homes

Diego Cano-Lasso had been looking for an architectural project when he found two hillside lots with spectacular views for sale in Mt. Washington. With work scarce in 2012, the SCI-Arc graduate persuaded his family to invest in the property, and together they bought the two plots for $95,000.

“We are not developers,” he says, “but sometimes you have to jump.”

He didn’t realize the Mt. Washington project would take 12 years to complete, including a shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, or that he, his family and friends would end up doing much of the work themselves.

Diego Cano-Lasso stands in front of the hillside lots in 2012. (Hassan Ismail) The lots today. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

As a fan of Los Angeles’ Midcentury Modern architecture, he imagined designing and building a post-and-beam dream home next-door to a similar home by his aunt Lucia Cano and her husband, José Selgas, of the Madrid architecture firm SelgasCano, stretching over the hillside and connecting to the city below.

Growing up in Madrid, the 41-year-old Cano-Lasso first discovered modernist architecture as a child while visiting his grandfather Julio Cano Lasso’s architecture office. There, he saw architectural photographer Julius Shulman’s famous photo of Pierre Koenig’s glass and steel Case Study House No. 22 in West Hollywood, one of L.A.’s most iconic homes and a lasting symbol of midcentury L.A.

“It’s why I moved here,” Cano-Lasso says. “Midcentury design was like a dream to me, because it’s not just an architectural style; it’s a lifestyle.”

But his dream quickly hit a snag when the geotechnical engineer arrived in Mt. Washington to assess the site.

“He said the plots were unbuildable,” Cano-Lasso recalls. “He told me, ‘It is impossible. We cannot even do the soils report, because a big machine can’t fit up here on these narrow streets.’”

Eventually, Cano-Lasso found someone who visited the site and said, “No problem.”

La Canaria House by José Selgas and Lucia Cano features canary yellow aluminum tubes.

Cano-Lasso and his wife, Belén Rodero, in the open kitchen and living area of La Canaria House.

Then the city told him that he didn’t have the right to build on the property. To get permission, Cano-Lasso and his family would need to widen the narrow street, put in a sewer system and add a power pole.

Permits were just as difficult. According to Cano-Lasso, neighbors complained about the project, and the city bureaucracy dragged out the process for three years.

Eventually, he and his crew began digging into the hillside and moved more than 120 truckloads of soil through the steep, narrow streets of Mt. Washington. Without a general contractor, they managed construction themselves and hired different crews for each job.

When COVID-19 hit, construction on the project stopped, and Cano-Lasso returned to Spain. Construction did not restart until 2022, by which time the construction industry had changed and the project felt even more challenging to complete.

“Everything cost more, and there weren’t enough skilled workers,” Cano-Lasso says. As a result, Juan de Santiago, the master builder Cano-Lasso hired and calls “paramount to the project,” was too busy to finish the houses, which had windows and drywall but still needed finishing.

“The only way we could do it was by doing most of the work ourselves and with friends,” Cano-Lasso says.

With help from his brother Alejandro Cano, who is also known as Cato, and his wife, Belén Rodero, they handled everything from carpentry and metal work to lighting, wall finishes, flooring, painting, furniture, custom garage doors and landscaping.

“What I didn’t realize at the time — not even when hundreds of boxes of Moroccan tiles showed up at our door in Madrid — was that I was signing up for both a crash course and a career in tiling,” Cato says of designing murals for three of the Cano Home’s four walls. “I wasn’t expecting to lay a single tile, let alone take on the filing, sanding, rearrangement and all the care and attention required when most tiles come in odd sizes.”

Seven years and plenty of mishaps later, including the time a truck got stuck on the narrow, winding streets of Mt. Washington hauling 42-foot wooden beams, Cano-Lasso finally has a finished home that feels peaceful and warm.

With eye-catching details everywhere, the 2,250-square-foot homes feel relaxed and reflect the style of a Spanish designer inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and Rudolph Schindler. (Cano-Lasso once lived in Schindler’s Sachs apartment in Silver Lake.) The open floor plan, designed by his father, Spanish architect Diego Cano Pintos, features warm oak floors, inexpensive radiata pine walls and ribbed wood ceilings.

“I am enjoying witnessing the house being lived in,” Cano-Lasso says of renting his house to music producer Jennifer Jimenez and interior designer Hanna Li, pictured right.

The rooms of the Cano House are filled with colorful art, accessories and custom furniture by Andrew Riiska and Cato. “Although we were working toward a deadline on a project that had already been under construction for several years, most pieces of furniture were designed and fabricated on site, with the conviction that we were building something special,” Cato says of setting up a furniture workshop in the garage.

Ceramic rain gutters from Ceramiques Est in Spain have been repurposed as wall-mounted light fixtures for indoor use. Door handles are made from stones found on the beach, and glass light fixtures by Luz Mixtura in Spain echo Robert Irwin’s disc installations. Large boulders from the excavation were brought inside to serve as furniture. Built-ins were made in Spain and shipped to Los Angeles in three containers. Outside, the house is covered in shou sugi ban charred-wood siding, which they installed themselves.

Both homes have similar structures and layouts with four bedrooms and four bathrooms, but La Canaria House features canary yellow powder-coated aluminum tubes inspired by California sunsets, while the Cano House is minimal and warm. “The homes are all about the beams,” Cano-Lasso says, which makes them look like they are floating above the city.

The neutral rooms feel warm and simple, with striking pops of yellow that reflect Southern California’s sunshine and decks that allow a smooth flow from indoors to outdoors.

Li, left, and Jimenez in their music room. The custom DJ workstation, designed by Li, is clad in ceramic tiles designed to look like plywood.

Behind the Cano House, Cano-Lasso created a narrow outdoor space with built-in banquette seating, a raised-bed herb garden and a water fountain. Now the house opens up to the outdoors, making it easy to entertain. “The garden is the coolest feature,” he says. “It really makes the house feel special.”

In some ways, the modern design has revived the midcentury ideal by using post-and-beam construction, an open floor plan, simple materials and easy indoor-outdoor access, all with Cano Lasso’s artistic touch.

But finishing the project also left Cano-Lasso with the large debt he took on — he estimates the project cost about $1 million, although he saved around 40% by acting as his own contractor.

Cano-Lasso and his wife divide their time between La Canaria House and a project in Venice, so he is renting out his dream house to interior designer Hannah Li and music producer Jennifer Jimenez, who grew up together in Pasadena.

Li descends the spiral staircase to the music room on the first floor.

Renting such a personal project might seem overwhelming for the tenants, since the rental included some of Cano-Lasso’s custom furnishings, but the two have made the house their own. They added a striking listening room on the first floor, with a turntable lined with ceramic tiles designed by Li to resemble plywood.

“We’re all artists in this house,” Jimenez says. “We’re always creating here, and other music producers often come over to make music and jam with us. It’s such an inspiring, creative space.”

“It’s a very comfortable house,” adds Li, who enjoys practicing archery on the terrace deck.

The friends’ rental is filled with treasures from their travels, along with pieces Li designed specifically for the home. Li turned one of the first-floor bedrooms into a cozy study by paneling the walls with wood and adding textiles she collected on her trips.

Recently, they hosted a birthday party with art-making stations, candle-making and even goats and they invited their landlord. “Mt. Washington has so many artists, so it’s wonderful to bring everyone together,” Li says.

Cano-Lasso, greets Jimenez, center, and Li on their side-by-side terraces.

When asked if he might consider tackling another hillside project, Cano-Lasso laughs.

“When I finished, I said, ‘I will never do that again,’” he says. “Now I’m starting to think there’s a plot of land for sale nearby. We installed a sewer line, so why not take advantage of it?”

Despite his debt, he isn’t planning to sell the house. “In a way, the project doesn’t finish with construction; I am enjoying witnessing the house being lived in,” he says. Even if he’s not the one living in it.

HARRY Styles has some tricky steps to negotiate in his £30million mansion project — restoring a rotten staircase.

The former One Direction singer is paying experts to return the 300-year-old feature to its former glory as he turns three properties into one huge home.

The staircase revamp could delay the renovation project, which is slated for completion by October 2027.

A source said: “Harry doesn’t do anything by halves.

“This is a very ambitious project so there are bound to be stumbling blocks.

“The staircase is the latest snag but it’s a lovely period feature and he’s going to get the very best craftsmen to make it as good as new.

“It will take a while because it has to be taken apart piece by piece, restored and then put back in place, so it could well affect the deadline.”

In planning documents, Harry’s team say the condition of the 1734 staircase has deteriorated and it had some “poor-quality repairs” over the years.

He has appointed heritage carpentry experts to assess the best way to restore the feature.

Harry, 32, who is dating US actress Zoe Kravitz, 37, is merging the Georgian and 18th-century properties in Hampstead, North London.

The extensive renovation project includes high-end amenities such as a basement cinema, pool and gym.

The development has faced opposition previously from neighbours concerned about disruption and blocked light.

Despite the staircase issue, Harry had a spring in his step while in cut-off jeans in London after his weekend shows at Wembley.

Research has named the best place in the UK to raise a child, thanks to a number of factors from the variety of countryside spaces to lower than average house prices

Raising a child in the modern world is a demanding task, and there are lots of big decisions parents-to-be need to make to give their offspring the best chance in life.

One of the most important factors is where to live, and parents will be seeking somewhere with a balance between safety, education quality, childcare costs, plus outdoor spaces to raise free-range kids.

To give parents a hand when making this life-changing choice, Outdoor Toys has created an index of the best places to raise a child in the UK for 2026, and its research looked at a huge number of factors. These included the number of child-friendly attractions, crime rates, and the percentage of schools with a good or outstanding OFSTED rating. This gave each town and city a child raise-ability score out of ten, and the overall winner scored an impressive 7.32.

Sheffield in South Yorkshire took the top spot thanks to offering double the average amount of green space per person . It also has relatively affordable childcare costs of £918.33 per month, which is below the UK average of £1,128 per child without government support.

Housing is also a major factor for growing families, and according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the average house price in Sheffield stands at £222,000. This is below the UK wide average of £270,080, and far below areas such as the south east at £379,000.

Green spaces that can be enjoyed around the city include the Sheffield Botanical Gardens, which includes colourful flowers and plants from around the world, some of them kept in huge Victorian greenhouses. Outside, kids can wander the endless trails, spotting statues, fountains, and other pretty features.

Graves Park is another spot that’s much-loved by families. It has two playgrounds, woodlands, lakes, and much more to explore, while Kelham Island Museum is a fun day out where kids can learn all about the area’s industrial heritage in an interactive environment.

Second place in the rankings was Milton Keynes, its score boosted by the fact it offered the widest range of child-friendly attractions. MK residents enjoy 31 kid-friendly attractions per 100,000 people, 11 more than the study’s average, meaning families who live in the city certainly won’t get bored.

While Milton Keynes lost some ground due to its costly childcare – an average of £1,416 per month – it offered large amounts of green space per person as well as a high percentage of schools OFSTED graded as good or outstanding.

Swindon came in third place, in part due to having the lowest crime rate in the study at 68 per 1,000 people. It also offered average childcare costs of £900, below the UK average, while two-thirds of its schools had good or higher OFSTED ratings.

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

DUA Lipa has taken her London property empire to four pads by snapping up two more swish homes.

The pop sensation – who recently married actor Callum Turner– has just splashed around £1m on a two-bed flat in London’s Leicester Square area.

And another £1m went on a flat in north London which is next door to a pad with a similar price tag she already owns.

Dua also has a pad in Hampstead worth £7m.

A firm called Chiltern Court Ltd, of which she is a “person of significant control” took out loans from the royal family’s banker Coutts & Co and OneSavings Bank Plc to fund the purchases.

That’s despite the chart topper being worth £150m.

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Dua also owns a stunning £6.5m Victorian property in West Hampstead, which she bought back in 2020.

Prior to that she bought her first home in 2017, located in London, when she was just 22.

It’s been a great few weeks for Dua after tying the knot with Callum during an intimate ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall last month.

Dua, 29, stunned in a white hat, dress and gloves hand in hand with newly wedded husband, 35-year-old Callum, wearing a navy suit and tie.

Eight friends and family stood on both sides of the stairs at Marylebone Registry and tossed confetti as the beaming couple headed into a black cab.

A small security team and the family went in a green Land Rover and accompanied the couple who left in taxi.

It was a low-key affair making them legally man and wife ahead of their second wedding – a lavish three-day event in Sicily.

Insiders have said that the ceremony will be a massive, luxurious affair.

“They have rented out multiple huge venues for the multi-event extravaganza,” said a source.

Dua and Callum have been linked together since early 2024 and went Instagram official in May that year.

Then in June 2025 the singer confirmed that they were engaged.

Juba, South Sudan – In the days before Lankien was attacked, doctors at the local hospital rushed to evacuate patients. Some were women in labour. Others were being treated for gunshot wounds. By the evening of February 3, just hours after the last patients were carried out, a bomb struck the empty facility, ripping a crater through its warehouse.

Fighting was underway in surrounding areas as South Sudan’s military pressed forward with a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory seized by opposition armed groups. As the army advanced eastward through Jonglei State, it captured town after town, pushing opposition fighters towards the Ethiopian border.

In the aftermath of the bombing, residents said they were forced to flee into surrounding marshland on the morning of February 7 as mortar fire struck the town. Some eventually returned and described extensive destruction.

The hospital had been looted and burned. Its cold-chain storage unit, used to preserve vaccines, was set on fire. Vehicles were sprayed with bullets and stripped for parts. Solar-powered water systems had been dismantled. The local market was reduced to twisted metal sheets, while homes on the outskirts appeared to have been burned.

“Anything that can support the life of human beings was deliberately destroyed,” said Emmerson Gono, deputy head of mission for Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, who visited Lankien in April, adding that this was his assessment based on what he observed.

A counteroffensive across Jonglei

Since the start of what authorities refer to as “Operation Enduring Peace,” satellite imagery analysed by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), combined with verified videos, images and witness accounts, indicates widespread destruction across a swathe of Jonglei that has long been a stronghold of opposition groups.

Both the military and opposition forces have been accused of razing villages and attacking civilians in recent months. In this area of Jonglei, which is home to a section of the Nuer ethnic group that officials often cast as hostile to the state, more than a dozen residents who spoke to Al Jazeera said they believed the military was responsible for targeted destruction that experts say has pushed tens of thousands of people towards the brink of famine.

In most of the 23 incidents CIR documented between late January and February, civilian structures, including homes, health facilities and markets, appear to have been burned and looted. CIR said the destruction was “likely to be more widespread and potentially part of what it described as a deliberate military strategy”.

“Using satellite imagery, we were able to map how troop movements from west to east followed a path of burning and looting,” said CIR researcher Kiria Borak, stressing that satellite imagery alone cannot determine intent or responsibility.

Some officials and humanitarian actors have attributed the destruction in Jonglei to clashes between government troops and opposition forces. However, residents told Al Jazeera that opposition fighters were not present when their villages were attacked. Those accounts could not be independently verified due to restricted access to the area.

Government officials did not respond to requests for comment on the specific allegations described in this report. In earlier statements, authorities have said military operations are conducted in self-defence and that civilians are not deliberately targeted.

Political backdrop

Violence has escalated since 2025, when opposition leader and first vice president Riek Machar was arrested on charges of subversion, allegations he denies. Machar and President Salva Kiir were once on opposing sides of the country’s 2013–2018 civil war, which killed hundreds of thousands of people before a peace agreement brought them into a fragile unity government.

The implementation of that agreement stalled amid delays in unifying armed forces into a national military and repeated postponements of national elections.

Following Machar’s arrest, the government undertook a campaign of aerial bombardments to beat back a simmering rebellion in rural areas. Machar’s political group declared the peace deal dead and began launching hit-and-run attacks on military positions.

Between December and January, opposition fighters, buoyed by support from local armed youth, seized several military garrisons in Jonglei, prompting the government to announce a counteroffensive on January 28.

Then-army chief Paul Nang ordered forces, drawn from the national army, intelligence units, police and allied militias, according to UN investigators, to retake territory held by opposition groups.

Analysts say the involvement of allied militias operating alongside formal units has complicated the determination of command responsibility.

‘Burning homes’

Five individuals who fled Lankien told Al Jazeera they witnessed events unfold on February 7.

They said government-aligned forces reached the outskirts of the town after fighting in a nearby village. Around late morning, mortar fire struck the town, followed by the arrival of ground forces in armoured vehicles.

Gai Ket, 32, said he had been cutting firewood when explosions began. He rushed back to town to look for his wife and children.

“The first thing I saw was smoke. SSPDF was burning homes,” he said, referring to the national army.

When he reached his house, he found his wife dead, with a severe wound to her chest. Bodies lay scattered across the neighbourhood. “Everything was gone,” he said.

Another resident, Puoch Duol, said he returned at night to search for his grandmother, who had been too weak to flee. He said he found her body among several others near the ruins of burned homes.

Satellite imagery reviewed by CIR indicates significant destruction in Lankien between February 7 and 9. On February 7, the army announced it was in control of the town.

MSF has said government forces were in control of Lankien in the days after the attack but has not assigned responsibility for the destruction. It said the government is the only party to the conflict with the capability to carry out aerial bombardments.

Government-appointed officials told Al Jazeera that opposition fighters looted the town during their withdrawal. Opposition representatives deny this, saying their forces were not present at the time. Neither account could be independently verified.

A pattern of destruction

Residents described a similar pattern of destruction across towns and villages stretching from the Nile River to the Ethiopian border. Armed men in military-style uniforms arrived in armoured vehicles, often after opposition forces were reported to have withdrawn, according to residents.

Homes and markets were burned, while health facilities and humanitarian compounds were looted. Civilians took refuge in swamps and forests, while those too weak to flee were killed or went missing.

CIR geolocated social media footage from Pathai showing fighters moving among burning structures towards a road leading into the town’s western entrance. The identities of those in the footage could not be independently verified.

Jany, an aid worker based in the town of Walgak, described an attack on February 5.

“We saw smoke everywhere. They were firing guns and burning houses,” he said.

Satellite imagery shows significant structural damage in Walgak between February 3 and 7, shortly after the town changed hands.

Humanitarian sources tracking developments in the area reported that multiple villages in the vicinity of Walgak were burned or destroyed during the same period. These accounts could not be independently verified due to restricted access and ongoing insecurity.

Remote sensing data shows clusters of fire activity across the region during the same period. However, satellite imagery alone cannot determine the cause or responsibility for the fires.

Command rhetoric and discipline

From the start of military operations, remarks by commanders raised concerns over civilian safety.

A video circulated on social media shows Johnson Olony, a deputy army chief who is also head of the Agwelek armed group, telling troops not to spare lives or property during operations. The government later said the remarks did not reflect official policy, and Olony apologised.

In another video, a commander identified as Wal Nyak appears to threaten violence against perceived opposition supporters. “Whether you are a woman or a girl, we will kill you all … We don’t want supporters of Riek Machar here,” he says.

The authenticity and full context of the footage could not be independently verified.

Humanitarian impact

Aid agencies say the consequences of the destruction reported in the area are severe and likely to last for months or longer.

At least 28 health facilities in Jonglei were damaged or looted this year, according to the UN. Seventy percent are no longer functioning.

The Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), a United Nations-backed analysis body, says there is a risk of famine in multiple counties, while more than 70,000 people are already facing the highest possible severity of hunger.

Nicholas Kerandi of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said the impacts on food security and public health “are likely to persist through the remainder of the year and potentially beyond”.

Others say the alleged abuses in Jonglei have pushed South Sudan’s already fractured state to breaking point.

“The tribes don’t trust one another, the citizens don’t trust the government, and the government doesn’t trust its citizens,” Ter Manyang Gatwech, a human rights advocate from Jonglei, told Al Jazeera.

“Unless there is a miracle, South Sudan will disintegrate,” he said.

I’ve never visited anywhere like it.

They may enjoy some of the country’s most stunning coastal views but for residents in the UK’s seaside towns and villages life by the sea comes with less visible challenges. While tourists might nip in for a day trip here and there, for people who spend their lives here factors such as over-tourism, anti-social behaviour and limited job opportunities can contribute to lower levels of happiness and wellbeing.

But when I visited this unique fishing village in north Devon I was greeted by nothing but warmth and happiness, with locals ready with a smile, a friendly greeting and a genuine sense of hospitality. After paying £10.90 just to get into Clovelly, I instantly felt at home. It is a truly unique village for a number of reasons. Perched on a 400ft cliff, the village is entirely owned by one man, John Rous.

The 75-year-old, who inherited the village from his mother, Countess Mary Rous, in 1983, is the sole landowner and operates every property in Clovelly. Everyone who lives or works in the village rents their home or shop directly from Mr Rous.

All prospective tenants are interviewed to ensure they fit the community, ensuring the harmonious atmosphere is maintained without any disturbance.

And unlike other villages and towns across the UK there is a fee to enter Clovelly. Visitors must pass through a visitor centre and pay £10.90 for adults and £6.25 for children aged seven to 16. You may think this strange, especially at a time where millions of Brits face soaring bills and increasing supermarket prices, but there is a very good reason: the money does not go to lining the pockets of the owner but is instead redistributed in the village, including on the upkeep and maintenance of homes.

The car-free village has around 250 residents living in 80 cottages. It also welcomes around 150,000 tourists every year — and everyone seems happy. As soon as I arrived and strolled down The Hobby Drive and onto the cobbled High Street, I felt welcome. There were no strange looks from locals, wondering who I was or how long I would be there.

Instead, people gave a passing smile and were happy to stop and chat. It was clear they revelled in the peaceful environment, with their lives centring around tradition and respect. It was the same in both The Red Lion Hotel, an 18th century four-star inn that stands on the quay alongside the stunning harbour, and the Bay Tree Cafe, which sits at the top of the village. Every member of staff I encountered had a smile on their face and couldn’t do enough for me.

The village’s strong sense of community became even more apparent when I spoke with residents. They were quick to ask whether I was enjoying my visit and were always eager to recommend other locals to meet or places to explore. As the village is set on steep, cobbled streets, all vehicles are prohibited which ensures the air remains clean and the atmosphere quiet. There is no such thing as rush hour traffic, car crashes or miles of congestion in Clovelly.

All of the homes in Clovelly are occupied by full-time residents who rent from Mr Rous. This means that, unlike some seaside resorts, there are no empty holiday rentals or abandoned hotels.

It’s easy to describe the views in any seaside town or village “amazing” but this truly is the case in Clovelly. The cobbled streets wind down to a serene ancient harbour which offers sweeping views over Bideford Bay. It’s fair to say that Clovelly is unlike any seaside village or town that I’ve ever visited. It is truly unique and one of the happiest places I have ever been.

June 12 (UPI) — Multiple tornadoes caused severe damage across several midwestern states Thursday evening.

A 54-year-old man was killed in a homeless encampment in a park Wednesday in Des Moines, Iowa, after he was hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms,” police said in a statement. They found the man injured, and he died on the scene, CBS News reported.

There have been no other official reports of injuries.

As of Friday morning, nearly 500,000 customers were without power in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Some of the hardest-hit areas are just south of Chicago in Kouts and Merrillville, Ind., and Bartlett, Naperville, Streator and Dwight, Ill.

A tornado hit Streator at 5:52 p.m. CDT Thursday, and another was reported in Dwight just after 6:15 p.m. The system had traveled east to Lake and Porter counties in Indiana around 7 p.m.

Streator Mayor Tara Bedei said there have been no deaths reported in the city.

“We are incredibly grateful for the safety of our residents and the quick action of emergency personnel,” she said in a statement.

An animal shelter in Springfield, Ill., suffered heavy damage to two buildings, CBS reported, but none of the nearly 150 cats and 28 dogs housed there were injured, said Animal Protective League Executive Director Deana Corbin.

“It pretty much wiped out our shelter facility, took the roofs off both of our buildings,” Corbin said. “It’s a miracle. We were so blessed to not have any injuries of either people or animals.”

Home and news video showed several destroyed homes, including one in which a man was trapped under debris in Streator. He was removed safely with the help of first responders. It’s unclear if he was injured.

Illinois State Police later confirmed “heavy damage” in Streator, and Illinois-18 leading into the town was closed for clean-up and rescue efforts. Displaced residents and separated families in Streator were being sent to Streator City Hall, officials said.

Merrillville Police also reported heavy damage and road closures in the city.

Hobart, Ind., announced Thursday night that it was opening a local gymnasium to those in need of shelter.

“For families displaced by the storm, the Hobart Police Department is opening the gymnasiums at the Police Court Complex as a temporary shelter location,” a police Facebook post said. “The facility has available space, clean restrooms, fans, and good airflow, providing a safe place for those in need. Please note that there is no air conditioning, unfortunately.”

Maple Park, Ill., winery owner Joe Brandonisio told CBS that one of his workers tied himself to a water trailer to keep from being blown away.

“I saw the debris fly up and spin around. I got down in the basement. I told the staff to get down there,” Brandonisio said.

Thousands of migrants shelter in a Durban park after being driven from their homes ahead of a June 30 expulsion ultimatum.

More than 3,000 Malawians, including hundreds of children, are staying in an open field in South Africa’s port city of Durban, after fleeing what they described as escalating anti-immigrant threats and attacks.

For weeks, groups armed with sticks, whips and shields have marched through parts of the country demanding that foreigners with no papers leave by June 30.

At the park, which transformed into a makeshift transit camp in Durban on Wednesday, many people said repatriation was their only safe option.

“It’s hard to stay here,” Falesi Chukuwumba, a Malawian national, told Al Jazeera. “You can see we are outside. How can we stay in this cold? Our children can get sick.”

Sayiba John, 33, a Malawian who fled Nazareth township with her husband and three children, told the AFP news agency her daughter, a Grade 2 pupil, was forced to abandon her exams.

“They said we must go. We have no choice in the matter,” John said. “It’s better our government take us away from here than to face the anger of the South Africans.”

Ellen Mwamulima, a 45-year-old widow, mother of three and former domestic worker in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, fled a mob who nearly caught up with her and had to hide out in the bush for two weeks.

“It’s been very difficult because we lost everything, they burnt our houses and all our belongings,” the Malawian told Al Jazeera.

The anti-migrant marches have been backed by the MK Party, led by former President Jacob Zuma, which commands strong support across KwaZulu-Natal province.

When the party called on supporters to march against undocumented migrants, thousands responded. Demonstrators accuse foreign nationals of taking jobs and economic opportunities from South Africans.

“There are undocumented foreigners working everywhere in our business field,” Mythobisi Sabelo, one of the protesters, told Al Jazeera in Durban. “People here have been trying to find work for a long time and given up. It’s becoming an issue.”

Waves of xenophobic violence

But while demonstrators blame foreigners for South Africa’s economic and social issues, others argue that foreigners, particularly those from elsewhere in Africa, are being wrongly blamed.

The violence has spread well beyond KwaZulu-Natal. Five Mozambicans have been killed in Mossel Bay. More than 150 Malawians were bussed out of the Western Cape province over the weekend.

Ghana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have repatriated hundreds of nationals this month, and a flight carrying the first group of Nigerians is due to depart Johannesburg.

About 150 additional migrants from Burundi, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe are sheltering at a government office not far from the Durban park.

South Africa has faced recurring waves of xenophobic violence since 2008, when dozens of migrants were killed and thousands displaced. Some three million foreigners – about 5 percent of the population, more than 63 percent of them from within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) bloc – live in the country.

The latest flare-up comes as political parties campaign ahead of local government elections in November.

HANGING up the phone after her landlord told her he’d be selling her home, Melanie Bentley-Moore looked out at the pouring rain and decided to leave the UK.

The mum-of-one, from Manchester, has now packed her bags to move across the world. Her rent will be half of what she pays back home, and she can eat out for just £1 a meal.

“I got a call from my landlord saying he’s selling, and I said, ‘Do you know what? I’m just going to leave the UK,’” Melanie, 33, tells the Sun.

“I’m scared, but obviously I’m doing it anyway.”

She has booked flights to Thailand in early September, and is staying at a friend’s house until then.

Explaining why she’s so desperate to move overseas, Melanie explained how Asia is much more affordable than the UK.

“Petrol, energy, food, you notice the food goes up in price; however, they decreased the packaging sizes,” she says.

There, she explains, she will be paying significantly less rent, with a “really nice apartment” costing around £400 a month, compared to the £750 she pays at home, and an evening meal just £1.

Melanie left the UK in 2017 to travel around Asia, using Vietnam as her main base.

But she returned to the UK two years later because she was missing chip shops and Nando’s.

Then her son Antares was born in 2020, and she decided to stay.

But astrologist Melanie claims she has wanted to “get back out there” ever since.

And she has slammed those who also yearn to leave the UK for sunnier shores, but just “talk” about it, and never move.

She has now sold all her belongings, and she and her son will be jetting off to Asia to live their “best lives”.

“Here it feels like we’re surviving; however, I know in Asia, where I’m heading, I’d be able to thrive instead,” she says.

“I wouldn’t get anxiety paying for a food shop, the contrast is massive.

“Your money goes a long way.

“I could stay on the beach somewhere, and it would cost half my rent.

“When I used to live in Vietnam, I wasn’t really doing food shops there because it’s so cheap to eat out. I was having my tea for £1.

“After looking now, it will be around £400 rent per month, that’s for a really nice apartment.”

But the cost of living isn’t the only reason she’s quitting the UK.

“The energy here just feels heavy, it’s dark,” she says.

“There’s no room to grow. The majority of people are miserable because of all the stuff that’s going on, the cost of living, everything’s rising.

“I just don’t feel alive here, and I think that’s not just a ‘me’ problem either; everyone that I’m speaking to just feels soulless.

“I’m just bored, I can’t live ‘Groundhog Day‘, I can’t just continue this way.

“Just hearing everyone else complain, that weakens my spirit.

“Most people are miserable, and they’re always complaining; it seeps into everything.

“It’s like an infinite cycle of ‘rinse and repeat’ complaining. It’s just a feeling, I just don’t feel alive. It sucks the soul out of me.”

Explaining how she chose her destination, Melanie says “I lived in Asia for two years, so I’m very familiar with that area of the world.

“I was only meant to go for three months, but I ended up staying out there for a couple of years, travelling around Asia.

“My main base was Vietnam, I did some English teaching out there and came back home because it’s something random, I really wanted chippy and Nando’s.”

According to the single mum, she also wants to show her son “real life”, and she prefers the values in Asia.

And she has taken Antares out of school, as she prefers education systems where children start school later.

Discussing how she believes the move will positively impact her son, she says: “I’m going to do some charity work and volunteering with him. There is no better learning than real life.

“He’s only five, I prefer the Scandinavian way.

“In Scandinavia, there’s a reason why their children are the happiest and most successful because they don’t start school till they’re seven.

“With the values and stuff, life’s just better over there. It’s slower, it’s sunny, the scenes are beautiful, and you realise there is so much more to life than what I’m used to. It’s a completely different culture as well.”

Melanie has also said that she wants people to “follow their hearts”.

“It’s no good talking, there’s a lot of talkers out there – I ‘do’.

“I refuse to stay here in a life of struggle and misery. The energy is dark, it’s always raining, it’s grey.”

“I feel so soulless and miserable in this place, and I’m not doing it anymore, and I thought f*** this.”

“Life is for living and feeling joy and love and wonder, I don’t feel any of that here.

“There is something about England energy-wise that is just so off.”

ED Sheeran has been dealt another blow in his ongoing struggle to build a rehearsal space near his mega estate “Sheeranville”.

The Shape of You singer faces painfully slow construction on his new rehearsal studio due to eco-rules.

Builders having to begin construction by hand because of the prescence of endangered newts.

And they will be given special “toolbox talks” on what to do if they come across the tiny 15cm critters.

Planning bosses say the tiny 15cm critters could be disturbed by his plans to knock down a historic but dilapidated barn and turn it into a personal rehearsal space.

Council chiefs said the measures were normal for any countryside development – and not “unreasonable”.

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Ed’s builders will have to use hand tools instead of machinery, remove all debris by hand.

The popstar’s problems with amphibians date back as far as 2018 0 when protected great crested newts were found near his Suffolk estate.

Planning permission for the project was granted, but with a string of conditions to protect the species.

Sheeran bought the £1million farm in 20245 – which included a 19th century dilapidated piggery.

The brick and wood debris will also be entirely removed by hand to stop the newts from accessing it.

The ‘Great Crested Newt Method Statement’ filed with Mid-Suffolk District Council states: “The removal of any debris e.g. rubble, wood, will be undertaken by hand as far as possible, and with care, checking beneath all removed items for newts.

“Careful use of machinery will be necessary to lift large debris and to remove the existing concrete building base, with the area beneath checked for the presence of GCN as each section is lifted.”

The method statement also gives a time limit restricting project work to March, April and May when most newts will be in ponds away from construction.

Other eco measures Ed’s having to put in place include creating a “species rich, flowering lawn” with 19 different species of flowers.

Plus he’s got to plant 12 fruit trees, two bat boxes and a triple-house sparrow tower.

A spokesperson for Mid-Suffolk District Council told The Sun: “This is certainly NOT a case of any unreasonable ‘eco-friendly measures’ being demanded by our council – simply normal requirements that would be expected of any countryside developers.”

They explained there had been no conflict between Ed Sheeran and the council at any stage and that he had not complained about the restrictions.


IF YOU are looking for somewhere to stay on your next staycation, you can now opt for one of Britain’s most expensive homes.

Built for the former director of Rolls-Royce, the 1920s Beach Manor in West Sussex sits on the Bognor Regis coast.

Having featured on Channel 4‘s ‘Britain’s Most Expensive Homes‘, the house has everything you could possibly want for a great staycation.

Throughout the house you can expect parquet flooring, ornately carved wood panelling and leaded windows.

But modern perks aren’t forgotten about, with super-fast WiFi and air conditioning in the bedrooms.

There are eight bedrooms in total – each has a TV and most have sea views and en-suites.

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As for entertainment rooms, in one you’ll find a cinema with a huge 226cm TV screen.

And in another, you can get competitive with your family and friends with a pool table, chess and table football.

If you want to keep your fitness up during your stay, there’s even a gym as well.

The ultimate indulgence though is the indoor spa with a full-size swimming pool, sauna, steam room and hot tub.

Ideal for the summer, the garden boasts a gazebo with a log burner and an outdoor kitchen complete with a barbeque and another hot tub.

In the garden, guests will also find a self-contained cottage, right by the sea.

And if all that wasn’t enough, the house and cottage also have direct beach access onto Aldwick Beach.

Found just west of central Bognor Regis, the beach boasts a mix of shingle and sand and is known for its colourful beach huts.

Compared to the other beaches nearby, it is often quieter and your furry friend won’t be left out as it is dog-friendly year-round.

Heading towards Bognor Regis, you’ll find the Aldwick Beach Cafe, which serves classic seaside meals such as scampi and chips.

And for a pub spot there’s The Waverley, with views across the beach.

Beach Manor costs from £6,050 for three nights and while that might sound a lot, that is based on 20 people sharing.

So the cost per person, per night actually is £101 – you’ll just have to find 19 people to come with you.

Gareth Allen, Founder of Big House Experience, says: “Not only are you right on the beach, but there’s also the option of splashing in the indoor pool or outdoor hot tub, plus there’s so many spaces for entertaining – from the outdoor lawns to the multiple reception rooms.

“It’s a really special place for friends and family to spend some time together, and the Rolls-Royce history is just the cherry on top.

“We anticipate this being one of our most popular beach homes this summer.”

THE world’s largest upside-down house is set to open in a major UK seaside resort.

This marks the 11th site of its kind and the biggest one yet.

Upside Down House UK will open its largest attraction yet on Blackpool‘s Promenade, opening to visitors from today (May 29).

The 23ft tall site features 13 themed rooms, including a circus-themed playroom, an interactive games room and a reading nook.

Each room is flipped entirely upside-down, allowing visitors to experience the ultimate “topsy-turvy adventure” as they travel from room to room.

Families are able to spend time taking photos and making the most of the inverted atmosphere, although those with motion sickness might need to watch out due to the attraction’s slant.

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This marks the 11th site in the UK since the first house opened in Bournemouth in 2018.

Other locations include Cardiff, Bristol, Westfield London and Liverpool as well as international sites in France and Australia.

The associate director at Upside Down House UK, Alex Barbary, said: “We’re going bigger and better than ever. This is our largest Upside Down House to date, and the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Blackpool Promenade is the perfect stage, a place built on entertainment, culture and experiences.”

Councillor Mark Smith, Blackpool Council’s cabinet member for built environment and economy, added: “We’ve worked with The Upside Down House to repurpose the land in order to bring more jobs, tourists and visitors to South Shore.”

Tickets are just £35 for a family of four, and those with little ones under the age of three can enter at no charge.

The attraction will be open from 10am to 8pm, Monday to Sunday.

WHO can blame Paul McCartney for glancing in the rear-view mirror on his latest record? 

At 83, the likely lad from Liverpool, who became a Beatle and Britain’s best-loved songwriter, is due a moment of reflection.  

He looks at it this way: “As a writer, you often write about things in the past, even if it’s just yesterday.” 

Or even, as Macca can’t resist saying, if that past “always seems so far away”.  

“That’s another nice idea. I think I might have done that one,” he adds in acknowledgment of his immortal Beatles ballad Yesterday. 

His 20th solo studio album, The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, finds him casting his mind back to innocent times before The Beatles changed his life for ever. 

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Five of the 14 tracks visit the simple pleasures of youth — As You Lie There, Days We Left Behind, Down South, Home To Us (a first ever duet with Ringo) and Salesman Saint — and, as you’ll discover, each comes with a captivating back story. 

Here, the master storyteller, whose previous character studies include Eleanor Rigby, The Fool On The Hill and She’s Leaving Home, turns the spotlight on himself for what might just be his most personal song cycle yet. 

On The Boys Of Dungeon Lane, Sir Paul makes you believe in HIS yesterdays. 

Asked why much of his latest work deals with memories, he replies: “I think writers, including me, ask themselves that. 

“When you think about, say, Charles Dickens, what’s he going to write about except stuff he knows and stuff he remembers? Then he can gussy them up.” 

And do recent Beatles and Wings reissue projects have an impact on the way he fashions a song these days? 

“No,” answers McCartney emphatically. “The thing that pulls it all together is me — it’s my brain making music.  

“I don’t think, ‘Wow, oh yeah, let’s do this. This is a Beatles idea, or this is a Wings idea’. I don’t think like that. It’s all current. It’s me. This is what I do.” 

Listen to The Boys Of Dungeon Lane and you’ll understand what he’s getting at.  

Despite first picking up a guitar nearly 70 years ago, he’s still making eclectic, freewheeling music, brimful of ideas, even if many lyrics are bathed in nostalgia. 

The album was recorded over the past five years, when time permitted between touring and other commitments, in the company of in-demand American producer Andrew Watt, known for his work with Ozzy Osbourne, Post Malone, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and, ironically, The Beatles’ chief Sixties chart rivals, the Rolling Stones. 

“We just enjoyed it,” says Macca of his sessions with Watt. “We were like a couple of Boys Of Dungeon Lane — little boys in a sandpit — and we were having fun.” 

So, with the help of telling observations from the man himself, given to me by his team, let’s take a deep dive into the key tracks. 

As You Lie There begins proceedings in memorable style with an intimate spoken word passage delivered over minor key acoustic strums. 

McCartney intones: “I used to walk past your house. Every night I’d look up at your window. The light was on. I saw your silhouette on the blind. Do you think of me? Do I ever cross your mind?” 

The song, with its squalling rock refrain, recalls a teenage crush from the time Macca lived at 20 Forthlin Road in the Allerton area of south Liverpool, in the house where he and John Lennon first discovered their spark of creative chemistry. 

“Up in one of the ­windows, there was a girl I ­fancied called Jasmine,” he says of his tale of unrequited love. “But I didn’t know how to approach her. I never spoke to her. 

“The joke was, she did show up later that year and knocked on the door. I was indisposed — I was on the toilet — so I missed Jasmine.” 

Aside from the sweet story behind the lyrics, As You Lie There is important because it is the song that kickstarted the whole process, just as the world was emerging from the Covid pandemic. 

McCartney says: “The album really started when my manager said, ‘Would you like to meet Andrew Watt?’ 

“I knew he was an active young producer, and I liked some of his stuff. I said, ‘Yeah, great’. He said, ‘Well, it’s just a cup of tea. Go down to his studio’.” 

The pair hit it off and what began as that cuppa at Watt’s basement studio — located in his Beverly Hills residence once owned by Charlie Chaplin — soon turned into something much more significant. 

Macca described his songwriting process, how he would try “to find  

a really weird chord”, to give him “a little inspiration”. 

To his delight, he realised that Watt, a big guitar collector, “had figured that if I was coming down, it would be handy to have a left-handed guitar. 

“I struck this mad chord,” he continues. “I still have no idea what it is, then I changed one note, then another. Suddenly we  had a three-chord sequence and Andrew said, ‘We should record this’.” 

As the song took shape, they considered bringing in Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums but Watt suggested that McCartney, a more than proficient drummer, should play them himself.  

He says: “I really enjoyed drumming to it, so I put down the drum track, then obviously the bass.  

“Then Andrew put the guitar lick down, because he’s a good guitar player. And over a few days, we made As You Lie There. That started the journey.” 

The “journey” included recordings in various LA studios as well as Macca’s own Hog Hill Mill in Sussex and his old Beatles stomping ground, Abbey Road. 

Of all the ensuing songs, first single Days We Left We Behind sets the tone — and is also significant for yielding the album title. 

“This is very much a memory song for me,” says McCartney. “I was just thinking about those days I left behind.” 

Whenever he goes to Liverpool these days, to visit the city’s Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) for instance, he notes that “the back entrance to the airport is in Dungeon Lane”. 

He remembers trips down that lane “as a little kid, because I used to wander off, just on my own, with my little bird book”. 

It was the keen ornithologist’s gateway to stunning Mersey Shore, an area teeming with wading birds just a short distance from suburban Speke where he lived between the ages of five and 13. 

“Speke is quite working class,” says McCartney. “We didn’t have much at all but it didn’t matter because all the people were great and you didn’t notice it. 

“It’s my wife Nancy’s favourite track on the album. When we play it to people, we say, ‘You don’t need to cry’, and then you look up and see that they are.” 

When asked how he settled on the album title, Macca says you could ask the same question about Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. 

“It’s just some words I like. We were thinking Along The Mersey Shore could be good. But then I liked The Boys Of Dungeon Lane — it’s a bit more, ‘What’s that about?’ ” 

McCartney says Days We Left Behind “involves a bit in the middle about John and Forthlin Road”. (The McCartney family moved there in 1955). 

It suggests that he and his much-missed songwriting partner in The Beatles “wrote a secret code, to never be spoken”. 

This leads us to the folkie Down South which, says Macca, is “another one about reminiscing”.  

“I often think about John and George,” he continues. “We used to hitchhike in the days before The Beatles. It was in the days when you could — now I warn my grandkids, ‘Don’t do it’, because there are too many nutters out there.” 

He remembers: “I got a tip from someone who said, ‘You start off in Chester — because that’s where all the lorries are and they’re all going straight down south. That’s a good place to get your first lift’.” 

With Harrison, seven months his junior, coming along for the ride to places like Harlech in Wales, it was a perfect chance to do some “bonding” with his future bandmate. 

And speaking of bandmates, what about the rousing Home To Us, which, for good reason, is the only track McCartney doesn’t play the drums on. 

During one of his breaks from sessions with Watt, he “talked to Ringo about Andrew”. 

“Then Ringo went round to Andrew’s studio and drummed a bit. Next time I saw Ringo, he said, ‘Well, he didn’t do anything with it.’  

“I asked what he’d expected and he said, ‘Well, you know, a track’.” 

When Macca finally heard his old mucker’s efforts, he suggested to Watt: “We SHOULD make a track and send it to Ringo. So, we did.” 

On writing the Home To Us lyrics, he reveals: “This song is done totally with Ringo in mind. I’m talking about where we came from.  

“In common with a lot of people, you come from nothing and you build yourself up. Ringo was the one who came from the most ‘nothing’ in The Beatles. 

“He was from the Dingle and that was well hard. He used to get mugged coming home from work. 

“Even though it was crazy, it was ‘home to us’ and I made the song around that idea.” At first, Ringo only sang a few lines of chorus, but Macca rang him and said he’d “love to hear him sing the whole thing”. 

“Next, we took my first line, Ringo’s second line and we had a duet — something we’d never done before.  

“We also wanted backing vocals, and I had the idea it would be nice to hear girls. Chrissie Hynde and Sharleen Spiteri are mates — and they did it.” 

The last of McCartney’s memory songs is the most poignant, Salesman Saint, which pays tribute to his midwife mother Mary who died when he was only 14 (the “mother Mary” of Let It Be) and his salesman/amateur musician father Jim. 

He says: “This song is me remembering my mum and dad. I was born in World War II and I often think, ‘Bloody hell, it’s tough enough having a baby now but imagine if we were all conscious that bombs could be falling any minute’ — and Liverpool was getting heavily bombed.  

“I was thinking about them bringing up this kid in those circumstances. My dad happened to be a cotton salesman, and my mum was a nurse. They did it. They managed it and they brought up me and my brother [Mike]. 

“Got us to doctors, got us to school and did all these things under those circumstances. At the end of the song, there’s music I’m trying to make from their era.” 

So now you’ve heard about all the songs inspired by McCartney’s youth but there are NINE more tracks to digest. So here, in Macca’s own words, are his thoughts on those: 

Lost Horizon: “This one came about when our dearly beloved and now sadly deceased studio manager, Eddie Klein, was logging some old cassettes of mine.  

“He asked me if I remembered Lost Horizon and I said, ‘No’. He said, ‘It’s good, you should listen to it’. So, we remade it faithfully to the cassette version — just with a more modern sound.” 

Ripples On A Pond: “It’s a love song. Like a few of the songs, we started this in my studio in Sussex. I said to Andrew, ‘You’re supposed to be a pop producer and we’re making all these records that don’t sound like that to me so, come on, let’s pop this one up!’ ”  

Mountain Top: “My wife is a real live music fan and if there’s anything on she’s like, ‘Can we go?’ So, we go to Glastonbury every year and I started fantasising about some young girl tripping — she’s magic mushroomed out. The things you write songs about!” (Nancy delivers the closing spoken words.)  

We Two: “A lot of Beatles records were made on a four-track Studer machine, including A Day In The Life. It’s such a classic now. I’ve got one in the studio and we use it sometimes. Andrew loves all these recording legends of the past. I showed him the Studer and he said, ‘Can we use it now?’ Luckily, it’s in full working order so we did We Two on it. It’s a little love song.” 

Come Inside: “Going to side two now. We start it off with a rocker love song. It’s straightforward — but with verve.” 

Never Know: “When I was in LA, I always liked the idea of Laurel Canyon and that scene. The days of Joni Mitchell, the Eagles — all that hanging out, getting stoned and playing guitars. So that was the vibe that started off Never Know.” 

Life Can Be Hard: “I had a little instrumental chord sequence during Covid — and there was a little baby in the house, my wife’s niece’s new baby and it was a thrill. For a lot of people, Covid was terrible if you weren’t with family.  

“Anyway, this baby used to like these chords, and it became a song. Life can be hard, but that’s when we put it together again. It’s a positive message.”  

First Star Of The Night: “I was on tour and had a day off, which was precious. We were in Costa Rica and it rained hard — all day heavy, tropical rain. I was thinking about being out by the pool, but you really couldn’t go out.  

“I thought, ‘I know, I’ll write a song’. I had my guitar with me. So, this starts out, ‘Even when it’s raining’, but then I switched it to, ‘Even when it’s raining inside’, just to give myself somewhere to go with the song.” 

Momma Gets By: “The last track on the album and it’s totally imaginary. I was thinking of Porgy and Bess’s world. It’s basically about a woman who you can see is the strength in the family.” 

Finally, Macca is asked how he hopes listeners will respond to his new album. 

He replies: “Well, I hope they fall in love with the songs and the performances. I hope it takes them to a place of joy.” 

Whether it’s Penny Lane, Dungeon Lane or Memory Lane, Paul McCartney will transport you there. 

Roll up! Roll up! He is your magical not-so-mysterious tour guide. 

PAUL McCARTNEY

The Boys Of Dungeon Lane

★★★★★

HELEN Flanagan has been enjoying a holiday in Newquay with her kids as she put the bitter rows with her ex Scott behind her after moving out of her ex’s home.

Helen parted ways from her long-term fiancé in 2022 after 13 years together – and she’s been open about how it wasn’t always plain sailing.

Helen was spotted with her kids in Newquay after having dinner at the Harbour Side Fish & Grill Restaurant overlooking the harbour.

The former Coronation Street star looked as stunning as ever in a pair of black shorts, low cut vest and sliders as she enjoyed the sunshine with her young children.

Helen is mum to daughters Delilah, seven, and Matilda, ten, as well as five-year-old son Charlie, who she shares with ex-partner Scott Sinclair.

In the snaps, she can also be seen with her lovely mother Julia, who Helen recently revealed still does all her washing – and even organises her kids’ schedules too.

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Helen is down in Newquay, Cornwall to be interviewed for the Lewis Nicholls Life Stories Show.

Earlier this year, Helen was forced out of her £1million family home by Scott as they never married and the house near Bolton is solely in his name.

The house looked bare, ready for the family to move out, just days after Helen and Scott were snapped moving their belongings into a van.

Back in January, a friend of Helen’s said: “Scott pays for the house and all the bills and he’s decided a six-bedroom place is way too big for Helen on her own with the kids.

“But Helen doesn’t want to move and is digging her heels in.

“She loves the place, the kids are settled at the local school and her mum and dad live around the corner.”

“Scott wants to buy Helen a four-bedroom home. He’s even offered to put it in her name but wants to stop the maintenance payments.

“The relationship has completely broken down. They no longer communicate — everything goes through her parents.”

Last year we reported the house was put on sale for £1.5million before being reduced to £995,000.

Video shows helicopters dumping water on a fast-moving wildfire in southern California’s Simi Valley. The Sandy Fire has scorched more than 526 hectares (1,300 acres) and damaged at least one home. Thousands are under evacuation orders and warnings.

WANDERING through the garden of Wastwater Cottage, the only sounds I hear are birdsong, the occasional bleat from a Herdwick lamb and the brook at the end of the garden.

The 15th-century four-bedroom farmhouse is the perfect pick for an off-grid break in the British countryside.

My partner Owain and I had initially come to the Lake District with the ambitious plan of tackling some of the biggest mountains in the national park.

But upon arriving in the Cumbrian village of Boot, we were immediately sidetracked.

On our doorstep were two fantastic pubs — The Boot and Brook House — as well as a gift shop and the oldest working water mill in the UK.

Our accommodation was via Bridge End Farm Cottages, which has several luxury self-catering homes in the Eskdale Valley — one of the UK’s best Dark Sky spots.

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Our cottage featured rear doors on to a garden, which meant twinkling stars could be easily admired at night.

And each morning we would tuck into breakfast croissants outside as we watched birds of prey hunting on the mountain in front of us.

Inside were stacks of boardgames, as well as Sky TV and a grand piano.

But the highlight of the property was undoubtedly its location.

From our doorstep, we could embark on dozens of walks over the Western Fells.

These include one from spectacular Wastwater lake, the deepest in England, to Stanley Ghyll waterfall — or another up England’s highest mountain, Scafell Pike.

We started our weekend by following the brook down to the River Esk, walking through luscious green forests that are home to native red squirrels.

Children will be sure to love the stepping stones across to the opposite bank.

Of a warm summer’s day, there are also dozens of natural swimming pools to cool off in after a day exploring.

If you head in the opposite direction from the cottage, you can take a footpath up to the ancient White Moss stone circle and enjoy spectacular views of Scafell Pike — without the challenging four-hour hike up to its summit.

En route, we passed hundreds of the Herdwick sheep that live on the mountains year-round.

It turns out this hardy breed was saved from decline by Peter Rabbit author Beatrix Potter, who bred her own flocks in the area.

From here we made a descent into Eskdale, which is a slightly larger village about three miles from Boot.

The village is home to a fantastic — and unexpected — Japanese garden, adorned with maple trees and exotic plants.

An ornate footbridge over a pond is the centrepiece, and despite being on the steep side, the walk around takes only 15 minutes.

With slightly sore legs, we decided to take the vintage steam train from Eskdale back to Boot and our holiday home.

The Eskdale-to-Ravenglass railway was built in 1873 to transport iron ore mined in the valley to the coastline, but nowadays the trains run daily as an attraction, with afternoon tea available to pre-book.

In a charming tradition, passengers must flag down the driver to board, which really adds to the fun.

If you do want to travel somewhere that’s not reachable on foot, car is by far the easiest method of transport. We used Turo (think Airbnb for cars) to rent a vehicle at a much lower cost than a mainstream service.

Driving around, you’ll likely see some pretty cool spots.

Our route took us via the UK’s steepest road, Hardknott Pass — and about halfway up we came across a fabulous 2nd-century Roman fort.

It was well worth getting out to explore, as its walls are the best preserved of any ancient fort in Britain — and free to admire.

For nature lovers, the wonderful Lake District Wildlife Park, just over an hour away from the cottage by car, is home to more than 100 species of birds and mammals, both native and exotic.

Grizedale Forest is definitely one for the kids, featuring a Gruffalo orienteering trail, plus a Go Ape high-ropes centre and the Grizedale Observatory.

There are also boat trips across Windermere, which run every day from Ambleside.

The latter is close to the Beatrix Potter Museum and boasts dozens of boutique shops and cafes.

One of the beauties of staying in the Eskdale Valley is you can tick off all these main attractions but still stay away from the crowds.

As one local whispered to us about the valley’s beauty and tranquillity: “Don’t tell anyone about it.”

I hope she’ll forgive me before I return.

JASON Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whitely have decided to build their grand ‘forever home’ right next to a popular nudist beach.

They’ll be in for an eyeful whenever they open their curtains though, as the gorgeous sea view is much-loved by naturists according to the Daily Mail.

The movie hardman and his supermodel fiancee opted for a 20-acre spot on the south coast to house the £20million property.

But it’s estimated to cost the couple a further £5million for additional building works.

The Sun exclusively revealed last weekend that Jason and Rosie, who share two children together, had bought the property.

It features five bedrooms, its own private beach and a treehouse.

HARDMANSION

Jason Statham buys stunning £20m seaside home with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

make a splash

Jason Statham shares rare pics of his kids on £3k a night holiday with Rosie

It also includes a wild swimming pond and a 42,000 sq ft boating lake.

Horse stables are currently under construction behind the main house, and plans for a large gym and pool are under way.

The house was originally designed by a trusted architect of the Royal Family in a modern, brutalist style.

It’s a far cry from the pair’s London abode, and Rosie shared how she was looking forward to living in the idyllic countryside ‘forever home’.

She told The Sun: “I’ve been dreaming of this since I left home. “It will be mud and kids climbing trees.”

Jason and Rosie met at a party in 2009 and got engaged in 2016.

A HEADY scent of garlic butter and grilled seafood is the perfect pairing to my view.

From beyond my mountainous crab platter, I can see dinky, weathered rowing boats bobbing on the winding creek, while the sun beams down on to a rickety jetty where seagulls are poised.

Spain may boast significantly warmer summer days than the UK, but when the sunshine makes an appearance on the south-west coast of England, there is truly no better place in the world to be.

Salcombe has always been on my bucket list.

Before my recent visit, I had heard of the Devon town’s beauty through travel magazines and friends — some of whom were so captivated by its scenery, they chose it as the place where they popped the question.

And I get their thinking.

WAIL OF A TIME

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TEMPTED?

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Charmingly wonky pubs overlook vibrant blue waters dotted with sailing boats, while narrow streets a little way back from the seafront are lined with candle shops, small boutiques and delicatessens serving fresh cockles.

I was visiting with my family as part of my mum’s 60th birthday celebrations and we were really pushing the boat out — pun intended.

Our ultra-luxurious holiday home, carved into a tall cliff, had views that somehow surpassed those from the main harbour and was kitted out with everything you could ever need for a celebratory getaway — and more.

It may come with a luxurious price tag, but if you do have plans to propose or are celebrating a milestone birthday, this house is the perfect place.

Set a little stroll away from Salcombe’s main hub, just above South Sands Beach, Lilleby is split across several floors, with five immaculately decorated bedrooms, a huge living room complete with pool table, and various levels of outdoor terraces affording sea-view al-fresco dining, a barbecue, hot tub and sunloungers.

The highlight of the Finest Stays property, however, is undoubtedly the open-plan kitchen, dining and living room, where floor-to-ceiling windows allow for prime views of the sea waves colliding into rocks and the pretty pastel houses that line the sandy shore.

The property’s interior design and furnishing only makes things more dreamy — marshmallow-like sofas, glossy bathrooms kitted out with giant reed diffusers and a sleek kitchen that comes with all the mod-cons and enough utensils for hosting a fancy dinner party or proposal meal.

Mornings were spent wandering to the quiet beach below — a gate at the bottom of the property’s garden offers direct access to the footpath which leads to the sands.

At this time of year, the undisturbed pathway is carpeted in fragrant wild garlic that can be foraged for feasts back at Lilleby.

If you’re not one for cooking, South Sands Beach is home to a glorious cafe, Bo’s Beach, with a wide decking area located right above the sands and furnished with wooden picnic benches facing the ocean.

We gobbled egg and bacon baps with coffee while watching the sea tractor ferry passengers from boats to dry land.

For a proper Devon lunch or dinner, head to Crab Shed, a stunning 45-minute stroll north of here.

This teeny restaurant has won awards for its high-quality and excellently cooked seafood, plucked fresh from local waters.

Try the whole cracked crab, its star dish, served with baguette, crispy fries and a crab cracker so you can scoop the meat from the legs and claws.

Opt for it cold, served with mayonnaise, or hot and doused in garlic butter.

Don’t forget to visit Salcombe Dairy for a scrumptious scoop of ice cream afterwards, and the Salcombe Distilling Company for a gin-tasting experience.

For a proper pint, The Ferry Inn has a great beer garden jutting out over the water.

Keep your eyes peeled for one of the many festivals throughout the year, too.

These include the Town Regatta, taking place from late July to early August.

We’re an energetic family, so much of our time was taken up exploring some of the breathtaking hiking trails nearby.

More serious hikers may even want to make their way to Dartmoor National Park, around a 30-minute drive away, to tread moss-covered hills where wild ponies and deer graze.

Even if you have packed your best camera, this scenery has to be seen to be believed — especially the views from the kitchen of Lilleby.

Just be prepared, you may feel more than a little crabby when you have to leave.

Dozens of Israeli settlers stormed various areas of the West Bank, set cars on fire and attacked Palestinians.

Israeli settlers have launched another wave of raids in the occupied West Bank, with houses and cars set on fire and a Palestinian child attacked.

The Palestinian Wafa news agency reported that a man and his child were attacked with “sharp instruments” in the village of Khirbet Shuweika, south of Hebron, on Friday.

The father and child were taken to hospital due to head injuries.

Israeli settlers torched a home in the village of al-Lubban Asharqiya, south of Nablus, after which members of the Palestinian Civil Defence arrived to extinguish the blaze.

In Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah, Wafa cited security sources that the settlers “stormed the outskirts of the village, burned a citizen’s vehicle, and wrote racist slogans on the walls of houses”.

In the village of al-Asa’asa in Jenin, Israeli forces forced residents to exhume a newly buried body and take it elsewhere. They claimed the first site was too close to an illegal Israeli settlement.

Israeli settlers also attacked a Palestinian man in the town of Beit Fajjar, south of Bethlehem, and stole his mobile phone.

A group of Palestinians were picnicking in the Burak Sulayman (Solomon’s Pools) area, south of Bethlehem, but were forced to leave after Israeli forces fired stun grenades at them.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society treated two people for tear gas inhalation and evacuated five others from the scene after the attack.

‘Tear gas and sound bombs’

In the town of Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem, the mayor, Taysir Abu Mufreh, told Wafa that Israeli forces fired “tear gas and sound bombs” at a group of worshippers who were leaving a local mosque and locked a number of them inside.

On Friday, Israeli forces arrested four Palestinian men in the town of Battir, west of Bethlehem, while they were hiking near a railway line. The following day, three more Palestinians were arrested during a raid on the city of Nablus.

Settlers attacked the town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah, leading to clashes when residents confronted them.

Human rights groups say Israeli authorities have allowed the settlers to operate with total impunity in their attacks against Palestinians.

In February, Israel approved a plan to claim large areas of the occupied West Bank as “state property”.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank.

MOVIE hardman Jason Statham and his model partner Rosie ­Huntington-Whiteley have bought a £20million beachfront “forever home” — and are spending another £5million renovating it.

The actor, who has two children with fiancée Rosie, bought the six-bedroom mansion in the South of England, Land Registry records reveal.

The contemporary new-build is set on 20 acres and has its own private beach, ­enormous tree house, boating lake and wild swimming pond.

Building work has been going on for some time, with experts estimating a further £5million is being spent.

Public records show Jason, 58, who has amassed a £90million fortune from movies including the Fast and Furious franchise, Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, paid £20million for the site in 2024.

He has always been upfront about his life goals, saying: “I just want to work hard, make money and eat with good people and love the same woman over and over again.”

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Several high-profile celebrities also own homes in the area. Jason also has extensive properties in Hollywood and Cornwall.

The couple, who have a home in London, met at a party in 2009 and got engaged in 2016.

Rosie, 39, has a £30million fortune via fashion collaborations with M&S and ­Burberry, and acting roles in Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Mad Max: Fury Road.

She recently revealed she was moving to the countryside.

Rosie said: “I’ve been dreaming of this since I left home.

“It will be mud and kids climbing trees.” The couple were approached for comment.

LILY Allen has suffered a fresh woe after the sale of her former New York marital home fell through.

It went on the market just days after the Lily’s latest album, which details the alleged infidelity in her marriage, was released last year.

The lavish pad was on sale for £6m ($8m), and it was reported in January that a price of £5m ($7m) had been agreed.

However, the home in Brooklyn is back on the books of estate agents Gambino for £5.3m ($7.3m).

The 19th-century brownstone was reimagined by designer Billy Cotton and architect Ben Bischoff specifically for Lily and her former husband, the Stranger Things actor David Harbour.

The pair, who split in 2024 and are now divorced, recently made headlines following the release of Lily’s album, West End Girl, which alleges that David was unfaithful during their marriage and in one of their homes, possibly 381, Union Street.

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The couple purchased the house in 2021 and gave Architectural Digest a tour of the premises two years later.

The video, which went viral and now has 8.2 million views on YouTube, features some of the couple’s more curious design ideas.

These include a pink fridge in their carpeted bathroom, their windowless pink bedroom and a pair of back-to-back green sofas that, according to the couple, were perfect for arguments.

The couple paid £2.4m ($3.3 million) for the five-bedroom, four-bathroom property in 2020 and its new owners will inherit their busy botanical wallpaper , a kitsch tiger-print television room, and other flamboyant features — which Gambino describes as ‘whimsical’.

Outside, in the garden, there is a cold plunge pool and a sauna.

Gambino tells would-be buyers: “Nestled on one of the most sought-after blocks in Carroll Gardens, 381 Union Street is an enchanting, 22-foot-wide brownstone reimagined by AD100 designer Billy Cotton and architect Ben Bischoff of MADE.

“This late-19th-century townhouse unfolds across four levels. From its stately facade to its refined interior palette, the home is a layered narrative of traditional English charm, modern Brooklyn sensibilities, and rich Italian influence.”

Earlier this year, Lily opened up about her state of mind and the “huge change” in her family life situation following her split.

The popstar candidly told how she had now come out from the other side of a “nervous breakdown” which saw her hospitalised.

Lily, 40, who shares two daughters with first husband Sam Cooper, and endured a bitter split with Stranger Things actor David, 50, last year.

Cheating allegations and a marriage lacking intimacy were allegations levelled at the Netflix actor by Lily.

The marriage breakdown sparked Smile songstress Lily’s first album in seven years.

At the heart of the record is a character called Madeline, who Lily confirmed to the Times is a construct of other people, and the secret relationship she has with a man many are interpreting to be Harbour.

Lily previously told how she was suicidal after her marriage split and voluntarily opted to go to rehab.

She has previously been open about her recreational use of drugs and alcohol but she opted to quit the substances six years ago.

It led the star to find her marriage split even more challenging as she wasn’t able to use the substances as a way out.

Lily said: “The feelings of despair that I was experiencing were so strong.

“The last time that I felt anything like that, drugs and alcohol were my way out, so it was excruciating to sit with those [feelings] and not to use them.”

Lily said: “I’ve been into those places before against my will and I feel like that’s progress in itself.

“That’s strength. I knew that the things I was feeling were too extreme to be able to manage, and I was like, ‘I need some time away’.”

After last year’s disastrous Eaton fire, Southern California Edison executives vowed to be transparent about what caused the inferno that killed at least 19 people and left thousands of families homeless in Altadena.

“As we better understand exactly what happened on Jan. 7, we do so with a commitment to remain transparent,” Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said in a published statement after the fire.

In court, however, Edison is keeping crucial documents of the cause of the Eaton fire secret, a legal strategy it has used to shield what happened in at least seven earlier wildfires it was blamed for igniting, according to a Times review.

Edison’s stance has caused mounting frustration with attorneys representing fire victims who are seeking compensation for their losses.

“The Eaton Fire cases should be decided on their merits, not on what information that SCE has been able to withhold,” lawyers for the victims wrote in a recent court filing.

State regulators have repeatedly criticized Edison for its secrecy in previous fires, saying it violated safety regulations and stopped officials from learning the root cause so that similar disasters could be prevented.

For more than a year, Edison employees have been gathering detailed information about what ignited the fire in an investigation the company is required to perform under state utility regulations.

But most of that information is being withheld by Edison’s claim of attorney-client privilege, as well as a protective order that it asked a judge to approve soon after the fire.

Protective orders are commonly used in civil lawsuits, but most cases do not have the broad ramifications to the public as the Eaton fire.

Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, at the Semafor World Economy Summit in Washington on April 14.

(Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg)

Because of the secrecy, it’s not possible to know just what Edison has found, attorneys for Eaton fire victims said in a filing.

In past fires, regulators have requested from the company — and been denied — photographs, notes, text messages and other records generated by the Edison crew that was first to arrive at the site where the blaze ignited. The company has argued its attorney directed the crew, making the evidence privileged.

The victims’ lawyers say Edison shouldn’t be able to withhold from them most evidence from its investigation into the blaze by claiming that the findings and related documents are covered by attorney-client privilege and therefore confidential.

In a recent interview with The Times, Pizarro disagreed that the company was keeping information on the cause of the Eaton fire secret.

“We believe we’ve been transparent,” Pizarro said. “Facts are not privileged, and so we provided facts as we have known them.”

He said the company’s investigation was continuing. “We still, to this day, don’t fully understand what happened,” he said.

Pizarro said the protective order was needed to keep many things confidential, including some not related to the fire’s cause. For example, he said, it protects maps of the electrical system, which can’t be revealed because of terrorism concerns.

Signs blaming Southern California Edison for the Eaton fire are seen near cleared lots in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County on Jan. 5.

(Josh Edelson / AFP via Getty Images)

He pointed to several company disclosures, including two letters it sent to regulators soon after the Eaton fire that said it was evaluating whether a century-old transmission line, which hadn’t carried power since 1971, “could have become energized” and helped lead to the fire.

Pizarro said last year that the possible reenergization of that old line is a leading theory of the fire’s cause.

The company has said little else about the fire’s cause, other than it safely maintained and inspected the idle line, just like it did its energized lines.

Edison faces thousands of lawsuits from victims of the fire, which burned 14,021 acres and leveled a wide swath of Altadena. The lawsuits allege, in part, that the company was negligent for failing to safely maintain its transmission lines and for leaving the idle line in place when it knew it could become energized. Edison denies the claims of the lawsuits, which have been consolidated in L.A. County Superior Court.

Some documents that Edison says are not privileged and agreed to provide to the victims’ lawyers are sealed by a protective order that the company and the plaintiffs’ lawyers requested.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys often agree to such protective orders on the theory that doing so would allow the utility to more freely share information that could help their case.

Power lines hang from towers carrying power from the Southern California Edison Gould Station.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Two months after the fire, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Laura Seigle signed the protective order — which covers documents that both sides provide in discovery — including business information deemed proprietary and personal customer data.

According to the protective order, if the case is settled, the lawyers will decide whether the sealed documents should be returned to Edison or destroyed.

If the case proceeds to trial, some of the evidence could become public.

Yet even with the protective order in place, plantiffs’ attorneys say Edison has refused to provide them with evidence from its investigation into the fire, saying it’s protected by attorney-client privilege.

The state-required investigations “are not private inquiries undertaken for SCE’s benefit and legal protection,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers wrote in a filing last year. “Those investigations are regulated activities that exist to protect the public and enhance public safety by preventing future fires.”

To begin those investigations, Edison’s crews often get to the ignition site before government officials. In the 2019 Saddleridge fire in Sylmar, an investigator from the Los Angeles Fire Department found the yellow police tape at the road leading to where the blaze started on the ground and an Edison truck leaving the site, according to his report.

California utility regulators have said the earliest observations at the scene are critical in determining what happened.

L.A. Fire Justice attorney Mikal Watts presents findings on the cause of the Eaton fire at transmission tower 3 at a January 2025 news conference in Pasadena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Loretta Lynch, former president of the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates the electric companies, said she believed Edison was wrongly using attorney-client privilege and protective orders “as a sword to prevent justice.”

Lynch said the confidentiality could keep evidence of Edison’s possible negligence from being used at a future state hearing that will look at whether the company acted safely and prudently before the Eaton fire.

In that hearing, if the commission finds the company acted prudently, all damage costs will be covered by a state wildfire fund and Edison customers. The company and its shareholders would pay nothing.

“It’s time to stop this game of allowing utilities to be negligent and then walk away with their customers paying for it,” Lynch said.

Kathleen Dunleavy, an Edison spokeswoman, said the company’s “assertions of privilege in civil court have nothing to do” with the future state hearing on whether the company acted prudently.

Dunleavy added that the company has been cooperating with government fire investigators and the plaintiff lawyers, responding to their requests for data.

The government’s investigation into the cause of the fire has not yet been released.

Asked about the company’s withholding of documents in court, Pizarro pointed to a 2024 California Appeals Court decision that found that Edison’s assertion of attorney-client privilege to keep evidence sealed in litigation over the 2017 Creek fire was appropriate under the law. The court said that protecting the documents generated in the internal investigation from public disclosure allowed the company’s attorneys “to investigate not only the favorable but the unfavorable aspects” of their client’s situation.

Lawyers for victims of the Creek fire, which destroyed more than 100 homes and structures near Sylmar, say Edison failed to provide evidence that showed its line was a likely cause of the blaze, leading government investigators to initially wrongly blame electrical equipment owned by the L.A. Department of Water and Power. Edison continues to deny it caused the fire.

A fire truck makes its way past a portion of the Creek fire along Wheatland Avenue in Sylmar on Dec. 5, 2017.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

In the Eaton fire case, a few details of what’s in the confidential documents have been revealed in court, showing they could be significant when the first trial begins next year.

In February, plaintiff lawyers filed 13 sealed exhibits for only the judge to review, saying they showed how Edison had neglected inspections, maintenance and repair of the idle line. The records are subject to the protective order, shielding them from public view.

“There is ample evidence in this case that SCE performed more frequent and higher quality inspections and maintenance on its live equipment than it did on its inactive facilities,” they wrote.

“From all indications, SCE left Tower 208 virtually unattended for decades,” they added, referring to the pylon that held the idle line and was found to be the location of the fire’s first flames.

The plaintiff lawyers also said the protective order prevents them from disclosing photos to the public that show Edison left vegetation growing under the idle line while removing it from beneath the live wires running parallel to it, according to the court filing. Utility regulations require vegetation to be removed from under and around electric lines to reduce the risk of fire.

The lawyers added that the sealed documents showed that Edison was having problems with an outside contractor it had hired to inspect its transmission lines.

Asked about the filing, Pizarro said the claims were assertions by the plaintiff attorneys that would be debated in court.

Some legal experts have criticized the use of protective orders for keeping the public in the dark about dangerous corporate actions or products.

Lynch said protective orders and confidential settlements in wildfire litigation are preventing the public from learning information that could stop future deadly fires. She said California should consider legislation to ban the use of the secrecy tactics in wildfire lawsuits.

Firefighters work to contain the Saddleridge fire on Oct. 10, 2019, in the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles.

(Patrick T. Fallon / For The Times)

The Times found protective orders in lawsuits against Edison for the 2017 Thomas fire and mudslides, which killed 23; the 2018 Woolsey fire, which killed three; the 2019 Saddleridge fire, which killed one; and the 2022 Fairview fire, which killed two. Those fires together caused billions of dollars in damages and destroyed thousands of homes.

Lawyers for the Eaton fire victims told the judge in February that the protective order, as well as similar secrecy orders in lawsuits over other fires, had kept them from speaking publicly about certain subjects in the courtroom, including what they knew about Edison’s line inspections.

“This is a significant case, against one of the world’s largest providers of electricity, which has, through the use of Confidentiality Protective Orders in other cases, impaired the Plaintiffs’ ability to fully inform the Court,” they wrote.

Late last month, Judge Seigle ordered Edison to give the victims’ lawyers more of the documents they had requested. The protective order limits the public’s access to them.