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A 22-year-old man was charged Thursday with killing an “American Idol” music supervisor and her musician husband who walked into their Encino home during a burglary.

Raymond Boodarian is accused of fatally shooting Robin Kaye and her husband, Tom DeLuca, on July 10. Los Angeles police did not find their bodies until four days later, when officers were sent to the home for a welfare check.

Boodarian is charged with two counts of murder with enhancements for allegedly killing the couple during the commission of a robbery, intentionally using a firearm, and committing multiple murders. He is also charged with burglary.

During an initial court appearance in Van Nuys on Thursday afternoon, Boodarian was ordered to remain in jail. His arraignment was delayed until Aug. 20.

If convicted, Boodarian would face either life without parole or execution if prosecutors seek the death penalty.

According to police, officers visited the Encino home around the time Boodarian was believed to be inside.

The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a report of a possible break-in at 4 p.m. July 10 and determined that nothing appeared out of place at the couple’s residence, Lt. Guy Golan said.

Officers reported that the property was locked and no one responded inside, while a police helicopter from overhead reported not seeing anything suspicious.

Kaye and DeLuca’s bodies were discovered Monday when officers responded to a welfare check at the couple’s homes in the 4700 block of White Oak Avenue. The following day, officers with a joint LAPD-FBI task force arrested Boodarian.

According to police, Kaye, an “American Idol” music supervisor and her rock musician husband, DeLuca, were returning to their $4.5-million Encino home when they came upon Booderian.

Booderian allegedly shot Kaye and DeLuca multiple times then ran off, locking the door behind him. Though the couple’s house was well fortified, police said, the suspect had managed to get in through an unlocked door.

According to Golan, the department received a call at 4 p.m. the day the couple was killed and the caller described seeing a person climbing over a fence into the property. Golan said officers went to the home, but did not get any response and saw nothing out of place, and a helicopter was flown over the property because it was difficult to access.

By then, the couple had been killed, LAPD officials said. Boodarian left after about half an hour, police said.

The delay in finding Kaye and DeLuca’s bodies bore similarities to two other homicides in the Valley where police were called the location and did not immediately find a victim and left the scene.

Menashe Hidra’s body was found April 26 inside his fifth-floor Valley Village apartment after an assailant broke into a neighboring unit, jumped from the balcony to his unit and attacked him, investigators said.

Three days before, neighbors had called 911 and reported hearing shouting and a struggle coming from the apartment. Officers responded to those calls, knocked on the door and left without finding anything.

Erick Escamilla, 27, was charged with the killing, along with an unrelated homicide from 2022.

The same day that Hidra’s body was discovered, police found the body of Aleksandre Modebadze, who was beaten to death inside his Woodland Hills home.

In that case, a woman inside the home called LAPD about 12:30 a.m. and reported three people had broken into her home and were beating her significant other before the call suddenly cut out, according to law enforcement sources. The 911 operator tried to call back multiple times without success.

Shortly before 1 a.m., officers arrived at the home but no one answered the door, there was no noise coming from inside the home, and the blinds were down, the sources told The Times.

Modebadze was later found by officers badly beaten with a traumatic head injury and died of his injuries. Authorities arrested suspects hours after the attack.

In this Encino case, Golan said the department would investigate why the couple, who were both 70, were not found earlier and whether the officers involved acted appropriately. LAPD officials said the front door of the home was not visible from the outside during the initial response.

According to court records, Boodarian was charged in three instances of misdemeanor battery last year. Those charges were ultimately dropped a series of hearings related to his mental competency and a conservatorship investigation.

AN expert has analysed the awkward moment Brigitte Macron “refuses” her husband.

It comes several months after she appeared to slap Emmanuel as they prepared to disembark a plane in Vietnam.

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Emmanuel and his wife Brigitte have arrived in the UK ahead of tonight’s state banquet at Windsor Castle.

However, footage of the pair arriving suggests there could be tension between them according to body language expert Judi James.

After Emmanuel is safely on solid ground, he turns around to offer his arm to his wife as she descends the stairs from the plane.

Yet Brigitte refuses Emmanuel’s gesture, leaving him awkwardly holding his arm in mid-air.

The pair then begin to greet members of the Royal Family who have been awaiting their arrival.

Judi said: “Macron appeared determined to take a joyfully tactile approach to everyone he met today, with exception of his wife.

She added that Brigitte looked “less charmed by her husband’s attempts at a more tactile approach, refusing his offer of a hand to help as she stepped down from the plane”.

While Brigitte does smile at her husband once she’s by his side, the couple quickly begin greeting their hosts.

Emmanuel leads, greeting Prince William first.

Judi said: “His greeting ritual for William was almost intimate enough to suggest he was family.

“He clasped William’s hand for several long seconds, using his left hand to perform a volley of add-on pats and clasps as he did so, each one suggesting close bonding and familiarity.”

After placing his hand over William’s, he then moves it to the prince’s lower arm.

This “intensified the familiarity signals” according to Judi, as Emmanuel moves his hand above William’s elbow before moving it back down to the lower arm.

Emmanuel then moves on to greet Kate, while Brigitte in turn greets William.

In a “creakingly out of date ritual” according to Judi, Emmanuel leans down to kiss the back of Kate’s hand.

Judi said: “This gesture looks gallant but it leaves the woman being kissed with little option but to giggle prettily.”

While Emmanuel leaned down to kiss Kate’s hand, Charles instead raises Brigitte’s hand to his lips, as he “gazes adoringly” Judi said.

Calling back to the rumoured Vietnam slap, Judi said: “Was this the hand she shoved her husband with back in Vietnam?

“If so, Charles was clearly busy charming it into submission.”

In a similarly familial gesture, Emmanuel went on to pat Charles’ upper arm “in a gesture of macho unity”.

The procession precedes tonight’s state banquet in which 160 guests will dine at Windsor Castle to celebrate the relationship between France and Britain.

Princess Kate and Prince William will both be in attendance for the fabulous event.

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Roman Starovoit was found dead near his car in the Moscow region hours after President Vladimir Putin dismissed him.

Russia’s top criminal investigation agency is probing the death of Roman Starovoit, a former transport minister whose body was found with a gunshot wound near his car, hours after President Vladimir Putin dismissed him from his post.

Authorities on Monday said the 53-year-old politician’s body was discovered near a Tesla vehicle abandoned near a park in the Moscow region, with a pistol, registered in Starovoit’s name, located nearby.

The Investigative Committee has opened a case to determine the full circumstances of his death, suggesting it could be suicide. Russian media, citing law enforcement sources, said the gunshot appeared to be self-inflicted.

However, the timing of the death has prompted speculation.

Putin issued a decree earlier on Monday, removing Starovoit as transport minister, a role he had held for just more than a year. No explanation was provided.

Political commentators quickly linked the decision to a long-running corruption investigation in the Kursk region, where Starovoit previously served as governor.

The probe centres on whether 19.4 billion roubles ($246m) allocated in 2022 to bolster border defences in Kursk were embezzled.

The funds were meant to reinforce Russia’s frontier with Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border assault into the region three months into Starovoit’s ministerial term – the largest such incursion since World War II.

In April, his successor and former deputy in Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling defence funds. Several Russian outlets reported on Monday that Smirnov, who denies wrongdoing, had told investigators Starovoit was also involved in the alleged fraud.

The incident casts a shadow over Russia’s transport sector, already grappling with wartime pressures.

Western sanctions have left the aviation industry struggling for spare parts, while soaring interest rates have pushed Russian Railways – the country’s largest employer – into financial strain.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s drone attacks continue to disrupt domestic air traffic, forcing temporary airport closures and leading to logistical uncertainty.

Following Starovoit’s dismissal, the Kremlin announced that Andrei Nikitin, former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed as acting transport minister. Photographs released by state media showed him shaking hands with Putin.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin believed Nikitin had the necessary experience to steer the ministry through current challenges. At his meeting with the president, Nikitin pledged to modernise the sector by boosting digital infrastructure to improve cargo flows and cross-border trade.

July 4 (UPI) — Rescuers in Alaska recovered the body of a 62-year-old woman who went on a hike in the mountains near Juneau after leaving the Norwegian Bliss cruise ship.

Marites Buenafe, a medical doctor from Kentucky, was a passenger on the Norwegian Bliss, which was a seven-day round-trip from Seattle. Her body was found on Thursday, the Alaska Department of Public Safety State Troopers announced.

Around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, she texted family members that she was going up going up Mount Roberts Tramway in Juneau and would hike from Gold Ridge to Gastineau Peak, the troopers reported.

Security footage showed Buenafe at the top of the tramway.

The 4-mile hike is challenging and usually takes three hours, hiking website AllTrails states.

The ship was scheduled to depart around 1:30 p.m. At around 3:15, Buenafe was reported missing.

Juneau Mountain Rescue searched on the ground and used thermal drones to scan the area, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.

Also, an Alaska Wildlife Troopers helicopter and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter conducted aerial searches, the department said.

The search continued Wednesday with more than a dozen professional volunteers, as well as Juneau police officers, Alaska state troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue.

Also utilized were drones and K-9s. Helicopter use was limited because of windy conditions.

The search resumed Thursday. At 11:56 a.m., Alaska Army National Guard helicopter crew located Buenafe’s body some approximately 1,700 feet below the ridge line of Gold Ridge, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.

Crews then recovered her body, which was taken to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy.

Buenafe was listed on the University of Kentucky Healthcare system’s website as a doctor.

DPS spokesperson Austin McDaniel told KYES-TV it is important to inform somebody of hiking plans.

“If you don’t return on time, they can alert first responders, alert search and rescue teams, the troopers, so we can immediately begin formulating a plan and activating resources to help get you out of the field,” McDaniel said.

It’s been just 18 days since Inter Milan played its last game, losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final. But a lot has happened since then.

The team parted ways with manager Simone Inzaghi, who led it to two European finals in three seasons, and replaced him with Cristian Chivu. It temporarily lost the services of forward Mehdi Taremi, who had returned to his native Iran earlier this month and became stranded there when Israeli attacks closed the airspace over much of the Mideast.

Then the rest of the second-best club in Europe traveled 6,000 miles from Milan to Los Angeles, where it opened the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday in a 1-1 draw with Mexican club Monterrey before an announced crowd of 40,311 at the Rose Bowl.

“We’re trying to focus. And it’s not easy every day, I’m not going to lie,” said forward Marcus Thuram, whose 18 goals in all competition was second on the team this season. “But it’s part of what we do, we love what we do and we’ll continue doing what we do.”

Only doing what they do has become far more complicated and exhausting in recent years as the competition schedule for both club and country has expanded.

Thuram’s father, Lilian, was widely regarded as one of the best defenders of his era during an 18-year career that saw him win two Serie A titles, a European championship and play in two World Cup finals, winning one. But he appeared in 46 or more club matches in a season just four times before retiring in 2008.

His 27-year-old son has done that in each of the past two seasons. And if Inter makes it to the final of the Club World Cup, he’ll wind up playing 55 games in 11 months. That doesn’t count his 10 appearances for the French national team since last June.

Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram stands on the field during a loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final on May 31.

(Luca Bruno / Associated Press)

“We were prepared for that at the beginning of the season. It’s not like they announced that at the end of the season,” Thuram, who came off the bench early in the second half Tuesday, said of the Club World Cup. “We knew it was going to be a long season.”

But how long is too long? In their ravenous quest for revenue, soccer clubs, leagues and governing bodies have crowded the calendar with invented competitions that have drained both fans’ bank accounts and players’ energy levels.

The Club World Cup is a perfect example. Although the tournament has been around since 2000, before this summer it never had more than eight teams and was held at one site during a 10-day break in the European season. This year it’s expanded into a 32-team, monthlong competition that will be played in 11 cities spread across a continent.

If Inter Milan makes it to next month’s final, its players will have just a couple of weeks off before reporting to training camp for the next Serie A season, which opens Aug. 23. With the World Cup also expanding next summer, national team players such as Thuram could play more than 70 games in 44 weeks and more than 120 games over two seasons.

That’s clearly unsustainable.

“A serious dialogue is needed between FIFA, UEFA, leagues, clubs and players to redesign an international calendar that protects the health of players and maintains the quality of games,” said Giuseppe Marotta, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Milan. “With the introduction of the new Champions League format and the new Club World Cup, the workload on teams and players has clearly increased significantly.”

Yet clubs such as Inter Milan, Paris Saint-Germain (which played 58 games this season) and Manchester City (57 games) are drawn to the extra competitions for the same reason as the organizers who put them on: the money. The Club World Cup, now the largest and most ambitious global club tournament in history, is also the most lucrative, with a prize-money purse of $1 billion. The winner could take home $125 million, more than PSG got for winning the Champions League.

But it was forced into a gap in the schedule that really didn’t exist before.

“It’s undeniable that this event, positioned between two different seasons, is forcing us to do extra work and rethink what the traditional summer periods looks like for a football club,” Marotta said. “However these competitions also represent a huge opportunity in terms of visibility and revenue, often exceeding that of traditional competitions.”

The Club World Cup allows teams to face rivals from other continents, expanding their international following and generating additional revenue streams by planting the team’s flag in new markets and introducing its players to new fans.

“The goal is to tell the American public who we are and what values have always guided us,” Marotta said.

“It’s not about proving how good we are,” he added of the tournament. “It’s about contributing to the development of global football.”

To accommodate it, Marotta said, changes will have to be made. For example Italy’s Serie A could compact from 20 to 18 teams, the same as in the German Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1. That would mean four fewer league games per year; not a dramatic reduction, but a start.

Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, left, and Monterrey’s Victor Guzman battle for control of the ball during Tuesday’s FIFA Club World Cup match at the Rose Bowl.

(Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

Until that happens, Thuram said the players will continue doing what they do for as long as they can do it.

“It’s about doing everything every day to prepare your body for these extreme games and extreme competition. Because soccer at the highest level is extreme for the body. It’s tough,” he said. “But we have a lot of coaches, we have chefs, we have everything that is set up for us perfectly.”

As for the game, Milan dominated statistically, controlling the ball for more than 55 of the 90 minutes and outshooting Monterrey 15-9. But it couldn’t make that advantage count.

All the scoring came in a 20-minute span of the first half with the ageless Sergio Ramos putting Monterrey in front with a header in the 25th minute and Lautaro Martinez pulling that back for Milan three minutes before the intermission.

THE family of Minnesota Senator John Hoffman has revealed how his wife Yvette used her body as a shield when a gunman opened fire in their home.

Both Hoffman and Yvette were seriously injured when they were targeted in an attempted assassination at their home in Champlin around 2 am on Saturday morning.

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Less than two hours later, the gunman, suspected to be 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter, shot and killed DFL speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark at their home in Brooklyn Park.

Hoffman, 60, and his wife underwent surgery at the Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and are stable.

The pair were shot 11 times by the crazed gunman who posed as a police officer, their nephew Mat Ollig shared in an update on Facebook.

He revealed how Yvette heroically threw herself in front of their daughter Hope to shield her from the bullets.

Hope, who is in her 20s, was not injured in the horror attack.

Senator Hoffman was shot six times and Yvette five, Ollig said.

“My aunt threw herself on her daughter, using her body as a shield to save her life,” he wrote.

“They are both out of surgery and stable. These two are the kindest, most giving and caring people I know.”

He called the horror attack “a political act of terrorism” carried out by a “vile piece of s*** dressed as a cop”.

“I am beyond sick,” Ollig wrote as he shared pictures of the family.

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One of the bullets that struck Hoffman narrowly missed his heart, local outlet KARE11 reported.

Images from the scene show the Hoffmans’ front door riddled with bullet holes.

Boelter was named as a suspect for the shootings on Saturday afternoon sparking a major manhunt.

As the search continues into its second day, cops are tightening the net around the 57-year-old who allegedly wore a creepy latex mask when he gunned down his victims.

They have located a vehicle of interest and the cowboy hat they believe Boelter was wearing when he was last seen in the Twin Cities area.

These were found on Highway 25 roughly half way between Green Isle, where Boelter has a property, and Belle Plaine, KARE 11 reported.

State patrol confirmed they found a black vehicle on the side of the road that is of interest in the hunt for the suspect.

They also found a cowboy hat matching the one Boelter was seen wearing in the last CCTV footage of him lying in the open on the side of the road.

About 100 yards away from the road, is a property that KARE 11 says has a major police presence around it as part of the manhunt.

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It has not been confirmed if Boelter is still in the area.

The FBI has issued a $50,000 reward for information that leads to his arrest and a conviction.

Hours after the double shooting, at around 6 am, Boelter’s roommate and best friend David Carlson received a string of chilling text messages from him in which Boelter said “I may be dead shortly”.

“I made some choices, and you guys don’t know anything about this, but I’m going to be gone for a while,” he said to his friends David and Ron.

“May be dead shortly, so I just want to let you know I love you guys both and I wish it hadn’t gone this way.”

Officials have said that they believe Boelter may have been trying to flee.

His wife Jenny was detained after a traffic stop during which cops found she was carrying weapons, cash, and passports, KTSP reported, citing law enforcement officials.

She was not arrested and officers have warned that as the search continues, Boelter should be considered armed and dangerous.

Officials have urged the public to send in tips and call 911 if they see him.

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Technology will help fans see the action from the refs’ point of view while AI will help detect offsides earlier and goalkeepers will be punished for time-wasting after eight seconds.

The FIFA Club World Cup has undergone a revamp since it was last competed in December 2023 in Saudi Arabia.

The number of participating clubs has increased fourfold to 32, the frequency of the competition has gone from annual to quadrennial and the champion’s prize money – previously $5m – has gone up by a whopping $35m.

It’s not just the numbers that have changed in the tournament. FIFA is also looking to introduce new technology, including artificial intelligence to help the referees, and it is getting stricter on goalkeepers who waste time while holding the ball.

Here’s a look at the three big changes to be implemented at the monthlong tournament, which will get under way on Saturday in the United States:

What is the referee body cam, and how will it work at the Club World Cup?

Small cameras, protruding from the referees’ ears, will capture the live action unfolding in front of them.

The video will be fed to the ongoing match broadcast and will be aired to the viewers but only if the action is not controversial. So any penalty appeals, disputed calls and other potentially game-changing moments of controversy will be cut out.

However, fans will be offered unique views of goals, saves, crosses, player runs and tackles. The feature will only be available in the six NFL stadiums being used during the tournament – Atlanta, Charlotte, Los Angeles, Miami, East Rutherford, Philadelphia and Seattle.

“The objective is to offer the TV viewers a new experience,” Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, said while announcing the move on Wednesday.

He said the technology will be trialled during the tournament and offer football’s rule-making body a chance to review it, along with footage of controversial moments, for long-term implementation.

Collina asked for patience from the fans during this phase and suggested taking things “step by step”.

“At the moment, this is a trial. We need to do something new and the simpler the better. So we fixed some rules within a protocol. Will we offer these images in the future? Maybe when we learn to run, maybe not, maybe we will do.”

Referee body camera in action. We can expect to see more of this at @FIFACWC ⚽️

Footage from Botafogo vs. Pachuca in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2024™ where body cameras were trialled. #TakeItToTheWorld | #FIFACWC | #FootballUnitesTheWorld pic.twitter.com/A30PiFDDA1

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) June 6, 2025

How will FIFA use AI to check for offside during the Club World Cup?

While the assistance of technology in making offside decisions is not new, the Club World Cup will use it slightly differently by employing AI for an “enhanced semiautomatic offside”.

Video feed from 16 cameras will provide footage of the ongoing action to an AI-based programme, which will then alert match officials as soon as an offside player touches the ball.

Officials hope this new mechanism will help curtail the time in decision-making. The system will likely see the flag raised earlier for offside and reduce cases of play continuing after a clear offside, as opposed to a later video assistant referee (VAR) review.

In another first, footage of VAR-based offside reviews will be shown to the spectators inside the stadiums on big screens.

What’s the new timeout rule for goalkeepers?

It’s not entirely new, but time-wasting goalkeepers will also face the heat much earlier than usual as FIFA has asked referees to clamp down on glovemen who take too long on the ball.

The rules stipulate that keepers can’t hold onto the ball for longer than six seconds, but they have not been punished as frequently as the game’s governing body would have liked.

Now referees will issue a warning at five seconds – counted down by the officials on their hands – and the keeper must release the ball before a total of eight seconds are up.

Failing to do so will result in a corner kick for the opposition as opposed to an indirect free kick, which was previously given.

Russian officials said Sunday that Moscow is still awaiting official confirmation from Ukraine that a planned exchange of 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action will take place, reiterating allegations that Kyiv had postponed the swap.

On the front line in the war, Russia said that it had pushed into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region.

Russian state media quoted Lt. Gen. Alexander Zorin, a representative of the Russian negotiating group, as saying that Russia delivered the first batch of 1,212 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers to the exchange site at the border and is waiting for confirmation from Ukraine, but that there were “signals” that the process of transferring the bodies would be postponed until next week.

Citing Zorin on her Telegram channel, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova asked whether it was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s “personal decision not to take the bodies of the Ukrainians” or whether “someone from NATO prohibited it.”

Ukrainian authorities said plans agreed upon during direct talks in Istanbul on Monday were proceeding accordingly, despite what Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, called Russian attempts to “unilaterally dictate the parameters of the exchange process.”

People rest in a metro station, being used as a bomb shelter, during a Russian drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Friday.

(Dan Bashakov/AP)

“We are carefully adhering to the agreements reached in Istanbul. Who, when and how to exchange should not be someone’s sole decision. Careful preparation is ongoing. Pressure and manipulation are unacceptable here,” he said in a statement on Telegram on Sunday.

“The start of repatriation activities based on the results of the negotiations in Istanbul is scheduled for next week, as authorized persons were informed about on Tuesday,” the statement said. “Everything is moving according to plan, despite the enemy’s dirty information game.”

Russia and Ukraine each accused the other on Saturday of endangering plans to swap 6,000 bodies of soldiers killed in action, which was agreed upon during the talks in Istanbul, which otherwise made no progress toward ending the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to journalists during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine.

(Evgeniy Maloletka / Associated Press)

Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, led the Russian delegation. Medinsky said that Kyiv called a last-minute halt to an imminent swap. In a Telegram post on Saturday, he said that refrigerated trucks carrying more than 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian troops from Russia had already reached the agreed exchange site at the border when the news came.

According to the main Ukrainian authority dealing with such swaps, no date had been set for repatriating the bodies. In a statement Saturday, the agency also accused Russia of submitting lists of prisoners of war for repatriation that didn’t correspond to agreements reached Monday.

It wasn’t immediately possible to reconcile the conflicting claims.

Russia says it is heading into Dnipropetrovsk region

In other developments, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had reached the western edge of the Donetsk region, one of the four provinces Russia illegally annexed in 2022, and that troops were “developing the offensive” in the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. This would be the first time Russian troops had pushed into the region in the more than three-year-old war.

Ukraine didn’t immediately respond to the claim, and the Associated Press couldn’t immediately verify it.

Russia’s advance would mark a significant setback for Ukraine’s already stretched forces as peace talks remain stalled and Russian troops have made incremental gains elsewhere.

Russia and Ukraine exchange aerial attacks

One person was killed and another seriously wounded in Russian aerial strikes on the eastern Ukrainian Kharkiv region. These strikes came after Russian attacks targeted the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, on Saturday. Regional police in Kharkiv said on Sunday that the death toll from Saturday’s attacks had increased to six people. More than two dozen others were wounded.

Russia fired a total of 49 exploding drones and decoys and three missiles overnight, Ukraine’s air force said Sunday. Forty drones were shot down or electronically jammed.

Russia’s defense ministry said that its forces shot down 61 Ukrainian drones overnight, including near the capital.

Five people were wounded Sunday in a Ukrainian drone attack on a parking lot in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov. Two people were wounded when a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at a chemical plant in the Tula region, local authorities said.

Russian authorities said early Sunday that Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, two international airports serving Moscow, temporarily suspended flights because of a Ukrainian drone attack. Later in the day, Domodedovo halted flights temporarily for a second time, along with Zhukovsky airport.

A couple were left reeling after being offered £200 and some counselling sessions in response to their complaints about what should have been a luxury five-star getaway in the Dominican Republic

A furious couple blasted their travel company for offering them counselling after their dream trip turned into the holiday from hell.

Alan Stevens had booked a luxury five-star getaway to the Dominican Republic through TUI as a special birthday present for his wife Sarah, but their 17-day stay in the beachside resort of Punta Cana was marred by a litany of disasters.

The couple were horrified to see guests vomiting and defecating in the pool, others having public sex, and even a dead body covered in a sheet.

After complaining to TUI following their 2023 trip, Alan was flabbergasted to be offered just £200 in vouchers and counselling sessions for his £3,000 holiday, while TUI claimed the issues were largely “outside of our control”.

NHS healthcare assistant Alan from Hull said the five-star Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana – pitched as boasting an “on-the-beach location and a first-class pool scene” on TUI’s website – was “seedy” and “unsafe”, and claimed he and his wife were offered drugs multiple times.

And despite complaining to their holiday rep, Alan claimed they were met with complete indifference. “When we went out to the pool for the first time, we saw guests smoking weed in the pool, people having sex in the pool, and it all felt really seedy,” he told HullLive.

“We saw one woman being sick all over herself in the pool, and another guest actually defecate in the pool – it was disgusting. We were approached by people offering us drugs about 10 times in the 17 days we were there. There were no security guards either, which made it all feel very unsafe.”

Alan added: “It stank of weed, there was food and sick scattered about everywhere. I can’t stress how dirty and seedy it was. No one told us that this was a ‘party hotel’, and I’m shocked that TUI would ever think this would be an appropriate place for my wife and I to stay.”

While they were there, a 35-year-old woman fell from a fourth-floor balcony and died. Her body was covered with a sheet, which Alan and Sarah saw as they walked past.

He later told the BBC that he’d been told two other guests had died from drug overdoses at the hotel while he was there, but when he’d spoken to the hotel manager about the body she’d seen, she reportedly answered: “People die every day.”

He added that the pool had to be emptied twice a day “because the water was so murky”. “People were chucking their drugs in the pool and there was absolutely no security,” he said. “When doing our research, no holiday provider described it as a ‘party hotel’ – but it was.”

Alan and Sarah ended up staying at a quiet pool with older guests and confined themselves to the restaurant nearest their room, “so we weren’t exposed to any more chaos”.

He said TUI had offered to move the couple to another hotel, but they declined after hearing from other guests that the alternative hotel “was just as bad”.

Mr Stevens said the offer of £200 in compensation was “a joke”, while the offer of counselling sessions “due to the events that you witnessed” was “really disheartening” after spending “tens of thousands of pounds” with TUI in the past.

A TUI spokesperson said at the time: “We are sorry to hear of Mr Stevens’s experience during his stay at the Riu Republica Hotel. At TUI, we strive to make travelling with us a smooth experience from start to finish, but unfortunately on this occasion, and largely due to factors outside of our control, we did not meet our usually high standards.

“Our team has been in contact with Mr Stevens and he was offered a gift voucher as a gesture of goodwill, as well as counselling from CCP (Centre for Crisis Psychology), but unfortunately this was declined.”

TUI added to the BBC that the Riu Republica Hotel “is not exclusively available for TUI guests”.

June 6 (UPI) — Authorities on Friday night recovered the body of a 17-year-old after his small unmanned boat was found in a lake north of Atlanta one day earlier.

Around 5 p.m., the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said they found the body of Jackson Cole Croft of Woodstock. Family members embraced one another at the scene, WXIA reported.

The agency earlier Friday identified the missing boater as Croft of Woodstock after the empty boat was found circling near the Little River area of Allatoona Lake on Thursday night. The lake is 37 miles north of Atlanta.

At 5:20 p.m. Thursday, crews from Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services responded after receiving a call about a boat spinning in place without a visible operator. Responders stopped and secured the boat.

DNR game wardens and Cherokee County divers used sonar technology to look for the boater.

On Friday morning, search efforts resumed with several agencies. They used a remotely operated vehicle with a camera.

“It’s a very tragic situation and it’s one that none of these officers enjoy,” DNR spokesperson Mark McKinnon said at a news conference before the body was found. “It’s a difficult spot.”

He said the search is challenging because of Lake Allatoona’s varied depth and underwater terrain, including submerged trees.

“So in order to search that area, you have to do a grid to cover all sides of those objects. Very tedious and very methodical,” McKinnon told reporters.

McKinnon said they believe the teen was alone on the small boat. Officials haven’t said whether Croft was wearing a life jacket.

Family members said they didn’t know about the teen’s plans.

LOUISE Redknapp wowed fans as she posed in a bikini top on her girls’ holiday to New York.

The 50-year-old star shared a snap of herself enjoying the sunny weather in the Big Apple.

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Throwing her hands in the air, Louise flaunted her toned figure in the top and low cut shorts.

She captioned her shots: “A little girls trip with Sue.”

Fans were quick to comment on her holiday snaps, with one saying: “Wow u look incredible”.

Another said: “Still stunning after all these years!”

Louise found love again almost two years ago with boyfriend Drew, 41.

Since then, they’ve appeared inseparable, often enjoying music events and spending their summers attending festivals, including Glastonbury and Boardmasters.

If Louise hasn’t been going to festivals, she’s been performing at them, with the singer launching a comeback with her Greatest Hits celebrating her career to date.

She’s also just released her fifth solo album Confessions.

The Strictly winner was with ex Jamie Redknapp for 20 years and they share two sons.

“What’s great is (Drew) is brilliant on a friendship level with the boys,” she told The Sun last month.

“They get on great with him. And that, for me, is super-important. There’s just a real mutual respect there. Obviously Beau is still at school, but we spend a lot of time together.”

The nine-year age gap inevitably led to Drew being described as her “toyboy” and Louise being referred to as a “cougar”.

But it’s “water off a duck’s back,” she added.

“For me, age is irrelevant – within reason – but he’s not 22. I think it’s more about the person and the life experiences and the connection that’s important.”

However, Louise isn’t thinking about walking down the aisle a second time.

“Oh, I’m not even thinking that far ahead. I’m not even going there. Manifesting is a real hint to Drew.

“I’m not going to lie and say it isn’t. But it’s also a life lesson to be present in the here and now, so I’m not thinking down the line. I’m enjoying my relationship, my kids, my album and my life.”

After their split her ex Jamie went on to marry model Frida Andersson in 2021.

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It turns out Zoe Saldaña was more than just emotionally drained after tearfully accepting her supporting actress Oscar for “Emilia Pérez” at this year’s Academy Awards — she was also worn out physically.

The 46-year-old actor explained Wednesday on the ABC talk show “Live With Kelly and Mark” how she had been fighting a cold and felt fully exhausted immediately following one of her career-defining moments.

“I collapsed right after. I lost my voice within an hour after I won the award,” she said. “I couldn’t stand on those heels that I had. All I wanted to do was crawl in bed and maybe cry. I don’t know why, I just needed to cry.”

The “Avatar” star noted that up until that point her body was running on all cylinders for months on end during awards season.

“Your body is running on pure adrenaline so you know that your immune system is in optimal condition, but once you tell your body that it’s over, then everything sort of collapses,” Saldaña said.

The Oscar victory capped an impressive awards season run for the “Guardians of the Galaxy” actor, having won the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG and Critics’ Choice awards for her role as Mexico City attorney Rita Castro in “Emilia Pérez.”

While her performance was almost universally celebrated and well-regarded, the film as a whole was heavily criticized for its incomplete and offensive portrayals of transgender issues and the lack of consideration taken in depicting Mexico.

LGBTQ+ media advocacy group GLAAD declared the film is “Not Good Trans Representation.” The organization did not nominate “Emilia Pérez” for any GLAAD Media Awards.

Although physically and emotionally exhausted, Saldaña managed to make some attention-grabbing statements in the Oscars press room after a Mexican journalist noted that the movie’s presentation of Mexico was “really hurtful for us Mexicans.”

“First of all, I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended,” Saldaña said in the defense of the film. “That was never our intention. We spoke and came from a place of love, and I will stand by that.”

She went on to further disagree with the Mexican journalist’s point of view regarding the centrality and importance of Mexico in the 13-time Oscar nominated movie.

“For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were making a film about friendship. We were making a film about four women,” Saldaña explained. “And these women are still very universal women that are struggling every day, but trying to survive systemic oppression and trying to find the most authentic voices.”

Outside of the issues within the film, much of the main cast and crew of the movie was bogged down by mostly self-inflicted negative press.

Actor Karla Sofía Gascón faced backlash in January after Canadian writer Sarah Hagi resurfaced tweets dating from 2016 to 2023 that spoke negatively of Muslims’ clothing, language and culture in her home country of Spain. Additionally, Gascón caught heat for resurfaced comments about the 2020 killing of George Floyd, the ensuing racial reckoning, the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19-era Academy Awards ceremony in 2021.

Gascón later apologized for her previous online remarks and deactivated her X account.

The film’s director Jacques Audiard spoke openly on record about how little he prepped to portray Mexico and denigrated the Spanish language during his press tour.

When asked by a Mexican journalist at a red carpet event about how much he had to study up on Mexico and Mexican culture to prepare for the movie, Audiard gave a telling answer.

“No, I didn’t study that much. What I needed to know, I already knew a little about,” the filmmaker said. “It was more about capturing the little details and we came a lot to Mexico to see actors, to see locations, to see the decorations and so on.”

Speaking with the French outlet Konbini, Audiard spoke down on the Spanish language, saying, “Spanish is a language of modest countries, of developing countries, of the poor and migrants.”

Audiard later apologized for his comments after the movie received backlash from Mexican audiences.

Selena Gomez, who played a pivotal supporting role in the film, was criticized for her proficiency in Spanish. Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez was among those who called out Gomez’s performance and Spanish language ability.

Gomez has previously said her Spanish fluency waned after she started working in television at age 7. She responded to the criticism on social media, saying, “I did the best I could with the time I was given. Doesn’t take away from how much work and heart I put into this movie.” Derbez later apologized.

Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum was so feared for his impeccable technique that the “four kings” of the 1980s declined to fight him. Nevertheless, McCallum won world titles at super welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

McCallum, the first Jamaican-born champion, died Saturday in Las Vegas at 68. The Jamaica Observer reported that McCallum fell ill while driving to a gym and pulled off the road. He was found to be unresponsive, and was later pronounced dead.

In the ring, his attention to detail and faultless technique enabled him to post a 49-5-1 record. McCallum earned his nickname by repeatedly punching the body and head. More often than not, bouts ended in knockouts — he recorded 36 KOs and was never knocked out.

The Ring magazine ranked him in 2011 as eighth on its list of the “10 best middleweight title holders of the last 50 years.”

Not that his inability to secure a bout with the “kings,” Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard or Marvin Hagler, spoiled his mood. It was particularly telling that Hearns wouldn’t fight McCallum, because they were longtime sparring partners before becoming champions.

McCallum was disappointed but remained all smiles outside the ring, consistently carrying himself with a pleasant, if serious, disposition.

“None of ‘The Four Kings,’ wanted anything to do with that guy and I know that for a fact because I tried to make some of those fights,” Hall of Fame boxer Lou DiBella told longtime boxing writer Kevin Iole. “He was the most perfect technical fighter I’ve ever seen, and he wasn’t a pitty-pat guy.”

McCallum became the first Jamaican boxer to win a world title when he defeated Irishman Sean Mannion by unanimous decision in 1984 at Madison Square Garden for the WBA Junior Middleweight crown.

Jamaican Sport Minister Olivia Grange issued a statement upon learning of McCallum’s passing, saying, “It is with utter and complete sadness that I learned of the death of Jamaica’s three-time World Boxing Champion Michael McKenzie McCallum.

“I express my personal condolences to his mother, siblings and his children. On behalf of the Ministry of Sports I take this opportunity to extend our sympathies to the family and friends of this legendary Jamaican.”

Michael McKenzie McCallum was born Dec. 7, 1956, in Kingston, Jamaica, and began boxing as a teenager, racking up as many as 250 amateur bouts before turning pro in 1981. He represented Jamaica at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, reaching the quarterfinals.

He boxed professionally until 1997, successfully defending the WBA junior middleweight crown six times, including wins over Julian Jackson, Milton McCrory and Donald Curry before moving up a weight class to middleweight.

McCallum defeated Herol Graham in 1989 to become WBA middleweight champion and defended the belt with wins over Steve Collins, Michael Watson and Sumbu Kalambay. He won his third division title in 1994 by again stepping up in weight class and defeating Jeff Harding for the WBC light heavyweight crown.

He met his match against James Toney, fighting to a draw Dec. 13, 1991, before losing to Toney twice. McCallum also dropped a 12-round decision to Roy Jones in a 1997 light heavyweight title fight.

He retired shortly thereafter and became a successful trainer, taking great pride in teaching his body-punching technique to young boxers.

Jones expressed sadness to Kevin Iole, saying, “Man, we lost another beautiful boxing soul. May he rest in peace.”

Jones also lamented that McCallum was unable to book fights against the four kings.

“In the junior middleweight division, everyone always went around Mike McCallum, and that says a lot about him,” Jones said. “Not even Marvin [Hagler] ever talked much about fighting Mike McCallum. You don’t have to listen to what they say [about him]. You watch what they do and everyone wanted to go around him for a reason.”

In a post on X, the WBC said: “Rest in Peace to the legendary Mike ‘The Body Snatcher’ McCallum. Former WBA world champion and one of the most technically gifted fighters of his era. Thank you for the fights, the lessons, and the greatness.”

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu said the body’s status would be on par with the UN’s International Court of Justice.

The Chinese government has signed a convention establishing an international mediation organisation located in Hong Kong, with Beijing hoping it will rival the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as the world’s leading conflict resolution body.

The Convention on the Establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation (IOMed) was signed into law on Friday, in a ceremony presided over by Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Hong Kong.

The ceremony was attended by representatives from several countries, including Indonesia, Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia and Serbia. Representatives from 20 international bodies, including the United Nations, also attended the ceremony, according to Hong Kong’s RTHK public broadcaster.

A video shown at the signing ceremony said the scope of cases handled by the body would include disputes between countries, between a country and nationals of another country, and between private international entities.

Beijing plans for the body to cement Hong Kong’s presence as a top global mediation hub, as it hopes to bolster the city’s waning international credentials.

In an un-bylined opinion piece published in China’s state-run Global Times newspaper, IOMed was described as the “world’s first intergovernmental international legal organisation dedicated to resolving international disputes through mediation”.

IOMed would fill a “critical gap in mechanisms focused on mediation-based dispute resolution”, it said.

“The establishment of the International Organisation for Mediation marks a milestone in global governance and highlights the value of resolving conflicts in an ‘amicable way’,” it added.

The ICJ – the principal judicial organ of the UN, also known as the World Court – is currently the top body for solving legal disputes between member states in accordance with international law. It also provides advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN bodies.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said this week that IOMed’s status would be on par with the UN bodies the ICJ and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Lee said it would also help bring “substantial” economic benefits and job opportunities, as well as stimulate various sectors including hospitality and transport, to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has experienced sustained economic stagnation since its handover back to Chinese rule in 1997 after more than a century and a half as a British colony.

Investor confidence has been rocked by Beijing’s increasing control over all aspects of life in the territory – including the economy – while gloom also persists about the state of China’s post-pandemic recovery.

In an opinion piece published in the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong’s Justice Secretary Paul Lam said IOMed would help Hong Kong cope with challenges presented by “hostile external forces” that are “attempting to de-internationalise and de-functionalise” it.

“To cope with such a challenge, Hong Kong needs to make good use of the IOMed headquarters as a focus for strengthening the city as an international dispute resolution centre, so as to give full play to its institutional advantages under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework,” Lam said, referring to China’s model of governing Hong Kong, which nominally allows it a level of autonomy.

The IOMed headquarters, due to open by the end of this year or in early 2026, will be located at a former police station in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district.

Aid workers are also having to cope with a wave of cholera outbreaks in war-torn Sudan.

The World Food Programme (WFP) has said it is “shocked and alarmed” that its premises in southwestern Sudan have been hit by repeated shelling from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as the paramilitary group wages a brutal civil war, now in its third year, with the Sudanese army.

“Humanitarian staff, assets, operations and supplies should never be a target. This must stop now”, the United Nations body said on X on Thursday.

#Sudan pic.twitter.com/c4aXtS9zhY

— WFP Media (@WFP_Media) May 29, 2025

El-Fasher is the last major city held by the Sudanese army in the Darfur region. It has witnessed intense fighting between the army and RSF since May 2024, despite international warnings about the risks of violence in a city that serves as a key humanitarian hub for the five Darfur states.

For more than a year, the RSF has sought to wrest control of el-Fasher, located more than 800km (500 miles) southwest of the capital, Khartoum, from the army, launching regular attacks on the city and two major famine-hit camps for displaced people on its outskirts.

Adding to humanitarian woes on the ground, the Health Ministry in Khartoum state on Thursday reported 942 new cholera infections and 25 deaths the previous day, following 1,177 cases and 45 deaths the day before.

Aid workers say the scale of the cholera outbreak is deteriorating due to the near-total collapse of health services, with about 90 percent of hospitals in key war zones no longer operational.

Since August 2024, Sudan has reported more than 65,000 suspected cholera cases and at least 1,700 deaths across 12 of its 18 states. Khartoum alone has seen 7,700 cases and 185 deaths, including more than 1,000 infections in children under five, as it contends with more than two years of fighting between the army and the RSF.

Sudan’s army-backed government in Khartoum state announced earlier this month that all relief initiatives in the state must register with the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), a government body that oversees humanitarian operations in Sudan.

Aid workers and activists are fearful these regulations will lead to a crackdown on local relief volunteers, exacerbating the catastrophic hunger crisis affecting 25 million people across the country.

The HAC was given expanded powers to register, monitor and, critics argue, crack down on local and Western aid groups by former leader Omar al-Bashir in 2006, according to aid groups, local relief volunteers and experts.

The army-backed government announced last week that it had dislodged RSF fighters from their last bases in Khartoum state, two months after retaking the heart of the capital from the paramilitaries.

The city, nonetheless, remains devastated with health and sanitation infrastructure barely functioning.

The RSF has been battling the SAF for control of Sudan since April 2023. The civil war has killed more than 20,000 people, uprooted 15 million and created what the UN considers the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

A BODY has been discovered amid a major hunt for a schoolgirl who fell into the water whilst out on a walk with her dad.

Emergency crews had been frantically searching for the 13-year-old who vanished under the water at Baitings Dam yesterday afternoon.

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A cordon was put in place at the reservoir in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, after cops were called at around 1.20pm on Wednesday.

Search teams worked around the clock in an attempt to find the youngster, with two RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) spotted at the site this morning.

The teenager, from Halifax, had been posing for pictures with her dad when she tragically fell into the 140ft-deep water.

It is understood she hit the water after falling roughly 30ft from the parapet of the dam.

Local resident Sue Ferris helped comfort the girl’s family, who told her that the youngster had a “bright future“.

The 80-year-old said: “She had just got into grammar school, they told me.

“She wanted to walk round the reservoir with her dad because it was half term, but the rest of the family didn’t want to go.

“It was just dad and daughter at the reservoir when she fell in. The rest of the family came after the accident.

“Dad had been taking photographs, according to a witness, and he also heard dad screaming and shouting her name after she fell in – but he did not go into the water.

“He had some kind of heart problem and was clutching his chest soon afterwards and was taken away by ambulance.

“They were very proud of her. She had a really bright future.”

Mrs Ferris, who has lived in the same house overlooking the reservoir for 20 years, slammed officials for a buoyancy aids around the water.

She added: “It is disgraceful that there are no life rings anywhere on the parapet.

“Yorkshire Water added the white metal railings on top of the stone structure some years ago now.

“But it only adds about half a foot to the barrier height and actually helps people to climb onto the wall.

“It gives them something to grip on to.

“All it is doing is helping people to stand on the wall.”

Four West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue crews were sent out to the dam on Wednesday, assisted by Littleborough crew.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service also confirmed they sent officers from their Hazardous Area Response Team.

Speaking on Wednesday, a West Yorkshire police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 1.17pm this afternoon police were called to a report a girl had fallen into water at Baitings Dam near Ripponden.

“Emergency services are currently on the scene, with searches ongoing to locate the girl.”

X FACTOR legend Wagner has showcased a brand new look aged 69.

The retired PE teacher from Brazil, 69, starred on the ITV reality series when the show entered its seventh instalment in 2010.

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It was the same season that saw contestants such as Cher Lloyd, One Direction and Rebecca Ferguson compete for the winner’s title and, at the time, he sported shoulder-length locks and a striking black moustache.

Wagner, who was notoriously known as the oldest finalist, was eliminated in the quarter final but not before he showed off his striking look complete with beard and open-button shirts.

Back in 2022, we reported how Wagner had re-located overseas so he could “die in peace.”

And three years on, after his return to the UK, he has changed up his striking appearance.

In a video interview for FUBAR Radio, he showcased his platinum blonde locks, still at their shoulder length, and in their natural waves.

While he’s kept his moustache, it’s now a natural silver shade and paired with a bushy beard.

Yet fans were left particularly distracted by his ripped physique, with Wagner giving a bicep curl to the camera for good measure.

His muscle definition could clearly be seen on his tattooed arms as he posed in a bright yellow vest.

Wagner was chatting to FUBAR host Andrew White and told how he had returned to the UK in December.

Yet he admitted he “couldn’t stand” living in Brazil so sold his hair transplant clinic back to the Da Vinci business.

Back in 2022, we told how Wagner was leaving his Birmingham home and coming out of retirement to start up the business.

At the time, he said: “I love it here but I am going to Brazil to start a hair transplant business.

“I’m living proof that hair transplants work. I had mine eight years ago and I haven’t lost anything. I lose more from the beard than my head.

“I’m going to be making so much money I’ll be coming back to the UK. I’m only a flight away.”

Speaking about his wife, who is 36 years his junior, he then added to The Mirror: “Once I die, (his wife) Lydia will communicate with the manager and I can die in peace now.”

Wagner has also been selling custom videos to fans for just £10 – as he doesn’t want to price anybody out.

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Before our appointment at Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, a peaceful retreat off the Bodega Highway in West Sonoma county, a friend and I popped into a nearby gift shop. We told the owner that we were destined to try Osmosis’ storied treatment — a so-called “cedar enzyme bath” — and her eyes widened with excitement.

“You’ll feel like you’re a plant being composted,” she said, adding that the spa’s recycled bath materials lined the path of a neighboring garden.

When we were eventually led into Osmosis’ tidy changing rooms to disrobe, I smelled what she meant before I saw it. A dank, earthy odor hung in the air, as if mounds of fresh pencil shavings had been scattered over a newly excavated farm plot.

FREESTONE, CA — MARCH 29, 2025: A Koi pond at Kyoto-style Meditation Garden. Wellness Editor Alyssa Bereznak in an enzyme cedar bath at the Osmosis Day Spa in Freestone, California on Saturday, March 29, 2025. (Andri Tambunan / For The Times)

It’s the signature scent of a spa whose marquee treatment involves being blanketed up to your neck in a box of steaming compost. Known in Japan as an ion bath, it combines many spa treatments in one: a heated, weighted feeling to relax and soothe the body and a calming aromatherapy to pique the senses. Much like the mud baths of Calistoga, the experience is just as much about a novel brush with natural elements as it is an opportunity for release.

“I like to say that what’s going on in there is a fundamental impulse in biology,” Osmosis owner Michael Stusser said. “All these microorganisms get a chance to talk to each other. They all have infinite wisdom. They all communicate. So there’s this energy going on. There’s a whole flow.”

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Stusser estimates that Osmosis has slung compost onto half a million guests in its 40 years of business. For much of that time, it was the only place in North America where you could consistently book a cedar enzyme bath, currently priced at $155 a person or $127.50 per person for a shared two-person vat. (In May 2023, Tahoe Forest Baths opened in Lake Tahoe and began offering them in partnership with the Japanese company Ohtaka Enzyme Co. Though Santa Monica’s Willow Spa once gave cedar enzyme baths, it has discontinued that service.) Now the creekside 5-acre spa is expanding its offerings, which include sound therapy sessions in zero-gravity loungers, meditation workshops and all-day retreats.

Healdsburg resident Simone Wilson and Wellness Editor Alyssa Bereznak in an enzyme cedar bath at Osmosis Day Spa. The warm, fragrant treatment originated in Japan.

(Andri Tambunan / For The Times)

The smell that permeates Osmosis’ halls is the byproduct of a very intentional process, said Stusser. The enzyme bath concoction is a mix of fragrant Douglas fir and Port Orford cedar (a tree that the native Karok people of northwest California once used to construct sweat lodges) and rice bran, which activates the composting process.

“There’s literally billions of organisms in there feeding on nitrogen and generating heat with their bodies, breaking down carbon,” Stusser said. “That’s what they do.”

The spa’s staff is responsible for keeping the mixture from becoming hygienically dubious both by replacing it and churning it multiple times a day, thus ensuring there’s enough oxygen to keep that activity moving. We observed the process before our personal meeting with the mulch. Our spa attendant for the day, Samundra Sutcliffe, lodged a large pitchfork into the vat shavings and turned it over on top of itself as steam emanated from the pile.

Attendant Samundra Sutcliffe churns the cedar enzyme shavings at Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary.

(Andri Tambunan / For The Times)

“If it doesn’t get fluffed enough, the material starts to compact and it starts to break down, what’s called anaerobically, which is without oxygen,” said the spa’s general manager, Heather Bishop. “Sometimes we’ll end up with less appealing smells.”

Stusser, 78, has a deep education in biodynamic gardening. He studied Agroecology at University of Santa Cruz under organic gardening and farming pioneer Alan Chadwick, who founded the school’s “French-intensive” garden in 1967. (Stusser went on to film a 1971 documentary, “The Garden,” about the project.) As Stusser got more into the bio-intensive gardening scene, he became enamored with compost.

“I saw the alchemical power of compost to transform not only the soil, but everything that was put into it,” he said. “And I had a secret wish that I never was willing to admit to anyone, which was to be buried in a compost pile.”

Osmosis serves a special enzyme-infused tea before guiding guests to its signature cedar enzyme bath.

(Andri Tambunan / For The Times)

After living on and tending to the land at the Farallones Institute Rural Center (now the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in Sonoma County), Stusser traveled to Japan in 1981 to become a landscape gardening apprentice. The program, a seven-days-a-week dawn-til-dusk grind, proved to be far too intense, so he quit and went to live in a Zen temple in Obama-shi. There Stusser developed a serious case of sciatica and went on a quest to heal himself. He ended up on the island of Kyushu, where he stumbled upon an enzyme bath center where people of different ages and ailments had come to heal.

“As soon as I saw what was happening, I realized this is actually the same dynamic that exists in compost,” Stusser said. “I said, I’m going to finally get my wish.”

A farmer in southwestern Hokkaido named Noboru Ohtaka came up with the idea for a so-called “ion bath” after stepping on a sawdust enzyme fertilizer he’d developed and noticing it felt pleasant. His company, Ohtaka Enzyme Co. opened its first ion house in Sapporo City in 1964, said company President Seiichi Imai. Seven years later, when the city hosted the Winter Olympics, organizers built enzyme baths for athletes to use in the Olympic village.

“As the facility was continuously featured in newspapers and on television, the concept of the enzyme bath spread across Japan,” Imai shared in an email.

The enzyme bath Stusser tried was consistent with the original practice. It involved undergoing the treatment two times a day for a week, during which he fasted save for an enzyme drink, and received ashiatsu massages (in which a practitioner walks on your back). He said the treatment resolved his sciatica. He also had a spiritual experience.

“I was in the enzyme bath and as part of that experience, like in a millisecond of this vast experience, I saw the whole creation of Osmosis unfold before my mind’s eye in an instant, crystal clear, undeniable, and I knew it was my calling to do this,” he said.

He returned to the U.S. and got to work. On May 21, 1985, he opened Osmosis. At first, he said, it was hard to persuade people to live out the same wish of being composted that he’d held for so many years.

“I could barely give it away in the beginning,” he said. “But once they did it and discovered how much better it made them feel, we have had a lot of people coming for decades.”

As my friend and I sat robe-clad in a tea room staring out at a glass door that opened to a private Zen garden and sipping a hot enzyme herbal tonic with yarrow, red clover and peppermint, I contemplated my imminent encounter with the compost. I’m an avid gardener who has dusted my plants with compost and brewed her own kombucha. But even I felt a trickle of hesitation at being smothered in a bacteria-laden mulch.

Before I could give it a second thought, our attendant, Samundra, led us into a separate room with what looked like an adult sandbox. Two human-sized seats had been carved into the enzyme cedar mix to ensure we had sufficient support as we gazed out onto another private zen garden. We were left alone briefly to settle in and cover ourselves in the mix. When she reentered, she began shoveling it on to both of us until only our heads were visible.

“If you do get too hot, you can always pull out your arms, and I’ll just be coming out to check on you,” she said.

Up close and personal, the musk of the odor dissipated, and I breathed in the grounding spice of the cedar and the energizing citrus notes of the Douglas fir. It felt as though my body was wrapped in a hot compress. I tend to overheat easily in jacuzzis and hot springs but the enzyme bath felt breathable. (I later learned that this is because wood has a lower thermal conductivity than water, and the cedar enzyme mix allows for more aeration.)

As my friend and I began to sweat, Samundra arrived with cold compresses and draped them across our necks. With our arms still buried under the compost, she brought ice-cold waters with straws up to our mouths so we could hydrate — a truly luxurious part of the service.

The allotted 20 minutes went quickly. And when our time was up, she dug us out enough for us to break free. We used special grated mittens to wipe the mixture off of our bodies in the private zen garden, then rinsed off in the shower. My body was warmed from within, my typically tight-and-achy lower back and shoulders, slack and painless. After a trip to a spa I can sometimes feel like I’m on the verge of a nap, but in this case I felt invigorated and present, ready to tour the gardens that awaited outside.

When I later relayed my journey of skepticism to convert to Stusser, he said it was a common one.

“You can’t really explain it to somebody until you’ve done it,” Stusser said. “A lot of people will be very inquisitive on the phone. They go, ‘Well, can you tell me something more about what is it really doing?’ Then they get here and they look at it, and they’re not even sure they want to go in. And then they get in and get a big smile. ‘Oh, this is what it is like.’”

It was true. I had been composted like a plant — and I liked it.

May 18 (UPI) — Israel reported Sunday it found the body of Hamas‘ de facto leader, Muhammad Sinwar, in a tunnel in Khan Younis after he was killed in a series of airstrikes last week.

At least 100 people have been killed in the latest series of airstrikes, and Sinwar’s body was found as Hamas has offered to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day military stand down in an effort to slow down the fighting in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the former Hamas leader in Gaza. Another brother, Zakaria Sinwar, was killed in an airstroke Saturday night, other reports claimed. It’s the third Sinwar brother to be killed in the ongoing battle.

Israeli forces overtook a hospital in northern Gaza Saturday as an offensive to seize territory on the Gaza Strip continues, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Forces seized the Indonesian hospital in Beit Lahia, preventing patients, staff and medical supplies from arriving, the ministry said on Sunday, according to the BBC, leaving the medical facility inoperable.

Hamas made its hostage release offer on Saturday following a new round of peace negotiations in Qatar. Officials said there could also be a larger deal in the works to end the fighting that would include a Hamas withdrawal.

The WRU had continually insisted maintaining four professional sides on an equal footing was at the heart of its long-term strategy that was launched in 2024.

The governing body say that was their preference from the outset, but the system will not return to the model “given seismic changes in the rugby landscape”.

The WRU now says it has taken “the difficult but necessary decision” to issue the formal two-year notice to terminate the current PRA agreement, in particular, to proceed with its debt refinancing with its bank, NatWest.

They say it was not a decision that was taken lightly, however “given the WRU’s duties to the game in Wales as a whole, the broader performance, financial and strategic needs of the game must take precedence”.

“When I announced the headline strategy back in July 2024, I said one thing is for certain, given the challenges facing rugby in Wales and globally, there will be times when we need to adjust our course,” said Tierney.

“We must seize this opportunity. Our continued aim is to build a resilient and world-class structure that will support Welsh rugby’s next generation and beyond.”

The Professional Rugby Board (PRB) is the organisation set up to represent the four professional sides and the WRU.

“The next phase of consultation, as always, will be conducted with the best interests of the whole of Welsh rugby at its heart,” said PRB chair Malcolm Wall, who is also a WRU board member.