The Trump administration has frozen, terminated or delayed billions in congressionally approved research grants since last year. Proposition 38 aims to backfill some of that loss by creating a stable source of money to fund immunology and immunotherapy research.

The basics

Proposition 38 would authorize the state to issue $8.4 billion in bonds to fund immunology and immunotherapy research to uncover treatments that help the immune system fight diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease more efficiently.

The impact

The measure would require at least $4.2 billion of the funds to be used for immunology research on cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. It also would authorize the state to enter a partnership with an immunology and immunotherapy research institute selected by the California Department of Public Health and allocate half of the bond revenue to it. The remaining funds would be used for competitive grants that focus solely on immunology and immunotherapy research.

Californians would take on an increased cost of $500 million to $600 million annually to repay the bond for about 20 years, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

The Yes on 38 campaign says the proposition pays for itself: 10% of all proceeds from the licensing of immunotherapies must be returned to the state to offset the total cost of the bond measure, including interest.

However, it’s difficult to predict whether any research projects will lead to marketable treatments.

Dig deeper

Proposition 38 is backed by organizations including the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the ALS Assn., as well as a majority of local chapters of Democratic organizations across the state. Supporters say the proposed funding could give those afflicted with chronic illness hope and potentially more options for treatment.

Its opponents have said the proposed criteria for awarding the grant funding would appear to create an extremely small pool of qualified recipients. Only the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy, co-founded by billionaire Gary K. Michelson, would qualify under the proposed criteria, according to No on 38, the campaign against the proposition.

Robin Swanson, spokesperson for the Yes on 38 campaign, said “lots of institutions would qualify for funds under this measure.”

But she said at a virtual news conference in mid-September that it was “very likely” that the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy “will qualify for half of the funds under the current criteria.”

Ultimately, Swanson said, the decision lies with the California Department of Public Health.

More reading

Your guide to Proposition 38: Immunology and immunotherapy research funding (L.A. Times)

An analysis of Prop. 38 (California Legislative Analyst’s Office)

This CA proposition will send $4 billion to a single nonprofit. Who’s behind it? (Cal Matters)

This institute could get $4 billion from a ballot measure. With just three workers, is it ready? (Cal Matters)

Great Britain’s Kadeena Cox set a new world record as she won C4 1km gold at the Para Cycling Track World Championships in the Netherlands.

The 35-year-old crossed the line in 1 minute 9.545 seconds to win her seventh world title.

Cox faced a nervous wait as Tara Neyland took to the track afterwards in pursuit of a medal, but her Australian rival could not eclipse the Briton’s time.

Cox, who is a five-time Paralympic gold medallist, was draped in a British flag by her team following victory as she joyously celebrated her first world title since 2024.

In the men’s tandem B 1km time-trial, Britain’s James Ball defended his title as he won gold alongside new partner Aaron Pope.

The pair dominated in the final, crossing the line in 59.563 seconds as Ball secured his eighth world title, with Pope winning his first.

In the women’s pursuit final, Britain’s Sophie Unwin alongside Jenny Holl won silver behind New Zealand’s gold medallists Emma Foy and Jessie Hodges.

Unwin and Holl had earlier set a new world record of 4:30.262 in qualifying, before it was broken by Foy and Hodges’ time of 4:29.672.

In the men’s C4 final, Britain’s Archie Atkinson won bronze, while compatriot Fin Graham also took bronze in the C3 1km time-trial.

The United States has scrapped a traditional group photo of foreign ministers after European officials refused to be pictured alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The move exposes deep rifts at the heart of the Group of 20 (G20), whose foreign ministers are meeting in the southern city of Atlanta in the United States for talks overshadowed by the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

“There will be no family photo featuring our European partners together with Mr Lavrov,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said, according to the dpa news agency.

Lavrov, who remains under Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, arrived in Atlanta ahead of the talks, Russian state media reported. Moscow said on Thursday that he would use his speech to argue against international sanctions. Ukraine was not invited, the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National reported.

A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that Russia’s presence at the G20 “in no way legitimises its actions”.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas pledged on Thursday to urge G20 partners to strengthen support for Ukraine and pursue accountability through a special tribunal and claims commission, after a Russian strike on a Ukrainian railway station killed at least 14 people earlier that day.

The meeting also comes weeks after US President Donald Trump issued sanctions waivers allowing Russia to export diesel to ease fuel prices before the November 3 midterm elections.

Opening the talks, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged members to cooperate on economic and geopolitical crises threatening global trade, energy and food supplies, and freedom of navigation, dpa reported. Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz after US-Israeli strikes began in late February, and global energy prices have risen sharply since.

“Both maritime and food security drive economic security,” Rubio wrote on X.

No joint statement is expected. A diplomatic source told the AFP news agency that Washington will instead publish a chair’s summary it has drafted. The source added: “The G20 is no longer really a forum where foreign ministers can reach agreement on a statement.”

No government has said whether Rubio and Lavrov will hold a formal bilateral meeting.

China sent Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu in place of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to a delegation list released by the Department of State. South Africa, a founding G20 member, has been excluded by Washington, and the African Union is represented by Burundi’s Edouard Bizimana.

The Atlanta talks are the last ministerial meeting of the US G20 presidency before leaders meet in Miami on December 14 and 15.

Caracas, October 29, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez defended an ongoing plan to privatize state assets and return nationalized companies to former owners on Thursday.

“I have ordered the evaluation of non-essential state assets to be offered to the private sector or returned to their previous owners,” she said in a televised address to the nation.

“This is already in motion. The right to private property is guaranteed by our Constitution,” Rodríguez added.

In April, the acting president established a commission to evaluate the “strategic” value of state-owned companies, land, and other assets, to determine whether they should be retained, privatized, or liquidated.

Former President Hugo Chávez implemented a program of nationalizations in the 2000s to assert state control over strategic economic sectors, including electricity, telecommunications, and heavy industries.

After enacting a pro-business overhaul of hydrocarbon and mining legislation earlier this year, the Venezuelan parliament is on the verge of approving the partial privatization of the electricity sector. Foreign companies are likewise in talks to acquire the country’s largest aluminum smelter, while a consortium headed by Sunergon Oil is reportedly pushing the takeover of several industrial plants associated with the oil industry.

Business sector representative Luigi Pisella, who heads the commission, recently proposed a law enshrining multinational corporate participation in privatized public entities alongside local capital.

“I have encountered no resistance to this idea,” he stated in an interview with Banca y Negocios. “Most investors agree it is indispensable to have local partners whose experience is essential to navigate the complex Venezuelan environment.”

Pisella added that “different models of private participation” are being evaluated, but ruled out the “strategic alliances” whereby the state grants the assets in a concession-type deal while retaining ownership. The business sector spokesman argued that “no one is going to invest” without the full transfer of property.

In Thursday’s address, Acting President Rodríguez also promised that workers’ incomes would be increased quarterly next year, with the raise being at least on a par with GDP growth. 

“For 2027 we are scheduling increases to workers’ incomes in four different moments, in amounts that can never fall short of economic growth in the preceding trimesters,” she explained. 

Rodríguez did not mention adjusting the minimum wage, which has been frozen since 2022 and is currently worth around US $0.15. Instead, Venezuelan authorities have leaned on non-wage bonuses, which do not factor into vacation pay, severance, and other labor benefits in what amounts to a de facto subsidy to employers. Public sector workers currently have a monthly income floor of $240.

While Venezuela’s GDP is predicted to grow 5-10 percent in 2026, even raising non-wage bonuses by that amount falls short of inflation. Finance website Ecoanalitica estimates that prices measured in USD will end up rising 20-30 percent in 2026, meaning that an income adjustment pegged to GDP growth would amount to a loss of purchasing power.

In her message, Rodríguez went on to tout ongoing labor reform talks involving business lobbies and select trade unions. 

Private sector associations such as FEDECÁMARAS and FEDEINDUSTRIA want to slash labor costs for employers, further reducing social security contributions and eliminating the retroactive nature of severance pay and other benefits such that any future wage hike would not trigger corresponding increases.

Finally, the acting president defended recent judicial reforms and ongoing US-endorsed talks with a sector of the Venezuelan opposition that will appoint a new Supreme Court and National Electoral Council. The US State Department has claimed that new presidential elections will be held in 2027.

Rodríguez offered no specifics on an electoral timetable, stating only that “there will be elections, with a renewed electoral authority and the world as a witness.”

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Philadelphia, USA.

WASHINGTON — A federal judge said Friday she would open a “formal inquiry” to investigate if attorneys for the Trump administration violated ethical boundaries during a legal dispute about a golf course project — one in a pair of plans that are revealing the breadth of the president’s attempts to mold parts of the District of Columbia to his own vision.

The two cases, unfolding at the same time in the same federal courthouse, also showcase the underlying executive authority claims that lie beneath them — a glimpse into the uses of presidential power under Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes’ declaration that the court would appoint a “special master” into whether agency officials, and Justice Department attorneys, had made misrepresentations in the court is a far cry from her relationship with the government until this month. She had rejected numerous motions from the plaintiffs to step in, saying she trusted the government attorneys.

The cases involved are an impending shutdown and reconfiguration of a historic public golf course and the construction of a monumental arch that, at 250 feet, would be 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty is from its base to the top of the torch. The two projects are barely three miles apart.

The hearing on the golf course change began as other recent ones have: Reyes questioned Associate Atty. Gen. Stanley Woodward Jr. over how Trump’s desires to turn the golf course, near the National Mall, into a world-class facility have become urgent plans that match his public pronouncements.

Reyes stopped the hearing several times and adjourned to her chambers to check previous transcripts of the trial as she questioned Woodward. Among things she wants examined: Was a National Park Service official told to exclude details in a court declaration? Did witnesses offer misleading testimony about the extent of plans in place for the course’s closure and renovation?

At one point, Reyes read the code of conduct to government attorneys on presenting erroneous or false information during a hearing.

Reyes ordered Friday’s hearing after multiple Truth Social posts by Trump indicated that there were plans for the golf course and construction was expected to begin Nov. 15. Trump said the park would be closed for 15 months while work goes on.

The presidential posts, which began Oct. 18, created a tense dynamic in multiple court hearings afterward when officials from the Interior Department, Justice and Park Service could not confirm the existence of the plans under questioning from Reyes. She eventually asked whom she should trust. The Justice Department filed notice Wednesday night that the plans were real.

“On Friday, October 30, 2026, the National Park Service will submit to the National Capital Planning Commission for review a rendering designed by Tom Fazio for a World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events,” the notice said.

Reyes locked in on the filing and Trump’s multiple Truth Social announcements as she questioned Woodward.

At one point, as they talked about plans that Woodward said came about only this week, he slipped and included tree cutting as part of the preparation for the closure.

Reyes responded immediately: “News flash.” She allowed him to correct himself that the tree cutting, which occurred earlier this month, was not part of the plan to close the East Potomac Park Golf Course.

The golf course lawsuit was one of two cases in court Friday dealing with the Trump administration’s push to expand its executive authority as the president remakes the federal areas of the capital near the National Mall and along the Potomac River.

Three courtrooms away, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan was to hold a hearing on a motion asking that she call a temporary halt to plans to begin construction as early as Nov. 5 on the memorial arch. The arch is opposed by a small group of veterans and an architectural historian who sued in federal court in Washington, saying Congress must endorse the project.

“The public interest leans heavily against allowing defendants to blaze ahead,” the plaintiffs said in seeking the injunction. “This court should enter a preliminary injunction blocking defendants from beginning construction on Memorial Circle in the hope that they can render the arch a fait accompli before this Court has made a final determination.”

Legal experts who have been watching the numerous cases underway say that what might appear at first glance to be vanity projects are in truth cases that test the limits of presidential power.

Past administrations pursued legal theories that were sometimes legally sound, sometimes not, said David Super, law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

“But there was always the assumption that you would try to do things that were legal,” he said. “What we’re seeing here now is that if you think the federal courts can’t stop you,” you can break the law.

That’s ”going to do long-term damage to the country,” Super said.

Fields writes for the Associated Press.

Dwyane Wade is looking much more like himself these days.

That is, the statue of Wade outside of Kaseya Center in Miami now looks much more like the retired Heat legend than it did when it was unveiled two years ago. The sculpture’s new look, featuring a redesigned head by original sculptors Omri Amrany and Oscar Léon, was unveiled Friday.

The statue was meant to capture the iconic moment in 2009 when Wade jumped on a scorers’ table and declared, “This is my house!” Much of the public reaction, however, centered around how the piece looked less like the three-time NBA champion and more like Laurence Fishburne, Kelsey Grammer, Ken Norton Jr. and others.

“I heard the jokes. I saw the memes. I read the reactions. Everybody had an opinion about whether it actually looked like me,” Wade wrote in an essay published Friday on Substack. “At first, it was hard not to feel protective of it because I had spent so much time involved in the process. … But eventually, I had to take a step back and understand that the statue doesn’t belong only to me. It also belongs to Miami.”

He added: “I had to ask myself a pretty simple question: If people don’t feel that connection when they look at the face, why wouldn’t we try to make it better? So we listened and had honest conversations with everyone involved, and we all agreed to make adjustments to the head.”

When the statue was originally unveiled in October 2024, Wade had nothing but great things to say about it. He said it was his idea to immortalize that pose and that he had a lot of input on how the final product would look.

The original face on Dwyane Wade’s statue at Kaseya Center didn’t quite seem to capture the Miami Heat legend’s likeness.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

“I was just like, ‘Dude, that’s beautiful,’” Wade told reporters after the original unveiling. “Personally biased, I think it’s one of the best statues that’s been created because of what it represents for us and for me.”

Amrany also defended the statue at the time.

“We emphasized a two-second moment of his life when he jumped on the table and was in screaming mode,” Amrany told The Times in October 2024. “And that’s what it is, that’s what happens to the face when people are doing this activity, this facial activity.

“We are very dedicated to a very high detailed quality to deliver exactly what the exact photo is giving us. For somebody to say that this does not look like Dwyane Wade in action, they don’t know Dwayne Wade in action. Or they don’t remember that. And it’s OK for them to say whatever they want.”

Both artists explained the decision to revisit the project in a statement released to media outlets this week.

“After seeing the work at full scale and in its permanent environment, we identified opportunities to strengthen the portrait,” Amrany and Léon said. “We decided that the importance of Dwyane warranted making those refinements rather than accepting something we believed could be improved.”

According to Wade, “this isn’t about erasing the work that was already done or disrespecting the artists who put their time and talent into creating it. It’s about being willing to listen. It’s about recognizing when something carries meaning for more people than just yourself and being open enough to revisit it.”

He added: “I hope when people see it now, they see a better likeness of me. But more than that, I hope they see themselves. Because it may be my likeness, but it will always be our house.”

Based on the comments on an X post by the Heat showing off the changes, Heat fans seem to approve. As one person wrote, it’s the “first statue to have a redemption arc.”

For the second time in less than a week, a United States appeals court has rejected a petition from the administration of President Donald Trump to set aside 20,000 ballots in California over concerns about non-citizen voting.

The decision came down on Friday, with less than four days until the November 3 midterm elections.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Trump’s request would violate the US Constitution and risk disenfranchising eligible voters.

“The consequence of the United States’s request is not merely ballot segregation, but ultimately both the cancellation of the ballot and the removal of voters from the voting rolls,” the majority wrote in its ruling.

Judges Mark Bennett and Gabriel Sanchez – appointed by Trump and his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, respectively – formed the majority.

A third judge, Trump appointee Patrick Bumatay, issued a dissent, saying the administration’s petition was a “reasonable request”.

The Trump administration has claimed that nearly 20,000 “likely non-citizens” received mail-in ballots to vote in California’s midterm elections on November 3. It sued the state on October 15 to prevent those ballots from being counted.

But the accuracy of the Trump administration’s list has been called into doubt, as have its claims of widespread non-citizen voting.

Election fraud in the US is extremely rare. So is non-citizen voting, despite Trump’s assertion earlier this year that as many as 278,000 foreign nationals across the country were registered to vote.

Like California, states such as Nevada and Washington have also received lists of alleged non-citizen voters, but officials there have found the documents largely inaccurate.

In Nevada, for instance, state authorities issued a statement in September saying the Trump administration had erroneously identified citizens as non-citizens on its list. Not a single name was correct, according to the statement.

California, a Democratic stronghold, will elect 52 members of the House of Representatives, one of Congress’s two chambers, on November 3.

The state has long been Trump’s target for criticism, with the president accusing its Democratic leadership of “cheating” in elections.

But California officials, including Governor Gavin Newsom, have countered that the Trump administration is seeking to meddle in the state’s elections to sow voter distrust and undermine the results.

“This is a sad, desperate attempt by Trump to use his politicized Justice Department to try to suppress California voters,” Newsom said in a news release after the October 15 lawsuit.

Non-citizen voting in federal elections is against the law in all 50 US states, including California.

The Constitution’s Elections Clause also grants states exclusive authority to administer elections, though it does allow for Congress to pass regulations concerning voting procedures.

The Trump administration initially sent California its list of 20,000 “likely non-citizens” on October 12, barely three weeks before the midterm election.

California officials refused the administration’s demand to set aside the 20,000 ballots, requesting proof that the names on the list were indeed foreign nationals. According to the California government, no such evidence has been provided.

The Trump administration last week charged 28 foreign nationals in California with election-related infractions, but some of the accused told the Los Angeles Times they had never registered to vote.

The newspaper’s reporting suggested some of the non-citizen defendants shared the same name as eligible voters.

As the October 15 lawsuit navigated the court system earlier this month, the Trump administration sought an emergency ruling from the 9th Circuit Court to suspend the 20,000 ballots.

But the appeals court rejected the petition on Monday, saying the Trump administration had not given lower courts adequate time to weigh the matter.

A lower court ultimately ruled against the Trump administration on Wednesday, and the administration again appealed to the 9th Circuit Court.

In its majority decision, the appeals court framed the Trump administration’s lawsuit as an attempt to violate the Constitution’s Elections Clause.

“We decline the United States’s invitation to contravene the Elections Clause by undermining the Constitution’s plain text,” the majority wrote.

The majority also wrote that it had “major concerns” that granting the Trump administration’s request would “harm the public interest by risking the disenfranchisement of eligible voters and putting the entire tabulation process in jeopardy”.

Alieu Kosiah killed civilians and unarmed soldiers, and ordered lootings and other crimes against humanity.

Switzerland’s supreme court upheld a 20-year jail sentence for former Liberian rebel commander Alieu Kosiah on Friday, but overturned a conviction for crimes against humanity.

In 2021, Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court found Kosiah, now 51, guilty of multiple atrocities committed during the first of Liberia’s back-to-back civil wars, in which about 250,000 people died between 1989 and 2003.

In 2023, the court’s appeals chamber upheld his 20-year sentence for war crimes and, for the first time in Swiss history, also made a new ruling that Kosiah was guilty of crimes against humanity.

The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland was asked to review the case, and its verdict, dated September 28, was published on Friday.

The court “rejected the appeal filed by a high-ranking Liberian military official challenging his conviction for violations of the laws of war committed between 1993 and 1995 during the first Liberian civil war”, it said in a statement.

“However, the court has acquitted the individual of the charge of crimes against humanity, based on a strict application of the principle of non-retroactivity.”

Switzerland recognises the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows it to prosecute individuals suspected of international crimes, regardless of where those crimes were committed.

The court said the offence of crimes against humanity – introduced into Swiss law in 2011 – could not be applied to acts committed before then.

Kosiah’s conviction for violating the law of war was upheld, as was the maximum 20-year custodial sentence imposed.

“The decision makes final the first war crimes conviction ever handed down by a Swiss civilian court, and the first conviction anywhere of a Liberian for war crimes committed during the country’s civil wars,” said the Swiss organisation Civitas Maxima, which works to bring perpetrators of international crimes to justice.

Kosiah settled in Switzerland in the late 1990s and was arrested in 2014.

“Today the survivors of Alieu Kosiah’s crimes have final justice,” said Civitas Maxima director Alain Werner, who represents victims in the case.

“We are, however, deeply disappointed by the acquittal on crimes against humanity. What happened in Lofa between 1993 and 1995 is the very definition of a crime against humanity.”

Like war crimes, crimes against humanity refer to atrocities, including murder, torture and rape. However, instead of isolated or sporadic events, the charge is used for incidents carried out in a widespread or systematic way.

In the 2021 verdict, Kosiah was found guilty of a slew of war crimes committed as commander of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy rebel group.

He ordered or participated in the killing of 17 civilians and two unarmed soldiers, as well as rape and the deployment of a child soldier, the court ruled.

He had also ordered looting and repeatedly ordered, or had himself inflicted, cruel and humiliating treatment of civilians and mishandled corpses, according to the verdict.

Ian McKellen is saying goodbye to his dear friend Patrick Stewart.

Stewart, the storied actor whose performances spanned comic book films, Shakespearean stage productions and sci-fi TV, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was 86. While tributes from former co-stars across the “X-Men” films and “Star Trek” franchise poured in, fans of Stewart were keeping a close eye out for McKellen’s remarks, as the two had a famously close friendship, often on full display with red-carpet smooches and pally interviews.

On Thursday, McKellen posted a tribute to Stewart.

“Before everything else, Patrick was defined by being born and bred in Yorkshire, the proud county in the north of England which he loved to the end,” McKellen’s statement began. “You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt. Yorkshiremen have no truck with half-truths or avoidance of big issues. He wore his heart on his sleeve, which made him a man to rely on, to admire and in my case, love.”

Although the two had known each other since they were young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company in the 1970s, Stewart said he initially was too shy to approach McKellen, but was “impressed.” Stewart said the two had “X-Men” to thank for their close bond. On set, the two had trailers that were next door to each other, and with time to kill between filming, they would head next door and chat for hours.

“It was a delight for me to find that the enthusiasms and passions that I’d had all my life were shared by Ian,” the late actor said in a 2014 interview. When asked to write a hashtag that summed up their bromance, Stewart wrote #Aren’twelucky, and McKellen wrote #eternal.

In addition to playing rivals across multiple “X-Men” films, Patrick and McKellen starred together in “Waiting for Godot” and “No Man’s Land” on Broadway and London’s West End.

“We first met as ambitious young actors with the Royal Shakespeare Company half a century ago but we weren’t in the same productions,” McKellen’s tribute continued. “My first strong memory was a few years later, meeting him in the street in central London when he told me about an offer to take over a leading part in ‘Star Trek.’”

McKellen recalled saying, “But Patrick think of your stage career in the UK. Do you really want to risk—getting lost in Hollywood for years and years?”

“Well, he took the risk and thank goodness for us all that he did for not just his devoted Trekkies but film and theatre audiences, who marvelled at his using international celebrity to star in a string of cinema successes (‘X-Men’ of course) and in great classical plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, Arthur Miller, Peter Shaffer, Pinter and Beckett at Stratford-upon-Avon, in London’s West End and on Broadway.”

In 2014, Stewart admitted to Broadway.com that he was envious of McKellen for both his university education and his hair.

“Ian knows and he thinks I’m foolish to feel this way,” he said. “Ian went to Cambridge and my formal schooling ended when I was 15. I envy that, but I also envy your head of hair. If only because in the two plays you don’t wear a wig and yet you manage to make your hairstyle look completely different … I envy that whereas I have to stick on a wig.”

McKellen responded by telling Stewart that he was gorgeous with and without the wig.

In 2013, Stewart married longtime girlfriend Sunny Ozell in a Lake Tahoe ceremony that McKellen officiated.

“America was his adopted home, where he met his adored Sunny who has cared for him through sickness and health, through thick and thin. But he never forsook his origins: and the proudest achievement of the most respected and beloved actor of his generation on either side of the Atlantic, was his appointment as Chancellor of Huddersfield University in Yorkshire.”

McKellen and Stewart star together again in the forthcoming “Avengers: Doomsday,” which hits theaters Dec. 18.

The so-called billionaire tax has become one of the most contested California propositions in years, generating national interest and massive spending by opponents. It also has spawned two rival ballot measures.

Here’s a cheat sheet for sorting it all out.

Proposition 40

The basics

Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires’ assets. The tax applies to people with a net worth of at least $1 billion who resided in California on Jan. 1.

Impact

Ninety percent of the tax would fund healthcare, and 10% would go toward education and food assistance.

The tax would affect hundreds of billionaires whose net worth includes assets such as their businesses, stocks and other investments. Real property, pensions and retirement accounts generally would be excluded.

Proposition 41

It’s called the Improving Transparency, Effectiveness and Efficiency in California Government Act. But it is deeply connected to Proposition 40 and is funded by foes of the billionaire tax.

The basics

Proposition 41 requires the state auditor to review programs funded by proposed special taxes before they appear on the ballot. More importantly, it also prohibits new state taxes from being exempted from a voter-approved state spending limit.

Impact

The Legislative Analyst’s Office says passage of Proposition 41 could prevent Proposition 40, the proposed billionaire tax, from becoming law even if voters approve it. This could happen if Proposition 41 receives more “yes” votes than Proposition 40.

Proposition 42

Proposition 42 would limit the state’s ability to impose certain new taxes. But it’s more complicated and far-reaching than that description might sound. And, yes, it’s also backed by opponents of Proposition 40.

The basics

Proposition 42 would prohibit new taxes on “retirement holdings, individually owned assets, and other forms of personal savings” that take effect after Jan. 1, 2026. It also would bar retroactive taxes on past earnings unless the state is using revenue from the tax to respond to emergencies such as a fire or a flood.

Impact

The Legislative Analyst’s Office says Proposition 42 could nullify Proposition 40 because the two measures conflict with each other. If voters approve both, the one with the most “yes” votes generally would become law, the office says.

Dig deeper

The billionaire tax was pushed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West and has some labor and progressive support, including from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and the state Democratic Party. They say the tax is needed to help the less fortunate and that the super-rich can afford it. But key Democrats and some key unions are not supporting it.

Critics include some of California’s richest people, and they are spending a fortune to defeat it. They say it will hurt innovation and drive the wealthy out of the state, hurting the treasury.

More reading

A powerful union and the birth of the billionaire tax (L.A. Times)

Why unions are divided over Prop. 40 (L.A. Times)

The Google co-founder fighting the billionaire tax (L.A. Times)

Inside the massive spending to defeat Prop. 40 (L.A. Times)

How the billionaire tax could spark national movement (The New Yorker)

The academics behind Prop. 40 (Sacramento Bee)

Will Prop. 40 reallly bring an exodus? (L.A. Times)

Why healthcare is divided by Prop. 40 (Bloomberg)

Taxing the “ultrarich,” a guide (New York Times)

In the Middle East, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez will return to the ring after a 13-month hiatus in search of more titles.

In Riyadh, many time zones from his native Mexico and second home base in Las Vegas, Álvarez will try to take the World Boxing Council super-middleweight title from Christian Mbilli, an undefeated champion who has never faced an opponent of Álvarez’s caliber.

The Guadalajara-born boxer arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, where he was greeted by Faisal Bafarat, CEO of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA). The event has faced unusual complications, with one of the fights on the card canceled because of security concerns raised by one of the boxers and criticism from figures in the boxing world who question the athletes’ safety — especially after several sporting events, including Formula One, WTA and WWE events have been canceled or relocated because of the war in the Middle East.

The fight between Canelo (63-3-2, 39 KOs) and Mbilli (29-0-1, 24 KOs) headlines the “Mexico vs. The World” event at The Venue as part of the seventh edition of Riyadh Season. The bout will be broadcast on pay-per-view via DAZN (10 a.m. Pacific Time, main event around 1:10 p.m.).

Terence Crawford throws a left punch at Canelo Álvarez at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 2025.

(Sarah Stier / Getty Images for Netflix)

After a period of inactivity that included elbow surgery, Álvarez — beyond his opponents — faces his greatest enemy in Father Time, as demonstrated by his September 2025 loss to Terence Crawford, which cost him his four super-middleweight titles. Crawford retired after that victory — the best of his career — and Mbilli went from interim champion to full WBC champion.

After that painful defeat, Álvarez acknowledged that his mind wasn’t on the fight that night.

“When you lose, you always review your mistakes, and at this level there’s very little difference between winning and losing,” said Álvarez, whose training concluded in Spain, where he shared a gym with heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. “I did a good job preparing for that fight, but during fight week, my mind wasn’t in it.”

For this bout, Álvarez chose to finish his preparation in Spain to avoid the adjustment issues he said he experienced during last year’s fight against William Scull, also in Riyadh.

Álvarez hasn’t knocked out an opponent since defeating Caleb Plant by technical knockout in 2021, and the last opponent he clearly knocked out was Sergey Kovalev in 2019. Although he has defeated several high-caliber opponents who were physically larger than him, he has been unable to secure a knockout, which has fueled speculation that his power and stamina have declined over the years. If he loses, it would mark the first consecutive losses of his career, and criticism regarding his decline would intensify. However, Álvarez has stated that he feels no obligation to win.

“I never think about the pressure. I feel like I work even better when I have it,” Álvarez said. “I don’t think about who says good or bad things.”

Álvarez did not fight in either May or September in Las Vegas, on the dates reserved for boxing’s biggest stars. In May, David Benavidez took the slot after knocking out Gilberto Ramírez, and then Ryan García took the September slot to defeat Conor Benn. For many, García is emerging as the man who will inherit Canelo’s slots in Las Vegas as the “new face of boxing.”

“I love boxing and I’m just focused on that. There’s a lot of young talent always coming out of Mexico, so we’ll see who’s next,” said Álvarez, who made his professional boxing debut 21 years ago.

“He’s the most successful Mexican boxer in the sport,” said Eddy Reynoso, the Jalisco native’s manager and trainer who asked for a round of applause for his fighter on Thursday at the news conference in Riyadh. Álvarez thanked him with a hug.

“We’re going to prove that Canelo is still up for the big challenges,” said Reynoso.

Canelo Álvarez waits in the corner during his fight against Terence Crawford in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 2025.

(David Becker / Associated Press)

But for many, time has Canelo on the ropes. Both he and his team have acknowledged that his body has taken a toll from fighting since he was 13.

“Now I’m the challenger, but in my mind I’ve always been the champion since I was a kid,” Álvarez said.

Mbilli, 31, a French-Cameroonian with an aggressive style and a high volume of punches, won the interim title by knocking out Maciej Sulecki in the first round in June 2025. In his next fight—on the same card as Canelo vs. Crawford and in front of a packed Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas — he fought to a hard-fought split-decision draw against Guatemalan Lester Martínez. This will be his first title defense as the undisputed champion.

“I think I have the right style to beat Canelo. I have a lot of power, a lot of speed, and a lot of skills to win this fight,” said Mbilli, who claimed to have spotted some mistakes by the Mexican during his fight against Crawford.

“I don’t think age will be a factor; it will be the perfect time for me,” said Mbilli, who is five years younger than Álvarez.

Álvarez is the favorite with the bookmakers thanks to Mbilli’s limited experience against elite opponents. Mbilli has a victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in 2024, a win over Sulecki and, in his title defense against Martínez last year, he had a lackluster performance in which he landed punches but also took a lot of hits.

Boxing amid international conflict

This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia’s Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Oct. 10.

(Saudi Media Ministry via Associated Press)

Álvarez’s fight card is proceeding as planned despite the wave of missile and drone attacks attributed to Houthi rebels. The attacks have left at least 20 dead and 370 wounded, and have forced the closure of King Khalid International Airport for two weeks. Last week, the U.S. State Department ordered the evacuation of non-essential government personnel and their families from the country because of the instability.

Accompanying Álvarez were Mexicans Carlos Emiliano, Manuel Salcedo, Rafael Espinoza and Jaime Munguía, as well as Saudi fighter Sultan Al-Muhammad — all of whom were on the fight card. Mbilli had arrived days earlier.

But one person who did not arrive was Lindolfo Delgado, a Mexican boxer who was left off the Oct. 31 card, where he was scheduled to fight Arthur Biyarslanov for the vacant International Boxing Federation super-lightweight title. According to his trainer, Robert García, his fighter did not make the trip due to logistical issues, as he lacked information about flights and there were daily alerts about possible missile attacks. It has not yet been announced whether Biyarslanov will fight a replacement boxer on the card.

“Why would we risk going there without any security guarantees? Flying to another country [Bahrain] and driving five to six hours to get to another location? That’s asking for trouble,” García said in an interview with Boxing Scene.

On Wednesday in Los Angeles, promoter Oscar De La Hoya joined the criticism of the decision to hold the bout in Saudi Arabia. He argued that promoter Turki Alalshikh and Álvarez should have been more responsible and moved the fight to another venue.

Because of the conflict in the Middle East, numerous top-tier events have been moved to other cities or were postponed. The list ranges from the Dakar Rally and the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to the WTA Finals, the FIFA eSports Finals, and WWE’s Crown Jewel.

“It’s not very responsible when you have a U.S. consul saying it’s dangerous, that it’s a Category 3,” De La Hoya said to independent reporter Albert Pérez. “How can you put the boxers’ lives at risk?… It’s interesting — in the times we live in, when ambition feeds you and feeds your ego, that’s what happens.”

The event is sanctioned by the WBC, and Mauricio Sulaimán, the organization’s president, is in Riyadh.

“I’m coming to fight, to win a world championship,” Álvarez said on Thursday. “Whatever I have to do, wherever I have to go… I’ll do whatever it takes to win it.”

Both sides signed a digital trade deal, as Trump’s trade threats push Washington’s allies to seek closer ties elsewhere.

The European Union and Canada have launched what they described as an Alliance for the Future, as Ottawa prepares to become the bloc’s first so-called “associate member”.

Prime Minister Mark Carney hosted the Canada-EU summit in Montreal and signed a digital trade deal, alongside other agreements. Also at the Friday summit were European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa.

The term “associate member” has no legal basis and is contested by some EU states. However, its use underscores the desire of Canada and the EU to forge closer relations, as United States President Donald Trump continues to threaten Washington’s traditional allies with trade tariffs if they do not play by his rules.

“Canada and the EU are working to establish the closest possible partnership, which will be far from full membership, but which will make Canada the first associate member of the European Union,” Carney posted on X.

“Today in Montreal, we have taken a major step forward by establishing more than twenty measures that will increase affordability, create opportunities and ensure our sovereignty on both sides of the Atlantic.”

In a joint statement following the summit, the two sides announced an agreement under which the European Investment Bank will invest in critical Canadian resources, particularly raw minerals. They also said they would advance cooperation on artificial intelligence security and safety.

“A more dangerous and divided world has fundamentally changed the requirements of sovereignty. It is no longer enough for nations to feed, fuel and defend ourselves,” the statement said.

It added that “true sovereignty” requires secure access to critical minerals, semiconductors, payment systems, energy, vaccines, space-based communications and AI.

Ukraine was also on the meeting agenda, with Carney announcing Canada’s participation in the EU’s 90 billion euro ($103bn) support loan for Kyiv. Carney said Canada would make an initial contribution of 500 million euros ($558m).

Opportunities for students in Canada and the EU were also discussed. Both sides said they would launch negotiations aimed at deepening Ottawa’s participation in Erasmus+, the EU’s flagship student exchange programme.

Carney and Trump are currently engaged in a trade dispute, with talks under way to reach a deal between the two countries.

HALLOWEEN was Ozzy Osbourne’s favourite day of the year.

And to celebrate, I’ve got some very exciting news to share with his fans.

My insiders have revealed the Black Sabbath rocker secretly recorded a handful of songs with super-producer Andrew Watt prior to his death last summer.

And now those tracks — which were laid down during his music sessions for his 2022 album Patient Number 9 — could soon be getting green-lit to coincide with the blockbuster film biopic about his life.

One of my American music moles told me: “Ozzy had a practical outlook about his medical issues and life.

“He was very excited to be in the studio for the Patient Number 9 sessions because Andrew managed to bring energy and excitement, even though he was struggling with his ailments.

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“They worked on the album and Ozzy knew that, with the biopic in development, he saw an idea for works about his life and romance with Sharon.

“Those tracks have only been heard by Andrew and his musicians.

“The final mixes have not even been finished. They remain works in progress and to be considered for the movie.

“Sharon doesn’t even know what the final mixes will sound like.

“But the likelihood is that they will come to play some part in the biopic, which would be incredible.

“Unheard songs from Ozzy from beyond the grave is something he would have loved.”

I revealed earlier this year how Ozzy’s wife Sharon and his son Jack had a director in mind for the movie, which would tell the incredible life story of the Prince of Darkness.

“The script is being worked on as a final draft with Sony Studios looking for directors,” a source close to the family told me.

“Sharon has been measuring up who could play her and deliver the intensity of her personality while also holding it together while Ozzy goes through his demons on-screen.”

I have no doubt that with Sharon at the helm this film will more than do Ozzy justice.

And the idea of listening to never-before-heard songs from him excites me even more.

JOSH’S MONSTROUS TERROR OF THE TOILET

WE all have a scarring childhood memory, but I’ve never heard a confession quite like Josh Brolin’s.

The Running Man actor has revealed he was too scared to go to the loo after watching Steve McQueen’s horror classic The Blob when he was four.

He said: “I just remember this substance coming out of the toilet and attacking this person.

“And when you’re a kid, it’s a new relationship with a toilet. It suddenly gets all up and then you don’t know where to do your business.”

I bet his parents loved cleaning up that mess.

THRILLER RACE FOR TOP SPOT

MICHAEL JACKSON’s son Prince hopes to give his late dad a Halloween treat – by backing fans’ efforts to get his 1983 hit Thriller to No1 for the first time.

Despite regularly returning to the charts around Halloween, the six-minute track and video failed to hit the top spot.

Prince said: “Thriller is the biggest-selling album of all time but the single has never made it to No1. And so the goal with this Thriller challenge is to encourage people to buy the album, stream it and request it on radio, because those are the metrics that then push it up the chart.

“But we have to recognise that (the album) Thriller has a lot of bangers on there. So he’s kind of competing with himself. My father has an incredible fan base, and they’re so very sophisticated and orchestrated, and this has been the challenge that has been going on.”

lKEITH RICHARDS says he feels like his late Rolling Stones bandmate, drummer Charlie Watts, came back from the grave to watch over the group recording their new single, Who You Callin’ Crazy.

He told how he forgot Steve Jordan was on the sticks behind him, saying: “I do think it’s Charlie Watts behind me.”

ARABELLA: ME ‘N’ MY ’BLUD BUD

RISING star Arabella Lucia is proving she’s got some rock star mates after handing Bizarre a backstage pass to her pal Yungblud’s new B.R.A.T clothes shop.

The punk-rock wonderland in Soho, central London, hosted a cool music show by Arabella this week.

At the cosy gig, she thanked Yungblud for supporting her career, adding: “He’s so cool and he’s so awesome.

“He has given me some great advice about music.

“The songs I am performing tonight, and it being here of all places, is very serendipitous.”

Lily’s gone dotty

WITH one of the sharpest tongues in the industry, Lily Allen often divides opinions – but no one can argue she doesn’t have a great sense of humour.

Brandishing a thermometer and with the caption “#bluedotfever”, the Smile singer dressed up as a Ticketmaster seating chart, with spots signifying plenty of empty spaces – a nod to the fact she had to downgrade venues on her US tour due to poor sales.

Despite selling out arenas on home soil for her West End Girl tour, excitement for the gigs Stateside was lacklustre.

Meanwhile, Marvin and Rochelle Humes turned back the clock to 2002 as they transformed into Kelly Rowland and Nelly from the music video for their hit Dilemma.

Marvin and Rochelle were just two of many celebrity guests spotted at Olivia Attwood’s Halloween party in central London.

Also going all out for the celebrations was Kim and Kanye’s daughter North West.

The budding singer clearly spent some serious cash perfecting her Edward Scissorhands costume.

But perhaps my favourite costume of all came from influencer Bella James.

She looked genuinely unrecognisable as she transformed into Jeremy Clarkson thanks to some impressive prosthetics.

Clearly I need to up my fancy dress game.

SHED SEVEN are looking forward to being top of the tree after announcing a huge show in Delamere Forest next June.

The band are confirmed as the final headliner for Forest Live, the week-long run of shows in the Cheshire woodlands.

Having just sold out the biggest headliner show of their career at York’s LNER Stadium, the indie rockers will now headline the show on Friday, June 18, with support from The Lathums and The Lilacs.

Frontman Rick Witter told me: “We can’t wait to headline our first Forest Live show.

“They are always an amazing experience in beautiful surroundings with an electric atmosphere.

“We have played a few over the years, but always as bridesmaids, so it’s great that we can now feel like dizzy brides.”

Celebrity Traitors star has a bash at podcasts

JUST in time for Halloween, Celebrity Traitors’ Sebastian Croft has launched his brand new podcast series.

The first episode of The Sunday Scaries With Bash Croft is out tomorrow, with the Heart-stopper actor welcoming guests each week to discuss the highs and lows of the past seven days.

Bash said: “Many people I know find Sundays daunting or lonely and just want to have a laugh and chat about the week before and the week ahead.

“So I want the podcast to feel like you’re sitting on the sofa with us, having honest, unfiltered chats with friends.

“Hopefully, it’ll make everyone’s Sunday feel a little brighter and the week ahead a little less daunting.”

A federal appeals court for the second time Friday denied a Trump administration request to block 20,000 ballots from California voters the administration alleges may be noncitizens — ruling that the administration had failed to show that “such extraordinary relief, during an ongoing election, is clearly required by law.”

The three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — composed of two appointees of President Trump and one of President Biden — ruled 2-1 that the U.S. Constitution gives the state and Congress the power to decide how elections are run, and that allowing the Trump administration to “misuse” federal statutes to “prescribe” how California must process ballots would “override the plain and manifest dictates of the Constitution itself.”

“Because Congress has not exercised the specific power granted to it under the Elections Clause to override California’s established laws for challenging ballots or removing ineligible voters, the State Legislature’s statutory scheme remains the only method to do so,” the judges found.

The panel’s majority — comprised of Trump appointee Mark J. Bennett and Biden appointee Gabriel P. Sanchez — wrote that “if the United States believes different procedures are necessary for vote-by-mail ballots, we believe it should take that suggestion to Congress, not the courts.”

They also wrote that separate federal law prescribes sweeping changes to voter lists 90 days prior to an election, especially given questions about the reliability of the Trump administration’s list of purported noncitizens.

“The suspect reliability of these lists found by the district court reflects the concern Congress sought to mitigate with the 90-day quiet period,” they wrote.

Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, the other Trump appointee on the panel, dissented — arguing that his colleagues erred in denying a basic request by the Trump administration to ensure only citizens are voting.

“The federal government proposes a modest remedy — stopping California from mixing the ballots of citizens and suspected noncitizens,” Bumatay wrote. “This solution would not cancel any vote but would allow time to verify the eligibility of suspected noncitizens. The district court, and now our court, denies this reasonable request.”

This article will be updated.

Christian Mbilli and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez made weight for their world title bout in Riyadh just 24 hours after two ballistic missiles were intercepted over the Saudi Arabian capital.

Mbilli, 31, was elevated to WBC super-middleweight champion in January and makes his first defence against Mexico’s Alvarez, 36, on Saturday.

Both fighters tipped the scales at 12st (76kg) before engaging in a tense but respectful face-off.

Alvarez, who will step into the ring for the 69th time on Saturday, made his professional debut almost exactly 21 years ago on 29 October 2005.

“This is very important for me, I’ve been doing this for 21 years and won my first world title 16 years ago. It’s important for me to win a title again,” Alvarez said.

“My experience is different, he hasn’t faced anyone like me and I’ll teach him tomorrow.”

Doubts have been raised in recent weeks about whether the event can take place safely due to the growing conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi movement.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) currently advises against all but essential travel to the whole of Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, Saudi Press Agency reported the Civil Defence had intercepted two ballistic missiles over Riyadh. A civilian sustained a minor injury and there was damage to a house and vehicle due to falling shrapnel.

Earlier in October, a missile strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.

Travel arrangements for those attending Saturday’s bout have been complicated by restricted access to the airport.

While other sporting events in Saudi Arabia – including The Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition, the final round of the 2026 World Rally Championship and the 2026 Urban Cycling World Championships – have been cancelled the combat sports world has not followed suit.

The officer faces charges after allegedly striking a fleeing construction worker with an SUV during an immigration raid.

A grand jury in Texas has indicted a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer accused of deliberately running over a Mexican construction worker during an operation in Houston this month.

ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for the October 10 incident, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced on Friday.

Criminal charges against federal immigration officers have been rare during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, although several encounters involving officers have prompted investigations.

Morales is accused of striking 48-year-old Miguel Parra-Hernandez, an immigrant who has lived in Harris County for more than 30 years. Teare said that Parra-Hernandez had no criminal record.

Parra-Hernandez was running away from federal agents when an unmarked black Jeep Cherokee struck him in a car park near Clay Road and Highway 6, according to investigators. He suffered multiple fractures to his right leg and an ankle injury which required surgery.

The indictment follows a dispute between local prosecutors and federal authorities over what happened. ICE has maintained that Parra-Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, dismissing the allegations that the officer intentionally struck him as “reckless and false.”

But Teare has said surveillance video contradicts the agency’s account.

It shows the SUV crossing a median and pursuing Parra-Hernandez as he runs away. Although another vehicle obscures the moment of impact, the video shows the man on the ground moments later.

Authorities also released body-camera footage on Friday. In the recording, Morales can be heard acknowledging that he struck Parra-Hernandez with his vehicle.

Teare also accused federal authorities of failing to cooperate with the investigation, including by removing the Jeep before local investigators could examine it for potential evidence.

A search warrant obtained by local media shows investigators had not been granted access to the vehicle as of October 23.

The case has also raised questions about the operation’s intended target. ICE said agents were searching for a man identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, whom they believed to be travelling with Parra-Hernandez.

But Mendoza-Cervantes’s daughter told The New York Times that her father died in 2017. Parra-Hernandez’s family has disputed that the two men knew each other.

The Morales indictment comes as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office continues investigating the fatal shooting of another Mexican, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, on July 7.

An ICE officer, Gregory Feathers, has been accused of firing at the vehicle Salgado Araujo was driving on his way to work in Houston.

Federal authorities said the officer acted in self-defence, a claim the surviving passengers in the vehicle dispute.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee paused all executions for the remainder of the year and ordered an independent review to “determine exactly what occurred”.

Lee was asked by reporters this week about a potential second execution attempt. “I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts,” he responded.

Speaking about the state’s response to what happened to Pike, Mann said: “I find it deeply troubling that, even after what Christa endured, Governor Lee has shown little public willingness to reconsider the death penalty itself, rather than simply the procedures used to carry it out.”

She added: “What happened to Christa is not an isolated tragedy, nor should this conversation begin and end with her.”

The Tennessee Department of Correction has not explained why the execution did not go as planned, though it has defended the method it used.

It declined comment on Pike’s statement when contacted by the BBC.

Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, was among those pushing for Pike to be put to death and attended the botched execution, later calling it a “mess”.

She told a local ABC News affiliate in Florida, where she lives, that she thinks the state owes her an apology.

“All I wanted was justice,” Martinez said.

Pike was the first woman scheduled to be executed in the state of Tennessee in over 200 years.

Her lawyers have spent decades appealing her case. In the days leading up to her scheduled execution, both the US Supreme Court and Lee declined to block the execution.

The attempted execution of Pike was not the first in Tennessee in 2026 that did not go to plan.

The execution of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people in 1994, was postponed in May after staff were unable to find a vein for a lethal injection. He was granted a year’s reprieve by the governor.

In 2022, more than a third of executions across the US were botched or highly problematic, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which does not take an ethical stance on the penalty.

PLANS for a musical based on the songs of late chart superstar George Michael have been confirmed.

His lifelong best friend David Austin has told The Sun that preparations are in motion for the stage show to help keep George’s legacy alive.

Those involved have set their sights on Broadway — with a West End run almost certain to follow if the project proves ­popular enough.

George shot to fame in 1980s pop duo Wham! with Andrew Ridgeley and became one of the best-selling recording artists of all time.

Speaking at the world premiere of concert film George Michael: The Faith Tour at the BFI IMAX in London, David said: “There is talk about Broadway. We’ve got our fingers in a lot of pies.”

The confirmation comes six months after The Sun first told the world of the secret plans.

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In April, we revealed that George’s sister Yioda Panayiotou, 64, had held confidential talks with producers.

A source said at the time: “As things stand, it’s all in the very early development stage, but the plan is to tell the story of George’s life and career with some of his hits mixed in.

“Right now it’s not a Mamma Mia! situation where his songs soundtrack a new story — this is about his life.”

The production is already being workshopped in New York, with seven-time Olivier Award nominee Maria Friedman in talks to direct.

George, died aged 53 on Christmas Day 2016 at home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.