moment

PHILADELPHIA — Pete Crow-Armstrong was 9 years old, maybe 10. He can’t remember for sure. But he clearly remembers the scene: a journey from his San Fernando Valley home to Angel Stadium, for a game featuring Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees.

Jeter wasn’t an outfielder, though. Crow-Armstrong sat in right-center field, with a great view of an Angels’ phenom.

“I absolutely followed Mike Trout,” Crow-Armstrong said. “I would have followed him if he were in freaking Seattle.

“He was — he still is — the only one to ever really do what I’ve ever seen him do in my life.”

A decade and a half later, in an All-Star Game that was short on drama and long on tributes to Trout, the hometown hero and future Hall of Famer, Crow-Armstrong shared center field with Trout.

“That,” the Chicago Cubs’ star said, “is a cool nugget I’ll always keep with me.”

With a two-run single in the first inning from All-Star Game MVP and former Dodger Cody Bellinger giving the American League the only runs it would need, the AL shut out the National League on Tuesday, 4-0.

The three Dodgers in the NL starting lineup — Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy and Andy Pages — went hitless.

Freddie Freeman and Mike Trout embrace during the fourth inning.

(Al Bello / Getty Images)

Justin Wrobleski, the lone Dodgers pitcher, gave up a home run to former Dodger Miguel Vargas but pitched two innings and struck out five, the most strikeouts in an All-Star Game since Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez struck out five in 1999 — and, before that, Fernando Valenzuela did it in 1986.

Trout went hitless in three at-bats. After he grounded out in his final at-bat, Freeman enveloped him in an impromptu bear hug.

“I love Freddie,” Trout said.

There was a fireworks show after the fourth inning, with kids riding bicycles onto the field a la “The Sandlot.” Trout offered swing tips to one of the kids. Freeman played catch with another.

“One of the cooler moments I’ve ever been a part of on the baseball field,” Freeman said. “It makes you feel like a kid again.”

Mike Trout signs autographs before the home run derby Monday.

(Matt Rourke / AP)

Before the game, Freeman addressed his fellow NL All-Stars, followed by Bryce Harper and Chris Sale. Freeman channeled his inner Ferris Bueller, reminding his younger peers to stop and appreciate every moment.

“It’s going fast,” Freeman said. “There’s a lot going on. Make sure you take a step back.”

Trout savored every moment with friends and family, including his two sons, in the festivities. In an interview with MLB Network, his 2-year-old scampered off the stage. His 5-year-old, asked if he would be a better player than his dad, said yes.

“It’s special to be able to sit back and remember the special experiences when you were a kid,” Trout said. “It’s a full circle. Just trying to enjoy every minute of it.”

He got a nice ovation from the Philadelphia crowd, which he knew better than to take for granted. The crowd engaged in lively and targeted booing: mascots Mr. and Mrs. Met; the guy that beat the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber in the home run derby on Monday; a guy that played for the Houston Astros when they beat the Phillies in the World Series five years ago; anyone playing for the Dodgers or any of the Phillies’ NL East rivals.

Juan Soto, especially. But not Trout.

“It means a lot,” Trout said. “I know how Phillies fans are when an opposing player comes in here, and it’s usually boos.”

As he spoke with the media, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays walked by.

“I love you,” Caminero said.

Mike Trout bats in the first inning Tuesday.

(Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)

Trout had just saluted a fellow All-Star, Detroit Tigers rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle, who like Trout grew up in the area, rooting for the Phillies. McGonigle was 6 when Trout made his major league debut.

“The way he plays the game, it’s like a young Trout out there, just with how hard he plays,” Trout said.

Trout turns 35 next month, far closer to the end of his career than the beginning. Justin Verlander is retiring at the end of the season, and Freeman said he hoped Trout’s accomplishments would not be lost amid the Verlander accolades at the All-Star Game.

“I know Justin’s been getting his flowers the last couple days, and rightfully so,” Freeman said. “Mike deserves it until he retires, because he’s one of the best players of all time.”

Verlander was all too happy to share the legacy of Trout in the AL clubhouse, and not just for the benefit of the twentysomethings in the room.

“He took the baseball world by storm,” Verlander said, “one of those generational talents that does everything — great outfielder, great baserunner, all the pop you would want. He was a complete player and generational talent for a reason.

“I always loved watching him play. I remember sitting there watching him hit a triple, and — I forget the teammate, but he was literally hitting me on the leg, like, watch him run, watch him run. He was, like, floating. He’s a once-in-a-generation guy for a reason.”

By his standards, Trout was unusually reflective after the game. He was the dominant player of the previous decade, but before Tuesday he had not taken an All-Star at-bat in this decade.

He grew up here, watching Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins play for the Phillies. Now he has youngsters like Crow-Amstrong and McGonigle telling him they grew up watching him.

“It makes you feel like you’ve done something,” Trout said. “For me, since day one, I’ve always played this game how I saw a lot of guys when I was young, watching Utley and JRo and Jeter. Play the game right. Play the game hard.

“You never know when it’s your last.”

HILARY Duff’s Los Angeles concert took an unexpected turn when two fans were caught on camera launching into a shocking fight in the middle of the crowd.

The dramatic altercation unfolded as the actress and singer performed on stage, leaving fellow concertgoers stunned as the footage quickly spread across social media.

The viral video showed the two fans shoving and throwing punches at each other as the band carried on performing behind them.

One fan, dressed in a shining, shimmering crop top, appeared to have their hair yanked by another concertgoer dressed in black as security rushed in and attempted to pull the pair apart.

Other concertgoers looked on in shock, with many pulling out their phones to capture the dramatic moment.

Dressed head-to-toe in sparkling sequins, the pair appeared to be devoted Hilary Duff fans before the shocking altercation unfolded.

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It’s unclear exactly when the altercation broke out, as Hilary Duff is not visible in the footage.

However, members of her band can be seen on stage, suggesting the fight erupted during a transition between songs.

Hilary recently wrapped up two sold-out shows at The Forum on Wednesday and Thursday, with a host of famous faces spotted in the crowd.

Among those in attendance were Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor and Demi Lovato, who all turned out to support the singer’s long-awaited return to the stage.

The singer is currently on the road for her first tour in nearly two decades, and fans couldn’t be happier to see her back on stage.

Hilary began her career playing the titular character on the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire before transitioning into music.

She took an extended break from singing to focus on acting, writing, and raising her family.

Hilary sang both her older classics and new tracks from her sixth studio album, luck… or something, released in February.

At the beginning of her concert, the passionately packed crowd sang along to her hit tracks, including Wake Up and So Yesterday, from her debut album Metamorphosis, which she released in August 2003.

She also belted out the slightly raunchier lyrics to her new single, Roommates, while rolling around on the stage.

The singer put on an impressive showing at the famed Los Angeles venue, stopping the show at several times to express her gratitude to the 20,000 screaming fans.

At one point, the former child star even teared up when discussing how much it meant to her to have people in the crowd who have followed her life for decades.

Also in the crowd was her family, including husband Matthew Koma – whom she created her latest album with.

Hilary has spoken about the lyrics of her newer songs reflecting her vulnerability and personal challenges during her 18-year hiatus from singing.

COMEDIAN Jim Davidson admitted “I found out what legless means” after collapsing outside a pub and being helped up by drinking buddies.

The star downed two ­bottles of wine, tequila, vodka, six pints of ­Guinness and two whiskies on an all-day session, saying: “I think it must have been that last scotch that did it.”

Ex-Big Break and Generation Game host Jim, 72, had sailed to the Isle of Wight on his £350,000 yacht Lady Natasha — named after his fiancée.

The pair dined at The Hut in Colwell Bay before Natasha, 49, called it a night and Jim ­carried on drinking with some yachtsmen.

He said: “It was boys stuff. I found out what the term legless means.

“My quote is ‘must take more water with it’.

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“We had a smashing meal at The Hut, which is the best ­restaurant in the country, then I decided to go on the p***.

“It was a bit of a harmless fun, no one died.”

Jim, who has five ex-wives, detailed his mammoth booze-up, which ended with him collapsing outside Salty’s pub in Yarmouth.

He said: “Most people leave Salty’s like that. First I had a couple of bottles of wine that made me a bit dizzy.

“I thought I better have some tequila to sober me up. After the tequilas made me feel worse, I thought vodka will kill the tequila.

“And after that six pints of Guinness. I thought well I need a wee, I’ll go into this pub and use their toilet and while I’m here I’ll have a couple of scotches.

“I think it must have been that last scotch that did it.”

Jim admitted being a binge drinker and said: “I can do that when I’m not working. I can’t when I’m working.

“Today I’ve got to drive five hours to Blackpool, do a show in the club and then five hours back tomorrow. This is the reality of showbiz. Then back to the studio to film my weekly satire show.

“When you’ve got a picture of me coming off stage in a theatre like that, then I’m in trouble.”

CHRISTINE McGuinness has admitted she fears about her children’s future without her and is preparing them already for when she “goes to sleep”. 

The 38-year-old model is the proud mum to three autistic children – twins Penelope and Leo, 11, and Felicity, 8 – with ex Paddy McGuinness. 

But in a new tell-all parenting podcast, Parent Unplugged, Christine admitted that their special educational needs have left her fearing what the future will look like for them once she dies.

In a teaser clip for the upcoming episode with parenting coach and podcast host Charis Halsall, Christine took a deep breath when she was quizzed on what she found the hardest part of parenting. 

“Oh, this is quite deep to start with!” she said, before admitting: “It’s realising that I am preparing my three children to live without me when I can’t live without them.” 

When Charis asked why, Christine noted: “It’s our job, as a parent or a carer, anyway. Of course we want them to be happy, we want them to be successful, and all of that. 

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“But really, we want to know that when we do… go to sleep properly, that they’re going to be able to cope and manage.” 

“So I think that that was the biggest realisation: that I kind of can’t live without these three kids, and one day, they have to live without me, so I need to prepare them to be as independent as possible, especially with their additional needs as well.” 

While Christine and Paddy announced their split in 2022, the pair have continued to live together in order to maintain a regular pattern for their three children. 

After her children’s diagnosis, Christine was also diagnosed with autism and ADHD. 

However, last year they decided to take a new step and put their Cheshire mansion on the market for £6.5million – though they’re yet to find a buyer. 

A source close to the couple has told The Mail on Sunday that TV presenter Paddy – who bought the house with Christine for £2.1million back in 2020 – is behind the ‘overpriced’ property value and it’s suspected it’s due to him not wanting to move out of it. 

However, this has reportedly caused issues with his ex-wife, with the source noting: “Christine is getting really fed up now. She wants to move on but it seems with it being priced so high, Paddy doesn’t want her to.

“Paddy doesn’t want to downsize. He wants a big house to fit with his ego. It feels like a control thing. 

“He knows he will never get £6.5million for it. It feels like he’s playing silly games.”

Since her split from Paddy, Christine has tried getting back out into the dating world – and in June 2025 confirmed she was interested in both men and women, having dated both since she was a teenager. 

She’s since been seen locking lips with DJ Roxxxan, just days after it was revealed she was ‘growing close’ to Strictly star and Olympic boxer Nicola Adams, and had a fling with a high-profile soap actress. 

Joining the London Pride festivities last weekend, Christine shared that she wasn’t interested in labelling her sexuality, noting in her Instagram post: “More love, Less labels. Open hearts, Open doors. Happy Pride everyone!” 

Wicklow manager Oisin McConville hopes this weekend’s Tailteann Cup final against Down proves a launchpad for the county as he chases his first trophy in inter-county management.

Having fallen just short of shocking Dublin in the Leinster SFC quarter-finals in April, the Garden County recorded wins over Limerick, Tipperary, Antrim and Offaly to set up a shot at silverware at Croke Park on Saturday (15:30 BST).

Since being introduced in 2022, the second-tier Tailteann Cup has given winners Westmeath, Meath, Down and Kildare the opportunity to compete in the All-Ireland series – and McConville hopes Wicklow can follow suit.

“I look at the teams that have won the Tailteann Cup, Down, Meath and Westmeath – all those teams are capable of challenging at the highest level and they’ve already proved that,” said McConville, an All-Ireland winner with Armagh in 2002.

“If our trajectory was something similar to what they’ve gone through, then definitely.

“But we can’t be accepting of the fact that we’re just in the Tailteann Cup final, we want to go ahead and win it now.”

Wicklow have shown impressive spirit en route to Croke Park. They overturned a nine-point deficit to beat Antrim by the minimum in Belfast in the quarter-finals (2-19 to 3-15) before a second-half surge against Offaly saw them roar back from eight points down to win a dramatic semi-final 2-26 to 4-15.

But 2024 champions Down have serious pedigree at this level having edged past Fermanagh in the semi-finals to reach their third Tailteann Cup decider.

“They’ve got a lot of dangers, they’ve been playing at a high level over the last couple of years. They were in Division Two, back down to Division Three and are going back to Division Two next year,” McConville, who took over as Wicklow boss before the 2023 season, said of the Mournemen.

“[In the] Ulster Championship, they beat Donegal and that’s the standout result. If you look at that game on a standalone, that’s a scary thought.

“The likes of [Odhran] Murdock, [Daniel] Guinness and Pat Havern, they’re very hard to pin down. That’s the job that’s ahead of us.

“We know the enormity of the task, but we have to have confidence in our ability and how good we’ve been in the past four games. A lot of the concentration has to be on ourselves.”

Gustavo Dudamel’s farewell to Los Angeles will also function as a benefit for his homeland of Venezuela, which suffered catastrophic losses from twin earthquakes in late June.

Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced Monday that the beloved composer’s final Hollywood Bowl performance as the orchestra’s music and artistic director, originally programmed as “Celebrating Gustavo at the Bowl: A Musical Legacy,” will instead be called “A Concert for Venezuela.” Still scheduled for Aug. 23, the show will raise funds for communities affected by the earthquakes.

“Venezuela will always be my home, and every moment, my thoughts are with the families whose lives have been forever changed by this tragedy,” Dudamel said in a statement. “The suffering is immense, but so is the strength and resilience of our people. This concert at the Hollywood Bowl is an invitation to stand together and transform our compassion into action.”

A full program and special guests will be announced later. Dudamel and the musicians will contribute their time and services free of charge.

Donations will benefit Dudamel’s Earthquake Recovery to Support Venezuelan Communities fund, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean fund. The L.A. Phil will contribute $50,000 to the fund, announced President and Chief Executive Kim Noltemy.

“In moments of profound need, our responsibility as an institution extends beyond the stage,” she said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to provide direct financial support to relief efforts for communities in Venezuela with a $50,000 charitable donation and to stand alongside Gustavo in bringing this concert to life at the Bowl.”

Twin earthquakes on June 24 devastated Venezuela, with more than 3,300 deaths and more than 30,000 people reported missing. As international rescue teams depart and locals are left to search through rubble, Venezuelans abroad, including L.A. restaurants, have looked for ways to send support.

Dudamel, who was born and raised in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, wrote in a 2015 op-ed for The Times that he is a “product” of El Sistema, the country’s government-funded youth music program. He has been the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra since 1999.

The Chase Around The World sees Bradley Walsh and the Chasers take on the challenge all over Europe, as six teams of two work to win £100,000.

Bradley Walsh has offered a tantalising glimpse into just how “heated” ITV’s brand new The Chase spin-off becomes.

Hot on the heels of the smash-hit gameshow‘s success, the broadcaster has unveiled an exciting new format that’s sure to delight fans of Race Across The World.

The Chase Around The World sees Bradley and The Chasers tackle the challenge across Europe, as six pairs of contestants battle it out for a whopping £100,000 prize.

With the opening episode set in Rome, competitors must tackle quiz questions, puzzles and cryptic clues to navigate their way around the city and track down Bradley at the finish line, passing through some of the Italian capital’s most iconic landmarks, including the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.

The last-placed team in each city will face a head-to-head showdown against two Chasers, needing to outsmart them to secure their spot in the competition, reports Bristol Live.

Ahead of the new series airing, host Bradley shared: “I would describe it as The Chase… but around the world! It’s out and about. It was very different doing it on location, in these incredible places, instead of being in a studio. I’ve been locked in Elstree Studios for 17 years!

“The locations were unbelievable. I loved it, I really did, but then again, I wasn’t chasing around, literally chasing around, the cities we were in.”

Speaking about how close the competition becomes, he revealed: “The competition really heated up, you could see the contestants thinking, ‘Right, this is what we’ve got to do. This is how to play this game.’

“There were times when some were over-taking others, some were slipping back. And, a couple of times, which is really quite interesting and what I liked, they literally saw each other on the street, or in a place where they were getting a clue.”

Teasing one emotional moment, he went on: “In one city the couple that came in last were devastated, and I mean devastated. One of them couldn’t even bring themselves to look at me. They were so upset.

“But then they get the chance to play against The Chasers and they went and beat them! So they stayed in the contest and were able to play in the next round at the next city – it was brilliant to see! I mean, it was really great.

“All of a sudden you’re saying, ‘All right, well forget that now. You’re now moving onto the next city. You’re still in the race.’

“It was great to watch because their despair turned into such joy. It’s a great dynamic, and it’s a very simple but effective end to this type of show.”

The series will transport viewers from Rome to Barcelona, Lisbon to Paris, Zurich in the Alps and finally in Athens, with an ITV spokesperson previously teasing: “It was an amazing odyssey of quiz and a really exciting series, something very different, giving you all the quiz you love from the main show but also some real live action at the same time, but also some real jeopardy and excitement as they race across each city.”

The contestants taking part include a mother and daughter who brand themselves the “Not so Dumb Blondes”, sisters, a newly-engaged couple, a father and son, a father and daughter who have previously appeared on The Family Chase and were hoping for a redemptive arc, and two friends working in Parliament who had only known each other for six months before taking on the adventure.

The Chase Around The World starts Thursday, July 16, at 9pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player, and continues weekly on ITV1 and ITVX

Can you tell the story of America in 10 movies? Maybe so — at least a version of it — if you stick to moments of serious national friction and those rare instances when a filmmaker meets the mood with a true vision. If you want tearjerkers about red, white and blue triumph, this is not your list (although the Space Race drama “The Right Stuff” always does the trick). Meanwhile, our current state of disunity and division will find its own expressions in time; start with “Civil War,” though it’s a bit too soon. Instead, we thought about historical pivot points and built a list of classics, along with a few alternatives for each title.

The Great Depression

Henry Fonda, left, in the 1940 film “The Grapes of Wrath,” directed by John Ford.

(20th Century-Fox)

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ (1940)

America is a broken place in John Ford’s poetically charged adaptation of the Steinbeck novel: a downbeat landscape of Oklahoma dust storms, long shadows and the teetering sight of a car turned into a truck transporting a family westward. This will always be one of those essential movies about a particular national dream — not just a myth — of emerging from economic catastrophe and being reborn in the promised land of California. Ford, with the instincts of a showman, foregrounded hope on the horizon via inspired performances by Henry Fonda and Jane Darwell’s pragmatic Ma Joad getting the final word (“We keep a’coming…”). But there is still so much darkness in “The Grapes of Wrath,” especially in its scenes of John Qualen’s Muley Graves, crumpled on the ground, suddenly a squatter on his own piece of land. He’s no match for the bulldozers. As long as the idea remains that property gets its purpose from those tending it, working it, nourishing it and dying on it, the film will never become a relic. Its binding values of labor and community remain relevant, even if today’s Hollywood rarely speaks to them. — Joshua Rothkopf

See also: “Modern Times,” “Sullivan’s Travels,” “Bonnie and Clyde”

Postwar optimism

Michael Hall, from left, Teresa Wright, Myrna Loy and Fredric March in the 1946 movie “The Best Years of Our Lives.”

(Samuel Goldwyn Productions)

‘The Best Years of Our Lives’ (1946)

World War II ended with ticker-tape parades and soaring expectations. William Wyler’s sweeping drama arrived just as America was beginning to reckon with what coming home actually meant. Harold Russell, a real-life veteran who lost both hands during the war, plays a sailor struggling to imagine a future with the woman he loves. Dana Andrews is a decorated bombardier who returns to the same soda fountain job he held before the war, discovering that military heroism doesn’t necessarily translate into peacetime opportunity. The movie became one of the biggest hits of 1946 because it understood a challenge facing millions of Americans: The war had given the country a common purpose but peace meant each person had to find their own. Yet for all its honesty about that dislocation, the film remains remarkably hopeful. Its faith that people can rebuild their lives and start over feels almost radical today. Seen from the distance of eight decades, it feels like a dispatch from a country that had just survived a catastrophe and still believed its best days lay ahead. — Josh Rottenberg

See also: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “Giant”

Capitalism, unchecked

Daniel Day-Lewis in the 2007 movie “There Will Be Blood,” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

(Paramount Vantage)

‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)

“I drink your milkshake — I drink it up!” Oil man Daniel Plainview’s deranged metaphor, allegedly taken from congressional transcripts from the 1920s Teapot Dome scandal in which Interior Secretary Albert Fall defended the practice of directional oil drilling, a.k.a. drainage, became a catchphrase when “There Will Be Blood” arrived in 2007. Elon Musk probably has a T-shirt in the back of a drawer emblazoned with the line. It epitomizes the American ethos of extracting resources that belong to someone else and then brutally bragging about the beatdown. Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie is part history lesson, part horror film, which, when it comes to chronicling the American experience, feels like the perfect blend. The oil man’s exploits take place more than a century ago, but seem particularly relevant now with Musk newly minted as the world’s first trillionaire and income inequality rapidly widening. Plainview confesses, “I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed.” It neatly sums up the endgame in which we find ourselves — and his vanquishing of the preacher Eli speaks to what we worship in the United States. He’s finished and sometimes it feels like we are too. — Glenn Whipp

See also: “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “WALL-E,” “Sorry to Bother You”

Post-Vietnam/Watergate cynicism

‘Nashville’ (1975)

Ronee Blakley in the 1975 movie “Nashville,” directed by Robert Altman.

(Paramount Pictures)

Could one movie capture the breadth of emotions around this year’s 250th anniversary celebrations as well as Robert Altman did the bicentennial? As the country was still reeling from the assassinations and discord of the 1960s, the despair of Vietnam and the scandals of Nixon and Watergate, there was a soul-baring uncertainty to what it even meant to be an American. With 24 main characters interwoven around the town of Nashville, home of country music and intersecting political undercurrents, the film tries to make sense of the chaos. While the conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s are seen as the most direct response to the moral malaise of the moment, Altman finds an unexpected way to gild his innate skepticism with a light filigree of hope, a complex quilt of characters capturing the contradictions inherent in the American identity. And yet as cynical and beaten-down as the film’s viewpoint can often be, there is still a spark of decency and perseverance. That is the America that Altman celebrates, even as he lets no one off the hook. Few films capture the hum of life in all its maddening beauty quite like this one. — Mark Olsen

See also: “Blow Out,” “The Conversation,” “The Parallax View”

‘Network’ (1976)

Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway and William Holden in the 1976 movie “Network,” directed by Sidney Lumet.

(MGM Studios / Getty Images)

Much has been made over the years about how prescient this film was, as if screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky and director Sidney Lumet saw the constrictive dangers of corporate consolidation in the distance and came back to warn us. But if these rumbling premonitions have remained true across multiple eras of an ever-evolving media landscape, have we really learned anything? Perhaps we really do live in a “demented slaughterhouse of a world,” as the unhinged newsman Howard Beale says in one of his apocalyptic broadcasts, and have all along. Maybe what “Network” nails most of all is apathy: that even the most righteously committed can have their heads turned from their true goals and then struggle to get back on track. What may be most shocking rewatching the film today is the suspicion that some current media figures see the maneuverings of villainous executives played by Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway and somehow think that they were the heroes of the story all along. Not even Lumet or Chayefsky would have predicted that. — Mark Olsen

See also: “Broadcast News,” “The Insider,” “Nightcrawler”

Gentrification and racial tensions

Spike Lee, left, and Danny Aiello in the 1989 movie “Do the Right Thing.”

(Universal Pictures)

‘Do the Right Thing’ (1989)

Spike Lee’s masterpiece was met with hand-wringing when it arrived in theaters 37 summers ago, with white critics fretting how “urban audiences” would react to its shocking ending of brutality and angry protest. “If some audiences go wild, [Lee] is partly responsible,” critic David Denby wrote in New York Magazine. Nobody rioted. “Do the Right Thing” made some people uncomfortable because it told truths from a Black perspective that they did not want to accept. That unwillingness to have hard conversations and learn from them remains evident today as we prepare to celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday without an honest reckoning of the anguish that lies beneath the storybook version of America’s founding. The paradox is that Lee’s movie is itself that conversation, its characters engaging in a series of arguments, evenhanded and empathetic, about how race affects the lives we lead in America. Until our country engages in that dialogue, nothing will change. For a moment, the Black Lives Matter movement signaled a willingness to grapple with the past. But the pendulum swung and we’re back to days of “Driving Miss Daisy” denial. But “Do the Right Thing” remains with us, its urgency and relevance undiminished, waiting for an America open to listen and live up to its idealized aspirations. — Glenn Whipp

See also: “Get Out,” “12 Years a Slave,” “Fruitvale Station”

The rise of the yuppies

Roddy Piper, left, and Keith David in the 1988 movie “They Live,” directed by John Carpenter.

(Universal Pictures)

‘They Live’ (1988)

“I believe in America,” the guy says, but we’re not in the private office of some all-powerful Corleone. Rather, this is a working man in a plaid shirt and denim. As the sun sets on his sad L.A. tent city (inspired by the real-life Justiceville), he only wants what everyone else wants: a hard day’s work for fair pay and the chance to get ahead. “It’ll come,” he says, serenely. He doesn’t know he’s in a John Carpenter movie — Roddy Piper was never put to better on-screen use — and that those keeping him down are, in fact, aliens hypnotizing us into an unseeing stupor as they carve up the world’s resources. Released at the tail end of Reaganomics, Carpenter’s most politically forward thriller now feels like a decoder ring for ’80s-era greed, detachment, complacency and ruthlessness. Carpenter meant us to to see his bug-eyed space invaders as yuppies. He also intended us to question whether we were selling each other out, just to join the “human power elite” for a tiny piece of pie. “They Live” looms just on the other side of appreciated. Many genre films say what our more prestigious dramas can’t about the creeping forces that are changing America; this one still feels like it’s getting away with murder. — Joshua Rothkopf

See also: “American Psycho,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” “After Hours”

’80s women in the workplace

Harrison Ford, left, Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver in the 1988 movie “Working Girl.”

(20th Century Fox)

‘Working Girl’ (1988)

Mike Nichols’ zeitgeisty hit opens on a shot of the Statue of Liberty hoisting her torch like a paycheck. Down by her green toes, Melanie Griffith’s Staten Island secretary Tess McGill ferries to Manhattan to type memos for important men. Tess has a job, not a career. But 1988 was the first year that female undergraduates outnumbered men on college campuses. Even without a degree, Tess is ambitious to climb the corporate ladder — once she swaps out her practical white sneakers for a pair of pumps. The script by Kevin Wade throws up hurdles of sexism and class snobbery, never sugarcoating how Tess’ male co-workers treat her like a blow-up doll. (Critics dismissed Griffith, too, until this performance earned her an Oscar nomination.) Yet note how her Ivy League-educated boss Katharine (Sigourney Weaver) isn’t immune to harassment either; she’s just mastered how to parry her colleagues’ advances. Fantastic as it is, “Working Girl’s” core flaw is that Tess can’t snag her seat at the conference table until she yanks Katharine out of it. Weaver said that when she showed the script to real-life working girls on Wall Street, they asked, “This awful secretary steals your man, wears your clothes, takes your office — who’s going to sympathize with her?” Millions did and still do. — Amy Nicholson

See also: “9 to 5,” “Baby Boom,” “Silkwood”

Digital alienation

Justin Timberlake, left, and Jesse Eisenberg in the 2010 movie “The Social Network,” directed by David Fincher.

(Merrick Morton / Columbia TriStar )

‘The Social Network’ (2010)

In 2010, Apple introduced the iPad, Instagram launched its app and Silicon Valley still looked to many tech-besotted Americans like a force for progress. At a moment when technology companies were promising to bring people closer together, David Fincher’s acerbic drama about the founding of Facebook had a darker theory about why people wanted to connect in the first place. Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay traces Facebook’s creation back to a very old human desire: getting noticed by the people who matter. Instead of celebrating innovation, the movie unfolds through lawsuits and broken friendships. At Harvard, Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg fixates on the exclusive final clubs that won’t quite accept him. It’s a surprisingly sour approach for a Facebook origin story. Years before social media became a political battleground, Fincher was focused on something more basic — the fear that everyone else had been invited to a party you couldn’t get into. The movie ends with Zuckerberg alone at a computer, refreshing the Facebook page of the woman who dumped him and waiting for her to accept his friend request. More than 15 years later, it’s still hard to think of a better image for the loneliness and insecurity lurking beneath our connected lives. — Josh Rottenberg

See also: “Her,” “Eighth Grade,” “Ingrid Goes West”

Post-9/11 anxieties

A scene from the 2004 movie “Team America: World Police,” directed by Trey Parker.

(Melinda Sue Gordon / Paramount Pictures)

‘Team America: World Police’ (2004)

To add drama to the ennui over the 2000 U.S. presidential campaign, “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone pledged to immediately produce a silly sitcom about the winner. “That’s My Bush!” ran for eight episodes in the spring of 2001, with plans to spin off into a feature called “George W. Bush and the Secret of the Glass Tiger.” But the Sept. 11 attacks changed everything, including the work of satirists. Parker and Stone pivoted to “Team America: World Police,” a bomb-throwing comedy about our country’s napalm-strength combination of naiveté and swagger. To prevent an attack hailed as “9/11 times a thousand,” a squadron of puppet commandos blows up the planet themselves. The dark joke is these marionettes aren’t behaving much differently than the action heroes who have shaped the national id — it’s a through-the-looking-glass lens into our Hollywoodized view of the globe, down to the Parisian streets made of cobblestone croissants. At once straight-faced, sacrilegious and scatological, “Team America” needed nine tries to eke past the MPAA. Yet in divided times, it was a unifier. The political spectrum from Kim Jong Il to Alec Baldwin got equally savaged and the film’s eff-yeah patriotic theme song (“Rock and roll! The internet! Slavery!”) could even be heard blaring from real-life tanks in Fallujah. — Amy Nicholson

See also: “Eddington,” “Idiocracy,” “Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay”

Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson was in tears as cameras caught the moment she was given her twin daughters’ devastating SMA diagnosis

Jesy Nelson has candidly shared the devastating moment her twin girls were diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) sobbing: “I don’t know how I’m going to do this.”

The heartbreaking scenes were captured as she filmed for her upcoming documentary, Jesy Nelson: Life Changing. The Amazon Prime Video cameras were on hand to capture the former Little Mix star’s reaction to the awful news as she said she “can’t believe this is happening”.

Doctors revealed the tots’ tests had come back positive. According to the NHS, SMA is “a rare genetic condition that can cause muscle weakness”. The organisation says the condition gets worse over time.

She revealed her whole life has changed, and she was predicted to struggle with the diagnosis. And Jesy is seen with her head in her hands as she says: “I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I feel like I’m going to be heartbroken for the rest of my life.”

But she says she refuses to let anyone else feel her pain and is determined to change laws and regulations surrounding SMA testing. And she has continued to update her followers on her twins’ condition online as the documentary gets ready to air later this month.

In the caption for the trailer, Jesy wrote: “I’m really not sure where to start with this one…All I can say is that I urge everyone to watch this documentary. It’s the most heartbreaking series I’ve ever had to make, but it’s one that needed to be made if we’re ever going to see real change.

“This is only a small glimpse into what my girls have to go through every single day. It’s the reality that so many children born with SMA have to endure and this is only the beginning of their lives.

“I truly hope this helps people understand why the heel prick test and treatment from birth are so incredibly vital. Early diagnosis can change EVERYTHING. I’ll keep saying it until no family has to experience this again: no future babies born with SMA should have lives that look like this.”

She ended with a plea: “Please if you watch one thing, let it be this: “Jesy Nelson: Life Changing” on @primevideouk, streaming from July 17th.”

Last month, Jesy was in Parliament as MPs debated whether to test all newborns for spinal muscular atrophy. She joined forces with the Mirror to highlight her petition which was signed by over 150,000 people demanding all newborns are checked for spinal muscular atrophy.

Scotland introduced screening in March. However, a similar scheme for England will only have a limited roll-out. And Jesy expressed frustration after public health minister Sharon Hodgson defended the staggered launch.

Jesy said: “I cannot believe we are still debating this. You are basically telling me that if you live in a certain postcode, you’re not as important. It’s outrageous.”

The decision, though, was defended by the public health minister, who had said limited testing facilities were preventing a full roll-out of screening for SMA.

The singer highlighted how late diagnosis of her own one-year-old twins meant they began treatment too late after irreversible nerve damage was done. She has since been told they will never walk.

Jesy Nelson: Life Changing will be shown on Prime from July 17

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METALLICA roadies were forced to intervene when a fan jumped on stage at the heavy metal band’s gig in Glasgow.  

The US-based group are currently on their M72 World Tour and performed to 56,000 fans at Hampden Park last week.  

But one Metallica fan ended up missing most of the show as he was apprehended by security when he jumped on stage before the concert started. 

A tense clip posted on social media showed the animated concert-goer aggressively refusing instructions to get down. 

In the end one of the security team was to shove the man from the stage with him being caught by another roadie. 

In a separate clip the troublemaker was escorted from the venue by police as fans rushed to comment on the shock events. 

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One wrote: “How to waste your night in one easy swoop.”

And someone else said: “Money well spent [eye-roll emoji].”

It comes after The Sun revealed Metallica are thrashing out a deal to land a huge residency at Las Vegas music venue the Sphere.

A source said earlier this year: “Metallica having a residency at the Sphere is all anyone is talking about on the Strip.

“They have been to see the bosses and met all the tech team to talk through and plan out a show in principle.

“The contracts are still to be signed but we were told they are 90 per cent there. Metallica will bring a different feel to a show there and there is a lot of excitement from bosses at the Sphere about what this could look like.”

Mel Brooks turned 100 on Sunday. To the 2000 Year Old Man, that probably wouldn’t seem like a big deal. For the rest of us, it was.

Few filmmakers in Hollywood history have remained this funny — or this relevant — for this long. Brooks’ improbable career, chronicled last year in a two-part HBO documentary, took him from defusing land mines during World War II to writing for Sid Caesar and reinventing movie comedy with hits like “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs.” Along the way, he conquered Broadway and became one of the few entertainers to win an EGOT — an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

Even at the century mark, Brooks doesn’t seem especially interested in slowing down. A “Spaceballs” sequel is set for release next year. Asked by The Times in 2016, when he was 90, whether retirement held any appeal, Brooks joked, “Well, first of all, I don’t know how to play golf. I could play tennis if it was triples — not doubles. But if there were three on each side, I could cover my spot.”

Every Brooks fan has a favorite scene, and there’s a good chance yours isn’t on this list. That’s OK. We weren’t trying to settle the argument. These aren’t necessarily Brooks’ funniest scenes or his most famous — he didn’t even direct them all. Instead, we’ve highlighted eight moments that show his different sides, whether it’s his fearlessness, his showmanship or the warmth that so often ran beneath the anarchy. No handful of moments could tell the whole story. But these are a good place to start.

The international order is falling apart, happening visibly, rapidly, and in ways that no longer surprise even the most committed defenders of the post-1945 liberal framework. The United Nations Security Council has not been able to do anything about the problems in Gaza and Ukraine. The group of countries known as BRICS is getting bigger. Now has nine members. Some countries in the Gulf are thinking about using a currency to price oil instead of using the US dollar. All of these things are putting a lot of pressure on the system that the United States has been in charge of.

Many people in the Global South think this is a thing. They do not think the United States has been fair in the way it has enforced the rules. They think the United States has only looked out for its interests and the interests of its friends. This is not a thing to say. The United States has been inconsistent in the way it has applied the rules about weapons, sanctions, and international crime.

The problem is that just because the old system is falling apart, it does not mean that something better will take its place. The question is not whether the United States is losing its power because it is clear that this is happening. The question is what will happen next. Will the new system be fair, more stable, and better at dealing with global problems?

The Architecture of Decline

The truth is that the United States has been losing its power for a time, but this has happened much faster since 2022. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it showed that big countries can still go to war with each other. It also showed that the United States and its friends cannot stop this from happening. The war in Ukraine has led to the use of financial sanctions in history, with over $300 billion in Russian assets being frozen.

This has made other countries want to reduce their dependence on the US dollar. They are afraid that if they rely much on the United States, they will be vulnerable to its power. According to International Monetary Fund estimates, the group of countries known as BRICS has expanded to include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Ethiopia, and Egypt. This group now accounts for over 40 percent of the economy. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation has also gotten bigger. Now includes Pakistan, India, and Iran in addition to Russia and China. This organization is now the regional security group in the world. These changes are not just symbolic; they show a shift in where power is concentrated in the world.

New Poles, Old Problems

The problem with a world is that it does not necessarily mean that things will be more fair or more stable. In the century Europe had a multipolar system, but it still had many wars. The same thing happened in the 20th century. Just because there are powerful countries does not mean that they will behave in a certain way.

The problem with a world is that it does not necessarily mean that things will be more fair or more stable. In the century Europe had a multipolar system, but it still had many wars. The same thing happened in the 20th century. Just because there are powerful countries does not mean that they will behave in a certain way.

The Institutional Vacuum

The biggest risk of the situation is that the international institutions that we have will become useless. The United Nations Security Council has not been able to do anything about the security crises of the past few years. The World Trade Organization is also not working properly.

When powerful countries use these institutions for their purposes, it undermines their legitimacy. This is a problem because it means that smaller countries will suffer the most. The rules of law are only useful if they are applied equally to everyone.

The Global South’s Strategic Dilemma

For countries in the Global South, the transition to a world is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it gives them space to maneuver and more access to financing for infrastructure projects. On the other hand, it also means that they will have to navigate a more complex and uncertain world.

The best way forward is to try to shape the transition to a world in a way that preserves the international institutions that we have. This means reforming the United Nations Security Council to make it more representative of the world. It also means strengthening the courts and the World Trade Organization.

Towards a Legitimate Multipolarity

This will not be easy. It is necessary. If we do not do this, we risk creating a world where might makes right. There is no shared set of rules to govern the behavior of states. This would be a disaster for everyone, for the smallest and weakest countries.

The multipolar world may signal the end of the order, but it does not have to mean the end of order itself. We have to work to create a system that is fairer, more stable, and more just.

NBA mock drafts projected Cameron Carr getting selected somewhere between 15 and 20 in the first round on Tuesday night.

Ending up with the Lakers later in the draft, however, was more than Carr could have asked for.

The Lakers acquired his draft rights from the New York Knicks, who took the 6-foot-5 Baylor guard with the 24th pick, in a multiple-team deal in which L.A. sent the draft rights to Spanish guard Sergio De Larrea, who was taken 25th, and cash considerations to New York.

As he sat for his introductory news conference Friday, dressed in all black, Carr shared what his thoughts were when he found out he would be playing for the Lakers.

“I’m going to the Lakers! It was more of an exciting thing,” he said. “It felt surreal. It didn’t feel real for the first couple minutes when I found out. It was trying to get my head around, ‘Man, I’m about to walk across the stage and be an NBA player.’ I’ve dreamed of this my whole life, especially since I was a kid. So it took a second. Still trying to get my head wrapped around it, but nothing but excitement and happiness. I feel more motivated to work.”

Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ president of basketball operations, met Carr at the facility on Friday but didn’t speak with the media during the news conference.

It meant Pelinka couldn’t be asked about Austin Reaves agreeing to re-sign with the Lakers on a four-year, $185-million deal, or about how conversations are going with free agent LeBron James.

But NBA rules prohibit team officials from commenting on anything during the free agency moratorium, which won’t be lifted until July 6.

So, this day was all about the 21-year-old Carr and how impressed he was being in the Lakers’ building.

“Walking in the building, first thing you notice is the rich tradition of the people that have been here before you,” Carr said. “It’s a moment of happiness. As a kid, you always dreamed of walking across that stage and accomplishing everything you wanted to. Man, it just felt good to walk in the gym and look at the people that came before me. Now I’m in their shoes.”

Carr was viewed by NBA scouts as athletic with his 42½-inch vertical leap and as having a good jump shot.

During his sophomore season at Baylor, Carr averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.3 blocks in 34 games. He shot 49.4% from the field, 37.4% from three-point range and 80.1% from the free-throw line.

But Carr quickly talked about how playing defense will be his calling card with the Lakers.

“Stepping into an organization with people with the same type of mindset and abilities, it only makes my job easier,” Carr said. “I’ve just got to cut and dunk the ball for them, and run in transition. But first things first is establishing a defensive consistency and showing I can be dominant or a plus on the defensive end as someone they would like to guard the best player.”

Carr always had his dad, Chris Carr, to lean on during his journey as a basketball player. Having him as a mentor was so beneficial because his father spent six seasons in the NBA. His most famous moment came in 1997, when he became the runner-up to Kobe Bryant in the slam dunk contest.

Now father and son have something else in common: making the NBA.

“I’ve always wanted to be better than him,” Carr said. “I’ve always been behind, so I want to show he’s put a lot of work in me becoming a better man. So I feel the only way I can credit him and show I’m thankful for him is by putting in the work and using it every single day. He was a heck of a player, so it’s some big footsteps I’ve got to follow and a long journey.

“It’s good motivation. My ‘why’ is just to be better and show people I’m better than a lot of people that are put in front of me. I feel like that’s the chip on my shoulder, or the fire under my feet.”

Richard Montoya of Culture Clash doesn’t mince words when it comes to politics, current events or the state of mainstream Hollywood. But he does sugarcoat his technological limitations as a 67-year-old comic in the dreaded age of video calls with a punchy Chicano twist.

“I’m a low-tech Aztec,” he writes via email when requesting a Zoom link to our Monday interview.

Culture Clash — which includes members Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Sigüenza — arrived on the scene as a guerrilla sketch theater group from the San Francisco Mission District in 1984. By that time, the Chicano movement had reached its peak, thanks to the United Farm Workers labor movement, as well as student activist organizations like Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA), which advocated for Chicano unity, political empowerment and educational access.

Luis Valdez, founder of El Teatro Campesino — who began putting on social justice-oriented plays for the striking Delano farmworkers in 1965 — backed the slapstick satire troupe, considering the trio “the cutting edge of fresh, new Latino comic genius.”

Culture Clash stood out in a time when Chicanos became more vocal and visible — and its members challenged an entertainment industry that has historically lacked Latino representation. Between 1993 and 1996, Culture Clash hosted its own self-titled TV show on the syndicated Fox network. The show, which was filmed at the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, is widely considered the first Latino sketch comedy to air on American television.

Throughout the last four decades, Culture Clash has parodied nearly every prominent Latino figure in history, including Che Guevara, Frida Kahlo, Ritchie Valens, Rita Moreno, Edward James Olmos and others. Its members have mocked hard-shell cholos and gangsters, often by placing them in funny scenarios. For instance, take this clip, in which the trio take on cholo characters and reimagine what it would be like to surf on the Southern California shore.

But they’ve also taken on more serious topics in their classic “Chavez Ravine” play, which looks into one of the darkest chapters in L.A. history: the forceful removal and displacement of families, mostly Mexican, in the 1950s under eminent domain. Recently Montoya attended a live reading adapted by Somos El Teatro, led by Xolo Maridueña, Mariana da Silva and Angel Villalobos at Elysian Park.

“It gives us so much life that people are finding the issues of swindlers, whether it’s gentrification, the taking over of settlements,” says Montoya. “The generational trauma of losing your home in L.A. has never gone away.”

But not every Culture Clash joke or skit has been safe from criticism. Montoya still remembers how a conservative pundit chastised the group for using light humor to discuss the 1992 riots, when LAPD officers were acquitted for using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King.

“By looking at it and treating it as dynamite, exploding it and then by bringing some levity and a whole lot of seriousness to the Rodney King matter allows us a moment, a fraction of time to look at the issues a little bit differently,” says Montoya. “That laugh allows us a moment to examine it differently.”

On June 27, Culture Clash will return to Grand Performances, a free summer concert series at California Plaza in downtown L.A., with comedic sketches colored by political and social satire. The show, titled “American Payasos! Culture Clash’s End Times Cabaret” will be co-presented with De Los.

While their 40-year-plus legacy might merit a show reminiscent of old goofball skits — like their early 1989 show “The Mission” that poked fun at the problematic Spanish Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra — this will not be an “oldies but goodies show,” as Montoya put it. “We are highly pissed off about a lot of stuff right now.”

“ We’re thinking a lot about the Mexican American patriarchy, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta and it’s time to address some of these things,” says Montoya. “ We want to look at the service workers of Los Angeles, the people that sell cotton candy in MacArthur Park, the people that sell ice cream in Echo Park and the people working the World Cup.”

For the veteran comic, son of the late Chicano poet Jose Montoya, it is also impossible to ignore the immigration enforcement raids that have rattled Los Angeles communities in recent years.

“This is a very strange moment for satirists,” says Montoya. “We have a responsibility to use those tools to say what’s going on in our city and country and provide these moments where we can do a little bit closer examination because the people in power aren’t telling us what’s going on.”

In the last five years, Montoya has fiddled around with digital media, creating sporadic videos featuring old clips of the troupe, as well as videos of Latino media, to connect with technologically diverse audiences of all ages. (One example is a video calling on people to get out the vote, that features clips of Speedy Gonzales and honors political figures like Huerta.)

Although Montoya believes Culture Clash is nearing the end of its career, there’s a question lingering inside his mind: What does a graceful exit look like for a group like Culture Clash, which has never been fully integrated into mainstream Hollywood and still left such a profound legacy in the world of Latino entertainment?

The answer to that might still be unknown, but like any Culture Clash project, it will likely be wickedly satirical and punchy. Says Montoya: “We’re ready to go out with a huge, loud bang that can say something against the power structure.”

Culture Clash will take center stage on June 27 at Grand Performances, in partnership with De Los. Also performing is the retro cumbia-quebradita musician É Arenas (bassist of Chicano Batman), the cumbia-fusion, luchador-masked cumbia group La Nueva Ola de Cumbia, as well as DJ Dali.

The number of British tourists visiting Malta is said to be up by around 25 per cent in 2026, with flights available from just £45

A tiny European island boasting 300 days of sunshine annually is “having a moment” with British holidaymakers. The number of tourists flying to Malta from the UK is reportedly up by around 25 percent in 2026.

The island is now reachable from 19 airports across the United Kingdom, with flights available for as little as £45. Travellers swapping grey British skies for the 17-mile long destination can look forward to temperatures of around 32C throughout the summer months.

Journalist Angela Epstein recently made the trip to the island with her husband Mark. The couple visited Sliema, on Malta’s east coast, describing the charming coastal town as the “perfect base for exploring”.

On arrival, Angela couldn’t help but observe that the “blue wink of the Mediterranean is a constant presence” around Malta. Boasting bustling shops, baroque facades, and 17th century watchtowers, Angela says the town “scores highly” for the “views alone”.

She does, however, note that Sliema may not be the ideal destination for a traditional beach holiday, with “rocky bays and outcrops” rather than the sweeping sandy shores some tourists might prefer, reports the Express.

The island does have some sandy beaches to offer. Ramla Beach, which translates as red sand, is regarded as one of the island’s most stunning stretches of coastline, with its rolling sands and crystal-blue waters.

Nestled at the foot of a lush valley and surrounded by rugged hills, Ramla Beach holds blue flag status and provides a wonderful opportunity for snorkelling, diving, or simply unwinding in the sun. The Bugibba Perched Beach, situated in the northern part of the island, is an artificial beach that has become a firm favourite amongst visitors.

Once a jagged rocky outcrop, the beach has been transformed and now boasts an array of cafes, along with all the usual amenities including sunbeds and parasols, perfect for a spot of sunbathing.

Those seeking a more culturally enriching experience can venture to Malta’s capital, Valletta, which was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1980. UNESCO describes the city as “inextricably linked to the history of the military and charitable Order of St John of Jerusalem”.

The city is home to an impressive 320 ancient monuments within just 55ha, cementing its status as one of the most historically dense destinations on the planet. The island also boasts a collection of ancient temples, with the gantija Temples tracing their origins back to 3,600 BC.

Nestled within the Gozitan countryside, the temples are so vast that local legend once held that they were built by giants.

Eager to uncover more history, Angela made her way to Mdina, a fortified city with a heritage stretching back approximately 4,000 years. This hilltop settlement served as the island’s capital until 1530.

Dubbed the “Silent City,” its cobbled streets feel like being “transported back in time,” according to Visit Malta. The tourism website adds: “Oozing of luxury and nobility, Mdina offers visitors a most discreet insight that only a few people can experience and witness during their lifetime.”

Malta’s cobbled streets and stunning vistas have also caught the eye of Hollywood.

Blockbusters including Game of Thrones, Troy, Gladiator, and Assassin’s Creed are amongst the major productions to have used the island as a filming location.

Having explored the island herself, Angela found it “grew on her,” despite the volume of tourists. She concluded: “Given the weather, the scenery, the heritage, and the sheer breadth of things to do, Malta looks set to continue having its ‘moment’ for some time yet.”

Islamabad, Pakistan – The scoreline read 4-1 to Norway. Iraq had been heavily beaten in their first World Cup match in 40 years. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored twice in his World Cup debut as Norway cruised to victory in Group I.

But for Pakistan, the result barely mattered.

When Zidane Iqbal crossed the touchline for Iraq at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in the 59th minute on Tuesday, history was made. He became the first player of Pakistani heritage to appear in a FIFA World Cup.

Pakistan’s national team has never qualified for the tournament. It sits 198th in FIFA’s rankings. For decades, more than 250 million Pakistanis have watched football’s biggest event from the outside.

That changed, in its own complicated way, through a 23-year-old born in Manchester, England.

Between three nations

Zidane Ammar Iqbal was born on April 27, 2003, to a Pakistani father and an Iraqi mother. His father, Aamar, is from the city of Sahiwal in Punjab while his mother, Ayat, was born in southern Iraq.

Growing up in Manchester, Iqbal was eligible to represent England, Pakistan or Iraq. The decision he eventually made was not a calculated one.

Iraq found him the way many things happen now: through social media.

A large Instagram page tracking Iraqis around the world contacted him to ask whether rumours about his heritage were true.

Word eventually reached the Iraq Football Association, which pursued him through a series of video calls with Iqbal and his parents.

Asked by the sports news outlet The Athletic why he chose Iraq, Iqbal said: “All the love and support from the fans in Iraq and across the world and how hard the FA tried to bring me. When someone shows so much love, it’s only right that you feel it.”

He had never visited Iraq before receiving an under-23 call-up in 2021.

The culture shock, he admitted, was real. But he kept returning. Gradually, a country that had once been only part of his heritage began to feel like home.

The road not taken

Iqbal joined Manchester United’s academy at the age of eight and spent 12 years at the club. In December 2021 at 18, he became the first British South Asian player in nearly two decades to appear for United in the UEFA Champions League.

But regular first-team football never followed. He eventually moved to FC Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie for about 1 million euros ($1.1m).

His performances during Iraq’s gruelling 21-match qualification campaign, including a winning goal against Indonesia, kept him central to the team’s plans throughout.

The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) had monitored his progress. But it was never truly a contest.

Ali Ahsan, editor of FootballPakistan.com, said the structural gap between the two football systems was simply too wide.

“We are struggling to attract players from bigger clubs, our ranking, the lack of a professional set-up. The PFF still has no technical director or dedicated national team recruitment staff,” Ahsan told Al Jazeera.

“For Zidane, he picked Iraq to be able to play major tournaments, which he probably wouldn’t have gotten with Pakistan,” Ahsan said.

“Had he chosen Pakistan, he could have had a big impact on raising Pakistani football’s profile internationally. He was still at United at the time. He could have started a serious conversation about how football needs to be improved, inspired kids to take it more seriously. Iraq is already a well-established team with a dedicated history, structure and fanbase.”

For Iqbal, the path led elsewhere. But for Pakistan, the moment still mattered.

“I hope there are children – whether Asian, Arab, whatever you are – who watch that and think they can do it,” Iqbal told The Athletic. “It’s definitely possible. And if I’ve done it, why can’t they?”

Iraq next face France on Monday before taking on Senegal in their final group match on June 26. Few expect them to advance. But few expected them to be there at all.

Against Norway, Iraq lost. For Pakistan, history was made anyway.

VENEZUELA Fury looked unimpressed when her new husband Noah Price criticised her family for buying them such a “small house”.

The eldest daughter of Tyson Fury, 37, has moved into a static home which her boxer dad bought for her and Noah, 19, after they tied the knot last month.

Since moving into their first home as a married couple, Venezuela, 16, has been sharing videos of their life living there.

In the influencer’s latest TikTok, she posted a clip of her new husband Noah complaining about how small their static house is.

Noah can be heard laughing, as he says: “Why did you (Tyson) get me such a tiny house, oh cause you (Tyson) bought it!”

Venezuela can then be seen looking unimpressed at her husband’s comment about the size of their home that her dad had paid for.

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At 42ft long and 14ft wide, the static home spans 588 square feet – roughly the same size as a large London studio flat.

The Sun revealed how generous Tyson and wife Paris Fury, 36, splashed out on the £46,995 static home as a wedding gift for them.

They also gave them a nice little nest egg of £5M, to get them started out, as well as paying for their lavish wedding.

Meanwhile, the new couple have found their marriage has been lucrative so far for them.

Fans can’t get enough of their TikTok videos, where they share their daily life in their static home.

Venezuela and Noah have become so popular that The Sun recently reported how they are in talks to star in their own fly-on-the-wall show.

A TV insider said: “The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.

“People are genuinely intrigued by them.

“Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor’.

“Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating.”

Netflix is likely to win any bidding war for the show, as the streamer already has a working relationship with the Fury family.

Their series, At Home With The Furys, became an instant hit when it dropped in 2023 and filming is already under way on a third series, which is due later this year.

KATIE Price has emotionally reunited with her husband Lee Andrews just days after his release from prison.

The Sun revealed how the self-proclaimed ‘billionaire businessman’ – who has spent the last month locked up in Dubai’s notorious Al-Awir prison –was freed on Friday.

After weeks apart, Katie quickly jetted back to Dubai from the UK over the weekend to see her other half.

Sharing an emotional reunion on Sunday evening, the former glamour model jumped into Lee’s arms as he picked her up and hugged her.

The beaming couple were pictured kissing, hugging and holding hands as they headed to Vox Dubai, an outdoor rooftop cinema, to catch a World Cup football game.

While Katie previously told The Sun she had plenty of questions for her elusive husband upon their reunion, it appeared those could wait as the couple got straight back to PDA – with the reconciliation appearing to be a far cry from crisis talks.

THE REAL KP

I’ve known Katie Price for years but our Dubai trip showed what REALLY goes on

LEE RIDDLE

First pic of Lee Andrews since jail release REVEALED… as Katie issues threat

The mum-of-five said earlier this month that she will only divorce the suspected conman once she has questioned him herself.

She said: “I cannot just walk away from my marriage without seeing him again.”

The Sun previously reported how Lee had been locked up in Al-Awir over a “private civil matter”, believed to be related to allegations of fraud, on May 14.

Among the claims, one of the cases against the self-proclaimed businessman is understood to be over a bounced cheque.

He initially claimed to Katie that he had been arrested on suspicion of spying. Authorities in Dubai later confirmed to The Sun that this was not the case.

This weekend, Katie confirmed that she had touched down in Dubai ahead of the reunion via Snapchat, where she shared a selfie in front of the city’s skyline.

Who is Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews?

KATIE Price tied the knot with Lee Andrews in January 2026. Yet who is he?

• Katie Price has married businessman fiancé Lee Andrews in a whirlwind wedding
• It is the fourth time Katie, 47, has been a bride. She has also been married to Peter Andre, Alex Reid and Kieran Hayler
• Katie and Lee met just after being introduced on social media
• Lee claimed he is a billionaire in a failed clip from his acting career
• He now claims to be a Dubai-based businessman
• Yet The Sun has unmasked him as a fantasist who faked celebrity links using AI-generated photos and recently talked about marrying two other women
• Failed actor is just another title to add to Lee’s questionable CV, after he claimed to have once worked as the Director of Philanthropy at The Prince’s Trust (now The King’s Trust)
• Lee also shared images – since proven to be AI – of him working with Elon Musk and Kim Kardashian
• It’s been revealed shameless Lee told former girlfriends that he had studied at Cambridge University, and has a PhD in biotechnology science
• But The Sun has seen a response from the university explaining it could not find a record of Lee being registered as a student with a date of birth they had provided
• His LinkedIn profile says Lee has been a Member of the Board of Advisors to the Labour Party since 2015
• Lee was also mocked for repeating the exact same wedding proposal on Katie – that he did for another woman just four months ago.

Katie’s return to the UAE comes just a week after she headed out there in the hopes of freeing him from prison, but was told she’d need a hefty £140,000 to bail him out – which she refused.

She gave The Sun exclusive access to the trip, with Showbiz Editor Clemmie Moodie joining her.

During which, Clemmie sat Katie down to confront her about Lee and the many untruths he has told over recent months – with the full 56 minute sit down available to watch here.

At the time, Katie admitted there were several questions she didn’t know the answer to, and was waiting for Lee to exit prison to quiz him.

Since then, Lee has returned to social media and has been spotted interacting with his wife’s posts.

However, he is yet to address the public, despite sparking a national manhunt before it was confirmed he was in prison, as he seemingly went AWOL.

Obsession is maybe too hard-edged; interest too soft. But from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T” to his new sci-fi thriller “Disclosure Day,” Steven Spielberg has spent nearly the entire length of his career returning to the possibility that we are not alone in the universe. Even “Firelight,” the amateur movie he made as an Arizona teenager in 1964, revolved around extraterrestrial visitors.

That recurring fascination stands out partly because Spielberg has never been a filmmaker who stays in one lane. Across 36 features as a director, he has pivoted between science fiction, war films, historical dramas, adventure movies, thrillers, comedies and even a musical while somehow retaining the same famed Spielbergian sense of emotional wonder that defined his earliest work.

Which makes “Disclosure Day” — opening Friday and built around mysterious transmissions, buried government secrets and the possibility of alien contact — feel less like a detour than a return to one of Spielberg’s oldest creative preoccupations. Speaking about the film in March at SXSW, Spielberg admitted that while he has no special knowledge about extraterrestrial life, he nevertheless has “a very strong, sneaking suspicion that we are not alone here on Earth right now. And I made a movie about that.”

So with Spielberg once again looking skyward, we decided to revisit the director’s long cinematic relationship with aliens, as figures of astonishment, terror, transcendence and, occasionally, giant crystal skulls from another dimension.

Melinda Dillon and Cary Guffey in 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”

(Columbia Pictures)

Josh Rottenberg: I don’t really remember a world without Spielberg’s aliens. I was 6 when “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” arrived in 1977, not much older than the little boy played by Cary Guffey who is carried off by visitors from another world after his toys mysteriously come to life. Five years later, I was exactly Elliott’s age when “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” landed in theaters in 1982.

“Close Encounters” made aliens feel weirdly plausible, not just creatures in a “Star Wars” cantina or rubber-suited monsters from old sci-fi movies but something that might turn up in ordinary American life through blinking kitchen appliances, strange lights in the sky and suburban middle-class dads who can’t explain why they suddenly need to drive to Wyoming.

What surprises me now is how hopeful the movie feels. It came out of the post-Watergate ’70s, when distrust of institutions was running high, but Spielberg directed most of that suspicion toward the government, not the alien visitors. Richard Dreyfuss sculpting Devils Tower out of mashed potatoes should seem completely insane — and it kind of is. But Spielberg somehow makes you understand why Dreyfuss’ Roy Neary is willing to walk away from his entire life and family over something he can’t explain.

With “E.T.,” Spielberg scaled that cosmic yearning down to a California cul-de-sac. I recently watched the movie again at Hollywood Forever Cemetery with my wife and younger daughter, who’s in college now. I’d seen it several times since 1982 but not on a big screen, and I was startled by how much of it I still knew by heart: E.T. shuffling through the kitchen drinking cans of Coors, Elliott freeing the frogs in science class, Drew Barrymore introducing the alien to her dolls like he’s a new kid who just moved in next door. Somewhere along the way, “E.T.” became less a movie to me than part of the background texture of childhood itself.

Spielberg turned one of science fiction’s grandest ideas — first contact with alien life — into the story of a boy and his weird little space-faring goblin best friend. Mark, we’re of the same Gen X vintage. Did Spielberg permanently convince you that aliens were basically on our side?

A scene from the 1982 movie “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

(Universal Pictures / Photofest)

Mark Olsen: I didn’t see “Close Encounters” when it was first in theaters, but I remember any kid with a piano learning those five notes of John Williams’ alien theme music and then the movie becoming a staple rental of the early VHS era.

When I revisited the film for its 2017 re-release — an overwhelming experience in the sorely missed Cinerama Dome, where the movie also played when it first opened — I was struck by how homespun and handmade it felt, grounded in a naturalistic sense of realism. For as much as Spielberg may be fascinated by aliens and whatever could be out there, he always uses them as a way to reconsider what is going on down here: to reconnect with the elemental aspects of humanity and our common bonds.

I’ll be honest and say that “E.T.” is a movie I have always struggled with. I clearly remember seeing the movie when I was young and being very disturbed by the scene when the government arrives and drapes the family’s house in plastic sheets and tubing. I distinctly recall recognizing that the film itself wanted me to feel bad — I didn’t like that. (Perhaps thus was a young critic born.) Spielberg is often so proud of his mechanics, he lets them show, which is why even then I was resistant to moments when he wants the relationship between Elliott and his new friend to truly take flight.

Tom Cruise in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 sci-fi thriller “War of the Worlds.”

(Paramount Pictures)

Rottenberg: By 2005 and “War of the Worlds,” the wonderment was gone. Spielberg took H.G. Wells’ downbeat vision of extraterrestrials as exterminators and updated it for post-9/11 America: nightmarish scenes of alien tripods clawing their way up through the pavement, blaring air-raid horns, entire crowds vaporized into clouds of dust.

This time, nobody is trying to communicate through music or empathy. Tom Cruise spends the movie running through New Jersey with two terrified kids while ash drifts through the streets and giant alien war machines scoop humans into dangling metal cages. “E.T.” had turned aliens into plush toys and breakfast cereal. “War of the Worlds” turned them back into the menacing aggressors of 1950s sci-fi films like “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” and “Invaders From Mars.”

Which made it all the more jarring when, three years later, Spielberg suddenly swerved back toward old-school flying-saucer mythology with 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” shoehorning an extraterrestrial plot into one of his most beloved series. Seeing Cate Blanchett march into a glowing alien chamber to commune with giant crystal skeletons from another dimension, I could understand why some fans reacted like they’d just watched someone spray-paint a UFO on the Ark of the Covenant.

But looking back, the inclusion seems almost inevitable. Spielberg keeps circling back to aliens no matter what genre or franchise he’s working in. Even 2001’s “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” eventually reveals itself as a kind of inverted first-contact story, with humanity becoming the vanished civilization studied by synthetic descendants of the machines.

Mark, were you able to roll with Indy suddenly colliding with Area 51 mythology, or did Spielberg lose you at that point?

Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf in the 2008 movie “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

(David James / Paramount Pictures / Lucasfilm)

Olsen: There was something so eye-rollingly whatever about the finale of “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” that you couldn’t even really be mad about it. On a storytelling scale of Spielbergian preposterousness, the moment lands somewhere between the Wrath of God sequence in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (totally legit) and the time traveling of “Dial of Destiny” (throws hands in the air).

“War of the Worlds” remains a fascinating film within the director’s space alien canon because it has an anxiety and uncertainty that isn’t often found elsewhere. Even his core interest in creatures, so often a well of amazement and positivity, couldn’t pull him up. Much has been made of the film as a response to the aftermath of 9/11 and Spielberg followed it up with the existential thriller “Munich,” a further exploration of the darker aspects of the national mood, before the year was even up.

This seemed to be a moment of malaise for Spielberg, one he worked his way out of with an unpredictably wide-ranging series of films including “Lincoln,” “Bridge of Spies” and “The Post.” It was as if he were left reeling from cynicism and was trying to reclaim some youthful confidence that he would eventually rediscover with the autobiographical “The Fabelmans.” Josh, do you feel that “Disclosure Day” serves as the final word on Spielberg’s alien interests?

Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor in the movie “Disclosure Day.”

(Niko Tavernise / Universal Pictures)

Rottenberg: What makes “Disclosure Day” interesting to me — even though I wasn’t fully sold on it — is that Spielberg is returning to these ideas at a moment when UFO culture has already evolved far beyond him.

Screenwriter David Koepp has cited “Three Days of the Condor” as a touchstone, and for long and often gripping stretches, the movie really does play like a paranoid 1970s conspiracy thriller: cryptic transmissions, shadowy government programs, Josh O’Connor racing to expose buried secrets, Colin Firth strapped into a chair using alien technology to manipulate people from afar.

But while “Close Encounters” arrived at a time when UFOs still occupied this hazy space between science fiction, Cold War anxiety and New Age mysticism, “Disclosure Day” lands in a world where self-described UFO abductees have their own support groups and Congress has held multiple hearings about “unidentified anomalous phenomena.” Meanwhile, earlier this spring, the U.S. government declassified another batch of UFO files and the response was roughly equivalent to a collective shrug.

In recent interviews, Spielberg has said he now considers the circumstantial evidence for UFOs “overwhelming” and no longer views “Disclosure Day” as science fiction at all. In his earlier alien films, extraterrestrials represented mystery and escape. Here they feel more like vaguely benevolent interstellar therapists trying to help humanity get its act together. The film’s climax reaches for the same sense of civilizational awe as the mothership landing in “Close Encounters.” For me it didn’t quite get there.

But maybe that’s partly because it’s harder now to experience these ideas with the same innocence they carried in 1977 or 1982. Rewatching “E.T.” at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, I still wanted to believe that an encounter with an alien intelligence could elevate us. But we’re a long way from Reese’s Pieces and flying bicycles. Mark, did “Disclosure Day” manage to pull you back into Spielberg’s orbit this time?

Olsen: I have to just get it out of the way that as someone from Kansas City, I will be eternally annoyed that Emily Blunt plays a TV weatherperson in KC and Spielberg did not actually shoot there. Having said that, for me the movie is at its best as a chase thriller — a sequence in which O’Connor escapes a remote farmhouse is particularly well-executed.

“Disclosure Day” is first and foremost just a lot of fun, a showcase for Spielberg’s gifts as a filmmaker and his longstanding collaborations with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski and composer John Williams. The film is deeply interested in who knows what. There are longtime tightly held secrets being kept from the rest of us for whatever reason. Though the film is framed as a conspiracy thriller, Spielberg’s essential goodheartedness continually peeks out, as if he can only play at being hard-bitten for so long.

Where the film becomes less sure-footed is when it grabs for its bigger meaning, attempting to render something deeper from Spielberg’s longstanding fascination with aliens and what they might have to teach us.

The real disclosure of “Disclosure Day” turns out to be our own inability to listen: how everyone gets so wrapped up in themselves they often miss the larger picture. But the idea that the entire world could latch onto something together feels too far-fetched in our own current fractured news environment. That is likely less the fault of Spielberg and more one of ourselves. His career-spanning interest in aliens always brings him back to trying to better understand us.

Anticipation. Rumors. Anxiously scanning the horizon, hoping that a brilliant force will leave the masses forever changed. Yes, a new Steven Spielberg movie about close encounters with extraterrestrials is landing — and misses the mark.

“Disclosure Day” is a story of truth and feared consequences. A personality-free cybersecurity expert, Daniel (Josh O’Connor), is on the run with evidence of little gray men arriving on our planet to a rude reception. The aliens are kind. Our species is barbaric. Wittily bruising us with that fact, Spielberg opens with a POV of a wrestler kicking the audience in the face. Welcome to Earth.

Elsewhere in America, a weathergirl named Margaret (Emily Blunt) breezes into her Kansas City studio, babbling up until the minute the news camera turns on, a bravura sequence that channels her restlessness, the station’s tempo and the film’s alarm that this ditz has just this morning been stricken with preternatural powers. (The cinematography and editing are by Janusz Kaminski and Sarah Broshar.) Locally, Margaret is known for announcing hailstorms with a sexy shimmy. Suddenly, she’s fluent in Russian, Korean and telepathy. Although she and her boyfriend, Jackson (Wyatt Russell), are a bad match, she’s giving everyone else life advice like an intergalactic Dear Abby.

When Margaret starts spouting alien-ese — spasms of gutteral clicks — on live TV, she and Jackson rush to the hospital for a brain scan followed by several suspicious men who claim to be with the FBI. Russell’s befuddled Jackson is as useless as a traffic cone but Blunt’s Margaret is a gas before the movie makes her go all glassy-eyed and solemn. Yet, the movie is less inspired by why she was chosen or how she feels about it than in dragging us back in time to the moment when it happened, which isn’t that interesting except for its resemblance to a Disney princess having a psychotic break. The CG animals and aliens look stiff, other than a nifty close-up of an eyeball. (Later, I did like how one alien appears to be wearing sportswear.)

Chasing both Daniel and Margaret around the Midwest is a deep-state company called Wardex that wants to steal back the proof in Daniel’s backpack, a heap of hard drives with footage of 70-plus years of extraterrestrial visitations. It’s a treat to see Spielberg enjoying staging this conspiratorial gossip in different film stocks, from the black-and-white noir of 1947 Roswell to the clinical security-camera look of today. Whatever Wardex does on a day-to-day basis is unclear (we just see video screens and lab equipment). But it acts all-powerful, seeming to know more about outer-space tech than its overseers at the Department of Defense.

The script is by David Koepp of the paranoid thriller “Black Bag” and Spielberg’s 2005 version of “War of the Worlds,” yet, this plot strand about private enterprise isn’t science fiction. Last year, in the unrelated UFO documentary “The Age of Disclosure,” current Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that companies have a stronger institutional memory of “exotic materials” than any presidential administration: “The people in government who know where it came from originally — they’re long gone and their successors have no idea that it was there at all.” To add nationalistic insult to injury, the head of Wardex isn’t even American. He’s a Brit played by Colin Firth.

If anything, “Disclosure Day” isn’t paranoid enough. Clutching a mysterious tool the shape of a mouse coffin, Firth’s villain tracks Daniel’s location by mentally transplanting himself into another person’s body, changing the color of their pupils to his own icy blue. His gadget also makes his targets super sweaty. This laborious alien tactic leads to a few fun scenes but frankly feels old-fashioned when the omnipresent surveillance that Spielberg himself warned about nearly 25 years ago in “Minority Report” is now here with recording devices constantly tracking our faces, voices and movements just so we don’t have to dial phones, fetch sandwiches or talk to human drivers. Although his movie urged us against this 24/7 spyware future, we have since embraced the convenience.

I bring this up because “Disclosure Day’s” driving question is how humanity will react to life-altering information. (Not that the plot has much momentum — too many scenes end with the belief that ducking 10 feet out of view makes you invisible, with an antagonist simply giving up.) Daniel insists on total honesty: “People have a right to know the truth,” he says. His girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) doubts 8 billion people can handle his alien revelations. A Catholic, she’s alarmed that extraterrestrial intelligence could replace the concept of God, naively claiming that “religion holds society together.” Since when?

There’s some wan comedy in an early scene where these new-ish lovers debate the ethics of secrecy while revealing the skeletons they’ve been hiding from each other. Both have pasts you wouldn’t put on a Tinder profile. The script is glancingly empathetic to Jane’s moral turmoil but like Daniel, the film has made up its mind before the movie started. Narratively and logistically, Daniel’s whistleblowing escape limps along with a lack of suspense. Wardex doesn’t even bother to preemptively discredit Daniel in the public’s eye, which, given the two sentences of backstory we know about his character, would be easy.

Nattering in the background are broadcasts about the impending threat of global war at the hands of the United States, Russia and North Korea. Given that scary possibility, the risk that Daniel’s reveal could tip over the world order doesn’t seem that bad. Honestly, I’m dubious of the film’s certainty that folks even have the bandwidth to care about such news, let alone agree on what they’re seeing. The serious journalism Margaret aspires to do is splintering under our distrust of who controls the megaphones. Last month’s infodump of an Armed Forces report listing 209 sightings of unidentified objects was announced with a presidential tweet that “the people can decide for themselves.” I didn’t bother to click. Did you?

Getting information about these space invaders out leaves no time for taking the marvel of their existence in. Decades after Spielberg unveiled his signature shot — a face amazed at wonders we can’t see — he seems wearied by his awareness that today’s moment of revelation would look like a person staring down at their phone. When lens flares continually beam right at the screen, the whole movie feels like enlightenment under duress.

Where are the aliens from and why are they here? Who knows. “Disclosure Day” speeds around frantically, talking constantly and explaining little. Back in 1977, Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was a popcorn masterpiece of withheld information. Its quiet assurance that experts had a handle on flying saucers and a plan to meet them felt comforting. Here, Colman Domingo’s renegade intelligence operative also refuses to tell anyone anything, but all the unspoken beats just feel like plot holes. Mostly, his character builds what looks like a Hollywood set to reveal a truth he already suspects. That’s what Spielberg is doing too, but a film needs a sense of curiosity.

Instead, the wows come from good stagings of ordinary action: a car crash, a gripped crucifix, a hideout crowded with jostling, thrumming musical instruments. There’s a great train-track crossing sequence that’s also a vicious callback to Richard Dreyfuss’ epiphany in “Close Encounters.” Yet, I wanted to see more of the old Spielberg, the one who expressed awe in moments of silence rather than relentless motion.

That Spielberg has come full circle to his lifelong obsession with the sky had me convinced that this might be a secret sequel to “Close Encounters” beyond the droll joke that both Dreyfuss’ Roy and Blunt’s Margaret are shacked up with unsupportive blonds. They do share a universe; you’ll see a glimpse of what could pass for an outtake from Devils Tower, a.k.a. Mashed Potato Mountain, on one of Daniel’s hard drives. Still, I left underwhelmed. I didn’t need Dreyfuss to step off a spaceship gangplank and say, “I’m back.” I just needed “Disclosure Day” to have the same spark of intelligent life.

Freddie Freeman has milestone moment

From Maddie Lee: It was just one moment in the midst of a persistent Dodgers scoring spree. But in the context of a long and decorated career, Freddie Freeman’s run-scoring single into shallow center field carried weight.

In the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 12-3 win against the Pirates on Tuesday, Freeman notched his 2,500th major-league hit.

“It means a lot,” Freeman said. “And then when your manager and teammates appreciate what you’ve done over the course of your career, it does mean a lot. Yeah, there’s always another goal to get to. But to step back and realize how long you have to play, … to play at a high level over many, many years to get there, it does mean a lot.”

Only 101 other players have achieved the milestone, according to Baseball Reference. And Freeman, in his 17 major-league seasons, leads all active players in hits.

The future Hall of Famer isn’t really a memorabilia collector, but for this one, Freeman made sure to get the ball and the lineup card. When asked if he wanted his bat authenticated, he said he’d hold on to it.

There are still more hits in it.

“If you would have asked me 10 years ago, I probably would have brushed it off and kept going,’ Freeman said. “But as you get older, you do get more emotional and sentimental. It is nice for people to take a moment and appreciate what you’ve done in this game. It is special.”

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels rout the Astros

Wade Meckler and Jo Adell keyed a five-run second inning with two-run doubles, and Walbert Ureña navigated heavy traffic through five shutout innings to lead the Angels to a 10-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

Houston put two runners on in the first, second and fifth and loaded the bases in the third, but Ureña (4-4) pitched out of each jam to lower his ERA to 2.44 on the season and 1.84 in eight starts since early May.

The 22-year-old right-hander gave up three hits, struck out seven and walked five in his 107-pitch effort, which included a 97-mph fastball to whiff Joey Loperfido with the bases loaded to end the third.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

World Cup strike averted

From Kevin Baxter: A strike that had the potential to disrupt the U.S. World Cup opener at SoFi Stadium has been averted, with United Here Local 11 and Legends Global, the stadium’s food-service operator, agreeing Tuesday to a tentative deal.

The nearly 2,000 workers represented by the union, which includes dishwashers, concession workers, bartenders and servers, voted last week to authorize a strike with 96% of those voting supporting the decision to walk off the job. Workers were demanding salary increases, protection against subcontracting and job loss through automation, and were refusing to comply with FIFA’s request to collect sensitive private information such as nationality and home addresses.

Details of the new contract were not released but the union had demanded “substantial increases” in pay to more than $30 an hour while Legends proposed wage freezes for some workers and a 25-cent hourly increase for cooks and dishwashers.

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Lincoln Riley is well paid

From Ryan Kartje: His 7-6 record at USC in 2024 would go down as the worst mark of Lincoln Riley’s career as a head football coach. But in his third and rockiest year at the helm of the Trojans, Riley was still compensated like one of the kings of the sport.

Riley was paid more than $11.8 million in total compensation during the fiscal year 2024, according to USC’s latest federal tax returns, which were obtained by The Times. That total includes a $100,000 bonus and $10.4 million in base pay, believed to be more than all but three college football coaches that season: Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney and Ohio State’s Ryan Day. All three have won a national title.

For Riley, his pay in 2024 marks just a slight increase from the 2023 season, when USC paid Riley more than $11.5 million in total compensation. The coach’s base pay increased by $145,143 between fiscal years 2023 and 2024, slightly less than it rose following his debut season in 2022 ($168,000).

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USC freshman linebacker Talanoa Ili joins lawsuit seeking to upend new NIL system

Stanley Cup Final Game 4

Jordan Staal scored his second goal of the game while stretched out on his stomach at 6:32 of the third period to put the Carolina Hurricanes ahead for good in their 5-3 victory on Tuesday night over the Vegas Golden Knights and even the Stanley Cup Final after four games.

Game 5 is Thursday night at Carolina, which will potentially have two games on home ice to win its first Cup in two decades. The Golden Knights are searching for their second in four years.

This was the first game not decided by one goal.

A two-goal lead has disappeared in all four games in what has been a remarkable series in which momentum often changes at a moment’s notice. Each team has led by at least that many twice.

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Game 4 summary

Rams’ Alaric Jackson is arrested

Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence Monday night in Los Angeles, according to a person with knowledge of the incident not authorized to speak publicly.

Jackson was arrested shortly before 11 p.m. after police responded to a call at a home in West Hills. Upon arrival, police determined that the woman involved in the incident had recorded the interaction and noticed scratch marks on her arms, the person said. Jackson was arrested and later released on a $50,000 bond, according to jail records. His next court date is scheduled for June 30.

The specific charge Jackson was arrested for is a person who “willfully inflicts physical or corporal injury resulting in a ‘traumatic condition’ [such as a bruise, scratch, swelling, or internal injury] on an intimate partner.”

“We are aware of the incident regarding Alaric Jackson, and we take these matters very seriously,” the Rams said in a statement. “Due to this being an ongoing legal situation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

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Serena Williams wins in return to tennis

From Chuck Schilken: Serena Williams is back.

And so is her blistering serve.

After almost four years away from the sport, the 44-year-old tennis legend made a triumphant return Tuesday at Queen’s Club in London. She teamed with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko for a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand in an opening doubles match at the grass-court HSBC Championships.

Williams recorded service winners of up to 120 mph during her first professional match since the 2022 U.S. Open.

“It was so fun,” Williams said afterward in an on-court interview. “I had so much fun playing with Victoria. She really was able to hold up the team and really play big on the big points. I could really rely on her. We’ve never played together, but it just felt so natural playing with her.”

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This day in sports history

1890 — The Preakness Stakes is run outside Baltimore, at Morris Park in New York. The race is then suspended for three years, and resumes at the Brooklyn Jockey Club’s Gravesend Course from 1894-1908.

1932 — Gene Sarazen leads wire-to-wire to win the British Open by five strokes ahead of Macdonald Smith at Prince’s Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Sarazen finishes with a tournament record of 283.

1933 — Johnny Goodman wins the U.S. Open golf title, making him the last amateur to win this event.

1934 — Italy beats Czechoslovakia 2-1 in extra time to win the second FIFA World Cup at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome. Italy trailing 1-0, ties the game at the 80th minute. Angelo Schiavio scores the winning goal in extra time.

1944 — A rare triple dead heat occurs in the Carter Handicap at Aqueduct with Bossuet, Brownie and Wait a Bit crossing the finish line together.

1950 — Sixteen months after near-fatal car accident, Ben Hogan wins the U.S. Open. Hogan beats Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio in an 18-hole playoff at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.

1968 — UEFA European Championship Final, Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy: Italy beats Yugoslavia, 2-0 in a replay (first game, 1-1).

1973 — Mary Mills shoots a 63 in the final round of the LPGA Championship to beat Betty Burfeindt by one stroke.

1977 — Al Geiberger sets a PGA Championship 18-hole record when he shoots a 59 in the Danny Thomas Classic.

1978 — Affirmed, ridden by Steve Cauthen, wins the Belmont Stakes to capture the Triple Crown in one of the greatest battles in racing history. Affirmed edges Alydar for the third time.

1989 — Wayne Gretzky of the Kings is named the NHL’s MVP, winning the Hart Trophy for a record ninth time.

1995 — Trainer D. Wayne Lukas wins a record five straight Triple Crown races as Thunder Gulch takes the Belmont Stakes. Lukas is the first trainer to win the Triple Crown races with two different horses. Lukas’ Timber Country won the Preakness.

1996 — Colorado’s Patrick Roy makes 63 saves before Uwe Krupp scores 4:31 into the third overtime to give the Avalanche a 1-0 victory against the Florida Panthers at Miami Arena and complete a four-game sweep of the Stanley Cup Final.

2000 — Stanley Cup Final, Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX: New Jersey Devils defeat Dallas Stars, 2-1 in double OT for a 4-2 series victory.

2006 — In Atlantic City, N.J., Bernard Hopkins wins a unanimous decision over light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, capping an 18-year career with an upset for the ages.

2010 — USC is placed on four years probation, receives a two-year bowl ban and a sharp loss of football scholarships. The NCAA cites USC for a lack of institutional control. The NCAA found that Reggie Bush, identified as a “former football student-athlete,” was ineligible beginning at least by December 2004. The NCAA also orders USC to vacate every victory in which Bush participated while ineligible. USC loses 30 scholarships over a three-year period, 10 annually from 2011-13.

2012 — Shanshan Feng wins the LPGA Championship to become the first Chinese player to win an LPGA Tour title and a major event.

2018 — Rafael Nadal won a record-extending 11th championship at Roland Garros by beating Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Nadal became the second player in tennis history to win 11 singles titles at any Grand Slam tournament after Margaret Court, who claimed 11 Australian Open titles.

2018 — Kristen Gillman led a U.S. singles sweep in the biggest blowout in Curtis Cup history. Gillman, a 20-year-old University of Alabama star, beat 16-year-old Annabell Fuller 5 and 4 to cap a perfect weekend at Quaker Ridge in Scarsdale, N.Y. The Americans won 17-3, breaking the record for margin of victory of 11 set in a 14 1/2-3 1/2 victory at Denver Country Club in 1982.

2023 — UEFA Champions League Final, Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul: Manchester City beats Inter Milan, 1-0 to complete historic Champions League, Premier League & FA Cup trifecta.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1921 — Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees became baseball’s career home run leader by hitting his 120th off Cleveland’s Jim Bagby in the third inning. The Indians took the game 8-6.

1944 — Joe Nuxhall, at 15 years, 10 months and 11 days, became the youngest player in major league history when he pitched for the Cincinnati Reds in an 18-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

1959 — Rocky Colavito of Cleveland hit four consecutive home runs at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium, a tough home run park. Billy Martin and Minnie Minoso also homered in the Indians’ 11-8 victory.

1966 — Cleveland’s Sonny Siebert threw the only no-hitter of the year as the Indians beat the Washington Senators 2-0.

1972 — Hank Aaron’s grand slam pushed the Atlanta Braves to a 15-3 rout over the Philadelphia Phillies. It was Aaron’s 649th home run, moving him ahead of Willie Mays into second place on the career home run list. It was also his 14th grand slam, tying Gil Hodges’ NL record.

1997 — Kevin Brown threw a no-hitter and kept himself from a perfect game by hitting a batter in the eighth inning, leading the Florida Marlins over the San Francisco Giants 9-0.

2005 — Baltimore’s 4-3 win over Cincinnati marked the first time that three 500-homer players appeared in the same game — the Orioles’ Sammy Sosa (580) and Rafael Palmeiro (559), and the Reds’ Ken Griffey, who hit a solo shot in the eighth inning for No. 511.

2006 — Reggie Sanders became the fifth player in major league history with 300 homers and 300 stolen bases when he hit a two-run shot in Kansas City’s 9-5 loss to Tampa Bay. Sanders homered off Chad Harville in the ninth to reach the milestone joining Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, Andre Dawson and Bobby Bonds.

2011 — Tony La Russa managed his 5,000th game when the St. Louis Cardinals lost to the Milwaukee Brewers 8-0. La Russa complied a 2,676-2,324 record with the White Sox, Athletics and Cardinals. Only Connie Mack managed more games with 7,755 over 53 years.

2012 — Frankie Vanderka threw a three-hitter, Travis Jankowski had four hits and Stony Brook completed an improbable run to the College World Series with a 7-2 victory over LSU in the deciding game of the Baton Rouge super regional. Stony Brook became only the second team to open the tournament as a No. 4 seed in the regional round and advance to the World Series. The first was Fresno State during its stunning 2008 run to a national title.

2019 — The Diamondbacks and Phillies play “Home Run Derby” at Citizens Bank Park, in a 13-8 win by the D-Backs. Arizona opens the game with three straight homers off Jerad Eickhoff, by Jarrod Dyson, Ketel Marte and David Peralta, on their way to hitting 8 long balls. The Phillies reply with 5 of their own, including two by Scott Kingery, but it’s not enough on a night when balls are flying out of the park right and left. Eduardo Escobar homers from different sides of the plate in consecutive innings for Arizona, and Ildemaro Vargas also homers twice. The combined 13 homers set a new major league record. The D-Backs had been the last team to open a game with three dingers, back on July 21, 2017.

2020 — Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 amateur draft is held virtually and limited to five rounds.

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.

FANS of a huge US hitmaker have voiced their concern after the star repeatedly slipped and stumbled on stage at the Summertime Ball.

Yesterday, 80,000 revellers descended on Wembley Stadium for Capital’s annual festival – but there was one singer who got everyone talking

A video of Stephen Sanchez has emerged and shows the star’s chaotic performance at the Summertime Ball.

Taking to the stage the flamboyant star was dressed in a peach suit.

But as The Until I Found You hitmaker started to perform, he was seen slipping and sliding everywhere.

At one point Stephen looked like he was about to fall off the stage, as he tried to regain his balance.

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However, in the end he just ripped off his shoes and carried on dancing.

Sharing the video, TikToker @_floss_ wrote over the top of the clip: “The stage was really out to get Stephen Sanchez.”

Floss’s followers rushed to comment, with one saying: “Honestly at the end when he slid into stairs I just thought he had broken his toes!”

Another added: “Be careful Stephen!”

This one said: “This is a bad health and safety hazard! But he handled it so well.”

Meanwhile, Stephen wasn’t the only one to suffer on stage.

Fellow US star Jason Derulo was left red-faced as he slipped on stairs and fell over during his Capital Summertime Ball performance.

The singer took a stumble on stage when he slipped down some stairs while walking down onto the stage.

However, the US singer-songwriter styled it out in his usual fashion and appeared to be unhurt, telling the crowd: “I survived!”

Keeping his cool, he took a moment kneeling and put his finger in the air while he gathered his composure.