List

Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell was scratched from his scheduled start against the Angels on Friday, a person close to the situation but not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to The Times.

Snell started the season on the injured list with left shoulder fatigue and was brought back from his rehab assignment early to replace Tyler Glasnow, who was placed on the injured list last week with back spasms. In a 7-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, Snell gave up four earned runs on six hits, with two walks and five strikeouts over three innings and 77 pitches.

The reason for the move was not immediately clear.

The Dodgers listed right-hander Will Klein as the starting pitcher when the team posted its lineup Friday afternoon, signaling that it would be a bullpen game.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

FLIGHT cancellations have dominated the news recently with Ryanair in particular axing millions of seats.

As a result of rising air tax, budget-friendly Ryanair has cut a huge amount of routes over the last year – here’s every destination that’s been impacted as a result.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.

Greece

In its most recent update, Ryanair announced it would be closing its base at Thessaloniki in Greece.

At the same time, the airline announced it would be scrapping off-season flights to Chania and Heraklion in Crete and will reduce its Athens services too.

All of this will result in 700,000 fewer seats on sale this winter which works out as a 45 per cent reduction, and resulting in 12 routes being scrapped in total.

LAST MINUTE

All the CHEAPEST holidays you can still book for May half term – from £163pp

GO GREEK

Five cheapest Greek hols islands as country lets Brits SKIP huge EU airport queues

Ryanair said that the rising cost of airport charges is the reason behind the reduction in flights.

Spain

Last summer, Spain was hit hard with cancellations as Ryanair announced it would be cutting two million seats across the country.

The destinations where the airline has closed operations and ceased flights to were Asturias, Vigo, Valladolid, Jerez and Tenerife (North).

At other holiday spots in Spain, Ryanair significantly reduced its flights – this includes Santiago de Compostela, Girona, Vitoria, Zaragoza and Santander.

This is in response to Aena – the state-controlled airport operator in the country – increasing its fees for airlines.

The operator has proposed an increase in passenger fees, meaning airlines would be paying 21 per cent more from 2027 to 2031.

Portugal

In March, Ryanair scrapped all of its flights to the Azores, a destination often compared to Hawaii.

From Mary 29, Ryanair stopped all services to and from the Azores meaning that six different routes have been scrapped.

This has impacted around 400,000 passengers who visit the islands every year.

Ryanair’s CCO Jason McGuinness said: “As a direct result of rising costs, we have been left with no alternative other than to cancel all Azores flights from 29 March 2026 onwards.”

Germany

While no routes have been completely axed, Ryanair has dropped 24 services to and from Germany from its schedule.

These destinations include Hamburg, Memmingen, Baden-Württemberg, Cologne, Frankfurt-Hahn, Dortmund, Dresden and Leipzig.

Ryanair also revealed plans to close its Berlin hub and slash its 2026 winter timetable to the capital by half.

The airline confirmed it would move seven aircraft to alternative locations.

Passenger figures will as a result drop from 4.5million to 2.2million annually.

Ryanair DAC CEO Eddie Wilson said: “We regret to announce this planned closure of our 7 aircraft Berlin base from October 24, 2026, but we have no alternative following the Airport’s latest 10 per cent fee increase to its already high airport fees.

“This comes on top of the 50 per cent increase in Berlin’s airport fees since 2019.”

France

Ryanair cut many services to France in 2025 – with the loss of 25 routes and some 750,000 seats last winter.

The airline decided to drop services completely to both Strasbourg and Brive.

It had previously axed flights to Bergerac in the Dordogne region, but restarted them in alignment with the summer schedule.

Brussels

In Brussels, Ryanair has axed 20 routes and cut one million seats across Brussels-Zaventem and Brussels South Charleroi airports.

These one million seats will be scrapped to and from Brussels from the 2026/27 winter schedule, a reduction of 22 per cent.

This affects 20 flights routes with five aircraft based at the airport removed.

The airline said the cuts were due to the rise in air passenger tax being introduced in Belgium.

From 2027, the tax on all passenger flights will increase to €10 (£8.70).

In: Blake Snell. Out: Tyler Glasnow. Soon: Mookie Betts.

The Dodgers took two steps forward and one step back in their quest for full strength Friday, putting Glasnow on the injured list because of back spasms while planning to activate Snell from the injured list on Saturday and Betts on Monday.

Snell’s start Saturday will be his first since the World Series. The two-time Cy Young winner opened the season on the injured list because of shoulder fatigue, as the Dodgers eased him into spring with the goal of putting him in the best possible position to succeed in October.

Glasnow left Wednesday’s game because of the injury. An MRI examination revealed “nothing really significant,” according to manager Dave Roberts, but the IL stint allows Glasnow to avoid rushing to be ready for his next start, with the bigger October picture in mind.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow delivers against the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)

Glasnow never has made more than 22 starts in a season. He has been on the injured list in every full season since 2019.

With Glasnow’s status in question, the Dodgers on Thursday reconsidered their plan for Snell. They originally planned for him to make a final rehabilitation start Saturday, but Roberts said the pitcher and the team agreed he could throw the planned five innings in Los Angeles as well as he could in Ontario.

The Dodgers recalled reliever Paul Gervase to fill Glasnow’s roster spot. They could return him to triple-A Oklahoma City to make room for Snell on Saturday.

Betts strained an oblique muscle April 4. The shortstop is scheduled to play two minor league rehabilitation games Oklahoma City Friday and Saturday, then return to Los Angeles for evaluation, with the hope he’ll be cleared for activation Monday.

“We’re not going to run him out there every single day,” Roberts said.

Snell and Betts are not the only reinforcements on the way. Utilityman Kiké Hernández and reliever Brusdar Graterol began rehabilitation assignments this week.

The return of Betts would appear to allow the Dodgers to jettison infield reserve Santiago Espinal, although the team opened the season with Espinal on the roster and Hyeseong Kim at triple-A, allowing Kim to play every day and Alex Freeland and Miguel Rojas to split time at second base.

However, since rejoining the Dodgers when Betts was injured, Kim is batting .314 with an .801 OPS.

The Dodgers dropped outfielder Kyle Tucker to sixth in the lineup Friday, in a batting order Roberts said was designed to combat Atlanta Braves ace Chris Sale.

In his career, Tucker is 0 for 9 with four strikeouts against Sale.

Contenders are almost lined up for the 79th Tony Awards.

Tony nominee Uzo Aduba and Tony winner Darren Criss on Tuesday morning will announce the nominees live on CBS and YouTube. Nominated productions included “The Lost Boys” and “The Balusters,” with Rose Byrne (“Fallen Angels”) and John Lithgow (“Giant”) earning acting nods.

Other headline nominees included John Lithgow (“Giant”), Lesley Manville (“Oedipus”), Nathan Lane (“Death of a Salesman”), Daniel Radcliffe (“Every Brilliant Thing”) and Stephanie Hsu (“The Rocky Horror Show”).

The 79th Tony Awards will return to New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on June 7. The ceremony, hosted by Pink, will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Here is the complete list of nominees. (This story is being updated.)

Play

“The Balusters”
“Giant”
“Liberation”
“Little Bear Ridge Road”

Musical

“The Lost Boys”
“Schmigadoon!”
“Titaníque”
“Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”

Revival of a play

Revival of a musical

Performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical

Sara Chase, “Schmigadoon!”
Stephanie Hsu, “The Rocky Horror Show”
Caissie Levy, “Ragtime”
Marla Mindelle, “Titaníque”
Christiani Pitts, “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”

Performance by an actor in a leading role in a musical

Nicholas Christopher, “Chess”
Luke Evans, “The Rocky Horror Show”
Joshua Henry, “Ragtime”
Sam Tutty, “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)”
Brandon Uranowitz, “Ragtime”

Performance by an actress in a leading role in a play

Rose Byrne, “Fallen Angels”
Carrie Coon, “Bug”
Susannah Flood, “Liberation”
Lesley Manville, “Oedipus”
Kelli O’Hara, “Fallen Angels”

Performance by an actor in a leading role in a play

Will Harrison, “Punch”
Nathan Lane, “Death of a Salesman”
John Lithgow, “Giant”
Daniel Radcliffe, “Every Brilliant Thing”
Mark Strong, “Oedipus”

Book of a musical

Original score

Performance by an actor in a featured role in a play

Performance by an actress in a featured role in a play

Performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical

Performance by an actress in a featured role in a musical

Scenic design of a play

Scenic design of a musical

Costume design of a play

Costume design of a musical

Lighting design of a play

Lighting design of a musical

Sound design of a play

Sound design of a musical

Direction of a play

Direction of a musical

Choreography

Orchestrations

Many airports across the UK have made a major change when it comes to packing 100ml liquids in hand luggage, scrapping the rule altogether, while many still have strict rules in place

Several UK airports have ditched the 100ml rule at airport security, and it’s vital to know before heading on holiday.

UK airports are gearing up for one of the busiest travel periods as thousands of families jet off abroad during the summer holidays. While it’s an exciting time, holidaymakers should be well prepared before heading to the airport, particularly regarding airport security restrictions.

In a major change, several airports scrapped the 100ml liquid rule earlier this year, allowing passengers to carry up to two litres of liquids through security. The shift is down to new CT scanners that provide security staff with detailed 3D images of bags, allowing travelers to keep their two-liter liquids in their hand luggage when passing through airport security.

READ MORE: Beautiful overlooked European gem outside Schengen zone has £17 flights and £2 pintsREAD MORE: Experts warning over common items packed in hand luggage that can cause travel disruptions

The UK airports that have ditched the 100ml liquid rule so far include:

• Belfast International
• Belfast City
• Birmingham
• Bournemouth
• Bristol
• Edinburgh
• London Gatwick
• London Heathrow

However, it’s important to note that not every UK airport has made the switch, and many still require liquids to be 100ml or under. Despite this, many have relaxed the rules so travellers no longer need to put them in a clear plastic bag, and they can also be kept in their hand luggage when going through security.

While specific rules can vary, it’s best to check directly with the airport you’re flying from, especially in the run-up to the summer holidays. It’s also important to check any restrictions with the airport you’ll be returning home from, as countries outside the UK can have different rules, including for liquids in 100ml containers.

The UK airports that still have the 100ml liquids rule include:

• Aberdeen
• Bournemouth
• Cardiff
• East Midlands
• Glasgow International
• Glasgow Prestwick
• Inverness
• Isle of Man
• Leeds Bradford
• Liverpool
• London City
• London Stansted
• London Luton
• Manchester
• Newcastle
• Norwich
• Southampton
• Teesside

The Foreign Office states that liquids include the following:

• All drinks, including water
• Liquid or semi-liquid foods, for example, soup, jam, honey and syrups
• Cosmetics and toiletries, including creams, lotions, oils, perfumes, mascara and lip gloss
• Sprays, including shaving foam, hairspray and spray deodorants
• Pastes, including toothpaste
• Gels, including hair and shower gel
• Contact lens solution
• Any other solutions and items of similar consistency

For airports that still follow the 100ml rule, the government advice page noted that there are exemptions for baby milk or food, medicines, food for special dietary requirements or liquids purchased in duty-free.

In other news, TUI also warned holidaymakers about changes to airport security at some UK airports, where new restrictions are in place. In a travel alert to passengers, the holiday provider said: “While UK airports are installing new scanners to prepare for changes in security restrictions, at this time you should still follow current guidelines as not all airports have changed and destination airports still have these restrictions in place for your flight home.”

The airline went on to provide information on some UK airports that have implemented changes, including Aberdeen, Birmingham, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, London Southend, and London City. TUI also advised customers to visit its airport security page on its website or the information page for the UK airport they’re departing from to find relevant details.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email webtravel@reachplc.com

The zoo is very clean and well looked after, with friendly staff and good food

Chester Zoo, located in Cheshire, has been crowned the UK’s best-rated zoo on Tripadvisor. The park, which is home to 30,000 animals and 500 species, topped the national rankings based on visitor reviews, boasting an impressive 11,666 excellent ratings.

Chester Zoo also featured amongst Europe’s top 10 zoos and aquariums for 2026. The park recently underwent an expansion with the opening of Heart of Africa, the largest zoo habitat ever created in the UK, housing 57 iconic African species. Last year, the zoo launched The Reserve, a premium safari experience giving guests the opportunity to spend the night in one of 51 luxury African-themed lodges.

One of the most recent reviews on Tripadvisor says: “Absolutely incredible zoo! Best I’ve ever been to! All the animals look so happy and everything is so clean and well looked after. We stayed in one of the lakeside lodges and went to the zoo over two days as it is massive because all of the enclosures are very spacious. All the staff were happy, helpful, and polite; the food was good. The whole place just had a very positive vibe. Would 1,000% recommend.”

Another visitor told the Express: “It’s a very nice zoo, great for a day trip. We saw a baby rhino when we went, which was awesome. We’ll be back!”

Jamie Christon, CEO of Chester Zoo, said: “We’re over the moon to be named the UK’s top zoo by Tripadvisor. This recognition is built entirely on genuine reviews from our visitors – and that means the world to us. I’m very proud of everyone who makes our national conservation zoo such a special place.

“Every visit to Chester Zoo directly supports our vital conservation work, both here at home and around the world, and the past year alone is a reminder of just how much that work matters. We’ve developed the world’s first vaccine for a deadly virus that threatens Asian elephants globally, we’ve officially pulled a tiny species of snail back from the brink of extinction, and right here on our doorstep we’ve been planting thousands of new trees to create important new woodland habitat. None of that happens without the people who come through our gates – and we’re enormously grateful to every one of them.”

Full list of best zoos in the UK for 2026

1. Chester zoo
2. Yorkshire Wildlife Park
3. Hoo Zoo And Dinosaur World
4. West Midlands Safari Park
5. Whipsnade Zoo
6. Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park
7. London Zoo
8. The Deep
9. Colchester Zoo
10. Folly Farm

OLIVIA Rodrigo is set to embark on a huge world tour later this year.

She is releasing a new album in the summer, and to mark it, the superstar singer will be performing across the globe.

What are Olivia Rodrigo’s UK tour dates?

To mark the release of her upcoming record, Rodrigo is going on a world tour that will span North America, Europe and the UK, with over 60 dates announced.

It is titled ‘The Unravelled Tour’ and will start in the US in September 2026.

The tour will start its UK leg in April 2027, with four nights at London’s O2 Arena the only dates announced so far in Britain. The dates announced for the London shows are:

• Monday April 5 2027 – The O2
• Tuesday April 6 2027– The O2
• Thursday April 8 2027 – The O2
• Friday April 9 2027 – The O2

loosen up

Huge girl band’s comeback ‘confirmed’ as tour dates ‘leak’ ahead of reunion

sick star

Louis Tomlinson asks fans for help as he reveals he’s been ‘in bed pretty ill’

How can I get tickets for Olivia Rodrigo’s tour?

Tickets for the tour go on general sale on Friday, May 7 at 12pm, and will be available on Ticketmaster here – but there are ways to grab tickets ahead of that date.

There are various presales in which you can secure your place at one of the gigs:

• O2 presale – Tuesday May 5 at 10am. Only for O2 customers
• Album presale – Tuesday May 5 at 12pm. This is for fans who preorder Olivia’s new album.
• American Express presale – Tuesday May 5 at 12pm. For American Express card holders.

There will also be tickets available on secondary ticket websites, such as Viagogo here.

No prices have yet been confirmed for the tour, however for an idea of how much they could be, her 2024 GUTS tour ranged from around £65 to £200 for non-VIP tickets.

Cheaper “silver star” tickets will also be made available during the tour. In the US they’ll cost just $20, with the UK dates priced at ‘a local currency equivalent’. 

These tickets will be made available at a later date.

When is Olivia Rodrigo’s new album released?

Olivia’s new album “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” comes out on June 12.

So far, she has only released one track from her new record, a song called “Drop Dead”.

A travel specialist has said some people are giving themselves ‘too much time’

Travellers can avoid ‘pointless’ time-wasting this spring and summer by knowing exactly when to turn up at European airports with enough time to get through the new EES checks. Getting the timing spot on could help passengers feel less worried about missing their flights if they find themselves stuck in lengthy passport control queues.

Travel specialist Kate Donnelly (@Thedonnellyedit) said: “There is a lot of mixed information out there, and some people are saying that you need to get to the airport four to five hours before your departure. This is absolute nonsense. You need to be at the airport a minimum of three hours before your flight.

“Firstly, the bag drop in most European airports only opens two hours before departure, in some cases it may be three hours. [So] getting there four to five hours before your flight just means you’re going to be sitting waiting for the check-in desks to open.”

Kate went on to explain that, once you’ve cleared security and duty-free, most airports should have multiple border control points, reports the Express. She said: “You need to wait for your gate to be announced in order to know which one you have to pass through.

“[Even] if you haven’t had to wait to check a bag (you’re travelling with just hand luggage) and you’ve gone straight through, you are still going to be sitting in the main airport waiting for your gate to be called. This is why getting there hours ahead of time is pointless.”

How much time should I allow myself?

Depending on which airline you fly with, some carriers open their check-in desks several hours ahead of departure. Getting your timing spot on will give you the best chance of sailing through the airport, even if there are potential EES-related delays.

Most airlines work to similar timeframes, though this can vary by route. For instance, airlines tend to open check-in desks for long-haul flights considerably earlier than for shorter trips, as they require additional time for security and document checks, including visa verification.

It’s worth double-checking directly with the airline operating your service, or you may receive guidance a few days before you’re due to depart. Below is some general advice on when some of the more popular airlines will begin checking passengers in:

• British Airways: Two to three hours before the flight
• easyJet: Two hours before the flight
• Jet2: Three hours before the flight
• Ryanair: Two to three hours before the flight (airport dependent)
• TUI: 2.5 hours before (short-haul) / 3.5 hours before (long-haul)
• Virgin Atlantic: Four hours before the flight

Some airlines – like Jet2, easyJet, TUI, British Airways, and Ryanair – offer a twilight check-in service for people catching early departures. Passengers who are staying close enough to the airport to arrive the night before can drop off bags at select airports the night before their flight, so they can head straight to security on the day of their flight.

What is the new EES system?

The European Union’s (EU) Entry/Exit System (EES) launched on October 12, 2025. This new digital border system has altered the requirements for British citizens travelling to the Schengen area, which includes the following countries:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czechia
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland

The UK, the Republic of Ireland, and Cyprus are not part of the Schengen area. EES does not apply when travelling to any of these countries.

If you are travelling to a Schengen area country for a short stay on a UK passport, you may be required to register your biometric details, such as fingerprints and a photograph, upon arrival. No action is needed before you reach the border, and EES registration is completely free of charge.

EES registration will replace the existing manual passport stamping system for entering the EU. EES may require additional time per traveller, so travellers should be prepared for longer waits than usual at border control.

People planning holidays should check that their destionation has no new alerts or warnings

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has significantly expanded its ‘red list’ in recent months due to regional escalations, particularly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. It is important to be aware of which parts of the world pose a greater risk to tourists than others.

While it is not advisable to ignore the Foreign Office’s advice, doing so is likely to invalidate any insurance that travellers have obtained. In most cases, insurers will not cover people who knowingly go against FCDO advice and take risks. If you absolutely must travel to a high-risk area, you may need to look for specialised travel insurance companies that provide specific cover for such scenarios, according to ABTA.

As of April 28, 2026, the following list summarises the countries for which the Foreign Office has specific safety advice for travelling. In some cases, it issues a blanket alert urging people to reconsider visiting countries that are unsafe across all areas. Some areas have partial warnings in place. If people are visiting the area, check the Foreign Office website for the latest updates and warnings.

Countries where the Foreign Office currently advises against all travel:

• Afghanistan
• Belarus
• Burkina Faso
• Central African Republic (CAR)
• Eritrea
• Haiti
• Iran
• Iraq
• Israel
• Lebanon
• Mali
• Niger
• Palestine (Occupied Palestinian Territories)
• Russia
• South Sudan
• Sudan (most of the country)
• Syria
• Ukraine (most of the country)
• Yemen

Countries where the Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel:

• Bahrain
• Cuba (entire island)
• Ecuador (coastal provinces)
• Egypt (significant parts: Western Desert, North South Sinai)
• India (significant parts: Manipur, Pakistan border)
• Jordan (entire country)
• Kuwait
• Mexico (significant parts: Baja California, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, etc.)
• North Korea
• Pakistan (most of the country)
• Philippines (significant parts: Mindanao, Sulu Archipelago)
• Qatar
• Thailand (Cambodian border)
• United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Areas where people are advised against travel in all or specific parts

• Algeria (borders with Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania)
• Armenia (border with Azerbaijan)
• Azerbaijan (Armenian border and former Nagorno-Karabakh areas)
• Benin (Northern border regions)
• Burundi (Cibitoke and Kayanza provinces)
• Cameroon (Far North, Bakassi Peninsula, NW and SW regions)
• Chad (borders with Libya, Sudan, CAR, Niger, and Lake Chad)
• Congo (Brazzaville) (Likouala region)
• Côte d’Ivoire (Northern borders with Mali and Burkina Faso)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (Eastern provinces and Kasaï)
• Djibouti (border with Eritrea)
• Ethiopia (Tigray, Amhara, and the border with Somalia/Sudan)
• Georgia (Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
• Indonesia (Central Papua and Highland Papua)
• Kenya (border with Somalia and parts of the coast)
• Libya (all areas except strictly essential business in Tripoli)
• Mauritania (Tiris Zemmour and Adrar regions)
• Moldova (Transnistria)
• Mozambique (Cabo Delgado province)
• Myanmar (Burma) (most of the country due to conflict)
• Nigeria (Northern and Riverine states)
• Somalia (all areas except parts of Puntland and Somaliland)
• Togo (Northern border region)
• Turkey (within 10km of the Syrian border and Sirnak/Hakkari provinces)
• Western Sahara (all areas east of the Berm and border with Algeria)

A high number of cases were reported in the last 12 months – with a 5-fold increase in some areas – and 143 deaths

Travellers have been warned about the resurgence of a disease spread by mosquitos with ‘high risk’ in 42 countries. The Foreign Office-backed Travel Health Pro website this week issued an alert over the virus spreading in parts of Africa, Central and South America, and in Trinidad in the Caribbean.

Yellow Fever can cause a serious haemorrhagic illness that can be fatal for humans. Yellow fever vaccination and mosquito bite avoidance are important preventive measures against the disease, officials said. Yellow fevefr virus can cause an illness that results in jaundice , yellowing of the skin and eyes, and bleeding with severe damage to the major organs such as liver, kidneys and heart. The mortality rate is high in those who develop severe disease.

Travel Health Pro said yellow fever is a risk in areas of 13 countries and territories in South and Central America. A high number of cases were reported from this region in 2025, with 346 confirmed human cases (including 143 deaths) from seven countries.

This represents a 5.6-fold increase in cases compared to 2024. Since the beginning of 2026, a total of 41 confirmed cases (including 18 deaths) have been reported from four countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.

In 2024, most yellow fever cases were reported from the Amazon region. Officials said: “While YF cases continue to be reported in this area, cases have since been reported in a wider geographic area, outside the Amazon region. This includes in Sao Paulo State in Brazil and Tolima Department in Colombia. In addition, reports suggest recent human YF cases in Venezuela have occurred in an area that had not previously been considered a risk for YF disease.

READ MORE: Foreign Office 135 countries ‘high risk’ list as vaccination supplies for lethal virus low in UKREAD MORE: UK holidaymaker hotspot hit with 180 infections as authorities ban restaurant food type

“Risk of YF outbreaks in South America remains high. An outbreak in Colombia has been ongoing since mid-2024, with 153 confirmed cases (including 62 deaths) reported. The confirmed reporting of YF cases in a wider geographic area, including cases related to jungle transmission near to urban centres, increases the risk of urban outbreaks [1]. While YF vaccination is one of the most successful public health interventions to prevent YF disease, the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors, has led to a reduction of YF vaccine cover in the local population.”

It added that yell;ow fever risk countries in Africa continue to report probable and confirmed cases. During 2024, confirmed cases of YF were reported in countries with no recent history of transmission and suboptimal vaccination coverage.

WHO also advise that in some African countries, there may be under-reporting of YF due to surveillance and data collection issues. The risk of YF transmission remains high in endemic areas of Africa. The mosquitoes (Aedes spp.) that transmit YF are common in many urban areas in Africa. This significantly increases the risk of YF spreading, especially in heavily populated areas, which could lead to the rapid onset of YF outbreaks.

Countries with a risk of yellow fever transmission as defined by the World Health Organization

Africa

• Angola
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad*
• Congo
• Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Ethiopia*
• Gabon
• The Gambia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Kenya*
• Liberia
• Mali*
• Mauritania*
• Niger*
• Nigeria
• Senegal
• Sierra Leone
• South Sudan
• Sudan*
• Togo
• Uganda

Central and South America

• Argentina*
• Bolivia*
• Brazil*
• Colombia*
• Ecuador*
• French Guiana
• Guyana
• Panama*
• Paraguay*
• Peru*
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago*
• Venezuela*

*Only some parts of this country have a risk of yellow fever disease. Remaining areas either have low potential for yellow fever transmission or no risk.

Signs and symptoms

YF varies in severity. The infection has an incubation period (time from infected mosquito feeding to symptoms developing) of three to six days. Initial symptoms include myalgia (muscle pain), pyrexia (high temperature), headache, anorexia (lack of appetite), nausea, and vomiting. In many patients there will be improvement in symptoms and gradual recovery three to four days after the onset of symptoms.

Within 24 hours of an apparent recovery, 15 to 25 percent of patients progress to a more serious illness. This takes the form of an acute haemorrhagic fever, in which there may be bleeding from the mouth, eyes, ears, and stomach, pronounced jaundice (yellowing of the skin, from which the disease gets its name), and renal (kidney) damage. The patient develops shock and there is deterioration of major organ function; 20 to 50 percent of patients who develop this form of the disease do not survive [22]. Infection results in lifelong immunity in those who recover.

Passengers, especially from Britain, have been facing waits of up to three hours at border control, missing flights after new system was introduced

Spanish airports are taking steps to tackle border control chaos affecting British travellers, according to reports from the popular holiday destination. The European Union’s new Entry/Exit System became fully operational on April 10, 2026, and within hours, airports throughout the Schengen zone were plunged into turmoil. Passengers endured waits of up to three hours at border control, missed flights, and were left spending thousands arranging their own journeys home.

Several countries have already responded, with Greece temporarily suspending the new EES entry/exit border control system after non-EU passengers, particularly those from the United Kingdom, encountered lengthy queues. Now the Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that airport authority AENA has apparently directed staff to take whatever measures possible to streamline the process and cut waiting times.

According to VisaHQ, while officials at Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Málaga, Alicante and Palma airports have confirmed the technology is functioning properly, they have admitted that passenger numbers during peak periods rapidly overwhelmed checkpoint capacity throughout Easter week. Based on guidance issued to frontline personnel on Tuesday evening, airports may temporarily redirect families and travellers with reduced mobility to conventional stamping queues when biometric queue waiting times surpass 25 minutes. They may also stagger flight arrivals through coordination with Aena’s slot management team, a measure already trialled in Málaga. These steps are reportedly “adjustments, not a suspension”, with biometric capture remaining compulsory for first-time registrants.

READ MORE: Spanish airport shuts for five weeks from tomorrow – Ryanair flights cancelled

The new EES system, which was initially introduced back in October, has faced substantial criticism from the travel industry and airlines, and several countries are said to be weighing up whether to follow Greece’s lead with the summer season mere weeks away and the travel sector having to contend with the Middle East crisis alongside threats of fuel shortages and rising airfares, which are doing little to bolster consumer confidence.

AENA airports

• A Coruña (LCG)
• Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (MAD)
• Albacete (ABC)
• Algeciras (AEI)
• Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández (ALC)
• Almería (LEI)
• Asturias (OVD)
• Badajoz (BJZ)
• Bilbao (BIO)
• Burgos (RGS)
• Ceuta (JCU)
• César Manrique-Lanzarote (ACE)
• Córdoba (ODB)
• El Hierro (VDE)
• Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén (GRX)
• Fuerteventura (FUE)
• Girona-Costa Brava (GRO)
• Gran Canaria (LPA)
• Huesca-Pirineos (HSK)
• Ibiza (IBZ)
• Jerez (XRY)
• Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat (BCN)
• La Gomera (GMZ)
• La Palma (SPC)

Budget carrier Ryanair this week announced that passengers requiring its airport check-in or bag-drop services will need to complete the process 20 minutes earlier. The airline confirmed it will close these services an hour before a flight’s scheduled departure – compared with 40 minutes at present – to allow passengers additional time to navigate security and passport checks. This will cut down on the “very small number of passengers” who miss their flight while caught in queues, the airline added. Ryanair’s website states that passengers who fail to check in on time “may be denied boarding without refund”.

The new policy will take effect from November 10 and follows the introduction of the EES.

The British travel association ABTA has said that alongside implementing the contingency measures, destinations and border authorities must do more to prepare for peak travel periods. This should include deploying additional border guards during the busiest times. Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA – The Travel Association said: “The ambition of a project like EES means it was never going to go completely smoothly, and we were prepared for that.

“However, what is frustrating is that border authorities have it within their power to ease queues and deal with issues as they arise – but that doesn’t seem to be happening across the board. As we head towards peak travel periods, we’re urging border authorities to plan for busy periods and use the contingency measure available. It’s critical the Commission keeps a close eye on this.”

Ryanair chief marketing officer Dara Brady said the “small 20-minute change” will “allow these 20% of our customers who check in a bag more time to clear through airport security and passport queues, and get to their departure gate on time”. He added that this will be particularly important “during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer”. Numerous UK travellers are experiencing hold-ups at airports across continental Europe due to the introduction of new border regulations.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) requires visitors from non-member countries such as the UK to have their fingerprints recorded and photograph captured to enter the Schengen Area, which comprises 29 European countries, predominantly within the EU.

Earlier this month, over 100 easyJet passengers caught up in lengthy waits at passport control at Milan Linate airport missed their flight to Manchester. Ryanair has announced it is rolling out additional self-service bag drop kiosks throughout its network.

By October, more than 95% of the airports it operates from will be equipped with these facilities.

The sharp rise in the cost of jet fuel, driven by escalating tensions in the US-Israel war with Iran, has forced several airlines to hike fares, cut routes and reassess their financial forecasts

Multiple airlines are cancelling flights and introducing new charges as a deepening jet fuel crisis sends shockwaves through the global aviation industry.

Prices have surged dramatically in recent weeks, climbing from roughly $85-$90 per barrel to as high as $150-$200, driven by escalating tensions in the US-Israeli war with Iran.

The sharp rise in costs has now forced carriers to hike fares, cut routes and reassess their financial forecasts. The spike has triggered warnings of major disruption, with International Energy chief Fatih Birol cautioning that Europe could have as little as six weeks of jet fuel supply remaining if the Strait of Hormuz stays closed.

There are more than 30 airlines around the world who say they have been forced to cancel flights or add charges:

AirAsia X – Cut around 10% of flights and introduced a fuel surcharge of roughly 20%.

Air France-KLM – Raising long-haul fares, plus cabin fares by 50 euros per round trip, as well as cancelling flights. KLM, the group’s Dutch arm, is set to scrap 160 European services in the coming months.

Air India – Switching to distance-based fuel surcharges, warning current pricing does not cover rising costs, reports the Independent.

Air New Zealand – Reducing flights through May and June, increasing fares and suspending its full-year earnings forecast.

Akasa Air – Introducing fuel surcharges ranging between 199 and 1,300 Indian rupees ($2 to $14) on both domestic and international routes.

Alaska Air – Increasing checked baggage fees by up to $150 on North American routes, as well as for its Hawaiian Airlines unit.

American Airlines – Raising baggage fees by $10 each for the first and second checked bags and by $150 for the third checked bag, while cutting some economy benefits.

Asiana Airlines – Cutting 22 flights between April and July due to fuel costs.

Cathay Pacific – Cancelling a small portion of flights from mid-May until the end of June and increasing fuel surcharges.

China Eastern Airlines – The airline said it would raise ⁠fuel surcharges for domestic flights from April 5, with flights of 800km and below hit with a 60 yuan ($9) surcharge and a 120 yuan surcharge for flights over 800km.

Delta Airlines – Delta said it would cut capacity by around 3.5 percentage points from its original plan and raise fees for checked bags.

Easyjet – CEO Kenton Jarvis previously said European consumers should expect higher ticket prices towards the end of summer, when existing fuel hedges come to an end.

Greater Bay Airlines – Said it would raise fuel surcharges on most routes from April 1, while keeping them unchanged on mainland China and Japan routes. Its surcharge for flights between Hong Kong ‌and the Philippines will more than double, the carrier said.

Hong Kong Airlines – The airline said it would raise fuel surcharges by up to 35% from March 12, with the sharpest increase on flights between Hong Kong and the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal

Indigo – India’s biggest airline said it would introduce fuel charges on domestic and international flights from March 14.

Jetblue Airways – The US-based low-cost carrier said it was increasing fees for optional services such as checked baggage as it experiences “rising operating ⁠costs”. Baggage prices will rise by either $4 or $9, it said.

Lufthansa – Grounding 27 planes early and cutting more aircraft from its fleet.

Norse Atlantic Airways – Axed its London Gatwick to Los Angeles route because of fuel costs.

Pakistan International Airlines – Raising domestic fares by $20 and international fares by up to $100.

SAS – Will cancel 1,000 flights in April after already hiking fares.

Spring Airlines – The airline will raise domestic fuel surcharges from April 5.

Southwest Airlines – Hiking baggage fees to $45 for a first bag and $55 for a second.

SunExpress – The airline will add a temporary 10-euro fuel surcharge on Turkey-Europe routes.

TAP Air Portugal – Said fare rises would soften the blow from higher fuel prices.

Thai Airways – Increasing fares by up to 15%.

United Airlines – United Airlines is scaling back loss-making routes over the next six months. It has also been able to push up fares without seeing a major impact on bookings, chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella said, despite the sharp rise in oil and jet fuel costs.

United is also increasing first and second checked baggage fees by $10 for customers travelling within the US, Mexico, Canada and Latin America, according to Reuters.

VietJet Air – Cut flights on some routes because of fuel shortages.

Vietnam Airlines – plans to cancel 23 domestic flights a week from April. The airline reportedly requested government assistance to remove an environmental tax on jet fuel.

Virgin Atlantic – The airline is adding fuel surcharges to fares and will still struggle to return to profitability this year, its CEO Corneel ‌Koster told the Financial Times.

Volotea – Introduced a pricing policy that could add fuel surcharges of up to 14 euros per passenger.

WestJet – Cutting seats, combining flights and adding a C$60 fuel surcharge on some bookings, according to the Canadian press

Dodgers put Edwin Díaz on IL

From Mirjam Swanson: The Dodgers announced Monday that Edwin Díaz will undergo surgery to remove “loose bodies” in his right elbow and the closer isn’t expected to return until some point in the second half of the season.

Díaz, 32, has a 10.50 ERA in seven appearances this season for the Dodgers, who made a splash signing the high-profile free agent to a three-year $69-million deal, a record for a reliever.

The Dodgers recalled 27-year-old left-handed long reliever Jake Eder to replace Díaz on the roster.

“Obviously, we all saw the stuff [Sunday], and it sent up red flags,” Roberts said. “And so, after the game, he had a conversation with our training staff, and felt that he had some elbow discomfort. So we just wanted to be proactive, and felt that it was smart to get an MRI, get imaging, which we did do, and it showed loose bodies.”

Continue reading here

————

From Mirjam Swanson: The Dodgers escaped the House of Mile High Horrors having to salvage a split against the less-talented Colorado Rockies, having played the coldest game in franchise history, having reliever Blake Treinen hit in the head by a batted ball during batting practice.

But the fourth and final game at Coors Field was more normal, more like it. More like the Dodgers, who dominated, 12-3.

They piled up 15 hits, five of them home runs and scored in every inning but the first and fifth.

Continue reading here

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels strike out 18 times in loss

Dylan Cease struck out 12 in five innings and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three hits, including a two-run homer, as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Angels 5-2 on Monday night.

Lenyn Sosa put Toronto ahead with a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and Nathan Lukes knocked in two late insurance runs after coming off the bench.

Cease (1-0) earned his first win for the Blue Jays and finished one strikeout shy of his career high despite needing 110 pitches to get 15 outs. The right-hander, who signed a $210-million, seven-year contract as a free agent in December, limited the Angels to two runs and five hits. He walked two and whiffed Jorge Soler with a 99-mph fastball on his final pitch.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Ducks lose Game 1 to Edmonton

Kasperi Kapanen scored his second goal of the game with 1:54 left in the third period to give the Edmonton Oilers a 4-3 victory over the Ducks in the opener of their first-round playoff series Monday night.

Jason Dickinson also scored twice for the Oilers, who trailed 3-2 entering the third.

Oilers star Leon Draisaitl returned to the ice after missing the final 14 regular-season games with an injury. Draisaitl and Jake Walman each had two assists for Edmonton.

Troy Terry had two goals and an assist and Leo Carlsson also scored for the Ducks, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Continue reading here

Ducks summary

NHL playoffs bracket

Kings playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Colorado 2, Kings 1 (summary)
Tuesday: Kings at Colorado, 7 p.m., ESPN
Thursday: Colorado at Kings, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max
Sunday: Colorado at Kings, 1:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max
*Wed., April 29: Kings at Colorado, TBD
*Friday, May 1: Colorado at Kings, TBD
*Sunday, May 3: Kings at Colorado, TBD

*- If necessary

Ducks playoffs schedule

All times Pacific

at Edmonton 4, Ducks 3 (summary)
Wednesday: Ducks at Edmonton, 7 p.m., TBS, HBO Max
Friday: Edmonton at Ducks, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV, HBO Max)
Sunday: Edmonton at Ducks, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
*Tuesday, April 28: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD
*Thursday, April 30: Edmonton at Ducks, TBD
*Saturday, May 2: Ducks at Edmonton, TBD

*-if necessary

Luka Doncic makes his presence felt

From Broderick Turner: When the doors opened after Lakers practice on Monday, injured stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were nearby as their teammates took some final shots after the session.

Doncic, who is back with the team after traveling to Spain to receive treatment for his Grade 2 left hamstring strain, sat out the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets. He also won’t play in Game 2 on Tuesday, but he remained his usual joyful and playoff self after practice, his infectious personality providing a good vibe during a tense time for the team.

“It’s amazing. I think people don’t know how much impact Luka has, not only on the court, but off the court,” Rui Hachimura said. “He’s a guy that always wants to be around. … We love him just being around, just hanging out, talking. So, yeah, we’re happy that he’s back finally and he’s doing funny things always. … We missed him for sure.”

Continue reading here

Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

at Lakers 107, Houston 98 (box score)
Tuesday: Houston at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Friday: Lakers at Houston, 5:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Sunday: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., NBC
*Wed., April 29: Houston at Lakers, TBD
*Friday, May 1: Lakers at Houston, TBD
*Sunday, May 3: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

Rod Martin dies

From Sam Farmer: A legendary NFL coach found linebacker Rod Martin not by scouting him at USC, but almost by accident.

The Oakland Raiders had a throwaway 12th-round pick in the 1977 draft, and then-coach John Madden grew frustrated hearing his personnel executives contemplate using it on a basketball player or track guy. Finally, Madden blurted out that he could find a random kid walking around the USC campus in sandals who could have more of an influence than that.

“Ron Wolf says, ‘All right, smart guy,’” recalled Madden’s son, Mike. “So they were a couple picks away and dad goes, ‘Let me call [USC coach] John Robinson.’”

Robinson had one question: Has Rod Martin been drafted?

“Dad goes, ‘What position does he play?’” the younger Madden said. “Robinson tells him Martin is a linebacker, and dad goes, ‘Good. Tough guy we can knock around in training camp. Have him run down on kicks.’ And Robinson says, ‘No, John. Rod Martin will make your team.’”

Martin did a lot more than make the team. He would go on to set a Super Bowl record with three interceptions in one of the most dominant defensive performances in championship history.

Martin, who would play his entire 12-year career with the Oakland, then Los Angeles Raiders, died at 72. The Raiders announced his death Monday but did not specify a cause of death.

Continue reading here

NFL mock draft

One quarterback will go in the first round of the NFL draft, but he won’t have to wait long to hear his name.

And five Ohio State players will go in the opening round, including four in the first seven picks.

That’s how this year’s beat-writer draft unfolds, at least. For more than two decades, the Los Angeles Times has turned to reporters who cover NFL teams on a daily basis to make their selections.

Here’s how reporters from across the country see the first round of the 2026 NFL draft unfolding:

Continue reading here

Puka Nacua is back with the Rams

From Gary Klein: After entering a rehabilitation facility last month, Rams All-Pro receiver Puka Nacua’s availability for the start of the team’s voluntary offseason workout program appeared to be in doubt.

But on Monday, Nacua was present along with quarterback Matthew Stafford, star receiver Davante Adams, new cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson and other returning players for the start of a process the Rams aim to end with a Super Bowl run.

Nacua was not among players the team made available to speak with reporters at the outset of the Rams’ program, which includes three phases and ends in June.

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1948 — Basketball Association of America Finals: Baltimore Bullets beat Philadelphia Warriors, 88-73 to take series, 4 games to 2.

1951 — Bob Davies’ two foul shots and Jack Coleman’s layup give the Rochester Royals a 79-75 triumph over the New York Knicks in the seventh game of the NBA championship series.

1951 — The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in five years as they beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in the fifth game.

1980 — Bill Rodgers wins his third straight Boston Marathon. Rosie Ruiz is disqualified eight days later as women’s champion when it’s discovered she did not run the entire distance.

1991 — NFL Draft: University of Miami defensive tackle Russell Maryland first pick by Dallas Cowboys.

1991 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Jack Nicklaus wins his 4th of 8 Champions Tour majors by 6 strokes.

1995 — Defending champion Utah continues its domination of the NCAA women’s gymnastics championships, capturing its ninth national title since the event began in 1982 with a score of 196.650.

1996 — The Chicago Bulls wrap up the most successful regular season in NBA history with their 72nd victory, getting 26 points from Michael Jordan in a 103-93 decision over Washington. Jordan sets an NBA record by winning his eighth NBA scoring title, breaking Wilt Chamberlain’s record of seven.

1996 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Hale Irwin beats Japan’s Isao Aoki by 2 strokes for his first of 4 Senior PGA Championships.

2001 — Hasim Rahman flattens Lennox Lewis with a stunning right hand near the end of the fifth round to capture the WBC and IBF heavyweight titles in one of the biggest upsets in boxing history in Brakpan, South Africa.

2001 — NFL Draft: Virginia Tech quarterback Michael Vick first pick by Atlanta Falcons.

2008 — Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya wins the Boston Marathon in 2:07:46 to become the fourth man to win the race four times. Ethiopia’s Dire Tune outkicks Alevtina Biktimirova after a back-and-forth last mile to win by 2 seconds in the closest finish in the history of the women’s race.

2013 — Raphael Jacquelin of France wins a record-tying playoff at the Spanish Open, edging Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer on their ninth try at the 18th hole. The only other European Tour event decided by a nine-hole playoff was the 1989 Dutch Open.

2013 — Takuma Sato becomes the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

2013 — Rookie Marc Marquez wins his first MotoGP race, capturing the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The 20-year-old Spaniard, last season’s Moto2 champion, becomes the youngest winner at motorcycle racing’s top level.

2013 — Joe Scarborough, a 50-year-old self-employed electrical contractor, rolls the first 900 series in Professional Bowlers Assn. history — three straight perfect games. He opened the first round of qualifying in the PBA50 Sun Bowl with three games of 300, throwing 36 consecutive strikes.

2014 — American Meb Keflezighi wins the Boston Marathon, a year after a bombing at the finish line left three dead and more than 260 people injured. No U.S. runner had won the race since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach took the women’s title in 1985; the last American man to win was Greg Meyer in 1983. Rita Jeptoo of Kenya successfully defends the Boston Marathon title, becoming the seventh three-time Boston Marathon champion.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1910 — The Cleveland Indians played their first game at League Park and lost to the Detroit Tigers 5-0, in front of 19,867.

1955 — The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 14-4 at Ebbets Field for their 10th consecutive victory from the start of the season — a major league record that lasted until 1981.

1957 — A power failure stops a major league game for the first time in history. The night game between the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium is halted after five innings.

1961 — The Minnesota Twins, formerly known as the Washington Senators, play their first home game in Minnesota at Metropolitan Stadium, losing to the expansion “new” Washington Senators, 5-3.

1967 — After 737 consecutive games, the Dodgers were rained out for the first time since moving to Los Angeles. The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled.

1982 — The Atlanta Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-3 for their 13th straight victory.

1984 — In his second start since August 1982, Montreal pitcher David Palmer threw five perfect innings against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 4-0 victory stopped by rain.

1987 — The Milwaukee Brewers’ 13-game winning streak from the start of the season ended with a 7-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Milwaukee shared the major league streak of 13 straight, set by the Atlanta Braves in 1982.

1994 — Eddie Murray set a major league record by homering from both sides of the plate for the 11th time, helping the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 10-6.

1996 — Brady Anderson led off the first inning with a home run for the fourth straight game for Baltimore. The Texas Rangers overcame that homer, beating the Orioles 9-6.

2002 — Randy Johnson struck out 17 batters while giving up two hits in Arizona’s 7-1 win over Colorado.

2002 — Atlanta’s Rafael Furcal tied a modern major league record and became the first Braves player in 46 years to hit three triples in a game, as Atlanta beat Florida 4-2.

2006 — Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox hits two home runs in the 12-inning, 7-6 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Ramirez’s first homer is his 200th with the Red Sox and 436th for his career. He also hit 236 homers with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the fourth major leaguer to hit 200 homers with two different teams, after Jimmie Foxx, Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro.

2006 — Albert Pujols hit his major league leading 11th homer of the season and drove in four RBIs in St. Louis’ 9-3 win over Chicago. Pujols’ first inning two-run blast was his 1,000th hit. He became the fastest player in major league history to reach that milestone with 200 homers.

2012 — Phil Humber threw the first perfect game in the majors in almost two years, leading the Chicago White Sox to a 4-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. It was baseball’s 21st perfect game and first since Philadelphia’s Roy Halladay threw one against the Florida Marlins on May 29, 2010.

2012 — Nick Swisher hit a grand slam to help the New York Yankees erase a nine-run deficit, then he added a two-run double to give them the lead as they posted back-to-back seven-run innings to beat Boston 15-9 at Fenway Park.

2014 — Ike Davis became the first player to hit grand slams for different teams in the same April, and Neil Walker had a game-winning single with two out in the ninth inning for Pittsburgh. The Pirates twice overcame deficits to beat the Cincinnati 6-5.

2015 — Jay Bruce and Todd Frazier each hit two-out grand slams, powering the Cincinnati Reds past the Milwaukee Brewers 16-10. Elian Herrera hit a grand slam for the Brewers. It was the fourth time in major league history two teams combined for three grand slams.

2016 — Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs pitched his second no-hitter in a span of 11 regular-season starts, shutting down the Cincinnati Reds in a 16-0 rout.

2019 — Rangers slugger Joey Gallo ends a bizarre streak when he drives in a run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, as part of a wild 11-10 win over the Astros. Gallo had gone 1,145 at-bats in his career without recording a sac fly, the longest such streak since it was introduced as an official statistic in 1954.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

DENVER — The Dodgers announced Monday that Edwin Díaz will undergo surgery to remove “loose bodies” in his right elbow and the closer isn’t expected to return until some point in the second half of the season.

Díaz, 32, has a 10.50 ERA in seven appearances this season for the Dodgers, who made a splash signing the high-profile free agent to a three-year $69-million deal, a record for a reliever.

The Dodgers recalled 27-year-old left-handed long reliever Jake Eder to replace Díaz on the roster.

Díaz gave up three runs and failed to get an out in the Dodgers’ 9-6 loss to the Colorado Rockies in a non-save situation Sunday, in what was his first appearance in nine days.

He entered the game and gave up a walk and three base hits, including a two-RBI single to Edouard Julien. Afterward, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed concern about Díaz’s performance: “I know what it’s supposed to look like, and when it doesn’t look like that, it gets a little concerning, really.”

Before the Dodgers played their final game of the four-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Monday, Roberts said that the diagnosis provides some clarity, and that Díaz only began feeling discomfort in his elbow Sunday.

Before that Roberts said the plan was to “tread lightly” with the pitcher’s workload, unsure why the velocity of his pitches was down.

“Obviously, we all saw the stuff [Sunday], and it sent up red flags,” Roberts said. “And so, after the game, he had a conversation with our training staff, and felt that he had some elbow discomfort. So we just wanted to be proactive, and felt that it was smart to get an MRI, get imaging, which we did do, and it showed loose bodies.”

Having experienced the same thing as a player, Roberts explained, “you have loose bodies and they’re asymptomatic until they’re not.”

Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz jogs to the mound during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium on March 31.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

A 10-year veteran, Díaz is a three-time All-Star. For his career, he has 257 saves in 300 opportunities with 849 strikeouts.

General manager Brandon Gomes said the Dodgers are “as confident as we can be” that Díaz will return to top form.

“Our understanding is that it’s a pretty straightforward procedure,” Gomes said. “We’re going to take our time with getting him back and being mindful of the buildup, and make sure he’s in a really good position to come out and compete at the highest level of what we expect.

“It’s the benefit of having a deeper staff and a talented team that it’s never easy to lose somebody like Edwin, but we’ll get through it and it’ll be a collective effort to keep winning baseball games.”

Roberts said he doesn’t plan to name a substitute closer in Díaz’s place, and the manager acknowledged that the news will significantly alter how he’ll use the bullpen.

“It does change it. In a big way,” Roberts said. “I do think being able to deploy guys in their right lanes or pockets has been helpful. But with that, I do think that Alex [Vesia] has been throwing the baseball really well. Tanner [Scott has] been throwing the baseball really well, and outside of last night, Blake [Treinen] was throwing the baseball really well.

“But it does kind of not allow us to work from the back end, which is certainly a luxury.”

The Dodgers have had unfortunate luck signing big-name relievers. In 2025 they signed left-hander Scott to a four-year $72-million deal. He then led the league with 10 blown saves last season and the Dodgers removed him from their postseason roster, replacing him with left-hander Justin Wrobleski, who was set to start Monday as the team played for a series split at Coors Field.

April 20 (UPI) — The American Library Association released its list of the “Top 11 Most Challenged Books List of 2025,” including titles by John Green and Sarah J. Maas.

The list, part of the 2026 State of America’s Libraries Report, is based on data from the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, which tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged across 2025. The number was the second-highest ever documented by the ALA, after 4,240 books were challenged in 2023.

The 2025 challenges included 713 attempts to censor library materials and services through access restrictions, including 487 books.

The most challenged book of 2025 was Sold by Patricia McCormick, followed by The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe, and Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.

There was a tie for fifth place between Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo and Tricks by Ellen Hopkins.

The seventh book on the list was A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, followed by a four-way tie between A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, Identical by Ellen Hopkins, Looking for Alaska by John Green and Storm and Fury by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

The challenged titles of 2025 included 1,671 representing the lived experience of LGBTQ people and people of color — about 40% of the total challenges.

The report was released to coincide with National Library Week

“Libraries exist to make space for every story and every lived experience,” ALA President Sam Helmick said in a news release. “As we celebrate National Library Week, we reaffirm that libraries are places for knowledge, for access, and for all.”

The ALA said less than 3% of the challenges came from individual parents, with 92 percent of the challenges coming from government officials and political pressure groups.

“In 2025, book bans were not sparked by concerned parents, and they were not the result of local grassroots efforts,” said Sarah Lamdan, executive director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom. “They were part of a well-funded, politically-driven campaign to suppress the stories and lived experiences of LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC individuals and communities.”

A total 5,668 books were banned from American libraries in 2025, and 920 others were censored through access restrictions.

easyJet issued an ‘important update’ earlier this month

easyJet has issued an alert to passengers travelling to more than 100 destinations with the airline after a major rule change that has come in post-Brexit.

In an “important update” issued earlier this month, easyJet warned queue times may be affected and said: “Airports across Europe may experience longer queues at passport control whilst the new European Entry/Exit System (EES) border checks are being completed. This will mean you may need to have your biometrics taken including your face and fingerprints scanned.”

Passengers are advised to plan travel to and through the airport, factoring in that they may have to queue for longer than previously. Anyone who needs to use Bag Drop should do so as soon as it opens, and travellers should make sure they have all necessary documents to hand.

easyJet is also urging people to go through security as early as possible and to head to the gate or boarding area as soon as it is announced. The travel operator further said there may be additional checks at passport control before your gate and added: “You may experience longer queues in your arrival airport”.

Full list of easyJet destinations under the new EES

• Ajaccio, Corsica (AJA) – France
• Akureyri (AEY) – Iceland
• Alicante (ALC) – Spain
• Almeria (LEI) – Spain
• Amsterdam (AMS) – Netherlands
• Athens (ATH) – Greece
• Barcelona (BCN) – Spain
• Bari (BRI) – Italy
• Basel (BSL) – Switzerland
• Bastia, Corsica (BIA) – France
• Berlin Brandenburg (BER) – Germany
• Biarritz (BIQ) – France
• Bilbao (BIO) – Spain
• Bordeaux (BOD) – France
• Brest Brittany (BES) – France
• Brindisi (BDS) – Italy
• Brussels Intl (BRU) – Belgium
• Budapest (BUD) – Hungary
• Burgas (BOJ) – Bulgaria
• Calvi, Corsica (CLY) – France
• Copenhagen (CPH) – Denmark
• Corfu (CFU) – Greece
• Costiera Amalfitana Salerno, Naples (QSR) – Italy
• Crete Chania (CHQ) – Greece
• Crete Heraklion (HER) – Greece
• Dubrovnik (DBV) – Croatia
• Dusseldorf (DUS) – Germany
• Evenes-Lofoten (EVE) – Norway
• Faro (FAO) – Portugal
• Figari, Corsica (FSC) – France
• Frankfurt International (FRA) – Germany
• Friedrichshafen (FDH) – Germany
• Fuerteventura (FUE) – Spain
• Geneva (GVA) – Switzerland
• Gibraltar (GIB) – Gibraltar
• Gran Canaria (LPA) – Spain
• Grenoble (GNB) – France
• Hamburg (HAM) – Germany
• Ibiza (IBZ) – Spain
• Innsbruck (INN) – Austria
• Kalamata (KLX) – Greece
• Kefalonia (EFL) – Greece
• Kittila (KTT) – Finland
• Kos (KGS) – Greece
• Krakow (KRK) – Poland
• La Coruña (LCG) – Spain
• La Rochelle (LRH) – France
• Lamezia (SUF) – Italy
• Lanzarote (ACE) – Spain
• Lille (LIL) – France
• Lisbon (LIS) – Portugal
• Ljubljana (LJU) – Slovenia
• Luxembourg (LUX) – Luxembourg
• Lyon (LYS) – France
• Madeira Funchal (FNC) – Portugal
• Madrid (MAD) – Spain
• Majorca Palma (PMI) – Spain
• Malaga (AGP) – Spain
• Malta (MLA) – Malta
• Marseille Provence (MRS) – France
• Menorca Mahon (MAH) – Spain
• Milan Linate (LIN) – Italy
• Milan Malpensa (MXP) – Italy
• Montpellier (MPL) – France
• Munich (MUC) – Germany
• Murcia Intl (RMU) – Spain
• Mykonos (JMK) – Greece
• Nantes (NTE) – France
• Naples (NAP) – Italy
• Nice (NCE) – France
• Oslo (OSL) – Norway
• Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) – France
• Paris Orly (ORY) – France
• Pisa (Tuscany) (PSA) – Italy
• Porto (OPO) – Portugal
• Porto Santo (PXO) – Portugal
• Prague (PRG) – Czech Republic
• Preveza (PVK) – Greece
• Pula (PUY) – Croatia
• Rennes (RNS) – France
• Reus (REU) – Spain
• Reykjavik Keflavik (KEF) – Iceland
• Rhodes (RHO) – Greece
• Rimini (RMI) – Italy
• Rome Fiumicino (FCO) – Italy
• Rovaniemi (RVN) – Finland
• Salzburg (SZG) – Austria
• Santa Cruz de la Palma (SPC) – Spain
• Santiago de Compostela (SCQ) – Spain
• Santorini (JTR) – Greece
• Sardinia Cagliari (CAG) – Italy
• Sardinia Olbia (OLB) – Italy
• Scandinavian Mountains (SCR) – Sweden
• Seville (SVQ) – Spain
• Sicily Catania (CTA) – Italy
• Sicily Lampedusa (LMP) – Italy
• Sicily Palermo (PMO) – Italy
• Skiathos (JSI) – Greece
• Sofia (SOF) – Bulgaria
• Split (SPU) – Croatia
• Strasbourg (SXB) – France
• Tenerife South (TFS) – Spain
• Thessaloniki (SKG) – Greece
• Toulouse (TLS) – France
• Tromsø (TOS) – Norway
• Turin (TRN) – Italy
• Valencia (VLC) – Spain
• Venice Marco Polo (VCE) – Italy
• Verona (VRN) – Italy
• Vienna (VIE) – Austria
• Zadar (ZAD) – Croatia
• Zante Zakynthos (ZTH) – Greece
• Zurich (ZRH) – Switzerland

The EES applies to 29 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. The above list of airports are the Schengen area destinations you can fly to with easyJet from the UK, as of the airline’s website at the time of publication.

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting in the summer to consider easing restrictions on more than a half-dozen peptide injections, a group of unapproved therapies that have become popular among wellness influencers, fitness gurus and celebrities.

The meeting announcement Wednesday follows repeated pledges by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to loosen regulations on peptides, which are often pitched as a quick way to build muscle, heal injuries or appear younger. There’s little research behind those claims and most peptides have not been reviewed for safety by the FDA.

Kennedy has discussed using peptides for his own injuries. And some major supporters of his Make America Healthy Again movement are big proponents of them, including Gary Brecka, a self-described “longevity expert” who sells various peptide formulas through his website.

The FDA said in a federal notice Wednesday that it will ask a panel of outside advisors to review seven peptides at a meeting in July, specifically whether they should be added to a list of substances that can be safely produced by pharmacies. In the meantime, the agency said it would soon remove the chemicals from a restrictive list reserved for unapproved, high-risk drugs. The peptides under discussion include some of the most popular among influencers, such as BPC-157, which is marketed to heal injuries and reduce inflammation.

“The Wild West is about to become wilder,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official who now leads the Center for Science in the Public Interest. In an interview, Lurie said allowing peptides on the market without clinical testing poses a “profound threat” to FDA’s decades-old system for vetting drugs.

“I don’t see why one would take the path of a proper drug approval if there is now this less rigorous, alternative path to market,” he said.

Under President Biden, the FDA added nearly 20 peptides to the federal list of substances that should not be produced by compounding pharmacies — businesses that mix medications that aren’t available from drugmakers.

At the time, the FDA’s panel of pharmacy advisors voted overwhelmingly that the peptides did not meet the criteria for substances that can be safely compounded. And FDA regulators agreed, saying later that the substances “present significant safety risks,” because most have not been extensively tested in humans.

Many of the FDA advisors and internal staff who oversaw those decisions no longer work for the agency. The FDA’s pharmacy panel currently has a number of vacancies, which Kennedy could fill before the July meeting.

Kennedy previewed Wednesday’s move in an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan. Both men have repeatedly spoken about peptides and claimed to have benefited from their use.

RFK Jr. claims personal benefit from peptides

“I’m a big fan of peptides,” Kennedy told Rogan. “I’ve used them myself and with really good effect on a couple of injuries.”

Given Kennedy’s statements, Lurie said it was doubtful the drugs would receive real scrutiny from FDA.

“Everybody knows the outcome that the secretary wants,” Lurie said. “I don’t believe for one moment that what’s going on here is an honest investigation of whether these products should be compounded.”

Scott Brunner of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding said the coming meeting will be the start of a “protracted process.” Even if the panel votes to make the peptides available, and the FDA agrees, the agency will still have to draft and publish rules on the change, he noted.

Peptides are essentially the building blocks of more complex proteins. Inside the human body, peptides trigger hormones needed for growth, metabolism and healing.

In recent years peptides have become widely known through the blockbuster success of GLP-1 medications, which the FDA has approved for treating obesity and diabetes. Other FDA-approved peptides include insulin for diabetics and hormone-based drugs for several medical conditions.

But many of the peptides promoted online have never been approved, making them technically illegal to market as drugs. Several peptides, such as BPC-157 and TB-500, are banned by international sports authorities as doping substances.

But that has not stopped them from gaining a foothold in the burgeoning marketplace for wellness hacks and alternative remedies.

“I think this is a disaster in the works,” said Dr. Eric Topol of Scripps Research Translational Institute, who has studied the issue. “These peptides have no data to support their safety and efficacy.”

Meanwhile, some dietary supplement makers have begun mixing peptides into capsules, protein powders and gummies. At a recent FDA meeting, the industry argued for expanding the federal definition of supplements to permit the use of newer ingredients such as peptides in their products.

Safety risks were cited previously

When the FDA added a number of injectable peptides to its list of restricted substances in 2023, it cited safety risks including cancer and liver, kidney and heart problems.

That triggered pushback from wellness entrepreneurs, compounding pharmacies and their allies in Washington.

Last year several members of Congress, including Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, sent letters to Kennedy asking him to lift limits on peptide production.

Some in the compounding industry argue that FDA restrictions have given rise to an illicit market of imported chemicals from China and other countries, which are not subject to U.S. drug standards.

Kennedy has echoed those concerns.

“With the gray market you have no idea if you’re getting a good product,” Kennedy told Rogan. “And a lot of this stuff that we’ve looked at is just very, very substandard.”

Perrone writes for the Associated Press.

In the weeks before Justin Bieber’s headlining performance at this month’s Coachella festival — the 32-year-old teen-pop survivor’s first major concert after a lengthy stretch in the celebrity wilderness — speculation began to mount that he planned to play only songs from his recent “Swag” and “Swag II” albums.

And indeed, for 45 minutes or so last Saturday, it seemed like that was what he’d come to do as he sang new song after new song on Coachella’s giant main stage. But then he pulled out a laptop, fired up YouTube and started singing along with some of his old hits — a thrilling subversion of our expectations for a big festival set and a poignant act of self-examination by an artist who’s lived more than half of his life on our screens.

For the singer, Bieberchella was clearly a trip down memory lane. But it also offered the audience a chance to look back on a career that’s encompassed virtually every major shift in pop music over the last two decades.

Ahead of Coachella’s second weekend, then, here’s a list, ranked from worst to best, of every hit that Bieber has put inside the Top 10 of Billboard’s flagship singles chart, the Hot 100. Pop, of course, is an art as much as a science, meaning statistics get you only so far: Some important Bieber songs aren’t here, not least among them “Lonely,” which may be his finest vocal performance but stalled out at No. 12 on the chart. Other throwaways made it on the list thanks to Bieber’s gamesmanship or Billboard’s methodological quirks.

Yet these 27 songs tell a fascinating story about a boy, about a man, about a talent possibly more vital today than ever before.

27. ‘Never Say Never’ (peaked at No. 8 in March 2011)

Co-written and co-produced by the guy who would later top the Hot 100 with “Rude” by the band Magic, this booming kiddie-rap track was introduced as the theme song for Jaden Smith’s 2010 remake of “The Karate Kid” before Bieber used it in a 2011 concert film of the same title. The voice is high; the beat is blah.

26. ‘Monster’ (peaked at No. 8 in Dec. 2020)

Just a month after he dropped “Lonely,” Bieber returned to his teen-idol woes — far less movingly, alas — in this dreary duet with Shawn Mendes.

25. ‘Stuck With U’ (peaked at No. 1 in May 2020)

The nicest thing you can say about the doo-woppy “Stuck With U” is that Bieber and Ariana Grande donated the song’s proceeds to first responders navigating the early months of the COVID pandemic. Do not rewatch the video unless you want to be reminded of the smiley horrors of Zoom life.

24. ‘No Brainer’ (peaked at No. 5 in Aug. 2018)

We’ll get to Bieber’s convivial 2017 hook-up with DJ Khaled and friends. As for this shameless sequel, Khaled’s “another one” tag has never been less necessary.

23. ‘Cold Water’ (peaked at No. 2 in Aug. 2016)

Sleek. Pretty. Forgettable.

22. ‘As Long as You Love Me’ (peaked at No. 6 in Sept. 2012)

How high was Bieber riding as he prepared to release 2012’s “Believe” LP? High enough to swipe the title of the Backstreet Boys’ classic teen-pop ballad for this junior-dubstep jam. Stick around (or don’t) for Big Sean’s guest verse about needing “you” to spell both “us” and “trust.”

21. ‘Holy’ (peaked at No. 3 in Oct. 2020)

In which Bieber and Chance the Rapper preach about marriage like two horny youth pastors.

20. ‘Anyone’ (peaked at No. 6 in Jan. 2021)

What if Phil Collins had recorded “In Your Eyes” instead of Peter Gabriel?

19. ‘10,000 Hours’ (peaked at No. 4 in Oct. 2019)

Timed to commemorate his and Hailey Baldwin’s wedding among the salt marshes of South Carolina, Bieber’s crack at high-gloss country music was warmly welcomed by the Nashville establishment; it even spent two weeks atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. No surprise, really: To listen to earlier stuff by Dan + Shay, Bieber’s collaborators on “10,000 Hours,” is to hear how extensively white-soul singing had reshaped country by the early 2010s.

18. ‘I Don’t Care’ (peaked at No. 2 in May 2019)

Has any would-be song of the summer ever song-of-the-summered harder? Bieber and Ed Sheeran’s breezy dancehall bro-down was clearly modeled on the sound — and the success — of Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” (Call it “Shape of II.”) Yet the duo’s chemistry feels real enough to believe that all of these hooks — hey, they just happened.

17. ‘I’m the One’ (peaked at No. 1 in May 2017)

Bieber’s first Khaled collab has a merry bounce that softens the braggadocio from him, Quavo, Chance the Rapper and Lil Wayne, whose verse opens pricelessly like so: “Looking for the one?/ Well, b—, you looking at the one.” Fun chart fact per Billboard: The week after “I’m the One” bowed atop the Hot 100, Bieber became the first artist ever to score new No. 1s back to back when his remix of “Despacito” replaced “I’m the One.”

16. ‘Boyfriend’ (peaked at No. 2 in April 2012)

A decade after Justin Timberlake stepped out from NSYNC, JB blatantly ripped JT’s “Like I Love You” for this heavy-breathing flirtation. “Baby, take a chance or you’ll never, ever know/ I got money in my hands that I’d really like to blow,” Bieber pants over a spacey, Neptunes-style beat. (Later, he suggests fondue.) In an ironic twist, given the song’s all-grown-up-at-18 energy, “Boyfriend” was blocked from No. 1 by “We Are Young” from Jack Antonoff’s old band, Fun.

15. ‘Ghost’ (peaked at No. 5 in April 2022)

A hurtling lost-love lament that doubles as a farewell to a departed grandparent (as in the song’s music video, which stars the late Diane Keaton).

14. ‘Let Me Love You’ (peaked at No. 4 in Oct. 2016)

In the final Top 10 hit of Bieber’s EDM era, a pleading tenderness in the singer’s vocals cuts appealingly against DJ Snake’s strobing Sahara Tent beat.

13. ‘Baby’ (peaked at No. 5 in Feb. 2010)

New puppy, old love.

12. ‘Yummy’ (peaked at No. 2 in Jan. 2020)

“Hop in the Lambo, I’m on my way/ Drew House slippers on with a smile on my face,” Bieber sings — not the last time he’d plug one of his or his wife’s brands in a lyric. A country remix with Florida Georgia Line adds shout-outs to Waffle House and Chick-fil-A.

11. ‘What Do You Mean?’ (peaked at No. 1 in Sept. 2015)

The path to Bieber’s first No. 1 on the Hot 100 was cleared by a better, more interesting song that reframed him as a dreamboat experimentalist. (More on that one in a minute.) But if “What Do You Mean?” deploys a more conventional tropical-house production, it’s still built around one of the singer’s loveliest vocals. And the fake pan flute still hits.

10. ‘Despacito’ (peaked at No. 1 in May 2017)

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s pop-reggaeton seduction had already found an enormous audience among Latin music fans when Bieber jumped on a remix after hearing the song in a Colombian nightclub. Yet the star’s presence — in a Spanish-language chorus whose lyrics Bieber learned phonetically over the course of a four-hour recording session — turned “Despacito” into a global juggernaut. In the U.S., the song became the first Spanish-language chart-topper since “Macarena” two decades earlier; it also became something of a protest tune amid the anti-immigrant rhetoric of President Trump’s first term in office. Said Scooter Braun, Bieber’s then-manager, in a 2017 interview with The Times: “A song in Spanish is all over pop radio in an America where young Latino Americans should feel proud of themselves and their families’ native tongue.”

9. ‘Essence’ (peaked at No. 9 in Oct. 2021)

Like “Despacito,” this slinky Afrobeats track was a hit before Bieber got involved. (Among its fans: President Obama, who put it on his best of 2020 list.) What distinguishes the version with Bieber is how gently he slides between the Nigerian singers Wizkid and Tems, who both joined him for a rendition of “Essence” at Coachella.

8. ‘Stay’ (peaked at No. 1 in August 2021)

At a mere 2 minutes and 22 seconds, this breakneck electro-pop duet with Australia’s the Kid Laroi (who also put in a cameo at Coachella) is the shortest of Bieber’s 27 Top 10 singles. Yet with 63 weeks on the Hot 100, it’s also his longest-lived chart hit — and his most-streamed song on Spotify.

7. ‘Intentions’ (peaked at No. 5 in June 2020)

“Stay in the kitchen cooking up, got your own bread/ Heart full of equity, you’re an asset.”

6. ‘Beauty and a Beat’ (peaked at No. 5 in Jan. 2013)

The most fondly remembered of Bieber’s teen-idol hits anticipates the EDM makeover to come even as it stays rooted in his squeaky-clean persona: “We’re gonna party like it’s 3012 tonight” is truly something only a kid would say. Seven months after “Beauty and a Beat” peaked on the Hot 100, Bieber was infamously caught on video urinating in a mop bucket in a New York City restaurant kitchen; this song would be his last Top 10 single for more than two years.

5. ‘Peaches’ (peaked at No. 1 in April 2021)

A sumptuous R&B jam about procuring one’s peaches from Georgia and one’s weed from California, this three-way joint with Daniel Caesar and Giveon was nominated for record and song of the year at the 2022 Grammys. (It lost both prizes to another sumptuous R&B jam in Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open.”) Extra props here for the vivid contrast among the singers’ voices and for the Kool & the Gang-ish synth solo at the end.

4. ‘Love Yourself’ (peaked at No. 1 in Feb. 2016)

A sick burn delivered oh so sweetly.

3. ‘Where Are Ü Now’ (peaked at No. 8 in July 2015)

Behold the dreamboat experimentalist. In search of a fresh sound after Bucketgate, Bieber found it with Skrillex and Diplo, veteran dance-music producers who took a morose piano ballad that Bieber and his frequent accomplice Poo Bear had demoed and turned it into a glimmering boudoir-rave fantasia. “I was like, ‘Diplo, Skrillex — I don’t really know if that’s, like, where I wanna go,’” Bieber later told the New York Times. “They did it, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is blowing my mind.’”

2. ‘Daisies’ (peaked at No. 2 in July 2025)

Is putting a nine-month-old song at No. 2 on this list an act of recency bias? Maybe. But what a song! Against a bracingly lo-fi guitar lick played by his pal Mk.gee, Bieber sings with beautifully understated soul about coming into an emotional maturity he admits he avoided for too long.

1. ‘Sorry’ (peaked at No. 1 in Jan. 2016)

A plea, a flex, a come-on — this delirious pop masterpiece contains multitudes. “Is it too late now to say sorry?” Bieber asks, and the trick of a song born from a branding problem is that it summons the sensation of endless ascent.