Friends star Matthew Perry will be the subject of a moving new documentary series about his life and struggles with addiction
The One About Matthew Perry teased in trailer from Netflix
Netflix has unveiled a trailer for its documentary series about Matthew Perry.
The One About Matthew Perry will focus on the late Friends star’s life, career and struggles with addiction. In the trailer, Perry’s close friends and family members open up about the 17 Again and The Whole Nine Yards star.
The trailer prominently features Perry’s sister, Mia Perry Bowick, who shares details about the huge sums of money her sibling had spent trying to beat addiction. The footage also includes some of Perry’s most iconic on-screen moments from Friends.
In a particularly poignant moment, one person reveals how Perry “saved my life” through his own advocacy to help fellow addicts. There is also touching archival footage of Perry discussing his demons in his own words.
A logline for the upcoming series reads: “Told through intimate testimonies from close family and friends, this documentary event reveals the real Matthew Perry—generous, funny, vulnerable, larger than life—and the battles he fought to become the man behind the icon. A raw record of a life lived in full, and the honesty that became his greatest legacy.”
The One About Matthew Perry is the first in-depth documentary about the actor since his death. The series will shed light on the different facets of his life from the comedy genius to the man struggling with addiction and also a campaigner to help others get sober.
A Netflix description goes on to state: “Tender and unflinching, the series doesn’t separate Matthew’s humor from his pain, or his fame from his addiction. It sits with both, the way the people who loved him had to. Millions around the world are touched by addiction – their own, or someone they love – and this series speaks directly to them.”
The streaming platform is releasing the three-part factual series The One About Matthew Perry on October 27. The programme will be coming out a day before the third anniversary of the star’s death.
Perry tragically died on October 28, 2023 at the age of 54. He was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. His cause of death was the acute effects of ketamine, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.
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His death sent the world into mourning with his Friends co-stars paying tribute to Perry. Prior to his death, Perry had released his 2022 autobiography – Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir.
Reflecting on the decision to open up about her brother’s death, Mia Perry Bowick said: “It’s taken time for me to feel ready to share these memories and what it was like to love Matthew through all the complexity of his life—to see him as a whole person, not just as Chandler, and not just as someone who struggled with addiction. As his sister, he shaped who I am today, the person I strive to be, and the work to which I’ve devoted my life.
“Matthew had a beautiful heart and a generous spirit, and even in his darkest moments, he could still make you laugh and feel loved. I hope this series gives everyone who loved him, whether personally or from afar, a deeper appreciation for who he truly was, and the legacy he leaves behind.”
The One About Matthew Perry will be released on Netflix on October 27
IF you want to be ahead of the curve, there’s a country three hours from the UK with beautiful coastal resorts, high summer temperatures and cheap beer.
Not only that, but there are more flights from the UK and with new hotels opening – so it’s set to be the must-visit destination of summer 2027.
Bulgaria is known for having beautiful and cheap coastal resortsCredit: AlamyJet2 will be adding even more flights next year for the Eurovision Song ContestCredit: Alamy
Bulgaria has it all from vibrant cities like Sofia to coastal resorts like Sunny Beach, Golden Sands and Albena.
In the summer, Bulgaria has highs of 30C – and in June, return flights to Sofia as little as £62.
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It’s affordable too, according to Wise, as beer in Bulgaria can be as little as 90p with an inexpensive meal at a restaurant costing around £6.
TUI has a number of hotels in Bulgaria already, but is expanding in time for next summer.
One of those is the TUI BLUE Arabella in Golden Sands near Varna, which is currently undergoing renovation and is set to reopen in summer 2027.
When open, guests will be able to paddle in its four swimming pools, one main pool, a children’s pool, one for relaxation and the indoor one too.
There will be on-site restaurants and bars, wellness area with a sauna, gym and tennis court.
On-site are 290 rooms which will range from suites to double and family rooms with sea views and balconies.
Guests will also have access to the waterpark at nearby GRIFID Bolero hotel.
Another is in the SUNEO collection which is budget-friendly stays with 3- and 4-star beach getaways.
Bulgaria is getting new TUI hotels for summer 2027Credit: Alamy
Called the TUI SUNEO Compass 4*, the pretty hotel is set within peaceful gardens and is also set to open next summer.
Already existing hotels include the TUI SUNEO Serenity Bay in Tsarevo and TUI SUNEO Perla in Sunny Beach.
An all-inclusive stay at TUI SUNEO Perla in May starts from £591.33pp – or £84.47pppn.
This includes a stay for seven-nights in a Deluxe Double Room with a balcony or terrace and return flights – it also has an outdoor swimming pool and restaurant.
Another of the existing TUI hotels includes the TUI BLUE Nevis in Sunny Beach which offers all-inclusive family holidays.
It has a huge swimming complex with swimming pools, splash zone and waterslides as well as kids’ clubs and a buffet restaurant.
TUI BLUE Arabella will reopen for booking next yearCredit: TUIIt’s right on the edge of Golden Sands and has an outdoor swimming poolCredit: TUI
There are plenty of flights from the UK too – TUI has flights to two destinations in Bulgaria, Sofia and Bourgas from 21 UK and Ireland airports.
TUI Group CEO Sebastian Ebel said: “Bulgaria has enormous potential as a tourism destination. The country combines attractive beach holidays on the Black Sea with culture, nature, hospitality and very good value for money.”
Jet2 also flies regularly to Bulgaria with flights from 11 UK airports to Bourgas.
These include London Stansted, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford, Bristol, Newcastle, London Gatwick, Birmingham, East Midlands, Glasgow, and Manchester.
From Bourgas, it’s easy to get to Sunny Beach, Nessebar, and St Vlas.
Adding to its popularity for next year, Bulgaria will be the host country for the Eurovision Song Contest after winning this year.
It will take place on May 11, 13, and 15 at theArena Burgas– and in time for the event, Jet2 will add new flights from the UK to Bourgas.
Otherwise want a mega cheap holiday? Loveholidays has four-night all-inclusives from £219pp.
Federal investigators have sent Los Angeles County elections officials at least five grand jury subpoenas for individual voter records as part of a criminal investigation into illegal voting, according to partially redacted records reviewed by The Times.
The subpoenas — released in response to a public records request — appear related to a nationwide effort by the Trump administration to identify noncitizens who have illegally cast ballots in U.S. elections.
The subpoenas were issued in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. They were sent to L.A. County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan’s office at the request of prosecutors in the office of First Assistant U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli.
“The enclosed subpoena has been issued in connection with an official criminal investigation being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations,” Assistant. U.S. Atty. Michael Wheat — based out of the district’s Orange County office — wrote in a letter accompanying a Sept. 10 subpoena.
Wheat wrote that a custodian of records from Logan’s office must either appear before the grand jury to present the records or deliver the materials to a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations.
Four of the subpoenas — one issued on July 13 and three on Sept. 10 — request “any and all original and non-redacted voter records” from Jan. 1, 2020, to the present for a list of individual voters stretching across two pages. The lists were redacted by Los Angeles County officials, and it is unclear how many individuals each list contained.
Each of those subpoenas notes that records to be produced include information on individual voters, such as their “registration file” and “addresses listed, history and method of voting, [and] any and all attestation regarding citizenship status.”
A fifth subpoena, issued July 31, appears to request similar information for a single voter, and notes that the voter’s “ballot content or vote selections” should not be included.
Ciaran McEvoy, a spokesman for Essayli’s office, declined to comment on the investigations Monday.
The Times first reported the existence of the subpoenas, but not details from the records themselves, last week, after Logan confirmed that his office was complying with the federal inquiry despite having concerns that investigators may be using incorrect or outdated information to produce their lists of voters to investigate.
“We’re responding appropriately as directed through a subpoena, but that doesn’t afford the dialogue for us to get the background on what they’re looking for and how they came up with the names that they did,” Logan said. “There’s really no information being provided to us on that.”
President Trump has alleged for years that illegal voting by noncitizens is widespread, though experts say the problem — which they acknowledge occurs — is exceedingly rare. Homeland Security officials have been leading a campaign in recent months to identify such fraud nationwide, and the subpoenas received by L.A. County appear to match others received by elections officials elsewhere in the country.
Essayli — a Trump loyalist who has not been confirmed to lead the Los Angeles prosecutor’s office by the U.S. Senate and whose de facto leadership has been contested in court — has been vocal about his office’s pursuit of voter fraud, including by noncitizens.
His office has announced two voter fraud cases in recent weeks, including one involving the arrest of 30-year-old Honduran national on two felony charges of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and fraudulently registering to vote. That man, Darwin Jonathan Rivera-Flores, has pleaded not guilty and is out on bond pending trial.
Rivera-Flores and his attorney declined to comment.
The Justice Department also recently announced it had charged 16 noncitizens in six other states with illegal voting and other election-related crimes.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin publicly claimed in July — without providing evidence — that there may be more than 190,000 such voters on California rolls, a claim California officials dismissed as baseless.
Three of the five subpoenas received by Logan’s office ask that the voter information be shared with Al Rossi, the acting assistant head of Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles.
Reached by phone, Rossi referred questions to an agency spokesperson, who did not respond to a request for comment.
Wheat had asked that the subpoenas be kept secret, so as not to impede an open investigation. Logan’s office released the records in accordance with California public records law, but redacted the names of voters on the grounds that doing so “protects those individuals from undue attention, harassment, intimidation, or possible harm” and “protects the integrity” of the investigation.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld Trump’s expanded use of government data to search for noncitizens who are registered to vote. A lower court order had blocked use of the data over concerns — shared by the Supreme Court’s liberal wing — that the data are error-prone.
Voting rights experts have expressed concern that misuse of the data could lead to legitimate voters being purged from rolls.
States across the country, including California, have successfully fought off lawsuits from the Trump administration demanding the states’ complete voter rolls.
It is unclear why a subpoena for a single voter’s information would come between subpoenas for information on longer lists of voters. But it lines up with the case against Rivera-Flores.
In an affidavit filed with a criminal complaint against Rivera-Flores, Special Agent Christopher Kuzma — the same agent listed on the July 31 subpoena requesting a single voter’s information — said he received a series of texts he believed were from Rivera-Flores, who had previously been issued a misdemeanor citation on suspicion of disrupting immigration law enforcement operations at the federal building in Camarillo.
One text sent in April 2026 stated, “Your not the good guy I can’t wait until the mid terms you dont have qualified immunity then we can start and indict all you guys one bye one.”
Kuzma said in his affidavit that he took the message to mean Rivera-Flores “has both an interest in the voting process and an intent to participate in the election process.”
According to the affidavit, Kuzma said he conducted several record checks through public databases, including on the California secretary of state’s website, which “disclosed an online voter registration record” for a “Darwin Rivera” at Rivera-Flores’ address.
In July 2026, Kuzma said in the affidavit, he reviewed records from California Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office for “Darwin J Rivera,” which showed the applicant had checked a box stating he was a U.S. citizen.
Kuzma’s affidavit said in August 2026 he received certified voter registration records from Los Angeles County.
The spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office did not respond to a question about whether Kuzma’s July 31 subpoena was specific to Rivera-Flores, but the office has previously said Wheat is prosecuting the case.
When Rivera-Flores’ arrest was announced, Essayli said it was “the first of many to come.”
Rooney’s former United team-mates Rio Ferdinand and David de Gea both posted on social media after news of the guilty verdict emerged on Friday, suggesting they should be awarded retrospective title wins.
“When I’ve heard of ex-team-mates and people saying, ‘we’ve won another medal’, I’m happy with the five I’ve won,” said Rooney.
“I wouldn’t want this one just sat there… 15 years later or whatever it was you get a medal because City cheated. I wouldn’t feel comfortable.
“The question is, would I want to receive that medal for finishing second? No.
“Some players might. I just wouldn’t feel comfortable for accepting a Premier League medal for finishing second.”
While Rooney is against titles being taken away from City, he does believe they should be relegated.
“I do think we’re going to see City getting relegated,” said the 40-year-old. “However that happens I don’t know but I think we’re going to see them get relegated.”
Rooney added: “I’d put them in the lowest league they can go in and then put restrictions on them in terms of how much money they can spend for the next three or four seasons.
“If you’re just putting them in the Championship, and I get that’s a massive punishment, they’re going to come back up. Where, I feel if they have got restrictions… League Two, whatever… that could be very difficult for them.
“For instance, if they got a 20-point deduction for the next three years then players won’t want to stay there. If it’s Championship for a season, you could talk players round.
Arrests were made over interference with refereeing procedures, among other accusations, Turkish justice minister says.
Published On 29 Sep 202629 Sep 2026
The head of Turkiye’s football refereeing body and six other people have been arrested over accusations of interference in refereeing procedures, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said.
“Claims regarding interference in the formation of referee classifications, assignments, scoring and appointment processes, as well as rule examinations, have been investigated,” Gurlek wrote in a social media post on Tuesday.
Ferhat Gundogdu, the president of the refereeing body, and his deputy were among those arrested.
Gurlek said searches had been carried out at the suspects’ “residences, workplaces and offices”.
“We will steadfastly continue the fight for clean football so that claims undermining trust in Turkish football are clarified, those responsible are held accountable before the law, and football is remembered for the effort, struggle, and sportsmanship on the field,” Gurlek added.
A year ago, the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) suspended 149 referees on charges of involvement in an illegal betting scandal.
The TFF investigation found that 371 out of the country’s 571 referees officiating in the professional leagues had betting accounts and 152 of them actively placed bets.
Some 29 people were arrested in the sprawling scandal, including 14 footballers, one of whom was Fenerbahce’s international midfielder Mert Hakan Yandas.
Authorities suspended more than 1,000 players, including 25 from the first division.
However, Gurlek did not draw any link between last year’s betting scandal and the current investigation.
The TikToker posted a side by side comparison of prices at a Greek airport, and many holidaymakers, despite visiting the country several times, didn’t know there was a ‘secret menu’ available
Food and drink can be expensive at the airport(Image: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Holidays are an expensive business, especially if you plan to grab a coffee and a toastie at the airport. Even a bottle of water can set you back £2-3, which is a kick in the teeth when you’re delayed and stuck in a hot terminal.
So, when one TikToker posted the prices at a busy Greek airport, it inspired a flood of comments, but not for the reason you might think. The Greek holiday fan, who posts under the username @zantegeezer with videos about the party island, went to an outlet at the airport that sold the usual pre-departure fare, and one thing surprised his followers.
He started his video saying: “I always post this every time I come to the airport. There is a regulated menu. Basically it means Greek government enforce these very good value for money options.”
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He goes on to show the regulated menu, which includes inexpensive prices for coffee, tea, toasties, and water, all the basic airport staples. He then holds up the café menu, saying:
“That’s a normal menu. You see the price difference there? I mean, look at the proper espresso you get off the regular menu”. The cafés usual menu shows a single espresso costs €4.80, just over £4, but travellers who order it via the regulated menu can get it for €1.80, a more reasonable cost of around £1.53.
A filter coffee is listed as €4.70 on the normal menu, yet if customers were to order off the regulated menu they’d spend just €1.60, around £1.36. And the bargains don’t stop there. Bottled water, in 0.5 or 0.75 litre bottles can be bought for €0.60 or €0.90, around £0.51 and £0.77 respectively.
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Hungry travellers can enjoy a toast with ham and cheese for €1.80, and if you’re dying for a cuppa before you get on the plane, a hot tea costs €1.60 on the regulated menu, or €4.00, about £3.43, if you order from the normal menu.
The TikToker finished by saying: “Just so you know, any airport in Greece you can get cheap stuff by law. Sort it out.” Regulated menus are also available in other locations across Greece in spots such as ports and ferries and places with a captive audience such as certain tourist sites.
However, there is a slight catch. The regulated prices only apply to basics such as water, coffee, and simple snacks like toasties, and only have to be offered on a takeaway basis, so the establishment isn’t under any obligation to let you use its tables. You’ll also generally be offered Greek brands, so don’t expect Volvic or San Pellegrino for the low price.
The video received many positive comments from people sick of rip-off airport prices. Over the summer, a number of airport prices came under scrutiny by fed-up travellers, from food costs to the hike in airport drop-off fees across major hubs.
Many shared their experiences with finding these cheaper deals. One said: “Santorini Airport only had €6.50 Evian water on display but they had the cheap Greek stuff when I asked.”, while another was unaware of these ‘secret menus’: “I didn’t know! Paid €4 for a bottle of water and € 7.90 for a sandwich at Zante airport!”
And there were plenty of calls for other countries to follow suit. “I need to call my representatives for the local and European Parliament. this has to be a European wide directive.”, said one. While another poster commented, “This is one of the best things about Greek airports. needs to be made Europe-wide”
Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com
Read on below for the latest rules on travel regulations when it comes to using ferry crossings.
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Do I need a passport to travel to Ireland via ferry from the UK?
Prior to Monday, 28 September, passengers were able to use routes including Dublin to Holyhead and Rosslare to Pembroke without needing to bring their passport.
However, that has now changed, and you must bring your passport, after identification rules were altered by ferry operators.
Stena Line has stated that all passengers travelling on routes from Dublin, Holyhead, Fishguard or Rosslare would be required to present a valid passport when checking inCredit: John Longley
Previously, anyone travelling on the above routes could use alternative forms of identification, such as driving licences and national identity cards.
Popular operators Irish Ferries and Stena Line have notified customers of the changes following their introduction.
For Irish Ferries routes, the necessity of travelling with a passport applies to its Dublin to Holyhead and Rosslare to Pembroke routes, in both directions.
Meanwhile, Stena Line has stated that all passengers travelling on routes from Dublin, Holyhead, Fishguard or Rosslare would be required to present a valid passport when checking in.
Almost 1.5 million people use the Holyhead to Dublin route each year, meaning it sees around 210,000 lorries and 383,000 cars pass through its port annually.
With more than 210,000 lorries and around 383,000 cars using it every year, Holyhead is the second busiest passenger ferry port to Dover.
Both operators will also accept passport cards, while Irish Ferries has added that anyone travelling who is not a British or Irish citizen and is visiting the UK for up to six months may require an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).
The body of a newborn baby has been found along a shoreline in north Wales.
North Wales Police have appealed for the mother who maybe “extremely vulnerable” to come forward.
A member of the public found the remains on the Menai Strait shoreline near Siliwen Road on Sunday shortly before 17:00 BST.
During a press conference, Director of Midwifery and Women’s Services for Betsi Cadwaladr health board Fiona Giraud has appealed directly to the mother to come forward.
“I want you to know that our immediate concern is for your health, safety and wellbeing. We recognise that you may be feeling frightened, overwhelmed or unsure about what to do next,” she said.
Giraud said they “have real concerns for the health of the mother”.
“We recognise that she is likely to be extremely vulnerable. She may be fearful of seeking the support she needs through fear of identifying herself.
Speaking directly to the mother, she added: “You may feel you have nowhere to turn, or that you cannot speak to anyone about what has happened. Please do not feel that you have to face this alone.
“We don’t yet know all the circumstances surrounding your baby’s death but what is important right now is that we find you, make sure you are safe, and ensure you receive any medical attention and support you may need.
“I am asking you personally, to please get in touch with us. You can speak to a healthcare professional, approach a police officer or attend a police station.
“If you are watching or listening to this appeal, please know that we want to hear from you. Please take the first step and contact us. There are people to help you.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
One month on from their year anniversary, people saw Noel walk into their home to find Harvey’s belongings in a bag and a photograph of them torn up on the floor. A clip from the episode was shared on Channel 5’s Instagram, which showed Millie kicking Harvey out.
As Millie explained, she had told Harvey they were ‘through’, her husband told the cameras he had gone back to his mum’s house as she told him to leave their home.
Elsewhere in the snippet, it showed mum Sue trying to help the pair reconcile as she called in an expert in family dynamics.
The clip on Instagram was captioned: “Millie kicks Harvey out after reaching breaking point. But when Sue brings in an expert and some home truths hit hard, will Harley finally change his ways?” However, it wasn’t long before people commented on the snippet of the episode, with many issuing the same complaint.
One person said: “This whole show is more and more staged.” As another added: “Never watched something so scripted and set up. Absolutely ridiculous. What are the chances Noel was with the camera crew and the photo was placed in the middle of the floor in the most obvious ripped up pile?”
Someone else wrote: “So staged now. I liked watching it a few years ago.” While a fourth added: “Love this programme, but it’s getting more like a soap opera these days. Can tell things are set up for the cameras… saying they are moving house. Which never happened. Millie’s door was left open, and a ripped photo was on the floor. So fake.”
Although one person defended the programme, adding: “It may be more scripted and edited, but the storylines aren’t fake if that’s what you’re suggesting. Not sure why a programme affects you so much.”
As another shared: “I love this. Well done to the Radfords for actually supporting even though he’s not their kid, what a beautiful support system Millie and he have, and what a beautiful thing to do for your grandkids! Just amazing parenting and support, thank you!!”
During the episode, it showed the pair make amends as Millie and Harvey have recently welcomed their fourth baby into the world. She shared the news on social media this week, telling viewers they had a little boy called Cooper-Jax
22 Kids and Counting is available to watch on Sundays on Channel 5 at 8pm
HomeBankingRevolut’s CEO Says US Banks Are ‘Out of Step’ With Global Consumers
Revolut US CEO Cetin Duransoy reveals plans to target globally minded and “underbanked” Americans as it builds toward becoming a primary bank.
After receiving conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for a national bank charter, Revolut Technologies Inc. appears ready to launch a full-scale challenge to traditional banks and fintechs in the United States.
After relatively quick growth in France, Spain, and Italy, Revolut aims to bring its superapp model to the U.S., where it doesn’t exist in quite the same form.
Revolut’s U.S. CEO, Cetin Duransoy, who has held senior roles at Raisin, Fundbox, Visa, and Capital One, spoke with Global Finance about Revolut’s plans for the American market.
Global Finance: In the US, banks, fintechs, brokerages, travel products and payment apps are mostly separate. Does that surprise you? Do you see a genuine hole in the U.S. market for a company that combines all those relationships in one place?
Duransoy: It’s not surprising, given how complex these products are and how crowded and fragmented the U.S. market is. Layer on the regulatory process, and combining all these product suites—banking, brokerage, FX, crypto, travel, and more—into a single company or app becomes genuinely difficult and, for most companies, not worth the effort.
We believe you need a genuinely differentiated product to succeed in this market, and we have identified an opportunity here. By bringing all these products into one platform, we can remove the friction customers typically experience when cobbling together services from multiple providers.
GF: People often say, “The U.S. banking market is different.” Different how, exactly? And how might those differences affect Revolut?
Duransoy: The US’s fragmented, charter-based regulation can be more cumbersome than the EU’s passporting model, and U.S. customers tend to rely more on credit than their European counterparts. But the U.S. provides certain advantages, including the U.S. card network and interchange system, which subsidize rewards; FDIC insurance; and consumer-protection laws, which create a trust threshold.
Our broad product offering, 80-million-user global network, and strong global brand allow U.S. to cater to the distinct challenges of the U.S. market and understand the challenges of U.S. distribution costs. By obtaining a national bank charter, we will be on par with traditional banks, with direct Fedwire/ACH access and lending capability.
GF: When Revolut enters the U.S. market more aggressively, should Americans expect something close to the European Revolut experience—or will the U.S. product necessarily look much more like a traditional American bank competing on deposits, credit cards and lending?
Duransoy: We are always focused on product-market fit for our customers, and the U.S. will be no different. We’ve publicly shared that we will bring the best of what Revolut offers and provide the products U.S. customers want most, including checking accounts, credit cards, installment loans, FX, and stablecoins. We’ll continue innovating to deliver a distinct, more productive experience for U.S. customers.
GF: One of the things that makes Revolut unusual in Europe is that it sits at the intersection of finance, travel and lifestyle. Is that model central to how you think about the US, or is America more of a banking opportunity?
Duransoy: Yes. Combining our lifestyle products with the financial services that have made Revolut so popular remains central to our thinking. And they’re a key differentiator in many of our markets. We expect these offerings to help make us a top-of-wallet card and strengthen customer retention.
GF: Why should someone with Chase, Amex, Venmo, Robinhood, and a good travel card move meaningful parts of their financial life to Revolut? What can you offer that those companies, individually or collectively, do not?
Duransoy: We recognize that inertia is a strong force when it comes to financial services and that a customer’s bank holds critical parts of their financial life, such as their mortgage or direct deposit.
What we offer is the ability to consolidate multiple products and services into a single interface and remove the friction our customers find frustrating with other services. Revolut’s broad-based platform allows customers to seamlessly access multi-currency spending without foreign transaction fees, instant global P2P, a combined debit/credit product, budgeting, digital assets, and investing, all without transferring funds between platforms or managing multiple accounts. That’s especially valuable for people who travel internationally, have cross-border family ties, or are underserved by traditional credit underwriting.
GF: Which types of lending will Revolut prioritize in the US?
Duransoy: We intend to initially prioritize unsecured and secured credit cards and installment loans.
GF: What does Revolut understand about the consumer relationship that you think many American banks and fintechs still lack?
Duransoy: We treat our global app as the product. We iterate quickly, aim for gamified engagement, and offer frequent feature releases, in contrast to most U.S. bank apps, which have slower release cycles.
We also build for financial lives that span borders and currencies, rather than assuming a single-currency, single-country customer. American banks were largely built for a domestic customer, and that assumption is increasingly out of step with a more mobile, globally connected population.
GF: Do you think Revolut is underestimated in the US? If so, why? Among those who are aware, what do people in the U.S. most commonly misunderstand about Revolut right now?
Duransoy: “Underestimated” is probably right now, largely because our independent U.S. bank doesn’t exist yet. So we’re still seen as a “European neobank” by most Americans. That undersells what we’ll be once we have a full national charter, FDIC insurance, and our full lending capabilities live.
The most common misunderstanding among those who do know the brand is that we’re simply a fintech or a travel debit card, rather than a company with an 80-million-user global base—including 1.4M in the US—and banking licenses now spanning the UK, France, Australia, Mexico, and more.
GF: Are you coming to the U.S. to compete for a small slice of the market, or do you ultimately believe Revolut can change what Americans expect from a bank?
Duransoy: In the US, our near-term goal is to compete for market share. No new entrant can reshape what an entire country expects from a bank on day one. That takes years of trust-building, especially post-charter, when FDIC insurance and regulatory scrutiny are new territory for us.
What we’re looking to do is win the demographics best suited to us, namely the internationally minded, underbanked-by-incumbents, and digitally native users.
GF: On the corporate side, what are Revolut’s corporate banking plans?
Duransoy: Revolut Business exists—and is a core focus for us—in the U.S. We expect this to continue and are excited to launch merchant acquiring within the first years of becoming a bank.
GF: If we revisit this in three years, what would need to be true for you to say that Revolut has successfully become a major U.S. bank?
Duransoy: Within three years, we expect to be a fully operating bank with real momentum. We won’t share specific customer or product numbers today, but we’re building for scale and a sizable U.S. customer base that treats us as their primary bank, not a secondary account. That’s the bar we’re setting for ourselves.
If your GHIC is due to expire soon and you are also due to travel soon, then apply for a new card for free via official NHS BSA Healthcare Cover Application, as soon as possible.
It usually takes around 15 working days for the card to arrive once your application is approved.
If you travel before your card arrives, then don’t worry – if you need medical treatment when abroad, then you or someone on your behalf can request a Provisional Replacement Certificate (PRC) online or by phone.
All you need to provide is your name, address, date of birth and your National Insurance Number.
The card is free to apply for and takes about 15 days to arriveCredit: Alamy
The certificate can then be emailed directly to the hospital or medical centre you are seeking treatment at and gives you the exact same healthcare cover as a physical card.
It is worth remembering though that GHIC cards are not a substitute for travel insurance.
GHICs do not cover private medical care, mountain rescue, flight cancellations or being flown back to the UK – all things that you will need travel insurance for.
Tim Knighton, travel insurance expert at Compare the Market, said: “With nearly 1.3 million GHICs due to expire this year, anyone travelling to Europe should check their card well before they set off.
“It’s an easy thing to overlook, particularly if you haven’t needed to use your GHIC on previous trips.
“The rise in applications for PRCs also highlights that people could find themselves needing access to healthcare unexpectedly while abroad, so checking you have a valid GHIC before travelling is an important part of preparing for your trip.
“A GHIC can be very useful if you need medically necessary state healthcare while abroad, but it’s important to remember that it isn’t a substitute for travel insurance.
“There are costs and circumstances that a GHIC may not cover, so having appropriate travel insurance can provide additional protection if something goes wrong.
“Before travelling, check the expiry date on your GHIC and make sure you understand what healthcare you can access at your destination.
“It’s also worth arranging travel insurance as soon as you book your trip and comparing policies carefully to make sure the level of medical and other cover suits your needs.”
It’s relatively easy to find USC and UCLA fans in Southern California, but where can proud Georgia, Michigan, Florida or Alabama fans go to watch games in the Los Angeles area with like-minded sports expats?
Look no further than the Los Angeles Times’ ultimate SoCal college football sports bar guide.
If you’re an alum or fan of teams from the Power Four conferences — the ACC and ally Notre Dame, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC — this guide will lead you to your tribe. No longer will you be the only person cheering and clapping at the bar when Oklahoma scores a touchdown or walk into a bar wearing Michigan blue and only seeing others decked out in Ohio State gear.
Find your home away from home on game day.
Scroll down or filter through location to find where fan bases for most Power 4 schools hang out during the game.
In May, when Samuel Gonzalez Terrones was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, he started seeing a therapist and taking medication that he hoped would finally alleviate the dark thoughts that had begun creeping up so frequently he would sometimes seek help by calling the police on himself.
A month later, his mom, Minerva Terrones Dominguez, 54, had just hopped off a bus on her way to a grocery store in San Bernardino when immigration agents arrested her for being in the country illegally. While she languished in detention, the family said, Samuel grew increasingly despondent.
To help pay for an immigration lawyer, his siblings and dad had taken up extra shifts at their jobs. But because Samuel’s condition meant he couldn’t hold a steady job, he spent more and more time alone at home in Rialto.
“My mom was the one who would take care of him when he would have those bad thoughts,” said his older sister Sari Gonzalez, 32. “Everybody would be at work or at school, so my mom was the only one that would be here to calm him down, to say, ‘Your siblings will be here in a bit, just wait.’”
The lawyer, Arturo Burga, had figured out a way to free Minerva from detention and allow her to stay permanently in the U.S. The legal pathway, called cancellation of removal, hinged on proving that her deportation would cause extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen: Samuel.
They never got to file the paperwork.
Samuel Gonzalez Terrones, 21.
(Gonzalez family)
At 3:55 a.m. on Aug. 12, San Bernardino police responded to a railroad crossing. Samuel was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a San Bernardino County coroner’s news release. He was 21.
In a letter Samuel wrote before his death, an excerpt of which was shared with The Times, he talked about his mother’s detention. He said her being taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement made him feel like he’d hit “one last wall.”
“To the ICE agent who took away my mother: I hope it was worth it,” Samuel wrote. “I can’t handle anymore injustices in this world.”
Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional or call 988. The nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Or text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.
Motivations for suicide are often complex and unknowable, and it’s unclear how the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies may have moved an immigrant or family member to harm themselves. But immigrant advocates say they have heard of such deaths.
This month, a 20-year-old Haitian man in Springfield, Ohio, walked into oncoming traffic after the Trump administration ended his Temporary Protected Status and ICE fitted him with an ankle monitor.
In May, the Associated Press found that at least 10 detainees had died by suicide since President Trump took office — a pace that far exceeds the growth in the detainee population.
ICE did not respond to requests for comment.
Samuel’s family describes him, the second youngest of seven siblings, as a caring and generous person who, at his best, was quick to laugh, loved chocolate conchas and video games, and dreamed of becoming a graphic designer.
He kept a dark aesthetic, with a lip piercing and nails frequently painted black or red. But he also had a lighter side, Sari said, as evidenced by the Hannah Montana stickers decorating his bedroom wall.
When the siblings were younger, they worked out together and would challenge each other to see how many pull-ups they could do. They liked hanging out at a skate park, laughing as he guided Sari’s small dog, Polar, down a rail on a board.
His mental health struggles started in 2021, when he was a freshman at Cajon High School. Little by little, he lost his passion for the gym, Sari said, and everything else.
An undated photo of Samuel Gonzalez Terrones.
(Gonzalez family)
Sari said she and her siblings each played a different role in helping Samuel through his struggles. He and his younger sister played video games. Sari would talk to him about adulthood. Their older brother would take him to church. On good days, their father would bring him along to landscaping jobs.
“He really did try to get better,” she said. “He held on for a really long time, and I’m proud of him for being so strong.”
The day Minerva was detained, Samuel and Sari were at home.
According to a federal court petition seeking Minerva’s release from ICE custody, federal agents stopped her, said she “looked like someone” they were seeking and mocked her when they found her EBT card while searching her belongings.
Minerva has lived in the U.S. for 33 years, had never been arrested or convicted of a crime and had never been in removal proceedings, according to her lawyer.
Sari said an ICE agent called her and said she had an hour to pick up her mother’s things from the agency’s local office and to say goodbye before ICE moved her to a detention center.
Samuel was inconsolable. “I’ve never seen him cry like that,” Sari said.
Sari took up extra hours at the plastics factory where she works as a machine operator. On Sundays, her only day off each week, she would take Samuel and their youngest sister to visit their mom at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The drive was 45 minutes without traffic, but they’d always arrive three hours early to join other families on the wait list to see loved ones.
On the way to the facility, Samuel was visibly happy. But on the way home, Sari said, all would be crying.
Friends and relatives attend the graveside service for Samuel Gonzalez Terrones.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)
The extra expense of legal representation left the family struggling to pay for bills and food. In the evenings, Samuel stopping spending time with his siblings and retreated to his bedroom.
Burga, the lawyer, alerted ICE of Samuel’s death via email and requested Minerva’s emergency release under humanitarian grounds. He said the ICE deportation officer who replied struck a softer tone than usual, offering sincere condolences to the family.
“Our office was devastated,” said Amber Burga, executive director of the law firm. “I thought to myself, it takes somebody committing suicide for them to have compassion.”
Sari waited two weeks to tell Minerva. She waited, in part, because her mom had an upcoming court hearing and she didn’t want grief to cloud her thinking.
Sari was given 10 minutes in a visitation room to break the news about Samuel’s death to her mother.
“It was just me, my aunt and the officer who was watching,” she said. “When I told her, they wouldn’t even let me hug her while my mom was crying. They told me, ‘You can’t hug her. You can’t touch her.’”
Three days later, on Aug. 31, a federal judge — who didn’t know about Samuel’s death — issued an order granting her petition for release from detention, finding that she had been held illegally “based solely on DHS’s mistake.”
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Brianna Fuller Mircheff wrote that when Minerva was detained, another federal judge had already declared it unlawful for Homeland Security to require mandatory detention for people who, like her, had entered the U.S. illegally.
Minerva had been arrested without a warrant, and an immigration judge had not determined whether she was a flight risk or a danger to the public.
Referring to Minerva and similar cases, Mircheff wrote, “Hundreds, if not thousands of individuals were held without process that was owed to them.”
Lawyers for the federal government had argued that Minerva could simply wait until she had been detained for six months, at which point she’d be entitled to a bond hearing, court records show. That suggestion didn’t fly with Mircheff, either.
“It is beyond cruel to suggest that this Court would let her sit in custody another four months,” she wrote.
Minerva is still in deportation proceedings. Without Samuel, she no longer qualifies for the legal pathway her lawyers had built a case around. Sari said she’s now considering joining the U.S. military to access the immigration benefits available for undocumented parents of enlisted members.
The family started a fundraiser to cover the cost of Samuel’s funeral.
Samuel’s parents, siblings, and a few dozen other family members and friends arrived on Sept. 22 at noon to bury him at the Rialto Park Cemetery. Each person held a white, long-stemmed rose.
Sari sobbed. Minerva looked on at the black casket holding her youngest boy, the goofball who loved his family, the one who had longed for her support while she was detained.
Times staff photographer Gina Ferazzi contributed to this report.
Meanwhile, there is a first senior call-up for Chelsea midfielder Lexi Potter, 20, who has impressed alongside England’s Keira Walsh in the Women’s Super League.
She has started three of Chelsea’s opening four matches and was a standout performer in their 1-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday.
“Her performances were just really good. We started following her closely last season and she got minutes over time,” said Wiegman.
“She plays with a lot of courage, a lot of understanding and her decision-making is really good. Her technical ability, we have seen, is really good too.
“What I’ve seen is that no matter who she plays against, like last Sunday [against Arsenal], it looks like it doesn’t bother her at all and she will just play football.
“She played against very high-level players, international players, and she just played. She looked very comfortable. I hope she shows that with us too.”
There is also a return to the squad for uncapped midfielder Erica Meg Parkinson, 18, who has excelled since joining North Carolina Courage in the summer.
Manchester City full-back Niamh Charles made her return from injury as a substitute in their 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday and is included.
London City Lionesses forward Freya Godfrey and Liverpool defender Grace Fisk are the other two uncapped players named.
England play a double-header against Greece, first in Crete on Friday, 9 October (17:30 BST) and then in Leicester on Tuesday, 13 October (19:30 BST).
If they win the two-legged tie, they progress to round two of the play-offs where they can compete for a place in next summer’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
FIFA accuses UEFA of attempting to influence its presidential election, in which Gianni Infantino is seeking a fourth term.
Published On 29 Sep 202629 Sep 2026
FIFA has accused European football’s governing body, UEFA, of waging a “misinformation campaign” and trying to influence the race for its presidency amid a growing governance crisis in the sport.
Football’s global governing body urged a court in the United States on Tuesday to reject UEFA’s discovery request linked to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s controversial investment proposal for rights to the World Cup.
Last month, UEFA asked a US federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against Infantino over a now-abandoned plan to transfer World Cup commercial rights into a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
In its response, FIFA said UEFA’s brief contained “numerous false or misleading statements about FIFA and Infantino”.
“With no basis whatsoever, UEFA suggests that Mr Infantino sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal,” FIFA said in a filing in the Southern District of Florida, opposing UEFA’s motion for discovery.
“As explained, the FFE plan was subject to approval by both the FIFA member associations and FIFA Council, and FFE would have been subject to oversight by both groups within FIFA,” it said.
“UEFA’s suggestions that Mr Infantino violated any law or ethical principle are categorically without merit.”
UEFA alleged Infantino developed the proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, bypassing the global body’s normal governance processes and failing to consult FIFA Council, regional confederations or member associations.
The European body said in the legal filing that investors would have paid $4.2bn for a stake in FFE, valuing the business at about $20bn.
It said the valuation significantly undervalued FIFA’s commercial rights and alleged it had not been subjected to an open auction or tested by an independent valuer.
“UEFA, whether deliberately or through ignorance, conflates equity value with enterprise value,” FIFA said.
“It is undisputed that FFE’s ‘initial equity valuation’ — meaning ‘the value that remains for the shareholders after any debts have been paid off’ — was $20 billion … Materials distributed to FIFA’s member associations reveal that FFE’s total ‘enterprise value’ on the other hand — meaning the ‘entire value of the business’ — was well over $30 billion.”
“Indeed, FFE’s enterprise value was well in excess of twice the equity value, and therefore far above the value UEFA says would be fair.”
‘Attempt to influence election’
The FFE project was abandoned in July following opposition from confederations, including UEFA, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football and the Asian Football Confederation, over a lack of consultation, with the dispute fuelling demands for changes to FIFA’s governance.
Last week, Infantino wrote to all 211 member associations proposing an independent review of the governing body’s decision-making processes.
The Swiss administrator is up for re-election in March, and FIFA has alleged that UEFA’s legal filings are an attempt to influence that election.
“Just before FIFA’s election, UEFA filed this 1782 Application (and three others) spreading misinformation regarding Mr Infantino,” FIFA said.
“This court should reject any attempt to influence FIFA’s presidential election based on these grounds.”
Earlier on Monday, Infantino said he was willing to discuss the disbursement of millions of dollars to its member associations with the exact amount of the distributions to individual nations set to be on the agenda of the FIFA Council’s October 15 meeting.
South Korea has accused North Korea of planting mines that caused an explosion in the Demilitarized Zone last week, injuring two South Korean personnel and violating the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.
South Korean Defence Minister Kang Shin-chul told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that the mines were North Korean and appeared to have been planted as part of Pyongyang’s efforts to strengthen its border defenses near the Military Demarcation Line that divides the DMZ.
Kang said the incident warranted a response from Seoul, although he declined to specify what measures the South Korean military might take.
Seoul Blames North Korea for the DMZ Explosion
“The responsibility lies with North Korea, so we will take corresponding measures,” Kang said, adding that the military had several response options and would implement them in stages.
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He said a key question was whether North Korea had planted the mines knowing that South Korean troops could enter the area and potentially be injured.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said an investigation conducted jointly with the United Nations Command had also uncovered another North Korean resin anti personnel mine close to the site of the September 21 explosion.
The newly discovered mine was different from those believed to have caused last week’s blast.
Another Mine Found South of the Military Line
JCS Vice Chairman Kwon Dae-won said the mines did not appear to have drifted into the area where they were discovered.
The United Nations Command assessed that the additional mines were clearly located south of the Military Demarcation Line, according to South Korean officials.
The findings have heightened concerns about the dangers created by North Korea’s ongoing efforts to fortify its side of one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders.
The DMZ has remained a highly sensitive area since the 1953 armistice, with even limited incidents carrying the potential to trigger a broader military confrontation.
A New Mine Incident Revives Memories of 2015
The latest blast has echoes of a 2015 confrontation, when North Korean mines seriously injured South Korean soldiers inside the DMZ.
South Korea responded by restarting loudspeaker broadcasts aimed at North Korea across the border. Pyongyang condemned the broadcasts, and tensions escalated into a military standoff before the two sides reached a high level agreement.
The current incident is unfolding under different political circumstances, however, as Seoul is simultaneously attempting to reopen dialogue with Pyongyang.
South Korea’s Dialogue Push Faces a Fresh Challenge
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to encourage North Korea to return to dialogue after years of worsening relations.
Pyongyang has instead moved in the opposite direction, declaring South Korea an enemy state and abandoning its previous policy goal of peaceful reunification.
That shift has made military incidents along the border increasingly sensitive.
For Seoul, the challenge is to respond to the alleged mine deployment while avoiding measures that could further damage its efforts to restore communication with Pyongyang.
North Korea Remains Silent as Seoul Warns of a Response
North Korean state media has not publicly commented on the explosion or South Korea’s accusations.
North Korea’s mission to the United Nations and its embassies in Beijing and Singapore also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
With the South Korean military warning that it will take corresponding measures, the incident could become another source of confrontation between the two Koreas.
The immediate priority is preventing further injuries and dealing with the mines around the Military Demarcation Line. But the larger concern is whether the latest explosion will trigger another cycle of military responses at a time when relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are already deeply strained.
The blast therefore carries significance beyond the two injured personnel. It has placed South Korea’s attempt to pursue dialogue with North Korea alongside the more immediate question of how Seoul responds to what it considers a violation of the armistice.
The fan-favourite baking competition has returned to Channel 4, with 12 amateur bakers hoping to impress Paul Hollywood and new judge Nigella Lawson, who has replaced Dame Prue Leith.
In the first episode of this series, the bakers were tasked with making Nigella’s stout cake and a self-portrait showstopper, and despite two creations collapsing onto the floor, no one was sent home after contestant Shannon had to quit the challenge halfway through on medical advice.
Ahead of biscuit week tonight, Tuesday 29 September, one contestant has recalled his own experience on the show. Howard Middleton took part in the fourth series back in 2013, but was devastatingly sent home during week six.
He’s now revealed that before filming even began, there was a moment that left him feeling sick. Speaking on behalf of Smooth Spins, Howard shared his first impression of the famous white tent.
He said: “It’s interesting because you get two shots of it. So, we were ferried from the hotel to the tent in a little minibus, and you just see the tent emerging from the minibus, and it’s at that point you sort of think, ‘Oh God, I feel a bit sick!’ That’s when it starts to feel real.
“When you actually go into the tent the first time, you get a tour, where someone explains how the ovens work and the hobs and everything around the kitchen. I just remember thinking that I hadn’t understood a word that you’d just said because I was so in awe of actually being in the tent.
“Even after the explanation, I still kept having to ask how to work the oven and the hob afterwards. It’s very overwhelming, and I did feel a bit sick.”
He went on to talk about meeting his fellow bakers, revealing they only met the night before. Howard continued: “Obviously we’ve all gone through the audition process, and you’ve met certain people along the way, but it’s not until the night before you actually start filming that you know who’s got into the tent. It may be that you’ve met one or two of them, or you remember seeing them during the auditions, but most of the time they’re strangers, really.
“On the first night when you meet everyone, you can make up your mind about them. Sometimes people can be very loud if you are out for dinner or something, and you start to understand what they will be like in the tent.”
After their first impressions of each other, Howard shared that the bakers did spend time together when the cameras stopped rolling, though he admitted that his time on the show was likely different to now. Back then, the contestants stayed in a hotel further from the tent, whereas he claimed that now, due to security reasons, they stay much closer.
He went on: “And the security is much tighter than it was. We were free to go out for meals together in the evening, although, to be perfectly honest, you’re so tired by the time you’ve finished a day of filming that you really don’t want to socialise that much.
“We also realised that those of us who would be catching up at the hotel bar late at night – none of us made it through to the finals! So if there’s a lesson to be learned, it’s don’t go out the night before!”
The Great British Bake Off continues tonight at 8pm on Channel 4
OXFORD Street is set to be pedestrianised in the run-up to the Christmas period – and it’s sooner than expected.
Once pedestrianisation is complete, all vehicles and bikes will be blocked from accessing the world-famous street.
The street’s closure comes following years of consultations with members of the publicCredit: Mayor of LondonThe pedestrianisation of London’s Oxford Street is set to go ahead following official final approval by Sadiq KhanCredit: Mayor of London
The London Mayor has revealed the date which all cars, buses and taxis are set to disappear from one of the capital’s most recognisable streets.
On October 26, a one-kilometre stretch of the road will become vehicle-free as a “transition-phase” prior to being fully pedestrianised.
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The entire section between Selfridges near the Marble Arch end and Great Portland Street (including Oxford Circus) will be the first to be impacted – with buses rerouted and cars set to be banned.
Transport for London (TFL) has also confirmed that e-bikes, pedal bikes, and e-scooters will no longer be allowed to go through the area.
Sadiq Khan announced: “Following strong support from Londoners and businesses, I’m excited to see my bold vision for Oxford Street really coming to life next month as we start going traffic-free, just in time for the busy Christmas shopping period.”
The transition phase comes as works still need to be carried out to sort out any potential problems, including relocating bus stops and changing the direction of travel in some areas.
Sections of Oxford Street will also be transformed with new planters and seating areas to replace traffic lanes.
However, Westminster Council said there was still a “long list of unanswered questions about how it will work” and questioned whether traffic would be pushed to small streets nearby as a result.
Councillor Tim Barnes, deputy leader of Westminster City Council and cabinet member for growth and planning, added: “If this is going to be the ‘greener, better and more prosperous’ success that the Mayor has promised, then issues around access, air pollution, street cleaning and public safety, need answers urgently.”
The project to make part of Oxford Street traffic- free follows two public consultations in 2025 and 2026.
Following support, TFL has been working alongside the Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC) to regenerate London’s most famous street.
WASHINGTON — Under a light rain on Sunday at the Australian ambassador’s residence in Washington, CNN hosted its third annual tennis tournament, the Kangaroo Cup, pitting Beltway journalists against administration officials. The event aims to inject some levity into an historically adversarial relationship, reminding both sides of the spirit of the game. Themed drinks and tennis whites set the tone.
White House officials played with grace. But the mood this year was altogether different down Pennsylvania Avenue. Despite a federal judge demanding the administration reverse course on President Trump’s punitive actions toward his disfavored news outlets — CNN, MS NOW and Politico — he has refused to resume full access to the storied cable news channel, dismissing its reporters as “fake news.”
It is only the latest attack on press freedom by a president whose drive to punish critics and exert influence over the media appears to be growing.
During last week’s lavish state visit for Xi Jinping, Trump praised China for having “the friendliest press corps” and dismissed their repression of speech, despite the World Press Freedom Index ranking China among the world’s worst offenders — at the bottom of the list, alongside North Korea and Eritrea — for restrictions on journalists.
Five times in the last two months, the president has sneered at and insulted female reporters, mocking their appearance or dismissing their credentials.
He has declined to name a successor for his former press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, whose final news conference, on Aug. 27, was one of only a handful of briefings held throughout the summer. His administration launched its own streaming service last week, called Trump TV, in an attempt to circumvent traditional cable news. And on Monday, he posted renderings of the White House briefing room reconverted to its former use as a presidential pool and spa.
Trump’s escalating attacks on the press come just weeks before the midterm elections, as former officials and election experts warn the administration could seek to undermine confidence in the results. They also come at a precarious moment for public trust in the media, with more Americans saying limits on the press can be justified to combat misinformation.
A Pew Research Center survey released earlier this month found that 73% of Americans regard a free press as “very” or “extremely” important to society. Yet the country remains deeply divided over whether journalists should be barred from reporting “inaccurate” information, with a majority, 53%, supporting limits in some circumstances — even if it means the government itself would have the final say in determining what is true.
Trump’s attempt to bar three outlets from the White House grounds came just three days after the Pew poll was released.
“Plenty of presidents have complained about the press before. And presidents have restricted certain forms of press access or press action during wartime,” said Peter Kastor, chair of the History Department at Washington University in St. Louis. “In the moment — and especially afterward — Americans condemned this as antithetical to the constitutional protections for press freedom and the national commitment to an open democracy.
“What I find most striking about Trump’s press action is that he has made it unabashedly personal,” Kastor added. “He doesn’t like the way media outlets are covering him, so he is going to punish them.”
President Nixon famously limited White House access for the Washington Post over its coverage of the Watergate scandal. But he never attempted to bar press credentials completely — and ultimately authorized the conversion of the pool facility into the briefing room that exists today.
Other presidents have jostled with the press. President Obama was accused of limiting access to independent photojournalists, and famously favored nontraditional media outlets at the advent of the social media age. President George W. Bush limited his personal interactions with the press and curtailed access to government records.
Thomas Jefferson, the nation’s third president, once stated he “deplored” the “putrid state into which our newspapers have passed, and the malignity, the vulgarity, and mendacious spirit of those who write for them.”
Yet, “it is however an evil for which there is no remedy,” he also said. “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
Trump’s particular style — as a showman and his own spokesman — makes his relationship with the media innately personal, said Andrew Rudalevige, a professor of government at Bowdoin College and author of “The New Imperial Presidency.”
“Presidents almost always feel that bad press is a feature of their staff’s poor communication of their policies — not that the policies themselves are unpopular or ill-advised,” Rudalevige said.
“Since President Trump does so much of his communication, though, this deflection is less available,” he added, and “thus the problem is with the press itself, not the policy or its purveyor.”
CNN’s legal fight continues, even after securing temporary reprieve from a judicial restraining order. So does the Associated Press’ lawsuit over the administration’s effort last year to punish the wire service for refusing to adopt Trump’s preferred name, “Gulf of America,” for the internationally recognized Gulf of Mexico.
While he keeps losing in court on 1st Amendment grounds, the president keeps testing new limits, looking for what will stick.
On the tennis court Sunday, at least, his administration won.
When Dodgers rookie Josue De Paula debuted a little over two weeks ago, he was the youngest player in the lineup by four years. And when veteran infielder Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Alex Freeland in the eighth inning, the 21-year-old De Paula and 29-year-old Kyle Tucker were the only Dodgers under 30 remaining in the batting order.
“You’ve got to have both,” veteran shortstop Mookie Betts, who turns 34 next month, said in a recent conversation with the Times. “You need experience, but you also do need youth. I don’t know what the balance is, to be honest.”
The age of the Dodgers’ stars is the most persistent knock on a group that just finished a 100-win regular season and has the second-best odds to win the World Series (16.7%), according to Baseball Prospectus.
It’s the threat looming beyond every new accomplishment. Yes, the Dodgers are in the midst of a historic run. Only one other organization has strung together so many consecutive postseason berths, and that Braves team of the 1990s and early 2000s won only one World Series.
The Dodgers are aiming to become the first National League team to claim three straight championships.
But how long can this last?
The Dodgers’ lineup is the oldest in the majors, according to Baseball Reference, with an average age of 30.9 years old when weighted by at-bats and games played. Their star corner infielders, Freddie Freeman and Max Muncy, are the oldest of the everyday starters, at 37 and 36, respectively. Even two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani turned 32 in July.
“That’s a fact, we’re an older team,” manager Dave Roberts said. “With age, there’s experience. I know we’re not going to fall off a cliff, our team.”
Plenty of young players in the Dodgers’ system have been blocked by older stars over the years. But in addition to a sky-high payroll, the Dodgers are known for their player development.
Even after the trade deadline — when the Dodgers sent two MLB Top-100 prospects, outfielder Zyhir Hope (No. 25) and right-hander River Ryan (No. 68), to the Tigers as part of the trade package for left-hander Tarik Skubal — the organization’s farm system ranked No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s rankings.
Serving as a reminder of that strength, when the Dodgers called up De Paula straight from double A, he immediately showed his bat belonged in the big-leagues.
At the same time, injuries stoked the flames of the age discussion. De Paula got his shot because Ohtani finally went on the injured list, after managing problems with his left knee and right biceps for much of the season.
Freeman pushed through knee tendinitis in September. Teoscar Hernández (left hamstring strain) and Betts (right oblique strain) both had monthlong IL stints earlier in the season but have helped carry the offense lately.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’m definitely taking a lot more care of my body,” Betts said. “I know I had an oblique [injury] earlier, but as far as just showing up every day and whatnot, I feel like we do a good job in taking care of our bodies and staying healthy for the most part.
“But I mean, people are talking like we’re the only ones in the league that’s getting hurt. You look everywhere around the league, somebody’s hurt.”
That’s true. And it also isn’t just the guys in their mid-to-late 30’s sustaining soft-tissue injuries. Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing, 25, served back-to-back IL stints for a flexor strain in his forearm down the stretch.
The Dodgers’ roster has proven deep enough to withstand injuries, as the team posted the second-best regular-season record in the majors this year.
“We’re not going to win games the same way that Milwaukee or Tampa Bay or these younger teams are winning games,” said Rojas, 37. “We’re going to win games a different way. We’re going to win games with a lot of talent, with experience, and winning moments.”
Over the years, the Dodgers have brought in players with postseason experience. But roster continuity also has meant that 17 players on this year’s projected postseason roster also contributed to both of the Dodgers’ last two World Series-winning seasons.
So, after playing more games than any other team the past couple years, the Dodgers may be a little hobbled going into their first-round bye. Regardless, they just completed their first 100-win season since 2023.
“The experience, how smart these guys are on the field, I think those things help win moments and win battles on the edges in October,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said when the Dodgers clinched the NL West title earlier this month. “It’s not as easy to navigate through a 162-game season with an older roster. But I do think that experience in those moments will definitely help and we’ll see it shine through at different points in October.”
Washington’s top diplomat calls the suspected plot ‘a very serious situation’ after five were arrested over the weekend.
Published On 29 Sep 202629 Sep 2026
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said a “foreign actor” was involved in a suspected bomb plot near an airbase in the United Kingdom used by the US military.
Police arrested five men, all British nationals from London, in their early to mid-20s, on Sunday after being alerted by a local farmer about three white vans driving towards RAF Fairford, a British base that houses US bombers flying missions against Iran.
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The counterterrorism police said on Monday they were investigating whether individuals were acting for a foreign state in an apparent plot to attack the airbase. They later said the suspects would be released on bail.
Commenting on the suspected plot and arrests on the Hannity programme on Fox News late on Monday, Rubio said, “What happened, what almost happened, what could have happened in the UK over the weekend is a very serious situation.”
“It’s one that clearly involves the hands of a foreign actor. I won’t get into great detail about that yet,” he added.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had said in July the Fairford base was a legitimate target.
Iran’s embassy in London said in a statement on Monday it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns the recent unfounded and malicious speculations” that it was involved, which it said would fuel “Iranophobia propaganda” in the UK.
Trump said on Sunday the UK and the US had had the suspects “under investigation” for a while and alleged, “They were looking to do big damage to our fort.”
After hearing news that suspects were being released on bail, Trump said on Monday the case “might be” linked to Iran but declined to elaborate.
US bombers
The UK gave the US permission in March to use Fairford for “specific defensive operations into Iran” to destroy Iranian missiles at source.
US bombers and other planes have since been seen taking off and landing at the base – the only one on the British mainland used for this purpose.
Residents in the rural Cotswolds area surrounding Fairford said the site, which hosts a range of US military equipment and personnel, had seen increased activity and security in recent months.
Authorities evacuated about 85 households from a nearby village early on Sunday, but they were allowed to return home the next day.
Tehran has previously warned London against allowing its bases to be used by the US in operations against Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused London of “putting British lives in danger” by allowing the bases to be used “for aggression against Iran”.
