelming defeat of a measure that would have made it tougher to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution this fall was the latest indicator that the issue remains a powerful force at the ballot box. The election saw heavy turnout for what's typically a sleepy summer election date and sets up another battle in November, when Ohio will be the only state this year to have reproductive rights on the ballot. It also gives hope to Democrats and other abortion rights supporters who say the matter could sway voters their way again in 2024. That's when it could affect races for president, Congress and statewide offices, and when places such as the battleground of Arizona may put abortion questions on their ballots as well. Democrats described the victory in Ohio, a one-time battleground state that has shifted markedly to the right, as a “major warning sign” for the GOP. “Republicans’ deeply unpopular war on women’s rights will cost them district after district, and we will remind voters of their toxic anti-abortion agenda every day until November,” said Aidan Johnson, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The measure voters rejected Tuesday, known as Issue 1, would have required ballot questions to pass with 60% of the vote rather than a simple majority. Interest was unusually high, with millions spent on each side and voters casting more than double the number of early in-person and mail ballots ahead of the final day of voting as in a typical primary election. Early turnout was especially heavy in the Democratic-leaning counties surrounding Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. Opposition to the measure, which became a kind of proxy for the November abortion vote, extended even into traditionally Republican areas. In early returns, support for the measure fell far short of Donald Trump’s performance during the 2020 election in nearly every county. The November ballot question will ask voters whether individuals should have the right to make their own reproductive health care decisions, including contraception, abortion, fertility treatment and miscarriage care. Ohio's GOP-led state government in 2019 approved a ban on abortion after cardiac activity is detected — around six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant — but the ban was not enforced because of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, which granted a federal right to the procedure. When a new conservative majority on the high court last year overturned the nearly 50-year-old ruling, sending authority over the procedure back to the states, Ohio's ban briefly went into effect. But a state court put the ban on hold again while a challenge alleging it violates the state constitution plays out. During the time the ban was in place, an Indiana doctor came forward to say she had performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio who could not legally have the procedure in her home state. The account became a national flashpoint in the debate over abortion rights and underscored the stakes in Ohio. Ohio is one of about half of U.S. states where citizens may bypass the Legislature and put ballot questions directly to voters, making it an option that supporters of reproductive rights have increasingly turned to since Roe v. Wade fell. After abortion rights supporters said they hoped to ask voters in November to enshrine the right in the state constitution, Ohio Republicans put Issue 1 on Tuesday’s ballot. In addition to raising the threshold to pass a measure, it would have required signatures to be collected in all 88 counties, rather than 44. The 60% threshold was no accident, abortion rights supporters say, and was aimed directly at defeating the Ohio abortion measure. Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, six states have had elections regarding reproductive rights. In every election — including in conservative states like Kansas — voters have supported abortion rights. In Kansas, 59% voted to preserve abortion rights protections, while in Michigan 57% favored an amendment that put protections in the state constitution. Last year, 59% of Ohio voters said abortion should generally be legal, according to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of the electorate. Last month, a poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found the majority of U.S. adults want abortion to be legal at least through the initial stages of pregnancy. The poll found that opinions on abortion remain complex, with most people believing abortion should be allowed in some circumstances and not in others. Opponents of the Ohio abortion question ran ads that suggested the measure could strip parents of their ability to make decisions about their child’s health care or to even be notified about it. Amy Natoce, spokesperson for the anti-abortion campaign Protect Women Ohio, called the ballot measure a “dangerous anti-parent amendment.” Several legal experts have said there is no language in the amendment supporting the ads’ claims. Peter Range, CEO of Ohio Right to Life, said he has been traveling across Ohio talking to people and “I’ve never seen the grassroots from the pro-life side more fired up to go and defend and protect the pre-born.” While the November question pertains strictly to Ohio, access to abortion there is pivotal to access across the Midwest, said Alison Dreith, director of strategic partnership for the abortion fund Midwest Access Coalition. Nine Midwestern states — Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin — are considered restrictive, very restrictive or most restrictive of abortion rights by the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization that supports legal access to abortion. “Ohio in particular has always been a destination state for the states around it,” Dreith said. “If we don’t protect abortion access in Ohio, the options just continue to shrink for people seeking care in the Midwest.” Sri Thakkilapati, the executive director of the Cleveland-based nonprofit abortion clinic Preterm, said the effect of the Ohio vote will reverberate throughout the country. “When we restrict access in one state, other states have to take up that patient load,” she said. “That leads to longer wait times, more travel, higher costs for patients." Thakkilapati called the energy around abortion rights in last year's midterms “exciting.” But she said the media attention died down, and people quickly forgot “how tenuous abortion access is right now.” The special election and ballot measure in Ohio are “a reminder of what’s at stake," Thakkilapati said. “Other states are watching how this plays out in Ohio, and it may give anti-abortion groups in other states another strategy to threaten abortion rights elsewhere,” she said. “And for the majority who do want abortion access in their states but are seeing it threatened, the results in November could give them hope that the democratic process may give them relief.” Kimberly Inez McGuire, the executive director of Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, which focuses on young people of color under age 30, says the results of elections involving reproductive rights show that support doesn't come just from Democrats or in cities and states considered liberal bastions. “There was this idea that we couldn’t win on abortion in red states and that idea has really been smashed,” McGuire said. So, too, she said, is the “mythology” that people in the South and Midwest won't support abortion rights. “I think 2024 is going to be huge,” she said. “And I think in many ways, Ohio is a proving ground, an early fight in the lead up to 2024.” Dreith said that since abortion hasn't been on a major ballot since last year, the Ohio vote this fall is “a good reminder” for the rest of the country. “Abortion is always on the ballot — if not literally but figuratively through the politicians we elect to serve us,” she said. "It’s also a reminder that this issue isn’t going away.” Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Why Ohio's Issue 1 proposal failed, and how the AP called the race Ohio voters reject GOP plan to thwart upcoming abortion rights proposal Abortion rights advocates push for 2024 ballot initiative in Arizona

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The Government has more work to do to address “structural problems” in the early years system to ensure families benefit from high-quality affordable childcare under its reforms, MPs have said. Plans to expand the number of subsidised childcare places for working parents in England “should not come at the expense of quality”, the Commons Education Select Committee has warned. From September, the Government will change minimum staff-to-child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds in England, but it will remain optional. The group of MPs said it is “deeply concerned” about the plans and it is calling on the Government to reverse the changes “if quality is degraded”. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced reforms in the Budget in March which will allow some families of children as young as nine months in England to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week. Simply extending the number of hours that the Government calls free will not work unless the funding rates accurately reflect the costs of providing high quality early education and childcare Committee chairman Robin Walker From April next year, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare. This will be extended to working parents of all children older than nine months from September next year. From September 2025, working parents of children under five will be entitled to 30 hours of free childcare per week. The Education Select Committee said it was a “welcome investment” following concerns raised by parents and early years providers during its inquiry about “affordability and sustainability”. The report added: “However, this investment is much overdue and more will need to be done to address the structural problems in the ECEC (Early Childhood Education Care) system if the funding increases are to be implemented effectively. “In particular, close attention should be paid to effective funding distribution. Settings in disadvantaged areas already struggle more than those in more affluent areas, yet we know that it is children from disadvantaged families that can benefit the most from high-quality ECEC.” The Treasury “missed an opportunity” to reform tax-free childcare and increase the flexibility of the system under its plans to expand free childcare for working parents, the report said. Under the current system, working parents of three and four-year-olds in England are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week. The tax-free childcare scheme also allows eligible working families to claim 20% government support with their childcare costs, up to an annual limit of £2,000 per child. The Commons Education Select Committee report said the requirement for parents to reconfirm their eligibility every three months for the 30 hours entitlement and tax-free childcare scheme is “unduly onerous” and should be reduced to once per year. Committee chairman Robin Walker said: “The childcare market is facing significant challenges in affordability and availability, with unprecedented staff turnover and nurseries closing, despite massive demand from parents who want a career and to provide for their families but struggle to find affordable services. It is clear that ministers have more work to do to address this. “Simply extending the number of hours that the Government calls free will not work unless the funding rates accurately reflect the costs of providing high-quality early education and childcare. “We have heard that many settings rely on charging more for the children who attend them outside of the funded hours. It is therefore essential that ministers reduce burdens on the sector and provide adequate funding for all the stages of early education.” He added: “Staff are the lifeblood of this sector and the huge expansion of subsidised childcare will only be successful if we can stem the tide of people leaving the workforce. “There needs to be a revamp of career development, with improvements to pay, progression and conditions so that the profession is given the respect and status it deserves.” Not only have years of severe underfunding plagued the sector but the worst staffing crisis in decades has created a perfect storm which must be addressed if the sector has any chance of survival in the coming years Neil Leitch, Early Years Alliance The cross-party group of MPs is calling on the Department for Education (DfE) to “work closely” with childcare providers and local authorities across the country “to set the funding rate at a sufficient level.” It added that the DfE should stop describing the 30 hours offer as ‘free hours’ and instead refer to it as ‘funded’ or ‘subsidised’ hours to “improve parental trust” in the childcare subsidy system. Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance (EYA), said: “Not only have years of severe underfunding plagued the sector but the worst staffing crisis in decades has created a perfect storm which must be addressed if the sector has any chance of survival in the coming years. “If that wasn’t bad enough, it’s likely that the upcoming sector expansion will be dangerously underfunded and will place unrealistic expectations on providers already on the brink.” He added: “For the committee’s findings to truly have a lasting impact, we hope against hope that it finally wakes the Government up to the reality of the situation facing families and providers and prompts urgent and effective action.” Last week, the Government said reforms expanding the amount of free childcare for parents will be “properly and fairly funded”. The DfE said its proposed new funding formula, which is now out for consultation, provides “additional funding for areas of deprivation”. The increased funding will see the expected average rate paid to local authorities for 2024/25 to be set at £8.17 for two-year-olds and £11.06 for under-twos, the DfE said. A Government spokesperson said: “We are rolling out the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever, set to save a working parent using 30 hours of childcare up to an average of £6,500 per year and give children the best quality early years education. “To make sure that we are supporting our fantastic early years workforce, we will be investing hundreds of millions of pounds each year to increase the amounts we pay childcare providers. We also are consulting on how we distribute funding to make sure it is fair.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Wall squat exercises can help lower blood pressure, study suggests Wall sits and planks the best exercises for lowering blood pressure, study suggests Everything you need to know about using a defibrillator

The 1985 Domino's Pizza delivery car looks more like it was designed to shoot down invading alien spacecraft than to bring you a hot delicious pepperoni pie. But back in the '80s, Domino's founder Tom Monaghan ordered 10 Tritan A2 cars and customized them with warming ovens in the back to deliver pizzas around Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Domino's is headquartered.

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