fights

WESTPORT, Conn. — A man contesting the handling of the will of the late U.S. Rep. Stewart B. McKinney disputes official reports that McKinney contracted AIDS from blood transfusions, saying that for five years he was the Connecticut congressman’s lover.

McKinney, 56, a liberal Republican who died in 1987 during his ninth term in Congress, left a car and a 40% share of his Washington house to the man, Arnold R. Denson, according to documents on file in Probate Court. Denson’s share of the estate is worth at least $59,200.

Denson displayed photographs, bills and other documents to support his claim.

Vic Basil, former executive director of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, also said that Denson and McKinney were lovers. The Washington-based Human Rights Campaign Fund is the nation’s largest gay-lesbian political action group and lobbying organization.

McKinney’s wife, Lucie, denied that her husband was homosexual.

Denson, 34, a real estate agent, said the two lived together in McKinney’s Washington home. Lucie McKinney remained in Connecticut, where the congressman spent most weekends.

McKinney’s family learned of the affair when he was on his death bed, Denson says. He said he agreed not to reveal the relationship at the family’s request and was told that in exchange for his silence he would receive the property willed to him.

But Denson has not received his inheritance and is battling Lucie McKinney in Probate Court in Westport. He decided to speak publicly after a hearing Monday.

Cesar Caceres, McKinney’s physician, issued a statement the day of McKinney’s death on May 7, 1987, saying that McKinney had contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion he received after coronary bypass surgery in 1979.

When informed of Denson’s statement, Lucie McKinney on Monday again denied that her husband was homosexual.

Her attorney, Lawrence J. Halloran, also disputed Denson’s claim. He said that McKinney and Denson were friends and business associates, that McKinney lived alone in Washington and that Denson rented an apartment attached to McKinney’s home.

Denson, a divorced father of two, said he believes McKinney was already infected with AIDS when they met in 1982, and said two previous lovers of McKinney have died of AIDS.

Denson said he has recently tested negative for the virus that causes AIDS and has abstained from sex since McKinney’s death.

The estate could be wiped out by a claim filed by Lucie McKinney, who is an heir to the Procter & Gamble fortune as well as to an oil and railroad fortune. She testified Monday that her husband borrowed $432,552 from her trust fund and promised to pay her back.

The U.S. Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), better known as the Night Stalkers, has been exploring ways to ensure it can operate in more heavily defended airspace in the future. This includes making increased use of uncrewed aircraft, the employment of new electronic warfare and decoy capabilities, and just flying longer and faster. The U.S. special operations community as a whole continues to reorient itself around preparing for high-end fights, such as one across the broad expanses of the Pacific against China, after decades of low-intensity missions in much more permissive environments.

Army Col. Stephen Smith, head of the 160th SOAR, talked about planning for future operations in denied areas deep inside an opponent’s anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) ‘bubble’ during a panel discussion today at the Association of the U.S. Army’s main annual symposium. TWZ‘s Howard Altman was in attendance and had the opportunity to speak more with Smith directly afterward. The Night Stalkers publicly acknowledged fleets include a mixture of heavily modified MH-60M Black Hawk, MH-47G Chinook, and AH/MH-6R Little Bird helicopters. The 160th also has MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones. The unit expects to eventually receive special operations-specific versions of the Army’s future MV-75A tiltrotor.

“Over the last 20 years that I’ve been in the Regiment, we have been really, really good at deploying in an environment like GWOT,” Smith said, referring to the Global War on Terror era of operations in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. “What we have done over the last 10 years is, we’ve looked at the near-peer threats across the globe, and we looked at ‘how does the 160th expect to operate inside that environment?’”

“So, what we’re going to have on the aircraft to defend the aircraft, by itself, will not survive in the A2/AD environment,” he also said bluntly during the panel, speaking generally about the known Night Stalker fleets.

Specialized training for Night Stalkers to help them survive in more contested environments has existed, but there is clearly a new paradigm.

“What we realized was really two major takeaways. The number one takeaway is we can’t do it alone. The idea of ‘alone and unafraid,’ that does not exist in the denied area planning space,” he explained. “And then, second, we needed a team to look at that. So we stood up a five-person team that consisted of our aviation flight leads.”

“When we started looking at the training concept of how the 160th is going to operate, we leveraged the three range complexes on the West Coast of the United States to create an environment that provides us a ‘tyranny of distance‘ problem, but also the complexity of using those three ranges to replicate a near-peer,” he added.

The 160th’s commander says the unit has come from all this with new views on how it might operate in more heavily defended environments going forward. This includes additional emphasis on crewed-uncrewed teaming.

“Manned-unmanned teaming is the future. We’ve talked about the potential of launched effects off the aircraft, or a potential loyal wingman,” Col. Smith said. Launched effects is a broad term that the U.S. military currently uses to refer to uncrewed aerial systems configured for different missions, like reconnaissance or acting as loitering munitions, which can be fired from other aerial platforms, as well as ones on the ground or at sea.

“We see in the near future, for our primary mission of crisis response, and also denied area penetration, we still see a human in the loop,” Smith noted. “We don’t expect to send Kit [Col. Kitefre Oboho, commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment] and his team to the X without Night Stalkers in the front of the aircraft.”

Smith highlighted how the 160th has already been teaming its crewed helicopters with its MQ-1Cs drones as something the unit is looking to build on. “So, when we train on the West Coast, we’ll use an MQ-1 to lead the half [a group of helicopters] into the objective.”

This also leads into the electronic warfare and decoy capabilities the Night Stalkers are looking at as part of future denied area operations planning.

“We can hang different capabilities on that platform [the MQ-1C]. So that platform could look like a Black Hawk. It could look like a [CH-]47. It could look like a Little Bird,” Smith said. “So we’re using that as a decoy, [and there are] potentially other capabilities on [the] side of that aircraft.”

The 160th is also exploring other new electronic warfare capabilities, including improved self-protect jamming systems, according to Smith. “We’re also looking at a layered effect of using cyber and space to create a pulse for us to be able to penetrate,” he added.

There’s also just the matter of being able to fly longer and do so faster. The 160th is already well known for conducting long-duration flights in challenging and hostile environments. The unit’s MH-60Ms and MH-47Gs are capable of being refueled in flight to extend their range. Night Stalkers typically fly their missions at extremely low altitudes and under the cover of darkness, using terrain to help mask their ingress and egress.

“Leveraging the cover of darkness, leveraging weather, flying at low altitudes, and flying where the enemy systems are not. That seems somewhat obvious, but that is really driving the basis of our Night Stalker fundamentals, [and] mission planning to create those contingencies so we can buy down a number of the risk,” Col. Smith said.

However, historically, 160th operations have often been punctuated by stops at temporary forward arming and refueling points (FARP) along the way, to and from objectives. Smith says extending the range of his fleets will be key to future operations in denied areas because of the vulnerabilities that landing in the middle of a mission creates.

“One of the things we’ve learned is, if you go to ground, you’re vulnerable,” he said. “And so we have leveraged our aerial refuel[ing capability] to get after that, and we look at some of our collapsible fuel systems inside the aircraft to do that.”

There is a question here that is increasingly facing the entire U.S. military, about how existing non-stealthy aerial refueling tankers will be able to support any fixed or rotary-wing aircraft operating deep in high-threat areas. The U.S. Air Force, which currently provides the bulk of aerial refueling support to the 160th, has separately been looking at ways to get after that problem set, as you can read more about here.

This is also where the future special operations version of the MV-75A, which is set to offer the 160th an important boost in speed and range, especially over its MH-60Ms, could also come into the picture. Those tiltrotors are also expected to have aerial refueling capability. Questions do also remain about what the final special operations configuration of the MV-75A may look like, though we know the core design is already being developed with specific features to make it more readily adaptable to that role.

“That’s a great question, and we don’t know, and that’s why we’re actually having that conversation,” Col. Smith told TWZ‘s Howard Altman after the panel when asked for more information about what the special operations configuration of the MV-75A might look like. “We have not determined what that looks like. Is it the version that we’re all in lockstep with, is that going to be the version? possibly. Is [sic] there some minor modifications? potentially.”

What is clear is that the 160th SOAR is looking hard at ways to ensure that it can bring its unique skill sets and otherwise survive, even in more contested environments, while taking part in future high-end fights.

Contact the author: [email protected]

“We have to die so people can keep working.” Canada’s Grassy Narrows First Nation is taking on the government over a local employer’s poisoning of their water.

Tuvalu’s Minister of Climate Change Maina Talia has told Al Jazeera that his country is fighting to stay above rising sea levels and needs “real commitments” from other countries that will allow Tuvaluans to “stay in Tuvalu” as the climate crisis worsens.

The low-lying nation of nine atolls and islands, which is situated between Australia and Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, is fighting to maintain its sovereignty by exploring new avenues in international diplomacy.

But, right now, the country needs help just to stay above water.

“Coming from a country that is barely not one metre above the sea, reclaiming land and building sea walls and building our resilience is the number one priority for us,” Talia told Al Jazeera in an interview during the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York.

“We cannot delay any more. Climate finance is important for our survival,” Talia said.

“It’s not about building [over the] next two or three years to come, but right now, and we need it now, in order for us to respond to the climate crisis,” he said.

Talia, who is also Tuvalu’s minister of home affairs and the environment, said the issue of financing will be a key issue at the upcoming UN COP30 climate meeting in Belem, in the Brazilian Amazon, in November.

‘You pollute, you pay’

Tuvalu is one of many countries already pushing for a better deal on climate financing at this year’s COP, after many advocates left last year’s meeting in Azerbaijan disappointed by the unambitious $300bn target set by richer countries.

Describing the COP climate meeting as having become more like a “festival for the oil-producing countries”, Talia said Tuvalu is also exploring a range of alternative initiatives, from a push to create the world’s first fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty to seeking to add its entire cultural heritage to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Representatives of oil-producing countries are now attending the COP climate meetings in “big numbers”, Talia said, in order to try and “really bury our voice as small developing countries”.

“They take control of the narrative. They take control of the process. They try to water down all the texts. They try to put a stop to climate finance,” Talia said.

“It’s about time that we should call out to the world that finance is important for us to survive,” he said.

“The polluter pay principle is still there. You pollute, you pay,” he added.

Talia also said that it was frustrating to see his own country struggling to survive, while other countries continue to spend billions of dollars on weapons for current and future wars.

“Whilst your country is facing this existential threat, it’s quite disappointing to see that the world is investing billions and trillions of dollars in wars, in conflicts,” he said.

A report released this week by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) found that 39 small island countries, which are home to some 65 million people, already need about $12bn a year to help them cope with the effects of climate change.

That figure is many times more than the roughly $2bn a year they are collectively receiving now, and which represents just 0.2 percent of the amount spent on global climate finance worldwide.

GCA, a Rotterdam-based nonprofit organisation, also found that island states are already experiencing an average $1.7bn in annual economic losses due to climate change.

Tuvalu is not only focused on its own survival – the island state is considered to be facing one of the most severe existential threats from rising sea levels – it is also continuing to find ways to fight climate change globally.

“That’s why Tuvalu is leading the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Talia said.

About 16 countries have now signed on to the treaty, with Colombia offering to host the first international conference for the phase-out of fossil fuels next year.

“We see its relevance for us,” Talia said of the treaty.

“We want to grow in number in order for us to come up with a treaty, apart from the Paris Agreement,” he said.

‘We need to hold the industrialised countries accountable’

Even as Tuvalu, a country with a population of less than 10,000 people, is fighting for immediate action on climate change, it is also making preparations for its own uncertain future, including creating a digital repository of its culture so that nothing is lost to the sea.

Talia, who is also Tuvalu’s minister for culture, said that he made the formal preliminary submission to UNESCO two weeks before the UNGA meeting for “the whole of Tuvalu to be listed” on the World Heritage List.

“If we are to disappear, which is something that we don’t want to anticipate, but if worst comes to worst, at least you know our values, our culture, heritage, are well secured,” he told Al Jazeera.

Likewise, Talia said his country doesn’t see its 2023 cooperation pact with Australia, which also includes the world’s first climate change migration visa, as an indication that the island’s future is sealed.

“I don’t look at the Falepili Agreement as a way of escaping the issue of climate change, but rather a pathway,” he said.

“A pathway that we will allow our people in Tuvalu to get good education, trained, and then return home,” he said, referring to the agreement giving some Tuvaluans access to education, healthcare and unlimited travel to Australia.

The agreement text includes an acknowledgement from both parties that “the statehood and sovereignty of Tuvalu will continue, and the rights and duties inherent thereto will be maintained, notwithstanding the impact of climate change-related sea level rise”.

Talia also said that a recent ruling from the UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, declared that states have a responsibility to address climate change by cooperating to cut emissions, following through on climate agreements, and protecting vulnerable populations and ecosystems from harm.

The ICJ ruling “really changed the whole context of climate change debates”, Talia said.

“The highest court has spoken, the highest court has delivered the judgement,” he said of the case, which was brought before the ICJ by Tuvalu’s neighbour Vanuatu.

“So it’s just a matter of, how are we going to live that, or weave that, into our climate policies,” he said.

“We need to hold the industrialised countries accountable to their actions,” he added.

Emmerdale revealed this week that newcomer Celia was the mastermind behind the County Lines dealing currently targeting the teens on the ITV soap, and she’s linked to dealer Ray

The latest episode of Emmerdale may have teased who could bring down villain Celia, following a war of words with her secret ‘son’ Ray.

Viewers were left stunned this week when they found out farmer Celia was actually the mastermind behind the drugs operation, led by Ray, going on in and out of the village. With teens Dylan and April dragged into it and facing huge debts, it was thought that sinister Ray was in charge, while he did refer to a ‘boss’ who we had not met.

Thursday saw Celia turn dark though, after weeks of her claiming to be one of the good ones… sort of. She befriended Moira Dingle and targeted the Tates, but this whole time she has been running a corrupt scheme in a shocking County Lines storyline.

With it set to continue, Thursday’s episode saw Celia reveal she was in charge and calling all the shots, as she lectured Ray and reduced him to a terrified wreck. He referred to her as being his mum this week, with it confirmed that she raised him from a young age and dragged him into this world.

READ MORE: Coronation Street and Emmerdale’s epic crossover episode – first details revealedREAD MORE: Coronation Street star returns to ITV soap – two years after vanishing from screen

With Dylan groomed and manipulated into Ray and Celia’s criminal ways, more recently it was April who was targeted while it seems Ray has experienced the same. A scene on Friday saw the pair clash as Ray and Celia came to blows over “Ray’s mess”.

April had accidentally dropped some pills at her home before heading out to do a drop at Ray’s request. Her younger brother Leo was rushed to hospital after taking one, while April was forced to lie to the police about Celia.

This mess with the police and their drugs left Celia acting fast and scolding Ray, blaming him. On Friday, Ray called his ‘mum’ out for the “nasty” things she said before implying she had been violent towards him in the past.

Talking about her “lashing out” he said: “I’ve got the scars to prove it.” He then made a death admission about her, making it clear he wanted rid of her.

He said: “I wish I could leave home. Actually, I wish I could stay and you’d be dead.” Celia wasn’t even unnerved, telling Ray: “Finally, growing a pair.”

Ray went to storm off but Celia grabbed him, telling him: “You wouldn’t last five minutes.” She then kissed him on the cheek and he stormed out. But will Ray act on his threat?

Could we see Ray trigger the downfall of Celia after years of being forced to do her dirty work, and hints of abuse too? Maybe he will take a deadly revenge. We’ll just have to wait and see!

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .

Returning home

About 70 percent of the Nukak population remains displaced from their ancestral lands, according to the FCDS.

Most families have been pushed into sedentary lifestyles, settling in makeshift camps on the edge of towns, where addiction and child sexual exploitation became widespread.

Others have settled on small plots in rural areas, where tensions with settlers flared over land disputes.

“The settlers took over the land as if it were vacant. They say there were no Nukak, but what happened was that the Nukak got sick and left,” said Njibe.

In the most remote reaches of the Amazon, where the Nukak reservation is located, the Colombian government has little presence.

The Nukak, therefore, have few legal protections from settler violence when they try to reclaim their lands.

But in recent years, Nukak members like Njibe, tired of waiting for government action, resolved to return on their own.

The idea gained traction in 2020, when several clans retreated into the jungle for fear of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But after returning to their relative isolation, the clans considered staying for good. They called on nongovernmental organisations like FCDS for support.

At that time, Njibe was living on a small farm inside the limits of the Nukak Maku reservation.

Even within the reservation, decades of colonisation had razed large swaths of the forest. Grassy pastures dotted with cows had replaced the Amazon’s towering palm trees.

Deforestation had increased in the wake of a 2016 peace deal between the government and the FARC. The rebel group previously limited deforestation in the Amazon in order to use its dense canopies as cover against air surveillance.

But, as part of the deal, FARC — the largest armed rebel group at the time — agreed to demobilise. A power vacuum emerged in its place.

According to FCDS, powerful landowners quickly moved into areas formerly controlled by the FARC, converting the land into cattle pastures.

Armed dissident groups who rejected the peace deal also remained active in the area, charging extortion fees per cow.

“The colonisation process has caused many [Nukak] sites to be either destroyed or absorbed by settler farms,” said a FCDS expert who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation.

Still, in 2022, the FCDS forged ahead with a pilot programme to support seven Nukak communities as they settled deeper into the reservation, where the lush forest still remained. There, the Nukak hoped they could revive a more traditional, if not completely nomadic, way of life.

But many of the expeditions to identify permanent relocation sites failed.

Initially, Njibe hoped to move to a sacred lake inside the reservation that he recalled from his childhood, but once he arrived at the site, he found that it was now part of a ranch.

When he asked the settler who ran the ranch for permission to stay there, the rancher rejected his request, and Njibe was forced to choose another place to live.

He considered returning to a forested area — about 24 hectares (59 acres) wide, roughly the size of 33 football fields — that he considered his childhood home.

But that too lay within a ranch. This time, however, the settler in question, who Njibe said was more sympathetic to his land claims, allowed him to stay.

“You’re in this now! You’ve got a lot of work to do!”

The gravelly voice was unmistakably Kirk Gibson. The object of his growl was a journalist who spent two years battling him on the Dodgers beat.

Only this time, Gibby wasn’t yelling at me. This time, he was cheering for me.

“I’m fighting it, you gotta fight it! You gotta take it head-on, because this s— ain’t going away!”

Kirk Gibson plays ping pong at the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness in Farmington Hills, Mich., on Sept. 26.

(Nic Antaya/Nic Antaya / For the Times)

Thirty-five years after we sparred in the Dodger clubhouse, Gibson and I have found ourselves on the same team.

We both have Parkinson’s Disease, and he spent much of a recent 45-minute phone call pushing me to battle the incurable illness the way he once battled a certain backdoor slider.

“Is it fun being depressed? You cannot succumb!”

It’s that time of year when folks talk about arguably the greatest moment in Dodger history, Gibson’s one-legged, two-run homer against future Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley to win the World Series opener against the Oakland Athletics and spark the team to a 1988 championship.

Kirk Gibson’s game-winning home run from Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

For many, an indelible memory. But in many ways, he’s no longer the same Kirk Gibson.

In 2015, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, a progressive neurological disorder that affects movement.

Today, his home-run gait around the bases would be wobbly, and his right fist pumps would be shaky, and afterward he might need help in the locker room buttoning his shirt.

But one thing that has remained powerful is his fire.

“You battle through it!”

He is battling it such that this fall, he will hit another monumental home run, this one far more impactful than any previous October blast.

On Oct. 6, in a gleaming building located in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills, Gibson will formally open the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness.

For those like me, heaven.

There are few places in the country quite like it — this giant, 30,000-square feet warehouse dedicated to Parkinson’s patients, complete with two gyms, 11 spaces for movement classes, a track, a social space and even quiet rooms for those experiencing the off times that occur during those dreaded gaps in the daily medication.

Catherine Yu leads a tai chi class at the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness in Farmington Hills, Mich.

(Nic Antaya/Nic Antaya / For the Times)

And it’s all free. For everyone. All the time.

“It was fun to hit the home run, but this involves a lot more people,” Gibson said. “We’re trying to create a culture where people with Parkinson’s can thrive. Instead of sitting home being depressed, you come out and occupy your mind and participate in classes and deal with your life.”

Gibson is so ingrained in his created community that he has an office in the middle of the building and shows up nearly every day to coach a most unlikely looking squad.

“We’re not a good-looking group, but we’re a great group,” he said. “We’re a bunch of people moving around, shaking, some have walkers, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. We’re a beautiful bunch.”

When Gibson gives speeches, he asks the audience to identify their own personal World Series. Gibson was a Fall Classic hero in 1984 and 1988, but it’s clear, his World Series is here, his World Series is now, and as he strongly encouraged me in my situation, you could almost hear the drumbeat of October.

“Fight it! Take it head on!”

The night Kirk Gibson made Dodger history, he did so alone. Because he was certain leg injuries would prevent him from playing in the 1988 World Series opener, he sent his family home before the game. When he hit his historic blast, he was unable to share it with loved ones, so it didn’t seem real.

Dodgers star Kirk Gibson raises his arm in celebration as he rounds the bases after hitting a two–run game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Oakland Athletics 5–4 in the first game of the World Series at Dodger Stadium on Oct. 15, 1988.

(AP)

“All these years, I didn’t really know what happened,” he said. “I never really felt it.”

That all changed last October when Freddie Freeman matched Gibson’s dramatics with a Game 1 grand slam to beat the New York Yankees.

The moment Gibson heard Joe Davis say, “Gibby, meet Freddie,” the impact finally sunk in.

“When he made that call, that put it all in perspective,” Gibson said. “He took that moment and made it what it had been all those years. I got it, and I was handing it off to Freddie, and I was so honored.”

Gibson said his Parkinson’s diagnosis, which was made official in 2015 after his left arm became glued to his side, has made him appreciate every small wonder.

“After all these years of gruffness … I’ve changed,” he said. “It’s like you’re living a different life.”

Several years ago Gibson was playing golf with an Australian businessman who had no idea that Gibson was once a baseball and football star. Steve Annear was struck by Gibson’s devotion to seeking a Parkinson’s cure, which had become the focus of the Kirk Gibson Foundation.

“Here was this popular athlete who could have been doing anything,” said Annear. “But he was spending his time helping other people. I so admired him.”

Steve Annear, CEO of the Kirk Gibson Foundation, left, stands beside former Dodgers star Kirk Gibson in front of a pool table at the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness in Farmington Hills, Mich.

(Nic Antaya/Nic Antaya / For the Times)

Annear, an amputee who recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with the sort of fighting spirit that first attracted Gibson, became CEO and director of the foundation. Their team came up with the idea of a wellness center in 2023, raised $27 million to build it and construction was completed in July. In the process, it became obvious that Gibson’s approach was different.

The legendarily abrasive superstar? It had been replaced by a more sensitive soul, one who will give impromptu pep talks to anyone he encounters who is clearly suffering from Parkinson’s, whether it be in an airport terminal or grocery store checkout line.

”There’s no doubt that Parkinson’s has humbled Gibby,” said Annear. “He is selfless, very determined, very passionate, all about other people.”

Nearly 900 folks have already registered to become members during a recent soft launch, and Gibson has joined them in their daily activities, doing everything from playing pool to taking spin classes

”What’s always mattered most to Kirk is the team, and this is his new team,” said Annear. “The center is his new locker room, and the attendees, the administrators, the staff, they’re all his new teammates.”

Not that he has forgotten his old teams, as a large cutout of Gibson celebrating in a Detroit Tigers uniform can be found in the center. With help from the great Peter O’Malley, Gibson will also soon decorate a room with Tommy Lasorda’s legendary Vero Beach dinner table.

“The way this has all come together is unbelievable,” said Gibson. “It’s divine intervention.”

Just the other day, Gibson was getting a haircut when somebody walked up and handed him $300 for the wellness center.

”We’re trying to help as many people as possible,” he said. “I hate going to the doctor, I hate going to the hospital. The wellness center isn’t anything like that. It’s a cool place.”

Like everyone with Parkinson’s, Gibson has his good days and bad days. Life is not measured by how one falls, but how one gets back up.

Two years ago while fishing in Alaska, Gibson tumbled out of the boat. This year he didn’t.

“I’m pretty proud of that,” he said.

Kirk Gibson sits alongside signs greeting visitors at the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness in Farmington Hills, Mich.

(Nic Antaya/Nic Antaya / For the Times)

Rarely has he felt the pride he will feel on Oct. 6 when, with the formal opening of the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson’s Wellness, baseball’s ultimate competitor once again creating the impossible out of the improbable.

“I don’t get scared,” said Gibson. “I attack.”

And so he ended our conversation by strongly urging me to fly cross country and visit his center, to be enriched and educated and basically get my Parkinson’s-laden butt moving.

I told him I would try. The phone exploded in my hands.

“Try? You know what Lasorda always said. ‘I could get a truck driver to try!’ Don’t just try! Do it!”

WASHINGTON — Of all the investigations underway by the FBI, the case of Charlie Kirk’s killing is one that President Trump’s allies expect the bureau to get right. Yet its director, Kash Patel, has struggled out of the gate.

A series of missteps

He posted misleading updates of the manhunt for a suspect on social media, blaming “the heat of the moment” in testimony before a Senate panel on Tuesday. He failed to coordinate his messaging internally with Justice Department leadership. Instead of returning to headquarters, Patel dined at an exclusive restaurant in New York as the search unfolded. And after a suspect was apprehended, Patel joined Fox News to share unprecedented details.

It was a series of missteps viewed in law enforcement circles as rookie errors, reflective of a director in over his head.

Trump has publicly stood by Patel in recent days. But leading voices in the MAGA movement have wondered aloud whether it is time for Patel to be removed, and top officials at the White House and Justice Department are reportedly questioning his future at the bureau. The president has also installed another loyalist in a top deputy position at FBI headquarters, raising questions over his plans.

Kash Patel discusses the hunt for Charlie Kirk’s killer at a news conference Friday in Orem, Utah, joined by Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason, left, and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.

(Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

The renewed spotlight on Patel comes amid suspicion in right-wing circles the director is suppressing the release of files from the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious sex offender, at Trump’s direction. And last week, former bureau officials filed a lawsuit against the administration accusing the White House of exerting extraordinary political influence over the FBI, issuing loyalty tests for agents to determine their support for Trump.

On Saturday, Trump told Fox News that he was “very proud of the FBI,” praising the agency for ultimately catching the suspected killer. “Kash — and everyone else — they have done a great job,” he added.

“In normal times, any run-of-the-mill president of either party would certainly have serious concerns with keeping Patel around,” said Douglas M. Charles, a professor and FBI historian at Penn State Greater Allegheny, characterizing Patel as historically unqualified for the role. “Of course, we are not living in normal political times.”

Patel’s job sustainability, Charles said, “rests not on whether he is competent, but exclusively on whether President Trump is satisfied with him.”

“Patel is not acting as an independent FBI director,” Charles added, “the standard we have historically had since 1973.”

Jeopardizing the Kirk case?

Justice Department officials reacted with alarm after Patel shared the content of text messages from the suspect in Kirk’s shooting, revelations that got out front of official court filings.

“Why are we reluctant to share the details of the investigation itself, and comment on the case?” Jeff Gray, the Utah County attorney, said Tuesday, outlining state charges against the murder suspect. “Because I want to ensure a fair and impartial trial.”

“I can’t talk about details at all,” said Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, asked for insight into the case in a Fox News interview on Monday.

The episode drew harsh rebuke from Democrats on Capitol Hill this week, where Patel was scheduled for hearings with the House and Senate judiciary committees. “Could I have been more careful in my verbiage?” he mused, before facing a slew of questions from lawmakers.

But Patel fiercely defended himself, repeatedly citing his experience as a prosecutor in the national security division of the Justice Department, and later at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and at the Defense Department.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Patel told the Senate. “If you want to criticize my 16 years of service, please bring it on.”

Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, a professor emeritus and FBI historian at the University of Edinburgh, said that precedent exists of public officials undermining the prosecution of high-profile cases, sometimes with devastating consequences. “The Patel remarks and actions may well prejudice the trial of Tyler Robinson,” he said, referencing Kirk’s murder suspect.

On Capitol Hill, Patel said his social posts and media appearances were in service of transparency with the American people. But the charges, trial, and evidence in the case are all public, said Norm Eisen, co-founder of the States United Democracy Center and counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment trial.

“Patel’s appointment as FBI director raised red flags from the start, mainly because of his lack of relevant experience and his partisan background. What we’ve seen in recent days has only reinforced those concerns,” Eisen said.

“The Utah County attorney leading the prosecution knew better than to comment on Patel’s speculative claims, correctly pointing out that it was necessary to preserve an impartial jury,” he added. “Making political speeches about the case undermines the integrity of the process and jeopardizes the prosecution.”

Political litmus tests

In a heated exchange with Patel this week, Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, asked the director whether anyone from the bureau had been terminated or disciplined “in whole or in part” for being assigned to work on investigations of Trump in recent years. Trump was ultimately charged with federal crimes over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his handling of highly classified documents.

“Anyone that was terminated at the FBI was done so for failing to meet their standards, uphold their constitutional oath, and effectuate the mission,” Patel replied, adding: “No one at the FBI is terminated for case assignments alone.”

The line of questioning came amid reports and a lawsuit alleging Patel has taken direct instructions from the White House to fire individuals involved in the Trump investigations.

Three former senior FBI officials — Spencer L. Evans, Brian J. Driscoll Jr. and Steven J. Jensen — brought the lawsuit after being fired from their jobs in a “campaign of retribution,” according to the filing, a 68-page document that paints Patel as a vassal of Trump prioritizing his social media image over the work of the bureau.

“Patel not only acted unlawfully, but deliberately chose to prioritize politicizing the FBI over protecting the American people,” the lawsuit reads.

But it was questioning over the Epstein case that set off Patel’s patience.

At the end of their exchange, Schiff asked the director how he could possibly be in the dark over the circumstances of a prison transfer for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s close confidante serving 20 years in prison for aiding his abuse of hundreds of women and girls, to one of the most comfortable facilities in the federal penitentiary system. Patel erupted, calling Schiff a “buffoon” over his investigations of the president.

“Here’s the thing, Mr Patel,” Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, told Patel, ending a similarly heated exchange. “I think you’re not gonna be around long. I think this might be your last oversight hearing.”

“Because as much as you supplicate yourself to the will of Donald Trump and not the Constitution,” Booker added, “Donald Trump has shown us he is not loyal to people like you.”

What else you should be reading

The must-read: L.A.’s online ‘hood’ culture turns real-world violence into viral content
The deep dive: Primm was once an affordable casino mecca for L.A. Now it has become a ghost town
The L.A. Times Special: White supremacists, death threats and ‘disgust’: Charlie Kirk’s killing roils Huntington Beach

More to come,
Michael Wilner
—
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It has been a disappointing season in terms of Grand Slam success for Sabalenka, considering she reached the final at the Australian and French Opens.

She also made it to the semi-finals at Wimbledon, but on all three occasions emotions got the better of the 27-year-old.

She cut an anguished figure throughout January’s Australian Open final, where she was out-hit by Madison Keys.

An unforced error count of 70 was her undoing against Coco Gauff at Roland Garros, while she was unable to match Anisimova’s bravery at the All England Club.

The collapses in composure were reminiscent of her early career – and something she seemed to have put behind her when she claimed three Grand Slam titles in the space of 20 months.

But more heartbreak appeared to be on the cards for Sabalenka as Pegula – buoyed by a raucous crowd – came out on top in the first set.

Sabalenka struck the first blow in the opener, swatting away a booming forehand winner to break early, but a poor service game allowed Pegula straight back in.

The top seed’s irritation grew as more unforced errors crept into her game and the crowd loudly put their backing behind Pegula, who broke again and wrapped up the opener in style with a confident love hold.

After taking an off-court break before the start of the second set, Sabalenka returned with a renewed determination and quickly went 3-0 up thanks to a more clinical approach to her shot-making.

That gap was enough to see her through the remainder of the set and force a decider, which Sabalenka took control of from the off with an immediate break.

The 27-year-old furiously fought off Pegula’s attempts to break back and let out a huge roar after wrapping up the victory on her third match point.

JACK Osbourne has revealed the heartbreaking moment he was told of his father Ozzy’s death.

The rock legend died at the age of 76 on July 22, and was laid to rest next to the lake in his Buckinghamshire home.

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Ozzy’s tragic passing came just weeks after his last concert in Birmingham.

It was also the last time son Jack saw his dad, he shared in a new YouTube video.

“My dad was great. He was in a good mood he was happy,” he said.

“I woke up in Los Angeles to a knock on my house door at around 3.45 in the morning.

“Someone who has worked for my family for about 30 years now was knocking on my door and when I looked through my window and I saw it was him, I knew something bad had happened.

“I was informed that my father had passed.”

The grieving son continued: “So many thoughts, there was a level of like “okay, he’s not struggling. He’s not suffering anymore”. And that is something. 

“I wish he was still here, you know? I wish he was still with us all, but he was having a rough go and I think people saw that at the show.”

Jack rushed back to England to support his family, and prepare for the funeral, as well as a procession through Birmingham in his father’s memory.

Thousands of mourners lined the streets and left tributes at the Black Sabbath Bridge.

“I speak for the family when I saw this. We are so grateful for that and it meant so much…. it was validating because I know we weren’t alone”, Jack added.

The late rock legend’s son previously shared a heartwarming clip to Instagram and explained how hand-written letters, memorabilia, and merch were being “carefully preserved”.

Jack told how every item will be recorded on a digital database and given to the Osbourne family.

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The icon’s funeral, a private ceremony held at the family home in Buckinghamshire, took place the following day.

Jack continued: “I actually shared this at my at my father’s funeral.

“There’s an interview with Keanu Reeves. He’s on some nighttime talk show or whatever and they asked him, ‘What do you think happens when you die?’

“And Keanu Reeves answer was, ‘I don’t know what happens when you die, but what I do know is the people that love you miss you the most’.

“I felt that immensely. He wasn’t just a father to me. He was my colleague. We worked together in so many capacities.

“I had recently moved, there was a period where I was between houses and I moved back in with him.

“So, he was my housemate in my late 30s and it was awesome. Me and the kids were living here. Just a friend, a text buddy, a joke cracker.”

The dad-of-four described Ozzy as “funny, and weird and awkward and clumsy and just hilarious and so insightful”, throughout his health battles.

Concluding the interview, Jack said: “He’s exploding through the universe and we’re all seeing it. So, I’ll just end with this, you know, thank you.”

‘HE LIVED HIS LIFE FULLY’

Shortly after his father’s death, Jack took to social media to share a touching tribute.

He said: “I haven’t really wanted to post anything since the passing of my father. My heart has hurt too much. 

“I’m gonna keep this short because he certainly hated long rambling speeches.

“He was so many things to so many people, but I was so lucky and blessed to be apart of a very small group that got to call him “Dad.” 

“My heart is full of so much sadness and sorrow, but also so much love and gratitude.”

Jack continued: “I got 14,501 days with that man and I know that is such a blessing. I think this quote best describes my father.

“Hunter S. Thompson once said: “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body… but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow! What a ride!'” 

He added: “That was my dad. He lived and he lived his life fully. I love you dad.”

In recent years, Ozzy had been battling numerous health conditions, including Parkinson’s.

His official death certificate lists ‘acute myocardial infarction’ and ‘out of hospital cardiac arrest’ under the cause of death section.

It also listed coronary artery disease and Parkinson’s disease with autonomic dysfunction as “joint causes” of Ozzy’s death.

In his final performance, Ozzy sang five songs in his own set, with fans waving torches from their phones during Mama, I’m Coming Home.

He finished his performance with Crazy Train, before confetti rained over a packed Villa Park.

FAMILY UNITED

The Osbourne family have fiercely defended their late patriarch since his death.

Jack yesterday hit out at Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters in a sweary rant over comments about Ozzy.

Roger told The Independent Ink: “Ozzy Osbourne, who just died, bless him in whatever that state he was in his whole life.”

He added: “We’ll never know. The music, I have no idea. I couldn’t give a f**k.”

Roger finished by saying: “I don’t care about Black Sabbath, I never did.

“Have no interest in biting the heads of chickens or whatever they do. I couldn’t care less, you know.”

Taking to his Instagram Story, Jack soon fired back at these comments.

He penned: “Hey @rogerwaters. F*** You. How pathetic and out of touch you’ve become.

“The only way you seem to get attention these days is by vomiting out bulls*** in the press.

“My father always thought you were a c**t – thanks for proving him right.”

Meanwhile, sister Kelly Osbourne last month slammed WWE star  Becky Lynch for her comments.

The wrestler made a fiery promo ahead of her Intercontinental Title match with Nicki Bella this Sunday.

Addressing the crowd Lynch said: “The only good thing that came outta here died a month ago.”

She added: “But in fairness to Ozzy Osbourne, he had the good sense to move to L.A. Because if I lived in Birmingham, I’d die too.”

Kelly said in a post afterwards: “Becky Lynch you are a disrespectful dirtbag! Birmingham would not p*** on you if you were on fire.

“Shame on the WWE for allowing such things to be said about my father and his home!”

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Novak Djokovic says he is “trying to solve the riddle” and find his best form after fighting back from a set down to beat American qualifier Zachary Svajda in the US Open second round.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion appeared subdued in the early stages of the match before powering through to a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3 6-1 win.

“I’m not pleased with my level of tennis, but, you know, you have days like this where you’re not playing at your best, but you just kind of find a way,” Djokovic said.

“I’m just trying to solve the riddle once I’m on the court.”

The 38-year-old said he was “a bit with frustrated with his game” as he continues his bid for a standalone record 25th major trophy.

“It’s not like I’m not finding joy on the court competing. I enjoy competing, but I don’t enjoy not playing well,” the Serb said.

“That’s why I put extra pressure on myself and my team to be better the next day, the next match,” he said.

“It’s not a motivation thing. I kind of go through stuff internally. You don’t want to know the details of what I’m going through and telling myself.”

Djokovic has already set another record in New York in reaching the third round at a major for the 75th time – one more than Roger Federer’s tally.

He will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie – who he has beaten at the French Open and Wimbledon this year – in the third round.

Tudor Lakatos challenges Roma discrimination through Elvis Presley’s musical legacy.

Sporting a rhinestone shirt, oversized sunglasses and a classic 1950s quiff, Lakatos captivates audiences across Romania with his distinctive renditions of songs like Blue Suede Shoes.

Rather than being an impersonator, Lakatos harnesses Elvis’s universal appeal to dismantle stereotypes about Roma people and inspire Roma youth.

“I never wanted to get on stage, I did not think about it,” Lakatos, 58, said after a recent gig at a restaurant in the capital, Bucharest. “I only wanted one thing – to make friends with Romanians, to stop being called a Gypsy,” he added, using an often derided term for people belonging to the Roma ethnic group.

The Roma, with South Asian origins, have endured centuries of persecution throughout Eastern Europe and continue to face poverty, unemployment and prejudice. In Romania, they represent approximately seven percent of the population, with one-fifth reporting discrimination experiences in the past year, according to European Union data.

Lakatos began his mission in the early 1980s as an art student during Nicolae Ceausescu’s communist regime. When anti-Roma sentiment was widespread, he discovered that Elvis’s music created connections with ethnic Romanian students while simultaneously symbolising resistance against government oppression.

Now, 40 years later, his audience has expanded. As a teacher for 25 years, Lakatos uses music to show his students they can aspire beyond the limited opportunities of their northwestern Romanian village.

“The adjective Gypsy is used everywhere as a substitute for insult,” Lakatos said. “We older people have gotten used to it, we can swallow it, we grew up with it. I have said many times, ‘Call us what you want, dinosaur and brontosaurus, but at least join hands with us to educate the next generation.’”

Despite his teaching career, Lakatos continues performing throughout Romania at various venues.

The eclectic mix of languages can sometimes lead to surprises because there is not always a literal translation for Elvis’s 1950s American English.

For example, “Don’t step on my blue suede shoes” does not make sense to many of the children he teaches because they are so poor, Lakatos said.

In his version, the lyric Elvis made famous becomes simply “Don’t step on my bare feet.”

It is a message that Elvis – born in a two-room house in Tupelo, Mississippi, during the Great Depression – probably would have understood.

The BBC has signed a broadcast deal with Boxxer which will mean world-class professional boxing returns to prime-time television and BBC iPlayer.

Over the next 12 months, the BBC will air fights from selected events on BBC Two or Three as well as on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Boxxer currently houses some of the biggest talents in UK boxing including Olympic and world champion Lauren Price.

“Bringing professional boxing back to primetime BBC television, free-to-air, and to our extensive digital platforms is an exciting moment for us and hopefully for boxing fans,” said Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport.

The first event is expected to happen by the end of the year, with dates and headliners to be announced in the coming weeks.

Boxxer, led by promoter Ben Shalom, staged an all-women’s card headlined by Price and Natasha Jonas in March as well as promoting Amir Khan v Kell Brook, Liam Smith v Chris Eubank Jr, Claressa Shields v Savannah Marshall and Fabio Wardley v Frazer Clarke in recent years.

“Partnering with the BBC to deliver big-time British boxing on Saturday night TV is a historic moment,” Shalom said.

“We’re proud to bring the most entertaining British fighters to the biggest possible audience.

“This huge platform will give our fights the exposure they deserve and helps us take the sport to huge new audiences.”

Coronation Street spoilers reveal a wedding takes a horrifying turn next week on the ITV soap, with the bride in a bad way while there’s also another dark crime exposed

There’s worrying scenes ahead on Coronation Street, including a hospital dash, an outburst, and a possible arrest.

Dev Alahan and Bernie Winter prepare to tie the knot, but disaster strikes. Bernie is left in a bad way, but will she be okay and will she make it down the aisle?

There’s exciting times ahead for Lisa Swain and Carla Connor, and a gesture from the former leads to smiles. One pair’s fling continues, and comes under threat.

There’s more trouble for Theo Silverton and Todd Grimshaw, and soon there’s a possible arrest amid a “violent crime”. Then there’s a new and surprising romance teased as two residents could find love.

One character’s secret could finally be exposed too, while one teen is struggling and there’s a disturbing discovery about a child. Let’s kick things off with the big wedding, as Dev enjoys his stag do, and Bernie’s hen gets underway.

Something at the stag leaves Bernie furious, and soon as the wedding arrives there’s hiccup after hiccup. As her grandchildren fall ill, Bernie is mortified when she forgets her lucky charm locket containing a photo of her late son Paul Foremam.

READ MORE: Coronation Street wedding day interrupted by horror collapse as death ‘sealed’

She races home to get it only to disturb a burglar. She seems to be okay though and heads back to the venue, where Debbie Webster has been keeping everyone entertained in her absence.

So much so, there’s cheers when Debbie sings a song for partner Ronnie Bailey and ends up proposing. Kit Green walks his mother Bernie down the aisle meanwhile, but just as she and Dev prepare to say their vows devastation strikes.

Suddenly, Bernie struggles to breathe and collapses in front of her groom Dev. He watches on helpless as Bernie gasps for breath in a bad way, with her stepdaughter Asha Alahan, a paramedic, rushing to her aid.

An ambulance is called as everyone panics, but will Bernie be okay and will the make it to the hospital in time? Soon Asha announces the family need to get to the hospital – has something happened?

Also next week, Kit’s son Brody continues to act out. As Kit is upset to hear about how bad his son’s upbringing was with Mick and Lou, he wants to help and spends the day with him at a match.

As this happens, Sally and Tim Metcalfe are shocked to discover that Brody’s younger sister Joanie has old bruises on her arm and they feel duty bound to let social services know. What has happened to Joanie?

Soon Brody is left taking his anger out on Kit’s new flame Sarah Platt, but will he keep pushing his family away? Elsewhere, there’s joyous scenes for Swarla fans, as Carla and Lisa get on with moving into their new home.

Carla’s nephew Ryan Connor is on hand to help pack up their flat ready for their new life a few doors down. But when he describes his new living arrangements and his weird flatmate, both Carla and Lisa feel sorry for him.

As Carla and Lisa get on with the move, suddenly Ryan arrives carrying his rucksack with his belongings. Carla’s confused, only for Lisa to tell her partner the good news that she’s asked Ryan to move in with them and he’s said yes.

Carla is thrilled, touched by her partner’s generosity with her and Ryan being so close. With that, Ryan is officially back in the household with the pair and Lisa’s daughter Betsy Swain.

Carla looks emotional as she thanks Lisa, with the pair holding hands and taking in the moment. Lisa realises just how much it means to Carla, as the pair move forward after tough times recently.

Someone who could be left out in the cold next week is Aadi Alahan who is found knocking back booze in Victoria Gardens. Ignoring new flame Lauren Bolton’s calls, she heads out to track Aadi down and he’s clearly in a bad way.

Aadi decides it is time to confess about what really happened at the party. When Dev and Bernie arrive home they are horrified as Aadi decides to come clean to them too – will this lead to his exit from the show?

Also next week Carl Webster and Abi Franklin’s affair is in full swing, as Abi fumes over her husband Kevin Webster’s cancer lie. She heads out for passion with her brother-in-law, while Kevin knows full well he’s losing his wife.

Back at the hotel, Abi is shocked when she sees a message on Carl’s phone from dodgy Fiona and Carl confesses he’s been doing illegal MOTs amongst other dodgy deals at the garage. Back on the Cobbles, Debbie’s revealed to have booked Abi and co a family holiday in Mallorca as a treat.

But how will she react and will she go? She ends up spilling all to Kevin about the MOT scam only to realise he knew. Debbie urges her sister-in-law to think about things before ending her marriage, urging her to stay with Kevin.

But a chat with Carl sees Abi realise Kevin has been lying to her, so will she be tempted to move on with Carl? As the week goes on it’s clear the pair want to be together, continuing to meet up in secret but will they be rumbled?

Also next week Tracy Barlow sparks suspicions, and it would appear Jenny Connor has the hots for George Shuttleworth who is looking for love after his split from Eileen Grimshaw. Finally next week, Theo and Todd consider moving in together, but Theo remains irritated by Todd’s harmless antics at the stag do.

When Todd spends time with Summer Spellman Theo has enough, and refuses to join them. Things get worse when a moment with drunken Aadi leads to the latter falling and hitting his head, and Theo gets the blame.

As the police reveal there’s been a report of an incident at the precinct and he needs to answer some questions, Theo is led away to the station as seen by Billy Mayhew. But it’s when a comment is made about Theo having been involved in a “violent crime” in the past that Todd is left concerned and begins to investigate – but what will he find out?

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

The Smithsonian Institution has faced pressure from President Trump since March when he issued his “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order, which demanded an end to federal funding for exhibitions and programs based on racial themes that “divide Americans.”

Amid Trump’s headline-grabbing gambits to remake the landscape of American arts and culture into a more MAGA-friendly image, another challenge to the Smithsonian flew largely under the radar. In early April, Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz introduced the Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act, which proposed to move the space shuttle Discovery from the National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia to a spot near NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The act was folded into President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which Trump signed into law on July 4.

NASA gifted the Discovery to the Smithsonian in 2012 and it has been in Virginia ever since. Discovery launched on its maiden voyage in 1984 and flew 39 Earth-orbital missions — more than any other orbiter. The Smithsonian considers it a key part of its collection and issued a statement to Congress objecting to the proposed move. According to the Hill, the statement noted that “the case against relocating the orbiter Discovery is both philosophical and practical … It would be unprecedented for Congress to remove an object from a Smithsonian collection and send it somewhere else.”

In late June, the Houston Business Journal reported that the Smithsonian estimated the cost of moving Discovery to Texas would be between $300 and $400 million, far more than the $85 million cited by Cornyn and Cruz in Trump’s massive reconciliation and spending package.

Since the passage of of the bill, the fight over Discovery has heated up. Earlier this week, Rep. Joe Morelle, a Democrat from New York, introduced an amendment to keep Discovery at the Smithsonian. The Appropriations Committee agreed to the amendment, which now moves to the Rules Committee before going to the House floor for a vote.

“The forced removal and relocation of the Space Shuttle Discovery from the Smithsonian Institution’s Air and Space Museum is inappropriate, wasteful, and wrong. Neither the Smithsonian nor American taxpayers should be forced to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on this misguided effort. I am grateful for the bipartisan support of my colleagues on this amendment and hope we can continue working together throughout the remainder of the Appropriations process to keep a treasured Smithsonian artifact where it belongs,” Morelle said in a statement sent to The Times.

The Smithsonian did not respond to a request for comment on the evolving situation, or its quest to keep the Discovery in its collection.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, hoping to orbit a positive news cycle someday soon. Here’s your arts and culture roundup for this week.

The corpse flower is ready to bloom again at Huntington Garden.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Corpse Flower
The infamously stinky plant, formally Titan Arum (Amorphophallus titanum), “produces the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom” and is known for its pungent aroma. “Green Boy,” one of 43 corpse flowers in the Huntington’s collection may have already blossomed by the time you read this, so be sure to check it out as the bloom lasts only 24-48 hours. “It smells pretty bad,” Brandon Tam, the Huntington’s associate curator of orchids,” told Times summer intern Aspen Anderson in her story on the event. But for those who prefer to avoid the full olfactory experience, there’s a livestream.
10 a.m.–5 p.m., closed Tuesday. The Huntington, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. huntington.org

Father John Misty performing in Atlanta in 2023.

(Paul R. Giunta / Invision / AP)

Father John Misty
Josh Tillman, whose Misty persona was described in a 2017 profile by Times pop music critic Mikael Wood as “a convivial (if polarizing) chronicler of society’s growing absurdity,” is joined by Lucinda Williams and Hamilton Leithauser for an eclectic evening of indie rock and folk.
7 p.m. Friday. Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave. lagreektheatre.com

Phasmagorica: The Room Between Worlds
Limited to nine audiences members at a time, this “experiential paranormal encounter” proudly boasts that it is not a performance and does not use actors. Instead, sacred geometry, occult methodology, immersive light phenomena and 13 speakers of Dolby Atmos sound produce “a fully-contained, tactile installation designed to provoke contact.” Guests are guided through a séance featuring spirit communication via arcane instruments and trigger objects, fortune-telling and psychological thresholds.
7:30 and 9:15 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St. twilightdisturbances.com

Heather Graham, left, and Mike Myers star in the 1999 movie “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.”

(New Line Cinema)

Austin Powers triple feature
Yeah, baby! The academy’s “Summer of Camp” series continues with the shagadelic trilogy of “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” (1997), “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” (1999) and “Austin Powers in Goldmember” (2002). Director Jay Roach will be in attendance.
2 p.m. Saturday. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org

Billy Woodberry
The MOCA Artist Film Series presents the L.A. Rebellion filmmaker’s 2016 feature, “And when I die, I won’t stay dead,” a documentary on the life of Beat poet Bob Kaufman. Best known for “Bless Their Little Hearts” (1983), Woodberry assembled archival footage and photos, interviews with Kaufman’s contemporaries, and readings from Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis and others, plus a jazz soundtrack featuring Billie Holiday and Ornette Coleman.
3 p.m. Saturday. Museum of Contemporary Art, 250 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. moca.org

Queens of Soul
The peacocks and peahens will not be the only ones strutting and preening at the L.A. County Arboretum when the Pasadena Pops performs this salute to such divas as Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Adele and others, featuring hit songs such as “Respect,” “Proud Mary, “I’m Every Woman” and “Rolling in the Deep.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday. L.A. County Arboretum, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. pasadenasymphony-pops.org

Black Pasifika: Deep Sea Protocols
Writer, relational architect and guerrilla theorist Neema Githere hosts this program exploring the links between climate crisis and technology across Melanesia. Githere will provide context and discuss deep-sea protocols and the consequences of technological accelerationism on sea-stewarding peoples from the Swahili coast to Melanesia with their grandfather, Dr. Gilbert Githere, founder of the Mombasa-Honolulu Sister City society. The filmic essay “AI: African Intelligence” by Manthia Diawara searches for a more humane and spiritual control of algorithms. Ahead of the program, from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., the time-based somatic works “Oceanic Refractions” and “Cries From the Moana” will be shown on monitors in LACMA’s Smidt Welcome Plaza.
6 p.m. Sunday. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. lacma.org

L.A. Phil at the Hollywood Bowl
In a week of debuts, Italian conductor Daniele Rustioni, recently appointed principal guest conductor of the Metropolitan Opera, makes his Los Angeles Philharmonic bow leading the orchestra through Mendelssohn’s “Violin Concerto” (with soloist Veronika Eberle), selections from Berlioz and Liszt, and Respighi’s “Pines of Rome.” Two nights later, former Dudamel Fellow and current Boston Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor Anna Handler makes her first Bowl appearance, leading the Phil in the world premiere of Eunike Tanzil’s “Ode to the City of Dreams,” Mozart’s “Concerto for Flute and Harp” and Richard Strauss’ “Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30.” Mendelssohn, 8 p.m. Tuesday; Tanzil, Mozart and Strauss, 8 p.m. Thursday. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com

— Kevin Crust

The SoCal scene

“Buddha Shakyamuni,” Burma (Myanmar), circa 13th century; lacquered wood

(Christopher Knight / Los Angeles Times)

Times art critic Christopher Knight was thrilled to see the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s exhibit “Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia.” Currently installed in the temporary exhibition spaces of the Resnick Pavilion, the show consists of roughly 180 objects that have been in storage for years after being boxed up in preparation for the demolition of the museum’s original campus and the debut of the new David Geffen Galleries. Catch the exhibit now, before it gets stowed away again, writes Knight, adding that it “includes some of the most splendid sculptures and paintings” in the museum’s permanent collection.

Times classical music critic Mark Swed hopped a plane to Austria and headed for the small town of Bregenz, where a major arts festival that attracts more than 250,000 visitors in July and August and boasts a $31-million budget is hosted. The biggest draw at the bustling festival is opera, and the biggest show is a production staged each year on the Seebühne — a massive stage built directly on Lake Constance with bleachers to accommodate an audience of 7,000. “This year’s ‘Die Freischütz,’ Carl Maria von Weber’s early 19th century opera about a huntsman who makes a very bad deal with the devil for a magic bullet, opened last week and runs through Aug. 17,” writes Swed. “All 27 performances are expected to sell out as usual for the kind of spectacle that exists nowhere else.” Read all about the world-famous technical and artistic extravaganza, here.

Culture news

Johanna Burton was named the new Executive Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art.

(Photo: Erin Leland)

Johanna Burton is leaving the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, to become the new director of the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania, ICA Philadelphia announced Thursday. Burton became MOCA’s first female director in 2021 after its recently named Artistic Director Klaus Biesenbach unceremoniously left his position for a job in Berlin. Burton’s departure makes her the fifth director to leave MOCA since 2008. Burton will fill the role at ICA Philadelphia left vacant by Zoë Ryan who exited the museum to take over leadership at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Westwood after its longtime director Ann Philbin retired. MOCA did not respond to a request for comment about Burton’s departure.

Architect Paul R. Williams’ L.A. building, Founders Church of Religious Science, is among five structures across the country picked to receive funding through the Getty Foundation’s Conserving Black Modernism Initiative. Announced earlier this week by the foundation and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, the money will support preservation plans for the buildings and further train caretakers in maintenance best practices. Another overarching goal is to increase public awareness of the architects’ legacies and the buildings they created. The other four buildings receiving Getty funds are the ITC Administration Building in Atlanta, designed by Edward C. Miller; First Church of Deliverance in Chicago, an adaptive reuse project redesigned by Walter T. Bailey; McKenzie Hall in Eugene, Ore., designed by DeNorval Unthank Jr.; and Vassar College’s 2500 New Hackensack building in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., by Jeh Vincent Johnson.

Contemporary artist Amy Sherald with her painting “As American as apple pie” in 2021.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Artist Amy Sherald has canceled her upcoming solo show, “American Sublime,” at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship after she was told the museum wanted to exclude a painting featuring a transgender woman holding a torch in a pose meant to evoke the Statue of Liberty. Sherald was told that the museum did not want to provoke a reaction from President Trump, who has brought anti-trans ideals into the federal government. In a statement to the New York Times, Sherald wrote, “It’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role.”

The Ebell of Los Angeles has named Camille Schenkkan its chief operating officer. The nonprofit organization, which dedicates itself to “inspiring women and fostering community through arts, culture and education,” was founded in 1894 and occupies one of the city’s most storied historic buildings — a campus and theater designed in 1927 by architect Sumner Hunt. Schenkkan arrives at the Ebell from Center Theatre Group, where she served as deputy managing director.

Republican members of the House Appropriations Committee introduced a proposal earlier this week to rename the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington after the first lady, Melania Trump.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

Marlee Matlin shared her favorite Sunday activities with The Times — including a stop for pizza in Eagle Rock (hint: it’s a classic). See you there!

IT was the craziest start to a love affair that survived against the odds for more than 40 years.

Superstar rocker Ozzy Osbourne had been given an envelope stuffed with cash to hand over to Sharon Arden, daughter of his band Black Sabbath’s manager.

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Instead, Ozzy blew the money on cocaine — which he was working his way through when Sharon arrived at his hotel.

Despite being completely off his head, Ozzy, who died on Tuesday age 76, never forgot that first meeting when Sharon asked, “Do you have anything for me?”.

He recalled: “‘No, I don’t think so’, I said, all innocent.

“But it didn’t take Einstein to work out what had happened.

“There was a massive bag of coke on the table next to a ripped-up envelope with ‘Sharon’ written on it in felt-tip pen.

“Sharon gave me a monumental ­bollocking when she saw it, shouting and cursing and telling me I was a f***ing disaster.

‘Drunkest and loudest’

“I guess I won’t be shagging her any time soon, then, I thought.

“But she came back the next day, to find me lying in a puddle of my own p**s, smoking a joint.

“She said, ‘Look, if you want to get your s**t together, we want to manage you’.”

That ill-fated meeting led to an incredible marriage that lasted 33 years — despite Ozzy’s drug and sex addiction and even his attempt to strangle Sharon.

He admitted: “I fell for Sharon so badly, man . . . she saved my life every day.”

In one of his last interviews, Ozzy described the reality TV star and X Factor judge as his “soulmate”.

He said: “Sometimes I love her, sometimes I don’t love her, sometimes I’m angry with her, sometimes I’m crazy about her, sometimes I’m very jealous of her, sometimes I wanna f***ing kill her.

“But through it all, at the end of the day, I love her more than anything in the world.”

As Sharon took over running Ozzy’s professional life, the Brummie lad quickly realised that he had never met a woman like her before.

In his 2009 biography, I Am Ozzy, he revealed: “I’d never come across a girl who was like me.

“Wherever we went, we were always the drunkest and the loudest.

“I learned that when Sharon is on a mission, she’ll throw herself at it, lock, stock and barrel, and not stop fighting until well after the bell’s rung.

“I trusted Sharon like I’d never trusted anyone before on the business side of things.”

 Me and Sharon were bonking all over the place. We couldn’t stop. Some nights Sharon would go out of one door and [first wife] Thelma would come in the other

Sharon

When Sharon was relaunching Ozzy as a solo star with a new album, Blizzard Of Ozz, and a tour following his firing from Black Sabbath in 1979, the star’s private life was falling apart.

He was married to Thelma Riley, had adopted her son Elliot from an earlier marriage and they had two kids of their own, Jessica and Louis.

After months of trying, Ozzy finally bedded Sharon after leaping into her bath at a hotel near Shepperton Studios.

He recalled: “Me and Sharon were bonking all over the place.

“We couldn’t stop.

“Some nights, Sharon would go out of one door and Thelma would come in the other.

“I was knackered all the time, ­having two women on the go.

“I don’t know how those French blokes do it.

“When I was with Sharon, I’d end up calling her ‘Tharon’, which earned me more than a few black eyes.

“I’d never known what it was like to fall in love before I met Sharon.

“We were inseparable.

“I realised that when you’re in love, it’s not just about the messing around in the sack, it’s about how empty you feel when they’re gone. And I couldn’t stand it when Sharon was gone.”

But when he split up with Thelma in 1981, Sharon bore the brunt of Ozzy’s anger.

He said: “I was a wreck.

“I was in love with Sharon, but at the same time I was cut to pieces by ­losing my family.

“I’d get drunk and try to hit her, and she’d throw things at me.

“Wine bottles, gold discs, TVs — you name it, it would all come flying across the room.

“I ain’t proud to admit that a few of my punches reached their target.”

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But the following year, Ozzy and Sharon married in Hawaii on the way to a gig.

The rocker didn’t make it back to their hotel room after the ­ceremony.

Sharon recalled: “The manager called and said, ‘Your husband is lying in the hall, will you come and get him’ and I said, ‘No I won’t’.”

While Sharon managed Ozzy’s soaring solo career, the couple welcomed their three children Aimee, 41, Kelly, 40, and Jack, 39.

But she could not curb her husband’s appetite for booze, illegal drugs and prescription pills.

‘Slumped in corridor’

When he got violent, Sharon would take her revenge like the time she took a hammer to all his gold records.

But seven years after their wedding, Ozzy tried to strangle Sharon while high on drugs and Russian vodka, at their 17th Century home in Little Chalfont, Bucks.

The family had gone to their bedrooms after returning from a local Chinese restaurant to celebrate Aimee’s sixth birthday.

Before lunging at Sharon, Ozzy stripped naked and told her: “We’ve had a little talk and it’s clear that you have to die.”

She pressed the panic button, ­alerting the police.

Ozzy woke up in a cell the next morning with no recollection of the attack, to find he had been charged with attempted murder.

Three months later, ahead of his court case, Sharon visited the rehab centre where Ozzy had been sent to dry out.

In his autobiography, Ozzy recalled how she told him: “I’m going to drop the charges.

“I don’t believe you’re capable of attempted murder, Ozzy.

People keep asking, ‘How come you and Sharon have stayed together all this time?’

Ozzy

“You’re a sweet, gentle man.

“But when you get drunk, Ozzy Osbourne disappears and someone else takes over.

“I want that other person to go away.

“I don’t want to see him again.”

But Ozzy instead developed a p­rescription pill addiction.

Sharon almost died from colon ­cancer during the making of their Noughties fly-on-the-wall MTV show, The Osbournes.

While she was still undergoing chemo, the couple retook their vows on New Year’s Eve 2002.

Ozzy revealed: “People keep asking, ‘How come you and Sharon have stayed together all this time?’.

“My answer was the same then as it is now. ‘I’ve never stopped telling my wife that I love her; I’ve never stopped taking her out for dinner; I’ve never stopped surprising her with ­little gifts’.

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“Unfortunately, I’d never stopped drinking and taking drugs, so the ­ceremony ended much the same as our original wedding — with me slumped in a corridor, p*ssed out of my brains.”

A year later, Ozzy had a near-fatal quad bike accident on their estate that required multiple surgeries and affected his long-term mobility. In the ­aftermath of the crash, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, only going public with the condition in 2020.

Meanwhile, Sharon — who described their life together as “a Shakespeare play” — slipped Ozzy extra sleeping pills in 2016 to extract a confession that he had been having an affair with his hairdresser.

It was also revealed that there were more mistresses.

Devastated, Sharon tried to kill herself but was found by a cleaner.

Jessie Breakwell, who worked as their nanny, said: “Ozzy was obsessed with her.

“They’d giggle and make jokes.

“It was genuine love.”

After Ozzy went to rehab for sex addiction, the couple reconciled and renewed their vows in Las Vegas in 2017.

Sharon admitted: “I love him.

“I can leave if I want, take half of everything and go. I don’t want to.”

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Wild and hilarious Ozzy stories

1. Ozzy once told Sharon: “Don’t cremate me, whatever you do.

“I want to be put in the ground, in a nice garden somewhere, with a tree over my head.

“A crabapple tree, preferably, so the kids can make wine out of me and get pissed out of their heads.

“As for what they’ll put on my headstone, I ain’t under any illusions.

“If I close my eyes, I can already see it:

“Ozzy Osbourne, born 1948

“Died, whenever.

“He bit the head off a bat.”

2. Ozzy decided to stop using acid while recording Black Sabbath album Vol 4.

He said: “I took ten tabs of acid then went for a walk in a field.

“I ended up standing there talking to this horse for about an hour.

“In the end, the horse turned around and told me to f**k off.

“That was it for me.”

3. The rocker began tattooing himself as a teenager while growing up in Birmingham.

He said: “I even put a smiley face on each of my knees to cheer myself up when I was sitting on the bog in the morning.”

Decades later he had ‘thanks’ tattooed on his right palm.

He said: “It seemed like a brilliant idea at the time.

“How many times do you say ‘thanks’ to people during your lifetime?

“Tens of thousands, probably.

“Now all I had to do was raise my right hand.”

4. The Osbournes had a donkey called Sally, who used to sit in the living room with Ozzy and watch Match Of The Day.

5. Former slaughterhouse worker Ozzy claimed to have killed his family’s cats while high.

He recalled: “I was ­taking drugs so much I was a f***ed.

“The final straw came when I shot all our cats.

“We had about 17, and I went crazy and shot them all.

“My wife found me under the piano in a white suit – a shotgun in one hand and a knife in the other.”

6. The Prince of Darkness was interested in the Bible.

He said: “I’ve tried to read it several times.

“But I’ve only ever got as far as the bit about Moses being 720 years old, and I’m like, ‘What were these people smoking back then?’”

7. Ozzy met the late Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.

He recalled: “I was standing next to Cliff Richard.

“She took one look at the two of us, and said, “Oh, so this is what they call variety, is it?” then cracked up laughing.

“I honestly thought Sharon must have slipped some acid into my ­cornflakes that morning.”

8. Ozzy loved putting hidden messages in songs.

He said: “On No Rest For The Wicked, if you play Bloodbath In Paradise backwards, you can clearly hear me saying, ‘Your mother sells whelks in Hull’.”

Three-year-old Amr al-Hams lies immobile in his southern Gaza hospital bed with shrapnel embedded in his brain from an Israeli air strike.

Unable to walk or speak, his eyes dart around, searching for his mother, his aunt Nour believes.

Amr’s mother, Inas, was nine months pregnant when she took the family to visit her parents in northern Gaza. That night, their tent was struck. The attack killed his mother, her unborn baby, two of Amr’s siblings and his grandfather.

Amr survived after being rushed to intensive care with a breathing tube. His grief-stricken father is nearly speechless.

Now at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Amr has left intensive care but suffers from severe malnutrition. The fortified milk he requires vanished during Israel’s months-long blockade.

Nour feeds him mashed lentils through a syringe. She sleeps beside him, changes his nappies and comforts him during seizures.

“I tell him his mother will be back soon,” she says. “Other times, I give him a toy. But he cries. I think he misses her.”

Doctors say Amr needs immediate evacuation from the conflict zone. Without specialised care and therapy, his brain injuries will likely cause permanent damage.

“His brain is still developing,” Nour says. “Will he walk again? Speak again? So long as he is in Gaza, there is no recovery.”

Celebs Go Dating coach Anna Williamson spoke to the Mirror about parenting amid concerns over technology and social media after hosting the Great British Phone Switch

Anna Williamson has opened up her approach to parenting, including revealing some of the rules that are in place within her home. The Celebs Go Dating coach offered advice to other parents whilst discussing her own experience.

The life coach and presenter, 43, has two children with her husband Alex Di Pasquale, 36. The couple, who have now been together for more than a decade, are parents to an eight-year-old son and a five-year-old daughter together.

Anna spoke to the Mirror about her family earlier this week whilst reflecting on the Great British Phone Swap. The Channel 4 show, in partnership with Tesco Mobile, sees parents swap phone habits with their children for 48 hours.

Fronted by Anna and clinical psychologist Dr Martha Deiros Collado, the experiment explores topics including online safety and the use of AI. Each parent and child duo left the experience with a set of goals for their family, such as scheduled time away from devices and weekly check-ins.

Asked her main takeaway, Anna said it was “boundaries” and having “healthy, open communication”. “Boundaries being time when you are not on your phone and I think we found that was really beneficial for all families,” she added.

The show also saw parents introduced to their kids’ lives on platforms like TikTok. Anna said: “When [they] lent into the teenager’s worlds, they were actually less fearful about what was happening because they understood it better.”

Although her own kids aren’t on social media, Anna revealed that her eldest child is now starting to ask when he will be allowed a phone. She shared that even though he doesn’t have one yet, she’s already using parental control on games and apps that he’s interested in on another device.

Concerns over screen time were raised on the Great British Phone Swap and Anna teased that she can relate to the other parents. Asked what the dynamic is like in her family, she told us: “We’re always fighting against screen time in my house but very much we try and lead from example.”

Anna said it’s “very difficult” as a parent because “a lot of our work nowadays is online”. She said that can be tough to convey to kids, who may interpret their parents being on devices as them playing a game or browsing social media.

Although that may sometimes be the case, Anna encourages leading by example. She said in our interview: “The approach of ‘just do it because I said,’ it doesn’t really wash because you’re typically gonna get a child that will rebel. They won’t trust you, they won’t lean in to you, they won’t talk to you and they will just do it anyway.”

Anna said that she tries to make sure that her own devices are away as much as possible between the time that she picks her kids up from school and their bedtime. She then explained: “I might jump on later on and reply to emails and do a lot of my messaging after that.”

She said that as a result when she’s trying to get her kids off their devices they know that she’s “boundaried” with her own. Anna revealed that her kids get an hour of screen time each per day, which they can use when they want.

Anna said their allowance could be used before or after school, through “approved apps” or “things they wanna watch”. She said that her son may choose to use his hour altogether on completing a video game level, for example, rather than taking it in scattered periods over the day.

“It’s teaching your children that they do have a choice but they have a choice within your boundaries,” Anna said. Summarising her approach, she added: “So we try and keep reduced screen time. We do have parental controls. I do keep a very close eye on what my children are watching.”

Anna went on to discuss one participant in the show having suggested that their generation spent time outside, rather than playing on devices, as children. The podcast host however said that it’s the “reality” of the world we live in now.

She said: “I do think that we have to accept where we are. We always evolve, we have to evolve. […] I think as we portray in the Great British Phone Switch phones aren’t a bad thing. Tech isn’t a bad thing. But it’s about consuming the right things on it and that’s the important thing here.”

Anna, who said that parents are “always grappling” with issues like screen time and whether to let their children have a phone, told us that she doesn’t support banning technology at home. She said: “What I always say is that banning it completely I don’t believe is a particularly useful or helpful idea in the long run.”

She explained: “Because what you ban, you’re not teaching someone to use it sensibly. The analogy being; you wouldn’t just stick a 17 year old out in a car without giving them driving lessons to teach them how to drive it safely.”

Anna suggested that the same benefits apply to technology. She said: “It’s exactly the same with tech – you need to teach your children how to navigate it. Where the pitfalls are, where the hazards are, where the safe spaces are.”

She added that banning it completely doesn’t give kids the “skills” and the “tools” that they need in the modern world. Anna however suggested that it doesn’t mean children should have no restrictions when it comes to using devices.

“The heavy caveat is to not be consumed by it and to make sure there are other things going on in your life that are face-to-face,” she said. “Making sure that those interpersonal skills are just as acute as their digital skills.”

Anna also shared that she isn’t letting her kids on social media at the moment and opened up about no longer showing their faces on her own Instagram. She recalled making the decision a few years ago when she “became increasingly aware around consent”. She said that although her job in the public eye is a choice that she has made, the same can’t be said for her kids.

“I didn’t want my children to be in a position where they thought I’d made the wrong decision for them,” she said. Anna went on to say: “I’m not shading anyone that does choose to share their children or their families online. I think everyone makes the right choice for them and their family.”

All five episodes of the Great British Phone Swap are available now through Channel 4.

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