seat

As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to redraw California’s congressional maps plays out at the state Capitol and on the national stage, a quieter but no less bloody scramble is simultaneously underway.

Newsom’s plan — a bid to counter President Trump’s drive for more GOP House seats with his own California show of force — still needs to be approved by the state Legislature before voters decide its fate in November.

But behind the scenes, consultants, lawmakers and would-be candidates already are jockeying for position in the newly competitive or vastly redrawn districts that may soon exist across the state.

As rumblings emerged that there probably would be a new southeast Los Angeles County congressional seat — later confirmed by the official maps released last week — political watchers braced for a full-on feeding frenzy. A fresh seat in a safe Democratic district can be a once-in-a-generation opportunity, particularly in a region crowded with ambitious politicians.

But a race that doesn’t even officially exist yet seems to already be practically tied up with a bow.

L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis hasn’t publicly announced her candidacy. But she’s made her intention to run for the redrawn 38th district clear within the close-knit world of California politics. And other would-be candidates appear to be staying out of the veteran politician’s way.

In the brass-knuckles world of southeast L.A. County politics, Solis, 67, has long been a starring player.

She previously served in Congress and the statehouse before becoming one of the five “little queens” holding the reins of the county kingdom.

Her desire for the new seat and her ability to claw back potential competition are widely known, according to conversations with more than a dozen political operatives and current and former lawmakers, most of whom asked for anonymity to speak freely about a sensitive topic. Through a consultant, Solis did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Solis was telling California lawmakers and other civic leaders that she was planning to run and was seeking endorsements, even before the maps were finalized.

At least one California lawmaker noted that Solis referred to the district as “my seat” when asking for backing — a reference to the seat she once held, even though the new district doesn’t yet exist.

Some have bristled at the alacrity with which Solis has appeared to consolidate support. The frustration is sharpened at a time when aging politicians in Washington have become a political flashpoint and Democratic leaders have been criticized for sidelining younger talent.

“It kind of looks like Hilda Solis has completely sewn up that seat in one night of making phone calls. And the excitement of a brand new seat was quickly extinguished,” one Southern California Democratic political consultant said.

Several of the consultant’s clients have already agreed to endorse Solis, they added.

“Unless Cesar Chavez himself is running out there, Hilda Solis will get our support,” a leader of one politically influential union said, name-checking the late labor trailblazer.

Solis was reelected to a third and final term on the powerful county Board of Supervisors in 2022, representing a district that sprawls from downtown and northeast Los Angeles to Pomona. She has been a leader on environmental justice and immigrant issues and made history early in her career as the first Latina in the state Senate.

Congress would be a homecoming of sorts for her — she was elected to the House in 2000 and served several terms before stepping down for a role as President Obama’s Secretary of Labor in 2009.

Under the proposed maps, Democrats could pick up five seats now held by Republicans while bolstering vulnerable Democratic Reps. Adam Gray, Josh Harder, George Whitesides, Derek Tran and Dave Min. To make those changes work, the maps vastly alter other districts around the state while creating an additional district in L.A. County.

A wide swath of what is now the 38th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Whittier), would be divided into two neighboring southeast L.A. County districts.

Because members of Congress do not have to live in the district they represent, and because the proposed 38th and 41st districts both include a large chunk of Sánchez’s current district, it was initially unclear which would lack an incumbent and be seen as the “new” district.

But should the maps pass, Sánchez is likely planning to run in the 41st district, according to a source close to her.

During the state’s last redistricting process — when California lost a congressional seat for the first time due to dwindling population — the Southeast L.A. County seat held by Lucille Roybal-Allard, the first Mexican American woman elected to Congress, was eliminated.

Both of the proposed new districts contain portions of Roybal-Allard’s old district — which had the most Latino voters of any district in the country, according to the 2010 census.

“The L.A. delegation gets one more member of Congress when this is all over, and that member will be elected by the Latino community,” said Paul Mitchell, the political data expert tapped by Newsom to draw the new lines.

The proposed 38th District, where Solis is planning to run, would include a swath of southeast L.A. County, including some or all of cities such as Bell, Montebello and Pico Rivera, as well as El Monte, City of Industry and Hacienda Heights, stretching east to Diamond Bar before dipping south to encompass the Orange County city of Yorba Linda.

The proposed new 41st District, where Sánchez is expected to run for reelection, would include some or all of Downey, Whittier and Lakewood, as well as La Habra and Brea in Orange County. (The “old” 41st District, represented by GOP Rep. Ken Calvert, is located entirely in Riverside County, stretching from Corona to Palm Springs.)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom poses for a photo with Los Angeles area Democratic lawmakers Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, center, and her sister Sen. Susan Rubio, right, after his State of the State address in 2020.

(Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

There initially had been talk that one of the politically ambitious Rubios of Baldwin Park, who became the first sisters to serve together in the state Legislature, might be interested in the 38th.

But Susan Rubio failed to make it past the primary in a House bid last year, and her Senate seat is up for reelection in 2026, making her less likely to forgo a relatively easy path back to Sacramento for a far riskier congressional contest. A spokesperson said Rubio has not expressed interest in the seat.

Blanca Rubio said through a spokesperson Tuesday that she is solely focused on her Assembly district.

Solis’ position as a powerful county supervisor, along with her years of name recognition, would give her a strong advantage in drumming up money and endorsements.

Still, should the new maps pass, it’s unlikely that she would go entirely unchallenged. Even as some appear ready to anoint her, others are ready for a generational change.

Former state Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo of Boyle Heights cited Democratic leaders such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Maxwell Frost of Florida and Greg Casar of Texas, all of whom are under 40.

“The area includes a lot of smaller cities with a lot of dynamic leaders and is obviously representative of a very diverse community,” Carrillo said of Southeast L.A. County. “The Democratic Party has an opportunity to elect a new generation of leaders that can inspire the voter base and can inspire the future of the Democratic Party.”

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.

Aarron Greaves, 32, was on a flight to Spain when he noticed that the window next to his seat appeared cracked – which left him and other passengers feeling ‘pretty worried’

A man said passengers on his Ryanair flight were “scared” after finding that one of the aircraft’s windows was “cracked”. Aarron Greaves, 32, was flying to Ibiza from Manchester when he noticed the damage to the window next to him.

He said that while he was scared, Ryanair staff told him that there was nothing to worry about. Video footage shows Aarron poking the plastic cover on the window with his finger. He said: “Everyone was scared and no one wanted to sit near it. I saw the crack after opening the window, so it was already there when I got on the plane.”

Aarron said that the crew came over and explained that an engineer had checked the window. However, he claimed that they did not reveal how it happened, adding: “I was pretty worried, but it all worked out OK in the end.”

Ryanair said: “We note that the window reveal (which is used only to protect the window from scratches) was found to be damaged and has since been replaced.”

It comes after a Ryanair pilot lost consciousness in the cockpit of a flight from Barcelona to Porto earlier in August. A source from the National Institute of Medical Emergencies told Portugal Resident that the pilot suffered a “rapidly recovering syncope” and “apparently recovered during the flight”.

The pilot came back to consciousness and the plane landed normally, according to reports. A spokesperson for the airline told The Mirror: “Ryanair has procedures and training in place to deal with situations where a pilot becomes unwell in flight. This flight from Barcelona to Porto (10 Aug), landed safely at Porto Airport.”

Last month, it was reported that the budget airline could increase bonuses given to employees who spot passengers trying to sneak oversized luggage on board. Currently, members of staff receive about 1.50 euros (£1.50) for each piece of excess baggage they spot.

Ryanair said that it was determined to “eliminate the scourge of oversized bags which delay boarding,” adding that these bags were “clearly unfair on the over 99% of our passengers who comply with our baggage rules”. The airline has baggage sizers at airport gates to check carry-ons before passengers board, ensuring they comply with the strict rules.

Michael O’Leary, the airline boss, told RTE’s Morning Ireland: “We are happy to incentivise our (staff) with a share of those excess baggage fees, which we think will decline over the coming year or two.”

Passengers are allowed to bring a small carry-on bag on each flight, with dimensions not exceeding 40x20x25cm and a weight limit of 10kg. If you wish to bring additional bags, you will need to pay extra when booking your flights, or face charges of up to £74 at the gate.

Lately, the only thing the Dodgers excel at is losing games they should win. When they hit they can’t pitch and when they pitch they can’t hit. They can’t move runners over or get a clutch hit and, of course, the relievers still can’t throw strikes. It all adds up to a good year … for the Padres.

Alan Abajian
Alta Loma

To paraphrase the old adage, you can put lipstick on the Dodgers — for example, so and so is coming back … or recovering.

But any team that has played as inconsistently as they have at the plate, in the field, and on the pitcher’s mound is very unlikely to survive in multiple playoff short series. It’s virtually certain that type of team will get tripped up along the way. Especially one predicted to win 120 games.

Kip Dellinger
Santa Monica

Mr. Plaschke is saying that the Dodgers’ failure to trade for bullpen help is the problem with the bullpen. Maybe he should point the finger at the guy (mis)using them.

John Vitz
Manhattan Beach

Re: Bill Plaschke’s column on Dodgers at trade deadline — The Dodgers didn’t have an “inability” to improve their bullpen, it was an “unwillingness.” With the talent in their system, the Dodgers could have easily put together a package to get Mason Miller, David Bednar or similar. Impossible to know if there was any meaningful undisclosed trade talk to get better bullpen help, but it sure looks like the Dodgers simply decided not to do it. It also looks like it could be a big mistake.

John Merryman
Redondo Beach

Truth be told, the story was about the incredible Angel comeback/sweep of the Dodgers. Once again the columnist focuses on the Dodgers’ injuries instead of the Angels’ mind-blowing bottom of the ninth rally. Will the “Summer Bummer” continue when the Padres invade Dodger Stadium?

Patrick Kelley
Los Angeles

Who ARE these people and what have they done with our Dodgers?

Sarah Tamor
Santa Monica

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Republican leaders said Tuesday that they were prepared to end their stalemated special session and immediately begin another standoff with Democrats in the GOP’s efforts to redraw congressional maps as directed by President Trump.

It’s the latest indication that Trump’s push to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections will become an extended standoff that promises to reach multiple statehouses controlled by both major parties.

Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows confirmed the plans during a brief session Tuesday morning that marked another failure to meet the required attendance standards to conduct official business because dozens of Democrats have left the state to stymie the GOP’s partisan gerrymandering attempts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Burrows said from the House floor that lawmakers will not attempt to reconvene again until Friday. If Democrats are still absent — and they have given no indication that they plan to return — the speaker said Republicans will end the current session and Gov. Greg Abbott will immediately call another.

The governor, a Trump ally, confirmed his intentions in a statement.

“The Special Session #2 agenda will have the exact same agenda, with the potential to add more items critical to Texans,” Abbott wrote. “There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.”

Abbott called the current session with an extensive agenda that included disaster relief for floods that killed more than 130 people. Democrats balked when Abbott added Trump’s redistricting idea to the agenda. Burrows on Tuesday did not mention redistricting but chided Democrats for not showing up for debate on the flood response package.

The redistricting legislation would reshape the state’s congressional districts in a design aimed at sending five more Republicans to Washington.

The scheme is part of Trump’s push to shore up Republicans’ narrow House majority and avoid a repeat of his first presidency, when the 2018 midterms restored Democrats to a House majority that blocked his agenda and twice impeached him. Current maps nationally put Democrats within three seats of retaking the House majority — with only several dozen competitive districts across 435 total seats.

Texas Republicans have issued civil warrants for the absent Democrats. Because they are out of state, those lawmakers are beyond the reach of Texas authorities.

Burrows said Tuesday that absent Democrats would have to pay for all state government costs for law enforcement officials attempting to track them down. Burrows has said state troopers and others have run up “six figures in overtime costs” trying to corral Democratic legislators.

Barrow and Lathan write for the Associated Press. Barrow reported from Atlanta.

Aug. 11 (UPI) — Scottish firefighters were battling a blaze that ignited on Arthur’s Seat, a extinct volcano in Edinburgh, officials said.

Local authorities said they were notified of the blaze at about 4 p.m. local time Sunday.

“Operations control mobilized four fire appliances and specialist resources to the area where firefighters are working to extinguish a fire affecting a large area of gorse,” the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement.

“There are no reported casualties at this time and crews remain at the scene.”

Videos of the fire shared online show smoke billowing from the mountain and a fire spreading near its crest.

The cause of the blaze was unknown.

Police in Edinburgh are advising motorists and pedestrians to avoid the area.

“Please take care anyone in the vicinity of the Arthur’s Seat fire,” Chris Murray, a member of Parliament for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, said on X.

Arthur’s Seat is about 823 feet above sea level and is a landmark within Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park, which is a short walk from the city’s historic downtown. According to Historic Environment Scotland, a climb to the top of the volcano gives a 360-degree view of Edinburgh and the Lothians.

There are certain seats on a plane that could become a nightmare on a long haul flight according to a travel expert – who shared her top tips when it comes to plane seat selection

When going on a long haul flight – experts urge people to never select these certain seats if they want a smooth journey. Flying long haul can already be hard, and it can be made even worse if you choose the wrong seat.

A travel expert has shared some of her top tips when it comes to where to sit on a plan for comfort, sleep quality and less disruptions on a long flight as poor sleep selection can make jet lag worse and leave people exhausted before their holiday has even started.

While people may think the window seat on the end row is the ideal spot for some peace and quiet, tucked away at the back – Dawn Morwood, Co-Director of Cheap Deals Away said “it’s actually a recipe for a miserable flight”.

READ MORE: Spanish islands fear Brits won’t return as tourists are dealt another blow

That back corner window seat might seem like the prime spot when you’re scrolling through the seat map, but it’s actually where comfort goes to die, the expert revealed. Located next to the toilets and galley, it will cause sleep disrupting problems,

“The biggest issue is the constant foot traffic,” Dawn said. “You’ve got passengers queuing for the loo right beside you, flight attendants rushing back and forth with trolleys, and people stretching their legs in the aisle. It never stops.” These seats also don’t recline because there’s a wall directly behind them. On a 10-hour flight to Asia or an 8-hour journey to the States, that upright position becomes torture for your back and makes proper sleep nearly impossible.

Dawn’s expert tips for choosing the perfect long-haul seat

Pick your sweet spot wisely

The best seats are typically in the middle section of the aircraft, she advised, away from both the busy front galley and the chaotic rear area. “Look for seats around rows 6-15 on most wide-body aircraft,” advised Dawn. “You’re far enough from the action but still have easy access to facilities when needed.”

Avoid the bathroom zone

Never book within three rows of any lavatory. The queues, smells and constant activity will make your journey miserable. Check the aircraft’s seat map carefully before selecting.

Choose your side strategically

“If you’re flying eastbound for a daytime arrival, pick a seat on the right side of the plane to avoid the sun streaming through your window during the final hours,” Dawn suggested. “For westbound flights, sit on the left side.”

Consider the exit rows carefully

While exit row seats offer extra legroom, they come with restrictions. You can’t store anything under the seat in front during takeoff and landing, and these seats often don’t recline.

Book early for best selection

“The golden rule is simple – book as early as possible,” says Dawn. “Airlines release their best seats to early bookers, and you’ll have the widest choice of positions.”

The expert said that while the back corner window seat might look appealing on the booking page, “you’ll regret it the moment you try to get comfortable,” and added: “Poor seat selection not only impacts your flight, but your entire trip. If you can’t sleep properly on the plane, you’ll arrive with worse jet lag, feeling cranky and tired. Your first few days of holiday are essentially written off while you recover.”

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Dawn Morwood, co-director of Cheap Deals Away, knows exactly which seats to steer clear of when flying. Failure to dodge it can leave you with a sore back and in bad smell city

A travel expert has advised against sitting in one particular seat whenever you’re flying.

While that back corner window spot might look appealing when you’re booking (quiet, out of the way, with a view) it could actually be the worst choice you make for your journey.

Dawn Morwood, co-director of Cheap Deals Away, knows exactly which seats to steer clear of. “People often think the last-row window seat will be peaceful, but it’s actually a recipe for a miserable flight,” she explains.

That back corner window seat might seem like prime real estate when you’re scrolling through the seat map, but it’s actually where comfort goes to die. The last-row window seat, particularly those positioned near the rear lavatories or galley, sets the perfect conditions for a series of sleep-disrupting problems.

READ MORE: Brits face horrible consequences if they fall for new ‘free surgery’ holiday scam

“The biggest issue is the constant foot traffic. You’ve got passengers queuing for the loo right beside you, flight attendants rushing back and forth with trolleys, and people stretching their legs in the aisle. It never stops,” Dawn said.

The problems don’t end there. These seats typically have limited or no recline because there’s a wall directly behind them. On a 10-hour flight to Asia or an eight-hour journey to the States, that upright position can put extra strain on your back and make proper sleep nearly impossible.

The galley area stays brightly lit throughout most of the flight as crew prepare meals and clean up. That harsh fluorescent glow seeps through even the best eye masks, constantly disrupting your natural sleep cycles.

“The noise level back there is incredible. You’ve got the constant hum of equipment, crew chatting during their breaks, and the non-stop flush of toilets. It’s like trying to sleep next to a motorway service station,” Dawn continued.

The smell factor shouldn’t be ignored either. Being positioned near the lavatories means dealing with unpleasant odours, especially on longer flights when the facilities get heavy use.

The best seats are typically in the middle section of the aircraft, away from both the busy front galley and the chaotic rear area. “Look for seats around rows 6-15 on most wide-body aircraft,” advises Dawn. “You’re far enough from the action but still have easy access to facilities when needed.”

READ MORE: Boozy holidaymaker warning as police start breathalysing at UK airportREAD MORE: Plane experts warn of free item because of flight attendant shortcut

Never book within three rows of any lavatory. The queues, smells, and constant activity will make your journey miserable. Check the aircraft’s seat map carefully before selecting.

“If you’re flying eastbound for a daytime arrival, pick a seat on the right side of the plane to avoid the sun streaming through your window during the final hours. For westbound flights, sit on the left side,” Dawn said.

While exit row seats offer extra legroom, they come with restrictions. You can’t store anything under the seat in front during takeoff and landing, and these seats often don’t recline.

Dawn Morwood, co-director of Cheap Deals Away, said: “Your seat choice can make or break a long-haul flight, and I’ve seen too many holidaymakers arrive at their destination exhausted because they picked poorly. That back corner window seat might look appealing on the booking page, but you’ll regret it the moment you try to get comfortable.

“Poor seat selection not only impacts your flight, but your entire trip. If you can’t sleep properly on the plane, you’ll arrive with worse jet lag, feeling cranky and tired. Your first few days of holiday are essentially written off while you recover. When you’re paying thousands for a dream getaway, why would you sabotage it with a bad seat choice?

“I always tell my customers that spending a bit extra on seat selection is one of the best investments you can make. A good night’s sleep at 35,000 feet means you land refreshed and ready to enjoy every moment of your holiday. It’s worth every penny.”

Getty Images

Getty Images

What are the rules for seat holders?

WASHINGTON — Congressional redistricting usually happens after the once-a-decade population count by the U.S. Census Bureau or in response to a court ruling. Now, Texas Republicans want to break that tradition — and California and other states could follow suit.

President Trump has asked the Texas Legislature to create districts, in time for next year’s midterm elections, that could send five more Republicans to Washington and make it harder for Democrats to regain the House majority and blunt his agenda.

Texas has 38 seats in the House of Representatives. Republicans now hold 25 and Democrats 12, with one seat vacant after the death of Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in March.

“There’s been a lot more efforts by the parties and political actors to push the boundaries — literally and figuratively — to reconfigure what the game is,” said Doug Spencer, the Ira C. Rothgerber Jr. chair in constitutional law at the University of Colorado.

Other states, including California, are waiting to see what Texas does and whether to follow suit.

The rules of redistricting can be vague and variable; each state has its own set of rules and procedures. Politicians are gauging what voters will tolerate when it comes to politically motivated mapmaking.

Here’s what to know about the rules of congressional redistricting:

When does redistricting normally happen?

Every decade, the Census Bureau collects population data used to divide the 435 House seats among the 50 states based on the updated head count.

It’s a process known as reapportionment. States that grew relative to others might gain a seat or two at the expense of those whose populations stagnated or declined.

States use their own procedures to draw lines for the assigned number of districts. The smallest states receive just one representative, which means the entire state is a single congressional district.

Some state constitutions require independent commissions to devise the political boundaries or to advise the legislature. When legislatures take the lead, lawmakers can risk drawing lines that end up challenged in court, usually on claims of violating the Voting Rights Act. Mapmakers can get another chance and resubmit new maps. Sometimes, judges draw the maps on their own.

Is midcycle redistricting allowed?

By the first midterm elections after the latest population count, each state is ready with its maps, but those districts do not always stick. Courts can find that the political lines are unconstitutional.

There is no national impediment to a state trying to redraw districts in the middle of the decade and to do it for political reasons, such as increasing representation by the party in power.

“The laws about redistricting just say you have to redistrict after every census,” Spencer said. “And then some state legislatures got a little clever and said, ‘Well, it doesn’t say we can’t do it more.’”

Some states have laws that would prevent midcycle redistricting or make it difficult to do so in a way that benefits one party.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has threatened to retaliate against the GOP push in Texas by drawing more favorable Democratic seats in his state. That goal, however, is complicated by a constitutional amendment — approved by state voters — that requires an independent commission to lead the process.

Is Texas’ effort unprecedented?

Texas has done it before.

When the Legislature failed to agree on a redistricting plan after the 2000 census, a federal court stepped in with its own map.

Republican Tom DeLay of Texas, who was then the U.S. House majority leader, thought his state should have five more districts friendly to his party. “I’m the majority leader and we want more seats,′′ he said at the time.

Statehouse Democrats protested by fleeing to Oklahoma, depriving the Legislature of enough votes to officially conduct any business. But DeLay eventually got his way, and Republicans replaced Democrats in five districts in the 2004 general election.

What do the courts say about gerrymandering?

In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that federal courts should not get involved in debates over political gerrymandering, the practice of drawing districts for partisan gain. In that decision, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said redistricting is “highly partisan by any measure.”

But courts may demand new maps if they believe the congressional boundaries dilute the votes of a racial minority group, in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Other states’ plans

Washington state Rep. Suzan DelBene, who leads House Democrats’ campaign arm, indicated at a Christian Science Monitor event that if Texas follows through on passing new maps, Democratic-led states would look at their own political lines.

“If they go down this path, absolutely folks are going to respond across the country,” DelBene said. “We’re not going to be sitting back with one hand tied behind our back while Republicans try to undermine voices of the American people.”

In New York, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul recently joined Newsom in expressing openness to taking up mid-decade redistricting. But state laws mandating independent commissions or blunting the ability to gerrymander would come into play.

Among Republican-led states, Ohio could try to further expand the 10-5 edge that the GOP holds in the House delegation; a quirk in state law requires Ohio to redraw its maps before the 2026 midterms.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he was considering early redistricting and “working through what that would look like.”

Askarinam writes for the Associated Press.

Paying for a seat on a plane is an added expense that many travellers prefer to avoid, but one expert has shared how to travel in comfort without spending any money.

After paying for your flight and any checked luggage, many of us would prefer to not fork out even more for a seat. But waiting to be assigned a random seat can often mean you end up squished in between strangers, making for a rather uncomfortable journey, especially if you’ve got a long way to go.

While some airlines like British Airways will let you choose a seat if you pay for luggage, there’s plenty of packing tips and tricks out there which means many travellers stick to hand luggage. With recent reports that travellers who sit in an unassigned seat in the hopes it might be free could face a hefty fine for what’s being dubbed seat squatting, there’s one more secure way of grabbing a good seat.

Chelsea Dickenson is known for sharing budget travel advice on her blog Holiday Expert, and in a recent article for Metro, she revealed the easy way to get the best seat on the plane without having to spare a single penny.

However, she warned that this isn’t for those who get easy stressed when travelling, as it requires leaving things quite last minute.

Referring to her tactic as “check-in chicken”, Chelsea explained that the trick to getting the best seat on the plane is done by delaying online check-in until the last possible moment.

Chelsea said: “After years of flying on a budget, I’ve learned a thing or two about how they operate. And more often than not, my method lands me a seat with extra legroom without paying a penny”, reports the Express.

However, this strategy won’t be suitable for those travelling in groups, particularly families who wish to be seated together.

If you want to sit together but don’t want to fork out extra for seats, Money Saving Expert instead recommends groups of travellers check-in as soon as you’re able to.

In a post on their website, they explained all major airlines except Ryanair will attempt to seat groups on the same booking together, provided there are seats available next to each other that other passengers haven’t already reserved.

But if you are travelling alone, a game of check-in chicken could work in your favour, particularly if you end up at the front of the aircraft with extra leg room, or in a window seat.

However, Chelsea cautioned that travellers “need a cool head, a charged phone and very firm grasp on when online check-in closes” to do this successfully, and check-in times can differ depending on the airline.

The savvy traveller also pointed out that she primarily employs this tactic, which she refers to as one of her “favourite budget travel joys”, when flying with budget carriers such as Ryanair or Wizz Air, noting that airlines like easyJet and British Airways don’t typically allocate the less desirable seats initially.

Once check-in has opened, which is typically 24 hours before your flight departs, Chelsea said she keeps monitoring the seat map throughout the day, and proceeds with the check-in when she’s satisfied with the remaining seat options.

However, the secret to doing this is to not actually leave it to the very last minute, which could see you having to pay a fee at the airport, and likely more than you would have if you’d simply paid for a seat.

Chelsea clarified that: “I often find that by six hours to go there’s only ‘good’ seats left – ones with extra legroom, seats on the front rows or simply non-middle aisle seats,” and she recommended setting alarms to make sure you don’t forget.

AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Texas Democrat who represents a slice of the Rio Grande Valley along the border with Mexico, won his last congressional election by just over 5,000 votes.

That makes him a tempting target for Republicans, who are poised to redraw the state’s congressional maps this week and devise five new winnable seats for the GOP that would help the party avoid losing House control in next year’s midterm elections. Adjusting the lines of Gonzalez’s district to bring in a few thousand more Republican voters, while shifting some Democratic ones out, could flip his seat.

Gonzalez said he is not worried. Those Democratic voters will have to end up in one of the Republican districts that flank Gonzalez’s current one, making those districts more competitive — possibly enough so it could flip the seats to Democrats.

“Get ready for some pickup opportunities,” Gonzalez said, adding that his party is already recruiting challengers to Republicans whose districts they expect to be destabilized by the process. “We’re talking to some veterans, we’re talking to some former law enforcement.”

Texas has 38 seats in the House. Republicans now hold 25 and Democrats 12, with one seat vacant after Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner, a former Houston mayor, died in March.

Gonzalez’s district — and what happens to the neighboring GOP-held ones — is at the crux of President Trump’s high-risk, high-reward push to get Texas Republicans to redraw their political map. Trump is seeking to avoid the traditional midterm letdown that most incumbent presidents endure and hold onto the House, which the GOP narrowly controls.

Trump’s push comes as there are numerous political danger signs for his presidency, both in the recent turmoil over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and in new polling. Surveys from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research show most U.S. adults think that his policies have not helped them and that his tax cut and spending bill will only help the wealthy.

‘Dummymander’

The fear of accidentally creating unsafe seats is one reason Texas Republicans drew their lines cautiously in 2021, when the constitutionally mandated redistricting process kicked off in all 50 states. Mapmakers — in most states, it’s the party that controls the Legislature — must adjust congressional and state legislative lines after every 10-year census to ensure that districts have about the same number of residents.

That is a golden opportunity for one party to rig the map against the other, a tactic known as gerrymandering. But there is a term, too, for so aggressively redrawing a map that it puts that party’s own seats at risk: a “dummymander.”

The Texas GOP knows the risk. In the 2010s, the Republican-controlled Legislature drew political lines that helped pad the GOP’s House majority. That lasted until 2018, when a backlash against Trump in his first term led Democrats to flip two seats in Texas that Republicans had thought safe.

In 2021, with Republicans still comfortably in charge of the Texas Legislature, the party was cautious, opting for a map that mainly shored up their incumbents rather than targeted Democrats.

Still, plenty of Republicans believe their Texas counterparts can safely go on offense.

“Smart map-drawing can yield pickup opportunities while not putting our incumbents in jeopardy,” said Adam Kincaid, executive director of the National Republican Redistricting Trust, which helps coordinate mapmaking for the party nationally.

Democrats threaten walkout

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session of the Legislature, which starts Monday, to comply with Trump’s request to redraw the congressional maps and to address the flooding in Texas Hill Country that killed at least 135 people this month.

Democratic state lawmakers are talking about staying away from the Capitol to deny the Legislature the minimum number needed to convene. Republican Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton posted that any Democrats who did that should be arrested.

Lawmakers can be fined up to $500 a day for breaking a quorum after the House changed its rules when Democrats initiated a walkout in 2021. Despite the new penalties, Democratic state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, who led the walkout in 2021, left open the possibility of another.

“I don’t think anybody should underestimate the will of Texas Democrats,” he said.

Texas is not the only Republican state engaged in mid-decade redistricting. After staving off a ballot measure to expand the power of a mapmaking commission last election, Ohio Republicans hope to redraw their congressional map from a 10-5 one favoring the GOP to one as lopsided as 13 to 2, in a state Trump won last year with 55% of the vote.

GOP sees momentum

Some Democratic leaders have suggested that states where their party is in control should counter the expected redraw in Texas. “We have to be absolutely ruthless about getting back in power,” former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke said Sunday on CNN.

But Democrats have fewer options. More of the states their party controls do not allow elected partisans to draw maps and entrust independent commissions to draw fair lines.

Among them is California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has floated the long-shot idea of working around the state’s commission.

The few Democratic-controlled states that do allow elected officials to draw the lines, such as Illinois, have already seen Democrats max out their advantages.

Trump and his allies have been rallying Texas Republicans to ignore whatever fears they may have and to go big.

On Tuesday, the president posted on his social media site a reminder of his record in the state in the November election: “Won by one and a half million Votes, and almost 14%. Also, won all of the Border Counties along Mexico, something which has never happened before. I keep hearing about Texas ‘going Blue,’ but it is just another Democrat LIE.”

Texas has long been eyed as a state trending Democratic because of its growing nonwhite population. But those communities swung right last year and helped Trump expand his margin to nearly 14 percentage points, a significant improvement on his 5½-point win in 2020.

Michael Li, a Texas native and longtime watcher of the state at the Brennan Center for Justice in New York, said there’s no way to know whether that trend will continue in next year’s elections or whether the state will shift back toward Democrats.

“Anyone who can tell you what the politics of Texas looks like for the balance of the decade has a better crystal ball than I do,” Li said.

Legal risks

One region of the state where Republican gains have been steady is the Rio Grande Valley, which runs from the Gulf of Mexico along much of the state’s southern border. The heavily Latino region, where many Border Patrol officers live, has rallied around Trump’s anti-immigration message and policies.

As a result, Gonzalez and the area’s other Democratic congressman, Henry Cuellar, have seen their reelection campaigns get steadily tighter. They are widely speculated to be the two top targets of the new map.

The GOP is expected to look to the state’s three biggest cities to find its other Democratic targets. If mapmakers scatter Democratic voters from districts in the Houston, Dallas and Austin areas, they could get to five additional seats.

But in doing so, Republicans face a legal risk on top of their electoral one: that they break up districts required by the Voting Rights Act to have a critical amount of certain minority groups. The goal of the federal law is to enable those communities to elect representatives of their choosing.

The Texas GOP already is facing a lawsuit from civil rights groups alleging its initial 2021 map did this. If this year’s redistricting is too aggressive, it could trigger a second complaint.

“It’s politically and legally risky,” Li said of the redistricting strategy. “It’s throwing caution to the winds.”

Riccardi and Lathan write for the Associated Press and reported from Denver and Austin, respectively.

Florida’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the state’s congressional redistricting map, rejecting a challenge over the elimination of a majority-Black district in north Florida that was pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The court, dominated by DeSantis appointees, ruled that restoration of the district that previously united Black communities from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee, or across 200 miles, would amount to impermissible racial gerrymandering. That, the majority ruled, violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees.

“The record leaves no doubt that such a district would be race-predominant. The record also gives us no reasonable basis to think that further litigation would uncover a potentially viable remedy,” said Chief Justice Carlos Muniz in the court’s majority opinion.

The decision means Florida’s current congressional districts that give Republicans a 20-8 advantage over Democrats will remain in place for the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. The former north Florida district was most recently represented by a Black Democrat, former Rep. Al Lawson. The new districts divide that area among three Republicans.

A panel of three federal judges previously upheld the current congressional districts.

“This was always the constitutionally correct map — and now both the federal courts and the FL Supreme Court have upheld it,” DeSantis said on X.

One of the plaintiffs, the National Redistricting Foundation, called the new ruling “alarming” because it “diminishes the voting power of Black Floridians” by upholding the GOP-drawn map.

“The court is abandoning the most basic role of the judiciary: to provide justice for the people,” said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the foundation.

Earlier redistricting efforts by the state Legislature included versions of the north Florida district that preserved Black voting power. But after a veto by DeSantis, the governor pushed through the current map that eliminated it.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said one problem for the plaintiffs was they did not propose a viable alternative map but only pointed out potential problems with the current one.

“It is not enough in the redistricting context for challengers to identify a flaw in an enacted districting plan and demand that the court send the Legislature back to the drawing board,” the decision said.

Justice Jorge Labarga was the lone dissenter, contending the lawsuit should be sent back to a lower court for further proceedings to allow the challengers a chance to produce different districts.

“By foreclosing further litigation, the majority’s decision now allows to remain in place a congressional redistricting plan that is unconstitutional under the Florida Constitution,” Labarga wrote.

Anderson writes for the Associated Press.

Sofia, also known as sofiasttravels, recently shared how she booked a seat on “Ryanair’s cheapest flight” for a day out and was amazed by how much she spent on the adventure

We’ve all had those moments where we just want to jump on a plane and soak up some much-needed sunshine, but one woman recently took this travel dream to new heights. Sofia, who goes by the handle sofiasttravels on TikTok, confessed that she booked herself onto “Ryanair‘s cheapest flight” for a day trip, and was left gobsmacked by how little it cost to spend a day gallivanting in a different country.

In a recent video, Sofia shared her “extreme day trip” adventure – an experiment to see what would happen if she simply hopped on the most affordable flight available. After a bit of digging, she found that the cheapest ticket was for a flight to Pescara in Italy on the day she wanted to travel.

She revealed that this set her back a mere £42 for a return journey from London Stansted Airport. Eager to discover what awaited them, Sofia and a friend jetted off to Italy where they enjoyed breakfast for a bargain €6.20 each, roughly £5.34.

Greeted by a balmy 23°C, they strolled along the beach before indulging in cocktails and snacks, which totalled €7.00 (£6.03). Next on the agenda was lunch, costing them €23.00 per person, approximately £19.82. In a surprising twist, they ended up joining a “stranger’s 18th birthday party”, seemingly having a whale of a time.

Later, they treated themselves to some gelato at €2.50 (£2.15) per serving. Along with browsing the local shops and savouring delicious food, they squeezed in another Aperol spritz before heading home.

After a day packed with excitement, they hopped on their flight back and Sofia declared it was “such a great day out.” It’s truly remarkable what can be achieved within the span of 24 hours.

The video has left scores of viewers astonished since its release, prompting a flurry of questions. One viewer even expressed intentions to embark on a similar adventure soon.

A seasoned traveller shared: “Cheapest flight I’ve taken with Ryanair was a £4 return back in uni. Skipped lectures for a day trip to Dublin.”

Someone else recounted: “Did this once to Copenhagen. It was so tiring, but had the best day.” Another responded: “Wow – looks amazing.”

In another comment, someone mentioned: “I’m flying to Amsterdam and back on the same day. I got a ticket to see the Anne Frank house and I’ll do a boat trip.”

For those unaware, with proper planning, you can explore over 200 destinations across 34 countries on a budget with Ryanair. Daily checks for the lowest fares on European flights make it possible to spontaneously jet off to a variety of places.

Whether for work or leisure, there are countless reasons to book a spur-of-the-moment trip. All it takes is some savvy searching to snag the best deals for your intended travel dates.

The Ryanair website says: “We understand that flexibility is important to our travellers, so we make it easy to compare low cost flights with our Fare Finder. Take advantage of the Ryanair app for a friendly mobile experience and special offers, so you can conveniently plan trips throughout Europe and find important information related to your flight.

“You can plan the logistics of your trip right in one place. Find a hotel, car hire and vacation packages on the official Ryanair site while searching, booking and checking-in for flights.”

Shocking video footage shows a woman having a mid-air meltdown thousands of feet in the air and demanding a business class upgrade – before being restrained by passengers and cabin crew

Footage from Aeroflot flight SU734 shows a woman going into a fit of air rage while the plane from Russia to Egypt was mid-flight, frightening other passengers on board.

The clip shows the economy passenger screaming at cabin crew insisting on an upgrade because she was suffering from pain in her “butt and t**s”.

The woman can be seen standing in the aisle and yelling at the cabin crew in broken English: “I’m in pain in my butt, I’m in pain in my t*ts… I want my business class…” reports The Sun.

She even grabs her own breasts while arguing her case, pleading: “But I need a business class because I was working.”

Passengers helped the crew overpower the woman after she allegedly threatened to open the emergency exit and began removing her top in desperation, according to the Telegram channel Aviatorshchina.

READ MORE: List of airlines that have banned popular item from overhead lockers amid safety fears

Although the video doesn’t show her fully undressing, it captures her bizarre gestures and meltdown as shocked passengers watch on during the six-hour flight.

When her rant fails to sway staff, the wild-eyed woman sinks to the floor screaming, “No, no, get out!” as a female voice calmly replies: “You asked for it.”

“The woman tried to push forward, ran around the cabin, approached the emergency exit, and threatened to ‘open’ it,” the report claimed. They also mentioned that the passenger “began taking off her T-shirt” in a bid to get to the desired seat.

“The stewardesses first tried to manage on their own, but the brawler wouldn’t give in,” the channel added. “After she was restrained, the violator was moved to the back of the plane and handed over to the police upon arrival.”

The woman’s identity and nationality remain unknown and Aeroflot has not commented on the incident. However, a fellow passenger described the mood on board as “tense and uncomfortable,” with some fearing the woman might actually reach the emergency exit.

“People were scared. We didn’t know how far she would go,” they reportedly said.

READ MORE: Tense moment Ryanair passengers hastily ‘jump from wings’ of plane after fire alert

The Airbus A330-300 aircraft was carrying dozens of holidaymakers heading to Sharm el-Sheikh, many of whom were left shaken by the strange outburst.

Meanwhile, emergency services were called to Majorca’s Palma Airport after a “false fire alarm” on a Ryanair plane just after midnight today (July 5).

A flight from Majorca Palma Airport to Manchester was “discontinued” due to a false fire warning light indication, according to Ryanair. Eighteen passengers were injured while disembarking the aircraft before returning to the terminal.

Passengers were filmed abandoning the plane via one of its wings before jumping to the tarmac as firefighters and police rushed to the scene. Regional medical emergency response coordinators said 18 people needed assistance with “minor injuries”.

Six had to be taken to hospital. Three were reportedly taken to a private clinic in Palma called Clínica Rotger and the other three to Hospital Quironsalud Palmplanas which is also in the island capital.

A woman was left furious when a fellow plane passenger tried to ban her from using one of the features of her seat on an overnight flight, meaning she struggled to get any sleep

Trying to keep everyone happy on a flight isn’t always easy. Planes are notoriously uncomfortable places, as you often don’t have much space to spread out and relax, and you’re surrounded by strangers for several hours. Not to mention that these strangers can often have bad manners that make the whole trip a painstaking ordeal.

But one woman was left feeling “shaken up” after a recent flight on which she was confronted by another passenger who was furious at her for attempting to use one of the features available to everyone on the aircraft. The other passenger told her she couldn’t recline her seat – despite the flight being an overnight one where almost everyone wanted to sleep.

In a post on Reddit, the woman explained she tried to recline her seat so that she could go to sleep, but her chair “popped back upright” as the other woman behind her was “shoving it forward” to prevent her from reclining.

The woman eventually got her seat to recline, but the other passenger was livid – accusing her of reclining “too far back”.

She wrote: “I tried to recline my seat, and it popped back upright. I tried again and realised the lady behind me was shoving my seat forward. I tried again, and she yelled at me that I couldn’t recline my seat.

“I was very shaken up by the interaction, so I just stayed upright for like 10 minutes until I could see a flight attendant nearby. I was able to quickly recline and have my chair click into place so she couldn’t shove it forward.

“She raised her voice at me again, and I told her everyone on the whole plane gets to recline their seat. She said I was reclining too far back, though I told her my seat was in the same position as the person sitting in front of me.”

The woman said the ordeal made her feel “so uncomfortable” and stopped her from getting much rest on the plane.

She also clarified that the woman was “petite” so shouldn’t have been affected by the reclined seat, especially as a taller man next to her was also telling her to “calm down”.

Commenters on the post were sympathetic to both sides of the situation.

Many said that it’s a “doomed situation” either way as planes often don’t have enough legroom for people to be comfortable when seats are reclined, but conceded that it’s a passenger’s choice whether to recline their own seat or not.

One person said: “It’s such a doomed situation all around. [With] some people, you are literally crushing their legs, and it’s horrifically uncomfortable to sit fully upright if you nod off. Aeroplane hell.”

Another added: “Airlines are responsible for our conflict. Either give all of us more room or remove the reclining seat option.”

While a third posted: “If the seats are able to recline, people are going to recline in them… it’s a pretty simple concept. Sorry you had to deal with that passenger, but I’m glad you kept your seat reclined.”

A shocked mum faced the wrath of an entitled plane passenger who called her a vicious name when he realised she’d booked her three-year-old child a first-class seat

An entitled plane passenger erupted into a sweary rant at a mum who booked her toddler a first class seat.

The foul-mouthed tirade came as a shock to the parent, who insisted her little girl was well behaved throughout the flight.

Every summer, a fierce debate ramps up online over the ‘correct’ flying etiquette with children – with some less tolerant passengers insisting that kid-free flights should exist.

The mum was confident that her three-year-old tot could handle the flight easily, having travelled many times before, but one passenger fumed at the concept of a toddler having a first class ticket, as they hated the thought of sitting next to a child.

Taking to Reddit to share her flight ordeal, the mum wrote anonymously: “My husband, toddler (almost 3) and I were flying across the country for Thanksgiving. Since we could afford it due to a nice pay raise my husband recently got, we decided to splurge on 1st class tickets for the trip.

“My toddler has always been a good flyer and has flown a lot throughout her short life. She’s never been disruptive or cried on an airplane, this flight included.

“She’s good at staying in her seat and tells us when she a needs to go potty, food, a toy, etc. She stayed seated and quietly playing throughout the flight, only getting up when she had to go potty.”

Despite the little one being on her best behaviour and not disrupting other travellers, one passenger was seething at the mum for sitting her child in first class – as he complained to the cabin crew on board.

The mum explained: “The issue was with another 1st class passenger. We boarded early since my husband is disabled and when another 1st class passenger saw us he started glaring.

“We take off and all is good. My kid fell asleep in the middle of coloring [sic], husband is snoozing. I’m listening to music when I get a tap on my shoulder.

“It was the guy that glared at us as he boarded and before I could even get a word out he told me that children weren’t allowed in 1st class and that we needed to move to our ‘real’ seats”.

In a bid to avoid confrontation, the parent asked the flight attendant to deal with the man’s complaint, as she felt ‘uncomfortable’. Things seemed to get cleared up, but the man was still hot with rage.

“The flight attendant came and explained to him that we were in the correct seats that we paid for and asked that he sit back down and not bother us again. He did go back to his seat but as we were getting off the plane he whispered to me that I was a ‘fat c***’ and that he pays too much money for first class to be surrounded by children.”

Desperate for advice, the mum concluded: “My kid was the only kid in 1st class and she didn’t misbehave or even cry so at first I felt like I was in the right, but after talking to family at Thanksgiving many of them told me that we should book economy next time because people pay extra to relax in 1st class. Are we really a******s for flying 1st class with our toddler?”

Many people flocked to the comments section to defend the mum’s decision, as one wrote: “Even if your child did cry, it wouldn’t have mattered because you paid and are entitled to the seats you paid for… if they don’t want to be around children/other people that bad – they should fly private”.

Another added: “I can understand why he would initially be wary and upset, but he frankly should have calmed the f down once it became apparent that your toddler was just sleeping peacefully like anyone else.

“And since you know that your kid is a good flyer, there’s no reason not to sit first class if you can”.

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Tucked away in Ryanair’s end-of-year results is a clear reason why the Irish carrier is so keen to keep the fee revenue rolling in, with its ancillary revenue reaching a record amount

Ryanair raked in around £24 in extra revenue from each customer who flew last year.

The budget airline has long been known for its punchy approach to extra fees, slapping on charges for hand-luggage that’s slightly too big, checking in less than two hours before departure and even for bringing a large water bottle on-board, as the Mirror’s Ruby Flanagan recently found out.

One unhappy customer found themselves unable to check-in a bag with Ryanair, despite paying to do so just a minute earlier. He ended up ditching his suitcase in the airport and sprinting to the boarding gate.

Tucked away in Ryanair’s end-of-year results is a clear reason why the Irish carrier is so keen to keep the fee revenue rolling in.

Do you have a travel story to share? Email [email protected]

READ MORE: Ryanair’s £91million baggage fines ‘frozen’ as major rule set for change

Over the most recent full financial year, Ryanair raked in €4.72billion (£4billion) in ‘ancillary revenue’. That means anything extra that passengers pay for, such as excess luggage, seat selection and a cup of coffee. For every one of the 200million passengers who flew with Ryanair last year, they forked out on average £23.80 on top of their ticket.

The figure is a 10% rise on the previous year, when Ryanair scored €4.30billion (£3.67billion) or €23.40 (£20) per passenger.

That number is a big deal for the airline, as it represents around a quarter of its total revenue for the year – €13.95billion (£11.9billion). If that ancillary income is removed from the Ryanair cost sheet, then the airline would be in the red, given its €12.39bn (£10.57billion) operating costs last financial year.

As of 2023, Ryanair ranked among the top five airlines in the world in terms of the revenue it generates from ancillary streams.

These figures make it clear why Ryanair and other budget airlines are so opposed to a vote by the EU’s Transport and Tourism Committee that would boost the amount of free hand luggage passengers flying to or from member states can take.

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“Passengers should have a right to carry on board one personal item, such as a handbag, backpack or laptop (maximum dimensions of 40x30x15 cm), and one small hand luggage (maximum dimensions of 100 cm and 7 kg) without an additional fee,” the committee decided. Before this decision becomes law, it must be voted through by the European Parliament in the coming weeks, and then discussed by country representatives for the European Council.

The proposals have been met with fierce opposition from budget airlines and the Spanish Association of Airlines (ALA), which has criticised it and the Ministry’s fines. The organisation argues that such measures limit consumer choice and disrupt fair competition in the EU’s single market. “It’s about offering different service models at different price points,” the association stated.

This week Ryanair was handed a massive £91million victory by a Spanish court. The budget airline has been let off paying a €107million (£91million) fine slapped on it last year by the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Affairs. The organisation had claimed that the airlines’ policies on charging for hand luggage violated consumer rights.

The fines were part of a wider crackdown that included three other airlines, including Norwegian, totalling €179 million (£152million) in fines. Now the Spanish High Court in Madrid has decided to let Ryanair off, allowing the ruling to sit as a precautionary one.

The first thing you notice in Jerry Bruckheimer’s Santa Monica office isn’t the full-size suit of armor from 2004’s “King Arthur” or the shelves lined with awards and celebrity photos. It’s the pens: dozens of ornate Montblancs, carefully arranged in display cases.

His wife gives them to him, Bruckheimer explains dryly. After nearly half a century of hits, what do you give the guy who has everything? “I sometimes write thank-you notes with them,” he says. Alongside neatly stacked copies of the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times — which he says he still reads daily, in print — the pens reflect something ingrained in the legendary producer, a fondness for ritual, precision and old-school order.

Now 81, at an age when most of his peers are content to reflect on past glories in between tee times and early-bird specials, Bruckheimer still starts each day with a rigorous workout. (“I pick hotels based on the gym,” he says.) Then it’s back to doing what he’s always done: assembling the next blockbuster. Across more than 50 films — including culture-shaping hits like “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Top Gun,” “Bad Boys,” “The Rock,” “Armageddon” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” — his work has earned over $16 billion worldwide, cementing his name as shorthand for sleek, pulse-pounding entertainment. His elegant, brick-walled office, larger than the Detroit home where his working-class German immigrant parents raised him, stands as a monument to what that discipline helped build. “Our tiny little house was about as big as this room here,” he says, glancing around.

For Bruckheimer, success has never been about flash or chance. “The harder you work,” he says, in what amounts to a personal mantra, “the luckier you get.”

That philosophy is on full display in his latest production, “F1,” an adrenaline-fueled racing drama starring Brad Pitt as a retired Formula One driver lured back to the track to mentor a young phenom (Damson Idris) on a struggling team. Shot during actual Formula One races across Europe and the Middle East, and with a budget north of $200 million, “F1” speeds into theaters Friday with the kind of high-stakes ambition only someone with Bruckheimer’s track record could pull off.

Damson Idris, left, and Brad Pitt in the movie “F1.”

(Warner Bros. Pictures)

From the outset, the project, which reunites Bruckheimer with “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski and screenwriter Ehren Kruger, sparked a bidding war among virtually every studio and streamer, ultimately landing as a co-production between Apple and Warner Bros.

“One of the reasons I went to Jerry,” says Kosinski by phone from his car, “is because I knew I was asking two massive corporations — Apple and Formula One — to work together. They’re both incredibly specific about their brands and how they do things. It took someone with Jerry’s CEO style of producing to be the diplomat in the middle and actually make it happen. He’s seen it all.”

Bruckheimer attributes the early frenzy around the project to the package’s pedigree: an appealing story, an A-list star and the global popularity of Formula One. But for Bruckheimer, it’s not just about star power or scale. “It’s emotional, it’s exciting, it’s got romance, it’s got humor,” he says. “It’s the reason I got into this business — to make movies that thrill you on that big screen, that you walk out feeling you’ve been on a real journey and got lost for a couple of hours. That’s the goal every time.”

Pitt’s character, Sonny, is in some ways a reflection of Bruckheimer: a seasoned pro forever chasing one more victory out of a sheer love of the chase. “Jerry could easily be on an island somewhere relaxing,” says Kosinski. “But he’d much rather be on set every day, meeting actors, hassling the marketing team, dealing with the studio. He just loves the job. His passion for it seems kind of endless.”

“F1” arrives at a moment when the Bruckheimer-style movie — star-driven, high-concept, engineered for maximum emotional impact — has surged back into fashion. In truth, it never entirely disappeared. But in an age of franchise fatigue, ironic tentpoles and streaming saturation, the earnest, four-quadrant spectacle had started to feel like a relic — until “Maverick” reminded Hollywood how potent that formula could still be.

The 2022 sequel didn’t just help bring moviegoing back to life after the pandemic; it earned Bruckheimer his first best picture Oscar nomination and raked in a staggering $1.5 billion worldwide. Even he didn’t see that coming.

“The early tracking said that you’re not going to get young people — nobody under 35 or 40 cares about this movie,” he remembers. “It ended up surpassing every possible metric. Anybody who tells you they know what’s going to be a hit, they don’t have a clue. You just don’t know.”

Tom Cruise in a scene from “Top Gun: Maverick”

(Paramount Pictures)

“F1” is not Bruckheimer’s first time around the racing track. Thirty-five years ago, at the height of his era-defining run with his late producing partner Don Simpson, he made “Days of Thunder,” a testosterone-fueled NASCAR drama that reunited the “Top Gun” team of Tom Cruise and director Tony Scott. The film epitomized the Bruckheimer-Simpson formula: glossy visuals, radio-ready soundtracks and MTV-style swagger. Tales of ballooning costs, nonstop rewrites, off-screen indulgence and on-set clashes swirled around the production, becoming the stuff of Hollywood lore.

Asked about the chaos surrounding “Days of Thunder,” Bruckheimer answers with his trademark restraint, the measured calm of someone who has spent decades managing egos, headlines and costly productions.

“There were definitely rewrites — that’s true,” he says. “As far as the budget going up, Paramount had a strict regime, and it’s not like you could go over budget easily. We wrecked a lot of cars, I’ll tell you that. I don’t think there was one standing at the end.”

Bruckheimer remembers the shoot as tough but exhilarating, a product of Scott’s notoriously seat-of-the-pants directing style. “Tony was just balls to the wall,” he says. “Joe [Kosinski] is balls to the wall too, but calculated. Joe’s got everything planned out. Tony would get on the set and see something over there and say, ‘We’re changing it, we’re going over there.’ It was a little more of a helter-skelter approach, but we somehow got through it. We held it together.”

By the time “Days of Thunder” was released in 1990, Bruckheimer and Simpson had spent nearly a decade together — a combustible but wildly productive run that had already delivered “Flashdance,” “Beverly Hills Cop” and “Top Gun.” Simpson, with his insatiable appetite for drugs and Hollywood excess, could be volatile and self-destructive. But Bruckheimer credits him with sharpening his eye for story and deepening his understanding of how the business really worked.

“I started in commercials — little 60-second stories — and Don was trained as a story executive,” says Bruckheimer, who began his career in advertising in Detroit and New York. “He was developing 120 projects every year so he knew every writer, every director. He had this great wealth of knowledge about the business: who’s good, who’s not good, who can talk a good game but can’t deliver. He was great with story and humor. He just was a genius at all this kind of stuff.”

The partnership was a crash course for them both: an informal academy with a class roster of two. “I went to school during those years — and so did he,” Bruckheimer says. “He didn’t know how to make a movie. He was an executive, so when he walked on set, all he really knew was not to stand in front of the camera. I picked up a lot of what he knew — and vice versa.”

“I’m sure I’ll be remembered somewhere along there — maybe not, maybe yes,” Bruckheimer says, reticent to dwell on legacy. “I’m still working picture to picture.”

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

If Simpson was the explosive, sometimes erratic half of the duo, Bruckheimer was always the steady one: disciplined, controlled, methodical. He’s known for rarely raising his voice. But he admits even he has limits. “I try not to,” he says. “I usually don’t. But when people lie to you, when they say something’s going to be there and it’s not and they keep giving you a bunch of bulls—, yeah, you can raise your voice a little.”

Following “Days of Thunder,” Simpson and Bruckheimer would go on to make several more hits, including “Dangerous Minds,” “Crimson Tide” and “The Rock” before Simpson’s death in 1996 at age 52 from heart failure related to drug use. “It’s unfortunate that we lost him,” Bruckheimer says softly.

After decades in the business, Bruckheimer says he has learned to choose collaborators carefully. “Life’s too short,” he offers. “We’re such a small business, your reputation follows you everywhere you go.”

When his team hires a director or an actor, he says, they always do their research. “How were they on their last movie? Brad has a phenomenal reputation. Will Smith has a phenomenal reputation — minus that,” he adds, discreetly alluding to the 2022 Oscars slap. “Tom Cruise too. I’ve worked with actors who just want to know when they can leave. I try to avoid that.”

The landscape of Hollywood, of course, looks nothing like it did during the ’90s Simpson-Bruckheimer heyday. Studios that once ran on instinct and big personalities now operate more like data-driven conglomerates, reshuffling execs and hedging bets in a fractured, streaming-dominated market.

“It’s changed a lot,” Bruckheimer says. “Streaming hit a lot of places hard. They spent too much money and now they’ve got problems with that. Some of the studios aren’t healthy. But the business, if you do it right, is healthy.”

For all the hand-wringing about collapse, Bruckheimer has heard it before.

“There always was doom,” he says. “When TV came in, people said nobody would go to the theaters again. When I started, it was video cassettes. Everyone said that’s the end. Then DVDs — that’s the end. I’ve been doing this over 50 years and that doom has been there every time a new technology shows up. And yet, look at what’s happened. Look at ‘Minecraft.’ Look at ‘Sinners.’ Look at ‘Lilo & Stitch.’ If you do it right, people show up.”

He reaches for one of his favorite analogies: “You’ve got a kitchen at home, right? But you still like to go out to eat. You want to taste something different. That’s what we are. We’re the night out,” he says. “And if we give you a good meal, you’ll come back for more.”

By any measure, Bruckheimer has already accomplished more than almost anyone in the business, with a far-reaching empire that spans television (“CSI,” “The Amazing Race”), video games and sports. In addition to big-budget tentpoles, he has occasionally championed more grounded, character-driven fare, from “Dangerous Minds” and “Black Hawk Down” to the recent Disney+ biopic “Young Woman and the Sea.” But for all his success, he has never stopped looking for the next story. A new “Top Gun” script is underway. “Days of Thunder” may get another lap. Even “Pirates of the Caribbean” is back in motion.

Bruckheimer ultimately credits the directors and actors — and the tight-knit team at his company — with keeping him in the game. “I’m just the guy who says, ‘You’re really talented. I want to work with you.’ ”

Even as a kid, he says, that was his gift. “I can’t focus the way a director or writer focuses — I’m too ADD. But I always put things together. I put together a baseball team and a hockey team when I was very young. I always had the ability to gather people around a common cause.”

As for thoughts of his legacy, he demurs. “I’m sure I’ll be remembered somewhere along there — maybe not, maybe yes,” he says. “I’m still working picture to picture. You’re only as good as your last movie. So you better be on your toes.”

ORLANDO, Fla. — Randolph Bracy and LaVon Bracy Davis are taking sibling rivalry to a new level as the brother and sister run against each other in a race for a Florida state Senate seat on Tuesday.

Not only that, one of their opponents for the Democratic nomination in the district representing parts of metro Orlando is Alan Grayson, a combative former Democratic U.S. congressman who drew national attention in 2009 when he said in a House floor speech that the Republican health care plan was to “die quickly.”

The headline-grabbing candidates are running in the special primary election for the seat that had been held by Geraldine Thompson, a trailblazing veteran lawmaker who died earlier this year following complications from knee-replacement surgery. A fourth candidate also is running in the Democratic primary — personal injury attorney Coretta Anthony-Smith.

The winner will face Republican Willie Montague in September for the general election in the Democratic-dominant district. Black voters make up more than half registered Democrats in the district.

Florida Sen. Randolph Bracy, rear, makes a point during a Senate Committee on Reapportionment hearing in a legislative session, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022, in Tallahassee, Fla.

(Phelan M. Ebenhack / Associated Press)

Both siblings have experience in the state legislature. Bracy Davis was a state representative, and Bracy was a former state senator. Adding to the family dynamics was the fact that the siblings’ mother, civil rights activist Lavon Wright Bracy, was the maid of honor at Thompson’s wedding and was one of her oldest friends. She has endorsed her daughter over her son.

The siblings’ family has been active in Orlando’s civic life for decades. Their father, Randolph Bracy Jr., was a local NAACP president, a founder of a Baptist church in Orlando and director of the religion department at Bethune-Cookman University.

It wasn’t the first time the family has been caught up in competing endorsements. When Bracy and Thompson ran against each other for the Democratic primary in a state senate race last year, Bracy Davis endorsed Thompson over her brother. Campaign fliers sent out recently by a Republican political operative start with “Bracy Yourself!”

Bracy, 48, who one time played professional basketball in Turkey, told the Orlando Sentinel that it was “disappointing and hurtful” for his sister to run after he had announced his bid. But Bracy Davis, 45, an attorney by training, said she was running for the people in state senate District 15, not against any of the other candidates. She said that she intended to continue Thompson’s legacy of pushing for voters’ rights and increasing pay for public schoolteachers. Thompson’s family has endorsed Bracy Davis.

Grayson was elected to Congress in 2008 and voted out in 2010. Voters sent him back to Congress in 2012, but he gave up his seat for an unsuccessful 2016 Senate run.

A travel expert has pointed out one specific seat that offers the best combination of safety and value – and it’s one that most people don’t even know about

For many, the thought of flying can be a source of anxiety, particularly when turbulence strikes or the mind wanders to the potential dangers of being 30,000 feet in the air. While some opt for the comfort and reassurance of business class, others simply hold tight to their armrests and hope for smooth skies.

However, travel guru Bryson Robert, from Safari Soles Tours, an operator specialising in African escapades, suggests there’s a more intelligent approach that won’t leave your wallet feeling light.

“Most people don’t realise there’s actually a specific seat that offers the best combination of safety and value,” Mr Robert revealed. “While seat 11A might seem like any other window seat, it’s actually positioned in what many aviation experts consider the safest part of the aircraft, and you can often snag it without paying those exorbitant upgrade fees.”

With his extensive experience guiding clients to far-flung locations across Tanzania, Mr Robert has gained deep insights into aviation safety and booking strategies, and he explains why this particular seat should be on the radar of safety-conscious travellers.

Why Seat 11A is the sweet spot for safety

The allure of seat 11A lies in its strategic placement over the aircraft’s wings. This location provides several safety benefits that most passengers overlook when reserving their flights.

Aircraft seating expert Mr Robert shared a tip on securing a smoother ride, saying: “When you’re sitting over the wing, you’re positioned at the plane’s centre of gravity,” and added, “This means you’ll experience less turbulence compared to seats at the front or back of the aircraft. The wing area also has the most reinforced structure in the entire plane.”

The reinforcement of the wings not only ensures steadier flying due to the robust structure but is also pivotal for the plane’s structural integrity. The design of aircraft wings is intentional to bear significant stress, which in turn makes the space directly above them a highly stable zone in the event of any unforeseen trouble during a flight.

There’s also the added perk of being near emergency exits when seated at 11A, giving passengers swift access to multiple egress points – a sharp contrast to seats situated at the extremities of the plane where exit options could be restricted.

Check seat maps for your aircraft

Before rushing to book your seat, remember to review the seat maps specific to your flight.

For those aiming to claim seat 11A, Robert emphasises the importance of verifying the seat layout by stating: “You want to look for planes where 11A sits directly over the wing with clear sight lines to emergency exits,” recommending both Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s as prime candidates for such favourable seating arrangement.

To make sure that 11A indeed boasts these strategic positional perks on your particular journey, it’s wise to consult airline seat map resources and tools such as SeatGuru. It’s noteworthy that certain aircraft may have unique numbering sequences or layouts that displace row 11 from its advantageous spot over the wing.

Mr Robert also advises against choosing planes where the 11th row falls within the premium economy section, as these seats usually come with compulsory upgrade fees that negate the point of affordability.

Securing seat 11A without additional charges

The timing of your booking could be the deciding factor between securing seat 11A for free or being hit with hefty selection fees. Mr Robert reveals his insider tip for nabbing this prime spot.

“Book your flight first, then wait about 24 hours before selecting your seat,” he recommended. “Many airlines release their best available seats during this window, and 11A often becomes available for standard selection.”

“If you’re flexible with your departure times, Tuesday and Wednesday flights often have more seat availability,” Mr Robert said. “Airlines are less likely to charge premium fees for seats that aren’t filling up quickly.”

Another tactic involves regularly checking back after making your booking. As the departure date draws nearer, airlines sometimes make previously restricted seats available for free selection when it’s apparent they won’t be sold as upgrades.

Mr Robert concluded: “After years of coordinating travel for safari clients flying into remote African destinations, I’ve learned that smart seat selection can make or break a long-haul flight experience. Seat 11A represents the perfect sweet spot that most travellers completely overlook. You’re getting the structural advantages of being positioned over the wing – which means better stability during turbulence and proximity to the aircraft’s strongest point – without paying the premium that business class demands.

“The beauty of this seat is that it addresses the two biggest concerns I hear from nervous flyers: safety and cost. You don’t need to spend an extra £200-500 on an upgrade to feel more secure during your flight. Understanding aircraft design and booking timing can get you into one of the safest positions on the plane for the price of a standard economy ticket.

“It’s particularly valuable for travellers heading to destinations like ours in Tanzania, where you’re looking at 15-20 hour journey times. Every advantage in comfort and peace of mind counts when you’re covering that kind of distance.”