daughter

Ranting about the decline of comedy specials while releasing a new one at the same time feels a bit like an oxymoron. But somehow it still makes sense coming from alt-comedy pioneer David Cross, who isn’t just complaining; he’s finding his own route to making specials feel special again. The only way to do that is by putting one out in the manner he’d like to see more often — starting by making the whole crowd stand up too.

Capturing the energy of a concert at the famous 40 Watt Club in Athens, Ga., was the first step in differentiating “The End of the Beginning of the End” from the typical hour you watch on a big streamer. And, with this new special, Cross is able to get back to his own beginnings of touring across the country with love bands as his openers, performing for crowds for as long as he could until he had to run offstage to pee.

Premiering the special earlier this month on his website (and on April 7, it will be available on YouTube via production company 800 Pound Gorilla), Cross is hoping the special connects with comedy fans in a way that we’ve forgotten specials could.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity

Your new special is called “The End of the Beginning of the End.” What does that title mean to you as it relates to the impending doom of what we’re all living right now.

David Cross: Well, you can look at it in a couple different ways. To me, it signifies that the beginning of the end has occurred. And we are now at the end of the beginning of the end. And from where you go with that, that’s for you to decide.

One of the things I love about the special is the fact that you shoot it at a club in the style of a live–music concert.

I’ve shot specials in theaters and it’s just different, not that one is better than the other, but they’re just different. You have a different relationship with the audience. When I first started touring, I would go to music venues and I’d have a band open for me and then I would just go up and pretty much [perform] as long as I could until I had to pee. Sometimes I’d have a band playing, sometimes two bands, then I’d go out. And I did that a couple of times, and then stopped doing that and did theaters, and I decided for the last two specials I’m going to go to, when I shoot it, I’ll go to a music venue, and I was at the 40 Watt Club in Athens this last time, I was at the Metro in Chicago before that, both places I played on earlier tours, and, you know, it’s not seated. People are standing there at the stage, and I prefer it. It’s more fun. It’s not as lucrative but, to me, a more fun show to do.

Comedian David Cross

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

The ambience of it was great. You can hear people shouting and drinking and having a good time, and the crowd work is also a little more spontaneous and fun than it would be in a regular venue.

Yeah, well, there’s more opportunity for that. But my thing has never been about crowd work. I like engaging with it, it’s kind of a nice distraction from the set that you’ve been doing 100 times, 150 times at that point. So it’s always fun to have that thing happen and that feeling of spontaneity. And like the guy [who I talk to in the crowd during the special], I could not have asked for [someone better]. I mean, even if it was scripted, it wouldn’t have been as good. The guy who [I talk to] during the stuff about hiking Machu Picchu [with Bob Odenkirk], that’s just… [chef’s kiss].

Speaking of Bob Odenkirk, you guys have this long relationship. How would you describe the dynamic of working with Bob and just how you guys bounce ideas off each other?

I mean, it’s great. We have an inordinate amount of respect for each other, both as people and as creative partners. And so there’s never any real issues. There’s things we will definitely disagree with, but we’re both decent people. So you know somebody backs off and says, “OK, let’s do it that way.” But even then, there aren’t that many of those [issues]. We just have really worked well at building something or molding it, creating it and shaping it. And our aforementioned hike to Machu Picchu, we have a documentary about that, that will be premiering at a fancy festival at some point in the near-future. And so we got that doc and we’ve been working on that. And for the way we work now, because he lives in L.A. and I live in New York, and it’s been like that for a while, he’ll write a bunch of stuff, I’ll make notes, I’ll write my things, send it back. And so we’re able to do that and not necessarily have to be in the same room because we’ve had 30-plus years of working with each other.

It’s a kind of like an unspoken language you guys probably have in terms of comedy, which is super important, I imagine, just for collaborating.

Yeah, and it’s something we discovered very early on … before there was even “Mr. Show,” what would ultimately become “Mr. Show,” when we got together to write sketches for this bigger kind of comedy collective thing, and these shows that we would all do with each other, for each other, and the stuff that we would write together was just, like, really good, easy writing — again, one person adding this thing and one person saying here’s a switch yeah and another person adding this thing in. It was fun, it’s cool, still is. One thing he doesn’t get credit for is he’s a really decent human being. And with all the awfulness in the world that’s magnified, every sense is bombarded with it — it’s just good to be hanging with somebody whose energy is a good person, a decent person and an equitable, nice guy, so that’s good as well.

Comedian David Cross poses for a portrait ahead of his comedy special “The End of the Beginning of the End.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

One thing you guys also have in common is you both have kids, and he has a comedy show for kids called “The Appropriate Show.” Have you taken your daughter to see it?

It’s a sketch show [in which] all the sketches are appropriate for kids to watch. And the sketches have been done in other sketch shows onstage, live. And he puts together this thing once, twice a year here in L.A. And I took my daughter to it last year. It’s just sketches that kids can [understand]. At least if they don’t understand the actual references they get the archetype. “Oh, that’s the boss, that’s that uh… And it’s great, it’s a really cool idea uh… “ And would an ass— think of [a show like] that? No, one good decent person; a good man. But listen, this interview isn’t about me, it’s about Bob Odenkirk, so let’s get back to that.

Well, speaking of having comedy geared toward kids, your daughter’s at an age where she’s probably consumed or seen some of your comedy at this point.

Not, not really. No, no.

Do you shield her from your stuff, or are you not so concerned about it?

I don’t actively shield her, but I don’t introduce her to anything. So I was a little bummed out, and I got over it pretty quickly, but when I found out that she had seen a little bit of “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” and only because I don’t want to spoil the enjoyment of what movies are and what kids’ movies are and how things work. And I feel like that would introduce an element of reality that I want her to be able to just enjoy these things without — she’s seen “Kung Fu Panda”when she was younger, like, I don’t know, three, four, five times, has no idea that I’m in that, that my voice is in there. She knows I do stand-up, she gets that now. And when she was younger, she’d say, “Daddy’s silly for a living.” … I’m just trying to ride the balance of letting her have those childhood joys and experiences.

Comedian David Cross.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Does having a kid make you think about what’s coming up in the future of comedy, or what kids are gonna maybe find funny, or what they find funny now? Do you have any thoughts on kid comedy in general?

Not really. I mean, I can see that she and her friends, who are kind of like-minded, are naturally funny, and then that’s kind of encouraging and heartwarming and they’re silly, but I’ll be long gone when that generation is is providing comedy. And I’m still, although I’ve kind of given up, I’m still trying to grasp what works now. I mean, it’s short-term TikTok, Instagram stuff. There are some amazing, like really, really great things being done as far as film sketches for YouTube channels. “Almost Friday,” they’ve got genius-level stuff. I mean, really good. And where the sketch goes in a place, you’re never ahead of it, goes in a place where you’re not expecting. It’s really well written and well performed.

What are your thoughts on what a comedy special is nowadays or what it should be?

I mean, that’s a great question. I think anybody who plays with the form, whether I think it’s that funny or not, is different. But I’m happy when anybody kind of tries at least to play with a form. I just went to Rory Scovel‘s taping last week of his latest special. I don’t know when that’ll air, but if you’ve seen the beginning to his first special, stuff like that where you’re like, “Wait, what’s happening? What’s going on?” I love stuff like that.

I still get excited to watch specials by some of my favorite comics, but there’s a quality that’s missing. And these are stand-ups I love, and they’re not that great. They’re not bad but they’re not special, you know? And all those guys I mentioned, and more, have great specials. Like, you can go back and they’re great. And I don’t know why that is. I mean, there’s still funny stuff, but I don’t ever want to get to that place where its just feels a little phoned-in a little bit… that is, in part, why the last two specials were shot in this more intimate setting that feels special. And … as I said, the energy’s different, it’s a little bit different, and it’s less slick. It feels like you’re in the moment. You don’t need a million dollars to shoot a special. You don’t 28 camera angles, it‘s just bull—. And it takes something away.

Comedian David Cross

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

It all should feel the right amount of unsafe as well, I think.

That’s never gonna happen at a theater show. You’re never gonna feel that. And I don’t know, it really does feel almost like maybe we peaked in a sense, like there’s too much, and because of that, these things aren’t special. They’re not revelatory, they’re not unique. I dunno, can 18,000 people in an arena really relate to a … billionaire talking about how they’re gonna get canceled. I mean, is that a thing I guess? Those other big, slick specials that are shot in, like, a 3,200-seat, 3,500-seat theater, it just feels like, “Oh this person is up there and I’m listening to their jokes.” There’s nothing wrong with that. They’re often very funny jokes, but it doesn’t go beyond that. It’s just like, “All right, tell me your joke.” It might as well be an audio thing, you know?

Well, hopefully the robots aren’t coming for your job anytime soon.

Absolutely not. I mean, this could be naive, but I feel 100% safe that you are never going to replicate an evening of stand-up at a nigtclub like that. And not sitting down at tables while you’re having drinks and waitresses are coming by. I’m talking about everybody’s up on the stage, sold-out, maximum capacity; everybody’s there, focused, we’re all sharing that thing. You can’t. AI’s not going to be able to do that.

Yeah, the robots can’t do that, Terminator can’t do that..

Oh, I forgot about Terminator. He could do that. G— it.

Taylor Frankie Paul might have whiplash in the wake of a leaked video that derailed her “Bachelorette” debut, but she says her kids are also feeling the sting.

Last week, the embattled reality TV star was gearing up for Sunday’s launch of “The Bachelorette” when a video of a 2023 domestic dispute between Paul and Dakota Mortensen (her then-boyfriend and the father of her youngest son) was leaked to TMZ.

Paul’s initial claim to fame was launching #MomTok in 2020, which precipitated the 2024 Hulu series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” Although the incident was documented both in court records and on the first season of the reality series (a portion of Paul’s arrest was shown via police bodycam in Episode 1), the recently leaked video showed some of the altercation.

Paul is seen arguing with Mortensen, she is filmed kicking toward him, and throwing metal barstools across the room toward him. Paul’s daughter was on the couch at the time of the altercation, and toward the end of the video, she is heard crying while Mortensen says, “Stop throwing stuff and help your daughter.”

Paul later pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault, and four other charges were dropped.

As the leaked video made its way across the internet, content creators jumped to post commentary. Tiktok user @turtzc posted a take slamming Mortensen for allegedly leaking the video on their son’s 2nd birthday. “The fact that Dakota did this to the mother of his child on his child’s birthday tells you everything you need to know about Dakota,” he said.

Paul replied to the video, writing, “Worst part is my daughter having to relive and see it all over again years later after extensive work with her and apologies to her about that night.”

She added that her son’s birthday was “taken from him.”

Mortensen has denied that he leaked the video. He told ET that his “No. 1 priority” is protecting his and Paul’s son.

Paul spoke with the outlet and said, “I’ve never touched my children, so for me to see those headlines has been heartbreaking. I’m all for taking responsibility for my own life and actions. There is more to the story, and it just sucks to be known as the crazy girl.”

To make matters worse, reports surfaced that Paul and Mortensen were involved in another dispute in late February. Utah’s Draper City Police Department confirmed that there is an open investigation. As a result of the inquiry, Paul has temporarily lost custody of Ever, the son she shares with Mortensen.

Last week, Paul sat down with “Good Morning America” shortly after the video leaked and news that production on “Secret Lives” had paused.

Paul said it was “hard to say” how she envisioned her future on the show.

“It’s hard to see past this,” she said. “I’m not gonna lie. In this moment it’s just so heavy when your life is broadcast out there in these headlines. It’s like the end of the world. That’s what it feels like. … I will say I’ve been here before, and I got through it and, you know, shared my story and my light. So I’m hoping that I can do that again.”

CHAPPELL Roan has spoken out again in the war of words between her and the famous family who accused her of being rude to fans.

A storm of controversy was sparked when ex-Chelsea and Arsenal footballer Jorginho accused the singer of sending her “aggressive” security over to his step-daughter and allegedly berating the child and her mother at a hotel in Sao Paulo.

Jorginho is married to Catherine Harding who shares the 11-year-old girl, named Ava, with her ex, British actor Jude Law.

After the footballer lambasted Chappell on Instagram, the Pink Pony Club singer posted a video saying she had not noticed the young girl and did not send security over to speak to them.

But then Catherine weighed in on her own social media saying the security was very aggressive and left Ada in tears.

Now that the incident has gone viral, Chappell has issued another statement through her spokesperson.

CELEB ROW

What did Jorginho say about Chappell Roan?

NOT ON

Jude Law’s ex slams Chappell Roan’s denial after security ‘left daughter in tears’

“Chappell was not aware of any interaction between this mother/daughter and a third-party security office,” the spokesperson said.

“She did not see them at breakfast in her hotel, as she said in her video. She did not direct her personal security or anyone on her team to interact with them.”

The statement continued: “Chappell holds her own teams to the highest standards and has zero tolerance for any kind of aggressive behaviour towards her or her fans.”

Catherine and Ada had planned to attend Chappell’s set at the Lollapalooza festival as part of the child’s birthday present, but skipped it after the interaction with the security guard.

The furore kicked off when Jorginho put Chappell on blast when he wrote about an “upsetting situation” that had occurred at the hotel.

“My wife (@catcavelli) is in Sao Paulo for @lollapaloozabr. This morning, my daughter woke up incredibly excited, she even made a sign because she was so happy to see an artist she really admires, or used to admire.”

He continued: “By coincidence, they’re staying at the same hotel as this artist.

“During breakfast, the artist walked past their table. My daughter, like any child, recognized her, got excited, and just wanted to make sure it was really her.

“And the worst part is she didn’t even approach her. She simply walked past the singer’s table, looked to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mum. She didn’t say anything, didn’t ask for anything.

“What happened next was completely disproportionate.”

After Jorginho’s post blew up, Chappell filmed a video from her bed to refute his claims.

“I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. I did not. They did not come up to me. I did not do anything. It’s unfair for security to just assume someone doesn’t have good intentions when they have no reason to believe it as there’s no action been taken,” she said.

“I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children, like that is crazy. I am sorry to the mother and child that someone was assuming something.

“If you felt uncomfortable that makes me really sad. You did not deserve that.”

Jorginho and Catherine now live in Rio de Janeiro where he plays for the club Flamengo.

In 2014, Catherine was briefly in a relationship with Hollywood A-lister Jude Law.

Catherine fell pregnant during their time together, and the singer-songwriter gave birth to daughter Ada.

She and Jorginho started dating in 2019 and the pair welcomed their first child, son Jax, to the world in September 2020.

Jorginho and Catherine tied the knot in a stunning ceremony in Lake Como in 2025.

The Irish-born singer, 32, appeared on the 2020 edition of The Voice UK – under the name Cat Cavelli.

A soccer star has accused a pop star of making the daughter of a movie star cry.

Chappell Roan — who, in recent years, called out fans’ “creepy behavior” and said she “pumped the brakes” on fame to protect her own privacy — was accused over the weekend by soccer star Jorginho of rough treatment of his family.

Roan (letting up on the brakes?) headlined Lollapalooza Brazil over the weekend, and Jorginho was in attendance along with his wife and child. While there, as outlined by People, the footballer said the 11-year-old was thrilled to see the singer while they were dining at their São Paulo hotel. The girl walked by the 28-year-old “Pink Pony Club” singer’s table “to confirm it was her, smiled, and went back to sit with her mum. She didn’t say anything, didn’t ask for anything,” he wrote.

Although he didn’t name the girl, his wife, Catherine Harding, shares an 11-year-old with Jude Law. Harding, aka Cat Cavelli, is a singer-songwriter and native of Ireland.

Jorginho of Brazil’s Flamengo celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal, from the penalty spot, during the Recopa Sudamericana second leg final soccer match against Argentina’s Lanus in Rio de Janeiro, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026.

(Bruna Prado/AP)

Jorginho alleged that, after the girl sat down, a “large security guard” came over and interrupted their breakfast to generally make their lives miserable. The guard allegedly told the girl’s mother “she shouldn’t allow [her] daughter to ‘disrespect’ or ‘harass’ other people.”

The girl was “extremely shaken and cried a lot,” said Jorginho, a player for the Brazilian club Flamengo whose legal name is Jorge Luiz Frello Filho.

Jorginho knows what it’s like to be famous and have fans. (Jude Law also has a little experience in that department.)

Jorginho told his nearly 5 million Instagram followers that he knew what it was like when fans didn’t respect boundaries, and “[w]hat happened there was not that.”

On Sunday, Roan responded on Instagram. She said the guard was not her personal security and that no one — including a starry-eyed 11-year-old girl — had bothered her.

“I did not ask the security guard to go up and talk to this mother and child. … They did not come up to me. They weren’t doing anything.”

“I do not hate people who are fans of my music. I do not hate children.”

She expressed her regrets to the girl and her mom. A representative for the artist did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for further comment.

Roan has shown that she’s not afraid to speak out when she does feel a fan has overstepped. This incident comes after an episode this month in Paris when the singer filmed herself in selfie mode as a swarm of people shouted behind her.

“I’m just trying to go to dinner,” she tells the camera in a video captured by an onlooker, “and I’ve asked these people several times to get away from me.”

Even as she calmly reprimands them, one man continues to ask for her autograph.

Former Chelsea and Arsenal player Jorginho may be best known as a defensive midfielder – but he has gone viral on social media for his attack on pop singer Chappell Roan, alleging her security guard reduced his 11-year-old daughter to tears.

The 34-year-old Italy international, who has dual Brazilian citizenship and now plays for Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, claimed in a post on Instagram, external that his family suffered the “very upsetting situation” over breakfast at a hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The former Premier League midfielder said his daughter was a big Chappell Roan fan and had made a sign to take to the Lollapalooza music festival in Sao Paulo, which the singer was headlining.

He says his daughter recognised the star while eating at a nearby table and walked past her, smiled, then went back to her seat without saying anything or asking anything of the Pink Pony Club singer.

“What happened next was completely disproportionate,” he wrote.

“A large security guard came over to their table while they were still having breakfast and began speaking in an extremely aggressive manner to both my wife [Catherine Harding] and my daughter, saying that she shouldn’t allow my daughter to ‘disrespect’ or ‘harass’ other people.”

He added: “He even said he would file a complaint against them with the hotel, while my 11-year-old daughter was sitting there in tears. My daughter was extremely shaken and cried a lot.”

Chappell Roan has not responded to his claims.

Jorginho said he understood well the pressures of public exposure after playing 57 times for Italy – helping them win the European title in 2021 by beating England at Wembley.

He has also played for elite clubs across Europe and Brazil – winning the Champions League and Europa League with Chelsea and silverware in Italy with Napoli.

But he added: “I understand very well what respect and boundaries are. What happened there was not that. It was just a child admiring someone.

“It’s sad to see this kind of treatment coming from those who should understand the importance of fans. At the end of the day, they are the ones who build all of this.

“I sincerely hope this serves as a moment of reflection. No-one should have to go through this, especially not a child.”

Jorginho finished his impassioned post with a direct message to Chappell Roan, written in capital letters: “WITHOUT YOUR FANS, YOU WOULD BE NOTHING. AND TO THE FANS, SHE DOES NOT DESERVE YOUR AFFECTION.”

The “unexpected beef”, as described by some commentators, led to a flood of responses on social media in support of Jorginho and his family – some serious, some tongue-in-cheek.

Rio de Janeiro’s mayor, Eduardo Cavaliere, wrote that he intended to ban Chappell Roan from performing in his city, adding that Jorginho’s daughter would be invited as a guest of honour to the city’s Todo Mundo music festival in May.

Others cited her previous comments about fans’ “creepy” and “stalker-like-behaviour”, external.

Some also poked fun at the Grammy Award winner for lacking the credentials to play in the Premier League.

Tom Junod has devoted his long and distinguished career to writing about other people. He won two National Magazine Awards as a star feature writer for Esquire, GQ and ESPN: The Magazine, covering everything from athletes and movie stars to the victims of 9/11 with his elegant prose style. However, it took Junod years before he could tackle the toughest subject of all: His father, Lou, a decorated World War II veteran who fashioned himself as a kind of suburban Sinatra.

He was a hard-drinking philanderer who carried with him a complicated legacy that Junod untangles in his memoir “In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man.” I spoke with Junod about fathers and sons, and the difficulty of excavating his family’s fraught history.

✍️ Author Chat

You pondered this book for years. Was there a moment when you finally said, “Right, time to write this now”?

There was definitely a moment, when my brother Michael had lunch with a woman named Muntu Law, who was one of my father’s lovers. It was the late summer of 2015. She told him, “Of course, you know your Dad and I had an affair for 11 years.” And he didn’t know that. He called me immediately after and asked me if I knew about the affair and I said yes. He asked me why I hadn’t told him, and I responded that I both knew and didn’t know. I knew it the moment Muntu stood up at my father’s funeral.

You intuited it?

Yes. There was a split there that I needed to reconcile and explore. There was too much unresolved stuff.

Your father’s story is shot through with a lot of tragedy. What is the writing process like for you? Was it an unburdening, a catharsis or something else?

When you unburden yourself, what you wind up doing is taking up much heavier burdens, which is what the book was. But it’s very interesting, because now I’m talking about my father with people in my family, and some of these discussions are difficult, but at least I’m talking about him with them. It was mostly pain, writing the book. Exposing your secrets isn’t particularly a relief, but it allows you to carry on your life without the necessity of being silent.

Tom Junod untangles his father’s complicated legacy in his memoir “In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man.”

(Lee Crum)

Your Dad is emblematic of this kind of postwar American male that served in the war and came home flush with triumph and a kind of male privilege. Would you agree?

To the absolute max. My dad was an extreme character, and I think what the war did for a lot of men was it allowed them to reinvent themselves and create themselves. I look at my dad as a completely self-created phenomenon.

He clearly carried himself like a star.

There’s a line in the book where I say that Dad was the only celebrity I’ve ever known.

What’s remarkable is that you broke the cycle. You write about your marriage to your wife, Janet, in the book, whom you met in college. You have been together for over 40 years.

I think a lot of people are surprised by that when they read the book. People just thought I had it, you know — that I was successful and I was able to handle difficult situations. Back in the summer, I gave a copy to my friend, Lisa Hanselman, who I worked with at Esquire and GQ for a long time. And she called me up one morning and just said, “I didn’t know.” And that meant a lot to me. In my mind, it’s one of those things that justifies the effort it took to write the book.

(This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

📰 The Week(s) in Books

In “AlphaPussy,” Gina Gershon’s real-life stories deal with “themes of manipulation, survival, and moving around and being able to stand on your own two feet.”

(Evelyn Freja / For The Times)

Mark Athitakis is agog over Lauren Groff’s new story collection “Brawler,” a book that “blends the depth of the long view and the drama of the pivotal moment.”

Acclaimed nonfiction writer Daniel Okrent has written “Stephen Sondheim: Art Isn’t Easy,” a short, sharp biography of Stephen Sondheim for Yale’s “Jewish Lives” series, and Julia M. Klein approves. “[Okrent] seeks to liberate Sondheim’s reputation from the encrustation of myth and to demystify his relationships, while offering a succinct analysis of his achievements,” she writes.

Actor Gina Gershon has written a freewheeling memoir called “AlphaPussy,” which looks back on her San Fernando Valley childhood as a proving ground for dealing with male toxicity as a woman in Hollywood. “I’m not that tough,” Gershon tells Cat Woods. “But I’d learned how to maneuver a lot just from growing up in the Valley, and it was a crazy time to be living there. So I thought about the stories that led me to be able to steer myself through toxicity.”

Finally, Yvonne Villarreal sat with Christina Applegate to discuss her new memoir, “You With the Sad Eyes.” “This book is not cathartic for me — let’s just go there,” Applegate says. “I just needed to dump this s— out somewhere.”

📖 Bookstore Faves

Casita Bookstore in Long Beach prioritizes stories from unrepresented and marginalized voices, says owner Antonette Franceschi-Chavez.

(Antonette Franceschi-Chavez)

An inviting literary haven in Long Beach, Casita Bookstore prioritizes stories from underrepresented and marginalized voices from the BIPOC, immigrant, LGBTQ+ communities and what store owner Antonette Franceschi‑Chavez calls “other historically silenced communities.” I spoke with Franceschi‑Chavez about what readers are excited about now.

What kind of clientele do you get in the store, typically?

Our clientele is wonderfully diverse, but they share a common desire for stories, knowledge and community that center voices often underrepresented in mainstream spaces. We see a strong mix of local community members, educators, families and young readers, along with writers, activists and creatives who are drawn to our focus on books by [underrepresented and marginalized writers].

What’s selling right now?

That’s a difficult question, because we get a wide range of reader personalities. I can say that one of the top-selling trends in adult reading right now is dystopian fiction. Some of the top sellers in our bookstore are “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler, “Chicano Frankenstein” by Daniel Olivas and Agustina Bazterrica’s “Tender Is the Flesh.”

Is there still a place for bookstores as community builders?

Of course! Indie bookstores are vital community hubs. Even in the digital age, bookstores provide physical spaces for connection, conversation and shared experience. You can’t replicate that type of connection online. We’re also living in a time when voices are being silenced or punished for speaking out about social justice, oppressive actions and, overall, what’s right. Bookstores are here to lend their spaces, share those stories and bring attention to needed causes. I’ve seen many bookstores, including ours, function as fundraising and donation hubs, protest art spaces, open-mic venues to allow for communities to unite in shared social causes.

Casita Bookstore in Long Beach is located at 272 Redondo Ave.

(Please note: The Times may earn a commission through links to Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.)

MICHELLE Keegan melted hearts when she shared an adorable photo of her and daughter Palma wearing matching pyjamas.

The mum-of-one, 38, shares one-year-old Palma with her husband Mark Wright, 39, after welcoming the tot last year.

Former Coronation Street actress Michelle looked every inch the proud mum, as she beamed in the photo.

The Fool Me Once star posted the sweet snap on her Instagram Stories last night.

In the heartwarming photo, which is to celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, Michelle is seen posing in matching nightwear with her mum Jacqueline and daughter Palma.

The trio looked adorable all wearing the same PJs that were cream with flowers on them.

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Michelle smiled in the photo, as Palma was seen with her back to the camera and trying to climb up on her mum.

The star wrote on the sweet snap: “Two mummies and a baby.

“How cuuuuute are these PJs from my @veryuk collection??? Perfect for Mother’s Day to match all the generations.”

The latest photo comes just days after Michelle and husband Mark threw a very extravagant first birthday party for Palma last weekend.

To celebrate their only child turning one, they hosted a pink-themed bash for the young tot at their £3.5 million mansion.

No expense was spared, and there was yummy food and drinks for party-goers to enjoy.

There was a themed cocktail bar serving “Palma Tinis”, with vodka, raspberry liqueurs and pineapple juice, and pink gin refreshers called “Bubbly First Birthday”.

Outside in the couple’s huge garden, there was a large marquee which had an inflatable balloon dome, a bouncy slide, and seating areas. 

The couple have kept their firstborn largely out of the spotlight, hiding her face from social media snaps to maintain her privacy.

Michelle and Mark shared the arrival of Palma last year: “Together we have a new love to share… Our little girl.

“Palma Elizabeth Wright 06.03.25.”

There are two very sweet reasons behind both monikers, with the couple having strong links to Mallorca, which is where they announced their pregnancy news to fans.

Palma is the capital of the Mediterranean island.

The couple consider it their “second home”, making no secret it is their “favourite place” to holiday.

Meanwhile, the couple chose Elizabeth for their daughter’s middle name as a tribute to Michelle’s great-great grandmother.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the dean of South Carolina’s Democrats, said Thursday that he will run for an 18th House term, a move that could position him as an influential elder statesman in Congress if his party regains the majority in November.

The decision by the 85-year-old lawmaker cuts against calls for generational change within the party. Clyburn is one of several veteran Democrats running again instead of stepping aside for younger politicians whose frustration increased in the wake of President Biden’s failed reelection campaign.

“I’m here today to say I do believe that I’m very well equipped and healthy enough to move into the next term, trying to do the things that are necessary to continue that pursuit of perfection,” Clyburn said at state party headquarters in Columbia. “And so I will run a very vigorous campaign.”

Clyburn is among the oldest Democrats serving in Washington, and the only member of the last Democratic leadership team who is looking to stick around. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland both plan to retire at the end of their current terms.

Clyburn said that he sought counsel from his three daughters before making his announcement. One of them — Mignon Clyburn, a former member of the Federal Communications Commission — said she was concerned about the political vitriol that her father would face in Washington.

“Her interest was in her daddy and what she thought I might be subjected to,” Clyburn said. “When Mignon finally had decided that she could live with it, I’m here.”

Clyburn said he heard from another woman that “‘we don’t listen to them people up there, and you should not. You should listen to the people down here, and we don’t want you to leave.’ And so I’m responding to the people that are here.”

Clyburn served as majority whip and assistant Democratic leader. Remaining in Congress for another term could give him a chance to serve alongside the first Black speaker of the House as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is in line for the gavel should Democrats win control. Clyburn for many years was the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in the House.

On Thursday, asked about the prospect of being able to advise Jeffries, Clyburn said the two spoke recently about a possible working relationship in the next Congress.

“He expressed an interest in my being a part of his leadership, if we were to take the House back,” Clyburn said. “It made me feel necessary.”

Four years ago, when Clyburn announced his bid for a 16th term, he told the Associated Press that he intended to keep campaigning as long as his health and support from his family remained stalwart.

“I’ve told them, if you ever see that I need to go to the rocking chair or spend my spare time on the golf course, let me know,” he said describing his daughters’ counsel.

Clyburn won his 2024 reelection by more than 20 percentage points. First elected in 1992, he represents the district that sweeps from areas around the capital of Columbia through rural central and eastern counties down to Charleston.

Should he serve an 18th term, Clyburn would become the longest-serving South Carolinian ever in the U.S. House. Time horizons are longer for the state’s U.S. senators, two of whom — Republican Strom Thurmond and Democrat Fritz Hollings — served 48 years and nearly 39 years, respectively.

Filing for election in this year’s elections in South Carolina opens Monday and closes March 30. South Carolina’s primary elections will be held June 9.

Whenever Clyburn does leave office, the competition to be his successor will be fierce. He is the only Democrat representing his state in Washington.

As to whether his 18th term could be his last, Clyburn called that an “open question.”

“I’m looking forward to the day that I can spend more time reading, writing and playing golf, and so this could very well be to my last term,” he said. “And it could very well not be.”

Kinnard writes for the Associated Press.

SEOUL, March 12 (UPI) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a munitions factory that produces light arms, state-run media reported Thursday, where he test-fired newly developed pistols alongside his daughter Ju Ae.

Kim visited the factory on Wednesday accompanied by officials from the ruling Workers’ Party, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The report did not specify the location of the facility.

During the visit, Kim stopped at the factory’s shooting range to test-fire a pistol that he said was “superior in its structural performance, rate of hits, concentration fire and combat utility,” KCNA reported.

Kim “expressed satisfaction over the development of a really excellent pistol,” the report said.

The handgun was approved for production at a meeting of the party’s Central Military Commission last month, according to KCNA. The factory operates under North Korea’s Second Economy Commission, which oversees the country’s weapons production and defense industry.

While Ju Ae was not mentioned in the KCNA report, photographs released by state media showed her accompanying her father during the inspection. The pair wore matching leather jackets and fired pistols at the factory’s indoor range alongside senior officials.

Ju Ae, believed to have been born around 2013, has appeared alongside her father at public events with increasing frequency, including missile launches, military demonstrations and major political gatherings.

On Wednesday, she was also seen beside Kim as he oversaw the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles from a naval destroyer via a video feed.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said last month that Ju Ae appears close to being designated as Kim’s successor.

The factory visit comes in the wake of last month’s Workers’ Party congress, where Kim outlined defense priorities for the next five years. While Pyongyang continues to prioritize the expansion of its nuclear arsenal, the North Korean leader has also emphasized strengthening conventional weapons production.

During the congress, Kim presented newly developed sniper rifles to senior officials and military commanders, with state media releasing images of Ju Ae inspecting and firing one of the weapons.

During Wednesday’s visit, Kim stressed the importance of factories producing pistols and other light arms to strengthen “the combat efficiency of the army, public security forces and militia forces,” KCNA said.

He also announced plans to convene a meeting of the party’s Central Military Commission next month to review plans for modernizing munitions factories and allocating funds to upgrade three key defense production facilities.

The inspection comes as the United States and South Korea conduct their annual Freedom Shield joint military exercise, which Pyongyang routinely condemns as a rehearsal for invasion. Earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, warned the drills could bring “unimaginably terrible consequences.”

Luka Doncic is attempting to bring his daughters to the United States from his native Slovenia after separating from his fiancée, according to reports.

His former fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, 28, has filed a petition in California seeking child support and attorney fees from Doncic. One of Doncic’s daughters was with him for three months in 2025, and his other daughter has never been to California. Doncic, 27, told ESPN that he had “no idea” Goltes filed the petition.

“I love my daughters more than anything, and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,” Doncic said in a statement. “Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness, and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”

Doncic and Goltes were engaged for nearly three years. Their oldest daughter, Gabriela, was born in November 2023, and Olivia was born in December. Doncic traveled to Slovenia for Olivia’s birth, missing games against the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 4 and Boston Celtics on Dec. 5.

During his visit, Doncic told Goltes he wanted to bring Gabriela to the United States when he returned to rejoin the Lakers, according to reports. Goltes objected, and Doncic departed without his daughter.

“I don’t even know how to describe it,” he told reporters of being present for Olivia’s birth. “It was a lot. I was there for the birth of my daughter, so that means everything to me. But it was definitely a roller coaster.

“I got to see my daughter again, my newborn. Coming back, it was kind of hard to leave them behind. But it’s a job, so I got to do it. So hopefully I’ll see them soon.”

Doncic posted a photo on social media of Olivia wearing a pink sweater with a heart emoji covering her face. In his first game back, he inscribed a G and O with a heart on his shoes.

“Two girls, they’re going to make my life hell for sure, I know that,” Doncic said, half-joking. “I’m going to be their security after I retire. All jokes aside, it’s the best thing in the world. I’m just blessed.”

Goltes deleted photos of her and Doncic from her Instagram account last week, and Doncic acknowledged that they had separated. Two weeks ago, he filed an injunction with a Slovenian court seeking immediate contact with his daughters, ESPN reported.

Doncic, who was traded to the Lakers from the Dallas Mavericks for Anthony Davis in February 2025, leads the NBA with a 32.5 points-per-game average. The guard also averages 8.4 assists and 7.8 rebounds.

NAOMI WATTS watched on proudly as her daughter showcased her model behaviour at Paris Fashion Week.

Rising fashion star Kai Schreiber – who came out as transgender last year – stole the spotlight as she towered over her Hollywood star mum at the Balenciaga show on Saturday.

Wearing a sharp tailored two-piece teamed smokey eye make-up, 17-year-old Kai made an impact with her striking look.

Proud mum Naomi, 57, wore a matching black ensemble as she supported her daughter, who has been feted as a future top model.

Also on the runway was Rebel Yell punk star Billy Idol, 70, who had on a tasseled black leather poncho.

US model Paris Jackson, 27 — daughter of late pop star Michael — was also spotted in black outside her hotel.

‘MORTIFIED’

I told my 15-year-old ‘all women have vibrators’, says Naomi Watts

NOT OKAY!

Naomi Watts has hilarious meltdown during self-isolation as her appliances break

Kai made her fashion runway debut at Paris Fashion Week last year by walking for Valentino.

Kai’s parents have both conquered Hollywood and are known for TV and film.

Naomi and Liev – who also have son called Sasha, 17 – were together for 11 years before they amicably split in 2016.

Liev has since married Taylor Neisen, while Naomi went on to wed Billy Crudup.

Naomi often shares how proud she is of her daughter, in sweet posts on Instagram.

When the teenager turned 16, her mum penned a heartfelt message to her.

“Darling Kai. Happy sweet sixteen. Your sweetness is pure and I’m the luckiest mommy in the world and that world is SO lucky that you are here!” the proud mum wrote.

“You blow me away with your wild spirit, strength and yes your soft sweetness too. You even let me post a baby picture!

“I thank my lucky stars I get to be your mom [sic]. I Love you to the moon.”

For decades, Iranian novelist and memoirist Shahrnush Parsipur wrote under the threat of her country’s oppressive laws. Parsipur was imprisoned for her work four separate times: once under the shah, who ruled Iran before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and three times under the regime that took power that year.

Despite this Damoclean sword hanging over her, she managed in 1989 to publish “Touba and the Meaning of Night,” a sweeping historical novel that lays bare Iran’s crushing patriarchal culture. In 1990, she wrote “Women Without Men,” a book of connected stories that trace the lives of five women, including a sex worker and schoolteacher, in search of liberation and self-actualization.

Shortly after the book’s publication, the Iranian government threw Parsipur in prison for a fourth time, where she remained for over four years.

Flash forward 36 years, and an English translation of “Women Without Men” has published in the U.K. for the first time. (The first U.S. English translation was published by Feminist Press in 2011.)

Now, the U.K. book has been nominated for this year’s International Booker Prize. In an email exchange, Parsipur, who presently lives in exile in Northern California, expounded on her career, Iran and the recent developments there.

✍️ Author Chat

(The L.A. Times may earn a commission from bookshop.org links.)

Women Without Men was longlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize

(The Feminist Press)

What is your feeling about the U.S. air attack against Iran?

I am very sorry for my country. People suffer and the country becomes ruined. I will never forgive Israel and the U.S. I am an American also and as an American I want to stop the war. I do not think that Americans and Israelis can bring liberty to Iran. The people of Iran must try for themselves.

The government threw you in prison shortly after you published “Women Without Men.”

I was never a political activist and they did not torture me. But one time they put me in a grave for two months in Ghezel Hesar Prison. There, we always had to sit without speaking and our eyes were closed by a cover and we listened to Islamic slogans.

So it was solitary confinement?

We were sitting in a space the size of a grave and there was a wooden wall between every grave, so you could not see anything except your grave.

Did you write in prison?

Yes, I began to write my novel “Touba and the Meaning of Night.” I wrote half of it and suddenly they took it and after one year the men of Ayatollah Montazeri came to prison and they gave me the novel. They had destroyed two pages that were about the killing of a girl. I thought the virginity of my book was ruined. So I burned it. I wrote my memoirs when I came to the U.S.

So you burned the book and then rewrote it?

When my prison term finished I wrote “Touba” again.

Do you still have family in Iran?

Yes, I have some family in Iran and I cannot contact them. The internet does not work and mobiles are silent.

Do you think change in Iran will come soon? Will the U.S. help to liberalize the country?

The Islamic laws must change and a country like Israel cannot do that. So, the Iranian must change the situation. All my books are banned in Iran, except ones that they change themselves. But “Women Without Men” is published in more than 30 countries. The Booker International Prize is an English prize and if they give it to me there is no relation with banning the book in Iran. I am not surprised about the situation.

(This Q&A was edited for length and clarity.)

📰 The Week(s) in Books

“‘Second Skin’ is more sociological than sexy; more anthropological than animalistic,” writes Meredith Maran.

(Los Angeles Times illustration; book jacket from Catapult)

Julia M. Klein is fascinated by Loubna Mrie’s memoir “Defiance,” which, she writes, “offers a prism on Syria’s authoritarian society before the 2011 uprising and subsequent civil war, and vivid snapshots of the devastation that the war unleashed.”

Mark Athitakis considers two books that tackle the old “New Hollywood” of the late ’60s and early ’70s: Paul Fischer’s “The Last Kings of Hollywood,” which spotlights the Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg pantheon, and Kirk Ellis’ “They Kill People,” about the making of “Bonnie and Clyde.” Athitakis calls Ellis’ history “a meaty yet accessible book that captures the lightning-in-a-bottle nature of the generation’s ur-text,” while Fischer’s book “has a gift for highlighting the ways that moments that we now accept as inevitable were often the product of dumb luck.”

Diane Garrett has a chat with Elizabeth Arnott about her novel “The Secret Lives of Murderers’ Wives,” which she calls “an empathetic and at times bracing mystery tale about unlikely crime solvers circa 1966.”

Finally, Costa Beavin Pappas considers Brian Raftery’s curiously titled “Hannibal Lecter: A Life,” which is really a biography of Lecter’s creator, author Thomas Harris. “For fans of true crime, Raftery has written a fascinating biography and origin story about one of pop culture’s most emblematic serial killers, and his lasting bite on society,” writes Pappas.

📖 Bookstore Faves

Taschen Beverly Hills sells eye-catching artistic works

(TASCHEN)

Taschen Beverly Hills may well be the most gorgeous bookstore in Los Angeles, all gleaming, polished wood and ambient light illuminating the store’s lavishly illustrated art and design books. The shop opened over two decades ago as a showcase for the German publisher’s catalog, and it remains a popular destination for tourists and Taschen cultists who collect the company’s highly collectible titles. I spoke with Taschen Executive Director Creed Poulson about what’s selling right now.

What is the store’s clientele?

At the risk of sounding like a marketing manager, we have something for everyone, because our price points range from $10 up to thousands of dollars. Which allows us to have a mixed clientele in the store.

I know there is a kind of Taschen cult, folks who will buy your books because of your reputation.

That comes from our owner Benedikt Taschen, who is a collector and understands the mindset of a collector. Our books become collectible, regardless of the cost.

What is selling right now?

“Ferrari” by Pino Allievi, who is one of Formula One’s best known correspondents. “The James Bond Archives,” which is edited by Paul Duncan, and “Ultimate Collector Watches” by Charlotte and Peter Fiell.

Lately, there has been a turn among Gen Z into all things analog. Have you seen younger customers come into the store?

Yes, absolutely. I’m seeing a lot of the younger generation coming, especially during our annual sales — fans that are migrating away from just looking at images online, into book collecting. They want a tactile object they can hold and feel, and they want something they can enjoy as an object.

A father and his daughter have been killed in an Israeli drone attack in central Khan Younis, southern Gaza, as Palestinians continue to suffer amid worldwide attention on the United States-Israeli war on Iran.

The two were killed early on Saturday. In a separate attack later in the day in Khan Younis, another person was killed and a young girl wounded, according to Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.

Israeli forces continue carrying out air strikes, artillery shelling, and naval bombardment on Gaza on a daily basis, despite an October 11 “ceasefire” as Israel continues its ongoing genocide.

Suffering in Gaza and the occupied West Bank remains acute as the world focuses on the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran.

In the past 48 hours, two additional people have been wounded, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.

Israeli army-affiliated militias, meanwhile, have advanced east of Gaza City, with heavy gunfire reported in the area. Initial reports also stated a member of the Palestinian police was abducted.

Israeli warplanes also struck several locations east of the Tuffah neighbourhood, near Gaza City, while the Israeli navy fired heavy machineguns and shells towards the coast of Gaza City, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Rafah border crossing, meanwhile, remains closed. Israel had shut it amid its attacks on Iran.

The Rafah crossing, located on Gaza’s southern border, had reopened only last month allowing a limited number of Palestinians to leave for the first time in months, including patients in urgent need of medical care. Thousands remain blocked from travelling for treatment.

The Karem Abu Salem crossing, also known to Israelis as Kerem Shalom, is partially open for the entry of humanitarian aid only, under strict restrictions.

Nearly all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people was displaced during Israel’s war on the territory, and the enclave remains heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance.

In a February report, Human Rights Watch said Israeli restrictions had contributed to shortages of medicine, reconstruction materials, food and water inside the Strip.

Since the ceasefire in Gaza, 640 Palestinians have been killed and at least 1,700 wounded, according to the Health Ministry. At least 72,123 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, while 171,805 people have been injured.

Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported its teams in Hebron are treating a Palestinian injured by live fire near the illegal Karmei Tzur settlement, built on Palestinian land north of Hebron.

Three Palestinians were also injured on Saturday after being physically assaulted by Israeli settlers in the Ras al-Ahmar area, south of Tubas, Wafa reported. Medical sources at the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said their teams responded to three people with injuries.

Israeli forces also conducted raids in the towns of Qaffin and Kafr al-Labad, north of Tulkarem, early on Saturday, Wafa said.

A Palestinian man was also injured after being assaulted by Israeli soldiers near the village of Azmut, east of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus.

Palestinians have faced a wave of intensified Israeli military and settler violence across the West Bank since the war on Gaza began in October 2023.

At least 1,094 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since October 2023, according to the latest United Nations figures.

A cause of death has been determined for Martin Short’s daughter Katherine, who took her own life in February.

She died Feb. 23 from a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s database, which listed her case under her legal name, Katherine Hartley.

Her death was confirmed by her family in a statement to The Times two days later.

“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short,” the family said. “The Short family is devastated by this loss and asks for privacy at this time. Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.”

The 42-year-old was the eldest of three children adopted by the “Only Murders in the Building” star and his wife, actor Nancy Dolman. Dolman died of ovarian cancer in 2010, 30 years after marrying her husband. Martin Short’s sons are Oliver and Henry.

Hartley, whose body was found at her Hollywood Hills home by L.A. County Fire Department paramedics, legally applied for a name change in 2012 because of her famous father’s public persona.

“My father is a public figure. I am a social worker. I am concerned about potential harassment from future patients resulting from my association with my father,” she wrote in her name-change application, which was filed in October 2012 and approved Jan. 25, 2013.

After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender studies from NYU in 2006, she followed up with a master’s in social work from USC in 2010, People reported. In addition to having a private practice, she worked part time at Amae Health, a Los Angeles clinic providing mental health and psychiatric care, the outlet said. Suicide attempts and ideation are among the conditions the clinic says it specializes in treating.

The death certificate for Katherine Elizabeth Hartley, which was obtained by TMZ, includes a field denoting how the injury occurred. It reads, “shot herself.” According to the outlet, a note was found at the scene.

Martin Short has been hit with horrible news multiple times in recent months. In addition to his daughter, Short’s longtime pal Catherine O’Hara died Jan. 30 after battling rectal cancer and friends Rob and Michelle Reiner were killed in December.

Times staff writer Malia Mendez contributed to this report.

CHARLOTTE Crosby has revealed that her one-year-old baby daughter has taken her first steps in a very sweet update.

The Geordie Shore legend, 35, took to Instagram to share the adorable news with her fans.

Charlotte posted some cute clips and captioned them: “Had some little milestones while out here. Alba officially ditched her night nappies. 5 nights and counting no nappy no accidents.

“And Pixi took her first steps! I really truly think next week we are gonna have an official little walker!

“She’s so tiny it looks so strange her taking steps. She’s definitely earlier than Alba my clever little munchkin.

“Feeling all the emotions watching them take these next steps.

EMOTIONAL MOMENT

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“My girls, my two little best friends.”

In a later snaps, a giggling Pixi looked adorable as Charlotte captioned them: “We caught this one step on camera last night but she did about 4 at once yesterday.”

A gorgeous snap of Alba followed with her dancing adoringly for the camera, as her proud mum captioned the clip: “I just can’t with her,” alongside a string of loving emojis.

The TV personality laid bare her life last year in the Paramount+ show, Geordie Stories: Charlotte Mam of Two.

However, Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Charlotte said: “You heard it here first. I won’t be continuing doing that one, not that exact show.

“Whether or not I have another show about my life or following my wedding, that will happen at some point when I do decide to get married, but right now that show with Paramount is parked up.”

The series showed Charlotte’s busier than ever lifestyle with a months-old baby and a toddler.

It also followed Charlotte’s romance with Jake Anker, and the ups and downs of their relationship.

The pair previously opened up to The Sun that the couple struggled financially after having their second child. 

A young Charlotte. first appeared on our screens back in 2011 as a wild 21-year-old living it up in the Geordie Shore house.

The show was a British spin-off of the American series Jersey Shore, and was set in Newcastle.

Bubbly Charlotte also made appearances on Celebrity Big Brother, Celebs Go Dating and Tattoo Disasters UK.

However, she is desperate to pull on a murderous cloak for BBC‘s The Traitors and is a massive fan of the show.

But when her agent tried to get her on series two he was told reality stars are ‘banned’.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Charlotte said: “I would love to do that but you do know they’ve got a no reality rule. That is a genuine fact.”

Charlotte shares her two daughters with fiancé Jake, who she got engaged to in November 2023.

Jake runs the Streamline Executive chauffeur company, with clients including David Beckham. 

The couple are very proud parents to Alba, born in 2022, and Pixi, born in 2025.

Nigel Clarke, who is a presenter on CBeebies, said his daughter was hit in the face when somebody tried to snatch her phone on the London Underground and she retaliated

A BBC star’s daughter was hit in the face and left with a black eye after somebody attempted to steal her phone on the Tube. Nigel Clarke, who is a CBeebies presenter, said somebody tried to steal his daughter’s phone while she was on the Tube earlier this week.

He explained that his daughter managed to hold onto her phone before kicking the person who tried to steal it Nigel said his teenage daughter was then hit in the face in retaliation.

The TV star used his platform to send a message to parents, especially those in London.

He said: “Parents, Londoners, phone snatching is rife right now and four weeks ago I witnessed it on the tube and then this week someone tried to steal my daughter’s phone on the tube as well.

“She managed to hold on to her phone, she lashed out and kicked them, they hit her in the face, as you can see she’s got a black eye.

“I’ve spoken to her about this, about not retaliating… but I’ve praised her for holding her ground and holding on to her phone. Lots to unpick there but what I want to talk about is this crime on the tube.

“There’s an easy way to stop it or minimise the numbers of it happening and I want you to spread this and share it to your teens, I want adults to do it, whatever.

“It happens at stations just before the doors are about to close, just as the beep beep beep happens they snatch your phone then they run out the door, doors close and you can’t get to them.

“Don’t have your phone one out near the door and don’t have it out at the time when you’re in the station and the doors are about to close.

“If you want to get your phone out, change your song, do whatever you want to do, do it when you’re deep between the stations, when the doors are not open, it’s way less likely to happen then, okay.

“That’s the first thing we can do to combat it on the tube. I know it’s happening in the streets as well with people on bikes, that’s a whole different situation but for this one we can definitely bring the numbers down by being smart.”

Dozens of people commented under the video to send Nigel’s daughter well wishes and express their admiration for her.

One person said: “I hope your daughter is ok. I keep telling mine to keep her phone in her bag, don’t walk with it in her hand etc.”

A second said: “Hope daughter is ok strong young lady.”

A third added: “incredibly brave young lady. sending lots of love.”

DENVER — Renee Good loved sparkles and laughter and any excuse for a celebration. She loved pretty much everyone she met, and was late for pretty much everything.

“She had this way of making you feel special and loved that I didn’t even understand … until we lost her,” Donna Ganger said Friday of her daughter, who was shot and killed by an immigration officer during the federal crackdown in Minneapolis.

She was “slow to anger, quick to love, quick to care,” said her father, Tim Ganger. “That’s the essence of who she was.”

Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was killed Jan. 7 as immigration agents surged through the Minneapolis area, sparking waves of protests. Her death and that of another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, weeks later in Minneapolis sparked outrage across the country and calls to rein in immigration enforcement.

In a wide-ranging interview in Colorado, where some of the family lives, Good’s parents and two of her brothers, Brent and Luke Ganger, talked to the AP about the joy Good found in life, their grief and their hopes that her death can bring about change in a deeply polarized nation.

“It’s going to be hard in the future,” Donna Ganger said. “It’s going to be kind of a constant pain.”

Settling in Minneapolis

Good, who graduated from college later in life, was volunteering in a local school district and working as a substitute teacher when she was killed, her parents said.

“She was working so hard to get her education, and then she was finally able to use it, and I could just tell how happy she was and how fulfilled,” Donna Ganger said.

Good, her 6-year-old son and her partner, Becca Good — the women were not legally married, according to a family lawyer, but referred to each other as wives — had only recently relocated to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Mo., settling on a quiet residential street in a tight-knit neighborhood known for its progressive activism.

In social media accounts, Renee Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” On Pinterest, a profile picture shows her smiling and holding a young child, alongside posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home decorating.

The family “settled very quickly into the community in Minneapolis,” said Donna Ganger, describing how the neighborhood had also welcomed the rest of the family when they came after the shooting. They see that as the result of the love that Good had showed her new neighbors.

“It was incredible to receive that back,” Luke Ganger said.

Donna Ganger held a stuffed toy owl as she spoke, a gift from her daughter, who knew how much she loved the birds. It had sparkles on its feet, a reminder of Good’s love for glitter.

At Good’s memorial service, a table of glitter had been set out for guests. Donna Ganger had put a piece on a lens of her glasses and it’s remained there.

“She just kind of sparkled all the way through,” said Donna Ganger. “I think of her and I look down and see my little sparkle.”

‘A very American blend’

The family is “a very American blend,” Luke Ganger said recently in testimony to Congress. “We vote differently, and we rarely completely agree on the finer details of what it means to be a citizen of this country.”

Yet “we have always treated each other with love and respect,” he said.

On Friday, the family didn’t want to discuss the specifics of their differences, but Donna Ganger said she’d long prayed for guidance: “Before all this happened, I said, ‘Make me a wise woman.’”

In the hours after Good’s death, Trump administration officials said she had been shot as she tried to drive her car into an immigration officer. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Good had committed “an act of domestic terrorism.”

But as video evidence and other details of the confrontation emerged, and criticism of the crackdown began growing, administration comments softened.

President Trump said he’d been told that Tim Ganger had supported him.

“He was all for Trump, loved Trump. And, you know, it’s terrible,” he told reporters. “I hope he still feels that way.”

Tim Ganger declined to talk about his political affiliation or whether it had changed with his daughter’s killing.

“I think I’m just going to leave that go,” he said. “There’s so many other important things” to deal with now, he added.

But family members said they hoped their ability to get along would be an inspiration.

“Our purpose through this whole tragic, difficult, unbelievable time, is to have something good come out of this,” Tim Ganger said. “Otherwise the senselessness of this is overwhelming.”

Sadness echoed in Donna Ganger’s voice as she talked about navigating family differences.

“Sometimes I’m just silly, you know, and I joke with them and I’m goofy,” she said. “But I want to be able to talk about hard things — and that’s hard sometimes with your own family to talk about hard things that maybe you don’t agree on. And I don’t want there to be any hardships between us or hurt.

“But it’s important that we learn to be careful with our words, but share them in a deep way,” she said. “It’s really important.”

Family members spoke only in general ways about the change they’d like to see come from Good’s death.

“I think it’s evident that something is broken, right?” said Brent Ganger. “And when something is broken, you have to take a deep look to see what it is that can be changed and fixed in order for it to not happen again.”

The morning of the shooting

On the morning of the shooting, as immigration raids and protests were flaring across the city, Becca Good has said she and Renee stopped their car in the street to support neighbors during an immigration operation.

Video shows Renee Good in a maroon SUV blocking part of the road and repeatedly honking her horn.

Two immigration officers get out of a truck and one orders Good to open her door. She reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel as the officer says again, “Get out of the car.” Almost simultaneously, Becca Good, standing in the street shouts, “Drive, baby, drive!”

When Good begins pulling forward, an ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle — later identified as Jonathan Ross — pulls his weapon and fires at least two shots into the car, through the driver’s-side corner of the windshield and the driver’s window, killing Good.

Weeks later, Tim Ganger said he hoped the family’s tragedy would lead to change, though “I’m not even sure what that will look like.”

“But for something good, for people to stop and take a breath and take a look and have a dialog,” he said. “That’s the broader mission of what we want, for people to come together and take care of each other.”

The Justice Department has said it sees no basis to open a federal civil rights investigation into Good’s death, but the family has hired a law firm that is conducting its own investigation and exploring potential legal action.

Family members said no one from the federal government has contacted them about Good’s killing, and they are unsure whether anyone will be held accountable.

“All we can do is speak out and hope that our sincere words are enough to enact some kind of change,” Brent Ganger said.

Slevin and Sullivan write for the Associated Press and reported from Denver and Minneapolis, respectively.