Model

ACTOR Orlando Bloom is dating a Swiss model 21 years his junior.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star, 49, started seeing Luisa Laemmel, 28, last year after his split from singer Katy Perry.

Last week the couple enjoyed a mini-reak in Switzerland, along with Orlando’s pet dog, and the Brit is believed to have met some of Luisa’s pals and family.

They stayed in a luxury suite at the Dolder Grand in Zurich, where rooms cost up to £13,700 per night, as dad-of-two Orlando took part in a promotional event for Porsche.

They then spent the weekend at the five-star Bürgenstock on Lake Lucerne.

A source said: “Orlando and Luisa have been quietly seeing each other for several months.

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“They’ve become a proper little family unit and Orlando even flew his teacup poodle Biggie Smalls over for the trip. He is based in Los Angeles while she’s in New York, so they don’t get to see each other all the time. But they’re constantly in touch and there’s a real spark.”

The couple were first linked last month when they were seen leaving the Super Bowl arm-in-arm at Santa Clara, California.

Luisa has a degree in psychology and has worked for Calvin Klein, Maybelline and YSL Beauty.

Orlando and US pop star Katy, 41, split last year after nine years, and have a daughter Daisy, five.

Orlando also has a son, Flynn, 15, from his marriage to Australian model Miranda Kerr, 42.

A spokesperson for Luisa declined to comment, while reps for Orlando did not respond

KATIE Price’s husband Lee Andrews has shown off his plethora of birthday gifts from his wife ahead of their Dubai reunion.

Lee celebrated his special day without Katie by his side as she was in England but she has jetted off to the Middle East, despite the ongoing concerns, today to join him.

However, Lee has taken to social media to reveal that Katie did indeed send him some birthday gifts ahead of her arrival.

On social media, he showed off a custom-made card from Katie that featured pictures of them both.

The card also contained the message: “Husband, you complete me.”

Katie also appeared to have got him a matching mug.

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A Louis Vuitton gift bag could also be seen in the background as Lee added the caption: “Wife is just the best.”

It appears to be the first time that Katie has splashed out on her husband with the star previously telling The Sun that she has never paid for anything during their marriage.

She insisted Lee had always paid for everything they did, including her flights out to see him.

Lee then shared a snap of another sentimental gift from his wife.

It was a small pin which featured the design of a man and woman embracing with the names Katie and Lee emblazoned on it.

Lee said of the gift: “The smallest thoughts mean the most.”

He went on to share a look at the words Katie had written for him in his card, which said: “To my forever husband!

“Happy Birthday! I will share your whole life celebrating with you!

“I love you to infinity love from your wife Katie x.”

Katie has been spotted at the airport heading to see Lee after a few weeks back in the UK.

Her decision to travel to the UAE comes amid growing concern over troubles in the Middle East.

The ongoing Iran crisis is still causing chaos for travellers following more drone attacks in Dubai, including a missile dropping on the airport.

But Katie was spotted at Gatwick airport late last night with her luggage and passport in hand.

Katie was dressed in a polka-dot tracksuit top and leggings, which showed off her tiny legs.

Katie was seen smiling and was in good spirits, despite boarding a plane to an at-risk country.

The star was seen chatting to the airline staff as she checked in her huge suitcase for her trip.

Despite Katie flying off to Dubai, the ongoing crisis in Iran has continued to affect travel with British Airways cancelling all flights there until June.

The airline took this decision due to the “uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East”.

Other companies are running limited flights whilst the fighting continues.

NAOMI WATTS watched on proudly as her daughter showcased her model behaviour at Paris Fashion Week.

Rising fashion star Kai Schreiber – who came out as transgender last year – stole the spotlight as she towered over her Hollywood star mum at the Balenciaga show on Saturday.

Wearing a sharp tailored two-piece teamed smokey eye make-up, 17-year-old Kai made an impact with her striking look.

Proud mum Naomi, 57, wore a matching black ensemble as she supported her daughter, who has been feted as a future top model.

Also on the runway was Rebel Yell punk star Billy Idol, 70, who had on a tasseled black leather poncho.

US model Paris Jackson, 27 — daughter of late pop star Michael — was also spotted in black outside her hotel.

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Kai made her fashion runway debut at Paris Fashion Week last year by walking for Valentino.

Kai’s parents have both conquered Hollywood and are known for TV and film.

Naomi and Liev – who also have son called Sasha, 17 – were together for 11 years before they amicably split in 2016.

Liev has since married Taylor Neisen, while Naomi went on to wed Billy Crudup.

Naomi often shares how proud she is of her daughter, in sweet posts on Instagram.

When the teenager turned 16, her mum penned a heartfelt message to her.

“Darling Kai. Happy sweet sixteen. Your sweetness is pure and I’m the luckiest mommy in the world and that world is SO lucky that you are here!” the proud mum wrote.

“You blow me away with your wild spirit, strength and yes your soft sweetness too. You even let me post a baby picture!

“I thank my lucky stars I get to be your mom [sic]. I Love you to the moon.”

Annabel Schofield, a model who was a fixture in 1980s L.A. nightlife and landed a guest-starring role in the 11th season of the CBS series “Dallas,” has died after a battle with cancer that spread to her brain. She was 62.

Schofield died Saturday in Los Angeles, according to the Hollywood Reporter, which confirmed the news via model and designer Catalina Guirado.

“I hate asking for help,” she wrote in December on a GoFundMe campaign she organized apparently out of necessity. “I’ve done it so much, but I have no choice. I have no other means of support. The small amount I was left by my dad has gone a long time ago, and any unemployment I was due was eaten up by the pandemic. I know begging for help is not sustainable in the long term, but I’m praying this ENT doctor will be able to remove this large tumor and I’ll finally be able to get back to a normal life, and to start working again.”

The final update was from Jan. 18, after she had emergency surgery to remove that tumor, and her mood was one of momentary relief. Boldface names donating to the cause included composer Hans Zimmer, singer-songwriter Donovan Leitch and actor Lisa Edelstein.

Born in Llanelli, Wales, on Sept. 4, 1963, she was the daughter of movie producer John D. Schofield, whose credits included “As Good as It Gets” and “Jerry Maguire.” Schofield started modeling in London, a city she later described to Mirror80 as being on the cutting edge of 1980s fashion with “the New Romantics, the tail end of punk, Vivienne Westwood, Katharine Hamnett, Body Map, Buffalo style … and all the resulting street styles.”

“[I]n London we ALL dressed up, both boys and girls all the time; especially for the clubs,” she told the retro-style outlet in 2012. “I really miss that sartorial creativity. Now it seems that girls just want to show as much flesh as possible.”

She worked with brands including Versace, Yves St. Laurent, Revlon, Avon and Levi’s, according to a biography posted in connection with a novel she wrote, and appeared on more than 60 magazine covers and in more than 120 TV commercials.

Schofield gained international recognition for a late ’80s jeans commercial that had her speeding through the desert in a black Ferrari, then screeching to a stop after spotting a strapping young man standing on the side of the road in jeans and a white T-shirt. Rolling down the passenger-side window, she said, “Excuse me. Are those Bugle Boy jeans you’re wearing?” Getting an affirmative answer, she told the man, “Thank you,” then rolled up her window and sped away, leaving him in the dust.

At the height of her modeling career, THR said, Schofield up and moved from London to L.A. She landed that “Dallas” guest-star gig in 1988. It was only her second acting credit, after a 1982 role in a movie about an adventurer who frees an aquatic monster that forces locals to sacrifice virgins. That movie, “Bloodtide,” was executive produced by her father.

As Laurel Ellis in the nighttime drama, Schofield entranced Clayton Farlow, played by Howard Keel. But there was no romance between their characters: In one episode, Laurel told matriarch Miss Ellie (Barbara Bel Geddes) — who would later marry Clayton — that Clayton was “almost a father figure” to her, and she had simply been trying to show him “what a wonderful man” he was. “Nothing ever happened between us,” Laurel told Miss Ellie.

Off the set of the hit series, “L.A. was having a moment” at that time, event producer David Rodgers told The Times in 2006. “Melrose Avenue was cool, Helmut Newton was out every night with Annabel Schofield, Greg Gorman, Herb Ritts, Sandra Bernhard, Barbara and Timothy Leary and Tina Chow. We saw a different mix then; it wasn’t just about celebrities. No one wore designer clothes. It was about, ‘Are you cool now?’”

Schofield’s other acting credits included lead roles in 1996’s “Exit in Red” with Mickey Rourke and “Midnight Blue” (1997) with Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell.

After the turn of the millennium, Schofield went behind the camera as a producer for several projects. She also worked as her father’s assistant on movies he executive produced including “The Brothers Grimm,” “Doom” and “How Do You Know.” The last was written and directed by James L. Brooks and starred Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson.

She formed her own boutique production company, Bella Bene Productions, in 2010, and into September 2022 the company was working on short films, events and fashion campaigns, according to Schofield’s posts on Facebook.

That novel she wrote, by the way, was “The Cherry Alignment,” released in late 2013. The semi-autobiographical story “follows the roller-coaster life of the witty, uninhibited and gorgeous Angelika Douglas; a legendary ’80’s supermodel, actress and full-time bon vivant.” Amazon has it filed under “Erotica,” in the “Humorous” sub-category.

Schofield’s friends remembered her fondly, leaving tributes on Instagram over the weekend.

“She was beautiful inside and out: a model, actress, producer, animal lover, warm and weird in the best way possible,” writer and friend Merle Ginsberg wrote Sunday on social media. “She will be so missed. But at least she won’t suffer anymore.”

“RIP Annabel Schofield — an old friend and a truly gifted, beautiful British actress and top model whose career in print, television and film took her from the UK to Hollywood,” British TV producer, journalist and entertainment personality Sean Borg wrote Sunday. “You fought so hard, Annabel. You had such a special light about you. You will be missed by so many. Fly high and rest in peace.”

Jonathan Ross hosts Channel 4’s new social experiment Handcuffed, where 18 contestants are cuffed together as they compete to win a £100,000 prize

Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing is the brand new social experiment from Channel 4.

Hosted by Jonathan Ross, the new series sees 18 contestants cuffed together as they compete to win £100,000.

A synopsis for the new Channel 4 series reads: “Could you survive being handcuffed to a total stranger? In a brand new social experiment, Jonathan Ross is challenging 18 brave Brits to do just that, as they compete to win a £100,000 prize.

“The nine pairs will have to cope with being chained to each other 24/7, doing everything – quite literally – just inches apart. If it gets too much, they can uncuff at any time, but if they do they’ll be out of the competition. The last pair standing takes all. Jonathan’s starting the competition as he knows best, in a TV studio with a live audience.

“The competitors represent a complete cross section of British society, and have never met each other before. As the cuffs are locked in position with the duos either side of a special screen, they’ll only discover who they’ve been chained to once the divide goes back.

“In a divided Britain, Jonathan’s hoping living in such close proximity will force these opposites to talk, listen, and maybe even learn from each other. As the pairs set off for each other’s houses, to walk a mile in their partner’s shoes, we focus in on three of the couples.”

Among the participants are Somerset contestants Sir Benjamin Slade, 79, the 7th Baronet of Maunsel, and bus driver Morag, 64. They’re joined by London-based model Bambi, 29, and Suffolk’s millionaire businessman Anthony, 60, reports Somerset Live.

Here’s the complete roster for Handcuffed: Last Pair Standing.

Jo, 39, Manchester

Jo, a plus-size fashion brand owner, describes herself as “loud, mindful and crazy.”

When asked about her biggest concern, Jo admitted: “I’m nervous about the proximity. I’m on the autistic spectrum and being in close proximity to a stranger is going to be quite a challenge for me.”

Reuben, 29, Portsmouth

Reuben, a property developer, characterises himself as “confident, cocky, and disciplined.”

Discussing the toughest part of the experience, Reuben revealed: “The hardest thing about the experience was definitely the speed of walking and the chafe of the cuff after several hours, having my partner slow and drag me down was tedious.”

Sir Benjamin Slade, 79, Somerset

Benjamin, the 7th Baronet of Maunsel, reflected on his experience: “I was surprised by having some challenging and honest conversations about class,” adding: “The hardest thing was having sleep apnoea which means I don’t get any sleep and having to pee 6 times a night.”

George, 60, London

Prison Officer George describes himself as “pragmatic, empathetic, and lively” and joined the show “purely for the spirit of adventure,” which has led him to experiences ranging from topless waitering to skydiving from 15,000ft, and even volunteering as the first Officer in Belmarsh for the High Secure Unit.

Claire, 48, Hampshire

Claire, an “eccentric, persistent, bubbly,” horse trainer from Hampshire, was surprised by her own patience. She admitted: “The level of patience I’ve got. I was surprised! I didn’t think I had it in me. Also, how much of a bubble I live in- I didn’t realise how different other people’s lives are to mine.”

Bambi, 29, London

Model and content creator Bambi described herself as “loud, chill…but also not chill- I’m a bit of a contradiction!” When asked about her biggest worry, Bambi confessed: “The actual intricacies of the day to day; showering, going to the toilet- the basics. Also, as much as I’m a social butterfly and love being around people I like my own space and I do take a lot of time to myself. I think my biggest concern is I’m not going to have that time to relax and unwind and I think that’s going to really get to me.”

Nina, 42, London

Hairdresser Nina characterises herself as “moody, loud and fun,” and found the most challenging aspect of being handcuffed was being paired with someone whose beliefs were “completely opposite” to her own.

Sara, 55, Northhamptonshire

Mum-of-seven Sara describes herself as being “bubbly, annoying and kind.”

Reflecting on the most challenging aspect of her experience, Sara said: “Being involved in something so intense then the sad feeling afterwards when life returns to normal. To be honest looking back it felt like an out-of-body experience.”

Lin, 38, London

Political commentator Lin characterises herself as “Charismatic, opinionated, and a leader.”

Regarding her biggest concern, Lin said: “Going to bed, I’m a really private person, the whole going to bed and showering, I’m apprehensive about how it’s going to work.”

Frank, 27, Derbyshire

Green Party Councillor Frank explained his motivation for joining the programme: “As a politician, I spend every day trying to get someone else to agree with me, but what most elected representatives forget is that genuine understanding comes from putting yourself into the shoes of another and taking the opportunity to truly question yourself. Participating in Handcuffed was the only way for me to grow personally and professionally.”

Bob, 70, Yorkshire

Retired soldier Bob, who describes himself as “well-travelled and a musician.”

spoke about the toughest element of the programme: “Not knowing what was coming next and the lack of privacy from always having a camera nearby meant it sometimes felt quite restrictive, and that I maybe wasn’t able to get to know my partner as well as I would have liked.”

Chris, 38, London

Youth worker Chris admits he’s most apprehensive about his “everyday life,” when it comes to taking part in the show. He confessed: “I’m quite particular and I like things a certain way. When I get home, I take off all my clothes put them in the wash basket and put on my house clothes because who just sits on their bed when you’ve just been on the tube? I’ve got a lot of insecurities that I’m still trying to work through: I suffer with lupus so there’s a part of me that’s not comfortable looking at my own self let alone being around another person- it’s very exposing.”

Charlie, 44, West Sussex

Practical Homemaker Charlie describes herself as “determined, kind and strong-minded.”

On what surprised her about her journey, Charlie revealed: “I think learning about my own levels of resilience, to always be open minded and not to judge a book by its cover.”

Rob, 32, Staffordshire

Rob is an adult content creator who characterises himself as “eccentric, straightforward, kind.”

On what surprised him the most about the experience, he shared: “That two people, living two completely different lives worlds apart can become great friends. We put our judgements aside and listened to our hearts.”

Morag, 64, Somerset

School bus driver Morag identifies herself as being “enthusiastic, vegan and hippie.”

On what surprised her the most, Morag admitted: “I was surprised to find myself so emotional, particularly in the first few days.”

Angie, 44, Stourport

Salon proprietor Angie describes herself as “direct, impulsive and wild.”

Reflecting on the most challenging aspect of the experience, Angie explained: “Not having control of what I was doing, where I was going, and that what was in store for us. I became very hyper vigilant, and I went through a process of unwrapping all these things that I didn’t know about myself. I don’t like being told what to do so this was an adjustment for me to hand over control. Being away from my husband was so hard, it’s the first time we have spent that much time apart with zero contact.”

Tilly, 37, North London

Barmaid Tilly is “loud, loving and kind”. She frankly revealed her motivation for joining Handcuffed: “I wanted to win the money… and for the experience, but mainly the money.”

Anthony, 60, Suffolk

Business proprietor Anthony, who characterises himself as “generous, genuine and happy,” shared that the toughest element of the experience was having to reveal so many “deep and repressed” aspects of himself to a complete stranger.

Monterrey, Mexico – Portraits of the missing cover Guadalajara’s “Roundabout of the Disappeared”, a landmark renamed by families to highlight the state’s disappearance crisis.

On February 22, the streets surrounding the memorial and throughout the city stood empty after the Mexican army killed Ruben Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the longtime leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

In retaliation, cartel members set fire to buses and taxis, erecting a series of blockades that spread across 20 states.

The widespread unrest demonstrated the CJNG’s capacity for rapid coordination, fuelled by a ‘franchise’ model that allows smaller cells to operate under the cartel’s brand and vast financial network.

While the group’s economic reach extends into Europe and Asia, its power remains rooted in its paramilitary force. This structure relies on extortion, brutal violence and forced disappearances as its main tools to seize territory and control markets.

Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, consolidated one of Mexico’s most powerful criminal organisations in part due to a unique franchise-based structure.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the CJNG maintains a presence in every state of Mexico, with varying levels of influence, and operates in more than 40 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, and throughout the US. Its primary activity is the trafficking of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Raul Zepeda Gil, a teaching fellow in War Studies at King’s College London, notes that rather than following a “classic organisational pyramid”, the CJNG avoids a centralised financial network.

“Instead, profits can be distributed across many locations and groups simultaneously,” Zepeda told Al Jazeera.

Besides controlling key areas in western Mexico, the CJNG controls the Pacific Coast region, including the strategic ports of Manzanillo and Lazaro Cardenas, crucial for the import of synthetic precursor chemicals.

“Their most important activity is drug trafficking,” Zepeda said. “Chemical precursors that arrive from China reach Mexican ports and are then sent to the United States already in fentanyl form.”

The organisation also generates revenues through fuel theft, illegal mining, extortion, migrant smuggling and money laundering.

On February 19, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a timeshare fraud network led by the CJNG that targeted elderly Americans.

“Timeshare fraud in Mexico has plagued American victims for decades, costing them hundreds of millions of dollars while enriching criminal organisations such as CJNG,” the Treasury Department stated in a press release.

The CJNG’s extensive reach and rapid growth are made possible by a vast, powerful network that protects drug trafficking operations and ensures impunity, says Carlos Flores, an investigator at the Centre for Research and Higher Education in Social Anthropology (CIESAS). Flores argues that these “hegemonic power networks”, shadow networks of business leaders, politicians, and criminals, have reconfigured state institutions to serve their own interests.

“These same networks, which control and administer state institutions – including security institutions – focus their actions primarily against their competitors, while simultaneously allowing these other networks to consolidate their power,” he added.

The rise of a deadly paramilitary force

Forced disappearances and extortion are crucial for the CJNG’s control of the market, seeding fear that silences communities and facilitates forced recruitment. This ensures a steady supply of disposable labour while following the ‘no body, no crime’ logic that minimises the political and legal costs of their operations.

Homicides and forced disappearances have surged in Jalisco since the group emerged in 2010. The CJNG rose from the remnants of the Milenio Cartel, a subordinate partner of the Sinaloa Cartel based in Oseguera Cervantes’s home state of Michoacan. While across Mexico more than 130,000 people are missing, Jalisco currently ranks at the top with at least 16,000 reported cases, and collectives of families continue to uncover mass graves and what they describe as “extermination sites”.

Raul Servin, a member of the Guerreros Buscadores, a collective representing more than 400 families of the disappeared, told Al Jazeera that their searches frequently reveal human remains in varying states of decay and torture. They have found victims who were shot, hanged or killed with bladed weapons that were left inside the bodies, he said.

“It’s a sadness and helplessness we feel when we see each body these people leave behind,” said Servin, who has been searching for his son since 2018.

Beyond its financial power, the CJNG is notorious for its extensive arsenal of military-grade weaponry, including armed drones, rocket-propelled grenades, and firearms.

On February 22, more than 25 National Guard members were killed in Jalisco. In the past, the organisation has also carried out high-profile attacks against public officials.

Last year in February, US President Donald Trump designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation. In July, US prosecutors in Virginia unsealed an indictment against Petar Dimitrov Mirchev, a Bulgarian national accused of conspiring with East African associates to equip the CJNG with military-grade weaponry. The indictment states that Mirchev brokered these deals “despite knowing that the CJNG inflicts catastrophic suffering” to protect its prolific drug trafficking operations.

The indictment also revealed that the CJNG was attempting to buy surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft systems (ZU-23). Overall, Mirchev allegedly created a list of weaponry worth approximately $58m.

The paramilitary profile has allowed the CJNG to expand rapidly into rival territories and monopolise the market. Flores describes this training, deployment, and weaponry as being similar to an army, making them “practically uncontestable”.

“They operate under a different kind of logic,” Flores said. “They provide a kind of licence to [local] groups that associate with them. They fight their enemies and collaborate on trafficking in exchange for using the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a label.”

The CJNG adopted a level of brutality similar to Los Zetas, whose founders were elite Mexican special forces soldiers trained by the US and Israel. In its early days, the CJNG was known as the “Matazetas”, or Zetas Killers.

Servin and the Guerreros Buscadores have seen the results of this brutality firsthand. Locating the missing becomes more difficult as concealment tactics evolve, Servin said. Disappearances have become a powerful economic tool to control and exploit territory. Collectives often find bodies buried under layers of dirt and animal carcasses to throw off the scent, or even encased in concrete.

“They make us work harder than necessary. If they took his life, why not leave him where we can find him quickly?”

Zepeda says that the CJNG leveraged military-grade tactics to fill the void left by the government’s crackdown on other cartels carried out between 2008 and 2010. In 2009, the Beltran-Leyva Organisation – which had been at war with the Sinaloa Cartel since their 2008 split – was reeling from a series of high-profile arrests and killings.

The death of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel, a key finance operator for the Sinaloa Cartel, at the hands of the military in 2010 further cleared the way for new criminal players. Oseguera Cervantes was working under Coronel before breaking away to form what would become the CJNG.

“If we could summarise the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, it’s a reinvention of Los Zetas, which took over all the territory that the other cartels defeated by the Mexican government had occupied,” Zepeda added.

This history serves as a warning of what may follow the death of Oseguera Cervantes. Zepeda pointed out that the drug trade is an incredibly dynamic market where “there will always be a group of people willing to take control”.

Flores warns that “decapitating the leadership” is insufficient if power networks, along with the CJNG’s criminal and operational structures, remain intact.

“Without dismantling the power networks, yesterday’s victory will become the cause of new violence tomorrow,” Flores said. “We’ve seen this approach many times before, and we know what it leads to: It solves neither the transnational drug problem nor creates conditions of greater stability for the Mexican population.”

A strange quirk at San Quentin state prison is that most of those incarcerated behind its towering walls are unable to see the San Francisco Bay that literally laps at the shore a few yards away.

That changed recently with the completion of new buildings — holding among other accouterments a self-serve kitchen, a library, a cafe and a film studio — and third-floor classrooms that look out over that beautiful blue expanse, long a symbol of freedom and possibility.

In the new San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, along with learning job skills and earning degrees, incarcerated men can do their own laundry, make their own meals, and interact with guards as mentors and colleagues of sorts, once a taboo kind of relationship in the us-and-them world of incarceration.

“You want to clothes wash? You wash them,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom, debuting the new facilities, including laundry machines, for reporters last week. “You want to get something to eat. You can do it, whenever.”

“All of a sudden, it’s like you’re starting to make decisions for yourself,” he said. “It’s called life.”

Listen closely, and one can almost hear President Trump’s brain exploding with glee and outrage as his favorite Democratic foil seemingly coddles criminals. A cafe? C’mon. Bring on the midterms!

March 2024 of the East Block of San Quentin’s former death row.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

But what Newsom has done inside California’s most notorious prison, once home to the largest death row in the Western Hemisphere, is nothing short of a remarkable shift of thinking, culture and implementation around what it means to take away someone’s freedom — and eventually give it back. Adapted from European models, it’s a vision of incarceration that is meant to deal with the reality that 95% of people who go to prison are eventually released. That’s more than 30,000 people each year in California alone.

“What kind of neighbors do you want them to be?” Newsom asked. “Are they coming back broken? Are they coming back better? Are they coming back more enlivened, more capable? Are they coming back into prison over and over?”

When it comes to reforming criminals, “success looks like more and more people gravitating to their own journey, their own personal reform,” Newsom said, sounding more like a lifestyle influencer than a presidential contender. “It’s not forced on you, because then it’s fake, man. If it’s coerced, I don’t buy it.”

Of course, coming back better should be the goal — because better people commit fewer crimes, and that benefits us all. But coming back over and over has become the norm.

Traditional incarceration, a lock-’em-up and watch-them-suffer approach, has dramatically failed not only our communities and public safety writ large, but also inmates and even those who guard them.

Incarcerated people come out of prison too often in California (and across the country) with addictions and emotional troubles still firmly in place, and no job or educational skills to help them muddle through a crime-free life. That means they often commit more crimes, create more victims and cycle back into this failed, expensive, tough-on-crime system.

Still, it’s a favorite trope of Trump, and the justification for both his immigration roundups and his deployment of National Guard troops in Democratic cities, that policies such as Newsom’s are weak on crime and have led to the decline of American society.

This narrative of fear and grievance goes back decades, recycled every election by the so-called law-and-order party because it’s effective — voters crave safety, especially in a chaotic world. And locking people up seems safe, at least until we let them go again.

But, as Chance Andes, the warden of San Quentin, pointed out last week, “Humanity is safety,” and treating incarcerated people like, well, people, actually makes them want to behave better.

Here’s where the tough-on-crime folks will begin composing their angry emails. Why are we paying for killers to have a view? Why should I care if a rapist has a good book to read? Our budget is bleeding red, why are tax dollars being used for prison lattes? (To be fair, I do not know whether they actually have lattes.)

But consider this: The prison guards back Newsom.

“Done right, it improves working conditions for our officers and strengthens public safety,” said Steve Adney, executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., the union that represents guards, of the California model, as Newsom calls his vision.

Faced with high rates of suicide and other ills such as addiction, corrections officers have long been concerned about the stress and violence of their jobs. A few years ago, some union members traveled to Norway to see prisons there. I tagged along.

A correctional officer at Halden prison in Norway checks out the ice cream freezer in the grocery store inside the facility.

(Javad Parsa/For The Times)

The American officers were shocked to see Norwegian prisoners access kitchen knives and power tools, but even more shocked that the guards had built relationships with these criminals that allowed them to do their jobs with far less fear.

Rather than jailers, these corrections officers were more like social workers or guides to a better way of living. Of course, the corrections officers aren’t dumb. That only works with vetted inmates, such as those at San Quentin, who have proved they want to change.

But when you have officers and incarcerated people who are able to coexist with respect and maybe a dash of kindness, you get a different outcome for both sides.

“If we are capable of building this at San Quentin, then we are capable of making the workplace safe for every officer who walks in the gates,” said CCPOA President Neil Flood, a startling statement in favor of radical reform from a law enforcement officer.

But in a moment when most Democrats with ambitions for national office (or even an eye on replacing Newsom) are backing away from criminal justice reform, it would be naive to think the California model won’t be used to bludgeon Newsom in a presidential race, and provide further fuel to the dumpster-fire narrative about the state.

Soon — before the midterms — many expect Congress to move forward on Trump’s expressed desire for a crime bill that would empower police with even greater immunity for wrongdoing, create longer sentences for crimes including those involving drugs and further erode criminal justice reform in the name of public safety.

Trump is going hard in the opposite direction, toward more punishment, always the easier and more understandable route for voters fed up with crime (even though crime rates have been declining since President Biden was in office).

The California model is “a political liability in this environment,” said Tinisch Hollins, a victims advocate who worked on the San Quentin transition and heads Californians for Safety and Justice.

But she retains faith that “the majority of people don’t believe that shoving everyone into prison is how we resolve the problem.”

Newsom deserves credit for standing by that position, when simply backing away and dropping the California model would have been the simpler and safer route — it’s complicated and messy and oh-so-easy to make it sound dumb.

I refer you back to the cafe. If construction had been cut at San Quentin, the budget cited as the reason, no one would have noticed and few would have complained.

Instead, sounding a bit like Trump, Newsom said he “threatened the hell out of them if they didn’t get it done before I was gone.”

“This is not left or right,” he said. “This is just being smart and pragmatic and you know, I just … I believe people are not the worst thing they’ve done.”

Politically at least, San Quentin is a legacy for Newsom now, the best or worst thing he’s done on crime, depending on your personal views of second chances.

But it is undeniably a vision of public safety starkly at odds with Trump, one Newsom will carry into his next political fight — where it is certain to cause him some pain.

MUSE frontman Matt Bellamy has found some solace following his split from model Elle Evans, his wife of six years.

I’m told he has been spending time with sex therapist Gaia Polloni — who he dated for nine years in the Noughties.

A source said: “Matt and Gaia are still good mates and they’ve been spending time together following his split from Elle.

“It’s been a hard time for him, naturally, as it would be after the end of any marriage.

“Gaia has always been a great sounding board. Matt is focused on healing and moving forwards into co-parenting with Elle.”

Matt was seen in Notting Hill, West London, last week without his wedding ring and walking next to Italian Gaia.

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They first started dating in 2001 and Matt popped the question six years later.

But in 2009, the relationship broke down and they called off their engagement.

After the break-up, Matt told an Italian magazine he would “do anything” to fix their relationship.

He went on to write Muse’s track Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever) for Gaia a year on from their split.

We revealed at the weekend that Elle and Matt had called time on their marriage.

They actually split in October.

A pal said: “Their relationship is very amicable. They are now focused on co-parenting their children and still get on very well.”

Matt had been splitting his time between London and LA – where Matt’s son from his relationship with Kate Hudson lives.

Now he is expected to spend more time in the UK, after admitting he wanted to come home.

LEONARDO DiCaprio treated his model girlfriend to a private pre-Bafta shopping trip.

The Hollywood legend, 51, and Vittoria Ceretti, 27, were given exclusive late-night access to the Princes Arcade shopping district in London’s Mayfair on Saturday.

Bosses made the special arrangement so the couple could browse independent designer store Segun Adelaja away from fans.

It is a fancy independent designer store where shirts start at £140.

Leo attended last night’s Baftas with his 83-year-old mum Irmelin Indenbirken.

At one point he lost her on the busy red carpet — and refused to go inside until he found her.

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An onlooker said: “Leo got cut off from his mum.

“He asked his team, ‘Where is my mum?

“‘Is she OK?’.

“She’d hurt her leg.

“So he waited to help get her up the stairs.

“It was really sweet.”