NEWLYWEDS Dua Lipa and Callum Turner were spotted kissing in the sea as he squeezed her bum while on their honeymoon in Italy.

The pop star, 30, and her actor husband Callum, 36, have been enjoying married life at the luxury San Domenico Palace hotel in Taormina near Catania.

The couple arrived at the hotel on Monday after they drove from Palermo where they had a huge wedding bash that was attended by several A-listers.

In new photos, the pair looked every inch the loved-up couple, as they soaked up the sunshine in Sicily.

They were pictured in the sea on a float with their hands all over each other.

In one snap, Dua was seen on top her new husband as they enjoyed a kiss, while he couldn’t resist but give her bum a squeeze.

TURNER AROUND

Dua Lipa & Callum Turner make huge life decision days after getting married

SWEET STAY

Inside Dua Lipa and Callum Turner’s £4k-a-NIGHT honeymoon at White Lotus hotel

Dua showed off her toned figure in a silver thong bikini and matching top.

They were also seen with their eyes firmly locked on each other as they gazed into each other’s eyes, with Dua placing her hands on his face.

The duo looked smitten as Callum wrapped his arms around Dua’s waist.

The One Kiss hitmaker animatedly pulled an excitable expression with her hands up in the air.

Dua was then seen relaxing on the inflatable float, while Callum held onto the side.

She showed off her sunkissed glow in the two-piece swimwear and wore a black and white bandana on her head.

The couple are staying at a lavish £4k-a-night Italian hotel.

Earlier this week, they were seen walking through the town of Taormina hand-in-hand as they explored.

The hotel where the pair are residing for their honeymoon might be recognisable to some, this is because it was made famous in the HBO series The White Lotus.

Known for its stunning clifftop setting and jaw dropping view of the volcano Mount Etna, the resort is more than fit for the A-listers.

The hotel is The Four Seasons Hotel San Domenico Palace, and it was the main location for the second season of the hit HBO series.

The pair tied the knot last weekend prior with a string of famous faces in attendance.

Elton John, 79, who flew in by private jet for the ceremony, and Dua are close friends after they collaborated on the track Cold Heart in 2021.

Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace, 71, was also at the wedding, held in the grounds of the 18th-century Villa Valguarnera in Bagheria, and is believed to have designed Dua’s dress.

Other A-list guests at their Sicily bash included Brit actor Joe Alwyn, American actress Grace Gummer and her husband DJ Mark Ronson, and pop star Charli XCX and her husband George Daniel, the drummer with The 1975.

Some guests were understood to have signed non-disclosure agreements to protect the privacy of the star-studded three-day celebrations, which kicked off on Friday.

The villa where the lavish wedding bash happened, which also featured in HBO drama The White Lotus 2, is widely considered one of the most historically and culturally significant villas in Sicily.

Amid the vow renewal, following their London ceremony, music legend Elton John serenaded the couple with a rendition of his smash hit ‘Your Song’ in an incredibly emotional and touching moment.

The ceremony kicked off at 5pm and lasted for around an hour with guests arriving from 3:30pm in a whopping 60 minivans.

The bride and groom turned up in a luxury Mercedes Maybach Class V at 3pm prompt to greet their guests ahead of the nuptials.

WASHINGTON — The curtain started to come down for President Trump at the Kennedy Center on Saturday.

After a day of legal maneuvers and thunderstorms, workers began the process in the early morning hours of removing the letters spelling out Trump’s name from the facade of the performing arts venue. They were a few hours past a court-ordered deadline and did their work shrouded by a tarp, much to the frustration of onlookers who had gathered for hours hoping to witness a dramatic moment symbolizing the limits of Trump’s power.

As the sun rose over Washington, the tarp remained in place, leaving it impossible to determine whether all the letters had been removed. Shortly after midnight, the Kennedy Center asked a judge to extend the deadline until noon Eastern time, citing the storms for delaying the work. The court agreed to that request Saturday morning.

The removal of Trump’s name closes one of the more unusual chapters in the history of the Kennedy Center, which began construction in 1964 and was dedicated to the memory of the slain president, John F. Kennedy. At what is typically one of the few relatively nonpartisan spaces in Washington, Trump has exerted unprecedented executive influence over the congressionally created venue during his second term.

Though he rarely discussed the Kennedy Center during his 2024 campaign, Trump moved quickly to oust the institution’s leadership when he returned to office in January 2025 and replaced it with a board of trustees that named him chairman. It rebranded the venue the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts” and his name was quickly added to the building’s exterior, though an official name change would require an act of Congress.

While the removal of his name marks a setback for Trump, he is moving forward with other plans to reshape the physical landscape of the nation’s capital in ways that have few modern parallels.

He demolished the East Wing of the White House and is building a controversial ballroom in its place. He remodeled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and plans extensive renovations of a golf course in East Potomac Park, moves that could significantly reduce the public’s access to running and biking paths. He is also moving forward with a triumphal arch that would sit near Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River in Virginia.

Indeed, as Trump’s name is being removed from the Kennedy Center, the South Lawn of the White House has been transformed into a venue for a UFC match intended to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence but also coinciding with Trump’s birthday on Sunday.

Back at the Kennedy Center, there are many questions about the institution’s future. The same May court decision that ordered Trump’s name to be removed from the building also blocked a planned two-year closure for renovations that was set to begin next month.

The Kennedy Center’s calendar for the weeks ahead include performances of “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” and “Bluey’s Big Play.” Comedian Bill Maher is to be awarded the Mark Twain Award for American Humor during a ceremony on June 28.

But little is scheduled for the stages beyond that and, after the Kennedy Center substantially reduced staff, it is unclear how quickly it could build out a robust performance list. Trump, angered by the court’s order to remove his name, has said he would turn the Kennedy Center over to Congress and has suggested it might simply shutter because of public safety concerns.

In its unsuccessful appeal Friday seeking a pause on the order removing Trump’s name, the Kennedy Center’s leadership argued, in terms similar to the president’s use of language and framing of the argument, that the lower court was interfering with needed renovations.

“The District Court is not allowing us to close in order to properly fix up and repair the Building, including potentially life threatening structural damage like beams and parking garage ceilings that are rusted, and in serious danger of falling onto people below,” according to the appeal. “Indeed, total collapse!”

The institution also suggested that the president’s name could return to the building if the Kennedy Center later wins its appeal.

If the court denied the venue’s request for a pause, the Kennedy Center argued that it would “be forced to squander time and money — by both removing the signage and then potentially returning it after appeal.”

Sloan writes for the Associated Press.

Britain’s Emma Raducanu overcomes an injury scare to beat Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 7-5 and advance to the semi-finals of the Queen’s Club Championship.

READ MORE: Raducanu battles into Queen’s semis but Boulter goes out

Available to UK users only.

Israeli attack reportedly kills one person in central Gaza’s Bureij camp, as a disabled Palestinian is shot in the West Bank.

Israeli forces have carried out a deadly attack in a refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Palestinian media reports, as casualties continue to mount in the enclave despite a “ceasefire” declared months ago.

The Israeli drone attack in the Bureij camp on Saturday killed one person and injured two others, reported the Wafa news agency.

The Palestinian Information Center identified the person killed as Muawiya al-Aydi, a local municipality worker.

Further north, a separate Israeli attack injured a person at a gathering in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood, according to Wafa.

Despite a ceasefire technically in effect since October, Israel’s military has regularly attacked Gaza, over half of which is under Israeli military control in defiance of the ceasefire’s terms.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least two Palestinians have been killed and 11 injured in Israeli attacks on the enclave in the past 48 hours.

The ministry said 983 people have been killed and 3,122 injured in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire was declared.

Hamas has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the agreement through its continued attacks and by shifting the so-called “Yellow Line” that demarcates Israeli-controlled areas in Gaza.

“Israeli actions reflect its unwillingness to implement the ceasefire agreement and aim to blow up the negotiation track and thwart the efforts being made, while continuing escalation to serve political and electoral considerations,” said Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem on Friday.

Disabled Palestinian shot, injured in West Bank

Israeli troops also carried out a series of violent raids in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, part of a pattern of near-daily operations since the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

According to Wafa, Israeli forces deployed stun grenades and tear gas during two separate incidents near Bethlehem, causing numerous injuries: one during a raid on the Dheisheh refugee camp and the other while blocking access to the Solomon’s Pools reservoirs.

A disabled Palestinian man was also shot and injured in the town of Duma, near Hebron.

Wafa said Israeli forces shot the man, while Israeli media cited Israeli police as saying an Israeli settler was responsible. According to Israeli police, the settler felt threatened by the man who was carrying a rock.

Other Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians and vandalised property near Bethlehem, including assaulting Palestinian electrical workers and stealing water pipes, said Wafa.

There’s a good reason why David Sedaris is the most beloved humorist in America. He has an unerring ability to tap into the absurdity and petty annoyances of American culture more cogently than any other writer of his generation. He is also funny as hell.

Sedaris’ latest collection, “The Land and Its People,” finds the author grappling with the seductions and consolations of technology, creeping mortality, unwanted sexual advances and feral dogs, for starters. I recently chatted with Sedaris about books, nannies and iPhones.

✍️ Author Chat

Your first book was a collection of short stories. Was it always the intent to move into writing essays, or did you have designs on being a novelist?

It never occurred to me that I would write essays about my life. I started off writing fiction, and then I started doing these readings in Chicago. Then I was to read at this variety show at this place called Park West. I was limited to about five minutes, and so I just plucked something from my diary. And it worked. I would walk onstage wearing a tie with a stack of diaries in my hand. Then I started doing these radio shows, and I thought I could read my fiction, but it had to be nonfiction. So a lot of the earliest pieces that I ever read were just things plucked from my diary.

What actually happened was that after this piece I wrote called “The Santaland Diaries” had been on the radio, I had this other book that I had already written, and I was just kind of waiting for someone to call and ask if they could publish it. But it couldn’t be published unless “Santaland” was included.

That book was “Barrel Fever” in 1994 which was a big hit. Now you were that rare creature: a bestselling essayist.

With essays, there’s a kind of shorthand to it. If you’re writing fiction, you have to world-build with every story, whereas with an essay I can just get up on stage and say “my sister and I went shipping” and people know who my sister is, and I can just get right into it. My fiction is always way, way over the top. I can’t write any story where people are reasonable.

What makes you unique is that you are onstage in front of an audience more often than 99% of authors. You can workshop material to see if it lands, much like a comic.

Yes, and I don’t ever want to waste an opportunity to do that. The frustrating thing about being on a book tour is that I can no longer make any changes to the book. So I’ve been bringing out some little, short things I’ve been working on to get it on its feet.

Much of your writing is observational. Do you find, given your public profile, that it becomes harder to do that?

It depends on where I am. If I’m hanging out in places where people don’t read, or in another country, then it doesn’t make any difference. The bigger problem is that when you’re spying on the world now, the world is just looking at their phones.

“The Land and Its People” is the new collection of essays by David Sedaris.

(Little, Brown and Company)

I know you aren’t big on the phone, or at least taking pictures with your phone. In one of your essays in the new book, you are on a Kenyan safari with your partner Hugh and you adamantly refuse to snap a single photo.

If you’re at a book signing, you meet someone and then stand up and someone takes a picture with their phone. I’d rather talk to that person, you know? The picture thing, it just doesn’t make any sense to me. It doesn’t mean anything. I was invited to the Academy Awards because I wrote something about a movie, which was crazy. But it never for one moment occurred to me to go up to anybody to take a selfie. All that means is that I bothered this person. By the way, I have never once asked Hugh to send me his safari pictures.

What books make you laugh out loud?

I’m always happy to find a funny book, but they are hard to find. Did you read “Rejection” by Tony Tulathimutte?

It’s on my nightstand.

Oh my God, I laughed out loud so many times at that book. And he’s not a humorist. I’m not even sure if he thinks the book is funny. There’s a short story in there, about a guy who’s just a complete a— and his girlfriend moves in with him and he makes her put all of her stuff in the oven.

I like things that are funny that aren’t supposed to be funny. Somebody said to me a few weeks ago, “How can we laugh with the world in such terrible shape?” I said, it’s easy. Just get rid of any sense of empathy or compassion! If you’re writing satire, you have to go big. You can’t tone it down. Then it’s not satire anymore, it’s just cereal milk.

You do write in the new book about this kind of language policing that is prevalent now.

I hate it. I mean, the New Yorker is pretty good to me. I can’t complain. But I turned something in to them, and they told me I couldn’t use the word “nanny” in the piece. I mean, a nanny is a real profession, like a pharmacist. I told them I wouldn’t cut it. It just makes me think about young people who are starting out, who can’t say no because they need the money.

(This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

📰 The Week(s) in Books

(Illustration by Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; Photo via Getty Images)

Leigh Haber is blown away by Anne Patchett’s 10th novel, “Whistler.” “This exquisite writer has once again delivered an incandescent work of fiction — sweet, but never sentimental, infinitely wise and suffused with love,” Haber writes.

Songwriter and Sheryl Crow collaborator David Baerwald has written a novel called “The Fire Agent,” about his grandfather Ernest, a musician and a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp during World War I. “One of my characters tells Ernst that he has ‘yuyo,’ which might best be described as grace,” Baerwald tells Bethanne Patrick. “Its Japanese meaning is closer to the state of a river rock that has been washed over and tumbled thousands of times, so that it’s both distinct, and a meaningful part of its environment.”

Rasheed Newson, a showrunner for “The Chi” and “Bel-Air,” has written “There’s Only One Sin in Hollywood,” a novel about an often-neglected chapter of Hollywood’s Golden Age. “I wanted to do a deep dive into Black queer history during the Golden Age of cinema,” Newson tells Meredith Maran. “The first thing that came to me was Xavier’s character. I decided to make him the 10-years-younger, queer rival of Sidney Poitier, to highlight the acceptable versus unacceptable — meaning, straight versus gay — 1950s Black movie star.”

Finally, Adam Messinger, a staffer at West Hollywood’s Book Soup, attempts to answer the question: Why are books shrinking? One possible culprit may be social media. “Holding the book up to take a photo of it is easier,” writer and social media influencer Caroline Mason tells Messinger. “Although I do sometimes still drop it.”

📖 Bookstore Faves

Lost Books in Montrose looks and feels unlike any other bookstore in L.A. — a verdant terrarium filled with new and used books and vinyl. Created by Last Bookstore co-owners Jenna and Josh Spencer, Lost Books also sells plants. Moss has colonized the ceiling, and tall trees keep sentry over the store’s diverse and eclectic inventory. I asked Josh Spencer about how Lost came about.

What was the thinking behind opening Lost?

It was spontaneous. My wife and I were eating dinner in the very charming neighborhood of Montrose, and saw a very cool vacant storefront. It also happened to be on Honolulu Avenue, and with both of us being from Hawaii, we took it as a sign. We did not want to franchise the Last Bookstore at the time, and wanted the new store to have its own name and unique vibe.

You also sell plants. Where did that idea come from?

My wife grew up in a rain forest on Maui. She loves plants, and we thought that a pairing of nature with literature was exciting and not done before.

Who are your customers?

Mostly locals in Montrose, La Cañada, La Crescenta, Glendale. But we get a fair number of tourists and also people from other parts of L.A. People who love beauty, nature and books. And vinyl!

Are you seeing that big vinyl resurgence we’ve been hearing about?

Absolutely! Our vinyl does very well for us.

What genres or types of books do well for you there?

Classics, kids books, mysteries, graphic novels, art, self-help, memoirs, cookbooks and gardening of course!

Lost Books is located at 2233 Honolulu Ave., Montrose.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser and Noah Goldberg, giving you the latest on city and county government.

Los Angeles voters have finally gotten some closure on the outstanding contests in the June 2 primary election, with City Councilmember Nithya Raman qualifying for the runoff against Mayor Karen Bass, and Measure ER, the countywide sales tax hike, prevailing after a week of ballot counting.

With nearly all the votes counted, Angelenos are now getting a more granular understanding of the strongholds built up by each of the top three mayoral candidates.

Districts that went big for Bass, Raman and Pratt

Early on in the vote-counting process, it looked like Raman might not win her Hollywood Hills-based district, which stretches from Silver Lake to Reseda. In the end, she pulled out a first-place finish, securing nearly 34% of the vote compared to Bass’ 31%, according to Paul Mitchell, vice president of the voter data firm Political Data Inc, who aggregated county precinct data into council districts. Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV personality, trailed at 27%.

Still, Raman’s strongest support came from three districts on the eastern end of the city.

Mitchell’s analysis showed Raman with 45% of the vote in Council District 13, which includes all or parts of Echo Park, Hollywood and Atwater Village. She got nearly 40% in Council District 1, which takes in parts of Highland Park, Mt. Washington and Angeleno Heights. And she scored nearly 38% of the vote in Council District 14, which includes downtown, Boyle Heights and El Sereno.

Those districts are represented by Hugo Soto–Martínez, Eunisses Hernandez and Ysabel Jurado, respectively — all members of Democratic Socialists of America, who all endorsed Bass instead of Raman, a DSA member herself. Raman placed first in all three.

Bass found her greatest strength in the three districts that cover South L.A., coming in first in all three. Her best performance was in District 8, represented by Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, where she led with nearly 62% of the vote.

The mayor received 45% of the vote in Council District 10, which stretches from Koreatown to the Crenshaw Corridor, and 42% in Council District 9, which stretches from the southern edge of downtown south to 95th Street.

Pratt performed the strongest in the west San Fernando Valley. He was the top vote-getter in District 12, which is represented by Councilmember John Lee and includes Chatsworth, Granada Hills and Porter Ranch. In that district, he received 39% of the vote, Mitchell’s assessment showed.

Pratt got nearly 37% of the vote in District 3, which is represented by Councilmember Bob Blumenfield and includes Woodland Hills, Warner Center and Canoga Park.

Pratt also led the pack in the 5th District, which takes up much of the Westside and is represented by Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky. He had 30.7% of the vote, compared to Raman’s 30.6%, according to Mitchell’s analysis.

Nithya Raman attacks the L.A. ‘political machine’

It was one of tougher attacks of the mayoral primary: Raman accused Bass of engaging in “pay to play” — making decisions that benefited certain interest groups, who then spent big on her reeelection.

At her first post-election press conference Wednesday, Raman revisited that line of attack, criticizing Bass over her push to upgrade the city’s Convention Center. That $2.6 billion project was approved in the middle of the city’s financial crisis, when the council was contemplating major job cuts, Raman said.

“Downtown business groups then spent over a million dollars supporting her in her reelection. Meanwhile, the city went back to voters asking them to pay more to fix their streetlights. That is the political machine at work,” she said.

Pay to play was a potent issue in the 2005 election, when Mayor James Hahn was defeated by Councilmember Antonio Villaraigosa. At the time, federal agencies had opened corruption investigations into decisions at the city’s harbor and airports, as well as the Department of Water and Power. That year, the phrase “pay to play” was synonymous with criminal wrongdoing.

In a video acknowledging his primary defeat, Pratt said he got into the mayor’s race to “expose this corrupt machine.”

Raman stopped short of such a framing.

“It’s not corruption,” Raman told reporters at Vista Hermosa Park. “But it is evidence that the system, and how it works, particularly the influence of money in politics, has led to some very broken priorities here in the city.”

Last year, policy analysts warned the Convention Center project would be a financial drag from the moment it opens, consuming more than $100 million per year throughout the 2030s. Business groups and labor organizations pushed back, saying the project would help revitalize downtown while creating much needed construction jobs.

The Central City Assn., a downtown-based business group that supported the Convention Center upgrade, spent about $1.6 million on efforts to reelect Bass.

“Nithya Raman doesn’t think we need more jobs or visitors to our hotels and restaurants that produce the tax revenues downtown generates for the entire city, so it’s hard to support her,” said Central City Assn. President and Chief Executive Officer Nella McOsker in a statement.

Bass spokesperson Alex Stack also pushed back on Raman’s criticism, saying the mayor has been with “every group and industry to deliver results for Angelenos.”

“Nithya Raman can’t get anything done and then attacks the same groups she sought to endorse her campaign,” he said.

Pratt trailed Trump among L.A. voters

As a mayoral candidate, Pratt was dogged by questions about whether he was MAGA — shorthand for the movement that first powered President Trump into office in 2016. The Republican had received fulsome praise from Trump-aligned figures, including podcast host Joe Rogan and Greg Gutfield of Fox News.

Pratt downplayed his GOP ties. Still, there’s one area where he definitely had some similarity with Trump: His performance with L.A. voters.

Trump and Pratt both picked up roughly one out of every four votes in L.A. during their respective campaigns.

Pratt, former star of MTV’s “The Hills,” had 25.5% of the vote in L.A., according to results posted Friday. In November 2024, Trump did a little better, receiving 26.5%, county election results show.

Trump had 369,319 votes in L.A. two years ago, compared to 976,781 for then-Vice President Kamala Harris. By Friday, Pratt had 217,638 votes, compared to 247,242 for Raman and 292,115 for Bass.

It might not be fair to compare Pratt and Trump, given that there were key differences between the elections. Pratt was competing in a primary campaign, while Trump was in a general election. The candidate pool was different as well.

Trump was running in a six-way contest where Harris was his main rival. Pratt, on the other hand, was in a race featuring 13 other candidates.

Although two-thirds of those candidates were complete unknowns, four of Pratt’s rivals ran serious campaigns, amassing endorsements and spending significant amounts of money.

State of play

— TRUMP VS. LAHSA: The Trump Administration moved Thursday to block the embattled Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority from receiving federal funds, saying the agency was badly managed and engaged in fraud. Elected officials across the city denounced the move, while nonprofit groups also voiced alarm. “This is intended to create chaos,” said Jerry Jones, the head of the Greater LA Coalition on Homelessness, which represents groups that serve the region’s unhoused.

— PAYOUT PROBE: Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said Wednesday that he believes four out of every five claims in the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history — one that resulted in a $4 billion payout by Los Angeles County— may be fake. Hochman has asked a judge to pause the sex abuse payments while he continues his criminal investigation into the plaintiffs, lawyers and therapists involved in filing the claims.

— GET READY TO RUMBLE: The showdown between Bass and Raman is going to get ugly, political experts said this week, in part because they agree on a number of big-picture political issues. Both will need to court at least some of the disaffected voters who picked Pratt in the primary.

— A SCATHING SENDOFF: As we mentioned higher up, Pratt released a video Friday that was both an acknowledgment of his primary election defeat and a vitriolic screed against Bass and Raman, his former rivals. Pratt called them “morons,” “commie animals” and “corrupt communists,” and made clear he intends to ramp up his attacks in the coming months. “I don’t have campaign laws hamstringing me now. It’s war,” he said.

— WOOING LATINOS: Bass carried far more Latino-majority neighborhoods than her rivals in last week’s primary, a Times analysis found. She carried 35 Latino-majority neighborhoods, including Boyle Heights, Pacoima and Historic South-Central. That was a 46% increase from 2022, when she won 24 Latino-majority neighborhoods in her primary against Rick Caruso and Kevin de León, the analysis found.

— EKING OUT A WIN: The countywide sales tax hike known as Measure ER prevailed this week, with late-arriving ballots pushing the number of ‘yes’ votes just above 50%. “It’s a lifesaver to carry us through the storm we’re all in,” said County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, who led the push among her colleagues to get the measure on the ballot.

— AN EXPENSIVE FEE-FA: Bass was set to attend the U.S. opening game of the World Cup Friday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood after being invited by FIFA, her office said. Still, Bass wasn’t exempt from the high ticket prices she criticized earlier this year. She paid $2,735 out of pocket for her ticket, a spokesperson said. On a related note, the mayor announced more than 100 “Kick it in the Park” events where Angelenos can watch World Cup games for free.

— MORE OF THE SAME: In a break with recent history, every council member who ran for reelection this year won their race. “People see what we’re doing, and they want us to keep fighting for them,” said Councilmember Tim McOsker, who won nearly three out of every four votes in his San Pedro-to-Watts district.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature program to address homelessness went to the area around 54th Street and Western Avenue, in the South L.A. district represented by Harris-Dawson.
• On the docket next week: The City Council meets Wednesday to take up a sprawling package of charter reform proposals, including a move to ranked-choice voting and a larger number of council members. Will the council send those ideas to voters or punt them for another two years? Stay tuned!

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

England have recovered the majority of the training equipment that was stolen prior to their arrival in Kansas City on Saturday.

Sources have confirmed the return of the items that were taken after vehicles transferring equipment to their Swope Soccer Village base in Kansas City were broken into.

Thomas Tuchel and his squad will arrive in Kansas City on Saturday afternoon and the equipment was due to be in place beforehand.

Police officers, who are in touch with the FA, were on site on Friday night dealing with the matter.

It is understood two arrests have been made in connection with the incident.

A spokesman for Kansas Police said before the recovery of the equipment: “We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a team vehicle that arrived in Kansas City with items missing this evening. The investigation is ongoing.”

The theft occurred as Tuchel’s side began their preparations for their World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday (21:00 BST).

“We have plenty of pairs of boots throughout the season, but for the tournament a lot of them will have them personalised,” former England defender Phil Jagielka told BBC Sport.

“A lot of them may have their own special insoles. Then you could choose whether to have the flag, your initials, your kids’ [names], nicknames… All this would have been done months in advance.”

The England players will undertake their first full training day on Sunday.

FROM seeing Shakira perform in Rio to a drinking cocktails in the world’s tallest cocktail bar – it’s fair to say I’ve been to a lot of countries in my career as a travel writer.

Since my first trip abroad 30 years ago, I’ve wracked up 60 countries… and counting.

Yet while I love a far-flung trip, some of my favourite cities are a bit closer to home, and MUCH cheaper to fly to.

So here are my 10 favourites which you can get to in just a few hours, and none of the flights there are more than £20.

Agadir

The Moroccan city is perfect for some cheap, quick, winter sun.

Agadir is ideal for those wanting relaxation and was even named the most affordable summer holiday destination earlier this year.

A highlight is Souk el Had, one of the largest markets in Morocco, and I recommend the White Beach Resort Taghazout just outside of the city for a relaxing stay, right on the beach.

Flights can be found with Ryanair for £14.99 from London Stansted or £17.99 from Edinburgh.

Seville

As one of Spain‘s most southern cities, you can expect some scorchingly good weather (just avoid the summers where it hits 40C).

Watch some flamenco, buy some famous Seville orange perfume or explore the Moorish Royal Alcazar Palace.

Make sure to stay at Only U – stays are around £100pp per night and it felt more exclusive members club than hotel thanks to the rooftop pool, onsite florist and bakery and VERY trendy rooms.

Flights can be found with Ryanair for £14.99 from London Stansted or £17.99 from Edinburgh.

Brussels

It was during a Christmas trip to Brussels that I realised it would actually make the perfect girly trip in summer.

I explored the Rue de Flandre neighbourhood – once named one of the world’s coolest – for noodle bars, pizzarias and cosy drinking spots.

I stayed at the Hilton Brussels Grand Palace hotel, with the fancy breakfast room being a highlight. Prices start at £185 for a double room.

Flights from Newcastle start from £14.99 with Ryanair.

Faro

Faro gets overlooked for just being the gateway to the Algarve, but it’s criminal to skip this stunning Portuguese city.

It has beautiful Caribbean-like islands just off the coast which are ideal day trips, costing just a few euros.

It is also home to 3HB the city’s only five star hotel complete with high spec rooms and rooftop bars with firepits perfect for Love Island style chats. Rooms start at £76 pp per night.

Flights start from £13 with Wizz Air from London Gatwick.

Madrid

The Spanish capital has quickly become my favourite place in the country for so many reasons.

There are fun neighbourhoods such as Malasana with bars and shops (try the fantastically decedant bakes in Santo) or visit on weekends to El Rastro, one of Europe‘s biggest flea markets.

If you’re on a budget you can’t go wrong with the recently opened easyHotel too, with rooms starting at £59 per night. It is an easy few metro stops from the city centre – also easy to use even if not used to underground networks.

Flights can be found with Ryanair from £14.99 from Bristol and London Stansted.

Milan

While Milan can be slated as one of the less-loved Italian cities, it is worth a weekend trip – IF you know where to go.

The street-art lined Navigli is popular with locals for its vibey restaurants lining the canal (go just off the main road to Iter for amazing wine and fun interiors).

Try NYX hotel, with double rooms from £156 per night. It is right beside the train station and has a rooftop terrace.

Flights start £14 with Wizz Air from London Luton or from £14.99 with Ryanair from Manchester and London Stansted.

Marbella

Marbella may be a beach club capital but in my opinion, off season is the best time to visit – as I found when I planned a trip in April.

This meant quiet dinners in the local-populated Taberna la Nina Del Pisto, or bar hopping from La Tienda to Vinalium Castillejos for cheap wine.

The Hard Rock Hotel is a hilarious place to stay – make sure to get the music-themed massage where music is played from speakers to the vibrations of the bed. Prices start at £120 per night for a double room.

Flights start from £14 with Wizz Air from London Gatwick, or with Ryanair from £14.99 when flying from Bristol, Birmingham, Newcastle, London Luton or Bournemouth.

Copenhagen

One of my favourite trips was when I was between jobs, and decided to spend a chic weekend in Copenhagen.

I brunched at Atelier September, explored the Fashion Museum and popped into Tivoli for a step back in time, as well as popped to see the famous Little Mermaid statue and Hans Christian Anderson grave.

Hotel SP34 – from £80 pp per night – is a must, if not just for the free wine and cheese hour ever evening…

Flights from Edinburgh and London Stansted from £14.99 with Ryanair or £16.99 from Bristol and Manchester.

Amsterdam

You might have already visited Amsterdam, but let me sell you on Amsterdam Noord.

Get the free ferry over from the main train station along with all the other cycling locals and before dinner and drinks at Next. Don’t forget some of the amazing art galleries and museums – STRAAT and NXT are worth a visit.

Stay at Bunk for a unique stay, built into a church with some VERY interesting artwork and a vibey bar. If you are on a tight budget a pod for one starts at £25.

Flights from London Southend from £14.99 with easyJet.

Palermo

You can’t visit Palermo without getting a famous Negroni and Bar Timi claim to have the best in the city (best chased by some fresh arancini at the food markets.

There are loads of flea markets and antique markets to explore, although you could also leave the city to find a beach club for the afternoon as well.

When it comes to hotels, there is the new NH Collection Palermo Palazzo Sitano which feels quintessentially Sicilian but is also in a great location. Prices start at around £95pp per night.

Flights from London Stansted start from £16.99 with Ryanair.

June 12 (Asia Today) — Thousands of South Korean soccer fans packed Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on Friday, cheering, gasping and celebrating through South Korea’s 2-1 comeback victory over Czechia in its opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“Dae-han-min-guk! Until the end!” fans shouted as the square turned red with supporters wearing national team jerseys and carrying South Korean flags, cheering sticks and handheld fans.

The Group A match was played Friday morning in South Korea, but the weekday timing did little to slow the crowd. Children, office workers and longtime members of the Red Devils, South Korea’s national soccer supporters’ group, gathered in front of a large outdoor screen set up near the square.

When the opening whistle sounded at 11 a.m., fans shouted “Fighting!” and “Let’s win!” Police unofficially estimated about 3,000 people had gathered at the square at the start of the match.

The temperature in Seoul rose to 28 degrees Celsius, or 82.4 degrees Fahrenheit, under clear skies. Many fans used parasols, portable fans and folding fans to cope with the heat.

Some supporters took vacation days to watch the match in public. Lee Hyun-soo, 37, an office worker who came with his elementary school-age child, said he used annual leave so they could cheer together.

“The next day is the weekend and my child also filed for an experiential learning day, so I took the day off,” Lee said. “It is very hot, but it is better than cloudy or rainy weather.”

South Korea controlled much of the early play but failed to score in the first half. When chances ended without a goal, fans grabbed their heads and groaned in frustration.

The crowd grew sharply near halftime as office workers from nearby buildings joined during their lunch breaks. Some skipped restaurant meals and watched while eating toast or convenience store food.

Kim Sung-il, 28, who works near Gwanghwamun Station, said he came with co-workers to watch the second half.

“Lunch break gives us enough time to watch the second half,” Kim said. “I hope the result lets us start the afternoon shift happily.”

As the crowd swelled, police and event staff moved quickly to control pedestrian flow. Seoul’s real-time city data showed about 14,000 to 16,000 people were in Gwanghwamun Square at noon, more than twice the 6,000 expected by the Korea Football Association.

Police deployed about 260 officers from three mobile units to manage the crowd. Officers and staff repeatedly asked fans to fold parasols while moving and to continue walking in one direction. No major safety incidents were reported.

The match turned tense in the second half. Czechia took the lead in the 59th minute when Ladislav Krejci scored with a header. The mood at the square briefly fell silent.

South Korea quickly answered. Hwang In-beom equalized in the 67th minute and later helped create the winning goal by substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu in the 80th minute.

As Oh’s goal went in, fans hugged friends, jumped in place and shouted in relief. Many stayed in the square after the final whistle, still caught up in the emotion of South Korea’s first opening-match win at a World Cup since 2010.

Kim Ji-min, 23, a university student, said she had been nervous before the match.

“I was very worried before the game, but I am so happy we came back and won,” Kim said.

Shim Sung-min, 42, an office worker, said the match felt cinematic.

“I heard this was South Korea’s first opening-match win in 16 years,” Shim said. “Today’s match felt like a movie. I think I can enjoy the rest of the weekend.”

South Korea’s win gave the team three points to begin Group A and lifted hopes among fans watching from Seoul that the national team can advance from the group stage.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260612010004331

George Russell bounced back from the disappointments of the past few races to take pole position for the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

Russell edged out Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari by just 0.064 seconds as runaway championship leader Kimi Antonelli could manage only third place in the other Mercedes.

McLaren’s Lando Norris took fourth from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar, while Hamilton’s team-mate Charles Leclerc crashed on his first lap in the final session and will start 10th.

Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri was seventh, from Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson and Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg.

More to follow

Now in its 40th iteration, Grand Performances will celebrate this milestone with dazzling performances all summer long at the California Plaza in downtown L.A.

The free concert series kicks off with a performance by the Latin hip-hop funk band Ozomatli on June 13. Tropicalia group Healing Gems and the Afro-Latin fusion band Jungle Fire will also make special appearances, all while DJ Liza Richardson keeps the groove going.

“For 40 years, Grand Performances has been a gathering place where Los Angeles comes alive through music, culture, and shared experience,” said Rafael González, president and CEO of Grand Performances, in a press release. “This year, we honor that legacy by continuing to open our stage, free and for everyone, so that every Angeleno can find themselves in the experience and feel part of something larger.”

On June 27, the Chicano troupe Culture Clash will return to the Grand Performances stage with comedic sketches colored by political and social satire. The trio — which includes Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Sigüenza — formed in 1984 in the San Francisco Mission District. Through its avant-garde live skits, the group has weighed in on topics like race, immigration and politics, including the 2016 election race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

Also joining the comedy show are retro cumbia-quebradita musician É Arenas (bassist of Chicano Batman) and the cumbia-fusion, luchador-masked cumbia group La Nueva Ola de Cumbia, as well as DJ Dali. (Editor’s note: De Los is co-presenting the Grand Performances on June 27.)

This summer will also pay tribute to a host of musical legends.

There will be an intergenerational dance party on July 18 with DJ Spinna on the booth, in honor of 76-year-old R&B-pop artist Stevie Wonder — who performed a memorable summer concert in 2013 alongside Ozomatli and La Santa Cecilia.

On Aug. 1, a 12-piece jazz ensemble will gather in tribute to the late Roy Ayers, the pioneering jazz-funk vibraphonist and godfather of neo soul.

Chicano trailblazer Ritchie Valens, best known for classic rock tracks “La Bamba,” “Donna” — will also get his due on Aug. 22, with a stacked program that features live music, narration and archival visuals honoring the late Pacoima legend. There will be performances by Nick Waterhouse, Shannon Shaw (of Shannon & the Clams), Joey Quiñones (Thee Sinseers), Bryan Ponce (The Altons), Denise Carlos & Hector Flores (Las Cafeteras), Angie Monroy (The McCharmlys), Irene Diaz and Jose Varela (Cutty Flam).

The season will wrap up on Aug. 29 with Mexico City cumbia punks Son Rompe Pera, joined by the all-femme percussion ensemble Bloco Obini and violinist Quetzal Guerrero, also known as QVLN (Q-Violin).

Grand Performances has hosted free outdoor performances annually since 1987. The organization’s focus is on giving a platform to both global and local performers, including previous headliners iLe, Adrian Quesada and Ana Tijoux. The full 2026 lineup can be found here.

WASHINGTON — Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, the World War II hero who went on to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. ambassador to South Vietnam, died late Sunday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Pentagon announced today. Taylor was 85.

The Pentagon statement did not give a cause of death, but Taylor was reported to have been ill for some time. “Throughout his life, Gen. Taylor epitomized what it means to be a soldier, a diplomat and a scholar,” Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger said.

Crocombe’s selection may raise eyebrows, given other recent picks such as Essex’s Sam Cook or Durham’s Matthew Potts have been overlooked, but it should not be a big surprise.

When England named their Test squad at the start of the summer, Key mentioned the tall, strong quick saying he had “really kicked on” this season.

Crocombe, a product of Sussex’s academy, was first picked by England Lions in 2024 before struggles with injury.

It was when he began this County Championship season with his first five-wicket haul, taking nine in the match against Leicestershire, that he began to seriously catch the eye.

Another right-arm quick, Crocombe bowls at a lively pace.

Overall, his statistics this season are solid – a Championship average of 28.61 while sitting joint 11th in the wicket-takers’ list – and he has the skills England value.

‘$1,250’
‘$1,200’
‘$1,350’
‘FIFA should be ashamed of themselves.’

World Cup fans reveal how much they paid for a seat at the US’s opening game against Paraguay, amid controversy over record-high ticket costs and dynamic pricing.

Muhammadu Mahe wasn’t at home when terrorists came for him one rainy night. It was during the rainy season in 2023. He had travelled to sell livestock and spent the night in the Shinkafi area of Zamfara, North West Nigeria.

The following morning, his brother, Alhaji Usman, rang his phone.

“Dan Hajiya, Yan Bindiga came looking for you last night,” Usman said over the phone. The term, Yan Bindiga, is what most rural residents call terrorists in the area. Muhammadu, who is known as Dan Hajiya in his Ruwan Bado village in the Maradun Local Government Area (LGA), did not fully grasp the message, so he asked, and his brother explained succinctly.

Six armed men on three motorcycles had stormed the village and gone straight to Muhammadu’s house. When they were told he was not around, the terrorists asked one of his children to let them know when he returned. They neither fired a single shot nor abducted any of his three wives and 13 children.

“Normally, they would have abducted a family member to force me to look for them, but they didn’t. It was very surprising,” Muhammadu told HumAngle on the afternoon of June 4 in a town in Zamfara, where he now lives with his family.

Hearing about the terrorists’ visit, he wanted to rush home to check if any of his children had been hurt. He had thought the terrorists were targeting him for more extortion. However, his brother advised him to stay in Shinkafi for at least two more days until they could determine the reason the terrorists were looking for him.

Muhammadu had paid a ₦1.5 million “farming tax” to a terrorist group led by Jamilu, a loyalist of the notorious criminal mastermind, Halilu Sububu, who was killed by the military in 2024. Halilu, originally from Maradun, maintained several camps in the forest reserves in the Sububu/Tubali, Bakura, and Kaya axes. One of such camps is now controlled by Jamilu. Ruwan Bado, Muhammadu’s village, sits not far from Janbako and Faru, two bigger villages in the Talata Mafara town. Terrorist groups routinely attack communities and motorists on the road, a situation that forced several farmers to abandon their farms. 

The lingering crisis engulfing northwestern Nigeria began as a farmer-herder clash in Zamfara over a decade ago. Thousands of people have since been killed, with over a million displaced. Motorcycle-riding terrorists invade communities, schools, farmlands, and roads to abduct people for ransom. Terrorist attacks have persisted in the region despite kinetic and non-kinetic approaches. 

Amid the ongoing armed violence, farmers are severely affected as terrorist attacks disrupt their agricultural activities. Each year, with the onset of the rainy season, terrorists intensify their attacks on rural communities to intimidate farmers, ultimately seeking agreements that often lead to residents paying millions as taxes. Funds collected from farmers help finance their terrorist activities. Farmers who fail to pay are forced to flee their communities for fear of being attacked by the terrorists. However, even paying the tax does not guarantee safety, as seen in several cases, especially in Zamfara State. 

Of recurring attacks and farming taxes

Before the violence escalated in his community, Muhammadu said he had always wondered what he would do without his farms. He is a farmer like his father and grandfather. Everyone in his family is a farmer, including those who have taken government jobs or other businesses. Everyone had a farm before terrorists began to invade their communities. 

The day the terrorists came looking for him was not their first time in the village. Before the rainy season in 2023, Muhammadu said, terrorists attacked the village in broad daylight. “I’ll never forget that attack,” he says as he unravels how the ugly event unfolded. And even before then, there were about three attacks.

A little before 3 p.m. on a Friday, he was sitting down outside the mosque with friends and relatives when terrorists barged into the community, shooting sporadically. He didn’t remember much of what happened immediately after he heard the gunshots, but he ran outside the village. “I ran for several minutes and decided to lie down on my stomach,” he says. His wives and some of his children who were at home also ran out.

The attack didn’t last long. When he returned, people had converged on the village square close to the mosque, with three dead bodies lying on the ground. “It was one of the saddest days of my life. My nephew, Haladu, was one of those killed. His mother is my elder sister. Malam Abubakar Jijji and Malam Usman were also killed in that attack.”

The violent incident changed Muhammadu’s life and that of several others in the community. “Our vigilante members said they got information that the terrorists vowed to turn our community upside down if we didn’t cooperate with them. They said what they did was a warning attack,” he says. Cooperating with the terrorists literally means paying taxes to them before farming. 

The community leaders would later meet to discuss how to negotiate with the terrorists for peace to reign. “We decided to pay the money. We had no option,” Muhammadu says. The terrorists said anyone with more than one farm must pay ₦1.5 million. 

Payment for one farm ranged from ₦400,000 to ₦600,000, depending on the number of acres. His brother, Usman, paid for one farm. The terrorists said the community should not pay the money in a lump sum, but whoever was ready should go and pay their own. 

Muhammadu said he sold some of his livestock to raise the “farming tax”. He had volunteered to take the money to the terrorists in the forest. He took his money and that of another villager, Alhaji Sani, who contributed ₦2 million, resulting in a total of ₦3.5 million. The terrorists asked him to wait on the main road after the Faru community. A few minutes after he arrived, two terrorists on a motorcycle emerged from the shrubs, collected the money, and sped off. 

That same night, Jamilu, the leader of the terrorists, called to inform them that the money had been collected. He instructed them not to go to their farms and to wait for further instructions. While the residents awaited the next directive, the terrorists arrived looking for Muhammadu.

On the run

Muhammadu didn’t wait in Shinakafi for two days, as his brother suggested.

The following morning, he took the first car from Shinkafi to Boko, and from there, another car to Talata Mafara. He disembarked in Janbako, a community neighbouring his village. He said he was being careful because of informants lurking nearby. While waiting for someone to pick him up, his brother called again, asking him to head to Maradun instead because “they got information that the terrorists would kill me”.

He spent three days in Maradun and later sneaked back into his village, Ruwan Bado. At home, he gathered his family members, including his daughters, who were already married, and told them about the situation he had found himself in. 

“They all agreed that I should leave,” Muhammadu says. “One of my daughters thought it was suicidal to return to the community. So, I left for Talata Mafara in the morning.”

The choice of Talata Mafara was intentional as the town sits on the edge of the Bakalori dam with sprawling farmlands where residents engage in year-round farming. From Colony via Rini down to Gora on one side and River Bobo inside Mafara town down to Tumfafiya to the boundaries of Danbaza, stretches of water lie abundant for irrigation farming. 

“I was wrong. I didn’t know that farmers were also fleeing the Rini (in Bakura) and Gora (in Maradun) axis due to incessant attacks. Most of the farms are now abandoned,” he recalls. He moved farther down to the other side of Mafara town, this time to Tsakuwa, a suburb on the road to the communities of Sauna, Garbadu, Morai, and Kagara in southern Mafara. 

However, these communities also face terrorist attacks, making the roads and the farms on both sides of the road very vulnerable. This situation compounds Muhammadu’s problems.

“Since then, I’ve not gone back to Ruwan Bado. My family joined me here after three months.”

Even after three years, Muhammadu says he has not looked back because several people he knows have left the community. His elder brother, Usman, has also left for Maradun town with his family because Ruwan Bado and the communities around it have continued to witness terror attacks. 

“Even some months back, people were killed in our community as the attacks continued,” Muhammadu says. “I don’t know whether the Yan Bindiga (bandits) are still looking for me, but I think it’s unsafe to go home.” Only a few families remain in Ruwan Bado. 

Sani, the person whose farming tax Muhammadu took to the terrorists alongside his, has also left the community for Mafara town. “Even after collecting our money, the terrorists kept returning. There was a time they attacked the community and stole our livestock. I lost more than 10 cows to that attack,” the 63-year-old man told HumAngle. 

Muhammadu said he heard about the attack last year and advised Sani to leave the community. Sani was one of the three well-to-do people in the area. Life was good to him; he had three wives and 17 children, some of whom were already married. Aside from owning five farm fields, he was a trader and livestock merchant before the violence consumed his property. He sold some of his livestock out of fear of cattle-rustling terrorists and retained only the animals he used for ploughing on his farms.

“I encouraged our people to accept the terrorists’ demand for farming tax, believing that we would be allowed to go to the farm. But after we paid, the terrorists allowed us to start working, after which they continued attacking us. It was very unsafe for me to continue living in the community,” Sani, who now lives with his family in a rented apartment in Mafara, said. He has tried, to no avail, to gather the remnants of his wealth to start a business in the town but he said “it’s frustrating because the capital is too small and I don’t even know where to start from.”

As Muhammadu continues to flee, many farmers in the region are suffering from terrorist attacks, especially with the onset of the rainy season in the core northern states. The situation in communities like Ruwan Bado is worsened by a lack of adequate security agents to protect residents. Since there is an absence of conventional security forces in most of the communities, residents pay a farming or protection tax as requested by terrorists to avoid being attacked.

‘There was only a road checkpoint for soldiers on the Colony – Boko road, which is even farther away from us. Without adequate security agents, it’ll be difficult for us to go to farms or markets. When the terrorists attack, it’s only the vigilante group members who fight them back,” Muhammadu said. HumAngle learnt that the Zamfara State government recruited operatives for its Community Protection Guards (also known as Askarawa) and posted them to all communities facing security challenges in the state. But Muhammadu, who left Ruwan Bado in 2023, couldn’t confirm if there are Askarawa in his community now. 

James Barnett, a conflict researcher at Hudson Institute, believes terrorists are using the vacuum created by the absence of governance in some of the rural communities in North West Nigeria. The terrorists believe it’s easier and more profitable to enforce levies than to attack communities. “Communities that have no protection from the state often have no choice but to submit to bandit demands in order to be allowed to farm—and survive,” he said. 

“The regions where bandits are strongest are the sorts of areas where there has been almost no meaningful state presence in years—roads, schools, clinics and the like. Bandits have essentially filled a vacuum in those parts of rural Nigeria that the state has neglected,” Barnett, who has written extensively on the banditry conflict in the North West, added. 

The consequences of this reality are evident in communities, where residents say concerns about survival and security now overshadow everyday economic worries.

“Many villages in Tsafe are no longer thinking about where to get the cheapest fertiliser; instead, they are worried about how to access their farms safely. In some communities, despite paying ransoms and levies to the terrorists, locals are still not confident that their lives will be spared,” Abubakar Bala, a resident of Tsafe in Zamfara, told HumAngle.

EMILY Atack wowed as she stripped to a white bikini and emerged from a pool during her Hen Do.

The Rivals actress is celebrating with her mates in Spain ahead of her wedding to Alistair Garner – and pulled out all the stops with her bridal-inspired swimwear.

Emily, 36, opted for a halterneck with a scallop-trim edge and matching knickers.

The two-piece flashed her toned figure as she fooled around with her pals in the pool, with Instagram images showing her perching on a pals shoulder before she toppled into the pool.

Another video saw her emerging from the waters while the mum of one showed her cheeky side as she flashed her bum in a snap taken from behind.

She later captured an image of drinks perched poolside as she shared snippets of her special getaway.

NO KIDS ALLOWED

Mum-of-one Emily Atack reveals she’s banned children from her wedding

UPFRONT FANS

Emily Atack reveals the VERY raunchy way fans greet after The Inbetweeners

The Inbetweeners star then switched to a LBD with a plunging neckline as the party headed out for the night.

Emily recently revealed that the paid had set a wedding date for September and said she’s very much enjoyed the preparations.

Speaking to Luxury London Magazine, she said: “I think I’ve nailed it. We’re getting married in September. I’ve very much enjoyed the planning process.”

She added: “Choosing napkins and stuff. I’m like, ”My God, my life is here!”

She has also told how it will be a child-free ceremony.

It was thought that the Rivals star was considering getting married in Spain, after looking at wedding venues over there.

Last July, we reported how Alistair popped the question to the screen star.

Emily delighted fans after posting a loved-up selfie with her man to Instagram, which saw her flash the gorgeous sparkler.

In her caption, she wrote: “It’s Friday, I’m in love,” followed by three ring emojis.

She surpised fans by confirming they were expecting their first child together with a baby bump picture.

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m going to miss Spencer Pratt.

I had never heard of the former reality TV star before he said God wanted him to be mayor of Los Angeles. And now that he’s out of the race, he’s still serving up lazy fastballs down the middle of the plate, calling the top two vote-getters — Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Nithya Raman — dummies and morons.

Quick question for Pratt: If you’re on record claiming that 9/11 was an inside job and the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax, and you run for office in a deep blue city with President Trump’s backing but not much of a plan or even a clue as to what a mayor can or can’t do, should you be calling other people morons?

And yet the pouting Pratt pulled more than 200,000 votes. So sore loser or not, he tapped into a lack of faith in elected officials and simmering frustration with City Hall, which happen to be the essence of today’s column.

I have five questions for Bass and Raman. They’re somewhat inter-related and have to do with matters I hear about regularly from readers:

Infrastructure (sidewalks, streets, etc).

Homelessness (billions of dollars spent, and a long way to go).

Parks (L.A.’s national ranking for quality and accessibility just dropped again).

Trash and blight (no explanation needed, right?).

And focus. (Do the candidates have a clear set of goals and a plan for achieving them?)

We’ve got five months to visit and revisit these topics, and today I’m going to focus on the first, so here we go.

Infrastructure:

A few days ago, I met with Earl Ofari Hutchinson of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable. Hutchinson is a longtime community activist and commentator, and he had just launched a torpedo in the direction of City Hall.

“There are hundreds of busted, dangerous sidewalks in South L A that have gone unrepaired for years,” he wrote to his network of followers. “They cause hundreds of injuries, and have resulted in massive numbers of claims and payouts in settlements. LA City Officials must act now to jumpstart a crash program to fix these sidewalks.”

On my way to meet Hutchinson, I traveled west along Florence Avenue and saw dozens of typical rough patches on the street and sidewalks. But if there were a contest to identify the all-time worst sidewalks in Los Angeles, Hutchinson’s discovery of the one at 71st Street and 11th Avenue would be a Hall of Fame contender.

For starters, it’s got the classic uplift, and the villain is the usual suspect — ficus tree roots. A 20-foot slab of sidewalk is pitched sharply, as if designed by trip-and-fall lawsuit lawyers. Way back in 2014, in my early days on sidewalk patrol, I was able to crawl under a similarly ruptured sidewalk in West L.A., and I could’ve done the same at 71st and 11th.

But I thought better of it after Hutchinson peered into the opening and said it looked like a comfy home for rats and other vermin.

The homeowner, Sharon Kelly, can’t use her front gate because of the lopsided sidewalk. She let me borrow her tape measure, which revealed a 16-inch rise in the pavement.

“It keeps rising,” Kelly said. “But it was already lifted when we came here.”

That was in 1997. I asked if she’s called the city for help.

“Several times,” she said, and the only response was a slapdash temporary asphalt patch.

Hutchinson said residents have responded in force to his call for emergency sidewalks repairs, just as they did when he crusaded for a crackdown on widespread illegal dumping.

“Dozens of residents have come out of the woodwork, and here’s what they all say: ‘We have called our city council person and various city departments repeatedly, over and over again.’”

And the response?

“Nothing,” Hutchinson said.

While we were talking, two people with walkers steered clear of the worst spot near Kelly’s property. Charles McQuarn, 77, said traversing the neighborhood means zigzagging around all the hazards.

“I gotta come out into the streets, too,” he said.

When he was a teenager, McQuarn said, he worked for a community group that fixed sidewalks. I mentioned that Councilmember Monica Rodriguez has been using Conservation Corps youths to do the same, but it’s time to scale up that program and come up with other remedies to speed the process.

The city is fixing about 600 sidewalks each year, the backlog of requested repairs stands at about 30,000 and if you get onto the waiting list, you’re looking at about 10 years before help arrives.

When we were done on 71st Street, Hutchinson led me over to a nearby stretch of Florence where, for blocks and blocks, it appears as if there have been volcanic eruptions around the trees. Large chunks of cracked sidewalk form mounds, one after another. The Hutchinson Himalayas are a site to behold — a mile-long museum of municipal neglect.

And it’s been like this, Hutchinson said, “for years.”

The question for Bass and Raman: What will you do to speed the repairs?

Homelessness:

Voters have been generous when it comes to repeatedly taxing themselves more, and more, to address homelessness. There’s been Measure H, Measure A, Measure ULA and Proposition HHH.

Yet although billions of dollars have been spent and tens of thousands of people have been helped and housed, more than 40,000 people are homeless in the city and roughly 70,000 in the county. In her primary victory speech, Bass said families shouldn’t have to step around encampments, and Raman has said greater urgency is needed.

Questions for Bass and Raman: Why haven’t taxpayers gotten more for their money with the two of you at the helm, what are you going to do to speed progress and create more accountability, and what distinguishes you from each other?

Parks:

In the annual rankings by the National Trust for Public Lands, Los Angeles has dropped from 90th to a tie for 93rd in park investment and accessibility among the nation’s 100 most populous cities.

The City Council is about to consider a motion to increase park funding through charter reform (with dozens of community groups in support), and progress is ridiculously slow on an agreement to use schools as after-hours playgrounds.

Question for Bass and Raman: Do you support the charter reform, and what else are you going to do to address the sad state of the city’s parks?

Trash and blight:

In downtown L.A., vandalism, shuttered storefronts and post-COVID abandonment have crippled what was a vibrant, revenue-generating economy that benefited the whole city.

In Hollywood, a resident hired her housekeeper to help report illegal dumping of goods that are often used to construct more homeless encampments, leading to all sorts of problems.

On the south lawn of City Hall, a graffiti-tagged monument and fountain have been out of commission for most of the last six decades.

Question for Bass and Raman: At the very least, can you fix the fountain?

Focus:

Like any big city with great assets and unlimited challenges, many residents have a love-hate relationship with L.A. But years ago, someone told me he loves Los Angeles because it’s a messy, multi-cultural work in progress, set on a dramatic landscape between mountain and sea, trying to figure out what it wants to be.

Question for Bass and Raman: Whether in the realm of basic services or grand visions, what three or four primary objectives do you have over the next four years?

In other words, what do you want L.A. to be?

steve.lopez@latimes.com

After topscoring with the bat for Scotland, Kathryn Bryce makes an impact with the ball, taking a superb one-handed catch to remove Ireland’s Alana Dalzell for six in their opening match of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup at Old Trafford.

FOLLOW LIVE: Impressive Scotland complete victory over Ireland

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