plea

The family holiday has been left in doubt after she discovered her daughter’s passport did not meet strict travel rules

A singer has issued a plea for help after discovering at the last minute that her daughter’s passport could fail strict travel rules. Rules mean there must be a set amount of time available on a passport or the holder will not be allowed to travel.

Under rules following Brexit people travelling to EU countries, except Ireland, along with Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City must have at least three months left on their passports after the day they plan to leave, warns ABTA. The passport must also have been issued less than 10 years before the date of arrival at the country.

Musician and singer Philippa Hanna turned to Facebook to seek advice after her family holiday to Portugal appeared to be in jeopardy. The Christian music star who has toured with mainstream artists including Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Anastacia and Wet Wet Wet, told how she had just discovered that her daughter, Ozma’s, passport would not meet these rules.

She said: “GUYS!! We need help. Do I know ANYONE who works for or is connected to the passport office or something even close? We need emergency advice ahead of our family holiday tomorrow?”

She later went on to explain: “I just found out Ozma has 5 weeks less than needed on her passport for flying to Portugal.” She then added: “We’re only going for 5 days so the week fast track wont work. I’m just wondering if there’s any way of getting an extension or a special permission or something.”

One follower suggested she contact her MP who might be able to speed up getting a new passport. Gayle Hunter, who said she was a former duty manager at an airline, said: “They’re normally strict at least 3 months after the last day you’re leaving on passport. An MP can get you a new one in three hours under parliamentary privilege.”

However this was disputed by another poster who said he worked in the airline industry and travelled extensively. John Dinsdale said he had been stung by the rule himself, and insisted an MP would be unlikely to help. He said: “There is a parliamentary/MP escalation route, but it only applies for compassionate reasons (family death, serious illness) not for holiday travel, so it won’t help here.

“You could try contacting the airline to ask if they’ll allow “OK to board,” but I doubt that’s your best option. Even if they agreed, Schengen countries require a minimum of 90 days’ passport validity, so Portugal border control could still refuse entry on arrival.

“For an airline to allow to board they would need authorisation from the Portuguese immigration department first. If you’re refused entry, the airline will face a fine (amounts vary by country), and you’d likely be liable for the cost of the return flight, airlines won’t board anyone without valid travel documents in the first place.

“I’ve actually been on the receiving end of this myself, I can’t get an ESTA for the US because of my travel history, apparently America don’t like Iraqi stamps in passports, so I know firsthand how strict airlines are about not boarding anyone without the right documents. It’s not something they’ll bend on.

“Realistically, a new passport won’t be issued in time even by fast track. I’d contact your travel insurer now to ask about cancellation/rebooking cover, I know this is not what you want to hear, but it’s the most likely outcome.”

What the government says

So what are the rules? According to the government there are steps you can take – but it usually still takes some time.

It advises: “You can pay to get a passport urgently if you think the standard service will take too long.” It explains there are 2 ways to apply for an urgent passport.

1 day premium

According to the government website the earliest you can get an appointment is 2 days after you apply. It says: “You’ll need to hand in your old passport at your appointment. Your new passport will be ready to collect from the passport office 4 hours after your appointment.

“You can only use this service to renew an adult passport. It costs £239.50 (or £253.50 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport).”

1 week fast track

With this one the earliest you can get an appointment is the next day after you apply. It advises: “Your new passport will be delivered to you by courier 1 week after your appointment.”

You can use this service to:

• renew a passport
• change personal details on your passport (for example your name, place of birth or gender)
• replace a lost, stolen or damaged passport
• get a child passport

It costs £192 for an adult passport (or £206 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport). A child passport is £156.50 (or £170.50 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport).

Is there anything any faster?

It advises: “If you need to travel urgently for medical treatment, on government business, or because a friend or family member is seriously ill or has died, call the Passport Adviceline instead.”

“Today” show host Savannah Guthrie said Saturday on social media that her family was “desperate” and “begging for help” in the disappearance of her mother, a day after authorities released two ransom notes including one saying that she had died.

Authorities released an early note in the investigation into the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, hoping that someone will recognize the writing style. A second note said Guthrie died shortly after she was kidnapped and “is buried in nature now.” Both notes initially were sent to a Tucson television station days after Guthrie went missing from her home outside Tucson on Feb. 1.

Desperate plea

“We are begging for help. We are desperate. We need someone to come forward. Someone knows something. Someone suspects something. Someone recognizes the writing in the ransom demand notes,” Guthrie wrote on her Instagram account, alongside a photo of her mother.

“Someone has noticed something different, strange, troubling or just unusual — perhaps with someone they deeply love,” she wrote. “Perhaps they are afraid to come forward. Perhaps they are conflicted. Perhaps they are angry or upset for being in this situation. There is a way out — to tell what you know.”

Guthrie went on to say she and her family “wanted to find out what happened to her, so that we can give her the dignity of a proper goodbye — a celebration of her remarkable life that she so deserves.”

Missing since February

Saturday is the six-month mark since Guthrie disappeared. No suspects have been arrested. The investigation has been dogged by unanswered questions, such as how many people are believed to have taken part in her abduction and whether she was taken by someone who knew her.

The FBI in Washington did not respond to questions about the ransom notes, including whether both messages sent to the Tucson station have been deemed legitimate.

In releasing the notes, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said that “we believe these distinctive linguistic characteristics may be recognizable to someone who knows or has interacted with the notes’ writer.”

Ransom notes released

The first note, sent Feb. 2, said Guthrie was safe but scared and would be released unharmed once her captors received $4 million in cryptocurrency, with the ransom amount increasing if the first demand was not met. It said Guthrie would be released within 12 hours if the payment was received. It also included a threat to kill her if the ransom wasn’t paid.

“Your mother is aware of this and her life is in your hands,” the first note read. “It is in the best interest of everyone to have this completed as soon as possible.”

The second note was sent Feb. 6 and said Guthrie died shortly after she was taken. “She is buried in nature now,” it said. “Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.” The note ended with an apology: “We are truly sorry.”

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department said the notes reveal a distinctive pattern of word choices and provide insight into the writer’s mindset. The agency said someone who knows the notes’ writer may recognize the patterns.

Authorities similarly used a suspect’s writings as a tool to find Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, branded the “Unabomber” by the FBI. Kaczynski, who killed three people and injured 23 others with mail bombs over a 17-year span, pressured the Washington Post, in conjunction with the New York Times, to publish his 35,000-word manifesto in 1995. He was finally arrested after his brother realized his sibling was the suspect and notified authorities.

Signs of preparations

The sheriff’s office also said Friday that two videos recovered from Guthrie’s doorbell camera might be from two separate days and indicate an unidentified male prepared ahead of when Guthrie was taken. Authorities are seeking information on anyone who was behaving differently, changed their physical appearance, suddenly left the Tucson area or had a noticeable or unexplained interest or disinterest in the case.

“Investigators continue to pursue every available technological and investigative lead,” the sheriff’s office said. “However, community members remain a vital resource as we seek to provide answers for Nancy’s family.”

The FBI had released surveillance videos of a masked person who authorities said appeared to tamper with a camera on Nancy Guthrie’s front porch and block it with a plant. They described the person as a male about 5 feet, 9 inches tall.

Casey writes for the Associated Press.

SINGER-songwriter Linda Perhacs has gone missing – with the artist’s loved ones issuing a plea for information on her whereabouts.

The musician, 82, who struggles with dementia, was discharged from a care facility eight months ago – but has not been heard from since.

The cult songwriter’s friends and collaborators posted a plea for help on social media on Monday.

Her manager Laura Stearns said Linda had not been seen or heard from in eight months.

In December, she was released from an assisted living facility in Northridge, California, by her legal guardian.

 Stearns said: “Linda Perhacs our dear friend and legendary singer-songwriter was discharged from a residential care facility approximately eight months ago under the supervision of her legal guardian.

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“Since then, friends and longtime collaborators have been unable to reach her and repeated attempts to contact her guardian have reportedly gone unanswered. Please help us locate Linda to ensure her wellbeing.

“The intention is not to intrude upon her privacy, but simply to ensure that she is safe and to re-establish communication with someone whose artistic contributions continue to resonate across generations.”

A missing persons report for Linda was filed with the Los Angeles Police Department on June 6.

The singer’s friends and collaborators, including writer Jessica Hundley, singer Julia Holter and DubLab co-founder Mark “Frosty” McNeill, have shared pleas for information.

Her co-producer, Fernando Perdomo, said on Monday that he had been unable to reach her next of kin.

He said: “We’ve all been in touch with her since she’s been in a home for memory care, and we even performed with her two years ago for her 80th birthday party.”

Perdomo added that he wanted to speak to Linda about six weeks ago.

He explained: “So I gave her a call and found out that she had been moved out by her next of kin, and because of California law they can’t tell us where she is.

“I think he might have blocked us, which is really, really weird.”

Perhacs shot to fame decades after the 1970 release of her debut album, Parallelograms.

The record initially bombed and sold poorly, prompting Perhacs to quit the music industry and go back to her job as a dental hygienist.

However, the internet helped new fans rediscover the album in the late 1990s.

It was soon hailed as a lost folk classic and re-released several times.

Following her revived career, Perhacs returned to the studio to release her second album, The Soul of All Natural Things, in 2014, followed by her third, I’m a Harmony, in 2017.

July 24 (UPI) — A Georgia teenager changed his plea to guilty Friday in the shooting deaths of four people at Apalachee High School in 2024.

Colt Gray, 16, entered a non-negotiated plea of guilty to 55 charges, including malice murder, aggravated battery and aggravated assault, CBS News reported. He was charged as an adult.

A non-negotiated plea means that though he’s changed his plea to guilty, he has not made a deal with prosecutors concerning his sentencing.

The judge in the case will determine his sentence, which ranges from life with parole to life without parole. The defense and prosecutors will each present a case for their preferred sentence, ABC News reported.

Gray is accused of fatally shooting two students — Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn — and two teachers — Richard Aspinwall and Cristina Irmie — at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga., in 2024, when he was 14 years old. He’s also accused of injuring nine others in the shooting.

Breanna Schermerhorn, Mason’s mother, presented a victim impact statement Friday in court, saying her son “was so much more than victim.”

“Mason was kind, compassionate, funny and fiercely protective of others,” she said. “As a child with exceptional needs, he understood what it felt like to struggle and be overlooked by others. Instead of becoming bitter, he became an advocate.”

Breanna Schermerhorn said Gray knew that the shooting was wrong and would impact countless lives.

“I had no doubt in my mind if Cole had actually attended school as he should have, that Mason would have befriended him,” she said.

Prosecutors said Colt Cray used an AR-style rifle his father, Colin Gray, gave to him for Christmas despite being warned by sheriff’s deputies that his son had threatened an attack at school.

In May, a jury found him guilty of 29 charges, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Colin Gray was the first adult charged in Georgia in connection with a school shooting by their child.