City

The army claims the member was working to re-establish Hamas’s capabilities in the Strip.

The Israeli military has said it struck a “key” Hamas member in the area of Gaza City, without elaborating on who they may be.

In a post on Telegram, the army alleged that the member had been operating to re-establish Hamas’s capabilities, which have been severely depleted by more than two years of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian group.

The Wafa news agency reported that an Israeli drone hit a vehicle at the Nabulsi junction in the west of Gaza City, resulting in casualties.

The agency did not report on specific numbers, and it was not clear if the attack was the one that allegedly killed the Hamas member.

Since the ceasefire started in October, Israel has continued to attack Gaza daily – reaching nearly 800 times – in a clear breach of the agreement, according to authorities in Gaza.

Israel also continues to block the majority of aid trucks from entering the enclave. The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly backed a resolution demanding that Israel open unrestricted humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, stop attacking UN facilities, and comply with international law, in line with its obligations as an occupying power.

WANT to score big for the 2026 World Cup? Then start planning now.

Price-comparison site Skyscanner saw a 340 per cent increase in searches for flights from the UK to host nations the US, Canada and Mexico on Saturday after the draw.

Don’t panic, though, as there’s still time to bag a deal and plan the ultimate holiday.

Sophie Swietochowski has tips for booking a World Cup trip, with things to see and do in the cities where England will be competing.

Dallas, Texas

England v Croatia, June 17

IT may be a booming skyscraper city, but Dallas has managed to maintain that classic Southern charm for which Texas, the second largest state in the US, is so well known.

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Even non-footie fans may be familiar with its 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, home to the NFL’s Cowboys and America’s most famous cheerleading squad, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

A dedicated fan zone will take over Fair Park – a 277-acre parkland in the city centre which ­annually hosts the State Fair of Texas as well as regular festivals.

More details, including dates and activities, are yet to be revealed.

It would be a sin to visit Texas and not dine at a barbecue joint.

Cattleack Barbeque in North Dallas is one of the best, and it is featured in the Michelin guide for good reason.

Meats are scorched on oak-fired smokers and served with tangy pickles, cornbread, mac and cheese and “Granny’s coleslaw”. Go for the wagyu brisket.

If England win big, take the celebrations to Deep Ellum, the arty entertainment district known for its music venues and boisterous cocktail bars.

New York

England v Panama, June 27

IF you have never been to the Big Apple, you’re in for an ­absolute treat.

England will be taking on Panama at the MetLife Stadium, which sits just across the water from Manhattan and can be reached from Times Square in around 20 minutes by cab on a good day.

If it is your first time, you’ll want to tick off the must-sees, and the best way to do that is with a CityPass.

You can pick one up for around £100 per child and £120 per adult.

It is a rather hefty outlay, but it will save you money in the long run.

Passholders will gain entry to the Empire State Building Observatory and the American Museum of Natural History, as well as their pick of three other attractions, such as the Top of the Rock Observation Deck, 9/11 Memorial & Museum and Ferry Access to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Booked independently, these would add up to almost £200.

The city promises to be even more buzzy than usual during the summer, thanks to a fan village that will open at the Rockefeller Center (July 4-19).

Expect interactive soccer pitches, live match viewing, musical performances and guest appearances.

And if that’s not enough, across the bridge, Jersey’s Liberty State Park will play host to the huge Fifa Fan Festival from June 11 to July 19.

Some of NYC’s most breath­taking landmarks, such as the Manhattan skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, will provide the backdrop to interactive experiences and concerts.

Atlanta, Georgia

IF England are successful in the initial stages and win their group, the Three Lions head to Atlanta for their first knockout match.

The Centennial Olympic Park will play host to the Fan Festival there, exactly 30 years after it welcomed the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

Elsewhere in the state capital, you can walk in the footsteps of the civil rights activist at the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park.

Or uncover the secrets of Britain’s favourite fizzy drink at the World Of Coca-Cola.

The museum feaures interactive exhibits and hosts a vault that guards the secret recipe.

Mexico City

HERE’S hoping our boys battle it through to the last 16, because that means we will likely be playing in Mexico City.

What better way to celebrate a win (or drown your sorrows) than in the birthplace of tequila?

Licoreria Limantour is frequently named in the list of The World’s 50 Best Bars thanks to its creative concoctions (there are classic drinks, too).

There’s likely to be more than just official fan zones — the Mexicans know how to party so come prepared.

But there’s so much more to do, including the Basilica of Guadalupe temple ruins, museums, cable cars and parks.

Boston

HOME to the world-famous Harvard University, America’s oldest public park and a vibrant harbour, the city of ­Boston has some great stories to tell from down the years.

Games will take place at the Gillette Stadium, which is being temporarily renamed the Boston Stadium for the World Cup.

It sits in the town of Foxborough, around an hour on the train from the main city of Boston, so you might want to book a stay a little farther out if you wish to save those pennies.

But make sure you don’t miss out on the delights of the city, which has an incredibly rich history.

You can learn all about it and the American Revolution on the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, which will guide you to 16 culturally significant sites, from museums and churches to meeting houses and burying grounds.

And why sample one Boston foodie tradition when you can do several at once?

Head to Quincy Market, a huge food hall that dates back to 1826 where you can pick up classic New England grub like clam chowder, lobster rolls and the notorious Boston cream pie.

The whereabouts and details of the fan zone are still being decided upon for this city, but you can guarantee there’ll be lots of footie-themed fun.

Sweeping the Las Vegas Raiders is one thing, but can the Chargers do the same against the mighty Kansas City Chiefs?

With the way Patrick Mahomes & Co. have played lately — losing four of five and in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time with Mahomes — that’s entirely possible.

The Chargers need to win at least one of their final four games to get to double digits and put themselves in position to make the playoffs, and it’s a brutal stretch — at Kansas City and Dallas, home against Houston, and a finale at Denver. They could check that box Sunday, having won five of their last six games.

How the Chargers can win: The Chargers need to ratchet up the pressure on Mahomes, particularly off the edges, and test an offensive line that has been in a steady rotation and is suspect at the tackle spots. Take advantage of the inconsistency at receiver and the propensity for drops. The secondary led the way in the win over Philadelphia. Win on early downs to get into third-and-manageable and don’t fall behind in what can be one of the loudest stadiums in the league. Keep Chris Jones and the rest off of Justin Herbert, who still is recovering from surgery on his left hand. Continue to pound the ball with Omarion Hampton and Kimani Vidal.

How the Chiefs can win: The Chiefs need to win out, and to do that they must get out of their own way. Too many times they have fallen victim to mistakes — drops, penalties, missed assignments, defensive lapses. It’s like a bizarro version of the team that went 11-0 in one-score games last season. As great as he is, Mahomes can’t get happy feet the way he has too often. Kansas City needs to do a better job of giving him a clean pocket. The Chiefs need to tighten up on defense late — that has been a problem — and limit turnovers. They’re in a loud stadium and the cold weather plays to their advantage.

Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee repeatedly violated the city’s gift laws in 2016 and 2017, accepting freebies during a lavish trip to Las Vegas and at multiple restaurants in L.A., a judge said in a filing released Friday.

In a 59-page proposed decision, Administrative Law Judge Ji-Lan Zang concluded that Lee committed two counts of violating a law governing the size of gifts a city official can receive and three counts of violating a law requiring that such gifts be publicly disclosed.

Zang recommended a $43,730 penalty for Lee, who represents the northwest San Fernando Valley and was chief of staff to then-City Councilmember Mitchell Englander at the time of the alleged violations. However, the judge did not agree with allegations by city ethics investigators that Lee misused his position or helped Englander misuse his position.

In 2020, federal prosecutors accused Englander of accepting $15,000 in cash from businessman Andy Wang, lying to FBI agents and obstructing their investigation into the 2017 Vegas trip. Englander ultimately pleaded guilty to a single count of providing false information to the FBI and was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

The five-member Los Angeles City Ethics Commission is scheduled to make a determination on Wednesday, deciding both the number of violations Lee committed and any financial penalties to impose on him.

The commission has the power to accept or reject Zang’s recommendations. Ethics investigators have recommended that the commission take a more punitive approach by fining Lee about $138,000 and holding him responsible for all 10 counts.

The Lee case revolves around gifts — mostly food and alcohol but also hotel stays, transportation and $1,000 in gambling chips — provided by three men who have sought to do business with City Hall: Wang, who peddled Italian cabinets, “smart home” technology and facial recognition software; architect and developer Chris Pak; and lobbyist Michael Bai.

The judge issued her report six months after a multi-day hearing on the allegations against Lee, who replaced Englander on the council in 2019.

During those proceedings, Lee denied that he improperly accepted gifts, saying he made a good faith effort to pay his own way and, in some cases, declined to eat during meals. For example, he testified that he did not remember eating during his meetings at Yxta and Water Grill, both of which are in downtown L.A.

Zang, in her report, called those denials “not credible,” describing his testimony as “evasive and self contradictory.” She said Lee’s testimony also was in conflict with information he gave the FBI during its investigation into Englander, as well as testimony from other witnesses.

“It strains credulity to believe that [Lee] would join Englander, Bai, and Wang for lunch at Yxta and dinner at Water Grill without eating any food during the meals,” she wrote.

Ethics investigators have accused Lee of receiving an assortment of gifts during the 2017 Vegas trip with Englander and several others. Lee and a group of friends stayed at the Aria hotel and spent an evening at the Hakkasan Nightclub, according to the city’s allegations.

At the hotel restaurant, Blossom, Wang ordered a dinner worth nearly $2,500 for the group, which included Englander, Lee and several others, sending out servings of shark fin soup, Peking duck and Kobe beef, according to the judge’s summary of events.

Lee testified that he arrived at the restaurant in time for a dessert of bird’s nest soup, tasting it and deciding he did not like it, the judge said in her filing.

At Hakkasan later that night, Wang purchased three rounds of bottle service for the group for around $8,000 apiece, while Pak paid for a fourth round at a cost of $8,418.75.

“Each round of bottle service was served with fanfare, as female VIP hostesses brought bottles of alcohol to the table with flashing lights,” the judge wrote.

That night, at least 20 other club patrons went to Wang’s booth and drank alcohol at the table, according to the judge’s filing.

Lee was never charged by federal prosecutors and has said he was unaware of wrongdoing by Englander. In a filing submitted last week, his attorneys said that investigators incorrectly calculated the value of the gifts, including the bottles of alcohol, whose contents were distributed among many people.

Lee gave Wang $300 in cash as reimbursement for his drinks, withdrawing money from an ATM in Las Vegas to cover those expenses, his lawyers said.

In their reply to the city, Lee’s attorneys contend that the statute of limitations has expired on the city ethics counts. They have also pushed back on the recommendation from city ethics investigators that Lee pay a $138,000 penalty.

“Such inflated numbers are not grounded in reason, have no basis in the record, no support in the governing law, and no place in a fair and impartial enforcement system,” they wrote in their filing.

Englander previously agreed to pay $79,830 to settle a similar Ethics Commission case over the gifts he received.

Ethics investigators have accused Lee of committing 10 counts of violating city laws — two counts of accepting gifts in excess of the legal limit, three counts of failing to report those gifts on his public disclosure forms, four counts of misusing his position and one count of aiding and abetting Englander’s misuse of his position.

In 2016, the legal limit on gifts to city officials was $460 per donor. The following year, it was $470.

In Englander’s 2020 federal indictment, Lee was mentioned not by name, but instead referred to as “City Staffer B.” Despite his legal troubles, he won reelection in 2024.

CIF STATE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIPS

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

At Saddleback College

DIVISION 1-AA

Folsom 42, San Diego Cathedral Catholic 28

DIVISION 2-AA

Stockton St. Mary’s 27, Bakersfield Christian 24

At Fullerton High

DIVISION 3-AA

San Francisco St. Ignatius College Prep 42, Ventura 35

DIVISION 6-AA

Valley Center 36, San Jose Lincoln 35

At Buena Park High

DIVISION 4-AA

Barstow 17, Sutter 7

DIVISION 5-AA

Oakland Bishop O’Dowd 37, El Cajon Christian 0

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

At Saddleback College

OPEN DIVISION

Santa Margarita (10-3) vs. Concord De la Salle (12-0), 8 p.m.

DIVISION 1-A

Oxnard Pacifica (15-0) vs. Fresno Central East (13-1), 3:30 p.m.

DIVISION 2-A

Rio Hondo Prep (15-0) vs. Sonora (14-0), 11:30 a.m.

At Fullerton High

DIVISION 3-A

Delano Kennedy (11-3) vs. Oakland McClymonds (10-2), 7 p.m.

DIVISION 6-A

San Diego Morse (10-4) vs. Winters (13-1), 3 p.m.

DIVISION 7-AA

Woodbridge (7-8) vs. Redding Christian (14-0), 11 a.m.

At Buena Park High

DIVISION 4-A

Beckman (12-3) vs. El Cerrito (12-2), 7 p.m.

DIVISION 5-A

Bishop Union (12-3) vs. Calaveras (11-2), 3 p.m.

DIVISION 7-A

South El Monte (11-4) vs. San Francisco Balboa (11-2), 11 a.m.

Congolese refugees have recounted harrowing scenes of death and family separation as they fled intensified fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where Rwanda-backed M23 rebels captured a strategic city despite a recent United States-brokered peace agreement.

M23 has cemented control over Uvira, a key lakeside city in DRC’s South Kivu province that it seized on Wednesday, despite a peace accord that President Donald Trump had called “historic” when signed in Washington just one week earlier.

Al Jazeera, which is the first international broadcaster to gain access to the city since M23’s takeover, saw residents tentatively returning home after days of violence, amid a heavy presence of rebel fighters on Friday.

The day before, M23 fighters combed the streets to flush out remaining Congolese forces and allied militias – known as “Wazalendo” – after taking over key parts of the city.

Meanwhile, at Nyarushishi refugee camp in Rwanda’s Rusizi district, Akilimali Mirindi told the AFP news agency she fled South Kivu with just three of her 10 children after bombs destroyed her home near the border.

“I don’t know what happened to the other seven, or their father,” the 40-year-old said, describing corpses scattered along escape routes as about 1,000 people reached the camp following renewed clashes this month.

Regional officials said more than 413 civilians have been killed since fighting escalated in early December, with women and children among the dead.

The offensive has displaced about 200,000 people, and threatens to drag neighbouring Burundi deeper into a conflict that has already uprooted more than seven million across eastern DRC, according to United Nations figures.

Uvira sits on Lake Tanganyika’s northern shore, directly across from Burundi’s largest city, and serves as South Kivu’s interim government headquarters after M23 seized the provincial capital, Bukavu, in February.

Al Jazeera correspondent Alain Uaykani, who gained access to the city on Friday, reported a tenuous calm and the heavy presence of M23 soldiers but described harrowing scenes on the journey there.

“Here in Uvira, we have seen different groups of the Red Cross with their equipment, collecting bodies, and conducting burials across the road,” Uaykani said.

He added that the Al Jazeera crew saw abandoned military trucks destroyed along the road to Uvira, and the remains of people who were killed.

Residents who fled Uvira told AFP of bombardment from multiple directions as M23 fighters battled Congolese forces and their Burundian allies around the port city.

“Bombs were raining down on us from different directions,” Thomas Mutabazi, 67, told AFP at the refugee camp. “We had to leave our families and our fields.”

‘Even children were dying’

Refugee Jeanette Bendereza had already escaped to Burundi once this year during an earlier M23 push in February, only to return to DRC when authorities said peace had been restored. “We found M23 in charge,” she said.

When violence erupted again, she ran with four children as “bombs started falling from Burundian fighters”, losing her phone and contact with her husband in the chaos.

Another refugee, Olinabangi Kayibanda, witnessed a pregnant neighbour killed alongside her two children when their house was bombed. “Even children were dying, so we decided to flee,” the 56-year-old told an AFP reporter.

M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka announced on Wednesday that Uvira had been “fully liberated” and urged residents to return home.

Fighting had already resumed even as Trump last week hosted Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame at a widely attended signing ceremony.

The December 4 Washington agreement obliged Rwanda to cease supporting armed groups, though the M23 was not party to those negotiations and is instead involved in separate Qatar-mediated talks with Kinshasa.

DRC’s government accused Rwanda of deploying special forces and foreign mercenaries to Uvira “in clear violation” of both the Washington and earlier Doha agreements.

The US embassy in Kinshasa urged Rwandan forces to withdraw, while Congolese Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner called for Washington to impose sanctions, saying condemnation alone was insufficient.

Rwanda denies backing M23 and blames Congolese and Burundian forces for ceasefire violations.

In a statement on Thursday, President Kagame claimed that more than 20,000 Burundian soldiers were operating across multiple Congolese locations and accused them of shelling civilians in Minembwe.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the escalation “increases the risk of a broader regional conflagration” and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Wintle is enjoying Cardiff’s new brand of football under Barry-Murphy, particularly as he is back in the first-team picture after time on the periphery.

The 28-year-old spent last season on loan at Millwall, but has started 15 of Cardiff’s 18 League One games in this campaign.

Wintle also captained the team in the win over Huddersfield earlier this month, wearing the armband for the first time since the 2023-24 season in the Championship.

“I’m loving it. With this manager, everyone has to be ready,” he added.

“You’ve got to make sure you’re playing well to keep your shirt. If you don’t, you’ll be out because we’ve got players sat on the bench that probably should play every week as well.”

Barry-Murphy has shown he is willing to rotate his players and bench senior figures such as Republic of Ireland forward Robinson, England international defender Calum Chambers and Perry Ng, who was voted Cardiff’s player of the year in the Championship.

All three have demonstrated they have a role to play, however, and the former Manchester City Under-21s coach has so far been vindicated with the faith he has shown in younger players.

“I think if we didn’t have Bri as the manager, there would be a bit of unknown, uncertainty in players, especially the older players, you think, ‘Oh, can we do it?’,” Wintle said.

“Myself and Perry have played League One and League Two for a few years when we were younger and we know it’s not easy. You can get bullied and eaten up but, with this manager, the way we play, it gives everyone freedom and you feel like you can’t get it wrong.

“So for me and for the young lads, it’s brilliant. Everyone knows their role and you feel like you go out there and you know exactly what’s going to happen.”

The city is home to one of the UK’s best Christmas markets with tourists regularly visiting each year to try the food and mulled wine

The enchanting city of Bath was recently crowned the world’s most beautiful during autumn, but its charm doesn’t fade with the seasons. According to consumer watchdog Which?, it also hosts one of Britain’s top Christmas markets.

The market is a winter wonderland complete with an ice rink and countless stalls to peruse. Most stallholders hail from the South West, showcasing a wide variety of goods – from garden decorations to handcrafted wooden furniture.

Shoppers can find everything from cosy knitwear to fragrances and even gifts for their pets.

Of course, no Christmas market would be complete without a feast of food, and Bath’s market doesn’t disappoint.

Visitors will be spoilt for choice with regional delicacies, festive flapjacks and more on offer, reports the Express.

But it’s not just the market that’s won accolades. Bath has been named the UK’s most picturesque city in autumn and winter by travel experts at Premier Inn.

The historic city has outshone global competitors like Chicago and Cape Town to take the top spot in worldwide beauty rankings.

Bath Abbey, rated the top local attraction by Tripadvisor, has been a sacred site for over a millennium.

Tripadvisor users have heaped praise on the abbey, with one visitor noting: “A beautiful and peaceful space to spend time.”

Another visitor shared their enthusiasm: “Visited more than once. So much to see and appreciate the history and architectural beauty.”

Whilst some tourists express frustration at being unable to swim in the Roman Baths themselves, the attraction comes alive through its captivating displays.

Amongst the intriguing artefacts housed at the Baths is a remarkable collection of curse tablets, where angry Romans etched their complaints seeking revenge from the gods before throwing them into Minerva’s Spring.

Although the ancient Baths remain closed for bathing, the Thermae Bath Spa provides adults with an indulgent spa retreat using the city’s naturally warm, mineral-enriched waters.

For anyone seeking a welcoming café, Bath features numerous comfortable venues, offering the opportunity to sample the famous ‘Bath Bun’, a sweet pastry topped with fruit and crystallised sugar.

Bath is celebrated for its impressive range of beautiful architecture, a characteristic that has secured the city’s position as a designated UNESCO site.

Tourists might spot recognisable locations throughout the city from hit programmes including Bridgerton, Poldark and The Sixth Commandment.

Since it first opened in 1923, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum has been the sole home of USC football. No major sports team in the city’s history has played in the same venue for longer.

But after more than a century spent in the city’s iconic stadium, The Times has learned that the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games will likely force USC to find a new home for its football team in 2028, with the likeliest option being SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly told The Times that the Coliseum would not be ready for the start of college football season in September 2028 because of the $100-million temporary track that’s being built on top of the Coliseum field to host the track-and-field competition at the L.A. Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The logistics are still being worked out with L.A. 2028, and USC has not made a final decision about where the Trojans’ 2028 football season will be played. A source said the school hasn’t officially determined whether the Coliseum field could be ready later in the fall, perhaps to host a portion of USC’s 2028 home schedule. But even if it is logistically possible, it’s not clear that USC’s athletic department would find that arrangement in its best interest, given it would mean uprooting the team midseason or spending a long stretch of the 2028 slate away from L.A.

“USC and LA28 are working in lockstep on all logistics for the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” USC athletics spokesperson Cody Worsham said in a statement. “We will share details with the public when they are finalized.”

SoFi Stadium officials declined to comment when asked about USC’s possible move to the venue in 2028.

With the closing ceremonies of the Paralympic Games set for Aug. 27, 2028, there would be just two weeks for the temporary track to be removed and the grass field below to be restored ahead of USC’s currently scheduled 2028 home opener on Sept. 9. Multiple people told The Times that’s not a feasible timeline for a structure LA28 chairman Casey Wasserman once called “the most expensive and probably complicated thing we actually have to build” ahead of the 2028 Games.

This isn’t a new problem at USC. Discussions about the plausibility of the football program sharing the Coliseum with the Olympics in 2028 trace back well before current athletic director Jennifer Cohen was hired in 2023. The belief at one point, according to a person familiar with those discussions, was that with some clever scheduling, USC would only have to miss a home game or two.

Now, according to multiple people familiar with the situation, USC is expected to spend the 2028 season at SoFi Stadium, which hosts the NFL’s Rams and Chargers. By that point, it may also be the home field of the city’s other Big Ten football team.

UCLA has already stated it plans to trade the Rose Bowl, where it has played since 1982, for the modern SoFi Stadium, in spite of a lease agreement that runs through 2044. The city of Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Operating Company have since sued the school and SoFi Stadium’s ownership in hopes of blocking the Bruins’ move.

If UCLA forges on with plans to abandon the Rose Bowl in 2026 for SoFi, all four of the city’s major football teams could be playing under the same roof two years later.

Those logistics, however, pale in comparison to what it will take to host Olympic track and field at the Coliseum in 2028, in the same stadium where the competition was held almost a century earlier. The biggest obstacle LA28 faced using an iconic venue that hosted the 1984 Olympics is that there wasn’t enough room on the Coliseum floor for an Olympic-sized track.

Renovations in the early 1990s added 14 rows of seats at the bottom of the bowl, shrinking the size of the Coliseum field. The solution requires installation of a track 11 feet above the field that stretches over the first few rows of stadium seating to met Olympic standards.

To build the temporary track, the Coliseum’s turf and the dirt beneath it will be scraped away, down to the stadium’s concrete base where columns will be placed about every 10 feet. That construction at the Coliseum is expected to begin immediately after the Trojans finish their home football schedule sometime in November 2027.

Bill Hanway, the executive vice president for AECOM — the infrastructure consulting firm hired to oversee LA28’s preparations — told The Times in June 2024 that the track was “an incredibly complex build” in “an incredibly tight space.”

Taking track down will be its own challenge, one that will take longer than the two-week window between the end of the Games and the beginning of USC’s 2028 slate. When a similar structure was built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, the soccer team that played in the stadium — Queen’s Park FC — didn’t return for more than a year.

Unless that timeline can be slashed, the Trojans will spend the 2028 season switching off Saturdays with their rivals, who, for one year, would be across-the-hallway as opposed to across town.

USC and UCLA shared the Coliseum for 54 years before the Bruins moved to the Rose Bowl in 1982. For 33 of those years, the Coliseum also hosted the Rams on Sundays.

If that feels too crowded to USC, the Rose Bowl is the only other option in town — and suddenly seems to be in serious need of a tenant.

But as of now, according to a person familiar with the situation, SoFi Stadium is the only venue that’s been discussed as a potential temporary home.

A San Francisco supervisor has proposed increasing the city’s film and television tax credit to lure more productions to the Bay Area.

Board President Rafael Mandelman introduced legislation Tuesday that would create a tiered rebate system based on local spending on items like San Francisco resident wages, services or goods.

To qualify, most productions must spend a minimum of $500,000 in the city and shoot at least five days of principal photography there. Those productions also get a 100% rebate on city agency fees, including permits and police services.

Then, under the new proposal, those projects could get 10% back on the first million dollars spent in San Francisco, then 20% on any qualified local spending beyond that, said Manijeh Fata, executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission.

“As localities across the state compete to attract more film production, San Francisco must stay in the game,” Mandelman said in a statement. “Strengthening our film incentive program will keep jobs in San Francisco and help ensure this important economic activity doesn’t bypass us.”

The legislation is expected to go to a committee hearing next month, with a final vote potentially at the end of January or early February, Fata said.

Though San Francisco’s production incentive was established in 2006, the program has been “underutilized,” said Supervisor Connie Chan, who is co-sponsoring the legislation.

“I support this legislative update so we can ensure the original intent and benefits of the program can be fully materialized,” she said in a statement. “I expect the film rebate program to deliver robust job opportunities for workers, creative promotion of our City through films that will boost tourism and increase sales tax revenue with film industry spending.”

San Francisco’s incentive proposal comes five months after California increased the cap on the state’s film and television tax credit program in an attempt to curb runaway production to other states and countries.

California now allocates $750 million annually to the program, up from $330 million. Legislators also broadened the type of productions eligible to apply for the credit.

Since then, more than three dozen TV shows, including a “Baywatch” reboot, and 52 films have been awarded tax credits.

Champions League pundit Rory Smith looks at the future of Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso following their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the Champions League, which leaves the Spanish club on a run of two wins from their last eight games.

WATCH MORE: Man City beat Real Madrid to pile pressure on Alonso

Follow the build-up, analysis and live text commentary of the game as Madrid host City at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

MIAMI — Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayor’s race on Tuesday, defeating a Republican endorsed by President Trump to end her party’s nearly three-decade losing streak and give Democrats a boost in one of the last electoral battles ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Higgins, 61, will be the first woman to lead the city of Miami. She spoke frequently in the Hispanic-majority city about Trump’s immigration crackdown, saying she has heard of many people in Miami who were worried about family members being detained. She campaigned as a proud Democrat despite the race being officially nonpartisan and beat Trump-backed candidate Emilio Gonzalez, a former city manager, who said he called Higgins to congratulate her.

“We are facing rhetoric from elected officials that is so dehumanizing and cruel, especially against immigrant populations,” Higgins told The Associated Press after her victory speech. “The residents of Miami were ready to be done with that.”

With nearly all votes counted Tuesday, Higgins led the Republican by about 19 percentage points.

The local race is not predictive of what may happen at the polls next year. But it drew attention from the two major national political parties and their leaders. The victory provides Democrats with some momentum heading into a high-stakes midterm election when the GOP is looking to keep its grip in Florida, including in a Hispanic-majority district in Miami-Dade County. The area has shifted increasingly rightward politically in recent years, and the city may become the home of Trump’s presidential library.

“Tonight’s result is yet another warning sign to Republicans that voters are fed up with their out-of-touch agenda that is raising costs,” said Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, in a statement.

Some nationally recognized Democrats supported Higgins, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel traveled to Miami on Sunday and Monday to rally voters for the Democrat who served as a Miami-Dade county commissioner for seven years.

Higgins, who speaks Spanish, represented a district that leans conservative and includes the Cuban neighborhood of Little Havana. When she first entered politics in 2018, she chose to present herself to voters as “La Gringa,” a term Spanish speakers use for white Americans, because many people did not known how to pronounce her name.

“It just helps people understand who I am, and you know what? I am a ‘gringa,’ so, what am I going to do, deny it?” she told the AP.

Republicans’ anxiety grows

Republicans in Florida have found strong support from voters with heritage from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, because they likened some members of the Democratic party’s progressive wing with politicians from the governments they fled. Trump and other GOP members have tapped into those sentiments over the past eight years.

However, some local Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated since November’s elections when Democrats scored wins in New Jersey and Virginia, where both winning gubernatorial candidates performed strongly with nonwhite voters.

The results from those races were perceived as a reflection of concerns over rising prices and the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.

U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Republican whose district is being targeted by Democrats and includes the city of Miami, called the elections elsewhere a “wake-up call.” She said Hispanics also want a secure border and a healthy economy but some relief for “those who have been here for years and do not have a criminal record.”

“The Hispanic vote is not guaranteed,” Salazar said in a video posted on X last month. “Hispanics married President Trump, but they are only dating the GOP.”

David Jolly, who is running to represent Democrats in the Florida governor’s race next year, said the mayoral election was good news for Democrats in what used to be a battleground state.

“Change is here. It’s sweeping the nation, and it’s sweeping Florida,” Jolly said.

Miami mayor-elect gains national platform

The mayoral position in Miami is more ceremonial, but Higgins promised to execute it like a full-time job.

The city is part of Miami-Dade County, which Trump flipped last year, a dramatic improvement from his 30 percentage point loss to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

As Florida’s second-largest city, Miami is considered the gateway to Latin America and attracts millions of tourists. Its global prominence gives Higgins a significant stage as mayor.

Her pitch to voters included finding city-owned land that could be turned into affordable housing and cutting unnecessary spending.

Licon writes for the Associated Press.

SINGER Sabrina Carpenter is so Espress-ive as she steps out in New York City.

The Taste star wore an oversized sweatshirt and tights as she left filming of US chat show Late Night with Seth Meyers.

During the recording 26-year-old Sabrina wore a retro black-and-white ­layered dress.

The outfit appeared in designer Chantal Thomass’ 1994 Fall collection during Paris Fashion Week and was modelled on the runway by Claudia Schiffer.

Sabrina enjoys the sweet smell of success as one of the most streamed artists in the UK this year.

But no British stars made the annual Spotify Top Ten as fans turned their backs on homegrown music.

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US singer Sabrina was the third most played artist among millions of UK Spotify users — while her 2024 album Short n’ Sweet, featuring hit Espresso, was the most streamed.

Sabrina, who has just launched her new Sweet Tooth range of perfumes, was beaten by US pop superstar Taylor Swift and the Canadian rapper Drake.

Oasis were a surprise omission after 1.5 million fans saw their reunion gigs this summer.

South London’s Lola Young, 24, was the only Brit with a song in the UK Top Ten.

Messy, which hit No1 in November 2024, was the third most streamed track.

Tunes from American singer-songwriters took the first and second spots: the emotional track Ordinary by Alex Warren and the break-up song That’s So True by Gracie Abrams.

Globally, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny topped the streaming chart with 19.8 billion, followed by Taylor Swift.

The most streamed song of the year worldwide was Die With a Smile by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars, with 1.7 billion streams.

IF you loved dancing to tunes like Mamma Mia, Waterloo and Super Trouper at ABBA Voyage then you might be excited by this other potential avatar concert.

Another city has announced that it could see potential in starting its own experience based on four very famous Liverpudlian musicians.

ABBA Voyage started back in 2022 and at the time was met by some scepticism.

That was until visitors entered the purpose built arena and were so blown away that what started as a limited residency initially set for a few months, is still going strong today.

Now, Steve Rotheram the Liverpool City Region (LCR) mayor has revealed he believes a similar show in Liverpool could benefit it greatly – especially if The Beatles were at the forefront.

The band that rose to fame in the 60s could appear as avatars in a show funded by Liverpool’s visitor levy.

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The charge was initially introduced in 2025 as a £2 per night “City Visitor Charge” for overnight stays in certain hotels and serviced apartments.

Steve Rotheram said he had been “looking at ways” since then in which “we might be able to deliver something similar but not identical to the Abba Voyage experience in London“.

“Just imagine if we could do something that features perhaps a local four-piece beat combo that did okay from these parts?”

Mr Rotheram continued: “We could have an immersive experience so people would flock in to see them. It means the footfall would increase exponentially, it means that this would be an international destination of choice.

“You’d go here and then perhaps go to London, whereas currently a lot of people go to London and sometimes jump on a train to come here, so we want to change that dynamic and I think this will be one of the ways in which we do it.”

Having the show based on The Beatles would be a popular choice for Liverpool with each of the band members born and raised there.

Mr Rotheram hinted that the potential show could be funded by the current levy – and its replacement coming in 2027.

The new charge will come into play in two years time once the current scheme expires.

This will mean that all properties in the Liverpool city Region – including Airbnb – will be affected.

It could bring in lots of money for the city too – it was reported that ABBA Voyage generated over £100million in ticket sales in 2023 alone.

As a result, it contributed £1.4billion to the UK economy‘s turnover by late 2024.

And the Beatles are set for another revival ahead of the new films based on each of the band members.

Directed by Sam Mendes, it will see four films released based on the four members.

Paul Mescal will start as Paul McCartney, Barry Keoghan as Ringo Starr, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison.

For more experiences in the UK, here’s how you can try out your very own Race Across the World.

And here’s more on the world-first gameshow attraction opening in the UK – with spin the wheel, music rounds and free prizes.

One writer tried the world-famous ABBA Voyage experience in the UK – here are her top tips & the best nearby bar…

Writer Hope Brotherton headed to ABBA Voyage earlier this year, here’s everything she loved about it – and the bar she found for pre-drinks…

She said: “I’m surrounded by sequinned jumpsuits, bright-pink feather boas and white go-go boots.

“It means I can be in just one place – the dance floor of Abba Voyage, the astonishing concert in London performed by CGI versions of the four bandmates in their Seventies glory days.

“The tech is so impressive, that it’s hard to believe the Swedish superstars aren’t really performing live on stage. I found my grasp on reality slipping even further when a real-life backing band appeared.

“I was mesmerised by every visual in the purpose-built venue, with a kaleidoscope of brightly coloured lights descending from the ceiling as Dancing Queen played.

“You can, of course, book seats but my friend Ellie and I preferred the standing tickets, where we had more than enough space to dance our hearts out to Mamma Mia and Waterloo.

“Getting in the right mood for a boogie was essential, and we had pre-show food and drinks at Stratford restaurant and bar The Print House – Jim & Tonic East to thank for our exuberance.

“It was then time for food and, to start, we shared the marinated prawns and a garlicky flatbread – both delicious.

“Aware of all the dancing ahead – it’s a marathon, not a sprint – I plumped for a parmigiana pizza, which totally hit the spot.

“Keen to sample a tipple from the on-site distillery, then I washed my main course down with a gin flight. Ambitious, I know – it came with three gins, my favourite being the Mediterranean.“

Journalist Liv Clarke visited a joyful Christmas market in a UK town which she says matches any European-style winter wonderland – and has ‘the best’ hot chocolate

Christmas Markets have been bustling for several weeks now and journalist Liv Clarke says she’s “certainly no Grinch” when they pop up, adding that she “relishes” them. Based in Manchester, Liv took a train to an exceptional festive wonderland recently – and she was left enchanted with the “different” kind of Christmas market.

Liv said she loves to “uncover something new each year” at Christmas markets and found herself “whizzing over to Yorkshire on the train on a frosty November morning”, to see how they celebrate Christmas across the border. Heading to Halifax, which hosts an annual Christmas Market each year in the grand Piece Hall, Liv, being a “proud Yorkshire lass” herself, was more than happy to head to the West Yorkshire town.

She said that “getting to these markets couldn’t be simpler” via a pretty train journey – and Liv described the “stunning Grade-I Georgian building” of the the Piece Hall which “boasts a massive 66,000sq ft open-courtyard” as being truly memorable.

She said: “I hopped on the train from Manchester Victoria to Halifax, which takes around 40 minutes, and the Piece Hall is roughly a five-minute stroll from the train station. My ticket set me back £12.59 for an open return which I booked on Trainline the day before, including Railcard discount.”

This works out just over £6 each way, she added, having booked ahead of travelling, which means you can sometimes find one-way tickets at low cost, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Liv said: “The train journey itself was picturesque, especially with a heavy frost adding a sparkle to the rugged landscape of the South Pennines. I passed through Rochdale, Todmoden and Hebden Bridge along the way, admiring the canals and mills which looked particularly striking in the bright sunshine.

“Upon my arrival in Halifax, it was a mere short stroll to the Piece Hall, tucked away from the main thoroughfare. Entry is through one of four gates situated on each side of the square, and there’s something rather grand about stepping through the archway.

“The gate I chose boasted an exquisitely ornate design, adding to the enchantment of the experience. It was still early when I arrived, with many stallholders preparing for the day ahead, but I was already taken with the layout; compared to Manchester, it was refreshing to see the markets here confined to one area, providing a respite from the hustle and bustle of the main high street.”

While waiting for the markets to fully open, Liv took the opportunity to explore the Piece Hall itself, describing “dozens of shops” lining all four sides of the square.

She said: “Given its location on a slight incline, there are varying levels depending on which side you’re on, yet each open-air walkway affords stunning views of the square below.

“On the ground floor, you’ll discover a plethora of cafes and restaurants, many of which stay open late into the evening. I treated myself to a hot chocolate from The Bakery (£3.95), which ranks among the best I’ve ever tasted: rich, chocolatey and perfectly sweetened.”

The Piece Hall is home to shops selling a wide array of items, from handmade gifts to antiques – and while these independent shops operate year-round, “the markets provide a significant boost, with many market traders even supplying the permanent shops”, Liv reported.

Shelly Foster, who runs The Handmade Gift Shop, shared her recommendation for the best time to visit, telling Liv: “The markets are always full of joy, the best time is around 4.30pm, just before sunset when everything is glowing. The markets are open until 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays but the bars and restaurants stay open much later, often with live music creating a lovely atmosphere.”

Lou Harkness-Hudson, who operates Hudson Belle, a shop selling gifts and homeware, said: “It’s just the most unique, unusual place to come, it’s a fantastic building, an excellent community. The markets are a crucial time for us and really boost footfall, it doesn’t get any busier than this. They bring people here to shop and have a nice day out.”

Liv continued to explore, adding: “Back at ground level, the markets were open and shoppers started to wander around as the morning sun began to thaw us all out. There was a fantastic selection of stalls, with many naturally selling products from Yorkshire.

“From rum to cheese to chilli oil – if you can name it, they sell it. Then there were stalls selling hats, gloves and scarves, which I imagine were in high demand during my chilly visit, along with several traders offering the most beautiful decorations and trinkets you could imagine.

“Adding to the enchantment was a merry-go-round and a large Ferris wheel, although it was spinning a bit too quickly for my taste. Given that it was a swinging-seat style wheel, I opted to sit this one out. Nonetheless, it was pleasant to observe.”

In one corner of the square, a towering Christmas tree stood majestically, with a massive ‘Christmas’ sign displayed against the balustrades of the Piece Hall’s second floor behind it, creating an idyllic scene. Liv described.

Liv added: “It’s the setting of the Piece Hall that makes this place special – it genuinely feels like you’re in a European city, rather than in the north of England.

“Naturally, there are far fewer food stalls here than in Manchester, which I found quite appealing. No overwhelming choices here; instead, I easily settled on my early lunch: a Yorkshire Bratwurst from The Sausage Box.

“This was crafted with a locally sourced pork Bratwurst from ‘Lishman’s of Ilkley’, served in a brioche bun with sauerkraut, pickles, crispy onions, ketchup and mustard, all for £9. It was a sight to behold and almost seemed too good to be true.”

Upon taking a bite, Liv said it “lived up to its looks”. She described the sausage as “succulent with a hint of smokiness, the toppings combined to create a flavour explosion, and it was surprisingly easy to eat – no stringy bits of meat or tough bread causing a mess”.

Liv added: “It felt much more thrilling than the Bratwurst stalls we have here in Manchester.”

“Naturally, there’s a stall selling Yorkshire pudding wraps if that tickles your fancy. As a proud Yorkshire lass myself, I wouldn’t dare to sample a pudding made by anyone other than my own mum while in God’s Own County, so I gave that one a miss.

“Other stalls were serving up Indian street food and Paella, while the surrounding eateries included an Italian restaurant and a wine bar that looked rather inviting. After my Bratwurst, I fancied something sweet, so I made a beeline for the churros stall.

“I must confess, it took three attempts to get my hands on some churros, as twice I was informed that the machine was, quite literally, frozen. But as they say, third time’s the charm, and I finally secured my paper cup of golden churros, dusted with crunchy cinnamon sugar and sitting in a pool of chocolate sauce.”

The churros cost £8, with the sauce costing an extra £1, which “seemed reasonable given the generous portion size” which Liv “couldn’t even finish”.

She added: “While I’m not usually one for sweets, even I found these delightful, with the texture being spot-on and just the right amount of chewiness. The sauce was scrumptious and tasted like genuine chocolate rather than a synthetic substitute.”

Summing up the festive experience, Liv said that “everything about the markets was a joy: the location, the people, and the food” – and if she visits again she may even brave a spin on the Ferris wheel, but she’s “making no promises”.

Just a few storefronts away from the now-vacant Button Mash, Sick City Records is on the brink of sharing the same fate.

For nearly 20 years, therecord shop has offered Echo Park a rocker-themed hodgepodge of rare vinyl, vintage band tees and dapper haircuts from its singular barber shop chair. But as rent continues to increase and fewer people stop by to browse its sonic selection or get a trim, Sick City Records is struggling to keep its doors open.

“We’ve worked so hard for this. We’ve been doing this for 20 years. We have to fight to keep this place open — it’s what we love to do,” said Jesse Lopez, the record store’s co-owner and resident barber.

Lopez and his business partner, Brian Flores, attribute their financial difficulties to an overall rough year. In January, when the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out, the shop was desolate for around a month. Then, right as summer kicked off — usually a lucrative season for record-collecting tourists stopping by — ICE raids began happening all over the city.

According to Flores, the streets were filled with large fleets of cars all summer, with loud sirens on, trying to scare people. Recent data from the L.A. Economic Equity Accelerator and Fellowship and the L.A. County Economic Development Corp show that 43% of Latino business owners in the county reported revenue losses of 50% or higher since June.

Co-owner Jesse Lopez, left, cuts the hair of Los Angeles resident Jason Berk, 33, inside of Sick City Records.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

“No one was walking around. It was June. Nobody’s walking their dog,” said Flores. “In this whole shopping center, everybody is an immigrant.”

The record shop’s finances reached an all-time low in October. The duo was two months behind rent; their inventory had gone stagnant and their once regular barber shop clients had become sporadic. The prospect of closing up shop and cutting their losses became more real than ever.

In a last effort to save their music hub, Flores and Lopez have since picked up a vendor spot at the monthly Rose Bowl Flea Market, started a series of collaborative fundraisers with local artists and launched a GoFundMe account.

Since they first opened in 2006, Flores and Lopez have always specialized in rock, punk and alternative — carrying bands like the Velvet Underground, the Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Suede. The inside of their space reflects that — the walls are filled with wheatpasted skulls; rows of Iron Maiden and Suicidal Tendencies tees line the perimeter and their most valuable merchandise — like a sealed Iggy Pop vinyl, a clear variant of Portishead’s “Dummy,” and a signed Echo & the Bunnymen record — hang high on elevated shelves.

“A lot of stuff’s been sitting here for a long time,” Flores confessed as he looks around at the different half-filled genre crates.

“We try to make what we can. We make our own buttons. We do our own silk screening. We can’t buy high-end vintage. We can’t afford it right now,” he added. “It’s embarrassing when the kids are asking for new rap records and these record guys come in looking for something special, but we don’t have it.”

Band tees and vinyl records hang on a wall inside of Sick City Records.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

In recent years, Sick City has also made an effort to expand into other genres, and now carries anything from country to jazz and rap. Between albums like Tyler the Creator’s “Cherry Bomb” and the Cocteau Twins’ “Heaven or Las Vegas,” Flores says they will always dedicate several of their crates to local underground acts, featuring anything from their customers’ passion projects to bands who play the city’s bars and house shows.

Their local selection is usually most popular during the summertime and when people are in town for events like the relatively nearby Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

“Truthfully, this year we haven’t had that many tourists. People are usually looking for L.A. bands to take home to places like Australia and Canada and ask us for recommendations,” said Flores. “But this year, without tourists, it’s still slow.”

Their dedication to L.A.’s local sounds goes back to their roots as a business. In 1999, the duo first sold vintage band tees at Melrose Trading Post. At the time, the market was mostly older vendors selling novelty items. Flores and Lopez decided to shake things up a bit by playing Metallica in the early-morning hours and began to build a younger clientele who were interested in their vintage clothing. Over time, they learned how to screen print and started selling their own designs.

After about five years of selling at the market, they decided to upscale into a more permanent business that would focus on music. In 2006, they opened a space in Silver Lake that functioned as a barbershop with a couple of record crates. Despite it being the early 2000s, the vendors were ahead of the up-and-coming vinyl revival, as millennials started to pay more attention to physical media.

As record-collecting grew in popularity and events like Record Store Day went mainstream, they saw a surge in sales. In 2008, they expanded the record portion of their business, opening their current location in Echo Park.

With this stint of success, the record shop started to function as a record label as well. In the early 2010s, the duo helped some customers and longtime friends who were in bands release, distribute and promote their albums. Flores and Lopez would help choose the album art, the order of the track list and help book shows.

Sick City Records owners Jessie Lopez, left, and Brian Flores at their Echo Park shop.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

One of the first bands they worked with was local rock group the High Curbs, who were teenagers at the time and thereforestruggled to get into the bars where they were booked to play. With the help of Sick City, they were able to release their 2016 album. The band, which still regularly tours and releases music, made its return to the record shop earlier this summer for the annual music festival Echo Park Rising.

“They told me, ‘We don’t do any small shows anymore, but for Echo Park Rising, we want to give back and play for you guys.’ We had a full house,” Flores said. “We felt the love back.”

At the height of the business, when they were funding their record label, Flores says they were making around $8,000 a month. Now they are making closer to $2,000 monthly, with customers spending an average of around $10 per visit. On a weekday afternoon in November, a handful of patrons came into the shop to sift through their vinyl selection, but only one customer made a purchase.

“We want to do more. We want to do more shows and promote more bands. We’ve done shows at Los Globos, the Silverlake Lounge, the Redwood [Bar and Grill]. But all this costs money,” Flores said. “So when we were able to put out those records, it was very expensive at the time, but we were able to do it.”

Flores and Lopez continued to operate out of both stores until 2020, when they decided to consolidate both businesses into the one that exists today.

Since the pandemic, Sick City Records’ rent has continually increased. In 2020, the duo paid $1,800 for the space. Today they pay $3,500. In the last several years, gentrification has taken hold of Echo Park, hiking up both residential and commercial rent. Flores says that in the nearly 20 years that they’ve been on Sunset Boulevard, he’s seen many small businesses collapse from these strains.

With a specialty in rock, punk and alternative, Sick City Records’ selection often spotlights local L.A. acts.

(Andres Melo / For The Times)

“There are a couple of small coffee shops, like Woodcat, that are still there. But Spacedust [a clothing shop] is gone. Cosmic Vinyl is gone,” said Flores. The latter establishment shuttered in 2018 but reopened earlier this year at a new location in Eagle Rock.

“There’s no parking. I don’t know why they keep raising the rent. But Echo Park has always been a hub where people want to be.”

Sick City Records has several fundraisers and flea market pop-ups planned before the end of the year. On Dec. 13, they will be hosting an art show at the shop called “Hold On to Your Friends,” which will feature live DJs, local artists and vendors. All proceeds will go to keeping Sick City in operation.

“Hopefully, people don’t forget about us. We’re just trying to keep the music alive, keep a good vibe and keep promoting the music community,” said Flores. “We just got to get back on our feet. We want to bring in product that we’re proud of.”

WASHINGTON — Pamela Smith, who was catapulted into national attention after President Trump moved to federalize Washington’s police force and who worked to confront rising violence in the nation’s capital, is stepping down as the city’s police chief, Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday.

Smith, appointed in 2023, had been brought in to stabilize a department facing staffing shortages and a city shaken by post-pandemic crime. But her tenure unfolded amid a fierce battle over authority, as Trump asserted federal control over the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed National Guard troops and federal agents alongside the city’s officers.

In announcing her resignation, Bowser praised Smith for “stepping up” at a moment of “significant urgency,” crediting her with helping drive down violent crime, cutting homicides to an eight-year low and launching major policing initiatives, including a Real-Time Crime Center and new technology upgrades.

“Chief Smith got all of this done while navigating unprecedented challenges and attacks on our city’s autonomy,” Bowser said.

The mayor did not say why Smith is leaving. She also did not announce who would take over the department or whether the change in leadership might affect the city’s broader public-safety strategy at a moment when Washington continues to recover from historic levels of violence.

The announcement comes after Bowser said she would not seek a fourth term. Smith and Bowser have been under tremendous pressure from constituents over the police force’s performance during the federal law enforcement intervention.

In a statement, Smith said she was confident the police force “is in a strong position and that the great work will continue” and that the role has been both a challenge and a reward.

“I am proud of the accomplishments we achieved together, and I thank the residents of this city for their trust and partnership,” Smith said. “While my aspiration has always been to see zero percent crime, we are not there yet. Nonetheless, we have made tremendous progress, and there remains important work ahead.”

Smith, a longtime federal law enforcement official and former head of the U.S. Park Police, assumed command during one of Washington’s most volatile years in nearly two decades, as homicides surged, carjackings hit record highs and frustration mounted among residents and lawmakers.

The spike in 2023 violence prompted congressional hearings and led city leaders to expand police authority, including authorizing drug-free zones in areas with persistent crime. Lawmakers also rewrote parts of the city’s criminal code in an effort to stem the rise in violent offenses.

The city began to see improvement in early 2024. Overall crime fell by about 17% in the first 10 weeks, a drop Smith attributed to the new law and to targeted deployments in neighborhoods experiencing repeated trouble. She also imposed temporary youth curfew zones in parts of the district.

Pointing to the city’s crime, Trump issued an emergency order in August that federalized the police force and sent in hundreds of National Guard troops. Trump has hailed the operation as a resounding success that has brought down crime, although rates already were on the decline.

Frank Gehry, who died Friday at 96, challenged the notion that buildings needed to behave themselves — creating artful, strange, kinetic combinations of structure, material, form and light, and transforming cities in the process. Here are 10 of his most famous structures that pushed the boundaries of architecture, culture, taste and technology.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain, 1997

Curves and angles mix in this section of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

(Javier Bauluz / Associated Press)

While only one piece of a much larger urban transformation, this uproarious structure, perched at the edge of the Basque city’s industrial waterfront, utterly transformed its image, giving birth to the overused phrase “Bilbao Effect.” Its curving, ever-changing titanium facade — with offset panels catching the light and wowing millions of visitors — became a symbol of a new era of baroque, digitally-driven architecture. (Gehry and his team worked with CATIA, a software formerly employed by aircraft designers.) Inside, a dizzying atrium ties together a fluid series of galleries, all sized for contemporary art’s expanding scale. “I didn’t mean to change the city, I just meant to be part of the city,” Gehry told the design magazine Dezeen in 2021. The project would achieve the former, and transform the field of architecture in the process.

Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, 2003

The Walt Disney Concert Hall is a visual anchor in downtown Los Angeles.

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Dreamed up by Walt Disney’s widow, Lillian, in 1987, the project wouldn’t be completed until 2003. But it was worth the wait. Now the cultural and visual anchor of downtown Los Angeles, Disney’s riot of steel sails reflect rippling waves of music, Gehry’s love of sailing, fish scales and other nautical themes, and the frenetic city around it. Inside, the boat-like, wood-clad hall has an intimate, vineyard-style seating arrangement, with its superb acoustics shaped by Yasuhisa Toyota. Don’t forget the 6,134-pipe organ, which resembles a box of exploding French fries. Lillian Disney, a connoisseur of flowers, would die before the hall was finished, but its hidden rear garden is centered around the “Rose for Lilly” fountain, composed of thousands of broken blue and white Delft china pieces.

Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris, 2014

The “Fondation Louis Vuitton” has 3,600 glass panels that form its 12 sails.

(Frederic Soltan / Corbis via Getty Images)

Commissioned by LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault, the Fondation Louis Vuitton, set in Paris’ Bois de Boulogne, is wrapped in 12 massive, curved glass sails, hovering above a white concrete “iceberg.” The museum’s billowing forms, which help lighten its considerable scale, were realized via head-spinning structural complexity: None of its 3,600 glass panels are the same, while each timber and steel supporting beam is curved uniquely. Inside and out, Gehry orchestrates a meandering gallery of paths and multistory overlooks that frame both art and landscape. While marooned on Paris’ western edge, the spectacular building has nonetheless become a cultural icon in a city where that’s very hard to achieve.

Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany, 1989

Frank Gehry’s Vitra Design Museum helped inspire other inventive buildings on the campus.

(Education Images / Universal Images Group via Getty)

While tame in comparison to his later work, Vitra marked Gehry’s transition from rough-edged, industrial bricolage to sculptural spectacle. Its tumble of white plaster forms — cubes, cylinders, sweeping curves — seem to freeze mid-collision, as if the gallery had been torn apart by seismic forces. (Just a year before, Gehry had been included in MoMA’s “Deconstructivist Architecture” exhibition, but he always rejected that label.) The structure also helped launch a string of impressive experiments on the Vitra campus, including buildings by Zaha Hadid, Tadao Ando, Nicholas Grimshaw, Álvaro Siza, Herzog & de Meuron and more.

8 Spruce (formerly New York by Gehry), New York, 2011

8 Spruce in Manhattan has 76 stories.

(Don Emmert / AFP via Getty Images)

Gehry’s first skyscraper, 8 Spruce, reimagined the Manhattan high-rise as a kind of gleaming, pleated fabric, its shifted stainless steel panels rippling downward, catching daylight in a constantly shifting display. A buff brick base contains a public school and retail frontages, activating the street and helping establish the financial district as a legit residential neighborhood. Inside, apartments are far more rational, organized around generous windows that frame the city. Only 30 of the building’s 76 floors had been constructed when the Great Recession hit. For a time, the developer, Forest City Ratner, considered cutting the building’s height in half. But by 2010, the structure was back on.

Dancing House (Fred and Ginger), Prague, 1996

The Dancing House stands out amid Prague’s 19th century facades.

(Insights / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Designed with Czech architect Vlado Milunić, the building — a major step forward for Gehry, who increasingly dabbled in digital design — pits a leaning glass tower against an upright, solid partner, creating a kinetic duet that instantly earned the nickname “Fred and Ginger.” The complex’s opaque tower is clad in cream-colored concrete panels, stepping rhythmically with protruding windows that drift off-center. Its frenetic steel-ribboned crown, which stands out amid 19th century facades along Prague’s Vltava River, is nicknamed “Medusa.” The glass tower — emerging from a cluster of angled columns — cinches inward at its waist, bulging outward again as it rises, like a figure leaning into a twirl. Traditionalists panned the project when it first opened, but it’s now core to the city’s identity.

Stata Center, Cambridge, Mass., 2004

The Ray and Maria Stata Center on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stands out for its form — and the lawsuit the university filed over leaks and cracks, which was settled amicably.

(Steven Senne / AP)

The Stata Center tilts, twists and fractures, its brick towers — referencing traditional Cambridge architecture — leaning into planes of glass, mirrored steel, aluminum, titanium, corrugated metal and plywood. The village-like building’s spatial looseness was part of a concerted effort to encourage chance encounters and interdisciplinary exchange at the school. The fragmented forecourt echoes the building around it, with skewed paving patterns, angled retaining walls and unpredictable sight lines. In 2007, MIT filed suit against Gehry’s firm and the general contractor Skanska USA, alleging persistent leaks, cracking masonry, poor drainage and sections where ice and snow slid off the building. The lawsuit was “amicably resolved” in 2010, but it represented one of several instances in which Gehry’s ambition would butt up against practical realities.

Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, 1993

The Weisman Art Museum.

(Raymond Boyd / Getty Images)

Perched on a bluff above the Mississippi River at the University of Minnesota, the museum was a trial run for Bilbao and Disney, without the help of advanced digital tools. Its stainless steel facade unfurls toward the river in faceted, reflective forms that contrast with the building’s campus-facing facade, a series of various-sized cubes wrapped in earth-toned brick, matching the rest of campus. Inside, a series of flexible galleries support changing exhibitions. The museum is named for Frederick R. Weisman, a Minneapolis-born entrepreneur, art collector and philanthropist who broke sharply with conventional wisdom to support a Gehry-designed building that would loudly announce the arts and become an artwork in its own right.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago, 2004

The Jay Pritzker Pavilion stands out in the center of Millennium Park. The main stage can accommodate a full orchestra and 150-person chorus.

(Andia / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The centerpiece of Chicago’s wildly successful Millennium Park, the bandshell’s billowing 120-foot proscenium, supported by a web of aluminum arms, is fronted by dozens of torqued stainless steel ribbons, which exuberantly frame the stage. The ribbons connect to an overhead trellis of crossed still pipes that house lights and speakers, while the stage itself is sheathed in warm Douglas fir, and includes a colorful light projection system (first planned for Disney Hall, but scuttled for budget reasons) that transforms the pavilion’s face. Seating 4,000, the Pritzker envelops a “Great Lawn,” with room for another 7,000.

DZ Bank Building, Berlin, 2000

Curves abound in the DZ Bank Building.

(Henri-Alain Segalen/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

A stone’s throw from the Brandenburg Gate, DZ’s stone facade aligns seamlessly with its blocky neighbors on Pariser Platz, providing little hint of its shocking interior. A curved stainless steel conference hall, clad inside with a riot of warm wood panels, resembles an angry sea creature, its humpbacks, saddles, bulges, tucks and pinches creating one of the most kinetic building forms this author has ever seen. The piece dominates a soaring atrium, capped with a curved, crystalline glass roof. Locals nicknamed the split-personality building the “Whale at the Brandenburg Gate.” It remains one of the architect’s most underrated masterpieces.

There has been a dispute between Cardiff and Nantes stretching back to the immediate aftermath of the crash, with the Welsh club initially refusing to pay the first instalment of the transfer fee until investigations into accountability had taken place.

The row eventually led to football world governing body Fifa ordering Cardiff to pay – and the Bluebirds appealing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

With CAS upholding Fifa’s ruling, Cardiff paid the first instalment in January 2023 – ending an English Football League (EFL) transfer embargo in the process – and subsequently paying the remaining balance.

But the football club have always maintained they were prepared to take further action and in April 2024 lodged a complaint with Nantes commercial court, seeking damages of 120.2m euros (£104m).

The estimate for damages stems from the claimed financial and reputational losses represented by Cardiff’s relegation from the Premier League in 2019.

Cardiff’s team will present evidence from court-approved experts, including a statistical report compiled by football data company FC Analytics, that the club says shows Sala could have given them as much as a 62% greater chance of staying in the Premier League in that 2018-19 season.

In terms of the amount of damages, the sum Cardiff are seeking is based on independent analysis of the loss of income that followed relegation, the subsequent impact on the club’s overall value, as well as the original transfer fee.

Nantes did not respond to approaches for comment but have previously disputed Cardiff’s claim. Their position is said to be unchanged.