charge

WASHINGTON — A man charged with attacking the White House Correspondents’ Assn. dinner is seeking to disqualify top Justice Department officials from direct involvement in prosecuting him because they could be considered victims or witnesses in the case, creating a potential conflict of interest.

Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche and U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro were attending the April 25 event at the Washington Hilton when Cole Tomas Allen allegedly ran through a security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.

In a court filing late Thursday, Allen’s attorneys argued that it creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest for Blanche and Pirro to be making any prosecutorial decisions in the case.

“As this case proceeds closer to trial, the country and the world will continue to wonder — how can the American justice system permit a victim to prosecute a criminal defendant in a case involving them?” defense attorneys Eugene Ohm and Tezira Abe wrote.

Ohm and Abe, who are assistant federal public defenders, suggested that the appointment of a special prosecutor might be warranted. They urged U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump nominee assigned to Allen’s case, to disqualify Pirro, Blanche and possibly other Justice Department officials from direct involvement in the investigation and prosecution.

“Both heard gunshots, which presumably forced them to duck below the tables with the rest of the occupants. They were quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter, they learned that law enforcement believed the target was certain administration officials,” Ohm and Abe wrote.

Pirro said her office will respond to the defense lawyers’ arguments in its own court filing.

“We will not tolerate people who come to the District of Columbia to engage in antidemocratic acts of political violence; and we will prosecute all such acts to the fullest extent of the law,” Pirro said in a statement.

Allen is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges in an indictment handed up Tuesday by a grand jury in Washington.

The charges include attempting to assassinate President Trump, who is a longtime friend of Pirro’s. Blanche served as a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department last year.

Blanche, through a spokesperson, referred a request for comment to Pirro’s office.

Allen also is charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and two additional firearms counts. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of the attempted assassination charge alone.

The Secret Service officer who was shot once in a bullet-resistant vest fired his own weapon five times without hitting anybody. Allen, 31, of Torrance, was injured but was not shot.

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press.

The internet’s most controversial looksmaxxer is in hot water again.

Clavicular, born Braden Eric Peters, has been charged in Florida’s Miami-Dade County in connection with a video that circulated on social media showing an alligator, which appeared to be dead already, being shot repeatedly in the Everglades. Two others are also facing charges in connection with the incident: Andrew Morales, 22, known online by the moniker “Cuban Tarzan,” and Yabdiel Anibal Cotto Torres, 26, who goes by “Baby Alien.”

Peters is facing a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully discharging a firearm in a public place, according to court records obtained by The Times. The Miami-Dade state attorney’s office filed the charges April 29.

Steven Kramer and Jeffrey Neiman, attorneys for Peters, told The Times in a text message, “Our client has been summoned to appear for a misdemeanor charge that stems from following the instructions of a licensed airboat guide. He relied on that guidance. No animals or people were harmed. We are confident that once the full picture is understood, people will see this for what it is.”

The shooting took place at the Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area boat ramp dock on or about March 26, court records said. The video shows the men aboard an airboat firing at the alligator more than a dozen times.

“Yeah, it’s definitely dead,” Peters is heard saying after firing.

Shortly after the video went live on social media, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced it had launched an investigation into the incident.

“Florida’s wildlife and waterways deserve respect, not content farming,” Lt. Gov. Jay Collins said March 26 on X. “Under my watch, anyone who abuses wildlife in Florida will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

Morales’ attorney Richard Cooper emailed The Times a statement Wednesday. “We urge the public not to rush to judgment. Importantly, there is no allegation that any animal was injured, and the available evidence does not support the sensationalized narrative that has circulated online,” the statement read. “My client relied on information and guidance provided by those in authority and had no criminal intent.”

An arraignment has been scheduled for May 20.

The face of “looksmaxxing,” a subculture hyperfocused on taking extreme measures to perfect one’s physical appearance, Peters has admitted in interviews that he uses appetite-supressing and performance-enhancing drugs, as well as recreational party drugs, and has said he chisels his face by smashing his bones with a hammer.

The same week Peters’ alligator video caught the authorities’ attention, the manosphere influencer was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. He was taken into custody on a warrant issued by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office and released soon after on bond. Police allege that in February the 20-year-old internet celebrity instigated a fight between his girlfriend, Violet Lentz, 24, and a 19-year-old influencer at a Kissimmee, Fla., short-term rental. That incident was also live streamed to his hundreds of thousands of followers.

Then in April, Peters was live streaming from a Miami nightclub when he appeared to overdose on camera. In the video, Peters is seen taking a swig of an unknown substance and then subsequently starting to mumble, sway and close his eyes as the camera panned away.

TMZ obtained the audio from a 911 call alerting emergency services to the possible overdose of a 20-year-old man. Additional videos, taken by bystanders, showed Peters being carried out of the nightclub.

A source close to Peters told The Times that he was hospitalized for the overdose and checked himself out the following morning. Within hours of his release from the hospital, he was back on streaming platform Kick and telling his followers he would be out at a nightclub that night to promote its grand opening.

The all-you-can-eat venue says it has had a problem with ‘many customers’

An all-you-can-eat restaurant in Spain is introducing a “vomit fee” for diners who eat until they are sick on the premises. Sushi Toro, located in Gelves near Sevilla, said it had experienced a growing number of incidents in recent months involving customers “eating until they burst” and then vomiting.

The restaurant said the problem had affected tables and bathrooms, creating difficulties for staff and raising concerns over hygiene and customer service. In a statement shared on social media, restaurant staff said: “We have had many customers who keep ordering non-stop and eat until they burst, until they vomit. We have had vomit on the tables and in the bathrooms.”

They added that “the only solution” was to start charging vomiting fees. The restaurant, which promotes a fusion of “tradition and innovation”, offers a buffet menu featuring dishes prepared using fresh ingredients and specialist techniques. Prices range from €16.90 (£14.40) to €23.90 (£20.30), depending on the day and time of dining.

Sushi Toro bosses said their staff “strive hard to get orders out on time and maintain good hygiene” throughout all service periods. They urged diners to “order what you can eat” and apologised for any inconvenience caused by the new policy.

Demand for sushi has been surging in Spain in recent years, with diners increasingly opting for Asian seafood dishes over traditional Spanish fish fare.

Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where, against all odds, we’re still kicking.

The Lakers defied expectations by winning their first-round series against the Houston Rockets. Most didn’t give them any chance. It felt dicey after a deflating Game 5 loss at home. But the Lakers pulled it off with a headlining performance from their 22-time All-Star and award-worthy supporting performances from the ensemble cast.

Against the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder, even fewer people are giving the Lakers a chance for an encore performance. But as Kevin Garnett once said: “Anything is possible!”

Set the tone

Marcus Smart rotated over to the baseline. He came face to face with Houston’s Tari Eason as the 6-foot-8 Rockets forward leapt toward the basket. The 6-3 guard jumped right along with him.

Smart is used to taking on big challenges.

The Lakers brought Smart in for this moment. It’s not just the defensive tenacity to block a forward five inches taller and eight years younger than him, but when the postseason inevitably challenged the Lakers in unforeseen ways, they needed Smart’s leadership. He proves it every time he steps up to take a charge, gets a deflection or just pulls a teammate aside for a quick word.

“Marcus is a true leader,” center Deandre Ayton said. “Besides [Le]Bron [James], Luka [Doncic] and AR [Austin Reaves], Marcus is the other guy with the grit where [if you feel] discombobulated, he tries to be that guy that puts his arm around you and some of the younger guys. Whether it’s coming down to his competitiveness, keeping that same, consistent edge, Marcus tries to keep that level of intensity pretty high and it’s contagious, too.”

With Doncic (hamstring) still sidelined to begin the Western Conference semifinals against the top-seeded Thunder, the Lakers are counting on their supporting players for major performances. Smart’s role will be one of the most taxing; he’ll be the top defender for a team trying to slow down the NBA’s reigning most valuable player.

On his long list of elite matchups, Smart ranked Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the top.

“I think we all know that, right?” the former defensive player of the year said. “He does a really good job of getting to the free-throw line. He’s mastered it. … It’s tough, but it can be done, it’s just going to take a lot of effort from everybody and we gotta stay together.”

Gilgeous-Alexander is a front-runner for his second consecutive most valuable player and led the Thunder to a sweep over the Phoenix Suns in the first round. The Thunder easily carved up Phoenix’s ninth-ranked defense, scoring 126.9 points per 100 possessions. Their offensive efficiency was five points better than the next best team in the first round.

The Lakers are coming off their own defensive masterpiece against Houston, holding the Rockets to less than 100 points in four of the six first-round games. Their 78 points allowed in the series-clinching Game 6 were the fewest in a playoff game by a Lakers opponent since May 16, 2012.

The anchors of the defensive performance are two major offseason additions acquired to help the Lakers bounce back from their disappointing first-round series loss to Minnesota last year. Smart and Ayton are quietly starring this postseason.

Ayton’s 11 points per game didn’t accurately reflect the influence he made against the Rockets. His 10.8 rebounds per game, including four games in which he had 10 or more rebounds despite being ejected in the third quarter of Game 4, were even more impressive against a team that dominated the rebounding battle at a historic rate.

A strong performance from Ayton lifts the ceiling on the team more than anyone else, Lakers coach JJ Redick said. An underrated and unexpected part of Smart’s value is his ability to unlock the team’s most important piece.

“I’m just somebody who he respects,” Smart said. “He sees [me] go out there and not only preaching, I’m actually doing what I’m preaching.”

Smart and Ayton barely knew each other before this season. But their paths are parallel: Former postseason mainstays who, in Ayton’s words, “disappeared.” The center who helped Phoenix to the NBA Finals trudged through Portland for two seasons; Smart, the former Boston Celtics stalwart, bounced between Memphis and Washington.

They’re now soaking up the spotlight in L.A.

“We’re both here, we’re both trying to get our names back into the good graces of the basketball gods,” Smart said, “and just show what we still can do.”

Priority No. 1

The Lakers had two keys for their first-round series against the Rockets: boxing out and taking care of the ball.

Now against what Redick estimated was “one of the greatest teams ever in NBA history,” that list has narrowed to one big thing.

Turnovers.

The Lakers, who got swept in the four-game regular-season series by an average of 29.3 points per game, averaged 17.5 turnovers per game against the Thunder during the regular season, three more than their regular-season average. Turnovers nearly undid the Lakers’ first-round series: they averaged 17.7 against the Rockets and gave up 19 points off turnovers per game.

The Thunder are an especially dangerous matchup for a team that can’t take care of the ball; Oklahoma City led the league in points off turnovers with 22 per game during the regular season.

“Whatever moments we felt Houston pressuring, like the maximum amount of pressure they put on us, that’s OKC’s baseline,” Redick said.

The Thunder, even playing without star two-way wing Jalen Williams for much of the season, were the NBA’s most disruptive defense. They’re league-leading defensive rating came with the third-most steals (9.7), sixth-most blocks (5.5) and the second-most turnovers forced (16.7) per game.

“They somehow do all of that without fouling,” Redick said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, “which is one of the most remarkable things, I think, in NBA history.”

The Lakers, who attempted the second-most free throws in the league behind Doncic’s top-ranked 10.1 attempts, committed fewer fouls than the Thunder this season: 18.5 fouls per game compared to Oklahoma City’s 19.

On tap

Tuesday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m. PDT (Game 1)

Two of the Lakers’ worst losses of the year were in Oklahoma City. If November’s 29-point loss wasn’t painful enough, the injury-plagued disaster on April 2 could be enough for the Lakers to want to sage the whole arena.

Thursday at Oklahoma City, 6:30 p.m. PDT (Game 2)

The Thunder have had the league’s best home record for each of the last two seasons, including a 34-7 mark this season, but still had two home playoff losses last year. Oklahoma City dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals and the NBA Finals last year, needing to win both series in seven games en route to the championship.

Saturday vs. Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m. (Game 3)

The Thunder lost Game 3 in three of their four playoff series last year. The only exception was their first-round sweep over Memphis.

Monday vs. Oklahoma City, 7:30 p.m. (Game 4)

Could this be the final Lakers game of the year?

Status report

Luka Doncic (left hamstring)

After missing the first round, the Lakers’ superstar guard is still sidelined with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. He is not expected to return for the start of the series and has yet to progress to live on-court workouts.

Jalen Williams (left hamstring)

The Thunder’s All-NBA wing will miss at least Game 1 after he suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain on April 22, which kept him out of the Thunder’s last two games. After last year’s breakout season, Williams was plagued by injuries to his wrist and right hamstring that limited him to just 33 regular-season games.

(Second) favorite thing I ate this week

Because I did not take a picture of it, the only evidence I have from my No. 1 meal from Houston is a lingering sweet and spicy tang on my tongue from Rodeo Goat’s Billy F Gibbons burger. It was delicious: candied bacon, caramelized onions, gouda, mango pico, cream cheese and habanero sauce.

Street taco plate from Luchi & Joey’s in Houston.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

A close second was the street taco plate from Luchi & Joey’s, a food stall in downtown Houston’s underground tunnels. The five-taco spread hit the spot while I was hiding from the heavy storm moving through Houston on the day of Game 6. The six-mile tunnel system is lined with restaurants and shops that came in handy during torrential rain. I was safe from the elements while I hunted for lunch then only had to make a one-block scramble through the rain back to my hotel.

In case you missed it

‘Changes our ceiling’: Why Deandre Ayton is key to Lakers upset vs. Thunder

‘You can’t fear them’: Upset-minded Lakers refuse to be intimidated by Thunder

How the Lakers and Thunder match up entering their playoff series

‘There’s no quit.’ Lakers’ leadership, resilience shines through in series-clinching win

Ex-Lakers assistant admits role in gambling schemes, could face years in prison

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Former Lakers assistant coach Damon Jones became the first among 34 defendants to plead guilty Tuesday in an expansive gambling indictment that also ensnared Hall of Fame player Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat star Terry Rozier and organized crime figures.

Jones was a Lakers coach in 2022 and 2023, long after he retired from an 11-year NBA playing career with 11 teams. Before a Feb. 9, 2023, game between the Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks in which LeBron James was a late scratch because of a foot injury, evidence showed that Jones urged a co-conspirator to “get a big bet on Milwaukee before the information is out!”

Jones urged his co-conspirator in a text: “Bet enough so Djones can eat to [sic] now!!!”

Jones and James were considered good friends for years. A person close to James told The Times in October that the Lakers star didn’t know that Jones was selling injury information to gamblers placing bets.

Jones had entered not guilty pleas in November to the two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in sports betting and rigged poker game schemes. However, during back-to-back hearings in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday, he entered guilty pleas to those charges.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 6 before separate judges in the two cases. Guidelines call for 21 to 27 months in prison for the sports gambling charge and 63 to 78 months for the charge on rigged poker games. Prosecutors said they agreed to shave 15 months from the sentence in exchange for Jones pleading guilty by April 30.

He pleaded guilty in the sports betting case first. In a prepared statement, he acknowledged that he conspired with others to defraud sports betting companies by using “insider information that I obtained as a result of my relationships as a former player.”

Jones, 49, said the goal of the sports betting conspiracy was to use his insider knowledge of injuries to players to make money gambling.

“I would like to sincerely apologize to the court, my family, my peers and also the National Basketball Association,” said Jones, who was paid $21 million as a player.

Next came pleading guilty to participating in rigged poker games. Jones admitted that he was paid to use his NBA celebrity to lure deep-pocketed gamblers to poker games in Miami and New York.

Again reading from a statement, Jones said that, based on conversations with his co-conspirators at poker games, “I knew these games were rigged and that players were being cheated.”

And again he concluded with an apology, addressing the court, his family and friends.

“I’m really sorry to everyone involved for my actions,” he said.

Prosecutors said Monday they would seek additional charges against Rozier in the sports betting case because they had developed evidence that the 10-year NBA veteran solicited a bribe during an alleged gambling scheme.

According to the original indictment, when Rozier played for the Charlotte Hornets in 2023, he told friends he was planning to leave a game early with a “supposed injury,” allowing others to place wagers. Rozier has made $135 million as a player.

Billups, who played with the Clippers for two seasons and later was a member of Clippers coach Ty Lue’s staff before being named head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021, is charged with rigging underground poker games that authorities said were backed by three of New York’s Mafia families. Billups, who was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2024, made $107 million as a player.

WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted Tuesday in an investigation over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said constituted a threat against President Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and confirmed the indictment to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. The charge or charges against Comey were not immediately known.

It’s the second criminal case the Justice Department has brought against the longtime Trump foe, who said he assumed the arrangement of shells he saw on a walk, reading “86 47,” was a political message, not a call to violence. Comey is among multiple foes of the Republican president to come under scrutiny by the Justice Department over the last year, as acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche aims to position himself as the right person to hold the job permanently.

Comey was interviewed by the Secret Service in May after Trump administration officials asserted that he was advocating the assassination of Trump, the 47th president. Comey deleted the post shortly after it was made, writing: “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence” and “I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment Tuesday.

Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by the Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ‘to kill.’ We do not enter this sense, due to its relative recency and sparseness of use.”

Trump, in a Fox News Channel interview in May, accused Comey of knowing “exactly what that meant.”

“A child knows what that meant,” Trump said. “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”

The fact that the Justice Department pursued a new case against the ex-FBI director months after a separate and unrelated indictment was dismissed will likely spark defense claims that the Trump administration is going out of its way to target Comey, who had overseen the early months of an investigation into whether the Republican president’s 2016 campaign had coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of that year’s election.

The former FBI director was indicted in September on charges that he lied to and obstructed Congress related to testimony he gave in 2020 about whether he had authorized inside information about an investigation to be provided to a journalist. He denied any wrongdoing, and the case was subsequently dismissed after a judge concluded that the prosecutor who brought the indictment was illegally appointed.

Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Obama, a Democrat, and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in President George W. Bush’s Republican administration.

But the relationship was strained from the start, including after Comey resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge his personal loyalty to the president — an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered in the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration.

The department, for instance, is also pursuing a criminal investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, another key figure in the Russia investigation — one of Trump’s chief grievances and a saga for which he and his supporters have long sought retaliation.

CNN was the first to report the second indictment against Comey.

Richer and Tucker write for the Associated Press.

WIENER NEUSTADT, Austria — A man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group and plotting to attack one of superstar singer Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna nearly two years ago pleaded guilty as his trial began on Tuesday, his lawyer said.

The plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still canceled Swift’s three performances in August 2024. The singer’s fans, known as Swifties, who had flown to Austria from across the globe to attend a performance of her record-setting Eras Tour were devastated, but rallied to turn Vienna into a citywide trading post for friendship bracelets and singalongs.

The defendant, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen known only as Beran A. in line with Austrian privacy rules, faced charges including terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organization. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison, and has been in custody since August 2024.

The Vienna plot drew comparisons to a 2017 attack by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. The bomb detonated at the end of Grande’s concert as thousands of young fans were leaving, becoming the deadliest extremist attack in the United Kingdom in recent years.

Defendant regrets his actions

Anna Mair, his defense attorney, said her client pleaded guilty to the charges related to the concert plot.

“Of course, he deeply regrets it all,” Mair said outside the court, adding that “he says it was the biggest mistake of his life.”

Austrian media reported that he also pleaded guilty to being a member of a terrorist organization.

Beran A. is facing trial alongside Arda K., whose full name also has not been made public. They, along with a third man, planned to carry out simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024 in the name of the Islamic State group. Beran A. and Arda K. never carried out their attacks.

Only Beran A. was charged in connection with the concert plot. He pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the plot for simultaneous attacks.

He allegedly planned to target onlookers gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium — up to 30,000 each night, with another 65,000 inside the venue — with knives or homemade explosives. The suspect hoped to “kill as many people as possible,” authorities said in 2024. The U.S. provided intelligence that fed into the decision to cancel the concerts.

Beran A. also allegedly networked with other members of the Islamic State group ahead of the planned attack. Prosecutors say they discussed purchasing weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant also sought to illegally buy weapons in the days ahead of the performance. In addition, he swore allegiance to the militant group.

Authorities searched his apartment on Aug. 7, 2024, and found bomb-making materials. The concerts were scheduled to begin the next day.

“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating,” Swift wrote in a statement posted to Instagram two weeks later. “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows.”

A representative for Swift did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.

The trial is being held in Wiener Neustadt, about an hour south of Vienna. The proceedings are set to continue May 12.

Three attacks planned in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE

Prosecutors have also filed terrorism-related charges against Arda K. in the trial in connection with the plan for simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The third man in that plot, Hasan E., allegedly stabbed a security guard with a knife at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, on March 11, 2024. He was arrested and remains in pretrial detention in Saudi Arabia, Austrian prosecutors said.

Beran A. and Arda K. did not carry out their plans in Turkey and the UAE. Beran A. returned to Vienna and then allegedly began plotting to attack a Swift concert there.

Jenne, Schrader and Dazio write for the Associated Press. Dazio reported from Berlin. AP writer Daniel Niemann in Cologne, Germany, contributed to this report.

DECADES on from when ‘Ladette’ culture dominated the 1990s, the trend appears to be making a comeback – with popular TV stars at the forefront.

Olivia Attwood and Helen Flanagan are leading the charge as they rally against a polished media profile in favour of authenticity… just like original ladettes Sara Cox, Zoe Ball and Denise Van Outen.

From Olivia’s raucous holiday with Pete Wicks instead of her husband, to Helen starring in steamy dating shows with three kids at home, the girls are proving they won’t apologise for doing what they want – despite facing backlash over their part in the era’s resurgence.

It follows a spell of female stars in the spotlight – like Holly Willoughby – who took on the “good girl” image – with any suggestion of naughtiness carefully constructed for dramatic effect.

PR and Entertainment expert Lynn Carratt said: “The ladette era was famous in the late 90s, early 00s as an era in which women ruled supreme.

“And now it appears the boozy and unfiltered 90s trend is enjoying a second wave.

READ MORE ON OLIVIA ATTWOOD

CAUGHT BLUSHING

Olivia Attwood giggles as Katherine Ryan confronts her about Pete romance

LIV’S LIMIT

Olivia Attwood says she’s close to a ‘proper meltdown’ after ex’s cheating

“TV stars Olivia Attwood and Helen Flanagan appear to be leading the revival with the same throwback energy – loud, emotional, unpredictable, and unapologetically visible – like Sara Cox and Zoe Ball, back in the day.”

While Holly Willoughby was famous for juggling being the nation’s sweetheart on This Morning, alongside her role as a doting wife and mother of three, younger female celebrities don’t feel the need to pretend they have it all figured out.

The 45-year-old would feign shock and giggle behind her hand at any filthy humour on her ITV2 show Celebrity Juice, which aired after 9pm, but her hangovers after the National Television Awards became a well known skit.

In 2016, dressed in her ballgown from the night before, Holly hosted This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield in a tux, telling viewers: “I haven’t been home yet. I came straight here.”

It became a running joke every year about Holly’s “wild” night out – but those behind the scenes suggest it was all carefully curated.

Then, along came former Love Island star Olivia who has become ITV‘s newest darling – presenting a host of shows including Bad Boyfriends and Getting Filthy Rich.

The 34-year-old has recently separated from her husband of three years, footballer Bradley Dack.

She says the split has made her feel “incredibly passionate” about being self-sufficient.

“Navigating what I’ve been going through, the fact I have my own place and car, I can’t even imagine not being able to look after myself,” she says.

Last summer, she ended up in the doghouse with her then-husband Brad when she was pictured cuddled up to close pal Pete on a yacht in Ibiza.

The pair have since struck up a secret romance following her marriage split in January. Pals insist “there was no overlap”.

Soon after her wild week with pals in Ibiza where she was spotted dancing on a boat in a thong bikini, downing shots and posting hungover pics, Olivia was back on This Morning presenting.

Lynn added: “You have to hand it to Olivia Attwood, she has managed to do what few reality stars achieve to do and turn notoriety into a high-profile media career.

“She is a permanent fixture on ITV with presenting roles and prime-time appearances, she has built a success podcast brand, as well as appearing on Kiss.

“She one of reality TV’s most in-demand personalities and has developed a polished media profile. But sitting alongside that something far more chaotic behind the scenes: headline-making holidays, relationship drama and brutally honest social media posts that regularly ignite debate and she likes to party.

“One minute she’s fronting glossy TV projects, the next she’s dominating tabloid headlines with candid revelations about love, life and everything in between.

“It seems like controlled chaos, but it’s working for her.”

Meanwhile mum of three Helen has recently come under fire for being on Celebs Go Dating and Celebrity Ex on the Beach.

She has been outspoken about the criticism she’s faced for taking part, particularly as a mother.

‘I find it empowering,” Helen said previously.

“There have been comments on social media suggesting I shouldn’t be doing a show like that as a mum of three, but no one would say that about a dad.

“Women should be allowed to have fun and enjoy themselves too.”

Lynn added: “Helen has stepped firmly back into the reality TV spotlight and is currently appearing on Celebrity Ex on the Beach, enjoying herself in a villa under 24/7 filming, sun-soaked conditions and constant emotional scrutiny.

“The former soap star and mum of three was filmed constantly in bikinis, drinking, flirting and kissing on screen, embracing a level of unfiltered reality television that feels ripped straight from the early 2000s.

“Helen’s comments strike at the heart of the debate surrounding modern ladette culture: who gets to be seen as ‘wild’, and who gets judged for it.”

So why now is there a resurgence of the 90s ladette era?

Lynn continues: “In an era of heavily curated Instagram perfection and tightly managed celebrity branding, audiences are increasingly drawn to the opposite – unpredictability, imperfection and personalities who don’t play it safe.

“Olivia Attwood and Helen Flanagan sit at the centre of this shift.

“One balancing mainstream ITV success with headline-grabbing personal drama, the other embracing high-emotion reality television where nothing is off-limits.

“And right now, they are doing anything but staying quiet.”

Sources have told BBC Sport that Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola, Fulham head coach Marco Silva and former Dortmund boss Edin Terzic are under consideration as possible replacements for Rosenior.

Iraola, 43, announced last week that he will leave Bournemouth at the end of the season, while Silva’s contract at rivals Fulham is due to expire in July. Terzic, meanwhile, was under consideration by Tottenham to replace Thomas Frank when the Dane was sacked earlier this season.

Calum McFarlane will take over as interim manager until the season of the season.

McFarlane, who was Rosenior’s assistant, was in charge for a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and a defeat at Fulham in January after previous boss Enzo Maresca was sacked.

“As the club works to bring stability to the head coach position, we will undertake a process of self-reflection to make the right long-term appointment,” Chelsea added.

Rosenior won five of his 13 games in the Premier League and led the Blues to four victories in the FA Cup – all against lower-league opposition – to reach the semi-finals.

McFarlane’s first game in charge comes on Sunday when Chelsea face Leeds at Wembley for a place in the FA Cup final (15:00 BST).

United States President Donald Trump has described the Iranian leadership as “seriously fractured” as he announced an extension to a ceasefire.

Trump said on Tuesday that the ceasefire would be extended to allow more time for negotiations and appeared to be suggesting that Iran’s leadership is in disarray.

He added that the US naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian ports would remain in place.

Three weeks ago, Trump claimed the US military campaign had succeeded in its goal of forcing a change in Iran’s government and the US was now dealing with “a whole new set of people” in charge of the country.

On April 11, Iran sent a delegation led by parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, to begin talks with the US.

So is Iran’s government “fractured”? We take a look at the key Iranian stakeholders and power centres in Iran and how their approach to US negotiations may differ.

Who are the key figures in Iran, and are they ‘fractured’ over talks with the US?

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei

Khamenei is the second son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli air strikes on Tehran on the first day of the war on February 28. Mojtaba Khamenei was selected as Iran’s new supreme leader on March 8, according to state media reports.

The 56-year old has never run for office or been elected but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of his father, cultivating deep ties with the the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Observers said the younger Khamenei’s ascension is a clear sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment have retained power and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or negotiations with the US in the short term.

Since his ascension, however, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public. On March 13, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed Iran’s new supreme leader had been wounded in US-Israeli strikes.

An April 11, a Reuters news agency report that quoted three people close to the supreme leader’s inner circle said Khamenei was still recovering from severe facial and leg injuries suffered in the air strike that killed his father. The sources were quoted as saying he was taking part in meetings with senior officials through audioconferencing.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify these claims.

According to state media reports, Khamenei has been active in making decisions on the war.

In a message read on Iranian state TV on April 18, Khamenei warned that the Iranian navy was ready to inflict “new bitter defeats” on the US and Israel as tensions escalated in the Strait of Hormuz.

Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf

Ghalibaf, 64, has served as Iran’s parliamentary speaker since 2020.

He was commander of the IRGC air force from 1997 to 2000. After that, he served as the country’s police chief. From 2005 to 2017, he was the mayor of Tehran.

Ghalibaf stood in elections for president in 2005, 2013, 2017 and 2024. He withdrew his bid for president before the election in 2017 when Hassan Rouhani won a second term.

Last month in the early days of the US-Israel war on Iran, it was suggested that Ghalibaf was the Trump administration’s “pick” to lead the country after the war ended. He has also been the main Iranian official leading negotiations with Washington since they began on April 11 in Pakistan.

In an overnight post on X on Tuesday, Ghalibaf wrote that Iran is “prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield” after Trump threatened Tehran with “problems like they’ve never seen before” if the two-week ceasefire ended this week without a deal.

Ghalibaf expressed anger at Trump for “imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire”.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield,” he said.

The ceasefire was supposed to have ended on Wednesday, but shortly before its expiration, Trump extended it until Iran “can come up with a unified proposal”.

Within Iran, however, Ghalibaf’s willingness to engage in negotiations with the US has been criticised by some people who have accused him of “betrayal”.

According to a report on Monday by the Iran International TV channel, some critics of Ghalibaf have said on social media platforms in Iran that the parliamentary speaker’s suggestion that peace talks with the US were progressing was “worrying”.

“There is no good in negotiation except harm,” one critic said.

But Ghalibaf has defended undertaking negotiations with the US. In a televised interview on Saturday, he said diplomacy does not mean “a withdrawal from Iran’s demands” but is a way to “consolidate military gains and translate them into political outcomes and lasting peace”.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Iran’s military power structure is often described as opaque and complex.

The nation operates parallel armies, multiple intelligence services and layered command structures, all of which answer directly to the supreme leader, who serves as the commander in chief of all the armed forces.

The parallel armies comprise the Artesh, Iran’s regular army, which is responsible for territorial defence, defence of Iran’s airspace and conventional warfare, and the IRGC, whose role goes beyond defence and includes protecting Iran’s political structure.

The IRGC also controls Iran’s airspace and drone arsenal, which has become the backbone of Iran’s deterrence strategy against attacks by Israel and the US.

After the US and Israel struck Iran and killed Ali Khamenei, the IRGC promised revenge and launched what it called “the heaviest offensive operations in the history of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic against occupied lands [a reference to Israel] and the bases of American terrorists”. Since then, it has struck US military assets and infrastructure across the Gulf region.

Some experts said Iranian officials negotiating with the US are more closely aligned with the IRGC than other leaders and groups.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on March 25, Babak Vahdad, a political analyst specialising in Iran, noted that Iran’s appointment of Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council suggested Iranian negotiations would become more tightly aligned with the IRGC’s priorities. Zolghadr is a former IRGC commander and has been secretary of the advisory Expediency Council since 2023.

But Javad Heiran-Nia, who directs the Persian Gulf Studies Group at the Center for Scientific Research and Middle East Strategic Studies in Iran, said a divide between the IRGC and Iran’s negotiating team was plain to see.

Iran has attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz since Trump announced the ceasefire on April 6 and said the US naval blockade will remain.

“The attack on tankers during the ceasefire demonstrates the IRGC’s dominance over the diplomatic team and its disregard for their positions,” he told Al Jazeera.

Paydari Front

Heiran-Nia pointed to the role of the Paydari Front (Steadfastness Front), whose members are hardliners within Iran’s political structure who are deeply committed to preserving the original principles of the 1979 Islamic revolution and the absolute power of the supreme leader. This group, he said, has been using the negotiations to cement its position within the power structure and among its support base.

He added that the Paydari Front has also been questioning the negotiations.

“In Iran’s current political climate, various groups are trying to raise their weight, both within the power structure and in public opinion. Of course, the Paydari Front’s efforts are more meaningful in relation to their own support base rather than trying to influence other segments of society because their hardline approach holds no appeal for other social classes,” he said.

The influence this group could have over the progress of talks is debatable, however, he added.

“If a deal is reached, it will likely have a sovereign character. The establishment will impose its own narrative, and the IRGC will accept it. In the meantime, the hardliners will attack the administration of [President] Masoud Pezeshkian and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over the deal. However, it is unlikely that this will spread to the decision-making body of the establishment,” he added.

Niall Currie has left his role as Portadown boss with immediate effect with two games of the Irish Premiership season remaining.

Currie took over as Ports boss for a second spell in October 2022 after previously managing the club between 2016 and 2018.

His last game in charge was Saturday’s heavy 4-0 defeat against relegation-threatened Crusaders in which Currie criticised his side’s “abysmal” performance.

Currie could not prevent the club from being relegated in the 2022-23 season, but he led the Ports back to the top flight at the first time of asking as they won the Championship title the following campaign.

They also reached the BetMcLean Cup final in 2024, but were beaten in the final by Linfield.

He then guided Portadown to an eighth place finish in their first campaign back in the Irish Premiership last season, two points off seventh and a spot in the European play-offs.

The club currently sit 10th with two games left to play, away to Ballymena United on Saturday and away to Bangor on Saturday, 25 April.

The 53-year-old has also managed Dundela, Carrick Rangers, Ards, Loughgall and Annagh United.

If you’d like to take a ride on the Goodyear blimp, it turns out you can’t do it wearing heels.

This I learned on Day 2 of Coachella, when the people who promote the tire company’s famous dirigible — they have a nice lady in charge of the blimp’s socials and everything — invited me and my colleagues Rebecca Castillo and Kayla Bartkowski to climb on board for a little cruise over the desert festival.

Before we could get on to the airship that had room for about six to eight people, we had to watch a safety video in which the narrator told us that you can’t wear heels on the blimp — but that if you’d worn them today, you could check with a Goodyear representative and they’d see about other arrangements. (One rep told me she’d already loaned out her sneakers several times Saturday.)

Anyway!

Los Angeles Times reporter Mikael Wood rides the Goodyear blimp flying over Coachella

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

The ride was gentler than I’d anticipated — kind of like a boat ride in a harbor. We took off from a giant dirt field at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal and tooled around for 30 minutes or so; when we got over Coachella, we could see a few hundred Beliebers camped out as close to the main stage as they could get — nine or 10 hours before Bieber’s performance was scheduled to begin.

They looked so little down there — so small in size, so big in Beliebf.

Back on the ground, we had to get off the blimp two by two, each duo replaced by a new pair of folks who’d responded to an email asking if they might want to a ride on a humongous floating billboard.

The ladies who replaced Rebecca and Kayla looked super jazzed; my guy seemed less impressed.

Maybe he’d blimped before.

Ryanair passengers could face an additional £55 fee

A Ryanair regulation could land passengers with £55 charges, and it’s got nothing to do with oversized luggage. The budget carrier is renowned for its stripped-back approach, with a habit of adding extra charges for items such as baggage and choosing your own seat.

At present, passengers on a basic ticket can only bring one small personal bag as hand luggage without facing additional charges. If this bag exceeds the dimensions, it will need to be placed in the hold – at an extra cost. And while many travellers are familiar with this regulation, there’s another Ryanair policy that could see you stung with extra charges.

If you’re jetting off with Ryanair you’ll be required to check in online. You can then save your boarding pass to a smartphone or tablet. As of November 2025 Ryanair has transitioned to “100% digital boarding passes via its app, eliminating paper passes to reduce costs, improve service, streamline rebooking, and save 300 tonnes of paper annually”.

You can check in online from 60 days ahead of your flight’s scheduled departure if you’ve purchased a seat, or 24 hours beforehand if you’re content to be assigned a complimentary seat. Regardless of seat selection, online check-in shuts two hours before the flight is scheduled to take off.

Following online check-in you’ll obtain your boarding passes, and you’ll be required to save a copy. If you fail to check in online, you’ll face an airport check-in charge of £55 or 55 euros.

To dodge the fee make sure you have a valid boarding pass before you head off to the airport. For those without a smartphone or tablet, Ryanair will print a boarding pass at no cost, provided you have already completed your online check-in prior to arriving at the airport.

Ryanair said it will remind passengers who are booked to fly to check-in online before they are due to depart.

Lil Tjay’s attorney is denying that the rapper was involved with Offset’s shooting.

Dawn M. Florio, the rapper’s apparent attorney, posted a statement on Instagram on Tuesday slamming “false rumors” that Lil Tjay was involved at the incident that occurred Monday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla.

“Lil Tjay has not been shot, nor has Lil Tjay been charged with any shooting,” the statement says. “Any reporting to the contrary is false. We encourage people to consult trusted news sources, and to verify the accuracy of any reporting, before reflexively sharing or repeating baseless rumors.”

The Seminole Police Department previously told The Times that one of the two individuals arrested Monday in connection to the incident related to Offset’s shooting was Tione Jayden Merritt. The 24-year-old is known professionally as Lil Tjay. Merritt was booked into a Broward County jail on charges of disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle without a valid license.

As of Tuesday morning, charges had not been filed against the second detainee.

According to police, the incident began as a fight near the hotel valet. After Offset was shot, he was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and was listed as in stable condition.

Born Kiari Cephus, Offset gained prominence as a member of rap trio Migos along with fellow Georgia rappers Quavo and Takeoff. The group was founded in 2008 and together until Takeoff was fatally shot in 2022. Offset shares three children with estranged wife Cardi B.

Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.

US president says Washington, as the ‘winner’ of the war, has a ‘concept’ for charging a toll in strategic waterway.

President Donald Trump has suggested the United States may be looking to charge a toll in the Strait of Hormuz after the war, a move that would likely require direct US military control over the strategic waterway.

Asked on Monday whether he would accept a deal that would allow Iran to take fees from ships to traverse the strait, the US president said: “What about us charging tolls? I’d rather do that than let them have them. Why shouldn’t we? We’re the winner. We won.”

Trump reiterated that Iran has been militarily defeated, a claim that he has been making since the early days of the war, despite Iran’s sustained drone and missile attacks across the region and its continuing blockade of Hormuz.

“The only thing they have is the psychology of, ‘Oh, we’re going to drop a couple of mines in the water.’ All right, no, I mean, we have a concept where we’ll charge tolls,” Trump told reporters.

Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean, lies mostly within Omani and Iranian territorial waters. About 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passed through the strait before the war.

Trump’s latest comments came as he issued what he called a “final” ultimatum to Tehran to reopen the strait and agree to Washington’s terms or face attacks against Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.

The US president told reporters on Monday that any deal with Iran must include reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“We have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be, we want free traffic of oil,” he said.

Reports have suggested that Iran is already charging a toll for some of the few ships it is allowing to pass through the strait.

“The Strait of Hormuz situation won’t return to its pre-war status,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on X last month.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also called for “new arrangements” to manage the waterway after the war, ensuring safe passage for ships and protecting Iran’s interests.

“I believe that after the war, the first step should be drafting a new protocol for the Strait of Hormuz,” he told Al Jazeera in March. “Naturally, this should be done between the countries that lie on both sides of the strait.”

The White House said last week that Trump is considering asking Arab countries to pay for Washington’s expenses in its war on Iran.

Brits travelling abroad are being urged to plan ahead and allow plenty of time.

Holidaymakers have been warned about a new charge coming into force this week. The government is introducing new fees for passport applications on April 8, pushing the cost of online applications beyond £100 for the very first time for adults.

This follows a previous price rise for passport applications earlier in 2025. The latest hike stands at 8%, with a statement on the government website confirming the new fees will help the Home Office move further towards a system that covers its own costs through users rather than relying on general taxation funding.

Under the new proposals, adult online applications will climb from £94.50 to £102, while child applications will go up from £61.50 to £66.50. Postal applications will also see increases, reaching £115.50 for adults and £80 for children.

Premium one-day applications from within the UK will set you back £239.50, up from £222, and standard online applications made from abroad will rise to £116.50 for adults and £75.50 for children. Overseas paper applications will increase to £130 for adults and £89 for children.

Mike Harvey, managing director at 1st Move International, says the rise is particularly significant for Brits applying from overseas, where charges are already higher, reports the Express.

He said: “For expats, long-term travellers or those in the process of relocating, these additional costs can quickly add up, especially if passports are needed for visas, work permits or international moves. Getting your application in before the deadline can help avoid unnecessary extra spend.”

With busy travel periods such as summer on the horizon, demand for passport applications is expected to surge. Delaying too long could mean not only paying more, but also facing hold-ups.

Mike added: “If you know your passport needs renewing, acting now is the safest option, putting you ahead of both the upcoming price increase and the seasonal rush.

“While renewals typically take up to three weeks when completed correctly, any errors can cause delays, so it’s important to check all documents carefully before submitting. Early applications are a simple step that could save both time and money.”

How long does it take to get a new passport?

According to the Home Office, the majority of standard applications from the UK were processed within that three-week timeframe.

However, it can take longer if additional information is required or you need to attend an interview. A sensible approach is to always apply for a passport renewal with as much advance notice before travelling as possible.

For first-time applicants, or those applying on behalf of a child, the process may take a little longer. The government also strongly advises against booking any travel until the new passport has been received, as the number will differ from the previous one.

Before the start, Yorkshire confirmed that Joe Root will play three Championship matches and fellow England batter Harry Brook two games as their preparations for the Test summer.

Glamorgan gave debuts to ex-Somerset batter Sean Dickson and New South Wales paceman Ryan Hadley, while Yorkshire’s new faces are Western Australia batter Sam Whiteman, born in Doncaster, and Dutch all-rounder Van Beek. Australian paceman Jhye Richardson was not pressed into early service.

Intermittent rain, combined with a chilly wind, meant that play did not begin in grey, windy and inhospitable weather until 16:15 BST.

Asa Tribe and Eddie Byrom, a rare bespectacled pair of batters, formed a new opening partnership for Glamorgan and Byrom hit his first ball back in the team to the square-leg boundary.

But Ben Coad beat him several times before forcing him to edge to slip where Finlay Bean clung on well.

In the next over, England contender Tribe feathered White through to Bairstow for 11, and the same combination accounted for Dickson without scoring as Bairstow took a good grab in front of slip.

The chaos continued as new captain Kiran Carlson flicked White to leg slip where Dom Bess clung on to take a catch above his head.

Despite some tentative shots early on, Ingram and England Lions all-rounder Kellaway settled in to stop the slide against the change seamers, with Ingram slapping Van Beek over point for the first Glamorgan six of the season.

The half-century partnership marked the first stage in Glamorgan’s recovery before Bairstow’s early exit for treatment, with Bean taking the keeper’s gloves.

Glamorgan survived a second blast from White and a token over of spin from Bess to reach the close with some batting resources intact, although Yorkshire will be more content with their work.

Depending on where people stay, they could be paying more than £13 a night in the municipal surcharge

UK travellers to Spain have been told of a ‘doubling’ of a charge for all tourists going to a popular hotspot from today. It has been reported in Spain that the doubling of the municipal surcharge comes into effect on April 1.

Depending on the type of accommodation, tourists may pay up to €15 more per night in Barcelona. This is due to an increase in the tourist tax on the one hand now ranging from €1 to €7 depending on the category of accommodation and a municipal tax which rises from €4 to €8.

Applicable to stays in hotels, hostels and short-term rentals, these taxes can, when combined, amount to up to €15 per night per person, LeFigaro reported.

The measure was announced in March 2025 but was only approved by the Catalan parliament a few weeks ago. Barcelona City Council has voted in favour of increasing the council tax by one euro per year until 2029. The aim is to tackle the housing crisis. Residents regularly protest against rising rents, which they believe are partly due to the growing number of short-term rentals such as Airbnb.

In a four-star hotel – which accounts for nearly half of the local hotel stock – a two-night stay for a couple could therefore cost up to €45 more. Cruise ship passengers must also pay these taxes: they will pay €12 – instead of €8 – if they disembark for more than twelve hours, or €14 (instead of €11) if they stay for less than twelve hours. One exception remains for a specific category of accommodation: hostels listed in the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Youth Hostel Register, for which the fee remains at €1.

With these new rules, the Autonomous Community of Catalonia hopes to raise 200 million euros a year. On its website, the Catalan government states that “25% of the revenue from the tourist tax will be allocated to the Generalitat’s housing policies, whilst 75% will be channelled into the Tourism Promotion Fund, [in particular] for housing policies [and] economic development policies.”

With the new regulation, the tax will rise to seven euros per night in five-star accommodations in Barcelona and to 3.40 euros in four-star accommodations. It will also be more expensive for cruise passengers, especially those disembarking in the Catalan capital. Those staying for less than 12 hours will pay six euros in Barcelona and 4.50 euros in the rest of the ports in Catalonia , 20 Minutos reported.

The tax increase will be phased in over two years. The first increase will take place this April, while the remainder will be implemented a year later, in April 2027. At that point, the tourist tax will be completely doubled. However, in Barcelona, the increase will be more immediate and will begin this month to address the high tourist pressure the city experiences, unlike the rest of Catalonia.

The revenue from the tourist tax will be divided into two parts. 25% of the total income will be allocated to housing policies of the Generalitat (Catalan government), one of the main pillars of Catalan President Salvador Illa’s policies. The remaining 75% of the revenue will be integrated into the Tourism Promotion Fund.

The increase in the tourist tax in Catalonia already has the support of a majority of the parliamentary groups, as well as the backing of a large part of the population. This is especially true in Barcelona, where overtourism has wreaked havoc on both housing and community life. In fact, in the Catalan capital, there have already been demonstrations by residents against the massive influx of visitors, and proof of this is that 76.7% of the population says the city has reached its maximum capacity for receiving tourists.

These data are reflected in the latest survey on tourism perception in Barcelona, published by the city council itself, in which 56% of residents support the increase in the tourist surcharge.

Public support for the increase in the tourist tax contrasts sharply with the total opposition from the Catalan tourism sector. Following the announcement of the agreement between the PSC, ERC, and Comuns parties, business owners in Catalonia’s tourist accommodation sector expressed their “total and unanimous rejection.” The employers’ association Confecat asserted that the measure is “improvised, lacking strategic rigour, disconnected from the country’s real needs, and driven solely by revenue collection.”

Furthermore, the Catalan Federation of Tourist Apartments (Federatur) warned that the tax increase will lead to a loss of competitiveness for the region and make Catalans’ holidays more expensive. This position is also supported by other employers’ associations, trade groups, and federations within the sector, such as Foment del Treball, the Barcelona Hotel Guild, Pimec, and the Barcelona Tourist Apartment Association.

According to Jordi Clos, president of the Hotel Association, there is some concern among representatives of the tourism sector about how the tax increase will affect business. “It will be necessary to monitor the impact this measure may have to prevent a significant and lasting decline,” he stated after the Catalan Parliament approved the increase in February.

Igor Tudor has left Tottenham Hotspur as interim head coach after just 44 days and seven matches in charge.

Spurs said they have “mutually agreed” to part ways with the Croat with “immediate effect”.

The decision comes a week after a damaging 3-0 home defeat by fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest on 22 March – a result that left Spurs 17th in the table and only one point above the relegation places with seven games remaining.

Tottenham have suffered five defeats in seven matches in all competitions since Tudor succeeded the sacked Thomas Frank on 14 February, on a deal until the end of the season.

REDDING — At a Board of Supervisors meeting in rural Shasta County last month, Clint Curtis dropped a bombshell: A sheriff way down in Riverside was going to confiscate all the ballots from a recent election.

Curtis, the county registrar of voters, was the first to announce the planned ballot seizure. Even the sheriff himself, Chad Bianco, had not publicly revealed his intentions.

Later, as Bianco’s move grabbed headlines — he is a leading Republican candidate for governor — Curtis’ behind-the-scenes maneuvering remained largely unknown. The registrar had worked with the Riverside County citizens group whose fraud allegations had sparked Bianco’s investigation, even traveling 600 miles south to speak on their behalf.

Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis poses last month in the new election observation room at the elections office in Redding.

In his short time in Shasta County, Curtis, whose claims about rigged voting machines stretch back to the early 2000s, has solidified his position as a torchbearer of the election denialism movement, vowing to take his message about untrustworthy machines and potential fraud across California and beyond.

Critics here say he has steadily disenfranchised voters. He has eliminated nine of the vast county’s 13 ballot drop boxes, telling The Times he did not trust ballots in the hands of “little old ladies running all over” to collect them. And he has advocated for a local ballot initiative that would limit elections to one day, eliminate most voting by mail and require voter ID as well as a hand count of ballots.

Curtis also has accused his predecessors in the registrar’s office, without evidence, of election fraud and has called for federal authorities to raid the office he now runs.

“Do I think ballots were stuffed? Yes. Have I contacted the DOJ? Yes,” Curtis said at the Feb. 24 Shasta County supervisors’ meeting just before announcing Bianco’s planned ballot seizure.

Curtis, a 67-year-old attorney, was appointed by the Shasta County supervisors last April. He lived in Florida then, had no previous ties to the area and had never run an election.

He got the job based largely on two stated qualifications: He wanted to hand-count votes. And he had worked with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow chief executive and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist.

In his public job interview, Curtis promised to grill local elections staffers to “find out what they know.”

Now Curtis is running for election himself, trying to keep his job in this Northern California county where a majority of the supervisors were so swept up in President Trump’s discredited election fraud claims that they ditched their Dominion voting machines in 2023 and opted to hand-count ballots (quickly prompting a new state law that banned them from doing so).

• Share via Close extra sharing options

Curtis says he is running to make elections more transparent by questioning the status quo and hanging cameras everywhere to capture election workers’ every move.

“Republicans love me,” Curtis told The Times. “The Democrats are pretty good. And then I have these crazy socialist people that just hate me.”

Beliefs aside, Curtis has quickly become a colorful local character.

He took a lie detector test to attest that he didn’t rig the November election. He chose as his number two a heavy metal guitarist from San Francisco — stage name “Turmoil” — who is a progressive Democrat.

And last September, surveillance cameras captured him pushing an antique metal safe through the Shasta County elections office on a Saturday while his wife assisted with a pulling harness. Curtis wore blue jeans — and no shirt.

He said he moved the safe, which contained odds and ends, on a hot day to make more room for election observers.

Curtis first gained national attention for election skepticism in December 2004, in testimony before Congress.

He had been working as a computer programmer in Florida and was brought in as an expert witness by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, who were reeling over President George W. Bush’s defeat of John Kerry a few weeks earlier and furious about an error with an electronic voting machine that gave Bush extra votes in Ohio.

Curtis claimed that he had written “a prototype” of software that would allow cheaters to alter votes using “invisible buttons” on touch-screen balloting machines. His claims were largely dismissed. But he continues to tout his congressional testimony to cast himself as an expert on election malfeasance.

A woman passes by a “Greetings From Redding” mural on Feb. 25.

After testifying, he unsuccessfully ran for office multiple times in Florida. He refused to concede after one loss, alleging the machines were rigged.

In Shasta County, he saw a chance for redemption.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Supervisors gained a hard-right majority supported by anti-vaxxers, secessionists, members of a local militia and pro-Trump election deniers.

In 2022, someone hung a trail camera — the kind hunters use to track wildlife — behind the elections office to monitor the staff. Some observers yelled at staffers and got in the face of Cathy Darling Allen, the longtime registrar, who installed a 7-foot metal fence to keep them at bay.

Joanna Francescut, who worked in the elections office for 17 years, is running to be county registrar.

Darling Allen clashed with the supervisors as they pushed to hand-count votes, a process she argued would be slow, expensive and prone to error. She retired in 2024, citing health reasons.

Her successor resigned after less than a year. The supervisors appointed Curtis in a 3-2 vote, passing over Joanna Francescut, who had worked in the elections office since 2008 and was Darling Allen’s number two.

Days later, Curtis fired Francescut. She is now running against him in the June 2 election.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research and a former senior trial attorney overseeing voting enforcement for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, called Curtis a “nationally known conspiracy theorist.”

“I can’t imagine bringing in someone who is neither an election administrator nor a Californian for a job like that and basically chasing out experienced election officials whose work had withstood scrutiny for decades,” Becker said. “The voters of Shasta County, unfortunately, are paying the price.”

Curtis has accused Francescut and other elections staffers of stuffing ballots to sabotage conservative Republicans.

“I want to laugh because it’s that ridiculous,” Francescut, 43, said of the allegations.

“People that work in this field, they’re doing this work because they care about elections,” she said. “They want the community to be better. They want what both sides want — transparent and accurate elections.”

During her 17-year tenure, the elections office got little public attention. But “once 2020 hit, people went from completely trusting us to, the day after election day, calling and yelling at our staff so much that we couldn’t get the work done to count ballots,” she said.

Curtis was a favorite of then-board chairman Kevin Crye, a hard-right supervisor who enlisted Lindell to support the county’s crusade against Dominion. Crye had survived a 2024 recall effort by just 50 votes.

1

2

1. Carl Bott, co-owner of KCNR 96.5 FM, interviews Joanna Francescut on Feb. 25, 2026, in Redding, Calif. 2. Joanna Francescut’s campaign manager, Mary Williams, wears an orange button that reads “Vote for Jo for County Clerk” as Francescut waits in the offices of talk radio station KCNR.

Citing that close margin, Curtis said he believed recent elections were rigged because Republicans were not winning by large enough margins in a county where registered Republicans greatly outnumber Democrats.

In a letter to the U.S. Justice Department, Curtis said he had learned of lax security and potential ballot stuffing in 2024, the year of the attempted recall against Crye. Curtis sent a copy of the letter to Trump and requested a federal investigation because “the destruction of these ballots is nearing.”

In 2019 and 2024, a Shasta County grand jury investigated local election procedures and found no wrongdoing.

“How does it make me feel? Really angry,” Darling Allen, who is advising Francescut’s campaign, said of Curtis’ allegations. “It calls into question the integrity and character of every single person who worked in the elections department.”

To replace Francescut, Curtis hired Brent Turner, the guitarist from San Francisco. He is a longtime election reform activist who has pushed for nonproprietary open-source voting systems with software code that can be examined by anyone.

Turner described their partnership as: “Republican and Democrat team up to fight outdated software for elections. Oh, my!”

“We have to have the adult conversation in the United States that if the systems are loose enough to allow people — in this case, we’re talking about even people internal to the system — to cheat, they might cheat,” Turner said.

Last October, Secretary of State Shirley Weber wrote to Curtis, asking him to detail planned changes to voting procedures. He responded with a 15-page letter.

Election observers, he wrote, were “treated like invaders … corralled behind spiked fences.” And drivers who picked up ballots from drop boxes sometimes left them in their vehicles. Under his watch, he wrote, “no detours or even bathroom breaks are allowed.”

A woman exits the Cottonwood Post Office in Shasta County.

Curtis told Weber that someone had carved death threats on his vehicle and left “antifa” business cards on his windshield wipers.

Weber’s communications team said in an email that her office “continues to monitor new election processes proposed by Shasta (or any county) County to ensure they do not violate state law.”

In his letter to Weber, Curtis promised to take a lie detector test after each election. Answering pre-written questions he had submitted, Curtis said in a January polygraph test that he did not change the results of the November election and believed a predecessor had rigged previous contests, according to a summary obtained by The Times.

The examiner wrote that he “was likely telling the truth.”

Inside the elections office, Curtis created a large room, decked out with American flags, for citizens to observe the vote-counting process.

More than a dozen large TV monitors display close-up video, also streamed online, of election workers’ hands inserting ballots into machines. On June 2, those workers will sit beneath iPhones hung overhead to record them while observers are positioned on barstools a few inches behind them.

The new public observation room at the Shasta County elections office is decorated with American flags.

Curtis has been traveling across California to tout his methods. He told The Times he has spoken about his video setup in Kern and San Joaquin counties and discussed it with candidates for state office.

And he advised the Riverside County citizens group that claimed to have found an overcount of 45,896 ballots in the November election for Proposition 50, which redrew the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats.

Art Tinoco, the Riverside County registrar of voters, has refuted that number — saying it was based on a misunderstanding of raw data that had not been fully processed.

After Bianco last week announced that his office had seized more than 650,000 ballots, Curtis appeared on the social media broadcast of a right-wing election integrity advocate who called him “the stealth behind the scenes in making that happen.”

Curtis smiled and repeated what he has been espousing since the early 2000s: “You can’t really trust a computer.”

Two days after reality TV personality Joseph Duggar was arrested on suspicion of molesting a minor, Arkansas police arrested his wife, Kendra Duggar, on misdemeanor child abuse charges.

Kendra Duggar, 27, as well as Joseph Duggar, 31, face four counts each of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree false imprisonment.

According to KNWA, the Tontitown Police Department confirmed that the Duggars’ charges in Arkansas were unrelated to Joseph Duggar’s case in Florida. The news outlet reported that Tontitown police said this separate investigation was “launched on the heels of the alleged incident in Florida.”

People Magazine reported that a source close to the family told the outlet that the arrest was “the result of a home inspection, and the door locks being on the exterior of the doors. “

A spokesperson for the family told People that the charges filed against Kendra Duggar were “totally unrelated” to Joseph Duggar’s case in Florida. “She’s not suspected or accused of participating in his alleged crime.”

Last week, Joseph Duggar, known for the TLC series “19 Kids and Counting,” was arrested in Arkansas by local law enforcement on suspicion of molesting a minor in Florida, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office announced in a statement.

The Sheriff’s Office said it received a report on Wednesday of past sexual abuse involving Duggar and a 14-year-old girl. The girl alleged several incidents of abuse including one when she was 9 years old, police said.

The teenager, according to law enforcement, accused Duggar of molesting her in 2020 while she was vacationing with family and staying at a residence in Panama City Beach.

According to the statement, the victim said Duggar “eventually apologized” for the abuse. Duggar also “admitted his actions to the girl’s father and to Tontitown detectives” in Arkansas, Duggar’s home state, law officials said. The city’s Police Department confirmed Duggar’s arrest in a separate statement, noting it acted on a warrant issued by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.

The former reality star was charged with molestation of a victim younger than 12 and “lewd and lascivious behavior conducted” by an adult. Duggar, who is currently jailed at the Washington County Detention Center, awaits extradition to Florida. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Joseph Duggar, his parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, and his siblings garnered reality TV fame in 2008 with the launch of TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting.” The series followed the Christian fundamentalist clan who used their television platform to preach purity, modesty and religious devotion. The family’s facade shattered in 2015 when Josh, the firstborn Duggar child, was accused of molesting five younger girls — four of whom were his sisters — when he was 15. The series was canceled that year.

In a separate case, Josh was convicted on two counts of possessing and receiving child pornography in December 2021. He was sentenced to 12½ years in prison in 2022. The Supreme Court rejected his efforts to appeal his case last June.

Amy Duggar Kind, a cousin of Joseph and Josh Duggar and series regular on “19 Kids and Counting,” released a statement prior to the arrest of Kendra Duggar “praying for Joseph’s wife, Kendra, as she begins to process this, and for the protection of their children,” and then a follow-up statement once news of Kendra’s arrest went public.

“My statement released on Friday, March 20th was written and submitted before I had any knowledge of Kendra Duggar’s arrest,” she wrote.

“When I wrote that I was praying for Kendra ‘as she begins to process this,’ I was speaking to what I believed at the time — that she was a wife and mother blindsided by devastating news about her husband. I want that context to be unambiguous. Those words were written in a different moment, with different information. The world changed a few hours later.

“I have now learned that Kendra Duggar was arrested on Friday on four counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and four counts of second-degree false imprisonment. These are serious charges. They are not the same as Joseph’s charges, but they are not small, and I will not treat them as small.

“I am not going to rush to conclusions about what Kendra knew, when she knew it, or what her role was in any of this. That is the job of law enforcement and the courts, and I trust that process to unfold. What I will say is this: the moment a person faces criminal charges for the endangerment of children, my prayers shift. They shift entirely and without apology to the children.

“To the four children in that home — I see you. I pray for you. None of this is your fault, and none of this is your burden to carry.

“To the original victim, who is now fourteen years old and has watched this story explode across every screen in the country: I am so deeply sorry. You did an incredibly brave thing by coming forward. You deserve to have every institution around you work on your behalf — not to protect the people who hurt you, and not to protect the image of a family. You. I am still praying for you and your family above all else.”

Kendra Duggar was booked into the Washington County Detention Center on March 20 and released on a $1,470 bond the same day.

Times staff writer Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.

Washington continues to block fuel to island nation, as Trump floats ‘doing something with Cuba very soon’.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Cuba “has to get new people in charge,” and the administration of US President Donald Trump continues to heap pressure on the island nation.

Rubio made the comment on Tuesday during an Oval Office event, saying Cuba “has an economy that doesn’t work in a political and governmental system”.

He spoke as the US has continued to impose a de facto fuel embargo on Cuba since the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The threat of sanctions against any country that delivers fuel to the island has worsened a years-long economic crisis and stoked humanitarian fallout.

Rubio said that Cuba’s decision announced this week to let citizens living in exile invest and own businesses in the country did not go far enough.

“What they announced yesterday is not dramatic enough. It’s not going to fix it. So they’ve got some big decisions to make,” he said.

Rubio further said Cuba has survived “on subsidies” since the Cuban revolution in the 1950s, adding “the people in charge, they don’t know how to fix it”.

“So they have to get new people in charge,” he said.

Trump floats imminent action

For his part, Trump, who on Monday said he could “take” Cuba, and has previously floated a “friendly takeover” of the country, said on Tuesday that a new action was imminent.

“We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon,” he said.

Last week, the US and Cuba announced they had entered into talks to end the pressure campaign.

Several US media outlets have since reported that the Trump administration is calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, although no details have emerged about his possible replacement.

The US has maintained a decades-long trade embargo against Cuba and its communist government.

On Monday, a national power outage further underscored the dire situation on the island, where periodic blackouts have long been common.

By early Tuesday, power had been restored to two-thirds of the country, including to 45 percent of the capital Havana, which is home to 1.7 million people.