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Newport Beach businessman Dale Dykema is a highly sought-after guest when potential Republican presidential candidates visit California.

He recently attended an intimate dinner with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a cocktail party headlined by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and a half-hour tete-a-tete with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

In the last quarter of a century, Dykema, 85, has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to GOP candidates, party organizations and political action committees. He has yet to make up his mind on whom to back — and more importantly, whom to raise money for — in the 2016 presidential campaign.

“There are just so many candidates in the race. I’m completely on the fence,” said Dykema, founder of TD Service Financial Corp., a company that provides foreclosure services for the mortgage industry. In 2012, he said, he settled quickly on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, but for the upcoming election he may wait until after the first couple of primaries before deciding.

The size of the field — well over a dozen likely candidates — coupled with the lack of a clear favorite mean many Republican donors in California share Dykema’s reluctance to commit.

“Normally, there’s a candidate that the entire establishment is behind and there’s this huge fundraising juggernaut for one person,” said Jon Fleischman, a state GOP official from Anaheim Hills and publisher of an influential conservative blog. “This year, no one has the brass ring already in hand. We’re seeing a lot more listening and a lot less giving early.”

On the Democratic side, state donors are already uniting behind former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the party’s overwhelming favorite. She raised millions for her nascent campaign at events hosted earlier this month by entertainment and business leaders.

As Republican donors weigh their choices, they’re grilling the 2016 candidates on a range of issues, including immigration, religious freedom and net neutrality. They’re doing so in homes in Bel-Air, boardrooms in the Silicon Valley, parties in Orange County and GOP functions all over the state — a nod to California’s primacy in what is known in political circles as the “invisible primary.”

California probably doesn’t matter in the nominating fight. Its June 7, 2016, presidential primary is almost certainly too late to affect the GOP’s process. The state is also too Democratic to put it in play in next year’s general election. But California is the biggest source of campaign cash in the nation.

In the 2012 election, presidential candidates directly raised more than $112 million from California’s deep-pocketed donors. That’s almost the combined total raised in the next two most-generous states, Texas and New York, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. These figures do not include the millions donated to party committees and outside groups such as “super PACs” that are not controlled by a candidate.

Not surprisingly, given California’s tilt toward Democrats, President Obama was the biggest beneficiary then, raising $62.8 million here for his reelection bid, according to the center. But GOP candidates also filled their campaign coffers here — Romney collected $41.3 million, and the rest of the Republican field raised nearly $8 million.

Romney’s extensive fundraising network in California, which he cultivated over nearly a decade, became available to others when he decided in January not to run again.

“We’re talking a lot about it, but no one’s committing to anyone right now,” said Bret de St. Jeor, a Modesto businessman and Romney fundraiser in 2012. “It’s just flat-out too early…. Let’s hear a little bit more. Let’s hear the opening statements from the other candidates before we start jumping on somebody’s bandwagon.”

Donors “love the courting process,” said Shawn Steel, a Republican National Committee member from Surfside in Orange County. “Most of the serious candidates are coming to California repeatedly, and their mission is to establish a rapport as early as possible … and to try to meet as many folks as possible.”

Steel, who is undecided, recently co-hosted a meet-and-greet and intimate dinner for Walker at the tony Pacific Club in Newport Beach. He noted that the field includes multiple candidates who appeal to the same GOP faction, whether it’s establishment voters, social conservatives or tea party groups.

Many potential candidates, he added, have connections to California, or have the opportunity to grow support.

Former Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Carly Fiorina retains backers from her unsuccessful run against Sen. Barbara Boxer in 2010, Steel said. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry developed ties to the state during his unsuccessful 2012 presidential bid, in part because one of his top strategists is a longtime and well-respected California GOP fundraiser.

Walker is a familiar face in California’s donor community, as he is across the nation, because of his fierce fight against unions in Wisconsin. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has spent considerable time wooing the libertarian streak that runs through Silicon Valley. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has blown away audiences with his oratory, Steel said. And Bush’s family has long-standing alliances in the state.

Jeb Bush’s brother, former President George W. Bush, was a prodigious fundraiser here, performing a “cash-ectomy on the California donor community” whenever he visited, Fleischman said. “It was staggering.”

Those relationships haven’t sealed the deal for Jeb Bush here, but they do provide an edge for the yet-undeclared candidate that was visible during a recent, lucrative fundraising swing through the state.

“I really wanted to see him run before his brother ran,” said venture capitalist William H. Draper III, who went to Yale with their father, President George H.W. Bush, and served as his finance chair in his unsuccessful 1980 presidential run.

Draper, a former president of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, co-hosted an East Palo Alto fundraiser for Jeb Bush’s committee.

Susan McCaw, a major fundraiser for George W. Bush who served as his ambassador to Austria, said she was impressed by Jeb Bush’s record as governor of Florida and his support for education and immigration reform. She and her husband held a fundraiser for his political action committee at their Bel-Air home.

“I think he has the best chance of beating Hillary in the general,” she said.

Electability was the one quality nearly every donor — committed or not — mentioned as a priority.

John Jordan, a tech entrepreneur and vintner who has spent millions on Republican causes, plans to make a decision over the summer. He is hosting a dinner for Walker at his Healdsburg vineyard and expects to huddle with Paul soon. His sole focus, he said, is backing the candidate who could win the White House in 2016 by attracting the various factions of GOP voters as well as less ideologically driven general-election voters.

“In a pretty cold-blooded way,” Jordan said, “it has got to be someone that can unite the base, that they will like enough to turn out for … but at the same time isn’t someone that’s obnoxious.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @LATSeema

OUR Spotlight On column gives you the lowdown on what to see and do in some of the most popular holiday destinations – as well as some lesser-known areas.

This week we’re shining a spotlight light on Kotor Bay in Montenegro, one of Europe‘s most spectacular yet underrated seaside escapes.

The Sun’s Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey explains: “When it comes to affordable holidays in Europe, going east is always a good idea.

“However, most Brits tend to stop at Croatia, forgetting about Montenegro.

“It was recently named an underrated destination by US News, and British Airways announced new flights to the capital of Tivat in 2026.

“So you should head to see it sooner rather than later if you want to avoid the crowds.”

TAKING OFF

UK airport gets new long-haul flights to one of world’s best cities

PITCH UP

Best UK campsites for winter stays with nearby historic cities and seaside resorts

MUST SEE/DO

Kotor Old Town is the bay’s beating heart, with cobbled alleys, Venetian palaces and fortress walls.

Then a short walk along the waterfront towards Dobrota takes you past a public lido, stone swimming platforms and little cafés right on the water – a calm stretch that’s also one of the safest spots in the bay for an easy sea swim.

A short hop around the bay, Perast is impossibly picturesque, with its baroque houses and tiny islets.

From the harbour, small boats take about ten minutes to reach Our Lady of the Rocks, the postcard-pretty church sitting on its own artificial island.

The historic Ladder of Kotor rises directly behind the Old Town – a zig-zag mule trail with big views the higher you go.

Or head further inland to Lovcen National Park, where the road climbs towards the Njego? Mausoleum and its 360-degree mountain panorama.

The Vrmac Ridge trail, between Kotor and neighbouring Tivat Bay, is another great option, an old military road with superb views over both sides of the coast.

Tour operator Untravelled Paths can fix up guided trips taking in everything from honey farms to white water rafting on the Tara river.

HIDDEN GEM

One of Montenegro‘s quirkiest experiences awaits at the Underwater Kraken Wine Cellar.

This unique winery ages its bottles underwater for a flavour like nothing on land. Bottles are lowered roughly 20 metres to the seabed in metal cages and left to age for about a year.

Travellers can join a guided dive to racks of barnacle-covered bottles on the seabed, then sample the results back on shore.

BEST VIEW

The bar Monte 1350 crowns the upper station of the new Kotor-Lovcen cable car, its terrace looking straight down over the bay and out towards the Adriatic.

Visitors can sip a cold drink while watching the sunlight shift across the bay or stay to catch the sunset.

RATED RESTAURANT

Galion is Kotor’s standout dining spot, with one of the most romantic waterfront settings in Montenegro.

The glass-walled restaurant juts out over the water, giving diners views of the bay while they enjoy fresh seafood and local wines.

Perfect for a special evening without the hefty prices of other Med hotspots.

BEST BAR

Evergreen Jazz Club is a cosy, dimly-lit spot with exposed brick walls and live music ranging from acoustic sets and blues to Balkan fusion. Its great-value drinks are enjoyed by friendly locals and travellers.

HOTEL PICK

Klinci Village Resort on Lustica peninsula is a peaceful spot with rustic charm, sea views and Montenegrin hospitality, with rooms from around £80 per night.

For something more budget-friendly, Hotel Vardar in Kotor offers comfortable rooms and a prime location near the Old Town from around £60 per night.

Reporting from Sacramento — Want to be safe from earthquakes in California? You’d need to endure summer scorchers, winter flood threats and full-time politicians. But temblors don’t threaten people living in Sacramento.

In the state capital — River City, Sacratomato, City of Trees — earthquakes are seen only on TV. Here, you’ll escape the Big One.

“Sacramento is one of the safer places,” acting State Geologist Tim McCrink says. “We don’t have that many active faults in the area.”

In fact, Sacramento — based on historical records and fault maps — is unquestionably the safest earthquake refuge among all of California’s major metropolitan areas.

The most unsafe? You already know.

“The worst places are the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles,” McCrink says. “They’ve got most of the faults.”

Is there any pocket of L.A. that’s reasonably safe?

“There are so many faults down there in such complicated geology, I’d be hesitant to say one area is better than the other,” McCrink says.

The 9 earthquake hazards lurking in your home »

As a native Californian, I’ve long been curious about this. Fear of the Big One long ago was compartmentalized in a far corner of my mind but always has lurked there, making me a tad nervous. I suspect millions of other Californians share that anxiety.

Growing up in Ventura County, I was bounced around frequently by quakes. In 1971, I covered Gov. Ronald Reagan inspecting devastation from the magnitude 6.6 Sylmar quake in the San Fernando Valley that killed 65. In 1994, I tagged along as Gov. Pete Wilson looked over damage from the magnitude 6.7 Northridge quake that killed 57 — and destroyed my sister’s condo.

I worked at the L.A. Times downtown for a few years, always wondering if that old monolith might suddenly crumble in a quake.

But bad quakes aren’t inevitable everywhere in California.

Eastern San Diego County is relatively safe, but downtown San Diego has a dangerous fault.

A large swath of northeastern California and the western Sierra is fairly quake-proof. But those people face scary wildfire threats.

The North Coast from Oregon down into Monterey County is riddled with faults. So is the South Coast from Santa Barbara through Orange County.

In other words, if you can see the sun set over the Pacific, it’s risky.

Earthquake preparedness tips — for your pets: How to keep them safe »

Not so much along the Central Coast, however.

“The Big Sur coast is pretty good in terms of shaking, but there are massive landslides along there,” McCrink says. “So pick your poison.”

Anyway, there was a magnitude 6.6 San Simeon quake in 2003 that killed two and injured 40. So the Central Coast isn’t immune.

“All that faulting over the millennia has produced some beautiful mountains along the coast,” McCrink says. “The benefit of the tectonics is we have beautiful scenery. And the downside is we have to live with earthquakes.”

On New Year’s Day, when viewers watch the Rose Bowl and marvel at the snowcapped San Gabriel Mountains in the backdrop, they’re looking at the product of earthquakes.

Why is Sacramento practically quake-proof?

“For the same reason it’s pretty flat,” UC Davis geology professor Michael Oskin says. “Topography and earthquakes pretty well correlate in California.”

So if it’s flat and unspectacular — like the Midwest — it’s normally good shelter from earthquakes.

But not from floods. There have been horrific, deadly floods in the Sacramento Valley. During really wet winters with heavy Sierra snowfall, valley people fret about flooding.

Ridgecrest earthquake mystery: Why so little destruction from huge temblors? »

Sacramento residents may not need to consider earthquake insurance, but they should buy a flood policy. I have and sleep easier, living four houses from the Sacramento River.

Neither quakes nor floods are covered by ordinary homeowner insurance. Wildfires are — if you can find a policy. They’re becoming increasingly hard to buy in high-risk fire zones. Consumer complaints have increased nearly 600% in the last decade, says Michael Soller, spokesman for the state Insurance Department.

“They’ve surged in the last couple of years.”

So there’s no escaping some category of potential calamity in California.

They can even be linked.

On Christmas Eve in 1955, a Feather River levee collapsed north of Sacramento, flooding 90% of Yuba City and drowning 37 people. That provided momentum for eventually building Gov. Pat Brown’s State Water Project because the central feature was a flood control dam upriver near Oroville.

Gigantic Oroville Dam was completed in 1968. And when the reservoir was filled with 3.5 million acre-feet of water, the earth crunched underneath, triggering a magnitude 5.7 earthquake in 1975. That’s the scientists’ theory.

The Oroville quake had lots of repercussions. It killed another big dam project near Auburn northeast of Sacramento. Opponents found a risky fault under the site.

And it prompted legislators to close the state Capitol for a few years so the historic old structure could be retrofitted at a cost of $68 million — even though there’d never been a significant quake in Sacramento’s history.

One upshot of the Capitol restoration: The press offices were demolished and replaced with very fancy, ornate hangouts for the two top legislative leaders. All because there was a fluke earthquake 70 miles away that was barely felt around the Capitol.

There’s at least one refreshing thing about earthquakes: They can’t be blamed on either political party. Neither President Trump nor Gov. Gavin Newsom had anything to do with those quakes in Ridgecrest.

More from George Skelton »

[email protected]

Follow @LATimesSkelton on Twitter

Richard Rider would love to have Gov. Pete Wilson’s job. He dreams of hacking away at bureaucracy, crushing all new tax legislation under a huge rubber stamp that reads “VETO.” He’s even imagined the sound this would make: whoooomp!

Rider, the Libertarian candidate for governor, is a realist, however. The 49-year-old stockbroker from San Diego knows that a minor party candidate such as himself has no hope of being elected governor Nov. 8. Still, he thinks he can help defeat Wilson (whom Rider deems a “wimp” and a “Benedict Arnold” masquerading as a Republican), which is why, not long ago, he wrote Democrat Kathleen Brown a letter asking for $500,000.

“I’m the Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate. Normally that might elicit nothing more from you than a yawn. But I can get you elected,” Rider wrote. “What you need is a third candidate to drain votes from Wilson. I can do that. . . . Dollar for dollar, there is no better use for your campaign funds than in my race for governor.”

Rider’s pitch must have sounded presumptuous coming from a man unknown to most Californians. Like the other minor party candidates for governor–Jerome McCready of the American Independent Party and Gloria La Riva of the Peace & Freedom Party–Rider was not invited to participate in the recent televised debate between Wilson and Brown. He lacks money, exposure and governmental experience.

But Rider has one very powerful thing going for him: a dissatisfied electorate. A recent Times poll shows that California voters are unhappy with Brown and Wilson and that three out of every five are planning to vote for the “lesser of two evils” for governor. If just a tiny fraction of those people vote for a so-called third party candidate, political analysts say, it could alter the race.

“In this state, where elections are won or lost by 1 or 2 points, third party candidates can decide elections,” said Bill Press, chairman of the California Democratic Party, who has followed Rider’s candidacy with interest. “If I had an extra $500,000, I would give it to Richard Rider and it would be money well spent. . . . Every vote he gets is one vote Pete Wilson doesn’t.”

Taken together, the four minor parties that have qualified to appear on the California ballot–American Independent, Green, Libertarian, and Peace & Freedom–represent 456,000 voters, or about 3% of the state’s electorate.

The American Independent and Libertarian parties, though they differ on many principles, are both committed to strictly limiting the power of government and to cutting taxes. Conventional wisdom says that to vote for one of these parties’ candidates is to take a vote away from a Republican candidate.

The Green and the Peace & Freedom parties, though also very different from one another, both seek social justice and equality. These parties are more likely to appeal to voters who might otherwise cast ballots for Democrats.

These minor parties’ candidates face an uphill battle. Virtually ignored by the press and by their more mainstream rivals, they have trouble raising the money needed for expensive broadcast advertising and direct mail flyers. As a result, minor party candidates can campaign tirelessly, making speeches and walking precincts, and still remain largely unknown.

La Riva, the Peace & Freedom candidate for governor, is a printer and labor organizer in San Francisco. McCready, the American Independent nominee, runs a shop that sells pre-hung doors and other construction materials in Castroville. Rider, who closed his financial planning business at the end of last year, is the only minor party candidate who has campaigned for governor full time.

Nevertheless, Press, the Democratic Party chairman, believes that politicians who ignore these alternative candidates do so at their own peril. This year, he has gone so far as to donate his own money to keep a Green Party gubernatorial candidate from competing with Brown.

Leading up to the June primary election, three candidates were vying for the Green gubernatorial nomination–despite widespread concern within the party that a Green nominee would siphon votes from Brown in the general election. Then, one Green leader launched a campaign urging Greens to vote for “None of the Above”–an option that allows Greens to choose no candidate.

Eager to safeguard Brown voters, Press sent a $500 donation to the none-of-the-above campaign, dubbed Friends of Nobody. Then he sent letters to his friends asking them to do the same.

“I raised $5,000 to $6,000 or more for their campaign,” Press said proudly, recalling that the effort to gain more votes for no one than for any of the candidates was successful. “Nobody won. Which I considered a victory.”

Third party candidates are familiar with this kind of circular reasoning. They see no shame in losing, as long as they have introduced new ideas into the race. And they believe that every vote cast for a minor party candidate puts a little more pressure on the major parties to shape up.

That is why a conservative such as Rider is working so hard to help a Democrat such as Brown. Rider is probably the only Brown supporter who wants to do away with state income taxes, abolish the workers’ compensation system and phase out all welfare payments. He wants to repeal the law that requires motorcyclists to wear helmets. He believes the Endangered Species Act will result in the nationalization of all property. And he supports the death penalty–which Brown opposes, though she pledges to enforce it as governor.

“Obviously, I’m no fan of the Democrats’ pipe dream of a socialist utopia. . . . Kathleen Brown would make a terrible governor,” Rider said.

But Brown would do less damage than Wilson, Rider added, and a Brown victory would send a clear signal to the GOP. If he could do that, Rider said, he would feel like a winner no matter how badly he lost.

And, he said, Wilson is not a true Republican.

“Brown is a very ineffective Democrat. Wilson is a very effective Democrat. It’s time the Republican Party stopped running stealth Democrats for governor,” Rider said. “If I pull enough conservative votes to cause Wilson to lose, then Republicans will have to start running real limited-government candidates such as Ron Unz.”

Rider is a big fan of Unz, the 32-year-old Silicon Valley entrepreneur who challenged Wilson for the Republican gubernatorial nomination last spring. Before the primary, Rider endorsed Unz, knowing full well it might cost him some votes. Then after Unz lost, while winning 34% of the Republican vote, Rider began presenting himself as the next best thing.

Unz recently wrote letters that were published in the state’s major newspapers urging his supporters not to launch an Unz write-in campaign Nov. 8. Although he stopped short of endorsing Rider, Unz asked the 700,000 people who voted for him to support “candidates up and down the ticket who are true to the core values of the Republican Party–smaller government, lower taxes and fewer regulations.”

Rider said that is as good as an Unz endorsement. After all, Rider proposes cutting 90% of all state regulations. And he so abhors taxes that he closed his financial planning office in large part to avoid paying them.

“I was working until July 19 for the government,” he said. “For a Libertarian, that’s unacceptable.”

Rider has made sacrifices to run for governor. To enable him to afford campaigning full time, Rider and his wife pulled their two sons out of private school. (“May God forgive me for that,” he said.) The campaign, headquartered in one of his spare bedrooms with a “Rider for Governor” bumper sticker taped to the door, is truly no-frills.

His phones are answered by two volunteers–retirees who refer to Rider as “Guv.” When Rider is on the road, he often sleeps on supporters’ couches. Recently, when he heard about a promotion for a time-share condominium, he and his wife went and sat through the pitch. The reason: In exchange for their time, they received free plane tickets to San Francisco, a city where Rider wanted to campaign.

Most of the $40,000 Rider has been able to raise has gone to buy cable television time for his lone commercial, which features the candidate in a butcher’s smock, whacking a sausage with a meat cleaver and exclaiming, “Wilson won’t cut taxes, but I will!” By Nov. 8 this spot will have aired in the state’s five major media markets, and Rider hopes that combined with his frequent talk-radio appearances, it will get people’s attention.

Wilson campaign officials do not appear worried. With the latest Times poll showing the incumbent 9 points ahead of Brown among likely voters, Rider is barely a blip on the radar screen.

But against all odds, Rider perseveres. He knows that some people see voting for him as a waste.

“We’ve been taught since childhood that third parties are dangerous or crazy or both,” he said, recalling that when he first heard about the Libertarian Party in the 1970s he thought it was a “left-wing, commie group.”

“And yeah, sure, we’re not going to win,” he said. “But the success of a third party is in changing the direction of the country. . . . You vote to send a message to whoever’s in power that this is the direction you want to go.”

Meanwhile, the fund-raising message Rider sent Brown has yet to yield a single penny. Brown campaign spokesman John Whitehurst said he was unaware of the letter asking for $500,000.

Rider is not bitter. If Brown is not farsighted enough to see that a hefty donation to Rider for Governor could result in her own election, he said, it is her loss.

“I keep checking the mail,” he said. “Without my effort, they’re dead meat.”

By the time Juul’s co-creator stood before a tech audience in April 2016, ads for the e-cigarette aimed to distance the product from a toxic past: “Our company has its roots in Silicon Valley, not in fields of tobacco.”

But when James Monsees, a soon-to-be billionaire, projected a 30-year-old tobacco document on the screen behind him, he grinned. It was an internal memo from the research troves of R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Camel cigarettes. It was stamped “SECRET.”

“We also had another leg up,” Monsees said.

A review by the Los Angeles Times of more than 3,000 pages of internal Juul records, obtained by the Food and Drug Administration and released to a researcher through the Freedom of Information Act, found that the concept behind the formula that makes Juul so palatable and addictive dates back more than four decades — to Reynolds’ laboratories.

The key ingredient: nicotine salts.

Juul’s salts contain up to three times the amount of nicotine found in previous e-cigarettes. They use softening chemicals to allow people to take deeper drags without vomiting or burning their throats. And they were developed based on research conducted by the tobacco companies Juul claimed to be leaving behind.

In addition to the internal documents, The Times consulted more than a dozen tobacco researchers, policy experts and historians, and reviewed patent applications and publicly available videos of Juul’s founders discussing their product over the course of a decade. One of those videos has since been removed from YouTube.

Taken together, the evidence depicts a Silicon Valley start-up that purported to “deconstruct” Big Tobacco even as it emulated it, harvesting the industry’s technical savvy to launch a 21st century nicotine arms race.

In multiple conversations with The Times, Juul did not directly address assertions that the company embraced the very industry it sought to dismantle. A spokesperson for Juul acknowledged that the product intentionally “mimicked” the nicotine experience of a traditional cigarette, but explained that the formula was designed that way in order to satisfy the cravings of adult smokers, not children.

“We never designed our product to appeal to youth and do not want any non-nicotine users to try our products,” a spokesperson for Juul said in a statement to The Times. “We are working to urgently address underage use of vapor products, including Juul products, and earn the trust of regulators, policymakers, and other stakeholders.”

After extensive lobbying by the vaping industry and its allies, President Trump this month missed the deadline he set to ban vaping flavors, despite mounting public complaints over their attractiveness to teenagers, and it’s now unclear whether the administration will take any action. On Monday, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and Los Angeles officials announced a lawsuit against Juul, alleging it engaged in deceptive practices with kid-friendly advertising and a failure to issue health warnings.

But a new generation of nicotine addicts has already been established, and health experts warn that millions of teenagers who currently vape could ultimately turn to other products like cigarettes for their fix.

“Reynolds successfully engineered this formula, but it was Juul that ultimately vaporized it — and achieved what Big Tobacco never could,” said Robert Jackler, a Stanford University researcher focused on teenage e-cigarette use. “They studied Reynolds literature, took advantage of it, and addicted a new generation of American youth.”

Making nicotine more palatable

In February 1973, a researcher at Reynolds saw a conundrum: While cigarettes had wide appeal to adults, they would never become “the ‘in’ products” among youths.

For a teenager, the physical effects of smoking were “actually quite unpleasant,” Claude E. Teague Jr., who is now deceased, wrote in a confidential internal memo.

“Realistically, if our company is to survive and prosper, over the long term, we must get our share of the youth market,” he wrote. “There is certainly nothing immoral or unethical about our company attempting to attract those smokers.”

Reynolds had known for two decades that its product caused cancer. Still, one of the company’s top researchers, Frank G. Colby, pitched a design late in 1973 that would secure “a larger segment of the youth market” by packing “more ‘enjoyment’ or ‘kicks’ (nicotine)” and softening the chemical’s harsh effect on the throats of young smokers.

By boosting nicotine, the addictive chemical, the company could generate faster and more intense addictions among the youngest clients, securing decades of business. But a key challenge was to make nicotine palatable: The chemical had been used as an insecticide since colonial times, and three drops on the tongue could be lethal, according to Robert Proctor, a cigarette historian at Stanford. People couldn’t inhale hefty doses without vomiting.

Reynolds scientists eventually found a solution: Combine the high-pH nicotine with a low-pH acid. The result was a neutralized compound called a salt — nicotine salt.

To perfect the technique, the company enlisted one of its chemists, Thomas Perfetti, a 25-year-old with a newly minted PhD.

Perfetti got to work on a six-month investigation into nicotine salts. According to his laboratory notes, he stirred round-bottom flasks of various acids, then added nicotine, watching as the ingredients condensed into thick yellow oils. All were odorless except one, he wrote, which smelled like “green apples.”

Perfetti synthesized 30 different nicotine salt concoctions, then heated them — like a smoker would — in pursuit of the “maximum release of nicotine.” He also tested the salts’ ability to dissolve into a liquid — a trait that would decades later become central to vaping products like Juul.

On Jan. 18, 1979, Perfetti scribbled his signature on a 17-page final report. The results were stamped “CONFIDENTIAL.” He was soon promoted.

Ten years later, Reynolds was granted a patent for its salts, with Perfetti’s name listed among three inventors. Perfetti would go on to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Tobacco Science Research Conference.

Perfetti, who has since retired from the company, confirmed the details of his research to The Times in a LinkedIn message, but declined to comment further.

Kaelan Hollon, a spokesperson for Reynolds, told The Times that the nicotine salts research was conducted as the company aimed to “reduce the risks” of smoking while “maintaining nicotine delivery.” Although the salts were patented, they were ultimately never used in a traditional Reynolds cigarette, she added.

Premier. The early heat-not-burn cigarette was introduced by R.J. Reynolds.

(Fairfax Media)

About the same time, in 1988, Reynolds introduced one of the first-ever aerosol cigarettes: Premier. After five months, it was pulled from the market because of low sales, records show.

“It made me nauseous for the rest of the day,” one tobacco distributor told The Times in 1989, saying he was sending back thousands of dollars’ worth of the aerosol cigarettes to Reynolds.

At the time, the company was facing another obstacle to using its new research: the FDA’s mounting outrage over what health experts called its “deceptive” past. In 1998, Reynolds, along with three other companies, agreed to begin paying billions of dollars to compensate states for having knowingly propelled a smoking epidemic, which by then had led to the deaths of about 20 million Americans. According to Proctor, Reynolds’ Camel cigarettes have killed about 4 million.

Within this climate, the company was unable to combine its two technical triumphs — palatable salts and early vaping equipment.

“Reynolds succeeded in developing the technology, but never really succeeded in turning it into a transformative breakthrough,” said Matthew Myers, the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington, D.C.

“Juul did that.”

‘Addiction is central to the business model’

In June 2005, two product design students at Stanford moseyed in front of a classroom to present their graduate thesis, titled “The Rational Future of Smoking.” It was, in a way, the birth of an industry.

As the lights dimmed, the students, Adam Bowen and Monsees, projected an image onto a screen of a man puffing an early prototype of a vape pen — a precursor to Juul.

A video of the event shows the two students pitching their audience for 17 minutes on a device called Ploom, a vaporizer that would provide “a lot more effective way of releasing nicotine.” They illustrated the stigma of traditional cigarettes — using a South Park cartoon clip that called a smoker “Dirty Lung” and “Tar Breath.” They likened their nicotine pods to sleek Nespresso cartridges that were “a big hit in Europe.”

“We can take tobacco back to being a luxury good — and not so much a sort of drug-delivery device,” said Bowen, who went on to become Juul’s co-founder and chief technology officer.

Monsees said the pair had scrutinized the research behind Reynolds’ failed Premier model before designing their own. He projected a snapshot of chemistry charts from the company’s internal records.

“They’ve realized that they’re killing off their own client base, so they sunk several billion dollars into this already,” Monsees said.

Adam Bowen, left, and James Monsees, co-founders of Juul, in 2018.

(Francois Guillot / Getty Images)

When Bowen clicked to the final slide, a video began to play: A man peering into a video camera lens gave a testimonial, gripping the vaporizer prototype in his hand.

“This product is the greatest thing I have ever encountered in my life,” he said. “I will smoke this with enthusiasm, and develop a nicotine habit that will follow me to my grave.”

The class howled with laughter and broke into applause, launching Monsees and Bowen into a decade of product development. The Ploom device entered the market and would evolve into Pax, and in 2015, Juul.

A Juul vaping system with accessory pods.

(Washington Post)

Monsees would use a TEDx talk in Brussels to explain their effort to “deconstruct” smoking, and early Juul advertisements used a catchy drum beat to assure consumers: “We threw away everything we knew about cigarettes.”

Juul records show the start-up collected research done by tobacco experts about nicotine — work on using salts to control harshness, written by a former top scientist at Reynolds, as well as methods to maximize nicotine delivery, and piles of literature on nicotine’s impact on adolescent brains.

“Certainly, the nicotine salt chemistry was one of the big breakthroughs,” Monsees said onstage at a 2018 tech start-up conference called Disrupt.

Three days before Christmas in 2015, the maker of Juul, Pax Labs, patented its own nicotine salt recipe — making reference to U.S. Patent 4,830,028A, the Reynolds salts from 1989.

On page 15 of the patent, Pax said it had “unexpectedly discovered” the “efficient transfer of nicotine to the lungs of an individual and a rapid rise of nicotine absorption in the [blood] plasma.” The company’s patent used graphics to show that its effects surpassed that of Pall Mall — a popular Reynolds cigarette — as users’ blood nicotine levels spiked dramatically, then fell by almost half within 15 minutes.

The compound would later become trademarked: JUULSALTS™.

“Addiction is central to the business model,” said David Kessler, a pediatrician who headed the FDA from 1990 to 1997, during the agency’s tobacco investigation. “With their nicotine salts, Juul has found the Holy Grail.”

In response, Juul did not directly address that accusation, but said its product offered a “public health and commercial opportunity of historic proportions” for the millions of adult smokers who die each year from cigarettes.

The patent also detailed the role of pH-neutralizing acids in the formula — including at least four of the chemical compounds that Perfetti had created in the Reynolds lab 37 years earlier.

And included in the cache of files that the FDA obtained from Juul was a copy of the confidential Reynolds nicotine salts investigation.

Monsees and Bowen did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A Juul spokesperson said: “RJ Reynolds’ old work in the field of traditional burn cigarettes was widely known,” noting that Juul followed routine disclosure procedures, such as citing Reynolds’ patents and publications, as required by the U.S. Patent Office.

The spokesperson also said that research shows that nicotine is absorbed more slowly from Juul pods than from traditional cigarettes.

Before Juul, most vaping fluids contained 1% to 3% nicotine, the latter described as “super high” and intended for two-packs-a-day smokers, according to Jackler, the Stanford researcher. Juul offers pods that contain 5% nicotine, according to the company’s website.

Juul disputed Jackler’s characterization, saying that there were higher nicotine concentrations in other brands, and said assertions that Juul’s pods had two to three times the nicotine strength of a cigarette were “false.”

From 2016 to 2017, Juul’s sales skyrocketed by more than 640%. Its cartridges were so palatable that teenagers sometimes raced one another to finish inhaling them. Many said they didn’t know the pods contained nicotine. Each 5% cartridge contained the nicotine equivalent of about 20 cigarettes.

“Juul mimics the evil genius of the cigarette — but does it even better,” said Myers, the president of Tobacco-Free Kids. “They also pulled it off without any of the historical baggage, giving the deceptive illusion that it was safe.”

Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told Congress during a hearing in September that doctors believe nicotine salts allow the addictive chemical to “cross the blood-brain barrier and lead to potentially more effect on the developing brain in adolescents.”

In a statement to The Times, Schuchat echoed her concern and said the salts “allow particularly high levels of nicotine to be inhaled more easily and with less irritation” than ingredients in previous e-cigarettes, and could enable nicotine dependence among youth.

Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, testifies before Congress on nicotine salts.

(Zach Gibson / Getty Images)

On April 24, 2018, the FDA ordered Juul to submit documents related to its product design and marketing practices following reports of rampant use among youths who may not have understood Juul’s debilitating effects on the brain.

Later that year, FDA agents arrived at Juul’s headquarters and seized additional records. The FDA has released less than 10% of the requested documents, including Perfetti’s laboratory records, to a researcher at UC San Francisco. The agency said it withheld the remaining files to protect trade secrets and other material. As such, the records provide only a glimpse into the chemical research that Juul kept on hand as the company designed its product.

Today, Juul comprises about two-thirds of the vaping market.

In 2018, the largest tobacco company in the U.S., Altria — the parent company of Philip Morris USA, which makes Marlboro cigarettes — purchased a 35% stake in Juul.

After the purchase, several of the tobacco company’s employees also started working at Juul: Altria’s former head of regulatory affairs, Joe Murillo, as well as senior scientists and sales managers.

In September, Altria’s former chief growth officer, K.C. Crosthwaite, became Juul’s CEO.

A BIG Brother star has been spotted working the door of a high-end restaurant in London, almost two decades after he rose to fame on the then-Channel 4 show.

The 44-year-old was seen on the door of upmarket restaurant Aki London on Wednesday as he helped Sharon and Kelly Osbourne leave the venue.

Ziggy Lichman, who appeared on Big Brother back in 2007, appears to have swapped showbusiness for a quieter life as a doorman.

The star was famously in an on/off relationship with housemate Chanelle Hayes.

Then 26 – he placed fourth in the show and enjoyed a short-lived relationship with model Chanelle, splitting shortly after.

He was also known for being part of the boyband Northern Line, which split up in 2000.

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Despite success across TV and music, it appears Ziggy, real name Zac, has shunned fame as he was spotted working at gourmet Japanese restaurant Aki London.

And the new role doesn’t mean Ziggy is far from the spotlight, as he is still brushing shoulders with the A-list at the food hotspot.

On Wednesday evening, Ziggy was seen escorting Sharon and Kelly Osbourne out of Aki.

The outing was Sharon’s first public appearance since her husband, Ozzy Osbourne’s death in July.

The Osbourne’s are unlikely to be Ziggy’s only famous guests, with the likes of Romeo Beckham and actress Holly Valance spotted there previously.

Back in 2017, it was reported that Ziggy was working on the door of upmarket members club Paper Soho.

He is since thought to have opened two of his own bars across North London, The Shop NW10, a cocktail bar and café, and bar The Wealthy Beggar.

Ziggy is also still in touch with his ex-girlfriend Chanelle, following their joint rise to fame on Big Brother.

Despite being split up for 18 years, the duo remain friends and even appeared on Loose Women together in 2018.

“She’s absolutely smashed it. She’s held her own, had a family, gone through some tough times as you know.

“I still love her to bits, absolutely,” said Ziggy of Chanelle, who continued to pursue a career in the spotlight after the show.

Poland’s next submarines will be provided by Sweden, in the shape of the advanced A26 class. Under the long-running Orka acquisition program, Warsaw announced today that it will buy three of the boats, which use an air-independent propulsion system, to replace the Polish Navy’s single Soviet-era Kilo class submarine. The new multirole subs will be able to launch and recover uncrewed underwater vessels (UUVs), as well as be used for minelaying, intelligence collection, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and more.

The Saab design was chosen in favor of competing offers from France’s Naval Group, Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Italy’s Fincantieri, South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, and Spain’s Navantia.

“We are honored to have been selected and look forward to the coming negotiations with the Armaments Agency in Poland,” said Micael Johansson, president and CEO of Saab, in a statement announcing the order today.

“The Swedish offer, featuring submarines tailored for the Baltic Sea, is the right choice for the Polish people. It will significantly enhance the operational capability of the Polish Navy and benefit the Polish economy,” Johansson added.

The Swedish offer was made by the country’s government on behalf of Saab. At this point, no contract has been signed, but Saab and the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) will now complete the procurement process together with Polish authorities.

Statements on Poland’s selection of the A26 were also provided by the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, and Pål Jonson, the Swedish Minister of Defense:

Poland has chosen Sweden as partner for its submarine program.

This shows the strength not only of the cooperation between our countries, but also of Sweden as a defense-industry nation. It is confirmation that the Swedish defense industry stands strong. Saab has a… pic.twitter.com/WhSFlQru7n

— Ulf Kristersson (@SwedishPM) November 26, 2025

🇵🇱🇸🇪Today is a historic day for the Swedish-Polish partnership and for increased security in the Baltic Sea. Poland has selected Swedish submarines for the Polish navy. This will strengthen our common defence, security, and defence industrial base. pic.twitter.com/2WjiSu8o5L

— Pål Jonson (@PlJonson) November 26, 2025

Saab says that the deal will include industrial cooperation with Poland as well as technological transfer, as part of a broader strategic partnership between the two countries. For Sweden, the first export customer for this promising design provides a significant boost to the program, at a time when delays and cost overruns mean it’s much-needed. A total of five boats increases the demand for in-service support, and the Polish seal of approval could open the door to more exports.

Although it has been reported that the three submarines will cost $2.52 billion, it remains unclear when they might be delivered.

The A26 uses air-independent propulsion (AIP), a technology that The War Zone has examined in detail in the past. Specifically, as well as diesel engines, this employs a Stirling-type engine as previously used in the influential Swedish Gotland class design. The Stirling auxiliary engine burns liquid oxygen and diesel to drive electrical generators that can be used for either propulsion or charging the batteries. The result is a conventionally powered submarine that’s able to remain submerged for reportedly more than 18 days, without needing to surface or use a snorkel.

The A26 has the option of being fitted with vertical launch system (VLS) cells, compatible with Tomahawk land attack missiles, which might be of interest to Poland as it seeks to reinforce its long-range strike capabilities.

Another notable feature of the A26 design is its sail, which is raked along its leading edge and which flares out toward the top. As we have discussed in the past, this feature is understood to have been chosen to increase its stealth characteristics. The A26 also features an X-form rudder. As we have discussed in the past, this configuration provides improved maneuverability, efficiency, and safety, and also helps reduce the acoustic signature across significant parts of the submarine’s operating envelope compared to the more traditional cruciform system.

Other details of the A26 design include a length of around 217 feet and a surfaced displacement of 2,122 tons. The submarine has a standard complement of just 26 sailors but can also accommodate up to 35 more, including commandos for special forces missions. The commandos can be delivered via the Multi-Mission Portal, similar to an oversized torpedo tube, which provides access to a flexible payload lock.

The A26 is also being built for the Royal Swedish Navy, with two Blekinge class boats under construction at Saab’s Kockums shipyard in Karlskrona. Originally planned to be handed over in 2024 and 2025, it recently emerged that delays would push the delivery of the first of these boats to 2031, while increasing costs will see the program reach a price tag of 2.3 billion Euros (around $2.7 billion). The second Swedish submarine is scheduled to be delivered in 2033. Between them, the new boats will replace the Royal Swedish Navy’s two Södermanland class submarines.

Buying three advanced submarines marks a major advance for the Polish Navy, which has, for many years, only had a single Project 877E Kilo class submarine, the ORP Orzel, in its fleet. The age of this boat and the impossibility of obtaining spare parts and support from Russia mean that it’s unclear if the Orzel is currently operational.

As Saab’s Johansson pointed out, the Polish Navy will be getting a submarine that has been purpose-designed for the Baltic Sea. Notably shallow and confined, with dense littorals, including complex undersea obstacles and islands, the Baltic imposes very particular requirements on submarine designs, something that has long been reflected in successive classes built in Sweden (as well as in Germany).

In particular, the Baltic environment calls for diesel-electric submarines that are able to transit covertly in areas with a water depth of less than 82 feet and operate in an environment with a potentially high density of anti-submarine warfare forces and naval mines.

Warsaw’s investment in the three new submarines is just one part of a much larger defense spending spree — what the Polish Armed Forces themselves describe as “one of the highest levels of defense spending in NATO.”

The Polish Air Force is gearing up to receive 32 F-35A fighters, which will be armed with long-range precision weapons. Dozens of FA-50 light combat aircraft are also being delivered.

Poland’s first F-35 is on the move! 🏃‍♂️

AZ-01 has been moved to the final finishes facility to receive its stealth coating, bringing it one step closer to rollout.

Poland’s 32 F-35s will strengthen NATO and European allies in the region. pic.twitter.com/N8TqsMHBLG

— F-35 Lightning II (@thef35) July 31, 2024

Within the air defense branch, Poland plans by 2032 to introduce new air and missile defense systems procured under the Narew and Wisła programs, which cover the short-range and medium-range air defense segments, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Polish Land Forces are getting 250 of the latest Abrams M1A2 SEPv3 tanks, worth up to $6 billion, that will serve alongside a similar number of German-made Leopard 2s already in use. The Land Forces also expect to benefit from additional investments in operational fires, including new tube and rocket artillery, which will be employed in combination with 96 new AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. Furthermore, a significant South Korean arms package includes tanks, short-range ballistic missiles, and self-propelled artillery, as well as the aforementioned FA-50s.

Alongside the new submarines, Polish naval capabilities are also being reinforced by new coastal missile units and mine warfare technologies.

All of this military buildup comes in direct response to Russian aggression against Ukraine, which has provided Poland with a salutory reminder of the importance of robust defenses. With its choice of the A26 class, Poland will be getting one of the most capable conventionally powered submarines available and making another statement about how strongly it takes its defense.

Contact the author: [email protected]

The first, or maybe the second thing to be said about “The Artist,” a six-part comedy written and directed by Aram Rappaport, is that it streams from the Network, a free ad-supported streaming service Rappaport created to release his previous series, “The Green Veil.” The first three episodes premiere Thursday; the concluding three are due at Christmastime.

The second, or maybe the first thing to say about it is that it comes pulling a tramload of heavy talent — including Mandy Patinkin, Janet McTeer, Danny Huston, Hank Azaria, Patty Lupone, Zachary Quinto — which begs for it to be taken seriously, though that might not be the best way to take it.

Set in 1906, peopled with ahistorical versions of historical figures, the series is set largely in and around the Rhode Island “country home” of Norman Henry (Patinkin), identified by a title card as “an eccentric robber baron,” and seemingly what we’d call a venture capitalist today. (And one seemingly in need of capital.) Norman begins the series dead, carried out rolled in a carpet and set on fire like a Viking, before we skip back in time, meeting his wife, Marian (McTeer), who narrates from her journal and advises “the reader” that it is only on the final page that “you might be well enough equipped to tell fact from fiction, hero from villain.” I’ve seen only the first three episodes, so I have no idea, apart from where the story misrepresents its real-life characters. But that’s just poetic license and, of course, perfectly acceptable.

The staff, for no evident reason, apart perhaps from the house lacking “a working kitchen,” lives in tents on the front lawn. They’re called inside by bells, attached to cords running out the windows, labeled the Maid, the Ballerina, the Boxer, the Doctor. The ballerina, Lilith (Ana Mulvoy Ten), is a sort of protege to Henry; she believes he’ll arrange for her to dance “Coppelia” back home in Paris, the fool. (Their scenes together are creepy.) Sometimes we see her naked (though tastefully arranged) in a metal tub. Her dance instructor, Marius (David Pittu), is waspish, bitter and insulting. The boxer is a sparring partner for Marian, who works out her aggression in the ring. She’s told us that she loathes her husband, and he her (though he professes his love in a backhanded way).

Danny Huston plays Edgar Degas, the artist in the series’ title.

(The Network)

And then there’s the eponymous artist (Huston), eventually identified as Edgar Degas, real-life French Impressionist, who was not, in fact, literally stumbling around Rhode Island in 1906, and certainly not accepting a commission to paint French poodles. (So much French!) You are free to make the connection between the show’s ballerina and those he famously painted, and her nude in the tub with his masterpiece pastels of bathing women. But apart from bad eyesight, a hint of antisemitism and Huston muttering in French, there’s no substantial resemblance to the genuine article. Here, he seems half out of his mind, or half sober. He is quite concerned with getting paid, and I don’t blame him.

The news of the day is that another person from history, Thomas Edison (Azaria) is coming to the house, looking for an investor for his new invention, a Kinetophone, a peep show with sound, like a turn-of-the-century take on a virtual reality headset. (There was such a thing; it was not a success.) This sets up a long flashback in which we learn that Marian and Edison knew each other in college, and that he betrayed her. Next up are Evelyn Nesbit (Ever Anderson) and her mother (Jill Hennessy), who have booked it out of New York after Evelyn’s unstable husband, Harry K. Thaw (Clark Gregg), shot architect Stanford White in the rooftop restaurant of White’s Madison Square Garden. That happened.

It’s a loud show, with much shouting and some brief violence, which, in its suddenness, verges on slapstick, and some less brief violence which is not funny at all. There is a superfluity of gratuitous profanity; F words and the less usual C word fly about like bats at twilight, clutter up sentences, along with many rude sexual and anatomical imprecations. Most everyone is pent up, ready to pop. At the beginning of the series, setting the table for what’s to come, Marian declares, “This is not a story in the conventional sense”; it’s “a cautionary tale,” but “not a tale of murder. This is a story of rebirth,” presumably hers. There’s a feminist current to the narrative: The men are patronizing and possessive, the women — taken advantage of in more than one sense — find ways to accommodate, manipulate or fight them, while holding on to themselves.

One can see why Rappaport might have had trouble landing this series elsewhere, or preferred to avoid notes from above. Aesthetically and textually, it’s the sort of absurdist comedy that used to turn up in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, something like the works of Robert Downey Sr. or William Klein, or maybe an ambitious film student’s senior thesis, given a big budget and access to talent; in its very lack, or perhaps avoidance, of subtlety it feels very old-fashioned. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it bad, or for that matter good, but it seems to me the perfect realization of the creator’s idea, and there is something in that. And there are those three concluding episodes, which will bring in Lupone and Quinto, their characters yet unknown, and may move the needle one way or the other. In any case, it’s not something you see every day.

POP star Lizzo has claimed plus-size women are being “erased” as society grapples with the impact of the “Ozempic boom.”

The Truth Hurts singer, 37, has lost a lot of weight in recent years but said she is “still a proud big girl” after years of championing the body positivity movement.

In an essay shared on Substack, she wrote: “So here we are halfway through the decade, where extended sizes are being magically erased from websites.

“Plus sized models are no longer getting booked for modeling gigs. And all of our big girls are not-so big anymore.”

But Lizzo, who said she still weighs more than 14 stone, hit out at people who have criticised her for losing weight.

She said: “We’re in an era where the bigger girls are getting smaller because they’re tired of being judged.

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“And now those bigger girls are being judged for getting smaller by the very community they used to empower.

“There’s nothing wrong with living in a bigger body.

“There’s nothing wrong with being fat.

“But if a woman wants to change, she should be allowed to change.”

She said she started exercising in 2023 following a lawsuit in which she was alleged to have sexually harassed former dancers, which she denies, and which she said left her suicidal.

Lizzo previously revealed she had also used weight loss medication, as well as overhauling her diet.

Other stars including Meghan Trainor, Rebel Wilson and Amy Schumer have been criticised for slimming down, having previously championed larger bodies.

But Lizzo said she felt compelled to do so because of how she was viewed by society.

The American musician explained: “I was sick and tired of my identity being overshadowed by my fatness.

“People could not see my talent as a musician because they were too busy accusing me of making ‘being fat’ my whole personality.

“I had to actively work against ‘mammy’ tropes by being hypersexual and vulgar because being a mammy by definition is being desexualized.”

She added: “We have a lot of work to do, to undo the effects of the ozempic boom.

“I want us to allow the body positive movement to expand and grow far away from the commercial slop it’s become. Because movements move.”

The wait is almost over as the second series of ITV’s Red Eye is set to begin very soon.

There’s good news for fans of the thrilling drama Red Eye as another season is fast approaching.

Last year, ITV viewers were on the edge of their seats as they watched Richard Armitage take on the role of Dr Matthew Nolan, who was being escorted back to Beijing by DC Hana Li (Jing Lusi) for a crime he didn’t commit.

However, their journey wasn’t smooth sailing as Hana found herself embroiled in an escalating conspiracy, along with a growing number of murders.

As the show came to a dramatic end, fans were eager to see the series return, which ITV announced back in May this year.

Although Richard Armitage won’t be back in action, Red Eye is welcoming another well-known face to the explosive thriller, Line of Duty star Martin Compston.

Martin said of joining the show: “I had a blast making it! I had big shoes to fill, literally with the size of Richard! He did such a wonderful job, leading with Jing in the first series.

“It’s great to come onto a job when you know there’s nice pressure on it because the first season was such a success, so well done, so well received.

“Your job is to help take it to the next level. It was a lovely pressure to have and a lovely returning team; the crew were all brilliant. It was great, we had a lot of fun.

Speaking about the series, Martin teased that it gets ‘more outlandish’ and ‘more wild’ as the episodes progress, although he was tight-lipped on what people can expect to see.

Praising his co-stars, the actor added: “People want to be entertained, it was great fun and getting to work with Jing, she’s so proud of the show and so committed to it.

“She’s really protective of it and she’s surrounded by a wonderful cast, Jem (Jemma Moore) and all these actors.

“She won’t thank me for saying it but Lesley (Sharp) is British acting royalty. So getting to share some screen time with her was really appealing.”

Also joining Martin on the second series of Red Eye will be Isaura Barbe-Brown, Nicholas Rowe, Danusia Samal, Trevor White and Guy Williams.

Speaking about the show’s return, Jing commented: “I’m incredibly excited to return to the world of Red Eye, and thrilled to be sharing this rollercoaster with the brilliant Martin Compston.”

It’s not yet known when the second series will air on ITV.

MINNEAPOLIS — Since it was created in 2018, the federal government’s cybersecurity agency has helped warn state and local election officials about potential threats from foreign governments, showed officials how to protect polling places from attacks and gamed out how to respond to the unexpected, such as an election day bomb threat or sudden disinformation campaign.

The agency was largely absent from that space for elections this month in several states, a potential preview for the 2026 midterms. Shifting priorities of the Trump administration, staffing reductions and budget cuts have many election officials concerned about how engaged the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will be next year, when control of Congress will be at stake in those elections.

Some officials say they have begun scrambling to fill the anticipated gaps.

“We do not have a sense of whether we can rely on CISA for these services as we approach a big election year in 2026,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat who until recently led the bipartisan National Assn. of Secretaries of State.

The association’s leaders sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in February asking her to preserve the cybersecurity agency’s core election functions. Noem, whose department oversees the agency, replied the following month that it was reviewing its “funding, products, services, and positions” related to election security and that its services would remain available to election officials.

Simon said secretaries of state are still waiting to hear about the agency’s plans.

“I regret to say that months later, the letter remains very timely and relevant,” he said.

An agency in transition

CISA, as the agency is known, was formed under the first Trump administration to help safeguard the nation’s critical infrastructure, including dams, power plants and election systems. It has been undergoing a major transformation since President Trump’s second term began in January.

Public records suggest that roughly 1,000 CISA employees have lost their jobs in recent years. The Republican administration in March cut $10 million from two cybersecurity initiatives, including one dedicated to helping state and local election officials.

That was a few weeks after CISA announced it was conducting a review of its election-related work, and more than a dozen staffers who have worked on elections were placed on administrative leave. The FBI also disbanded a task force on foreign influence operations, including those that target U.S. elections.

CISA is still without an official director. Trump’s nomination of Sean Plankey, a cybersecurity expert in the first Trump administration, has stalled in the Senate.

CISA officials did not answer questions seeking specifics about the agency’s role in the recently completed elections, its plans for the 2026 election cycle or staffing levels. They said the agency remains ready to help protect election infrastructure.

“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, CISA is laser-focused on securing America’s critical infrastructure and strengthening cyber resilience across the government and industry,” said Marci McCarthy, CISA’s director of public affairs.

She said CISA would announce its future organizational plans “at the appropriate time.”

Christine Serrano Glassner, CISA’s chief external affairs officer, said the agency’s experts are ready to provide election guidance if asked.

“In the event of disruptions or threats to critical infrastructure, whether Election Day-related or not, CISA swiftly coordinates with the Office of Emergency Management and the appropriate federal, state and local authorities,” she said in a statement.

States left on their own

California’s top election security agencies said CISA has played a “critical role” since 2018 but provided little, if any, help for the state’s Nov. 4 special election, when voters approved a redrawn congressional redistricting map.

“Over the past year, CISA’s capacity to support elections has been significantly diminished,” the California secretary of state’s office said in a statement to the Associated Press. “The agency has experienced major reductions in staffing, funding, and mission focus — including the elimination of personnel dedicated specifically to election security and foreign influence mitigation.

“This shift has left election officials nationwide without the critical federal partnership they have relied on for several election cycles,” the statement said.

CISA alerted California officials in September that it would no longer participate in a task force that brought together federal, state and local agencies to support county election offices. California election officials and the governor’s Office of Emergency Services did what they could to fill the gaps and plan for various security scenarios.

In Orange County, Registrar of Voters Bob Page said in an email that the state offices and other county departments “stepped up” to support his office “to fill the void left by CISA’s absence.”

Neighboring Los Angeles County had a different experience. The registrar’s office, which oversees elections, said it continues to get a range of cybersecurity services from CISA, including threat intelligence, network monitoring and security testing of its equipment, although local jurisdictions now have to cover the costs of some services that had been federally funded.

Some other states that held elections this month also said they did not have coordination with CISA.

Mississippi’s secretary of state, who heads the national association that sent the letter to Noem, did not directly respond to a request for comment, but his office confirmed that CISA was not involved in the state’s recent elections.

In Pennsylvania, which held a nationally watched retention election for three state Supreme Court justices this month, the Department of State said it is also relied more on its own partners to ensure the elections were secure.

In an email, the department said it was “relying much less on CISA than it had in recent years.” Instead, it has begun collaborating with the state police, the state’s own homeland security department, local cybersecurity experts and other agencies.

Looking for alternatives

Simon, the former head of the secretary of state’s association, said state and local election officials need answers about CISA’s plans because officials will have to seek alternatives if the services it had been providing will not be available next year.

In some cases, such as classified intelligence briefings, there are no alternatives to the federal government, he said. But there might be ways to get other services, such as testing of election equipment to see if it can be penetrated from outside.

In past election years, CISA also would conduct tabletop exercises with local agencies and election offices to game out various scenarios that might affecting voting or ballot counting, and how they would react. Simon said that is something CISA was very good at.

“We are starting to assume that some of those services are not going to be available to us, and we are looking elsewhere to fill that void,” Simon said.

Karnowski and Smyth write for the Associated Press. Smyth reported from Columbus, Ohio.

It looked like a message sent with a bullhorn, a move made with all the subtlety of an elbow to the ribs.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin sent regular starter Eric Dailey Jr. onto the court for tipoff Tuesday night alongside four players who are normally reserves.

The regular starters weren’t sick or injured, they just hadn’t given the effort their coach wanted in practice. So in their place, Cronin started a group of players who had drubbed their teammates by 20 points the previous day in a game that didn’t count except in the mind of the Bruins’ coach.

Given a bigger role, that new group set an unmistakably energetic tone against Sacramento State at Pauley Pavilion, scoring the game’s first 13 points on the way to the No. 19 Bruins’ 79-48 victory.

“They pay me to win games and I thought that was the lineup that was ready to play tonight,” Cronin said, disputing the idea that he was putting his regular starters on notice. “I don’t believe in messages, I don’t believe in doghouses.”

He does believe in extracting whatever his players have to give.

Trent Perry, Jamar Brown, Brandon Williams and Steven Jamerson II played scrappy defense and unselfish offense in helping their team build that big early lead. A Williams steal triggered a fast break ending in a Brown driving layup in which he was fouled. A Jamerson block started another fast break that led to another Brown driving layup. Perry added a rare four-point play after making a three-pointer in which he was fouled.

Before some fans had reached their seats, UCLA was ahead 13-0. Cronin didn’t insert three of his regular starters until nearly five minutes had elapsed, Skyy Clark, Tyler Bilodeau and Xavier Booker finally entering the game. They were joined a few minutes later by point guard Donovan Dent, the last regular starter checking into the game with 12 minutes 37 seconds left before halftime.

It took Dent only 10 seconds to make his presence felt, driving toward the basket before flinging a pass to Clark for a three-pointer.

Dailey was especially active, logging a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead four players in double figures scoring. Booker added 12 points, Perry had 11 and Brown 10 for the Bruins, who held the Hornets to 24.1% shooting. Jamerson appeared on the way to a strong defensive game with three rebounds, two blocks and a steal in 10 minutes before twisting his ankle and never returning.

“Proud of the guys that started, proud of the guys that came in, too,” Dailey said. “They kept it going. So that just shows that our level of intensity has to be hard to start games off.”

This was UCLA’s most complete performance since its 30-point blowout of UC Irvine in an exhibition game late last month. The Bruins followed that with three flat performances against lesser competition before putting up a fight in a four-point loss to Arizona last week.

It didn’t seem to matter who was in the game for UCLA (4-1) given the talent discrepancy with Sacramento State (3-3). The Hornets became even more depleted midway through the first half when guard Jeremiah Cherry, their leading scorer, suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury and had to be helped to the locker room.

Cronin went with his normal starting lineup to start the second half but pivoted quickly. Perry replaced Clark after less than a minute when Clark committed a foul. Then, after the Hornets rolled off seven straight points, came more changes. Back into the game came Brown and Williams, replacing Dent and Booker.

“I gave the other guys a chance because they need to practice coming out of the locker room with more energy,” Cronin said, “and they didn’t get the job done.”

Cronin said his team logged 33 deflections — tipped passes, loose balls collected, steals and blocked shots — in the first half compared to only nine in the second, reflecting a dropoff in defensive effort.

Bilodeau was gone for good with seven minutes left, fouling out after only 18 minutes of playing time in which he collected six points, three rebounds and two steals. Dent had five points, seven assists, two steals and no turnovers in 24 minutes.

Cronin’s biggest concern was giving up 13 offensive rebounds, though that was partially a reflection of Sacramento State shooting so poorly and missing 41 shots.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Cronin said, “if we don’t get better on the defensive backboard.”

But will the coach go back to his normal starting lineup Friday against Presbyterian?

Depends.

“We’ll see how guys practice,” Cronin said. “Right now, we’re in a mode of trying to learn how to play hard enough to earn the jersey that they wear. I have great respect for the jersey. I left my hometown, coaching at my alma mater … because of how much respect that I have for UCLA basketball, and I try to demand that my players play with that kind of effort, show that same respect.”

The city of Reggio Calabria, in the Calabria region of southern Italy, is said to be home to the prettiest kilometre in the whole country

Italy – the land of pasta, pizza, gelato and dolce vita.

We all know Italy is packed with stunning cities, towns, lakes, mountains and beaches. From the splendour of Florence, the historic significance of Rome and the waterways of Venice to the peace and tranquility of Lake Garda, this really is a country with something for everyone.

However, the southern tip of this beautiful country has long been ignore for its more famous neighbours. Calabria, right on the toe of Italy and just a few miles from the coast of Sicily, it the country’s poorest region but many would argue also its most beautiful.

Its coastline is surrounded by azure blue waters and golden sandy beaches and pretty, and totally unspoilt, villages and towns pepper the seafront.

Inland, the traditional way of life is still very much in evidence, with churches and monasteries the heart of communities.

From the stunning town of Tropea, where we were staying and which has recently been voted the prettiest town in the whole of Italy, to the quaint fishing village of Scilla, a visit to Calabria is like a visit to no other part of Italy.

One of the big draws to the region is the city of Reggio Calabria, the largest in the whole region. Just a few miles from the coast of Sicily, separated only by the impressive Strait of Messini, Reggio Calabria is also said to be home to the prettiest kilometre in Italy.

The Lungomare Falcomatà is a seafront promenade with, on a clear day, spectacular views of the sea, the Strait of Messina, where the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas meet, Sicily and Mount Etna.

The promenade is also home to some stunning sculptures, both natural and man-made. Some of these are the huge and must be seen to be believed magnolia trees which stand proud and tall along the street.

Elegant buildings line one half of the promenade not taken up by the breathtaking views of the sea.

On the day I visited, while I was blown away by this beautiful city, which is also home to the Riace Bronzes, life-size statues dating back more than 2,500 years and housed in the National Archaeological Museum, there was one major problem which hampered by enjoyment of Italy’s prettiest kilometre – it was absolutely chucking it down.

Don’t get me wrong, I was visiting at the start of October so putting up with some inclement weather should be expected but it was sad not to be able to see this wonderful city in all of its glory, especially the stunning walk alone the Lungomare Falcomatà. No views of Etna for me, and while I could just about make out the coast of Sicily, it was at best murky.

However, this just gives me the perfect excuse to return to the stunning region of Calabria.

Clad in close-fitting black outfits, two performers get into stance for a fight scene. The cameras surrounding the massive stage in Playa Vista start rolling.

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One turns around slowly, pantomimes being shot, and carefully, deliberately, arches himself backward, clawing at the air before a stunt coordinator helps ease him toward a black mattress.

That movement is translated into dots and lines on a nearby computer, transmitted by the round, white sensors embedded in the suits’ colorful almond-shaped patches. Later, those will be fleshed out into characters and scenes in the new “Call of Duty: Black Ops 7” game, which debuts Friday.

It’s all part of the blockbuster production effort that goes into making one of the most popular video game franchises ever. “Call of Duty,” from Santa Monica publisher Activision, has ranked as the top-selling video game series in the U.S. for 16 straight years and has sold more than 500 million copies globally since the first installment was released in 2003.

And as one of the few franchises with an annual release schedule, hitting that deadline takes an army. About 3,000 people worked on “Black Ops 7” over the course of four years.

Activision executives declined to discuss the game’s budget but called it a “significant investment.” Top video game franchises can have production costs of $250 million or more — higher than most big-budget Hollywood films.

“It’s like, every year we have to launch a new ‘Star Wars.’ Every year we have to launch a new ‘Avatar,’ ” said Tyler Bahl, chief marketing officer at Activision. “So we have to think about, how do we do this in an unexpected way?”

“Ultimately, we want to treat our games like an absolute blockbuster,” said Matt Cox, general manager of “Call of Duty” at Activision, who has worked on the franchise for more than 10 years. “The investment is there for them.”

Activision’s Treyarch game production studio is where Call of Duty video game is produced.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The franchise has become a key driver of Activision’s success, analysts said.

The base game consistently sells more than 20 million units annually, not including the live services components that update after a game’s launch and keep players engaged, monthly battle passes that unlock rewards or even the mobile game, all of which add up to an estimated annual sales of about $3.5 billion to $4 billion, said Eric Handler, media and entertainment analyst at Roth Capital.

In fact, the huge popularity of “Call of Duty” helped spur tech giant Microsoft’s interest in acquiring Activision, a $69-billion deal that was completed in 2023.

“It revolutionized the first-person shooter and has done a great job, year in and year out, of being the best of breed, building the largest community and evolving, pivoting to where video game players are all over the world,” Handler said. “There are other [shooter] franchises that are trying to replicate its success … but nobody’s been able to match the consistency of ‘Call of Duty.’”

To maintain its annual cadence, Activision rotates game development among several of its studios, including Playa Vista-based Treyarch, which co-developed “Black Ops 6” and “Black Ops 7” in parallel — the first time that two “Call of Duty: Black Ops” games came out in subsequent years.

The previous game is set in the ‘90s, while the newest installment jumps ahead to 2035, meaning designers and animators had to envision what gear and gadgets might look like in the future (“Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” was eerily accurate in its predictions for the year 2025).

“It was a huge opportunity for us to tell two unique but also connected stories at the same time,” said Yale Miller, senior director of production at Treyarch.

Unlike the linear nature of film production, many things happen in tandem when producing a game like “Call of Duty.” The game has a campaign mode that follows a story, a multiplayer option to play with friends and the ever-popular zombies portion, meaning each designated team is thinking in parallel about things like tone, features and playable moments that they want fans to experience, Miller said.

While an actor is recording lines, another team may be building the weapon they mention and making it interactive, while another group builds the explosion that the lines and weapon will be part of.

“It’s not just, ‘Oh, we got the shot. We’re done for the day,’ ” Miller said. The acting performance is “an anchor for a lot of the things that we build, but then it’s the whole world in parallel, and that’s how we get to such big teams working on stuff, and everything has to get thought about.”

The franchise has become known for its intense, cinematic quality, a reputation enhanced by the live-action film and television backgrounds of many who work on the games, including some stunt performers and Treyarch performance capture director Mikal Vega, who worked on the 2017 NBC drama “The Brave” after a long career in the military.

“It’s theater-in-the-round,” he said during a Zoom call from the stage. “A lot more like theater-in-the-round than film in some cases, and very much like film in other phases of it.”

And there is a bit of a learning curve, particularly because of the motion-capture technology used, which can make movements awkward.

In the new game, “This Is Us” star Milo Ventimiglia plays Lt. Cmdr. David Mason, a character who first appeared in 2012’s “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2” and is now on the hunt for a former arms dealer who caused the death of his father and was previously believed dead.

Acting in “Black Ops 7” was “more technical” than his previous film and TV roles since it required getting used to a boom mic or camera that jutted out in front of him, he said. In one early instance, Ventimiglia went to scratch an itch on his cheek and was told by the crew not to put anything between his face and the camera, and to pantomime scratching outside of the camera, not realizing it wasn’t acting.

Then there were four-hour sessions in the sound booth, saying lines dozens of times in dozens of ways with any number of weapons.

“It’s super, super taxing, hard work, but fun at the same time,” Ventimiglia said. “When are you going to talk about calling out grenades and flash bangs and using different weapons? Very rarely.”

Adding to the cinematic quality are the hyper-realistic portrayals of actors, gear and costumes, which are the result of scans on a light stage that can re-create items in 3-D. Principal and background characters sit on a chair inside the sphere and do poses, surrounded by 16 DSLR cameras and dozens of hexagonal lights that emit a hazy glow. In 1.3 seconds, more than 256 images will be shot. Principal characters like Ventimiglia will typically do up to 120 poses — all to make sure the nuances of someone’s face are captured.

Evan Buttons, Activision director of technical projects, is photographed inside the face scanning studio.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

In a nearby room with a 22-foot ceiling and black, soundproof walls, an even larger sphere with more than 140 cameras and several video cameras are used to capture full body scans, gear and costumes. Everything captured then goes to the character art team, which will tweak it to their specifications and put it in the game.

Even in the days leading up to the game’s release, the team was still busy. In an era when internet speeds are faster, work doesn’t end with a game’s initial release. Content will be released regularly in the months after “Black Ops 7” debuts, all to keep it fresh for players, who can put more than 1,000 hours into the game.

“The No. 1 reason why they play ‘Call of Duty’ is actually because their friends are there,” said Bahl of Activision. “Those bonds and those social connections, I think, is really what makes this game different and stronger, and it’s made it last for so long.”

Remember the brave, talented theater students at Eliot Arts magnet school who lost their school, homes and theater to January’s Eaton fire and went on to perform their spring musical, “Shrek Jr.,” to a sold-out crowd at the Ahmanson Theatre?

Those kids are still displaced from their school, but not from the tenacious community spirit that guided them through the aftermath of that trauma. Their next chapter: a four-day, three-night class trip to New York City to see the sights and attend Broadway shows and workshops.

“After ‘Shrek’ last spring, I sat down with a group of my advanced theater students, and I said, ‘Dream big. What else would you want in your fantasy world?’ Big things have happened for us this semester after the fires,” their drama teacher, Mollie Lief, said in a phone interview. “And they said, ‘We want to go to New York City.’ And I just thought, ‘OK, we’re gonna make this happen.’”

The class has now met its initial $75,000 fundraising goal toward “Broadway Bound: A drama and dance trip to NYC,” which Lief will lead along with dance teacher Billy Rugh, who choreographed “Shrek Jr.” The funds, which will help cover the partial or full cost of taking 61 seventh and eighth graders to the Big Apple from April 7-10, were raised in about 28 days through a school fundraising campaign app called SnapRaise.

Lief credited actor Gillian Jacobs — who Lief calls “our fairy godmother” — with spreading the word to friends in film and TV, which is why the initial goal was met so quickly. Fundraising remains ongoing for the trip, as well as the school’s spring musical, but the class can now rest easy that everyone will be able to go.

“I think everybody was skeptical that we were going to be able to raise that much money and make it happen. But if Eliot’s good at anything, we are good at making big things happen,” said Lief.

Speaking of which: The other really big thing that Lief wants for the kids is a meeting with Broadway superstar and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda sent a personal message of support to the students via video when they performed at the Ahmanson, so he’s aware of them and their extraordinary story.

“They just love him,” Lief said of Miranda. “We had a Lin-Manuel Miranda day for Hispanic Heritage Month, and everybody dressed up as him or a character from one of his shows. They are all obviously obsessed with ‘Hamilton,’ which is a show we’re trying to see when we’re in New York.”

Three Broadway shows are part of the trip’s itinerary, as well as a theater and dance workshop or two. Also on the agenda: plenty of New York pizza, a jaunt through Central Park, a sightseeing cruise and a Big Bus tour.

“They’re super pumped,” Lief said of the kids who are currently rehearsing for their newest show, “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood.”

On our radar

Grant Gershon will conduct the Los Angeles Master Chorale in David Lang’s “before and after nature” Sunday at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

(Jamie Phan / Los Angeles Master Chorale)

before and after nature
The fall’s third and largest major environment-themed work is David Lang’s “before and after nature,” an evening-length score that was commissioned by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and had its premiere in the spring at Stanford University in conjunction with the Doerr School of Sustainability. Here, Lang explores, in his almost Hildegard-like glowing vocal writing, the human relationship with a nature that doesn’t need us, or want us, yet we insist on being the center of everything and making an inevitable mess of it. The instrumental ensemble is Bang on a Can All-Stars (Lang having been a founder of the New York music institution). The performance includes a video component by Tal Rosner, and Grant Gershon conducts.
— Mark Swed
7:30 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org

A 1989 billboard poster about museum representation by the Guerrilla Girls.

(Getty Research Institute)

How to Be a Guerrilla Girl
The Guerrilla Girls famously shield their identity by wearing gorilla masks in public, but this show will unveil “how-to” information on their effective techniques of data research, distribution and culture jamming. Drawing on the witty protest group’s early archives, acquired in 2008 by the Getty Research Institute, their 40th anniversary will be celebrated by an exhibition of materials outlining the collaborative process that goes into their ongoing demands for art world equity for women and artists of color. A selection from their dozens of posters and ads will be displayed.
— Christopher Knight
Tuesday through April 12, 2026. Getty Center, Research Institute Galleries, 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. getty.edu

The Broadway production of the musical “Suffs.”

(Joan Marcus)

Suffs
This musical by Shaina Taub, which won Tony Awards for book and original score, turns the history of the 20th century American women’s suffrage movement into a show that rallies the spirit of democracy. The plot follows Alice Paul and a new generation of radical activists who are testing new tactics in the fight to secure women the right to vote. During the Broadway run, Hillary Clinton, one of the show’s high-profile producers, went on the stump for “Suffs,” endorsing its much-needed lesson that progress is possible, if never guaranteed.
— Charles McNulty
Wednesday through Dec. 7. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. broadwayinhollywood.com

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY

Olga de Amaral, “Gran Muro, Panel 7B,” 1976. Cotton, wool, horsehair, sisal and/or jute, rayon, nylon, raffia. 130 x 175 in.

(Mark Waldhauser / Photo from Lisson Gallery)

Olga de Amaral
This solo exhibition of work from the Colombian artist’s six-decade career emphasizes her use of weaving, painting and sculpture, with variable scale, form and materials, including linen, wool, horsehair, Japanese paper, acrylic and precious metals.
Opening, 6-8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Lisson Gallery, 1037 N. Sycamore Ave. Los Angeles. lissongallery.com

60 Miles East: Riverside’s Underground Punk Rock, Hardcore & Ska Scene, from the late 1980s to early 2000s
An exhibit of photography devoted to a distinctive music scene that made the most of its outsider existence in exploding exurbia.
Riverside Museum of Art, Art Alliance Gallery, 3425 Mission Inn Ave. riversideartmuseum.org

SATURDAY

Yaphet Kotto, Sigourney Weaver and Ian Holm in the 1979 film “Alien.”

(Robert Penn / 20th Century Fox)

Alien
Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi classic screens in 35 mm to capture all of its oozing, Xenomorphic chest-bursting glory. Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto and Tom Skerritt star.
7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

Creative Continuities: Family, Pride and Community in Native Art
Three contemporary Plains Indian artists, John Pepion (Blackfeet), Brocade Stops Black Eagle (Crow) and Jessa Rae Growing Thunder (Dakota/Nakoda), each curated a section of this exhibition exploring aspects of Native culture through the lens of works created by their ancestors.
Saturday-June 2027. Autry Museum of the American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park. theautry.org

Jlin
A 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist, the electronic music composer a.k.a. Jerrilynn Patton’s latest album featured collaborations with Philip Glass, Björk and Kronos Quartet.
8 p.m. Saturday. UCLA Nimoy Theater, 1262 Westwood Blvd. cap.ucla.edu

Baratunde Thurston will perform Saturday at Carpenter Center.

(Roy Rochlin / Getty Images for Unfinished Live)

An Evening with Baratunde Thurston
The comedian and futurist ponders interrelationships between people, nature and technologies through stories.
8 p.m. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org

SUNDAY
Radical Histories: Chicano Prints from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Six decades of art featuring 60 works by 40 or so artists and collectives that reflects an era of rebellion and cultural solidarity.
Through March 2, 2026. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org

Something’s Gotta Give
The American Cinematheque’s tribute to Diane Keaton continues with director Nancy Meyers’ 2003 romantic comedy co-starring Jack Nicholson, Amanda Peet and Keanu Reeves. Meyers joins film critic Katie Walsh for a Q&A.
7 p.m. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. americancinematheque.com

Takács Quartet
The chamber music ensemble performs a program featuring works by Joseph Haydn, Clarice Assad and Claude Debussy.
4 p.m. Broad Stage at Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org

TUESDAY
Brahms Strings
Members of the L.A. Phil perform contemporary American composer Jessie Montgomery’s “Strum” as well as19th century masterworks by Johannes Brahms.
8 p.m. Tuesday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

THURSDAY
Lonnie Holley and Moor Mother
The two artists collaborate for an evening of free jazz and spoken word rooted in Afrofuturism.
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. thewallis.org

Prieto
The L.A. premiere of poet and performance artist Yosimar Reyes dives into his experience growing up queer in East San Jose.
8 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Nov. 21-22; 2 p.m. Nov. 23. The Rosenthal Theater at Inner-City Arts, 720 Kohler St., Los Angeles. brownpapertickets.com

New Original Works (NOW)
The third weekend of REDCAT’s annual festival of experimental performance features a program of works by Lu Coy, jeremy de’jon guyton and Luna Izpisua Rodriguez.
8 p.m Thursday-Saturday. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., downtown L.A. redcat.org

Shelley Conducts Carmen and Daphnis and Chloe
Artistic and music director designate Alexander Shelley conducts the Pacific Symphony in a program of Bizet and Ravel, as well composer/pianist Gabriel Montero’s “Latin Concerto.”
8 p.m Thursday; 8 p.m. Nov. 21-22. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. pacificsymphony.org

Culture news and the SoCal scene

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has officially set its opening date for Sept. 22, 2026. The Times got an exclusive peek at a few interiors, including the research library and the entrance lobby. We also took some great photos of the building as it currently looks and made a short video. Take a peek.

Times classical music critic Mark Swed weighs in on opera’s “long and curious fetish for the convent” in his review of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “sincere and compelling ‘Hildegard.’” L.A. Opera’s collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects is based on “a real-life 12th century abbess and present-day cult figure, St. Hildegard von Bingen.” The show, which premiered at the Wallis last week, “operates as much as a passion play as an opera,” Swed writes.

Swed also took in a show featuring Zubin Mehta, the 89-year-old Los Angeles Philharmonic’s conductor emeritus, as he led the orchestra in Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. Swed calls Mehta “a living L.A. icon.”

Times theater critic Charles McNulty touched down in New York City to review “The Queen of Versailles,” an adaptation of Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary about a family building a supersized American home. McNulty found the musical unwieldy despite Michael Arden’s superb direction, but he reserved special praise for its star, Kristin Chenoweth, “who is bearing the weight of a McMansion musical on her diminutive frame and making it seem like she’s hoisting nothing heavier than a few overstuffed Hermes, Prada and Chanel shopping bags.”

Sculptures by the entrance of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

I enjoyed writing about the $15-million renovation of the Norton Simon Museum, which has been unveiled in tandem with the organization’s 50th anniversary. In addition to new signage, improved curb appeal and a more accessible pedestrian entryway, the museum restored the 115,000 Heath tiles that clad the building’s exterior.

Times art critic Christopher Knight has the scoop on trouble at the Palm Springs Art Museum, which is facing a trustee revolt after hiring its new director, Christine Vendredi — the fourth such leader in just seven years. A week after the hire, “the chair of the search committee tasked with filling that position, trustee Patsy Marino, resigned from the museum’s board citing ‘inappropriate interference and attempts to influence the process’ on the part of the museum’s executive committee, individual trustees and other unidentified museum staff and donors,” Knight writes. To date, 22 trustees have exited, and it has been revealed that no other candidates were interviewed for the role.

Finally, read how the creators behind the new “Paranormal Activity” play are bringing jump scares to the Ahmanson Theatre. Hint: It’s all about what you don’t see.

Eddie Izzard arrives at the London premiere of “Moonage Daydream” in 2022.

(Scott Garfitt / Invision / AP)

British comedian and actor Eddie Izzard is bringing her solo performance of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to L.A.’s Montalbán Theatre for seven nights from Jan. 22-31. While in New York, the show received a New York Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for outstanding solo performance, and a nomination for the New York Drama League’s Distinguished Performance Award.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts announced a major departure: Robert van Leer is stepping down as executive director and chief executive of the Wallis to take on the role of the new performing arts program director of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Van Leer has been at the Wallis since April 2023, and was instrumental in inviting a host of prominent performing arts organizations to make the Wallis their home, including Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, L.A. Dance Project, Los Angeles Ballet, BODYTRAFFIC, and Tonality.

“Specter,” a sculptural installation for Desert X by L.A. artist Sterling Ruby, just outside Palm Springs in 2019.

(Carolina A. Miranda / Los Angeles Times)

Big changes are coming to Desert X as it plans its sixth exhibition in the Coachella Valley, and its 10th worldwide. Over the past decade, the organization has commissioned more than 100 artists to create site-specific work in the desert. For its 10th anniversary exhibition, Desert X has announced new dates and an extended timeline. The next show is scheduled to open on Oct. 30, 2027, and will run through May 7, 2028, to coincide with other important area cultural events including the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Modernism Week, Frieze Los Angeles and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Carol Burnett has endowed a new scholarship at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. The annual award will support undergraduate students in the school’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program. The inaugural scholarship has been awarded to first-year theater major Alexa Cruz.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Looking for a decadent holiday gift for an art lover? How about a $295 chocolate bar made by andSons Chocolatiers in collaboration with Ed Ruscha? The 73% Peruvian dark chocolate bar is an edition of 300 and comes in a cloth-bound box, which, according to the Beverly Hills-based chocolate company’s website, features “a reproduction of Ruscha’s 1971 lithograph ‘Made in California’” and “bears the relief of the West Coast’s rugged topography from the Pacific Ocean eastward to the Santa Lucia Mountains.”

The winner of this year’s ITV series has been named and they were shocked with the result

The Big Brother 2025 champion has finally been revealed.

A total of 17 housemates, including latecomers and surprise entrants, were narrowed down to a final six. Cameron, Elsa, Emily, Jenny, Richard and Tate were announced as this year’s Big Brother finalists earlier in the week.

This was followed by a shocking last-minute double back-door eviction that left viewers at home stunned. Marcus and Teja just missed out on the grand prize as they were sent packing after the final Wicked-themed task.

The latest series has been jam-packed with drama, from forming rivalries to divisions and heated debates. One contestant was booted out on the very first night only to make a surprising comeback and secure a spot in the final.

Meanwhile, one housemate was shown the door by Big Brother due to repeated rule violations, reports OK!.

Presenters AJ Odudu and Will Best graced our screens once again to host ITV’s live grand finale on Friday (November 14), where they disclosed the public vote results for each remaining contestant.

The final rankings were: Tate in 6th, Emily in 5th, Cameron in 4th and Jenny in third. This left Richard and Elsa battling it out for the top two spots.

Before the final result was unveiled, viewers got a glimpse of how the contestants spent their last night and day in the house, including partaking in Big Brother’s last supper.

Cameron confessed: “Seven weeks in this mad house. It’s been a hell of a ride in here. I can’t say in a nutshell how much I’ve appreciated coming into this house and spending it with you guys, and how great you’ve all been. So, thank you for that. Jenny I probably couldn’t have done it quite without you. It certainly wouldn’t have been as fun and enjoyable and you know I think the world you, never change never change.”

Richard declared to the group: “This experience has been without doubt the most bonkers, crazy, madcap, incredible, extraordinary thing I have ever done. It’s been great to meet all of you, it’s been a magnificent, magnificent ride and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. So, here’s to you, it’s been great!”.

After this, the crucial moment arrived. Will enthusiastically revealed the victor during the live finale and AJ was the first to greet the jubilant housemate, £100,000 richer, as they stepped out to thunderous cheers.

In a nail-biting climax, it came down to a showdown between Elsa and Richard, with the latter clinching victory.

Before leaving the house Richard embraced imaginary housemates and addressed the house: “Big Brother team it has been an absolute pleasure and delight. Good night and thank you.”

When asked by AJ how he felt about winning the series he responded: “Absolutely crazy.”

Fans were quick to voice their opinions on the outcome. One fan took to social media, posting: “Absolutely made up for Richard! He’s been the most decent, genuine and authentic person in the Big Brother house this year! Well deserved!”.

Another chimed in: “He was one of 4 late arrivals that entered without a crowd and now Richard will not only leave the house to a crowd, but he’ll be leaving it with £100k as the Big Brother GRAND CHAMPION 2025! ! ! Huge congratulations, sir.”

A third fan remarked: “Huge congrats to Richard for winning this year’s Big Brother, he has been such a brilliant housemate and he deserves to win especially being the oldest at 60.”

Another said: “I’m fine with Richard winning for the sheer fact that Caroline will have to sit there and watch his winning interview.”

Big Brother is streaming on ITVX.

Two Big Brother housemates were forced to leave the ITV show immediately

Two Big Brother housemates were forced to leave the ITV show immediately in the latest episode.

In scenes which were aired tonight (Thursday, November 13) Marcus and Teja were booted out just one day before the grand final. It means they just miss out on a chance to bag the £100,000 prize.

Farmer Cameron from Somerset had already been handed a ticket to the final following a round of challenges and a decision made by his fellow contestants.

The rest were subjected to a public vote, with no nominations taking place in the final week, reports OK! Viewers were able to choose which they wanted to save.

Two with the fewest votes would be kicked out. It comes after the house was transformed into the Emerald City, in celebration of the upcoming film release Wicked For Good.

Big Brother housemates were told they were now citizens of Oz. Not only were they tasked with rebuilding the yellow brick road but they also faced challenges to win a party.

However, the party soon turned unlucky for a couple of housemates. After The Emerald City Party, they returned to the Yellow Brick Road to receive a gift from The Wizard.

Big Brother told them: ” Ozians, you stand before The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He has decided to reward each of you with a very special gift.”

Each Housemate is instructed to open the gift in front of them. Some of them received special items to commemorate their time in the house.

For example, Richard was given a golden keyboard and Elsa a Princess wedding dress. However, two housemates were given their marching orders, marking the end of their time in the Big Brother House and they had to leave immediately.

The remaining six housemates are now officially Big Brother Finalists. Those left in the house will now battle it out for the title of this year’s winner. Among the confirmed finalists are Cameron, Elsa, Richard, Tate, Jenny and Emily.

The public will continue to cast their votes for their favourite ahead of Friday’s (November 14) live final. Presenters AJ Odudu and Will Best will be back to announce the final standings of each housemate.

Viewers at home were quick to react to the latest twist as the series nears its conclusion. Sharing their reactions on social media, one viewer posted: “Oh wow, my face was the same as Jenny’s when I saw that ticket.”

Another chimed in: “How you gonna give Elsa a wedding dress and Marcus a ticket home omg. LMAO.”

While another commented: “Wow Big Brother, that was brutal.” Another shocked viewer said: “Teja was evicted?” I’m so shocked! I thought she was gonna be in the top three at least. “.

Big Brother concludes tomorrow at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

Big Brother fans were left fuming just minutes into the latest episode, two days before the final

Big Brother viewers have issued the same complaint as they ask “why?” mere minutes into the latest episode, blasting the “ridiculous” instalment.

The Big Brother finale is merely two days away, with one contestant set to be crowned the 2025 champion on Friday, November 14. Earlier footage showed Somerset farmer Cameron bagging an automatic ticket to the finale, whilst fellow housemates face eviction.

Supporters have been casting their votes for who they wish to rescue as there’s a double elimination this week, which is believed to be a backdoor eviction. Elsa, Marcus, Teja, Tate, Emily, Richard and Jenny are all up for eviction, reports OK!.

Yet the elimination won’t be broadcast until tomorrow’s (November 13) episode, merely one day before the finale, leaving supporters absolutely livid with tonight’s (November 12) show.

Rushing to X, within minutes, one supporter declared: “This is such a filler episode i can’t, GIVE US THE WICKED TASK AND EVICTION NOWWWWW.”

Another penned: “It really is annoying that they are making us wait till tomorrow, the day before the final to see who’s gone. @ITV just can’t do backdoor evictions right, there’s too many of them.”

A third commented: “Why isn’t the eviction tonight?”.

A fourth remarked: “It really is ridiculous that the last eviction before the final, a double eviction as well, happened this morning and won’t be shown until tomorrow. This series has been done so badly.”

Another slated: “This is so stupid and pointless.”

Tonight’s episode witnessed Big Brother assembling the housemates on the sofa for a regal challenge.

Given that Cameron had secured his pass to the final, he was crowned King of the house.

Big Brother declared: “King Cameron, your first decision is to appoint your Royal Aid. They will be your right hand.”

Jenny was chosen as his Royal aide, whilst Marcus took on the role of Court Jester, tasked with keeping the monarch amused.

Tate was subsequently picked as a Royal Comforter, whose duty involved serving as a personal footrest, whilst Emily became the Royal Cook, responsible for all culinary matters.

However, things didn’t go according to plan, with Tate being banished to the garden jail before having rotten tomatoes hurled at him.

But viewers were left disappointed with the episode, demanding “more” for finals week.

One X user posted: “the final week has been a bore.”

Another commented: “I knew this week #bbuk would be boring! These tasks dont create drama.”

Big Brother’s finale airs Friday, November 14 at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX