Latest news with #Swinney
USA Today
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Dabo Swinney hilariously mixes up LSU coach Brian Kelly for country singer on vacation
One would think that after meeting head-to-head four times, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney would know LSU football coach Brian Kelly rather well. That, however, is now in question after a vacation that Swinney took this offseason. And for that, when the two veteran coaches meet up pregame at the 50-yard line in Week 1 of the 2025 college football season, they will have an all-time laugh. In a media availability on July 15, the 18th-year Tigers head coach shared a story of a hilarious mix-up with the head coach of his Week 1 opponent with a country music artist that has the same name while on vacation with his wife, Kathleen, his brother and sister-in-law in Grayton Beach, Florida. "My sister-in-law, she's saying, 'Hey, Brian Kelly has a place. His wife has a gift shop right on the corner there in Grayton Beach.' I'm like, 'Oh really? That's pretty cool.' I had no idea," Swinney said July 15 during a media availability. "... Me and Kath walk into the store and Kath buys something because she's trying to support Mrs. Kelly or whatever we're doing." Dabo Swinney got the wrong Brian a hysterical clip, Swinney mistook Brian Kelly, LSU's head coach, for Brian Kelley, who is best known for his work with Florida Georgia clip is seriously a must and Kelly will have a laugh in August. REQUIRED READING: Dabo Swinney has Clemson football primed to soar in transfer portal era The Swinneys would then continue walking around the store and headed outside to a backyard concert stage, where the two-time national championship coach took photos around/on the stage that had a sign of "Brian Kelley performing today" and sent them to the LSU coach. That was until his brother's friend broke the news to Swinney's wife on the side that it wasn't the Brian Kelly that Dabo Swinney went 3-1 against while Kelly was at Notre Dame. "... So now Kath goes, 'Babe! Brian Kelley's a singer for Florida Georgia Line. And I went, 'What?! I've been firing all these pictures off to Brian Kelly.' He's over there probably going, 'What the hell?! This is an idiot. What's this dude doing?'" So, how did the actual Brian Kelly respond to Swinney's texts? Perhaps exactly like you'd expect he would. "He sends me a text and is like, 'Yeah, you just can't get away from Brian Kelly,' or something like that," Swinney said. "And I'm sure he was like, 'I have no idea what the context of this is,' but anyway, then I realize that it wasn't him and I'm like, 'Oh my god. We'll have a laugh over that.'" Swinney and Kelly are set to meet up in Week 1 on Saturday, Aug. 30 when Clemson welcomes in LSU to Memorial Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff in "Death Valley." The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
The National
a day ago
- Business
- The National
John Swinney: Labour are ruling out all options to reduce energy bills
It comes after the UK Government shelved plans to introduce zonal pricing last week, instead deciding to retain a single national wholesale price. Octopus Energy has repeatedly said the model – which would have split the UK into price regions based on proximity to energy generation – would have given Scots some of the cheapest energy in Europe because of its abundance of renewables. But the Scottish Government has appeared reluctant to fight back against the plans being scrapped. READ MORE: Brian Leishman makes statement after suspension from Labour Asked why, the First Minister was adamant: 'The question isn't for me, it's for the Labour Government.' Speaking at a media appearance in Glasgow on Wednesday, he said: 'The Labour government promised to lower people's energy bills by 300 pounds and they're now up by about 150, and they've just turned their back on zonal pricing. 'So the question isn't for me, it's for the Labour government. What are they doing? They've got the power to reduce energy bills. What are they doing about it?' Pressed on whether this means he would support the UK Government bringing in zonal pricing, Swinney responded: 'What I'm seeing is that the Labour Government has made a promise to reduce energy bills and the question is for them to answer how they're going to do it now they're ruling out all the options. 'It's up to the UK Government to set out how they're going to lower people's fuel prices. When they've turned their back on opportunities to do so, it's for them to answer.' (Image: Colin Mearns) Labour energy minister Michael Shanks (above), speaking after the zonal pricing decision last week, admitted there could have been a bill discount for Scots but said it wasn't worth the "trade off". "If you look purely at one point in time, and look at an analysis of what would have happened to household bills, there would have been a discount in Scotland because we've got a significant amount of renewable energy at the moment,' he told the Daily Record. "But the other side of that equation is that it would hamper the investment that would be coming in to build that clean power infrastructure in the first place. "So you've got to have a trade-off here, where there is a theoretical benefit of bill discounts years down the line, but probably an increase in bills in the short term.'
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Will John Swinney's wooing of Donald Trump pay off?
The news that Donald Trump is visiting Scotland later this month has catapulted the SNP and John Swinney onto the high wire. Mr Swinney will no doubt hope that his support for the American president's political rival, Kamala Harris, will be forgotten over a glass of Irn Bru and a fresh Aberdeenshire buttery. There will be a fine line to balance for the First Minister, who made no secret of his support for Ms Harris during the autumn of 2024. Last October, Mr Swinney told reporters: 'People in the United States of America should vote for Kamala Harris and I have not come to that conclusion only because Donald Trump is opposed to Scottish independence.' And, in more recent times, Mr Swinney has suggested that the president's state visit, scheduled for September, should be cancelled after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was booted from the Oval Office in March. John Swinney has agreed to meet with Donald Trump. Of course, Mr Trump, whose mother Mary MacLeod Trump was from Harris, has long cast his shadow over these isles. The billionaire, who once described Scots as 'tough people' and 'good fighters,' has clashed with politicians and locals for years, ever since he announced plans to build a golf course in Aberdeenshire two decades ago. Despite the objections of environmental campaigners and aggrieved residents, Trump International Golf Links opened near the town of Balmedie in 2012. Mr Trump got on splendidly with the late Alex Salmond, that is, until he heard about a Scottish Government plan to build wind farms in the sea off his new estate. In 2012, he said: "You're going to have riots all over Scotland, because Alex Salmond is going to destroy the natural beauty of Scotland.' Thirteen years later, the wind farms have been built, and no riots have taken place. Mr Swinney's government is clearly taking a cautious approach when it comes to dealing with Mr Trump. Who could blame them? Yet, the Scottish Greens have slammed Mr Swinney's 'tragic' decision to meet with the American president, who they have accused of being a 'political extremist.' Would Humza Yousaf have welcomed Mr Trump as FM? Their ire has been shared by others in Scotland's progressive left. It's not a coincidence that my most shared post on Bluesky, by far, was a news article announcing the meeting would take place. One anonymous user, named 'Apples n Spice,' wrote: 'Swinney doing more on-brand Swinney things. Embarrassing for Scotland. It's actually vomit inducing.' Another user wrote: 'Pretty sure Sturgeon would have been washing her hair that day and Yousaf would have flat out refused.' That's an interesting point. It would have been great theatre to see how Nicola Sturgeon or Humza Yousaf, undoubtedly First Ministers with a bit more panache than Honest John, would have dealt with the situation. Read more: Protests aside, Mr Swinney is doing the grown-up thing. According to the Scottish Government, the United States is Scotland's largest trade partner, importing £4b of Scottish goods in 2023. Around 700 American companies employ 115,000 people across the nation. If the plan is to secure political points, the easy thing to do, as many in Mr Swinney's base have suggested, is to reject the meeting. Yet, Mr Swinney has chosen a more difficult path, one which will require cool-headed diplomacy and a twist of Scottish hospitality. I wonder what they are going to talk about?
South Wales Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
John Swinney: It's in Scotland's interest I meet Donald Trump
John Swinney said he had an 'obligation' to 'protect and promote' Scotland. He said there would be an opportunity during his meeting to discuss tariffs, Gaza and Ukraine. Mr Swinney will meet the Republican politician later this month when he is expected to visit his golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire. Mr Trump will also meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in Aberdeen, he has said. Speaking during a visit to Rutherglen, the First Minister said Scots would expect him to meet a US president visiting Scotland. He told the PA news agency: 'I've taken a decision that's in Scotland's interest to meet with the president of the United States so that I can use every opportunity to protect and to promote the interests of the people of Scotland. 'There's obviously a range of issues that we can cover around the international situation that's causing such anxiety to people in Scotland, around the situation the Middle East, and the situation in Ukraine, and the domestic issues that are important to us around about the implications of, for example, trade and tariffs on some of our key sectors, including Scotch whisky. 'So I think people in Scotland would expect their First Minister to meet with the president of the United States to put forward Scotland's position.' Earlier this week, Mr Trump said he would go to Aberdeen, which he said was the 'oil capital of Europe'. 'They have so much oil there,' he said. 'They should get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil. '[Because] the windmills are really detrimental to the beauty of Scotland and every other place they go up.' Asked about those comments, Mr Swinney said he supported renewables in Scotland, which he said was key to the future of the country. He said: 'There's going to be different views expressed by different political leaders, and I'm a supporter of renewable energy. 'I think it's important that we use the opportunities that we have in Scotland to capture the natural and sustainable energy that surrounds us and it's all around us, and we should take those opportunities, which the Scottish Government has done in a sustainable way. 'We've got to protect the planet. We've got to protect our communities, and that's at the heart of the Government's agenda in Scotland.' The Scottish Greens, who were previously in Government with the SNP, have criticised the First Minister for his plans to meet the president. Co-leader Patrick Harvie said the meeting was 'tragic' and 'out of step with Scotland's values'. But Mr Swinney defended the decision, saying: 'The people of the United States have elected their president, and that's their choice, and he's coming to visit Scotland. 'And I think for me, my obligation of what members of the public would expect of their First Minister is for me to engage with the leader of the United States to protect and to promote the interests of Scotland.' On Wednesday, the Scottish Secretary also defended Mr Swinney's decision to meet Mr Trump, along with Sir Keir's decision, saying it was 'the right thing to do'. Ian Murray praised the Prime Minister for putting in a 'lot of effort' to 'cultivate' a relationship with the president. He said US tariffs and the situation in Ukraine could be on the agenda for the discussions. He said: 'At this stage we have no sight of what the president's programme is, but we do know the First Minister and the Prime Minister will meet him, and it is right for them both to do so.' He said the meetings were 'the right thing to do because those relationships are incredibly important in terms of our own national interest'. He added: 'We should make sure we are working very closely with our allies for the benefit of Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom.'
STV News
a day ago
- Business
- STV News
John Swinney: It's in Scotland's interest I meet Donald Trump
Scotland's First Minister has said it is in the interests of the country that he meets US President Donald Trump. John Swinney said he had an 'obligation' to 'protect and promote' Scotland. He said there would be an opportunity during his meeting to discuss tariffs, Gaza and Ukraine. Swinney will meet the Republican politician later this month when he is expected to visit his golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire. Trump will also meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in Aberdeen, he has said. Speaking during a visit to Rutherglen, the First Minister said Scots would expect him to meet a US president visiting Scotland. He said: 'I've taken a decision that's in Scotland's interest to meet with the president of the United States so that I can use every opportunity to protect and to promote the interests of the people of Scotland. 'There's obviously a range of issues that we can cover around the international situation that's causing such anxiety to people in Scotland, around the situation the Middle East, and the situation in Ukraine, and the domestic issues that are important to us around about the implications of, for example, trade and tariffs on some of our key sectors, including Scotch whisky. 'So I think people in Scotland would expect their First Minister to meet with the president of the United States to put forward Scotland's position.' Earlier this week, Trump said he would go to Aberdeen, which he said was the 'oil capital of Europe'. 'They have so much oil there,' he said. 'They should get rid of the windmills and bring back the oil. '[Because] the windmills are really detrimental to the beauty of Scotland and every other place they go up.' Asked about those comments, Swinney said he supported renewables in Scotland, which he said was key to the future of the country. He said: 'There's going to be different views expressed by different political leaders, and I'm a supporter of renewable energy. 'I think it's important that we use the opportunities that we have in Scotland to capture the natural and sustainable energy that surrounds us and it's all around us, and we should take those opportunities, which the Scottish Government has done in a sustainable way. 'We've got to protect the planet. We've got to protect our communities, and that's at the heart of the Government's agenda in Scotland.' The Scottish Greens, who were previously in Government with the SNP, have criticised the First Minister for his plans to meet the president. Co-leader Patrick Harvie said the meeting was 'tragic' and 'out of step with Scotland's values'. But Swinney defended the decision, saying: 'The people of the United States have elected their president, and that's their choice, and he's coming to visit Scotland. 'And I think for me, my obligation of what members of the public would expect of their First Minister is for me to engage with the leader of the United States to protect and to promote the interests of Scotland.' On Wednesday, the Scottish Secretary also defended Swinney's decision to meet Trump, along with Sir Keir's decision, saying it was 'the right thing to do'. Ian Murray praised the Prime Minister for putting in a 'lot of effort' to 'cultivate' a relationship with the president. He said US tariffs and the situation in Ukraine could be on the agenda for the discussions. He said: 'At this stage we have no sight of what the president's programme is, but we do know the First Minister and the Prime Minister will meet him, and it is right for them both to do so.' He said the meetings were 'the right thing to do because those relationships are incredibly important in terms of our own national interest'. He added: 'We should make sure we are working very closely with our allies for the benefit of Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
