Hollywood has been cranking out films about unprepared men thrust into fatherhood since the silent movie days when Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp found a littler tramp on his doorstep and raised the ragamuffin as his own in 1921’s “The Kid.”

Since then, we’ve seen unwitting uncles (John Candy’s Buck), a triad of dads (“Three Men and a Baby”) and self-absorbed workaholics rethinking their priorities (Dustin Hoffman in “Kramer vs. Kramer”). But we’ve never seen an instant parent quite like Jordan Firstman‘s party promoter Peter in “Club Kid,” the Cannes Film Festival sensation that Firstman impressively directed and wrote for himself.

We meet Peter in a whirlwind, strobe-heavy blur of an opening sequence that takes us through a disorienting parade of coke-and-ketamine-fueled nights in New York’s underground queer club scene. Everyone wants a piece of Peter. His energy (and the drugs he sells) guarantee a good time. It’s a thrilling introduction, shot on 35mm on location in New York City, and the throbbing bass is still bumping around my skull.

When Peter stumbles back to his rent-controlled apartment, his downstairs neighbor Evelyn (Colleen Camp) gives him the once-over while telling him that she just finished Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” and that “it’s as good as they say.” Peter doesn’t hear her. (Probably the bass is ringing in his ears too.)

“You ever just lose 10 years?” he asks Evelyn.

It turns out he has done just that. The night we’ve witnessed actually took place a decade ago. And one of its episodes included a hetero hookup, part of what began as a threesome with a hot dude and British tourist, Leonora (Paris Petitjean). Peter had forgotten about it until one of Leonora’s friends, Edison (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), knocks on his door, her arm around the beautiful 10-year-old recently orphaned Arlo (Reggie Absolom). Now this Peter (Pan) is going to have to grow up — fast.

If you know Firstman, it might be as an actor in the HBO series “I Love LA” or perhaps Sebastián Silva’s 2023 black comedy “Rotting in the Sun,” in which he played a heightened, vapid version of himself. You may also know him as an online provocateur, sharp and self-aware. Those familiar with that Jordan Firstman might be shocked to watch “Club Kid” and discover that the guy on the screen — and the creator behind the camera — is being utterly, hopelessly sincere with his feature film directorial debut. Get ready to wipe away a tear or two.

That disarming, open-hearted earnestness makes “Club Kid” a crowd-pleaser, albeit one that retains Firstman’s edgy comedy and insider knowledge of queer New York nightlife, as well as a lived-in awareness of how, over time, the nightlife can fray your soul. And just as Peter is ready to bid the scene an Irish goodbye, in walks Arlo, opening up an unlikely path to adulthood that astonishes Peter, a man-child who doesn’t own a single appropriate T-shirt that he can give to his newfound charge. (The one emblazoned “I love Björk and bareback” that Arlo initially picks out goes back into Peter’s closet.)

The thing is, Arlo really does love Björk, not to mention the Cocteau Twins, Elliott Smith and Massive Attack. Preternaturally poised and absolutely adorable, Arlo seems genetically engineered to fit into Peter’s chaotic life and thrive. He’s perfect. Too perfect. Given the tragic circumstances that brought him to Peter, you wait for the moment when grief and anger bubble up. That happens, if briefly. And then Arlo goes right back to being the coolest kid ever, except for maybe being lactose intolerant, but with all the plant-based swaps available these days, that’s hardly a deal-breaker.

Peter does tell Arlo that “it’s OK to be sad in my house,” confiding that he suffers from low self-esteem. This feels like Firstman trying to give some dimension to Peter, but it’s broad and lacking conviction. I’d say a bigger problem for Peter is that he drops $300 on some vinyl. Is there no Urban Outfitters near his apartment?

These issues nag a bit, but just a little because the loving chemistry between Firstman and Absolom is so real and tender. You can also forgive some of the shallower character notes because “Club Kid” is really funny, populated with a superb supporting cast that includes party girls Miss Benny, Alaska Riley and Saturn Risin9 as members of Peter’s rambunctious inner circle, Diego Calva as a child psychologist helping Peter (and, against his better judgment, falling for him) and Cara Delevingne, biting as a spiraling fellow promoter. Best of all is Eldar Isgandarov, playing a self-described “queer philosopher” who goes from couch-surfing at Peter’s place to moving in with Evelyn. He and Camp are so great together that, given the power, I’d green-light a spinoff feature pairing them without hesitation.

So there’s a lot to like. So much that when the film’s inevitable complications arrive — because, c’mon, somebody has to question the wisdom of Peter raising this kid — you feel a lump in your throat the size of a coke pile at one of Peter’s parties. If that comparison feels a little indelicate, it’s very much in keeping with the freewheeling spirit of “Club Kid,” a sentimental journey where the house music plays all night long.

Mike Madrid was prepping to interview Xavier Becerra on Olvera Street last month when the immensity of the moment hit him.

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That morning, Becerra held a rally for his gubernatorial campaign in the birthplace of Los Angeles alongside California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and the leader of the state Senate, Monique Limón, that doubled as a referendum on where Latinos stood politically.

Never before have Latinos occupied the top spots in both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion simultaneously, Rivas told the cheering crowd. Becerra reminded the audience that the moment was fraught for Latinos, though. Federal agents were still detaining undocumented immigrants across the state, and Latino residents — the state’s largest ethnic group at 41% — were suffering under the crushing cost of food, gas and housing.

“[Latinos] are here, we are present and we will fight,” Becerra said. “But right now, our fight is to get the vote out, to make sure everyone understands that our power lies in our vote.”

Gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra purchases an agua fresca from Taqueria Vista Hermosa in Mercado La Paloma on June 9.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Madrid, a longtime political commentator and strategist, had set up his recording equipment at the Pico House, formerly a historic hotel named after the last Mexican governor of California. He recalled how Pio Pico, who helped found the California Republican Party but ended up dying destitute, opened the structure in 1870 as a testament to what Latinos had contributed to their state. But they would eventually be seen as a relic of the bygone days when Mexicans ruled — days that gringos imagined would never return.

The symbolism of a Becerra victory would be “kind of a big deal,” Madrid said, representing a back to the future opportunity for an ethnic group that ruled California until the United States won the Mexican-American War, then was relegated to political irrelevance for over a century before finally being at the doorstep of the governor’s mansion again. Becerra would become California’s first Latino governor in modern times and the second since Romualdo Pacheco served for 10 months in 1875.

Now that the race has been called, Becerra’s victory signifies how much Latinos have advanced since Pico’s days. But it’s also anticlimactic.

As California’s Latino population grew and their political power eventually did too, the days when such a victory would have been an inspiring surprise are long gone. Becerra is now just one of many Latino political captains who steer the Golden State.

Xavier Becerra, right, fist bumps with Roy Kuroyawagi, owner of Japangeles, during a tour of businesses in Little Tokyo on Aug. 18.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero became the first Latina to occupy that role when Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed her in 2023. The state’s senior U.S. senator, Alex Padilla, is the son of Mexican immigrants who settled in the San Fernando Valley. Rep. Pete Aguilar, a fourth-generation Mexican American from Redlands, is the third most powerful Democrat in Congress as the head of the party’s House caucus. Lorena Gonzalez, daughter of a Mexican immigrant father and white mother, leads the California Labor Federation, a longtime kingmaker in state politics.

And now, with Becerra at the helm, they will have to govern at a precarious moment, inheriting a state with existential problems affecting everyone, everywhere.

Droughts, El Niño, an eroding coast and the year-round threat of wildfires, much of it accelerated by climate change. Stagnant population growth that threatens to shrink the number of congressional seats. A presidential administration that keeps fighting California in federal court and has attempted to block the votes of 20,000 Californians it alleges are noncitizens. A restive population that Madrid predicts won’t let Becerra bask in his historic win.

“This is what you’ve always wanted. Here’s the keys to the car,” he cracked. “You’re responsible for it now. Who you’re going to blame if things don’t get better — Trump?”

Jody Agius Vallejo, associate director of USC’s Equity Research Institute, said she hopes that California’s new caretakers remember the struggles of getting to the summit — that they represent the dreams and battles of generations of politicians, voters and activists — as they embark on whatever’s next.

“You use these narratives [of Latino personal and collective struggle] to get elected,” she said. “Use them to understand what people need, and govern for them.”

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1. Patricia Guerrero, left, is sworn-in to the California Supreme Court in 2022 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Nathaniel Levine / The Sacramento Bee via Associated Press) 2. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., questions Attorney General Pam Bondi as she testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee in 2025. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) 3. Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., speaks at a Democratic Steering and Policy Committee hearing in 2026. (Allison Robbert / Associated Press) 4. Lorena Gonzalez at podium with California Attorney General Rob Bonta during a news conference in Los Angeles in 2024. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

Many voters were already shrugging about the significance of Becerra’s likely victory — especially Latinos. Only 45% of Latino voters in California felt “proud” about the prospect of a Latino governor, according to a Berkeley IGS poll released last week.

Those results aren’t surprising to Lena Gonzalez, a Long Beach-area state senator who chairs California’s Latino Legislative Caucus. She praised Becerra’s victory as the culmination of decades of political organizing. But voters care more about results than identity, she said — something the Latino political class has been slow to realize.

“People will say, ‘OK, that’s great [he’s Latino], but how are you fighting back?’” she said. “I just think we need to lead now and not advertise we’re Latinos.”

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Xavier Becerra waves goodbye after a visit to Hoover St. Elementary School in March 2001.

(Kim D. Johnson / Associated Press)

Becerra has long been a poster child for Latino political firsts, representing L.A.’s Eastside in the state Assembly and Congress for 27 years before Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to be California’s first Latino attorney general in 2017. Three years later, Becerra became the country’s first Latino Health and Human Services secretary under President Biden.

Becerra has rarely highlighted his latinidad while never shying away from his background as the child of Mexican immigrants. He told Madrid at the end of their interview at the Pico House that Californians should be prouder of his working class roots than his ethnicity.

Some have complained that Becerra is an unworthy, boring torchbearer for Latinos — not dynamic enough to meet a moment where many hoped for a firebrand. But in many ways, his style is a callback to the past.

When Latino politicians first began winning local and state legislative elections in the decades after World War II, they “were constantly about, ‘How do I mobilize the Latino vote without alienating the white vote, and how do I get support from the establishment which is white?’” said Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University and a longtime chronicler of California politics.

Latinos were the majority of the population in some areas during that era, but politicians couldn’t rely solely on them to win, because they still didn’t represent a majority of voters. That changed by the late 1980s, as immigration brought millions of Latinos to California.

Civil rights activists successfully sued cities and counties to draw district lines making it easier for Latinos to vote for Latino candidates. Local activists registered new voters by selling them a future where people like them would be leaders, not tokens. Pioneers like Richard Alatorre and Gloria Molina subsequently created political machines, which helped Becerra get his start.

Mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa, center, and Assemblywoman Karen Bass, left, dance to gospel music sung by the McCoy Memorial Baptist choir during an endorsement celebration in 2005.

(Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

That set the stage for politicians who “didn’t need the external validation anymore” of white voters or power brokers, Guerra said. “They could now say, ‘I am a Latino candidate with a Latino agenda, because I represent a Latino district.’”

By 1996, two years after the anti-immigrant Proposition 187 galvanized Latino activism, a record number of newly registered Latino voters in Orange County helped Loretta Sanchez upset longtime Republican Rep. Bob Dornan, the first welt of purple in a famously red county. That same year, Cruz Bustamante became the first Latino Assembly speaker, then lieutenant governor — the first Latino elected to statewide office in California since Pacheco ascended to the same position in the 1870s. In 2005, Antonio Villaraigosa was elected mayor of Los Angeles, sparking national headlines as the first Latino to occupy that position in modern times.

The Latino political firsts kept coming over the next 20 years, now reaching a pinnacle with Becerra’s win. Guerra said that “incremental” approach made Latinos mainstream to the point where the novelty of another milestone quickly wore off.

“Do you want a transformative moment? Absolutely,” he said. “But those come few and far in between. Incremental comes every two years.”

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra takes a selfie with supporters after a campaign stop on May 21 at the Wende Museum in Culver City.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Becerra started his campaign for governor far behind in the polls, surging after Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out due to sexual assault allegations. Becerra’s campaign leaned into his milquetoast persona and crowned him Tío Xavier — Uncle Xavier — to market him as a non-threatening moderate who happened to be Latino.

Madrid, a lifelong Republican, voted for Becerra because of GOP candidate Steve Hilton’s refusal to denounce MAGA. He also thinks Becerra can “resurrect a healthy economy for the working class” — something he accuses Democrats of “abandon[ing] for a generation.” The “burden” is on California’s Latino leaders to show they can serve not just their own community but everyone, he said.

On Monday, Becerra mingled with eaters at Homegirl Cafe in Chinatown, looking anodyne in a white shirt, wire-framed glasses and tan khakis as supporters asked for selfies or a hug.

Half-hearted shouts of “¡Sí se puede!” gave way to authentically boisterous chants of “Be-ce-rra!”

The heavy favorite for governor took questions in the packed dining room and didn’t flinch when I asked him to reflect on the fact that Latinos will head every branch of California government if he wins.

“We’re all fortunate when a state like California gives all of us opportunities to be in position of authority,” Becerra replied.

He nodded at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who stood by his side.

“But we gotta do it right,” he said. “And it’s on me to be a good governor — not to be a good Latino governor, but to be a good governor.”

A year ago, during the Southern Section football playoffs, Trent Mosley became so exceptional that Santa Margarita High ran the table and looked unbeatable by season‘s end en route to winning Southern Section and state championships.

Which player is capable of pulling a Trent Mosley to be a difference-maker during the postseason of 2026?

The candidates:

Palos Verdes High standout Jalen Flowers, a receiver and defensive back, celebrates after making a play during a game earlier this season.

(Nick Koza)

• Jalen Flowers, Palos Verdes. He has become so fast, strong and instinctive that at any moment he can make a big play at receiver, returning a kickoff or punt or making a play on defense at safety. Any opponent in the Southern Section Division 2 playoffs cannot let him have the ball in the open field or it’s a touchdown. He’s as close to a Mosley-like player as there is this season.
• Chris Fields III, Carson. No team’s fortunes are more tied to a single player than Carson’s. Yes, the offensive line has to block, the receivers have to get open and the defense has to stop the run, but the Colts’ ambitious focus on winning City Section and state titles depends on Fields, a senior quarterback who can beat teams with his arm and legs.

  As the playoffs begin in high school football, this is really the first time in years that there’s no certain No. 1 quarterback in the Southland based on performance and team achievement. Past ones have been Luke Fahey, Bryce Young, Brady Smigiel, Elijah Brown. Let’s see who…

  — eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) November 2, 2026

• Jaxsen Stokes, Sierra Canyon. There’s always been a Trinity League roadblock to prevent the Trailblazers from reaching the championship game of the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Stokes, a running back, is the player who must be protected at all costs. His rushing skills open the passing game. Combined with a great defense, he’ll need to deliver for the Trailblazers to finally break through the Trinity gauntlet.

  

  Jaden Walk-Green of Corona Centennial outduels Kayden Dixon-Wyatt of Mater Dei last season for interception.

  (Craig Weston)

• Jaden Walk-Green, Corona Centennial. Absent for much of the season while recovering from offseason knee surgery, Walk-Green has returned to bring back all the little things he does well — tackle, intercept passes, kick field goals, catch passes, kick PATs, return kickoffs and punts. Take him for granted at your own peril during the Division 1 playoffs.
• Koa Malau’ulu, St. John Bosco. The junior quarterback is facing lots of pressure to avoid interceptions and lead his team to the Division 1 championship. He’s been a starter for three seasons. He’s in the same position that former quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was in trying to deliver a big-time win. Uiagalelei rallied the Braves from 34 points down in his senior year to beat Mater Dei in the final.
• Caden Jones, Crean Lutheran. The senior quarterback has the ability to run or pass, making him one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the Southland. It will be his judgment that can carry his team far in Division 2.
• Michael Farinas, Chaparral. Maybe he’s underestimated because he’s a 5-foot-9 receiver, but Farinas is a big play waiting to happen. On a team that is suddenly healthy, Farinas has five touchdowns rushing, nine touchdowns receiving and one touchdown on a kickoff.

  

  Huntington Beach’s Dylin Bruce (2) uses his speed to be a big-play weapon.

  (Jeremy Westerbeck)

• Dylin Bruce, Huntington Beach. Speed matters in playoff games, and Bruce has it, with the ability to turn short gains into touchdowns. He has six touchdowns receiving, two touchdowns on interceptions, two on punt returns and one on kickoff return. In other words, he’s like Flowers for unbeaten Huntington Beach.
• Star Thomas III, Orange. With more than 3,600 yards passing for 38 touchdowns and almost 500 yards rushing for eight touchdowns, the junior quarterback had the best regular season of any quarterback in the Southland. If he keeps it going in the playoffs for 10-0 Orange, they’ll build a statue for him. He faces a tough opener at No. 1-seeded Chaparral in the Division 2 playoffs.
• Lucas Rhoa, Orange Lutheran. During games, it’s tough to notice the impact a single offensive lineman can have, so take a moment to watch Rhoa. He simply pushes people around, and with Rhoa’s ability to lead the way, the Lancers stunned top-seeded St. John Bosco last season in the Division 1 playoffs and must not be overlooked even though there are injuries at the quarterback position.

  

  Garfield running back Ceasar Reyes set a school record with 420 yards rushing and four touchdowns in win over South Gate

  (Nick Koza)

• Ceasar Reyes, Garfield. Given class relief by being put in City Section Division 1, Garfield intends to hop on Reyes’ back and see how far he takes them. He has rushed for close to 2,500 yards and 39 touchdowns while being rested at times to save him for the playoffs. He loves ice baths to recover from bumps and bruises after hard-fought games, so get ready for lots of ice to keep him going.
• Gatsbee Gumban, Nogales. Averaging 10 yards per carry with nearly 2,000 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns, the senior running back should be the player to watch in the Southern Section Division 10 playoffs for the 10-0 Nobles.

  

  Brothers Trent and Grant Mosley last season for Santa Margarita.

  (Craig Weston)

• Grant Mosley, Santa Margarita. Yes, there’s another Mosley at Santa Margarita. This junior receiver didn’t play until the Eagles’ fifth game because of an injury, but all signs point to him back in football shape and doing things only players with a Mosley gene can do.
• Elija Harmon, Inglewood. At 6-3 and nearly 300 pounds, the senior defensive lineman teams up with 6-3, 287-pound Myels Smith to form an unbreakable brick wall on defense, which makes for a huge first-round Division 2 opener between Inglewood and unbeaten Huntington Beach with standout quarterback Brady Edmunds.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner is to be ratified onto club’s board of directors.

Real Madrid are set to add a champion from another ⁠sporting arena to ⁠their boardroom as 22-time tennis Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal’s appointment as a director is to be put to members for ⁠ratification, the club says.

The board agreed to submit the appointment to the General Assembly of ⁠Delegated Members. Nadal is already an honorary member of the club.

“It is a source of immense pride for Real Madrid and for all our supporters that a figure of his sporting and personal stature … is to join ‌our Board of Directors,” Real said in a statement on Wednesday.

The club highlighted Nadal’s sporting achievements, including 92 singles titles, two Olympic gold medals, five Davis Cup triumphs with Spain and the world number one ranking.

The club said his qualities beyond those honours – including humility, respect for opponents and commitment to charity – mirrored the club’s own.

“All ⁠these values form part of Real Madrid’s identity, and ⁠Rafael Nadal has embodied and championed them throughout his sporting career,” said the statement announcing his appointment at a board meeting on Tuesday.

Nadal welcomed the invitation.

“I would like to thank President Florentino Perez and the Board for ⁠inviting me to join the Board of Directors of Real Madrid,” he wrote on social media.

“I have ⁠accepted this invitation with great enthusiasm, keen to ⁠learn and to contribute as much as I can.”

Nadal, who retired from tennis in November 2024, has long been touted as a potential successor to Perez, ‌although he has played down the prospect.

Perez, 79, secured another four-year term in June after Real’s first contested presidential election in two decades.

More ‌than ‌a third of voting members backed challenger Enrique Riquelme, who opposed plans to bring outside investment into the member-owned club.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has said that anyone expecting a shift in the United States’ policy towards his country is “seriously mistaken”, hours after midterm elections dealt a blow to President Donald Trump.

His comments came as other Iranian officials struck a more optimistic tone on Wednesday, following the results of the US vote, which saw Democrats score a major victory by taking control of both chambers of Congress.

“Those who still harbour even the slightest hope that the behaviour of the hegemonic system might change through partisan or factional shifts, or who imagine that making concessions to the United States can dissuade it from hostility towards the Iranian nation, are seriously mistaken,” Khamenei said in a written statement published on his website.

He said that Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz had shattered the “myth of America’s invincibility”, and warned that any renewed US attack would draw a far wider response.

Trump himself has acknowledged the US-Israel war on Iran that began in February likely impacted his Republican Party’s poor performance in the elections, saying voters were probably not ready “for the short-term consequence of paying more for gasoline”.

Khamenei said Iran’s confrontation with the US had reached a point where “every day and every hour” had become a time of resistance against “the Great Satan”. His message was to mark the National Day of the Fight Against Global Arrogance, which falls each year on November 4, the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran.

The supreme leader described Iran’s management of the strait and what he called the elimination of US military bases in regional countries as a reaction to US “aggression and crimes” during the war.

“In the event of repeated transgressions, it will take on much wider dimensions,” he said.

‘Americans said NO TO WAR’

The supreme leader struck a “cautious” note on Wednesday, warning that a party shift in the US would not persuade Washington to abandon its hostility against Iran, noted Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas, reporting from Tehran.

This contrasted with a more celebratory mood among other Iranian officials reacting to the Republican defeat, Atas said.

“Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator with Washington and his country’s parliament speaker.

“If the US [government] betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,” he added on X.

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser and assistant to the supreme leader, said Trump had been “slapped in the face by his own people”.

“The true winner in this arena was Iran, which transferred the cost of the war into the United States,” he wrote on X.

Judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei wrote on Telegram: “Trump was defeated both in war and in politics; we will certainly impose further defeats on him; this is still only the early outcome.” He added that November 4 “has always been a day of defeat for the Americans” and honoured “the dear martyred students of Minab”.

Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy head for communications at the president’s office, said Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, “blind adherence” to Israel’s interests and the “futile war” with Iran had handed the Republicans their biggest defeat.

Atas said Iranians believe a Democratic-controlled Congress could restrain Trump and make him “less reckless” over the war, with some Republicans wary ahead of the 2028 elections. But some in Tehran fear that because officials have framed the result as a defeat imposed by Iran, Trump could “personalise the matter” and launch a new round of war “in an act of revenge”.

The US has warned it could carry out a short but intensive military campaign against Iran after the midterms.

Hamidreza Moghadamfar, an adviser to the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said Iran would hit targets beyond US bases if Gulf states allowed Washington to launch attacks from their territory. Speaking at a rally in Bandar Abbas, he named the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain and said Iran would respond with a “new doctrine and new technology”.

LIGHT up your winter with this exclusive Sun Club offer. Save up to £46 with two FREE tickets to Land of Lights, the spectacular family-friendly lantern festival taking place at Gulliver’s World this festive season. 

With 3,000 tickets available across three Gulliver’s World locations, you can choose from Milton Keynes, Warrington and Rotherham. 

Join Sun Club now — don’t miss out.

Plus, you can also grab an extra two tickets at half price. Just look for the exclusive discount code when you claim your free tickets. 

Land of Lights is returning brighter than ever for 2026, with giant lantern displays, glowing tunnels and immersive themed worlds creating a magical after-dark experience for all ages.

Guests can explore illuminated trails, with brand-new lanterns, light displays and effects added across the event this year.

Each location offers its own unique route and atmosphere, with magical photo opportunities, marshmallow toasting, food and drink stops and plenty to discover along the way.

Whether you are visiting Land of Lights for the first time or making a return trip, there is plenty to enjoy. 

So wrap up warm and make a night of it with friends and family as you take in the lights and stop for a few treats along the way.

Land of Lights is running until Saturday, January 30 in Warrington and Rotherham, and Saturday, February 27 in Milton Keynes. Your free tickets can be used on any date excluding Thursday, December 31.

With tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis, you will need to be quick to avoid missing out, so bag yours before they are gone.

Join Sun Club to book

To claim your tickets, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Join thesun.co.uk/club for just £1.99 a month or £12 for the first year, then £19.99 thereafter.

Step 2: Go to the Offers Hub and select the Gulliver’s Land of Lights page. You do not need to collect Sun Savers codes.

Step 3: Booking opens at 11am on Saturday, November 7.

18+ UK only. Digital subscription required. Online access required. Offer ends at 23:59pm on 06/12/26. 3,000 tickets available across 3 locations. Non-transferable & non refundable.  T&Cs apply , see club.thesun.co.uk/sun-club.  New customer offer: £2.99 per month for 3 months, £6.99 thereafter unless you cancel at least 7 days before your next billing date. Full T&Cs apply, visit thesun.co.uk/terms-and-conditions.

Netflix fans have claimed they are hooked from the very first scene

Netflix’s latest addition has left fans immediately hooked and binging as many episodes as possible.

An ‘intense’ crime thriller is now available on the streaming giant’s platform. Some have already claimed that it is better than other popular shows such as High Potential and The Rookie.

Dozens of episodes of Will Trent have recently been added to the streamer’s ever changing library. The show is based on a series of novels written by Karin Slaughter. The author penned a dozen books featuring the character as recently as 2024.

Like the original stories, the series follows Special Agent Will Trent who was abandoned at birth and endured a harsh coming-of-age in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster-care system. This had a lasting effect on him and, despite being dyslexic, he rose the ranks at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

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He is highly observant and determined to make sure that nobody else feels as he did. Despite achieving the highest clearance rate of cases in his department, he finds this causes some friction on the team.

While it originally aired in the US back in 2023, the first three seasons of the show are now available on Netflix for UK based subscribers. Even better news is that if users find themselves binge watching it quickly enough, they can find the fourth over on Disney+, with a fifth season expected to release early next year.

Some even suggest that it is superior to similar crime dramas, in particular a few very popular ones considered to be in the more ‘cosy crime’ subgenre. A fan shared on Reddit : “I think most people will agree with this, but I haven’t seen it mentioned before, so… Will Trent gets lumped together with The Rookie and High Potential but I think it’s better, deeper, darker and funnier than the others.”

Another agreed and replied: “I agree with you. I only lump together those other shows with Will Trent because they’re the same kind of procedural drama. I think Will Trent is of a higher calibre, though. Also, as a mother through (private) adoption, I think the foster care angle is very well done, for the most part.”

One fan claimed: “I think Will Trent stands alone. It is truly the most unique show, with the most intense scenes — I feel the same way about them that I do when watching The Pitt.”

Someone else added: “I jumped so hard in the first episode! I was hooked and couldn’t stop! I gobbled up the first three episodes voraciously! I have been binge watching the series since.”

Other viewers have shared their recommendation online stating they were hooked from the first scene. Someone else made a different comparison as they posted: “I love this show it’s like Monk combined with Elementary. Quirky Sherlock type with a bad upbringing and makes it work despite his dyslexia and his on-again-off-again relationship with a fellow cop.”

Will Trent is streaming on Netflix and Disney+

WASHINGTON — As the scale of the Republican Party’s losses came into focus late Tuesday, President Trump watched from the White House and went looking for someone to blame.

First it was Fox News. Just before midnight, with Democrats projected to seize control of the House, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the network “bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse.” Then it was the fact that he had not been on the ballot, otherwise, he said, “we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”

Minutes later, Trump was on the phone with the same network he had just accused of sabotaging his party. And over a 22-minute interview, conducted before the Senate had been called for Democrats, his tone shifted from grievance to something closer to acceptance, though never to the idea that the election results were a rebuke on his administration.

“Congratulations to the Democrats. They did a good job. They’ve been looking for this one for 11 years and they finally got it,” the president said. “But I don’t view it as a hit on me. I think we’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the president in terms of the economy, in terms of all the things that we’ve done.”

Reflecting on the losses, Trump largely put the onus on the candidates, some of whom he said he only endorsed for the good of the party.

“I was trying to get people that, frankly, let’s say that I didn’t get along with. But for the purposes of the party I went along with it,” he said.

Trump said his supporters “didn’t like the candidates,” and that some of the nominees had failed to “inspire” the MAGA base, which over a span of 30 days he tried to engage in campaign rallies in Republican strongholds, including South Carolina, Texas and Kansas, where Democrats pulled off upsets against the GOP candidates.

As Trump reflected on the election results, he offered a narrow acknowledgment that his war with Iran has played a role, saying voters “probably don’t agree with the short-term consequences” such as higher gas prices.

“It’s a short-term problem but for long term-gain,” he said, and then argued that history would judge his actions in the Middle East as “much more important than this evening.”

Looking ahead to what the election results mean for the last two years of his presidency with Democrats in control, Trump said he is willing to work with them — but that he will not hesitate to use the power of the veto.

“I have the power of veto, one of the strongest powers that a president has and they’ll send over things that are insane and I will veto them,” he said.”After a couple of months of vetoes they will call, and they’ll say, how do we get this stuff done? And we’ll work together.”

Trump said he has “a lot of friends who are Democrats.” He said he talked to five Democrats – two senators and three representatives – on Tuesday night and that three others were about to call him.

In the end, Trump said Democrats “fought hard” and did a “good job.”

Parker’s managerial career to date has seen three promotions followed by much leaner times in the Premier League.

His first taste of senior management was at Fulham, who he immediately guided back to the Premier League with a play-off final win over Brentford in 2020.

Parker could not keep them up again the following season and left by mutual consent in June 2021. He then became manager of Bournemouth and led them to promotion as runners-up, ironically behind Fulham.

A few weeks into the new Premier League season, the Cherries lost 9-0 at Liverpool and Parker departed three days later.

He briefly managed Belgian side Club Brugge in the 2022-23 season before replacing the Bayern Munich-bound Vincent Kompany as Burnley boss in 2024.

Parker guided the Clarets to the Premier League at the first attempt, with one of the best defensive records in English football history and a 31-match unbeaten streak.

However, he could not keep the team up last season and he departed Turf Moor after their relegation was confirmed.

Parker is highly regarded at West Ham from his four years as a player at the club.

Having emerged at Charlton Athletic, and endured an unsuccessful move to Chelsea in 2004, he joined the Hammers from Newcastle United in June 2007, for a fee of £7m.

Parker went on to make 129 appearances in claret and blue, scoring 12 goals. He also won the club’s player of the year award three seasons in a row.

In 2010-11, despite the Hammers’ relegation from the Premier League, Parker also won the Football Writers’ Association footballer of the year award and was nominated for the Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year.

He started the first four Championship matches of West Ham’s 2011–12 campaign, but handed in a transfer request after a bid came in from Tottenham Hotspur.

Parker completed a move to Spurs in order to further his England career, and he went on to be part of Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad.

He later played for Fulham, before retiring in June 2017.

To understand the coming collision between President Donald Trump and a Democratic Congress, one must first discard the textbook formulas of US governance. The United States is about to witness a political experiment for which there is no modern precedent: a purely transactional populist, entirely unmoored from traditional ideological orthodoxy, forced to share power with a legislative branch unified in partisan hostility.

The conventional wisdom predicts immediate, paralysing gridlock. That is a misreading of the terrain. Trump does not view politics through the lens of conservative dogma or constitutional restraint; he views it through the lens of the deal. Consequently, his governance will not be characterised by passive stagnation, but by an aggressive, volatile mix of transactional bipartisanship and raw executive unilateralism.

Domestically, the ideological lines will blur. For decades, the Republican Party was defined by its commitment to limited government and free markets. Trump has spent a decade dismantling that consensus. Confronted with a Democratic House of Representatives and a Democratic Senate, he will feel no tribal loyalty to standard conservative policy. Instead, expect him to seek out areas of populist overlap.

When it comes to massive infrastructure spending, protectionist trade policy and aggressive state intervention to protect domestic manufacturing, Trump is often closer to the Democratic centre-left than to the ghost of former President Ronald Reagan. He will dare the opposition majorities to vote against legislation that pours millions of dollars into their districts or levies tariffs that protect their blue-collar constituents. It will be an unholy, ad hoc alliance — issue-by-issue, fleeting, and transactional — designed to deliver the optics of victory for both a populist president and a vulnerable congressional majority.

Where such transactions fail, however, the venue will shift from the legislative chamber to the administrative state controlled by the executive. Trump will not accept the traditional boundaries of a divided government. If necessary, he will govern by decree. Executive orders, emergency declarations and expansive interpretations of federal statutes will be deployed to bypass a stubborn Capitol Hill. The administration will dare the Democratic leadership to tie up the government in the federal courts, turning the slow wheels of the judiciary into a political weapon.

Yet, the true test of this fragile constitutional architecture will not occur on the domestic stage. It will happen abroad, specifically in the volatile expanses of the Middle East, where the executive branch enjoys its greatest constitutional latitude.

The immediate flashpoint is Iran. The Trump doctrine rests on a foundation of maximum economic pressure backed by highly unpredictable, asymmetric tactical deterrence. It is a posture designed to keep adversaries off balance. But a Democratic Congress, historically wedded to the framework of multilateral diplomacy and deeply wary of congressionally unauthorised foreign entanglements, will view this unpredictability not as a strategic asset but as an existential danger.

The US is likely headed for a historic constitutional showdown over the War Powers Resolution of 1973. Democratic majorities will also aggressively use the power of the purse to place statutory fences around the commander-in-chief, attempting to defund military manoeuvres or explicitly prohibit unilateral escalations against Tehran. Trump will treat these attempts at legislative constraints with open contempt. Asserting an absolute, almost unrestrained reading of the Constitution’s Article II executive authority, the president will argue that modern geopolitical threats require executive agility, not governance by congressional committee. When the rockets fly, the president will act unilaterally, leaving Congress to meaningless academic debates.

Hanging over this entire drama is the ultimate constitutional weapon: the threat of impeachment by Congress. In a Washington where both the House and the Senate are controlled by the president’s opponents, oversight will cease to be an instrument of governance and become an engine of partisan political destruction.

Democratic congressional committee chairs will launch a relentless, multifront campaign of subpoenas and investigations. Every member of Trump’s cabinet will live in a permanent state of interrogation; every foreign policy decision will be audited for high crimes and misdemeanours. The House will almost certainly draft articles of impeachment, not as an extraordinary remedy for rare misconduct, but as a routine penalty for political nonconformity.

Yet, this strategy carries severe risks for the opposition. Trump does not fear institutional warfare; he thrives on it. He will transform the spectacle of congressional investigations into the theatre of public grievance. To his base, a hostile Congress will be framed not as a coequal branch of government performing its constitutional duty, but as an illegitimate, obstructionist cabal subverting the will of the forgotten American voter.

Because the structural math of the Senate requires a two-thirds majority for removal of the president, actual eviction from the Oval Office remains a statistical fantasy. Impeachment will therefore achieve not displacement, but a permanent state of institutional friction.

What the US is about to enter is not two years of legislative inactivity, but a phase of perpetual brinkmanship. It will be an era in which governance occurs only in the narrow, volatile intervals between constitutional crises. The US system was built to withstand institutional tension, but it also requires a basic reverence for institutional boundaries to function. With a transactional populist president in the White House and an adversarial army on Capitol Hill, those boundaries will be tested as never before. The architecture will hold, but the foundation will shake.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Mérida, November 3, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Foreign Minister Oliver Blanco held meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during a trip to Washington, DC, on Monday.

Blanco, who was appointed as the Caribbean nation’s top diplomat on October 30, is the highest-ranking Venezuelan official to be hosted by the Trump administration.

His morning summit with Rubio included a photo-op but no statements to the press. On social media, Blanco reaffirmed the acting Delcy Rodríguez government’s “commitment to continue building spaces for understanding for the benefit of Venezuela.”

“During the meeting, we discussed bilateral relations, regional challenges, cooperation, and energy security between our countries,” he wrote.

For his part, Rubio stressed the Trump administration’s “three-phase plan” for Venezuela, which comprises “stabilization, economic recovery and political reconciliation, and democratic transition.”

“[Rubio and Blanco] discussed progress in the Venezuelan-led reconciliation talks, including institutional reforms that lay the groundwork for free, fair, and credible elections,” a State Department press statement read.

The head of Venezuelan diplomacy followed up with a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent which reportedly focused on “conditions for Venezuela’s full economic development.” Blanco added that the pair discussed Venezuela’s “access to multilateral financial bodies and bilateral economic cooperation opportunities.”

Despite reestablished diplomatic ties and significant US control over Venezuela’s economy and the oil industry, the US Treasury Department has maintained its wide-reaching sanctions program against the South American country, issuing only limited licenses granting exemptions to specific corporations.

The US Treasury Secretary congratulated Blanco on his recent appointment and claimed the White House is “committed to supporting Venezuela’s economic recovery.” 

“This Administration is committed to supporting Venezuela’s economic recovery, revitalizing critical sectors, boosting energy production, and reconnecting its financial sector to restore confidence, attract investment, and lay the groundwork for a more prosperous future,” Bessent stated on X.

The high-level Washington, DC meetings were Blanco’s first trip abroad as foreign minister. He had previously served as vice minister for Europe and North America. 

The 34-year-old foreign relations graduate hails from the ranks of the opposition Acción Democrática party and had been an outspoken critic of the Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro governments. In 2013, Blanco celebrated Chávez’s death, claiming he was in hell alongside Muammar Gaddafi and Osama Bin Laden. The tweet was recently deleted.

In 2016, Blanco was appointed head of communications for the opposition-controlled National Assembly that unsuccessfully tried to oust the Maduro government.

Since the January 3 military strikes and kidnapping of Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, Washington and Caracas fast-tracked a diplomatic rapprochement that included the reopening of their respective embassies after seven years of broken ties.

The Trump administration has backed legislative reforms, spearheaded energy deals, endorsed a dialogue process with the Venezuelan opposition, while also reportedly engaging in military and intelligence cooperation.

After assuming his role in the foreign ministry, Blanco became one of the most visible figures in the renewed relations with the US, often accompanying US Chargé d’Affaires John Barrett on visits and meetings around the country.

Barrett was among the first to congratulate Blanco following his promotion to head Venezuela’s diplomacy, wishing him “success as we work together on the three-phase plan.”

The two held a “cordial and constructive” meeting on Friday. 

Blanco flew to Spain following his US trip to take part in the Iberoamerican Summit taking place on Wednesday and Thursday.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

HAVING a cosy weekend away to look forward to makes winter all the more exciting.

But it’s especially fantastic when you can save an extra 15 per cent on your stay with The Inn Collection Group.

Claim an extra 15% off (+ dogs stay free) with code ICG_WOOF15

Whether you’re after a coastal escape to a seaside castle, a Snowdonia staycation with waterfalls on your doorstep, or an Edwardian manor with manicured gardens – we’ve got you covered.

We’ve hand-picked these UK breaks in spots like Yorkshire, Wales and the Lakes because they make for fantastic winter escapes, plus all of them are dog-friendly, too.

If you do bring the pooch along, they can even have a bite to eat from Sir Woofchester’s dog menu, where they can have their own mini roast dinner, fish and chips or even a Paw Star dog martini.

Here’s the winter staycations you can book today and bag an extra 15 per cent off – plus bring the dog along for free.

SNOW WAY

UK holiday parks BETTER in winter with 30C waterparks, forest pubs & £3pp a night

HOLY COW

I stayed at glam farm resort from Made in Chelsea with huge roasts & ‘pig’ pods

The Wateredge Inn, The Lake District

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly base to explore the Lake District, The Wateredge Inn in Ambleside is a great pick.

This waterside pub with rooms sits right on the shoreline of Lake Windermere, with a waterfront dining terrace perfect for a pint with a view.

In the restaurant, dine on everything from hot honey chicken burgers (£18.95) to ‘our famous lasagne’ (£17.50) – just make sure to save room for the sticky toffee brownie sundae for dessert (£8.50).

Rooms start from £80.10 per night on a B&B basis.

Claim an extra 15% off (+ dogs stay free) with code ICG_WOOF15

The Swallow Falls Inn, Snowdonia

Sitting steps away from a waterfall in Snowdonia National Park, The Swallow Falls Inn is worlds away from the everyday grind.

The charming inn provides your pick of 39 cosy rooms to return to after a day’s exploring the outdoors, plus a pub with a popular Thursday steak and wine night (£25pp).

The hotel is only two miles away from Betws-y-Coed, a gorgeous village with dense forests and lakes sitting on the Conwy Valley railway line.

Rooms start from £85.50 per night on a B&B basis.

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The Tynemouth Castle Inn

This sprawling Castle Inn has stood overlooking the the shore of Tynemouth‘s Longsands Beach for over 80 years.

There’s 72 plush bedrooms here, with the option to stay in a sea-view rooms, offering you a front-row view to glorious seaside sunsets.

Whether you’re up for a breezy winter beach walk, or prefer dipping into the shops and cafes in the charming local village, it’s a great spot for a calming weekend away.

Rooms start from £89 per night on a B&B basis.

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The Ripon Inn, North Yorkshire

Stay in a restored Edwardian hotel in the North Yorkshire countryside, just steps from the charming city of Ripon and its impressive cathedral.

The property sits on six acres of beautifully landscaped gardens, giving making it feel like a country manor retreat. Inside is all grand staircases and original fireplaces, as well as a stylish, botanical-themed bar.

This hotel prides itself on its hearty Sunday roasts, which are served carvery-style with a selection of tender meats and giant Yorkies.

Rooms start from £89 per night on a B&B basis.

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The Stables, Whitby

Visit the scenic North York Moors with a stay at this 17th century farmhouse-turned cosy countryside inn.

Stay in a courtyard room with far-reaching field views, and enjoy traditional meals in The Stables, the warm and friendly on-site Yorkshire pub.

You’ll be based in Whitby, with its picturesque seaside harbour, Gothic abbey ruins and dramatic coastal paths on your doorstep.

Rooms start from £84 per night on a B&B basis.

Claim an extra 15% off (+ dogs stay free) with code ICG_WOOF15

Discount code: ICG_WOOF15 expires on 30/11/2026 11:59pm (BST)
Terms and Conditions:
Valid for stays from 11/09/2026-03/10/2026 for stays arriving before 17/03/2027. Special rate includes: 15% off our flexible Bed & Breakfast rate and up to two dogs per room, per night free of charge. Subject to availability and choice, excludes black out dates.

Prices correct at the time of publication.

A Place In The Sun returned to screens with Ben Hillman back at the helm, but the search for Jacqueline’s dream home on the Greek island of Lefkada took an unexpected turn

A Place In The Sun took an uncomfortable twist when a prospective buyer chose to abandon the viewing after being presented with a particular property.

The popular Channel 4 programme returned on Tuesday (November 3) with Ben Hillman once again presenting. Searching for her ideal residence on the Greek island of Lefkada was Jacqueline, from Shropshire.

She was accompanied by sister-in-law Linda for the hunt and had a maximum budget of £302k for her perfect overseas home: a 2-3 bedroom property with a luxurious pool and scenic views. The hunt didn’t begin particularly well, but when it came to property number four, matters took an unforeseen direction.

The fourth property – which featured three bedrooms and two bathrooms – was merely 60 seconds from a beach. Yet immediately, Jacqueline highlighted how it was “a bit close to the road”. Ben agreed: “It’s a busy road, but think how quickly you could be to different places.”, reports the Express.

Linda then said: “It’s very pretty to look at. It’s an attractive-looking house.” However, Jacqueline added: “That traffic is quite noisy.” Ben asked: “Alright, then hit me with it. What do you want to do? Do you want to move on or investigate further?”.

But for Jacqueline she had witnessed sufficient and replied: “No, I think I’ll give this one a miss. The garden is small but it’s the noise of the traffic, I couldn’t get used to that. Definitely not.”

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Ben added: “It’s too much for you,” in which Jacqueline agreed: “Yeah.” In a voice-over, Ben admitted: “I am a bit disappointed that this beachside house isn’t right for my house hunters.”

Fans at home also reacted to the fourth property, with some slamming Ben for showing them a property so close to a busy road. On X, one person wrote: “What’s the point of showing them a house right next to such a busy junction. Very few people would settle for that noise.”

Someone else quipped: “Speak up Ben we can’t hear you for the traffic.” A third chimed in: “The noise from the road would drive me crazy.”

Another also said: “Instant nope, that is a super busy and loud road about 2ft from your house, there’s also barely any outside space and would you want to be outside with that road noise? Nah no ta.”

A Place In The Sun airs Monday to Friday at 6pm on Channel 4.

Jose Ugarte was ahead of Estuardo Mazariegos in the race for District 9 on the Los Angeles City Council, while in District 3, Barri Worth Girvan and Tim Gaspar were nearly even, according to early returns Tuesday night.

The current council members in both districts — Bob Blumenfield in District 3 and Curren Price in District 9 — are leaving office because of term limits.

From his campaign headquarters in South L.A., Ugarte did not declare victory but said he felt confident he could hang on to the lead. Supporters watched on a big screen as live results rolled in from the county registrar’s website.

“This means everything to me,” Ugarte said. “I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running. There’s a lot of work to be done in the district.”

District 9 has for decades been represented by a Black council member. Both men vying to replace Price are Latino immigrants, reflecting demographic changes in a district that is nearly 80% Latino and that includes the Convention Center and USC.

Despite the shift in representation, both Ugarte and Mazariegos have said they are committed to ensuring Black residents are heard and represented. The 9th District is the poorest in the city and residents face an array of challenges, including homelessness, safety and street cleanliness, according to the candidates.

Mazariegos, who attended a campaign party at Paseo San Miguel, a Salvadoran restaurant, remained optimistic, saying the early returns “show us that when you show up for the community, they show up for you.”

“We still have a lot of votes to count but already you can see the impact of our campaign, increased youth turnout, and so much optimism at the polls,” he said in a statement.

Jose Ugarte at the South L.A. Wetlands Park on Aug. 12.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Ugarte is a former deputy chief of staff for Price, and Mazariegos is co-director of the L.A. chapter of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment. The most recent campaign finance reports show Ugarte raising $1.1 million in contributions and matching funds, and Mazariegos with about $787,000.

Ugarte’s campaign also has received major outside support through independent expenditure committees, which have no contribution limit but aren’t allowed to coordinate with a candidate’s campaign. His campaign has received more than $2.3 million in independent expenditure support, with funds coming from Airbnb, Uber, the California Apartment Assn. and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, which represents workers at the Department of Water and Power.

Estuardo Mazariegos at Los Angeles City Hall on March 17.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Mazariegos, who is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America’s L.A. chapter, also has received support through several groups running independent expenditure campaigns on his behalf, including United Teachers Los Angeles and the Progressive Era PAC. Special interest groups have spent more than $250,000 supporting his campaign.

Gaspar and Worth Girvan are competing in a west San Fernando Valley district that includes Woodland Hills, Reseda and Canoga Park.

Tim Gaspar outside the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley in Woodland Hills.

(Arwen Clemans / Los Angeles Times)

At a Woodland Hills watch party, Worth Girvan said she was feeling confident about the early returns, which showed her nearly tied with Gaspar.

“I’m extremely full of gratitude,” she said at the Local Peasant restaurant. “For me, it’s always been about the people of the west Valley and making sure we have a voice.”

In a statement, Gaspar said he was encouraged by the early results and the momentum behind his campaign.

“We saw and heard it everyday on the campaign trail,” he said. “The West Valley showed up to have their voices heard on safety, homelessness, and the cost of living. We look forward to the final votes to be counted.”

Gaspar founded an eponymous insurance company in the Valley in 2008, selling it in 2021. He has said he intends to bring a pro-business perspective to City Hall.

Worth Girvan is a longtime public employee. Prior to running, she was L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath’s district director for three years, and has said that she would leverage her years of experience in the public sector to advocate for the district in City Hall.

Gaspar has outraised Worth Girvan, raising about $1.3 million of individual contributions and matching funds. Worth Girvan raised about $753,000.

Barri Worth Girvan chats wth LAPD Capt. Rudy Lopez during a neighborhood National Night Out event in Canoga Park’s Lanark Park on Aug. 4.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The race also has received interest from outside groups, with Gaspar’s campaign receiving more than $2.7 million in independent expenditure spending. During the runoff, special interest groups, including IBEW Local 18, the California Apartment Assn. and Uber, were among those that spent a combined $1.3 million supporting his candidacy.

Worth Girvan received about $438,000 in outside contributions during the runoff, with funding mostly from labor unions.

World number one Nelly Korda has claimed her second points-based LPGA player-of-the-year award.

The 28-year-old won four times this year, including the first two majors – The Chevron Championship and the US Women’s Open at Riviera.

The American, who won the award in 2024, is one victory away from qualifying for the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Asked about potentially entering the Hall of Fame, Korda said in June: “I think it’s an amazing accomplishment and it would be one of the best achievements of my career for sure.”

The four-time major winner opened the 2026 LPGA Tour season with a six-tournament stretch where she either won or finished as the runner-up, to open a healthy lead in the points race.

South Korea’s Haeran Ryu also won two majors this year but withdrew from last week’s tournament in Malaysia because of injury.

And with Japan’s Miyu Yamashita and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul not entering The Annika next week in Florida, Korda secured the award with three tournaments remaining.

Democrats in the United States have scored a major victory in midterm elections, taking control of both chambers of Congress in a stinging rebuke of President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

The results are being carefully watched outside the US, as foreign leaders consider how the new political reality in Washington could affect US foreign policy – from the conflict with Iran to the Russia-Ukraine war and trade relations.

Trump himself has acknowledged the US-Israel war on Iran likely impacted his party’s poor performance in the elections, saying voters were probably not ready “for the short-term consequence of the price of gasoline”.

Here are the latest reactions from world leaders, as the scale of the Democratic victory continues to emerge:

Iran

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also the chief negotiator in talks with the US, said voters had rejected conflict.

“Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message,” wrote Ghalibaf in a post on X.

“If the US govt betrays their public will to serve international paymasters and blackmailers, it will learn our NO comes with a Nightmare,” he added.

Israel

There was no immediate reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Trump ally whose coalition lost its own majority in Israel’s parliament in elections last week.

However, opposition figure Yair Golan, whose party is in a coalition seeking to replace Netanyahu, said the US vote reveals “just how toxic Netanyahu has become” among US Democrats and Republicans alike.

He warned that if Netanyahu and his far-right government remain in power, Israel would be on “a path toward international sanctions, global isolation, and a confrontation with the United States – our most important friend and ally.”

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, also part of the anti-Netanyahu coalition, said the US vote effectively ruled out “any possibility of a unity government led by Netanyahu”.

European Union

European Parliament Vice President Christel Schaldemose said the US results left her “cautiously optimistic on Europe’s behalf”.

“Not because everything now ⁠⁠changes for the better, but because it could benefit the support for Ukraine, the green transition, and ⁠⁠relations with the rest of the world,” said Schaldemose in a post on X.

“But the EU must continue the course of standing stronger and standing on its own two feet. That’s not up for debate,” she added.

United Kingdom

Health Minister James Frith stressed that the UK would maintain steady, strong ties with Washington despite an apparent “seismic shift in domestic politics for the Americans”.

“The change of emphasis of power in the States is frequent,” Frith told British media. “But the mainstay of the relationship with the UK Government, as its closest ally, is unwavering and unchanging.”

“So I don’t expect it to change the nature of the relationship at all; it remains very strong,” he added.

France

Finance Minister Roland Lescure said France would wait to see whether Trump, who remains in control of US foreign policy, adjusts his approach.

“Either he decides to rise above the fray – acknowledging that ‌‌changes are necessary, particularly regarding gasoline prices, which directly ‌‌affect people – and, I might add, he tones down his international involvement, or he does not,” Lescure told French TV. “Frankly, this is something we will need to keep an eye on in the ⁠⁠coming days.”

Spain

Left-wing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the US Democrats’ landslide victory was emblematic of the “unravelling” of the global far right.

“It happened in Brazil. It just happened in the US. And it will soon happen in Spain,” said Sanchez, whose own premiership is at stake in snap elections he called for November 29 .

Sanchez said US voters had rejected policies that “only ‌‌impoverish”, as well as hate, sexism, climate change denialism and “the privileges of the elites”.

Greece

Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said US-Greek relations would not be affected by the election results.

“Greek-American relations will remain strong,” he told local media. “The United States is our strategic ally, and this will continue for major projects ⁠⁠and all major agreements. Nothing will be affected by this outcome. It is obvious that we respect every outcome. The conclusions are clear.”

Russia

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed the need to wait for the final results of US elections to come into focus, but noted that leaders in the US Democratic Party had a “sharply negative” approach to relations with Moscow.

Russia’s position on Ukraine and broader foreign policy “is not based on short-term considerations and, naturally, does not depend on the fluctuations of the political barometer in other countries,” Ryabkov was quoted by Russian state media as saying.

“We will continue our work in accordance with the directives of the President of the Russian Federation,” he added.

China

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing would continue its “constructive strategic relationship” with the US, stressing that US elections are a “domestic affair”.

“China is willing to work with the US to safeguard and implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen communication, properly manage differences and expand cooperation, build a constructive strategic relationship based on respect and equality,” Mao told reporters in Beijing.

Japan

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said whatever the outcome of the US vote, “the Japan-US alliance the is the cornerstone of Japan’s foreign and security policy.”

“As the international situation becomes turbulent and increasingly uncertain, a strong Japan-US alliance is essential for maximising Japan’s national interests and for peace and stability in the international community,” Kihara said at a press briefing.

South Africa

⁠President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has clashed with Trump over the US president’s promotion of debunked claims of a white genocide in South Africa, said the election marks “a new era in world relations”.

“We have seen that the ⁠⁠Democrats have taken ⁠⁠control of the Senate and of ⁠⁠the House, and ⁠⁠the ⁠⁠people of America have spoken,” Ramaphosa told ‌‌reporters.

Projected season opening date: Nov. 27

What makes it special: Sugar Bowl is an independently-run resort with an old-school, European vibe. Its terrain stretches over four peaks on Donner Summit near Lake Tahoe, varying between steep tree skiing, wide-open groomers, terrain parks and beginner-friendly zones. Season passes and lift tickets are limited here, so the slopes aren’t crowded.

What’s new this season: Sugar Bowl Resort continues a multi-year, $100-million resort development project with major improvements debuting this winter, including a new Village Gondola, a reimagined main lodge and beginner experience, expanded terrain parks and snowmaking on the mountain and enhanced snowmaking at Sugar Rush Tubing.

Lift ticket prices: Dynamic lift ticket pricing, with midweek tickets starting at $99. Sugar Bowl is also introducing new 2-, 3- and 4-day packs. Mountain Collective and Ski California Gold passes honored.

Pro-tip: Sugar Bowl opened with the backing of Walt Disney in 1939, making it one of the oldest ski areas in North America. At the resort, look out for Mt. Disney, along with the Donald Duck run, off the Disney Express chairlift.

Big Brother’s 2026 winner will be crowned in a matter of hours

Big Brother viewers have been left baffled by a revealing clip that wasn’t aired on the main show.

It’s officially finals week in the Big Brother house, with eight housemates still fighting for the 2026 crown. The live finale will air on Thursday (November 5) followed by a reunion episode on Friday (November 6). Frankie is one of the contestants who joined the experiment on day one and has managed to dodge facing eviction over the last eight weeks.

But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t sparked debate among viewers. The 23-year-old has come under fire for sharing conflicting stories about his life back home, with some viewers becoming convinced that he has fabricating stories to help his chances of making it into the final.

Fans have notably caught onto Frankie’s changing narrative about his current relationship. During the first week, he seemed to suggest he was recovering from a breakup, but has more recently been gushing about his girlfriend waiting for him at home. Viewers have now become convinced they were right to suspect Frankie has a gameplan after his audition clip aired on ITV.

Hosts GK Barry and Kate Lawler shared the clip on last night’s (November 3) episode of The Group Chat. In it, Frankie essentially explains that he has joined the experiment with the sole goal of winning, even if that means he has to “play a game”.

He revealed: “I’m not coming in here to lose, at the end of the day. If I have to play a game, I have to play a game. That’s the way it goes. I’m not gonna be obvious with it, it’s gonna be very discreet. It’s gonna be very smart.

“Surprisingly, I’m very emotionally intelligent. I understand people very, very well. So I feel like being in the Big Brother house, people will be very surprised on how I move and how I act. If I am in that position where I’ve got a chance to win this show – which, I’m gonna win this show.”

ITV also aired Catrin, Lynx and Omar’s audition clips. They all admitted that they would love to win the show but Frankie was the only one who openly declared that he would win by any means necessary.

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Fans have quickly gathered on social media to slam the housemate’s “intentions,” with one posting: “FAKE FRANKIE!!! if anyone in that house is performative it’s HIM as we’ve all known since day one #bbuk.”

Someone else agreed: “Frankie admitting in his audition that he will play a game if he has to makes me doubt his intentions even more now […] #bbuk #TheGroupChat.”

A third viewer chimed in: “It’s clear he has had a game plan throughout and is 100% disingenuous. I can’t believe none of the housemates have cottoned on,” with a final person saying: “Hahaha Frankie… you’re not going to win #bbuk.”

Some viewers have defended the reality star and argued that he may have exaggerated his competitive nature to ensure he stood out from other applicants and was selected for the show, suggesting he could win. One person penned: “Frankie is actually so funny. I used all 5 of my votes for him to win #bbuk.”

Big Brother continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX