The high court grants an emergency petition ahead of expected arguments in the case, slated for December.

The United States Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to continue third-country deportations, halting a lower-court ruling that paused such removals over questions of due process.

On Tuesday, the high court granted the administration’s emergency request to resume the deportations, which involve sending immigrants to countries they may have no connection to.

The court’s order was unsigned, as is typical for an emergency petition. It also does not include an explanation or a list of how the justices voted.

But at the bottom of Tuesday’s order, the court’s three left-leaning justices – Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan – indicated they would have denied the Trump administration’s petition.

The Supreme Court’s decision to pause the lower court ruling is temporary. The order calls for arguments to be heard in December.

That hearing comes as Trump administration continues its appeal against the lower court’s ruling, handed down by Judge Brian Murphy in Boston, Massachusetts.

Murphy had ruled that immigrants must be given a “meaningful” chance to raise safety concerns before their removal to third-party countries.

In pausing such deportations, Murphy indicated that some immigrants may have been denied the opportunity to challenge their deportations as part of their due process rights.

Tuesday, however, is not the first time the Supreme Court justices have weighed in on the practice of forcibly sending people to third countries, which Trump dramatically stepped up since his return to office in 2025.

Trump campaigned on a pledge to implement the “largest deportation operation in American history”, and his officials have argued that third-country deportations are a means of removing individuals whose home countries may not accept them.

In June 2025, the Supreme Court also issued an unsigned order allowing such removals to proceed.

That cleared the way for eight men, including nationals of Cuba, Myanmar and Vietnam, to be deported to South Sudan, a country the US State Department advises against visiting because of “crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict”.

The Department of Homeland Security at the time called the removals “a win”, while rights groups said the move flouted basic legal protections.

Critics have expressed concern that many of the governments receiving third-country deportations have a record of human rights abuses.

Third-country deportations have been used to bypass court protection orders that prevent immigrants from being sent back to their home countries due to fears of persecution.

But advocates say that some of those third-party countries have ultimately sent deportees, including asylum seekers, back to the places where they feared they would be at risk of torture or other harms.

At least 35 countries have signed agreements with the Trump administration to take in the third-country nationals, according to a tally by the nonprofits Refugees International and Human Rights First.

The groups estimate that more than 25,000 people have been subject to third-country deportations so far.

On Monday, human rights experts at the United Nations wrote to the ‌US ‌government urging a halt to such removals, warning they were putting deportees at heightened risk of abuse.

“At gravest risk are children, women, persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking, LGBT persons, human rights defenders, stateless persons and other people in extremely vulnerable situations,” the experts said.

On Tuesday, Burundi became the latest country to enter an agreement with the US to take non-citizen deportations.

Officials said the country would only take in people who were not facing prosecution and had no links to “terrorism”.

Radio personality, jazz singer and former BET host Angela Stribling died on Sunday of cancer.

Stribling “passed away peacefully at home … after a courageous two-year battle with brain cancer,” her husband, Ken Washington, posted to her Instagram account. “Her sister Darlene and I were by her side.”

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Stribling attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and took a position with American Airlines at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport after college. She spent four years as host of BET entertainment news program “Screen Scene” and helped launch BET Jazz, hosting “Jazz Central,” “Jazz Discovery” and “Jazz Scene” for the network, according to a posting about her death by WHUR 96.3 Howard University Radio.

She worked as a reporter for “Evening Magazine” and co-host of “On Time” on Baltimore television and as a news intern at WTTG-TV and at WOL-AM in Washington, D.C., before joining WHUR-FM. That’s where she became the first woman to host “The Original Quiet Storm,” a program of “soulful slow jams and romantic melodies” that recently celebrated 50 years of being on air.

“Pillow Talk,” WHUR’s long-running late-night program hosted by Stribling, centered on relationships, conversation and music.

“Angela Stribling was a remarkable talent, but what made her truly special was the person she was,” WHUR general manager Sean Plater said in the station’s tribute. “Her voice was beautiful, her presence was calming, and her spirit was genuine. She had a way of making people feel welcome and valued, and that gift extended far beyond the radio. Angela was part of the WHUR family, and her loss is deeply felt by all of us. We will remember her not only for the incredible career she built, but for the love, kindness and light she shared with so many people.”

Stribling was also a classically trained jazz vocalist, who performed at New York City venues including the Rainbow Room, the Supper Club and the Soul Cafe. She traveled the world and shared the stage with legendary artists, including Stevie Wonder and Chaka Khan.

“Her sultry voice made her a staple on radio in the D.C. area and on Sirius. She did countless voiceover work, she sang and had parts in movies. I remember her calling me when she got a role in the Eddie Murphy movie ‘Distinguished Gentlemen,’ ” former BET colleague Ed Gordon wrote on Facebook. “She was a sweet soul.”

Sept. 29, 2026 2:56 PM PT

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s administration was set to issue a last-minute reprieve Tuesday over the planned closure of a camp in Qatar that houses more than 1,000 Afghans who assisted America’s war effort or are the relatives of U.S. service members.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to sign off on a diplomatic note to Qatar extending for nine months the life of Camp As Sayliyah, which had been due to close Wednesday at the end of the U.S. budget year, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The officials spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to offer details before the public announcement.

The decision comes months after Rubio told Congress that the U.S. was still in discussions with several third-party countries to take the 1,039 Afghans who worked as interpreters or in other roles helping the American war effort as well as relatives of U.S. service members who have been stranded in Qatar for more than a year.

Rubio’s testimony in June came after the AP and other outlets reported that war-torn Congo was among the countries where the Trump administration was considering resettlement.

The State Department would not immediately comment on Rubio’s extension for the camp but said it “continues to work toward a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people.”

The department also repeated its claim that the camp is a legacy of an attempt by President Biden’s administration “to move as many Afghans to America as possible without properly vetting them” — an assertion that has been denied by former officials and refugee advocates.

The group of Afghans in Camp As Sayliyah includes those who fought or worked alongside the U.S. military between 2001 and 2021, with more than 70% of the camp’s residents being women and children, according to statistics from #AfghanEvac. The group has spent the last five years advocating for Washington to make good on its promise to resettle those whose service has put them at risk since the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s reassertion of control.

“This is a victory for those people, and they’re going to have some semblance of knowing that they’re safe there because they’ve been worried that at any moment somebody’s going to come and rip them out of there,” Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who heads #AfghanEvac, told the AP.

But he added that there needs to be a permanent solution to this years-long crisis.

Despite the camp’s reprieve, which protects those housed there from possible forcible removal to Afghanistan, residents have little hope of being allowed to enter the United States.

Upon entering his second term, Trump, a Republican, paused his Democratic predecessor’s Afghan resettlement program as part of a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration, including dramatically altering refugee admissions to focus on white South Africans. Only five Afghans have been admitted to the U.S. since October 2025, #AfghanEvac says.

The refugee changes left thousands of people who fled war and persecution — and had gone through a sometimes years-long vetting process to start new lives in America — stranded at places worldwide, including the base in Qatar.

Advocates have warned that if there is no alternative, the only other option for the group of residents would be to go back to Afghanistan, where they face likely reprisal from the Taliban.

In the coming nine months, the State Department said it would “continue to work to identify options for voluntary resettlement of all Camp As-Sayliyah residents.” It gave no additional details.

Lee and Amiri write for the Associated Press. Amiri reported from New York.

Real Madrid are waiting for Virgil van Dijk to become a free agent, Bayern Munich offer Michael Olise a long-term contract and are eyeing Barcelona’s Jules Kounde.

Real Madrid are considering a move for Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, 35, as the Dutchman will become a free agent at the end of the season. (Mundo Deportivo – in Spanish), external

Bayern Munich are set to offer French striker Michael Olise a new contract until 2032, with the 24-year-old’s current deal expiring in 2029. (Bild – in German), external

However, the German club played down the prospect of signing Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, 32. (TeamTalk), external

Crystal Palace and France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, 29, is a target for Manchester United as they look to strengthen their attacking options. (TeamTalk), external

United are also planning to offer new terms for English defender Luke Shaw, 31, who is out of contract at the end of the season. (Football Insider), external

Bayern Munich are also eyeing a move for French defender Jules Kounde, 27, with the player starting the season out of favour at Barcelona (Sport – in Spanish, external)

Tottenham Hotspur have expressed an interest in South Korean defender Kim Min-jae, 29, from Bayern Munich. (Sport – in Spanish, external)

Former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian, 36, is set to begin training with Bologna on Wednesday after his release from Inter Milan at the end of last season (Gianluca Di Marzio – in Italian, external)

Lamine Yamal scores twice and assists another as Spain beat Croatia 4-1 in UEFA Nations League Group A3.

Lamine Yamal scored twice as World Cup winners Spain extended their European record unbeaten run to 40 matches.

La Roja maintained their perfect start to UEFA Nations League Group A3 with a 4-1 home win over Croatia on Tuesday, while England overcame 10-man Czech Republic 2-0 in Prague to leapfrog Slaven Bilic’s side into second.

In a repeat of the 2023 Nations League final, which Spain won on penalties, Croatia recovered from conceding an early goal to equalise but were unable to resist a Spanish side fresh from a 3-2 win over England at Wembley on Saturday.

Spain’s first home game since lifting the World Cup in July was preceded by Rodri parading the trophy on the pitch. The celebrations continued in Seville when Lamine, just as he did against England, opened the scoring in the second minute.

Alex Baena’s ball into the area was dummied by Fermin Lopez, and Lamine curled a first-time low shot inside the far post.

Baena then had an effort parried away by Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic as Spain looked set to put the game out of reach early on, but the visitors drew level through Dion Beljo’s 28th-minute header.

Spain took less than three minutes to retake the lead. Lamine whipped a cross into the six-yard box from the right wing and Marc Pubill powered a header beyond Livakovic.

Lamine scored his second and Spain’s third in the 63rd minute, collecting Pedri’s pass in the box before drilling his shot into the net from a tight angle. Substitute Nico Williams wrapped up the win with an 89th-minute goal.

Earlier this summer, Akriila flew to Los Angeles and played two nights at the Roxy in West Hollywood. At 22, the Chilean singer-songwriter, most identifiable by her fire engine red tresses, is one of the most visionary newcomers in the latest wave of post-urbano Latin artists.

Fittingly, Akriila kick-started her career with a trap mixtape. The most-streamed tracks on her debut, 2024’s dazzling “Epistolares,” favor a progressive reggaeton vein. She also collaborated with Milo J on “Llora Llora” — a folksy lullaby off the Argentine rapper’s masterpiece “La Vida Era Más Corta.”

“Hot gays listen to Akriila” became a celebrated slogan on social media.

Turns out she was just getting started. Released Sept. 3, her latest album, “Lucy Miró al Mundo y Notó Que Está Girando” — its title a delicious riff on Beatles lore — eschews reggaeton altogether, in favor of a hallucinogenic collage of shoegaze, electronic glitch pop and South American roots sounds.

A guidepost of Chilean hyper-pop, it is also a heart-wrenching mash of tenderness and distortion. The lyrics describe the trauma of a recent transition, after she left her father’s home and ventured to live on her own — and though she’s now an established artist signed to Atlantic Records, her music is still aching and vulnerable.

“She is a reference point for all of us in contemporary music,” says producer Diego Raposo, a Dominican tastemaker who featured Akriila on his 2023 debut album. “I believe we’re witnessing something that we’ll probably never see again. Her music reminds me of Björk, Aphex Twin, even Shakira — but it’s also incredibly fresh and original.”

A few days before traveling to London for her inaugural European tour, Akriila spoke to De Los about the seduction of second verses, her obsession with ’90s dream pop and the growing pains of living alone.

This is such a dreamlike record. Was that intentional?
I wanted it to feel not necessarily ethereal, but hazy, like you’re inside a bubble. I love the way my voice is processed, sharing the space with so many layers. It’s really cool when the vocals are part of a track instead of lying there in the center of the mix.

I was your age in the ’90s, and this album has a very strange emotional effect on me: It reminds me of what it felt like to be in my 20s, listening to dream pop for the first time.
That makes perfect sense, and it connects with a favorite exercise of mine: Every week — ideally, every day — I listen to a full album from beginning to end. I started with new releases, but then set my sights on the classics.

The Sundays’ [1990 masterpiece] “Reading, Writing and Arithmetic” was the album that opened up the space mentally for what I wanted to do. I always say that I make alternative pop. I start with something that’s catchy and easily digestible, and then mix it with sounds that feel uncomfortable. As I was starting to work on this album, I listened to the Sundays, the Cardigans, and every single record that Prince ever made.

I can definitely feel the ’90s vibe in the closing track, “Lucy.” It’s gorgeous.
That’s inspired by the Sundays’ “Gone,” and the drums sound like Cocteau Twins. I love the art of collage — stealing from different artists, but doing it my way. There are samples of PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, but also Rosalía. When I make videos, I’m always thinking of something that MTV would have played back in the day.

I keep thinking of this record as a concept album, even though the actual concept is more of a feeling than anything else.
I totally get you. It’s not an album like the Who’s “Tommy” — an actual musical that takes the conceptual deal to another level. I feel we’ve forgotten the art of making albums now that we’re so focused on playlists and TikTok. I invest a lot of effort in making my albums conceptual, since I’m not into records that are random collections of tracks. “Epistolares” was all about sending letters and dedications. The deluxe version was more sentimental. This one is a concept album for sure. I could outline in detail why every moment of the record happens when it does.

The bridge on “Abrázame” is incredibly romantic.
That bit really freaked me out in a good way. It was shorter at first, but then I asked [producer] Vinco to make it longer. Those guitars on the bridge are the most beautiful thing he’s ever done. The contradiction of “Abrázame” is that everyone kept telling me that it should continue going up and explode at the end, but I had already overused that device on “Epistolares.” So I did the opposite and gave it a happy ending. That ethereal, ambient thing at the end kills me.

Talking about songwriting devices, here’s a trademark Akriila move: A song may be moving forward, and suddenly there’s a fracture — everything breaks and decomposes. Why?
I think I have ADHD and need things to be constantly changing. I’ve tried to make songs that are plain, but I just can’t do it. My favorite part of songwriting is working on the second verse. You’ve already presented the main idea and shown what the chorus is like. On the second verse you can change the beat or the lyrics, and do anything you like. [Producer] Clemente is just like me in that respect. Sometimes we take things to the limit, and then step back. It’s one of the great things about my creative team: We’re not married to the demos. We may do five versions of the same tune until it sounds right.

Your Chilean roots shine through on “Partedemipartedeti.” I listened to those folk bits and thought: Here’s someone who grew up listening to Los Jaivas and Inti-Illimani.
When I first started obsessing about music, the stuff that I liked was all in Spanish. I listened to tons of records from Chile, Argentina and Mexico. “Carta a Mi Papá” is like a traditional balada from Chile. I stole those chords from “Quizás, Porque” by [Argentine supergroup] Sui Generis. I listened to a lot of Pescado Rabioso when I was a teen. My partner has a cassette deck in her car, and she’s always playing [Charly García’s] “Piano Bar.” I don’t identify only with Chilean music. It’s more of a música latinoamericana thing. I don’t think gringos are that good in the lyric writing department. Artists like Bandalos Chinos, Alex Anwandter and Zoé are really great composers.

Do you think you’re an old soul?
People always tell me that [smiles]. We’re a team of three; I think Clemente is a really young soul. Vinco and I are the old ones.

Before making this record, you stopped living with your dad, moved to a place of your own, and experienced a time of profound loneliness. What does your father think of the finished album?
He loves it. He is a musician himself, and it must have been hard for him when we started living apart. It was also difficult for me to get home and feel so lonely because there was no one waiting for me anymore. My dad still comes to my place once a week; he doesn’t want to bother me, so he leaves food in the reception area. It’s his way of making sure that I’m doing fine.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday let President Trump’s administration continue swiftly deporting people to countries other than their own for now, while the justices consider whether the policy is legal.

The apparent 6-3 order halts a lower-court decision. It requires the government to give migrants a chance to object before they are sent to countries to which they have no ties.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in December.

The Trump administration said the lower-court order forced the cancellation of a deportation flight carrying about 70 people bound for three countries last week.

The justices have sided with the administration once before on the core Trump administration policy, allowing deportation flights to temporarily continue last year.

The court said it will consider several questions: whether the policy is lawful, whether lower courts had the authority to issue a sweeping block and other questions the government deems appropriate.

Under a series of often-secret agreements, the Trump administration has deported some 25,000 people to more than two dozen countries, including Liberia and Guyana. The vast majority have been sent to Mexico.

Trump’s Republican administration has said that it sends people with final deportation orders to third countries when they can’t be returned to their homelands or their native countries won’t accept them, including those who have criminal convictions. Those governments provide assurances that people won’t be persecuted or tortured, federal attorneys said.

But some migrants have nevertheless found themselves imprisoned in countries they’d never heard of before their arrivals. Others also face serious safety risks and are left with little choice except to return to the home countries they were fleeing. Many have no criminal convictions and have been found to be at risk of torture or persecution, attorneys for the immigrants said.

The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally.

Whitehurst writes for the Associated Press.

James Trafford: Made a good save in the second half. Trafford was very calm with the ball at his feet and showed his passing range which pleased Tuchel throughout. 6

Trent Alexander-Arnold: Started his first England game for nearly two years. Not much to do defensively but put in a great ball for the England opener. 7

Trevoh Chalobah: A shaky start from the centre back who lost possession a couple of times and lost out in challenges which frustrated manager Thomas Tuchel. But Chalobah settled and ensured England kept a clean sheet against 10-man Czech Republic. 6

Marc Guehi: The usual reliable performance from Guehi. England didn’t have much defending to do but he put in a couple of important blocks. 6

Lewis Hall: The left-back combined well with Anthony Gordon and offered a good outlet for England. Hall was a threat going forward and should have scored in the second half. 7

Elliot Anderson: Dominated the midfield, kept the ball ticking for England and won possession back the few times that the Czech Republic ventured forward. A mature performance. 7

Myles Lewis-Skelly: Started the game well and was given a lot of responsibility in England’s build up play. However, Lewis-Skelly was booked for a mis-timed tackle and then taken off at half time. 6

Morgan Rogers: Played Bukayo Saka through with a nice pass early on and hit the post twice. Not given much room by a Czech side who defended very deep. 6

Bukayo Saka: Not much of note to mark for Saka in what was a cagey match as England laboured when breaking down the Czech defence before Gordon’s goal. 6

Anthony Gordon: A constant threat in behind and put in a dangerous cross in the first half that deserved to end up with a goal. Scored the opener and continues to show why he is becoming so important for the Three Lions. 8

Harry Kane: A quieter night for Kane who dropped deep and went looking for the ball but the England captain still got on the score sheet with a good finish inside the area in the second half. 7

Subs:

Eberechi Eze (on 46, Lewis-Skelly): Added a spark to midfield. 6

Jude Bellingham (on 70, Kane): Took the captains armband and led the line. 6

Alex Scott (on 70, Anderson): Made his England debut. 6

Rio Ngumoha (on 71, Saka): His first thought was to go forward. 6

Morgan Gibbs-White (on 81, Gordon):

Subs not used: Pickford, Steele, Konsa, Branthwaite, Garner, Calvert-Lewin, Quansah

Trump retaliated against Canada’s counter-tariffs on $20bn worth of US imports by banning $1bn of Canadian goods.

The United States is implementing a ban on nearly $1bn in imports from Canada, including alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motorcycles.

The ban took effect early Tuesday and is likely to further strain already-tense relations between the two neighbours.

Ottawa and Washington DC have long been allies and trade partners, with approximately $880bn worth of annual two-way trade. That relationship has been upended during US President Donald Trump’s second term as he unleashed tariffs on most trading partners, including Canada, and referred to the northern neighbour as the 51st state of the US.

Most recently, the US slapped 50 percent levies on Canadian goods worth $20bn, including dairy and motorcycles, on August 22 after trade negotiations failed. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney retaliated, saying Ottawa will match US tariffs “dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses”. Canada levied tariffs of 15 percent, 25 percent and 50 percent on US exports of a similar value.

Tuesday’s ban was Trump’s punishment for Canada’s retaliatory tariffs.

“The impact of such a ban will be minor, it is only $1bn while we trade hundreds of billions with Canada,” Professor Gary Shields at Wayne State University’s School of Business told Al Jazeera. “It is, however, rather astonishing how President Trump treats our allies in Canada and Europe, while rolling out the red carpet for China’s dictator when he visited the US last week”.

“It is a tit-for-tat. It will not reduce people’s taxes and won’t put money in their pockets. It is kind of personal and a way of showing off toughness,” Shields added.

Canada’s economy grew by an estimated 0.2 percent in August after remaining unchanged in July, according to Statistics Canada. But the new US-Canada tariffs, tighter financial conditions and a shrinking population should further weaken growth in late 2026 and early 2027, Michael Davenport, senior Canada economist at Oxford Economics, said in a note provided to Al Jazeera.

Three teenagers have died after a car entered the River Wear.

Northumbria Police said just before 13:30 BST a black Audi A3 came off the road at Panns Bank near Wearmouth Bridge, in Sunderland, and entered the water.

Four people were in the car at the time and a 17-year-old boy managed to reach safety. He is currently in hospital with non-serious injuries, and has subsequently been arrested in connection with the incident, the force said.

The bodies of two teenage boys and a teenage girl have been recovered from the water.

No other vehicles are believed to have been involved.

Ch Supt Scott Cowie, area commander for Sunderland, said it was “a truly tragic incident”.

“Our thoughts are with their families, friends and all those impacted by what has happened,” he said.

He added the investigation was at an early stage and the force was working to establish the circumstances.

Strictly Come Dancing contestant Graeme Hall has been forced to defend his prior dance background on It Takes Two, after it emerged that he took part in ballroom and latin competitions

Strictly Come Dancing star Graeme Hall has addressed his dance background on It Takes Two. He was the subject of online speculation after it emerged that he had entered ballroom and latin competitions in the past.

Graeme, 60, made his live Strictly debut on Saturday 26 September, when he and Lauren Oakley danced a Cha Cha Cha and surprised fans with how rhythmical he was. Soon after, fans took to the internet to share that the celebrity dog trainer did, in fact, have dance experience.

An online record was put on social media of Graeme’s dance scores from competitions, dating back to 2013 when he competed in an Over 35s Intermediate Latin contest. His most recent competition was was in 2019, when he took part in the ballroom section of the Champions of Tomorrow competition.

Graeme was asked about his dance experience on Strictly spin off show It Takes Two. Host Ellie Taylor said: “A lot of people online have been talking about the fact that you have had sort of some dance experience – do you think that’s helping you, do you think it’s something to be considered?”

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Graeme answered: “It does and it doesn’t. You’re right as a hobby I did a bit of ballroom and latin and I entered a few competitions. The problem with that is, I wasn’t very good then and that was quite a few years ago.”

He added that his dance partner Lauren had to “undo all the bad things that I was doing” and put it right and indicated with his hands that their training was very up and down.

Graeme and Lauren’s first dance was to Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog and they received 24 out 40 for their routine. Fans complimented the pair on their dancing, with one writing: “I already loved Graeme and we all know Lauren is a superstar but nothing could’ve prepared me for this! What a fabulous pairing and what a great first dance. Think I’ve found my winners already.”

Another added: “This is the only dance all night that had me smiling from beginning to end! Graeme has such an ease and quiet elegance when he dances and he’s so light on his feet! He also looks like he’s genuinely enjoying himself which translates to the viewer.

“I feel so relaxed and chill watching him and so uplifted! I can’t wait to see what him and Lauren do next. I think they will be fan favourites.”

Graeme has previously coughed up to the dance experience, saying: “I have danced it before, but I’ve had a real mental block over one particular step and my leg just keeps doing something in the opposite direction to the way it’s meant to go.

“I’m convinced it’s a bit of muscle memory from 10 years ago. So it’s as much a hindrance as a help.”

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She became an Olympic champion in Seoul. Janet Evans then won her fourth gold medal in Barcelona. But the star swimmer’s greatest Olympic moment came outside of a pool in Atlanta.

LA28 announced Tuesday it will begin the U.S. portion of the 2028 Olympic torch relay in Atlanta in a return to the city that hosted the United States’ last Summer Games and provided the Olympic movement with one of its most iconic torch relay moments. The city where Evans passed the Olympic flame to Muhammad Ali changed the swimming champion’s view on the Games and fueled her desire to bring the torch back as LA28 hopes to write an equally influential chapter of Olympic history.

“I realized when I carried that torch that the flame represents so much more than medals,” said Evans, now LA28’s chief athlete officer. “It certainly represents victory and all those attributes about the Olympics. But it also brings people together, and it’s a symbol of hope and what the Olympic movement really does for everyone.”

The torch relay, which begins in Olympia, Greece, will come to the United States in spring 2028, pass through all 50 states and culminate on July 14, 2028, with the lighting of the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony in L.A.

Three decades ago, the relay legs were reversed. Atlanta’s U.S. torch relay started in L.A., where Evans was one of the first people to run with it in 1996. She never thought she would carry it again during the opening ceremony.

Swimmers never attend opening ceremonies, Evans retorted when Billy Payne, president and chief executive of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, asked her to run the penultimate leg of the torch relay. She would be competing the next day and needed to rest her legs ahead of her final Olympic races. She didn’t believe him when he promised that carrying the torch in the opening ceremony would surpass any Olympic medal she could win.

Running past her fellow Olympians in Centennial Olympic Stadium made Evans finally understand. At the top of a large ramp, Ali emerged out of the dark night. Evans felt a deep rumble as the boxing champion came into view. The stadium felt like it would collapse.

Ali, trembling from the effects of Parkinson’s disease but with strength still evident, held the flaming torch aloft.

Payne was “worried to death” that Ali could drop the torch, he said, 30 years later. Payne instructed Evans that if that happened, she was to grab his arm, pick up the specially engineered torch that would never extinguish and light the fuse ball together.

Janet Evans passes the Olympic flame to Muhammad Ali during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on July 19, 1996.

(Associated Press)

When Evans faced Ali to pass the flame, she knew she wouldn’t need to resort to Plan B.

“I saw it in his eyes,” Evans said. “I still talk to people that were in the stadium, and they say it changed me. It made me realize that I can do great things just like him.”

The torch and the flame endure in an ever-changing Olympic movement. The Games are no longer just a sports competition. They’re the biggest sporting event in the world. They’re seen as a symbol of unity. For host cities, they can also be seen as a high-stakes burden that must bring economic, commercial and civic success. Anything short of perfection feels like disaster on the world stage.

Now less than two years until the Games open, LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman acknowledged there can be some “angst” around the process that is kicking into the delivery phase.

LA28 is still trying to secure millions of dollars in funding to ensure smooth transportation during the Olympics and Paralympics. The nightmare scenario of running over budget and saddling local taxpayers with debt hangs over the organizing committee.

With no permanent venues to build in advance, much of LA28’s spending will take place in the final stages. It’s almost that time to spend, Wasserman acknowledged. Getting to finalize major touchpoints such as the torch relay, the mascot and the medal designs while preparing to makeover existing venues signal excitement and confidence in the organization’s process.

“The part now [that] we are in is making sure all of our plans are clear, all of our difficult decisions are being made, so that when we go, we have as few changes and as few course corrections as possible,” Wasserman said. “Not that there won’t be any, but to limit those as much as possible, so that we operate towards the start line with as much certainty as possible, which is the only way to deliver a project of this scale.”

LA28 will announce the full torch relay route in 2027. The private organizing committee has a rough sketch of the path that will snake through all 50 states. The nationwide tour was one of Wasserman’s earliest plans for the relay. While he was intent to bring the Olympics back to L.A. for the third time, he has always wanted these to be “America’s Games.”

Payne is jealous that LA28’s torch relay will reach every corner of the United States when Atlanta only managed 42 states. LA28’s route promises to pass through iconic cities and landmarks, but Wasserman is most keen on carrying the torch through small towns, per advice he received from Payne.

“If you want to see the power and the impact of what you’re doing, that’s where you will feel it,” Wasserman said his Atlanta counterpart told him. “Because that city, that community, it will be the biggest thing in that town. That is the power of the Olympic movement.”

Payne calls it “the burden and the joy” of the torch. During his Olympic planning process, he was never more nervous than when he carried the flame through the University of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, where he met his wife, Martha, and played for legendary football coach Vince Dooley. Hampered by a hip injury, Payne limped through only a third of his allotted distance. He still cherished every painful step.

“The sense of the entire history of the Olympic world, the hopes and dreams of all the athletes, indeed, all the people of my community, my city, my country, they were all supporting us,” Payne said. “It was an amazing emotional time, and one I think [of] every single time we do the Olympic torch relay. It impacts people very similarly.”

The flame is lit during a ceremony at Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games, using a mirror and light from the sun. It will run through Greece before being transferred to the United States. Since the modern torch relay tradition began in 1936, the flame has burned underwater (Sydney 2000) and in space (Atlanta 1996) and traveled by plane, train, automobile, boat, pony and even camel.

To continue the tradition, LA28 will call upon thousands of torchbearers. LA28 will announce information on the torchbearer nomination process in the coming months.

The Olympic flame is passed to a torch during a ceremony in Olympia, Greece, in November 2025 prior to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games in Italy.

(Milos Bicanski / Getty Images)

Once it gets to the final 25 to 30 torchbearers, Wasserman said, each runner has to be “fundamentally important, connected and relevant to what we’re doing.” Runners could honor the Olympic movement’s past or future while celebrating L.A. and sports before passing the flame to the final torchbearer to light the cauldron.

The ultimate honor is typically reserved for sporting heroes from the host country, often with Olympic excellence on their resume. Since 1980, only two Summer Games have featured a cauldron lit by a non-Olympic or Paralympic athlete. Ali’s iconic moment set a high bar for the LA28 Games, but with 22 months left before the opening ceremony, the question of who will light L.A.’s cauldron remains a fun parlor game, Wasserman said.

He can make only one promise, which he first told Rafer Johnson. The legendary decathlete who climbed 99 steps to light the cauldron at the Coliseum in 1984 just begged Wasserman not to repeat the punishing path.

“Who lights it and how they get there, I don’t know,” Wasserman said, “but there won’t be however many stairs he ran up to get up to the bottom of the peristyle.”

The last remaining US troops have left Iraq. The US military was first deployed to Iraq back in 2003 to depose its leader, Saddam Hussein.

It later faced a series of crises that ensued after the ousting of Hussein. Iraq became embroiled in a cycle of violence that considerably weakened the country.

While the US may have prevented the collapse of the state, it’s also accused of contributing to the subsequent chaos that engulfed it.

The Iraqi government will now be dealing with a new reality.

Is it up to the job? And who stands to gain from the US finally leaving Iraq?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Ahmed Rushdi – President of the House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation.

Kenneth Katzman – Senior fellow at The Soufan Center specialising in Middle East geopolitics and US foreign policy.

Abdullah Alshayji – Professor of political science at Kuwait University specialising in US politics and Gulf security.

Barbara Palvin and Dylan Sprouse have welcomed their first child together.

The new parents shared their happy life update in a joint Instagram post Monday featuring the public social media debut of their new bundle of joy.

“We took Labor Day literally this year,” Palvin wrote in the caption accompanying a photo of she and Sprouse holding their baby girl between them. The snapshot captured the family of three from the back as they watch a Dodgers game on TV while wearing matching jerseys.

The model debuted her baby bump in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where the couple posed together while walking a red carpet. They also announced that they were expecting on social media. Sprouse later shared in a July episode of his “Wildmen” podcast that they would be having a baby girl and that he was “excited to be a girl dad.”

On Tuesday, the actor once again took to his podcast to share some new tidbits about his daughter and life as a new parent.

“She’s very lovely, her name is Sylvie,” Sprouse said of his daughter. “Sylvie Sprouse. And she’s a very well-behaved baby.”

The former Disney Channel star also shared some details about Sylvie’s birth including some of the different options at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

“There’s moments when I look at Sylvie and I’m like, ‘This is the coolest thing ever,’” Sprouse said of being a new dad. “She’s looking at me and her eyes are opening … she’s looking at me and she smiles or something and it’s the cutest thing. My heart like jumps out of its chest.”

The “Suite Life of Zack & Cody” star and Victoria’s Secret model first met in 2017 and have been in a relationship since 2018. They were married in 2023.

Hot mics have embarrassed many a media professional.

Cincinnati Reds longtime broadcaster Thom Brennaman was suspended indefinitely in 2020 after his microphone accidentally picked up him using a three-letter anti-gay slur.

Charles Barkley dropped an uncensored F-bomb during an Inside the NBA on TNT broadcast in 2025 while venting about NBA award voters.

And just two months ago, San Francisco Giants executive Buster Posey trolled radio station KNBR on-air after a behind-the-scenes employee was caught on a hot mic talking trash about him.

Add reporters covering Sacramento Kings media day Monday to the list. At least three were heard in an unvarnished conversation about Kings players Ben Simmons and Zach LaVine that took a personal turn.

A handful of local outlets livestreamed media day interviews. But the mics also picked up reporters chatting, and embarrassing comments went beyond their frequent use of the hyper-localized and outdated NorCal modifier “hella.”

Comments begin about Simmons, a guard on a one-year, non-guaranteed contract after missing last season with injuries. A female says “That’s what comes with being Ben Simmons. He is cringe, cringe,” and another jumps in to say he is “lucky he’s so fine.”

The first media member agrees, saying “He’s a good-looking dude. His skin is, like, so smooth, I was like, damn, no tattoos?”

A male voice joins the conversation, asking, “I thought Jordan Poole was your type.”

A female voice replies, “Allegedly, I like light-skinned, I guess.”

The male voice continues: “What about Zach LaVine, then?”

“Hella fine,” the female voice replies.

“I think his personality annoys the [expletive] out of me, so that’s what makes him less fine,” the first person says. “Zach’s cute but his personality [expletive] annoys me. He just seems like hella like a prick. But he is beautiful.”

“He’s a [expletive] UCLA guy,” replies the third person. “Just all of them are.”

Another voice jumps in, offering that LaVine is “hella fine, too.”

Someone asks how the others would rank Kings players by hotness. One voice votes for Simmons because of “his skincare routine.”

Apparently referring to the team’s woeful 22-60 record last season, the male voice responds by cracking, “Well, Ben wasn’t a King for the last year and a half either,” to which a female voice concedes, “That’s true.”

The reporters involved have not been publicly identified, and none of the players have responded. LaVine’s wife, Hunter, did offer a low-key comment to the Kings Muse recording, writing on X, “a great start to the season!”

The episode called to mind the hot mic that marred the Toronto Raptors’ postseason news conference last April. Two unidentified media members were heard making disparaging comments about players Scottie Barnes and Jonathan Mogbo.

“It’s not just his enunciation, which, like, was super bad, especially last year,” one person said about Barnes. “But even the attitude. Just the attitude — like he’s having fun up there. First year or even before, he just kept getting worse and worse every year.”

Rookie forward Mogbo was the next target. “When I first interviewed Mogbo when he was drafted, I was shocked ’cause he was so dumb,” the person said.

Raptors fans were appalled by the comments, but Barnes responded with humor on social media. It remains to be seen how Simmons and LaVine react.

America.gov for now functions like a chatbot comparable to ChatGPT or Claude, pointing users to official gov’t websites.

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has launched a new website called America.gov aimed at simplifying access to government information.

The website functions much like a chatbot comparable to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude and points users to official government sources for questions such as passport renewals.

The president announced the new site on Tuesday alongside several Cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

In a speech, the president claimed that the website would not store user information and used the opportunity to tout simplified access to information about elections and applications for citizenship.

The site is powered by Google’s Gemini AI and xAI’s Grok, according to the chief design officer, Joe Gebbia.

The executive order announcing the new site calls it “a unified digital front door to the Federal Government for every individual in the United States seeking Federal information or services”.

It also says the site will provide “an entry through which an individual may sign in, communicate in plain language, receive accurate answers, and, where authorized and technically available, complete Government transactions without being required to navigate the websites of multiple agencies.”

White House officials told Al Jazeera that the website will abide by the security protocols of the government agency users inquire about, and it will be retained by those agencies and not America.gov, for example, Medicare.

Al Jazeera tested the answers the website provides to see how they align with the president’s views.

When asked “who is the fake news?”, it said, “I don’t label news outlets or comment on media.” When asked who won the 2020 presidential election, it said Joe Biden. When asked whether the department in which Pete Hegseth is secretary is the Department of Defense or Department of War, it said, “Department of Defense (DoD). That is still the name in statute until Congress changes it.”

When asked about obtaining specific records, such as individual tax information, citizenship records, political donations or Securities and Exchange Commission filings, it directed users to the government websites that provide that data for individuals.

However, in the presentation announcing the new site, Rubio showed that, in the future, the website may be able to help Americans apply for passports directly through the site and even take and upload their passport photos.

The website was created in coordination with the National Design Studio, which is part of the Executive Office of the President and was established by Trump in August 2025.

A top U.S. Air Force acquisition officer says work to set up a full production line for the F-47 sixth-generation fighter is getting closer and closer on the horizon. Prime contractor Boeing is in the midst of a nearly $2 billion expansion to its facilities in St. Louis, Missouri. The F-47 program otherwise continues to progress along an aggressive schedule, with a first flight still being targeted for 2028 and the goal of production jets entering operational service in the early 2030s.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Timothy Helfrich, the service’s Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Fighters and Advanced Aircraft, provided an update on the F-47 program during a virtual talk hosted by the Air & Space Forces Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies yesterday. Boeing won the Air Force competition to produce the F-47 in March 2023, and at least one pre-production example is being built now. The Air Force’s stated plan now is to acquire at least 185 of these jets.

“We have an imperative, I would call it a strategic asset, which is fighter production capacity,” Helfrich said during his opening remarks. “We only have so many production lines, and so we have to get the very most out of those that we can while planning for CCA [Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone] production, and pretty soon F-47 production.”

“There are only three active fighter production lines, right? We got F-35 down in Fort Worth, the F-15EX in St. Louis, and F-16 in Greenville,” Helfrich elaborated later on in the discussion in response to a question about steps the Air Force is taking to maintain sufficient operational capacity across its fighter fleets, in general. “So we need to grow the existing production lines, and we need to – or at least maximize what we can get out of those existing production lines, and we need to add production lines.”

“We’re not too far away from an F-47 production line, which will be additive to the production capacity,” he added.

Since 2023, Boeing has been working to substantially expand its production and other facilities in St. Louis by more than one million square feet. The company has repeatedly shied away from explicitly linking the $1.8 billion construction project to the F-47 program, but there have been clear signs of a connection for years now.

“The project’s first phase includes plans to erect and renovate 1.1 million ft.2 of facilities on the 110-acre Brownleigh and 75-acre Northern tracts adjacent to St. Louis Lambert International Airport, according to planning documents released by the airport authority in 2023,” Aviation Week reported in 2025. “Phase 1 includes the construction of a 880,000-ft.2 aircraft assembly building on the Brownleigh [site], plus a 185,000-ft.2 hangar, 80,000-ft.2 radar cross-section test facility, open aircraft shelters, hush house, maintenance building, fuel calibration building and fire house totaling 90,000 ft.2 on the Northern tract.”

At that time, parts of the new facility were reportedly expected to open in 2026 ahead of the completion of the full project in 2030.

A post across Boeing’s social media accounts in July highlighted continued progress with this construction. This included the completion of roof and exterior panels and the installation of hangar doors at a section of the site dedicated to “Advanced Combat Aircraft Assembly,” as well as the “first steel column installed for the Central Utility Plan” in the North Tract area.

“Momentum continues on our St. Louis expansion,” Dan Gillian, Vice President and General Manager of Air Dominance at Boeing, also said in July, according to Flight Global. “We are expanding our defence footprint while supporting next-generation capabilities.”

All of this is in line with Brig. Gen. Helfrich’s comments yesterday about a full production line for the F-47 steadily taking shape now. This, in turn, fits squarely with the aforementioned aggressive timeline the Air Force is pursuing for the program overall. Accelerated work on the F-47 has been aided by years of flight testing in secret of advanced demonstrator aircraft.

There is also a question of whether Boeing’s expansion of its production capacity in St. Louis could also be tied to the Navy’s F/A-XX next-generation carrier-based fighter program. Boeing has been facing off against Northrop Grumman in the F/A-XX competition with a design that looks related, at least to some degree, to the F-47.

The F-47 and F/A-XX programs have become very closely intertwined in other ways. In 2025, the Pentagon moved to freeze F/A-XX, explicitly over concerns about competition for industrial base resources with F-47. This would include production line capacity. Congress subsequently intervened to keep the Navy effort going, but a final winner still has yet to be announced.

Just earlier this month, Air Force Gen. Dale White, the service’s Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Critical Major Weapon Systems, reiterated concerns about industrial capacity. White’s comments came in response to a question about potential challenges in building F/A-XXs at the same time as F-47s at a media roundtable at the Air & Space Forces’ Air, Space and Cyber Conference at which TWZ was in attendance. The general also acknowledged that these concerns were “not unique” to F/A-XX and F-47.

During the virtual talk yesterday, Brig. Gen. Timothy otherwise touted continued progress on the F-47 program.

“The F-47 is going to be the world’s first sixth-generation fighter, and I can’t wait to fly it [sic; see it fly] this administration,” he said. “That’s a commitment that I made, that we are on track to do.”

The “administration” referred to here is President Donald Trump’s second term in office, which will come to a close in January 2029. With this deadline in mind, the Air Force has openly said in the past that it is aiming for a first flight of the F-47 in 2028. Beyond that, the stated goal is to be operating the jets operationally sometime in the early 2030s.

As noted, the Air Force has said previously that it is planning to acquire a fleet of at least 185 F-47s, which is in line with the original vision of the aircraft as a direct successor to the F-22 Raptor. However, there have already been signs that the final F-47 fleet figure could grow amid an evolving view of the F-22’s continued role in the near-term. A huge, multi-faceted modernization effort for the F-22 fleet is now underway, as you can read more about here.

When the jets do enter service, “one of the things that we know F-47 is going to bring is more survivability and lethality than anything that’s ever been delivered before. And going into that highly contested environment, you have to meet certain levels of survivability if you want to execute there,” Helfrich noted yesterday. “Beyond just the survivability and lethality that we know is going to come, there’s also an adaptability that the F-47 will bring.”

“The F-47 will come out of the box with full open architecture,” he continued. “Amongst other great things, it brings the ability to upgrade rapidly, faster than the threat if needed. That is what is going to be required in that kind of environment. Other things it’s going to bring, it’s going to be much more survivable than our fifth-gen platforms, as well as have a combat radius of over 1,000 nautical miles, which you’re familiar with. That’s a long way, which is needed for that kind of environment. You need to be able to execute and persist there.”

“Especially in these highly contested environments, no one’s going to be fighting alone. So we need to make sure that we are integrating,” he added. “There’s some ability to get lift from one platform to another, right? Whether it’s a mission system, it’s communications, it’s open architectures, we’re seeing that integration pay dividends, so that we are integrated from day one.”

This kind of integration and cross-platform commonality in mission systems will be particularly relevant for F-47s acting as airborne controllers for CCA drones. Brig. Gen. Helfrich’s comments above also came in the midst of a discussion about future operations involving both F-47s and B-21 Raider bombers.

Many questions do still remain about plans for the F-47 and its design, including what engines will power the aircraft when it first enters service. In July, TWZ published a deep-dive feature about what is known about the aircraft to date, which you can find here.

In the meantime, the Air Force and Boeing are continuing to push ahead with laying the groundwork for full production of the F-47 as the jet gets closer to its first flight in the coming years.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Former Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Chapek knows his reputation among Disney fans, especially Disneyland loyalists. In his new book “Behind the Castle Walls,” he defends his changes to the Disneyland experience, the vast majority of which are still felt today.

“Contrary to what some people tried to paint me as,” he writes, “I wasn’t just a maniacal, money-optimizing machine.”

When I had the chance to talk to him last week, I wanted to know if having that image bothers him.

“I’m not concerned about it,” he says, speaking via phone from his Florida home. “I don’t give that any thought at this point. But I’m very proud of the performance of the parks segment during my time. The numbers bear that out.”

Chapek, in his role as chairman of the parks division and later CEO of the company, presided over an eight-year period beginning in 2015 in which Disneyland would significantly raise prices, introduce add-on perks, and, in my opinion, create the unsettling sense that you could be having more fun if you just spent more money.

When Chapek took over the parks segment, Disneyland would begin to fully remake its annual passholder program, largely by significantly increasing its price and limiting access. (In 2015, the top priced annual pass was close to $800. Today, it’s $1,899.) Single-day tickets to the parks would also begin a period of aggressive price hikes. Today, a one-day, one-park ticket tops off at $224. It’s widely expected that Disneyland will be raising its prices again this October, as it has done nearly every year in recent history.

Additionally, benefits that Disneyland guests long took for granted as free, such as the line-skipping Fastpass program, would become a paid perk on Chapek’s watch. Access to some attractions would be grouped together as part of a package now known as a Lightning Lane. In-demand rides such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance would be sold separately.

Bob Chapek has defended price increases at Disneyland, noting that ambitious projects like Galaxy’s Edge require capital.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Prices on all of the above typically increase yearly. Today, guests who spring for the front-of-the-line Lightning Lane pass as well as individual access to Rise of the Resistance can expect to pay around an extra $65 per person once having their tickets scanned.

Chapek notes he faced significant opposition at Disney in making these changes.

“To all who come to this happy place, welcome,” goes Walt Disney’s original dedication speech, which for decades was used as a guiding light that every guest who entered Main Street, U.S.A., would be treated as an equal. That meant, with limited exceptions, no special access for anyone.

This was seen as an “inviolable virtue” at Disney, but one Chapek was ready to break, as he writes in his book.

“Everyone is equal when they come through the gates no matter what walk of life they come from,” Chapek tells me. “What’s different, though — and this isn’t because we say it’s different, it’s because the guests say it’s different — it’s that guests say they want an experience that’s tailored to what they can afford.”

Maybe. I don’t have access to guest satisfaction surveys, but that sounds like something only people with a certain privilege say. No doubt guests who can afford less don’t want a worse experience.

Chapek in his book describes himself as a “disruptor,” and considers Lightning Lane-like add-ons “bespoke” experiences that appeal to guests who crave a more customizable day. While they are common at nearly every theme or amusement park, I consider them classist, creating a haves-versus-have-nots mindset as soon as guests step through the gates.

Chapek defends the move to me, pointing out that while he presided over the parks, it’s lowest price one-day, one-park ticket stayed steady at $99 (today it’s $104). While true, and while Disneyland has even sought to increase the number of days offered at its introductory price since Chapek was ousted from the company in 2022, these are often midweek tickets, necessitating that working families take a day off and force a child to skip school.

“How about demand?” says former Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Chapek, seen here with Minnie Mouse at Hong Kong Disneyland, when defending his price hikes.

(Kin Cheung / Associated Press)

“How about demand?” Chapek says to me when I point out that I have been critical of the moves. “Do people stop coming? That would obviously be a big concern. Even with the increase in prices that were taken on the annual passes, it would temporarily soften demand, but a year later they were subscribed just like they were before. Wall Street has certain expectations that may not be consistent with the expectations of guests of a certain pass type.”

Chapek reveals in his book that there is somewhere around 1.1 million annual passholders to Disneyland, which is today known as a Magic Key. With each price increase, he writes, that number would tumble to around 1 million, but within about 12 months they would be back to a level they were at before the rise in prices.

During Chapek’s reign, the company also introduced a reservation system, which asks guests to plan in advance. The price increase, later coupled with a reservation system, is designed to cut down, in part, on spontaneous trips to the resort, forcing guests to be more intentional about their Disneyland plans. This can aid, of course, in forecasting crowds and park staffing, but is also intended to limit days in which the park can feel overcrowded.

During his five-year tenure as parks chairman, Chapek writes that profits within the segment went up 18%. And that was largely due to an increase in individual guest spending. Over the decades, certain leaders of the Walt Disney Co. have arguably more closely ingratiated themselves with fans than Chapek has, but the fact remains that Chapek fundamentally and forever altered the approachability and the affordability of a Disneyland visit.

“In order to build things like Galaxy’s Edge and Avengers Campus, that takes capital,” Chapek says. “That capital takes revenue.”

My long-term fear, however, is that this has created a slippery slope. Disneyland guests now brace for yearly price hikes each fall, and this is coupled with yearly spikes on food prices each summer. Once the company and its shareholders become accustomed to such a financial boost, an environment where individual guest spending sharply increases even when domestic park attendance is soft or steady, there’s likely no turning back. Disney has created a business that will target the highest-spending consumer year in and year out.

And thus, guest equality, what was once an “inviolable virtue,” is forever a thing of the past, no matter who is in charge.

This week in SoCal theme parks

The X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

• X2 has been retired. Six Flags has officially pulled the plug on Magic Mountain’s X2 coaster, which has been the subject of recent controversy after several lawsuits allege people were injured on the ride. Six Flags shut down X2 in July amid a state investigation into the coaster. “While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do. Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously,” Brian Oerding, Six Flags Magic Mountain president, said in a statement. The Times’ Fedor Zarkhin has more on the news.
• Don’t miss Disneyland’s mariachi band. There are a few more opportunities to catch Mariachi Alegría de Disneyland in Rancho Del Zocalo park inside Frontierland. The performances, set for the evenings of Oct. 6, 7, 13 and 14, are part of the resort’s National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations. Also, beginning Oct. 4 and lasting through Oct. 15, guests can meet the character of Elena of Avalor near Royal Hall next to Sleeping Beauty Castle.
• Heads up for those attending Halloween Horror Nights. If you have a visit planned to Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights and you’re interested in the park’s new Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift coaster, there’s now an opportunity to ride it. For a cost. Universal is selling access to the coaster for $19.95 per person. Previously, the coaster was only available to those who sprung for the fancy R.I.P. Tour, which is now sold out.
• Work out in Disneyland! The Disneyland Resort has announced new fitness classes across its two parks, an early morning perk for guests staying at one of its three hotels. Among the offerings is the ability to do yoga in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, agility and strength exercises in Cars Land, and a mini-boot-camp-style class in Avengers Campus. Classes range in price, but most are under $49.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

Me, enjoying a beverage, on the now shuttered Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

There is one area where the former CEO of the Walt Disney Co. and I are in complete agreement. Chapek and I both miss Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, colloquially known as the Star Wars Hotel. The ambitious, but costly, multi-day experience was one of the most creatively inspiring offerings in company history.

In “Behind the Castle Walls,” Chapek writes that he believes it was shuttered too soon. The Starcruiser closed after about a year of operation. “Was it perfect the first time? Absolutely not,” Chapek tells me. “Was it one of the most ambitious lodging experiences we have ever created? Yes.”

A place dedicated to play — and light role-play — the Starcruiser allowed guests to fully inhabit a fictional world. It was an argument that interactivity could have been the future of theme parks. “It seemed to have the plug pulled on it prematurely,” Chapek says, “and I think it was a big opportunity missed.”

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