night

Inside, you will find a double bed, bunk beds, and a kitchen equipped with a microwave, toaster, kettle and fridge

Two retired RAF helicopters have been transformed into stunning glamping pods – and they are already fully booked. The yellow Sea King aircrafts have found their forever homes being stationed at North Yorkshire Water Park, at Wykeham Lakes, near Scarborough., after long careers saving lives across the UK.

They now add to a believed four other Sea Kings which have been transformed into liveable accommodation in Britain. Their specialist interiors have been ripped out and replaced with a double bed, bunk beds, and a kitchen, equipped with a microwave, toaster, kettle and fridge.

Some parts of the cockpit – including the controls and switches – are still intact, but stunning images show how it has been reworked into a dining area.

Its sliding door acts as the main access point and when opened leads onto a gravel landing pad, with a picnic bench. The water park says the helicopters offer a “unique and “memorable” stay which were designed for couples, families to enjoy.

The helicopters were originally built for the RAF for Search and Rescue, according to North Yorkshire Water Park.

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Both the ZE369 and XZ589 offered decades of service at the forefront of life-saving missions across the UK, carrying out daring rescues in all weather conditions.

The pods were available to be booked from Friday, May 1 – the first four weeks are fully booked, according to Airbnb. Prices start at £130 a night.

James Whitehead, operations manager at North Yorkshire Water Park: “We are incredibly excited to welcome the new Sea King helicopter glamping pods to our stay on-site offering.

“Both helicopters have an extraordinary history, having spent decades carrying out life-saving search and rescue missions across the UK.

“It was important to us that the original character and charm is preserved as much as possible while making them a cosy place to relax after a day of fun.”

North Yorkshire Water Park is one of the UK’s largest spanning a huge 250 acres. The outdoor adventure destination features massive inflatable aqua parks, lakes for kayaking, paddleboarding, and open-water swimming.

Sam Smith is engaged to Christian Cowan, according to a “hotel lobby spy” who spilled the tea to Page Six.

“From what I understand, it was a private engagement,” the hotel lobby spy told the outlet after allegedly overhearing the couple discussing their betrothal. “They are over the moon, and from what I hear, so in love!”

We will not pause to consider whether the spy was a publicist, an assistant, a second assistant, a hotel employee or perhaps even a stray NYPD officer employed that night as a security guard, but Page Six says a second person confirmed the news.

The Times has reached out to Smith’s record label for independent confirmation, but has not heard back.

The two Brits were first spotted together in late 2022, when Smith sang at the White House to mark then-President Biden signing the Respect for Marriage Act guaranteeing federal protection for same-sex and interracial marriages. After numerous sightings of the couple out together and sharing kisses in 2023, they confirmed to the New York Times at the 2024 Met Gala that they were dating.

Back in May 2024, the couple made a small splash on the red carpet with Cowan in an ivory suit and Smith in a black one with a sheer suggestion of skirt laying over the pants. But on Monday night, with Cowan in an evocative-of-the-1920s black suit and tie flecked with beads, Smith pulled out the stops, donning a black Cowan-designed gown that weighed more than a fully loaded checked bag on the airline of your choice.

“This is the heaviest thing I’ve ever worn in my life. It’s a massive workout,” Smith told Vogue on the Met Gala red carpet.

“It’s 52 pounds,” Cowan chimed in quietly. “Fifty-two pounds. Sorry.”

Once the smiling designer was prompted to explain the collaboration, he said, “Sam was like, ‘Babe, please make something that’s lighter weight.’ And I didn’t do that. Sorry.” Smith noted that the outfit was “like a corset” on the shoulders.

“There’s no one who knows my body more than this man,” Smith said, which made it easy for them, sitting at home with their Pekingese pups Haggis and Pudding, to dream up what the singer would wear to the couple’s third Met Gala together.

With its mermaid-style skirt, full sleeves, furry collar and panache of tall black feathers on a crowning headpiece, the ensemble was a callback to the opulence of the 1920s, Cowan said, finished off with 255,000 crystals and beads. Two thousand hours of “artisanal hand sewing” got the job done, he said in a quote posted on Smith’s Instagram.

“I feel very lucky to be here and to wear your incredible talent like this, it’s amazing,” the 33-year-old “Stay With Me” vocalist told Cowan.

Can’t wait to see what Smith wears on the big day — hopefully it will be a tad less weighty. Here’s hoping a wedding reception spy is on the guest list.

HELEN Flanagan almost spilled out of her plunging corset while enjoying a boozy night out with her pals.

The former Coronation Street star, 35, took to Instagram to share a sneak peek into her big night out with her friends.

She threatened to spill out of her top as she stunned in a teal blue animal-print corset top, which was held together with just one thin clasp.

The actress showed off plenty of cleavage as she went for a bouncy blow-dry and a glam make up look complete with eyelashes and a glossy lip.

She posed at a bar with a friend and took some mirror selfies in the bathroom as she took a break from mum duties for the night out.

Her followers rushed to the comments section to compliment her as one gushed: “Stunning!! Absolutely gorgeous…”

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Another social media user enthused: “Wow, such a beautiful face and stunning body.”

Somebody else commented: “Classy and stunning,” while a fourth added: “Looking hot there babe.”

Her evening out comes after she was axed from Celebrity Ex On The Beach after just four episodes.

She joined the likes of Towie’s Dani Imbert and Love Island’s Toby Aromolaran to shoot the new series of the Paramount+ reality show in Tenerife last year.

But a shock twist saw Helen and controversial star Rogan O’Connor sent packing just four episodes into the current run.

When it was revealed the boys had picked Helen to go home, while the others looked stunned, she wasn’t upset by the decision.

Smiling, she said: “Thank you so much!”

Speaking in a confessional, Dani, 28, said: “I’m so shocked the boys have picked Helen, I feel like they loved her so much.

“It’s going to feel so strange not having her here in the morning. Really sad to see her go.”

The Celebs Go Dating star said of her exit: “I do feel a sadness that I didn’t find a romantic spark, but I feel that the connection I have with the girls… I feel sad leaving them.”

Not too long after Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened at Disneyland in 2019, the land brought me to tears.

It was a summer weekend evening, and I was strolling the 14-acre area, mainly to people watch. I caught a commotion in the crowd out of the corner of my eye, and decided to follow the activity.

There, crouched along one of the walls of the fictional town of Black Spire Outpost, was an actor playing the role of Rey, the hero of the most recent trilogy of “Star Wars” films. Behind her was a crowd of more than a dozen, many of them young children. Rey turned to tell them to be quiet. They followed her as she shuffled along the walls, decoratively designed to look decades old and scarred with blaster fire and cracks.

They turned a bend and came upon two Stormtroopers, who jumped in surprise, and signaled that Rey was the person they were after. That’s when Rey held out her hand, palm up, to the troopers. She instructed those with her to do the same and to repeat after her. She and the crowd, now quickly growing, were collectively using the Force.

The “Star Wars” character of Rey leads guests in using the Force at Disneyland in the summer of 2019.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

The Stromtroopers turned, muttered that there was nothing to see here, and walked away. Rey faced her audience and begin hugging and shaking hands with those closest to her. This is when I welled up.

The promise of Galaxy’s Edge was tremendous. Audiences were invited to pretend, to become a hero or perhaps a rogue in a land designed to facilitate interactivity, and most importantly play. That a crowd was able to become a little silly, be a bit vulnerable and share a collective moment with a gaggle of strangers reinforced to me the importance of theme parks as communal spaces, ones that can get us out of our head, our struggles and our stressors.

As of last week, Galaxy’s Edge forever changed. I still love the land, and believe it one of the triumphs of Walt Disney Imagineering. But I mourn what it once was and never came to be.

A change in the Force

Leia and Han are now meeting with guests at Disneyland’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in an effort to infuse more classic characters into the land.

(Christian Thompson / Disneyland Resort)

Galaxy’s Edge has shifted its timeline. Out is Kylo Ren, and in is Darth Vader. Also new to Galaxy’s Edge are Han and Leia. Luke is there, too, returning after a limited run last year. The arrival of the so-called “classic” “Star Wars” characters will in fact breathe new life into Galaxy’s Edge. Already, they are pleasing crowds, as the Disneyland faithful last week cheered Vader’s entrance, heard now to a score of John Williams’ ominous “Imperial March.”

Rey still makes appearances, but when she does she is stationed near showcase attraction Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Ahsoka Tano, as well as the Mandalorian and Grogu, are among the other characters who will meet with guests in various spots throughout the area.

Galaxy’s Edge will now become what it was never built to be: a hodgepodge of “Star Wars” characters and nods to past works rather than undiscovered tales. While many saw the absence of the most recognizable “Star Wars” figures as a flaw, it was part of its intended design. For the land’s creators, it was a tradeoff they were willing to make, a bet guests would be active archetypal “Star Wars” tourists rather than spectative consumers. It was a grand theme park experiment.

“It was not an immediately intuitive decision,” Scott Trowbridge, the key Imagineer behind the land’s ideals, told me in 2022 when asked about the choice to set the land in the timeline of the most recent “Star Wars” films.

Said Trowbridge: “Luke’s story, or Leia’s story, that we saw 10, 20, 40 years ago, we know those stories. We love those stories. But there’s not room for us in that world. We wanted to make sure we were leaving room for you and your friends.”

When Galaxy’s Edge opened, we heard the roar of spaceships and musings of war. Traditional theme park trappings — character meet-and-greets, passive rides and musical scores — weren’t found. It was instead designed as an invitation, a new, unknown location filled with lesser-known characters like rebel spy Vi Moradi, meant to serve as a living playset for guests to create their own tales. I saw this happen, too. Once, when strolling the land with my former partner, she turned to me and lightly punched me in the arm, saying, “What’s a respectable guy like you doing with a scoundrel like me?” That was the moment I knew I would fall in love with her, and it was facilitated by Galaxy’s Edge.

A failed dream

The centerpiece of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is the Millennium Falcon.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

If I’m being honest, I am aware that Galaxy’s Edge seldom lived up to this promise. Imagineers teased many characters — a bounty hunter, for instance, who would hang in the cantina — who never appeared. In order to play, we need people to play with, and this playland often felt empty. Droids, for instance, would show up, but often only for a limited time. Teased features, such as Bluetooth technology that would allow the land to track a guest’s reputation, courtesy of missions they completed in the Play Disney Parks mobile app, never reached their fruition. That game itself, which is still available, thus lacks any meaningful payoff.

Galaxy’s Edge was a theme park risk, asking how deeply guests would want to engage in physical spaces. But it came with challenges, namely that as these lands grow, the level of activity needed to maintain the illusion increases. A promised dinner theater was never built, and a stage for a special effects-laden stunt show has largely sat barren. Disney also relied not on actors but its retail staff — cast members, in park parlance — to do the heavy lifting when it came to performing.

I wrote in 2019 that Galaxy’s Edge may, in fact, be too ambitious for the Walt Disney Co. I’m bummed that I was right.

Many on social media are musing that Disney is now fixing Galaxy’s Edge. Let’s be clear, Galaxy’s Edge was never broken. It just needed Disney to be a better steward and to fully support the ambitions of its Imagineers.

Last week at Disneyland, when Darth Vader walked on a Galaxy’s Edge stage through a smattering of smoke, the crowd erupted as if at a sporting event. It was fun, and clearly something some fans had been craving.

So bring on Darth Vader and the rousing music of Williams, I reluctantly say. Disney should do what it does well, and that is to create memorable character experiences. Operationally, the park had abandoned the initial goals of Galaxy’s Edge long ago, and the presence of Han, Luke and Leia will excite guests and at last give attendees more characters to interact with. It will be a busy, bustling place, and that I do applaud.

The week in SoCal theme parks

Changes have been reported at Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin.

(Christian Thompson / Disneyland Resort)

• You can now get a “Star Wars” ID card in Downtown Disney. Located inside the Star Wars Trading Post shop is a plastic ID-making machine (similar to the fake driver’s license one can get in the queue for Autopia) that will take your photo and allow you to pick a role in the “Star Wars” universe (bounty hunter, fighter pilot, etc.). It looks neat. I want one, even though I don’t know what I would do with it, but so far, lines have averaged 90 minutes to two hours or more.
• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin has lost its spin. Disneyland removed the ability for guests to twist and turn their cars, an operational-driven-tweak, as the ride now allows for lap seating for younger guests and will allow for more to experience the attraction. While I can see how some may miss the spinning feature, I often tried to keep the car steady to soak up the environment, so my initial reaction leans positive, especially if it improves a family’s Disneyland day.
• Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first “Harry Potter” film in an all-encompassing environment. Inglewood’s Cosm isn’t a theme park, but its dome-like screen offers a theme park-like experience (think the golden days of Circle-Vision). Opening Thursday is a re-imagined “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” with newly added environmental effects. The core film remains untouched, but the screen surrounding you aims to come alive with enchanting movement.
• Magic Bands will soon disappear from Disneyland shelves. Disney reporter Scott Gustin, a friend of Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride, recently noted that Disneyland will not be replenishing its stock of the Magic Band+ once it sells through the remaining inventory. Those who have them (hand raised) needn’t worry, according to Disneyland officials, as Magic Band+ functionality, including the game Batuu Bounty Hunters in Galaxy’s Edge, won’t cease. But Magic Band+ has limited use cases at Disneyland, and never quite caught on here in the same way the wristbands have at Walt Disney World.
• Happy birthday to the Great American Revolution. Magic Mountain’s classic coaster turns 50 this week, having opened on May 8, 1976. As part of the anniversary festivities, the park has restored its original name of the Great American Revolution (it was recently operating as the New Revolution). The ride is known for being the first modern looping coaster with a tubular steel track, earning it landmark status from American Coaster Enthusiasts.

The best thing I ate at the parks

A scallop appetizer at Carthay Circle. Go easy on me, I’m not a food photographer.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

No churros or treats for me this week. I hadn’t had a chance yet to check out the spring menu at the lounge at Carthay Circle, Disney California Adventure’s fine dining restaurant, so I made my way there Friday afternoon. Carthay Circle is always a welcome respite, a calming, relaxing environment where the theme park day tends to slow down.

I was after the scallops appetizer. Now, priced at $16, I knew this wouldn’t be a large portion, but I was longing for something light and breezy and this plate of six small scallops in a sea shell delivered. Drizzled with macadamia nuts, the citrus-forward dish is designed to bring out contrasts in texture. Overall, it’s a little zesty, a little nutty, and as a seafood person I’m happy an affordable, delicate dish exists at the resort. If you’re really hungry, though, you’ll need a second item.

Ride report

Space Mountain has begun its yearly, temporary overlay as Hyperspace Mountain.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

It’s “Star Wars” season at the Disneyland Resort, which means Space Mountain has been remade into Hyperspace Mountain. Now, generally speaking, this is my rule when it comes to ride overlays: The original is almost always better. That’s the case for Space Mountain as well, as the 1977 classic still thrills, its near pitch-blackness keeping you guessing while its uplifting score seems to capture the exhilaration and optimism of space flight.

But Hyperspace Mountain has its charms. The projections of lasers and X-wings look great in the darkness, and the sudden dips and turns work well for the dogfight atmosphere. The John Williams score brings the energy, and there’s the right amount of chaos and shifts in direction to make us feel as if we’re in a “Star Wars” battle. I’m just relieved, however, it doesn’t stick around too long, as the original is such a magnificent coaster.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

Love Soarin’ Over California? Then I point you to this piece from former Times staffer Sammy Roth, an environmental reporter who also appreciates Disney theme parks. Here, Roth goes scene-by-scene, looking at how Soarin’ represents a snapshot in time and analyzing how its locations have been touched by climate change.

KYLIE Jenner has once again gotten fans talking with her daring looks as she rocked a curve-hugging “nipple dress” on the 2026 Met Gala red carpet. 

The reality star wore the sexy look for a solo night out in New York City despite fans hoping that boyfriend Timothee Chalamet would be her date for the first Monday in May. 

Kylie, 28, stunned in a formfitting Schiaparelli strapless nude corset that pushed up her chest with cups that included nipples poking out. 

The corset went down to her hips, where a long lace skirt draped down to her feet. 

She completed her look with a diamond necklace and smokier glam makeup. 

The mom-of-two rocked a side part with old Hollywood curls and a long piece of hair going over her forehead. 

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Timothee, 30, chose to skip the Met Gala red carpet but was just down the street at Madison Square Garden to support his beloved New York Knicks as the team competes in the NBA playoffs.

While his girlfriend was serving looks for the cameras, the Oscar-nominee was pictured court-side at tonight’s Knicks game against the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 1 of the conference semifinals.

Kylie, 28, has become one of the Met Gala’s most talked-about regulars however, it’s not always for the right reasons.

From her dazzling debut to viral backlash over a baseball cap on the red carpet, the beauty mogul has built a reputation for bold glam – and also for occasionally missing the theme entirely.

She made her Met Gala debut in 2016 in a heavily embellished silver gown by Balmain.

The futuristic look, complete with a blunt bob wig, instantly put her on the fashion map.

Fans praised the bold entrance, though some questioned whether the edgy look felt too mature at the time.

In 2017, Kylie stepped out in a sheer, feathered gown by Versace for the avant-garde Comme des Garçons-inspired theme.

Kylie returned in 2018 just months after welcoming her daughter, Stormi, wearing a sleek black gown by Alexander Wang.

The moment grabbed headlines – but not everyone was impressed.

Fans applauded her confidence, while others slammed the outfit as “underwhelming” and off-theme for the religious-inspired night.

Her 2019 look remains one of her most iconic.

Kylie stunned in a lavender feathered gown by Versace, complete with a matching purple wig, fully embracing the “camp” theme.

Fans were overall obsessed, with many still ranking it as her best-ever Met Gala moment.

After a three-year hiatus, Kylie returned in 2022 in a white bridal-inspired gown by Off-White as a tribute to the late designer, Virgil Abloh.

However, it was her backwards baseball cap that stole the spotlight.

The unexpected accessory sparked backlash online, with critics calling the look confusing and “disrespectful” to the theme – though others defended the sentimental tribute.

In 2023, Kylie opted for a more refined look in a red gown by Jean Paul Gaultier honoring Karl Lagerfeld.

Kylie leaned into romance at the 2024 gala with a sculptural, corseted gown featuring floral accents.

The feminine look was well received, though some critics said it lacked the wow factor of her earlier appearances.

In 2025, Kylie returned in a sheer, corseted design that highlighted her signature hourglass shape.

Fans praised the fit – but others complained the style felt repetitive of her past red carpet choices.

KATIE Price was left screaming in terror as she took a trip to a haunted house in Belgium for a ghosthunting experience this week.

The mum-of-five documented her spooky trip by filming the whole thing, with fans watching as she spoke to ‘ghosts’.

Katie drove from her home in the UK to Brussels with pal and cameraman Ben Algar as she headed to the European city to undergo more surgical procedures on her boobs and filler in her lips.

However, the she and Ben, who was behind the wheel due to Katie’s recent driving ban, decided to reside at a “haunted” Airbnb cabin during the trip.

Filming herself as they arrived for a new YouTube vlog, a terrified Katie is seen checking the cabin for ghosts.

Staring over at a lightbulb, she says: “If there’s any ghosts in here and you want us to go, that light I’m pointing at now, turn it off if you don’t want us to stay.”

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As nothing happened, she said: “Well, at least it didn’t turn off.”

But just seconds later, the light seemingly flickered off, with Katie then screaming.

“What is going on?” said the worried star.

With her hands on her face, she said: “Noo. What are we doing?”

Whilst Katie was convinced the light was proof that ghosts were present, fans in the comment section of the video had other theories.

“I think its a motion sensor bulb lol,” laughed one.

Another agreed: “Katie is a sensor light, when you step forward it came on then went off when ye stepped back”.

Katie’s trip abroad with Ben comes after we revealed him as the “second man” in her life, alongside husband Lee Andrews.

Sources credit Ben as a ‘stable influence’ in the ex-glamour model’s life, in what has been another whirlwind few months for the star, following her driving suspension and surprise Dubai wedding to Lee Andrews in late January.

“The second man in Katie’s life is Ben, who has been by her side for years,” a source tells The Sun. “But he’s really stepped up recently amid her latest drama.

“He is probably the only stable man she’s ever had in her life outside of her family.

“They’re incredibly close friends and Ben has always quietly guided Katie, not only in her career but in her private life

“The whole family love him- he’s a really great friend to Katie and the entire Price gang. They all think he’s a legend.”

A child sexual assault case filed against Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler will proceed to trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The singer is accused of grooming, sexually assaulting and impregnating 16-year-old Julia Misley in the 1970s. The suit, first filed in 2022 in Torrance, claims he “used his role, status, and power as a well-known musician and rock star” to exploit Misley. The complaint also argues Tyler admitted to the alleged crimes in his own memoir, “Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?,” where he refers to her as his “teen bride.”

Earlier this week, a judge dismissed most of the case, citing the statute of limitations in Massachusetts, where the pair lived during their three-year relationship. But they allegedly crossed state lines while Tyler toured the country with his band, including to California, according to the complaint. Because of California’s Child Victims Act — a 2020 statute that allowed a “lookback window” where alleged victims can file lawsuits regardless of a statute of limitations — a portion of the case will still be tried.

“This is a massive win for Steven Tyler. Today, the Court has dismissed with prejudice 99.9% of the claims against Mr. Tyler in this case,” Tyler’s lawyer, David Long-Daniels, said in a statement to The Times. “The court has decided that only one night, 50-plus years ago, out of a three-year relationship is allowed to remain.”

New York has a similar statute that was recently employed by singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura in her case against Sean Combs. She filed a sex-trafficking and sexual assault lawsuit against the music mogul in 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, just days before the expiration of a lookback window.

The lawsuit against Tyler, who previously appeared as a judge on “American Idol,” claims he and Misley first met at an Aerosmith concert in 1973. According to the document, he “performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon Plaintiff that night.” At the time, Tyler was in his mid-20s and Julia was 16.

The alleged encounter was the first of many, the lawsuit claims. In 1974, Tyler was named Misley’s legal guardian and took her on tour with the band.

According to the complaint, he described the nature of the relationship in his 2011 memoir, writing, “She was 16, she knew how to nasty … with my bad self being twenty-six and she barely old enough to drive and sexy as hell, I just fell madly in love with her. … She was my heart’s desire, my partner in crimes of passion. … I was so in love I almost took a teen bride. I went and slept at her parent’s house for a couple of nights and her parent’s fell in love with me, signed paper over for me to have custody, so I wouldn’t get arrested if I took her out of state. I took her on tour with me.”

The lawsuit also describes Misley’s alleged pregnancy with Tyler’s child, which ended in a “pressured” abortion.

In previous court documents, Tyler has denied the allegations and attempted to get the case dismissed.

“This reflects years of resilience and courage by Ms. Misley, driven by an unwavering pursuit of truth and justice. It is time for justice and for Tyler to be held accountable by a jury,” Misley’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, said in a statement.

The trial is scheduled for August.

In an era of 150-page novels in 14-point font, and books on Venezuela’s recent history that feel like overly long opinion pieces, Ulises Milla’s Editorial Alfa opted for something entirely different: a chronicle of how chavismo took over the Venezuelan State between 1999 and 2004, the product of ten years of research, divided into two volumes totaling more than 1,400 pages.

It is titled La oscuridad no llegó sola (no English translation yet), taken from a line by a Colombian poet, and has a subtitle that speaks volumes: “chronicle of a Venezuelan tragedy.” Yes, it is a chronicle in the broadest sense of the term, a systematic and multifaceted account that protects a series of events from oblivion in a specific era. It is also a Venezuelan tragedy, one among many, in which everything leads to an unhappy ending that seems inevitable, as in those of Aeschylus or Sophocles.

There is a classical feel to Mirtha Rivero’s new work, not only because she has drawn on literary genres that are over two millennia old, but also because it is a book that took a long time to write, one made to transcend time. For this reader, it is another essential text about our past, like José Domingo Díaz’s chronicles of the First and Second Republics or Lisandro Alvarado’s Historia de la Revolución Federal, and certainly like Rivero’s previous work: the bestseller La rebelión de los náufragos, published in 2010. It does not attempt to impose a personal thesis, defend one side or one figure, or propose a solution to the nation’s ills. It is an effort to understand how things happened, on a scale vast enough to allow the patterns of behavior developed by political actors over those years to emerge.

For those of us who experienced these events firsthand, through the media, La oscuridad no llegó sola still reveals aspects of the story we didn’t know, thanks to the quantity and quality of its sources. For those who were too young, it is an unparalleled document on how the traditional political class underestimated chavismo, how chavismo took advantage of the negligence and frivolity of its adversaries to seize control of institutions, and how the anti-politics we saw explode in La rebelión de los náufragos helped demolish what little remained of that democracy, which committed suicide, or allowed itself to die. A tragedy that, with its variations, has happened before. And that will very likely happen again. La oscuridad no llegó sola by Mirtha Rivero is available on Amazon and in bookstores in Spain. From Monterrey, Mexico, where she has lived for several years, the economics journalist who is showing how Venezuela’s contemporary history must be written spoke with Caracas Chronicles.

I want to start with the moment when La rebelión de los náufragos was published, had the impact it did, and you began the journey that led to these two volumes. You addressed this in the preface to La oscuridad no llegó sola, but what was the process like for defining not only the 1999-2004 timeframe, but also the questions you wanted to answer?

After La rebelión de los náufragos was published, I didn’t immediately consider any other topics. It was the third book I had written, but it was the first one that was published, and its reception changed my way of working. It was like a shock. For a year and a half, I couldn’t think about another “topic” because I was adapting to that new reality. It was in mid-June 2011 that another topic emerged. I wanted to answer a question: What happened in the 2004 recall referendum? For me, it was personally very important because, as a result, my husband and I began looking for a new place to live. Did voting fraud occur or not? What was it like? How did we get to that point? So I marked the period: from Chávez’s inauguration on February 2, 1999, until the day of the referendum, August 15, 2004.

It wasn’t so much that chavismo was pressuring the Supreme Court, but rather that a large part of society favored a Constituent Assembly.

I had to go back quite far because Chávez didn’t appear out of nowhere. Nor did other figures: the architects who helped him set up his political machine, those who accompanied him from that day forward, and those who had been with him even before the 1992 uprisings didn’t appear out of nowhere. They all have a past and a reason for being there, just like the people who kept appearing in my research. I confirmed along the way that during those years, the foundations were laid and the entire structure that allows chavismo to endure was built. As I guide my narrative, I realize that I not only have to look back, but that I often force myself to project into the future. For example, I look back when I discuss the oil industry, which is an important topic in my chronicle, but I also look forward when someone talks about the changes in the judicial sphere that the 1999 Constitution imposed, and I’m going to the trial against Judge Afiuni in 2009.

I see. For me, La oscuridad no llegó sola is a twin of La rebelión de los náufragos, in its structure, its tone, and its intention: first, you show how the political class sacrificed democracy with Carlos Andrés Pérez and paved the way for chavismo, and now we see how it overestimated its own strength and underestimated Chávez. Was describing this hall of mirrors the plan, or did it emerge during the research?

It wasn’t the plan. I didn’t see it as a continuation, nor as a hall of mirrors: it turned out that way, the story led me there. Exploring the recall referendum was actually a pretext for me to delve into that era, which I was afraid of. What was important was what happened before the referendum. How the referendum was repeatedly postponed until Chavismo had all institutions and powers under its control, which culminated in the expansion of the Supreme Court, and how it was able to regain popular support through direct subsidies via the social missions. How the opposition promoted the recall referendum without having a candidate to challenge Chavismo if Chávez lost and elections were held.

What did you learn, while writing this book, about the ability of the various opposition leaders to interpret reality? Do you share the common opinion that popular support for Chávez was underestimated in 1998 and 1999?

I was very surprised by their inability to see what was right in front of them. We had already seen how short-sighted the political parties were, their reluctance to form and renew themselves, since the 1980s. This is evident in the conspiracy against Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1993, based on a check from the secret fund that had been annulled in 1989 and was used against him in 1992; in the corruption accusations made by (future chavista minister) José Vicente Rangel; in the resistance to the reforms of the Presidential Commission for State Reform; and in the insistence of the old leaders on remaining political bosses.

There were people who knew who this Hugo Chávez they were opposing really was, but even so, there were those clumsy last-minute maneuvers in the 1998 campaign, and they weren’t prepared for the scenario in which Congress would be eliminated, as Chávez himself had said would happen. They acted with great carelessness in the face of Chávez’s rise: society, the political parties, and even a political animal like Teodoro Petkoff underestimated him. I was very surprised that they didn’t know how to confront the lieutenant colonel, the authoritarian tendencies that came with him, the power-hungry Left that accompanied him, the people who applauded the military coup attempts of 1992. They offered no resistance when Chavismo abolished Congress, taking advantage of the anti-political sentiment that had also been brewing since the 1980s. The lack of vision, and even of any statesman-like discourse, on the part of the politicians, did surprise me greatly.

One of the book’s many achievements was to unearth and trace a somewhat forgotten but key episode: how the Supreme Court accepted the Constituent Assembly’s suspension of the Legislative Branch. Did that also surprise you, how they paved the way for the dissolution of the separation of powers? How much pressure was chavismo exerting on the Supreme Court?

It didn’t surprise me that much, because we experienced it firsthand. The chavistas had just come to power and were barely learning how to use it, and they couldn’t exert pressure before Chávez took office on February 2, 1999. It wasn’t so much that chavismo was pressuring the Supreme Court, but rather that a large part of society favored a Constituent Assembly, even though a constitutional reform would have sufficed. Many people believed that this Constituent Assembly would save the country, to create a new, bright, efficient nation. Everyone was riding that wave. As Simón Alberto Consalvi said, we cannot absolve the people of their decisions.

Some of your interviewees, as expected, fall into hindsight bias: assigning to certain moments a meaning that we see today but that wasn’t easy to discern then. For example, everyone in your book says they knew the 2002-2003 strike was a bad idea, but that “the majority decided”: Didn’t you yourself fall into hindsight bias? Because when I write about those years, I have to tell myself, “Remember what you thought then about the 2002 general strike, not what you think today.”

One can always fall into that bias because one isn’t objective, pristine, but I was very careful about that and made an effort to compare the accounts. Because many interviewees told me things that didn’t happen as they said; they were mixing what others had told them with what they would have liked to have happened. My own interpretations of a particular moment fell apart as I investigated. Sometimes the same scene had six different testimonies, and I had to cross-reference them, sometimes going back to the witnesses to confirm or discuss parts of their story. The good thing is that I encountered very little reluctance from the interviewees, although of course there were people who didn’t want to talk, who stood me up, and I even made trips for nothing. 

Both the oil workers and the dissident military officers were convinced they were right and that they could convince some people, while these people already had a plan in place.

With those I did talk to, I sometimes confronted them, because now it turns out, for example, that nobody agreed with the national civic strike, or as we called it then, the “oil strike.” But the investigation was able to determine who truly resisted, and how society pressured for a repeat of what happened on April 11, even though it was so unlikely to have any effect.

April 11, 2002, is like the novel Rashomon; the same event is seen differently depending on many perspectives. But it’s quite well documented; much less known is what happened within PDVSA, and you contributed a lot to those of us who aren’t familiar with the oil world. How do you see today the role played by the oil executives when they decided to step outside their bubble? 

Within that bubble were people like Edgar Paredes and Juan Santana who, having been involved in university politics, were politically savvy. They knew their place and what might happen, but also what they needed to do. They created that protest movement to rescue PDVSA. Society joined them because, in reality, it used the PDVSA conflict as an excuse to protest many other things, but the oil workers were trying to defend their company because, ever since Chávez was elected in ’98, they saw him as a threat. Naively, they believed they could change the policies because they came from a school of thought where debate and consensus were reached. But even during the 2002 strike, they continued fighting to rescue PDVSA. They were fighting for the country too, but to rescue the country, they believed, PDVSA had to be rescued. The same was true for the soldiers in Plaza Altamira. Right or wrong, they wanted to rescue the FAN (National Armed Forces) where they had made their careers, without understanding that they couldn’t, because the first political prisoners of chavismo were military personnel.

The idea that Chávez also provoked the April 11th march, or the movement to crush it, is a narrative he fabricated after those events.

Both the oil workers and the dissident military officers were convinced they were right and that they could convince some people, while these people already had a plan in place. They thought that the truth would prevail and that the people would act for the good of the country. But that wasn’t meant to happen. They suffered a lack of understanding of the country’s political history, of what the 1992 coups meant. Because they were caught up in their own business, in what they knew. In fact, not all the oil workers or the military saw Chávez as a threat and voted for him in 1998, like a large part of the country.

Reading the book, I came to feel more empathy for what the oil workers and even certain military personnel, did than for what the politicians did.

Because they actually did more than the politicians in terms of trying to rescue their respective organizations. With all their naiveté, the oil workers and the military did force others to act. They gave their all to try to save not only their professional world, but democracy itself.

The book makes it clear that Chávez sought out conflicts, he provoked them. Even the massacres, not to mention the strikes: he sought out battles because he saw them (and he was right) as opportunities to wipe out pockets of resistance. Right? Do you see this as a pattern that connects everything from the 2001 enabling legislation to the recall referendum?

Chávez sought out battles because it was his way of life. He always said, like Pinochet, that he was a soldier. I believe he launched the enabling legislation package in 2001 to impose his agenda, not to provoke, because I don’t think he knew it would generate such strong resistance, even though there had already been protests since 2000. He introduced those laws at the last minute and without consulting anyone because he was an authoritarian who believed he was the center of the world. The idea that he also provoked the April 11th march, or the movement to crush it, is a narrative he fabricated after those events. He knew there were disaffected military officers and expected a classic coup, which he planned to counter with civilians, but he didn’t provoke it, because in fact, his intelligence services ultimately failed him. Just as there are people who, after the strike failed, said they never agreed with it, he rewrote history to impose the narrative that everything was his agenda. But many things surprised him, even though he eventually managed to navigate each situation. However, after April 11th, he did dedicate himself to provoking conflicts, now with the advice of Fidel Castro, and surrounded by radicals like Alí Rodríguez Araque. 

Another pattern I noticed is the persistence of anti-politics, how distrust of political parties shaped different situations. And you get the feeling that this still resonates with people, that three decades after the 1990s, anti-politics continues to define us, right?

The parties were already badly weakened, following a decline that began in the mid-1980s, and even more so after what happened with Pérez II. Their crisis became impossible to hide by the second year of Chávez’s presidency, but anti-politics was very much present during Chávez’s election itself, before that night of April 11, 2002, when decisions were made driven by the desire to remove politicians from important matters. Although politicians met, participated in discussion groups, and sought solutions on their own, such as promoting Adán Celis as transitional president, anti-politics was pervasive across all sectors and prevailed among the main actors who attempted to remove Chávez from power in 2002. The book includes testimonies from politicians who recount how the media favored the opinions of emerging civil society actors who viewed politicians as corrupt and stuck in the past. And yes, as you say, this continues today. Those in power still promote this idea of ​​politicians as a corrupt caste that led the country to ruin. Because it’s very easy to blame politicians for something in which the citizenry also played a part.

Wildfire and insurance — issues amped by climate change — along with the price of gas, took center stage at the California governor’s debate on Tuesday night.

Here are some of the candidates’ defining statements, starting left of the stage:

Tony Thurmond

The Democratic State Superintendent of Public Instruction addressed the state’s wildfire insurance crisis, where private insurers have been dropping policies as climate changes fuels more frequent catastrophic fire. The state has allowed insurers to raise rates in return for writing more policies, but so far its backup FAIR Plan, meant to provide coverage when other companies will not, continues to grow.

Thurmond said he would withhold tax credits, subsidies and benefits from non-cooperative insurers, although moderators and other candidates raised questions about the legality of this strategy.

“The governor can certainly work with the Insurance Commissioner to say there should be no rate increase unless the insurance industry is actually writing policies. They have failed California in our greatest need. They’ve taken the money for premiums and then when people needed to have support to rebuild their homes, they said, ‘whoops, we’re not going to help you.’ Then they got a rate increase. I’m sorry, where I come from, when you do a bad job, you don’t get a raise.”

Chad Bianco

The Republican Riverside County Sheriff said insurers aren’t leaving California because of climate change, but because the state has failed to pass and enforce vegetation management and defensible space policies that would reduce wildfire risk.

“It wasn’t global warming, stop believing that. It was a failed environmental policy that doesn’t allow fire departments to prevent defensible space around our homes or clear out the brush for 30 years that are building in our mountains and in our hills that took out a city. [Insurers] specifically said we were going to lose a city, and our governor said ‘we don’t care.’ And so the insurance companies left.”

Inadequate brush clearance has contributed to other fires in the state, although it’s not a factor experts cite in the Los Angeles fires specifically.

Tom Steyer

The Democratic billionaire hedge fund founder who is positioning himself as the climate candidate in the race, touted his drive to make oil companies pay for damages from climate change, including rising insurance rates and homes lost to wildfires.

“In environmentalism, I have three real rules. Number one is polluter pays. It’s absolutely critical that if people are going to pollute and damage the environment and cause harm to their neighbors, they pay. Two, we have to include environmental justice in every single environmental rule. And third is we need to start to deploy all of the clean energy stuff that’s cheaper now and get us back to the front of the world in leading it.

“There is one person that the corporations are going after, including Big Oil, who is spending millions of dollars to stop me. The electric monopolies, PG&E, millions of dollars to stop me, because I’m the person on this stage who’s the change agent.”

Steve Hilton

The former Republican Fox News commentator said insurers should be allowed to raise rates consistent with actual wildfire risk. He also advocated for “modern forest management,” removing fuel from forests, as a way to protect against wildfires, reduce carbon emissions from fire, and revive the state’s timber industry.

“We can create jobs and opportunity in rural California and reduce carbon emissions in the process, because we won’t have the mega wildfires.”

Asked if he supports the transition to electrification, he promoted natural gas: “Yes, but let’s be sensible about electric. Right now, we have a fleet of gas fired power stations generating electricity that are running at 10 to 15% of their capacity, even though we have abundant natural gas in California that we could be using to generate affordable, reliable electricity that would lower the cost of electric bills for consumers and businesses.”

According to the U.S Energy Information Administration, California’s natural gas production provides less than one tenth of what the state consumes.

Xavier Becerra

The former Health and Human Services Secretary said he would call a state of emergency as governor to require wildfire insurers to freeze rates and come to the table.

“This affordability crisis is hitting every family, and we have to act as if this were a break glass moment … Rate payers have to understand what their risk is, so they understand why they are going to pay for what they’re going to pay for their home insurance. But an insurance company has to be open and transparent about how its pricing its policies so people can afford it.”

Moderator Julie Watts noted that California home insurance rates are below the national average and questioned the legality of a freeze.

Katie Porter

The former Democratic Orange County Congresswoman was asked whether California should keep its refineries. Two of them closed in the past year, reducing the state’s refining capacity by 20 percent and causing California to lean more heavily on imports.

She said the state should keep the remaining refineries open, but also rapidly scale up green energy to meet the state’s growing electricity demand: “Right now we need to keep all of our energy sources online. That’s just the reality that we’re in. … Right now those refineries, they’re up, they’re running, they’re creating good jobs. Let’s keep them there. But I want to be really clear … The people who work at those refineries, and the people who live in Kern County also face some of the worst pollution and lower life expectancies. Green energy gets us out of that.”

She also backed an idea to have state dollars cover insurance for insurers, known as reinsurance.

Matt Mahan

Democratic San Jose Mayor called to suspend the state’s 61 cent-per-gallon gas tax, used to fund road repairs, bridges, and public transport. The state is looking at a $216.4 billion revenue shortfall over the next decade due to increasing fuel economy and electric vehicles. The other Democratic candidates support keeping the tax; Mahan has instead proposed a flat fee on all vehicles.

He said: “I’m the only candidate on this stage who has pledged to suspend and then reform the gas tax. It is the most regressive tax in California. Working people, rural people, are spending three times as much maintaining our roads as wealthier EV owners.”

On the wildfire insurance crisis he said: “The government in Sacramento created so many restrictions, including taking over a year to approve any rate changes, prohibiting insurance companies from using climate data to project future costs, that they stopped writing new policies. The answer is bring them back, force them to compete, allow them to appropriately price risk, and then hold government accountable for maintaining our wildland, reducing all that vegetation and wildfire risk so that we don’t have these catastrophic fires.”

Antonio Villaraigosa

The former Democratic L.A. mayor expressed his concerns with the readiness of the state’s infrastructure to support a transition to electric vehicles.

“We need an all of the above strategy that understands we’ve got to transition from oil and gas to renewables. But here’s an example: the 2035 mandate [to ban gas-powered car sales]. We built 167,000 charging stations in the last 10 years. We need 2 million more to get to that mandate, and if we build them, we don’t have a grid. So we ought to build the grid instead of arguing about whether or not we need an all-of-the-above policy.”

Welcome to the first edition of Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride, a weekly newsletter all about theme parks.

Theme parks, I’ve long believed, are art. Here in Southern California, they are institutions.

And here at The Times, I have been writing about theme parks for more than a decade. As a journalist but also as a fan, even attempting to analyze my own love for these spaces and why I keep going back.

My entry to theme parks were trips to Florida’s Walt Disney World. These vacations were the highlight of my youth, helping a shy, awkward kid get out of his shell and discover a safe world of play. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to see parks as places that reflect our popular myths back to us, allowing us to live inside them and define a role for ourselves. I still insist on riding Pirates of the Caribbean each Disneyland visit, just as my father used to. It’s the second-greatest ride at the park, after all.

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That’s not to say theme parks are perfect. They are crowded, they are expensive and increasingly they separate the haves and the have-nots. We’ll talk about some of that here, too, in addition to theme park history, theme park artistry, SoCal theme park news and how to maximize your day. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the ride.

Take on a character and quest at Universal Studios

I am standing in front of a makeshift cemetery. On the paths between gravestones are colored footprints, as if left by cartoon characters. These are the trails of a suspect. Purple imprints are what I’m seeking.

I am on the case, and the Scooby-Doo gang is here to help: Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy and, of course, Scooby-Doo himself. Left in the thorny bushes of the graveyard is a clue. Once the latter is discovered, I am one step closer to solving the mystery, one that has unleashed a host of Universal’s classic movie monsters on the ol’ Europe section of the studio’s backlot.

A mash-up of Universal’s classic monsters and “Scooby-Doo!” characters is featured in a game-like experience at Fan Fest Nights.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Can I and a few hundred strangers restore order and save the day?

Universal’s Fan Fest Nights is in its second year, and after a mixed debut last spring, the after-hours, specially-ticketed event has hit its stride. The centerpiece of the fest, which runs on select nights through May 16 with tickets starting at $74, is a mash-up of “Scooby-Doo!” and Universal’s Monsters, a lengthy game-focused quest with escape room-worthy puzzles.

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The experience, as well as those focused on the worlds of “Harry Potter,” “Dungeons & Dragons” and anime sensation “One Piece,” are hefty, limited-time installations that would be worthy of including in a theme park’s daily operations, as the best of them experiment with character interactions and role play.

While exploring these pop-up worlds, I couldn’t help but think about how stagnant Disney’s own specially-ticketed events have become. Fan Fest and Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights change yearly, yet Disneyland’s popular Oogie Boogie Bash has become repetitive and its other themed nights are too reliant on photo ops and traditional character meet-and-greets.

Taken as a whole, Fan Fest resets expectations for what an after-hours, theme park event should be.

Here there are photo ops and limited-run food, sure (and I highly recommend the graham cracker-like Scooby Snack cookies), but Universal’s live theatrical team has placed the emphasis on exploratory attractions. Actors abound, allowing guests to lean in and take on an active role.

A “Harry Potter” experience at Fan Fest Nights is a walk through a fantastical forest looking for a magical creature.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

In the Potter-focused “Forbidden Forest: Search for the Hippogriff,” we are amateur wizards on the prowl for a magical creature, in this case a majestic, oversized puppet. It reminded me of being a young Boy Scout and going on evening hikes into the woods with a guide regaling us with mysterious tales. In “Dungeons & Dragons: Secrets of Waterdeep,” a returning experience from last season, we are alternately adventurers and thieves.

And in the Scooby gang’s “The Case of the Phantom Director,” we are cast as extras in a film production. The Scooby Doo quest, the heart of the night, comes complete with a 14-page manual full of character bios, clues and missions. You’ll have to read, but it’s a bet that today’s guests are craving personal and interactive attractions that pull as much from immersive theater as they do classic theme parks. I applaud this sort of tinkering with the formula, even as I wonder how attendees will take to having to complete actual brain-teasers in a theme park. At least there is a payoff with a mini show (you do not need to complete the challenges to see the finale).

It took my friend and me more than an hour to solve the Scooby game, and, I confess, we didn’t complete one of the four mini-puzzles. While none of the head-scratchers individually are all that stressful, they are more complex than typical theme park fare and require guests to get out of a mindset of rushing from event to event. (Another friend of mine declared herself too “stupid” to complete the missions, but Scooby fans may simply enjoy living in the make-believe world and playing with the actors).

More of this kind of playful inventiveness, please. Magic isn’t always a fancy animatronic. Sometimes it’s just personalization.

A “One Piece”-inspired stunt show is a popular offering at Universal’s Fan Fest Nights.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The week in SoCal theme parks

• Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge will roll out some major changes on Wednesday. Out with Kylo Ren and in with Darth Vader (and Luke, Han and Leia). I’ll have more on this next week.
• It’s your last chance to meet a Wall-E and Eve robotic figure at the Pixar Place Hotel. Wednesday is the final day currently on the schedule. This has been a popular meet and greet at the Disneyland Resort, so give yourself at least an hour, maybe more, to stand in line if it’s a priority for you.
• Looking for a Disneyland deal? If you can get there midweek, single-day, single-park tickets can be had for $104 on Wednesday and Thursday. The friendlier price is also available next week, on May 5-6.
• Universal Fan Fest Nights returns Friday through Sunday and while I clearly had a positive experience, if you’re considering going, be prepared for lines. The “Harry Potter” walk-through was a two-hour wait most of the evening. Queue up early, too, for the crowd-pleasing “One Piece” stunt show, as there were only three performances on opening night.
• Disneyland has announced a host of new food options coming to the park this week, including blueberry cobbler doughnuts at Lamplight Lounge and a Philly cheesesteak at Pym Test Kitchen.
• Facial recognition is now being used widely at Disneyland entrance gates. Disney isn’t the first theme park or major SoCal venue to utilize such technology, but Times news writer Hannah Fry spoke to guests about its implementation and delved into the ethical concerns surrounding it.

The best thing I ate at the parks

Universal Studios’ Scooby Snacks cookies are a delightful treat.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

I mention this above, but as part of Fan Fest, Universal Studios has released a box of “Scooby Snacks.” They come in bundles of four, packaged in cute purple and green Girl Scout-inspired boxes. They are a delight, and only about $10. The honey & cinnamon dog tags also make a fine coffee accompaniment with breakfast as these are slightly oversize, graham cracker-style cookies. The only negative is you’ll need a Fan Fest ticket to snare them.

Ride report

There was recently a tweak to Universal Studios’ tram tour.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The past couple weeks I’ve spent a significant amount of time at Universal Studios, partly in prep for Fan Fest and the arrival of the Fast & Furious coaster this summer, but I also wanted to take in its studio tram tour (officially designed as the World Famous Studio Tour). Aside from being a historic attraction, there was recently a change to its “King Kong” section. Namely, 3-D glasses are no longer required. As someone prone to motion sickness, this is a welcome change and I’m pleased to report it looks spiffy. Now if we could just do something about that stomach-churning “The Simpsons” ride.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

I often work remotely from theme parks — find me on my laptop at Flo’s V8 Cafe at Disney California Adventure, near the Calico Saloon at Knott’s or out in back of the Three Broomsticks at Universal Studios. But even when I’m in a normal office, I still like to write with a bit of theme park optimism. So I turn to music.

My favorite bands (Wilco, the Clash, Sleater-Kinney) will distract, so lately I’ve been seeking instrumental fare. And Disneyland Paris has just released a gem of a work soundtrack. It re-imagined its second park as Disney Adventure World, and while I’m confused as to why my editor didn’t send me to Paris to review it (nudge, nudge), I’ve been consoling myself with the “Adventure Way Symphonic Suite” from the London Symphony Orchestra and French composer Philippe Rombi. It’s calming, a bit majestic, and reminds me of early days music at Florida’s Epcot. That is, it’s music that aims to conjure wonder.

OLIVIA Attwood and Pete Wicks hold hands as they wait for their table on a cosy date night. 

It’s the latest sign their romance is heating up after they secretly enjoyed a luxury mini break to Cannes earlier this month. 

Olivia, who was wearing a £2k leather jacket from Magda Butrym, and Pete were snapped by a fan at the Broadwick Hotel in London’s Soho on Friday evening. 

The fan said: “Everyone knows they’re dating now even though they’ve not confirmed it, but it was still surprising to see the PDA. 

“It goes beyond the hand on arm and hugging we’ve seen from them in public since the pics of them kissing first emerged.

“They just looked like a normal couple on date night, holding hands. 

daytime dramas

Fears for ITV’s Lorraine & Olivia Attwood as bosses ‘under pressure’

ALL LIVED UP

Olivia Attwood enjoys romantic dog walk with Pete Wicks after secret holiday

“It was really cute actually.”

Earlier in the day, Olivia and Pete looked equally loved up as they smoked a cigarette outside a London office.

The pair only had eyes for each other as they chatted happily together.

Olivia was dressed casually in a white tracksuit, as she enjoyed her new man’s company.

It comes after the new couple have just returned from a secret getaway to the South of France.

The pair, who were also spotted on a romantic dog walk, were seen collecting their luggage from the baggage carousel at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport in the South of France on Sunday. 

Former Love Island star Olivia, and podcast co-host Pete flew Business Class on British Airways from London’s Heathrow to Nice. 

An onlooker said: “They were seen at the gate and they were very loved-up and cuddling each other. 

“They were trying to keep a low profile by wearing baseball caps. 

“They were kissing at the gate and couldn’t keep their hands off each other. 

“They were sitting in Business Class together. 

“At the luggage carousel they were cuddling and kissing and headed off together.” 

Olivia and Pete were spotted snogging just weeks after she revealed she had split from her long-term boyfriend Bradley Dack.

The Sun revealed earlier this week that they headed away together as any potential budding romance continues to heat up.

Olivia and Pete usually host their own Kiss FM radio show together on Sundays but were absent from the programme this week as they jetted off on their secret holiday.

The Sun revealed how the pair enjoyed a three-night break at the luxury Lily of the Valley hotel in St Tropez – costing £1,000 a night.

Eagle-eyed fans mused how they had spotted Pete’s trademark glasses on the table in one of Olivia’s social media pics from the trip

It led one fan to remark to The Sun: “It seems they tried to keep it all under wraps but seeing Pete’s glasses in the background of Olivia’s snaps appeared to give the game away.”

The Sun has contacted reps for Olivia and Pete for comment.

Sparks first began to fly between the pair at this year’s Brit Awards, according to insiders.

Having attended the ceremony together, Pete was spotted taking a pizza back up to a hotel room at 3am where he and Olivia were both staying.

DENVER — Before Anze Kopitar left the ice after the final regular-season home game of his NHL career, he told the fans he was saying good-bye, not farewell.

He would return, he promised, in the playoffs.

He’ll make good on that pledge Thursday when his Kings and the Colorado Avalanche face off in Game 3 of their first-round series at Crypto.com Arena. But it could prove to be a short encore because after losing the first two games of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff in Denver, the Kings need a win Thursday or in Game 4 on Sunday to extend both their season and Kopitar’s Hall of Fame career.

The Kings’ — and Kopitar’s — last six playoff appearances have all ended after just one round. And they’re halfway to another first-round loss this year, though they probably deserve better after giving the league’s best team everything it could handle, only to lose twice by a goal, including a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 2 on Tuesday.

“To a man we’re playing hard,” interim Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “We hoped to split here, but regardless we’re gonna have to win at home. We’ve got to find a way to win a game.

“Clearly good isn’t enough.”

Kopitar announced his retirement before the start of this season, the 20^th in his Hall of Fame career. And while many of his teammates talked of their desire to see their captain hoist the Stanley Cup one more time, just making the playoffs appeared beyond the Kings’ reach until the final two weeks of the regular season.

Colorado, meanwhile, led the league in everything, winning the most games, collecting the most points, scoring the most goals and allowing the fewest. The Kings? Not so much. They gave up 22 more goals than they scored, worst among playoff teams, and needed points in 11 of their last 13 games just to squeak into the postseason as the final wild-card team.

Colorado left wing Joel Kiviranta skates under pressure from Kings center Scott Laughton and goaltender Anton Forsberg during Game 2 of their first-round NHL playoff series Tuesday in Denver.

(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

Yet two games into this series, it’s been hard to tell the teams apart on the ice. The Kings have outhustled, outhit and outskated the Avalanche for long stretches. But those moral victories have been their only wins.

Asked if he can take solace for the way the team has played, goalie Anton Forsberg, who was outstanding in his first two career playoff games, stared straight ahead.

“No,” he said. “We wanted to go to home [with] a win.”

Forward Trevor Moore was a little more forgiving.

“We would have liked to steal one,” he said. “But you can’t look back. You have to look forward. Confidence-wise, we hung in there with them for two games and we’ve been competitive. I think we could have won either night.”

They won neither night, however, which leaves little margin for error in the next two games.

If the Kings lacked wins in Denver, they didn’t lack chances. On Tuesday they had a man advantage for nearly a quarter of the first 25 minutes and had five power plays and a penalty shot on the night.

When Quinton Byfield’s second-period penalty shot was stuffed by Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood, a group of Avalanche fans celebrated by pounding on the protective plexiglass behind the Kings’ bench with such force it shattered, raining shards down on the team’s coaches

“Whoever the guy [was] just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Smith said. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.”

The Kings couldn’t score on the power play either until Artemi Panarin finally found the back of the net with less than seven minutes left in regulation, giving the team its first lead of the series.

“We had every opportunity,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be able to close it out.”

They couldn’t. So when Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog evened the score 3 ½ minutes later, the teams headed to a fourth period.

The overtime was the 34th in 84 games for the Kings this season, an NHL record by some distance. But it ended in the team’s 21st overtime loss when Nicolas Roy banged home a rebound 7:44 into the extra period.

“We had some good looks. I thought we really had the momentum in overtime,” Smith said. “Maybe a bad bounce or a turnover, whatever, it ends up in your net. But to a man this team is playing hard and we’ve got to find a way to win.

“I expect that we’ll be better at home.”

If they aren’t, the Kings face another long summer and Kopitar’s retirement will start earlier than he had hoped.

IF you’re looking for some of the most beautiful beachfront holiday homes, head to Camber Sands.

Two that sit right on the famous beach have been named as being some of the most ‘idyllic’ in the country from cosy cottages to A-shaped beach houses.

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

Camber Sands sits on the south-east corner of England and its location makes it one of the warmest beaches in the country.

The spot also heats up quickly thanks to its sand dunes that absorb heat from the sun – and the spot is sheltered by the dunes too.

In spring, it can have highs of 19C, which is roughly 1C warmer than other popular UK spots like Dungeness and Studland Bay.

GO SEA IT

£9.50 holiday spot with shipwrecks, seals offshore & horseshoe-shaped waterfalls

GRUBS UP

Best pubs, fish and chip shops and cafes in Sussex – by Sun readers & locals

Camber Sands has an average of 195.19 hours of sunshine logged per month too.

The beach is often called the Hamptons of the UK, and it’s a favourite of Caroline McGuire’s (Head of Sun Digital).

She said: “Sussex lays claim to Camber Sands, but according to Wikipedia a small fraction of this seven-mile-long beach reaches over the Kent border. 

“Which helpfully means we can use it as part of this round-up, as it is easily the best beach in the area.

“Backed by large sand dunes, Camber is so large that you can always find a spot – even on the hottest of summer days – if you are willing to walk. 

“After an afternoon lazing in the sun, drive 10 minutes down the road to the medieval town of Rye for a pub dinner.“

There are some beautiful places to stay in Camber Sands – and two made it onto Country Living’s list of ’14 idyllic Airbnb beach houses in the UK’.

The first house is called ‘Coastguards Beach House‘ which is right at the edge of the beach perched high up on the shoreline.

Guests can rent out the entirety of the 1875 cottage which has a cosy log burner inside the comfortable lounge.

In the kitchen is a long table for hearty breakfasts and family dinners.

The cottage can sleep up to five guests and it has direct beach access with steps down to the sands.

Lots of guests described it as ‘cosy’, ‘remote’ and ‘peaceful’ thanks to its location away from the main beach hustle and bustle.

You can book a five-night stay in May for five guests from £771 – or £30.84pppn.

For more spots by the beach, check out these seaside towns…

Sidmouth, Devon
Take a trip to Sidmouth on the Jurassic Coast and wander down Jacob’s Ladder to its pretty shingle beach. Make sure to walk along the promenade and check out the independent shops and boutiques. Stay at the four-star Harbour Hotel for sea views and traditional afternoon tea from £135 per room.

BOOK A STAY

Whitby, North Yorkshire
With a history of sailors and vampires, a dramatic coastal path, and the very best in pints and scampi, it takes a lot to beat Whitby. Pop in the amusements, eat award-winning fish and chips, and board the all-singing Captain Cook boat tour on the harbour. The Royal Hotel overlooks the harbour with stays from just £68 per room.

BOOK A STAY

Old Hunstanton, Norfolk
This town has some of the best beach walks beside striped limestone cliffs, a Victorian lighthouse and 13th century ruins. The beach has golden sands with rolling dunes and colourful beach huts, backed by a pretty pinewood forest. Stay at a beachfront hotel from £100 per room.

BOOK A STAY

Seahouses, Northumberland
This is an authentic British seaside break, with fishing boats bobbing on its pretty harbour and fresh catches of the day to enjoy in local restaurants. There’s no flashing arcades here, but there’s a great beach with rockpools, boat trips, and you may even spot a grey seal, too. Treat yourself to a stay at the Bamburgh Castle Inn from £129 per room.

BOOK A STAY

The second Camber Sands Airbnb on the list is an A-framed beach house called ‘Barefoot‘.

This is the perfect spot for anyone who wants to beach right on their doorstep as it lies just behind the wooden deck of the house.

Inside is bright and modern, with huge windows that let in all the natural light.

The main bedroom is where you’ll find the best views thanks to the A-shaped of the house.

During the evenings, light up the wood burner and toast marshmallows while watching the sunset.

It has four bedrooms and can sleep up to eight people.

For those with pets, you can bring up to two dogs for an extra £35 per stay.

It’s received rave reviews and has a rating of 4.89 stars out of five on Airbnb.

One guest wrote: “Beautiful house in beautiful surroundings! Absolutely stunning setting, right on the beach and next to the dunes.”

A four-night stay in May for eight guests costs £3,274 – of £102.31pppn.

For more on beaches, here are our 26 must-visit UK beaches for 2026 – including tropical-feel spots and family-friendly finds.

Plus, here’s where you can find the best UK beach – AND it gets the least amount of rain in the country.

Shohei Ohtani pitches well in Dodgers’ victory

From Maddie Lee: Dodgers right-hander Shohei Ohtani had navigated the Mets lineup without much trouble until the fifth inning. But he’d also been holding back a little something.

“I can’t go full throttle the whole time,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton after the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory Wednesday. “But considering where the game was at that point, I felt like I just really had to go full throttle and make sure I’m considering the game situation.”

The Mets had just scored their first run of the game — ending Ohtani’s streak of innings without an earned run at 32 ⅔, the longest of his career — and cut the Dodgers’ lead to one.

So he unleashed a 100.2 mph fastball past Tommy Pham, and then 100.3 mph. Pham foul-tipped both and had some choice words with himself on the way back to the dugout.

That strikeout was one of 10 Ohtani had in a performance that was dominant, regardless of the first mark on his previously spotless ERA.

The two-way phenom only had one job to worry about Wednesday.

For the first time since 2021, he was not also in the lineup as a hitter while pitching.

“If it weren’t for the hit by pitch [Monday], he would’ve been DHing and pitching tonight,” Roberts said before the game.

Continue reading here

L.A.’s Blue Era: How popular are the Dodgers? Even the Lakers look up at them. Way up

Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Bad play costs Angels

José Caballero laced a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth inning that gave the New York Yankees a 5-4 victory over the Angels, moments after the Angels botched an infield popup in a costly misplay Wednesday night.

Aaron Judge hit his third homer of the series and Trent Grisham had a two-run single for the Yankees, who won for only the second time in eight games after an 8-2 start.

Mike Trout hit his fourth homer in three games, putting the Angels ahead 4-3 with a two-run drive in the fifth.

That was still the score when Jazz Chisholm Jr. popped up to the left side with one out and nobody on in the ninth. But shortstop Zach Neto and ex-Yankees third baseman Oswald Peraza miscommunicated, and the ball dropped between them on the infield dirt for a gift single.

Continue reading here

Angels box score

MLB standings

Clippers season comes to an end

From Steve Galluzzo: It was do or die Wednesday night at Intuit Dome, and the Clippers did not do enough to keep their season alive, blowing a 13-point lead early in the fourth quarter and losing to the Golden State Warriors, 126-121.

Having rebounded from a franchise-worst 6-21 start to earn the next-to-last berth in the NBA play-in tournament, coach Tyronn Lue’s resilient bunch could not extend its historic comeback on its home floor.

Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 35 points, Kristaps Porzingis and and Gui Santos each had 20, and Brandin Podziemski added 17. The Warriors were 19 for 41 from three-point range, with Al Horford hitting four in the fourth quarter.

Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points off the bench while Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland each added 21 points for the Clippers, who won three of the teams’ four regular-season meetings, including a 115-110 victory in the same arena four days earlier. Wednesday night, however, Leonard was held scoreless in the fourth quarter until the final seconds as the Warriors rallied.

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Clippers box score

Deandre Ayton can take the spotlight

From Broderick Turner: The last time Deandre Ayton appeared in the playoffs was in 2023, when he was a member of the Phoenix Suns and viewed in NBA circles as having the potential to be a force as a center in the league.

A lot has changed since then.

He’s on his second team since those days in Phoenix, playing two years for the Portland Trail Blazers and now the Lakers. He has been viewed by many as an inconsistent player who hasn’t reached his full potential.

Ayton has a chance to prove his worth, to show his critics he has the ability to be elite in the postseason when the Lakers open the first-round of the Western Conference playoffs Saturday against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena.

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Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

Saturday: Houston at Lakers, 5:30 p.m, ABC
Tuesday: Houston at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Friday, April 24: Lakers at Houston, 5:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, April 26: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., NBC
*Wed., April 29: Houston at Lakers, TBD
*Friday, May 1: Lakers at Houston, TBD
*Sunday, May 3: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

L.A. Olympics questions

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: You ask. We answer. Or at least we’re going to try.

The Times asked readers for their burning questions regarding the Olympics, and it’s the ticketing process that’s bringing the most heat. Locals in Southern California and Oklahoma City endured the presale headaches and sticker shock before the global audience got their shot at securing tickets this week. But with more than two years remaining until the Games open, expect that there will be more questions.

Here is what Times readers wanted to know:

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USOPC ‘quite confident’ of LA28 direction amid ticket sales uproar

Same old Sparks

From Bill Plaschke: One of the WNBA’s founding franchises, the failure-ridden Sparks enter the league’s 30th season attempting to break a five-year playoff drought with an understandable yet unremarkable game plan.

They’re going old. They don’t have a choice. Five years of lottery missteps have produced exactly one current Sparks player, Cameron Brink, a social media star who’s been an injured basketball bust.

While the national champion Bruins spent Monday dancing across the league from Toronto to Chicago, the Sparks didn’t get a chance to acquire any of them, and wound up with three late picks who will raise no eyebrows and play few minutes.

So, yeah, old.

When the Sparks open the season by hosting defending champion Las Vegas May 10, their fans are going to say, “Oh yeah!” followed by a resounding chorus of, “Oh no!”

Continue reading here

This day in sports history

1939 — Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Boston Bruins beat Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-1 for a 4-1 series win; first best-of-7 SC Final series.

1949 — The Toronto Maple Leafs win 3-1 to sweep the Detroit Red Wings for the second straight year in the Stanley Cup Finals.

1953 — Stanley Cup Final, Montreal Forum, Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Canadiens beat Boston Bruins, 1-0 for a 4-1 series win.

1954 — The Detroit Red Wings edge the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in the seventh game to win the Stanley Cup.

1957 — The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 5-1 to take the Stanley Cup in five games.

1958 — Arnold Palmer edges Doug Ford by one stroke to capture the Masters.

1961 — The Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in six games with a 5-1 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings.

1980 — Arthur Ashe retires from pro tennis.

1987 — Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls scores 61 points in a 117-114 loss to the Atlanta Hawks and becomes the second player to surpass the 3,000-point mark in a season.

1990 — Gelindo Bordin becomes the first Olympic men’s champion to win the Boston Marathon. The Italian finishes in 2:08:19. Rosa Mota of Portugal wins the woman’s division in 2:25:24.

1991 — The St. Louis Blues become the eighth team in NHL playoff history to come back from a 3-1 deficit, beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in the seventh game.

1995 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Raymond Floyd wins by 5 strokes.

2000 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: Doug Tewell wins first of 2 Champions Tour major titles.

2001 — Lee Bong-ju of South Korea wins the Boston Marathon, ending a 10-year victory streak for Kenyan men. Kenya’s Catherine Ndereba wins the women’s race.

2003 — The Mighty Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings in a 3-2 overtime victory, making the Red Wings the first defending Stanley Cup winner in 51 years to be swept the following season in a four-game opening series.

2003 — Washington Wizards’ Michael Jordan plays his final NBA game.

2008 — Jason Kidd gets the 100th triple-double of his career with 27 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in Dallas’ 111-98 victory over New Orleans.

2013 — Two bombs explode in the crowded streets near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 270 in a bloody scene of shattered glass and severed limbs. Earlier in the day, Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia wins the 117th edition of the marathon and Rita Jeptoo of Kenya takes the women’s race.

2018 — Desiree Linden runs through icy rain and a near-gale headwind to win the Boston Marathon, the first victory for an American woman since 1985.

2019 — Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson becomes the highest-paid player in NFL history with a 4-year, $140-million extension.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1929 — Cleveland’s Earl Averill became the first American League player to hit a home run in his first major league plate appearance. The Indians won the game 5-4 in 11 innings on Carl Lind’s double.

1935 — Babe Ruth, 40, made a sensational National League debut in Boston. His single and homer off Carl Hubbell led the Braves over the Giants 4-2.

1940 — Bob Feller of Cleveland defeated the Chicago White Sox 1-0 in the only opening day no-hitter in major league history.

1948 — WGN-TV televised a baseball game for the first time. It was an exhibition game at Wrigley Field with Jack Brickhouse doing the play-by-play. The White Sox defeated the Cubs 4-1.

1961 — Beginning his historic chase of Babe Ruth’s 60 home run season-record, Roger Maris connects for his first homer in the twelfth game of the season for the Yankees.

1972 — Burt Hooton of the Cubs no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies 4-0 at Wrigley Field.

1978 — Bob Forsch of the St. Louis Cardinals no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies 5-0. Less than a year later, Bob’s brother Ken of the Houston Astros pitched a no-hitter against Atlanta. They are the only brothers to throw no-hitters.

1983 — Padres first baseman Steve Garvey appears in his 1,118th straight National League game, breaking the mark held by Billy Williams.

1984 — Dave Kingman of the Oakland A’s hit three home runs, including a grand slam, in his first three at-bats. In total, he drove in eight runs in a 9-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

1989 — Kelly Gruber becomes the first player in Toronto Blue Jays history to hit for the cycle in a 15-8 victory against the Kansas City Royals.

1997 — The Chicago Cubs set the mark for worst start in National League history, making three more errors as they extended their losing streak to 12 with a 4-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Chicago broke the modern NL record of 0-10 set by Atlanta in 1988 and the overall NL record of 0-11 by the 1884 Detroit Wolverines.

2005 — Toronto’s Reed Johnson was hit by a major league record-tying three pitches — two with the bases loaded — in the Blue Jays’ 8-0 victory over Texas.

2006 — Albert Pujols hit three home runs, including a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth, to give St. Louis an 8-7 win over Cincinnati.

2007 — The Cleveland Indians became the first team in nearly 55 years to win a game with their only hit coming in their first at-bat. Grady Sizemore led off Cleveland’s 2-1 win over the Chicago White Sox with a double.

2009 — Ichiro Suzuki makes history as he collects the 3,086th hit of his pro career, breaking the Japanese record held for decades by Isao Harimoto.

2009 — Grady Sizemore hit a grand slam and Cleveland ruined the first game at the new Yankee Stadium by beating New York 10-2.

2014 — Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda pitched the New York Yankees to a 3-0, 2-0 sweep of the Chicago Cubs in a chilly day-night-doubleheader. The Yankees had not won by shutout twice in one day since April 9, 1987, against Kansas City. No team in the major leagues had done it since Minnesota swept Oakland on June 26, 1988.

2015 — Giancarlo Stanton becomes the Marlins all-time leading home run hitter when he slugs #155 for his career.

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.

STAYCATIONS are on the rise once again, as nervous Brits look for a holiday closer to home.

Yet a trip exploring the beauty of the UK doesn’t have to be expensive – if you know where to look.

According to Hotels.com, searches for stays across Britain that are under £100 are up 21 per cent compared to last year.

Expedia Group expert Melanie Fish shared some of her top tips on how to find the cheapest hotel room stays, such as booking business hotels on weekends for lower rates.

She also said: “One of the simplest ways to save is checking in on a Sunday night, which is often the cheapest day of the week, helping travellers stretch their budgets further while racking up rewards.”

Here are ten of the best hotels across the country where all the stays are under £100 (so less than £50 each a night), ranging from city centre stays to rural vineyard retreats.

Malmaison Manchester – £94 a night (£47 each)

One of the fanciest on the list, the four-star Malmaison in Manchester, is still an affordable option.

Right in front of the city’s main train station, the hotel is built in a converted Victorian warehouse.

It makes you want to never leave, from the fancy Brasserie serving a British-French menu, to the stylish Mal Bar.

Of course, it’s right by all of the city’s top attractions too, from the Arndale Centre to Old Trafford.

Maldron Hotel, Liverpool – £83 a night (£41.50 each)

Despite also being a four-star hotel, the Maldron Hotel is the cheapest on the list.

The Liverpool hotel is no frills, but central – rooms have everything you need from hairdryers to coffee machines.

There’s an on-site barista-coffee cafe, as well as an all-day dining restaurant.

It’s in a great location too – you can easily get to attractions such as the M&S Bank Arena or Royal Albert Docks.

Lumley Castle, Durham – £92 a night (£46 each)

The 14th-century Lumley Castle is now a hotel and venue space, and is a bargain to stay at.

The hotel has 72 rooms, many of which will transport you back to Ye Olde times with spiral staircases and grand four-poster beds

Settle in for a spot of brunch at the Library Bar, or experience a full classic menu at the Knight’s Restaurant.

You can even try out themed murder mystery nights or medieval knight dinners.

Aldwick Estate, Bristol – £95 a night (£47.50 each)

Still a working farm and vineyard, Aldwick Estate is set across 300 acres.

Guests can not only stay on-site at a number of apartment options, but they can also book some wine tastings.

The 90-minute tours include the history of the estate, as well, of course, some tastings of the award-winning sparkling wines.

It’s less than 10 minutes from Bristol Airport, too.

Rodway Hill Eco Pod, Gloucester – £96 a night (£48 each)

If you want to get back to basics, you can go glamping at the end of a golf course for under £50 each.

Rodway Hill Eco Pod is ideal for keen golfers as you step out right onto the grass from the front of the room.

They’re no frills – you need to take your own towels, and there are shared ensuite facilities.

But with breakfast also included (expect all the classic hot and cold options) – you can be first to put on the day.

Ty Milford Waterfront, Pembrokeshire – £96 a night (£48 each)

Right by Milford beach is Ty Milford Waterfront, with all the hotel rooms kitted out with everything you need

Try Dulse, the on-site restaurant for some of the freshest seafood (and a unique rhubarb and custard profiterole), or work it off at the hotel gym overlooking the water too.

Kids even stay free this half term, and there is often both live music and pub quizzes on.

Want to splash out? Try the ‘floatels’ – four cabins that float on the water to be rocked to sleep by the tide.

The Grosvenor Arms, Salisbury – £94 a night (£47 each)

The Grosvenor Arms, built in a 17th-century former coaching inn, has all the best parts of a British pub, but a little bit fancier.

There’s just nine cosy rooms for both couples and families, which they say has more of the “charm of an inn than a hotel room”.

Eating at the pub itself is a must, if you love a menu of British food with a flair – or pop in on a Friday for freshly cooked pizzas.

Nearby attractions include the unusual hexagonal Wardour Castle, which was used to film the 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves film.

The Westbridge, London – £97 a night (£48.50)

The chic Westbridge hotel says it is a “home from home,” being in the London district of Stratford.

Dating back to 1740, many of the rooms are named after themed royal family members.

The lounge bar is limited – serving just pizza, some snacks and desserts – so you might want to head out for dinner.

Thankfully is right by all of the popular London attractions too, including the Olympic Park and ABBA Voyage.

The all-inclusive hotel in the middle of London – that’s £55 each a night

The Sun’s Travel Reporter recently tried out London’s ‘all-inclusive’ hotel which comes in at just over £100 a night.

Z Hotels, Gloucester Place, offers a room package that is all-inclusive – soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, snacks, lunch, dinner… You name it.

This sounded too good to be true, so, of course, I had to put it to the test.

I arrived to check in at 3pm – this is when they were offering an afternoon tea selection, which included ham and cheese croissants and a cake stand featuring macaroons, brownies, flapjacks, and pots of tiramisu.

I picked up a handful of sweet treats, including one of the croissants and helped myself to my second can of Fanta.

There was also a made-to-order selection on a dinner menu, which featured a wide choice of sandwiches and salads.

I ordered the salmon and sauerkraut ciabatta – it was simple but tasty and reminded me of the sandwiches and cakes I usually pick up in one of London’s many hipster coffee shops.

However, this would usually set me back £18 for a coffee, pastry or cake and sandwich.

Just an hour later, a selection of cheeses and crackers, with grapes, chutney, houmous and olives appeared.

I helped myself to the black bomber cheddar, with a dollop of caramelised onion chutney and some crackers.

For second helping I went for some olives, camembert and crackers.

Over the course of another hour, I went back and forth, helping myself to the selection.

As I enjoyed my plates of food, I also sipped on a glass of sauvignon blanc – one of three white wines on offer.

If I wanted to, I could have also opted for red wine, cider or beer as well.

When morning arrived, a breakfast spread included toast, flatbreads with omelette and bacon, fresh fruit, Greek yoghurt, and pastries.

I opted for some cold apple juice and helped myself to a coffee, plus a tomato and cheese flatbread, some fruit compote and yoghurt.

Before leaving, I even grabbed a banana and coffee in a takeaway cup for the road.

My verdict? This hotel is a genuine find.

Totting up all the food I had, using the average prices usually found for each item in London, I spent way more than my £55-a-head price tag.

In comparison to other budget hotels, I would say the room itself is on par with Travelodge and Premier Inn, yet a fraction of the price.

Nunsmere Hall, Northwich – £95 a night (£47.50 each)

Inside the Edwardian country house in Northwich is Nunsmere Hall, surrounded by a 60-acre lake.

Usually used as a wedding venue, there are 36 hotel rooms, which are simple but affordable.

But you want to come here for dinner – voted ‘County Restaurant of the Year’ by The Good Food Guide, the ever-changing menu includes dishes such as steak and pasta.

Otherwise, grab a drink at The Captain’s Bar, some afternoon tea or have a wander around Northwich itself, a beautiful riverside town.

The Met Hotel, Leeds – £97 a night (£48.50 each)

One of Leeds‘ most beautiful buildings, The Met Hotel is built into the Victorian listed landmark dating back to the 1890s yet underwent a huge renovation last year.

There are 120 rooms, which have recently been refurbished, with classy interiors that make it feel much more expensive than it is.

Gott’s Bar & Kitchen feels like stepping back in time, with a mix of small plates, mains and grills.

Pop your head into the Met Ballroom too – it’s a beauty.

The U.S. Army has given us our first glimpse at what the new MV-75A Cheyenne II tiltrotor will look like in its special operations configuration. The baseline MV-75A already has features specifically intended to simplify the process of converting it to meet the needs of the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, better known as the Night Stalkers.

Army Col. Roger Waleski, commander of the 160th, shared the rendering of the special operations-specific MV-75 during a presentation today at the Army Aviation Association of America’s (AAAA) 2026 Warfighting Summit, at which TWZ is in attendance. Earlier in the day, the Army had announced that Cheyenne II would be the tiltrotor’s official nickname. Service officials had also provided an update on the program to TWZ and other outlets ahead of the show, as you can read more about in our separate reporting here.

The baseline MV-75A is still in development, and it is unclear when it might fly for the first time. The Army has said in the past that it plans to replace roughly half of the 160th’s special operations MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters with MV-75s, but it is not clear if that is still the case.

From what is seen in the rendering that Col. Waleski showed at AAAA, the special operations variant of Cheyenne II will differ from the baseline type most in the configuration of its nose end. Like the 160th’s Black Hawks, its version of the MV-75A will feature a nose-mounted radar and sensor turret underneath, as well as an in-flight refueling probe that extends out from the right side.

The radar is likely to be the AN/APQ-187 Silent Knight, or SKR, a terrain-following/terrain avoidance (TF/TA) type. SKR is increasingly the default for U.S. special operations aircraft, including Army MH-60M and MH-47G Chinook helicopters, as well as Air Force CV-22 Osprey tiltrotors and MC-130J Commando II special operations tanker/transports.

The rendering of the special operations MV-75 also shows what looks to be a fixed, forward-facing aperture on the nose to the left of the radar. This most likely reflects the inclusion of a Degraded Visual Environment Pilotage System (DVEPS) or a similar capability, as is found on the 160th’s MH-60s and MH-47s today. DVEPS uses cameras and LIDAR, together with a terrain database, to help crew navigate through ‘degraded’ environments. full of dust, sand, snow, fog, and other obscurants.

TF/TA radar and DVEPS, together with other sensors and in-flight refueling capability, will enable long-range operations along extremely low altitude nap-of-the-earth flight profiles, even in poor weather and at night. Challenging long-duration flights in unforgiving environments is at the very core of the Night Stalkers’ repertoire.

The rendering shows the special operations version of the Cheyenne II is festooned with an array of other antennas, as well as additional ‘bits and bumps,’ just like the 160th’s helicopters are today. A similarly extensive suite of countermeasures and other defensive systems as is found on MH-60M is not visible in the rendering. It is very possible these features were deliberately omitted for operational security reasons. We can still expect the Night Stalker’s MV-75 to be crammed with special operation-specific self-protection systems, communications gear, and more.

Past Bell renderings have also given hints as to armament, sensors, countermeasures, and communication capabilities that will be found on the baseline variant, as can be seen below. It is possible that some non-special operations versions could be capable of refueling in flight, as well.

Beyond any special operations-specific capabilities, the MV-75 will also offer the 160th a major boost in range and speed compared to the MH-60M.

“I’ve said this before, I’m exceptionally excited about this platform,” Col. Waleski said today. “Yes, I’m excited about the speed. Yes, I’m excited about the payload, and I’m excited about the range.”

“But, really, the things that I find very interesting about this aircraft is [sic] the fact that we’ve gone to a completely modular open system architecture, maintaining the data rights on the aircraft,” he added. “For the warfighters in the room, what that means is your ability to adapt in the warfighting environment, it’s going to be cheaper, it’s going to be quicker.”

Modular open-architecture systems approaches focus heavily on the ability to more rapidly integrate new and improved capabilities and functionality down the line, often with minimal changes to existing hardware. As noted, the Army has taken steps already to ease the process of converting baseline MV-75As into the special operations configuration, which Waleski also highlighted today.

“There is a tremendous amount of growth potential for the warfighter as this aircraft becomes fielded here in the near future,” Waleski said.

When the Army will begin fielding the baseline version of the MV-75A is now murky. In January, the service told TWZ that it was working to accelerate the program dramatically, with a goal of the first examples reaching operational units next year. The original timeline had expected to reach that milestone in 2031.

However, speaking to TWZ and other outlets last year, Army officials declined to commit to a firm timeline for a first flight for the MV-75A, let alone reaching the start of fielding.

“It’s going to happen when it’s going to happen. So we are moving as fast as we can,” Army Maj. Gen. Clair Gill, the Program Acquisition Executive for Maneuver Air, had said. “If I was king, and I had all the money in the world and all the engineers, and there were no limits, we probably would be able to do it in a matter of months.” 

The Army does remain committed to the MV-75A, which the service sees as offering essential new capabilities, especially in the context of a future high-end fight against China across the sprawling expanses of the Pacific. Waleski’s comments today make clear that the Army special operations aviation community is still very eager to get its version of the Cheyenne II, as well.

In the meantime, we have now finally gotten a look at what is set to be the next major addition, at least publicly, to the Night Stalker’s fleets.

Jamie Hunter contributed to this story.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

JASON Statham has shared some very rare family snaps from his holiday to Turkey with fiancee Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and their two young children. 

The actor, 58, took to social media to post photos from their time at five star hotel Regnum at The Crown in Antalya, where rooms cost up to £3,000-a-night. 

Jason and model Rosie, 38, are parents to Jack, eight, and four-year-old Isabella. 

Fast & Furious star Jason showed off his close bond with the kids while they relaxed at the hotel’s stunning crystal cove pool. 

He and Jack were seen taking in the view with their arms around each other, while another snap showed the young lad standing on his dad’s shoulders in the pool. 

Meanwhile Isabella was seen taking a dip in the water and one photo showed proud dad Jason lifting her into the air. 

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Jason didn’t include any photos of Rosie in his upload, which he captioned: “The cave.”

The couple have been together since 2010 and got engaged in 2016.

But Rosie previously confessed they’re in no rush to walk down the aisle.

She told Entertainment Tonight: “We’re looking forward to that time. It’s also not a huge priority for us, we’re so happy.

“I think it will be fun to do it when the baby’s [Jack] grown up a bit and he can be involved in the wedding.”

Rosie and Jack live in a Georgian townhouse in London and have spent two years renovating it together.

Revealing how the process has been, she told Vogue Australia: “Jason has the most impeccable taste.

“He taught me so much about architecture and furniture.”

Rosie added that being in a relationship with Jason for 16 years has been “very grounding”.

As left-hander Alex Vesia emerged from the Dodgers bullpen, heard the electric guitar riff of Seether’s “Gasoline,” and felt his adrenaline spike with the roar of the crowd, he knew 27 of those cheering fans had helped him and wife Kayla through a devastating loss just months prior.

He and Kayla had chosen the Dodgers’ game against the Mets on Tuesday, Healthcare appreciation night at Dodger Stadium, to celebrate the hands-on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who had cared for them last October, through the death of their newborn daughter Sterling Sol.

He’d spotted their suite by shirts Kayla had customized for the group, bearing the initials SV with a heart, and signed by Alex.

“Today was the first time I’ve seen pretty much all of them since everything,” Alex Vesia said after earning the save in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Tuesday. “So it was very special, very emotional. … I couldn’t have written it any better.”

Vesia authored the ending to what manager Dave Roberts called an “old school” pitcher’s duel. Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Mets starter each yielded only one run apiece, both in the first inning.

Yamamoto retired 20 straight after surrendering a leadoff home run to Francisco Lindor. And he came back out in the eighth, with right-hander Blake Treinen and Vesia preparing for the call.

When Yamamoto allowed back-to-back two-out singles, just his third and fourth hits allowed, Roberts brought in Treinen to face Luis Robert Jr. Treinen struck out Robert on a sweeper that caught the bottom of the strike zone and withstood an ABS challenge.

“Not having [closer Edwin Díaz] available, I felt very confident to use Blake to get out of that inning, to get Robert,” Roberts said, “and to have Vesia take on some righties in a close situation.”

Díaz hadn’t pitched since last Friday, when he didn’t feel quite right and his velocity dropped during a blown save. Though he insisted over the weekend that he felt good physically, the Dodgers proceeded with caution.

Because of the time off, Roberts said, the training and coaching staff wanted Díaz to throw a bullpen Tuesday before returning to game action. As long as he responds well, Roberts said, Díaz will be “ready to go” Wednesday in the series finale.

Kyle Tucker singles in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning Tuesday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday, a clutch swing from Kyle Tucker in the bottom of the eighth created a save situation with Díaz down.

With runners on first and second, Tucker fell behind in the count against Mets left-handed reliever Brooks Raley. Then, shaking off his slow offensive start to the season, Tucker sent a 1-and-2 cutter into shallow left field.

“He’s going through it right now,” Roberts said. “But for him to stick his nose in there against Raley and find a way … to just flare a ball to get a game-winning hit, he helped us win a baseball game.”

Then it was Vesia’s time.

The heart of the order was coming up for the Mets: Jorge Polanco, Bo Bichette and Francisco Alvarez.

“Doc trusting me to get those three hitters out, those are no-joke hitters right there,” Vesia said. “So I definitely knew I needed to be on my game.”

A top-rail fastball got him a called first strike against Polanco. Then Vesia, who mostly throws fastballs and sliders, got Polanco to whiff on an outside changeup.

“I think even Will [Smith] and I surprised each other with the changeup that I threw,” Vesia said.

He went above the zone with a fastball, and Polanco chased it to complete a three-pitch strikeout.

Vesia then only needed four pitches to strike out Bichette on a slider in the dirt. Three straight sliders to Alvarez finished the job.

Vesia hopped and fist-pumped as the Dodgers (13-4) formed their handshake line. He met SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson outside of the dugout for the on-field interview and choked back tears after waving to the Cedars-Sinai suite.

“That’s what I do it for, man,” he said later in the clubhouse. “I wear my heart on my sleeve when I’m out there. So I was pretty fired up to be put in that spot.”

Last fall, “Dr. Pimple Popper” suddenly became a patient herself.

Dr. Sandra Lee, the reality TV dermatologist and surgeon known for tackling ick-inducing skin situations on camera, had a bad day a week before Thanksgiving 2025 while she was taping new episodes of her show at her Upland office.

“I had what I thought was a hot flash. I got super sweaty and didn’t feel like myself,” she told People in an interview published Tuesday. She said she finished the shoot and then headed to her parents’ nearby home, where that evening she experienced shooting pains in one leg and later had trouble navigating down a flight of stairs in the middle of the night.

When she awakened the next day, she said, her left side wasn’t working properly and she was having trouble speaking clearly. It was definitely more than a hot flash.

Her doctor dad — also a dermatologist — told her to get herself to an ER, where she had an MRI that showed evidence of an ischemic stroke, where a vessel supplying blood to the brain gets obstructed. The diagnosis was a shock.

“As a physician I couldn’t deny that I had slurred speech, that I was having weakness on one side,” she said, “but I was like, ‘Well, this is a dream, right?’”

Lee, 55, said unmanaged cholesterol levels and high blood pressure were likely contributors to the stroke, plus the stress of balancing her real-life practice with the demands of “Dr. Pimple Popper.” She returned to production in January, she said, though she was more than a little freaked out.

“I don’t like that I don’t have total control of my left hand or the grip wasn’t as strong. If I feel like I’m not at my best — it’s very scary,” Lee said.

Her neurologist told the outlet that Lee’s symptoms are pretty much gone. Lee said she still notices slight differences when she speaks.

The TV doc is on blood thinners now and is still doing some physical therapy after spending two months post-stroke working through PT and occupational therapy. Lee had to make sure her left hand, among other body parts, was functional and that her balance and movement bounced back.

She does, after all, do precise procedures on camera for the Lifetime audience.

And with new episodes of “Dr. Pimple Popper” set to debut Monday for the first time since 2023, Lee remains fascinated by the people who spend time watching her do extractions and excisions, both on the show and online.

“People watch the videos over and over again because it helps them go to sleep at night,” she told People. But, she added, “Others watch it like it’s a scary movie or a roller coaster.”

UCLA women’s basketball just keeps winning.

The latest edition of UCLA Unlocked was delayed one day so that we could include what turned out to be a magical, recording setting WNBA draft night for the Bruins.

UCLA set a WNBA draft record with five players selected in the first round and another draft record with six selected overall during the three-round draft Monday night in New York.

The Bruins rocked the orange carpet and then waited with UCLA coach Cori Close and their families to learn their draft fate.

UCLA Bruins Angela Dugalic, Kiki Rice, Gianna Kneepkens, Lauren Betts and Gabriela Jaquez pose on the orange carpet at the WNBA draft in New York.

(Angelina Katsanis / Getty Images)

They didn’t wait long. Lauren Betts was first off the board, selected by the Washington Mystics with the No. 4 pick.

“These are like my sisters, and getting to watch your family do something like that is amazing,” Betts told the Associated Press. “But I mean, this team is just so special. We knew the type of players that we had on the team, and to really just have this night really showcase all of the things that we’ve worked on all season is just amazing.”

Gabriela Jaquez was next in line, getting drafted higher than expected when the Chicago Sky used the No. 5 pick to select her.

“Jaquez is a battle-tested three-level scorer who improved every year in college,” Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said. “Combine her on-skill talent with the fact that she’s a proven winner, and you have a player that perfectly fits the Sky’s vision.”

Next, Kiki Rice was selected No. 6 by the Toronto Tempo.

After a few gaps, Angela Dugalic was drafted at the No. 9 spot by the Mystics and Gianna Kneepkens was drafted at the No. 15 spot by the Connecticut Sun.

“We’re excited to welcome Gianna to our team,” Sun general manager Morgan Tuck said. “She’s experienced success UCLA within a winning culture and brings a mindset defined by toughness and consistency every time she steps on the floor on both ends. Her shooting ability is elite and truly sets her apart, but we’re equally impressed by the complete game she’s shown throughout her college career.”

UCLA guard Charlisse Leger-Walker poses with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert after being selected No. 18 by the Connecticut Sun on Monday in New York.

(Pamela Smith / Associated Press)

The WNBA made a ridiculous decision, opting not to officially invite the sixth member of UCLA’s super senior and graduate student class to the draft. Charlisse Leger-Walker went anyway as a guest and was the record sixth Bruin selected, getting drafted in the second round by the Sun with the No. 18 overall pick. She became the first player from New Zealand to ever be drafted.

Leger-Walker told reporters in New York that Dugalic gave up two of her seats at the draft so Leger-Walker and her mother could attend. For the record, Leger-Walker was picked ahead of one player the WNBA officially invited to New York.

“Given how critical the point guard position is, we’re thrilled to welcome Charlisse to our team,” Tuck said. “Her ability to push the pace while also running the offense and leading her teammates is something we truly value. She comes from a winning program, and her skill set, poise and basketball IQ position her game to translate seamlessly to the professional level.”

Close kept popping up to hug her stars and after a season of insisting the journey mattered more than the result, she conceded Monday night mattered.

“Well, I mean, I sort of do care about this one actually, because No. 1, it helps us in recruiting. I think we’ve really taken a developmental approach to this and to see it come to fruition the way it has is obviously really gratifying,” Close told the Associated Press.

“Just to be a part of an historic night and for them to be so excited for each other, that’s sort of representative of how they’ve been all year long. But it’s a pretty cool record to be a part of.”

Bob Chesney leads the UCLA football team in its first spring practice on April 2.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The UCLA-feel good energy hasn’t skipped the football program, with new coach Bob Chesney and his staff leading the Bruins through spring football workouts.

Here are three takeaways from the first five spring football practices:

1. No one is naming names.

It’s hard to get coaches or the two football players UCLA has made available for interviews so far this spring to volunteer the names of any players who have performed exceptionally well during spring practice.

“Yeah, um, I don’t want to name drop because I know I’m going to miss a couple, but I think the whole O-line and the whole receiver room collectively have been bringing it every practice and I’ve loved competing with them,” UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava told reporters when asked for his thoughts about the receivers and offensive linemen.

When he was asked who on the defense was making his life difficult, Iamaleava responded: “From the defense? You know, I’m not going to give them too much credit, but I think they do a good job of disguising their coverages.”

Safety Cole Martin was equally measured in his response when asked who were the toughest offensive players to cover.

“I feel like everybody just has their own skill set. You know, learning what they do good, what they don’t do well and trying to figure out how to beat them — ’cause, I mean, it’s spring ball,” Martin said.

The team held its first workout in full pads Saturday and it’s unlikely this embargo on identifying top performers will last forever, but an emphasis on wide open competition has been adopted by coaches and players.

2. Iamaleava is trying to stay on the field.

The quarterback said Saturday he weighs 218 pounds and hopes to reach 220 to 225 pounds by the season opener.

“I took a couple of hits last year and it took a toll on the body, but I think just me recovering over the offseason and coming in ready to work and getting bigger was the main thing for me this offseason,” he said. “So yeah, hopefully when I get to the season I’ll be able to take those hits a little easier.”

3. Martin and Iamaleava have fully embraced Chesney’s emphasis on winning on and off the field.

“How you live your life is going to correlate with how you are on the field,” Martin told reporters Saturday. “When you have great habits outside, you’re going to have great play on the field. Coach Chesney is big on making sure that we realize that you can’t live an average life and then go be amazing at football. Everything has to match up, so if it means that you gotta go to class super, super early or if you gotta wake up really, really early — or whatever that may mean for you and how that individual is — do that and your play on the field will correlate.”

Reddemann recognized

Logan Reddemann of UCLA tied a record with 18 strikeouts on Friday against Rutgers.

(Craig Weston)

UCLA junior right-handed pitcher Logan Reddemann swept weekly awards for his performance during the Bruins’ 4-1 win over Rutgers in 14 innings Friday night.

Reddemann earned Golden Spikes player of the week, College Baseball Foundation pitcher of the week, Perfect Game pitcher of the week and Big Ten pitcher of the week and was named to Baseball America’s team of the week. He delivered an NCAA single game record-tying 18 strikeouts over eight innings, leading a Bruins staff that totaled 30 strikeouts, one shy of the NCAA single-game record.

No. 1 UCLA will put its program record 27-game winning streak on the line when it hosts UC Santa Barbara on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The game air on the Big Ten Network.

UCLA’s next national title?

UCLA senior Jordan Chiles shouts while competing on the floor exercise during the the meet against Utah.

(Jesus Ramirez / UCLA Athletics)

Is the Bruins’ gymnastics team is next in line to win a national title?

Jordan Chiles, an Olympic gold medalist and the NCAA West Region gymnast of the year, will lead UCLA during the NCAA gymnastics championships starting Thursday in Fort Worth, Texas.

UCLA will compete in a semifinal against Oklahoma, Arkansas and Minnesota. The Bruins will start on the bars, then proceed to the beam, floor exercise and vault.

The top two teams advance to the finals Saturday against the top two teams from another semifinal featuring LSU, Stanford, Florida and Georgia.

UCLA’s semifinal begins at 6 p.m. Thursday and will air on ESPN2. The finals will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday and air on ABC.

Transfers help basketball teams reload

The men’s and women’s basketball teams have picked up transfers since the portal opened last week.

The women’s basketball team added North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarinsalo, senior TCU guard Donovyn Hunter and Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas.

Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but she missed all of this last season with an injury and has one season of eligibility left.

The men’s team has picked up commitments from Auburn forward Filip Jovic, Mississippi State forward Sergej Macura and Texas Tech transfer guard Jaylen Petty.

UCLA coach Mick Cronin also retained key pieces of his roster, including Trent Perry and Eric Dailey Jr.

In case you missed it

UCLA breaks WNBA draft records with five first-round picks and six overall

‘Coach Chesney is a winner.’ Nico Iamaleava and Cole Martin sold on Bruins’ new leader

Letters to Sports: Celebrating UCLA’s inspiring national title win

Logan Reddemann strikes out 18; No. 1 UCLA wins in 14 innings over Rutgers

UCLA women’s basketball lands first transfer since winning NCAA championship

‘L.A. cares about women’s basketball now’: UCLA celebrates its national championship

Sondheimer: Mira Costa High volleyball star Mateo Fuerbringer thrives when under pressure

Water spray, chaos and stress tests: Inside Bob Chesney’s UCLA practice philosophy

Here is who decimated national champion UCLA could target in the transfer portal

Plaschke: Aday Mara’s Michigan national title exposes UCLA coach Mick Cronin’s failure

UCLA women’s basketball players crown Cori Close as their champion

Have something Bruin?

Do you have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future UCLA newsletter? Email newsletters editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

So this is how we find out Justin Bieber is a YouTube Premium subscriber.

The 32-year-old teen-pop survivor headlined Coachella on Saturday night, and for roughly half an hour in the middle of his set, what Bieber did was sit behind a laptop and sing along to his old music videos — often an octave down from where he recorded them — as he searched up the songs on YouTube and played them over the festival’s state-of-the-art sound system.

YouTube Premium, that is, given that he (and we) faced no ads during the performance.

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Expectations were insanely high for this show — Bieber’s first large-scale concert after a few years he spent in the pop-star wilderness recovering from various health ailments of both the physical and mental variety.

Invite-only warm-up gigs he played over the last couple of weeks in L.A. led to widespread speculation that at Coachella he might play only material from last year’s “Swag” and “Swag II” comeback albums.

And indeed that’s what he did for the first half-hour or so, singing songs like “All I Can Take,” “Speed Demon” and “Butterflies” — and singing them with extreme precision — accompanied by prerecorded backing tracks; after that, he brought out Carter Lang and Dylan Wiggins — two of his closest “Swag” collaborators — to do more of the “Swag” material “up close and personal with you guys,” as he put it.

“This is a night I dreamed about for a long time,” he said, dressed in a red hoodie, shorts and Paddington-gone-Balenciaga rain boots.

Together the three did gorgeous Christian-youth-group white-soul renditions of “Things You Do” and “Glory” and “Everything Hallelujah,” the last of which Bieber used to shout out his wife, Hailey Baldwin, who was in the crowd and made herself available to Coachella’s roving cameras.

Then: “Feels like we gotta take you guys on a bit of a journey,” Bieber said. “You guys remember this song?”

That was his own cue for a YouTube deep dive — it started with “Baby” and included “Never Say Never” and “Beauty and a Beat” — that made you wonder about the unresolved trauma he’s still dealing with from his child-star days. (Second night in a row for that, by the way, after Sabrina Carpenter on Friday.)

“How far back do you go?” he asked the crowd at one point. “Are you really with the s—?”

Bieber went on to play much-memed videos of himself running into a revolving door and himself falling off a stage; that led to an unfortunate little digression about the paparazzi and their rapacious ways.

“These guys won’t leave you alone, bro,” he said before playing that famous video of the guy freaking out over the double rainbow.

The final portion of the show had Bieber doing “Yukon,” then “Devotion” with Dijon — the vocals! — then “Essence” with Tems and Wizkid.

“Tonight has been beautiful,” Bieber said before bringing out Mk.gee to close with “Daisies,” and he was right: This was a radical reframing of what a headlining Coachella performance is supposed to be, and I loved it.

It was Max Muncy’s night.

His third home run — a no-doubt-about-it 401-foot walk-off to right-center field, gave the Dodgers an 8-7 victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

They improved to 10-3, winning despite closer Edwin Díaz’s first blown save as a Dodger.

Muncy’s first home runs, in the second and fourth innings, gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead and then pulled them within a run, 3-2.

Those homers — Nos. 2, 3 and 4 this season — gave him 213 for his Dodgers’ tenure, tying and then surpassing Steve Garvey for third-most in the franchise’s Los Angeles history.

Muncy is only the second player in Dodgers history to have a walk-off homer as part of a three-home run game, joining Don Demeter, who accomplished the feat on April 21, 1959, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Max Muncy hits a walk-off home run to cap his three-home run night in an 8-7 win over Texas.

It marked the second three-homer game of Muncy’s career and his 20th multi-homer game.

And they kept the Dodgers in a game that went back and forth, up and down, bobblehead style.

Andy Pages went three for three with four RBIs and had a go-ahead two-run double and a two-run home run to provide crucial insurance that kept his club in the game.

His double in the sixth — he smacked Robert Garcia’s 84-mph slider into right field to bring home Muncy and Teoscar Hernández — gave the Dodgers a 5-4 lead.

And Pages’ two-run home run to center field off Luis Curvelo in the eighth brought home Muncy, who had singled. It also brought his MLB-leading batting average to .449 — and wasn’t just icing on the cake but fortification against the Rangers’ hitters who wouldn’t quit.

After Dodgers’ starter Tyler Glasnow exited after pitching six innings and giving up four runs on five hits — including two home runs — while striking out seven, Alex Vesia and Tanner Scott both pitched a scoreless inning before closer Díaz entered in the ninth.

The Dodgers’ closer gave up a single to former Dodger Joc Pedersen and then a two-run home run to Evan Carter that cut the lead to 7-6. Then Ezequiel Duran singled in Sam Haggerty to tie the score.

The Dodgers made it interesting by playing from behind for the ninth time in 13 games: The Rangers quickly responded to Muncy’s first homer, taking a 3-1 lead in the third inning when former Dodger Corey Seager teed off for a 409-foot, three-run home run to center field.

Max Muncy hits a walk-off home run to lift the Dodgers to an 8-7 win over the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

(Back on June 12, 2024, in his only other game at Dodger Stadium as a member of the Rangers, Seager hit a three-run home run. That one was a go-ahead blast off Walker Buehler that gave Texas a 3-2 victory.)

In the fifth inning Friday, Wyatt Langford deposited a Glasnow curveball into the Dodgers’ bullpen; his first home run this season pushed Texas’ advantage to 4-2.

Shohei Ohtani then singled to right to move Freeland to third — and, notably, to extend his on-base streak to 44 games, the most ever for a Japanese-born player and the fourth-longest such streak in Dodgers history.

Ohtani has also reached base on all seven of his bobblehead nights.

This season, the Dodgers determined that they needed two games — Friday and July 8 — to honor Ohtani’s “Greatest Game” with the bobblehead treatment.

Max Muncy runs the bases after hitting his walk-off home run in the ninth inning against Texas on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

On Friday, all 53,675 fans went home with a bobbling figurine of Ohtani at the plate, a memento honoring his performance in Game 4 of the NLCS last October. He not only pitched six shutout innings and struck out 10 in that 5-1 NLCS-clinching victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, but he also hit three home runs that traveled a combined 1,342 feet.

The Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas won’t take bereavement leave or travel back to his native Venezuela following the sudden death of his father, Miguel Rojas Sr., manager Dave Roberts said before the game.

“There’s a lot going on in Venezuela,” the Dodgers manager said. “And a lot of his family is kind of dispersed around the world, essentially. He just feels they’ve got a handle on it down there, so he’s going to stay with us.”