CLAUDIA Schiffer showed off her age-defying looks as she stripped down to tiny bikinis on her luxury break away.

The OG supermodel, 56, looked timeless as she teased fans with a slew of sexy holiday snaps which saw her show off her enviable physique.

Claudia captioned the photos from her sun-soaked Grecian vacation with: “An endless summer.”

In one photo the model was seen showing off the body that made her famous in a sexy bikini, with a beautiful sunset background behind her.

In another stunning snap, Claudia was seen posing in another two-piece, this time in front of an idyllic ocean.

Other bikini shots saw her showcasing her toned figure as she got out of the sea after a dip.

aisle say

Supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio announces engagement to new partner

bad taste?

Supermodel Miranda Kerr sparks huge debate as she reveals VERY strict diet

During her heyday in the 90s, and along with the likes of Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, Claudia helped to launch the world of supermodels.

The blonde bombshell was first scouted aged just 17 while partying in a Dusseldorf nightclub with a pal.

Previously speaking about this moment that changed her life, she told Elle magazine: “I thought they were making a mistake and would find out I was the wrong girl and send me home once I arrived in Paris.”

Soon, Claudia was one of the most in-demand models on the ’90s catwalks, modelling for Chanel, Versace and Yves Saint Laurent and fronting an ad campaign for Guess Jeans.

During her career, the sexy star has appeared on more than 1,000 magazine covers.

After quitting the catwalk to focus on starting a family, she soon welcomed Caspar, now 23, Clementine, 21, and Cosima, 16, with her English filmmaker husband, Matthew Vaughn, 55.

The family live in Coldham Hall, a 14-bedroom haunted Tudor mansion in Suffolk.

NEW YORK — Some of the loudest cheers for Sen. Ted Cruz at the Republicans’ recent midterm convention in Dallas came after the Texas politician targeted Muslim Americans and their faith’s religious code.

“Sharia law has no place in America,” said Cruz. “We need to stand together and stop it now.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott chimed in moments later, vowing to “fully ban Sharia law in Texas.”

Muslim American civic leaders and scholars — in Texas and other states — are responding forcefully to this latest surge in anti-Sharia rhetoric that dates back more than 15 years.

They passionately defend Sharia — the way it’s practiced in the United States — as positive guidance that has elements in common with the codes of other faiths, such as the Ten Commandments and the collective body of Jewish law derived from the Torah. They rebut the claims of GOP critics that Sharia is a coercive code that threatens the U.S. Constitution and judicial system.

Though there are multiple interpretations of Sharia, its essence is to serve as a code for how Muslims should live and worship — covering such matters as prayer, pilgrimages, fasting, charitable donations and personal virtue.

Among the most energetic of Sharia’s defenders is Illinois-based Sabeel Ahmed, director of an outreach project called GainPeace. He travels widely around the U.S., with a recent focus on Texas, speaking at mosque-sponsored workshops and open houses.

“Sharia is often misunderstood,” Ahmed posted on Instagram after a midsummer visit to Plano, Texas. “Many people think Sharia is only about punishments, but in Islam it is Allah’s guidance for living with faith, justice, mercy, and responsibility.”

Ahmed attributes the durability of anti-Sharia vitriol to politicians and social-media influencers who want to rile up their voting base or their followers.

“They gain popularity by saying it,” he told The Associated Press. “It’s the job of the Muslims to educate what is the proper meaning of the word Sharia. We cannot be angry or hateful.”

Sharia’s role varies significantly among Muslim nations

Among those appalled by the anti-Sharia surge in the U.S. is Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na’im, a Sudanese-born Islamic scholar who taught for many years at Emory University School of Law in Atlanta. He is a longtime critic of the relatively small number of governments in Muslim nations that coercively enforce Sharia, saying Muslims are better off in secular states where their religious observance is a matter of free choice.

An-Na’im says he and other Muslim Americans embrace Sharia willingly as a core part of their identity, even as they also embrace American values.

The demonization of their beliefs displays “a shocking ignorance of what Sharia means,” An-Na’im said. “It’s a total dehumanization of the other, the rejection of their right to be human.”

The rhetoric is similarly dramatic among Sharia’s opponents — epitomized by the two U.S. representatives from Texas, Republicans Keith Self and Chip Roy — who co-founded the Sharia-Free America Caucus in Congress.

“Sharia is a direct threat to our Constitution and Western values and seeks to replace our legal system and erode our basic freedoms,” Roy said earlier this year. “Our immigration system must be prepared to confront this challenge and defend our Judeo-Christian values.”

By last count, the caucus had more than 60 members. All of them are Republicans, and its members have introduced several anti-Sharia bills since the caucus was formed last December. None of those measures have been successful.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, has designated the caucus as an anti-Muslim hate group.

“The bigoted rhetoric used by this caucus resembles the hatred that anti-Catholic politicians once unleashed against Irish Americans,” said CAIR research and advocacy director Corey Saylor.

“Islam is an American faith, present for over 250 years,” he added. “No one who wrote the Constitution or enforced it since has empowered these legislators to pick which religions get to exist in America.”

Texas has been a battleground for Sharia disputes

There has been substantive anti-Sharia action in Texas. In August, Attorney General Ken Paxton demanded documents from the Dallas-based Islamic Tribunal, which provides religious guidance to Muslims.

Paxton said in a news release that the investigation by his office sought to determine if the tribunal was engaged in illegal activity, such as acting as a court, applying foreign laws that conflict with Texas or federal law, or issuing rulings that imply government authority.

“This is America, and we will not be governed by sharia law,” Paxton said.

The Islamic Tribunal subsequently updated its website with a “ Clarification of Mission and Activities,” stressing that its guidance “complements, and never replaces, the legal, social, and professional services available in American society.”

“The Tribunal does not function as a court of law and does not issue legally binding judgments,” it said. “Our role is limited to mediation and religious arbitration requested by members of the Muslim community in matters related to faith, family guidance, and internal religious affairs.”

Any matters requiring legal enforcement are referred directly to the Texas judicial system, said the tribunal, which likened its work to the services provided by Jewish Beth Din courts and Catholic ecclesiastical tribunals.

Sharia defenders seek to broaden understanding of its essence

Asma Uddin, a professor at Michigan State University’s College of Law, has argued in her writings that many American politicians are depicting ordinary Muslim religious practices — such as prayer, choice of apparel, family counseling and mosque attendance — as evidence of a political danger.

In an interview with the AP, Uddin depicted the current wave of anti-Sharia rhetoric as fearmongering by politicians who view the issue as advantageous for them.

“When politicians use this, it’s giving them exactly what they’re looking for,” she said. “They’re looking for a scapegoat … and this gets people riled up.”

Sabeel Ahmed, who has made three outreach trips to Texas so far this year, plans a trip to Houston in a few weeks for another mosque open-house. He’s also working on a book to be mailed to Christian clergy across the U.S., seeking to broaden their understanding of Sharia and other Islamic practices.

“Islam is not to be feared,” Ahmed said. “People should meet a Muslim, go to the mosque, reach out to us. Let’s emphasize the commonalities we have.”

Crary writes for the Associated Press.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. I was reading my Bible, and baseball was mentioned almost immediately. “In the big inning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

The postseason awaits

There are still three games left in the season, but let’s jump ahead and talk about the postseason a bit. We will have more in the run-up to the NLDS next week. The good news is the Dodgers have clinched a first-round bye and will open the postseason on Saturday, Oct. 3. The NLDS is best-of-five on a 2-2-1 format, so the Dodgers will host Games 1 and 2, and if necessary, Game 5.

Who will they play? The winner of the series between the No. 3 seed (Atlanta) and the No. 6 seed, which has yet to be determined. There are four teams vying for the three wild-card spots.

Should the Dodgers fear any one team more than the others this postseason? Let’s see how they have fared against all the other potential postseason teams. In fact, let’s see how all the postseason teams have fared against each other.

Dodgers
vs. Arizona, 6-7 (-5 run differential)
vs. Atlanta, 1-5 (-11)
vs. Chicago, 2-4 (+2)
vs. Milwaukee, 3-4 (+2)
vs. Philadelphia. 4-2 (+11)
vs. San Diego, 8-5 (+19)
Total, 23-27, (+18)

Arizona
vs. Dodgers, 7-5 (+5)
vs. Atlanta, 4-3 (-8)
vs. Chicago, 2-4 (-11)
vs. Milwaukee, 2-4 (-22)
vs. Philadelphia. 3-3 (-5)
vs. San Diego, 5-5 (+5)
Total, 18-19, (+25)

Atlanta
vs. Dodgers, 5-1 (+11)
vs. Arizona, 3-4 (+8)
vs. Chicago, 3-3 (-1)
vs. Milwaukee, 3-3 (-5)
vs. Philadelphia. 9-4 (+23)
vs. San Diego, 3-4 (-7)
Total, 26-19 (+29)

Chicago
vs. Dodgers, 4-2 (-2)
vs. Arizona, 4-2 (+11)
vs. Atlanta, 3-3 (+1)
vs. Milwaukee, 4-9 (-9)
vs. Philadelphia. 6-1 (+22)
vs. San Diego, 5-1 (+27)
Total, 26-18, (+50)

Milwaukee
vs. Dodgers, 4-3 (-2)
vs. Arizona, 4-2 (+22)
vs. Atlanta, 3-3 (+5)
vs. Chicago, 9-4 (+9)
vs. Philadelphia, 4-2 (+14)
vs. San Diego, 2-4 (-5)
Total, 25-18, (+43)

Philadelphia
vs. Dodgers, 2-4 (-11)
vs. Arizona, 3-3 (+5)
vs. Atlanta, 4-9 (-23)
vs. Chicago, 1-6 (-22)
vs. Milwaukee, 2-4 (-14)
vs. San Diego, 6-0 (+11)
Total, 18-26, (-54)

San Diego
vs. Dodgers, 5-8 (-19)
vs. Arizona, 5-5 (-5)
vs. Atlanta, 4-3 (+7)
vs. Chicago, 1-5 (-27)
vs. Milwaukee, 4-2 (+5)
vs. Philadelphia, 0-6 (-11)
Total, 19-29, (-50)

This serves as a basic guideline for you. We would really have to dig deep to find hidden meanings here, since a lot depends on who started for each team. Philadelphia started the season poorly, fired their manager, named Don Mattingly manager and turned things around. So, when did these teams face the Phillies? I could do that for every team, but I can just hear people closing the newsletter and deleting it if I get too far into the weeds. Just as an example, San Diego is 0-6 against the Phillies, but were outscored by only 11 runs, while the Dodgers have losing records against Chicago and Milwaukee, but outscored both teams. And every Dodger fan from that era can tell you that the Mets were 10-1 against the Dodgers in the regular season in 1988, but lost to them in the playoffs.

But, stuff like this is fun. And remember when stats were sometimes just for fun, and not every stat had to look at launch angles and elevation rates?

The postseason roster?

The final position player spot on the postseason roster will be very interesting. Does it go to Josue De Paula, who hit .323/.500/.581 with three doubles, one triple, one homer and seven RBIs in 42 plate appearances. He also walked an impressive 11 times while striking out only five times.

He is back in the minors now, but the Dodgers can bring him back for the postseason, as long as he is replacing an injured player, such as Dalton Rushing. They would need to petition the Commissioner’s Office to allow it, but that kind of petition has never been denied in the past.

Of course, De Paula is blocked at DH, left field and right field now that Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández are hitting better. But he did seem to bring a shot of energy to the team, as if he reminded them “Hey, this is supposed to be fun.”

Does the final spot go to Rushing? I don’t see how, because he can’t play in the field right now because of his elbow injury.

Does it go to Hyeseong Kim? His name was brought up this week by Dave Roberts, because Kim brings speed, versatility and good defense. He could be this season’s Justin Dean, appearing in almost every game and never hitting.

And the bullpen? If you have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell in the rotation, that means Roki Sasaki goes to the bullpen. Does Justin Wrobleski get a bullpen spot? What about Emmet Sheehan, who has pitched great in his return (one earned run in 17 innings, giving up six hits and walking three while striking out 24)? Do you need all three of them in the bullpen in anticipation of the inevitable injury to Snell and Glasnow? We’ll know more about Snell when he starts Saturday.

Can Yamamoto pitch in every postseason game?

A lot of questions, no answers yet.

Forgotten Dodger: Willie Crawford

Willie Crawford, 17, who hit .444 for Fremont High, signs a $100,000 deal with the Dodgers in 1964 as Al Campanis watches.

(Associated Press)

We won’t go quite as far back in time for this one as the previous ones.

Willie Crawford is one of those guys who was good at a lot of things but not great at anything, and those types of players tend to be overlooked. But you need players like that every year in order to win.

Crawford first played for L.A. as a 17-year-old in 1964 and had his best season in 1973, when he hit .295/.396/.453 with 14 homers and 66 RBIs. He was solid defensively, playing more shallow than most right fielders to cut down on bloop singles and relying on his speed to catch any balls hit over him.

“He was big and powerful, and he could hit a ball as far as anybody. Boy, was he something,” Tommy Lasorda once said of Crawford, who the Dodgers signed out of Fremont High. Crawford was signed out of high school for $100,000, and the rules at the time said if you signed for at least that much, you had to stay on the major league roster for a season, which hampered his development. In 1965, the 19-year-old Crawford got a World Series ring for being on the Dodgers roster, but he batted only 27 times in the regular season. He had a pinch-hit single in Game 1 of that series.

In his first four seasons as a Dodger, he played in 72 games.

He was a productive player for many years and retired after the 1977 season. Crawford died of kidney disease at age 57 in 2004. You can read more about him here.

The postseason race

Here are the postseason seedings as of Thursday’s games. The three division winners get the top three seeds, followed by the three teams with the best records. The top two division winners get a first-round bye. Milwaukee and the Dodgers have clinched division titles and first-round byes.

Division leaders
1. Milwaukee, 100-59
2. Dodgers, 97-62
3. Atlanta, 93-66

Wild cards
1. San Diego, 89-70
2. Chicago, 88-71
3. Philadelphia, 87-72
4. Arizona, 85-74

Mikwaukee has clinched the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The Dodgers have clinched the No. 2 seed and the Braves the No. 3 seed.

The Padres and Cubs have clinched wild-card spots. If the season ended today, Atlanta would host Philadelphia in one best-of-three wild-card round, with the winner taking on the Dodgers. The Padres would host the Cubs in the other wild-card round, with the winner playing Milwaukee.

If there is a three-way tie for the three wild-card spots, then advanced calculus is involved and I was told there would be no math. You can read the complete tiebreaker rules here.

In their final three games of the season, the Padres host the Diamondbacks, Philadelphia hosts Tampa Bay and Chicago plays at Boston.

Five of the six teams in the AL have been decided, with Tampa Bay and Cleveland clinching the top two seedings and the first-round bye. The third seed will be the AL West champion, either Texas or Houston (no relation), who are both 79-80. The Astros have the tiebreaker advantage. The three wild-card teams are the Yankees, Boston and the Chicago White Sox, in that order.

The Cat Man is back

Reports of the demise of Tony Gonsolin were greatly exaggerated. He’s back in the majors.

Gonsolin was an All-Star with the Dodgers in 2022, finishing the season 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA. He was having a mediocre 2023 before he was shut down and had Tommy John surgery. After missing the 2024 season, he came back in 2025, made seven starts and had internal brace surgery on his elbow. The Dodgers let him go. He was busy rehabbing his arm for the last year, and finally the Kansas City Royals decided to give him a chance. They sent him to the minors in August, and called him up to the majors this week.

He came in for a relief appearance on Tuesday and, after pitching two scoreless innings, gave up five runs and four hits, with two walks, ending the outing on a sour note.

“Essentially, I’m trying out for next year,” Gonsolin told reporters before the game. “It has been a while since I’ve thrown before this many fans. Just looking forward to the excitement and the adrenaline.”

These names seem familiar

This will be the final time this feature runs this season. It will be back next season. How many names will have joined it then? How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last few seasons are doing with their new teams (through Wednesday). Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:

Anthony Banda, Twins: 2-0, 4.46 ERA, 2 saves, 34.1 IP, 31 hits, 15 walks, 33 K’s, 95 ERA+, out for the season

Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .268/.343/.436, 533 PA’s, 25 doubles, 3 triples, 17 homers, 73 RBIs, 117 OPS+

Walker Buehler, Padres: 9-6, 4.56 ERA, 150.1 IP, 145 hits, 56 walks, 128 K’s, 89 ERA+

Mike Busch, Cubs: .241/.353/.396, 695 PA’s, 27 doubles, 2 triples, 20 homers, 77 RBIs, 107 OPS+

Michael Conforto, Cubs: .243/.336/.479, 301 PA’s, 16 doubles, 15 homers, 44 RBIs, 122 OPS+

Justin Dean, Cubs: .375/.500/.625, 10 PA’s, 1 triple, 3 RBIs, 209 OPS+, in the minors

Caleb Ferguson, Cardinals: 1-0, 5.18 ERA, 1 save, 33 IP, 37 hits, 19 walks, 31 K’s, 81 ERA+, released by Cardinals

Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 3-8, 4.59 ERA, 86.1 IP, 80 hits, 42 walks, 102 K’s, 92 ERA+, on the IL

Tony Gonsolin, Royals: 0-0, 16.88 ERA, 2.2 IP. 4 hits, 3 walks, 5 K’s, 28 ERA+

Kenley Jansen, Tigers: 4-6, 3.27 ERA, 21 saves, 44 IP, 24 hits, 23 walks, 49 K’s, 129 ERA+

Craig Kimbrel, Royals: 1-5, 4.50 ERA, 1 save, 46 IP, 40 hits, 22 walks, 40 K’s, 94 ERA+

Gavin Lux, Rays: spent all season on the IL

Dustin May, Brewers: 7-9, 4.67 ERA, 142.2 IP, 139 hits, 49 walks, 139 K’s, 85 ERA+

Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .201/.287/.296, 418 PA’s, 15 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 26 RBIs, 64 OPS+

James Outman, Tigers: .172/.235/.318, 157 PA’s, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers, 17 RBIs, 54 OPS+, in the minors

Joc Pederson, Rangers: .235/.329/.487, 432 PA’s, 12 doubles, 2 triples, 26 homers, 53 RBIs, 134 OPS+

Luke Raley, Mariners: .225/.284/.439, 287 PA’s, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 15 homers, 39 RBIs, 105 OPS+, on the IL

Corey Seager, Rangers: .226/.315/.417, 419 PA’s, 16 doubles, 18 homers, 47 RBIs, 112 OPS+

Justin Turner, Tijuana (Mexican League): .295/.395/.469, 263 PA’s, 21 doubles, 6 homers, 28 RBIs. Tijuana won the Mexican League title.

Trea Turner, Phillies: .241/.298/.380, 682 PA’s, 28 doubles, 1 triple, 19 homers, 58 RBIs, 80 OPS+

Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .251/.362/.479, 689 PA’s, 31 doubles, 1 triple, 33 homers, 90 RBIs, 135 OPS+

Kirby Yates, Pirates: 2-5, 3.32 ERA, 3 saves, 40.2 IP, 32 hits, 17 walks, 48 K’s, 127 ERA+

Up next

Friday: Dodgers (*Tarik Skubal, 11-7, 2.85 ERA [4-2, 2.95 ERA with Dodgers]) at San Francisco (Yunior Marte, 0-1, 4.66 ERA), 7:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Saturday: Dodgers (*Blake Snell, 4-1, 1.86 ERA) at San Francisco (*Matt Wilkinson, 1-3, 3.65 ERA), 7:15 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Sunday: Dodgers (TBD) at San Francisco (TBD), 12:05 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

All times Pacific

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

Shaikin: For the Dodgers, the varsity will take it from here

Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing will have chance to make case for postseason roster spot

The Dodgers’ Josue De Paula can hit. Now he’s out to prove he can play defense, too

Dodger Stadium has a botanic garden tour. Meet the man entrusted with making it a draw

Shaikin: Frank McCourt fired him as Dodgers GM. For Dan Evans, and for Montreal, a second chance?

Swanson: Dodgers have no choice. They must hope Tyler Glasnow can trust himself in the playoffs

And finally

Vin Scully calls Clayton Kershaw‘s no-hitter. Watch and listen here.

Until next time …

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Youth group threatens return to mass protests, sets deadline for Gyanesh Kumar to quit due to reports of meddling with voter lists.

India’s ‘cockroach’ party youth movement has threatened to launch nationwide protests unless the country’s chief election officer does not resign by Saturday.

Founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Abhijeet Dipke, announced on Friday that protests would begin in Mumbai on October 2 – if Gyanesh Kumar does not step down.

The CJP, a satirical outfit born on Instagram in May after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young Indians to “cockroaches” and “parasites”, has shaken the staunchly conservative government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Thursday, the group demanded that Kumar quit within 48 hours, following a newspaper report linking him to altered voter lists. Opposition parties say the lists have been manipulated to benefit Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India,” Dipke posted on X.

“This Gandhi Jayanti let’s pledge to save democracy,” he added, referring to the October 2 holiday marking independence leader Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday.

Report provokes political storm

On Wednesday, the Indian Express newspaper reported that two election commissioners had raised questions or voiced concern with Kumar at least 14 times in 10 months, mostly over the process of updating voter lists that began last year.

The main opposition Congress party announced protest marches on state election offices across India on Friday, demanding Kumar’s arrest, his removal and an independent review of decisions and voter-list changes made under him.

Opposition parties have long accused the commission of deleting the names of millions of voters without warning and adding new voters without verification to favour the BJP.

Election panel rejects claims

The Election Commission of India said that “differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution” and that all its actions were lawful.

The BJP has defended the commission, accusing the opposition of a smear campaign because it keeps losing elections.

“Neither the Election Commission of India nor any constitutional body in India is under dictatorial rule,” BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said on Wednesday.

CJP-led protests in July forced the resignation of Modi’s education minister over exam-paper leaks, one of the prime minister’s biggest political setbacks since coming to power in 2014.

The police watchdog has said the Metropolitan Police’s professional standards unit should investigate the force’s handling of a case in which a man suspected of pushing a woman into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge was found dead.

Nicholas Brandram was found dead at his London home on 15 September. His family said he took his own life after the “immense pressure” of a police investigation.

The 44-year-old was under suspicion of being the jogger who pushed a woman into the path of a bus during a run on Putney Bridge in west London in May 2017.

The Met police made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following the banker’s death.

In a statement, the IOPC said: “After carefully considering the referral, we have decided that an investigation is required and that the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards should conduct it.

“We have recommended the review considers matters including the necessity and proportionality of arrest, what engagement was there with the media and considerations made in relation to Mr Brandram’s welfare and the relevant policy.”

The police watchdog added that if the Met’s investigation did not find “any potential misconduct”, the final report must be submitted to the IOPC for review.

The family of Nicholas Brandram insisted in an interview with the BBC that he was not the so-called “Putney pusher”.

The Met previously said that it recognised the “strain that being subject to a police investigation” could cause.

The force said the investigation into the 2017 incident remained ongoing.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, external, X, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk, external

In an otherwise empty compartment of a regional train on its way to a small town in Germany last month, a friendly passenger asked if I was headed to Halberstadt for “the note change.” He was an Australian law professor based in Hong Kong who was traveling with his Swiss mother for the irregular ritual every few years of a new note being sounded on a decommissioned old church’s diminutive modern pipe organ in what feels like the middle of nowhere.

He was hardly alone. The audience the next day in the packed late-Romanesque St. Burchardi “John Cage Organ” Church had come from seemingly everywhere, along with international media, to witness a barely distinguishable new note added to a sustained chord in Cage’s “Organ2/ASLSP.”

“ASLSP” stands for as “As Slow(ly) and Soft(ly) as Possible,” adapted from the opening line of the final paragraph in James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake”: “Soft morning City! Lsp.” Cage had meant his organ piece to enjoy the indeterminacy of neither the performer nor the audience knowing how long the score, in eight parts, would last. In Halberstadt, they are stretching it out 639 years! The performance began in 2001 with the intent that each note change would be a great event.

Four years ago, Times columnist Nicolas Goldberg wrote an opinion piece about his fascination with what to him sounded like a profound project about the meaning of time. I tried to talk him out of what I believed to be a gimmicky violation of the being-in-the-moment spirit of Cage. But what mattered to Nick was the idea, not the intent, and he used me in his column as a foil. Still, Cage has been central to my practicing what some people (not me) call music criticism, and I contended wild horses couldn’t drag me to Halberstadt.

Nevertheless, early August’s “From 7 to 8,” as the note change was advertised, occurred almost exactly to the day, as when, 50 years earlier, I filed my first music review in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. This was also to be my last summer and 121st season on staff of the Los Angeles Times. I step down as music critic Friday. (I still plan to contribute to The Times on an irregular basis.)

I happened to be visiting the Salzburg Festival in August and, in a spirit of endgame, hopped on a train to Halberstadt. On the seven-hour ride, my half-century Cage-suffused career passed through my mind.

I thought about how Cage had once told me that when he was a boy in Los Angeles, he loved Grieg with no need to know why. When he studied music, reason replaced love. It was only regaining the ability to hear music as music that he could compose.

Cage described this as an example of the celebrated Zen koan about reality: First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.

When I accidentally stumbled into music criticism with an academic penchant for music analysis, my crutches for writing about music were technical and of little use in a newspaper. I had to find a way to simply listen. It gave me new ears, and I was hooked.

Cage solved my next problem by insisting that the way to discover new things is to overcome our dependence on our likes and dislikes, those supposed pillars of criticism. College taught me to investigate the “great” composers who mattered and disdain those of no value. Consequently, I had never paid attention to the likes of Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich but discovered that they moved listeners deeply. Again, for me, so-called criticism proved a pathway to opening the mind, and writing about discovery is an ancient pleasure. Cage put it this way: “It’s not what I don’t know that scares me, it’s what I do know.”

The great enticement to return to L.A. after spending nine years in New York (and periodically reporting on Cage from the East Coast and Europe for The Times) was the prospect of Walt Disney Concert Hall. Construction hadn’t yet begun and fundraising was iffy; the community was scared about what it didn’t know. I came armed with another Cage-ism: Every seat is the best seat in the house.

I tried to get the Music Center to make that the motto of the hall. After all, Cage was born at Good Samaritan Hospital about a mile from Disney. That didn’t fly. Still, thanks to Frank Gehry, every seat meant every view inside and out was the best. Every way of seeing also meant every way of hearing. Disney taught L.A. the joy of architecture in a way many of us had never known in this haphazardly built town. Once it was built, there was no choice but to embark on an ongoing love letter to L.A.

Such thoughts on the Cage train poorly suited arriving in the heart of the state of Saxony-Anhalt. One of the first things to catch my eye was a campaign billboard for a far-right Alternative for Germany candidate. A month later AfD would win a landslide victory, dividing Germany and alarming much of Europe.

The streets were mostly deserted. There wasn’t much open, giving the handsome and well-preserved Halberstadt a “Twilight Zone” aura.

In the St. Burchardi Church in Halberstadt, Germany, “The Cage Organ Project” is to be played for 639 years.

(Mark Swed/Los Angeles Times)

Dawn, though, attracted life. “The Cage Organ Project” proved marvelous, to use one of Cage’s favorite words. Whether they were 200-euro ticket holders who had journeyed long and far to be in the church for the note change or the hundreds on complimentary folding chairs outside on the lawn, unshaded in the hot sun watching on large video screens and listening with the assist of a fine amplification system, the aura was now calmness, grace and gratitude.

Nick had been right all along. Time became grounded. The note change is a marker, but the organ, in which air is electronically blown through the pipes day and night for all to hear, has become an endearing sound that connects you to your being. Here and now and hear and now are the same.

ASLSP, moreover, reflects the magical unhurriedness the world craves, be it the slowing down of AI or turning down the volume on social media and politicians’ bully pulpits. None of this may have been on Cage’s mind when “Organ2/ASLSP” had its premiere in Metz, France, in 1987, five years before Cage’s death. That performance lasted a half hour. But Cage is no longer with us, and “Organ2/ASLSP” now has a marvelous life of its own.

One of my most memorable interviews at The Times was with the Dalai Lama in 1999. He had never given one about music and appeared at first sorry he had agreed to. Every question about music got a negative response. The only need he expressed for it was as a fundraising tool for his Tibetan government in exile.

Noting my distress, he explained the problem with music is how easily we get attached to it, and at the heart of Buddhism is nonattachment. Then, breaking the tension with his trademark belly laugh, he admitted his problem was attachment to Buddhism.

At Halberstadt, I may have found my way of letting go. But I also leave The Times with the gratitude not only for the freedom it allowed me to champion causes but also to be part of a very long, quirky process that makes this newspaper unique.

Going back to 1925, there have only been four Times classical music critics in 101 years, and arriving here in 1996, I immediately discovered my roots in Isabel Morse Jones. A violinist who covered music from 1925 to 1947, she was a modernist with her finger on the pulse of the times and stood in refreshing contrast to the fussy East Coast male critics.

She was said to have provided an intellectual awakening of music on the West Coast. She put the Hollywood Bowl on the map. She championed new music and not just the stellar locals, Stravinsky and Schoenberg, but also the avant-garde and world music no one else gave the time of day. After leaving The Times, Jones founded the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara originally modeled after the Salzburg Festival.

She threw her lot in with the society page editor, who covered women’s clubs. Together they became a power duo who campaigned to build a home for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which three decades later led to the Music Center. That society editor — who chronicled and illuminated the social, political and artistic issues in L.A. in the 1930s from the women’s perspective — was Crete Cage. John Cage’s mother was a must-read for all women in L.A.

We cannot hold on to Cage, but we can’t escape him either. Times look bad. L.A. feels in the dumps. It was like that, as well, when I arrived at The Times in 1996. The city was still recovering from the 1992 riots — the beating of Rodney King had caused a profound social reckoning — and the 1994 earthquake. There was a recession. The L.A. Phil, now the model arts institution in the country if not the world, was millions of dollars in the hole.

Today, catastrophe is wherever you look. The Olympics, the environment, the damn developers, self-driving cars, LAX. The news business isn’t so hot either.

But let history — and John Cage — remind us that opening our ears can be the conduit to opening our minds. We have a wealth of new artistic leadership on the way at the L.A. Phil, L.A. Opera, L.A. Chamber orchestra and Pacific Symphony; new management at the L.A. Master Chorale and the Wallis and Long Beach Opera. And new ideas all around us.

Just as Disney Hall spread joy when we needed it most, one of Gehry’s final masterpieces is taking shape, the Colburn Center on 2nd Street a block from Disney. I took a hard-hat tour after returning home from Halberstadt and experienced the same combination of awe and promise. When it opens next year, it will be a game changer.

And even here, Cage the connector can’t keep out. At the press opening of Peter Zumthor’s new LACMA building, I buttonholed the architect, telling him I see John Cage all over the place. He looked startled for a moment and then with an uncharacteristic grin replied that he considered that a welcome compliment. Chance, he said, is very important.

Across town, one of MOCA’s most successful exhibitions was its 1993 Cage celebration, “Rolywholyover A Circus.” Cage asked for natural light, so that paintings would always look different whenever you saw them. He wanted the surprise of artwork hung in an unpredictable fashion. He wanted to let the outdoors in and the indoors out.

It is no coincidence that this describes aspects of the new LACMA. “Rolywholyover” traveled to the Guggenheim in New York’s SoHo district the next year, and the young curator in charge was Michael Govan, LACMA’s visionary head behind the Zumthor galleries.

Along with the new LACMA building we have a new Metro D Line stop nearby. Now a direct connector between LACMA and the Colburn Center passes almost directly under Good Samaritan Hospital.

Let me make my last suggestion as “music critic.” How about naming the new D Line connection between LACMA and the Colburn Center the John Cage Express?

Not everything has to be as slow as possible.

SACRAMENTO — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco got slapped down Thursday by the California Supreme Court in not one but two cases. Ouch.

First, the court told Bianco to return more than 600,000 ballots he had seized as part of an ill-conceived, conspiracy-laden “investigation” into voter fraud — making it clear it was the sheriff who was the criminal.

“The seizure of the ballots was unlawful,” the court wrote, before ordering Bianco to give them back to the registrar of voters and “refrain from further handling of the ballots except as necessary to comply with our order.”

Then the court, in a separate case, told Bianco he’s not a law unto himself, and in fact does have a boss in the form of the state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. Bonta had previously ordered Bianco to pause his investigation, and Bianco largely ignored him.

The court found that the constitutional authority held by the attorney general “includes the power to give binding directions to sheriffs.”

While the high-profile lawsuit about Bianco’s seizure of hundreds of thousands of ballots from last year’s special election on redistricting has grabbed headlines, the second case about the authority of the state attorney general to oversee all California sheriffs and district attorneys is equally powerful.

It’s the first time the court has weighed in on a long-running debate in California over whether elected sheriffs have to answer to anyone. Not only did Bianco lose for election deniers everywhere in the first case, he also managed to clarify for all California sheriffs in the second case that they are not as powerful as some would like to believe.

Combined, the two opinions by the state’s highest court give another layer of assurance to Golden State residents that the integrity of the November midterm elections is as secure as the state can make it — some welcome news in a national landscape where free and fair elections are increasingly at risk.

The quiet advocate

Before we get into what the ruling means for midterms in California, there are two overlooked bits that make these cases even more interesting.

First, gubernatorial candidate and former Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has been closely involved in the ballot-seizing case, but also pretty quiet about it.

Whenever a politician does something good and doesn’t advertise it, it always catches my attention. Politicians, especially ones running for office, aren’t big on modesty.

But Becerra has not spent a lot of time talking about this, even though he is actually a working attorney on this case, as an advisor to the UCLA Voting Rights Project. He came up with ideas, he participated — this wasn’t just a put-my-name-on-it role, I’ve been told by folks who know.

And it’s not the first time Becerra has helped the Voting Rights Project in a major endeavor. It was their work that helped define the legal arguments that made Proposition 50 happen. That’s last year’s ballot initiative that redrew California voting maps to favor Democrats, in response to a Texas effort to gerrymander in favor of Republicans. It was Proposition 50 ballots that Bianco seized.

“Today the California Supreme Court handed voters a great victory,” Becerra said in a statement from the voting project. “The Court knocked election deniers off their feet and strengthened our hand in election protection just ahead of the November vote. We must use every lever at our disposal to beat back voter interference and intimidation.”

That line about knocking election deniers is not hyperbole. In some far-right, conspiracy-rich circles, Bianco’s cowboy-saving-the-day routine was viewed as heroic. Maybe even something to emulate.

Across the country, there are rumblings — including from President Trump — about seizing ballots from past or future elections. While this ruling is firmly rooted in California law, most states have similar chains of custody when it comes to ballots. So it’s likely to at least make other would-be-Biancos pause.

In a later interview, Becerra told me that the Voting Rights Project was “the one thing I decided I would do after I came home from being secretary in Washington, D.C.,” whether he ran for office or not, “just because I so believe in the work that they do.”

He said as he campaigns this year, he’s seeing anxiety in minority communities from that interference and intimidation, maybe even fear that could pressure some legal voters to sit this one out.

“It makes it tough when you’ve got all these things standing in your way before you even get to thinking about going to vote,” Becerra said. “The Latino community, other communities, mostly under-served communities, I always tell them, we’re not rich. The way we win these things is by voting.”

The Liu concurrence

The second fact that caught my attention was a concurring opinion on the ballot case by Justice Goodwin Liu.

While the court was unanimous in its findings, Liu wrote his own opinion highlighting how the Riverside registrar of voters was “caught between a rock and a hard place” when the sheriff of his own county showed up with a warrant, guns and “enough trucks to remove several pallets of materials.”

That trifecta, Liu wrote, left the registrar little room for dissent — but that’s a problem.

Liu’s point seemed to be that with the current state of our president making election denial chic, our voting officials need to step up. He said the registrar should have come directly to the court for relief, and not left it to the Voting Rights Project and other plaintiffs.

“It is a lot to ask of our election officials that they not only do their jobs competently but also stand ready to sue anyone who unlawfully interferes with their duties,” Liu wrote. “Yet here we are.”

Since Bianco seized the ballots, state law has been changed. This session, legislators passed (and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed) at least 13 laws pertaining to election security, including making it a felony to break the chain of ballot custody, and ensuring that local election officials immediately contact the state in instances when that is threatened. Those laws will offer protection to election officials if a situation like this comes up again.

But Liu’s point is still valid. Being an election official is no longer a sleepy little job, but a front-line battle for democracy, and for “our democracy to flourish, our elections must be conducted in accordance with the law.”

Which brings us back to the midterms. California shouldn’t be complacent, but the state isn’t slouching on preparation, or resolve.

As Bonta put it, “if you can imagine it, we are ready for it.”

I’m not quite that confident — and definitely concerned for contests outside of the Golden State — but Thursday’s rulings are a reminder that the law still holds, even when lawmen try to break it.

What else you should be reading:

The must-read: Ballot seizure by Riverside County sheriff was ‘unlawful,’ California Supreme Court rules
The California angle: This deadly fungus isn’t just a rural threat anymore. New studies point to cities and oil wells
The L.A. Times Special: Hollywood would get 20% federal film tax credit under proposed new bill
Stay Golden,
Anita Chabria

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Transfer windows, team budget caps and drones replacing convoy vehicles at races are three of the ideas to boost cycling in a new report from the sport’s global governing body.

The Union Cycliste Internationale’s (UCI) report, entitled “Future of Cycling”, examined road cycling and heard from 55 stakeholders including professional teams, national federations, race organisers and some riders.

It aims to turn a “large but passive audience into active, loyal fandom”, admitting cycling’s under-35 audience was “under-represented” and there was a need to “strengthen its appeal”.

“While the sport today enjoys strong and growing popularity across five continents, its media exposure and the revenue it generates for its stakeholders do not yet fully reflect its potential,” it said.

Among the most frequently referenced recommendations were:

The combined total budget of professional UCI tour teams in 2025 was £731m (850m euros), but individual team budgets vary.

Long-discussed budget caps, aimed at evening out the peloton and increasing “financial fairness”, would improve the attractiveness of the sport for investors according to the UCI.

But it admitted any such mechanism remains the biggest point of difference for stakeholders and would be at the heart of upcoming discussions.

Meanwhile work on a new transfer system and rider-agent regulation was already under way, it said.

YOU’LL be able to travel to 34 more destinations with Jet2 from the UK soon.

The airline is launching a number of new routes for Winter 26/27, with destinations including winter sun spots, city breaks and pretty Christmas markets.

It marks the airline’s biggest winter programme as well as its first winter season from London Gatwick Airport.

Destinations in Europe include La Palma in Spain, Copenhagen in Denmark and Vienna in Austria.

Though, you can head further afield too as there are flights to two spots in Egypt – Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh – as well as a route to Agadir in Morocco.

For some winter sun with temperatures up to 24C in December, fly to Hurghada in Egypt.

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The Egyptian resort city sits on the Red Sea and is the ideal spot to head off scuba diving to see colourful coral reefs.

And there is sunshine year-round.

You’ll get the best of both worlds too as after exploring the water you can head to the desert, for a quad biking or camel riding experience.

Another destination getting Jet2 flights is a city that feels more like stepping into a Disney movie.

Often referred to as a fairytale city due to its winding medieval streets, Tallinn in Estonia takes just three hours to get to from the UK.

The old town of the city is full of interesting shops as well as grand medieval churches and walls.

For a city centre, it is very quiet as well.

And if you happen to visit in December, go the Christmas market, full of chalets selling handmade Estonian gifts as well as glögi – which is essentially Estonian mulled wine.

At the centre of the market is the world’s oldest recorded public Christmas tree as well, which dates back to 1441.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2, said: “We are seeing strong demand from customers and independent travel agents for all kinds of winter holidays, so we have responded by putting a fantastic selection of brand-new routes on sale for Winter 26/27.

“Whether holidaymakers want winter sun, a festive Christmas market break, a ski holiday to the Alps or a city break, this expanded programme gives them more choice and flexibility than ever before.

“The addition of 34 new winter routes, three new destinations and our first winter season from London Gatwick Airport shows how we are continuing to grow in direct response to demand.

“This is about giving customers more of what they want for winter, with an exciting mix of destinations that caters for every type of getaway.”

Flights for the new routes cost from as little as £30 per way.

And if you don’t want to wait, the airline currently has 6.3 million seats on sale to 42 destinations for this winter.

Tigray was cutoff from the world during the 2020-2022 civil war, which killed around 600,000 people.

Fears of a communications blackout in northern Ethiopia have increased as fighting flares between the federal military and forces from the Tigray region and ⁠their allies.

Telecom and internet networks were reported to have stopped working on Friday as the conflict threatened to develop across the country into a full-scale war.

The interruptions have provoked fears of a repeat of the communications blackout and supplies blockade during the 2020-2022 civil war in ⁠northern Ethiopia, when Tigray was largely cut off from the outside world.

Web monitor NetBlocks said it had detected an “internet disruption in northern Ethiopia corresponding to reports of a telecoms blackout in Tigray”.

The Reuters news agency reported that Tigray’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, had ordered private operator Safaricom and state-owned Ethio telecom to cut off access ⁠to phone and internet networks in the region.

Full-scale war

A source said the restrictions may be part of a tactic to neutralise the advantage of government forces using battlefield drones.

Lower-level clashes between federal and Tigrayan forces have been ongoing for some time. However, fighting intensified this week across Tigray and later spread to the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, after seven armed groups announced they have formed an alliance.

The Ethiopian Peoples’ Forces Alliance for Survival has committed itself to removing the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The Tigray Army said the federal government had launched a “full-scale offensive” involving infantry, mechanised units and drones, and said its forces had begun what they called a defensive war to counter aggression by Abiy’s government.

The alliance forces have seized three airports and launched attacks against ⁠federal troops in Afar and Amhara.

The ⁠federal government has accused Eritrea of financially backing the TPLF and its allies, which leaders in the capital Asmara deny.

Abdisalam Balema, a member of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) central committee, told Al Jazeera that the situation has become a “full war”.

The outbreak of violence is the most serious escalation ⁠since the civil war in 2020-2022. During that conflict, which killed an estimated 600,000 people, the telecoms blackout and supplies blockade imposed on Tigray caused famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands of people.

People in Tigray are reported to have rushed to stock up on basic supplies and withdraw cash.

The renewed fighting comes at an awkward moment for the United States, which only this month lifted sanctions on Ethiopia and Eritrea related to atrocities committed during the last civil war, saying the “national emergency… has expired”.

The conflict could also draw in neighbouring Eritrea, which fears landlocked Ethiopia is planning to invade it to gain access to the Red Sea.

WHEN Joey Essex was pictured getting close with newly single Love Island star Priya Jaswal earlier this month, many hoped it was the start of the latest reality TV romance. 

But The Sun can reveal that despite their late-night flirtation things have not been heating up between the Towie icon and the Surrey-born beauty for one very surprising reason. 

Even though Joey has acquired something of a lothario reputation – dating a bevvy of beauties including Jesy Potts and Sam Faiers, since rising to fame on the ITV reality show in 2011 – he’s got his eyes on a very different sort of prize, I’m told. 

A source tells me: “Priya and Joey spent the evening laughing and joking away so many assumed it could turn into something more serious.

“But Joey is taking a break from women and sex at the moment. In fact, he’s taken a vow of chastity.

“He’s got this big boxing match next month and he’s taking it very seriously.

“He is determined to win and has been sweating it out in the gym and is going to give it everything he has got.

“So Joey is on a strict sex ban until after the fight.”

The 36-year-old TV star is scheduled for a Misfits Boxing match on October 10 against comedian Dapper Laughs – real name Daniel O’Reilly – at the Copper Box Arena, London. 

Misfits was launched in 2022 by YouTube star KSI and his manager Mams Taylor as the home for celebrity-style crossover bouts.

The effectiveness of sex bans before big sporting bouts is contested, but it is thought that Muhammad Ali abstained for six weeks prior to matches, as he believed avoiding sex preserved testosterone, focus and leg strength.

Joey is not the only modern day boxer to take a pre-match vow of chastity.

Tyson Fury has also switched to no-sex preparations, instead of his previous method of masturbating furiously before matches. 

In 2022, ahead of his fight against Derek Chisora, Fury told Barstool Sports: “You know how I used to masturbate seven times per day to give me power?

“This time I’m celibate. I’m celibate for seven weeks until the fight. It’s a new method, I’m trying something out.

“I’m going in there with a loaded gun, someone’s getting in severe trouble.

“I’m gonna be testosteroned out of my head completely. Seven weeks’ worth.”

Joey’s stringent new regime will be a bitter blow for gorgeous Priya, 25, who is newly single after splitting from Love Island villa beau Aidan Murphy hours before the NTAs. 

Joey and Priya were inseparable at the after party at London’s O2 arena, looking cosy as they chatted for hours and then left the bash together.

They then carried on partying at the after-after party in the Skybar at the nearby Intercontinental Hotel.

A source said at the time: “Joey and Priya really hit it off and got close. We’ll have to see what happens.

“Obviously Priya is very fresh to showbiz and just out of her connection with Aidan so we’ll see.”

However, according to sources, the pair swapped numbers and exchanged messages since their fun night out together. 

It is not the first time that Joey has been linked to a Love Island beauty. 

The London-born star even did his own stint in the villa in 2024, entering on the evening of Day 1 as the first “bombshell” of the series. Essex was the first celebrity to appear on the revived version of the show.

Joey was linked to model Grace Jackson, with whom he reportedly enjoyed a whirlwind romance for around six weeks in early 2024 after meeting in Dubai.

However, their relationship ended abruptly, leaving Grace feeling “hurt and confused” by Joey’s decision to break up.

The situation took an unexpected turn when Grace entered the Love Island villa on June 13, 2024, much to Joey’s shock.

It certainly called fireworks and became the drama of the season.

He was initially coupled up with Samantha Kenny, but later swayed toward bombshell Grace, leading to explosive arguments and mixed signals.

Joey then later turned his attention to another bombshell, Jessy Potts. This transition caused massive fallout with Grace, resulting in explosive arguments that dominated the screen time.

But it was not meant to be. Joey Essex and Jessy Potts confirmed their split on September 18, 2024.

The break up came just seven weeks after they left the Love Island villa together.

Despite their initial connection, both Joey and Jessy cited their busy schedules as a significant factor contributing to their breakup.

Jessy said that they “tried to make it work”, but the demands of their post-villa lives made it challenging to maintain their relationship.

More recently Joey confirmed on The Sun’s Showbiz Fix that he is a single man, and if his boxing career continues to thrive, it might just stay that way.

Political polls are like weather forecasts. They’re worth passing consideration, maybe, but you’d have to be a fool to bet your house on their accuracy.

And yet there’s something that rings true about the recent poll suggesting that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is in deep trouble among likely voters as she tries to hold on to a job that Councilmember Nithya Raman is trying to snatch away from her.

Here are the numbers, as compiled by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times:

Raman: 39%.

Bass: 28%.

Undecided: 33%.

Bass has naturally tried to debunk the poll. What else could she do, when her supporters are outnumbered by people who can’t make up their minds? Bass would need to dominate the undecided vote to have a chance, but given her high unfavorability rating, that’ll be hard to do.

On the other hand, Raman certainly hasn’t put things out of reach, despite the fact that Bass carries the baggage of the Palisades fire and has made only minimal progress on her signature issue — homelessness. Election day is less than two months away, and Raman has failed to convince anywhere near a majority that she’s the answer.

So what do Raman and Bass need to do between now and Nov. 3?

Some speculate that Bass may need to step up the negative attacks.

I beg to differ.

We need both candidates to be bolder, more creative, more convincing, and to tell us things we haven’t heard before.

All the recent L.A. mayors I’ve known had their faults and failures, whether the task was filling potholes, building out transit or addressing the high cost of housing. But among their best qualities, Dick Riordan was arrogantly confident, Jim Hahn had a steady hand on the tiller, Antonio Villaraigosa was tireless and passionate, Eric Garcetti was a long-range thinker on earthquakes, water and energy.

L.A. needs a mayor with all of those qualities. A cheerleader. A task master. A ball buster.

Running the second-largest city in the country is no easy task, because many of the problems at street level begin well beyond local control, related in part to an economy that leaves too many people behind.

But if you want to lead a world-class city, you need to have world-class answers on the big stuff like housing and homelessness and on the basics, too, like fractured sidewalks and neglected parks. Most voters don’t give a hoot about which candidate is more of a socialist or a moderate. City Hall is broken, and they want to know who can fix it.

On Wednesday, I checked the same sadly neglected area around City Hall that I wrote about in April and found only minimal improvements. Graffiti has been washed from the Frank Putnam Flint fountain, but it remains a broken-down monument to neglect, as it has for most of the past 60 years. And all around it, most of the little placards identifying native plants are broken or missing.

People rest on the Frank Putnam Flint fountain outside City Hall, a sadly neglected area.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The L.A. Mall is still a largely abandoned wreck, with broken planter boxes and weeds at street level. A woman with two shopping carts told me she’s been homeless for 5½ years. The restaurant next to the nearby police department is shuttered; the restaurant across the street from it is long dead, and the once-vibrant downtown — which generated revenue that benefited every neighborhood of the city — is gasping.

I drove down Hope Street, south of 12th Street, because a reader who lives in that area and has told me about repeated fires at abandoned properties. A tractor was clearing debris from a recent blaze.

I drove west on Olympic toward Alvarado, an area I visit regularly to see a friend. Streets are strewn with trash. They’re always strewn with trash. At Olympic and South Lake, where encampments line the street and a fire once spread into a church parking lot, destroying vehicles, there’s a concrete triangle that was heaped with trash. It’s always heaped with trash, like a municipal dump on a busy thoroughfare.

Next I headed west on Wilshire to the RFK Memorial I wrote about 10 months ago, near the site of the 1968 Bobby Kennedy assassination. It remainsfenced-off, with trash and graffitiand with overgrown vines covering tributes to Kennedy. The city was going to help the school district clean things up. Then the school district took on the task.

It’s still a mess. Actually, it’s more than that. It’s an indictment. And so is the fact that in Studio City, where frustrated neighbors complained for five years that an abandoned property had been taken over by squatters, it took a recent fire to get City Hall’s attention.

The property, since cleared, is in Raman’s district, and she and Bass traded accusations about who had dropped the ball.

“As far as homelessness goes, I don’t see either candidate really showing a clear vision to solve this,” said Kayt Miranda, whose home was damaged by the fire at the abandoned property. “I mean, it’s a tall order, and I wouldn’t want to be in charge of that. But I’m not hearing anything from either of them that sounds like it will work or hasn’t been tried already.”

To be fair, Bass and Raman have each had lots of success on homelessness, with thousands of people being brought indoors. That job is not easy, especially given the number of people with mental illness and addiction issues. I know this from personal experience, having spent a year trying to steer a friend in from homelessness.

But the pace is too slow and the cost too high. As my colleague David Zahniser reported earlier this year, $300 million had been spent on the mayor’s Inside Safe program since December 2022, and as of last December, 40% of the 5,800 people who had been housed were back on the street.

And that was with an estimated annual cost per person of $82,000. Raman, who had supported the program, became a critic of it and touted a less expensive strategy that itself has been criticized for its slow pace, as Times City Hall reporter Noah Goldberg wrote in August.

Not long ago, a homelessness policy expert suggested to me that if we could figure out a way to double the nearly $1,000 Social Security Disability subsidy many homeless people get, it would open some doors in a housing market they’re now priced out of. Too expensive? It’s cheaper than what we’re doing.

I’d like to hear the candidates rethink the playbook like that, double down on what works and drop what doesn’t.

I’d like to hear from a candidate with a realistic plan to get L.A. out of the cellar in park rankings nationally, to break up the 10-year logjam for a sidewalk repair and the two-year wait to fix a street light.

All those undecided voters know exactly what they want.

A mayor who says fix the busted fountain by the end of the week, or else.

They want someone to win their vote.

steve.lopez@latimes.com

The Premier League has joined three of its top European counterparts in calling for “fundamental” reform of the way that Fifa is run, claiming its president Gianni Infantino has “actively promoted exploitative ideas”.

In a joint statement with Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, and Italy’s Serie A, the English top flight says it is speaking out “because we understand how Fifa’s relentless expansionism affects everyone”.

The four leagues say the shake-up is needed to make world football’s governing body “transparent, objective, proportionate and inclusive” and claim that “our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are undermined”.

It comes days after Infantino proposed an external review of how Fifa operates amid the ongoing crisis over his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, which sparked a global outcry.

Referencing “one of the biggest abuses of power in Fifa’s history”, the four leagues say that “while football’s stakeholders ultimately forced the withdrawal of the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, the conditions that led to FFE remain”.

The statement added: “The Fifa president has now acknowledged the need for reform, but it is not enough for surface-level, process changes to be explored in the aftermath of FFE – fundamental governance reform is essential to restore clear constitutional boundaries within Fifa, including confidence that individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference.”

That is known to be a reference to the cancelled suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup after US President Donald Trump called Infantino asking for the striker’s ban to be reviewed.

“Fifa’s governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual,” the leagues added.

“The wider question is whether Fifa’s president should simultaneously wield such regulatory, commercial and political power without effective checks and balances, including the agreement of affected stakeholders… governance that concentrates unchecked regulatory, commercial and political power in a single office, while relegating affected stakeholders to mere advisory status, is not fit for purpose.”

Fifa has been approached for comment.

People in Ceuta face harsh living conditions, overcrowding, limited aid, and alleged abuse while awaiting decisions about their future.

Ceuta, Spain – For more than a month, 21-year-old Anis Fadi, a university graduate and qualified accountant, has been sleeping in a makeshift shelter.

At the end of July, he crossed the border from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, on the North African coast, along with about 70,000 others.

At his migrant camp on Trampolin Beach, he queues for hours each day for food at a Red Cross centre.

“I don’t even have a tent,” he told Al Jazeera. “We make shelter with old pieces of wood, sticks from broken branches, and whatever else we find here.”

When the wind blows, these makeshift shelters offer little protection, and soon the temperature will dip.

“There are a lot of people worse than me,” said Fadi.

The Spanish government estimates that between 6,000 and 10,000 who made the crossing remain stranded. Officials in Ceuta believe the figure is closer to 13,000 people.

About 5,000 – mostly women and children – have been given temporary accommodation by the authorities. The rest sleep outside.

Fadi said, as he waits for food in the heat, police officers with batons shout orders at the crowds.

“It’s a hard life here,” he said, but he does not regret leaving Morocco.

“Life was harder there for me. I didn’t see any future for myself.”

‘We are not criminals’

More than 100 people died in the crossing. Fadi said he swam for hours to reach Ceuta, believing it was a gateway to Europe, where he imagines a better life awaits.

He believes men like him who “have the skills … don’t have the chance”.

“We are not criminals,” he said, in response to the anti-migration rhetoric and protests that followed the crossing. “We just want to work.”

Right-wing European politicians have framed the Ceuta crossing as a threatening invasion.

In Spain, protests have erupted against the government’s handling of the crisis.

Ceuta is usually home to about 84,000 people. Its population almost doubled at the outset of this crisis. Though most have returned, the enclave has been struggling to cope with the pressure of hosting those who remain.

After a new temporary shelter opened up recently, offering space for about 1,700 people, it hit capacity within hours.

Claims of abuse

As humanitarian groups struggle to provide basic needs, Nolte Bauer, from Mission Lifeline International, said migrants also feel unsafe.

“Outside the official camps there is a lack of basic hygiene,” he said. “There is insufficient medical aid and the immediate danger of violence, especially at night.”

His organisation often receives reports of people being beaten.

Several people interviewed by Al Jazeera said they had been abused by men in military or police uniforms. Some were wounded, with cuts to the head or bruising around the body.

“These are racist people, these soldiers,” one man who requested anonymity told Al Jazeera. “They found me sleeping and they started to hit me without any reason. They broke one of my hands; they wanted to break the other one. They also beat me on my knees.”

Some said they were afraid to go to hospital, fearing they could be deported, and instead sought help from aid groups. NGO volunteers told Al Jazeera they had treated wounded men.

But Spanish authorities rejected any claims of abuse and discrimination, telling Al Jazeera that the police acts “with absolute respect for human rights”.

They say they are expanding accommodation and providing food and medical care while migrants are identified and their cases are processed.

The government has said the aim is to return to Morocco those who do not have a legal status to remain in Spain, while Ceuta’s leaders have repeatedly called on Madrid and Europe for more support.

BRITAIN’S first flying taxi centre has opened and flights could be taking off soon.

The facility has been hailed a “once-in-a-generation milestone” in the development of new aircraft.

Pioneering tech firm Vertical Aerospace has debuted a new first-of-its-kind facility at its Cotswold Airport site in Gloucestershire.

The team based at the assembly centre are currently working on the development and testing of a new form of air taxi called the Valo aircraft.

The electric vehicle seats up to four passengers and can fly up to 160km without any operating emissions.

Construction on the new Valo aircraft is set to begin in late 2027.

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Initially, the tech firm has said it will build 25 aircraft a year but will grow this number to 900 a year by 2035.

Vertical revealed they have already received 1,500 orders, largely from airlines, but is also planning on getting its planes accredited for commercial use by 2029.

The new facilities form part of Vertical’s larger existing flight test centre located at the airport, increasing the site by a further 60,000 sq ft.

Vertical Aerospace’s CEO, Stuart Simpson, told the BBC that we are “getting really close to this idea of flying cars, flying taxis”.

“Opening our aircraft assembly centre is an important step in Vertical’s transition from prototype developer to aircraft manufacturer,” added Simpson.

“Bringing a new category of aircraft to market is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and it is especially rewarding to do that here in Great Britain, drawing on the country’s proud aviation heritage.”

Later this year, plans for a separate full-scale production site are expected to be revealed with the aim of supporting a much larger volume of vehicle manufacturing.

RONAN Keating stripped naked and flashed his bum in a desperate attempt to flog tickets for his solo tour, after the recent Boyzone reunion controversy.

The star, 49, who shot to fame in the early 90s in the famous Irish boyband, gave his loyal fans a cheeky thrill in his latest Instagram video.

In the short video Ronan can be seen in his plush kitchen mixing himself a cocktail.

The star is wearing just an apron, with his bare chest visible underneath.

“Been working hard in the gym, getting ready for the World Tour,” Ronan tells fans.

“Treating myself, you know, to a little cocktail.”

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The star adds: “Tickets go on sale tomorrow, UK and Europe.”

Ronan then picks up his drink and turns around to reveal he is fully nude underneath the apron.

The singer then flashes his bottom as he walks off with his cocktail.

Fans rushed to comment on the cheeky video, with one saying: “Ok I just spat my drink out!”

While another joked: “Rear of year winner 2003!”

Ronan is gearing up for his solo tour, after performing in Boyzone’s last ever gigs in June.

The singer shot to fame in the Irish boyband in the early 90s, along with Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham and the late Stephen Gately, who passed away in 2009.

But during their recent reunion gigs there was some controversy after one of the remaining four bandmates went “missing”.

Fans were left in uproar when Mikey only appeared on stage midway through the concerts to perform only a handful of songs.

During their time together, Boyzone racked up 18 Top Ten singles, with six No1s including 1998’s No Matter What.

However, in 1999, while still a member of Boyzone, Ronan released When You Say Nothing At All which became part of the soundtrack for the movie Notting Hill.

The song topped the UK charts and launched his solo career.