Australia’s upcoming social media ban for children under 16 years old will include the online forum Reddit and livestreaming platform Kick in addition to seven other well-known sites, according to the country’s online safety commissioner.
The social media ban will go into effect on December 10 and will also restrict access to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube, Communications Minister Anika Wells said on Wednesday.
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“Online platforms use technology to target children with chilling control. We are merely asking that they use that same technology to keep children safe online,” Wells said.
“We have met with several of the social media platforms in the past month so that they understand there is no excuse for failure to implement this law,” Wells told reporters in Canberra.
“We want children to have a childhood, and we want parents to have peace of mind,” she said.
Social media platforms have had 12 months to prepare for the ban since Australia passed its landmark online safety legislation in November last year.
Initial discussions focused primarily around Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube, but the list was later expanded, and Wells said the list could continue to change.
While more than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year opposing the age limit ban as a “blunt” instrument, Canberra’s move is being closely watched by countries that share concerns about the impacts of online platforms on children.
“Delaying children’s access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
Inman Grant said she would work with academics to evaluate the impact of the ban, including whether children sleep or interact more or become more physically active as a result of the restrictions on using social media.
“We’ll also look for unintended consequences, and we’ll be gathering evidence” so others can learn from Australia’s ban, Inman Grant said.
Critics have questioned how the restrictions will be enforced because users cannot be “compelled” to submit government IDs for an age check, according to a government fact sheet.
Discussions are under way with platforms about how to comply with the new rules, the commissioner said, while failure to comply could lead to civil fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (US$32.1m).
TikTok investigated over youth suicide
News that Australia would add more names to the list of banned platforms came as French authorities said they had opened an investigation into the social media platform TikTok and the risks of its algorithms pushing young people into suicide.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the probe was in response to a parliamentary committee’s request to open a criminal inquiry into TikTok’s possible responsibility for endangering the lives of its young users.
Beccuau said a report by the committee had noted “insufficient moderation of TikTok, its ease of access by minors and its sophisticated algorithm, which could push vulnerable individuals towards suicide by quickly trapping them in a loop of dedicated content”.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Paris police cybercrime unit will look into the offence of providing a platform for “propaganda in favour of products, objects, or methods recommended as means of committing suicide”, which is punishable by three years in prison.
The unit will also look into the offence of enabling “illegal transactions by an organised gang”, punishable by 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros ($1.2m).
With more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, has come under fire from governments in Europe and the United States in recent years.
Concerns raised over the platform have included content encouraging suicide, self-harm or an unhealthy body image as well as its potential use for foreign political interference.
A TikTok spokesman told the French news agency AFP in September that the company “categorically rejects the deceptive presentation” by French MPs, saying it was being made a “scapegoat” for broader societal issues.
KATIE Price has shocked fans after appearing to KICK her new puppy in newly surfaced footage.
The reality star, 47, recently added new pup Arlo to her family, posting loving snaps of her new dog with son Harvey on her social media accounts.
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Katie Price only debuted her new pup Arlo to fans on Snapchat earlier this monthCredit: GettyBut she sparked concerns around the pup’s welfare after appearing to boot him in a videoCredit: Katie Price/Facebook/Backgrid
But on Tuesday, Katie shared a sponsored post on her Facebook account where fans insisted she appeared to boot Arlo in video promoting a clothing brand.
“Taking my new baby Arlo for walkies [dog emoji]”, she wrote, before adding the link to a grey trench coat she’s wearing in the video.
But eagle-eyed fans were too distracted by a moment in the video, where the reality star appeared to have booted her pup.
One joked: “She just kicked the poor thing [laughing emoji]”.
Loose Women star Stacey Solomon hit out at her husband Joe Swash as she branded his gift ‘terrible’ and slammed his ‘sheer audacity’ amid her fitness journey
Stacey Solomon had some strong words to her husband Joe Swash(Image: BBC)
Stacey Solomon slammed her husband Joe Swash as he gave her a “terrible” present amid her fitness journey. The Loose Women star, 35, has been open about her weight loss journey and admitted she’s “so proud” of herself.
She revealed she has stuck to weight training since February, explaining: “I genuinely only do it because I want to be so strong.” The mum-of-five has been wanting to build her strength and showed off her impressive results while on holiday this summer.
However, Stacey clashed with Joe after he gave her a gift that he thought would help her journey. For Mother’s Day, Joe gifted her a calorie counting scale that was not well received by the TV star.
He said it was something that would help her on her “health kick,” but Stacey was far from impressed. She fumed: “I would never measure my calories!
“I would never measure my calories. Who the hell wants a calorie counter for Mother’s Day? What are you trying to say? And also, it’s the sheer audacity that you think that I have the time to weigh my food!”
The mum to Rex, five, Rose, three, Belle, two, with her husband Joe, 43, and also mum to Zachary, 17, and Leighton, 12, from past relationships previously shared her nerves about wearing bikinis.
Yet, this summer Stacey shared stunning photos as she took a dip under a waterfall. In her candid post, Stacey shared: “Feeling beautiful my sister hyped me up today & made me feel really pretty so I’m posting these.
“I love you Jem also my 3 day blow dry made it to the pool cave for at least 3 mins #buzzing.” Stacey opened up on her fitness regime as she added: “P.S my body looks a little different to last years summer holiday.
“I am actually so proud of myself because I’ve stuck to my weight training consistently since February. Kept quiet and just got my head down & kept going. I genuinely only do it because I want to be so strong.
“Like boss b**** strong. I want to forever be able to pick up my babies with ease & carry double buggies on my shoulder when necessary.
“I feel so much stronger this year which is so empowering & yes my body has changed but honestly I loved my body aesthetically last year as much as I do this year. I’ve always been beautiful no matter what shape or size.”
She concluded: “So I suppose what I’m trying to say is… Don’t commit to fitness just for the looks. Do it so you can wrestle your 17 year old & carry all three of your toddlers in 40 heat & you’ll enjoy the journey more.”
Stacey converted a barn at her Pickle Cottage into a gym following the birth of her daughter Rose in 2023. She has also had the love and support from her older sister Samantha, who is a personal trainer.
While Stacey has admitted she still finds exercising tough and like she is “going to die” when does it, she said the feeling she gets after a work out is worth it.
The Rams blew a 19-point third quarter lead, were set up to possibly win with a last-second field goal and then had that kick blocked and returned for a touchdown in a 33-26 defeat at Lincoln Financial Field.
“We had the game within our control kind of the whole time,” kicker Joshua Karty said, “and we come out of here with a loss, so [it] kind of sucks.”
When it comes to the Eagles, the Rams are accustomed to disappointment.
The Eagles (3-0) beat the Rams last season at SoFi Stadium. They beat them here in the snow in the NFC divisional round. And now they produced an epic comeback to send the Rams back to Los Angeles with another bitter loss.
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Gary Klein breaks down what went wrong for the Rams in their 33-26 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
It was a stunning defeat for a Rams team that an hour earlier appeared easily on its way to improving to 3-0 for the first time since their championship season.
The Rams had defeated the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans, but the matchup against the Eagles, quarterback Jalen Hurts and running back Saquon Barkley represented the first real test for a team McVay has described as the deepest in his eight-plus seasons.
The Rams again came close. And again they failed.
“These are the chances to be able to lean in and see what you’re really about,” McVay, who is now 1-6 against the Eagles, said of his team’s way forward.
Unlike last January, the temperature on Sunday was not frigid. It was sunny and warm, much like how the Rams must have felt early in the third quarter after they went ahead 26-7 on Matthew Stafford’s short touchdown pass to running back Kyren Williams.
It was a seemingly comfortable lead, even for a Rams team that had settled for multiple field goals instead of touchdowns because of poor execution inside the 20-yard line.
The Rams even had their nemesis Barkley — he of four long touchdown runs against them last season — under control.
“We were riding high — everything was feeling good,” receiver Davante Adams said, “and then to come out on the wrong side of this, obviously it’s not the way we drew it up.”
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford throws against the Eagles in the second half Sunday.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
No one could have predicted the Rams would have two kicks blocked in the final minutes.
“It’s the NFL,” safety Kam Curl said, “It’s crazy.”
McVay appeared to keep calm, but like Rams fans watching their team barrel toward another loss to the Eagles, he had to be going a little nuts as his offense stalled while Hurts was passing for three touchdowns and running for another.
The Rams built a 19-7 halftime lead on Stafford’s long touchdown pass to Adams and four field goals by Karty.
They seized momentum on the first series of the second half when edge rusher Jared Verse sacked Hurts and forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Nate Landman.
The turnover set up Stafford’s scoring pass to Williams.
“Feeling like we had our foot on the gas,” receiver Puka Nacua said.
The Rams were in complete control.
Until they weren’t.
Hurts tossed two touchdown passes that trimmed the Rams’ lead to five points.
The Rams got the ball early in the fourth quarter, and with just less than nine minutes left, Karty came on for a 36-yard field-goal attempt. But Eagles lineman Jalen Carter blocked the kick.
Hurts’ short touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith put the Eagles ahead, 27-26.
And then Stafford, the master of last-minute drives, drove the Rams to the Eagles’ 26.
It was eerily familiar to last January, when Stafford had the Rams driving toward a potential game-winning touchdown.
This time, all they needed was a field goal.
“I was thankful for another opportunity to kind of help my team make things right and come off the field with a victory,” Karty said.
But Jordan Davis leaped high to block the kick, and then scooped the ball and ran to the end zone as delirious Eagles fans roared.
“Had our chances really in all phases probably to win that one and didn’t get it done,” said Stafford, who passed for two touchdowns, with an interception. “It’s frustrating.”
McVay and his players repeatedly cautioned that it was only Week 3.
And they are correct.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown catches a pass in front of Rams cornerback Cobie Durant during the second half Sunday.
(Chris Szagola / Associated Press)
No need to panic or overthink the defeat. Not with the surprisingly unbeaten Indianapolis Colts coming to SoFi Stadium next Sunday.
But at some point — likely the NFC playoffs — the Rams must figure out how to beat the Eagles.
“I hate the Eagles,” Williams said, “but they taught us something … or are putting us through something that we needed to get put through.
“I’m glad that it’s happening this early in the season because it’s only going to make us [better] for later.”
WHERE to start? It’s a ‘wow wee woo’ weekend of hardcore racing with a host of exciting horses strutting their stuff.
Take your pick from Group 1 sprinters, Arc contenders and star milers. And that’s not to even mention belting handicaps at Ascot and Haydock.
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Chappers previews a huge weekend of racingCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd.
Let’s start with a huge 24 hours for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, headed by Kalpana at Kempton and a host of sexy perfomers lining up for trials at Longchamp tomorrow.
Kalpana is the defending champion in the Group 3 September Stakes, and she will be expected to see off a decent line-up that includes the Hong Kong victor Giavellotto, no mug.
Andrew Balding’s stable star is generally 6-1 market leader for the Arc on October 5, and she will need to score in style to consolidate that position live in front of the ITV cameras.
The daughter of Study Of Man comes into this race on the back of a second to Calandagan in the King George VI at Ascot. A polished performance is needed and Juddmonte’s retained rider Colin Keane misses many other tasty prizes this afternoon for this one.
A spectacular card on Sky Sports Racing tomorrow at Longchamp sees three more Arc trials. The Prix Foy numbers Sosie (last year’s fourth and a 16-1 shot this time) and Los Angeles, the former Derby third.
The Prix Vermeille has Arc runner-up Aventure (16-1 for 2025 redemption) and Oaks placed Whirl, while the Niel has another Derby third in Tennessee Stud.
Also at Longchamp is the Group 1 Prix du Moulin, in which Rosallion goes again in desperate need of a win after placed efforts in the Queen Anne and Sussex Stakes and then a disappointing fourth in the City Of York.
Matt Chapman’s Saturday tips
Haydock
1.15 Checkandchallenge each-way
1.50 Bow Echo
2.25 Fantasy World each-way
3.00 Caballo De Mar each-way (NAP)
3.35 Kind Of Blue each-way
Kempton
1.35 Kalpana
2.05 Dragon Icon each-way
Ascot
2.40 Native Warrior
3.15 Tenability
Jacques le Marois third Dancing Gemini will be a huge player for Roger Teal with some juice expected in the ground, while Lockinge winner Lead Artist also returns.
The one to beat for me is Henri Matisse, the French Guineas hero who was third in the Sussex but who for me was not at his best. He was previously second to Field Of Gold in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Back to today, and the feature race is the Group 1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock, with seventeen runners expected to go to post.
All eyes will be on favourite Lazzat, who was superb when landing the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Royal Ascot but who was beaten into second by Sajir in the Prix Maurice de Gheest when an extra half a furlong should not have been an issue.
Lazzat can win, but it’s his owner-companion KIND OF BLUE (3.35) that interests me, despite the fact that very high draw numbers at Haydock are not always the place to be and James Fanshawe’s ace is in box 19.
Kind Of Blue was back in form at the Curragh last time and should have his ideal conditions to run a big one under Danny Muscutt. The Wathnan purchase has been poor in 2025, having ended last term with success in the Group 1 success in the mud at Ascot.
The third, though, to Bucanero Fuerte was finally a step in the right direction and he might just be a horse who is better in the Autumn when some are deteriorating. James Doyle has ditched him for Lazzat which is totally understandable. But Kind Of Blue was second in this last year and has a brilliant each-way chance.
It’s great to see Kieran Shoemark pick up the ride on Commonwealth Cup hero Time For Sandals, who found 5f a bit sharp at Goodwood but who is improving all the time. Shoemark is in terrific form.
The major betting race at Ascot is the Schweppes Handicap over 7f. It’s hard to think there is a better jockey booking out there than Jamie Spencer for NATIVE WARRIOR (2.40) — and not just because Spencer rides this straight track so well.
Native Warrior was a fine third to the re-opposing and admirable Great Acclaim at Glorious Goodwood. Bumped at the start and slow into stride, the lightly raced four-year-old was short of room a furlong out before keeping on and being hampered again close home.
Basically he was very unlucky and he goes from the same mark here of 95. He’s run well at this track before when third in a Britannia and his come-from-behind style is what Spencer loves.
I’d need another 1,000 words to write about all the other highlights. A weekend to sit back and enjoy. Yeeehaaa!
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MICHAEL SALISBURY has been REMOVED as the VAR official for Liverpool vs Arsenal just hours before kick off.
Salisbury, 40, was on VAR duty for Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Fulham yesterday, during which he controversially sent the referee over to the monitor to disallow Josh King’s opener.
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Referee Robert Jones was sent over to the monitorCredit: Reuters
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Rodrigo Muniz was deemed to have fouled Trevoh Chalobah in the build-up to the goal
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EVERTON’S Carabao Cup clash with Mansfield Town has been delayed.
The Toffees announced that the game has been pushed back by 15 minutes to allow fans “safe access” in time for kick off.
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Everton’s Carabao Cup clash with Mansfield has been delayedCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Everton are hosting Mansfield at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium, having played their first competitive match at the ground at the weekend.
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French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the Australian video platform Kick over the death of a content creator during a livestream.
Raphaël Graven – also known as Jean Pormanove – was found dead in a residence near the city of Nice last week.
He was known for videos in which he endured apparent violence and humiliation.
The Paris prosecutor said the investigation would look into whether Kick knowingly broadcast “videos of deliberate attacks on personal integrity”.
The BBC has approached Kick for comment. A spokesperson for the platform previously said the company was “urgently reviewing” the circumstances around Mr Graven’s death.
The prosecutor’s investigation will also seek to determine whether Kick complied with the European Union’s Digital Services Act, and the obligation on platforms to notify the authorities if the life or safety of individuals is in question.
In a separate announcement, France’s minister for digital affairs, Clara Chappaz, said the government would sue the platform for “negligence” over its failure to block “dangerous content”, according to the AFP news agency.
Mr Graven was found dead on 18 August.
Local media reported the 46-year-old had been subject to bouts of violence and sleep deprivation during streams, and died in his sleep during a live broadcast.
In a post on X the next day Chappaz, described his death as an “absolute horror”, and said he had been humiliated and mistreated on the platform for months.
A postmortem carried out later that week revealed Mr Graven’s death was not the result of trauma or the actions of a third party.
Local police have seized videos and interviewed a number of people they say were present when he died.
They also disclosed Mr Graven had previously been spoken to by detectives and had “firmly denied” being a victim of violence, saying the acts he was involved in were staged to “create a buzz” and make money.
Kick is a platform similar to Twitch on which users can broadcast content and interact with other users in real time.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of Jean Pormanove and extend our condolences to his family, friends and community,” said Kick in its previous statement.
The platform’s community guidelines were “designed to protect creators” and Kick was “committed to upholding these standards across our platform”, its spokesperson added.
Another girl was even snapped all smiles in a toothpaste tube outfit.
The lads were also dressed up for the Bank Holiday bonanza as James Bond and The Joker with others wrapped in St George flags wielding swords as English knights.
Others were kitted out in lederhosen with one even spotted with a traffic cone on his head – but that might just be the booze talking.
Pirates, princesses and policewomen alike were also spotted in the excited crowds as they enjoyed the three-day weekend.
Participants begin at Woodies before swilling snifters at 15 other watering holes during the challenge, which takes place several times a year.
Drinkers sip a final brew at the aptly named Dry Dock – a narrow boat-turned-pub.
The list of boozers you’re supposed to stop at has changed over the last few years but still stands at 17 strong.
Punters are tasked with a drink at every stop in their best fancy dress with themes ranging from the simple to the outlandish.
It’s particularly popular among students and locals in Leeds and is often a vibrant and chaotic journey through some of the city’s most beloved watering holes.
Revellers often opt for superheroes, animals, or film characters but, honestly, anything goes.
It can often make for hilarious encounters as multiple themes and characters all mingle in one pub.
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Cowboy hats were all the rage this yearCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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Hundreds of rowdy drinkers take to the streets this weekendCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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The booze trail is seen as a rite of passage for manyCredit: NB PRESS LTD
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Some outfits had some interesting additionsCredit: NB PRESS LTD
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (UPI) — The United States and South Korea kicked off their annual summertime joint military exercise on Monday, amid efforts by Seoul to improve relations with North Korea.
The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise, which runs through Aug. 28, includes live field maneuvers, computer simulation-based command post exercises and related civil defense drills. Some 21,000 troops will be mobilized, including 18,000 South Korean personnel.
The North will “strictly exercise the sovereign right of the DPRK at the level of the right to self-defense in a case of any provocation going beyond the boundary line,” Defense Minister No Kwang Choi said in a statement.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the official name of North Korea.
The joint exercise comes as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung makes a push to improve inter-Korean relations.
In a speech Friday marking the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee vowed to “respect” North Korea’s political system and said Seoul would not pursue “unification by absorption.”
“We have no intention of engaging in hostile acts,” Lee said. “Going forward, our government will take consistent measures to substantially reduce tensions and restore trust.”
Among the measures Lee has called for is the restoration of the 2018 inter-Korean military pact, which was suspended in 2024 amid growing hostility between Seoul and Pyongyang.
The pact established buffer zones along the border and included measures such as the removal of some guard posts in the DMZ and the banning of live-fire exercises in certain areas
At a Cabinet meeting Monday, Lee instructed relevant ministries to “prepare for a phased implementation of existing inter-Korean agreements, starting with those that are possible.”
He also chaired a National Security Council meeting and emphasized that Ulchi Freedom Shield is defensive in nature, a presidential spokeswoman said.
The exercise is meant “to protect the lives and safety of our citizens and is not intended to attack North Korea or escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” Lee said, according to spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung.
Seoul has already made conciliatory gestures since Lee took office in June, such as removing its propaganda loudspeakers from border areas and calling on activists to stop floating balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North.
Half of Ulchi Freedom Shield’s 44 planned field training exercises have been rescheduled to next month, with U.S. military officials citing a heatwave and flooding damage to training areas as the primary reasons. Local media have reported that the move is also being made in an effort to avoid provoking the North.
A spokesman for Seoul’s Defense Ministry said at a briefing on Monday that there were no plans to suspend live-fire drills near the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea, which has long been a source of dispute with Pyongyang.
Anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out says it received record-high reports of discrimination during the 2024-25 season with a rise in sexism, transphobia and faith-based abuse.
Across all levels of English football last season, there were 1,398 incidents reported – up from the 1,332 published in last season’s figures – and the most ever received by the organisation.
Reports of sexism and misogyny rose by 67%, with reports increasing from 115 in the 2023-24 season to 192.
Faith-based abuse climbed from 117 to 132, while reports of transphobia doubled from 22 to 44.
Reports involving girls’ football doubled to 31, including two at under-9s level, while overall youth reports rose from 144 to a record high of 186.
Overall reports of racism fell across all levels of football, but the number of racist incidents in the professional game increased from 223 to 245.
Kick It Out also noted in its end-of-season reporting statistics for last season:
There were 621 reports of online abuse submitted – a 5% rise on last year – with 268 related to racism.
There were 18 reports of sexist chanting received for 2024-25, which almost matched the total from the previous four seasons combined.
Grassroots football accounted for 325 reports – up from 303 in 2023-24.
Homophobic abuse fell slightly, down from 162 to 139 reports.
Disability abuse also had a significant increase, with reports up by 45% across all levels of the game from 51 to 76.
Kick It Out chief executive Samuel Okafor said “discrimination remains deeply embedded across the game”, and the rise in abuse in youth football “should be a wake-up call”.
Okafor acknowledged there had been a “clear shift” in people “calling out sexist behaviour”, but he wants to see greater action to tackle online abuse.
“It’s clear that online platforms are still falling short. The volume of abuse remains high, and too often those responsible face no consequences,” said Okafor.
“Fans are doing their part by speaking up. It’s now up to football authorities, tech companies and government to show they’re listening, and to act.”
When it comes to special teams, Mira Costa’s football team has a dream group ready to handle punting, kicking, long snapping and holding.
The senior trio of punter Jackson Shevin, kicker Nico Talbott and long snapper Jackson Reach is an impressive group.
Shevin, who’s also the holder on PATs and field goals, averaged 38 yards on punts last season. Talbott waited his time to handle kicking duties on junior varsity and being the backup. He has performed well at the Chris Sailer kicking camps. Reach is an elite long snapper and terrific linebacker.
Shevin also says he’s ready to pass or run if coach Don Morrow calls for any fake punts or fake field goals.
“It’s pretty cool,” Morrow said of his special teams trio. Morrow is entering his 33rd season at Mira Costa and No. 37 overall and thinks special teams is pretty important for a football program.
With two of the three named Jackson and being from Manhattan Beach, you can imagine the trust and fun they have playing on the same team.
Mira Costa is one of a talented group of teams in the Bay League joining Palos Verdes, Inglewood, Leuzinger and Culver City, all of whom could be title contenders depending on what division they are placed in.
Mira Costa returns top quarterback Liam Meeker and top running back AJ McBean. But they know if they need a punt or a field goal, the “Three Amigos” are ready.
Immigrant advocates have warned that the tax and spending bill championed by United States President Donald Trump will send the administration’s controversial deportation campaign into overdrive.
The bill — called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” among its supporters — is slated to be signed into law on Friday, ushering in an influx of funds for Trump’s immigration crackdown.
That comes as experts say the Trump administration has already taken drastic measures to increase its immigration arrests and expulsions. Those arrests have cut deep into communities across the country, prompting protests and other forms of public outcry.
In a statement following the passage of the bill, Vanessa Cardenas, the executive director of the immigration reform group America’s Voice, took aim at White House adviser Stephen Miller.
He is widely seen as the architect of Trump’s hardline immigration policies across his first and second administrations.
“His dreams are America’s nightmare,” Cardenas said. “His mass deportation crusade already is imperiling our industries, spreading fear in American communities, and ripping American families apart and would become all the worse if the big ugly bill becomes law.”
Here’s how the bill could be transformative.
Historic deportation funding
All told, the bill passed by the House and Senate earmarks about $170bn for immigration and border enforcement funding.
That, according to the American Immigration Council (AIC), represents the “largest investment in detention and deportation in US history”.
Of that money, $45bn will go to new immigration detention centres for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a branch of the Department of Homeland Security that oversees immigration arrests and the detention of individuals already in the country.
That’s a whopping 265-percent increase from ICE’s fiscal year 2024 detention budget, at a time when advocates have continued to raise concerns about the conditions and oversight of immigration detention centres.
Those funds are projected to expand the capacity of the country’s detention centres from about 56,000 beds to more than 100,000, according to an analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonpartisan policy institute.
Much of that money is likely to go to private companies, the Brennan Center added. Private firms already oversee about 90 percent of detention centre capacity and will “reap major financial benefits” from the new bill, the analysis said.
“The plan to put hundreds of thousands more people in ICE detention facilities comes at a time when DHS is blocking oversight of those facilities,” Brennan Center analyst Lauren-Brook Eisen wrote.
“And there have been growing reports of unsanitary, harsh, and unsafe conditions. At least 10 people have died in immigration detention so far this year, a rate nearly three times the number of deaths over the past four years.”
The bill’s language has also sparked concerns that it could override legal restraints over how long immigration authorities can detain children, as established in the 1997 Flores settlement.
The American Civil Liberties Union has said the legislation is “opening the door to prolonged detention of children and families”.
Growing immigration ‘dragnet’
The legislation also allocates nearly $29.9bn for ICE’s deportation and enforcement operations, a threefold increase compared to the fiscal year 2024 budget, according to the American Immigration Council.
Immigrant advocates say the agency has already begun to employ increasingly severe tactics to surge its arrest numbers to fulfil Trump’s campaign promise of mass deportation.
In May, immigration officials reportedly set a daily arrest target of 3,000 per day, three times the previously reported goal.
But immigration agents averaged only about 778 arrests per day during Trump’s first months in office, according to government data from January 26 to May 3.
Speaking during a news conference in June, Cardenas warned that the pressure campaign was already creating a “situation on the ground where ICE is literally just trying to go after anybody that they can catch”.
That included raids on workplaces and locations like hardware store parking lots, where immigrants are known to gather for informal construction gigs. Undocumented individuals brought to the US as children, known as “Dreamers”, have also been caught up in the arrest sweeps.
Cardenas described the strategy as a “dragnet” that touched “long-established, deeply rooted Dreamers and other folks that have been in the United States for a long time”.
To increase their arrest numbers, immigration officials have instructed ICE agents to “get creative”, according to a June report from The Guardian newspaper. They encouraged agents to remain vigilant for undocumented individuals whom they may encounter by chance, referred to as “collaterals” in internal emails.
The Trump administration has also sought to expand its cooperation with local law enforcement. The Tennessee Highway Patrol and ICE, for example, collaborated on a series of traffic stops in May that local immigrant advocates decried as blatant racial profiling.
The new legislation includes $3.5bn to reimburse states for immigration enforcement and cooperation.
“We are becoming a police state,” said Gaby Pacheco, the president of TheDream.US, which helps undocumented students pursue higher education and careers.
During a June news conference, Pacheco warned of increased cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration officials.
“It’s difficult to see that those individuals in our community that we have always cherished, like police officers and campus safety, are now acting to the detriment of our communities and going after immigrants,” she said.
Rounding out the immigration funding in the bill is $46.6bn for border wall construction and $4.1bn to hire and train more border patrol agents.
Will the funding ‘make America safe’?
Trump has, for years, pushed the premise that mass deportations are the only way to repair a country beset by dangerous foreign criminals.
Studies, however, show that undocumented people commit crimes at lower rates than US-born citizens.
After Trump’s bill was passed by the House on Thursday, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the legislation is “a win for law and order and the safety and security of the American people”.
She added it will “further deliver on President Trump’s mandate to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN”.
But new data has continued to cast doubt on the administration’s claims.
On Thursday, The Washington Post published an analysis that found that, while the number of immigration arrests has risen in recent months, the proportion of those arrested with criminal convictions has fallen.
In January, about 46 percent of immigration detainees had been convicted of a crime, according to the report, which relied on statistics obtained by the Deportation Data Project and the UCLA Center for Immigration Law and Policy.
By June, that proportion had dropped to 30 percent.
The report noted that the details of the charges, and their severity, were not available.
Meanwhile, 61 percent of the 93,818 people deported from the country since Trump took office had no criminal convictions, according to the Post. Entering the US without documentation is a civil, not criminal, offence.
Another data analysis, from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), offered similar findings.
Out of the 56,397 people held in immigration detention as of June 15, about 71 percent did not have criminal convictions, though 25 percent did have pending charges.
Hector Sanchez Barba, president of Mi Familia Vota, a Hispanic voters advocacy group, was among those decrying Trump’s bill as it passed in the House on Thursday.
In a statement, he pointed to the estimated $3.3 trillion the bill is expected to add to the national debt, as well as the cuts to the programmes for low-income individuals, like Medicaid, used to offset the spending.
“Our children and grandchildren will have to pay for its massive debt,” he said, “while obscene amounts of money will go to ICE policies that punish families and the essential workers our economy needs for their hard work and tax dollars.”
Brazilian international Lorena stopped a penalty kick and countrywoman Bia Zaneratto scored to keep the Current perfect at home on Friday night.
The 1-0 victory secured a sixth consecutive win for Kansas City, which remained atop the NWSL standings. The Current (11-2-0) have won all six of their games at CPKC Stadium. Kansas City hasn’t dropped a game at home since a July 2024 loss to Orlando.
With the score tied 0-0, Lorena leapt to her right to parry a spot kick by Angel City forward Alyssa Thompson in the 56th minute. The ball was tipped onto the crossbar before bobbling out for a corner kick.
It was Lorena’s first penalty save and Thompson’s first failed conversion in the NWSL.
Reigning NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga broke away on a dribble and had her low shot saved by Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson, only for Zaneratto to scoop up the rebound and the tuck the ball away in the 69th minute.
Zaneratto has five goals, tied for the second-most of any Current player behind Chawinga with eight.
Angel City (5-5-3) is winless in its last five games, and has secured one tie and two losses since Alex Straus took over as coach three weeks ago.
They pull giant boxing gloves over aging, sometimes shaking hands.
They approach a black punching bag on weary, sometimes wobbly feet.
Then they wail.
Lord, do they wail.
They hit the bag with a left-handed jab, a right-handed reverse, a hook, another hook, an uppercut, another jab, bam, bam, bam.
They end the flurry with kicks, side kicks, thrust kicks, wild kicks, their legs suddenly strong and purposeful and fueled by a strength that once seemed impossible.
Outside of this small gym in a nondescript office park in Monrovia, they are elderly people dealing with the motion-melting nightmare that is Parkinson’s disease.
But inside the walls of Kaizen Martial Arts & Fitness, in a program known as Kaizen Kinetics, they are heavyweight champs.
Ranging in age from 50 to 90, spanning the spectrum of swift strides to wheelchairs, they are the most courageous athletes I’ve met.
They show up here every couple of days hoping that they’ll move enough to keep the evil Parky at bay. They’re trying to punch him out, kick him off, scare him away, and they’ll endure more than an hour of sometimes painful exercise to make this happen.
They are frail women screaming, “Jab!” and shaky men screaming, “Hook!” and everyone counting with clenched teeth through 75 minutes that stretch the shrinking muscles and test the weary optimism.
Bill Plaschke participates in a boxing class for people with Parkinson’s disease at Kaizen Martial Arts Studio.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
I am in awe of them, perhaps because I am one of them.
I, too, am living with Parkinson’s disease.
The irony, huh? I’ve spent my entire career writing triumphant stories about athletes overcoming illness and adversity, only to reach the home stretch struggling to find a similar triumph in a story about me.
It’s not easy. Now I know what all those subjects of all those feel-good stories understood about the truth behind my positive prose. Degenerative disease sucks beyond any inspirational adjective. Incurable illness stinks beyond any hopeful headline.
I’ve got Parkinson’s, and it hurts to even say it. I’m still mobile, still active, I don’t have the trademark tremors that distinguish the famously afflicted Michael J. Fox or the late Muhammad Ali but, damn it, I’ve got it.
I was diagnosed four years ago after complaining of weakness in my right arm. That weakness has disappeared, but it’s a constant struggle to keep everything else from slowly going to hell.
Every day it feels like I’ve just run a marathon. I move well, my balance is fine, but I’m always tight, always creaking. The amount of medication required to keep me active is so immense, my pills come in gallon jugs and I spend entire Dodger games trying to discreetly swallow them in the press box.
I move slower now. My fiancee Roxana qualifies for sainthood because whenever we go out, she must patiently wait for me to get dressed, which takes forever and is accompanied by the unholy sounds of struggle.
I don’t smile as much now. It’s harder to smile when afflicted with the trademark Parkinson’s masked face. When I FaceTime with my darling Daisy, I worry she won’t see past my dour expression and never know how much her granddaddy loves her.
Until now, my condition has only been known to my family. Not even my bosses knew. I didn’t look like Parky, I didn’t act like Parky, so why should I publicly reveal something so personal and embarrassing?
Yeah, I was embarrassed. I felt humiliated in a way that made no sense and total sense. To me, Parkinson’s implies frailty, Parkinson’s implies weakness.
But let me tell you, a 72-year-old woman pounding the living hell out of a punching bag ain’t weak.
And that’s why I’m writing about this today.
If my boxing classmates can have the strength to sweat through their tremors and wallop through their fears, then I can certainly have the strength to celebrate them without worrying what sort of light it casts on me.
I’m proud to be one of them, and the purpose of this column is to reflect that pride and perhaps make it easier for other folks afflicted with Parkinson’s to come out swinging.
Alan Shankin is assisted by Azusa Pacific University physical therapy student Desiree Alvarado as he participates in a boxing class for people with Parkinson’s disease at Kaizen Martial Arts Studio.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Officially, Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease impacting both motor and non-motor systems. Translated, the brain slowly stops producing dopamine, which is crucial for movement, and the loss of this neuro-transmitter affects everything from your stride to your speech.
Roughly one million people in the United States have it, and there’s no cure for it, and it generally gets worse as one gets older. As Michael J. Fox himself once said, it’s the gift that keeps on taking.
You don’t die from it, but it can be hard to live with it, yet there is one thing that unquestionably helps slow its progression.
Exercise. Movement. Pull your achy body off the couch every day and work those quivering muscles, stretch those tight joints, perhaps join one of the many Parkinson’s programs in town that involve everything from dancing to hiking.
“For people living with Parkinson’s disease, regular exercise can reduce symptoms, help treatments work better and potentially even slow the disease progression,” Rachel Dolhun, principal medical advisor at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, wrote in an e-mail. “For some, exercise can look like participating in boxing classes. For others, it’s water aerobics, dancing or playing pickleball. Just remember that any type of and amount of exercise can positively support your journey.”
If you’re like me and you just want to punch Parky in the face, boxing works best. The 83 tough souls who t pay $179 a month to battle in the Kaizen Kinetics program agree.
“I hit the bag really hard like I’m hitting Parkinson’s,” said Rich Pumilia, 66, a lawyer from Monrovia. “Hitting it back for what it’s doing to me.”
I became aware of Jody Hould’s program, which she leads with the help of husband Tom, son Zac and Anthony Rutherford, shortly after I was diagnosed. I kept seeing their pamphlets in doctors offices and rehab centers. At the time, they were part of the popular Parkinson’s-battling Rock Steady Boxing program that has several locations through southern California. By the time I worked up the courage to fully face my illness and call the number on the pamphlet two years ago, Kaizen had become an independent program with a similar focus on boxing.
”Boxing is balancing, posture, turning, pivoting, extension, range of motion, using your core, everything that’s important to fighting the disease,” said Hould, who started the program nine years ago in memory of her late mother, Julie, who died of complications from Parkinson’s. “Plus, it’s fun to punch something.”
Hould and her team run a fast-moving program, barking out a series of punches and kicks while offering gentle reminders to those who hook when they should jab.
“Parkinson’s doesn’t take any vacations, it doesn’t take any days off, we have to be on top of our game, we have to be proactive in our fight,” Hould said. “Not only is it good for the spirit, it’s good for the mind.”
But it can be tough on the ego, as I quickly learned when a frail white-haired woman out-punched me one day while screaming at the bag. Another time an aging man with tremors and shuffled steps pounded the bag so hard it skidded into my feet.
I once showed up with a cut on my left hand and informed Hould that I would not be boxing that day.
“You still have your right hand, don’t you?” she said. “So you box one-handed.”
Bill Plaschke, right, and Paul Tellstrom team up during a boxing class for people with Parkinson’s disease at Kaizen Martial Arts Studio.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The 75-minute sessions are hard. Every exercise and maneuver are seemingly designed to do something I now have difficulty doing. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes you want to be anywhere else.
But it works. It can’t kill Parky, but it can quiet him. Hould never promises a cure, but she sees some relief in those who join the battle. There was one boxer who eventually abandoned her walker. Others have seen a reduction in their tremors. Throughout the windowless gym there is real hope that this disease can be slowed.
Pumilia is convinced his condition has improved after attending classes for eight weeks.
“When I was diagnosed, my doctor said you have five good years left before your life is going to be impacted,” said Pumilia. “Now my doctor is basically saying, ‘I don’t know what you’re doing, but keep doing it.’”
Sharon Michaud, 65, a retired insurance executive who has also come to class for eight years, agrees.
“Without a doubt, it’s helped me,” said Michaud, who is noticeable in the class because she moves like a gymnast. “With Parkinson’s it’s easy to get into a funk and get depressed. You come here and it’s nice to know there are other people like you. I’m amazed more people don’t know there’s places like this out here.”
Maybe this story will shed some light on that. Maybe this story will inform a closeted Parkinson’s patient about programs like Kaizen Kinetics and empower them to pick up the phone and join.
If you decide to come to Monrovia, I’ll be the breathless guy in the back still unable to deliver a knockout punch but continually inspired by fellow fighters to keep trading blows with my hardest of truths.
I leave that gym sweaty and sore but uplifted with the reminder that I am blessed to still lead a wonderful active life filled with family and friends and work and travel and so, so much hope.
I have Parkinson’s. But, by God, it doesn’t have me.
Crystal Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who saved a penalty from Omar Marmoush, dedicates the Eagles’ FA Cup final win to his late father who died last year.
