An Australian politician and convicted rapist has resigned from parliament moments before he was to be kicked out, after losing a legal challenge to remain.
Gareth Ward, 44, was last month found guilty of sexually assaulting two young men, aged 18 and 24, between 2013 and 2015, and is now in custody pending sentencing.
Earlier this week, Ward launched a legal bid to stop the New South Wales (NSW) parliament from expelling him, but it was dismissed on Thursday after the court rejected arguments that the move was an “affront” to democracy.
Plans to expel him on Friday were thwarted when, less than two hours before a vote to remove him was due, Ward quit as the independent member for Kiama.
Ward’s resignation letter was received by parliament at 09:08 local time on Friday (00:08 GMT), shortly before a vote at 10:30 was due to expel him.
His resignation – which comes years after the sexual assault accusations first emerged – means Ward will no longer receive a parliamentary salary.
It also triggers a by-election in the south-coast NSW electorate Ward has held since 2011.
In 2021, Ward quit as a state government minister and left the Liberal Party, but refused to leave parliament and was re-elected in 2023.
During his legal challenge, Ward’s lawyers argued that attempts to kick him out of parliament before the appeals process was finished was “an affront to the foundations of representative democracy”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns told the media on Friday that Ward’s resignation “should have come earlier”.
“If you are convicted of some of the most serious charges – sexual assault in NSW – you can’t sit as a serving member of parliament drawing a parliamentary salary,” the Labor leader said.
“How can you represent your community from behind bars?”
Opposition leader Mark Speakman labelled Ward’s legal bid to stay in parliament “disgraceful”, and accused the former MP of “playing games” with the public and parliament.
Ward, due to be sentenced next month, has said he intends to appeal the guilty verdict.
Feyenoord have submitted an offer worth £15.6m (18m euros) for Sheffield United defender Anel Ahmedhodzic.
The 26-year-old has made 114 appearances for the Championship club since joining in July 2022 from Malmo.
Ahmedhodzic was a target for Premier League club Wolves last summer, but he remained at Bramall Lane for the 2024-25 campaign in which the Blades lost in the play-off final to Sunderland.
Feyenoord, who finished third in the Eredivisie last season, sold Slovakian centre-back David Hancko to Atletico Madrid in July and have turned to Ahmedhodzic as a replacement.
The Bosnia-Herzegovina international spent three years with Nottingham Forest between January 2016 and 2019, before spells at Malmo, Hobro IK and Bordeaux.
Sheffield United begin the Championship season under new manager Ruben Selles at home to Bristol City on Saturday, 9 August.
Dutch outfit Feyenoord host Fenerbahce in the first leg of third-round qualifying in the Champions League on Wednesday, 6 August.
WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina is running for governor, entering a GOP primary in which competition for President Trump’s endorsement — and the backing of his base of supporters — is expected to be fierce.
Mace, who last year won her third term representing South Carolina’s 1st District, made her run official during a launch event Monday at The Citadel military college in Charleston. She plans to start a statewide series of town halls later this week with an event in Myrtle Beach.
“I’m running for governor because South Carolina doesn’t need another empty suit and needs a governor who will fight for you and your values,” Mace said. “South Carolina needs a governor who will drag the truth into sunlight and flip the tables if that’s what it takes.”
Mace told the Associated Press on Sunday she plans a multi-pronged platform aimed in part at shoring up the state’s criminal justice system, ending South Carolina’s income tax, protecting women and children, expanding school choice and vocational education and improving the state’s energy options.
Official filing for South Carolina’s 2026 elections doesn’t open until March, but several other Republicans have already entered the state’s first truly open governor’s race in 16 years, including Atty. General Alan Wilson, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and Rep. Ralph Norman.
Both Wilson and Evette have touted their own connections to the Republican president, but Mace — calling herself “Trump in high heels” — said she is best positioned to carry out his agenda in South Carolina, where he has remained popular since his 2016 state primary win helped cement his status as the GOP presidential nominee.
Saying she plans to seek his support, Mace pointed to her defense of Trump in an interview that resulted in ABC News agreeing to pay $15 million toward his presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit. She also noted that she called Trump early this year as part of an effort to persuade GOP holdouts to support Rep. Mike Johnson to become House speaker.
“No one will work harder to get his attention and his endorsement,” she said. “No one else in this race can say they’ve been there for the president like I have, as much as I have, and worked as hard as I have to get the president his agenda delivered to him in the White House.”
Mace has largely supported Trump, working for his 2016 campaign but levying criticism against him following the Jan. 6, 2021, violence at the U.S. Capitol, which spurred Trump to back a GOP challenger in her 2022 race. Mace defeated that opponent, won reelection and was endorsed by Trump in her 2024 campaign.
A month after she told the AP in January that she was “seriously considering” a run, Mace went what she called “scorched earth,” using a nearly hourlong speech on the U.S. House floor in February to accuse her ex-fiancé of physically abusing her, recording sex acts with her and others without their consent, and conspiring with business associates in acts of rape and sexual misconduct.
Mace’s ex-fiancé said he “categorically” denied the accusations, and another man Mace mentioned has sued her for defamation, arguing the accusations were a “dangerous mix of falsehoods and baseless accusations.”
“I want every South Carolinian to watch me as I fight for my rights as a victim,” Mace said, when asked if she worried about litigation related to the speech. “I want them to know I will fight just as hard for them as I am fighting for myself.”
Mace, 47, was the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, the state’s military college, where her father then served as commandant of cadets. After briefly serving in the state House, in 2020 she became the first Republican woman elected to represent South Carolina in Congress, flipping the 1st District after one term with a Democratic representative.
“I’m going to draw the line, and I’m going to hold it for South Carolina, and I’m going to put her people first,” Mace said.
A TEEN boy who tortured, killed and dismembered two kittens with a girl in a warped bid to reduce his urge to kill a human has been locked up.
The depraved pair used rope to tie up the defenceless animals before “mutilating” them.
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The teens were captured on CCTV carrying the animals
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They later fled the scene after killing the animals
One of the kittens was found cut open on the ground in Ruislip, North West London, while the other was hanging from a tree.
Chillingly, the boy, 17, wrote how he “really wanted to murder someone” and killed cats to “reduce my urges”.
He also made a number of harrowing searches about sacrificing animals to Satan.
The boy has been detained for 12 months after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the protected animals by “mutilating and killing” them.
His co-defendant will be sentenced for the same charge this afternoon.
The teens, who legally can’t be named, also admitted one count of possession of a knife.
Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court was told the horror unfolded on May 3.
Footage released by police showed the girl, 16, and 17-year-old boy strolling through a residential street.
The boy could be seen clutching a bag that is believed to have been used to carry the kittens.
CCTV then captured the twisted pair running back down the same street after killing the baby cats.
Prosecutor Valerie Benjamin said the animals were discovered with their flesh and fur cut off and burnt.
As well as the tragic kittens, knives, blowtorches and scissors were found at the scene.
Police later discovered a note on the boy’s phone that read: “I really wanted to murder someone and I was searching how to get away with murder.
“I have come close.
“I have killed cats to reduce my urges.
“I have skinned strangled and stabbed cats.”
The boy had also carried out a number of chilling searches for “killing cats and dogs” and “how to kill a human”.
Ms Benjamin said: “There were concerns about his desire to go on to killing humans.
“He questioned how easy it would be get away with murder and how to kill homeless people.”
It also emerged the teens had chillingly put out adverts for the kittens and went to pick them up before killing them.
Sentencing, Judge Hina Rai also imposed a lifetime ban from caring for animals on the boy.
She said: “You have caused extreme suffering to those two kittens. You knew exactly what you were doing and it would result in their suffering.
“Without a doubt these are the most awful offences I have seen against animals in this court.”
Manchester United have reportedly performed a U-turn on the prospect of selling Kobbie Mainoo to help balance the books.
That’s according to former club scout Mick Brown, who told Football Insider: “There are a number of players Man United want to get rid of.
“From what I understand, Kobbie Mainoo is not one of them after a change of mind.
“The likes of Garnacho, Sancho and the others who have been left out of training in pre-season, that’s who the club are looking to raise money from.
“In my opinion, they should never have been considering letting Kobbie Mainoo go, it was a crazy idea.
“After he didn’t sign that new contract, it looked like he had decided he wanted to leave.
“That interest didn’t really come as heavily as they maybe expected, but I won’t complain about that.
“From what I hear, he’s going to be happy to stay into the new season and hopes he’ll be a bigger part of the team as Amorim is going to use him more regularly.”
The noises from Newcastle themselves do not suggest Isak has no future at the club – should a move elsewhere fail to materialise.
The expectation is the 25-year-old will return to training with his team-mates from next week.
“He is still our player,” said manager Eddie Howe.
“He’s contracted to us. We, to a degree, control what is next for him.
“I would love to believe all possibilities are still available to us. My wish is that he stays, but that’s not in my full control.
“My wish is that he stays and we see him playing again next year.”
That’s the club’s stance – but the supporters may feel a little differently.
Isak has rightly been idolised for his goals, but his desire to leave is a frustration for some.
“We’ve just had an amazing season, in which we won our first trophy in 70 years, and he helped us win that,” said Lee Johnson from the Newcastle podcast True Faith.
“The hope was that this summer would have been a transformation for ourselves but it seems to be turning into a bit of a nightmare now.”
Former Newcastle defender Steve Howey added: “He’s at a club who absolutely adore him. He’ll be on unbelievable money, they’ve won something and they’re in the Champions League – it would have to be some club to want to leave for.
“He has been looked after very well by Newcastle, has three years left on his contract and we’re open to giving him a pay rise, but for him to have his head turned is just disappointing at this stage.
“You have to agree with the fans’ frustration because you have the nucleus of a very good team.”
RIVAL plans for the multi-billion pound expansion of London Heathrow Airport have been revealed – with a much shorter third runway.
Surinder Arora – behind the Arora Group who are a major landowner of Heathrow – submitted his own designs for the massive airport upgrade.
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New plans for the Heathrow Airport expansion have been submitted by a rival groupCredit: Arora Group / Bechtel
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The plans would mean not having to reroute the M25 – costing billions and causing travel chaosCredit: Arora Group / Bechtel
Called ‘Heathrow West,’ the £25billion plans are being developed with infrastructure company Bechtel, who were also behind major projects such as the Elizabeth Line, Channel Tunnel and expansions of both London City and London Gatwick.
The biggest change to the addition of the third runway would be making it much smaller – being just 2,800 metres rather than 3,500.
Being smaller, it would mean the airport would not need to divert the M25 under the current plans, which will cost billions and result in traffic chaos.
The new runway could be operational as soon as 2035.
Read more on airport plans
The rival plans also include a new terminal – dubbed T6 – which would open in a first phase by 2036, will a full opening by 2040.
Mr Arora – who also owns Heathrow hotels such as Sofitel, Crowne Plaza and Hilton Garden Inn – said: “I am proud to unveil the Heathrow West proposal which meets the UK’s ambition to grow its only hub airport while delivering on time and on budget.
“The Government’s decision to invite competition rather than hand exclusivity to the incumbent is common sense – and we’re ready to deliver.”
He added: “The Arora Group has a proven track record of delivering on-time and on-budget projects including in and around Heathrow airport.”
With estimated costs of £25billion, this is much cheaper than what is expected of London Heathrow’s plans.
The last estimate from Heathrow was in 2014, with a cost of £14million – although experts have said this could be closer to £47.5billion in today’s prices.
London Heathrow reveal top airport security tips
London Heathrow invited rival plans last month, with a deadline of July 31.
The airport is set to submit their own plans later today.
The addition of a third runway was backed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves earlier this year.
However, Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan raised concerns, to do with the local environment.
There are also fears of more expensive flights with the new runway, with the airport asking for the landing fees to be increased to cover the costs.
Currently set at £23.73, this will drop by 2p next year, with the fee passed on from airline to passenger.
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The new runway and terminal could launch in the next decadeCredit: Arora Group / Bechtel
However, easyJet CEO Kenton Jarvis backed the plans, and even suggested they could launch from their.
He previously said: “When it comes to Heathrow, I’ve always thought Heathrow would fit our network of primary airports with great catchment areas.
“It would be a unique opportunity to operate from Heathrow at scale – because obviously right now it’s slot-constrained – and give us an opportunity to provide lower fares for UK consumers that currently at Heathrow just have the option of flag carriers.
“It fits with our network, we’re present at all the other major European airports like Schiphol, Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Geneva.”
In the mean time, here are some other airports undergoing major expansions including London Stansted Airport, costing £1.1billion with a £600million new terminal.
The complainants say they have been excluded from more performances at the Royal Albert Hall than the rules allow
Three seat holders at the Royal Albert Hall who accused its operator of “unlawfully” depriving them of their rights to seats have lost a High Court bid for damages.
Arthur George and William and Alexander Stockler, who were seeking £500,000, claim they have been excluded from more performances than the rules allow by the Corporation of the Hall of Arts and Sciences, known as the Royal Albert Hall (RAH).
Their lawyers had asked a judge to declare that the practice of excluding them from other performances was unlawful and to grant an injunction to stop RAH from restricting their access beyond the terms of the law.
Judge Sir Anthony Mann dismissed the bid and ruled the dispute should go to trial.
Mr George owns 12 seats in two separate boxes, and the Stocklers together own four seats in one box.
They asked the judge to rule in their favour without a trial and award an interim payment of £500,000 in damages, ahead of the full amount being decided, which was opposed by lawyers for the RAH.
In a written judgement on Tuesday, the judge dismissed the bid and said: “It would seem to me to be potentially unhelpful to have the declaration sought.
“Whether any declaration at all is justified at a trial, when all the relevant issues and defences have been canvassed and ruled on, will be a matter for the trial judge.”
Rules for seat holders is governed by the Royal Albert Hall Act as well as internal governance.
Getty Images
The seat holders claimed they were excluded from more shows than the rules allow
Sir Anthony added: “The history of the matter and its effect needs to be gone into with a degree of thoroughness which only a trial can provide, and a trial is necessary in order to determine the validity of this defence.
“That being the case, I do not need to consider the question of the measure of damages and whether an interim award is justified.”
At the hearing earlier this month, David Sawtell, representing Mr George and the Stocklers said the case was not a “breach of contract case”, but instead concerned the “wrongful” use of someone’s property.
He added: “We say, if you take someone else’s property and use it, you are liable to compensate the property owner for that use.”
In written submissions for the corporation, Simon Taube KC said the men who have been members of the corporation since before 2008, had not voted against the practice until the annual general meeting in 2023.
He added: “The background to the claim is that in recent years the claimants’ relations with the corporation have deteriorated because of the claimants’ complaints about various financial matters.”
What are the rules for seat holders?
Seat and box holders have been part of the Royal Albert Hall since they helped fund the construction of the Grade I listed venue which was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871.
These investors were granted rights to use or access their seats for the term of the hall’s 999-year lease, according to the venue’s website.
Some 1,268 seats, out of the hall’s total possible capacity of 5,272, remain in the private ownership of 316 people. Some seats have been passed down within the families of the original investors.
The seat holders, who are known as members, are entitled to attend two thirds of the performances in the hall in any 12-month period, according to Harrods Estates, which manages the sale of the seats and stalls.
Seat holders are “free to do as they please with the tickets allocated to them for their seats”, the RAH’s website said, meaning members can earn an income from selling on their tickets.
SAN FRANCISCO — Two days after she rattled San Francisco’s political scene by acknowledging an unexpected interest in running for Congress, Mayor Dianne Feinstein suddenly and unexpectedly Wednesday evening decided not to run.
“There are simply too many issues critical to the city that cannot be deferred by the distractions of a campaign or postponed until a new mayor can be found,” she said in a written statement.
Chief among those pending issues is the city budget, she said. But the list also includes the city’s homeless, its AIDS crisis, redevelopment projects and a new stadium for its baseball team, the Giants.
“I do not want to leave City Hall with my job incomplete,” she said. “. . . I love this city with my whole heart and I intend to remain as mayor and finish the job.”
Investment in Future
Feinstein’s political consultant, Clint Reilly, sees her decision as an investment in her future. She has expressed an interest in running for governor in 1990.
“She has always been real sensitive to the idea that the legacy of her mayoralty is going to reflect on everything she wants to do in the future,” he said.
Still, the decision not to run for Congress was surprising, if only for its suddenness. Executive Deputy Mayor Hadley Roff said Feinstein made up her mind at the close of business Wednesday and issued her statement an hour later.
Her announcement came only hours after two city supervisors, Harry Britt and Carol Ruth Silver, declared their candidacy for the 5th Congressional District, which was vacated by the Feb. 1 death of Democrat Sala Burton. Other candidates are Supervisor Bill Maher and Democratic activist Nancy Pelosi.
Seen as Front-Runner
Feinstein acknowledged only Monday that her supporters had convinced her to reconsider an earlier decision not to seek the congressional seat. As a proven vote-getter and skilled fund raiser, she immediately was seen as front-runner.
But her campaign would have hurt two political allies–Pelosi and Supervisor John Molinari, who hopes to succeed Feinstein as mayor. Had Feinstein resigned, the Board of Supervisors might have selected someone other than Molinari to fill out her term–and perhaps run again with an incumbent’s advantage in November.
A quick move to Congress–the special primary election is April 7, with a runoff, if needed, on June 2–also would impinge on her personal life, Reilly said. Feinstein is married to investor-adventurer Dick Blum.
“Cumulatively, it all made for a ‘no-go’ rather than a ‘go,’ ” Reilly said. “Also, after 10 years as mayor, she is looking forward to some time off.”
Current majority shareholders Bond Group, led by businessman Whittingham, purchased Morecambe in May 2018. By September 2022, Whittingham had put the club up for sale.
The club has since been relegated twice, and no takeover has been completed in that time.
Whittingham has been a director at 25 companies during his career, according to Companies House. Of those 25 companies, 18 have been either dissolved, voluntarily dissolved, put into administration, put into liquidation, or put into receiver action (the precursor stage to liquidation).
Two of Whittingham’s companies had been dissolved by compulsory strike-off prior to his takeover of Morecambe – but he still passed the EFL’s owners’ and directors’ test.
At 21 of the companies, Whittingham was joint director with business partner Colin Goldring – a legal worker turned entrepreneur – including at Morecambe until Goldring’s resignation in August 2022.
Whittingham and Goldring were disqualified as company directors for 12 months following a court hearing in 2022.
Goldring has also been barred by the Solicitors Regulation Authority from working for any law firm without clearance.
The pair also ran Worcester Warriors rugby club, which went into liquidation in 2022.
Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s David Zahniser, with an assist from Julia Wick, giving you the latest on city and county government.
Here you thought charter reform would be boring.
A 13-member citizens commission is just getting started on the painstaking, generally unsexy work of poring through the Los Angeles City Charter, the city’s governing document, and coming up with strategies for improving it. Yet already, the commission has had a leadership battle, heard allegations of shady dealings and fielded questions about whether it’s been set up to fail.
But first, let’s back up.
Mayor Karen Bass, City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and former Council President Paul Krekorian chose a collection of volunteers to serve on the Charter Reform Commission, which is charged with exploring big and small changes to the City Charter.
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The commission is part of a much larger push for reform sparked by the city’s 2022 audio leak scandal and a string of corruption cases involving L.A. officials. The list of potential policy challenges the commission faces is significant.
Good government types want the new commission to endorse ranked-choice voting, with Angelenos selecting their elected officials by ranking candidates in numerical order. Advocacy groups want to see a much larger City Council. Some at City Hall want clarity on what to do with elected officials who are accused of wrongdoing but have not been convicted.
“You are not one of those commissions that shows up every few years to fix a few things here or there,” said Raphael Sonenshein, who served nearly 30 years ago as executive director of the city’s appointed Charter Reform Commission, while addressing the new commission last week. “You actually have a bigger responsibility than that.”
The real work began on July 16, when the commission took up the question of who should be in charge. Many thought the leadership post would immediately go to Raymond Meza, who had already been serving as the interim chair.
Instead, the panel found itself deadlocked.
Meza is a high-level staffer at Service Employees International Union Local 721, the powerful public employee union that represents thousands of city workers and has been a big-money spender in support of Bass and many other elected city officials.
Meza, who was appointed by Bass earlier this year, picked up five votes. But so did Ted Stein, a real estate developer who has served on an array of city commissions — planning, airport, harbor — but hadn’t been on a volunteer city panel in nearly 15 years. Faced with a stalemate, charter commissioners decided to try again a few days later, when they were joined by two additional members.
By then, some reform advocates were up in arms over Stein, arguing that he was bringing a record of scandal to the commission. They sent the commissioners news articles pointing out that Stein had, among other things, resigned from the airport commission in 2004 amid two grand jury investigations into whether city officials had tied the awarding of airport contracts to campaign contributions.
Stein denied those allegations in 2004, calling them “false, defamatory and unsubstantiated.” Last week, before the second leadership vote, he shot back at his critics, noting that two law enforcement agencies — the U.S. attorney’s office and the L.A. County district attorney’s office — declined to pursue charges against him. The Ethics Commission also did not bring a case over his airport commission activities.
“I was forced to protect my good name by having to hire an attorney and having to spend over $200,000 in legal fees [over] something where I had done nothing wrong,” he told his fellow commissioners. The city reimbursed Stein for the vast majority of those legal costs.
Stein accused Meza of orchestrating some of the outside criticism — which Meza later denied. And Stein spent so much time defending his record that he had little time to say why he should be elected.
Still, the vote was close, with Meza securing seven votes and Stein picking up five.
Meza called the showdown “unfortunate.” L.A. voters, he said, “want to see the baton passed to a new generation of people.” The 40-year-old Montecito Heights resident made clear that he supports an array of City Charter changes.
In an interview, Meza said he’s “definitely in favor” of ranked-choice voting, arguing that it would increase voter turnout. He also supports an increase in the number of City Council members but wouldn’t say how many. And he wants to ensure that vacant positions are filled more quickly at City Hall, calling it an issue that “absolutely needs to be addressed.”
That last item has long been a concern for SEIU Local 721, where Meza works as deputy chief of staff. Nevertheless, Meza said he would, to an extent, set aside the wishes of his union during the commission’s deliberations.
“On the commission, I am an individual resident of the city,” he said.
Stein, for his part, told The Times that he only ran for the leadership post out of concern over the commission’s tight timeline. The commission must submit its proposal to the council next spring — a much more aggressive schedule than the one required of two charter reform commissions nearly 30 years ago.
Getting through so many complex issues in such a brief period calls for an experienced hand, said Stein, who is 76 and lives in Encino.
Stein declined to say where he stands on council expansion and ranked-choice voting. He said he’s already moved on from the leadership vote and is ready to dig into the commission’s work.
Meza, for his part, said he has heard the concerns about the aggressive schedule. But he remains confident the commission will be successful.
“I don’t think we have the best conditions,” he said. “But I do not believe we’ve been set up to fail. I’m very confident the commissioners will do what’s needed to turn in a good product.”
State of play
— STRICTLY BUSINESS: A group of L.A. business leaders launched a ballot proposal to repeal the city’s much-maligned gross receipts tax, saying it would boost the city’s economy and lower prices for Angelenos. The mayor and several other officials immediately panned the idea, saying it would deprive the city’s yearly budget of $800 million, forcing cuts to police, firefighters and other services.
— INCHING FORWARD: Meanwhile, another ballot proposal from the business community — this one backed by airlines and the hotel industry — nudged closer to reality. Interim City Clerk Petty Santos announced that the proposed referendum on the $30-per-hour tourism minimum wage had “proceeded to the next step,” with officials now examining and verifying petition signatures to determine their validity.
— GRIM GPS: The Los Angeles County Fire Department had only one truck stationed west of Lake Avenue in Altadena at a critical moment during the hugely destructive Eaton fire, according to vehicle tracking data analyzed by The Times. By contrast, the agency had dozens of trucks positioned east of Lake. All but one of the deaths attributed to the Eaton fire took place west of Lake.
— CHANGE OF PLANS: On Monday, Bass nominated consultant and Community Coalition board member Mary Lee to serve on the five-member Board of Police Commissioners. Two days later, in a brief email, Lee withdrew from consideration. Reached by The Times, Lee cited “personal reasons” for her decision but did not elaborate. (The mayor’s office had nothing to add.) Lee would have replaced former commissioner Maria “Lou” Calanche, who is running against Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in the June 2026 election.
— SEMPER GOODBYE: The Pentagon announced Monday that the roughly 700 Marines who have been deployed to the city since early June would be withdrawing, a move cheered by Bass and other local leaders who have criticized the military deployment that followed protests over federal immigration raids. About 2,000 National Guard troops remain in the region.
— HALTING HEALTHCARE: L.A. County’s public health system, which provides care to the region’s neediest residents, could soon face brutal budget cuts. The “Big Beautiful Bill,” enacted by President Trump and the Republican-led Congress, is on track to carve $750 million per year out of the Department of Health Services, which oversees four public hospitals and roughly two dozen clinics. At the Department of Public Health, which is facing its own $200-million cut, top executive Barbara Ferrer said: “I’ve never actually seen this much disdain for public health.”
— HOMELESS HIRE: The commission that oversees the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority selected Gita O’Neill, a career lawyer in the city attorney’s office, to serve as the agency’s interim CEO. O’Neill will replace Va Lecia Adams Kellum, who stepped down Friday after more than two years in her post.
— THE JURY SPEAKS: The city has been ordered by a jury to pay $48.8 million to a man who has been in a coma since he was hit by a sanitation truck while crossing a street in Encino. The verdict comes as the city struggles with escalating legal payouts — and was larger than any single payout by the city in the last two fiscal years, according to data provided by the city attorney’s office.
— LOOKING FOR A LIAISON: Back in May, while signing an executive directive to support local film and TV production, L.A.’s mayor was asked whether she planned to appoint a film liaison as the City Hall point person for productions. “Absolutely,” Bass said during the news conference, adding that she planned to do so within a few days.
That was two months ago. Asked this week about the status of that position, Bass spokesperson Clara Karger touted the executive directive and said the position was “being hired in conjunction with industry leaders.” She did not provide a timeline.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature homelessness program did not carry out any new operations this week. However, her Shine LA initiative, which aims to clean up city streets and sidewalks, is heading out this weekend to Wilmington, Harbor Gateway and a stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard in South L.A.
On the docket for next week: A bunch of stuff! The City Council returns from its summer recess, holding its first meeting in nearly a month. The Charter Reform Commission heads to the Baldwin Hills library to study planning and infrastructure. Meanwhile, county supervisors are scheduled to take up a proposal to bar law enforcement officers from concealing their identities in the county’s unincorporated areas, including East L.A., Lennox and Altadena.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
A group of business leaders submitted paperwork on Wednesday for a ballot measure that would repeal Los Angeles’ gross receipts tax, delivering some financial relief to local employers but also punching an $800-million hole in the city budget.
The proposed measure, called the “Los Angeles Cost of Living Relief Initiative,” would strip away a tax imposed on a vast array of businesses: entertainment companies, child care providers, law firms, accountants, healthcare businesses, nightclubs, delivery companies and many others, according to the group that submitted it.
Backers said that repealing a tax long reviled by the business community would help address the city’s economic woes, creating jobs, allowing businesses to stay in the city and making the economy “more affordable for all Angelenos.”
“This initiative is the result of the business community uniting to fight the anti-job climate at City Hall,” said Nella McOsker, president and CEO of the Central City Assn., a downtown-based business group.
McOsker, one of five business leaders who signed the ballot proposal, said city officials have “ignored the pleas of small- and medium-sized businesses for years.” As a result, scores of restaurants and other establishments, including the Mayan Theater, are closing, she said.
The filing of the ballot proposal immediately set off alarms at City Hall, where officials recently signed off on a plan to lay off hundreds of city workers in an attempt to balance this year’s budget. The city’s business tax generates more than $800 million annually for the general fund — the part of the budget that pays for police patrols, firefighters, paramedic response and other core services.
“Public safety is almost exclusively paid for by the general fund,” said City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, in an email to The Times. “This measure is an assault on public safety. Proponents of this measure will be directly responsible for cutting police or fire staffing in half if it passes.”
McOsker, asked about L.A.’s financial woes, said the city had a $1-billion shortfall this year and still succeeded in balancing the budget. She is the daughter of City Councilmember Tim McOsker, who sits on the five-member budget committee.
The proposed measure is backed by executives and board members with various groups, including the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce and VICA, the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn.
VICA president Stuart Waldman said the city’s economy has faltered amid a spate of increased taxes, higher city fees and new regulations. The most recent, he said, is the ordinance hiking the minimum wage for hotel employees and workers at Los Angeles International Airport to $30 per hour by 2028, which was approved by the City Council over objections from business leaders.
“We’re usually playing defense,” said Waldman, who also signed the ballot proposal. “We’ve decided the time has come to play offense.”
The business tax proposal is part of a larger ballot battle being waged this year between businesses and organized labor.
Last month, a group of airlines and hotel industry organizations turned in about 140,000 signatures for a proposed ballot measure aimed at overturning the newly approved hotel and LAX minimum wage. L.A. County election officials are currently verifying those signatures.
Unite Here Local 11, which represents hotel employees, responded with its own package of countermeasures. One would require a citywide election on the construction or expansion of hotels, sports stadiums, concert halls and other venues. Another would hike the minimum wage for all workers in the city, raising it to the level of hotel and airport employees.
Two other measures from Unite Here take aim at companies that pay their CEOs more than a hundred times their median employee in L.A., either by forcing them to pay higher business taxes or by placing limitations on their use of city property.
The ongoing ballot battle is “escalating in ways that are reckless and disconnected from the real work of running a city,” said Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, who heads the council’s budget committee. Yaroslavsky, in a statement, said the fight is “unproductive and needs to stop.”
“We just closed a billion-dollar budget gap, and basic services are already severely strained,” she said. “You don’t fix that by removing one of our largest revenue sources with no plan to replace it. We have to fix what is broken and that requires working together to offer real solutions.”
Josué Marcus, spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Clerk, said proponents of the latest ballot measure would need to gather about 140,000 valid signatures for it to qualify. The next city election is in June 2026. McOsker, for her part, said she believes that state law sets a lower threshold — only 44,000 — for measures that result in the elimination of taxes.
Industry leaders have long decried L.A.’s business tax, which is levied not on profits but on the gross receipts that are brought in — even where an enterprise suffers financial losses.
Former Mayor Eric Garcetti argued for eliminating the tax more than a decade ago, saying it puts the city’s economy at a competitive disadvantage. Once in office, he only managed to scale it back, amid concerns that an outright repeal would trigger cuts to city services.
Organizers of the latest proposal said it would not rescind business taxes on the sale of cannabis or medical marijuana, which were separately approved by voters.
A federal judge in the United States has rejected a request from the Department of Justice to release transcripts from a grand jury investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Wednesday, US District Judge Robin Rosenberg of Florida indicated her hands were “tied” in the matter.
The unsealing of grand jury testimony is relatively rare, given the need for secrecy in such sensitive criminal investigations.
There are only narrow exceptions to federal criminal procedure that would allow for the transcripts to be released, and Judge Rosenberg indicated that those were not met by the Justice Department’s requests.
The request Judge Rosenberg received was one of three issued by the Justice Department, as it seeks to tamp down outrage from President Donald Trump’s base about the lack of recent revelations in the Epstein scandal.
Epstein scandal fuels conspiracy theories
In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi played up the impending release of a trove of documents related to Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender whose entourage included high-profile figures.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial in New York, fuelling conspiracy theories that his death might have been a cover-up orchestrated by powerful, shadowy figures.
But the nearly 200 pages Bondi and the Justice Department ultimately published failed to produce any major new revelations. It also notably lacked the “client list” that Bondi told Fox News was “sitting on my desk right now to review”.
Some of President Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters had pushed the idea that paedophiles had infiltrated the highest levels of government and popular media, and that Epstein kept a client list in order to blackmail those power brokers.
Even Trump’s appointee to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel, and his second-in-command Dan Bongino had promoted the conspiracy theories, claiming there was a “black book” or “list” in the government’s possession that would prove the Epstein rumours.
But the FBI and the Justice Department have since attempted to quash that speculation. In July, the agencies released a joint memorandum denying the existence of such a list.
“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list.’ There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions,” it read.
The Wall Street Journal this month published a report alleging that Trump had signed a birthday note to Epstein featuring a suggestive message, alongside a doodle of a naked woman. Trump denied ever writing or drawing such a birthday message, and he has since sued the newspaper and its parent company.
But on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal continued its coverage of the Epstein scandal with an article that alleged the Justice Department knew Trump’s name appeared multiple times in files related to the sex offender.
Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, called the latest report “another fake news story”.
Trump has called for all the Epstein transcripts to be released, calling the ongoing scandal a “scam” and a “hoax”. He also repudiated any of his supporters who believed the rumours.
“My PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bull****,’ hook, line, and sinker,” Trump wrote on social media on July 16. “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work.”
While the Justice Department has argued there is “extensive public interest” in releasing the grand jury transcripts, experts say those testimonies are unlikely to contain the full extent of the evidence in the Epstein case.
Federal grand jury testimonies are usually brief, supplying only enough information to secure an indictment.
One former federal prosecutor, Sarah Krissoff, told The Associated Press the transcripts are likely to be a “distraction”.
“The president is trying to present himself as if he’s doing something here, and it really is nothing,” Krissoff said in an interview published earlier this week.
Democrats seek advantage
Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to highlight the lingering questions about Epstein in a bid to damage Trump’s reputation with his supporters.
In the House of Representatives, for instance, Democrats on the Committee for Oversight launched a bid to subpoena the Justice Department for all its Epstein files.
Rather than risk a vote to push for further Epstein records, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson adjourned the chamber early for its six-week August recess.
Democrats like Representative Summer Lee seized upon that manouevre as evidence of complicity.
“They’re fleeing our work, our job and sending us back home because they don’t want to vote to release these files,” Lee said.
But Johnson defended the move this week, saying Trump officials were “already doing everything within their power to release them”.
States no longer employ war as a tool to achieve their goals. Preferring to utilize more peaceful methods, states employ it to pursue highly consequential objectives. BRICS serves as a manifestation of this notion. The emergence of BRICS increasingly challenges the Global North. The establishment of this cooperation reflects the efforts of the Global South to alter the global order and break free from the long-standing dominance of the Global North.
BRICS represents more than a symbol of cooperation. It is actively engaged in a geopolitical chessboard that shapes today’s global economy. Gradually yet steadily, it is shifting the global balance of power through the strength it has accumulated. This is evident in the growing interest among developing countries to join the group.
Led by two major powers perceived as threats to the Global North, China and Russia hold substantial leadership roles. China dominates the global economic landscape and poses a challenge not only to the United States but also to Europe. The European Union consistently asserts that China is a rival in the renewable energy sector, particularly in electric vehicles. Russia, on the other hand, holds significant energy leverage over Europe and poses a geopolitical challenge to NATO, which is led by the United States. The development of this cooperation is further reinforced by the accession of strategically significant global actors such as Iran and the United Arab Emirates, with their vast oil reserves; Ethiopia, with its port access; and Egypt, with its strategic geographic position in relation to the West. The inclusion of these countries further destabilizes the seemingly absolute dominance of the Global North.
Power has long been synonymous with the realist approach, which is grounded in strength. However, the definition of strength and power has evolved. Power is no longer solely defined in terms of military capability or weaponry. In today’s global context, power is also measured by a state’s influence in shaping the rules of the game. Cooperation serves as the foundation of this new form of power.
BRICS leverages this expanded notion of power and influence. It builds coalitions to undermine dominance not by overt force, but by subtly shifting the balance—leaving its opponents unaware that a transformation is underway. BRICS undoubtedly presents a substantial challenge to the Global North’s dominance. In response, Western countries have adopted equally measured diplomatic strategies aimed at undermining BRICS from within.
During a G7 summit, former U.S. President Donald Trump expressed regret over Russia’s removal from the G7 following its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
“I would say that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn’t have a war right now if Russia were still in, and you wouldn’t have a war right now if Trump had been president four years ago.”
Trump also did not object to the possibility of China joining the G7, stating:
“Well, it’s not a bad idea. I don’t mind that. If someone wants to suggest China joining, I think we should suggest it, but you want people you can talk to,” he added.
At first glance, these remarks appear to suggest a constructive approach to U.S.–China relations. However, upon closer examination, they may be interpreted as part of a broader strategic effort to weaken U.S. involvement in China’s global agenda.
This statement illustrates the extent to which the Global North powers are monitoring and responding to the actions of two principal BRICS members—China and Russia—as part of their efforts to undermine alliances among the Global South countries. Beyond these two core members, the G7 extended invitations to three strategically important BRICS countries—India, South Africa, and Brazil—to attend the forum as guest participants. This move represents a calculated geopolitical effort by the Global North to engage selectively with the Global South actors on the international stage.
In early July 2025, BRICS convened a summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 6–7 July. The summit was attended by all member states, including Indonesia as the newest addition to the group. Amid widespread global instability, the summit focused on pressing international issues, particularly those concerning the global economy and sanctions imposed by the United States. The meeting also addressed and condemned the Israel–U.S. military action against Iran, characterizing it as a violation of international law. These discussions served to foster a shared perspective and unity among BRICS members, with the expressed objective of challenging and dismantling systemic dominance.
The global chessboard, once governed exclusively by the most powerful Global North actors, is now being gradually redefined by emerging powers. These new actors, having grown weary of external direction, are seeking to establish their own platforms for influence and victory.
In conclusion, cooperation may serve as a strategic instrument for gaining power—one that cannot be easily condemned by any state. It represents the power to shape a new world order. Moreover, cooperation can also function as a tool for existing powers to engage with emerging actors and potentially undermine them from within the very system those new actors have established. Thus, cooperation in this context is not merely a symbol of unity but a form of conflict—one that is waged without conventional weaponry or the noise of warfare, yet still aimed at securing or contesting global dominance. Whether that dominance is preserved or overtaken remains the central struggle.
Qatar signaled its interest as an Olympic Games host with established infrastructure from 2022 FIFA World Cup a key selling point.
The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) said it was taking part in “ongoing discussions” with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the election process for the host city of the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the organisation said in a media release on its website.
The country, which hosted football’s World Cup in 2022 and the Asian Cup in 2024, is the latest to join the race to stage the 2036 Games after confirmed bids from Indonesia, Turkiye, India and Chile.
Other Asian countries considering a bid include Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Canada have also shown interest.
“We currently have 95% of the required sports infrastructure in place to host the Games, and we have a comprehensive national plan to ensure 100% readiness of all facilities,” Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, the president of QOC, told the state-run Qatar News Agency on Tuesday.
“This plan is rooted in a long-term vision aimed at building a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable legacy.”
Qatar’s capital Doha is set to host the Asian Games in 2030, having staged the event in 2006.
A successful bid would make Qatar the first country in the Middle East to host the Olympics amid the region’s growing influence over major sporting events. Saudi Arabia is set to hold the football World Cup in 2034.
Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup was widely considered a successful staging of football’s largest global tournament [File: Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
In June more than 100 of Britain’s most renowned athletes wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging the government to back London’s bid to host the World Athletics Championships.
It came after concerns that a bid could be at risk, with uncertainty over the estimated £45m that government was being asked for amid spending cuts, despite claims that the event would deliver £400m of economic impact.
The championships were not referenced when ministers unveiled half a billion pounds of investment into sporting events in a spending review last month.
However, talks have been taking place with UK Athletics and UK Sport, and Starmer said he is “delighted to support the bid”.
“Bringing the World Athletics Championships to the UK would be a moment of great national pride, building on our global reputation for hosting memorable sporting events that showcase the very best talent,” he said.
“Hosting these championships would not only unlock opportunities for UK athletes, but it would inspire the next generation to get involved and pursue their ambitions.
“The event would provide a boost for UK businesses and support jobs as well as bring our communities together.”
Jack Buckner, CEO of UK Athletics, said: “After superb medal hauls over the last few years on the world, Olympic and Paralympic stage, athletics in the UK is on an upward trajectory, with new partners, record participation and sold-out stadia. This support will drive the sport on to new heights.”
Josh Kerr, 1500m world champion and double Olympic medallist, said: “London 2017 was my first senior World Championships and it lit a fire in me.
“Being part of a home team in that kind of atmosphere was incredible – it made me hungrier than ever to become a world champion and chase Olympic medals.
“Having the government support to bid for 2029 and potentially bring that experience back to London would be massive.
“It would inspire so many young athletes and give the sport the platform it deserves.
“I’m proud to support the bid and hope we get the chance to show the world what we can do on home soil.”
He has done well at Brentford, but playing for Manchester United is very different. With respect to Brentford, there is no great expectation there. At United, he will be expected to perform straightaway.
He has experience, he is a good finisher, and his versatility is a big positive – he can play as a central striker as well as on the wing, cutting inside off the right on to his left foot.
But he has had one very good season where his numbers were very good, so the question is whether he can repeat that.
Consistency in those forward positions is what United are striving for, because they have not had it with, say, Alejandro Garnacho or Antony.
They are maybe thinking an older, more experienced player, who is more reliable, is what they need. That’s Mbeumo – he fits into Ruben Amorim’s system, and he fits the bill as proven Premier League quality too.
United’s attack is clearly an area they need to improve. People talk about how the way they play at the back, with the back three Amorim wants, and it is a difficult system to play at times when you are trying to press high because all your players have to work hard and be really switched on.
That’s why he has gone for Mbeumo, because I think he is someone he feels he can trust in all areas, in possession and out of it, with the work-rate and energy he needs – and goals too.
Kaedin Robinson, a former record-setting wide receiver at Appalachian State whose bid to play for UCLA this fall was blocked by the NCAA, has sued the college governing body in an effort to receive one more season of eligibility.
In the lawsuit filed this week in the Central District of California, Robinson asserted the NCAA relied on an “unlawful” five-year eligibility rule that violated federal antitrust laws in declaring Robinson ineligible to play next season because it unjustly limited his opportunities.
UCLA had requested that the NCAA waive the five-year eligibility rule and grant Robinson permission to play next season after Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia made a successful bid to gain an additional season of college eligibility thanks to a court injunction after having spent one season at a junior college.
But in March, the NCAA informed UCLA that its waiver request was denied, saying Robinson did not meet the criteria for an extension of eligibility. Believing his college career was over, Robinson went on to hire an agent with intentions of entering the NFL draft.
Robinson’s lawsuit claims he was penalized for attending a junior college in 2019 and facing “significant disruptions” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. By denying Robinson the chance to play at UCLA, the lawsuit stated, the NCAA will deprive him of the roughly $450,000 NIL contract UCLA had offered as well as a chance to enhance his career and reputation by playing for the Bruins next season.
Robinson, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt senior from Asheville, N.C., had started his college career at ASA College in Brooklyn before sitting out the 2020 season. He was on Central Florida’s roster in 2021 before going on to spend three seasons at Appalachian State, the final two alongside quarterback Joey Aguilar, who was UCLA’s top quarterback in the spring before transferring to Tennessee upon the arrival of Nico Iamaleava from Tennessee.
In 2023, Robinson caught 67 passes for 905 yards and 10 touchdowns, logging the most receiving yards by an Appalachian State player in the Football Bowl Subdivision era. Last season, Robinson caught 53 passes for 840 yards and two touchdowns.
Robinson had intended to be one of Aguilar’s top targets again at UCLA before the NCAA declared Robinson ineligible and Aguilar departed. Should he prevail in court, Robinson would join a receiving corps that also includes Kwazi Gilmer, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Mikey Matthews, Rico Flores Jr. and Carter Shaw.
In addition to restoring Robinson’s eligibility, his lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages; attorneys’ fees and costs; and prejudgment and postjudgment interest.
