The Irish Rugby Football Union had to turn off comments on a social media post which congratulated debutant Edwin Edogbo, following replies which contained racial abuse.
Munster forward Edogbo came off the bench and played the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s 20-13 victory over Italy in the Six Nations.
The IRFU confirmed in a statement that the comments made on the social media post on Saturday are now subject to investigation.
“We’re aware of some targeted abuse online in recent days and continue to work with Signify and the relevant authorities to report it,” the full IRFU statement read.
“We will also continue to fully support all affected by the cowardly actions of a minority and investigations are under way alongside our partners Signify.
“It is clear that racist abuse has no place in Irish society and the IRFU has a zero tolerance policy towards racism of any form.”
The 23-year-old lock has made 24 appearances for Munster and has registered 30 points.
After that nervy victory on Saturday, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell praised the debutant’s contribution in his post-match news conference.
“Well, we need to celebrate Edwin’s first cap, that is for sure as it is one amazing story,” Farrell said.
“I am so pleased we were able to get a win and show some fight to get a win for him because his story is a phenomenal one so we will celebrate that with him.”
The late afternoon sun was setting over Coldwater Canyon when the bus arrived. Students from Boyle Heights’ Bravo High spilled out into TreePeople, a nature reserve and nonprofit in Coldwater Canyon Park, and took off hiking.
As they looked around the sage and monkeyflower-lined path, their chatter quieted, and soon, they were writing poetry.
Alina Sadibekova, a junior at the magnet medical school, sat under native oak trees, breathing in the soil-rich air with a pen in hand.
“Our city is very busy, especially living in L.A. where everything just goes on and on and it feels like there’s never a point where we can take a breath,” Alina said. “Going to the parks helped me ground myself.”
During a field trip to Gabrielino Springs and the L.A. River Gardens, Bravo High School students from Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks work on poems inspired by the landscape.
(Genesis Sierra)
TreePeople, is one of many green spaces she has visited with Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks, a program dreamed up by the West Hollywood poet laureate, Jen Cheng, in partnership with Bravo High English teacher Steve “Mr. V” Valenzuela. Cheng’s aim is for poetry, nature and Chinese principles to inspire a love for nature in students otherwise surrounded by concrete.
“I think as humans, we’re part of nature, so being better connected to nature actually brings you more home to yourself,” Cheng said. She explains that feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of arranging a space to encourage harmony, is based on five natural elements: water, wood, fire, earth and metal.
“Feng shui, in poetry, is a lens that you can use to process big ideas using your surroundings,” Cheng said. “You can say, ‘Let’s write about water running down a river,’ not literally, but maybe as a metaphor for migration.”
Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks has grant funding through 2026’s spring semester, but next school year is still up in the air. Cheng says she’s looking for other grants, but as the Trump administration cuts humanities funding, including National Endowment for the Arts grants, the options are scarce.
As the oldest of five growing up in Oakland, Cheng felt seen for the first time when she discovered poetry in elementary school. It was inspired by her most cherished memories: field trips. At the time, her immigrant family worked to the point where they were often “too busy for nature.” During field trips, it was exciting, she said, to be out of Oakland’s urban landscape and in parks that felt rare in her working-class experience.
Decades after her elementary school field trips, as a newly appointed poet laureate for West Hollywood, she envisioned a way to mirror this childhood experience.
Poets laureate, whose role is to champion and encourage poetry in their community, are eligible for a $50,000 nationwide grant through the Academy of American Poets to support “meaningful, impactful and innovative projects,” according to the AAP.
As a recipient of this grant, Cheng brought Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks to life with one final addition — a teacher with a passion for poetry, who could connect her to a classroom of students.
Everyone she spoke to, she said, pointed her to the same person — “Mr. V.”
Jen Cheng, left, and Steve Valenzuela, right, close the Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks reading with words of encouragement for the students who shared their poetry at Bravo High School on Dec. 4, 2025. Both instructors have said that they were surprised by the emotion and creativity the students demonstrated in their poems.
(Kayte Deioma)
A sanctuary for ‘lifesaving’ creativity
When you enter Valenzuela’s classroom, the walls are covered with dozens of CD sleeves, from Deftones to Rage Against the Machine. In the gaps, student artwork, notes and photos with current and former students hang.
Valenzuela leads Bravo High’s poetry club, KEEPERS, and for the last few years, he’s guided the students to win awards at international poetry slam Get Lit.
“Poetry is expression, poetry is life-changing, lifesaving, which sounds very dramatic, but it’s not. Some of the things the students have written about are very traumatic,” Valenzuela said. “I’ve seen them work through difficult experiences and come out of it using poetry.”
One such student is 17-year-old Paige Thibodeaux. “I used to think it was better to be closed off, but throughout this, I was able to show my friends and peers who I am,” Paige said. “I didn’t think that’s something I could do and I’m here now.”
Paige, who lives with her family in Compton, recalled having her guard up as she walked through her neighborhood, where she said expression through poetry felt inaccessible.
“I don’t see a lot of kids doing things like this,” she said.
Student poets, friends and family members gather before the start of the Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks poetry reading and zine release at Bravo High School on Dec. 4, 2025.
(Kayte Deioma)
Working on a book, she said, opened up a whole new side of her. She started to confide in friends about stress, or things that bothered her, which otherwise would have stayed inside.
‘I still don’t believe it’
Since August 2025, Paige and her classmates have developed their poems, received feedback from Cheng and submitted their final pieces to be published as a poetry collection.
The cover, designed by Bravo student Adrian Lopez, depicts a tree wrapping around the spine. The poems are rooted in their observations of current affairs and native plants; the publication was completed in December, when Valenzuela and Cheng planned for a reading and celebration of their work at Bravo High.
“Did you guys know your work is going to be read across the country?” Cheng said to students in class one day. “I’m sending it all the way to New York!”
“Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks Vol. 1” is being printed as a zine and will be sent to bookstores and libraries from San Francisco to Chicago as well as the Library of Congress.
Students giggled and gasped in disbelief. “No pressure, I guess,” one student joked.
“It’s really crazy, I still don’t believe it. It’s been a dream of mine,” Alina said. “I never realized I could be a published author as a junior in high school.”
The night of the poetry reading, students, parents and friends gathered in excitement in Bravo High School’s library, settling in rows before a single microphone. Out in the hallway, the raucous chatter of teenagers echoed in the halls, and cars honked on the busy street outside to pick them up. But inside the haven of the library, there was a quiet settling among the crowd for the long-awaited show.
Alina Sadibekova reads her poems “I Want to Fly” and “Messy” for the Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks reading at Bravo High School on Dec. 4, 2025. She says writing poetry over the course of the program “grounded” her and alleviated the stress of school.
(Kayte Deioma)
Aolani “Lani” Alarcon approached the mic to hushed voices. As the lights lowered, she thanked the crowd, the white flower tucked in her hair catching the light as she recited her first poem, “White Sage.”
She says poetry didn’t always come easily to her. “One of the biggest things I struggle with is judgment, so opening up or writing about touchy subjects or things that mean something to me was hard,” Lani said. “Knowing that I wouldn’t be judged, or that people would actually like what I write, means a lot.”
The 16-year-old smiled as she read, describing sage as an ancestor’s prayer. Her next poem, “Hummingbird,” delved into grief.
“You teach me that healing isn’t forgetting,” she read, tears welling. “It’s learning to carry love without breaking under it.”
Manuel Alarcon, her father, was seated in the crowd, clasping his hands in rapt attention. When the readings had finished, he pulled Lani into a long embrace.
“These field trips, it exposed them outside of city life,” Alarcon said. “There’s more than opening a book, listening to a teacher. You need that outside exposure to really understand life. And inner city kids don’t have that. I want [my daughter] to be part of breaking a cycle.”
Valenzuela clapped loudly and cheered as each student stepped off the podium.
“When young voices, and voices from marginalized communities tend to be silenced, sometimes we internalize that and silence ourselves,” Valenzuela said. “I want them to feel like they can speak up.”
As Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks carries on for another semester— maybe its last — students continue to explore writing poetry in the greens of L.A. parks. Some, like 17-year-old Saneli Soto, express themselves along the way.
Saneli’s poem reads:
I’m used to concrete floors And concrete walls. I’m used to five story buildings. I needed a quiet place. Where I could just lie in the grass.
YOU COULD listen to music, dance and watch planes take off at the same time for one day a year at a major European airport.
Each year, Zurich Airport in Switzerland hosts a huge daytime rave – just metres from the planes.
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This observation deck at Zurich Airport gets transformed into a nightclub for one day a yearCredit: AlamyThe gig takes place on Observation Deck B in Terminal 2Credit: Ricardo
Sauvage Off is a music event that takes place on Observation Deck B in Terminal 2 at Zurich Airport.
For one day a year, a crowd of revellers dance the day away to live DJs as planes take off next to them.
Just a week ago, Sauvage Musique posted on their Instagram stating: “In five months from now, Switzerland will bring back the most iconic Airport Dayparty.
“The event will once again take place in 2026 on Observation Deck B at Zurich Airport.”
Future Events show that this year’s party will take place at Observation Deck B in Terminal 2 of the airport on June 20 between 2pm and 10pm.
Visitors must be over the age of 20 and the line up is yet to be announced.
According to the website, Sauvage is a “Zurich-based label, known for its high-end events at venues like Halle 622, Kunsthaus, Gessnerallee, and Werft Wollishofen”.
In the case of bad weather, if the event has to be cancelled, the back-up date is July 7.
Attendees will also be able to get food and drink on site.
Tickets to the event cost 89 CHF (£83.73); however, they are already sold out for this year, and an event for next year is yet to be announced.
If you can’t make the event but enjoy plane spotting, then you can still head to Observation Deck B – which is a tourist attraction in its own right.
The observation platform is open to the public and is one of Switzerland‘s most popular destinations for a day out, according to Zurich Airport.
There is an observation walkway where visitors can watch pilots sitting in the cockpits of planes, and inside there are also flight information pillars, which share information about all the different aircraft you can see and their destinations.
For little ones, there is even a mini airport play area with a model plane with a slide at the end, trampolines in the ground, a control tower climbing frame, and swings.
It is hosted at Observation Deck B at Zurich Airport where there is also a kids play areaCredit: AlamyThe play area includes a model plane and a control tower climbing frameCredit: Alamy
There’s a shop too that sells miniature plane models in case you want to grab a souvenir.
And if you get a little hungry, there is a small cafe selling sandwiches and drinks.
You don’t need to have a flight booked or show your passport to enter the observation deck.
Though passengers who do have a valid boarding pass on the day of departure or arrival can access the observation deck for free.
Otherwise, it is 5 CHF (£4.71) per adult and 2 CHF (£1.88) per child between 10 and 15 years old – those under 10 years old can visit for free.
One recent visitor said: “A great and fancy modern observation deck with huge space, basically on an entire terminal roof!
“There is much interesting information [boards] and many interactions for the visitors, such as live radio transmission from the tower, flight info of the aircraft in front of you, different seating options, and a huge children’s playground.”
In other aviation news, the UK gets a new flight route to world’s best airport – under four hours from the UK.
MARGOT Robbie sparkles again at a Wuthering Heights premiere — with a diamond necklace and matching ring.
She wore a red Chanel velvet ballgown in Paris, then changed into a black corset dress for the after-party.
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Margot Robbie sparkles again at a Wuthering Heights premiere — with a diamond necklace and matching ringCredit: GettyMargot wore a red Chanel velvet ballgown in Paris, then changed into a black corset dress for the after-partyCredit: EPAMargot was seen warmly greeting fans despite the rainCredit: Splash
He even filled his married co-star’s dressing room with roses for Valentine’s Day while shooting the tragic love story.
His fellow Aussie Margot, who posed in a minidress for the latest cover of Vogue Australia, said she was bowled over by the romantic gesture — despite having only had her first son with husband Tom Ackerley, 35, four months earlier.
Interviewing each other for the magazine, Margot said: “You made my day and, as Heathcliff, filled my room with roses. It was so cute.
“I remember thinking on Valentine’s Day, ‘Oh he’s probably a very good boyfriend, ’cause there’s a lot of thoughtfulness in this’.
“You did a lot of very thoughtful things — it wasn’t just the gesture of the roses.”
Margot strikes a pose in her red Chanel velvet ballgown in ParisCredit: GettyMargot plays Cathy in upcoming Wuthering HeightsCredit: Getty
Controversial director Brett Ratner, whose documentary “Melania,” about the first lady, premiered last week, found himself in the headlines once again over his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
A photograph, part of the trove of files released Friday in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Epstein, shows Ratner sitting on a couch with his arms wrapped around a woman, whose identity is concealed. She is sitting next to Epstein and a second woman, who is also redacted in the photo and is sitting at the far end of the couch next to the disgraced financier. It is unclear where the photo was taken or when.
The filmmaker is among several prominent individuals from the worlds of entertainment, technology, politics and business — including L.A. Olympics boss Casey Wasserman — who have turned up among the millions of files that the Justice Department has released.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in Manhattan Correctional Center while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Ratner’s name also surfaces in a number of emails contained in the released files in which Epstein discusses his attempts to connect with the director and descriptions in which their social circles overlap.
It is not the first time Ratner turned up in Epstein’s orbit. In December, his photo appeared in an earlier batch of files the department released.
In the undated photograph, Ratner is seen seated, hugging a shirtless Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and an Epstein associate.
Brunel died of an apparent suicide in 2022 in a French prison while awaiting trial on charges that he had raped a minor.
Ratner has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
A spokesperson for the director did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During a Monday appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Ratner said that the recently released photograph was taken about 20 years ago. He said that the woman he is hugging was his then-fiancée, whom he declined to name, and that she had invited him to an event where the picture was taken.
“I’ve never been in contact with Jeffrey Epstein before that photo and never in contact with him after,” he said on the show.
Among the emails in which Ratner is mentioned, in December 2010, Epstein discusses a dinner he is having at “7:30” in which he says that he has invited Ratner but has not yet heard back.
In December 2010, it was widely reported that Epstein hosted a dinner at his Manhattan townhouse just months after he finished serving a prison sentence and house arrest for soliciting a minor for prostitution. The dinner was attended by a number of boldfaced names including Woody Allen and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew.
A year later, Epstein’s assistant appears to email Ratner saying, “Jeffrey would like to speak with you regarding [redacted] could you please give us a call.” It is unclear whether Ratner followed up.
In another heavily redacted email from 2018, Epstein writes to someone saying: “Hi I’m Jeffrey. brett Ratner thought we should meet.” He follows up with a second email asking whether Ratner had spoken to this person yet.
During the Cannes film festival in 2012, celebrity superpublicist and ubiquitous presence on the awards circuit Peggy Siegal emailed Epstein that she was sitting with Ratner about to watch a Roman Polanski documentary, adding that “Brett says ‘hi’ and he loves you!”
In other gossipy emails Siegal sent to Epstein, she cites Ratner in her listing of which power brokers and celebrities are in attendance at various parties and who is staying on whose yacht in St. Barts (Ratner, she wrote, was staying with his business partner, the Australian billionaire James Packer).
Siegal’s relationship with the convicted pedophile came under renewed scrutiny in 2019 after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges, particularly as she helped facilitate his return to society following his prison sentence.
“Had I known that he had been accused of abusing underage girls, I would not have maintained a friendship with him,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.
Siegal could not be immediately reached for comment.
On Nov. 1, 2017 — the day The Times published its investigation in which six women accused Ratner of sexual misconduct — Epstein emailed lawyer Reid Weingarten: “brett ratner now oy.”
Ratner’s career was derailed nine years ago after The Times published detailed allegations against the director made by multiple women who accused him of harassment, groping and forced oral sex. Actor Olivia Munn claimed that Ratner masturbated in front of her when she delivered a meal to his trailer on the set of the 2004 film “After the Sunset.”
At the time, the director’s attorney Martin Singer rejected the women’s claims, saying that his client “vehemently denies the outrageous derogatory allegations that have been reported about him.”
Ratner’s agents at WME dropped him, as did his publicist, and projects were put on hold. Ratner parted ways with Warner Bros.
“I don’t want to have any possible negative impact to the studio until these personal issues are resolved,” he said in a statement.
In 2020, Ratner became embroiled in another Hollywood sex scandal, involving British actor Charlotte Kirk.
In a sworn court declaration, Kirk said she was victimized by then-Warner Bros. Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara, Ratner, Packer and Millennium Films CEO Avi Lerner, stating that the men “coerced me into engaging in ‘commercial sex’ for them and their business associates.”
Singer, who represented the men, “categorically and vehemently” denied any wrongdoing on the part of his clients.
IF you prefer the soft sand under your feet on a beach then you’re in luck as there is a new one in the UK.
Birling Gap beach, near Eastbourne, has turned from a pebble beach into a sandy beach overnight.
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Birling Gap has changed from a pebble to a sandy beachCredit: AlamyThe beach is now full of sand after the UK stormsCredit: EDDIE MITCHELL.
The extreme weather caused by the winter storms sweeping the UK is thought to be behind the unusual change.
Along with sand being pulled in my the storms, it was believed the rocks on the beach were then pulled out to sea.
The National Trust explained: “The action of strong waves during storms and high tides can reveal sandy patches on the beach, which are usually covered by flint pebbles at other times of the year.
“This year has seen a higher than usual amount of sand appearing.
Local Mary Sievwright told the BBC the beach was now “beautiful”.
She added: “It would have been great fun when I was a kid because we all had to scramble over pebbles the whole time.
“Whereas 1769660425 you’ve got loads of nice places to put your towel down and sit with your family.”
Another local said; “I’ve never seen sand there – and I have lived here for nearly 29 years!”
However, don’t expect it to be for good as it was “not a regular occurrence”.
A National Trust spokesperson said which the beach was “known for seasonal changes,” this is unlikely to last so people should “enjoy it while they can”.
Beachgoers are currently advised to stay away from the beach after two families were rescued, following access steps were damage to the steps caused by a cliff gall.
The National Trust currently states: “There is no beach access until further notice.”
A number of beaches in the UK face being lost for good due to erosion.
The Scenic Eclipse II had to call on the help of Us Coast Guard, Polar Star, to help after it became trapped in pack ice in the Ross Sea
The Scenic Eclipse II had to be cracked free from pack ice in Antarctica (Image: O2C Christopher Bokum/USCG / SWNS)
A cruise ship was rescued by a 50-year-old US Coast Guard vessel after it reportedly became trapped in pack ice in Antarctica – as those onboard sipped Champagne and watched the action.
The Scenic Eclipse II sent a distress call out at around 11pm local time on Friday, January 16, after it became stranded in the Ross Sea near McMurdo Sound, approximately 810 miles from the South Pole, it has been reported.
The cruiser liner – which was launched in 2023 and carries 200 guests and around the same number of crew in 114 suites – was freed by the coast guard and escorted for four hours to open water, Cruise Industry News reported.
Its passengers were given Champagne and guided onto the observation deck so they could get a first-hand view as the ice was cleared.
The ship and its passengers are currently on a 23-day one-way trip from Hobart, Tasmania, in Australia to Dunedin in New Zealand, calling in at the Balleny Islands and Ross Island in Antarctica on the way.
As a Polar Class 6 vessel, Scenic Eclipse II is well able to handle Antarctic ice, but due to pack changes during the day, the captain requested help to avoid a longer sailing pace at a reduced speed.
The natural movement of the ice changed the following day and the ship was able to carry on as normal. According to a Jan. 23 press release detailing the incident, the U.S. Coast Guard helped “free and escort” the cruise ship that was “trapped in pack ice.”
Thanking the USCG Polar Star for their help, Captain James Griffiths, Scenic Group’s General Manager Ocean Operations said: “ We were grateful for the professionalism and co-operation of the crew of USCG Polar Star during our operations in the Ross Sea. While Scenic Eclipse II was never in need of rescue services, the co-ordination between both vessels ensured we could navigate the changing pack ice safely and efficiently.
“This is a great example of the practical, respectful co-operation that exists in the polar regions, where safety, seamanship and shared responsibility always come first.”
The Polar Star is the USA’s only active heavy icebreaker and has been in service for five decades.
Commander. Samuel Blase, Polar Star’s executive officer said: “At 50 years old, Polar Star remains the world’s most capable non-nuclear icebreaker. That’s a testament to the crews that have maintained it over the decades. With years of service left to give, Polar Star will continue to guide the way in the high latitudes well into the future.”
Despite passengers paying large sums of money to travel to the world’s least visited continent, Antarctica cruise lines rarely give detailed itineraries as the harsh weather conditions and propensity of the sea to suddenly freeze means they are difficult to stick to.
Ireland Rugby: IRFU turns off social media comments after EdwinEdogbo abuse
The Irish Rugby Football Union had to turn off comments on a social media post which congratulated debutant Edwin Edogbo, following replies which contained racial abuse.
Munster forward Edogbo came off the bench and played the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s 20-13 victory over Italy in the Six Nations.
The IRFU confirmed in a statement that the comments made on the social media post on Saturday are now subject to investigation.
“We’re aware of some targeted abuse online in recent days and continue to work with Signify and the relevant authorities to report it,” the full IRFU statement read.
“We will also continue to fully support all affected by the cowardly actions of a minority and investigations are under way alongside our partners Signify.
“It is clear that racist abuse has no place in Irish society and the IRFU has a zero tolerance policy towards racism of any form.”
The 23-year-old lock has made 24 appearances for Munster and has registered 30 points.
After that nervy victory on Saturday, Ireland head coach Andy Farrell praised the debutant’s contribution in his post-match news conference.
“Well, we need to celebrate Edwin’s first cap, that is for sure as it is one amazing story,” Farrell said.
“I am so pleased we were able to get a win and show some fight to get a win for him because his story is a phenomenal one so we will celebrate that with him.”
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West Hollywood poet laureate’s nature program turns high schoolers into authors
The late afternoon sun was setting over Coldwater Canyon when the bus arrived. Students from Boyle Heights’ Bravo High spilled out into TreePeople, a nature reserve and nonprofit in Coldwater Canyon Park, and took off hiking.
As they looked around the sage and monkeyflower-lined path, their chatter quieted, and soon, they were writing poetry.
Alina Sadibekova, a junior at the magnet medical school, sat under native oak trees, breathing in the soil-rich air with a pen in hand.
“Our city is very busy, especially living in L.A. where everything just goes on and on and it feels like there’s never a point where we can take a breath,” Alina said. “Going to the parks helped me ground myself.”
During a field trip to Gabrielino Springs and the L.A. River Gardens, Bravo High School students from Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks work on poems inspired by the landscape.
(Genesis Sierra)
TreePeople, is one of many green spaces she has visited with Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks, a program dreamed up by the West Hollywood poet laureate, Jen Cheng, in partnership with Bravo High English teacher Steve “Mr. V” Valenzuela. Cheng’s aim is for poetry, nature and Chinese principles to inspire a love for nature in students otherwise surrounded by concrete.
“I think as humans, we’re part of nature, so being better connected to nature actually brings you more home to yourself,” Cheng said. She explains that feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of arranging a space to encourage harmony, is based on five natural elements: water, wood, fire, earth and metal.
“Feng shui, in poetry, is a lens that you can use to process big ideas using your surroundings,” Cheng said. “You can say, ‘Let’s write about water running down a river,’ not literally, but maybe as a metaphor for migration.”
Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks has grant funding through 2026’s spring semester, but next school year is still up in the air. Cheng says she’s looking for other grants, but as the Trump administration cuts humanities funding, including National Endowment for the Arts grants, the options are scarce.
As the oldest of five growing up in Oakland, Cheng felt seen for the first time when she discovered poetry in elementary school. It was inspired by her most cherished memories: field trips. At the time, her immigrant family worked to the point where they were often “too busy for nature.” During field trips, it was exciting, she said, to be out of Oakland’s urban landscape and in parks that felt rare in her working-class experience.
Decades after her elementary school field trips, as a newly appointed poet laureate for West Hollywood, she envisioned a way to mirror this childhood experience.
Poets laureate, whose role is to champion and encourage poetry in their community, are eligible for a $50,000 nationwide grant through the Academy of American Poets to support “meaningful, impactful and innovative projects,” according to the AAP.
As a recipient of this grant, Cheng brought Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks to life with one final addition — a teacher with a passion for poetry, who could connect her to a classroom of students.
Everyone she spoke to, she said, pointed her to the same person — “Mr. V.”
Jen Cheng, left, and Steve Valenzuela, right, close the Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks reading with words of encouragement for the students who shared their poetry at Bravo High School on Dec. 4, 2025. Both instructors have said that they were surprised by the emotion and creativity the students demonstrated in their poems.
(Kayte Deioma)
A sanctuary for ‘lifesaving’ creativity
When you enter Valenzuela’s classroom, the walls are covered with dozens of CD sleeves, from Deftones to Rage Against the Machine. In the gaps, student artwork, notes and photos with current and former students hang.
Valenzuela leads Bravo High’s poetry club, KEEPERS, and for the last few years, he’s guided the students to win awards at international poetry slam Get Lit.
“Poetry is expression, poetry is life-changing, lifesaving, which sounds very dramatic, but it’s not. Some of the things the students have written about are very traumatic,” Valenzuela said. “I’ve seen them work through difficult experiences and come out of it using poetry.”
One such student is 17-year-old Paige Thibodeaux. “I used to think it was better to be closed off, but throughout this, I was able to show my friends and peers who I am,” Paige said. “I didn’t think that’s something I could do and I’m here now.”
Paige, who lives with her family in Compton, recalled having her guard up as she walked through her neighborhood, where she said expression through poetry felt inaccessible.
“I don’t see a lot of kids doing things like this,” she said.
Student poets, friends and family members gather before the start of the Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks poetry reading and zine release at Bravo High School on Dec. 4, 2025.
(Kayte Deioma)
Working on a book, she said, opened up a whole new side of her. She started to confide in friends about stress, or things that bothered her, which otherwise would have stayed inside.
‘I still don’t believe it’
Since August 2025, Paige and her classmates have developed their poems, received feedback from Cheng and submitted their final pieces to be published as a poetry collection.
The cover, designed by Bravo student Adrian Lopez, depicts a tree wrapping around the spine. The poems are rooted in their observations of current affairs and native plants; the publication was completed in December, when Valenzuela and Cheng planned for a reading and celebration of their work at Bravo High.
“Did you guys know your work is going to be read across the country?” Cheng said to students in class one day. “I’m sending it all the way to New York!”
“Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks Vol. 1” is being printed as a zine and will be sent to bookstores and libraries from San Francisco to Chicago as well as the Library of Congress.
Students giggled and gasped in disbelief. “No pressure, I guess,” one student joked.
“It’s really crazy, I still don’t believe it. It’s been a dream of mine,” Alina said. “I never realized I could be a published author as a junior in high school.”
The night of the poetry reading, students, parents and friends gathered in excitement in Bravo High School’s library, settling in rows before a single microphone. Out in the hallway, the raucous chatter of teenagers echoed in the halls, and cars honked on the busy street outside to pick them up. But inside the haven of the library, there was a quiet settling among the crowd for the long-awaited show.
Alina Sadibekova reads her poems “I Want to Fly” and “Messy” for the Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks reading at Bravo High School on Dec. 4, 2025. She says writing poetry over the course of the program “grounded” her and alleviated the stress of school.
(Kayte Deioma)
Aolani “Lani” Alarcon approached the mic to hushed voices. As the lights lowered, she thanked the crowd, the white flower tucked in her hair catching the light as she recited her first poem, “White Sage.”
She says poetry didn’t always come easily to her. “One of the biggest things I struggle with is judgment, so opening up or writing about touchy subjects or things that mean something to me was hard,” Lani said. “Knowing that I wouldn’t be judged, or that people would actually like what I write, means a lot.”
The 16-year-old smiled as she read, describing sage as an ancestor’s prayer. Her next poem, “Hummingbird,” delved into grief.
“You teach me that healing isn’t forgetting,” she read, tears welling. “It’s learning to carry love without breaking under it.”
Manuel Alarcon, her father, was seated in the crowd, clasping his hands in rapt attention. When the readings had finished, he pulled Lani into a long embrace.
“These field trips, it exposed them outside of city life,” Alarcon said. “There’s more than opening a book, listening to a teacher. You need that outside exposure to really understand life. And inner city kids don’t have that. I want [my daughter] to be part of breaking a cycle.”
Valenzuela clapped loudly and cheered as each student stepped off the podium.
“When young voices, and voices from marginalized communities tend to be silenced, sometimes we internalize that and silence ourselves,” Valenzuela said. “I want them to feel like they can speak up.”
As Feng Shui Poetry in the Parks carries on for another semester— maybe its last — students continue to explore writing poetry in the greens of L.A. parks. Some, like 17-year-old Saneli Soto, express themselves along the way.
Saneli’s poem reads:
I’m used to concrete floors
And concrete walls.
I’m used to five story buildings.
I needed a quiet place.
Where I could just lie in the grass.
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European airport that turns into a massive day rave once a year
YOU COULD listen to music, dance and watch planes take off at the same time for one day a year at a major European airport.
Each year, Zurich Airport in Switzerland hosts a huge daytime rave – just metres from the planes.
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Sauvage Off is a music event that takes place on Observation Deck B in Terminal 2 at Zurich Airport.
For one day a year, a crowd of revellers dance the day away to live DJs as planes take off next to them.
Just a week ago, Sauvage Musique posted on their Instagram stating: “In five months from now, Switzerland will bring back the most iconic Airport Dayparty.
“The event will once again take place in 2026 on Observation Deck B at Zurich Airport.”
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Future Events show that this year’s party will take place at Observation Deck B in Terminal 2 of the airport on June 20 between 2pm and 10pm.
Visitors must be over the age of 20 and the line up is yet to be announced.
According to the website, Sauvage is a “Zurich-based label, known for its high-end events at venues like Halle 622, Kunsthaus, Gessnerallee, and Werft Wollishofen”.
In the case of bad weather, if the event has to be cancelled, the back-up date is July 7.
Attendees will also be able to get food and drink on site.
Tickets to the event cost 89 CHF (£83.73); however, they are already sold out for this year, and an event for next year is yet to be announced.
If you can’t make the event but enjoy plane spotting, then you can still head to Observation Deck B – which is a tourist attraction in its own right.
The observation platform is open to the public and is one of Switzerland‘s most popular destinations for a day out, according to Zurich Airport.
There is an observation walkway where visitors can watch pilots sitting in the cockpits of planes, and inside there are also flight information pillars, which share information about all the different aircraft you can see and their destinations.
For little ones, there is even a mini airport play area with a model plane with a slide at the end, trampolines in the ground, a control tower climbing frame, and swings.
There’s a shop too that sells miniature plane models in case you want to grab a souvenir.
And if you get a little hungry, there is a small cafe selling sandwiches and drinks.
You don’t need to have a flight booked or show your passport to enter the observation deck.
Though passengers who do have a valid boarding pass on the day of departure or arrival can access the observation deck for free.
Otherwise, it is 5 CHF (£4.71) per adult and 2 CHF (£1.88) per child between 10 and 15 years old – those under 10 years old can visit for free.
One recent visitor said: “A great and fancy modern observation deck with huge space, basically on an entire terminal roof!
“There is much interesting information [boards] and many interactions for the visitors, such as live radio transmission from the tower, flight info of the aircraft in front of you, different seating options, and a huge children’s playground.”
In other aviation news, the UK gets a new flight route to world’s best airport – under four hours from the UK.
Plus, all of the new flight routes launching from the UK in 2026 – including up-and-coming cities and quieter islands.
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Margot Robbie turns heads in Chanel velvet ballgown paired with diamond necklace at Wuthering Heights premiere in Paris
MARGOT Robbie sparkles again at a Wuthering Heights premiere — with a diamond necklace and matching ring.
She wore a red Chanel velvet ballgown in Paris, then changed into a black corset dress for the after-party.
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Last week Margot, 35, wore a £6million necklace for the Hollywood launch.
Tomorrow she and co-star Jacob Elordi, 28, attend the UK premiere in London’s Leicester Square.
Margot last week made her Wuthering Heights co-star Jacob weak at the knees in a “breathtaking” black corset.
Leading man Jacob said the uplifting black number was “an absolute banger” and described it as “devastating”.
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The 28-year-old Australian plays Heathcliff opposite Margot’s Cathy in the upcoming film adaptation of Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel.
He even filled his married co-star’s dressing room with roses for Valentine’s Day while shooting the tragic love story.
His fellow Aussie Margot, who posed in a minidress for the latest cover of Vogue Australia, said she was bowled over by the romantic gesture — despite having only had her first son with husband Tom Ackerley, 35, four months earlier.
Interviewing each other for the magazine, Margot said: “You made my day and, as Heathcliff, filled my room with roses. It was so cute.
“I remember thinking on Valentine’s Day, ‘Oh he’s probably a very good boyfriend, ’cause there’s a lot of thoughtfulness in this’.
“You did a lot of very thoughtful things — it wasn’t just the gesture of the roses.”
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‘Melania’ director Brett Ratner turns up in Epstein files, again
Controversial director Brett Ratner, whose documentary “Melania,” about the first lady, premiered last week, found himself in the headlines once again over his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
A photograph, part of the trove of files released Friday in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Epstein, shows Ratner sitting on a couch with his arms wrapped around a woman, whose identity is concealed. She is sitting next to Epstein and a second woman, who is also redacted in the photo and is sitting at the far end of the couch next to the disgraced financier. It is unclear where the photo was taken or when.
The filmmaker is among several prominent individuals from the worlds of entertainment, technology, politics and business — including L.A. Olympics boss Casey Wasserman — who have turned up among the millions of files that the Justice Department has released.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 in Manhattan Correctional Center while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Ratner’s name also surfaces in a number of emails contained in the released files in which Epstein discusses his attempts to connect with the director and descriptions in which their social circles overlap.
It is not the first time Ratner turned up in Epstein’s orbit. In December, his photo appeared in an earlier batch of files the department released.
In the undated photograph, Ratner is seen seated, hugging a shirtless Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent and an Epstein associate.
Brunel died of an apparent suicide in 2022 in a French prison while awaiting trial on charges that he had raped a minor.
Ratner has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
A spokesperson for the director did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During a Monday appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Ratner said that the recently released photograph was taken about 20 years ago. He said that the woman he is hugging was his then-fiancée, whom he declined to name, and that she had invited him to an event where the picture was taken.
“I’ve never been in contact with Jeffrey Epstein before that photo and never in contact with him after,” he said on the show.
Among the emails in which Ratner is mentioned, in December 2010, Epstein discusses a dinner he is having at “7:30” in which he says that he has invited Ratner but has not yet heard back.
In December 2010, it was widely reported that Epstein hosted a dinner at his Manhattan townhouse just months after he finished serving a prison sentence and house arrest for soliciting a minor for prostitution. The dinner was attended by a number of boldfaced names including Woody Allen and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew.
A year later, Epstein’s assistant appears to email Ratner saying, “Jeffrey would like to speak with you regarding [redacted] could you please give us a call.” It is unclear whether Ratner followed up.
In another heavily redacted email from 2018, Epstein writes to someone saying: “Hi I’m Jeffrey. brett Ratner thought we should meet.” He follows up with a second email asking whether Ratner had spoken to this person yet.
During the Cannes film festival in 2012, celebrity superpublicist and ubiquitous presence on the awards circuit Peggy Siegal emailed Epstein that she was sitting with Ratner about to watch a Roman Polanski documentary, adding that “Brett says ‘hi’ and he loves you!”
In other gossipy emails Siegal sent to Epstein, she cites Ratner in her listing of which power brokers and celebrities are in attendance at various parties and who is staying on whose yacht in St. Barts (Ratner, she wrote, was staying with his business partner, the Australian billionaire James Packer).
Siegal’s relationship with the convicted pedophile came under renewed scrutiny in 2019 after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges, particularly as she helped facilitate his return to society following his prison sentence.
“Had I known that he had been accused of abusing underage girls, I would not have maintained a friendship with him,” she told the Hollywood Reporter.
Siegal could not be immediately reached for comment.
On Nov. 1, 2017 — the day The Times published its investigation in which six women accused Ratner of sexual misconduct — Epstein emailed lawyer Reid Weingarten: “brett ratner now oy.”
Ratner’s career was derailed nine years ago after The Times published detailed allegations against the director made by multiple women who accused him of harassment, groping and forced oral sex. Actor Olivia Munn claimed that Ratner masturbated in front of her when she delivered a meal to his trailer on the set of the 2004 film “After the Sunset.”
At the time, the director’s attorney Martin Singer rejected the women’s claims, saying that his client “vehemently denies the outrageous derogatory allegations that have been reported about him.”
Ratner’s agents at WME dropped him, as did his publicist, and projects were put on hold. Ratner parted ways with Warner Bros.
“I don’t want to have any possible negative impact to the studio until these personal issues are resolved,” he said in a statement.
In 2020, Ratner became embroiled in another Hollywood sex scandal, involving British actor Charlotte Kirk.
In a sworn court declaration, Kirk said she was victimized by then-Warner Bros. Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara, Ratner, Packer and Millennium Films CEO Avi Lerner, stating that the men “coerced me into engaging in ‘commercial sex’ for them and their business associates.”
Singer, who represented the men, “categorically and vehemently” denied any wrongdoing on the part of his clients.
“Melania” is the first film Ratner has directed since he was largely exiled from Hollywood. The documentary has received harsh reviews from critics, who have also questioned the $75 million Amazon paid to distribute and market the movie. However, during its opening weekend, it grossed a better-than-expected $7.1 million at the box office.
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Shock as top UK beach turns from pebbles to sand OVERNIGHT
IF you prefer the soft sand under your feet on a beach then you’re in luck as there is a new one in the UK.
Birling Gap beach, near Eastbourne, has turned from a pebble beach into a sandy beach overnight.
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The extreme weather caused by the winter storms sweeping the UK is thought to be behind the unusual change.
Along with sand being pulled in my the storms, it was believed the rocks on the beach were then pulled out to sea.
The National Trust explained: “The action of strong waves during storms and high tides can reveal sandy patches on the beach, which are usually covered by flint pebbles at other times of the year.
“This year has seen a higher than usual amount of sand appearing.
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Locals have raved about their ‘new’ beach.
Local Mary Sievwright told the BBC the beach was now “beautiful”.
She added: “It would have been great fun when I was a kid because we all had to scramble over pebbles the whole time.
“Whereas 1769660425 you’ve got loads of nice places to put your towel down and sit with your family.”
Another local said; “I’ve never seen sand there – and I have lived here for nearly 29 years!”
However, don’t expect it to be for good as it was “not a regular occurrence”.
A National Trust spokesperson said which the beach was “known for seasonal changes,” this is unlikely to last so people should “enjoy it while they can”.
Beachgoers are currently advised to stay away from the beach after two families were rescued, following access steps were damage to the steps caused by a cliff gall.
The National Trust currently states: “There is no beach access until further notice.”
A number of beaches in the UK face being lost for good due to erosion.
Blackpool is investing £30milllion across their coastline in beach defences in a bid to preserve the sands.
Holderness Coast in East Riding of Yorkshire, is currently reporting some of the highest rates of erosion in Europe, losing up to 12 metres a year.
And here is a secluded beach in the UK you can now only get to by boat.
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Weather turns on Champagne-sipping passengers as Antarctic cruise ship gets stuck
The Scenic Eclipse II had to call on the help of Us Coast Guard, Polar Star, to help after it became trapped in pack ice in the Ross Sea
The Scenic Eclipse II had to be cracked free from pack ice in Antarctica (Image: O2C Christopher Bokum/USCG / SWNS)
A cruise ship was rescued by a 50-year-old US Coast Guard vessel after it reportedly became trapped in pack ice in Antarctica – as those onboard sipped Champagne and watched the action.
The Scenic Eclipse II sent a distress call out at around 11pm local time on Friday, January 16, after it became stranded in the Ross Sea near McMurdo Sound, approximately 810 miles from the South Pole, it has been reported.
The cruiser liner – which was launched in 2023 and carries 200 guests and around the same number of crew in 114 suites – was freed by the coast guard and escorted for four hours to open water, Cruise Industry News reported.
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Its passengers were given Champagne and guided onto the observation deck so they could get a first-hand view as the ice was cleared.
The ship and its passengers are currently on a 23-day one-way trip from Hobart, Tasmania, in Australia to Dunedin in New Zealand, calling in at the Balleny Islands and Ross Island in Antarctica on the way.
As a Polar Class 6 vessel, Scenic Eclipse II is well able to handle Antarctic ice, but due to pack changes during the day, the captain requested help to avoid a longer sailing pace at a reduced speed.
The natural movement of the ice changed the following day and the ship was able to carry on as normal. According to a Jan. 23 press release detailing the incident, the U.S. Coast Guard helped “free and escort” the cruise ship that was “trapped in pack ice.”
Thanking the USCG Polar Star for their help, Captain James Griffiths, Scenic Group’s General Manager Ocean Operations said: “ We were grateful for the professionalism and co-operation of the crew of USCG Polar Star during our operations in the Ross Sea. While Scenic Eclipse II was never in need of rescue services, the co-ordination between both vessels ensured we could navigate the changing pack ice safely and efficiently.
“This is a great example of the practical, respectful co-operation that exists in the polar regions, where safety, seamanship and shared responsibility always come first.”
The Polar Star is the USA’s only active heavy icebreaker and has been in service for five decades.
Commander. Samuel Blase, Polar Star’s executive officer said: “At 50 years old, Polar Star remains the world’s most capable non-nuclear icebreaker. That’s a testament to the crews that have maintained it over the decades. With years of service left to give, Polar Star will continue to guide the way in the high latitudes well into the future.”
Despite passengers paying large sums of money to travel to the world’s least visited continent, Antarctica cruise lines rarely give detailed itineraries as the harsh weather conditions and propensity of the sea to suddenly freeze means they are difficult to stick to.
Scenic has been contacted for comment.
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