falls

LADY Gaga was forced to stop her Sydney gig mid-show after one of her dancers fell off the stage.

The Poker Face hitmaker, 39, halted the action during her Mayhem Ball concert following heavy rain at the Accor Stadium.

The Sydney venue is open-air and, two hours after the show kicked off, the painful mishap brought a temporary stop to proceedings.

Lady Gaga kick-started her 31-song setlist with tracks Bloody Mary and Abracadabra.

She belted out the likes of Judas, Poker Face and Aura before the issue struck mid-way through Garden of Eden.

The track is from her 2025 album Mayhem on which the tour is named.

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With a soaking wet floor, the dancers charged to the front of the stage.

One, named Michael Dameski, fell down during the choreography and A Star Is Born actress Gaga was quick to wave her arms and call a stop to the show at around 9pm.

The singer and her dancers then retreated inside during a temporary pause, to try to find more suitable footwear.

They then resumed the show, with further tracks including Rain On Me, How Bad Do You Want Me and Always Remember Us This Way playing out.

FAN PRAISE

Fans were quick to praise Gaga’s actions in what was her last Aussie show of the tour.

One took to X to write: “Sending love and well wishes to Gaga’s dancer, Michael, who fell off stage during Garden Of Eden.

“So grateful that Gaga paused the show to check on him. True professionalism and compassion.”

Another put: “She’s so special the way she ran straight over, climbed down and made sure he was okay.”

Gaga kicked off the tour’s epic global run in Las Vegas in July.

The show is a dramatic depiction of Gaga’s lifelong battles with the “light and dark” inside herself.

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EMINEM and Sir Elton John have come out tops in a poll on unlikely celeb pals – were you aware of these famous connections?

TOP 15 UNLIKELY DUOS:

1. Elton John and Eminem
2. Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett
3. Laurel and Hardy
4. Han Solo and Chewbacca
5. GK Barry and Rev Richard Coles
6. Ed Sheeran and Courteney Cox
7. Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart
8. Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond
9. Georgia Toffolo and Stanley Johnson
10. Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole
11. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman
12. Sam Thompson and Pete Wicks
13. Bette Midler and 50 Cent
14. Harry Styles and Lizzo
15. Pitbull and John Travolta

Gaga’s career has seen a meteoric resurgence this year, following the release of her seventh album Mayhem in March.

Singles Abracadabra and Disease broke into the Top Ten, while her Bruno Mars collaboration Die With A Smile became one of the biggest hits of the year worldwide.

Yet it hasn’t come without incident, after she previously fell off stage in front of fans during one live show.

SPEAK OUT

Speaking to Bizarre as Mayhem was released, a source explained that Gaga has finally found inner peace after years of struggling with her pop star persona and the real person behind it, Stefani Germanotta.

The insider explained: “Gaga has never hidden her real self from the world.

“But she’s more comfortable now in her ability to associate herself as the creator instead of the product.

“The person she wakes up as is the same person who hits the stage.”

The singer’s energetic routines showed that she has fully recovered from a hip injury and fibromyalgia, a condition which caused musculoskeletal pain, extreme fatigue and deep anxiety — and resulted in the cancellation of part of her Joanne world tour in 2018.

Never stop fighting.

That was the Ventura football team’s mindset Friday night at Fullerton High.

The Cougars drove 99 yards in eight plays and scored on a 12-yard pass from Derek Garcia to Tristan Phillips on fourth and goal to pull within a touchdown with 2:40 left, but San Francisco St. Ignatius College Prep recovered the ensuing onside kick and gained a first down to run out the clock and hang on for a 42-35 victory in the CIF state Division 3-AA bowl game.

“You are true competitors,” Derek’s father and head coach Tim Garcia told his dejected players minutes later. “We fought, kept fighting, just came up a little short, but let’s not forget what you guys accomplished. You won the Channel League, you won CIF, you won regionals and are state runner-up.”

Ventura defenders Nathan Radwich and Tristan Phillips tackle San Francisco St. Ignatius College Prep receiver Ty Hicks in the first half Friday.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Garcia, who is headed for Nevada Las Vegas, entered the game having thrown for 3,369 yards, 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added to that impressive total by completing 15 of 26 passes for 208 yards and two scores.

James Watson had 10 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns and Western Colorado-bound receiver Jack Cunningham, who entered with a Ventura Country record 116 catches for 2,041 yards and 26 touchdowns, had seven catches for 67 yards.

St. Ignatius (9-6) finished the season on a seven-game winning streak thanks in large part to senior quarterback Caedon Afsharipour, who threw a touchdown pass and ran for the winning score.

The Cougars (13-3) had their 10-game winning streak snapped. The lead changed hands five times in the first half.

Ventura quarterback Derek Garcia passes against St. Ignatius College Prep on Friday night.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

James Watson scored on runs of 13 and 31 yards on consecutive drives to give Ventura its first lead, 14-7, with 2:33 left in the first quarter.

Steve Malone broke loose for a 44-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter and scored on a 27-yard run to put the Wildcats up 20-14, but the extra point was blocked.

Tristan Savage’s one-yard run capped an eight-play, 69-yard drive that put Ventura back on top, 21-20, but St. Ignatius answered on a 61-yard touchdown run by Luke Tribolet and a two-point pass from Afsharipour to Hawkes Packard to take a 28-21 lead into halftime.

Packard caught a 65-yard touchdown pass to extend the North region winners’ lead to 35-21 on the first play of the second half.

Garcia hit Cunningham in stride for a 31-yard touchdown to pull the Cougars within 35-28 at the 3:49 mark of the third quarter. However, Afsharipour’s 27-yard touchdown scamper pushed the Wildcats’ lead back to two scores early in the fourth quarter.

“We’ve done it before a couple times this season … we’ve battled back and come out on top,” Derek Garcia said as reality set in that his high school career was over. “I tried to stay in the present. I’m done being a Ventura Cougar, but now I look forward to the next chapter.”

BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 5 (UPI) — Income-based poverty in Argentina fell to 36.3% of the population in the third quarter of this year, down from 45.6% in the same period in 2024, according to a report from the Social Debt Observatory at the Catholic University of Argentina.

Poverty in 2024 had climbed to the highest level recorded since the series began in 2005, while it now stands at its lowest point since 2018.

The report also shows an improvement in the extreme poverty rate, which fell to 6.8% in the third quarter from 11.2% in the same period in 2024, confirming a decline in the share of the population with income too low to meet basic food needs.

“The recent reduction in poverty is explained mainly by slowing inflation and a partial recovery in income, while the drop in extreme poverty is strongly linked to the impact of cash-transfer social programs. Without these policies, the extreme poverty rate would nearly double, even under current conditions,” the report said.

However, the report acknowledges that structural inequalities persist.

“Lower socio-educational groups remain the most affected, but there is also significant deterioration among middle-income sectors. The top 25% remains practically immune to economic hardship,” the report said.

It adds that in the recent period poverty has improved more than what the report calls “economic stress.” “Some households have higher incomes, but not necessarily greater purchasing power or less financial strain,” the report said.

Lucas Gobbo, a professor and researcher at the National University of Avellaneda, told UPI the data show a statistically significant improvement in poverty and extreme poverty indicators.

According to the economist, the most significant policy change was the sharp increase in the Universal Child Allowance — a benefit that was increased shortly after Javier Milei became president.

The same report notes that the Argentine government gave significant weight to this subsidy as its main social assistance policy, doubling its amount in real terms after it had been eroded by accelerating inflation.

“Despite its low amount, the expansion of the child allowance partially eased economic hardship for a significant share of Argentine households, slightly reducing poverty rates and, above all, extreme poverty,” the Catholic University report said.

Beyond that specific adjustment, Gobbo said no additional targeted policies were implemented for low-income sectors afterward.

Another factor behind the improvement is the sharp drop in inflation.

“Today we have year-over-year inflation around 30%, when two years ago it exceeded 200%,” the researcher said.

“That translates into a steep drop in poverty, because inflation hits poorer households the hardest,” he added.

Despite the short-term improvements, Gobbo said Argentina still lacks a comprehensive long-term policy. “What we do not yet see is a model of growth and development with social inclusion,” he said.

“What we are seeing is an economy run almost exclusively by the market, which may balance out through the growth of some sectors and the collapse of others, leaving very high unemployment and informality, with a state that remains distant from these problems,” he warned.

Gobbo said Argentina needs a state that can support productive sectors capable of generating quality jobs. He added that part of the situation “could be eased with a more decisive update of the minimum wage, which has been falling behind.”

Los Alamitos underclassmen laid down their helmets, one by one, on the five-yard line.

Griffins junior running back Kamden Tillis was already overcome by emotion, the reality of a 42-21 defeat to San Diego Cathedral in the Division 1-AA regional final sinking into Los Alamitos as the players said goodbye.

“I hate this moment,” said Los Alamitos coach Ray Fenton, who led his program to a 12-3 record and a Southern Section Division 2 title.

Tillis, along with his teammates, embraced each senior on the goal line. Hug after hug. Words of brotherhood overpowering the sensations of a crushing defeat.

“I loved them to death,” Tillis said of the Griffins’ seniors.

Los Alamitos defensive end Jackson Renger, who recorded a sack Friday night at Veterans Stadium and helped lead a defensive fury to defeat San Clemente a week ago, pounded on the back of junior linebacker Koa Marasco as he told Renger of how much he meant to him.

Los Alamitos receiver Ashton Gogue heads upfield after a reception against San Diego Cathedral on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

“These are my best friends,” Renger said.

Belief is built into Los Alamitos’ players bones.

Losses to Mission Viejo and San Clemente threw a wrench in the route the Griffins took to get this far. On each step of its journey to the state semifinal, Fenton’s program rallied.

The Griffins held a 14-7 lead early in the game Friday, using touchdowns on a Colin Creason-to-Ashton Gogue 26-yard pass and a two-yard quarterback keeper to set a tone against the Dons.

But as the game reached halftime, the brunt of Cathedral’s larger offensive and defensive lines proved difficult to overcome.

Tillis stormed to a 26-yard carry to bring Los Alamitos to the nine-yard line with six seconds remaining in the first half.

Two attempts to punch the ball in fell short on incomplete passes before a 26-yard field-goal attempt went wide left. Instead of being up by three points, the Griffins and Dons entered halftime tied at 14.

San Diego Cathedral running back Honor Fa’alave-Johnson jumps over a fallen blocker to cross the goal line against Los Alamitos on Friday night.

(Craig Weston)

“We lost momentum,” Fenton said. “We had it going.”

Cathedral opened the half with two long touchdown passes from quarterback Brady Palmer to wide receiver Isaac Cook, who finished with 183 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and iced the game with their final connection, a nine-yard touchdown pass with 1:53 left on the clock. The Dons scored 28 unanswered points.

Tillis never gave up, however, telling himself not to think about the future, he said. Los Alamitos avoided a second-half goose egg thanks to a 45-yard touchdown run from the 5-foot-11 tailback.

For Creason, in a season where, as Fenton put it, many believed Los Alamitos would not finish with a winning record, the Griffins exceeded their own expectations by making it to a regional final.

“We already got what we wanted to accomplish, but, I mean, this year has been magical,” the Griffins senior signal-caller said.

And for Fenton, he’s thankful for the ride Los Alamitos brought him.

“When you don’t have those expectations and pressure on you to win every game, you get better every day,” Fenton said. “All of a sudden, I looked up and I go, ‘Oh my god, we’re in the finals.’ I honestly didn’t know we were in the finals. It was just another game for us to say we are in the finals.”