The first film by Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg to be shot partly in the U.S. is, perhaps not surprisingly, a freaky satire of Hollywood. Its take on fame has only grown more accurate in the years since its premiere in 2014. Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson star in a demented tale of family, celebrity, ambition, ego and limousines. Funny and perverse, the film captures the uncanny cocktail of mean-spirited malignancy, self-obsessed delusion and just plain obliviousness that runs rampant around town. Presented by the screening series Mezzanine and the local literary magazine the Big One, the evening will be introduced by the film’s screenwriter, Bruce Wagner, a longtime chronicler of Los Angeles.

“Maps to the Stars” is playing June 14 at Brain Dead Studios. Tickets here.

Aaron Donald has made no public pronouncements that he will remain retired or return to play for the Rams.

But the three-time NFL defensive player of the year and future hall of famer remains a hot topic, and Rams players are aware of the buzz.

“When you have a guy that’s that serious about even considering coming out, it’s like ‘OK, we might have a chance,’” safety Quentin Lake said Monday after the Rams completed an organized-team activity workout.

Chatter about Donald, 35, has been rampant since last week, when the Rams made another gigantic offseason move by trading for defensive end Myles Garrett.

The possibility of pairing Donald with Garrett — a two-time defensive player of the year — continues to intrigue both in and out of the Rams’ facility.

Like Lake, defensive lineman Kobie Turner insistently cautioned that whatever Donald decides to do or not do was his former teammate’s prerogative.

But the possibilities…

“To just have two historic, if you will, defensive players on that line together,” Turner said of pairing Donald and Garrett, “and to have the rest of us who are trying to build up our reputations, and to build to that level of greatness that they’ve been able to garner, I think that would be cool for L.A.”

Said defensive coordinator Chris Shula: “Would love to have him back — with open arms.”

Shula enters his third season overseeing a defense remade by the March trade for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, the signing of cornerback Jaylen Watson and the trade for Garrett.

With or without Donald, the Rams are regarded as a favorite to win Super Bowl LXI, which will be played in February at SoFi Stadium.

But the Rams are not hoisting the Lombardi Trophy just yet, Lake said.

“Some people say if he were to come back, just hand the Lombardi to us on a silver platter — but that’s never the case,” Lake said. “Is he a fantastic player? Yes.

“Are there so many things we could do in terms of pressures and blitzes and all that stuff? Of course. … It would be a fun year, I’ll say that.”

With quarterback Matthew Stafford — the NFL most valuable player — back to lead the offense, and McDuffie and Watson solving the team’s greatest weakness, the Rams already were regarded among the favorites to play in the Super Bowl for the first time since winning Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in 2022.

Then general manager Les Snead engineered the deal for Garrett, sending edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round draft pick and future second- and third-round picks to the Cleveland Browns for a player who has 125½ sacks in nine seasons.

Lake, Turner and Shula lamented losing Verse — “a brother for life,” Turner said — but they have welcomed Garrett.

“You give a great player to get a great player,” Lake said, “and luckily, we’ve got arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. … We’re not asking Myles to do anything but just be himself.”

Last season, Garrett amassed an NFL season record 23 sacks.

“We’re going to let him do what he does best,” Shula said, “and we all know exactly what he does best.”

McDuffie and Watson were part of Kansas City Chiefs teams that played in three consecutive Super Bowls, winning titles in 2023 and 2024. Those teams featured dominating pass rusher Chris Jones, so McDuffie knows how a player such as Garrett enables the defense to “flip the script” and attack offenses.

“You just talk about mentality,” McDuffie said, “and a swag.”

Donald, who has 111 sacks, would certainly add to that.

Not every player in their mid-30s could return and play at a high level after sitting out two seasons.

“I don’t think you do that if you’re a normal person,” Turner said, chuckling. “But A.D.’s not a normal person.”

June 8 (Asia Today) — A protest blockade outside a vote-counting site in Seoul’s Jamsil area entered its fourth day Monday, as demonstrators demanding a revote over a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections increasingly raised claims of election fraud.

Until the weekend, protesters had mostly focused on voting rights and calls for a revote. By Monday, however, the atmosphere outside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa District had shifted, with chants of “election fraud” mixed with demands for a new election.

At about 9 a.m., protesters could be heard chanting “fraudulent election, revote.” South Korean flags were visible throughout the crowd, along with many U.S. flags. Some protesters carried signs reading “Stop the Steal,” a slogan associated with challenges to the 2020 U.S. presidential election results.

One participant who said he had been at the site for four days said the mood began changing Sunday night as the size of the crowd grew and different groups joined the protest.

Police informally estimated that about 1,600 people were gathered near the gymnasium at 11 a.m., down sharply from about 8,000 around midnight. The age makeup also appeared to change. People in their 20s accounted for about 30% of the weekend crowd, while those in their 60s or older made up the largest share Monday morning, at 26.2%.

Tensions also rose among protesters. Some who insisted the crowd should only demand a revote were accused by others of being infiltrators from the Korean University Progressive Union, a left-leaning student group.

A brief scuffle broke out around 10:20 a.m. after six members of South Korea’s under-20 women’s national handball team entered the gymnasium to retrieve equipment stored inside before the World Championship in Shanxi, China, on June 24.

Police asked protesters to allow the athletes to enter. The athletes came out about four minutes later with their equipment, but some protesters tried to inspect the bags, saying ballot papers might be hidden inside. One person even demanded that the athletes remove their socks for inspection.

When another protester tried to stop the inspection, others accused him of being linked to the student group and a brief physical confrontation followed.

Revote seen as unlikely

Legal experts say a revote remains unlikely. Under the Public Official Election Act, a revote would require confirmation of a serious legal violation that could have affected the election result and a court ruling invalidating the election.

Legal observers widely say the ballot shortage may be considered a serious failure in election management, but it would be difficult to treat it immediately as grounds to invalidate the entire election.

The government is also focusing more on determining the facts and punishing those responsible than on discussing a revote.

President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret Sunday over the ballot shortage, saying the people’s right to vote is a constitutional right that must not be restricted or violated for any reason. He ordered a thorough investigation and punishment of those responsible and asked the National Assembly to pursue a parliamentary investigation. He did not comment separately on whether a revote should be held.

A joint investigation team involving prosecutors and police was formed Sunday. The investigation is expected to focus on whether election officials neglected their duties and who should be held responsible for the management failure.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s serious crimes unit said Monday it had secured a group chat room used by election workers and was checking the facts with officials and citizens who were unable to vote because of the ballot shortage.

Political discussions on institutional reform are also continuing. Rep. Han Dong-hoon, an independent lawmaker, said Monday he plans to propose revisions to strengthen outside oversight of the National Election Commission and improve management of election commission employees.

Some lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties have also raised the need for a parliamentary investigation and possible independent counsel probe.

The People Power Party said Monday it will file an election petition, a preliminary step before a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Seoul mayoral election. The party plans to recruit 63 Seoul residents as joint petitioners by Wednesday and file the petition Thursday.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260608010002643

Four states are set to hold their primary votes, further solidifying the battle lines for the United States midterm elections in November.

On Tuesday, citizens in Maine, South Carolina, North Dakota and Nevada are set to cast their ballots in party primaries, designed to select which Democratic and Republican candidates advance to the final round of voting.

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But Maine has emerged as one of the most heated primary battlegrounds. With Democrats desperate to flip four seats in the US Senate, all eyes are on Republican Senator Susan Collins’s re-election campaign.

Democrats are hoping to defeat her in November, but the party has fractured over controversies related to its leading candidate, Graham Platner. The race has become one of the most closely watched of the primary season.

At stake in November is control of Congress, and each party is angling to put forward the strongest contender.

Currently, the Republican Party holds slender majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, but Democrats hope to wrest back control, in what would represent a major rebuke to President Donald Trump.

State-level races are also in play during Tuesday’s primaries. Several in key swing states like Nevada could have outsized influence over election administration in the years ahead.

Here are some of the key races to watch.

Key Senate race in Maine to be decided

The Democratic Party’s long-shot hope of retaking the Senate hinges on Maine, a lushly forested northeastern state largely bordered by Canada and the Atlantic Ocean.

The primary vote on Tuesday is widely expected to result in Platner advancing as the Democratic champion for November’s midterms. If so, he will take on the longtime incumbent, Republican Senator Collins, who is considered vulnerable to defeat.

Polls have consistently shown the 41-year-old progressive narrowly defeating Collins in the midterm in November.

Platner has appealed to left-wing voters with his positions in favour of universal healthcare and ending US support for Israel. But a slate of recent reports about his past relationships has threatened to chill the enthusiasm for his campaign.

An oyster farmer and former US Marine, Platner has faced accusations of “unsettling” behaviour towards women, including an alleged incident where he twisted one romantic partner’s arm. Platner has denied that allegation.

He has also permanently removed a skull-and-bones tattoo that critics likened to a Nazi symbol, saying he did not know its source.

Still, in Tuesday’s primary, Platner is expected to handily beat his closest Democratic rivals: environmental consultant David Costello and Governor Janet Mills, who will remain on the ballot despite announcing her withdrawal from the race.

Contests for Maine’s House and governor seats

But Maine boasts other nationally significant races, too. That includes the contest for the House seat left open after Democratic Representative Jared Golden announced he would not run for re-election.

Golden has represented Maine’s 2nd congressional district since 2019, and he has proven adept at retaining support, even though his coastal district leans conservative.

If Republicans pick up his seat, it would be a boon to the party’s effort to maintain control of the House. Former Republican Governor Paul LePage is running uncontested in his party’s primary to replace Golden.

Four Democrats, meanwhile, are competing in their party primary to take him on.

They include state Senator Joe Baldacci, state auditor Matthew Dunlap, social worker Paige Loud, and congressional staffer Jordan Wood. All four have charted a more leftward course than the outgoing lawmaker.

Maine’s governor’s race is also open, with Mills, a Democrat, leaving her post at the end of the year due to term limits.

The chance to win the governor’s mansion in November has attracted a crowded field to both party primaries. Each race features notable political scions.

On the left, there is Angus King III, whose father currently represents the state in the US Senate, as well as Hannah Pingree, the daughter of a current member of Congress. Running on the right is healthcare executive Jonathan Bush, a cousin of former President George W Bush.

Election administration looms large in Nevada

Nevada has remained a deeply purple state in recent years, leaning neither left nor right.

Democratic presidential contenders have narrowly won the state from 2008 to 2020, but President Donald Trump broke the streak in 2024, carrying just over 50 percent of the vote.

A staggering 45 percent of Nevada’s voters are registered as independents. That means they hold outsized sway in November’s midterm vote, but they will not be able to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s closed primaries, which are limited to party members only.

The sprawling western state is home to about 3.2 million residents. In the middle of its desert landscape sits Las Vegas, a global gambling and entertainment destination.

But the state has become a political football, in part because of its narrow partisan divide.

Trump and his allies have targeted the state by spreading false claims of election fraud in the wake of the Republican leader’s 2020 election defeat. Those assertions led him to clash with state Attorney General Aaron Ford, who pledged to defend his state’s election integrity.

Now, Ford is currently leading a crowded Democratic field to take on Republican incumbent Joe Lambardo for the governor’s mansion. Polls have shown Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill as his top challenger in the Democratic primary.

Lombardo — who has broken state records for his use of vetoes — also faces a deep bench of Republican challengers, but he is expected to skate to an easy victory on Tuesday.

Another key state position is up for grabs this November: Nevada’s secretary of state.

Like Ford, the role’s current occupant, Francisco Aguilar, is a vocal critic of Trump’s efforts to assert more federal control over election administration.

He is running unopposed on the Democratic side, so he automatically advances to November’s general election.

Four Republicans are running to challenge Aguilar, including Jim Marchant, a former state assemblyman who supported Trump’s unfounded claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Another top primary contender is lawyer Shirley Folkins-Roberts, who has been endorsed by the state’s Republican governor.

On the national level, Nevada has four total seats in the House of Representatives. Three are currently held by Democrats, and one by a Republican.

On Tuesday, Republicans will select their challengers in a bid to unseat the Democratic incumbents, all of whom are running for re-election.

Meanwhile, the retirement of Republican Representative Mark Amodei has sparked hope that Democrats might, for the first time ever, win the state’s 2nd congressional district.

Eight Democrats are vying to be their party’s champion, while 13 candidates are running on the Republican side.

Democrats eye long-shot flip in South Carolina

Since last year, the Trump administration has led a controversial redistricting drive, pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional districts to better favour the party.

But last month, lawmakers in South Carolina chose not to pursue a redistricting plan — at least, not yet. Part of the reason came down to Tuesday’s primaries.

Thousands of voters cast their ballots last month as part of an early-voting campaign encouraged by Democrats. Any last-minute redistricting would have required throwing out those votes.

That has, for now, protected the majority Black district of longtime Representative Jim Clyburn, the only Democrat representing South Carolina in the House.

South Carolina, a southern, coastal state home to 5.5 million people, is considered rightward-leaning. But Democrats are seeking to defend their House seat in November’s midterms — and maybe pick up a second.

In Tuesday’s primaries, the 85-year-old Clyburn is expected to sail to victory against a long-shot Democratic challenger. He is all but assured to win in November as well, given his district’s reputation as a Democratic stronghold.

Democrats have also set their sights on flipping South Carolina’s 1st district, with Republican Nancy Mace vacating her seat to run for governor. Seven candidates are running in the Democratic primary race for the coastal district, while 10 Republicans will compete in their party primary.

One Senate seat will also be on Tuesday’s primary ballot: the one held by Republican Lindsey Graham. Despite several challengers, polls show the incumbent with a commanding lead.

Graham, a close Trump ally and a notable war hawk, has been one of Congress’s most vocal supporters of the US-Israel war on Iran.

This year, due to term limits, Governor Henry McMaster is unable to run for re-election. Given that South Carolina is a solidly red state overall, whoever wins Tuesday’s Republican primary is expected to coast to victory in November.

Recent polls have shown a tight race. Trump has endorsed Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, but surveys show her neck and neck with state Attorney General Alan Wilson and Congresswoman Mace, who has at times broken with Trump over issues like the Iran war.

North Dakota’s lone congressional district

Primary day in the Great Plains state of North Dakota is expected to make few waves nationally.

Neither the governor nor the state’s two senators are up for re-election.

Political observers are expecting few surprises. North Dakota has been a Republican stronghold since the late 1960s.

The 435 seats in the US House are distributed among states based on their population size. But since North Dakota has only about 800,000 people, it has just one congressional district.

During Tuesday’s Republican primary, incumbent Representative Julie Fedorchak will seek to ward off a challenge from former State Department project manager Alex Balazs.

Democrat Trygve Hammer, meanwhile, is running unopposed in his party’s primary.

This article examines the historical significance of Emancipation Day in the Polynesian kingdom of Tonga, specifically highlighting the observance on June 8, 2026. Unlike many nations that use this holiday to mark the end of colonial slavery, Tonga celebrates the 1862 abolition of serfdom, a decree by King George Tupou I that liberated commoners from forced labor under local chiefs. The text explains that this transition was heavily influenced by Christian missionaries and codified the legal freedom of all citizens. Furthermore, the date serves to commemorate Tonga’s full independence in 1970, marking the conclusion of its status as a British protected state. By providing geographic and political context, the source illustrates h … 

VISIT England has announced this year’s Awards For Excellence, highlighting the best accommodation and attractions.

The honours have been handed out annually for 35 years now, celebrating quality, innovation and customer service, so those choosing staycations can ensure they pick a great place for a great time.

Sophie Swietochowski has the lowdown on ten category winners.

ACCOMMODATION

B&B/Guest House Of The Year

Taking home gold in the B&B category, MonkBridge House is slap bang in the centre of York, within walking distance of top attractions including the glorious York Minster cathedral.

The home was built in 1864 and is bursting with character, although all eight of its bedrooms have been given a sophisticated makeover since then.

The award-winning breakfasts are whipped up with locally sourced goods and home-made jams, marmalades and granola are among the morning spread.

Two nights’ B&B costs from £205.

See monkbridgehouseyork.com.

Camping, Glamping And Holiday Park Of The Year

Immersed in 98 acres of glorious, wildlife-rich landscape, Clawford Lakes is glamping done properly.

The campsite is set within a rugged valley close to the Cornish holiday spot of Bude and features stylish floating lodges and lakeside pods, both overlooking the water, as well as luxury apartments, lodges and cocoons with a safari-tent look to them.

The lake is ideal for keen anglers and the site is pet-friendly, too.

Three-night weekend breaks cost from £299 for a family of four.

See clawfordlakes.co.uk.

Large Hotel Of The Year

If countryside charm and rugged hillsides sound like your cup of tea, you may want to swing by this year’s large hotel winner.

The 5* Bovey Castle in Devon is an elegant space filled with plump cushions, grand headboards and dangling chandeliers.

There is a large on-site spa offering massages from £80, as well as an 18-hole golf course, plus activities including archery, tennis, rifle shooting, pottery throwing and deer walks.

Stays cost from £192 per night.

See boveycastle.com.

Self-Catering Accommodation Of The Year

Kids will love the pony rides and the chance to feed the animals at Bosinver, buried deep in rural Cornwall.

With a whole host of cosy cottages on its roster, varying in size from two to six bedrooms and with dog-friendly options, it’s no surprise this spot came out on top for self-catering accommodation.

These are more than just holiday homes — there’s a play barn, sauna, tennis, swimming pool, Gruffalo trail and games room, all on site.

A three-night stay for four people costs from £569.

See bosinver.co.uk.

Small Hotel Of The Year

With 48 stunning and completely unique bedrooms, The Tempus in Northumberland is simply oozing character.

Expect elegant roll-top baths, four-poster beds, terraces and bubbling hot tubs.

There’s also a set of ultra-chic lakeside yurts and cabins.

One night’s B&B costs from £121.50.

See thetempus.co.uk.

OUT AND ABOUT

Experience Of The Year

Ever wanted to venture back to the Iron Age?

This Blacksmith experience at Oldfield Forge in Herefordshire will help you do just that.

Available for anyone aged seven-plus, the attraction teaches punters the tricks of the trade and how to forge practical items and decorative goods such as knives, garden tools and even swords.

The events last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days and cost from £62.

See oldfieldforge.co.uk.

Large Visitor Attraction Of The Year

Forget day trips to the zoo.

Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park in Suffolk gives guests the chance to get properly up close and personal with animals.

Little ones will be keen on the Farmyard Friends Experience, where they’ll get to feed sheep, goats, pigs or cattle, while polar bear fans will be desperate to get stuck in to The Lost Lands of the Tundra, the polar bear enclosure.

Day tickets cost from £25 per adult and £20 per child. Under twos go free.

See jimmysfarm.com.

Pub Of The Year

We love a proper British boozer and VisitEngland has just crowned The Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman’s Rest the best of the bunch.

The Northumberland inn has a knockout menu that sources meat from nearby farms, with star dishes of pigeon pie and Softley Farm lamb loin on the menu.

Visitors can curl up in a cosy corner next to a roaring fire with a wine or local ale.

You can spend the night in one of the upstairs rooms, too.

See theksi.co.uk.

Small Visitor Attraction Of The Year

Fans of fancy, old-fashioned motors won’t want to miss the Morgan Experience in Worcestershire.

There are guided factory tours where visitors can get a good look at Morgan Motor Company vehicles, plus driving experiences that let you get behind the wheel of a heritage car.

Those that don’t feel confident steering themselves can opt to be a passenger while being driven by a trusty professional.

See experience.morgan-motor.com.

Taste Of England Award

Crowned top dog for fine dining, Carriages in Herefordshire will knock your socks off.

Save this for a special occasion, as it’s fancy — think classic British grub that relies on seasonal and local ingredients.

The tasting menu costs a reasonable £80pp and features classy dishes such as asparagus salad with white crab, wild garlic emulsion and chervil vinaigrette, as well as honey-glazed duck breast.

See carriageshereford.co.uk.

Death in Paradise fans shouldn’t miss out on this “beautiful” series while the BBC hit takes a break.

Death in Paradise fans need to watch this “wonderful” show that’s just made its eagerly anticipated comeback.

Death in Paradise is currently on its yearly break from BBC One, leaving dedicated fans desperately searching for something to fill the void left by the beloved cosy crime drama until it returns.

While they wait, viewers could instead tune into the real-life equivalent of Death in Paradise, documentary series Policing Paradise, which returned for its second series today, Monday, June 8.

The programme follows the day-to-day workings of the Bermuda Police Service, capturing both local and British officers patrolling the tropical islands as they juggle police duties with ensuring thousands of tourists remain safe.

What makes Policing Paradise particularly thrilling for Death in Paradise enthusiasts, however, is its connection to two of the beloved drama’s prominent cast members.

The debut series of Policing Paradise, which aired in March 2025, was narrated by none other than Officer Ruby Patterson actress Shyko Amos.

Yet for this fresh second series, it is the Commissioner himself, actor Don Warrington, who has assumed narrating responsibilities.

Policing Paradise season two continues to broadcast Monday to Thursday at 2pm on BBC One, with the opening four episodes now available on BBC iPlayer.

Series one of the documentary is already accessible to stream, with the remainder of the second series anticipated to follow at a later date.

Beyond the day-to-day hurdles of tackling petty crime and managing summer festivals, Policing Paradise also shines a light on various specialist units, including marine patrols, dog handlers and drug-enforcement officers.

Ahead of its return, one enthusiastic fan praised the first series on IMDb, writing: “This show has it all; insightful access to the full range of Bermuda police duties from dog handling to diving, beautifully photographed with great skill, and narrated with tact, wit and affection by Shyko Amos (Ruby, Commissioner Pattersons’ niece from Death In Paradise).”

They continued: “This show is an informative documentary with the bonus of that lovely camerawork with Shykos’ voice-over work deftly remaining appropriate and informed across the wide-ranging situations. More of this please!”

A second viewer agreed: “Great to see all the places we love and very interesting to see how Bermuda is policed.

“Hoping there will be another series to get a bit more about it and see more on wonderful Bermuda. Island paradise in the Atlantic.”

Policing Paradise is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

SACRAMENTO — Even before President Trump’s latest wave of unfounded claims of election fraud in California, a significant share of voters in the state expressed concerns about federal interference in the electoral process, according to a new poll.

Trump on Monday claimed on his social media site that the race for Los Angeles mayor was a “Rigged Election,” an allegation that came after Democrat Nithya Raman overtook Republican Spencer Pratt for second place in the ongoing primary election vote count.

Raman’s lead had prompted Rep. Abe Hamadeh, an Arizona Republican, to call for the election to be federalized, or run by the federal government rather than the state, a message Trump reposted.

Earlier Sunday, Trump had alleged during an interview with NBC News that California elections officials “were cheating.” That came after a debunked social media conspiracy theory claiming that a lag in an update of electronic voting data by the Associated Press showed Pratt was being cheated. On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the elections process in the L.A. mayoral race “stinks to high heaven.”

The ongoing attacks by Trump and his supporters continue to erode confidence in the nation’s elections, especially among Republicans, threatening a pillar of American democracy, said political scientist Eric Schickler, co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley.

“The president … wants to use those claims to make changes in the election process that could make it harder for people to vote, and that certainly is a threat to our democratic institutions,” Schickler said.

“One thing we’ve learned in recent years is that we just cannot take the voting process for granted, cannot take for granted that both sides will accept as legitimate the outcome, and can’t take for granted the idea that there won’t be efforts to essentially manipulate the vote counting process,” he added.

A new poll released Friday by the institute found that 41% of California voters were “not confident” that this year’s elections would be free of federal interference. Although 48% had confidence that there would be not meddling, the concerns expressed were still significant, Schickler said.

More telling was the partisan divide among voters when asked whether they have confidence that local officials would conduct fair and secure elections and that the vote count would be accurate. Among Democratic registered voters, 79% said they trusted elections officials to provide an accurate vote count. Among Republicans, 55% said they were not confident that would occur.

California voters who don’t belong to either party said by a 2-1 margin that they had confidence in the vote count, the poll showed.

“The positive is that local officials are still widely trusted by Democrats, no-party-preference voters, and at least a share of Republicans, though a lot fewer than I think in the past, and a lot fewer than you know we would want for a really healthy democracy,” Schickler said.

That growing mistrust among certain parts of the electorate comes after years of baseless claims by Trump that the 2020 election was stolen from him, as well as Republican-led efforts to restrict the use of mail-in ballots and impose new requirements for voters to show identification and proof of citizenship.

Recent rulings by the conservative-leaning Supreme Court also have rolled back federal protections under the Voting Rights Act. In April, the court sharply limited a part of those protections that had forced states to draw voting districts to help elect Black or Latino representatives to Congress, as well as state and local boards.

Trump and his allies have used California’s slow vote-counting process to allege cheating. The day after the June 2 primary, Trump claimed without evidence that Democrats were trying to “steal” the gubernatorial and L.A. mayoral primaries. The next day, he alleged that California Democrats had “found” mail-in ballots and were “rigging the election” with them.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber and other officials have said California’s voting system prioritizes voter accessibility and security over speedy results. The state has more than 23 million registered voters, and ballots go through numerous verification steps, including verifying signatures on mail-in ballots.

“Over 97% of our folks actually vote by mail. They want to keep that system. That system demands more contact, more touching of the ballot, more verification of the individuals who are voting. All of those things take time,” Weber said during a recent interview with ABC10 in Sacramento.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called Trump’s claims during the recent “Meet the Press” interview the “most severe case of California Derangement Syndrome we’ve ever seen.”

Newsom is considering a 2028 run for president and has consistently warned that Trump may try to interfere in both the 2026 and 2028 elections.

The Berkeley poll found that California voters overall — 74% — want candidates running for president in 2028 to prioritize defending democracy and making voting more accessible. Among Democratic voters, 95% said that was important; among Republicans, 41%.

Funding for the poll was provided to IGS by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, a private foundation based in San Francisco that aims to increase civic participation and improve the state’s democratic processes.

The poll of 8,578 registered California voters was conducted between May 19 and 25 online in English and Spanish and has a margin of error of about 2 percentage points in either direction.

Times staff writers Alene Tchekmedyian and Kevin Rector contributed to this report.

Peter Laviolette will be the next head coach of the Kings, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told the Associated Press on Monday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Kings hadn’t yet announced the results of their lengthy search for a permanent replacement for interim coach D.J. Smith, who replaced Jim Hiller in March.

The 61-year-old Laviolette is expected to get a three-year contract to take over his seventh NHL team. The Kings have made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, but they’ve also endured five straight first-round exits under three head coaches and two general managers.

Laviolette is returning to the NHL after being fired by the New York Rangers in April 2025. He has also led the New York Islanders, Carolina, Philadelphia, Nashville and Washington during a 23-year head coaching career highlighted by a Stanley Cup championship with the Hurricanes in 2006.

Laviolette’s teams have reached the postseason in 11 of the past 14 seasons he finished behind a bench, and he also led the Flyers (2010) and the Predators (2017) to the Stanley Cup Final. His 1,594 career games coached are the ninth most in NHL history.

In his first West Coast NHL job, Laviolette is taking over a good team that is stuck in a profound rut, unable to become a Stanley Cup contender.

General manager Ken Holland fired Hiller shortly after the Olympic break in the coach’s second full season in charge, and the Kings went 11-6-6 after Smith stepped up from his assistant’s role. Smith, who was a candidate for the permanent job, got the Kings into the final Western Conference playoff spot — but Los Angeles was swept out of the first round by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Kings’ four previous first-round exits were all at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, leading to the departure of general manager Rob Blake a year ago.

The Kings still haven’t won a playoff round since raising the Stanley Cup in 2014, but the roster has a solid core of talent despite the retirement of longtime captain Anze Kopitar.

Holland acquired high-scoring forward Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers last winter, and high-scoring forwards Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala are all returning.

The intense Laviolette became known for creating aggressive offensive attacks and making quick franchise turnarounds in his previous stops. He could be part of an organizational shift for the Kings, who have spent two decades as a philosophically defense-first team — to the regular detriment of their offense.

The Kings finished 29th in the NHL in scoring last season with just 220 goals, easily the fewest among playoff teams. They are in the bottom half of the NHL in scoring over the past five seasons despite making the playoffs every year.

Holland publicly wondered whether the Kings are too defensive-minded after they scored just five goals in their four-game sweep at the hands of the Avalanche, but he didn’t commit to a change in team philosophy.

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other leaders in artificial intelligence testify in May before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. OpenAI filed confidentially for an initial public offering Monday. Photo by Anna Rose Layden/UPI | License Photo

June 8 (UPI) — Artificial intelligence company OpenAI confidentially filed for an initial public offering Monday, becoming the third in a well-known trio of U.S. AI companies to do so in the past few weeks.

Rival AI company Anthropic filed for an IPO on June 1, and SpaceX (which merged with xAI, also owned by Elon Musk) filed in late May. SpaceX’s debut is set for Friday. All three are expected to be very lucrative for early investors, as they have valuations around $1 trillion, Axios reported.

OpenAI said in a post that there has been no decision on the IPO’s timing yet.

“It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company,” the post said.

The company has had both successes and trials in recent months, CNN reported. Musk lost a lawsuit against it in mid-May because of the statute of limitations, and the company has expanded ChatGPT options and other AI tools and programs.

However, the company and founder/CEO Sam Altman are also facing lawsuits because of ChatGPT’s role in recent shootings and other issues. Florida announced last week that it is suing the company and Altman, claiming the company chose “profits over public safety” in creating a dangerous product in the form of ChatGPT. The state also has an ongoing criminal investigation into the company.

Individuals including the family members of those killed or injured in a recent school shooting have also sued, saying that the company should have warned authorities about the shooter’s interactions with ChatGPT.

The TWZ Newsletter

Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.

Here’s TWZ’s weekly carrier tracker monitoring America’s flattop fleet, including deployed Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) and Amphibious Ready Groups (ARG), using publicly available open-source information. Check out last week’s report here.

Amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima returned to Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday, wrapping a nearly 10-month deployment to the U.S. Southern Command-4th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR). During the 296-day deployment, the Iwo Jima ARG launched over 6,000 sorties, flew 1,850 flight hours, and transited more than 130,000 combined nautical miles. The ARG was the first group of expeditionary naval assets deployed to support Operation Southern Spear, which involved enhanced counter narcotics operations, and played a key role in Operation Absolute Resolve to exfiltrate ex-President Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela.

Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz departed Kingston, Jamaica, after a 4-day port call. Nimitz is now reportedly en route to the United States, according to the U.S. Embassy in Jamaica, “as it finished its 2026 Southern Seas goodwill tour.” The two ships supporting Nimitz, destroyer USS Gridley and oiler USNS Patuxent, also got underway after a brief stop in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Over the weekend, Nimitz embarked officials from the Dominican Republic for a distinguished visitor tour and Gridley fired the Mk 45 Mod 4 5-inch gun during a live fire demonstration.

The USS Nimitz (CVN 68) departed Kingston Harbor at 12pm on June 5 enroute to the United States as it finished its 2026 Southern Seas goodwill tour. Thank you for stopping in Kingston and strengthening the U.S.-Jamaica bilateral partnership as well as enhancing our… pic.twitter.com/RKimaXy6ia

— US Embassy Jamaica (@USEmbassyJA) June 6, 2026

The U.S. maintains dual-carrier coverage in the Middle East enforcing the naval blockade of Iranian ports. USS Abraham Lincoln conducted a replenishment-at-sea with USNS Arctic in the Arabian Sea on June 3, and USS George H.W. Bush is operating at an undisclosed location in the AOR. U.S. Central Command forces have redirected 134 commercial vessels and disabled seven ships attempting to run the blockade, according to a press release.

The officer of the deck aboard USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) observes a merchant vessel while the guided-missile destroyer enforces the U.S. blockade against Iran in the Arabian Sea. As of June 7, CENTCOM forces have redirected 132 commercial vessels and disabled 6 to ensure… pic.twitter.com/mZtfSMTIRG

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) June 7, 2026

The George Washington CSG is operating in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command-7th Fleet AOR. Washington was spotted alongside oiler USNS Earl Warren during a fueling-at-sea evolution on June 8 in the Philippine Sea and, during the last week of May, embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 and completed carrier qualifications (CQ). CVW-5 includes a squadron of F-35C fighter aircraft.

Coming in loud and clear! ✈️

An F/A-18E roars in for a landing on the flight deck of USS George Washington while underway in the Philippine Sea. Forward-deployed strike capabilities maintain regional stability and guarantee a free and open Indo-Pacific.#FlyNavy | #US7thFleet pic.twitter.com/lAlxexD4hs

— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) June 8, 2026

Note: Positions are general approximations.

Contact the author: ian.ellis-jones@teamrecurrent.io

Two Dragons’ Den entrepreneurs were branded “delusional” by Touker Suleyman over their valuation after he turned down their pitch, but their vegan pet food brand is now worth £11,000,000.

Dragons’ Den stars who Touker Suleyman once labelled “delusional” have revealed their company is now turning over £11,000,000.

The Dragon confirmed at the weekend that he would be departing the show after “ten extraordinary years”.

In a social media post, Touker shared: “It has been an immense privilege to sit in that chair, to meet so many passionate and talented entrepreneurs, and to invest in businesses and people I truly believed in.

“The show gave me a platform not only to invest in leading British founders and companies, but to share hard-won wisdom built over decades in business – and I hope that, in some small way, I made a difference to those who stood opposite me.”

Yet one particular pair of entrepreneurs who faced Touker in the Den were on the receiving end of some scathing criticism from the businessman, reports Wales Online.

Omni founders Dr Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar appeared on the programme last year, seeking investment in their protein-based, vegan pet food brand.

Established in 2021, their brand centred on improving pets’ wellbeing through lab-grown food that was calorie-controlled and environmentally sustainable, while also delivering on taste.

Within two years, they had racked up over £2,500,000 in sales, and were seeking £75,000 from the Dragons in exchange for a 1% stake in their business.

Touker, however, remained wholly unimpressed, declaring he “wouldn’t even get out of bed for” that sum, and bluntly stated: “You’re delusional about what this is really worth.”

Although Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett championed the entrepreneurs, Touker rejected Omni’s lifetime value projections, and was swift to utter the infamous words, “I’m out.”

Yet, despite his scathing assessment, the Omni entrepreneurs disclosed in a 2025 interview that their business was valued at £7,500,000, and shortly afterwards, they’d soared to £11,000,000, even collaborating with Springwatch’s Chris Packham.

Reflecting on Touker and also Peter Jones’ brutal comments in the Den, Dr Guy and Shiv previously told Metro: “I feel like when we were in the Den, they were looking at our historical numbers and basing that on our valuation, but what we were basing it on was actually what our revenue was like at that point, because we’re so fast-growing.”

Dr Guy went on: “We can make quite reasonable assumptions about what we’re going to do in the coming months as well, and I felt like that wasn’t necessarily as much their focus. When you look at our run-rate based on our revenue, it’s not as crazy as they were sort of alluding to at all.”

He continued by stressing that their experience in the Den came down to their product, not their numbers.

He added: “In hindsight, the one disadvantage of it is that we didn’t get to show the nation so much of the other stuff we filmed, like the details of our products.”

Speaking back in March 2025, they said the response from the series had been “amazing”, adding: “We’re trying to keep up, honestly, we’re just a small business trying to help pets live happier lives, and we knew that going on the show would increase our exposure.

“But we never imagined the demand that we’re seeing now, we’ve had to re-evaluate our stock levels and the number of people helping with our customer service and packaging, so it’s been really, really positive.”

He went on: “It’s just a testament to the fact that so many people out there watching the show understood what we’re trying to do, aligned with our mission and were willing to give it a go.”

Sharing his announcement that he was stepping down from Dragons’ Den this weekend, Touker’s statement went on: “Stepping back from Dragons’ will give me more time to mentor the entrepreneurs I have invested in, and to give back the 50 years of business experience I have accumulated.

“If I can help the next generation avoid the pitfalls I’ve faced, seize the opportunities I almost missed, and build businesses they are truly proud of, then that will be the most rewarding chapter of my career yet.”

Touker concluded: “To the BBC, to my fellow Dragons past and present, to the production team, and above all to the entrepreneurs who dared to walk through those doors – thank you.

“It has been one of the greatest joys of my career. The fire in the Den burns on. I simply pass the torch.”

After Sara Davies’ departure last year, it has yet to be confirmed who will be joining Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett in the Den.

Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

BOSTON — A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration’s $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas, contradicting an earlier federal court ruling upholding the fee hike.

The administration announced the much-higher fee as a way of preventing foreign workers from taking American jobs.

But U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston sided with 20 states and struck down the visa policy, concluding that the executive branch exceeded its authority and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies develop and issue regulations.

“The Court finds that the Policy imposes a tax on H-1B petitions without the requisite delegation by Congress,” Sorokin wrote.

H-1B visas are meant for high-skill jobs that are difficult to find American workers to fill. Deep-pocketed technology companies are the biggest users, with nearly three-quarters of approvals going to workers from India. The states argued that using the H-1B program to fill vacancies for much-needed doctors and teachers was already difficult before the higher fee.

Most H-1B visa applications cost several thousand dollars before the announced increase set off a wave of panic among confused employers, students and workers in the United States and abroad and led to several lawsuits, including in Boston.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also sued, in federal court in Washington, D.C., and has appealed a denial of a summary judgment against the fee hike. That left the higher fee in effect, at least until September, when it is scheduled to expire. Monday’s ruling is also a summary judgment, to the opposite effect. Still another lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco, by religious groups and labor organizations, setting up the possibility of divided rulings in three appellate court circuits.

The states argued that the policy impedes their ability to hire primary and secondary school educators and to staff public colleges and universities, will stymie academic research and will lead to a decline in medical workers.

“The Proclamation makes various overtures to domestic economic policy goals to justify the unprecedented $100,000 fee,” plaintiffs wrote in their complaint. “But the Proclamation gives no indication that the President gave any consideration to how the fee would affect Plaintiff States and their ability to provide their residents access to education, healthcare, and other basic human needs.”

A Department of Homeland Security statement said the agency disagrees with “this blatant judicial activism dismantling President Trump’s historic efforts for immigration reform.”

“Under President Trump and Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin, our immigration system is being reformed to serve American citizens, American workers, and American families and to preserve our national identity — not to rapidly import foreigners who take American jobs, commit crimes, burden our welfare system, and erode our cultural and social fabric.”

Casey writes for the Associated Press.

Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has been granted a temporary injunction that allows him to practice and play with the Red Raiders in 2026 despite having been permanently banned by the NCAA for wagering on college sports.

Texas judge Ken Curry ruled Monday that the NCAA cannot block Sorsby’s final year of eligibililty. The Cincinnati transfer will have to miss the first two games of the season as one of the conditions of the ruling.

In his ruling, Curry stated that Sorsby would “suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” without the injunction by missing out on the “elite coaching, training resources, camaraderie, and regimen that only being a member of a Division I college football team can provide.”

“I’m very grateful for the endless support I have received throughout this entire process. I am also grateful for the chance to rejoin my teammates,” Sorsby wrote in a statement posted Monday on Instagram. “This opportunity comes with the responsibility to remain focused on my personal growth, the ability to learn from this experience, and to be able to use my situation to help others going forward.”

The NCAA can appeal the injunction but did not immediately indicate its next steps in the matter. It is unclear how long such a process would take. Texas Tech’s season starts Sept. 5, with Sorsby first eligible to play when the Red Raiders host Houston on Sept. 18.

“The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court’s ruling in Sorsby’s case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports,” the association said in a statement.

“The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”

Last month, Sorsby’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in Lubbock County District Court requesting that he be declared eligible for all team activities because the NCAA “failed to comply with its contractual commitments” to him as a student athlete and therefore “is precluded from enforcing its gambling bylaws against Mr. Sorsby to deny or withhold his reinstatement.”

Sorsby spent two years at Indiana and two at Cincinnati before transferring to Texas Tech this offseason for a reported multimillion-dollar deal. In late April, he and Texas Tech jointly announced that he had entered a residential treatment program for gambling addiction and would be away from the team for an indefinite period of time.

According to court records, Sorsby has admitted to betting at least $90,000 during his time as an NCAA student athlete, including 40 bets on Indiana football games he was not participating in as a freshman backup with the Hoosiers in 2022.

NCAA guidelines state that student athletes who bet on their own games or on other sports at their school could “potentially face permanent loss of collegiate eligibility.” Texas Tech was informed of an NCAA investigation into Sorsby’s gambling activity in March, according to court records, and declared him ineligible according to the association’s bylaws.

The NCAA has since denied two petitions from Texas Tech to have Sorsby’s eligibility reinstated.

“As we have said before, we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan’s case warranted permanent ineligibility,” Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt said Monday in a statement. “As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan’s recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court’s order. A comprehensive support structure, including clinical care, monitoring, and compliance checks, will remain fully in place for the duration of Brendan’s time as a student at Texas Tech.”

Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, a member of the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, told Yahoo Sports that there should “be serious conversations about not playing Texas Tech in any sports” as a result of Monday’s decision.

“This is not about Texas Tech. It’s about protecting our own locker room,” Brooks said. “We cannot in good conscience put our student-athletes on a field where the competitive integrity of the contest is compromised and overridden by the courts.

“All [Football Bowl Subdivision] schools should only take the field against programs operating under a uniform, trustworthy standard of fairness. We’ve officially reached the point of no return.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

June 8 (UPI) — Days after sharing a shortened list of religious affiliations for service members, the Pentagon has issued a new list removing the “Christian” category. The change was apparently spurred by backlash that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was not originally listed in that category.

Last week, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell shared a list of 31 religious affiliations from which service members could choose. This was a change from the prior list of 200. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier called the lengthier list of faith codes “impractical and unusable” and said the Pentagon would shorten it.

“An overwhelming majority of the military population used only six of the codes,” Hegseth said in March, The Hill reported. He said a shorter list would help chaplains minister to service members “in a way that aligns with that service member’s faith background and religious practice.”

However, the list shared last week gave 21 of the affiliations a “Christian” label — and the Church of Latter-Day Saints was not among them. This drew ire from several lawmakers, including Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a Mormon and a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump; Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah; and Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah.

“I find this offensive, not just because that happens to be my faith, and not just because that happens to be the faith of tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel, but it’s also just repugnant to any sense of decency, any sense of our common heritage and our common belief that the government needs to not weigh in doctrinal disputes between various religious denominations,” Lee said in a video posted Sunday on social media.

Parnell’s original post on the list said that the Pentagon wasn’t making “any claims on the legitimacy of any faith or religious belief” but trying to streamline matters.

The new list shared Monday removes the “Christian” label altogether. The Pentagon said the original list had “redundant and unnecessary labeling” and the new list fixes that.

“The Pentagon’s job is not to adjudicate theological debates, but instead to ensure sincerely held faith is respected and encouraged in our ranks,” the post said. It also noted that “the goal of this effort is to simplify a previously out-of-control ‘belief’ coding system.”

Lee said he was grateful to Hegseth for “correcting the error,” CNN reported.

Under the new list, service members can pick from about 20 Christian faiths or chose to be identified as Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Bahá’i or agnostic. They can no longer chose from many codes including those for Unitarian Universalist, Wicca, pagan or humanist. There are codes for “no religion” or “other religion.”

Volker Turk, the high commissioner for human rights at the United Nations, has issued some of his harshest criticism yet of the recent sanctions the United States has imposed on Cuba.

On Monday, Turk drew a line between the increasing restrictions on the Cuban economy and reports of heightened death rates, particularly among children.

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“The fuel restrictions imposed since early 2026 and recent tightening of extraterritorial sanctions, taken together, are directly harming Cubans, especially the most vulnerable,” Turk said in a statement.

“Children are dying because doctors lack access to essential medical supplies and medicines. This is unacceptable.”

Such “severe sanctions”, he added, run contrary to the “basic principles of international human rights law”. He called for them to be “lifted immediately”.

Turk’s comments are a direct response to the suite of actions taken under US President Donald Trump to tighten pressure on Cuba, a Caribbean island that has already weathered a decades-long US trade embargo.

Starting in January, the Trump administration moved to cut off Cuba’s foreign oil supply, a linchpin for its ageing energy grid.

First, it severed supplies of oil and funds from Venezuela. Then, on January 29, Trump issued an executive order declaring Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security. As such, he said, any country that supplied it with oil would be subject to steep tariffs.

In the months since, the Trump administration has continued to layer sanctions on Cuba. In May, for instance, penalties were announced against Cuba’s Interior Ministry, its National Police and its Directorate of Intelligence.

Those were followed this month by sanctions targeting Cuba’s president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, as well as members of his family.

The sanctions are designed to penalise those “responsible for repression” in Cuba, an island whose communist government has been accused of stifling dissent, as well as imprisoning and torturing activists.

Turk on Monday acknowledged Cuba’s human rights record and called on the country to “release all those arbitrarily detained”.

But he also pointed to the mounting death toll associated with the US sanctions, which have isolated the island country from much of the world.

The sanctions freeze any US-based assets the target may have, but they also prohibit entities from conducting business with the sanctioned parties. That can result in difficulties accessing global financial systems and other international platforms.

The de facto oil blockade has also resulted in the increasing frequency of power outages, and essential services like public transportation and medical care have faced reductions. Turk pointed to those downstream effects in his remarks.

“Cuba faces increasing isolation,” he said. “Companies are leaving. Fewer airlines fly to the country. It is almost disconnected from international payment systems.”

Turk’s office has also highlighted the human costs of the sanctions. According to the statistics it cited, infant death rates have doubled, reaching 9.9 for every 1,000 births. The survival rate for childhood cancer, meanwhile, has declined from 85 to 65 percent.

In March, the Cuban government also warned of medical needs going unanswered as a result of the energy shortage. It estimated that there was a backlog of 96,387 people awaiting surgery, 11,193 of whom were minors.

It also underscored that 16,000 patients needed radiotherapy, and another 2,888 required dialysis, two treatments that depend on steady electrical supplies.

Turk’s remarks also pointed to the risks posed by the Atlantic hurricane season and other natural disasters. Within hours of his remarks, western Cuba was rattled by a powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquake. Summer heat alone could cost lives, he explained.

“Rising summer temperatures risk increasing the spread of vector borne and waterborne diseases,” Turk said.

“The hurricane season further increases exposure. This creates a perfect storm for social and economic deterioration and suffering for the Cuban people.”

Trump has repeatedly suggested that he is considering military action in Cuba to remove its leadership after the US-Israel war on Iran reaches an end.

Since January, only one Russian oil tanker has been allowed to reach the island, leaving its foreign fuel supplies largely depleted.

IT was meant to be the Lewis Hamilton show as the F1 veteran celebrated after a record-equalling eighth podium finish at the glitzy Monaco Grand Prix.

But girlfriend Kim Kardashian, in a figure-hugging, backless Gucci cream dress, put that all in a spin as it was her bolshy disregard for trackside etiquette that made headlines.

During the pre-race build-up, she and her heavies barged race fans Holly Willoughby and Michael McIntyre in the paddock while they were being interviewed — and snubbed F1 legend Martin Brundle as he tried to interview her on the start grid.

After seven-time world champ Lewis, 41, had rung back the years to claim a surprise second-place finish, Kim then turned spoilsport as she ducked under a brolly to avoid being splashed with celebratory champagne.

Oh, and she whipped the towel laid out for the race winner, Italian teen Kimi Antonelli, to dry himself with.

The 45-year-old US reality star’s diva ways riled the fellow drivers’ Wags, sparking calls for her to be banned from the exclusive paddock and grid areas at future F1 races.

Our source trackside said: “Kim’s behaviour might pass in LA but the Europeans see it differently. The day should have been about the drivers, but it became the Kim K circus.

“People were watching in horror as she failed to embrace any of the F1 traditions. Snubbing Martin Brundle is one thing, but hiding from the champagne spray with an umbrella was a step too far for many — and the fact she just pushed Holly ­and Michael McIntyre out of the way was mind-blowing.

“Some of the other Wags were horrified and Alexandra Leclerc, the wife of Lewis’s Ferrari teammate Charles, was clearly unimpressed by her new trackside companion.

“Kim’s body language towards her as they watched the race was verging on rude. It was very uncomfortable to see.”

The Sun revealed earlier this year how Kim and Lewis had begun dating — but last weekend was the first time she has turned up to watch him race, joined by sister Khloe, 41.

Her dress was also a talking point because last month it was announced Gucci had become the first luxury fashion house to partner with an F1 team — launching Gucci Racing Alpine.

Our insider said: “The timing of Kim wearing Gucci can’t have been a coincidence. In fact she’s been wearing the brand a lot since she started dating Lewis.”

But as the Kardashian circus rolled into town, everyone and their VIP card was expected to make way, including former This Morning presenter Holly and TV funnyman Michael.

The moment was caught on film — with Holly and Michael left gobsmacked as their interview was disrupted and shouts of “mind out!” could be heard ringing out while Kim’s minders stormed past with her hidden away in their midst.

Michael could, at least, see the funny side as he reacted in his signature excitable tone, quipping: “It’s the Kardashians . . . I’m joining them!”

He also could not resist a cheeky reference to Kim’s famously mighty toosh — joking: “My back’s gone! I think something belonging to Kim, I’m not mentioning anything, may have struck me in my lower back area, and I’ve got to tell you that it hurt.”

But others were far from amused by the unwelcome Kardashian chaos.

Another source said: “Some of the other Wags thought Kim totally took over Monaco. It’s like the circus came to town — even the F1 Instagram account was posting about her. Many of the drivers’ wives and girlfriends are influencers, and races are their opportunity to shine. But all anyone spoke about was Kim.”

Race-goers also noted that after Kim barged her way into centre stage, no one was talking to her, as she was moved swiftly from one place to another by her huge team.

The Hollywood hoopla was in full swing but Kim had clearly failed to do her homework on paddock and grid dos and don’ts, and she had those in the sport’s inner circle blowing gaskets left, right and centre.

Cocking a snook at veteran Sky Sports interviewer and former F1 driver Martin Brundle got her off to the worst possible start before the race had begun.

In clips that have since gone viral, the Kardashians star can be seen briefly waving at 67-year-old Martin before then stone-cold blanking the ex-Benetton driver of Eighties and Nineties race fame.

When it came to the uncorking of champagne after the race, Kim went down about as well as a flat tyre as she recoiled in horror at the prospect of champagne spray detracting from her queen bee look.

To add insult to injury, she then grabbed the towel traditionally set out for the race winner and used it to wipe down her sunglasses before walking off with it.

A fan watching aghast as these antics unfolded, blasted: “What is Kim Kardashian doing on the F1 grid? She is making the moment all about her — it is one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen. Ban celebrities from the grid.”

Another equally revved-up onlooker demanded: “Can we please ban these disrespectful ingrates like Kim Kardashian from F1? If you won’t show the people who make the sport what it is the respect they deserve, then you have no place in our world.”

Liv Blankson, a creator of online content for Formula 1, who has been following the sport since childhood and is a huge fan of Lewis Hamilton, was also baffled by Kim’s carrying on.

She told us: “There is an F1 etiquette and when someone takes a step wrong, it’s very obvious. I have no issue with her being there, but do worry that she will overshadow the racing, which is what us fans are actually there for.

“If you’re on the grid just before the race, you have to expect to be spoken to, it’s just what happens.

“You have to be prepared. The fact she didn’t talk to Martin could be seen as disrespectful. He was a well-known racing driver and I hate it when he gets blanked.

“That was my main gripe with Kim being there. If you are going to be there, then please do some research. Celebrity culture in F1 is getting bigger and will grow even more now that Kim is on the scene, but us fans like it when they make the effort to get to know racing, the drivers, the teams and all the people that make it happen.

“Lewis just seems happy and relaxed and he did well, so maybe she is good luck.

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

Indeed, Lewis certainly seemed oblivious to the drama around his biggest and brashest new fan.

On the contrary, he even blew her a kiss from the podium as he gushed: “It’s amazing to have good people around you and good people supporting you.

“She does that for me every day. With my friends, incredible turnout just overall with people. I don’t really know what else to say.”

Thanking Kim again, he added: “It’s amazing to have her come this weekend and have the support.” A source said of the pair’s romance,

“They are in a serious, committed relationship” — and this latest public display of affection only sends the story into turbo-drive.

Lewis failed to take the winner’s spoils on race day as 19-year-old Mercedes wonderkid Antonelli, who replaced him on that team last year, beat him to the chequered flag and became the youngest ever winner of the Monaco Grand Prix.

But it was still a fine day for Lewis who matched the late, great Brazilian Ayrton Senna for Monaco podium finishes.

He moved up into second in this season’s drivers’ championship, leapfrogging his old Mercedes teammate George Russell and showing he has plenty left in the tank after a difficult season.

There have been rumblings that Lewis, now one of the oldest on the F1 circuit, may soon be on the home straight of his superstar career — but more results like the one this weekend will likely put such talk on hold.

And Kim may yet prove an asset.

Our insider said: “Lewis and Kim have the potential to be the next Posh and Becks of the racing world.

“Kim is a career mastermind and will no doubt be laying the groundwork.”

Next weekend, Lewis competes in the Spanish Grand Prix — but will Kim be along for the ride? Or consigned to the pits?

It is certainly too early to declare her his lucky charm, despite the weekend’s podium finish — but she sure knows how to command pole position.

AND SIX MORE BEAUTIES…

Alexandra Saint Mleux (Instagram followers: 4.6million)

SORRY ladies, but Ferrari’s golden boy, Charles Leclerc, is officially off the market.

Having dated Alexandra, 25, since May 2023, Charles broke millions of hearts when he tied the knot with the Mexican-French art historian in an intimate ceremony in, where else, Monaco earlier this year.

Kelly Piquet (Instagram followers: 2.5million)

IF there’s one woman who knows her way around a pit lane, it’s Kelly.

Not only has the Brazilian bombshell, 37, been dating former world champ Max Verstappen since 2020, but she’s the daughter of three-time F1 world champ Nelson Piquet.

She welcomed her first child, Lily, with Max last year.

Lily Muni He (Instagram followers: 1.4million)

WILLIAMS driver Alex Albon and his girlfriend Lily are a sporting power couple.

The 26-year-old Chinese sensation is a professional golfer who tears it up on the US-based LPGA tour.

Alex finally put a ring on it in January 2026 after six years of dating and the pair are now planning their wedding.

Rebecca Donaldson (Instagram followers: 815,000)

SPANISH driver Carlos Sainz has been smitten with 28-year-old Scottish model Rebecca since 2023.

The Perthshire-born beauty, who has a degree in International Fashion Branding, has fronted campaigns for massive global brands and has been spotted cheering on Carlos everywhere from Austin, Texas, to Jeddah.

Carmen Montero Mundt (Instagram followers: 849,000)

STUNNING Spanish finance professional and fashion influencer Carmen has been dating British F1 driver George Russell since 2020.

Engagement rumours have been swirling since the start of this year and just this month, George said they would be married within the next five years, declaring she is “without doubt my future”.

Lily Zneimer (Instagram followers: private)

LILY met Aussie F1 driver Oscar Piastri at boarding school in England and they started dating in 2019, when they were 17.

Unlike some of the other Wags, Lily likes a quiet life, doesn’t have a public Instagram and is rarely seen out with Oscar.

She is an engineering graduate though, so we might be seeing more of her in the paddock in future.

WASHINGTON — A Treasury inspector general report raises concerns about Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ability to safeguard taxpayer information after ICE and the Internal Revenue Service agreed in 2025 to share taxpayer data for the purpose of immigration investigations.

The recently released report provides the first official accounting of the scale of the IRS-ICE information transfer and documents security concerns surrounding an arrangement that has been the subject of multiple lawsuits and significant controversy inside both agencies.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration found that the 2025 data-sharing agreement between ICE and the Treasury Department — which allowed ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants in the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records — resulted in inconsistent formatting in ICE’s data and the IRS’ matching criteria, which led to errors.

The deal led the then-acting commissioner of the IRS to resign.

The report says that after the agreement was signed, ICE requested address information on more than 1.2 million people, and that the IRS ultimately provided last-known addresses for about 47,000 people.

The inspector general concluded that the IRS’ automated matching process was flawed. Inconsistent formatting in ICE’s data led to questionable matches, including in cases in which incomplete or inaccurate addresses were labeled as valid, the report says.

Representatives from the Treasury Department and the IRS did not respond to a request for comment.

The plan to cross-verify tax and immigration data is part of President Trump’s agenda to secure U.S. borders and his nationwide immigration crackdown, which has resulted in deportations, workplace raids and the use of an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants.

However, this is not the first time it’s been revealed that tens of thousands of taxpayers’ information was revealed to ICE.

In February, a federal judge said the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information to ICE, referring to the same 47,000 disclosures that the inspector general points out.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS had erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security as part of the 2025 agreement.

No recommendations were made in the new inspector general report, according to a letter by Nancy A. LaManna, deputy inspector general for inspections and evaluations.

“However, we plan to share some concerns we identified during our review with the DHS Office of Inspector General,” her letter says.

Hussein writes for the Associated Press.

The shuttle of the Iran World Cup team between Mexico and the United States took root Sunday in Tijuana with an accessory.

The players arrived in Tijuana wearing gold-colored lapel pins on their jackets acknowledging victims of a missile strike on an elementary school that took place Feb. 28 at the outset of the war in their country.

The pins simply read “#168” — replicating the hashtag of the number of people killed in the daytime strike in Minab in southern Iran. Most of the victims were girls attending Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School.

The Iran delegation flew on a private jet from Turkey to Tijuana. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said two weeks ago that the training base would be in Mexico instead of Tucson.

FIFA has not given a reason for the change, although delays have occurred in processing U.S. visas for some Iranian players and other members of the delegation that allegedly have ties to the Revolutionary Guard.

Iran is preparing to play its three group-stage games in the United States, with the first scheduled June 15 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium (called Los Angeles Stadium during the World Cup). Its second game, June 21 against Belgium, is also scheduled in L.A. and the third game will take place June 26 in Seattle against Egypt.

It is unclear whether FIFA — the governing body of the World Cup — would allow the pins to be worn by anyone on the sidelines during matches. That would include coaches and other team personnel in addition to players.

FIFA took no action in response to earlier displays of remembrance by the Iran players and has not commented on the legality of wearing the pins. FIFA regulations state that “equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.” The rule applies to players, coaches and officials on the sidelines during matches.

The Iran team twice acknowledged victims of the airstrike during the Iran national anthem before warmup matches in March. In the first, players held purple school backpacks decorated with bows. In the second, players held images of those who had died.

Before more recent warmup games, the Iran team stood with their right hands across their chests during the anthem. And earlier in March, some members of the Iran women’s soccer team remained quiet during the national anthem at an Asian Cup match, leading Iranian state TV to call them “wartime traitors.”

Video footage analyzed by investigative group Bellingcat appears to show a U.S. Tomahawk missile striking the school, which was adjacent to a compound associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and barracks for its naval brigade. The United States has not accepted responsibility for the attack, although the military is investigating.

Upon arriving in Tijuana, Iran team captain Ehsan Hajsafi criticized FIFA about the delay in obtaining visas.

“First of all, we’re very happy that the team has finally arrived, and we’re delighted about that,” Hajsafi told reporters. “Thank God, the team’s condition is very good.

“With everything that happened, visas were eventually issued. Personally, however, I do have a complaint about FIFA. Why did it take so long? As far as I understand, visas were issued only to the players and a few members of the coaching staff.”

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Hajsafi spoke boldly about the government crackdown on mass demonstrations in Iran.

“Before anything else, I would like to express my condolences to all of the bereaved families in Iran,” Hajsafi said. “They should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them. “We cannot deny the conditions — the conditions in my country are not good and the players know it also.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Residents in Tel Aviv voiced mixed reactions after Israel and Iran said they would halt strikes following a day of missile exchanges. While some wanted a stronger response against Iran, others said Israelis were ‘losing’, citing disruptions to daily life, schools and tourism.

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Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.

The troubled pan-European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) appears to have lurched to an undignified — but predictable — end, at least in its current form. A flurry of media reports today indicate that France and Germany, the two major partners in the program, have abandoned their program to develop a crewed New Generation Fighter (NGF) aircraft together, a conclusion supported by a French diplomat who spoke to TWZ today.

According to sources including the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged French President Emmanuel Macron to pull the plug on the NGF. The German newspaper cited unnamed government sources in Berlin. Reportedly, the French and German leaders concluded that the companies involved — Dassault and Airbus — have been unable to reach agreement on key aspects of the project, specifically relating to the jointly developed fighter jet.

At this stage, it is reported that Merz and Macron cannot see a future for the NGF, although it is apparently still unclear whether the French government fully shares this assessment and is prepared to accept its consequences.

At this point, it should be recalled that there are at least three separate FCAS initiatives in Europe.

As well as the pan-European version headed up by France and Germany, with Spain and Belgium as junior partners, there is a rival British-led FCAS. This has the Tempest crewed fighter as its centerpiece, involves Italy and Japan, and is now more commonly referred to as the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP). Finally, the Swedish next-generation combat aircraft program, led by Saab, is also known as FCAS.

Returning to today’s developments, French officials are reportedly surprised by what they viewed as uncoordinated messaging from Berlin. From Paris’s perspective, it is the responsibility of political leaders to provide industry with clear direction.

The French government is also said to be frustrated over what it sees as Germany’s increasing preference for national solutions, which threatens to sideline its own industrial input.

A French diplomat told TWZ: “The President of the Republic and the Federal Chancellor have held extensive and frequent discussions on ways to move forward with this important project for European defense. Both leaders expressed regret that the industrial partners have been unable to reach an agreement on the continuation of the project. The German authorities considered that it was not possible to exert further pressure on the companies involved. France remains convinced that Franco-German cooperation is essential both for our two countries and for our European partners in the fields of defence and security.”

The diplomat added: “The French authorities will continue to encourage our industries and armed forces to explore avenues for ambitious European projects that are consistent with our national security interests.”

According to reports, Macron and Merz discussed the future of FCAS last week, in the latest of several recent efforts to keep the program on track. At the same time, however, Merz had become increasingly vocal about his skepticism regarding the project’s prospects.

The FCAS program was launched back in 2017, with the primary aim of replacing France’s Rafale fleet and Germany’s Eurofighters.

FCAS was envisioned as a next-generation European combat air system entering service around 2040, spearheaded by the NGF crewed fighter. As of 2022, it was envisaged that “in-flight demonstrations” would be achieved by 2028 or 2029. 

Before long, however, the project was overshadowed by arguments over workshare agreements, and it is unclear how far the partners had got in terms of agreeing on NGF requirements and starting its design.

For a while now, there have been reports that Germany is exploring alternative paths, including the possibility of separating itself from France within the program entirely.

By February of this year, Merz was publicly raising doubts about the program’s viability, arguing that key issues had never been fully resolved during the planning phase. According to the German leader, Germany and France have fundamentally different operational requirements for a future combat aircraft.

Merz pointed to the specific French requirements that call for aircraft to be capable of carrying nuclear weapons and operating from aircraft carriers. Merz argued that Paris is seeking to shape the aircraft around French military requirements, which do not necessarily align with Germany’s needs.

“This is not primarily a political disagreement,” Merz said. “The real issue lies in the requirements profile. If we cannot reconcile those differences, the project cannot continue.”

Within France, Dassault CEO Éric Trappier recently declared the FCAS project dead if Airbus refuses to cooperate, while Macron continued to make efforts to resuscitate the program.

There are indications that Paris will still try to do its best to keep the program alive, and it remains possible that the broader FCAS architecture, or parts of it, could continue even without the NGF. FCAS has always intended to field families of drones, air-launched weapons, and potentially other aerial platforms, within an overarching ‘combat cloud.’

The German government considers that the “true essence of FCAS” should be continued as a European system of systems, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

FCAS System of Systems

Whatever happens next, the program appears to be at a crossroads, and facing its biggest existential challenge yet.

It is highly questionable whether either France or Germany (even with Spanish industrial support and finance) could develop a fighter without the other major partner.

This could open the door to a radical reshaping of European combat air programs.

There have already been suggestions at the highest military levels that the British-led and Franco-German FCAS efforts could be fused in some way. However, it seems highly unlikely that all these partners could come together with agreement. Just as questionable is whether the GCAP effort would be able to admit new major partners at this late stage.

Then there is the issue of Sweden.

Last month, we reported on Airbus having raised the possibility of teaming with Saab on the manned tactical component of FCAS. That was one of the clearest indications yet that Airbus is actively exploring post-FCAS alternatives, or, at the least, a major overhaul of the program’s structure.

Potentially, Airbus and Saab could now team up to develop a joint next-generation fighter, with their requirements likely to be more closely aligned than those of France. Germany and France also have a less urgent need for a sixth-generation combat jet, with Sweden only now introducing the Gripen E, and with Germany looking forward to receiving F-35s as well as more Eurofighters.

For France, losing its partners for NGF could be more critical, although it continues to work on advanced versions of the Rafale. In 2024, France also unveiled plans to develop a new uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) that will complement the forthcoming Rafale F5 crewed fighter. The industrial side of the drone program will be headed up by Dassault, drawing upon its previous nEUROn UCAV demonstrator, which has already been used in trials with crewed combat aircraft.

The F5 standard of the Rafale is planned to keep the multirole combat aircraft in frontline service until around 2060. That will at least give France some time to consider what to do about a future crewed fighter.

Drones are also increasingly part of the combat-air picture in Germany, too. Delays in fielding a sixth-generation fighter could be mitigated, to a degree, by Airbus developing combat drones. Airbus and Kratos are already pitching the stealthy XQ-58A Valkyrie drone to Germany, and Airbus has also been working on a stealthy CCA-like concept of its own, known as Wingman.

In the background, the U.S.-made F-35 continues to expand its customer base in Europe. There is also the prospect that, in the future, the sixth-generation F-47 might also be offered for export in the region, although this might only be in a watered-down form.

Overall, though, the latest development is a poor reflection on Franco-German cooperation, which has singularly failed to come to agreement about what should be a flagship program, providing a cornerstone of efforts to strengthen Europe’s defense capabilities.

With the ILA Berlin airshow starting on Wednesday, this news could hardly be worse-timed. On the other hand, we may well learn more about Germany’s vision for its future combat aircraft program before the week is out.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com