early

Argentina’s Lionel Messi isn’t the only one scoring in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Fox and Telemundo are off to a blazing start in the TV ratings for the quadrennial soccer tournament, delivering big increases over the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.

Through the first 16 group stage matches, an average of 6 million viewers have watched on Fox and cable network FS1 cable network, a 128% increase over the 2022 FIFA World Cup according to Nielsen data.

The first 12 group stage matches of the tournament drew an average of 7.5 million viewers on the Comcast-owned Spanish language network Telemundo, a 234% increase from four years ago. The Telemundo telecasts are also streamed on Peacock.

The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team’s opening match against Paraguay held Friday at SoFi Stadium set a record for the most-watched World Cup game on both and English and Spanish language television. The match scored 18 million viewers on Fox and its streaming platforms, while Telemundo’s telecast averaged 9.5 million.

The early ratings show the enduring power of live sporting events and their ability to draw mass audiences at a time when streaming video has splintered viewership . Scripted hit prime time TV shows need seven days or more of viewing on demand to reach the audience levels the World Cup is attracting in real time.

“Having this World Cup in North America clearly has a huge impact on ratings,” said Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Washington University in St. Louis.

World Cup matches held in the U.S. for the first time since 1994 helps — and a competitive USNMT playing in front of home crowds could turbocharge the ratings to even bigger heights. Fox is expecting another record when the team plays its third group stage match in prime time on June 25.

Some sports media pundits have been citing the addition of out-of-home viewing and internet-connected televisions to Nielsen data as the reason sports ratings have been on the rise. But Mike Mulvihill, president of insights and analytics for Fox Sports, asserts that the viewers have been there all along.

“For many years, the numbers were under-counted and what we’re seeing now is a truer representation of the sports audience,” Mulvihill said in a recent interview. “You just cannot overstate what it means to us to be able to capture all that viewing that’s happening at fan fests, in bars and at smaller watch parties.”

Out-of-home viewing boosted the audience levels for Mexico’s inaugural World Cup match on June 11 by 50%, and contributed several million viewers to the total for the USMNT opener.

Mulvihill projects that by the end of the tournament, 150 million people will have watched some portion of Fox’s 2026 FIFA World Cup coverage. The figure approaches the 170 million people Fox reaches with a slate of regular season NFL games.

“For us, it’s like having two NFL seasons in a single year,” Mulvihill said.

Fox will be able to capitalize on the strong numbers for the early matches. Networks typically hold back some commercial inventory for big events in case audience levels fall short of what advertisers are guaranteed. Fox has surpassed those expectations and can now go back into the marketplace to sell available commercials for the later rounds, most likely for more than what was paid before the tournament.

The 2026 World Cup may also be benefiting from a viewing public that wants a distraction from the ongoing political discord in the U.S. and war in the Middle East.

“Sports still remains the one thing we can all kind of talk about and disagree about without it being divisive,” said Lisa Delpy Neirotti, director of the sports management program at the George Washington University School of Business.

Delphy Neirotti believes the World Cup has some momentum from the NBA Finals, which averaged 20.6 million viewers on ABC for the New York Knicks’ triumph over the San Antonio Spurs, The feel-good story of the Knicks winning their first championship in 53 years delivered the most-watched Finals since 1998 and put fans in the mood for more action.

“Fans were already primed up, meeting with friends, watching sports and now they can continue that camaraderie and that collective experience,” Delphy Neirotti said. “They want to be with community.”

The combined numbers for Fox and Telemundo are highest in Los Angeles, which in addition to a large Latino population has 500,000 Iranians. An average audience of 4.7 million viewers watched the Iranian national team play to a 2-2 tie against New Zealand on Monday, the second most-watched match ever on Fox Sports 1.

But there are plenty of World Cup fans in the heartland. Kansas City had the highest local rating for Fox’s coverage of the USMNT’s match, with more than 9% of the market’s homes tuning in.

Kansas City hosted its first World Cup match Tuesday at Arrowhead Stadium, where Argentina’s Messi set a tournament record with three goals in his team’s 3-0 victory over Algeria. The city has cultivated soccer fans with well-attended watch parties held in its Power and Light District.

“The watch parties that they’ve planned out throughout their cities to give people an opportunity to be part of the event, even though they’re not going to the event,” Rishe said. “Whether you’re watching or just walking by, it’s exciting.”

KATIE Price revealed her son Harvey suffered a painful fall at home this morning.

The 24-year-old, who has Prader-Willi Syndrome, took a tumble after waking up early and heading into the kitchen when it was still a bit dark.

Katie, 48, could be heard saying Harvey was left limping and in pain.

In a video uploaded to Facebook, Harvey was seen enjoying a sensory session with smellies and took a particular liking to lemongrass.

The post was captioned: “Harvey took a little tumble this morning! So lots of TLC for my baby bear! 

“Smelling is amazing for his sensory Needs & Taking his mind off the situation!”

HOOK, LINE & CLINK-ER

Lee Andrews accused of using ACCOMPLICE in scam plot from behind bars

PRESSURE COOKER

Moment Katie Price is grilled over Lee Andrew’s lies in The Sun’s mini doc

Katie recently returned from Dubai where she tried to find out more about husband Lee Andrew’s detention in Al Awir prison.

Lee, 43, claims he was arrested and detained on suspicion of espionage, but the reality is he is in for a private civil matter.

He needs to raise £140,000 to be released and asked Katie to set up a GoFundMe to help out, but she declined, stating there wouldn’t be enough public support.

The Sun’s Showbiz Editor Clemmie Moodie sat down with Katie during her Dubai trip and grilled her about Lee and the many untruths he has told over recent months.

Among them are the claims he bid to buy a majority stake in Chelsea Football Club and visited Katie’s children in person on secret trips to the UK, despite the fact he has a travel ban and can’t leave Dubai.

The full 56 minute sit down interview is available to watch here.

British holidaymakers travelling to the Canary Islands have been warned to arrive at the airport three hours early due to severe border control delays caused by the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES), with some travellers reporting waits of up to two and a half hours at passport control

British tourists heading to the Canary Islands are now being advised to reach the airport three hours in advance, mainly due to serious border control hold-ups caused by the EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES).

The rollout of the new biometric border infrastructure has sparked enormous queues – occasionally stretching to three hours – at popular holiday airports such as Gran Canaria Airport and Tenerife South. Airlines and travel specialists have issued these firm warnings to stop British and non-EU passengers from missing their return flights.

Under the EU’s digital border scheme, non-EU travellers (including British passport holders) must complete facial recognition scans and fingerprinting at border control.

Technical glitches and the considerable time needed to process each passenger have severely clogged passport control lanes.

The Canary Islands accommodate vast numbers of UK passengers. When several flights depart for non-Schengen destinations simultaneously, the local infrastructure becomes rapidly overwhelmed.

Spanish airport operator Aena officially requires a three-hour arrival window as standard procedure for all non-Schengen flights (which covers all flights returning to the UK).

Airlines such as Wizz Air have firmly reinforced the three-hour recommendation. Nevertheless, passengers should be mindful of a practical obstacle: many baggage drop and check-in desks at Canary Island airports do not open until precisely two hours before departure. Airlines continue to recommend arriving early to ensure you’re at the head of the queue the moment check-in desks open, enabling you to clear security and head straight to the congested passport control gates.

A travel expert based in the Canary Islands has now shared his thoughts on the 3-hour airport warning in a recent video.

Mr TravelON (real name David Gainford) is a well-known travel and media content creator on TikTok, recognised for his candid, lively vlogs and live streams centred on holidays in the Canary Islands (including Lanzarote, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria).

The influencer, who commands 192,000 followers, took to his account this week to offer his perspective on the guidance.

Gainford stressed in his clip that passengers travelling with luggage may be unable to check in three hours before departure as the desk may not yet be open. However, he suggested that many airlines are looking to address this by opening earlier.

He also pointed out that those who have booked a package holiday with TUI or Jet2 can count on these companies to ensure they reach the airport on time.

“It’s their responsibility to get you from your hotel and accommodation to the airport on time,” he said.

“So sit back, chill out, relax, and let your rep tell you what time you’re getting picked up.

“Yes, it might be an hour earlier.”

He noted that independent travellers not using a tour operator should ‘probably get to the airport three hours early’. The travel expert also warned that massive queues at airports could be likely, as travellers arriving at the airports have given conflicting accounts.

“Some are reporting two or two-and-a-half hour’s wait, it really does depend on how may flights land at that time,” he said.

The video has garnered over 180 likes as Canary Island holidaymakers hunt for information.

Numerous viewers flocked to the comments to share their own experiences, with one individual stating: “I got to Lanzarote airport 3 hours early last month and had to wait a hour for the gate to open.”

Meanwhile, another remarked: “Arrived in Lanzarote last month no issues on arrival but leaving to fly back to the UK was awful, we arrived early just in case, went to gate 6 done what we needed to once our gate number came up we headed over, that was where the issues began, you had to go through the machines again and there was only three machines.”

Yet a third responded: “We landed in Lanzarote last night and we were lucky, 10 minutes from getting off the plane to arriving at the bus stop. EES was ok, no queue and the luggage was waiting for us as we came through.”

One commenter summarised the situation by saying: “Better to be safe than sorry, it’s a nightmare at certain times.”

When contacted, a representative of the Ministry of the Interior commented: “The Entry Exit (EES) border control system has been fully operational in Spain since April 10th and is being implemented as initially planned, with positive results to date, and no significant incidents have occurred.”

The Cuerpo General Policía Canaria (CGPC) has also been contacted for comment.

The guidance emerges after renowned travel publisher Fodor’s has placed the Canary Islands — singling out Tenerife and Lanzarote in particular — on its 2026 “No List” back in November last year.

The publication cautioned responsible travellers to reconsider visiting, citing a severe housing crisis, gridlocked traffic, and water shortages brought on by overcrowding.

Los Angeles City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto lagged behind her two well-funded challengers based on early returns Tuesday night. But her incumbent colleague, City Controller Kenneth Mejia, appeared to be faring better in his bid to stay in office, holding a double-digit lead over finance executive Zach Sokoloff.

Progressive Marissa Roy led the field vying to serve as Los Angeles’ top lawyer in the first batch of returns surfacing around 8:20 p.m.

L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. John McKinney sat in second, while Feldstein Soto was positioned third. The top two finishers will advance to November’s general election. It could be days before the outcome of the race is clear. Mail-in ballots with a Tuesday postmark will be accepted by county election officials for another week.

With only two candidates running, the controller’s race will be decided this month and will not go to a runoff in November.

The city attorney’s race transformed suddenly this spring after the Los Angeles Police Department’s largest union broke with Feldstein Soto and backed McKinney. Independent expenditure campaigns have thrown $3 million behind McKinney in recent weeks, with much of that money coming from a political action committee controlled by Airbnb.

Feldstein Soto sued the rental giant for violating price gouging laws in the wake of the Palisades fire last year and has openly questioned whether McKinney would shy from aggressive litigation against Airbnb if elected.

“Special interests have gotten really accustomed to special treatment at City Hall. They get special treatment all the time,” Feldstein Soto said in a recent interview, suggesting that both McKinney and Roy had been compromised by outside spending. Independent expenditure campaigns supporting Roy also received roughly $725,000.

McKinney told The Times that if elected, he would “absolutely” sue Airbnb if necessary.

A representative for Feldstein Soto’s campaign declined to comment on the early returns late Tuesday night.

The three leading candidates often sounded like they were campaigning for different jobs.

Roy said she would run the city attorney’s office as L.A.’s “largest public interest law firm,” focusing on tenants’ rights, wage theft and other issues affecting working-class Angelenos. A deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice, she also vowed to sue the Trump administration, linking arms with the attorney general’s office and other city attorneys in aggressive litigation to curb what many Californians see as targeted abuses of power.

McKinney talked more like he was running for city prosecutor, leaning heavily on his experience winning high-profile felony trials in the downtown courthouse. He said he would improve the way the city attorney prosecutes gun crimes and animal abusers. Despite his lack of experience as a civil litigator, McKinney also said he could bring down the city’s litigation costs, which exploded under Feldstein Soto.

“While all votes have not yet been fully counted, we feel optimistic about qualifying for the General Election in November. People want political courage. They want leadership,” McKinney said in a statement Tuesday night. “What is already clear, is that this election has been shaped by the pressing and undeniable concerns of the people of Los Angeles.”

McKinney previously ran for L.A. County district attorney in 2024 but disappeared in a crowded primary field.

While her term has been marked by financial strain, allegations of misconduct and mistreatment of employees and recent questions about her handling of a data breach that led to the leak of a trove of LAPD records, Feldstein Soto maintained that her opponents are far too inexperienced to serve as the city’s top lawyer.

She said she improved public safety by repairing her office’s relationship with the LAPD and filed more misdemeanors than her predecessor. Although legal costs surged, Feldstein Soto said she did her best to mitigate damage on a number of difficult cases she inherited when taking office in 2022. The rise of so-called “nuclear verdicts” in civil claims reflects a nationwide trend rather than a fault of her leadership, she said.

Feldstein Soto was endorsed by Mayor Karen Bass and U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Roy had the support of the L.A. County Democratic Party, the city chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). In addition to the police union, McKinney was backed by his boss, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman.

The city controller’s race, normally a fairly sleepy affair, has turned into the second-highest-spending race in the city.

Mejia, 35, known for his two corgis that he often features on billboards across Los Angeles, sought to retain his seat as the city’s accountant and auditor.

His only challenger was Sokoloff, a senior vice president for asset management at Hackman Capital Partners. Sokoloff, 37, alleged Mejia did not properly utilize the controller’s office to run audits on city departments and failed to keep up the auditing pace of his predecessor.

Sokoloff’s mother, Sheryl, has spent $7.5 million on independent expenditures in the race, mostly on attack ads and mailers against Mejia. Often, the ads point to allegations that Mejia in 2023 fostered a toxic workplace and made inappropriate sexual remarks to female subordinates.

A woman who identified herself as Sheryl Sokoloff hung up on a Times reporter last week when asked about the race expenditures.

Mejia said Sokoloff’s mother — married to Jonathan Sokoloff, managing partner of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners — was trying to bankroll the seat for her son.

Mejia has long run on accountability and transparency for the city’s budget and made public-facing databases across dozens of topics on the controller’s website in his first term.

A licensed certified public accountant, Mejia is a member of the Green Party and does not accept endorsements from political parties or politicians. He was endorsed by the Los Angeles Daily News and multiple labor unions, including the United Teachers of Los Angeles and United Auto Workers.

Sokoloff, a Democrat, was endorsed by multiple former controllers, notable Democrats — including Schiff — and the L.A. County Democratic Party, along with other business advocacy groups.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna jumped out to an early lead over former sheriff Alex Villanueva, his predecessor and leading opponent in the race for the county’s top law enforcement job.

If Luna ultimately receives more than half of the vote, he wins the contest outright and will serve a second term at the helm of the largest sheriff’s department in the U.S.

If Luna falls below the 50% mark, it’s likely that he and Villanueva will head to a runoff once again, reprising their 2022 face-off, when the former Long Beach Police chief unseated Villanueva by a 61% to 39% margin.

This time around, the sheriff’s race was relatively muted. Luna mostly avoided major controversies during his term — unlike Villanueva, who clashed with elected officials and journalists, and was involved in multiple lawsuits. There were no public debates that included the leading candidates and no public polling was done.

Ahead of primary day, Luna touted his leadership and a list of accomplishments. He took credit for reducing the rate of violent crimes and homicides, and said he repaired the relationship with county leaders and others that had been fractured under his predecessor.

Villanueva criticized the sheriff for plunging the department into “chaos and dysfunction,” blaming Luna for the department’s struggles to retain deputies. Luna described both claims as unfounded.

Retired sheriff’s Lt. Eric Strong was in third place as of 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the same position as when he ran four years ago. He was followed by Sgt. Karla Carranza, who has worked for the department for more than two decades.

Oscar Martinez, who joined the sheriff’s department after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, was in fifth, followed by Capt. Mike Bornman, who has decades of experience at the sheriff’s department.

Andre White, a detective with about a dozen years at the department, was in seventh, while Brendan Corbett, a former assistant sheriff for custody operations, was in last place.

Los Angeles Unified School District incumbents — Rocio Rivas, Kelly Gonez and Nick Melvoin — surged strongly ahead in early returns Tuesday night for three seats on the Board of Education.

The first reported results were trending toward one-sided outcomes because the major political forces of recent years declined to do battle against each other: The teachers union supported Rivas, who represents a largely Eastside district; a charter-friendly retired businessman supported Melvoin, whose district is centered on the Westside. And the largest union representing nonteaching employees all but avoided the fray.

The third incumbent, Gonez, was the only candidate on the ballot in District 6, and faced one write-in challenger, Jose Sagredo. Thus, Gonez is poised to continue to represent a district centered in the east San Fernando Valley for a third and final term.

With no challengers boosted by high special-interest funding, the three incumbents had a virtually unobstructed campaign path.

If the early returns hold as expected, the Los Angeles Board of Education will continue to lean against charter schools and would stand in general agreement on most policies — including assertive support for immigrants and a continued holding pattern on the future of Supt. Alberto Carvalho, who remains on administrative leave as a federal investigation proceeds.

District 4, Westside

Well ahead in District 4 was two-term incumbent Melvoin. His challenger was Ankur Patel.

The funding advantage in Melvoin’s campaign was sizable through just before election day: Melvoin, $378,803; Patel: $22,662.

In addition, Melvoin benefited from an independent expenditure of $367,093 on his behalf by retired businessman Bill Bloomfield, who has been a major funder in recent campaigns, typically for candidates who also are acceptable to charter-school advocates.

Charters are privately operated public schools, most of which are nonunion. About 1 in 5 L.A. public-school students is enrolled in an independent charter operating within L.A. Unified.

District 2, downtown and Eastside

Also with a huge funding advantage was Rocio Rivas, who was headed toward a second term in District 2.

LAUSD Board Vice President Rocio Rivas was headed toward a second term in District 2. Her major funding source was $889,469 in an independent-expenditure campaign on her behalf, nearly all of it from the United Teachers Los Angeles union.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Rivas’ own campaign raised $66,218. But the major funding source was $889,469 in an independent-expenditure campaign on her behalf, nearly all of it from the United Teachers Los Angeles union. The union also spent more than $4,000 in communications to its members about the election.

These figures compare with $2,525 raised by challenger Raquel Zamora, who reported spending $5,089.

In Rivas’ successful 2022 run, her main funding opponent was Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which backed Maria Brenes for an open seat. Historically, Local 99 has not been inclined to oppose an incumbent, which Rivas has become. And, true to history, Local 99 has endorsed Rivas, but without spending money on her behalf.

An end to charter school wars

More broadly, this election cycle marks the end to a generation of bitterly contested Los Angeles school board races that became the most expensive in the country, with the L.A. teachers union and charter school advocates slugging it out to advance their vision for public education.

Charter school supporters — who had poured tens of million of dollars into races to elect board members sympathetic to their cause — largely stepped aside, a reflection of their diminished resources and evolving strategy.

The bottom line is that, if current vote-count trends hold, the board will be unchanged for the next two years.

This situation is less than ideal for charter schools. Charters with a mixed record face a tough review when they come up for renewal — about once every five years. Charter opponents want the board majority to move more aggressively to shut down charters when possible and to force them off district campuses — where, under state law, they have a legal right to operate.

Big board decisions looming

Big decisions before the board include how to manage a projected structural deficient — with union leaders calling the dire predictions an accounting mirage.

Meanwhile, Supt. Alberto Carvalho remains in limbo after a February FBI raid of his home and office. The investigation relates at least in part to a failed district chatbot project.

Carvalho maintains his innocence and would like to return to work. The board, however, has turned the reins over temporarily to acting Supt. Andres Chait.

This election cycle marks the end to a generation of bitterly contested Los Angeles school board races that became the most expensive in the country, with the L.A. teachers union and charter school advocates slugging it out to advance their vision for public education. Above, LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County’s half-cent sales tax to fund healthcare services was trailing Tuesday, with early returns showing a majority of voters rejecting the measure.

The tax — a half-penny of every dollar spent in the county — is meant to prop up local hospitals and clinics that are hemorrhaging funding after recent federal cuts.

The sales tax, which needs a simple majority to pass, would take effect Oct. 1 and last five years. Officials say it would pull in $1 billion annually to help plug the budget holes hitting local hospitals and clinics.

L.A. County health officials anticipate the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump last summer, will slash more than $2 billion from the county’s health services budget within the next three years. Due to eligibility changes, the county will no longer be able to get reimbursements for many Californians who have lost Medi-Cal.

The measure was championed by a coalition of healthcare advocates called Restore Healthcare for Angelenos who warned that mass layoffs and emergency room closures could be imminent if new funding didn’t come fast. The Department of Public Health recently closed seven clinics — a grim sign, supporters said, of service cuts to come.

Voters haven’t rejected a sales tax hike since 2012, when a transportation measure fell just short with 66.1% support. It needed 66.7% to pass.

A majority of county supervisors had supported the new tax proposal, voting 4 to 1 this February to put it on the ballot. But the measure faced significant opposition from local cities, with opponents arguing the sales tax hike would unfairly burden the poorest county residents and encourage people to spend their dollars across the county line.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the board’s lone opponent of the tax, said she was concerned it was a “general” tax, meaning the money wouldn’t be earmarked for healthcare costs. Instead, she argued, politicians would have final say over how the money gets spent.

The supervisors have created a plan for spending the tax money, with the largest chunk of the money meant to cover the costs for patients without insurance. The measure also asked voters to sign off on a nine-member oversight committee.

The county currently has a base sales tax rate of 9.75%, and cities impose local taxes on top of that.

Buoyed by a new Congressional map favoring their party, California Democrats were eyeing Tuesday’s primary elections as a critical first step toward flipping a handful of House seats and taking back power in Washington.

Results from California’s massive and slow-moving election process were not immediately clear late Tuesday, as polls closed and mail ballots continued to be processed and counted. Still, Democrats were bullish about their chances of advancing candidates to November’s general election in all five districts that were redrawn in their favor as a result of last year’s Proposition 50 ballot measure.

“The path to winning back the House starts with voting in the June 2nd primary,” the California Democratic Party posted online Monday.

Meanwhile, California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin urged Republican voters to make their own voices heard too.

“Like President Trump said, we need to make it too big to rig,” Rankin said on “The Benny Show.” “We need to swamp the vote.”

One of the most closely watched races was in the redrawn 22nd Congressional District in the Central Valley, where incumbent Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) is facing challenges from moderate Assemblymember Jasmeet Kaur Bains (D-Delano) and progressive college professor Randy Villegas.

Another closely watched race was in the redrawn 48th Congressional District in San Diego and Riverside counties, where Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Bonsall) decided to retire rather than run for reelection, and where Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond — who is endorsed by Trump — is running against a pack of Democrats.

Prop. 50 — which Californians passed with nearly 65% of the vote a year ago — was California Democrats’ response to Texas Republicans redrawing their state’s Congressional maps in the GOP’s favor, at President Trump’s behest. It was also the only major Democratic counterpunch in the wider mid-decade redistricting brawl that has spread across the country in the last year.

Experts expect the redistricting battle to deliver a net gain of a handful or more House seats to Republicans. But Democrats could gain even more ground given Trump’s lousy approval ratings and the long history of midterm election losses for the president’s party.

Combined, those factors make the battle for control of the House incredibly close, which in turn makes the five seats up for grabs in California pivotal — and potentially decisive.

Tuesday’s primaries won’t determine if any of those five seats will indeed flip parties in November. However, the primaries will define those head-to-head races to come and better inform the odds of Democrats toppling Republican incumbents, experts said.

In addition to flipping the seats currently held by Valadao and Issa, Democrats are hoping to pick up three additional seats.

In the 1st Congressional District — which after Prop. 50 lost rural reaches of northeast California and picked up liberal North Bay communities — various candidates were vying for the seat long held by the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale), who died in January. They include Democratic state Sen. Mike McGuire and Republican Assemblymember James Gallagher, who is endorsed by Trump.

Voters from the existing district are also voting in a special election Tuesday to fill the remainder of LaMalfa’s term.

In the 3rd Congressional District, which lost an eastern rural stretch along Nevada and now holds more tightly to the Sacramento suburbs, Rep. Ami Bera (D-Elk Grove) — who currently represents a different district — is running to remain in Congress in a new seat.

Meanwhile, the 3rd Congressional District’s incumbent, Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-Rocklin), is seeking to do the opposite. He quit the Republican Party, became an independent and is now running for Bera’s current seat in Congressional District 6, which includes the city of Sacramento and Placer County suburbs.

In the 41st Congressional District, which became more liberal after Prop. 50 by losing voters in Riverside County and gaining them in Los Angeles County, a slate of candidates — including Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Whittier), who currently represents a different district — are running to replace Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona). Calvert, a 17-term incumbent, decided to run in the neighboring 40th Congressional District instead.

In the 40th Congressional District, which covers a swath of inland Orange County and portions of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, incumbent Rep. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) is now going head-to-head with Calvert, while also facing several Democratic challengers.

Other districts that were not part of the Prop. 50 shuffle are also attracting attention.

In the 11th Congressional District in San Francisco, several Democratic candidates are vying to replace Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), the retiring former House Speaker, including state Sen. Scott Wiener; tech millionaire and Democratic political operative Saikat Chakrabarti; and Connie Chan, a member of the San Francisco board of supervisors who Pelosi endorsed.

Democrats are also closely watching several races where younger Democrats and progressives are challenging older incumbent Democrats, and where newer Democratic incumbents are seeking to hold onto their seats in relatively competitive districts.

Walt Disney Co.’s ABC has filed renewal applications with the Federal Communications Commission “under protest” after an order mandating a years-early review of the network’s eight television station licenses.

The criticism was part of the network’s applications for the FCC review, which were filed ahead of a deadline Thursday. In an objection to the early renewal, Disney’s New York station WABC called the FCC order “unlawful, arbitrary and unconstitutional” and said it was “legally indefensible.”

“The Commission had not demanded early renewal in over five decades,” the station wrote in its filing. “And it has never before demanded simultaneous license renewal applications from a group of stations commonly owned with a network as it has here. The order has no legitimate purpose.”

The licenses for the eight ABC-owned TV stations, including KABC in Los Angeles, were originally scheduled for renewal between 2028 and 2031.

The FCC order came shortly after ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump looking like an “expectant widow” days before a gunman tried to breach the White House Correspondents’ Assn. gala last month that President Trump attended.

Trump has frequently threatened to have TV station licenses pulled when he is unhappy with their coverage, but the order is the first time the government has acted on his wishes, sparking anger from free speech advocates. The FCC has said the order is part of an investigation into whether Disney’s diversity and inclusion policies violate federal law and the agency’s rules against “unlawful discrimination.”

In its response, WABC said the “only plausible reason” to issue the order was to “punish the station for speech the government does not like.”

“The ultimate injury here is not to the station or its parent company. It is to the public,” WABC wrote. “When a broadcaster must weigh regulatory retaliation before making editorial decisions, the public loses access to journalism that is free from government influence.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in a statement Thursday that Disney filed its applications to renew its broadcast licenses only after the company was told its previous answers were “disingenuous, deficient and improper.”

“Contrary to Disney’s claim that the FCC called in their broadcast licenses for early renewal for no reason, the record shows something very different,” Carr said. “Broadcast licensees have a unique obligation to operate in the public interest. The FCC will follow the facts and law wherever they may lead.”

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, the panel’s only Democrat who has backed Disney in its fight, cheered the Burbank media and entertainment company’s filing, saying in a post on X that she was “glad to see them expose the FCC’s actions as nothing more than naked political retribution and an unlawful assault on free speech and a free press.”

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.

May 29 (Asia Today) — Leaders of South Korea’s rival political parties urged voters to cast ballots Friday, the first day of early voting for the June 3 local elections, but their strategies showed different approaches.

Chung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, and Han Byung-do, the party’s floor leader, both voted on the first day of early voting. People Power Party leader Chang Dong-hyeok and floor leader Song Eon-seok divided their roles, with Chang choosing to vote on Election Day and Song planning to vote early.

Chung began his schedule Friday by casting an early ballot at the Seongsan 2-dong Community Service Center in Mapo District, Seoul. After voting, he attended a meeting of the party’s central election committee in Seoul and urged voters to participate.

“Voting is stronger than bullets,” Chung said. “Power does not come from the barrel of a gun. It comes from the polling place.”

Han also visited an early voting station before heading to campaign events in Namwon, North Jeolla Province.

“Early voting will be held for two days starting today,” Han said. “Please exercise your precious vote for the future of South Korea.”

The major opposition People Power Party took a different approach. Chang plans to vote on Election Day, while Song is scheduled to cast an early ballot Saturday.

The move is seen as a strategy to appeal both to the party’s hard-line conservative base and more moderate conservative voters. Chang and Song have also divided campaign duties during the election period, focusing on separate schedules.

Chang campaigned Friday in Sejong and western Gyeonggi Province.

“The atmosphere is changing as we lead this election, but if we lose by even one vote, there is no future for South Korea,” Chang said. “Everything depends on your one vote. Please do not leave yourself with regret by failing to go to the polling place.”

Song said he plans to vote early Saturday in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, his electoral district.

At a news conference at the National Assembly earlier Friday, Song acknowledged that some political figures have argued against early voting.

“It is true that there are some movements in political circles saying people should not vote early, but I will not say that is our party,” Song said. “There is a big difference between holding voting over three days and holding it for only one day.”

“In reality, the number of votes cast during the two days of early voting and on Election Day is close to half and half,” he said. “I think voters should vote over the three days, including early voting, according to their circumstances and schedules.”

Park Sung-hoon, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, said both early voting and Election Day voting are important exercises of political rights.

“To strategically encourage both early voting and Election Day voting, we decided that the floor leader would vote early and the party leader would participate in Election Day voting, taking his schedule into account,” Park said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260529010008858

Many South Koreans headed to the polls Friday in early voting for next week’s local elections and parliamentary by-elections, widely seen as a referendum on President Lee Jae Myung’s first year in office.

Eligible voters can cast ballots at 3,571 polling stations nationwide from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. until Saturday, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).

As of 11 a.m., turnout for the local elections came to 3.81 percent, according to the NEC. The rate was higher than the 3.59 percent recorded at the same time on the first day of early voting for the 2022 local elections.

More than 44.6 million people are eligible to vote in this year’s local elections.

Up for grabs are 16 mayoral and gubernatorial posts, along with 227 heads of local governments and some 4,000 members of local councils.

Eyes are also on the parliamentary by-elections that will fill 14 vacant Assembly seats, with political heavyweights, such as Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), vying for seats.

In a poll released by the NEC last Thursday, 73.6 percent of respondents said they will definitely vote in the upcoming elections. Of them, 39.4 percent said they intended to cast ballots during the early voting period.

The upcoming elections are widely viewed as the first major nationwide vote for the Lee administration since it took office last June after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted over his failed martial law bid.

Both the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the PPP have been rallying voters to hit the polls this week, with the former urging the public to make a stern judgment on what it calls the “remnants” of Yoon’s insurrectionist forces.

Recent polls, however, indicate that races are tightening in more regions than earlier expected, despite the DP’s hopes for a landslide victory.

While the DP, which controls a majority in the National Assembly, seeks to extend the momentum for the Lee administration to push forward with its key policies, the PPP hopes to gain the footing needed to rebuild the conservative bloc amid deepening internal rifts in the aftermath of the martial law declaration.

Both parties view the capital area, where half of the country’s population resides, as a key battleground.

The Seoul mayoral election has shaped up to be a fierce two-horse race between incumbent Oh Se-hoon of the PPP and ruling party candidate Chong Won-o.

A Hankook Research poll released Monday showed Chong leading with 42 percent against Oh’s 36 percent.

Also closely watched is the parliamentary by-election in the Buk-A constituency in the southeastern city of Busan, where Ha Jung-woo, former presidential secretary for artificial intelligence policy and future planning, is competing against independent Han Dong-hoon and former PPP lawmaker Park Min-shik

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