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Internal rifts deepen in Corbyn’s Your Party as cofounder Zahra Sultana skips first day of conference amid expulsions from the party.

Veteran British socialist Jeremy Corbyn’s new left-wing political party faced a new crisis after its cofounder, Zarah Sultana, pledged to skip the first day of its inaugural conference.

Corbyn had called for members to “come together” at the opening of the conference on Saturday, with the party seeking to move on from a messy launch and become a viable left-wing challenger to the governing Labour Party.

“As a party, we’ve got to come together and be united because division and disunity will not serve the interests of the people that we want to represent,” Corbyn told the conference in the northwestern English city of Liverpool.

A few hours later, a spokesperson for Sultana said that she would not enter the conference hall on Saturday in protest at one of her supporters being denied entry to the event and several others being expelled from the party over alleged membership of the far-left Socialist Workers Party.

“I’m disappointed to see on the morning of our founding conference, people who have travelled from all over the country, spent a lot of money on their train fare, on hotels, on being able to participate in this conference, being told that they have been expelled,” she told UK’s Press Association news agency.

“That is a culture that is reminiscent of the Labour Party, how there were witch hunts on the eve of conference, how members were treated with contempt.”

Corbyn, 76, and Sultana, 32, both former Labour MPs, have been in frequent dispute since they announced the party in July.

A spokesperson for the new party, currently called Your Party, defended the expulsions.

“Members of another national political party signed up to Your Party in contravention of clearly stated membership rules – and these rules were enforced,” the spokesperson said.

This is the latest blow for a party hoping to make gains on the left as British politics fractures into a multiparty system and Labour moves rightward on some issues.

Two of the four independent MPs who initially signed up later quit over the divisions, which have included a row over a botched membership launch and threats of legal action.

Over the course of the conference, members are set to choose the party’s official name and decide whether it should have a single leader or be led by its members.

Pressure over antisemitism allegations against the Berkeley school system intensified Monday with the launch of what members of Congress called a “nationwide investigation of antisemitism in K-12 schools.”

The first three districts to fall under scrutiny of the House Committee on Education and Workforce are the Berkeley Unified School District, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and the School District of Philadelphia.

“The Committee is deeply concerned” that Berkeley Unified is “failing to uphold its obligations” to “end any harassment, eliminate any hostile environment and its effects and prevent any harassment from recurring.”

In a letter sent Monday to Berkeley Unified, the committee cited “numerous press and whistleblower reports” alleging that since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel, “Jewish and Israeli students have allegedly been regularly bullied and harassed.”

Letters to the three school districts were signed by Committee Chair Tim Walberg (R-Mich). The letter to Berkeley Unified also was signed by Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Chair Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin).

In addition to recounting allegations, the letters seek information, including:

• A chart of all complaints made against students, faculty or staff related to potential antisemitic incidents.
• All documents relating to walkouts, demonstrations, toolkits, workshops, curricula, course materials, speakers and more referring to Jews, Judaism, Israel, Palestine, Zionism or antisemitism.
• All documents related to contracts or agreements that refer to Jews, Judaism, Israel, Palestine, Zionism or antisemitism.

In a statement the district characterized the allegations as past incidents that had been dealt with.

“Today’s letter from the U.S. House Committee on Education concerns allegations raised almost 18 months ago,” the statement said. “The information sought in the current letter from the Committee concerns those old allegations. The District will, of course, respond appropriately to the Committee’s letter. Our commitment to the safety and well-being of all students in BUSD is unwavering.”

In May 2024, Supt. Enikia Ford Morthel testified in Congress about allegations of antisemitism.

At the time, Ford Morthel said her district had received formal complaints of antisemitism stemming from nine incidents and stressed that district leaders responded quickly to the accusations and launched investigations.

“Our babies sometimes say hurtful things,” she said. “We are mindful that all kids make mistakes. We know that our staff are not immune to missteps either, and we don’t ignore them when they occur,” Ford Morthel said. “However, antisemitism is not pervasive in Berkeley Unified School District.”

It’s difficult to determine from the letter the extent to which the allegations take in new incidents.

One of the most stark allegations is that officials permitted a rally in which some students shouted, “Kill the Jews.” Published reports indicate that such an incident was alleged to have occurred Oct. 18, 2023, more than two years ago.

This week’s letter does not contain dates of incidents, while alluding to an alleged inadequate district response.

In February of 2024, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education alleging that Berkeley public schools ignored reports of bullying and harassment of Jewish students on the basis of their ethnicity, shared ancestry and national origin. District leaders, it alleged, “knowingly allowed” classrooms and schoolyards to become a “viciously hostile” environment.

That investigation was opened under the Biden administration and it remains active under the Trump administration, which has made alleged antisemitism a highlighted target of the federal enforcement — accompanied by the threat of fines and withdrawal of federal funding.

Berkeley Unified also faces an active U.S. Education Department probe alleging “severe and pervasive anti-Palestinian racism” affecting Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students. This complaint was filed in 2024 by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American–Islamic Relations and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

The allegations included that Arab and Muslim students “were taunted as ‘terrorists’ after teachers in class taught lessons referencing ‘terrorism.’”

A Philadelphia school district spokesperson said Monday that it was district policy not to comment on an active investigation.

Officials in Virginia pledged cooperation with the congressional inquiry.

In a statement, Fairfax County school officials noted the request for “information about potential antisemitic incidents occurring … since 2022.” The school system “intends to fully cooperate with Congressman Walberg’s inquiry” and “continues to partner with all families to provide a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment for all students and staff members.”

As California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta ponders a run for governor, he faces scrutiny for his ties to people central to a federal corruption investigation in Oakland and payments to private attorneys.

Bonta has not been accused of impropriety, but the questions come at an inopportune time for Democrat, who says he is reassessing a gubernatorial bid after repeatedly dismissing a run earlier this year.

Bonta said the decisions by former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Alex Padilla not to seek the office altered the contours of the race.

“I had two horses in the governor’s race already,” Bonta said in an interview with The Times on Friday. “They decided not to get involved in the end. … The race is fundamentally different today, right?”

Bonta said he has received significant encouragement to join the crowded gubernatorial field and that he expects to make a decision “definitely sooner rather than later.” Political advisors to the 54-year-old Alameda politician have been reaching out to powerful Democrats across the state to gauge his possible support.

Historically, serving as California attorney general has been a launching pad to higher office or a top post in Washington. Harris, elected to two terms as the state attorney general, was later elected to the U.S. Senate and then as vice president. Jerry Brown served in the post before voters elected him for a second go-around as governor in 2010. Earl Warren later became the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Bonta, the first Filipino American to serve as the state’s top law enforcement official, was appointed in March 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom after Xavier Becerra resigned to become U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. Bonta easily won election as attorney general in 2022.

Bonta was a deputy city attorney in San Francisco and vice mayor for the city of Alameda before being elected to the state Assembly in 2012. During his tenure representing the Alameda area, Bonta developed a reputation as a progressive willing to push policies to strengthen tenants’ rights and to reform the criminal justice system.

In his role as the state’s top law enforcement official, Bonta has aggressively fought President Trump’s policies and actions, filing 46 lawsuits against the administration.

Bonta also faced controversy this past week in what Bonta’s advisers say they suspect is an attempt to damage him as he considers a potential run.

“Political hacks understand it’s actually a badge of respect, almost an endorsement. Clearly others fear him,” said veteran Democratic strategist Dan Newman, a Bonta adviser.

On Monday, KCRA reported that Bonta had spent nearly $500,000 in campaign funds last year on personal lawyers to represent him in dealings with federal investigators working on a public corruption probe in Oakland.

On Thursday, the website East Bay Insider reported that as that probe was heating up in spring 2024, Bonta had received a letter from an Oakland businessman warning him that he might soon be subject to blackmail.

The letter writer, Mario Juarez, warned Bonta that another businessman, Andy Duong, possessed “a recording of you in a compromising situation.”

Duong was later indicted, along with his father David Duong and former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, on federal bribery charges. All have pleaded not guilty. An attorney for David Duong this week said that Juarez, who is widely believed to be an informant in the case against the Duongs and Thao, was not credible. Juarez could not be reached for comment.

Bonta said his legal expenditures came about after he began speaking with the U.S. Attorney’s office, who approached him because prosecutors thought he could be a victim of blackmail or extortion. Bonta said the outreach came after he already had turned over the letter he had received from Juarez to law enforcement.

Bonta said he hired lawyers to help him review information in his possession that could be helpful to federal investigators.

“I wanted to get them all the information that they wanted, that they needed, give it to him as fast as as I could, to assist, to help,” Bonta said. “Maybe I had a puzzle piece or two that could assist them in their investigation.”

He said he may have made “an audible gasp” when he saw the legal bill, but that it was necessary to quickly turn over all documents and communications that could be relevant to the federal investigation.

“The billing rate is high or not insignificant at private law firms,” Bonta said. “We were moving quickly to be as responsive as possible, to be as helpful as possible, to assist as as much as possible, and that meant multiple attorneys working a lot of hours.”

Bonta said the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission also has alerted him that it received a complaint against him. Bonta and his advisers believe is about the use of campaign funds to pay the legal expenses and suspect it was filed by the campaign of a current gubernatorial candidate.

“We’re not worried,” Bonta said. “That’s politics.”

Asked whether these news stories could create obstacles to a potential gubernatorial campaign, Bonta pushed back against any assertion that he may have “baggage.” He said he was assisting federal prosecutors with their investigation with the hopes of holding people accountable.

“That’s what I would expect anyone to do, certainly someone who is committed as I am to public safety.,” he said. “That’s my job, to assist, to support, to provide information, to help.”

Two more former employees are taking legal action against Motown legend Smokey Robinson and his wife Frances Robinson, adding their allegations of sexual assault against the singer to a $50-million lawsuit filed earlier this year.

The women who sued the spouses in May for sexual assault and failure to pay overtime filed a motion last week in Los Angeles County Superior Court seeking to amend their initial complaint to include new claims from a fifth housekeeper and a man who detailed the couple’s cars. They both alleged separate incidents of Robinson grabbing their hands to touch his erect penis while they were working at his Chatsworth residence.

Robinson’s attorney Christopher Frost dismissed the latest round of allegations in a statement shared with multiple outlets but did not immediately respond to a Los Angeles Times request for comment Thursday. Frost said the two accusers — identified in court documents as Jane Doe 5 and John Doe 1 — are part of “the same group of people who have conspired together against the Robinsons and are laying out their claims for maximum adverse publicity.”

Frost, who previously dismissed the original May complaint as an “ugly method of trying to extract money from an 85-year-old American icon,” remained firm in those views. “This group of people, who hide behind anonymity, and their attorneys seek global publicity while making the ugliest of false allegations,” Frost told TMZ.

The plaintiffs’ motion outlined the proposed changes for the amended complaint, describing the alleged sexual assault that Jane Doe 5 and John Doe 1 faced during their tenure. Jane Doe 5 is described as a housekeeper who worked for the Robinsons in 2005 until 2011. She took a leave of absence because of a work-related injury but returned around 2007.

According to the motion, Jane Doe 5 says the singer (real name William Robinson Jr.) often called her from the second-floor bathroom and asked him to scrub his back. The Grammy-winning artist would allegedly turn to face her with an erect penis while he was showering before turning again for her to scrub his back. She alleges that on more than 10 occasions, he grabbed her hand in an attempt to force her to touch his erection. She “would strongly resist by forcibly pushing his hands away, and would escape from the bathroom,” the motion said.

Allegedly, Robinson often walked around the house naked and would rub his elbow against Jane Doe 5’s chest. This prompted her to get a breast reduction in 2015, years after she stopped working for the celebrity spouses. She claims the singer propositioned her for sex numerous times, including after declining to rehire her when he suggested she “accompany him to a nearby hotel.”

Jane Doe 5 also seeks legal action against Frances Robinson, whom she accuses of perpetuating “a hostile work environment.” She alleges Frances blamed her for getting injured while cleaning the home’s chimney and told her to keep working despite it. Jane Doe 5 accused Frances of failing to take “appropriate corrective action” to prevent her husband’s alleged sexual misconduct and echoes previous claims that Frances screamed at employees and “used ethnically pejorative words and language.”

She also repeats previous allegations that the spouses, who married in 2022, failed to pay minimum wage or overtime, echoing claims mentioned in the original lawsuit.

The motion described John Doe 1 as a more recent employee, who was hired in 2013 to detail the couple’s cars and other related services. He was subject to Smokey Robinson’s “sexually harassing conduct” shortly after he began working for the couple, the motion alleged. John Doe 1 said the singer would often appear at his workplace outside the home wearing only underwear and “would then touch and fondle his erect penis” in “plain view.” The artist allegedly made suggestive gestures and remarks, including beckoning John Doe 1 to join him in an “interior room” by his workspace.

Though John Doe 1 rejected the singer’s repeated advances and urged him to “put some clothes on,” in 2022 the musician grabbed his accuser’s hand and attempted to put it on his erection, the motion said. John Doe 1 “immediately withdrew, turned away and left.”

He claims the Robinsons ended his services shortly after the incident, but about a year later, they requested that he return. Smokey Robinson allegedly continued appearing “partially clothed, touching himself” and making sexually suggestive remarks, the motion said. John Doe 1 “experienced humiliation, emotional distress and ongoing fear for his safety and dignity.” He ultimately stopped working for the singer and his wife after learning of similar allegations from former employees.

John Doe 1 is not seeking action on wage-related counts but rather for claims including sexual battery, assault, gender violence, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

A hearing for the motion is set for Jan. 6, and a trial for October 2027.

WASHINGTON — Republicans won a significant political victory this month when moderate Senate Democrats joined them to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, relenting from a showdown over the rising costs of healthcare.

But the fight is already back on, with mere weeks to spare before the Trump administration faces a potential uproar from the public over the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits on New Year’s Day, when premium costs will skyrocket.

The fast-approaching deadline, coupled with stinging defeats in elections earlier this month driven by voter concerns over affordability, has prompted a series of crisis meetings in the West Wing over a path forward on Capitol Hill.

The White House response that emerged this week is a political Hail Mary for an increasingly divided party entering an election year: a second megabill, deploying the parliamentary tool of reconciliation, addressing not just healthcare costs but Trump’s tariff policies under intense scrutiny at the Supreme Court.

“We’re going to have the healthcare conversation. We’re going to put some legislation forward,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair said Tuesday, addressing a breakfast event hosted by Bloomberg Government, as House Republican leaders pitched the plan to their members in a closed-door meeting.

“The president probably would like to go bigger than the Hill has the appetite for,” Blair added, “so we’ll have to see how that, you know, works out.”

New plan, last minute

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise presented the plan to skeptical Republican lawmakers on Tuesday, arguing an extension of tax credits for what he called the “Unaffordable Care Act” — even if they are renegotiated on Republican terms — would only mask the problem of rising premium costs, ultimately burdening the taxpayer.

Trump sent a message to the caucus ahead of their meeting on Tuesday morning with a post on Truth Social, emphatic in all caps.

“THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I WILL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE, WITH NOTHING GOING TO THE BIG, FAT, RICH INSURANCE COMPANIES, WHO HAVE MADE $TRILLIONS, AND RIPPED OFF AMERICA LONG ENOUGH,” Trump wrote. “THE PEOPLE WILL BE ALLOWED TO NEGOTIATE AND BUY THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, INSURANCE. POWER TO THE PEOPLE!”

“Congress, do not waste your time and energy on anything else,” Trump added. “This is the only way to have great Healthcare in America!!! GET IT DONE, NOW.”

Yet the plan is causing anxiety across a wide ideological range of Republican lawmakers, including moderates in vulnerable races entering next year’s midterm elections as well as those from deep red districts whose constituents rely on the Affordable Care Act, more widely known as Obamacare.

Nearly six in 10 Americans who use the ACA marketplace live in Republican districts, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Enrollment is highest across the South, where districts across Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida consistently see more than 10% of their residents relying on the program.

Going for broke with reconciliation

Trump’s proposal would do away with the tax credits, potentially overhauling health savings accounts that would encourage Americans to save on their own and choose their healthcare plan.

But it’s unclear whether such a dramatic, last-minute change in the healthcare system, still in draft form, would garner enough Republican support to pass the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can only afford to lose two Republicans on party-line votes.

The bill would come in a perilous political environment for Republican lawmakers, who one year ago faced a tie with Democrats on a generic ballot, according to an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll. In the group’s latest poll, Democrats are up by 14 points.

Even if Trump’s proposal were to secure House support, the Trump administration’s plan to pursue a bill through reconciliation in the Senate — which allows the upper chamber to pass legislation with a simple majority, instead of 60 votes — could face significant hurdles.

Senate parliamentary rules only allow reconciliation to be used for legislation that directly changes federal spending, revenues, or the debt limit. That could encompass an overhaul to health savings accounts, and potentially to codify Trump’s tariff policies, which have been approved through reconciliation in years past. But the fine print would be up to the discretion of the parliamentarian, whose cuts to tangential policy provisions could upend delicate negotiations.

Reconciliation was used in Trump’s last major push to repeal Obamacare, in 2017, when the late Sen. John McCain (R-Az.) surprised the nation with a thumbs-down vote on the measure.

That bill, McCain argued, would have repealed the healthcare of millions without a plan to replace it.

What else you should be reading

The must-read: Could Trump destroy the Epstein files?
The deep dive: A bombshell federal fraud case exploded inside Gov. Newsom’s powerful political orbit
The L.A. Times Special: This Arizona town is an unexpected magnet for Californians: ‘We do it our way’

More to come,
Michael Wilner
—
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Sometimes a person needs to find a new hobby — one that doesn’t involve terrifying celebrities.

An Australian man who threw his arms around Ariana Grande after charging at her Thursday during arrivals at the Singapore premiere of “Wicked: For Good” has been charged with being a public nuisance, the BBC reported.

In various videos capturing the incident, as Grande greeted hundreds of fans lined up behind a barricade along a yellow carpet at the premiere, the man can be seen jumping a barricade on the other side of the carpet, running toward her with his arms and legs flailing, then grabbing her roughly around the neck and shoulders before turning and smiling happily for the cameras. Cynthia Erivo, who was walking with her co-star as well as Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh, immediately got between Grande and the man and appeared to shout at him.

Security then escorted the man away from the very shaken star, who plays Glinda in the “Wicked” movies. He was arrested, charged and later released, according to the BBC, which identified him as Johnson Wen, 26. If convicted, he could be fined more than $1,500 in U.S. dollars.

Wen, who goes by the name Pyjama Man on Instagram, considers himself a “stage invader” who has surprised major stars including Katy Perry and the Weeknd. He has been carted off by security at a Paris Olympics track and field event and more than once ran onto soccer pitches during high-profile matches. Wen seems to post media coverage of his bad behavior as a badge of honor on his Instagram account, where he refers to himself as a “Troll Most Hated.”

One video of the event, incidentally, can be seen on Wen’s Instagram grid, where he had the nerve to write as his caption, “Dear Ariana Grande Thank You for letting me Jump on the Yellow Carpet with You.”

“you literally assaulted her and you’re posting it? bro you deserve to be in jail there is something severely wrong with you,” one commenter wrote below the video.

Another went into it in more detail, writing, “Congratulations. You managed to turn what should’ve been a magical premiere into a global showcase of your complete inability to behave like a functioning adult. … Rushing a woman — any woman, let alone someone who has survived unimaginable trauma — is not ‘a prank’. It’s not ‘a stunt’. It’s not ‘funny’. It’s pathetic, dangerous, and shows a total lack of respect for boundaries, safety, and basic human decency.”

After giving Erivo props for her quick response, the second commenter closed by saying, “You didn’t get attention. You got exposed — as reckless, inconsiderate, and utterly unaware of the impact of your actions on a woman who has already lived through real horror.

“If your goal was to be remembered, congratulations again: You’re remembered for all the wrong reasons. And trust me — no one is impressed.”

A third person addressed their comment to Instagram, writing, “why is this person allowed to continually post videos of himself assaulting/harassing people? It’s distressing and disgusting and unlawful. @instagram Please make him go away.”

Grande has not commented publicly on the incident.

The New York City premiere of “Wicked: For Good” is scheduled for Monday. The second half of the two-part big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical “Wicked” opens wide in U.S. theaters Nov. 21.

Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson is being sued by a woman who alleges that Jackson recorded her without her consent during sex, repeatedly refused to delete the video and taunted her with it, ESPN reported.

Jackson was not available in the locker room after practice Thursday. A Rams official said the team was aware of the ESPN report but would not comment because it was an ongoing legal matter. Jackson and coach Sean McVay will address the matter on Friday, the official said.

Jackson, 27, was suspended for the first two games of the 2024 season for an unspecified violation of the NFL’s personal-conduct policy. The previous March, the Rams gave him a three-year contract that includes about $35 million in guarantees, according to Overthecap.com.

“It’s behind us now,” Jackson said in September 2024 after he served the suspension.

Asked if the suspension was warranted, Jackson said, “They did what they had to do, and I understand it,” he said. “So I’m just going to move past it.”

Auger-Aliassime quickly found himself 4-1 down in the first set, with Shelton putting the serve and volley to good use, but he broke back as his opponent served for the set.

However, a poor service game handed the initiative – and the opener – to fifth seed Shelton.

Shelton had the only break point of the second set but an increasingly confident Auger-Aliassime saved it, before clinching the tie-breaker on a wild double fault from Shelton.

A tight third set was also decided on the Shelton serve, with Auger-Aliassime converting his third match point.

“He was playing much better than me at the start,” Auger-Aliassime said.

“It was a weird start, but as the match went on I was finding ways to put returns in the court.”

SANTIAGO, Chile, Nov. 12 (UPI) — Chileans are preparing to vote in Sunday’s presidential election with eight candidates and marked by uncertainty.

For the first time in more than a decade, voting will be compulsory, greatly expanding the electorate and potentially reshaping a race that, according to recent polls, remains tight between the government’s candidate, the communist Jeannette Jara, and far-right leader José Antonio Kast.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric is not eligible for re-election because the constitution prohibits consecutive four-year terms.

An expected surge in voter turnout — after years of sustained abstention — adds an unpredictable element to the outcome and will test the parties’ ability to mobilize a broader and more diverse electorate.

René Jara, a political science professor at the University of Santiago, told UPI it will be an unprecedented election. As the first with compulsory voting in many years for more than 15 million registered voters, “there could be quite a few surprises,” he said.

“The expansion of the potential electorate hides several forms of silent voting, representing voices that in the past did not regularly take part in elections.”

Chilean law prohibits the publication of polls during the 15 days before an election. According to the latest surveys, Jara was leading in voter preference, but not by enough to avoid a runoff.

Her level of support also most likely would fall short of securing victory in the second round, scheduled for Dec. 14.

The same polls indicate that any opposition candidate who advances to the runoff most likely would win the presidency.

The right enters the election with three strong contenders. Kast, leader of the Republican Party, appears to have the best chance to win. Evelyn Matthei, a former minister under President Sebastián Piñera, represents the traditional right, and libertarian Johannes Kaiser has emerged as one of the race’s biggest surprises.

According to projections, Jara would lose to Kast in a runoff by about 12 points (36% to 48%), by 10 points to Matthei (33% to 46%), and by five points to Kaiser.

“This election is significant because of the fragmentation of Chile’s right wing. Traditionally, it was a bloc that faced elections in a unified way,” political scientist Hernán Campos, of Diego Portales University’s School of Political Science, told UPI.

He said that since the 2017 presidential election, and especially after 2021, increasingly extreme tendencies have taken root within the opposition.

Although Chile’s pre-election polling ban has prevents measuring public opinion after the close of the campaigns and the candidates’ performance in the final debates, Campos said he believes it is highly likely that the right will win the presidency.

He also sees the possibility that this bloc could secure a majority in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

“This would open the door for them to carry out deeper reforms that could transform aspects of Chile’s institutions and public policy orientations that have defined the country’s political life over the past 20 years,” Campos said.

Public debate during the campaign centered on three main issues: security, migration and the economy.

Pressure to curb crime and control the northern border has co-existed with concern over employment, inflation and pensions, while deeper issues such as gender equality, low birth rates and historical memory continue to divide the country.

In this context, the return of compulsory voting could reshape Chile’s political landscape by bringing back to the polls voters who have long been absent from the democratic process.

A week before California’s special election, Gavin Newsom made news by doing something practically unheard of. He told donors to stop sending money to pass Proposition 50.

It was a man-bites-piranha moment — a politician turning away campaign cash?!? — and amounted to a victory lap by California’s governor even as the balloting was still underway.

On Wednesday, less than 12 hours after the polls closed, Newsom sent another email. This one thanked backers for helping push the gerrymander measure to landslide approval — and asked them to open their wallets back up.

“Please make a contribution,” he pleaded, “to help us continue to go on the offense and take the fight to Trump.”

One campaign ended. Another seamlessly continued.

Though he’s been publicly coy, Newsom has been effectively running for president for the better part of a year, something even the most nearsighted observer can see. One envisions the restless governor, facing the end of his term, sitting in the Capitol and crossing days off his official calendar as he longingly gazes toward 2028.

Setting aside its dubious merits, Proposition 50 was an unequivocal triumph for Newsom.

He took a risk that an esoteric subject — congressional map-making — could be turned into a heartfelt issue. He gambled that voters would overlook the cost of a special election — close to $300 million — and agree to hand back the line-drawing powers they seized from Sacramento insiders and politicians who put their own interests first. In doing so, he further raised his national profile and bulked up an already formidable fundraising base.

None of which makes Newsom’s quest for the White House much more likely to succeed.

His biggest problem — and there’s no way to fix it — is that he comes from California, which, to many around the country, reads as far left, nutty and badly off track. Or, less harshly, a place that’s more secular, permissive and tax-happy than some middle-of-the-roaders are really comfortable with.

Take it from a Republican strategist.

“He’s obviously a talented politician,” said Q. Whitfield Ayres, a GOP pollster with extensive campaign experience in Georgia and other presidential swing states. “But if I were trying to paint a Democratic nominee as too liberal for the country, having the governor of California be the nominee would be an easy task … Too coastal. Too dismissive of ‘flyover’ country. Too much like the elites on both coasts that [President] Trump has run so successfully against for years now.”

That’s not just a partisan perspective.

The Democratic desire to win in 2028 “is very, very strong,” said Charlie Cook, a campaign handicapper who has spent decades impartially analyzing state and national politics. The presidential contest “will be determined by winning in purple states and purple counties and purple precincts,” Cook said, in places such as central Pennsylvania, rural Wisconsin and Georgia, where issues play differently than within California’s deeply blue borders.

(Newsom’s support for free healthcare for undocumented immigrants — to name but one issue — is an attack ad just waiting to be written.)

For many primary voters, Cook suggested, ideology and purity testing will yield to a more cold-eyed and pragmatic calculation: a candidate’s perceived electability. He minimized Newsom’s smashing Proposition 50 victory. “He’s got to impress people on the road,” Cook said. “Not just a home game in a state that’s really tilted one way.”

For what it’s worth, Newsom should savor his Proposition 50 afterglow as long as he can. (On Saturday, the governor was in Texas, basking.) Because it won’t last.

As Democratic strategist David Axelrod noted, “the nature of presidential politics is the bar gets raised constantly.” Once the race truly begins, Newsom will be probed and prodded in ways he hasn’t experienced since his last physical exam, all in full public view.

“There is an army of opposition researchers, Republican and Democrat, who are going to scour every word he’s spoken as a public official in California since his days as San Francisco mayor and every official action he’s taken and not taken,” said Axelrod, who helped steer Barack Obama to the White House. “Who knows what they will yield and how he’ll respond to that.”

At the moment, Newsom is giving off a very strong Avenatti energy.

For those who’ve forgotten, celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti was seen for a time as the Democratic beau ideal, a brawler who could get under Trump’s skin and take the fight to the president like few others could or would. He traveled to Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida and other states in a quasi-campaign before his extensive personal and financial troubles caught up with him. (Avenatti is currently residing in federal prison.)

Newsom, of course, is vastly more qualified than the Los Angeles attorney ever was. But the political vibe — and especially the governor’s self-styled role as Trump-troller-in-chief — is very similar.

Exit poll interviews in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and even California showed that economic concerns and, specifically, affordability were the main ingredient of Democrats’ success Tuesday. Not Trump’s egregious misconduct or fears for democracy, which was the grounding of the pro-Proposition 50 campaign.

“If you’re talking about democracy over the dinner table, it’s because you don’t have to worry about the cost of food on the table,” Axelrod said. “If you have to worry about the cost of food on the table or your rent or your mortgage, insurance, electricity and all these things, you’re thinking about that.”

To stand any shot at winning his party’s nomination, much less the White House, Newsom will have to build support beyond his fan base with a message showing he understands voters’ day-to-day concerns and offers ways to improve their lives. Success will require more than passing a Democratic ballot measure in a Democratic state, or cracking wise on social media.

Because all those snarky memes and cheeky presidential put-downs won’t seem so funny if JD Vance is inaugurated in January 2029.

James Martin has presented on Saturday morning television for over two decades but says his mum has one blunt criticism whenever he appears on screens

James Martin is often on the end of blunt criticism from his mum. The 53-year-old has been a regular face on television screens since the 1990s.

His Saturday Morning show is even set for a new slot on ITV One next year as viewing figures continue to grow. The show, which began in 2017, will be extended until midday from January, reports the Mirror.

And while James has seen his audience share increase by around 8%, it seems his mum is often critical about one part of the programme. The Yorkshireman says his mum Sue often slams his outfit choices.

Speaking to IrelandLive, he said: “Usually my mum phones me up and says, ‘That shirt looks s*** – you can’t wear that again’. That’s usually the comment I get on Saturday Morning – ‘What the bloody hell are you wearing that shirt for?’ That’ll be the one, after all these years.”

James says his mum often sends him critiques of his look on screen. He explained she often says his hair “looks a mess” and asks if he had a night on the town before recording.

The chef however jokes that it “keeps him grounded”. James has now been on Saturday morning television for over two decades, first on Saturday Kitchen on the BBC before making the jump to ITV in 2017.

James has previously revealed that the desire to pursue his own projects was part of the reason for the switch.

Speaking at the Love Food show, James explained that ITV bosses ask what type of shows he wants to front.

Discussing his TV career, James said: “Television, I got dragged into it with the Hotel du Vin and I got dragged into it even more with the BBC and I think, having a reset, and by leaving that and resetting and going to ITV.

“ITV were the first people in 30 years who said, ‘What do you want to do?’ And that’s when I sat in a meeting and said, ‘Look, I’d love to go back to where I used to work in France’.”

James launched his illustrious career at Hotel Du Vin, where he became head chef at just 22 years old, a role that paved the way for his television debut on Ready Steady Cook and The Big Breakfast.

Before joining the Winchester establishment, he refined his culinary skills at Hostellerie De Plaisance in Saint-Émilion, France.

James Martin’s Saturday Morning will be back on screens from 9.30am today (November 8). This week Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page, master mixologist Merlin Griffiths, and chefs Francesco Mazzei and Jude Kereama will join James at his Hampshire property.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 7 (UPI) — Lebanon faces the dilemma of whether to go ahead with negotiations with Israel to end the ongoing cycle of violence and prevent a full-scale war despite Hezbollah‘s rejection of the talks — highlighting a deep political divide within the country.

The Hezbollah-Israel war, which broke out when the Iran-backed group opened a support front for Gaza on Oct. 8, 2023, never came to an end, even after a cease-fire agreement was reached on Nov. 27, 2024.

Israel has continued its unrestrained attacks on Hezbollah, causing further casualties and destruction. It has refused to withdraw from five strategic positions it still occupies in southern Lebanon, refrained from releasing Lebanese prisoners detained during the war, and prevented displaced residents from returning to their border villages turned to ruin.

The Lebanese Army’s successful advance in taking control of southern Lebanon and eliminating Hezbollah’s military presence along the border and south of the Litani River, as stipulated by the cease-fire agreement, does not seem sufficient for Israel, which wants Hezbollah to be completely disarmed.

In fact, Hezbollah, which suffered heavy losses during the war, has refrained from firing a single shot in retaliation to Israel’s continued air and drone strikes, which allegedly target the group’s remaining arms depots and military infrastructure beyond southern areas of the Litani River.

However, Hezbollah’s recent claims that it has fully recovered, restructured its military capabilities and rebuilt its command structure — coupled with its refusal to disarm or support Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in his new approach to negotiations with Israel — put the country at risk of another round of war.

While Aoun said that Lebanon has no choice but to engage in talks with Israel to end its occupation and halt its attacks, Hezbollah rejected any attempt to involve the country in new negotiations — outside the framework of the “mechanism” committee responsible for supervising the implementation of the ceasefire accord — arguing that they would only serve “the enemy and its interests.”

Hisham Jaber, a Lebanese military expert and former Army general, said it is the Lebanese state — not Hezbollah — that should negotiate with Israel, based on terms set by President Aoun: no direct or political negotiations, only military-security talks conducted via a third party, such as the U.S. or the United Nations, and no use of force to complete Hezbollah’s disarmament.

Jaber said that indirect talks with Israel had proven successful, recalling the 2022 U.S.-mediated maritime border deal that ended a years-long dispute between Lebanon and Israel over the ownership of natural gas fields.

“Why not do that again?” he told UPI. But to sit at the negotiation table, he added, the United States, which is pressuring Lebanon to accept the talks, should ensure that Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and releases the prisoners, instead of “cornering us.”

What Lebanon wants is for Israel to abide by the truce accord through the “mechanism” committee, which is made up of Israel, Lebanon, the United States, France and the United Nations. However, the newly proposed negotiations, although their framework is still unclear, would also address land border disputes and other issues.

“There is a need for an agreement on the disputed points along the border, and this is not within the mandate of the mechanism,” said Riad Kahwaji, a Middle East security analyst, adding that the truce committee is charged with ensuring Hezbollah’s disarmament, the return of prisoners, and Israel’s withdrawal behind the [U.N.-drawn] Blue Line that existed before the last war in October 2023.

If the new negotiations with Israel proceed and result in a final land border agreement, it would lead to the cessation of the state of war between the two countries, and “the 1949 Armistice will prevail,” Kahwaji said..

“But, of course, Hezbollah does not want an end to the state of war between Lebanon and Israel, because that would require it to disarm, causing it to lose its value for Iran and its significance and standing within its own popular base,” he told UPI. “Its resistance will no longer be needed or relevant.”

However, Hezbollah’s attempts to rearm appear extremely difficult after the group lost its main supply route after the overthrow of its key ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, as well as its long-standing access to Beirut’s port and airport, which it had used for years to smuggle weapons and funds.

It is now impossible for Hezbollah to smuggle large weapons, such as heavy missiles, across the border with Syria, though it may still attempt to acquire Grad rockets, anti-tank Kornet missiles and drones.

“If Hezbollah goes into another war with Israel, it will be using whatever is left from its arsenal, which is not that much,” Kahwaji said, noting that the group now has “a different leadership” after Israel killed most of its top leaders and military commanders, and that “its popular base is exhausted … so the repercussions will be huge.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “is acting as a victor,” refusing to make any concessions and imposing all his conditions, he added.

Lebanon has been facing mounting pressure, especially from the United States and Israel, to disarm Hezbollah even forcibly. Authorities prefer a quiet approach to avoid a confrontation between the Lebanese Army and the militant group, which could create divisions within the army and potentially spark a civil war.

Jaber, the former Army general who is well-informed about Hezbollah, said Washington should instead understand and support Lebanon’s approach, because the group “is ready to hand over its weapons” if Israel stops its attacks and withdraws in line with the truce accord.

“Hezbollah is prepared to relinquish its offensive weapons first, followed by its defensive weapons at a later stage, as part of a national defense strategy,” he said. “This is now an attrition war, not between two parties, but led by only one [Israel].”

Iran, which has funded and armed Hezbollah since its formation in the early 1980s, no longer is interfering in the group’s day-to-day affairs, but remains keen to preserve it as a political and military entity -a card in its hand — after “losing all its other cards in the region,” Jaber said.

With Israel threatening to expand its attacks and launch a full-scale war to force the complete disarmament of Hezbollah, Lebanon remains with few options: diplomacy and political pressure.

“It is in Lebanon’s best interest to seize this opportunity and drag Israel into negotiations to end the war and the conflict,” Kahwaji said.