time

Cary Elwes may not have been born in Los Angeles, but it’s probably fair to consider the native Brit an honorary Angeleno. The “Princess Bride” star was born in and spent his formative years kicking around London; he moved to L.A. in 1990, on his brother’s recommendation. He met his wife, photographer Lisa Marie Kurbikoff, at a cookoff in Malibu about a year later and the two married in 2000. A daughter, Dominique, arrived in 2007.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

Elwes has spent his years in California not just establishing his family life, but also further enmeshing himself in Hollywood. He’s appeared in everything from “Saw” to “Ella Enchanted,” and played a corrupt government agent in a couple of “Mission Impossible” movies. His latest role is as a former cop turned private detective in Peacock’s new crime thriller, “M.I.A.,” streaming now.

“I’ve been out here for quite a bit now and while [2025’s] fires were pretty devastating — changing a lot of the landscape and people’s lives in ways that none of us could have imagined — I’m hopeful,” Elwes says. “I feel like we’re going to build back stronger and better. Things can seem dark sometimes, but I still have a spark of hope in my heart.”

Here’s how Elwes would spend his perfect, hopeful Sunday in Los Angeles.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

10 a.m.: Coffee and a chat

We wake up around 10 a.m., which is kind of late for me. Then we’ll have our coffee. I tend to lean toward Gelson’s beans, which I find have a particular flavor I tend to like. I do like my coffee. It’s probably the only addiction I really have.

Anyway, after I finish up my coffee, I’ll typically ask my wife and daughter what they’d like to do for the day. My daughter is 19, and she’s terrific. I always tell my wife she’s the best production we’ll ever do together.

Noon: Leisurely lunch

My wife is very fond of this Italian restaurant in Woodland Hills called Casaléna. It’s right off Ventura Boulevard and it’s terrific. Even their salads are extraordinary. It’s fairly new, too, but it’s always booked out solid so you really have to make a reservation in advance. Luckily, my wife and daughter are organized, so if they want to go there, they’ll have planned ahead.

2 p.m.: Head to the movies

We like to go see movies at the Imax at Universal CityWalk. The quality of that theater is very, very good and seeing films on the biggest screen possible is important to us.

My wife and I went on a date to see “Michael” in Imax, which was sold out and it was phenomenal. Antoine Fuqua did a great job and our friend Colman [Domingo] was honestly transformative as Joe Jackson. And Jaafar Jackson, who’s Michael’s nephew, is remarkable. It’s an extraordinary film, but sold out with people cheering and dancing? That made it a phenomenon. People were interacting with the movie as it played and it was remarkable.

If we’re not interested in whatever’s playing at the time, we might go for a hike in Tapia Park. I grew up watching “MASH” as a kid and when I realized they filmed there, I thought “How blessed am I to be living just a few miles from where such an iconic series was made?”

It’s a really beautiful park too. If you take a long hike, you’ll see waterfalls and lots of wildlife. On a nice afternoon, taking the dog out there for a walk? You can’t beat it.

There’s so much rich history here. I remember going on the Universal Studio Tour for the first time when I visited L.A. as a kid. They had a thing where they’d pick a couple of tour guests and the guide would put you on camera in front of a blue screen and you’d reenact a scene from a movie. The tour also took you by the “Jaws” shark coming out of the water and through an old western town, and I found out years later that a director friend of mine had been making westerns there when I was a kid and I didn’t even know it.

That tour was fantastic. With parting the sea for “The Ten Commandments” and then the boulders coming down the hill during the rockslide? Absolutely magnificent.

5 p.m.: Pick a Getty, any Getty

Depending on what time our movie ends or if we just end up going for a walk instead, we might go over to the Getty Center. We love it there. Usually we’ll go in the afternoon — maybe we’ll have a late lunch up there — and sometimes we’ll go to the Getty Villa instead, which luckily survived the Palisades fire.

We just love being around art. We’ll walk through the entire collection, plus whatever exhibit they have on at the time. We’ll go to LACMA sometimes, too, or even the Academy Museum to see whatever new exhibits they have.

Culturally, we really try to keep busy. Sometimes we’ll want to sit at home and play Spite and Malice or watch a show on TV, but mostly I try to go out and encourage my family to do the same, especially because we live in such a wonderfully diverse, cultural city.

7 p.m.: Taco time

I always leave meal decisions up to the girls, and sometimes they like to go out and get tacos. We like the fish tacos at Escuela. It’s pretty close to Quentin Tarantino’s movie theater, the New Beverly Cinema, which we like to go to as well. I took my daughter to see “Jaws” there, in fact, which she loved.

9 p.m.: More movies

I’m trying to educate my daughter in the films and TV shows that I watched growing up. She’s taking a film history class in school. She wants to be an actor as well, so I want her to have an understanding of the history of film and history of performance, so I show her the great performances that inspired me as a kid and encourage her in that way.

When I grew up in England, we literally had two channels, both in black and white. Young people can’t quite wrap their heads around that now, but it really did make you pay attention because you had to be sitting in front of the television to catch a show or movie you wanted to watch.

I remember that the BBC, particularly on weekends, would have matinee screenings of movies. We actually had pretty good quality TV in England growing up, but they’d also heavily focus on British films from the ‘40s all the way through to the ‘60s so I got my education from that particular style of films, like the postwar films, ‘50s films, and the Ealing comedies. David Lean and Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson … a lot of the films they were in or directed really helped shape who I am today.

Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers had a very strong influence on me as a kid, too, so I really want to try to share with my daughter why these films meant so much to me.

10:30 p.m.: Books in bed

I’m not really a late-night person anymore. I used to be when I was a kid, but now, unless we’re out on a date, my wife and I are homebodies.

Abdul Khan was in nappies when his cousin Amir won the nation’s hearts and a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

By the time world champion Amir produced a career-defining performance against Marcos Maidana in 2010, Abdul was a seven-year-old watching wide-eyed in Bolton.

On Saturday, featherweight Abdul faces journeyman Liam Fitzmaurice at Wembley in a watershed moment for British South Asian boxing.

The card is headlined by unbeaten light-welterweight Adam Azim and features prospects Mohammad Bilal Ali, Vijayraj Karia and Saqib Mehmood in the earlier bouts – meaning five south Asian fighters will share billing.

“Seeing Amir reach the heights of the sport only lit the fire in probably the majority of the South Asian kids out there, including me,” Abdul, 23, tells BBC Sport.

Amir rose to prominence after winning silver in Athens aged 17 and went on to capture world titles at light-welterweight, becoming one of Britain’s most high-profile boxers.

Unbeaten in 14 professional fights with three knockouts, Abdul is the first to admit his surname helped carve his path. The family connection even led to him fighting on the undercard of Amir’s final professional bout against Kell Brook.

But after building his record on the small-hall scene and on international cards, the time has come to step out of the familial shade.

“Being known as his cousin was always going to be like that because of what Amir achieved,” Abdul says. “I’m grateful for everything he has done to open the doors – but it is all right getting through the doors, it is how good you are to stay in those rooms.

“It’s been my own hard work and dedication which has kept those doors open. This only gives me more of a push to just get out of the shadow. I think we’re all our own people and I’d love to shrug off that tag of Amir’s cousin.

“My team have always said to build me in the right way and to explode when the time comes – now it’s my time.

“He done so much for me but I don’t want to latch onto anyone else’s name, you only appreciate it more – and get appreciated – if you do it this way.”

Baseball players are superstitious — it comes with the territory.

But not even UCLA coach John Savage, who has coached the Bruins since 2004, has seen something that rivals pitcher Angel Cervantes and his mini toy dinosaur, Jerry.

A two-inch triceratops, Jerry sits behind the 6-foot-2 freshman every time the righty takes the mound, serving as a familiar — albeit tiny — face Cervantes can turn to for reassurance.

“[Cervantes] used the word childish,” Savage recalled. “And I kind of like that because that’s the first thing you think, like, ‘What the hell? Baby dinosaur? What are we doing?’ And so, he got a little chuckle out of it. He doesn’t take himself too serious, and I like that from a young guy. But it’s something that he loves and works off and, you know, good for him.”

Jerry took the world by storm as Cervantes, making his postseason debut Sunday, tossed five scoreless innings in UCLA’s 3-2 11-inning win over Oregon in the Big Ten championship game. The broadcast crew zoomed in on the dino, and the rest remains history.

Cervantes didn’t expect his mini dinosaur to be a hot topic throughout college baseball. The pitcher found it “crazy” to see himself and Jerry showered with love in social media posts shared by ESPN and MLB.

However, as the virality increases, Cervantes has been an open book about Jerry.

“Jerry, he’s a big part of my plan,” he said. “He just keeps me calm.”

The triceratops has been calming Cervantes since his senior year at Downey’s Warren High School.

In George Redfox’s photography class, Cervantes and his classmates were assigned to take pictures of mini dinosaurs on the ground at varying angles. With the longtime teacher’s approval, Cervantes and a friend kept a pair of dinosaurs; one was named Tom, and the other Jerry, inspired by the show Cervantes loved watching with his dad growing up.

Cervantes first placed Jerry behind him on the mound during a game at Angel Stadium and has made it routine ever since.

“I put my hand on my lid, I look down, and I close my eyes,” Cervantes said of his superstition. “And once I open my eyes, I look at Jerry, and that’s when I know it’s time to go. If I’m [ahead] 0-2, I like to slow myself down. I don’t want to think ahead. Or, after a first-pitch strike [or] the beginning of the inning, you know, whatever. Whenever I think the moment’s getting a little big, I want to slow things down.”

Some players pat their gloves. Others chew gum or spit seeds. But Cervantes? He just looks at his little pal.

UCLA pitcher Angel Cervantes holds his good luck toy dinosaur.

(Joaquin Ruiz / For The Times)

As Savage said, the arrangement is unique.

However, what works, works. And the Bruins, when they’re not worrying about stepping on Jerry or watching the tiny-but-mighty dino get obliterated by a grounder up the middle, are all for anything that will empower Cervantes to be his best.

“I remember seeing [Jerry] for the first time in the fall, and I just thought it was funny,” UCLA junior catcher Cashel Dugger said. “I think it’s just his thing, and it keeps him comfortable out there. And if he’s comfortable out there, then I think everybody else is good for it …”

Jerry didn’t just help Cervantes thrive in the biggest game of his life to help the Bruins earn their first Big Ten conference title.

Rather, the dino helped Cervantes evolve from an adapting freshman into a trustworthy arm — that enters the NCAA tournament with a 3.86 ERA with just one run given up over his last five outings — in a rotation that needed a boost, as right-handed ace Logan Reddemann has been out with arm soreness since mid-April.

“He was not ready, three [to] four months ago, to be a weekend starter,” Savage said of Cervantes, who the Pittsburgh Pirates selected with the No. 50 overall pick in the 2025 MLB draft. “In terms of Angel, it’s really been a fun progression. It’s really, I think, the epitome of development, of not rushing a guy with high expectations. I mean, he [was the] 50th pick … you would think [he’d] be plug-in-and-go. But in today’s world of college baseball, being barely 18 years old … he just wasn’t there yet, and he needed to fall.”

Jerry isn’t on UCLA’s roster and probably won’t be sized for championship rings any time soon.

But don’t get it twisted: there’s only one tiny dinosaur Cervantes looks to when he feels the heat, or for a lift when he falls. The two, quite literally, are inseparable.

“He’s in my backpack,” Cervantes said when asked where Jerry goes after games. “So, he’s still with me. I don’t want to keep him in my pocket — maybe I’ll grab my wallet, and he suddenly falls out. I’m always on top of where I keep him.”

Jerry has the trust of everyone in Westwood as UCLA begins its quest for a second national title in program history on Friday against Saint Mary’s.

The Bruins love him. The fans love him. Heck, even umpires can’t help but smile when met with the triceratops.

“Every time they do checks — like, they check my hands and glove — they’re always asking what’s in my pockets or hand, because before they do that, I put Jerry in the pocket. And I just put my hand out, and Jerry’s just right there. ‘Oh, OK, cool. Go get ‘em.’ So they’re always having a smile on their face.”

Cervantes and the Bruins still have a ways to go before they’re champions of the world. But if anything is certain, it’s that Jerry will be there every step of the way, whether on the mound with the freshman or in his backpack.

Oh, and if Cervantes ever gets to make that dream big-league appearance one day, he made it clear: He’d do everything he could to share the experience with Jerry.

“Someone said that if the batter ever gets mad and goes up to the pitcher, that Jerry will be right behind him,” Cervantes said of his favorite social media comment about his mini companion. “And that we should get a helmet for Jerry.”

WASHINGTON — Shrey Parikh felt the pressure of arriving at the Scripps National Spelling Bee as a favorite, but his confidence showed every time he got a word he knew. And when the bee came down to a lightning-round tiebreaker against Ishaan Gupta, Shrey left no doubt.

Shrey turned a tense, high-quality final into a blowout Thursday night, racing through the 90-second “spell-off” and getting 32 words right to be crowned the best young speller in the English language. Ishaan spelled 25 words correctly in the tiebreaker.

A 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, Shrey finished third in 2024 but lost his school bee last year when he was battling a fever. He has dominated the bee circuit since, winning several highly competitive online competitions against many of the same kids he outlasted this week in the nation’s capital.

Ishaan, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Jersey City, N.J., was a semifinalist this year, outperformed some veteran spellers in the finals, and has another year of eligibility left.

Sarv Dharavane, a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Dunwoody, Ga., finished third for the second consecutive year and has two more years to improve that placement.

For the first time in the bee’s history, second- and third-place finishers from the same year have gone on to win. Faizan Zaki won last year, and two years ago he was the runner-up, just ahead of Shrey.

Sporting a business-casual look with a dark, long-sleeve collared shirt, khakis and sneakers, the lanky Shrey strode to the microphone with a dour, apprehensive expression that instantly vanished when he heard his word from pronouncer Jacques Bailly and nodded vigorously — his tell that, yes, he knew it.

Upon hearing the announcement confirming his victory in the spell-off, Shrey turned and shook his competitor’s hand.

He can credit his victory to intense preparation. Shrey’s coaching team included Sam Evans, who has tutored each of the past three champions, and Sohum Sukhatankar, a co-champion himself in 2019. He competed nonstop against other top spellers, pored through advanced study guides and tried to eliminate the variables that had led to the few unexpected exits of his long spelling career.

Former spellers, coaches and other observers described this group of finalists as unusually strong, and they showed off their skills early by going 18 for 18 to start, breezing through the first spelling and vocabulary rounds. Aiden Meng of Orinda, Calif., ended that streak when he was tripped up by “catometope” to start the second spelling round.

Then the crowd gasped when the bell rung on two thought to be capable of winning it all: Oliver Halkett for “Faesulae” and Zwe Spacetime for “vaesite,” words with tricky combinations of origins and vowel sounds.

The bee’s move to Constitution Hall, a point of contention for spellers and their families because of the inconveniences it caused, helped imbue the event with a lively atmosphere, with more intimate seating and better sight lines bringing the crowd closer to the action.

New television host Mina Kimes of ESPN narrated the action smoothly alongside longtime bee analyst Paul Loeffler.

Nuckols writes for the Associated Press.

A BRAND new aquapark is coming to a UK town just in time for the summer holidays.

Featuring slides, climbing walls and a splash zone, the inflatable waterpark will be open until the autumn.

Located at Hinchingbrooke Country Park in Cambridgeshire, the brand new aquapark will be open to the public from July 18.

The inflatable park promises a day out of full of water-based fun, including slides, balance beams, climbing walls and splash zones.

Aimed at visitors aged six and over, the temporary water attraction will be open in time for the summer holidays and remain in place until September.

Visitors are able to pre-book online now, and the park expects demand to be high throughout the summer.

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Tickets cost £19 per person and include a buoyancy aid, helmet and wetsuit hire.

From mid-July, the aquapark will be open from 10am to 5pm, with each session lasting an hour.

The new inflatable is part of a larger ongoing investment into Hinchingbrooke Country Park, improving its leisure activities and encouraging more visitors to the park’s large natural surroundings.

Executive member for Parks and Countryside, Waste and Street Scene, Cllr Julie Kerr, said: “We’re thrilled to be bringing this exciting new attraction to Hinchingbrooke Country Park.

“It’s a fantastic addition for residents and visitors alike, and part of our ongoing commitment to improving and evolving the park to enhance leisure and outdoor opportunities for users now and in the future.”

Hinchingbrooke Country Park even wants the community to get involved in an important aspect of the opening of the park.

In a post on Facebook, the park called upon residents to submit ideas for a new name for the aquapark, with the winner receiving a free visit for the entire family.

“Think adventurous, fun, family-friendly or inspired by Hinchingbrooke and the local area – we can’t wait to see your ideas,” read the post.

Entries for the competition close on Friday, June 5, and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

Some concerns were raised on the Hinchingbrooke Facebook post regarding the local wildlife of the area, but the park revealed they had worked “closely with an independent ecologist to understand how this could impact the wider park”.

An Ecological Impact Assessment was conducted and the park confirmed that their project team is now “working closely” with park rangers to “ensure all recommendations and any appropriate ecological mitigation is completed”.

The park will also be designating specific lake zones purely to wildlife and “adding an additional tern raft”.

The nearby car park is also currently undergoing works, but the park has confirmed this is expected to be complete by the time the aquapark opens.

Mel Fielding, who has more than 26,000 followers on Instagram, shared her first solo break on the social media platform and what she had learned from the experience

While going on holiday with your family or best friends can be a lovely experience, sometimes taking a break by yourself can be exactly what you need. One travel influencer took herself on a 24-hour break to one of the most scenic parts of the UK and documented the experience on Instagram.

Mel Fielding, who has more than 26,000 followers on Instagram, shared her first solo break on the social media platform. She said: “Although I’ve done a few solo trips abroad over the years, and love exploring the UK, I’ve never really been on a solo trip in the UK before, so last week I decided to head to Devon for one night on my own.”

First, she visited Hope Cove, five miles west of Salcombe, where she went for a meal, saying she “felt super self-conscious at first”.

“I knew I wanted to watch the sunset but I had two hours to wait, so I headed down to the beach on my own,” she said. “I read my book and felt myself relaxing as I watched the sun go down. I felt so happy that I’d pushed through the awkwardness and stayed until the sun had set.”

Mel was staying in her van overnight, and had booked into nearby Bolberry House Caravan and Camping Park, which she said “felt really peaceful”. She continued: “I survived my first night along in the van and slept surprisingly well!

“It wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be! Isn’t it funny how things usually feel worse in our minds than they actually are.”

The next morning she visited Salcombe, and the Snapes Point viewpoint. “By this point, I felt like I’d relaxed into the trip so I headed on a solo sea swim,” she said.

“No one else was swimming and I did feel a little self-conscious at first, but knew I’d regret not going for a dip on such a beautiful day. I made coffee on the beach afterwards and realised that, although I’d done a few solo trips before, doing stuff solo is a bit like exercising a muscle. You have to keep using it to keep it strong.

“I consider myself a pretty adventurous person, but I also realised it’s okay to feel nervous before doing things you don’t do that often. I ended up having a really wonderful 24 hours and it was a good reminder to feel the fear and do it anyway. Now I’m already planning my next solo overnight adventure.”

Writing in the video description, she added: “I know that to some people this won’t be a big deal, but I also know that to some, it will, so if you’re in the latter group and would also love to go on a solo break in the UK this year, but feel nervous about it, I hope sharing this helps in some way!”

People in the comments left their own experiences of solo travel. One said: “I have been single for seven years, so I decided a while back to do whatever I wanted to, even by myself. My biggest challenge was camping in my tent in Wales last summer… best thing I ever did.

“I was adopted by a lovely family for drinks around the campfire. You’re never truly alone. But the feeling of accomplishment when you do these things alone, immense! Makes you remember you can conquer anything.”

Another said: “I have never done a solo trip ever. If I ever get better I have promised myself a trip to Florence.

“Not having anyone else dictate where I am going. I always put others first. So it would be an amazing dream. Good on you! More of us need to lead by your example.”

INTERLOCHEN, Mich. — A Michigan summer arts camp and boarding school where Jeffrey Epstein has been accused of meeting at least two of his victims will tear down a lodge that once bore his name.

The Interlochen Center for the Arts said this week that its board of trustees has approved a plan to demolish the Green Lake Lodge, which had been known as Jeffrey E. Epstein Scholarship Lodge until the school cut ties and scrubbed references to the late millionaire sex offender after his first conviction in 2008.

Epstein attended the Interlochen Arts Camp in 1967 as a teenager, and donated more than $400,000 to the school between 1990 to 2003, including $200,000 for the construction of the lodge.

“The lodge has, over time, come to carry associations that are not reflective of who we are as an institution or the values we strive to uphold,” Interlochen said in a statement. “After careful consideration, the Board determined that removing this structure in a safe and timely manner is the right step for Interlochen at this time.”

A world-renowned destination for young artists, actors and musicians, Interlochen’s alumni include Grammy winners Chappell Roan and Norah Jones and Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph.

At least two of Epstein’s accusers have said they met him at Interlochen in the 1990s.

The school said it was aware of news reports about the women’s claims and said it has invited them to speak with an independent investigator as part of an external investigation into reports of historical misconduct at Interlochen.

A pair of internal reviews, most recently after Epstein’s sex trafficking arrest in 2019, found no reports of misconduct at Interlochen involving Epstein in its records, the school said.

Epstein visited Interlochen periodically, often with his confidante and former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, and stayed in the lodge now marked for demolition.

According to correspondence included in the Justice Department’s recent release of Epstein-related records, he directed that tuition for at least one student be paid out of his donations and once flew violinist Itzhak Perlman to the school on his private jet.

Epstein killed himself in a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019, a month after being indicted on federal sex trafficking charges. In 2008 and 2009, he served jail time in Florida after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking for helping to recruit some of Epstein’s underage victims, and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Bolivia’s president has warned protesters “time is running out” amid a weeks-long standoff over the country’s economic and political crisis. President Rodrigo Paz has secured powers to declare a State of Emergency, but protesters remain unmoved.