Mobina Atashi’s £550 package holiday to Bulgaria was meant to be a time to relax, but turned into a nightmare after one “painful” night

A student who says she was left too scared to sleep after finding something crawling in her hotel bed has described how she first thought she had “chickenpox”. A dirty room is enough to ruin a holiday, but discovering you may be sharing your bed with blood-sucking insects is the stuff of nightmares.

Law student Mobina Atashi, 22, claims that’s what happened when she flew out on July 12 for a seven-night Jet2 break near Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast — and ended up leaving early.

Mobina says she didn’t want to kick up a fuss when she first noticed the room was dirty, as she’d arrived late and planned to report it later. But she claims she was soon woken up by intense itching.

In shock, she claims she spotted bed bugs in her bedding and soon noticed angry red welts spreading across her skin — which she documented. Mobina says she was moved to a different room, but claims that one was also grubby.

Mobina claims staff downplayed what happened, insisting the bites looked like an allergic reaction rather than bed bugs.

She says she was left with no choice but to leave early, ending her holiday after two nights and paying an extra £40 to get back to the UK. On her return, Mobina says she complained to Jet2 and asked for a refund, but claims she was told there wasn’t enough evidence to link the bites to the accommodation.

Jet2 said they take concerns such as these “very seriously” and are looking into the matter further. Mobina, from Manchester, said: “I arrived after midnight. The room was very dirty but I decided to sort it out in the morning, it had hair everywhere. After a few hours of sleeping, my body was itching and I was confused. I turned the lights on and there were so many bugs.

“My whole body had red bumps and it got worse after a few days. They were on my breast area, neck, chin, behind my ears, legs and arms. There were at least 20 on my arms, probably 100 in total. It was like I had chickenpox, it was painful and mostly itchy. I made a mistake not to check properly before getting in bed but I was so tired.

“I ran downstairs at 5am and told them to please clean my room as soon as possible. I showed them videos. One of the ladies said they would change my room and gave me a new key. The new room was also dirty. There was hair and yellow stains on the bed.

“There were no bed bugs but I was so scared to sleep that night, after that, I decided I could not stay at the hotel.

She says she reached out to Jet2 on live chat in a bid to get support, only to be directed back to the hotel to resolve it. Mobina said: “I tried to talk to Jet2 through the live chat and they told me I had to talk to the resort.

“The receptionist said it looked like an allergy and that she didn’t think it was bed bugs, but it is. When I got home, I made several complaints for a refund and I didn’t get a response. They replied after three months and called me, they said all they can do is apologise.

“They said they can’t prove the bugs were caused by the accommodation and that my bites could have been caused by something else. I wanted to go on a relaxing holiday because I have anxiety and wanted to relax by myself. I never expected this. I’m traumatised because I’m scared of insects and spiders. If I see a spider, I cry, it’s my worst fear.”

Now claiming the ordeal has left her “scared at night”, Mobina has sworn off booking holidays through Jet2 in future. Mobina said: “I said they need to at least compensate me, but they said there is no evidence. I am so scared of travelling, I will never go solo travelling again.

“I’m scared at night. If my body itches, I think it is a bug. It is so traumatic. I’m never using Jet2 in the future, especially not package holidays.”

A Jet2 spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry to hear about Ms Atashi’s experience. We take concerns like these very seriously and we are investigating in further detail. We will contact Ms Atashi directly once this investigation is complete.”

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He is unwavering in his belief that the newly constructed Lakers can compete for an NBA championship this season and that is the conviction coach JJ Redick has instilled into his group.

It is why the Lakers play the game, Redick mused, and it is the standard this organization has set.

The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships — the second most in the league — with the last coming in 2020.

So, as the Lakers prepared to open the regular season Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena, Redick explained why he believes these Lakers are championship contenders.

“Well, I think that every season,” he said. “Unless somebody blatantly tells me that we’re not trying to win, I think that every year. That’s why I say I’m confident. I said the same thing last year and for all of January and February that we were going to figure it out at some point and we did. And then we had some injuries. So, being a championship-level team or being a — I don’t like the word ‘contender’ — but being a team that can make a run and can play in the playoffs and can play different ways in the playoffs, those things take time and it doesn’t mean you’re going to be in the NBA Finals.

“It’s just not the way this works, particularly with the way the playoffs work in terms of just matchups and what you can exploit and what you can’t exploit versus certain teams. But I think because of our talent, because of our fit, because of our depth, I really like our team.”

Luka Doncic said his first glimpse of what the Lakers could become was when he invited his teammates to his home country of Slovenia for a bonding experience.

As the unquestioned leader of the Lakers now that LeBron James has departed to Philadelphia, Doncic organized the trip. It was basketball, golfing and rowing. It was dinners and get-to-know-you conversations.

It was over these four or five days in August that Doncic also saw a Lakers team with championship potential.

“Since the first day. That simple,” Doncic said. “Since the first day everybody came together in Slovenia, I believed that we can win a championship.”

Yet this is a team with nine new players and Redick is trying to incorporate them on a Lakers team that is playing in the uber-tough Western Conference that most experts believe the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are the creme de la creme of the NBA.

The Lakers acquired Walker Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center they received from Utah in a sign-and-trade deal in which he was paid $130 million over four years and in which L.A. sent two unprotected first-round picks and two first-round swaps to the Jazz.

Lakers center Walker Kessler tries to block a shot by Warriors center Yaxel Lendeborg during a preseason game last week.

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

The Lakers added depth in Quentin Grimes, Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle, Ziaire Williams, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Kevon Looney.

They join Doncic, Austin Reaves, Jake LaRavia, Adou Thiero and others to form the 2026-27 Lakers.

“I think in terms of integrating all the new guys that have been available, which I think is everybody except for Collin in live play, it’s been pretty seamless,” Redick said. “It’s a smart group. … We’ve been able to probably install more, particularly on the defensive end, than we have in the last couple years.

“Last year we had six total practices in the preseason because of the amount of games and the back-to-backs and the travel and all that. And we played opening night, so that’s another day that we didn’t get to practice. So I think we end up with 12 [practices] this year. We get double the amount of practice time, so I think that’s a blessing when you have new guys.”

The starting five is still unclear.

Doncic, Reaves and Kessler are the sure things, but the other two spots are not certain. Those three started alongside Williams and Thybulle in the final preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night. Grimes started the first four preseason games.

Lakers guard Luka Doncic, left, bring the ball upcourt under pressure from Nuggets guard Christian Braun their final preseason game on Friday.

(Ben Liebenberg / Associated Press)

“I think we have a lot of guys that could start,” Reaves said. “Unfortunately there’s five guys that are gonna start. Like JJ said a while back, he’s pretty sure of three of them. The other two, regardless of who we roll out there, we have high confidence in.”

Reaves is the longest-tenured Laker entering his sixth season and he knows the high expectations that come with playing for the iconic franchise.

Last season, he had James to lean on, Marcus Smart was steady and Rui Hachimura was part of the fabric.

But they are all gone and now Reaves, who signed a four-year, $180-million contract extension, is one of the leaders.

“Yeah, I don’t know anything else,” Reaves said. “This is what I came to, but obviously it’s the Lakers, and it’s one of the most covered sports organizations in the world. So they’re gonna praise you when you’re doing good and not when you’re not.

“So you just gotta [know] whatever that goes on outside these walls doesn’t really matter. It’s just what goes on inside these walls. And if anybody has any questions, I’ll give them the best knowledge I have. But like I said, they’re high character guys that care about the right things. So, I think that’ll take care of itself.”

Lakers guard Austin Reaves gets past the Warriors defense for a left-handed layup during a preseason game last week.

(David Becker / Associated Press)

The Lakers were 53-29 last season, finishing fourth in the West and getting knocked out in the second round by the Thunder.

They have two more days of practice before the journey begins.

“I think you’re always trying to get better,” Redick said. “And even later in the season, you tweak plays, you tweak the offense and you tweak coverages. It’s just constantly evolving. There’s no like, ‘Oh, we’re done. Now we’re going to go play.’

“But we’re ready to go.”

On October 16, King Mohammed VI of Morocco appointed a new government headed by Prime Minister Fatima Zohra Al Mansouri. This is the first time in Moroccan history that a woman is leading the government – a precedent that was covered widely in international media.

In the Moroccan context, however, what is important is that Al Mansouri hails from the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which won the most seats in parliamentary elections in September. The party was founded by Ali Himma, a close associate and adviser to the king.

PAM, which has formed a coalition with three other parties, dominates the new government. This signals continuity rather than potential for change.

A party aligned with the monarchy

When thinking about what trajectory the new government is likely to take, it is important to consider PAM’s evolution.

The party was established in 2008 with the aim of countering the rise of political Islam in Morocco and in particular, the Justice and Development Party (PJD). The Arab Spring, which saw mass protests across the country, brought changes to the Moroccan political scene, allowing more space for political forces like the PJD and, to an extent, curbing the influence of the establishment, known as the Makhzen.

In 2011, Himma distanced himself from PAM and became an adviser to the king. Yet, the party continued to be perceived by other political groups as tied to the Makhzen.

For years, PAM carried the stigma of its origins, but it persisted in trying to gain acceptance. In the 2016 elections, it challenged the PJD and secured the second-biggest number of votes, thus establishing itself as a legitimate political force. Yet this was still not enough to enable it to lead the government.

The party subsequently reinvented itself by rejuvenating its ranks and gaining experience in public affairs through its participation in the 2021 government as a coalition partner. In the latest elections, PAM finally won.

This election victory, however, needs to be put into perspective: 62 percent of eligible voters stayed away from the polls. On election day, the authorities had to call on people to go out and vote.

Apart from the low turnout, there were suspicions of irregularities, but because in some cases the official election records were not released, observers and political parties were unable to obtain tangible evidence.

There was also the familiar phenomenon of influential figures being brought into political parties at the last minute to boost electoral prospects. For example, just two months before the election, Faouzi Laaqjea, president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, whose popularity stems from the achievements of Moroccan football, officially joined PAM.

To secure a majority in parliament, the party has had to form a coalition with forces which had previously questioned its legitimacy. While PAM has gained legitimacy through this alliance, the other parties and their leaders may now lose credibility.

The newly formed government has retained more than half the members of its predecessor, not to mention the so-called sovereign ministries, which fall directly within the king’s reserved powers. Some Moroccans are already asking what was the point of holding elections if the same people are brought back to govern.

Challenges ahead

The new government has an ambitious programme to respond to growing domestic pressure as the cost-of-living crisis deepens. At the first Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the king on October 17 , a 2027 Finance Bill was put forward that featured greater emphasis on addressing social issues, citizens’ purchasing power and youth inclusion.

However, this agenda is facing an unfavourable international economic and financial environment, marked by rising energy prices and increasing costs of inputs for some of Morocco’s leading sectors, including phosphate production.

The state-owned OCP Group, which is in charge of phosphate extraction and the industrial processing of phosphate derivatives and is one of Morocco’s principal sources of wealth, is now experiencing difficult times.

There are also concerns about the potential effects of El Nino, which could bring more dry weather and threaten food security in a country that just endured seven consecutive years of drought.

Tourism, another major source of revenue, could also suffer from the global slowdown in travel, rising transport costs and the uncertainties arising from tensions in the Gulf and Europe.

The circumstances are therefore far from favourable for the new government, and public opinion appears broadly sceptical.

Last but not least, this government will face an experienced and outspoken opposition, represented by both the Islamist PJD and the radical left.

Even the ministers holding the so-called sovereign portfolios face serious challenges. The foreign minister must contend with public opposition to the normalisation of relations with Israel. The interior minister has to tackle allegations of electoral manipulation.

The minister of religious affairs is facing the fallout of controversial statements concerning Morocco as a secular country and remarks about Ceuta, known in Morocco as Sebta, made during a religious ceremony. These comments were poorly received by the Spanish authorities.

The new government has an ambitious agenda, indeed, but its tenure will be shaped by difficult circumstances – both at home and abroad – that are largely out of its control.

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

As he prepares for a potential future conflict on the continent, the commanding general of Multi-Domain Command Europe told TWZ that he envisions dispersing hundreds of high-altitude balloons at a time. The balloons, Brig. Gen. Steven Carpenter explained, would be used for a wide range of purposes, from serving as communications platforms to launching weapons. For years now, TWZ has been closely tracking the expanding use of high-altitude balloons and other lighter-than-air systems globally for intelligence gathering, networking, as platforms for launching drones, and in support of other missions.

Basically, in the European scenario, hundreds or possibly thousands of balloons would be sent east. They would provide attritable real-time reconnaissance, strike, and decoy capabilities, while also acting as a force multiplier for other assets by providing a resilient active network over the battlefield — one that could help fill in the gaps if the space-based layer gets degraded.

“We would like to proliferate the stratosphere with high-altitude balloons, but I mean 200, 300 at a time,” Carpenter told us during last week’s Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA) conference in Washington, D.C., which TWZ attended. The Army would utilize high-altitude balloons “not only as decoys, a lot of decoys, but also communications retrans[mission platforms], electronic sensing, as well as electronic attack, and then obviously air-launched effects to be able to drop them down and use kinetic means as well.”

Air-launched effects (ALEs) is a collective term the U.S. military now commonly uses to discuss air-launched drones configured for a wide array of missions. The ALE umbrella encompasses designs that can be used for surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare tasks, or signal relay, and can act as decoys. It also includes loitering munitions often referred to as kamikaze drones, capable of carrying kinetic attacks.

In general, modern high-altitude balloons offer persistent deployment that can last for days, weeks or even months at a time. After navigating to an assigned operating area, some modern balloon systems can hold their position, in spite of prevailing winds, by modulating their altitudes to keep on station.

In addition, high-altitude balloons operate at heights providing excellent fields of view for radars, cameras, and other sensors in all directions and across very broad areas. From a perch of 60,000 feet or more, they also offer a way to peer into certain denied areas while still soaring in international airspace and keeping farther away from potential threats. During a conflict, the balloons could be deployed deep into enemy airspace as they are attritable.

Though some balloon systems can hold their general positions in many circumstances, Carpenter told us that seasonal weather changes will still play a role in deployment.

“The flight paths are different. We study that,” he noted. “We understand during what seasons where the best places are to launch those high-altitude systems, and then again to hold enemy cities and capabilities at risk at any time, so that we can defeat them at the time and place of our choosing.”

We asked Carpenter for more details about how he sees balloons being used by troops in Europe.

“I think everybody knows there’ll be a point where satellite communications are going to be degraded, if not eliminated,” he stated. “One of the things that we’re focusing on is in the stratosphere, so above 60,000 feet up to 80,000 feet, which is next to impossible to target unless you’re using one of your exquisite systems, fifth-gen fighters, SA-21 Bravo [S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system], etc. to shoot that stuff down.”

Many of the balloons would be equipped with Link 16, a NATO-standard tactical datalink communication system central to U.S. and allied military operations, the general said. Link 16 allows coalition forces to seamlessly transmit and exchange real-time situational awareness data. You can read more about how Link 16 works, and its increasing dependence of space, in our story here.

As for using balloons as ALE delivery platforms, Carpenter told us there are “different technologies, different altitudes that we’d have to deliver those from” at “different ranges, different levels of yield or lethality. But for us, it’s really just a single arrow in a quiver full of arrows, utilizing space capabilities, cyber capabilities, or surface-to-surface capabilities. In this case, you’re talking just another air-to-surface capability with your air-launched effects off balloons.”

Carpenter said that when it comes to balloon-launched ALEs, he is looking at “everything from shorter range, lower yield, maybe targeting an adversary ballistic missile radar, to longer range, higher yield capabilities that you might use to maybe take out a ballistic missile system.”

In such cases, the balloons would carry drones deep into enemy territory, where they would be launched opportunistically to strike the targets Carpenter suggested. The size of the target, and how well it is protected, would determine what kinds of drones the balloons would launch, as well as their proximity to the target.

Should a fight break out in Europe tonight, Carpenter said he is confident he can rely on the technology.

“Our operating concept is proven,” he stated, noting that “we’ve already tested those capabilities against most modern adversary systems that exist. We’ve already validated our operating concept in terms of getting to mass and scale that we would need in large-scale conflict.”

As we have previously reported, while high-altitude balloons have been used for decades, the modern concept of these systems was recently employed operationally by the U.S. in a combat theater.

The Army had planned to demonstrate the ability of balloons to operate in swarms with a high degree of autonomy in the Pacific region last year before those assets were redirected to the Middle East. When exactly that deployment occurred and how long it lasted are unclear.

“We were asked to pivot and do some experimentation in combination with operations, and we pivoted and supported operations in CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command],” Andrew Evans, Director of Strategy and Transformation with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, or G-2, told Breaking Defense, according to a story the outlet published last week. “They were effective for the mission that they were assigned,” he added. However, Evans was not able to disclose the exact location and operational scenarios in which they were used.

Other countries, including U.S. allies and partners, are increasingly fielding balloon-based and other lighter-than-air systems, too. Ukrainian forces notably have been using balloons to conduct kinetic attacks and launch drones against Russian assets. On the other side of that conflict, the Russians have used balloons as decoys to confuse and misdirect air defenses.

The following video shows Ukrainian forces using balloons to launch kamikaze drones.

To achieve the effects he laid out, Carpenter told us that he will still need to surge capacity to Europe.

“The Army will make decisions on which vendors they’re going to go with,” he pointed out. “But the ability to field that at scale is just simply based on the resources provided. I’m talking about money to go ahead and bring them into theater.”

Pushed to provide details of how quickly he could have the desired number of balloons, Carpenter told us that “if the United States or NATO and its allies were on a wartime footing, it would be extremely rapid, but we would need to get them into theater before crisis turned to conflict. So we’d have to keep a close eye from an IC [intelligence community] perspective on indicators and warnings to make sure we have the right systems on the ground at point of need.”

The Army’s overall vision for balloons is not new; the service has been openly discussing it for at least six years now. However, the use of high-altitude balloons in this context is now being operationalized. Meanwhile, China has very actively shown off its ability to gather intelligence and conduct other missions using balloons and other lighter-than-air craft on a broad operational level across the Pacific. TWZ had been reporting on this reality for years before it was thrust fully into the public consciousness after a Chinese spy balloon passed over parts of the United States and Canada back in 2023.

The concept Carpenter laid out for how balloons will be used in a future European conflict is another example of the renaissance in lighter-than-air military technology and how the Pentagon is increasingly seeking to weaponize it on a grand scale.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s experimental Elizabeth Holmes documentary “You Can See Everything” is not only one of the most buzzed-about films of the year; it has proved the hype at the box office, already making $15 million during its opening weekend.

If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading now and come back after you do. And if you have seen it, don’t miss our spoiler-heavy revelations about “You Can See Everything.”

One last warning before we proceed: Spoilers ahead.

Before “You Can See Everything” put Holmes back in the spotlight, Amanda Seyfried portrayed the Theranos CEO in the Hulu limited series “The Dropout,” winning a lead actress Emmy for the role.

In the documentary, Holmes tells Fielder she has never watched the series. After his prodding, they watch it together — along with Holmes’ partner Billy Evans — in a Del Mar beach cottage days before she is set to leave her family, including two young children, to report to a Texas prison to serve an 11-year sentence after being convicted of fraud.

We revisited our previous coverage of “The Dropout,” including what Seyfried told us about preparing for the role and what Liz Meriwether, who created the series, had to say about the project.

In an interview with The Times in 2022, Seyfried recounted telling filmmaker David Fincher about the role, who made a suggestion about how to play Holmes: “He turned to me, and he said, ‘This Theranos girl, she’s not listening.’ And I was like, ‘You’re right!’ Watch her listen. She’s playing listening. … Everything is like, ‘Do you see me listen? Make sure you see that I’m listening to you.’ It’s one of the things that helped her succeed. So much of it was an act, and her bubble was bound to burst. It must have been so tiring.”

During “You Can See Everything,” we observe Holmes watching Seyfried dance in a scene from “The Dropout,” a much-memed moment in the series.

“My favorite thing was getting to express Elizabeth Holmes’ frustration through dance. A character working her s— out. A lot of it was based on the fact that she was a dance student,” Seyfried said.

Holmes cringes at seeing it portrayed onscreen (if you’ve ever had your own dancing or karaoke sessions broadcast, you know the feeling).

In the documentary, Holmes and Evans also claim research wasn’t done before creating the series. Seyfried told us she spent months listening to the 10 hours of deposition tapes in preparation, something she also mentions in “You Can See Everything.” The actor, in a separate interview with The Times published in March 2022, also spoke about how she learned to mimic Holmes’ baritone voice.

Meanwhile, for the dialogue in “The Dropout,” Meriwether discussed getting access to texts sent between Holmes and her former romantic partner, Theranos COO Sunny Balwani, in an essay she wrote for The Envelope in August 2022.

“I had been on conference calls with lawyers for hours discussing every detail, every word, every action line in every script,” she wrote. “The writers had to justify our choices based on the facts we had, so we had scoured the source material, trying to piece together the mystery of what had happened between Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani behind closed doors at Theranos. And here I was about to open an attachment with the actual text messages that Elizabeth and Sunny had written to each other. It was thrilling and infuriating.”

Dive deeper into “The Dropout,” including the final episode in which a fictional version of Evans appears, with our previous coverage below.

Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where I am thrilled to be writing to you today after a harrowing couple of weeks at the Kartje household. But after a bout with stomach ulcers — don’t recommend it! — and a brief hospital stay, I’m now back and ready for the home stretch of USC’s football season, which has gotten a lot more intriguing since we last spoke.

Not only did Lincoln Riley secure a critical road win at Penn State, but the rest of college football’s top tier also collapsed in the week since. The teams ranked Nos. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 all lost on Saturday. At 3-1 in the Big Ten, USC is now tied for second place, while the three other teams at the top of the conference — UCLA, Indiana and Ohio State — are all still on the Trojans’ schedule. Two of those teams will face USC with a backup quarterback.

The Playoff picture certainly looks brighter for USC than it did before that trip to State College. But it’s still up to Riley to prove his team can actually deliver on that promise for more than one night.

That starts Saturday, in Madison, Wis., for my money, one of the best college towns in America. But since we’re roughly at the midway point of the football season, let’s look back at the first half for USC, with an eye on where the team could be headed in the second.

Quarterbacks: B

Jayden Maiava is coming off one of his better games as USC’s starting quarterback, having guided the Trojans to victory in State College. And maybe that performance was what Maiava needed to snap out of whatever funk he seemed to be in. Because for a few weeks, his timing and mechanics were a bit out of whack.

He’s still been putting up numbers — seventh in passing yards per game, in spite of my nitpicking. But if he is back to slinging it like he was against Penn State for the rest of the season, USC can keep up with anyone, including Indiana and Ohio State. But through the first half, I would say Maiava was good, not great.

Running backs: B-

King Miller has been a workhorse for USC this season.

(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)

I had high hopes for Waymond Jordan this season, but since his ankle surgeries, he simply hasn’t been the same player through the first half that he was a year ago. Fortunately for USC, that hasn’t been a huge problem. King Miller’s added muscle has given him some added durability, and in turn, USC has used him like a workhorse, with more carries per game so far than basically any other back in the Riley era. But he hasn’t been quite as explosive as he was last season, and that absence of explosion has been noticeable in USC’s offense. The Trojans have just five runs of 20-plus yards in seven games.

Wide receivers/tight ends: A

It’s pretty rare that a team entrusts its entire passing attack to a fleet of freshmen right from the jump. And it’s even more extraordinary to see that trust pay immediate dividends. But that’s been the case for USC so far this season. Trent Mosley has been the most dynamic freshman pass-catcher in the country when healthy. Kayden Dixon-Wyatt leads all Power Four freshmen wideouts in receiving yards (400). And Mark Bowman’s absence has been felt since he’s been out of the lineup. I’ve been blown away by what we’ve seen out of this group, given all it had lost. The last two weeks, we’ve also seen Tanook Hines return to the level on which he left off last year.

Offensive line: A

It’s a credit to what offensive line coach Zach Hanson has been able to accomplish with his group’s development that true freshman Vlad Dyakonov could step in to start at left tackle in the most brutal of circumstances at Penn State and more than hold his own. USC has been able to navigate injuries up front with ease so far this season, after actually losing its starting center before the season even started. The unit has only given up seven sacks in seven games, and their run blocking has been mostly strong as well.

Defensive line: B

USC’s defense looks entirely different when it can effectively pressure opposing quarterbacks. Over the last two weeks, it has managed to rack up seven sacks, one fewer than USC had over its previous five games. That’s a major step forward, and it starts with Luke Wafle and Kameryn Crawford getting more pressure off the edges. If Jide Abasiri and Jahkeem Stewart can use the bye week to get healthier, then suddenly this group looks very dangerous ahead of the second half.

Linebackers: C

I like what I saw out of Ta’Mere Robinson and Elijah Newby in recent weeks, and it’s certainly possible that the linebacker room looks decidedly different coming out of the bye week, with either stepping into a bigger role. It feels like a fork-in-the-road moment for Desman Stephens, given what happened with Oregon and how he’s played outside of that one bad decision. It’s Year 3, and he’s not always in the right place. There’s a lot to work out here still.

Secondary: D+

Through seven games, USC ranks 128th in the nation in pass yards allowed per attempt. Which means I’m probably being kind giving this group the benefit of the doubt inherent to a D-plus. In some sense, this group is what it is. The personnel at safety has not appeared to fit whatever Gary Patterson wants at the position. But the healthy return of Alex Graham at slot corner has helped matters, and Jontez Williams has been solid, albeit unspectacular. Otherwise, well … yeesh. Best-case scenario is Patterson figures out something in the bye week to get the best out of this group.

Injuries shape start of men’s basketball season

We already knew that 7-footer Eric Reibe will miss at least all of USC’s non-conference slate after foot surgery. But according to a person familiar with USC’s roster situation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times that the Trojans may also be without five-star freshman Christian Collins when they open the season on Nov. 2 against Milwaukee. Collins has been out for several weeks of the preseason with an undisclosed injury, but he’s expected to return sometime in early November. Assuming he continues to progress, he won’t miss much more time.

The earliest Reibe could return, I’m told, is the first week of January, when USC opens conference play. But even that would be an optimistic outlook, considering when Reibe had his surgery. He’d sat out for almost two months, hoping to let the foot heal on its own, before opting for the operation.

A note on House of Troy, Chapter 5

Given my recent health situation, we’ll be taking a one-week break from “House of Troy.” But we’ll be back the following Tuesday, Oct. 27, when Chapter 5 will ready for you wherever you get your podcasts!

Notable quotable

“We have one loss. We just had a terrific win on the road at Penn State. And we’re gonna continue to get things done for the rest of the season. Then, we’ll see what happens.”

—USC president Beong-Soo Kim, when asked about the potential of moving on from Lincoln Riley

Olympic sports spotlight

It’s been a tough season for USC women’s soccer. Entering the weekend, the Trojans had just one win in 14 matches this season … and that lone win came in late August.

But that changed at Northwestern, as USC scored in the first minute of the game and never looked back, delivering a 3-0 win over the Wildcats.

The win won’t change what’s frankly been an unacceptable campaign for a program that was 18-1-4 just two seasons ago. USC is now 2-8-5, with three matches remaining. The time to save this subpar season is already past.

What I’m watching this week

Samantha Sloyan and Summer H. Howell in “Carrie.”

(Liane Hentscher / Prime)

While I was doubled over on the couch for the better part of two weeks, I did happen to stumble onto one of my favorite shows of the year to date. I have a deep respect and love for Stephen King, so I was wary of Amazon’s new adaptation of “Carrie.” But it honestly shattered my expectations.

Adapted by writer and director Mike Flanagan, this modernized version of the classic King story is born out of social media and an Instagram account, “CarrieRed,” which starts terrorizing other students and teachers alike. Meanwhile, Carrie White, the titular character, is thrust into this brutal world of modern high school having spent her life to that point shut in with her strict mother and father. It could’ve been a caricature of high school today, but I thought it was really well done. And it kept me guessing throughout.

In case you missed it

Listen now: Podcast ‘House of Troy’ features inside look at highs, lows of USC Athletics

USC and UCLA could benefit as College Football Playoff nears 24-team expansion

New USC president Beong-Soo Kim faces high stakes: Trust, Trump and Trojan football

After getting breakout star Trent Mosley back, USC hopes bye week helps others return

Mark Sanchez reaches settlement in civil lawsuit filed by truck driver he allegedly assaulted

Until next time …

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email Ryan at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Israelis go to the polls on October 27 to elect the 26th Knesset, in the first general vote since the genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the wars on Lebanon and Iran.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history, with 19 years in office, is seeking another term while standing trial on corruption charges. His Likud party and the far-right coalition it leads are locked in a close race with a Jewish-led opposition bloc, with neither side appearing on track to win an outright majority in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

About 7.3 million people aged 18 and above are eligible to vote, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee. Most polling stations open from 7am to 10pm, and anyone still queuing when they close is entitled to vote. Election day is a national holiday.

Any party clearing an electoral threshold of 3.25 percent enters parliament, which sits for a four-year term. There are no term limits for a prime minister.

How voting works

Israelis vote for a party, not a candidate.

A majority requires 61 of the 120 seats and no party has ever won that outright. Finishing first does not guarantee power. Parties then have 28 days, with a possible extension of up to 14 days, to assemble a coalition reaching 61. If nobody manages it, the country votes again.

Seats are shared out in proportion to each party’s share of the national vote, so a party winning 30 percent of votes takes roughly 30 percent of seats. The votes for parties failing to secure 3.25 percent are discarded, which explains why small parties routinely merge before every election.

Who can and cannot vote?

About 7.3 million Israeli citizens are eligible to vote in this election, but they are not the only adults living under the government they choose.

Roughly three million adult Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem have no vote in the government that controls their borders, movement and legal status.

Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel, who number about 1.2 million, can vote. So can adult settlers among the more than 750,000 Israelis living in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem, who help elect the parliament that legislates over the land they live on.

Most Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem hold Israeli residency, not citizenship. They can vote for Jerusalem’s city council but not for the Knesset.

The result is a sharp anomaly in the occupied West Bank, where a settler votes and a Palestinian family living nearby, under the same military authority, does not.

Most Israeli citizens living abroad also cannot vote, because Israel has no general absentee ballot and requires voters to be physically in the country on election day. Diplomats and state emissaries are the exception, casting their ballots at Israeli missions on October 20.

What are the main issues?

Israelis are dealing with a series of domestic and international issues this election cycle, including:

• October 7 security failures – Three years on, the government is yet to form a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, 2023, when a Hamas-headed attack led to the killing of some 1,200 people, with about 250 taken captive. Israel launched the genocidal war against Palestinians in the wake of the attack, killing at least 74,000 people and leaving most of the besieged territory in ruins.
• Ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions – Supporters of the exemptions say they protect full-time Torah study, but critics argue they place an unfair military burden on everyone else.
• Judicial reform – Netanyahu’s push to curb the Supreme Court’s powers, which sparked mass protests before the war on Gaza, remains a deep fault line. Critics see it as a threat to democracy, while supporters argue that the court has overstepped its authority.
• War and security – The public wants stability but remains wary of concessions in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon. Netanyahu promised “total victory”, but Hamas and Hezbollah remain operational.
• Cost of living – High prices and modest wages are being further squeezed by soaring defence spending. Since 2023, Israel’s defence budget has doubled, increasing pressure on public finances.

Israel’s outgoing government

Netanyahu’s coalition held 60 of the Knesset’s 120 seats when parliament dissolved in July. It comprised Likud with 32 seats, Shas with 11, Religious Zionism with seven, Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit with six, and New Hope with four. Shas left the government in July 2025 but remained in the coalition and New Hope will merge into Likud for this election.

The opposition held 59 seats: Yesh Atid with 24, Blue and White with eight, United Torah Judaism with seven, Yisrael Beiteinu with six, Hadash-Taal and Raam with five each and Labor with four. Noam’s single seat was unaffiliated.

Who are the main contenders?

Netanyahu is seeking re-election while facing a trial on corruption charges, which he denies.

His far-right coalition is up against a bloc comprising of four major Jewish-led opposition parties, whose leaders have signed a declaration promising not to attack each other ahead of the vote and to join forces in forming a government after the polls.

Former army chief Gadi Eisenkot is viewed as the opposition’s most likely candidate for prime minister, with his new Yashar party evenly matched with Likud in the opinion polls.

The opposition alliance includes the Together list, led by former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid; Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and Yair Golan’s Democrats.

Other key players include far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the ultra-Orthodox parties, and the Arab-majority lists Ra’am and the Joint List.

Last month, Israel’s Central Elections Committee voted to bar Ra’am and the Joint List from the election, but the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the bans on October 2, ruling that the evidence did not meet the legal threshold for exclusion.

Sami Abu Shehadeh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who leads Balad, one of the parties in the Joint List, withdrew from the race after the court signalled that a majority of its judges would uphold his disqualification.

The Arab-led parties could hold the balance of power after the vote, but most leaders of the Jewish-led opposition bloc have ruled out joining forces with them.

Sixth election in seven years

October 27 will be Israel’s sixth national vote since 2019, but the first in 38 years to arrive at the natural end of a full Knesset term.

The instability began in April 2019, when Netanyahu’s Likud party and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party tied on 35 seats each. A second vote that September produced another deadlock, with Blue and White on 33 and Likud on 32, and neither round yielded a coalition able to reach a majority.

A third election in March 2020 gave Likud 36 seats to Blue and White’s 33, and produced a Netanyahu-Gantz unity government that collapsed within a year. In March 2021, Likud won 30 seats to Yesh Atid’s 17, but an eight-party coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid that also included Ra’am, an Arab party, ended Netanyahu’s 12-year run. It lasted a year.

Netanyahu returned in November 2022, with Likud on 32 and Yesh Atid on 24, at the head of what has been described as Israel’s most right-wing government. Polls now show neither bloc clearly reaching 61.

Israel’s prime ministers

The state of Israel has had 14 prime ministers since its foundation in 1948. Netanyahu is by far the longest-serving, with 19 years in three separate stints: 1996 to 1999, 2009 to 2021 and from 2022 to now

Only David Ben-Gurion, who led the country from 1948 to 1954 and again from 1955 to 1963, comes close.

Whatever happens on October 27, Netanyahu stays on as caretaker prime minister until a new government is sworn in.

Emmerdale actress Claire King, who plays icon Kim Tate on the ITV soap, has teased the fallout to Thea Ramsden’s stabbing, hinting it could lead to a shock death

An Emmerdale character faces a gruesome death next week on the ITV soap.

As DS Thea Ramsden is stabbed during a showdown with her secret mother Kim Tate, Kim actress Claire King warns that the detective might die. As a terrified Kim frets over missing Baby Tate, some Halloween horror leaves her fearing for her safety.

Things come to a head when Thea shows up at Home Farm, with Kim unaware that Thea is her long-lost daughter. As tensions rise, and Thea is accused of kidnapping Baby Tate, Kim tries to escape but is grabbed by Thea.

Kim panics, and stabs Thea leaving her injured. But will Kim’s secret daughter survive? Hinting at Thea’s fate, Claire shared: “Thea turns up, and at first Kim doesn’t think it’s Thea at all, so she tells her what’s going on—the noises, the bangs, the things like that.

“Then Kim suddenly thinks, ‘Oh my gosh, it is it’s Thea.’ So she tries to run and escape. She hides, but Thea comes through, locks the back door before she can bolt through it. So as she’s running round the table, she kind of slips, and Thea manages to grab hold of her.

“And in a panic, she’s thinking, ‘I’m going to get hurt.’ So, and she just happens to stumble across a cheese knife, sharp cheese knife, and in her panic state, she stabs Thea.”

On whether it could lead to Thea’s death, Claire teased: “The knife has gone in. She’s not bleeding out, but she does pass out, and and Kim’s in total panic mode. She doesn’t know whether she can save her or not.

“I think she’d be absolutely beside herself if she realised that Thea was her daughter at this point because she spent all this time trying to get to know her, having lost her 27 years ago, and and now she could lose her forever.”

If Thea survives, Claire reckons Kim could face big trouble. Claire said: “Thea’s been stalking Kim for a long time, so she knows that she could do her harm.

“And this is the worst-case scenario now because she thinks that, you know, Thea will actually get her back and put her in prison for this. So it’s it’s whether, it’s how Thea is going to respond to this in hospital when she gets treated.

“The police would get involved, and obviously if something happens to her, um, or if the worst-case scenario, she dies, she could end up back in prison again.” Claire also talked about the changes to villainous Kim over the years, but added she was still “ruthless”.

Claire said: “I think she is mellowing, but it’s mainly because we’ve been seeing a lot of children about and babies, and and the horses and things, and those are the things that make her soft. But underneath she’s she’s still got a a steely hard core, you know. And a very ruthless side.”

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Bracken and heather ripple across the plateau. I exhale into the chill autumn air and my breath mists a view that reaches all the way to Gower and the ochre peaks of Bannau Brycheiniog (formerly the Brecon Beacons). Far below, the Ogmore valley’s terrace houses look like tiny constellations but up here on Tarren y Fforch, it’s just me and a few sheep taking springy steps between tufts of bilberries. If this corner of the south Wales valleys feels a long way from its coal mining past, that is, partly, the point.

I’m hiking the new Llwybr Coedwig Cymru Trail, or Wales Forest Trail. Running from Porthkerry Park, near Barry, to Pont Walby, close to Glynneath, this 50-mile (80km) pilot route is the first section of what the National Forest for Wales hopes will eventually be a trail linking woodlands across the length and breadth of Wales: a sylvan counterpart to the Wales Coast Path.

My father grew up in one of the valleys’ mining villages and, when I visited relatives there as a child, the disconnection of those post-industrial communities from the wild hills that loomed above them was striking. Mountain bikers have long discovered the region’s potential, but walkers still tend to head for the more obvious trails that wind through the national parks or along the coast. This pilot trail seems a good excuse to explore untapped footpaths.

With the sea behind me, I set off from the oak leaf sculpture that marks the trail’s start. The viaduct ahead once carried coal to Barry docks, but today it stands over Caffe Matteo, busy with dog walkers sipping cappuccinos. Leaving them behind, I cross the park between the soft greens of birch and oak trees.

I swerve on to a fern-fringed path and follow a stream to the outskirts of Barry. The next section is less lovely – a long stretch of roadside pavement until I enter Hensol Forest. The sunshine splinters through ancient pine trees and their needles cushion the ground. Weaving in and out of forest and fields, I soak up all the calm this long-distance forest-bathing exercise can offer until the Vale Resort comes into sight.

This vast hotel is popular with golfers, but also holds two trump cards for walkers: a spa where weary hikers can swim, sauna and steam their muscles limber again, and a bar serving energy-boosting Welsh rarebit spiked with ale mustard, Dragon cheddar and charred leeks.

Restored, I rejoin the trail the next morning, dipping along leafy lanes and footpaths as the roar of the M4 gets louder. I cross beneath it to enter Coedwig Gellihir, a small broadleaf woodland, then continue north into Pontyclun, before clambering down to the river at Ynysmaerdy Forest to pick up an old railway path to Coedely.

The trail has been designed to offer stretches for cyclists, pushchair users and horse riders, with more pavement-pounding and, in Thomastown, a reminder of the challenges faced by post-industrial communities. Leaving the village behind, the trail opens out again on to a little rocky path with soaring views of Ogwr Fach Valley.

One of the National Forest for Wales’s aims is to help communities connect with nearby woodlands. In Blackmill, the next village I come to, the trail passes Coed Bach Dimbath, a small community woodland where local groups have come together to build an otter hide, outdoor classroom and accessible paths.

“The woodland there had been inaccessible for decades, and now people can access it,” says Rhodri Hewitt of Natural Resources Wales, the trail’s project lead. “The valleys can feel desperately poor in places, but the River Ogmore is another world entirely.”

Continuing north to Nant-y-Moel, I come to Blaenogwr Farm, a Georgian farmstead marooned in the village, where I’m staying in a homely holiday cottage. I drop off my backpack and head across the road for fish with buttery potatoes and laverbread (made from edible seaweed) and cockle sauce at the Blaenogwr Hotel.

My final day’s walking starts with a climb up to that extraordinary plateau on Tarren y Fforch. Hewitt tells me that parts of the trail follow the paths miners took across these hills to work in pits in neighbouring valleys. I’m glad they had this antidote to the darkness and danger underground. Today’s route feels uplifting. I slip through an ancient gate on to open moorland and pick my way up the escarpment, meadow pipits chirruping around me.

Crossing the plateau, I enter Afan Forest park, a large commercial woodland that’s also home to a forest of wind turbines, a peat restoration project and a network of mountain-biking trails. I have an urge to be inside the forest rather than tracing its edges and detour on to a footpath leading up to the trig point at Craig y Llyn, the highest point of the valleys at 600m.

Continuing beneath branches dripping velvety lichen, I come to another spectacular viewpoint, as the land drops away to the waters of Llyn Fach and Llyn Fawr, with the peaks of Corn Du and Pen y Fan shrouded in soft-focus drizzle behind them. Soon I dip into the loveliest stretch of forest along the whole trail.

The valley of Cwm Gwrelych is a designated geological site of special scientific interest because of the near complete 300m-year-old strata exposed here. But it’s also rainforest-like, cut through with waterfalls, a dark, glossy river and dense, broadleaf woodland. I feel completely enveloped in green as I hike the last couple of miles to the trail’s current end, the Isambard Kingdom Brunel-designed viaduct at Pont Walby. As I continue to Sgwd Gwladys pub with rooms in nearby Pontneddfechan, I remind myself that this is not a finished trail but the beginning of one.

The next morning, I pull on my boots one last time and set out in search of the waterfall the pub is named after. Mist rises from the river, shafts of sunlight turn the leaves amber and a heron glides past in cinematic slow-mo. When we spoke about the trail, Hewitt mentioned an old Welsh proverb: Dod yn ôl at fy nghoed, meaning “To return to my trees”, or finding your way back to a balanced state of mind. As I sit and admire Sgwd Gwladys’ thundering cascade, I realise this leafy trail has delivered exactly that.

The trip was provided by the National Forest for Wales and Natural Resources Wales. Vale Resort has doubles from £104 room-only. The Airbnb cottage costs from £87 a night. Sgwd Gwladys has doubles from £65.55, room only. For trail information, visit gov.wales/llwybr-coedwig-cymru-trail and for region information Visitwales.com

New Zealander Stephen Fleming, England’s new Test coach, has suggested the national team should be led by someone from England.

Fleming, who will take charge of his first series in South Africa in December, is the latest overseas coach to lead the England men’s team.

Since 1999, only two Englishmen – Peter Moores (twice) and Chris Silverwood – have been in charge of the Test side, while Ashley Giles had a spell as white-ball coach.

In the same time period England have been led by two Zimbabweans, in Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower, and Australian Trevor Bayliss – while Fleming has succeeded his fellow Kiwi Brendon McCullum, who remains white-ball coach. Another Australian, Matthew Mott, also had time in charge of the white-ball team.

Fleming’s backroom team, announced last week, is heavily weighted towards homegrown coaches.

Former England opener Marcus Trescothick, who was in interim charge of the Test team earlier this year, is joined by ex-England wicketkeeper James Foster and former spinner Richard Dawson.

Jonathan Trott, an Ashes winner with England, is about to begin a spell in charge of England Lions. Both Trott and Dawson were in the running for the Test job before Fleming was appointed.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former New Zealand captain Fleming said it will be a “priority” of his tenure to help develop English coaches.

“I do believe that primarily the national team should be coached by a national representative,” said Fleming.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity, but there will be some development in terms of the coaching, and you can see by our staff.”

As well as Fleming and McCullum filling the head coach roles for the men’s national teams, England’s selector, Marcus North, is Australian.

In September it was announced that another Australian, Leah Poulton, will become the managing director of England women. Between 2020 and 2023 England women’s head coach was Lisa Keightley, the former Australia international.

In addition to developing the coaches on his own staff, Fleming said he will also occasionally invite county coaches and former England players into the set-up.

“There are some really key people who have come back into the system and I’m really pleased about that,” he said.

“I look forward to working with them, but it is a real focus and it’s an ambition as well that you will also get county coaches who will be introduced at certain times and you will get past players that will be asked to come back as well.

“It’s really inclusive and a comfortable nature of using what’s around, but also driving what should be driven within the county game and the English game.”

A group of parents claims local admission policy boosts Black and Latino students while constraining Asian applicants.

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case about the role of race in admissions to selective Maryland middle schools after a group of parents claimed policies discriminated against Asian students in favour of Black and Latino students.

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear the parents’ plea on four academically rigorous “magnet” schools in Montgomery County, a suburb on the outskirts of Washington, DC, in the neighbouring state of Maryland.

The high court said it would weigh whether the parent group has enough evidence of discrimination for the case to move forward.

Lower courts previously dismissed the case because Asian-American students were not underrepresented at the specialised-curriculum schools compared with the pool of students that applied.

If the Supreme Court rules for the parent group, the Association for Education Fairness, it could revive the lawsuit.

The court is expected to hear arguments in the coming months and rule by June.

‘The Pandemic Plan’

The Montgomery County school district’s selection process was introduced in the 2021-2022 school year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It screens all students for academic potential, and then implements a lottery to randomly assign students from that pool to receive enriched instruction at either a magnet school or a local school.

The suit alleged that the screening process makes it harder for Asian-American students, who the challengers said are clustered in “high-performing, low-poverty elementary schools”, to enter the lottery pool.

Part of the process ranks a student’s performance by comparing the student’s test scores against those of other students whose family incomes are at a similar level.

“Under the applicant pool benchmark, the government can set specific racial targets, hit them, and avoid even an inquiry into discriminatory intent,” so long as it has not explicitly called out race in its process, they wrote in their appeal to the Supreme Court.

Previously thrown out

The case was thrown out in 2022 by US District Judge Paula Xinis. She noted that the percentage of admitted Asian-American students exceeded the percentage of Asian Americans among all applicants to the magnet schools.

Xinis also found no evidence that the lottery policy was implemented with discriminatory intent.

The school system has consistently argued the new admissions policy, called the “Pandemic Plan” due to the timing of its release, is race-neutral.

“The Pandemic Plan is a colorblind lottery,” lawyers wrote in a brief asking the Supreme Court not to take up the case. “Nothing about the Pandemic Plan, its history, or its purpose is offensive to the Constitution.”

Supreme Court justices will now consider whether a group claiming to be targeted by a race-neutral policy must show it was disproportionately harmed to prove intentional discrimination.

Tensions keep rising in the iconic house as housemates continue to clash

ITV Big Brother fans have issued the same complaint seconds in tonight’s explosive episode.

Tensions continue to bubble over in the iconic house as a clear divide causes frictions amongst the housemates. Just last night (October 18) saw Catrin left in tears after she expressed her frustrations over comments made behind people’s backs.

When Twinks mentioned there was a hierarchy in the house, things turned sour when Philip and Rochelle confronted the comments made. Twinks was also seen in tears as she admitted to Big Brother she was struggling in the house, with Philip admitting he was no longer going to talk to the newcomer.

The explosive scenes come after Rob’s live eviction on Friday, October 16 after he was voted the fifth housemate to leave the Big Brother house following a public vote.

Tonight’s episode brought yet more drama and chaos with just weeks to go until the final. However, just seconds in tonight’s instalment (October 19), viewers issued the same complaint when a preview was shown.

The episode had barely started when a preview hinted more drama to come, especially between Omar and Rhianna as they appeared to call time on their relationship.

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Taking to social media, viewers threatened to switch off their television screens over the Rhianna and Omar-focussed episode, with many growing tired of their relationship. One person wrote: “An episode centred around the showmance? I might have to check out lol.”

Another said: “Cracks are definitely appearing between Omar and Rhianna”, as a third added: “The Omar Rihanna love story is so boring is that really the only thing that’s been happening the last few days?”

A fourth stated: “Not looking forward to this episode just knowing that Omar and Rhianna will have more than 5 seconds of airtime! Annoyed already!”

A fifth slammed: “Not another Omar and Rihanna edit please”, a sixth echoed: “Omar and Rihanna double eviction WHOS WITH ME.” One person stated: “Looks like this episode is about Omar and Rhianna.”

Viewers have previously commented that the pair are better suited apart as one person said: “Rhianna I love you dearly when will you finally be done with Omar.”

Taking to Instagram though, one viewer shared a reminder on this year’s cast, adding: “Reminder. It’s a TV show. No one’s been set up. They are willingly taking part in a show. You’re welcome.”

Big Brother continues tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Freddy Peralta threw 5⅓ gritty innings, Junior Caminero and Yandy Díaz each hit a two-run homer and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 7-3 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Monday night to advance to the World Series for the third time in the franchise’s 29 seasons.

The Rays will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the first matchup in which both teams are seeking their first World Series title since 1980, when the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Kansas City Royals.

Game 1 is Friday night in Milwaukee.

The loss thwarted Cleveland’s chance at a World Series championship, extending its drought to 78 years.

On the 18-year anniversary of their first AL pennant in 2008, the Rays jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning on Richie Palacios’ two-run double and clinched it with closer Bryan Baker on the mound.

The Guardians wouldn’t give up and had the go-ahead run at first base in the eighth when Kevin Kelly struck out Brayan Rocchio to leave the bases loaded after two runs scored.

Peralta allowed one run and five hits to earn his second win in the ALCS in his third appearance. He threw six scoreless innings to win Game 2 and got two outs in relief in Game 4.

A sellout crowd of 40,230 fans waved yellow-and-blue rally towels, rang cowbells and chanted “Let’s go Rays!” throughout the night at Tropicana Field, which needed major renovations after Hurricane Milton shredded the roof two years ago and caused extensive damage throughout the stadium.

The Rays played their 2025 home games across the bay in Tampa at the New York Yankees’ spring training complex, got new ownership before this season and secured a new stadium deal to be ready in 2029 near the NFL’s Buccaneers. They returned to the Trop to win 55 games in the regular season. Only Milwaukee had that many home wins this year.

After sweeping the Yankees in the AL Division Series, the Rays fell behind the Guardians 0-1 and 1-2 in this series before taking three straight games.

Caminero gave Tampa Bay a cushion with his first career postseason homer in the seventh inning. The two-time All-Star sent a drive off the left-field foul pole to give the Rays a 5-1 lead, becoming the first player to go deep on a splitter by All-Star closer Cade Smith.

Caminero turned around before reaching first base, looked toward his dugout and pounded his chest with both arms, cupped his ear rounding second to hear more cheers, stopped before reaching the plate, pointed into the stands and crossed his arms before reaching home.

Caminero hit 42 homers in the regular season but needed 33 at-bats to get his first in October.

The Guardians answered against Tyler Wells and Ian Seymour by loading the bases on two singles and a walk with two outs. Seymour walked Patrick Bailey to force in one run and hit Angel Martínez with a pitch to force in another. Kelly entered and fanned Rocchio on three changeups.

Díaz, who guaranteed a Game 6 victory when speaking through an interpreter on Sunday, gave the Rays a four-run lead with a two-run shot off Hunter Gaddis in the bottom of the eighth.

Caminero led off Tampa Bay’s second with single off opener Shawn Armstrong, who took the loss in his second start in three games. Left-hander Tim Herrin replaced Armstrong. Chandler Simpson reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second before Victor Mesa Jr. walked. Simpson advanced to third on Jonny DeLuca’s flyout to center. After Mesa stole second, Palacios looped a double to right-center for a 2-0 lead.

Armstrong, who was the opener in Game 4, faced the first four batters, becoming the first pitcher in postseason history to start a game after pitching both of the previous two days.

DeLuca’s sacrifice fly off Joey Cantillo made it 3-0 in the third but the Rays missed an opportunity to break it open with more runs after they loaded the bases with no outs.

Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI single in the sixth drove in Cleveland’s first run.

A 43-year-old man accused of deliberately hitting Helen Haines outside her office remains in police custody.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have said the alleged targeting of independent lawmaker Helen Haines appeared to be an “isolated incident” and there were no known further threats associated with the attack.

Haines was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV outside her office in Wangaratta, about 200km (124 miles) northwest of the state of Victoria’s capital, Melbourne, on Monday, in what Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called a “deliberate” act.

The 65-year-old underwent surgery overnight, with Australian media outlets reporting on Tuesday that she has lost a leg and remains in critical condition in a Melbourne hospital.

The suspect is in police custody, an AFP statement released on Tuesday said. Local media identified the driver as a 43-year-old man from Tarrawingee, Victoria.

Federal and state police were working “to identify potential charges”, including “the offence of causing harm to a Commonwealth public official which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment”, the statement said.

The prime minister said on Tuesday that the vehicle had performed a U-turn before hitting the MP.

“It’s clear that there was a deliberate act here. This wasn’t an accident, someone just skidding off the road,” Albanese ⁠told the ABC national broadcaster.

The prime minister said the alleged attacker’s motive remained unknown.

Bystander intervened

A former nurse, Haines is an independent federal MP for the Victorian seat of Indi and is known for her socially conscious policy positions on the environment and transparency.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio that witnesses said Haines was struck twice by the vehicle before a bystander intervened.

Ricky Jefferies ran from his barber shop, restrained the attacker and removed a knife from him after initially believing the incident was a car accident, Australian media reported.

“I heard a loud bang with no brakes. It was crazy; I just ran out to the ⁠front to see what’s happening,” Jefferies told reporters outside his shop.

“I didn’t realise the seriousness of ⁠the situation initially, and once it became relevant, I just did what I could and what others were already trying to do.”

Threats and abuse

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was shocked by the “deeply disturbing attack” and wished Haines a full recovery in a post on X.

The attack comes after the federal police documented a steady rise in threats and abuse directed towards the nation’s politicians in recent years. Politicians have historically been highly accessible to the public and usually go about their business without security.

Albanese said on Monday that “the temperature has increased in recent times”.

Haines entered parliament in 2019 after working as a nurse and midwife, becoming known for stances such as supporting stronger climate action.

She has been praised for her efforts to increase transparency in politics and crack down on corruption.

Caracas, October 19, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) has lifted “precautionary asset freezes” against Marleny Contreras, wife of Venezuelan Interior, Justice, and Peace Minister Diosdado Cabello, and United Socialist Party (PSUV) lawmaker Jorge Arreaza.

The country’s authorities stated that their inclusion on a list of sanctioned Venezuelan officials was “a mistake” after determining that neither holds assets in Swiss territory nor faces corruption accusations.

The asset freeze was imposed on January 5, two days after US forces bombed Caracas and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Bern claimed the measure was intended to prevent potentially illicit assets from leaving Switzerland amid eventual legal investigations.

The legal measure remains in force until 2030 and includes a formal commitment to return to the Venezuelan people any resources proven to have been illicitly acquired. Over 40 current and former Venezuelan officials, as well as direct relatives and alleged associates, remain on the list.

Alongside the removal of Contreras and Arreaza, the Swiss government added six individuals to the register. New additions include former Venezuelan government envoy and Industry Minister Álex Saab and his business associate Álvaro Pulido. 

Pulido appeared before a Miami court on October 13 after being handed over by Venezuelan authorities to face money laundering charges. Saab was likewise surrendered to US agencies and pleaded guilty to money laundering accusations, pledging to “cooperate” with other US legal investigations.

Saab and Pulido were joined in the Swiss blacklist by José Vicente Amparan Croquer, a lawyer whom US authorities have accused of laundering money from an alleged US $1.2 billion embezzlement scheme at Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), and Mario Enrique Bonilla Vallera, a businessman identified as an alleged front man for Nicolás Maduro’s stepsons.

The list also includes the wife and former wife of two former deputy electricity ministers who were already on the blacklisteed: Milagros Coromoto Torres Morán, wife and business partner of Nervis Villalobos, and María Consuelo Pardi Celis, former wife of Javier Alvarado Ochoa.

The Swiss decision came two days after the US Treasury Department removed Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, chief negotiator in a US-backed dialogue process with an opposition faction, and brother of Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, from its own sanctions list. Delcy Rodríguez herself was removed from the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list last April.

Jorge Rodríguez was first targeted on September 25, 2018, during Trump’s first term in office. Individual sanctions block any assets the person may have on US soil and bar US individuals and companies from engaging in any transactions. The measures lead to issues of overcompliance.

Spanish daily ABC’s White House correspondent David Alandete argued that the parliamentary leader’s removal from the SDN list was a reward for his “cooperation” in a “new phase of relations between Caracas and the White House.”

The move was announced on the same day that Delcy Rodríguez’s acting government and the opposition delegation led by former lawmaker Dinorah Figuera began a third round of US-endorsed talks in Caracas. The discussions are intended to address the continuation of the Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) renewal process, as well as political rights and guarantees.

Nevertheless, 254 individuals and entities remain on the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list. The Trump administration also maintains wide-reaching coercive measures against key Venezuelan economic sectors, including oil, mining, and banking.

Since January, Washington has issued sanctions waivers to allow select Western corporations to secure access to Venezuelan oil and mineral resources under favorable conditions. The White House has also greenlit select US companies to export and import products to and from the Caribbean nation. However, revenues from Venezuelan exports are deposited in a US Treasury account, with US officials deciding when and how much to disburse to Caracas.

Last week, the Trump administration issued General License 60A. The license authorizes humanitarian assistance transactions focused on addressing damage caused by Venezuela’s June 24 double earthquake until April 21, 2027.

Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.

Richard Riehle, a prolific character actor who portrayed Tom Smykowski, the product manager with “people skills” in Mike Judge’s cult classic, “Office Space,” has died. He was 78.

Riehle died Thursday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his representatives from Artists & Representatives and Wright Entertainment Inc. confirmed Monday to The Times. No additional details were provided.

“A remarkable actor whose career in theater, film, and television spanned nearly five decades and more than 400 projects, Richard leaves behind an extraordinary legacy,” read the joint statement from his talent agency and management company. “Beyond his immense talent, he will be remembered for his genuine goodness, boundless kindness, and unwavering generosity, particularly toward emerging actors and filmmakers, whom he encouraged and supported at every opportunity.

“Our industry has lost an exceptional talent, and our community has lost a truly wonderful man,” it continued.

In the 1999 corporate comedy “Office Space,” Riehle portrayed Tom, a middle manager who is laid off by the company before being seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident and winning a large settlement.

“We didn’t have a regular effects person to put me into a body cast for my scene after the character’s accident, so we hired an EMT guy to put me in a real cast,” Riehle said in an interview with Notre Dame Magazine. “I couldn’t get out of it for 8 hours — and when the EMT had to go to work he left a cast-cutter for the PA [production assistant]. That was fun.”

Richard Riehle, right, portrays a co-worker of Ajay Naidu, left, Ron Livingston and David Herman in the 1999 classic “Office Space.”

(20th Century Fox)

Riehle’s other credits include portraying the guard who lets Harrison Ford’s character escape custody in “The Fugitive” (1993); the mechanic with a punny name, Bill Cozbi, in “Bridesmaids” (2011); and the proprietor of a local diner in “Pee-wee’s Big Holiday” (2016).

His wide-ranging resume also includes TV roles in episodes of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Star Trek: Voyager” and “Star Trek: Enterprise,” as well as multiple stints in shows including “Quantum Leap,” “Murder She Wrote,” “L.A. Law” and “Drunk History.” He was also a voice actor on animated projects such as “The Legend of Korra” and “Home on the Range.”

For five seasons, Riehle portrayed Walt Finnerty, the father of Donal Logue’s Sean Finnerty, in the sitcom “Grounded for Life,” which aired from 2001 to 2005.

“Richard Riehle was an amazing human being,” Logue wrote in a tribute shared Monday on Instagram. “A consummate professional, he was an actor’s actor — humble, kind, and incredible at his craft.”

Logue said that he “loved every minute” he spent with Riehle and recalled how the late actor made him laugh so hard during his final audition for the show that he fell to the floor.

“I’ll always remember small details — how he always had a novel (never pulp stuff — always Hugo or Dostoevsky or another classic) stuffed into the back pocket of his old-school slacks,” Logue added. “He loved the House of Pies on the corner of Franklin and Vermont (I did, too).”

Richard Mathias Riehle was born May 12, 1948, in Menomonee Falls, Wis. He graduated from Notre Dame with a degree in speech and drama in 1970 before pursuing a master’s in fine arts at the University of Minnesota.

He started his acting career in local theater. His first uncredited onscreen role was in the 1975 western “Rooster Cogburn,” though he mentioned that he couldn’t find himself in it in a 2017 interview with the A.V. Club. His first screen role “with lines” came a couple of years later, in the 1977 movie “Joyride.” One of his earliest breakout roles was in the 1989 Civil War film “Glory.”

“I always wanted the role that would bring something out of me, force me to find something extra,” he said in the Notre Dame Magazine feature. “As I get older, the roles may not be there as much on high-profile projects, but I’m always going to look for ways I can work and maybe even be a part of ways to change the business. When I work, I feel great. That doesn’t ever have to stop.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Angel Reese had 30 points and 16 rebounds, Allisha Gray added 18 points and the Atlanta Dream stymied Golden State on both ends in the second half, beating the Valkyries 79-65 on Monday night to even the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at one game apiece.

Rhyne Howard set a Finals record with six steals, while Jordin Canada contributed 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds as the Dream earned the franchise’s first Finals victory after going winless in three previous trips — 0-10 overall. They now head home having salvaged a split in front of the boisterous “Ballhalla” crowd at Chase Center.

“This environment is tough to play in. Shoutout to the fans. Shout out my team, though,” Reese said. “We came and fought. I mean, that Game 1 was tough for us. But we moved on.”

Reese became the third player with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Finals game, joining Jonquel Jones for Connecticut in 2019 and Breanna Stewart for Seattle in 2020.

“She was definitely way more aggressive, she had a great game,” Valkyries center Kiah Stokes said. “We let everyone kind of have their way.”

Game 3 is Wednesday in Atlanta, where the next two matchups were moved to the NBA Hawks’ State Farm Arena so more fans could attend. It holds more than 17,000, as opposed to the Dream’s regular home, Gateway Center Arena, which accommodates only 3,500.

Chase Center holds 18,064 and has sold out every game since the Valkyries began playing last year.

Gabby Williams finished with 14 points on three-for-15 shooting after she was the only Golden State player to score in double figures with 26 points in Saturday’s 68-64 Game 1 win. The Valkyries shot 34.4% and went seven for 24 from three-point range.

“We shot terribly,” point guard Veronica Burton said. “We missed shots that we make all the time.”

Foul trouble almost did in the Dream this time — but Reese simply wouldn’t have it. She went scoreless in the second half of the opener but delivered the big baskets and key defensive stops two days later, finishing 10 for 16 from the floor while dishing out three assists and blocking two shots.

“We watched film and saw the things that we messed up on. When I said that they didn’t do anything to mess us up, it was literally just us,” Reese said. “And we can see that tonight. And we’re gonna carry that over in Atlanta. Atlanta, y’all better pull up and pop out, I’m looking forward to it.”

Atlanta scored 24 points off Golden State’s 19 turnovers to hand the Valkyries their first loss in regulation since a 73-70 defeat at Chicago on Aug. 21. The Dream had just eight points off turnovers in Game 1 but returned to the defensive formula that advanced Atlanta this far.