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Welcome to Bunker Talk and have a great Labor Day weekend for our U.S. readers!

This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.

The caption to this week’s top shot reads:

Also, a reminder:

Prime Directives!

• If you want to talk politics, do so respectfully and know that there’s always somebody that isn’t going to agree with you. 
• If you have political differences, hash it out respectfully, stick to the facts, and no childish name-calling or personal attacks of any kind. If you can’t handle yourself in that manner, then please, discuss virtually anything else.
• No drive-by garbage political memes. No conspiracy theory rants. Links to crackpot sites will be axed, too. Trolling and shitposting will not be tolerated. No obsessive behavior about other users. Just don’t interact with folks you don’t like. 
• Do not be a sucker and feed trolls! That’s as much on you as on them. Use the mute button if you don’t like what you see.  
• So unless you have something of quality to say, know how to treat people with respect, understand that everyone isn’t going to subscribe to your exact same worldview, and have come to terms with the reality that there is no perfect solution when it comes to moderation of a community like this, it’s probably best to just move on. 
• Finally, as always, report offenders, please. This doesn’t mean reporting people who don’t share your political views, but we really need your help in this regard.

The Bunker is open!

A decade ago, “Weird Al” Yankovic launched his 12th concert tour, which covered 200 shows over two years. Somewhere along the line, the pop world’s foremost parodist was backstage putting on a fat suit “for literally the 1,000th time” when he was suddenly struck by the desire to “go out on stage and do a show like a regular musician.”

Soon after, he launched his “Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour,” playing small venues with no video screens, no costume changes, no props or choreography, and none of the song parodies that made him famous. The songs were still comedic — “Everything I write winds up a little warped,” he says — but were original tunes that were pastiches of, say, Frank Zappa or They Might Be Giants’ style. He enjoyed it so much he revived the concept a couple of years ago.

Yankovic, 65, has also not released a parody song for more than a decade, in part, he says, because there’s no longer a “monoculture where it’s more obvious what the hits are,” but also because he enjoys the challenges of those original pastiches, some of which take months for him to develop.

“I wanted to prove that I’m more than just the parody guy,” says Yankovic, who also co-wrote the 2022 TV film “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” The loopy biopic satire starred Daniel Radcliffe and earned Yankovic an Emmy nomination for his writing. (Recently, he also had self-parodying cameo in “Naked Gun.”)

“The smaller tours cleansed the palate for me and were fun for my band and the hardcore fans,” he says. “But now we’re back playing the big tent. We’ve ramping up the silliness.”

(Wesley Lapointe / Los Angeles Times)

Now, having proved he was more than the parody guy, Yankovic has re-embraced the whole full-throated “Weird Al” parody thing — his “Bigger & Weirder” tour, which comes to the Kia Forum in Inglewood on Saturday, features plenty of video screens, lots of costume changes and props, and twice as many band members.

And, of course, it features parodies covering decades of pop music: The Knack (“My Bologna”), Michael Jackson (“Eat It”), Madonna (“Like a Surgeon”), Coolio (“Amish Paradise”), Nirvana (“Smells Like Nirvana”) and Robin Thicke (“Word Crimes”).

“The smaller tours cleansed the palate for me and were fun for my band and the hardcore fans,” he says. “But now we’re back playing the big tent. We’re ramping up the silliness.”

That includes reviving not just old songs but also old bits. “Some fans feel comfort in repetition, which is OK,” he says. While he’ll change up individual jokes, “we’re trying not to change too much what people came to see — if we don’t fulfill their expectations, they’re liable to walk away disappointed.”

(His fans are committed enough that some even parody his songs with their own rewrites. Yankovic is particularly impressed by Steve Goodie, who parodied his “Hardware Store” with “Dumbledore” and even has a one-man show called “AL! The Weird Tribute (and How Daniel Radcliffe Got Mixed Up in This Nonsense).” “It’s fun and gratifying and a little ‘Inception’-like,” Yankovic says, although he has yet to parody Goodie’s parody.)

And so band newcomer Probyn Gregory, a musician who worked with Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Eric Clapton, spends “Smells Like Nirvana” dressed like a janitor and mopping the stage as part of the performance. “He’s an amazing artist, but you can’t have a sense of shame and be part of this entourage,” Yankovic says.

For the most part, of course, Yankovic is putting Gregory and the other multi-instrumentalists he hired to more practical uses — three of them are women because he wanted three-part female harmonies, but between them they also can add percussion, guitar, saxophones and more. “I needed somebody that could play the trumpet and then someone to play clarinet for the polkas,” he says. “In the arenas, I hear our sound and think, ‘Wow, this is much, much bigger than it’s ever been.’”

It’s also more layered, with all those instruments enabling him to “stretch and do songs that were out of our reach as a five-piece.”

To show off his band, Yankovic drops the funny stuff at one point in each show, covering a classic song and playing it straight. In recent weeks, the group has played Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” George Harrison’s “What Is Life,” the Box Top’s “The Letter,” the Doobie Brothers’ “China Grove,” and even Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman.”

“It’s a rotating slot and almost every night is something different,” he says. The fans get into it, he says, although when he talks to them about it, he sometimes finds their reactions “baffling.”

“People sometimes say, ‘Oh, you guys can really play. You can really do real music,’” he says. “What do you think we’ve been doing? Just because the words are funny, it’s not real music?”

Yankovic is a “pop culture sponge” and has always listened to various music genres, first for pleasure and then for work. “I just like to soak it in and regurgitate it in my own demented way,” he says. But he was also raised on Dr. Demento, and was heavily influenced by Spike Jones, Tom Lehrer, Allan Sherman, and Monty Python. Those comedians taught him that craftsmanship matters even, or especially, when you’re being silly.

“I think that the craftsmanship is one of the reasons that the humor works so well and I think the best parody is material that emulates the original source as closely as possible,” he says. “It helps the joke if you’re sucked into thinking you’re listening to a particular pop song and then think, ‘Wait a minute, these aren’t the lyrics I’m used to.’”

For that to work, the craftsmanship in his writing and arranging must be matched by the musicianship in his band; he hopes his audience appreciates both sides of that coin.

He adds that he thinks he personally has improved over time. “I think I’m a better singer now than I was in the ’80s and I’m a better musician and a better arranger,” he says.

Even with the four newcomers, Yankovic relies heavily on his original band. “I’ve got one of the best bands in the world and they do every genre flawlessly, and that’s what helps make the whole act work,” he says. “The core band has been together for over 40 years and we’re kind of telepathic in the way we communicate now, so we’re a lot better than we were back in the day.”

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is offering military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was killed at 35 by an officer in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Babbitt was a U.S. Air Force veteran from California who was shot dead wearing a Trump campaign flag wrapped around her shoulders while attempting to climb through the broken window of a barricaded door leading to the Speaker’s Lobby inside the Capitol.

Offering military honors to one of the Capitol rioters is part of President Trump’s attempts to rewrite that chapter after the 2020 election as a patriotic stand, given he still denies he lost that election. Babbitt has gained martyr status among Republicans, and the Trump administration agreed to pay just under $5 million to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit that her family filed over her shooting.

Matthew Lohmeier, an undersecretary of the Air Force, said on X that the decision was “long overdue,” and shared a post from a conservative legal group that was advocating for Babbitt’s family. The group, Judicial Watch, said the family had requested military honors from former President Biden’s administration and had been denied.

In a statement, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson said that “after reviewing the circumstances” of Babbitt’s death, military funeral honors were offered to the family. Babbitt was a senior airman.

The post shared by Lohmeier included a link to a letter the Air Force under secretary wrote to Babbitt’s family, inviting them to meet him at the Pentagon.

“After reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect,” the Aug. 15 letter read.

Crenshaw High has started its football season 2-0 but has done so without longtime head coach Robert Garrett.

Terrance Whitehead has been serving as interim head coach and running practices.

In a phone call Friday, Garrett said, “I’m just following [school] orders. There’s no wrongdoing on my part.”

Garrett, who has been head coach since 1988, entered this season with 290 career victories.

Crenshaw interim coach Terrance Whitehead speaking with quarterback Daniell Flowers.

(Robert H. Helfman)

Asked when he might return, Garrett said his absence is “indefinite.”

A call and an email to the district office, which was closed Friday, went unanswered.

Crenshaw plays Hamilton next week.

It’s time to revisit the age-old question that’s been debated for years: Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Lionsgate will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the “Twilight” novels by bringing the entire film saga back to the big screen from Oct. 29 through Nov. 2, The Times confirmed.

The love triangle tale starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner — a human, a vampire and a werewolf, respectively — grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide during its first run, according to Box Office Mojo.

The films, based on the four-part book series written by Stephenie Meyer, follow the story of Bella Swan (Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Pattinson). Their relationship is tested by Edward’s instinct to harm her and by Bella’s friend Jacob Black (Lautner), who belongs to a rival werewolf clan.

There are five films in the series: “Twilight” (2008); “New Moon” (2009); “Eclipse” (2010); “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” (2011); and “Breaking Dawn — Part 2” (2012). Round-table chats with Meyer, producer Wyck Godfrey, former co-president of Lionsgate Gillian Bohrer and others will accompany each film.

As part of the festivities, Meyers is scheduled to be the honored guest at this year’s Forever Twilight in Forks Festival, an annual celebration in Forks, Wash., the setting of the book series. The fest will take place Sept. 11-14.

The films have remained in pop culture through TikTok trends where fans announce their “gay awakening” using scenes of Bella. Stewart, who came out as queer and married screenwriter Dylan Meyer in April, said the films are “gay” during an interview with Variety in January.

“It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love,” the actor said.

Stewart starred in last year’s romantic thriller “Love Lies Bleeding” (2024) and will next appear in her wife’s directorial debut, “The Wrong Girls,” which is written by the couple.

Pattinson played the titular character in 2022’s “The Batman.” He last appeared in Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi comedy “Mickey 17” (2025) and will appear later this year in Lynne Ramsay’s psychological dramedy “Die, My Love.”

Lautner took a few acting jobs after the end of the saga, in films such as “Grown Ups 2” (2013) and “The Ridiculous 6” (2015), but his most recent credit was in Netflix’s “Home Team” (2022).

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that his department is taking management of Union Station, the main transportation hub in Washington, away from Amtrak, in another example of how the federal government is exerting its power over the nation’s capital.

Duffy made the announcement in a statement before he joined Amtrak President Roger Harris at Union Station for the launch of the NextGen Acela, the rail service’s new high-speed train.

The secretary said Union Station, located within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol, had “fallen into disrepair” when it should be a “point of pride” for the city.

“By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost,” Duffy said.

At the event, Duffy said President Trump has been “pretty clear” about what he wants.

“He wants Union Station to be beautiful again. He wants transit to be safe again. And he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that,” Duffy said.

Duffy echoed the Republican president, who said last week he wants $2 billion from Congress to beautify Washington as part of his crackdown on the city. The Republican president has sent thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials into Washington in a bid to fight violent crime he claimed had strangled the city.

Local police department statistics show violent crime in Washington has declined in recent years, but Trump has countered, without offering evidence, that the numbers were fudged.

National Guard troops have been on patrol inside and outside of Union Station after Trump launched the anti-crime effort earlier this month. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were shouted down by opponents of the federal intervention when they visited with troops there last week.

During Wednesday’s train unveiling, Duffy will also talk about what the administration is doing to turn Union Station into a world class transit hub, according to a Transportation Department news advisory.

Duffy had pressed Amtrak about crime at Union Station in a March letter to its chief operating officer and requested an updated plan on how it intended to improve public safety there.

Superville writes for the Associated Press.

With a sudden burst, Donovan Dent accelerated toward the basket for a layup while absorbing contact that sent him tumbling to the baseline.

With an outstretched hand, Dent blocked a shot to trigger a fast break that he ended with his own long jumper.

With a flick of the wrist, Dent made almost every three-pointer he took.

Everything UCLA’s point guard did Tuesday during a roughly 80-minute summer workout open to reporters showed his ability to elevate his new team.

“It just changes things,” coach Mick Cronin said of having the veteran transfer from New Mexico, “and it makes life easier on his teammates.”

It could also quicken the pace of Bruins basketball.

UCLA point guard Donovan Dent says of his ability to make no-look passes to teammates: “Everyone’s starting to recognize that.”

(Jan Kim Lim / UCLA Athletics)

Dent said part of Cronin’s recruiting pitch after he entered the transfer portal was playing faster, helping the team convert turnovers into transition points.

“He felt like I could fit right into that system and he just needed someone he could trust with the ball in their hand,” Dent said, “and I feel like that was what I could bring to the table. So we talked about that, we talked about playing a lot of pick and rolls, and he’s been doing that a lot in practice. So I’m excited to see what we’re gonna get going during the season.”

One of the primary beneficiaries of playing alongside Dent on Tuesday was small forward Eric Dailey Jr., who routinely found himself receiving passes that he turned into points. Almost everyone on the roster has had the joy of being set up for easy baskets depending on how the team is divided on a given day.

“I don’t have to work a lot on offense,” Dailey said of playing with Dent. “I can just cut, I can spot up, in transition I can run and be his finisher.”

Dent said his strong showing was preceded by a frustrating session Monday that drew Cronin’s wrath, something that was again on display a day later when the coach told forward Tyler Bilodeau that he would be playing in Uruguay if he didn’t learn to set a satisfactory screen.

“I got hollered at pretty bad,” Dent said, “because I would make some silly plays, sloppy turnovers. So I wanted to respond the right way and I think I did that today. So seeing it firsthand, being a part of it, I think it does nothing but better the players.”

Reducing mistakes will be an emphasis for the 6-foot-2 senior who averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 assists and 3.1 turnovers last season on the way to becoming the Mountain West Conference player of the year and an honorable mention All-American. Dent said his new teammates are still learning that they need to be ready to receive a pass at all times.

“I may not be looking at you,” Dent said, “but it might still come to you, so everyone’s starting to recognize that.”

Cronin said Dent’s shooting — the reason he was not recruited by any Pac-12 Conference schools coming out of Corona Centennial High — continued to improve after he made a career-high 40.9% of his three-pointers last season at New Mexico.

A faster offense is just one anticipated change with the season opener against Eastern Washington on Nov. 3 a little more than two months away. Bilodeau has moved from center to power forward and Dailey from power forward to small forward in moves that could help maximize their skills.

“I think I can get to the glass a little easier not fending off bigger guys, just space the floor more, can post up smaller four men,” the 6-9 Bilodeau said, “so I think it’s going to be good.”

Dent is one of five veteran transfers, joining redshirt senior center Steven Jamerson II, junior center Xavier Booker, redshirt senior guard Jamar Brown and redshirt senior forward Anthony Peoples Jr. Cronin identified Jamerson, a transfer from the University of San Diego who previously played for coach Steve Lavin, as “a huge steal for us” based on what he’s shown in summer workouts.

An early positive evaluation by assistant coach Darren Savino was supported by Cronin’s conversations with Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, who regularly faced Jamerson in the West Coast Conference and called him the most underrated big man on the West Coast.

“He can screen, he can defend, he can rebound,” Cronin said. “And he’s got legitimate size — he’s every bit of 6-10.”

Jamerson showed good instincts around the basket Tuesday, something Booker is still learning as part of his transition from being more of a wing player during his two seasons at Michigan State. Playing alongside Dent will undoubtedly help in his bid to become more of a rim-running post player.

“We’re trying to figure out some stuff for lobs and all that,” Dent said, “but we’re getting it down a lot.”

Netflix House will soon open its doors.

The streaming video giant on Monday announced when it will open its first shopping, dining and entertainment complexes to the public.

The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company will open its first Netflix House in the Philadelphia area on Nov. 12. The company’s Philadelphia area location is located at King of Prussia shopping center, while its second Netflix House at Galleria Dallas will open on Dec. 11. A third location in Las Vegas will open in 2027.

The more than 100,000 square-foot space will offer fan experiences, merchandise and food inspired by Netflix content, in an effort to capitalize on its popular shows, movies and franchises.

For example, fans will be able to take selfies with Queen Charlotte, see screenings of “KPop Demon Hunters” and enjoy Netflix-themed food and cocktails, the company said in a statement.

The Netflix House complexes will be free for people to enter. Some fan experiences, such as Top 9 Mini Golf and immersive VR games in the Philadelphia location, will cost money.

Netflix House is part of the company’s push to expand further into in-person entertainment. The firm hosted balls similar to those featured on Regency era romance “Bridgerton” and worked with retailers and brands to sell clothing and other merchandise inspired by “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things.”

Such experiences also serve as marketing for the shows and movies.

The streamer could eventually have 50 or 60 Netflix House locations globally, said Netflix Co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos last year at the WSJ Tech Live conference.

Apple TV+, home of series including “The Studio” and “Ted Lasso,” is raising its subscription price by $3 to $12.99 a month, it announced Thursday.

The move comes as many streamers have been raising their prices, as the cost of production increases and the businesses are facing more pressure by investors to increase profits.

Apple TV+ launched in 2019 at $4.99 a month, positioned as a low-cost perk for people to watch high-quality shows and movies with a free trial if they bought Apple products such as iPhones and iPads. Since then, the streamer has raised its prices, mostly recently in October 2023 from $6.99 to $9.99.

Like other tech giants, Apple has faced scrutiny from the Trump administration on its U.S. manufacturing presence. Earlier this year, when the Trump administration proposed increasing tariffs, some analysts were concerned about the adverse effect that would have on Apple’s iPhone business, which makes iPhones in China.

Since then, Apple has increased its commitment to manufacturing in the U.S., most recently pledging an additional $100 billion in U.S. manufacturing.

If Apple continues to face pressure on major businesses including the iPhone, it could cause the company to look at other aspects of its business that aren’t drawing as much revenue, analysts have said.

In March, tech and business news site the Information reported that Apple TV+ is losing significant amounts of money. Analysts have long viewed Apple TV+ as part of the company’s larger push into services to go along with its hardware.

While Apple TV+ is increasing its monthly subscription price, it is not raising its $99.99 annual price or the cost of bundling Apple TV+ with other services through Apple One, the company said in a statement.

Apple declined to say how many subscribers Apple TV+ has or the reasons behind the monthly subscription price increase. The streaming service is part of Apple’s larger services category, which brought in $27.4 billion in revenue in its fiscal third quarter, up 13% from a year earlier.

Unlike other major streaming platforms, Apple TV+ does not offer an ad-supported version of its service.

For all the warnings, lectures and advice given to high school football players before their first game of the season to hydrate so they can avoid cramping, it still happens. For whatever reason, the pain begins, gets even more painful, then walking off the field becomes a chore.

“Game 1, for some reason in football, they cramp,” said Loyola High athletic trainer Tim Moscicki, in his 37th year. “Whether it’s lactic acid building up, anxiety or excitement, I’ve seen it for years.”

North Hollywood players were cramping repeatedly in their opening game on Thursday night against Granada Hills. Certainly hot weather doesn’t help, but everyone seemingly has a different strategy for dealing with cramps. There are so many supplements people could try a different one each day of the week.

“Once they start to cramp, it’s usually an uphill battle,” Moscicki said. “I don’t think it’s just the weather. I’ve seen cramps in cold weather, hot weather, in rain. Everyone has their own list how to treat — coconut water, bananas, pickle juice, mustard, Gatorade.”

St. John Bosco is using a supplement added to water called Lytening Hydration during its trip to Florida to help with cramping.

“There’s no cure-all for cramps,” Moscicki said.

He advises players prepare two or three days before games with hydration. Just starting on game day won’t work.

What’s certain is players cramping on opening weekend and coaches asking their athletic trainers, “Why are we cramping?”

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Masked goons are terrorizing American cities. The U.S. inflation rate is the highest it has been in over four decades. Gaza is starving to death. The Cracker Barrel unveils a new logo.

If you guessed which crisis is not like the others, then you’ve spotted the latest source of outrage fueling the right-wing media universe, where trivial distractions from Trump’s failures and the Epstein files are the name of the game.

In a kerfuffle as layered as the eatery’s hash-brown casserole ($4.79 for a side dish, $15 and upward for an entree-sized portion), the folksy-themed establishment, which first opened its doors in 1969, is once again fodder in a one-sided culture war.

The crime? The chain’s classic gold and brown logo now features the chain’s name in a more minimalistic font. Gone is the eatery’s unofficial mascot, that folksy fellow in coveralls who enjoys leaning on a wooden barrel.

“WTF is wrong with @CrackerBarrel??!” said Cracker Barrel regular-in-spirit-only Donald Trump Jr. when responding to a post on X where the user shockingly blamed DEI for the restaurant’s monstrous decision.

“Cracker Barrel is done,” wrote the Federalist’s Sean Davis. “Woke executives killed it, wrapped the corpse in a rainbow flag, and then made it do a little puppet show in New York City for the entertainment of all their woke little friends.”

Not exactly a puppet show, but the Cracker Barrel did host its “A Taste of Country, Anytime” event Thursday in New York City with country music star Jordan Davis. The chain purported to bring a “country hospitality experience to the big city,” complete with “entertainment on the front porch, rocking chairs, classic Cracker Barrel games and crave-worthy food.”

Clearly a ruse for yet another Pride parade or Latin American gang invasion.

The deception started on Aug. 19, when the Tennessee-based chain in a press release announced changes to its logo and menu as part of a campaign titled “All the More.” The rebrand features new menu items, restaurant remodels and an “enhanced brand look and feel.”

“We believe in the goodness of country hospitality, a spirit that has always defined us. Our story hasn’t changed,”  said Cracker Barrel Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Moore in a statement. “Our values haven’t changed.”

But their signage has changed, and that in itself signaled a threat to a way of life that we need to rediscover, you know, in order to make America great again.

Nostalgia for a time that most of us weren’t even alive to see is part of Cracker Barrel’s appeal. Renowned for its Southern comfort food and down-home appeal, generations of Americans have wandered through the establishment’s general store decor and dined on its Southern comfort food. But like any business, it needs to keep up with the tastes and demands of new generations, and apparently Gen Z, millennials and even Gen Xers aren’t buying black licorice and candy corn like their predecessors once did.

It’s hardly the first time the dubiously-named dining establishment has faced accusations that it’s going gay. As the Bulwark pointed out, there was 2023 e-outrage over Cracker Barrel’s acknowledgment of Pride month, which included a rainbow-themed rocking chair and some corporate-speak about “diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at Cracker Barrel.”

“We take no pleasure in reporting that Cracker Barrel has fallen,” the organization Texas Family Project wrote at the time. “A once family friendly establishment has caved to the mob.”

When the country is in chaos and entangled in man-made catastrophes abroad, it’s easier to rail, risk-free, against a manufactured crisis. Fox Business News led its Friday news lineup with a Cracker Barrel report, but not about the logo redesign: “Cracker Barrel over the past decade has worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), changing its company culture to be more inclusive and LGBT-friendly ahead of its controversial store rebrand,” reads the lede.

It’s yet to be seen if a sizable swath of America will forgo the Signature Saucy Chicken Sandwich in protest, constituting another national crisis to chew on.

UNCERTAINTY looms over Saudi Arabia’s plans to build a high-tech mountain ski resort in the middle of the desert.

The project has met such substantial woes that the country is even reportedly in talks to relocate the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

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These games had been expected to take place in Trojena – in the futuristic city of NEOM in the north of Saudi Arabia.

But the project has faced substantial difficulties as the desert Kingdom scrambles to complete the resort in time, the FT has reported.

Trojena is planned to feature 30km of ski-runs – which will include the Asian Games’ 400m slope.

Snow for the ski slopes would be artificial, and would be pumped from the Gulf of Aqaba 200km away.

“Trojena will become one of the most dazzling destinations in NEOM and across the world,” says a NEOM spokesperson.

But for all the promise of a glittering, high tech future, NEOM’s many projects have been bogged down with delays and setbacks, with Trojena being no exception.

Amid construction woes, South Korea and China are reportedly being considered as alternate venues for the games.

But a source familiar with the project told the Telegraph: “The difficulties have been magnified by the schedule imposed on the project.”

Another said: “The Saudis are really committed to building something there.

“Maybe not on the scale that they have imagined in the first place.”

NEOM was announced as part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s Project 2030 in 2017.

It came as part of a major push to wean the oil-rich nation’s economy off its reliance on fossil fuels.

As well as the ski slopes, it is expected to include The Line, Oxagon, Trojena, Sindalah and the Gulf of Aqaba Projects.

Yet human rights abuses and brutal conditions for workers looming over NEOM.

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As many as 21,000 are reported to have died during construction, but Saudi authorities have disputed this figure.

Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea previously told the Sun: “Unfortunately migrant workers in Saudi Arabia continue to face widespread abuses, some of which may amount to situations of forced labour, including at high profile gigaprojects.

“On NEOM, Human Rights Watch has found that ambitious targets set by Saudi authorities have tight and unrealistic deadlines which can lead employers to demand that workers continue to work under dangerous conditions.

“Migrant workers in Saudi Arabia experience illegal and exorbitant Recruitment Fees, limits to job mobility, obstacles exiting the country,  as well as serious health and safety risks.”

One NEOM worker previously told The Sun that the project’s management has “overspent quite a bit” since its announcement.

He said: “They were focusing on way too many things at the same time.

“They just wanted everything at the highest level possible. The biggest entertainment complex in the world. The biggest media studio in the region.

“No matter how much money you throw at the thing, it takes more than just money to make it work.”

WASHINGTON — The State Department said Thursday that it’s reviewing the records of more than 55 million foreigners who hold valid U.S. visas for potential revocation or deportable violations of immigration rules.

In a written answer to a question posed by the Associated Press, the department said that all U.S. visa holders are subject to “continuous vetting” with an eye toward any indication that they could be ineligible for the document.

Should such information be found, the visa will be revoked and, if the visa holder is in the United States, he or she would be subject to deportation.

The department said it was looking for indicators of ineligibility, including visa overstays, criminal activity, threats to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity, or providing support to a terrorist organization.

“We review all available information as part of our vetting, including law enforcement or immigration records or any other information that comes to light after visa issuance indicating a potential ineligibility,” the department said.

Since President Trump took office in January, his administration has thus far focused on deporting migrants illegally in the United States as well as holders of student and visitor exchange visas. The State Department’s new language suggests that the re-vetting process, which officials acknowledge is time-consuming, is far more widespread.

The administration has steadily imposed more and more restrictions and requirements on visa applicants, including requiring all visa seekers to submit to in-person interviews.

But the review of all visa holders appears to be a significant expansion of what had initially been a re-vetting process focused mainly on students who have been involved in pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel activity.

Officials say the reviews will include all the visa holders’ social media accounts, law enforcement and immigration records in their home countries, along with any actionable violations of U.S. law committed while they were in the United States.

“As part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to protect U.S. national security and public safety, since Inauguration Day the State Department has revoked more than twice as many visas, including nearly four times as many student visas, as during the same time period last year,” the department said.

Earlier this week, the department said that since Trump returned to the White House, it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and violations of local, state and federal law, the vast majority of which were assault, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and support for terrorism.

It said that about 4,000 of those 6,000 were due to actual infractions of laws and that approximately 200–300 visas were revoked for terrorism-related issues, including providing support for designated terrorist organizations or state sponsors of terrorism.

Lee writes for the Associated Press.

MIAMI — A federal judge in Miami dismissed part of a lawsuit that claimed detainees were denied access to the legal system at the immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and moved the remaining counts of the case to another court.

Claims that the detainees were denied hearings in immigration court were rendered moot when the Trump administration last weekend designated the Krome North Processing Center near Miami as a site for their cases to be heard, U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz said in a 47-page ruling Monday night dismissing a 5th Amendment count.

The judge granted the state defendants a change of venue motion to the Middle District of Florida, where the remaining claims of 1st Amendment violations will be addressed. Those include allegations of delays in scheduling meetings between detainees and their attorneys and an inability for the detainees to talk privately with their attorneys by phone or videoconference at the facility whose official name is the South Detention Facility.

ACLU lawyer Eunice Cho, the lead attorney for the detainees, said the federal government reversed course only last weekend and allowed the detainees to petition an immigration court because of the lawsuit.

“It should not take a lawsuit to force the government to abide by the law and the Constitution,” Cho said. “We look forward to continuing the fight.”

The judge heard arguments from both sides in a hearing earlier Monday in Miami. Civil rights attorneys were seeking a preliminary injunction to ensure detainees at the facility had access to their lawyers and could get a hearing.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration raced to build the facility on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland two months ago in order to aid President Trump’s efforts to deport people who are in the U.S. illegally. The governor has said the location in the rugged and remote Everglades was meant as a deterrent against escape, much like the island prison in California that Republicans named it after. The detention center has an estimated annual cost of $450 million.

The state and federal government had argued that even though the isolated airstrip where the facility is located is owned by Miami-Dade County, Florida’s Southern District was the wrong venue since the detention center is located in neighboring Collier County, which is in the state’s Middle District.

Judge Ruiz had hinted during a hearing last week that he had some concerns over which jurisdiction was appropriate. Attorneys for the detainees had argued that Ruiz’s court was appropriate since the detainees were under the oversight of federal officials in the Miami regional office. Any transfer to another venue would cause a delay in a court decision.

Ruiz noted the facts in the case changed Saturday when the Trump administration designated the Krome facility as the immigration court with jurisdiction over all detainees at the detention center.

The judge wrote that the case has “a tortured procedural history” since it was filed July 16, weeks after the first group of detainees arrived at the facility.

“Nearly every aspect of the Plaintiffs’ civil action — their causes of action, their facts in support, their theories of venue, their arguments on the merits and their requests for relief — have changed with each filing,” the judge wrote.

The state and federal government defendants made an identical argument last week about jurisdiction for a second lawsuit in which environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe sued to stop further construction and operations at the Everglades detention center until it’s in compliance with federal environmental laws.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami on Aug. 7 ordered a 14-day halt to additional construction at the site while witnesses testified at a hearing that wrapped up last week. She has said she plans to issue a ruling before the order expires later this week. She had yet to rule on the venue question.

Detainees at the facility have said worms turn up in the food, toilets don’t flush, flooding floors with fecal waste, and mosquitoes and other insects are everywhere.

Civil rights attorneys also said officers were going cell to cell to pressure detainees into signing voluntary removal orders before they’re allowed to consult their attorneys, and some detainees had been deported even though they didn’t have final removal orders. Along with the spread of a respiratory infection and rainwater flooding in tents, the circumstances had fueled a feeling of desperation among detainees, the attorneys wrote in a court filing.

Fischer, Schneider and Frisaro write for the Associated Press. Frisaro reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Schneider reported from Orlando, Fla.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday offered his assurances that U.S. troops would not be sent to help defend Ukraine against Russia after seeming to leave open the possibility the day before.

Trump also said in a morning TV interview that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO and regaining the Crimean peninsula from Russia are “impossible.”

The Republican president, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders held hours of talks at the White House on Monday aimed at bringing an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. While answering questions from journalists, Trump did not rule out sending U.S. troops to participate in a European-led effort to defend Ukraine as part of security guarantees sought by Zelensky.

Trump said after his meeting in Alaska last week with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Putin was open to the idea of security guarantees for Ukraine.

But asked Tuesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” what assurances he could provide going beyond his term that American troops would not be part of defending Ukraine’s border, Trump said, “Well, you have my assurance, and I’m president.”

Trump would have no control over the U.S. military after his term ends in January 2029.

The president also said in the interview that he is optimistic that a deal can be reached to end the Russian invasion, but he underscored that Ukraine will have to set aside its hope of getting back Crimea, which was seized by Russian forces in 2014, and its long-held aspirations of joining the NATO military alliance.

“Both of those things are impossible,” Trump said.

Putin, as part of any potential deal to pull his forces out of Ukraine, is looking for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as recognition of Crimea as Russian territory.

At the end of Monday’s White House gathering, Trump said he is trying to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, followed by a trilateral meeting involving himself and the two warring leaders. Details and possible locations were not discussed, but an international arrest warrant for Putin could complicate any such meetings.

French President Emmanuel Macron said it could happen “in Europe” and he’s advocating for Geneva, although he said it could be another “neutral” country. He noted in an interview with French television TF1-LCI broadcast Tuesday that Istanbul hosted the most recent bilateral discussions, in 2022.

Meanwhile, Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said his country would be prepared to organize such a summit, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reported.

Asked about the complication posed by the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Putin, Cassis said “the aim of receiving Mr. Putin in Switzerland without him being arrested is 100% achievable … of course, if he comes to Switzerland for the purposes of peace, for such a multilateral conference, not if he comes for private matters.”

Cassis said arranging for Putin to avoid arrest would require “a certain procedure,” but it could be done “in a few days.”

In the “Fox & Friends” interview, Trump said Putin and Zelensky are getting along “a little better than I thought,” noting the “tremendous bad blood” between them.

He said his perception of their relationship is why he’s arranging for them to meet one-on-one soon, instead of a three-way meeting with himself as sort of a mediator.

“I think they’re doing OK. I wouldn’t say they are ever going to be best friends, but they’re doing OK,” the president said.”

“You know, they’re the ones that have to call the shots,” Trump said. “We’re 7,000 miles away.”

The White House meeting with Zelensky included the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO.

Trump said the European leaders were not in the room when he spoke with Putin on Monday. He said he thought it would have been disrespectful to handle the phone call that way since Putin and the European leaders meeting with him at the White House haven’t had the “warmest relations.”

But despite that, he said that he has managed to maintain a “very good relationship” with Putin.

Superville and Madhani write for the Associated Press.

The US television network has been building its own news division separate from NBC News, and will also remove NBC’s peacock symbol from its new logo.

The MSNBC news network has said it will change its name to become My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW for short, as part of its corporate divorce from NBC.

The TV network, which appeals to liberal audiences with a stable of personalities including Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber and Nicolle Wallace, made the announcement on Monday. It has been building its own separate news division from NBC News and will also remove NBC’s peacock symbol from its logo as part of the change, which will take effect later this year.

The name change was ordered by NBC Universal, which last November spun off cable networks USA, CNBC, MSNBC, E! Entertainment, Oxygen and the Golf Channel into its own company, called Versant. None of the other networks are changing their names.

MSNBC got its name upon its formation in 1996, as a partnership between Microsoft and NBC. Even back then, it was a puzzling moniker to many. But it stuck, even after the NBC partnership with Microsoft that produced it ended.

Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said in the initial days of the spinoff that the name MSNBC would stay, making Monday’s announcement an unexpected about-face.

Name changes always carry an inherent risk, and MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler said that for employees, it is hard to imagine the network under a different name. “This was not a decision that was made quickly or without significant debate,” she said in a memo to staff.

“During this time of transition, NBC Universal decided that our brand requires a new, separate identity,” she said. “This decision now allows us to set our own course and assert our independence as we continue to build our own modern newsgathering organization.”

Kutler said the network’s editorial direction will remain the same. “While our name will be changing, who we are and what we do will not,” she said.

Still, it’s noteworthy that the business channel CNBC is leaving “NBC” in its name. MSNBC argues that CNBC has always maintained a greater separation and, with its business focus, is less likely to cover many of the same topics.

The affiliation between a news division that stresses objectivity and one that doesn’t hide its liberal bent has long caused tension. US President Donald Trump refers to the cable network as “MSDNC,” for Democratic National Committee.

Maddow, in a recent episode of Pivot, noted that MSNBC will no longer have to compete with NBC News programmes for reporting product from out in the field — meaning it will no longer get the “leftovers”.

“In this case, we can apply our own instincts, our own queries, our own priorities, to getting stuff that we need from reporters and correspondents,” Maddow said. “And so it’s gonna be better.”

MSNBC host Joe Scarborough revealed the network’s new logo on his show Monday morning. “It looks very sporty,” he said.

WASHINGTON — Joining forces from three other Republican-led states, the Mississippi National Guard will deploy 200 troops to Washington as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing federal policing and immigration overhaul in the nation’s capital.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement Monday that he has approved the deployment of approximately 200 Mississippi National Guard Soldiers to Washington, D.C.

“Crime is out of control there, and it’s clear something must be done to combat it,” Reeves said.

Mississippi joins three other states that have pledged to deploy hundreds of National Guard members to the nation’s capital to bolster the Republican administration’s operation to overhaul policing in the Democratic-led city through a federal crackdown on crime and homelessness.

West Virginia said it was deploying 300 to 400 troops, South Carolina pledged 200 and Ohio said it will send 150 in the coming days, deployments that built on top of President Trump’s initial order that 800 National Guard troops deploy as part of the federal intervention.

Trump’s executive order that launched the federal operation declared a “crime emergency” in the District of Columbia and initiated a takeover Washington’s police department. The administration has ordered local police to cooperate with federal agents on immigration enforcement, orders that would contradict local laws prohibiting such collaboration.

“D.C. has been under siege from thugs and killers, but now, D.C. is back under Federal Control where it belongs,” Trump wrote on his social media website a day after issuing his order. “The White House is in charge. The Military and our Great Police will liberate this City, scrape away the filth, and make it safe, clean, habitable and beautiful once more!”

National Guard members in the District of Columbia have been assisting law enforcement with tasks including crowd control and patrolling landmarks such as the National Mall and Union Station. Their role has been limited thus far, and it remains unclear why additional troops would be needed.

Over the weekend in Washington, protesters pushed back on federal law enforcement and National Guard troops fanning out in the city. Scores of protesters gathered in the city’s Dupont Circle on Saturday and marched to the White House.

Brown and Pesoli write for the Associated Press.

MSNBC is being renamed after parent company Comcast spins the cable news channel off into a separate corporate entity later this year.

MSNBC will be known as MS NOW once it becomes part of Versant, a new company, and is no longer associated with NBC News, staffers were told Monday.

“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough informed viewers of the pending change on his program.

In a memo obtained by the Times, Versant Chief Executive Mark Lazarus indicated it was Comcast’s decision to remove NBC and its famous peacock logo from the MSNBC name.

“The peacock is synonymous with NBCUniversal, and it is a symbol they have decided to keep within the NBCU family,” Lazarus wrote. “This gives us the opportunity to chart our own path forward, create distinct brand identities, and establish an independent news organization following the spin.”

One person familiar with the name change discussions said the re-branding will be backed by a significant marketing campaign.

The MS NOW acronym will convey that the channel has a point of view, as the acronym stands for “my source,” news, opinion and world.

MSNBC will no longer share the resources of NBC News. The network is building its own news organization from scratch, with some NBC News journalists such as Jacob Soboroff choosing to join the cable operation.

MSNBC will also be leaving NBC’s Rockefeller Plaza headquarters for another Manhattan location.

Key MSNBC personalities such as Scarborough, Rachel Maddow, Ari Melber and Lawrence O’Donnell will remain a part of the channel after the spinoff.

Versant is the new stand-alone home for nearly all of the current parent company Comcast’s cable networks, which includes USA Network, the Golf Channel, CNBC and MSNBC. Comcast is spinning off the cable networks because it believes the mature outlets face a bleak future due to pay TV cord-cutting and are an albatross weighing down its stock price.

MSNBC, the second most watched cable news channel behind leader Fox News, has seen its reach into pay TV homes decline by 33% over the last 10 years.

MSNBC was founded in 1996 as a joint venture between NBC News and Microsoft. A name change was considered when Microsoft divested its stake in 2005, but NBC stuck with the moniker that had become entrenched in the media culture.

Heavy Israeli air strikes have hit a home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood, where shrapnel from another attack wounded a child. Israel’s military is intensifying its bombardment following its plan to take over Gaza City and forcibly displace Palestinians south.

WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficits caused by President Trump’s tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Friday.

The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for Americans over age 65, could potentially see as much as $491 billion in cuts from 2027 to 2034 if Congress does not act to mitigate a 2010 law that forces across-the-board cuts to many federal programs once legislation increases the federal deficit. The latest report from CBO showed how Trump’s signature tax and spending law could put new pressure on federal programs that are bedrocks of the American social safety net.

Trump and Republicans pledged not to cut Medicare as part of the legislation, but the estimated $3.4 trillion that the law adds to the federal deficit over the next decade means that many Medicare programs could see cuts. In the past, Congress has always acted to mitigate cuts to Medicare and other programs, but it would take some bipartisan cooperation to do so.

Democrats, who requested the analysis from CBO, jumped on the potential cuts.

“Republicans knew their tax breaks for billionaires would force over half a trillion dollars in Medicare cuts — and they did it anyway,” Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said in a statement. “American families simply cannot afford Donald Trump’s attacks on Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare.”

Hospitals in rural parts of the country are already grappling with cuts to Medicaid, which is available to people with low incomes, and cuts to Medicare could exacerbate their shortfalls.

As Republicans muscled the bill through Congress and are now selling it to voters back home, they have been critical of how the CBO has analyzed the bill. They have also argued that the tax cuts will spur economic growth and pointed to $50 billion in funding for rural hospitals that was included in the package.

Groves writes for the Associated Press.