A BELOVED ferry that has been connecting a remote island to UK mainland is preparing to make its final voyage after 49 years.
The Scillonian III began sailing between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly back in 1977.
The boat first set sail in 1977 and been sailing the waters sinceCredit: Alamy Stock PhotoA trip on the boat can take around 2 hours and 45 minutesCredit: Getty Images
It will make its last trip in November before being sold. A replacement vessel is almost near completion in Vietnam, according to the BBC.
During its near 50- year stint on the water it has helped transport people to the stunning island, which has been known for its Maldives- style beaches.
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A trip on the boat from Penzance to St Mary’s will take around 2 hours and 45 minutes.
The trip can cost up to £115 if you book in August. It drops to around £77 if you book in September or October.
A proposal to make daylight saving time the year-round default nationwide is once again coming before Congress.
And, as in the past in both California and nationally, proponents and opponents of the switch cite the potential effects (good or bad) on health, business and agriculture as reasons to support or oppose the plan.
The House is expected to vote on the Sunshine Protection Act this week, according to the office of Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), the bill’s author.
The Senate version of the bill, SB 29, is sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.). In a statement last year he said, “More daylight after work means more business and more active, safer California communities.”
Most of the U.S. went on daylight saving time in the spring, moving clocks one hour ahead of standard time. The bill would end the “fall back” to standard time that typically takes place in November. The change would mean darker mornings and later sunsets. President Trump has indicated that he supports the plan.
It won’t be the first time the debate over timekeeping has made its way to Capitol Hill. In 2022, a bill to make daylight saving time permanent was approved by the Senate, but the effort stalled in the House.
“It’s clear that year-round daylight saving time is a popular, commonsense reform that will improve everyday life for millions of Americans,” Buchanan said in a statement to The Times. “Passing my bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act will bring us one step closer to ending the outdated and unpopular practice of changing our clocks twice a year.”
Areas that already do not observe daylight saving time would be able to stay on permanent standard time, according to the bill text. For example, Arizona and Hawaii do not move their clocks forward or backward.
Lawmakers in California and other states could opt out making daylight saving time permanent, but would need to decide before the law takes effect, Josh Gregory, a senior advisor to Buchanan, said in an email.
The effort has drawn support from both sides of the aisle. In California, Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake), Ken Calvert (R-Corona) and Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) are cosponsors of H.R. 139.
The proposal also has bipartisan opposition.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has also been a vocal opponent of permanent daylight saving time. In a speech last year, Cotton argued that while year-round daylight saving time might benefit some activities and areas — such as golfing in Florida and Alabama — residents of northern states and on the western sides of time zones might not see the sun rise until 9 a.m. in the winter.
Cotton raised concerns that students would need to walk to school in the dark and risk being struck by drivers, as was the case in 1974 when the U.S. briefly adopted year-round daylight saving time to combat an energy crisis.
“The darkness of permanent daylight saving time would be especially harmful for schoolchildren and working Americans,” Cotton said.
Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-San Pedro) told The Times in a statement that she plans to vote against the bill because “medical experts have warned that permanent daylight saving time is bad for our health.”
She supports a different proposal, the Sunshine for Our Kids Act, which seeks to make permanent standard time the default nationwide but gives states the option to opt out. The bill, HR 9638, has been endorsed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Stanford professor Jamie Zeitzer, a physiologist who studies circadian cycles and how humans respond to light, supports ending the twice-a-year time changes.
The “spring forward” shift results in a loss of sleep and has been associated with a number of negative health effects, he said. The spring clock change has also been linked to more car accidents and cardiovascular incidents, he added.
Zeitzer’s research found that the darker mornings and brighter evenings of permanent daylight saving time weaken the circadian clock for many people.
“The abundance of biological evidence is clear that permanent standard time is a better solution,” Zeitzer said. “When you have a more robust light signal early in the morning, that will help keep your internal circadian system synchronized to the day.”
A 2025 AP-NORC survey found that the current system of changing the clocks twice a year is unpopular. According to the poll of nearly 1,300 U.S. adults, only 12% of respondents favored the current system, while 47% were opposed and 40% were neutral.
In the business world, there’s no consensus on making daylight saving time permanent. Many chambers of commerce and businesses that want to lure customers later in the day generally support it, while agricultural interests and some industries oppose it.
As for making standard time permanent, that faces opposition too. Among the opponents: golf course owners.
Jay Karen, the chief executive officer of the National Golf Course Owners Assn., testified at a congressional hearing in November that losing extra evening daylight could cost the industry $1.6 billion in green fees alone because so many Americans tend to golf in the afternoon or evening.
Buchanan’s office said in a statement that the “well-documented benefits of having more sunshine later in the day after school and after work will be beneficial for millions of Americans’ health and well-being.”
There have been previous attempts to put an end to the twice-annual clock adjustments in California.
In 2018, California voters approved Proposition 7, which was supposed to give the Legislature the authority to impose year-round daylight saving time — but only if the federal government allowed states to do so. It has not yet led to any meaningful change.
Earlier this year, state Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) introduced SB 1197, which seeks to “ditch the switch” by moving the state to permanent standard time.
A spokesperson for Niello’s office said that because his previous efforts failed to gain traction, his current proposal includes a provision requiring California to conform if the federal government adopts permanent daylight saving time.
TWO sisters were left stunned after they found a picture of themselves in an Airbnb they had never stayed at before.
When Aubrey Birrell and her sister Libby entered their Airbnb in San Diego, California, USA, they spotted a large photo canvas on the wall.
Aubrey and Libby Birrell were left shocked after finding a picture of their family in an Airbnb they had never been to beforeCredit: TikTok/aubsbirrell
In a video that has now gone viral on social media, Aubrey points at the picture of their family holiday 10 years prior, showing a group of swimmers at the beach.
Stunned, she says: “That’s my dad” before then pointing out Libby and their brother Brady.
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Shocked Aubrey, who posted via her TikTok account @aubsbirrell, said they found the discovery “crazy” and “unsettling”, especially because they had never stepped foot in the Airbnb before.
Her description of the video stated: “We can’t make this up….. this is the craziest thing.”
The two sisters never learnt how the picture ended up there.
Social media users took to the comments to share their own similar experiences.
One said: “I flew to India, then travelled up the Himalayas to my old boarding school where is was teaching for the summer.
“On the first day I was looking at the school photos in the cafeteria and another lady was also looking at photos.
Aubrey points out Libby in the photo, alongside their dad and brotherCredit: TikTok/aubsbirrellThe duo aren’t aware of how the picture got thereCredit: TikTok/aubsbirrell
“We met in front of one and I said I’d gone to boarding school here 40 years ago and this was the first time I’d been back.
“She said she’d gone to boarding school here 40 years ago and was back on vacation.
“Turns out she was Cathy, my best friend in school!
“We lost touch after we left the school and hadn’t spoken since.”
Another added: “This literally happened at our rented beach house TODAY.
“I had seen this TikTok days ago and something made me look at the giant canvas hanging in the primary bath[room].
“I immediately see my daughter and her high school friend group in the pic – one of whom is with us on this trip!
“We live two hours away and have been coming to this beach for decades. CRAZY.”
A thick early morning marine layer on Saturday in Huntington Beach left players, coaches and fans arriving for the Battle at the Beach seven-on-seven passing tournament feeling cool and energized. New Servite coach Rick Garretson later joked that back at his former home in Arizona, the temperature was over 100 degrees.
Ray Fenton, the new head coach at Orange Lutheran after earning coach of the year honors at Los Alamitos, didn’t have to wear a hat to cover his shaved head. Neither sun nor one of the most talent-laden group of teams in the tournament history could disrupt where Fenton appears to be taking the Lancers.
“Are we playing selflessly or selfishly? Are we good teammates or not?” Fenton said about what he wanted to learn in the Lancers’ only appearance this summer in a passing competition.
Let’s just say the progress is impressive. Fenton brought along his up-tempo, no-huddle offense from Los Alamitos, and quarterbacks Ezrah Brown and Reagan Toki were executing it in midseason form. Looking on in street clothes was 6-foot-5, 305-pound offensive tackle Lucas Rhoa, a Texas commit who can’t wait to throw his weight around when the pads come on. The Lancers won their first four matches, including an opening win over two-time defending champion Mission Viejo.
They made it to the semifinals until a roadblock sent the Lancers home. St. John Bosco came in as the tournament favorite, and from start to finish, the Braves looked better than each opponent. It was only a matter whether coach Jason Negro was going to use his backups to spread playing time.
The Braves knocked off Corona Centennial in the championship game. Tustin won the other division title.
Junior quarterback Koa Malau’ulu, in his third year as a St. John Bosco starter, has new bulging biceps from his many hours in the weight room. The hard work shows. The ball is coming out quicker from his hand. His priority this summer has been trying to build chemistry with a new group of receivers.
“They’re all coachable,” Malau’ulu said.
Junior DJ Tubbs, one of the few returnees, remains a go-to target. “He may not be big but plays big,” Malau’ulu said.
St. John Bosco has six top defensive backs, giving the Braves options for the coming season.
One of the best players in California and the nation, Cathedral Catholic’s Honor Fa’alave-Johnson, a USC commit, got to show off his speed.
Corona Centennial, which doesn’t usually perform well in passing competitions (the Huskies like to let their running game set up the pass), started the morning 4-0 and didn’t lose until its final game. Making the final means the Huskies could be very good this fall. The only other times they reached the Edison final was in 2015 when they won the Division 1 title and 2008 when they were undefeated state champs.
New quarterback Jaden Jefferson has lots of weapons at the receiver position, including his former Cathedral teammate Quentin Hale. Sophomore defensive back Koti Fultz had a big day on defense.
Hayden Koo of Tustin makes catch between two St. John Bosco defenders.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Palos Verdes has a four-year starter at quarterback, Ryan Rakowski, and he’s going to cause many problems for defenses this fall with his knowledge and accuracy.
Long Beach Poly, making its debut under first-year coach Travon Patterson, will have lots of options on defense because of its standout cornerbacks in Donte Wright and JuJu Johnson.
Tustin is loaded with skill-position players.
San Clemente won the Ocean View tournament. Culver City took its own tournament championship.
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World Cup spurs grass/artificial turf NFL debate
From A.J. Perez: FIFA’s natural grass transformation of SoFi Stadium and six other NFL stadiums with artificial surfaces for this summer’s World Cup reignited the debate over grass versus synthetic turf.
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis long ago took a side in the fight.
“I just always felt that football should be played on grass,” Davis told The Times. “That’s for safety purposes, No. 1. I want it to look like a game was played even if it’s an indoor field. You see grass stains and everything else. I wasn’t going to a stadium without it being grass once I knew that capability was there. Obviously, it added a lot of cost, but it’s worth it.”
FIFA spent millions to lay new grass atop all 11 NFL stadiums and most of the other five stadiums that hosted World Cup games in Mexico and Canada — and some NFL players see this summer’s temporary changeover as the league’s touch-grass moment.
“The NBA league office informed us that as a result of the ongoing investigation involving the Clippers, we would assume the risk of any potential outcome of the investigation impacting Kawhi,” the Raptors said. “In light of this, we will wait until the league’s investigation is complete.”
The teams last month finalized a trade to send Leonard to Toronto for forward Brandon Ingram, shooting guard Gradey Dick, two first-round draft picks, a pick swap and two second-round picks. Leonard spent the last seven seasons with the Clippers after leading the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship.
Kentucky, Michigan and Gonzaga had courted Kusturica, a 6-foot-9 Serbian who is among the top 17-year-old players in Europe. Recruiting websites listed Kusturica as a five-star prospect, and college basketball analysts at Field of 64 and other outlets project Kusturica could be a top-five 2028 NBA draft pick.
UCLA announced it received a signed grant-in-aid agreement from Kusturica, who will join the Bruins for the upcoming season.
From Austin Knoblauch: Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson is not facing charges related to his arrest last month on suspicion of domestic violence, the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office confirmed.
“Charges are not filed against the respondent at this time, however, the case stays open throughout the length of the statute of limitations. It can be re-evaluated if there are further developments,” said Ivor Pine, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
Pine said the matter has been assigned for a City Attorney hearing, a pre-filing diversion that is an alternative to misdemeanor prosecution.
The Ducks have matched the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson, keeping their rising young star at an extraordinary cost.
The Ducks announced their decision Thursday on the 21-year-old Carlsson, who is now the NHL’s highest-paid player under the five-year, $90-million deal extended by the Flyers one week ago.
“It’s going to be a special feeling, having this pressure,” said Carlsson, who wasn’t told the Ducks were matching the offer sheet until shortly before the decision was made public. “I always wanted to be a Duck. It’s my home, too. I’m just super excited to be back.”
Although he didn’t produce points at a rate commensurate with his new salary during his first three seasons, almost everyone believes Carlsson can become one of the best centers in hockey, so his deal might eventually look downright affordable.
He scored 67 points in 70 games last season despite being limited for a lengthy stretch by a leg injury, and he added 11 points in 12 games during his first postseason experience.
Wyatt Langford lined a shot off the wall in left field to bring home Alejandro Osuna in the ninth inning, lifting Texas to a 7-6 victory over the Angels after the Rangers blew a five-run lead Thursday night.
Langford struck out three of his first four times up as the designated hitter after getting activated from the 10-day injured list in his return from a left hamstring strain.
Osuna led off the ninth with a single and went to second on pinch-hitter Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice bunt. Langford lined a 1-and-1 fastball from former Texas closer Kirby Yates (0-4) over Jose Siri’s head for the winning single.
Jo Adell had a tying, pinch-hit single to cap a five-run seventh a night after homering twice in the Angels’ 13-1 victory.
1926 — Bobby Jones wins the U.S. Open golf tournament for the second time with a 293 total.
1951 — Britain’s Randy Turpin defeats Sugar Ray Robinson in 15 rounds to win the world middleweight title and give Robinson his second loss in 135 bouts.
1960 — UEFA European Championship Final, Parc des Princes, Paris, France: Viktor Ponedelnik scores in extra time as Soviet Union beats Yugoslavia, 2-1.
1971 — Lee Trevino rebounds from a double-bogey on the next to last hole with a birdie on the final hole to win the 100th British Open by one stroke over Lu Liang-Huan. Trevino, who won the U.S. Open a month earlier, is the fourth golfer to win both championships in the same year, joining Bobby Jones (1926, 1930), Gene Sarazen (1932), and Ben Hogan (1953).
1976 — Johnny Miller shoots a 66 in the final round to beat 19-year-old Spaniard Seve Ballesteros by six strokes to take the British Open. Ballesteros, who starts the final round two strokes ahead of Miller, shoots a 74 and ends tied for second place with Jack Nicklaus.
1992 — The Major Soccer League, the only major nationwide pro soccer competition in the United States, folds after 14 seasons.
1999 — Team USA wins the Women’s World Cup over China in sudden death. The Americans win 5-4 in penalty kicks, with defender Brandi Chastain kicking in the game winner.
2010 — Paula Creamer wins her first major tournament, never giving up the lead during a steady final round of the U.S. Women’s Open. Creamer shoots a final-round 2-under 69 for a 3-under 281 for the tournament.
2010 — Spain wins soccer’s World Cup after an exhausting 1-0 victory in extra time over the Netherlands. In the end, it’s Andres Iniesta breaking free and scoring a right-footed shot from 8 yards just past the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
2011 — The United States advances to the semifinals after one of the most exciting games ever at the Women’s World Cup in Dresden, Germany. The U.S. beat Brazil 5-3 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie. Abby Wambach scores a thrilling goal to tie it in the 122nd minute, and goalkeeper Hope Solo denies the Brazilians again.
2016 — Andy Murray wins his second Wimbledon title by beating Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) on Centre Court.
2016 — Brittany Lang wins her first career major at the U.S. Women’s Open when Anna Nordqvist touches the sand with her club in a bunker for a two-stroke penalty in the three-hole aggregate playoff. The penalty occurs on the second hole of the playoff and is not delivered to the players until they were on the final hole after officials review replays in the latest controversy at a USGA event. Lang seals the win with a short par putt on the final playoff hole, while Nordqvist makes bogey to lose by three shots.
2017 — An independent review of the scoring in Manny Pacquiao’s contentious WBO welterweight world title loss to Jeff Horn confirms the outcome in favor of the Australian. A Philippines government department asked the WBO to review the refereeing and the judging of the so-called “Battle of Brisbane” in Australia on July 2 after Horn, fighting for his first world title, won a unanimous points decision against Pacquiao, an 11-time world champion. The WBO said three of the five independent judges who reviewed the bout awarded it to Horn, one awarded it to Pacquiao and one scored a draw.
2021 — Ashleigh Barty of Australia wins Wimbledon defeating Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7, 6-3.
2022 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: Novak Đoković wins 4th straight and record equaling 7th Wimbledon singles title with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over Nick Kyrgios of Australia; Đoković now has 21 Grand Slam titles.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1917 — Ray Caldwell of New York pitched 9 2-3 innings of no-hit relief as the Yankees beat the Browns 7-5 in 17 innings in St. Louis.
1932 — The Philadelphia A’s defeated Cleveland 18-17 in an 18-inning game in which John Burnett of the Indians had a record nine hits. Jimmie Foxx collected 16 total bases, and Eddie Rommell of the A’s pitched 17 innings in relief for the win, despite giving up 29 hits and 14 runs.
1934 — Carl Hubbell struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin in succession, but the AL came back to win the All-Star game 9-7 at the Polo Grounds as Mel Harder gave up one hit in the last five innings.
1936 — Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein hit four home runs in a 9-6 10-inning victory over the Pirates, and it wasn’t in the cozy Baker Bowl. He hit them in Pittsburgh’s spacious Forbes Field, including the game-winning three-run shot in the 10th off Bill Swift. Klein almost homered in the second inning when he sent Pirates outfielder Paul Waner to the wall in right to haul in a long fly ball.
1947 — Don Black of the Cleveland Indians pitched a 3-0 no-hitter over the Philadelphia A’s in the first game of a twin bill.
1951 — The NL hit four homers en route to an 8-3 triumph at Detroit, giving the league consecutive All-Star victories for the first time.
1968 — The American League and National League agreed to split into two divisions in 1969. The twelve teams in each league will be divided and play a best-of-five games League Championship Series to determine the pennant winner.
1982 — Larry Parrish of the Texas Rangers hit his third grand slam in seven days, off Milt Wilcox in the first game of a doubleheader against Detroit. The Rangers beat the Tigers 6-5. Parrish had hit his first on July 4 and his second on July 7.
2001 — Cal Ripken upstaged every big name in the ballpark, hitting a home run and winning the MVP award in his final All-Star appearance to lead the American League over the Nationals 4-1. Derek Jeter and Magglio Ordonez connected for consecutive home runs as the AL won its fifth in a row.
2007 — Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki went 3-for-3 with an inside-the-park home run to lead the American League to a 5-4 victory over the National League in the All-Star game.
2009 — Jonathan Sanchez pitched the majors’ first no-hitter of the season, recording a career-high 11 strikeouts in San Francisco’s 8-0 win over the San Diego Padres. The only runner the Padres managed came on an error by third baseman Juan Uribe in the eighth.
2012 — San Francisco’s Melky Cabrera and Pablo Sandoval keyed a five-run blitz against Justin Verlander in the first inning that powered the NL to an 8-0 romp over the American League in the All-Star game.
2013 — David Ortiz doubled in his first at-bat to become baseball’s career leader in hits as a designated hitter and hit a two-run homer an inning later, leading Boston Red Sox to an 11-4 victory over Seattle. Ortiz entered the night tied with Harold Baines for the most hits as a DH.
2014 — Derek Jeter, playing his final regular-season game in Cleveland, went 2 for 4 in the 1,000th multi-hit game of his career. Cleveland scored nine runs in its last two innings at bat to rally past New York with a 9-3 win.
2019 — The independent Atlantic League introduces a “robot umpire” to call balls and strikes at its annual all-star game in York, PA.
2022 — In the 8th inning of their game against the White Sox, Tigers outfielder Robbie Grossman drops a routine fly ball hit by Luis Robert and is charged with his first error since June 13, 2018, ending the longest errorless streak by any player at any position in major league history after 440 games. Worse, the error proves costly as Robert later comes around to score in a 4-2 ChiSox win.
2023 — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. wins the annual Home Run Derby, held this year at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, WA, by defeating Randy Arozarena in the final round. His father, Hall of Famer Vladimir Guerrero, had won the event in 2007, and Vladito had finished runner-up in his first participation as a rookie in 2019.
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.
The Ducks have matched the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson, keeping their rising young star at an extraordinary cost.
The Ducks announced their decision Thursday on the 21-year-old Carlsson, who is now the NHL’s highest-paid player under the five-year, $90-million deal extended by the Flyers one week ago.
Carlsson signed the Flyers’ offer sheet as a restricted free agent after a year of fruitless negotiations with Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek, whose typical hardline approach in contract talks with his restricted free agents backfired tremendously this time.
Carlsson’s new contract is worth much more than the league expected he would get as a restricted free agent, and the $18 million average annual value is significantly more than he had already indicated he would accept. The deal surpasses the salary of Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov, who would have been the NHL’s highest-paid player at $17 million.
The Flyers failed to land their long-sought No. 1 center in unusual fashion by swiping Carlsson, but the attempt showed general manager Danny Briere’s determination to improve his roster at all costs. The Ducks would have received four first-round draft picks from Philadelphia if they hadn’t matched the offer sheet.
Future negotiations will reveal whether Briere significantly skewed the NHL’s valuations of young talent by offering more than nearly all observers thought Carlsson could get. The structure of Philadelphia’s offer sheet also front-loaded Carlsson’s contract with costly signing bonuses in another departure from many NHL contracts.
Although the Ducks retained their most important young player, Verbeek’s inability to get a deal done before he was forced into it by Philadelphia will compromise Anaheim’s roster-building efforts this season and for years to come. The embattled general manager has had a rough summer immediately after the Ducks ended their seven-season playoff drought with a second-round run that had stamped them as a future contender in the Western Conference.
After keeping the Ducks’ payroll well under the salary cap during his tenure, Verbeek will be spending owner Henry Samueli’s money at the limit of the cap next season after making anachronistic decisions and signaling vulnerability to the league while he managed his crop of young talent.
The league’s salary cap is currently at $104 million and is expected to rise in the coming years.
Verbeek still hasn’t signed 41-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier, a restricted free agent who is not eligible to receive an offer sheet. He signed defenseman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year, $36 million deal last week, again going well over the expected market rate for a restricted free agent who isn’t on Carlsson’s level of talent, but was widely rumored to be on the verge of signing an offer sheet.
Verbeek also parted ways with four key defensemen from last season’s team — Jacob Trouba, captain Radko Gudas, Olen Zellweger and late-season rental John Carlson — and hasn’t replaced them with any significant signings beyond journeyman Nick Jensen. The Ducks also traded Mason McTavish, a key component of their team for several seasons, to St. Louis for draft picks after the center regressed last season.
With this pricey deal for Carlsson, the Ducks’ history of antagonistic negotiations with their free agents has become the defining feature of Verbeek’s front office.
Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale and McTavish all held out of training camp in recent years when they couldn’t get a deal done with Verbeek, who eventually signed all three — and later traded them all away. Verbeek did two of those deals with the Flyers, gaining praise for sending Drysdale in a package for Gauthier, but getting criticism from Ducks fans for giving up on the high-scoring Zegras last summer.
Carlsson was the No. 2 choice in the 2023 draft behind Connor Bedard, and he has emerged as one of the NHL’s top young playmakers.
Although he didn’t produce points at a rate commensurate with his new salary during his first three seasons, almost everyone believes Carlsson can become one of the best centers in hockey, so his deal might eventually look downright affordable.
He scored 67 points in 70 games last season despite being limited for a lengthy stretch by a leg injury, and he added 11 points in 12 games during his first postseason experience.
Carlsson is expected to be an unrestricted free agent when this contract ends in 2031, putting him in line for another massive payday at just 26 years old.
Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine got emotional on stage at BST Hyde ParkCredit: The SunThe 47-year-old fought back tearsCredit: The Sun
Adam told the crowd at BST Hyde Park, which is sponsored by Vodafone: “This band playing Hyde Park was one of his dreams for us. And we’re making it true now and it’s un-f***ing-believable.
“It’s bittersweet because he’s not here tonight. So, this of course goes out to Jordan, our friend. My friend since I was born.
“I think that some of these songs mean something different to every single person that appreciates them.
“I know that you’re all thinking of someone and all that energy, it kind of comes together, especially on a beautiful night.
“Take a look around you guys, it’s unbelievable. Look at all this, it’s crazy.”
Jordan guided the band since its launch in 1994 until his sudden death from a pulmonary thromboembolism, a blood clot in the lungs, almost nine years ago.
Memories, which was released in 2019, includes the lyrics, “here’s to the ones that we got, cheers to the wish you were here, but you’re not” and “toast to the ones here today, toast to the ones that we lost on the way”.
Speaking previously about his childhood friend and long-time manager, Adam said: “It was a tragedy foisted upon us and far and away one of the saddest moments of our lives, and personally of mine.
“This is a kid I’ve known since we were in diapers. He was one of the most important people in my life from a very early age.”
He closed out the rendition of Memories by pointing to the sky in honour of Jordan.
Adam’s emotional speech on behalf of the six-piece band was met with cheers.
It was a fitting moment during the nostalgic evening, which saw Maroon 5 perform their greatest old-time hits including Sunday Morning and She Will Be Loved.
One Republic,Jess Glynneand Ella Eyre had earlier performed throughout the day.
The lead singer of Maroon 5 made his late manager’s dream come trueCredit: GettyAdam’s the lead singer of the six-piece pop rock bandCredit: Getty
The consumer experts shared a money-saving hack for holidaymakers this summer
11:45, 29 Jun 2026Updated 12:45, 29 Jun 2026
Martin Lewis founded MoneySavingExpert (stock photo)(Image: ITV)
MoneySavingExpert (MSE) has issued an alert for holidaymakers who still need to book their hotel or rental car. The consumer advice website, founded by journalist and broadcaster Martin Lewis, regularly shares tips for Brits.
In a recent social media post, the experts shared advice for people making travel bookings. Posting on X, MSE advised consumers to choose bookings that offer free cancellation if possible. The experts explained that travellers can use this tactic to get the best deal on their booking, as they can simply cancel and rebook if prices go down.
MSE wrote: “Top travel tip: Try to book a hotel or car hire with free cancellation. Why? Because if the price drops, you can simply cancel and rebook at this cheaper rate!” The post asked social media user to share their experiences in the comments.
The post asked: “Have you ever done this successfully? How much did you save?” In response, several MSE fans shared their own success stories.
For example, a commenter named Kathryn replied: “I’ve done this with a hotel. Got a much better grade room and saved about £50 on the price the original room would have cost! I usually try to do this now. I book the new room first though before cancelling the existing one… Just in case!”
Another social media user said: “I’ve done this for a hotel booking. Made a great saving on original booking price but found my room was at the furthest point away from the reception / dining areas. A good trade off in that situation.”
Someone else said they managed to find their £160 car hire reduced to just £80 using a similar tactic when they visited Portugal last year. Similarly, a commenter with another car story said they had booked their rental car three times, starting with an initial price of almost £300 and getting it down to £121, despite using the same rental company to book the same car.
They explained: “Pre-Christmas price over £300. 1st booking March £285. 2nd booking £185 early May. 3rd time mid-May £121.” Praising the method, the social media user added: “Refunded each time within four days. Result!”
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Sharing another success story, a holidaymaker claimed to save £400 on a trip to New York. The comment read: “£400 saved on a trip to NYC. Free cancellation costs more but the flexibility makes it worth it.”
Minutes after the final whistle was blown on Canada’s historic World Cup victory against South Africa on Sunday, coach Jesse Marsch gathered his players and staff in a huge huddle and delivered some words of inspiration to them.
“Canadian heroes,” he called his team after they won a knockout game at the tournament for the first time to reach the last 16.
“The future of the sport in this country is huge because of you.”
Marsch is known for grandiose comments – exaggerated and emotional statements delivered to provide maximum impact.
But his words here ring true – the sport in the country is changing.
“It is starting to become known as football now, not soccer,” one fan told BBC Sport before the match.
“Canada is becoming a football nation.”
That was the objective Marsch set out to achieve when he became Canada boss two years ago, a goal that at the time seemed highly unlikely for a country whose first love is widely regarded as ice hockey.
Mexico hosted this World Cup’s opener while the USA stages the final. Attention has been far greater on the two in the build-up, leaving Canada as something like the forgotten co-host.
But Canada quietly went about its business, building interest and passion for the tournament and their national team from within.
The country’s captain, Alphonso Davies, is used to large, football-mad crowds playing for Bayern Munich and in the Champions League.
However, he has noticed the change in Canada since the World Cup got under way, and said he cried at seeing so many fans clad in red and white in Toronto for their opening game against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“It was surreal because I’ve never seen so many Canadians at a football match before,” he said before the win against South Africa.
To get a better sense of how this project came together so quickly, the challenges it faced and the tradeoffs that had to be made, we spoke with Jason Lambert, President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) at L3Harris, the company that performed the conversion. During the interview, he gave us some unique insights into this highly visible and often controversial effort.
Jason Lambert (L3Harris)
Some of the questions and answers have been edited for clarity.
Q: Can you give us an overview of L3Harris’s role in this program?
A: It’s an honor to talk about this monumental and generational event. L3Harris worked in conjunction with the Air Force to deliver the first VC-25B — a 747-8I that the U.S. government received as a gift from Qatar. We had the opportunity to work on that aircraft for a 10-month period, with pre-staged employees operating on a 24/7, three-shift structure to convert it into what was unveiled on Friday: the new Air Force One.
The new VC-25B bridge jet. (USAF) USAF
L3Harris, in the ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] business, is uniquely positioned for this type of project. We’re the world’s largest non-OEM [Original Equipment Manufacturer] integrator of aircraft. We don’t make planes from scratch — we’re not a type certificate holder like Boeing, Airbus, or Gulfstream. We take existing planes, whether commercial or military, and missionize and outfit them for specific uses. We operate the world’s largest intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance fleet — the RC-135 Rivet Joint.
RC-135 Rivet Joint. (USAF/Staff Sgt. William Rosado)
We missionize business jets for electronic attack, ISR, and airborne early warning and control missions, including a series of special mission aircraft, some of which are classified. And then, of course, the head-of-state mission, which we’ve been proud to be part of for many years.
We’re also the prime contractor for the Senior Leader Communication System. Any time the president is on board Air Force One, the communications system he uses to talk to his staff and to world leaders — voice, video, all content going on and off the plane — has to be secure, so state actors cannot intercept it, and it has to have the right bandwidth and latency, which is evolving as new satellite providers come online.
VC-25A. (USAF)
We have the ability to broker and work with multiple providers to ensure that the system is 24/7 ready whenever the president needs it. And when he’s on that plane, he’s not just the commander-in-chief — he’s the head of state, representing the country internationally. The president spoke to that directly when he talked about the livery and how this plane looks. Our team is just very, very excited to have converted this aircraft into what is now the first VC-25B.
In conjunction with the modification work, we were also asked to help build out a training program and a sustainment program — not just for this specific aircraft, but for the VC-25B fleet overall. On the training side, the Presidential Airlift Group had been flying the legacy 747. The 747-8I is a very different aircraft — it’s much larger — so we worked with two companies to address that. We leased an aircraft from Atlas Air for a period of time, and we purchased a plane from Lufthansa out of their commercial fleet to serve as a dedicated flight trainer, so the Presidential Airlift Group could learn how to fly the platform.
You can see video of one of those Lufthansa 747-8is below:
Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i D-ABYG, one of two aircraft slated to be sold to the U.S. Air Force, visited LAX during the Airline Videos Live broadcast from the H Hotel on December 14th, 2025. Lufthansa plans to sell both 747-8i aircraft in 2026. pic.twitter.com/IxsB55Kz8h
We also built a one-to-one scale mockup of the aircraft interior and placed it on the hangar floor at Joint Base Andrews. It was an exact replica of the layout — monuments like bulkheads, walls, doors, tables, and chairs in full-scale configuration, along with the galleys — so the flight crew supporting the president could practice and learn how to operate this aircraft before ever flying it. There were multiple training touchpoints built around that, and then, of course, the sustainment portion: spare parts, engineering support, everything needed to keep that aircraft ready whenever the president needs it. All of that infrastructure was built out in advance — not just for this plane, but to support the entire VC-25B fleet, which will include more aircraft to follow.
US President Donald Trump speaks in front of the new Air Force One, gifted to him by Qatar, in a hangar at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on June 19, 2026. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI
Q: How did this all come about? Was there a requirement for a bridge Air Force One aircraft prior to the Trump administration’s second round? How did it all come into being and why?
A: In the first administration, a deal was signed with the Air Force and Boeing to build the VC-25B. That program has been delayed significantly by years, and its budget overrun by billions. You have that event taking place. The aircraft weren’t ready for the president’s use coupled with the fact that the VC-25A — the legacy aircraft — are 35 years old. They’re starting to have — there’s not a safety risk, there’s an operational risk in terms of what happens on planes, given their, I’ll just say, their usage. And so the president and the Air Force wanted to have a solution… given that the VC-25Bs are delayed further and the VC-25As are starting to — I’ll say show some age in terms of their availability. Again, there’s only two of those VC-25As and so one is usually in for depot-level maintenance. In fact, at present, I have one of them in my facility.
VC-25A. (USAF/Josh Plueger) USAF/Josh Plueger
The other one came back from the G7 summit recently, the president flew on that. And then of course the second one is in for maintenance. It was at Boeing’s facility at San Antonio for several months, getting upgraded, and then it’s in our facility right now for paint. That leaves the president with one VC-25A asset that, from an operational availability perspective, is not probably what it should be, given the age of the plane. So the Air Force approached us with a solution potential on how we could potentially go find a bridge to create when the VC-25Bs that are under contract with Boeing would be ready, and this was the solution.
A rendering of a future US Air Force VC-25B Air Force One jet. (Boeing) Boeing
Q: Can you provide any insights into what it took to get the work on the VC-25B done in just 10 months? Can you tell the story of how it all came together and why L3Harris was tasked with the job?
A: I’ll start with the L3Harris piece. Our core competency and what our uniqueness is, is taking existing platforms — military or commercial — and modifying them based on whatever the customer’s mission set might be. For example, we take tankers and convert them into the RC-135 Rivet Joint, the country’s premier intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. We take a legacy G550 business jet and convert it to the EA-37B Compass Call electronic attack plane. We take a Global 6500 from Bombardier and are converting it to ARES X, an airborne early warning and control offering for the Republic of Korea.
An EA-37B Compass Call. (USAF)
We do that because we’ve got an engineering team of 2,600 people on our total workforce of 7,600. Within the ISR business, 5,600 are cleared, so we have the ability at scale and size to do classified things very quickly and detect classified things with a large group of people that can do things in our facilities. So there is a lot of technical talent, but with that we also have around 100 people in our ODA. The ODA is essentially the delegated organization from the FAA, where we in our business can do work on behalf of the FAA for certification work.
So, the way we operate it, we’ll take an existing platform or an existing plane, and rather than have to certify it from scratch, we have to just certify the modifications that we’re doing for it. So you’re always starting with this baseline, and then you’re doing a modification on top of that baseline that enables us to go far quicker than if we were to start with a brand new aircraft from scratch.
So all that aircraft missionization competency is one of the reasons I think of why we were asked. The second reason is we’re the prime contractor for what’s called the Senior Leader Communication System, and so that communication system is used for every aircraft that’s utilized for Air Force One. So, in the 747s that the president flies — when he’s flying on a 757 — those are known as the C-32s — we have the hardware and the software on that aircraft, as well as the services that connect from satellite links, ground links, and be able to manage the communications content that the president and his staff are using in flight anywhere in the world.
A stock picture of a C-32A wearing the blue-over-white livery. (USMC)
Think of it like a help desk always online when the president or his staff are flying to ensure that the connections are live and working. If there’s an issue, we have redundancies within the system that we can ensure that it’s working, and most importantly, in addition to it being resilient, it’s also secure when that phone call gets made, or that video feed gets made from POTUS to a world leader, we’ve got to make sure that adversaries aren’t listening in. And so it’s fully secure, and that’s the core competency of what L3Harris does. So, combining those two pieces together, along with our legacy of supporting the Air Force One fleet, and we’re a logical choice to be asked to go take on this work and we are really uniquely positioned to do that because of the nature of the things that we do.
Q: What is the difference between this aircraft and Boeing’s VC-25Bs that are still in modification?
A: They both started as a 747-8i so from a platform perspective, they are the same. I can’t talk too much about the VC-25B program. What I can say for this one is, while this is an 8i, it had a very nice interior that came in from the Qataris. So we had a place to start from.
One of the first things we have to do on this aircraft, in conjunction with the U.S. government, is ensure it is safe. There was a lot of content and buzz on blogs and whatnot about is the aircraft secure? Is there anything that we wouldn’t want coming in on the aircraft? Somebody could listen in, something like that. And I can assure you that was very effectively managed to the highest degree. Experts from the U.S. government, experts from L3Harris, experts in cyber security, electronic warfare, ensured that every square inch of that plane was clean, not only on the exterior but interior of the plane and all systems within. So I’ll say, there’s just electronic scrubbing, is how I would describe it, to ensure that it was safe and secure. Frankly, that work took place even before we were able to do any real work on the plane.
In this February 15, 2025 photograph, a Qatari Boeing 747 sits on the tarmac of Palm Beach International airport after US President Donald Trump toured the aircraft on February 15, 2025. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) ROBERTO SCHMIDT
Once we started work on the plane, it had an existing interior, much of which we kept and maintained. One of the things that we had to do for the speed of this program – because the goal was to get it done before the country’s Independence Day.
We were excited that we delivered early to that commitment. There are things that would have driven the schedule, so for example, changing the room structure, changing the hard walls, or any of the bulkheads, things like that, that would drive a significant amount of schedule risk associated. So those were some of the big rules that said, ‘okay, we’re not going to change any of what I call monuments,’ but there’s things within those that we did have some flexibility to change.
For example, there’s some things that came in on the interior that, while they look very nice, they weren’t really representative of what would be fitting for the U.S. president, and so we did make some modifications into some of the fit and finish in terms of the leather and wood and other aspects of what the aircraft looks like to really be fitting for the president’s mission.
✈️🇺🇸 The ultra-luxurious Boeing 747-8, which former U.S. President Donald Trump is set to receive as a gift from the Qatari emir’s family, is poised to become the most valuable present ever given to the United States by a foreign government.
— Savchenko Volodymyr (@SavchenkoReview) May 12, 2025
Q: When the original VC-25B contract was put forward, we were told the USAF, the White House and Secret Service carefully picked the exact requirements needed to execute the mission, and they would come at great cost. Some were even dropped to save money, like aerial refueling. Clearly, those standards had to change drastically to make this Bridge aircraft happen. What requirements were relaxed and what features were omitted in order to meet its aggressive budget and timeline requirements?
A: That’s classified, so I won’t be able to take that one, but I’d prefer that you direct that question back to the US Air Force.
Q: The one thing we get asked about the most is if this aircraft is hardened against electromagnetic pulse and has the command and control capabilities of the full-up VC-25B? Can you speak about that?
A: I think that’s one I’ll also have to defer back to the Air Force.
Q: What about survivability? The VC-25As are covered with infrared countermeasures and missile detection systems, and there are clearly capabilities that are less obvious. This aircraft doesn’t appear to have a similar outfit. How was survivability factored into its abbreviated modifications?
A: Survivability of the aircraft was something that was absolutely thought of, but I can’t comment on the specific systems on the aircraft yet. That’s one I’ll have to direct you back to the Air Force.
Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM)
Q: If this aircraft is good enough to carry the commander-in-chief in the Air Force One role, why does the USAF need to spend over $4 billion on the other two aircraft? Why can’t the USAF just procure two aircraft in this configuration?
A: It’s an interesting question. Good question for the Air Force, but that’s an interesting question.
Q: Will this aircraft be able to fly all missions that the current VC-25As can? What about trips overseas to less peaceful regions?
A: I can comment about [the recent speech Trump gave at Andrews Air Force Base]. I know he’s intending to use this aircraft for international travel. I think he mentioned that there’d be an upcoming flight to Turkey coming up in the future. So specific locations, that’s always done through the White House planning group and White House Presidential Airlift Group. But the intent is this aircraft would be used overseas very much. The president talked about it in his speech about how it really is comparative to some of the other head-of-state aircraft.
It’s 18 feet longer for one so it really is a large aircraft. In fact, the hangar at [Joint Base Andrews] JBA that we were in on Friday for the ceremony was actually custom-built for the VC-25B because of the size of these planes.
In addition, of course, when you see the livery up close, it’s just amazing in terms of what it looks like. So I think the intention is for the president to use this overseas. He definitely signaled that directly on Friday.
Trump unveils new Air Force One, a $400 million jet gifted by Qatar | full video
Q: But are there any preclusions about where it can go at all? To a less peaceful region? Is there any place that it can’t go that the other aircraft can?
A: That’s probably a question for the Air Force.
Q: The aircraft belonged to another country’s government. What had to happen in order to make sure a foreign aircraft like this is free from potential nefarious tampering, bugs and other potential threats? Did every single component have to be examined?
A: What I can say is that a team of experts from the U.S. government, in terms of cyber security, did an immense amount of work on this aircraft, in conjunction with the L3Harris team, to ensure that this aircraft was fully safe from that environment, that threat, and that threat has been fully mitigated. I can say that. How they do it is classified.
The new VC-25B Bridge jet practices touch and go landings on June 22, 2026, in Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Photo by Andrew Leyden/Getty Images) Andrew Leyden
Q: The interior in this thing cost massive amounts of money when the Qataris outfitted it. It was one of, if not the most incredible VIP aircraft on earth before becoming a VC-25B. What unique elements of its interior and other VIP features were kept and what was changed?
A: The majority of the wall structure was all kept so any movements of monuments was maintained. That aircraft has 10 restrooms, and those were all kept and maintained. The fit and finish, in terms of some of the materials that were selected, those in some cases were upgraded in certain areas of the aircraft, and that’s both in terms of some of the leather and some of the wood grain veneers and things to be able to not only be esthetically pleasing, but fitting for the U.S. president.
You can imagine that the president is on the aircraft and could be doing interviews with the media. The presidential seal was of course incorporated in a few areas.
Inside the new VC-25B Bridge jet. (Dan Scavino via X) President Donald Trump inside the new VC-25B Bridge jet. (Dan Scavino via X)
We had to put in an air stair, which is for when the aircraft is landing in a remote location, it doesn’t have to — like on Friday — there’s the trucks that come up with the stairs to be able to get on and off the plane. This has one that can self deploy, so that was a fairly sizable structural mod to be able to integrate that into the aircraft and go through the certification process with it, but it works flawlessly. It’s actually a phenomenal piece of mechanical engineering. So yes, there were a couple of minor things that had to happen in conjunction with the other systems we had to incorporate.
U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist after touring the inside of the newest aircraft in the presidential fleet at Andrews Air Force Base on June 19, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Alex Wong
Q: Were these requests from the president himself?
A: I’ll say that the president didn’t see the aircraft personally until last Friday, but his staff was directly engaged in the project throughout the entire project. Air Force leadership engaged throughout the entire project. We had senior Air Force visitors, including the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. [Dale R.] White [The Pentagon’s Director of Critical Major Weapon Systems], and representatives from the White House military office visit us on several occasions to check on the progress of the aircraft, and then also to make design decisions.
I think about even one like the paint scheme, and the president had to sign off on the paint scheme, had to sign off on — if you look at the back of the tail — the wavy flag versus the fixed rectangular flag. The president personally had to approve all those items.
And one of the things the Air Force did an amazing job of helping us with is getting those decisions made as early as possible on the program, and then once the decisions were made, keeping the configuration frozen. In any type of aircraft development program, regardless of the customer, being able to make those design decisions and have them… locked in the front end allows the team to actually go do the procurement and engineering and work on the aircraft without having to do a lot of change.
In this example, we had an objective, along with our Air Force customer, to get this plane delivered before the 4th of July, 2026 for the country’s 250th birthday. And the team rallied behind that mission set to do that. And we could never have done it without the level of collaboration we had with the Air Force, working the requirements back with the president.
You can see the VC-25B bridge jet practicing touch-and-goes at Andrews in the following video:
Q: What new features does this aircraft’s interior have that the VC-25As don’t?
A: Well, the upgrades. So the comm suite is all the latest content gear, so that’s an upgrade. The aircraft is larger than the 25A, again about 18 feet larger, and so I’ll just say the size and just the finish of the aircraft.
Also, VC-25As were commissioned under President Reagan, and then first used under President Bush, and so while they are nice planes, they’re 35 years old, and so you can imagine just how those will wear a bit over time.
And yes, they’ve been kept upgraded, but this is a modern, beautiful aircraft, and I can say, when I saw it for the first time, it was the most beautiful aircraft I’ve ever seen. It’s — and if you have the chance someday to walk on the inside — or as things will start being released, you’ll see that on the interior also. It’s just absolutely gorgeous. And we had a great plane, a great point to start from, but again, we did have to do some things to make it fitting for the U.S. president.
Q: The paint job has gotten more press than anything else. What was the process of painting the highest profile aircraft on earth?
A: That’s a great question. So the first was the color selection, and as the president said on Friday, he was asked what color would he like. ‘So I like the American flag,’ and so trying to incorporate the American flag into the color scheme, we did a couple of things.
One, we took a legacy fuselage of a business jet. We do a lot of work on missionized planes to use it as essentially a test to be able to get the white and the red and the blue and the gold. How we apply those, took a lot of practice. We essentially painted a scrap airframe to be able to do the testing. The second thing we did is our team actually painted a C-32 — which is actually the first aircraft that was ever released with this paint scheme — a 757 called C-32A.
So we painted that and released that and actually got to show it live to the senior leaders of the Air Force before it was delivered, and it came out great as well.
One of the U.S. Air Force’s C-32A VIP aircraft wearing the new red, white, and blue paint scheme, spotted in Greenville, Texas (@tt_33_operator) @tt_33_operator
But what we learned from that plane was the sequencing. So the plane’s got essentially the white on top, the red, the gold stripe, and the navy on the bottom. We actually learned through that process of painting the 757 of how to optimize the sequence, and essentially the navy coming last.
That’s navy that’s on the undercarriage of the fuselage, when you see it up close, you can actually see your reflection in it. It’s just so beautiful. But we did learn that because it’s on the lower end of the aircraft, and we’re doing continual maintenance and masking of the aircraft, it was optimal to do that in the last part of the sequence, and so that’s something that we took forward when we painted the 747.
Q: What will happen to the original VC-25As? What about this new aircraft once the full VC-25Bs enter service in a couple of years?
A: Great question. The aircraft are still flying, they’re not decommissioned, per se. You know, there were some announcements made when the aircraft flew a mission coming back from the G7 summit and landed at Andrews last week, but those aircraft are still available for use.
But in terms of the operational availability of what you expect, there’s two aircraft that are again, 35 years old, and so they’re not going to have that same uptime as what you’d expect out of the new planes. But in terms of a plan for usage, that’s probably a good question for the Air Force.
Q: What happens with this aircraft once the full VC-25Bs enter service in a couple years?
A: I think that’s also probably a good question for the Air Force. They’ll have the better purview for that. In terms of L3Harris’s role with this right now, our role is to sustain it and make sure that this aircraft is always ready to fly whenever the president needs it. And then I think what we just demonstrated again with this plane is we have the capability from both a scale with our size of what we have from our workforce, our classified workforce, the speed in which we can operate, and the unique expertise to do very high-demanding aircraft modernization and integration roles. We’re ready to step up whenever the Air Force asks us to.
There’s many things we do for them on a regular basis. This one gets a lot of press. It is actually interesting because it was — up until this past week — essentially an unacknowledged special access program, meaning we couldn’t talk about it. So all this was happening essentially in the dark, and you go home and talk to your family at night, and they ask, ‘why are you stressed out,’ or ‘why do you look so tired,’ and you can’t say. And that’s just the nature of what we do in the classified world.
We’re doing this in several other examples across other customers we work with. This one just finally was able to come into the light, and we’re just thankful to be able to talk about it, but we want to do more.
Q: What lessons can L3Harris and the USAF learn from this program?
A: What we learned from this program is when the U.S. government has an immediate or incredibly urgent need, when the Department of War and industry work together as a partnership and team with leadership alignment all the way to the top, you can do anything. And it totally changes the game in terms of what’s been thought of as — I’ll say a historically slow and sluggish defense acquisition process. We at L3Harris and the Air Force just proved that that entire paradigm can shatter if you put the right leaders together to be able to do an impossible mission, and you do it as one team.
Spanish painter Nieves González arrives in Los Angeles for her first U.S. solo exhibition having already experienced a taste of fame.
The 29-year-old caught the attention of the art and fashion worlds last year after being discovered on Instagram and commissioned to paint the cover of Lily Allen’s album “West End Girl.” Depicting the singer as a Baroque aristocrat clad in contemporary designer fashion, the portrait helped propel González onto an international stage.
Collectors have taken notice. The 13 paintings in “A Friendship Story,” opening Saturday at Richard Heller Gallery in Santa Monica, have already sold out, according to the gallery, with prices ranging from $4,000 to $20,000.
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Elle magazine dubbed González “Fashion’s Favorite New Artist,” while exhibitions in Rome, Paris, Belfast and Bilbao, Spain, expanded her reputation across Europe.
González developed her classic yet defiantly modern approach while studying at the University of Seville, where Spanish masters such as Diego Velázquez and Francisco de Zurbarán painted in the naturalist Baroque tradition. Drawing liberally from fashion, art history and everyday life, she often dresses the subjects of her portraits in puffer jackets — garments she wears herself during the cold winters of Granada, Spain, where she lives. The material, she said, recalls the sculptural rendering of fabric in paintings by Zurbarán and Velázquez: the folds, the volumes, the high shine.
Nieves González often dresses her subjects in puffer jackets.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
“It works beautifully from a visual standpoint,” she said, speaking Spanish during an interview at Santa Monica’s Bergamot Station a few days before the exhibition opened. Wearing blue jeans and a pink button-down blouse, she echoed the pastel blues and pinks that appear throughout many of the works surrounding her.
“Fashion inspires me,” she said. “Just as 17th century artists drew inspiration from the fashion of their day — often creating paintings that served as catalogs of current styles — I do the same,” she said. “The goal is to not merely convey a specific message or ideology but to create a testament to a generation and the era in which we live.”
This fall, González’s painting “La Sfida” (2025) will appear in the Städel Museum’s exhibition “Mary Magdalene. Sin. Pray. Love” in Frankfurt, Germany, alongside works by Lady Gaga, Marlene Dumas and Auguste Rodin. The painting depicts Mary Magdalene with long, flowing hair, draped in a regal red garment and clutching a skull — a contemporary interpretation of one of Christianity’s most enduring figures.
“Nieves González is the youngest of these artists and, at the same time, probably the one who most closely follows in the tradition of the Old Masters,” curators Bastian Eclercy and Stefan Roller wrote in an email.
The Santa Monica exhibition marks an evolution from the paintings that established González’s reputation. Earlier works often centered on solitary women posed with the self-possession of royal portraits or religious icons. “A Friendship Story” focuses on relationships between pairs of women, exploring friendship, intimacy, support and shared experience.
For González, friendship is one of the most profound aspects of women’s lives and a subject she felt deserved greater attention in painting.
Victoria Rios, a curator who works with González, said the artist’s paintings “rewrite the narratives of the past, rewrite the history of martyrdom and place women at the center.”
“Nothing in her painting is arbitrary,” Rios said in an email. “Every formal decision is also an ethical one.”
“The horse elevates the art; symbolically, it carries connotations of elegance and nobility,” Nieves González said. “It seemed like a way to elevate the concept of friendship.”
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
González frequently turns art historical conventions on their head. In “Salir a robar caballos: Go out to steal horses,” she replaces the archetypal portrait of a gallant man on horseback with two young women dressed in puffer and vinyl jackets, posed like contemporary Amazons atop rearing horses.
“The horse elevates the art; symbolically, it carries connotations of elegance and nobility,” González said. “It seemed like a way to elevate the concept of friendship. It also has an element of play, adventure and fun, since having fun is part of the bond too.”
The artist also sees her work through a feminist lens.
“We live in a patriarchal society, and so, unfortunately, I belong to the oppressed segment of that society, and my work relates to that,” she said. “It stems from a struggle, an understanding and a process of redefining concepts that we have historically established as normal, natural and habitual.”
“I am interested in portraying us as brave and powerful, sometimes even with an air of haughtiness,” she said.
Another painting, “Something’s crossed over me and I can’t go back” (2026), captures González’s fusion of historical and contemporary references. Two women dressed in green and pink fur cradle each other’s heads, reimagining medieval depictions of cephalophores — Christian martyrs who carry their severed heads while continuing to preach or pray.
The title comes from a pivotal line in the 1991 film “Thelma & Louise,” marking the turning point for Geena Davis’ character Thelma, fully committing to her ultimately fatal adventure with Susan Sarandon’s Louise.
Nieves González, “Holding You,” 2026 (oil on canvas).
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
González builds each painting from what she calls a “Frankenstein” — a digital composite assembled from archival photographs, found images and reference material. The painting process then takes over. A mid-project visit to the Prado Museum in Madrid, for instance, might send her back to the digital sketch to pull in a compositional element from Velázquez before returning to the canvas. “The final result often ends up being completely different from what I initially envisioned,” she said.
Heller began representing González, whom he calls an “original voice,” last year after being introduced to her work by another painter.
Staging her first U.S. solo exhibition in Los Angeles rather than New York reflects what he sees as a more relaxed environment for an emerging artist, without the glare and expectations of the New York art world.
“L.A. feels a little less constrained,” Heller said. “It feels a little more free.”
González’s portrait of Allen is currently on view at London’s National Portrait Gallery, hanging in the same room as a self-portrait by David Hockney. She said while it “has been very significant in terms of media exposure,” exhibitions and professional opportunities were already in motion before the album cover brought wider attention.
“I’ve always said that what I want to do in life is make a living from painting,” she said.
Mission accomplished.
‘Nieves González: A Friendship Story’
Where: Richard Heller Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave. #B-5A, Santa Monica
JAMES Bourne is made of sterner stuff. The Busted rocker stepped back from the public eye in September after falling ill and ten weeks ago told his fans was awaiting major surgery to extend his life.
And now, James tells me he’s used his time to finish a project which has been 13 years in the offing – and on July 1 will release new album Murder At The Gates, which he created for a brand new musical with legendary American playwright Steven Sater.
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James Bourne has broken his silence on having to quit the McBusted tour last year to The Sun in his only interview since the ordealCredit: SplashThe singer (pictured with bandmates Charlie Simpson and Matt Willis) was scheduled to head on tour last September but pulled out due to ill health at the last minuteCredit: Getty
“I didn’t want my health to stop me from promoting this project because I’ve put 13 years of my life into it,” James tells me from his home in the UK.
“There was a fear of not finishing it. But I knew I had to finish it and give this to the people. “There’s like a few people that have been waiting for it. There are hardcore fans who show to up for everything – and I have been speaking about this for a long time.
“It feels so good to now have this as a finished product. And it’s the first album I’ve ever produced. So I’m proud of it.”
Now, he is returning to music with album Murder At The Gates, which is for a brand new musical and will be released on 1 JulyCredit: PR SuppliedJames has worked alongside Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo on songs for the new recordCredit: PR SuppliedHe says that the project, which has been in the making for 13 years, is so sacred even his Busted bandmates haven’t heard the completed versionCredit: GettyIt comes just months after James told fans he was undergoing surgery, which hoped to be ‘life-extending’Credit: instagram
But rather than wallowing, James threw himself into the 13-track album – which features big name screen stars, including Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo, on vocals.
“This album definitely has a different feeling to all the others,” James explains.
“With everything going on with my health, I have been given the gift of time.
“I was given a lot of time back when I wasn’t touring. It was like turning a negative into a positive. It was such a shame to have to drop out from the tour, because I love touring so much.
“But you have to turn negative into positive. They’re the conversations I’ve had with my closest friends.
“I wanted to take the time I’d been given and deliver this album.”
James’s last musical, Loserville, earned an Olivier nomination back in 2013 and when he was tapped up by Steven, who earned a Grammy and a Tony award for his cult-hit musical Spring Awakening, he jumped at the chance to get involved.
“Musicals are a very difficult thing to do well and to do properly and to develop properly,” James explains.
“And this one’s been developed on the highest level with the most talented people.
“Steven was looking for a composer and that is when Loserville was in the West End.
“He invited me to his place and I knew immediately how I would do it.
“I’d never done a project where someone else did the words because he’s a lyricist.
James has not yet shared publicly what health issues he is facingCredit: GettyJames rose to fame in the early 2000s with BustedCredit: Getty
“But as I was reading the lyrics, I could hear the music. And we partnered on the project.
“To work on this with someone on Steven’s level has been a dream.”
Of the score he’s created, James adds: “I knew I wanted it to be a very solid piano vocal score to begin with and I knew I wanted it to be orchestral but with a rock band at the heart of it.
“But I don’t think it is a rock musical in the way that rock musicals are presented.
“Rock musicals like We Will Rock You or Rock of Ages tend to veer more towards classic rock and this isn’t what Murder At The Gates is.
“I think a big part of what sold Steven’s show Spring Awakening so well was how contemporary the score was.
“The music is very customised. This is tailormade for Steven’s words and the world that he imagined and the characters that he imagined
“The score had to represent that world, you know.”
James adds: “We wrote about 50 songs for the show and whittled it down to 13.
“Some are old, some have been rewritten, some are completely new.
“It’s a long process that you can’t complete unless there’s a lot of passion involved.
“With songwriting in the pop world, you can blag it. Go into the room with a producer you’ve never met before and come out with something amazing.
He shared an update on his health with fans back in April via InstagramCredit: InstagramHowever, the musician’s social media has since disappearedCredit: Splash
“But if you don’t get anything great, you’ve not lost much. With a project like this, it’s a life commitment.”
James admits all of his spare time since 2013 has been dedicated to this project, with him missing dates on the McBusted tours with One Direction in 2014 and 2015 to get his teeth into it.
After stepping back from their tour last September, James was able to focus fully on getting the project finished – and spent time flying from his home in the US to New York to record the tracks.
“We’ve got amazing people like Gaten on board, he was definitely one of the top people on our list,” James explains.
“It was a total cherry picking situation. Steven has so much recognition from Spring Awakening – he’s like a rock star in his own right. He is a genius.
“All of the people who sang on it were busy, many of them were on Broadway so I would fly to New York for each vocal.”
And like all the best projects, James had kept his cards close to his chest – with not even his Busted bandmates Matt Willis and Charlie Simpson hearing the finished product.
“They might have heard something a very long time ago when we were doing promo for one of our tours,” James explains. “But apart from that, I haven’t played it for anyone.
“Even the actors who have done workshops with us over the past decade haven’t heard it.”
Once the record is released, Steven will get to work with James in getting the production green lit.
And James admits he is excited to see what comes of the project.
“We don’t have an opening night yet for the show but we’ve got the album and we’re saying, ‘This is a great representative of what the show is,’”James explains.
“There are still some bonus tracks to come later on. I’m just incredibly proud of it.
“When you do these projects, you strive to create things that can be timeless in a way.
“Classic musicals go on for years and years, and we’ve definitely been really striving to create something amazing.
“When I make albums with Busted, you’re making music for yourself to perform.
“With a project like this, you’re giving something to the community. This show is original, memorable and I don’t think there’s another show like it.
“I just can’t wait for people to hear it, then see it.”
Australian referee Shaun Evans says he didn’t intend to ‘communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind’.
Published On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026
FIFA says it has found “no evidence” that one of the referees at the World Cup breached its code of conduct after he was accused of making a white supremacist hand gesture during one of the games.
“FIFA’s independent Disciplinary Committee can confirm that, after looking into the matter involving support video assistant referee Shaun Evans, it has found no evidence of breaches of the FIFA Disciplinary Code,” football’s global governing body told Al Jazeera in an emailed statement on Monday.
Earlier, FIFA’s discrimination monitor at the World Cup called for Evans, working as a VAR official in the tournament, to be removed for appearing to make a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign.
When the official broadcast of Germany’s opening game against Curacao on Sunday cut pre-game to show the team of video review analysts, Australian official Evans made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg.
Though the game was played in Houston, video officials work in Dallas at the World Cup broadcast centre.
Evans said the hand gesture was not intentional, nor did he make it to “communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind”.
“The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time,” the official said in a statement shortly before FIFA announced its decision.
“Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers,” Evans went on to add.
“The coverage following this incident simply does not reflect who I am. Of course, I understand how the gesture has been interpreted and I regret this; however, I want to be very clear and categorically say that I did not knowingly or deliberately make the hand symbol suggested.”
The award-winning journalist takes centre stage one last time in an extraordinary new film made for Channel 4
In the new film Jon uncovers one of the worst mining and ecological disasters of modern times.(Image: Channel 4)
Former newsreader Jon Snow Is now “living a quieter life” months on from filming a documentary with Channel 4 about having Alzheimer’s disease.
The 78-year-old cancelled a planned appearance on a panel at the Sheffield Documentary festival on Friday which coincided with a screening of Jon Snow : A Last Big Story which shows him navigating life with Alzheimer’s.
The film, which shows the beginnings of his memory fading, actually finished filming last year. Asked how he was now, the Executive Producer Ben de Pear who also worked with Jon for many years on Channel 4 News said: “He has been in Zimbabwe(on holiday) and I spoke to him recently. He was his usual self, he was feisty, funny and really excited about the film coming out. Jon is living a quieter life but I think he is still interested and engaged in the world and still fascinated by people. When he goes to the supermarket he still ends up speaking to people for 20 minutes each.”
On the original plan of him being at the event in person, Ben added: “To be honest some days it is good and he could have been on stage, we could have had a discussion and some days it’s worse. That is the nature of the disease.” He told the audience that Jon “sent his love” before the screening began.
Ben and director, Laura Warner also spoke about the unusual circumstances around making the emotional film and then showing it to Jon and his wife, Dr Precious Lunga.
Laura said she would start each day explaining who she was and what film she was making to make sure Jon was still happy. She added: “Every day we would have to re-consent Jon and he would ask why there were cameras and we would explain.
“He was extremely engaged and leading the story. But there would come a time every day, around about sort of sunset, I think it is called sundowning where Jon would really start to struggle. The cameras went down at that point every day and we would look after him.”
On the final edit, Laura recalled: “Jon and Precious watched it several times in terms of giving it send off. It was really important to Precious that he viewed it by himself the first time, so he wasn’t influenced by her reaction too it or anyone else’s.
“He had a really emotional reaction to it because I think it was the first time he had seen himself with the condition.”
Ben added: “Precious loves the film, she thinks it is really important.”
The film also sees Jon discover a news story whilst on holiday in 2025, which leads an investigation into a Zambian community whose land and water were impacted by a mining disaster.
As the Mirror previously reported, he speaks in the film about his own mortality, and seems happy with the life he has.
Jon says: “A strange old business life. I had a good innings of it. It’s understandable, you can be worried about death, but to be worried about growing older is irrelevant. It’s absurd. How old is older? You’re going to die tomorrow or the next day. Stop worrying and get on with it.”
His wife Precious says of the film: “I want it to be a story of love, laughter, acknowledging that times are hard. I don’t shy away from the fact that it’s hard caring for someone with Alzheimer’s. But we can also be on the lookout for opportunities that would lessen that burden. And yeah we do that by having our little adventures.”
* Jon Snow: A Last Big story will be available to watch and stream on Channel 4 on Sat June 20 at 8pm.
Two Dragons’ Den entrepreneurs were branded “delusional” by Touker Suleyman over their valuation after he turned down their pitch, but their vegan pet food brand is now worth £11,000,000.
22:40, 08 Jun 2026Updated 22:42, 08 Jun 2026
Touker Suleyman has stepped down from Dragons’ Den(Image: BBC)
Dragons’ Den stars who Touker Suleyman once labelled “delusional” have revealed their company is now turning over £11,000,000.
The Dragon confirmed at the weekend that he would be departing the show after “ten extraordinary years”.
In a social media post, Touker shared: “It has been an immense privilege to sit in that chair, to meet so many passionate and talented entrepreneurs, and to invest in businesses and people I truly believed in.
“The show gave me a platform not only to invest in leading British founders and companies, but to share hard-won wisdom built over decades in business – and I hope that, in some small way, I made a difference to those who stood opposite me.”
Yet one particular pair of entrepreneurs who faced Touker in the Den were on the receiving end of some scathing criticism from the businessman, reports Wales Online.
Omni founders Dr Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar appeared on the programme last year, seeking investment in their protein-based, vegan pet food brand.
Established in 2021, their brand centred on improving pets’ wellbeing through lab-grown food that was calorie-controlled and environmentally sustainable, while also delivering on taste.
Within two years, they had racked up over £2,500,000 in sales, and were seeking £75,000 from the Dragons in exchange for a 1% stake in their business.
Touker, however, remained wholly unimpressed, declaring he “wouldn’t even get out of bed for” that sum, and bluntly stated: “You’re delusional about what this is really worth.”
Although Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett championed the entrepreneurs, Touker rejected Omni’s lifetime value projections, and was swift to utter the infamous words, “I’m out.”
Yet, despite his scathing assessment, the Omni entrepreneurs disclosed in a 2025 interview that their business was valued at £7,500,000, and shortly afterwards, they’d soared to £11,000,000, even collaborating with Springwatch’s Chris Packham.
Reflecting on Touker and also Peter Jones’ brutal comments in the Den, Dr Guy and Shiv previously told Metro: “I feel like when we were in the Den, they were looking at our historical numbers and basing that on our valuation, but what we were basing it on was actually what our revenue was like at that point, because we’re so fast-growing.”
Dr Guy went on: “We can make quite reasonable assumptions about what we’re going to do in the coming months as well, and I felt like that wasn’t necessarily as much their focus. When you look at our run-rate based on our revenue, it’s not as crazy as they were sort of alluding to at all.”
He continued by stressing that their experience in the Den came down to their product, not their numbers.
He added: “In hindsight, the one disadvantage of it is that we didn’t get to show the nation so much of the other stuff we filmed, like the details of our products.”
Speaking back in March 2025, they said the response from the series had been “amazing”, adding: “We’re trying to keep up, honestly, we’re just a small business trying to help pets live happier lives, and we knew that going on the show would increase our exposure.
“But we never imagined the demand that we’re seeing now, we’ve had to re-evaluate our stock levels and the number of people helping with our customer service and packaging, so it’s been really, really positive.”
He went on: “It’s just a testament to the fact that so many people out there watching the show understood what we’re trying to do, aligned with our mission and were willing to give it a go.”
Sharing his announcement that he was stepping down from Dragons’ Den this weekend, Touker’s statement went on: “Stepping back from Dragons’ will give me more time to mentor the entrepreneurs I have invested in, and to give back the 50 years of business experience I have accumulated.
“If I can help the next generation avoid the pitfalls I’ve faced, seize the opportunities I almost missed, and build businesses they are truly proud of, then that will be the most rewarding chapter of my career yet.”
Touker concluded: “To the BBC, to my fellow Dragons past and present, to the production team, and above all to the entrepreneurs who dared to walk through those doors – thank you.
“It has been one of the greatest joys of my career. The fire in the Den burns on. I simply pass the torch.”
After Sara Davies’ departure last year, it has yet to be confirmed who will be joining Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett in the Den.
Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Tourists have been urged to stop making a common packing mistake as it could lead to “ruining holidays”. The advice comes as vacation season begins to kick off
08:01, 07 Jun 2026Updated 08:01, 07 Jun 2026
The packing mistake could “ruin holidays” (stock image)(Image: Bet_Noire via Getty Images)
The prospect of jetting off somewhere keeps most of us motivated, so the last thing anyone wants is for something to spoil their well-earned break. Yet, as many may not realise, a straightforward packing blunder could land you in trouble, and may even affect whether you’re able to fully enjoy your time away.
If you’re hoping for a smooth and stress-free trip, there’s some vital travel information you really ought to be aware of. It’s essential to steer clear of a simple packing error, as it could prove costly and seriously disrupt your holiday — something nobody wants to experience.
According to pharmacist Seema Khatri at Roseway Labs, the vast majority of medication-related holiday mishaps stem from a handful of easily preventable errors, with most occurring before the trip has even begun.
Seema said: “People spend weeks planning itineraries and what to take, but medication is often an afterthought. And that causes problems.”
Travelling with medication can be a minefield, as regulations differ from country to country. As a general rule, ensuring your medication is clearly labelled is always a sensible precaution.
For certain medicines, particularly injectables or controlled substances, a doctor’s letter may also be required. She added: “Always keep your medication in your carry-on luggage.
“It reduces the risk of loss, delays or temperature damage.” What you might not realise is that medication can cause problems at airports if it’s not packed and documented properly.
In fact, it can result in hold-ups, questioning, confiscation or you could even be refused permission to fly in certain situations. Issues typically occur with controlled substances, liquid medications that exceed particular limits or absent prescriptions.
To make sure you pack yours appropriately, check the regulations at your airport and in the country you’re visiting. Seema said: “Most holiday medication problems are preventable.
“With a bit of planning, you can focus on enjoying your trip instead of dealing with avoidable health issues.” That said, there are several general guidelines people ought to follow to be on the safe side.
What you need to know
Always keep medication in your hand luggage in its original, properly labelled packaging. Store a spare supply in your checked baggage in case your bags go missing.
Additionally, make sure you carry a copy of your repeat prescription and, in certain cases, a signed letter from your doctor outlining the medication, dosage and duration of travel. It’s always advisable to verify what you require before you pack your bags.
A doctor’s note is recommended for large quantities of over-the-counter medicines to prevent complications at border control. You also need to make certain that liquid medication exceeding 100ml is readily accessible, as it will probably be screened separately.
If your medication is classified as a controlled drug, such as powerful painkillers or particular sedatives, specific rules apply. Therefore, check what applies to you before you travel.
Rules can differ from country to country, so always ensure you verify this before travelling, and declare that you’re carrying medication at the airport. After all, nobody wants to face delays at security, or be refused the right to travel, because of a straightforward packing error.
Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces have had a long history of violations, going back to when they were known as the ‘Janjaweed’. Over the past few years, they have been trying to change their image and become influential political actors in Sudan, but will that work? Al Jazeera’s Hala Saadani looks back at the RSF’s history and where they may go from here.
Venezuela Fury has shown off her post-honeymoon glowCredit: TikTok/@parisvenezuelaThe teenager has been branded ‘a model in the making’ by her fansCredit: TikTok/@parisvenezuela
In a new TikTok video uploaded to her page, Venezuela can be seen posing in a strapless pink corset and matching miniskirt.
She was standing by a white wall, which really made her tan pop and stand out.
In the video, Venezuela mimed along to a song and posed for the camera while showing off her figure.
She wore her long hair down and cascading over her shoulder, with bright red lipstick on her lips and barely any eye makeup.
Venezuela and husband Noah headed to Marbella for their incredible honeymoon last monthCredit: TikTok/@parisvenezuelaThey jetted off to Spain after saying ‘I do’ at their stunning weddingCredit: Splash
A source previously revealed to us: “Tyson and Paris gave Venezuela and Noah a wedding present of £5million to kick-start their life, obviously, they were over the moon.
so there were some mixed feelings – but it’s up to Tyson and Paris.
“Tyson also paid for the honeymoon and got them a traditional gypsy wagon as a sentimental gift. Tyson’s got one in his front yard.”
We were also previously told: “Venezuela wants to start her married life in the traditional style of a traveller, just like her parents did.
“She has lived in luxury since she was born, but is willing to swap her home comforts to go and live in a static caravan.”
You say you want to be mayor of Los Angeles, but do you really?
I know that being a candidate has rescued you from anonymity after your career in reality TV went off a cliff. You’ve got CEOs backing you, and fans raving, and you’ve managed to milk social media attention.
But at some point you might have to answer questions from the reporters you’ve been avoiding.
And if you win, you’re going to have to drive to City Hall five, six, seven days a week, and I don’t know if you saw my column a few weeks ago, but the fountain on the south lawn hasn’t worked in about 60 years. If you get elected, you better put a wrench in your lunch box, because nobody has figured out how to fix it.
So that’s the reality, pretty much. And the unions will want what they want, and the socialists on the City Council will be lying in wait, especially after President Trump blew you a cross-country air kiss and certified your MAGA credentials.
More than 30,000 people are waiting for their broken sidewalks to get fixed (I’m not exaggerating) but there’s no money, and if you hire several thousand more police officers as you’ve pledged, the city would be bankrupt for the next decade or so and you’d need to take out a loan to buy a doughnut.
So call me, like I say, because I think there’s still time to change your mind.
If you choose to proceed, and if you actually win, it might feel like you’re in a sequel to that reality show you did called “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here,” and you may end up praying the show gets canceled. The mayor’s hours are long, and everywhere you go, someone will want you to fix this problem or that, and as you wander the halls of power you’ll think back on your campaign pledges and hear the constant echo of a line from H.L. Mencken:
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”
Can I confess something?
I’m feeling guilty about all of this.
Not to sound presumptuous, but I feel partly responsible for the fact that you’re in contention for the job.
Like you, I’ve been calling out issues with the management of L.A., and I’ve been doing it for years. But I had the good sense not to run for mayor.
Why’s that?
Because unlike you, I know the fixes aren’t as easy as we’d like them to be.
When Karen Bass was running the first time, I had a long talk with her about her homelessness plan, among other things. At the end of the day, she asked for my input.
I reminded her that as much as people would like for the city’s top elected official to immediately clear the streets, a mayor is limited by shared power with the City Council.
By drug epidemics and untreated mental illness that are largely under county authority.
By uncertain funding from the nation’s capital.
By global forces that transformed the economy and created staggering levels of inequality that are made all the worse by the high cost of housing.
Bass was aware of all that, but said that having worked in Sacramento and D.C., and having built relationships with county supervisors, she’d be able to build better systems and get better outcomes.
So how has she done?
Not great. And then there’s the fire.
As I’ve said before, leaving the country despite forecasts of elevated wildfire risk was probably the worst mistake of her political career.
I don’t need to remind you of that. Having lost your house in the Palisades, you know that Bass badly underreacted, then stumbled on the rebuilding, and then had a hand in downplaying the Fire Department’s failure to adequately deploy and extinguish the fire that became an inferno.
To summarize, she’s left herself wide open to a challenge.
And she probably can’t believe how lucky she is that you might be her November competition, if the two of you bounce out Councilmember Nithya Raman and the other candidates in the June 2 primary.
I don’t hold it against you that you haven’t worked in government or politics before. These days, a lot of voters prefer outsiders. But it might have helped if you’d done something of purpose at some point in your life, like run a successful business or volunteer at a food bank. Were you junior high class president, or were you in the Boy Scouts? Anything could help.
Not that being the boyfriend and later the husband of someone on an MTV reality show called “The Hills,” which chronicled the work of a woman who went from “Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County” to an internship at Teen Vogue, can’t prepare a young man for statesmanship.
In this culture, you could ride that all the way to the White House.
But the flimsy resume could explain, Spencer, why you’ve been taking so many social media-fueled potshots at Bass without offering anything of substance.
Let’s arrest drug zombies.
OK, then what?
I’d advise you to study the primer by my colleagues Doug Smith and Andrew Khouri on what you can and can’t do about homelessness as a mayor in L.A. Clearly, you’ve got a lot of boning up to do. In fact, I’m reminded of a line by a Philadelphia columnist years ago, when he said of a politician who wasn’t up to the job: He’s been standing in shallow water for so long, he doesn’t realize he can’t swim.
If I were you, I’d consider the fact that President Trump made the mistake of promising easy fixes. He was going to deliver a massive infrastructure program. He was going to deliver healthcare reform that was better and cheaper for everyone. He was going to lower consumer prices on Day One, and here we are, with millions of people wondering how they’re going to pay their bills while Trump rigs it so he doesn’t have to pay the IRS.
All that being said, I’m glad you decided to run, because elected officials need constant reminders that their jobs are not secure, even when the challengers are way in over their heads. I’d almost like to see you win, because that’s one reality show I’d be sure to watch.
And I say this despite the fact that you once told your talk show buddy Alex Jones — who insisted that 9/11 was an inside job and that the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 children was a hoax — that melting ice caps are overrated. Or, as you explained it to Jones, “we’ve all seen footage of the polar bears swimming to new pieces of ice.”
When the general election rolls around, and the ice begins to break, will you know how to swim?
Despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s public expectations that incoming Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will cut interest rates, one investment expert believes the central bank may actually be forced to move in the opposite direction.
