family

The official cause of death for Fiona Lowe, the 13-year-old daughter of actor Chad Lowe and niece of Rob Lowe, has been revealed.

The database for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that Fiona Lowe died Tuesday by suicide and died in a hospital. Chad Lowe, the Emmy-winning star of “Life Goes On,” and his family announced Fiona’s death in a statement shared with People on Tuesday. The actor shares Fiona and two other daughters with wife Kim Painter.

Before the medical examiner’s report became public, Lowe’s family did not reveal a cause of death but in its statement mentioned contact information for a mental health lifeline. The family in its statement said it was “heartbroken by the loss” and remembered Fiona as a “loving girl who was smart, creative, and loved to dance.”

“She was adored by her sisters and she was deeply loved by her parents. In fact, she was the light of our lives,” the family added. Lowe and his loved ones also said Fiona’s death is “devastating for our entire family” and asked for prayers and privacy.

Fiona’s death comes after the “Pretty Little Liars” actor’s family lost their home in the Palisades fire, which killed 12 peopleand consumed more than 6,500 structures. He shared videos and photos of the destruction to his Instagram page.

Lowe, 58, is the younger brother of actor Rob Lowe. He and Painter married in 2010 and welcomed Fiona in 2012. Fiona celebrated her 13th birthday in November and was the second of the couple’s three daughters. Lowe and Painter first welcomed daughter Mabel in 2009 and their youngest daughter, Nixie, in 2016.

As Olivia Rodrigo kicked off the Unraveled Tour in support of her third album, “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love,” the internet had plenty to talk about—from her dissolving dress and flower-covered stage design to her custom-made, pink heart-shaped guitar.

The guitar was built by Luis Muñoz, a Mexican American guitar technician and luthier who operates out of a tiny repair shop in East L.A.

Originally from El Paso, Muñoz moved to Los Angeles in 2009 and took guitar repair classes in Hollywood, hoping to find his way into the music industry.

Music was always around Muñoz. He remembers discovering Slash after his family got cable television. Mesmerized by the Guns N’ Roses guitarist, who stole the spotlight with his top hat and searing guitar solos in videos for “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on MTV’s Hot 100 music video countdown, Muñoz knew that was what he wanted to do.

He picked up his father’s old guitar and began learning to play, experimenting with the strings and teaching himself along the way.

His first opportunity came with singer-songwriter LP as a guitar technician. Muñoz admits he exaggerated his skill set to get his foot in the door, but he was determined to make the opportunity count.

“Once you’re in, you’re in,” he said.

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Over the years, Muñoz has toured with artists including Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, Bush, Anthrax, Fall Out Boy and his most recent touring job was with Rodrigo, after his wife, the pop star’s former bassist, told him she was looking for a new guitar tech.

Rodrigo’s heart-shaped guitar was another opportunity to put his craftsmanship on display.

“I’m sure Olivia has every guitar company in the world in her DMs, and she still trusted a small shop in East L.A.,” Muñoz wrote on Instagram, alongside photos of Rodrigo with the guitar.

“Five prototypes before I got the body right. It had to look cool, play easy, feel comfortable, and most of all, sound good. Built completely by hand, late nights after shop hours.”

Muñoz recalled the moment Rodrigo’s team reached out to request a custom-made guitar. He knew he had one shot to get it right: “In the back of my mind, I’m like, I only got one shot and it has to be made with love.”

The guitar took several months to complete and was built entirely by hand. He later hinted that it is currently one-of-one for now. After Rodrigo shared the guitar with her fans, Muñoz’s one-of-a-kind creation quickly became part of the visual identity of the tour — but for him, the significance went beyond the instrument itself.

Now retired from touring to spend more time with his family, including his 18-month-old daughter, Rosie, Muñoz says moments like seeing young fans in the crowd are what stay with him.

“One of my favorite things being on tour was seeing all the little girls lose their minds. The power of seeing that. Immediately in their head it’s like, ‘I can do that too.’ Imagine if I’m playing a tiny little role in that, yeah … all day.”

BROOKLYN Beckham seemed to snub his family again by attending a Paris Fashion Week event — then giving his mum’s nearby show a miss.

Brooklyn flew to the French capital with wife Nicola Peltz for a VIP bash just two miles from where designer Victoria was later unveiling her own collection.

As their feud with his parents continued, they were at the Messika Womenswear 2027 show at the Grand Palais on Thursday.

Meanwhile, in a ­display of unity from the rest of the family, ex-Spice Girl Victoria was yesterday joined at La Conciergerie museum by hubby David, sons Romeo, and Cruz, daughter Harper and Cruz’s singer-songwriter girlfriend Jackie Apostel.

Despite being a car journey of just a few minutes away, it appeared Brooklyn and Nicola stayed away.

Brooklyn has been estranged from his family for almost two years.

A&E DASH

Alison Hammond breaks silence after being rushed off This Morning clutching chest

‘VERY WORRIED’

Fans fear for Alison Hammond as she’s pulled off air during This Morning

In January, he wrote a savage statement on Instagram — telling the world he had no desire to make up.

After cruelly accusing Posh and Becks of treating him as a commodity to further their image rather than as a son, Brooklyn, 27, wrote: “I do not want to reconcile with my family.

San Francisco 49ers owner and CEO Jed York has been suspended for six games and fined $500,000 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday.

York was arrested Aug. 23 as part of an Ohio prostitution sting after he responded to an online ad that was actually set up by Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force officers.

The 45-year-old executive pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and possessing criminal tools (in this case, the phone he used to set up the encounter). He was sentenced to one day in jail and fined $1,150. The $160 seized in the sting was given to the task force as part of his plea.

Since York has not attended any games or league meetings so far this season, he was credited with having served three games of his suspension. He is eligible to return Oct. 20, the day after the 49ers’ Week 6 game against the Washington Commanders and the day the league’s fall meetings begin in New York.

“To my family, to the players, coaches, and employees of the San Francisco 49ers, to our fans and partners, I am deeply sorry,” York said in a statement released by the team. “This was an inexcusable mistake and I take full responsibility. What I did does not reflect my values or the man I strive to be for my family.”

York filed for divorce from his wife, Danielle Belluomini York, in May. They have two sons together. York has been the 49ers’ CEO since 2008 and became the principal owner in 2024. His family has owned the 49ers since 1977.

“While I fell short of the model I want to set for my sons, I now hope to show them the importance of owning up to one’s failures, and that even our worst moments teach us to be better,” York said. “Leading the 49ers is a privilege, and one I don’t take lightly. Your trust will have to be earned back over time, and I look forward to that work ahead.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Actor Wilmer Valderrama, who plays Special Agent Nick Torres on CBS’ long-running procedural “NCIS,” has chased bad guys all across Los Angeles. While he appreciates the geographic diversity of the region, Valderrama says his love for the city is actually tied to “the gift of being an immigrant.”

Valderrama moved to L.A. in 1994 from Venezuela with his family. He remembers how scary it was to come to the City of Angels, not knowing how to speak English. The family arrived “right before the Northridge earthquake, so that was our welcome to L.A.,” he says, adding that his family was living nearby in Van Nuys.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

But growing up in Los Angeles, he found a sense of belonging in a multicultural community that gave him an appreciation for different cultures, cuisines and music. “There are so many different cities and ZIP codes here that make for a multifaceted and multi-heartbeat city,” he says.

Valderrama, who starts his 10th season on “NCIS” on Tuesday, founded the production company WV Entertainment, which released the documentary “Suárez,” about the first Mexican-born driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series race, in September on FS1. He also launched WV Sound, to help curate iHeartMedia’s slate of Latin-focused podcasts, and is active in numerous philanthropies, such as co-founding Harness with America Ferrera and Ryan Piers Williams to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities.

Today, Valderrama lives in Tarzana with his wife, model and PADI divemaster Amanda Pacheco, and their two children, Nakano Oceana, 5, and Wolf Monte, 1. He was finishing “That ‘70s Show” in 2006, when he noticed that Chuck Norris was selling his house in Tarzana. “I was 26 years old and realized I didn’t know if I was ever going to work as an actor again,” Valderrama says. “I bought this little house and the kids were born here. So it’s been kind of a dream to be here long enough to see that happen.”

Here’s a look at the actor’s ideal Sunday with family.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.

7 a.m.: Wake up and go for a walk

My son wakes up and Nakano starts asking for mac and cheese. Instead of mac and cheese, we go for a walk to our favorite coffee shop, Laidrey Coffee Roasters in Tarzana. They roast their own coffee beans and have an amazing pastry selection. Everybody’s in their sweats and pajamas, we hang out with some of our local baristas, and have a good time. I’m obsessed with coffee. My grandfather was a coffee farmer in Pereira, Colombia. I grew up with a level of appreciation for coffee that was just insane. For me, coffee is as good as tasting different types of wines. I love going to places that put a lot of emphasis on the curation of their coffee beans and the essence and the blends. How they serve their cappuccino is really important to me. I think it’s a perfect blend of broth and roast. And if the barista wants to add an artistic element, then they have successfully elevated my cappuccino experience. A kiss of hazelnut as a finishing touch too.

9 a.m.: Naps and playtime at the playground

As soon as it hits 9ish, my son needs a nap, so while he sleeps, Nakano and I go to a little playground, and I just let her run off some of her morning energy.

11 a.m.: Brunch at the beach

Then, we’ll go to the Malibu Farm Pier Cafe, and have a really great brunch. I like their chorizo burrito, and I add bacon and avocado to it. Their hot sauce is ridiculous. Nakano gets the Swedish mini pancakes, and Amanda loves the Surfer’s Rancheros.

1 p.m.: Paddleboarding in the Pacific

At this point, we just walk the beach, and maybe paddleboard around the pier. The waters are pretty calm around that time. My wife is a mermaid. She’s a divemaster, so the ocean is something that’s very important to her. So we’ll always try to find ourselves at the beach. We have our own paddleboards, but there are tons of shops where you can rent boards on PCH.

3 p.m.: Time for a snack

Around that time, I’ll get hungry again, and everyone’s like, how can you be hungry? We just ate. We’ll go to Neptune’s Net, which is a nice little coastal drive north on PCH. Neptune’s was famous for being in “The Fast and the Furious.” It’s a really great spot for burgers, fish and steaks, so we’ll just go there for a little snack, and I’ll be the only one eating, because everyone’s still full. I get the fried fish and chips.

4 p.m.: Fun on the Santa Monica Pier

We’ll go for a little drive after that. Sometimes, we’ll take Nakano to the Santa Monica Pier. She loves playing the games, and doing the roller coaster stuff. It tends to be pretty fun and lively.

5 p.m.: Slow drive back to the Valley

Then we slowly snail pace across PCH, and go over Topanga Canyon to get back into the Valley. At that point, the kids are taking a major nap in the car. By the time we get back to the Valley, I’ll probably pitch what dinner is. And they’re like, how can you still be thinking about food?

6 p.m.: Early dinner means Korean barbecue or sushi

We usually end up at this Korean barbecue place called the House of Galbi in Encino. It’s my favorite. They have a great all-you-can-eat menu with really great meats and an assortment of sauces and condiments. They have a prime rib that is phenomenal. Ask for the house hot sauce. It’s probably one of the best things to go with any piece of meat and seafood there. On a Sunday, normally there’s certain games, and they have big TVs in there, so you can watch the game while you’re having family time. I completely overeat on a Sunday.

If not there, we’ll go to Okumura in Encino. A young Japanese man trained these amazing Mexican guys to be incredible sushi chefs. The place is wonderful. It’s been my sushi place for a very long time. There’s a lot of fancy sushi places, but these little hole-in-the-walls are the ones you kind of hang on to, right? They know your usual dishes. They know how to make something up, right? They do this blue crab hand roll and they add some jalapeno and give you a ponzu sauce to dip it in. It’s really special.

8 p.m.: Head home and relax

We get back to the house, and by then, my daughter’s like a bobblehead, trying not to fall asleep. My son is out, so we just take the kids in and put them down. We’ll have a little us time, so we’ll just sit together and chat, talk about the week ahead. We try to watch something together and have movie night as much as we can on Sunday. Sometimes we’ll just pass out on the couch because we’re so tired. We’ll wake up at 2 in the morning and zombie our way to bed, you know?

“Grey’s Anatomy” and “One Tree Hill” actor Sophia Bush reveals in her new memoir, “And I Will Tell You Mine: Notes From a Life in Progress,” that she married former professional soccer player Ashlyn Harris in summer 2025.

The private ceremony took place in upstate New York with Harris’ children, Sloane and Ocean, attending, Bush and Harris revealed in a Vogue exclusive published Wednesday. The couple said they later made the rounds, visiting friends and family to divulge their secret nuptials.

Sophia Bush, in a 2025 episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” told Vogue she married Ashlyn Harris in a private ceremony with Harris’ children in attendance.

(Anne Marie Fox / Disney)

“We got to have personal experiences with everyone we love, and once we got through all of those, how do we put it out? Because I don’t want to keep sitting on panels or in interviews and being like, ‘My partner,’” Bush told Vogue over Zoom, then turning to Harris. “You’re not my partner, you know? You’re my wife. And it feels so amazing to say that.”

After Harris described her kids running around, picking flowers and generally having fun, stepmom Bush recalled the family roasting marshmallows on their wedding night: “It was so precious, and zero pressure. I will never forget it.”

The newlyweds also explained that, though they value privacy, optics are important for at least one very important reason.

“We understand how sacred and how pure our love is. But the visibility piece matters,” Harris said, “because there are still kids hiding who don’t feel seen, and if we make room and space for one person, that’s worth maybe costing us a little bit of peace in the public eye.”

A woman who appeared on ITV’s Long Lost Family shared the heartbreak she recently endured following her sister’s death

Long Lost Family took an emotional turn as two adopted sisters met after spending decades apart.

The moving ITV show, presented by Davina McCall and Nicky Campbell, returns to screens tonight with another tearjerking episode. In the show, Nicky meets Naomi, who is longing to find her biological twin sisters and mother.

Naomi has spent much of her life wondering about the family she never knew. Now living in Gloucestershire with her husband of 30 years, she is finally retracing the events surrounding her adoption and searching for answers about her birth family.

Adopted as a baby, Naomi grew up in a loving home with her adoptive parents in Plymouth. She always knew she had been adopted, but as she got older, questions about her biological family became increasingly difficult to ignore

When Naomi was a teenager, her parents showed her a letter they had kept since her adoption. What she discovered inside came as a major shock.

The letter revealed that Naomi’s birth mother had been just 19 when she gave birth. It also contained a revelation Naomi had never expected: her birth mother had given birth to twin girls, who had subsequently been adopted by other families.

Naomi recalled: “I was obviously very surprised when I found out that I had sisters. It was shocking.”

Both of Naomi’s adoptive parents died while she was in her 20s. In the years that followed, her desire to uncover more about her origins and find her birth family only grew stronger.

With Naomi’s birth mother now identified, the search turns to the two sisters she never knew she had. The team manages to uncover their names, Gail and Elaine, but the discovery brings both hope and heartbreak. They learn that Gail has sadly died, leaving Elaine as the only surviving twin.

Elaine tells presenter Nicky that she and Gail grew up together in a happy, loving home with their adoptive parents. Despite being separated from their birth mother as babies, the sisters shared a close childhood and had a positive upbringing.

But in the 1990s, Gail was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). The illness gradually progressed over the following years, profoundly affecting her life before she sadly died in 2020.

Elaine also revealed that she recently lost her mum and her adoptive mother. Given her circumstances, she was elated to meet her sister.

Sobbing, Elaine said, “The fact that she’s gone to so much effort to find us, she must really want to meet us.”

When the sisters finally met, the pair couldn’t let each other go. Elaine said, “I’m so glad you found me. You’ve looked for so long, long, and I didn’t even know you existed.”

Naomi later said, “She was as warm and welcoming as her photo looked. Um, all I could have hoped for.”

Long Lost Family continues on Thursday 1st October at 9pm on ITV and ITVX.

Golfer Phil Mickelson checked himself into a facility earlier this year “seeking treatment for family trauma and addiction,” a representative for the six-time major championship winner said in a statement to news outlets on Wednesday.

Mickelson, 56, reportedly is no longer at the facility. No information about the specifics of his stay or details about his reasons for entering the program have been made available.

In February, Mickelson announced that he would miss the first two LIV Golf events of the year because he and his wife, Amy Mickelson, “need to be present for a family health matter.”

The only tournament the golfer known as Lefty has competed in this year was LIV Golf South Africa, where he finished at 7-under par and tied for 48th place, in March.

The following month, Mickelson announced he was withdrawing from the Masters and that he would “be out for an extended period of time as my family continues to navigate a personal health matter.”

In June, Golf Digest reported that a female member of the staff at the Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe had accused Mickelson of making “nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact” with her months earlier.

Mickelson hired defamation attorney Tom Clare, who said video evidence contradicted the allegations.

In response to the Golf Digest report, a Mickelson spokesperson said in a statement: “Any misunderstanding has been cleared up. Phil continues to attend to a family health matter and is uncertain when he will be able to return to professional golf.”

A longtime gambling enthusiast, Mickelson admitted in a 2023 Instagram post that at some point he had “crossed the line of moderation and into addiction” but was “back on track to being the person I want to be.”

“After many years of receiving professional help, not gambling, and being in recovery from my addictions, I’m now able to sit still, be present in the moment and live each day with an inner calm and peace,” Mickelson wrote. “I still have a lot of cleaning up to do with those I love the most but I’m doing it slowly and as best I can.”

In May, when Samuel Gonzalez Terrones was diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia, he started seeing a therapist and taking medication that he hoped would finally alleviate the dark thoughts that had begun creeping up so frequently he would sometimes seek help by calling the police on himself.

A month later, his mom, Minerva Terrones Dominguez, 54, had just hopped off a bus on her way to a grocery store in San Bernardino when immigration agents arrested her for being in the country illegally. While she languished in detention, the family said, Samuel grew increasingly despondent.

To help pay for an immigration lawyer, his siblings and dad had taken up extra shifts at their jobs. But because Samuel’s condition meant he couldn’t hold a steady job, he spent more and more time alone at home in Rialto.

“My mom was the one who would take care of him when he would have those bad thoughts,” said his older sister Sari Gonzalez, 32. “Everybody would be at work or at school, so my mom was the only one that would be here to calm him down, to say, ‘Your siblings will be here in a bit, just wait.’”

The lawyer, Arturo Burga, had figured out a way to free Minerva from detention and allow her to stay permanently in the U.S. The legal pathway, called cancellation of removal, hinged on proving that her deportation would cause extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen: Samuel.

They never got to file the paperwork.

Samuel Gonzalez Terrones, 21.

(Gonzalez family)

At 3:55 a.m. on Aug. 12, San Bernardino police responded to a railroad crossing. Samuel was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a San Bernardino County coroner’s news release. He was 21.

In a letter Samuel wrote before his death, an excerpt of which was shared with The Times, he talked about his mother’s detention. He said her being taken away by Immigration and Customs Enforcement made him feel like he’d hit “one last wall.”

“To the ICE agent who took away my mother: I hope it was worth it,” Samuel wrote. “I can’t handle anymore injustices in this world.”

Motivations for suicide are often complex and unknowable, and it’s unclear how the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies may have moved an immigrant or family member to harm themselves. But immigrant advocates say they have heard of such deaths.

This month, a 20-year-old Haitian man in Springfield, Ohio, walked into oncoming traffic after the Trump administration ended his Temporary Protected Status and ICE fitted him with an ankle monitor.

In May, the Associated Press found that at least 10 detainees had died by suicide since President Trump took office — a pace that far exceeds the growth in the detainee population.

ICE did not respond to requests for comment.

Samuel’s family describes him, the second youngest of seven siblings, as a caring and generous person who, at his best, was quick to laugh, loved chocolate conchas and video games, and dreamed of becoming a graphic designer.

He kept a dark aesthetic, with a lip piercing and nails frequently painted black or red. But he also had a lighter side, Sari said, as evidenced by the Hannah Montana stickers decorating his bedroom wall.

When the siblings were younger, they worked out together and would challenge each other to see how many pull-ups they could do. They liked hanging out at a skate park, laughing as he guided Sari’s small dog, Polar, down a rail on a board.

His mental health struggles started in 2021, when he was a freshman at Cajon High School. Little by little, he lost his passion for the gym, Sari said, and everything else.

An undated photo of Samuel Gonzalez Terrones.

(Gonzalez family)

Sari said she and her siblings each played a different role in helping Samuel through his struggles. He and his younger sister played video games. Sari would talk to him about adulthood. Their older brother would take him to church. On good days, their father would bring him along to landscaping jobs.

“He really did try to get better,” she said. “He held on for a really long time, and I’m proud of him for being so strong.”

The day Minerva was detained, Samuel and Sari were at home.

According to a federal court petition seeking Minerva’s release from ICE custody, federal agents stopped her, said she “looked like someone” they were seeking and mocked her when they found her EBT card while searching her belongings.

Minerva has lived in the U.S. for 33 years, had never been arrested or convicted of a crime and had never been in removal proceedings, according to her lawyer.

Sari said an ICE agent called her and said she had an hour to pick up her mother’s things from the agency’s local office and to say goodbye before ICE moved her to a detention center.

Samuel was inconsolable. “I’ve never seen him cry like that,” Sari said.

Sari took up extra hours at the plastics factory where she works as a machine operator. On Sundays, her only day off each week, she would take Samuel and their youngest sister to visit their mom at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. The drive was 45 minutes without traffic, but they’d always arrive three hours early to join other families on the wait list to see loved ones.

On the way to the facility, Samuel was visibly happy. But on the way home, Sari said, all would be crying.

Friends and relatives attend the graveside service for Samuel Gonzalez Terrones.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The extra expense of legal representation left the family struggling to pay for bills and food. In the evenings, Samuel stopping spending time with his siblings and retreated to his bedroom.

Burga, the lawyer, alerted ICE of Samuel’s death via email and requested Minerva’s emergency release under humanitarian grounds. He said the ICE deportation officer who replied struck a softer tone than usual, offering sincere condolences to the family.

“Our office was devastated,” said Amber Burga, executive director of the law firm. “I thought to myself, it takes somebody committing suicide for them to have compassion.”

Sari waited two weeks to tell Minerva. She waited, in part, because her mom had an upcoming court hearing and she didn’t want grief to cloud her thinking.

Sari was given 10 minutes in a visitation room to break the news about Samuel’s death to her mother.

“It was just me, my aunt and the officer who was watching,” she said. “When I told her, they wouldn’t even let me hug her while my mom was crying. They told me, ‘You can’t hug her. You can’t touch her.’”

Three days later, on Aug. 31, a federal judge — who didn’t know about Samuel’s death — issued an order granting her petition for release from detention, finding that she had been held illegally “based solely on DHS’s mistake.”

In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Brianna Fuller Mircheff wrote that when Minerva was detained, another federal judge had already declared it unlawful for Homeland Security to require mandatory detention for people who, like her, had entered the U.S. illegally.

Minerva had been arrested without a warrant, and an immigration judge had not determined whether she was a flight risk or a danger to the public.

Referring to Minerva and similar cases, Mircheff wrote, “Hundreds, if not thousands of individuals were held without process that was owed to them.”

Lawyers for the federal government had argued that Minerva could simply wait until she had been detained for six months, at which point she’d be entitled to a bond hearing, court records show. That suggestion didn’t fly with Mircheff, either.

“It is beyond cruel to suggest that this Court would let her sit in custody another four months,” she wrote.

Minerva is still in deportation proceedings. Without Samuel, she no longer qualifies for the legal pathway her lawyers had built a case around. Sari said she’s now considering joining the U.S. military to access the immigration benefits available for undocumented parents of enlisted members.

The family started a fundraiser to cover the cost of Samuel’s funeral.

Samuel’s parents, siblings, and a few dozen other family members and friends arrived on Sept. 22 at noon to bury him at the Rialto Park Cemetery. Each person held a white, long-stemmed rose.

Sari sobbed. Minerva looked on at the black casket holding her youngest boy, the goofball who loved his family, the one who had longed for her support while she was detained.

Times staff photographer Gina Ferazzi contributed to this report.

Ever watched a TV show like Amazon Prime’s Lego Masters and wished you were the one under the studio lights, racing against a ticking clock? That is the exact magic Lego House is trying to capture with its recently opened Lego Masters Academy in Billund, Denmark – the ultimate pilgrimage site for brick fans.

I took my seven-year-old resident Lego expert to test out the 75-minute Level 2: Build Me Up session, and it delivered from start to finish. Enthusiastic Play Agents, as they call themselves, started the experience by getting the crowd excited outside the studio with an interactive live countdown. Once the doors rolled open, we all entered a vibrant space designed to mirror the TV set, complete with a central podium, upbeat music, and studio lighting.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The session started with an accessible warm-up follow along building session where we were shown professional building techniques. Small challenges were then added, before we were ready for the main event – building a completely original custom build, in our case our own self portrait Lego figure.

Timers flashed up on massive overhead screens as we were told to help ourselves to colour-coded, shape-sorted brick pits to grab materials for our custom builds. Here it really felt like the TV show, with everyone reaching out to grab handfuls of bricks, aware that the 15-minute timer was now ticking. After brick selecting ended, we all raced back to our building stations to get started on our builds.

A little overwhelemed by the noise, my seven year old opted out of this custom build, and instead preferred to help me finish mine and watch others at work. This wasn’t an issue at all – with the Play Agents keeping him included, making him smile by asking about his favourite LegoLand rides, and making sure he was still having fun. My mistake was not showing him any episodes of the TV show before we visited – I’d really recommend parents of younger children prep them this way.

By the time the timer went off, we had just about finished our slightly wonky multicoloured person. Unlike the competitive TV show, at the end all creations are showcased in a shared gallery, so we went up and put our creation on the podium, ready for all to admire, before coming together with new friends for a joint picture.

While the Masters Academy costs extra, on top of a Lego House ticket, the value for money is outstanding. Every participant keeps their custom build as a souvenir, and you are encouraged to jam-pack an official takeaway box with loose bricks at your station. Organisers promise the contents are worth far more than the ticket price – and the only rule is the lid has to be able to shut.

Overall we really enjoyed our session. My son threw himself into marking every countdown, glowed with pride over our creation and was delighted by his heavy tressure-like takeaway box – which came in very handy that night keeping him occupied at dinner. Whether you are a die-hard Lego fanatic or traveling as a family, it is a unique experience.

Top Tips for anyone visiting the Lego House Billund Lego Masters Experience

Pricing for the Lego Masters Experience is split by age and experience level. The Level 2 session which we did costs £15 per guest for 75 minutes. Older builders aged ten and above can opt for Level 3: aROUND the Bricks We Go, which runs for 90 minutes at £17 with a focus on advanced techniques. The 60 minute level one session is £14 and marketed at beginner builders.

Keep in mind that these require a separate add-on ticket on top of standard LEGO House general admission, which costs £29 per person, with discounts for booking online. Children under thirteen must be accompanied by a paying adult for the Lego Masters Experience.

If you are planning to go, binge watch a couple of episodes of Lego Masters show beforehand so younger kids can anticipate the studio set and timer format.

Book well in advance – ideally before picking your trip dates – as sessions are limited and often full. Make sure to select an English-language session if applicable.

Make sure to pick up your wristbands at least 15 minutes early, as studio doors lock strictly on time. Keep your wristband – this also gives you access to photos of the session.

Book the holiday

• Norwegian Air offers direct flights from London Gatwick to Billund with return fares from £120 on norwegian.com.
• Stay at the Pirate’s Inn Motel LegoLand Holiday Village, from £180 per night for two.
• LEGO House tickets start from £29 when booked in advance on legohouse.com.
• Lizzie and family enjoyed a two-day Legoland pass, starting from £57 for a 2-day pass when booked online, or £40 for a 1-day pass. You can find out more at legoland.dk/en.

“Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Teresa Giudice is asking for privacy for her daughter Milania Guidice after an incident at the airport resulted in police intervention.

On Wednesday, Tampa International Airport police were called to step in when Milania, 20, reportedly became emotional and ran away from her reality star mom, older sister, Gia Giudice, and a counselor traveling with the family. Police bodycam footage, obtained by TMZ, revealed the family was fighting over a recent health scare involving Milania.

In the video, the family is in an elevator with police, and Teresa is heard explaining that her daughter “had fentanyl in her system” and that she wants to save her daughter’s life. “You’re reckless,” Teresa says to Milania. “After you get help, you never have to speak to me again.”

Milania retorted that she “was laced” and said, “I go to college.” Milania, who attends the University of Tampa, then asked if she was going to be placed “back in the psych ward.” Earlier in the clip, a police officer is heard explaining that Milania had been released from a Baker Act facility and was being transported to a rehabilitation facility.

“As a mother, there is nothing more important to me than the health, safety, and well-being of my children,” Teresa wrote in a statement on Instagram on Monday. “The past few months have been incredibly difficult for our family, and I feel it is important to say something while also protecting my daughter during an extremely vulnerable time in her life.

“Milania has experienced tremendous heartbreak and significant psychological trauma after losing two of her best friends. Grief affects everyone differently, and watching your child try to process that kind of loss is something no parent can ever truly prepare for.”

In July, Milania’s best friend, Victoria Zardoya, died on a weekend trip to Tampa, during which the 20-year-old sustained fatal injuries when she fell while exploring the ruins of Ft. Dade from the Spanish-American War with a group of friends.

It’s unclear who the second friend is.

“Right now, my only focus is my daughter — making sure she is surrounded by love, family, support, and the care she needs,” Teresa’s statement continued. “I understand that because our family has lived much of our lives in the public eye, there will naturally be questions and speculation. But Milania is my daughter before she is anything else. She is a young woman going through an incredibly difficult and deeply personal time, and she deserves the opportunity to heal without every moment of her pain being analyzed publicly.

“I am asking, from one mother to another, and from one family to all of you, to please show Milania compassion and kindness and allow her the privacy she needs right now,” the statement concluded.

In May, Milania was arrested and charged with simple assault after an incident at the New Jersey home of Teresa and Luis “Louie” Ruelas, Milania’s stepdad. Milania allegedly punched someone in the forehead, who was referred to in court by the initials “LR.”

If found guilty, she faces up to six months in jail, probation and a $500 fine. Her next hearing is Tuesday.

Sept. 24, 2026 9:29 PM PT

PITTSBURGH — James Copenhaver, one of three campaign rally attendees shot in 2024 during an assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump, has died in Pittsburgh, his lawyer said Thursday. He was 76.

Copenhaver was in the bleachers during the event in Butler, Pa., when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop, grazing Trump’s right ear with one bullet. Copenhaver was struck in the arm and in the abdomen, wounds that left him with lingering injuries and walking with a cane.

Two other attendees were also shot: David Dutch, who survived, and Corey Comperatore, who shielded his family from gunfire and was killed.

Copenhaver died Wednesday at Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, according to a statement from the Allegheny County medical examiner cited in local media accounts.

Copenhaver’s lawyer, Joseph Feldman, said in a statement issued on behalf of the family that he died surrounded by loved ones. The statement did not specify whether his death was directly related to the injuries he suffered at the rally.

Copenhaver and his wife, Marianne Copenhaver, sued the federal government in June, alleging that the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security had “utterly failed” to provide appropriate security at the rally. Copenhaver’s injuries required multiple surgeries, including a transection of his colon, and he had lingering kidney and other damage, including a loss of feeling in his leg. The lawsuit described the wounds as “debilitating, grievous, permanent and life altering.”

The family’s statement Thursday called Copenhaver above all else a devoted husband, father and grandfather who instilled the values of hard work, integrity and the service to others in his children.

“James’s dedication to this great country was a defining part of his life,” it said. “As a veteran, he proudly served our nation in the armed forces, and his love of country never wavered. James was a true American patriot who believed deeply in the freedoms and ideals upon which this nation was founded, and he embodied the very best traits of our great nation.”

In a statement posted to social media, President Trump on Thursday called Copenhaver “a true American Patriot.”

“Jim showed tremendous bravery, courageously continuing to FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, and maintaining a positive spirit despite unimaginable hardships,” Trump wrote.

Johnson and Smyth write for the Associated Press.

There were rows aplenty on ABC sitcom Modern Family, but there was an even bigger one behind the scenes and Jesse Tyler Ferguson says the rest of the cast just got used to it

Jesse Tyler Ferguson says the Modern Family set could be an awkward place after admitting a show feud made things difficult.

The long-running hit show starred the likes of Ed O’Neil, Sofia Vergara, Eric Stonestreet, Ariel Winter and Nolan Gould, before ending in 2020 after 11 years. The much-loved programme featured three different but interconnected branches of the same large family living in suburban Los Angeles.

But it seems the feel-good ABC sitcom was hiding a secret – its two creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan didn’t get on at all following a huge fall-out, and it caused uncomfortableness behind the scenes.

Things became so strained that the writers’ room was divided in two, with duties alternating on an episode-by-episode basis between the two brains behind the comedy. Jesse, who played Mitchell Pritchett for more than a decade, says the stars learned to deal with the new direction.

“Basically, we had divorced parents leading the show,” the actor said in an interview with the Independent. “Our creators just decided to go separate ways. I thought it was a big secret that no one really knew about.

“It was like we had a week with this parent, and then a week with that parent. And we all just learnt that that’s how it works.

“It gave the show a really interesting balance that I think a lot of people didn’t even notice was happening – I still can’t believe after 11 seasons that the show was as successful as it was, with that sort of division of power, really.”

The comedy ran for an impressive 250 episodes, and many of its actors have gone on to enjoy a lot of success.

Jesse enjoyed a successful theatre career before joining the cast of Modern Family, where he earned several Emmy nominations alongside his on-screen husband Cameron Tucker.

Aside from the ABC show, he has appeared as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance from 2011 to 2013 and hosted Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in 2020. He has also landed roles in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and 2023 disaster film Cocaine Bear.

The star also won his first Tony for his performance in the Broadway revival of Take Me Out in 2022.

His on-screen love Cameron Tucker , played by Eric Stonestreet, tied the knot with fiancée Lindsay Schweitzer on his birthday last year.

The longtime couple announced the incredible news in a series of photos shared on Instagram.

Before the shoe Eric was known for his role as Ronnie Litre on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He has also appeared in films like 2011’s Bad Teacher and 2013’s Identity Thief.

Since the show, Stonestreet has portrayed Magnus Antas on Disney+’s The Santa Clauses and also took up a hosting role on the Fox competition series Domino Masters.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

IF you’ve ever struggled with agreeing on where to go on holiday, getting the same time off as your mates or simply wanted to split off and do your own thing – this one’s for you.

Holiday company Opodo has looked into why more and more Brits are choosing to go away on solo holidays, plus they offer package deals that make it cheap and easy to do so.

It’s that freedom to do what you want that makes a solo holiday so appealing, as ‘travellers are no longer waiting for someone else to be available before they book.’

And it turns out travelling alone has loads of benefits too, with 47% of solo-travelling Brits saying it makes them feel more capable, and 32% saying it gives them better mental clarity.

Not only is a solo holiday good for self-confidence, but it can work out to be very cheap, too.

When you’re only visiting the attractions you want to go to, you have complete control over the holiday budget – so you can skip the expensive museums you didn’t really care about, or the fancy sit-down meals when you wanted to try the street food.

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If you’re planning a solo holiday, with Opodo you can save up to 40% off breaks if you book your flights and hotel together as a package.

From Spanish city breaks to red sand beaches and sunny islands, here’s our pick of Opodo’s best value solo holiday deals.

Barcelona – £141pp

Book a break to Barcelona for great beaches, food and architecture that makes walking around the city feel like strolling through a giant, open-air museum.

When you’re not admiring Gaudi’s House of Bones or the world-famous Sagrada Familia, the Picasso Museum and MACBA (museum of contemporary art) both offer free entry.

Come evening, the bars around El Born and Gracia are made for pulling up a stool at the counter, tucking into some delicious tapas and getting to know some fellow travellers over a cheap beer.

This Opodo offer includes a stay at the clean and comfortable Hotel 170, plus return flights from Manchester.

Istanbul – £123pp

A city made up of maze-like streets, colourful bazaars and gorgeous mosques, Istanbul is perfect for a solo holiday.

Wander through its historic centre at your own pace, stopping to take pictures of the impressively giant Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

Then stroll across the Galata Bridge to watch fishermen and tea sellers stroll along the Bosphorus sea strait at sunset.

This deal includes return flights from London plus a stay at Hamzabey Hotel, which is a 10-minute drive from Grand Bazaar and Galata Tower.

Amsterdam – £211pp

Whether you’re after a slow-paced break to chill and stroll alongside pretty canals, or an action-packed weekend ticking off all the amazing museums, Amsterdam is an ideal solo holiday destination.

You can visit the OSCAM art museum, the quirky ‘Mouse Mansion’ and the Amsterdam City Archives all for free. But if you’re wanting to tick off all the big sights, opt for a city card (£58), which gives you access to over 70 of the city’s top museums and attractions.

To soak up the outdoors, Vondelpark and Rijksmuseum gardens are totally free to visit and make for a great spot to sit and watch the world go by.

This deal is for a stay at the Boutique Hotel 43 Zaandam, which sits in a quiet spot shaded by trees that is only 15 minutes’ drive from Vondelpark.

Tenerife – £147pp

With year-round sunshine, dramatic volcanic landscapes and plenty of cheap, laid-back bars and restaurants to grab a sundowner, why would you not book a break to Tenerife?

There’s plenty to explore here, including Teide National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site overlooked by two incredible twin volcanoes.

If you’re less into hiking and more into partying, make sure to visit the strip on Playa de las Americas, which is packed with lively bars.

This deal includes return flights from London plus a stay at the Grand Muthu Golf Plaza Hotel, a sprawling holiday resort with a giant pool and its own spa.

Santorini – £239pp

Once you’ve touched down on the island, Santorini’s postcard-perfect views come free of charge, from the cascading clifftops of Fira to the sunsets behind the blue domes of Oia.

It’s easy to spend all of your time drifting between these dramatic viewpoints, but make sure to spend some time discovering Santorini’s beaches.

At Kamari Beach you’ll find rich black sand, while Red Beach gets its name from sand made from its rust-coloured volcanic cliffs.

This Opodo deal includes a stay at Castro Hotel, a friendly, family-owned spot surrounded by green gardens in the coastal village of Kamari.

Prices correct at the time of publication.

SOME hotels give you a quiet pool, a basic buffet and a slightly battered table tennis table in the corner.

Others serve up 81 water slides, life-size dinosaurs, hypercoasters, wave machines and entire fairytale kingdoms.

Variety is the spice of life, after all.

These are the resorts where the accommodation isn’t just somewhere to sleep – it is the holiday.

You could venture outside, obviously, but when there’s a full-scale waterpark or theme park right outside your bedroom door, convincing the children to leave the grounds would require a serious family negotiation.

I’ve hunted down eight of the wildest, most action-packed family resorts available this autumn and winter.

We’re talking theme park stays from £353pp and all-inclusive waterpark breaks from £405pp, with prices based on a family of four.

Every deal includes return flights and access to the hotel’s headline attractions too – so here are my eight picks guaranteed to ruin basic swimming pools for your children forever.

Aqua Mirage Club & Aqua Parc, Morocco – from £573pp

You know a resort takes entertainment seriously when its grounds cover 20 full hectares beneath the Atlas Mountains.

Aqua Mirage features a massive on-site waterpark packed with free-fall tower slides, a sprawling wave pool and an interactive splash castle for preschoolers.

Away from the water, you get six tennis courts, football pitches, evening shows and several pool areas – including a dedicated adults-only pool and spa for parents trying to remember what silence feels like.

It also gives you two holidays in one: a high-energy waterpark resort and easy access to Marrakech’s historic souks and main square.

I found a five-night all-inclusive break from £573pp, flying direct from Manchester on 26 December 2026.

That means you can swap the post-Christmas slump for slides, sunshine and unlimited food and drink – without having to wrestle another turkey into the oven.

My insider tip at this hotel is to take advantage of its free shuttle into central Marrakech, saving your family a fortune on taxis when you do fancy a break from the slides.

PortAventura Hotel El Paso & Theme Park, Spain – from £353pp

First things first: this isn’t just a hotel with a couple of slides attached – it’s a property built inside one of Europe’s largest theme park resorts.

Designed like a colourful Mexican hacienda, Hotel El Paso sits right on the edge of PortAventura Park, giving you easy access to six themed worlds packed with massive rollercoasters such as Shambhala and, my personal favourite, Furius Baco.

Right next door is Ferrari Land, home to Red Force – the 112-metre-high vertical accelerator that launches riders from 0 to 112mph in five seconds flat. I’m not speaking from experience this time. No, thank you.

The best bit is that PortAventura theme park tickets are included with your stay.

I found a five-night room-only package from £353pp, flying direct from Manchester on 24 October 2026 – right in the school half-term window.

When you consider how much standard admission to the park can cost on its own, getting your hotel, flights and multi-day park entry for £353pp in the school holidays is an absolute steal.

HL Paradise Island, Lanzarote – from £405pp

There are waterpark hotels, and then there are waterpark hotels with giant prehistoric creatures towering over the slides.

Guests staying at HL Paradise Island get free entry to Dino Aquapark, where multi-lane racing chutes and enclosed tubes twist around massive, life-size dinosaurs.

The main resort features several swimming pools, sports courts, live evening entertainment and full all-inclusive dining.

Lanzarote stays pleasantly warm right through autumn and winter, making it a brilliant option for some sunshine when the UK enters full freezer mode.

I found a five-night all-inclusive break from £405pp, flying direct from Birmingham on 13 February 2027.

As those dates fall over the February half-term period for many families, that’s excellent value for a school-holiday escape with food, drink and waterpark entry covered.

My tip here is to book an apartment. Having a separate living space and kitchenette means parents get somewhere to relax once the children crash out after a day of chasing dinosaurs.

LIVVO Costa Taurito & Waterpark, Gran Canaria – from £495pp

Taurito looks like someone has built an enormous holiday resort inside a canyon beside the coast.

At the heart of it is Lago Oasis Waterpark – a massive saltwater park packed with kamikaze chutes, racing slides and a giant pirate-ship splash fortress.

Guests at LIVVO Costa Taurito get access to the park, putting all the water-slide madness just steps from their room.

Southern Gran Canaria is one of Europe’s most reliable winter-sun destinations, and the hotel offers all-inclusive dining to keep the holiday food admin nice and simple.

I found a four-night all-inclusive stay from £495pp, flying direct from London Luton on 14 February 2027.

It’s a compact half-term hit of winter sunshine, with flights, meals, drinks and waterpark access all rolled into one price.

I also love the natural volcanic-sand beach just 200 metres from the hotel, giving you somewhere quieter to escape whenever you need a breather from the slides.

Sol Dunas Family Fun, Cape Verde – from £430pp

Sol Dunas is less of a standard hotel and more of a self-contained holiday town.

This sprawling resort features multiple swimming pools, water slides, splash parks, playgrounds and sports courts, forming part of the wider Melia Dunas mega-complex.

Cape Verde is the closest thing to a long-haul winter-sun holiday on this list, serving up temperatures around 25C, plenty of blue skies and broad golden beaches on the island of Sal.

I found a six-night all-inclusive package from £588pp, flying direct from Bristol on 26 October 2026.

Being in the autumn half-term, this deal gives families almost a full week of reliable warmth without the faff of a connecting flight.

It costs slightly more than some of the Spanish options, but a full week of reliable warmth, direct flights and comprehensive all-inclusive dining at a resort of this size still represents excellent value.

Pickalbatros Aqua Blu Sharm, Egypt – from £638pp

Aqua Blu features enough slides to make your local UK “waterpark” look like a damp garden shed.

Part of the enormous Aqua Park City complex in Sharm El Sheikh, this brightly themed resort boasts high-speed racing chutes, wave pools, raft rides and towers of twisting tubes.

The resort is fully all-inclusive and includes access to a private beach via a quick, free shuttle.

Sharm El Sheikh delivers reliable warmth throughout the year, making it a strong choice for autumn or winter sun.

I spotted an eight-night all-inclusive stay from £638pp, flying from Birmingham on 14 February 2027.

It’s the most expensive deal on this list, but you’re getting more than a week of winter sun, all your food and drink, luggage and unlimited access to an enormous waterpark during a peak family-travel period.

The real insider perk, though, is the dedicated children’s buffet, built at a lower level so little ones can grab their own meals without endless parental manoeuvring. Genius.

Pickalbatros Jungle Aqua Park Resort – Neverland, Hurghada Egypt – from £565pp

This resort features 81 individual water slides.

Eighty-one.

That includes giant family raft rides, multi-lane racers, wave pools and massive themed splash fortresses spread across a complex that feels as though it was designed by a child given an unlimited construction budget.

Beyond the waterpark, Neverland packs in VR gaming arenas, ice skating, huge live productions and an enormous selection of speciality restaurants.

Despite the ridiculous scale of the property, Egypt’s competitive resort market keeps prices shockingly low.

I found a six-night all-inclusive break from £565pp, flying indirectly from Manchester on 16 February 2027, with hold luggage included.

That gives you six nights of all-inclusive dining, luggage and non-stop access to 81 slides during the February half-term period for less than £600pp.

It’s also well worth using the hotel’s internal land train, which runs constantly around the complex, so tired little legs don’t have to walk miles between the slides and your room.

KELSEY Parker has been seen for the first time on an outing with her newborn daughter River.

The 36-year-old, who was married to late The Wanted singer Tom Parker, welcomed the little one with her new partner Will Lindsay last week.

River’s birth came after the devastating loss of Kelsey’s son Phoenix, who was stillborn shortly before his due date last year.

Kelsey – who shares Aurelia, six, and Bodhi, five, with late husband Tom – appeared ever the doting mum on an outing with her family this weekend.

Enjoying a day out to the park near their South London home, Kelsey was seen planting a kiss on daughter River’s head.

The newborn was sweetly dressed in a white babygrow and hat, as older sister Aurelia helped cradle her.

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In more snaps from the day out, Kelsey was glowing as she pushed River around in a pram while new dad Will wrapped his arm around her.

Aurelia and Bodhi joyfully walked beside the couple.

Last week, Kelsey confirmed her daughter had arrived safely as she said via Instagram: “Welcome to the world, River. Our little bit of hope.”

Kelsey was married to singer Tom from 2018 up until his death four years ago.

He passed following a two-year battle with terminal brain cancer.

Kelsey found love again with Will, a tree surgeon from Kent, in 2024.

IT’s been three years since Chloe Sims and her siblings had a relationship-ending on-screen spat.

The bitter feud played out on the short-lived series, House of Sims, which followed their glamorous move to Hollywood – with a furious Chloe cutting contact with sisters Demi and Frankie after they returned to the UK.

Fans will remember how the rift began when Frankie and Demi learned that only Chloe, their brother Charlie and his fiancée Georgia’s names were put on the WiFi bill for the family’s apartment – making it difficult for them to build a credit score in their new country.

Now, in a shocking turn of events the girls have all been under one roof at a family event for the first time.

A source close to the family spilled all, telling The Sun: “Nobody thought Chloe would bury the hatchet with her sisters Frankie and Demi, as things had soured so badly between them.

“If you’d have asked anyone a couple of years ago, they would have said relations were likely to remain strained for good.

“But recently they all came together for their dad Tony’s 65th birthday as he had a big party in London and they have taken big steps in getting their relationship back on track.

“There are still old wounds and hurt there, so they aren’t quite back to the tight relationship they once had but this is huge progress.”

Our insider went on to reveal how Chloe’s daughter is the key player in attempting to heal family relations within the Sims household.

They told us: “Chloe posed for lots of pictures with Frankie and Demi, which were shared on her daughter Madison’s Instagram, and it was lovely to see this development.

“Maddie has remained close to her aunties throughout this rift, and hated it when her mum wasn’t speaking to them.

“She always dreamed that they would come back together one day, and she was pretty instrumental in helping pave the way for that to happen.

“At the end of the day, Chloe loves Maddy more than anything in the world, and hates seeing her upset, so it was important for her to work on her relationship with her sisters and bring the family back together again.”

Our source continued: “Time can be a great healer, and a lot of the things they fought about seem quite petty now.

“Of course there are still issues that they need to work through, but they’ve realised they were all under quite a lot of pressure when they moved to the States for their own reality show, House of Sims, and it didn’t always bring out the best in any of them.

“Now that they are no longer a family business in that sense, and a lot of water has gone under the bridge they can slowly go back to remembering the good times.”

Chloe is said to be missing her family as she still splits her time between the US and the UK.

The source said: “As she sees her parents getting older, she realises life is too short to have family feuds.  

“Her dad’s recent birthday get-together was a catalyst to sort out a lot of the beef and the resentments, and just let it all go and move forward.

“They’re taking baby steps but it’s huge progress compared with where they were at.”

The Sun has contacted the sisters’ representatives for a comment.

Looking back on three years ago, Frankie and Demi were furious as all four siblings were paying equally towards the apartment, yet Georgia wasn’t contributing financially and still getting credit.

The ensuing clash led to drinks being thrown, Chloe branding her sisters ‘evil users’ and Frankie and Demi leaving LA for good.

Last year, a source told how Chloe’s closeness with her brother’s fiancée, Georgia Shults, was the main factor behind why things turned sour between the former TOWIE brood.

A pal of the Sims clan told us: “It’s as if Chloe and Georgia are sisters now, and Frankie and Demi are strangers to them. Frankie and Demi basically felt like they were pushed out, and Chloe has no time for them anymore.”

Meanwhile, sources in Chloe’s camp said she didn’t expect Demi and Frankie to “kiss her a**” but she was on TOWIE first and “paved the way for them to have a platform and felt they have ever acknowledged that.”

They said: “With Georgia, she feels like she gets the sisterly love and support she’s not had from Frankie and Demi. Georgia always has her back and sometimes ‘family’ is about more than just sharing the same DNA.

As for Georgia, she felt like Frankie and Demi are making her the scapegoat.

Chloe, Frankie, Demi, Charlie and Georgia upped sticks to LA four years ago after signing a six-figure deal deal with OnlyFans’ OFTV to film a series about their efforts to make it in America.

After the falling out, Chloe, Charlie and Georgia all decided to stay out in the States and sources admitted it only made the family rift deeper.

It seems it could be a new era for the Sims girls.

Tunis, Tunisia – For nine-year-old Yassar Naouar, visiting his father in prison has become an exercise in staying strong. He tries not to cry in front of Wael, fearing that seeing his son in tears would make an already painful situation harder for him. After leaving the prison, Yassar finds a corner where he can finally let the tears fall.

Hichem Naouar, Yassar’s grandfather, says the boy has changed since his father was detained. He now sleeps beside his mother after waking up screaming at night and his results at school have worsened. When Yassar told his mother that other children kept asking whether his father was a thief, she asked him what he thought.

“Never,” the nine-year-old replied.

Wael’s youngest child, four-year-old Sumud, is too young to understand why her father is in prison. Hichem says he took her to visit him. When she saw her father behind the glass, she leaned forward to embrace him, only to hit her head against the barrier.

Hichem spoke to Al Jazeera on Wednesday outside the Tunis Court of Appeal, where he had gone to follow the latest challenge to Wael’s detention. He repeatedly choked up as he described what he had seen during his most recent visit.

Wael was sitting with his hand against his cheek, his father said, his elbow trembling and his gaze fixed in the distance. He was struggling to see clearly and to keep water down without vomiting. He was dizzy and had difficulty controlling his left leg. Wael later told Hichem that other prisoners had said he sometimes wakes during the night calling out his youngest daughter’s name.

For his father, however, Wael’s story is also about the kind of person he has been. He recalled an incident during the Sumud land convoy in Libya in May, when armed men tried to kidnap another participant. Wael intervened, pulled the man away and helped him escape before returning to the men and telling them they could take him instead.

During the first Sumud flotilla, a female fell into the sea and was close to drowning. Wael immediately jumped in and rescued her.

“Wael’s strength is in the strength of his ideas and in his commitment to his people. Whenever he heard about any injustice against workers or employees, you would always find him at the forefront,” Hichem said.

The case and its wider fallout

Wael, 41, began a hunger strike on August 16 to protest his continued detention and was transferred to hospital as his condition deteriorated. He suspended his strike after 38 days following appeals from his lawyers and supporters, saying the decision did not mean abandoning his demands.

Four activists, Wael Naouar, Ghassan Henchiri, Ghassan Boughdiri and Nabil Channoufi, have been held since March following an investigation by Tunisia’s Economic and Financial Judicial Pole, a specialised body that handles financial and economic crimes. The investigation concerns alleged financial irregularities linked to fundraising for the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international campaign seeking to deliver aid to Gaza and challenge Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.

The state-owned TAP news agency, citing judicial sources, reported that investigators are examining the origin and use of funds collected for the flotilla and whether any were diverted for other purposes. The activists and their defence team have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and maintain their innocence. None of the four has been convicted.

For their lawyers, the issue is also why the men should remain in prison while the investigation continues.

Ghassan Ghribi, a member of the defence committee, described the latest extension of their pretrial detention as an “exception to the exception”, arguing that freedom should be the rule and detention the exception. The four-month extension was ordered on September 11 and the defence challenged the decision before the Court of Appeal in Tunis.

“The investigating judge spent six months on the case without carrying out any investigative work, other than questioning the activists,” Ghribi told Al Jazeera. He said the extension should be based on clear reasons and that the four men were being made to pay the price for what he described as a lack of investigative work.

The Court of Appeal rejected the challenge on Wednesday, leaving the quartet in pretrial detention for another four months while the investigation continues. Henchiri, Boughdiri and Channoufi remain on hunger strike.

Authorities have presented the case as a financial investigation into the handling of funds raised for the flotilla, rather than a prosecution linked to the men’s political or pro-Palestinian activities. The government has rejected accusations that the judiciary is being used to silence opponents, saying the judiciary is independent and that legal proceedings are conducted according to the law.

The fallout has also widened beyond the four men. Fourteen people detained after the September 19 protest calling for their release have since been placed in pretrial detention, lawyer Rafed Rabbeh confirmed to Al Jazeera on Friday. Among them is a 17-year-old who was brought before a juvenile judge. Tunisia’s Child Protection Code says priority should be given to preventive and educational measures and that pretrial detention should be avoided as much as possible for children.

Rabbeh said the detainees face several charges, including participating in a gathering allegedly intended to disturb public order and commit an offence, publicly attributing unlawful acts to a public official without proof, and making public statements deemed to damage the reputation of a person or official body. The charges are based on several provisions of Tunisia’s Penal Code.

The toll on those left behind

Speaking by phone from Gafsa, Ghassan Henchiri’s father, Sebti, said his son remains conscious but is visibly exhausted after being on hunger strike since September 9.

“According to what his sister told me after visiting him, he is still holding up. The fatigue is visible. He is exhausted, but he is still conscious,” Sebti said.

Ghassan has not been taken outside the prison for further medical examination of a head injury sustained during his detention in Israel, Sebti told Al Jazeera. Ghassan and his family have raised the issue with both the prison administration and investigating judge. They were promised that he would receive the necessary medical examinations, but that has not happened, Sebti said.

“It could be a superficial injury, but with the conditions in prison and the high temperatures, it has exhausted him,” he said.

Ghassan also has other health problems, including living with one kidney and suffering from back problems, Sebti said. He has developed a skin rash that keeps him from sleeping, but his request to see a dermatologist was rejected because the prison doctor did not consider it serious, Sebti said.

“I will remain steadfast, I will not give up my right and these malicious accusations are false,” Ghassan told his father.

“He is my son, my brother, my companion, my whole life,” Sebti said. “Ghassan is a man of integrity. I am not saying that because I am his father. Everyone knows that about him.”

Ghassan’s detention has also reshaped family life. He had been working at a high school and was recently engaged, Sebti said.

He described Ghassan’s political commitment as something rooted in the family. He has been involved in student activism and later trade unions since 1978, campaigning for freedom, the right to organise and a better, more dignified life for Tunisians. Ghassan grew up with those principles and was influenced by his father’s activism.

“This is what Ghassan was raised on and what influenced him,” Sebti said.

Human Rights Watch has also raised concerns over the use of financial and money-laundering investigations against civil society actors in Tunisia.

For the Naouar and Henchiri families, the impact of the detentions is being felt at home, in prison visits, anxious phone calls and children asking when their fathers will return.

Yassar still asks about his father and has told his grandfather he is ready to go on hunger strike too.

Asked where her father is, four-year-old Sumud answers: “Palestine. Prison”.

Stalwart bookstores Vroman’s in Pasadena and Book Soup in West Hollywood announced new ownership on Thursday, after a two-year search for a buyer.

Longtime owner Joel Sheldon, whose family has helmed Vroman’s for more than a century, announced his retirement in 2024. At the time, Sheldon said he was looking for “someone who shares our core values and who is committed to preserving Vroman’s as a community treasure.”

Sheldon said he found that in the new owner, Robert Hoffman, who has worked on tech regulation and other public policy in Washington, D.C., for several decades, but who grew up in Southern California with his family living in the area for generations.

“After talking with Robert and his family, I knew we had found the right stewards. They understand what makes this store special, and they’re committed to preserving that legacy while moving Vroman’s forward for our customers and the Pasadena community,” Sheldon said in a statement posted Thursday to the bookstore’s website.

Hoffman was born in Pasadena and has been visiting Vroman’s since his mother brought him in when he was 5 years old, according to the Thursday announcement.

His mother, in turn, had been introduced to the store by her grandmother, Georgia Bullock, a decades-long Pasadena resident and the first woman to serve as a municipal and superior court judge in California.

Hoffman was born in Pasadena and attended UCLA. He currently heads government relations and regulatory affairs at semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices, according to his LinkedIn page.

Book Soup, a Sunset Boulevard landmark, was founded in 1975 by Glenn Goldman, a UCLA graduate student who raised investments with his friends to establish the store. Goldman died in 2009 at age 58, and Sheldon acquired the store from Goldman’s estate that year.

A post to Book Soup’s Instagram page said Hoffman and his family are “genuinely invested in this community.”

“Same shelves, same staff, same WeHo icon. Same gratitude for you,” the bookstore said in the social media post.

Vroman’s was founded in 1894 by Adam Clark Vroman, an ex-railroad worker from Illinois who moved to California hoping the sunny weather would improve his wife’s health. His wife eventually died of tuberculosis, and a brokenhearted Vroman, a bibliophile, sold off a chunk of his vast book collection to collect capital to open the store. The Sheldon family stewarded the store after Vroman’s death in 1916.

Vroman’s catered to various clientele and communities, from traveling dignitaries to academics and leisure readers on vacation. When the federal government incarcerated Japanese Americans from the San Gabriel Valley and elsewhere in the 1940s, an activist lugged books from Vroman’s to the Manzanar camp in the Owens Valley. Science fiction author Octavia Butler, who grew up in the area, frequented the bookstore.

Vroman’s second location in Hastings Ranch was forced to close in 2024 after the company was unable to reach a new lease agreement with the property owner. The store was otherwise sustainable, but was forced to close “due to increasing occupancy expenses,” the company wrote in a social media post at the time.

Vroman’s flagship location on Colorado Boulevard remains open. However, the property itself changed hands, with Sheldon selling it to GD Realty Group for $15.5 million amid uncertainty about its future.

The bookstore has a long-term lease with the real estate group, whose chief executive, Arash Danialifar, said in a statement last year to news outlet Pasadena Now that the bookstore was a “staple of the community” and that he hoped it would remain there “for the foreseeable future.”

Coronation Street’s Eva Price actress Catherine Tyldesley has confirmed if Eva Price survives her attack by Sam Blakeman, while teasing some mystery new plots on the way

Eva Price’s fate has been confirmed by one Coronation Street star.

With the character feared to be leaving after Sam Blakeman left her to die, actress Catherine Tyldesley, who plays her, appeared to confirm if she dies or not. Speaking to the Mirror and other press, the star told us about things coming up, and the fallout of Sam’s attack.

She teased events for the families involved, and even hinted at some worrying future storylines. This seems to confirm that Eva does not die, and will survive the attack.

Teasing the fallout and whether Eva can support Sam, given his mental health struggles, Catherine said: “What happened really scared her, and once she’s out of hospital, she’s genuinely in a lot of pain. She she’s kind of 50/50 initially, but very much appreciates the fact as well that it takes a while for certain medications to kick in with certain patients that are in the same position as Sam, and she fully understands that.

“In her eyes, she wants to take a step back briefly while she recovers, and hopefully Sam adjusts to his medication, and then her first thing will then be to get the family back together because that that is always at the forefront of her mind.

“She can’t stand any arguing. That’s always her first objective, to keep the family tight.” Catherine wasn’t expecting the attacker to be Sam. She said: “I was really surprised initially.

“But because of where Sam is at and because of his storyline, once I’d read the script, I was like, ‘Ah, okay, this makes a lot more sense’. Eva takes mental health very seriously, after what happened with Aidan.

“That that was the first time she’d come across a situation like that, and the first time that suicide had affected her. And since then, I think it’s really opened her eyes up to how important mental health is.

“It’s a difficult juggle for her because she’s got a family to protect. She doesn’t want to feel scared, but at the same time she feels deeply sorry for Sam, and she just wants him to get better. So it’s finding that balance that trust again, I suppose.”

It seems there could be some big scenes ahead for the Driscoll family too, or perhaps the wider family including Eva’s sister Leanne and Toyah. Catherine didn’t specify who would be involved, but it came after questions about Sam, and Eva’s relationship with Leanne and Toyah.

She teased: “I think we’ve got a few mountains to climb. There’s a couple of storylines coming up with the family at the forefront, and if Eva thinks her family is in any kind of jeopardy, which they certainly are, she turns into mafia wife style.

“She will do anything to defend her family, and that’s what I love about her. It’s my belief that if she had to kill for her kids, if she was pushed that far, she would. I think it’s an interesting part of her personality. She’s a very, very strong character.”

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

RAPPER AJ Tracey has secretly tied the knot with his stunning girlfriend in an epic ceremony.

The Ladbroke Grove hitmaker, 32, has said ‘I do’ to model and influencer Liva, also 32, who is also known as Yung Peppermint on social media to her hundreds of thousands of followers.

The Sun can exclusively reveal the lovebirds made their union official in front of family and friends on September 12.

No expense was spared on the big day with a source telling The Sun that AJ, whose real name is Che, went all out to impress for the occasion.

The pair, who have aimed to keep their years-long romance under wraps, shunned the usual tradition of splashing photos from the big day online and ensured that all their guests were under strict instructions to not share any footage of the nuptials.

An insider told The Sun: “It was an epic wedding day fit for one of the UK’s most popular rappers.

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“AJ and Liva quietly got engaged earlier this year and then wasted no time on planning an incredible wedding celebration.

Our source continued: “AJ and Liva have always aimed to keep their romance out of the public eye and have rarely ever shared snaps of one another online.

“They asked all their guests to keep news of the wedding under their hats and insisted that no photos were to be shared.

“Despite being one of Britain’s most recognisable rappers, AJ has always been keen to keep his home life under wraps.

“But he had the most fantastic day marrying Liva earlier this month and was telling his pals he felt like the luckiest man alive.”

The Sun first revealed that AJ and Liva were dating earlier this year.

The couple had managed to keep their connection quiet for years before Liva gave a rare glimpse into one of their date nights on her social media page at the time.

They are understood to have first connected after both being signed to the same modelling agency years ago and romance very quickly blossomed.

Our source said at the time: “AJ’s known for being a charming man in the industry so it’s no surprise he has swept Liva off her feet.

“Everyone is really happy for them and their pals hope the romance continues to go the distance.”

AJ has been one of the leading faces of UK rap for close to ten years.

His 2019 hit Ladbroke Grove became a platinum hit and reached number three on the UK Singles Charts.

The star’s second album, Flu Game, became his biggest success reaching number two in 2021.

His track, Crush, featuring Jorja Smith was nominated for Song of the Year at this year’s MOBO Awards.

Last year, he also transitioned into television appearing alongside his cousin, TV presenter and chef Big Zuu, in their own Sky Max travel series titled Big Zuu and AJ Tracey’s Rich Flavours.

Meanwhile, Liva has built up her own following with the German-born model having developed a lucrative career as a social media influencer after moving to London after the Covid pandemic.

Hayley Williams is speaking out days after her ex-husband, Chad Gilbert, the founding guitarist of pop-punk band New Found Glory, died at 45 following a battle with cancer.

Williams posted the statement on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, writing that she hasn’t known what to say or “if it’s appropriate” but that she wants to address her former husband’s death because “life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite.”

“Chad is indeed a legend in the scene and my time connected to him taught me a lot,” she wrote. “He introduced me to people that continue to shape my life in beautiful ways, and to music and culture that has made life a lot richer.

“There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about what he contributed to the musical world a lot of us grew up in. His influence and attitude guided the genre forward. His passion for fostering the community was inspiring and sticks with me.

“I will forever be grateful that from him I gained a deeper understanding and a reverence for the community and the culture of hardcore.”

Musician Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory and singer Hayley Williams of Paramore arrive at the 2010 People’s Choice Awards.

(Christopher Polk / Getty Images for PCA)

Williams concluded her statement by sending her love and sympathies to Gilbert’s family, friends and his New Found Glory bandmates Jordan Pundik, Cyrus Bolooki and Ian Grushka.

Gilbert died Sunday morning “peacefully in his sleep,” the band and his wife, musician Lisa Cimorelli, announced on social media. No cause of death was given, but the musician had been candid about his battle with cancer in recent years.

“He left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished,” the joint statement posted Sunday to Instagram read.

Williams and Gilbert were married in February 2016 after nearly a decade of dating but split the following year in July 2017, saying at the time that marriage wasn’t for the faint of heart.

Gilbert later married Cimorelli in October 2020, and the two welcomed a daughter, Lily, in 2021.