Hilton on Tuesday addressed the president’s unfounded but vociferous claims that Democrats have massively cheated in our recent election.
“We’ve got teams standing by, we’ve got lawyers standing by, very focused on that,” Hilton told reporters, including my colleague Seema Mehta, outside the L.A. elections headquarters. “We don’t want to let anyone down, we don’t want to let anything slip away, and we’ve seen nothing.”
We’ve. Seen. Nothing.
How refreshing to have a MAGA insider repudiate the lies.
“But we need a wide-scale audit of the California voter roll,” Essayli told Beck.
Voter rolls are a huge refrain in conspiracy theories and the subject of numerous (mostly unsucessful) lawsuits by Trump‘s Department of Justice. Trump is demanding that the federal government “audit” the voter rolls to ensure ballots go only to legal voters, which is one of those scary and ill-conceived ideas that sounds reasonable on the surface.
Trump’s lawyers, some of whom made careers out of civil lawsuits around voter conspiracy allegations before being appointed to office, claim untold thousands of ballots are sent out erroneously, then somehow, via Democrats, land in the hands of undocumented immigrants and others who use them to vote illegally.
It is nonsense, but also now government-backed nonsense.
“It certainly is a new level of danger that the people who spent unlimited amounts of time and money trying to prove that the 2020 election was stolen are now leading and staffing the Department of Justice,” Eileen O’Connor told me. She’s a senior counsel at the Brennan Center’s Voting Rights and Elections Program, a nonpartisan effort to protect democracy.
“There have just been people who have spent every waking moment of their lives, practically for decades now, searching for all of this voter fraud that they claim is happening and not finding it,” O’Connor said. “And they’re still failing to find it.”
So what’s the deal with voter rolls? Are they really the dark heart of a Democratic scam to rig elections? Or is the scam that Trump and MAGA are attempting to use the boring and bureaucratic nature of voting rolls to do the very thing they claim to be fighting — undermine of free and fair elections?
What the heck is a voter roll?
Voter rolls are the lists of eligible voters kept by each state.
States run elections, because, well, the Constitution. But that structure is also a good idea because states keep closer track of who is a legal resident and where they are than the federal government.
Those like O’Connor who care about democracy and fair elections point out federal meddling with an “audit” of these lists is vastly overstepping federal power — and likely will knock of numerous voters who have a right to cast a ballot.
Part of that is because voter rolls are “loose,” according to Chris Fowler, a professor of geography and demographics at Penn State who specializes in voting rights. Most states have laws that strive to be inclusive and are slow to remove people from the lists, precisely because we want as many people to vote as we can get.
Some people in California are added when they get a driver’s license. Some people move and ask the postal service to update their voter registration. Some people register once, move dozens of times and never think to tell their secretary of state.
Some people die. Some people get married and change their name. Some people don’t vote for 10 years, then do. You get the idea. Life happens, and updating voter registration is rarely our first thought.
And yes, there are cases of folks illegally getting onto voter rolls, such as one Essayli recently pointed to in which a signature gatherer was paying folks on Skid Row to register to vote. The key there being register, not actually vote.
One-off cases like this should be and are prosecuted, but the inclusive nature of the rolls is by design, not a flaw.
“They’re imperfect,” Fowler said.
Why not audit?
Fowler added, though, if someone wants to make a big stink about fraud without any actual evidence, that inaccuracy is the perfect sleight of hand. To the average person, it sounds bad that we can’t keep a clean list of eligible voters.
But here’s what the conspiracy folks leave out: Being on the voter roll doesn’t automatically mean a vote will be counted or even that a ballot will be sent. It’s just the starting point of everyone who might be invited to the party.
There are numerous safeguards, such as signature verification, that cast ballots go through before the vote is considered legitimate. When there is doubt, the vote is “cured,” which is an unnecessarily convoluted way of saying local election officials may go as far as tracking down the actual voter and making sure they are legit. Yes, if there is a question, actual people contact an actual voter. If they can’t get in contact, the vote is usually set aside.
The MAGA demand to audit voter rolls ignores all this reality and is instead based on the false idea that voter rolls translate directly into counted votes.
The game MAGA is running with voter roll audits is that it was never about election integrity. It’s about suppressing the vote of Black people, brown people, young people and others who tend to vote Democratic and also tend to have more unsettled lives that would lead them to have inaccurate information, such as conflicting addresses, on the voter rolls.
Federal audits would, instead of protecting elections, allow a conspiracy theory to be weaponized into a way to keep legal voters from casting their ballot. Call it the new Jim Crow — a disingenuous way to suppress certain votes all gussied up as safety.
But the effort creates a win-win for Trump. If his Department of Justice is successful in getting state voter rolls — which it has been in more than a dozen states that have voluntarily turned them over — they can demand as many names as they want be removed.
The federal government has not said what criteria it will use to “clean” these rolls, who will be in charge, how the information will be used or kept, or how people will even know they’ve been knocked off until they try to vote. There is even concern the information gathered from audits will be used for other purposes, such as immigration enforcement or surveillance activities.
And for the many states such as California who are fighting the demand in courts — the DOJ lost its California case and has appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — MAGA is simply screaming that the mere fact of protecting these lists from federal interference is proof that we’re covering up this vast conspiracy.
“It is part of laying the groundwork to just be able to say either we have all these voter rolls and we’ve analyzed them and they’re full of errors, or to be able to say, ‘Oh, you didn’t hand over the voter rolls. What are you hiding?’ O’Connor said.
None of that is actually good for elections, or democracy. That’s the real scam with voter roll audits.
They are a Trumped-up attempt to make us doubt a system that is working just as designed, imperfectly and inclusively, protecting democracy while encouraging legal voters to participate.
Rubio, who also had spells as assistant manager at Crystal Palace and West Ham, felt Jimenez fully deserved such a moment after what he has been through.
“After his head injury it took a bit of time to get back into the career,” said Rubio.
“There were not just medical concerns, but also would he be the same killer in front of goal? His application is tremendous, he is a lovely guy, his family are beautiful and very supportive and that has helped him.
“He is a very family person. He is a big player but never acts like one and he is very humble and I’m delighted for him.
“It was life-threatening injury and I felt scared for him. At that moment he was doing so well, he was at the top of his career and it was very difficult.”
But Jimenez’s determination has led to him scoring 68 Premier League goals in 233 appearances. Even now, he still needs to wear a reinforced headband to protect himself from further injury.
“Having known him I could see why he has been able to get back on to the pitch [after the injury] and get back into his form,” added Rubio. “He is a fighter. I worked with him in his last year at Wolves. There were doubts, even with himself, that he was going to get back into it and that last year at Wolves was a challenging year for him.
“But there were no doubts for me personally, I always knew he would get back into it. I’ve worked with many top professionals and you can see he has the resilience and has a lovely family supporting him.
“Everyone there [at Wolves] loved him, the whole club wanted him to do well and the whole club was invested for him to get back so it was very emotional, not only because of his career, but also because he is such a loving character.
“He was so invested in the club, the city and his family felt like it was home, that’s why I feel they will be delighted to be going back there.”
But, before Jimenez will be back in the West Midlands, he has further chances to score more World Cup goals in his home country, with Mexico already in a strong position to advance into the knockout rounds.
Chey Tae-won, chief of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), speaks during a ceremony marking the 53rd Commerce and Industry Day at the headquarters of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, South Korea, 31 March 2026. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
June 11 (Asia Today) — South Korea needs to reform its electricity market to respond to surging power demand from artificial intelligence and the expansion of renewable energy, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Wednesday.
The chamber said the current power market structure is not enough to support private investment or the growth of new energy businesses, including energy storage systems and virtual power plants.
The business group raised the issue during a seminar in Seoul co-hosted with the Korean Resource Economics Association. Participants discussed ways to reform the electricity market and promote new energy businesses as AI adoption and renewable power generation expand.
“As the power industry shifts from a centralized structure to a distributed and digital-based system, various new businesses are emerging,” said Cho Hong-jong, president of the Korean Resource Economics Association and a professor at Dankook University. “To make the energy transition a reality, it is necessary to build a competitive system based on market principles.”
Joo Sung-kwan, a professor at Korea University, said South Korea’s current electricity market has structural limits because wholesale prices are set a day before electricity is supplied, based mainly on fuel costs.
“This creates significant rigidity because real-time supply and demand conditions cannot be flexibly reflected in prices,” Joo said.
Joo said the market needs pricing signals that respond to supply and demand. Prices should rise when electricity supply is tight to encourage lower consumption and fall when supply is sufficient to promote use, he said.
For new energy businesses to secure profitability and increase investment, Joo said South Korea should move from the current day-ahead market to a real-time market. He also called for a price-bidding system in which power generators and electricity retailers submit bid prices.
Panelists also said South Korea needs a market environment and regulatory system that can attract private investment.
Lee Seo-jin, a professor at Hongik University, said tailored compensation systems for new energy businesses and a predictable policy environment are more important than simple market opening.
Huh Yoon-ji, a professor at Dankook University, said wholesale price normalization and retail electricity rate reform must proceed together to secure economic viability. She also called for independent governance to supervise the electricity market.
Industry officials said the pace of reform should accelerate.
Lee Hyo-seop, vice president of Encored, said his company is preparing a virtual power plant business using AI-based forecasting technology, but uncertainty over the schedule for electricity market reform is making business development difficult.
Yeom Sung-oh, Seoul representative of Gurin Energy, said power supply flexibility and sustainability will be crucial in the AI era. He called for preemptive institutional support covering power grids, energy storage systems and data centers.
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said private-sector energy businesses are essential to address rising electricity demand from AI and the growing variability of renewable energy.
“Companies need a more predictable electricity market so they can invest in high-cost new technologies,” said Kim Min-seok, head of the chamber’s Green Energy Center. “Institutional foundations, including regulatory innovation and a supportive market environment, must be established.”
“To secure competitiveness in power infrastructure in the AI era, discussion on electricity market reform can no longer be delayed,” Kim said.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
With President Donald Trump proclaiming his desire to take Iran’s Kharg Island — whether he actually means it or not – we reached out to some former military commanders to get a sense of what it would take to seize and hold it and how telegraphing such a move could impact operations. The island, as we have noted in the past, is Iran’s main center of oil exportation, and a U.S. seizure would have tremendous military and economic impacts. An attempt to take it by force and hold it, as we have highlighted in prior reporting, would be an extremely risky operation, by all accounts.
Trump’s latest statements about taking Kharg Island came in the wake of the most intense round of tit-for-tat attacks between the U.S. and Iran since the ceasefire went into effect April 8. The U.S. launched waves of strikes across Iran, including firing what Trump said was 49 Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles at Iranian targets. In response, Iran launched missiles and drones at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.
However, in the wake of yesterday’s back-and-forth strikes, Trump proclaimed his desire to seize Iran’s vital oil infrastructure, including Kharg Island.
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela, which is working out brilliantly for both Venezuela and the United States of America,” Trump said on Truth Social.
The United States will be hitting Iran (Whose Navy, Air Force, Radar, Anti Aircraft, and all other forms of Defense, together with most its offensive capability, are GONE!), VERY HARD TONIGHT. At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other… pic.twitter.com/RPeL3khVrr
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Truth Social Posts On X (@TrumpTruthOnX) June 11, 2026
A short while later, the president modified those remarks in an interview with Fox News.
“I don’t know that America has the stomach for it, to be honest with you,” Trump later told the network. “You’d make a fortune, but I don’t know that America has the stomach, I think they’d like to see us come home.”
NOW: President Trump tells Fox and Friends his preference has always been to “take Kharg Island,” but he doesn’t think “America has the stomach” for it. pic.twitter.com/iWCOooqioP
Located about 20 miles from the Iranian coastline, Kharg Island presents a daunting challenge, leaving troops trying to take it under threat from Iran’s remaining arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, drones, rocket artillery, and fast boats that can launch swarming attacks on ships, fire missiles, and lay mines. This is something we were among the first to point out, before the possibility of invading the island became a nation news story.
There are also a number of islands in and around the Strait of Hormuz that could be used help put up a screen against shipping attacks etc. Also risky for obvious reasons. pic.twitter.com/0nolqdew9J
“It seems unusual that we would announce an intention to seize Kharg Island in advance,” retired Army Gen. Joseph Votel, former leader of U.S. Central Command, told us. “Military commanders always want to preserve the principle of surprise in any operation – it helps reduce risk and often times gives us the tactical edge.”
“In this case the president did not announce any specific details – which can preserve some operational flexibility,” Votel noted. “It may also be a part of a more elaborate communications strategy that is focused on getting the regime to understand they are running out of options and that we can and will do whatever we need to, militarily, to support diplomatic efforts and bring the conflict to a conclusion.”
“Seizing Kharg Island is a significant undertaking,” added Votel, now a Distinguished Military Fellow at the Middle East Institute. “Not only will it involve ground troops to actually control the terrain – but also tactical delivery means, air cover, a strike campaign to set the conditions and then all the resources to protect this force while they are on the Island. In addition – the force has to be sustained meaning we have to have a way to get them supplies, engineering capabilities, life support, evacuate casualties, and if necessary reinforce them with additional force.”
All these actions would be taken close enough to the Iranian coast to “potentially subject [assault forces] to missile and drone attacks,” the former CENTCOM commander noted. “Not impossible, but certainly not insignificant either.”
Kharg Island. (Google Earth)
When we first spoke to Votel about this issue in March when stories first bubbled up about Trump threatening Kharg Island, he told us that “a battalion sized force of Marines or soldiers could probably do that. So you’re probably looking at 800 to 1,000 troops, kind of size, maybe a little bit smaller, probably not much larger than that.”
Plans for the US military to try and capture the island “have been drawn up for months but continuously shelved because the operation was considered too risky,” a senior Pentagon official and two administration officials told CNN.
Speaking to us on Thursday, Chris Miller, who served as acting Defense Secretary at the end of Trump’s first administration, said it would take considerably more troops for such an operation than Votel first suggested.
“I would expect it would take an infantry brigade at a minimum,” said Miller, referring to a unit of between 3,000 to 5,000 troops. “I’d prefer two brigades and a lot of mobile air defense to protect from Shaheds and plenty of barrier material to make bunkers when artillery starts dropping in. Plus, obviously, significant air power to hit time-sensitive Iranian targets like artillery and missile batteries.”
An Iranian Shahed-136 One-Way-Attack drones reportedly flying over the sky of Kuwait in the early hours of this morning, June 3, 2026. pic.twitter.com/oUwbbilmzd
“It’s completely doable by our combat forces in the region, ” added Miller, now founder and CEO of FPF Defense, a startup building a low-cost Shahed drone interceptor. “This is exactly the type of operation they are designed and optimized for. It’s not that heavy of a lift for them.”
Holding the island, if taken, won’t be easy, however, Miller posited.
“The logistics would be challenging for us because it will be difficult to get resupply ships in under the Iranian defensive shield,” he explained. “And aerial resupply will be contested as well.”
Miller said he was not concerned that Trump told the world he wants Kharg Island.
“My assessment is the Iranian regime continues to misunderstand President Trump,” Miller said of his former boss. “I suspect the Iranians have already prepared for such an eventuality.”
Former Army Maj. Gen. Pat Donahoe, who retired in 2022 as commanding general of the U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning in Columbus, said asking how Kharg Island can be taken “is the wrong question.”
“It’s not taking it, it’s holding it over time and enduring the slow bleed of casualties that comes with holding it,” noted Donahoe, now chief operating officer at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia.
“It’s Khe Sanh,” explained Donahoe, a reference to one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, where about 6,000 Marines and their South Vietnamese counterparts held out at a base along the Laotian border against 20,000 North Vietnamese troops for nearly 80 days.
“Sure we can grab it, but it puts us in range of all their stuff,” Donahoe said. “And we have to resupply it etc. It’s dumb.”
The U.S. struck military targets on the island during Epic Fury, but Trump has stated he ordered all the oil infrastructure to be left untouched. Since the ceasefire, Iran has been preparing for a possible U.S. operation to take control of Kharg Island, CNN noted today.
“Iran laid traps and moved additional military personnel and air defenses there earlier this year, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue,” the network reported. “The island already has layered defenses, and the Iranians moved additional shoulder-fired, surface-to-air guided missile systems known as MANPADs there.”
It remains to be seen whether Trump actually takes any action against Kharg or anywhere else on the ground in Iran. As we have previously noted, Trump has threatened to put boots on the ground to capture Iran’s highly enriched uranium and has constantly made grand military threats without following through. This includes repeated threats that he would order the destruction of Iran’s civilian infrastructure. Clearly these are meant to push the adversary to the negotiating table, but their potency has degraded as this has become increasingly clear.
Hours after raising the specter of seizing Kharg Island, the president seemingly reversed course, saying he was halting orders to bomb the Islamic Republic tonight due to a breakthrough in negotiations.
“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump stated on Truth Social. “Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others. The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), however, reportedly pushed back on Trump’s negotiations claims.
“The Fars News Agency, associated with the Revolutionary Guards, quoted a ‘knowledgeable source close to the Iranian negotiating team’ who denied President Trump’s claim regarding an agreement on an initial deal, and stated that ‘no text of the initial memorandum of understanding with the United States has been approved,’” Axios reporter Barak Ravid stated on X.
🚨 סוכנות הידיעות פארס, המזוהה עם משמרות המהפכה, ציטטה ״מקור יודע דבר המקורב לצוות המשא ומתן האיראני״, שהכחיש את טענת הנשיא טראמפ בדבר הסכמה על הסכם ראשוני, ואמר כי “לא אושר שום נוסח של מזכר הבנות ראשוני עם ארצות הברית” https://t.co/I0LN2sxy25
Trump has made repeated claims that a deal was virtually done, when it never materialized and the Iranians certainly have their own strategy they are executing. Whatever comes next, whether it be more bombing, a peace deal, a continued blockade and strait closure, or even an invasion of Kharg Island, it’s unclear, and that may be just as true moment-to-moment for the President of the United States as it is to everyone else.
Since 1991, this holiday in the world’s largest country has changed its name twice. It was originally called ‘Independence Day’, though it was not a national holiday.
According to some surveys, many Russians still think that this holiday is Russia’s Independence Day, but the holiday has never had such a name in official documents. According to the survey of Levada Center in May 2003, 65% of the respondents named the holiday the Independence Day of Russia.
In 1994 Boris Yeltsin declared it a national holiday. The day was renamed to the catchy ‘Day of the adoption of the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation’ with the intention of commemorating the renewed independence of the country, the creation of the post of President, the adoption of the historical national flag, and a new national anthem
On February 1st 2002, it was officially renamed to Russia Day.
The household was headed up by single mum Nadine, who had called the property home since her teenage years, sharing it with her own mother.
Having brought up her four daughters there while also caring for her late mum, three generations of the Jamieson women had amassed mountains of DVDs, clothing and fine China for Stacey to work through.
Buried amongst the clutter, she uncovered 106 animal ornaments, 87 board games and over 1,000 pieces of Nadine’s China, reports Kent Live.
Reflecting on the belongings filling her home and how cluttered it had become, Nadine became emotional as she explained: “I’ve lived in this house since 1988 and it’s pretty much still in the condition it was in 1988.”
Her eldest daughter Merle chipped in: “It was a small crowded house but it wasn’t cluttered back then.”
Former NHS nurse Nadine tearfully continued: “Mum was the second parent. She was our rock and she was just our rock and made it so special for the girls.
“She started to need care in the last four years of her life, and I became full time carer. And that’s when I think it started to change.
“I didn’t have the time or energy to focus on the house because I had to focus on so many people.”
She added: “I need to have a home again and start living again.”
She heartbreakingly went on: “It’s a place I don’t want to be in. There’s no joy to come home to because you know what’s surrounding you.”
After the challenge of letting go of 40 years’ worth of possessions and memories, the family were left touched by a special tribute to Nadine’s mum.
Coming back home after Stacey and her team, including guest star Zoe Sugg, worked their magic, they saw a special memory of Nadine’s mum.
Nadine had earlier explained how her mum’s chair held its place of honour in the living room, with her old combs and hairbands still on it.
Instead of having the objects still there, Stacey, having transformed the living room to a brighter, emptier space, decided to embroider Nadine’s mum’s comb and headband and radio onto a little cushion.
She said: “I know how important Nan’s comb and headband and radio were to you, so instead of having them sat precariously on top of the chair, ready to fall at any minute, I thought, we could put it into the pillow, and then you could always look at her favourite things but keep her actual favourite things safe away.”
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Nadine’s daughter Merle commented. Breaking down into tears as she saw the cushion, she added: “That is too much.”
“It’s making you emotional,” Stacey replied, as Nadine’s daughter Beth also wiped back tears.
After seeing the response the family had to their new home, Stacey shared: “I think that might have been one of my favourite reactions ever.
“Nadine has, for the last 20-something years, just been looking after everyone around her.
“She’s been raising her kids, looking after her mum, putting all of her energy into everybody else.
“And now finally, she can bring some of that energy back to her, and she just deserves this so much.”
Nadine emotionally added: “Dreams come true.”
Sort Your Life Out is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Observed annually on June 11th, King Kamehameha I Day is a prominent Hawaiian holiday that celebrates the monarch responsible for unifying the islands in 1810. The provided text highlights his legacy of human rights, specifically the “Law of the Splintered Paddle” which ensured the safety of civilians and travelers. Established in 1872 by his great-grandchild, the festivities involve closing government offices and holding vibrant cultural events. Traditional commemorations include draping floral leis over statues of the King and hosting a floral parade featuring historical replicas. Modern celebrations further honor his memory through Hawaiian music, dance, and arts, preserving the heritage of the “lonely one” wh …
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Thursday that he plans to nominate Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, as director of national intelligence.
Trump announced the nomination on social media amid pressure from Congress to name a permanent replacement for Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned last month. Trump faced intense pushback over his decision to name Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, as acting director.
The situation has led to a standoff in Congress as Democrats said they would refuse to renew foreign intelligence powers unless Trump pulled Pulte’s nomination and named a permanent nominee.
“Few people anywhere in the Legal Community are respected at the level of Jay,” Trump wrote. “I encourage the United States Senate to confirm Jay as soon as possible.”
The 100 Chinese yuan or Renminbi (RMB) notes in Beijing, China. Photo by MARK R. CRISTINO / EPA
June 11 (Asia Today) — China’s renminbi, also known as the yuan, has strengthened sharply in recent months as Beijing seeks to elevate the currency’s global standing, but its rapid gains may create new risks for the Chinese economy.
The yuan recently reached its strongest level in three years and three months, prompting some Chinese media to describe the move as an advance by the currency. The trend is expected to continue for the time being.
According to recent reports by Chinese media, including National Business Daily, the yuan was poorly regarded until the end of the last century. Although the official exchange rate hovered around 8.2 yuan per dollar, the currency often traded at about 9 yuan per dollar on black markets in Beijing and other cities.
The yuan’s status began to change after China’s economy expanded rapidly in the early 2000s. After the 2008 global financial crisis weakened confidence in the U.S. economy, the yuan strengthened past 8 per dollar, then 7 per dollar, at times trading in the 6-yuan range.
The currency weakened again early last year and stayed around the 7-yuan level for about a year. Some analysts warned it could fall as low as 7.5 yuan per dollar.
Those concerns proved temporary. The yuan rebounded early this year and returned to the 6-yuan range. It strengthened further and traded around 6.77 yuan per dollar Wednesday, its highest level since Feb. 15, 2023, when it was at 6.8183 yuan per dollar.
Markets widely expect the yuan could strengthen further to around 6.5 per dollar. The currency was worth about 90 won at the end of the last century, but it now trades at about 225 won.
Several factors are driving the yuan’s gains. The prolonged war in the Middle East has increased demand for the yuan alongside the dollar, while China’s large trade surplus, supported by strong exports, has also lifted the currency.
A stronger yuan, however, is not necessarily good for China. It could become a burden for export-dependent companies by making Chinese goods more expensive overseas. Cheaper import prices could also deepen China’s chronic deflationary pressure, which remains a major concern for the economy.
Even so, Chinese economic authorities are not expected to intervene aggressively to slow the yuan’s rise.
Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said during an economic news conference at the National People’s Congress in Beijing on March 6 that the yuan’s recent movement against the dollar reflected China’s stable economic recovery, weakness in the dollar index and a seasonal increase in corporate foreign exchange settlement.
Pan also said China did not need a yuan depreciation, signaling that authorities were comfortable with the currency’s strength.
The yuan’s transformation from a weak and undervalued currency into one with rising global influence has become increasingly difficult to ignore. But its continued ascent could create new pressure on China’s exporters and complicate Beijing’s fight against deflation.
Jerod Harris caught Catfish with the pod under its belly as it came in to land at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Monday. Edwards is the main hub for U.S. Air Force test and evaluation activities, and Catfish has been seen there many times over the years as part of its work. The aircraft, which carries the U.S. civil registration code N757A, also happens to be the first 757 ever built, and took to the skies for the first time back in 1982.
Catfish with the pod under its fuselage seen on approach to Edwards Air Force Base in California. Jerod Harris
As already noted, Catfish has already played a central role in the story of F-22. The aircraft’s heavily modified nose is designed to directly replicate that of the Raptor, and contains the same AN/APG-77 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar as the fighter. The swept wings on top of the cockpit were also designed to support testing of the conformal antennas for the Raptor’s AN/ALR-94 electronic support measures system and other components of its ‘fused’ sensor suite. The aircraft has supported the development of a wide array of other systems for the F-22, and is packed inside with additional equipment to support those needs in particular, including a replica of the Raptor’s cockpit. You can read more about Catfish and its general history here.
So it is not surprising then that the heavily modified 757 would also be used now to help with continued testing of the new underwing infrared sensor pods for the Raptor. Carrying the pod under the forward end of the fuselage would offer the sensors inside a good open field of view to the front, as well as to the left, right, and down.
Another view of Catfish carrying the stealthy infrared sensor pod. Jerod Harris
The stealthy pods have been test-flown on actual F-22s for years now. At the same time, there are only a limited number of Raptors available, in total, and they are notoriously fuel-hungry, maintenance-intensive, and otherwise expensive to operate. If the particular test plan calls just for level flight, and over extended periods of time, a platform like Catfish could be an attractive alternative. With space for dozens of engineers and technicians in its main cabin, and workstations for them, the aircraft would also offer very different options for testing and evaluating the pod while in-flight. A North American Sabreliner business jet has also been used to test these pods in the past.
N33TR, a Rockwell Sabreliner 65 for Airborne Imaging returns to KJWY/Mid-Way regional Airport as ” AIRBORNE33 ” carrying one of the future F-22 pods.
It was at Nellis AFB testing the pod alongside RATT55/NT-43A, a radar test bed that regularly flies alongside B-2s. pic.twitter.com/kNADnga7H0
The capability, in general, for Catfish to carry stores under its fuselage might open up additional possibilities for utilizing the aircraft in support of other testing efforts, if it hasn’t already.
Catfish continues on with its approach to Edwards. Jerod Harris
Catfish would also be well suited to supporting testing of other elements of the Raptor 2.0 package. Under the current plan, the Air Force’s F-22s are also set to get a new integrated distributed infrared search and track (IRST) system called the Infrared Defensive System (IRDS).
IRST systems have seen a renaissance across the U.S. military in recent years, as well as elsewhere globally. IRSTs detect and track targets via their infrared emissions, making them particularly valuable for helping spot stealthy targets with features designed to reduce their radar cross-sections. The sensors are also immune to radio frequency electronic warfare jamming and operate passively, meaning they do not emit signals that could alert a target to the fact they are being tracked. IRSTs can also be used to cue or otherwise be linked to other sensors, including AESA radars. This data fusion can provide higher fidelity tracks of multiple targets, as well as improved situational awareness overall.
Increased demand for IRSTs has led to a commensurate increase in demand for testing using multiple platforms. This, in turn, has been a major component of a general uptick in U.S. military flight testing in recent years to support a variety of new, advanced programs.
An F-22 with the stealthy underwing infrared sensor pods and drop tanks seen on a test flight over the Mojave Desert in March 2026. Jarod Hamilton
Other elements of the Raptor 2.0 upgrade plan include new stealthy drop tanks, improvements to the jet’s stealthy features, radar capabilities, electronic warfare suite, and more, as you can read about in detail here.
The F-22 upgrade work is reflective of current Air Force plans to keep the Raptors in service for decades to come. In 2024, the Air Force said it no longer had a firm retirement schedule for the fighters.
Catfish seen flying together with a pair of F-22s near Edwards in 2024. Courtesy photo/Kyle Larson via USAF Chase Kohler
At the same time, Catfish is now 44 years old. Boeing 757s, in general, are increasingly disappearing from service globally as they become more complicated and cost-intensive to sustain. Especially with the work ongoing now on the F-47, it seems likely Boeing will start looking toward a new highly specialized testbed aircraft modified to reflect the particular physical geometry, unique avionics, and other features of the new fighter.
Similarly, the F-35 family also has a dedicated test jet, the Boeing 737-300-based Cooperative Avionics Testbed, nicknamed the CATbird. There are several other airliner and business jet-based testbeds flying globally today, though Catfish is certainly one of the largest and most visually distinctive. Improving digital simulation and modeling tools could allow for less reliance on surrogate testbed aircraft in the future, but they will in no way be eliminated.
China’s Tu-204C-based ‘Catfish’ testbed jet. Chinese internet via X
In the meantime, Boeing Catfish remains a very important part of continued work to improve and expand the capabilities of the F-22. This now extends to testing of specialized underwing pods for the Raptor.
Special thanks again to Jerod Harris for sharing his pictures of Catfish carrying the stealthy sensor pod with us.
The Ellison family-controlled Harbor Lights Entertainment has sold its Showcase Cinemas theater chain to a major European cinema group in a $30-million deal.
Belgium-based Kinepolis will soon operate 13 cinemas across the United States. Seven are in Massachusetts, four in New York, one in Ohio and one in Rhode Island.
David Ellison, who is now in charge of Paramount Skydance, acquired National Amusements last year from the Redstone family. He renamed the company Harbor Lights. National Amusements was the start of Redstone’s media empire, which at one point included control of CBS, Paramount and Viacom.
The deal is awaiting regulatory approval, but officials in several state states recently announced plans to try to block the merger. The potential lawsuit would seek to challenge the proposed merger on antitrust grounds, arguing it would decrease competition, lower wages and lead to widespread job losses.
With the sale of the theaters, Kinepolis will add 164 screens to its portfolio. The company was formed in 1997 and currently operates 63 cinemas in Europe and nearly 60 theaters in the U.S. and Canada.
The newly acquired theaters welcomed about 4 million visitors and generated more than $90 million in revenue last year.
“This acquisition allows us to expand our market position in the U.S. from Michigan to the East Coast with an asset and a team that enable us to implement Kinepolis’ operational model and corporate strategy, ultimately enhancing the experience for moviegoers in these markets,” Eddy Duquenne, Kinepolis’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The company said Showcase Cinemas would retain its name. It expects the acquisition to be complete by the end of the summer.
Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has identified more than 15,000 cases of adults gaining custody of multiple immigrant children who enter the U.S. without a parent, officials said Thursday, signaling a potential push to prosecute prolific child sponsors.
The Justice Department highlighted cases against three Guatemalan nationals that they say underscore the dangers of improper vetting of sponsors in a program that seeks to unite kids with relatives or family friends after they enter the U.S. Officials said they are investigating numerous other so-called super-sponsors — those who gained custody of more than three unrelated children — to determine whether the sponsors took the kids in fraudulently.
“We will not accept half measures when it comes to securing the border, protecting American lives and saving children from exploitation,” Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche told reporters.
Taking custody of multiple unrelated migrant children is not a crime. The sponsors may be caring and well-intentioned, but senior administration officials calling them out suggests that authorities harbor suspicion about them and may subject them to deeper scrutiny.
Under former President Biden, officials tried to release children to eligible adult sponsors within 30 days, reuniting many families quickly. But the approach also yielded errors, with some children being released to adults who forced them to work illegally or to people who provided clearly false identification and addresses.
Under Trump, the administration tightened rules aimed at preventing traffickers from illegally bringing children into the country, and that has also led to a dramatic increase in federal custody times for kids. As of May, children are held in federal custody for an average of 206 days before they’re released, compared with an average of 37 days when Trump took office. At the same time, the number of total children in custody has steadily dropped.
Striking a balance between releasing children to vetted sponsors and shielding them from danger has proved a contentious partisan disagreement.
Democrats “want to claim that Republicans, because we’re enforcing the laws, it’s inhumane, somehow,” Blanche said after criticizing the vetting procedures under the Biden administration. “What’s inhumane about taking care of our kids?”
The cases announced Thursday include charges against a woman who, authorities say, was living in the U.S. illegally, schemed with others to smuggle kids across the border, then used fake identities to gain custody of them in exchange for money. In another case, a woman is accused of falsely claiming that she was siblings with a teen who had entered the U.S. illegally in her application to become the teen’s sponsor.
The Associated Press has sought comment from attorneys representing the accused in those cases.
Critics of the Trump administration have raised concerns over wellness checks carried out by immigration officers at elementary schools, immigration officers showing up and detaining sponsors at reunification meetings with children, and newly required documentation that’s created a “paperwork barrier” and led to a recent lawsuit.
Even sponsors willing to undergo the new vetting procedures have been forced to wait through unnecessary delays.
A Chicago father who is a U.S. citizen and had a valid birth certificate for his child was kept waiting for five months before the government could schedule a fingerprinting appointment. During the wait, his toddler daughter was sexually abused in federal custody, a lawsuit claimed.
Richer and Gonzalez write for the Associated Press. Gonzalez reported from McAllen, Texas.
When manufacturers begin to design new boots – a process that can start up to two years before release – they often consult trend forecasters such as WGSN to learn which colours, themes and styles are likely to be ‘in’ when the product eventually hits the shelves.
But there are other factors as to why pink has been a hit in football.
Of course, players are far more open to wearing extravagant boots than previous generations.
But the simple reason the companies have hit upon pink is because of how it contrasts with the green of the pitch.
It stands out whether you are watching on television, at the stadium, or scrolling on your phone.
The pink boot shows up if you are looking at slow-motion clips, or watching under stadium lights.
In a nutshell – it is highly visible.
But the irony may be that, with so many manufacturers arriving at pink, perhaps it is more difficult for their designs to stand out?
This article is the latest from BBC Sport’s Ask Me Anything team.
Five Americans were arrested earlier this week after getting into a physical altercation with cruise ship passengers at a Bahamas port and then causing a melee at a police station after they were arrested. File Photo by Justin Lane/EPA-EFE
June 11 (UPI) — Police in the Bahamas arrested five U.S. nationals at a port after an altercation with cruise passengers and law enforcement earlier this week.
The five people were involved in a physical altercation on Monday with passengers on a cruise ship in the Nassau Cruise Port area and, after they were arrested, started a second altercation with police officers, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a news release.
Four police officers were injured in the second melee, with one hospitalized with a “serious injury” to his left shoulder.
One person who informed police about the initial altercation with the ship’s passengers was asked to come to the police station to give a statement but declined the interview, police said.
“Due time constraints related to their cruise ship’s scheduled departure, the complainants were unable to provide official statements,” the RBPF said in the release.
“Nevertheless, the five suspects remain in police custody and are being investigated in connection” with the initial altercation and the violence while they were being arrested, the police force said.
Law enforcement was called when the five people — three women and two men — got into some type of altercation with passengers from a cruise ship that was in port, with officers intervening in the scene and detaining them.
At the police station, while searching the five suspects, a “violent struggle” started between the officers and suspects — one of the women reportedly threw a chair through a glass door and one of the men then kicked out the rest of the glass before trying to escape.
During the confrontation, two officers were hit in the body, a third was cut near the mouth and a fourth officer’s shoulder was seriously injured, the RBPF said.
The five Americans remain in police custody on charges of assaulting a police officer, fighting in a public place, resisting arrest, malicious damage and disorderly behavior in a police station.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) arena is seen as preparations continue for the UFC Freedom 250 event on the South Lawn of the White House on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
SLB, formerly Schlumberger, is the latest major corporation to sign a renewed agreement with the Venezuelan government. (Archive)
Caracas, June 11, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Trump administration continues to dictate conditions on Venezuela’s energy industry for the benefit of US and Western corporations.
At an event organized by Politico, National Energy Dominance Council Director Jarrod Agen stated that he is in contact with Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and her team “multiple times a day” to discuss the legal framework for foreign conglomerates.
“I raised issues [on oil contracts] when I went down [to Venezuela] and she said ‘we’ll work with you to get through it,’”the Trump official added.
Agen stated that the administration is currently working to turn “memoranda of understanding (MoU) into binding contracts” and insisted that Venezuela has “made a lot of progress” in overhauling the country’s hydrocarbon and mining laws.
The legislation approved by the National Assembly slashes royalties and fiscal responsibilities for private companies, while also granting them expanded control over operations and sales. After the laws were approved, authorities were tasked with drafting regulations for their implementation and new contract templates.
Agen went on to announce that a Trump administration delegation will travel to Caracas in the coming days to further discuss conditions for multinational firms in petroleum and gas projects.
Venezuelan oil authorities have reportedly begun circulating drafts of regulations and contract models with industry partners, though the texts have not been made public. The final versions are required to be published in the country’s National Gazette.
According to Bloomberg, Caracas has revised the proposals under pressure from investors, including the removal of a clause that would have allowed the Venezuelan government to terminate contracts, with compensation, for reasons of “public interest.” Venezuelan leaders have openly acknowledged incorporating private sector input into the recent oil and mining reforms.
Since launching military strikes and kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, the Trump administration has seized control of the South American country’s energy and mineral exports.
While keeping wide-reaching sanctions in place, the US Treasury Department has issued multiple sanctions waivers allowing select Western corporations to undertake oil and gas operations in Venezuela while barring participation from Chinese, Russian, and Iranian competitors. The general licenses mandate that all Venezuela-owed payments, including royalties and taxes, be deposited in a Treasury-run account.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration updated multiple licenses concerning energy, petrochemical, and mining activities, stipulating that contract disputes can now also be settled in the United Kingdom, France, and Singapore, rather than just the US. However, the licenses still demand that contract terms be “construed and interpreted” in accordance with US laws and jurisdiction.
The revised waivers likewise establish that contracts may recognize that “certain aspects” of the activity are subject to Venezuelan laws and regulations.
For its part, the acting Rodríguez administration has aggressively courted foreign investment in the oil and gas sectors.
On Wednesday, Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA signed a memorandum of understanding with SLB, formerly Schlumberger, one of the world’s largest oil services providers with a presence in the Caribbean nation since the 1920s. The Houston-based multinational stated that the agreement intends to “strengthen operational execution and promote sustainable development” of the Venezuelan energy sector.
During a televised ceremony, Rodríguez said she was “very pleased” with the deal and expressed confidence that SLB’s cutting-edge technology would have a “major impact on oil exploration and production.”
The acting leader has inked agreements with multiple Western energy giants in recent weeks, including Chevron, Shell, BP, and Repsol. Rodríguez has announced that more companies are set to arrive in the coming weeks. Business executives have made repeated trips to Venezuela to evaluate opportunities and meet with government officials.
Rodríguez recently visited India and touted oil project opportunities in meetings with Reliance Industries and Indian public sector energy firms.
Other government officials, including Economy Vice President Calixto Ortega and Oil Minister Paula Henao, have also held closed-door meetings with investors to promote recent reforms and incentives for foreign firms. At a Houston conference in May, Henao trumpeted the new oil law’s international arbitration clauses for offering more “legal certainty” to investors.
Venezuela’s oil output has continued its recent upward trend, with OPEC’s secondary sources registering a production of 1.072 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, up from 1.036 million in April.
For its part, PDVSA registered a 1.179 million bpd output last month, up from 1.136 million in April. Direct and secondary measurements have historically differed over disagreements on the inclusion of condensates and natural gas liquids.
According to Reuters, Venezuelan oil and byproduct exports rose for a third consecutive month, registering 1.25 million bpd, thanks to increased volumes shipped to the US and India.
Love Island viewers were gripped as tension spread throughout the villa as the bombshells made moves and a fiery challenge divided the group
Angelista and Ope had an intense conversation(Image: ITV)
Love Island viewers were left fuming after an islander branded another a “liar”. Ope suggested his former villa partner, Angelista, was a “liar” as the pair argued over her terrace antics.
Despite moving slowly with Ope, she wasted no time in kissing bombshell Simba. But while Ope was less than impressed, viewers at home were quick to call him out.
One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “So Ope’s calling Angelista a liar and saying she didn’t care about his feelings when HE was the one who lied to her about being ok with the slow place and HE was the one who was rude about her on the dates. She had every right to get with Simba.”
Another added: “Ope said Angelista is a liar, does he not know what he has been doing in the villa?” And a third said: “Ope talks fast and breathes heavily, like a liar.”
Despite online users calling him out, Shakira came to his defence in Love Island: The Debrief. She said the moment was “humiliating” for Ope.
After Ope and Simba came to blows over Angelista, Priya received a text that sent shockwaves through the group. They were told that a challenge was ready to “test the waters” in a game of It’s Not That Deep.
The challenge saw the Islanders take on a slippery mini-slide, and after landing in a pool, they must grab a drink and uncover a juicy secret about one of their fellow Islanders of the opposite sex.
When they made their pick, they must swill the islander they believed the comment was about. With revelations like This boy has slept with 11 girls but can only recall 3 of their names, and ‘This boy’s friends would describe him as having a wandering eye, tension is quick to enter the villa.
And the spicy comments also come back as the boys learn more about the girls in the villa. Some of the boys become frustrated by some of the girls’ commentary around their guesses, with some calling out the “hypocrisy” on show.
Aidan was quick to pick up on the tension and told the group the atmosphere was frosty. And his thoughts were correct as the rift between the boys and the girls became increasingly apparent.
“The girls have no idea,” Sam said before Aidan said they were simply trying to “brush it off”. The group tried to put a block on the issue, but when Ope referred to some of the girls’ comments during the challenge, he said: “I feel like there’s some things that people said that don’t align with what we thought you aligned with.”
Aidan agreed, calling out the wandering eye comment. With tension rising, Yasmin and Jasmine decide to walk away from the conversation.
Love Island continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX
Wall Street ended higher on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced that the planned military action against Iran was called off. Semiconductor stocks were front and center among the top gainers.
The benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) closed +1.7%, while the tech-heavy
On election night, Santa Ana City Council member Jessie Lopez found herself in third place, far behind fellow Democratic council colleague David Penaloza and Republican business owner Mayra Ruiz in the race to represent Orange County’s 68th Assembly District.
Tearful supporters at a California Working Families Party shindig at the Mission Control bar and arcade in downtown Santa Ana hugged Lopez, gifted her flowers and wished her well.
If the 37-year-old was sad, she didn’t show it. Lopez had seen this game play out before.
In 2023, the councilmember decisively beat back a recall attempt funded by Santa Ana’s police union and apartment owners who didn’t like her unabashedly progressive views in a city where centrist Democrats have dominated politics for decades and lefty ones were long ostracized.
I wrote a column shortly after, heralding Lopez’s overwhelming victory as a new era for Latino politics in Orange County, where Latinos make up a third of the population but still wield little power.
Lopez spent the next three years along with her fellow progressive Santa Ana council members shoring up the city’s rent control policies and its immigrant defense fund. Nevertheless, few gave Lopez a chance in her assembly race.
Penaloza — who declined to vote when the council deadlocked on whether to cancel Lopez’s recall election — had the backing of the Orange County and California Democratic Party establishment, from current 68th District Assemblymember Avelino Valencia (who’s running to represent the 34th Senate District) to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to Katie Porter, a former Orange County congresswoman who ran unsuccessfully for governor this year.
Penaloza’s campaign mailers and video ads were so ubiquitous these past few weeks that they filled up my mailbox and interrupted my binging of Hulu’s “Vanderpump Villa.”
So did anti-Lopez mailers and commercials, funded by nearly $2.7 million in independent expenditures. Yet Lopez once again beat back her well-funded opposition.
As of Wednesday evening, the latest Orange County Registrar of Voters election results had her in second place — less than 1,000 votes away from Penaloza.
“Voters proved that while money can influence politics, it can’t buy community support,” Lopez said this week as she unsuccessfully tried to enjoy tacos and guacamole at Lola Gaspar in downtown Santa Ana, where well-wishers kept calling her or congratulating the candidate in person. “This race is about the future of California — whether we answer to corporations and insiders or to the hard-working people we’re elected to serve.”
With Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento easily winning reelection and Unite Here Local 11 co-president Ada Briceño currently coming up short in her bid to represent the 67th Assembly District, which includes parts of Los Angeles County, Lopez may be the sole O.C. Latino progressive running in November for a seat beyond the local level.
Expect Lopez versus Penaloza to become a referendum on whether the leftward trend of Latino voters in Orange County continues — or whether its center holds.
“I’ve chosen my side,” Lopez told me. “I’m proud to stand with working people.”
Then she excused herself — someone else wanted to say what’s up.
Insights
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Ideas expressed in the piece
The column portrays Jessie Lopez as a symbol of an emergent, unapologetically progressive Latino politics in Orange County, arguing that this movement is challenging decades of centrist Democratic dominance and Latino underrepresentation in positions of real power.
It emphasizes that Lopez’s political credibility comes from having already survived a 2023 recall effort backed by Santa Ana’s police union and apartment owners, which the piece describes as a decisive victory that marked a turning point for left-leaning Latinos in the region.[1]
The article frames Lopez’s record on the Santa Ana City Council—particularly work to strengthen rent control and expand an immigrant defense fund—as proof that progressive Latinos are now governing, not just organizing, and that these policies are resonating with working-class residents.[1]
It stresses the scale of opposition Lopez faces, noting that powerful interests and nearly $2.7 million in independent expenditures were deployed against her, and yet she still advanced to November, which the article casts as evidence that grassroots support can overcome big money in politics.
The column contrasts Lopez’s underdog status with the institutional backing behind rival Democrat David Penaloza, who is aligned with the county and state Democratic establishment, and interprets Lopez’s surge into second place as a rebuke to party insiders who had largely written off her chances.
It presents Lopez’s own framing of the race as a choice between “corporations and insiders” and “hard-working people,” highlighting endorsements from labor and progressive leaders as reinforcing her identity as a champion for working families rather than entrenched interests.[2]
The piece suggests that the Lopez–Penaloza matchup will function as a broader referendum on whether Latino voters in Orange County will continue a leftward drift or whether a more centrist orientation will reassert itself, positioning Lopez as the standard-bearer for the progressive side of that divide.
It further underscores Lopez’s uniqueness by noting that, with some other Latino progressives either safely re-elected at the local level or trailing in their own legislative bids, Lopez may be the only Orange County Latino progressive on the November ballot for higher office, heightening the stakes of her campaign.
Different views on the topic
Critics of Lopez in Santa Ana have argued that the councilmember’s agenda is too ideologically driven and insufficiently attentive to public safety and fiscal stability, a view that surfaced prominently during the 2023 recall, when backers contended that her policy positions undermined effective governance and community security.[1]
Recall supporters, including police union and property-owner interests, have maintained that Lopez’s role in strengthening rent control and supporting tenant protections represents an overreach that they believe discourages investment, burdens small landlords, and could ultimately reduce the supply and quality of housing in the city.[1]
Opponents have further asserted that her stances on issues such as policing and criminal justice skew too far left for parts of the electorate, arguing that more moderate Democrats or centrist candidates are better positioned to balance reform with public safety and to appeal to a broader cross-section of Orange County voters.[1]
From the perspective of some business-oriented and landlord groups, Lopez’s alignment with organized labor and progressive advocacy organizations, along with endorsements from high-profile national progressives, signals a policy direction they associate with higher regulatory costs, stricter labor standards, and a political climate they view as hostile to business growth.[2]
Within Democratic circles, the strong institutional support for David Penaloza and other establishment-aligned candidates reflects a competing view that stability, incremental change, and coalition-building with moderates are more effective strategies in competitive areas like Orange County than the confrontational style and ambitious reforms favored by progressive challengers.
Additionally, some analysts and political operatives point to mixed results for progressive Latino candidates elsewhere in the region as evidence that Lopez’s success is not guaranteed to translate into a broader realignment, and argue that many Latino voters in Orange County remain pragmatic swing voters rather than committed partisans of the left.
Skeptics of Lopez’s framing of “insiders versus working people” contend that such rhetoric oversimplifies complex policy debates, noting that unions, nonprofits, and progressive political organizations backing her are themselves powerful actors that shape legislation and budgets, and that community interests cannot be neatly divided into grassroots versus establishment.[2]
Finally, opponents warn that if Lopez’s approach becomes the dominant model for Latino politics in Orange County, it could sharpen ideological polarization inside local Democratic politics, potentially weakening the party’s ability to compete against Republicans in closely contested districts and to assemble broad coalitions needed to pass durable reforms.
Too popular, too strong and a deep domestic league is a problem Rouet would love Canada to have.
“The fun part with the [Canada] girls being in PWR is the quality of games,” he added.
“If you look at the top eight in the PWR, even Bristol, who are last, have six wins.
“There are no easy games, and this is the value for the players definitely.
“But off the pitch, the [Canada] girls have to live as students. They are not well paid, Rugby Canada doesn’t provide them enough money and their visas don’t allow them to work on the side.
“So, PWR is very helpful, but it’s also not sustainable for them to do that for 10 years.
“Also the only reason this PWR is the best of the leagues is because there are players from six, seven, eight countries that play in England.
“Those young English players who aren’t centrally contracted, have to grind to get game time. That is not bad for them. It’s the same for the senior Canada players when they come to a PWR club.”
Those Canada players and their colleagues will get three shots at England, and revenge for their World Cup final defeat, this autumn. They meet the Red Roses in Exeter on 19 September, before home fixtures in Toronto and Ottawa on 17 and 24 October.
Canada will have big crowds, but, with players scattered across continents and Rugby Canada’s focus switching to the men’s side and Australia 2027, short preparation time for those games.
“That’s the reality of our programme – we have to just be confident, but also be mindful if we don’t beat England, that’s OK,” said Rouet.
For Saracens, expectations are higher. They finished the PWR’s regular season strongly.
Gloucester-Hartpury, the three-time defending champions, didn’t.
The ‘Circus’ is in danger of falling flat after defeats by Ealing Trailfinders and Bristol Bears in their final two games.
Saracens take on Exeter this Sunday in the semi-finals and Rouet and his team are determined to put on a show of their own.
“We have a duty to try to promote the women’s game and part of that is playing fast rugby that is exciting, fun and beautiful to watch,” he added.
“We have great players at Saracens, players who love to take initiative, take an option, read the game as well as respect the structure. They love to do that, maybe I just try to empower them to do so.”
He can build bridges, but Rouet also hopes to destroy dynasties.
Israeli authorities released Hamas co-founder Hassan Yousef after more than two years in administrative detention. He was jailed without trial following his arrest in October 2023. The 71-year-old was taken to a hospital in Ramallah where he was received by family members.
