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Brits jetting off to the sunny Greek islands this summer have been warned over a strict flight rule that left one tourist dealing with ‘a journey from hell’. Here’s how to avoid getting stung

Brits heading to Greece this summer have been warned over a strict curfew that recently caught one tourist off-guard.

Despite deafening cries to curb over-tourism, a record-breaking 40.7 million international visitors flocked to Greece and its cluster of Instagram-worthy islands last year. It marked a huge 12.8 per cent increase from 2023, and is believed to have created a whopping €21.7 billion (approximately £1.85 billion) in revenue.

Zakynthos, often referred to as just Zante, is one of the many islands affected by the influx. Situated in the crystal-clear Ionian Sea, it lures in swathes of tourists thanks to its lush beaches, rich history and party-mad resorts.

The island’s airport is also often used to whizz passengers over to other popular Greek destinations such as Santorini and Kefalonia. However, many tourists are unaware of a little-known rule that has actually been in place since the early 1990s.

READ MORE: Huge blow to Greece as tourists abandon popular island for key reason

In a statement sent to the Mirror, experts over at Travel Republic warned UK holidaymakers that night flights to the island a ‘limited’ due to a ‘long-standard effort to protect the island’s endangered loggerhead turtles. “This reflects a growing commitment across the travel industry to support responsible tourism and environmental conservation,” they added.

“It is certainly something for holidaymakers to be aware of. But, by adjusting flight schedules to align with local curfews, airlines and travel providers are helping safeguard the ecosystem.”

Loggerhead sea turtles are particularly active at night, and are vulnerable to light and noise pollution from planes – especially during their nesting season. The curfew therefore prohibits flights departing from sunset to 7am.

One TikToker, who goes by the username NKD Zante, recently got stung by the rules after her 10pm flight was delayed until the next day due to the curfew. Describing the ordeal as ‘a journey from hell’, the social media star fumed: “We had to go back to arrivals, get all our luggage. They took us to the front of the airport, gave us 15 euros snack vouchers for some crisps and stuff, and then it was another three-hour wait while they tried to organise the rest of us to find a place to stay, transfers, [etc].

“They said they had no idea when our flight would be the next morning, and that they’d just text us with the new time the next day. But basically, pretty much everything at Zante Airport shuts at 10pm. So if you have booked a really late flight and it gets delayed for whatever reason, past 10pm, they will just delay you to the next day. I didn’t know this obviously, but apparently, it has happened to six or seven flights in Zante Airport this summer.”

In the comments section, travellers shared concern that the same might happen to them over the summer period. “Don’t say this, my flight back is at 10pm,” one person wrote. Another added: “Me watching this with a flight home from Zante tonight at 10pm.”

The Mirror has approached Zakynthos Airport for comment.

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THE UK economy shrunk in April and by more than expected, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Gross Domestic Product (GDP) went down by 0.3% that month.

Services and manufacturing both contributed to the fall.

However GDP still grew over the last three months as a whole, with signs that some activity may have been brought forward from April to earlier in the year.

The figures likely reflect the impact of huge tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Experts had warned the tariffs could put a dampener on UK sectors including car and steel manufacturers.

It comes after the economy grew by 0.7% in the quarter to March.

At the time, it had grown more than expected.

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “It’s bad news that growth has fallen but when you introduce a £25billion jobs tax, hike business rates, drive investors overseas and spawn hundreds of pages of extra red tape, lower growth is precisely what you get.

“You can’t tax and spend your way to growth.”

In a huge blow to sun-worshipping Brits, a huge Spanish city has unveiled a strict curfew impacting bars, nightclubs, and restaurants – following noise complaints from fed-up locals

Brits are being warned of a brutal clampdown in one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations. Last year, a staggering 18 million international visitors passed through Alicante-Elche Airport – located on the southeastern stretch of the iconic Costa Blanca region – marking a 16.8 per cent spike compared to 2023.

While droves of these passengers will have left the city on cramped coaches heading over to party-mad resorts like Benidorm, almost five million chose to stay in the city for their holiday.

Famed for its sugar-like sand, rich history and eclectic range of shops – there’s no denying Alicante’s mass appeal. Here, you’ll find the Santa Bárbara Castle, the old town of Santa Cruz, the bustling Central Market, and half a dozen golden beaches.

READ MORE: Brits heading to 4 Canary Islands issued warning as ‘pre-alert’ activated

However, following a series of noise complaints from fed-up locals – authorities green-lighted a strict curfew ahead of the peak summer season. The ruling, which impacts bars and restaurants, means establishments will have to close at 12.30am on weekdays.

They will be allowed to stay open slightly later (1am) on Fridays, Saturdays, and on the eve of national holidays. Nightclubs will also be given permission to stay open a little later, but must still close their doors at 1am during weekdays and at 3am on the weekend.

Those dining outside on terraces will also be impacted by the crackdown, as Alicante is slashing its al-fresco seating by half. According to local press, customers will be asked to leave their table 30 minutes ahead of closing time.

The curfew, which will be a huge blow to Brits wanting to dance the night away, applies to two areas of Alicante City that have been designated as Acoustically Saturated Zones (ZAS). This includes parts of the Old Town as well as the area around Calle Castaños, which was previously known for its ‘lively’ nightlife.

The Independent reports that police will be enforcing the rules and helping ‘disperse revellers from the area’. It is said the ruling will also have an impact on 24-hour shops that cash in on drunken Brits desperate for a nightcap, as they will also need to comply with the curfew.

Alicante’s crackdown follows escalating anti-tourist sentiment that has grappled the country in recent months. Last year, a slew of protests erupted across the country as angry residents blamed Brits for Spain’s worsening housing crisis.

The movement’s momentum has continued into this summer season, with more demonstrations to take place in Spanish hotspots this month (June 15). As previously reported the Assembly of Neighbourhoods for Tourism Degrowth, which is behind the action, has been encouraging protestors to bring water pistols to target holidaymakers and get their message across.

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Unions in California are different from those in other places.

More than any state in our troubled country, their ranks are filled with people of color and immigrants. While unions have always been tied closely with the struggles of civil rights, that has become even more pronounced in the years since George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis.

In the subsequent national soul-searching, unions were forced to do a bit of their own. But where that conversation has largely broken down for general society under the pressure of President Trump’s right-wing rage, it took hold inside of unions to a much greater degree — leading to more leadership from people of color, sometimes younger leadership and definitely an understanding from the rank and file that these are organizations that fight far beyond the workplace.

Which is why the arrest of David Huerta, president of SEIU-USWW and SEIU California, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday is going to have a major impact on the coming months as deportations continue.

“They have woke us up,” Tia Orr told me Saturday morning. She’s the executive director of the 700,000-strong Service Employees International Union California, of which Huerta is a part, and the first African American and Latina to lead the organization.

“And I think they’ve woke people up across the nation, certainly in California, and people are ready to get to action,” she added. “I haven’t seen that in a long time. I don’t know that I’ve seen something like that before, and so yes, it is going to result in action that I believe is going to be historical.”

While unions have voiced their disapproval of mass deportations since the MAGA threat first manifested, their might has not gone full force against them, taking instead a bit of a wait-and-see approach.

Well, folks, we’ve seen. We’ve seen the unidentified masked men rounding up immigrants across the country and shipping them into life sentences at torturous foreign prisons; we’ve watched a 9-year-old Southern California boy separated from his father and detained for deportation; and Friday, across Los Angeles, we saw an anonymous military-style force of federal agents sweep up our neighbors, family members and friends in what seemed to be a haphazard and deliberately cruel way.

And for those of you who have watched the video of Huerta’s arrest, we’ve seen a middle-aged Latino man in a plaid button-down be roughly pushed by authorities in riot gear until he falls backward, and seems to strike his head on the curb. Huerta was, according to a television interview with Mayor Karen Bass, pepper-sprayed as well. Then he was taken to the hospital for treatment, then into custody, where he remains until a Monday arraignment.

U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli wrote on social media that “Federal agents were executing a lawful judicial warrant at a LA worksite this morning when David Huerta deliberately obstructed their access by blocking their vehicle. He was arrested for interfering with federal officers … Let me be clear: I don’t care who you are—if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted. No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties.”

I have covered protests, violent and nonviolent, for more than two decades. In one of the first such events I covered, I watched an iconic union leader, Bill Camp, sit down in the middle of the road in a Santa suit and refuse to move. Police arrested him. But they managed to do it without violence, and without Camp’s resistance. This is how unions do good trouble — without fear, without violence.

Huerta understands the rules and power of peaceful protest better than most. The union he is president of — SEIU United Service Workers West — started the Justice for Janitors campaign in 1990, a bottom-up movement that in Los Angeles was mostly powered by the immigrant Latina women who cleaned commercial office space for wages as low as $7 an hour.

After weeks of protests, police attacked those Latina workers in June of that year in what became known as the “Battle of Century City.” Two dozen workers were injured but the union did not back down. Eventually, it won the contracts it was seeking, and equally as important, it won public support.

Huerta joined USWW a few years after that incident, growing the Justice for Janitors campaign. The union was and has always been one powered by immigrant workers who saw that collective power was their best power, and Huerta has led decades of building that truth into a practical force. He is, says Orr, an organizer who knows how to bring people together.

To say he is a beloved and respected leader in both the union and California in general is an understatement. You can still find his bio on the White House website, since he was honored as a “Champion of Change,” by President Obama. Within hours of his arrest, political leaders across the state were voicing support.

“David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people. No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action,” Gov. Gavin Newsom posted online.

Perhaps more importantly, AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, speaking for her 15 million members, issued a statement.

Huerta “was doing what he has always done, and what we do in unions: putting solidarity into practice and defending our fellow workers,” she said. “The labor movement stands with David and we will continue to demand justice for our union brother until he is released.”

Similar statements came from the Teamsters and other unions. Solidarity isn’t a buzzword to unions. It’s the bedrock of their power. In arresting Huerta, that solidarity has been supercharged. Already, union members from across the state are making plans to gather Monday for Huerta’s arraignment in downtown Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Stephen Miller, the Santa Monica native and architect of Trump’s deportation plans, has said the raids we are seeing now are just the beginning, and that he would like to see thousands of arrests every day, because our immigrant communities are filled with “every kind of criminal thug that you can imagine on planet earth.”

But in arresting Huerta, the battleground has been redrawn in ways we don’t fully yet appreciate. No doubt, Miller will have his way and the raids will not only continue, but increase.

But also, the unions are not going to back down.

“Right now, just in the last 14 hours, labor unions are joining together from far and wide, communities are reaching out in ways I’ve never seen,” Orr told me. “Something is different.”

Rosa Parks was just a woman on a bus, she pointed out, until she was something more. George Floyd was just another Black man stopped by police. Until he was something more.

Huerta is the something more of these immigration raids — not because he’s a union boss, but because he’s a union organizer with ties to both people in power and people in fear.

The coming months will show what happens when those two groups decide, together, that backing down is not an option.

A ceasefire proposal with Israel tabled by the administration of United States President Donald Trump is “still under discussion” by Hamas, but in its current form will only result in “the continuation of killing and famine” in Gaza, an official from the Palestinian group has said.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Israel had “signed off” on the ceasefire proposal, and the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had submitted it to Hamas for consideration.

Hamas political bureau member Basem Naim told the Reuters news agency that the deal “does not meet any of our people’s demands, foremost among them, halting the war”.

“Nonetheless, the movement’s leadership is studying the response to the proposal with full national responsibility,” Naim added.

The details of the new proposal have not been made public, but senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters that, crucially, it did not contain commitments from Israel to end its war on Gaza, withdraw Israeli troops from the enclave, or allow aid to freely enter the war-torn territory.

The Israeli government has not publicly confirmed that it approved the latest proposal.

Reports in Israeli media this week suggested that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of captives still held in Gaza that he is prepared to move forward with Witkoff’s temporary ceasefire proposal.

Akiva Eldar, an Israeli political analyst, told Al Jazeera it was “unusual” for Israel to come out and agree to a proposal first, and that Netanyahu may be betting on the plan being impossible for Hamas to accept so that he can paint them as the “bad guys” and continue the war.

“It happened before… and Netanyahu put the blame on them,” Eldar said.

Conflicting reports

Attempts to restore a ceasefire in Gaza have been scuppered by deep differences on conditions for ending the conflict, including Israel’s demand that Hamas completely disarm, and the Palestinian group’s demand that Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza.

Reports of this latest proposal follow conflicting reports earlier this week, when Hamas claimed it had reached an understanding for a ceasefire “general framework” with Witkoff and only awaited a “final response”.

“We have reached an agreement on a general framework with Witkoff that ensures a permanent ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Gaza, and the unhindered entry of humanitarian aid,” the group said in a statement.

The agreement also reportedly included “the establishment of a professional committee to manage Gaza’s affairs once a ceasefire is declared”, according to the Hamas statement.

As part of the deal, Trump would also reportedly guarantee that a ceasefire would be established within 60 days and ensure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.

Witkoff, however, later denied that these were the terms of any deal he had proposed, telling Reuters that what he had seen was “completely unacceptable”.

An anonymous US official close to Witkoff also rejected the claim, telling Al Jazeera that the group’s claims were “inaccurate” and “disappointing”. Israel also dismissed the claim, with one unnamed official calling the statement “psychological warfare” and “propaganda” in comments to The Times of Israel.

Israel resumed its war on Gaza on March 18, after breaking a six-week temporary ceasefire, with Netanyahu announcing that fighting had resumed with “full force”.

The months since have seen the Israeli military resume its relentless assault across Gaza, killing close to 4,000 people since breaking the truce and propelling the overall death toll in the enclave to more than 54,000, according to health authorities in Gaza.

Israel has also imposed a deadly, months-long blockade on humanitarian aid entering the Palestinian enclave, which UN officials say has pushed the population to the brink of famine.

Israel partially lifted its blockade on May 19, allowing a trickle of aid to enter Gaza, but United States Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described it as a mere “teaspoon” of what is needed.

There were chaotic scenes this week as crowds of starving Palestinians attempted to reach life-saving supplies distributed by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a new and controversial group that said it would deliver aid in the besieged enclave.

BRITS are being urged to check down the backs of sofas and rifle through their purses after a rare coin sold for £69.

Cash is being uses less and less nowadays, with many preferring the convenience of tapping contactless cards to make payments.

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And whilst many of us increasingly see loose change as an annoyance, which we shove deep into our jeans pockets, never to be touched again, it can actually be extremely valuable.

The rarest coin currently in active circulation is His Majesty King Charles III’s 50p coin, depicting the Atlantic Salmon.

Just 200,000 of the coins were released back in 2023, 10,000 less than 2009’s Kew Gardens 50p coin, which was previously the rarest in circulation.

The commemorative coin features a salmon jumping out of the water on one side, and the word ’50 pence’ on the other side.

On the other side of the coin is a picture of King Charles III.

Over 100 different 50p designs have been released since the coin was first introduced, making it the nation’s most collectable coin.

And if you happen to have a rare 50p gathering dust in your piggy bank, it make you a decent bit of cash.

This week, an Atlantic Salmon coin sold on eBay for a whopping £69, after a fierce 16 bid showdown.

There are countless other listings for the coins, with sellers charging upwards of £100 for the rare 50p.

Royal Mint revealed that one in 355 people have the likelihood of finding a salmon coin in their wallet, so why not check now to see if you could make some cash.

On October 7 one coin sold for £164 with six bidders fighting for the prize.

Another sold for £147 on December 16 with a whopping 37 bids.

If you’re ever unsure of how much a coin should be sold for, it helps to look at what prices other people are listing.

You can also run it through Change Checker’s Scarcity Index to get a sense of its value.

Rare coins, especially those with low mintages, can fetch hundreds and even thousands of pounds.

Coins that have mistakes on them are also extremely rare, and collectors will pay thousands for them.

How to Sell a Rare Coin

If you’re lucky enough to find a rare coin amongst your spare change, you can sell them through online marketplaces such as eBay.

You can also sell coins via auction, through the Royal Mint Collector’s Service.

If you choose to do it this way, a team of experts will authenticate and value your coin, and advise you on how to sell.

UK tourists have been warned to look up locals rules before jetting off on holiday this year, as four Spanish hotspots still have a strict drinking cap in all-inclusive resorts

Brits have been urged to brush up on local rules – or risk getting caught out by strict drinking bans. Once upon a time, all-inclusive holidays meant you could guzzle down unlimited spirits (which, were likely watered down), and indulge on endless plate fulls of food.

However, following a sharp rise in drunk and disorderly behaviour, the Balearic Island Government introduced a strict clampdown on boozy Brits last year. It marked an end to the iconic happy hour promotions, and stung all-inclusive holidaymakers wanting to drink themselves silly.

Despite being touted as two of Europe’s best party resorts, the Spanish islands of Majorca and Ibiza both implemented a six-drink cap for guests. Under the rules, which will last for at least two more years, Brits will only be allowed three alcoholic drinks during lunch and a further three alcoholic drinks with their evening meal.

However, contrary to popular belief, this only applies to select regions that have been struggling with rowdy guests. This includes one area of Ibiza and three areas of Majorca – but the strict ban doesn’t apply to the entirety of Menorca.

• Playa de Palma, Majorca
• S’Arenal (El Arenal), Majorca
• Magaluf, Majorca
• West End of San Antonio, Ibiza

So, if you’re planning a booze-filled trip at an all-inclusive, check out destinations such as Alcudia, Santa Ponsa, Santa Eulalia, and Es Cana. Alongside the cap, government rules dictate that any advertising that encourages alcohol consumption (such as open bars) is prohibited – and off-licences will close no later than 9.30pm.

“If you envisioned yourself bar hopping along Magaluf’s famous strip, think again!” travel firm Thomas Cook warned. “Any participation in organised pub crawls is now banned. You can, however, still attend a party boat excursion but they’ll no longer be advertised in the affected areas. Nor will they allow pick-ups and drop-offs in those resorts.

“Plus, keep your eyes peeled for the new no-drinking zones, where swigging in public is now banned. We don’t want you facing a fine for a sneaky sip in the street! Don’t worry though, bar terraces are open as usual, so you can still enjoy that alfresco cerveza.”

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If you’re undeterred by the strict rules, you can fly to Majorca or Ibiza from most major UK airports, including Birmingham, Glasgow, London, and Manchester. If you’re flexible with dates, you can grab return fares in June for as little as £28.

Accommodation on both islands is relatively affordable, which is great for those travelling on a tight budget. For example, a week’s stay (Monday, June 9-16) at Coconut Apartments costs just £779, based on two adults sharing. However, those wanting a more luxurious stay can opt for the Cooks Club Calvia Beach hotel – located just 400yards from Magluf’s centre – on the exact same dates for £1,028.

*Prices based on Skyscanner and Booking.com listings at the time of writing.

Is Spain’s anti-tourist clampdown putting you off from visiting? Email [email protected] for a chance to share your story

On Oct. 29, 2022, the universe told Dr. Casey Means her fate lay in Los Angeles.

President Trump’s new pick for surgeon general wrote in her popular online newsletter of her epiphany, which came during a dawn hike among the cadmium-colored California oaks and flames of wild mustard flower painting the Topanga Canyon: “You must move to LA. This is where your partner is!’”

Los Angeles has been a Shangri-La for health-seekers since its Gold Rush days as the sanitarium capital of the United States.

Today, it’s the epicenter of America’s $480-billion wellness industry, where gym-fluencers, plant-medicine gurus and celebrity physicians trade health secrets and discount codes across their blue-check Instagram pages and chart-topping podcasts.

But by earning Trump’s nod, Means, 37, has ascended to a new level of power, bringing her singular focus on metabolic dysfunction as the root of ill health and her unorthodox beliefs about psilocybin therapy and the perils of vaccines to the White House.

The surgeon general is the country’s first physician, and the foremost authority on American medicine. Means’ central philosophy — that illness “is a result of the choices you make” — puts her in lockstep with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and in opposition to generations of U.S. public health officials.

Means declined to comment. But interviews with friends and her public writings track a metamorphosis since her move to L.A., from a med-tech entrepreneur and emerging wellness guru to the new face of Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement, or MAHA for short.

If confirmed, America’s next top doctor will bring another unconventional addition to the surgeon general’s uniform: a baby bump. Friends told The Times Means and her husband, Brian Nickerson, are expecting a baby this fall.

“[The pregnancy] will definitely empower her,” said Dr. Darshan Shah, a popular longevity expert and longtime friend of Means. “It might create even more of a sense of urgency.”

On this, both supporters and critics agree. Fertility is a primal obsession of the MAHA movement, and a unifying policy priority among otherwise heterodox MAGA figureheads from Elon Musk to JD Vance. In this worldview, motherhood itself is a credential.

“She’s going to say, ‘I’m a mom, and the reason why you can trust me is I’m a mom,’” said Jessica Malaty Rivera, an infectious disease epidemiologist and an outspoken critic of Means.

Mothers have long been the standard-bearers for Kennedy’s wellness crusade. “MAHA moms” flanked him at the White House during a roundtable in March, where they filmed themselves struggling to pronounce common food additives. Many flocked to Trump after the president vowed to put Kennedy in charge of the nation’s healthcare.

Deena Metzger at her Topanga home. Metzger is a poet, novelist, essayist, storyteller, teacher, healer and medicine woman who has taught and counseled for over fifty years.

(Al Seib/For The Times)

“It’s such a radical change that’s required [in medicine],” said the writer and healer Deena Metzger, 88, whom Means has called one of her “spiritual guides.” “It’s wildly exciting that she might be surgeon general, because she’s really thinking about health.”

Her outsider status gives her a clear-eyed perspective, her supporters say.

“The answer to our metabolic dysfunction is through lifestyle,” said Dr. Sara Szal Gottfried, an OBGYN and longtime friend of Means. “Seventy percent of our healthcare costs are due to lifestyle choices, and that’s where she starts.”

Means’ 2024 bestseller “Good Energy” touts much the same message: Simple individual changes could make most people healthy, but the medical system profits by keeping them sick.

“Moms (and families) will not stand anymore for a country that profits massively off kids getting chronically sick,” Means posted on X on Jan. 30. “Nothing can stop the frustration that is leading to this movement.”

Critics say that elides a more complex reality.

“This is what we call terrain theory — it’s the inverse of germ theory,” said Rivera, the epidemiologist. “Terrain theory has a very deeply racist and kind of eugenic origin, in which certain people got sick and certain people didn’t.”

She and others point out that Means is being elevated at the same time the administration guts public health infrastructure, slashing staff and research funding and aiming to cut billions more from public safety net programs.

“MAHA is why we are defunding the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health],” Rivera said. “Thirteen million people could be uninsured because of [Medicaid cuts].”

But trust in those institutions — and in physicians generally — has tanked in the past five years, surveys show.

The blurring of personal pathos and professional authority at a moment of crisis for institutional medicine is central to MAHA’s influence and power, public health experts say. They point to the movement’s broad appeal from cerulean Santa Monica to crimson Gaines County, Texas, as evidence that health skepticism transcends political lines.

“[MAHA] has sucked in a lot of my blue friends and turned them purple,” Rivera said. “I have people doing the mental gymnastics of ‘I’m not MAGA, I’m just MAHA.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t think you realize those two things are one thing now.’”

Means’ own celebrity is similarly vast, uniting Americans fed up with what they see as a sclerotic and corrupt medical system.

Her opposition to California’s stringent childhood vaccine mandates, enthusiasm for magic mushrooms, and obsession with all things “clean” and “natural” have endeared her to everyone from raw milk fans to anti-vaxxers to boosters of Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of a healthcare chief executive who regularly receives fan mail while awaiting trial in Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.

“We’ve never had anyone in that role [of surgeon general] who almost anyone knew who they were,” Dr. Joel Warsh, a Studio City pediatrician and fellow MAHA luminary, whose book on vaccines “Between a Shot and a Hard Place” came out this week. “We know the public loves her.”

That adoration may yet outshine concerns over Means’ medical qualifications — despite her elite education, she left just months before the end of her residency as an ear, nose and throat surgeon at Oregon Health & Science University. Her Oregon medical license is current but inactive and her experience in public health policy is limited.

And while the nominee vigorously defends the brand partnerships that often bookend her newsletters and social media posts, others see the dark side of L.A. influence in the practice.

“L.A. is its own universe when it comes to wellness,” Rivera said. “You can convince anybody to buy a $19 strawberry at Erewhon and say it’s worth it, the same way you can sell people colonics and detox cleanses and all kinds of wellness smoke and mirrors.”

Means made her name as CEO of a subscription health tracking service whose distinguishing feature is blood sugar monitoring for non-diabetics — a practice she touts across several chapters of her book. Her newsletter readers are regularly offered 20% off $1.50-per-pill probiotics or individually packaged matcha mix promising “radiant skin” for its drinkers.

More recently, she’s partnered with WeNatal, a bespoke prenatal vitamin company whose flagship product contains almost the same essential molecules as the brands offered through Medicaid — the insurance half of pregnant Californians use. Taking it daily from conception to birth would cost close to $600.

“So many of the companies that she supports, so many of the companies selling snake oil have some connection to or presence in Los Angeles,” Rivera went on. “It is the mecca for that kind of stuff.”

Even some in the doctor’s inner circle have misgivings about the world of influence that launched her, and the administration she’s poised to join.

Deena Metzger is at the center of a web of influence surgeon general nominee Dr. Casey Means found when she moved to L.A.

(Al Seib / For The Times)

“I’m not sure the obsession with wellness is really about wellness,” Metzger said, her husky Gentle Boy lying at her feet in her home in Topanga. “There’s wellness, which is maybe even a social fabrication, and there’s health.”

The writer and breast cancer survivor has spent decades convening doctors and other healers on this mountaintop as part of her ReVisioning Medicine councils, probing the question posed variously by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov and American humanitarian Dr. Paul Farmer, Jewish philosopher-physician Moses ben Maimon and fictional heartthrob Dr. Robby on “The Pitt”: Can we create a medicine that does no harm?

“How do you believe in that? Or associate with it?” she wondered about the MAHA movement her friend had helped to birth. “But If she’s there and she has power to do things, it will be good for us.”

While mainstream medical authorities and wellness gurus agree that pesticides, plastics and ultraprocessed foods harm public health, they diverge on how much weight to give MAHA’s preferred targets and how to enact policy prescriptions that actually affect them.

“We have people forming a social movement around beef tallow — let’s get that focused on alcohol reduction, tobacco reduction,” said Dr. Jon-Patrick Allem, an expert in social media and health communication. “I don’t disagree with reducing ultraprocessed foods. I don’t disagree with removing dyes from foods. But are these the main drivers of chronic disease?”

BRITS heading to Europe could soon find it much easier thanks to new plans allowing holidaymakers to use airport e-gates.

Since the UK left the EU, British tourists have faced huge queues at the airport across Europe after being forced to use the standard passport gates.

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However, the UK government has revealed plans of a deal that would allow UK holidaymakers to use the much faster e-gates when visiting Europe.

The talks, part of the UK-EU summit taking place today, suggest Brits would join other EU tourists in the shorter queues, The Guardian reports.

EU relations minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said he backed the potential rule change.

He told Sky News: “I would love to see you being able to go through the border more quickly in that way.

“That’s certainly something we’ve been pushing with the EU and I think that will be something that will be very helpful to British people.

“I think we can all agree that not being stuck in queues and having more time to spend, whether it’s on holiday or work trips, having more time to do what you want, would be a very sensible objective.”

Plans to allow Brits to use e-gates in European countries were put forward back in 2023 by then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak although never came into fruition.

Last summer, some Brits even missed their flights when travelling through Spain due to long passport queues while waiting to get them stamped.

Another Brit wrote on Tripadvisor: “My lunchtime arrival at Oslo left me with an hour and a half wait to get through manual passport control.”

Another agreed: “The queue was horrendous, people couldn’t even get into the passport hall. Took just over 90 minutes to get through.”

However, the new rules could cause problems with passport stamping, which is still required from Brits entering and exiting Europe.

This is because of the new rules which only allow Brits to visit for 90 days in an 180 day period.

Anyone without an outgoing stamp could be mistakenly seen to have overstayed in Europe and even be banned from entering – which happened to a British tourist in Majorca back in 2022.

But it comes ahead of the constantly-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES) which will scrap the need for passport stamping entirely.

First announced in 2016, it finally hopes to be rolled out from October this year.

Instead of manual passport stamping, new biometric checks will take place instead.

And next year will see the roll out of the ETIAS – a visa waiver that Brits will need to visit Europe.

Costing around €7 and lasting three years, it will be similar to the current ESTA Brits need when visiting the US.

3

May 14 (UPI) — The House Ways and Means Committee approved the Republican tax package Wednesday, which followed an all-night hearing during which GOP members rejected attempts by Democrats to alter the plan.

The bill was approved on 26-19 party line, which will next move to the chamber’s Budget Committee, where it will be blended with legislation from other committees and presented as part of what President Donald Trump has dubbed the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill.”

“We are in hour 14 of a markup where Democrats are fighting tooth and nail,” posted Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R- Mo. to X at 4:29 a.m. EDT Wednesday,” which followed previous update posts at 2:37 a.m. EDT Wednesday and 11:56 p.m. EDT Tuesday. The hearing began at 2:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

Democrats saw all their proposed amendments, which covered items like the expansion of health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, and green energy, turned down, while also having stumped against the current tax plan, which it called a giveaway to the wealthy.

Democrats also put forth amendments that would have impacted Trump’s tariffs, blocked tax cuts for high earners and expanded child-care incentives among other suggestions, but none were adopted.

The entire package is projected to cost $3.8 trillion, but could still address state and local tax, or SALT, deductions. The Joint Committee on Taxation reported Tuesday that average earners would see their tax bills decrease by double-digit percentages in 2027 under the plan as it stands.

Democrats have also pointed out that under the plan, taxpayers who earn over $500,000 would see a cumulative tax cut of around $170 billion in 2027, while those who will earn between $30,000 and $80,000 that year would only see a collective $59 billion.

The bill is targeted to pass through the enter chamber by Memorial Day, then on to the Senate which is expected to combine the tax laws with the rest of Trump’s “Beautiful” bill, which together would both extend the life of previously set tax cuts and enable Trump’s financial requests.