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Carly Simon on Monday shared a lengthy and candid letter regarding the state of her health, which she said led to her recent withdrawal from the public eye.

The 83-year-old “You’re so Vain” singer and two-time Grammy winner in a statement shared with The Times revealed she has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and has dedicated time away from the spotlight to understand and learn how to live with the illness. Simon said she decided to come forward about her health issues after “so many people have written to me, kindly wondering about my relative silence.” She did not specify when she was diagnosed.

Parkinson’s disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a nervous system movement disorder that worsens with time and cannot be cured. Tremors are a common symptom of Parkinson’s disease, which also notably afflicts “Back to the Future” star Michael J. Fox.

Simon explained in her statement that she experienced arthritis in both of her knees and one hip prior to receiving her diagnosis. She had those three joints replaced — “out with the old and in with delicate bouquets of metal and plastic” — but experienced worsening mobility after, including difficulty walking and standing from couches and low chairs.

“Eventually, there were periods when I could not walk without considerable help,” she continued. “My family and I knew that something more was going on.”

She said she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s after a trip to the Mayo Clinic and underwent treatment and started taking medication to aid with her symptoms.

“There is no tidy predictable schedule to the illness,” she said.

Simon also wrote that her experience with Parkinson’s wrought “anxiety, depression, exhaustion, an apathy.” Of the last, Simon recalled lying like a starfish “while nothing inside is telling you to get up, read, watch, sing, call someone, or do much of anything at all.”

Simon revealed that in the same period, she underwent surgery to treat skin cancer, specifically basal cell carcinoma on her face. The singer’s two sisters died of different cancers days apart in 2022. She said she felt self-conscious about her appearance post-surgery and retreated further from the public. “This gave my inner critic quite a lot of new material,” she wrote.

The singer, who likened herself to an “all-season” hibernating bear, said “I have not stopped living, and I have not stopped working” amid her health issues. She then promoted her upcoming album “Comes in Waves,” her first album of original music since 2008. “Comes in Waves” arrives Aug. 14. She is set to release the song “Peaches” from the album on Friday.

“Music has always known when to arrive,” she wrote. “It has rescued me more times that I can count.”

“Working on the music gave shape to days that did not always have much shape,” she said. “It gave me somewhere to go without having to leave the room. It reminded me that illness can change your life without becoming the whole of your life.”

For Simon, her Parkinson’s battle has proved “difficult, frustrating, and sometimes frightening,” but not a complete obstacle to her life. She expressed gratitude to her friends, family, caregivers and medical teams for their support.

“These days I move more slowly, I lean on others more than I once did, and I have learned to accept that every day will look a little different,” she concluded. “But I am still very much here.”

No word on jailed Tunisian opposition leader Ghannouchi for 11 days, his son tells Al Jazeera.

The son of jailed Tunisian opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi says his family and lawyers have been unable to see or contact the 85-year-old for 11 days since he was hospitalised after collapsing in prison.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday, Moadh Ghannouchi said the last time lawyers saw his father was days before he temporarily lost consciousness on July 17, and that requests to visit him in hospital, including one submitted to the public prosecutor, had been refused, leaving the family with no confirmation of his whereabouts or condition.

“It is like a situation of enforced disappearance,” he said.

Ghannouchi said his father, who has high blood pressure and difficulty breathing, had been left exposed to a severe heatwave in a prison with no air conditioning.

“We hold the authorities fully responsible for his condition,” he said, alleging that his father’s confinement in a stiflingly hot prison was intended to worsen his health.

“It was not enough to imprison him – they want to torment him further,” Moadh told Al Jazeera.

“This is stressful for us and certainly for him as well because he’s used to always having a number of visits every week from lawyers and from family – so it has been 11 days cut off from everything, from every visit, from everyone.”

Ghannouchi said conflicting rumours had spread on social media, with some placing his father at the Rabta public hospital in Tunis, others at a military hospital, and some claiming he had suffered a heart attack. But the family has received no official information, he said, with the authorities refusing to communicate.

In a statement on his official Facebook page on Monday, Ghannouchi’s defence team demanded information on his condition. An Ennahda party spokesperson told Al Jazeera that it did not know which hospital he is in or his state of health.

The former speaker of parliament and most prominent figure detained in President Kais Saied’s crackdown on opponents has been jailed since April 2023 after receiving a life sentence that his supporters say was politically motivated. Saied’s government denies that prosecutions of opponents are politically driven.

Rached Ghannouchi lost consciousness last week as temperatures inside Mornaguia prison climbed, according to Haifa Chebbi, daughter of another imprisoned opposition figure. She said she witnessed the incident and that the temperature reached 52C (126F). His lawyers said on Thursday that his condition was “critical.”

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention previously found that Ghannouchi’s detention was arbitrary and called for his immediate release, a ruling his son said authorities ignored.

On Sunday, the National Salvation Front, a broad opposition coalition, urged the authorities to issue an immediate statement on his health and Amnesty International called for the protection of prisoners during the heatwave.

President Trump’s $1.4-billion crypto windfall has become the biggest obstacle to passing his sweeping digital-asset legislation as Democrats demand tougher language to prevent the president from profiting off an industry his administration regulates.

Senate Republicans released a proposal this week intended to break a months-long impasse over the bill, known as the Clarity Act. But Democrats and consumer watchdog groups dismissed the terms almost immediately, complaining the bill would not stop Trump or his family from continuing to profit from his meme coin and other crypto ventures.

Trump needs the support of at least seven Senate Democrats to pass the legislation, which would set rules for digital assets. Ethics has emerged as the biggest, though not the only, sticking point.

“It’s the linchpin,” said Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat and key negotiator who has been supportive of the crypto industry.

A spokesperson for the White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House has consistently asserted Trump is not involved in managing the family’s crypto ventures and has denied conflicts of interest.

Democrats have specifically taken issue with a provision that would leave Trump’s Justice Department as the primary enforcer of the new ethics regulations, preventing state attorneys general from acting as an independent check.

Another Democratic negotiator, Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said they’re working on a compromise ethics proposal to send to the White House but didn’t provide details.

Senators in both parties said they see the negotiations in the coming week as key to whether a bill reaches Trump’s desk this year. But after the chilly initial reception to the latest White House offer, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.C.) said he didn’t think the Clarity Act would pass the chamber before the month-long August recess.

“We’ll see where the votes are,” Thune said.

Alsobrooks, Gallego and other crypto-friendly Democrats are demanding changes to other pieces of the massive bill, including consumer protection and illicit finance measures.

The bill has other issues, including opposition from banks intent on tightening restrictions on stablecoin rewards. Tillis and several other Republicans said they are considering backing changes to reflect banks’ concerns that their deposits could shift to stablecoin accounts, crimping their profits and customers’ access to credit.

Tillis has floated adding “circuit-breaker” language empowering the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. or other regulators to step in if bank deposits drop — an idea opposed by GOP Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, the crypto industry’s biggest backer in the chamber.

Porous provisions

Critics said the draft’s ethics protections are porous. It would let Trump divest a large stake in his crypto venture or move it into a blind trust for the rest of his term, but stops short of requiring him to sell.

“It’s going to allow him to keep making money the way he has in the past,” said Scott Greytak, deputy executive director of Transparency International US, an anti-corruption advocacy group.

The restrictions also hinge on whether an official has a “direct interest” in a crypto asset — a threshold that may not apply to Trump.

The president is a significant owner of World Liberty Financial, the Trump family’s crypto venture, through an entity called DT Marks DEFI LLC, which holds about a 38% stake. Whether that counts as a direct interest “isn’t clear,” said Zach Everson, research director for Public Citizen’s Trump Accountability Project. “Does direct interest describe how he holds the crypto?”

Because the bill wouldn’t apply to the children of government officials, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump could continue their own crypto business interests. And much of the family’s fortune has already been made: Trump and his affiliates have earned a huge windfall from meme coin and token ventures, income the legislation would not claw back.

Critics also decried a provision that would sunset the ethics requirements on Jan. 20, 2029, the day Trump’s successor would be inaugurated. That could prevent the next administration from holding Trump accountable.

The White House and Republicans argued that Trump had gone further in backing ethics restrictions in law than any previous president.

“History will remember this as the moment a president chose a higher standard of ethics than the law required of him,” Lummis, a key architect of the bill, said on X.

Democrats were skeptical even before the language was released. “Any meaningful ethics provision would be shot down by the White House,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said.

The politics of crypto have long divided Democrats, and a bipartisan deal on the legislation risks provoking a backlash from progressives. Failure to reach a deal, however, could make the party the target of a torrent of crypto campaign cash.

Crypto group Fairshake and its two affiliated super PACs have raised $164 million for the midterm elections, Federal Election Commission filings show, and have spent $66.6 million so far.

It’s the kind of political arsenal that Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York can ill afford to have aimed at his candidates as the party seeks to regain Senate control.

But others, like Murphy, have warned that blessing Trump’s big crypto bill would undermine Democrats’ midterm message.

A potential presidential candidate, Murphy said Wednesday while addressing the left-leaning Center for American Progress that the bill is before the Senate “because the industry paid for it” and urged Democrats to instead turn fighting crypto corruption into a potent campaign issue this fall.

Markets have grown less convinced a deal gets done. On Polymarket, the odds of the Clarity Act passing this year fell to about 1 chance in 3 earlier this week after Republicans released the new draft.

That’s about half the odds the prediction market gave passage after the Senate Banking Committee backed an earlier version of the bill on May 14.

Dennis and Patterson write for Bloomberg. Bloomberg writers Yash Roy, Lydia Beyoud, Aidan Williams, Bill Allison and Olga Kharif contributed to this report.

For more than a quarter-century, a lawsuit settlement from a case brought in Los Angeles federal court has dictated conditions for children held in immigration detention.

But now, the long-standing settlement — which set minimum standards for housing, education and medical care for migrant kids in federal custody, while strictly limiting how long they can remain there — hangs in the balance in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after a challenge by the Trump administration.

At the same time, the federal judge in L.A. who presides over the agreement appears poised to appoint a powerful new enforcer to uphold it.

President Trump has long sought to scrap the Flores settlement, which dates back to the Clinton era. In recent months, the Trump administration has waged a legal battle to cancel the agreement, while also pleading with the district court not to order an independent monitor to boost its compliance.

“[Flores] is the only thing standing between them and indefinite detention of families,” said Leecia Welch, chief legal director at Children’s Rights, a plaintiff in the case.

Last month, Assistant Atty. Gen. Brett A. Shumate pressed the 9th Circuit court to give the administration “the thumbs-up or thumbs-down” on its bid to tear up the settlement and end what he called “judicial micromanagement” of federal immigration policy.

“The Flores consent decree is an agreement which goes well above the constitutional floor,” Shumate told the court during oral arguments in June. “We’re asking that [the Department of Homeland Security’s] compliance with the law be assessed based on the law, not a 30-year-old settlement agreement.”

The three-judge panel sharply questioned the Justice Department’s legal claims, saying little had changed since the government last petitioned the court to have the agreement dissolved in 2020 — a request that was rejected.

The judges also pressed Trump administration lawyers to respond to evidence from scores of declarations filed in district court since last summer, in which detainees describe struggling to sleep in freezing, brightly lit rooms, vomiting from eating spoiled food, and begging for diapers, baby formula and asthma inhalers.

“You’ve said a lot of the reason you’re doing this is to discourage families from coming in the first place, so you’re basically punishing children because their parents brought them here,” Judge Marsha S. Berzon said.

Berzon, a Clinton appointee who issued a fiery dissent last year in a case that challenged the administration’s use of armed troops in immigration enforcement operations, asked: “You’re saying there’s no constitutional problem there?”

“I understand the detention of children at the border is a controversial policy issue, but that’s a policy decision,” Shumate said.

Just a day earlier, Chief U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee scolded a pair of government attorneys from her bench in Los Angeles, signaling she would probably appoint a new special master to force compliance with the settlement agreement.

“We’re talking about 11 years of this,” Gee said during the June 1 status conference. “None of these issues are new to me. These are all issues on which I have issued orders. I am very displeased about the fact that my orders are being disregarded and are not being complied with, not in good faith.”

“Both sides seem to be operating in different planes of reality,” Gee said.

The disputed settlement emerged from a 1985 lawsuit over the fate of 15-year-old Jenny Flores, a Salvadoran refugee who was picked up by federal immigration enforcement and left to languish in detention in Pasadena. At the time, there was little awareness that children were among the tens of thousands of migrants fleeing civil war and state collapse in Central America — with virtually no U.S. government infrastructure to protect them.

“It was a surprise,” said Benjamin Roth, a professor at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work and an expert on the agreement. “There was no thought then that there were kids in this mix.”

The current court fight centers on an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, run by the private prison company CoreCivic, where the vast majority of children and families in immigration custody are held.

In court filings earlier this month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it has “maintained core Flores-related services” at Dilley and argued its length-of-stay numbers were skewed by a small number of families it was forced to keep because they are considered “national security risks.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection likewise boasted its July 1 report “shows our highest level of compliance to date.”

Immigrant rights advocates called those claims “a fiction.”

“We see the same sorts of problems and concerns and misery that we’ve been seeing for the last 15 months,” said Welch, the Children’s Rights attorney.

In dozens of declarations collected as part of the court record, detainees recounted broccoli full of worms, diapers doled out one at a time, and staff tearing up children’s drawings.

One mother said medical staff laughed off her 8-year-old’s broken arm. Another said she was denied treatment for hepatitis B, even after doctors told her she could develop liver cancer and pass the infection on to her unborn daughter.

Still others described unexplained rashes, outbreaks of diarrhea and infestations of lice, among a host of other maladies for which many said they were offered only Tylenol or allergy medication. Even Christmas brought misery in the form of an ICE agent dressed up as Santa, who shoved away children trying to hug him, according to the detainee declarations submitted to the court.

“What happened on Christmas Day can only be described as an atrocity,” one mother recalled. Children “dropped everything, ran up to him, begged for candy and wanted to take pictures. Some children even cried and begged him for their freedom. Santa himself acted very indifferent.”

The Department of Justice argued that immigrant kids could still sue over poor conditions if the Flores settlement is unwound. But experts say existing protections would collapse without the legal architecture of the consent decree to support them.

“[Under the settlement], the federal government has built out a very efficient system to provide temporary care for kids,” Roth said. “If Flores is dissolved, it’s not going to be easy to stand up this same set of programs.”

If the Trump administration loses before the 9th Circuit, the fight over Flores could soon escalate to the Supreme Court.

“I’d be shocked if the 9th Circuit rules for the government, and I’d be shocked if the Trump administration doesn’t appeal,” said Eric J. Segall, a law professor at Georgia State University and an expert on the high court.

But consent decrees are legally and politically complicated, and the treatment of migrant children further tangles the situation. Given the legal and political complexity, the Supreme Court could rule to keep the settlement in place, or decline to take the case at all, experts said.

“It’s more likely than not the court would stay away from this,” Segall said.

For now, both the district judge and the 9th Circuit panel appear fed up.

“I think my patience has come to an end,” Gee said during the recent hearing in her Los Angeles courtroom.

Chadwick Boseman’s brothers are taking the late US actor’s widow to court over her handling of his multimillion-dollar estate.

Derrick Boseman and Kevin Boseman have filed a petition with a Los Angeles court to force the Black Panther star’s widow, Taylor Simone Ledward, to distribute money to family members, and to have her removed as controller of his estate.

They claim she has mishandled distribution of the funds and “cannot be trusted with the continued administration of the estate”.

Boseman died at the age of 43 in 2020, four years after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He is best remembered for playing the lead role of T’Challa, king of Wakanda, in Oscar-winning 2018 Marvel blockbuster Black Panther.

According to court documents seen by BBC News, Boseman had assets worth $3.8m (£2.9m) but died without a will.

A court decided that 50% should go to Boseman’s widow, who was also appointed the estate’s administrator, with 25% to each of his parents.

The actor’s brothers filed the court petition last week on behalf of their parents, Leroy and Carolyn Boseman.

The petition said Ledward “has still not distributed the estate” and “continues to exert unilateral control” over it.

Ledward is also accused of creating a “lack of transparency” around his assets, and of keeping the actor’s parents “in the dark” about the deals and operations of a company that was set up to manage his image and rights.

The brothers claim Ledward’s “misconduct is causing ongoing harm” to Boseman’s elderly parents and depriving them “of financial assets at a vulnerable age when such support is most critical”.

“Moreover, the needless continuation of these proceedings denies Decedent’s [Boseman’s] family closure and causes emotional distress,” the court filing said.

“Imagine flipping through the channels and stumbling on a film starring your deceased son or brother, knowing that someone you do not know or trust is profiting from his image without your input or consent.”

Ledward – an R&B artist who uses the name Sahn – started dating Boseman in 2015 and they got married just six days before the actor’s death in August 2020.

The BBC has asked her lawyer for a comment.

In a statement to US media, the late actor’s brothers said: “On behalf of our parents, we are committed to ensuring that transparency, accountability, and respect guide the resolution of these matters.

“Our hope is that this process brings clarity, honors the court’s orders, and ensures the responsible stewardship of Chadwick’s legacy.

“We love our brother, and we remain committed to preserving his legacy with dignity, integrity, and respect.”

IF you’re jetting off to any beautiful Red Sea resorts this summer check your passport before travelling.

Unlike countries in the EU, Egypt requires more time left on your passport and it’s catching Brits out with some missing out on their holidays altogether.

There are two very important requirements to get into Egypt for Brits.

The first is that your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least six months after the date you arrive.

The second is that it must have at least one blank page to be stamped.

Most countries only require three months left on a passport after the date of arrival, so it’s not surprising that some Brits are being caught out.

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One woman recently missed out on a £6,500 holiday to Egypt.

Victoria Vigors was headed on a two-week ‘holiday of a lifetime’ with her family but was stopped before boarding.

Her nine-year-old daughter Roxie’s passport was being scanned and is was then they discovered Roxie’s passport did not have the required period of validity remaining for travel to Egypt.

Roxie’s passport technically expired on January 4, 2027, but with Egypt requiring at least six months left on them, it meant it wasn’t valid.

Talking to creatorzine.com, Victoria said: “I wasn’t aware of the rules. For people like me who don’t always travel and it’s the first time with my children, I didn’t know.

“I would have thought when I put her passport details in to check in that would tell me it wasn’t valid.”

Victoria added: “That would be a simple system to install so save this agony and heartbreak.”

The family are now trying to get an emergency passport to try and enjoy the last few days of the trip they’ve paid for, as they were unable to get a refund.

Also check visa requirements into the country as they vary depending on the location.

For example if you are staying for less than 15 days at a resort in Sharm El Sheikh, you don’t need a visa.

However, if you’re heading to Hurghada you’ll need a visa which you can apply for online or on arrival.

If you apply online, e-visa applications must be submitted a minimum of seven days.

Another country to be aware of the entry rules is Turkey which needs at least 150 days left on passports from the date of arrival.

If you find your passport is technically out of date shortly before your holidays, then you can look at getting a fast-track renewal.

Before travelling this summer, here are all the new rules you need to be aware of, from eGates and passports to visas and power banks.

Unity Holidays has three parks across the UK that still have availability over the summer holidays – and they’ve got a food and drink offer on too

The summer holidays have officially descended upon us, and with the British weather actually offering up some sunshine and balmy temperatures, it’s no surprise that most of us are dreaming of our next staycation.

If you haven’t got anything locked in yet, the good news is that there are still plenty of tempting deals to be had, including one chain of holiday parks with family breaks under £400 including school holiday dates.

Unity Holidays recently gave its parks a £10million transformation to include new features such as lidos, splash parks, trampoline parks, dog agility parks and an array of activities from axe throwing to archery, so it’s worth having them on your radar. All alongside the likes of bars, restaurants, watersports, playgrounds and even soft play, it’s easy to see why it could be a hit with families on a budget this summer.

The brand has three sites, with prices for a family of four during the holidays from £209. That includes its Unity Beach in Somerset from £396, Skirlington in Yorkshire from £399, and Seven Lakes from £209, all of which can be booked on unityholidays.co.uk.

But that’s not all. For those who want to stretch their budget that little bit further, there’s more good news. For every summer break booked between July 3 and September 28, 2026, Unity Holidays are offering a £100 food and drink voucher that can be used at any of the venues on site (excluding the grocery stores). To claim the voucher, simply use the code UNITY100 when you book on unityholidays.co.uk.

Unity Beach’s brand new lido opened earlier this month, unveiled by former Olympic swimmer Baroness Sharron Davies MBE. The resort’s new lido, water park and festival gardens represented an £11million transformation, with the lido offering a capacity of over 400, with two heated pools including one specially designer for children. The holiday park already boasts an indoor pool, an indoor splash zone for Under-16s, two indoor water slides, and three more slides outside.

Baroness Sharron, who won an Olympics silver medal in the 400m individual medley in 1980 as well as two Commonwealth Games gold medals, said at the opening: “At a time when we are seeing the amount of swimming facilities in the country dwindle – we’ve lost 500 since 2010 – to have Unity Holidays investing millions in pools and lidos across the country, and creating jobs for local people, is tremendous.

“They are enabling children to gain water confidence and learn to swim, while giving families a stunning location to enjoy amazing spaces to play and relax.

“Our seaside towns need this injection of funds, and I was honoured to officially open the lido and water park in Brean while also seeing first-hand how impressive what a modern, 21st-century family holiday park has to offer can be.”

Unity Holidays isn’t the only firm to be offering up some tempting last-minute getaways.

For example Haven has three-night breaks from £179 if you’re booking over the next few days or even for next week, while Parkdean Resorts has last-minute breaks from £269 in late July. Butlin’s also has some last-minute availability for July with family breaks from £198.

A MUM was left devastated after her family were forced to miss a “holiday of a lifetime” because of a common passport mistake.

Victoria Vigors, from Kent, had spent £6,500 on a two-week holiday to Egypt with her whole family.

However, the 41-year-old was left horrified after they arrived at London Gatwick, only to be stopped at the gate along with her 15-year-old son Riley and nine-year-old daughter Roxie.

When staff scanned their boarding passes at the gate, they discovered Roxie’s passport did not have the required period of validity remaining for travel to Egypt.

This was because her passport technically expired on January 4, 2027, but with Egypt requiring at least six months left on them, it meant it wasn’t valid.

Victoria told creatorzine.com: “My stomach dropped and I felt like i’d been kicked in the stomach.”

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“The kids crumpled and I burst into tears. I begged the staff but there was nothing they could do.

“We had to be escorted back to get our luggage off the flight – It was so embarrassing.”

She said not only were the kids devastated, but that Roxie thought it was her fault.

She continued: “I wasn’t aware of the rules. For people like me who don’t always travel and it’s the first time with my children, I wasn’t to know.

“I would have thought when I put her passport details in to check in that would tell me it wasn’t valid.

“That would be a simple system to install so save this agony and heartbreak.”

The family are now trying to get an emergency passport to try and enjoy the last few days of the trip they’ve paid for, as they were unable to get a refund.

She added: “I’d been saving up for two years.

“We were incredibly excited as we’d never had a two-week holiday abroad together or been to a resort like this.

“It was going to be the holiday of a lifetime.”

An EasyJet spokesperson said: “Unfortunately Ms Vigors and her daughter were unable to fly as her daughter’s passport did not meet passport validity rules.

“We remind customers during booking, check-in and by email before they travel to ensure they are aware of the travel documentation requirements for their trip, and it is customers’ responsibility to ensure they have valid documentation for travel.”

It’s not the only country with strict rules, as Turkey requires Brits to have at least 150 days left, which is around five months.

So we’ve explained two other passport rules you need to be aware of this summer.

Aaron Rodgers recently shared photos of himself with his parents and one of his brothers on social media.

While that’s something that a lot of people do, the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is a very private person who has never even posted a photo of his wife online.

Rodgers also has been estranged from his parents and brothers for quite some time now.

Those relationships appear to be on the mend, however, after the 22-year NFL veteran took to Instagram on Monday and posted several seemingly recent family pictures — including one of him with his arm around his father Ed, another with his arm around his mother Darla and others of him interacting with older brother Luke.

“Another bonding week,” Rodgers wrote, adding the hashtag #fam.

It was only his fourth Instagram post in more than two years. Luke Rodgers responded in the comment section with two heart emojis.

Rodgers spent 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning Super Bowl and four league MVP awards before playing two seasons with the New York Jets. The upcoming season will be his second with the Steelers and, he has said, his final one in the NFL.

The rift with his family members was made public in 2016 when younger brother Jordan Rodgers was a contestant on “The Bachlorette.” On one episode, Jordan Rodgers told his now-wife JoJo Fletcher that his famous brother has chosen to live his life in a certain way, “I chose to stay close with my family and my parents and my [other] brother.”

On another episode featuring other members of the Rodgers family (with a conspicuous absence), Luke Rodgers said: “It pains both of us, like, not to have that relationship [with Aaron] — we miss our brother. I trust that God brings things full circle and that everything would just get back to us being a family.”

Weeks later at Packers training camp, Rodgers was asked about the subject.

“I’ve always found that it’s a little inappropriate to talk publicly about some family matters, so I’m just —I’m not going to speak on those things,” Rodgers said, “but I wish him well in the competition.”

He added: “I haven’t seen the show, to be honest with you, so it hasn’t really affected me a whole lot.”

Ed Rodgers confirmed to the New York Times in 2017 that Rodgers hadn’t spoken to his family since late 2014, soon after the quarterback started dating actress Olivia Munn (the couple broke up in 2017).

In the 2024 Netflix docuseries “Aaron Rodgers: Enigma,” the 10-time Pro Bowl selection said he had never been “super duper close” with anyone in his family, except for Jordan Rodgers earlier on. He attributed the rift to a number of things, including his parents’ religious beliefs, sibling rivalries and his family’s reaction to his fame.

“I don’t wish any ill will on them at all,” Rodgers said. “It’s more like this, we’re just different steps in the timeline of our own journeys.”

The ice seemed to have started to thaw between the family members in recent years. According to the 2024 biography “Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers” by Ian O’Connor, Ed Rodgers bought a ticket to a 2023 celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe with the hope of possibly coming face to face with his son, who was a participant in the event, for the first time in nine years.

Rodgers saw his father in the crowd and tracked him down. The two of them embraced and said, “I love you.”

“That was a special moment,” Aaron told O’Connor.

O’Connor wrote Tuesday on X that Rodgers invited his parents to his Pleasant Valley High (Chico) Hall of Fame induction in April, then introduced them to the crowd and thanked them for their support.

ROSARIO, Argentina — Lionel Messi arrived back in Argentina on Tuesday for a few days of rest following the World Cup final loss to Spain.

Messi’s private jet landed near his hometown of Rosario from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., at 6:27 a.m. Although many fans were waiting with signs and flags, he did not make a public appearance.

“The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal,” he posted on his Instagram account. “I cherish all the good moments, memories that will last forever — and the support of an entire nation which, combined with this group’s hard work and effort, propelled us once again into the ranks of the world’s best.”

Supporters only caught a brief glimpse of the SUV that met Messi on the tarmac to transport him and his family to the private neighborhood of Funes, roughly 185 miles north of Buenos Aires.

The Argentina captain reportedly traveled with his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and their three children, all of whom had accompanied him throughout the tournament in North America. Waiting for him in Rosario was his 68-year-old father, Jorge, whose ongoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness had been revealed by the family during the World Cup.

Fans had gathered at the airport as early as 3:30 a.m. hoping to catch a sight of the star. Among them were two young girls in La Albiceleste jerseys holding welcome signs, one of which read: “Messi: You’re a legend. Thank you for bringing joy to our hearts. A whole country loves you!”

Messi is expected to rejoin Inter Miami in late July or early August for the ongoing MLS season.

Fifteen members of Argentina’s 26-player World Cup roster, led by head coach Lionel Scaloni, landed at Buenos Aires’ Ezeiza Airport on Monday on a chartered flight.

The squad’s arrival followed Sunday’s 1–0 extra-time loss to Spain in the World Cup final in East Rutherford, N.J., decided by a Ferran Torres goal.

“It is hard to fully appreciate our achievement right now, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message,” Messi added. “I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.”

The match marked Messi’s third World Cup final appearance, following 2014 and 2022. He ended the tournament as the runner-up for the Golden Boot with eight goals, two behind France’s Kylian Mbappé.

Mbappé tops the all-time World Cup goal-scoring chart with 22, one more than Messi.

Álvarez writes for the Associated Press.

Wilfredo Engalla, a 51-year-old Filipino immigrant, alleged in a medical malpractice case that Kaiser doctors misdiagnosed him with colds and allergies for years before eventually informing him he had terminal lung cancer.

He died before his complaint could be heard by an arbitrator, which his Kaiser policy required. His case prompted a withering rebuke from the California Supreme Court, which said Kaiser’s system of arbitrating legal disputes was subject to long delays and unfair to its members. The year was 1997.

Nearly three decades after the landmark decision, the HMO giant — which made a series of sweeping reforms after the ruling — is once again facing questions over whether its arbitration system is stacked against the interests of its members.

Plaintiffs attorneys, legislators and patients say Kaiser’s private and confidential process for arbitrating legal disputes over medical care still has key flaws that favor Kaiser over patients bringing malpractice cases. The company insures about 25% of Californians, including some employees of the Los Angeles Times.

“Kaiser has really lost its way,” said Assemblyman Robert Garcia (D-Rancho Cucamonga). Garcia, who is a longtime Kaiser member, recently introduced a bill to require the California attorney general to oversee arbitrations mandated by any health plan.

Kaiser defended its arbitration system, saying in a statement that it was fair for both patients and the nonprofit.

Many companies and other organizations, including some hospitals, HMOs and physician groups, require their customers or patients to take their complaints to private arbitration rather than to court.

But unlike most other companies, which send claims to large arbitration firms, Kaiser created its own system back in 1971.

Under Kaiser’s system, once a neutral arbitrator is selected, either party can opt to disqualify that person without cause. There is no limit on the number of disqualifications.

Although the health plan designed the system to be fair, patients and their lawyers have alleged that in reality Kaiser’s greater knowledge of arbitrators’ past rulings and its ability to veto arbitrators give it an advantage to pick favorable judges.

Critics such as Arlan Cohen, a physician and attorney who has brought more than two dozen cases against the health plan, say the system also provides a financial incentive to arbitrators to rule in Kaiser’s favor in order to be selected for future cases.

While Kaiser has access to all the decisions made by arbitrators in its system, the patient’s family gets a more limited disclosure of an arbitrator’s history of cases, lawyers say, adding that it’s not easy to see which arbitrators have ruled frequently for Kaiser.

Kaiser said it disagreed that the system allowed it to select favored arbitrators.

“The appointment process is not influenced by whether the arbitrator has ruled for or against KP or has a record of ruling against Kaiser Permanente,” its statement said.

“As required by law, both parties receive information about potential arbitrators and can decline to move forward with any they are not comfortable,” the statement said.

One problem is what experts call the “repeat player effect,” in which a large company appearing repeatedly before the same panel of arbitrators allegedly gains an advantage over the individual bringing a single complaint.

David Allen Larson, past chair of the American Bar Assn.’s dispute resolution section, said the repeat player effect happens because the patient will likely be choosing an arbitrator on the health plan’s system just once, while “Kaiser is selecting them every single day.”

“They know the system. They know the rules,” Larson said of Kaiser. “The entire process gives them an advantage.”

Alan Kang, a lawyer, in a recent petition filed in L.A. County Superior Court, contends that the fees the arbitrators earn from hearing cases — as much as $2,000 an hour — give them an incentive to rule in Kaiser’s favor so they are chosen to hear more cases.

“When a judge’s future income is at stake, it is impossible to be impartial,” Kang wrote in the petition.

The petition seeks to void the December decision of an arbitrator who ruled against the family of Evangelina Aquino, a Kaiser employee who died of cancer at age 40.

Kang, the Aquino family and the medical experts they hired for the case say her cancer would have been treatable if Kaiser doctors had found it with a test they said her symptoms called for. Kaiser argued it was a different kind of cancer that was aggressive and untreatable. The arbitrator agreed with Kaiser in the December decision.

After the ruling, Kang began analyzing data from Kaiser’s system.

His review of dozens of cases in the last six years found that judges overseeing the most cases nearly always ruled for Kaiser.

“The message is clear: deliver wins for Kaiser and you will get additional business,” Kang wrote in his court petition.

The Oakland-based health plan declined to answer questions about its arbitration system and Kang’s claims, but said in a statement that its “arbitration process is designed to be fair, impartial, and accessible to all members. While some arbitrators may handle multiple Kaiser Permanente-related cases, they are not employed by Kaiser Permanente, and they are selected by both parties, in accordance with the law.”

“We recognize that arbitration cases often involve difficult and deeply personal experiences for patients and families,” the statement said, “and we take all concerns raised through these processes seriously.”

Kaiser’s unique arbitration system

Arbitration can have advantages over the court system, including allowing Kaiser to save on legal costs, which otherwise would raise the price of premiums it charges to families, employers and governments.

Kaiser offers to pay the arbitrators’ fees, which can save families tens of thousands of dollars.

Arbitration may also lead to faster outcomes, possibly avoiding years of litigation. Unlike civil litigation, arbitration decisions are especially difficult to appeal.

After the criticism by the state Supreme Court in 1997, Kaiser reformed the system by creating the Office of the Independent Administrator. The office is funded by a Kaiser trust and the $150 fee each patient filing a claim must pay, said Marcella Bell, who serves as the independent administrator.

Bell said the office works independently from Kaiser.

The office selected 195 retired judges and lawyers to serve on a panel that patients and Kaiser can choose from when selecting a neutral arbitrator to oversee and decide a malpractice case.

Rules written by the independent administrator, in consultation with the health plan and an advisory board, allow Kaiser and the family to cut an arbitrator they don’t like, at multiple steps in the process.

The administrator’s office randomly selects 12 members from its panel. Both sides can each remove any four of those arbitrators. The two sides then rank the remaining arbitrators in order of preference. The administrator selects the top-ranked arbitrator to hear the case.

The two parties then still have the ability to disqualify that selection without cause.

Members of the United Nurses Assns. of California and Union of Healthcare Professionals strike outside Kaiser Permanente in Oakland on Jan. 28.

(Jessica Christian / San Francisco Chronicle)

Last year, Kaiser’s arbitration system closed 529 arbitration cases.

The arbitrators threw out 14% of the cases, ruling in favor of Kaiser’s motion for summary judgment, and dismissed an additional 5% of cases on technical or procedural grounds.

Only 23 cases, or 4% of the total, went to a hearing. Among those, the arbitrator decided for Kaiser in 17, with the patient winning the remaining six.

Patients and their families withdrew their claim in 20% of the cases. About half of those patients did not have a lawyer and had tried to represent themselves.

The parties settled for an undisclosed sum in 57% of the cases. The settlements are confidential.

Patient safety questions

Those who have studied the use of arbitration by Kaiser and other HMOs for medical malpractice claims say the secrecy of the settlements and the closed hearings could keep safety problems from coming to light.

“The secrecy of arbitration proceedings may prevent publicity that could reveal poor doctors,” the California Research Bureau warned in a report in 2000 that analyzed Kaiser’s system. That compares with public court cases that could deter “bad behavior” in the future, the researchers wrote.

In December 2023, 53-year-old Francisco Delgadillo arrived at the Kaiser ER in Vallejo with severe chest pain. After an initial assessment, he waited eight hours for care, according to state regulators.

He died in the lobby. A state and federal investigation found multiple violations, including that Kaiser failed to have a licensed nurse monitoring the dozens of patients in the ER’s waiting room.

The Delgadillo family filed an arbitration claim. Their lawyer Jeff Mitchell said the case settled for a confidential sum and he could not discuss it.

Mitchell agreed that the secrecy raised patient safety concerns.

“They love the system, otherwise they would not be so hellbent to keep it,” Mitchell said of Kaiser’s repeated efforts to dispel criticism. “They don’t want these cases to get in front of juries.”

A licensed practical nurse attends to a patient at a Kaiser Permanente in Culver City in September.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Calls for reform

Despite the changes Kaiser made after the 1997 court decision, patients and their families have continued to complain.

According to the administrator’s 2025 annual report, the “most common” complaint the office heard last year was about the neutral arbitrator.

“Most complained that the arbitrator was biased, partisan, unjust, and in Kaiser’s favor,” the report said.

Stephen Martinez, a retired aerospace engineer from Bellflower, is leading the effort to pass the state bill introduced by Garcia.

At an April hearing in the state Assembly, Martinez spoke about how his wife had found a lump in her breast and asked for an appointment with her longtime caregiver at Kaiser to examine it. Instead she was sent to a physician assistant, who dismissed it, he said.

“The PA prescribed warm compresses, a sports bra, and limited chocolate,” Martinez testified. “We would later find that Lindalee did have breast cancer that had already spread.”

Martinez and his wife said they spent $175,000 on lawyers and medical experts to bring that arbitration case. A chief breast surgeon at Kaiser and another surgeon who had retired from that job both testified that the Kaiser physician assistant failed to follow the health system’s guidelines.

Kaiser’s expert argued that the physician assistant did an appropriate exam and that his low suspicion of breast cancer was reasonable. The neutral arbitrator concurred and ruled against the couple.

After passing the Assembly, Assembly Bill 1770 is now in the state Senate for consideration. The bill lets the attorney general decide what actions they will take to ensure health plan arbitrations are handled fairly and transparently. If the bill passes, the state would add four deputy attorneys general, a legal analyst and three legal secretaries to do that work, according to a legislative analyst’s report.

Kaiser says it has concerns about the bill, including that it would “create overlapping state oversight and duplicative reporting requirements.”

Kaiser Permanente’s corporate offices in downtown Oakland in January 2025.

(Jane Tyska / East Bay Times via Getty Images)

Questions of a missed diagnosis

When Janene Fowler was 22, her body seemed to turn against her. She grew weak, pain shot through her hands and feet, her heart raced. She soon required a wheelchair.

Fowler’s medical chart detailed what could have caused her disabling problems. A test eight years before had found a deficiency of vitamin B12, according to the chart. Over the years, Kaiser doctors noted problems such as depression, unexplained pain, shortness of breath, a sore tongue and an abnormal gait — all possible symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency.

In February 2022, after her family complained about her not being able to see a neurologist, she got an appointment. The specialist noted her vitamin deficiency, telling the nurse to start her on a supplement at once. But the treatment did not begin because the paperwork was lost, her medical records show.

Two weeks later, Fowler left Kaiser to see a doctor at UCLA. A doctor there quickly started injections of B12.

Her symptoms gradually got better, but her new doctors say the years-long deficiency left permanent damage. She still can’t walk without help.

The arbitrator, a retired judge, sided with Kaiser’s doctors and experts, who questioned whether Fowler’s problems were caused by a deficiency of vitamin B12. While one test showed a deficiency, he noted that a second test failed to confirm it. He wrote that Fowler and her lawyers had failed to prove that Kaiser “breached its duty of care.”

Cohen, Fowler’s lawyer, asserted that the retired judge’s decision was contrary to UCLA medical records, which detail her deficiency and treatment.

Fowler now spends most of her time at home. She can’t drive. She often falls when she tries to get around with a cane. She loves to cook, but said she burns herself when she tries.

“My hands don’t really do what I tell them,” she said.

Kaiser declined to answer questions about her case, citing patients’ privacy rights.

Fowler said she’s angry about how the health plan’s doctors and its arbitration system treated her.

“I thought I was going to die, and no one at Kaiser seemed to care,” she said. “What justice can you have in a system that is run by those you are trying to sue?”

ANOTHER family missed their flights home and were forced to spend nearly £2,000 due to massive airport queues abroad.

Matthew Wilson, his wife and their son were travelling home to Manchester from Milan back in April.

They were returning to the UK after a nine-night holiday when they got stuck huge passport queues due to the new European entry rules.

Talking to the iPaper, Matthew said that despite easily getting through security, they were then stuck in another queues for 90 minutes, in which they only moved about 10m in that time.

Frustratingly, he family were then told by ground staff that their luggage had been removed from the plane as the flight was going to depart while they still stuck in the queue.

They were then forced to wait three hours before easyJet, who the family were flying with, offered the family a flight back home – but this was six days later than the original flight.

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Rather than waiting, Matthew spent £1,969 on new flights from Barcelona, taxis, food and accommodation.

This was on top of the money they had already paid on the flight they missed which had cost £377.

Not only that, but their travel insurance provider also said they were unable to recuperate his costs.

Matthew said: “It was very stressful – we will think twice before travelling in Europe again.”

The airport operator apologised, adding that EES “requires more complex operations than before and longer processing times”.

Not only that, but it said that on the day the Wilsons were due to fly home (April 12), there were malfunctions at the automatic gates due to issues connecting to the border systems.

This resulted in “particularly long waiting times” as passengers had to be manually checked at passport control.

The Wilsons weren’t the only ones to miss their flight on this day – in fact 100 easyJet passengers were left behind in Milan Linate Airport.

The flight to Manchester had been held for nearly an hour “but it had to then depart due to crew reaching their safety regulated operating hours”, explained easyJet.

There have been warnings over wait times because of EES – and it’s only set to get worse.

Rafael Schvartzman – the vice-president for Europe at the International Air Transport Association (Iata) – warned queue times could stretch to as much as six hours this summer.

Mr Schvartzman said: “What we are seeing is a very hard risk of really challenging times or waiting times, talking about expectations of three, four, five, six hours which is unacceptable.

“We know for a fact there are many cases where people have lost flights or their connectivity.”

THE school summer holidays are upon us, with six weeks to fill to entertain the kids.

If you’re looking for fun for the whole family without breaking the bank then this bumper list is for you – we’ve scoured the country for some of the best cheap and free attractions.

Summer of Play, Various Locations – from £9

The National Trust brings back its Summer of Play programme running from July to September across the country.

The events on the schedule are free but admission fees are around £10 and under.

At Arlington Court in Devon, find activities such as archery, giant slingshots, and a water play zone – great for keeping everyone cool in a heatwave.

Gibside near Tyne & Wear is packed with experiences such as racket sports, axe throwing, and classic games like a bean bag toss.

Pokémon fans will also delight in recognising their favourite character in trails across different National Trust sites.

Expect to get involved with trading card games and collect Mega Evolution stickers.

To find a site near you visit the National Trust’s Summer of Play website. 

Free entry but admission fees into National Trust sites apply

National Racehorse Week, Various Locations – free

From 22 to 31 August during National Racehorse Week, families have a chance to grab a free ticket for over 85 behind-the-scenes events across the country.

Choose between meeting racehorses or exploring training yards to learn more about a side of British racing that is often overlooked.

To find an event near you visit the National Racehorse Week website. 

Free tickets available on the National Racehorse Week website

North of England

Starry Nights in Lake District, Cumbria – free

The Lake District in Cumbria is home to many low-light Dark Sky Discovery Sites making it the perfect place to go on a stargazing trail.

Grab your camping gear and find budget-friendly campsites for £15-£17 on pitchup.com.

Some favourites includes North Lakes Campsite in Deanscales, Blaithwaite House in Wigton, and Cardewless in Carlisle.

Find the most isolated lake of Lake District at Ennerdale Water and venture east for the darkest skies in Cumbria. Look out for free stargazing events a few times a year. 

For those looking for a nighttime walk, head to St Bees Beach on the west coast when the tide is out.

Sitting above the Bassenthwaite Lake, Whinlatter Forest offers lucky stargazers a chance to spot the Milky Way. 

Free but campsite charges apply

National Railway Museum, York – free

The National Railway Museum in York is perfect for train fanatics.

Visit the Great Hall for the gold leaf stripes of Duchess of Hamilton, the Japanese high-speed rail nicknamed ‘bullet train’ or ‘Mallard’, the world’s fastest steam locomotive. 

For something extra special, check out Wonderlab:The Bramall Gallery for an interactive experience to test your engineering skills.

Free Entry. Wonderlab: The Bramall Gallery day passes start from £8.60.

Mere Sands Wood, Lancashire – free

Spot a variety of butterflies fluttering around at Mere Sands Wood in Lancashire on a guided walk through the reserve. 

Perfect for all members of the family, go on an easy two-hour walk and stop by different sites to find a range of beautiful butterflies and insects.

Alternatively if butterflies aren’t for you, go on the Tomato Soup at the Cafe Loop which is a 1.3 mile walking trail that ends with a bowl of soup.

Experiences are free but adults pay £6 for the Butterfly Walk

Manchester Museum, Manchester – free 

Manchester Museum is a great way to take the family out for a day and learn about what makes us human and how we connect with nature. 

Don’t forget to say hi to the giant T.rex, Stan, explore the lives of ancient Egyptians or marvel at archaeological objects.

This summer, discover the world of bugs from 21 July to 28 August in Bugtastic!

Take part in producing insect prints, designing comics starring superbugs, and make bug-like costumes.

Free entry although booking is advised for the Exhibition Hall. 

South and West of England

WhizzFizz 2026, Buckinghamshire – free

From 27 July to 1 August, WhizzFizz is holding a free summer festival across Buckinhamshire in Aylesbury, Chesham, and High Wycombe. 

The schedule includes an interactive board games show, collage workshops and poetry workshops for children. 

Sessions are free but participating kids are expected to be registered for the events. Adults are required to stay but don’t need a ticket. 

Free admission

Boating in Regent’s Park, London – from £3.40

Hop on a boat from now to September in Regents Park and take in the beautiful surroundings. 

A 30-minute boat journey ranges from free for toddlers to £6.50 for adults during off-peak hours.

Alternatively, the Children’s Boating Pond is £5.20 for a 20 minute session. 

Prices start from £3.40. Off peak hours are 11am-1pm on weekdays and 10am-noon on the weekends.

British Museum, London – free

The British Museum is at the heart of Central London with a large worldwide collection dating back two million years and the best part is that general admission is free.

This summer celebrate the 25th anniversary of John Constable’s birth with a free exhibition.

Explore a collection of Constable’s paintings where he depicted British landscapes from fields in East Anglia to the clouds of Hampstead Heath.

Free Admission

Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre, London – from £10

Experience 400 years of history in London’s original theatre district and transport yourself back into the time of Shakespeare. 

Enjoy classics such as Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar this summer for £10 if you grab a standing ticket. 

Prices start from £10

Mudchute Park and Farm, London – free

Families with animal lovers in the group will delight in this free family farm on the Isle of Dogs. 

Find over 100 animals in the 32 acre farm including goats, pigs, and even llamas.

Before leaving, stop by the Mudchute Kitchen Cafe for delicious home-cooked food, cakes and tea. 

Free Admission

Smithsonian Starstruck at the Science Museum, London – free

Experience this free virtual reality experience at the Science Museum in London.

Visitors embark on a cosmic journey discovering galaxies, constellations and watch volcanoes on an exoplanet erupt into glitter.  

Free Admission

Summer in the Square, London – free

Taking place in Portman Square Garden in Marylebone from 7th – 12th July, this free festival brings families together with a range of activities. 

Choose from Wimbledon open air screenings, wellbeing sessions, and opportunities to get creative with watercolour sessions.

Kids can get involved with workshops hosted by Marylebone Youth Theatre, opt for Fairytales in Oz or The Tempest Tale. 

Free Admission

Uber Boat Audio Guide, London – £2.50

Board on to an Uber Boat and cruise down the Thames with a funny and educational twist.

For £2.50, learn history, TV and cinema facts that you can later impress friends and family with. 

£2.50 for audio guides

Lady Vale Walk, Bodmin – free

Take the family out for a chance to spot some of their favourite characters from The Gruffalo. 

Follow the signs for the Lady Vale Walk in Cardinham Woods near Bodmin to hunt for the Gruffalo characters along the path.

Don’t forget to bring the camera and take a picture next to the sculptures as you venture deeper into the forest. 

Free admission

Brighton Beach and Pier – £1

Brighton Beach is one of England’s top beach destinations with plenty of activities for the whole family. 

The Brighton Palace Pier is a £1 admission fee and boasts its own helter skelter for £3.

Other attractions include a soft-play area and Brighton’s largest arcade with classic games such as penny pushers and air hockey. 

Take a ride on the world’s oldest operating railway, Volk’s Electric Railway, where an adult return fare is £7 and a children return is £4.40.

Visit the Fishing Museum for free and discover the history of Brighton’s fishing village.    

Prices start from free to £7

Song of the Sea Cave, Cornwall – free 

Instead of splashing out for a holiday away, visit this hidden gem for a beach holiday.

Jump into this natural tidal pool at Nanjizal Beach in St Levan, Cronwall and cool off from the hot summer.

Nicknamed “Song of the Sea Cave”, this low tide pool will make you feel as though you’ve escaped to a warmer destination surrounded by clear waters.

Dip into the mermaid pool and watch the light glimmering through the narrow arch. 

Free admission

Central and East England

Silverstone Museum, Towcester – free 

This summer until 31 August, Silverstone Museum in Towcester is offering Kids Go and Eat Free for children ages 15 and under.

Explore immersive exhibits, iconic cars and learn about racers that have shaped the history of motor sports.

Highlights include a Mixed and Virtual Reality behind the story of Alberto Ascari, racing Scaletric cards on a 25-meter long track and a collection of championship winning vehicles. 

Prices start from free to £24 for adults when booking at least 1 day in advance.

Norwich Theatre Family Festival, Norwich – free

On 4 August, Norwich Theatre brings a dramatic schedule for the whole family with free workshops and interactive experiences. 

Those interested in crafts and set design should check out workshops in puppet-making and set-art.

For the thespians and vocalists in the group, there are storytelling workshops and community singalongs.

All workshops apart from Storytelling and Sensory Stories don’t require a booking and are available to drop in. 

Free admission but Storytelling and Sensory Stories workshops require booking. 

Cambridge University’s Botanic Garden, Cambridge – free

From 25 June to 1 September, adult tickets into Botanic Garden in Cambridge will be reduced as part of the Great British Summer Savings Scheme.  

Boasting different sections, the Botanic Gardens offers visitors to explore British wild plants to exotic tropical plants to beautiful roses.

On 15 July, visit the Garden’s Main Lawn for Sounds Green 2026 and enjoy swing and jazz from The Basin Street Brawlers with a standard entry ticket. 

Don’t forget to have a tea break on the terrace of The Garden Cafe when all the walking and dancing is done.

Children under 17 go free and adult admissions are £7.60.

Tudor House Museum, Worcester – free

Step back into time at the Tudor Museum in Worcester from Wednesdays to Saturdays from 10am-4pm. 

This summer, the Tudor House Museum brings a range of family activities on Thursdays to Saturdays exploring a different historical theme each week. 

Take home a family portrait at the Victorian Parlour, write top secret messages using wartime codes or design a banquet fit for royals. 

Free admission

Scotland

Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh – free

Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh offers the chance to hike up the remains of a dormant ancient volcano for free. 

Once you get to the top of this 2,000 old hillfort, enjoy the views of St Margaret’s Loch from the summit before climbing back down. 

Free Admission

Summer Family Fun, Edinburgh – free

From 29 June – 7 August, the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is hosting Summer Family Fun on Mondays and Fridays. 

Drop in anywhere from 10am – 4pm with the family and discover weekly changing themes ranging from dinosaurs to space to ancient Egyptians for free.

Free Admission

Open Air Pool, Stonehaven, Aberdeen – free 

Jump into the UK’s only art deco, Olympic-sized lido at Stonehaven’s Open Air Pool in Aberdeen.

Now open for the summer, there is something for everyone looking to cool down from the heat.

Little ones under the age of 8 can enjoy splashing in a paddling pool (while accompanied by an adult).

If there are older kids in the group, slide down the playground of inflatables.

Catch the inflatables during the weekends from 1pm to 3pm in early and late season or all throughout the week from 3 July – 18 August. 

During the early and late season there is live music which can be enjoyed by everyone after the inflatables close. 

Day tickets start from free for under 5’s to £10.40 for adults. £1 deposit required for lockers.

Inverness Walk, Inverness – free 

If a hike up the hills at Inverness is on the itinerary, don’t forget to check out this walk around River Ness and Ness Islands. 

Explore Inverness by finding key sights of the city close to the station.

Highlights include the Inverness Cathedral designed by Alexander Ross, the Inverness Castle, and the floating Ness Islands.

On the walk, cross footbridges and spot fishermen catching salmon and birds frolicking along the river.

Free Admission

Northern Ireland

Street Art, Belfast – free

Belfast is known for its colourful streets and going on a Belfast Street Art Walking Tour may be the perfect way to learn how this creative community became so famous.

Starting from the Duke of York, go on a 2 hour walk and discover the artists who have transformed the vibrant walls of the Cathedral Quarter for £10.80.

Alternatively, download the Street Arts Cities app on your phone and go on a self-guided tour at your own pace for free. 

Prices start from free – £10.80

Ulster Museum, Belfast – free

Visit Belfast’s Botanic Gardens and drop into free workshops where kids can discover their inner fashionista or book into object handling sessions.

The interactive center offers ways to connect with creativity or learn about artefacts from different civilisations and natural wonders. 

Free Admission

17th Century Walls, Londonderry – free 

Marvel at the only walled city of Derry built in 1613-1618 and learn about the history and heritage it holds. 

Check out the impressive collection of 7 gates and cannons which have been carefully looked after and restored.

Free Admission

The Giant’s Lair, Slieve Gullion Adventure Playpark – free

Transport your little ones to the land of giants, fairies, and pixies with this free fairytale trail at Slieve Gullion Forest Park in County Armagh.

Walk the same path of mischievous Flynn the fairy and be careful not to wake the sleeping giant, Slieve Gullion.

Find fairy houses, sip on dandelion tea at the Giant’s table, pass the ladybird house and catch a glimpse of the naughty witch, Calliagh Berra. 

Free Admission

Wales

Caerphilly Cheese Festival, Caerphilly, Wales – free

Making a return, the Caerphilly Cheese Festival takes place on the 29th and 30th August at Caerphilly Town Centre and is free to attend. 

Explore the packed schedule consisting of food, drink and craft stalls, funfair attractions, street and music entertainers.

Don’t forget to gorge on cheese while you are there.

Free Admission

Cardiff Bay Barrage, Cardiff – free

For something free, families can choose to go on a stroll or an easy bike ride while enjoying the views of Cardiff Bay and the Severn Estuary.

Check out other facilities such as the children’s play area, Skate Plaza and adiZone outdoor gym. 

Free Admission

Margam Country Park, Port Talbot – free 

Near Port Talbot, there are plenty of fun activities for the whole family at this park with free entry. 

Visit the Fairytale Village and step into miniature houses with whimsical themes, play a game of giant chess and draughts, or wander through the willow cathedral. 

A unique feature is the Wood Vibrations Trail where kids have the opportunity to create music and appreciate nature.

Pass the giant musical instruments made from felled trees, grab a stick and watch them play their hearts out.

Free Admission, but car park charges apply (£8.90 for cars or £5.90 if arriving 2 hours before closing)

Holyhead Festival, Newry Beach – from free

From 23 July – 26th July, celebrate culture with the community at the Holyhead festival at Newry Beach with music, street food and craft stalls. 

There is also a programme of fun such as the Family Foam Sessions (With Peppa Pig) and fairground rides, although additional charges may apply (£5 and under) 

Free Admission. Foam Party tickets start at £2 for adults and £5 for children attending Peppa Pig sessions.

A stuggling family was given a much needed lifeline from a millionaire couple

A struggling family couldn’t hide their emotions after a wealthy couple gave them a fresh start.

They felt like they’d “won the lottery” after the wealthy pair cleared their £6,000 worth of debt and handed the father a chance to pursue his dream of breaking into property development.

The emotional moment happened during an episode of Rich House, Poor House, which originally aired in 2024. At the time, viewers were joined by Kev and Emma Wing, along with their twins Mollie and Peyton, who live in a two-bedroom rented house in Derbyshire.

Seeing how the top 1% live, they swapped lives for a week with world champion football freestyler Liv Cooke and her partner Gal Ozery, who split their time between a lavish manor house in Lower Bagthorpe, Nottinghamshire, and Los Angeles.

The two families couldn’t be more different as the Wings live on a mere £78.25 a week after bills and with money short, meanwhile enjoyed Liv and Gal enjoy the high life with a generous £2,000 budget at their fingertips.

During the swap, the Wings, who are a football-mad family, splashed nearly £1,000 on souvenirs at their beloved Derby County shop and Kev got behind the wheel of a £195,000 Lamborghini.

And his aspiring Lioness daughters received coaching from Ryan Hopper, who works with professional players including Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot.

While Liv and Gal enjoy wealth far beyond the Wings’ wildest dreams, they lack the one thing Liv yearns for most – children. Liv said: “Having a child and making our family unit is the only thing we’re missing.”

Things then took a turn when the couple were left stunned to discover that the Wings had no savings whatsoever and were £6,000 in the red.

Liv, who amassed her wealth through property development, and Gal, who heads up a company supplying private jets and luxury watches to ultra-wealthy clients, were keen to help the family so they decided to offer them a much needed lifeline.

Liv told the couple: “We’ve seen the sacrifices that you two have made for the girls and you’ve got a beautiful life. We’ve decided that we’d like to pay off that debt for you and give you that chance.”

Kev and Emma broke down in tears as Gal continued: “We hope that this makes you feel like every day when you get up, you’re excited for the day and you’re ready to build.”

Emma whipped away her tears as she replied: “I’ve got nothing to say other than thank you so much.” The generosity didn’t stop there as the millionaire pair wanted to help Kev pursue his dreams of getting on the property ladder.

Liv turned to Kev and said: “If you do want to pursue your interest in property, I’d be more than happy to train you up… we can do it slow, we can do it alongside your job so there’s no risk there but if we can get you in that market, getting on the ladder, I think that would be the real life-changing thing.”

Visibly moved said: “It does feel now like we’ve won the lottery.” His favourite part of the lifestyle swap was spending time with his family, adding: “It’s like Christmas every day.”

You can catch up on Rich House, Poor House on Channel 5.

The shy 9-year-old Nathan Negrete doesn’t naturally gravitate toward the spotlight, but as Negrete stood with Weston McKennie in front of the roaring 74,904 fans at SoFi Stadium, he smiled.

Looking back nearly a month later, the Pico Rivera resident doesn’t remember much of the U.S. men’s national team win over Paraguay, getting overwhelmed by the experience. But he remembers what McKennie told him — something Negrete decided should be kept secret despite a large smile on his face.

“The best day ever,” he said of the experience. “Because I went to the World Cup.”

Quaker and Common Goal partnered with FIFA to select children and young adults to escort teams out onto the pitch before kickoff. Negrete, who attends Rio Vista Elementary, was one of the lucky few who joined the U.S. team before its 4-1 win over Paraguay. It was a joyous start to a tournament run that would eventually end in the Round of 16.

A fan of both the U.S. and Mexico, Negrete started playing soccer at 4. His mother, Monica Ocampo, and his father, Jonathan Negrete, were both soccer fans, and they encouraged him to play as a striker. After his practices, though, Negrete would step into the goal and block his teammates’ shots. And once he strapped on the gloves officially, his parents couldn’t convince him to leave the net.

But there wasn’t anything quite like the experience of stepping out in front of the roaring crowd. Even as the city prepared to host the World Cup, as nearby restaurants hung banners to attract pedestrians and watch party notifications flooded social media, Ocampo said she wasn’t prepared for the impact of watching her child take the field with the national team.

The family held a 15-person watch party, just not for the actual game — for her son. The Telemundo broadcast zoomed in on Negrete and McKennie. For a couple of moments, Negrete scanned the stadium seriously, but then he looked up to see himself and McKennie on the SoFi Stadium video boards. So, he smiled.

“I cried,” Ocampo said. “His dad looked like he wanted to cry when he saw him.”

Messages from friends and family flooded her phone as the rest of the people who knew Negrete realized he was on the broadcast. Was that Nathan? Was that your son? Negrete took on a new nickname after his appearance: “Famous Nathan.”

As Nathan drove home with his mom, he still couldn’t believe what had happened. It took a few days for him to take it all in, and once he started talking about it, not a lot could stop him. The one priceless memory he kept with him was simple:

“‘I really want to be a professional soccer player now,’” Ocampo remembers her son saying in the car ride home. “Actually being there, seeing the field, actually living it, that’s one thing he told me that night: I really want to be a professional.”

He wouldn’t be the first. Graham Zusi, who played for the U.S. men’s national team between 2012 and 2017, participated in the 1994 World Cup opening ceremony as a 7-year-old. And even now, Negrete is using his experience to fuel his dreams of playing professionally, revisiting the YouTube video of the experience again and again.

“Hopefully one day he gets there, but wherever his life takes him, just for him to see that experience, it’s something he’s never going to forget,” Ocampo said. “Even now, sometimes we talk about him like I can’t believe he actually did that.”

Trips to waterfalls, gardens, galleries, medieval forests and prehistoric caves will make the long school holidays a lot more fun. To help families explore affordably, throughout August buses in England will be free for kids and adult fares will be capped at £3 single. Or, if you arrive somewhere by train, you could buy a PlusBus ticket, which include unlimited local bus travel. Here are six ideas for family outings by bus around England.

Great North Museum, Newcastle

Painted mummy cases, fossilised dino teeth, a stuffed wombat, a fake merman … Newcastle’s Great North Museum: Hancock is full of things kids might love – and entrance is free. Some of the impressive Roman altars are lit with colourful projections and there’s a planetarium with shows (from £2.95). This summer’s exhibition Treasure: Hidden, Lost, Found (free, until 20 Sept) involves thoughtfully curated shiny stuff, from Roman coins to Viking silver unearthed across northern England. Lots of buses stop nearby, and a bus ticket gets you 10% off in the cafe.

This summer, there’s also a Tales on the Tyne trail across Newcastle of giant Peter Rabbit sculptures and other, smaller “fluffles” to raise funds for St Oswald’s hospice. The waterfront hotel INNSiDE Newcastle, near the station, hosts a Tynetastic Peter sculpture, plus art and reading events. Its riverside restaurant has a bambino menu and under-11s get free meals until 6 September. The hotel offers family-friendly rooms (from £119 for four in August, room-only), activity hampers and a free soft-drink minibar.

In stylish Ouseburn, a short bus ride away, the Biscuit Factory gallery hosts three further fluffles, free kids’ activities, rabbit-themed food and a roof terrace. Bus 306 runs regularly all the way out to Tynemouth for an afternoon on the beach under castle-topped cliffs. Back in the city, the art deco Tyneside cinema has selected films at £5 each week and kids’ classics over the summer.

Forest fun near Hatfield, Essex

Open every day and free to enter, the National Trust’s Hatfield Forest has 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of Frisbee-ready flowering fields and shady woodland. Incongruously close to Stansted airport, the forest was once a royal hunting ground and is still home to hundreds of deer, some descended from Henry I’s original 12th-century herds. You can follow a boardwalk through twisting hornbeams, ramble across buttercup-carpeted meadows, build a den and hear yaffling woodpeckers.

Bus 509 from Bishop’s Stortford stops outside The Green Man, a short walk from the forest’s edge. Briefly follow the road signed Hatfield Forest and turn right up the path just after the bridge to find a map and gateway.

The lakeside picnic tables and alfresco cafe are a delightful mile away, past cattle-grazed pastures busy with butterflies, and 1,000-year-old trees. With no car to get back to (parking costs £9), make this a linear walk. Loop through woods to Thremhall Priory or follow the Three Forests way for 4½ miles to the village of Hatfield Broad Oak and catch bus 305 (not Sundays).

In Bishop’s Stortford itself, there’s a riverside splash pool and playgrounds near the recently revamped castle mound. South Mill arts centre has kids’ crafts for £2 and Much Hadham Forge museum has a free event on 27 August, featuring a Tudor storyteller, to celebrate 450 years since their Elizabethan murals were painted. Half-timbered Much Hadham is 20 minutes from Stortford on hourly bus 35 (not Sundays).

Cave art in Nottinghamshire

The Welbeck Estate’s walking map includes an easy-going, sculpture-dotted trail to Creswell Crags, where a bus ticket gets you free entry to the museum and 10% off in the cafe. A stroll through the limestone gorge is spectacular, past ponds and caves where prehistoric humans lived and left rock art on the walls. Bus 209 from Worksop stops every couple of hours (not Sundays) near the Dukeries garden centre and Welbeck courtyard at the start of the trail.

Welbeck has a free museum and gallery in converted outbuildings. Highlights include the pearl earring Charles I was wearing when he was beheaded and a red chalk Madonna by Michelangelo. The award-winning Harley cafe next door serves local food (kids’ soup £5, cheese on toast £6).

Half-price Harewood, West Yorkshire

Like many big country houses, Harewood usually charges adults well over £20 for a day’s worth of paintings, porcelain and landscaped gardens. But arrive on the frequent bus 36 from Leeds or Harrogate, and you get 50% off walk-up ticket prices. This gives you access to the art-filled house, the Capability Brown parkland and gardens with scented borders, waterfalls and bridges in thickets of bamboo.

For kids, there’s a wooded adventure playground with zipwire and slides, a treehouse and a willow maze. They can also borrow a nature safari bag, complete with map and compass, torch, binoculars and magnifying glass. And the summer holidays are packed with extra offers, all free with a ticket: den-building, gardening, statue-cleaning, dressing up, circus skills, and mid-August workshops by Tibetan monks.

Inside, there’s an exhibition of glamorous photos by Cecil Beaton (until 4 October). Alternatively, a 5-mile circular walk from the bus stop takes in deer, buzzards, rolling parkland and the Muddy Boots cafe. Half an hour away on the 36 bus, Leeds has the free five-storey Royal Armouries museum overlooking the dock.

Word-class art indoors and out in Norwich

Elisabeth Frink’s ostrich-like structures stalk through waterside woods. Antony Gormley’s cast iron figures stand poised on rooftops and walkways across the brutalist University of East Anglia (UEA) campus. Henry Moore’s bronze forms recline on the lawns, and angular steel beasts by Lynn Chadwick crouch under a model of Vladimir Tatlin’s tower. The free sculpture park at the Sainsbury Centre is packed with iconic names from 20th-century art and architecture and set in 140 hectares of parkland that are yours to explore, with centuries-old oaks, wild rabbits, and free family-friendly tours and trails.

Inside the Norman Foster-designed gallery (pay what you can), relaunched in 2023, the works are eclectic. You can wander from ancient Chinese tomb figures to a dynamic new installation via a work by Picasso. Kids might like the glass box you can stand in to “become a work of art” near John Davies’ hyper-realistic Bucket Man. The ambitious summer exhibitions look at the meaning of life and aspects of play. Show your bus ticket in the cafe for a 10% discount.

Bus 25 from the station or city centre runs frequently to UEA and stops close to the Sainsbury Centre. It passes the huge square keep of Norwich Castle, which reopened last year after a £27.5m renovation project. There are sound-and-light shows on the old stone walls of the Great Hall and a £2.50 twilight ticket if you visit an hour before closing time.

Wildlife watching in the Lakes

The mossy, fern-fringed waterfalls at Aira Force are 45 minutes on bus 508 from Penrith station. The route runs beside Ullswater with views across the lake to bracken-cloaked Hallin Fell. It’s one of the trips in a new book on Where to Watch Wildlife in Britain By Low-Carbon Transport, along with 100 other car-free trips to nature-rich sites across the UK.

Look out for dippers, dragonflies and red squirrels. The area offers varied and spectacular walks, such as a pushchair- and mobility scooter-friendly stroll through the woods at Pooley Bridge or a hike up Gowbarrow Fell.

THE kids will really dig fossil hunting, seal spotting and making a splash in this off-grid Dorset farm, says Art Director Laura Cunningham.

Here’s how a safari tent adventure will turn into the ultimate family staycation triumph.

THE PAD

When I break the news to my workaholic husband Barney and our kids Ellis, 10, Nate, eight, and six-year-old Violet, that we’ll be without electricity and Wi-Fi for four days, I’m met with horrified faces.

But Feather Down’s East Shilvinghampton Farm offers a wholesome family escape that means screens are fast forgotten.

The spacious safari tents have proper beds, a wood-burning stove and a well-equipped kitchen, and the kids spend hours feeding the goats and climbing trees – even walking the alpacas with farmer’s son Henry, £20 per animal.

Toasting marshmallows on the campfire and cooking pizzas, £12 each, in the communal pizza oven also creates magical memories.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

EXPLORE

Worth the 45-minute drive is Dorset Adventure Park and its giant 200m inflatable water course.

Adults will have just as much fun as kids, who won’t tire of launching you off the flipbag!

Tickets cost £22 each (Dorsetadventurepark.com).

We love feeding monkey nuts to the cute otters and watching penguins waddle around at nearby Sea Life Weymouth, before a round of pirate mini golf.

Combo tickets cost £27 for adults, £24 for kids (Visitsealife.com/weymouth).

And be sure to follow Weymouth’s Fossil Trail, from Alexandra Gardens to Hope Square, to hunt down fossil sculptures and learn more about the prehistoric creatures this coastline is famous for.

It easily fills an hour for us (Weareweymouth.co.uk).

At the beach itself you may be as lucky as us and spot a seal basking on the shoreline.

And if you fancy hanging out with 250 rescued primates, from gibbons to orangutans, in 65 acres of parkland, hit Monkey World.

Adult tickets cost £18, over-threes £12 (Monkeyworld.org).

REFUEL

Follow the queue of people along Weymouth’s waterfront to Rossi’s Ices.

They’re freshly made throughout the day, and we devour the hazelnut ripple and cherry flavours, £2.50 per scoop (Rossisweymouth.com).

Meanwhile, at Watch House Cafe in Bridport, we tuck into delicious crab focaccia with fennel salad and aioli, £14.50, while overlooking picturesque West Bay, AKA the cliffs made famous by Broadchurch (Watchhousecafe.co.uk).

And when hitting the golden sands of Hive beach, don’t miss the crispy chilli and lime squid, £19.50, at Hive Beach Cafe (Hivebeachcafe.co.uk).

Closer to the campsite, The Sunray pub in Osmington has a great outdoor play area and dishes including duroc pork loin served with bubble and squeak cake, scrumpy apple compote and garden sage jus, £23.75, while the kids’ sticky toffee pudding, £4, doesn’t disappoint either (Sunrayosmington.com).

BOOK IT

Safari tent stays for six at East Shilvinghampton Farm cost from £399 for four nights (Featherdown.co.uk).

A federal prosecutor in Texas has shared new details about the moments before an immigration officer shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo that cast doubt about the government’s claim that the man struck an ICE vehicle before he was shot.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer killed Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national and longtime American resident, on July 7 as he was driving to a Houston construction job site with three co-workers, including his brother. ICE has acknowledged he was not the target of the operation.

The shooting sparked protests in the nation’s fourth-largest city, echoing Salgado Araujo’s family’s calls for transparency. The family describes him as a hardworking father who was close to obtaining legal status in the U.S. after living in the country for 35 years.

The shooting came just days before two other men were killed, in Florida and Maine, in confrontations in President Trump’s federal immigration crackdown, renewing scrutiny on the Department of Homeland Security’s law enforcement tactics.

Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said for the first time Thursday that ICE officers were targeting two Guatemalan men who were potentially subject to deportation. He said they were driving a van similar to the one Salgado Araujo was driving when he was killed. In an earlier statement released the day Salgado Araujo was killed, Homeland Security said he was targeted in an immigration enforcement operation and he was living in the country without legal permission.

Reitz also said that the officers believed that Salgado Araujo and the passengers in his car fit the description of the Guatemalan men the agents were looking for.

Four officers driving two separate law enforcement vehicles attempted to pull over Salgado Araujo’s van using their police lights. Salgado Araujo then made a U-turn and drove over a median to evade getting pulled over, Reitz said.

Later that morning, the officers again encountered Salgado Araujo’s van and for the second time tried to pull him over, this time essentially surrounding the vehicle, Reitz said. Two of the four agents got out of their cars and told Salgado Araujo to put the vehicle in park. Just before he was shot, one of the agents was “partially inside the van or immediately next to it” when Salgado Araujo tried to reverse the van and then drive forward again, Reitz said.

An earlier Homeland Security statement accused Salgado Araujo of “weaponizing” his vehicle. The agency said he rammed his van into a law enforcement vehicle and said an officer opened fire in self-defense. The most recent statement from the U.S attorney’s office, however, didn’t mention any collision between Salgado Araujo’s van and a law enforcement vehicle. It also didn’t explicitly say that the officer feared for his life. There are no reported injuries among the officers involved.

The latest statement didn’t name the officer who killed Salgado Araujo, nor did it specify whether the officer who fired the shot was the same person who was next to, or partially inside, the van.

Reitz also said in the statement that officers “saw in plain view several small bags of a white, crystal-like substance inside the van” and that the FBI later executed a search warrant to investigate for possible illicit substances.

Salgado Araujo’s brother, who was in the van when the shooting happened, has been in ICE detention since the incident. His attorney said the white substance was a salt mixture that the men used as electrolytes to stay hydrated while doing manual labor in the grueling Texas heat.

Few photos or videos surrounding the shooting in Houston have emerged on social media, unlike other deaths involving federal immigration officers.

Riddle writes for the Associated Press.

A mother who faked a pregnancy after suffering several miscarriages is the subject of a harrowing Netflix documentary.

Netflix’s latest docu-drama unravels an elaborate lie that saw a woman to cross an irreversible line.

Streaming giant Netflix has just unveiled an emotional trailer for a tragic docu-drama perfect for Maternal Instinct fans, that tells the story of a Mexican woman named Alejandra.

Based on real events that shook all of Mexico in 2009, the film, which features both dramatisations and real home footage, tells of how Alejandra had always wanted to be a mother. However, after suffering multiple miscarriage and noticing the distain from her family, she decided to fake a pregnancy.

The trailer features the voice of Alejandra, who says: “I felt so special. From the moment that the people close to you start treating you lovingly, expectantly, with that joy.

“The way they come up and touch your belly…Many times I wanted to say ‘This isn’t happening, I’m not pregnant’.”

Alejandra explained the tragic reasoning behind her actions, sharing: “When I got married, I felt pressured to please his family.”

Being only 25 at the time, she felt burdened by family and societal expectations and despite her efforts to conceive, she struggled numerous times.

Alejandra then recalled how she met a young woman named Mayra, who she claimed was pregnant but did not want to have the baby. Fixated on the knowledge she knew somebody who did not want to keep their baby, Alejandra began orchestrating her elaborate plan to abduct a child.

She is heard saying: “When I started gaining weight, everything started to change. I wanted someone to burst that balloon of lies.”

In June 2009, she went to the Hospital General de México, where she was employed, and left with a newborn girl, tucking the baby into a bag. Contributors offering their testimony in the film are heard saying: “This was very hard to believe. Yet, it happened.”

Reflecting on her actions, Alejandra said: “What did I do wrong? Breaking the law. Deceiving. Hurting. I think my desire to be a mum was to please others.”

Her story was told in a book by Randall Fuquay called A Child to Call My Own: A True Story of Desperate Love, a Stolen Child, and the Nine Months that Changed Everything. Now, the story has been adapted for the small screen by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Maite Alberdi.

A Child of My Own comes to Netflix on August 13

WASHINGTON — For Mary Fisher–mother, artist, philanthropist and HIV-positive woman–the moment is now.

She tries hard not to think about the future: her future, or the possibility that her children will face their future without her. When she feels the fear, it comes “in that reflective place you find yourself in at night, when you’re forced to find a quiet time,” she said.

“I allow my work and my children to fill my time, so I don’t have to think about those things on a daily or hourly basis,” she said. “I couldn’t get through the days if I did.”

Nor does Fisher dwell on her medical situation with her two young sons, who are now 6 and 4. Neither of them is infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.

“The best thing I can do for them is be with them, look them straight in the eye, answer their questions as best I can and be here, be involved in their lives as best I can,” she said. “They know I have a disease. I don’t know if they’re relating it to what their dad had–and I don’t know if I want them to relate to it, because I’m not sick.

“I don’t want to instill my fears–if I have them–in my children,” she added.

It has been nearly two years since Fisher, 45, seared the public consciousness with her speech before the Republican National Convention.

Standing before her fellow Republicans, she spoke in calm, gentle tones–but delivered a personal story that shocked the hall into silence.

“I think she reaches people that activists like myself can never reach, which is people who respond to maternal warmth and not to yelling,” said playwright Larry Kramer, a close friend of Fisher’s who is a founding member of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power).

“That’s why she is as important as we are, maybe more so,” he said. “We’re a funny pair because she’s always saying to me: ‘Larry, I wish I had some of your anger.’ And I’m always saying to her: ‘Mary, I wish I had some of your compassion.’ I see her speeches on TV and say: ‘Mary, why don’t you get angrier?’ And she says: ‘Larry, I can’t.’ But I think she’s exceedingly effective being as she is, and I don’t want her to change a decibel.”

Fisher challenged the Republican Party to confront the AIDS epidemic with candor and compassion and to make the issue its own.

Since then, she has traveled the nation, speaking in churches, schools, prisons–wherever there is an audience that can learn from her message: If it can happen to me, it can happen to you.

In many quarters, “people perceive AIDS as a depressing subject and don’t want to take personal responsibility,” Fisher said from the home she now rents in a Maryland suburb outside Washington, where she moved her family from Boca Raton, Fla., last summer.

“They try to make me an exception,” she said. “I am not unusual. I am unusual only because I am speaking out. . . . The point is, there are a lot of me’s out there, women with small children who are (HIV) positive, women who are devastated, women who are scared to talk about it. I know, because they come to me when I am traveling. It’s truly amazing.”

In some ways, Fisher is wrong–she is unusual in the framework of the AIDS epidemic: She is wealthy — the daughter of longtime GOP fund-raiser and Detroit real estate mogul Max Fisher — and she works for herself at home (she creates art using handmade paper) so she has no “workplace problem” with AIDS.

And she has enough money to keep her children sheltered, although she has not isolated them.

Moreover, she is a longtime Republican with impeccable political credentials and connections.

Fisher includes former Presidents Gerald R. Ford and George Bush and their families among her closest friends. She once worked in the Ford White House, and photographs of Ford and her two sons, Max and Zachary, adorn her living room.

But AIDS is the great leveler, so she is also right–in many ways, she is no exception at all.

Fisher was infected by her former husband, Brian Campbell, who reportedly was at one time an intravenous drug user. He has since died of AIDS. Women infected through heterosexual contact have become a rapidly growing population.

Fisher said it took a long time for her to come to grips with her infection–and to speak about it.

“The discovery that we are HIV-positive tends to divide our lives into ‘before’ and ‘after,’ ” Fisher wrote in a newly published collection of her speeches, “Sleep with the Angels,” subtitled, “a mother challenges AIDS.”

The book, she says, “is not just about AIDS, it’s about children. It’s about religion. It’s about how we as a people deal with each other, and it’s about my life, my relationships with others and the unconditional love that’s out there.”

Kramer, who is quick to criticize others involved in AIDS activities, has only praise and affection for Fisher.

“It’s impossible not to like Mary because she is so caring and loving and motherly and interested, and because she puts her arms around you and gives you wonderful hugs,” he said.

Fisher learned in July, 1991, that she was infected, but she said it took six months before she was ready to tell her story publicly.

After she did, and after she spoke to the GOP convention, Bush appointed her to the now-defunct National Commission on AIDS, replacing Earvin (Magic) Johnson, the HIV-positive retired Los Angeles Lakers star who quit over what he said was an unresponsive Administration.

Fisher also founded the Family AIDS Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising AIDS awareness nationwide.

The network, she says, plans to give “care-giver” awards this spring because “they are the people who take care of us. They are the people who do not leave this epidemic.” She also said she hopes that the organization can raise enough money for small AIDS research grants.

Currently, Fisher has no symptoms and takes no AIDS medication. “I feel really healthy, and am doing fine,” she said. “As far as I know, everything is good.”

Fisher said she intends to keep doing everything she is doing for as long as she can, speaking quietly and forcefully about the epidemic to whoever will listen.

“If we can create a dialogue and keep it going, I believe it’s the only way we can make a difference,” she said.

SCHOOL’S out for summer. And if you’re one of the many strapped-for-cash Brits who has yet to book their family getaway, listen up.

The Algarve is the cheapest holiday destination for families in 2026 offering bargain food and drinks among other holiday essentials.

The Portuguese resort was crowned the most budget-friendly of 22 European holiday destinations in The Post Office Travel Money’s annual Family Holiday Costs Barometer.

Conducted in partnership with TUI, the research looked into the average price of ten typical getaway items for a family of four in some of the most popular short-haul holiday destinations.

These items included a cup of coffee, a bottle of beer/lager, a can of cola, a glass of wine, a large bottle of water, sun cream, insect repellent, children’s pizza or pasta, a two-course lunch for two adults and a three-course family meal with wine and soft drinks.

Overall, the Algarve was shown to be the least damaging to wallets with a total cost of £139.65 for all the above items.

WAIL OF A TIME

I drove Irish Route 66 with deserted golden beaches and pirate-like islands

TEMPTED?

Tiny ‘Bali of Europe’ town with stunning beaches, €3 cocktails and £20 flights

This is a 2.7 per cent dip in overall costs from the previous year, pushing the sun-soaked region ahead of Bulgaria’s notoriously affordable Sunny Beach on the budget scale.

Sunny Beach still came in second place overall, however, despite a staggering 9.3 per cent hike in costs since 2025, with all ten holiday items coming in at a total of £142.16 — just a few quid more than the Algarve.

It is still the most affordable place for a meal out, though.

According to the research, dinner for a family of four will set the average holidaymaker back around £73, compared with £78 in the Algarve.

In general, the report looks promising for Brits who love Spain’s gorgeous costas and islands, too.

On the whole, the country was shown to be widely affordable with six destinations making it into the top ten most budget-friendly regions for 2026.

The Canary isle of Lanzarote came in third place with overall costs of £147.42.

It was shown to be the cheapest spot for both a bottle of beer (£2.18) and adult lunch (£15.73), although some items like sun cream were found to be a bit more pricey.

Menorca, the Costa Brava and Tenerife came in fourth, fifth and sixth place on the list, with overall holiday item costs of £151.28, £155.02 and £158.31 respectively.

Each of these Spanish hot spots is new to the barometer for 2026, with TUI reporting increased demand for these destinations and Western Europe on a whole this year.

In all three holiday regions, a glass of wine was shown to be under £4 on average, with tipples in the Costa Brava and Tenerife costing less than they would in the Algarve.

On the other hand, if you’re a family with multiple hungry mouths to feed, you may want to set your sights on Marmaris, which came in seventh place overall.

According to the report, this Turkish destination has the most affordable kids meals of all 22 spots, setting holidaymakers back £10.24 on average for pizza or pasta for two kids.

That’s over £3 cheaper than in the winning budget destination, the Algarve, and could make a huge difference on a week-long getaway.

Completing the top ten chart are Spain’s Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, plus Paphos in Cyprus, coming in eighth, ninth and tenth place respectively with barometer costs of £163.17, £173.41 and £177.18.

Laura Plunkett, head of Post Office Travel Money, said: “It is more important than ever to do some research before heading off on your holiday to inform how much holiday cash you’ll need for meals, drinks and other tourist staples.

“For those families who haven’t already booked and are looking for a late deal, the low resort prices in Portugal and Spain make these countries great value for money, while Bulgaria’s Black Sea resorts are strong contenders, too.”

At the opposite end of the scale, Italy’s Sorrento appeared to be the most expensive of all 22 destinations, with all ten of the holiday essentials costing £268.23 in total — almost double the price of the same items in the Algarve.

Holidaymakers visiting this Italian gem would be shelling out around £5.68 for a bottle of beer, £4.37 for a cup of coffee and a staggering £150.28 for a three-course family meal. Mamma Mia!

A woman has been arrested by Spanish police as she attempted to board a flight out of the country, having allegedly left a £2,000 hotel bill unpaid

Restaurant owners have complained that “dine and dash” offences are on the increase, with some customers ducking out on bills of hundreds of pounds. But as shocking as those losses are, they are dwarfed by a massive £2,000 bill left unpaid after one family’s 11-night holiday at an all-inclusive resort in the Canary Islands.

Officers of Spain’s National Police have arrested a foreign tourist on suspicion of fraud after she allegedly left a hotel in San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria) without paying for her stay, which was valued at 2,483 euros (£2,125).

In a press release, the National Police explained that hotel managers had reported that a family of two adults and a child had left the premises after an 11-night all-inclusive stay without settling the bill.

The stay had been booked through the resort’s website, and the customers had provided a credit card number as a security deposit. However, when hotel staff attempted to process the bill at the end of the guests’ stay, they were unable to complete the transaction.

Despite making several attempts to contact the customers, no payment was received and police officers were mobilised to intercept the guest as she attempted to leave the country.

Video footage provided by the National Police shows the as-yet-unnamed suspect being arrested at Gran Canaria Airport. After her arrest, the woman was taken to the Maspalomas police station for processing and was subsequently placed at the disposal of the judicial authorities.

The National Police emphasised its commitment to protecting the Canary Islands’ tourism sector and reminded visitors that any attempt to avoid payment for goods or services will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Here in the UK, a 2018 survey found that one in 20 people had walked out without paying for a meal.

Donna Jones, the Conservative police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, told The Daily Mail that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of “dine and dash” offences in recent years.

While some have blamed the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, Ms Jones dismissed that suggestion, saying, “They’re driving away in their own cars.” She urged any businesses affected by crimes of this kind to “share images online … and to name and shame those individuals”.

Kate Nicholls, the CEO of the industry organisation UKHospitality, told the Guardian that while only a minority of customers behaved in this way, incidents of people avoiding paying for meals could be “a serious matter” for the bars and restaurants involved.

“These businesses operate on very tight net-profit margins – less than 4% – and often it can be quite big-spend items that people are going for,” she explained.

Adding that referring to the offences as “dine and dash” escapades trivialised what could be a very serious problem for hospitality businesses: “Let’s call it what it is,” she said. “This is theft and fraud and it should be prosecuted as such. It’s not a victimless crime. It is money that is being taken from a business for goods and services consumed – it’s exactly the same as shoplifting.”