Thousands

Residents are opposed to the bridge over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental effect, and mafia interference.

Thousands of people have marched in Sicily to protest against a government plan to build a bridge that would connect the Italian mainland to the Mediterranean island, and would be the world’s longest single-span bridge.

Some 10,000 demonstrators marched in the Sicilian city of Messina on Saturday to stage their opposition to the 13.5-billion-euro ($15.7bn) infrastructure project.

Residents are against the proposed Strait of Messina Bridge project over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental effect, and potential mafia interference.

The idea to build the bridge has been debated for decades. This week, however, it saw a major step forward when a government committee overseeing strategic public investments approved the plan.

Transport Minister Matteo Salvini called it “the biggest infrastructure project in the West”.

Salvini cited studies estimating the project would create up to 120,000 jobs annually and help stimulate economic growth in lagging southern Italy, as billions more are invested in surrounding road and infrastructure improvements.

Critics, however, are not convinced, and angered that about 500 families would have to be expropriated for the bridge to be built. Salvini says such families will be compensated.

“The Strait of Messina can’t be touched,” protesters shouted as they marched in Messina. Many carried banners that said “No Ponte” (No Bridge).

“They could offer me three times the value of my house, but that doesn’t matter to me. What matters is the landscape. They must not touch the Strait of Messina,” Mariolina De Francesco, a 75-year-old resident of Messina whose house lies near the site of one of the bridge’s planned 399-metre- (440-yard-)tall land towers, told The Associated Press news agency.

“Our lawyers will take action, and we will stop them. That’s guaranteed.”

The proposed bridge would span nearly 3.7km (2.3 miles) with a suspended section of 3.3km (more than 2 miles). It would surpass Turkiye’s Canakkale Bridge by 1,277 metres (1,400 yards) to become the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Preliminary work could begin in late September or early October, pending approval from Italy’s Court of Audit. Full construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion planned between 2032 and 2033.

The bridge would reduce the time to cross the strait by ferry, usually up to 100 minutes, to 10 minutes by car. Trains would save 2.5 hours in transit time, Salvini said.

The project could also support Italy’s commitment to raise defence spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) targeted by NATO, as the government has indicated it would classify the bridge as defence-related. Italy argues that the bridge would form a strategic corridor for rapid troop movements and equipment deployment, qualifying it as “security-enhancing infrastructure”.

Environmental groups, however, have lodged complaints with the European Union, citing concerns that the project would affect migratory birds.

Italy’s president has also insisted that the project remain subject to anti-mafia legislation that applies to all large-scale infrastructure projects.

Protesters in support of hostages took to the streets of Jerusalem and marched towards Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence to voice their anger over his government’s plan to fully occupy Gaza City.

Former soldier, Max Kresch, marched holding a sign that read “I refused”.

“We’re over 350 soldiers who served during the war and were refusing to continue to serve in Netanyahu’s political war,” he told the BBC’s Emir Nader.

Protests took place across Israel in cities including Haifa and Tel Aviv.

Israel’s decision to expand its war in Gaza – a major escalation in the conflict – sparked condemnation from the UN and many countries including the UK, France, Australia, Turkey, Germany, Finland and Canada.

The UN has warned that a complete military takeover would risk “catastrophic consequences” for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

The plan, approved by the Israeli security cabinet, lists five “principles” for ending the war: disarming Hamas, returning all hostages, demilitarising the Gaza Strip, taking security control of the territory, and establishing “an alternative civil administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority”.

Aug. 8 (UPI) — Evacuation orders are in place for five areas in Ventura County, Calif., where the uncontained Canyon fire has now engulfed an area one-third the size of Manhattan.

More than 400 personnel from local, state and federal agencies are fighting the blaze, which remains 0% contained and has forced 2,700 people from their homes, the Ventura County Fire Department said in its latest update.

Some, 700 structures are covered by evacuation order, with about 14,000 more residents in northern Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County under evacuation alerts because of the fast-moving wildfire.

Two areas in Ventura County are now under evacuation orders, while six zones are the subject evacuation alerts.

The Canyon fire is one of blazes to break out in Southern California in recent days, amid hot and dry conditions. The wildfire consumed more than 1,500 acres Thursday.

Officials expect do not expect help from the weather, with conditions in the area not expected to change in the near-term.

“We’re still expecting hot and dry conditions today. We still have record-low fuel moisture in the area, so we’re not letting our guard up,” Ventura County Fire Department spokesperson Andrew Dowd told reporters Friday morning.

“Yesterday we were seeing significant plume development, we were seeing very rapid fire growth…within certain areas of the fire.”

Temperatures in Ventura County were expected to remain above 70 degrees with mostly sun.

“The issuance of this emergency proclamation is a crucial step in our fight against the Canyon Fire,” Los Angeles County Fire Department Supervisor Kathryn Barger said Friday.

“It allows us to unlock vital state and local resources more quickly and removes barriers that could slow down our first responders. Our priority is to protect lives, homes, and critical infrastructure, and this proclamation will help ensure that we have the tools and support necessary to meet the urgent needs of our communities.”

If you spend any time on social media, it’s hard to avoid the scorching hot takes about Las Vegas’ recent financial struggles.

Vegas critics say the exorbitant resort fees are brutal, the ever-increasing parking costs are punishing, the comps are few and far between — and did you notice the buffets are vanishing?

In short, Vegas is on a losing streak.

After fighting to bounce back from COVID-19 closures, Sin City is facing financial headwinds as fewer people, particularly Californians, are visiting, playing and ultimately spending money.

My colleague Terry Castleman dived into some theories, but also, as Terry does well, dug into the numbers to tell the tale of Vegas’ sudden crap out.

How do Californians figure into Vegas’ struggle?

Visits to Las Vegas were down 11.3% in June 2025 versus a year earlier, according to data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Traffic on Interstate 15 at the California-Nevada border was down 4.3% over the same period, suggesting fewer visitors doing road trips from the Golden State to Vegas casinos.

The number of air travelers into Las Vegas overall declined 6.3% over the previous June. In 2024, Californians made up more than a fifth of air travelers into Vegas, with nearly half of those coming from the Los Angeles metro area.

A demographic report from the visitors authority estimated that Southern California provided 30% of all visitors to the city in 2024.

Add it all up, and Californians could be responsible for a significant portion of the decline in Vegas tourism.

How do the numbers look internationally?

Tourism within the U.S. is only part of the picture, though, as experts previously predicted we are also seeing a slump in international tourism to the U.S. The convention and visitors authority estimates that 12% of the city’s visitors are international.

A report from the World Travel and Tourism Council projected that the U.S. would lose $12.5 billion in international travel spending in 2025.

“While other nations are rolling out the welcome mat, the U.S. government is putting up the ‘closed’ sign,” Julia Simpson, the council’s president, said in a statement.

The report cited air-travel booking data from March that showed a 15% to 20% drop in expected travel from major tourism sources, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada.

What about Mexico and Canada?

Visitors from Canada and Mexico made up more than half of international visitors to Las Vegas in 2024, according to data from the visitors authority.

But President Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state and his decision to hit Canada with tariffs have not endeared him to Canadian travelers. Meanwhile, media overseas have been bombarded with stories of capricious denials and detentions of travelers at U.S. border crossings.

Apparently, Mexican and Canadian tourists are not feeling so welcome in the U.S. these days.

What’s next?

“Las Vegas thrives on tourism,” Rep. Steven Horsford wrote last week on X, “but under the Trump slump, the numbers are tanking.” Horsford, a Democrat, represents Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, which includes a portion of Las Vegas.

By many metrics — including visitor totals, convention attendance and room occupancy rates — Las Vegas has not fully recovered from the onset of the pandemic.

In dollar terms, however, Sin City continues to profit even as visitor numbers drop: Clark County, which includes Vegas, collected $1.16 billion in gambling revenue in June 2025, up 3.5% from a year earlier.

So, Vegas’ luck has not run out yet.

For more, check out the full article here.

The week’s biggest stories

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Canyon and Los Angeles-area fires

Trump administration policy and reactions

Crime, courts and policing

In memoriam

More big stories

This week’s must reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Giordano Poloni / For The Times)

Going out

Staying in

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

Trump’s sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminium and autos have hit the manufacturing sector hard and reduced hiring.

The Canadian economy lost tens of thousands of jobs in July, sending the share of people employed to an eight-month low as the labour market gave back the gains seen in the prior month.

The economy shed 40,800 jobs in July, compared with a net addition of 83,000 jobs in June, taking the employment rate, or the percentage of people employed out of the total working-age population, to 60.7 percent, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

The unemployment rate, however, remained steady at a multiyear high of 6.9 percent.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the economy would add 13,500 jobs and the unemployment rate would tick up to 7 percent.

“Canada’s labour market snapped back to reality in July,” Michael Davenport, senior economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note.

United States President Donald Trump’s sectoral tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars have hit the manufacturing sector hard and reduced the hiring intentions of companies, the Bank of Canada has previously said.

The number of people employed in manufacturing shrank by close to 10,000 in July on a yearly basis as sectors linked to steel, aluminium and carmaking curtailed hiring and experienced layoffs.

Marty Warren, the United Steelworkers’ national director for Canada, told Reuters that about 1,000 members have been laid off.

Oxford Economics’s Davenport predicts more layoffs in the coming months, forecasting about 140,000 lost jobs and an unemployment rate rising to the mid-7 percent range later this year.

Employment in some areas has held up well despite tariffs, the data showed.

Overall, there has been little net employment growth since the beginning of the year, StatsCan said. The layoff rate was virtually unchanged at 1.1 percent in July compared with 12 months earlier.

The bulk of the job losses in July occurred among workers aged between 15 and 24 – that group’s unemployment rate edged up to 14.6 percent, the highest since September 2010, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021.

Policy rate

The youth unemployment rate is usually higher than the country’s average.

The employment rate for this group, which accounts for about 15 percent of the total working-age population, sank to 53.6 percent, the lowest level since November 1998 if the pandemic years are excluded.

The Bank of Canada kept its key policy rate unchanged last week, partly due to a strong labour market, but indicated it might reduce lending rates if inflation stays under control and economic growth weakens.

“We are now a bit more confident in our view that the Bank of Canada will resume cutting next month, although a surprisingly strong CPI [Consumer Price Index] print next week could prompt another pause,” said Alexandra Brown, North America economist at Capital Economics.

Money market bets show the odds of a rate cut at the next monetary policy meeting on September 17 at 38 percent, up 11 percentage points from Thursday.

The information, culture and recreation sector lost 29,000 jobs last month, marking the biggest decline, followed by 22,000 lost jobs in construction and 19,000 in business, building and other support services.

The average hourly wage of permanent employees – a gauge closely tracked by the Bank of Canada to ascertain inflationary trends – grew by 3.5 percent in July to 37.66 Canadian dollars ($27.4) per hour, against a 3.2 percent increase in the prior month.

Booking.com is facing a class-action lawsuit from more than 10,000 European hotels arguing that the accommodation mega-site used its muscle to distort the market to their detriment over a 20-year period.

The Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes in Europe (Hotrec), which represents the industry within the EU and is bringing the legal action, recently extended to 29 August a deadline for hotel owners to join the suit because of high demand.

The lawsuit, expected to be one of the largest ever filed in the European hospitality sector, is also backed by 30 national hotel associations, including Britain’s.

“Over 10,000 hotels have already joined the pan-European initiative to claim compensation for financial losses caused by Booking.com’s use of illegal ‘best price’ (parity) clauses,” Hotrec said in a statement.

It alleges that the “best price” pledge on Booking.com was extracted from hotels under huge pressure not to offer rooms at lower prices on other platforms, including their own websites.

The hotel industry says that the Netherlands-based platform also used the clauses to prevent customers making what it called “free-rider” bookings, which it defined as using its services to find a hotel but then booking directly with the management, cutting out Booking.com.

“Registration [to the legal action] continues to grow steadily, and the response so far demonstrates the hospitality industry’s strong desire to stand up against unfair practices in the digital marketplace,” Hotrec said.

The litigation, which experts say will be an uphill battle, seeks damages for the period from 2004 to 2024, when Booking.com did away with the best price clause to comply with the EU Digital Markets Act.

Hotrec said the class action, to be heard in Amsterdam, follows a European court of justice (ECJ) ruling from 2024, “which found that Booking.com’s parity clauses violated EU competition law”.

“European hoteliers have long suffered from unfair conditions and excessive costs. Now is the time to stand together and demand redress,” said Hotrec’s president, Alexandros Vassilikos, calling out “abusive practices in the digital market” in Europe.

Booking.com called Hotrec and other hotel associations’ statements “incorrect and misleading” in an emailed statement, adding that it had not received “formal notification of a class action”.

It said that the ECJ ruling did not find that Booking.com’s “best price” clauses were anti-competitive but “simply stated that such clauses fall within the scope of EU competition law and that their effects must be assessed on a case-by-case basis”.

The company referred to a statement about its “commitment to fair competition”, in which it argued that “past parity clauses served to foster competitive pricing rather than restrict it”.

It cited a poll in which 74% of hoteliers said Booking.com made their business more profitable, with many reporting higher occupancy rates and lower customer acquisition costs. However, other industry representatives criticised the company’s practices as extractive.

“As they gained control of the market, Booking was able to increase its commission rates and exert much greater pressure on hoteliers’ margins,” Véronique Siegel, president of the hotels division of French hospitality sector association Umih, told public broadcaster France Inter.

“For a room that the customer pays €100 (£87) for, if you take away Booking’s commission, the hotelier receives €75 at best, with which they have to pay their employees and invest.”

Despite the friction, Booking.com appears unavoidable for many hotels, offering an online reach and visibility hard to achieve for smaller, independent establishments.

A study by Hotrec and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland found that Booking Holding, the website’s parent company, controlled 71% of the European market in 2024, compared with 68.4% in 2019.

The corporation is valued at $170bn (£127bn), three times that of Volkswagen.

Rupprecht Podszun, director of the institute for competition law at Düsseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University, said Booking.com was a classic example of how a digital platform could conquer an entire sector, creating a “winner takes all” dynamic.

He said the legal action would probably be protracted and turn on the thorny question of how damages could be measured.

“Judges will have to form an opinion and then it will go through all the appeals – everything at great expense and with all the tricks available under the law,” he told Germany’s daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.

“The case is a revolt of the hotels, saying: ‘You can’t just do what you want with us.’”

Australia may join more than a dozen other nations in recognising the state of Palestine.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators have marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia, calling for peace and aid deliveries in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, where a humanitarian crisis of man-made starvation has been worsening as a result of Israel’s punishing blockade.

Pro-Palestinian protesters braved heavy winds and rain on Sunday to march across the bridge, chanting “Ceasefire Now” and “Free Palestine”. Some of those attending the march, which the organisers dubbed the “March for Humanity”, carried pots and pans as symbols of the forced starvation wracking Gaza.

The protest came less than a week after a joint statement by Australia and more than a dozen other nations expressed the “willingness or the positive consideration … to recognise the state of Palestine as an essential step towards the two-State solution”.

France, Britain and Canada have in recent weeks voiced, and in some cases qualified, intentions to diplomatically recognise a Palestinian state as international concern and criticism have grown over the hunger crisis in Gaza.

At least 175 people, including 93 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition across the territory since Israel launched its war on Gaza after the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel in October 2023, according to the latest Gaza Health Ministry figures.

Australia has called for an end to the war in Gaza, but has so far stopped short of a decision to recognise a Palestinian state.

Police said that up to 90,000 people had attended the protest while the organiser, Palestine Action Group Sydney, said in a Facebook post that as many as 300,000 people may have marched.

Marchers ranged from the elderly to families with young children. Among them was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who did not address the crowd or speak to the media.

Mehreen Faruqi, the New South Wales senator for the left-wing Greens party, addressed the crowd gathered at central Sydney’s Lang Park, calling for the “harshest sanctions on Israel”, accusing its forces of “massacring” Palestinians.

Antony Loewenstein, author of The Palestine Laboratory, a book on the Israeli arms and surveillance industry, who spoke at the rally, told Al Jazeera that protesters are “outraged” not just by what Israel is doing in Gaza, but also by the Australian government’s “complicity”.

Loewenstein said that Australia has, for many years, including since the start of the war, been part of the global supply chain for the F-35 fighter jets that Israel has been using in attacking the besieged territory.

“A lot of Australians are aware of this,” he said. “We are deeply complicit, and people are angry that their government is doing little more than talk at this point.”

Goodsprings, Nevada, is a ghost town located just 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas – and it’s proving incredibly popular with tourists, with thousands flocking in each year

Located in the middle of nowhere and allegedly haunted, the ghost town of Goodsprings is far from the most obvious tourist destination.

Coupled with its proximity to the dazzling lights of Las Vegas, it would be easy for Goodsprings to be overlooked. But, despite its spooky history and sparse amenities, the town finds itself subject to thousands of visitors every year.

Just half an hour away from the city’s bustling strip and vibrant nightlife, life in Goodsprings could not be more different. Home to around 200 residents, this quiet town at the base of the Spring Mountains in the Nevada desert was once a bustling mining hub.

In its heyday in the early 1900s, it housed 800 inhabitants and boasted amenities such as a hospital, hotels and a school – which remarkably still operates today, albeit with only two pupils on its roll. However, as the ore reserves in the Goodsprings mines dwindled, so did its populace.

In 1942, the town served as the base for a special search mission following the tragic plane crash that claimed the life of actress Carole Lombard. Her aircraft crashed into Potosi Mountain, and her husband, Hollywood legend Clark Gable, anxiously awaited news at Goodsprings’ Pioneer Saloon.

It’s said that Gable’s cigar burns can still be seen on the Saloon’s bar to this day. Consequently, there’s a memorial room at the Pioneer honouring its connection to the iconic couple.

Today, Goodsprings has a somewhat eerie aura. A drive through the town on its dusty roads evokes a spooky feeling.

Often the subject of folk tales and ghost hunts, Reddit users have shared their experiences of visiting the town. One stated: “When I went to Goodsprings a few years back with my wife, it was completely dead.

“No one was outside or driving around, it looked like a wild west ghost town that time had forgotten”.

Despite its remote location, the owners of the Pioneer Saloon are eager to provide a warm welcome to visitors. Stephen Staats, also known as Old Man Liver, purchased the iconic pub in 2021 and discovered Goodsprings’ unique place in pop culture.

The town serves as the starting point for the cult classic video game Fallout: New Vegas, which features the main character revived after being buried alive in Goodsprings cemetery. Many of the game’s characters are based on real-life residents, and the Pioneer itself is featured in the game, rebranded as the Prospector Saloon.

Recognising the town’s popularity, Staats hosted a Fallout-themed event on National Video Game Day, July 8, in 2022. He expected “maybe 100 in a crazy world”, but was taken aback when more than a thousand fans showed up.

Since then, it has grown year on year, and following the launch of the acclaimed Amazon Prime Video series based off the game, 6,420 people visited Goodsprings in 2024. Fallout fans have praised the town’s atmosphere and welcoming spirit on Reddit, with one saying: “The locals love it, and it’s kind of their only form of tourism.”

Another, who visited before Staats took over the Pioneer, said: “They were incredibly friendly and welcoming both times I went, and there’s even a marble wall inscribed with the town’s residents since it’s founding, movies and TV shows that have filmed there, all sorts of stuff.”

With a second season of the Amazon Prime show greenlit and likely to be set in and around ‘New Vegas’, Goodsprings could become an unlikely destination to rival the dazzling city that casts its wide shadow over the Nevada desert.

Vietnam is expecting 500mm of rainfall as Typhoon Wipha approaches the northern coast after skirting the Philippines, where five people were killed and several are missing.

Rainfall and flooding, which left five people dead and displaced thousands over the weekend, have continued in the Philippines following Typhoon Wipha, which is now barrelling towards the coast of northern Vietnam as a severe tropical storm.

As of 6am local time in Vietnam on Tuesday (23:00 GMT), Wipha was situated 60km (37 miles) off the coast of Haiphong City, with wind speeds of up to 102 kph (63 mph), and was moving southwest at a speed of 15 kph (9.3 mph), according to Vietnam’s national weather forecast agency.

No casualties or damage have been reported so far, while an estimated 350,000 Vietnamese soldiers are on standby as the country’s weather agency expects up to 500mm (20 inches) of rainfall, which could cause dangerous flooding and landslides.

Expected to make landfall in Hung Yen and Ninh Binh provinces, located south of the capital, Hanoi, Wipha is forecast to weaken to a low-pressure event on Tuesday night, the agency said.

Floodwaters driven by torrential rains in the aftermath of Typhoon Wipha brought much of life in the Philippine capital, Manila, to a halt on Tuesday, with tens of thousands evacuated from their homes and at least two people believed missing.

Schools and government offices remained closed in Manila and surrounding provinces after a night of rain that saw the region’s Marikina River burst its banks.

More than 23,000 people living along the river were evacuated and took shelter in schools, village halls and covered courtyards. Another 25,000 more were evacuated in the metropolitan area’s Quezon and Caloocan cities.

An elderly woman and her driver were swept down a swollen stream as they attempted to cross a bridge in Caloocan, John Paul Nietes, an emergency operations centre assistant supervisor, told the AFP news agency.

“Their car was recovered last night. The rescue operation is continuing, but as of today, they haven’t found either of them,” he said.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in the Philippines, five people have been reported killed as of Monday, and at least another five were reported injured following Typhoon Wipha, local news outlet Enquirer.net reported. Seven people are also missing, according to the council.

At least 20 storms or typhoons strike or come near the Philippines each year, with the country’s poorest regions typically the hardest hit. Their impact has become more deadly and destructive as storms grow more powerful due to climate change.

Earlier this year, Super Typhoon Yagi hit Vietnam, killing about 300 people and causing some $3.3bn in damage.

Road trips make for a great holiday, but if you don’t check these things before you leave, it can get expensive.

If you’re planning a summer road trip, it’s crucial to be clued up on the rules. Road trips can be a fantastic holiday and a summer staple, but they can also lead to financial woes if you inadvertently break any road laws, potentially leaving you thousands of pounds poorer.

Yell’s experts consulted Mark Hayes from HG Evans Garage Ltd, who boasts 44 years in garage services, about some of the lesser-known regulations that could trip up travellers this summer. The most common blunder people make is neglecting to check their tyre PSI.

Before heading out on any summer excursion, it’s essential to inspect your tyres, ensuring your tread depth exceeds the legal minimum of 1.6mm to dodge a hefty £10,000 fine.

Brit holidaymakers urged to understand 12 European road signs or face finesUK city is ‘best for relaxing walks’ with top attraction and impressive views

Additionally, verify that the rubber is in good nick and that your tyre pressure matches the correct PSI.

Don’t forget to check your brakes too, to avoid earning three points on your licence and a £2,500 penalty.

Ensure your brake fluid levels are up to scratch before hitting the road. If you suspect they might be faulty, get in touch with your local garage or service centre for help before setting off, reports the Express.

If you’re planning a full-blown road trip and towing a caravan or trailer, it’s vital to confirm your car has the appropriate towing capacity.

Knowing your route is equally important. Familiarise yourself with the journey and local roads, and keep a close watch on your clutch.

If your vehicle has clocked between 50,000 and 100,000 miles, it’s high time to have your clutch inspected to prevent any unexpected breakdowns.

This is particularly crucial if you frequently drive in hilly terrains.

Extreme heat can also wreak havoc on your car battery. If you’re aware that your battery is getting on in years, it would be wise to replace it ahead of any lengthy trips.

A replacement every three years is generally advised, and Hayes suggests avoiding numerous short drives during the summer, especially with multiple devices plugged in as this could deplete your battery at a much faster rate.

In hot weather, it’s recommended to check your car battery roughly once a week, particularly if it’s around three years old.

News about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and arrests seems to flow as if emanating from an unending tap.

That makes it difficult, at times, to pick up on important topics and issues.

I’m going to use this space to highlight a few articles from my colleagues focusing on the potential growth of ICE in the coming years, new tools that federal agents can use to expand crackdowns, and what the actual numbers say.

Trump wants to hire 10,000 ICE agents

My colleague Andrea Castillo dove into the numbers and reality of an agent hiring spree.

The massive funding bill signed into law this month by President Trump earmarks about $170 billion for border and immigration enforcement, including tens of billions for new deportation agents and other personnel.

During his first term, when Trump called for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire 15,000 people collectively, a July 2017 report by the Homeland Security inspector general found significant setbacks.

In 2017, ICE hired 371 deportation officers from more than 11,000 applications and took 173 days on average to finalize hires, the news outlet Government Executive reported. According to Cronkite News, Border Patrol shrunk by more than 1,000 agents after Trump left office in 2021.

The Homeland Security inspector general concluded that to meet the goal of 10,000 new immigration officers, ICE would need more than 500,000 applicants. For CBP to hire 5,000 new agents, it would need 750,000 applicants.

Castillo added that past and potentially future corruption, the prospect of lowering hiring standards and competition with other police agencies make Trump’s hiring goal an uphill battle.

For more, check out her entire article here.

ICE is accessing Medicaid records

My colleagues Jenny Jarvie and Hannah Fry noted that the Trump administration is forging ahead with a plan to hand over the personal data of millions of Medicaid recipients to Homeland Security personnel seeking to track down people living in the U.S. illegally.

The huge trove of private information includes home addresses, Social Security numbers and ethnicities of 79 million Medicaid enrollees.

The plan, which has not been announced publicly, is the latest step by the Trump administration to deliver on its pledge to crack down on illegal immigration and arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants a day.

California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff warned last month of potential violations of federal privacy laws as Trump officials made plans to share personal health data.

Undocumented immigrants are not permitted to enroll in Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for low-income individuals.

However, federal law requires states to offer emergency Medicaid, coverage that pays for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to everyone, including non-U.S. citizens.

Check out the full article here.

Homeland Security says it arrested 2,800 undocumented people between early June and July

Colleagues Michael Wilner and Rachel Uranga reported on the number of people picked up in the Greater Los Angeles area by Homeland Security.

Federal authorities said earlier that 1,618 undocumented immigrants had been detained between June 6 — the start of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security operation in Los Angeles — and June 22. That total increased by nearly 1,200 arrests in just over two weeks. Trump deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines in the city days after the operation began amid heated protests.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and local officials have repeatedly criticized federal operations for terrorizing immigrant communities, where business has slowed and many have holed up in their homes.

The president’s immigration crackdown in Los Angeles has been a test case for his administration as it presses the bounds of executive authority, deploying federal agents and the military to a major metropolitan city with leadership hostile to its cause.

For more, here’s the complete article.

The week’s biggest stories

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

East Los Angeles Sheriff’s station explosion

Crime, courts and policing

Housing and the environment

More big stories

This week’s must reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP)

Going out

Staying in

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

Along with the stars on Hollywood Boulevard and the Universal Studios theme park, a new celestial attraction is set to debut in Los Angeles.

The Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at Exposition Park is expected to complete construction this year, according to its architects, only three years after the first shovels broke ground.

That would make the center ready in time for when Los Angeles hosts visitors from around the world to see the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Super Bowl and the 2028 Olympics.

One of the aspects that makes this place special is its showcase, the Space Shuttle Endeavour. The spacecraft stands in a stack position, meaning it’s standing — complete with boosters and a rare fuel tank — as if it were ready to launch. It’s the only shuttle in the nation to feature such a feat.

Jeffrey N. Rudolph, president and chief executive of the California Science Center, and Ted Hyman, partner at architectural firm ZGF, which designed the air and space center, recently shared updates with The Times, including news of an exclusive partnership with director/producer J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot.

(William Liang / For The Times)

What’s that shiny thing off the 110 Freeway?

That silver cylindrical colossus that is easily seen from the freeway houses the stacked space shuttle.

The Endeavour was meticulously placed there in January 2024 as much of the museum was built around it.

As for the 20-story diagrid, or shuttle housing building, the museum’s construction crew is about 80% finished wrapping a stainless-steel skin exterior around the shuttle, according to an estimate from Mark Piaia, a ZGF project architect.

The shiny view comes courtesy of 4,247 panels and 1,074 diagonal strips that would stand 7,862 feet tall if lined up.

(William Liang / For The Times)

When will construction be done and the museum be open?

Rudolph said building construction is expected to be completed this year.

He would not provide an official opening day but noted that artifact and exhibit installations would still need to be completed.

The museum is expected to house about 20 planes and jets, including a Boeing 747.

There are also plans for a 45-foot slide that imitates the feeling of entering the atmosphere with a radiating orange glow, two sonic booms and the “S” turns a shuttle would make upon reentry.

(Courtesy of ZGF via the California Science Center)

What should visitors expect to see?

Rudolph was excited about what he’s calling “the reveal.”

He exclusively told The Times that a pair of introductory films are being produced by directing/producing titan J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot. That’s the same production company responsible for some of the latest “Star Wars” and “Mission:Impossible” movies.

The first film will greet visitors as they walk into the museum and will focus on the entire air and space exhibits.

The second will screen at a mini theater at the entrance to the space shuttle exhibit. It is a five-minute film that focuses on the history and inspiration behind the space shuttle. The film ends with a simulated launch, during which steam rises from the floor and through hallway doors and fills the theater.

As the steam impairs a guest’s vision, the screen is removed and visitors get a surprise: a full, “envelope” view of the stacked 20-story space shuttle.

“It is an amazing experience and we want to really build it up,” Rudolph said. “It’s not just about the hardware, but about the people and the educational aspects.”

Can visitors get inside the shuttle?

The delicate nature of the shuttle makes that impossible.

“There’s no way,” Rudolph said. “The hatch is very small and it’s very fragile.”

There is, however, a mock-up of the flight deck — an area designed to carry cargo — that visitors can toy with to get a feel that only shuttle astronauts once got.

We’ll continue to follow the progress of the air and space museum as we head toward opening day.

The week’s biggest stories

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Crime, courts and policing

ICE, immigration, raids and reactions

Fires and wildfires

Television and entertainment news

More big stories

This week’s must reads

More great reads

For your weekend

(Brook Rushton / Sony Pictures Releasing)

Going out

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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff writer
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

Record rainfall is expected to continue hammering parts of South Korea until Monday as more warnings are issued to the public.

Four people have been confirmed dead and at least two others missing as torrential rains continue to batter South Korea for a fourth consecutive day, forcing thousands of people from their homes and stranding livestock in rising floodwaters, authorities said.

Authorities warned on Saturday that up to 250mm (9.8 inches) of additional rain could fall throughout the day, raising concerns of further damage and casualties, the country’s official Yonhap news agency reports.

Rain is forecast to last until Monday in some areas, and weather officials have urged extreme caution against the risk of landslides and flooding, with warnings issued for most of South Korea.

More than 2,800 people are still unable to return to their homes out of a total of more than 7,000 people evacuated in recent days, the Ministry of Interior said.

Rainfall since Wednesday reached a record of more than 500mm (almost 20 inches) in South Chungcheong province’s Seosan, located to the south of the capital, Seoul, the ministry added.

According to Yonhap, areas of the country have received 40 percent of their annual average rainfall in just the past four days.

Among those reported dead was a person who suffered a cardiac arrest inside a flooded vehicle on a road in Seosan. The man was taken to a nearby hospital but died later, officials were quoted by Yonhap as saying.

A man in his 80s was found dead in the flooded basement of his home, while a third person died when a retaining wall collapsed onto a moving vehicle. Another person was also found dead in a stream, officials said. Two people remain missing in the southwest city of Gwangju.

In the province of Chungcheong, cows were desperately trying to keep their heads above water after sheds and stables were flooded by the rainwater.

Yonhap also reported a total of 729 cases of damage to public infrastructure, including flooded roads and the collapse of river facilities. Cases of private property damage have reached more than 1,000, including 64 flooded buildings and 59 submerged farmlands, it added.

Rains were also expected in neighbouring North Korea.

In July 2024, torrential rains also hammered parts of South Korea’s southern regions, killing at least four people and causing travel chaos.

Burglars no longer case streets, instead they scroll through social media and send fake friend requests to gain access to private posts, which could leave you at risk

When you’re away on holiday, it’s incredibly tempting to share updates with everyone back home. However, that innocent photo of your hotel room or boarding pass could potentially cost you thousands if you’re not cautious.

According to Forum Insurance, posting real-time social media updates might invalidate your home insurance should you fall victim to burglary whilst away. This stems from “reasonable care” provisions included in numerous policies, reports the Express.

Insurance companies may contend that publicly announcing your home is empty constitutes negligence.

Niraj Mamtora, Director and Home Insurance Expert at Forum Insurance, explained that criminals have become far more sophisticated nowadays.

He stated: “Burglars aren’t just casing streets anymore, they’re scrolling through Instagram stories and Facebook timelines.

“With this in mind, insurers expect policyholders to take reasonable care to protect their property, and that now includes being cautious about what you share online.”

“For example, posting ‘Off to Greece for two weeks!’ could be considered negligence under policy terms, similar to leaving doors unlocked.”

Even sharing within private groups offers no protection, he warned: “Screenshots can circulate, and insurers may argue you didn’t sufficiently limit audience access.

“Many insurers include clauses requiring policyholders to ‘take care to prevent loss.’

If you publicly broadcast your holiday plans, insurers could argue you breached this duty. Always assume anything shared online, even privately, could be seen by criminals.”

Niraj warns that even innocent-looking posts can alert criminals: “They often monitor public profiles or send fake friend requests to gain access to private posts.

“Even something as simple as tagging yourself at the airport or sharing a boarding pass photo can give criminals a clear window of opportunity.”

To protect yourself from criminals while on holiday, there are several precautions you can take.

Niraj advises checking your insurance policy for clauses like “reasonable care” or “unforced entry”, and suggests waiting until you’re back home before posting holiday snaps.

It’s also wise to set your social media accounts to private, regularly review your friends list, and decline friend requests from people you don’t know.

The British government has secretly resettled thousands of Afghans in the United Kingdom for fear they might be targeted by the Taliban after their personal details were leaked, Defence Secretary John Healey revealed on Tuesday.

Details about the accidental data breach by a British soldier and the secret relocation programme for Afghans were made public after a rare court order known as a “superinjuction”, which barred the media from even disclosing its existence, was lifted on Tuesday.

Here is what we know about what happened and how the government responded:

Whose data was leaked and how did it happen?

A spreadsheet containing the personal information of about 18,700 Afghans and their relatives – a total of about 33,000 people – was accidentally forwarded to the wrong recipients by email in February 2022, Healey told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

These were people who had applied for relocation to the UK between August 2021 and January 7, 2022. That was the six-month period following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan after the US and allied forces withdrew from the country. Most had worked as translators, assistants or in other capacities for the British military in Afghanistan.

They had applied for the UK’s Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, which, like its predecessor, the Ex-Gratia Scheme (EGS), had been set up for Afghans who had worked for the British forces.

The EGS was originally established in 2013 following a long campaign by activists and media in support of people who had assisted the British military in Afghanistan and who were considered likely to face reprisals from the Taliban.

The British soldier at the centre of the leak, who had been tasked with verifying applications for relocation, is understood to have mistakenly believed the database contained the names of 150 applicants, when it actually contained personal information linked to some 18,714 people.

The soldier was under the command of General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who was director of special forces at the time and now heads the British Navy. His name had also been suppressed by the court order until this week.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) became aware of the leak when someone else posted parts of the data on Facebook on August 14, 2023. The Facebook post was first spotted by an activist who was assisting Afghans who had worked with UK forces.

The activist contacted the MoD, saying: “The Taliban may now have a 33,000-long kill list – essentially provided to them by the British government. If any of these families are murdered, the government will be liable,” The Guardian newspaper reported.

How did the government respond to the leak?

The MoD told Facebook to take down the post with the leaked information, citing security threats from the Taliban. It also warned some 1,800 ARAP applicants who had fled to Pakistan that they or their families could be in danger.

The UK government, led by former Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, then sought a court order barring any media disclosure of the data breach.

On September 1, 2023, a High Court judge in London issued a “superinjunction”, which not only prohibits the disclosure of any details but also forbids revealing that the order exists at all. That superinjunction was lifted on Tuesday following a campaign led by The Times newspaper in London.

In April 2024, the government created the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR) to support Afghans who were not eligible for ARAP but were considered at high risk of reprisals from the Taliban as a result of the data leak.

This scheme, which was kept secret, has now been closed, Healey told the House of Commons. However, he added that hundreds of invitations were issued to Afghans and their families under the scheme and these invitations “will be honoured”.

The government also launched the secret Operation Rubific to evacuate those Afghans deemed to be at risk directly to the UK.

How many Afghans have been relocated to the UK under the secret scheme?

As a direct result of the leak, the government says 900 people and about 3,000 relatives have already been flown to the UK under the secret relocation scheme and put up in hotels or military bases. In total, about 24,000 Afghans affected by the breach have either been brought to the UK already or will be in the near future, according to UK media reports.

Through broader resettlement schemes, 35,245 Afghans have so far been relocated to the UK, official data suggests.

Why is this information being disclosed now?

The court order barring the details about the leak from being disclosed was lifted at noon (11:00 GMT) on Tuesday.

Following several private hearings, a High Court judge ruled in May that the injunction should be lifted, citing, among other reasons, the inability of the public or parliament to scrutinise the government’s decisions.

British news outlet The Times reported it had spearheaded the two-year legal battle which resulted in the injunction being lifted.

That decision was, however, overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2024, due to concerns about the potential risks to individuals whose information had been leaked.

Then came the “Rimmer review”.

Healey, a member of current Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s ruling Labour party, said he was briefed about the leak when it happened as he was serving as shadow defence secretary at the time. However, he added that other cabinet members were only informed about the leak when Starmer’s party was elected to power in the general election of July 2024.

“As Parliamentarians – and as Government Ministers – it has been deeply uncomfortable to be constrained in reporting to this House. And I am grateful today to be able to disclose the details to Parliament,” Healey said on Tuesday.

Healey said that at the beginning of this year, he commissioned former senior civil servant and former Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence Paul Rimmer to conduct an independent review.

Quoting the “Rimmer review” in Parliament on Tuesday, Healey said that four years since the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan, “there is little evidence of intent by the Taleban [sic] to conduct a campaign of retribution against former officials.”

He added that the information the Taliban inherited from the former Afghan government would have already allowed them to target individuals if they had wished. Therefore, Rimmer concluded it was “highly unlikely” that someone’s information being on the leaked spreadsheet would be a key piece of information enabling or prompting the Taliban to take action.

“However, Rimmer is clear – he stresses the uncertainty in any judgements … and he does not rule out any risk,” Healey said.

How safe are the people named in the leak now?

The Times reported that after the superinjunction had been lifted, a new temporary court order was issued, barring the media from publishing specific sensitive details about what exactly was in the database.

The Times said the government cited reasons of confidentiality and national security, arguing that the leaked list still poses a threat to the safety of the Afghans.

In a webpage published on Tuesday, the MoD states: “At present, there is no evidence to suggest that the spreadsheet has been seen or used by others who might seek to exploit the information; however, the UK Government cannot rule out that possibility.”

It now advises those who applied for the ARAP or EGS programmes before January 7, 2022, to exercise caution, avoid phone calls or messages from unknown numbers, limit their social media profiles and use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) where possible.

UK-based media outlets have reported that a law firm is suing the MoD on behalf of at least 1,000 Afghans affected by the data leak.

How much has the leak cost the UK government?

Healey said on Tuesday that it had already cost 400 million pounds ($540m) to bring an initial 900 Afghans and their 3,600 family members to the UK under the ARR.

However, this does not account for the expenditures by other government schemes to relocate Afghans to the UK. Healey estimated that the total cost of relocating Afghans to the UK was between 5.5 billion and 6 billion pounds ($7.4bn to $8bn).

Different figures for how much the leak cost the UK have emerged. An unnamed government official told Reuters that the leak cost the UK about 2 billion pounds ($2.7bn). Other outlets have reported that ARR is expected to cost the UK government a total of 850 million pounds ($1.1bn).

The United Kingdom set up a secret plan to resettle thousands of Afghans in Britain after a data leak accidentally disclosed private information of more than 33,000 people. Britain’s defence minister told Parliament Tuesday the breach that revealed details about Afghans who worked with British forces happened in 2022 but was suppressed under a “super injunction.”

Defence Minister John Healey says about 4,500 people are in Britain or in transit under the secret programme.

The United Kingdom set up a secret plan to resettle thousands of Afghan people in Britain after an official accidentally disclosed the personal details of more than 33,000 people, putting them at risk of reprisals from the Taliban, court documents showed.

A judge at London’s High Court said in a May 2024 judgement made public on Tuesday that about 20,000 people may have to be offered relocation to Britain, a move that would likely cost “several billion pounds”.

Britain’s current Defence Minister John Healey told Parliament that around 4,500 affected people “are in Britain or in transit … at a cost of around 400 million pounds [$540m]” under the programme known as the Afghan Response Route.

The government is also facing lawsuits from those affected by the data breach.

A Ministry of Defence-commissioned review of the data breach, a summary of which was also published on Tuesday, said more than 16,000 people affected by it had been relocated to the UK as of May this year.

The breach revealed the names of Afghans who had helped British forces in Afghanistan before they withdrew from the country in chaotic circumstances in 2021.

The details emerged after a legal ruling known as a superinjunction was lifted. The injunction had been granted in 2023 after the Ministry of Defence argued that a public disclosure of the breach could put people at risk of extra-judicial killing or serious violence by the Taliban.

The data set contained personal information of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to be relocated to Britain and their families.

It was released in error in early 2022, before the Defence Ministry spotted the breach in August 2023, when part of the data set was published on Facebook.

The former Conservative government obtained the injunction the following month.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s centre-left government, which was elected last July, launched a review into the injunction, the breach and the relocation scheme, which found that although Afghanistan remains dangerous, there was little evidence of intent by the Taliban to conduct a campaign of retribution.

Healey said the Afghan Response Route has now been closed and apologised for the data breach, which “should never have happened”.

About 36,000 more Afghans have been relocated to the UK under other resettlement routes.

British troops were sent to Afghanistan as part of a deployment of the United States-led so-called “War on Terror” against al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

At the peak of the operation, there were almost 10,000 British troops in the country.

There are multi-talents, and then there was Salvador Bagüez.

Hollywood used him as a bit actor in 1950s B-movies and classic Western television series from “Death Valley Days” to “Bonanza” to “The Cisco Kid.” Studio executives frequently hired the Mexican immigrant as a technical advisor or dialogue coach for movies set in Latin America or Spain involving stars such as Marlon Brando, Robert Mitchum and Cary Grant.

Bagüez’s baritone took him to radio programs and stage shows alongside Jose Arias, a pioneering bandleader of Mexican and Californio music. In his later years, he covered the Dodgers as a sports writer for La Opinión. But for two decades, the longtime Lincoln Heights resident made his biggest mark in Southern California life — no pun intended — as a star illustrator for The Times from the mid-1920s until about World War II.

Not a bad career for one of the first Latinos to work at this paper, amiright?

I first heard about Bagüez in 2023 from Times editorial library director Cary Schneider, who had received a query from someone trying to find out more information about “Sal Baquez.” He gave me a heads-up because one of the trillion sub-beats I have is trying to tell the stories of pioneering but forgotten Latinos at the paper. So far, I’ve profiled columnist Pepe Arciga, cartoonist Manuel M. Moreno and artist-turned-Commerce Councilmember Alex O. Perez.

Now, here’s Bagüez’s story.

Copy boy turned star

He was born in Juarez in 1904 and came to this country in 1921. Bagüez’s first jobs for The Times were as a copy boy and a singer in the paper’s monthly radio variety show on KHJ (and I thought appearing in our videos reels was intimidating). Singing classic and contemporary songs in English and Spanish, his voice was so stirring that an Aug. 12, 1926, Times story revealed that colleagues in the art department took up a collection to gift him singing lessons.

By then, Bagüez was establishing himself as an illustrator in the paper’s pages. His main beats would become sports, entertainment and the Los Angeles Times Sunday Magazine. His style varied — Pee-Chee folder-style illustrations that spanned the length of the front page of the sports section, sketches in charcoal of Hollywood stars like Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, even Art Deco-style flights of geometric fancy. When World War II came, Bagüez drew caricatures of Hitler and Stalin and even maps of Axis advancements across Europe. He signed all of his illustrations with an umlaut over the U in his last name, a grammatical courtesy not offered to him by The Times typesetters, who went with “Baguez” in his byline.

When he wasn’t drawing, Bagüez was interpreting for Times reporters and penning Spanish-language film and music reviews. His importance to the paper was such that he was listed as one of The Times’ stars in a Dec. 3, 1928, ad in the Pasadena Post urging readers to subscribe to this paper — the only Latino staffer afforded the honor.

A 1941 illustration of author Booth Tarkington drawn by Salvador Bagüez.

(Los Angeles Times)

The last mention I could find of him as a Times employee came in the May 17, 1943, edition of “Lee’s Side o’ L.A.,” in which longtime columnist Lee Shippey mocked people who expressed sympathy for pachucos, the Mexican American men who were increasingly being assaulted by white servicemen in a series of attacks that culminated in the Zoot Suit Riots just a few weeks later. Shippey cited Bagüez and fellow Times artist Perez as Mexicans done good, writing, “Both worked up to enviable reputations because they were thoroughly good men as well as good workmen … gangsters go to jail, good citizens do well. Pick out the right examples, boys.”

I wonder if that tokenism is what La Opinión sports editor Rodolfo B. Garcia was referring to in a 1979 Bagüez appreciation when he said the artist left The Times at the height of his fame because he didn’t like how a Times editor “called his attention.”

One person who knew Bagüez well was Hall of Fame Dodgers broadcaster Jaime Jarrín. His first radio job, for KWKW in 1955, was as Bagüez’s replacement after the latter quit the station for a movie gig. The two would dine before games at Dodger Stadium — “full meals, not the hot dogs they give reporters now” — once Jarrín became the team’s Spanish-language broadcaster and Bagüez covered them for La Opiníon from 1960 to about 1970.

“I held him in high regard because he was always so calm and respectful,” Jarrín told me. “Salvador had the soul of an artist and a beautiful voice — he spoke marvelous Spanish and perfect English.”

Don Jaime remembers weekend trips to Tijuana with Bagüez and some of his Hollywood friends, legends like Anthony Quinn, Ricardo Montalban and Gilbert Roland. He also laughed during our short conversation at the fact Bagüez never referred to the Blue Crew as the Dodgers but rather “Los Esquivadores” — the literal translation of “dodgers.”

But Jarrín, as much as he hung out with Bagüez, said there was always something inscrutable about his friend: “Salvador was a very private man. Never talked about his personal life, never even talked about whether he was married.”

Bagüez died in 1979 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery in East Los Angeles alongside his mother. Garcia, the La Opinión sports editor, praised Bagüez in his remembrance as the “cleanest writer” he ever edited.

“Rest in piece, the Juarez native who triumphed in the United States as artist, reporter and announcer,” Garcia concluded. “Another of the old guard that has crossed over the path that waits for us all, late or early.”

This morning’s must read

More great reads

For your weekend

(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Jenny Anderson / Disney via Getty Images)

Going out

Staying in

A question for you: What’s your favorite California beach?

Diane Miller writes: “Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo, Calif.”

Jocelyn Harrison writes: “Zuma Beach!”

Robert Benowitz writes: “Corona del Mar is my favorite California Beach.”

Email us at [email protected], and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected]. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.

For the record: Yesterday’s newsletter incorrectly stated the name of a reader’s favorite California beach. Jot McDonald’s favorite beach is Asilomar Beach, not Ancillary Beach.

Pacemaker

Pacemaker

PA Media

Eleventh night bonfires

Many countries in the EU and the rest of the world have strict entry requirements, many of which are related to the dates on your passport – here are two essential checks to make

Holidaymakers could stand to lose thousands of pounds and even miss out on their holiday if they neglect to perform crucial checks on their passport.

Numerous countries in the EU and beyond enforce stringent entry requirements, many of which are tied to the dates on your passport. In the UK, a standard adult passport is valid for 10 years, while child passports for anyone under 16 are only valid for five years.

There are no automatic renewals or reminders for when your passport is due to expire, so it’s always the responsibility of the traveller to ensure their passport meets the necessary requirements for entry into their chosen country when booking their holiday.

Six-month date on passport

It’s generally recommended that British passports have at least six months remaining until their expiry date before travelling abroad. However, some countries may have more lenient rules, particularly within the EU.

For instance, Spain only requires travellers to have an expiry date at least three months after the day they plan to depart the Schengen area.

10-year expiry limit

Moreover, many holidaymakers should consider renewing their passports if they have less than three months until their expiry date, or if the passport is 10 years old or more from the day it was first issued. However, it’s crucial to allow ample time for passport renewal as the process can take several weeks, particularly with the expected increase in people jetting off abroad during the summer.

For those in need of a quick passport renewal, a fast-track application is available, though this comes with an extra fee.

Potential of losing thousands of pounds

If you’ve splashed out thousands of pounds on your holiday that you can’t actually enjoy because you neglected essential passport checks, you may find that you will be unable to recoup the cash. If you’ve taken out travel insurance, the insurance provider will not typically reimburse you for the costs of an emergency passport or the cost of a missed flight.

If you are unsure whether your passport is valid for a holiday you plan on going on this summer, you can use the Post Office’s passport validity checker for a wide array of popular travel destination.