club

A bitter battle that exposed deep divisions over the direction of America’s conservation movement reached culmination with the announcement Wednesday that Sierra Club members had overwhelmingly rejected a campaign by immigration control advocates to control the venerable environmental group.

In what was termed the largest voter turnout in the Sierra Club’s 112-year history, more than 22% of the group’s 757,000 members cast ballots to select its governing board. The votes, which were submitted by members in March and April, were tallied Wednesday. The members elected a slate backed by the club’s leaders and which received more than 110,000 votes apiece.

By contrast, a slate of candidates seeking to bring a strong immigration control agenda to the club garnered only minimal support — former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, the best known, received 13,090 votes.

“I never argue with the voters. My congratulations to the winners,” Lamm said in an e-mail shortly after the results were announced. He declined to be interviewed.

Five seats were up for grabs on the club’s 15-member governing board. The election took place via mail and the Internet starting in March.

The election was the second time in less than a decade that the Sierra Club, arguably the nation’s most influential environmental group, has publicly wrestled with the issue of restricting immigration. Members voted to remain neutral on the issue in 1998, following a campaign that featured accusations that conservationists were resorting to immigrant bashing, and counterclaims that political correctness was leading to environmental cowardice. The same accusations were raised this year.

Despite the 1998 vote, an increasingly vocal group of environmentalists continued to argue that the Sierra Club needed to aggressively support strict immigration controls, citing the destructive effect of unchecked U.S. population growth on the nation’s natural resources.

Three prominent immigration control advocates — UCLA astronomy professor Ben Zuckerman, Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug LaFollette, and Paul Watson, leader of the group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, already had won seats to the board in recent years, putting majority control within the grasp of the dissidents in this year’s election.

Sierra Club leaders said after the landslide vote that they hoped the rancorous dispute had finally been resolved.

“I thought the issue should have been laid to rest after 1998, and I certainly don’t see anything in these results to suggest [members] have had a change of heart,” said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope.

“We are delighted that the turnout was so strong. This may have been the largest election turnout ever for a nonprofit organization other than the NRA,” the National Rifle Assn.

However, it quickly became clear on Wednesday that the losing side considered the issue far from resolved. Rather than seeing the results as evidence that Sierra Club members did not support an immigration platform, critics called it proof that dirty tactics by the status quo to promote their favorites had unfairly tipped the scales.

Some dissidents said they were holding out hope that a lawsuit filed recently in San Francisco Superior Court would result in a new election. The suit alleges that Sierra Club leaders violated state laws governing nonprofits by using club funds to promote candidates they had endorsed.

Club officials called the claims groundless. A similar suit by Lamm was withdrawn when Pope and other club officials threatened a countersuit.

“The Sierra Club just elected the best new directors money can buy — but with a lawsuit pending over unfair election practices, justice and truth may yet prevail,” said a losing candidate, Karyn Strickler.

Strickler, who said she did not advocate curbing immigration and was running as an independent reformer, said all candidates who collected petitions to be on the ballot were damaged by an “urgent election notice” to Sierra Club members that accompanied the ballot and warned of “outside groups” seeking to influence the club’s agenda. Under Sierra Club bylaws, some candidates are automatically placed on the ballot by current leaders; others can collect signatures to run.

The ballot notice referred to racist and anti-immigrant websites that had posted stories urging their visitors to vote for immigration-control candidates in the Sierra Club elections, and made similar links to animal rights groups and hemp proponents. As a result of the notice, critics argued that voters were pressured to stick with the candidates endorsed by the current leadership.

During the dawn of the modern environmental movement four decades ago, conservationists widely embraced the goal of global population control. Books such as “The Population Bomb” by Stanford professor Paul Ehrlich painted a dire portrait of a planet straining under man’s increasingly wide footprint.

Yet although many environmentalists still call for worldwide curbs on population, they are increasingly divided over the less-abstract issue of restricting the flood of newcomers to America. According to the U.S. census, the U.S. population, now more than 292 million, could surge by 50% over the next 50 years, largely because of immigrants and their children.

Former Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, one of the founders of Earth Day, sided with immigration control advocates, supporting Cornell University professor David Pimentel.

The two had been active in the Carrying Capacity Network, a population control organization that advocates strict curbs on immigration.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the founder of Waterkeeper Alliance, lent his name to the election campaign to defeat Pimentel and the other insurgents. Actor Robert Redford and MoveOn.Org, the liberal activist network known for helping propel former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean to prominence, also opposed the anti-immigration candidates.

“I think the agenda of those looking to bring immigration to our organization was soundly defeated,” said Sierra Club President Larry Fahn. “We should now focus on reuniting the membership and getting back to our core mission: to protect the planet. And this year, we should focus on the mission most of us consider most important this year: defeating President Bush and his horrendous environmental policies.”

Yet Fahn conceded that anti-immigration candidates were unlikely to give up their fight.

“The debate will continue,” he said. “Many of them feel so passionate that they will continue agitating and never be pacified.”

DISNEYLAND is a place where everyone can enjoy a bit of magic, but hidden behind its world famous rides and queues of exhausted families is a top secret club that most guests have no idea exists.

Club 33 originally opened in Disneyland California, although can also be found in Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland and Shanghai Disneyland now too.

But don’t get too excited – the club is incredibly exclusive and the only way to join is if you receive an invite.

It’s even suggested that there is a waiting list of up to 10 years, which was reportedly closed in 2007 after it became so long, before reopening in 2012.

So it’s no wonder why the sought-after club is loved by celebs like Tom Hanks, Michael Jackson and Elton John.

Found on 33 Orleans Street, the speakeasy style club can be found behind a blue door with a discreet 33 address plate at the entrance, for those in the know.

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The members-only club was founded by Walt Disney, who based the club on his travel adventures with his wife Lillian, although he died a year before the club opened in 1967.

Inside is just as lush as you’d expect, with wood-panelled private dining lounges, swanky baroque wallpaper and various Victorian curios that Walt personally collected from antique shops.

In fact, the restaurant is one of the only places visitors can bag some booze in the park.

And for film fanatics, props from classics like Mary Poppins  are inside, including original drawings on the wall.

But all of this will cost you.

Initiation fees are believed to range between $25,000 (£19,200) and $50,000 (£38,000).

Then there is the annual fee, which can be as much as $30,000 (£23,000).

The membership, however, gets you some extra perks such as day passes for guests, private VIP tours, exclusive merchandise and free hotel room upgrades.

You also can’t go to more than one of the Club 33s around the world, as each membership is exclusive to each club.

There is one place in the club you can visit without your own membership, although you do need to know someone who does have one to take you.

The Salon Nouveau Lounge is known for it’s posh caviar appetizers as well as burgers and champagne, so if you know someone lucky enough to have access the club 33, you could try it out.

Meanwhile, for members only, there is Le Grande Salon which has set menu costing upwards of £100, but can reportedly include options such as scallops and steak tartare.

And for those wanting to spend the night, there’s the Disneyland Dream Suite, which sits above the next-door Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

Walt had his own apartment on Main Street in the park, but it was decided there needed to be a bigger spot to host Disney’s VIP guests, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowds.

The more specific details of the elusive club are scarce, mostly because members are told not to ever share the club’s secrets.

Florida-based Disney travel experts Simon and Susan Veness previously told the Telegraph: “The level of secrecy around Club 33 is quite startling, but it has been there since the club’s earliest days, and it continues to be a Disney parks anomaly today.

“For somewhere that is never slow to promote its rides and attractions, this ultra-expensive ‘insiders’ club’ is distinctly incongruous and out of step with the general pixie dust nature of the theme parks.”

However, some guests have shared a sneak peak inside the club.

This week former Playboy star Holly Madison took to Instagram to post some snaps from the balcony of the club.

“Club 33 Alice in Wonderland tea was divine,” she captioned the alluring snaps which showed her sat a linen-covered table with Mad Hatter plates, Alice in Wonderland-themed snacks and over huge floral displays.

Bragging about having club 33 membership comes with it’s risks though as one couple even ended up taking Disney to court after losing their membership.

The couple, from the US, said they had paid as much as $124,000 (£94,000) a year to visit the theme parks, sometimes visiting as much as 80 times a year.

However, they were taken off the membership list after the park claimed they had both behaved badly, being both intoxicated and swearing – something they both refute.

Back in 2015 Joseph Cosgrove allegedly lost his membership when he allowed a friend to auction off his passes.

According to Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown, Joseph had “repeatedly transferred and sold their membership privileges,” which meant the park was “left with no other choice in order to preserve the integrity of membership.”

Celebrities aren’t immune to having their membership revoked either; a Pitch Perfect actress claimed she was suspended from the club for taking a secret picture in the club’s bathroom, she revealed on The Daily Show in 2023.

But all the mystery around the club has only made it more intriguing for Disney fans over the years, with thousands of social media posts on the topic of the secret spot popping up every week.

“We have got a few people that the board are talking to that are very exciting and interesting candidates.

“There have been people who we have been linked to, where it says they were the frontrunner or that there was conversations, that were people we have never talked to or never even had a conversation about.”

Fulham are also known to have held talks with Kieran McKenna, who has since departed as manager of Ipswich Town following their promotion to the Premier League, saying he wanted a break to spend time with his family.

Khan said: “There have been some rumours, but at the same time, we have had lots of conversations and meetings. We have been actively talking.

“There are two in particular who have had multiple meetings with the board and who we really like, but we are open to more conversations and talking to more people. We are working on that process right now.”

Fulham finished 11th in the table last season, missing out on a place in Europe by two points.

A former defender for both Liverpool and West Ham, Arbeloa was in charge of Real Madrid at the end of last season on an interim basis, having replaced Xabi Alonso – who has been appointed Chelsea‘s new boss – midway through the campaign.

After a successful 13-year playing career at Stamford Bridge, Lampard started his managerial career at Derby before spells at Chelsea, Everton and then Coventry in 2024.

As a mum to a six year old and a two year old, I love an all inclusive hotel. There’s plenty of food options, and I don’t groan every time one of my children tips their drink into the sand. But they’re often pretty big, and pretty expensive. So when I checked into Club Med in Bodrum, I was quickly won over.

While it’s quite large, with 242 rooms on the pretty hillside site, it still manages to feel boutique and exclusive. A high return rate, plenty of the guests we met were on their second or third visits. One, an elderly Belgian man on holiday with his wife, was on his seventh. “It’s just perfect,” he told me. Why would we go anywhere else? And I have to say I agree. Here’s why…

The rooms

There are three different room types at Club Med, Bodrum: superior, family deluxe and suites. As a family of four, we were given a deluxe, which was split over two floors. There were two single beds downstairs and a king upstairs, in a large living space that doubled as a living room.

There were two bathrooms and a spacious balcony with chairs for lounging that looked out over the archery courts below. As far as decor goes, it was simple – white walls, minimal accessories. Functional for a family who would be spending most of their time on the beach. Beds were comfy, and a cot was provided. The whole thing was immaculately clean and the thread count was high. It was an ideal base to set up camp for the week.

The food

While in Bodrum, we ate a lot of our meals out, but the ones we enjoyed at the hotel were very good indeed. The hotel’s main buffet restaurant, La Terrasse, is at the top of the site, with stunning breezy terraces overlooking the sea, all draped in purple flowers. The view, it has to be said, is breathtaking. The scenery served up is almost as good as the eggs.

Breakfast is varied, with omelettes made to order, a bakery, cereals and salads. A juice bar serves up brightly coloured drinks, and there’s a fruit station with enough bananas to keep my kids happy all day. Coffee is best sourced at the bar, which does a great flat white with fresh beans. Throughout the day, delicious picky snacks like olives and flatbread are served at the beach bar, and to the delight of the little ones, fresh watermelon was delivered to them on the sand.

La Terrasse opens once more for lunch and dinner, with a banquet of options for all tastes and palates, from grilled prawns to pizza. There were even snails one night – a nod to Club Med’s French brand heritage. A gentle theme runs each night, say Mexican, Chinese, and so on. And there’s plenty of Turkish treats to delight too. Once a week, a white party takes over the pool area and guests are all given light-up crowns to wear as they dine. My six year old absolutely loved this – as did I. Down the mountainside, the a la carte Halikarnas restaurant provides a more intimate, upmarket setting, with incredible seafood and meat options.

The activities

While Club Med isn’t specifically a family hotel, and in fact most of the guests we met during our stay were friends or couples, it really does welcome children with open arms. Staff remember names and drinks orders, and a fuss is made of young guests wherever they go. The pool area is large and luxurious, with plenty of sunloungers, many of which are set under the shade of surrounding trees, and there’s a little baby pool for paddlers too.

Elsewhere, there’s a small playground set down a shady path and activities like archery and beach fit to keep everyone occupied when on a break from the beach. A complimentary twice-daily boat trip, which leaves from the hotel pier at 10am and 3pm each day to tour the beautiful coastline, lets the little ones on with lifejackets.

The beach

At the foot of the hill lies the jewel in Club Med’s crown – its pristine, private, beach. Set in a long bay, ensuring calm, safe water, it can be accessed via stairs or a lift, with a regular supply of buggies taking guests up and down the hill to reach it. Once at the shore, turning left takes you to a section of Bali beds set over the waves on the rocky cliffs, with some more to be found on a wooden pier.

We, however, turned right – to the main stretch of beach. With more than enough sunbeds, each with a generous umbrella for shade, there’s no jostling required. The beach is cleaned daily and the water is crystal clear. It’s paradisical. Little fish came to say hello as we built sandcastles by the water’s edge. The perfect place to wile away the day.

The surrounding area

If you can bear to leave Club Med Bodrum, there is plenty to explore nearby. A trip to Bodrum castle is a must to wander through the historic fortress. Built by the Knights of St John, it now houses one of the world’s most important collections of ancient shipwrecks and relics. There are a flock of friendly peacocks in residence too, which I have to say were the highlight for both my girls.

Elsewhere, Bodrum Antik Tiyatrosu (Bodrum Antique Theatre) is a remarkably preserved 4th-century BC Greco-Roman amphitheatre carved into the slopes of Mount Göktepe. Overlooking the city and the Aegean Sea, it stands as one of Anatolia’s oldest surviving theatres. Later, a walk up to the 18th-century windmills between Bodrum and Gümbet then provided sweeping views, and we headed down to the glamorous Bodrum marina to dine by the water at Liman Koftescisi, a renowned Turkish restaurant. The meatballs with aubergine were divine.

For those who love wine, Bodrum is abundant. Karnas Vineyards is a family-owned, boutique winery and agricultural estate located in the Karaova region of the Bodrum peninsula. Spanning over 20 hectares, it is famous for being the first vineyard to plant the Zinfandel grape variety in Turkey, producing award-winning wines using sustainable and traditional techniques. Featured in the Michelin Guide, the vineyard features a terrace restaurant serving local, farm-to-fork meals made from ingredients grown on-site or by local farmers.

And just down the road, Mehmet Vuran is the owner and winemaker at Garova in the Karaova Valley of Bodrum. A visit to his estate is as much of a delight for children as it is for the grown ups thanks to a menagerie of animals, with cows, chickens and baby chickens running around. As the golden sun dipped behind the horizon, as our visit to Bodrum drew to a close, we toasted to our return.

*For more on planning a trip to Türkiye, see Go Türkiye

Getting there

Without Flights: Seven nights all-inclusive stay at Club Med Bodrum, Palmiye, Turkey from £2,490 (based on a family of four). Price based on departure date 06.06.26. Book now at www.clubmed.co.uk/r/bodrum/y or call 03453 676767

London Flights: Seven nights all-inclusive stay at Club Med Bodrum, Palmiye, Turkey from £4,014 (based on a family of four). Price based on departure date 06.06.26. Book now at www.clubmed.co.uk/r/bodrum/y or call 03453 676767

To understand the gravitational pull toward golf, consider the sport as a sequence of problems. Aaron Singleton, a skilled player in the Dads Link Golf Club, is playing particularly well today at Palos Verdes Golf Course, having just hit two back-to-back birdies. But even on the shots that fly into a grassy oblivion, he smiles.

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“Golf is 18 different holes. 18 different chances to solve a problem,” he says. “Each hole presents a different problem. Each shot is a different problem.” According to Singleton, this wisdom that players inherit on the golf course — especially resilience and patience — translates to fatherhood.

Singleton, who has a 3-year-old son, is part of a growing group of fathers who participate in the Dads Link Golf Club. The club is part of the region’s golf boom; Southern California Golf Assn. is estimated to have one of the largest memberships in the country, with over 200,000 golfers.

Ian Davis, the founder of Dads Link and Golf Club, watches his drive.

Ian Davis is the founder of Los Angeles’ Dads Link Golf Club. Each month, he invites fathers to enjoy golf together to focus on fellowship, fatherhood and their well-being.

“This has grown in a way that I couldn’t have imagined,” says Davis, who works as a wellness coach with an emphasis in mindfulness and meditation. He started the club in 2023 on the East Coast before relocating it to Los Angeles in January 2024, where the club hosts an annual Father’s Day tournament and various golf clinics.

At the driving range, Davis leads the group through “a grounding practice” that involves stretching and deep breathing. Member Ose Akhile, a personal trainer, follows up with stretching and other warm-up exercises. For many of the men, golf has become a rediscovered hobby. Singleton returned to the sport after playing it as a teenager. “I’m looking forward to getting better,” he says.

Club member Darius Ingram, father of 3-year-old daughter, says that reconnecting with the game has allowed him to prioritize his own well-being.

“I used to play golf recreationally. Now, I do it for mental stability,” he says.

Ian Davis greets Ose Akhile as Darius Ingram stands nearby.

Ian Monteilh, who is new to the group and has two daughters ages 11 and 15, says the outing provides camaraderie that was missing from his life.

“It’s a community that I didn’t have. I’m blessed to be around like-minded men with no pressure,” he says. “Even if we’re having a rough day on a golf course, there’s camaraderie.”

Once considered a predominantly white sport, golf is now being reshaped by a new generation of Black players and other players of color, including many of the fathers in Dads Link Golf Club. In 2024, 25% of golfers across courses nationally were Black, Asian and Latino, marking the most diverse era in the sport’s history, according to the National Golf Foundation.

“It’s a lot less pretentious — more diverse, more access for all different types of people,” says Ingram, who noticed a shift in golfing culture in recent years. Despite Tiger Woods’ storied career as one of the sport’s most impactful athletes, Black men remain underrepresented in top tournaments.

Darius Ingram reacts to barely missing a putt on the 18th green as Ian Davis watches.

Ingram partly attributes Black men’s interest in golf to renewed interest from other professional athletes. Star athletes like Michael Jordan and Steph Curry — who also happen to be dads — are skilled golfers.

“There are a lot of people who play their main sport, and they play golf when they retire,” says Ingram.

Ose Akhile smiles before teeing off.

Rappers like Schoolboy Q and DJ Khalid have also become interested in the sport, adding to its cachet.

The benefits of the groups are apparent, explains Akhile, who has three daughters, ages 6, 7 and 9.

“I’m outside — fresh air, sunshine, a break for my family. I get to decompress,” he says. Describing himself as a “Caribbean baby,” he explains that the ocean waves have a hypnotic effect on him. As the golfers move along the Palos Verdes course, the ocean stretches beyond them.

“Nature helps a lot with stress relief. There’s a lot of green grass and quiet out here. I love my child, but it’s hard to hear her yell, ‘Dad!’ every three seconds,” says Singleton. During the game, he stays calm while a squirrel approaches him. “Me and nature are one with each other,” he says. Behind him, a baby coyote prances into the fog.

Singleton adds that in the chaos of fatherhood, friendships occasionally fall to the wayside.

“There’s so much to do. Everyone separated. It’s beneficial to have a group text, a fellowship like this, where you can hear someone going through the same thing as you,” Singleton says.

Akhile agrees. “These are probably the only guys that understand the day-to-day stressors and pressures of my life,” he says.

Ose Akhile, Darius Ingram, Ian Monteilh, Ian Davis, Aaron Singleton and other Dads Link and Golf members have breakfast together.

After finishing nine holes, the men enjoy breakfast burritos. They joke that they will begin ranking the golf courses in the L.A. area by the quality of their breakfast burritos. Meanwhile, Davis leads the group through a conversation about fatherhood. Each month he chooses one dad to be the focus. This morning that’s Ingram. He speaks on being a father and how it relates to golf.

“I’m not as good as I want to be, so there’s frustration there,” Ingram says, referring to the challenges of parenting. He adds that to “right things” he doesn’t like about himself, he focuses on how his efforts could result in his daughter becoming a better version of him. The men offer encouragement as birds circle above. The sun pierces through the fog.

Monteilh looks up and jokes: “The only birdies I saw today were in the sky.”

Serena Williams is back.

And so is her blistering serve.

After almost four years away from the sport, the 44-year-old tennis legend made a triumphant return Tuesday at Queen’s Club in London. She teamed with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko for a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand in an opening doubles match at the grass-court HSBC Championships.

Williams recorded service winners of up to 120 mph during her first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open.

“It was so fun,” Williams said afterward in an on-court interview. “I had so much fun playing with Victoria. She really was able to hold up the team and really play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We’ve never played together, but it just felt so natural playing with her.”

Williams has won 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles, all with sister Venus Williams as her playing partner.

Serena Williams and Victoria Mboko of Canada wave to the crowd after defeating Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe on Tuesday at the Queen’s Club in London.

(Alberto Pezzali / Associated Press)

“I feel very honored to play with Serena,” Mboko said. “I had a lot of fun, if anything. We really did that out there. I’m so happy to be playing beside you. And we’re going for more.”

In September 2022, Williams had registered as retired with the International Tennis Integrity Agency.

Last December, however, Williams reentered the agency’s drug-testing pool, a move that led to speculation about a possible return for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion. She announced her professional tennis return last week as a wild-card doubles entry at the Queen’s Club tournament.

Days later, Williams was added to the 16-team doubles field at Germany’s WTA 500 event.

“I had nothing better to do,” Williams said Tuesday. “I got tired of sitting at home. My kids are out of school for the summer, so why not?”

Since launching at the start of 2025, “The Pitt” has emerged as more than just a hyperrealistic depiction of an embattled American emergency department. Using its hospital setting as a social microcosm, HBO Max’s Emmy-winning juggernaut has explored various systemic issues — including the misogyny that women of color face in the workplace.

“Some of the stories from real physicians and nurses that I’ve spoken to are so crazy. The system feels like it’s 15, 20 years behind other industries,” says Sepideh Moafi, who portrays attending Dr. Baran Al-Hashimi. “There is still this older culture of a boundaryless style of work where [there’s] a lack of understanding and compassion,” with respect to pregnancy and childcare, for working women.

“The Pitt’s” depiction of such subjects includes unflinching attention to microaggressions and unconscious biases. Isa Briones, who plays second-year resident Dr. Trinity Santos, recalls hearing from qualified on-set doctors that “a lot of female physicians will wear their lab coats, because it makes them look like more of an authority.”

“We have a female, half-Asian doctor on our set who consistently says that people talk to the nurse in the room if they’re a white man instead of her,” adds Supriya Ganesh, whose character, fourth-year resident Dr. Samira Mohan, is mistaken for a nurse in Season 2, despite having “DOCTOR” emblazoned on her name tag.

Supriya Ganesh.

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

Nor is the series reluctant to show the other side of the dynamic, as doctors Robinavitch (Noah Wyle) and Langdon (Patrick Ball) lash out against their colleagues in lieu of acknowledging their own flaws. Although the women of “The Pitt” would never compare acting to saving lives, Briones believes that the experiences of women — especially from marginalized communities — share commonalities across many male-dominated industries.

“The entertainment business constantly feels like a boys’ club that you cannot penetrate no matter what you do, because it’s still always going to be these older white men who are making all the decisions,” she says. “That’s why seeing the storyline with Langdon and Robby informed my performance so much, because I know this feeling of being like, ‘Why the f— are these men fist-bumping each other? I’m also here! I’m doing my job too!’”

“As a woman in any field, if you express emotion, if you make your opinion or your voice heard, then it’s like, ‘You’re talking too much. You’re being hysterical,’” Moafi says.

Sepideh Moafi.

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

In holding up a mirror to the healthcare system, showrunner R. Scott Gemmill also wanted to explore the linguistic diversity of its practitioners, allowing his actors of color to reconnect with their mother tongues.

“Language shapes who you are, how you see the world,” Moafi says. Al-Hashimi became a polyglot — speaking English, Farsi and Armenian — in part to curb the effects of a seizure disorder on her temporal lobe, which is crucial for language comprehension. “[Language] connects you to different registers in the body. The rhythms are different, and the emotional access is more immediate.”

During Season 1, Santos — who, like Briones, is half-Filipino — surprised nurses Princess (Kristin Villanueva) and Perlah (Amielynn Abellera) by chiming in on their gossip session in Tagalog. But wanting to show “a more vulnerable side of Santos” this season, Briones worked with her own actor father, Jon Jon, to find a Filipino lullaby that she could sing to baby Jane Doe.

To reflect the 100-plus languages spoken in the Philippines, they selected a Hiligaynon lullaby called “Ili Ili Tulog Anay.” Briones advocated for the scene not to have subtitles: “It should be just this quiet moment that you don’t have to understand [the language] to understand, but also it’s a great moment for people who do speak it to feel that little secret joy.”

For Briones, speaking Tagalog at work has opened up difficult conversations with her immigrant father, who feels shame about not passing down enough cultural knowledge to his children. “I’ve been starting with Rosetta Stone, so I can start conversing with my dad and then he can help me, because I want to be able to talk to my lola and she doesn’t have to work through English,” she says. “This show has reminded me of how important that is to me.”

Isa Briones.

(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)

Ganesh, who grew up in New Delhi, felt strongly that Mohan should not be fluent in Hindi because of its similarities to Nepali, the language that doctors struggled to identify when treating a patient in the first season. Instead, the actor chose to infuse her own heritage into the character, who uses Tamil as a way to feel connected to her late father.

“She chooses to speak it with her mom, because maybe that’s the only other person she has in her life who she can speak it to,” explains Ganesh, who recalls consulting multiple generations of her own family — and even her on-set coach’s family — for the Tamil dialogue. “She wants to preserve that as much as she can, even though it’s already filtered through her being American and being born in this country.”

That part of Indian American culture will be lost next season, with Ganesh officially departing at the end of Season 2. The actor reiterates that the “creative decision” to write Mohan off was made by executive producers Gemmill, Wyle and John Wells: “They work with such intention on the show and make all the choices that they make for that reason, so I think it’s better to ask them for answers.”

“I’m going to treasure all the memories I had working with these two and everyone else,” Ganesh adds. “It’s been so great just getting all the love from the fans. I feel sad for them, too, that they won’t get to see this character.”

“The representation that you brought to the show is so beautiful,” Briones chimes in. “Seeing the fans ride for you so hard and be like, ‘This was the first time I felt represented on camera,’ it’s really gorgeous to see everyone coming out and celebrating that and celebrating you.”

For her part, Moafi believes that Dr. Mohan will be remembered for the way “she won’t compromise humanity in how she delivers care.” “The power of strength comes from vulnerability, and in order to go fast, you have to slow down,” she adds. “That’s something that is so ingrained in us, as women.”

Serena Williams is returning to competitive tennis after all.

Months after insisting on social media, “Omg yall I’m NOT coming back,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion announced Monday that she’ll play professionally for the first time in almost four years at the HSBC Championships at the Queen’s Club in London.

Williams, 44, has been given a wild-card entry into the doubles draw of the WTA 500 event, which begins June 8.

“Queen’s Club feels like the perfect place to begin this next chapter,” Williams said in a statement released by the tournament. “Grass has given me some of the most meaningful moments of my career, and I’m excited to be back competing on one of the sport’s most iconic stages.”

Williams teased the announcement earlier Monday by posting a video on social media that featured her phone‘s notifications going off constantly while she seemingly was practicing on the court.

“Good news travels fast,” Williams wrote on the post.

Tournament director Laura Robson said during TNT Sports UK’s coverage of the French Open on Monday that Williams’ playing partner will be Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, who is ranked No. 9 in WTA singles. Williams has won 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles with her sister Venus Williams as her partner.

It is not clear whether Williams will participate in any other events. Wimbledon, a Grand Slam event Williams won seven times in singles, begins June 29 in London.

Williams’ last professional match was a loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the U.S. Open on Sept. 2, 2002. She registered as retired with the International Tennis Integrity Agency the next day.

Last December, however, Williams reentered the agency’s drug-testing pool. According to the ITIA website, retired players “may not return to sanctioned events unless they have made themselves available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months prior to the event in question.”

The move led to much speculation about a possible Williams return, leading to her social media post denying any such intentions.

Martina Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam champion who is the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match — she was 47 when she won a Wimbledon match in 2004 — expressed excitement for Williams’ return.

“Serena brought the game to another level and it is incredible for the sport that she’s pushing the boundaries and coming back,” Navratilova said in a statement released by the WTA. “To many of the younger players, they never had the opportunity to play her; some may have never watched her on television, so this will be a new and exciting experience.”

IN just three days, Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews is due to be released from Dubai’s hell-hole Al Awir prison.

But the news of his imminent return to freedom has emboldened the women who have been caught up in his web of lies and deceit – and now they’re determined to see him locked up for good.

Over the past five months, I have spoken to the women who have survived Andrews, and their extraordinary stories are chilling.

From financial fraud on a life-changing scale to even more shocking allegations, the women painted a terrifying picture of the man Katie chose to marry just weeks after meeting him earlier this year.

For months, the women have shared evidence with The Sun – and the relevant police authorities – in the hope that the law will catch up with Andrews.

Together they stood firm as he desperately tried to smear their reputations, telling me in a long and rambling voice note that one of the women was disturbed and had spent time inside a “mental institution”.

He claimed they were fantasists, liars and angrily declared: “I know you’re a lady and everything, but women can be very harsh.”

I didn’t believe a word he said to me then, and I still don’t now.

But the patience of the women involved is understandably wearing thin.

His arrest in Dubai on a civil matter has, they tell me, been for Andrews just a brief taste of what they hope is to come.

Justice for these women, however, will be a war that will not be easily won.

“Lee is a dangerous man, and the authorities need to act,” one of the women tells me from their home in the US.

“All of the women Lee has conned in the past have come together in a group, and we are determined to fight to get justice.

“It does feel incredibly hopeless at times. No one in power seems to be properly acting. But we’re standing together, and we will do everything we can to make the police act.”

Criminal complaints have been lodged against Andrews by one woman with Hertfordshire Police.

Another of his victims, businesswoman Crystal Janke, reported an alleged theft of £123,000 to cops in America.

The uphill battle they face is the fact that Andrews resides in Dubai and is unable to leave due to a travel ban.

Andrews, ultimately, is able to dodge culpability because of where he is.

Hertfordshire Police confirmed to me they had handed the complaints filed to them to cops in Dubai because the alleged incidents happened in the UAE.

These allegations, to add, are incredibly serious.

They need to see him hauled in for questioning.

But so far, the police there have seemingly failed to act in any way to investigate Andrews, let alone arrest him.

The financial fraud complaint made to cops against Andrews in the US by Crystal is also dangling in the ether.

The police confirmed they can only act against Andrews if he lands on US soil.

And let’s be honest, Andrews isn’t going to be leaving Dubai anytime soon.

From the number of phone calls I had in the days leading up to Andrews’ arrest, the women who have joined forces to try and bring the con-artist to justice are not alone in their plight.

Andrews is alleged to owe vast sums of money to several people in Dubai.

Each individual wants him taken to task, and no one more so than the women whose lives he has irrevocably damaged in one way or another.

“We see ourselves as survivors of Lee, not victims,” one woman tells me.

“But to say the slow progress by the police in Dubai is frustrating is an understatement.

“The complaints are racking up, and nothing is being done.

“Some of us have even gone to the lengths of contacting the police when we know where Lee is and pleading with them to arrest him.

“Repeatedly, we have said, he is at this location, he is wanted for this, please act. And nothing ever seems to happen.

“We have no idea what else to do, but once he is out, we are going to carry on alerting the police, and we won’t stop until they act.”

After he was arrested and sent to the Al Awir prison, authorities confirmed to The Sun he had been apprehended on a private civil matter.

It proved once again that Andrews is a devious liar – after he told Katie he had been arrested for espionage.

“Lee saying he was arrested for spying is nothing new,” one of the women explained to me.

“It’s a claim directly out of his conman playbook.

“He’s said to everyone in this group at some point that he worked for the secret services. He bragged about being in MI5 in the UK.

“Lee would just tell so many lies. He told Katie he was an international arms dealer, too.

“By this point, we don’t think Lee would know what the truth is – even if he slapped him around the face.”

Previously, Andrews denied every claim made against him by the women who spoke out against him.

In the face of the weight of evidence they provided me with, including their bank statements and correspondence with their relevant police forces, Andrews stood firm and tried to paint them as scorned fantasists.

These women are nothing of the sort.

And I, along with my colleagues, will keep banging this drum until Andrews is locked up.

With any luck, they will throw away the key.

Mauricio Pochettino knows the joy of making a World Cup roster. But he also knows the misery of being left off one.

In the first case, you want to celebrate; in the second, you want to be left alone.

The U.S. coach said he kept both emotions in mind when informing players they had — or had not — made the roster for next month’s tournament, a roster that was formally announced Tuesday during a sun-splashed, made-for-TV rally in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, about 13 miles from where July’s World Cup final will be played.

“The most important event is to be in any single roster,” said Pochettino, who made Argentina’s team for the 2002 World Cup after being passed over four years earlier.

So when Pochettino decided which 26 men would be on his team this summer, each of them got a WhatsApp message, followed by a video, sent out at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Friday. Defender Tim Ream said he received the message as he walked to his car after training with his club team in Charlotte, N.C.

“It made me stop in my tracks and immediately call my wife to let her know,” he said. “We both had been anxious and excited for the announcement.

“I’m not overly emotional, but it was definitely a relief and there was a little bit of bit of quivering, for sure, with my family when I found out.”

Christian Pulisic was alone in Milan, where he plays in Italy’s Serie A, when his phone lit up.

“I was just relaxing. Then I saw the message pop up and got excited,” he said.

The 29 players from the provisional roster who didn’t make the cut? They each got a simple email. And no explanation.

“I know it is so painful. It was so painful for me,” Pochettino said.

“When I didn’t make the roster, I didn’t want my coach to call me,” he added. “Because we care a lot, we don’t want to say nothing to confuse the player. A player who didn’t make the roster, they don’t want to hear me say, ‘Oh [too bad].’”

Christian Pulisic holds up his U.S. jersey during a rally Tuesday in New York.

(Adam Hunger / Getty Images)

Ream and Pulisic are two of 13 players who are returning to the World Cup after making the team in Qatar four years ago, part of a list that includes midfielders Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna and Weston McKennie and defenders Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson. They will be joined by defenders Miles Robinson and Chris Richards, both of who missed the last World Cup because of injury, and forward Ricardo Pepi, one of the final cuts in 2022.

Richards was chosen despite tearing two ligaments in his left ankle playing for Crystal Palace earlier this month. Pochettino had no new information on the injury Tuesday but said the final World Cup roster doesn’t need to be filed with FIFA until Sunday; after that, teams can replace players up to 24 hours before their opening match in the event of injury or illness.

Reyna’s inclusion was also a minor surprise since he has played just one full 90-minute game for club or country in the last four years. In the last World Cup in Qatar, he was nearly sent home for a perceived lack of effort in training after he learned he wouldn’t be a starter in the tournament.

But Pochettino said picking him was an easy decision.

“I really trust in him,” Pochettino said. “He’s a different player. A different talent. The roster needs to have a player like him.”

There were also notable omissions, among them midfielders Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann. Luna, who plays in MLS for Real Salt Lake, has been a regular under Pochettino, playing in 17 of the U.S. team’s 18 games in 2025. But he missed time earlier this season with a knee injury and sat out of his club team’s last two games with a muscle problem

Tessmann had been called into six training camps under Pochettino and was seen as a potential starter for the U.S. before being shut down by his French club, Lyon, at the end of the season, leaving his fitness for the World Cup in question.

Pochettino declined to talk about either player — or anyone else left off the team.

“We are not going to talk about the players that are not on the roster,” he said. “That’s disrespectful to the players who are on the roster.”

Raising questions about who should have been included, the coach said, necessarily leads to questions about who should have been left off.

“That was my decision to pick that 26,” he said

Pochettino said he didn’t settle on a roster until the day before players got the WhatsApp videos — or the simple email.

“We wanted the right balance with the right players,” he said.

Among the first-time World Cup selections are midfielder Malik Tillman, the German-born brother of LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman; Mexican-born attacker Alejandro Zendejas, who plays for Club América in the Liga MX; and Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, son of Gregg Berhalter, the U.S. coach in the last World Cup.

Berhalter said he was in Qatar four years ago, cheering on his dad’s team. This year, his dad will be cheering for him.

“If you believe in your dream and put in the work, you never know what might happen,” he said from the stage after being introduced to the crowd at Tuesday’s rally.

The team will open training camp in Atlanta on Wednesday ahead of friendlies with Senegal in Charlotte, N.C., on Sunday and against Germany on June 6 in Chicago. The team will then move to the Orange County Great Park in Irvine for final preparations for its World Cup opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on June 12.

ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse) Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)

Midfielders: Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United),Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Marseille), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)

As part of the audit, they are considering numerous factors to work out why it has become such a problem.

For example, Spurs are analysing the “bounce” on the club’s home pitch in comparison to that at rival grounds and their Enfield training centre.

At present, the club have found there is no major difference between the conditions of other pitches in comparison to their home ground, but testing is ongoing.

There is a view that certain knee injuries are unavoidable – Odobert for instance damaged his ACL following an awkward landing.

It is also understood Spurs are confident the on-field treatment of Simons’ injury did not result in additional damage to the Dutchman’s knee.

There has been criticism from supporters after footage showed medics allowing the attacker to put weight on his knee despite having suffered a serious injury.

One of the key improvements Lewindon has recommended is to make medical support more individually tailored – based on factors including strength, fatigue and robustness.

Medical staff will compile bespoke profiles for each player that will include personal insights as well as physical and psychological information to ensure they can deliver expert individual support to treat – but also prevent – injury.

There is also set to be greater leeway for injured players to conduct part of their rehabilitation away from the club’s training facility.

Players across the Premier League are increasingly relying on external medical practitioners to aid their fitness and recovery, while many overseas footballers even return to their homeland for treatment.

That dynamic often causes friction but moving forward Tottenham are open to letting players leave their direct care provided all parties involved agree to one shared recovery plan – though Spurs would ultimately take responsibility for any problems that arise during the process.

The medical team will work closely alongside head coach Roberto de Zerbi and his staff over the summer amid concerns changing managers three times in under 12 months has contributed to their injury problems.

Tottenham will look to introduce an integrated structure that will ensure De Zerbi, or a member of his staff, the medical department and the player are involved in deciding when a player can accelerate their rehabilitation plans.

Psychology is also a key component of the ongoing review with the club set to employ a full-time head of psychology to work with the players and staff.

Prediction: 3rd

It was the perfect season for Manchester City as they claimed their first league title in a decade – and in manager Andree Jeglertz’s debut campaign.

With no Champions League football to distract them, City were able to throw everything at the WSL title and they swept up the opposition.

They went on a 13-game winning streak between September and February and, at one point, had a 12-point lead over Chelsea.

They also kept key players Khadija Shaw and Vivianne Miedema fit, with the two scoring a combined 31 goals – half of the club’s overall tally.

With a squad packed with talent and depth, City will hope to compete on several fronts in Europe next year, but must replace Shaw, who looks set to leave.

Recent losses, outside criticism and a sense that the team’s identity has strayed from its original path have left LAFC in an uncomfortable position.

As the team prepares to host the Seattle Sounders on Sunday at BMO Stadium before a mandatory break for the World Cup, coach Marc Dos Santos shared his thoughts on the team’s adversity and goals for the future.

The coach said one of his main self-criticisms involved straying from the attacking identity he intended to build at LAFC since taking over as head coach.

“Outside criticism when the team loses isn’t that important to me because I’ve learned in my life that if you’re going to build a life based on what outsiders think of you, you’re going to be very unhappy,” Dos Santos said. “But in self-reflection, I’ll tell you one thing: I’m hard on myself. I believe we were building something with a clear identity, and after the series against Cruz Azul — in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals — I thought about switching to a three-man backline to defend more. I went in a more defensive direction, and I don’t want to be like that.”

The coach said the tactical change was the wrong move for LAFC.

“It was a mistake on my part, and it doesn’t reflect LAFC’s identity — it’s not what I want to build here,” Dos Santos said. “I want to make sure that this summer I thoroughly analyze what we need to change, and I have to stay true to LAFC’s identity.”

The comments come at a delicate time for LAFC, which has let potential MLS wins slip away despite showing competitive moments recently against St. Louis City SC and Nashville SC.

LAFC had hoped to once again be one of the dominant teams in the Western Conference, but offensive inconsistencies and tactical adjustments have led to questions about the coaching staff. The Los Angeles side sits in seventh place in the West with 21 points, eight points behind the leader, the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Dos Santos dismissed the idea that the problem is solely related to the tactical scheme and insisted that the most important change involves reclaiming aggressive principles with and without the ball.

“When we have the ball, we have to show the character to go after it — we can’t be afraid,” he said. “And when we don’t have the ball, we can’t just sit back. Look at one of the best teams in the world, Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Look at how they run without the ball. That’s soccer today.”

Amid this soccer overhaul, one of the most closely watched names remains Denis Bouanga. The Gabonese forward hasn’t made the same dominant influence as in previous seasons, though Dos Santos insisted that his relationship with the player remains solid and transparent.

“Denis knows what I want. I’ve always been very honest with him,” the coach said. “Last year we played a lot of games in a 3-5-2, defending a lot with Denis and Son [Heung-min,] but the club and I want to move to a different model. We’re all on the same page.”

Son Heung-min will temporarily leave LAFC after the match against Seattle to join South Korea’s training camp ahead of the World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Asian forward said his full focus remains on this weekend’s match.

“I’m not thinking about that yet,” Son said of the World Cup. “The most important match is on Sunday. I just want to make sure we get a great result before heading to the World Cup and arrive in good physical condition.”

Son expects to be tested when South Korea travels to Mexico to play some of its World Cup matches.

“It’s not easy in Mexico, honestly,” he explained. “The altitude and conditions are different, but you have to love those big challenges. We’re really excited.”

As Son prepares to leave, LAFC faces a second-half schedule filled with intense competition. Following the match against Seattle, the club will return from the break to play against the rival Galaxy on July 17.

For Dos Santos, these challenges define the demands of managing LAFC.

“LAFC is a club that wants to win and whose fans want to see it win,” Dos Santos said. “Here, there’s always the responsibility to perform at a [high level]. If you don’t want to be in big games, you don’t coach at LAFC.”

The coach said external criticism isn’t influencing his plans.

“The pressure we feel is the pressure we put on ourselves,” Dos Santos said. “Pressure is when a doctor calls you and tells you you have a problem, or when your child has a problem. Soccer is a sport. You can win or lose. What you can control is improving the team during the week.”

Dos Santos said the World Cup break will serve as a key opportunity for internal analysis before redefining the club’s soccer direction. With the season barely halfway through, the coach said that regaining the team’s identity will be just as important as earning points when MLS returns in the summer.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Czech club Bohemians 1905 are recruiting fans to play for a C team that will enter the country’s football league system next season.

The Prague-based club intend to enter a team of supporters in the ninth tier of Czech football.

Fans have been encouraged to express interest by email.

“The goal of this unique project won’t be to advance as high as possible, but to offer Bohemians fans the joy of football and the pride of wearing the kangaroo on their chest,” a club statement read.

The club, also known as Bohemka, have a kangaroo emblem that stems from their tour of Australia in 1927, when they were gifted two of the animals to take home.

Bohemians, whose honorary president is former Czechoslovakia midfielder Antonin Panenka, went bankrupt in 2005 but have been ever present in the Czech top flight since 2013 thanks to a revival that was helped by the fundraising of supporters.

“Thanks to the fans, Bohemka continues to play football. Now it’s time for Bohemka to enable the same for its fans,” the club said.

The new C team are unlikely to ever face the club’s first team in competitive competition as only sides in the top four divisions of Czech football qualify for the Czech Cup.

Bohemians are currently crowdfunding for the complete reconstruction of their Dolicek stadium, which will cost an estimated 350 million Czech Koruna (£12.4m).

Netflix subscribers will wake up to a video livestream of “The Breakfast Club” starting next month, marking the platform’s first daily live podcast.

The deal is part of the streaming platform’s ongoing focus on live programming, and the latest video podcast offering through its partnership with iHeartRadio, the company said on Thursday. The nearly three-hour show will include a live video feed exclusive to Netflix and will air every weekday morning.

“Taking this show live every day to a global audience on Netflix is a powerful example of how we’re expanding the reach of our biggest brands while giving audiences entirely new ways to experience them,” Bob Pittman, iHeartMedia’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “Whether it’s morning in NYC or the afternoon in London, the conversation is live and reaching the world in real time.”

“The Breakfast Club” will air simultaneously on Netflix, the iHeartRadio app and it will continue to be syndicated by Premiere Networks on more than 100 broadcast radio stations nationwide. Netflix’s video feed is meant to provide more behind-the-scenes content, as radio formats will still need to include commercial breaks. Instead of pausing the program, Netflix watchers will get an uninterrupted stream, where those traditional breaks will be filled with exclusive segments and extended discussions.

“The media landscape will always evolve, but one thing consistently cuts through: live programming,” Charlamagne tha God said in a statement. “That’s a big reason ‘The Breakfast Club’ has sustained its reign for so long. We’re building something powerful — real‑time conversation, real community, on a global scale. The future belongs to those who can see what’s possible — and trust me, the vision for ‘The Breakfast Club’ and Netflix is crystal clear.”

The radio program first got its start in 2010 on WWPR-FM in New York. Over the years, it has become one of the most popular morning shows, rooted in Hip-Hop and R&B culture and known for its lively interviews and entertaining commentary from hosts Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy and Jess Hilarious. The show has welcomed guests like former President Barack Obama, and artists like Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B. In 2020, the talk show was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

Netflix has heavily invested in its live programming in the worlds of sports, comedy and podcasting in recent years. In the past month, the Los Gatos-based company livestreamed “The Roast of Kevin Hart” and its latest fight between MMA fighters Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano. This weekend, the F1 Canadian Grand Prix is also set to air on Netflix. These tentpole events are in addition to some of the weekly live programming Netflix offers, including “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” which airs every Sunday.

At this year’s festival to unveil our inaugural Cannes issue, I had to opportunity to sit down with Sony Pictures Classics co-founders and co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard and EVP of Acquisitions, Production and Business Affairs Dylan Leiner on the Main Stage at the Marché du Film to discuss the company’s festival strategy, bidding wars, artificial intelligence and more. Watch the full conversation and read edited excerpts below.

How much does the festival reception of a movie, the reviews coming out of a festival, the buzz around it, shape decisions that you’re making? Or is it just confirming what your gut already knows?

Leiner: I want to tell one story that speaks to that, which was at the first Berlin Film Festival we attended after COVID. I remember, in the same day, I ran into three international distributors who all asked if we had seen “The Teacher’s Lounge.” And I didn’t even know what the film was. It wasn’t on our radar, it wasn’t in competition. So we quickly saw “Teacher’s Lounge” and we acquired the film [which went on to be nominated for the 2024 international feature Oscar]. And that was one of the great values of an in-person festival, the ability very quickly to communicate with distributors, with tastemakers, with critics from around the world and get that kind of information. Gut, personal taste… It plays into it a lot, but then we need reassurance. And being at a festival and being in this fishbowl environment is really helpful for that.

For a lot of people, myself included, the mystique of a festival is often around the bidding war narratives: Who’s going to pick up what and what are they going to pay? I’m curious for your take on the first big acquisition of this year’s Cannes, A24 buying “Club Kid” for a reported $17 million.

Bernard: Throughout the years, there were companies [that would] maybe overpay, or they were going to bid to get this movie no matter what, because they were the headline in all the newspapers covering this festival. So in terms of a company that’s branding — which, A24 is one of the best in branding — I think that that had to do with a little bit of the cash that went up. … There’s a branding aspect in a lot of festivals for a movie that’s a hot movie that the press has decided to seize on.

Barker: Here’s a key to how we have survived. It’s different from the way you talk about it. When we acquire a movie, whether anyone else has offers, we try to block it out. And we have trained ourselves to not let that noise bother us. What is it worth to us? What do we think it’s going to do? Dylan runs these incredible models of what it’ll do on the low end, what it will do on the high end. And then you decide where you want to be.

Bernard: Or we think we can make it work.

Barker: But at no point do we sit around and worry about who else has a higher offer for the movie. Because I have to say, in very few instances, on the movies we buy, are we the higher offer. We just do the best we can, and if we lose it, we lose it.

Bernard: [French film producer] Serge Silberman, a sage of the past, he always said, “You never lose money on a movie you didn’t buy.”

That brings up a question that I had about “Nuremberg,” which was a real success. What you’re saying is, it performed in alignment with your expectations. Were there any lessons that you took away from that in terms of future projects that might come along?

Leiner: Yes, it performed in accordance with our expectations. What’s interesting about that film, we acquired it here last year. Nobody else was really interested in the movie. … So our challenge basically was to figure out how to convince the filmmaking team that, because it was a very expensive film, that we were the right company to acquire the film on the terms that we could afford and that we could make it work. And it was a very intense series of phone conversations, in-person meetings.

Bernard: We felt like we were auditioning to get married to somebody. We were never going to be able to pay to make their money back. It was a $40-million movie, and they were really sort of out there without anybody really looking at it. And we said, “Listen, sell it to us. We think it’s going to be a great success. We’ll make your movie way more valuable over the test of time.”

Barker: There are two types of movies that are being made and distributed. One are the big tentpole studio movies. It’s about winning the weekend theatrically. These are the theatrical-driven movies. And it’s all about making that huge budget back very quickly. But the other kind of film, which is why we are in business, is the evergreen. Every one of our films, we open it with the best marketing push we can. Yes, we try to get the highest box office. But what we know will happen, even if the box office ends up being less, we believe in these films as long-term players. And these films have really long tails. You look at movies like “Run Lola Run” or “Call Me By Your Name” or even “Living” … They have generated revenues to the filmmakers and to us that’s way beyond what the box office would have portended when it opened.

I would be curious, what areas of the filmmaking process or the film distribution process do you think AI is appropriate for use, that you’ve experimented with it, that you’re excited about its prospects? And where are your red lines, if you have any?

Barker: One of the people on our staff — we really love our young staff. One of them was writing a screenplay with AI, and told me they got certain rules on AI. And I’m listening to all these rules. You can’t have your main character die in a first scene. You can’t have your romantic female lead be totally unlikable, people aren’t going to go. I’m listening to this, and I said, “Have you ever seen ‘Sunset Boulevard?’” And she goes, “No, what is that?” I said, “Go watch that movie.” She came back and she was like, “Holy cow.” I said, “Billy Wilder sat down and made that up based on what he observed.” AI is not going to be able to do that.

On a Thursday night in West Hollywood, a sleek, multi-level townhome is filled with stylish guests holding fragrance vials the way partygoers cling to cocktails. They raise scents to their noses as they mingle and float through the space.

In one nook, two well-known faces in the fragrance community, Tishni Weerasinghe (@thatbrownperfumegirl) and Chase Chapman (@thescentchase), host stations with their favorite home scents — pre-bedtime spritzes to everyday comforts for working from home — as a small group leans in, asking questions and noting which scents resonate. Inhaling the blend of white musk, floral notes and amber of Rouat Al Musk by Lattafa, a $16 fragrance from Weerasinghe’s collection, attendees oooh and nod in enthusiastic approval.

In another corner, guests try fragrance pairings, scents expertly paired with drinks, letting the aroma and flavors mingle through their senses. Outside on the rooftop, the crowd spills into smaller conversations over refreshments and city views.

Sarah Bowen, co-founder of the Smellers Club, sniffs a fragrance.

This is the Smellers Club. To an outsider, it might seem like a gathering centered around a niche fixation, but within this world, fragrance is much more expansive. Here, it’s a bridge between people, a tool for self-expression, a way to understand your own taste and increasingly, a reason to connect. The night’s gathering is taking place in the home of Daniel Scott and Ronn Richardson, the duo behind the fine home fragrance line Space.

Some guests are simply scent-curious, while others have deep roots in the world of fragrance. One attendee, Jess Blaise, the co-founder of Haitian Spotlight LA, credits her Haitian heritage and the fragrance rituals modeled by her mother for her connection to scent. She recently purchased a bottle of Carnal Flower by Frederic Malle for her personal collection, a luxe tuberose known for its white floral profile and appeal among niche collectors. Of her culture, she explains, “Part of your presentation — of dressing up — is your scent.”

The gathering was hosted in the home of Daniel Scott, left, and Ronn Richardson, co-founders of the home fragrance brand Space. Space offers a range of luxury home fragrances and candles.

Across Los Angeles, fragrance clubs are transforming what was once a solo ritual into something communal. From rooftop gatherings in West Hollywood to casual park meetups further east, these hangouts tap into a growing desire for laid-back, low-stimulation ways to spend time together, offering an alternative to the usual rotation of restaurants, bars and crowded nights out.

Reverie of Scent turns a small nook of Elysian Park into a mini fragrance lounge on Saturday mornings once a month. Founded in November 2025 by Marian Botrous, with support from her husband, Errol, and her sister, Marlene, the club started with just four members at the first meetup. By their sixth gathering this past April, attendance had quintupled, with a mix of regulars and newcomers at every session.

“It’s a huge world,” Botrous says of perfume. “Exploring it together makes it more interesting.”

Fragrance lovers hang out on the rooftop at Smellers Club’s West Hollywood gathering.

At her picnic-like gatherings, attendees show up with blankets, snacks and scents to swap or discuss. With 2-milliliter samples running up to $12, “collecting new scents gets expensive fast,” Bostrous says. “Our meetups make it accessible and fun.”

There’s a mix of casual socializing and structured discussion — conversations have explored the motivations behind wearing fragrance, from seduction to personal comfort, as well as the cultural impact of certain perfumes, like Chanel No. 5 and its connection to Marilyn Monroe and old-school luxury glamour. At one meetup, a member brought in a fragrance called Scentless Apprentice, inspired by the novel “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer” by Patrick Süskind (which Kurt Cobain loved so much that he wrote the Nirvana song “Scentless Apprentice”).

Artist Megan Lindeman, who founded Silverlake Scent Club in August 2025, is also bringing people together to explore scent as a shared social experience. Lindeman says she was inspired by Los Angeles’ broader scent culture and a curiosity about what it would feel like to center smell in a communal setting. The group meets monthly in her Silver Lake backyard, where attendees explore fragrance as both material and memory.

Black Girl Perfume Club was founded in 2023 by Taylyn Washington-Harmon, launching online before expanding into in-person meetups. Across Substack, Instagram and IRL gatherings, it brings together fragrance lovers and newcomers eager to deepen their understanding in an interactive way. “I started the club back when fragrance’s popularity was still pretty niche, and now seeing it move into the mainstream is really exciting,” says Washington-Harmon. As interest grows, she hopes more people will also explore the range of artistry produced by Black-owned fragrance lines.

Back at the house in West Hollywood, people continue to vibe at the event led by Sarah Bowens and Jon Kidd, Los Angeles natives and the duo behind the Smellers Club, launched in January. They’re siblings-in-law who grew up together in the church and are quick to note that their respective partners, Zana and Zion, are unofficial team members and rock-star supporters.

Jess Blaise tests out a scent by Selnu.

Between the both of them, Kidd brings the “fraghead” energy — a name for fragrance devotees who bring a passion and certain fluency of fragrance culture. Bowens, who comes from an events background, heads curation and considers herself more in the beginning stages of her fragrance journey.

When they first started hosting these events, Bowens wasn’t sure how captivating they’d be. “I was like, can people really sit here for hours and talk about fragrance?” she says. She got her answer quickly, watching guests chat, laugh and dive into lively conversations for hours.

Kidd points to wine and book clubs as “event muses” for the Smellers Club. “At a certain point, it stops being about the books or the wine — and for us, even the fragrances,” he says. “It becomes about the people.”

Chase Chapman sets up scents from his personal collection of fragrances for guests to discover at the Smellers Club gathering.

As people navigate adulthood and personal growth cycles, challenging habits and shedding old identities, there are a few underlying questions: Who am I, really? What do I actually like? And what feels good and in alignment with being at ease? Fragrance communities can be a surprisingly grounding place to explore these existential meditations. Bowens, for example, was recently drawn to strawberry-forward Fruits of Love by Dossier, which surprised her since she considered herself someone who didn’t like fruity scents. Such realizations are familiar in the community: You can miss out on something satisfying simply because it doesn’t match your predefined tastes.

Farah Elawamry, a fragrance-focused content creator known as Farah’s Thoughts, has examined fragrance marketing and its ties to rigid gender norms, explaining that “the iris note is always given to women’s fragrances and orris is always given to the masculine fragrance genre, and they’re literally the same note — one is the root, one is the flower.” Once you start diving into the history and psychology of fragrances, she says “you begin to question what you actually like versus what marketing people are telling you to enjoy.”

Compared with the typical nightlife scene in Los Angeles, attendee Shaunt Kludjian says gatherings like these feel more intentional. “This turned out to be better than the clubs in L.A.” he says. “Everyone’s just vibing and connecting over scent.” Kludjian is founder of the Los Angeles candle company Whiff and came to the event to network. Frustrated by traditional candle formats, he launched a line of portable candles packaged in small, tuna-like tins designed to make “home follow you wherever you go.”

As Kidd looks around and watches strangers become friends over a sniff of musk or jasmine, he reflects on part of the magic of the Smellers Club and other fragrance communities.

“Fragrance is a portal to your memory,” he says. “So by coming to something curated that’s a wonderful night, you’re ingraining a memory.”

What started as a question of what smells good has become something else — small moments of recognition between many people who, just hours earlier, had been total strangers. Maybe that’s the point. The bottles will get put away. Everyone will return to their separate corners of the city. But the feeling of being seen, of finding your people — even briefly — sticks with you long after the scents dissipate.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Calvin Harris had a goal and two assists and Dejan Joveljić scored against his former team, leading Sporting Kansas City to a 3-1 victory over the visiting Galaxy on Wednesday night.

Sporting KC (2-8-2) snapped an eight-match winless streak under first-year manager Raphaël Wicky and an eight-match winless skid at home dating to last year. The club’s only other victory came against the Galaxy (4-5-4) — a 2-1 road win on March 14 in which Joveljić also scored.

Sporting KC grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute on Capita Capemba’s first career goal in his sixth appearance. Harris and Lasse Berg Johnsen had assists.

Joveljić made it 2-0 at halftime when he scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time with assists from Harris and defender Zorhan Bassong. It was his sixth goal this season and his 24th in 44 appearances with his new club. Joveljić scored 34 goals for the Galaxy from 2021-24. He scored the winner in the final against the New York Red Bulls in 2024 for L.A.’s sixth MLS Cup before being traded in the offseason.

Harris found the net in the 70th minute for a 3-0 lead with helpers from Manu García and Jacob Bartlett, who entered in the 61st. It was Harris’ first goal this season and his 12th in 113 career matches.

Stefan Cleveland totaled six saves for Sporting KC in his third start this season and the 15th of his career.

J.T. Marcinkowski saved six shots for Los Angeles.

The Galaxy extended their current scoring streak to a league-best 22 straight matches when Gabriel Pec scored in the 89th minute for his 10th goal of the season. Justin Haak and former Sporting KC member Erik Thommy had assists.

Pec scored two late goals in a 2-1 road win over Atlanta United last time out. It was his 10th goal of the campaign.

Sporting KC ties the all-time series at 29-29-18 while improving to 20-10-9 at home against the Galaxy.

Joveljić has scored in three straight matches against his former teammates.

Up next

Galaxy: Visit the Seattle Sounders on Saturday.

Kansas City: Visits Austin FC on Saturday.

Ted Lasso star Cristo Fernández has taken his role as a footballer on the small screen into real life after signing a contract with the US second-tier side El Paso Locomotive FC.

Ted Lasso star Cristo Fernández has taken his role as a footballer from fiction to reality after signing a professional contract with the US second-tier side El Paso Locomotive FC.

Announcing the news the club said: “The rumors were true. Welcome to El Paso, Cristo Fernández. El Paso Locomotive FC announced today that it has signed forward Cristo Fernández.”

Cristo is best known by Ted Lasso fans as Dani Rojas, a beloved member of the Richmond team in the hit Apple TV+ show about a British team with a coach with an American football background.

However, many TV fans were unaware that outside of his acting career, the 35 year old has been taking part in football training, training with the Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire’s reserves this year, he also appeared in pre-season matches for the Locomotive before signing with the football club.

The actor played youth football in Mexico while growing up but was forced to quit after a knee injury. After gaining fame in the football based TV show, he is now set to return, saying in a statement that football has been a huge part of his life.

“Football has always been a huge part of my life and identity, and no matter where life has taken me, the dream of competing professionally never truly left my heart,” said Fernandez, who also trialled with the second team of Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire earlier this year.

“I’m incredibly grateful to El Paso Locomotive FC – the club, coaches, staff, and especially my team-mates – for opening the doors and giving me the opportunity to compete from day one.

“This journey back to professional soccer is about believing in yourself, taking risks, and continuing to chase your dreams no matter how unexpected the path may be.

“Maybe I’m just a crazy man with crazy dreams… so being here with the ‘Locos’ actually makes perfect sense.”

El Paso is a newer club, founded in 2018. The group is currently fourth in Group B of the United Soccer League Championship standings. “Cristo is a great addition to our roster, adding another attacking threat to our forward line,” the club’s head coach, Junior Gonzalez, said.

“His passion for the game and leadership qualities for our locker room allow us to continue growing the positive culture we strive for as a club.”

While Cristo is best known for his appearance in Ted Lasso, he has also had several appearances in films and TV shows including; Spider-Man: No Way Home and Sonic The Hedgehog 3. He has also featured in the State Farm commercial “Bundle is Life” alongside Patrick Mahomes.

Ted Lasso actor Cristo Fernandez has signed for American second-tier side El Paso Locomotive after a two-month trial.

The 35-year-old Mexican, who played Dani Rojas in the hit Apple TV+ programme between 2020 and 2023, will now take up a different role for the USL Championship side.

Fernandez played youth football in his home city of Guadalajara, but stepped away from the game at the age of 15 because of a knee injury.

Having moved to London, he was cast in Ted Lasso, which won multiple awards over its initial three-series run.

“Football has always been a huge part of my life and identity, and no matter where life has taken me, the dream of competing professionally never truly left my heart,” said Fernandez, who also trialled with the second team of Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire earlier this year.

“I’m incredibly grateful to El Paso Locomotive FC – the club, coaches, staff, and especially my team-mates – for opening the doors and giving me the opportunity to compete from day one.

“This journey back to professional soccer is about believing in yourself, taking risks, and continuing to chase your dreams no matter how unexpected the path may be.

“Maybe I’m just a crazy man with crazy dreams… so being here with the ‘Locos’ actually makes perfect sense.”

“Cristo is a great addition to our roster, adding another attacking threat to our forward line,” said Locomotive head coach Junior Gonzalez.

Huddersfield Town boss Liam Manning has left the club by mutual consent, two months after taking compassionate leave.

Manning stepped back from his role in March, with the League One side saying in a statement at the time that the decision was made after he “made the club aware of ongoing personal matters relating to the tragic passing of his newborn son Theo in October 2024”.

“I want to pay huge tribute to Liam today,” chairman Kevin Nagle told the club website.

“Stepping away from this role is the correct decision for him and his family, and that comes before absolutely everything else.”