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The charming coastal Lancashire town of Lytham has plenty to enjoy for residents and visitors alike during a weekend away and is home to a major UK festival attracting hundreds of thousands each year

Lytham, a charming coastal town in Lancashire, is the place to be when music’s biggest names come to town. The town offers plenty to enjoy all year round, from its quaint bars and boutique shops to its highly praised restaurants, but it’s during the summer that Lytham truly shines.

Since its inception in 2010 as a one-day prom concert, Lytham Festival has grown into a five-day extravaganza attracting over 100,000 attendees each year. Founded by mates and business partners Daniel Cuffe and Peter Taylor, the festival has brought some of the world’s most renowned music legends to the coast.

Over the years, the festival has boasted a line up featuring global superstars such as Stevie Wonder, Kylie Minogue, Rod Stewart, Justin Timberlake, Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Sting, Sinitta and Shania Twain, as well as major acts like Stereophonics, Faithless, Bryan Adams, Def Leppard, The Courteeners, and The Strokes.

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The 2026 edition will kick off on Wednesday, July 1, with GRAMMY-nominated singer Teddy Swims taking the stage on opening night. He’ll be joined by Lauren Spencer Smith and Jordan Rakei for support.

The second act announced is the Pet Shop Boys, who will bring their euphoric pop sound to the stage with ‘DREAMWORLD – The Greatest Hits Live’, on Saturday, July 4, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The global superstar Pitbull will be bringing the festival to a grand close on Sunday, 5 July, with his ‘I’m Back! Tour’. He’ll be joined by rapper Lil Jon, his band The Agents, and dancers The Most Bad Ones, promising a spectacular finale to the event on the Lancashire coast.

While there are still more artists to be announced, Lytham’s appeal extends beyond its star-studded line-up. The town offers plenty to enjoy throughout the year, whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or just fancy a bite to eat.

Despite its small size – you can stroll from one end of the town centre to the other in just a few minutes – Lytham is packed full of charm. Its array of delightful businesses more than compensates for its compact size, demonstrating that quality always trumps quantity.

For those in search of gifts, cards or street food, the Clifton Walk Shopping Arcade provides a quaint back-alley experience. It’s been ages since I’ve seen an arcade so well-maintained and bustling with people, which only serves to underscore the town’s enduring charm.

Lytham is also home to two of the nation’s top fish and chip shops – Whelan’s and The Haven – as declared by The Times in its recent roundup of the best seaside spots for fish and chips. The town centre is awash with flowers, trees, and lush greenery, creating a laid-back atmosphere where everyone seems to be taking their time and soaking up the surroundings.

Lytham may not be the place for a wild night out, but it’s perfect for a relaxed drink.

If you’re in the mood for some grub, Lytham House brasserie is the place to go. With an AA-Rosette to its name, it’s the town’s top spot for a posh dinner.

Spread over two floors with a buzzing cocktail bar, the menu offers a modern take on British classics to suit all tastes.

Even a night-time stroll home is something special in Lytham. The Windmill Museum comes alive after dark, bathed in a soft pink light that can be seen from miles around.

There’s loads to do in Lytham, even if you’re just there for the day. From the stunning coastline and plethora of quaint bars, shops and eateries, to the annual festival that draws in thousands of visitors and big-name stars.

This peaceful seaside town is just a short drive from Liverpool and should definitely be on your must-visit list.

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Warren Buffett will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A 0.39%) (BRK.B 0.30%) at the end of the year. But before he does, the conglomerate he’s run for nearly 60 years will make at least one more big acquisition.

The Oracle of Omaha and soon-to-be CEO Greg Abel expect to close on a deal to acquire the petrochemicals business OxyChem from Occidental Petroleum (OXY 0.32%) in the fourth quarter. Berkshire will pay $9.7 billion in cash, which will barely make a dent in the $340 billion sitting on the company’s balance sheet. Still, it represents the largest purchase for Berkshire since Allegheny Corp. in 2022.

The deal is an exceptional example of Warren Buffett’s investing style, which relies on being in a good position to act when great opportunities present themselves. Here’s what Berkshire Hathaway is getting in the deal, and why it’s an absolutely genius move.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

What is Berkshire buying?

OxyChem is a leading petrochemical company, one of the largest producers of caustic soda, potash, chlor-alkali, and PVC. It’s a global operation with 23 facilities worldwide, and Greg Abel described the acquisition as “a robust portfolio of operating assets, supported by an accomplished team.”

However, the industry is facing pressure. Weak pricing for caustic soda and PVC led to disappointing pre-tax earnings in the second quarter of just $213 million. Management revised its outlook for the business for full-year pre-tax income low to between $800 million and $900 million for this year.

Occidental’s management expects the supply side pressure on pricing to mitigate next year. In management’s first quarter earnings call, it said it expects to generate “$1 billion in incremental pre-tax cash flow from non-oil and gas source in 2026, with further expansion in 2027.” Part of that improvement is from modernization of OxyChem facilities.

In the meantime, though, Berkshire is swooping in to buy the assets when the entire industry is near a cyclical trough. The $9.7 billion price tag is estimated to be around 8 times OxyChem’s 2025 EBITDA expectations. That’s roughly in line with other chemical stocks like Eastman Chemical and Dow, but the entire industry is seeing lower earnings multiples due to the same headwinds pushing profits lower at OxyChem.

If the industry turns around as Occidental’s management expects, Berkshire could be getting a heck of a bargain. But the way it’s acquired the business makes it an even better deal for Berkshire and its shareholders.

The cherry on top for Berkshire

The big reason Occidental was willing to sell OxyChem despite expectations that it will see significantly improved earnings and cash flow over the next few years is because it needs cash. The oil and gas company took on additional debt to acquire CrownRock in August of 2024.

The increase in debt on Occidental’s balance sheet was always meant to be temporary. When it announced the acquisition, management said it plans to divest assets and use excess cash flow to reduce its debt levels back below $15 billion. While it’s been aggressive in using excess cash to pay down debt, the company still had $24 billion worth of debt on its balance sheet as of the end of the second quarter.

The cash infusion from Berkshire is set to net $8 billion after taxes. Of that, $6.5 billion will go toward paying down debt, with the other $1.5 billion going to Occidental’s coffers. Combined with debt pay down from excess free cash flow, management expects to meet its sub-$15 billion target.

The debt reduction indirectly benefits Berkshire as well. The conglomerate owns a 28% stake in the business. The stronger balance sheet should support projects to maximize its vast resources in the Permian Basin while improving its free cash flow position with reduced debt burden. That should support long-term growth for the business.

One other aspect of the deal provides tremendous benefits to Berkshire and its investors. Instead of using Berkshire’s preferred shares of Occidental to acquire OxyChem, Buffett and Abel managed to convince the company to take cash. That means Berkshire will continue to collect its 8% annual dividend on the $8.5 billion in preferred shares it continues to hold. That’s a much better yield than the company’s getting on its short-term Treasury bills.

Occidental says it plans to start redeeming those preferred shares in August of 2029, giving Berkshire shareholders at least three more years of extra-high yields. That’s just the cherry on top for Berkshire shareholders, who finally saw Buffett put some of Berkshire’s growing cash pile to work.

HUNDREDS of trampolines and indoor fairgrounds are the perfect ways to burn off steam when the weather is moody.

We’ve rounded five of the best indoor playgrounds across the UK, loved by families.

The Playhive in Stockeld Park 

The Playhive at Stockeld Park in North Yorkshire, describes itself as “one of Europe’s largest and most original indoor playgrounds”.

The unique play centre has lots to inspire the imagination, from planes to submarines, huge slides and interactive games.

Jet in space on a huge spaceship, or a rocket with wooden walkways, ladders and nets.

Elsewhere, a jungle-themed area has a climbing wall in the shape of a gorilla, and an under-the-sea zone with a huge whale to play on.

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With so much to do, it’s no surprise that one parent wrote on Tripadvisor that the Playhive is the best place for “rainy day fun”.

Open during the weekends between 9.30amand 5.30pm, tickets are £13.50pp for an hour and a half in the indoor play park.

All day entry for the Playhive (an hour and a half slot), and the Adventure Park start from £23.50pp.

From October 25 to November 2, there’s a Halloween event where the park is open all day, with tickets from £13pp.

During the Halloween event, kids can take a tractor ride and pick their own pumpkin, and explore the adventure playgrounds in the Enchanted Forest.

Take a look around the Monster Maze, enjoy Zombie Laser sessions, adventure through the Playhive, ride the Flying Stocksman.

Play Factore, Manchester

Play Factore is the ‘UK’s largest indoor family entertainment arena for parties and play’, and better yet, it’s open every day of the week between 10am and 6pm.

Inside is the tallest standing indoor slide in the UK, an indoor laser tag arena, interactive ValoJump trampolines and a zip wire.

Other facilities include a built-in football pitch, racing simulator, or for the smaller children, there’s a specially designed play area for toddlers.

The big red slide inside Play Factore is the tallest indoor slide in the country and is 131feet high.

Inside the arcade are retro games as well as air hockey, whack-a-mole and even racing bikes.

General admission tickets into Play Factore for kids aged between 5-16 range between £16.95-£20.95.

Children aged between six and 11 years old can enter from £3.95, and tickets for adults are £5.25.

You have to book into a session which is between 10am-12pm, 12.30pm-3pm and 3.30pm-6pm – which you can do online.

Riverside Hub, Northamptonshire

Riverside Hub just outside of Northampton is often described as being ‘every parent’s dream’ because it literally has everything for a family day out.

Think soft play, sensory rooms, go-karting, laser tag, room for role-play and the largest playframe in the UK.

The playframe is one of the most popular attractions and is set across various heights with nets for climbing and big slides for coming back down.

Inside is also a beanstalk climbing wall, or smaller oak tree suitable for smaller children, or beginners.

There are also areas just for toddlers which have a ball pool, activity wall and dolphin carousel.

Entry is £7.95 for adults, £16.95 for children between four and 17, and £13.96 for little ones aged between one and three. Babies under 12 months old can enter for £6.

You can save money by visiting during off-peak times, which is before 2PM on Monday to Friday, or get 40 per cent off if you visit after 2PM Monday to Thursday.

The Riverside Hub is open from Monday to Friday between 10am and 6.30pm.

On Saturdays, it’s open between 9.15AM and 7.30PM, and on Sunday it opens at the same time, but closes one hour earlier.

Woodlands, Devon

There’s plenty to do at Woodlands considering that it’s Devon’s largest theme park.

When it rains, it boasts a huge indoor area five floors of adventure play with slides, rope bridges, swings and even rides.

Inside is a Ferris Wheel ride, a drop tower and another where children will be on small submarines.

For thrills, there’s a six-lane racing slide called Barracuda, or there’s another that drops 40 feet.

The Ice Palace is an area for smaller children with soft play, ball pools and slides.

On the middle floor is Rays Diner which serves snacks, and hot and cold drinks.

Plus, when the rain stops, families can head back out to ride the tornado toboggan run, drive the buggies and zoom down the rapid waterslide.

Tickets for Woodlands theme park start from £16.50 per person, with offers for families and money off depending on peak or off-peak timings.

Flip Out, Leeds

There are 33 Flip Outs in the UK, but the one in Leeds is the biggest, and it’s just opened.

The entire site is 100,000 square feet and filled with 150 trampolines and 14 other attractions, like an enormous inflatable obstacle course with a climbing wall and slide.

Kids can also explore a multi-storey Ninja Playground, a drift bike arena, roller disco, soft play, arcade area, or even play a game of dodgeball.

There’s a zipline which travels from one side of the trampoline arena to the other.

Inside is a dedicated ‘Slide World’, which as the name suggests, means it’s filled with slides.

For kids seeking thrills, there’s the space-themed Laser Quest, and for smaller children, there’s a toddler soft play area.

After building up an appetite, visitors can take a seat and get a bite to eat from burgers, nachos, hot dogs, pizza, toasties, cold drinks and hot drinks – even cocktails, beer and wine for the adults.

A standard ticket for Flip Out with access to Slide World and all the attractions starts from £16.95 – there are discounts and family passes available too.

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One writer visited Riverside Hub in Northamptonshire with her three sons…

Catherine Lofthouse visited the Riverside Hub in Northamptonshire with her family – and gave Sun Travel her verdict…

“As seasoned soft play samplers, my boys thought they had seen it all – until I took them to family favourite Riverside Hub in Northampton to check out the UK’s largest playframe, set over four floors.

“You know you’re onto a winner when your tween’s eyes light up in wonder and you hardly see your children from the moment you arrive until home time.

“With three boys aged between five and 12, it can sometimes be difficult to find somewhere that has enough to keep all ages happy as the older two are getting a bit big for soft play, but that certainly wasn’t a problem here. 

“Laser tag, crazy golf, two climbing poles, go-karts and even arcade machines all included in the price. The main issue is keeping an eye on all your children as they head off in opposite directions to make the most of everything on offer.

“While the youngest was taking a spin on the carousel, my middle son was clambering up the two 10m climbing poles, one in the shape of an oak tree and the other a beanstalk, in the centre of the hub.

“There’s a mezzanine floor with extra seating that’s perfect for cheering your little climbers on as they get to the top. And you’ll also find a fantasy village playground up there for youngsters to enjoy. 

“Downstairs, my sons really loved being able to take on the free arcade machines that would be pay per play elsewhere. And the go-karts were a big hit too, with short queue times despite how busy the venue was.

“Riverside Hub was certainly a revelation and lived up to its reputation. We will be back!”

For more child’s play, here’s a huge indoor playground that only opened in the UK last year has oak tree slides & castle play fort.

And for the adult’s, Sun Travel tried out the new UK indoor playground where children are banned – it was like being back in primary school.

Social Security was never meant to make up the entirety of anyone’s retirement income. The fact is, however, some people are collecting surprisingly big checks. This year’s maximum-possible monthly payment is $5,108, or $61,296 per year. That’s almost as much as the median salary U.S. workers are currently taking home, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

How did they do it, and what will it take for you to do it as well? Here’s how to get the very most you can out of the government-managed entitlement program.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. A minimum of 35 years’ worth of work-based taxable income

There are three components to your future Social Security benefits. One of them the sheer number of years you earned taxable income as an employee. You’ll need to work for at least 35 years to maximize your payments.

See, when calculating your monthly benefit, the Social Security Administration looks at your inflation-adjusted income in your 35 highest-earning years. You don’t have to work a full 35 years to claim benefits, to be clear. It’s just that for any year less than 35 that you don’t earn any reported income, the program fills in those blanks with a value of $0, dragging down your annual average.

Conversely, working more than 35 years won’t necessarily help, since you only get credit for your best 35. There may still be an upside to working more than 35 years though. If you didn’t earn a great deal of money in some of them but are making good money now, you’ll be replacing some of those lower-earning years with higher-earning ones, raising your overall average of your top 35.

2. Strong earnings for at least 35 of those years

It’s not just a matter of making good money for a minimum of 35 years though. You must earn well above average earnings for that length of time, reaching or eclipsing Social Security’s taxable income threshold in each of those.

And these thresholds are pretty high. This year, for instance, the program doesn’t stop increasing your FICA tax liability until you reach earnings of $176,100. Here’s the minimum amount of taxable wages you would have needed to earn each and every year going all the way back to 1986 to max out your future benefits payments.

To be clear, although you pay into Social Security’s pool of funds via taxes on wages up to these amounts, you don’t pay additional FICA taxes above and beyond these amounts (although you do pay ever-rising income tax the more money you make, since tax rates rise the more you earn). The program stops taxing you beyond these levels because it wouldn’t offer you any additional benefit in return. Again, the absolute ceiling is $5,108 per month.

3. Waiting until you turn 70 to claim benefits

Finally, although you can initiate your Social Security retirement benefits as soon as you turn 62, doing so would dramatically reduce the size of your check by as much as 30% of your intended benefit at their full retirement age, depending on when you were born. Even claiming benefits at your official full retirement age, however, still wouldn’t get you to the maximum-possible benefit. To secure the maximum amount of $5,108, you must until you reach the age of 70 to begin your Social Security payments. That will improve the size of most people’s payments by 24% (if not more) above their payment if claiming at their full retirement age.

Just know that there’s no point in waiting any longer than this to file, since Social Security stops adding credit for delaying your benefits beyond the age of 70. In fact, there’s good reason to claim pretty soon after you reach this point. The Social Security Administration will back pay you some of what it owes you if you don’t file right away. But it will only give you a maximum of six months’ worth of back pay, no matter how long after you turn 70 you claim your retirement benefits.

Prioritize what you can control

You know there’s no way you’re going to qualify for this amount? That’s OK. Most people don’t. Fewer than 20% of recipients see monthly checks of more than $3,000, in fact.

Don’t let that discourage you though. Even modest wage-earners can put themselves in a far better financial situation with their own savings than they’d ever be able to achieve with Social Security. Most calculations of Social Security contributions’ effective rate of return only put the figure in the mid-single-digits, versus the stock market’s average annual gain of around 10%.

Besides, Social Security was never meant to be anyone’s sole source of retirement income anyway. Do what you reasonably can to max it out, but mostly stay focused on maximizing the growth of your own personal retirement nest egg.

OCTOBER half term is right around the corner and if you’re looking for a last minute holiday to entertain the kids, this hotel is for you.

It has eight pools, plenty of slides, a kids club and daily mini disco, families will never be bored.

Globales Playa Estepona sits on the Costa del Sol, and it’s the biggest waterpark hotel in the region.

Scattered across the hotel are eight swimming pools, three of which are made for children.

There’s also daily entertainment like the aqua gym, aqua sports and organised competitions.

Other activities include tennis and beach volleyball, there’s an on-site gym for guests – or if you want to relax take a stroll around the gardens.

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There’s lots to see as the hotel site is across 40,000 square feet.

If guests want to escape the hotel there’s a free shuttle bus to Puerto Banús, a luxury marina and resort town in Marbella.

As for food and drink, the hotel has a main buffet restaurant which serves up breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

Mostly the food is Mediterranean-style, but there are other international options too.

There’s also the Terrace Bar and poolside bar for drinks and snacks, and the Beach Club is where guests can enjoy al fresco dining.

There are plenty of room choices from Double for single use without balcony, to Double without balcony, Superior Double with or without a balcony and Premium Doubles.

Each room features a bathroom, satellite TV, Wi-Fi service, air conditioning and comfortable beds

The hotel is just half an hour away from Marbella which is not just the place to go for a party.

Marbella has lovely beaches like Nagüeles Beach, Cabopino Beach and Fontanilla Beach which is known as a popular family-friendly option.

A week-long all-inclusive stay during half-term week in the hotel for a family of four in a Double Superior with Balcony costs €1,077.78 (£938.87) – which is £234.72pp.

To get to Globales Playa Estepona, Brits will have to fly to Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport.

TUI offers package holidays to Globales Playa Estepona over half term week which works out at £637.71pp (including flights).

October half term is still a great time for a break in Spain as temperatures reach highs of 23C.

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Magic Aqua Rock Gardens, Benidorm
Located in Benidorm, Costa Blanca, the Magic Aqua Rock Gardens Hotel, pictured above, is African-themed and less than a mile from the beach. The hotel boasts two outdoor pools, including a children’s freshwater pool with a waterfall and a tipping water bucket for the little ones. There’s also an aquapark featuring slides and kamikaze.

Magic Natura Animal, Water Park & Polynesian Lodge Resort, Benidorm
The resort is located in the Terra Natura animal park. Guests get unlimited access to the animal park and the Aqua Natura waterpark. Terra Natura’s anime park has a ‘zooimmersion’ concept, meaning you can interact with more than 1,000 animals, including tigers, rhinos, and elephants, without barriers blocking your view. The hotel features three outdoor pools, including one with a children’s section, with a tipping water bucket, jets and a whirlpool.

Golden Taurus Aquapark Resort, Costa Brava

The resort has four pools and two whirlpool baths, and guests have unlimited access to the neighbouring waterpark, which has flumes and racing slides. The hotel’s main restaurant offers a buffet with a mix of international dishes and Spanish specialities. There are also two pool bars, a snack bar and a cocktail lounge. A kids’ club is available daily, as well as evening entertainment for visitors of all ages.

For more waterparks in the UK, check out the country’s biggest indoor tropical waterpark where it’s always 30C.

Plus, the new £200million indoor waterpark arriving in the UK with 4-storey slides could open in 3 locations.

NEW images have revealed what the world’s biggest airport will eventually look like.

Located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, King Salman International Airport is set to surpass all other airports in size, including the current biggest airport in the world which is also in the country.

The 22sqm airport will feature six runways – up from two – parallel to each other and will be built around the existing King Khalid International Airport.

It will approximately be the same size as Manhattan in New York – or twice the size of the city of Bath, in the UK.

And now the airport has moved into its construction phase.

The airport will be designed by Foster + Partners, a UK firm which is behind London‘s famous Gherkin.

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Inside, travellers will be able to explore 4.6sqm of shops.

A lot of features in the airport are set to include high tech, such as climate-controlled lighted.

Travellers will have plenty of seating, indoor and outdoor spaces with greenery and vast glass windows, ideal for a bit of plane spotting.

Foster + Partner’s is also developing the Wadi Loop, which will connect the airport to other developments allowing travellers to access different sites more easily.

The airport was announced back in 2022 and is part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman‘s Saudi Vision 2030 – which is set to make Riyadh into a major hub for transport, trade and tourism.

It will eventually accommodate up to 120million passengers each year, which is then expected to rise to 185million by 2050.

And the number of aircraft takeoffs will rise from 211,000 per year to over one million.

In total, the project is estimated to cost around $30billion (£22.5billion).

Earlier this year, the existing airport revealed a newly-expanded terminal with 38 new check-in counters, 10 self-service kiosks, 26 passport control counters and 10 automated gates.

Terminal 1 also has 24 boarding gates, 40 passport control counters in the arrivals area and 11 self-service gates.

As a result of the expansion, Terminal 1 will be able to handle seven million passengers a year – up from three million.

Saudi Arabia is already home to the world’s largest airport – King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.

The airport features a large mosque, landscaped gardens and a Royal Terminal dedicated for use of the Saudi royal family, government officials, and VIP guests.

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SOUTHWEST Airlines has revealed its new cabin interior and the seats have been made to be extra comfy.

The budget airline says it has listened to travellers and improved facilities in its updated cabin like USB chargers and entertainment holders.

Southwest Airlines is the world’s biggest budget airline as it serves the largest number of routes around the world.

Now, it has revealed the new design onboard its Boeing 737 MAX 8 – the airline even took passenger feedback into account when creating the new cabin.

It has covered “employee perceptions of color, comfort, and aspirations for the overall onboard experience, and it’s meant to create a cabin environment that feels modern, welcoming, and uniquely Southwest.”

The airline added that its seats “are intuitively designed for ultimate comfort, while maximizing seat width and overall support”.

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The design should make for better lumbar support than the current seats on Southwest’s planes.

Along with a new seat design the cabin has bigger overhead lockers with space for 60 per cent more bags, USB-A and USB-C chargers at every seat and carpeting and lighting updates.

It even has a holder for electronic devices on the back of seats, and tray tables have inset drink holders on left and right.

On the plane are extra legroom rows which have been fitted ahead of the official launch of assigned seating from January 2026.

More than half of the carrier’s planes have now been fitted with extra legroom as of mid-October 2025.

So while economy seats have been fitted with extras, they aren’t any bigger. The pitch is 31″, while extra legroom seats have five inches more legroom.

Extra legroom seats also come with two free checked bags, early boarding, premium drinks and snacks, and free Wi-Fi.

Earlier this year, Chris Perry, a Southwest spokesperson, told USA TODAY: “We didn’t want to remove any seats from the planes so we pulled down an inch of pitch to accommodate the ELR [extra legroom] seating and stay at 175 seats” referring to the Boeing 737-800 and Max 8 planes

He added the airline’s 737-700s will each have six fewer seats after retrofits.  

Meanwhile, another airline has revealed its new cabin configuration which stops passengers in basic economy from fully reclining its seats.

WestJet announced it has had a “full cabin refresh” and introduced economy seating with a “fixed recline” to its Boeing 737-8 MAX and 737-800 aircraft.

WestJet explained that the reason for this is to “help preserve personal space”.

For passengers who do want to put their seats back, you can do so in premium – a new seating option which has been added to the aircraft.

The airline went on to add that the new seating options are good news for passengers as it will result in cheaper tickets.

It’s not uncommon for airlines to reduce the size of an economy pitch altogether.

This is because filling economy seats means that airlines can cover basic costs, whereas selling premium or first class tickets is where they make their money.

By reducing the size of economy seats, or even taking some out altogether, airlines have room to create more space for high-profit cabins.

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Madonna’s “MDNA.” Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising.” Mariah Carey’s “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.”

According to the Recording Industry Assn. of America, none of these albums — each the 12th studio LP by its respective maker — has sold 4 million copies in the United States in the decade or more since it was released.

Yet that’s what Taylor Swift just did in a single week with her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” which Billboard reported Monday had moved 4.002 million copies in the seven days between Oct. 3 and 9.

That figure, which combines sales and streaming numbers, represents the biggest opening week for an album in modern history, breaking the record set by Adele 10 years ago when her “25” moved 3.482 million units in its first week.

Swift marked the achievement on Instagram on Monday with a note to her 281 million followers.

“I’ll never forget how excited I was in 2006 when my first album sold 40,000 copies in its first week,” she wrote. “I was 16 and couldn’t even fathom that that many people would care enough about my music to invest their time and energy into it. Since then I’ve tried to meet and thank as many people as I could who have given me the chance to chase this insane dream. Here we are all these years later and a hundred times that many people showed up for me this week.

“I have 4 million thank you’s I want to send to the fans,” she added, “and 4 million reasons to feel even more proud of this album than I already was.”

The speed with which Swift hit the 4-million mark is undeniably impressive. Morgan Wallen’s “I’m the Problem,” the biggest album of 2025 so far, has sold and streamed the equivalent of 4.2 million copies, according to the trade journal Hits. But “I’m the Problem” has been out since mid-May; “Showgirl” will almost certainly have surpassed Wallen’s LP by the end of this week (if it hasn’t already).

What’s more remarkable is where “Showgirl’s” blockbuster success comes in the arc of Swift’s career.

Madonna and Springsteen were both in their early 50s when they released their 12th LPs; Carey was 40 when “Imperfect Angel” came out. Swift, in contrast, is only 35 — one advantage of starting out professionally as a teenager.

Still, Swift has been a star for nearly two decades, a point at which many pop musicians have shifted the focus of their work to touring even as they continue to make new records generally ignored by all but their most devoted fans. In 2024, according to Pollstar, Madonna’s and Springsteen’s latest road shows — each drawn from a catalog packed with hit songs — were among the year’s 10 highest-grossing tours.

And indeed Swift has been amply rewarded on the road: At No. 1 on Pollstar’s list was her Eras tour, which sold more than $2 billion in tickets across 149 dates on five continents.

Yet unlike virtually every other veteran act in music, Swift’s recording business is growing along with her live business.

“Everything that’s happening here is historic and unprecedented,” said Hits’ editor in chief, Lenny Beer. “Maybe if the Beatles had stayed together, we’d have seen something like it.”

Also worth considering: Nobody seems to think “The Life of a Showgirl” is Swift’s best album. Reviews have been mixed, and even some fans have expressed disappointment with the record on social media — a once-unthinkable development among the fiercely loyal Swifties.

So how did the singer pull off such a feat?

First, a little math: Of “Showgirl’s” 4 million units, approximately 3.5 million were sales of either digital or physical versions of the album (including CDs, cassettes and vinyl LPs); the remaining half-million came from streams of the album’s songs on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, which the data firm Luminate counts toward what it calls streaming equivalent albums.

“Showgirl’s” 12 songs racked up 681 million streams in all, Billboard said — the fourth-biggest streaming week of all time, behind Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” and Drake’s “Scorpion” and “Certified Lover Boy.” But the album’s sales number is the largest ever recorded since Luminate started tracking sales electronically in 1991.

Among Swift’s strategies to get to that number was selling more than three dozen editions of the album, each with its own artwork and bonus material designed to lure collectors. On vinyl alone, “Showgirl” came out in eight so-called variants, which helped drive the album’s first-week vinyl sales to a modern record of 1.3 million copies.

Offering something for sale doesn’t necessarily mean anyone will buy it, of course. Yet Swift was positioning “The Life of a Showgirl” as a juggernaut from the moment she announced it. Appearing with her fiancé, the NFL player Travis Kelce, on his “New Heights” podcast in August, the singer described the album as a return to the hit-making ways of albums like “Red” and “1989” after the relatively experimental “Folklore” and “Tortured Poets Department.”

To make “Showgirl,” she reteamed with the Swedish producers Max Martin and Shellback, with whom she’d collaborated on some of her biggest singles, including “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” On “New Heights” she and Kelce talked about the new album as a “180” from the moody confessions of “Tortured Poets,” whetting appetites for the kind of crisply hooky Taylor Swift songs that blanketed Top 40 radio in the mid-2010s.

Promised the football star: “12 bangers.”

Fans visit an activation for Taylor Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” at the Westfield Century City mall on Oct. 4.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

Once “Showgirl” was out, Swift jumped into the promotional fray with more gusto than she’d summoned in years, sitting for numerous radio interviews and putting in appearances on Graham Norton’s, Jimmy Fallon’s and Seth Meyers’ late-night shows; the weekend after the album’s release, a glorified sizzle reel called “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” played in AMC movie theaters across the country.

On Monday, Swift kept the conversation going with the announcement that two Eras-related projects are headed to Disney+ in December: a six-part behind-the-scenes docuseries and a concert film of the tour’s finale in Vancouver.

“One of the hardest parts of ensuring you have a record-setting first week is making sure that everyone who could possibly be interested in your album knows about it,” said Bill Werde, director of the Bandier Program for Recording and Entertainment Industries at Syracuse University. “I’m not sure anyone has ever covered that need the way Taylor did with this album cycle.”

Yet “The Life of a Showgirl” has not been greeted as enthusiastically as some of Swift’s earlier work.

Pitchfork said “her music’s never been less compelling,” while The Guardian called the album “dull razzle-dazzle from a star who seems frazzled.” Fans on TikTok have complained that Swift’s lyrics — which take up her romance with Kelce, the burdens of fame and an apparent beef with Charli XCX — are unusually shallow; some have even formulated a kind of tradwife critique of “Showgirl” in which Swift is seen as upholding regressive ideas about marriage and domesticity.

The album has also attracted criticism from people who say Swift’s songs recycle familiar elements from other pop tunes without giving credit: the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” in “Wood,” for instance, and the Jonas Brothers’ “Cool” in the LP’s closing title track.

“When every song is a derivative of another song, that’s an issue,” said one hit songwriter who asked not to be named in order to speak freely. “That one song is the Jonas Brothers song — the exact same melody. And here’s how lazy that is: It’s the same key and the same tempo.”

In Werde’s view, Swift’s place atop the pop hierarchy makes such carping inevitable. “Anytime an artist gets this big, there’s going to be backlash,” he said — a take with which Swift would likely agree.

“I welcome the chaos,” she said in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “The rule of show business is: If it’s the first week of my album release and you are saying either my name or my album title, you’re helping.”

Even so, the polarized reaction to “Showgirl” — Swift’s 15th album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — raises questions about the breadth of Swift’s popularity as compared to its depth. Should the album’s gargantuan numbers be taken as a sign that she appeals to a wide spectrum of pop music lovers or to a committed group of hardcore Swifties willing to spend untold amounts of money to demonstrate their loyalty?

“Showgirl’s” second-week stats should provide the beginnings of an answer, given that they won’t be shaped by one-time sales of all those limited-edition variants.

Then again, another unprecedented chart achievement from the album’s first week is already shedding some light on the matter: “The Fate of Ophelia,” the album’s lead single, is the first song ever to debut inside the top 10 of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart — an indication of the heavy Top 40 radio play it’s getting along with the millions of daily streams that have kept it atop Spotify’s U.S. Top 50 tally since the song came out.

That’s one banger certified, with more perhaps to come.

Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins’ new ITV show Win Win is set to make history this weekend as one lucky winner will walk away with the biggest prize in British TV history

One lucky winner is to clinch the biggest prize in British quiz-show history on Saturday night – courtesy of Mel and Sue’s big new ITV show Win Win.

The many rewards, built up over the weeks as players traded their prizes for a chance to be in the final, comprise £1million in cash plus two cars, two luxury holidays, a new kitchen, a trip to Australia to see The Ashes, a trip to Monaco to watch Formula E, Take That tickets with a meet and greet and a tech bundle comprising 16 items including a MacBook Air, smart TV and Sony Playstation 5.

And the winner of the grand final, which has not yet been filmed, could be a contestant who started off by playing along at home then went on to land themselves a spot in the studio.

This weekend’s final will see one person take away the whole lot. Over the weeks, contestants have been trading the prizes they have won for a place on the final’s Millionaire’s Row, which is how the extra prizes have been added to the £1m jackpot.

And every time a player in the studio got offered the chance to trade, one viewer at home also won a spot on Millionaire’s Row.

A total of 19 people have made it to the final – either by trading a prize in studio, or by winning the spot from home – and on Saturday they will go head-to-head in a bid to win it all.

Presenter Sue Perkins told the Mirror : “Saturday’s show really is going to be a night like no other. The prizes are phenomenal – Ashes tickets, holidays, cars, a brand-new kitchen, and a cuddly toy. No, there’s no cuddly toy, but there is ONE MILLION POUNDS.”

She added: “The thrilling thing, of course, is that all of this is going to be won by one person, and that person might even be a viewer turned contestant, who simply signed up, joined in from their sofa and got the surprise of their life.”

Co-host Mel Geidroyc agreed: “Imagine winning £1m and then someone saying, ‘Oh, don’t forget you’ve also won a holiday, a car, tickets to the Ashes, Take That tickets…’ and on and on it goes. The fact it could be a viewer-turned-contestant adds another incredible layer of drama. It’s the finale to end all finales.”

The collective prize pot amounts to around £1.5million, putting it on a par with the prize won on Ant and Dec’s former gameshow Red or Black? in 2012.

One insider said: “The beauty of Win Win is that you don’t have to be a contender for Mastermind to walk away with the prizes. The questions are ones that normal people can answer. It’s a quiz for all comers.”

The largest prize previously won on a UK TV show was when Graham Fletcher walked away with the jackpot after spinning a roulette wheel and correctly guessing it would land on black. But the gambling show Red or Black? came in for criticism for being based on luck rather than skill, and it was axed after two runs.

The multiple prizes being offered on Mel & Sue’s Win Win amount to far more than has been traditionally offered on Saturday night shows. On Bullseye, which had its heyday with host Jim Bowen in the 1980s, the top prizes were often a car, a caravan or a holiday with the smaller rewards likely to be a slow cooker, hi-fi stereo, exercise bike or portable cassette player.

Similarly, on the BBC ’s Generation Game during the same era, the biggest prizes could include a mink coat, luggage, a holiday or a car while the lesser items on the conveyor belt being fondue sets, kettles and toasters – along with the famous cuddly toy.

– Win Win with People’s Postcode Lottery, Saturday, 7.35pm on ITV1 and ITVX )MUST)

The Prize List

£1million cash

BMW 1 Series (worth over £32,000)

Volkswagen T-Roc SUV (worth over £32,000)

Orlando Holiday with £5,000 spending money

Maldives – 5-star all-inclusive holiday

New Wren Kitchen (worth over £15,000)

Formula E – VIP trip to Monaco to watch E Prix, plus £1,000 spending money

The Ashes – Trip to Australia to see The Ashes, with New Year in Sydney and £1,000 spending money

Take That – Circus Tour tickets with meet and greet with the band, 5-star hotel and £1,000 spending money

Tech Bundle – 16 items including MacBook Air, Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, 65″ 4k Smart TV & Sony Playstation 5 Pro

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

A SURGERY addict has spent over £100,000 to get the ‘world’s biggest bum.’

But now, pictures of Natasha Crown, 29, ‘before’ going under the knife have left the internet open-mouthed. 

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Revealing all to Truly on a recent episode of Hooked on the Look, the glamour model, who is originally from Serbia, got candid on her surgery journey.

Natasha, who is 6’1 and describes herself as an “Amazon,” said she first realised she wanted a super-sized bum at the age of 17.

Three years later, she started her cosmetic journey from an “athletic teen to a curvy goddess.”

Now, Natasha has spent over $150,000 [£111,650] going under the knife and has had five Brazilian Butt Lifts (BBL).

A Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) is a painful surgery where fat is taken from the stomach, lips, lower back, or thighs and transferred to the buttocks.

This results in an hourglass figure and a larger bum and can cost up to £8,000.

Not only is it expensive, but it is incredibly dangerous and has in some cases led to death.

But Natasha has no desire to stop surgeries any time soon, as she explained: “When I was 17, I saw a girl with a really big bum, and I was sold. 

“I have added 100lbs [7stone 1lbs] to this big bum.

“I love having big curves. Everything needs to be big.

“I love surgery and I will keep going. I’m growing my bum to be over 100 inches.”

As well as five BBLs, Natasha, who is “famous” for her big bum and believes “the bigger the booty, the better,” has also had breast implants, Botox and fillers.

When I’m out, people stare. Online, people are mean, but it doesn’t affect me

Natasha Crown

But she doesn’t have any fears the impact of such procedures will have, as she added: “I don’t have any concerns about my health.”

Getting candid on the public’s reaction to her look, Natasha claimed that her “body shape scares men.”

She continued: “When I’m out, people stare. Online, people are mean, but it doesn’t affect me.”

Discussing the reality of having such a large derrière, the content creator admitted: “Things that are difficult having this big butt – when I fly, I need to have two seats. I bump into people when I’m at restaurants.”

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Social media users gasp

YouTube users were left gobsmacked by Natasha’s surgery transformation, but were particularly stunned by her ‘before’ photos. 

One person said: “I wish she knew how beautiful her natural self was.” 

Another added: “The before is better.” 

She was gorgeous before

YouTube user

A third commented: “She was so gorgeous.” 

Meanwhile, alongside a crying emoji, someone else sobbed: “She was gorgeous before.”

Not only this, but another user chimed in and claimed: “Delusion at its finest.”

At the same time, another wrote: “The doctors should have their licenses revoked! This is insane! I could find way better things to spend all that money on!” 

Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme – Sun Club

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Every day, some of L.A.’s poorest residents line up outside the county benefits office in South Central, weaving their way through a swarm of salesmen hawking deals that feel too good to be true.

Would you like $15 for a quick blood pressure exam? A free phone? Perhaps, $2 for a COVID swab?

How about cash to sign up to sue L.A. County for sexual abuse at juvenile halls?

Over the last year, a Times investigation found a practice of paying for plaintiffs among a nebulous network of vendors, who usher people desperate for cash toward a law firm that could profit significantly from their business.

The Times spent two weeks outside the county social services office in South Central Los Angeles, where a constant flow of people applied for food stamps and cash aid, and spoke with seven people who said they were paid there within the last year to sue the county for sex abuse.

Most said they were abused inside the county’s juvenile halls, but had not planned to sue until they were flagged down on the sidewalk and offered cash. Two people said they were told to fabricate stories of abuse.

All the claims involving alleged payments were filed by Downtown LA Law Group, a pivotal player in the county’s recent $4-billion settlement for sex abuse inside its juvenile halls and foster homes — the largest such payout in U.S. history. Of the roughly 11,000 plaintiffs in the settlement, The Times found that nearly one-fourth were represented by the firm.

Marlon Bland, 31, said he got $200 — half in cash outside the county’s social services office and the other half when he went to meet with lawyers from Downtown LA Law Group, or DTLA. The receptionist there handed him a $100 check, he said. DTLA sued the county on his behalf Aug. 23, 2024.

Kevin Richardson, 59, whose suit was filed by DTLA on Oct. 15, said he got $50 outside the social services office.

Quantavia Smith, 38, whose suit was filed by DTLA on April 29, said a vendor drove her to the office of a downtown law firm and then gave her $200.

The Times could not reach the vendors for the story, and DTLA attorneys declined to be interviewed. The law firm strongly denied paying people to sue and said no representative of the firm had been authorized to make payments.

“We do not pay our clients to file lawsuits, and we strongly oppose such actions,” the law firm said. “If we ever became aware that anyone associated with us, in any capacity, did such a thing — we would end our relationship with them immediately. We want justice for real victims.”

California law bans a practice known as capping, in which non-attorneys directly solicit or procure clients to sign up for lawsuits with a law firm.

DTLA did not answer questions about how the people who said they were paid to sue ended up with the law firm.

The firm’s statement said all their cases go through an intense review process “that tests for truthfulness and has many checks and balances.”

“As a result of this stringent quality control, we have rejected clients whose cases did not meet our criteria,” the firm said. “We are confident that the claims we have filed are valid and will withstand judicial scrutiny.”

For the last year, a mystery has vexed veteran sex abuse attorneys: How did a law firm best known for representing victims of auto accidents attract so many sex abuse plaintiffs in less than two years?

According to a Times analysis of court records, DTLA has amassed more than 2,700 people to sue L.A. County, more than nearly any other law firm involved in the settlement. The firm will get nearly half the payout for each client, per retainer agreements viewed by The Times.

Two legal experts warned, speaking generally, that offering people cash to sue, particularly those who are financially on the brink, could invite fraud into the historic sex abuse settlement.

“Of course, it makes the chance of fraudulent claims more likely,” said Richard Zitrin, a legal ethics professor at UC Law SF.

Some plaintiffs say they were explicitly told to make up claims.

“They tell you what to say,” said Carlshawn Stovall, 43, who said he was given about $20 by a vendor outside the benefits office to sue. “You’re supposed to make it up.”

Stovall said he gave the vendor his cellphone number and was told a lawyer would call him soon and ask him a few questions: What facility were you in? What year? How were you abused?

The vendor handed him a postcard-sized “script” of how to respond, he said. He didn’t need to worry about getting fact-checked, the vendor told him, as the county had no records of who was in its facilities decades ago. It seemed “a good way to get some quick money,” he said.

By the time the call came, he said, he’d lost the script, so he ad-libbed that probation officers watched him masturbate in the shower. The call, he said, lasted less than ten minutes and he never heard from them again.

On Nov. 7, DTLA filed a lawsuit on his behalf alleging he was “sexually harassed and abused” by staff in Central Juvenile Hall. Stovall said he was never in juvenile hall — much less abused there.

“I was a good kid,” he said, laughing.

Juan Fajardo said he used to sell phones next to the lawsuit vendors. He said he would watch a man pull up outside the social services office in a Tesla most Fridays and hand the recruiters cash, which they would dole out the following week to potential plaintiffs. The recruiters told him they were paid per person they signed up, he said.

“‘Just make up a story, say you got touched, here’s $50,’” Fajardo recalled the recruiters who set up shop next to him saying. “They’ll give it to you and then say, ‘Hey you never know, you might even get a lawsuit.’”

One recruiter also sold phones, he recounted. When someone wanted to get a phone, he said, he’d watch the recruiter first take a call on the new phone and make up a story of abuse under the customer’s name. The recruiter would then hand the customer their new phone and pocket the $50 for himself, Fajardo said.

After a few months of watching, Fajardo said, he decided to make up a story, too. He didn’t want to give his real name, so he gave the recruiter the name of a family member and a fake birthday. He said he took $50 and later got a call from a law firm. Ten minutes after the call, he said, he was told his case had been accepted.

DTLA filed the lawsuit under the family’s member name on Aug. 28, 2024. Fajardo said he doesn’t feel right trying to collect the money.

“I said something like, ‘They videotaped us while we’re in the showers, touching us while they pat us down,’” he recounted. “That’s what everyone was saying. I was like, ‘I’ll just use that instead of trying to make up a whole different lie.’”

Most plaintiffs The Times spoke with only knew the first names of the vendors, which some referred to as “recruiters” for the law firm, and said they hadn’t seen them for a few months.

They would usually hang around the people offering free phones right next to the entrance to the county building, according to some who said they were paid.

“It’s been three different people that I’ve seen. They come randomly, maybe once or twice a month,” said Oscar Garcia, who sells cigarettes on the sidewalk. “They promise them $50 to sign.”

Like most sexual abuse cases, all of DTLA’s lawsuits that are part of the massive settlement were filed using only the victim’s initials — JOHN DOE A.R., JANE DOE M.P. The Times confirmed the seven people who said they were paid had lawsuits filed by DTLA through sources with access to plaintiffs’ real names and case numbers.

After The Times reached out to DTLA for comment, the firm called two people The Times had spoken with on the record into its office on Sept. 11 and told them to stop speaking with the reporter.

One man, whom The Times is not naming as he later asked to not be included in the story, called The Times the morning of Sept. 11 and said the firm had ordered him a ride from the broken down car he was living out of in South Central to the firm’s office. He said an attorney had warned him that The Times was doing a “smear article” and didn’t want plaintiffs like him receiving any money from the settlement.

Mitchell Langberg, a defamation lawyer retained by the firm, sent The Times a sworn declaration from the man later that day, accusing the reporter of pretending to be a representative of DTLA to lure him into speaking freely.

The man had saved the reporter’s number in his phone as belonging to the “LA TIMES,” had his picture taken by a Times photographer, sent emails to the reporter’s L.A. Times email account and texted asking when the story would run in the paper.

Shortly afterward, some of the DTLA clients interviewed for this story received a text from the firm, they said, warning them against speaking with reporters:

“If you have been contacted, please notify our office immediately,” the text read.

The litigation floodgates opened in 2020 after California passed a law allowing survivors of childhood sexual abuse to sue the perpetrator even though the statute of limitations had passed on their cases.

Since then, law firms have hunted aggressively for lucrative cases, flooding social media with ads and quietly tapping third parties to find former occupants of county-run juvenile halls and foster homes. The effort has met little resistance from L.A. County officials, who say they threw out relevant records long ago.

This spring, the county agreed to pay $4 billion to settle thousands of sex abuse claims dating back to the 1950s without taking depositions or knowing the names of thousands of plaintiffs. Rather, the vetting had been done almost entirely by attorneys who stand to walk away with more than a billion dollars in fees.

It is a lopsided system that, some attorneys concede, risks squandering taxpayer money meant for victims who suffered egregious abuse as children in the county’s custody.

“The whole thing just stinks,” said John Manly, a longtime sex abuse lawyer who served as a lead attorney in the settlements against USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar and USC gynecologist George Tyndall. “It looks to me like a third of these cases are total bull—, and [the county] is paying for no reason.”

As a state lawmaker, Lorena Gonzalez pushed for AB 218, which gave victims a new window to sue over childhood sexual abuse. Gonzalez, now the president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, said she believes plaintiff lawyers have taken advantage of the law change.

(K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Manly’s law firm, Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, is one of three prominent law firms that sued the county under the law change, but did not join the settlement.

DTLA was started by two cousins, Daniel Azizi and Farid Yaghoubtil, and their childhood friend Salar Hendizadeh, the partners told commercial real estate company CoStar after expanding in 2023 to a new Banksy-adorned office building downtown. Attorneys focus on the typical cases for most personal injury firms — dog bites, falls and auto accidents.

The firm became the scourge of ride app companies such as Uber, which sued DTLA and another law firm in federal court in July. The ride app giant alleged that the firms had filed a flurry of “fraudulent claims” and colluded with an Encino-based doctor to inflate the cost of plaintiffs’ medical expenses. The lawsuit is ongoing. In an Instagram post, DTLA called it a “calculated attempt by a billion-dollar corporation” to suppress legitimate claims.

In an interview in June before The Times learned of the alleged vendor payments, attorney Andrew Morrow, the lead attorney in nearly all the firm’s sex abuse cases against the county, said DTLA’s success was due to the reputation he had cultivated as “the therapy guy … out in the streets of downtown LA.” Clients called him, he said, because they knew the firm would connect them with a therapist.

“And I said, Well, let me ask you this, do you have a lawsuit? Were you a victim?” Morrow said of the calls. “We were filling a void in the marketplace.”

Some of the DTLA clients The Times interviewed said they spoke with a therapist provided by the firm. Four said they never heard from the firm after the day they signed up for a lawsuit.

Morrow said sexual abuse cases were “a little bit of a new frontier” for him. He had previously specialized in real estate, entertainment and insurance litigation at a firm he founded before switching to DTLA in 2023, according to his old bio.

He is now one of the region’s most prolific filers of sexual abuse cases. His cases, he said, are vetted for fraud through mental health professionals.

“I’m sure there are firms that still have cases like that,” he said. “We don’t because, like I said, ours go to therapy, and our doctors identify that stuff.”

For thousands of sex abuse victims, the law worked as intended.

With the passage of AB 218 in 2020, survivors had until they were 40 rather than 26 to sue their abuser, giving them a chance to get financial compensation for horrors they were far too young to grapple with — much less sue over — as children. Stories of abuse that had been hidden for decades surfaced, as did the names of prolific abusers, some of whom were still working with minors.

But it also put a massive target on the budgets of government entities, which had long ago thrown out records that could be used for a defense. Former state lawmaker Lorena Gonzalez, who spearheaded the law, says she’s been disturbed by how it’s panned out.

“It’s clear that the State Bar and attorneys themselves cannot hold themselves accountable,” said Gonzalez, now the president of the California Federation of Labor Unions. “What they’re doing, I think, to the cities and counties is deplorable.”

Following the law change, firms began amassing thousands of clients to sue the county through social media campaigns promising payouts and privacy.

“You’re going to be a Jane Doe or a John Doe,” Morrow told potential clients in a video posted to the firm’s TikTok page last year. “No one’s ever going to know your name.”

The cases are lucrative for attorneys, many of whom will receive 40% of their clients’ payouts, according to retainer agreements viewed by The Times. That includes New York City-based Slater Slater Schulman, which has roughly 3,700 clients; Boca-Raton-based Herman Law, with about 800 clients; and Los Angeles-based Becker Law Group and McNicholas & McNicholas, for which The Times found a combined 1,100 plaintiffs. Todd Becker, with Becker Law Group, said their fee differs from plaintiff to plaintiff.

DTLA has the highest contingency fee The Times found, requiring 45% of any payout. DTLA said its fee structure is “entirely standard within the industry.” These fees typically range from 33% to 40%, according to the American Bar Assn.

With most retainers on the higher end of the range, some attorneys involved in the settlement estimate $1.5 billion in taxpayer money could easily flow to lawyers — close to what the county Fire Department spends in a year.

As the county prepares to start dispensing money in January, some firms say they’ve started to find a few flaws in their caseload.

Becker Law Group said in a July court filing that four of the firm’s clients recently told the firm they weren’t abused. Patrick McNicholas, who co-counsels cases with the firm, said the lawsuits were weeded out as part of the firm’s vetting process.

Slater Slater Schulman, which has filed more cases than any other law firm, stated in a September filing that client John Doe J.S. “should not have been included.” The firm previously said in a lawsuit that he had been sexually assaulted at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey beginning in 2006 when he was 13.

Slater Slater Schulman has found similar problems in its avalanche of sex abuse cases against the Boy Scouts of America. On Sept. 9, retired U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Barbara Houser, who is overseeing the $2.4-billion victim settlement trust, singled out Slater Slater Schulman for a pattern of “irregularities” and “procedural and factual problems” among its plaintiffs. The firm previously said it represented roughly 14,000 victims.

The firm was asked to pay for an “independent third party” to investigate its cases for fraud before going through the trust’s standard vetting process. Clifford Robert, an outside attorney representing the firm in its issues with the Boy Scout cases, said Slater Slater Schulman is “working tirelessly” to address the issues and that justice for survivors is its top priority.

Tammy Rogers, 56, hired the Slater firm in 2022 to sue after a staff member at MacLaren Children’s Center, a county-run children’s facility now infamous for abuse, allegedly molested her when she was about 9. She said she’s grown unnerved by the financial incentive lawyers like hers have in amassing unwieldy numbers of clients.

“You can’t get ahold of them,” she said of her firm, which has filed cases on behalf of hundreds of new plaintiffs since the settlement was finalized. “I called them repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly.”

Tammy Rogers, 56, said a staff member at MacLaren Children’s Center sexually abused her when she was 9, an incident that sent her spiraling toward drugs and tortured relationships with men. She sued the county in 2022.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

County and plaintiff lawyers nailed down the $4-billion figure on Oct. 30. Since then, thousands more plaintiffs have been added.

“[Firms think] ‘there’s a fund out there, and I’m going to do everything in my power to get as much as I can,’” said one attorney suing the county over sex abuse, who declined to be named, fearing professional repercussions.

It’s a fund, critics say, with few safeguards for fake claims.

The cases will be reviewed by retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Louis Meisinger, who mediated similar settlements for the victims of the 2023 Maui wildfires and the 2017 Las Vegas concert mass shooting. Any plaintiff who wants to skip that vetting process can take $150,000 in a lump sum at the start of next year.

Meisinger will distribute the remaining money after reviewing fact sheets from the victims. If Meisinger believes a case is fraudulent, the county can either give the plaintiff $50,000 to resolve it or get it booted from the settlement, meaning it would work its own way through the court system, according to an allocation protocol reviewed by The Times.

Otherwise, the minimum amount a client can get is $100,000, according to the protocol. The most is $3 million, far less than some victims who suffered egregious abuse feel they deserve.

“I spent two years being tortured by some grown ass men. I mean, I even gave them names,” said a man who was granted anonymity to discuss his case. “It seems like, once again, I’m being taken advantage of.”

He said he had hoped to use the money to buy 60 acres of land for a group home that would give orphaned children the joy he says was snuffed out of him before he hit puberty. At age 10, he said, he was raped and forced to perform oral sex on a man at MacLaren Children’s Center. At age 43, he said, he can’t smell Pine-Sol without flashbacks to the supply closet favored by his abusers as a site for their assaults.

Trinidad Pena, 52, said she desperately needs the settlement money to pay for medical care, overdue bills and therapy. At age 12, she said, she was impregnated by a staff member at MacLaren Children’s Center — an assault that has haunted her since the 1980s.

“What kind of rights did I have as a 12-year-old to sign away another human being?” asked Pena, who recalls seeing the baby for seven minutes before the girl was given to a family in Laguna Hills through a closed adoption. “The lawyers are being made millionaires, but we are just going to be able to pay our back taxes.”

The county was never interested in a fight.

Once the deluge of lawsuits started, county lawyers had just one goal: to make the cases go away without the county going bankrupt.

They did not want to risk a trial. Early in negotiations, county lawyers understood they were looking at a number of cases of brutal rape and molestation that could easily make a disgusted jury award the type of budget-busting $135-million verdict that got handed to the Moreno Valley Unified School District in 2023 for the sexual abuse of two students by a middle school teacher. The district hired him despite a past arrest for molesting his foster son, according to the lawsuit.

Attorney John Manly said he believes the county did not do enough vetting of the cases. Manly’s law firm, Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, is one of three prominent law firms that sued the county under the law change, but did not join the $4-billion settlement.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

If there were even 30 cases that appalled the jury as much as that one, the county would risk paying far more than $4 billion. Better, the county lawyers reasoned, to come up with a total sum that wouldn’t drain coffers of the government, which is responsible for the social safety net for the poorest residents, and let someone else divvy it up among the thousands of victims. With a $45-billion budget, they could make $4 billion work if most county agencies trimmed their spending.

Andy Baum, the county’s outside attorney leading the defense effort, told a judge in a June hearing that he viewed it as an “inventory settlement.” There were simply too many cases, the county felt, to fight individually. And so lawyers conducted only basic vetting of the claims — most of which were filed in court with a pseudonym, an unnamed abuser, and a sentence or two about the abuse. They took no depositions, according to multiple lawyers involved in the settlement.

“We have thousands of cases, and we don’t even have the most fundamental information,” Baum said at the hearing.

The county also allowed many cases to become part of the settlement without the paperwork the law requires. Under state law, cases in which the victim is older than 40 must be filed with a certificate from a therapist, who can attest that there is a “reasonable basis” to believe the plaintiff was sexually abused.

DTLA, which specialized in these cases, filed many of its older lawsuits without the certificate, considered by the Legislature as a critical way to prevent fraudulent claims. The county lawyers never protested, explaining in the June court hearing that they wanted to make sure DTLA’s cases were quickly ushered into the nearly finalized settlement.

“We had a gun to our head,” Baum told Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff, who’s overseeing the juvenile hall abuse cases, when pressed by the judge on why he waived the rule.

DTLA said nearly all of its certificates have since been filed, but did not provide numbers on how many remain outstanding.

The paltry defense launched by the county has some rethinking the law that started the deluge.

Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) tried to push through a bill this session intended as a lifeline to entities drowning in sex abuse lawsuits by limiting the window victims would have to sue. He pulled it last month after outcry from victim advocacy groups that said it trampled on the rights of survivors.

Maryland went further after being flooded with sex abuse claims for juvenile facilities following a similar state law change in 2023. This spring, the state capped sex abuse cases against government entities at $400,000 and limited attorneys’ fees to 25% for cases resolved in court.

That’s not happening in California.

“It’s just, in my view, not politically viable,” Laird said.

Some lawmakers who try to change the law have faced brutal pushback by law firms, including Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, which has run ads branding such bills as “predator” protection.

“I don’t see the appetite,” he said.

For L.A. County, the pace of cases remains relentless.

Since the announcement of the $4-billion settlement, James Harris Law, a Seattle-based firm that specializes in mass torts, has been aggressively recruiting clients through social media ads that tell “abused juvies” they can qualify in 30 seconds for up to $1 million.

After The Times entered a reporter’s cellphone number in one of the firm’s ads on Instagram, a representative from the firm’s intake department called more than 38 times.

Harris said his firm runs a “straightforward public awareness campaign” and didn’t believe his ads contained dollar amounts. The sums were removed from the ads after The Times contacted Harris.

The marketing proved fruitful. This summer, months after the county announced the settlement, Baum said, James Harris called him to discuss his brimming inventory: 2,500 new cases.

Baum said the newcomer acknowledged he was “late to the party.”

Sean Greene and Gabrielle LaMarr LeMee contributed to this report.

When you see the name Social Security in the news, there’s often a negative context. For example, earlier this year, Social Security was in the news a lot when the program’s Trustees released an update about the program’s finances.

That update wasn’t great, as it looped people into the fact that Social Security may be looking at severe benefit cuts in less than a decade’s time, based on current projections.

Image source: Getty Images.

On Oct. 15, Social Security is likely to be all over the news again. Only this time, it’s not necessarily for a bad reason.

Oct. 15 is when the Social Security Administration (SSA) is expected to announce a number of key changes to the program. It pays to tune in — whether you’re receiving monthly benefits from the program or not.

A COLA will finally be revealed

For months, there’s been speculation about Social Security’s upcoming cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Many seniors are hoping that 2026’s raise will be more generous than the 2.5% COLA they received at the start of 2025, and there’s some good news in that regard.

Initial estimates are calling for a 2.7% Social Security increase in 2026, which is clearly a notch higher than 2.5%. If inflation picks up in September, as well, Social Security recipients could see an even larger COLA in the new year.

An uptick in inflation isn’t necessarily a good thing. However, the silver lining is that it could drive 2026’s COLA higher.

Other key changes should come to light

An official 2026 COLA announcement may be the main event on Oct. 16, but the SSA will be sharing many key updates that day. For one, workers will want to stay tuned to see what 2026’s wage cap looks like.

In 2025, workers will pay Social Security taxes on up to $176,100 of income. But that number is likely to rise in the new year, a change that higher earners will need to gear up for.

The SSA should also share a new earnings-test limit. That limit applies to people who work while collecting Social Security before reaching full retirement age.

In addition, the SSA will announce how much in earnings it takes to get a single Social Security work credit. You must accumulate at least 40 work credits in your lifetime to be eligible for Social Security benefits in retirement, based on your personal earnings record. The maximum number of credits you can receive per year is four.

Right now, it takes $1,810 in earnings to get a work credit. However, just as the wage cap is expected to increase, so, too, is the value of a work credit.

Be sure to tune in

Clearly, Oct. 15 is an important day for Social Security, whether you’re getting benefits or not. It’s essential to pay attention to all of the changes happening in 2026 so you know what to expect from Social Security in 2026. That way, if any of those changes impact you negatively, such as having to pay taxes on more of your income, you’ll have time to make a game plan.