change

BBC Breakfast viewers were left distracted from the headlines by a major new format change.

BBC Breakfast viewers noticed a major change moments into the programme.

BBC Breakfast returned on Monday, August 24, with Ben Thompson joining Sally Nugent as he stepped in for Jon Kay.

Headlines of the day focused on the Middlesbrough crash on Saturday that left seven people, including two police officers, dead, as well as the return of the Premier League, with a tribute to Kevin Keegan during Newcastle’s match against Liverpool.

However, viewers were left distracted by a BBC Breakfast format change, with the graphics on screen given a major revamp.

Instead of the red timebox and headlines running at the bottom of the screen, the studio background graphics are in blue, while the taglines at the bottom of the screen are now also in a red to blue gradient, and highlighting what is coming up in the show.

“Can’t the producers decide on ONE colour for graphics?” one person fumed. Another said: “These captions are annoying, get rid, if I want captions I will turn the subtitles on.”

“Why have they tried to make the graphics look like a mobile phone? They look ridiculous,” a third seethed. Another replied: “That’s what I thought. And I don’t like it.”

Someone else said: “I can’t concentrate on two things at once so I’m either trying to read that extremely small text or watching the news report.”

“Someone been at the crayons.. what’s with the colour scheme?” yet another said, as someone else wrote: “So weird.”

Another viewer said they “hated” the change, as one person added: “Might just as well watch ITV now they’ve put this s**t on the screen and dumb down completely.”

Someone else called it “really rubbish”, as another fumed: “Ffs – get rid of these annoying captions! They are very distracting & totally unnecessary!”

One added: “#bbcbreakfast have obviously misjudged the demographic of their early morning viewers with this new format.”

This comes after the BBC Breakfast team celebrated National Television Award nominations, during an edition of the show last week.

As two nominations include heartfelt documentaries from the BBC Breakfast team, Jon shared how “honoured” they were.

Meanwhile, BBC Breakfast’s rivals Good Morning Britain have been nominated in the Daytime category alongside James Martin’s Saturday Morning, Loose Women, Scam Interceptors and This Morning.

BBC Breakfast airs daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.

Aug. 20 (UPI) — Spanish band La Oreja de Van Gogh will receive the Agent of Change award for three decades of commitment to social causes during Premios Juventud, which will hold its first European edition Sept. 3 in Marbella, Spain, TelevisaUnivision announced.

The group will also make its performance debut at the awards show with “Rosas,” one of its best-known songs. The track surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify in February, according to their record label, Sony Music.

Organizers said the award recognizes the band’s participation in initiatives including “Guitarras Solidarias,” which helped people affected by flooding in Spain, as well as the anti-cancer campaign “Cadena 100 Por Ellas” and “Ay Haití,” which was created to raise money after the 2010 earthquake.

La Oreja de Van Gogh is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year following the return of original lead singer Amaia Montero, who rejoined the band in 2025 after nearly two decades. The group began a tour of Spain titled “Tantas cosas que contar” in May.

Montero is joined in the band’s latest chapter by Xabi San Martín, Álvaro Fuentes and Haritz Garde. Founding guitarist Pablo Benegas announced he would not participate in the tour to devote more time to his family and other projects, although he has not permanently left the group, El País reported.

The band is also nominated for Favorite Group or Duo of the Year and Best Euro-Song.

TelevisaUnivision also announced that Alleh, Camila Fernández, Eladio Carrión, Elena Rose and Silvestre Dangond have joined the ceremony’s lineup.

Alleh and Rose will perform their collaboration “Tututu” on television for the first time. Rose will also perform “Quién Contra Mí” and join Dangond for the first live performance of “Efectos Secundarios.”

Carrión will perform “Polaroid” and “Body,” while Fernández will perform “Suéltame.” Dangond will also sing “Cásate Conmigo.”

Premios Juventud will air live from Starlite Marbella on Univision, UNIMÁS, Galavisión, ViX and YouTube at 7 p.m. EDT, 6 p.m. CDT and 4 p.m. PDT. In Mexico, Canal 5 will broadcast the ceremony at 5 p.m. local time.

Aug. 19 (UPI) — A study released Wednesday shows that the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea are far hotter than normal, threatening ecosystems and coastal communities.

Parts of the oceans around Europe reached more than 42 degrees Fahrenheit above average this week in a marine heat wave hitting the area.

Climate change is the cause, said the World Weather Attribution consortium in the study.

This summer has been especially brutal in Europe, which has seen multiple heat waves with extreme temperatures and worsened by wildfires. Western Europe recorded its hottest summer on record.

In the water, the high temps harm marine life, raise jellyfish populations and increase the risk of stronger storms later in the year.

“This summer, we’ve seen some really exceptional ocean temperatures around Europe,” said Catherine Gregory, a climate scientist at the University of Bern who contributed to the study, Politico reported.

“By July, the average temperature of the entire Mediterranean Sea was just over 27C [80.6 degrees Fahrenheit], which was the highest July value on record,” she added. “We’ve had a buoy reading to the west of Mallorca measuring more than 33C [91.4F] in open water … and we’ve seen similarly extreme conditions in the North Atlantic.”

The scientists analyzed four regions: the Eastern and Western Mediterranean; the Atlantic around the Bay of Biscay and Iberian Peninsula; and the seas around Ireland and western Britain.

“We find it’s the most extreme July marine heat wave conditions in the record for the Western Mediterranean, the Celtic region and for the Bay of Biscay-Iberian Peninsula region,” Gregory told Politico.

The scientists found that climate change raised temperatures in both Mediterranean regions by 35.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and Iberian waters increased by 34.52 degrees. The Irish seas rose by 34.34 degrees.

Oceans absorb most of the excess heat from burning fossil fuels. The warming waters push some species to search for cooler water, while those that can’t move, such as corals or seagrasses, could see mass die-offs.

“We have what we call winners and losers. So a lot of species wane in abundance or completely disappear while others bloom and proliferate,” said John Bruno, an ecologist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and one of the study’s co-authors.

Spanish authorities issued a new alert on Tuesday morning

Officials in Spain have issued a ‘caution’ warning as temperatures are set to soar again from today (Tuesday). The European nation, which is a firm favourite with Brits heading abroad, has endured a number of devastating wildfires this year so far, amid a number of heatwaves.

In a new update issued on Tuesday, Spain’s national weather agency AEMET warned: “Fire danger increases this Tuesday due to the rise in temperatures.”

The social media post, which has been translated from Spanish, continues: “Wednesday will be very high or extreme in much of the Peninsula and Balearic Islands, especially in the Mediterranean area due to the arrival of very dry and overheated westerly winds. Caution!”

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) urges Brits who are in or who will soon be heading to Spain to visit Spain’s Civil Protection website for information on what to do in the event of a wildfire.

FCDO guidance adds: “Immediately report any fire you see to the emergency services on 112. In the case of wildfires, the situation can change quickly, so you should stay up to date with official advice.”

Predicted fire hazard levels are “very high” across much of mainland Spain and the Balearic islands today and tomorrow – Tuesday, August 18 and Wednesday, August 19. NHS advice for staying safe during hot weather, which the FCDO signposts those heading to Spain to, suggests that individuals follow a four hour rule.

Holidaymakers are advised to reduce heat exposure and remain indoors where possible – particularly for the four hours between 11am and 3pm – typically the warmest period of the day. You should also use sunscreen, wear a hat and light clothing, and seek out shade where feasible.

DES MOINES, Iowa — Paul Grinvalds has completed 114 marathons in all 50 states, but he still wilts when he races in temperatures beyond 60 degrees.

It’s the same for most runners, as the body can’t cool down during exertion, and heat makes that even harder.

“One thing about marathoners is typically we’re kind of stubborn,” said Grinvalds, 68, from West Des Moines, Iowa, who finds even temperatures in the 50s a bit warm. “So if we have a goal and it’s hot, a lot of times we’re still going to try to do that goal, which is just stupid because you’re almost guaranteed to have a very painful experience.”

Such an experience can also be dangerous, a reality that marathon organizers are having to confront as climate change, caused mostly by the burning of fuels like coal and gasoline, pushes temperatures up. To improve the chances of having the 26.2-mile race in cooler weather, organizers are shifting race dates, starting earlier and even giving options for participants to cut their runs short.

Starting in 2027, the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis-St. Paul will shift its more than 40-year tradition of holding the race on the first Sunday in October to later in the month. That decision comes after cancellation of the marathon in 2023 because of record heat and humidity, and starting temperatures near 70 for the 2025 race.

Organizers of the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, marathon last year similarly moved their annual race from August to September after canceling the 2024 race due to hot conditions. And other races, including the Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio, the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas, and the Long Beach Marathon in Southern California, all moved their start times to earlier in the morning in search of cooler temperatures.

In Los Angeles in March, warm conditions prompted race organizers to give runners the option of stopping after 18 miles and still receiving a finishers medal. Less than 5% of participants opted for the shorter finish and only 14 of roughly 27,000 runners were treated at a hospital, with all released the same day. Still, the move led to some online derision.

“We welcome the feedback and it’s certainly something that caused a lot of discussion, but when we’re grading ourselves on it, it has to do with how safe our runners were on the day of the event and we’re very happy with the outcome,” said Meg Treat, a spokesperson for the marathon.

At the Twin Cities Marathon, race director Ed Whetham called the decision to cancel the 2023 marathon “devastating” for runners and the organization. Whetham said it prompted an extensive analysis of weather patterns that resulted in the decision to permanently delay the race by a couple weeks.

That analysis showed that by holding the race later in October, runners would have a far greater chance of optimal conditions. Given that snow sometimes falls in the Twin Cities in late October, there is a greater chance of chilly conditions, but Whetham said, “We’ll take a 39-degree start over a 70-degree start.”

Temperatures are expected to keep rising

The contiguous U.S. just had its warmest July ever recorded, and the Earth had its hottest year on record in 2024. The World Meteorological Organization forecasts that between 2025 and 2030 the Earth’s average global temperature will likely rise by more than 2.7 compared to the 1800s.

The warming is already making conditions worse for most marathons, according to a study of 221 races by the climate research group Climate Central. By 2045, optimal conditions for recreational runners — in the low 40s — would be less likely at 46 of the 51 U.S. marathons analyzed.

“The ability to go outside, to exercise, to take advantage of your human body and being healthy, that’s something that’s getting challenged by climate change,” said Andy Pershing, who led the Climate Central research.

Jessica Murfree leads a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill lab studying climate change’s effect on sports. She said organizers of marathons, bicycle races and other competitions — from tennis to college football — increasingly must consider changing event dates and times and adopting other safety measures, as climate change makes the weather hotter and more volatile.

Murfree said the concern extends beyond organized sports to whether people can even get outside on increasingly warm days, pushing people to exercise indoors or opt for activities like swimming.

“If we can’t walk, if we can’t exercise or go for runs, it’s too hot, can we still stay physically active while remaining cool?” she asked.

Marathons are especially hard in warm weather

Any kind of exercising in the heat can be challenging, but running a marathon in warm, humid conditions is especially difficult because it’s hard to prevent overheating when a person keeps pushing themselves for hours. And the faster a person goes, the more heat their body produces.

Chris Minson, a University of Oregon professor who researches how people can adapt to extreme heat and other environmental conditions, said the optimum temperature to run a marathon is about 50 degrees. As the temperature creeps into the upper 50s and 60s, the body has a tougher time supplying blood to muscles while also keeping the body cool.

“As you get to warmer temperatures you end up having a bigger competition between blood supplying your muscles to keep running, to keep nutrition going, and blood flow to your skin for thermal regulation,” Minson said.

Minson said it takes a tremendous amount of energy to run quickly. But of that energy, only about 25% is used to move the body forward. The rest goes to deal with the heat that is created by rapid movement.

Even worse than high temperatures is high humidity, which prevents sweat from evaporating and cooling the body.

Minson adds, though, that by regularly exercising in warm weather, people can acclimate to high temperatures and perform better in the heat, though likely not as well as they would in cooler conditions. Athletes who acclimate to high heat also can perform better in lower temperatures than if they hadn’t exercised in warm weather, he said.

Some athletes like John Seals even run in the midday heat and endure a sauna after a workout to acclimate their bodies. That all forms part of Seals’ training for an annual 135-mile ultramarathon held in July in Death Valley, California.

“We had a heat wave this week and for me, that’s a great thing,” said Seals, of West Des Moines.

Still, running in the heat can be dangerous without taking precautions.

Douglas Casa, a kinesiology professor who leads the Korey Stringer Institute, which studies sudden deaths in sports, said the Twin Cities Marathon’s change was prudent, especially considering the way in which many runners approach races.

“If someone was smart enough to say, ‘OK, it’s a little hotter today than usual, I’m going to run a 7 minute mile instead of a 6:30 mile,’ then they won’t get any hotter than normal,” Casa said. “It’s just that runners are sometimes very locked into what they normally do and what their goals are.”

McFetridge writes for the Associated Press. The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

BBC Breakfast viewers were stunned by the quick change

BBC Breakfast viewers have been hit with an unexpected scheduling change this morning.

The hit breakfast show airs every morning from 6am on BBC One with a regular panel of presenters and experts on hand to deliver all the latest news stories, sports and expert insight into what’s going on across the UK.

According to the BBC, a synopsis reads: “The latest news, sport, business and weather from the BBC’s Breakfast team.”

This morning (Sunday, August 16) hosts Roger Johnson and Luxmy Gopal returned to the BBC Breakfast couch on BBC One. However, it wasn’t long before their broadcast was interrupted and they moved channels.

Just over an hour into the show, BBC Breakfast moved from BBC One to BBC Two. This is because of the European Athletics Championships which is reporting live from Birmingham, covering the “opening session on day seven.”

Before the change over, Roger said: “It’s almost time for us to say goodbye on BBC One but Breakfast continues on BBC Two and BBC News channel until 9 o’clock this morning, lots to come from the programme.”

After the quick channel change, Roger told viewers: “If you’ve followed us over from BBC One, thank you for hitting the button, we’re here on BBC Two and the BBC News Channel until 9 o’clock this morning, it’s good to have your company.”

Reacting to the channel change, one person wrote on X: “We haven’t turned over to bbc2 for ages. B***** football probably.”

Another penned: “What you mean I have to lift the remote control and press a button?? When is Newswatch back on??”

Tomorrow’s instalment is expected to continue as usual on BBC One, from 6am to 9.30am.

The programme continued seamlessly as they jumped into their next segment of the importance of pet food banks, with donations dropping off as they struggle to meet the demand of pet owners.

Appearing on the programme, one pet owner Vicky told of her story when she struggled to pay for food for her beloved pets. She said: “Husband was promised work, payments stopped for the work. We were literally living off of peanuts.

“I just remember crying, it was coming up to Christmas. But it was thanks to the pet foodbank that I was able to keep my dogs.”

BBC Breakfast airs every morning from 6am on BBC One

LIAM Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has revealed that she’s ‘living her best life’ after making one change since his passing.

The social media star was in a relationship with the 1D singer before his tragic death at the age of 31 in October 2024.

In her latest TikTok video, Kate explained she was putting herself first and said: “Your best life starts when you put yourself first.”

The highlight clip included Kate being carried across a grassy field at a festival and wearing a green halter‑style outfit with a matching scarf as she posed for a selfie.

She was also seen in sunglasses with a friend at a huge gig as they partied with a crowd behind them.

Another showed Kate driving with a friend in a red convertible as they cruised down a sunny street.

UNSEEN JACKO

Unseen Jacko vids show star spray perfume on crotch & joke about ‘dirty pics’

ALLY ROSS

Holly’s awful ‘Kitchen P**spot’ show is surely worst of 2026 & lacks two things

Another image showed her sitting on a huge swing with chain supports, as she leaned back with her arms outstretched.

She accompanied the video clip with the hit tune Stop The Wedding by Ashe.

Fans flocked to comment and one wrote: “Keep glowing babe.”

Another added: “I’ve been a fan for a while and I love too see you keep glowing as the time goes on.”

A third added: “You give me so much hope. May you live happy.”

This comes days after Kate hit back at trolls who accused her of abandoning the dog she shared with the singer.

The influencer and her late One Direction star boyfriend adopted their rescue pup Nala just a month before the singer’s tragic passing.

In a TikTok post, a jubilant Kate revealed she was flying off on another trip.

Sharing a video from the airport, she wrote over the top: “I’ve been flying out of town for some peace of mind.”

However, some fans wanted to know where Nala was, while she went off on her holiday.

But Kate was quick to shut down speculation she had left her dog home alone.

“Nala is literally staying with Anna everyone plzzzz,” she snapped back.

Liam tragically lost his life when he fell from the balcony of the hotel he was staying at in Argentina in 2024.

Fifth in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Vincent Shields, Murrieta Valley offensive lineman.

For those who love dogs, offensive tackle Vincent Shields of Murrieta Valley High needs to be on your must-invite list. His mother and father run a dog training business. There are five dogs living at their home. All the female dogs are named after Disney characters. Vincent swears dogs can be trained to do anything, like open the refrigerator.

He just got a golden retriever puppy named Nala, the wife of Simba from “The Lion King.” The question is will Shields train her to rush the passer so he can practice his blocking techniques against someone with agility and a hunger to do anything for biscuits?

“That would be a good challenge,” he said.

The football journey of the 6-foot-6, 285-pound junior involves a change of positions, a change in eating habits and a recognition he has found his calling.

“He’s a freak athlete,” former Murrieta Valley offensive line coach Alex Rosenblum said. “That kid has had an amazing offseason.”

Teammates share a laugh with Vincent Shields as he engages in a power lifting exercise.

(Sandy Huffaker / For The Times)

By the end of the summer, Shields was nearing 20 scholarship offers after just one season as an offensive lineman. That’s what happens when college recruiters discover someone with size, good footwork and the ability to improve.

He started at right tackle last season for a school that has been producing outstanding linemen.

“We love to run the ball,” Shields said.

He was a defensive end as a freshman before Rosenblum convinced him to become a blocker. It opened a path that Shields has embraced.

“He told me at the end of my freshman year, ‘You’re going to start and if you make a mistake, it’s OK. Everything is a learning experience.’ I made mistakes and he was supportive,” Shields said.

He has been receiving private instruction to understand his role of blocking specific defenders and adjusting when linebackers blitz. All that was thrown at him as a sophomore, so it was no surprise he had some offside penalties. A year later, there’s no telling how dominant he can become.

“It takes a different person to play O-line,” he said. “It’s violent and that takes a special person. Not everyone is meant for the mental part and physical part. Are you going to take another man against his will and drive him down the field?”

Murrieta Valley offensive tackle Vincent Shields, center, does exercises during practice.

(Sandy Huffaker / For The Times)

Shields said he has been playing tackle football since he was 11. He was primarily a linebacker to take advantage of his athleticism. Then he started to grow and eat and eat.

Those were the days he loved French fries, chips, hamburgers and anything fried. He once ordered three 4×4 burgers from In-N-Out, which is four beef patties and four slices of cheese. He used to order from Chick-fil-A two chicken sandwiches, four chicken strips and 10 chicken nuggets.

Then he learned about nutrition and choices. He’s been eating steak and grilled chicken lately.

“I’ve done a good job shedding the bad weight,” he said.

His father, a former Marine, likes to cook, so everyone is watching Shields’ eating habits. He’s 17 with an appetite like a dog.

And speaking of dogs, the family has Shields’ golden retriever, a Rottweiler named Fancy, a giant schnauzer named Goose and two Belgian Malinois named Hero and Baymax.

That’s enough dogs to form a starting offensive line. But one of them has to beat out Shields, who intends to cause a whole lot of trouble blocking opponents over the next two seasons.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “You’re going to see a jump and a lot of people are going to wonder how it happened.”

Sunday: Godschoice Eboigbodin, JSerra defensive lineman

Offensive linemen to watch

Austin Attalah, Orange Lutheran, 6-8, 270, Jr.: His size alone makes him a can’t-miss prospect

Amaziah Siale, Mission Viejo, 6-7, 360, Sr.: Louisiana State commit can take on sumo wrestlers

Lance Ciechanowski, Sierra Canyon, 6-6, 275, Jr.: Let’s see who gets by him on pass plays

Drew Fielder, Servite, 6-6, 270, Sr.: USC commit is a former tight end who should dominate

Jackson Hill, Chaminade, 6-6, 300, Sr.: Notre Dame commit keeps getting bigger and stronger

Vincent Shields, Murrieta Valley, 6-6, 285, Jr.: Moves to left tackle as his blocking skills progress rapidly

Lex Mailangi, Mater Dei, 6-3, 350, Sr.: Oregon commit was a much-desired college recruit

Elisha Mueller, St. John Bosco, 6-4, 295, Jr.: Braves’ best blocker since Wyatt Davis

Lucas Rhoa, Orange Lutheran, 6-5, 305, Sr.: Texas commit has been a standout since his sophomore year

Jack Schein, JSerra, 6-6, 290, Sr.: Colorado State commit comes from a program that develops linemen

The initial step taken on August 14, 2001 cannot be viewed merely as the submission of a political party’s founding petition within the annals of international political history; rather, it is the reincarnation of a millennium-old, deep-rooted civilisational vision on the modern world stage. Today, having left a quarter of a century behind, the AK Party is not merely a tale of national development within its borders, but an unparalleled 25-year epic of democracy on a global scale. Coming to power with immense public favour just 16 months after its founding, and steering the country with uninterrupted stability for a quarter of a century, this political movement has secured a highly exceptional place in world political history.

The greatest power behind this stability lies in the fact that this movement is not a rootless structure blown about by the wind. It carries on its shoulders, as a historical trust, the democratic struggle of the late Prime Minister Adnan Menderes and his companions, who sacrificed their lives for the nation’s beliefs during the arduous days of the single-party era. The mighty plane tree founded by our President and Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan – under whose shade our nation and oppressed geographies have drawn a breath of relief for 25 years – is the very embodiment of this tremendous historical legacy.

While the lifespans of political parties are generally measured by election results or their terms in government, the AK Party’s ability to overcome successive global and national crises with the continuous support of vastly diverse social segments over 25 years can be explained by a much more structural concept: Its “capacity for political translation”.

This capacity is the process of accurately hearing the expectations, needs, and objections within society, transforming them into viable party programmes, budgets, and public policies, and submitting the resulting outcomes back for societal evaluation. Social needs do not always arrive in politics as ready-made texts; it is here that the AK Party has established a colossal “translation” mechanism that turns seemingly disparate experiences into common problems and solutions. Indeed, for someone of a generation like mine – who grew up in a Turkiye shaped by the AK Party, took on responsibilities in its youth branches since childhood, and today serves as a member of parliament and the party’s secretary-general – this political ground is the very essence of that transformation.

To grasp the magnitude of this transformation, one must look back at the Turkiye of the 1990s. It is essential to read those years not just as an “era of a unipolar world and severe economic crises”, but as a colossal “age of political collapse and instability” that paralysed the state and deepened societal fault lines.

The 90s were a lost decade in which fragile coalitions lasting only months, political bargaining and recurring crises shook state authority. While unsolved murders and an escalating spiral of terror threatened citizens’ lives on the one hand, the heavy fist of tutelage brought down upon civilian politics via the February 28 post-modern coup explicitly usurped the nation’s will on the other. Even though voter turnout reached 87 percent in parliamentary elections during that era, this high public interest in politics could not translate into a stable and effective governing capacity, with no single party able to form a majority government.

The closure of the Refah Party in 1998 and the Fazilet Party in 2001 through judicial tutelage created a profound crisis regarding the continuity of legitimate channels of representation for the masses. Therefore, the year 2001 was a historical threshold – not merely a year of economic bankruptcy marked by cash registers being thrown in protest, but the absolute peak of political fragmentation, tutelary regimes, governance vulnerabilities, and constitutional rights remaining strictly on paper. Inheriting this multidimensional political and economic wreckage, the AK Party built the world’s most experienced cadres in every field, from security to economics, from foreign policy to social policies, establishing a “game-changing” political style.

At the core of this game-changing politics lies the dismantling of the “state commands its citizens” mentality, replacing it with the principle that “the state is the servant of the nation”. Believing that true change lies in execution rather than packaging, the AK Party tore down the cold walls built between the state and the nation, making the nation’s red lines the same as the state’s.

The silent majority, who for decades had been left disheartened like “tenants” in their own homeland, rose with self-confidence to become the true “landlords” of their country. Today, as the world’s largest and most dynamic school of politics with more than 12 million members, the AK Party conducts politics not by pontificating from television screens, but by directly sharing the burdens of the people and keeping a finger on the pulse of the streets. The secret behind these victories is hidden in these devoted organisations that hold the nation’s consent above all else, and in the vision of the leader of this great march, our President and Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The party’s quarter-century has gone down in history not through noisy destructions and polarising conflicts, but through institutional “silent revolutions” woven stitch by stitch. The Health Transformation Program and national fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) produced in the defence industry are the building blocks of this revolution.

Moreover, Turkiye does not view technological transformation merely as instrumental progress; it presents a brand new vision. By openly opposing the algorithmic exploitation of global digital giants, it advocates for a value-oriented and ethical technological order that places human dignity, privacy, and the family at its centre. TEKNOFEST is not just a technology fair; it is a ceremony of institutional self-confidence where a generation – once intended to be manipulated in the streets during past coup eras – becomes the builder of this very moral and fully independent technological future.

The greatest outcome of this will for full independence is the historic struggle waged against the scourge of terrorism – which has made the nation weep blood – under the ideal of a “Terror-Free Turkiye”. Recipes dictated from the outside have been crumpled up and thrown away; terrorism has been dried up at its source, and the dirty corridors intended to be established at our borders have been shattered by the “Turkiye Model”. A Turkiye completely cleansed of terrorism has thwarted Israel’s expansionist ambitions built on dividing, weakening, and destabilising the region; it has become the greatest hope for the Palestinian cause, for Jerusalem, and for the oppressed in Gaza.

Viewing democracy not as a tool but as an unshakable value, this political mindset forever closed the dark parenthesis of tutelage opened on May 27, 1960, on the night of July 15, when the nation lay down in front of tanks and braved gun barrels. This democratic resilience achieved at home has today made Turkiye the vanguard of a global conscience movement abroad.

The objection raised by our President and Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan that “The World is Bigger Than Five!” has transformed into an “Erdogan Doctrine” that maps the conscience of humanity against those who fancy themselves masters of the globe. This quest for justice – embodied in the human tragedy in Gaza, in baby Aylan whose washed-up body shook the world, and in a little boy who recited the Quran with his last breath under the rubble – is the clearest indicator of Turkiye’s determination to defend the rights of the innocent in international diplomacy.

Today, moving far beyond being a passive ally in global politics, Turkiye has risen to the position of a subject that rewrites the rules of the international system, produces solutions to geopolitical crises, and personally steers diplomatic change.

Having long transcended artificial agendas and polemics in domestic politics, the AK Party’s true power in this multipolar world lies not only in the country’s economic and strategic capacity. It lies in the unshakeable democratic legitimacy behind our President and Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan – one of the most senior and experienced heads of state in world politics – and in the profound trust that all oppressed peoples across the earth place in Turkiye.

Our tremendous state experience over the past quarter-century is our most solid reference; yet, this political movement, with its face always turned towards the future, is determined to build the “Century of Turkiye” vision on the axis of justice, compassion, and sustainable global peace by blending it with the nation’s internal dynamics. In this new age marked by great trials that deeply affect humanity, under the leadership of our President and Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdogan – who shapes global politics with his unparalleled state experience and vision in the international arena – Turkiye marches forward with strong steps, shoulder to shoulder with our nation, as a playmaker towards new targets and a bright new quarter-century.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

The holiday park operator changed its accommodation grading over a year ago, and has clarified how this will affect customers, but some have taken to social media to voice their disappointment

Parkdean has changed the way it grades its accommodation and it has left some customers ‘disappointed’, while others have been left confused by the update.

A number of guests have taken to the Parkdean Resorts Complaint Group on Facebook and shared their experience of booking accommodation with the holiday park operator.

Parkdean’s website explains that its grading system is now based on the size of the accommodation, rather than quality or age, so Bronze, Silver, and Gold run from smallest to largest. There are also ‘Premium’ options in each of these grades.

But some customers have claimed that this is different to how other holiday parks grade their accommodation, which could make it confusing. A member of the Facebook group claimed: “Gold caravans were always more luxurious than silver or bronze and this was reflected in the higher price. This new pricing system is not only confusing but very disappointing if you think you are paying for gold quality and end up with bronze instead.”

A spokesperson for Parkdean Resorts, said: “Guests consistently tell us how much they enjoy staying at our holiday parks, and we’re proud to maintain a strong TripAdvisor rating of 4.2 from more than 12,000 reviews.

“Our accommodation categorisation system was introduced over a year ago to help guests find the holiday experience that best suits their needs. As explained on our website, accommodation is categorised by size rather than quality or age, with premium options available across each size category, offering enhanced features and higher-specification fixtures and fittings.

“All of our accommodation is maintained to high standards, and we remain committed to providing every guest with a great holiday experience.”

But some holidaymakers in the Facebook group are still claiming to be left unhappy with their accommodation. One claimed they “booked a gold van” but felt “very disappointed” at what they felt “can be described as a silver van at best”, alleging that staff on site told them “that the grading system has changed and there is nothing they can do”,

Another claimed they had “booked a gold premium caravan and at best it was a bronze” at Sandy Bay Northumberland. They alleged that when they asked a member of staff they were told “pictures are only for illustration only and the status as in bronze, silver gold or gold premium is on the size of the caravan and not the spec”.

There are other holiday park operators that do grade their accommodation based on facilities rather than size. For example, Haven offers six caravan grades, from Saver to Signature Gold, and while some grades such as Bronze and Silver are around the same size, the latter offers extra features such as an outdoor deck.

Park Holidays also offers four core tiers: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum, with bronze described as an “affordable option” while “platinum caravans are crafted to the highest standards and include private decking, en-suite facilities and premium finishes.” There’s no mention of sizing on its website.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

The squad have become familiar with those principles following a draining training camp in Spain last week, which culminated in a 2-1 win against Valencia.

Goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek said Newcastle want to “show the opponents that they will have a hard time against us”, while defender Malick Thiaw has spoken about the intensity under Jaissle being “really high”.

Season ticket holder Adam Stoker feels the club still need further additions, but he believes Jaissle’s playing style will be a “huge positive” as the German looks to build on Howe’s legacy.

“Eddie did look a bit tired and didn’t quite look the same manager as when he started,” Stoker said. “Some of that energy had been lost and it correlated with the performances of the team.

“We have seen a tiny bit of Jaissle’s ideas now and they seem to be very much in keeping with Newcastle in 2022-23, which was a hugely exciting team to watch.

“That playing style makes the crowd feel involved because the fans want to watch a high tempo.

“Playing front-foot, high-intensity football is something the crowd at Newcastle has always been on board with.”

Jaissle now has little time to catch his breath before the season opener against Liverpool on Tyneside on 23 August.

This is a manager who, like all of the club’s young signings this summer, has never experienced the Premier League before.

That brings the unknown, particularly after Newcastle lost key players Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes this summer, which Jaissle said has left a “vacuum”.

But he also sees it as an opportunity.

“We are ambitious,” he added. “That is the most important thing.

“It is why I decided to come here, but this will not happen overnight, especially when you have such a big transition phase now.

“You need to have a clear goal and wish of where we want to go to. That starts from the decision-makers, the management and the board.

“Then, if you have that synergy with the fans, the players and the staff to go there, I’m pretty sure it will be a successful story. But we need time now.”

The Federal Communications Commission voted 2-1 in favor of allowing TV station ownership groups to own more outlets, easing the way for more consolidation.

The Thursday vote that favored the change means companies can own local stations that cover more than 39% of the U.S. They could also own more than two stations in a single market.

The measure supported by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr will allow the agency to approve deals that put station ownership groups over the cap if the agency determines that they are promoting the public interest. Carr has said the agency would consider such issues as commitment to local journalism and “viewpoint diversity.”

“In my view, if you care about trusted sources of local news and information, you have to care about the future of local TV stations,” Carr said. “They are the economic engines that produce the paychecks for so many of the local journalists that remain in the business. So how can the FCC maximize the odds that those institutions continue to survive and hopefully thrive into the future? To start, we should stop hamstringing this one segment of the broader market with outdated restrictions.”

The station groups say the ability of tech companies such as Google and Netflix to reach every consumer in the U.S. puts them at a disadvantage. At the same time, streaming now accounts for more than 40% of all viewing, according to Nielsen, pulling consumers away from traditional TV. Television stations are also seeing their share of carriage fees from cable and satellite companies shrink due to cord-cutting.

Declining viewership and revenue have also made it more challenging to sustain multiple local TV news operations in a single market.

Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the commission, opposed the measure, saying the rule change will only help big firms get bigger and more powerful.

“Eliminating the cap does not free local broadcasters from economic pressure, it just changes who is doing the squeezing,” Gomez said in a statement issued ahead of the vote. “The large station groups positioned to grow even larger under this decision are not local broadcasters, they are national companies that own local stations and increasingly dictate what airs on them.”

The measure ending the cap limits also faced push back from consumer groups and state government officials who believe station consolidation will result in journalist layoffs and fewer voices for the communities they serve.

TV station owners and its lobbying group the National Assn. of Broadcasters have been clamoring for a change in the rule, citing the changes in technology that have occurred since the ownership limit. The 39% threshold was set in 2004 when streaming video was still a nascent business.

Jeff McCall, a professor of communications at DePaux University, agrees the current limit is outdated in the current media environment. “Local broadcasters are struggling in terms of audience and revenue, and this plan could give them some needed relief,” he said.

But McCall added that having the FCC decide who benefits from the rule change will face resistance.
“it will give the FCC wide discretionary powers and open up any decisions to second-guessing and, of course, court challenges,” he said.

There are also likely to be questions on how even-handed Carr will be when faced with a proposal that puts a station owner over the caps. The chairman has made his name by threatening to pull the broadcast licenses of TV stations that irritate President Trump with their coverage and commentary. Even Trump-supporting Republicans such as Sen. John Kennedy, R- La., have raised concerns the FCC’s scrutiny of broadcast content could be violating the right to free speech.

In April, the FCC called for an early review of the licenses for Disney’s eight broadcast TV stations, a day after Trump demanded that ABC fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about First Lady Melania Trump.

Carr also questioned whether ABC’s daytime show “The View,” where negative Trump commentary occurs often, should qualify as a bona fide news program that is exempt from giving equal time to qualified candidates.

Carr also believes large media companies such as Disney and NBCUniversal parent Comcast hold too much sway over the stations affiliated with their networks.

“New York and Hollywood interests have steamrolled those local TV stations and the broader media market in recent years in ways that run directly counter to the regulatory framework that Congress and the FCC put in place,” he wrote. “Their national programs naturally reflect the values of the New York and Hollywood executives that produce them. This power imbalance has contributed to a steady decline in locally produced news — and with it, a weakening of the public’s trust in the media.”

Earlier this year, a group of attorneys general filed suit to block Nexstar Media Group’s proposed $6.2-billion acquisition of Tegna, arguing it violates a 112-year-old U.S. antitrust law by knocking out a major competitor. The deal would give Irving, Texas-based Nexstar control of 265 television stations across the country, up from 164. And, in dozens of markets, including San Diego and Sacramento, Nexstar would own multiple TV network affiliates.

U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley issued a preliminary injunction in April that forbids Nexstar — which owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles — and Tegna, from combining operations. Nexstar is appealing.

Europe’s summers are transforming. What were once considered exceptionally high temperatures, such as the near 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) being experienced in Prague, are becoming the norm.

According to Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, late May and June heatwaves brought daily average temperatures of more than 10C (18F) above the norm in parts of France, the United Kingdom and Spain.

Western European temperatures averaged 20.74C (69F) in June, 3.06C (5.4F) above the 1991-2020 average.

With some temperatures climbing well above 40C, prolonged droughts, destructive wildfires and shrinking rivers are no longer freak events but recurring features of European summers.

Scientists have repeatedly warned that climate change would increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather. Heatwaves now last longer, arrive earlier and affect more countries simultaneously.

The consequences extend beyond uncomfortable temperatures. They are reshaping ecosystems, economies and daily life across much of the continent.

Wildfires: Larger, earlier and more destructive

Extreme heat dries vegetation, turning forests, scrubland and grass into fuel for fires. When strong winds combine with prolonged drought, fires can spread more rapidly and become ever more difficult to control.

Countries across the Mediterranean area – including Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy and France – have a history of wildfires. But fire season now starts earlier, lasts longer, and affects regions that in the past faced a much lower risk.

The European Union recorded at least 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) of land burned in the region last year, nearly double the historical average.

Some fires are so intense they generate their own weather systems. Known as pyrocumulonimbus clouds, these towering smoke clouds can produce powerful winds, lightning and embers that ignite new fires several kilometres away, making them even harder to contain.

Beyond the immediate destruction of homes and forests, wildfires damage biodiversity, release dangerous quantities of carbon dioxide and leave landscapes vulnerable to erosion and flooding when heavy rain eventually returns.

Water under pressure

Heatwaves also place enormous strain on Europe’s water resources. Higher temperatures increase evaporation from rivers, lakes and reservoirs while reducing soil moisture. Mountain snowpacks melt earlier in spring, leaving less water available during the hottest months.

Rivers such as the Rhine, Po and Danube have repeatedly experienced unusually low water levels during recent summers. Low rivers disrupt shipping, reduce hydroelectric power generation and can threaten industrial operations that rely on river water for cooling.

Agriculture is often among the hardest hit sectors due to high temperatures. Farmers across Southern and Central Europe are dealing with reduced crop yields, livestock heat stress and greater demand for irrigation at the same time water is becoming scarce.

A study released in May by the European Investment Bank and the European Commission projected that climate change threatens to increase annual European agricultural losses by as much as 66 percent by 2050, threatening the future of food production.

Some regions are already restricting water use during prolonged dry spells, a sign of how climate change is beginning to affect everyday life.

Health hazards, strain on energy systems intensify

Heat is among Europe’s deadliest natural hazards. Unlike floods or storms, the impacts are often less visible but more widespread.

Older people, children and people with existing medical conditions are most at risk. Hospitals see increased admissions linked to dehydration, heatstroke and cardiovascular illness during heatwaves.

Cities are especially vulnerable because concrete and asphalt absorb and retain heat, creating what is known as the urban heat island effect. Night-time temperatures remain high, preventing buildings and people from cooling down.

The growing use of air conditioning offers some protection but creates another challenge.

Electricity demand often surges during heatwaves as millions of people seek relief from the high temperatures. This coincides with a slump in efficiency in power generation as warmer rivers mean that the cooling of thermal and nuclear power stations is more of a challenge.

This creates a growing challenge for Europe’s energy systems as demand rises precisely when supply can become more constrained.

Economic costs escalate

The financial effects from this environmental crisis are mounting. The European Environment Agency estimates that extreme weather has already cost Europe 738 billion euros ($850bn) from 1980 to 2023. At least 162 billion euros ($190bn) of that was in the most recent three-year period.

The agency projected a lack of robust climate action could cost the European economy more than 5.6 trillion euros ($6.4 trillion) by 2050. These costs affect almost all sectors of the economy.

Wildfires destroy homes, tourism infrastructure and businesses. Drought reduces agricultural production while low river levels disrupt trade and manufacturing.

Outdoor workers in construction and agriculture face reduced productivity as extreme heat makes working safely more difficult.

Insurance losses from weather disasters have also risen sharply over recent decades. Three-quarters of Europe’s natural disaster losses are uninsured, according to the European Central Bank.

Meanwhile, governments face growing costs associated with responding to emergencies and rebuilding communities.

Many economists argued that investing in climate resilience today will be significantly cheaper than repeatedly paying the costs of more frequent disasters.

Adapting as warming accelerates

Climate projections consistently indicate that Europe will continue to warm faster than the global average. Southern Europe is expected to experience hotter and drier summers, increasing the likelihood of severe drought and wildfires.

Even Northern Europe, traditionally associated with milder summers, is expected to experience more intense heatwaves. Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands recently witnessed wildfires that forced local communities to flee

Communities are already adapting to some extent. Cities are planting more trees to provide shade, redesigning streets to reduce heat, expanding early warning systems and have begun developing cooling centres for vulnerable residents.

Water conservation, improved forest management and more resilient infrastructure are becoming important parts of long-term planning. Agriculture is also changing as farmers experiment with drought-resistant crops, different planting schedules and more efficient irrigation systems.

But scientists stressed that adaptation alone will not be enough. Without significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the conditions that create extreme weather are expected to become more common in the years ahead.

Europe’s recent summers are no longer viewed simply as isolated weather events. They offer a glimpse of what a warmer climate could mean.

The challenge lies in responding to today’s extremes and preparing populations for climates in which intense anomalies become normal.

RITA ORA’s fourth studio album is almost complete – but no one is quite sure what to expect from it.

Aside from her husband, Hollywood director Taika Waititi, that is.

Speaking to Bizarre’s Jack at a London screening to mark the 10th anniversary of his hit film, Hunt For The Wilderpeople, Taika said Rita’s long-awaited album was “amazing”.

He added: “This new record is incredible. I’ve heard a lot of it.

“It was such a departure from stuff that she’s probably known mostly for. It’s a different sound.”

Taika directed the sultry video for Rita’s latest ­single, All Natural, and also directed and starred in the video for 2023’s Don’t Think Twice.

HEART RIGHT NOW

Rita Ora wows in red gown as she reunites with Taika Waititi on red carpet

RAGING RITA

Rita Ora fuming as gig is cancelled at last minute due to thunderstorm

Getting Oscar-winner Taika to work on your project can’t come cheap, but Taika assured us with a wink that he and Rita had come to an arrangement.

He chuckled: “There is a very mates’ rates deal going on. I think it’s been free each time. It’s just fun to get to work together.

“It’s great because we’re kind of in similar ­industries, but they’re very different disciplines – and when you’re with someone, you want to be able to do some work together.

“I’m really amazed and surprised at what she does, but also super- confused all the time.”

Taika masterminded two of Marvel’s biggest hits – Thor: Ragnarok in 2017 and Thor: Love And Thunder in 2022.

He also plays the alien Korg in the films.

Taika admits that he’d love Marvel book bosses to sign up Rita for a role alongside him one day.

He said: “Younger me would like to see a Bond Girl Rita, but I think I’d find it more fun to see her doing a Marvel film.

“It would be great to see her as a villain.” Watch this space . . . 

RAYE’S GLOWING WITH PRIDE

CHRISTMAS came early for Raye fans as she took to the stage in a sparkly red dress.

The Where Is My Husband! singer wouldn’t have looked out of place at a festive party as she headlined Brighton Pride on Saturday.

Her bill-topping set followed epic performances from Jessie J and Leigh-Anne ­Pinnock.

The Little Mix singer kept cool in a yellow bikini top and combat trousers – putting her growing baby bump on display.

She is expecting her third child with footballer husband Andre Gray. They had twin girls in 2021.

Brighton hosts the UK’s biggest Pride festival, but it is dwarfed by WorldPride, which took place in Amsterdam over the weekend.

Going all out to impress, organisers in the Netherlands somehow managed to land Madonna to perform.

She owned the Dutch stage in a bright purple corset and matching boots.

Taking camp to the next level, Madge was joined for her epic set by Kylie Minogue, who sang with Nick Cave at his Brighton gig on Friday.

Rumours are rife that the duo have a song together on a remix edition of Madonna’s latest album, Confessions II.

We should be so lucky . . . 

ARIANA’S IN FULL BLOOM

ARIANA GRANDE is dominating this week’s Official Chart First Look.

The One Last Time singer is on track to land three songs from her new album, Petal, inside the UK Top 20.

The album’s title track and second single, Petal, is currently at No3, while Kiss Me is at No6 and Stay sits at No11.

The album was streamed 62million times on its first day of release on Spotify, making it the platform’s 16th biggest first-day album debut by a female artist.

Ariana’s 2019 album, Thank U, Next, remains her biggest first-day debut, with 70million streams in its first 24 hours.

MUSIC guru Chris Herbert is the man who discovered the Spice Girls more than 30 years ago, and now he’s backing another feisty young act, Allegra.

She is gearing up to drop a new project called Unreleased EP on August 21 and has her sights set on collabs with top stars.

Allegra, right, said: “I’d love to work with someone like Rita Ora. We’d have so much fun. She’s got such cool style and I think we’d just have fun.”

Opening up about how she ­performs best, she added: “I like it when I’m feeling a bit sexy.

“I think I’m a bit angry at, like, a situationship or an ex- boyfriend, I’m looking hot in the music video and I’m like, ‘OK, I’ve got this’.”

1D GOING IN RIGHT DIRECTION

DURING their heyday, One Direction were a money-making machine.

And even though the That’s What Makes You Beautiful singers split up back in 2016, the cash keeps rolling in.

New accounts for the band, made up of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson and the late Liam Payne, have revealed they each made £2,636 a week last year.

And to top it off, they had to do absolutely no work for it.

Their two firms, 1D Media Ltd and PPM Music Ltd, are now worth a combined £3,814,044 – up more than £687,000 from the previous year.

It’s not a bad life, eh?

Eight years ago, during a campaign for Texas attorney general, Justin Nelson ran television advertisements with security camera footage of Ken Paxton pocketing an expensive pen that didn’t belong to him.

Four years ago, George P. Bush went after Paxton by putting up billboards that said “he’s a crook” next to his mugshot from when he was charged with securities fraud.

And this year, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said “judgment day is coming” as he tried to fend off a Republican primary challenge from Paxton.

All of them lost. Now the question is whether James Talarico, who topped Rep. Jasmine Crockett in an expensive and fiercely contested Democratic primary, will have any more luck as he faces off against Paxton in one of the country’s most closely watched U.S. Senate races.

“The guy’s ability to take shots and just keep moving on and stay in elected office is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in my career, in 25 years of running campaigns,” said Ash Wright, who worked as a senior adviser to Bush.

Paxton never has been convicted and he’s survived by championing conservative legal battles over immigration, abortion and transgender issues in a Republican-dominated state. Much like President Trump, he’s long portrayed himself as the victim of political persecution.

Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks at a rally in Houston in May.

(Danielle Villasana / Getty Images)

Former Paxton challengers and a half-dozen campaign strategists who worked against him warned that Texans may tune out any attempt to revive scandals that they’ve heard about for years, especially when rigid partisanship has convinced voters to be extraordinarily forgiving of candidates’ trespasses.

However, Talarico’s team has studied the previous races and is attempting its own version of the playbook by trying to paint Paxton as part of a broader culture of corruption that has failed to improve people’s lives.

Paxton’s campaign suggested Talarico’s claims were aimed at distracting voters from a record of “out-of-touch views.”

“Every time a fighter, like President Donald Trump and now Ken Paxton, stands up to the permanent political class, even after they are completely acquitted of wrongdoing, people like James Talarico continue pushing the same accusations and claiming corruption,” Paxton campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy said.

Paxton won first reelection despite indictment

Paxton was first elected as Texas attorney general in 2014, and Nelson ran against him in 2018. A Democratic lawyer from Austin, Nelson made Paxton’s indictment on charges of securities fraud central to his campaign, and poked fun at him for picking up another lawyer’s $1,000 pen after finding it at a courthouse security checkpoint.

“Vote Justin Nelson for Texas attorney general,” the narrator said. “He will fight on behalf of all Texans. And he won’t steal your pen.”

Nelson argued that his approach was effective, reflected in Paxton’s narrow margin of 3.6 percentage points in a year when Republican Greg Abbott was reelected as Texas governor by more than 13 percentage points. Nelson’s campaign spent roughly $6.5 million, about half of what Paxton’s campaign spent.

“My message was working,” Nelson said. “I just needed to go louder and longer.”

In 2022, Paxton faced a Republican primary challenge from George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner and the grandson and nephew of two former presidents from the state.

The securities fraud case was ongoing, and Paxton also was under federal investigation over accusations that he abused his position to benefit an Austin real estate developer, took bribes and retaliated against whistleblower employees.

Paxton responded by portraying himself as a Trump-era Republican and Bush as the heir to a privileged political legacy.

Pro-Paxton organizations spent more than $20 million, about twice as much as Bush and his allies. The race went to a runoff, in which Paxton defeated Bush by 34 percentage points.

Paxton ran against Rochelle Garza, a Democratic civil rights lawyer from Brownsville, in the general election. She said her campaign had a 300-page opposition research file on Paxton but it was difficult to figure out how to approach his past because voters had heard about it for years.

“The amount of potential hits on Paxton can make message discipline challenging,” Garza said.

Paxton ran as the leading legal opponent of President Biden, promoting a string of lawsuits against Biden’s Democratic administration on immigration, abortion and gender policy.

Overwhelmingly outspent, Garza lost by roughly 10 percentage points.

Some supporters see Paxton as a ‘flawed’ fighter

There was more trouble ahead for Paxton.

He split with his wife, who later filed for divorce “on biblical grounds.” He also was impeached by the Texas House, although the Senate acquitted him in 2023 and allowed him to remain in office. The securities fraud case ended in 2024, and Paxton was directed to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution.

Throughout the years, he’s maintained strong support from Republican voters like David and Nancy Lapp, a retired couple from the small town of Wolfforth. They described him as a conservative warrior who has been a victim of persecution.

“He’s had his share of scandals, and almost all of them have, so it’s not necessarily disqualifying anymore,” said David Lapp, 76. “He’s a flawed person, no doubt about it, but he fights for traditional American ideals.”

He added that “nowadays, as long as you’re not in jail, they’ll elect you.”

Beaumont writes for the Associated Press. Associated Press reporters Jesse Bedayn in Del Rio, Texas, and Marc Levy in Wolfforth, Texas, contributed to this report.

Estuardo Mazariegos and Jose Ugarte, running against each other for a city council seat representing part of South Los Angeles, are immigrants from Latin America who arrived undocumented as children.

Both 40 years old, they grew up in the area and established themselves as community organizers.

And no matter which of them wins election on Nov. 3, it will be a historic change for Council District 9, which has been represented by a Black council member since 1963, even as its demographics shifted to a Latino majority.

Mazariegos and Ugarte both said they are committed to representing all their constituents equally, including Black residents who have expressed concerns about the change.

Jose Ugarte is the front-runner for City Council District 9 after getting 39% of the vote in the June primary.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Ugarte, who was until recently a deputy chief of staff to the current council member, Curren Price, got about 39% of the vote in the June primary to 26% for Mazariegos, in a six-candidate field.

Ugarte was born in Oaxaca and is Mazateco — an Indigenous group native to the Mexican state. He has spent most of his life in South L.A., where he was embraced by his Black neighbors and schoolmates. He wants to model himself after Price, who he said is known in the community as the most “pro-Latino Black councilman.”

“I want to be a voice for Black residents in my district,” Ugarte said at his campaign headquarters on Avalon Boulevard. “I want to be called the most pro-Black Latino council member that the city really has.”

Last year, Ugarte agreed to pay a $17,500 fine to the city’s Ethics Commission, later increased to $25,000, for repeatedly failing to disclose outside income he made from his lobbying and consulting firm while also working as a council staffer. He said the issue stemmed from “an unintentional clerical reporting error on my part.”

Mazariegos is the L.A. co-director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, a statewide nonprofit that organizes lower-income Black and brown communities for progressive change. Born in Guatemala and brought to the U.S. by his parents, he also was shaped by growing up in racially diverse parts of South L.A. He said he’s reaching out to different sectors of the community, including Black organizations and churches.

Organizing is about “always having open ears to the community,” Mazariegos said while sitting outside Mercado La Paloma, a food hall in the district. “It’s fighting for, honoring the Black legacy and fighting for a Black future, and you do that by building together.”

In his early 20s, Mazariegos pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon in a vehicle. He said he was holding on to the gun for a friend and that the conviction makes him a better candidate because he can relate to people in the district who have had run-ins with law enforcement.

Council District 9 encompasses the Convention Center, USC and neighborhoods along the Harbor Freeway, including Vermont Square, South Park and Florence-Graham. In a district with the highest poverty rate in the city, residents are concerned about issues including illegal dumping, public safety, a dearth of grocery stores and a sense of being neglected by City Hall.

Price, who has represented the district since 2013, is terming out. He has been fighting corruption charges, with a judge deciding in January that there was enough evidence to move to trial on four counts of voting on matters in which Price had a conflict of interest, five counts of embezzlement and three counts of perjury.

Price said he never intended to do anything wrong and questioned the fairness of a prosecution over what he said was essentially a paperwork error.

The growth of the Latino population in a district that is now nearly 80% Latino has created political tensions for decades, said Manuel Pastor, a USC professor and author of “South Central Dreams: Finding Home and Building Community in South L.A.”

Four years ago, those tensions resurfaced after a recording emerged of a conversation among three Latino city council members and a labor leader that featured racist and disparaging remarks about Black people, Oaxacans and others. The revelations tested a fragile alliance of Black and Latino coalitions that organizers have sought to maintain.

More recently, some Black community leaders expressed concern that a proposal to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections would diminish Black political power. The City Council ended up sending the proposal to a committee for more study.

Pastor noted that Price made an effort to focus on Latino residents, who have grown up alongside Black residents and suffered the same disinvestment in their neighborhoods.

This election, Pastor said, will pit the strength of L.A.’s political establishment against the rising power of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Ugarte’s endorsements include Price and the L.A. County Democratic Party, while Mazariegos has been endorsed by Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, City Controller Kenneth Mejia and the Democratic Socialists of America’s L.A. chapter, among others.

Through May 27, Ugarte had raised $510,000 in campaign contributions and Mazariegos had raised $254,000.

Ugarte has benefited from nearly $1 million in independent expenditures, which differ from campaign contributions, with Airbnb contributing $302,000 to support his candidacy and the California Apartment Assn. Housing Solutions Committee spending $230,000.

Mazariegos has received support from the political arms of United Teachers Los Angeles as well as his employer, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action, which together spent about $118,000.

Jose Ugarte says, “I want to be called the most pro-Black Latino council member that the city really has.”

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

On a recent Sunday morning, Ugarte stopped by services at two predominantly Black churches. At McCoy Memorial Baptist Church in South Park, he accepted a warm hug from longtime Pastor R.A. Williams Jr., who endorsed his candidacy. Ugarte then traveled a few blocks to Experience Christian Ministries, where Pastor Shep Crawford also has endorsed him.

“I met him years ago, boots on the ground, in the streets making changes,” Crawford told the congregation.

That same day, about three miles north at Audio Graph Beer Co., Mazariegos was cheering at a World Cup final watch party that doubled as a fundraiser. He posed for photos with supporters, who wore buttons declaring him “the people’s candidate.” He credited making the runoff election to his years in the community advocating for anti-displacement measures for tenants and lowering the rent cap.

Angie Gonzalez, 22, said Mazariegos earned her support because of his work advocating for tenant rights.

“I like how Estuardo is trying to empower us,” she said.

Odilia Romero, a resident of District 9 and executive director of CIELO, an advocacy group for Indigenous people, said she is not endorsing in the race. But she acknowledged the importance of an Indigenous candidate, four years after the audio leak scandal.

After The Times broke that story, Ugarte said, he secured permits for a march from L.A. Trade Tech to City Hall, where Oaxacans and others rallied.

Ugarte said if he is elected, he’d become the first Indigenous Oaxacan council member. He wants to show anyone critical of immigration — including the Trump administration — that “immigrants are here to build things to make the country better.”

“I want to be a council member that came from another country, that came as an immigrant, that came from an Indigenous state, and that made a name for himself, that [improved] his community,” he said.

Organizing is about “always having open ears to the community,” Estuardo Mazariegos says. “It’s fighting for, honoring the Black legacy and fighting for a Black future, and you do that by building together.”

(Arwen Clemans / Los Angeles Times)

Mazariegos said that while he may not be a political insider, he makes up for it as a “community insider.”

“There’s a lot of mistrust for the status quo right now,” he said. His goal is “making sure that the 9th district has representation that actually fights for it.”

These days, he said, campaigning has turned into an all-day affair, meeting people as he walks with his family around the district.

Mazariegos has in recent months appeared at City Hall to advocate for charter reform, including increasing police accountability, expanding the size of the City Council and advocating for noncitizen voting. None of those measures made the November ballot.

Organizers in the district said that no matter who wins, they intend to hold the new council member accountable.

“We hope that whoever wins this race keeps working-class people and their issues on the forefront,” said Ron Gochez, a longtime district resident and organizer with Union del Barrio, which advocates for immigrants. “We will pressure whoever wins to do the right thing.”

The change has just come into place for the peninsula, and Brits flying to the area will need to make sure their travel documents meet the new requirements, or could find themselves stranded at the airport

Budget airline easyJet has issued a warning to Brits flying on any of its four routes from the UK to a popular holiday hotspot visited by approximately 1.3million Brits every year, as new entry requirements came into force earlier this month.

In a statement, easyJet said: “From 15 July 2026, Gibraltar will align with Schengen entry requirements. If you’re travelling to Gibraltar, please check that your travel documents meet the new rules before you fly.”

The airline operates four routes from the UK to Gibraltar International Airport from Birmingham, Bristol, London-Gatwick, and Manchester. The only other airline that operates from the hub is British Airways, which has a London-Heathrow service.

The airline set out the key changes, saying: “UK visas and UK residence permits/share codes will no longer be accepted for entry to Gibraltar.” It also clarified: “Passports for travellers from non-Schengen countries (except Ireland and Cyprus) must have been issued within the last 10 years, and be valid for at least 3 months after the date you plan to leave Gibraltar.”

The requirements are now aligned with what Brits can expect at the other 29 countries in the Schengen area. This means they’ll need to go through registration under the Entry/Exit System (EES). EasyJet added: “Before travelling, please make sure you have the correct documents for your journey to avoid any issues at the airport, you can check the government website.”

While Gibraltar remains a a self-governing British Overseas Territory, as of July 15 a post-Brexit deal has allowed the border with Spain to be removed, getting rid of border controls and customs checks for those passing between Spain and Gibraltar.

Historically, the border has caused hold-ups and long queues for locals as it has had to handle an average of 15,000 people passing through it each day for work, education, and social purposes.

But the change means that, while Gibraltar still has autonomy, it’s now a de facto part of the Schengen free-movement area, which is why Brits will notice a change when visiting the territory. The EES system will involve the same fingerprint and face scans as the EU requires at every airport.

The FCDO added: “On arrival at Joshua Hassan Gibraltar International Airport, you should expect two sets of checks which will satisfy entry into Gibraltar and the Schengen Area: Gibraltar entry immigration controls performed by the Gibraltar authorities and Schengen entry immigration controls performed by the Spanish authorities as the authorities of the neighbouring Schengen State

“This includes registration under the Entry/Exit System (EES) where it applies. The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will also apply once it is operational. Once you have cleared these checks, you can move freely across the land border from Gibraltar into Spain and the wider Schengen Area.”

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

One of the busiest airports in the UK is the first to introduce robotic parking for passengers meaning drivers will be able to leave their car near a terminal and head away with their keys

Gatwick Airport is set to launch a brand new parking service that will make the airport experience smoother for drivers.

The airport will be the first in the UK to introduce a robotic parking service.

The service is expected to begin from next month. Passengers will drop off their cars into dedicated garages in the airport’s South Terminal.

Then, they can head to catch their flights whilst keeping their car keys with them. Robots will then lift the cars by the tyres and move them to secure parking spots.

The process aims to make the parking process quicker for holiday goers.

The parking service, being offered with Stanley Robotics, is expected to work for around 95% of car models – but drivers with “unusual dimensions or features” should check beforehand.

Oli Bedford, Gatwick’s head of airport access, described it as a “real game-changer”, adding: “It’s quick, easy and completely hassle-free.”

While on holiday passengers will be able to keep their keys on them at all times.

On return, travellers cars will be ready and waiting for them to collect.

The drop off points will only be a short walk or bus ride away from the terminal.

WASHINGTON — In its latest move to restrict the legal immigration system, the Trump administration announced a sweeping change Monday that could lead to the deportations of thousands of asylum seekers.

The change from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allows asylum officers to bypass the need to interview certain applicants and instead refer them directly to immigration judges for removal proceedings.

The agency estimates that up to a third, or 444,000 of the more than 1.4 million asylum cases in its backlog, could be affected by the rule.

The administration framed the move as an effort to streamline the process and reduce the backlog of cases. The interim final rule takes effect Tuesday and is subject to a 60-day public comment period.

“For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in a news release.

“America’s asylum system exists to protect individuals who genuinely fear persecution and this rule will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely adjudication of those claims instead of to those seeking to use the system as a loophole,” Edlow added.

But advocates for immigrants said the change leaves asylum seekers who tried to follow the law vulnerable to deportation.

Migrants can apply for asylum two ways: affirmatively or defensively.

Those who entered the country legally, such as on a visa, and still have lawful status apply with USCIS and have their cases decided by an asylum officer. Those who crossed the border illegally or who are undocumented can apply after being placed into removal proceedings, where they make their case to an immigration judge.

Immigration courts are not an independent system — they are housed under the Department of Justice and judges are federal employees.

That shift is significant because the Trump administration has fired more than 100 immigration judges and replaced them with military lawyers and former prosecutors for the Department of Homeland Security. Many of the fired judges were appointed during the Biden administration or previously worked as lawyers representing immigrants.

In recent months, immigration courts have approved a dwindling percentage of asylum claims as judges face pressure to approve more deportations. After immigration agents began arresting people in courthouses, many immigrants grew wary of showing up for court proceedings, which has aided the increase in removal orders.

USCIS refers thousands of cases to immigration courts each year, federal data shows. During the first half of this fiscal year, the agency transferred 31,454 cases to immigration courts — a number that was already on track to be higher than the 2025 yearly total of 40,932. The highest yearly total was 61,729 cases in 2019, during Trump’s first presidency.

USCIS said the current policy, which requires an asylum officer to first interview an applicant before deciding whether to send the case to an immigration judge, “essentially allows an alien to get a second chance at asylum.”

Todd Schulte, president of the immigrant advocacy organization FWD.us, noted that the rule change comes just after the Trump administration terminated temporary legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and others, many of whom entered the U.S. legally and applied for asylum the “affirmative” way. On X, Schulte called the move “a terrible harbinger.”

SACRAMENTO — Last week, news broke that an artificial intelligence thingamajig broke free from the constraints of its maker, OpenAI, and committed what could be considered a string of white-collar felonies if it were human.

Because the AI thingamajig is in fact not human, the incident raised a big kerfuffle but is largely being treated as a giant oopsie we can learn from, without needing the pesky intervention of new rules or laws to stop it from happening again.

Such is the state of AI regulation in America right now.

California Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) would like to change that. Last week, he introduced the bipartisan Frontier Act with Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.). While the bill might not make either safety advocates or big tech companies entirely happy, it offers up the most comprehensive and strongest regulations of this dangerous industry that we’ve yet seen at the federal level.

Roman Yampolskiy, an AI expert and professor at University of Louisville, called the Frontier Act a “positive step because it acknowledges that frontier AI presents risks requiring dedicated oversight.”

Now, the challenge becomes passing it, and passing it in a meaningful, not-watered-down form — no easy task in a dysfunctional Congress driven by money and Donald Trump, and paralyzed by its own sycophancy to both.

If anyone has a shot, though, it’s Obernolte, who is that rarest of birds, a legislator who understands science, and his colleagues.

Obernolte represents Inland Empire areas around San Bernardino, but grew up in Fresno back in the era when the movie “War Games” was just hitting theaters.

Those of a certain age will remember how far-fetched it seemed when Matthew Broderick’s high school genius character accidentally breaks into a military AI system to play chess, but “Joshua,” the computer, takes it too far and tries to blow up the world. Now, of course, that just sounds like a regular Tuesday.

By the time he was in high school himself, Obernolte was giving that Broderick character a run for his money. An apparent computer savant, Obernolte was competing in artificial intelligence contests as a teenager, back when most of us were still playing Pong on Atari. Then he headed off to Caltech and then UCLA for advanced AI degrees. He said AI was his “first calling,” sparked when his father bought him an Apple II computer when he was 8.

He ended up dropping out of UCLA after getting his master’s because his side hustle making video games, including “NFL ’95,” turned out to be more lucrative than being a starving student. He ended up founding his own video game company, FarSight Studios, and building up a personal net worth close to $100 million.

Not bad for a kid from Fresno. In Congress, he has stuck close to the MAGA power base and was one of seven California legislators to vote against certifying the 2020 election results, a vote he took in his first days in office. He has been endorsed by Trump multiple times, and now sits on a bunch of committees and subcommittees of relevance.

For the past few years, he has pushed hard, if unsuccessfully, to create a framework for regulating AI, combining his deep understanding of the technology with his equal understanding of MAGA distaste for intervening in business.

Now, though, we’re in a moment, thanks to more than one big oopsie by technology companies. Just a few months ago, Anthropic and the Pentagon had their own tense encounter after Anthropic questioned how its AI was being used by the military. Huffy Pete Hegseth is still huffing over that one.

The public is increasingly skeptical of allowing the AI industry to govern itself, which is pushing legislators to rethink their hands-off approach, even as AI money pours like Niagara Falls into elections. Even Trump seems more inclined to consider it, signing an executive order recently that largely called for voluntary restraints on AI companies.

The introduction of the Frontier Act “shows how far the Overton window has shifted just in the past few months,” wrote Charlie Bullock, a senior research fellow with the nonpartisan Institute for Law & AI. “Not too long ago, a bipartisan bill this good and serious would have been a pipe dream. But things change quickly.”

Obernolte said the bill has been “a long time in the making,” but he hopes to package it with other legislation and is “cautiously optimistic” he can get something passed and signed by the end of the year.

As written now, the bill would allow the federal government to set minimum safety requirements and set up a framework for licensed, independent auditors to monitor compliance. That third party verification has been a key push by safety experts.

The bill would also give the government emergency powers to pause an AI model if it has a “present or impending catastrophic risk.”

It also borrows from state laws including California’s Proposition 53 that require some (not enough) transparency on the part of AI companies when things do go wrong.

To the consternation of some, the bill still contains curbs on what states can regulate on their own — basically carving out AI regulation as federal turf. This has been a huge sticking point in the fight over AI regulation because AI companies hate state laws and want them squashed. Their argument is that a patchwork of rules across states is too complicated.

“You don’t want to have 50 different state requirements for every single product that gets sold on a market, and that is particularly true of AI,” Obernolte told me.

To some extent that’s reasonable — but the problem so far has been that states such as California and New York have been the only level of government willing to try at regulation. California in particular has created some of the most comprehensive AI regulations to date and has about 30 pending bills on this issue this legislative season. The Frontier Act threads the needle on this by creating lanes where states can still pass their own laws — such as around consumer safety that would protect children or stop pornography.

But preventing catastrophic risk would largely be dependent on the federal oversight, which is great when the federal government is up to the task. Currently, we can’t even keep measles in check. So that’s a bit worrisome.

And Obernolte’s bill isn’t the only one vying for attention. Another Californian, Rep. Ted Lieu, introduced a bipartisan measure of his own with Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas). Dubbed the AI Kill Switch Act, it would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to shut down problematic models.

Yampolskiy, the Louisville professor, said that bill had promise as well, because it’s important for companies to have a way to “rapidly disable or contain systems that exhibit dangerous or unexpected behavior.”

But, he warns, that’s just one part of the “complete solution” we need. Regulation is going to require more than one law.

For Obernolte’s part, he’s shown a willingness to work on a practical solution, not just a political one. That alone is worthy of notice. The Frontier Act is a genuine attempt to govern a nascent industry that is too powerful and unpredictable to be left to its own devices.

“I’m hoping that this is we’ve landed somewhere that everyone can understand and be happy with,” Obernolte said. “AI is not something that needs to be a partisan issue, and I don’t think it should be.”

What else you should be reading

The must-read: How Jimothy the raccoon became the internet’s latest animal obsession
The California angle: Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
The L.A. Times Special: Mayor’s press team uses disappearing WhatsApp messages, avoiding scrutiny
Stay Golden,
Anita Chabria

—
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

Butlin’s has created a new high-tech solution to avoid the issue of bar queues, and it means you can enjoy many of your favourite alcoholic and soft drinks in just a few seconds

Butlin’s has announced a huge change to the way holidaymakers can order a drink at its three resorts in Bognor Regis, Minehead, and Skegness, and it’s already in place for guests visiting this summer.

The popular holiday park firm, which recently celebrated its 90th anniversary, has rolled out over 100 self-serve bars across its three sites, which it claims makes it the first in Europe to offer these kinds of bars for guests.

The technology, developed by Boxbars in a £1 million investment by Butlin’s, means there’s much less queuing for drinks, and guests can enjoy a soft or alcoholic drink in as little as six seconds.

The new self-serve bars will be available for both family and Big Weekender breaks, and will offer a huge range of beverages for all the family including branded beers, ciders, and spirits, as well as kid-friendly favourites.

More than 20 options will be available at the touch of a button including pints of Madri and Guinness, Smirnoff with mixers, and cocktails including the brand’s very own Butlin’s On The Beach, which is a mixture of vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice, and orange juice, and is reportedly the most popular option across the resorts for All Inclusive guests.

A statement from Butlin’s says the new bars will “help guests get served faster and spend less time queuing”, claiming that “the new technology has the potential to pour hundreds of drinks every minute across the three resorts”.

Guests will either be able to scan their All Inclusive wristband to dispense their drink, or can use contactless payment to quickly pay for their round. Butlin’s confirmed that bars will still be open as usual for guests who’d rather order in person.

Butlin’s launched its all inclusive drink package back in 2024, costing from £25.95 per adult per day, which includes alcoholic drinks such as draught beers, spirits and cocktails from 11am, and all-day Costa coffee and soft drinks across the parks.

Heidi Watson, from Butlin’s said: “This is an exciting first for Butlin’s. Everything we do is about improving the guest experience and our new Boxbar Self-Serve Bars will make a real difference to guests on a family break or a Big Weekender.

“Open in time for the school summer holidays, the bars are designed to reduce wait times and make it quicker and easier for guests to get a drink. This means less time queuing and more time enjoying their holiday with family and friends.”

Earlier this year Butlin’s announced new bookable karaoke pods, which groups of up to 12 people could hire for an exciting sing-along experience. Hiring the pods costs £36, and once inside visitors can choose from 45,000 chart-topping hits and throwback songs, allowing them to enjoy a private sing-song with friends and family as part of their Butlin’s break.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com