Bank

A waterfront amphitheater roughly twice the size of the Greek Theatre and two-thirds the size of the Hollywood Bowl is set to open this week in Long Beach — and there’s a lot riding on its success.

City leaders hope F&M Bank Amphitheater of Long Beach, located next to the famed Queen Mary, will supplant declining revenues from oil extraction and lead to an uptick in tourism. Concert promoters, meanwhile, see it as filling an important gap in Southern California’s music venue market.

The temporary amphitheater, which has a maximum capacity of 11,000, is meant to be a precursor to a permanent “Long Beach Bowl,” which is being pitched as the largest waterfront venue on the West Coast. The site opens June 6 with a performance by native son Snoop Dogg, and is expected to last for up to 10 years.

The new amphitheater represents a years-long dream of Mayor Rex Richardson, who began championing an outdoor performance venue on the waterfront in 2023. Soon after the closure of Irvine’s FivePoint Amphitheatre in October of that year, he accelerated those plans by proposing this facility. The general feeling was that Irvine’s loss could be Long Beach’s gain.

“This will be a place where memories are made, where music brings people together and where our city shows up on the big stage,” he said during a January groundbreaking. “The amphitheater represents direction to invest in our city’s future, to embrace our creative economy [and] to shape how people experience Long Beach for generations to come.”

Good vibes by the water is the driving energy behind the temporary venue.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

While Los Angeles and Orange County have no shortage of cavernous indoor arenas, the region has recently lacked a proper “summer shed” capable of hosting many national amphitheater tours, said Nick Storch, head of global artist development for booking agency Independent Artist Group. Those tours typically play venues larger than the Greek, Irvine’s Great Park Live or Costa Mesa’s fairgrounds-adjacent Pacific Amphitheatre, but smaller than the Hollywood Bowl.

Such tours, Storch said, are of “massive” importance to the concert industry. “With amphitheaters, it’s not just the music — it’s the experience of being outside and watching a concert, getting a bite to eat with your friends and all those kinds of things,” said Storch, whose agency’s clients Motley Crue and Five Finger Death Punch will perform at the F&M Bank Amphitheater in September.

“FivePoint was a great venue to help artists that are in that in-between stage, and not fully ready for arenas,” he said. “Long Beach having an amphitheater is going to grow the market again.”

Amphitheaters are also crucial to veteran artists with established fan bases. The long-running hard rock band Tesla — who also will perform at the F&M Bank Amphitheater in September — has not played a show in Los Angeles or Orange counties since the closure of FivePoint, which hosted the group twice.

Brian Wheat, the band’s bassist and manager, said he’s excited the new venue will help change that. “Sheds are great in the summertime, and outdoor summer gigs always create a great atmosphere for both bands and fans,” he said.

Much like the F&M Bank Amphitheater, FivePoint Amphitheatre was designed to serve as a temporary venue following the closure of Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, which operated from 1981 to 2016. (From 2000 to 2014, it was known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheater.)

At 11,000 seats, the amphitheater is roughly two-thirds the size of the Hollywood Bowl. Its permanent replacement will be “architecturally iconic,” said Mayor Rex Richardson, while this temporary version is likened to a “summer shed.”

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

From its opening in October 2017 until its closure, FivePoint hosted nearly 500 concerts, including artists such as KISS, Dave Matthews Band, Charlie Puth, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.

Venue operator Live Nation — which manages more than 300 facilities across the country — initially hoped to build a permanent amphitheater nearby, but scrapped those plans in 2023 after the Irvine City Council ended negotiations. Soon after, Live Nation announced the venue would shutter.

After learning of Live Nation’s fallout with Irvine, Richardson and members of his economic development team attended the final FivePoint concert, a performance by the Zac Brown Band, to “explore the feasibility if we were to do the same thing.”

Three months later, Richardson announced plans to build a temporary amphitheater in Long Beach to bridge the gap until a permanent facility — which he envisions as an “architecturally iconic and significant” waterfront venue akin to San Diego’s Rady Shell at Jacobs Park — can be permitted, financed and constructed.

The site’s location is central to its appeal, said Dan Hoffend, executive vice president of North American venues for Legends Global, the operator for F&M Bank Amphitheater. “If you sit in the very top row — what you would consider the worst seat in the house — it’s a spectacular view,” he said. “The Queen Mary is sitting there in all its glory. You’re looking across the harbor. What would be perceived as the worst seat is actually the best seat because you see it all.”

Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson, left, and amphitheater general manager Tra Jones sit in the stands. Even from the nosebleeds, you still have a view of the waterfront at the F&M Bank Amphitheater.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Tra Jones, general manager of the new amphitheater and a Long Beach native, said he’s striving to make it feel less stopgap and utilitarian than FivePoint.

“It doesn’t have a temporary feel at all,” he said. “We looked at all our surroundings and said, ‘What does this look like from a stylistic point of view?’ We leaned into the port/SteelCraft vibe — a very cool industrial look. When you walk in, you’re experiencing a vibe. That’s what we want to resonate with concertgoers coming here.”

The word “vibe” also pops up frequently in conversation with Richardson. Under his watch, Long Beach recently started branding itself as “Vibe City,” which he said is an attempt to encapsulate the charm of L.A. County’s second-largest city, and the state’s seventh-largest.

“Long Beach is special, but it’s hard to explain why if you haven’t been here,” he said. “Because you have to experience it for yourself, the best way to describe it is that it’s a vibe.”

Still, Richardson is aware that vibes can only go so far. During an April meeting with residents of downtown Long Beach, attendees were more interested in discussing homelessness and a recent uptick in traffic fatalities than how a new concert venue might add to the city’s cultural cachet. Some downtown residents have circulated a petition regarding noise-related concerns.

“The job of the mayor is to meet the needs of your residents today — keeping a roof over your head, making sure it’s safe to walk down the street, making sure you have access to amenities and services in your community — but also to think about the future,” he said.

That means finding a way to offset revenues from oil extraction, which currently finance many municipal services, and are projected to drop from more than $50 million annually to around $21 million by 2035. According to Richardson, the new amphitheater — managed by Legends Global, but owned by the city — will help cover that shortfall. The venue is projected to be profitable within five years and generate nearly $29 million in revenue by 2036.

Oil revenues, which pay for city services, are projected to drop by more than half. The amphitheater is being pitched as a budget gap solution.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

“We were fortunate that revenue from oil provided a lot of our services and built our beautiful waterfront, but as California moves away from oil production, we have to plan a more sustainable future by investing in what we know will be here in the long haul,” Richardson said. “In order to do that, we have to invest in arts and culture and tourism.”

Richardson is betting on music at a time when other cities — including Los Angeles — are doubling down on sports, warehousing or data centers. The amphitheater is also meant to remind the world of the city’s impact on pop culture.

From War to Warren G and Sublime to Snoop, Long Beach has a rich musical history. The city hosted the first concerts by the Beach Boys and No Doubt, while Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Elvis Presley, the Eagles and Iron Maiden all graced the stage of the Long Beach Arena.

While that venue currently holds more conventions than concerts, Long Beach has hosted notable outdoor music festivals in recent years, including Warped Tour, Day Trip and Dreamstate. Richardson believes the success of those events helped prove the city’s viability as a concert destination.

“This is the first step toward a legacy of leaving our city in a more economically resilient position,” Richardson said. “At every big turn in our city’s economy, we’ve leaned on arts as a way forward, and this is no different.”

Even the bleacher seats represent Long Beach pride at F&M Amphitheater.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

June 3 (UPI) — A 15-hour standoff at a California bank ended with the suspect shot dead and all hostages freed, police said Wednesday.

The man had barricaded himself inside the Chase Bank building on Chester Avenue and 17th Street in Bakersfield at about 1 p.m. PDT Tuesday. Police were sent to the downtown bank for a bomb threat, and when they arrived they found a man was inside the bank with several hostages, though some were able to escape.

Buildings in the area were evacuated, and police responded with SWAT teams, hostage negotiators and a bomb squad.

Twice on Tuesday evening, hostage negotiators convinced the suspect to release a hostage.

But around 4:20 a.m. Wednesday, the situation “concluded following an officer-involved shooting” by FBI personnel, the Bakersfield Police Department said in a press release. It also said the department was not involved in the use of force.

The FBI Sacramento office said earlier that it was sending help to the scene.

The number of people taken hostage wasn’t immediately clear, but those who remained in the building were unharmed.

“We are aware of the ongoing situation occurring at the building where our branch is located on the ground floor,” a Chase Bank spokesperson told CBS News in a statement. “The branch is currently empty, and we are working with authorities.”

The area around the building was still closed Wednesday morning. Police told the public to avoid the area and allow for extra travel time.

A digital register of land ownership in the West Bank is seen as an escalation of Israel’s occupation.

Occupied East Jerusalem, Palestine – A controversial Israeli plan to digitally register property ownership in the occupied West Bank is a “dangerous colonial occupation step that represents a direct assault on the historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people to their land and property”, the Palestinian Land Authority has said.

The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate and the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CRRC) have urged Palestinians in the West Bank not to engage with any Israeli “entities, committees, platforms, or procedures” of lands and property.

Israel reportedly launched the online “Land Registry and Settlement of Rights” platform on which it plans to “update” property ownership in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday this week.

The Jerusalem Governorate and the CRRC have called on the international community, the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and all international human rights and legal institutions to “take their urgent responsibilities to stop these illegal procedures and hold the occupying state accountable for its continuous violations against the Palestinian people, their land, and their resources”, they said.

Moayad Shaaban, head of the CRRC, which is part of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the move reveals “the occupation’s transition from traditional policies of field control to digital and administrative colonial engineering aimed at imposing permanent legal realities on the occupied Palestinian territory”.

‘Annexation’ by land registry

In May 2025, the Israeli Security Cabinet launched a new, aggressive land settlement process throughout the West Bank, with the aim of “completing the legal and administrative annexation of the occupied territories through fully registering the lands under Israeli authority”, the Jerusalem Governorate said.

Then, in July 2025, Israel’s parliament approved a symbolic measure calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank. The move was first tabled in 2024 by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who himself lives in an illegal Israeli settlement.

On February 15, 2026, the permanent acquisition and registration of approximately 58 percent of Area C – the part of the West Bank over which Israel exerts total control – began.

Under that decision, Palestinian land registration in the Israeli “Tabu” – the land registry extract – began for the first time since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967. It is a final measure that will be difficult to challenge in Israeli courts, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported in February.

With the onset of land settlement, the Israeli Land Registry unit will take over the regulation and registration of land ownership in Area C. It also has the power to issue sales permits and to collect fees. Israel aims to complete the full settlement of 15 percent of the West Bank by the end of 2030.

Some 700,000 Israeli settlers already live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as illegal settlement has expanded under the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rights groups say settlement approvals, along with rising settler violence against Palestinian communities, have accelerated since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.

EU says the sanctioned individuals and groups violated a range of rights, from the right to physical and mental integrity, to the right to education.

The European Union has sanctioned four entities and three individuals it says are “extremist Israeli settlers” responsible for “serious” human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The EU said they had violated a range of rights, including the rights to physical and mental integrity, privacy and family life, freedom of religion and education.

The announcement on Thursday is part of an EU sanctions package agreed earlier this month to punish Israeli settlers and Hamas leaders.

The sanctions include the Nachala Settlement Movement and its director, Daniella Weiss. The EU says the group “encourages and facilitates coercive acts that lead to the forced displacement of Palestinians”.

Israeli NGO Regavim and its director, Meir Deutsch, are also on the sanctions list for lobbying “for the demolition of Palestinian property” in order to expand Israel’s control over the entirety of the West Bank, plus the demolition of an EU-funded Palestinian primary school.

Also sanctioned is the Hashomer Yosh NGO and its president, Avichai Suissa for supporting “at least 28 violent outposts and settlements”. It also recruits armed volunteers and provides guards who engage in violent attacks, the EU added.

The Amana cooperative association of the settler movement Gush Emunim was also sanctioned, the EU stating it had likewise “played a key role in initiating, financing, and facilitating at least 30 violent outposts and settlements”.

Long-awaited sanctions

With Thursday’s additions, the EU said it now sanctions 136 persons and 41 entities from a range of countries under its Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.

The regime was created in 2020, and applies to acts such as genocide, crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations or abuses.

The measures targeting Israeli settlers because of violence against Palestinians were long-awaited, having been blocked by the self-styled illiberal government of Hungary’s former premier Viktor Orban.

However, the appointment of new Prime Minister Peter Magyar saw the veto quickly lifted earlier this month.

Israel earlier condemned the sanctions, asserting that Jews have the right to settle in the occupied West Bank, despite that being in violation of international law.

In 2025, the expansion of Israeli settlements reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the United Nations began tracking data.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, the West Bank has been gripped by almost daily violence involving Israeli troops and settlers. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the territory, according to the UN.

The ferry operator has urged passengers with trips booked to ‘plan ahead’ when travelling

P&O Ferries says passengers need to ‘plan ahead’ if they are travelling over the bank holiday weekend. The popular ferry operator issued the alert for customers, as families across the country head off on their half-term holidays.

The travel company operates routes between Dover and Calais, Hull and Rotterdam, and Larne and Cairnryan. P&O Ferries shared the message for passengers in a post on X. Taking to @POferriesupdate, the travel update included essential advice for anyone travelling today (May 24).

P&O Ferries said: “Ahoy half-term heroes and Bank Holiday adventurers! The port will be busier than usual, so pack your bags with a travel pillow and those extra snacks you’ve got in the cupboard.”

The post explained: “We expect the ports to be busy today so please plan ahead and use our top tips.” In the travel advice, P&O Ferries said passengers should:

• Check traffic and their route before setting off
• Bring refreshments and snacks
• Exercise pets before entering the port
• Bring entertainment for children
• Keep documents to hand and remove passports from cases

Families driving to the port should be aware that the bank holiday is set to be the busiest on the roads in two years, according to the RAC. Research suggests almost 19 million Brits are travelling over the long weekend, with 3.4 million journeys expected on Sunday and 3.1 million trips planned for Monday.

The RAC said: “Drivers looking to spend less time in the car should consider making their getaway outside of peak hours. According to transport analytics experts INRIX, the worst jams this weekend will be on the M1, M25, M5, M6.

“On Friday, the M25 anticlockwise will likely see the heaviest traffic from junction 10 to junction 6 around 4.45pm, as people clock off for the day. The same stretch of road could see a second spike on Saturday around lunchtime, with journey times more than twice as long than on a typical day.

“On the same day, queues of 45 minutes are expected at midday on the M5 southbound between the RAC tower near Bristol and junction 23 for Bridgwater.” As a result, there will be an extra one million Brits on the road compared to the same weekend last year.

RAC mobile servicing and repairs team leader Sean Kimberlin said: “With the weather looking like it may improve, millions are planning to make a getaway trip over the bank holiday weekend.

“And the fact our research shows it’s set to be the busiest late May bank holiday since 2024 shows that even though fuel prices remain uncomfortably high, it takes a lot to stop drivers taking to the roads to make the most of a long weekend.”

PASSENGERS are facing travel chaos this bank holiday following a signalling issue impacting routes to Heathrow Airport.

There are major delays on the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express trains wreaking havoc for those trying to reach the airport today.

Earlier this evening, customers travelling to Heathrow Airport have been hit with severe delays to their journey.

A signalling failure in the London Paddington area has meant there’s a reduced service on the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express trains.

Trains running between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport or Reading may be cancelled, delayed by up to 45 minutes or revised.

These delays are expected to last until the end of the day.

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According to Heathrow Express’ website, there are delays in both directions with only two trains departing every hour.

Meanwhile, the Elizabeth Line has reported severe delays between Paddington and Heathrow Terminals while a signal fault in the Southall area is fixed.

The service is also severely reduced, with some stations currently not being served.

On the National Rail site, they advise those travelling from the east to change at Whitechapel for service to Heathrow Terminal 4.

At the moment, services for Heathrow Terminal 5 will terminate before reaching Heathrow, so passengers are advised to arrive at Heathrow and use the free terminal transfers available at the airport.

Transport for London have said that tickets are being accepted on London Underground.

But for those travelling to Heathrow, the Underground doesn’t offer much of a solution.

This bank holiday the Piccadilly Line is undergoing planned engineering works, with no service from Hyde Park Corner to Uxbridge or Northfields.

However, tickets are being accepted by Great Western Rail and local bus services in order to get passengers to Heathrow Airport.

A spokesperson for Great Western Rail said: “Network Rail are currently investigating a signalling issue affecting the relief lines just outside of Paddington.

“To help keep trains running, some services are being reduced – and we’re advising customers travelling to or from Paddington to check before they travel.”

TfL said: “The Elizabeth line services are currently impacted by signalling issues in the Hayes & Harlington area.

“There is a severely reduced service, with some stations not being served, though we are currently looking to increase services.

“There is alternative ticket acceptance with GWR and local bus services.”

Temperatures will continue to soar across the bank holiday weekend following the hottest day of the year so far on Saturday.

Temperatures reached 30.5C at Frittenden in Kent, beating the previous day’s maximum temperature of 28.4C in London.

The Met Office said it was very rare for the UK to record temperatures above 30C in May, with the last time being on 25 May 2012.

The heat is forecast to intensify throughout the long weekend, reaching heatwave criteria in a number of locations.

Daytime highs are forecast to reach the upper 20s Celsius in many areas, with the low 30s Celsius likely in the week ahead.

Amber heat health alerts remain in effect for the Midlands, eastern and south-east England.

Amber alerts mean there is a risk of a significant impact across health and social care services, with children and those aged over 65 at risk of negative health implications.

The remainder of England is under yellow heat health alerts, meaning adverse weather is “likely to affect vulnerable groups”.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday oversaw the White House swearing-in of the new Federal Reserve chair and said he would like Kevin Warsh’s help in stimulating the economy even as he tried to emphasize that the nation’s central bank would remain independent.

Trump spent months criticizing Warsh’s predecessor, Jerome Powell, for being reluctant to cut interests rates, with the Republican president arguing that lower borrowing costs would provide an economic boost. By taking the unusual step of holding the ceremony in the East Room and not the Fed, Trump made clear his pleasure that Warsh is now in charge.

The war with Iran has caused gas prices to spike, unsettled financial markets and driven inflation concerns across the economy. Those developments have led to recent doubts about whether Warsh might heed Trump’s calls and push the Fed to lower rates.

Still, Trump said he had faith that Warsh would prioritize a strong economy.

“Thankfully, unlike some of his predecessors, Kevin understands that when the economy is booming, it is, that’s a good thing,” the president said. Trump said it was not necessary “to go crazy. Just let it go. We want it to boom.”

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas administered the oath of office. Also on hand were House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Justice Brett Kavanaugh, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Cabinet members.

“I expect he will go down as one of the truly great chairmen of the Federal Reserve that we’ve ever had,” Trump said of Warsh.

Republican President Reagan swore in Alan Greenspan as Fed chair at the White House in 1987. Republican President George W. Bush attended the 2006 ceremony at central bank headquarters when Ben Bernanke became chair.

But having the event at the White House raises more questions about the Fed’s independence at a time when Trump has constantly sought to bend the independent central bank to his will.

Trump’s Department of Justice began an investigation into Powell and the Fed’s extensive building renovations. That drew backlash from lawmakers and the department scrapped the investigation. The Fed’s internal watchdog is now handling the matter. Powell’s term as chair ended last week, though he has opted to remain on the Fed board for now.

Trump made a point of saying during his remarks, “Honestly, I really mean this. This is not said in any other way: I want Kevin to be totally independent.”

“I want him to be independent and just do a great job,” Trump said. “Don’t look at me, don’t look at anybody. Just do your own thing.”

In the next breath, however, Trump said that “in the eyes of many, the Fed has lost its way in recent years” under his predecessor, Democratic President Biden. Trump also suggested that Warsh is looking to lead policies that promote “positive economic growth” and that doing so did not have to mean higher inflation.

Trump also noted that the stock market had risen Friday. “That means they like you,” he said of Warsh.

Warsh once harshly criticized Fed’s policies, including its low interest rate policies coming out of the pandemic, which he says contributed to the largest U.S. inflation spike in four decades in 2021-22. More recently, he has sometimes echoed Trump’s demands for lower rates.

Warsh says productivity gains from artificial intelligence will help the economy grow more quickly without spurring inflation, enabling the Fed to reduce borrowing costs. Many Fed officials, however, disagree that AI’s development will support rate cuts, especially because the technology has also been blamed for large-scale layoffs in the computer sector and other parts of the economy.

On Friday, Warsh promised “to lead a reform oriented Federal Reserve, learning from past successes and mistakes, both escaping static frameworks and models and upholding clear standards of integrity and performance.”

He told Trump that he believes “these years can bring unmatched prosperity that will raise living standards for Americans from all walks of life. And the Fed has something to do with it.”

Warsh further noted that the Fed’s mandate “is to promote price stability and maximum employment. When we pursue those aims with wisdom and clarity, independence and resolve, inflation can be lower; growth, stronger; real take home pay, higher and America … more prosperous.”

As he left the ceremony, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced Trump’s message, predicting to reporters that Warsh will “do the right thing for inflation and growth.”

Weissert and Price write for the Associated Press.

Families heading to France from Dover are enduring a two hour wait, while train services out of London have been hit by cancellations ahead of weekend of route closures

Drivers arriving at the port of Dover have been warned of two hour waits as millions of others elsewhere face bank holiday travel chaos.

Authorities at Dover have alerted customers to a “120 minute processing time for tourist traffic in the buffer zone” before reaching French border control on this side of the Channel. It added: “Please note there is external congestion on the port approach roads.”

Writing on social media, the Port of Dover said: “Thank you for your patience. Our teams are working hard to get everyone through border control and check-in as quickly as possible.” The go-slow comes as Brits flying to Europe also fear lengthy waits to get through border control after the implementation of new passport checks.

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Doug Bannister, Port of Dover chief executive, warned Saturday would be even busier: “We’re looking at about 8,000 cars on Saturday, so that is going to be the busiest of the three days. Our busy time for cars tends to be about 5am till until 1pm. If you’re arriving for a sailing during that period of time, we ask people not to arrive more than two hours before their sailing so that we can keep everybody flowing through.”

It is not much better for those staying at home and enjoying the forecast heatwave, with temperatures of over 30C predicted in some areas over the weekend.

National Rail warned the hot weather can “cause overhead lines to expand and sag”, rails to buckle and pose a risk of track-side fires. “Speed restrictions may be imposed,” it added.

Tens of thousands or rail passengers suffered cancellations even before a weekend of disruption due to engineering work and strikes.

Operator LNER said northbound services between London King’s Cross and Peterborough were disrupted due to a fault with the overhead power lines in the New Barnet area. Delays of up to 50 minutes were expected. And southbound, services between York and Doncaster were disrupted due to a fault with the signalling system.

The East Coast Main Line is expected to be one of the worst routes affected in the coming days because of a closure for works in North Yorkshire. A rail replacement bus service will operate but, as a result, will add more than more than an hour and a half to a normal three hour journey.

The closure has impact thousands Middlesborough fans travelling to London for the Championship play-off final against Hull City at Wembley.

Industrial action is also planned on London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway on Friday and Saturday, with passengers advised to “only travel if necessary” as trains will only run on a small number of routes.

Elsewhere, the Transpennine route will also be impacted, including a rail replacement service between Manchester Piccadilly and Huddersfield over the whole weekend, and between Huddersfield and Leeds, Dewsbury and Wakefield Kirkgate on Sunday.

Buses will replace trains on the Great Western main line between Newport and Bristol Parkway, while one train an hour will operate between south Wales and London via Gloucester from Saturday right through to Monday June 8.

Passengers using part of the Thameslink line in London and South Western Railway between Havant, Fareham and Portsmouth Harbour will also be disrupted.

Anit Chandarana, from Network Rail, said: “Bank holidays are still among the least busy times for us in terms of passengers, so it makes sense to plan these major improvements for those days.

“I know it can be frustrating to have to check before you travel, but this investment is about making everyday journeys better – improving reliability, reducing future disruption and helping the railway work better for passengers.”

So much rail disruption will inevitably mean even more people take to roads already predicted to be busy due to the weather and the start of the half term school break.

Adding to the risk of jams is the fact it is the final weekend of the Premier League season, with hundreds of thousands of fans travelling to cheer on their teams.

Motoring group the AA is forecasting Friday will be the busiest day, with around 23.4 million journeys taken, then 2.8 million on Saturday, and 22.4 million on both Sunday and bank holiday Monday.

If you have been disrupted by the travel disruption, email graham.hiscott@mirror.co.uk

As someone who is “not the best person with bugs and stuff,” Stephanie Bernaba never imagined herself becoming an outdoorsy mom.

But the mother of three is getting more daring as gas prices and other travel costs make vacations more expensive. Bernaba, 47, has been steering her family toward local beaches, bike rides and hiking trails near their home in coastal Rhode Island instead of the faraway trips they once took.

“I’ve been trying to do more of that because one, it’s quality time. Two, it’s fresh air. And three, we’re not spending an arm and a leg,” she said.

That kind of calibration is shaping the summer travel season, which gets its traditional start in the U.S. with the long Memorial Day holiday weekend. Higher fuel prices resulting from the Iran war and other inflationary pressures are making most forms of travel costlier as people in many parts of the world form their plans.

The U.S. Travel Assn. expects annual travel spending to grow by a modest 1% this year, powered largely by domestic leisure travel despite the FIFA World Cup giving soccer fans from other countries a reason to visit the U.S. Airfares have climbed around the world along with the price of jet fuel as the war constrains global oil supplies.

Sticking closer to home may not cushion the sticker shock. The nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy estimated Americans would collectively spend an extra $3.5 billion on gasoline over the holiday weekend. The average price for a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was $4.56 on Thursday compared to $3.18 a year ago, according to the motor club AAA.

Other travel expenses have gone up too. The latest consumer price index showed airfares were 20.7% higher in April from a year earlier, the cost of intracity transit, such as buses and subways, rose 5.6%, lodging cost 4.3% more, and eating out got 3.6% pricier.

Changing travel patterns

Despite elevated prices, industry forecasts suggest Americans still want to get away, even if it means replacing long trips with long weekends, choosing destinations closer to home and finding ways to cut costs by cooking meals or using buses and trains instead of driving.

AAA predicted that 45 million U.S. residents would travel at least 50 miles from home between Thursday and Monday. The Transportation Security Administration said it expects to screen 18.3 million passengers from Thursday to next Wednesday.

Many households are planning summer vacations but making tradeoffs such as shorter trips or cheaper lodging, according to Bank of America analysts. Mastercard said in a recent report that consumers appeared increasingly focused on value and were adjusting their destinations and timing instead of not going away at all.

“Generally, it’s certainly more of a demand reshuffling than a demand softening,” David Tinsley, a senior economist at Bank of America Institute, said.

For the Bernaba family, that has meant trading a big vacation for a shorter trip nearby this summer. Their scaled-back itinerary still is pricey: more than $400 for a ferry to Martha’s Vineyard for their car and passengers, and about $800 a night for each of the two hotel rooms the family of five needs.

Another family that had planned to join them backed out after seeing the price tag.

“The pinch is being felt all the way around,” Bernaba said.

Analysts have increasingly described travel spending as “K-shaped,” with higher-income households continuing to spend while lower-income families pull back or opt out entirely. Bank of America said lower-income households were significantly more likely to report having no summer travel plans this year.

Travelers are confronting other stressors besides cost.

Airlines around the world have canceled flights and trimmed routes to save on fuel and operating costs, leaving passengers with fewer options. Recent U.S. government shutdowns — which caused major flight disruptions and long security lines — are likely still fresh in travelers’ minds. The conflict in the Middle East and broader geopolitical tensions add another layer of concern, especially for those considering trips abroad.

The various factors impacting travel right now have made planning trips more mentally taxing and may be pushing people toward simpler and more accessible vacations that feel easier to manage, said Marta Soligo, a tourism sociologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“The keyword here is unpredictability,” Soligo said. “Tourists don’t like unpredictability.”

Quality over quantity

Jim Wang, a personal finance blogger who lives in Maryland with his wife and four children, said his family’s original plan to travel to Spain to see a full solar eclipse in August began to unravel once they looked at the logistics.

Beyond thousands of dollars in airfare, the trip would have required multiple connecting flights, plus a car rental to reach northern Spain, where the path of totality is expected to pass.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t know if I want to see the eclipse that much,’” Wang said.

Instead, Wang’s family plans to head this summer to the Lake Tahoe area straddling California and Nevada, where they can stay at a relative’s cabin for free, hike and enjoy a slower pace with limited cellphone service. His wife’s parents and sister expect to join them.

“We’re still going to travel. It’ll just be different,” Wang said. “The vacations are no longer as grand for the adults. But for our kids, it’s still exciting.”

Nancy McGehee, a Virginia Tech hospitality professor who studies consumer behavior, said travelers are increasingly focusing more on the “why than the where” when it comes to vacations.

“What we’re seeing is people are saying, ‘All right, we can’t do that big splashy trip we wanted to do, but what else can we do?’” McGehee said. “It’s more quality over quantity that we’re seeing people go for.”

Back in Rhode Island, Bernaba has accepted that travel may look different for her family for a while.

“I think that’s probably why my mind has gone to doing more nature-y things,” she said. “Let’s learn how to use the earth to enjoy ourselves because that’s not going to cost as much money.”

Yamat writes for the Associated Press.

Caracas, May 19, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez held a meeting with a World Bank delegation at Miraflores Palace on Friday.

In a statement, Caracas described the summit as “cordial and constructive,” with both parties “exploring possible collaboration in matters of technical assistance.”

“The Venezuelan government and the World Bank agreed on the need to deepen dialogue and agreed to work together to establish concrete areas for technical collaboration for the benefit of the Venezuelan people,” the communiqué read.

Rodríguez was flanked by Economy Vice President Calixto Ortega and Finance Minister Anabel Pereira. The World Bank delegation was led by Susana Cordeiro Guerra, the US-based organization’s vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Rodríguez administration recently reestablished ties with both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund following a seven-year hiatus due to Washington’s non-recognition of Venezuelan authorities. However, relations with the two institutions had been frozen several years prior. Former President Hugo Chávez disengaged Venezuela from the multilateral bodies in 2007, calling them “weapons of US imperialism,” though the country remained a formal member.

Since the January 3 US attacks and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro, Caracas has fast-tracked diplomatic rapprochement with the Trump administration, which recognized Rodríguez as Venezuela’s “sole leader” in March. The Venezuelan government has launched a series of pro-business reforms and struck agreements with Western energy and mining corporations.

On May 13, Venezuela’s acting president announced the launch of a debt restructuring process as part of efforts to return the Caribbean nation to global financial markets. Venezuelan authorities plan to present a macroeconomic framework and debt sustainability analysis to stakeholders next month.

Venezuela’s foreign debt is estimated as high as US $170 billion, from a combination of defaulted bonds and loans with accrued interest, as well as international arbitration awards. US financial sanctions from 2017 severely exacerbated Venezuela’s economic crisis and blocked the country from fulfilling its debt obligations.

The acting Rodríguez administration has vowed that the country’s priority is to access $5 billion in IMF Special Drawing Rights and that there are “no plans” to contract IMF loans. Venezuela’s Central Bank President Luis Pérez recently announced that a delegation will head to Washington to meet with IMF officials by the end of May.

Trump billionaire allies move in

Caracas’ opening to Western conglomerates has seen multiple Trump officials visit the country alongside business executives to discuss investment opportunities.

Erebor Bank, backed by far-right tech mogul and close Trump ally Peter Thiel, has reportedly pitched its services to Venezuelan officials to restore the country’s access to the US financial system. According to Bloomberg, Erebor co-founder Jacob Hirshman has made several trips to Caracas in recent weeks and met with Central Bank authorities and private bank executives.

Hirshman reportedly told Venezuelan authorities that he counts on US government support. For its part, Erebor confirmed that it held “preliminary conversations about correspondent banking and related financial services” with Venezuelan counterparts. 

Erebor is a digital-only bank registered in Ohio that received its US banking charter in February.

The lure of lucrative investment prospects has also attracted smaller players such as Yorkville Advisors, a New Jersey-based financial firm with ties to Trump’s family, which plans to raise $200 million for acquiring assets in Venezuela.

The company created a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) and stated that businesses in Venezuela will require “substantial capital investment […] to capitalize on improving macroeconomic conditions.”

In April, Acting President Rodríguez installed a commission to evaluate the “strategic” value of Venezuelan state assets and their possible privatization. Venezuelan private sector companies have begun raising funds ahead of potential sell-offs.

Caracas’ pro-business overtures have also caught the eye of US billionaire investor Fred Ehrsam. The co-founder of crypto exchange Coinbase has likewise made multiple visits to Venezuela in recent weeks to explore “investments ranging from oil and gas to fintech and digital payments,” according to Bloomberg.

Ehrsam held discussions with Venezuelan government officials and reportedly argued that the present moment was ripe for investment as Venezuelan assets remained “deeply undervalued.”

Edited by Lucas Koerner in Caracas.

New research shows where and when will be most dangerous for motorists this Bank Holiday weekend

Most motorists reckon the roads are at their most treacherous during rush hour, when traffic is bumper-to-bumper and congestion is at its peak. But with millions of Britons set to hit the road this Bank Holiday weekend, fresh research suggests the greatest danger may lurk when the roads seem at their emptiest.

Fresh analysis by Confused.com appears to reveal the single most hazardous hour to drive in the UK, with motorists being urged to steer clear of this time slot where possible over the bank holiday weekend. Drawing on Department for Transport (DfT) traffic flow and collision data, Confused.com has developed an interactive Safety Index to work out the probability of being caught up in an accident relative to the volume of vehicles on the road.

Rhydian Jones, Confused.com car insurance expert, explains why the emptiest roads can often prove the most perilous, identifies the riskiest and safest times to drive in the UK, and offers guidance on how motorists can use Confused.com’s new Safety Index tool to plan safer journeys during the bank holiday exodus.

Whether you’re heading off for a long weekend away, popping to see relatives or making your way home after a day out, understanding when collision risk peaks could help you sidestep the most dangerous times to be behind the wheel.

Why Quiet Roads Can Be More Dangerous

It appears to defy logic. Fewer vehicles should surely mean fewer crashes. But experts suggest that emptier roads often encourage more reckless driving behaviour. Almost 1 in 3 motorists (29%) acknowledge they break speed limits at least from time to time, while more than 1 in 4 (27%) admit they’re more inclined to speed when traffic is lighter. Factor in poor visibility, driver fatigue and the heightened chance of encountering drink-drivers, and the hazard increases dramatically.

“Road safety relies on more than just how many cars are on the road. It depends on how conditions evolve through the day, and our analysis makes that pattern unmistakably clear. The late afternoon sees the highest number of collisions because the roads are busy. But when we look at the risk per vehicle, it’s the late-night and early-morning hours that are proportionately the most dangerous. That’s when visibility drops, fatigue sets in and roads are quiet enough that drivers may take more risks.

We know journeys become longer, traffic becomes heavier, and weather conditions get tougher. Our research shows many drivers already feel nervous, especially at night or in unfamiliar areas, and nearly a third admit to speeding when the roads look quiet. Our interactive ‘Safety Index’ tool can help drivers make informed decisions about when they travel, reducing risk and helping them stay safer behind the wheel.” Rhydian Jones, Confused.com car insurance expert.

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The Most Dangerous Hours to Drive

The analysis found that the hours with the highest collision risk relative to traffic volume are: