trust

Gordon, the grateful beneficiary of Alexander-Arnold’s class, said: “I make that run time and time again and only a certain number of players have that ability, technique and bravery to be willing to make the mistake trying that pass. That’s why he’s so good and I’ve been dying to play with him for that reason.

“He’s had his own journey with England. He would’ve liked to have played more than he has but he’s been a great character during this camp. I’ve really enjoyed being around him.”

Alexander-Arnold is a risk taker, both in the defensive and attacking context, but only Elliot Anderson (41) made more passes in the final third than he did (32), while only Anthony Gordon, with four, created more chances than the defender’s three.

Tuchel, it should be stated, is not alone in having doubts about Alexander-Arnold.

Who can forget – although many would love to – Sir Gareth Southgate’s ill-fated attempt to utilise Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder at Euro 2024? It was ditched after 54 minutes of England’s second game against Denmark never to be seen again.

More will be revealed if Tuchel persists with Alexander-Arnold against Croatia behind closed doors in Rijeka on Saturday – but this must be close to make or break time for this lavishly-talented player who is 28 on 7 October.

If he cannot convince Tuchel in this camp, and surely that one moment of game-changing skill must be fixed in the head coach’s mind, then you wonder if he ever will.

Alexander-Arnold said: “It was amazing. It’s always an honour to represent my country. It’s been a long time, but I’ve always believed I can play for England. That belief has always been there and it was about proving it at club level. The manager gave me a chance, now hopefully he is happy with how I played.”

How happy? Time, and Tuchel, will tell.

Alexander-Arnold, however, could not have done any more as England, who sealed the three points with captain Harry Kane’s 87th goal in 123 international appearances, got their Nations League campaign going in Prague.

Most UK holidaymakers still consult and trust their family and friends’ recommendations over AI for travel advice

A landmark study of 14,000 travellers from countries including the UK and Australia found that in the UK, family (84%) and friends (81%) trumped AI (45%) for travel tips and holiday hotspots.

Just one in 10 rely on influencers for travel advice – highlighting ‘The Travel Trust Equation’ will be a strong theme emerging for 2027. Artificial intelligence is seen to be transforming the way we travel, but it hasn’t quite replaced the human touch. It also revealed they are set to prioritise things like balance, flexibility and trips that leave a lasting impact.

Of the 1,000 Brits surveyed as part of the Hilton 2027 Trends Report, The Great Rebalance, three-quarters said having a holiday booked gives them a ‘sense of purpose’.

This reflects ‘The Beforeglow’, with booking a trip giving people a much-needed psychological boost and offering them a sense of excitement, motivation and escape weeks, or even months, ahead of departure. More than a quarter (27%) also seek a new perspective through travel, which changes how they view everyday life when they get back home.

Simon Vincent CBE, executive vice president and president, EMEA, Hilton, said: “Travellers are increasingly focused on making their time away count. Rather than chasing a one-size-fits-all idea of the perfect trip, they’re looking for experiences that reflect their own interests and priorities.

“Our job is to help guests make the most of every trip; whether they’re exploring a new destination, reconnecting with loved ones, taking time to switch off – or even a little bit of everything.”

The study also found 60% of all Brits claimed having a holiday booked helps them stick to personal goals, while 53% use them to mark important life moments, meaning travellers are well into their ‘Optimisation Era’.

But 28% of Gen Z travellers see holidays as a chance to kick-start a healthier lifestyle, whereas 63% are more likely to make a significant life change after returning home from their travels.

Nearly three quarters of this generation (74%) also feel motivated to stick to personal goals knowing a holiday is on the cards, and 32% regarded maintaining their fitness routine while away as ‘non-negotiable’.

But the Morning Consult research found 29% of younger travellers feel pressure to plan the ‘right’ kind of trip – compared with just 6% of 62-80-year-olds, showing a rise in ‘Boomer Goals’.

Only 18% of this older generation stick to a strict itinerary, compared with 41% of Gen Z, with 53% of Boomers favoured a spontaneous approach instead. And 72% never feel pressure when making travel decisions, compared with only 27% of Gen Z.

Travel loyalty is emerging as another status symbol among younger holidaymakers, with 27% of Gen Z belonging to a points or miles programme.

The rise of ‘Status Seekers’ suggests travel loyalty programmes have entered a new era, where status matters as much as savings.

With 37% even admitting to feeling jealous of friends with a higher travel status, as 41% see that status as a sign of personal success.

A further 58% of 18-to-29-year-olds believed people with elite travel status have greater influence over group travel decisions.

Where travellers stay is changing too, as gardens were named as an accommodation ‘must-have’ by 40% of Brits, placing them ahead of hotel pools at 33%.

Fresh air and time outdoors were key to holiday relaxation (76%), while 47% will use travel to spend more time immersed in settings such as forests, mountains and coastlines.

UK adults are also reconsidering the traditional big annual getaway in favour of shorter, more flexible breaks, with 65% planning to take more short trips over the next year.

Among these “micro-travellers”, 35% want to tick more destinations off their travel lists, and 26% value the spontaneity offered by shorter breaks.

A further 56% will plan a micro-trip around one standout experience, rising to 74% of Gen Z travellers.

Simon Vincent added: “With a portfolio spanning everything from luxury retreats and city-centre collection hotels to family-friendly resorts and extended-stay brands, we offer travellers the choice and flexibility to find the experiences that are right for them.”

Seven travel trends for 2027

1. The Travel Trust Equation – AI may be transforming travel, but it hasn’t replaced the human touch.
2. Status Seekers – Travel loyalty programmes have entered a new era: where status matters as much as savings.
3. Boomer goals – In contrast to the younger generation’s optimisation obsession, Boomers are making a compelling case for doing less.
4. The Beforeglow – Booking a trip is giving people a much-needed psychological lift, offering a sense of excitement, motivation and escape weeks, or even months, ahead of departure.
5. Optimisation Era – Self-optimisation culture continues as travellers will see time away as an opportunity to return home levelled-up.
6. Wellness Rewired – Nature is the new must-have, with outdoor spaces now valued more than hotel pools.
7. The Micro-Travel Mindset – More Brits are swapping one big annual holiday for a series of shorter, experience-led escapes throughout the year

It’s never good when NFL coaches on struggling teams have to publicly reaffirm their faith in members of their staff before the calendar turns to October — and that’s what Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh did on Monday.

Speaking to reporters in the wake of a 24-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Harbaugh was asked if he would consider taking some control away from offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel if the offense doesn’t improve.

“No, we trust Mike. We believe in Mike,” Harbaugh said.

It would be odd for Harbaugh to publicly admit to anything else at this point, especially because he’s not in a good position to do much else to salvage the season. Harbaugh has never called plays at the NFL level and must hope McDaniel and Justin Herbert can fix the NFL’s No. 21-ranked offense (309 yards per game) if the Chargers have any chance of becoming the eighth team in NFL history to reach the postseason after an 0-3 start.

“We’re searching for every possible way to give ourselves an advantage,” Harbaugh said. “Every possible way to not beat ourselves.”

Although Harbaugh doesn’t see himself intervening on McDaniel’s turf, he does want to see improvement from Herbert. The quarterback struggled against the Bills, failing to capitalize on five takeaways from the Chargers’ defense. He passed for 226 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but four trips to the red zone — two of which were assisted by favorable field position off takeaways — resulted in only three field goals and a touchdown.

“To be better,” said Harbaugh, regarding Herbert’s decision-making. “That drives Justin, that drives me, that drives his position coach, that drives Mike [McDaniel]. … I mean, drives us all.”

Herbert isn’t the only underperformer. Dropped passes from wide receiver Quentin Johnston and tight end Oronde Gadsden II were factors in the Bills becoming the first team since the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 season wild-card playoffs to win despite five turnovers and a minus-four turnover differential.

The team the Jaguars beat that January? The Chargers.

UEFA president speaks for the first time since FIFA said it would review its decision-making, says trust still broken.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says trust in world football has not ⁠been restored following the collapse of FIFA’s controversial private investment plan.

The remarks, made in a video address to the ⁠Portugal Football Summit on Wednesday, were Ceferin’s first public comments since FIFA president Gianni Infantino offered a review of the governing body’s decision-making.

Ceferin said unity, transparency and governance that served the wider game were essential to maintaining trust in football. “Yet not everyone places the game above their own ambitions.”

“Trust in our sport rests on three pillars: unity, transparency, and governance that serves the many, not the few. ‌In recent times, all three were disregarded by people who had sworn to protect them.

“The project that shattered the unity of world football may be abolished, but the trust it broke has not returned, and repairing it is our work now.”

Ceferin did not name Infantino or FIFA, but his comments were an apparent reference to the abandoned proposal to sell a 20 percent stake in FIFA’s commercial rights, including the World Cup, to private investors. The plan ⁠was dropped in July after fierce opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football ⁠Confederation and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).

“Football is not for sale,” Ceferin said. “That is the message UEFA has carried for years, and I’m certain this summit will carry it further.”

His intervention came two days after Infantino sought to address the fallout in a letter ⁠to the FIFA Council and the presidents of all 211 member associations.

He said he would ask the council whether it wanted to commission an ⁠independent external review of FIFA’s governance framework for major strategic initiatives ⁠and proposed consultations with confederations, member associations and other stakeholders on strengthening its decision-making processes.

He said any review could examine the roles of the president, bureau, council and congress and ways to improve transparency and accountability.

The letter has so far failed ‌to win over several federations that had criticised Infantino over the investment proposal.

Infantino has said he remains fully committed to leading FIFA and is expected to seek another term at the presidential ‌election ‌in March 2027.

Ceferin said those running the sport needed to remember whom they served.

“The game will remain safe if those who govern it remember whom they govern it for,” he said.

Fewer than half of Americans believe the upcoming midterm elections will be “free and fair,” amid a broader decline in confidence in vote counts, according to a new nationwide poll.

While 49% of respondents said they expected the elections to be free and fair, 23% said they did not expect them to be, and 28% said they didn’t know what to expect.

Americans are more confident that ballots, once cast, will be counted accurately, though their trust in that varies depending on their political affiliation — with 63% of Democrats, 58% of Republicans and 49% of independent voters saying they are either “somewhat” or “very” confident in an accurate count, the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections at UC San Diego poll found.

That is a sharp decline from after the 2024 election, when 77% of Democrats, 82% of Republicans and 73% of independents expressed such confidence, the same pollsters found then.

Lauren Prather, one of the center’s co-directors, said the latest findings reflect a decline in trust but also nuance in how respondents understand what it means to have a “free and fair” election — with an accurate count of cast ballots being a major factor, but not the only one.

Of those respondents who said they don’t know if the election will be free and fair, about a third — 31% — also said that they were “somewhat confident” that the vote would be counted accurately, Prather said.

The poll also asked an open-ended question, inviting respondents to share what a “free and fair” election means to them, she said, and trust in the count was a “central part of people’s definition” and a “dominant theme.” However, they also identified other things, she said — with about a quarter of respondents also pointing to “voter access and voter eligibility, as well as freedom from interference and intimidation and having a real choice of candidates,” Prather said.

“In other words, trust in the count is the anchor of how Americans understand what it means to be free and fair but it sits within a broader set of concerns about the integrity of the whole process,” she said.

The polling reflects an American electorate that has grown increasingly concerned about U.S. elections amid unprecedented claims of widespread voter fraud from President Trump and his administration, and increasing warnings from Democrats and independent election experts that those claims — which Trump has made without evidence and which experts deny — are part of a broader effort to interfere with the election and intimidate voters.

Thad Kousser, the center’s other co-director, said the findings are in line with a broader era of distrust in civic institutions in the U.S., but also a result of the fact that “people are following different signals from their leaders” as to the trustworthiness of U.S. elections — with vastly different messaging coming from leaders on the left and the right.

Poll respondents shared some concerns about the fairness of the November midterms, he said, but also split by wide margins on other concerns based on their political affiliation.

Voters across party lines shared concerns about gerrymandering, the poll found — with 48% of both Democrats and independents and 36% of Republicans saying they distrust that congressional district lines are drawn in a way that fairly reflects what voters want.

“Nobody has loved the redistricting wars that have been a big story throughout this year,” Kousser said.

After Trump urged Texas and other Republican-led states to launch unprecedented mid-decade efforts to redraw their congressional lines to bolster their party’s chances of retaining control of the legislature through the remainder of Trump’s term, Democrats fought back — including in California, where voters passed Proposition 50 to allow state Democrats to redraw congressional lines in their party’s favor.

On potential foreign interference, 32% of Democrats, 42% of independents and 48% of Republicans said they didn’t trust that U.S. elections are well-protected.

More than three-quarters of Americans — including 79% of Democrats, 76% of Republicans and 75% of independents — said they were “concerned that misleading audio or video ‘deepfakes’ created using AI will impact” the midterms.

But on other issues — including those most discussed by the political establishment — the political divide was much starker, the poll found.

For example, while 53% of Republicans said they distrust that ballots are counted accurately, just 19% of Democrats said so. While 52% of Republicans said they distrust that noncitizens are prevented from voting, just 12% of Democrats said so.

Meanwhile, Democrats and independents were more concerned than Republicans about eligible voters being able to cast their ballots without facing obstacles or intimidation, the poll found.

Many poll respondents said they expected to face intimidation from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at or near polling locations — with such fears being particularly pronounced among voters of color, who were about four times as likely as white respondents to say they expected such intimidation, the poll found.

While 49% of Black respondents, 45% of “Hispanic” respondents and 40% of Asian American and Pacific Islander respondents said they expected to face intimidation, just 11% of white respondents said so, the poll found.

Overall, 35% of respondents said an ICE presence would make them less confident of an accurate vote count, compared with 23% who said it would make them more confident. Those responses also varied greatly by race — and partisan leaning.

White respondents were nearly split, with 29% saying it would make them less confident and 28% saying it would make them more confident. Respondents of other races were vastly more likely to say an ICE presence would make them less confident — with 38% of Black respondents saying they would be less confident and 10% saying they would be more confident; 43% of “Hispanic” respondents saying less and 18% saying more; and 57% of AAPI respondents saying less and just 6% saying more.

Nearly 60% of Democrats said an ICE presence would lower their confidence, and less than 8% said it would increase their confidence. Among Republicans, meanwhile, about 46% said it would increase their confidence, and less than 9% said it would decrease it.

Kousser said the polling gives the sense that a “free and fair” election “means something more to people than simply tallying up correctly the votes of those who were able to cast a ballot.”

“You might doubt that the election was free and fair if you are concerned that congressional districts are gerrymanders, or that some voters stayed away from the polls because of worries about intimidation, or that some people cast a ballot who were not, in fact, eligible,” he said. “These concerns, which can come from all different parts of the ideological spectrum, could lead people to be concerned that [a] ‘correctly counted’ election was not, in fact, fully free and fair.”

Kousser and Prather said what effect diminished trust in elections will have on the midterms and how Americans view the results remains unclear, but will depend in part on how close the election is and what messaging leaders — particularly Trump — share about the results once they come in. Prather said she did not expect it to diminish turnout.

The national survey of 5,016 American adults was conducted Sept. 1-9, with a margin of error of plus or minus 1.4%.

OpenAI boss Sam Altman thinks people should have more faith in his company and others like it to do the right thing when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) development amid rising public concerns about all the risks.

“The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it’s the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this,” Altman said on Tuesday during a conference in San Francisco.

However, Altman noted that people were justified in their fears around AI, as the capability of the tools has progressed rapidly.

“It doesn’t take as much imagination as it used to for [us] to imagine how this could go wrong,” he said. “I think the world is right to be afraid of this.”

Altman’s comments came during an appearance at an annual conference hosted by software firm Salesforce.

It was the first time he had spoken publicly since a post went viral last week by a researcher who quit the AI firm Anthropic. The researcher claimed AI could kill all humans by the end of the decade if left unchecked.

A handful of other AI executives and experts responded by saying they agreed with the assessment, though they didn’t explain how they came to their conclusions or how exactly AI could accomplish such a thing.

The fervor over the claims has led to more scrutiny of AI development in recent days, and in response, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for the pace of all AI development to slow, external and urged governments to regulate the industry.

The post was applauded by Altman, as well as co-founder of Google’s DeepMind Demis Hassabis, and Elon Musk, owner of social media site X and AI assistant Grok.

By Tuesday, more AI leaders were voicing support for self-regulation rather than government involvement.

Altman said that he felt AI companies like his own were capable of essentially regulating themselves.

“We will get it right, I’m very confident in our company’s and industry’s ability to do this safely,” Altman said, adding that he was sure that they would “keep alignment and safety way ahead of capabilities” and if they couldn’t, they would “slow down or stop”.

After Altman’s comments, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg wrote on X that every AI lab has the ability and the incentive “to take its own actions” towards making AI tools and models that are designed for safety.

“Any lab that doesn’t focus on alignment will fall behind,” Zuckerberg wrote. “Labs face significant liability if their models cause harm, so they have a strong incentive to prevent this as well.”

Jensen Huang, head of Nvidia, also said at the same Tuesday conference that the AI firms should decide if new versions of the technology should be released and not be managed by outside forces.

“We don’t need new laws or regulations,” Huang said, adding that there should not be a “false choice” between the speed of innovation and the safety of AI products.

Nvidia is the biggest company in the world by valuation, with its profits having boomed as a result of rampant demand for the AI computing chips it makes.

“Safety is paramount. However, safety is an engineering problem,” Huang said.

He added that if at any time a leader of an AI company lacks confidence in their product they should choose to not release it.

“That’s a very obvious thing to do,” Huang said. “Run as fast as you can, but if at any time you feel the institution is not in control, take a pause.”

Some industry figures have argued resurgent AI fears were overblown and were being jumped on to generate hype for the industry.

During the conference, Altman addressed a crowd of hundreds of business people, telling them they should use AI tools to aid in their work, but also needed them in order to protect their businesses from potentially AI-enabled cyber attacks.

The idea of AI executives being left to entirely regulate themselves has struck some in the industry as a bad idea.

Jack Clark, an Anthropic executive and co-founder, told the BBC on Monday that leaving AI to be a “totally unregulated industry” was “rolling dice with immense risks”.

Patrick Hillman, the chief operating officer of Logical Intelligence, which is chaired by Yann LeCun, a sage of the AI industry, noted Tuesday how little faith people have in tech companies to do anything truly in the public interest, external.

“The only institution that Americans might trust less than Washington these days is Silicon Valley. I have worked and lived in both and I assure you both have earned this scepticism,” Hillman said.

“If you believe what you are building is dangerous, show us what you are prepared to stop doing,” he added.

Jake Slaughter’s teammates could only laugh as the rookie center was swarmed by reporters asking him questions in the Chargers’ locker room.

“I don’t think he does too good with the cameras and stuff,” Isaiah World said as he recorded the spectacle with his phone. “He’s real old school.”

Whether he minds it or not, the precocious 23-year-old is living in the spotlight. Slaughter enters the Chargers’ season opener against the Arizona Cardinals as the starting center.

The second-round pick out of Florida took over the role after Tyler Biadasz, who signed a three-year deal with the Chargers last offseason, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in practice last month.

“Jake didn’t bat an eye,” offensive tackle Rashawn Slater said. “The way he’s built … he’s not going to hesitate.”

The 6-foot-4, 308-pound Slaughter, who started 33 games at center at Florida, is ready for his moment.

“You’re kind of foolish if you go into a football season not thinking you’re going to be the guy at some point,” Slaughter said. “You got to prepare like you’re going to play every snap of every series, every game … and that’s kind of been my approach since I’ve been here.”

At the time of Biadasz’s injury, Slaughter was a leading candidate in the team’s left guard competition. But the Chargers knew from the day they drafted him that he was fully capable of playing center if needed.

“Truthfully, I was like, dude, he’s going to be able to do either one,” general manager Joe Hortiz said.

Chargers defensive end Akheem Mesidor isn’t surprised by Slaughter’s seamless adjustment to center. The former edge rusher at the University of Miami remembers Slaughter’s time at Florida well.

“When we would scout him … it was always like … ‘I don’t like him,’” Mesidor said. “But then you get to meet him in person — he’s a great guy, bro. … Nothing like we portrayed him.”

Slaughter has shown the most important trait in new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel’s system: conviction.

Grasping all of McDaniel’s concepts is no easy feat — even if they’re all Slaughter knows at the professional level. Yet the Chargers’ newest playcaller has been impressed with Slaughter’s comprehension and attention to detail.

“You can’t really compliment him. Not because he turns it down; he’s just not interested in hearing about his good play,” McDaniel said. “He wants to be corrected, and he wants to do the job right for the team. I feel like he’s wise … where he gets that regard, respect and trust of veterans — the end-all, be-all for rookies; he understands that.”

“You can tell he’s confident out there,” offensive tackle Joe Alt added. “We trust him. He trusts us.”

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert built trust with Slaughter this preseason.

(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)

Slaughter also has built trust with the franchise’s most important player: Justin Herbert.

The Chargers need to do a better job of protecting the seventh-year quarterback — and Slaughter needs to play a key role in that effort.

“He’s been awesome,” Herbert said. “He’s done such a great job of picking up the offense and playing like a veteran out there. Great to have a guy like that. He’s playing a lot earlier than I think he would have thought, but that hasn’t slowed him down.”

Slaughter credits his teammates and coaches for getting him up to speed after he was thrown into the fire.

Wide receiver Ladd McConkey said the locker room has “bought into” the Chargers’ new starting center. Offensive lineman Trey Pipkins III, meanwhile, took his praise for Slaughter a step further.

“He might be one of the smartest rookies I’ve ever seen,” Pipkins said.

Slaughter, however, earned veteran approval long before any cameras were crammed in his face. Coach Jim Harbaugh insisted he knew Slaughter was a starting-caliber player in early August.

“You know when you see it,” Harbaugh said.

But before the rookie can lose himself in any pressure or nerves on Sunday, he’s simply happy for the opportunity.

“That’s an experience I hope I’ll never forget,” Slaughter said about his upcoming NFL debut. “Something I really never thought I’d get to do growing up. It’s a really unique honor, and I’m really thankful I can be out there and play ball.”