suns

In need of three-point shooting, the Lakers lost the league’s best sharpshooter on the first day of free agency.

Guard Luke Kennard has agreed to a two-year, $13-million deal with the Phoenix Suns, The Times confirmed Tuesday.

Kennard was an unrestricted free agent after he was traded to the Lakers last February from the Atlanta Hawks. His arrival coincided with a dramatic offensive uptick for the Lakers, who went from 34.9% shooting from three in games before Kennard and 37.7% in games after. Kennard was on a one-year, $11-million contract last season, his ninth year in the NBA.

The former Duke star averaged nine points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Lakers while shooting 44.8% from three-point range. He showed his influence beyond just shooting when he took on more ballhandling duties late in the season to fill in during injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. In a starting role during the last six games of the regular season, Kennard averaged 6.4 assists.

The Lakers already lost LeBron James on the first day of free agency after the 22-time All-Star informed the team he intended to sign somewhere else for his NBA-record 24th season. Kennard could have provided a critical floor-spacing piece around Doncic, who thrives when surrounded by lob-catching centers, athletic wings and knockdown shooters.

AIRPORT terminals – love them or hate them, you’ll find yourself killing time in one before your next holiday.

According to a study by YouGov in 2023, the average Brit spends as much as £20 before a flight, with common items being perfumes, alcohol and food gifts.

Yet while some people enjoy a perusal of the aisles, others are more reluctant to.

While bargains can be found at Duty Free, you’ll find your cup of coffee or morning breakfast a lot more expensive than outside the airport – making your holiday more expensive before you even get on the plane.

The discussion of enjoying the airport terminal has divided even the Sun Travel team.

Here we share our biggest bugbears, best ways to spend a few hours at the airport, the freebies you can bag while there and the handful of duty-free items that are actually worth buying.

Lisa Minot, Head of Travel

As per usual, I am late. Airport security is a nightmare. Endless lines of stressed passengers are corralled into a hot, suffocating pen, awaiting the conveyor belts of doom.

I roll my eyes as my perfectly acceptable hand luggage is sent down the reject lane – and I stand fuming, knowing there’s nothing wrong with it.  After another ten minutes and a ‘random check’, I am finally free to enter departures.

I am hot, bothered and hating life. So what could possibly be worse?

The winding ‘hell-no brick road’ through the World of Duty Free with its cloying perfume sprays, overpriced make-up and endless rows of ‘designer’ sunglasses.

Travellers slow to a snail’s pace as the brightly-coloured displays tempt them. And as I try to accelerate through the dawdlers, I get a full-on spray of aftershave in the face as the sales staff accost yet another unlucky victim.

Round and round we go. Past overpriced beauty brands I’ve never heard of – and will never be able to justify the price. Past rows of Union Jack tat and extortionate Fortnum and Mason biscuits.

Rounding another corner, there’s yet more retail hell – overpriced sweets and costume jewellery you know will probably disintegrate before you’ve settled into your airplane seat.

Finally, after what feels like an eternity, I’m spat out into the departure lounge. Except more retail hell awaits.

No, I don’t want a pair of overpriced shoes. I don’t need a ‘just in case’ shawl or a tech gadget promising to ‘transform’ my flight. I just want to sit down.

It’s bad enough I’m stuck in this soulless cavern, but the endless assault on my wallet is exhausting.

If I have forgotten something, God forbid, I’d much rather buy it at my destination. At least there it might have some meaning.

Instead, there is only one place I am heading. The airport pub.

The lone sanctuary in the chaos. The one place where I can enjoy a cheeky albeit overpriced drink.

And as I finally sink into a chair to do a spot of people watching, the rage fades.

It might be twice the price of my local, but I’m jetting off… and this is my little slice of airport heaven.

Deputy Travel Editor, Kara Godfrey

‘We don’t need to be so early to the airport, Kara,’ my friends often moan at me when I turn up three hours early for a flight to Spain.

They, however, are wrong – the beauty of a holiday starts at the airport.

In fact, it’s one of the most exciting bits of my trip, especially when travelling through some of our London airports, which, dare I say it, are some of the finest in Europe.

There is something to be said for being stuck within the walls of a terminal where there is nothing else to do but explore the shops – you can’t go back through security, and you can’t go to your gate.

If it’s an early morning flight, I embrace my overpriced Pret coffee, often chased by a just as expensive cheese turnover to keep me going.

I’ll check the time for my gate to be revealed (often at least 1hr30, with how early I arrive), and that’s when the fun starts.

I peruse Waterstones, picking up a new book that I forgot to pack myself but will inevitably never read, opting to pass out as soon as I get on the plane.

There’s the swimsuit I also forgot to pack that I must pick up from Accesorize, before being tempted into some new earrings, where I shall return from the trip with just one of them.

And I’ve been burnt before by inedible economy meals, so my trip to Boots is a must, picking up the same Meal Deal as always – Elderflower and Mint CBD drink, Korean Fried Chicken Rice Bowl and a Big Bag of Hula Hoops.

All of that, and I still have time to perhaps try some of the designer beauty products I can only dream of affording, but will happily smear samples on my wrists and neck.

How people hate the airport experience is beyond me – I simply say you aren’t doing it right.

I will never be that person you see frantically running through the airport, face frazzled as they barely make their flight.

For I, with my coffee, book and earrings to join me, settle in with another hour to kill while calmly waiting to board.

Who needs spa treatments when you have an airport terminal to peruse?

AFTER years of “neglecting” Europe and the UK, Aussie duo Empire Of The Sun return for three sold-out nights at London’s Alexandra Palace next week, proof they are making up for lost time. 

“The Empire surges on,” says singer Luke Steele in a quiet moment away from the tour.  

“Empire still feels as intense as ever. It’s like being in a vortex. It’s like Lord Of The Rings when they put the ring on, or when you’re surfing and you’re caught in the wave. Being on this tour is always like that.  

“We’ve changed a few things and added a few new songs, and suddenly it changes the ripples of everything else.” 

Nearly 20 years after track Walking On A Dream first introduced Empire Of The Sun’s fantastical universe, Steele and non-touring band member Nick Littlemore are bigger than ever. 

“It’s incredible because these are our biggest shows and it’s the biggest following we’ve had,” says Steele proudly on a video call. 

SHOW STROP

Watch Download festival frontman have mid-gig meltdown before storming off stage

OWN GOAL

Rod Stewart fan fury as he’s seen boozing at World Cup match after cancelling gig

“It’s exploded in a completely different way, to a whole new generation who are my son and my daughter’s age.  

“My daughter Sunny is about to turn 18 and Walking On A Dream came out the week she was born. Nearly 20 years later, it has hit that next generation and it is so reinvigorating. I’m running into kids who are 15 asking, ‘Who’s this new band?’.  

“A lot of people have been asking about the band’s outfits — they’re fascinated by the fashion. 

“But for so many people, they just hear the songs on the radio or at a party and don’t even know what the band looks like. They’re just captivated by the melodies.” 

Steele is in Budapest to perform, and he has just got back from a scooter ride around the city’s sights on a rare day off. 

The pair have survived near burnout and band tensions, but Steele says the music always pulled him back and now he feels the healthiest and sharpest he has ever been. 

“We always had great shows in the UK, but it felt like we’d lost a bit of steam by not touring there frequently. Then the pandemic was tough — five years not being able to tour and stuff — so maybe now we’re making up for lost time.” 

Last summer’s sold-out Labyrinth On The Thames show at Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College was Empire Of The Sun’s first London performance in more than six years. 

“That was special. It was amazing,” Steele says. “So it’s great we are coming back to the UK — to London and also Cardiff and Halifax — which I am told is right at the top of the UK but not as far as Scotland.” His music is better than his geography. 

Empire’s return has meant more than just filling venues. It is about the band’s influence on the fans, who have found their own lives reflected in the songs. 

“The music is so important. It’s important for us, for our sanity, but it’s amazing what the records have been doing to people,” he says. “I feel a bit more like a conduit now. I’ve been handed these keys, and it’s like, what are you going to do with them? What doors are going to open?” 

“I have to harness that power of influence in a clever, natural way. 

“Coming back with the new show and writing new records post-pandemic, it feels like the songs need to have new revelations and new messages in this crazy world.” 

Steele reckons part of the success of Empire Of The Sun’s performances has been down to his live band, which includes former Gomez guitarist Ian Ball and drummer Olly Peacock.  

“They are the greatest players — really seasoned musicians, which is incredible to have,” says Steele. “People with experience are worth everything in touring. Ian is my right-hand man. The one and only.  

“You rehearse for three months, then you get up in front of 80,000 people and suddenly my in-ear pack goes down, or the pedalboard dies. Ian is so calm. He just mooches over, cool as a cucumber, sorts it out and comes back before I’ve even noticed.”  

Steele says having a great team behind him means he can execute the ideas he has been inspired by. 

“There are quite a few songs from Ask That God in the set.  

“We always play the hits, like We Are The People and Alive, because that’s important for people’s memory, and then there are a couple of throwbacks from the earlier records. 

“It’s about trying to fit it all in without it becoming an exhausting meal for people.  

“The first show probably had too many songs — like eating that last chicken wing at the Chinese buffet, where you walk out thinking you’ve had too much. It’s a fine line. 

“I don’t like those shows where bands play for three-and-a-half hours. I want to see a concert, get blown away, and go and put my pyjamas on. You don’t want to lose people.” 

Almost two years into the Ask That God tour, Steele is still pushing the show forward. 

He says: “It’s so exciting and exhilarating, and then there are the fans who mean so much. 

“It always sounds so cliched to me, to talk about ‘the fans’ but as I’ve got older and seen their dedication they become like your friends. It’s more than someone buying an album. The music seeps into their lives. 

“The other day I met this girl who showed me a video of her three-year-old kid dancing to one of our songs. It’s amazing to be so far away from home and see how much the music touches people.  

“We played Poland recently and this girl had spent months making these elaborate Salvador Dali and Escher-style collage illustrations for each song. She printed them all in a book and had written a personal note at the end. 

“People really go on the journey with us, so I’m pretty thankful.” 

Being away for long periods from his own family in Australia is what hits Steele the hardest. 

“I’m not really going home until Christmas. We go from here to the American tour and it just keeps going, but they’re all coming out to the UK shows. 

“I find it hard. I go through different stages of exhaustion and depression, excitement and exhilaration. It’s like a wave.  

“I feel quite fragile because I’m so emotional. Being on the road is a real vortex. And when you get home it’s not easy — this pipe burst in the front bathroom of my new house I bought in Perth, and 700,000 litres of water flooded the whole house.  

“When I came back from tour in January from Miami, it was just like a swimming pool, so everything’s been gutted now. It’s just all concrete, so we’re in a rental for a while — we’re pretty much homeless now.” 

After living in the US then New Zealand, Steele moved back to Perth to be closer to his family. 

Steele, who was living in America during Donald Trump’s first presidency, says the country’s extremes fed into his songwriting. 

“I had to go because I was writing so many aggressive songs. Now I’m back where I grew up and it’s been awesome,” he says.  

“I haven’t lived there for 20 years, so it’s a perfect amount of time to get over the regret, you know? 

“And it’s been good to be the hometown hero.  

“Walking On A Dream became the soundtrack for Tourism Western Australia’s global campaign and it is even named after that song.  

“There’s also a music room at my school named after the family. It feels kind of cool to be given the keys to the city, where it all started.” 

Steele lost his dad, blues musician Rick Steele, last year and he recently paid tribute to him with a night of blues. 

“It was the one-year memorial and it was awesome to come back together, remember him and play the blues. The blues club he belonged to is stronger than ever, which is great. 

“I didn’t want him to pass away and then the club to fall over. His legacy moves on, and we’re about to do a grant the Steele family has started — the Rick Steele Music Grant. 

“We’ve also got a plaque on a park bench just down the road from his house, where he lived his whole life. He used to go there most mornings, get a coffee and sit on that bench. I think he’d think that was pretty cool. He’s got his own bench there.” 

For Steele, that sense of legacy, home and survival has fed back into the music. 

“It’s a good spot to be, because I feel the sharpest I’ve ever been and the healthiest. I got rid of all of that garbage, all the drugs and alcohol, years ago.  

“It was music that helped me to heal by writing every song and playing, recording and mixing it myself.  

“Music is still such a powerful phenomenon and medium. It’s a healer. It brings renewal, hope and vision.  

“Music was always the vessel, even after I said the band was done and went off to write a solo record.” 

That sense of purpose also seems to have softened the creative tension between Steele and Littlemore.  

They have not always seen eye to eye, but time, distance and their separate lives have made the partnership easier to understand. It’s like a marriage that works because both know when to step away. 

“I think Nick and I have been good at that,” he says.  

“We probably spend more time apart than together and, when we come together, it’s quite focused on the job at hand.” 

After side projects — Littlemore is the frontman of electronic trio PNAU — and an eight-year gap between third album, Two Vines, and the release of 2024’s Ask That God, time apart now seems to be part of how Empire Of The Sun have survived.

Steele says: “When we came back, it was like, OK, we’re older now — what are we actually talking about? What’s the real meaning? So we’re trying to bring more of that into the show and the theatrics.  

“But I think now we can sit back and soak in the fruits of our labour a bit.  

“For a while, you’re just trying to hold on to it, because you spend your whole life trying to get to a point where people are actually listening. 

“Now we have people’s attention, we have to treat that with respect and not take it for granted. 

“I haven’t spoken to Nick for a while, but we’ll probably start talking more now we are about 45 songs into the new record and trying to finish a huge batch of songs. It’s definitely going to be a little bit more edgy.  

“We’ve been working with different producers and in Hawaii, LA and Sweden. Each territory brings different colours.  

“Working with these different people, from different places gives you beautiful ingredients.” 

But before new music arrives, there is the small matter of shows in Halifax, Cardiff and three sold-out nights at Alexandra Palace. 

It is surely a pinnacle moment, which Empire Of The Sun have been building towards for nearly 20 years. 

“We’re going all out on that,” he insists.  

“They’re going to be massive shows.” 

IT’S the story the whole nation is talking about – and The Sun’s Clemmie Moodie has the inside scoop after joining Katie Price in Dubai to find out the truth about husband Lee Andrews. 

Conman Lee, 43, is serving time in the notorious Al Awir prison in the United Arab Emirates city, where he is being held for fraud. (Not “spying” as he has apparently suggested).

Clemmie and Katie, 48, have embarked upon an extraordinary international trek looking for “the world’s most hated man” – and tonight, she bares her soul to The Sun in her only sit-down interview since the firestorm started. 

And Katie confesses that if she doesn’t get the answers she wants from her husband, she is prepared to turn the tables in explosive fashion.

In the hour-long interview, Katie shares her sensational side of the story after initially being led to believe that Lee had been kidnapped before – following three weeks of zero contact – learning of his incarceration. 

She’s someone who has lived every possible high and low, both personally and professionally, in the glare of the public eye. 

PROUD MUM

Katie Price gushes with pride as Junior takes to the stage to perform in Monaco

‘SO STRESSED’

Katie Price says ‘I look like Skeletor’ as her weight drops over Lee battle

But even she warns readers of her latest tell-all: “You don’t want to miss it. 

“This is where you’ll see the truth.” 

Katie flew out to Dubai last Monday and has visited Al Awir Central Prison several times, though her only contact with her Lee has been via the phone.

She opens up to Clemmie about Lee’s infamous flight ban – after he humiliated her by forcing her to do a live TV interview without him – and about the concerns from loved-ones and fans alike over her marriage.

And, in a shock turn of events, Katie will tell all after being confronted with some damning news about the man she loves.

You can read and watch Clemmie’s interview with Katie tonight at 7pm right here on The Sun.

HSBC has praised our investigation into Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews — and repaid the £1,000 our journalist spent to expose him as a fraudster.

Clemmie Moodie sent conman Andrews the money from her account with the bank via its app to see if he would make good on promises to treble it.

David Callington, head of economic crime prevention at HSBC UK, said: “It’s great that The Sun is educating readers on how to spot and avoid fraud and what warning signs to look out for.

“If any HSBC UK customers find themselves in the same position as Clemmie, we’d invite them to get in touch with us to see how we can help.”

The bank concluded Andrews had forged its own branding to fabricate a fake payment screenshot — a document showing £2,900 due to land in Clemmie’s account on May 15 that never arrived.

She had transferred the cash after he pitched a “zero risk” investment.

FAME GAME

Princess Andre makes This Morning debut as Katie Price finds ‘missing’ husband

LEE-VE ME ALONE

Watch the moment Katie Price’s sister BANS Lee Andrews from speaking to her

What followed was a string of excuses about stock market turns and Abu Dhabi banking hours, then the fake HSBC screenshot, then silence.

Nineteen days after handing the money over, Clemmie went public.

Andrews, a Dubai-based self-styled businessman who has called himself an “international mastermind criminal”, is now wanted by Interpol after Hertfordshire Police escalated their investigation into him.

Former glamour model Katie, 48, claims her missing husband is in prison on spying charges in Dubai.

Mr Callington warned: “Social media has become a leading hunting ground for investment scammers.

“They will share fake testimonials and forged documents with their victims to build trust quickly.

“The first major red flag with any investment scam is usually the assurance of guaranteed, unrealistically high returns.

“Take time to do your research, and speak to your bank if you are unsure about the legitimacy of an investment.”

HSBC experts have identified key red flags customers need to know.

5 SCAM RED FLAGS TO LOOK OUT FOR

1. “GUARANTEED” or unusually high returns are the first warning sign. If fixed, risk-free or above-market returns are promised — think “8% a month” or “double your money” — walk away. Legitimate investments carry risk.

2. PRESSURE and urgency tactics are the scammer’s best friend. They include phrases like “limited allocation”. If someone tells you not to seek independent advice or creates a false deadline, that is a major alarm bell.

3. UNREGULATED or hard-to-verify firms are a serious danger sign. If the product description is vague, treat it with extreme caution. No audited financials or clear documents where you would expect them? That is a red flag.

4. WATCH how they ask you to pay. Requests to send money to personal accounts, to use crypto or gift cards are classic scam tactics. And beware of anyone who tells you to pay fees or tax upfront in order to “release” profits.

5. A SLICK-looking app may show profits climbing, but when you try to withdraw, there are delays, blocked requests or a need to “top up” funds. If a platform makes it hard to get your money back, something is very wrong.

WHAT a fortnight.

Over the past two weeks, I have been on the hunt for Lee Andrews – ably assisted by Katie Price, our man on the ground in Dubai, Sun readers… and literally thousands of social media followers.

The interest in the story is not like anything I can recall in 20 years of covering showbusiness.

To recap, it all kicked off on May 11th.

My investigation into Lee was published – a man whom several women had gone on record and accused of being a conman, largely thanks to excellent work by Bizarre’s Ellie Henman – and Lee rapidly went to ground.

Having spent two months befriending the fraudster – he was very charming and, absolutely, on a surface level, I really liked him – but it quickly became apparent his money-making ways were dubious. 

They needed to be exposed. I hoped, in so doing, I hoped we might finally open love-loving Katie’s eyes to the chap she had married in haste.

His brave ex-girlfriend Alana Percival also gave a podcast confirming he was a man not to be trusted.

Within 24 hours of publication, Lee had cut off contact from his frantic wife. (A woman, let’s not forget, who had been left humiliated live on air during *that* infamous GMB sofa appearance).

Despite repeated enquiries from our reporter out there, UEA police authorities would not confirm his whereabouts. 

There was seemingly no official record of him in prison, and the Foreign Office insisted they were supporting the family of a man detained. But would give no further information.

In the interim, several madcap theories were being circulated on both TikTok and Instagram by both Katie Price’s fans and her detractors.

I found myself, unexpectedly, at the centre of them.

She stood accused of staging a giant publicity stunt – one to garner attention for her forthcoming three-part documentary, and, bafflingly, I was accused of being “in on it too”.

So let me be clear. I am NOT in on anything. 

As far as I know, and I have to believe her, Katie genuinely did not have a clue where her husband was. Indeed, she took to Instagram to deny prior claims by Lee’s dad that he was holed-up in jail.

She contacted me today in a WhatsApp, simply writing: “I have an update.”

Lee claims, slightly implausibly, he has been arrested for “spying”. I will eat my sun-hat if that is the case; at this stage, I do not believe a word that emerges from that man’s mouth. But, crucially, Katie still wants to believe in him, and help.

So why the interest in this story – one which went on to spawn an international manhunt and one, really, that only Katie Price would find herself embroiled in? 

Well, she is a part of our fabric; love her or loathe her, she is an icon of British pop culture.

We have grown up with her as a nation, and seen first-hand her tumultuous string of wrong’uns (first husband Peter Andre notwithstanding, and perhaps her sweet, most recent ex-boyfriend, JJ Slater).

Katie is a woman who just wants to be loved.

Finally, she has found her missing husband. Perhaps now she can get the answers she so desperately needs.