Month: June 2025

ALDI is bringing back its sell-out pressure washer just in time to blast your garden into shape this summer.

The special buys bargain is a whopping £58 cheaper than a similar Karcher model.

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The bargain FERREX Small Pressure Washer lands in stores this Thursday, June 5, as part of the supermarket’s latest Specialbuy drop and it’s only £49.99.

It previously hit shelves in April and flew out fast, with shoppers rushing to get their hands on one.

Now it’s back by popular demand, and it’s expected to sell out all over again.

Packing a punch with a 1,400W motor and 110 bar max pressure, it’s perfect for washing away moss, grime and stubborn dirt from patios, driveways and garden furniture.

The compact gadget comes with a three-metre hose, spray gun, cleaning lance and extension, and it’s got a quick-connect system to easily swap attachments on the go.

Weighing just 5kg, it’s light enough to carry around the garden and small enough to tuck away neatly after use thanks to its integrated hose and cable holder.

It’s a budget-friendly alternative to big brands — the Karcher K2 Power Control Home pressure washer, which also offers 110 bar pressure, costs £108 at Screwfix right now.

That makes Aldi’s version a massive £58 cheaper.

Aldi’s Specialbuys are known for delivering big-name features at bargain prices, from kitchen gadgets to garden must-haves but stock is always limited, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.

You can call your nearest store ahead of making a trip and check they’ve got the pressure washer in stock.

To stay ahead of the game, shoppers can also sign up to Aldi’s email alerts to get the inside scoop on upcoming deals.

And don’t forget it always pays to shop around.

Sites like Trolley.co.uk and PriceSpy let you compare prices across thousands of products and track price history, so you can be sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck.

Garden makeover

Aldi isn’t the only retailer offering great garden deals this summer.

In fact, a Home Bargains buy is said to add a touch of glamour to your garden.

The retailer is also selling a budget buy guaranteed to brighten up your space.

You can also add a stylish touch to your privacy fence with a B&M buy.

Or you can pick up another summer flower favourite from B&Q right now.

Shoppers can also nab a £9.99 novelty decor buy that adds character to flowerbeds.

A £7 gardening gadget is also available from Home Bargains and is guaranteed to transform your lawn.

And Lidl customers can add a “whimsical” touch to their flowerbeds for just £3.

Or a £2 B&M buy transforms your patio into an “ambient” paradise this summer.

Its always worth comparing prices across different stores to make sure you’re bagging the best deals.

How to save money when shopping at Aldi

Unlike other major grocers, Aldi does not have a rewards or point card system but that does not mean you cannot save on your shop.

Every week the store releases a list of special buys, which are unique bargain products you find online at Aldi and in store.

The store releases a fresh range of deals every Thursday and Sunday, so be sure to check regularly to see what’s new.

Meanwhile, the store also regularly sells fruit and vegetables at highly discounted prices, as part of its ‘super six’ deal.

It also does weekly saving offers on typically pricey items such as meat and fish.

Plus, it’s worth keeping an eye out for products with red stickers on them.

These are added to items that have been reduced due to them being close to their best before date or slightly damaged.

The best time to get these reduced products is towards the end of the day, when you can get discounts worth up to 75%.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass won’t be called as a witness in a multiday federal court hearing that could determine whether the city’s homelessness programs are placed in receivership.

Matthew Umhofer, an attorney for the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, told U.S. District Judge David O. Carter on Tuesday that he and his legal team were withdrawing subpoenas issued in recent weeks to Bass and City Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez and Traci Park. Battling over the appearances, which were opposed by the city, would have delayed the proceedings for several months, he said.

The alliance, which sued the city in 2020 over its response to the homelessness crisis, originally sought testimony from the three politicians as part of an evidentiary hearing focused on whether the city failed to comply with the terms of a settlement agreement on homelessness programs.

The agreement, reached in 2022 between the city and the alliance, requires the city to provide 12,915 beds for its unhoused population by June 2027. The alliance contends that the city already is failing to meet the milestones of the agreement and has no clear path to that goal. City officials say they fully intend to comply by the deadline.

The possibility that Bass could testify in Carter’s courtroom provided a rare source of drama for the past week of hearings, which have focused on such granular issues as the definition of a homeless encampment.

Umhofer, in an interview, said he dropped Bass and the others because the city’s lawyers had threatened to pursue an appeal to block the three politicians from testifying, which would have triggered a delay of at least two to three months.

“I think it’s cowardly for the mayor to not testify,” he said. “She’s come in to court on multiple occasions and and shared talking points, but has never undergone cross-examination. For her to resist a subpoena is the definition of avoiding accountability and transparency.”

Umhofer argued that the testimony provided over the last week is already enough to show that the city’s homelessness programs should be overseen by a third-party receivership appointed by the court.

A Bass spokesperson did not immediately respond to Umhofer’s remarks. Theane Evangelis, an attorney for the city, said Umhofer’s description of Bass as cowardly — made in front of the judge during Tuesday’s hearing — was “uncalled for.”

“The Alliance lawyers apparently recognized that there was no legal basis for their subpoenas,” Evangelis said later in a statement. “They should never have issued them in the first place. The City is complying with the agreement settling a 2020 lawsuit, and it is indisputable that thousands of new housing units have been built and homelessness is down in LA for the first time in years.”

Bass declared a state of emergency on homelessness in 2022, on her first day in office, securing additional power to award contracts and sign off on lease agreements for interim housing and other facilities. That same year, she launched Inside Safe, which has been moving thousands of unhoused Angelenos into hotels, motels and other interim housing. She also created a program to accelerate the approval of certain types of affordable housing.

The alliance has portrayed the city’s homelessness response programs as irrevocably broken, arguing that the only recourse is for the judge to turn them over to a third-party receiver. During six days of testimony, lawyers for the alliance repeatedly highlighted the findings of a consulting firm that the programs lack adequate data systems and financial controls, leaving them vulnerable to fraud.

Lawyers for the alliance also pointed out that the city has repeatedly missed the quarterly milestones established in its settlement agreement.

Over the last week, lawyers for the city argued that their client has made “best efforts” to comply with the settlement agreement. They also contended that the milestones are not mandatory. And they said the alliance is the party that’s “flat-out ignoring” the terms of the agreement.

Evangelis said the agreement allows for the city’s obligations to be paused, and the terms to be renegotiated, if an emergency takes place. The Palisades fire broke out in January, destroying thousands of homes.

“Instead of recognizing the enormous stress that our city is under and honoring its promise to meet and confer … the alliance ran to court the month after those fires and sought sanctions against the city’s supposed breaches,” Evangelis told the court last week.

The alliance placed Bass on its witness list last month, saying she has “unique knowledge” of the facts — and had put herself at the center of the debate by promising to lead on homelessness.

Lawyers for the city argued that putting Bass and the two council members on the stand would place “an undue burden” on them as elected officials. They instead presented as witnesses City Administrative Officer Matthew Szabo, who is the city’s top budget official, and Deputy Mayor Etsemaye Agonafer, calling them the most knowledgeable about the settlement agreement.

Last week, Carter delayed ruling on whether Bass and the council members should testify, saying he first wanted to hear from Szabo and Agonafer, who handles homelessness issues for Bass.

Agonafer testified for about four hours Thursday. Szabo, who has overseen the city’s compliance with the settlement agreement, was questioned off and on during four hearing days. In multiple exchanges, he said he was confident the city would comply with the terms of the settlement by June 2027.

The two council members sought as witnesses by the alliance have been highly critical of the city’s homelessness programs.

Rodriguez, who represents the northeast San Fernando Valley, frequently uses the phrase “merry-go-round from hell” to describe the city’s struggle to get accurate data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a city-county agency.

Park, who represents part of the Westside, said during the council’s budget deliberations last month that the city had wasted billions of dollars on homeless programs. Before casting her vote, she also said the city is “unable to manage” its own homeless affairs.

Northern Ireland boss Tanya Oxtoby believes their 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Nations League in Zenica shows the “growth” of her side.

Captain Simone Magill’s composed finish was cancelled out by Sofija Krajsumovic’s equaliser for Bosnia, but NI saw out the draw which secured second place in the group and a promotion play-off.

That is an improvement on their third-place finish in the last edition of the Nations League, and despite the nervy nature of the draw, Oxtoby praised the application of her players to grind out a result.

“It’s always a difficult place to come with the travel, I thought we should have scored a few more in the first half and we conceded a sloppy one, but to show the character to see the game out that’s all that matters at this point,” she said.

“In international football there are no easy games, I said all along every game was going to be competitive in this group and you have to show the character and resilience.

“You have to win when it’s not pretty and get results when it’s not pretty and we’ve certainly done that when there have been times previously when we haven’t, so for me, that is growth.”

Washington, DC – There were shackles at her wrists. Her waist. Her ankles.

The memory of being bound still haunts 19-year-old Ximena Arias Cristobal even after her release from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody.

Nearly a month after her arrest, the Georgia college student said she is still grappling with how her life has been transformed. One day in early May, she was pulled over for a minor traffic stop: turning right on a red light. The next thing she knew, she was in a detention centre, facing a court date for her deportation.

“That experience is something I’ll never forget. It left a mark on me, emotionally and mentally,” Arias Cristobal said during a news conference on Tuesday, recounting her time at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.

“What hurts more,” she added, “is knowing that millions of others have gone through and are still going through the same kind of pain”.

Rights advocates say her story has become emblematic of a “dragnet” deportation policy in the United States, one that targets immigrants of all backgrounds, regardless of whether they have a criminal record.

President Donald Trump had campaigned for a second term on the pledge that he would expel “criminals” who were in the country “illegally”.

But as he ramps up his “mass deportation” campaign from the White House, critics say immigration agents are targeting immigrants from a variety of backgrounds — no matter how little risk they pose.

“The quotas that they are pushing for [are] creating this situation on the ground where ICE is literally just trying to go after anybody that they can catch,” said Vanessa Cardenas, the executive director of America’s Voice, an immigration advocacy group.

She explained that young, undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers, are among the most vulnerable populations.

“In the dragnet, we’re getting long-established, deeply rooted Dreamers and other folks that have been in the United States for a long time,” Cardenas explained.

A vulnerable group

An avid runner who studies finance and economics at Dalton State College, Arias Cristobal is one of the 3.6 million people known as Dreamers. Many were sent to the US as children, sometimes accompanied by family members, others alone.

For decades, the US government has struggled with how to handle those young, undocumented arrivals to the country.

In 2012, then-President Barack Obama announced a new executive policy, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). It provided temporary protection from deportation for younger immigrants who had lived in the US since June 2007.

About 530,000 Dreamers are protected by their DACA status. But Gaby Pacheco, the leader of the immigration group TheDream.US, said that number represents a small proportion of the total population of young immigrants facing possible deportation.

Some arrived after the cut-off date of June 15, 2007, while others have been unable to apply: Processing for new applications has been paused in recent years. Legal challenges over DACA also continue to wind their way through the federal court system.

“Sadly, in recent months multiple Dream.US scholars and alumni have either been arrested, detained and even deported,” Pacheco said.

She noted that 90 percent of the Dreamers that her organisation is supporting during their first year of higher education have no protections under DACA or other programmes.

All told, she said, the last few months have revealed a “painful truth”: that “Dreamers are under attack”.

Setting quotas

But advocates like Pacheco warn that the first months of the Trump administration may be only a harbinger of what is to come.

Last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller informed ICE agents that the Trump administration had increased its daily quota for immigration arrests, from 1,000 per day to 3,000.

The current draft of Trump’s budget legislation — known as the One Big Beautiful Bill — would also surge an estimated $150bn in government funds towards deportation and other immigration-related activities. The bill narrowly passed the House of Representatives and is likely to be taken up in the Senate in the coming weeks.

Both actions could mean a significant scale-up in immigration enforcement, even as advocates argue that Trump’s portrayal of the US as a country overrun with foreign criminals is starkly out of step with reality.

Studies have repeatedly shown that undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes — including violent crimes — than US-born citizens.

Available data also calls into question Trump’s claims that there are large numbers of undocumented criminal offenders in the country.

The rate of arrests and deportations has remained more or less the same as when Trump’s predecessor, former President Joe Biden, was in office, according to a report by the TRAC research project.

From January 26 to May 3, during the first four months of Trump’s second term, his administration made an average of 778 immigration arrests per day. That is just 2 percent higher than the average during the final months of Biden’s presidency, which numbered about 759.

The number of daily removals or deportations under Trump was actually 1 percentage point lower than Biden’s daily rate.

‘More and more pushback’

All told, Pacheco and Cardenas warned that the pressure to increase arrests and deportations could lead to increasingly desperate tactics.

The administration has already rolled back a policy prohibiting immigration enforcement in sensitive areas, like churches and schools. It has also sought to use a 1798 wartime law to swiftly deport alleged gang members without due process, and revoked temporary protections that allowed some foreign nationals to remain in the country legally.

In an effort to increase immigration arrests, the Trump administration has also pressured local officials to coordinate with ICE. Drawing on section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the administration has even delegated certain immigration powers to local law enforcement, including the right to make immigration arrests and screen people for deportation.

In one instance in early May, the Tennessee Highway Patrol coordinated with ICE in a sweep of traffic stops that led to nearly 100 immigration arrests. Another large-scale operation in Massachusetts in early June saw ICE make 1,500 arrests.

Swept up in that mass arrest was Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, an 18-year-old high school student on his way to volleyball practice. His arrest sparked protest and condemnation in Gomes Da Silva’s hometown of Milford, Massachusetts.

Cardenas pointed to those demonstrations, as well as the outpouring of support for Arias Cristobal, as evidence of a growing rejection of Trump’s immigration policies.

“I think we are going to see more and more pushback from Americans,” she said.

“Having said that, it is my belief that this administration has all the intention to implement their plans… And if Congress gives them more money, they’re going to go after our communities.”

Ryanair states that there are “different rules for different destinations” when it comes to travel documents. That said, we’ve outlined the travel guidance for the most popular summer destinations.

Each summer, thousands of Brits board Ryanair flights seeking sun and surf in nearby countries. While many travellers are determined as ever to enjoy a European holiday, there are a few travel rules that should be kept top of mind to ensure a smooth journey.

Ryanair has outlined the travel dos and don’ts for holiday hotspots like France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece. Under the travel documents portion of its FAQs, Ryanair reminds passengers: “There are different rules for different destinations, so please be sure to check these before you travel.

“To streamline your travel experience and maintain a record of the necessary visa documentation, we are introducing an optional feature to upload the required visa documentation during the check-in process via our app. This will demonstrate that you carried the correct documents at the time of departure, to avoid fines or criminal penalties for travelling without the required documents.”

Spain

Ryanair confirmed on its website that: “depending on your nationality and flight destination, a visa may be required to travel.” That said, according to the UK government’s latest guidance, those with a full British citizen passport from the UK can travel without a visa to the Schengen area, which includes Spain, for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

READ MORE: Brits warned as popular Spanish island ramps up border security with huge change

Greece

When it comes to travel to Greece, Ryanair’s statement about visas still applies – it depends on your nationality and flight destination. But given that Greece is also part of the Schengen area, those with a full British passport will also be able to travel without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

That said, even if you are visiting multiple countries, the UK government website advises that: “your total stay in the Schengen area must be no more than 90 days in every 180 days.

“It does not matter how many countries you visit. The 180-day period keeps ‘rolling’,” the website confirms. Additionally, if you are considering adding on a trip to Cyprus on your Greece journey, remember that Cyprus is not in the Schengen area.

That said, the UK government confirms that British passport holders can stay up to 90 days in a 180-day period in Cyprus without a visa. More importantly, any time you spend in the Schengen area does not affect the number of days you can spend in Cyprus.

France

France, also being part of the Schengen region, does not require British passport holders to travel with a visa for stays under 90 days. Though keep in mind that non-EU passport holders travelling to the Schengen area are obliged to ensure that their passport is valid for at least 3 months from the date of their departure from the Schengen member country, according to the UK government website. Though this requirement does not apply to holders of a Schengen issued residence permit or long-term visas.

The ‘date of issue’ on your passport must also be less than 10 years before the date you arrive. These three-month and 10-year rules apply for all travel to the Schengen area.

Portugal

Those flying to Portugal this summer via Ryanair are reminded again that entry is permitted for a maximum stay of 90 days in a 180-day period without a visa.

Portugal follows Schengen area rules. Your passport must have a ‘date of issue’ less than 10 years before the date you arrive and have an ‘expiry date’ at least 3 months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area (the expiry date does not need to be within 10 years of the date of issue).

How to work out if your stay is within the 90-day limit

1. Check the date you plan to leave the Schengen area on your next trip.
2. Count back 180 days from that date to get the start of the 180-day period.
3. Add up the number of days you have already spent in the Schengen area in that 180-day period (you can use the dates stamped in your passport showing when you entered and left a country).
4. Work out how many days you will spend in the Schengen area on your next trip. Add this number to the number of days you worked out in step 3.
5. Check that the total number of days is not more than 90.

A former star of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here has reportedly signed up for the latest edition of the Bake Off in a Stand Up To Cancer special

The latest famous face to be signed up for the Great British Bake Off is said to have been confirmed. Former I’m A Celebrity star Babatunde Aleshe has reportedly agreed to another reality TV show following his stint in the jungle.

The comedian, 38, starred on the ITV show Down Under in 2022, and is now said to be ready to test his culinary skills. It’s claimed Babatunde will take part in the Stand Up To Cancer special of the hit Channel 4 show.

“Babatunde is guaranteed to be hilarious and will no doubt have plenty of banter with Paul, Noel, Caroline and Alison,” a source said.

Speaking to the Sun, the TV insider continued: “‘He’s not known for his prowess in the kitchen so there’s sure to be some panicky moments laced with the good humour he’s known for.

“His energy on the Gogglebox sofa has always been pure positivity and very infectious, and bosses are hoping he’ll bring that to the tent.”

Other names reportedly signed up for the unique edition include JoJo Siwa. and Molly Mae Hague. Hot on the heels of her Celebrity Big Brother appearance – where she met Chris Hughes – the Dance Moms star is claimed to be set for another UK reality TV show.

The 22-year-old American singer boosted her profile on the opposite side of the Atlantic in April when she was a contestant on ITV’s Celebrity Big Brother – she already had a huge stateside following.

Now it has been reported that JoJo will be popping up on Channel 4 and testing out her culinary skills. A source claimed: “This is a bit of a coup for the Bake Off because Jojo is currently one of the most talked about young stars on TV right now.

“She’s barely had time to catch her breath, leaving CBB last month amid huge media attention and heading straight into another huge show this month. It’s also a fantastic gig for her because although she already has a fanbase over here, the cookery contest also introduces her to a wider British audience,” the source added to The Sun.

“Plus she got plenty of experience of cooking in front of the cameras while she was on Celebrity Big Brother, though this time she won’t have hunky Chris to distract her.”

JoJo and Chris’ budding friendship stole the show in the Big Brother house. Speculation was rife they were more than just friends, with JoJo revealed to have dumped fiance Kath Ebbs at the wrap party.

Snaps have since emerged of the singer kissing the 32-year-old former Love Island star while they were on holiday together in Mexico. They have continued to pair special mentions to each other on social media following their exit from the CBB house.

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READ MORE: Teeth whitening solution ‘removes stains’ quickly in time for summer holidays

California lawmakers on Tuesday moved one step closer to placing more guardrails around artificial intelligence-powered chatbots.

The Senate passed a bill that aims to make chatbots used for companionship safer after parents raised concerns that virtual characters harmed their childrens’ mental health.

The legislation, which now heads to the California State Assembly, shows how state lawmakers are tackling safety concerns surrounding AI as tech companies release more AI-powered tools.

“The country is watching again for California to lead,” said Sen. Steve Padilla (D-Chula Vista), one of the lawmakers who introduced the bill, on the Senate floor.

At the same time, lawmakers are trying to balance concerns that they could be hindering innovation. Groups opposed to the bill such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation say the legislation is too broad and would run into free speech issues, according to a Senate floor analysis of the bill.

Under Senate Bill 243, operators of companion chatbot platforms would remind users at least every three hours that the virtual characters aren’t human. They would also disclose that companion chatbots might not be suitable for some minors.

Platforms would also need to take other steps such as implementing a protocol for addressing suicidal ideation, suicide or self-harm expressed by users. That includes showing users suicide prevention resources.

The operator of these platforms would also report the number of times a companion chatbot brought up suicide ideation or actions with a user, along with other requirements.

Dr. Akilah Weber Pierson, one of the bill’s co-authors, said she supports innovation but it also must come with “ethical responsibility.” Chatbots, the senator said, are engineered to hold people’s attention including children.

“When a child begins to prefer interacting with AI over real human relationships, that is very concerning,” said Sen. Weber Pierson (D-La Mesa).

The bill defines companion chatbots as AI systems capable of meeting the social needs of users. It excludes chatbots that businesses use for customer service.

The legislation garnered support from parents who lost their children after they started chatting with chatbots. One of those parents is Megan Garcia, a Florida mom who sued Google and Character.AI after her son Sewell Setzer III died by suicide last year.

In the lawsuit, she alleges the platform’s chatbots harmed her son’s mental health and failed to notify her or offer help when he expressed suicidal thoughts to these virtual characters.

Character.AI, based in Menlo Park, Calif., is a platform where people can create and interact with digital characters that mimic real and fictional people. The company has said that it takes teen safety seriously and rolled out a feature that gives parents more information about the amount of time their children are spending with chatbots on the platform.

Character.AI asked a federal court to dismiss the lawsuit, but a federal judge in May allowed the case to proceed.

Puka Nacua is using organized team activities to hone his craft and prepare for his third NFL season.

But the Rams’ star receiver also recently took time to help others prepare to avoid potential health challenges.

Nacua last week returned from a trip to Samoa, where he and his mother joined medical professionals from Utah Valley University to provide testing, clinics and education about diabetes.

Nacua said his father, who died when Nacua was a youngster, experienced complications from the disease.

So the opportunity to travel with his mother to his maternal grandmother’s village was “kind of a full-circle moment” for his family, Nacua said Tuesday.

“To be able to go and improve the situation in the homeland was something sweet,” Nacua said after the team went through a workout.

Nacua, who missed the Rams’ first on-field workout because of the trip, appeared to be at full strength Tuesday, with no evidence of the knee injury he fought through last season.

Nacua is part of a remade Rams receiver corps that is expected to elevate the offense for a team regarded as a Super Bowl contender.

The Rams released veteran Cooper Kupp, who signed with the Seattle Seahawks, and replaced him with three-time All-Pro Davante Adams. They also re-signed Tutu Atwell to a one-year, $10-million contract. Second-year pro Jordan Whittington and rookie Konata Mumpfield also are competing for roles.

“It definitely is a little bit different,” Nacua said of Kupp’s absence from the receivers’ meeting room. “The spot he used to sit in, I think, it’s definitely occupied by somebody now, so everybody’s getting used to it.”

But Nacua said Adams, who was absent Tuesday, has come in and provided leadership.

“Somebody who’s played at a super high level his whole career — and the knowledge he has is something different from what we’re used to, having Coop in the system a long time,” Nacua said. “It’s been great to have him around and I feel like I’m learning something new every day.”

Nacua, 24, proved a quick study after the Rams selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft out of Brigham Young.

With Kupp sidelined at the start of the season because of injury, Nacua became quarterback Matthew Stafford’s primary target. Nacua enjoyed a record-setting season, catching 105 passes for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns. He was a finalist for the NFL offensive rookie of the year.

During training camp before last season, Nacua suffered a knee injury during a joint workout with the Chargers. He then aggravated the issue in the opener against the Detroit Lions, and was sidelined for five games. He still caught 79 passes for 990 yards and three touchdowns for a Rams team that finished with a 10-7 record and advanced to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs before losing to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said Nacua was “continuing to work on his craft,” during organized team activities.

“He’s naturally just a leader,” LaFleur said. “Just the way he goes about it.”

In a few weeks, Nacua will play a prominent role for the Rams when they travel to Maui for a minicamp that will conclude voluntary offseason workouts. Nacua, who also is of Hawaiian descent, is expected to be warmly embraced by the locals during some activities that will be open to the public.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I can’t wait for everybody to come out there and have some shaved ice. I’m sure they’ll be waiting for us.”

Etc.

The Rams have four coaches working with them during organized team activities as part of the NFL’s Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching fellowship program. The coaches are Taylor Embree (tight ends), Chris Marve (defensive backs), Va’a Niumatalolo (outside linebackers) and Greg Stewart (offensive line).

June 3 (UPI) — Dr. Santa Ono, the former president at the University of Michigan, was rejected Tuesday as the next president at the University of Florida amid backlash from Republicans over his earlier support of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Tuesday’s decision by the 17-member Board of Governors comes one week after UF’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved Ono as the finalist.

Ono was on track to become one of the highest paid public university presidents in the country. He was due to sign a five-year contract with a base salary of $1.5 million and incentives to earn as much as $15 million over the life of the deal.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who signed the 2023 bill banning DEI initiatives in public colleges, delivered a lukewarm response when Ono became the presidential pick, saying Ono’s statements made him “cringe.”

Other Republicans, including Sen. Rick Scott and Reps. Byron Donalds and Greg Steube expressed outrage.

“The UF Board of Trustees has made a grave mistake,” Steube wrote in a post last week. “Dr. Ono gave it his best ‘college try’ walking back his woke past, claiming he’s now ‘evolved.’ But I’m not sold. This role is too important to gamble on convenient conversions.”

Republican state Rep. Jimmy Patronis also questioned the presidential search committee’s decision to make Ono the sole finalist.

“UF sets the benchmark for education nationwide. There’s too much smoke with Santa Ono. We need a leader, not a DEI acolyte. Leave the Ann Arbor thinking in Ann Arbor,” Patronis wrote on X.

During questioning for the role, Ono stated he believed DEI programs do more harm than good. He said he closed the University of Michigan’s DEI offices in March and vowed DEI would not return to Florida’s campus, if he were president.

“The fact is some of my past remarks about DEI do not reflect what I believe, and that evolution did not take place overnight and it was shaped over a year and a half of thinking, discussions, listening to faculty, staff and students and their thoughts on the DEI program,” Ono said.

Ono, who was criticized for allowing an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters to remain at the University of Michigan for a month, vowed last week during questioning to fight anti-Semitism at the University of Florida.

“Let me be very clear: based on my experience, I believe that anti-Semitism is not just one form of hatred among many,” Ono said. “It is a uniquely virulent and persistent threat, especially on college campuses today.”

Israeli military says it shelled targets in Syria in response to a pair of projectile launches.

Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned an Israeli strike on the Syrian province of Deraa, saying that it caused “significant human and material losses”, the state news agency SANA reports.

The strike came after the Israeli military said that two projectiles had crossed from Syria towards Israel on Tuesday, and fell in open areas in the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, though the Syrian Foreign Ministry said these were “reports that have not been verified yet”.

The ministry reiterated that Syria has not and would not pose a threat to any party in the region.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the projectiles.

“We believe that there are many parties that may seek to destabilise the region to achieve their own interests,” the ministry added.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said he held Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa responsible for the projectiles.

“We consider the president of Syria directly responsible for any threat and fire towards the State of Israel, and a full response will come soon,” Katz said.

Syria and Israel have recently engaged in indirect talks to ease tensions, a significant development in relations between states that have been on opposite sides of the conflict in the Middle East for decades.

Several Arab and Palestinian media outlets circulated a claim of responsibility from a little-known group named the Muhammad Deif Brigades, an apparent reference to Hamas’s military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024.

The statement from the group could not be independently verified.

The Israeli army said it attacked southern Syria with artillery fire after the projectiles launched at Israel.

Residents said that Israeli mortars were striking the Wadi Yarmouk area, west of Deraa province, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The area has witnessed increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli military incursions into nearby villages, where residents have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops.

Israel has waged a campaign of aerial bombardment that has destroyed much of Syria’s military infrastructure. It has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and taken more territory in the aftermath of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s removal in December, citing lingering concerns over the past of the country’s new government.

Around the same time that Israel reported the projectiles from Syria, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile from Yemen.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said they targeted Israel’s Jaffa with a ballistic missile. The group has been launching attacks against Israel in what they say is in support of Palestinians during the Israeli war in Gaza.

OUR much-loved astrologer Meg sadly died in 2023 but her column will be kept alive by her friend and protégée Maggie Innes.

Read on to see what’s written in the stars for you today. 

♈ ARIES

March 21 to April 20

Neptune starts quiet, then grows stronger through the day – by tonight there will be no denying your feelings are changing.

So resist any impulse to carry on as usual as your chart is calling you to make some changes.

A work timetable may be too tough or tidy for your skills, but you can find smart ways to adjust this.

2

♉ TAURUS

April 21 to May 21

The leap from keeping schemes in your head, to turning them into practical plans, is not an easy one – perhaps you worry you are not ready.

But your chart is supportive, so you can soon be ticking off some impressive boxes.

Steer clear of secrets, trust your gut. If someone feels fake, follow your instincts.

Get all the latest Taurus horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♊ GEMINI

May 22 to June 21

Your personal Pluto power is your potential to walk in other people’s shoes, in ways that benefit you both.

So if you get a chance to step in, do take it – even if you know certain experience or information is still lacking.

You can surprise yourself so much. Passion-wise, look closer in your friends zone, as The One is there.

Get all the latest Gemini horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♋ CANCER

June 22 to July 22

Unusual interests and a way of living life that is unlike anything you’ve ever tried – all these options can be sent your way by eccentric Uranus.

Plus you also have Pluto ability to believe in who you could be, rather than discounting who you are.

This can future-proof your career chart. Luck selects even numbers.

Get all the latest Cancer horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♌ LEO

July 23 to August 23

Being honest with yourself about a cash situation can cue a key conversation later.

In any meeting, try to go equipped with a series of answers, even if you are unsure what the questions will be.

Uranus’ influence draws your eye towards an unusual career opening – way outside your current comfort zone.

Get all the latest Leo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♍ VIRGO

August 24 to September 22

Figuring out what and who you want can go well as the moon intensifies self-awareness.

You can then find ways to fund or otherwise support your decisions.

Second-time-around love can be a theme of your chart – and this time Saturn protects your deepest heart so past mistakes will not be repeated.

Get all the latest Virgo horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♎ LIBRA

September 23 to October 23

Turning what you consider weaknesses into personal strengths can be the theme of your chart – but first you need to admit to actions you find difficult.

Hiding your feelings can hold you back from progress.

Neptune’s love of compromise may try to keep love safe rather than exciting – you can use this to your advantage.

Get all the latest Libra horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♏ SCORPIO

October 24 to November 22

Accepting help from friends and family is not easy for you – but try to do it.

People who know you well can offer insight into your past which is useful but also beautiful – they see you and love you as you really are so inner tension can disappear.

Solving problems, on paper or screen, can be your lucky link.

Get all the latest Scorpio horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♐ SAGITTARIUS

November 23 to December 21

Squaring up Jupiter can shake up team members – but also leave a tempting space for you to fill.

Try to think as much about how you’d do this as why you want to. Then you can start as you mean to go on.

Venus prepares to leave your zone of pure romance – so if a big gesture is brewing, start making it real.

Get all the latest Sagittarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♑ CAPRICORN

December 22 to January 20

Safety versus excitement is just one of the big emotional choices bubbling under in your chart – so many moves are lining up that can change your future.

It’s hard to know who to trust at work, but Mars helps you ask the right questions and apply the necessary heat.

Success linked to “L” can be on the cards for later.

Get all the latest Capricorn horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

2

♒ AQUARIUS

January 21 to February 18

Uranus is at work behind the scenes at home – so you may do or say things that surprise people who assume they know you.

Making time for everyone, while also leaving space for yourself, is the happiness key.

New love is chatty and funny, with the knack of making you feel instantly comfortable.

Get all the latest Aquarius horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

♓ PISCES

February 19 to March 20

Jupiter’s swansong in your security sector can unearth opportunities to try a new address for size.

Any quiz show that involves time spent in a special place can be lucky for you too.

In love? Fixing finances may feel a drag but can lighten a shared load. Single? Only until you meet a vibrant Libra.

Get all the latest Pisces horoscope news including your weekly and monthly predictions

Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club.

WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending, taking funding away from programs targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

It’s a process known as “rescission,” which requires President Donald Trump to get approval from Congress to return money that had previously been appropriated. Trump’s aides say the funding cuts target programs that promote liberal ideologies.

The request, if it passes the House and Senate, would formally enshrine many of the spending cuts and freezes sought by DOGE. It comes at a time when Musk is extremely unhappy with the tax cut and spending plan making its way through Congress, calling it on Tuesday a “disgusting abomination” for increasing the federal deficit.

White House budget director Russ Vought said more rescission packages and other efforts to cut spending could follow if the current effort succeeds.

“

Here’s what to know about the rescissions request:

Will the rescissions make a dent in the national debt?

The request to Congress is unlikely to meaningfully change the troublesome increase in the U.S. national debt. Tax revenues have been insufficient to cover the growing costs of Social Security, Medicare and other programs. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the government is on track to spend roughly $7 trillion this year, with the rescission request equaling just 0.1% of that total.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Tuesday’s briefing that Vought would continue to cut spending, hinting that there could be additional efforts to return funds.

“He has tools at his disposal to produce even more savings,” Leavitt said.

Vought said he can send up additional rescissions at the end of the fiscal year in September “and if Congress does not act on it, that funding expires.”

“It’s one of the reasons why we are not putting all of our expectations in a typical rescissions process,” he added.

What programs are targeted by the rescissions?

A spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview some of the items that would lose funding, said that $8.3 billion was being cut from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. NPR and PBS would also lose federal funding, as would the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR.

The spokesperson listed specific programs that the Trump administration considered wasteful, including $750,000 to reduce xenophobia in Venezuela, $67,000 for feeding insect powder to children in Madagascar and $3 million for circumcision, vasectomies and condoms in Zambia.

Is the rescissions package likely to get passed?

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., complimented the planned cuts and pledged to pass them.

“This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE’s findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity,” Johnson said. “Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible.”

Members of the House Freedom Caucus, among the chamber’s most conservative lawmakers, said they would like to see additional rescission packages from the administration.

“We will support as many more rescissions packages the White House can send us in the coming weeks and months,” the group said in a press release.

Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, gave the package a less optimistic greeting.

“Despite this fast track, the Senate Appropriations Committee will carefully review the rescissions package and examine the potential consequences of these rescissions on global health, national security, emergency communications in rural communities, and public radio and television stations,” the Maine lawmaker said in a statement.

Boak writes for the Associated Press.

More than 100 of Britain’s most renowned athletes have written an open letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging the government to back London’s bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.

Sir Mo Farah, Keely Hodgkinson, Dame Kelly Holmes, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Daley Thompson are among the athletes, past and present, to sign the letter.

The bid proposal, if successful, would see the World Championships held at London Stadium, and require a “one-off injection of public funding in 2028” with the promise of “£400m in national economic impact”.

“Hosting in 2029 would bring the world’s best athletes back to British soil but more importantly, it would inspire a new generation to get involved in the most diverse and inclusive sport there is,” the letter read.

“Some of us were lucky enough to experience a home crowd at London 2012 and 2017. Some of us volunteered, others were in the stands. All of us were inspired.

“That spark set many of us on our journeys, just as it did for so many thousands of other young people who’ve gone on to join clubs, coach, officiate, or simply fall in love with athletics.”

The 2029 bid process is due to begin this summer, with organisers urging ministers to commit to securing the World Championships for the UK in the coming weeks.

London also hosted the Championships when they were last held in the UK in 2017.

Lee Jae-myung’s hardscrabble path to the South Korean presidency mirrors his country’s stratospheric rise from grinding poverty to one of the world’s leading economies.

When Lee, a scandal-prone school dropout-turned-lawyer who was elected in a landslide on Tuesday, was born in 1963, South Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was comparable with sub-Saharan African nations.

South Korea was so poor, in fact, that Lee’s exact birthday is a mystery – his parents, like many families alert to the sky-high infant mortality of the era, took about a year to register his birth.

Yet even by the standards of the day, Lee’s early years were marked by deprivation and adversity, including stints as an underage factory labourer.

Known for his populist and outspoken style, Lee, the standard bearer for the left-leaning Democratic Party, has often credited his humble beginnings with moulding his progressive beliefs.

“Poverty is not a sin, but I was always particularly sensitive to the injustices I experienced because of poverty,” Lee said in a speech in 2022.

“The reason I am in politics now is to help those still suffering in the pit of poverty and despair that I managed to escape, by building a fair society and a world with hope.”

The fifth of seven children, Lee dropped out of school in his early teens to move to Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul, and take up employment to support his family.

At age 15, Lee was injured in an accident at a factory making baseball gloves, leaving him permanently unable to straighten his left arm.

Despite missing years of formal education, Lee graduated from middle and high school by studying for the exams outside of work hours.

In 1982, he gained admission to Chung-Ang University in Seoul to study law and went on to pass the bar exam four years later.

During his law career, Lee was known for championing the rights of the underdog, including victims of industrial accidents and residents facing eviction due to urban redevelopment projects.

In 2006, Lee made his first foray into politics with an unsuccessful bid for the mayorship of Seongnam, which he followed two years later with a failed run for a parliamentary seat in the city.

In 2010, he finally broke into politics by winning Seongnam’s mayoral election on his second attempt and went on to earn re-election four years later.

From 2018 to 2021, Lee served as governor of Gyeonggi, the country’s most populous province, which surrounds Seoul.

Both as mayor and governor, Lee attracted attention beyond his immediate electorate by rolling out a series of populist-flavoured economic policies, including a limited form of universal basic income.

After stepping down as governor, Lee entered the national stage as the Democratic Party candidate in the 2022 presidential election, which he lost to Yoon Suk-yeol by 0.73 percent of the vote – the narrowest margin in South Korean history.

Despite facing a slew of political and personal scandals, culminating in at least five legal cases, Lee led the Democratic Party to one of its best results in last year’s parliamentary elections, delivering it 173 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly.

After Yoon’s impeachment and removal from the presidential office following his short-lived declaration of martial law in December, Lee earned his party’s nomination without serious challenge, garnering nearly 90 percent of the primary vote.

“His communication style is direct and straightforward, and he is astute at recognising social and political trends, which is a rare quality among politicians of his generation in Korea,” Lee Myung-hee, an expert on South Korean politics at Michigan State University, told Al Jazeera.

“However, this direct communication style can sometimes hinder his political advancement, as it may easily offend his opponents.”

During his election campaign, Lee played down his progressive credentials in favour of a more pragmatic persona and a milder iteration of the populist economic agenda that powered his rise to national prominence.

In the weeks leading to the vote, Lee’s victory was rarely in doubt, with his closest competitor, Kim Moon-soo, of the conservative People Power Party, often trailing the candidate by more than 20 points in opinion polls.

‘A progressive pragmatist’

As president, Lee has pledged to prioritise the economy, proposing, among other things, a major boost in investment in artificial intelligence, the introduction of a four-and-a-half-day work week, and tax deductions for parents in proportion to the number of children they have.

On foreign affairs, he has promised to mend relations with North Korea while pushing for its ultimate denuclearisation – in keeping with the traditional stance of his Democratic Party – and maintain the US-Korea security alliance without alienating China and Russia.

“I would call him a progressive pragmatist. I don’t think he will stick to any consistent progressive lines or even conservative lines,” Yong-chool Ha, director of the Center for Korea Studies at the University of Washington, told Al Jazeera.

“Critics call him a kind of manipulator; his supporters call him flexible,” Ha said.

“I would say he is a survivor.”

While Lee will enter office with the backing of a commanding majority in the National Assembly, he will take stewardship of a country that is deeply polarised and racked by divisions following Yoon’s impeachment.

“The Korean political landscape remains highly polarised and confrontational, and his ability to navigate this environment will be crucial to his success,” said Lee, the Michigan State University professor.

Lee will also have to navigate a volatile international environment shaped by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, great power rivalries, and United States President Donald Trump’s shake-up of international trade.

For Lee personally, his election, after two unsuccessful bids for the presidency, marks an extraordinary comeback befitting the against-the-odds origin story that propelled his rise.

Lee had been facing five criminal proceedings, including charges of election law violations and breach of trust in connection with a land corruption scandal.

Following his election, Lee is all but certain to avoid trial during his five-year term in office.

Under the South Korean constitution, sitting presidents enjoy immunity from prosecution, except in cases of insurrection or treason – although there is debate among legal scholars about whether the protection extends to proceedings that are already under way.

To remove ambiguity, the Democratic Party last month passed an amendment to the criminal code stating that criminal proceedings against a person who is elected president must be suspended until the end of their term.

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says authorities investigating whether family knew of planned ‘heinous attack’.

Federal officials in the United States have taken into custody the family of a man suspected of attacking a pro-Israel rally in Boulder, Colorado, over the weekend.

In a video on Tuesday, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that the family of Egyptian national Mohamed Sabry Soliman had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“This terrorist will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Noem said in the video. “We are investigating to what extent his family knew about this heinous attack, if they had knowledge of it, or if they provided support to it.”

Police have accused the 45-year-old Soliman of throwing Molotov cocktails into a crowd that had gathered for an event organised by Run for Their Lives, a group calling for the release of Israeli captives held in Gaza.

According to an affidavit, Soliman yelled “Free Palestine” while hurling the incendiary devices.

The firebombs injured 12 people, three of whom remain hospitalised. Police have said Soliman planned the attack for more than a year. He is facing federal hate crime charges.

“When he was interviewed about the attack, he said he wanted them all to die, he had no regrets, and he would go back and do it again,” J Bishop Grewell, Colorado’s acting US attorney, said during a news conference Monday.

Soliman said that he acted alone and that nobody else knew of his plans. But officials with the administration of US President Donald Trump said they will investigate whether his wife and five children were aware of the suspect’s intentions.

Administration officials have also highlighted the fact that Soliman, an Egyptian national, was in the US on an expired tourist visa, tying his arrest — and that of his family — to a larger push against undocumented immigration.

“The United States has zero tolerance for foreign visitors who support terrorism,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday.

“Under the Trump administration, aliens will only be admitted into the United States through the legal process and only if they do not bear hostile attitudes towards our citizens, our culture, our government, our institutions or, most importantly, our founding principles.”

Soliman’s family includes a wife and five children. The official White House account on the social media platform X indicated that they “could be deported by tonight”.

“Six One-Way Tickets for Mohamed’s Wife and Five Kids. Final Boarding Call Coming Soon,” Tuesday’s post read.

The attack comes amid rising tensions in the US over Israel’s continued war in Gaza, which United Nations experts and human rights groups have compared to a genocide. It also comes less than two weeks after the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy employees outside a Jewish museum in Washington, DC.

Jewish as well as Muslim and Arab communities have reported sharp upticks in harassment and violence since the war began.

Trump and his allies have used concerns about anti-Semitism as a pretext to push hardline policies on immigration and a crackdown on pro-Palestine activists.

“This is yet another example of why we must keep our Borders SECURE, and deport Illegal, Anti-American Radicals from our Homeland,” Trump said in a social media post on Monday.

But the president and his supporters have themselves faced allegations of leaning into anti-Semitic rhetoric. And his administration’s push to expel foreign nationals has caused alarm among civil liberties groups.

The administration is currently attempting to deport several international students involved in pro-Palestine activity, including a Turkish graduate student named Rumeysa Ozturk.

Her legal team argues that Ozturk appears to have been arrested for co-signing an op-ed calling for an end to the war in Gaza. Ozturk was released from immigrant detention in May following a legal challenge, but she continues to face deportation proceedings.

A majority of Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders voted against the 2024 compensation package given to Chief Executive David Zaslav and other executives at the company’s annual meeting Monday, according to a regulatory filing.

Almost 60% of the votes cast came in against the 2024 executive pay package at the company, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. The vote is nonbinding.

In a statement, the board said it “takes the results of the annual advisory vote on executive compensation seriously,” adding it “looks forward to continuing its regular practice of engaging in constructive dialog with our shareholders.”

Zaslav, 65, earned $51.9 million last year in salary, stock awards and other compensation. Shares of Warner Bros. declined 7.1% in 2024, while the S&P 500 index gained 23%.

Warner Bros. reported first-quarter financial results that missed Wall Street’s estimates last month. The company recently reorganized into two business units, fueling speculation it may split off cable TV networks like CNN and TNT into a separate company. The entertainment giant took a $9.1 billion writedown to reflect the declining value of its traditional TV networks last year.

Zaslav, who merged Discovery with WarnerMedia in 2022 to create Warner Bros. Discovery, has drawn criticism during his tenure as CEO. He recently changed the name of the company’s Max streaming service back to HBO Max after an unsuccessful brand overhaul. The company also announced it is launching a new online video service built around CNN, three years after canceling the short-lived CNN+ streaming service.

Miller writes for Bloomberg.

TEMPLEGATE tackles Wednesday’s racing confident of bashing the bookies and building the pot for Derby weekend.

Back a horse by clicking their odds below.

THUNDEROUS LOVE (3.22 Nottingham, nap)

She made a cracking start to the season with a win on the sand at Southwell before following up nicely here two runs ago. Her hat-trick bid was thwarted by a shockingly slow start at Salisbury which gave her little chance. She’s usually better away at the stalls and can get back on track with a speedier start in this modest race.

MR JETMAN (7.22 Ripon, nb)

He was impressive when scoring over course and distance 17 days ago. He has never been out of the frame at this Yorkshire track and should be right there again.

RIDE THE THUNDER (4.55 Nottingham, treble)

Has been second on all three starts and can go one better. He shapes as though this step up in distance will suit.

ORIONIS (6.50 Ripon)

Looks good for the Lucky 15. She took a fair step forward when second at Chester last time and looks ready to win for William Haggas.

Templegate’s tips

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Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

California leaders denounced reports Tuesday that the Trump administration is preparing to strip the name of slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk from a naval ship honoring his legacy, calling it a slap in the face for the LGBTQ+ community just as Pride month begins.

Milk was elected as a San Francisco supervisor in the 1970s, becoming one of the first openly gay elected officials in the country. After he was assassinated in San Francisco City Hall in 1978, he became an icon of the gay rights movement, with images of his face becoming synonymous with the struggle for gay rights.

Milk had served in the Navy prior to becoming an activist and political figure, and LGBTQ+ advocates and service members fought for years to have his legacy formally recognized by the Navy.

The outlet Military.com first reported Tuesday afternoon that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the Navy to rename the USNS Harvey Milk, an oiler built in San Diego as part of a series of vessels named for civil rights leaders. It was launched in 2021.

The Pentagon would not confirm or deny that the ship would be renamed.

In a statement to The Times, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Hegseth “is committed to ensuring that the names attached to all [Department of Defense] installations and assets are reflective of the Commander-in-Chief’s priorities, our nation’s history, and the warrior ethos,” and that “any potential renaming(s) will be announced after internal reviews are complete.”

The Pentagon would not say whether such a review had been launched for the USNS Harvey Milk. The Navy referred questions to the Pentagon.

The removal of Milk’s name would be in line with a broader push by Hegseth and other leaders in the Trump administration to remove formal acknowledgments of queer rights and other programs or messages promoting diversity, equity and inclusion across the federal government.

Leaders in California — where Milk is often hailed as a hero — were quick to denounce the idea of stripping his name from the vessel.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on the social media platform X that Trump’s “assault on veterans has hit a new low.”

San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk speaks to reporters in October 1978, weeks before he was assassinated.

(James Palmer / Associated Press)

Trump and Hegseth have also issued a sweeping ban on transgender people serving in the military.

“Harvey Milk wasn’t just a civil rights icon — he was a Korean War combat veteran whose commander called him ‘outstanding,’” Newsom said. “Stripping his name from a Navy ship won’t erase his legacy as an American icon, but it does reveal Trump’s contempt for the very values our veterans fight to protect.”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) echoed Newsom with her own comment on X.

“Our military is the most powerful in the world — but this spiteful move does not strengthen our national security or the ‘warrior’ ethos,” she wrote. “It is a shameful, vindictive erasure of those who fought to break down barriers for all to chase the American Dream.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener, who is gay and once represented the same district as Milk on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said in an interview with The Times that the move was all “part of Trump’s systematic campaign to eliminate LGBTQ people from public life.”

“They want us to go away, to go back in the closet, not to be part of public life,” Wiener said. “And we’re not going anywhere.”

After graduating from college, Milk enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and was stationed in San Diego. According to the Harvey Milk Foundation, he resigned at the rank of lieutenant junior grade in 1955 “after being officially questioned about his sexual orientation.”

He moved to San Francisco in 1972, opened a camera shop on Castro Street, and quickly got into politics — rallying the growing local gay community to fight for rights and build strategic alliances with other groups, including organized labor and the city’s large Asian and Pacific Islander community.

Milk was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 1977, and helped lead efforts to defeat a 1978 ballot initiative that would have barred gay and lesbian people from teaching in public schools statewide — a major political win for the LGBTQ+ community.

That same year, Milk was assassinated alongside Mayor George Moscone at City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. His killing cemented his status as an icon of the gay rights movement.

Wiener called Milk “an absolute hero” who “died for our community” and deserves the honor of having a naval vessel named after him.

“A group of LGBTQ veterans worked for years and years to achieve this goal of naming a ship for Harvey, and to have that taken away so casually, right during Pride month, is heartbreaking and painful,” Wiener said.

Removing his name would mean more than scrubbing a stenciling off the side of a ship, Wiener said, “especially now with the attacks on our community, and so many young LGBTQ people [seeing] so much negativity towards our community.”

Milk was a “very visible role model for young queer people, and he gave people hope in a way that hadn’t happened before from any high-profile queer leader, and he was murdered because of his visibility and leadership for our community,” Wiener said, and for young queer people today “to see the name of a gay man on the side of a military vessel, it’s very, very powerful.”

U.S. officials first announced in 2016 that a ship would be named for Milk, as well as for abolitionist Sojourner Truth, Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, Atty. Gen. Robert F. Kennedy, suffragist Lucy Stone and U.S. Rep. John Lewis.

At an event marking the start of construction on the ship in 2019, Milk’s nephew Stuart Milk said the naming of the ship after his uncle “sends a global message of inclusion” that did not just say the U.S. will “tolerate everyone,” but that “we celebrate everyone.”

Southern California is where golf prodigies Tiger Woods and Patrick Cantlay first began to receive attention as youths, and 14-year-old Jaden Soong, a member of the Class of 2028 at St. Francis High in La Canada, is on the same path.

On Tuesday, he mastered Poppy Hills Country Club, shooting a nine-under-par 62 to win the CIF state championship in Pebble Beach. He had no bogies, seven birdies and an eagle. He’s believed to be the youngest to win a CIF individual golf title. PGA winners Cantlay (Servite) and Rickie Fowler (Murrieta Valley) are former winners of the event.

It’s just another achievement for someone who came close to qualifying for the U.S. Open as a 13-year-old in 2023.

Soong only earned a chance to play on Tuesday by winning two playoffs to receive the invite as an at-large competitor. He said he hadn’t played Poppy Hills since he was 7 or 8 but got a round in before Tuesday’s competition.

He had two birdies and an eagle on the front nine. Then came birdies on No. 10 and No. 11 to go to six under par. He and Evan Liu of Torrey Pines started to pull away from the rest of the field on the par-71 course. Liu was in the clubhouse at seven under after making a birdie on No. 18 to finish with a 64, with Soong at six under with six holes to play.

Soong tied Liu at seven under with a birdie on No. 14, a 369-yard par-four hole. Then he went to eight under with a birdie on the par-three No. 17.

He hit a perfect drive on No. 18, a 503-yard par-five hole and had a 13-foot putt for an eagle before settling for a tap in birdie.

Soong loves pressure and showed his comfort level throughout a round to remember.

Stevenson High in Monterey won the team title.