record

WASHINGTON — Rep. Robert Garcia and his team faced a monumental task on Nov. 5: Sift through more than 20,000 documents obtained from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein in search for something that would shed more light into President Trump’s relationship with the now-deceased convicted sex offender.

After six tedious days combing through the records, Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and four staff members identified three emails that would go on to ignite a political firestorm.

In the emails, Epstein wrote that Trump had “spent hours” at the late financier’s house with one of his victims and that he “knew about the girls,” suggesting the president knew more about Epstein’s abuse than he had previously acknowledged. The estate released the emails to the committee after receiving a subpoena.

“We thought [the emails] really raised questions about the relationship between the president and Jeffrey Epstein,” Garcia said in an interview last week. “We knew we had to get those out as soon as possible.”

Garcia’s plan to release the emails quickly thrust the second-term Democrat into the national spotlight, elevating his profile as a chief antagonist of Trump on a issue that has dogged the president since his first term. It also increased the pressure on the White House to release its investigative Epstein files.

The assertions in Epstein’s emails about Trump’s involvement or awareness of Epstein’s illicit acts have not been corroborated and the White House has denied the veracity of those accounts.

The White House accused Democrats of “selectively” leaking emails to create a “fake narrative to smear President Trump,” adding that Democrats redacted the name of one of the victims, Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April and had previously said she had not witnessed Trump participating in abuse at Epstein’s house.

The email disclosures on Nov. 12 prompted Republicans on the committee to publish the full cache of records just hours later. At the same time, Democrats — joined by a handful of Republicans — were on the verge of forcing a House vote to compel the Justice Department to release its Epstein files. Days later, Trump urged GOP lawmakers to back the bill he had long resisted, and he ultimately signed it into law.

“If we hadn’t released the initial emails, Republicans would likely have released nothing,” Garcia said. “They never release anything until we push them and we bring pressure from the public.”

Garcia said Democrats were prepared to publish the full set themselves — but incrementally over the course of the week, arguing that such a release needed to be done carefully to protect victims’ privacy.

Republicans on the committee have criticized the minority party’s approach, arguing that it focuses on sensationalizing select pieces of information to damage Trump and politicizing the Epstein investigation.

“The most dangerous place in D.C. is between Robert Garcia and a cable news camera,” Republican strategist Matthew Gorman said. “This is simply a ploy for him to draw more attention to himself, and he’s using this issue to do it.”

‘Sometimes you gotta punch back harder’

Garcia’s allies view the 47-year-old’s rise as both foreseeable and reflective of his past.

Born in Peru, Garcia immigrated to the United States as a young child and became a citizen in his early 20s. He later became Long Beach’s first Latino and first openly gay mayor before arriving in Washington — where he is now one of the youngest to ever serve as the ranking member of the main investigative panel in the House.

Five months into the role, Garcia says he remains in disbelief that he is in the position that has been held by people like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), whom he considers one of his “heroes.”

“To be in a place where I’m doing the job that he was in when I got to Congress a couple of years ago is not something that I expected,” Garcia said. “I want to contribute back as best I can, and take on this corruption, take on what is happening with the Jeffrey Epstein case and holding the administration accountable.”

The oversight committee is one of the House’s most high-profile panels and its chair, Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, has broad subpoena power. Comer, a staunch Trump ally, has been leading a review of the government’s investigation into Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Comer has subpoenaed both the Epstein estate and the Justice Department.

Comer declined to be interviewed for this article, as did other House Republicans. But Comer told Politico last week that he was “done with Garcia” and that the Democrat had “burned his bridges with this.”

“He just needs to do TikTok videos or something. … He’s not a serious investigator. He’s like a TikTok video kind of guy,” Comer said.

Garcia responded to Comer’s comments with a reference to the movie “Mean Girls.”

“Why’s he so obsessed with me?” he said Wednesday in an Instagram post — an example of how Garcia often uses pop culture to communicate to a more general audience.

Garcia says his tactics are motivated by an allergy to bullies.

“I grew up as an immigrant kid. … I know what it is like to be on the other side of the bully,” he said. “If the bully is going to punch or cause harm to you or others that you care about, you have to punch back. Sometimes you gotta punch back harder.”

Democrats credit Garcia for pushing Comer to act. In July, a Republican-led subcommittee passed a Democrat-led motion to subpoena the Justice Department’s Epstein documents — a move that ultimately prompted Comer to issue his subpoenas.

Rep. Robert Garcia speaks at a ceremonial swearing-in event in Long Beach in August to commemorate his new role as ranking member of the House oversight committee.

(Jonathan Alcorn / For The Times)

Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat, said the vote “began knocking over the dominoes” that eventually led to the public seeing a copy of Epstein’s “50th birthday book,” which includes Trump’s name, as well as the three emails linking Trump to Epstein.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), a member of the oversight committee, praised Garcia for securing bipartisan support to secure documents and pushing records out to the public. Khanna, who led the push to force a vote on the House floor to demand the Justice Department release the Epstein files, also co-wrote a letter with Garcia to Epstein’s estate requesting an unredacted copy of the birthday book.

Attorneys for the estate said that they would cooperate, but that they required a subpoena to release materials due to privacy concerns. Khanna said he believes the letter set in motion the push that ultimately led Comer to subpoena the estate.

“I think the way he has worked with Comer to make sure a lot of the investigation has been bipartisan, has been effective,” Khanna said in an interview.

A ‘dynamic’ approach to oversight

Garcia — who is known to use social media and pop culture to amplify his message — has folded those communication tactics into his role on the oversight committee.

The day the emails were released, Garcia promoted them in social media posts and videos and gave multiple interviews. The congressman — a self-described Bravo fan — is scheduled to appear this week on the cable channel’s “What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.”

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) told The Times that Garcia’s “dynamic” leadership approach is creating new ways to communicate to a younger generation about the work Congress is doing.

“He seems to thrive on it, and that’s a joy to behold,” the former speaker said. “He is young, but has brought members along and the public along as to what the challenge is.”

Rep. Robert Garcia speaks with Mayor Karen Bass at a congressional field hearing at the Metropolitan Water District on Monday.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Republicans on the committee have accused Garcia and Democrats of intentionally using the Epstein investigation to generate a false narrative against Trump — criticism that Democrats see as Garcia being willing to “fight fire with fire.”

Sen. Adam Schiff, who served on the House Select Committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Garcia’s push to seek records “outside of traditional channels,” including the Epstein estate, helped drive a “public narrative that broke through.”

“Under such a lawless and corrupt administration, we need talented and creative leaders to do oversight work, expose the malfeasance to the public and break through in a fractured media environment, and Congressman Garcia has proven adept at all three,” Schiff said.

Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and former Trump administration appointee, said Garcia’s strategy could backfire if or when all the information on the Epstein investigation comes out.

“I believe that they’ve sprung Pandora’s box with a whole bunch of conspiracy theories, fake memes and news that the left is fully embracing and that may not actually be real,” he said.

As more records from Epstein’s estate are expected to come to light in the coming weeks, Garcia says he is committed to exposing wrongdoing from anyone, regardless of party. The documents have already shown Epstein’s links to prominent Democrats.

The records have also shown links to major banks, a thread Garcia says he believes could be central in understanding Epstein’s plea deal negotiated by a prosecutor who served in Trump’s Cabinet during his first term.

“I am not interested in protecting anybody,” he said. “I’m interested in justice for the survivors.”

Nov. 29 (UPI) — The nation’s consumers spent a record $11.8 billion on Black Friday, which exceeded the amount spent during in-store visits on the day after Thanksgiving.

Adobe Analytics data show a combined total of more than 1 trillion online visits to retailers’ websites, during which consumers spent the record amount that exceeded 2024’s Black Friday spending by 9.1%, Forbes reported.

Consumers also spent $6.4 billion online on Thanksgiving, according to Adobe Analytics.

The final numbers for Black Friday in-store spending were not available on Saturday, but analysts said it is less than the online total.

“Cyber Week is off to a strong start, with online spending on Thanksgiving and Black Friday both coming in above Adobe’s initial forecasts,” Adobe Digital Insights lead analyst Vivek Pandya said, as reported by Forbes.

“This was driven in large part by competitive deals across categories, like electronics, toys and apparel,” Pandya said.

“Discounts are set to remain elevated through Cyber Monday, which we expect will remain the biggest online shopping day of the season and year.”

Adobe Analytics had predicted an 8.3% rise for ecommerce retailers, but online buyers spent an average of $12.5 million per minute to break the 9% mark for online sales.

Mastercard SpendingPulse reported even more robust year-to-year increases in Black Friday sales, with 10.4% for online and 1.7% for in-store purchases.

Jewelry and apparel ranked among the leading product categories for online and traditional retailers, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse.

While the total spent in stores on Black Friday was up from 2024, foot traffic was down.

Black Friday foot traffic was down by 3.6% from 2024, according to RetailNext.

Shoppers are changing how they go about making holiday purchases and are spending less time inside stores than they did during prior holiday seasons.

Many online shoppers were aided by artificial intelligence to locate online deals, with Adobe Analytics reported an 805% increase in AI-driven traffic to retail sites in the United States when compared to 2024.

The Black Friday numbers help the National Retail Federation to assess the impact of the holiday season, which runs throughout November and December.

The NRF is scheduled to update its holiday spending outlook on Tuesday.

Australia is handing out record numbers of visas to young backpackers and Brits are snapping up the most, with nearly 80,000 young British nationals heading Down Under

Australia is giving out a record number of short-term visas to backpackers. And a huge number of them are young Brits heading Down Under for the adventure of a lifetime. There were 321,000 working holiday visas issued last year, up more than a third on the previous 12 months. Young people from the United Kingdom are leading the trend, making up a quarter of all backpacker visas That means nearly 80,000 Brits headed to Oz last year. They’re taking advantage of new rules that lifted the maximum age for British working holidaymakers and dumped requirement they spend 88 days each year doing regional work.

Matthew Heyes, founder of employment site Backpacker Job Board, said there had been a clear surge in the visa class this year, with global economic conditions a driving force.

He said: “Australia has just set a new record for visa grants, and the first quarter suggests we will go even higher. We’re seeing issues like the cost of living and stagnant wages motivate young people to make the trip.” New rules brought in by former PM Scott Morrison have led to the surge.

Former Immigration Department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi said the working holidaymaker programme was going from strength to strength. He said: “Demand was inevitably going to be strong when we made it more generous, as we did. Australia is popular among Brits, and this is the first year we’ve seen the full effect of the agreement initially negotiated by Scott Morrison.

“It will have to peak at some stage, and it depends very much on our labour market – our labour market is certainly strong, and the UK’s is not as strong.”

Last year was the first time young Brits were no longer required to work and live in regional Australia to extend their stay. The number of visas issued to working holidaymakers from the UK soared from 47,000 in 2023-34 to a record 79,000 in 2024-25.

The raised eligible age for Brits, from 30 to 35, which came into effect the year before, resulted in 9100 visas being issued to that age group last financial year.

They are also staying longer overall: there were 28,600 second-year visas given to UK residents last financial year, up from 6300 the year before, and 8400 third-year visas, up from 680.

Visas issued to UK residents outstrip those from other leading nations, including France (42,000 visas issued in 2024-25), Ireland (24,100), Japan (16,000) and Germany (16,000). These visa holders still must work regionally to stay longer in Australia.

Before the 321,000 working holidaymaker visas issued in 2024-25, the highest number granted in one year was 258,000 in 2012-13.

The boom is being driven by a strong local jobs market and comparably tougher economic conditions for young people overseas. Many of Australia’s long-standing working holidaymaker agreements, including with the UK, are uncapped

A gauge of risk on Oracle Corp.’s debt reached a three-year high in November, and things are only going to get worse in 2026 unless the database giant is able to assuage investor anxiety about a massive artificial intelligence spending spree, according to Morgan Stanley.

A funding gap, swelling balance sheet and obsolescence risk are just some of the hazards Oracle is facing, according to Lindsay Tyler and David Hamburger, credit analysts at the brokerage. The cost of insuring Oracle Corp.’s debt against default over the next five years rose to 1.25 percentage point a year on Tuesday, according to ICE Data Services.

The price on the five-year credit default swaps is at risk of toppling a record set in 2008 as concerns over the company’s borrowing binge to finance its AI ambitions continue to spur heavy hedging by banks and investors, they warned in a note Wednesday.

The CDS could break through 1.5 percentage point in the near term and could approach 2 percentage points if communication around its financing strategy remains limited as the new year progresses, the analysts wrote. Oracle CDS hit a record 1.98 percentage point in 2008, ICE Data Services shows.

A representative for Oracle declined to comment.

Oracle is among firms taking part in an artificial intelligence spending race, which has quickly made the data center giant the credit market’s barometer for AI risk. The company borrowed $18 billion in the US high-grade market in September. Then in early November, a group of about 20 banks arranged a roughly $18 billion project finance loan to construct a data center campus in New Mexico, which Oracle will take over as tenant.

Banks are also providing a separate $38 billion loan package to help finance the construction of data centers in Texas and Wisconsin developed by Vantage Data Centers, Bloomberg reported last month. Lenders involved in these construction loans linked to Oracle are likely a key driver of the surge in trading volume on the Oracle’s CDS recently, a trend that may persist, according to Morgan Stanley.

“Over the past two months, it has become more apparent that reported construction loans in the works, for sites where Oracle is the future tenant, may be an even greater driver of hedging of late and going forward,” wrote the analysts.

There is a risk that some hedges by banks could unwind if and when banks distribute these loans to other parties, they wrote. Still, other parties may also hedge at some point even if down the road plus the construction debt funding needs don’t stop after the Vantage sites and the New Mexico site.

Last month, the analysts said they expect near-term credit deterioration and uncertainty to drive further hedging by bondholders, lenders and thematic players.

“The bondholder hedging dynamic and also the thematic hedging dynamic could both grow in importance down the road,” they added.

Oracle CDS have underperformed the broader investment-grade CDX index and Oracle corporate bonds have underperformed the Bloomberg high-grade index amid the jump in hedging demand and the weakening sentiment. Concerns have also started to weigh on Oracle’s stock, which the analysts said may incentivize management to outline a financing plan on the upcoming earnings call, including details on Stargate, data centers and capital spending.

The analysts had previously been recommending investors buy Oracle bonds and CDS in what is known as a basis trade, to profit from their expectation that credit derivatives would widen more than the bonds. Now they’re saying it’s a cleaner trade to just buy the CDS outright.

“Therefore, we are closing the ‘buy bond’ part of the basis trade, and keeping the ‘buy CDS protection’ leg of it,” they wrote. “We think a trade in CDS outright is cleaner right now and will result in a greater spread move.”

Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chairman of the board, is backing his son David Ellison’s bid to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, which is also considering offers from Netflix and Comcast.

Mutua writes for Bloomberg.

Nov. 26 (UPI) — Brazil is preparing to end the year with a grain harvest that could make history.

According to official estimates, the country could surpass 340 million metric tons of cereals, legumes and oilseeds in 2025, providing a significant economic boost amid global food uncertainty.

The latest figures from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics place expected production at 345.6 million metric tons in 2025, marking an increase of 18.1% over the previous season.

Officials attribute the gains to expanded planted areas, productivity improvements and relatively favorable weather conditions in the country’s main agricultural regions.

At the same time, the National Supply Company has projected a volume of 354.8 million metric tons for the 2025-26 season, supported by a 3.3% increase in cultivated area to 84.4 million hectares.

The estimated yield is 4,203 kilograms per hectare, although the agency warned that weather conditions remain critical to crop development.

Soybeans and corn will remain the main drivers of Brazil’s agricultural sector.

Brazil’s grain boom is reshaping global food costs. Backed by a powerful agribusiness lobby, Brazilian farmers have responded by increasing yields and planting in new regions, while port and rail operators race to keep goods moving, Agência Brasil reported.

However, the sector’s performance is not free of challenges. International pressure for environmental traceability and the implementation of the European Union Deforestation Regulation could raise regulatory costs for soybean and beef exporters that supply the European market.

Although the impact will be gradual, analysts warn that Brazilian producers will need to adapt to avoid losing ground in one of the world’s highest-income markets.

While producers argue that export growth supports Brazil’s trade surplus, rural employment and a relatively strong currency, environmental groups counter that expanding soybean and corn production risks driving deforestation and increasing pressure on traditional communities.

Still, the consensus among government agencies and international consultancies is that Brazil will end the year with one of the strongest harvests in its history, reinforcing its image as the “breadbasket of the world” and increasing agribusiness’s share of GDP.

Experts note that for ordinary consumers abroad, these dry-tonnage figures matter more than they appear. When Brazil exports more corn, soybeans and cornmeal, livestock feed costs can fall, which in the long run helps contain the prices of meat, dairy and cooking oil.

When the flow slows, the opposite occurs, and the effects can be felt in supermarket aisles from São Paulo to Shanghai.

Nov. 24 (UPI) — Argentina has reported a record increase in syphilis infections this year, with cases up 20.5% compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Health’s National Epidemiological Bulletin.

Officials say the country is experiencing the highest levels since systematic reporting began.

During the first 44 weeks of the year, health authorities recorded 36,702 infections, a figure that nearly matches the 36,917 cases reported in all of 2024 and well above the 30,445 cases registered in 2023.

National rates have also climbed steadily, rising from 56 cases per 100,000 people in 2019 to 93 in 2024.

The increase is visible across all regions and affects mostly young people. Seventy-six percent of confirmed cases involve individuals between the ages of 15 and 39, with the highest rates among those 20 to 29.

The surge is unfolding alongside a broader cultural environment among young Argentines. Trends on TikTok and Instagram often portray or normalize sex without condoms, and references to this practice appear frequently in music and social media videos.

The Ministry of Health says the rise reflects two main factors: sustained circulation of the infection and improved detection through the national surveillance system.

Argentina’s situation mirrors a wider regional trend. The Pan American Health Organization estimates that the Americas register more than 3.3 million new syphilis infections each year, with regional cases increasing by nearly 30% since 2020. The region also continues to report some of the highest levels of congenital syphilis in the world.

In response, representatives from 23 countries met in São Paulo in July to coordinate a regional strategy. The meeting produced a document calling for expanded access to testing and treatment, stronger surveillance and greater political commitment to contain the disease.

International health agencies warn that syphilis continues to rise globally and that its growth in the Americas is placing increasing pressure on public health systems, particularly among young adults and pregnant women.

THIS former Disney Channel star had her first taste of stardom back in 2016 appearing in hit teen drama Backstage.

But it was her dazzling vocal talent that really piqued people’s attention with her most popular hit, the viral Princesses Don’t Cry, going on to rack up over 250 million streams.

But despite her notable accolades, child star Aviva Chiara Mongillo, who released music under the name ‘CARYS’, is now back living at her parent’s house.

The now 27-year-old, who played Alya Kendrick in Backstage, shared a candid moment about her current living situation with fans online.

Aviva took to TikTok to share a meme about the complete U-turn her life seems to have taken, while simultaneously expressing gratitude for the way her life is today.

“When you were on Disney channel, signed to a major label and had a viral song before the age of 20 and now you’re 27 living with your parents,” the actress-turned-musician quipped, smiling at the camera in a red jumper.

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She quipped: “To be honest, I don’t know what happened but we need a re-do”.

There didn’t seem to be any real ill feeling towards her current lifestyle though, as Aviva thoughtfully captioned the post to say she “wouldn’t change a thing”.

“for real though… I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m grateful that this is my life.”

The post has currently been liked around 90,000 times, with fans flooding the comments section with praises.

“Aviva Mongillo you will always be famous to me,” gushed one user in a comment Aviva has hearted.

“Backstage is one of my favourite disney shows ever!!!,” exclaimed another.

Though one of the most common comments was people shocked to learn that Aviva was the voice behind Princesses Don’t Cry, as she wasn’t recognisable.

“YOU’RE THE ONE WHO MADE PRINCESSES DONT CRY???,” said one of the post’s top comments with over 4,200 “likes”.

The star simply responded with “YOU BETCHA”.

Princesses Don’t Cry came out in 2019 and immediately gained popularity through TikTok and other social media platforms.

Sung under the artist name CARYS, the song subverts traditional fairy tales by asserting that princesses are strong and independent, not “crying over boys with pretty eyes”.

Meanwhile, Aviva’s stint on Backstage saw her star in sixty episodes where she frequently sung and played guitar.

Initially, Aviva was discovered by a music producer who was looking to craft music to feature on Backstage.

But later on she was encouraged to audition for a role instead, eventually landing the part of Alya Kendrick.

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Aviva ultimately left backstage in season two to go on tour with the cast of La Boheme.

After her Disney days, Aviva went on to star in comedy-drama Workin’ Moms as the recurring character Juniper.

Despite reports of tourist numbers being down in summer, the Balearics saw a year-on-year increase in passenger numbers, with Palma Airport in Majorca remaining one of Spain’s busiest airports

After two summers of anti-tourism protests, it appears Brits are undeterred from visiting the popular Balearic Islands.

Airports in the Balearics saw a year-on-year increase in passenger numbers of 2.4% between January and October 2025, with 15,628,717 international passengers landing on the islands’ runways, according to Majorca Daily News. However, October did see a slight decrease of 0.1% in passenger numbers compared to 2024.

Most passengers arrived on low-cost airlines, with 10,903,152 travellers arriving using services such as easyJet and Ryanair, while 4,725,565 flew on traditional airlines such as British Airways.

The data, which was released by Turespaña – the Tourism Institute of Spain – also showed that the UK made up the majority of tourists, with 2.2 million Brits arriving in Spain in October, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%, accounting for 21.7% of the total number of visitors arriving across the mainland and islands combined. The same month also saw a 14.6% increase in visitors from Ireland.

Brits are also the tourists most likely to use a budget airline. According to the data, over 30% of them arrive on this type of service.

Palma airport in Majorca is now the third busiest airport in all of Spain, with only Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona El Prat seeing more visitors. The island airport has welcomed 11,936,115 tourists this year, an increase of 2.3% compared to 2024.

Turespaña also revealed that tourist spending was on the rise. Visitors who arrived in Spain stayed on average for a week and spent €1,380 (about £1,217) per person.

Tourist officials in Ibiza were left panicking over the summer, as 20,000 fewer Brits visited the island during the peak months. Speaking at a conference in London, Ibiza’s Minister of Tourism, Jaume Bauza admitted the numbers were “worrying”. However, the rise in overall visitors seems to suggest that while Brits may be avoiding the islands in the summer, they’re likely shifting their breaks to the shoulder season of September and October, where it’s cheaper and less busy.

Jaume Bauza reiterated that he was keen for Brits to visit Ibiza: “I want the British who visit our islands who are, and will always be, warmly welcome, to be aware of and familiar with this transformation process, because I want them to be aware and participate in the changes we are undertaking.”

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Like many areas of Spain, the Balearic Islands have seen anti-tourism protests, especially in Majorca, which is the most popular island for visiting Brits.

In June, around 10,000 people marched through the island’s capital of Palma, protesting overtourism and its effects on locals, such as rising house prices. There were also reports of anti-tourist graffiti with slogans such as ‘tourist go home’ and ‘rich foreign property buyers go to hell’ daubed on walls and monuments over the summer.

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A 1940 self-portrait titled ‘The dream’ by famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has sold for $54.7m, making it the most expensive work by a female artist to sell at auction.

A 1940 self-portrait by Frida Kahlo has sold for $54.7m and made auction history at Sotheby’s in New York.

A haunting 1940 self-portrait by famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo has sold for $54.7m, making it the most expensive work by a female artist to sell at auction.

The painting of Kahlo asleep in a bed, titled El sueno (La cama) – or in English, The Dream (The Bed) – surpassed the record held by Georgia O’Keeffe’s Jimson Weed/White Flower No 1, which sold for $44.4m in 2014.

The sale at Sotheby’s in New York on Thursday evening also topped Kahlo’s own auction record for a work by a Latin American artist.

The 1949 painting, Diego and I, depicting the artist and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, went for $34.9m in 2021.

Her paintings are reported to have sold privately for even more.

The self-portrait that broke records on Thursday is among the few Kahlo pieces that have remained in private hands outside Mexico, where her body of work has been declared an artistic monument.

Kahlo’s works in both public and private collections within Mexico cannot be sold abroad or destroyed. Because the painting sold on Thursday comes from a private collection, it is legally eligible for international sale. Sotheby’s said the owner who put the painting up for auction – and whose identity has not been disclosed – “astutely” purchased the piece also at auction in New York in 1980.

The buyer’s identity was also not disclosed.

‘El sueño (La cama)’ by Frida Kahlo soars to $54.7 million, becoming the most valuable work by a woman artist ever sold at auction.

Painted in 1940 during a pivotal decade in her career, marked by her turbulent relationship with Diego Rivera. pic.twitter.com/t6Sni7fIKT

— Sotheby’s (@Sothebys) November 21, 2025

Some art historians had scrutinised the sale for cultural reasons, while others had raised concerns that the painting, which was last exhibited publicly in the late 1990s, could again disappear from public view after the auction.

It has already been requested for upcoming exhibitions in cities including New York, London and Brussels.

The piece depicts Kahlo asleep in a wooden, colonial-style bed that floats in the clouds. She is draped in a golden blanket and entangled in crawling vines and leaves. Above the bed lies a skeleton figure wrapped in dynamite.

Kahlo vibrantly and unsparingly depicted herself and events from her life, which was altered by a bus accident at 18.

She started to paint while bedridden, underwent a series of painful surgeries on her damaged spine and pelvis, and then wore casts until her death in 1954 at age 47.

During the years Kahlo was confined to her bed, she came to view painting as a bridge between worlds as she explored her mortality.

“I’m very proud that she’s one of the most valued women, because really, what woman doesn’t identify with Frida, or what person doesn’t?” her great-niece, Mara Romeo Kahlo, told The Associated Press news agency before the auction.

“I think everyone carries a little piece of my aunt in their heart.”

Kahlo resisted being labelled a surrealist painter, a style of art that is dreamlike and centres on a fascination with the unconscious mind.

“I never painted dreams,” she once said. “I painted my own reality.”

The new record for Kahlo’s painting came hours after a Gustav Klimt portrait sold for $236.4m, setting a new record for a modern art piece.

Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer sold after a 20-minute bidding war, also at Sotheby’s in New York, on Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of times each year in California, farmers and their contractors spray pesticides on fields and orchards in the state’s agricultural heartlands.

Farmworkers young and old can be exposed to dangerous concentrations of toxic chemicals if they are not properly trained, left uninformed about when they can safely enter sprayed fields or exposed to pesticide applications — because of factors such as wind drift or operator error.

Yet California’s system of protecting farmworkers from pesticide dangers is anything but a tight safety net. Through interviews, public records and data analyses, an investigation by Capital & Main has found that:

• Enforcement of pesticide safety rules is splintered among dozens of county agriculture commissioners, resulting in piecemeal citations. Companies that operate in multiple counties were not fined for hundreds of violations — many of them pertaining to worker safety.
• County inspections to enforce pesticide safety are minimal in the state’s farm belt. In 2023, there was one inspection for every 146 times that pesticides were applied in eight of California’s top 11 producing counties, according to data provided by those counties.
• In interviews, more than two dozen underage farmworkers and parents described feeling sick and dizzy or suffering from skin irritations after being exposed to pesticides. Although state law requires illnesses resulting from pesticide exposure to be reported to the state, experts and labor advocates say the number of cases is surely undercounted, in part because laborers fear retaliation from employers if they report unsafe working conditions.

Asked about these findings, state officials said the data does not reflect some of the broader actions they have taken to protect farmworkers. County regulators contend that their enforcement has improved safety conditions for laborers and noted that use of toxic pesticides has decreased significantly over the last decade. Yet groups that have researched pesticide enforcement say the state of California is not using its powers to fine repeat offenders for safety violations — and hold them accountable.

“It’s especially troubling because it means workers aren’t being protected,” said Anne Katten, director of the Pesticide and Work Health and Safety Project for the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.

Exposure to pesticides and laboring in extreme heat are problematic for all farmworkers, but the long-term effects on the neurological system and vital organs can be more pronounced for younger laborers, according to medical experts.

“Children are still developing, and so we don’t want to mess with that development,” said Dr. Jose Suarez, a physician and associate professor of public health at UC San Diego, who has researched the effects of pesticides on adolescents.

Araceli, who started working the fields of the Santa Maria Valley four years ago when she was just 13, said that some of her most disturbing experiences involved planting vegetables in fields that reeked of chemicals.

“Sometimes, it would be really, really pungent,” she recalled, adding that she’d get headaches and feel like throwing up.

At times, Araceli said, skin peeled off her fingers and they turned white.

Her mother, in a separate interview, said in Spanish that her “head began to hurt” after she entered a lettuce field where a tractor had sprayed liquid that smelled like chemicals.

A 17-year-old strawberry picker at one of the many berry fields in the Salinas Valley.

(Barbara Davidson / Capital & Main)

Unlike in other states, California’s system to protect farmworkers is split between local and state agencies.

Enforcement at the local level is the responsibility of 55 county agricultural commissioners, who are appointed by their boards of supervisors and have a dual role of promoting agriculture and enforcing state pesticide safety laws. The state Department of Pesticide Regulation enforces pesticide safety across California and provides guidance and training to agricultural commissioners.

In interviews, agricultural commissioners said the dual regulation system works because crops and growing seasons vary in each county and they can focus on the specific needs in their jurisdictions.

Yet when agricultural commissioners take enforcement action against a company for pesticide violations, they are not required by the department to check whether the firm has committed violations in other regions of California. In a statement, the department said that it “monitors compliance for repeat offenders as well as trends that may occur throughout the state.”

Capital & Main analyzed 40,150 records detailing pesticide enforcement actions across California from January 2018 through the first quarter of 2024.

According to the records, more than 240 businesses were cited for at least 1,268 violations of state pesticide laws in three or more counties. But for at least 609 of these violations — or 48% — the businesses paid no fines and received only notices or warnings.

Pesticide safety violations

Over six years, California cited more than 240 businesses across the state for at least 1,268 violations of pesticide safety laws in three or more counties.

But for nearly half of those violations the companies paid no fines and only received warnings or notices to correct the problems.

Analysis is from more than 40,000 state enforcement records from 2018 through early 2024.

Lorena Iñiguez Elebee LOS ANGELES TIMES

Craig Cassidy, a spokesperson for the Department of Pesticide Regulation, said in a written response that the number of violations with no fines “does not account for broader actions [that state and county regulators] may have taken to address the violations or to support compliance,” including warning letters or required training.

“Issuing fines is one tool in an effective enforcement program, which may be used in conjunction with other strategies to support compliance with statewide pesticide use laws and regulations,” he said.

Still, according to the data, there were repeated cases in which businesses were cited for multiple violations in separate counties but were never fined.

Agricultural contractor Nextcrop Inc., for example, was cited for 10 violations in four counties within a span of three years, but it was never ordered to pay a fine and received only warnings and notices to correct the problems, the records show.

All the violations pertained to requirements such as failing to provide pesticide safety training for workers, not posting information to inform employees about which pesticides were used on crops and failing to post information about when it was safe for workers to enter pesticide-sprayed fields.

The chief executive of Nextcrop and another company official did not respond to requests for comment.

Nutrien Ag Solutions, which is operated by a leading global supplier of agricultural services and products, is a company known to state regulators. In 2018, the firm agreed to pay $331,353 to U.S. officials in connection with 52 federal pesticide safety violations, some of them at seven facilities in the San Joaquin and Santa Maria valleys. The Department of Pesticide Regulation was involved in the investigation, according to federal regulators.

And from 2018 to 2022, agricultural commissioners cited the company for 35 separate violations of state law in 12 counties, the records show. They included failing to provide decontamination facilities and protective gear for workers, not following label instructions for pesticide use and failing to post emergency medical information in fields.

The firm paid fines for only 10 of the violations for a total of $14,700, according to the records.

In a statement, Nutrien Ag Solutions said that the violations “were resolved years ago, with prompt action taken at the time to address and correct them.”

“Nutrien upholds high standards in our operations,” the company said, “and remains dedicated to supporting farmers globally with the tools and expertise they need to produce safe and healthy crops.”

On two separate occasions, in 2018 and 2021, the Fresno County agricultural commissioner referred Nutrien Ag Solutions to the Department of Pesticide Regulation for enforcement action, the records show. Yet even after the second referral, the business continued to operate and was cited for 16 additional state violations in more than a half-dozen counties, the majority for which it was not fined.

The department said the case was referred to a regional office in Fresno County, but that it was never forwarded to headquarters in Sacramento for review.

“This was an error,” Cassidy said, “and we are looking into this matter.”

He added that the department is planning to propose regulations that would require agricultural commissioners to check a company’s statewide compliance history when taking enforcement actions, as well as justify the amount of their fines.

California agriculture has long depended on chemical-based pesticides to reduce crop damage and boost yields. Although organic farming has grown over the years, it accounts for less than 10% of all cropland statewide, far from the 20% goal by 2045 that California has adopted.

Commissioners in eight of California’s top 11 agricultural-producing counties agreed to provide estimates for the total number of times pesticides were sprayed in their jurisdictions — a figure they are not required by the state to track.

According to the estimates, pesticides were sprayed more than 687,000 times in the eight counties in 2023. That same year, 4,720 total inspections were performed in those counties — or less than 1% of the time that fields and orchards in those jurisdictions were sprayed with pesticides, according to enforcement records filed with the state.

Pesticide inspections

Agricultural commissioners provided estimates for the number of pesticide applications for 2023 in eight of the top 11 counties for agricultural production in California. The data and state enforcement records showed that these counties performed a small number of inspections compared with overall pesticide applications.

= 1,000 pesticide applications

Safety inspections were performed less than 1% of the time

Agricultural commissioners in Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Merced, Monterey, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara and Tulare counties and state pesticide enforcement records.

Lorena Iñiguez Elebee LOS ANGELES TIMES

In interviews, six agricultural commissioners said the pesticide regulatory system is too complex to be measured by a single metric, such as the number of inspections.

“I don’t think it’s a realistic way to gauge effectiveness,” said Melissa Cregan, the commissioner in Fresno County.

She and other commissioners pointed to illnesses from pesticide exposure as a key indicator of their success. Of the 859 cases reported in California in 2021, the most recent figures available, 210 — or 24% — were agricultural workers.

But experts and worker advocates say that such figures are probably undercounted, noting that more than half of the state’s farmworkers lack documentation.

“There are many, many cases that are not reported because the workers are afraid of being deported or retaliation from the employer,” United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero said.

Commissioners also said that farmers are using less dangerous chemicals, citing a 56% increase in use of biopesticides over the last decade.

In the last 10 years, they said, use of carcinogenic substances has dropped by 20% statewide, groundwater contaminants have been reduced by 77% and the use of reproductive toxins has dropped by 45%.

Commissioners said that most of their field enforcement is focused on so-called restricted use pesticides, which represent a relatively small percentage of all pesticides used but have a higher potential to harm people, wildlife and the environment and include chemicals that can cause cancer.

Yet even by that measure, relatively few inspections are conducted.

The hands of this 17-year-old strawberry picker are a testament to the physical nature of the work.

(Barbara Davidson / Capital & Main)

In Monterey County, where 14-year-old Jose and his family labor in Salinas Valley strawberry fields, the number of all agricultural pesticide safety inspections in 2023 equaled just 3% of the total number of times that restricted-use pesticides were used, according to state records. That equates to just one inspection for every 35 times that the toxic chemicals were applied on farmlands.

From 2021 to 2023, the Monterey County agricultural commissioner approved more than 53,800 “notices of intent,” which businesses are required to file prior to applying restricted-use pesticides. That was the highest number of approvals among the top agricultural counties in California — and more than three times the number in the next-closest county, according to enforcement records.

Monterey County’s agricultural commissioner, Juan Hidalgo, said that, unlike other counties in the state, his jurisdiction has multiple growing seasons. He added that “we do review every single one of those notices of intent.”

The Salinas Valley stretches for about 90 miles across the county and is lined with rows of berries, lettuce, spinach, artichokes and cauliflower.

The valley is where, in 1970, Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers launched their Salad Bowl strike, the largest farmworker labor action in U.S. history.

Today, the Salinas Valley’s biggest cash crop is strawberries, accounting for more than 20% of Monterey County’s $4.9-billion annual production value from agriculture.

A dozen minors interviewed in Monterey County described picking berries in fields that smelled of chemicals or working in fields where tractors had sprayed liquids with a strong chemical odor. Under state law, the amount of time that pickers are supposed to stay away from treated fields generally ranges from four hours to several weeks, depending on the pesticide.

Jose and his sister Raquel, 19, described entering a field in 2022 after a tractor had sprayed in rows next to where they were working.

“It smelled like chemicals, really strong … It made me dizzy,” said Raquel, who graduated from high school with a 4.0 grade point average and now attends college. She wants to become a nurse and work in the region, where she can use her Spanish and Mixteco language skills to help her community.

The California Strawberry Commission, which represents hundreds of growers, said that the state has the nation’s most stringent workplace safety laws and that protecting berry pickers is a top priority.

“The health and safety of farm workers is paramount in all aspects of production and prioritized by farmers and federal, state and local regulatory agencies,” Chris Christian, a vice president with the commission, said in a written response. “Farmers are also working in the fields, and their families live, work, and go to school in the communities where they farm.”

Hidalgo, the county agricultural commissioner, said worker safety is also his top priority.

He acknowledged that his 20 inspectors can’t cover all of the 314,000 acres in the county used to grow fruits and vegetables, but he said they know the growing cycles for different crops and when pesticides are most likely to be used.

“We just show up,” Hidalgo said, “and start doing an inspection.”

The inspections include a check of company records to confirm that workers receive required pesticide safety training. Yet underage workers don’t necessarily understand the documents they are told to sign, according to youths and their parents.

When she was 16, Raquel recalled, she was handed a stack of documents that had something to do with pesticides. “They just told us to sign it and to just get ready to work,” she said.

“I didn’t really know what it was because I was young,” she added, “but I signed it.”

Lopez is an independent journalist and fellow at the McGraw Center for Business Journalism. Data journalist Cherry Salazar analyzed state pesticide records for this report.

Nov. 19 (UPI) — Tech giant Nvidia on Wednesday posted record revenue and strong profit for the third quarter, beating Wall Street expectations, amid exploding growth in artificial intelligence.

Nvidia, which has the world’s largest market capitalization at $4.5 trillion, reported record sales. It said sales grew 62% in one year to $57 billion through Oct. 26. Wall Street had projected a $54.9 billion figure.

On Oct. 29, Nvidia became the first company worldwide with a $5 trillion cap one day before CEO Jensen Huang met with President Donald Trump in the White House.

“There’s been a lot of talk about an AI bubble. From our vantage point, we see something very different,” Huang said during a conference call with investors.

Fourth-quarter sales are estimated to be around $65 billion, contrasting with $61.66 billion by analysts.

Profit was up 65% from last year in the quarter to $31.9 billion or 78 cents per share, slightly ahead of expectations. The net income represents 58% of revenue.

NVIDIA will pay its next quarterly cash dividend of 1 cent per share on Dec. 26.

Nvidia builds chips and software platforms for the AI industry. The company, founded in 1993 in the Silicon Valley in California, pioneered the graphics processing unit, initially for 3D video games.

The chips are made in the United States by GlobalFoundries, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung in South Korea. Taiwan’s new factory in Arizona focuses on chips for Nvidia.

The design work is done in the United States, GeekBitz reported.

Most AI companies’ technology runs on Nvidia’s chip, CNN reported.

Its best-selling chip is the Blackwell Ultra, a second generation. The company is banned from selling the new ones to China.

“Blackwell sales are off the charts, and cloud GPUs are sold out,” Huang said in a statement about its best-selling chip.

“Compute demand keeps accelerating and compounding across training and inference — each growing exponentially. We’ve entered the virtuous cycle of AI. The AI ecosystem is scaling fast — with more new foundation model makers, more AI startups, across more industries, and in more countries. AI is going everywhere, doing everything, all at once.”

In October, Huang said there were $500 billion in AI chip orders for 2025 and 2026 combined.

“The number will grow,” Nvidia finance chief Colette Kress said during the earnings call with analysts.

Nvidia said there were $51.2 billion in revenue in data center sales, a 66% rise year-over-year.That includes $43 billion in revenue was for “compute,” or the GPUs. The company said most growth was from GB300 chips.

Nvidia’s stock price rose 5.08% in after-hours trading on Wednesday night on NASDAQ. The stock was at $196.00, below the record $207.04 on Oct. 29.

The stock, with the ticker symbol NVDA, initially traded at $12 per share, through its Initial Public Offering on Jan. 22, 1999.

The strong Nvidia report boosted after-hours trading of tech firms Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Google.

“This answers a lot of questions about the state of the AI revolution, and the verdict is simple: it is nowhere near its peak, neither from the market-demand nor the production-supply-chain sides for the foreseeable future,” Thomas Monteiro, senior analyst at Investing.com, said in emailed commentary following the report.

In September, Nvidia announced a $100 billion investment in OpenAI in exchange for chip purchases.

On Monday, Anthropic committed to buying $30 billion in computing capacity from Microsoft Azure in exchange for an investment in the AI lab from both tech giants.

Nvidia announced a collaboration with Intel to jointly develop multiple generations of custom data center and PC products with NVIDIA NVLink.

Nvidia has reviewed plans to accelerate seven new supercomputers, including with Oracle to build the U.S. Department of Energy’s largest AI supercomputer, Solstice, plus another system, Equinox.

Nvidia said it had $4.3 billion in gaming revenue, which is a 30% boost from one year ago.

Despite the boom, CEO of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations warnsthere is a “real risk” because of complacency.

“Exceptional results don’t remove the need for discipline,” Nigel Green of deVere Group in Britain said in an email to UPI. “The AI ecosystem is growing fast, but fast growth doesn’t protect anyone from the consequences of over-extension.”

He said the path from deployment to real commercial returns “remains untested” in many industries.

“Investors must examine whether business models can convert this scale of capital investment into sustained earnings,” he said. “Complacency could be a real risk.”

WASHINGTON — In political exile at his mansion in Florida, under investigation for possessing highly classified documents, Donald Trump summoned his lawyer in 2022 for a fateful conversation. A folder had been compiled with 38 documents that should have been returned to the federal government. But Trump had other ideas.

Making a plucking motion, Trump suggested his attorney, Evan Corcoran, remove the most incriminating material. “Why don’t you take them with you to your hotel room, and if there’s anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out,” Corcoran memorialized in a series of notes that surfaced during criminal proceedings.

Trump’s purported willingness to conceal evidence from law enforcement as a private citizen is now fueling concern on Capitol Hill that his efforts to thwart the release of Justice Department files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation could lead to similar obstructive efforts — this time wielding the powers of the presidency.

Since resuming office in January, Trump has opposed releasing files from the federal probe into the conduct of his former friend, a convicted sex offender and alleged sex trafficker who is believed to have abused more than 200 women and girls. But bipartisan fervor has only grown over the case, with House lawmakers across party lines expected to unite behind a bill on Tuesday that would compel the release of the documents.

Last week, facing intensifying public pressure, the House Oversight Committee released over 20,000 files from Epstein’s estate that referenced Trump more than 1,000 times.

Those files, which included emails from Epstein himself, showed the notorious financier believed that Trump had intimate knowledge of his criminal conduct. “He knew about the girls,” Epstein wrote, referring to Trump as the “dog that hasn’t barked.”

Rep. Dave Min (D-Irvine), a member of the oversight committee, noted Trump could order the release of the Justice Department files without any action from Congress.

“The fact that he has not done so, coupled with his long and well documented history of lying and obstructing justice, raises serious concerns that he is still trying to stop this investigation,” Min said in an interview, “either by trying to persuade Senate Republicans to vote against the release or through other mechanisms.”

A spokesperson for Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said that altering or destroying portions of the Epstein files “would violate a wide range of federal laws.”

“The senator is certainly concerned that Donald Trump, who was investigated and indicted for obstruction, will persist in trying to stonewall and otherwise prevent the full release of all the documents and information in the U.S. government’s possession,” the spokesperson said, “even if the law is passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.”

After the House votes on the bill, titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act, bipartisan support in the Senate would be required to pass the measure. Trump would then have to sign it into law.

Trump encouraged Republican House members to support it over the weekend after enough GOP lawmakers broke ranks last week to compel a vote, overriding opposition from the speaker of the House. Still, it is unclear whether the president will support the measure as it proceeds to his desk.

On Monday, Trump said he would sign the bill if it ultimately passes. “Let the Senate look at it,” he told reporters.

The bill prohibits the attorney general, Pam Bondi, from withholding, delaying or redacting the publication of “any record, document, communication, or investigative material on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”

But caveats in the bill could provide Trump and Bondi with loopholes to keep records related to the president concealed.

“Because DOJ possesses and controls these files, it is far from certain that a vote to disclose ‘the Epstein files’ will include documents pertaining to Donald Trump,” said Barbara McQuade, who served as the United States attorney for the eastern district of Michigan from 2010 until 2017, when Trump requested a slew of resignations from U.S. attorneys.

Already, this past spring, FBI Director Kash Patel directed a Freedom of Information Act team to work with hundreds of agents to comb through the entire trove of files from the investigation, and directed them to redact references to Trump, citing his status as a private citizen with privacy protections when the probe first launched in 2006, Bloomberg reported at the time.

“It would be improper for Trump to order the documents destroyed, but Bondi could redact or remove some in the name of grand jury secrecy or privacy laws,” McQuade added. “As long as there’s a pending criminal investigation, I think she can either block disclosure of the entire file or block disclosure of individuals who are not being charged, including Trump.”

Destroying the documents would be a taller task, and “would need a loyal secretary or equivalent,” said Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, a professor emeritus and FBI historian at the University of Edinburgh.

Jeffreys-Jones recalled J. Edgar Hoover’s assistant, Helen Gandy, spending weeks at his home destroying the famed FBI director’s personal file on the dirty secrets of America’s rich and powerful.

It would also be illegal, scholars say, pointing to the Federal Records Act that prohibits anyone — including presidents — from destroying government documents.

After President Nixon attempted to assert executive authority over a collection of incriminating tapes that would ultimately end his presidency, Congress passed the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, asserting that government documents and presidential records are federal property. Courts have repeatedly upheld the law.

While presidents are immune from prosecution over their official conduct, ordering the destruction of documents from a criminal investigation would not fall under presidential duties, legal scholars said, exposing Trump to charges of obstructing justice if he were to do so.

“Multiple federal laws bar anyone, including the president or those around him, from destroying or altering material contained in the Epstein files, including various federal record-keeping laws and criminal statutes. But that doesn’t mean that Trump or his cronies won’t consider trying,” said Norm Eisen, who served as chief ethics lawyer for President Obama and counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment trial.

The Democracy Defenders Fund, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Eisen, has sued the Trump administration for all records in the Epstein investigation related to Trump, warning that “court supervision is needed” to ensure Trump doesn’t attempt to subvert a lawful directive to release them.

“Perhaps the greatest danger is not altering documents but wrongly withholding them or producing and redacting them,” Eisen added. “Those are both issues that we can get at in our litigation, and where court supervision can be valuable.”

Jeffreys-Jones also said that Trump may attempt to order redactions based on claims of national security. But “this might be unconvincing for two reasons,” he said.

“Trump was not yet president at the time,” he said, and “it would raise ancillary questions if redactions did not operate in the case of President Clinton.”

Last week, Trump directed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s ties to Democratic figures, including Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s co-founder and a major Democratic donor.

He made no request for the department to similarly investigate Republicans.

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.

Despite reports of tourists being driven away from Spain by protestors, one Spanish airport has reportedly seen a rise in the number of passengers passing through, with a third coming from the UK

Warnings of Spanish ghost towns and holidaymakers ditching the country do not apply for one popular region where visitor numbers are spiking.

A Spanish airport in the popular Costa Blanca region has reported its tenth consecutive record-breaking month for passenger numbers, almost surpassing last year’s passenger total with a fair few weeks remaining in 2025.

Alicante-Elche Airport welcomed 1.9 million passengers in October, an increase of 5.9% compared to last year, and 631,771 of those passengers were Brits, representing over a third of passenger traffic. This was followed by Germany, which represented 129,127 passengers and the Netherlands with 118,996.

So far in 2025, the airport has had 17.2 million people pass through its doors, and it’s estimated it could reach the 20 million mark by the end of the year, according to Spanish expat news outlet Olive Press. They also reported that the airport had its busiest October for flights yet with 11.931, an increase of 6.1% year on year.

Some of the additional traffic could be down to new routes opening up to Alicante. Ryanair recently announced new connections to and from Cardiff, Aberdeen, Bratislava, Linz, Salzburg, Bydgoszcz, Rzeszow, Stockholm Västerås, Småland, and Lanzarote.

Ryanair also added additional flights on 29 of their existing Alicante routes for its winter 2025 schedule, noting the destination’s popularity during the colder months. The airport is serviced by several budget airlines popular with Brits including easyJet, Jet2, Vueling, and Wizz Air, making it easily accessible from across the UK.

Alicante-Elche is the fifth busiest airport in Spain, and the largest in the Valencian Community. One of the reasons it’s a popular destination for Brits is its close proximity to Benidorm, with a direct bus from the airport to the holiday hotspot taking just 45 minutes.

It’s also just 20 minutes away from the centre of Alicante, which has cultural attractions and beautiful beaches. The Telegraph dubbed Alicante ‘Spain’s most underrated city break’ in a 2024 article.

READ MORE: ‘I’m a travel agent of 30 years and everyone must visit these 5 Spanish destinations’READ MORE: Major UK airport to see Emirates and easyJet update on November 18 and 19

The news comes amid speculation that the anti-tourism protests of 2023 and 2024 would deter tourists from taking Spanish holidays. While the majority of protests took place in cities such as Barcelona and on island locations like Majorca, it was speculated that anti-tourist sentiment could lead visitors to choose alternative destinations, such as Greece or Turkey.

Benidorm has also implemented some strict restrictions to keep rowdy Brits under control. Swimming in the sea is banned between the hours of midnight and 7am, with fines between €300 and €1,500 ( approx. £255 – £1,278). Reserving your spot can also land you in trouble, with sunbeds, towels, or umbrellas left on the sand before 9.30am removed, and potential fines of up to €250 (about £220.33) for leaving your belongings behind.

Smoking and vaping have also been banned from the beach, with reports of fines reaching the thousands.

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The 2028 presidential election is more than 1,000 days away, but you’d hardly know it from all the speculation and anticipation that’s swirling from Sacramento to the Washington Beltway.

Standing at the center of attention is California Gov. Gavin Newsom, fresh off his big victory on Proposition 50, the backatcha ballot measure that gerrymandered the state’s congressional map to boost Democrats and offset a power grab by Texas Republicans.

Newsom is bidding for the White House, and has been doing so for the better part of a year, though he won’t say so out loud. Is Newsom the Democratic front-runner or a mere flash in the pan?

Times columnists Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak disagree on Newsom’s presidential prospects, and more. Here the two hash out some of their differences.

Barabak: So is the presidential race over, Anita? Should I just spend the next few years backpacking and snowboarding in the Sierra and return in January 2029 to watch Newsom iterate, meet the moment and, with intentionality, be sworn in as our nation’s 48th president?

Chabria: You should definitely spend as much time in the Sierra as possible, but I have no idea if Newsom will be elected president in 2028 or not. That’s about a million light-years away in political terms. But I think he has a shot, and is the front-runner for the nomination right now. He’s set himself up as the quick-to-punch foil to President Trump, and increasingly as the leader of the Democratic Party. Last week, he visited Brazil for a climate summit that Trump ghosted, making Newsom the American presence.

And in a recent (albeit small) poll, in a hypothetical race against JD Vance, the current Republican favorite, Newsom lead by three points. Though, unexpectedly, respondents still picked Kamala Harris as their choice for the nomination.

To me, that shows he’s popular across the country. But you’ve warned that Californians have a tough time pulling voters in other states. Do you think his Golden State roots will kill off his contender status?

Barabak: I make no predictions. I’m smart enough to know that I’m not smart enough to know. And, after 2016 and the election of Trump, the words “can’t,” “not,” “won’t,” “never ever” are permanently stricken from my political vocabulary.

That said, I wouldn’t stake more than a penny — which may eventually be worth something, as they’re phased out of our currency — on Newsom’s chances.

Look, I yield to no one in my love of California. (And I’ve got the Golden State tats to prove it.) But I’m mindful of how the rest of the country views the state and those politicians who bear a California return address. You can be sure whoever runs against Newsom — and I’m talking about his fellow Democrats, not just Republicans — will have a great deal to say about the state’s much-higher-than-elsewhere housing, grocery and gas prices and our shameful rates of poverty and homelessness.

Not a great look for Newsom, especially when affordability is all the political rage these days.

And while I understand the governor’s appeal — Fight! Fight! Fight! — I liken it to the fleeting fancy that, for a time, made attorney, convicted swindler and rhetorical battering ram Michael Avenatti seriously discussed as a Democratic presidential contender. At a certain point — and we’re still years away — people will assess the candidates with their head, not viscera.

As for the polling, ask Edmund Muskie, Gary Hart or Hillary Clinton how much those soundings matter at this exceedingly early stage of a presidential race. Well, you can’t ask Muskie, because the former Maine senator is dead. But all three were early front-runners who failed to win the Democratic nomination.

Chabria: I don’t argue the historical case against the Golden State, but I will argue that these are different days. People don’t vote with their heads. Fight me on that.

They vote on charisma, tribalism, and maybe some hope and fear. They vote on issues as social media explains them. They vote on memes.

There no reality in which our next president is rationally evaluated on their record — our current president has a criminal one and that didn’t make a difference.

But I do think, as we’ve talked about ad nauseam, that democracy is in peril. Trump has threatened to run for a third term and recently lamented that his Cabinet doesn’t show him the same kind of fear that Chinese President Xi Jinping gets from his top advisers. And Vance, should he get the chance to run, has made it clear he’s a Christian nationalist who would like to deport nearly every immigrant he can catch, legal or not.

Being a Californian may not be the drawback it’s historically been, especially if Trump’s authoritarianism continues and this state remains the symbol of resistance.

But our governor does have an immediate scandal to contend with. His former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, was just arrested on federal corruption charges. Do you think that hurts him?

Barabak: It shouldn’t.

There’s no evidence of wrongdoing on Newsom’s part. His opponents will try the guilt-by-association thing. Some already have. But unless something damning surfaces, there’s no reason the governor should be punished for the alleged wrongdoing of Williamson or others charged in the case.

But let’s go back to 2028 and the presidential race. I think one of our fundamental disagreements is that I believe people do very much evaluate a candidate’s ideas and records. Not in granular fashion, or the way some chin-stroking political scientist might. But voters do want to know how and whether a candidate can materially improve their lives.

There are, of course, a great many who’d reflexively support Donald Trump, or Donald Duck for that matter, if he’s the Republican nominee. Same goes for Democrats who’d vote for Gavin Newsom or Gavin Floyd, if either were the party’s nominee. (While Newsom played baseball in college, Floyd pitched 13 seasons in the major leagues, so he’s got that advantage over the governor.)

But I’m talking about those voters who are up for grabs — the ones who decide competitive races — who make a very rational decision based on their lives and livelihoods and which candidate they believe will benefit them most.

Granted, the dynamic is a bit different in a primary contest. But even then, we’ve seen time and again the whole dated/married phenomenon. As in 2004, when a lot of Democrats “dated” Howard Dean early in the primary season but “married” John Kerry. I see electability — as in the perception of which Democrat can win the general election — being right up there alongside affordability when it comes time for primary voters to make their 2028 pick.

Chabria: No doubt affordability will be a huge issue, especially if consumer confidence continues to plummet. And we are sure to hear criticisms of California, many of which are fair, as you point out. Housing costs too much, homelessness remains intractable.

But these are also problems across the United States, and require deeper fixes than even this economically powerful state can handle alone. More than past record, future vision is going to matter. What’s the plan?

It can’t be vague tax credits or even student loan forgiveness. We need a concrete vision for an economy that brings not just more of the basics like homes, but the kind of long-term economic stability — higher wages, good schools, living-wage jobs — that makes the middle class stronger and attainable.

The Democrat who can lay out that vision while simultaneously continuing to battle the authoritarian creep currently eating our democracy will, in my humble opinion, be the one voters choose, regardless of origin story. After all, it was that message of change with hope that gave us President Obama, another candidate many considered a long shot at first.

Mark, are there any 2028 prospects you’re keeping a particularly close eye on?

Barabak: I’m taking things one election at a time, starting with the 2026 midterms, which include an open-seat race for governor here in California. The results in November 2026 will go a long way toward shaping the dynamic in November 2028. That said, there’s no shortage of Democrats eyeing the race — too many to list here. Will the number surpass the 29 major Democrats who ran in 2020? We’ll see.

I do agree with you that, to stand any chance of winning in 2028, whomever Democrats nominate will have to offer some serious and substantive ideas on how to make people’s lives materially better. Imperiled democracy and scary authoritarianism aside, it’s still the economy, stupid.

Which brings us full circle, back to our gallivanting governor. He may be winning fans and building his national fundraising base with his snippy memes and zippy Trump put-downs. But even if he gets past the built-in anti-California bias among so many voters outside our blessed state, he’s not going to snark his way to the White House.

I’d wager more than a penny on that.

Italian Sinner has warned that Alex de Minaur “doesn’t have a lot to lose” in their semi-final.

Sinner advanced to the last four without dropping a set or a service game, showcasing his clinical touch against Shelton by converting two of his three break-point opportunities in the first set and sealing the win in the tie-break with his second match point.

Efficient on serve throughout the match, he shut down Shelton’s only break point – he has now saved all eight he has faced in Turin – and gave up just seven points in six second-set service games.

The 24-year-old, targeting a third consecutive appearance in the final at the end-of-season showpiece, boasts a 12-0 record against seventh seeded De Minaur but is unwilling to underestimate the Australian, who upset Taylor Fritz to clinch second place in the Jimmy Connors Group.

“I’m very happy for [De Minaur],” Sinner said. “Props to him for coming back with that performance [against Fritz]. It’s one of the best matches I’ve seen him play.

“I have to be very careful – he doesn’t have a lot to lose. It’s going to be very difficult.”

In the doubles, a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory for Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara over Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic means there will be five British players in the semi-finals – the most from a single nation since 1992.

British duo Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, who had already qualified, maintained their 100% record with a 7-5 6-3 win against Christian Harrison and Evan King and will face fellow Britons and year-end number ones Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the last four.

European shares extended their rally to fresh record highs on Wednesday, buoyed by optimism over a potential resolution to the prolonged US government shutdown and a steady stream of upbeat corporate news.

The region-wide STOXX 600 index rose 0.5% in early trading to an all-time high of 583.4, with major bourses in positive territory.

Investor sentiment was lifted after the US Senate approved a temporary funding bill to end the record 43-day shutdown, with markets betting that the measure will secure full passage in the coming days. There were broad-based gains led by healthcare and luxury stocks, after a positive brokerage note on Novo Nordisk and speculation of a Chinese expansion by Louis Vuitton boosted sentiment across the region.

The euro remains under slight pressure, trading around $1.157 per € at 11.30 CET after a modest retreat. This comes as the US dollar steadies amid improving risk sentiment and hopes that the US government shutdown will soon be resolved. On the commodity front, energy prices are drifting slightly lower as crude oil futures slipped, reflecting calmer concerns about supply disruptions.

On this side of the ocean, yields on UK government bonds, or gilts, rose sharply as investors grew uneasy over the prospect that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves could face pressure to step down following the Budget. Downing Street said Starmer would resist any leadership challenge.

London’s FTSE 100 edged higher on Wednesday, hovering near the 10,000 mark to trade at fresh record highs, as investors shrugged off volatility in global tech shares.

“UK stocks made progress despite some volatility in the AI space in the US and Asia overnight,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Meanwhile, multinational energy company SSE saw its share price skyrocket by more than 12% after it unveiled an ambitious investment plan. It will nearly double its investment to £33bn (€37.5bn) by 2027 and will be partly financed by a £2bn equity raise with the remainder coming from debt, asset sales and existing cash flow.

Phil Ross, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said the market had begun to wonder whether SSE might raise capital to fund its strong future growth prospects, and this uncertainty had weighed on the shares in recent months.

“This morning’s announced equity raise puts those doubts to bed as part of the new CEO’s strategy, and leaves a clear pathway to profitable and reliable growth, focusing on the big opportunity in UK power networks,” Ross said, adding: “With the future runway for growth now in place, the company is in a great position to cement itself as one of the UK’s leading energy groups in the UK.”

UK-based BAE Systems reported strong performance for its financial year. The company said robust demand supported BAE’s expectations for further profit growth.

The defence giant has secured more than £27bn (€30.6bn) in orders so far this year, with additional deals expected before year-end.

The company reaffirmed its recently upgraded full-year guidance, forecasting sales growth of 8–10% and underlying operating profit growth of 9–11%. BAE plans to return about £1.5bn (€1.7bn) to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks in 2025. Shares were little changed in early trading.

One of the key developments shaping international market sentiment on Tuesday was SoftBank’s decision to sell its entire stake in Nvidia, worth $5.83 bn (€5bn). This move resulted in a 10% dive of the Japanese technology company’s share prices on Wednesday in the Asian trade, as equity markets reacted unfavourably to the surprise announcement.

“Corrections are a healthy and necessary fact of life in financial markets, but investors will be wary of any signs this is turning into a pronounced sell-off,” according to Mould, who added that attention is now turning to Nvidia’s third-quarter earnings update on 19 November.

Mould also highlighted that once the US government shutdown is resolved, investors will focus on a wave of upcoming US economic data, including third-quarter GDP.

In more corporate news, the world’s largest electronics maker, Foxconn, posted anticipation-exceeding results showing a jump in its third-quarter profit of 17% from a year earlier, fuelled by growth in its artificial intelligence server business.

The company said it was “optimistic” about the performance of AI and smart consumer electronics in the fourth quarter, which are expected to show significant growth momentum.

Nov. 11 (UPI) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a record high upon closing on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq Composite finished down as investors generally sold their tech holdings.

The Dow is comprised of 30 blue-chip stocks and closed at a record 47,927.96 after posting a 559.33-point rise during the day’s trading amid news that the federal government shutdown likely will end soon, according to CNBC.

The increase represented a 1.18% gain as investors, buoyed by news the shutdown is on track to end, bought shares in leading healthcare companies, including Merck, Amgen and Johnson & Johnson.

A general selloff of tech stocks accounted for the Nasdaq’s relatively poor performance on Tuesday and likely contributed to the Dow’s record close as investors switched to other investments.

“These tech companies, they’re cash-flow machines,” Logan Capital Management portfolio manager Bill Fitzpatrick told CNBC.

“It doesn’t take much, a little bit of negative news, for the sentiment to turn just a little bit, and you get an unwind that is more favorable to value equities,” Fitzpatrick explained.

The S&P 500 also posted a gain of 0.21% as it closed at 6,846.61. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, however, posted a 0.25% decrease to 23,468.30 by the end of the day’s trading.

Shares in Nvidia, the powerhouse maker of AI processing hardware, dropped by 2.96% as investor SoftBank Group sold all of its holdings in the chipmaker on Tuesday.

Nvidia’s share price closed at 193.16, which is a decrease of 5.89.

CoreWeave also adjusted down its revenue forecast for the year, which triggered a 15% decline in its share price.

The tech firm that specializes in artificial intelligence infrastructure cited delays by a data center affiliate as the cause of its lower revenue forecast.

Sinner reached all four major finals in a year when he also served a three-month doping suspension after twice testing positive for a banned substance in 2024.

Wada accepted Sinner “did not intend to cheat” and Djokovic said he believed the Italian “didn’t do it on purpose”.

However, Djokovic warned that the case would remain a “cloud” over the 24-year-old throughout his career.

“That cloud will follow him as the cloud of Covid will follow me,” said Djokovic, who was deported from Australia in 2022 because he was not vaccinated against the virus.

“Over time it will fade, but I don’t think it will disappear.”

A number of players questioned the timing of Sinner’s ban, with Djokovic adding: “There is the lack of transparency, the inconsistency, the convenience [of] the ban coming between the slams so he doesn’t miss out. It was very, very odd.

“I really don’t like how the case was being handled. You could hear so many other players who had similar situations coming out in the media and complaining that it was a preferable treatment.”

For months, as victims pleaded for information, the Los Angeles Fire Department kept secret that its firefighters were ordered to stop mop-up operations on a small brushfire that continued to smolder and reignited days later into the massive Palisades fire.

At least one department official learned that a battalion chief had directed the firefighters to pack up their hoses and leave the scene of the Lachman fire Jan. 2, even though they complained that the ground was still smoking in places and rocks remained hot to the touch, according to a source who was briefed on the matter in June.

But the department did not include that finding, or any detailed examination of the reignition, in its after-action report on the Jan. 7 Palisades fire — or otherwise make the information public — despite victims demanding answers for months about how the blaze started and whether more could have been done to prevent it.

The report, which was released last month and intended to identify shortcomings in the LAFD’s preparedness and response, only briefly mentioned the prior blaze, even though its role in starting the Palisades fire was clear to firefighters. According to the report, on the morning of Jan. 7, an LAFD captain called Fire Station 23 — one of two stations in Pacific Palisades — to say that the Lachman fire had started up again.

Despite this, LAFD officials were emphatic early on that the Lachman fire was fully extinguished.

“We won’t leave a fire that has any hot spots,” Kristin Crowley, the fire chief at the time, said at a community meeting Jan. 16, after the Palisades fire killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes.

“That fire was dead out,” Chief Deputy Joe Everett said at the same meeting, adding that he was out of town but communicating with the incident commander. “If it is determined that was the cause, it would be a phenomenon.”

The Times reported late last month that a battalion chief had ordered firefighters to leave the scene of the Lachman fire the day after it broke out, rather than stay and make sure there were no hidden embers that could ignite a new fire, according to firefighter text exchanges. Mario Garcia, the battalion chief listed as being on duty the day that firefighters were ordered to leave the Lachman fire, said in an email that he was unable to comment due to “the ongoing investigation.”

Interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva declined to be interviewed or answer questions about when top LAFD officials learned of the firefighters’ complaints about leaving the scene. Mayor Karen Bass also declined an interview request and did not respond directly to a question about whether she was informed of the firefighters’ complaints before The Times report and, if so, when.

After The Times published the story on the texts, victims of the Palisades fire expressed outrage, while Bass directed Villanueva to launch an investigation into the matter. Critics of Bass’ administration have asked for an independent inquiry. A spokesperson said Thursday that Bass’ selection for permanent fire chief, Jaime Moore, will lead the investigation, not Villanueva. Moore’s appointment still must be confirmed by the L.A. City Council.

Meanwhile, a federal grand jury subpoena was served on the LAFD for firefighters’ communications, including text messages, about smoke or hot spots in the area of the Lachman fire, according to a memo distributed to firefighters last week.

The source, a high-ranking fire official who works for a different agency in the L.A. region, told The Times that another LAFD battalion chief, Nick Ferrari, informed him in June that the department had learned of the Lachman firefighters’ account of being ordered to leave the burn site. The official asked not to be identified by name or the agency he works for because of the sensitivity of the LAFD finding.

The Times reviewed written notes that the official made shortly after the conversation, documenting what Ferrari had said about the firefighters’ complaints.

Ferrari works in the department’s risk management section, according to his LAFD email profile. That section typically conducts internal reviews of incidents such as the Palisades fire for potential liability. He did not respond to interview requests and an emailed list of questions. It is not clear what, if anything, Ferrari did with the information he shared with the official about five months ago.

Federal investigators say the Lachman fire was deliberately set and had burned underground in a canyon root system until high winds rekindled it on Jan. 7. Last month, an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led to the arrest of former Pacific Palisades resident Jonathan Rinderknecht, who is accused of setting the Lachman fire shortly after midnight Jan. 1.

It is unclear from the internal LAFD memo whether the federal subpoena for firefighter texts is directly related to the case against Rinderknecht, who has pleaded not guilty.

In one text message reported last month in The Times, a firefighter who was at the Lachman scene Jan. 2 wrote that the battalion chief in charge had been told it was a “bad idea” to leave because of visible signs of smoldering terrain, which crews feared could start a new fire. “And the rest is history,” the firefighter wrote in recent weeks.

A second firefighter was told that tree stumps were still hot at the location when the crew packed up and left, according to the texts. And another firefighter said in texts last month that crew members were upset when directed to leave the scene, but that they could not ignore orders. That firefighter also wrote that he and his colleagues knew immediately that the Jan. 7 fire was a rekindle of the Jan. 1 blaze.

The firefighters’ accounts line up with a video recorded by a hiker above Skull Rock Trailhead about 11:30 a.m. Jan. 2 — almost 36 hours after the Lachman fire started — that shows smoke rising from the dirt. “It’s still smoldering,” the hiker says from behind the camera.

The LAFD previously said that officials did everything they could to ensure the Lachman fire was out.

In an interview with The Times last month, Villanueva — who came out of retirement to head the department in February, after Bass removed Crowley from the position — said that firefighters remained in the Lachman fire burn area for more than 36 hours and “cold-trailed” it, meaning they used their hands to feel for heat, dug out hot spots and chopped a line around the perimeter of the fire to ensure it was contained.

He said firefighters returned Jan. 3 for another round of cold-trailing after a report of smoke in the area, though the LAFD did not provide records that corroborated those actions.

Those documents are readily available for release, but the LAFD has required The Times to pursue them through an often lengthy process under the California Public Records Act. Bass’ office declined to order the LAFD to provide the records to the paper.

The Times in recent years has filed three lawsuits against the city for its failure to release documents under the records act. Two of the lawsuits involved alleged misconduct by LAFD employees, including accusations that a chief deputy appeared to be intoxicated while the department was battling a 2021 fire in the Palisades.

The now-retired chief deputy said he was off-duty at the time and did nothing wrong. The department took no action against him. A judge ordered the city to release the records in the case and pay The Times’ legal fees.

In the second case involving alleged misconduct, the city agreed to settle by producing the records and reimbursing the paper’s legal costs. In the third lawsuit, which is pending, The Times contends that the city has unlawfully deleted Bass’ text messages related to the Palisades fire.

Pringle is a former Times staff writer.