European champions Paris St-Germain will face Premier League duo Manchester City and Aston Villa as well as five-time winners Barcelona in the league phase of this season’s Champions League.
The back-to-back Champions League winners will welcome Barca to Parc des Princes, while they were also handed trips to Villa Park and Manchester in the draw for the league phase.
Premier League champions Arsenal, meanwhile, will host 15-time winners Real Madrid at Emirates Stadium, and have also been handed a trip to Bayern Munich.
Mikel Arteta’s men, who were beaten by PSG on penalties in the final last season, will face Borussia Dortmund, Real Betis, Lille, Napoli, Azerbaijan champions Sabah and Slavia Prague as well.
Enzo Maresca’s City will welcome PSG to Etihad Stadium and travel to Barcelona, where they will have a reunion with Spanish World Cup-winner Rodri, who moved to the Nou Camp in a £65m deal this summer.
City will also be up against another of their former midfielders in Kevin de Bruyne when Napoli visit Manchester, with Sporting, Porto, RB Leipzig, AEK Athens and Lens their other opponents.
Europa League winners Villa, returning to the competition after a season away, will host PSG and Dortmund and travel to Barcelona and Galatasaray.
Unai Emery’s side also face Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Viking and Slavia Prague.
Manchester United, returning after a two-year hiatus, will meet Bayern, Atletico Madrid, Roma, Sporting, Leipzig, Villarreal, Sabah and Como.
Liverpool, meanwhile, host Atletico, Porto, Villarreal and Lens while visiting Inter Milan, Brugge, Fenerbahce and LASK.
The first league-phase matches will be played on Tuesday, 8 September and the last round of games will take place on 27 January 2027, with the exact schedule to be released on Saturday.
This season’s final will be held in Madrid on 5 June.
Ashley Sanchez scored twice to break the single-season goals record for the North Carolina Courage in a 2-0 victory over Angel City on Wednesday night.
The former All-American at UCLA leads the National Women’s Soccer League in scoring this season with 15 goals.
Sanchez scored her 14th goal in the 41st minute, tying Lynn Biyendolo’s record for the North Carolina set in 2019. Evelyn Ijeh’s backheel flick found a charging Sanchez, who blasted it into the far corner.
Sanchez added her record-breaker in the 78th, running down a long ball sent forward by Courage goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and out-running three Angel City defenders before burying her shot. Sheridan, who got the assist, ran up the field after the goal to celebrate with Sanchez.
Sanchez also had a pair of goals in the Courage’s 2-1 victory over the Boston Legacy on Saturday. North Carolina has won (11-3-7) has won five of its last six games.
The loss ended a four-game streak of draws for Angel City (7-6-7). Angel City played to a scoreless tie at home with Gotham on Sunday.
North Carolina’s Maycee Bell made her 50th NWSL regular-season appearance but she was injured early in the second half and had to be stretchered off with an apparent arm injury.
Cardiff City have completed the signing of centre-half Krystian Bielik from Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion on a permanent deal.
Bielik has signed a three-year contract with the Bluebirds and joined for an undisclosed fee.
“I’m very excited, I’m finally here and I couldn’t be happier,” he told the club’s official website.
“I’m looking forward to starting with the team as soon as possible and focusing on the first game.”
The 28-year-old made 17 Championship appearances for the Baggies last season as they finished 21st, narrowly avoiding relegation to League One.
The experienced defender – who can also operate as a defensive midfielder – joined Arsenal from Legia Warsaw in 2015 and had spells with Birmingham City, Walsall, Charlton Athletic and Derby County prior to joining West Brom last summer.
Bielik is Cardiff’s fourth senior summer recruit following the arrivals of goalkeeper Nathan Trott, midfielder Jack Moylan and left-back Calum Scanlon, who has returned to the Welsh capital on loan from Liverpool.
“I’ve played a few times against Cardiff City, and it’s never been an easy place to come to,” Bielik added.
“It’s always got a great atmosphere, so it will be a pleasure to be here playing for this club.
“I’m ready, fit and healthy, and can’t wait to start with the team tomorrow and prepare for the big game on Saturday.”
Poland international Bielik is a welcome addition for the Bluebirds, who are currently without a fit central defender in their ranks.
Will Fish, Dylan Lawlor, Calum Chambers and Gabriel Osho are all currently injured, although the latter is thought to be close to a return to action.
The Bluebirds gave a debut to 15-year-old defender Noah Anyadike – who became the youngest player in EFL Cup history – during their 2-1 loss against Norwich City in the second round on Tuesday night.
Bielik is in contention to make his Cardiff debut when they host Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United on Saturday (15:00 BST).
Beneath its suburban bustle, there’s a layer of small-town, IYKYK pride in Torrance, a sprawling South Bay city that spans from the 405 Freeway to the Pacific Ocean.
For some who grew up in the area, it swells during a rewatch of the iconic coming-of-age TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “90210,” both of which use Torrance High School as a backdrop for their fictional campuses — Sunnydale High and West Beverly High, respectively.
Get to know Los Angeles through the places that bring it to life. From restaurants to shops to outdoor spaces, here’s what to discover now.
For others, it comes up when there’s talk about Del Amo mall, which once reigned as the largest indoor shopping center in the United States before the Mall of America took the title. (The mall was the place to be for teens and tweens, who spent their days after school playing pinball at Aladdin’s Castle arcade, filling blue-striped cellophane bags of assorted candy at Sweet Factory or perusing gag gifts at Aahs.)
And still for a set of longtime residents, it arises when one points to the airport named after Torrance-bred legend Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner turned World War II bomber pilot who endured brutal treatment from the Japanese navy — and became the subject of Laura Hillenbrand’s bestselling biography “Unbroken” and the subsequent movie adaptation directed by Angelina Jolie.
Torrance has long since grown from the utopia that industrialist Jared Sidney Torrance envisioned in 1910. His idea was to build a “workingman’s paradise,” a model industrial town halfway between Los Angeles and the San Pedro Harbor. To design the community, Torrance’s team brought on the Olmsted brothers, whose father designed Central Park in New York City.
It now stretches across 21 square miles, which include the 1.5 miles of coastline shared by Torrance and Redondo Beach, lovingly referred to as RAT Beach (short for “Right after Torrance”). Torrance has a thriving Japanese American community, a presence that endures with the many Japanese shops, markets and restaurants around town and in nearby Gardena. It’s the birthplace of the American Youth Soccer Organization, a nonprofit famously started out of a garage in 1964 with only nine teams. The city even has its own designated nature preserve — Madrona Marsh — that sits right in the middle of a cluster of homes, condominiums and Del Amo.
Yet what many locals appreciate most about Torrance is how it’s held onto its small-town tradition of simply getting together with your neighbors.
Every December, residents in the city’s 6th District get together for a holiday stroll around the neighborhood, putting up rows of lighted arches for families to walk through. In the spring, thousands cheer on battle tanks that rumble down the streets during the annual Armed Forces Day Parade. When the cherry blossom trees in Columbia Park flourish with soft pastel pink petals, the community comes together for the annual Torrance Cherry Blossom Cultural Festival.
It’s the simple comforts that make Torrance worth a visit — and why locals light up whenever anyone talks about the place they call home.
What’s included in this guide
Anyone who’s lived in a major metropolis can tell you that neighborhoods are a tricky thing. They’re eternally malleable and evoke sociological questions around how we place our homes, our neighbors and our communities within a wider tapestry. In the name of neighborly generosity, we may include gems that linger outside of technical parameters. Instead of leaning into stark definitions, we hope to celebrate all of the places that make us love where we live.
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What L.A. neighborhood should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com.
A vibrant UK city with a scenic waterfront has been named as one of the most beautiful places in the world, topping the list for the UK, thanks to its picture-perfect scenes
08:47, 26 Aug 2026Updated 08:49, 26 Aug 2026
This city has been named the UK’s most beautiful (Image: Getty Images)
The most beautiful city in the UK has been named – but it’s not Bath or York.
There’s a never-ending list of stunning destinations across the globe that feel as if they’ve been plucked straight from a postcard. From the bright blue waters of Banff National Park in Canada to the whitewashed houses set against the narrow lanes in Mykonos, Greece, to the cherry blossom-filled ancient city of Kyoto in Japan, there are many placesthat can feel almost otherworldly.
For destinations that offer mesmerising landscapes and authentic charm, it’s an easy choice for a getaway, even after simply gazing at an image online. Yet, we don’t always have to travel across the world to experience some of the most breathtaking places, as a UK city has been ranked as the best.
Thanks to its picturesque and vibrant scenes, Bristol has been named as one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Straddling the River Avon, the city boasts hilly streets lined with colourful houses, a glistening waterfront, and an iconic Victorian bridge, as well as world-renowned street art and a thriving independent scene.
Bristol was the only UK city to be ranked among the top 10, following research by Premier Inn, which used eye-tracking technology to uncover the places people were most drawn to. Banff in Canada topped the list, while Mykonos in Greece followed closely behind, but it was Bristol that earned a place on the ‘world’s most beautiful summer cities’ list for the UK, with a total score of 83.7 out of 100, putting it in 5th position.
The lively city in the southwest even beats the likes of Bath and York, which were ranked 25th and 61st, respectively, on Premier Inn’s list. Yet it’s not surprising to see Bristol earn such a title, with its grand Georgian and Victorian houses brimming with colour and sitting atop the hillside of Cliftonwood and above the city’s scenic harbourside.
Bristol harbourside is packed with historic attractions, including Brunel’s SS Great Britain, M Shed, We The Curious in Millennium Square and Arnolfini, a contemporary arts centre along the quayside. Nestled along the waterfront are pubs that offer scenic views of the hot air balloons that frequently pass over, along with independent eateries at Wapping Wharf and chic coffee houses.
Meanwhile, the Clifton Suspension Bridge is perhaps the most famous landmark in the city, which opened in 1864 and spans the dramatic Avon Gorge and River. It was originally designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1831 as part of a competition, and although he passed away before it was completed, it has consistently been acknowledged as a “stunning piece of engineering.”
Bristol is also known for its vibrant street art, with numerous murals and works by Banksy dotted around the pseudonymous street artist’s hometown. Alongside its vibrant scenes, the city is a thriving entertainment hub, with countless music venues, the historic theatre, the Bristol Hippodrome, and various festivals held annually, in addition to its flourishing independent scene on Gloucester Road and at St Nicholas Market.
Top 10 most beautiful cities in the world
Banff, Canada
Mykonos, Greece
Sydney, Australia
Bruges, Belgium
Bristol, UK
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Kyoto, Japan
Kotor, Montenegro
Auckland, New Zealand
Los Angeles, USA
Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
Manchester City have agreed to sign winger Allan Elias from Palmeiras in a deal worth up to £34.2m.
The 22-year-old Brazilian will come in as a replacement for compatriot Savinho, who looks set to join Tottenham.
City have agreed to pay a fixed fee of £32m, plus £2.2m in add-ons, for Allan with a medical scheduled to take place in the coming days.
They remain in advanced talks to sell Egypt forward Omar Marmoush to Spurs, and sources with knowledge of the situation say there is a “good chance” the deal gets completed before the 1 September transfer deadline.
Discussions are ongoing between the two clubs and there are some details yet to be agreed.
Midfielder Nico Gonzalez may also depart Etihad Stadium before the end of the transfer window, with strong interest in the Spaniard from Newcastle.
YOU don’t need a huge holiday budget to jet off on an amazing European city break.
With flights from £13.99 each way and hotel rooms from under £40 a night, a weekend escape to Spain, Italy, or France can easily cost less than a big night out at home.
Lyon is known as the food capital of France – and there are plenty of inexpensive dining optionsCredit: Getty
Whether you fancy sipping €3 (£2.50) wine by the river in Porto, grabbing fresh beachside tapas in Malaga, or drinking in views from a 360-degree rotating bar in Tirana, you can do it all while on a budget.
Here are the best bargain European city breaks you can book right now for under £18 a flight, with ridiculously cheap hotel stays to match.
Lyon, France
Bag a cheap city break to Lyon where you can sip a drink on a floating bar at the River Banks, wander Renaissance-era cobblestone streets in Old Lyon, and sample some of the best food in France.
Known as the food capital of France, it isn’t hard to find somewhere good to eat here – even on a budget.
Head to Marronniers Street at lunchtime and take your pick of Bouchons, which are traditional, local restaurants serving high-quality authentic meals for as little as €10 (£8.50).
You can fly to Lyon with Wizz Air from £17.99 each way. Sometimes the return flight from Lyon can be as low as £13.99.
The People Lyon offers rooms from £37 a night. The building used to be a secondary school, and has now become a vibrant spot for people to sit and enjoy views of the Fourvière Basilica.
Milan, Italy
Milan makes for an affordable city break with £14.99 flights and plenty of free sightsCredit: Getty
While famous for high fashion and luxury, Milan is surprisingly easy to do on a budget if you know where to look.
The city’s aperitivo culture is ideal for inexpensive light snacking and drinking – especially in the vibrant, canal-side district of Navigli.
Soak up world-class architecture for free by wandering through the mall Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, admiring Sforzesco Castle, and of course taking in the views of the famous Milan Cathedral.
With super cheap flights, an affordable metro system and plenty to do for free once you’re there, you can book a city break to Milan knowing it won’t dent your wallet.
Enjoy jugs of wine in Porto for as little as €3.50 in local neighbourhood tascasCredit: Getty
Cheap wine, unique architecture, amazing city viewpoints – Porto is the ideal pick for a walkable city break packed with affordable things to do.
Spend a day strolling through the Ribeira District where medieval colourful houses and charming cafes line the riverfront.
Another top free sight is to watch the sun set behind the huge steel Dom Luis I Bridge from the Jardmin do Morro, to the sound of local street musicians.
As for cheap wine, pop into neighbourhood tascas for a bite to eat and a drink – here you can enjoy local wine by the jug for €3.50 (£3)!
The ever-reliable ibis budget Porto Gaia has rooms from £55 a night.
Tirana, Albania
Tirana in Albania is fully of cheap and quirky things to do, including a bunker turned underground art museumCredit: Alamy
Tirana is easily one of Europe’s most underrated and budget-friendly capitals, buzzing with pastel-painted buildings and an amazing coffee culture.
You can explore giant, Communist-era nuclear bunkers turned underground art museums at Bunk’Art, or catch a cheap cable car ride up Mount Dajti for sweeping views across the valley.
Nights are best spent in the trendy Blloku district – a neighbourhood once off-limits to locals as it was an restricted zone for communist regime leaders – now it’s open to everyone with lively cocktail lounges and traditional grill houses that serve up dishes and drinks for pocket change.
The four-star Sky Hotel Tirana has rooms from £38 per night, and is home to the largest rotating bar in the Balkans.
The revolving rooftop bar completes a 360° turn every hour, giving you sweeping city and mountain views alongside your meal.
Dublin, Ireland
Take a quick weekend break to Dublin with a £14.99 Ryanair flightCredit: Getty
When you can hop over to Dublin on a £14.99 hour-long flight, this might just be the quickest and easiest city break to tick off in a weekend.
While Temple Bar is certainly worth a visit to walk its pretty cobbled streets and grab a pic outside the famous red pub, save your pint of Guinness for elsewhere.
Head to South William Street to find cheaper beer at spots like Pygmalion and Grogan’s, where all the atmosphere comes from taking your pint back out into the street to listen to buskers.
For an affordable yet delicious lunch, head to Pablo Picante. Dublin has a huge burrito culture, and this Mexican chain offers well-stuffed wraps that will keep you full all day from €10.75 (£9.20).
Stay at the Wetherspoons-owned Keaven’s Port Hotel from £82 per night. The hotel sits on Camden Street, which packed with some of the city’s best bars, pubs and clubs.
Alicante, Spain
Alicante in Spain sees 300 days of sunshine per yearCredit: Getty
With year-round warmth and 300 days of sunshine per year, Alicante is a solid bet when it comes to booking a sunny Spanish city break.
Spend your days wandering the whitewashed, flower-filled lanes of Barrio Santa Cruz, or taking in sweeping Mediterranean views from the hilltop Santa Barbara Castle for free.
Eating well can be remarkably cheap if you visit Mercado Central for fresh tapas, or tuck into authentic regional paellas at backstreet neighbourhood bars.
You can book a stay at the Travelodge Alicante Puerto from £39 per night, which is conveniently located a short walk from Alicante Harbour and the Explanada de España.
Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson saved a penalty kick from Guro Reiten to preserve a scoreless draw against Gotham FC at BMO Stadium on Sunday.
Initially ruled a clean block in the 82nd minute, video review reversed the call and a handball was called on Angel City defender Sarah Gorden. On the ensuing penalty kick attempt, Anderson denied Reiten.
Anderson made four saves for her sixth shutout for Angel City (7-7-5).
Ann-Katrin Berger had three saves for her 10th clean sheet of the season for Gotham (13-3-5), which is unbeaten in nine games.
Gotham midfielder Rose Lavelle landed hard with the back of her head hitting the ground in the 31st minute. Both teams had trainers evaluating the U.S. women’s national team star, who left the game six minutes later.
Match of the Day’s Joe Hart discusses Manchester City’s Marc Guehi and his performance in midfield, with plenty of praise for the centre half in a different position against Bournemouth.
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic kept his plan to topple Manchester United on their Premier League return under wraps for weeks, assistant head coach Dean Holden told Match of the Day.
The Tigers produced a sensational 2-0 opening-weekend win over Michael Carrick’s side on Saturday while deploying a back five.
Hull were making their first Premier League appearance in nine years after coming up through the play-offs last year.
First-half goals from defenders Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy gave them their first league win over United since 1974.
Jakirovic altered his tactics for the game, having watched a couple of United’s pre-season matches, including the 4-2 defeat by AC Milan, engineered by former boss Ruben Amorim, when he repeatedly switched play to his wing-backs, which United’s defence failed to cover.
When quizzed on the tactic, Holden told Match of Day: “We certainly didn’t copy Ruben Amorim.
“Serg had it in the back of his mind for three or four weeks that he was thinking of playing a back five. He didn’t want to give anything away in pre-season, so we played a back four.
“The easiest thing to do in preparation was using some of the Milan clips and Leeds the week before played a back three too, so that helped us with players where the systems looked similar.”
Hull’s win over United, who finished third in the Premier League last season, is perhaps even more remarkable given the Tigers only had 28% of possession.
But seeing limited amounts of the ball is not a cause for concern for Hull says Holden.
“We are comfortable without the ball, so it is not like we are coming up here having dominated the Championship and now we have to change,” said Holden.
“We are comfortable in that mid-block, that is one of our biggest strengths. Counter-attack as well.
“Sunderland set the trend with Leeds in terms of teams who have come up, and for us, it is about belief.
“We have a group of lads who have done the hard yards, there is no real superstars in there.
“The manager is the same, very humble. Feet will be firmly on the ground.”
Jakirovic’s Hull were favourites to finish bottom of the Premier League, having only squeezed into the play-offs on the final day of last season.
They then became the first team to finish sixth and win the play-offs in 16 years – beating Middlesbrough in the final.
Just 15 months ago the Tigers had been close to being relegated to League One, only staying in the Championship on goal difference in 2024-25.
Three of the team who started their 1-1 draw against Portsmouth on the final day that secured their Championship status were in the team which beat United.
Former Oldham Athletic, Bristol City and Charlton manager Holden joined the Tigers that summer.
“We are aiming to stay in the league. It is the hardest thing to do and then you build on top of that,” Holden added.
“But a win at home in the first game is beyond anyone’s dreams really. The performance is the biggest thing, the confidence, the belief, will stand us in good stead.”
Nithya Raman has made Los Angeles’ struggle to combat homelessness a key plank in her mayoral campaign, yet her own record on the matter has itself become an issue with her ouster as head of the City Council committee seeking solutions to the crisis.
Mayor Karen Bass is at the helm of the city’s battle against homelessness, but since 2023 Raman has been the second-most powerful official as chair of the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee. That changed this month, when council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, a key Bass ally, split the committee in two and removed Raman as its chair, effective Sept. 1.
Raman claims that politics were at play, casting her removal as a hit job for her decision to challenge Bass. Harris-Dawson disputes that, saying Raman failed to lead the committee with the urgency needed to combat L.A.’s enduring homelessness crisis.
“The committee is behind in excess of more than 100 issues,” said Harris-Dawson in an interview. “There are very serious decisions to make over what happens with homelessness. We needed someone who could focus on that and get it done and get it done quickly and show ability to build consensus.”
Beyond the dispute over Raman’s leadership of the committee, there are clear policy disagreements between the mayor and the council member over the best way to combat the crisis.
A Metro bus passes by a man sleeping on the sidewalk on North Spring Street in downtown Friday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Raman contends that Bass’ signature program Inside Safe, which dismantles encampments and moves people living there into motels, hotels and interim housing, is overly expensive and unsustainable. On average, the cost of housing these individuals runs about $82,000 a year, according to city reports.
Raman has repeatedly signed off on funding for the program, but has become more critical of it in the last year.
Despite the city’s efforts, L.A.’s unsheltered homeless population — those living outdoors or in their vehicles — went up by 7.9% after two consecutive years of decreases, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported last month.
“The approach to homelessness that Mayor Bass has led and defended has brought us here,” Raman said after LAHSA’s report was released.
Raman has called for the use of time-limited subsidies, or rental vouchers, to house homeless Angelenos in private residences — at a city-estimated cost of $30,000, less than half the price of an average Inside Safe bed. Raman says she would “significantly expand” the city’s investment in the vouchers if she became mayor.
“For the same amount of money, we could rent three apartments using a short-term rental voucher and provide intensive services — housing more people in a program that has delivered much better outcomes,” Raman says in her mayoral policy platform on homelessness.
Even so, the more than $60-million voucher program Raman has already pushed through her committee has so far struggled to get off the ground under a tight timeline, and Raman’s critics have seized on the delay as evidence of the council member’s ineffectiveness.
Pedestrians pass by a homeless encampment along the 101 northbound offramp, at right, near City Hall Friday.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
A city consultant on the program set a goal of having 600 households moved into leases by July 1 of this year, and 2,000 households moved in by next April. But as of that July 1 date, only three households had moved into homes via the vouchers, housing officials said in a report.
By Aug. 13, however, the number had jumped to 54 households, “with new move ins happening nearly every day,” the housing department said in a report.
Bass’ campaign spokesperson, Alex Stack, cited the sluggish start to the program and said subsidies are only a small part of the fight against homelessness.
“It’s not the silver bullet Raman’s selling,” Stack said.
In an interview, Raman said that the contracting process slowed the start of the program, but that time-limited subsidies are a great way to free up space in city shelters by moving those people into private housing.
“This is a cost-effective program that has very good outcomes in the past in terms of percentage of people moving on to permanent housing,” she said.
Nithya Rama listens to a question at the mayoral debate hosted by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.
(David Butow / For The Times)
Raman added that the council will continue to monitor data from the program and make fixes as needed if it doesn’t move fast enough.
Homeless services providers working with the city on the program said part of the challenge has been getting a completely new program off the ground.
“It’s definitely been slower than I think most people anticipated,” said Sasha Morozov, the regional director of supportive services for PATH, a nonprofit contracting with the city for the program.
But Morozov said the program is speeding up now and she believed the 2,000 slots will be filled on time.
A key plank in Raman’s platform
Raman said she ran for council largely to take on the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. She says she is running for mayor for the same reason.
She’s cited a 49% drop in street homelessness in her district over the past year as a clear sign that she is equipped to bring down homelessness citywide. Bass counters it was her efforts through Inside Safe that brought homelessness down in Raman’s district.
People living on the street in downtown L.A. gather cardboard for shelter during a heat wave last month.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
While chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, Raman established monitoring of all the city’s spending on homelessness and tracking of 35 key performance metrics to see how effective the city’s investments are. She also stewarded the creation of a Bureau of Homelessness Oversight within the city’s Housing Department that is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the city’s homelessness system.
Her critics say that Raman’s tenure atop the committee hasn’t adequately met the moment facing the city of Los Angeles — with the Trump administration and county both moving to cut funding from LAHSA, the joint city-county authority responsible for homeless services. Meanwhile, the city is still managing a landmark federal lawsuit settlement, which requires it to invest in thousands of new shelter beds in its response to homelessness.
“She’s been in this building … longer than Karen Bass,” said Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who served on the committee under Raman. “It’s convenient now for her to saddle all blame on the mayor when she rubber-stamped Inside Safe and stood in lockstep with the mayor.”
Mayor Karen Bass, left, and City Council member Monica Rodriguez at City Hall.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Rodriguez has specifically accused Raman — as chair of the committee — of slow-walking Rodriguez’s proposal from 2024 for the city to study a plan to separate itself from LAHSA and form its own department that would directly contract with homeless services providers.
Rodriguez said it took Raman months to schedule her motion in committee and that, while it was pending, the county removed most of its funding from LAHSA.
“The city has been left flatfooted because she wouldn’t lead our conversation. She wouldn’t schedule our items. She set us up for failure,” Rodriguez said.
While Rodriguez’s motion was waiting on a report, Raman made her own proposal to create a Bureau of Homelessness Oversight within the Los Angeles Housing Department to keep track of the city’s more than $1-billion annual investment in homelessness response.
The council moved that bureau forward last year, and a spokesperson for the Housing Department said that seven positions have been hired within the bureau handling contracts and data oversight.
Harris-Dawson said a seven-person bureau isn’t adequate.
Raman said the bureau was a starting point that could one day lead to a department, which she said would be expensive and take a long time to stand up.
“This was not precluding [the creation of a department],” Raman told The Times. “This was trying to speed up that staffing faster than the departmental process normally takes in this city.”
Raman said she talked to Bass about creating a department for homelessness in late 2023 or early 2024, but the mayor told her to move ahead with the bureau instead. Bass representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Paige Sterling, a spokesperson for the mayor, said that Bass and Raman discussed the bureau in 2025, during the budget process. The mayor opposed a standalone department at the time because it “would add to the bureaucracy,” and the bureau was a compromise, Sterling said.
“The mayor signed a budget with funding and positions for the bureau, which begins to give the city the capacity it needs to start overseeing homelessness as we evaluate what the future governance of this issue looks like,” Sterling said.
Raman has touted the bureau as a success that provides clear oversight of how the city spends its money, but has also claimed that the mayor’s office has moved too slowly to staff the bureau. The Housing Department still hasn’t hired an assistant general manager to oversee it.
The rotunda at L.A. City Hall.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Canceled meetings and frustrated colleagues
Raman hasn’t been endorsed for mayor by any of her colleagues on the council, and some of those who served on her homelessness and housing panel say she did a shoddy job as its chair. They complain that she frequently canceled meetings and allowed hundreds of motions to pile up without getting moved through council.
“It had started to feel less like a policymaking body and more like a scholastic seminar — a lot of philosophizing, a lot of talk about feelings, but not enough substantive questions or direction on policy to present to staff,” Councilmember Imelda Padilla said in a statement to The Times.
In response, Raman said her committee focused on data to make sure the city’s investment in fighting homelessness is paying off.
“That doesn’t feel scholarly to me, that feels like oversight and accountability — exactly what the public is asking for for one of our largest investments as a city,” she said.
The full council, meanwhile, has agreed to review its relationship with LAHSA and the county, and to study creating a new department to centralize homelessness oversight.
“This conversation that we’re having about this … is long overdue,” said Councilmember John Lee.
Raman will have a seat on the new homelessness committee, but it will be chaired by Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. Padilla was named chair of the new Housing Committee.
Raman’s final meeting as committee chair was supposed to be Wednesday.
Match of the Day’s Mark Chapman, Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney discuss Arsenal’s quality against Coventry City, praising the hosts but stressing that Frank Lampard’s side shouldn’t be judged.
She was “an assassin,” a “very skilled politician” who “made mincemeat of Nithya throughout the debate, both stylistically and substantively.”
If you think that assessment came from a Bass supporter, think again.
The words come from none other than Spencer Pratt, the erstwhile mayoral candidate, a Republican who routinely referred to Bass as Basura (that’s trash in Spanish) during the primary campaign.
There was no mention of Basura in Pratt’s Substack recap of Wednesday night’s debate before the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. To be sure, his post was titled “Surviving the Dumb and Dumber Debate,” but even so Pratt praised the mayor’s performance against Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Not that he was thrilled by the prospect of four more years with Mayor Bass, however.
“A Karen Bass Mayorship is depressing,” he wrote. “A Nithya Raman Mayorship is terrifying.”
Pratt suggested Bass was borrowing from his own playbook, citing her comments saying street vendors shouldn’t be on the sidewalk outside restaurants and her call for the long-term involuntary hospitalization of people on the street who pose a threat to themselves. Bass herself said that backing involuntary hospitalization was a “controversial thing to say.”
Pratt didn’t respond to a text from The Times about whether he was considering endorsing the mayor in the runoff.
Bass is likely to welcome conservative voters during the Nov. 3 general election as she faces off with Raman, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
And it’s not just Pratt who seems to be leaning toward Bass from the right.
Rick Caruso, who ran against Bass in 2022, referred to her as a “very good partner” when he recently celebrated the reopening of his Palisades Village shopping center. He didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In The Heights
Raman traveled to Boyle Heights Monday to join activists calling for Lineage to leave the neighborhood after the devastating fire at the company’s warehouse in June.
It wasn’t Raman’s first visit to Boyle Heights since the blaze, but it was her first public appearance and news conference.
“Lineage shouldn’t be permitted to open this warehouse again,” Raman said to cheers from the crowd.
Bass followed suit Thursday, after Lineage blew past its own self-imposed deadline for cleanup.
They “do not deserve to rebuild,” Bass said in a statement, while also calling on city lawyers to pursue litigation, a lien and other legal options for cost recovery against Lineage. Bass had already ordered the company’s building permits delayed at the end of July.
Raman was joined at the news conference by Eastside Padres Contra la Privatización and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment — a group that has endorsed her — to call for the closure of the facility.
Raman also called for Lineage to pay for Boyle Heights residents’ healthcare, for environmental testing, cleaning and relocation assistance, lost wages and more.
“Families and taxpayers should not be left with the bill when a corporation runs up the tab,” she said.
Raman’s news conference appeared to draw the ire of at least one council colleague, Ysabel Jurado — who represents Boyle Heights.
Jurado didn’t mention Raman by name, but after winning council support for a motion Wednesday continuing the state of emergency in Boyle Heights, she thanked her colleagues who called and texted before they “did a press conference about the issue.”
Jurado spokesperson Mason Santa Maria declined to say whether the remark was directed at Raman. Raman spokesperson Liz Garcia said Raman was invited to the presser.
Jurado, who has endorsed Bass, did not attend.
No shows at H&H
Raman has been outspoken about her removal from the chairmanship of the council’s housing and homelessness committee, suggesting she is being punished by Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson for challenging Bass.
Harris-Dawson rejects that narrative, saying the committee needed a chair who can focus undivided attention on the crisis.
Raman doesn’t officially lose that post until the end of the month. So on Wednesday, she was still listed as chair of the committee’s 2 p.m. meeting. But she wasn’t there, and neither were two of her colleagues.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield took the gavel instead, delaying the session until 3 p.m. in the hope that a third member would show up to join him and Councilmember Tim McOsker, giving the committee a quorum.
An hour later, Blumenfield came back.
“This meeting is going to have to be canceled for today,” he told the audience. “So I apologize for making you wait.”
Raman spokesperson Stella Stahl, in an email, said her boss already had other plans, with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. debate happening later that same day.
“At the time, Nithya was near Sherman Oaks and had pre-planned campaign activities in advance of the mayoral debate,” Stahl said.
Stahl said the committee had a “last-minute cancellation from a council member who was expected to attend,” but didn’t provide a name.
Jurado, who takes over as chair of the newly renamed homelessness and health committee next month, also wasn’t there. Her spokesperson said Raman’s team was told the previous week that Jurado had a personal matter and couldn’t attend.
Devyn Bakewell, a spokesperson for Councilmember Heather Hutt, said her boss let Raman know Wednesday morning that she would not make it to committee due to a family issue.
The committee won’t meet again until next month. Raman will remain on the panel.
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State of play
— SHAM SURVEY: The Times broke the story of the faked poll in the Los Angeles mayor’s race that purported to show Bass leading Raman by around 12 percentage points. The poll was faked as a “social experiment,” according to Median Strategies Polling, the group behind the fake survey. The creator of the fake poll revealed himself to the Guardian on Thursday as 21-year-old Rahil Prakash.
— FLIP IT AND REVERSE IT: The Los Angeles City Council has rescinded camping bans on a dozen locations in Hollywood, Echo Park and Silver Lake at the urging of the area’s council member, Hugo Soto-Martínez, who called the bans ineffective in addressing homelessness.
— THE RUMBLE IN THE VALLEY: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and City Councilmember Nithya Raman slammed each other Wednesday over their handling of homelessness, public safety and many other issues during the first face-to-face debate of the Nov. 3 election campaign.
— THE BEST LANE PLANS: A long-running dispute between cemeteries and bike-lane and safe streets advocates in the San Fernando Valley has escalated to become a campaign issue in the Los Angeles mayoral race.
— LIGHTS, CAMERA, INACTION: Despite improvements to the state’s tax incentive program, Los Angeles and California continue to struggle to keep movies, television series and even game shows from fleeing elsewhere. Production levels have failed to bounce back since the pandemic and the labor strikes by writers and actors, and they remain at historic lows.
— HEALTH WOES: Hundreds of Boyle Heights residents suffered health problems after a fire at a cold storage facility burned stubbornly for days, including respiratory infections, eye disorders and persistent cough, according to a new study.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? This week the mayor’s signature program was in Eunisses Hernandez’s district in Westlake, where it moved 37 people indoors from Ocean View Avenue and Lake Street.
On the docket next week: After a Saturday meeting, the Democratic Socialists of America will vote next week on whether to endorse Raman for mayor.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
Former historic coastal port Parrog beach, on the south side of the estuary, is now a popular spot for recreational boating.
The small sandy beach is close to the town’s galleries and independent craft shops that the area is renowned for.
History buffs should explore the remains of Iron Age forts and cairns, plus Pentre Ifan, one of the most significant Neolithic monuments in Wales.
HIDDEN GEM
Steeped in history, The Sailors’ Safety at Pwllgwaelod Beach on the Pembrokeshire coast is an old smugglers’ pub dating back to 1593.
The menu highlights the best of local Pembrokeshire seafood with a focus on foraged ingredients from the local shores and hedgerows.
Dine in the cosy restaurant or relax with a drink in the bar while soaking up centuries of maritime history.
The city has some very cosy pubsCredit: AlamyThe Pembrokeshire coastline is one of the UK’s most beautifulCredit: Alamy
BEST VIEW
Ancient volcano Carningli, also known as the Hill of the Angels, rewards walkers for the half-hour climb to the 1,138ft summit with stunning 360-degree views.
On a clear day it’s possible to see over the Pembrokeshire coastline and even towards the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland.
RATED RESTAURANT
At the heart of Newport, the Golden Lion has been serving drinks to travellers since the 1600s.
It is now a cosy pub with an extensive menu making the most of the local fare including Welsh beef and freshly caught local seafood.
The historic atmosphere and quality ingredients make it a favourite with both locals and visitors.
BEST BAR
Whether a keen golfer or not, The Cat Rock Cafe is the place for sundowners and stunning coastal views.
Located at the 18-hole Newport Links Golf Club, designed by pro golfer and course architect James Braid, it’s a three-minute walk from Newport Sands.
COTTAGE PICK
Set on Main Street, in the heart of the bustling town, Welford House sleeps six and features a stunning Mediterranean-style paved courtyard.
A seven-night stay starts at £680.
For something more rural, Ty Top is a delightful two-bedroom end-of-terrace stone cottage set on an ancient track beneath Carningli mountain.
A seven-night stay starts at £535. See coastalcottages.co.uk.
A PRETTY Italian city has banned riding bikes in certain areas – after the mayor was hit by one.
Como is known for its historic city centre with a Gothic-Renaissance cathedral and alpine backdrop.
Como is banning bikes in its city centreCredit: AlamyThe ban will apply to around 30 streets in the cityCredit: Alamy
But many use bikes to get around the city and now the Mayor of Como, Alessandro Rapinese, is introducing a bike ban in parts of the city after he was hit by an electric bike.
From September, bikes will be banned across around 30 streets.
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The bike ban applies to both electric and push bikes.
According to Italian media Ansa, the Mayor said: “People act based on their own experiences and I know what it’s like to be hit by one of these beasts.”
He added: “In this case, I didn’t even end up in the hospital.
“I was hit by a bike. I gathered information, and that’s where the measure came from.”
The new bike rules are part of a wider traffic plan which will create a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) to manage tourists better as well as implement stricter rules on vehicles in the city.
Other rules introduced include some vehicles requiring an annual permit and a €3 (£2.60) permit for daily entry to the city.
It comes after the Mayor was hit by an electric bikeCredit: Alamy
And tourists staying in hotels can only drive in the city centre if their accommodation has parking.
Deliveries can also only occur between 6am and 11pm.
Locals are outraged with the decision and have pledged to organise a protest on September 12.
Como isn’t the only Italian spot to place restrictions on bikes – Palermo has also restricted bikes in some areas since 2023.
Having just been promoted from the National League South, Bromley finished 14th in the National League in the 2015-16 season.
That same year, Leicester City were upsetting the odds with their famous Premier League title win.
Such has been the rise of Andy Woodman’s Bromley, they can expect plenty more comparisons like that this season and, such has been the Foxes’ fall from grace, they will get similar.
While the Ravens are delighted to be in League One, Leicester are still rubbing the bruised ego which followed their disastrous relegation from the Championship on the back of demotion from the Premier League, amid various financial woes and points deductions.
Now under Russell Martin, rather than opening their home campaign against Arsenal, Liverpool or even Brighton, it is Burton Albion who will make the short trip to the King Power Stadium (15:00 BST) and home fans will find Gary Bowyer’s side have little respect for reputations.
Bromley’s home opener against Cambridge United (15:00 BST) may well be a re-run between two promoted sides from last season, but the hosts have already served notice of their intentions with their 1-0 win at Barnsley last weekend.
Helping to choose that perfect family-friendly getaway this summer, an easyJet pilot has named a lesser-known holiday destination that has plenty to do for kids
This UK city has been hailed as the best lesser-known family holiday destination(Image: Getty Images)
An easyJet pilot has revealed the lesser-known holiday destination that is best for kids this summer – and it’s in the UK!
During the summer holidays, millions of Brits are jetting off abroad to European hotspots, whether that’s to soak up the sun-soaked rays in the Canary Islands or to enjoy an affordable escape in Turkey at one of their many child-friendly resorts. Yet there’s one UK destination that has been hailed as a great option for families this summer.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, easyJet Captain Matt Clutterbuck revealed: “A lesser-known family holiday destination is Belfast. There is so much for kids to do, and of all the places we have travelled in the world, that holiday sits near the top of the list of their favourite holidays.”
He shared: “From the W5 science museum and the Titanic Experience to the Giant’s Causeway. The city has plenty for adults too, with live music, great food and friendly people.
“We travelled with easyJet holidays and stayed in Wilton House, which was the perfect accommodation for a family. We hired a car rather than a transfer, which meant we could venture out and explore the countryside.”
Belfast can be conveniently reached in just over an hour’s plane journey from London airports, with flights starting from just £15 one-way, according to Skyscanner. The capital of Northern Ireland hosts the renowned indoor St. George’s Market, packed with culinary delights, crafts and music, and also offers a step back in time along its cobbled lanes in the Cathedral Quarter.
For those still eager to jet off abroad, Matt disclosed: “I think our favourite family holiday destination is Turkey. With amazing food, culture and people, we have always had a brilliant time there. It is a very family-oriented culture, and they always make a fuss of the children.”
Last month, the airline and package holiday provider teamed up with Life360, the family connection and safety app, to offer easyJet customers complimentary Teddy Trackers when heading on holiday. The scheme is designed to help families keep tabs on their children’s favourite toys via the Life360 app throughout their trip, as 87% of parents admitted they worry about their child losing a beloved toy while travelling, while 49% revealed they had already been through the heartbreaking experience.
On the Teddy Trackers initiative, Matt shared: “I think this campaign will not only help children, but parents too. One of the biggest stresses on our holidays was making sure both kids had their cuddly toys with them. It seemed we were constantly doing a teddy roll call to make sure they hadn’t been left in a shop, on a bench or in a restaurant, and we weren’t alone because nearly 4 in 5 parents say their child’s favourite toy travels with them on most, if not every, family holiday.
“Hundreds of thousands of cuddly toys will travel on holidays this summer, so parents will have that extra peace of mind knowing that their child’s cuddly toy can be tracked, putting an end to the heartbreak of losing them. Hopefully, the Teddy Trackers offer parents extra peace of mind, helping ensure these special companions always find their way home and offer comfort to children knowing their beloved companion will be easily traceable if lost.
“The trackers are now available for free at London Gatwick, Manchester, Edinburgh and Belfast International.”
Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com
Joining Eintracht Frankfurt in May 2023 on a free transfer from Wolfsburg, the then 24-year-old Marmoush found form in his first season with the German side scoring 17 times across all competitions.
He then scored 15 Bundesliga goals from 8.9 expected goals (xG) during the first half of 2024-25, while registering nine assists in 17 league appearances. Across all competitions before leaving Germany, he had 20 goals and 13 assists in 26 games.
Set-pieces were another notable part of his game. Marmoush became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues since Lionel Messi in 2019 to score directly from a free-kick in three consecutive competitive matches. Manchester City then paid £59m for him in January 2025.
The early signs were encouraging. Marmoush scored his first career hat-trick against Newcastle, struck the winner in City’s FA Cup quarter-final at Bournemouth and then scored from long range against the same opponents in the Premier League. It was judged to be the goal of the season.
But there were difficult moments too.
With City trailing Crystal Palace in the 2025 FA Cup final, Erling Haaland handed Marmoush the ball for a penalty. His effort was saved by Dean Henderson as City went on to lose at Wembley.
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha does not believe that moment should define Marmoush’s spell at the club.
“When I see Marmoush, I don’t see the penalty miss,” Onuoha told BBC Sport. “I see the strength he has with some of the runs he makes in behind.”
The mayor of Como has banned riding bicycles in certain areas of the historic Italian city after he was hit by an electric one.
Alessandro Rapinese said the ban was necessary to improve public safety. It means from September, cyclists will have to dismount through an area of around 30 streets.
He told Italian news agency Ansa: “People act based on their own experiences and I know what it’s like to be hit by one of these beasts.”
Several other local authorities around Europe, including in the UK, have restricted where and how e-bikes and other single-person vehicles can be used.
The measure put forward by Rapinese is part of a package of new traffic regulations, establishing a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) to manage tourist growth, and which impose stricter rules on cars and vans in the city centre.
Many of the roads covered by the ban are the widest in the old town and are popular with delivery drivers.
The measure applies to both electric and push bikes, as the Italian highway code does not distinguish between models.
Rapinese explained his decision in a video as part of a series of online videos he produces himself, known as RapiNews24.
He recounted an incident in which he had been leaving city hall in July and collided with an e-bike shortly after his administration had discussed traffic restrictions in the city centre.
The cyclist involved in the collision has not been identified.
“In this case, I didn’t even end up in the hospital,” Rapinese said. “I was hit by a bike. I gathered information, and that’s where the measure came from.”
Al Jazeera’s AlMigdad Alruhaid travelled along one of the main supply roads to Sudan’s besieged city of el-Obeid, where hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering as the Rapid Support Forces continue attacks on aid trying to reach them.
