turn

When CBS ended “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” earlier this year, it also shuttered the program’s robust music offerings — a major blow for artists whose television platform was already dwindling.

Performing on late-night has historically been a unique avenue for musicians hoping to access new audiences — think of a rising Chappell Roan on “The Late Show” or even The Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” But when James Corden left CBS’ “The Late Late Show” in 2023, his program — and its coveted performance space — was never revived. NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” has cut back on live music, while ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” reduced performances to twice a week. As it stands, only NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” consistently books live performances.

Emerging artists still see incredible value in these performances — and are hopeful that nascent online programming will offer a new alternative.

Breaking through on late-night

March 3, 2014, was the day that changed everything for rock band Future Islands. The synth-pop group was a stalwart of America’s underground music scene due in no small part to charismatic frontman Samuel T. Herring and his idiosyncratic voice, somewhere between Tom Waits and Rammstein’s Till Lindemann. That day, they performed on “Late Show with David Letterman,” and the host was transfixed. “I’ll take all of that you got!” Letterman cheered, and the DIY band was cast into true virality.

“At the time that we played Letterman, we were in a transitory period for the band,” said bassist William Cashion. They’d signed to the larger indie label 4AD Records, hired management and were promised a late-night TV spot but never thought it would pan out. “Our team, they told us, ‘It’ll be good for your fans and your friends and family, but it’s not really going to move the needle. These things don’t really do what they used to,’” he recalls.

But that wasn’t the case.

“All the festivals that initially turned us down all of a sudden wanted us to come play. Everything kind of shifted after that moment,” he said. “It was definitely a huge turning point and gave the band much greater exposure.”

A dearth of late-night spots particularly affects independent acts — the kind that could really benefit from the exposure, just like Future Islands. Representatives for CBS, NBC and ABC did not return The Associated Press’ requests for comment.

Chloë Walsh, co-founder of publicity firm The Oriel, points to the music bookers behind the scenes. “Of course, they have to book all the biggest things in the world, but they also have things that they want to champion,” she says. Fewer slots means developing artists are competing with big names for dwindling opportunities.

But there are other avenues to discovery.

“We’re kind of an anomaly in the way that our song and that performance took off,” says Cashion. “But we’ve seen other bands have TikTok viral hits and stuff like that.”

There are many examples of artists cracking the code online: Singer-songwriter Gigi Perez’s career was launched with the TikTok smash “Sailor Song,” as was Malcolm Todd’s with a few viral hits, landing him a major label deal with Columbia Records. Indie band Beach Bunny saw their punky-pop go viral with “Prom Queen” just ahead of the pandemic, leading to performances on Kimmel and Fallon.

Even legacy artists are experiencing second winds of music discovery: Weezer’s 2010s power-pop track “Go Away,” featuring Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino, recently made the rounds on TikTok and became a top song for both on Spotify.

“It seems like a lot of different aspects of the album cycle have kind of been replaced with short-form content,” Beach Bunny singer Lili Trifilio explained. “And it is a bummer because late-night is a service to musicians in such a major way. You are helping people reach new fans.”

“And I think now a lot of the responsibility of advertising is falling on the artists to be their own late-night special on TikTok or whatever,” she continued. “I don’t think that these 30-second, one-minute self-made clips hold the same value.”

Internet creators reimagine traditional formats

“The media landscape is always changing. Sometimes that’s good for music and sometimes it’s bad for music,” says Walsh. “There’s a whole breed of young creators at the moment doing really interesting stuff. … Hopefully there will be more opportunities out there and we don’t have to rely on the networks.”

She points to “Track Star(asterisk),” the online music trivia series, which has begun hosting live performances, and to Julian Shapiro-Barnum of “Recess Therapy,” who has launched a late-night YouTube show, “Outside Tonight,” that features live performances.

Shapiro-Barnum says “Outside Tonight” was born out of necessity. “We know that the entertainment industry is hard to break into. And so, what’s been so cool about digital media is that it’s circumvented that,” he says.

“How can we do late night, but different?” was his approach. The show takes place outdoors, bypassing a traditional studio. The musical bookings also lean independent. Recent performers include rapper Erick the Architect, indie rock soloist Annie DiRusso and the multi-instrumentalist and experimentalist L’Rain.

“There was no version of the show that didn’t have music,” he says. “To me, it feels like a staple.”

Beach Bunny performed during the first “Outside Tonight” episode.

“It’s so cool to see people that are like movers and makers be like, ‘Hey, this is a gap I’m seeing. Late-night is being placed on the back burner. We need to revive this; I’m gonna figure it out,’” Trifilio said. “I hope that it inspires other people to step up.”

She sees it as part of a larger YouTube renaissance, shifting away from prioritizing short-form content.

“I think that people are yearning for some longer-format stuff,” she says.

The power for live performance is exposure — not sales

In traditional late-night TV spots, artists benefit from exposure — but that doesn’t necessarily mean a jump in sales. Ideally, that will also translate to these new media spaces.

“It’s a showcase for touring. And that’s really where artists make their money,” says Walsh. “People say, ‘It doesn’t really give you a bump if you’re on a late-night TV show.’ They’re looking at the sales, they’re not looking at a promoter in Minneapolis going, ‘Oh my god, I want that,’ or a radio playlist director saying, ‘Oh that was fantastic, we should add that.’”

“Every musical guest who’s come on ‘Outside Tonight,’ everyone in the crew, everyone in the audience, has not stopped listening,” says Shapiro-Barnum. “In real time, it spreads and creates all these fans. So, I have to imagine that happens online as well.”

But for many, landing a late-night TV performance is still the north star of a press run.

“For a lot of people — especially international artists that are coming to slog it out across the U.S. in some club shows they may not even be headlining — if you could get on ‘Jimmy Kimmel,’ it’s like we’ve cracked it,” says Walsh. “The whole thing was worth it. And that’s huge.”

Sherman writes for the Associated Press.

SACRAMENTO — Today we’re talking about California’s Proposition 39, a bid to turn Trump’s election conspiracy fantasies into California law, and a proposal so disingenuous it’s caused Democratic legislators to sue the Democratic secretary of state in an attempt to stop the misinformation surrounding it.

As these lawsuits move forward and the November election rolls closer, we’re going to hear a lot about Proposition 39 — a measure that would require in-person voters to present government-issued identification, among other provisions. I fear most if not all of this debate will revolve around the false claim that large numbers of undocumented people vote illegally in our elections.

“It’s directly a product of all of the rhetoric that Trump has been putting out there regarding election fraud and voting fraud,” said Mindy Romero, founder and director of the nonpartisan Center for Inclusive Democracy.

Romero stresses that there is not and has never been any evidence of widespread voter fraud in California, and the state already has a system that effectively checks voter eligibility.

Proposition 39 is “seeking a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist, and a solution that actually could cause additional problems,” she said. “So in and of itself, it perpetuates this false and dangerous narrative that there has been voter fraud in California.”

That lie is part of the ongoing grievance-fueled Trump campaign against non-white “replacement” Americans, meant to undermine trust in elections — you may recall he’s gone so far as to say immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” It’s a venal and dark vein of partisanship aimed at keeping the far-right in power even at the expense of democracy.

But also an effective lie. Because many folks don’t know exactly how their ballots are verified but do have ID, they don’t see the full impacts of Proposition 39.

The easy ID myth

I’ll tell you more about Proposition 39, but I’m starting with a story about an all-American teenager I’ll call “Sofia.” I’ve been helping Sofia,18, attempt to get her first government-issued identification. I stress attempt.

Folks, there’s been hoops, there’s been hurdles, there’s been Kafkaesque bureaucracy.

For people like Sofia that don’t have bills or jobs or even accurate student records (she’s moved a lot), scraping up enough documentation to convince the DMV you are who you say you are is tough. First, you really need a certified birth certificate.

Sofia wasn’t born in the county where she lives (it’s county recorders that keep them), which means she had to either drive hours or go through the state’s third-party online vendor to order one, at a cost of about $30. But here’s the catch — she needed proof of identity to order it.

So to get a birth certificate to get her ID, she needed ID.

Stuck in this circular nightmare, we found, after much effort, a loophole: I could appear in front of a public notary with Sofia, to testify using my ID that she was indeed Sofia. Strange, but whatever. We did it.

That wasn’t enough for the DMV. Sofia also needed two bills or other documents verifying her address. Because they will literally give a credit card to anyone, she applied to an online company, and got her first statement. One document down.

Again, scouring the DMV rules for days, we found another weird loophole: The second document can be a letter from a nonprofit with the person signing it vouching for Sofia’s identity. We got the letter, and Sofia’s Real ID was issued.

But then she had to move before it arrived. She tried to arrange mail forwarding with the postal service, but guess what? They required ID.

So the ID was lost in transit, and we are back to square one.

Who Proposition 39 really targets

That means Sofia is one of thousands of Californians, born and raised in the Golden State, who lack official identification because its not as easy to obtain it as some want you to believe.

And because she lacks it, she could be prevented from voting if Proposition 39 is passed, even though she is a legal citizen with every right to have her ballot counted, and California already has a system in place to ensure only citizens vote.

Sofia is exactly the kind of voter that Proposition 39 is actually aimed at. This is a voter suppression law, plain and simple, and it will harm women with name changes, naturalized citizens, young people, older people and virtually anyone who cares about not returning to Jim Crow-style laws that push people out of voting with subterfuge.

Proponents of the proposition would like you to believe it’s something very different from what I just described. Their fight about how we talk about this proposal has led to two lawsuits so far — one filed by the backers of Proposition 39 because they don’t like the official title the California attorney general put on it, and one filed by the leaders of the state Legislature because they argue the statements written by proponents for official voting materials aren’t truthful.

I’ll give you a taste of both of those arguments. Right now, the state is proposing to title the measure “Prohibits citizens from voting unless they present government-issued identification.”

State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio (R-San Diego), the always-Trumper behind Proposition 39, helped lead a lawsuit claiming that is inaccurate.

DeMaio issued a statement claiming Democrats are “trying to deceive voters by putting a false ballot title on it and are now even distracting voters from their tampering of the ballot title with this frivolous lawsuit.”

That frivolous lawsuit he’s complaining about is the one where the Democratic leaders of the Legislature last week sued the Democratic secretary of state and others over the language included in the state voter guide. The Democrats aren’t really angry at each other, it’s just that Secretary of State Shirley Weber is in charge of voter materials, so she’s one of the folks they’ve got to sue to make their case.

The lawsuit alleges, among other complaints, that proponents are falsely framing Proposition 39 as making it “easier to vote” when in fact it does the opposite.

“Prop. 39 requires no burdens be placed on voters,” the materials at issue read, according to the lawsuit. “No additional documents (birth certificate, marriage license, etc.) are required.”

So I take you back to Sofia. Because while Proposition 39 might not ask her to bring her birth certificate to the polls, it would ask her to bring her ID, which required her birth certificate to get.

A distinction without a difference.

“The fact that Donald Trump has endorsed it tells you everything you need to know,” wrote the lawsuits’ plaintiffs, House speaker Robert Rivas and Senate pro Tempore Monique Limón, in a statement. “As Californians and Latinos, we will not let MAGA cronies take Constitutional rights away from voters.”

That lawsuit will likely have its first hearing in court this week. But whatever a judge decides, the ballot box is where the fate of Proposition 39 rests.

Though it seems like average Californians could see through this sham, there are big bucks backing it, and money always speaks loudly.

The donors in support read like the guest list for a White House dinner. So far, they’ve raised more than $15 million. That includes $4 million from Richard Uihlein, the Illinois billionaire and Trump supporter who often funds organizations and causes that promote election conspiracies and far-right candidates.

The crypto-billionaire Winklevoss twins, Cameron and Tyler, have each donated $250,000, along with other Silicon Valley types including former RFK Jr. running mate Nicole Shanahan, who ponied up $370,000 in support of Proposition 39.

Oh, and by the way, L.A. developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso has donated $25,000 to the effort.

That’s a lot of dough being poured into stopping certain Californians from voting. If they succeed, it won’t just be an inconvenience at the polls — but instead a double victory for Trump, both suppressing the vote ahead of the presidential election and legitimizing his election lies through law.

What else you should be reading

The must-read: FBI Escalates Trump’s “Voter Fraud” Crusade With Disturbing Move
The California angle: How Trump’s Endangered Species Act rollback is roiling Northern California
The L.A. Times Special: Trump running out of options to fix inflation, economic woes before election, experts say

Stay Golden,
Anita Chabria

—
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THE devastating reality of raising twins with a life-limiting condition has taking a huge toll on Jesy Nelson. But now she has revealed a secret strategy which she has kept from fans, that is helping her cope.

The former Little Mix star opened up about how she’s dealing with her twins’ health taking a turn for the worse – admitting it’s “got her through” her lowest of times since her one-year-olds Ocean Jade and Story Monroe were diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 1.

Last month The Sun told how, at the girls’ most recent three-month review at St Ormond Street’s Children’s Hospital, doctors warned they are not responding to treatment the way they had hoped.

It came days after she said she “can’t stop crying” over her “bittersweet” victory to change Government policy to test all babies in England with SMA – knowing it came too late for her twin daughters.

Now Jesy says she is using the devastating death of her friend’s child to combat fears she’ll be “heartbroken every day for the rest of her life” – after admitting she’s struggling to cope with her daughters’ prospects.

The 35-year-old told The Sun in an emotional interview: “One thing I constantly remind myself – and I think about it every single time I go to Great Ormond Street – is that there are always people worse off than you.

“I’ve got someone really close to me who lost their little girl and the pain that I feel for her every day…

“She would give anything to have her little girl back, whether she had what the twins have or whatever.

“I have to remind myself that, yes, I’m in this situation and it’s f***ing hard, it’s heartbreaking, but it could be worse.

“I just have to be grateful that my girls are still here and they are happy and I still get to see them every day.

“That is what gets me through. Genuinely, that is what I have to just remind myself every day.”

Jesy’s fight to add screening for spinal muscular atrophy to the NHS newborn blood spot test featured in her new Prime Video documentary, Jesy Nelson: Life Changing.

Every year 50 babies born with the condition will now find out they carry the genetic condition at birth. It means they can be given treatment before nerves and muscles are damaged beyond repair.

During the 60-minute programme, Jesy broke down in tears over the guilt she carries and worries her children will blame her, when they’re older, for not spotting the signs sooner.

The late diagnosis means the girls will most likely never be able to walk and will have problems breathing, eating and drinking on their own.

Jesy said it was a “tough pill to swallow” and she struggles to accept the diagnosis.

“I constantly battle between manifesting they’re going to defy the odds and trying to come to accept that that may not happen.

“It’s a really weird position to be in because you you think ‘well, if that doesn’t happen, am I just going to feel heartbroken for the rest of my life?’

“Then you worry, if I accept it, am I also manifesting that?”

She added: “Another friend of mine whose friend lost a child gave me advice, which I thought was really poignant.

“Basically he said, ‘you can’t live your life feeling heartbroken if it doesn’t happen’.

“He pointed out ‘you’re never going to enjoy the special moments with your girls because you’re constantly going to be thinking, ‘but I want this and I wish this had happened.’

“I’ve really tried to make peace with that. It’s a constant mind battle.”

Jesy now has to face both twins needing further operations – as well as Story being diagnosed with scoliosis, the abnormal curvature of the spine in an S-shape.

After recent test results, she told us: “Unfortunately, some of the numbers have gone down. We had a long discussion and there’s a possibility they may have to go back on treatment, which is just heartbreaking.”

The girls – who are on feeding tubes – will both undergo an op soon to repair trauma to their nose and throat.

Doctors will find an alternative way to feed the girls to avoid further damage.

Meanwhile Story will have to have an operation every six months because of her scoliosis.

“It’s never-ending,” added Jesy.

Asked how she copes on her toughest days, Jesy said: “I don’t really get a lot of time where I get to be by myself, but I think music is one of the biggest forms of therapy.

“So if I have to go to the shops, and my mum is obviously looking after the girls, I’ll get in my car and that’s one of my favourite times because I can blare out my music, which I never get to do.

“It’s the best and I just find it so therapeutic.”

A phased rollout to enforce SMA screening in England will begin in October 2026, but Jesy’s fight doesn’t end there.

She is continuing to raise awareness of the condition because the screening won’t be available in other parts of the UK.

“I hope as many people as possible see the documentary because I wanted to raise as much awareness as I could about it and the signs to look out for”, added Jesy.

“As amazing as the rollout is, Northern Ireland and Wales are still not part of the heel-prick test, meaning many babies will still be undiagnosed and not treated in time.

“I’m just praying that if they watch this documentary, they will spot the signs early enough, take them to the doctor and get them treatment.”

• Jesy Nelson: Life Changing is available exclusively on Prime Video.

Roughly six weeks before the first midterm ballots are mailed out, the U.S. Postal Service is emerging as a pivotal player in an election season that will determine control of Congress.

President Trump is seeking greater control over mail balloting through an executive order while a change to how the agency processes mail is leading to criticism that it’s failing to deliver ballots on time.

Democratic officials have raised concerns over the past week about how quickly the Postal Service will process ballots after tens of thousands of them in California and hundreds in Wisconsin arrived at local election offices too late to be counted in elections earlier this year. The top election offices in Kansas and Michigan are urging voters who want to cast their ballots early to avoid the mail and instead drop them off in person.

The Postal Service replied to those concerns by saying it remains “committed to fulfilling our role in the electoral process.”

“We provide a secure, efficient, and effective way for citizens to participate when policymakers decide to use mail as part of their elections,” it said in a statement Tuesday.

Trump’s order puts more focus on mail ballots

The Postal Service faced similar questions about mail delivery in 2024, but the scrutiny this year is heightened because of an executive order Trump issued in March that seeks to create a national voter list to guide the Postal Service in deciding who gets a mail ballot.

The order has sparked multiple lawsuits and federal court orders, leading to a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court in which the administration is asking the justices to allow it to impose its restrictions on mail balloting.

Trump has lied for years about voter fraud to try to explain away his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, and mail balloting is a favorite target, even though he has used the method himself. During a recent stop in Michigan, he falsely characterized mail balloting as “inherently corrupt” and added, “Hopefully there will be no mail-in ballots.”

A 2025 report from the research group Brookings identified about four cases of fraud for every 10 million mail ballots cast.

Despite Trump’s attacks, the method remains popular with voters of both major parties. In 2024, nearly 30% of U.S. voters cast their ballots by mail, according to federal data. In Michigan, where competitive U.S. House and Senate races could help determine the balance of power in Congress, the state said it has sent out more than 2 million absentee ballots for the state’s Aug. 4 primary.

“We want to keep vote by mail. We want to protect it. We want to expand it,” said Jonathan Smith, president of the 200,000-member American Postal Workers Union, which launched a campaign in April promoting it and is opposed to turning the Postal Service into an election administrator. “Why? Because it works.”

Legal battles intensify over Trump’s order

The Postal Service proposed a rule in June in line with Trump’s executive order that would create a national list of eligible voters, based on databases kept by other federal agencies. Only those on the list would be eligible to receive mail ballots.

Democratic officials in nearly two dozen states filed a federal lawsuit in Massachusetts. A federal judge there blocked Trump’s order last month, and an appeals court upheld that ruling, prompting Trump’s appeal to the Supreme Court. But the appeals court for the District of Columbia refused Tuesday to block the order in a separate case, calling a legal challenge premature.

Democratic senators and governors have written to the Postal Service urging it to abandon efforts to implement Trump’s order.

“Donald Trump has shown he’ll stop at nothing to meddle in our upcoming elections,” Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in a statement to The Associated Press. “At best, this new push will exacerbate already severe delays for mail-in voters and at worst, it will stop eligible Americans from casting their ballots.”

In a letter to Democratic senators earlier this month, the heads of the Postal Service said they were abiding by the court rulings that had halted the executive order. But Smith, of the postal workers union, told the AP on Tuesday that USPS information technology staffers who are union members are working on a planned portal for the list of eligible voters “behind the scenes.”

The Postal Service declined to respond to Smith’s statements and said it could not comment about whether it’s moving forward with work related to Trump’s order because of the litigation.

The postal workers’ union opposes the plan for a portal, a national list of eligible voters and using that list to determine who can receive a mail ballot. Smith said it shouldn’t be postal workers’ responsibility “to decide who can vote and who can’t vote.”

A plan to consolidate mail processing centers upsets officials

The Postal Service has been under financial stress for years and has been consolidating mail processing into fewer regional centers. Mail travels an average of 139 miles to reach one and sometimes 500 miles, according to a recent Brookings report.

In January, a group of mostly Democratic senators said it was concerned about a decision to end twice-daily mail dispatches from local post offices to regional processing centers. The result is that mail arriving after the only daily dispatch would go out the next day.

California officials said the change was a factor in the state rejecting more than 148,000 ballots from its June primary, with 63% of them arriving too late despite a seven-day grace period. Officials worried that some ballots were postmarked at processing facilities the day after they were dropped off at a post office, possibly invalidating them. Wisconsin officials also said hundreds of ballots from an election in April arrived late.

The Postal Service said postmarks generally are being applied with automated equipment at processing centers, “in the same manner and to the same extent as before.” It said someone who wants to make sure their ballot envelope gets a timely postmark can get a free one applied by a postal worker.

A report on the 2024 election by the USPS Office of Inspector General said the Postal Service handled more than 59 million pieces of ballot mail from Sept. 1 to Nov. 15 that year and that 97.3% arrived on time.

Some state election officials advise voters to avoid the mail

The Michigan secretary of state’s office is advising voters to hand-deliver ballots to their local clerk’s office or a drop box.

“We’ve seen these issues over a number of election cycles now — they’re always concerning, and that’s why we’ve put out that guidance,” said Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie.

The Postal Service said its Michigan centers are not seeing processing delays.

In Kansas, concerns about late ballot deliveries in the state’s 2024 primary election prompted a quip on the social platform X from Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican: “The Pony Express is more efficient at this point.” Asked his view now, spokesperson Whitney Tempel said Schwab still believes “keeping your ballot out of the hands of the federal government is best.”

Jamie Shew, a Democrat elected to oversee elections in Douglas County, home to the main University of Kansas campus, said his office is trying to change voters’ perceptions.

“I think voters are used to, you can drop it off on Friday and we’re going to receive it by Election Day,” Shew said Tuesday. “That’s just not the reality.”

California’s state budget includes $10 million for social media campaigns and other efforts to discourage last-minute ballot mailings.

And the Postal Service said it hasn’t changed its own longstanding advice for voters: They should get their ballots in the mail at least a week before their state’s deadline for receiving them.

Hanna writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles, Michael Casey in Boston, and Jacqueline GaNun in Lansing, Mich., contributed to this report.

A British tourist in the Canary Islands has captured the chaos of her hotel’s sunbed wars, but she admits that rather than being annoyed, there’s one reason why she found the whole scene ‘funny’

A Brit staying in Tenerife was unimpressed by her fellow holidaymakers after she spotted sunbed wars erupting before the hotel had even opened up the breakfast bar.

Chenaiyah Bernard, 21, from Leeds captured the video of holidaymakers rushing early in the morning to snag their favourite sunbeds, even staking their claim on parasols in an attempt to get the best spot.

She was staying in the popular resort town of Playa de las Américas, and captured the scenes from her balcony last Friday (July 24).

The primary school play worker says she was relaxing on her balcony at 7.45am, and saw a group of people hanging around the pool area, looking to nab their loungers for the day before breakfast had even opened.

Chenaiyah’s video, set to the Mario Kart theme tune, shows Brits patiently waiting around for the cleaners to finish, standing next to parasols to stake out the area they want before they can grab sunbeds for the day, reports creatorzine.com.

Chenaiyah said: “I woke up early to stand outside of my hotel room balcony and witnessed a bunch of British people all stood around the cleaners waiting for them to finish so they could then occupy a sunbed and then head off to breakfast. I doubt they will all be wanting to sunbathe at 7.45am since it’s not that warm. People began to occupy parasols with their towels, which I found funny.”

Once the pool area is open, the Brits are shown taking sunbeds out and throwing their towels over them to mark their territory, before casually strolling away.

Chenaiyah was left bemused by the scenes, which ultimately proved pointless; she claims she had no trouble finding a poolside sunbed when she went down to relax later that morning, meaning the early birds’ rush may have been completely unnecessary.

She said: “I don’t care to wake up early for a sunbed but other people can do what they want.” She added that although it didn’t seem overtly “competitive or aggressive” adding that “it was just funny watching people wake up early just to claim a sunbed way earlier than they actually will need it, and I assume some people probably want to hog the sunbeds all day and not allow people who also want to sunbathe to use one.”

Chenaiyah said she doesn’t judge those taking part in the sunbed scramble, saying: “I don’t think it’s that serious in my opinion to go downstairs that early to claim a sunbed, to have your towel sat there when you aren’t always going to be with. Like, get out of the resort and explore, but people can honestly do what they want.”

But she pointed out there was plenty to do even if you don’t sit by the pool: “People who sleep in probably aren’t bothered about claiming a sunbed at the crack of dawn and feel they have better things to do, like exploring the area or going to the beach.”

Chenaiyah’s video has since been viewed over 160,000 times on TikTok with over 5,000 likes, and it’s safe to say most of the comments were on her side. One said: “Why oh why do people do this you are on holiday for god’s sake.”

Others claimed these kinds of videos influenced the kind of breaks they’d book in future. One said: “Why would you go on this type of holiday, that’s hell.”, while another joked: “all inclusive about as much fun as an MRI scan.”

Have a story you want to share? Email us at webtravel@reachplc.com

Zambians will vote on August 13 in presidential and parliamentary elections, with polls and investors widely expecting President Hakainde Hichilema to defeat a fragmented opposition led by Brian Mundubile.

For investors, however, the central question extends beyond the election outcome. The focus is on whether a second Hichilema administration can transform Zambia’s post-default economic stabilisation into stronger, broad-based growth while maintaining fiscal discipline.

IMF Programme Seen as Key Test

One of the first issues investors will monitor is whether Zambia secures a new programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its previous $1.7 billion arrangement ended in January.

The earlier programme helped underpin Zambia’s sovereign debt restructuring after the country became Africa’s first pandemic-era sovereign default. Markets now view a successor agreement as an important indicator of policy continuity.

Investors will closely watch how quickly negotiations conclude and whether any new programme shifts its focus from crisis management toward promoting long-term economic growth while preserving fiscal discipline.

Copper Industry Remains the Economic Backbone

Copper continues to dominate Zambia’s economy, accounting for about 70% of export earnings while serving as a major source of government revenue, foreign investment and employment.

Investors are watching whether planned investments can translate into higher production. Major projects include Vedanta’s return, continued expansion by Barrick Gold, and First Quantum Minerals’ ongoing investments.

The government has maintained that mining tax rates will remain unchanged, providing policy stability. However, investors are paying close attention to a proposed local-content law that would require mining companies to increase domestic procurement to around 40% over the next three to four years from roughly 20% today.

Mining companies have warned that many local suppliers currently lack sufficient financing and technical capacity, potentially creating supply chain challenges during a period of major expansion.

Growth Reforms Still Needed

Despite recent macroeconomic improvements, investors argue that broader structural reforms remain necessary.

Among the priorities are increasing exploration spending to discover new mines, improving tax collection efficiency, and reforming Zambia’s grain market to reduce the government’s role in purchasing maize harvests.

A record maize crop is expected this year, but analysts warn that government purchases of surplus grain could increase fiscal pressure, particularly alongside election-related spending.

Some forecasts suggest Zambia’s fiscal deficit could exceed official government targets if these pressures continue.

Reliable Power Critical for Mining Expansion

Electricity supply has become another major concern following drought-induced power shortages that exposed Zambia’s heavy dependence on hydropower.

Although investment in solar energy is increasing, investors say expanding copper production will depend on creating a more reliable and diversified electricity system capable of supporting future mining operations.

Election and Climate Risks

While most observers expect a relatively orderly election, monitoring groups have highlighted concerns including alleged voter card confiscation, vote buying and the possibility of localized unrest if results are disputed.

Weather also remains a significant economic risk. Zambia remains highly dependent on rain-fed agriculture and hydropower, leaving the economy vulnerable to future droughts similar to the severe 2023–24 El Niño event that caused widespread crop failures and electricity shortages.

Analysis

The election itself is unlikely to unsettle investors if Hichilema secures the expected victory. Instead, markets will judge whether his government can move beyond economic stabilization toward sustained, private sector-led growth. A new IMF programme, continued mining investment, reforms to agriculture and tax collection, and a more resilient energy sector will be the key indicators of success. While Zambia has made notable progress since its debt default, structural challenges and climate risks continue to test the country’s long-term economic outlook.

With information from Reuters.

HOLLYWOOD’S Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner shared a kiss at the World Cup final as a host of celebrities have turned out in force.

Spain and Argentina battle it out in this year’s final which is being played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Make-up mogul Kylie, 28, was among a list of A-listers in the crowd, along with her Interstellar actor boyfriend Timothee, 30.

Kylie wore a plunging black long sleeve top and black jeans, while the Dune star went for a blue and white jersey top and black trousers.

The pair were spotted holding hands while they watched the tense game, before enjoying a kiss in the stands.

The famous duo were joined by a number of other famous faces in the crowd, including the likes of Tom Cruise and David and Victoria Beckham.

The Beckhams looked stylish with David sporting a navy suit and Victoria in a white vest top and white jeans.

The pair were seen smiling and laughing with good pal Tom Cruise, 64, in the stands.

The I Need Your Love hitmaker Ellie Goulding, 39, was spotted in the crowd with her boyfriend Beau Minniear, who was seen with a disposable camera.

Split actress Anya Taylor-Joy was sat in the row behind and she looked chic in a satin one-shoulder beige midi dress.

She was seen chatting with her US musician and actor husband Malcolm McRae.

Other big names included Robbie Williams and Ayda Field.

It’s been a tense World Cup final between Spain and Argentina so far – but the star-studded half-time show livened up the crowd.

Justin Bieber, Shakira and Madonna are just a few blockbuster names who performed at the interval.

This follows the huge closing ceremony that saw Robbie Williams, Post Malone and IShowSpeed rock the stage.

But fans have flooded social media to brutally hit out at the tournament’s closing ceremony.

Nicole Scherzinger and actor Tom Cruise were also involved as the curtain was brought down on the tournament.

But the performances did not go down well in the stadium or at home – leading to fans heading onto social media to slam Fifa.

One said: “The worst closing ceremony ever. Even the fans look bored.”

Another added: “I’m crying what a terrible ugly closing ceremony.”

A third chimed in: “That closing ceremony was so underwhelming.”

A fourth noted: “A completely forgettable closing ceremony is finally and thankfully over.”

And a fifth comically claimed: “The crowd has gone absolutely mild at this closing ceremony.”

A huge number of fans missed the closing ceremony due to massive queues outside the stadium.

There has been an increased security presence due to President Donald Trump being in attendance.

And that led to those who snapped up tickets having to wait more than TWO HOURS to reach their seats.

A regulatory package as a long-term political strategy

The European Union’s recent digital laws are often described as a regulatory package. The AI Act, the Data Act, and the emerging Data Union Strategy form a wide experiment in using transparency as infrastructure for the digital economy.

The underlying idea is that digital markets cannot be governed well if users, businesses, regulators, and affected individuals cannot understand how systems work, who controls data, where risks arise, and who is responsible for intervention. Therefore, transparency is becoming a condition for accountability, market access, innovation, and long-term trust that falls under what appears as a long-term strategy to regain data sovereignty.

The EU’s policy bet

The EU regulatory approach is founded on the premise that greater transparency can enhance the governability of complex digital systems. However, the mere disclosure of information does not result directly in a greater understanding of the data available; a company can disclose large amounts of technical material while leaving users no better able to assess risk, compare alternatives, or challenge decisions.

Accordingly, the success of the EU’s transparency framework should not be measured by the sheer volume of regulatory obligations it imposes. Rather, its effectiveness depends on whether those obligations generate information that is genuinely useful in practice. The relevant benchmarks are whether disclosures are meaningful, accessible, timely, and comparable, thereby enabling users and regulators to make informed decisions.

The AI Act’s goal to make AI legible

The AI Act shows the EU’s approach most clearly. Its stated purpose is to improve the functioning of the internal market, promote human-centric and trustworthy AI, protect health, safety, and fundamental rights, and support innovation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689).

In policy terms, the AI Act tries to make AI systems legible. It assumes that AI risks should not be addressed only after harm occurs. They should be identified, documented, and managed before systems are placed on the market or deployed in sensitive settings.

This is why transparency is linked to risk. High-risk systems face more demanding documentation, monitoring, and information obligations. Lower-risk systems face lighter duties. The European Commission describes the AI Act as the first comprehensive legal framework on AI, designed to address AI risks while fostering trustworthy AI in Europe (European Commission, “Regulatory framework for AI”).

The policy logic is fundamentally pragmatic. Effective regulatory oversight depends on access to adequate information. Likewise, deployers require sufficient information to make informed decisions regarding whether and under what conditions to implement AI systems. Individuals affected by AI-assisted decisions must also have access to relevant information in order to understand how such decisions have been made and, where appropriate, to question or challenge them.

The Data Act attempts to rebalance informational power.

The Data Act uses transparency for a different purpose. Where the AI Act focuses on risk and trust, the Data Act focuses on access, fairness, and economic value. Its objective is to create harmonized rules on fair access to and use of data (Regulation (EU) 2023/2854).

The challenge is that data generated by connected products and digital services is often controlled by a small number of firms. Users may generate valuable data through their use of products but still lack practical access to it. Businesses may need data to innovate, repair products, or offer competing services but face legal, technical, or contractual barriers.

The Commission presents the Data Act as a way to address the challenges and opportunities created by data in the EU, with emphasis on fair access, user rights, and personal data protection (European Commission, “Data Act”).

In this context, transparency functions as a mechanism for redistributing information. Where users are unaware of what data is generated, how it can be accessed, or the conditions under which it may be shared, formally recognized rights of access are unlikely to translate into meaningful practical control. Effective data rights therefore depend not only on their legal recognition but also on the transparency necessary to enable individuals to exercise them.

The Data Union Strategy: From Control to Usable Data

The Data Union Strategy shows the broader direction of EU policy. The Commission frames it around increasing the availability of data for AI development, simplifying EU data rules and strengthening Europe’s position on international data flows (European Commission, “European Data Union Strategy”).

This is significant because it seems that the European Union seeks to pursue two complementary goals simultaneously. On the one hand, it aims to protect fundamental rights and mitigate the risks associated with digital technologies. On the other, it seeks to facilitate greater access to data in order to foster innovation, support the development of artificial intelligence, and enhance European competitiveness. In this way, transparency serves as the connecting principle between these objectives. In fact, by increasing the visibility of how data is collected, processed, and shared, it is intended to strengthen trust in data flows while making them more accessible and capable of supporting innovation.

Why meaningfulness matters most

Meaningfulness is the anchor test. Transparency is useful only if it reveals something that can change decisions or enable scrutiny.

In the AI context, this means information about a system’s purpose, limitations, performance, and risk profile must be specific enough to support procurement, oversight, and challenge. In the data context, it means users must receive information that helps them understand what data exists and how it can be used.

Generic compliance language is not enough. A disclosure that says a system is “risk managed” or that data is “available upon request” may be formally correct but still unhelpful. The real question is whether the information helps someone act.

Information must arrive before decisions are locked in.

Transparency is most useful when it arrives early enough to affect decisions. AI information matters most before procurement and deployment. Data-access information matters most before users become dependent on a particular product, service, or cloud provider.

Post-event transparency can still support audit and enforcement. But it is weaker as a prevention tool. A regime that informs users only after they have lost practical freedom of choice will have limited effect.

Accordingly, comparability occupies a central role in the European Union’s internal market strategy. If transparency is intended to promote competition, facilitate public procurement, and strengthen trust in cross-border digital markets, disclosures must be presented in a manner that enables users, businesses, and regulators to meaningfully compare systems, services, and contractual arrangements.

This objective is particularly relevant in the context of AI procurement, connected product ecosystems, and cloud switching, where informed comparisons are essential to reducing information asymmetries and preventing vendor lock-in. Nevertheless, pursuing comparability inevitably involves trade-offs. While standardized disclosure frameworks can improve the accessibility and consistency of information, they may also obscure sector-specific risks and contextual nuances. Consequently, a uniform template may enhance market discipline and regulatory oversight while simultaneously limiting a more nuanced understanding of the particular risks associated with individual technologies or markets.

The risk of regulatory complexity

The EU’s approach is ambitious, but it is also complex. The AI Act does not operate alone. It sits alongside the GDPR, the Data Act, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Cyber Resilience Act, and sector-specific rules.

A European Parliament study notes that the AI Act interacts with other digital laws, including the GDPR, Data Act, and Cyber Resilience Act, and that this interplay creates significant regulatory complexity (European Parliament, “Interplay between the AI Act and the EU digital legislative framework”).

Secondary analysis makes a similar point. CEPS has argued that the AI Act may overlap with several horizontal and sector-specific rules, creating possible gaps, inconsistencies, and legal uncertainty (CEPS, “The AI Act and emerging EU digital acquis”).

Competitiveness and the SME problem

The burden of complexity is not shared equally. Large technology firms are better able to absorb compliance costs, hire specialists, and shape standards. Smaller firms may struggle.

Bruegel has warned that EU AI regulation risks imposing disproportionate burdens on smaller firms and may contribute to market concentration if compliance demands are not properly balanced (Bruegel, “The right balance: how to fix European Union artificial intelligence regulation”). This is a key policy tension. The EU wants trustworthy digital markets, but it also wants innovation and technological sovereignty. Transparency can support both goals, but only if it is designed in a way that smaller firms can use and implement.

From disclosure to governance

The EU’s digital strategy should be judged by a practical standard. The question is not whether Europe has created the world’s most elaborate digital rulebook. The question is whether that rulebook produces usable knowledge, enables timely intervention, supports meaningful comparison and redistributes informational power.

If it does, transparency may become genuine governance infrastructure. If it does not, the EU risks building a sophisticated compliance architecture that documents the digital economy without effectively governing it.

PHILADELPHIA — Jordan Walker silenced Philadelphia’s boo birds by homering on his last six swings, chasing down Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the final round and becoming the first St. Louis Cardinal to win the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night.

Schwarber hit 11 homers during his 15-swing turn in the final round. Philadelphia, fans, who loudly booed everyone but Schwarber and Bryce Harper throughout the night, quietly headed to the exits when Walker’s winning shot soared over the left field wall.

“I was once told you don’t boo nobodies,” Walker said. “So it feels pretty good.”

Schwarber advanced out of the first round and then beat Boston’s Willson Contreras in a head-to-head matchup in the second round to face off against Walker, a 24-year-old who beat Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero in Round 2.

Schwarber, the major league home run leader, had fans roaring on every swing.

Swinging away with the top button on his Cardinals jersey undone, the 24-year-old Walker seemed nonplussed by the jeers and the massive stage during All-Star festivities.

“He earned it,” Schwarber said.

Walker chewed a big wad of bubble gum and wore his cap backward just like Hall of Famer and derby great Ken Griffey Jr. He celebrated with his family immediately on the field, while his father rejoiced in recalling how Walker started hitting long home runs when he was 6 years old.

He fulfilled this childhood dream in dramatic fashion. Walker hit his seventh homer with two swings remaining and his eighth on the next swing to earn bonus swings. Needing to hit four straight homers to win, the right-handed-hitting Jordan knocked one off the top of the center field fence 401 feet away. He reached 10 homers, and Philadelphia fans booed with all their might, only for Jordan to finish the sensational surge and celebrate as fireworks shot off around him.

“That was impressive,” said Schwarber, a runner-up for the second time.

Walker is a first-time All-Star for the Cardinals having a breakout season. He has a career high 22 homers after struggling with a combined 11 over the previous two years.

Those final six in Philadelphia are now stamped on the derby highlight reel.

Revamped Derby format delivers drama

MLB ditched its timed clock and returned to a swing format, with each hitter continuing to swing if he went deep on his final one.

The extra time between swings gave hitters time to track their home runs — and Philadelphia a smidge more time to unleash those throaty boos at Contreras and Walker.

Each player had 20 swings in the first round and the top four advanced. Hitters were seeded for the second round, where No. 1 faces 4 and 2 meets 3.

Each player got 15 swings in the second round, with batters homering on their final swings continuing until they fell short.

Gelston writes for the Associated Press.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Wyatt Langford lined a shot off the wall in left field to bring home Alejandro Osuna in the ninth inning, lifting Texas to a 7-6 victory over the Angels after the Rangers blew a five-run lead Thursday night.

Langford struck out three of his first four times up as the designated hitter after getting activated from the 10-day injured list in his return from a left hamstring strain.

Osuna led off the ninth with a single and went to second on pinch-hitter Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice bunt. Langford lined a 1-and-1 fastball from former Texas closer Kirby Yates (0-4) over Jose Siri’s head for the winning single.

Jo Adell had a tying, pinch-hit single to cap a five-run seventh a night after homering twice in the Angels’ 13-1 victory.

Cole Winn (4-2) got Adell on a sharp liner to center field to end the ninth with the potential go-ahead run at third after replacing All-Star closer Jacob Latz, who went 1⅔ innings in his first outing in nine days.

Nathan Eovaldi struck out a season-high 10 for Texas but failed to get his 10th win for the fifth consecutive start. He exited with no outs in the seventh after Dezner Guzman reached on catcher’s interference, Logan O’Hoppe walked and Wade Meckler’s single scored Guzman.

Peyton Gray replaced Eovaldi and gave up a two-run single to Nolan Schanuel, who had four hits, and an RBI single to Jorge Soler.

Brandon Nimmo, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue homered for Texas in the first four innings against Reid Detmers. The left-hander hadn’t given up more than one long ball in any of his first 18 starts.

Up next: Neither team announced the rotation for its final series before the All-Star break. Indications are the Angels will go with RHP Grayson Rodriguez (2-2, 8.06 ERA) on Friday at Minnesota. He has been on the injured list since mid-June because of lower back tightness. Texas is home against Houston.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — She refused to ban books, many of them about racism and the experiences of LGBTQ+ people. And for that, Suzette Baker was fired as a library director in a rural county in central Texas.

“I’m kind of persona non grata around here,” said Baker, who had headed the Kingsland, Texas, library system until she refused to take down a prominent display of several books people had sought to ban over the years.

Now, Baker is fighting back. She and two other librarians who were similarly fired have filed workplace discrimination claims with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And as culture war battles to keep certain books from children and teens put public and school libraries increasingly under pressure, their goal is redemption and, where possible, eventual reinstatement.

So far, it’s a wait-and-see whether the claims will succeed — and set new precedent — in the struggle between teachers and librarians around the country who oppose book bans and conservative activists who say some books are inappropriate for young minds.

The fight has involved a record number of book-banning efforts, some libraries cutting ties with the American Library Assn. — which opposes book bans — and even attempts to prosecute librarians for allowing children to access books some consider too graphic.

At least one terminated librarian has gained a measure of success.

Brooky Parks, who was fired for defending programs on anti-racism and LGBTQ+ stories she organized for teens at the Erie Community Library north of Denver, won a $250,000 settlement in September. Reached through the Colorado Civil Rights Division, the settlement requires her former employer to give librarians more say in decisions involving library programs.

Parks’ settlement with the High Plains Library District capped a stressful eight-month period without work, when community donations helped her avoid losing her home. And it will probably resolve Parks’ claim with the EEOC, said attorney Iris Halpern, who represents Parks and the other two librarians.

“I just wasn’t going to back down from it. It was just the right thing to do,” said Parks, now a librarian at the University of Denver.

After her firing in 2022, Baker filed an EEOC claim against her employer, the Llano County Library System in Kingsland. And in September 2023, Terri Lesley filed a claim over her firing last summer as executive director of the Campbell County Public Library System in Gillette, Wyo.

Halpern, with the Denver firm Rathod Mohamedbhai, compared the wrongful-termination claims to civil rights-era legal battles.

“It is honestly sad that we’ve gotten to this point. But history is a constant struggle, and we have to learn from our past,” she said.

The 1964 Civil Rights Act established the EEOC to enforce laws against workplace discrimination. One legal expert thinks the librarians might be able to prevail on the grounds that, under those laws, employees may not be discriminated against for associating with certain classes of people.

“With any case, the devil can be in the details in terms of how the facts come out and what they can present. But these are definitely actionable claims,” said Rutgers University law professor David Lopez, a former EEOC general counsel.

An EEOC investigation can take more than a year. After that, the EEOC may attempt to reach a settlement with the employer out of court, sue on the employee’s behalf or issue a letter saying the employee has grounds to sue on their own.

The librarians haven’t yet received an EEOC response and none is expected before the end of next year.

“I would love to be optimistic,” Baker said. “I know there are a lot of people in this community who are just absolutely behind the library being open and free and equal for all. And there’s a lot of people who aren’t. So it’s a hard, hard situation.”

EEOC spokesperson Victor Chen declined to comment on specific filings, saying, “We can’t even confirm or deny we have these complaints.”

The county attorney offices and other representatives of the government officials who fired Parks, Baker and Lesley did not return phone and email messages seeking comment, or declined to comment.

At her Texas library, Baker displayed several books that have been targeted in recent book bans and a sign that read: “We put the ‘lit’ in literature” — a reference to a Tennessee pastor’s recent burning of books.

Baker was fired after refusing to take down the display and signs — considered the last straw after she resisted book banning in her library.

In March, a federal judge ordered 17 books returned to Kingsland library shelves while a citizen lawsuit against book banning proceeded. The works ranged from children’s books to award-winning nonfiction, including “They Called Themselves the K.K.K: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group,” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; and “It’s Perfectly Normal: Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health,” by Robie Harris.

“Content-based restrictions on speech are presumptively unconstitutional and subject to strict scrutiny,” Texas U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman wrote in his March 30 ruling. He cited a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that barred communities from banning signs because of what they say.

The Llano County Commissioners Court decided against closing the county’s three libraries in response to the ruling. Closing the libraries would have echoed the history across the U.S. of closing swimming pools rather than desegregating them, Halpern said.

Like Baker, Lesley had trouble finding work after being fired from the library system she directed in Gillette, Wyo. Her dismissal followed two years of turmoil over challenges to the books available and library programs.

Some of the same county officials who opposed a transgender magician’s plans to perform at the library went on to join local residents in seeking to ban books, according to Lesley’s EEOC filing.

Baker and Lesley both were fired after local officials appointed new library board members willing to be more aggressive about pulling books.

“Our county commissioners appointed board members who were sympathetic to the people who wanted to remove the books. And it was a long dance to try to get it there. And in the end they had to fire me, I think, in order to be able to meet their goal,” Lesley said.

The Campbell County Commission skirted a deputy county attorney’s recommendation not to appoint past applicants for the board without reinterviewing them along with new candidates, according to Lesley’s EEOC claim.

“I saw this as a well-executed attack on the library by a group of citizens and elected officials. It was an attack on the LGBTQ+ community as well,” she said. “And it was an attack on the books.”

Lost luggage? Tarmac delays? Rental-car blues? No whining about measly travel headaches with the mother of all bad-trip sagas looming on the big screen.

“The Odyssey,” Christopher Nolan’s epic take on the Trojan War’s fallout, debuts July 17. Spoiler alert, if you somehow avoided Homer in community college: Nobody, save biblical Job, has had more misery hurled at them.

Outflanked by cruel and fickle gods at every turn, legendary Greek hero Odysseus outsmarted a one-eyed giant, suffered through the bewitching Sirens’ song and braved the Underworld’s dead denizens. He battled oversize cannibals, outmaneuvered a witch and lost scores of men at every turn. Then made it back to Ithaca after 10 years only to find his home overrun by suitors wooing his wife.

It’s a tale packed with bad decisions, failure, heartbreak and death. Perfect story fodder, given how much we love bad-trip stories. We consume lists of the worst airports and wonder at accounts of illness-plagued cruises. We scroll through videos starring unruly passengers or mangled bags, and read about the last resting place for lost luggage.

Hollywood has created a whole franchise around road trips gone wrong. Think of “The Hangover” or “Sideways” or “Little Miss Sunshine.” Screenwriter-director John Hughes perfected the big-screen comedic treatment of travel gone south with classics such as “Home Alone,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”

Let’s not even talk about the “three-hour tour” that left Gilligan and friends stranded on a deserted island for 98 episodes, or how Jack Dawson’s voyage ended aboard 1997’s “Titanic.”

A significant body of evidence even indicates that travel makes us sick. Trip-related problems are so common, in fact, that consumer advocate Christopher Elliott has stitched an entire career out of resolving them — from timeshare scams to horrible airline customer service and beyond.

Still, we keep buying tickets and packing our bags to sail into the great unknown, across Homer’s wine-dark sea. Why? Elliott attributes it to what he terms “traveler’s amnesia.”

“It amazes me that travelers are not up in arms about the way they get treated,” he said. “They take a trip, have a terrible experience, and forget about everything that went wrong and only remember what went right.”

He suggests that avoiding a bad trip starts with choosing companies noted for strong customer service. He cited some name-brand examples: Marriott for hotels, Alaska Airlines, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He avoids cruises as much as possible.

Which is funny, because when I think about cruising, I don’t revisit the miserable 36 hours that norovirus confined us in our cabin. I instead recall coasting past a flotilla of icebergs in Alaska’s Glacier Bay.

When I think about Mexico, I don’t wallow in memories involving Montezuma and his gastrointestinal revenge. But I do cherish thoughts of snorkeling with playful sea lion pups.

And when I consider airports, I blot the memory of the woman next to me at Gate 66 who insists on blaring a video call at maximum volume. Instead, wielding my noise-canceling earbuds, Odysseus-like, I plan to smother this screeching sound to preserve my sanity. But before I can insert them, a voice speaks to me.

To all of us, to be technically correct, since it emanates from the speakers of Los Angeles International Airport’s Terminal 6.

“It’s time to play TSA’s favorite game!” says the voice, mimicking a game-show host’s hustle. “You lost it, we found it!”

The speaker explained that someone had left a laptop computer at a checkpoint. The two were reunited moments later, which set my feet in motion, wondering whose voice it was. There at the checkpoint I met Carl Revis, a TSA supervisory officer with a penchant for comedy.

“You don’t have to be a jerk to get things done,” he told me. “I think reaching people through comedy is a lot easier than screaming and yelling at them.”

Taken together, my trip recollections probably qualify me as living proof of Elliott’s traveler’s amnesia theory. The final diagnosis should be clear soon. I’m retiring from full-time work this year, and people inevitably ask what’s next.

It’s not completely clear, I tell them. But I’ll definitely have more time to travel. Maybe sail across the Aegean … what could go wrong?

NEW YORK — More than half of the WNBA ‘s 180 players didn’t submit their ballots for All-Star starters ahead of this month’s game in Chicago, a person familiar with the balloting told the Associated Press on Friday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the voting. It’s unclear why so many players didn’t cast their votes. However, the Sparks were one of the teams that didn’t have all of its players vote due to some operational errors.

“Players were sent ballots via email,” the Sparks said in a statement. “Some players indicated that they didn’t receive the email or weren’t aware of it until after the voting period had closed. That’s something we take responsibility for as an organization, and we’ll have a more robust process going forward.”

Fan vote accounts for 50% of the overall vote while players and a media panel each are 25%. It’s been that way since 2017.

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu said her team has never had an issue getting players to submit their ballots.

“We always vote. But I do think especially if they’re weighed as much as they are, like teams should be making sure that their players are voting like it is important. There should never just be a team that like, doesn’t get the ballot. …That’s something that every player should be getting the opportunity. And if the player doesn’t want to vote, then that’s on them.”

The league announced the All-Star starters on Thursday.

ESPN was the first to report the lack of ballots.

Like the media, each player is given a link to a voting site as well as an individual username and password. Those are supplied by the league to the teams who distribute them to the players.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum was lower in the player balloting than she was from the media and fans. She is second in the WNBA in scoring, but has only played in a dozen games because of injuries. She was 12th among players votes after ranking sixth by the fans and fifth by media.

She finished seventh in the voting overall for the guards. Even if the Sparks had all voted, it wouldn’t have been a guarantee that Plum moved up to the top four spots. In the past, players have said that they have either voted for their entire team on the ballot or for friends or college teammates, which has led to some skewed results. Some do take it seriously and pick who they think are the best players.

Fever star Caitlin Clark finished 11th in player balloting. She was named an All-Star starter because she placed second in the fan vote and third in the media rankings.

Feinberg writes for the Associated Press.

Rescue workers in one Caracas neighbourhood say no help has arrived, two days after twin quakes tore through the city. Al Jazeera’s Noris Soto says aftershocks are making the search for survivors harder and rescue efforts are turning to the recovery of bodies.

The Pentagon and the U.S. Air Force have fully abandoned an attempt to axe the acquisition of E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft, and to use E-2D Hawkeyes to help fill the resulting gap. In something of a twist, the Pentagon has proposed cutting U.S. Navy E-2D purchases, as well as raiding a classified Air Force account, to keep the E-7 program going. The House Appropriations Committee has now pushed back on the E-2D part of that plan. The back-and-forth underscores the critical importance of airborne early warning and control aircraft and the strain on existing U.S. fleets.

Defense News drew specific attention to the new jostling over funding for the E-7 in a report earlier today. Breaking Defense had been among the first to report the basic points yesterday. The House Appropriations Committee had released the details in a report accompanying a draft defense spending bill for the 2027 Fiscal Year, which we will come back to in a moment.

To recap quickly, roughly a year ago, the Pentagon and the Air Force disclosed their intention to axe the E-7 program, which had suffered delays and cost overruns, and acquire additional E-2Ds as an interim gap-filler. Questions about the future survivability of the Wedgetail were also raised. The Air Force’s long-term goal was then and still is now to eventually push most air moving-target indicator (AMTI) tasks into space, though that is still years away from truly becoming a reality. Congress subsequently intervened to save the Wedgetail, appropriating billions for the effort in Fiscal Year 2026. The E-7 was again missing from the Air Force’s proposed 2027 Fiscal Year budget, which raised the prospect of a new battle with Congress.

Top Pentagon and Air Force officials subsequently said that the viewpoint on the Wedgetail had fundamentally changed, and submitted an amendment to the budget request to include funding for the program. Per a memo earlier this month from Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House, this was done in two ways. $898,549,000 was taken from “Other Procurement, Air Force” section of that service’s budget proposal, while another $650,549,000 came out of “Aircraft Procurement, Navy.”

The combined $1,549,098,000 was moved into the “Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force” account. According to Vought’s memo, the funding would go toward “priority requirement to deliver two E-7 Wedgetail prototype aircraft and continue Engineering Manufacturing and Development activities for a program of record.”

The Air Force already has seven E-7s on order now, including the two jets to support rapid prototyping efforts. It is unclear when the service expects to begin flying Wedgetails operationally. Before the attempt to cancel the program, the target date for initial operational capability had already slipped from 2027 to 2032. It should be noted here that variants of the E-7 are already in service in Australia, South Korea, and Turkey, and that the United Kingdom is set to field a fleet of Wedgetails, too.

The report the House Appropriations Committee released yesterday included important additional context about the latest funding plans.

“While the President’s budget request for fiscal year 2027 did not include funding for the E–7 Wedgetail program, the Secretary of the Air Force and Secretary of Defense testified before the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee that they support this critical platform and have submitted a budget amendment to the Office of Management and Budget to restore funding for the platform,” it explained. “The shift in mindset at the Department of Defense translated to requested transfers from the Special Update Program in Other Procurement, Air Force, and the E–2D program in Aircraft Procurement, Navy for a total investment of $1,549,098,000 for E–7 in Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force in fiscal year 2027.”

“While the Committee wholly supports the E–7 program and funding realignment, the Committee also restored the E–2D program to six aircraft for fiscal year 2027,” the report added. “The Committee understands the operational necessity of the E–2D platform; the complementary nature of the E–2D and E–7; and believes that more aircraft, not fewer, are necessary to support our warfighters now and in the future.”

It is not immediately clear whether the draft spending plan that the House Appropriations Committee has now put forward still includes the full $1,549,098,000 for the E-7 program, as well as the restoration of funding for the E-2D purchases. The memo from OMB had stressed that its intent in shifting funding around was not to add to the roughly $1.5 trillion topline for its proposed 2027 Fiscal Year defense budget. Congress can, of course, appropriate additional funds as it sees fit, and often does.

Regardless, this new debate over how and where to find funding for the E-7 highlights larger issues surrounding airborne early warning capacity within the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.

“The conflict in Iran has reinforced the need for the Air Force to maintain a credible airborne battle management capability, currently being met with the Air Force’s E–3 Airborne Warning and Control System and the Navy’s E–2D Hawkeye programs,” the House Appropriations Committee’s report also notes. “As the E–3 is set to retire, the E–7 Wedgetail will serve as [a] modern replacement for lost battle management capability, commensurate and interoperable with assets already being utilized by key allies.”

This is all true, as TWZ has previously stressed in detail, long before the latest conflict with Iran erupted in February. Airborne early warning and control is absolutely vital to the prosecution of modern air operations, and even more so now in an age of exploding drone and cruise missile threats. The substantial deployment of E-3s to Saudi Arabia was one of the clearest indicators that a major campaign against Iran was increasingly imminent. The same had been true about the lead-up to the operation to capture ex-Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Not mentioned in the report, however, is the Air Force’s slashing of the E-3 fleet in recent years, the service’s repeated deferral of any plans to acquire a replacement for those aircraft, and the loss of Sentry on the ground in an Iranian attack in March. The strain on the Air Force’s E-3s has been readily apparent for years now.

The House Appropriations Committee report also leaves out any broader context about the planned E-2D purchases for Fiscal Year 2027. When it released its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025 back in 2024, the Navy had no plans to order more Hawkeyes, at least over the next five years. In its 2026 Fiscal Year budget request, the service asked for funding for four E-2Ds, presumably as part of the plan to cancel the E-7. Congress subsequently appropriated funding for three Hawkeyes in that fiscal cycle.

When it rolled out its latest budget request earlier this year, the Navy outlined all-new plans to buy 12 E-2Ds – six in Fiscal Year 2027, two in Fiscal Year 2028, and four in Fiscal Year 2029 – explicitly “to replenish accelerated service life burn down of existing force structure due to Overland Airborne Early Warning (AEW) tasking.” This underscores operational strain on the Hawkeye fleet, which can only have been further added to by operations in relation to Iran over the past few months. This also points to E-2Ds supplementing E-3s in providing overland coverage.

Just yesterday, the White House sent Congress a separate supplemental funding request for nearly $90 billion, primarily to help cover various costs associated with the war against Iran.

How exactly the E-7 program gets funded in Fiscal Year 2027, as well as what happens to the plans to order more E-2Ds, remains to be seen. The House Appropriations Committee’s draft defense spending plan could still evolve in various ways in the coming weeks and months, and will need to be reconciled with companion legislation making its way through the Senate. Once Congress passes the bill, President Donald Trump will still need to sign off on it, too.

It’s also worth noting that other potential options for providing additional airborne early warning and control capacity in the interim are emerging.

What is clear is that both the E-3 Sentry and E-2D Hawkeye fleets remain as critical as ever, but have been even more stressed by recent operations against Iran, with new E-7s still years away from entering service.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

HARRY Styles has some tricky steps to negotiate in his £30million mansion project — restoring a rotten staircase.

The former One Direction singer is paying experts to return the 300-year-old feature to its former glory as he turns three properties into one huge home.

The staircase revamp could delay the renovation project, which is slated for completion by October 2027.

A source said: “Harry doesn’t do anything by halves.

“This is a very ambitious project so there are bound to be stumbling blocks.

“The staircase is the latest snag but it’s a lovely period feature and he’s going to get the very best craftsmen to make it as good as new.

“It will take a while because it has to be taken apart piece by piece, restored and then put back in place, so it could well affect the deadline.”

In planning documents, Harry’s team say the condition of the 1734 staircase has deteriorated and it had some “poor-quality repairs” over the years.

He has appointed heritage carpentry experts to assess the best way to restore the feature.

Harry, 32, who is dating US actress Zoe Kravitz, 37, is merging the Georgian and 18th-century properties in Hampstead, North London.

The extensive renovation project includes high-end amenities such as a basement cinema, pool and gym.

The development has faced opposition previously from neighbours concerned about disruption and blocked light.

Despite the staircase issue, Harry had a spring in his step while in cut-off jeans in London after his weekend shows at Wembley.

The now-influencer appeared on BBC’s Song Marry Avoid when she was just 19-years-old

A woman who appeared on a popular BBC show says she had no choice but to turn down some major opportunities.

Sophie Bow received a dramatic ‘makeunder’ on BBC’s Snog Marry Avoid, which featured the sassy robotic style guru POD (Personal Overhaul Device).

Rather than being given a makeover, those who appeared on the show were given a ‘makeunder’ as they were persuaded less is more.

The show was a huge hit with fans in the late 00s with singer Jenny Frost followed by comedian and Strictly Come Dancing star Ellie Taylor as the host. The BBC Three show aired from 2008 until its sixth and final series in December 2013.

Sophie was just 19 when she first appeared on our TV screens, when she encountered POD as a teenager who loved lots of fake tan, heavy makeup and eye-catching outfits covered in sequins and glitter.

At the time, viewers fell in love with the teen and show bosses were keen to get her back on our TV screens for other projects.

Now 33, she has become a popular social media content creator but revealed that she was forced to turn down a number of TV opportunities because of her anxiety.

Looking back on her journey since appearing on Snog Marry Avoid, she took to TikTok and gave fans an update on her life today.

She started off by saying: “I would say appearing on telly back in the day definitely helped my career.

“Back then it was a very popular show but it disappeared off the face of the earth and no one knows why or where it went but it would be so good if they brought it back.”

She revealed: “After being on that show, I did actually get casted for the first ever Love Island but I was in a relationship. I’ve always been in a relationship so I never went on the show. “

However her relationship wasn’t the only thing holding her back as she explained: “But there have been so many opportunities that I actually did miss out on – throughout my life because I do have anxiety – I suffer badly with anxiety.

“I don’t really know what triggered it but I do get quite back anxiety. Even to this day I get asked on brand trips or anything outside my comfort zone, if I’m not going with somebody I can’t.”

The influencer added: “I really need to push myself to do more. I have a little boy and he is the best thing ever so I did take a little break from social media for a little while but then I did go back into social media.

“I did lose quite a lot of following from having the break then I started a TikTok account and here I am.”

TIJUANA — About 150 miles from SoFi Stadium, south of the Mexican border, sits the hotel housing Iran’s World Cup team for its games at the Inglewood venue.

The entrance to the Marriott in Tijuana is barricaded, flanked by police and members of the Mexican National Guard, guns held close. No one enters without a hotel reservation or special pass.

Despite the tensions and challenges surrounding Iran’s participation in the World Cup, early Saturday morning finds the mood inside the four-star hotel relaxed, even jubilant. Several dozen fans mingle and bond over their shared excitement to see the squad’s players before they depart for their second group-stage match at SoFi.

“I wanted to come down to support Iranian soccer, and cheer for them when they exited the building and make them happy,” says Lucas Zarrabi, 13. The teen, who attended Monday’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand and has a ticket for Sunday’s match against Belgium, is one of several fans from Los Angeles who made the drive to stay with the team. Others flew in from San José and even Miami, turning up at the hotel not quite four miles from the U.S. border crossing.

Showing up is important, some said, because of what they describe as unfair conditions imposed on the team. After the outbreak of war, the Iranian team was forced to move its base camp from Tucson to Tijuana. Eleven team officials and staff members did not receive U.S. visas. The Trump administration has also denied Iran’s requests to arrive two days before matches — and mandated that the team must leave immediately after each game.

“Every little technicality is making it difficult for the team,” says Abbas Eftekhari, 65, who was born in Iran and has lived in the U.S. for more than 40 years. “I think this is going to drain them psychologically and also physically.”

Iran’s soccer federation has been vocal about the obstacles, saying it would lodge a complaint with FIFA.

“Football shouldn’t lose its power to politics,” Hedayat Mombeini, secretary-general of the Iran Football Federation, said Friday. He added that the restrictions “are certainly having a negative effect on us, but we are trying to overcome these problems with our Iranian pride.”

Since the team landed on June 7, Ali Eslami has visited the hotel gates nearly every day.

“It’s the best pleasure for me. I wished them the best luck. I told them it’s hard but they’re doing excellent things,” said Eslami, who splits his time between Southern California and Tijuana.

He was there again Friday, waiting for the players to return from afternoon training blocks away at the Estadio Caliente, home to the Liga MX’s Xolos.

“I have been in America for 50 years — this has been the most emotional thing, to see the team that I have not seen in 50 years,” he said.

Some Iran fans fear reprisal from fellow members of the diaspora for supporting the team, insisting they were in Tijuana for the love of soccer and the players, not politics. Eftekhari worries that the mood at Iran’s first match, where fans and protesters clashed, affected the players.

“As soon as they see that their countrymen have slogans against them, it also has a negative psychological effect on them. But, that’s how things are at this time,” Eftekhari says.

Just over 24 hours until Sunday’s noon kickoff, it’s not just Iranian fans contributing to the atmosphere. A group of flight attendants from China staying at the hotel embrace the excitement, donning jester hats and waving scarves colored red, white and green. And soccer fans from Tijuana are eager to show some local hospitality. Iran has diplomatic ties with Mexico, unlike with the U.S., and sought to move its group-stage matches to the country where it has an embassy.

“We love the Mexican people very much, and for us, the best situation is for our games to be held in Mexico,” Abolfazl Pasandideh, the Iranian ambassador to Mexico, said at the time.

Leonardo Ramirez Lopez, a 10-year-old soccer fanatic from Tijuana, clutches his autograph album in hopes he’ll get new signatures.

“It’s a new team that I don’t have experience with how they play,” he says. But Iran is already his third-favorite team, behind Colombia and Argentina.

After more than two hours of waiting, several dozen fans break into cheers as players finally file through the lobby. The squad smiles and waves, stopping for a few autographs. As each player leaves, he kisses a Quran, pressing his forehead against it before boarding the bus to Tijuana’s airport.

“Iran, Iran! Whoop, whoop!” fans cry, breaking into song.

Angueira writes for the Associated Press.

Analyst Alexandru Hudisteanu warns that Iran’s overuse of Strait of Hormuz as leverage could transform the strategic chokepoint from a deterrence tool into an instrument of extortion, potentially turning the country into an international pariah.