offers

Seeking to avoid lengthy litigation, Southern California Edison said Wednesday it will offer to compensate Eaton fire victims directly for damages suffered, even though it has yet to formally concede that its equipment ignited the blaze on Jan. 7.

Edison said it planned to launch a Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program this fall that would be open to those who lost homes, businesses or rental properties in the fire that killed 19 people and destroyed more than 9,400 homes and other structures in Altadena. It would also cover those who were harmed by smoke, suffered physical injuries or had family members who died.

“Even though the details of how the Eaton Fire started are still being evaluated, SCE will offer an expedited process to pay and resolve claims fairly and promptly,” Pedro Pizarro, chief executive of Edison International, the utility’s parent company, said in a press release. “This allows the community to focus more on recovery instead of lengthy, expensive litigation.”

The utility said it had hired consultants Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros, who had worked on the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, to help design the program.

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Edison in the wake of the Jan. 7 fire that videos captured igniting under a transmission line in Eaton Canyon. The cause is still under investigation, but Pizarro has said a leading theory is that an idle Edison transmission line, last used in 1971, somehow became re-energized and started the blaze.

An attorney who represents fire victims expressed skepticism of the plan, saying it could lead to reduced compensation for fire victims.

“In the past, the utilities have proposed these programs as a means for shorting and underpaying victims,” said attorney Richard Bridgford said. “Victims have uniformly done better when represented by counsel.”

Edison said the program would be designed to quickly compensate victims, including those who were insured. People can apply with or without an attorney, it said. The program is expected to run through 2026.

“The architecture and timing of the SCE direct claims program will be instrumental in efficiently managing funding resources, mitigating interest costs and minimizing inflationary pressures so funds can address actual claims and fairly compensate community members for their losses,” Pizarro said.

If Edison is found responsible for the fire, the state’s $21 billion wildfire fund is expected to reimburse the company for all or most of the payments it makes to victims. Brigford said he believed the wildfire fund would be enough to cover the Eaton fire claims.

“They are trying to make people panic so they don’t get adequate representation,” he said.

Others are concerned that the state wildfire fund is inadequate. Officials at the Earthquake Authority, which administers the wildfire fund, said in documents released in advance of a Thursday meeting that they fear the costs of the Eaton fire could exhaust the fund.

State officials plan to discuss what can be done to lengthen the life of the fund at the meeting.

Edison said more information on eligibility and other details of the compensation plan would be released in the coming weeks.

We checked in to the family-friendly medieval-themed hotel at Warwick Castle, where families can enjoy live jousting and banquet dinners. Here’s what we thought…

It’s not every Saturday that you’re greeted by a 14-foot knight in shining armour sitting atop a giant horse – but that’s exactly the memorable welcome we received when we checked in to Warwick Castle’s medieval-themed hotel.

The Warwick Castle Hotel, which opened its doors in July 2024, is nestled within the 64-acre grounds of the historic 11th-century castle. With 60 rooms available to book, it’s the perfect overnight getaway for families and history buffs seeking a royal experience, and a great getaway during the summer holidays.

What can you do at Warwick Castle?

Our day began at the castle’s Zog area, a playground filled with friendly dragons that kept my little ones entertained while I savoured a quick coffee from the refreshments huts.

Next, we ventured into the Horrible Histories Maze; we may have gotten lost for longer than anticipated but the kids had a blast collecting stamps scattered throughout the maze for their passports, reports OK!.

READ MORE: ‘Hidden’ water park with beach, carvery and huge play area is perfect summer day out

READ MORE: Get a Legoland Resort visit for 3 people this school holiday for £50 less if you’re fast

For those with a strong stomach, the castle’s dungeon and gaol let you experience the smells and sounds of the torture chambers of days gone by. Meanwhile, the Princess Tower provides an opportunity for the young ones to dress up in their finest gowns.

We then made our way to the main arena to witness an exhilarating War of the Roses live event featuring jousting knights on horses. The performance was superb, and we all rooted for the Earl of Warwick.

We also made a beeline for The Falconer’s Quest show, the UK’s largest birds of prey attraction, where we watched birds from around the globe soar above us.

The castle itself is impressively preserved, and we certainly clocked up our step count as we ascended the stairs to the ramparts and towers, peeking through the stone slits where arrows once whizzed by and gazing down at the spots where waste was hurled onto unsuspecting attackers. The climb rewarded us with breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside.

We also explored the Great Hall and State Rooms, grand spaces filled with 17th and 18th-century opulence and collections of weapons and armour. The castle offers complimentary history tours, which I would have happily joined if my children hadn’t been so keen on getting ice creams (which, admittedly, were a welcome treat after a day packed with walking, climbing and jousting).

Warwick Castle Hotel

As the day drew to a close we made our way back to the hotel, conveniently located just a short stroll from the castle. The hotel’s exterior blends seamlessly with its surroundings, resembling a medieval hall.

Upon entering the reception, we were greeted by talking portraits whose eyes followed us around the room and which gave us a brief history of the castle and its grounds.

The hotel rooms pay homage to the Wars of the Roses, featuring rose motifs, chambers adorned with richly coloured fabrics, wooden beams, and shields adorning the walls. Designed with families in mind, the rooms offer bunk beds, a pull-out bed for an additional child, and a cot. The bathrooms are equipped with both a bath and a shower, along with some delightful herbal toiletries.

For evening meals, the Knight’s Village Restaurant offers a ‘medieval banquet’ buffet in a large hall, akin to a Sunday carvery. However, we opted for the snack bar in the glamping area where the evening entertainment was held, featuring archery lessons and a knight-themed bedtime story.

In between munching on burgers the kids were busy making friends with other sword-wielding children, while we relaxed with a drink amongst other slightly tired parents, content knowing we would end our night in a cosy bed fit for any aspiring knight or princess.

The next morning, breakfast (included for all guests) was a lively event in the hall, serving up a full English or pancakes along with fruit, cereals and pastries. It’s advisable to book well ahead to secure a good time slot.

As we bid farewell to the Earl of Warwick atop his prancing horse and waved goodbye to the talking portraits, we unanimously agreed that our visit to Warwick Castle was a day – and knight – to remember.

How much does it cost to stay at Warwick Castle Hotel?

Rooms at Warwick Castle Hotel start from £159 for a family of four on a B&B basis, or from £199 for a family of four, which includes B&B and a one-day ticket.

For other ideas for family days out this summer, Virgin Experience Days is running a major summer sale, and this offer lets you get a family trip to Legoland Windsor Resort with a huge £48 saving.

Red Letter Days is also currently offering Thorpe Park Resort Entry Tickets for Two, which you can get for £70.

THE HAGUE — President Trump offered robust support for Europe and a rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin at the NATO Summit in the Hague on Wednesday, capping a visit that came as a relief to anxious allies across the continent.

The gathering was designed by NATO leadership to appease the president, and it delivered, with nearly all members of the transatlantic alliance agreeing to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense — an historic increase that had been a priority to Trump for several years.

“We’re with them all the way,” Trump said of NATO, sitting alongside its secretary general, Mark Rutte. He later added to reporters, “if I didn’t stand with it, why would I be here?”

Rutte was obsequious throughout the visit, at one point referring to Trump as “daddy” disciplining child-like nations at war with one another. But addressing reporters, he defended his praise of the president as well-earned.

“When it comes to making more investments, I mean, would you ever think this would be the result of this summit, if he would not have been reelected president?” Rutte said. “Do you really think that seven or eight countries who said, ‘somewhere in the 2030s, we might make the 2%,’ would have all decided in the last four or five months to get to 2%? So doesn’t he deserve some praise?”

While at the summit, the president faced repeated questioning over the success of U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, which were designed to supplement an Israeli campaign to effectively end Iran’s uranium enrichment program. But Trump expressed confidence in the mission, stating that intelligence continues to come in supporting the conclusion that its facilities were “obliterated.”

“It’s been obliterated, totally obliterated,” he said. “We’ve collected additional intelligence.
We’ve also spoken to people that have seen the site, and the site is obliterated.”

An initial Defense Intelligence Agency report, first reported by CNN, cast doubt on that conclusion. But an Israeli official speaking with The Times said that its preliminary findings from an on-the-ground assessment gives them confidence that the program has been set back by several years.

“You can see that the intelligence was very high quality in the execution of this operation – that gives us confidence in the information we have on the different facilities,” the Israeli official said.

Addressing reporters at a news conference, Trump seemed to commit to enforce Article 5 of the NATO charter, a critical provision of the alliance that states that an attack on one member is an attack on all. In the past, Trump has cast doubt on his commitment to the pledge.

“As far as Article 5, look — when I came here, I came here because it was something I’m supposed to be doing,” Trump said. “I watched the heads of these countries get up, and the love and the passion that they showed for their country was unbelievable. I’ve never seen quite anything like it. They want to protect their country, and they need the United States, and without the United States, it’s not going to be the same.”

The visual was moving, the president said.

“I left here saying that these people really love their countries,” he added. “It’s not a rip-off. And we’re here to help them protect their countries.”

Trump also gave himself praise for helping to broker ceasefires around the world — most recently between Israel and Iran, but also between Pakistan and India, as well as Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo — while expressing frustration with Russia’s president for what he described as “misguided” views that have perpetuated Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

He described a bilateral meeting with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as “very nice” — “he couldn’t have been nicer,” Trump said — while offering choice words for Putin, an uncharacteristic position for a president who has repeatedly referred to the Russian leader as a potential friend and partner.

“Vladimir Putin has been more difficult,” Trump said, telling one Ukrainian reporter that he is looking to provide Kyiv with Patriot missile defense batteries – long a request of the Ukrainian government.

Trump also said he was open to sending additional defense funds to Kyiv if Putin fails to make progress toward a ceasefire. “As far as money going, we’ll see what happens – there’s a lot of spirit,” he said.

“Look, Vladimir Putin really has to end that war,” he added.

June 25 (UPI) — The United States is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information locating Mahmood Shah Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who was abducted in Afghanistan nearly three years ago.

The reward from the U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice Program was announced Tuesday by department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, who said during a regular press briefing, “We have determined that he has been disappeared, and that he has not been heard from.”

According to a release from the FBI in August, Habibi, a contractor for Kabul-based telecommunications company Asia Consultancy Group, and his driver were kidnapped from their vehicle near his home in the Afghan capital on Aug. 10, 2022.

It is believed that he was taken by the Taliban along with 29 other employees of his company, all of whom, except for Habibi, have since been released.

“He has not been heard from since his initial arrest, and the Taliban has yet to provide any information regarding his whereabouts or condition,” the State Department said in a statement.

Bruce said they are hoping the $5 million reward will entice someone to come forward.

“It makes a difference in everyone’s lives that we might get some information about him,” she said.

The U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. In its absence, the Taliban regained control of the Middle Eastern country.

Amid the Dodgers’ silence about federal immigration raids in Southern California, a familiar voice that has comforted immigrants for years emerged.

Jaime Jarrín, the former Spanish-language voice of the Dodgers who captivated thousands of fans for decades and served as Fernando Valenzuela’s translator during Fernandomania, posted a message on his Instagram account about the raids and protests in a city he adopted as his own in 1958.

“As an immigrant who came to this country 70 years ago, I know firsthand the hope, courage and determination it takes to build a new life in a new land,” Jarrín posted Tuesday. “I have always believed that immigration is not just part of the American story; it is the American story.”

“Los Angeles is my home,” Jarrín added in his Instagram post. “This city is my family. And it breaks my heart to see the growing division in our community and across the country. We all deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and humanity.”

Former Dodgers Spanish language broadcaster Jaime Jarrín posted a message in support of immigrants and protestors following to weeks of ICE raids.

(Fernando Llano / Associated Press)

The message from the Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and Dodgers ambassador was celebrated while critics grew more vocal opposing the team’s silence following ICE raids and protests in the Los Angeles area the past two weeks. A Dodgers spokesman said the team would announce plans to aid immigrants on Thursday, but it delayed the announcement after turning away federal agents who tried to use the team parking lot after conducting raids at the Hollywood Home Depot and surrounding areas.

Jarrín is originally from Quito, Ecuador, and his first job in this country was in a factory in East Los Angeles. Over time, Jarrín became the sports director for KWKW and a Dodgers broadcaster for more than six decades. Jarrín worked alongside Valenzuela when he was a rookie in Major League Baseball in 1981, serving as his translator during Fernandomania in the 1980s. They later shared microphones in the radio booth broadcasting Dodger games in Spanish.

“In the face of the injustices and suffering we have witnessed, I am deeply proud of the thousands who have peacefully taken to the streets; raising their voices, refusing to be silenced. Their courage matters. Your presence matters. Do not be afraid. Stand strong. Stay present. Let your voice be heard,” added Jarrín.

President Donald Trump’s massive deportation orders have affected the professional sports atmosphere in Los Angeles. The games typically draw Latinos and immigrants from a wide range of countries. Tournaments such as the Gold Cup and the Club World Cup lost fans as some stayed away from stadiums because they feared potential raids or preferred to show solidarity with the demonstrations.

Of Los Angeles’ 12 professional sports teams, as of Friday morning, only two have issued public statements about the raids. Angel City FC and LAFC have shown their support for the community since the protests began, while the Dodgers and Galaxy, with a heavily Latino and immigrant fan bases, have remained silent.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has responded to some questions from reporters, but he has limited his remarks to saying he understood that the community is “heartbroken” and said the situation was somewhat “unsettling for everyone.”

Fan favorite Kiké Hernández took to his social networks to say he was “sad and enraged” at how immigrants were treated, noting the city of Los Angeles had opened its arms to him.

The Puerto Rican player, who helped the Dodgers win the World Series last season, wrote: “Maybe I wasn’t born and raised here, but this city adopted me as if I was one of them. I am too sad and infuriated with everything that is going on in the country and in our city. Los Angeles and Dodger fans have opened their arms to me, supported me and shown me a lot of kindness and most of all a lot of LOVE! This is my second home,” posted Hernandez, who was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and is in his second stint with the Dodgers after playing in L.A. from 2015-20 and returning from 2023 to the present.

“I cannot tolerate watching our community continue to be violated, attacked, abused and separated. ALL people deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and their human rights. I stand with you!!! #CiudadDeImigrantes,” the Dodger wrote on Sunday, using a hashtag referring to L.A. as a city of immigrants in Spanish.

Meanwhile, Maria Valenzuela, the daughter of legendary pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, spoke out against the ICE raids.

“I am a proud daughter of immigrant parents. They came to this country with dreams bigger than borders. My mother followed her heart, and my father not only pitched for the Dodgers, but for all immigrants who believed they belonged in this country,” Maria Valenzuela posted on Instagram. “He helped shape a city and inspired generations of Mexicans to dream big. Behind the fame was the same immigrant story: sacrifice, struggle and endless work for a better future.”

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.

Al-Nassr and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo said he has no plans to play at Club World Cup, starting June 14 in the United States.

Cristiano Ronaldo says he’s almost certain he will not be playing at the Club World Cup, dealing a blow to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s hopes of having one of football’s biggest attractions at the tournament.

The Portugal star confirmed on Saturday that he received “quite a few” offers from participating clubs to play for them at the tournament starting June 14, but had decided against accepting any of them.

“Some things make sense to talk about, other things don’t, and, as a person says, you can’t take part in everything,” Ronaldo said.

“You have to think about the short, medium and long term. It’s a decision practically made on my part not to go to the Club World Cup, but I’ve had quite a few invitations to go.”

Ronaldo was speaking in Munich a day before Portugal’s UEFA Nations League final against Spain.

The 40-year-old scored his 137th international goal in a 2-1 semifinal victory against Germany on Wednesday to book Portugal’s spot in the final.

“This is irrelevant right now,” Ronaldo said when first asked about the FIFA Club World Cup. “It makes no sense to talk about anything other than the national team.”

June 6 (UPI) — Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate detained by the Trump administration in March for deportation over his pro-Palestinian views, offered a public declaration that details what he’s experienced since his arrest.

In a case document filed Thursday, Khalil listed what he described as the “irreparable harms” he has suffered, which he claimed have affected several parts of his life that “include dignitary and reputational harm, personal and familial hardship, including constant fear for personal safety, continued detention, restrictions on my freedom of expression, and severe damage to my professional future.”

The declaration, which was made from inside the LaSalle Detention Center in Jena, La., where Khalil has been held since March 9, puts focus on the birth of his son, which happened during his incarceration.

“Instead of holding my wife’s hand in the delivery room, I was crouched on a detention center floor, whispering through a crackling phone line as she labored alone.” Khalil described.

“I listened to her pain, trying to comfort her while 70 other men slept around me. When I heard my son’s first cries, I buried my face in my arms so no one would see me weep.”

Khalil described that the first time he saw his son was through a window, and the first time he held him was in an immigration courtroom, to which his wife had to travel ten hours to reach, with their newborn.

“I speak to her as often as possible, but these conversations are not private, everything is monitored by the government,” Khalil said, which makes it impossible for them to comfortably speak freely.

“We leave so much unsaid, and that silence weighs heavily on both of us.”

Khalil said that not only has the situation been “devastating” for him, but that his wife has dealt with harassment since his arrest. Khalil further described the anguish of seeing Trump administration officials post statements and photos of him on social media that he purports as “accompanied by inflammatory language, grotesque and false accusations, and open celebration of my deportation.”

Khalil expressed concern for his future as well. He said he was hired by the nonprofit equality-focused Oxfam International group only days before his arrest as a Palestine and Middle East/ North Africa policy advisor, and was scheduled to start work in April, but the job offer was formally revoked. He says “I strongly believe” his arrest and continued detention is the reason for this.

He added that should the charges against him stand, “the harm to my professional career would be career-ending.”

Khalil further worried his arrest would result in a lifetime of “being flagged, delayed, or denied when traveling, applying for visas, or engaging with consular authorities anywhere in the world,” and not just him, but his wife and son.

His mother had also applied for a visa in March to visit the United States to see their child be born, and although that was approved, the U.S. embassy returned her passport without a stamp, and now her case is under “administrative processing,” and remains unapproved. Khalil’s elderly father, whom he describes as “severely disabled,” lives in Germany, and he ponders whether any country allied with the United States will ever grant him entry should the charges stand.

Khalil detailed the allegations under which he has been held for deportation, which not only did he deny as testimony at his May immigration court hearing, at which he purports “The government attorneys did not ask me any questions regarding these issues.”

However, Khalil maintained his greatest concern of all is a determination by Secretary of State Marco Rubio based on a law that an “alien” can be deported should his presence in the United States “have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.”

“I understand that the Rubio Determination is not only a ground for deportation, but it is also a bar to entry,” said Khalil.

“In other words, no matter what happens to the other charge against me, it is the Rubio Determination that will make this country, the country of my wife and child, a country I cannot return to in the future.”

WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was already at the briefing room lectern Tuesday when Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a special advisor to President Trump until just last week, launched into a scathing rebuke targeting his signature legislation.

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk wrote on his social media platform, X. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination.”

“Shame on those who voted for it,” he added. “You know you did wrong. You know it.”

It was the latest, sharpest critique of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” making its way through Congress from Musk, who ended his tenure as a special government employee last week despite his efforts to stay on, according to an Axios report.

In a CBS interview aired last week, Musk also called the bill a disappointment. “I think a bill can be big or it can be beautiful,” he said, “but I don’t know if it can be both. My personal opinion.”

The Trump administration had already been on defense over the future of the bill, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates would result in a $3.8-trillion increase to the national debt over 10 years.

House Republicans approved the measure in late May. But multiple Republicans in the Senate, where the party holds a slim majority, have balked at its effects on the deficit, as well as several major proposals in the legislation that would result in millions of Americans losing access to Medicaid coverage.

One GOP senator, Joni Ernst of Iowa, drew national criticism over the weekend after responding to constituent concerns regarding Medicaid cuts at a town hall last week by saying, “well, we are all going to die.” The exchange put threats to Medicaid in the legislation back in the headlines, forcing the White House to put out a press release on Monday with the subject line: “MYTHBUSTER: No, People Will Not ‘Literally Die’ with the One Big Beautiful Bill.”

“The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill,” Leavitt said at the briefing, asked to respond to Musk’s X post. “It doesn’t change the president’s opinion.”

The bill would also cut clean energy tax credits passed during the Biden administration, which have benefited Musk’s electric vehicle company, Tesla.

Trump has also bucked Musk on other matters in recent days. Despite Musk’s opposition, Trump brokered an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to build the largest artificial intelligence campus outside of the United States with the backing of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, a Musk rival.

The president also withdrew Jared Isaacman, reportedly an ally of Musk, as his nominee for NASA administrator. Musk’s rocket ship company, SpaceX, relies heavily on government contracts.

The Palestinian group Hamas has submitted its response to a United States-backed ceasefire proposal, but a leading official from the group said the proposed deal offered “no guarantees to end the war”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Basem Naim said that Hamas had still “responded positively” to the latest proposal relayed to it by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, despite the Palestinian group saying that the proposal was different to one it had agreed upon with Witkoff a week earlier.

“One week ago, we agreed with Mr Witkoff on one proposal, and we said, ‘This is acceptable, we can consider this a negotiating paper,’” Naim said. “He went to the other party, to the Israelis, to get their response. Instead of having a response to our proposal, he brought us a new proposal … which had nothing to do with what we agreed upon.”

In a statement released earlier on Saturday, Hamas had said that it had submitted a response to Witkoff, and that the proposal “aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid” to Palestinians in Gaza.

Hamas added that 10 living Israeli captives would be released as part of the agreement, as well as the bodies of 18 dead Israelis, in exchange for an “agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners”.

Witkoff called Hamas’s response “totally unacceptable”.

“Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,” the envoy said in a post on social media. “That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families, and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Hamas’s response, “As Witkoff said, Hamas’s response is unacceptable and sets the situation back. Israel will continue its action for the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas.”

Israel has now killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, with starvation looming across Gaza after weeks of Israeli blockade, and only a small flow of aid since Israel allowed it to resume in mid-May.

Starvation

With hopes for a permanent truce seemingly fading once again, the level of hunger and desperation inside Gaza grows, with Israel allowing only a trickle of humanitarian aid into the Strip after it had imposed a total blockade for more than two months. The UN warned on Friday that all of the 2.3 million population of Gaza is now at risk of famine. That came after it said in mid-May that one in every five Palestinians there is experiencing starvation.

The World Food Programme (WFP), which has enough food ready near Gaza’s borders to feed the besieged territory’s entire population for two months, renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire as the only way to get the food to starving Palestinians.

The UN’s food agency said in a statement that it brought 77 trucks loaded with flour into Gaza overnight and early on Friday, but they were stopped by people trying to feed their starving families.

The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is continuing with its own controversial aid distribution, which other aid groups say could violate humanitarian principles and militarise the delivery of desperately needed food. The Gaza Government Media Office said this week that at least 10 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces while trying to get aid.

“We went to this new area and we came out empty-handed,” resident Layla al-Masri said of a new GHF distribution point. “What they are saying about their will to feed the people of Gaza are lies. They neither feed people nor give them anything to drink.”

Another displaced Palestinian, Abdel Qader Rabie, said people across the besieged territory have nothing left to feed their families. “There’s no flour, no food, no bread. We have nothing at home,” he said.

Rabie said that every time he tries to get a box of aid at the GHF, he is swarmed by hundreds of other people trying to get it. “If you are strong, you get aid. If you are not, you leave empty-handed,” Rabie added.

There are also other risks. Families have reported that people have gone missing after reaching GHF distribution points.

“One of these cases is a man from the al-Mughari family – The family is appealing to the ICRC, OCHA, the civil defence teams, to go and search for him in that area – very close to the Netzarim Corridor [in central Gaza],” said Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza. Israeli authorities rejected the accusation, Khoudary added.

Bombing and forced displacement

The Israeli army is continuing its attacks on Gaza, with the spokesperson of the territory’s civil defence saying that approximately 60 homes had been bombed in the last 48 hours in Gaza City and northern Gaza.

On Saturday, there were also reports from across Gaza of the Israeli bombing killing at least 20 Palestinians. More than 3,900 Palestinians have been killed since Israel unilaterally broke a ceasefire in March and resumed its devastation of Gaza, despite growing international condemnation.

Since Friday’s early hours, the Israeli army has also ordered “all residents” of southern Khan Younis, Bani Suheila, and Abasan to evacuate immediately after it said rockets were earlier fired. “The [army] will aggressively attack any area used as a launching pad for terrorist activity,” military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement. The area of southern Gaza “has been warned several times in the past and has been designated a dangerous combat zone”, he added.

According to the UN, nearly 200,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks alone, with displacement orders now covering the entirety of Gaza’s northernmost and southernmost governorates, as well as the eastern parts of each of the three governorates in between.

THE second golf Major of the season is here with the PGA Championship from the stunning Quail Hollow.

Having completed the Career Gland Slam at Augusta in the previous big one, Rory McIlroy will arrive at his most fruitful venue on the PGA Tour, surely in the best condition he’s ever been and with an ability to swing free.

He’s still not the pick of the bookmakers though, with Scottie Scheffler heading an ultra-competitive field in the betting markets and a host of top golfers on their tails.

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PGA Championship 2025 latest odds

Latest odds

• Scottie Scheffler – 4/1
• Rory McIlroy – 9/2
• Bryson DeChambeau – 9/1
• Jon Rahm – 18/1
• Justin Thomas – 20/1
• Xander Schauffele – 22/1
• Collin Morikawa – 22/1
• Ludvig Aberg – 25/1
• Joaquin Niemann – 33/1
• Patrick Cantlay – 40/1
• Tommy Fleetwood – 40/1
• Brooks Koepka – 45/1
• Hideki Matsuyama – 45/1
• Tyrrell Hatton – 45/1
• Viktor Hovland  – 55/1
• Shane Lowry – 55/1
• Jordan Spieth – 60/1
• Russell Henley – 70/1
• Sepp Straka – 70/1
• Corey Conners – 70/1
• Jason Day – 80/1
• Patrick Reed – 80/1
• Min Woo Lee – 90/1
• Sungjae Im – 100/1
• Daniel Berger – 100/1
• Wyndham Clark – 110/1
• Justin Rose – 110/1
• Tony Finau – 110/1
• Cameron Smith – 125/1
• Sergio Garcia – 125/1
• Dustin Johnson -125/1
• Robert MacIntyre – 125/1
• Maverick McNealy – 125/1
• Sam Burns – 125/1
• Keegan Bradley – 125/1
• Will Zalatoris – 125/1
• Si-Woo Kim – 125/1
• Keith Mitchell – 125/1
• Byeong-Hun An – 150/1
• Akhshay Bhatia – 150/1
• J.J. Spaun – 150/1
• David Puig – 150/1
• Aaron Rai – 150/1

Odds from Betfred

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I was unreasonably elated to discover that the Pasadena Playhouse is test-driving a program that offers Saturday childcare during the May 24 matinee of “A Dolls House, Part 2,” starring Jason Butler Harner and Elizabeth Reaser.

The program is open to kids 5 to 12 and offers theater-based activities inspired by the play and led by Playhouse teaching artists. The cost is $20 per child — far less than what a parent would pay for a sitter for the afternoon — and the group fun takes place on site while parents watch the show.

Here’s hoping more theaters develop similar programs. For so many parents, childcare is the No. 1 barrier to attending live shows and cultural events. A good sitter will set you back $15 to $25 per hour, plus tip. Add the cost of tickets, parking and even a modest dinner out, and a night on the town easily soars past $300.

Pasadena Playhouse is suited to hold such a program since it already runs youth theater classes and has a wonderful group of artists who regularly teach children. (Full disclosure: My daughter attends these classes.) But I can imagine a world in which other theaters, classical music groups and dance troupes begin offering similar programs. They would pay dividends in ticket sales and patron loyalty. There is no more grateful a human than a parent given a much-needed break.

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt. I came for the childcare and stayed for the show. Here’s this week’s roundup of arts news.

‘Jeffrey Gibson: the space in which to place me’

(Matthew Cavanaugh/For The Times)

With opening-weekend crowds behind us, now is an excellent time to experience Jeffrey Gibson’s show at the Broad museum, which Times contributor David Pagel noted in his recent profile has the Gibson artworks that wowed visitors at the 2024 Venice Biennale: “a giant, stylized bird, festooned with thousands of glistening beads; a laser-sharp painting, composed of up to 290 supersaturated colors; an array of lavishly patterned flags, from places no one has ever visited; or an evocative phrase, lifted from a novel, a pop song, a poem or a document, such as the U.S. Constitution.” Note that the museum, usually free, is staging this as a special exhibition with admission of $15.

Through Sept. 28, closed Mondays. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. thebroad.org

‘Cooley High’

Writer Susan King started a 2019 L.A. Times article with this great lede:

Robert Townsend, the acclaimed director of such films as 1987’s “Hollywood Shuffle” and 1991’s “The Five Heartbeats,” got his start in the biz as a teenager with a one-line role in the 1975 African American teen dramedy “Cooley High.”

“The movie changed my life,” recalled Townsend in a recent interview. “I remember after I made the movie and it finally premiered in the theater in downtown Chicago, I started to cry. It was like this is my life. … [Director] Michael Schultz really changed the landscape of cinema for people of color. He was the first one to paint with that brush of truly being human. We had never seen a movie where there was a young Black man talking about that he wanted to be a writer.”

On Monday, you’ll have the chance to see “Cooley High” on the big screen. The event at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood includes a Q&A with Schultz and actors Glynn Turman and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, moderated by Townsend.

7:30 p.m. Monday, Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., L.A. www.egyptiantheatre.com

L.A. Art Book Fair

The nonprofit Printed Matter returns with the eighth installment of its fair, which has drawn tens of thousands of fans with booths selling limited-edition prints, handcrafted artist books and obscure titles by small presses. (For a visual sampler, check out Carolina A. Miranda’s amusing photo tour from years ago.) The celebration, formerly held at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Geffen Contemporary, this year moves to ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. Although the location is different, much of the programming will be the same, including live music performances and the discussion series “The Classroom.”

6-9 p.m. Thursday, 1-7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday (first two hours Sunday is a mask-required period). ArtCenter South Campus, 870 and 950 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. laabf2025.printedmatterartbookfairs.org

Culture news and the SoCal scene

Remnants of the old Japanese American fishing village on Terminal Island that may be demolished to make way for Port of Los Angeles expansion projects.

(Al Seib / For The Times)

America’s most endangered historic places

The only two surviving buildings from Terminal Island’s days as a thriving Japanese American fishing village in the early 1900s have been placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2025 list of America’s 11 most endangered historic places. The buildings are in danger of being razed by the Port of Los Angeles, and the hope is that the visibility afforded by the list will help preservation efforts. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Terminal Island was the first place from which Japanese Americans were uprooted and sent to government camps such as Manzanar in the Owens Valley.

NEA grants canceled

The Trump administration is attempting to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts in its latest budget proposal, and the NEA recently sent a wave of letters to arts organizations across the country canceling grants. Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, South Coast Repertory, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Industry and L.A. Theatre Works are just some of SoCal nonprofits that got the bad news last week. The loss of this longstanding funding has left many organizations scrambling.

Participatory theater

Features columnist Todd Martens participated in the fourth Immersive Invitational, an interactive theater experience that gives participating companies 48 hours to create a 10-minute production and perform it multiple times on the event’s final day. “With the limited time frame, participating theater crews have to quickly establish a place and a sense of purpose, lending the audience, which must immediately contort to their role as actors, a call to action,” writes Martens of the fast-paced and joyful proceedings.

Jackie Castillo

Terracotta tiles in Jackie Castillo’s installation evoke the used building materials tossed from a roof, their value and history destined for a dumpster.

(Jeff McLane / ICA LA)

The latest show at Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, is from an artist who has long been compelled by the visible and invisible labor of immigrant communities. Times contributor Tara Anne Dalbow notes how Castillo’s work draws attention to the workers responsible for building construction, maintenance and repair. “Beneath the facade of every home, school, business and community center lie layers of material meaning and memory that bear forth records of the minds and hands that envisioned and assembled them,” Dalbow writes.

Wednesdays-Sundays through Aug. 31. ICA LA, 1717 E. 7th St., L.A. theicala.org

South Coast Rep’s upcoming season

South Coast Repertory announced a 2025-26 season lineup that includes Edward Albee‘s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and Yasmina’s Reza‘s “God of Carnage,” running from late January to March in rotating repertory.

The season opens this September with the jukebox musical “Million Dollar Quartet,” featuring the music of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. That’s followed by the Lloyd Suh play “The Heart Sellers,” about the chance connection between two immigrant women, one Filipino and one Korean, preparing a Thanksgiving meal. Also on the schedule: SCR’s “A Christmas Carol” tradition, carried on for the 45th year; the Karen Zacarias musical “Cinderella: A Salsa Fairy Tale,” part of the Theatre for Young Audiences and Families programming; two world premieres opening in April, “Fremont Ave.” by Reggie D. White and a second title to be announced later; and “Hershey Felder, Beethoven,” in June 2026, and the one-night-only “Hershey Felder’s Great American Songbook Sing-Along,” on June 14, 2026. More details and production dates are at scr.org.

A few more news bits

Los Angeles Youth Orchestra is holding auditions for new members on Saturday and Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, 4963 Balboa Blvd., Encino. Applicants must have had at least two years of private instruction on their instrument. LAYO has more than 100 student musicians from more 50 schools in the region.

The National Children’s Chorus under Artistic Director Luke McEndarfer has partnered with Compton Unified School District in establishing scholarship-funded vocal training classes at Compton High School. The classes, which began this semester, take place three times per week and include ensemble singing, vocal technique, music theory, sight-singing and performance practice.

Leave it to Baltimore to stage the absurdly fun Kinetic Sculpture Race, hosted by the American Visionary Art Museum. This year’s 25th anniversary event featured a massive pink dog sculpture, “Fifi,” that was part of a group of wild creations to be pushed, biked and otherwise maneuvered on a 15-mile long race track.

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

The president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago is taking time off while the museum investigates a news report that he began stripping off his clothes on a flight from Chicago to Munich after drinking alcohol and taking prescription meds.