Man pleads guilty to assassinating a top Minnesota Democrat and her husband
MINNEAPOLIS — The man charged in the political assassinations of the top Democrat in the Minnesota House and her husband, as well as the nonfatal shootings of a state senator and his wife, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday after prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.
Vance Boelter was charged with murdering Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark Hortman, and with shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette Hoffman. Boelter came to their doors in the early hours of June 14, 2025, disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car.
The Hortmans’ golden retriever was so gravely injured that it had to be euthanized.
Boelter, 58, was captured near his home in rural Green Isle the day after the shootings following what prosecutors have called the largest search for a suspect in Minnesota history. He also faces state charges, which have been on hold pending the resolution of his federal case.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Minneapolis notified the court Wednesday that the Justice Department would not seek the death penalty against Boelter in accordance with a proposed plea agreement, and the court set the change-of-plea hearing for Thursday.
Minnesota abolished capital punishment in 1911 and has never had a federal death penalty case. Daniel Borgertpoepping, a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, said the federal plea deal would not affect Boelter’s state charges.
While the Trump administration has pushed for greater use of capital punishment, there were questions about whether Boelter’s case would qualify for the death penalty under federal law.
Prosecutors have called the shootings political. When they announced the federal indictment in July, they released a rambling handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the attacks. However, the letter didn’t make clear why he targeted the Hortmans or the Hoffmans.
In some messages to media, Boelter referenced a vague and cryptic “investigation” he had been carrying out, sometimes suggesting it was about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Friends described Boelter as an evangelical Christian and occasional preacher and missionary, who held politically conservative views and had been struggling to find work.
John Hoffman said in a lawsuit filed against Boelter in April that his left arm and hand likely would never fully recover, and that he also had permanent injuries to his digestive and urinary systems.
Yvette Hoffman was left with permanent physical weakness, the lawsuit said, while their adult daughter, Hope Hoffman, who was there and called 911 but was not shot, suffered severe psychological trauma.
What to watch for (and where to watch it) in the World Cup, which starts today
Everything you need to know about the World Cup
From Kevin Baxter: After a break of more than three decades, the FIFA World Cup returns to North America where it will be shared by the continent’s three countries, the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It will be the largest and most complex tournament in history, with 48 teams playing 104 games in 16 cities over 39 days.
But it hasn’t been without its controversies. High ticket prices and exorbitant transportation and parking fees have angered fans and drawn the attention of politicians and state attorneys general. Visa restrictions have blocked residents from four qualifying nations from entering the U.S. and fear of immigration agents has discouraged fans of other countries from coming.
For the U.S. and Mexico the goal is to get beyond the quarterfinals, the high-water mark for both countries in the modern era. Canada, meanwhile, will play in its third World Cup looking for its first win.
Click here for complete TV schedule, groups and players to watch
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Dodgers lose to Pirates
From Maddie Lee: For the first time this season, Shohei Ohtani watched his manager walk out of the dugout to pull him mid-inning.
On a humid night at PNC Park, in a 9-8 loss, Ohtani pitched into the seventh inning against the Pirates. But Brandon Lowe’s two-out, two-run double cut the Dodgers’ lead to three.
And as manager Dave Roberts gathered the Dodgers infield around him, Ohtani made the long walk to the dugout, pushing up his cap to wipe the sweat from his brow on the way.
“Just the last couple at-bats, I wish I got some calls my way,” Ohtnai said through interpreter Wil Ireton, after giving up three runs in 6 ⅔ innings Wednesday. “But just didn’t turn out that way. And that’s the part that I wish I could have been able to change a little bit.”
Ohtani’s performance was enough to leave the mound with the lead, which the Dodgers bullpen surrendered. But in a near-flawless season on the mound, it was his worst start of the year.
Angels defeat the Astros
Jose Siri hit a game-winning single in the 10th inning, Mike Trout and Logan O’Hoppe homered, and the Angels beat the Houston Astros 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Angels starter Reid Detmers retired his first 15 batters before Shay Whitcomb homered leading off the sixth. Chase Silseth replaced Detmers to begin the eighth and gave up a leadoff homer to Cam Smith that tied it 2-all.
Houston nearly took the lead in the ninth. Yordan Alvarez singled with two out and Christian Walker followed with a double that appeared to score Alvarez. But the Angels challenged the safe call at home plate and it was overturned following a replay review.
Details on next Oly ticket drop
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: LA28 reserved the first Olympic tickets for locals. To kick off the second round of ticket sales, it’s a sponsorship connection that could help fans get to the front of the line.
Before the second Olympic ticket drop officially begins Aug. 10, LA28 announced Wednesday there will be a presale for Visa cardholders that will run from July 29-31.
Visa has sponsored the Olympics for 40 years and is the only credit card accepted for payment in Olympic zones. For a chance to be selected for the presale, fans need to first confirm their status as a Visa cardholder. Fans who have already registered can log into their existing LA28 ticket account, check the “Visa presale box” and save changes. New registrants must select the Visa cardholder option during the registration process. All ticket sales during the presale must be completed with a Visa credit card.
Fans can register for the second ticket drop at tickets.la28.org until July 22. Those who already registered for Drop 1 but weren’t selected or didn’t purchase their full 12-ticket allotment do not have to sign up again and are automatically entered into the lottery for Drop 2, which will run from Aug. 10-20.
New Kings coach discusses his philosophy
From Liana Handler: When Kings’ new head coach Peter Laviolette took a tour around the Los Angeles area, he thought he was only going to get a one-bedroom home with a view of the water. His children, though, piped in: “Make sure you get a four-bedroom,” Laviolette remembered his three children saying.
During Laviolette’s time away from the sport, the 61-year-old traveled to Scotland and watched his son play in the East Coast Hockey League. The time away has given Laviolette time to rethink his coaching, and after 30 years of coaching, including 23 as a head coach in the NHL, he’s bringing a trident approach to reshape culture and win games. Centering a hockey family is one part.
“For me, there’s three real important pieces,” Laviolette said. “First, build a family inside the locker room, inside the organization. Secondly, to really work to try and build the culture to get players and organizations to think about the choices they make and how that can affect the culture. And then the third part is the actual game on the ice, just making sure that every day from the start of training camp we work at the game.”
Sparks defeat the Storm
Nneka Ogwumike scored a season-high 24 points against her former team, Kelsey Plum added 19 points and 11 assists, and the Sparks beat the Seattle Storm 88-83 on Wednesday night.
Ogwumike, who spent the last two seasons in Seattle, also grabbed nine rebounds to move into fourth on the WNBA career list, passing Rebekkah Brunson.
Cameron Brink added 15 points off the bench and Dearica Hamby grabbed 10 rebounds for the Sparks (6-6) in the Commissioner’s Cup game.
NBA Finals Game 4
The New York Knicks made a record comeback from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 on Wednesday night.
OG Anunoby tipped in the miss of Jalen Brunson’s long three-point attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the rally, giving the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and three chances to win the title.
It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points and Anunoby finished with 33.
Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio.
This day in sports history
1898 — Willie Simms becomes the only Black jockey to win the Preakness Stakes when he rides Sly Fox to victory and the only one to have won all three Triple Crown races. Simms’ other Triple Crown wins: Kentucky Derby (1896, 1898), Belmont Stakes (1893, 1894).
1919 — Walter Hagen wins the U.S. Open with a one-stroke playoff victory over Michael Brady.
1919 — Sir Barton, ridden by Johnny Loftus, captures the Belmont Stakes to become thoroughbred racing’s first Triple Crown winner.
1921 — Grey Lag, ridden by Earl Sande, wins the first Belmont Stakes run counterclockwise. Previous Belmonts were run clockwise over a fish-hook course that included part of the training track and the main dirt oval.
1938 — Ralph Guldahl wins golf’s U.S. Open for the second straight year by beating Dick Metz.
1949 — Cary Middlecoff wins the U.S. Open by beating Sam Snead and Clayton Heafner.
1955 — Nashua wins the Belmont Stakes with Eddie Arcaro in the saddle. It’s the sixth Belmont victory for Arcaro, tying Jimmy McLaughlin’s record.
1977 — Seattle Slew, ridden by Jean Cruguet, runs wire to wire in the Belmont for a four-length victory over Run Dusty Run and the Triple Crown.
1978 — Nancy Lopez shoots a record 13-under par to win the LPGA Championship by six strokes over Amy Alcott.
1982 — Larry Holmes stops Gerry Cooney in the 13th round for the WBC heavyweight title at Las Vegas.
1984 — The Boston Celtics beat the Lakers 111-102 in Game 7 to win their 15th NBA title.
1992 — Tracy Austin, 29, is youngest inductee of International Tennis Hall of Fame.
1994 — For the first time in 11 years, the United States loses in the women’s world basketball championships. Guards Hortencia and Paula combine for 61 points, and Brazil stuns the defending champions 110-107 in the semifinals.
2006 — Se Ri Pak beats Karrie Webb on the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Championship. Pak atones for a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole in regulation that set up the playoff.
2006 — Rafael Nadal wins his second consecutive French Open, beating Roger Federer in four sets. Nadal spoils Federer’s bid for a fourth consecutive Grand Slam championship and extends his record clay-court winning streak to 60 matches.
2011 — Texas A&M sweeps the men’s and women’s titles at the NCAA outdoor championships, becoming the first school to post dual three-peat champions. Villanova’s Sheila Reid becomes the first woman to win the 1,500 and 5,000 meters at the same NCAA meet.
2012 — Rafael Nadal wins his record seventh French Open title, returning to Roland Garros to defeat Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5. It’s Nadal’s 11th Grand Slam title, tying him on the all-time list with Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, who won six French Open titles.
2012 — The Kings win their first NHL championship, defeating the New Jersey Devils 6-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
2017 — Rafael Nadal wins his record 10th French Open title by dominating 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in the final. No other man or woman has won 10 championships at the same major in the Open era, which began in 1968.
2017 — Stanley Cup Final: Pittsburgh Penguins defeat Nashville Predators, 2-0 for 4-2 series win; Penguins back-to-back champions.
2022 — Charl Schwartzel hangs on to beat fellow South African Hennie Du Plessis by a stroke to win the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational event at the Centurion GC, Hertfordshire; pockets massive $4.75 million for the victory.
2023 — French Open Men’s Tennis: Novak Djokovic beats Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6, 6-3, 7-5 for his men’s record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1904 — Bob Wicker of the Chicago Cubs pitched 9 1/3 hitless innings before Sam Mertes of the New York Giants singled. Wicker won a 1-0, 12-inning one-hitter.
1938 — Johnny Vander Meer hurled the first of two consecutive no-hitters, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Braves 3-0.
1967 — The Chicago Cubs hit seven homers and the New York Mets four in the second game of a doubleheader, tying the major league record set by the New York Yankees (6) and Detroit Tigers (5) in 1950. Adolfo Phillips hit four home runs in the doubleheader for Chicago.
1981 — Following Seattle’s 8-2 win over Baltimore, major league players went on strike.
1985 — Von Hayes became the first player in major league history to hit two home runs in the first inning. Hayes connected twice in a nine-run first, powering the Philadelphia Phillies to a 26-7 victory over the New York Mets.
1988 — Rick Rhoden of the New York Yankees became the first pitcher since the inception of the designated hitter (1973) to start a game as the DH. He was seventh in the lineup and grounded to third out in the third inning and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Jose Cruz pinch-hit for him in the fifth of the 8-6 win over Baltimore.
1990 — Nolan Ryan pitched the sixth no-hitter of his career to extend his major league record, and the Texas Rangers beat the Oakland Athletics 5-0. Ryan, 43, was the first to pitch no-hitters for three teams and the oldest to throw one.
1995 — Lee Smith set a major league record with a save in his 16th consecutive appearance, pitching a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the Angels’ 5-4 victory over Baltimore. Smith broke the mark of 15 straight set by Doug Jones in 1988.
2002 — Jared Sandberg became the 16th AL player to homer twice in an inning, and the third this season, when Tampa Bay beat the Dodgers 11-2.
2003 — Houston’s Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner combined for the first no-hitter against the New York Yankees in 45 years, winning 8-0. The sextet set a record for the highest number of pitchers to throw a no-hitter in major league history — four accomplished the feat twice.
2010 — Andy Pettitte records his 200th win in pinstripes in the Yankees’ 4-3 win over Houston at Yankee Stadium. Whitey Ford (236) and Red Ruffing (231) are the only other members of this exclusive New York club.
2012 — The Cubs sign Cuban defector Jorge Soler to a nine-year contract worth $30 million. The 20-year-old outfielder was the subject of a bidding war among several teams.
2013 — The Dodgers and Diamondbacks engage in a beanball war. The hostilities start when D-Backs pitcher Ian Kennedy hits rookie Yasiel Puig in the head with a fastball in the 6th inning. The ball hits his nose, and he stays on the ground for a few minutes but stays in the game; Andre Ethier follows with a tying two-run homer. In the top of the 7th, Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke hits the first batter, Miguel Montero, in the back, prompting both benches to empty, although only stares are exchanged. Then, in the bottom of the inning, Kennedy throws a pitch near Greinke’s head, and pandemonium breaks out, with both benches and bullpens emptying again, and players and even coaches going at each other. When order is restored, Puig and coach Mark McGwire are ejected for the Dodgers, and manager Kirk Gibson and coach Turner Ward for the D-Backs. Incidentally, the Dodgers win the game, 5-3. Major League Baseball will hand out eight suspensions and twelve fines as a result of the events, with Kennedy getting a ten-game suspension and Eric Hinske of the DiamondBacks getting five; both managers are suspended for one game, and two for the two coaches.
2017 — Max Scherzer of the Nationals records the 2,000th strikeout of his career, beating out Clayton Kershaw, who reached the milestone less than a week ago, as the third fastest pitcher to the mark.
2017 — Rookie sensation Aaron Judge hit two more home runs, including a drive that cleared the distant bleachers at Yankee Stadium and sent New York romping past Baltimore 14-3. The 6-foot-7 Judge led the majors with 21 homers and topped the AL with 47 RBIs and a .344 average.
2022 — Jared Walsh hits for the cycle and Mike Trout blasts a pair of homers as the Angels defeat the first-place Mets, 11-6. Walsh is the 9th player in team history to achieve the feat, almost exactly three years after teammate Shohei Ohtani was the last to do so, while Trout appears to be out of the deep slump that contributed to recent 14-game losing streak, costing manager Joe Maddon his job.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Lebanon Latest: Ceasefire talks continue under fire
Israel expands ground operations in southern Lebanon as ceasefire efforts remain stalled.
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Bahrain releases footage of damage caused by intercepted Iranian drones | Newsfeed
Bahrain released video of damage in Manama after debris from intercepted Iranian drones fell in populated areas, damaging homes, burning vehicles and scattering wreckage. Officials said an 11-year-old girl sustained minor injuries in the incident.
Published On 11 Jun 2026
Las Culturistas Culture Awards have awards the Oscars wouldn’t dream of
Shrek’s abs are more defined than some might expect. Or is it that the shade of his green skin makes them appear more chiseled under bright lights? Maybe it’s just disorienting because no one anticipated gawking at his torso inside the historic downtown Los Angeles venue founded by Hollywood legends Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith.
These are thoughts that swirl in one’s head while attending this year’s Las Culturistas Culture Awards ceremony, held on a recent Saturday night at the United Theater. An offshoot of the popular podcast that actor-comedians Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang have hosted since 2016, the award show aims to celebrate the year’s biggest pop culture moments and plays like a fever dream more dazzling and deliciously random than a late-night scroll session on TikTok.
After launching in 2022 as a live event outdoors at Lincoln Center, the guerrilla awards show reached TV screens for the first time last year. This year’s ceremony, which will air June 17 on Bravo and stream on Peacock, coincides with the podcast’s 10th anniversary and features a kaleidoscopic array of attendees, including screen veterans like Lisa Kudrow and Will Ferrell, reality TV favorites like “Summer House’s” Ciara Miller and “The Real Housewives of Dubai’s” Chanel Ayan, and anthropomorphic icons like Miss Piggy and a certain green ogre. And the prizes? It’s the only place you can find categories like “Real Housewives Award for Best Way to Start a Confrontation,” “Pornhub Category We Would Never Click On” and “Hilary Duff Award for Millennial Excellence.”
Over lunch at the NBCUniversal lot in Universal City, Rogers and Yang discussed the show’s evolution. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
Matt Rogers, left foreground, and Bowen Yang perform a musical number inspired by “Heated Rivalry” during this year’s Las Culturistas Culture Awards.
(Monty Brinton / Bravo)
I will probably regret starting our conversation this way, but we all have our blind spots and, to thoroughly prepare for this interview, I watched “Shrek” for the first time last night.
Yang: Oh great! The first one?
Rogers: How’d you feel?
I get it now.
Rogers: Get what, that he is attractive or …?
I’m not quite there yet. You guys reference the film a lot on your podcast and Shrek has also been a figure on the awards show, including this year. I was hoping you’d explain Shrek as a heartthrob to me as if we’re in a pop culture class. When did this idea really take shape?
Yang: Over at least a couple years, to my knowledge, there’s been this online meme culture around Shrek, where it’s like, “Oh my God, Shrek is like a sex king,” but now it’s even spilled over into like dating life. I don’t know if you’ve heard of this, but there’s a verb called Shreking in dating, where it has to do with women dating a guy that’s below their league because he will be nice to them; he will be a Shrek to their Fiona. That’s an interesting thing — you date someone slightly in another zone than you, so that you can be like, “Well, that’s my Shrek,” but meanwhile, there’s the tension between that and Shrek being someone that people are actually attracted to. This just speaks to the enduring power of Shrek as a pop culture icon.
Rogers: I think what it is, is he has an amazing accent. It’s a very powerful thing. He’s independent, he’s self-sufficient, he’s a movie star.
Yang: He said it at the awards. I mean, he’s a rich celebrity.
Rogers: We saw the real Shrek at the awards and he looks pretty f—ing good to me.
Yang: He looked good to me. I don’t know what these Gen Zers are talking about with this Shrek being below your league.
What are the calls with publicists like now to get their clients to participate?
Yang: Last year was a communication puzzle to solve. We were like, “OK, we have to really convey this the right way.” We thought, perhaps naively, now that we’ve done it, now that there’s a proof of concept, it’s going to be much clearer. I think it was clearer, but there was still that degree of, “oh, this is …” — not to like give ourselves too much credit, but this is a concentric circle outside of what is very established in the form of an award show. You’ve got publicists who are like, “Well, we would love for our client to win an award.” And you’re like, “No, that’s not really the point.”
Rogers: Presenting is just as good as winning, just as good as performing. But I think it’s weird that we have been so late to stumble on what the show really is, which is it’s a variety show. And, so, in wrapping your head around it that way, it’s actually pretty easy to get across. It just has the drag of an award show, and that’s our way in.
But I do understand the publicist hesitation because I will say, in a world where it’s your job to protect your client, you’re putting them in a situation that is like, “OK, they’re going to an award show — that’s something this town takes very seriously.” So, it’s an ask to be like, “Hey, can you come take the piss out of this concept that you’re then probably gonna spend eight months of the year trying to actually achieve?” I would be lying if I said that we didn’t want one day to win one of those awards. It’s an acknowledgment of your work, but in that, Bowen and I think the No. 1 thing that’s the funniest thing in the world is people who take themselves that seriously. It’s a healthy mix of appreciation for this thing that was actually a big element of the culture that made us say culture was for us, which was watching award shows when we were kids, and also the reality that we now know as people that are in the industry of what they really are, which is they’re just shows. We’re not condemning them, we’re having fun with it.
1. Scenes from the 2025 Las Culturistas Culture Awards: Jeff Goldblum, left, accepting the award for Most Amazing Impact in Film for his appearance in “Jurassic Park,” alongside presenter Patti Harrison. (Griffin Nagel / Bravo) 2. Allison Janney was a guest of honor, receiving the Lifetime of Culture award. (Jordan Strauss / Bravo)
Have you been asked to tweak the name of a category or punch it up even more?
Yang: Last week was the window when our producers could be very honest with us and say if something may not be working. Back to the Shrek [bit in this year’s show], actually, that ended up being much dirtier and bluer than it was on stage.
Really? I already knew I wouldn’t be able to include the award category because of Times standards. So the actual bit was raunchier?
Yang: It was even raunchier. It went for it.
Rogers: But it’s also a testament to how much freedom they give us to make our show. If they were concerned at all about us desecrating the image of Shrek, we certainly did not feel that way. I am really shocked and grateful that we get to do something that it feels like we’re getting away with something.
Take me back in time with young Bowen and young Matt. What do you remember about your enthusiasm for award shows growing up?
Yang: It was watching Billy Crystal at the Oscars do song and dance numbers, zing these things in for a laugh that we’re referencing the year, being in these video packages where he was in the movies. That it was live television and just this pageantry of people congratulating themselves, congratulating each other. I would tune in live every single year to all the award shows and I would follow the host changes. I remember Whoopi’s first year [hosting the Oscars]; I remember Ellen’s first year. I was really obsessive. It opened the door for all these things that I currently love, and that I’ve somehow had a fortunate experience in, which is live television, song and dance numbers — everything that Billy Crystal was doing. It keyed me in on how show business works, down to production elements and how filmmaking comes together.
Rogers: I just remember, I looked at the screen and I was like, “Oh, that’s where I belong. I belong with them. I don’t belong out here.” I was one of those Gold Derby kids — I would be on the forums; I still sometimes look at the odds and rankings and stuff. It was like gay sports, particularly with the best actress and best supporting actress races. And then obviously the Grammys, and all of that. One year I was watching, I think it was the People’s Choice Awards or the American Music Awards or something, and Shania Twain lost to LeAnn Rimes, and I cried for a day. I took it so seriously and my mother turned to me and said, “You need to stop.” But you couldn’t tell me it didn’t matter at the time. [Reporter’s note: Twain lost the favorite country new artist award to Rimes at the 1997 American Music Awards.]
As the profile of Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers’ variety-style award show has risen, getting stars on board is an interesting puzzle: “You’ve got publicists who are like, ‘Well, we would love for our client to win an award,’” Yang says. “And you’re like, ‘No, that’s not really the point.’”
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
What do you remember about your first experience at a major awards show?
Rogers: He was nominated as writer for “SNL” and took me as his date. We were sitting there — the “Queer Eye” guys were sitting like three rows behind us.
Yang: We watched Phoebe Waller-Bridge sweep with “Fleabag.”
Rogers: We watched Michelle Williams win for “Fosse/Verdon.” It was funny because we had gone to the bar and were double-fisting drinks back to the seats and I said to Bowen, “Oh my God, I’m like the Busy Philipps to your Michelle Williams.”
Yang: And who shows up behind us?
Rogers: Busy Philipps taps on our shoulders and goes, “You guys are killing it with those drinks.” And I’m like, she doesn’t even know I’m her. Cut to minutes later, Michelle walking up and giving a banger of a speech.
Yang: That was like our first brush with it. Even now we go to these, and we’re like, this is really something; it’s incredible. We were at the Oscars last year, front row, witnessing all of it go down, witnessing the moment where upsets would happen, feeling the vibe in the room shift. The benefit of our show is that the vibe is pretty high throughout; it does not decline as soon as there are losers in the room.
Las Culturistas Culture Awards took place in late May and is being telecast roughly two weeks later. Do you see it ever going the live route?
Yang: We don’t know. That is my not so secret dream, is to do it live one day. There’s just something about doing it live — and it occurs to me now that I’ve been very lucky and fortunate to have have my reps in. There’s just something so wonderful about it being this event where everyone is tuning in, enjoying it the same time you are. That is really something special.
Rogers: If he’s down, I’m down.
I’m sure this changes each year, but who’s your dream person to snag for an appearance?
Rogers: I would say the people that make it very apparent that they have sketch comedy and impression skills, and maybe you wouldn’t necessarily know that they do until they show that.
Yang: Ariana Grande.
Rogers: Our dream was for Ariana to come do an original character. We actually floated to her the idea — there was going to be like a Banksy reveal of MsMojo, and it was going to be revealed that it was Ariana Grande was MsMojo. But she actually was in rehearsals for the Eternal Sunshine World Tour. Little did we know she also was recording “Petal.” She was a bit too busy to play MsMojo, I guess, this time.
Yang: These two are forever paired in my head, but it’s because she’s another sketch performer: Cher. And sometimes the dream guests are not big names, it’s the people that we came up with in comedy. And actually one of the consumer research reports that we got back before we started writing this year’s show was that the thing that people loved about the Culture Awards was this crossover of reality talent, A-listers and Oscar winners, and comedy people — that mix, those three [types of] people mingling together is what the viewers want.
Rogers: I’m just so proud in every single way of the diverse array of talent that we were able to bring together. I looked out in the audience and it was just a party of so many friends and people we’ve met in the business — people that I didn’t even get to meet that night, but I was just gagged they’re there, especially in the edit, which you’ll see. This is Bowen’s first year in the edit, he had to miss it last year, but that’s what’s so cool about going through the footage, is you’re like, “Oh my God, there’s someone I’ve loved my entire life next to my cousin.” We were saying to each other that it ended up being like a weird love letter to our younger selves, having Mandy Moore and singing “Only Hope” with her and doing the “Pokémon” theme song and getting to hang out with Pikachu.
Do you worry about it ever getting too big?
Rogers: If it ever gets to a point where it couldn’t be funny, that wouldn’t work. We want it to always stay true to what it is, which is it’s our comedy special together. As long as it doesn’t feel like it’s selling out — and I can understand people watching it and being like, “Oh, they obviously had to have Nintendo characters because it’s NBCUniversal or obviously they had to include “Summer House” — none of that is true.
Yang: There’s no mandate.
Rogers: This is genuinely what we would want the show to be, and so as long as it’s that, we’re good.
So what’s your “I don’t think so, honey” on awards shows?
Rogers: I don’t think so, honey — 10 nominees for best picture at the Oscars. Why?
Yang: Totally. Tea.
Rogers: I actually think it helps things that are weirder win because it’s too many. And the way that they ranked choices. I’m a popular-vote person anyway.
Yang: I need us to really get on the same page about play-off music. Sometimes people are encouraged to go on, sometimes we turn against that. Let’s stop innovating, let’s stop trying to break the mold on them. Let’s just respect that as much as we can, unless it’s egregious.
And it’s always a bit within the show.
Yang: This is what I was about to get to. The hosts now are always trying to bitify that; it’s more of a practical thing to keep the show moving. Don’t try to put a hat on top of a hat by making it a comedic moment too. We’ve never really played with that trope, even though we could, and maybe should. For now, my attitude towards play-off music is, these people might not ever be on this stage again.
How soon do you start planning the next one?
Rogers: Hopefully, they give us the green light.
Ana Gasteyer, left, Jamie Lee Curtis and Patti Harrison at the 2025 Las Culturistas Culture Awards.
(Jordan Strauss / Bravo)
How did you go about deciding which categories would return this year and which you invent along the way?
Yang: We did an audit this year of all the categories from the last few years of doing this.
Rogers: Less made it back last year.
Yang: I think maybe about 30 max previous categories [returned] — that’s a decent ratio, 70-30 is nice. From there, we just kind of molded the clay on the table a little bit. We have the benefit of making this a recursive reinvented show every year; the categories itself are the premise, it’s the micro-premise within the segment or the element. The jokes are the nominees. Why not create new opportunities at every turn.
“Las Culturistas” expanded into a video podcast last year. How do you feel about this evolution we’re seeing to the format?
Rogers: It’s not that when I’m on camera with Bowen doing the podcast, like, “Oh, I wish I could be more relaxed,” I just wish the whole industry hadn’t gone this way because I feel like when you’re on camera, you can’t help but be a little bit more self-conscious, and that is going to come through in the podcast product. If I had my druthers, none of them would be on film. I can understand that it helps a lot and I can note a marked difference in the amount of times I get recognized now that we are on social media. It absolutely “helped” our podcast get bigger. That being said, I don’t think it was a good thing for podcasting that they all became TV shows.
Yang: It changes the register and the tone by nature. You cannot help but be motivated by different things, by the appearance of it, by the presentation of it, beyond what it was, which is just radio, which is a really important American form.
As two people who grew up being connoisseurs of pop culture, what is it like to be on the other side of it, to feel the intensity of it — I’m talking about what happened with the Jasmine Crockett comments — to become part of the conversation? What lesson came from that?
Yang: We are experiencing something in an acute way that I think everyone is experiencing, which is we are seeing ourselves in the third person. Everyone is kind of modulating their behavior based on how they are appearing out of body. It’s the way we all move through the world now, which can be snapshot and projected very widely out into the world for whatever reason.
Rogers: When you’re talking candidly, you can never know what piece of what you’re saying is going to be the piece that gets scrutinized again and again and again and again by what feels like the entire internet. And if you did, you would, of course, be more specific, and you would be able to really clearly say why you are saying what you are saying. We have had learning experiences with that, and so what we can do going forward is be more clear about the things that we do believe and stand by. That is something that even 10 years in the game we are learning how to do.
Yang: And I think on a very large scale, what is going to happen is that we are all going to adjust for the fact that we have behaviorally changed because of this idea that we’re seeing ourselves in the third person constantly. For me, personally, I’ve had to wrestle with this idea after being on “SNL” for seven years and having to evaluate myself and having an audience evaluate me every week. I’ve changed behaviorally; I need to get over this fear of being seen. I need to get better about listening to my own voice.
Rogers: The internet is a very weird place and the thing is, it deliberately ignores nuance. It willfully tries to make something seem lowest common denominator, so that there can be a community based around that thing. And that is not good for the world. It’s not good for discourse. It’s not good for our politics. It’s really bad for our politics. Until we can all get on the same page about the ways in which we are willfully misunderstanding each other and calling it discourse, it won’t get better.
Yang: The misunderstandings are about people’s tones, and not necessarily about the things that people are pointing toward.
Senior MEP fears Airbus-Boeing dispute could reignite EU-US tensions
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German MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, has warned that the long-running Airbus-Boeing dispute could jeopardise the EU-US trade agreement struck last summer if transatlantic tensions flare again in the coming weeks.
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The implementation of the Turnberry Agreement, clinched in July 2025 by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland, is entering its final stretch, with EU lawmakers expected to approve it in a vote next Tuesday.
However, the five-year truce between US aerospace giant Boeing and its European rival Airbus over mutual subsidy allegations expires on 11 July, with the Trump administration and the European Commission yet to agree to extend it.
“Will this lead to another escalation? Nobody knows,” Lange, the Parliament’s lead negotiator on the EU-US deal, told journalists on Thursday during a meeting with fellow Socialist lawmakers.
The MEP is concerned that a renewed aerospace dispute could further strain transatlantic trade ties after a year of intense tensions.
“I hope this will not blow up,” Lange told Euronews.
Turnberry deal remains fragile
The battle between Boeing and Airbus dates back more than two decades. The US first brought a case before the World Trade Organization arguing that the EU was illegally subsidising Airbus. Brussels responded with its own complaint, accusing Washington of unlawfully supporting Boeing.
The dispute eventually spiralled into a tariff war, with both sides imposing punitive duties on products ranging from wine and spirits to cheese and tobacco, affecting $11.5 billion worth of trade.
A truce was reached in 2021 under the Biden administration, taking effect on 11 July that year and suspending retaliatory measures for five years. However no extension has been announced since.
“Discussions with the US are ongoing to ensure stability and certainty and to continue the suspension of countermeasures on both sides,” Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill told Euronews.
In its Trade Policy Agenda 2026, the Trump administration said the US Trade Representative would decide in July “whether to take action in the Section 301 investigation involving the enforcement of US rights in the World Trade Organization disputes involving large civil aircraft”.
The US is able to impose tariffs on trading partners under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Last week, Washington threatened to impose 10 percent tariffs on EU goods over forced labour following a Section 301 investigation. If implemented, those duties would be added to existing most-favoured-nation tariffs, pushing average US tariffs on EU goods above the 15 percent ceiling agreed under the Turnberry deal.
Under the agreement, which EU lawmakers are expected to adopt next week, the EU committed on its side to eliminate its duties on US goods. However, lawmakers fought hard to include safeguards to protect the deal from future US tariff threats and ensure the 15 percent cap is respected.
The agreement has always appeared fragile. Trump has repeatedly used tariffs as leverage in non-trade disputes, from his push for the acquisition of Greenland earlier this year to his more recent threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on EU cars after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised the war with Iran.
Should the Airbus-Boeing dispute reignite, it could give the US president another pretext to unravel the 2025 agreement.
My favourite UK island has some of the world’s best beaches and loads of hilariously rude destinations
ROLLING hills with rude names and hidden dinosaur footprints on beautiful beaches are just a couple of attractions of one UK island.
Dubbed ‘Scotland in miniature’ thanks to its different mountainous and rolling landscapes caused by sitting on the Highland Fault line, the Isle of Arran has something for everyone.
“It’s the best Scottish island,” claimed Andy McNamara, owner of outdoor tourism business Otter’s Tail that leads groups on adventures around Arran.
“Scottish islands all offer something special to do but we’re the best one,” he added.
One of the main draws of the island for Andy is the beaches, which he claims are some of the best in the world.
There’s Silver Sands Beach in Kildonan, for example, which is often named one of Arran’s most beautiful spots.
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“It’s ideal for kids as there are dinosaur footprints – specifically a five-fingered dinosaur – on the beach that you can look at,” Andy revealed.
While in Kildonan, Andy also recommends staying at The Boathouse.
“It’s an amazing little cottage which used to be the old Holy Isle ferry.
“They put it upside down, with walls underneath and made it into accommodation – right on the beach,” he explained.
Inside, guests will find room for two people, as well as a small kitchen area.
Those staying at The Boathouse have often spotted seals and dolphins, basking sharks – as well as resident otters – from the accommodation.
For the warmer months, there is also a table and chairs and barbeque outside.
He added: “Wild camping is very popular and we’ve got raised beaches right around the island.
“You’ll get spots where the sea has receded from a few thousand years ago and created a nice flat area just above the beach to camp on – which you can do for free as we have a right to roam in Scotland.”
Alternatively, adults wanting a bit of a different adventure could head to the nudist colony on the island which according to Andy has been there “for about 30 years”.
Funnily enough, this isn’t the only ‘nudity’ on the island.
Andy said: “Most hills are dubbed locally as being like breasts or penises.”
You could head to the peninsula of Kintyre for example, which is next to the island and is known for its penis-like shape.
And this isn’t the only unusually named place on the island – there’s also the Witch’s Step (or Coombe na Ceolach in Gaelic).
One of the adventures Andy runs is a day trip to the Holy Isle.
He said: “The Holy Isle is in Lamlash Bay – it’s two kilometres across the water and it’s a Buddhist island.
“The island has a herd of wild horses – about 40 of them wild – as well as a herd of goats and little brown sheep.
“On our Grand Tour experience, we’ll kayak across and round Holy Isle and then we’ll also walk to the summit of Holy Isle.
“Along the way we’ll walk by the Buddhist artwork and walk by St Molaise’s Cave – who was a saint from Ireland and lived on the island.”
Andy also runs other sea kayaking, gorge walking and scrambling adventures on the Isle of Arran.
More confident kayakers can even head with him to Ailsa Craig – the volcanic island where Olympic curling stones are made.
Speaking of the different kayaking adventures, Andy joked: “Husband and wife duos go on double kayaks sometimes, but that can be dangerous because they’re known as ‘divorce boats’.”
“With gorge walking on the other hand, we’re in full wetsuits and we’ll go into the river, see waterfalls and even climb up them or jump from the waterfall into the water below.
“There are a lot of natural slides – it’s a good fun, some of the pools are really beautiful,” he added.
When it comes to finding a place to tuck into some food or enjoy a tipple, Andy said: “The social scene in Arran is really good.
“There’s a lot of music, where a lot of the bars have open sessions for folk music.”
And getting to the island is pretty straightforward as well.
From Glasgow, head to Ardrossan port – which is about a 50-minute drive or half-hour train journey.
Once at Ardrossan port, you can hop on the ferry across to Arran, which takes about an hour.
Trump threatens to seize Iranian island vital to oil exports, as ceasefire teeters
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — President Trump threatened Thursday to launch major strikes on Iran and seize control of its oil industry as escalating attacks between the countries pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war.
Trump said in a social media post that the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and would “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, including the vital Kharg Island oil terminal, in the “not too distant future.”
The American leader’s latest threats came as efforts to negotiate an end to the war appeared stuck. Trump has voiced his frustration with the stalled negotiations, warning earlier in the week that Tehran would “pay the price” for taking too long to reach a deal.
Iran’s monthslong stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted global energy supplies, driven up fuel prices and made food and other basics more expensive well beyond the region.
The U.S. and Iran traded strikes for a second straight day Thursday after reaching a tenuous ceasefire more than a month ago. While the strikes have increased tensions in the region, they have been more limited compared to the early weeks of the war and negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are ongoing.
Trump’s threats on Thursday, while stark, represented his latest verbal escalation in the Iran war. In April, he warned Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if it didn’t agree to his terms, before extending a ceasefire.
Trump weighs trying to seize Iran’s main oil terminal
Kharg Island — located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia — is the beating heart of Iran’s oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass. It is important because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock.
It was unclear how serious Trump was about his threat to seize it.
“My preference has always been to take Kharg Island,” Trump said in an interview Thursday on Fox News. “I don’t know that America has the stomach for it to be honest.”
American troops would be vulnerable on Kharg Island because of its close proximity — about 21 miles — to the Iranian mainland, from which missiles, drones and artillery could be fired.
Trump indicated in the interview that he remains averse to sending U.S. forces into Iran. “We could walk in there tomorrow. We could take soldiers — I don’t want to have boots on the ground. But if I wanted to we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the place.”
Trump compared his threat to take over Iran’s oil industry to how the U.S. assumed control of Venezuela’s oil sector after capturing then-president Nicolás Maduro in January.
Iran says US attacks have made ceasefire `meaningless’
American strikes on Iran that lasted into Thursday morning appeared more intense and widespread than the day before.
Tehran released little information on the extent of the damage and said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, as it had the previous day.
It was the third time this week that back-and-forth strikes have rattled the Middle East. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which hit countries in the region that host American bases.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire … meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a social media post that the U.S. would extract funds from frozen Iranian accounts to offset the costs of damage to American allies as well as any tolls Iran imposes on ships seeking passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Beyond the deadlock over the strait, the two sides also remain at odds over Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran insists is peaceful but which the U.S. and Israel fear could be used to build an atomic weapon due to its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The U.S. and Israel said a major reason they went to war on Feb. 28 was to ensure that Iran would never be able to do that.
Iran has insisted that any deal to end the war must also end fighting in Lebanon between its ally Hezbollah and Israel. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on pursuing his goal of destroying the militant group.
U.S. strikes Iran and Iran fires back at Gulf states
Central Command said its latest round of airstrikes came “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression” and targeted “Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites.” It did not elaborate on the damage done by the strikes, which it said ended just before sunrise Thursday in Iran.
Explosions from the strikes echoed around Iran’s capital, as well as the port city of Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard later said sites hit included a manufacturing complex, a military barracks and a local Guard base outside of Tehran.
Kuwait closed its airspace for several hours because of the attack, but did not elaborate on any damage. Jordan said it intercepted 20 Iranian missiles fired toward an area that is home to a base hosting U.S. troops, though no one was hurt.
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said an 11-year-old girl was hurt and cars and homes were damaged by debris from interceptions responding to the Iranian attack.
Meanwhile, Israel warned residents in the country’s north to seek shelter after the detection of suspected incoming fire from Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iran-allied Hezbollah militant group.
U.S. fires on another merchant ship to enforce blockade
The U.S. military’s Central Command said Thursday that it struck a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker attempting to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports. It said the M/T Jalveer was transporting Iranian oil when it was disabled late Wednesday after its crew failed to obey U.S. orders.
It’s the ninth merchant vessel the U.S. military says it disabled to enforce the blockade.
Three Indian sailors were killed when American forces struck the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello on Tuesday, India’s minister overseeing ports and shipping said Thursday on X.
U.S. Central Command said American forces issued warnings before firing on the ship, which it accused of trying to evade the blockade.
The leader of the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, condemned the attack.
Gambrell and Madhani write for the Associated Press. Madhani reported from Washington. AP writers Will Weissert, Collin Binkley, Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin in Washington; Sheikh Saaliq in New Delhi; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Victoria Eastwood in Cairo and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga., contributed to this report.
LA Card Show! Everything you need to know to make enjoy the event
This is the fourth year of the LA Card Show, and my, how it has grown.
The venue has grown larger and bolder with each year, beginning at the Mayan Theater in 2023. The Intuit Dome held the event in 2024 and Dodger Stadium in 2025. This year’s show will take place this weekend at the L.A. Convention Center West Hall.
Roughly 700 collectibles vendors are expected, almost double the number at Dodger Stadium. Food and drink will be available and the card show is open to all ages.
Pokémon cards and items continue to be the most popular to trade and purchase, according to show officials. All sorts of sports collectibles will be plentiful, with Shohei Ohtani — unsurprisingly — the most popular card, and card grading will be available on-site.
“More than just a card show, it is a cultural event built around the art of collecting,” LA Card Show co-founder Adam Derry said.
Trading Card Game (TCG) deck-building is increasingly popular, with players competing in games such as “Magic: The Gathering” using cards that represent spells, monsters and resources. Comic collectibles will also be traded and sold.
Other attractions include activations with the Clippers, Kings, Sparks and LAFC, and fashion and streetwear from HYPLAND, Holiday, Vandy The Pink and Research Vintage.
The card show will take place from 10 am. until 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with VIP access at 9 a.m. A two-day general admission pass is $50 (VIP $100), with one-day passes $30 (VIP $50). Ages 8 and younger are free.
Trump threatens to ‘take’ Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil hub
June 11 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States may take control of Iran’s oil and gas industries like it did in Venezuela earlier this year.
Trump posted the threat on social media, warning that the United States will continue attacking Iran after a series of airstrikes on Wednesday.
“The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most of its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT,” Trump wrote. “At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America.”
About 90% of Iran’s crude oil shipments were exported from Kharg Island before the United States and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
The United States has launched strikes on Kharg Island during the Iran war but it has not seized control of any of its oil and gas infrastructure yet.
Trump further discussed taking control of Iranian infrastructure during an appearance on Fox News on Thursday morning.
“Look, my preference has always been take Kharg Island,” he said. “I don’t think America has the stomach for that. I think they’d like to see us come home, but we did it with Venezuela. Venezuela’s worked out great for everybody.”
Fighting has heightened again between the United States and Iran with Iran shooting down a U.S. helicopter earlier this week near the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military launched what it is calling “self-defense strikes” on Iranian military surveillance, communication systems and air defense targets.
U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that the strikes were “in response to Iran’s unwarranted and continued aggression.”
Trump has said for weeks that Iran and the United States are close to reaching a peace agreement, saying at several points Iran wanted to reach a deal. Fighting between Iran and Israel paused over the weekend after Trump urged both sides to stop exchanging fire.
The United States continues to enforce a blockade on ships using Iranian ports on the Strait of Hormuz.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) arena is seen as preparations continue for the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Wegovy weight-loss pill approved in UK
Manufacturer Novo Nordisk says a daily tablet of the drug could be more convenient for some people than weekly injections.
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Venezuela Fury, 16, hits back after being branded ‘too young’ to wed husband Noah Price
VENEZUELA Fury has furiously hit back at critics who claim she is too young to be married.
The eldest Fury offspring, who wed partner Noah Price last month, had so far remained silent on the controversy – but has now issued a defiant response.
In a defiant new social media post shared on Instagram, the 16-year-old shared a loved-up snap from her wedding day, with a clear message to trolls in her caption.
“For everyone who said I was too young,” she wrote, looking to silence the subject once and for all.
The photo shared showed Venezuela and Noah grinning from ear to ear on their wedding day as they posed together following the lavish ceremony.
Venezuela’s marriage raised eyebrows among some critics, who argue that 16 is too young to fully understand the lifelong commitment of marriage.
The debate intensified after England and Wales raised the minimum legal age for marriage to 18 in 2022 as part of efforts to tackle child marriage.
The couple tied the knot on the Isle of Man, where 16 and 17-year-olds can still legally marry with the written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
When the wedding was discussed on Loose Women, the panel were generally positive, while viewers commented on social media: “Are we really celebrating child marriage?”
Parents Tyson and Paris Fury have publicly backed the marriage, with Tyson proudly walking his daughter down the aisle on her big day.
Paris has also defended the decision, pointing out that she was engaged at 17 after meeting Tyson when she was just 15.
Venezuela left formal schooling at 11 as part of Traveller tradition and has since moved from family life into married life.
With 1.3 million TikTok followers, the eldest daughter of Tyson and Paris is reportedly being lined up to star in her own reality show alongside husband Noah, 19.
It is believed Netflix would be the frontrunner to produce the series following the success of the family’s hit show, At Home With The Furys.
Brits warned to check passports for key dates or risk having holidays cancelled
Four out of five Brits surveyed didn’t know this passport rule, and even more surprisingly, a huge number don’t know the expiry date of their passport, which could leave them facing a last-minute panic
A shocking 80% of Brits did not know this passport rule(Image: Getty Images)
Holidaymakers are being urged by travel insurance specialists to check their passport details ahead of the busy summer season, as a survey showed a huge percentage of Brits were unaware of a basic passport rule.
The research, carried out by Saga Travel Insurance showed that many Brits didn’t know basic rules around passport validity, entry requirements, and travel regulations post-Brexit. Worryingly, 7% of the people surveyed had previously been denied entry to a country because they didn’t have enough time on their passport to cover the trip.
Saga surveyed 500 people, and found that four out of five (80%) were not aware that different countries have different passport validity requirements, while 50% mistakenly thought that every country requires a passport to have six months remaining before travel.
The travel insurance provider also highlighted that half of the Brits surveyed “are still not confident they understand the visa and travel requirements for visiting Europe after Brexit.” 16% didn’t know when their passport is due to expire, while 8% currently had expired passports gathering dust in a drawer.
One mum recently was left £700 out of pocket after getting caught out by passport rules for a holiday to Greece, meaning she couldn’t board her flight with her husband and children.
Michelle Cooper, Director of Travel Insurance at Saga, said: “Nobody should have their holidays ruined because of a simple passport error. A few quick checks can help people avoid unnecessary stress, unexpected costs and disruption at the airport.”
She added: “It’s important to check the specific rules of the country you’re travelling to so that you know how long you need remaining on your passport. Some destinations require three months remaining on your passport, while others require six months.”
For example, Brits heading to EU destinations such as Spain, Italy or Greece will need a passport that’s valid for at least three months after the date you plan to leave the Schengen area, and it must also be less than 10 years old on the day you enter. While Turkey’s validity requirements are at least 150 days after the date you arrive, countries such Australia simply ask that your passport is valid for the duration of your visit.
Michelle also reminded holidaymakers of the 10-year rule which continues to catch Brits out: “EU and Schengen countries require passports to be less than 10 years old on the day of entry. While all new passports last exactly ten years, passports issued before 2018 remain valid for 10 years and nine months. If you have an older passport, make sure you check both the issue date and expiry date before travelling to avoid problems at the border.”
Michelle also urged frequent flyers to check they have enough blank passport pages when they travel, saying: “People can sometimes focus entirely on expiry dates and forget to check how many blank pages they have left, but some destinations can refuse entry if there isn’t enough room for official stamps or visa documentation.
“If you’re a frequent traveller, you should regularly check how many blank pages you have remaining in your passport before booking a trip. You might also benefit from purchasing a passport with additional blank pages.”, she suggested.
Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
Democrats keep Proposition 50 promise alive through primary
California Democrats made it out of last week’s primary election having kept the promise of Proposition 50 alive — advancing candidates to November runoffs in all five Republican-held Congressional districts that last year’s redistricting measure targeted.
They now head into November bullish about turning those districts blue, wresting control of the U.S. House from Republicans and delivering their party important leverage to challenge President Trump through the remainder of his second term.
“As Democrats, we are united in our fight to flip this seat and to take back the House for Democrats here in ‘26,” progressive college professor Randy Villegas told The Times on Wednesday after besting his Democratic challenger to advance and take on Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) in the redrawn 22nd Congressional District. “We know the path to taking back the House runs through the Central Valley.”
Robert Jones, a Valadao campaign strategist, said Valadao “is always humbled to receive the support of Democrats, independents and Republicans across the Central Valley,” and that his “brand of independent, bipartisan leadership is all too rare in Congress and California.”
“We look forward to a campaign that puts the Central Valley ahead of any political party and wins again in November,” Jones said.
In a social media post Wednesday, former state Sen. Richard Pan, who advanced in the redrawn 6th Congressional District in the Sacramento suburbs to take on Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Rocklin), cheered his race being added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” program highlighting winnable seats. He said his race is “one of the top chances to flip a House seat and take back the majority.”
Kiley did not respond to a request for comment, but wrote on X that the November race between him and Pan “will be a choice between the extreme partisan policies that have made California the most unaffordable state in the country, and the independent leadership that allows our local communities to thrive in spite of the state’s failures.”
The two races are considered among the most competitive in California in November, but primary results to date show substantial momentum in the Democrats’ favor, experts said.
In the 22nd Congressional District race, Valadao had received substantially less than half of the vote as of Wednesday, while Villegas and his Democratic rival, moderate Assemblymember Jasmeet Kaur Bains (D-Delano), had together received well over half the vote.
In the 6th Congressional District race, Kiley and the leading Republican candidate had together received well under half the vote as of Wednesday, while Pan and four other Democratic candidates had collectively won well over half the vote.
Those results are not final, nor do they necessarily reflect how voters will break in November’s head-to-head competitions. Just because a voter cast a ballot for a Democrat or Republican in the primary doesn’t mean they will back another candidate of the same party or partisan alignment in the general, experts said.
Still, the Democratic candidates clearly have an advantage in a year when the electorate — facing high gas prices and other economic headwinds — appear to be shifting against the president’s party, said Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant in the state.
“We’re in an anti-Republican moment,” Madrid said. “Is there time to turn it around? I guess. But there’s also time for it to get worse — and that’s the way it seems to be heading.”
Bob Shrum, a longtime Democratic strategist and director of the Dornsife Center for the Political Future at USC, said Democrats stand to perform even better in November based on historical trends that show much larger Democratic turnout in general elections.
“I would not be surprised if Democrats won all five targeted seats, and the primary certainly increases the possibility that happens when you look at the results,” he said. “Maybe one of these places will surprise us, but right now, just looking at the numbers, I don’t think Republicans are in good shape.”
In the redrawn 1st Congressional District in Northern California, where incumbent Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) died in January, Republican Assemblymember James Gallagher handily won a special election — using the old district lines — for the remainder of LaMalfa’s term.
However, in the primary race for the next full term using the newly drawn district, state Sen. Mike McGuire and other Democrats collectively outperformed Gallagher by a substantial margin as of Wednesday — giving McGuire the momentum heading into the November runoff with Gallagher.
In the redrawn 41st Congressional District in Los Angeles and Riverside counties, Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Whittier) and Republican Mitch Clemmons advanced. As of Wednesday, Sánchez and her fellow Democratic candidates had collectively outperformed Clemmons by a wide margin.
In the redrawn 48th Congressional District in San Diego and Riverside counties, where Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) retired rather than run for reelection, moderate Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond advanced alongside Democratic San Diego Councilwoman Marni von Wilpert. Results as of Wednesday showed Von Wilpert and other Democrats in the race collectively outpacing Desmond and the other Republican in the race.
Republicans have long held on to hope that Valadao might be able to hold on to his San Joaquin Valley district, spoiling Democratic hopes for a flip there. They also seemed buoyed by early results in the Kiley race. But neither race went as Republicans hoped — and both Kiley and Valadao face a tough road ahead, experts said.
Having abandoned the Republican Party to run as an independent in a district that was designed to favor a Democrat, Kiley “now has to work all three lanes,” Madrid said. “He has to get a consolidation of the Republican vote, he has to communicate directly to independents, and he’s going to have to get crossover Democrats.”
That’ll be extremely difficult, especially given that any move he makes back toward Trump, to woo Republican voters, risks alienating moderate voters he also needs to win, Madrid said.
Shrum blamed Trump for the difficult spot in which the GOP now finds itself, referring to the president calling on Texas Republicans to redistrict in favor of Republicans.
“These California Republicans are paying the price for Trump starting this mess in Texas,” Shrum said.
“Kiley in his old district probably would have been easily reelected. This new district is a whole different story.”
Shrum also said it “doesn’t look good” for Valadao, despite the political argument picked up by GOP leaders that Villegas is too progressive for the Central Valley.
“Randy Villegas endorses every far-left policy that would destroy any hope for Central Valley residents looking for relief from Gavin Newsom’s high-tax, high-fraud system,” Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters said in a recent statement.
Shrum said he doubts that message will resonate with enough voters to sway the race to Valadao “in an environment where the things people are worried about are the cost of living, the war.”
Madrid had even less confidence in a Valadao victory, saying that “in an environment like this, a tree stump could beat Valadao” given how frustrated voters are with the economy and the president’s party.
Villegas, who racked up endorsements Wednesday from a raft of Democratic leaders in the state, said the district’s primary results were “rooted in the reality that Central Valley residents are fed up with David Valadao” — not just Trump — and want a change.
Dan Evans: Former British number one to retire from tennis after Wimbledon
In 2024, Evans sacrificed the 500 ranking points he had won at the Washington Open the previous year to partner fellow Briton Andy Murray for his final tournament at the Paris Olympics.
The pair lost in the quarter-finals in what was the last match of Murray’s illustrious career.
“Representing Great Britain in both Davis Cup and the Olympics remains the greatest honour of my career and something I will cherish for the rest of my life,” added Evans, who played 28 Davis Cup ties for Great Britain.
Evans, who was suspended for a year after testing positive for cocaine in 2017, thanked his family for their “unwavering support through every high and low”.
“I’m looking forward to finishing on a high… and giving everything I have one last time,” he said.
Wimbledon starts on 29 June, although Evans would have to go through qualifying or receive a wildcard to play in the main draw.
He has failed to advance through qualifying at the past three Grand Slams, while he received a wildcard for last year’s Wimbledon.
The tournament’s wildcard committee will meet on Tuesday to decide which players they would like to invite into the main draw.
Palestine Action activists could face UK ‘terror’ sentences: What we know | Courts News
Four activists from the Palestine Action group face sentencing in the United Kingdom as “terrorists” on Friday, despite only being convicted by a jury of other criminal charges.
Palestine Action was formally proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation in the UK last July.
Last month, four of six activists on trial were convicted at Woolwich Crown Court in London of criminal damage during a 2024 raid on a factory in Filton, Bristol, operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit. One of the defendants was also found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.
The possibility that the judge will rule that the offences have a “terrorist connection” for sentencing purposes has prompted protests.
What is Palestine Action?
The protest group Palestine Action, launched in July 2020, describes itself as a movement “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.
It seeks to use “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers” and companies involved in the manufacture of weapons for Israel, such as Israel-based Elbit Systems, Italian aerospace company Leonardo, French multinational Thales and Teledyne from the United States. The group has targeted British facilities linked to those companies.
The UK parliament voted in favour of proscribing the group on July 2, 2025, classifying it as a “terrorist” organisation, and bringing it into the same category as armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). The proscription came days after its activists sneaked into an air force base in southern England.
Critics decried the move by MPs, arguing that while members of the group have caused damage to property, they have not committed violent acts that amount to terrorism.
What were they convicted of?
In August 2024, Palestine Action activists raided a factory in Filton near Bristol in southwest England, operated by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. They entered the site and caused extensive damage in an attempt to disrupt the production of weapons and drone components they say would be used by Israel in Gaza.
The raid, which prosecutors said caused about one million pounds ($1.36m) of damage, happened 10 months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023.
Last month, jurors at Woolwich Crown Court convicted Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, of criminal damage. The four activists have become known as “the Filton 4”.
Corner was also found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer and convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Two other Palestine Action activists, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were found not guilty.
The verdict followed an earlier trial, at which all six defendants were acquitted of aggravated burglary, while the jury was unable to reach verdicts for the criminal damage charges.
Each of the defendants gave evidence, admitting that they damaged Israeli military drones and equipment inside Elbit’s research and development facility in Filton – in order to “save lives in Palestine”, according to a statement by their lawyers.
What would a terrorism sentencing mean?
The jury was not told that, if they convicted, the four could be sentenced under terrorism laws. Criminal damage is not usually a terrorism offence, but in England and Wales judges can decide to treat an offence as having a “terrorist connection” at sentencing, even when the charge itself is not a terrorism offence.
If the court decides there was a terrorism connection, the activists would have to serve their entire sentences in prison, unless they have already completed at least two‑thirds of the sentence and a parole board decides they can be released.
Conversely, non-terrorist prisoners usually serve about 40 percent of their sentence in custody and are released early, but under conditions and supervision, sometimes called licence conditions. If they break those conditions, they can be sent back to prison to finish their sentence.
Additionally, if the activists are sentenced in this way, they can be recorded as “terrorists” for the rest of their lives, would be required to register new mobile devices, email addresses and bank accounts with the police for their lifetime, and face being returned to prison if they breach their licence conditions or reoffend.
What has the reaction to all this been?
On Wednesday, a group of more than 50 lawyers and law professors published an open letter denouncing plans to sentence the four Palestine Action members as terrorists.
The letter highlights that damage to property has been a recurring feature of protest campaigns from the Suffragettes who fought for women to have the right to vote, to environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion.
“It has never previously even been suggested that those taking such action should be treated as terrorists. Blurring the distinction between principled direct action and terrorism is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes,” the open letter stated.
The letter has been signed by law professors from universities in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada as well as by dozens of practising barristers and solicitors.
According to local news reports, a protest is expected at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday against the potential judgement.
Serena Williams’ Queen’s run over as injured Victoria Mboko withdraws
Serena Williams’ doubles campaign at Queen’s has been curtailed as her playing partner Victoria Mboko has withdrawn with a left knee injury.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, 44, made her return to tennis on Tuesday after almost four years away from the sport.
The pair had been scheduled to play their quarter-final on Thursday but Mboko, 19, suffered a nasty fall in her singles match on Wednesday, which forced her to retire from the match.
Trailing 6-2 3-4 against Karolina Pliskova, the Canadian teenager cried out in pain as she went down clutching her knee and she limped off the court in tears.
It means her compatriot Leylah Fernandez and Germany’s Laura Siegemund, who they were scheduled to face in the doubles on Thursday, advance to the semi-finals.
“What a fun and memorable week at the HSBC Championships. Thank you to everyone who made it so special,” Williams posted on Instagram.
“Vicky Mboko, you’re an incredible talent and you’ll be back out there in no time.
“Wishing you a speedy recovery.”
Williams returned with a winning performance on Tuesday as she and Mboko won 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 to upset third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
Playing 1,375 days after her last competitive match, Williams – one of the greatest players of all time – didn’t look a touch out of place as she rediscovered her powerful serve and groundstrokes.
The extent of Mboko’s injury has not yet been confirmed but there are concerns that the world number nine could miss Wimbledon, which starts on 29 June.
At Riverside’s Mission Inn, former owner departs with historic art
In less than a month, Riverside’s Mission Inn has gained a new owner, lost two prized pieces of art and sparked a heated debate over the line between private property and community history.
The stage for this controversy was set in early May, when hotel owner Kelly Roberts decided to sell the Mission Inn to the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation, the tribe that owns the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in Highland and the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
But it wasn’t the sale (for an undisclosed amount) that started arguments. It was Roberts’ removal of two beloved paintings from the hotel before the sale closed.
A painting at the Mission Inn in Riverside titled “Charge Up San Juan Hill” is taken down on March 20, shortly before the hotel’s change in ownership.
(James Ranger)
One is an alpine landscape called “California Alps” (1874) by William Keith, which measures roughly 6 feet by 8 feet and was displayed in the lobby near the front desk. The other painting, “Charge Up San Juan Hill” (about 1900) by Vasily Vereshchagin, was displayed on a wall of the steakhouse near the lobby. Both paintings had been a part of the hotel for more than a century.
“It was like a slow-motion version of the Louvre Museum heist, pulled off on a sunny day in Riverside in view of guests, staff and visitors,” wrote David Allen of the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
“There’s an outrage among members of this community,” said Mike Marlatt, a Riverside attorney and former board member of the Mission Inn Foundation.
The issue appears to be what agreements Roberts’ late husband made when he bought the building more than 30 years ago.
Former Riverside redevelopment official Ralph Megna, who facilitated the 1992 sale to Duane Roberts’ Historic Mission Inn Corp., wrote on Facebook that “What Kelly is apparently doing at this point is just pillaging the place in violation of those agreements.” But on a phone call, he was less absolute. He said the original pact included an agreement intended to protect about 180 movable pieces of art and artifacts from removal, but that “there’s shades of gray here.” Megna added, “We trusted people. Good faith turned out to be not so good.”
Duane and Kelly Roberts, photographed in 1998 at their home in Laguna Beach. Duane, who reopened the Mission Inn in the early 1990s, died in 2025.
(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Roberts’ family attorney Alan Jackson, however, said “Kelly is not pillaging anything.” He maintained that when Duane Roberts bought the hotel, “he bought every single item. Every single item was the Roberts family’s personal property.” When Kelly Roberts sold the hotel last month, Jackson said, she was free to keep or sell any of its contents.
In that deal, Jackson said, “the buyers would not close” until the paintings and a sculpture of Duane and Kelly Roberts were removed, because “they’re expensive.” Also, Jackson said that Duane Roberts, “before his passing, made it very clear to Kelly and the family that those are two of his favorite paintings ever.”
Jackson declined to say where the artworks are but said “they are in her possession” and “she has no intention of ever getting rid of those ever.”
The iconic spiral staircase in the rotunda of the historic Mission Inn.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The hotel’s new owner, the San Manuel Investment Authority, declined to address questions about the sale agreement. But in a statement, it said it is “committed to collaborating with the Mission Inn Foundation and the City to respectfully steward and preserve this historic landmark, recognizing its deep history and significance to the Riverside community.”
Despite accolades from groups including Historic Hotels of America, tensions between the Roberts family and Riverside preservationists have risen in recent years. In late 2024, after more than 30 years renting space within the hotel, the nonprofit Mission Inn Foundation and Museum was unable to agree on a lease extension with hotel management and moved to a building on Main Street. Foundation leaders did not respond to messages seeking comment.
“The Mission Inn is so foundational to Riverside that any significant change brings real concern to me and makes me uneasy,” said City Council member Philip Falcone, 28, who has been leading tours of the inn since he was in high school.
The Keith painting is “quintessential California, a romanticized view of the Sierra Nevada range. William Keith, the painter, was friends with John Muir,” Falcone said. As for the San Juan Hill painting, it connects neatly with the history of Theodore Roosevelt, one of nine presidents who have visited the inn.
A guest takes in the view from the Spanish patio at the Mission Inn.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The hotel is largely the creation of Frank Miller, who bought Glenwood Cottage, a modest boarding house, from his father in 1880. Then Miller enlisted investment help from his friend, railroad magnate Henry Huntington, transformed the boarding house into a hotel and renamed it. Over time, Miller built it into an architectural wonderland filled with art and antiques gathered in the U.S. and Europe. By 1931, the enterprise filled a city block.
“It’s a unique property,” said David Stolte, president of the Old Riverside Foundation. “It’s a National Historic Landmark. It kind of sits at the intersection of private commerce and public benefit. The original owner, Frank Miller, intended it as a public space, essentially a cultural museum, in addition to his business of running a hotel.”
After Miller’s death in 1935, the hotel’s reputation spread even further, attracting dignitaries of the day — and the future. It served as the site of Richard and Pat Nixon’s wedding in 1940 and Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s honeymoon in 1952. But by the 1960s, it was much diminished, and a later owner, Benjamin Swig, had sold close to 1,000 antiques and artworks to help pay bills.
By the mid-1980s, the hotel had passed through a period of city ownership and was closed. By 1992, more than $50 million had been spent in restoration and renovation, but the project was scuttled by a bankruptcy. That’s when Duane Roberts, who grew up in Riverside and made his fortune selling flash-frozen burritos, bought the property and reopened it.
Duane and Kelly Roberts, residents of Laguna Beach, also established the hotel’s annual Festival of Lights, an Inland Empire holiday tradition. The hotel today includes 238 guest rooms, four restaurants, two lounges, two chapels, a spa, pool and candy shop.
Besides their stewardship of the hotel, Duane and Kelly Roberts became known as major donors to the Republican party. In 2017, Politico reported that Kelly Roberts was in line to be named the Trump administration’s ambassador to Slovenia, but turned down the post.
After Duane Roberts died at 88 in November, Riverside buzzed with questions over the fate of the hotel, prompting another Roberts family lawyer to offer public assurances.
“Nobody’s buying this hotel. Mrs. Roberts is keeping this hotel,” attorney Patrick O’Brien told a TV news crew in late November. But on May 4, Kelly Roberts and the San Manuel Investment Authority announced the pending sale.
Festival of Lights, Mission Inn’s popular holiday tradition, was created by Kelly and Duane Roberts after they reopened the hotel.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Then on May 20, guests spotted workers removing the two paintings from the lobby area. Longtime hotel-watchers said other items had disappeared in recent years, including an 1876 Steinway piano; a statue of the goddess Pomona; William Wendt’s painting “Houses at Arch Beach”; Ilya Repin’s 1884 painting “Portrait of Madame K.”; and the hotel’s Taft Chair, a sturdy oak armchair commissioned by Frank Miller in 1909 to hold 335-pound President Taft. But the midday, presale removal of the Keith and Vereshchagin paintings prompted immediate outcry.
It was “traumatizing, seeing that stuff on display for so long and then seeing it come down,” said James Ranger, a veteran hotel tour guide and Mission Inn Foundation docent. After all the time and money the Roberts family invested in the property, “leaving on this note puts a sour taste out there,” he said.
The sale closed May 29. Though the Roberts family’s attorneys have insisted that the buyers and sellers are in accord, preservation advocates in Riverside have called for a review of documents associated with Roberts’ purchase of the property.
Meanwhile, the hotel’s new era as a tribal holding begins. Besides the two casino-hotels, the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation owns several other hotels, including the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club in Dana Point. As for the Mission Inn, the tribe has signed on Boston-based Pyramid Global Hospitality to take over management, and several changes are already evident.
Notably, the Roberts’ names have been dropped from the signage. Kelly’s Spa has become simply the spa, Duane’s Steakhouse is now just the steakhouse, and Casey’s Cupcakes, a hotel shop founded by Kelly’s daughter Casey Beau Brown, has closed. The Festival of Lights will continue, a spokesperson said.
Stolte said the Old Riverside Foundation believes the tribe will be “great stewards” for the Mission Inn.
“I wish that their welcome to Riverside was a little smoother,” he said.
Staff writer Alex Wigglesworth also contributed to this story.
I tried the £10 mystery train ‘lucky dip’ and it took me to a top UK seaside town
TRAIN fares in the UK are some of the highest in Europe, meaning even a short-distance day trip for Brits can be prohibitively expensive.
But there is a way to save on high-cost rail travel, just as long as you’re willing to be flexible when it comes to your destination.
As someone who loves exploring the UK, I was delighted to hear about the Trainpal app and its ‘Lucky Train Trip’ promotion, allowing Brits to book train tickets to a mystery location for just £9.99.
With an empty Tuesday in the calendar, and a desire to see parts of the country I hadn’t before, I thought I’d give it a go to see if it was worth it.
It’s pretty simple to use.
Simply download the Trainpal app, scroll down to the Lucky Train Trip section before selecting where you want to travel from and on which date, and then the app does the rest.
There are some restrictions though when using this promotion.
The first is there are only two mystery destinations available to each customer per day.
So if you don’t like either of the two journeys you receive via the lucky dip, then you either have to wait until the next day to try again, or you have to pay full price to go somewhere you definitely want to visit.
After drawing Gatwick Airport on my first attempt, I’ll admit that my confidence in the app was pretty low to begin with.
However, my second spin drew the seaside town of Margate, which had some tickets listed online for as much as £40 return.
It seemed a no-brainer to accept, considering how much I’d save, particularly for such a sought-after destination.
What’s more, this was during half-term and my train was rammed, but there are seemingly no restrictions on the promotion during holidays or weekends, meaning it’s not just good for weekday excursions.
Margate itself more than lived up to its reputation as a seaside stalwart, particularly during the recent heatwave.
I paddled in its refreshing blue sea water, absorbed some culture in the Turner Contemporary art gallery, and of course enjoyed some seaside refreshments.
The Harbour Arms Micropub was my pick of the more traditional bars in the town.
As its name suggests, it overlooks the beach from the harbour, making it a perfect spot to enjoy a drink in the sun, especially with some pints available for less than £5.
However, I was similarly impressed with Little Swift and its serving hatch, which offers takeaway slushie cocktails for as little as a tenner.
Good seaside food was easy to find as well, with Peter’s Fish Factory so popular with the locals that they were already lining up around the block by the time I’d arrived for lunch.
It’s easy to see why as well, with crispy scampi, perfect chip shop chips and a healthy portion of mushy peas setting me back no more than £13.
I still had plenty of time to explore the many vintage shops in the town’s charming warren of backstreets, where Britain’s best museum for 2026, according to Time Out, the Crab Museum can also be found.
After picking up a delicious real fruit ice cream from Follow the Swirl and playing on the games in one of the sea front’s many arcades, it was time to get my return train home.
And this brings me to one of the Trainpal promotion’s two main catches.
The £9.99 only covers a one-way ticket, meaning travellers do have to fork out for their own return fare.
This set me back another £12, which wasn’t unreasonable, but had I been sent somewhere further afield, it could have been much less affordable.
After playing around with the app on subsequent days to see how far away I could have ended up, I know that day trips from London to Chester are possible.
One-way fares from Chester to London are as much £44, so not exactly cheap, although the £9.99 outbound fare does save almost £30 on the cost of a return trip.
So it does cut costs even without covering the return leg.
Another issue is that the £9.99 offer is only available for one ticket, meaning anyone looking to take a spontaneous day out with a friend or family member will have to hope that their companion is also offered the same mystery destination via the app, or someone will have to pay full price.
Nevertheless, I’d say for a one-off solo day out it was worth it.
I saved a bit of money on my train and ended up having a great time somewhere I probably wouldn’t have considered visiting otherwise.
With a few more blanks in the calendar throughout the summer, I’m keen to try my luck again to see where I might end up.
UFC Freedom 250: What to know about the bout, Paramount, lawsuit
President Trump is known for being combative. And to mark his birthday Sunday, he’s literally picking a fight — actually seven of them. But a legion of opponents are determined to squash the celebration.
Trump has been gearing up for weeks for UFC Freedom 250, a mixed martial arts extravaganza that will turn the historic White House into a one-night fight house. The event designed to simultaneously celebrate his 80th birthday and commemorate America’s 250th anniversary will take place in a massive octagon-shaped structure that has been erected on the South Lawn of the White House.
The invitation-only event is scheduled to stream live on Paramount+, which is owned by David Ellison, one of Trump’s closest allies. UFC fights began streaming on the service earlier this year, with some airing on CBS, one of the first major deals signed under Ellison.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle has called the UFC card “one of the greatest and most historic sports events in history, and President Trump hosting it at the White House is a testament to his vision to celebrate America’s monumental 250th anniversary.”
But the gala is facing fierce legal challenges from activists who say UFC Freedom 250 is a scam flavored by financial and political corruption, accusing Trump and his close friends UFC chief Dana White and Ellison of benefiting financially from the event. Opponents say Trump has purchased stock in UFC’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, while pointing out that UFC Freedom 250 is happening several weeks before the Fourth of July anniversary.
White House officials have called those allegations baseless and have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
As promo spots showing the combatants in fight mode fill the airwaves, the Public Integrity Project watchdog group has filed a lawsuit trying to derail the event. While the National Park Service is named as one of the defendants in the suit, environmental groups and former park service staff have decried the event.
Dana White, left, and then-President-elect Trump attend a UFC event held at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 2024.
(Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Though some legal experts have predicted that those efforts may fall short, UFC Freedom 250 marks the latest in a relentless stream of furors shadowing Trump as he faces sharply declining poll numbers and harsh criticism over his economic and domestic policies, as well as his handling of the war with Iran. Here’s what we know about the event and what to expect Sunday.
What is UFC Freedom 250?
The event will take place in a mammoth claw-like outdoor arena that will spotlight the White House in the background. Undisputed lightweight champion Ilia Topuria will face off against current interim lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in the main event, which is billed as a five-round title unification battle.
A six-fight undercard, including a heavyweight interim title bout between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, will precede the main event.
Who is putting on the fight?
White‘s UFC is staging the event. White, who has stressed in interviews that no taxpayer dollars are involved, has said that Trump made the suggestion of a White House event when they were together at a recent UFC fight.
Wouldn’t baseball or basketball be a more appropriate sport to feature in a celebration of America instead of a cage fight?
Perhaps. But Trump is a huge fan of boxing and mixed martial arts. He was flanked by several of the fighters who will be participating in the event when he first announced the bouts at the Oval Office. He gushed as he introduced them individually, calling them warriors: “No people in sports are tougher than these people.”
But Conor Friedersdorf, a staff writer for the Atlantic, put forth a different theory: “On Trump’s 80th birthday, blood sport will be the diversion of choice at the White House because he wants to associate his presidency and himself with the violent domination and humiliation of rivals,” he wrote in a newsletter. “America itself is weaker now on the world stage than it was when Trump began either of his presidencies.”
White has credited the president’s devotion to the sport with propelling it into the cultural mainstream, and he is predicting a record-breaking global audience.
Where can viewers watch the event?
UFC Freedom 250 will stream on Paramount+ as part of a $7.7-billion deal that Ellison struck with TKO Group Holdings, the owner of UFC. The broadcast starts at 5 p.m. Pacific.
Dana White, left, and President Trump attend UFC 327 in Miami in April.
(Julia Demaree Nikhinson / Associated Press)
The event is another apparent maneuver for Ellison to curry favor with Trump as he seeks his support and approval for a $111-billion deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. Trump has made no secret for his desire for shake up Warner Bros. Discovery-owned CNN, which he regards as a hostile platform.
Will this be a star-studded event?
Don’t expect a New York Knicks-style celebrity row. Although several stars including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Adam Sandler, Mario Lopez and former star quarterback Tom Brady have reportedly been invited by White, none have indicated that they plan to show up.
White has said that 70,000 fans have registered for free tickets to attend the fan event at the Ellipse near the White House.
Since it’s Trump’s birthday, is UFC Freedom 250 a political event?
“This isn’t politics,” White said recently on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show. “This is about the United States, what this country is about … If you love America, you’re going to love this event. It has nothing to do with politics. We just happen to be on the White House lawn and the president of the United States will be there.”
Why is there opposition to the fights?
The lawsuit filed by the Public Integrity Project contends that UFC Freedom 250 violates federal regulations that prohibit sporting events on federal park lands. Two Virginia activists who are plaintiffs in the suit claim that they “want to uphold the rule of law and protect our nation’s most cherished monuments from corrupt exploitation.”
The suit contends that the plan includes a weigh-in at the Lincoln Memorial and a pre-fight walkout from the Oval Office.
According to the suit, “The president is giving White and his company what none have enjoyed before: unfettered access to the White House and Lincoln Memorial to state a private, for-profit sports event with all of the promotional and branding opportunities that accompany such access.”
Brendan Ballou, chief executive of the Public Integrity Project, said in an interview on MS NOW that the event and advertising is “fundamentally the private profiteering of our national monuments, and that is fundamentally what is violating the law and why we are suing.”
Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall: Heavyweight bout to be an exhibition contest
The world of influencer boxing takes another surreal turn on Saturday when former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall faces reality television star and professional boxer Tommy Fury in Manchester.
The heavyweight contest at the AO Arena is understood to be an exhibition bout, meaning it will not count towards either fighter’s professional boxing record.
It is scheduled for six two-minute rounds, bringing together two Britons from entirely different worlds.
The event is promoted by Misfits and is the latest example of a boxing show that increasingly blurs the lines between professional sport, entertainment and social media celebrity.
Fury’s professional resume includes high-profile victories over influencers-turned-boxers KSI and Jake Paul.
He insists his ambitions remain tethered to world-title aspirations. In reality, however, the 27-year-old has cemented himself as the poster boy for the influencer boxing boom.
Hall, 38, headlined what was billed as ‘The Heaviest Boxing Match in History’ in 2022 against rival Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson.
After losing to the Icelander in the exhibition bout, Hall transitioned into MMA and scored a knockout victory over fellow former strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski last year.
The undercard perhaps best illustrates the unusual crossroads at which modern boxing now finds itself.
Sharing the bill is social media personality ‘The Ibiza Final Boss’, real name Jack Kay, who became an internet sensation in 2025 after videos of his confident dancing, distinctive bowl haircut and gold-chain-wearing persona went viral on TikTok.
Also appearing on the card is two-time Olympic taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones.
Embattled Palestinian president of Oxford Union: ‘I’m not resigning’ | Israel-Palestine conflict News
At a motion for a vote of no confidence against Arwa Elrayess, the first Palestinian president of the University of Oxford’s debating society, Oxford Union, she was accused by a 20-year-old student of contributing to “an atmosphere of hostility and harassment”.
In a video of the forum last week at the prestigious university, which was shared with Al Jazeera, Elrayess is seen replying to Ben Ashworth, “Not just in my career within the union but in my existence as a Palestinian, there seems to always be this post-mortem vilification of Palestinians.”
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The room was full of onlookers as Elrayess, who became the head of the Oxford Union late last year, stood tall in a green sequinned dress.
“Palestinians, when they talk, are for some reason a danger. Our very existence is something that is scary,” she added.
The motion was filed after screenshots of text messages from Elrayess were quoted in outlets including The Telegraph and the BBC as saying that the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 was “proportional”.
The text also said groups branded as terrorists were often later “lauded as heroes”.
Ashworth cited the Sunday Telegraph directly in his accusation. The newspaper’s political editor, Camila Turner, whose father serves as chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, had carried the claim that Elrayess said Hamas would be “lauded as heroes”.
But Elrayess did not make any statement of support for Hamas.
Nine months ago – before Elrayess was president – she was in a group chat of students meant to discuss politics.
In the group chat, October 7 and Palestine – and broader conversations on resistance groups – were discussed.
“Analysing something is not giving it moral legitimacy,” she told Al Jazeera. “Even though I described explicitly in all the messages that I’m not describing this as legitimate or morally justified, I’m just providing analysis; all of this was stripped away when it was reported in The Telegraph or the Daily News.”
The full quote in question on the group chat read: “Any resistance group will inevitably be deemed a terrorist organisation by the West until they achieve their liberation, by which time they’ll be lauded as heroes as history has historically proven.”
‘Entirely misquoted’
The messages were not meant as commentary on Hamas specifically, she argued.
“It was entirely misquoted; I believe it was entirely intentional to frame as having said something that I simply did not say,” she told Al Jazeera.
To the Jewish Chronicle, though, Elrayess reiterated her position by saying, “I condemn Hamas’ targeting of innocent civilians, just as I condemn the targeting of innocent civilians by the [Israeli army] or any other actor.”
After refuting the allegation and misquotations, Ashworth is seen in the video yelling at Elrayess, asking whether she condemns Hamas again.
Ashworth, who is not Jewish, has faced criticism for recently visiting Israel with the Pinsker Centre, a think tank formerly known as the Pinsker Centre for Zionist Education.
The motion for a vote of no confidence overwhelmingly failed, receiving 126 votes, 116 of which were online signatures, far below the 150 needed to proceed to a poll.
This is not the first misinformation campaign against Elrayess.
In October 2025, just before her election as president of the debating society, falsified minutes were ratified by an unnamed member of the union, alleging that Elrayess “argues that alumni members shouldn’t be allowed to vote, reiterating her claims that they are incapable of making a rational judgement”.
Elrayess believes that the minutes were made up and spread to “paint me as someone who hates alumni of this institution”.
After an internal disciplinary process, the person who falsified the minutes was suspended from office and the minutes were de-ratified.
Shortly after her win, opposition within the Union brought forward a number of charges against Elrayess, ranging from misuse of social media to antisemitism. In January, it was found that the charges were un-evidenced. By this point, however, Elrayess had lost two months of her presidency.
Alongside this, an article was published in the Oxford Standard alleging that she was related to a leader of Hamas who happened to share the same surname as her, and that she had created and shared a cartoon of herself stepping on a lizard and a hook-nosed anti-Semitic caricature to celebrate her victory.
The claims, again, were false. The cartoon linked to an anonymous meme page that Elrayess had nothing to do with, and she had no family ties to Hamas. The article had no author attributed to it, and the Oxford Standard did not contact Elrayess or reply to her emails, fact-checking the article.
Within days, Elrayess had emails from journalists at The Jerusalem Post, Jewish Chronicle and The Telegraph, asking her to clarify her family affiliation with Hamas and her views of Jewish people, stemming from the stark untruths shared in the nameless Oxford Standard article.
![Arwa Elrayess [Courtesy of Arwa Elrayess]](https://i0.wp.com/occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/original-1C35F445-DBD0-445D-9835-200DAAC9C332-1781175489.jpeg?w=640&ssl=1)
The only cause for the allegations, some have observed, appeared to be Elrayess’s Palestinian identity.
A colleague and friend of Elrayess, who wished to remain unnamed, described to Al Jazeera a sense of distress among Elrayess and her friends.
“The level of attacks that Arwa and her friends received was astounding,” he said.
The Oxford Standard, which no longer exists, deleted both the article and their website altogether. But the rumours they began, with no facts to back them up, have snowballed into national news headlines of Oxford Union’s first Palestinian president being a supporter of Hamas and a proud anti-Semite.
Tweets by prominent Zionist influencers like Eylon Levy, former spokesperson for Israel, sharing the lie that Elrayess is a Hamas heiress, with now-broken Oxford Standard links and no factual corrections.
‘I’m a very proud Palestinian’
Elrayess’s dedication to debate and free speech has brought controversy to her tenure. She invited prominent Israel supporter Tommy Robinson to a debate, triggering widespread protest in Oxford, and has engaged with conservatives and Zionists in her union and her own appointed committee.
Oliver Jones-Lyons, director of finance of the Oxford Union, works alongside Elrayess and describes himself as a “pretty public Zionist”.
Still, despite their diametric positions, Lyons-Jones does not endorse the growing smear campaign against Elrayess.
“I have never felt oppressed, abused or discouraged from sharing my views openly, quite the opposite in fact,” said Jones-Lyons in a statement to Al Jazeera. “Me and Arwa obviously vehemently disagree on a lot of issues; however, our conversations about issues that are deeply personal to both of us have never once been aggressive and have always been productive, in fact I can certainly say Arwa has changed my mind on issues I never thought I would.”
Oxford Union member Oliver Goldstein said, “Personally, I like Arwa. I don’t agree with many of her comments, but do I feel unsafe as a Jewish student at the Oxford Union? No … I don’t think she’s an anti-Semite.”
Despite the inundation of misinformation, Elrayess remains determined.
“My father is from Gaza,” she said. “He would always tell me, ‘It doesn’t really matter what you say or do not say; people will always find a way to spin it in such a way that you become a target, because you’re already a target.”
She said she lives by her father’s words.
“I’m not resigning from my position. They can throw 1,000 different letters in 1,000 different articles. I’m very vocal, and I’m a very proud Palestinian.”