plans

THE UK will be getting a brand new theme park in 2026 – but it won’t have your typical thrill rides.

Kynren – An Epic Tale of England, is the UK’s largest live action outdoor theatre production and next year it will launch Kynren – The Storied Lands, a new daytime historical theme park.

Set to open in summer 2026 in County Durham, the theme park will immerse visitors in multiple live shows and experiences that “span millennia”.

Phase One of Kynren – The Storied Lands will reveal The Lost Feather and four other live-action shows and immersive experiences, including Fina, a Medieval horse show, a viking show and a Victorian Adventure with characters from the past.

There will also be The Legend of the Wear which will transform a lake into a stage, where the Lambton Worm myth will be brought to life with water stunts and special effects.

In the future, the theme park will have even more shows, as well as educational content and themed experiences inspired by Robin Hood, Excalibur and the Tudors.

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As a whole, the attractions will form the UK’s first live-action historical theme park.

Anna Warnecke, CEO of Kynren – The Storied Lands, said: “2026 is going to be an unforgettable year.

“Not only will our award-winning night show return, but we’ll also open Kynren – The Storied Lands a unique new experience that brings history, heritage and myth to life on a scale not seen anywhere else in the UK.”

The news follows the announcement that Kynren – An Epic Tale of England is set to return next summer, with tickets now on sale.

Located in Bishop Auckland, the show involves more than 1,000 cast and crew members and mass choreography, combat, horsemanship, stunts and fireworks – all on a seven-and-a-half acre stage.

The show takes spectators on a journey of 2,000 years of history from Boudicca’s rebellion to Viking invasions, Norman conquests, Tudor drama and even Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee.

The show lasts 90 minutes, beginning at sunset and ending when the stars are out.

It will run every Saturday evening between July 18 and September 12, 2026.

Tickets cost from £30 per adult and £20 per child.

Children under the age of three, are free.

If visitors book their tickets now, they will also unlock an ‘Insider Pass’, which gives them priority access for tickets to the new Kynren – The Storied Lands when it opens next summer.

Travel writer Catherine Lofthouse, who visited this year’s show, said: “If you’ve never heard of Kynren in Bishop Auckland, Durham, you’re not alone.

“Over an hour and a half, scenes that tell the tale of our homeland, history and heritage come to life across the 7.5-acre outdoor stage.

“The 1,000 professionally trained volunteers might be amateurs, but this incredible cast put on one of the best shows I’ve seen, one that really has to be seen to be believed.

“My boys aged 12 and 10 were absolutely enthralled by the evening’s entertainment from start to finish.

“The whole event is epic – from Viking ships rising from the water to the recreation of a magnificent stained glass window in the spray of a fountain.

“Battle scenes, stunts, celebrations, historic moments, lines from Shakespeare – it’s sometimes difficult to know where to look at there’s so much to take in from one moment to the next.

“It was such a high-quality performance, I’d say it rivaled a live Disney show too.”

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In other theme park news, the UK’s best value theme park has been named.

Plus, the UK theme parks with the best Black Friday discounts – from extra park tickets to free waterpark entry.

A MAJOR airline has revealed plans to restart UK flights – and you might just get the best sleep onboard.

Air New Zealand last had flights between the UK and New Zealand back in 2020.

However the route – which went via Los Angeles – was axed during Covid.

The London-Auckland route first launched in 1982, and was the first commercial airline to welcome a royal when the Queen broke with tradition in 1995 to travel onboard.

And now the airline’s new CEO has revealed future plans to start up again, alongside a number of routes in India.

Nikhil Ravishankar told local outlet Stuff: “Places we would go tomorrow if we could, and we want to get there as quickly as we can, would be London [and India] – those are places that we know New Zealanders are interested in being connected to.

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“I think all three of those are equally important for us, but India and London are top of the list.

“There are a lot of reasons why New Zealand should be connected to the United Kingdom – it’s a very, very important, almost a cultural highway for us, and so we need to get that route up and running.”

It isn’t clear when this could restart, or where the airline will connect via.

Due to the long nature of the flight – often taking around 24 hours – connections are often in destinations such as Singapore or Hong Kong.

If it does restart, its good news for passengers as Air New Zealand is the only airline in the world set to have bunk beds onboard.

Launching in early 2026, the Skynest will include six bunk bed sleep pods that both economy and premium economy passengers will be able to book.

Each bed can be booked for a four hour slot, and will have new pillows, sheets and blankets per passengers, as well as earplugs, charging points and a personal light.

A curtain will be able to be closed to offer some extra privacy.

They were initially set to launch in 2024 on flights from New York to New Zealand but have since been delayed.

While prices are yet to be confirmed, it was previously suggested that the four hour sessions could be between NZ$400-$600 (£173-£260).

However, you can only book one slot per flight – so make the most of the four hours.

Otherwise there is also the Skycouch, where you can turn a row of three sets into a lie flat bed.

Rather than pay for three seats, passengers can buy two seats and then upgrade to the Skycouch, with then includes the third seat.

Passengers don’t need to buy three seats – instead, you pay for two seats and then upgrade to the Skycouch which automatically includes the third seat.

Prices start from £104 each way.

In the mean time, Brits can fly to New Zealand with other airlines such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific.

Flights include stopovers in Dubai, Singapore, Doha and Hong Kong, respectively.

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Another airline has revealed plans for non-stop 20-hour flights to London.

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Eva Price has burst back onto Coronation Street and much-loved actress Catherine Tyldesley says the future couldn’t be more exciting for the soap as she opened up on her anxiety

Soap favourite Catherine Tyldesley feared her chances of ever returning to Coronation Street were in danger after she kept saying no to bosses – but now she thinks the show going in an ‘old school’ direction will keep the critics at bay.

Catherine is back on the Cobbles as feisty Eva Price following a seven-year absence, and admits she was incredibly nervous about reprising her role. The actress finally told producers yes after hearing their plans for the future and telling them she didn’t want her character involved in any cheating scandals.

Eva left Weatherfield behind in 2018, but now she’s back with some new faces. Joined by husband Ben Driscoll, played by Aaron McCusker, mother-in-law “from hell” Maggie [Pauline McLynn] and their blended family she is also the queen of the Rovers Return – and said the pressure of following in the footsteps of legendary landladies also added to her anxiety.

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She said it was the perfect time to come back to the ITV soap and was sold as soon as producer Katie Brooks explained where the programme was heading. Catherine spoke to the Mirror as she juggles being a working mum and missing important family moments.

The 42-year-old said: “It’s been incredible to be back. You are like a family when you work at Corrie. We’ve all really make the effort to stay in touch, cast and crew, so it’s I just feel incredibly lucky and I’ve been made to feel super welcome. I needed that because I was really nervous. I was genuinely, really nervous because it’s been a long time.

“I’ve had to say no a few times. I was worried they’d just stop asking! That’s why I emailed them after having to reject the chance those times. I just said ‘I love the show and said I loved playing Eva, so please, please always ask me… and at some point, further down the line, hopefully the time will be right’.

“Kate [Brooks] is passionate about bringing a new golden era and kind of looking to the old school Corrie days for inspiration, which is what people seem to love – and what Kate is brilliant at, alongside our writing team. The route she envisioned Corrie going in is everything that I’m about, as soon as we spoke I was inspired and motivated.

“They really know how to do that, and that’s how she worded things to me. I want to bring Corrie into this brilliant new era. It’s a very exciting time, and I felt excited by everything that she was saying to me and how passionate the character and really exploring strong women.”

The show has faced criticism, with Charlie Lawson, who played Jim McDonald for decades, hitting out over ‘woke’ plots before claiming viewers are switching off. It was revealed that Corrie didn’t make it into the ten most-watched TV shows on Christmas Day last year but Catherine says things are looking up.

“They’re putting everything into it,” she said. “I think, if there has been criticism over the show, everything is peaks and troughs in life, you can’t be perfection day in, day out. It is important for shows like this to experiment with things and look at relevant topics that are things that are happening around us, and sometimes the audience like that, sometimes they maybe don’t.

“The only way you can learn is if you take risks, mixing things up and different producers have different ideas. It just so happened for me that I felt very, very aligned with Kate, and everything that she was saying, and her new vision for the show in terms of finding that old school era.”

But while her return has been a pleasure, it’s also been painful. The star added: “Obviously Eva is older and wiser, I wanted Eva and Ben to be tight, to be loyal, to be this power couple at the forefront at the pub. We were very passionate about the fact we wanted her to retain that childlike quality that she has, that really fun side. “I’ve been super happy to have Pauline and Aaron to bounce off. They are such wonderful human beings in real life. So we’re having the best time. The other day, I came up to my dressing room and I remember thinking, gosh, my face is hurting from smiling! Pauline is hysterical. I could just put her in a room and watch her and she just got comedy bones. Yeah, they’re both brilliant.”Mum-of-two Catherine has linked up with O2 to help launch an incredible 5G book that connects families for bedtime, even when they have to be apart. The unique book transforms a traditional children’s story into a shared, interactive experience and she says it’s a must for parents.

“I wanted to get involved in this campaign because, for me, a bedtime story is a ritual – it was always my favourite part and still is. That opportunity to kind of talk about their day with them and then to you, delve into a story is just so special.“O2 told me that through their research, I think it was more than half as parents also agreed with that statement that that was their favourite time of the day. So, for me to have the opportunity to do this connected storybook with Iris, who is three, was just amazing.“Whilst nothing can replicate being snuggled up in bed reading with your little one, seeing technology used in this way to make that special moment of connection still possible is just amazing. The book is beautiful and to see the look on Iris’ face when I popped up in the story was a very special moment. She loved being able to see me and read through the story together even though we were apart.”

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

ONE of Spain‘s most popular airports with Brits is getting a multi-million pound upgrade in time for the next summer holidays.

Palma de Mallorca Airport is undergoing a massive modernisation project.

Costing €500million (£440million), one of the biggest upgrades is the new security area which has 44 check in lines.

It also has new state-of-the-art equipment so it means you can leave your electronics and liquids in your hand luggage.

Just make sure they are still under 100ml each as those rules are still in place.

Both Module A and Module D have been upgraded, with the former having a new retail area and walkways linking the terminals, as well as more departure gates.

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This also includes 40 new digital passport gates for departing passengers.

Other upcoming changes include upgraded check in counters to allow space for more passengers, as well as more baggage reclaim belts and security checkpoints.

And a new retail area with shops, bars and restaurants is in the works as well, which connects Modules A, B, C and D.

The works are expected to continue until the end of next year, although most of the tourist-facing upgrades will be finished before the summer season.

Aena’s vice-chairman Javier Marín said around 70 per cent of the project is currently complete.

Palma de Mallorca Airport welcomes more than 30million passengers a year, with a record 33.3million last year.

And new flights have launched to the airport this year, including from Glasgow Airport with British Airways and from Leeds with easyJet.

Earlier this year, Ryanair also revealed a huge £1.2billion investment in the airport, with 80 new routes this summer.

The EES system will also be rolled out at Palma Airport this month on November 19.

It’s not the only Spanish airport undergoing a major upgrade as part of a €13bn (£11.3bn) investment plan across the country.

This includes a £2.8billion upgrade for Barcelona Airport, one of Spain’s biggest.

And Malaga Airport’s £1.3billion renovation will see larger terminals and faster security.

Here’s the £1billion Spanish abandoned airport.

WASHINGTON — The hurried push to revise California’s congressional districts has drawn national attention, large sums of money, and renewed hope among Democrats that the effort may help counter a wave of Republican redistricting initiatives instigated by President Trump.

But if Democrats succeed in California, the question remains: Will it be enough to shift the balance of power in Congress?

To regain control of the House, Democrats need to flip three Republican seats in the midterm elections next year. That slim margin prompted the White House to push Republicans this summer to redraw maps in GOP states in an effort to keep Democrats in the minority.

Texas was the first to signal it would follow Trump’s edict and set off a rare mid-decade redistricting arms race that quickly roped in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom devised Proposition 50 to tap into his state’s massive inventory of congressional seats.

Californians appear poised to approve the measure Tuesday. If they do, Democrats potentially could gain five seats in the House — an outcome that mainly would offset the Republican effort in Texas that already passed.

While Democrats and Republicans in other states also have moved to redraw their maps, it is too soon to say which party will see a net gain, or predict voter sentiment a year from now, when a lopsided election in either direction could render the remapping irrelevant.

GOP leaders in North Carolina and Missouri approved new maps that likely will yield one new GOP seat in each, Ohio Republicans could pick up two more seats in a newly redrawn map approved Friday, and GOP leaders in Indiana, Louisiana, Kansas and Florida are considering or taking steps to redraw their maps. In all, those moves could lead to at least 10 new Republican seats, according to experts tracking the redistricting efforts.

To counter that, Democrats in Virginia passed a constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would give lawmakers the power and option to redraw a new map ahead of next year’s election. Illinois leaders are weighing their redistricting options and New York has filed a lawsuit that seeks to redraw a GOP-held district. But concerns over legal challenges already tanked the party’s efforts in Maryland and the potential dilution of the Black vote has slowed moves in Illinois.

So far, the partisan maneuvers appear to favor Republicans.

“Democrats cannot gerrymander their way out of their gerrymandering problem. The math simply doesn’t add up,” said David Daly, a senior fellow at the nonprofit FairVote. “They don’t have enough opportunities or enough targets.”

Complex factors for Democrats

Democrats have more than just political calculus to weigh. In many states they are hampered by a mix of constitutional restrictions, legal deadlines and the reality that many of their state maps no longer can be easily redrawn for partisan gain. In California, Prop. 50 marks a departure from the state’s commitment to independent redistricting.

The hesitancy from Democrats in states such as Maryland and Illinois also underscores the tensions brewing within the party as it tries to maximize its partisan advantage and establish a House majority that could thwart Trump in his last two years in office.

“Despite deeply shared frustrations about the state of our country, mid-cycle redistricting for Maryland presents a reality where the legal risks are too high, the timeline for action is dangerous, the downside risk to Democrats is catastrophic, and the certainty of our existing map would be undermined,” Bill Ferguson, the Maryland Senate president, wrote in a letter to state lawmakers last week.

In Illinois, Black Democrats are raising concerns over the plans and pledging to oppose maps that would reduce the share of Black voters in congressional districts where they have historically prevailed.

“I can’t just think about this as a short-term fight. I have to think about the long-term consequences of doing such a thing,” said state Sen. Willie Preston, chair of the Illinois Senate Black Caucus.

Adding to those concerns is the possibility that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority could weaken a key provision of the landmark Voting Rights Act and limit lawmakers’ ability to consider race when redrawing maps. The outcome — and its effect on the 2026 midterms — will depend heavily on the timing and scope of the court’s decision.

The court has been asked to rule on the case by January, but a decision may come later. Timing is key as many states have filing deadlines for 2026 congressional races or hold their primary election during the spring and summer.

If the court strikes down the provision, known as Section 2, advocacy groups estimate Republicans could pick up at least a dozen House seats across southern states.

“I think all of these things are going to contribute to what legislatures decide to do,” said Kareem Crayton, vice president of the Brennan Center for Justice. The looming court ruling, he added, is “an extra layer of uncertainty in an already uncertain moment.”

Republican-led states press ahead

Support for Prop. 50 has brought in more than $114 million, the backing of some of the party’s biggest luminaries, including former President Obama, and momentum for national Democrats who want to regain control of Congress after the midterms.

In an email to supporters Monday, Newsom said fundraising goals had been met and asked proponents of the effort to get involved in other states.

“I will be asking for you to help others — states like Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and more are all trying to stop Republican mid-decade redistricting efforts. More on that soon,” Newsom wrote.

Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun called a special session set to begin Monday, to “protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair.”

In Kansas, the GOP president of the state Senate said last week that there were enough signatures from Republicans in the chamber to call a special session to redraw the state’s maps. Republicans in the state House would need to match the effort to move forward.

In Louisiana, Republicans in control of the Legislature voted last week to delay the state’s 2026 primary elections. The move is meant to give lawmakers more time to redraw maps in the case that the Supreme Court rules in the federal voting case.

If the justices strike down the practice of drawing districts based on race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has indicated the state likely would jump into the mid-decade redistricting race.

Shaniqua McClendon, head of Vote Save America, said the GOP’s broad redistricting push underscores why Democrats should follow California’s lead — even if they dislike the tactic.

“Democrats have to be serious about what’s at stake. I know they don’t like the means, but we have to think about the end,” McClendon said. “We have to be able to take back the House — it’s the only way we’ll be able to hold Trump accountable.”

In New York, a lawsuit filed last week charging that a congressional district disenfranchises Black and Latino voters would be a “Hail Mary” for Democrats hoping to improve their chances in the 2026 midterms there, said Daly, of FairVote.

Utah also could give Democrats an outside opportunity to pick up a seat, said Dave Wasserman, a congressional forecaster for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. A court ruling this summer required Utah Republican leaders to redraw the state’s congressional map, resulting in two districts that Democrats potentially could flip.

Wasserman described the various redistricting efforts as an “arms race … Democrats are using what Republicans have done in Texas as a justification for California, and Republicans are using California as justification for their actions in other states.”

‘Political tribalism’

Some political observers said the outcome of California’s election could inspire still more political maneuvering in other states.

“I think passage of Proposition 50 in California could show other states that voters might support mid-decade redistricting when necessary, when they are under attack,” said Jeffrey Wice, a professor at New York Law School where he directs the New York Elections, Census & Redistricting Institute. “I think it would certainly provide impetus in places like New York to move forward.”

Similar to California, New York would need to ask voters to approve a constitutional amendment, but that could not take place in time for the midterms.

“It might also embolden Republican states that have been hesitant to redistrict to say, ‘Well if the voters in California support mid-decade redistricting, maybe they’ll support it here too,’” Wice said.

To Erik Nisbet, the director of the Center for Communications & Public Policy at Northwestern University, the idea that the mid-decade redistricting trend is gaining traction is part of a broader problem.

“It is a symptom of this 20-year trend in increasing polarization and political tribalism,” he said. “And, unfortunately, our tribalism is now breaking out, not only between each other, but it’s breaking out between states.”

He argued that both parties are sacrificing democratic norms and the ideas of procedural fairness as well as a representative democracy for political gain.

“I am worried about what the end result of this will be,” he said.

Ceballos reported from Washington, Mehta from Los Angeles.

An Ohio panel adopted new U.S. House districts on Friday that could boost the GOP’s chances of winning two additional seats in next year’s elections and aid President Trump’s efforts to hold on to a slim congressional majority.

The action by the Ohio Redistricting Commission came as Virginia’s Democratic-led General Assembly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment that could pave the way for redistricting in the state ahead of the 2026 congressional elections. That measure still needs another round of legislative approval early next year before it can go to voters.

Trump has been urging Republican-led states to reshape their U.S. House districts in an attempt to win more seats. But unlike in other states, Ohio’s redistricting was required by the state constitution because the current districts were adopted after the 2020 census without bipartisan support.

Ohio joins Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, where Republican lawmakers already have revised their congressional districts.

Democrats have been pushing back. California voters are deciding Tuesday on a redistricting plan passed by the Democratic-led Legislature.

The political parties are in an intense battle, because Democrats need to gain just three seats in next year’s election to win control of the House and gain the power to impede Trump’s agenda.

In a rare bit of bipartisanship, Ohio’s new map won support from all five Republicans and both Democrats on the redistricting panel. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee praised the Ohio Democrats “for negotiating to prevent an even more egregious gerrymander” benefiting Republicans.

Republicans already hold 10 of Ohio’s 15 congressional seats. The new map could boost their chances in already competitive districts currently held by Democratic Reps. Greg Landsman in Cincinnati and Marcy Kaptur near Toledo. Kaptur won a 22nd term last year by about 2,400 votes, or less than 1 percentage point, in a district carried by Trump. Landsman was reelected with more than 54% of the vote.

National Democrats said they expect to hold both targeted seats and compete to flip three other districts where Republicans have won by narrow margins.

Ohio residents criticize new map

Ohio’s commission had faced a Friday deadline to adopt a new map, or else the task would have fallen to the GOP-led Legislature, which could have crafted districts even more favorable to Republicans. But any redistricting bill passed by the Legislature could have been subject to an initiative petition campaign from opponents seeking to force a public referendum on the new map.

The uncertainty of that legislative process provided commissioners of both parties with some incentive for compromise.

But Ohio residents who testified to commissioners Friday denounced the new districts. Julia Cattaneo, who wore a shirt saying “gerrymandering is cheating,” said the new map is gerrymandered more for Republicans than the one it is replacing and is not the sort of compromise needed.

“Yes, you are compromising — your integrity, honor, duty and to represent Ohioans,” she said.

Added resident Scott Sibley: “This map is an affront to democracy, and you should all — every one of you — be ashamed.”

Republican state Auditor Keith Farber, a member of the commission, defended the map during a testy exchange with one opponent. Because many Democrats live in cities and many Republicans in rural areas, he said there was no way to draw a map creating eight Republican and seven Democratic districts — as some had urged — without splitting cities, counties and townships.

Virginia Democrats point at Trump to defend redistricting

Virginia is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans. Democratic lawmakers haven’t unveiled their planned new map, nor how many seats they are trying to gain, but said their moves are necessary to respond to the Trump-inspired gerrymandering in Republican-led states.

“Our voters are asking to have that voice. They’re asking that we protect democracy, that we not allow gerrymandering to happen throughout the country, and we sit back,” Democratic Sen. Barbara Favola said.

The proposed constitutional amendment would let lawmakers temporarily bypass a bipartisan commission and redraw congressional districts to their advantage. The Senate’s approval Friday followed House approval Wednesday.

The developments come as Virginia holds statewide elections Tuesday, where all 100 seats in the House of Delegates are on the ballot. Democrats would need to keep their slim majority in the lower chamber to advance the constitutional amendment again next year. It then would go to a statewide referendum.

Republican Sen. Mark Obenshain said Democrats were ignoring the will of voters who had overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan redistricting commission.

“Heaven forbid that we actually link arms and work together on something,” Obenshain said. “What the voters of Virginia said is, ‘We expect redistricting to be an issue that we work across the aisle on, that we link arms on.’”

But Democratic Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, who has long championed the bipartisan redistricting commission, noted the panel still would be in charge of redistricting after the 2030 census.

“We’re not trying to end the practice of fair maps,” he said. “We are asking the voters if, in this one limited case, they want to ensure that a constitutional-norm-busting president can’t break the entire national election by twisting the arms of a few state legislatures.”

Indiana and Kansas could be next

Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun called a special session to begin Monday to redraw congressional districts, currently held by seven Republicans and two Democrats. But lawmakers don’t plan to begin work on that day. Although it’s unclear exactly when lawmakers will convene, state law gives the Legislature 40 days to complete a special session.

In Kansas, Republican lawmakers are trying to collect enough signatures from colleagues to call themselves into a special session on redistricting to begin Nov. 7. Senate President Ty Masterson says he has the necessary two-thirds vote in the Senate, but House Republicans have at least a few holdouts. The petition drive is necessary because Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly isn’t likely to call a session to redraw the current map that has sent three Republicans and one Democrat to the House.

Lieb, Diaz and Scolforo write for the Associated Press. Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Mo.; Scolforo from Harrisburg, Pa.; and Diaz from Richmond, Va. John Hanna in Topeka, Kan., and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.

Californians renewing their public health plans or who plan to sign up for the first time will be in for sticker shock when open enrollment begins on Saturday. Monthly premiums for federally subsidized plans available on the Covered California exchange — often referred to as Obamacare — will soar by 97% on average for 2026.

The skyrocketing premiums come as a result of a conflict at the center of the current federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1: a budgetary impasse between the Republican majority and Democrats over whether to preserve enhanced, Biden-era tax credits that expanded healthcare eligibility to millions more Americans and kept monthly insurance costs affordable for existing policyholders. About 1.7 million of the 1.9 million Californians currently on a Covered California plan benefit from the tax credits.

Open enrollment for the coming year runs from Nov. 1 until Jan. 31. It’s traditionally the period when members compare options and make changes to existing plans and when new members opt in.

Only this time, the government shutdown has stirred uncertainty about the fate of the subsidies, first introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and which have been keeping policy costs low, but will expire at the end of the year if lawmakers in Washington don’t act to extend them.

Californians window shopping on the exchange’s consumer homepage will have to make some tough decisions, said Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman. The loss of the tax credits to subsidize premiums only adds to what can already be a complicated, time-consuming and frustrating process.

Even if the subsidies remained intact, premiums for plans offered by Covered California were set to rise by roughly 10% for 2026, due to spikes in drug prices and other medical services, Altman said.

Without the subsidies, Covered California said its members who receive financial assistance will see their monthly premiums jump by an additional $125 a month, on average, for 2026.

The organization projects that the cost increases will lead many Californians to simply go without coverage.

“Californians are going to be facing a double whammy: premiums going up and tax credits going away,” Altman said. “We estimate that as many as 400,000 of our current enrollees will disenroll and effectively be priced out of the health insurance that they have today. That is a devastating outcome.”

Indeed, the premium spike threatens to lock out the very Americans that the 2010 Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s signature domestic policy win — was intended to help, said Altman. That includes people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but who either make too little to afford a private plan or don’t work for an employer that pays a portion of the premiums.

That’s a broad swath of Californians — including many bartenders and hairdressers, small business owners and their employees, farmers and farm workers, freelancers, ride-share drivers, and those working multiple part-time gigs to make ends meet. The policy change will also affect Californians who use the healthcare system more frequently because they have ongoing conditions that are costly to treat.

By raising the tax-credit eligibility threshold to include Americans earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level, the Biden-era subsidies at the heart of the budget stalemate have brought an estimated 160,000 additional middle-income Californians into the system, Covered California said. The enhanced subsidies save members about $2.5 billion a year overall in out-of-pocket premium expenses, according to the exchange.

California lawmakers have tried to provide some relief from rising Covered California premiums by recently allocating an additional $190 million in state-level tax credits in next year’s budget for individuals who earn up to 150% of the federal poverty level. That would keep monthly premiums consistent with 2025 levels for a person making up to $23,475 a year, or a family of four bringing in $48,225 a year, and provide partial relief for individuals and households making slightly more.

Altman said the state tax credits will help. But it may not be enough. Forecasts from the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research group and think tank, also show a significant drop-off of roughly 400,000 enrolled members in Covered California.

The national outlook is even worse. The Congressional Budget Office warned Congress nearly a year ago that if the enhanced premium subsidies were allowed to expire, the ranks of the uninsured would swell by 2.2 million nationwide in 2026 alone — and by an average of 3.8 million Americans each year from 2026 to 2034.

Organizations that provide affordable Obamacare plans are preparing for Californians to get squeezed out of the system if the expanded subsidies disappear.

L.A. Care, the county’s largest publicly operated health plan, offers Covered California policies for 230,000 mostly lower-income people. About 90% of the Covered California consumers they work with receive subsidies to offset their out-of-pocket healthcare insurance costs, said Martha Santana-Chin, L.A. Care’s CEO. “Unless something drastic happens … a lot of those people are going to fall off of their coverage,” Santana-Chin said.

That outcome would ripple far and wide, she said — thanks to two factors: human behavior and basic economics.

If more and more people choose to go uninsured, more and more people will resort to visiting hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency care, disrupting and overwhelming the healthcare system.

Healthcare providers will be forced to address the cost of treating rising numbers of uninsured people by raising the prices they bill to insurers for patients who have private plans. That means Californians who are not Covered California members and don’t receive other federal healthcare aid will eventually see their premiums spike too, as private insurers pass any added costs down to their customers.

But right now, with the subsidies set to end soon and recent changes to Medicaid eligibility requirements threatening to knock some of the lowest-income Californians off of that system, both Altman and Santana-Chin said their main concern is for those who don’t have alternatives.

In particular, they are concerned about people of color, who are disproportionately represented among low-income Californians, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Any hike in out-of-pocket insurance costs next year could blow the budget of a family barely getting by.

“$100, $150, $200 — that’s meaningful to people living on fixed incomes,” Altman said. “Where is that money coming from when you’re living paycheck to paycheck?”

HE’S got some time on his hands after pushing back the release of new album Britpop until February.

And after announcing he was planning on opening a luxury hotel in Dubai, Robbie Williams is now working on another madcap idea.

“I want to open a University of Entertainment,” Robbie, right, revealed. “I did notice nobody else is doing it.”

He said of the inspiration behind his dream school: “I grew up as a vaudevillian. That’s what I am. I am cabaret.

“I spent all of my youth watching my dad do cabaret and watching all of the acts that he would bring off and on stage — and how talented and hard-working they were, and how genuinely funny the funny acts were, and how genuinely amazing the vocalists were.”

Robbie, who left Take That in 1995 before launching his hugely successful solo career, added: “I arrived in 1995, after Take That, I want to be Oasis.

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“I want to be Radiohead. Then, when I opened my mouth and my mind, I came out instead and I’m not cool. And you go, ‘OK, so what am I? Oh, I’m all of these people that I loved — Tommy Cooper, The Two Ronnies and Morecambe and Wise.

‘In a different place’

“The way they made me feel is how I want to make people feel.”

Robbie will be back on stage next year, kicking off a mini-tour in Glasgow on February 4, before playing three more intimate shows in Liverpool, London and Wolverhampton.

And until then, he said he’s going to be busy working on his new plans.

He told the Heretics podcast: “I’ve got so many fingers in so many pies, giving me so much to peruse. My ambition and my want and my need and my desire has not abated. But the oxygen I once had in my career, where I couldn’t miss every time I went to the table, has been taken away from me just because I’m an older pop star now.

“The rise was a long time ago, 1990 till, say, 2010.

“It’s only different as it’s different for everyone else lucky enough to have had my kind of career. I was the most played artist for ten years in a row.

“And, you know, thank you. I’ve had a nice run, but I’m in a different place now.

“And it’s not over. Where does all of that naked ambition and drive go?

“It goes into purpose. It goes into creating.”

If it ever gets off the ground, I’ll make sure to sign up for a night class.

Good friendships in the Mix

THEY may no longer be making music together, but Little Mix are still best of pals.

Pregnant Perrie Edwards and Leigh-Anne Pinnock were backstage at the Roundhouse in Camden to support Jade Thirlwall at her gig.

Leigh-Anne shared this sweet snap of them together, and one of my mates spotted them dancing and singing along to Angel Of My Dreams.

Jade, whose debut album, That’s Showbiz Baby, peaked at No3 when it came out last month, is now preparing to head Stateside in the New Year.

Let’s hope she can do what Little Mix couldn’t and crack America.

Jade kicks off a run of 14 shows in San Diego on January 30.

Fergie up fur reunion

IT looks like Fergie can’t decide if she’s too hot or too cold.

The Black Eyed Peas singer teamed this crop-top with a faux fur jacket as she performed at One Musicfest in Atlanta, Georgia.

The I Gotta Feeling singer wowed fans at the event in Piedmont Park, belting out some of her biggest hits including amazing 2006 single London Bridge.

Earlier this year, I revealed that Fergie had created a whole new music video for the track in the capital as part of Lena Dunham’s Netflix series, Too Much.

Fergie left the Black Eyed Peas in 2018, but I told you this summer that discussions are under way about a possible reunion with her bandmates Will.i.am, APL.DE.AP and Taboo.

I’d love to see this happen.

Jovi’s got the Midas Tuchel

I TRIED my hardest to make Jon Bon Jovi a Spurs fan when I hung out with him last week, but his legendary PR Alan Edwards – a die-hard Gooner – persuaded him to follow the reds.

Jon was obviously something of a lucky charm as Arsenal managed a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

He later hung out with England boss Thomas Tuchel and Jason Sudeikis.

It was Jon’s first Premier League game and I bet my last quid it’ll be his last given how rubbish Arsenal are.

You should have watched Spurs instead, Jon.

We battered Everton 3-0.

Is Geri in a bad Spice?

THE Spice Girls were all smiles at the launch of Victoria Beckham’s Netflix documentary this month.

But insiders say those grins were more like grimaces once the cameras were off – and the finger of blame is being pointed at Geri Horner.

A well-placed mole told me that while Mel C and Emma Bunton were together on row D, Geri was placed in a different area with her husband Christian Horner.

And the apparent snub is now the talk of the town.

Our source explained: “All people are still talking about what happened with Geri that night.

“She was seated away from Mel C and Emma, which seems weird given they were there to support Victoria. Inside the party she only seemed to talk to Victoria, too. It all felt rather frosty. No one has seen a photo of the four of them together either.”

Something is definitely up.

Last November, I revealed how Geri was dragging her heels over a new Netflix band biopic.

And last week, The Sun reported the band – completed by Mel B – were planning on implementing a “rule of four”, to allow the show to go ahead even if Geri wasn’t on board.

A telly insider said: “Geri has been dragging her heels for almost a year now and the rest are keen to plough ahead, as next year marks the 30th anniversary of first single Wannabe.”

Get it together, Ginger.

Cops get Raye on track

RAYE has revealed the police have found her stolen car – with her songwriting books on the backseat.

The Where Is My Husband! singer was forced to push back her second album after the thieves nicked her motor last year.

But now Raye is busy putting the finishing touches to the record after getting them back.

Appearing on Global’s Big Top 40, Raye, right, said: “It was a rollercoaster journey but what I didn’t tell people is that the police called me two or three months ago and said, ‘We’ve found your car.’

“Not only did they get it back but not one thing had been taken out of the car.

“All my songwriting books were there untouched.

“There was so much important stuff in there and when I was flicking through it I was like, ‘Thank God this has been returned to me’.”

Mark: I still get nervous

MARK RONSON has a load of hits to his name but has admitted he still questions if he’s any good every time he gets into the studio.

On Radio 2’s Tracks Of My Years, which airs all this week on Vernon Kay’s morning show, Mark said: “Every time I get into the studio with somebody for the first time, or even if it’s someone like Dua Lipa, or someone I’ve worked with a lot, it’s that combination of like, before the first day of school meets a blind date, meets every insecurity.

“Am I going to think of an idea? Am I going to be able to deliver?

“I still have that and I know people might be like, ‘That’s ridiculous, you’re good, don’t worry about it’.

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“But I think it’s served me well in my career because it’s always made me work extra hard.

“I wouldn’t know what to do if I fully lost that.”

ONE of Scotland’s Wetherspoon pubs could soon house guests as it has been proposed that it turns into a hotel.

If approved the pub that’s in one of busiest areas in Aberdeen could have 29 hotel rooms an a beer garden.

The boozer called The Archibald Simpson sits on one of the busiest streets in Aberdeen and could well become a place for city explorers to have a good night’s sleep as well as a beer.

It has a grand entrance with huge columns, and was designed by local architect Archibald Simpson – who also designed St Andrews Cathedral.

Built in the 1800s it was originally home to the Head Office for the North of Scotland Bank.

It later became the headquarters of Clydesdale Bank, before opening as a Wetherspoon pub in 2003, and could soon be a hotel too.

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Earlier this year, the pub submitted proposals for development which would see its unused first and second floors being converted into 29 hotel rooms.

Inside would be comprising 21 double rooms, three family suites, two twin rooms and two singles.

It wouldn’t just be built upon though, as part of the project would require some demolition.

At the back, the pub’s rear extension would be knocked down to make way for a 51-seat beer garden to encourage al fresco dining and drinking during the summer.

On Tripadvisor, most of the reviews go on to compliment the pretty building. One visitor wrote: “Huge building high vaulted ceilings marbled pillars and tiled floors. Lovely bar.”

If the plans go ahead, it will join the other 55 Wetherspoon hotels across the UK.

One Wetherspoon pub that has been converted is The Cabot Court Hotel in the coastal town of Weston-super-Mare

It’s also been listed in CAMRA’s The Good Beer Guide naming the UK’s best pubs.

Along with having a bar, the Cabot Court Hotel also has 21 rooms for visitors to stay in, and lots have views across the beachfront.

All of the rooms are en suite with Freeview TV, tea and coffee making stations, and unlimited free Wi-Fi.

In the morning, visitors can head down to the bar to enjoy a Wetherspoons breakfast and classic pub meals at dinner.

The pub sits right on the waterfront, on Knightstone Road, so it’s in a great spot for anyone heading onto the beach or taking a walk along The Grand Pier.

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Travel Reporter Cyann Fielding visited the smallest Wetherspoons in the world…

Here’s what Cyann had to say when she headed to the tiny pub…

WHO can say no to a Wetherspoons? And what if I told you the smallest one in the world is just as good as the rest, if not better.

Not only is it the smallest Spoons, but it is also in a rather bizarre location – a train station.

Of course, some UK airports have Wetherspoons, but I have never come across one in a train station before.

Sat at one end of Cannon Street Station in London, you will find the Sir John Hawkshaw, complete with just 42 tables.

Whilst that might sound a lot, compared to the usual London Spoons, this is considerably less.

And the obscurities about this spot just continue – if you need to use the toilet, well then you’ll need to head to the other end of the station and down a set of stairs.

For those who love to train spot, sit outside on the terrace, which is essentially like sitting on one of the platforms.

Despite its small size, the pub still features Spoons’ extensive menu and the service isn’t impacted either.

For more Wetherspoons, here are the best ones from one man who has spend £30K visiting every one in the UK.

And for Wetherspoons fans, there’s more good news as a new location has opened inside an abandoned UK attraction.

A Victorian train station is closing down for over two years amid network upgrades.

Rail commuters are bracing themselves as the station is set to be demolished.

Ravensthorpe station, near Dewsbury, will be shutting down from Sunday, December 14 until the summer of 2028.

Brits traveling between Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury will be offered a rail replacement bus service during the closure.

The new, modernised station will re-open 200 metres west from its current location.

Ravensthorpe station will boast a step-free access, shiny new lifts, and a modern footbridge linking platforms.

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A revamped forecourt will make it easier for cars to drop off passengers, while a longer island platform means bigger trains and more seats for commuters.

It’s all part of the massive Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) which focuses on rebuilding huge chunks of the northern rail network.

Engineers are putting in a new four-track railway through the old and new station sites, plus a brand-new Baker Viaduct.

Once complete, it’ll let faster trains overtake slower ones, cutting journey times across the North.

Electric lines are also going up, paving the way for greener, quicker services in the years ahead.

The Ravensthorpe triangle, one of the largest civil engineering sites in the nation, is currently the subject of extensive work.

As part of the road and track realignment work, notable projects to date include the placement of piers for the new Baker Viaduct, the installation of concrete beams to form the new Calder Road bridge, and utility diversions on Thornhill Road.

Andrew Allwright, TRU Programme Delivery Lead for Northern, said: “The work to upgrade Ravensthorpe railway station will support the efforts that the Transpennine Route Upgrade is doing to deliver a fully accessible railway that is fit for the 21st century.

“When Ravensthorpe station closes, from Sunday 14 December until the May timetable change in 2026, Northern will be running a rail replacement service between Ravensthorpe and Dewsbury, connecting to services for a number of destinations, to ensure our customers can continue to travel with as little impact to their journeys as possible.

“We recognise that the work taking place will lead to extended journey times for customers travelling from Ravensthorpe and thank them for their continued patience.”

Oct. 27 (UPI) — President Donald Trump landed in Tokyo Monday morning as part of a three-nation Asia trip, meeting with Emperor Naruhito and new Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi

Trump and Naruhito met Monday morning at the emperor’s home, then retired to his hotel room. He has no more public events scheduled for the day.

The visit was Trump’s first trip to Japan since 2019. His goal for the trip is to reaffirm ties with Japan and encourage Japanese companies to invest in the United States.

He is scheduled to meet on Tuesday with Takaishi, who became Japan’s first woman prime minister just last week. Trump and Takaishi spoke on the phone Saturday. Trump praised Takaishi to reporters for being “philosophically close” to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

“It’s going to be very good. That really helps Japan. I think she’s going to be great,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One, Kyodo News reported.

Trump’s next stop is Busan, South Korea, where he’ll meet with President Xi Jinping. On Air Force One, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Trump and Xi would work on the U.S.-China trade deal on Thursday. Other things they will discuss are fentanyl, rare earth minerals and agricultural purchases, Bessent said.

Trump also told reporters that he would be willing to meet with North Korea‘s Kim Jong-un this week. A reporter asked if a meeting were possible, would he extend his Asia trip, and Trump said he hadn’t thought of it, but it would “be easy to do.”

On Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Trump oversaw the signing of a peace agreement between Cambodia and Thailand.

BALTIMORE — The U.S. government plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and could do so as early as Oct. 31, according to a Friday court filing.

The Salvadoran national’s case has become a magnet for opposition to President Trump’s immigration crackdown since he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador, in violation of a settlement agreement.

He was returned to the U.S. in June after the U.S. Supreme Court said the administration had to work to bring him back. Since he cannot be re-deported to El Salvador, the U.S. government has been seeking to deport him to various African countries.

A federal judge in Maryland had previously barred his immediate deportation. Abrego Garcia’s lawsuit there claims the Trump administration is illegally using the deportation process to punish him for its embarrassment over his mistaken deportation.

A Friday court filing from the Department of Homeland Security says that “Liberia is a thriving democracy and one of the United States’s closest partners on the African continent.” Its national language is English, its constitution “provides robust protections for human rights,” and Liberia is “committed to the humane treatment of refugees,” the filing asserts. It concludes that Abrego Garcia could be deported as soon as Friday.

The court filing assessment is in contrast to a U.S. State Department report last year that detailed a human rights record in Liberia including extrajudicial killings, torture and serious restrictions on press freedom.

“After failed attempts with Uganda, Eswatini, and Ghana, ICE now seeks to deport our client, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, to Liberia, a country with which he has no connection, thousands of miles from his family and home in Maryland,” a statement from attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg reads. “Costa Rica stands ready to accept him as a refugee, a viable and lawful option. Yet the government has chosen a course calculated to inflict maximum hardship. These actions are punitive, cruel, and unconstitutional.”

Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years. He immigrated to the U.S. illegally as a teenager, but in 2019 an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to El Salvador, where he faces a “well-founded fear” of violence from a gang that targeted his family, according to court filings. In a separate action in immigration court, Abrego Garcia has applied for asylum in the United States.

Additionally, Abrego Garcia is facing criminal charges in federal court in Tennessee, where he has pleaded not guilty to human smuggling. He has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming the prosecution is vindictive.

IT’S hard to believe, but at the age of 68, Gloria Estefan, one of the biggest-selling and most-celebrated artists of all time, is marking her 50th year in music.

She has had a stellar career, racking up everything from a slew of Grammy awards to the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

But after her musician daughter Emily performed with Cyndi Lauper at Glastonbury last year, she now has one more thing she wants to strike off her bucket list – a major slot on the prestigious Pyramid Stage.

In an exclusive chat, she told Bizarre’s Howell: “It’s very exciting, big and complex from what I hear from Emily. Like, it was crazy. But that would be super exciting.

“If I’m still around, I would love to do that. Now, Glastonbury likes all kinds of artists.”

With hits like Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Dr Beat and, of course, Conga, she would have plenty of songs to entertain Worthy Farm.

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And she may soon be wowing even more viewers, with a big-budget biopic on the cards.

For the first time, she has confirmed Rachel Zegler, who shot to fame in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Disney’s Snow White and recently in Evita on the West End, is set to play her.

She said: “I think she’s awesome. I think she’s incredible. I know she’s killed it in Evita.

“We’re still working on the green light because we’re figuring out where to do it, how to do it.

“This has been in the works for quite a few years now. And that’s how it is. You work, you work, you work, and then all of a sudden, boom, the trigger’s pulled and you’ve got to do it right away. But she’s lovely.”

But asked if she thinks Rachel will take the part, she continued: “I think she would. I just need to offer her an actual part. So we need to be greenlit completely and we’re almost there.

“I met her by Zoom. She’s got a beautiful singing voice and she’s a great actor. So absolutely.”

It was originally claimed the film will be an adaptation of her 2015 jukebox musical On Your Feet! although that idea has changed.

The star explained: “The movie’s not going to be the show. There’s a lot in there.”

Gloria was born in Cuba but her family fled to the US during the Cuban Revolution and she has now become one of Miami’s most famous residents.

And as one of the city’s stars, she has become pals with David and Victoria Beckham, who have a home there and have become key to the area with Becks’ football team Inter Miami CF.

But it’s clear they all move in the upper echelons when Stateside.

In a major name drop when quizzed on hanging out with them, she said: “I’ve been at their home. It’s lovely. David is such a lovely man – and Victoria.

“We actually went to a dinner at their home and President Obama was there, and the head of Reddit, and Jeff Bezos. It was really cool.

“It was small, but only the most powerful people in that room. It was great.

“They’re very kind people. And he’s done amazing things for soccer or football, as you call it here.”

And there have been more Brits in Miami, with Dua Lipa performing there last month, when she covered Gloria’s 1985 hit Conga.

“I was so sad that I wasn’t in town,” Gloria said.

“She had invited me to go and do that with her. And I love her. I’m a big fan of Dua Lipa. And that’s the sexiest conga you’re ever going to see, hands down.”

After such an illustrious career, she recently released her 30th album Raíces, which is largely Spanish-language escapism and the perfect soundtrack for a soiree or relaxing evening in.

And it was her husband of 47 years, producer Emilio, who made it happen.

Gloria, who was writing another musical at the time, explained how the salsa record poured out of him.

She added: “It’s got beautiful, romantic ballads. Emilio said, ‘I wrote you a love song’. I go, ‘Babe, you’re going to sing it?’.

He goes, ‘No, you’re going to sing it for me’.”

Charming.

And as for retirement after five decades in the game? Don’t count on it.

She giggled: “In ten years time, I hope to still be alive. That’s my first plan. Who knows?

“I only choose what I really, really want to give my time to. It’s just that. I had all these amazing opportunities. And they just converged this year.”

Kristen chilled Water

KRISTEN STEWART didn’t let the falling temperatures bother her as she headed out in this white mini-dress.

The Twilight actress showed off a stark fringe and bare legs as she left a screening of her new film The Chronology Of Water at the Curzon Mayfair on Thursday night.

It was part of the BFI London Film Festival and the movie, an adaptation of US writer Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, is her directorial debut.

Lily ‘cheat’ pain

LILY ALLEN has confirmed my story that she is about to make a return with her fifth album.

And on it, she seemingly accuses ex-husband David Harbour of cheating on her.

The Smile singer married the Stranger Things actor in 2020.

But things crumbled last year, with the relationship inspiring the latest record which is expected to be released imminently.

A new interview with Lily came out in Vogue magazine yesterday.

It features lyrics from two tracks that suggest David romanced other women while they were together and the pair then decided to “open” their marriage.

On one song, Sleepwalking, Lily sings: “You let me think it was me in my head, and nothing to do with them girls in your bed.”

On another, called Dallas Major, she reveals: “You know I used to be quite famous, that was way back in the day.

“I probably should explain how my marriage has been open since my husband went astray.”

And Lily didn’t hold back in her interview, either.

She told the magazine: “I’ve had real problems with my food over the past few years.

She added that during their break-up “it got really, really, really bad”.

Lily, who is sober, said: “The feelings of despair that I was experiencing were so strong.

“The last time I felt anything like that, drugs and alcohol were my way out, so it was excruciating to sit with those [feelings] and not use them.”

KYLIE JENNER says being a pop star is her lifelong dream – despite being mocked this week when she sang on Terror JR’s new song Fourth Strike.

Having just started singing under the name King Kylie, she said: “You know this is my dream. I’ve been talking about this since I came out of the womb… that like I wanted to be a pop star.

“I just never had the confidence or… I think turning 28 just does something to you. Like I’m going to be 30 soon and I don’t want to look back on life and have any regrets.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to try.”

JENNIFER LOPEZ is up for returning to the Super Bowl stage in February – six years after her stellar half-time show with Shakira.

The singer, whose parents are from Puerto Rico, waved the country’s flag during her performance and next year will see rapper Bad Bunny, who is from there, playing the show.

Quizzed on US TV whether they could do something together there, she said there had been “no talk” of a collaboration but that she would be open to it.

She said: “There’s no talk. I have not gotten any calls. So I just want to put the expectation down. But of course if he wanted me to do something, I would definitely do it.”

Crouchy Enter the Dragon

ABBEY CLANCY and Peter Crouch are slowly turning their home into a zoo – and the next animal they are adding is a bearded dragon.

The couple, who live in Surrey with their four children, already own two dogs, cats and a horse but now they are adding reptiles to the menagerie.

Crouchy says they are getting the reptile, which is native to Australia, because their son is desperate for one as a pet.

As well as the lizard, Abbey wants to also get lambs and chickens.

Peter said: “The more animals the better, apparently. Bearded dragons are next on the horizon. My little boy has wanted one for years. They’re actually all right. I thought it would be a nightmare, but I’ve been down the shop and held them.

“We’re actually going to get one. They grow to be quite big but they’re quite chilled.”

Michael makes big money

MICHAEL McINTYRE’s firm raked in more than £3.2million last year – making him one of the biggest earners on TV.

He had another stellar year presenting Saturday-night series Michael McIntyre’s Big Show and quiz The Wheel.

The comedian’s TV production firm Hungry McBear paid £805,000 in corporation tax in its last financial year up to December 31.

That rate suggests he made just over £3.2million.

Reserves in the company now stand at £1,718,407.

The firm is jointly controlled by Michael and TV producer Dan Baldwin, who is married to Holly Willoughby.

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It makes all of Michael’s shows, including Christmas and Easter one-offs and Michael McIntyre: Showman for Netflix.

But the cash doesn’t include earnings from his stand-up tour, so he will be raking in even more.

Meta Platforms (META 0.52%) is no longer just a social media giant. It’s building one of the world’s largest AI infrastructures, recruiting elite talent, and embedding artificial intelligence into every layer of its ecosystem — from apps and ads to AR glasses.

While OpenAI and Google dominate the spotlight, Meta is quietly constructing the foundation to lead the next decade of AI development. Here’s how it plans to win.

Image source: Getty Images.

Building the backbone: A massive infrastructure bet

Meta’s AI ambitions rest on one of the biggest infrastructure buildouts in tech history. The company plans to spend $60 to 65 billion in capital expenditures this year, channeling much of that into data centers and custom AI hardware. By the end of 2025, Meta expects to operate over 1.3 million GPUs — a scale few companies can match.

This massive investment isn’t just brute force spending. It’s a strategic move to gain control. Meta is already testing its own AI chip, designed to reduce reliance on Nvidia and optimize training efficiency. Like Amazon‘s in-house silicon program, this initiative gives Meta tighter control over cost, performance, and innovation speed.

The company is also expanding a global network of data centers equipped with liquid cooling and energy-efficient designs. These facilities will train large language models such as LLaMA 3 and future generations while powering AI-driven features across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

For Meta, infrastructure is more than a resource — it’s a moat. Every improvement in computing efficiency compounds across billions of users and trillions of interactions. That scale gives Meta a self-reinforcing infrastructure advantage.

Investing in people

Technology changes fast, but exceptional people adapt and shape the future. Meta understands that better than most. Over the past year, the company has aggressively recruited top AI researchers and engineers from DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic.

In a bold move, Meta hired Alexandr Wang, the founder of Scale AI, to lead its new Superintelligence division. And that’s after investing $14.3 billion in Scale AI, the AI company Wang founded after dropping out of MIT. The hire signals Meta’s intent to compete not just in applied AI but in the broader race toward artificial general intelligence.

Zuckerberg’s philosophy is straightforward: world-class talent compounds like capital. So, it makes sense to spend heavily to acquire the best talent. This strategy is not new to Meta. Years ago, it paid a hefty sum ($16 billion) to acquire WhatsApp early on — mainly for the talent and technology.

While such a strategy does not guarantee an outcome, it has its advantages, particularly in securing the best talents — while eliminating a potential future competitor. That’s precisely what Meta did with its WhatsApp deal, and the learnings from the WhatsApp acquisition helped fuel the development of Messenger, Meta’s own messaging app.

Integration: Hardware, software, and ecosystem

Meta’s most significant edge lies in integration — uniting infrastructure, talent, and products under one ecosystem. The company’s open-source large language model, LLaMA, already powers its AI-driven functions such as real-time translation and intelligent assistants across Messenger and WhatsApp. Each deployment brings new data, which strengthens the next generation of models.

But Meta isn’t stopping at software. Its Reality Labs division is bringing AI into the physical world through devices like the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which include conversational assistance, translation, and image recognition. Zuckerberg envisions a future where AI becomes ambient — invisible, intuitive, and always available.

Over time, Meta’s ecosystem could span everything from LLaMA models running on powerful clusters to lightweight AI running directly on AR glasses or smartphones. With more than 3 billion users, Meta holds an enormous testing ground for refining these systems at scale.

What does it mean for investors?

Meta’s AI strategy isn’t about racing to release the flashiest model. It’s about building the foundation of the next computing era. By investing heavily in hardware, empowering world-class talent, and integrating AI into every layer of its ecosystem, Meta aims to become the operating system of the AI age.

Execution remains the real test. Building trillion-parameter models and next-generation chips is one challenge; translating them into durable products is another. But Meta has a history of thriving when it builds patiently, at scale, and in plain sight. And that’s precisely what it’s doing right now.

Investors looking to invest in AI companies should keep the stock on watch.

Flights grounded, public transport disrupted as 80,000 people take to the streets of the Belgian capital.

A general strike against proposed austerity measures in Belgium has grounded flights and halted public transport networks.

Approximately 80,000 people took to the streets in Brussels’s city centre on Tuesday, police said, denouncing potential cuts to social welfare programmes.

Some of the protests devolved into scuffles, as police used tear gas and protesters set off flares and smoke bombs, according to The Associated Press news agency. Several dozen protesters were detained, AP reported.

Some demonstrators carried red prohibition signs with the number 67 on them, in reference to a planned increase in the retirement age. “Right to a pension at 65,” the signs read.

Others sported a picture of conservative Prime Minister Bart De Wever with the caption “wanted for pension theft”.

“We are heading towards a future that doesn’t look good,” one protester, 59-year-old Chantal Desmet, told the AFP news agency. “The government has to take notice.”

Flights cancelled at Brussels International

Walkouts from airport security staff caused all departing flights to be cancelled at the country’s main airport – Brussels International Airport – the facility said, while protests forced cuts on most of Brussels’s underground train, bus and tram lines, according to public transport operator STIB.

The protest is the latest this year against a push by De Wever’s coalition government – which faces a budget deficit that violates EU rules and is trying to find some $12bn in savings – to introduce cuts to pensions and healthcare systems.

But the prime minister’s plans have infuriated the country’s powerful trade unions, which are leading the protest and nationwide strikes.

“What really mobilises people are pensions,” Thierry Bodson, leader of the 1.5 million-member-strong FGTB union, said on the French-language state radio station RTBF.

“This government promised more sustainable jobs and increased purchasing power. Hot air! And once again, everyone is paying, except the rich,” said trade union CSC, as it urged people to join Tuesday’s protest.

The action is ramping up pressure on De Wever, who has pledged to cut deficits without raising taxes but is struggling to finalise next year’s budget.

On Monday, De Wever’s coalition failed to agree on a budget, forcing the prime minister to postpone a key speech to parliament that had been scheduled for Tuesday.

Former Los Angeles Unified schools Supt. Austin Beutner is planning to announce a challenge to Mayor Karen Bass in the 2026 election, arguing that the city has failed to properly respond to crime, rising housing costs and the devastating Palisades fire.

Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker who lives in L.A.’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood, would become the first serious challenger to Bass, who is running for her second and final term.

Beutner, whose announcement is planned Monday, said in an interview Saturday that city officials at all levels showed a “failure of leadership” on the fire, which destroyed thousands of homes and left 12 people dead.

The inferno seriously damaged Beutner’s house, forcing him and his family to rent elsewhere in the neighborhood and destroyed his mother-in-law’s home.

“When you have broken hydrants, a reservoir that’s broken and is out of action, broken [fire] trucks that you can’t dispatch ahead of time, when you don’t pre-deploy at the adequate level, when you don’t choose to hold over the Monday firefighters to be there on Tuesday to help fight the fire — to me, it’s a failure of leadership,” Beutner said.

“At the end of the day,” he added, “the buck stops with the mayor.”

A representative for Bass’ campaign declined to comment.

Beutner’s attacks come days after federal prosecutors filed charges in the Palisades fire, accusing a 29-year-old of intentionally starting a New Year’s Day blaze that later rekindled into the deadly inferno.

With the federal investigation tied up, the city Fire Department released a long-awaited after-action report Wednesday. The 70-page report found that firefighters were hampered by poor communication, inexperienced leadership, a lack of resources and an ineffective process for recalling them back to work. Bass announced a number of changes in light of the report.

Beutner, a onetime advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, could pose a serious political threat to Bass. He would come to the race with a wide range of experiences — finance, philanthropy, local government and even the struggling journalism industry.

Although seven other people have filed paperwork to run for her seat, none have the fundraising muscle or name recognition to mount a major campaign. Rick Caruso, the real estate developer whom Bass defeated in 2022, has publicly flirted with the idea of another run but has stopped short of announcing a decision.

Bass beat Caruso by a wide margin in 2022 even though the shopping mall mogul outspent her by an enormous margin. Caruso has been an outspoken critic of her mayorship, particularly on her response to the Palisades fire.

Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, said he believes that Beutner would face an uphill climb in attempting to unseat Bass — even with the criticism surrounding the handling of the Palisades fire. However, his entry into the race could inspire other big names to launch their own mayoral campaigns, shattering the “wall of invincibility” that Bass has tried to create, he said.

“If Beutner jumps in and starts to get some traction, it makes it easier for Caruso to jump in,” Guerra said. “Because all you’ve got to do is come in second in the primary [election], and then see what happens in the general.”

Earlier Saturday, The Times reported that Beutner’s longtime X account had featured — then quickly removed — the banner image “AUSTIN for LA MAYOR,” along with the words: “This account is being used for campaign purposes by Austin Beutner for LA Mayor 2026.” That logo was also added and then removed from other Beutner social media accounts.

Beutner’s announcement comes in a year of crises for the mayor and her city. She was out of the country in January, taking part in a diplomatic mission to Ghana, when the ferocious Palisades fire broke out.

Upon her return, she faced withering criticism over the city’s preparation for the high winds, as well as Fire Department operations and the overall emergency response.

In the months that followed, the city was faced with a $1-billion budget shortfall, triggered in part by pay raises for city workers that were approved by Bass. To close the gap, the City Council eliminated about 1,600 vacant positions, slowed down hiring at the Los Angeles Police Department and rejected Bass’ proposal for dozens of additional firefighters.

By June, Bass faced a different emergency: waves of masked and heavily armed federal agents apprehending immigrants at car washes, Home Depots and elsewhere, sparking furious street protests.

Bass’ standing with voters was badly damaged in the wake of the Palisades fire, with polling in March showing that fewer than 20% of L.A. residents gave her fire response high marks.

But after President Trump put the city in his crosshairs, the mayor regained her political footing, responding swiftly and sharply. She mobilized her allies against the immigration crackdown and railed against the president’s deployment of the National Guard, arguing that the soldiers were “used as props.”

Beutner — who, like Bass, is a Democrat — said he voted for Bass four years ago and had come to regret his choice.

He described Los Angeles as a city “adrift,” with unsolved property crimes, rising trash fees and housing that is unaffordable to many.

Beutner said that he supports “in concept” Senate Bill 79, the law that will force the city to allow taller, denser buildings near rail stations.

“I just wish that we had leadership in Los Angeles that had been ahead of this, so we would have had a greater say in some of the rules,” he said. “But conceptually, yes, we’ve got to build more housing.”

Bass had urged Gov. Gavin Newsom not to sign the bill into law, which he did Friday.

Beutner is a co-founder and former president of Evercore Partners, a financial services company that advises its clients on mergers, acquisitions and other transactions. In 2008, he retired from that firm — now called Evercore Inc. — after he was seriously injured in a bicycling accident.

In 2010, he became Villaraigosa’s “jobs czar,” taking on the elevated title of first deputy mayor and receiving wide latitude to strike business deals on the mayor’s behalf, just as the city was struggling to emerge from its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

Slightly more than a year into his job, Beutner filed paperwork to begin exploring a run for mayor. He secured the backing of former Mayor Richard Riordan and many in the business community but pulled the plug in 2012.

In 2014, Beutner became publisher of The Times, where he focused on digital experimentation and reader engagement. He lasted roughly a year in that job before Tribune Publishing Co., then the parent company of The Times, ousted him.

Three years later, Beutner was hired as the superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District, which serves schoolchildren in Los Angeles and more than two dozen other cities and unincorporated areas. He quickly found himself at odds with the teachers union, which staged a six-day strike.

The union settled for a two-year package of raises totaling 6%. Beutner, for his part, signed off on a parcel tax to generate additional education funding, but voters rejected the proposal.

In 2022, after leaving the district, Beutner led the successful campaign for Proposition 28, which requires that a portion of California’s general fund go toward visual and performing arts instruction.

Earlier this year, Beutner and several others sued L.A. Unified, accusing the district of violating Proposition 28 by misusing state arts funding and failing to provide legally required arts instruction to students.

He also is involved in philanthropy, having founded the nonprofit Vision to Learn, which provides vision screenings, eye exams and glasses to children in low-income communities.

Viewers can’t stop talking about the new series on Netflix with some saying it’s the ‘best’ in a long time

The Netflix series fans can’t stop raving about is set in the tough, unpredictable world of the 1990s US Marine Corp, when being gay in the military was still illegal.

It follows Cameron Cope (played by Miles Heizer ) – who is keeping his sexuality hidden – and his best friend Ray McAffey (Liam Oh), the son of a decorated Marine, as they join a diverse group of recruits.

The ensemble go through boot camp forming alliances and unlikely bonds as they are pushed to the limits.

Boots is an eight-part comedy drama that focuses on friendship, resilience, and finding your place in the world.

Based on Greg Cope White’s memoir The Pink Marine, viewers are already advising others to cancel their plans and stay home to binge it.

The series may have only been out for a matter of days but it’s already in the number seven spot on Netflix.

One viewer reviewed: “Boots on Netflix??? I’m OBSESSED. The best show in a while.”

While another added: “Boots on Netflix is phenomenal. Binged it in one day, and couldn’t stop. Max Parker absolutely *crushed* it as Sullivan and I’d watch an entire season just about his journey.”

A third begged for more episodes, writing: “I binged the entirety of Boots today on Netflix. Absolutely in love. It’s like Orange is the New Black, but 90’s military. I need season 2 nowwww.”

Another continued: “If you’re looking for something to watch this weekend, I highly recommend Boots on @Netflix, starring the wonderful actor Miles Hezier. I unashamedly binged all episodes in one sitting.#Boots.”

Someone else shared: “I just finished #boots and I LOVED IT <3 so fun but also dramatic and the characters are interesting! I think it’s not gonna get renewed but i hope i’m wrong!!”

Thankfully, the cast are hopeful the series will be renewed. Speaking to Radio Times, lead actor Miles shared: “It would be interesting to see him navigating that, especially in this military world.

“That would be cool. But like Max said, there’s so many different directions and so many things I would love to see. But just for fun, I’d like to see a little romance.”

Co-star Liam added: “He ends the season in this interesting spot of really questioning the path that he’s been on for the first time since he was a kid.

“I would like to see him continue to interrogate the choices that he’s made in his life, or the choices that he hasn’t made, that have been made for him by his father, by this sense of duty that he has.”

Oct. 10 (UPI) — China said Friday it will start charging U.S. ships docking at its ports in a direct response to the Trump administration imposing the same fee on Chinese vessels entering U.S. shores.

The Chinese Ministry of Transportation announced beginning Tuesday it will charge about $56 per ton for American vessels entering China’s ports in a reciprocal response to ship fees imposed by the United States of about the same at $50 per ship via China.

In addition, China stated it will match the United States by increasing fees over time through April 2028.

In the short term, however, this will “result in an increase in costs for U.S. consumers, a decrease in profits for shippers, and a small decline in demand for exports to the U.S. in certain category,” according to Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

The U.S. and Chinese shipping fees are set to take effect the same day.

On Friday, Beijing said the initial U.S. ship fees imposed by the Trump White House “seriously violate” global trading principles and “seriously damages” China-U.S maritime trade.

“China can give as good as it gets and has demonstrated a willingness to take direct action,” Peter Alexander, managing director of Z-Ben Advisors in Shanghai, told CNBC.

China’s Transportation Ministry said fees will apply to ships owed by American citizens, businesses, organizations and other entities under the U.S. flag holding a 25% ownership stake or more.

Alexander suggested that U.S. President Donald Trump continues to “underestimate China and this needs to stop” and was “just more tit-for-tat negotiation tactics.”

“There seems to be little consideration given to second and third-order effects of policy choices,” he added.

It arrived as communist China and President Xi Jingping seeks to leverage control over export of rare Earth minerals and Trump’s tax-like tariff policies.

“Have there been any lessons learned by the Americans over the past six months?” Alexander questioned. “It certainly doesn’t seem so,” he added.

Oct. 9 (UPI) — The Charlie Kirk-co-founded Turning Point USA is planning to host an alternative musical performance called “The All-American Halftime Show” for Super Bowl LX.

Officials for the conservative non-profit announced the planned alternative halftime show on social media but did not say which musical acts and others would perform.

“It’s true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All-American Halftime Show,” it said in a post on X on Thursday, as reported by Fox News.

The post says the event will celebrate faith, family and freedom.

Turning Point USA has created a website to present the halftime show and asked online visitors to choose which musical genres they would like to see perform.

Survey results so far show support for country, rock, hip hop and “anything in English,” The Hill reported.

The event would air while rapper Benito Antonio Martiniz Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, performs during the Super Bowl’s halftime show headliner.

The musical artist from Puerto Rico has won three Grammy Awards since his career took off in 2016.

He also is slated to be named Billboard’s Latin Artist of the 21st Century during the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Oct.23.

Bad Bunny is undertaking a world tour but has refused to perform in the United States, other than during the Super Bowl.

He has cited concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might target his U.S. shows and detain audience members, according to Axios.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently dismissed such concerns and said there are no plans in place to raid Bad Bunny concerts.

Despite Leavitt’s denial, DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski recently suggested ICE agents would attend Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.

Lewandowski made the claim while appearing on “The Benny Show” podcast on Oct. 1.

“There is nowhere that you can provide a safe haven to the people in this country illegally,” he told podcast host Benny Johnson.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Oct. 9 (UPI) — The Charlie Kirk-co-founded Turning Point USA is planning to host an alternative musical performance called “The All-American Halftime Show” for Super Bowl LX.

Officials for the conservative non-profit announced the planned alternative halftime show on social media but did not say which musical acts and others would perform.

“It’s true, Turning Point USA is thrilled to announce The All-American Halftime Show,” it said in a post on X on Thursday, as reported by Fox News.

The post says the event will celebrate faith, family and freedom.

Turning Point USA has created a website to present the halftime show and asked online visitors to choose which musical genres they would like to see perform.

Survey results so far show support for country, rock, hip hop and “anything in English,” The Hill reported.

The event would air while rapper Benito Antonio Martiniz Ocasio, aka Bad Bunny, performs during the Super Bowl’s halftime show headliner.

The musical artist from Puerto Rico has won three Grammy Awards since his career took off in 2016.

He also is slated to be named Billboard’s Latin Artist of the 21st Century during the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards on Oct.23.

Bad Bunny is undertaking a world tour but has refused to perform in the United States, other than during the Super Bowl.

He has cited concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement might target his U.S. shows and detain audience members, according to Axios.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently dismissed such concerns and said there are no plans in place to raid Bad Bunny concerts.

Despite Leavitt’s denial, DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski recently suggested ICE agents would attend Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance.

Lewandowski made the claim while appearing on “The Benny Show” podcast on Oct. 1.

“There is nowhere that you can provide a safe haven to the people in this country illegally,” he told podcast host Benny Johnson.

The Super Bowl is scheduled for Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.