City

IF the life of Spain is calling you and you’re tempted to ditch the UK, then there is one city that has been named one of the best for expats.

it might be tempting to try out the larger cities of Barcelona and Madrid.

But an alternative city that often comes out on top for happy expats is Valencia.

Not only does it have 300 days of sunshine, but it has been raved about by other expats.

According to couple Alastair and Alison, who moved to Spain themselves and give their advice online, it is one of the best ones.

They said: “Valencia City is significantly cheaper than Madrid and Barcelona in terms of rent and daily expenses.”

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Not only is there a big English speaking community, but they also said it is “big enough to have urban amenities but small enough to be manageable”.

Another 2024 Expat City Ranking also ranked Valencia as the no.1 Spanish city for expats, praising it for its good quality of life.

And a Reddit forum of expats talking about where they moved – Valencia was often praised.

One wrote: “I’d recommend Valencia, I’ve lived in 8 different countries and it has the best quality of life. Security, beautiful park and beach.

“Sunny all year around, mild winter and long summer. Not as hot as the rest of Southern Spain thanks for the sea close by. It’s also a very multicultural city.”

Another said: “I can’t recommend Valencia enough. If you are retiring Valencia is great.”

According to figures from Numbeo, when it comes to renting, an average one bedroom flat can range from €840 to €1100 (£741-£970) depending on location.

For living costs, things like a monthly gym membership are on average €36 (£32) while bills can be around €127 (£112).

Bottles of beer can be around €3 (£2.50).

Last year, Valencia was named the best city in Europe by Conde Nast Traveler.

However, we spoke to some Brits who left the UK for Spain on some of the big no-nos when it comes to trying to blend in.

Johnny, who left the UK with his wife Sarah in 2003, told Sun Online Travel: “Brits tend to underdress in Spain.

“Spanish people dress quite smartly, while Brits can sometimes show too much flesh.”

She also added the Brits need to expect things to move a bit slower, such as supermarkets.

She explained: “You might be in a short queue at the supermarket, but the person who is being served is more interested in having a conversation with the cashier than packing their shopping away and paying.”

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One Brit who helps others move abroad reveals some of the amazing deals for moving to Spain.

And here’s another Brit who ditched the UK for Spain revealed where tourists are more accepted.

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad season for Angel City FC. But it’s not one the team is running away from.

“Did we put it all together this year?” team president Julie Uhrman asked. “No.”

In fact, the team won just one of its last eight games; missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons; saw attendance plummet; lost Alyssa Thompson, its best and most exciting player, on a million-dollar transfer; and watched its two most-decorated players — Ali Riley and Christen Press — retire after a season in which they combined for two starts.

For sporting director Mark Parsons, however, it still counted as progress. Yet the team has a lot of work to do to clear the high bar of community impact and soccer success it set as its twin goals when it launched in 2022.

“This season was about putting in all the foundations and all the pieces where we get to go compete for championships from ’26 and beyond,” Parsons said. “And I could not be happier with the success we’ve been able to do. That helps us win in the future.

“Of course we’d have all loved to win a couple more games,” he added. “But the priorities were try and win, but build for the future.”

Alexander Straus, center, is introduced as Angel City coach by sporting director Mark Parsons, left, and team president Julie Uhrman during a news conference in June.

(Al Seib / For the Times)

The die for the season, for bad or worse, was cast in the embers of the deadly Palisades fire last January. That first night, as Riley’s family home burned to the ground and other players were forced to relocate, Parsons could see the flames from the gated Brentwood estate of Bob Iger and Willow Bay, Angel City’s controlling owners. He was there interviewing for the job he would get nine days later.

And he was brutally honest about what he thought the club needed.

“I looked at them and said ‘We have a lot of work to do. Unless we get really lucky, it’s going to be a roller coaster. However, we will be really excited about our team by the end of the year,’” Parsons recalled this month.

Part of the problem has to do with how Angel City was built. The team has had three general managers or sporting directors in four seasons and four coaches, including interim manager Sam Laity, over that span. Parsons and Alexander Straus, his hand-picked coach who started in June, were hired to shore up that creaky foundation and bring consistency to the team’s soccer operations, which mostly had been spinning its wheels.

For Parsons, that basically meant tearing things down and starting over. And if he had to sacrifice his first season in doing so, it was a price he was willing to pay.

“We’re going to try and compete and win every single game, because that’s why we’re here,” he said. “We are not going to do that at the expense of building a championship-winning team. This season is about building the future, to not just get to the top, but to stay at the top.”

So the team made 29 transactions in his first nine months. In addition, seven players won’t be re-signed when their contracts expire at the end of the year, among them midfielder Madison Hammond and defender Megan Reid, who are 1-2 in appearances in club history, and Japanese defender Miyabi Moriya, a World Cup and Olympic veteran.

Of the additions, Parsons is especially high on midfielders Evelyn Shores and Hina Sugita, Icelandic attacker Sveindis Jonsdottir and Zambian international Prisca Chilufya. All joined in the second half of the season, adding to a core that included rookie of the year candidate Riley Tiernan and defenders Gisele Thompson, Sarah Gorden and Savy King.

Angel City’s Sarah Gorden controls the ball against Racing Louisville on Sept. 27.

(Andy Lyons / Getty Images)

Of those eight, only Gorden is older than 28 and three of the others — Thompson, King and Shores — can’t legally buy a beer in California. Parsons will double down on one of those additions Tuesday, announcing he has signed Sugita, 28, a two-time World Cup player from Japan, through 2029.

“Most teams try not to do too much during the season. It can be unsettling,” Parsons said.

But for Angel City, every second mattered.

“The top teams in this league that have been pretty consistent the last couple of years took three years to get to a point of being in the top four. We don’t have three years,” Parsons said. “This is a city that is expected to compete and to win in a stadium that [is] rocking, that represents this community.”

That hasn’t happened for Angel City, which was founded with solid community support and an A-list ownership group of more than 100, including Hollywood stars, former U.S. national team players and deep-pocketed investors. The vision was to build a team that won games while making a deep and lasting impact on the community.

The club certainly has gotten the second part of that equation right by providing more than 2.5 million meals and more than 51,000 hours for youth and adult education; distributing equipment and staff for ongoing soccer programming for the children of migrants trapped at the U.S.-Mexico border; and funneling $4.1 million into other programs in Los Angeles. Last week the club awarded $10,000 grants and access to business coaching to 13 former players to help support the transition to the next stage of their lives.

From the start, Angel City games offered a welcoming place, especially for the LGBTQ community, and that helped the team finish first or second in the NWSL in attendance in each of its four seasons.

“We are committed to providing an environment of connection, community and belonging,” Uhrman said.

But while doing that the club struggled on the field, making the playoffs just once while going 30-42-24 over that span. As a result average attendance plunged nearly 16%, to 16,257 this year.

In its first three seasons, Angel City played before a home crowd that small just once, although the team still ranks second in the league, behind only the Portland Thorns. Making the team a draw again, Uhrman conceded, will require trying something new. Like winning.

“Our goal is to be a dynasty on the pitch and a legacy off the pitch,” she said. “And for that to be true, we need to win on and off the field. We need to have the positive impact in the community and continue to give back, but we also need to win championships.”

Some of the team’s most loyal supporters have grown tired of waiting.

“I’m just frustrated with the team’s performance,” said Caitlin Bryant of Burbank, a season-ticket holder from the first season who has not renewed for next year. “I’m done dragging myself down to BMO [Stadium] every other weekend until this thing turns around.

“The vibes are great. The stadium environment is great. But watching the team lose game after game, season after season, it’s exhausting and it’s not fun. I need the team to win.”

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

This destination also has the most beautiful Christmas tree and it’s easy to see why

If you’re yearning for a festive break that won’t leave you skint or battling the crowds, one European city has just been hailed as the cheapest place in Europe to visit at Christmas. According to Skyscanner, you can jet off there in December for a mere £35.

Vilnius, the stunning capital of Lithuania, isn’t just a bargain; its Christmas tree has been voted the most beautiful in Europe on several occasions, including 2019 and 2020. It’s now been dubbed the European Christmas Capital for 2025 by the Christmas Cities Network.

Vilnius kicks off its Christmas festivities on 29 November, when its dazzling Christmas tree is illuminated in Cathedral Square. The colossal tree, a winter highlight in the city, will stay put until 6 January 2026, giving both visitors and locals plenty of time to soak up the holiday spirit.

Folks can wander around the city’s enchanting Christmas Market, glide on the Vilnius ice rink nestled in the heart of the Old Town, and hop on the Christmas train, which meanders through Vilnius’ most festively adorned streets.

Out of 15 cities, Vilnius clinched the top spot on the list of Europe’s best-value festive getaways in the annual Post Office Christmas Markets Barometer, thanks to its impressively low cost of £509 for a two-night weekend escape, reports the Express.

This price includes return flights, two nights in three or four-star digs, airport transfers, two evening meals with wine, coffee, festive tipples and Christmas Market nibbles.

Costs have stayed largely the same since last year and have actually dropped by 0.4% compared to 2024, making it an unusual bargain at a time when numerous European destinations have become pricier.

The destination is 8% more affordable than Riga, which came second, where costs have risen by 1.8% despite meals, beverages and airport transfers being cheaper in Riga than in Vilnius.

The research also revealed that costs have declined in half of the destinations examined, despite sterling having weakened against several European currencies.

Laura Plunkett, head of travel money at Post Office, said: “A short break to one of Europe’s colourful Christmas markets is an attractive holiday option at this time of year.

“However, sterling’s drop in value is an important factor for travellers to consider before booking a trip because this varies between currencies. The pound’s fall against the euro is smaller than against other European currencies – five per cent compared with 10.6 per cent against the Hungarian forint and 10.9 per cent against the Swedish kronor.”

She added: “Budget-conscious travellers stand to save hundreds of pounds if they choose carefully.”

Travel photographer, Jacqueline, journeyby_jacq, wrote on Instagram that Vilnius is “pure magic without the crazy crowds” during the festive season.

“This city is decked out from head to toe, almost every storefront has a stunning display, and the city is just oozing with charm.”

Another TikTok user shared: “November In Vilnius is a big Christmas vibe, lights in every corner, ice-skate rings being prepared and everyone looking forward to the Christmas markets. Christmas in Vilnius, Lithuania is worth the trip!”.

A different user named Karolis added: “Vilnius is a hidden gem if you want to really feel Christmas. Amazing Christmas markets, Christmas decorations and honestly just Christmas in Vilnius. With nominations of the best Christmas tree, it’s a place not to skip.”

AN airline is launching its first flight from a London Airport to a city that has been compared to New York.

Condor Airlines has confirmed that a new flight route to Frankfurt will be launching from London Gatwick.

The new route will start from April 2026, with three flights a day.

While Frankfurt might not look like New York at first glance, it has it’s own “mini Manhattan”.

The city’s financial district’s skyline of skyscrappers has led to the moniker of ‘Mainhattan’.

CNN Travel previously said: “Frankfurt looks and feels more like a modern American city than any other metropolis when people visit Germany.”

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Being home to more than 95 per cent of Germany‘s skyscrapers, it is now even nicknamed Europe‘s skyscraper capital, with plans for another 50.

For some of the best views in the city, head up the 200m-high Main Tower which is one of the tallest in the city.

It even once was home to Europe’s tallest building before being overtaken by The Shard.

Of course, there is more to Frankfurt than it’s banking district, including its beautiful Old Town.

While stunning, most of it was destroyed during WWI, so the majority of buildings are replicas, leading to its nickname New Old Town.

The most popular attraction in the city is Städel Museum which has “700 years of art”.

And, of course, the city’s Christmas market launches next week which runs from Zeil down to Römerberg and Mainkai,

Make sure to try some local delicacies there too, including apple wine and of course some Frankfurter sausages.

And Frankfurt will be easier to travel to next year as well, with a huge £3.6billion airport terminal set to open.

Until the new flights launch, you can fly to Frankfurt with Ryanair with return ticket from £30.

Future plans will even see trains from the UK to Frankfurt.

Eurostar unveiled future routes that could one day launch from the UK which would also connect to Germany as well as Switzerland and Italy.

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Travel expert Henrik Jeppesen has visited every single country in the world, but there’s one European city that compares to ‘stepping into another world’ with €5 meals and ‘extremely friendly’ people

Away from the popular tourist hotspots of Barcelona, Venice or Dubrovnik is an unassuming European city that a travel expert has hailed as the best in the world.

Henrik Jeppesen has travelled to every single country in the world. That’s a whopping 193 nations according to the United Nations. The 37-year-old has also racked up more than 2,000 destinations on an ever-growing checklist. He has been exploring the globe since the age of 17, so it’s no wonder he has a wealth of inside knowledge and an extensive list of recommendations.

Hailing from Thy, in northwest Jutland, Denmark, the father of one is very familiar with Europe, but despite his time and experiences in countries across the world, there’s one destination that he couldn’t advocate for any more, and flights are less than three hours from London.

“The best city in Europe, in my opinion, is the capital of Estonia, Tallinn,” Henrik exclusively told the Mirror. “It’s very much overlooked for people coming to Europe, and many people who have travelled have never been there.

“Even if they’ve been to Europe two or three times, they usually go to London, Rome, Paris and Berlin, those kinds of places, so in that sense I think it’s highly underrated.”

Explaining what makes Tallinn so special, Henrik said: “First and foremost, it’s a lot cheaper than the cities I mentioned; in comparison, it’s fantastic value. Then you have the Old Town, which I think is the best old town in the entire world, and I’ve travelled a lot. You can step out the door, and it’s like you’re stepping into a new world with well-preserved old buildings and an atmosphere unlike anywhere else I’ve been.

“The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, where you can easily spend a few days and with fantastic food for very little. I had lunch for €5 at Rataskaevu 16 about 40 times, and it’s an outstanding restaurant and experience. Many restaurants are similarly priced, so it’s great value to eat out and something I highly appreciate, coming from Denmark. “

On the topic of the delicacies of the city, which he called home for 10 months, Henrik added: “You have a mix of local cuisine, and many restaurants offer Italian food. I often eat cheap, local produce. I loved going to the local Balti Jaama Turg market to pick up the ingredients to make a meal at home. Many fantastic memories for my wife and me to look back upon. It’s not Michelin-starred, but you get a really nice meal in a charming old building, which creates such a lovely atmosphere. You can find many restaurants within beautiful architecture, that are each an experience in itself.”

Aside from the affordability and great food on offer, there’s plenty to see and explore during a getaway to Tallinn. The expert shared that in addition to the Old Town, there are “beautiful parks”, a market with “amazing food”, modern shopping malls, museums, attractions, and a waterfall not far from the city.

“It brings a nice atmosphere, you walk around the city, and it’s like stepping into another world,” he added. “I’ve been there during the summer, and I’m surprised that not more people visit, it really is outstanding in my opinion. It’s very laid-back and a mid-sized city, with around half a million people living there, and almost half of the entire population of Estonia.”

With pollution a growing concern worldwide, particularly in large urban areas, Henrik notes that the air quality in Tallinn is another distinctive appeal. “It probably has the best air quality of any city, at least capital cities, but maybe of any major city in Europe. The air is really good, and that is often a downside to visiting a major city in this world.”

Henrik is also a big fan of the Tallinn card, which offers tourists free public transport and free or discounted entry into a range of museums and attractions in the city. He said: “It’s a fantastic way to experience an already fantastically valued city.”

There are also several nearby islands that can be explored, such as Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, as well as Pärnu, which is known as Estonia’s ‘Summer Capital’ due to its extensive white sand beaches. “It’s a stunning place to visit, especially in the summer,” the expert added. “Pärnu, Viljandi and islands are well worth looking into, especially if visiting the country for more than a week.”

Another major strength of the city is how friendly the people are. “There are lovely people there. They are extremely friendly in Estonia.” Henrik reflected on a time when he got lost late at night while exploring the city in 2014, and strangers came to his aid, picking him up in the streets of Tallinn to help him reach his hotel.

“How many European capitals would you just get a ride from someone in the street and take you there? I don’t think that would happen in London. I have great memories daydreaming about this city.”

You can find more of Henrik’s world adventures on his website here.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email [email protected]

Kat Smith, an American who has spent years travelling the world, has highlighted the underrated place that she loves the most and which she keeps coming back to

A seasoned traveller who has visited almost every corner of Italy has chosen an often overlooked one to be her home.

Kat Smith has be travelling the world for the past 13 years, putting down roots for short periods before moving on. The one place that has captured the American globetrotter’s heart, and where she has been living for the past two and a half years, is one that rarely receives much attention from tourists. Although that does seem to be changing.

Trieste saw its overnight stays more than double from around 700,000 in 2021 to 1.5 million in 2024, a significant increase driven by a growing number of tourists visiting the city. That compares to 29 million overnight stays in Rome last year.

“I’ve traveled Italy extensively, going to at least one new place every month since moving here in August 2023. Some cities, like Naples, Rome, and Venice, I’ve found myself returning to again and again, but I always make time to explore a new corner of Italy. I’ve traveled from the southern tip of Puglia to the northern border with Austria, making plenty of stops throughout the country and even to Sardinia,” Kat, co-founder of Mamma Mia Indeed, told the Mirror.

“One of my favorite cities is Trieste. Although still relatively unknown outside of Italy, Trieste is slowly starting to come out of its shell and get the recognition it deserves.”

Here are some of the reasons why she loves the north-eastern coastal city so much.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email [email protected]

It’s unique

“From the architecture to the food and even the local dialect, Trieste is like nowhere else in Italy. Here, you’ll feel closer to Vienna than to Rome when wandering the streets, particularly in the center around Piazza Unità or down grandiose Via Carducci. Sacher cakes sit in bakeries side-by-side with your typical croissants (called “brioche” here), and goulash often accompanies pasta on menus. Given the proximity to the border, road signs tend to be in both Italian and Slovenian, especially true as you explore the hillside surrounding the city center.”

It has a strong sense of identity

“When speaking with locals, especially the older generation, they tend to stress that they’re Triestino first, Italian second, paying homage to those few years after WW2 that Trieste was actually independently recognized as the Free State of Trieste. While not all are itching for those days like some are, they’re proud of their unique culture. A short anecdote to emphasis this unique history comes from my neighbor, a man in his late 70s. All born in the same area we now know as Trieste, his parents were born under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, his parents-in-law in the Kingdom of Italy, him in the Free Territory of Trieste, and his wife in Italy. Although much of Italy shares a unique history and moments in time when it was independent, few have such drastic changes within the last 100 years.”

It’s a city on the water

“Trieste is built around the water, which is something I truly love about living here. Regardless of the season, you’ll find people flocking to the sea or to the coast for the daily ritual of watching the sunset over the Adriatic. It feels as though everyone who lives here is drawn to the water one way or another. Many of our neighbors own sailboats, and friends often call to walk along Barcolana (Trieste’s “beach”) for an aperitivo. We’ve also started rowing most mornings in the sea with a group of locals. The public transportation even stretches past the shore with the ferry being the best way to get around the coastline and even across in the bay in the summer. There’s nothing quite like swapping the bus for a boat, especially once you’ve gotten your first glimpse of Trieste from the water.”

It’s cut off

“Situated on the border with Slovenia, it’s just about as far away from the rest of Italy as you can get, with most towns in Slovenia and even northern Croatia a closer trip. The architecture looks more Austrian than Venetian or Roman, paying homage to the centuries spent as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today it’s a coastal city bursting with a unique culture and plenty of places to catch the sunset over the Adriatic while you enjoy your aperitivo. In the summer, you can take the public ferry around the coast, visiting smaller towns and seeing the iconic Miramare Castle from the sea. The Osmiza culture comes alive in the summer and spring, with numerous farm-to-table “restaurants” opening their doors with fresh meats, cheeses, and wines. In the winter, the city’s main square, Piazza Unità, gets into the holiday spirit, filling itself with Christmas trees and lights.”

DES MOINES, Iowa — Pessimism about the country’s future has risen in cities since last year, but rural America is more optimistic about what’s ahead for the U.S., according to a new survey from the American Communities Project.

And despite President Trump’s insistence that crime is out of control in big cities, residents of the nation’s largest metropolitan centers are less likely to list crime and gun violence among the chief concerns facing their communities than they were a couple years ago.

Optimism about the future is also down from last year in areas with large Hispanic communities.

These are some of the snapshots from the new ACP/Ipsos survey, which offers a nuanced look at local concerns by breaking the nation’s counties into community types, using data points like race, income, age and religious affiliation. The survey evaluated moods and priorities across the 15 different community types, such as heavily Hispanic areas, big cities and different kinds of rural communities.

The common denominator across the communities? A gnawing worry about daily household costs.

“Concerns about inflation are across the board,” said Dante Chinni, founder and director of ACP. “One thing that truly unites the country is economic angst.”

Rising optimism in rural areas, despite economic anxiety

Rural residents are feeling more upbeat about the country’s trajectory — even though most aren’t seeing Trump’s promised economic revival.

The $15 price tag on a variety pack of Halloween candy at the Kroger supermarket last month struck Carl Gruber. Disabled and receiving federal food aid, the 42-year-old from Newark, Ohio, had hardly been oblivious to lingering, high supermarket prices.

But Gruber, whose wife also is unable to work, is hopeful about the nation’s future, primarily in the belief that prices will moderate as Trump suggests.

“Right now, the president is trying to get companies who moved their businesses out of the country to move them back,” said Gruber, a Trump voter whose support has wavered over the federal shutdown that delayed his monthly food benefit. “So, maybe we’ll start to see prices come down.”

About 6 in 10 residents of Rural Middle America — Newark’s classification in the survey — say they are hopeful about the country’s future over the next few years, up from 43% in the 2024 ACP survey. Other communities, like heavily evangelical areas or working-class rural regions, have also seen an uptick in optimism.

Kimmie Pace, a 33-year-old unemployed mother of four from a small town in northwest Georgia, said, “I have anxiety every time I go to the grocery store.”

But she, too, is hopeful in Trump. “Trump’s in charge, and I trust him, even if we’re not seeing the benefits yet,” she said.

Big-city residents are worried about the future

By contrast, the share of big-city residents who say they are hopeful about the nation’s future has shrunk, from 55% last year to 45% in the new survey.

Robert Engel of San Antonio — Texas’ booming, second most-populous city — is worried about what’s next for the U.S., though less for his generation than the next. The 61-year-old federal worker, whose employment was not interrupted by the government shutdown nor Trump’s effort to reduce the federal workforce, is near retirement and feels financially stable.

A stable job market, health care availability and a fair economic environment for his adult children are his main priorities.

Recently, the inflation outlook has worsened under Trump. Consumer prices in September increased at an annual rate of 3%, up from 2.3% in April, when the president first began to roll out substantial tariff increases that burdened the economy with uncertainty.

Engel’s less-hopeful outlook for the country is broader. “It’s not just the economy, but the state of democracy and polarization,” Engel said. “It’s a real worry. I try to be cautiously optimistic, but it’s very, very hard.”

Crime, gun violence are less a concern in urban America

Trump had threatened to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, New York, Seattle, Baltimore, San Francisco and Portland, Ore., to fight what he said was runaway, urban crime.

Yet data shows most violent crime in those places, and around the country, has declined in recent years. That tracks with the poll, which found that residents of America’s Big Cities and Middle Suburbs are less likely to list crime or gun violence among the top issues facing their communities than they were in 2023.

For Angel Gamboa, a retired municipal worker in Austin, Tex., Trump’s claims don’t ring true in the city of roughly 1 million people.

“I don’t want to say it’s overblown, because crime is a serious subject,” Gamboa said. “But I feel like there’s an agenda to scare Americans, and it’s so unnecessary.”

Instead, residents of Big Cities are more likely to say immigration and health care are important issues for their communities.

Big Cities are one of the community types where residents are most likely to say they’ve seen changes in immigration recently, with 65% saying they’ve seen a change in their community related to immigration over the past 12 months, compared with only about 4 in 10 residents of communities labeled in the survey as Evangelical Hubs or Rural Middle America.

Gamboa says he has witnessed changes, notably outside an Austin Home Depot, where day laborers regularly would gather in the mornings to find work.

Not anymore, he said.

“Immigrants were not showing up there to commit crimes,” Gamboa said. “They were showing up to help their families. But when ICE was in the parking lot, that’s all it took to scatter people who were just trying to find a job.”

Hispanic communities are less hopeful about the future

After Hispanic voters moved sharply toward Trump in the 2024 election, the poll shows that residents of heavily Hispanic areas are feeling worse about the future of their communities than they were before Trump was elected.

Carmen Maldonado describes her community of Kissimmee, Fla., a fast-growing, majority-Hispanic city of about 80,000 residents about 22 miles south of Orlando, as “seriously troubled.”

The 61-year-old retired, active-duty National Guard member isn’t alone. The survey found that 58% of residents of such communities are hopeful about the future of their community, down from 78% last year.

“It’s not just hopelessness, but fear,” said Maldonado, who says people in her community — even her fellow native Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens — are anxious about the Trump administration’s aggressive pursuit of Latino immigrants.

Just over a year ago, Trump made substantial inroads with Hispanic voters in the 2024 presidential election.

Beyond just the future of their communities, Hispanic respondents are also substantially less likely to say they’re hopeful about the future of their children or the next generation: 55% this year, down from 69% in July 2024.

Maldonado worries that the Trump administration’s policies have stoked anti-Hispanic attitudes and that they will last for her adult child’s lifetime and beyond.

“My hopelessness comes from the fact that we are a large part of what makes up the United States,” she said, “and sometimes I cry thinking about these families.”

Beaumont, Parwani and Thomson-Deveaux write for the Associated Press. Parwani and Thomson-DeVeaux reported from Washington. The American Communities Project/Ipsos Fragmentation Study of 5,489 American adults aged 18 or older was conducted from Aug. 18 – Sept. 4, 2025, using the Ipsos probability-based online panel and RDD telephone interviews. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.

This gorgeous city is better in November, but in summertime huge anti-tourism demos took place – and I understand why residents in this stunning place are so angry.

I’ve just touched down in the UK from a Spanish city that was basking in a balmy 26C in November, with hardly any tourists in sight. The destination has recently been dubbed an anti- tourism holiday spot, but all the locals I encountered were incredibly welcoming – and I got a glimpse into why some holidaymakers might not be as welcome.

Having visited Palma in Mallorca several times over the years, this was my first off-peak trip to the largest Balearic island, but I’d certainly consider a November visit again. The weather was still delightfully warm and sunny, the Mallorcan people I met were extremely friendly, and it was a real treat to explore the city and the island without the usual throngs of tourists.

During the summer of 2025, the height of the tourist season, large-scale anti-tourism protests erupted on the streets of Palma, with locals brandishing signs telling holidaymakers to go home – and frankly, I can’t blame them.

I can empathise with their tourism grievances, having grown up in Devon where similar issues arise – and I’ve even had the experience of living next door to an Airbnb a few years back which brought its own set of problems with non-locals.

Mallorca grapples with over-tourism during the summer months when the island is swamped with visitors. However, travelling off-peak is a more sustainable way to appreciate the island while respecting the locals – and it offers a genuine taste of Mallorcan life, reports the Express.

Despite being a Brit myself, I can’t help but acknowledge that some of our fellow countrymen can be quite the nuisance in popular holiday destinations, with their excessive drinking and disruptive behaviour tarnishing the reputation of many a Spanish resort.

Adding to this, the surge in short-term holiday rentals has spiralled out of control in numerous sought-after locations, including the Mallorcan city of Palma and other Spanish hotspots like Barcelona.

This issue of residential properties being converted into holiday cottages or Airbnb lettings is a global phenomenon, affecting places from Cornwall to London, Spain to America, and everywhere in between.

A local family residing in Mallorca shared with me that the island’s peak season is a living nightmare for them, with parking woes and a significant increase in traffic causing chaos.

The family expressed their struggle to enjoy the summer months as the beaches become “too crowded”, parking becomes a mission impossible, and many eateries, particularly in Palma, are “too busy”.

One native Mallorcan woman voiced her frustration, stating that many locals are irate due to skyrocketing rents – a consequence of mass holiday rentals like Airbnb in a neighbourhood which inflate the ‘average’ rent due to an overall comparison (which includes high holiday home rents).

She also highlighted a “worrying shortage of affordable housing”, particularly in the capital, Palma. Given that Mallorca is a relatively small island, about 62 miles wide, constructing more “affordable” homes isn’t a straightforward solution.

One can’t help but ponder: if all these holiday homes were converted back into residences for locals, would there still be a housing crisis in the UK – or indeed in Mallorca?

Prioritising tourism creates environments that become nearly uninhabitable for local residents, which seems nonsensical. It’s clear that something is amiss when governments aren’t prioritising housing for locals – and the need to protest is entirely understandable.

Over-tourism also results in excessive traffic, unmanageable crowds and significant parking issues, creating an unpleasant environment for both residents and visitors. During my time in Mallorca, I navigated the island by bus, which was simple and efficient.

Strolling through Palma’s tree-lined streets in November, when tourists are few and far between, is my idea of a city break. Although the Christmas lights haven’t been switched on yet, they will be soon (on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at 8pm).

I can envision how stunning the festive lights will look once the official Christmas lights switch-on takes place in Palma, as star-shaped decorations were already adorning the streets in preparation for this event.

The streets of Palma were so pristine and clean, I didn’t spot a single person littering, whereas in the UK, it’s not uncommon to see adults – and children – discarding rubbish on the roads or in scenic areas.

During my stay in Mallorca, I lodged at the HM Palma Blanc hotel, a truly friendly and luxurious place that offered comfort and an incredible breakfast. I tend to steer clear of Airbnb-style holiday lets as much as possible, recognising the havoc they can wreak in tourist-heavy areas.

With a plethora of markets in the capital city, independent shops, and fantastic eateries, I’d certainly consider another winter visit to Mallorca – it was genuinely delightful.

Two tourists have spoken about a “beautiful” city in Europe that is also one of the most affordable places to visit in the continent. The best part is it’s just a short flight from the UK

Budget-conscious travellers reckon they’ve discovered one of Europe’s most affordable cities, combining stunning beauty with wallet-friendly prices.

Two Italian tourists are convinced this destination is ideal for those seeking a holiday that won’t empty their pockets. The historic city whisks visitors back through time with its Old Town, recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It features cream-coloured architecture, Gothic churches and cobblestone streets perfect for leisurely exploration. But where is this hidden gem?

In a popular TikTok clip, the travel fans enthused: “This is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and it is also affordable. Its Market Square alone is worth the trip.

“Its castle is fascinating, It seems that it once hid a dragon. Within its walls, you’ll find the beautiful cathedral. The medieval historical centre is beautiful.

“It has an important Jewish quarter with historic synagogues. And the street food is irresistible.

“A few kilometres away, there is a cathedral made completely of salt in a mine 100m below the ground. And in the evening you can drink delicious beer in peculiar places.

“We are in Krakow, Poland.”

Things to do in Krakow

1. Explore the Main Market Square – Rynek Gowny is the largest medieval town square in Europe, surrounded by historic buildings, cafes, and the Cloth Hall.

2. Visit Wael Castle and Cathedral – It’s a symbol of Polish royalty and national identity that shouldn’t be missed.

3. Make a pit stop at St. Mary’s Basilica – Renowned for its breathtaking altarpiece and the hourly trumpet call from its tower.

4. Explore the Kazimierz District – Home to synagogues, Jewish museums, vibrant street art and a plethora of hip bars and eateries.

5. Pay a visit to Schindler’s Factory Museum – Here you can delve into Krakow’s WWII history and the tale of Oskar Schindler.

6. Take a stroll along the Vistula River – Soak up the picturesque views and pause at a riverside café to take it all in.

How affordable is Krakow?

Accommodation:

Krakow offers a range of hostels and budget-friendly hotels, as well as more luxurious options if that’s your preference.

You can bag accommodation from as little as £20 per night.

Transport:

Flights from London to Krakow can be bagged for as low as £40. It’s a straightforward journey that only takes around 2 hours 30 minutes.

The city is highly walkable, allowing you to save on transport costs. Alternatively, public transport is efficient and won’t break the bank.

Food and drink:

Eating and drinking is reasonably priced, particularly if you choose local restaurants known as “milk bars”.

There are also numerous affordable food truck options if you’re looking to keep costs down. Try Plac Nowy for Polish sausage zapiekanka and other local delicacies, or the food truck parks in Judah Square for a more international selection.

MANCHESTER has a well- deserved reputation as one of the UK’s sportiest cities.

It has enjoyed decades of football dominance thanks to Manchester United and Manchester City, as well as giving us the boxing talents of Tyson Fury, Amir Khan and Ricky Hatton.

Then there is the huge Team GB Olympics success from the likes of cyclist Jason Kenny.

Golf hasn’t really featured on the long list of successes yet – but that could be about to change thanks to a new venue in the city centre.

Pitch, an indoor golf venue and sports bar, is the chain’s first venue in the north of England and the fifth in the UK.

Fresh from Europe’s latest Ryder Cup victory in New York against America, I teed up a couple of mates and we spent an enjoyable afternoon whacking a ball around a virtual golf course.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

Buoyed by the success of Rory McIlroy and some premium lager, we took on the New York Bethpage Black course.

Our performance over the next two hours suggested we are unlikely to make the Europe team for 2027.

But we had a great time, and it’s a lot more enjoyable tucking into food and drinks while the computer locates our ball instead of walking around the rough for hours.

Each of the bays start at £30 per hour during off-peak times, can seat up to ten guests and features cutting-edge Trackman technology, which allows golf fans to play pretty much any course in the world.

Each bay has a set of clubs to allow anyone to pitch up and play.

The vibe of the place is relaxing, with a quality Asian-inspired menu along with a good selection of drinks.

Anyone bored of golf can play shuffleboard or watch sports on the big screens.

The body did begin to ache from all the swinging, so afterwards we headed ten minutes down the road to the Good Sauna just off Manchester’s Deansgate, which boasts two cold plunge baths (£15 for a 50-minute session).

I successfully tackled the 8C bath for about 30 seconds before fleeing into the wood sauna to warm up.

But weirdly, I fancied another go – and apparently that is the best way to do it.

So back and forth I went four times, reaching a dizzy one minute and 12 seconds in the 8C bath.

Stripped off

I was proud of myself, until another guy casually wandered in, stripped off and submerged himself up to his ears in the the 4C bath for a couple of minutes.

Despite being freezing, we felt energised and quickly warmed up in Freight Island – a food and drink venue close to our Marriott hotel, a stone’s throw from Manchester’s Piccadilly station.

CAR SMASH TRAGEDY

Three men and two women in 20s killed in horror two-car crash

BUM NOTE

New horror side effect plaguing fat jab fanatics – and it can be a sign of cancer

We headed into its sports bar to watch a Premier League game and enjoyed a couple of pints.

It was either the effects of the cold plunge or the cold pints, but my bed was calling by 10pm and I had a brilliant night’s sleep after a full day of sporting experiences.

Koreatown resident Scott Lyness was well aware that the city of Los Angeles was looking to tackle its food waste problem.

While bicycling to work, he saw the growing number of green trash bins popping up on curbs. He read the notice sent to his home instructing residents to expect green bins to be delivered at some point.

Still, Lyness was not prepared for what came next: 13 green bins deposited earlier this month outside the apartment building he manages on New Hampshire Avenue.

That’s on top of the three bins that the city delivered the previous week at a smaller building he also manages next door, and the two green bins that those properties were already using.

Lyness, 69, who works as a project manager at USC, said the two buildings don’t have anywhere near the room to store so many full-size cans — and don’t generate enough organic waste to fill them. He’s tried to have his tenants contact city offices to say they don’t need them. He said he’s even thought about throwing them into the street.

“Our neighborhoods are being inundated with green waste bins,” he said.

City officials are working furiously to get Angelenos to separate more of their food waste — eggshells, coffee grounds, meat bones, unfinished vegetables, orange peels, greasy napkins — to comply with SB 1383, a state composting law passed in 2016. They’ve even implemented Professor Green, an online chatbot that can help residents decide what can and can’t go in the green bin.

SB 1383 requires that 75% of organic waste be diverted away from landfills by the end of the year and instead turned into compost. Food and other organic waste sent to landfills is a significant source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Methane has a global warming potential about 80 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

To reach that goal, crews from L.A.’s Bureau of Sanitation have deposited huge numbers of 90-gallon green bins in front of some apartment buildings, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes and larger buildings that have been grandfathered into the city’s curbside trash collection program.

Scott Lyness, 69, stands near green waste bins outside the apartment building he manages in Koreatown.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

Residents are already familiar with the green bins, which were long reserved for lawn clippings and other yard waste but now are the destination for food scraps as well.

Most large apartment buildings in L.A. have been spared from the recent round of green bin deliveries, since they participate in recycLA, the city trash franchise program that relies on private waste haulers.

Sanitation officials say that Angelenos who prefer smaller, more manageable containers should fill out a form to get a 30- or 60-gallon replacement. They point out that the bins are part of a much larger effort by the city to reach its zero-waste goals and “lead on sustainability.”

Most of the green bins’ contents are taken to a facility in Bakersfield, where the resulting compost can be used by farmers, said Heather Johnson, a sanitation spokesperson.

“While some may find [the bins] inconvenient at the moment, in the short term they will result in more diverted waste and cleaner air,” Johnson said in an email.

Despite those serious intentions, Angelenos have been poking fun at the “Great Green Bin Apocalypse of 2025,” as journalist and podcaster Alissa Walker framed the situation on Bluesky. Walker recently shared a photo showing what appeared to be 20 green bins in front of one property, right next to a discarded sofa.

“This one is probably my favorite,” she wrote. “I like how they lined them all up neatly in a row and then left the couch.”

Green organic waste bins outside an apartment building in Koreatown.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

After Walker urged others to send in pictures, Silver Lake resident Tommy Newman posted a photo on Bluesky showing eight bins outside an eight-unit building, just south of Sunset Boulevard.

“Unless they are running a juice bar in there, how could they possibly create this much organic waste on a weekly basis?” wrote Newman, who works at a county housing agency.

Over on X, another observer summed up the absurdity in a different way. “LA gave every multi family unit a green bin due to a bureaucratic fever dream about composting,” the person wrote. “I have 5 personally.”

In recent months, L.A.’s sanitation agency has sent teams of “ambassadors” into neighborhoods to educate residents about the need to throw food in the green bins.

That means keeping food out of the 60-gallon black bins where residents have been accustomed to dumping most of their garbage, which ultimately winds up in landfills. Recyclable items, including glass and aluminum, will continue to go into blue bins.

The changes were also spelled out on fliers sent out by the city last summer, with a clear warning in all capital letters: “Unless we hear from you immediately, we will deliver a 90-gallon green container to your residence.”

Lyness saw those alerts and knew about the change. But he contends that most people would have missed the news or thrown the fliers away. Depositing an inordinate amount of bins around town is just not the way to encourage people to properly dispose of their organic waste, he said.

The city’s new food-waste program, which is projected to cost $66 million a year, is one reason the City Council approved a huge increase in trash fees earlier this year, in some cases doubling them. Each 90-gallon green bin costs the city $58.61, tax included, though residents are not being directly charged for the recent deliveries.

Sanitation officials say they have delivered more than 65,000 green bins across the city, with 4,000 to go. For residents waiting for them to be removed or replaced with a smaller bin, only 1,000 orders can be carried out in a regular workday, those officials said.

Around the corner on North Berendo Street, Lyness’ neighbor Lucy Alvidrez agreed that the green bins were troublesome while dragging in her black bin Thursday afternoon.

“They sure got carried away with it,” she said, pointing across the street to an apartment building with about two dozen green bins on its front curb.

Alvidrez, 69, who has lived in the neighborhood for two decades, never had an issue with trash collection until the city dropped off four green bins, one for each unit in her building. She was more fortunate than Lyness: sanitation workers took two of the bins back, upon request.

Alvidrez said she would prefer that the city “spend our money feeding the homeless” instead of purchasing bins that no one needs, she said.

A dozen green organic waste bins occupy a street in Koreatown..

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

Nearby, Lyness opened a neighbor’s green bin, which was filled to the brim with trash that wasn’t compostable and should have gone in a black bin. If no one knows what to put in the green bins, nothing is going to improve, he said.

“It’s trash,” he lamented. “It’s all trash.”

WHAT do you get if you cross Dragons’ Den with ice swimming? Frozen assets? It was time to find out . . . 

I was in Oulu, on the north-west coast of Finland, which last year welcomed the return of televised event, Polar Bear Pitching.

Visitors pay to watch up-and-coming entrepreneurs pitch ideas to a row of cash-fuelled investors, just like the BBC show.

Except these hopefuls must do it from a frozen lake, their pitch lasting as long as they can withstand the freezing waters.

It gave me goosebumps, and not just because of the -20°C chill.

I may not have had any start-up ideas to pitch but that didn’t stop me plunging into the chilling waters while I was here.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

The Icebreaker experience is one I’ll never forget.

Dressed in a warm, waterproof bodysuit, I boarded a large boat which slowly made its way across the chilling sea, its hull carving a pathway as it broke through the ice.

We came to a halt and then it was time.

Hurling myself in, I bobbed between huge ice blocks in my floating suit, in awe of my surroundings.

This is an experience that will set you back a fair whack, but it’s absolutely something for the bucket list.

And with so many free things to do in the city, you can save your cash elsewhere.

Oulu is filled with wonderful traditions – so much so it’s been named the European Capital of Culture for 2026.

It’s calmer than Helsinki, with just 215,000 people, but no less fun.

The Frozen People Festival, a drum and bass-filled evening in the Pikisaari district, doesn’t cost a penny.

The event, traditionally held on a frozen lake, will take place on February 28 next year, with DJs, art installations and movies.

Due to climate change, we had to party on firm ground this year, but that didn’t stop me dancing the night away with a local cider in hand as snow fell.

Reindeer stew

Unfortunately, I missed out on the World Air Guitar Championships, a phenomenal spectacle that attracts contestants from all over the globe.

But this free event, held every August in the town’s square, is a fun must-see if you can make it.

With snow on the ground, it seemed only right to celebrate Christmas a little early with a trip to the Arkadia Reindeer Farm where Rudolph and his mates pulled me on a sleigh.

Later, I regressed into a giggling child when feeding them dinner.

Awkwardly, my dinner was a yummy reindeer stew served at the farm’s cosy cabin.

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, you can head to the Arctic Foodlab, home to a collection of cafes, bakeries and breweries.

I sampled salmon soup and rossypottu, a potato, smoked pork and blood sausage stew.

Both are local delicacies and great for warming you through.

If you’re still not warm enough, pay a visit to the sauna — you’ll find one in most hotels in the city.

The Finnish proudly enter naked, but my English propriety won out, and I wore a swimsuit. I was willing to try one tradition, though – running out into the snow afterwards.

As I pelted into the powdery white, wearing just my cossie and Doc Martens, something stopped me in my tracks.

A flash of green flickered in the sky and several colours danced between the trees above.

TRAGIC PLUNGE

Boy, 2, dies in horror 20-storey fall from apartment window

what a WHOPPER 

I gave birth naturally to a ONE STONE baby… he’s set to be shock height

The final item on my bucket list had just been ticked off — seeing the Northern Lights.

Even the air’s bitter bite couldn’t distract me from that magical sight.

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

(Games at 7 p.m. unless noted)

CITY SECTION

Semifinals

OPEN DIVISION

#5 Garfield at #1 Carson

#6 Crenshaw at #2 Birmingham

DIVISION I

#5 Marquez at #1 Venice

#11 Dorsey or #3 Eagle Rock at #2 South Gate

DIVISION II

#4 Fairfax at #1 Cleveland

#6 L.A. Marshall at #2 San Fernando

DIVISION III

#5 Contreras at #1 Santee

#3 L.A. Wilson at #2 Hawkins

SOUTHERN SECTION

Semifinals

DIVISION I

Santa Margarita vs. Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College

Mater Dei at Corona Centennial

DIVISION 2

Los Alamitos at Murrieta Valley

San Clemente at Leuzinger

DIVISION 3

Oxnard Pacifica at Chino Hills

Edison at Palos Verdes

DIVISION 4

San Jacinto vs. Villa Park at El Modena

La Habra at Oaks Christian

DIVISION 5

Redondo Union at Loyola

La Serna at Rio Hondo Prep

DIVISION 6

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy at Eastvale Roosevelt

Ventura at Agoura

DIVISION 7

Palm Springs at Barstow

Saugus at Apple Valley

DIVISION 8

Palm Desert at Beckman

Irvine at Brea Olinda

DIVISION 9

Hesperia at Ramona

Cerritos Valley Christian at San Dimas

DIVISION 10

Santa Monica at Tahquitz

Garden Grove Pacifica at Hillcrest

DIVISION 11

Baldwin Park at Western Christian

South Pasadena at Valley View

DIVISION 12

Grace at Coachella Valley

Bellflower at Santa Paula

DIVISION 13

Woodbridge at Saddleback

Montebello at La Puente

DIVISION 14

Miller at South El Monte

Pioneer at Anaheim

8-MAN

Semifinals

DIVISION 1

Chadwick at Flintridge Prep

Faith Baptist at Wildomar Cornerstone Christian

DIVISION 2

Calvary Baptist at Cate

Hesperia Christian at Lancaster Baptist

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

8-MAN

CITY SECTION

At Birmingham High

Finals

#2 Animo Robinson vs. #4 East Valley or #1 Sherman Oaks CES, 5 p.m.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Federal officials confirmed that a surge of immigration enforcement in North Carolina’s largest city had begun as agents were seen making arrests in multiple locations Saturday.

“We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed,” Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

Local officials including Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles criticized such actions, saying in a statement they “are causing unnecessary fear and uncertainty.”

“We want people in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County to know we stand with all residents who simply want to go about their lives,” said the statement, which was also signed by County Commissioner Mark Jerrell and Stephanie Sneed of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg education board.

The federal government hadn’t previously announced the push until Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden confirmed this week that two federal officials had told him that Customs and Border Protection agents would be arriving soon.

Paola Garcia, a spokesperson with Camino, a bilingual nonprofit serving families in Charlotte, said she and her colleagues have observed an increase in Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents pulling people over since Friday.

“Basically what we’re seeing is that there have been lots of people being pulled over,” Garcia said. “I even saw a few people being pulled over on the way to work yesterday, and then just from community members seeing an increase in ICE and Border Patrol agents in the city of Charlotte.”

Willy Aceituno, a Honduran-born U.S. citizen, was on his way to work when he saw Border Patrol agents chasing people.

“I saw a lot of Latinos running. I wondered why they were running. The thing is, there were a lot of Border Patrol agents chasing them,” he said.

Aceituno, a 46-year-old Charlotte resident, said he himself was stopped — twice — by Border Patrol agents. On the second encounter, he said, they forced him out of his vehicle after breaking the car window and threw him to the ground.

“I told them, ’I’m an American citizen,’ ” he told the Associated Press. “They wanted to know where I was born, or they didn’t believe I was an American citizen.”

After being forcibly taken into a Border Patrol vehicle, Aceituno said, he was allowed to go free after showing documents that proved his citizenship. He said he had to walk back some distance to his car. He later filed a police report over the broken glass.

In east Charlotte, two workers were hanging Christmas lights in Rheba Hamilton’s front yard Saturday morning when two Customs and Border Patrol agents walked up. One agent tried to speak to the workers in Spanish, she said. They didn’t respond, and the agents left in a gray minivan without making arrests.

“This is real disconcerting, but the main thing is we’ve got two human beings in my yard trying to make a living. They’ve broken no laws, and that’s what concerns me,” Hamilton, who recorded the encounter on her cellphone, told the Associated Press.

“It’s an abuse of all of our laws. It is unlike anything I have ever imagined I would see in my lifetime,” the 73-year-old said.

Amid reports that Charlotte could be the next city facing an immigration crackdown, she had suggested the work be postponed, but the contractor decided to go ahead.

“Half an hour later he’s in our yard, he’s working, and Border Patrol rolls up,” she said. “They’re here because they were looking for easy pickings. There was nobody here with TV cameras, nobody here protesting, there’s just two guys working in a yard and an old white lady with white hair sitting on her porch drinking her coffee.”

Local organizations sought to prepare for the push, trying to inform immigrants of their rights and considering peaceful protests. JD Mazuera Arias, who won election to the Charlotte City Council in September, was one of about a dozen people standing watch Saturday outside a Latin American bakery in his district in east Charlotte.

A nearby bakery was closed amid word of the possible immigration crackdown, he said. The government action was hurting people’s livelihoods and the city’s economy, he said.

“This is Customs and Border Patrol. We are not a border city, nor are we a border state. So why are they here?” he asked. “This is a gross violation of constitutional rights for not only immigrants, but for U.S. citizens.”

The Trump administration has defended its federal enforcement operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and other cities as necessary for fighting crime and enforcing immigration laws.

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat in a state with a Republican-majority Legislature, said Friday that the “vast majority” of those detained in these operations have no criminal convictions, and some are American citizens.

He urged people to record any “inappropriate behavior” they see and notify local law enforcement.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department had emphasized ahead of time that it isn’t involved in federal immigration enforcement.

Verduzco writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Maryclaire Dale in Chicago and Brian Witte in Annapolis, Md., contributed to this report.

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg, with an assist from David Zahniser and Doug Smith, giving you the latest on city and county government.

Could L.A.’s Zohran Mamdani moment be here?

It’s definitely a long shot. But Rae Huang, a 43-year-old community organizer, minister and dues-paying member of the Los Angeles chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, is making her move, throwing her hat into the ring for mayor of Los Angeles.

The virtually unknown candidate is the deputy director of Housing Now California, a coalition that fights displacement of tenants at the state and local levels.

Huang, who is planning a campaign launch on Sunday, is shying away from comparisons to Mamdani, a democratic socialist who was elected mayor of New York City last week. She has not been endorsed by DSA-LA, though she hopes to be. Nevertheless, she sees next year’s election as a “moment for change.”

“We are in a place in our country and in our political environment where folks feel stuck and afraid,” Huang said in an interview. “They feel like nothing is going to change, and the things that are changing are making things even worse.”

Huang, a Sawtelle resident, has never run for elected office. She faces an extremely uphill battle against Mayor Karen Bass, a veteran politician with close ties to the Democratic Party who has spent much of the year denouncing President Trump’s immigration crackdown in L.A.

Still, Huang could complicate Bass’ reelection bid by playing a spoiler role, pulling away left-of-center voters in a year when the incumbent is facing criticism over her handling of the Palisades fire, a struggling city budget and less-than-optimal public services.

Bass already has a challenger in former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner, who has assailed her record in each of those areas. And it’s still not clear whether billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who lost to Bass in 2022, will jump in the race.

The larger the pool of candidates, the more work Bass will have to do in the June primary to secure an outright victory. If she falls below 50% of the vote, she would need to wage an expensive runoff campaign in the November 2026 election.

Doug Herman, a spokesperson for Bass’ campaign, said that under her leadership, “there has been unprecedented progress on the issues that matter most to Angelenos.”

“Homelessness has declined for the first time in two consecutive years, neighborhoods are safer with significant drops in crime, and the Palisades fire recovery continues far ahead of pace with the fastest recovery and rebuilding in California history,” Herman said in a statement. “In addition, there was no better defender of Los Angeles than Mayor Karen Bass when Trump’s ICE raids started and we won a court ruling to help stop the illegal raids and unconstitutional arrests.”

Sara Sadhwani, a politics professor at Pomona College, said the upcoming mayoral election differs from recent L.A. contests that were won by DSA-aligned candidates. In many of those races, DSA-backed challengers ousted incumbents who were already struggling politically, she said.

The same goes for New York City, where former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — Mamdani’s main opponent — was trying to emerge from scandal and stage a comeback, Sadhwani added.

The Democratic incumbent, Eric Adams, was so weakened by his own legal issues that he ended up running as an independent and then withdrawing from the race.

“Bass has her detractors,” Sadhwani said, “but is not in such an embattled position as Eric Adams or even Cuomo, who had stepped down from the governorship amid sexual harassment claims.”

Huang said she is in it to win — and hopes to highlight important issues for people on the left. She wants to expand public housing, make buses free for Angelenos and invest more in unarmed crisis responders.

Sound familiar? Those would pretty much be Mamdani’s talking points.

Huang said she was “hopeful” when Bass was elected. Now, she lobs plenty of criticism at Bass.

She thinks the mayor’s Inside Safe program is allowing too many people to slip back into homelessness. She believes Bass should explicitly support the Venice Dell affordable housing project. And she doesn’t feel the mayor did enough to curb police violence during the summer’s chaotic protests over federal immigration raids.

Huang is not the first to run from Bass’ left. In 2022, late-arriving mayoral hopeful Gina Viola won nearly 7% of the vote, scooping up more than 44,000 votes in the primary after positioning herself as the self-proclaimed “infamous defund-the-police candidate.”

Viola said she is glad to see Huang get into the race, and with much more time to campaign. Viola ran in 2022 with just three and a half months left before the primary. Huang has nearly seven months.

“What she needs to do is [win over] those voters that are so terribly disenfranchised that they don’t have anything to vote for,” Viola said.

Part of getting those potential voters out to the polls is having a strong ground game, knocking on doors and raising money. An endorsement from the local DSA chapter could help Huang get her name out to more Angelenos, Sadhwani said.

DSA members have petitioned to endorse Huang. She needs to receive 50 signatures, which would trigger a vote of chapter members, with 60% required to capture the endorsement.

“It’s certainly exciting to see a left challenger to a status-quo Democrat. That always pushes the conversation in a good direction,” said Claire Palmer, an organizer with DSA-LA.

There has been “enthusiasm” among members about Huang, Palmer said.

As for the DSA-backed members of the City Council?

“I haven’t sat down with them yet,” Huang said.

While four DSA-backed L.A. City Council members celebrated Mamdani’s win with a party at a Highland Park bar on election night, it’s not clear that they have any interest in getting behind a candidate other than Bass.

“Karen Bass is the most progressive mayor we’ve ever had in L.A.,” Councilmember Nithya Raman told The Times at the party.

Bass “has been doing a good job at least in handling this crisis,” Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez said in June, referring to Bass’ handling of the federal immigration raids.

Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez has already endorsed Bass.

State of play

— THE RENT IS TOO DAMN CAPPED: The City Council voted Wednesday to lower the annual cap on rent increases for rent-stabilized apartments to 4%. Many landlords and developers opposed the move, saying it would eat into their bottom line and drive away investment. Council members argued that the changes are needed to keep Angelenos from falling into homelessness.

— WILDFIRE PROBE: Los Angeles County has opened an investigation into State Farm General’s treatment of January wildfire victims following complaints that claims were delayed, denied and underpaid. The state’s largest home insurer received notice of the probe in a letter demanding records and data showing whether the company violated the state’s Unfair Competition Law.

— MISSING INFO: At least one official in the Los Angeles Fire Department was aware of concerns that its firefighters were ordered to stop mop-up operations for a Jan. 1 brush fire that later reignited into the massive Palisades fire. Yet the department’s 70-page after-action report on the Palisades fire didn’t include that information — or any detailed examination of the reignition, The Times reported this week.

— FAREWELL TO A WATCHDOG: One of L.A. County’s most prominent citizen watchdogs is dead at 62. Eric Preven, a resident of Studio City, advocated for increased public access to city and county meetings, filed countless public information requests and regularly offered his views on CityWatch. “It wasn’t just like [he was] shooting from the hip,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “He would do his research.”

— MEMORIES OF MARQUEZ: Environmentalists are mourning the death of Wilmington clean air advocate Jesse Marquez, who battled the Port of Los Angeles for years over emissions from trucks, trains and ships. Marquez, 74, died Nov. 3 from health complications that developed after he was struck by a vehicle while in a crosswalk in January.

— A NEW ROADBLOCK: The proposal from Frank McCourt for a gondola between Union Station and Dodger Stadium faced yet another setback this week, with the City Council urging Metro to kill the project. “This resolution tells Metro that the city of Los Angeles refuses to be bought by shiny renderings and empty promises,” said Hernandez, who represents Chinatown and the stadium area.

— PROTEST POWERS: The council’s Public Safety Committee endorsed legislation this week that would bar the LAPD from using crowd control weapons against peaceful protesters and journalists. The proposal, which now heads to the full council, would prohibit the department from using “kinetic energy projectiles” or “chemical agents” unless officers are threatened with physical violence.

— POLICING THE POLICE: The LAPD took more than a year to begin fully disclosing domestic abuse allegations against its officers, as required by a state law passed in 2021. The revelation came out during a recent hearing regarding an officer who was fired after being accused of time card fraud and physically assaulting her former romantic partner, a fellow cop.

— CHIEF IN CHARGE: The council voted Friday to make Deputy Chief Jaime Moore the city’s newest fire chief. Moore, a 30-year department veteran, said one of his top priorities will be improving morale in a department that has faced heavy criticism for its handling of the Palisades fire. He also plans to seek an outside investigation into missteps by fire officials in the days leading up to that disaster.

— GRILLING GIBSON DUNN: U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter pressed attorneys from Gibson Dunn this week on the fees they’ve been charging the city in the landmark LA Alliance homelessness case. At one point, the firm had 15 lawyers billing the city $1,295 per hour, regardless of their titles or experience.

Carter also voiced his anger over reports that a South L.A. homeless facility had only 44 beds, not the 88 spelled out in a contract awarded to a nonprofit group. The judge set a hearing for Wednesday on whether to hold the city in contempt over what he described as delaying tactics in complying with an order he issued earlier this year.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature initiative to combat homelessness did not launch any new operations this week. The program did move about a dozen people indoors from Skid Row, according to Bass’ team.
• On the docket next week: The council heads out on recess next week, with members taking part in the National League of Cities conference in Salt Lake City. Meetings are also canceled the following week for the Thanksgiving holiday. They’ll be back Dec. 2.

Stay in touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

People discovered who were true mudders on a rainy Friday night in the City Section football playoffs.

Crenshaw routed No. 3-seeded San Pedro 30-0 to advance to the Open Division semifinals next week at Birmingham. The Cougars received a punt return for a touchdown and an interception return for a touchdown from Kyron Rattler. Deance’ Lewis had a long touchdown on the opening possession and De’Andre Kirkpatrick contributed double digits in tackles.

Crenshaw is 9-1 under interim coach Terrence Whitehead. That means Robert Garrett, on administrative leave, has 299 career victories. Birmingham defeated Granada Hills Kennedy 49-20.

Garfield received 440 yards rushing from Zastice Jauregui to end Palisades’ unbeaten season, 42-21. Garfield will play at No. 1 Carson, which defeated King/Drew 27-2.

Venice was unstoppable on its grass field, beating Franklin 35-8 in the Division I playoffs.

The Dorsey at Eagle Rock game was postponed until Monday because of a power failure at Eagle Rock.

Nothing says Christmas like a festive market packed with inspiring gifts and seasonal treats, and what better way to enhance your experience than an affordable European getaway to marvel at the magic

Wandering around a Christmas market with the aroma of spiced mulled wine and wooden cabins stacked with unique gifts is part of what makes the festive season so magical. And there’s one in Europe, where it’s been dubbed the cheapest for a winter getaway.

There is a catalogue of European countries offering some of the most spectacular Christmas markets, set within their enchanting towns with mountain backdrops that could easily resemble something out of a Hallmark movie. Nevertheless, some of these locations can come with a hefty price tag as costs are bumped up during the festive season, but that doesn’t mean we need to sacrifice our European winter wonderland.

One European destination that offers the magic of Christmas at a bargain rate is the capital of Latvia, Riga, with direct flights starting from just £20. The city, renowned for its pedestrian-only medieval Old Town and Art Nouveau architecture, offers everything you could wish for in a festive winter break.

The biggest appeal during this time of year is their charming and traditional Riga Christmas Market in Dome Square, packed with stalls and a thriving food scene with wintery street-food dishes and Latvian cuisine. Warming mulled wines are also available, along with festive cocktails, while visitors browse the stalls of local Latvian artisans.

And it might be one of the best places for some Christmas shopping inspiration, with a selection of handcrafted gifts such as beeswax candles, gingerbread, socks, wool gloves, and creative kits to create wreaths, wall decor and acrylic dishes. Adding to the magic of the Riga Christmas Market, which runs from 28 November to 4 January , will be music from a DJ every Friday, choirs and music ensembles performing on Saturdays and folk music on Sundays.

The city, considered the ‘Art Nouveau capital of Europe’, is nothing short of captivating with its charming, colourful homes decorating the streets and its lively cultural scene. What’s more, it’s filled with shops and cosy restaurants for a traditional taste of Latvia, and its bustling Livu Square, boasting bars and nightclubs.

Another hugely appealing factor about this European city is its affordability. The annual Post Office Christmas Markets Barometer found that Riga is one of the most affordable European destinations for a two-night weekend Christmas market experience, compared to Copenhagen and Vienna, which have been ranked as some of the most expensive.

The Post Office revealed how much you’re likely to spend in Riga during a two-night break for two during the Christmas market season, and it’s certainly good value for money. They revealed the following prices:

• Four cups of coffee from a cafe or bar = £11.49
• Two three-course meals for two (including a bottle of wine) = £132.89
• Two return bus/train transfers from the airport to the city centre = £7.18
• Four glasses of mulled wine, punch or Glühwein at the Christmas market £14.37
• Four pieces of cake/gingerbread/stollen at Christmas market £12.57

Additionally, the Post Office found that a two-night B&B stay in Riga and direct flights or Eurostar for two would cost a total of £377.00. With everything included, this weekend getaway for two in Riga would cost £555.50 in total, or £277.75 per person.

This is in stark contrast to Copenhagen in Denmark, which was estimated to set two people back a whopping £1,056.55 for the exact same amenities as above. Or £926.41 for the same two-night trip to Vienna in Austria.

Direct return weekend flights from London Stansted to Riga start from around £87 per person, while you can snap up a mid-week return flight from around £45. Meanwhile, you can grab a flight from Leeds to Riga for as little as £20, or a return for around £42.

Additionally, direct flights from Manchester start from around £25, or £45 for a return flight. You can also fly from the East Midlands Airport (EMA), near Nottingham, from £22 to Riga, or spend around £45 on a direct return.

You can check the best flights on the Skyscanner website here.

Laura Plunkett, head of Travel Money at Post Office, said: “A short break to one of Europe’s colourful Christmas Markets is an attractive holiday option at this time of year. However, sterling’s drop in value is an important factor for travellers to consider before booking a trip, as it varies between currencies. The pound’s fall against the euro is smaller than against other European currencies – five per cent compared with 10.6 per cent against the Hungarian forint and 10.9 per cent against the Swedish kronor.

“The cost of flights and accommodation will also have a significant impact on overall costs so it is doubly important for holidaymakers planning a trip to do their homework to factor in how sterling’s value, flight and hotel capacity and meal costs will affect overall costs. Budget-conscious travellers stand to save hundreds of pounds if they choose carefully.”

Do you have a travel story to share? Email [email protected]

FRIDAY’S RESULTS

CITY SECTION

Quarterfinals

OPEN DIVISION

#1 Carson 27, #8 King/Drew 2

#5 Garfield 42, #4 Palisades 21

#6 Crenshaw 30, #3 San Pedro 0

#2 Birmingham 49, #7 Granada Hills Kennedy 20

DIVISION I

#1 Venice 35, #8 Franklin 8

#5 Marquez 47, #13 Van Nuys 7

#11 Dorsey at #3 Eagle Rock, postponed until Monday

#2 South Gate 32, #7 Gardena 24 (OT)

DIVISION II

#1 Cleveland 42, #9 North Hollywood 0

#4 Fairfax 27, #5 L.A. University 18

#6 L.A. Marshall 17, #14 Chatsworth 12

#2 San Fernando 18, #10 Arleta 14

DIVISION III

#5 Contreras 20, #4 Jefferson 14

#3 LA Wilson 33, #11 Chavez 20

#2 Hawkins 18, #7 Roybal 15

8-MAN

Semifinals

#4 East Valley at #1 Sherman Oaks CES, postponed

#2 Anino Robinson 16, #3 TEACH Tech 6

SOUTHERN SECTION

Quarterfinals

DIVISION I

Orange Lutheran 20, St. John Bosco 19

Santa Margarita 21, Sierra Canyon 9

Mater Dei 20, Mission Viejo 0

Corona Centennial 41, Servite 6

DIVISION 2

Murrieta Valley 26, Rancho Cucamonga 6

Los Alamitos 35, San Juan Hills 10

San Clemente 32, Vista Murrieta 7

Leuzinger 19, Chaparral 16

DIVISION 3

Oxnard Pacifica 28, Bishop Amat 7

Chino Hills 54, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 26

Palos Verdes 14, Dana Hills 13

Edison 9, Inglewood 7

DIVISION 4

Charter Oak 21, San Jacinto 14

Villa Park 30, Great Oak 6

Oaks Christian 28, Paraclete 14

La Habra 13, Cathedral 7

DIVISION 5

Redondo Union 14, St. Paul 13

Loyola 21, Bonita 14

La Serna 10, Aliso Niguel 7

Rio Hondo Prep 28, Troy 0

DIVISION 6

Eastvale Roosevelt 14, Burbank 13

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 31, Upland 28

Agoura 27, Orange Vista 26

Ventura 35, Moorpark 28

DIVISION 7

Palm Springs 22, Hart 21

Barstow 34, La Canada 6

Apple Valley 28, Victor Valley 20

Saugus 28, Calabasas 27

DIVISION 8

Palm Desert 46, Patriot 33

Beckman 30, Fullerton 13

Irvine 14, Quartz Hill 0

Brea Olinda 41, St. Monica 28

DIVISION 9

Ramona 48, Cerritos 22

Hesperia 21, Norte Vista 7

Cerritos Valley Christian 10, Warren 7

San Dimas 28, Riverside Poly 8

DIVISION 10

Tahquitz 38, Oak Park 33

Santa Monica 14, Brentwood 13

Garden Grove Pacifica 13, Liberty 7

Hillcrest 27, St. Margaret’s 13

DIVISION 11

Western Christian 21, El Monte 14

Baldwin Park 48, Shadow Hills 10

Valley View 28, Gahr 21

South Pasadena 41, Palmdale 7

DIVISION 12

Grace 41, Yucca Valley 28

Coachella Valley 49, Perris 14

Bellflower 13, Colton 12

Santa Paula 21, Arroyo Valley 14

DIVISION 13

Saddleback 28, Santa Rosa Academy 11

Woodbridge 23, Buena Park 16

La Puente 50, Viewpoint 28

Montebello 27, Linfield Christian 25

DIVISION 14

South El Monte 14, Indian Springs 7

Miller 25, Ontario 20

Anaheim 13, Alhambra 6

Pioneer 14, Trinity Classical Academy 6

8-MAN

Quarterfinals

DIVISION 1

Sage Hill 58, Chadwick 49

Faith Baptist 50, California School for the Deaf Riverside 6

DIVISION 2

Hesperia Christian 40, Lancaster Desert Christian 0

Diners fall silent as the haunting sound of the aulos – a double-piped wind instrument from ancient Greece – echoes through the vaulted breakfast room. The musician, Davide, wears a chiton (tunic), as do the guests; the mosaic floor, decorated vases and flicker of flames from the sconces add to the sense that we’ve stepped back in time.

This is Moyseion, a one-of-a-kind hotel-museum in the famous troglodyte city of Matera, in Basilicata, known for its sassi – cave dwellings carved into the limestone mountainside. Every detail has been carefully designed to transport visitors to Magna Graecia, as this area of southern Italy was known when it was ruled by the ancient Greeks from the 8th-6th century BC.