ATLANTA — James Harden had 27 points and nine assists, and the Clippers ended a five-game losing streak with a 115-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night in their first game after deciding to move on without Chris Paul.

Kawhi Leonard had 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Ivica Zubac contributed 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Clippers, who won for just the sixth time this season.

Earlier in the day, the Clippers sent home 12-time All-Star Paul, who was averaging 2.3 points in what is expected to be the final season of his 21-year NBA career. He played in 16 of the Clippers’ 21 games in his return to the franchise where he had some of the best years of his career.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 21 points. Dyson Daniels added 15 points and two steals.

Jalen Johnson, who leads the Hawks in points (23.2), rebounds (10.0) and assists (7.2), was a late scratch with right calf tightness. Kristaps Porzingas (illness) also missed the game, and guard Trae Young is still a few weeks away from returning from a knee injury.

The result was a disjointed first half that saw the Hawks shoot 38% from the field with 11 turnovers and just eight assists. The Clippers led 55-41, then scored the first five points of the second half to push the lead to 19. The Hawks never pulled within 13 the rest of the game.

Harden was aggressive for the Clippers from the start, taking 12 shots in the first quarter. He finished 11 of 24, and had no free throw attempts for the first time this season and just the second time in two years. Harden is third in the league at 8.0 free-throw attempts per game.

Dec. 3 (UPI) — Customs and Border Patrol officers at the Laredo port of entry in Texas seized guns, magazines and ammunition from a vehicle crossing from the United States into Mexico.

CBP said that officers at the Laredo port of entry selected a 2025 Toyota Tacoma pickup traveling to Mexico for inspection on Nov. 2.

The truck and its trailer, which were crossing the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge — one of four in Texas that connect the United States and Mexico over the Rio Grande River — were subjected to a nonintrusive inspection system scan and a canine examination.

The inspections revealed 11 handguns, 10 magazines, one pistol grip and 21 rounds of ammunition of varying calibers hidden among other items in the trailer.

“This significant outbound enforcement action reflects the dedication of our officers to upholding CBP’s border security mission and keeping our border communities safe,” Laredo Port Director Alberto Flores said in a press release.

According to a 2023 audit by the Government Accounting Office, Mexico relies on U.S. authorities to disrupt or stop the flow of firearms into the country, as well as to decrease the U.S. demand for drugs produced and shipped north from Mexico.

Between 2014 and 2018, roughly 70% of firearms seized in Mexico originated in the United States, GAO said in the report.

Venezuelan leader expresses hope phone call marks beginning of ‘respectful dialogue’ between Washington and Caracas.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has confirmed speaking with United States President Donald Trump by phone late last month amid a US military buildup that has raised fears of war.

Speaking to state-run Venezolana de Television on Wednesday, Maduro said he decided to speak about his “cordial” call with Trump about 10 days ago because international media had reported certain information and he wished to avoid “microphone diplomacy”.

“During my six years as foreign minister, I learned diplomatic prudence, and then, in these years as president, with the experience of being foreign minister and having been mentored by our Commander Chavez, I value prudence,” Maduro said, referring to the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, under whom he was foreign minister.

“I don’t like diplomacy with microphones; when there are important matters, they must be handled quietly until they are resolved!”

Maduro said he welcomed the possibility that the call was a step towards “respectful dialogue” and that his country would always seek peace.

Maduro added he would not speak further on his conversation with Trump as he favoured “prudence” and “respect”.

“With the favour of God and our Commander of Commanders, Our Lord Jesus Christ, everything will go well for the peace, independence, dignity, and future of Venezuela,” he said.

Maduro’s remarks came after Trump on Sunday said he had spoken with the Venezuelan leader by phone amid the most serious diplomatic crisis between Washington and Caracas in years.

Trump on Wednesday again addressed his call with Maduro without providing specific details of their conversation.

“I spoke to him briefly, just told him a couple of things, and we’ll see what happens with that,” Trump said during a news conference at the White House.

“Venezuela sends us drugs, but Venezuela sends us people that they shouldn’t be sending.”

Trump has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean, blown up alleged drug-smuggling vessels travelling from Venezuela and other Latin American countries, and threatened to carry out strikes on Venezuelan soil as part of an escalating pressure campaign against Maduro.

The Trump administration has cast its military campaign as an effort to combat drug trafficking.

Venezuela produces little of the global supply of cocaine, but served as a transit point for 10-13 percent of the estimated production in 2020, according to a US government estimate.

Maduro has accused Trump of using the anti-drug campaign as a pretext to topple his government and seize Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.

In a defiant address to a rally in Caracas on Monday, Maduro said his country wished for peace, but only with “sovereignty, equality and freedom” attached.

“We do not want a slave’s peace, nor the peace of colonies! Colony, never! Slaves, never!” he said.

Every year, hundreds of people gather in downtown L.A.’s cathedral for the Latino Theater Company’s annual holiday pageant, “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin.”

The nonprofit theater company has put on its rendition of La Virgen de Guadalupe and Juan Diego’s story every December since the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels opened in 2002. Over the last two decades, the free performance has become one of the city’s biggest holiday events.

Founded in 1985, the Latino Theater Company is dedicated to portraying the Latino experience onstage year-round. The organization hosts around seven plays annually, but the holiday show is the only one it performs entirely in Spanish.

“For us, it’s a gift to the city. Spanish-speaking audiences don’t get much. So, during the holidays, it’s so important,” says Latino Theater Company Artistic Director José Luis Valenzuela. “People come every year, with their grandparents and their children. But, this year feels special.”

In light of the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and the amount of fear in L.A.’s Latino communities, Valenzuela, who directs the pageant every year, says now is the time when “we need to be together as a community.”

The Latino Theater Company will have its annual holiday performance, “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin,” Friday and Saturday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

(Photo from Latino Theater Company)

Written by actor and playwright Evelina Fernández, the show is adapted directly from the mid-16th century text the “Nican Mopohua.” It tells the story of Juan Diego, a peasant of Chichimeca descent who was visited several times by the Virgin Mary. In 2002, he was canonized by Pope John Paul II, becoming the first Catholic saint from the Americas.

Over 100 actors, singers, Aztec dancers and local community members will take the stage to perform the miraculous tale through song and dance. De Los caught up with Valenzuela ahead the holiday show, taking place this Friday and Saturday. The event is free and open to the public.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

There are only a few days until the performances. How are these final rehearsals feeling?

It’s a complicated show, because there are so many people. We have the children, the principals [lead actors], and the choir all rehearsing separately. This is the week when they all come together, and we have to work on coordinating all the sound, the lights, the blocking — everything.

This is all in the beauty of doing theater, though. It all has to be perfect. There are a lot of things that go into the final product, and right now, it’s a lot of moving parts.

You’ve been directing this same pageant for over 20 years. Will there be any new elements this year?

There will be a new song and some bigger dances. We have 30 children [in the play], which is the most we have ever had. They have a little song and dance. We usually have the choir sing it with them, because there weren’t enough children to be able to hear them. But this year, they’re going to do it without the help of the choir. I know it’ll be magical because it’s not only in Spanish, but there’s some Nahuatl in there.

But overall, we need to be together as a community. We’ve been so aggressively attacked and targeted [by recent ICE raids]. We’ve been reminded of who we are and have been told what our place in this society is. This year, the pageant is going to be more meaningful.

Even in my own theater, we brought in 80,000 people last year. This year, we lost 10,000 people because of the fear of gathering and being outside. It’s horrifying for the community to feel that way. What this production does is solidify the idea that we can come together and that we have dreams and desires.

The Latino Theater Company will have its annual holiday performance, “La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dios Inantzin,” this Friday and Saturday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.

(Photo from Latino Theater Company)

Are you worried that the turnout might not be as big due to the ongoing ICE raids?

I hope that it’s going to be bigger. People know what this is, and they need to be in community. We need to be able to sing together, and see our culture with pride, with humanity, with love and with talent. We are not criminals.

Beyond the professional actors and dancers, this performance includes a bunch of local community members. What do you notice about those who volunteer to be in the show?

They renew their idea of faith, not only their faith in La Virgen, but faith in themselves, in their dignity and their own culture. That’s why they do it. I have people who have done it for all 20 years. We need to see ourselves in this production to see how beautiful and talented we are. We need to see how much the community wants to be together.

Thinking about the story of Juan Diego and La Virgen, why do you think it’s important to revisit it annually?

It’s all about understanding that through perseverance and courage, Juan Diego was able to succeed because he created the miracle. He persisted and never gave up. As I direct the show every year, I learn something new. There are some years, I focus on the doubts Juan Diego had, or his courage or his humility. But as we all change from year to year, there’s always something new to understand from it.

What have you learned from the story this year?

This year, I’ve noticed a need for compassion. The society that we live in right now is so hard. It’s all about blame and hate. But Juan Diego’s story can provide comfort and joy. There’s this idea that he was somehow understood and came out victorious by creating a great miracle.

Is there anything you hope people take away from this community performance?

I want people to understand that our history is amazing. It has been a history of struggle, but we go through our struggles with joy — we sing. That’s the beauty that I want people to walk away with.

He’s just 26 and making his first election bid in a crowded field of candidates that includes two seasoned, well-financed officeholders — just the sort of hopeful who usually gets lost in the pack.

But Emanuel Pleitez has collected enough money — much of it in online donations from across the nation — to put on a substantive mail campaign, bolstered by an energetic staff of young volunteers. And, as he and his volunteers talk to voters in the 32nd Congressional District before the May 19 special election, opponents and politics-watchers alike are taking notice.

From the start, the 12-candidate race to fill the seat vacated by now-U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis has been viewed as essentially a contest between two Democrats — state Sen. Gil Cedillo and Board of Equalization vice chairwoman and former Assembly member Judy Chu. Now, some are coming to view Democrat Pleitez as a potential spoiler who could split the Latino vote and swing the race to Chu, an Asian American in the San Gabriel Valley-based district, in which Latinos form the largest registered voter group.

Most experts still expect that the victory will go to Cedillo or Chu, known figures who have big campaign bankrolls and a slew of endorsements.

“One of those two is going to win that race,” said veteran campaign consultant Rick Taylor.

But if Pleitez makes a credible showing in the polls and runs a “good, clean campaign, that sets him up for the next race, and there will be several seats opening” in the area at various levels of government, Taylor said.

Jaime A. Regalado, director of the Pat Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State L.A., said he saw no chance for Pleitez to win. “But the more he can identify himself as a young, smart Latino and appeal to young voters,” Regalado said, the more “he becomes a wild card in terms of how he will affect a close race.”

Pleitez said he is not interested in other races.

“I feel best prepared for this office,” Pleitez said during a recent interview in his crowded El Sereno campaign headquarters.

A federal office “is where I can make the most impact” on such issues as the economy and the housing crisis, added Pleitez, who said he decided to run on Dec. 20, shortly after President Obama nominated Solis to the Cabinet post. He soon left Washington, D.C., where he had been working for the Treasury Department transition team, and moved back to his mother’s home in El Sereno.

Eric Hacopian, an experienced local consultant who is overseeing Pleitez’s campaign, insists that the newcomer has a shot at pulling off an upset.

“We’re in it to win it,” Hacopian said, “not for some respectable showing for the future.”

By election day, the campaign will have raised “well over” the $202,000 reported so far, he said. That is substantially less than Chu. But it is enough to enable the campaign to send 12 or 13 political mailers to targeted voters, Hacopian said.

Volunteers are making contact with 1,200 to 1,500 registered voters a day, he said.

Pleitez is offering himself as a fresh alternative to voters disillusioned with the political establishment.

Born to immigrant parents and raised in poverty by a single mother on Los Angeles’ East Side, Pleitez likes to tell voters that the family moved 10 times by the time he was 9, sometimes living in converted garages and friends’ bedrooms. He excelled at Woodrow Wilson High School and attended Stanford University on a scholarship.

“I want to give back to this community, which gave me so many opportunities,” Pleitez said.

He campaigned for John Kerry for president in 2004 and Obama in 2008 and got involved in several community service projects, including helping found an alumni support group for Wilson High and mentoring students. He quit his job as a financial analyst with Goldman Sachs to join the transition team.

The Cedillo and Chu campaigns predicted that Pleitez would not have much effect.

“I think he’s doing a good job of mobilizing a nontraditional base,” said Chu campaign consultant Parke Skelton, who said he thinks the likely low turnout would hurt, not help, Pleitez.

“He’ll be a factor, but not a huge factor,” Skelton said, adding that he believes that Pleitez could draw as many voters from Chu as from Cedillo — an assessment most others interviewed did not agree with.

“I don’t think he plays a major factor . . . except among the chattering class,” said Derek Humphrey, who is managing Cedillo’s campaign.

Nonetheless, the Cedillo campaign sent out a mailer recently that featured photos of a partying Pleitez that it said it got from his Facebook page. “Should this man represent you in the House of Representatives?” the mailer asks, “Or in Animal House?”

Most saw the mailer as evidence that Cedillo is worried.

“If they didn’t feel he was a serious candidate, they wouldn’t be attacking him,” said John J. Pitney Jr., a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College who co-wrote “Epic Journey,” a book on the 2008 presidential election.

Pitney said it appears that Pleitez has patterned his campaign on Obama’s in that he has used community organizing to reach voters, turned to the Internet to raise money and “inspired a great deal of volunteer work.”

Allan Hoffenblum, a former Republican campaign consultant whose nonpartisan California Target Book tracks legislative races, said the expected low turnout, probably 20% to 25%, on top of the anti-incumbent sentiment afoot in much of the state and nation today, could work well for Pleitez.

“The lower the turnout, the more powerful grass-roots, personal contact campaigning becomes,” Hoffenblum said. He stopped short of saying Pleitez could win.

“He’s surely making a name for himself,” Hoffenblum said. “I’ll give him that.”

—

jean.merl@latimes.com

O’Neill’s bombshell arrival hauled Celtic out of one hole. But some could argue his fond farewell – and timing of it – puts a bit of pressure the man coming behind him.

The veteran boss arrived in Glasgow claiming he had no claims on taking the job permanently. Whether secretly he harboured ambitions to the contrary we will never know.

But there was a steady warming from some fans that O’Neill, who has proven the safest of safe hands, should stick about for longer. At the very least, be given the chance to lead Celtic out against St Mirren in the League Cup final a week on Sunday.

Instead, Nancy will come in faced with a run of fixtures which will require him to hit the ground running like an Olympic sprinter.

On Sunday, leaders Hearts come to Celtic. That is followed by Serie A giants Roma coming to Glasgow on Thursday. Then that final at Hampden.

Celtic could finish that hat-trick of games top of the league, heading towards the Europa League knockouts, and with a trophy in the cabinet.

Or, they may not.

For any new manager coming in, it’s a colossal baptism of fire to try and navigate your way through. O’Neill remaining in post may have alleviated that instant pressure, but faith has been put in his replacement.

Celtic’s season has been righted, and O’Neill will leave with his heralded legacy intact, and if anything, improved. It’s a tough act for Nancy to follow.

The club legend leaves behind a Celtic team with a renewed identity. He leaves behind a support with renewed belief. He leaves behind a high bar.

He does not leave behind a tracksuit.

These are the key developments from day 1,379 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here’s where things stand on Thursday, December 4:

Fighting

• Russian forces have taken control of the village of Chervone in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhia region, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence.
• Ukraine’s military said it struck a Russian oil depot in the Tambov region and another one in the Oryol region on Tuesday. It added that the attacks sparked fires at the sites.
• A source in Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence also confirmed to the Reuters news agency that it had hit the Druzhba oil pipeline, also in Russia’s central Tambov region, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.

Peace talks

• United States President Donald Trump has said the path ahead for peace in Ukraine is unclear after what he called “reasonably good” talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump adviser Jared Kushner spent hours at the Kremlin but departed with no breakthrough on ending the war.
• Trump said Witkoff and Kushner briefed him about the talks and told him their impression of Putin was “he would like to make a deal”. But Trump added that he “can’t tell” what will come out of the meeting “because it does take two to tango”. He added that Washington already has “something pretty well worked out [with Ukraine]”.
• Asked if it would be correct to say that Putin had rejected Washington’s proposals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov disagreed. “A direct exchange of views took place yesterday for the first time,” Peskov said. “Some things were accepted, some things were marked as unacceptable. This is a normal working process of finding a compromise.”
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed his team is preparing for meetings in the US and that dialogue with Trump’s envoys will continue. “Only by taking Ukraine’s interests into account is a dignified peace possible,” he said.
• An unnamed White House official confirmed to Reuters that Witkoff and Kushner would meet with Ukrainian officials in Miami on Thursday.

United Nations

• Ninety-one countries at the United Nations General Assembly, including the US, have backed a resolution demanding Russia “ensure the immediate, safe and unconditional return of all Ukrainian children who have been forcibly transferred or deported” from Ukraine since Moscow launched its war in 2022.
• Russia and 11 other countries voted against the resolution – which was drafted by Ukraine, Canada and the European Union – while 57 countries abstained.
• Ahead of the vote, Russia had urged countries to oppose the resolution. “Each vote for the resolution is support for lies, war and confrontation. Every vote against is a vote for peace,” Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Maria Zabolotskaya, said.

Ukrainian affairs

• Ukraine’s parliament has approved the 2026 budget allocating nearly a third of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to defence. The vote, which comes as Ukraine is dogged by a political crisis following a recent corruption scandal, was seen as a litmus test for parliament to pass key decisions during a critical stage of the war.
• “This is an important signal of Ukraine’s resilience and securing a stable financial provision for the next year’s needs,” President Zelenskyy said. “The priorities are clear: ensuring our defence, social programmes and the ability to rebuild our lives after Russia’s attacks.”

Sanctions and military aid

• The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, has proposed an unprecedented use of frozen Russian assets or international borrowing to raise 90 billion euros ($105bn) for Ukraine. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the body is “proposing to cover two-thirds of Ukraine’s financing needs for the next two years. That’s 90 billion euros”. She added that the “remainder would be for international partners to cover”.
• But Belgium, whose Brussels-based financial institution Euroclear is the main holder of the Russian assets, has voiced a range of legal concerns. While Von der Leyen said the proposal had taken into account Belgium’s concerns, Brussels does not “share that assessment”, a senior official told Reuters, adding that it “cannot accept being asked to bear the risks of such an operation alone”.
• The EU also agreed to phase out Russian gas imports by late 2027 as part of an effort to end the bloc’s decades-long dependency on Russian energy. Under the agreement, the EU will permanently halt the import of Russian gas and move towards a phase-out of Russian oil. Liquefied natural gas imports will be phased out by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by the end of September 2027.
• Hungary and Slovakia are both weighing up legal options to challenge the order, as both EU members are still highly reliant on gas and oil supplies from Moscow and fearful that more costly alternatives will damage their economies.
• More than two-thirds of NATO member states have so far committed $4bn worth of weapons for Ukraine through the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) – an initiative to supply Kyiv with weapons bought from the US – according to the alliance’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte.
• Outside NATO, Australia and New Zealand have also agreed to contribute to the PURL initiative, Rutte said.

European defence

• Germany has become the first European nation to deploy the Arrow air defence system, built to intercept intermediate-range ballistic missiles such as Russia’s Oreshnik.
• The system, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in cooperation with the US Missile Defense Agency, is used as the upper layer of Israel’s missile defences. “Who could have imagined that only 80 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, the Jewish state, through the technologies it develops, would help defend not only Germany but all of Europe,” said Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to Germany.
• The Romanian military has blown up a maritime drone it said was endangering navigation in the Black Sea, identifying it as a Ukrainian-developed Sea Baby. Ukraine’s SBU security service, however, said that all of its Sea Baby maritime drones engaged in operational tasks in the Black Sea region were accounted for, with none entering Romanian waters.
• Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described attacks on Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea in recent days as “very scary”. Ukraine has claimed some of these attacks. Fidan said that the attacks threaten regional safety and show that the reach of the war is expanding. The strikes within Turkiye’s exclusive economic zone violate navigational safety and are impacting commerce, he added, saying that Turkiye, Romania and Bulgaria were looking at measures to boost security.

Claudia Tavani, a travel writer who runs the blog My Adventures Across The World, booked a trip to a tropical island, but was sorely let down when she got there

A travel blogger has revealed how her dream getaway turned into an absolute nightmare after booking what she believed would be a slice of paradise.

Claudia Tavani, who operates the travel blog My Adventures Across The World, opted to spend a fortnight in Bocas del Toro, located at the southern end of Isla Colón in Panama.

“I was keen on visiting Bocas del Toro after reading about it in the Lonely Planet, which described it as one of the last tropical paradises of Central America. Perhaps this was the issue: had I not read the guide, I wouldn’t have had such high expectations when I visited,” Claudia said.

“Where the guide talked about wild, secluded beaches, I found mounds of garbage that were hard to ignore. While others talked about a hidden gem, I found crowds of loud, disrespectful tourists that made me feel like I had landed in hell rather than a tropical paradise. I’d have put up with this if the place had been amazing, with amazing beaches. But it wasn’t. The only beach I liked was Red Frog Beach. But the rest were dirty (yes, garbage dumps kind of dirty). Of course, it doesn’t help that I am from Sardinia and we have incredible beaches!”

The destination, and indeed Panama as a whole, is a complex place with numerous ingrained issues that can make both living and holidaying there challenging. The UK Foreign Office cautions about high levels of gang violence, perilous roads and pickpockets.

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On 29 June, the Panamanian government lifted the ‘state of urgency’ in Bocas del Toro, which had been implemented due to violent protests in May and June. However, a curfew for unaccompanied minors remains in effect from 8pm to 5am, reports the Express.

“Protests often involve informal roadblocks and can affect access to the border crossing into Costa Rica at Paso Canoas and international airports. Check your route and alternatives before travelling. If you are unable to reach an airport for a planned flight, contact your airline to make alternative arrangements,” warns the Foreign Office website.

“There have been incidents of targeted gang assassinations, some in tourist areas. Most of these crimes are between members of rival drug gangs.”

One significant issue plaguing the country is waste management. In Bocas del Toro, there is no publicly funded rubbish collection, leaving residents to dispose of their waste in rivers or by burning it.

Sarah White, from environmental blog Read the Impact, says: “It is a tropical paradise, yet trash has polluted the area for decades. The root of the problem is that the majority of what is consumed on the island is imported, and those who have a proportionally-larger responsibility for waste generation are visitors. 100,000 tourists flock to the islands each year to soak in the Caribbean sun and blue waters, leaving noticeable impacts in their wake.”

Local residents have tackled the problem head-on, implementing a progressive plastic bag ban in 2017 and establishing a recycling facility. One individual has championed an even more groundbreaking approach.

Canadian businessman Robert Bezeau has been constructing a village from plastic bottles since 2012, after discovering they comprised the bulk of rubbish discarded in Bocas del Toro. Alongside numerous houses, Robert has erected a castle constructed entirely from plastic.

The four-storey structure stands 14 metres tall and incorporates 40,000 PET bottles. It’s available for hire and sleeps ten guests, who can explore a dungeon and enjoy panoramic rooftop vistas.

Despite such creativity, significant waste challenges remain. Claudia pulled no punches in her assessment: “It was gross. Simple as that. Bocas Town is the only place where you find a minimum of services (restaurants, hotels, and hostels). But the town is FILTHY. There is no regular garbage collection service, so the streets are lined with bags of trash. Locals are desperate; they literally run after the garbage collection truck when they see it because they don’t know when it will be back,” she went on.

“Water isn’t safe to drink. I remember being extra careful and avoiding anything that may create issues and still catching some food poisoning or bug of sorts. The town is SO TOURISTY. Picture hordes of wanna-be hippies that go around barefoot in the filthy streets. With so many tourists, drug dealers have a ripe business. I remember checking into my hostel, and the receptionist handed me the keys and asked me if I wanted the ‘blanca’ (the white one). I speak Spanish, so there was no misunderstanding.”

Claudia endured ten days in the town, “trying to find a slice of that paradise that others described”. Eventually, she abandoned her search and made the decision to head across the border into Costa Rica.

“The country of Pura Vida (the Costa Rican term for ‘everything is great’), instead, exceeded all my expectations. I spent a month traveling there and met incredibly generous and welcoming people, explored forests, hiked up volcano craters, went rafting, zip lining, and snorkeling,” Claudia revealed. “My fondest memory of Costa Rica is a trip to Corcovado National Park. I decided to hike there from Puerto Jimenez, and it was an exhilarating experience that involved crossing rivers, walking along endless sandy beaches, observing anteaters and various species of monkeys, listening to the sound of pouring rain, and bonding with other travelers in search of nature and peace.”

The Pentagon’s inspector general has reportedly determined that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth improperly used the messaging app Signal to convey sensitive information, thereby putting a United States military operation at risk.

Media reports, released on Wednesday, offered a preview of the inspector general’s report, slated to be released in full on Thursday.

Anonymous sources familiar with the document told news agencies, including The Associated Press, that Hegseth’s use of a personal device to transmit sensitive information was deemed to run afoul of Pentagon policy.

The inspector general’s report focuses on a scandal that unfolded in late March, when the editor-in-chief at The Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, wrote an article describing an extraordinary series of events.

Goldberg described how, on March 11, he received an invitation to join a Signal chat, apparently sent by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Unsure whether the message was a hoax, Goldberg nevertheless accepted the invitation. Two days later, he said, he found himself in the middle of a conversation that appeared to feature some of the most senior officials in President Donald Trump’s administration.

Among the participants were Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump defends Signal chat

In the Signal chat, Hegseth reportedly divulged details in advance about a March 15 attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen. Those details included the precise timing when the F-18 planes would launch, when the drones would arrive, and when both parties would conduct their air strikes.

Goldberg’s reporting on the chat prompted outrage towards the Trump administration and Waltz and Hegseth in particular.

Critics decried the risks that the messages posed to US military operations overseas, with some worrying that, if the Signal chat had fallen into the wrong hands, it could have endangered service members’ lives.

This week’s inspector general report recommends greater training to ensure compliance with operational security standards.

But it declines to weigh whether the material Hegseth transmitted over Signal was, in fact, classified at the time.

Instead, the inspector general points out that, as secretary of defence, Hegseth has the right to determine the classification level of military intelligence and could have declassified the information if he decided to do so.

Sean Parnell, a spokesperson for Hegseth’s office, described that finding as a victory for the embattled defence secretary, who has long denied that “war plans” were shared over the messaging app.

“The Inspector General review is a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth and proves what we knew all along – no classified information was shared,” Parnell wrote in a statement.

“This matter is resolved, and the case is closed.”

Parnell also took the media to task for highlighting the risks the information posed to US military members.

“There is zero evidence that supports this conclusion. None,” Parnell wrote in response to a New York Times post that raised the potential dangers.

On the contrary, Parnell argued, the “flawless execution & success of Operation Rough Rider” – the name of the Yemen bombing campaign – was evidence that no troops were put in harm’s way.

President Trump himself has previously called the fallout from the scandal a “witch-hunt” and questioned whether Signal itself was not “defective”.

Administration officials have repeatedly called for the scandal, dubbed Signalgate, to be “case closed”. Hegseth, meanwhile, has received no public reprimand from the administration for his participation in the chat.

A ‘breach in protocol’

But critics like Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer have called the conversation one of the “most stunning breaches of military intelligence” in recent years.

Some pointed out that foreign intelligence operatives could have intercepted the Signal messages. Others argued that Signal’s auto-delete function violated government transparency requirements that require documentation to be kept, albeit securely.

Democrats and some Republicans demanded an investigation into Hegseth’s actions. In a March 26 letter, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee at the time, the late Gerald Connolly, echoed that call.

“I request that you immediately open an investigation into this severe breach in protocol and national trust,” he wrote.

“The use of Signal to communicate this information jeopardized the lives of men and women of the military and embarrassingly advertised to our adversaries the careless attitude of our nation’s senior leaders.”

On April 3, Steven Stebbins, the acting inspector general for the Pentagon, responded to the outcry. He launched a probe and explained he was prompted to do so by the leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

“The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD [Department of Defense] personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,” Stebbins wrote in a short, one-page memo.

“Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements.”

Stebbins took up the post of acting inspector general in January, after Trump led a purge of government watchdogs.

On January 24, just days into his second term, Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general – the nonpartisan officials charged with the oversight of various executive agencies.

That included Stebbins’s predecessor Robert Storch, who served as inspector general for the Department of Defense from 2022 to 2025.

Trans women will no longer be allowed to join the Women’s Institute as members starting in 2026.

According to The Independent, the organisation’s decision stemmed from the UK Supreme Court’s April ruling that defined “woman” and “sex” in the Equality Act as referring to biological sex.

In a statement to the news outlet, the chief executive of the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, Melisa Green, said they had “no choice” in the decision.

“It is with the utmost regret and sadness that we must announce that from April 2026, we can no longer offer formal membership to transgender women,” she revealed.

“As an organisation that has proudly welcomed transgender women into our membership for more than 40 years, this is not something we would do unless we felt we had no other choice.

“To be able to continue operating as the Women’s Institute, a legally recognised women’s organisation and chairty, we must act in accordance with the Supreme Court’s judgement and restrict formal membership to biological women only.”

Towards the end of her statement, Green said that the new rule is only being made “in respect to our membership policy and does not change our firm belief that transgender women are women.”

From April 2026, only individuals who are registered female at birth will be allowed to join the Women’s Institute. New or renewing members will be required to provide proof of meeting the requirements.

In addition to confirming the new membership rules, Green told The Guardian that the Women’s Institute would introduce new “sisterhood groups” that same month, giving trans women an opportunity to remain part of the “WI family.”

Lastly, she described the groups as being “open to all” and “a place where we will recognise transgender women as women and explore what it is to be a woman in the 21st century.”

The recent news comes two weeks after leaked EHRC guidance suggested trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on appearance.

⁠On 19 November, The Times reported that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) drafted new guidance for ministers nearly three months ago, aimed at “preserv[ing] the dignity and safety of women.” The guidance has not yet been published by Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities.⁠

⁠A copy obtained by The Times revealed that “places such as hospital wards, gyms and leisure centres” may question trans women over their use of single-sex services based on “how they look, their behaviour or concerns raised by others.”⁠

⁠If there is uncertainty about an individual’s gender identity, they could be prohibited from accessing these services once those in charge have taken into account “relevant factors.”⁠

As of this writing, the UK government has not announced when the new guidance will be published.

However, on 20 November, Phillipson told reporters that she was going through it “thoroughly and carefully.”

“I have responsibilities to make sure that’s done properly, and we’re taking the time to get this right,” she added.

SACRAMENTO — As the lone Republican on stage, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco stood out as the only vocal supporter of school vouchers during a gubernatorial candidate forum Wednesday focused on education.

“If you are deciding where you want to eat dinner, you choose the restaurant with the best food, and the other restaurant is not going to get your service until they change their policies,” Bianco said. “I will be the only person offering voucher systems for all of your kids.”

His remark, prompted by a question about how to best support rural students, earned booing and a couple of cheers from the crowd at the California School Boards Assn.’s annual conference in Sacramento.

Voucher systems, which provide public money to parents to pay for private school tuition, are highly controversial. Supporters believe vouchers offer new opportunities for students and create a competitive environment that encourages all schools to improve. Opponents argue it takes away needed funding from public schools.

During the event, candidates discussed a range of issues that impact learning, including public school funding, teacher shortages and achievement gaps.

The candidates at the forum included: Bianco, former State Controller Betty Yee, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon and California Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

While many California voters remain undecided on who to support in the 2026 governor’s race, Bianco narrowly led the field in a November poll released by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies and co-sponsored by The Times. The top Democrat in the survey was former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter. Tied for third place were former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, and conservative commentator Steve Hilton.

A spokesperson for the school boards association said all candidates running for governor were not asked to participate because it would have been more difficult to manage. The association instead invited the candidates it considered most viable based on several factors, including name recognition and previous offices held.

All of the candidates agreed on one overall message: The state’s current system is failing the roughly 5.8 million K-12 students enrolled in public schools.

“Something is broken,” said Villaraigosa. “Information is the currency of our economy and yet we got too many kids who can’t read and write. And when you look at who those kids are, they are disproportionately poor, disproportionately of color, and it is unacceptable in a state this rich.”

Each candidate offered slightly different takes on how to help.

Calderon called for more parental involvement and urged schools to improve outreach efforts and work hand-in-hand with families. He said addressing the state’s housing crisis was also crucial.

“You cannot have an achievement gap that you narrow,” he said, “if there is not secure housing for people. If you have uncertainty in the home and you don’t know where you are sleeping at night, then how are students going to succeed?”

Thurmond said more revenue streams were needed to support the school system.

“I am going to tax billionaires so we have more revenue for California’s schools,” he said, adding it was time for the ultra rich to “pay their fair share.”

Bianco disputed the assertion that more funding was needed and pointed out California is the fourth-largest economy in the world.

“We have never, never had a revenue problem,” he said. “Our problems are 100% a spending problem.”

To help with the teacher shortage, Thurmond proposed developing two million housing units on surplus school-owned land to provide educators with affordable living options.

Yee said she would prioritize general workforce housing for the public sector but not educator housing on school property. She explained she did not want school districts to become landlords.

Yee said she would focus on improving teachers’ healthcare and creating a safer and healthier working environment in the classroom. She vowed to value input from educators.

“The local perspective that you all have about how to improve student achievement is what needs to inform state policy,” she said. “What we have instead is just a lack of recognition, frankly, at the state level.”

All candidates shared reservations about California’s mandate phasing out gas-powered school buses by 2035, with most calling for a longer timeline or more exemptions. Bianco said the mandate should be nixed entirely because the government should not dictate what types of vehicles are used.

The forum was held at Sacramento’s SAFE Credit Union Convention Center near the state Capitol. The school boards conference brings together more than 3,500 school board members, superintendents and other education leaders from across the state.

Ryanair has just added two new routes from Cardiff and Aberdeen to a stunning Spanish city with gorgeous beaches and year-round sunshine

Ryanair has introduced two new UK routes to a vibrant Spanish city boasting balmy weather in December.

The budget-friendly airline has revealed its updated Alicante schedule, now offering a whopping 79 routes from the Spanish hotspot. Ten fresh destinations have been added to the roster, including Bratislava, Linz, Salzburg, Bydgoszcz, Rzeszow, Stockholm Västerås, Småland and Lanzarote.

Of particular note for UK holidaymakers is Ryanair’s launch of direct flights from Cardiff and Aberdeen to Alicante. The latter will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, with fares starting from just £22 in December. The Cardiff to Alicante route will run almost daily in December, with tickets currently available for a mere £20.

There are countless reasons why a quick winter getaway to Alicante might be appealing. One major draw is the climate. The Costa Blanca city boasts December highs of 18C, occasionally reaching 23C on the warmest days. That makes for a perfect afternoon lounging on its golden beaches, providing a welcome escape from the dreary UK weather.

Alicante’s 300 days of annual sunshine, coupled with its stunning landscape, has made it a favourite amongst European golf enthusiasts. The city is home to championship courses such as Las Colinas and Lo Romero, as well as resort courses like La Finca and Melia Villaitana.

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The Alicante Golf course, designed by Severiano Ballesteros, is a popular spot for those keen to hit the greens. But fear not if golf isn’t your cup of tea. The city has plenty more to offer.

“Like Porto, it’s relatively small, so there’s plenty to see without it feeling daunting. It’s the perfect place if you’re planning a day trip, and the proximity of the city centre to the airport also makes it a great city break destination,” writes Clare Bolger in her travel blog.

“Many of Alicante’s buildings were damaged or destroyed during the civil war, so the post-war period saw a mix of restoration and new construction. Some buildings were restored to their former glory, while others were demolished and replaced with new ones. This has led to an interesting blend of old and new architectural styles which can be found throughout the city centre.”

The Castle of Santa Bárbara is perhaps the most iconic and striking building in the city. It towers above the old quarter, which is the stage for the annual Festival of Moors and the Night of San Juan.

“Walking around the winding streets of the Old Town is amazing, with an awesome amount of pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants,” raves Neil Kelly, from Liverpool. “The architecture is absolutely fantastic. There are so many great-looking buildings to enjoy. I love walking down from Castillo de Santa Bárbara. The views from the castle are fabulous.”

A must-see is La Explanada de España, a mosaic promenade composed of over 6.5 million marble tiles arranged in a wave-like pattern. It’s flanked by palm trees, with stunning historic buildings on one side and a charming marina on the other.

A standout characteristic of Alicante is its excellent public transport network. The city boasts a tram service connecting the centre directly to the seafront, ensuring all major sights remain within easy reach.

Most first-time visitors find themselves at Playa del Postiguet, which boasts restaurants, pristine white sand and ample opportunities for water-based activities. Just across the street from the shoreline, there’s a lift that whisks you up to the historic fortress. The city’s other notable stretch of coast, Playa de San Juan, lies several kilometres distant.

Food plays a crucial role in any getaway. Fortunately, Alicante offers numerous excellent establishments dishing up affordably priced regional cuisine.

Santa Gloria, Bar Cento and Café Tres Texturas represent just a handful of the dining spots deserving attention. One much-talked-about destination for morning meals is Brunch It, which focuses on fresh, wholesome fare and bills itself as Europe’s most renowned brunch establishment.

Should things begin to feel overly Continental and you find yourself yearning for familiar flavours, Browns delivers proper British-style cooking. “Another fabulous Sunday lunch the best Sunday lunch around. This carvery is amazing, nothing I can say, only FABULOUS,” writes Jackie M on Tripadvisor.

UCLA appeared on the verge of a late recruiting victory Tuesday when David Schwerzel, a high school defensive lineman from Seattle, tweeted that he was “1000% committed” to becoming a Bruin, including a picture of himself in a blue and gold uniform.

By midday Wednesday, Schwerzel sent out another tweet, saying he remained undecided “due to unforeseen circumstances.”

Regardless of whether the reversal was attributable to miscommunication with coaches or a change of heart, it illustrated the volatility of the early signing period in even the best of times.

And these clearly weren’t the best of times for the Bruins.

Having done its best to salvage a rapidly dwindling recruiting class after the September dismissal of coach DeShaun Foster, UCLA suffered several more defections Wednesday from prospects who had been previously committed to becoming Bruins.

Four-star edge rusher Carter Gooden signed with Tennessee. Three-star safety Toray Davis signed with Texas. Three-star offensive lineman Micah Smith signed with Illinois. Three-star offensive lineman Travis Robertson signed with Bowling Green.

UCLA was left with a 12-player class that general manager Khary Darlington said could grow a bit. Among the possible additions is Anthony Jones, a four-star defensive lineman from Crean Lutheran High in Irvine who remained publicly committed to the team and could significantly bolster a class that dropped to No. 82 in the 247 Sports national rankings.

“Just the mere fact that we were able to land the amount of players that we have landed,” Darlington said, “have our staff be as motivated as they were throughout the entire process and finish strong the way that we did is encouraging.”

A class that could be labeled the Sturdy Dozen given its resolve amid the uncertainty could also help jump-start the early rebuilding efforts of Bob Chesney, the James Madison coach who is expected to be formally announced as Foster’s successor later this week.

Darlington said there weren’t any surprises given that some of the defections were to teams going through significantly less turmoil than one transitioning to a new coaching staff.

“What I’ve learned very quickly in this business in the collegiate space is that things could change at the drop of a dime,” Darlington said, “so we had our fingers crossed for a couple of players, hoping that we could keep them committed.

“But then with some of the previous conversations we had with the families and understanding everything that was involved this go-around in regards of what individual players and families were looking for to give themselves a sense of stability, it still felt good to know that the people you may have lost, you lost to legitimate competitors that did have the things that those individuals were looking for in some of those previous conversations. That being said, I think we have laid a good foundation for whoever will be coming in here next to build from.”

Among the successes that UCLA could celebrate was the signing of C.J. Lavender, a cornerback from Mater Dei High who made seven interceptions last season as one of the Monarchs’ top defenders. Lavender had previously been committed to Washington but said being able to play collegiately in his home state was a big draw.

“The idea of my entire family being able to come enjoy themselves at my games while I do what I do on the field was a dream come true,” said Lavender, who also cited his relationships with Darlington and Marshawn Friloux, the Bruins’ senior director of football recruiting operations, as selling points.

Lavender’s signing became all the more critical after four UCLA defensive backs — Scooter Jackson, Andre Jordan Jr., Cole Martin and LaRue Zamorano III — entered the transfer portal, though they could return at a later date.

UCLA also signed two defensive linemen in Marcus Almada and James Moffat along with a trio of wide receivers in Kenneth Moore III, Marcus Kier and Major Pride. Moore earned the distinction of having been committed the longest, pledging his allegiance in November 2024 and never publicly wavering.

Darlington said the recruiting staff’s approach was to fully acknowledge the uncertainty of the situation and encourage prospects to assess what was best for them, only asking that they keep the staff updated along the way. That’s not to say it was an easy process for anyone involved.

“I say this without exaggeration,” Darlington said, “there’s been tears on both ends of the phone call, there’s been sleepless nights.”

With at least a dozen players on board, any fears of coming up empty were put to bed.

Dec. 3 (UPI) — The U.S. military announced that it has launched a new task force to deploy various drone forces, and the first squadron of one-way-attack drones already has been formed in the Middle East.

U.S. Central Command on Wednesday launched Task Force Scorpion Strike, which is charged with designing and delivering low-cost drone capabilities for its area of responsibility, and already has formed a squadron of Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones designed for autonomous kamikaze strikes.

“This new task force sets the conditions for using innovation as a deterrent,” Admiral Brad Cooper said in a press release.

“Equipping our skilled warfighters faster with cutting-edge drone capabilities showcases U.S. military innovation and strength, which deters bad actors,” said Cooper, who is commander of U.S. Central Command.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made it a priority for the military to improve and increase its use of technology, specifically calling for increased use of a wide array of drones — including cheaper ones that can be rapidly produced and deployed.

In September, Cooper announced the formation of a Rapid Employment Joint Task Force to help streamline the military’s benefits from emerging technologies to “rapidly equip our warriors,” he said at the time.

The new task force will build a one-way-attack squadron of LUCAS drones that Central Command said have extensive range, can be launched using catapults, rockets and mobile vehicle systems, and can carry several different weapons.

The LUCAS drone’s design is based on Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, which The War Zone reported the U.S. military “got a hold of” and reverse-engineered it to produce the 10-foot-long, eight-foot-wide wingspan aircraft that is now being fielded in the Middle East.

The drones cost about $35,000 each, making them a “low-cost, scalable system that provides cutting-edge capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional long-range U.S. systems that can deliver similar effects,” according to Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command.

Although the drones have not been used in actual combat yet, they have been put through trials and tests, both in the Middle East, where they were already fielded, and at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

The tests at Yuma have specifically been to determine the ideal warheads to use for missions with the drones, which Army officials said are expected to be rapidly produced using a method like the Liberty Ship cargo ship model during World War II — which is in line with Hegseth’s stated goals for technological adoption and what they cost the military to acquire.

“There is a price point that we want to produce a lot of these in a rapid fashion,” Colonel Nicholas Law said in a press release.

Hegseth and DOD officials earlier this week outlined the overall drone program, which aims to buy hundreds of thousands of different types of drones over the course of four gauntlets to find vendors that can quickly produce drones at scale and at a cost the military can afford, Military.com reported.

“We need to outfit our combat units with unmanned systems at scale,” Hegseth said. “We cannot wait.”

Patients are being warned not to clog up A&E with everyday niggles as NHS figures show thousands turned to hospitals for minor ailments such as hiccups and ingrowing toenails last winter.

There were more than 200,000 A&E attendances in England from November to February for conditions that could have been dealt with elsewhere, according to NHS England.

This represents more than 2% of all attendances during that four-month period, taking up vital resources at under-pressure A&Es, health bosses said.

Patients with such minor conditions are being advised to seek help elsewhere, including from pharmacists, GPs and NHS 111 – either via the phone or online – as some of them can be managed at home.

Between 1 November 2024 and 28 February 2025, NHS figures show there were:

• 6,382 visits for nasal congestion
• 83,705 visits for earache
• 96,998 visits for sore throats
• 3,890 visits for ingrowing nails
• 8,669 for itching skin
• 384 for hiccups

The attendances were to either major A&E units or minor injury units run by hospitals.

Research shows one of the factors driving unnecessary A&E visits is difficulty accessing GP services, with latest figures showing more than a fifth of patients cannot get through to their GP on the day they try.

NHS England said patients can get prescription-only medication – traditionally dispensed by GPs – at pharmacies for a range of common conditions, including a sore throat, sinusitis and earache.

It is also releasing a video entitled ’24 Hours Not In A&E’ as part of a social media campaign to help avoid unnecessary visits to A&E departments and GPs.

NHS England urgent and emergency care director Julian Redhead said: “The last place a patient wants to be when they have a minor illness is in a busy A&E – so this winter we’re working hard to expand the number of routes into the NHS so patients can get fast and convenient care closer to them.

“Whether the services are online, over the phone or in person, a variety of doorways to care are open across the NHS.

“As always, use A&E & 999 for life-threatening conditions and serious injuries.”

GP Dr Ellie Cannon, who appears in NHS England’s social media video, said patients should remember they can contact their GP through their websites rather than relying on phone lines.

“Knowing where to get the care you need can make all the difference,” she said.

“It’s common for people to default to the 8am scramble for a GP appointment, or go to A&E, as it’s what feels most familiar – but there are many far more convenient and quicker ways to handle your health concern while you get on with your day.”

She said contacting GPs through their websites could be quicker and easier alongside using pharmacies and NHS 111.

GP practices in England were ordered to offer online booking from October and figures released this week show more than 98% now do. Those systems allow patients to ask questions as well as request appointments.

But the change has provoked opposition from the British Medical Association (BMA) which has warned it could put patients at risk because GPs could become overwhelmed assessing online queries.

It comes as the NHS in England starts to publish its winter monitoring statistics on Thursday. They will provide a snapshot of how hospitals are coping, including the number of patients on wards with flu, how long ambulances are queuing for outside A&E and bed occupancy rates.

Last month, NHS England chief executive Sir Jim Mackey warned this winter could be one of the toughest the health service has faced as rates of flu started rising early amid what appears to the spread of a severe strain.

The NHS is also facing the prospect of more strikes by resident doctors, who were previously called junior doctors.

BMA members are staging a five-day walkout from 17 December.

Coronation Street spoilers for just before Christmas reveal sickening twists, big bombshells and plenty of drama, as well as a special episode involving Todd and Theo

It’s a busy time on Coronation Street the week before Christmas, with shocks, twists and big scenes.

There’s a special episode focusing on one key storyline, featuring a very different format. The soap’s sick grooming storyline also takes a horrifying new turn, while secrets and bombshells also take centre stage.

When Will Driscoll confesses to having no mates in Weatherfield, Bernie Winter gets her grandson Brody Michaelis involved. Teen Will is hiding from everyone that he’s in an inappropriate relationship with his athletics coach Megan, with Will unaware he’s being groomed.

Megan, meanwhile, is getting cosy with Daniel Osbourne, and in upcoming scenes Daniel clocks a besotted look on Will’s face towards Megan. As Will hangs out with Brody, he suggests he might ask Megan out but how will Will react?

As his 16th birthday arrives, the teen is disheartened when dad Ben Driscoll and stepmother Eva Price pretend they haven’t planned anything. When he finds Megan, who wishes him a happy birthday, he reminds her he is now 16.

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He hands her a hotel key card wanting to spend time with her later. As his family decorate the pub for a secret party, they struggle to get in contact with him, unaware of what’s going on with Megan.

Will tells Megan he loves her and she claims she loves him back, before suggesting they go to bed. But Ben soon finds out from Steve McDonald that Will was spotted heading into the Chariot Square hotel.

After Will and Megan sleep together, they’re suddenly panicked when someone starts knocking on the door and it’s none other than Ben. So will Megan get caught?

Elsewhere, ahead of her exit from the show Dee-Dee Bailey tells her dad Ed she’s got a new job. Ed’s delighted and suggests they all meet at the bistro to celebrate.

There’s soon another big bombshell though that leaves the whole family reeling. Dee-Dee’s soon saddened when her brother James is a no-show at the family meal, so what has he found out?

James ends up messaging on/off secret lover Carl Webster, which he tells him was a drunken mistaken. But with Carl losing his phone, they fear his partner Abi Franklin will see the messages meant for Carl.

Also coming up, Joanie and Shanice are caught trying to steal from the shop, while Sally and Tim Metcalfe spoil the girls with a Christmas themed breakfast. Sally bans Joanie from a girl’s party leaving her furious.

When Fiz pops round with Hope and Ruby, Joanie throws a tantrum and tells Sally she’ll never replace her mum. There’s drama for Tracy Barlow and Cassie Plummer too, as Cassie’s mean comments lead to revenge.

Finally, there’s a big episode for Todd Grimshaw and Theo Silverton as the domestic abuse storyline escalates. The police are involved when there’s a domestic incident, with the episode shown through the point of view of cameras such as Todd’s hidden camera, CCTV and police body cams as a series of flashbacks show what happened, in a soap first.

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

An obscure nonprofit group is transforming the way campaign mail is sent to California voters by selling access to its discount mail permit.

By sending campaign brochures through the Policy Issues Institute in Irvine, political consultants save 15% to 20% on mailing costs because of discounts the U.S. Postal Service gives to nonprofits, according to a solicitation sent out by the institute’s paid marketer and political mail guru Bill Butcher. Financial records released by the institute show that those savings were significant enough that consultants paid $2.3 million to the institute for such purposes during last year’s elections.

So far, the institute has been used only by consultants who sell endorsements to political campaigns for tens of thousands of dollars, then flood mailboxes with fliers urging a vote for their candidates or causes. Bearing the title of the institute, millions of these fliers, called slate mailers, reached California voters’ mailboxes in November.

To satisfy federal requirements that 25% of each mailer address the nonprofit’s issues, the pamphlets had a page on policy matters. The remaining space was devoted to endorsements of candidates, who ranged from contenders for judgeships to Gov. Gray Davis and his Republican challenger, Bill Simon Jr.

Though the practice deprives the Postal Service of hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, officials there say it appears to be legal. Scott Jones, manager of business mail for the Santa Ana post office, said that IRS-approved nonprofits whose mailings meet basic standards, such as the 25% content minimum, can do what they want to.

“If they meet these various criteria they can have pretty much any advertising in there,” he said.

Attorney and Dana Point City Councilman James Lacy, who founded the institute in 2001, said the mailings are a means of including policy discussion in campaigns. “We try to elevate the campaign season by injecting some words about a policy issue,” he said.

And “this does enable organizations … to take advantage of a lower overall cost,” he added. “Doing so is totally consistent with the 1st Amendment, the IRS requirements and U.S. postal regulations.”

The institute sponsored two Orange County City Council debates last year, Lacy said, but its primary purpose is the mailers. Technically, the fliers are newsletters from the nonprofit in which most of the space is turned over to a single advertiser — a political consultant. The consultant decides who gets the mailer and when it goes out.

Some consultants are troubled by the novel approach. “I’m sure that this policy issues group is following the letter of the law, but I’m sure it’s not the spirit of it,” said Sacramento consultant Natalie Blanning, whose firm publishes a mailer for a group called the Nonpartisan Candidate Evaluation Committee. Her company rejected Butcher’s pitch to send its pieces through the Policy Issues Institute.

Others argue that the innovation could reduce the cost of sending campaign mail enough to tamp down the escalating price of electioneering. “Hopefully this will be the start of a trend where campaigns can get their messages out for less money,” said Bob Stern of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. “The post office is already making a bundle of money from political mailing.”

The Democratic and Republican parties — and, through them, their nominees — already have access to discount postal rates. The use of nonprofits for slate mail helps level the field for all other political players, some argue.

It’s been profitable for all concerned, except the post office.

Lacy was paid $60,000 by the institute last year, and its marketer, Butcher, received $97,000, according to the financial records. And consultants who work in the burgeoning multimillion-dollar slate mail industry keep more of their fees as they spend less on the mailings.

The obscure slate industry is a lucrative business. Last year, campaigns paid Larry Levine, a Studio City consultant who publishes one of the state’s largest slate mailers, $1.2 million to get into his Voter Information Guide, according to campaign records. Levine’s company kept $306,000 and sent $732,000 to the Policy Issues Institute. The rest went to other costs.

Consultants say the idea of using a nonprofit for political mail has been discussed for years, but no one undertook it until the letter went out last year from Butcher, a pioneer in the direct mail industry who has earned millions of dollars soliciting donations for groups like the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn.

Butcher told consultants that the institute could be used by any type of political campaign and could work with most vendors in the political mail industry. “You will have complete responsibility for providing all the advertising content,” his letter pledged.

Butcher did not return a call for comment.

Allan Hoffenblum, a Republican consultant in Los Angeles who publishes his own slate, said he did not take Butcher up on his mailing offer, fearing voters would be confused by a flier bearing both his name and Policy Issues Institute’s. “I’m not going to put someone else’s name on it to save on postage,” he said.

Other consultants had few compunctions.

“As long … as the post office allows every nonprofit to sell advertising space, there’s nothing improper about what they’ve done,” said Tim Carey, a South Bay consultant who produces 4 million copies of Your Voter Guide per election, and used the institute to send them at a discount last November.

“Any for-profit business has the ability to work with a nonprofit business to lower the cost of the mail.”

Meanwhile, the institute’s tactics have spawned at least one imitator.

Political consultant Tom Kaptain, who declined to comment for this article, issued his Democratic Voters Choice slate as an advertisement in the newsletter of LA Blazers, a South Los Angeles youth group for which he volunteers. Unlike the Policy Issues Institute, LA Blazers existed for years before renting its newsletter space to a political consultant.

Bennie Davenport, the Blazers’ founder and director, said he cut a deal with Kaptain so his financially struggling group could use the consultant’s mailing list. In return, Kaptain was able to get his information out at nonprofit rates.

“We thrive on trying to get a good mailing list of people who can give to a charity,” Davenport said.

Charles Shay, the last surviving Native American World War II D-Day veteran, died at his home in France on Wednesday. An army medic, he patched up US soldiers under heavy fire in the surf on the beaches of Normandy in 1944. He earned a Silver Star and three Bronze Stars. He was 101.

An Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon belonging to the Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team crashed this afternoon in California, the Air Force said.

“On December 3, 2025, at approximately 10:45 a.m., a Thunderbird pilot safely ejected from a F-16C Fighting Falcon aircraft during a training mission over controlled airspace in California,” according to a statement from the 57th Wing Public Affairs Office. “The pilot is in stable condition and receiving follow-on care.”

“The incident is under investigation and further information will be released from the 57th Wing Public Affairs Office,” the statement continued.

Video and images emerging from the scene show the aftermath of the crash and the pilot parachuting to the ground.

STACEY Solomon has admitted she ‘can’t bear to look at’ Joe Swash, as she dishes new details on their marriage.

The TV personality, 36, first met the former Eastenders actor, 43, as she appeared on the tenth series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here, which saw her crowned Queen of the Jungle back in 2010, while Joe hosted the show’s spin-off.

But the couple, who went public with their relationship in 2016 before getting married in 2022, seem to be at odds with each other according to Stacey, who revealed they row ‘all the time’.

The mum-of-five, who rose to fame after finishing third on The X Factor back in 2009, made the admissions during a recent interview, where she opened up about her home life.

“How can you not fall out with your husband?”, Stacey told Good Housekeeping UK.

“That’s a pipe dream! We don’t have a house full of staff, although we do have help. My mum will put a wash on; Dad looks after the kids.

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“Joe and I argue all the time over the stuff that’s got to be done. I feel like we’re in that era: five kids, three of whom are young, so everything’s a kerfuffle.”

The star, who also opened fans up to her home life on her BBC reality series Stacey and Joe, didn’t shy away from admitting that things between her and her hubby can get difficult.

But Stacey explained that despite their clashes, the couple continue to gravitate towards each other – as they prepare to celebrate their ten-year anniversary next year.

“[Joe and I] got together because we like each other”, she continued.”

“We have the same morals and values, so even if we do have a couple of months of, ‘F***king hell, I can’t even look at you right now,’ we’ll eventually remember why we got together in the first place.”

She also revealed her industry struggles in the interview, admitting she suffers from anxiety despite feeling like a “powerful woman”.

The star, who appears on the glossy mags’ January cover, attributed her anxiousness to a lack of control in the showbiz industry, despite her “ambitious” nature, which can be a “daunting” feeling.

But Stacey, who also discussed how people “label me as stupid”, says she is “much better at being able to feel in control”, as she experiences continued success with her work ventures.

Aside from her TV work, Stacey is also a spokesperson for a number of brands through lucrative endorsement deals.

Though this has led to fans accusing her of transforming her Instagram into “constant selling for Amazon”.

One fan voiced her verdict on the star’s money-making posts on Mumsnet.

“Her Instagram has become completely extraordinary recently – it’s constant selling for Amazon,” they wrote.

“One day it’s random Christmas decs, the next day it’s Oura rings. She was trying to flog a jetwash earlier this week!

“She used to do crafty bits and easy recipes and show us lots of pics of her ducks and nice kitchen.

“But now it’s just incessant flogging of c**p!”

The person went on to say they’d noticed that every thing Stacey “shills” seems to “follow a certain pattern”.

They said she begins by using an item while chatting, adding: “Item is front and centre but never mentioned”.

“Shortly after comes an update ‘so many of you are asking….here’s the amazon link’,” they added.

“Last night she was wittering on about making an Amazon storefront to load all her tat onto, whatever that is.”

The person concluded by writing: “The formula is incessant.

The full interview can be read now in the January issue of Good Housekeeping UK.