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At 900 feet (274 metres) above sea level, Shap Swimming Pool in Penrith, Cumbria is the highest open-air swimming pool in the country. It will reopen to the public on May 24

The highest open-air swimming pool in England is set to reopen to the public this week.

At 900 feet (274 metres) above sea level, Shap Swimming Pool in Penrith is not only a record holder, it is a beautiful place to spend a sunny afternoon or brisk Cumbrian morning.

The pool is 16.5 metres long and is heated to 26 degrees – a temperature that warms the cockles of those who love to go for a dip early or late in the May to September season.

During a recent trip to the pool Warmcor’s Jenny Unwin spoke fondly of the retro changing rooms, £5 entry price and small tuckshop that is on hand if swimmers find themselves in need of a post-dip pick-me-up.

“The pool is clean and its whole vibe could have you thinking that you were at a simple Mediterranean hotel pool, but without the drunk people or Europop blasting out from speakers,” Jenny wrote.

READ MORE: Charming but overlooked UK town surrounded by animal-filled meadows is day trip heaven

“The open-air swimming pool experience always has a way of being unique and more fulfilling than indoor swimming. During our visit we would often stop to enjoy the heat of the sun when it dared to peak out, or the song from the house martins that sang as they flew overhead. The open-air breeze kissed the swimmer’s cheeks every time heads peeked out of the water, which gave that cold water thrill that some may miss in these summer months. Ever-changing events equated to a quaint and heavenly experience.”

The good people of Penrith volunteer to keep the pool going, with only the lifeguards sitting along its edge receiving a salary. A committee made up of seven women runs the facility and has been instrumental in launching a fundraising campaign to keep it going.

They hit their goal of £20,000, which has been used to install new filters, in time for the reopening on May 24.

Briony Newsome, chairperson of the committee, said: “The last 12 months have been a big challenge for Shap Swimming Pool. We have had to raise nearly £20,000 for new filters, and the cost of energy bills and chemicals has significantly increased.

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“I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank all those who have provided funding and given their time to help us get the pool ready for the 2025 season. We are now looking forward to welcoming visitors from across Cumbria and further afield, to enjoy our friendly and welcoming community swimming pool.”

Shap’s pool has a 4.8 out of 5 star rating on Tripadvisor, where almost every reviewer has offered some glowing words about it.

“We booked a session online for an afternoon swim in the sunshine. Swimming outdoors is an absolutely lovely way to cool off in the warm weather. The pool is heated to 26 C so it is a comfortable swim in any conditions. The staff were friendly and the facility is clean and well-equipped. We finished off with a coffee from the outside cafe. Thank you for an entertaining and enjoyable afternoon swim,” one person wrote.

Another added: “Fabulous swim in the fresh air. What could be nicer? So clean and friendly.”

Even as their pitching injuries have mounted in recent weeks, the Dodgers haven’t panicked.

On multiple occasions, team officials have noted how none of the seven pitchers who have gotten hurt since the end of spring camp suffered relatively serious injuries. In time, they promised, the staff would get back close to full health.

On Tuesday, signs of that optimism finally began to appear.

Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell (both out with shoulder inflammation) continued their throwing progressions, with Glasnow making some light pitches off a mound slope for the first time since going on the injured list last month, according to manager Dave Roberts.

Kirby Yates (hamstring strain) began playing catch just days after hitting the IL, raising his hopes of being back within the two-to-four week time frame the team has targeted. Blake Treinen (forearm sprain) also continued his catch play, while Michael Kopech (shoulder impingement) was set to make a rehab outing with triple-A Oklahoma City.

Most of all, though, Shohei Ohtani checked off another important box in his return from a 2023 Tommy John surgery, taking another step closer to resuming two-way duties for the first time as a Dodger.

In a flat-ground throwing session Tuesday afternoon, Ohtani mixed in some breaking pitches for the first time in his throwing program this year, Roberts said, a notable development after the right-hander had been limited to fastball and splitters previously in pitching activities.

Already in recent weeks, Ohtani had been ramping up his pitching work in other ways. He had steadily increased the number of throws in his weekly bullpen sessions, getting up to 50 last Saturday. He has been doing up-downs in his bullpens, too, to simulate the downtime he will experience between innings when he returns to a big-league mound.

Roberts confirmed it is all a sign that Ohtani is finally getting closer to facing live hitting again for the first time since he underwent his second Tommy John procedure two offseasons ago.

Roberts said he was still unsure exactly when that might happen, but indicated that Ohtani and Snell are on similar timelines to return — with Glasnow a tick ahead of each of them.

“It is progressing,” Roberts said of Ohtani’s pitching rehab, which had been in more of a static stage with weekly 20-pitch bullpen sessions earlier this year. “I’m not sure when [he’s] going to take that slider from the flat ground to the bullpen, but that is progress. Yes.”

Right now, the Dodgers could use all the pitching help they can get.

Over their last 11 games, the team’s shorthanded pitching staff has struggled mightily, posting a 6.31 ERA over a 4-7 stretch that included a four-game losing streak entering Tuesday.

Among the opening day rotation, only Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Dustin May have stayed healthy through the first two months. And outside of Yamamoto — an early-season Cy Young candidate who was needed to be a stopper Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks — no Dodgers pitcher with more than three starts has a sub-4.00 ERA to this point of the campaign.

The rotation’s struggles have bled into the bullpen, where Dodgers relievers have combined for an MLB-high 207 2/3 innings this season, 19 more than any other team. Closer Tanner Scott has been solid, with a 1.74 ERA and nine saves in 11 opportunities. But many of the Dodgers’ other top relief arms have gotten hurt, including virtually all of their most trusted right-handers.

“It’s not the staff we thought we’d have this season,” Roberts acknowledged Monday night.

Before long, however, the Dodgers are hopeful it will be again.

In addition to Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow, the Dodgers will also eventually get Roki Sasaki (shoulder impingement) and Emmet Sheehan (Tommy John recovery) back as rotation options. Sasaki is expected to begin throwing again during the team’s upcoming trip. Sheehan has been throwing live sessions against hitters for the last several weeks as he works back from last year’s elbow procedure.

Brusdar Graterol (offseason shoulder surgery) is also scheduled to return during the second half of the season.

About the only injured pitcher who hasn’t made recent progress is Evan Phillips, whose original 15-day diagnosis now looks likely to stretch far longer than that.

Still, no one’s return has been more eagerly anticipated than Ohtani’s. After almost a year and a half of waiting, the Dodgers are hopeful his return, which has been expected to come around the All-Star break, is finally on the horizon.

His next step will be facing live hitting. And given his recent workload increases, it’s possible it could come soon.

“I really wish I had an answer [on when it will be],” Roberts said. “I’m just waiting for the green light from people that are sort of managing the Shohei rehab, day to day.”

For British drummer Zak Starkey, the last few months with rock band the Who have been quite the whirlwind.

Starkey, who the band fired in April and reinstated days later after “some communication issues,” announced Sunday the “Baba O’Riley” group had fired him again. The veteran drummer, son of Ringo Starr, shared his side of the split on Instagram and disputed the band’s separate announcement about his departure.

The Who, in a joint Instagram post with guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend, said Sunday, “after many years of great work on drums from Zak the time has come for a change.”

“Zak has lots of new projects in hand and I wish him the best,” the post said, before adding that drummer Scott Devours would fill his seat for the band’s remaining farewell shows.

Starkey, 59, added his own text atop the band’s statement for his post. In his caption, he claimed he “was asked” to share his own announcement that he would leave the Who to pursue other projects. “This would be a lie,” he wrote. “I love The Who and would never had quit.”

He added: “So I didn’t make the statement…quitting The Who would also have let down the countless amazing people who stood up for me…thru the weeks of mayhem.”

Starkey, who has played with Oasis and the Icicle Works, among other acts, began performing with the Who in the mid-1990s and said he rarely faced conflict juggling his duties with the band and other endeavors. He also noted that the group has, for the most part, “been sporadic or minimalist in touring.”

“None of this has ever interfered with The Who and was never a problem for them,” he continued in his caption, which offered a timeline of his various musical commitments. “The lie is or would have been that I quit The Who — I didn’t. I love The Who and everyone in it.”

A representative for the Who did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

In a second Instagram post Sunday, the band noted that it is “heading for retirement” and their now-ex-drummer is younger and must “devote all his energy into making” new endeavors a success.

When the Who announced Starkey’s reinstatement, Townshend said in a blog post to the band’s website the drummer needed “to tighten up his latest evolved drumming style to accommodate our non-orchestral line up and he has readily agreed” and shared more details about the sound issues that seemingly led up to Starkey’s initial firing.

“Maybe we didn’t put enough time into sound checks, giving us problems on stage. The sound in the centre of the stage is always the most difficult to work with,” Townshend wrote. “[The Who co-founder] Roger [Daltrey] did nothing wrong but fiddle with his in-ear monitors. Zak made a few mistakes and he has apologised . Albeit with a rubber duck drummer.”

He added: “We are a family, this blew up very quickly and got too much oxygen. It’s over. We move forward now with optimism and fire in our bellies.”

The Who embarks on its Song Is Over North America Farewell tour in August. The group will make two stops at the Hollywood Bowl on Sept. 17 and 19.

Wendy McMahon is stepping down as from her role as president of CBS News and Stations, indicating her disagreement with the parent company’s handling of President Trump’s lawsuit against “60 Minutes.”

“It’s become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward,” McMahon said in a note sent to CBS News staff Monday. “It’s time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.”

McMahon has been firm in her position that CBS News parent Paramount Global should not settle the $20-billion suit from Trump, which claims an October interview with his 2024 opponent Vice President Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to help her presidential campaign.

The lawsuit is an obstacle to Paramount Global’s proposed $8-billion sale to Skydance Media. The case has gone to a mediator.

McMahon’s departure is a sign that a settlement may be close.

With McMahon’s exit, CBS News President Tom Cibrowski and CBS Stations President Jennifer Mitchell will each report directly to CBS Chief Executive George Cheeks.

McMahon joined CBS in 2021. She oversaw the company’s syndication division and TV stations as well as CBS News.

Cheeks brought McMahon to the company from Walt Disney Co., where she led the ABC station group. At the time, Cheeks was trying to clean up its stations division, which was plagued by management issues and the firing of its former head, Peter Dunn.

Since then, McMahon rose to be one of Cheeks’ most trusted lieutenants, taking over CBS News. But she irked Paramount’s controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, over CBS News coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Times staff writer Meg James contributed to this report.

For some folks, this summer will be a time of relaxation: picnics, barbecues, vacation. For others, a mad scramble between work and swim meets, baseball tournaments or shopping before shelves go bare and the Trump tariffs price everything beyond reach.

For Kamala Harris, it’s a time for deciding.

The former vice president is expected to spend a chunk of her summer weighing various options — whether to retire from politics after more than 20 years seeking elected office, whether to mount a 2026 bid for California governor or whether to make a third attempt at the White House in 2028.

According to several who’ve spoken with Harris, she is genuinely undecided, torn between concern and affection for her home state and an undimmed desire to be president.

Of the three options, the most pressing is whether to enter the race to replace her fellow Democrat, the term-limited Gavin Newsom, as governor.

The contest is already well underway — 10 serious (broadly speaking) candidates have so far announced their candidacies. While Harris’ near-universal name recognition and nationwide fundraising base allow her to wait longer than others, a serious gubernatorial bid will take more than a few months to mount.

That forces a decision and a public announcement sooner rather than later.

If she does run, one thing Harris must avoid at all costs is anything that bespeaks arrogance, entitlement or anything less than a 100% commitment to serving as governor. It’s not hard to imagine one of her first utterances as a candidate would be pledging to serve a full four-year term and vowing not to use the office as an interim step toward another presidential bid.

Failing that, voters have every reason to send Harris packing. California doesn’t need another governor with a wandering political eye.

Another imperative Harris faces is offering a compelling reason why she wants to be governor. Seeking the office for the same reason climbers tackle Mt. Everest — because it’s there — won’t do.

History offers a lesson.

In November 1979, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy was preparing to launch an upstart bid for president against the unpopular incumbent, Jimmy Carter. He gave a television interview that was so legendarily awful it’s become an object lesson in how not to start a campaign.

Asked why he wanted to be president, Kennedy paused at length, appearing stricken. He then unspooled a long-winded, curlicued, two-minute response that mentioned natural resources, technology, innovation, productivity, inflation, energy, joblessness and the economy, among other things. His answer was lucid as a fog bank and inspiring as a stalk of celery.

“Kennedy was on a rocket ship,” said Dan Schnur, a veteran communications strategist and political science professor, who uses the Kennedy interview as part of his curriculum at USC, Pepperdine and UC Berkeley. Carter was in dreadful shape, Kennedy was political royalty and the enthusiasm for his candidacy at the Democratic grassroots “looked like it was going to sweep him to the nomination.

“And then he did that one interview,” Schnur recollected, “and he couldn’t answer the most basic question.”

Though Kennedy ended up giving Carter a stiff challenge, he never fully recovered from leaving that terrible impression.

Harris should take heed.

A recent poll by the L.A. Times and UC Berkeley gave her a 50% approval rating among California voters, which is not exactly a number to beat the band. Still, she would enter the governor’s race as a heavy favorite to at least make the runoff under the state’s top-two election system. If a Republican nabbed the second spot, Harris would be strongly positioned to win in November, given California’s strong Democratic leaning.

But, again, neither is a reason for Harris to be governor.

Some of those close to the former vice president wonder how much she really wants, or would enjoy, the job.

In 2015, when the governorship and a U.S. Senate seat both came open, Harris — the state’s attorney general at the time — opted to seek the latter. Her reasons were both personal, involving family considerations, and professional, given the platform and opportunities afforded a member of the Senate.

In short, Harris has never burned with a passion to be California governor.

That makes it all the more important for her to explain — clearly and convincingly — why she’d want to be elected.

“She’s got to give some affirmative reason why she’s running and why it would be good for the voters of California,” Schnur said. “And it’s not just a matter of constructing several words into a sentence.

“It’s not hard for someone as smart as Kamala Harris and her team to concoct a lab-tested phrase that tests well,” he went on. “The challenge isn’t typing out a sentence. It’s developing a core purpose that can then be explained in a sentence.”

Harris has all summer to look inward and figure that out. If she can’t, California voters should choose someone else for their next governor.

The theme park rivalry in Orlando, Fla. is heating up.

This week, Universal will open its latest park, Epic Universe, a reportedly $7 billion bet for the Comcast-owned company and the newest salvo in its ongoing push to expand its tourism and entertainment empire.

That puts pressure on Walt Disney Co., whose Walt Disney World Resort has long dominated the Orlando vacation landscape, but is now seeing increased competition, particularly from Universal.

Sprawled across 750 acres, Epic Universe represents the biggest Universal theme park expansion since the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter 15 years ago.

It touts five different themed areas, four of which are tied to well-known franchises: “Harry Potter,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” Universal’s Dark Universe of classic movie monsters and Nintendo video game properties, in addition to a cosmic central Celestial Park hub.

The resort, which also includes three hotels, features technologically-advanced animatronics and detailed rides like Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, which showcases many of Universal’s monsters. Reviews of the park have been largely positive, with critics highlighting the immersive nature of the attractions.

“Comcast has come on so strong with what they’ve developed and brought forth in the Orlando market,” said Dennis Speigel, founder and chief executive of Cincinnati-based consulting firm International Theme Park Services Inc. “Over the last 15 years, they have brought that distance between Universal and Disney much closer, and it has really become a prize fight. It’s the most intense and competitive situation in the industry.”

Disney was the first of the two to the Orlando market back in 1971, when it opened the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. It wasn’t until 1990 that Universal opened its own Orlando park, giving Disney a nearly two-decade head start.

By then, Disney had already opened the Epcot and Disney-MGM Studios theme parks (which would later become known as Hollywood Studios). Also in the mix in the Sunshine State: SeaWorld Orlando, which opened in 1973, and what’s now known as Busch Gardens Tampa, which debuted in 1959.

Today, Disney World has four theme parks and two water parks, while Universal Orlando will have three, including Epic Universe and Islands of Adventure (opened in 1999), and a water park, Volcano Bay (2017).

Though Universal was late to market, its 2010 opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter land across Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando pushed the theme park competition to new heights. Building a land solely around a specific intellectual property — instead of a general theme — was novel at the time, and the concept would later show up in Disney parks, such as Cars Land in Anaheim and later, “Star Wars”-themed lands in California and Florida.

Demand at the time for the “Harry Potter”-themed land pushed Universal’s attendance up 36% compared with the previous year, Speigel said.

“They realized after ‘Harry Potter’ that it was a new world order,” he said. “They’ve just kept the pedal to the metal on everything they’ve done in terms of growth and internal experience.”

There’s good reason for that.

Both Universal and Disney have honed in on theme parks as a profit-generating part of their business that is less volatile than the ever-changing media, television and film markets. Disney’s experiences division, which includes its theme parks and cruise lines, has long brought in the lion’s share of the company’s profit, particularly as pay TV shrinks.

“Disney has been pretty steady and consistent, but Universal is very rapidly expanding,” said Carissa Baker, an assistant professor of theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “They’re highly encouraging their theme park sector right now.”

Both companies have recently announced new properties — Disney in Abu Dhabi and Universal with a smaller kids resort in Texas, a theme park in Britain and a year-round Halloween Horror Nights-esque experience in Las Vegas.

“The plan is to keep driving growth in a business that we think we’re one of two players in a market that is, within media, not at all exposed to the shift in time on screens from one venue to another,” Comcast Corp. President Mike Cavanagh said during the company’s fiscal first quarter call with analysts last month. “Live experiences, parks experiences have been thrilling to people, and we think we lean into that and continue to do so.”

So far, he said, advance ticket sales and hotel bookings are “strong” for Epic Universe and the other Universal parks in Orlando. A one-day ticket starts at $139.

That’s why analysts have consistently flagged the upcoming park during earnings calls for rival Disney, querying executives about the potential pressure on Disney World and how the company plans to compete.

But if Disney is worried, it has shown little sign of it. Last week, Disney Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said hotel bookings for the fiscal third quarter are up 4% compared with last year, with about 80% of available nights reserved. For the fourth quarter, bookings are up about 7%, with about 50% to 60% of capacity filled, he said.

That’s despite broader worries that concerns about a potential recession — spurred by President Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods — will dampen travel and consumer spending.

“Experiences is obviously a critical business for Disney and also an important growth platform,” company Chief Executive Bob Iger said on a recent earnings call. “Despite questions around any macro-economic uncertainty or the impact of competition, I’m encouraged by the strength and resilience of our business.”

The company has previously announced it is investing $30 billion into its parks in Florida and California, which will fund such additions as a “Monsters Inc.”-inspired land and a villains land in Disney World. The parks have also added attractions throughout the last 10 years, including the revamped Tiana’s Bayou Adventure ride (which replaced Splash Mountain).

Disney is betting that the influx of visitors coming to Florida for Epic Universe will still make a stop at its parks. Last year, Orlando tallied more than 75 million visitors, up 1.8% compared with 2023, according to the Visit Orlando trade association. Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences, said at an investor conference last week that Disney gets more tourists any time something new opens up in central Florida — even if it’s not a Disney property.

“If we just go back five or 10 years, and you think about what’s happened at Walt Disney World, we’ve always been on the offensive,” D’Amaro said. “If something is built new in Central Florida, like Epic Universe, and if it brings in additional tourists, I can almost guarantee you that new tourist coming into the market is going to have to visit the Magic Kingdom.”

For the second time in less than a year, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan played the Hollywood Bowl on Friday night, bringing together two legends of American song on one stage. The concert — actually Nelson’s third recent visit to the Bowl after his 90th-birthday bash in 2023 — was part of the annual traveling Outlaw Music Festival, which will keep Nelson, now 92, and Dylan, who’ll turn 84 next week, on the road through mid-September. Here are nine highlights from the show:

1. Last year’s Outlaw tour stopped at the Bowl in late July, which at that time meant Nelson didn’t have to ward off the chilly May gray that inevitably settles after dark over the Cahuenga Pass. Here, a day after reportedly suffering from a cold in Chula Vista, Nelson kept warm in a stylish black puffer jacket to go with his signature red bandanna.

2. John Stamos played percussion in Nelson’s six-man band Friday — a somewhat lower-key role than the prominent guitar-and-vocals spot he often holds down these days in Mike Love’s touring Beach Boys. Yet the TV star looked pleased as punch to be back there, shaking a shaker as Nelson opened his set, as always, with “Whiskey River.” Also on hand, filling in for Nelson’s son Lukas was singer-guitarist Waylon Payne, who sang lead in a moving version of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night” — the folk-soul masterpiece made a hit in 1970 by Payne’s mother, the late Sammi Smith.

3. My favorite of Nelson’s styles to hear him do at this point in his career, with a voice and a soloing hand as free as they’ve ever been, is the spectral country-jazz mode of “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” and “Always on My Mind,” which gave him a pair of No. 1 country hits between March 1981 and May 1982. On Friday, he nailed high notes you might not have expected him to in the former and used the latter to show off the rhythmic daring of his line readings. Both were achingly beautiful.

4. Nelson didn’t perform anything from his latest album, “Oh What a Beautiful World,” which came out last month and collects his interpretations of a dozen Rodney Crowell tunes. (By some counts, it’s Nelson’s 77th solo studio LP — and the 15th he’s dropped since 2015.) He did, however, do a cut from his second-most-recent effort: a stately rendition of Tom Waits’ “Last Leaf,” in which he rhymes “They say I got staying power” with “I’ve been here since Eisenhower.” In fact, Nelson’s been here since FDR.

5. The big event in Dylanology between last year’s Outlaw tour and this year’s was, of course, James Mangold’s Oscar-nominated biopic, “A Complete Unknown,” which inspired a widespread resurgence of interest in Dylan’s music — particularly the early stuff Timothée Chalamet performs in the movie. Perhaps that’s why Dylan is singing “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” on the road again for the first time in six years, including at the Bowl, where he gave the song a jaunty rockabilly vibe. (Anyone wondering why Chalamet wasn’t at Friday’s gig clearly hasn’t seen the TikToks of him wilding out after his beloved Knicks defeated the Celtics at New York’s Madison Square Garden.)

6. A rare-ish bit of stage banter from His Bobness, directed toward an audience member near the front row: “What are you eating down there? What is it?”

7. The whole point of going to see Dylan play is to be delighted — or to be outraged, or baffled — by his determination to reinvent songs so deeply etched into the history of rock music. Yet I was still thrilled by how radically he made over some of his classics here: “Desolation Row” was bright and frisky, while a sultry “All Along the Watchtower” sounded like Dire Straits doing ’80s R&B.

8. In addition to Nelson and Dylan, Outlaw’s West Coast leg also features two younger roots-music acts in Billy Strings and Sierra Hull. (Later in the summer, the tour will pick up the likes of Nathaniel Rateliff, Sheryl Crow, Waxahatchee and Wilco, depending on the city.) Strings, who’s been bringing bluegrass to arenas lately — and whose tattooed arms meshed seamlessly with the sleeves of his tie-dyed T-shirt — sang “California Sober,” which he recorded in 2023 as a duet with Nelson, and offered a haunting take on “Summertime” from “Porgy and Bess.”

9. A former child prodigy on the mandolin, Hull opened the evening flexing her Berklee-trained chops in a series of lickety-split bluegrass numbers that got early arrivers whistling with approval. But she also showed off a winsome pop sensibility in originals like “Muddy Water” and “Spitfire” — about “my spitfire granny back in Tennessee,” she said — and in a yearning cover of “Mad World” by Tears for Fears.

Chad Smith remembers the night in 2003 when the Red Hot Chili Peppers played for an audience of 80,000 or so amid the rolling hills of the Irish countryside.

After a somewhat fallow period in the mid-’90s, the veteran Los Angeles alt-rock band resurged with 1999’s eight-times-platinum “Californication” and its 2002 follow-up, “By the Way,” which spawned the chart-topping single “Can’t Stop.” To mark the moment, the Chili Peppers brought a crew to document their performance at Slane Castle, where they headlined a full day of music that also included sets by Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age, for an eventual concert movie.

“Everything’s filmed now, but back then it was a big shoot,” Smith, the band’s drummer, recently recalled. “You can get a little self-conscious. At the beginning, I f— something up — nothing nobody would know, but we would know — and Flea kind of looked at me,” he said of the Chili Peppers’ bassist. “We gave each other this ‘Oh s—’ look. We laughed it off, and I don’t think I thought about it after that because the crowd was so engaged. The energy was incredible.”

Twenty-two years later, the Chili Peppers are bringing that 2003 gig to screens again — only this time they’re string puppets.

“Can’t Stop” is director David Fincher’s re-creation of the band’s rendition of that tune at Slane Castle. Part of the just-released fourth season of the Emmy-winning Netflix anthology series “Love, Death + Robots,” the animated short film depicts the Chili Peppers — Smith, Flea, singer Anthony Kiedis and guitarist John Frusciante — as dangling marionettes onstage before a veritable sea of the same. As the band rides the song’s slinky punk-funk groove, we see Flea bust out some of his signature moves and Kiedis swipe a fan’s cellphone for a selfie; at one point, a group of women in the crowd even flash their breasts at the frontman.

The puppets aren’t real — the entire six-minute episode was computer-generated. But the way they move looks astoundingly lifelike, not least when one fan’s lighter accidentally sets another fan’s wires on fire.

So why did Fincher, the A-list filmmaker behind “Fight Club” and “The Social Network,” put his considerable resources to work to make “Can’t Stop”?

“A perfectly reasonable inquiry,” the director, who executive produces “Love, Death + Robots,” said with a laugh. “First and foremost, I’ll say I’ve always wanted a Flea bobblehead — it started with that. But really, you know, sometimes there’s just stuff you want to see.”

Why did David Fincher turn the Chili Peppers into puppets? “First and foremost, I’ll say I’ve always wanted a Flea bobblehead — it started with that. But really, you know, sometimes there’s just stuff you want to see.”

(Netflix)

Fincher, 62, grew up loving Gerry Anderson’s “Thunderbirds” series featuring his so-called Supermarionation style of puppetry enhanced by electronics. But the Chili Peppers project also represents a return to Fincher’s roots in music video: Before he made his feature debut with 1992’s “Alien 3,” he directed era-defining clips including Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up,” Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and “Vogue” and George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90.” (Fincher’s last big music video gig was Justin Timberlake’s “Suit & Tie” in 2013.) In addition to “Thunderbirds,” he wanted “Can’t Stop” to evoke the ’80s work of early MTV auteurs like Wayne Isham and Russell Mulcahy — “that throw 24 cameras at Duran Duran aesthetic,” as he put it.

Fincher said he knew his puppet concept would require “a band you can identify just from their movement,” which seems like a fair way to describe the Chili Peppers. He recalled first encountering the band around 1983 — “I think it was with Martha Davis at the Palladium?” he said — and was struck by a sense of mischief that reminded him of the “elfin villains” from the old Rankin/Bass TV specials.

“I feel like Finch got the spirit of me,” said Flea, 62, who’s known the director socially for years. The bassist remembered discussing “Can’t Stop” with Fincher at a mutual friend’s house before they shot it: “I was talking about how I still jump around onstage and my body still works really good. But I used to dive and do a somersault while I was playing bass — like dive onto my head. And now I’m scared to do it.” He laughed. “Some old man thing had happened where I’m scared to dive onto my face now. Finch went, ‘Well, Puppet Flea can do it.’”

Sketches of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and bassist Flea as puppets in Vol. 4 of Netflix’s “Love, Death + Robots.” (Netflix)

After doing a day of motion capture with the band at a studio in the Valley, Fincher and a crew of animators from Culver City’s Blur Studio spent about 13 months working on “Can’t Stop.” Fincher said the hard part was giving the marionettes a feeling of suspension.

“With the mo cap, you’re capturing the action of a character who has self-determination,” he said, referring to a human Chili Pepper, “then you’re applying that to an object that has no self-determination,” meaning a puppet controlled by an unseen handler. “It’s so much trickier than it looks. But that was kind of the fun, you know? I mean, not for me,” he added with a laugh.

Asked if the production involved any use of AI, Fincher said it didn’t. “It’s Blur — it’s a point of pride for them,” he said. But he also shrugged off the idea that that question has become a kind of purity test for filmmakers.

A digital rendering of the Chili Peppers as puppets.

(Netflix)

“For the next couple of months, maybe it’ll be an interesting sort of gotcha,” he said. “But I can’t imagine 10 years from now that people will have the same [view]. Nonlinear editing changed the world for about six weeks, and then we all took it for granted.

“I don’t look at it as necessarily cheating at this point,” he continued. “I think there are a lot of things that AI can do — matte edges and roto work and that kind of stuff. I don’t think that’s going to fundamentally ruin what is intimate and personal about filmmaking, which is that we’re playing dress-up and hoping not to be caught out.”

As he reportedly works on an English-language version of “Squid Game” and a sequel to Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” did making “Can’t Stop” lead Fincher to ponder the state of the music video now that MTV is no longer in the business of showcasing the form?

“Well, the audience that MTV aggregated — in retrospect, that was time and a place,” he said. “Remember, the Beatles were making music videos — they just called it ‘Help!’ There was no invention at all on MTV’s part.

“What I do miss about that — and I don’t think we’ll ever see it again — was that I was 22 years old and I would sketch on a napkin: This is kind of the idea of what we want to do. And four days later, $125,000 would be sent to the company that you were working with and you’d go off and make a video. You’d shoot the thing in a week, and then it would be on the air three weeks after that.

“You make a television commercial now and there’s quite literally 19 people in folding chairs, all with their own 100-inch monitor in the back. The world has changed.” He laughed.

“I started my professional career asking for forgiveness rather than permission, and it’s been very difficult to go the other direction.”

Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s superbly reported “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” reads like a Shakespearean drama on steroids. During his latter years as No. 46, Biden is portrayed as a lion in winter — shockingly frail and forgetful with a ferocious pride that blinds him to the fact that it’s time to exit the stage. He was assisted in that delusion, the authors claim, by the mythology his family erected around him — that he was indestructible — and by his zealously protective inner circle, dubbed “the Politburo.”

Though Tapper and Thompson’s mostly anonymous sources (it’s jarring that so few went on the record) suggest that the first disturbing signs of Biden’s diminished capacities emerged as early as 2015, many around him chalked them up to the “Bidenness” of it all: “He was known on the Hill for being congenitally prone to long stories, gaffes, and inappropriate comments,” the authors observe. “Even in tightly choreographed Zoom calls with friendly audiences, Biden could step on a rake.”

That propensity appeared to morph into something more worrisome even before Biden was elected president. An unnamed Democrat who witnessed candidate Biden being prepped for a taping prior to the 2020 convention in Milwaukee was startled by his incoherence, commenting that it “was like watching Grandpa who shouldn’t be driving.” Once in office, the White House staff “treated him as very delicate,” and the pandemic gave aides an excuse to build “barriers” around him so few could gain access. The news media and public were kept at arm’s length, as were many members of the Cabinet and Congress, which led to a “uniquely small and loyal inner circle.” “I’ve never seen a situation like this before, with so few people having so much power,” said one unidentified top official.

That elite quintet consisted of domestic policy advisor Bruce Reed, chief strategist Mike Donilon, legislative affairs guru Steve Ricchetti and chief of staff Ron Klain, each of whom had deep ties to Biden. “Five people were running the country, and Joe Biden was at best a senior member of the board,” offered one person familiar with the dynamic. As time went on and more grew concerned about Biden’s behavior, those who inquired were routinely told that everything was okay. One staffer who didn’t have regular access to Biden during this period said that when they did see him in person, they were “shocked, but the other people around him didn’t seem to be, so I didn’t say anything.”

It wasn’t until around the time Biden broke his one-term pledge to be a “bridge” president and made clear he intended to run again that some began to feel a sense of alarm. For example, in 2023, Congressman Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) was with Biden when he visited Ireland. Biden seemed to gain strength from the crowds that greeted him, but then appeared “sapped and not quite there.” The authors write that Quigley “realized why this all felt so familiar to him … This was how his father, Bill, had been before he died.” Similarly, Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips was so disturbed by Biden’s reduced “speaking and walking skills” that he pressed Democratic officials as to whether the president was up to the job. Even those who admitted to having concerns offered the “yes, but,” as in, “Yes, Biden is in decline but can you imagine Trump winning?” Phillips could imagine such a scenario, “especially if Biden were the Democratic nominee.” Failing to get anyone to take his worries seriously, he declared his own candidacy. But “the whale who spouts gets harpooned,” Phillips later noted after the “Democratic machine” set out to quash his chances. He reluctantly pulled out of the race and “watched his party sleepwalk toward disaster.”

Alex Thompson, left, and Jake Tapper argue that there was a conspiracy to conceal President Biden’s “cognitive diminishment” from the press, public and top Democrats.

(Elliott O’Donovan)

Though some top Democratic supporters such as Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel refused to support Biden’s bid for reelection — even shouting at Klain during a “power-player retreat” that, “Joe Biden cannot run for reelection! He needs to drop out!” — most remained in the president’s corner until his disastrous debate performance in late June 2024. Following that, the slow drip of Biden allies calling for him to withdraw became a downpour, with even loyalists like George Clooney remarking publicly in an op-ed that while he “loved” Joe Biden, “the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time.”

Was there a conspiracy to conceal Biden’s symptoms from the press, public and top Democrats? The authors conclude there was. “The original sin of Election 2024,” they write, “was Biden’s decision to run for reelection — followed by aggressive efforts to hide his cognitive diminishment.” The course Biden’s family and inner circle chose was tantamount to “gaslighting the American people.” Many other key Democratic officials and donors simply felt that even a weakened Biden was the best bet against the “existential threat” posed by Trump, until the debate shattered that rationalization. In any case, Biden allies “who voiced fears were flicked away like lint.”

In the end, I’m not convinced there was a coordinated campaign to hide the truth about Biden’s “condition,” but maybe that doesn’t matter. In the book’s final chapter, the authors quote former Watergate special prosecutor and law professor Archibald Cox on what lessons Americans should take away from the Watergate scandal. He observes that “we should be reminded of the corrupt influence of great power. … Perhaps it is inescapable that modern government vests extraordinary power in the President and puts around him a large circle of men and women whose personal status and satisfaction depends entirely on pleasing one man.”

But Biden isn’t Nixon. He is a man who generated intense love and loyalty, whose life has been filled with tragedy as well as opportunity; who adeptly and passionately served his country for decades. “Original Sin” is not a compassionate account of Biden’s last campaign — at times it’s even a painful, if necessary, piece of journalism. A great takeaway from 2024, according to political strategist David Plouffe, is that “never again can we as a party suggest to people that what they’re seeing is not true.” We don’t know if Trump could have been defeated had Biden opted not to run. But in the future, we can’t afford to be in denial.

Haber is a writer, editor and publishing strategist. She was director of Oprah’s Book Club and books editor for O, the Oprah Magazine.

IF you’re setting your patio up ahead of the summer, B&M may have just the thing to level up your space.

This decor buy will help turn your garden into a paradise without breaking the budget.

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From hosting barbecues to enjoying relaxing evenings in the setting sun, who doesn’t plan to make the most of the good weather this summer?

And adding an extra touch to your outdoor set up can help create a cosy atmosphere into the night.

B&M is currently selling outdoor candles for just £2, reduced from £4.

These outdoor candles come in two seaside-themed shapes: shell and starfish.

“This shaped candle will make a beautiful addition to your garden,” the product description reads.

Manufacturers added that this item is “perfect for some ambient outdoor lighting”.

It can help turn your outdoor space into a “coastal paradise” this summer.

After transforming her own patio, one woman shared her top tips on Maison de Cinq.

She recommended placing “candles on the table for added ambience”.

Certain outdoor candles also have a practical purpose in your garden during the summer.

You can pick up a £3 citronella candle for repelling pests from Home Bargains.

And one Home Bargains buy is said to add a touch of glamour to your garden.

Another item from the bargain retailer is perfect for attracting birds to your space.

You can also pick up a B&Q buy that creates a “tranquil atmosphere” in your garden.

A £3 garden decoration from Aldi that turns your outdoor space into a “lush oasis”.

And the Aldi outdoor patio furniture, including a rattan effect corner sofa.

Home Bargains also has a £5 decor buy that turns your patio into an “outdoor living room”.

Plus, a 79p Home Bargains item that will instantly level up your outdoor space.

A £10 B&M product adds inches to your fence, elevating your garden’s privacy.

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PHOENIX — Former President Biden’s time in office is behind him, but his age and mental acuity have become an issue for the next leaders in his party.

Audio was published Friday from portions of interviews Biden gave to federal prosecutors in 2023, the latest in a stream of reports putting questions about Biden’s health back in the spotlight. Months after former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the presidential election to Donald Trump, a new book alleges that White House aides covered up Biden’s physical and mental decline.

Several potential Democratic contenders for the 2028 nomination have been asked in recent days whether they believe Biden was declining in office or whether he should have sought reelection before a disastrous debate performance led to his withdrawal.

Many Democrats would prefer to focus on President Trump’s second term and his sagging poll numbers. Trump has done his best to prevent that — mentioning Biden’s name an average of six times per day during his first 100 days in office, according to an NBC News analysis — and Republicans have followed his lead, betting that voters frustrated by Trump’s policy moves will still prefer him over memories of another unpopular presidency.

In the race for Virginia governor, one of this year’s highest-profile contests, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is running a pair of digital ads tying Democratic former Rep. Abigail Spanberger to Biden, with images of the two hugging and the former president calling her a friend.

“The stench of Joe Biden still lingers on the Democratic Party,” Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett said. “We have to do the hard work of fixing that, and I think that includes telling the truth, frankly, about when we were wrong.”

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told Politico this week that “there’s no doubt” that Biden, now 82, experienced cognitive decline as president.

Pete Buttigieg, who was Biden’s Transportation secretary, wasn’t as blunt but stopped short of defending Biden’s initial decision to run for reelection. He responded “maybe” when asked Tuesday whether the Democratic Party would have been better off if Biden hadn’t declared a bid for a second term.

“Right now, with the advantage of hindsight, I think most people would agree that that’s the case,” Buttigieg told reporters during a stop in Iowa.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he didn’t see signs of mental or physical decline in his meetings with Biden.

“I saw him a few times,” he told CNN this week. “I certainly went to the White House whenever there was an opportunity for me to make the case for something for people in my state. And I never had the experience of anything other than a guy who brought to the table a lot of good ideas about how to solve problems.”

The book “Original Sin,” by journalists Jake Tapper of CNN and Alex Thompson of Axios, revives a core controversy of Biden’s presidency: his decision to run for a second term despite voters, including Democrats, telling pollsters that he should not. Biden would have been 86 at the end of a second term had he won in November.

A spokesperson for Biden did not respond to a request for comment.

“We continue to await anything that shows where Joe Biden had to make a presidential decision or where national security was threatened or where he was unable to do his job,” the spokesperson has told many media outlets in response to the book.

Late Friday, Axios published portions from audio recordings of Biden’s six hours of interviews with prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents after his term as vice president ended in 2017, for which he was not charged.

The Biden administration had already released transcripts of the interviews, but the recordings shed light on special counsel Robert Hur’s characterization of Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory” and appeared to validate his claim that the then-president struggled to recall key dates, including the year his son Beau died of cancer — 2015.

Biden and his aides fiercely objected to Hur’s report, which they characterized as a partisan hit. Biden at that time — early 2024 — was still planning to run for a second term and fending off accusations that he was too old for another four years in the job.

The recordings released by Axios include Biden’s discussion of his son’s death. His responses to some of the prosecutors’ questions are punctuated by long pauses, and his lawyers at times stepped in to help him recall dates and timelines.

Before he dropped his reelection bid last summer, Biden faced widespread doubts within his own party, even as Democratic leaders dismissed a series of verbal flubs and Republican allegations about his declining acuity.

In January 2022, a year into Biden’s first term, an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that only 48% of Democrats wanted him to seek reelection. That fell to 37% of Democrats in an AP-NORC poll in February 2023. Three-quarters of Americans — and 69% of Democrats — said in August 2023 that they believed Biden was too old to serve as president for another four-year term.

And shortly after his debate flop, nearly two-thirds of Democrats said Biden should withdraw from the race.

Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden appeared on ABC’s “The View” on May 8 in a preemptive defense of his health and decision-making before the first excerpts of “Original Sin” were published.

The former president said he’s responsible for Trump’s victory but attributed Harris’ loss, at least in part, to sexism and racism. He maintained that he would have won had he remained the Democratic nominee. Both Bidens rejected concerns about his cognitive decline.

Patricia McEnerney, a 74-year-old Democrat in Goodyear, Ariz., said Biden should not have tried to run again.

“I think it’s sad the way it ended,” she said.

She compared him to Douglas MacArthur, the World War II and Korean War general famously dismissed by President Truman.

“I think he needs to stop giving interviews. I think that would help,” McEnerney said. “Like MacArthur said, generals just fade away.”

Janet Stumps, a 66-year-old Democrat also from Goodyear, a Phoenix suburb, had a different view.

“I don’t think it’s going to hurt the Democrats,” Stumps said. “I feel badly that he feels he has to defend himself. I don’t think he has to. Everybody ages. And the fact that he did what he did at his age, I think he should be commended for it.”

Hackett, the Democratic strategist, predicted Biden won’t be a major factor in the 2026 midterms or the 2028 presidential primaries. But he said Democrats who want voters to trust them would be well-served “by telling the truth about the mistakes that our party made in the run-up to 2024.”

“Those mistakes were largely driven by Joe Biden, and I think any Democrat not willing to say that is not really prepared to face the voters, who want the truth and they want authenticity,” Hackett said.

Rick Wilson, a former GOP strategist who co-founded the anti-Trump group the Lincoln Project, said Republicans want to talk about Biden to avoid defending Trump. But he said the strategy is folly.

Besides “political nerds,” he said, “no one else cares.”

Cooper writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Thomas Beaumont in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Puchong, Malaysia – On a recent Sunday morning, about a dozen men with fishing nets skirted the rubbish-strewn banks of the Klang River just outside the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Surveying the river, the men cast their nets into the polluted water. The nets billowed open and sunk quickly under the weight of metal chains.

From where they stood on the riverbank, they started to pull in their nets, already filled with dozens of squirming black-bodied catfish.

“You don’t see any other fish. Only these,” said Mohamad Haziq A Rahman, the leader of Malaysia’s “foreign fish hunter squad”, as they emptied their catch of wriggling suckermouth catfish into piles, away from the river.

None of the fish caught that morning were sold at nearby markets or food stalls. The sole purpose of the expedition was to cull suckermouth catfish, one among a growing number of invasive species that have in recent decades dominated freshwater habitats across Southeast Asia.

Once brought in for commercial or hobbyist reasons, invasive fish are not only threatening to edge native species out of the food chain in Malaysia and elsewhere, but they also spread diseases and cause great damage to local environments.

Invasive fish are a problem the world over, but experts say the issue is keenly felt in mega-biodiverse Malaysia.

“More than 80 percent of rivers in the Klang Valley have been invaded by foreign fish species, which can cause the extinction of the rivers’ indigenous aquatic life,” said Dr Kalithasan Kailasam, a river expert with the Malaysia-based Global Environment Centre.

“It’s growing in almost all other main rivers in Malaysia,” said Kailasam, explaining how species such as the suckermouth have the potential to quickly reproduce and survive in dirty water, leaving local fish on the losing side.

Aside from the suckermouth, Malaysia’s waterways are now threatened by species such as the aggressive peacock bass, Javanese carp and redtail catfish, he said.

While the full extent of the problem is not yet known, Malaysia’s fisheries department, after a four-year study until 2024, found invasive species in 39 areas across nearly every state in peninsular Malaysia and on the island of Labuan, including in dams, lakes and major rivers.

Alarmed by the threat, a small group of citizens banded together to fight the aquatic invaders.

Led by Haziq, they are working to reclaim Malaysia’s rivers one fin at a time.

Invasive fish invasion

The citizen fish hunters’ quest to fight invasive species started during the country’s COVID-19 lockdowns, when Haziq, a former healthcare consultant, turned to fishing as a pastime in a river near his house in central Selangor state. He found every fish he caught was of the suckermouth variety, also known as the “pleco” or “ikan bandaraya” – which translates as the “janitor fish” in Malay and is favoured by hobbyists to keep aquariums clean, as the suckermouth feeds on algae, leftover food and dead fish.

Native to South America, varieties of the suckermouth have also been introduced into waterways in the United States, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, often when owners dump them into rivers, canals, dams or free them after they grow too large for their aquarium tanks.

Because of their thick, scaly skin, suckermouths are usually avoided by even larger predators in Malaysia, and can grow to about half a metre (1.6ft) in length.

As bottom feeders, the catfish have been known to eat the eggs of other species and destroy their nesting sites. Catfish also burrow into riverbanks to nest, causing them to erode and collapse, which is a serious environmental issue in flood-prone Malaysia where year-end monsoon winds bring heavy rain.

Malaysia’s central bank said in 2024 that floods are the cause of 85 percent of the country’s natural disasters, with their frequency increasing since 2020.­

Though far from his favourite fish to catch, Haziq discovered that suckerfish roe could be used as bait for other bigger fish, and he earned some money selling their eggs to other fishing enthusiasts. He also gained a following by putting his exploits on social media. Further research then led him to learn about the threats posed by invasive species.

Harziq started to attract like-minded anglers, and, in 2022, they decided to form a group for hunting suckermouth, meeting nearly every week in a river to carry out a cull.

Their public profile and popularity are growing. The group’s membership has now grown to more than 1,000, and it has a strong fan following on social media.

“People kept asking how to join our group, because we were looking at the ecosystem,” Haziq said.

Focusing first on Malaysia’s Selangor state and rivers in the capital Kuala Lumpur, the fish hunter squad netted nearly 31 tonnes of suckermouths alone in 2024. They have also visited rivers in other states in Malaysia as their campaign expands.

Dispose, use for research, or cook and eat?

During a hunt in the Klang River earlier this year, Haziq and his comrades deployed to the river’s banks on a mission to see how many suckermouth they could catch during a single outing.

But hunting for invasive fish can be tricky. Without boats, the hunters have to wade into the fast-moving polluted waters from muddy banks, while navigating underwater debris such as rubbish on the riverbed.

Almost all the fish they caught were of the invasive kind, but once in a while, they do net a local.

“Haruan (snakehead)!” shouted ex-navy diver Syuhaily Hasibullah, 46, as he showed off a small fish half the size of his arm, taken from a net containing several suckermouths.

“This one is rare! There used to be a lot of them in the river,” he told Al Jazeera.

Haziq said if the hunters found many invasive species in their nets, they would organise another outing to the same location, bringing along more people to take part.

The day they set out to calculate how many invasive fish they could catch in a single outing turned out to yield half a tonne of suckermouth in just three hours – so many they had to stuff them into sacks.

Previously, the hunters buried their hauls in deep holes away from the river. Now, they have found more creative ways to dispose of what is, generally, an unwanted fish.

At the event earlier this year, sacks of suckermouths were handed over to a local entrepreneur looking to experiment with turning the fish into a form of charcoal known as biochar.

Some local universities have also started researching the possible use of the suckermouth. One university research article explored the potential of suckermouth collagen for pharmaceutical use, while another considered its use as fertiliser or even as a type of leather.

On some occasions, the hunters even eat the fish they catch, though that depends on which river they have been taken from.

While redtail or African catfish are considered delicacies by some, the suckermouth, also known in India as “devil fish”, is a less attractive snacking option – but not out of the question when it comes to a quick riverside grill.

“If the fish is from the Klang River, we don’t eat it,” Mohd Zulkifli Mokhtar told Al Jazeera, before dozens of hunters broke their fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

“But if it’s from the Langat River, it’s still OK,” Zulkifli said, as dozens of suckermouth caught in the less polluted Langat River, located in Bangi some 25km (16 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur, were gutted, marinated in satay and grilled on skewers.

Studies from Bangladesh and Indonesia have found varieties of catfish with high levels of heavy metals and contaminants. A 2024 article by Malaysia’s Universiti Teknologi Mara cited a study that showed the level of contaminants in the suckermouth was “heavily influenced by the level of pollution in the river”.

‘If we don’t act now, it would be worse’

While Malaysia’s fisheries department said there were no records of local species becoming endangered because of invasive ones, native fish nevertheless face threats.

Local fish either faced becoming prey or have had to fight to survive, with the department finding in a survey that 90 percent of the fish in six rivers in the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur region were now foreign arrivals.

The department’s Director-General Adnan Hussain said various measures had been put in place, including the release of some 33.6 million native fish and prawns into rivers nationwide from 2021 to 2025 to “balance the impact” of invasive fish.

Late last year, the state government of Selangor also came up with a scheme to pay anglers one Malaysian ringgit ($0.23) for every kilogramme (2.2lb) of the suckermouth fish removed from two rivers. The captured fish were to be turned into animal feed and organic fertiliser, an official said.

Restrictions on the import of certain foreign aquatic species – including entire species and groups – into Malaysia were also imposed last year, and he added that programmes and collaboration with the fish hunters had also helped to deal with the problem.

In one river in Selangor state, Adnan said the amount of invasive fish caught following one eradication programme had dropped from 600kg (1,300lb) in a May 2024 event to just more than 150kg (330lb) four or five months later.

However, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu fish researcher Professor Amirrudin Ahmad said it was “almost impossible” to fully exterminate the country’s invasive fish.

“So many species live in (native water bodies) and getting rid of invasive species by the means of poisoning the water is not feasible at all,” he said, adding there were close to 80 recorded fish species introduced in Malaysia so far.

He further warned that rising temperatures caused by climate change may even allow species like the predatory Mekong redtail catfish to proliferate in cooler upstream waters in Malaysia.

“They are here to stay,” Amirrudin said.

“It is simply,” he said, “that the environment is mostly similar to their native country, or these species are highly adaptable.”

That this is an ecological war that can never truly be won is a point that Haziq and his fellow fish hunters are fully aware of. Nearly every river they visited in recent times had almost nothing but invasive fish, he said.

But their mission will carry on, he added, along with the hunting and public awareness that has spurred thousands to follow his social media videos on the subject.

“Yes, this fish won’t be completely gone from our rivers,” he told Al Jazeera.

“But if we don’t act now, it would be worse,” he said.

“It’s better to take action than to just leave it alone,” he added.

“At least we can reduce the population, than allow it to completely take over our local fish.”

After humans, and arguably before dogs and horses, there is no character more vital to the screen, and more vital onscreen, than the automobile.

Driven or driverless, the car is the most animated of inanimate objects, sometimes literally a cartoon, with a voice, a personality, a name. Even when not speaking, they purr, they roar. They are stars in their own right — the Batmobile, the Munster Koach, James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, K.I.T.T. (the modified 1982 Pontiac Trans Am from “Knight Rider”), the Ford Grand Torino (nicknamed the Striped Tomato) driven by Starsky and Hutch. They might represent freedom, power, delinquency or even the devil. Whole movies have been built about them and the amazing things they can do, but even when they aren’t jumping and flipping and crashing, they play an essential role in helping flesh-and-blood characters take care of business.

Perhaps in some sort of reaction to our enlightened view of the effects of our gas-guzzling ways, two new series fetishizing the internal combustion engine arrive, Max’s “Duster,” now streaming, and Prime Video’s “Motorheads,” premiering Tuesday.

Created by J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan and named for the supernaturally shiny cherry-red Plymouth the hero drives, “Duster” is stupid fun, a comic melodrama steeped in 1970s exploitation flicks, with a lot of loving homage to period clothes, knickknacks and interior design. The driver is Jim Ellis, played by Josh Holloway, in what reads like a turn on Sawyer, his charming, criminal character from Abrams’ “Lost,” topped with a shot of Matthew McConaughey.

Jim, a man who has never bothered to make a three-point turn, works out of Phoenix for Southwest crime boss Ezra Saxton (Keith David, monumental as always), picking up this, delivering that. The first delivery we see turns out to be a human heart, picked up from a fast-food drive-through window, destined for Saxton’s ailing son, Royce (Benjamin Charles Watson). Along for the ride is little Luna (Adriana Aluna Martinez), who calls Jim “uncle,” though you are free to speculate; her mother, Izzy (Camille Guaty), is a big-rig trucker — trucking being another fun feature of ’70s pop culture — who will find cause to become a labor leader.

Keith David, left, as Ezra Saxton and Benjamin Charles Watson as his son, Royce.

(Ursula Coyote / Max)

The Ellises and the Saxtons, also including daughter Genesis (Sydney Elisabeth), have history — Jim’s father, Wade (Corbin Bernson), served with Ezra in World War II, and his late lamented brother had worked for him as well. Saxton is the sort of bad guy with whom you somehow sympathize in spite of the violence he employs; there’s genuine affection among the families, though one is never sure when or where a line will be drawn, only that one probably will be.

Into Jim’s low-rent but relatively settled, even happy world comes FBI agent Nina Hayes (Rachel Hilson, sparky), fresh out of Quantico and ambitious to make a mark. As a Black woman, she’s told, “No one’s clamoring for an agent like you,” but she’s been assigned to Phoenix “because we have no other options.” She’s partnered there with cheerful Navajo agent Awan (Asivak Koostachin), as if to corral the minorities into a manageable corner, and assigned the Saxton case, regarded as “cursed” and so intractable as to be not worth touching.

Which is to say, agents deemed not worth taking seriously — along with underestimated “girl Friday” Jessica (Sofia Vassilieva) — have been thrown a case deemed not worth taking seriously. This is a classic premise for a procedural and strikes some notes about racism and sexism in the bargain, not out of tune with the times in which it’s set, or the times in which we’re watching.

Nina, who has managed to gather evidence of Jim crossing state lines to deliver the heart, which was stolen, and that Saxton may have been responsible for his brother’s death, bullies and tempts him into becoming a confidential informant. Thus begins an uneasy partnership, though their storylines run largely on separate tracks in separate scenes.

“Lost” was not a show that bothered much with sense in order to achieve its effects, and “Duster,” though it involves a far-reaching conspiracy whose payoff plays like the end of a shaggy-dog story, is a show of effects, of set pieces and sequences, of car chases and fistfights, of left-field notions and characters. These include Patrick Warburton as an Elvis-obsessed mobster named Sunglasses; Donal Logue as a corrupt, perverse, evangelical policeman; Gail O’Grady as Jim’s stepmother, a former showgirl who doesn’t much like him; LSD experiments; absurd puzzles (also see: “Lost”); an airheaded version of Adrienne Barbeau (Mikaela Hoover), with the actual Barbeau, a queen of genre films, making an appearance; Richard Nixon (in a few creepy seconds of AI); an oddly jolly Howard Hughes (Tom Nelis) in his Kleenex-box slippers; and a “Roadrunner” pastiche. Though not devoid of genuine feeling, it’s best experienced as a collection of attitudes and energies, noises and colors. Don’t take it any more seriously than it takes itself.

The opening titles are super cool.

Zac (Michael Cimino), left, Caitlyn (Melissa Collazo) and Marcel (Nicolas Cantu) in Prime Video’s “Motoheads.”

(Keri Anderson / Prime Video)

“Motorheads” is a familiar sort of modern teenage soap opera but with cars. For reasons known only to series creator John A. Norris, the whole town is obsessed with them, and along with its human storylines, the series is a tour of automotive entertainments — drag racing, street racing, ATV racing, go-kart racing, classic car collecting. I have no idea whether this will resonate with the target demographic, but there is much I cannot tell you about kids these days.

As is common to the form, our young protagonists — Michael Cimino as Zac and Melissa Collazo as Caitlyn — are new to town, having been brought back from New York City by their mother, Samantha (Nathalie Kelly), to the oxymoronically named Rust Belt hamlet of Ironwood, where she was raised, and which is the last place anyone saw their father, Christian (Deacon Phillippe in flashbacks), 17 years earlier. He’s an infamous local legend, admired for his skill behind the wheel; aerial footage of Christian threading his way through a cordon of police cars as the getaway driver in a robbery keeps making its way into the show, though if you live in Los Angeles, you see this sort of thing on the news all the time. Marquee name Ryan Phillippe plays the kids’ Uncle Logan, who runs a garage that apparently does no business, but he has love and wisdom to spare.

Though at the center of the series, Zac’s storyline is a little shopworn, not just his wish to become, almost out of nowhere, Ironwood’s top speed racer, but his textbook interest in rich girl Alicia (Mia Healey), the girlfriend of rich boy Harris (Josh Macqueen), a Porsche-driving bully who is also hurting inside — so feel free to get a crush on him, if that’s your type. More interesting is sister Caitlyn, who prefers building cars to racing them and is perhaps the series’ most emotionally balanced character.

She becomes friends with shop classmate Curtis (Uriah Shelton), tall and good-looking, whose criminally inclined older brother, Ray (Drake Rodger), will become a sort of dark mentor to Zac. With the addition of Marcel (Nicolas Cantu), the archetypal “geek who becomes the hero’s best friend,” who works at the diner his father (grieving, drunk) used to own and dreams of designing cars, the four constitute the show’s outsider band of good guys.

They’ll have their not-always-happy business with each other — being teenagers, you know, things happen — and with their elders, as their elders will with one another. The past is not past in Ironwood; old feelings will resurface and old plots unravel. (And no one knows what happened to Christian.) Except for the cars sprinkled on top, it’s old stuff, not very deep, but produced with an engaging naturalism that rounds off the narrative extremes, enhances what’s commonplace and makes “Motorheads” easy to watch. (Colin Hoult is the sensitive director of photography, it’s worth mentioning.)

Drive on.

His smile has brightened the locker room, his bat has energized a once-impotent segment of the lineup and his speed has transformed their offense.

Hyeseong Kim belongs in the major leagues.

Manager Dave Roberts was asked the other night about the “difficult decision” the Dodgers will have to make on Kim when utilityman Tommy Edman and outfielder Teoscar Hernández return from the injured list in the next couple of weeks, but nothing about this decision should be difficult.

Kim will still belong in the major leagues.

There won’t be enough at-bats for him?

The Dodgers have to find them.

He can gain more experience in the minors?

A 26-year-old who played seven-plus seasons in the Korean Baseball Organization before he signed with the Dodgers, Kim isn’t a typical rookie.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said part of the reason catcher Dalton Rushing was called up this week was because of the competition in the National League West?

The same logic should be applied to Kim’s situation.

Make liberal use of the injured list. Release Chris Taylor. Do whatever is necessary for Kim to remain in Los Angeles.

“How he’s playing,” Roberts acknowledged, “certainly helps his case.”

Shohei Ohtani homered twice in a 19-2 victory over the Athletics at Dodger Stadium on Thursday night. Both times, Kim was on base.

Ohtani, who leads off for the Dodgers, drove in only 10 runs in his first 30 games of the season. The bottom of the order wasn’t hitting or drawing walks

In the first 12 games Ohtani played since Kim was called up from triple-A Oklahoma City, Ohtani collected 18 runs batted in.

Kim batted eighth or ninth in each of the eight games he started through Thursday, and he’d already been driven home by Ohtani five times. The only player Ohtani has driven in more this season: Ohtani.

“A lot easier to pitch to Shohei when nobody’s on base,” Roberts said. “Recently, certainly with Kim and his ability to get on base, there’s always traffic.”

Kim entered the Freeway Series opener on Friday batting .429, a pleasant surprise considering he looked completely overmatched at the plate in spring training. His ability to make contact has enhanced his greatest weapon, his legs.

“He’s really talented,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “He can do a lot of really special things that you can’t see from a lot of players.”

That game-changing speed was on display in just his second major league game when he was deployed as a ninth-inning pinch runner with a one-run deficit against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Kim stole second base and reached third on a dropped third strike, positioning him within 90 feet of the tying run. The next two batters struck out and the Dodgers lost the game, but the cameo performance was a preview of what was to come.

In his first 12 major league games, Kim stole three bases and plated nine runs. Three of his first 12 hits were infield hits.

“I tried to figure out what my role is in this organization, and I’m just trying to control what I can control,” Kim said through an interpreter.

Dodgers coaches also believe Kim’s speed has influenced how opponents attack Ohtani. One particular example that was cited was Ohtani’s three-run, ninth-inning home run in a 14-11 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 9.

Kim was on second base and Michael Conforto was on first when Ohtani came to the plate with one out and the score level, 11-11. Walking Ohtani would have moved the go-ahead run to third base, and with Kim’s speed, any ball put in play by the next batter would have likely resulted in a run. Diamondbacks reliever Ryan Thompson pitched to Ohtani, who launched a 1-2 pitch into the stands in right-center.

“With the speed dynamic [of Kim], it creates stress,” Roberts said. “He can steal a base, go first to third. It certainly opens some things up for the top of the order.”

The Dodgers have scored an average of 7.3 runs per game since Kim joined the team. In the process, he’s become a beloved figure in the clubhouse, overcoming a language barrier to form bonds with a wide range of players that includes everyone from Ohtani to Mookie Betts.

“That started in spring training,” Muncy said. “He was there with a couple of us and just immediately fit right in. He likes to have fun. He’s always smiling, he’s always laughing. He’s really fun to have out there.”

With a three-year deal that could be extended by the Dodgers for an additional two seasons, Kim figures to be a part of their future. But he’s already a reason for why they’re clicking now, and the returns of Edman and Hernández shouldn’t change that.

I’m not much of a fair guy — I never win at carnival games, I get dizzy as a passenger in a car, and fair food is as overrated as In-N-Out. But last week, I attended the Los Angeles County Fair for the first time ever because why not?

Besides, if Miguel Santana can be a Fairhead, so can I.

He’s one of the most influential people in Southern California: longtime confidante of the late Gloria Molina, former chief administrative officer for Los Angeles and current president of the California Community Foundation. But I think he had the most fun as head of the L.A. County Fair from 2017 to 2020, a stint immortalized by his appearance on the cover of the 2022 book “100 Years of the Los Angeles County Fair” riding a gondola lift alongside the book’s author, legendary Inland Valley Daily Bulletin columnist David Allen.

“Who’s there says a lot about us as Southern California,” Santana said of the L.A. County Fair’s audience as I exited the 10 Freeway toward the Fairplex. “It’s a sense of Americana and proof we can be diverse and American at the same time.”

I asked if this fair was as big as the Orange County Fair. He laughed the way all Angelenos do when presented with a comparison to Orange County.

“It’s enormous. You’re gonna get your 10,000 steps.”

Behold, then, this newbie’s L.A. County Fair tips:

Times columnist Gustavo Arellano at the 2025 L.A. County Fair.

(Gustavo Arellano / Los Angeles Times)

Have a Pomona homie drop you off

Fair parking is an ungodly $22.50, and don’t you dare try to leave your jalopy at nearby Ganesha Park unless you want to spend a couple hundred dollars fishing it out of some random tow truck yard. My Pomona parking hookup was faithful reader Fernando Iniguez — gracias, Fern Iggy! I owe you a Jerez sweatshirt.

Buy your tickets online

$21.50 on the internet. At the gate? $32. Um, yeah. But one big complaint, Fair lords: It took me three attempts to buy my tickets online. Ever heard of Zelle?

Feel the music

“There’s going to be so much music,” Santana told me, and he was right. Between live bands, Spotify playlists, DJs and radio stations, it was like walking through a wholesome Coachella. Bachata smoothly transitioned to Go Country went to KCRW became Taylor Swift switched over to a super-chirpy cover of the O’Jays’ “Love Train” at the Disco Chicken stand. And though Pharell Williams’ “Happy” played at least five times while I visited, the atmosphere was so cheerful that I didn’t have to scream to drown out his ode to optimism.

Hang out at the petting zoo for the best people watching

There’s nothing like seeing suburbanites who probably think meat comes from Erewhon fairies stand with terror in their eyes as bleating sheep and goats swarm them asking for pellets.

Lose yourself in the fair

How much did fairgoers live in the moment? I saw next to no one use their smartphone other than for photos. And I also noticed a middle-age white guy in a MAGA cap standing a few feet away from a Muslim family with nary a negative look at each other. They were too busy staring ahead like the rest of us at an octet of magnificent Clydesdale horses ready to pull a Budweiser wagon.

Head to the coolest section of the fair

I loved all the vegetables and livestock at the Farm & Gardens, enjoyed the trippy art at the Flower & Garden Pavilion and appreciated the juxtaposition of a lowrider show next to the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum near the Millard Sheets Art Center. But the best part of the fair was the area labeled “America’s Great Outdoors” — and I say this as someone who thinks camping and hiking are for the (literal) birds! Volunteers sawed logs with kids, taught them how to pan for gold, showed off desert reptiles and even hosted an environmental magic show. Throw in a replica of a Tongva hut and a U.S. Forest Service fire lookout tower and the nearby sound of the RailGiants Train Museum, and this is what Knott’s Berry Farm used to be before it became whatever the hell it is now.

Block off at least three hours to fully enjoy

I had to rush back to Orange County for a columna the day I visited, so I only spent an hour and a half at the fair. I had to skip the tablescape competition, didn’t go through the exhibit halls and was only able to eat at Hot Dog on a Stick because they make the best lemonade on Earth. But it was wonderful to leave the problems of the world mostly at bay for a few hours to enjoy the living, breathing Wikipedia that is a county fair at its finest — and the L.A. County Fair is definitely that.

Huge Snorlax plush toy: Next year, you’re mine.

Today’s top stories

Wildlife biologist Carl Lackey, with the aid of a dog, chases off a California black bear that was captured and relocated to the Carson Range.

(John Axtell / Nevada Department of Wildlife)

A woman’s grisly death inflames debate over how California manages problem black bears

• An autopsy determined that 71-year-old Patrice Miller had probably been killed by a black bear after it broke into her home, marking the first known instance in California history of a fatal bear attack on a human.
• The story of Miller’s grisly end have come roaring into the state Capitol this spring.
• Wildlife officials estimate there are now 60,000 black bears in California, roughly triple the figure from 1998.

An epic guide to the best motels in California

UC and CSU get some relief in Newsom’s budget plan

• Proposed funding cuts for UC and CSU are not as bad as they were in January, under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised state budget.
• The proposed cut to UC dropped from $397 million in January to $130 million four months later, representing a 3% year-to-year budget cut.
• For CSU, Newsom’s budget cut went from $375 million in January to $144 million, also a 3% budget reduction.

Riverside wants to become ‘the new Detroit’

What else is going on

Commentary and opinions

This morning’s must reads

Other must reads

For your downtime

(Peter DaSilva / For The Times)

Going out

Staying in

A question for you: What is your go-to karaoke song?

Alan says: “Your Man by Josh Turner.”
C Price says: “The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell.”

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

And finally … your photo of the day

Kaj Betts, son of Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts, runs away with the ceremonial first pitch ball as they celebrate Mookie Betts’ Bobble Head night at Dodger Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from Times photographer Robert Gauthier at Dodger Stadium where the 2-year-old son of Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts runs away with the ceremonial first pitch ball.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
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.

VOTING in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 can be accomplished via a variety of handy methods.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to support your favourite acts in the Grand Final on Saturday My 17, as well as when the results will be revealed.

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Eurovision 2025 is well underway, with the song contest returning to Switzerland, where the very first of its competitions was held way back in 1956.

The first semi-final of Eurovison 2025 took place on Tuesday, May 13, and the second was held on Thursday, May 15.

Eurovision’s showpiece, the Grand Final, follows on Saturday, May 17.

Voting rules

There are some important rules to keep in mind when voting in Eurovision 2025:

• You cannot vote for your own country’s entry
• Each person is allowed to vote up to 20 times, but only once per act per voting method
• Voting is open to viewers in all participating countries, as well as the “Rest of the World” — i.e. non-participating countries
• In the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final, all participating countries are eligible to vote, not only those competing in the final itself
• Votes from the Rest of the World are aggregated and count as one additional set of points.

Voting windows

For the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final on Saturday, 17 May 2025, voting opens just before the first song is performed and stays open until about 40 minutes after the last song finishes.

If you are voting from the Rest of the World, online voting opens at midnight on the day of the final and closes when the live show begins.

During the Grand Final, voting for the Rest of the World also opens just before the first song is performed, and will again remain open until approximately 40 minutes after the last song has been sung.

How to vote

Voting in Eurovision 2025 involves two main methods.

You can vote for your favourite acts by telephone, using either a landline or a mobile phone.

Another popular method is through the official Eurovision app, which is available on iOS, Android and Windows devices.

In some countries voting by SMS is also possible, but not in the UK.

In countries where voting my SMS is possible, the appropriate numbers will be displayed on-screen by each participating broadcaster, as well as on the official voting website — esc.vote, which also features a countdown to the next Eurovision broadcast.

Phone

To vote by phone, the relevant numbers will appear on-screen.

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Use the long (11-digit) number for your chosen country if calling from a landline, or the short (7-digit) number if using a mobile phone.

Note that shortcodes may not work in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man.

App

Alternatively, you can use the official Eurovision app to cast your vote.

Simply download it from your device’s app store, then during the show, follow the prompts to cast your vote for your favourite acts.

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App users will receive a special thank-you message from their chosen performers, adding a nice personal touch to the experience.

Results revealed

As for when the results will be revealed, after voting closes (which is about 40 minutes after the final performance), the results are announced in two main stages.

First, each participating country’s jury points are announced by a national spokesperson.

These points range from one to eight, then 10, and finally 12 points awarded to their top ten acts.

After the jury points are revealed, the combined public televote from each country and the Rest of the World is announced.

This televote dramatically adds to each act’s total score. The winner is the act that achieves the highest combined total of jury and public points.

The results are usually revealed between 11.15pm and midnight, following the conclusion of voting and the interval acts.

GEORGE RUSSELL “won’t be saying thank you” anytime soon after blasting Formula One’s swearing rules as too “ridiculous” in the first place.

The Mercedes star, who sits fourth in the Championship standings, showed no gratitude to F1‘s governing body after labelling the walk-back on rules as “suspect” ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix.

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On Wednesday, the FIA climbed down on its previous stance of drivers facing potential bans and point deductions for swearing or criticising officials, and dramatically reduced the possible fines that can be issued.

Crucially, the stewards are now able to differentiate between ‘controlled’ and ‘non-controlled’ environments, meaning drivers are highly unlikely to be punished for swearing while competing, but will still face action for using offensive language in press conferences.

But Russell, was unmoved by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem cutting the first time fines from £33,700 down to £4,200.

The 27-year-old said: “I didn’t really have any reaction to the announcement because it was so ridiculous in the first place that we are just basically reverting on that.

“At the end of the day we’re not going to be saying thank you for something that was so crazy in the first place.

“We’ve just gone back to something that is slightly more in the name of common sense

“But we should never have moved away from that in the first place. You know, we shouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

Russell, a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, also revealed that he “wonders if the change was strategic timing” given that Ben Sulayem is up for re-election at the end of the season.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Ben Sulayem said when the rule change was announced that he had “led an extensive and collaborative review with contributions from across the seven FIA World Championships”.

But, Russell has refused that claim, saying: “We’ve still had no correspondence with anyone from the senior level at the FIA. So yeah, it’s all a bit suspect.”

Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton, 40, also agreed that the situation was “ridiculous”.

The seven-time champion said: “It seems a bit of a mess there at the moment. There are lots of changes that are needed, for sure.”

Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen – who last year was the first driver to be punished for saying his car was “f***ed” with a form of community service – said the change was “a bit better and it’s a start”.

Incredibly, Russell and Verstappen both backed the potential bid of Carlos Sainz Sr, the father of Williams driver Sainz, in this December’s FIA presidential election.

When asked if Sainz would be a better president, the world champion Red Bull star bluntly replied: “You can fill that in yourself.

“He’s very well respected in the world here and in the rally world as a former rally driver.

“Of course people always say it’s conflicting with his son but I think he’s professional enough to keep that separated from each other.

“I think it would be a great addition to run for president.”

Russell also dismissed the idea there could be a conflict of interest because of Sainz’s son, who is also a GPDA director.

The Brit said: “You’re so far removed from a technical standpoint. It’s down to the technical people within the FIA to be the rule makers.

“The president in years gone by has probably been far less involved than what we’ve seen recently and far less visible.”

F1 2025

THE new Formula One season is well underway – and one team appear to be running away with it.

A massive summer of change saw Lewis Hamilton move on from Mercedes and join Ferrari, while the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have a big chance to end Max Verstappen‘s recent dominance.

The Red Bull ace is aiming for a record-equalling FIFTH consecutive world title.

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Denise McKinney says she has probably somewhere close to half a million matchbooks tucked away inside her Riverside home.

She’s been collecting for years and will typically pick up whatever strikes her fancy, no pun intended. She has specialties now, like matchbooks with animals on them or matchbooks that advertise radio and TV stations, but she says her biggest collection by far is books from Southern California, including vintage motel matchbooks.

The motel turns 100. Explore the state’s best roadside havens — and the coolest stops along the way.

The president of the Angelus Matchcover Club says she likes matchbooks because of how they reflect a region’s history. She’s grabbed books that tout Route 66 attractions or places from her Orange County hometown.

Matchbook collectors Olivia Frescura, Robert Donnelson, Denise McKinney and Cheryl Crill.

(Amanda Villegas / For The Times)

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the motel, a concept that originated with the Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo (later renamed the Motel Inn). Though it didn’t become widely known until after World War II, “motel” is essentially a portmanteau for “motor hotel,” or a lodging place where the rooms could be entered through the parking lot rather than through a central lobby.

To get travelers in the door, motels used gimmicks to stand out among the stiff competition, like neon signs and themed decor, but also promotional materials like free postcards and pocket-sized matchbooks. With the 100th anniversary in mind, we wanted to look back at some of Southern California’s motel history as seen through collectors’ matchbooks. These books represent just a small fraction of the thousands of motels that have operated in the region but are a great place to start.

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday threw his support behind two bills that would streamline housing development in urban areas, saying it was “time to get serious” about cutting red tape to address the housing crisis.

Newsom said his revised state budget proposal, which he announced at a news conference Wednesday, also will include provisions that clear the way for more new housing by reforming the state’s landmark California Environmental Quality Act and clearing other impediments.

The governor praised Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) and state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) for sponsoring bills designed to ease the permitting process for infill projects, or building in urban areas that already have development.

Newsom’s housing proposal looks to force permit deadlines on the Coastal Commission, allow housing development projects over $100 million to use CEQA streamlining usually available to smaller projects, and create a fund, paid for by developers, to finance affordable housing near public transit.

CEQA has long been used by opponents to impede or delay construction, often locking developers into years-long court battles. The law is so vague that it allows “essentially anyone who can hire a lawyer” to challenge developments, Wiener said in a statement.

“It’s time to accelerate urban infill. It’s time to exempt them from CEQA, it’s time to focus on judicial streamlining. It’s time to get serious about this issue. Period, full stop,” Newsom said during the morning budget news conference. “… This is the biggest opportunity to do something big and bold, and the only impediment is us. So we own this, and we have to own the response.”

Assembly Bill 609, proposed by Wicks, who serves as the Assembly Appropriations Committee chair, would create a sweeping exemption for housing projects that meet local building standards, especially in areas that have already been approved for additional development and reviewed for potential environmental impacts.

“It’s time to refine CEQA for the modern age, and I’m proud to work with the Governor to make these long-overdue changes a reality,” Wicks said in a statement.

Senate Bill 607, authored by Wiener, who serves as chair of the Senate Housing Committee, focuses the environmental review process and clarifies CEQA exemptions for urban infill housing projects.

“By clearing away outdated procedural hurdles, we can address California’s outrageous cost of living, grow California’s economy, and help the government solve the most pressing problems facing our state. We look forward to working with Governor Newsom and our legislative colleagues to advance these two important bills and to secure an affordable and abundant future for California,” Wiener said in a statement.

Both bills are pending before the appropriations committees in the Assembly and Senate, respectively.

UNIFIL says incident first of its kind since Israel and Lebanese-armed group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.

Direct fire from the Israeli military hit the perimeter of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNIFIL) peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon, the mission said.

In a statement on Wednesday, UNIFIL added that the incident on Tuesday was the first of its kind since Israel and Lebanese-armed group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.

UNIFIL said one of its bases in the village of Kfarchouba in southern Lebanon was hit. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.

“In recent days, UNIFIL has also observed other aggressive behaviour by the [Israeli military] towards peacekeepers performing operational activities in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701,” it said in a post on X, referring to a UN resolution originally adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

UNIFIL is concerned by the recent aggressive posture of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) involving UNIFIL personnel and assets near the Blue Line, including yesterday’s incident in which a direct fire hit the perimeter of a UNIFIL position south of the village of Kfar Shouba.

— UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_) May 14, 2025

Tuesday’s incident occurred near the Blue Line, a UN-mapped demarcation separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, it added.

Any unauthorised crossing of the Blue Line by land or by air from any side constitutes a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

UNIFIL cited other alleged incidents it blamed on the Israeli army, including being targeted by lasers while it was performing a patrol with the Lebanese army in the southern border town of Maroun al-Ras on Tuesday.

“UNIFIL protests all such and we continue to remind all actors of their responsibility to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN assets and premises at all times,” it added.

Volatile ceasefire

Separately on Wednesday, Israel’s military said it killed a Hezbollah fighter in a strike on southern Lebanon.

“Earlier today [Wednesday], the [Israeli military] struck in the area of Qaaqaaiyet El Jisr in southern Lebanon, eliminating a Hezbollah terrorist who held the position of the commander of the Qabrikha area within the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,” a military statement said.

The November ceasefire ended a conflict in which Israel attacked Lebanon by air and invaded the country, devastating vast swaths of southern Lebanon. Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli attack in September.

The ceasefire terms require that neither Hezbollah nor any other armed group have weapons in areas near the border south of the Litani River, which flows into the Mediterranean some 20km (12 miles) north of the Israeli border.

They require Israel to withdraw troops from the south and the Lebanese army to deploy into the border region.

Although the truce officially ended hostilities, sporadic cross-border attacks have continued. Israel has regularly broken the truce and carried out air raids across southern Lebanon, also hitting neighbourhoods in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah retains strong support.

Israel still occupies five strategic hilltops along the border. While rockets have been fired into Israel from Lebanese territory on two separate occasions, Hezbollah has denied involvement.

Hezbollah’s leader, Naim Qassem, has maintained that the group no longer keeps weapons in the border zone, in accordance with the truce.