SAN DIEGO — While their spring convention was held beneath mostly sunny San Diego skies, delegates and leaders of the California Republican party basked in a different sort of glow over the weekend as the campaign for a leading Democratic candidate for governor imploded because of allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

The party did not endorse a candidate for governor on Sunday because neither of the top Republicans — Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and former Fox News host Steve Hilton — received the support of 60% of delegates. Bianco won 49% while Hilton had 44%; 7% of delegates voted not to endorse in the race.

“We’re very happy,” Bianco said after the vote. “We got the popular vote here, right? Ultimately, our goal is to win California, and you win California with the popular vote … Californians are looking for a leader. Californians are looking for integrity. Californians are looking for honesty. And they want someone that they know is going to be looking out for them, working for them, and that’s why I won this vote.”

Hilton also said he was pleased by his showing.

“Chad came into this convention thinking he had it in the bag,” Hilton said. “I think we made a lot of progress this week and I think the endorsement of President Trump is the one that’s gonna be decisive in the primary.”

The convention took place as a former staff member for Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) accused him of forcing himself on her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent, according to reports published by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN. Three other women also accused Swalwell of misconduct that included sending and soliciting explicit photos and messages.

Swalwell has not withdrawn from the race, but within hours of the allegations top supporters withdrew endorsements of the East Bay Area congressman, including Sen. Adam Schiff, campaign co-chairs Reps. Jimmy Gomez and Adam Gray, and prominent labor unions including the California Teachers Assn.

The collapse of Swalwell’s campaign brought a surge of energy to leaders and hundreds of die-hard members of a state Republican Party that holds a superminority in the state Legislature and no statewide elected offices. The news broke Friday, just as the party convention was getting underway at the bayside Sheraton San Diego Resort and hours before the Artemis II crew splashed down off the nearby coast.

Sean Spicer, a former press secretary during President Trump’s first term who is promoting a new book, joked during a Saturday brunch panel about landing in San Diego just in time to see “the fall.”

“Sorry, I was talking about Swalwell,” he said to laughter. “It was also cool to see Artemis come back down.”

Republicans have not won a statewide election since 2006 and some hoped Swalwell’s controversy would fuel voters already beleaguered by the cost of living to consider supporting GOP candidates this year.

“Quite frankly, Californians are, by and large, looking for viable alternatives. They’re looking towards the California Republican Party,” Chairwoman Corrin Rankin told reporters.

Republicans running to succeed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom shared similar visions during five-minute speeches at a Saturday afternoon candidate forum.

“We meet here today, full of energy and hope and optimism, with a spring in our step on this beautiful spring day. Why? Because every party has its season, and for the California Democrats, the leaves are cascading from the trees,” Hilton told delegates.

Hilton, who served as a top political advisor to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, argued that 16 years of Democratic rule has led to dysfunction, chaos and scandal that alarmed voters in the overwhelmingly blue state even before the Swalwell scandal.

“And now, it’s been a couple of hours, so I think we’re due for another Eric Swalwell intern eruption,” he said.

Hilton touted Trump’s endorsement, describing it as a “tremendous asset for us, the energy, the resources, the precious gift of having the boost that makes the biggest difference in a midterm year turnout.”

Bianco emphasized his decades serving in law enforcement in the state, one of his main selling points to Californians concerned about liberal criminal justice policies of past Democratic administrations.

“I have spent every day serving California residents, making our lives better and safer. I have fought for you, and I have bled for you,” Bianco said.

Bianco refuted Hilton’s allegations that he coddled undocumented immigrants, sympathized with Black Lives Matter protesters and threatened county residents with punishment if they did not abide by mask mandates during the pandemic. He said he was the first law-enforcement official in the nation to defy a lockdown order after the pandemic. Bianco said that while he prayed with protesters in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, he also “forcefully” expelled “rioters and domestic terrorists” from his county.

Bianco also obliquely referred to attacks Hilton has lobbed against the sheriff on the campaign trail.

“This was never supposed to be about a dishonest smear campaign and bullseyes,” Bianco said, referring to a mailer Hilton’s campaign sent to voters that pictured Bianco’s head with circles around it that resemble a shooting target.

As Bianco walked through the bayfront convention hotel after the forum, he was swarmed by supporters chanting his name.

Saturday night, Bianco hosted a western-saloon themed party for delegates. Attendees wearing cowboy hats line danced, petted fluffy white calves and posed for pictures in front of an inflated cactus.

A Hilton-hosted party took on the feel of a candidate forum as he and Republican allies running for other statewide offices gave another round of speeches, often punctuated by shushing attendees who chattered in the back of the room.

Under California’s top-two primary system, the two leading candidates advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. For weeks, Hilton and Bianco have led polls while eight prominent Democrats including Swalwell split the support of liberal voters, stoking anxiety among Democrats that the party could end up shut out of the November election.

The chances of that happening diminished with Swalwell’s fall from grace and Trump’s endorsement of Hilton, political experts said, but those in the conservative wing of California politics celebrated the apparent downfall of the once-powerful Democrat.

Swalwell is “in denial right now, but once he realizes he doesn’t have any friends left and his campaign team is leaving him, people are laughing at him in the restaurant, I think, and I hope for his sake, he has enough self-awareness that he’ll quietly drop out and go to the south coast of France and put on a wig,” said Republican National committeeman Shawn Steel.

One of the convention’s celebrated speakers, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took shots at other California Democrats during a Saturday evening banquet, describing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass as “the Democrats’ national ambassador for disaster management” and Newsom as a contender for “Texas Realtor of the year, because no person in human history has sold more homes in the state of Texas.”

“Look, as a Texan, I gotta say, just isn’t fair. [You have] an economy that has been a monstrous engine driving America forward for decades, and yet you were cursed with idiot politicians,” Cruz said.

While Hilton‘s and Bianco’s campaigns have sparred about their respective records, the candidates largely avoided direct confrontation until a debate earlier this month in Rancho Mirage. The two GOP candidates tore into each other about issues such as immigration, their credentials and their honesty.

Delegates also sparred about Bianco and Hilton’s records in the halls of the convention.

Shiva Bagheri, a Bianco supporter from Beverly Hills, said that Hilton’s political positions are not constitutional.

“Steve said that anybody that makes under $100,000 shouldn’t pay [income] taxes,” said Bagheri, 52. “That’s against the 14th Amendment. I’m a constitutionalist.” She said she preferred Bianco’s plan to cut income taxes for everyone to avoid class warfare.

Celeste Greig, a Hilton supporter from Northridge, initially supported Bianco and donated to his campaign. But she grew troubled after hearing about Bianco’s comments about immigration, seeing images of the sheriff taking a knee alongside BLM protesters and learning of what she believes was an unlawful arrest of a person outside of President Trump’s 2024 rally in the Coachella Valley.

Some Republicans longed for a return to a bygone era when state lawmakers regularly worked across the aisle. State Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) described teaming up with Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla when they served in the Legislature, adding that he still considers Padilla, now the state’s senior U.S. senator, a friend.

“We’re in a divided era right now,” Strickland said. “If we actually pick up a few more seats, I think it will give more comfort to some of those moderate Democrats to come over and work with us.”

As Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz prepared to play catch on the field before the series finale Sunday against the Texas Rangers, he hoped to be available in a save situation.

“I’m really happy with how I’m feeling today,” he said, emphasizing that he wasn’t dealing with any physical ailments.

He’d been unavailable the night before during the Dodgers’ 6-3 win. So, manager Dave Roberts went to right-hander Blake Treinen to begin the ninth, and then, after a walk and an error by third baseman Max Muncy, had left-hander Alex Vesia come in to get the last out.

On Friday, Díaz had blown a save opportunity for the first time in his early Dodgers tenure. But Muncy’s walk-off homer secured the win.

Díaz’s velocity has been down this season and Friday, his fastball velocity sat at 95.5 mph and slider at 87.8, according to Statcast, 1.7 mph and 1.3 mph down from last season, respectively.

“Two miles an hour, that’s pretty significant,” Roberts said Sunday. “So I think that’s why we sort of flagged it. We wanted to have him down [Saturday] and kind of see what we get. Because a couple days ago there were a lot of throws in there too. So just trying to also, like we’ve done many times, play the long game with our guys.”

Roberts described his level of concern as “low.” Díaz also emphasized to the coaching staff that he felt good. Roberts didn’t think the velocity dip stemmed from mechanical issues.

“Today I’m still kind of yellow-lighting him,” Roberts said before the game.

Diaz described lower velocity early in the season as a theme since he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in 2023.

“But as soon as the season starts going, I start feeling better and better and better,” Díaz said. “And my velo at the end of the year will be what I’m throwing always.”

The last two seasons, Díaz’s fastball velocity averaged 96.6 mph in March and April, compared to 97.7 in August and September, according to Statcast. His only injured-list stint in that time, for a right shoulder impingement, sidelined him for the first couple of weeks of June 2024.

Before Díaz’s three-run inning Friday against the Rangers, he had given up only one run and two hits in five appearances.

Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz sits in the dugout after blowing a save, giving up three runs against the Rangers on Friday.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“I didn’t have my life on my fastball and I couldn’t command my slider the way I wanted to,” Díaz said of his blown save. “I was feeling good. But I didn’t have my best stuff that day. That’s part of the game. I just flush it right away.”

His addition has helped elevate the bullpen — which owned a 3.38 earned-run average entering Sunday, an improvement from last year (4.27) — through not only his own performance but also by pushing his fellow relievers up an inning.

On the other end, Dodgers starters had thrown at least six innings in each of their last four games to minimize the tax on the bullpen.

“Everybody’s doing their job,” Díaz said. “All the guys are putting a lot of work together. We are winning a lot of close games. That’s something we want, to help this team to win.”

A NEW “holiday tax” will add £500million a year to the cost of UK breaks, business leaders warn.  

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been urged not to allow mayors the power to raise funds by slapping a levy on overnight stays at hotels, campsites and B&Bs.

The Confederation of British Industry said it will drive up inflation, hamper investment and mean more red tape. 

Two hundred bosses from firms such as Butlin’s and Haven have written to Ms Reeves hitting out at the plans.

A consultation closed in February.

CBI head of tax policy Alice Jeffries said: “The Government should be sending a clear message that Britain is open for business and tourist visitors alike — not making it harder for people to spend their time and money here.” 

TAXING TIMES

Holiday tax will ‘wipe billions from economy & threaten jobs for young people’

JOBS CULL

Iconic UK holiday chain to axe 250 jobs as boss issues warning over ‘tourist tax’

She said the policy could apply a handbrake to investment, jeopardise jobs and squeeze margins for a sector facing one of the country’s heaviest tax burdens. 

UK Hospitality say it could add £100 to a two-week family stay based on £2 per person per night.  

Its boss, Allen Simpson said: “The Government should keep holidays relaxing, not taxing.”  

A Government spokesman said: “The final design of the visitor levy has not been decided.  

“We are clear it will ensure hugely popular areas benefit even more from tourism and mayors will have more money to invest in local priorities.” 

April 12 (UPI) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is projected to lose his re-election effort, with more than half the ballots counted, and has already conceded after 16 years in the position.

Peter Magyar and his Tisza party are projected to win a super-majority in Hungary’s parliament, taking 135 of 199 seats, and ending Orban’s long-time rule of the country, NBC News and The Washington Post reported.

Orban, who is an ally of both U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, spent his four terms as prime minister cracking down on courts and the media amid alleged corruption and illiberal rule of the country.

Magyar posted on Facebook that Orban called to congratulate the Tisza party leaders for their victory after what has been reported as a historic election that brought out nearly 80% of registered voters.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

The new Channel 4 series follows talented singer from across the country as they compete for a chance to perform at one of London’s most iconic venues

Channel 4 viewers have worked out why brand new series Your Song seems so familiar after just one episode.

The singing competition made its anticipated debut on Sunday (April 12) 12, hosted by beloved presenter Alison Hammond. The series gives ordinary people from across Britain the chance to perform a special song on a stage in front of their hometowns.

Whether it’s a track that ushered them through heartbreak or an original tune that reminds them of their loved ones, the singers are given the opportunity to share their stories through music.

Pop stars Paloma Faith and Sam Ryder act as the contestants’ mentors, judging their performances in a hidden location away from the crowds. The winner will ultimately perform on stage at London’s Hackney Empire.

But it wasn’t the singers who caught viewers’ attention during the series premiere. Fans were quick to note that Your Song has a very similar format to The Piano, another talent show by the network.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan penned: “This is giving a cross between The Voice and the Piano. #YourSong.”

Another agreed: “So new #YourSong is just the amazing #Piano series but without the piano??? Think I’d rather have The Piano as used to host and judges etc….but will give this a go ..let’s see.”

Someone else, who was a fan of The Piano, added: “#YourSong I watched all of The Piano episodes. Not sure I’ll stick with this though but I’ll see what the first few singers are like..”

Hosted by Claudia Winkleman and pianist Lang Lang, the series similarly features amateur musicians, although they perform pieces on a piano. The judges also observe the contestants from a nearby room, before selecting finalists for a major end-of-show concert.

Despite spotting the similarities, however, some fans have shared positive reviews of the new show. “The singers on this are quite good tbf,” wrote one, with another adding: “What a performance from Elliott.”

Elliott, 17, was one of the first performers of the competition. He hails from Liverpool, which was the show’s very first stop. There, singers performed everything from chart-toppers from Sam Fender to original songs.

They also opened up about how each tune carried them through difficult times, which left the judges visibly moved.

Your Song is available to stream on Channel 4

Hungary’s Viktor Orban has conceded defeat to opposition leader Peter Magyar after 16 years as prime minister.

Source link

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has conceded defeat in the Hungarian election after 16 years in power, with the opposition on course for a landslide win.

Péter Magyar is set to be the country’s new prime minister, after record numbers turned out for an election which was seen as pivotal to the future of Hungary and Europe.

With two thirds of the votes counted, Magyar’s party is set to win a massive majority in parliament. Vote counting will continue in the coming days.

The BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan broadcasts from outside Hungary’s parliament as crowds hear about the prime minister’s concession.

MY 600-LB. Life star Dolly Martinez has died at the age of 30, her sister has confirmed.

The TLC star died on Saturday, Lindsey Cooper shared in a heartbreaking social media post.

“It is with a heavy heart that I share the passing of my beautiful sister, Dolly,” she wrote.

“Dolly had the brightest personality she could light up any room with her laughter, her kindness, and her loving spirit.

“She had a way of making everyone feel special, and her warmth will stay with us forever.”

Her family has not revealed a cause of death but hours before confirming her sister’s death, Lindsey wrote on Facebook that Dolly was in hospital “fighting for her life.”

read more on My 600-Lb Life

TLC TRAGEDY

My 600-lb Life star dead at 50 as daughter shares heartbreaking message

“While our hearts are broken here, I find comfort in knowing she is now reunited with our dad in heaven. I can only imagine the joy of that reunion,” her sister said.

“Rest peacefully, Dolly. You will always be loved, always be missed, and never forgotten.”

Dolly featured in season 10 of the television show which aired in January 2022 when she was 25 years old.

During her time on the show, she bravely opened up about her poor mental health and struggles with food addiction.

She started the process at 593 pounds which meant she needed extra oxygen and assistance to live her day to day life.

Dolly had already suffered from congestive heart failure as a result of her weight.

Originally from Fort Worth, she moved to Houston where she hoped she would be able to get weight loss surgery.

Despite losing 40 pounds while on the TLC show, she did not qualify for the procedure.

Her Instagram account details numerous struggles throughout her life.

While private, the bio states, “Not homeless anymore. Living day by day.”

During her time on the show, it was revealed that Dolly and her estranged husband were unable to look after their daughter who was removed from their care at just 6 days old by Child Protective Services.

It is understood that the child remains under the guardianship of Dolly’s mother.

After returning to live with her husband, his alleged abusive behavior saw Dolly enter a homeless shelter, according to IMDB.

Dolly’s death comes less than a year after fellow My 600-lb. Life alum Latonya Pottain died at the age of 40 from congestive heart failure.

U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that oil and gasoline prices could remain elevated through the fall, signaling potential political and economic consequences from the ongoing conflict with Iran.

“It could be, or the same, or maybe a little bit higher, but it should

Overnight joint leader Rory McIlory struggles with his putter on the fourth hole and ends with a double bogey to gift the lead to Cam Young on the final day of the 2026 Masters at Augusta.

WATCH MORE: ‘Ideal start’ – Rose chips in for birdie on first hole

Available to UK users only.

April 12 (UPI) — At least six people were shot, and one killed, after several people wearing masks entered a Chik-fil-A restaurant in New Jersey and opened fire.

Around 8:40 p.m. EDT on Saturday night dozens of people inside the fast food restaurant ran when shots rang out, with at least a few of those shot being employees there, The Guardian and RLS Media reported.

The Union County, N.J., Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an active investigation and said it will release information as it becomes available, according to the reports.

“I have been briefed on the shooting last night in Union Township,” New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said in a post on X. “As local law enforcement continues their investigation, we remain in close contact with officials on the ground.”

The shooting, on Route 22 near Gelb Avenue in Union, N.J., started when the masked mob entered the restaurant and walked behind the counter before they started shooting, Fox News reported.

Police responded within minutes to reports of the shooting and located victims, with five being sent to the hospital and one pronounced dead at the scene.

The conditions of the other victims has not been released.

Rescuers are digging through rubble after a new wave of Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least 13 people. The attacks hit multiple towns in the Tyre and Nabatieh districts. The death toll from Israeli attacks in Lebanon climbs above 2,000.

Actor Peter Capaldi is the latest big name to reject the chance to appear on the next series of Celebrity Traitors after Alison Hammond said she is just too busy

Doctor Who legend Peter Capaldi turned down Celebrity Traitors because he did not want the “level of exposure” the game of trust and treachery brings with it.

We’re getting closer to knowing who will be the next instalment of the spin-off after the success of the first series in 2025, which was filmed last April. Presenter Amol Rajan has signed up, insiders claim, but who else will star in the BBC show? Danny Dyer is another of the big names linked – but Peter won’t be pulling the cloak over his head.

The Thick Of It actor told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme he was asked to take part in the all-star version of the reality TV show, but said no. He isn’t the only one to reject the chance after Alison Hammond confirmed she won’t be heading to the castle – and said she has also had to turn down the chance to host Strictly Come Dancing, too.

Asked why, 67-year-old Scottish actor Peter, who played the Twelfth Doctor from 2013 to 2017, said: “Because I think there’s a level of fame that… I think it propels you into the public eye, at a level of exposure that I don’t really want.

“I like doing, you know, it’s like doing my music things – it’s very difficult for people in that business to understand that you want to keep it small.”

He added: “People keep saying to me, ‘Why don’t you do a bigger tour, or ‘ Why don’t you do a bigger release, or ‘ Why don’t you promote this more? I’m not doing it to be famous.”

On his previous leading role as the Doctor, the Glasgow-born star said he had “a little regret” when asked if he left the long-running BBC sci-fi show too early. He added: “It’s great fun being Doctor Who, but the pressure of it is quite intense.

“You’re sort of on all the time and you don’t want to disappoint anyone because even though I’m not Doctor Who, if people are meeting me they’d rather meet the version of me that is Doctor Who. So you try not to let them down, right?” Yeah, because I’m quite miserable and melancholic, really.

“And that was, that was one of the big changes in my life, I guess, which happened quite late, was I’m quite miserable really, but I thought you can’t be miserable if you’re Doctor Who. You can’t because you would disappoint people so I have to become cheerful all the time.”

The first series of The Celebrity Traitors aired on the BBC last autumn, with its nail-biting finale hitting a peak of 15.4 million viewers, according to the broadcaster.

It featured a star-studded cast including actors Celia Imrie and Nick Mohammed, singer Paloma Faith, author and actor Stephen Fry, broadcaster Jonathan Ross and comedian Alan Carr, who went on to win as a Traitor.

The spin-off series, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, brought in an average audience of 14.9 million people during its run – the biggest TV audience of 2025.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

WASHINGTON — Kevin Dellicker stays away from politics when he reports for duty at the National Guard armory in Harrisburg, Pa. But out of uniform, the captain in the Pennsylvania National Guard does everything he can to persuade the people he served with in Iraq to reelect President Bush.

Shaking some of the same hands as Dellicker is Jonathan Soltz, a former Army captain recently returned from Iraq who spends his days pleading with soldiers to vote for Sen. John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee.

In the swing state of Pennsylvania, where both live, the votes of those in the military — including more than 15,000 reservists — who are serving or have served in Iraq or Afghanistan are much in demand.

But which way the people fighting the war will vote in Pennsylvania and elsewhere is anybody’s guess.

Tight restrictions on seeking the votes of active-duty military personnel, along with taboos in the military culture against the open expression of political views, make it tough for candidates to target military voters — and make it tough for pollsters to figure them out.

Historically, military turnout in elections has been low.

With more than 400,000 troops overseas now, many living in difficult and dangerous conditions, it is not clear whether those who want to vote this fall will succeed. A Pentagon initiative meant to make it easier for troops to cast absentee ballots via the Internet and by fax is being criticized as vulnerable to tampering.

All that has left the Bush and Kerry campaigns working the edges of a potential voting bloc that could be significant in a tight election.

“It’s very hard to get a read on how the active-duty personnel are reacting to the war politically, because they are so busy reacting on the ground,” Soltz said. “So what I do — I talk to my friends, tell them to e-mail their friends about Kerry; I talk to people like me who are out of the service now. I’m not going to go give a speech to a group of soldiers. It’s not the thing they want to hear while they’re just trying to keep their lives together.”

Political activity in the military is — like much else — strictly regulated.

Troops are not prohibited from expressing political opinions, but they are not allowed to work for partisan political organizations while in the military. Campaigning is prohibited at military facilities, and the rules for conducting polls among active-duty troops are so cumbersome that pollsters have generally given up.

“As a society, we rely on the apolitical loyalties and professionalism of the military — we entrust them with capabilities that we don’t give anyone else — and in exchange for that we demand total political neutrality from them,” said Peter Feaver, a political science professor at Duke University who studies military voting patterns.

“We seek to avoid creating a partisan voting bloc in the military that is wooed or courted the way that soccer moms are. So for that reason the government doesn’t ask questions itself, and they restrict the access of anyone else to do so.”

More is known about how veterans lean politically: Polls show they tend to vote Republican.

Because of that, it has long been presumed that the active military also leans Republican. A poll by Army Times of its readers in December found that more supported the administration than did not. But the poll did not ask respondents for whom they would vote. Its pollsters acknowledged that its readers tended to be older, career soldiers, rather than enlisted personnel, 35% of whom are black and Latino — groups that among civilians tend to vote Democratic.

This year, both presidential campaigns have infused their efforts with military imagery, and the experience of both Bush and Kerry during the Vietnam War era is under scrutiny.

A parade of retired generals at the Democratic and Republican conventions endorsed one candidate or the other. Kerry opened his speech with a salute. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have regularly visited military bases, and Kerry meets with veterans, reservists and military families. Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards, parlays her background as the daughter of a career soldier into regular chats with military families.

“The political appeals to this broad category of people somehow associated with the military [have] not been this overt in decades,” said Carroll Doherty of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. “But of the leanings of active-duty military, the people in the fight, the candidates are as stumped as the pollsters.”

Both parties are pushing overseas voter registration, including that of military personnel. The Bush campaign is deeply aware that military absentee ballots may have helped swing Florida — and the election — for Bush in 2000. Democrats, meanwhile, are predicting that more of the military vote will go their way this November because long tours of duty and heavy casualties have antagonized a growing number of military families.

“This time around, the Democrats are convinced that the advantage among military voters won’t be nearly as big for the GOP,” said Curtis Gans, director of the Committee for the Study of the American Electorate. “They also think that in a post- 9/11 election, how can the Democrats show that they’re tough on national security? If they can win the military and veterans endorsement race, then that can serve symbolically as proof that they are good on national security.”

Pentagon attempts to improve voter turnout among soldiers overseas have generated considerable controversy.

In February, the Pentagon dropped a $22-million plan to test Internet voting for 100,000 military workers and civilians overseas. After a panel of experts cited security concerns, the agency said it could not ensure the legitimacy of online votes.

Subsequently, the Defense Department said that members of the military would be allowed to vote by faxing or e-mailing their vote, but only after waiving their right to a secret ballot. Under the Pentagon plan, a contractor, Omega Technologies, will accept the ballots on a toll-free line, then send them to appropriate local elections offices.

But under that system, the contractor, the Pentagon and county officials would all know which candidates individual military voters had chosen.

Critics have pointed out that Omega’s chief executive, Patricia Williams, has donated $6,000 in this election cycle to the National Republican Congressional Committee and serves on the committee’s business advisory council. They say such partisanship leaves open the possibility that votes will be tampered with, as does the nonsecret ballot.

Missouri and North Dakota will allow e-mail voting by the military. Twenty other states will permit faxed ballots, also to be handled by Omega.

In Pennsylvania, which has sent more reservists to Afghanistan and Iraq than all but five other states, and which has had more war deaths than any other presidential swing state, the Bush and Kerry campaigns are pulling hard for the military vote.

Dellicker, the guardsman, said the local Bush campaign organization he volunteers for had compiled an extensive e-mail list, primarily through word of mouth, of active-duty troops. The campaign uses the list to send regular updates on campaign events and issues.

“I don’t pester my colleagues at my base, because that would be inappropriate. But if I have colleagues, you’d better believe that I’m going to talk to them about [the election] when out of uniform and in an appropriate setting,” Dellicker said.

Soltz, the Army veteran, said he arranged for Iraq veterans in Pennsylvania to speak in favor of Kerry at veterans halls.

“I talk all the time to these guys. I have friends who aren’t even back from Iraq yet who wish they could get back and tell people what they’ve seen, what they know,” Soltz said. “I know there are people like me working for Bush driving these roads too. The question is, who are soldiers listening to?”

A look at The Times’ top 25 high school baseball rankings for the Southland after the eighth week of the season:

Rk. School (Rec.); Comment; ranking last week

1. ORANGE LUTHERAN (12-3): Won Boras Classic South championship; 2

2. NORCO (15-2): Transfers Jacob Melendez and Codey Brown making big impact; 3

3. HARVARD-WESTLAKE (14-4): Upcoming three-game series with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; 5

4. ST. JOHN BOSCO (13-5): Braves got humbled with three-game losing streak; 1

5. HUNTINGTON BEACH (15-4-1): Big week of hitting for Ely Mason; 6

6. CORONA (13-3): Danie De La Torre leads team in hitting at .486; 4

7. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (14-3): It’s final test time versus Harvard-Westlake this week; 7

8. SIERRA CANYON (14-3): Upcoming three-game series with St. Francis; 8

9. LA MIRADA (14-4): If all goes well, Matadores should win out rest of regular season; 9

10. ROYAL (16-2): Dustin Dunwoody’s ERA is 0.18; 10

11. BISHOP ALEMANY (13-4): Upcoming three-game series vs. Chaminade; 11

12. AYALA (15-1): Went 3-1 in Boras Classic; 12

13. CYPRESS (14-5): Holding down first place in tough Crestview League; 13

14. OAKS CHRISTIAN (13-4): Upcoming three-game series vs. Thousand Oaks; 15

15. GANESHA (13-1-1): Westlake inflicted first defeat; 14

16. SOUTH HILLS (14-4): Upcoming three-game series vs. Colony; 16

17. SERVITE (12-6): Upcoming three-game series vs. Mater Dei; 17

18. SANTA MARGARITA (14-5): After week of rest, Eagles face St. John Bosco; 18

19. THOUSAND OAKS (14-4): Andrew Albrecht is 5-0 pitching; 20

20. GAHR (10-9-1): Took Orange Lutheran to eight innings before losing; 22

21. NEWPORT HARBOR (16-6): Rough week playing in Boras Classic; 19

22. FOOTHILL (14-6): Upcoming two-game series with Villa Park; 23

23. CORONA SANTIAGO (12-7): Upcoming three-game series with King; 24

24. AQUINAS (11-7): Made it to Boras Classic semifinals; NR

25. VILLA PARK (13-6-1): 31 hits for Justin Lopez; NR

Saudi Arabia has ordered schools to close after severe flooding swept through parts of the country. Heavy rain swamped roads around Riyadh and in the Al Ahsa governorate.

It was too much to ask of United States Vice President JD Vance that he hammer out a peace agreement with representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the first direct meeting of the two sides in more than a decade.

But it is not too much to ask for enemy combatants to maintain the ceasefire and for negotiators to come back to the table for a second round of meetings.

As of now, we still have a ceasefire. The question remains: Can America win it?

For President Donald Trump, this question is existential. If voters perceive that the US lost the war against Iran, the Republicans will lose Congress and the president would be on the political hot seat for his last two years in office.

If, on the other hand, voters perceive that this conflict with Iran was worth it and life returns to normal by the summer, then the Republicans have a better chance of breaking even in November’s midterm elections.

What would it take for the US to win the ceasefire and eventually get a peace agreement?

Well, first, the Strait of Hormuz must be open to all shipping. This must be the number one objective for the Trump administration as it is the one thing that has the most impact on the global economy and, most importantly for a domestic audience, the price of oil. Policy planners at the White House didn’t fully appreciate how Iran could seize control of this critical chokepoint in international commerce, but they appreciate it now.

Second, the US must increase domestic pressure on the Iranian regime. Stopping the bombing is a good way to do that. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been significantly weakened by the joint US-Israeli attacks. Our intelligence community needs to do everything it can to strengthen the Iranian protest movement, arming them with weapons and resources. Bombing bridges and oil refineries would have been a significant blunder by the Americans because it would have made it much more difficult for insurgents within the country to mount any kind of opposition.

Third, the US must mend its relationships with its traditional allies. This isn’t just about Iran. Russia and China look at the tensions within NATO, and they rejoice. A more united Western world, especially when it comes to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, is essential.

Fourth, the Trump administration needs to improve its messaging game. Right now, the US is thoroughly divided when it comes to this war. Even elements of Trump’s political base are deeply sceptical of the campaign. I understand the motivation behind the president’s maximalist rhetoric, but trying to convince your opponents that you are a madman who just might put his finger on the button comes with some downsides.

Our allies were frightened, the American people were concerned, the pope was aghast. Even some of the president’s biggest political fans called for him to be removed via the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution, which provides for replacing a sitting president due to incapacity. Messaging from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hasn’t been much better. Calling this another Christian crusade is not helpful to our long-term goals in the region.

Fifth, the president needs to paint a picture of what peace would mean to the Iranian people and to the region in general and then sell it to them. What is happening with Venezuela is a perfect example of what could happen with Iran. We cut off the head of government there, but the rest of the political body is still mostly in place. We do not need a total change in the regime. We do need a total change in the attitude of the current regime.

Sixth, the president needs to firmly lay out what we expect from a lasting peace agreement and what we need from the Iranian regime. The first thing we need is actual peace. Enough with funding terrorism, terrorist proxies and never-ending war against Israel. Peace means peace. The nuclear programme must never be turned into nuclear weapons.

Seventh, the president needs to make sure Israel’s objectives are aligned with ours. This would require some blunt talk between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Clearly, the Israeli prime minister sold Trump a bill of goods when he told him that this would be a quick war that would topple the Iranian regime at a relatively low cost. That hasn’t happened.

I appreciate how the Israelis are sick and tired of getting missiles sent their way from Hezbollah. But a forever war seems to be a key component of the Netanyahu political campaign, and that simply does not work for the American people any more.

The US and Israel need to be on the same page about what their objectives are now that we are in a lull in the fighting. This is critical to win this ceasefire.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

BBC The Capture’s long-awaited season three finale has almost arrived with fans already on tender hooks.

The Capture season three is nearly over and the BBC has now confirmed what’s going to take its place next week.

BBC fans were shocked when the revelation around Simon’s true identity was discovered in last week’s episode of The Capture season three and are desperate to find out how it ends.

But with the grand finale airing tonight, Sunday, April 12, at 9pm, many have already turned their attention to what they will watch next week when it’s all over.

The BBC has since announced that The Capture season three’s time slot on Sunday, April 19, is going to be taken over by a “powerful” royal special.

To mark what would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday, BBC One will be airing a one-off film that explores the life and legacy of the country’s longest-reigning monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Country won’t be one to miss as it is going to feature “powerful” old and new interviews with global icons including Dame Helen Mirren, Barack Obama, Sir David Attenborough and her daughter-in-law, HM Queen Camilla.

Describing what else to expect, its official synopsis reads: “Spanning an era that saw the nation move from the age of Empire to the rise of celebrity culture — from the Blitz to the 2012 London Olympics — Queen Elizabeth II lived through extraordinary change.

“More than a witness to history, she became an enduring symbol of continuity in a rapidly evolving world.

“Through the prism of her life, the documentary tells the story of modern Britain in a richly historical and emotionally resonant exploration of both The Queen and the people she served.”

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Country won’t be the only way the BBC will be marking what would have been the late Queen’s centenary year either.

Ahead of the one-off special airing, BBC One will be showing Antiques Roadshow : Royal Special at 8pm with Fiona Bruce visiting Windsor Castle for the episode.

She will be taking a closer look at some of the late Queen’s more cherished items, childhood clothes and her coronation gown.

Bruce is also going to be given access to a selection of Queen Elizabeth II’s clothes which are set to go on display in a special exhibition at the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Story, Our Country airs on Sunday, April 19, at 9pm on BBC One.

A global race to develop artificial intelligence-powered weapons is intensifying, with the United States, China and Russia pushing to gain an advantage in next-generation warfare, the New York Times reported Sunday.

Recent military displays and intelligence assessments suggest China may