ROME — Pope Leo XIV urged labor union leaders from Chicago on Thursday to advocate for immigrants and welcome minorities into their ranks, weighing in as the Trump administration crackdown on immigrants intensifies in the pontiff’s hometown.
“While recognizing that appropriate policies are necessary to keep communities safe, I encourage you to continue to advocate for society to respect the human dignity of the most vulnerable,” Leo said.
The audience was scheduled before the deployment of National Guard troops to protect federal property in the Chicago area, including a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building that has been the site of occasional clashes between protesters and federal agents.
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, who accompanied the labor leaders, said that Leo was well aware of the situation on the ground. In an interview with the Associated Press, Cupich said Leo has made clear, including in recent comments, that migrants and the poor must be treated in ways that respect their human dignity.
“I really didn’t have to tell him much at all, because he seemed to have a handle on what was going on,” Cupich told the AP afterward.
He said that Leo had urged U.S. bishops in particular to “speak with one voice” on the issue. Cupich said he expected the November meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops would make immigration a top agenda item.
“This has to be front and center right now. This is the issue of the day. And we can’t dance around it,” Cupich said.
Catholic leaders in the U.S. have denounced the Trump administration’s crackdown, which has split up families and incited fears that people could be rounded up and deported any time. The administration has defended the crackdown as safeguarding public safety and national security.
Leo “wants us to make sure, as bishops, that we speak out on behalf of the undocumented or anybody who’s vulnerable to preserve their dignity,” Cupich said. “We all have to remember that we all share a common dignity as human beings.”
Cupich said he was heartened by Leo’s remarks last week, in which the pope defended the cardinal’s decision to honor Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin for his work helping immigrants. The plans drew objection from some conservative U.S. bishops given the powerful Democratic senator’s support for abortion rights, and he ultimately declined the award.
It was the second meeting in as many days that history’s first American pope has heard firsthand from a U.S. bishop on the front lines of the migration crackdown. On Wednesday, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz brought Leo letters from desperate immigrant families.
Cupich was in Rome for Vatican meetings and to also accompany a group of Chicago schoolchildren who got a special greeting from Leo during his Wednesday general audience. The kids had staged their own “mock conclave” in school this past spring, and footage of their deliberations went viral online as the real conclave unfolded in Rome. They arrived at the audience Wednesday dressed as cardinals, Swiss Guards and the pope himself.
Veteran L.A. anchor Leslie Sykes signed off from behind KABC-TV Channel 7’s “Eyewitness News” desk for the last time Tuesday. She is retiring after more than 30 years at the station.
“It is so hard to believe that this is my last day on this set,” the longtime co-anchor of the morning news show said while flanked by her colleagues. “It’s been the privilege of my life to wake up with you and to share your stories and to be welcomed into your homes every morning. I carry with me so many memories, so much laughter, endless gratitude for the trust you’ve placed in me.”
“I may be signing off but I will always be cheering for this city and this station, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you for letting me be part of your lives,” she concluded, before the St. Joseph High School marching band filed onto the set to salute their alum.
Sykes, who was born in San Diego, grew up in Compton. She attended Spelman College in Atlanta before eventually heading to Hattiesburg, Miss., for her first on-air post. She returned to her hometown to join KABC in 1994 as an on-air reporter before moving behind the anchor desk for the weekend, daytime and, eventually, the morning news show. Sykes announced her plans to retire last month.
ABC7’s tribute package to Sykes included a sendoff from David Muir as well as a sit-down interview with fellow anchor and friend Jovana Lara.
“[Sykes will] admit to some jitters in the beginning, but she was mostly fearless even when some of those stories proved bigger and more impactful,” Lara said in a voice-over on the reel that included clips highlighting Sykes’ life and career. “She’s been among the best covering local news and reporting from abroad.”
When asked about what it feels like to know that she is cherished by the local community, Sykes said she couldn’t believe it.
“I feel the love,” she said. “I feel the connection. And I just feel like this is my hometown, these are my people, and I’m just very grateful.”
British cruise line Ambassador Cruises are so confident of the value of their sailings, and the packed schedule of events and delicious variety of food onboard, they challenged me to have as much fun during a day out in London as I would onboard
We had breakfast at The Delaunay(Image: DAILY MIRROR)
What would you do if you had £338 to spend on a day out?
That’s the question Ambassador Cruises asked me, and the one I answered last month. The British cruise line’s people are so confident of the value of their sailings, and the packed schedule of events and delicious variety of food onboard, they challenged me to have as much fun during a day out in London as I would onboard.
Armed with £338 (the price of a night’s bed and board for two on an Ambassador ship), I began plotting a big day out in the English capital for my partner and myself, to put their value claims to the test, and to find out if going away on holiday is all a big waste of time and effort.
My philosophy was simple and borrowed classic present-giving wisdom: we’d plump for things we’d never normally do.
First up was breakfast in The Delaunay. If you’re looking to treat yourself to one of the best breakfasts of your life, then the Covent Garden-based all-day brasserie is the place to go. The grapefruits come sliced into segments and arranged into a bursting flower shape; the fried eggs are perfectly round; and the company, well-heeled lone men, seemingly from another century, reading broadsheets. £71 well spent on delicious food and a novel experience.
Next, we wandered up to London Zoo in Regent’s Park, where entry costs £38 per adult in peak season; which, on that particularly scorching August Saturday, it certainly was. Presumably, the Dudley Dursley imitators are out in lesser force on most days, as the banging on snake vivarium glass and screaming inches from a hanging sloth was relentless.
Beyond the beautiful gorilla babies Venus and Juno, and the excellently creepy bug house complete with a golden orb spider walk-through, there was little at the zoo I can recommend unless you like feeling a bit sad about nature.
Harbouring mixed feelings, we hopped on a bus to Soho and made for Tamarind Kitchen. The small plates restaurant specialises in seriously fancy curries and silver service. It’s a whole different kettle of fish than the poppadom-stacking, waistband-stretchingly plentiful curry houses you find on most UK high streets. We’re talking more tasting bowls of delicate vegetarian curries and £5 sparkling water than a chicken coop’s worth of tikka and a Tiger beer for £10. The damage: £106.
The mighty Ambience cruise ship(Image: PR HANDOUT)
The highlight of the day was next on the schedule and had us slapping down our cash in a hurry and heading to the South Bank for a performance of Nye at the National Theatre. Booked a week in advance, we’d managed to bag two tickets for £38 each. Every seat in the Olivier section of the theatre is excellent, meaning we had a wonderful view of Michael Sheen as he brought the story of the NHS founder to life.
From the lofty peak, things could only go downhill, and so they did. Our night ended with a rejection metres from the front door of Ronnie Scott’s, where our hour of queuing for the non-ticketed 11 p.m. jazz live show proved in vain. Four Negronis in Bar Termini down the road provided good solace for £44.
So how does all of this compare to a cruise?
The major difference is the one-destination nature of our jaunt. The joy of a cruise is most obvious when you wake in the morning and look outside to see a new city or country there, ready to explore. Another big tick in the cruise column is the value of accommodation.
Had my partner and I swapped our flat for one of London’s cheapest hotel rooms, it would’ve cost us at least £100. More likely, £150. As my colleague Sophie Harris discovered on a recent Ambassador sailing on Ambience from London Tilbury to the Netherlands, the junior suites are “gorgeous” and replete with a large dressing area and a balcony.
“The space was super comfortable and cosy, and the outdoor area was perfect for relaxing, breathing in the fresh sea air and watching the waves. We were also treated to fresh canapés every day, fresh fruit and a stocked mini fridge,” Sophie wrote.
Which brings us on to the consumables. Even with £338 bolstering your wallet, drinks in London do not feel cheap. Or certainly not as cheap as they do when ordered on an all-inclusive cruise package, whatever the total is once all is said and done. Food-wise, Ambience ’s Buckingham Restaurant and its 80s-themed night complete with prawn cocktail, chicken Kiev and baked Alaska won major praise from Sophie.
But it’s hard to imagine that the variety and quality of any cruise kitchen could match that on offer in the UK’s major towns and cities. Similarly, London theatres such as the National, Young Vic and Almeida are much more tempting than anything I’ve watched on a cruise ship.
That said, if you’re a Bucks Fizz or Fleetwood Mac fan, Ambassador’s cover shows will likely win your heart. “The live music and shows onboard Ambience were a highlight of my stay, and due to it being an 80s cruise, the themed evening entertainment was incredible,” Sarah concluded.
At the end of it all, I’d say honours are pretty even. But, if you’ve recently had your fill of cruising or a package break, why not try a “holiday at home”? It’s a great way to unearth new local delights and see a new side of where you live.
Jonathan Howard, who plays Carl Webster on ITV’s Coronation Street, has been left horrified after his car was smashed in Manchester
Corrie star horrified as his car is ‘smashed up’ upon Manchester homecoming(Image: ITV)
Coronation Street actor Jonathan Howard has spoken out after his car was vandalised in Manchester, calling it a “welcome back gift” from local troublemakers.
Howard, 38, who plays Carl Webster on the ITV soap, returned to the UK earlier this year after a stint in Hollywood.
His homecoming, however, took a frustrating turn when he parked his car in Manchester and later discovered that the back windows had been smashed.
Thieves in the area are known for opportunistic attacks, targeting vehicles for quick thefts. Posting a picture of the damaged car, Jonathan joked: “Nice little welcome back gift from the Manchester scallies.”
Since joining the cobbles, Howard has made a big impact as Kevin and Debbie Webster’s previously unseen younger brother.
The actor’s car was vandalised upon his return to the UK(Image: Instagram)
Coronation Street actor Jonathan Howard plays Carl Webster(Image: ITV)
Carl’s arrival quickly stirred drama as he seduced his brother’s wife, Abi, and turned his business ventures into a dodgy garage offering fake MOTs.
His willingness to bend the rules caused even more drama when he became involved with stolen cars, trying to raise money to pay off blackmail from Tracy Barlow, who discovered his affair with Abi.
However, Carl’s love life endevours didn’t stop there. Fans were stunned last month when it was revealed that he had embarked on a new relationship with former footballer James Bailey.
Howard explained the motivation behind his character’s bold moves as he explained: “Carl likes living life on the edge, he is a hedonist and a free spirit, he is attracted to a person regardless of their gender and if he sees something he wants he goes for it with no real thought to the consequences of his actions.
Fans were stunned when Carl embarked on a new relationship with former footballer James Bailey
“He is frustrated that Abi has gone away with Kevin and he needs something to distract himself. There is a spark between him and James so he goes for it. Tracy was also offering herself to him but he isn’t stupid and he knows that would be a dangerous move, James on the other hand is less complicated and more fun.”
Carl’s escapades have made him one of the most unpredictable characters on Coronation Street between his romantic entanglements and his shady business dealings.
Whether he’s facing police scrutiny for stolen cars, trying to manage tension and drama with his family, or navigating affairs, his wild storylines have been keeping viewers hooked and on the edge of their seats.
Millom, nestled among Cumbrian mountains, might not be one of the country’s best-known towns, but it certainly left a lasting impression and very much shaped me as a person
Millom was built around its ironworks in the 1800s(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Walking around the UK coastal town on the edge of the Lake District where he spent his childhood, a wave of nostalgia and sadness washed over Andrew Papworth.
The assistant editor of The Express was revisiting Millom, a small town nestled among Cumbrian mountains. It may not be well-known across the country, but it certainly left an indelible mark on Andrew.
He said: “As I retraced my steps from our family home in Seathwaite Close to the bottom of Lowther Road, I came across the infant school that gave me the very best start in life.
“Turning down St George’s Road, I passed Millom Park and the children’s play area, where I spent many hours as a boy. In the thriving town centre, I remembered my mum dragging me round the shops. Further along the road, close to the railway station, was The Bridge Cafe, where I used to pop in for sweets on my walk home from Black Combe Junior School.
“Millom was – and is – only a small town, but as a child it felt like my entire universe. In many ways it was, because like any quintessentially English town, it had everything you needed on your doorstep.”
Andrew Papworth beside a statue of a Millom miner in the town’s market square(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
Established around its ironworks in the 1800s before their closure in the 1960s, Millom boasted a strong sense of pride and community. Everyone seemed to know everyone, and there was a palpable sense of camaraderie, reports the Express.
Andrew said: “It looked exactly the same as when I left in 1995, aged nine, and when I last visited in 2005. And while that brought back many nostalgic memories, it also broke my heart.
“It appears that little investment has been made in Millom since then, whether in new homes, shops or community facilities.
“All I noticed was that the old Safeway is now a Tesco, and many of the shops that had such a strong presence seem to have long gone.”
Chatting to locals, one of their first comments is often about the lack of financial input into their area.
Andrew said: “It’s a great sadness. By contrast, Canary Wharf in east London, where I now work, didn’t even exist when I was born but has been steadily transformed from barren wasteland into the bustling heart of London’s financial district.
“Of course it’s not really an even comparison, but it feels desperately unfair that some areas of the country have had millions and billions of pounds of investment while a town with such a rich and vibrant history has barely been given a thought.”
The stunning view of the Cumbrian mountains from Millom Park(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
There are other potential factors at play. The historic shipyard in nearby Barrow-in-Furness was a significant employer for Millom workers.
The loss of 10,000 jobs in the 1990s must have had a profound effect.
Cumbria didn’t have a university until 2007 and for years, many saw the shipyard and Sellafield nuclear power station, now being decommissioned, as the only major career paths. Many dreaming of different lives must have surely packed up and left.
Millom’s location on the north-west coast also makes the town more challenging to access.
But if we can channel investment into even the most disadvantaged corners of this nation, surely we can achieve it in a town blessed with such incredible natural beauty.
Where Millom has undeniably thrived is in its community spirit, which burns as brightly as ever.
During Andrew’s visit on a glorious Monday afternoon, he chatted to Nicola Armstrong, proprietor of The Bloom Room on St George’s Terrace since 2012. Hers is an extraordinary story of triumph – a completely self-taught florist who’s scooped national accolades and showcased at London exhibitions.
“From a tiny little town, I’ve gone to a lot of places,” she says – but she never overlooks one of the major factors behind her achievements.
Nicola Armstrong’s Bloom Room florist shows the very best of Millom(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
“I wouldn’t have got where I am without this community,” she reveals. “They’re my biggest cheerleaders.”
Throughout his stay, Andrew also encountered Coordination Group Publishing (CGP), whose vibrant and amusing study guides he relied upon during his GCSEs and A levels. It remains one of Britain’s premier educational publishers.
Whilst shops have shuttered, one that has persevered is Ferguson’s, which has been a reliable fixture in Millom for 70 years. Proprietor Arthur Ferguson celebrated his 100th birthday this year and is thought to be Britain’s eldest shopkeeper.
Arthur Ferguson, 100, still plays an active role in the running of his shop(Image: Lee Mclean/SWNS)
Andrew said: “While I was in Cumbria, I also visited Barrow to see its dramatic transformation as it builds the next generation of nuclear submarines and becomes the beating heart of Britain’s defence.
“I only hope some of the £220million of government funding going into that regeneration for the national endeavour will benefit Millom, even if only indirectly, because this small town and its people deserve only the best.
“Whatever happens in the future, I know that if I come back in another 30 years, Millom’s soul will remain as strong as ever.”
Sterlin Harjo perfected the “art of the hang” with the co-creation of his first television series, “Reservation Dogs.” The FX drama followed a group of Indigenous teens living on a fictional Oklahoma reservation, turning their everyday routine into high art — and is one of the best television shows of the 2020s.
Now, Harjo, 45, is tackling another type of genre: crime. His forthcoming series “The Lowdown,” premiering Sept. 23 with two episodes on FX, follows self-proclaimed “truthstorian” Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) on a mission to unearth buried truths about Tulsa’s problematic history while exposing present-day corruption. He’s a disheveled figure who drives around town in a tattered van and lives above the rare bookstore that he also happens to own. But when his latest exposé for a local publication calls into question a prominent Tulsa family, his investigation takes him on a dangerous road from the city’s seedy underbelly to its highest corridors of power.
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“‘Rez Dogs’ was my love letter to rural Oklahoma and where I grew up. ‘The Lowdown’ is my love letter to Tulsa, where I currently live,” says Harjo, who produces, writes and directs on the new series. “You see the beauty and the darkness. You see everything.”
The eight-episode drama, best described as Tulsa noir, also stars Oklahoma expats Tim Blake Nelson, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Tracy Letts as well as Keith David. Appearances by “Rez Dog” alumni include Kaniehtiio Horn (a.k.a. the Deer Lady).
Harjo, who is a citizen of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and is of Muscogee descent, spoke with The Times about his love for Oklahoma, the challenges of following a celebrated show like “Reservation Dogs” and how “The Lowdown” is loosely based on his own experience working with a guerrilla journalist.
“Rez Dogs” was such an exceptional series that garnered critical acclaim across all four seasons. With “The Lowdown,” was it hard to not compete with that previous success?
I didn’t think about it. My experience in this industry has been people telling me that whatever the thing is that I want to make can’t be made, and me thinking, I’m going to make it anyway, then forging ahead. Then it finds an audience, and people enjoy it. I had pitched “Rez Dogs” a few different times, and it was always soft pitches because I was nervous of being laughed out of the room. No one was interested. But having the confidence of my friend [“Rez Dogs” co-creator and writer] Taika Waititi and FX … they were open to the way that we told the story. I think they were kind of blown away. So they made it. They never said no. But I’ve had many ‘no’s and many eye rolls.
Ethan Hawke stars in “The Lowdown” as Lee Raybon, a self-proclaimed “truthstorian” and owner of a rare bookshop. He’s based on Tulsa journalist Lee Roy Chapman.
(Shane Brown / FX)
Hawke plays Lee Raybon in “The Lowdown,” a figure who is obsessed with getting to the bottom of things, to the point where he neglects many other aspects of his life. What inspired the creation of that character?
The story is fictional, but the character was inspired by someone I worked with named Lee Roy Chapman at This Land Press magazine. He was very much a soldier for truth and I would ride shotgun and make these videos about the underground, unknown histories of Tulsa. The series was called “Tulsa Public Secrets.” We were this startup, full of piss and vinegar, trying to tell the truth and write about our community and make documentaries about our community. It was about a pent-up need for truth in this city. That push to tell the truth and find truth and tell our story and create a narrative around us. It gave us and the city an identity, something to hold on to.
“The Lowdown” unfolds at a really brisk pace, yet it also has the kick-back vibe of “Rez Dogs.”
There’s the art of the hang, where the genre is people hanging out. Look at “Rez Dogs” or “Dazed and Confused.” There’s an art to hanging and being with characters, and it feels OK to just sit there with them. I think “The Lowdown” has a good balance of that, where you could just hang with [Raybon] on his block. But there’s also this unfolding story so things never get boring.
Did the making of “The Lowdown” and “Rez Dogs” overlap?
No, but it was toward the end of “Rez Dogs” that I dusted a script off that was like 10 years old. It was a feature [film], but I thought I would love to do a crime show, so I just made it into an hourlong pilot, and it became “The Lowdown.”
Sterlin Harjo says his new series was originally a script for a feature film: “I thought I would love to do a crime show, so I just made it into an hour-long pilot, and it became ‘The Lowdown.’”
(Guerin Blask / For The Times)
Ethan Hawke starred in the last season of “Rez Dogs.” Is that how you two connected?
I had a mutual friend who introduced us because Ethan had written a graphic novel about the Apache Wars and Geronimo. It was originally a script that he couldn’t get made in Hollywood because it was told from the Native side of things. Out of frustration, he made it into a graphic novel. I read it and was interested in adapting it for a show. I met up with Ethan, and I pitched my idea of the adaptation and he loved it. We spoke the same language. So we started writing together and our friendship came out of that. And then “Rez Dogs” came out, and he wrote me to say that he really loved it. He said, “If you ever have anything for me …” Of course I’ll write something [for him]! So he became Elora’s dad.
“The Lowdown” was shot on location in Tulsa and you used much of the same crew from “Rez Dogs.” But I also hear your own family was involved, as well as some “Rez Dogs” alums.
The crew and I know how to work together at this point. It’s like a big family. And my [actual] family was there. My brother was doing locations. My kids came on set. We’re shooting on some of my land. My dad was hired to brush-hog it. My mom’s an extra. There’s a couple of “Rez Dogs” cameos. You’ll see Willie Jack [Paulina Alexis] in the opening. Graham Greene’s in it. But I don’t know how much I’m supposed to say yet. I better not say …
You started out as an indie filmmaker. Can you talk a little about that journey to series TV?
I’ve always felt like an outsider. I’m a small-town Native kid from rural Oklahoma. I never felt like I had a foot in this industry. I was an independent filmmaker forever. I sometimes felt like everything was against me, like there’s no money, and I was in Tulsa, Oklahoma, so it felt like the industry at large didn’t care about the work I was doing.
Before “Rez Dogs,” I never worked in TV and I never worked for anyone else doing films. I only had the education I got with the Sundance Directors Lab, which is the most freedom any filmmaker is ever going to have. Then I was lucky enough to make films that were so low-budget. It meant the stakes weren’t high because no one saw them. So if they hated them, I wasn’t destroyed.
Your films and previous series were rooted in Indigenous viewpoints and experiences. Those cultures have been so misrepresented across all aspects of American entertainment. What gave you the confidence to keep pitching those stories?
I attribute that to not having anything to lose. “Rez Dogs” came at this time when I thought I was going to have to move on. I was at the end of my career road, where I was about to start a nonprofit or find the next chapter of what to do. I had been the freelance filmmaker for a long time and it just got hard to pay bills. With “Rez Dogs,” it was like, I could try to play it safe right now or I could swing for the fences. I had seen opportunities come and go, but I have this shot and this one at-bat. I need to just go for it. Luckily, FX is a place that allowed me to do that. And I did it. Luckily, I’d been making independent films for years and figured out my voice, so it wasn’t hard to ground “Rez Dogs” in my voice.
“With ‘Rez Dogs,’ it was like, I could try to play it safe right now or I could swing for the fences,” Sterlin Harjo says. “I had seen opportunities come and go, but I have this shot and this one at-bat.”
(Guerin Blask / For The Times)
Were there outside influences that also helped you get there?
“Atlanta” and “Louie.” Those cracked my mind open to what TV could be and allowed me in. Because to tell an Indigenous story about a community, I had to go to different places. If I was just focused on the kids [in “Rez Dogs”], it would be one thing and that’s it. I needed to expand. And so [it was] taking some of what “Atlanta” did but having this relay, like passing the baton off to different segments of the [Indigenous] community. I was also inspired by “The Wire.”
And “Rez Dogs” was a story that I always wanted to tell. Taika [who is of Maori descent] and I would end up talking about how similar they were from both of our homes, and if you could just kind of capture what it felt like to hear your aunts and uncles telling stories and lying and exaggerating and talking about mythology and superstitions. If you could capture all that, as Indigenous people, that’s what we wanted and craved.
The key to that was making it about this community, but it was a bit of a Trojan horse. It’s about these teenagers that are dealing with life and that’s a subject that everyone knows. So you start with that, and then expand out once you have people on your side.
The motto you mentioned— “Nothing to lose”—can you still use it now that you’ve had some success, and if so, why does it still work for you?
I think it has to do with people close to me dying when I was young. It’s a big community, a big family, and I was always at a funeral. I’ve been a pallbearer like 15 times or something. It gave me the sense that you can’t be afraid to put stuff out there. I’ve always had a way of diving off a cliff. It’s like, if everything fails after this, I’m OK with it. If everything dries up, that’s cool. At least I gave it a shot. This is going to sound hippie-dippie, but I think the energy that it takes to dive off a cliff and just go for it is an act in itself that creates energy. Something good will come out of it. So as long as you’re moving forward, something comes out of it.
COLUMBUS, Ind. — The welcome sign on State Road 46 promises “Unexpected” and “Unforgettable.” It stands above an outsize tribute to NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, with 10 full lines listing the accomplishments of the hometown racing hero nicknamed “Smoke.”
A smaller metal plate was added after the 2016 election. “Hometown of Michael R. Pence,” reads the three-line tribute. “United States Vice President.”
The marker for this Indiana city’s most famous son hadn’t been up long when the phone calls to City Hall began. Some people wanted to know why the sign wasn’t bigger. Others wondered whether Pence merited a sign at all.
The vice president who likes to say he is “a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order,” claims deep roots and loyalties in the small, ambitious city of about 48,000 where he grew up. But in an adulthood that has taken him mostly to Indianapolis and Washington, he returns now to a hometown growing in unexpected and often progressive directions.
The values that molded Pence, a former congressman and Indiana governor, first loom into view on the drive into Columbus. Billboards decry the evil of abortion. One, awash in flames, suggests passersby have two choices: the Holy Bible or an eternity in hell.
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Campaign signs that read “Jesus 2020” seem as prevalent as any on the expansive lawns north of Columbus’ downtown. To the faithful over at the Moose Lodge car rally and outside the evangelical church where Pence still drops in, the vice president embodies what one construction worker called “the beliefs that we hold dear.” Added Brian Shelton, getting ready to hop on his Harley-Davidson after church services: “God, guns and freedom. You know?”
Though those imperatives still unite much of Columbus, the insular city that Pence mostly left behind after his 1977 high school graduation has seen its politics bending, slowly but steadily, along a more liberal arc.
Then-Rep. Mike Pence kicks off his campaign for governor of Indiana in his hometown of Columbus in 2011, promising to fight Democrats’ healthcare and climate change legislation.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
Columbus’ population has grown by more than 80% since he left, with foreign workers streaming into one of the most manufacturing-intensive counties in America. And the city government has rejected some of the hard-right social conservatism that Pence has made his signature.
As the state’s governor from 2013 to 2017, Pence signed a law that advocates said would allow businesses to deny service to gays and lesbians; Columbus parried with an ordinance protecting the LGBTQ community from discrimination. Pence approved a ban on immigration by refugees from Syria; his old church fought to let them in. And while Pence railed about the “societal collapse” that would follow if traditional marriage withered, his hometown and its biggest company approved employee benefits for same-sex spouses.
Glen Pannell plays “Mike Hot-Pence” at the first Pride Festival in Columbus, Ind. A high school senior started the festival to counter Pence’s social conservatism after he became vice president.
(Keith Griner / Getty Images)
Last year, Columbus elected its first Democratic-majority City Council in 36 years. And this spring, as President Trump and Pence decried the lawlessness of protesters following the death of George Floyd, Republican Mayor Jim Lienhoop marched alongside Black Lives Matter demonstrators in downtown Columbus.
A year after Pence left Indiana to join Trump in the White House, a local teenager said she was troubled that the world would view Columbus as a peevish, unaccepting place. So Erin Bailey used her high school senior project to organize the city’s first LGBTQ Pride Festival.
A guest of honor was “Mike Hot-Pence.” The Pence doppelganger sported the veep’s white buzz cut and blue hot pants. He carried a plastic barrel to collect donations for gay and lesbian youth.
The mid-20th century Columbus of Pence’s youth was a more monochromatic place. In the 1970s, 98% of its 26,000 residents were white, compared with 78% in 2019. A huge percentage worked at Cummins Engine Co., which would eventually become the largest independent maker of diesel engines in the world.
Churches united the small community, and Pence’s parents, three brothers and two sisters helped fill the pews at St. Columba Catholic Church. The family’s Irish Catholic roots conjured a powerful bond with John F. Kennedy, the first Roman Catholic in the White House, and young Mike would later recall that he kept a stash of Kennedy memorabilia.
Then-Rep. Mike Pence, center, with wife Karen and their children in 2011 as he kicks off his campaign for governor of Indiana.
(Michael Conroy / Associated Press)
It was in 1977 that his watershed spiritual and ideological transformations began, after he left Columbus for Hanover College, an hour south. The first revelation came when he attended a Christian music festival during his freshman year.
“I gave my life to Jesus Christ,” he later said. “And that’s changed everything.”
A political epiphany arrived three years later when, as a senior, a history professor introduced Pence to libertarianism, supply-side economics and the argument for small government. Though he voted for Jimmy Carter in 1980, a nod to the Democratic president’s evangelical roots, he soon after became a devotee of Ronald Reagan.
Music shop owner Tom Pickett taught a young Mike Pence to play guitar in Columbus, Ind., and says his former student is standing up for conservative values as vice president.
(James Rainey / Los Angeles Times)
On the campaign trail, Pence liked to muse about his roots in a small community where he had a “cornfield in the backyard.” It might have sounded as if he were raised on a farm, but the Pence family lived in one of the expansive tract homes filled by upper-middle-class families near the center of town. The home happened to back up to farmland.
One constant in the Columbus of Pence’s youth and of 2020 has been Tom Pickett. The 89-year-old music store owner has been lending and selling instruments to the city’s young people for more than 60 years. Pickett taught a teenage Pence to play guitar. Today, a larger-than-life photo of the vice president greets visitors when they enter the store.
Pence’s office did not respond to requests to discuss how his hometown shaped him.
Pickett sees his onetime student and President Trump as the guardians of Columbus’ old-time values and fighters against “the socialists and the communists.”
The music man has heard people mock Pence for adhering to the “Billy Graham Rule” — eschewing drinks, meals or meetings alone with a woman other than his wife.
“People get a good laugh, a big hoo-hah,” said Pickett, shaking his head. “But he is the kind of person who won’t let things happen against his better values.”
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Columbus’ architectural treasures include the North Christian Church, designed by Eero Saarinen of St. Louis Gateway Arch fame.
(Andrew Laker / Associated Press)
Sleek and whimsical by design, Columbus looks nothing like any other small city in America.
It overflows with some of the celebrated modernist architecture one J. Irwin Miller brought to town. The man who led Cummins — the biggest company in Columbus — from the 1940s until 1977, Miller believed the business needed to do more than make money. He pushed for it to promote the humanities and architecture, in particular, “to make us truly human in the best sense of the word.”
The iconoclastic industrialist succeeded so famously in luring world-renowned architects that by 1991, the American Institute of Architects put Columbus on a list with New York, Chicago and San Francisco as one of the nation’s leading centers of architectural innovation and design.
The North Christian Church in Columbus, completed in 1964, draws architecture buffs with its innovative design.
(Darron Cummings / Associated Press)
Columbus had the audacity, in the 1950s, to open a bank building with glass walls instead of the de rigueur brick or stone. One of its largest churches seats the faithful in the round, looking down on the pulpit, not consigned to look up at their minister on high.
The city-builder’s expansive worldview extended to politics. In the early 1960s Miller ordered that Cummins hire more minority executives, then set about overturning Columbus’ racially restrictive housing laws, so the newcomers could find a place to live. (Pence’s older brother Ed retired from the company three years ago as a top executive.)
Miller believed even a small, Midwestern city could be open-minded and intellectually stimulating and attract the best and the brightest. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called him “the most socially responsible businessman in the country.” Esquire magazine admired his sensibilities so much that in 1967, with President Lyndon B. Johnson slouching in the polls, it featured Miller on its cover with the headline: “This man ought to be the next President of the United States.”
Columbus residents hold a candlelight vigil at the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans in Columbus, designed by Thompson and Rose Architects.
(Mike Dickbernd / Associated Press)
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Even with its progressive crosscurrents, Columbus’ Bartholomew County has remained faithfully Republican in presidential elections. John McCain won by over 10 percentage points here in 2008, though he narrowly lost the state to Barack Obama. Four years ago, Trump and Pence stomped Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine in the county by more than 2 to 1.
While Trump’s America-first nativism appears to be a big seller with many here, Pence’s culture-warrior style of Republicanism — with fights over LGBTQ and immigrant rights — departs from the centrism represented by Miller and by Indiana’s past Republican luminaries.
Previous big names in the state’s GOP included Sen. Richard G. Lugar, renowned for his ability to work with Democrats, and Mitch Daniels, an avatar of wonkiness and restraint, who preceded Pence in the governor’s office.
Pence’s born-again experience was simultaneously an embrace and a rejection of his roots. Reared Roman Catholic, he said he only found a more “personal” relationship with Jesus Christ when he became evangelical.
The idea that he wasn’t fully Christian until he left the Catholic Church rankles some at the Columbus parish that his mother and brothers still attend. Father Clement T. Davis of St. Bartholomew Catholic Church recalls that another priest “blew up” at Pence years ago for suggesting he only became truly Christian in college.
“I think he learned from that experience,” Davis said, “and toned it down a little bit after that.”
There are plenty of St. Bartholomew’s parishioners who embrace Trump and his No. 2. At a recent Sunday morning Mass, a couple described how “thrilled” they were to have Pence pushing for a Supreme Court that could overturn legalized abortion.
But even at the Pence family’s home parish, the strains of a more progressive Catholicism ring out, as the priest proclaims that the town’s immigrant workers, some of whom are in the country illegally, are “gifts from God,” and promotes voting with a quote from John Lewis, the late Democratic congressman from Georgia.
Mike Pence, right, with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin in Indianapolis after the 2016 election. When Tobin was an archbishop, he and the formerly Catholic governor clashed over allowing Syrian refugees to settle in Indiana.
(Michael Conroy/Associated Press)
Pence’s hard line on immigration has put him at odds with many in modern Columbus, including people of faith.
A notable showdown came in 2015, when the then-governor blocked the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Indiana. He said he doubted the Muslim newcomers could be adequately screened to ensure Hoosiers didn’t become the target of terrorist attacks.
The archbishop of Indianapolis, Joseph W. Tobin, met with Pence to plead with him to help the migrants find safe harbor. He presented the case of one family, fleeing terrorism, that had been screened for almost two years and yearned to move close to their relatives in Indiana.
Pence would not budge, saying the security of his citizens was paramount. When Tobin (now a cardinal) was asked by the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer whether he could think of a Christian argument for rejecting the family, Tobin said: “No.”
Pence has parted with Columbus’ moderate sensibilities and his own past beliefs on another issue of critical importance here: trade. This is a metropolitan region more reliant on exports than any other in the nation.
A career-long free-trade advocate until he signed on with Trump, the vice president has stood mute as the president has ramped up trade sanctions and tariffs, including on foreign aluminum and steel.
The Cummins corporate offices, designed by Kevin Roche, were built in 1983 in Mike Pence’s hometown of Columbus, Ind., renowned as one of America’s top cities for modernist architecture.
(Andrew Laker / (Columbus, Ind.) Republic)
Cummins Chief Executive Tom Linebarger protested that the new tariffs cost the company more than it gained when the administration passed a substantial corporate tax cut. Said Linebarger: “Our net taxes are higher now.”
Perhaps Pence’s sharpest departure from Columbus’ expansive worldview came in 2015. That’s when he signed a state law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Sondra Bolte of Columbus, Ind., recalls how business magnate J. Irwin Miller made the small city a center of progressive politics. “His wingspan was really broad,” she said of the former Cummins Engine Co. executive.
(James Rainey / Los Angeles Times)
Backers of the law said it was designed, among other things, to allow Christian bakers, florists and photographers to avoid punishment if they declined to serve people holding gay and lesbian weddings. What supporters saw as a law protecting individuals from being forced to violate their religious beliefs, critics viewed as nothing but outrageous identity discrimination.
Indiana faced a broad boycott and condemnation from the CEOs of big businesses like Apple and Salesforce. The head of the online ratings company Angie’s List cancelled a $40-million expansion of its Indianapolis headquarters.
The state passed clarifying legislation to specify that it was not condoning discrimination. But that just infuriated conservatives who viewed the law as righteous.
Back in Columbus, the City Council approved an ordinance making LGBTQ individuals a “protected class.” The rebuke of the city’s most famous political son was all the more remarkable because all seven City Council members were Republicans.
When asked what he would say today to the vice president about that stumble, Columbus’ GOP mayor shook his head. “You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” Lienhoop said. “So be careful.”
“Mocha Debeaute” performs in the drag show at Columbus’ 2018 Pride Festival, conceived by high school senior Erin Bailey to prove the city was more open than Vice President Mike Pence to LGBTQ people.
Muhammadu Buhari, who was the country’s democratic leader between 2015 and 2023, died aged 82 in London on Sunday.
Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari will be buried in his hometown of Daura in the northern state of Katsina, once his body is repatriated from the United Kingdom, the state governor has said.
The remains of the ex-leader, who died aged 82 in London on Sunday following a prolonged illness, will reach Nigeria on Tuesday, with his burial taking place later the same day, according to Dikko Umaru Radda.
Preparations for the burial were under way in Daura on Monday, while the country’s Vice President Kashim Shettima was in London organising the repatriation of Buhari’s body.
Buhari, who first ruled the country as a military leader between 1984 and 1985, served consecutive presidential terms between 2015 and 2023. He was the first opposition politician to be voted into power since the country’s return to civilian rule.
The self-described “converted democrat” is being remembered by many as a central figure in his country’s democratic evolution. However, some critics have also noted his failure to improve Nigeria’s economy or its security during his presidency.
Paying tribute to his predecessor on Sunday, President Bola Tinubu called him “a patriot, a soldier, a statesman”.
“He stood firm through the most turbulent times, leading with quiet strength, profound integrity, and an unshakable belief in Nigeria’s potential,” Tinubu wrote in a post on X.
“He championed discipline in public service, confronted corruption head-on and placed the country above personal interest at every turn.”
Tinubu added that all national flags would fly at half-mast for seven days from Sunday, and said Buhari would be accorded full-state honours.
The Nigerian flag flies at half-mast following the death of former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, on July 14, 2025 [Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters]
Radda also paid his respects to the former president, describing him as “the embodiment of the common man’s aspirations”.
Ibrahim Babangida, a former military ruler who ousted Buhari in a coup in 1985, also released a statement after his death was announced.
“We may not have agreed on everything — as brothers often don’t — but I never once doubted his sincerity or his patriotism,” Babangida said.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Alexis Akwagyiram, managing editor at Semafor and a longtime observer of Nigerian politics, noted that Buhari was popular for his “personal brand of integrity and honesty”.
However, Akwagyiram also highlighted Buhari’s shortcomings on the economy and security, saying that insurgencies from groups such as Boko Haram had “proliferated under his tenure”.
A young woman emerged from the dark into a green and bushy clearing. Under the faux moonlight, she wandered the stage, speaking to herself. “Where’s my camera? I can’t believe I lost it. All my memories were there,” she said with a pang of panic in her voice.
Moments later, a young man surfaced from the same spot. His eyes scanned the area as well, with a pained look on his face. “Have you seen my drums?” When he plays his drums his heart races, he explained; his people feel joy, and the living, the dead and even the stars dance. “It’s like all our memories are there too,” he said.
With this poignant intro, Bad Bunny kicked off the “locals only” opening night of his 30-show residency in San Juan — which, for the first three weekends, will only be accessible to those who can show proof of their residence in Puerto Rico.
Taking place each weekend at the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum, affectionately referred to as El Choli by locals, the concert series revolves around his latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” and was advertised with name “No me quiero ir de aquí,” which translates to “I don’t want to leave here.” It’s a refrain that’s been associated with the artist since he used it as a lyric in his 2022 ode to his homeland, “El Apagón,” and he considers it still resonant today.
A celebration of Puerto Rican identity, a fighting spirit shaped indelibly by its music and history, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” also urges its listeners that time is not to be taken for granted, and the past, present and future are not just distinct phases but one whole, inextricably tied together.
(Lorenzo Lagares/For Los Angeles Times)
Fans that flocked to the opening weekend concerts were treated to Benito at the apex of his talents, not to mention his stamina. For three hours and over 35 songs, he danced, strutted and sang to the approving roar of over 15,000 in attendance. The show opened with rumbles of bomba y plena, and an unreleased track that got the crowd buzzing — followed by popular recent bangers like “Ketu Tecré,” “El Clúb” and “Pitorro de Coco.” He then regaled the crowd with a catwalk performance of “Kloufrens” and “Weltita,” which featured an appearance by Chuwi, the beloved tropical jazz quartet from Isabela.
The two stages were grandiose, both in size and production quality. The main stage was a reproduction of a hill, made to approximate the lush foliage found in Puerto Rico’s rainforest and central hillside towns. On one side, you could spy the two iconic Monobloc chairs from the album’s cover, and on the other, a flamboyán tree blossoming with red flowers. On the opposite end of the coliseum’s arena was a pristine pink vacation home, built to mirror the one from the short film that debuted along with the album.
That film introduced the characters of Old Man, played by acclaimed Puerto Rican filmmaker Jacobo Morales, and Concho, the sweet-natured Puerto Rican crested toad voiced by Kenneth Canales, which was brought to life by the stop-motion work of Quique Rivera. The two unlikely housemates returned in two new vignettes shown at the concert, in which they live in a cabin in the middle of snowy woods. Concho misses the Caribbean warmth, and feels very far away from home. A kind Morales reminds him: “We’re Puerto Rican no matter where we are, and even from afar we defend what’s ours.”
Remember, he says while looking straight at the camera, Puerto Rico is “the real calentón.” This cued a barrage of images that flashed across the screen, showing photos of historic protests and civil disobedience carried out over the decades by revolutionary Puerto Ricans.
(Lorenzo Lagares/For Los Angeles Times)
Benito reappeared under the flamboyán tree, where he was joined by guitarist Antonio Caraballo. Here, we got some of his lovelorn “Sad Bunny” persona as they reinterpreted acoustic versions of older hits like “Si Estuviésemos Juntos,” “Ni Bien Ni Mal” and “Amorfoda” before ending with “Turista.” All the while, Benito waxed philosophically to the audience, commiserating about matters of the heart.
From here, the action swiftly moved from the countryside to the pink house which suddenly filled with dancers in club wear — and Benito’s longtime tour DJ Orma. Those craving a rowdy perreo party got their wish, as his salsa-dembow hybrid track “Nuevayol” launched a 16-song stretch of frenzied, sweaty reggaeton and trap bops. Bouncing feverishly from “Titi Me Preguntó” and “La Jumpa” to “Yo Perreo Sola” and “Efecto,” Benito transformed the coliseum into a nightclub.
James and Benito have a friendship going back several years, and it’s hard to blame the superstar for wanting to hang with his pal — even if said pal is an American — during a concert by an artist who is not really vibing with the United States right now. But then again, if the home we see on stage is supposed to represent an Airbnb owned by non-Puerto Ricans — which is what was narratively implied — Benito might as well flex and bring in some elite gringos. Chants of “MVP! MVP!” rang out at one point, provoking the four-time NBA champion to throw up a hand heart gesture to the crowd. It’s all love.
That being said: “LeBron James sat on an air conditioner and danced while Bad Bunny sang ‘Safaera’” is a ridiculous Mad Libs sentence that actually happened.
As he paced from side to side on the house’s rooftop, Benito would again touch on the topic of time. “You get so caught up in the euphoria of the moment that you forget to appreciate the present,” he said. He asked the crowd to put their phones away and focus on the next song, and on whoever is accompanying them, or even someone across the aisle who has caught their eye. “This is the moment to act,” he added, and ask them for a dance, just before the thrust of “Eoo,” made famous from his sensual Calvin Klein underwear ad, got the whole building quaking.
Puerto Rican plena ensemble Los Pleneros de la Cresta appeared to interpret “Café Con Ron,” as well as one of their own songs, “Ábreme Paso,” which gave way to a second video vignette. It showed Morales’ Old Man leaving the cabin and trudging through a snowstorm, until he ran into Benito’s musical director Julito Gastón — the young man from the opening skit — sitting behind his drum. As they lock eyes, Morales leaves him with a word of advice that’s not just about the music, but the core of his being: “Never stop playing your drums.”
(Lorenzo Lagares/For Los Angeles Times)
Bad Bunny resurfaced, looking a bit more subdued. He spoke softly, but sternly, about Puerto Rico and its struggle against gentrification and government neglect. “We have to protect this land,” he said. “We have to protect what’s ours if we want our children to make a life here.” He followed it up by crooning “Lo Que Le Pasó A Hawaii,” the solemn décima all about how the archipelago is being threatened existentially.
An animated crash course in salsa history, narrated by Néstor Galán, set the scene for Benito’s touring live band, Los Sobrinos to assemble. Dressed in a vintage ‘70s garb of a Fania bandleader, Benito led the group into the last and most rousing part of the concert: a salsa reimagining of “Callaíta,” which gave way to to “Baile Inolvidable” and “Dtmf.” The crowd leapt to their feet, twirling and stepping to the rhythms.
Before he launched into the opening freestyle of “La Mudanza” he paused to gather himself; he took off his sunglasses to reveal his eyes had welled up with tears and gratefulness. As the image of a giant Puerto Rican flag graced the ceiling, he motioned for everyone to sing and scream the final lyrics in unison: “Nobody’s taking me from here, I’m not moving anywhere, tell ‘em this is my home, where my grandfather was born, I’m from P f—in’ R!”
In the lead-up to last year’s gubernatorial elections, Bad Bunny spent hundreds of thousands of his own money buying ad space on billboards across Puerto Rico urging its citizens to not vote for the ruling party, accusing them of being the main culprits of the island’s woes. The ads consisted of a simple, white text on a black background. In the end, the same party that has led since 2017 won reelection; and since then, the current governor, Republican Party member Jenniffer González-Colón, has only continued to be mired in controversy.
When entering the concert area, the large screens over the main stage showed one message with white letters on a black background: “Yo Te Lo Dije,” or “I Told You So.” When the show was over and everyone began to trickle out, a new message appeared, recognizable to all: “No Me Quiero Ir De Aquí.”
With his residency, Bad Bunny issues a rallying cry for Puerto Ricans: Act now. Change the future, so that you don’t regret the past. And most importantly, never stop playing your drums.
Portuguese national team player André Silva was among footballers and politicians to attend the public wake in Gondomar
Crowds mourned Diogo Jota in his hometown to pay their respects to the Liverpool forward and his brother André Silva, who both died in a car crash on Thursday.
Portugal’s president, stars from the national team and fans from across the country gathered in the small town of Gondomar, on the outskirts of Porto, where the pair grew up.
Their parents, grandfather and other family members held a private vigil at a chapel in the town before it was opened to the public for a wake. The funeral will be held on Saturday.
The pair – both footballers, with André playing in Portugal’s second division – were killed after the Lamborghini they were travelling in crashed in the Spanish province of Zamora.
Fans carrying Portugal flags, flowers and other memorabilia were seen weeping as they queued to pay their respects.
Those in attendance included President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, national team stars João Moutinho, Diogo Dalot and Ricardo Horta, and Jota’s agent Jorge Mendes.
For years as a young boy, Jota played for local club Gondomar SC, which named its academy after him in 2022.
Emblazoned on its sign is a quote from Jota: “It’s not about where we come from but where we’re going to.”
Outside the club, shirts and scarves were laid inside a ring of candles.
Getty Images
The 28-year-old father-of-three – who this year won the Nations League with Portugal and Premier League with Liverpool – married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso just 11 days before the fatal crash.
He had been travelling back to Liverpool for pre-season training, making the trip by car and ferry because he had undergone minor surgery and had been advised against flying.
Liverpool said his death was a “tragedy that transcends” the club.
Fans also grieved outside the club’s Anfield stadium.
Former captain Jordan Henderson was seen in tears as he laid a wreath, with a card that read: “Rest in peace my friend, along with your brother André. We will all miss you.”
There was also a touching moment at Oasis’s reunion gig on Friday evening when Jota’s image appeared on screen at the end of Live Forever, prompting applause around Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah admitted he was dreading returning to the club in the wake of Jota’s shock death.
“I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break,” Salah wrote in a post on social media.
A delegation from Liverpool’s city rival club Everton – including Portugal-born strikers Beto and Youssef Chermiti – also attended and left flowers outside Anfield.
Former Liverpool councillor Peter Millea – a home and away regular who had come to pay his respects – told the BBC: “There was something about him as a player when he first came to us that he became an instant hit.
PA Media
“He was one of those players you can easily take to, because of the manner in which he conducted himself on and off the pitch and the important goals he scored.”
Mr Millea said some fans at Anfield had broken into impromptu renditions of the chant while paying their respects.
“I’m sure we’ll hear it loud and clear at Wembley for the Community Shield and we’ll hear it at Preston for the first pre-season away game, you know it’ll be sung around the field against Athletic Bilbao and then during the course of the rest of the season and probably forever-more,” he said.
Elsewhere, fans left flowers, scarves and shirts outside Wolves’ Molineux Stadium, where Jota played prior to his move to Anfield.
At Wimbledon, Portuguese tennis player Francisco Cabral wore a black ribbon to mark the passing of his countrymen.
A minute’s silence was held in the Women’s Euro 2025 game between Denmark and Sweden.
Liverpool has cancelled pre-season fitness tests that were due to take place today for some players as a result of yesterday’s news. A phased return of training will now begin on Monday.
The funeral service will be held at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar in Sao Cosme in Gondomar at 10:00 on Saturday.
When I was invited on a trip to Cognac in the south of France, I could never have anticipated learning so much about myself and my hometown in the process
Hannah discovered an unexpected link to her hometown while in France
When I headed to the beautiful region of Cognac, France, it was somewhere I hadn’t really heard much about except for the drink (of which I wasn’t a huge fan).
Despite it not being on my initial radar, I am a firm believer in exploring new places and cultures as they can capture your imagination in completely unexpected ways. Still, when I arrived in Cognac, what I unveiled was never something I could have anticipated.
When I first landed in France, I immediately had a full day of activities planned including a tour of the beautiful home of Baume de Bauteville balsamic vinegar, and a visit to the iconic Remy Martin Cognac house for a private tour complete with a guide to its history and, of course, Cognac tasting sessions. I wasn’t a huge fan of the drink before, but I soon changed my tune. Of course I was posting all about my trip – and that’s when a friend back home got in touch with an interesting revelation.
I will always take any opportunity to travel (Image: Hannah Ballantyne)
They informed me that Cognac was twinned with Perth, Scotland – which just so happens to be my hometown. It completely stole my imagination and got me researching. Immediately I had a lightbulb moment; Perth is also a distillery town, so of course I learned this after a day at a distillery! That was the first piece of the puzzle. So I looked into it all a little bit more.
Twin cities are a concept most of us will have heard of but probably have never thought about before. I will hold my hands up and say that the only time I had ever truly thought of them was when I saw the names on road signs when coming into towns and cities. That is about as far as my knowledge about them went, until now.
The exterior of the Remy Martin house was a dream!
The concept of a Twin City was first coined after the end of WWII in a bid to promote both cultural and commercial ties to the two cities that were involved., whilst also promoting prosperity in a post-war landscape. However, the first ‘official’ twin cities agreement happened in 1931, when Toledo, Ohio twinned with Toledo, Spain.
I could not believe that I had absolutely no idea that Cognac and Perth were twinned before-hand, and it started to feel a little bit like fate that I was there. It really got me thinking about everything and wanting to know more.
What I started to notice was all of the little things that tied these places together. For start, Perth is on a river, as is Cognac. Food and drink are both massive tourism opportunities for both places and they are even similar sizes. The population of Perth is around 47,00 and Cognac’s is 60,000 for the area! It all started to make sense. Even the humble beginnings of Remy Martin reminded me of home.
Cognac in Perth
Wanting to learn more, I reached out to Graham Knight, who runs the ‘Friends of Cognac’ society in Perth. I wanted his unique insight into the partnership and what it meant for both communities.
He explained: “The twinning agreement between Perth and Cognac was signed in October 1991 and arose out of the common elements of whisky and cognac. At that time Perth was the headquarters of a number of whisky companies e.g. Bells, Dewars ,Peter Thomson and Cognac was home to Hennessy, Remy Martin, Martell, and Courvoisier et alia.
“An extract from the twinning agreement reads ‘establishing a firm foundation for future understanding, respect and friendship between the people of Cognac and Perth for all time.’ The most obvious similarity is geographical, both towns (Perth of course now being a city) lying on famous rivers and are important administrative centres. Tourism is also a common thread in each area.”
A bench in Perth that twins with Cognac
“The core of our activity is a programme of group visits to Cognac, and from Cognac to Perthshire in which we are hosted in the homes of French friends for a week, and they in turn are hosted in our homes. These visits enable the sharing of our lives, towns, local areas, activities and cultures, not to mention our food and drink! Over the years strong friendships, often life-long, have been forged, and we’ve even improved our language skills.”
What I began to realise was that actually, there were so many similarities between Perth and Cognac. I realised that these two places are so similar because of the kindness of people, the landscapes, the output of produce in the areas and the rich histories of the two places.
Once I knew that there were ties to Perth all around the French region, my trip felt extra magical. I started looking at everything differently and absorbing more of it – and there was plenty to enjoy.
I spent the morning with Frapin Cognac to tour their impressive distillery and Chateau. It’s been in the family for hundreds of years and you can sense the pride in it all around you. They’ve really kept family at the heart of what they do and I adore that concept. I really could feel the warmth of the people and really felt like I was sat with a family having lunch, much like how many places feel like in Perth.
Hannah lunch at Frapin
That afternoon, I went to the beautiful Cognac Jewellery School and created my own vine leaf earrings. The lovely Jessica guided me through my first taste of metal-work, and we started talking about how she had moved to Cognac from England right before the pandemic hit and fell in love with the region and its culture and beauty. I couldn’t stop thinking about my hometown link; even the leaves reminded me of ones I’d find in Scotland.
I think that’s what I’ve loved the most about all of this, is understanding the ties that bring these two very different places together. Ultimately, what it comes down to is a deep-rooted sense of pride in communities, which is something that I think is beautiful. I love that the two places can share this commonality with one another, showing that as humans, we really aren’t all that different deep down.
Hannah touring Frapin Cognac
Colin Powell once said “the ties that bind us are stronger than the stresses that separate us”. I think the idea of twin cities can encapsulate that perfectly. We are so different, yet there are these commonalities that tie us together in ways we could not have imagined, no matter where you’re from! When I was offered this trip I could never have anticipated learning more about my hometown in the process. Now, I also feel like there will always be a string tying me to Cognac.
Rocafonda, Spain – The front page of Spain’s biggest sports tabloid Marca screamed LAMINE YA! (Lamine Now!) as speculation mounted over whether the teenage wonder boy would sign a new contract for FC Barcelona.
Lamine Yamal is expected to renew his contract with Barcelona before he turns 18 in July, his agent Jorge Mendes assured reporters last week.
Deco, the sporting director of Barca, denied reports that Yamal’s agent had asked that the 17-year-old be made the highest paid player in the dressing room, while Spanish media speculated that he could look forward to a 10-fold pay increase to more than 15 million euros ($17m) net per season.
Whatever the astronomical sums involved in signing the gifted winger who helped Barca clinch the La Liga title this season, it will seem a world away from the very humble beginnings of this Spanish sporting prodigy.
Yamal grew up in a poor area of Mataro, an industrial town located about 32km (20 miles) north of Barcelona, but it is a world away from the glitz and glamour of the Catalan capital.
The Barca footballer learned his craft on the streets of Rocafonda, a working-class neighbourhood of Mataro.
About half of the 11,000 people who live in this corner of Mataro are classified as “at risk of poverty”, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute. Many flats appear run down and lack basic modern-day amenities like lifts. One centre in Rocafonda offers help to children who are struggling at school.
With 88 different nationalities in the area, Arabic halal butchers are a common sight.
Evictions are a daily occurrence in Rocafonda as many households struggle to pay the rent, which averages about $1,334 per month, a fortune to many.
A teenage boy plays at Club de Futbol Rocafonda. ‘In Rocafonda, more Lamine Yamals and fewer evictions’, reads the graffiti on the steps [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]
Gen-next inspiration
Nevertheless, football – or rather Yamal – gives people hope here.
“In Rocafonda, more Lamine Yamals and fewer evictions”, reads the graffiti at the Club de Futbol Rocafonda, the municipal football pitch.
Children play nearby, perhaps dreaming that maybe, just maybe, they could be the next Lamine Yamal.
Wearing an Argentina shirt, Mohammed Kaddouri, who is a year younger than Yamal, says the Barca football player is an inspiration to young people here.
“Since Lamine, so many people have started playing football and believe they could be like him. It is not just boys but more girls are playing football too,” he says.
His friend Damia Castillo, also 16, met Yamal when he came back to see his family, who still live in the neighbourhood.
“He always talks to us like he is a normal person, not like he is some big star. He is from here, and so are we. It makes you think, you know, maybe it could be me,” Castillo told Al Jazeera.
Kids play football on the same Rocafonda football pitch used by Lamine Yamal [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]
The Messi effect
Friends said Yamal owes his precocious talents to a baptism of fire playing in the tough streets of Rocafonda.
“Lamine learned to play so well because he started playing with bigger kids. Some of these were bigger than him, and some of them were tough kids,” says family friend Mohammed Ben Serghine.
“Despite what has happened to him with all this fame, he has remained humble, and he is good with the kids when he comes back to Rocafonda to see his family.”
We meet in the Bar El Cordobes, the local bar frequented by Yamal’s father, Mounir Nasraoui, who pops in now and again.
On the wall is a yellowing Barca shirt signed by Yamal and replete with his photograph.
Last year, the Spain winger’s father published a photograph on social media of his son, which was taken when he was a baby.
Yamal was cradled by then-Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi. He wrote on social media: “Two beginnings of two legends. It now appears amazingly prescient.”
The Argentina superstar was 20 at the time and had taken part in a promotional campaign for FC Barcelona for UNICEF. Yamal was only five months old when his parents entered him into a raffle and he was paired up with Messi. Yamal’s smiles won over a nervous Messi at the photoshoot.
Statistically, Yamal is ahead of Messi for a 17-year-old player, according to football writer Ryan O’Hanlon of ESPN.
“Broadly, this is the conclusion: [Michael] Owen, Kylian Mbappe and Yamal are the best teenagers in modern soccer history,” he wrote, basing these assertions on the number of goals and assists.
This photo, taken in September 2007, shows a 20-year-old Barcelona star Lionel Messi cradling Lamine Yamal, who was merely six months old at the time, during a photo session at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain [File: Joan Monfort/AP]
‘304’ celebration
Rocafonda might have been forgotten, like many other fringe, outer-suburban Barcelona neighbourhoods, were it not for Yamal himself.
On the walls, someone has painted the number 304. It might just be graffiti, except for one thing. When Yamal scored a wonder goal against France in the Euro 2024 last year, he celebrated by making the sign three, zero, four with his fingers. It was a reference to the postcode of Rocafonda, which in full reads 08304.
As the world was transfixed by Yamal’s dazzling skills, it was a sign that even when footballers can expect seven- or even eight-figure salaries, some have not forgotten their roots.
At the Bar Familia L Y 304 Rocafonda, run by the player’s uncle, Abdul, you are left in no doubt that Yamal remains faithful to where he came from.
Decked out in photographs of Yamal and signed shirts, in one corner is a tiny, plastic version of the World Cup. It begs the thought: might Yamal one day lift the real thing for Spain?
The walls of Bar Familia L Y 304 Rocafonda, run by Yamal’s uncle, are littered with sporting memorabilia of the town’s most famous footballer [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]
Family is everything
The player’s own story starts 30 years ago when his maternal grandmother, Fatima, arrived from Morocco and took up a job in an old people’s residence.
She worked to bring her seven children over from Morocco and managed as a single mother.
Yamal’s mother, Sheila Ebana, is from Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony in Western Africa. The player’s parents divorced, and when she moved away from Rocafonda, she enrolled him in Club de Futbol La Torreta in Granollers, a nearby town.
Yamal speaks fondly about his mother, who gave him the best childhood she could despite the difficulties she faced.
“Maybe I didn’t have the best childhood, but I didn’t see it. I only saw the beautiful, thanks to her,” he said in an Instagram interview with user tumejorjugada.
Life for both parents has changed dramatically since their son became a superstar.
Ebana now has 258,000 followers on Instagram and has moved to Barcelona. His father has also moved to the Catalan capital.
Two shots of Lamine Yamal on a photograph hanging in La Torreta football club [Courtesy of Joan Mateu]
Changing expectations
Yamal started playing for CF La Torreta, a small club with 200 players, when he was only five.
On the window of the club, there is a photograph of the player when he arrived as a small child and another more recent one.
“He came here when he was five years old and stayed just two years before Barcelona came for him,” says Jordi Vizcaino, president of CF La Torreta.
“I still can hardly believe it when I see how far he has gone, when I see Yamal playing for Barca and Spain. He was just a kid when he came here and is still just a kid really.”
Rocio Escandell, president of the Association of Rocafonda Neighbours, has known Yamal and his family all his life.
“Lamine has put Rocafonda on the world map. It is a working-class area with lots of migrants, but he has made people here believe they can be something. It does not have to be a footballer. It might be a doctor. Just to believe,” she told Al Jazeera.
Her nine-year-old daughter, Abril, is proof of how Yamal has changed expectations.
“I have been playing football since I was small, and I score more and more goals. When I am older, I want to be like Lamine,” says Abril.
Yamal flashes his ‘304’ gesture after scoring a goal for Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium on May 18, 2025, in Barcelona, Spain [Judit Cartiel/Getty Images]
