It would be great if “The Hangover” screenwriters-turned-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore would leave moms well enough alone. After the one-two punch of 2016’s “Bad Moms” and 2017’s “A Bad Moms Christmas” (both bad comedies), they’ve returned with “Spa Weekend,” which isn’t about bad moms but good moms who could stand to be a little bad.
If you’re not sure how much misbehavior a few friends can get up to at a luxury resort spa, you haven’t met Isla Fisher’s Mel. Yes, “Spa Weekend” is a plate of reheated “Wedding Crashers” nachos, because no one stirs up cheerful chaos like the spirited Fisher. Her Mel brings a delightfully vulgar joie de vivre into the over-scheduled lives of her lifelong friends: workaholic lawyer Jane (Leslie Mann), bitter divorceé Coco (Michelle Buteau) and people-pleasing pushover Sophie (Anna Faris).
“Spa Weekend” is built around the same fearsome foursome ethos as shows like “Sex and the City” and “Girls,” with several different character types and lots of available friction between them. More recently, golden-years comedies like “Book Club,”“80 for Brady” and way too many movies starring the late Diane Keaton have sent friend groups on journeys that have them reevaluating relationships and life goals. Romantic, criminal and naughty hijinks ensue and bonds are tested — and ultimately reinforced. Roll the blooper reel.
Mel might be a disaster with her loud mouth and impolite antics, but her over-the-top meddling does her buddies some good. She helps uptight Jane hook up with a hunky yoga instructor (Adam Demos), gets Sophie fired from her toxic job and lures Coco’s ex-husband Roger (Dominic Ona-Ariki) to the resort for a little reconciliation. Her friends are furious, but while they might not get what they want (relaxation), they get what they need (liberation). All it took was some coke and strippers (Lucas and Moore have a bizarre fixation on moms and male strippers).
You know what? Fine. It’s true that working moms often put themselves last and “Spa Weekend” is an argument for them to come first. It’s a film about embracing the craziest friends because they bring excitement to an otherwise boring and overscheduled life. All of these things are true. They’re just executed here with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. In case we didn’t get it, these themes and lessons are spoken out loud by Jane in big declarative speeches.
One of the most distracting things about “Spa Weekend” is its uncanny geography. It’s set in Los Angeles but the cafés and shops are obviously not local and the worst, most dated stock L.A. traffic footage can’t cover that up.
They drive what seems to be about 45 minutes to the resort, through wooded forests on windy roads, and arrive in a tropical location overlooking miles of white sandy beach. At one point, Jane claims they’re 100 miles away from home. Ain’t no way this is Encinitas. Nothing about it makes sense until the credits roll and you learn the film was shot entirely in Queensland, Australia. But if one’s thinking about the geography that much, it means the story isn’t all that compelling.
Call it nitpicking but it’s indicative of how much care and craft — or how little — goes into a movie like this, aimed at female audiences. Much like the “Bad Moms” movies, “Spa Weekend” isn’t insightful, isn’t interesting and isn’t funny. It’s condescending and hacky and the humor always aims for the lowest common denominator. Please don’t expect me to laugh at the goats from goat yoga rampaging through a hotel lobby or a high-speed golf cart chase. Guess what? Mel has brought a suitcase full of dildos.
Worse than tired gags, we don’t get a sense of who these women really are in relationship to themselves or other women. We only know them through the prism of men: Jane lusts after Yoga Dude, Coco rages at Roger, Sophie is bullied by her boss. We know nothing about them outside of their superficial signifiers.
That’s why Fisher’s Mel feels so radical. She might be a grifter and a liar (a vastly underexplored subplot) but she has fully decentered men — so hard that no rule of polite society can hold her. If that’s a disaster, sign me up. But please don’t let Lucas and Moore make more comedies for women. They can stick to the frat houses and bachelor parties they’re used to.
‘Spa Weekend’
Rated: R, for language throughout, sexual material and some drug use
With two LA28 ticket drops done and an ever-shrinking number of Olympic seats remaining, some sports fans are looking at a possibility they hadn’t considered before: hospitality packages.
These are combined Olympic experiences — an event ticket paired with upgrades in access and perks, designed by LA28’s official hospitality provider On Location. And they’re not not bargain-basement options. The LA28 hospitality packages start at $400 and run up to $15,000 per person, sometimes more. They’re becoming more tempting to many because they give buyers access to otherwise unavailable seats, bypassing ticket draw lotteries like the one that happened in April and another that wraps up Thursday.
“It’s more than a seat. It’s a seamless way to experience one of the biggest global sporting events,” On Location President Paul Caine has said.
But sports fans have mixed opinions. Some ticket hopefuls scoff at the price tags, which are far higher than the widely promoted $28 tickets that half a million people snagged in the first locals presale. Others warmed up to the offer. In a public LA28 Facebook group, a member named Tara initially described the $1,700-per-person price for a three-hour equestrian event as “robbery” but four days later, announced their decision to “splurge.”
“Crazy expensive but I’m assured of seeing the event that I want, have great seats and food …” Tara wrote. “I know I’ll probably never go to another Olympics so hoping I walk away feeling [that] it was completely worth it and I think I will.”
So are these packages worthwhile? Nobody will know until 2028 and answers will depend on the package, your tax bracket and your level of fandom. Here’s what you get with the hospitality packages and some things to consider.
Do the packages include a ticket to the Games?
Many guests who buy hospitality packages at the 2028 Olympics will get access to lounges. Artist’s portrayal shown here.
(On Location)
Yes, and the offerings include more in-demand sports and sessions than you will find in LA28’s ticket-only sales. Packages that included tickets for artistic gymnastics, diving, swimming and beach volleyball appeared in an Aug. 19 search.
Even when stand-alone tickets are unavailable, hospitality-package tickets are often available because they are handled separately. An On Location spokesperson said that LA28 Hospitality “is the only provider that offers those coveted and exclusive front row seats, private suites, etc. … We have reserved sections in each venue for each sport for hospitality guests, ensuring they have the best vantage points of the event, and they get the best value out of their package.”
For basketball competition, the top seating categories (including most or all courtside seats) have been made available only through hospitality packages.
Veteran ticket-seekers warn, however, that consumers should always make sure they’re satisfied with locations of their hospitality-package seats.
All hospitality packages include tickets to events, their prices varying by event, supply and demand. Also, hospitality-package tickets do not count toward the limit of 12 stand-alone tickets per buyer.
As packages are unveiled and sold, available inventory on the website fluctuates — which means fans can spend a lot of time checking and rechecking.
How much more do packages cost than individual tickets?
A lot more. Seats alone at the 2028 Games can cost anywhere from $28 to north of $500, including a 24% service fee. The most affordable hospitality packages cost $400 and many cost far more.
As of Aug. 19, a hospitality-package shopper could pay $15,000 and up for one ticket to opening ceremonies (July 14, 2028) coupled with eating, drinking and hanging-out privileges in a Premium Lounge at SoFi Stadium before or during the event. (That same $15,000 would cover about eight months’ rent for the average tenant in L.A. County, according the U.S. Census data.)
For $450 and up, a fan could buy a hospitality package for the July 15 elimination round of the men’s and women’s judo competition in L.A. Convention Center Hall 2. Besides a seat, the package includes access to a shared lounge space, a welcome drink, an L.A.-inspired food item and entry to a hospitality pavilion before or after the selected session.
What’s a hospitality pavilion? What are the package tiers?
Hospitality packages for the 2028 Games include access to private lounges and pavilions. Artist’s portrayal shown here. (On Location)
(On Location)
In the Olympic hospitality pecking order, the premium lounges beat the leisure lounges and the hospitality pavilions, which provide shared havens for followers of multiple sports.
For instance, the Valley Zone Pavilion is “a backyard-inspired oasis” near venues for 3×3 basketball, modern pentathlon, skateboarding, cycling BMX racing and cycling BMX freestyle.
The Carson Zone Pavilion is an open-air setting near the archery, track cycling, hockey, rugby sevens and tennis venues. There are similar pavilions elsewhere, including Long Beach and DTLA, for the multiple sports in those areas.
LA28 organizers say all of those pavilions will be climate-controlled or shaded, featuring “Olympic Games-inspired décor, an L.A.-inspired food item and welcome drink, and additional food and beverages available for purchase.” Those pavilions do not include direct views of each sport.
Similarly, leisure lounges often include one drink and one L.A.-inspired food item but may not have a direct view of competition. Premium lounges often do have direct views of competition and ongoing access to fancier food and drink.
For instance, package purchasers can spend $1,750 per person for seats and Premium Lounge access at the July 23 preliminary beach volleyball competition in Alamitos Beach Stadium. That Premium Lounge is expected to include a second-floor open-air terrace, “continuous food and beverage service,” priority entry and a commemorative gift. For the less-spendy Leisure Lounge version of this experience (one drink, one food item, access to a climate-controlled space at the venue), prices start at $625 per person.
A spokesperson said the LA28 On Location hospitality plan currently includes about 13 premium lounges and nine leisure lounges and hospitality pavilions.
Does that cover all the tiers?
Almost. There’s also a hospitality category that outranks all of the others: the Platinum Access packages, which often include luxury accommodations, private suites and private transport. These packages, which often run into thousands of dollars, attract many celebrities and corporate buyers who see the Games as a chance to butter up clients or reward top performers. (To see Platinum Access prices, you’ll have to sign up and wait for a response from On Location’s Platinum Access Team.)
Will more packages be added?
Yes. As with individual tickets, hospitality packages are being gradually rolled out as 2028 nears.
On July 28, for instance, On Location unveiled a “Follow My Team” package, giving fans a chance at enhanced access to their country’s men’s & women’s basketball matches, allowing big spenders to avoid the scramble for individual event tickets. The packages include games in the Group Phases and Quarterfinals. As of Aug. 19, prices for a basketball package started at $5,250 to follow the USA men’s team, $3,150 to follow the USA women’s team. (According to census figures, the median monthly income per capita in L.A. County is about $3,800.)
More hospitality packages are due to open in August for football (soccer). Hospitality package offers for badminton, cricket and rhythmic gymnastics are due later in the year.
An On Location spokesperson said the company is also putting together hospitality packages for the LA28 Paralympic Games. Stand-alone tickets for those Games also will go on sale in 2027.
Does On Location authorize people to resell hospitality packages the way they can resell tickets?
No, said a spokesperson from On Location.
Should people wait for more tickets to become available in 2027, explore the resale market, or spring for a hospitality package now?
That depends on many variables — how much you’re willing to spend, how eager/desperate you are to see a particular sport, how you feel about dealing with the resale market.
LA28 organizers have said more stand-alone tickets will become available in 2027, not through lotteries but first-come, first-served sales.
With so much unknown about availability and pricing in 2027, many have chosen to hold off on any Olympic purchases. Yet for those who can afford it, buying a hospitality package may bring peace of mind. As Tara wrote on Facebook: “I just didn’t want to wait and miss out.”
Lisa Hayden-Johnson was jailed after fabricating her son Matthew’s illnesses
23:00, 19 Aug 2026Updated 23:00, 19 Aug 2026
Lisa Hayden-Johnson is defending herself years after being jailed for cruelty in a new Channel 4 series(Image: Channel 4)
Lisa Hayden-Johnson has defended her actions in a new Channel 4 documentary.
The Devon woman has spoken out for the first time since being released from prison. She was jailed in 2010 for three years and three months after admitting cruelty and perverting the course of justice.
Matthew’s supposed health battle attracted widespread media attention. The youngster went on to appear on various TV shows and was famously introduced to the Duchess of Cornwall, now Queen Camilla.
The young boy, now aged 25, was also subjected to medical interventions before doctors grew suspicious about his alleged health problems. Now, both mother and son are telling their sides of the story in new Channel 4 three-part series, Love You to Death.
A synopsis for the show states: “Young Matthew’s health problems worry medics and his mum Lisa. But when doctors’ efforts to improve Matthew’s condition don’t work, suspicions are raised and the police are called in to investigate.”
In the first episode, which aired on Wednesday (August 19), Lisa refutes the infamous ‘most evil mum’ title she earned as a result of the story.
She says: “I’ve never had the opportunity to [tell her story]. The newspaper articles are so incorrect. How can I be ‘Britain’s Most Evil Mother?'”
She goes on to add: “The only thing I was guilty of was putting my son first and fighting his battle, which is what I did. And I don’t regret that.”
Matthew, who will feature in the second episode of the series, spoke to the BBC about how it felt to hear his mother’s perspective.
He said: “It was a lot of disappointment but I think also frustration as almost two decades on, there is still a lack of accountability from her side.
“When I could see, even after two decades… she still holds the same story and believes that she did the best by me… that obviously isn’t right.” Matthew’s older sister, Laura, also speaks out in the documentary.
Love You To Death Episode 1 is streaming now on Channel 4
WASHINGTON — A Massachusetts woman who told police that she brought homemade firebombs to the U.S. Capitol to kill Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was sentenced on Tuesday to just over six years in prison.
Riley English, a 26-year-old transgender woman, said she was in the grips of a mental health crisis and abusing drugs when she drove to Washington in January 2025 and told Capitol police that she was there to kill Bessent on the day of his Senate confirmation.
“I never wanted to hurt anyone,” she told U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras. “I’m not a political person. I’m not a violent person.”
Contreras, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, sentenced English to six years and one month of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. English has remained jailed since her arrest and will get credit for the nearly 20 months that she already has spent in custody. She pleaded guilty in March to two weapons charges.
“You’ve had a very difficult life,” Contreras told English. “Hopefully, the progress you’ve made in jail to this date has set you on the right path.”
Nobody was injured, and Contreras said her plan to harm Bessent had an “exceedingly low or non-existent” chance of success. Bessent wasn’t at the Capitol when English arrived on Jan. 27, 2025. The Molotov cocktails that English brought to the Capitol appeared to be incapable of igniting, the judge noted.
Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 10 years and one month for English. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Horan said English had been planning the “attempted political assassination” for at least a month at a time when the threat of politically motivated violence has been mounting in the U.S.
“This was not a chance encounter or an impulsive act,” Horan said.
The case against English fits a pattern of politically motivated violence that has plagued the U.S. over the past decade. In a letter addressed to the judge, Bessent said he worries the country “cannot survive this assault.”
“Political violence is an attack on the rule of law and on representative government itself,” Bessent wrote. “It also deprives our country of service by talented men and women with ability and integrity who may reasonably decide that no job is worth threats to themselves and their families.”
English’s prosecution drew comparisons to the case against California resident Sophie Roske, who was sentenced last October to over eight years in prison for attempting to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his Maryland home. Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of no less than 30 years for Roske, a transgender woman. They appealed Roske’s sentence by U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, calling it unreasonably lenient.
Defense attorney Maria Jacob said English was “terrified and traumatized” by fears of what would happen to transgender people under the second Trump administration.
“Our argument is that she was in a diminished mental state,” Jacob said.
Investigators said they found a folding knife, two homemade firebombs and a lighter in English’s possession at the Capitol.
English, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, told police that she was influenced by Luigi Mangione, the man who was charged with fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. She said she was “on a mission” and “had been thinking about this for a while because of Luigi Mangione,” prosecutors said. English told officers that she was terminally ill and “wanted to do something before I go,” according to prosecutors.
English also said she traveled from Massachusetts to Washington intending to kill other Republican political figures — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and House Speaker Mike Johnson — and to burn down the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, according to police. English changed her target to Bessent after reading an internet post about his confirmation hearing, police said.
Jacob said English’s actions last year were “a cry for help.”
“There was no indication that she was acting rationally that day,” the judge said.
Nearly every week, I pass a colleague in the office who taunts me with four words: “Count of Monte Cristo, Count of Monte Cristo,” as he shakes his head. He’s disappointed his favorite book didn’t make the cut of our 101 best book club picks list, which served as the 2026 LA Times Festival of Books curtain-raiser. I don’t mind the barb. There’s nothing more exciting than an impassioned reader — even when they’re wrong. I’m all for rallying around a book or author and debating their merits like it’s a sporting match. Our book lists, after all, aren’t meant to be final verdicts. They’re invitations to read more (and, maybe, better).
Reading List
If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores.
To compile our expansive list we surveyed more than 200 bookish luminaries — along with a few zealous book club members. Our readers had their own ideas for their top book club picks, many of which we deeply considered. Here you’ll find some of our worthy Los Angeles Times reader selections.
“A favorite book my book group read and discussed is ‘Farenheit 451.’ It was fascinating to see what the past thought the future might bring,” reader Margaret Hardy writes of the 20th century classic. “In terms of technology and control by the government we are seeing today what Bradbury was thinking about in 1953. We felt that the future was found in the past. It was a chilling read.” Equally chilling is that the book often shows up on banned books lists — not unlike in its narrative.
“You missed ‘Homegoing’ by Yaa Gyasi!” reader Melanie H. writes of the critically acclaimed Ghanian historical fiction novel. “My book club read it and I was enthralled. I can’t stop thinking about it ever since. The amount of research and empathy into every single character and era Gyasi put into this story is incredible. It altered my brain and to this day I tell everyone about this book.”
Reader Roxanne Yahner writes, “It is beautifully written, elegant and eloquent, and there is no preparing anyone for the sheer inexorable force of Baldwin’s language. This novel expresses the personal — and historical — grief of two gay, perhaps bisexual, men as they explore their sexuality at a time and place where such behavior was dangerous. The reader aches for these men and feels their grief. Some in our book club were disturbed by this novel, but all agreed they were deeply moved by it.”
Several readers wrote to us recommending Rushdie’s magical realist epic. “It’s such a complex, yet entertaining novel. We learned a lot about the tenets of Islam as woven into the story,” Ellyn Moscowitz shares about their book club pick. “It provoked great discussions about death, afterlife, religion in general and great character studies.”
Reader Francesca Smithwick-Driver chose this as a book club pick in the ‘90s for her group and the 1989 National Book Award fiction finalist remains a favorite.
“[It’s] about a family who runs a carnival of ‘freaks.’ The story is told by an albino dwarf. There are strong themes about what it is to be normal, falling in and out of love with yourself — your family — and the world around you. Wonderfully written scenes about horrible things and beautiful things. I still remember the discussion of my book club — from ‘why in the world did you recommend this disgusting book’ to ‘what a book’ … I couldn’t wait to get back to it each time I put it down.”
Reader Kate Karp, who has a cat who resembles a key character in this Russian classic, writes: “[It] turned out, no surprise, to have been the inspiration for the Stones’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil.’” She notes it also requires multiple readings to grasp all the subplots — but it’s worth it.
“I am terrible at book clubs because I have found that I am a very picky reader who simply will not read a book that I do not enjoy,” reader Mike Gascoigne writes. “That said, in a book club I did very much enjoy Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Klara and the Sun’ and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s ‘Chain Gang All-Stars.’ There was a lot to discuss about both titles including AI/robots, intellectual enhancements, climate change, reality television, prison reform/abolition and human nature.”
“‘All the King’s Men’ is a powerful summer read — a Pulitzer-winning novel that feels strikingly current,” reader Ken Muche writes. “Set in the 1930s South, Willie Stark’s political rise echoes modern demagogues, reminding us how easily power can blur truth. Even more important, the novel invites reflection on our own bad life choices — showing that taking accountability for one’s actions is the first step toward forgiveness, peace, and ultimately, a more grounded kind of happiness.”
Reader Seth Kivnick’s pick is this work of fiction that co-won the Booker Prize in 2019, he notes that the compelling book describes the Black women in the British Isles who came from all walks of life and different countries. “[It] appealed to male and female club members.”
“It’s good-humored without being comedy or satire but opens serious friendly discussions about contemporary problems,” reader Christine Almeida writes of the novel that won the 2021 National Book Award for fiction. “Our library-based book club talked about it for a solid 90 minutes without straying from what the book itself had to offer its readers.”
Romania’s Defence Ministry didn’t specify the origin of the drone but has previously blamed Russia for similar incidents.
Published On 16 Aug 202616 Aug 2026
Russian strikes on Ukraine have killed at least one person and wounded seven more while a Spanish jet has shot down a drone that entered Romanian airspace.
A woman was killed and six others wounded in a missile and drone attack on Kryvyi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the region’s governor said early on Sunday.
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Authorities in the Ukrainian capital also said Kyiv was “under ballistic missile attack” late on Saturday, with one person wounded and fires sparked at non-residential sites in the Obolonsky and Holosiivskyi districts.
Separately, Romania’s Defence Ministry reported on Sunday that a Spanish F-18 fighter jet pilot on a NATO air policing mission to Romania had shot down a drone illegally breaching its national airspace.
Romania’s Defence Ministry did not specify the origin of the drone.
In July, a Romanian jet shot down a suspected Russian drone, and in May a stray drone injured two people in the Romanian city of Galati when it collided with a building.
Romania shares a 634km (394-mile) border with Ukraine and has repeatedly seen Russian drones breaching its airspace as Moscow escalates its bombing campaign against Ukrainian civilian and military infrastructure.
Escalating long-range strikes
Russia has maintained near-daily missile and drone strikes across Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in early 2022, with areas far from the front lines frequently coming under attack.
The war’s impact has also spread to key regional shipping lanes, with reports of mines and unmanned sea drones found floating in the Black Sea.
Civilian casualties in Ukraine hit their highest level since 2022 this July, with at least 437 killed and 2,610 injured, according to the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission.
Meanwhile, in Russia on Sunday, authorities reported a large-scale drone incursion from the Ukrainians.
Moscow officials said they had downed more than 100 drones heading towards the capital overnight.
Emergency services were deployed to sites where debris fell, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, adding that three people were wounded.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted military, industrial and logistical facilities deep inside Russia, arguing its strikes are a response to Moscow’s ongoing bombardment of Ukrainian towns and infrastructure.
On Friday night at the SoFi Stadium, there was nothing random about the songs that played just before Karol G took the stage for the first of three evenings at the venue. We can safely assume that the Colombian superstar selected the cuts herself — the perfect tropicoqueta mix to set up the mood.
First, a shadowy “Bésame Mucho”; Elvis Crespo’s merengue smash “Suavemente”; the Afro-Cuban nugget “El Manisero”; and two life-affirming hits by the Queen of Salsa herself, Celia Cruz: “La Vida Es Un Carnaval” and “La Negra Tiene Tumbao.”
These carefully curated gems share a common element: They managed to transcend the stylistic contours of their respective genres and become something bigger — the kind of irresistible, it-takes-a-village anthems that will lure everyone to the dance floor, even if they don’t understand the lyrics.
And that is exactly what Karol G — la bichota, the South American Cleopatra, the woman with the billion-dollar smile — has been doing for global pop since the release of “Tusa,” her imperial duet with Nicki Minaj, back in 2019.
(Jill Connelly / For De Los)
Karol is currently the 42nd-most-streamed artist on Spotify, and her albums “Mañana Será Bonito” (2023) and “Tropicoqueta” (2025) helped reinvent the sound of contemporary Latin. She emerged from the reggaeton thunderstorm that hijacked the planet, but then guided it smoothly into a different aesthetic territory, far away from the movement’s misogynistic toxicity. Her ongoing collaboration with producer Ovy On The Drums — they’re the same age, 35, both from Medellín — was transformative, combining clanging, tribal beats with liquid textures and a refined, champagne-like lightness.
Part of the massive “Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour,” Friday’s performance confirmed the singer’s stature as one of the most vital and charismatic Latin artists of the 21st century. More than a conventional concert, it felt like a stark, delirious fantasia, a relentless cinematic mosaic of decadent dance numbers and hyper-popped fragmentation presented in five acts, unified by a tropical visual motif: lush vegetation; a blue lagoon where cleansing erotic rituals take place; plumes of purifying fire to expiate the aftertaste of all those failed romances.
(Jill Connelly / For De Los)
Beginning with the wicked reggaeton beat of “Latina Foreva” — an existential jam about curves and pleasure, the freedom of the flesh — Karol ignited a deafening roar of adoration from the full-capacity crowd. For a moment, I got a taste of what Beatlemania must have sounded like in the 1960s.
As the cameras followed her closely, projecting every playful grimace and flirtatious wink onto the giant video screens, the complexity of her artistic persona became increasingly transparent: an indomitable woman who is deeply connected with primal joy and sensuality, but also vulnerable enough to get her heart broken on the way to the red carpet (and still embrace the experience). In the world of Karol G, what doesn’t kill you makes for an international hit.
Admittedly, it was the aggressive, in-your-face numbers that worked best. Karol sounds even better when surrounded by half-naked dancers — “Gatúbela” and “Ojos Ferrari” were highlights in that respect — and the choreography evoked the sweaty rapture of a full-blown Roman orgy.
(Jill Connelly / For De Los)
But she’s also smart enough to alternate the futurism of neo-reggaeton (the cutting-edge territory where her work with producers like Ovy On The Drums and Tainy has given us some astonishing records) with an affectionate nod to the past glories of Afro-Caribbean lore: the 20th century cultural bubble where Colombian families listened to the “14 Cañonazos Bailables” compilations during the Christmas season.
On the title track of “Tropicoqueta,” she draws an imaginary line that connects her current sexual emancipation to the frisky downbeats of 1950s mambo and the early 2000s movement that jazzed up the Afro-Caribbean classics with a digital bounce. On Friday, she salsified “Provenza” and added the riff of Willie Colón’s “La Murga” as an intro to “Tusa.” Her visual recreation of the “Tropicoqueta” album cover onstage was one of the show’s wittiest moments.
At one point after the success of “Mañana Será Bonito,” Karol must have realized that her newly acquired diva status gave her the chance to voice some valuable thoughts on the merits of Latin American culture.
In between songs, Karol spoke with compassion about the recent earthquakes affecting Colombia and Venezuela — the latter of which is where her poised opening act, Elena Rose, also hails from — but her pan-Latino ideology seeped into the music as well. Her face was covered in tears after she performed “Ese Hombre Es Malo” backed by female mariachi players. At the end of the show, a stunning reading of “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” revealed the instinctive ease with which she can navigate the sweet, syncopated phrasing of Dominican merengue.
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Elena Rose opens for Karol G at SoFi. (Jill Connelly/For De Los)
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Inglewood, CA., Aug. 14, 2026. – Opener Elena Rose performs during the first of Karol G’s three nights headlining the SoFi Stadium for her Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour. (Jill Connelly / For De Los) (Jill Connelly/For De Los)
A few tracks from her recently released sixth studio album,”No Me Arrepiento De Sentir Tanto,” displayed a more introspective side. On the dreamy ballad “Después de Ti,” she was joined on guitar by Greg Gonzalez of Cigarettes After Sex, reenacting their performance together from April, when Karol headlined Coachella.
The deafening volume at SoFi was the only aspect of the show that got in the way. The sound stage felt bludgeoned into submission throughout, as the intense distortion of bass, percussion and guitars made the instrument separation within the mix almost inaudible.
That said, the overall experience transcended the sonic elements, as Karol is clearly using the Tropitour as a good reason to celebrate her extraordinary achievements with the fans (she even hugged a security guard).
Somewhere in the venue, a young Latina girl must have been dazzled by this extravagant spectacle and perhaps dreamed of one day following in the footsteps of Carolina Giraldo Navarro: a gifted singer and composer, a woman intelligent enough to cherish the emotional value of dancing the night away.
An Austrian activist in Vienna is challenging the city over public toilet fees, arguing women are discriminated against because they must pay to use cubicles while men can access urinals for free.
Federal authorities charged Melissa L. Farris, 41 of Kentucky, with felony vandalism for allegedly spray painting the National Mall’s World War II Memorial. Photo courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C.
Aug. 14 (UPI) — A Kentucky woman was arrested for allegedly vandalizing the National Mall’s World War II Memorial, officials said Friday.
Melissa L. Farris, 41 of Elizabethtown, is charged with depredation against federal property and destruction of veterans’ memorials, both of which are felonies. She faces 10 years in prison on each charge.
“Vandalizing our World War II Memorial is a despicable attack on a sacred monument honoring the Americans who fought and died for our freedom,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said in a statement on X.
Farris was arrested about 2 p.m. on Thursday when U.S. Park Police responded to reports of a disorderly person, according to the criminal complaint.
The words “Clean Hands Dirty $” were sprayed onto the walls in orange paint. There were also splatters of green and pink paint.
Officials said Farris had been arrested four days earlier for allegedly camping on federal property, the criminal complaint said.
She is also alleged to have posted videos on social media admitting to the vandalism.
In the postings, Farris said she is “cognitively aware” and “doing so to push my whistleblower case into the courtroom,” according to the criminal complaint.
“Our beautiful World War II Memorial was just hit by Spray Painting Vandals,” President Donald Trump said in a statement on Truth Social. “THERE CAN BE NO GREATER INSULT TO THOSE AMERICAN HEROES WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR II.”
Members of the National Guard patrol near the Washington Monument on Tuesday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
A British travel content creator has shared her thoughts after visiting Los Angeles admitting she should have a listened to a warning she received when exchanging her currency
A Brit who visited Hollywood says the reality of the area of Los Angeles ‘isn’t what you think’(Image: Getty Images)
A British woman who visited Hollywood recently has explained how the “reality” surrounding Tinseltown is “definitely not what you think”.
Travel content creator Jasmine admitted she had been warned about Los Angeles by her local Post Office’s staff when she changed her pounds to dollars. “A lady on the counter asked if I was going anywhere nice and I told her was going to LA and she looked at me a bit gone out,” she began in a TikTok video. “I was a bit confused at this point and she asked if I had ever been before and that it would not be what I thought it’d be.”
And as Jasmine’s clip continued in California, it appeared the Post Office clerk clearly wasn’t wrong. “As soon as I got there I understood exactly what she meant,” she said.
On a dreary looking day, Jasmine headed to Mel’s Drive-In Celebrity Bar to order French toast. There, she continued: “It was exactly what she said it’d be and absolutely nothing like I had imagined.”
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While Jasmine acknowledging Hollywood does boast some “fantastic places to go”, she couldn’t help but highlight other “really run-down places” as she strolled the Walk of Fame.
“There’s definitely a misconception of what LA actually is, especially when you are from the UK,” she mused. “If I had known what it was really like, I probably would have planned my trip a whole lot differently and missed Hollywood completely.”
Jasmine added that on her return to the UK she was regularly asked if she visited the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “It actually makes zero sense because it’s probably the worst place in LA to go,” she said as she ate a hot dog. “Just be mindful if you are going there from the UK, it’s not going to be how you imagine.”
In a follow-up video, Jasmine headed out for an early morning walk where she showcased little more than “all the cleaning crew out” and areas that were “dealing with homelessness”.
“There was rubbish and human waste on the floor, which can be a real issue,” she slammed. “It definitely gave me a bit of a reality check.”
Jasmine did offer praise for Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, however. “We tried so much amazing food there and experienced so many different sides of the city,” she enthused. “I guess what surprised me the most about LA is that every area feels so different. You can go from Hollywood to beaches to food spots all in one trip.”
Writing in response, a frustrated local asked: “No one in LA cares for Hollywood. Why do you guys always come to Hollywood? That’s like the last place we ever go to!”
A second person agreed with Jasmine: “I went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was absolutely shocked.” A third fumed: “Totally agree, I was massively disappointed, especially Hollywood, that was like a crack den.”
However, a fourth TikTok user exclaimed: “Los Angeles is gorgeous. You just need to have realistic expectations and stay slightly off the beaten track to see the real LA Hollywood and Downtown are must avoids.”
Bob Iger’s purchase of the Lakers isn’t the former Disney boss’s first foray into ownership of a professional sports franchise in Southern California: Twenty-five months ago Iger and his wife, Willow Bay, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, acquired a controlling interest in soccer club Angel City for $50 million.
And while the NWSL is a long way from the NBA — and $50 million is a long way from the $12.5 billion the basketball team sold for Wednesday — the Iger family’s management of the women’s soccer team may hint at what’s in store for the Lakers.
Spoiler alert: it’s not all good.
Iger’s investment pushed Angel City’s valuation to $250 million, making it the world’s most valuable women’s professional sports franchise. And six months after taking over the team, Bay cut the ribbon on a multi-million-dollar training complex at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, which added to the team’s worth.
“Bob and I were very clear about investing the resources in this team and the people who lead and manage it. And most certainly the women who play for it,” Bay said at the time. “We know how important it is to do our best to bring a championship to this city.”
Yet also under Iger and Bay’s leadership, Angel City’s average attendance has fallen more than 20% and the team has yet to make the playoffs or post a winning record. The roster does not have a superstar player or even a regular starter on the women’s national team — with the salary of defender Gisele Thompson, the team’s highest-paid player, ranked 19th in the 16-team league. And the club is on its fourth manager, including interim coaches, and its second president of business operations in two years as Bay maneuvers to put her own stamp on the team.
However Mark Parsons, Iger and Bay’s hand-picked sporting director, lauds the team’s new owners, saying his staff has doubled in his 20 months at Angel City and the club is finally headed in the right direction.
“They gave us the resources,” said Parsons, who previously built struggling teams into NWSL finalists in Washington and Portland. “They’ve delivered upon that. We are investing in sporting staff and resources and facilities and consultants and experts around the world to support our athletes.
“Probably as good as anyone right now.”
Parsons said he speaks frequently with Bay, who has been hands-on in running Angel City. Iger will likely be the more active partner in managing the Lakers.
“Willow is one of the best leaders I’ve ever been around in my life, never mind my career,” Parsons said. “Spending time with Willow and Bob is an education in leadership and life. They are really special leaders.
“The best compliment I could give them is when I was in my final interview, who they were in that moment was the same people I’ve met when we’ve had good moments or stressful moments to navigate together.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is freezing her eggs as she decides her next political moves ahead of the 2028 presidential election campaign.
“This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez, 36, said on Instagram about her decision regarding her reproductive options.
The New York congresswoman, a leading figure of Democrats’ progressive left flank, did not say explicitly whether she plans to have children. She said in her social media posts that she was taking a “political risk” in talking so personally about her potential family plans.
She said later on ABC “This Week” on Sunday that she has not ruled out running for president or for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrats’ floor leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, in 2028. She explained that she wants to normalize conversations about what women face in their professional and personal lives, while also highlighting the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.
“In this political environment, where this administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy, I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations,” she said.
Trump’s administration opposes abortion rights, and the Republican president’s first-term appointees to the Supreme Court provided the margins in the 2022 ruling that struck down the Roe v. Wade decision that had established a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.
Separately, however, Trump in 2025 signed an executive order designed to lower the costs of in vitro fertilization.
Ocasio-Cortez sponsored a Democratic bill in 2022, when the party controlled the House, to codify abortion rights into federal law after the Supreme Court’s abortion decision.
As part of her weekend announcement, Ocasio-Cortez noted that women — in politics and other fields — face different standards and scrutiny about their family status.
“Men run for office, or frankly they interview for jobs, and people don’t think in the back of their minds, ‘OK, this guy’s running for office, how old is he? Oh, well, is he going to want to start a family?’” she said.
Gillian Anderson was once a young person experimenting.
“I don’t even know if I was questioning my sexuality but there were a couple of moments during my teen years where I was with women,” Anderson tells me candidly on a recent afternoon at a Beverly Hills hotel. “I haven’t really spoken about that very much.”
Though she won’t go into details about those early interactions, she remembers the isolation that plagued her. “In interviews, I’ve alluded to a relationship that I had later in my post-college life, but not about that particular time and how not even confused, but just alone I felt and how different I felt to the rest of the kids in my high school,” she adds.
For some time now, the once and forever “X-Files” star has leaned into episodic television (Netflix, she says, has become a great partner). She earned her second Emmy in 2021 for her blistering turn as polarizing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Crown.” Yet a major shade of her public persona has become her activism around sex positivity, encouraging women to open up about their needs and wants, both in the bedroom and as individuals in every aspect of their lives.
“It seems to still be an important topic for women to hear other women speak about,” she says. “I have come to love talking about it in the context of women’s empowerment, finding ways to embrace their own integral agency.”
Clad in a sleeveless bright green dress, Anderson, 57, radiates an ageless grace, undeniably sophisticated yet unpretentious in her demeanor. Her hair in a braid evokes the look of a figure from ancient Rome. When speaking in her unmistakable throaty voice, her expressive body language (hand movements often complement her sentences) reveals her assertiveness. That confidence makes it difficult to imagine she ever was a fragile teen.
Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson in the movie “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.”
(Mubi)
In Anderson’s latest movie, the horror-tinged, dreamlike “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (in theaters Friday), Anderson plays Billy Presley, a reclusive former scream queen who was one of those “final girls” from a popular 1980s slasher horror franchise in which the killer was aptly called Little Death (a nickname for an orgasm, derived from a French phrase). Now Billy spends her days alone living in the woodsy location where her breakout movie was filmed long ago.
That is until auspicious indie filmmaker Kris (“Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder) comes to visit Billy with the intention of persuading her to act in a reboot. The two develop a friendship that empowers Kris to dive into her unspoken sexual yearnings — desires drenched in fear, violence and curiosity — with Billy as her mentor and, eventually, patient lover.
On top of her ability with accents (she does a Southern one here), Anderson physically commands the screen from the moment she makes an entrance worthy of a timeless diva. Her regal aura contrasts with the grotesque sensuality of a scene where fried chicken and dipping sauces take on an almost pornographic lure. Her Billy, a woman who can fluctuate between a loud cackle and an introspective speech about the lust-inducing “flesh and fluids” of horror movies, feels equal parts otherworldly and tethered to earthly urges.
“I knew on a deep level that I wanted to be a part of it, but it’s only in retrospect that I completely understand why it was so meaningful to me,” Anderson says. “It feels like such a salve for so many.”
“She put everyone at ease during those moments in a really beautiful way,” says director Jane Schoenbrun of Anderson’s work with Einbinder on their most daring scenes. “She is so physically tapped into her own abilities.”
(Mubi)
Einbinder, with whom Anderson shares scenes of blood-soaked eroticism, describes the veteran star as meticulous and diligent while also having a “lot of access to spontaneity.”
“I was a fan of her from, of course, ‘The X Files’ and a lot of her other work, so she just held this significance to me as an artist,” Einbinder tells me over the phone, “but meeting her, my expectations were surpassed because she’s really cool.”
“I didn’t want Billy to come across as a predator,” Anderson says. “I didn’t want her to be creepy or too maternal and so there were moments where she shows care, and it was a really fine line of how to play those beats. Even our first kiss and our sex scenes were very specific so that it didn’t feel not OK to be witnessing or representing.”
To Jane Schoenbrun, the movie’s writer and director, Anderson has the “elegance of old Hollywood, a classic mystique.” The filmmaker describes meeting her as a “strange coming home feeling,” since her “X-Files” character Scully held a special place in Schoenbrun’s formative years. “I spent as much time with her as I did with my siblings,” they add.
Schoenbrun credits Anderson as a “calming and nurturing presence” during the sex scenes between her and Einbinder — the first sex scenes the filmmaker had ever directed.
“Gillian had such an elegant, serious, professional but also caring perspective on how to talk about it and how to guide through it in a way that felt like it was going to be very present and alive on screen,” Schoenbrun recalls. “She put everyone at ease during those moments in a really beautiful way. She is so physically tapped into her own abilities.”
Anderson, seated with director Schoenbrun on the set of “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.”
(David Astorga / Mubi)
Anderson found her way into playing Billy through the character’s distinct accent. Having played the tragically romantic Blanche DuBois from “A Streetcar Named Desire” on stage in the past, she aimed for a different version of Southern. “What I liked about it was this particular pitch that holds strength and vulnerability in it, which I think is very much where Billy lives at all times, from minute to minute,” she says.
Other recent TV roles have steered Anderson in the direction of an unabashedly queer storyteller like Schoenbrun. Jean Milburn, Anderson’s humorously matter-of-fact sex therapist from the series “Sex Education,” represented a watershed beginning in 2019.
It was because of the success of that show that she was approached to write “Want,” a 2024 book that collected the sexual fantasies of anonymous women (a follow-up, “More,” is out in September from Abrams Press).
“Sex Education” also inspired Anderson to launch her own brand of soft drinks cheekily called G Spot (they are caffeine-free and infused with vitamins and minerals). Some retailers, she says, have refused to use the drink’s name. “We’ve had so much pushback on the name and I refuse to be cowed, to be shut down, to be told that it’s a dirty word or that it shouldn’t be in public spaces,” she says.
“The strange thing is I don’t identify with Scully in the same way I do with other characters that I played for much less time,” Anderson says. “Part of that is because of how square she was. I have such an intrinsically rebellious nature.”
(Ian Spanier / For The Times)
For Anderson, humor is an important component of the conversations she wants people to have about sex and sexuality. During her time on “Sex Education,” she started posting pictures on Instagram of props on set that resembled both male and female genitalia. Some of her posts kept getting blocked.
“There were all these amazing things, from chess pieces that were phallic to a soap holder that was a yoni,” she says, smiling. “We started to call them ‘penis or yoni of the day.’ Then fans started posting back to me pictures of penises or yonis of the day they would see in nature.”
Anderson doesn’t quite understand the swath of Gen Zers who deride sex in movies and is, in general, uncomfortable with the subject of physical connection.
“For my younger kids, who are late-teens, the thought of picking up a phone to [call] somebody that they’re interested in feels so intimate,” Anderson says. “If a phone call is intimate and your conversations on a regular basis are snapshots of your face making funny images, then the idea of going into deep intimacy must be absolutely terrifying.”
She’s hopeful that young people might start to turn toward in-person activities to bond. But while the subjects of pleasure and open-mindedness captivate her, on screen Anderson is not letting the industry pigeonhole her.
Anderson’s recent output includes playing a shadowy operative with icy conviction in the thriller “Animals” opposite Ben Affleck, and a Nazi guard in the limited series “The Boys From Brazil,” both coming to Netflix in the near future. And in last year’s “Trespasses,” another TV show, she became a Northern Irish alcoholic mother. “I wouldn’t have guessed that at my age I would be having so many different and varied opportunities,” Anderson says.
In the aftermath of her time on “The X Files,” Anderson moved to London, both because she longed for the city where she partially grew up and for a chance at reinventing herself professionally.
“I’d never had my own publicist before that,” she says. “Had I had one, they probably would’ve tried to convince me that moving to London was the worst thing I could do for my career.”
For a long time, Anderson’s relationship with Dana Scully was complicated. “I felt like everything that I did was in an effort to get away from Scully,” Anderson admits. “Then when people would bring it up or I would do a 45-minute interview and they would ask one question about ‘The X-Files,’ they would use my refusing to talk about it as an excuse to make it the headline.”
It made it challenging for her to be considered for film roles and even for TV projects of a different vein.
“Now you have A-list actors, the Nicole Kidmans, moving between TV and film,” she says, “but back during ‘The X-Files,’ if you were on telly, it was the B, if not C version of what an actor’s life could be.”
In England, though, the likes of Judi Dench, Maggie Smith or Glenda Jackson had always navigated effortlessly between the big and small screen and the stage. “That’s the life that I wanted,” Anderson adds. “The minute I moved there, the quality of the stuff and also the range of characters that I was being offered was so different from what I’d been doing for almost 10 years as Scully.”
“The House of Mirth,” Terence Davies’ 2000 period drama based on the satirical 1905 novel by Edith Wharton, represented a breakthrough. “At the very beginning, I remember I was so surprised that there were other people who thought that I might be able to do something else other than Scully.” (When I tell her how extraordinary she is in “Mirth” as a socialite caught between stability and something more passionate, Anderson replies with a bashful, whispered “Thank you.”)
And while she can now think of “The X Files” as the “blessing” that it signified in her career, Anderson is clear that she has more often seen herself reflected in other women she’s inhabited, such as Blanche or Stella Gibson, the detective she played in the series “The Fall” starting in 2013.
“The strange thing is I don’t identify with Scully in the same way I do with other characters that I played for much less time,” Anderson confesses. “Part of that is because of how square she was. I have such an intrinsically rebellious nature. I can, obviously, play square, but I think because of that, she didn’t necessarily get her hooks inside me in the way that some of these other characters that really push against the establishment did.”
Anderson is not entirely opposed to appearing on Ryan Coogler’s just-announced “X-Files” reboot, but she is far more excited about several sci-fi projects she is currently developing (one of them she describes as “huge” in scale). They will bring her back to similar territory, but this time on her own terms.
“It’s the first time that I’m properly going into the genre and embracing it and instigating that work,” Anderson says. “I’m very excited about those but no doubt when it comes time to do press around them, there’s going to be a lot of ‘X Files’ talk, inevitably.”
She’ll be ready for it. At once pragmatic and playful, Anderson seems to be taking on the world these days like someone who’s unraveled a deeper mystery.
Aug. 5 (UPI) — Officers arrested a woman accused of stabbing four men in London’s Covent Garden neighborhood, the Metropolitan Police said Wednesday.
All four victims — aged 34, 39, 42 and 52 — were transported to the hospital. Two have been released, while the other two were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart said officers responded to the area — a dining and entertainment district — “within minutes” of receiving reports of the attacks.
“While still at an early stage of the investigation, we would like to reassure the community that we currently believe this to be an isolated, mental-health related incident,” he said in a statement on X.
“A visible police presence will remain in the area while evidence is gathered at the scene and we thank the pubic for their understanding.”
People who worked in the area told The Guardian the suspect was known in the area and often displayed erratic behavior. Witnesses said it appeared she chose the victims at random and used scissors in the attack.
Arjan Gjorga, who works at a restaurant near the incident, told The Guardian he witnessed the attack.
“I see her all the time, she’s a homeless person. She walks around up and down asking for help, she visits the church at the top of the street,” he said.
Police cordoned off part of the area, including St Mungo’s homeless shelter. A representative for the facility told the BBC they couldn’t “confirm whether anyone from St Mungo’s is involved at this stage.”
The suspect was arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault.
A 47-year-old woman has been arrested after four men were stabbed in Covent Garden in central London, the Metropolitan Police said.
The men, aged 34, 39, 42 and 52, were taken to hospital after emergency services were called to reports of a stabbing in Endell Street at about 12:30 BST.
In a statement, London Ambulance Service said: “We treated four patients at the scene and took them all to a major trauma centre as a priority by road.”
The woman has been arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and assault.
The man suspected of killing Scottish aid worker Elisabeth Jane Ross in Greece is 26-year-old Sharif Ahmadzai, the BBC understands.
He was arrested after the body of the 38-year-old was found in a suitcase in an abandoned building in the Kypseli district of Athens on 18 July, several days after she was reported missing.
Ahmadzai, who was born in Afghanistan and is a champion boxer, travelled to Greece as a refugee.
He is expected to appear in court in Athens on Wednesday.
The BBC understands Ahmadzai, who left Afghanistan after being orphaned aged 15, lives in Greece with his American wife and child.
His father, a commander in the Afghan army, was shot dead and his mother and siblings were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul.
He travelled to Greece via Iran and Turkey, according to a video telling his story, external which was published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), before settling in a refugee camp on the island of Lesbos.
It is understood this is where he met his wife and converted to Christianity. The pair then set up the charity Love Every Nation Athens to help other refugees.
It is thought that he met Ross through the charity.
A woman has sparked a heated debate after claiming a fellow passenger took over part of her plane footwell with his backpack before making her feel like she was the one being rude
A woman has opened up on her ‘manspreading’ ordeal (stock image)(Image: Getty Images/EyeEm)
While the seat comes with a few downsides, including having no entertainment screen within easy reach and slightly narrower armrests, she said the extra space usually makes it worthwhile. However, her latest journey didn’t quite go to plan. She claimed the man sitting in the row in front placed his large backpack in the empty space where a window seat would normally be.
Because there is no seat directly in front of her in the exit row, she said the bag ended up taking over part of the legroom she specifically paid for.
To make matters worse, she alleged the passenger kept looking back at her as though she was being rude whenever her legs came close to his belongings.
Alongside a photo of the seating arrangement, she pointed out her own backpack was stored correctly underneath the seat in front of her, while his had been left in the open space beside him.
She wrote: “Not a huge deal… just curious. Other than this guy is making me feel like I’m being an a***hole.
“I’m in the exit row 21 window seat where there is no window seat in the exit row in front of you. I choose this seat at times even though, in exchange for the additional leg room, I’m giving up a screen and have limited seat width due to the arm rests.
“This guy plops his large backpack down directly to the left of him, where the ’20A seat’ would be if there were one. And is constantly looking back at me like I’m being rude, for my legs being near his bag.
“Mine is under the seat directly in front of me. As it should be. I’m tired. I’m annoyed. And to be honest, I just feel like complaining, but not enough to actually say something since it’s only an hour flight. But am I wrong to be this bothered by it?”
The post quickly attracted dozens of comments, with many siding with the woman and arguing the bag should have been kept out of the shared space.
One person said: “Former flight attendant here! This is a safety hazard – the reason bags go under seats is so they don’t go flying.
“He’s directly putting you in danger in case of turbulence. If he won’t move it I’d call the flight attendant over.”
Another user added: “Regardless of etiquette, his bag shouldn’t be there at any time. That’s an emergency exit. I doubt his priority will be finding a place to move his bag in a water exit – it’ll just be the reason everyone rear of the lav drowns.”
He explained how he had specifically booked his seat in advance to ensure he was as comfortable as possible during the flight.
But after a flight attendant noticed a child sitting alone in economy while their parent was in business class, they reportedly made it their mission to reunite the pair.
Natalie Nakase was about to coach the Golden State Valkryies against the Toronto Tempo on Sunday when she was asked about a controversy surrounding a different team and one of its players.
The WNBA’s first Asian-American coach was more than happy to give her opinion about transgender women playing in women’s sports, which has loomed over the league since Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham spoke out against it last month.
“Thank you for that question,” Nakase, a former Clippers assistant coach, said during her pregame news conference. “For me, sports is about belonging. It’s about inclusivity. It’s about allowing everyone to be their authentic self. You know, I’m big on that just because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity.
“I’ve been in those ‘you shouldn’t belong here’ [discussions] many times. And for me, I don’t want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. So I’m all about women, little girls deserving to play, and that includes trans women. So I’m all about inclusivity.”
Nakase’s comments came on the same day that Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a T-shirt that read “Trans kids belong” under her jacket during her team’s game against the Fever. Reeve and Cunningham were seen speaking before the game, but the WNBA’s all-time winningest coach declined to reveal the details of their discussion to reporters afterward.
“Both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about wanting to, more than anything, educate,” Reeve said. “And there are some things that we have in common, and maybe some things you differ on, just like any issues, and I think it’s how you handle things.”
It was the third consecutive Fever road game at which supporters of both sides of the argument gathered outside the arena to rally for their cause. It was also the third straight game at which Cunningham received boos from the crowd inside the arena.
Cunningham, who didn’t speak with reporters after the game, posed for pictures with Jennifer Sey and Riley Gaines, two outspoken political activists against transgender women in women’s sports.
Fever teammate Caitlin Clark, one of the WNBA’s biggest stars, did speak with reporters, for the first time since the controversy started. A reporter opened the news conference following Indiana’s 108-100 loss to the Lynx by asking Clark how she and her teammates have navigated the conversation around the issue.
“I think, for us, it’s not really a discussion we really have in our locker room,” Clark said. “I think it’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions. But our focus is on basketball. That’s what we talk about and how we can get wins, and obviously we didn’t do that tonight, so we need to find an area to improve in that way.”
When the same reporter started asking Clark for her reaction on the matter, she cut him off.
The next day, she told reporters that her stance is “kind of common sense,” adding, “I’ll stand on what I said, and I’ll always believe that.”
Before the Fever’s game on Friday in Portland, Cunningham told reporters, “I’m here to play basketball, but I’m also here to be me, and I’m not gonna like shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don’t agree with that.”
Speaking to reporters before the same game, Indiana coach Stephanie White expressed some “frustration” in not being able to focus entirely on basketball but said “I also understand this is part of our growth edge as a league.”
“We have to to be able to manage, we have to be able to insulate as much as we can, and then we have to be able to lead with conversation,” she said.
Asked how she would feel about a “biological male” playing in the WNBA, White said: “I’m not educated enough in terms of transgender and transitioning to give you a smart answer. I would say, though, that I just don’t feel like exclusion is an answer, and I think that we need to have deeper, more layered conversations.”
Portland coach Alex Samara told reporters before that the transgender community has the team’s “full support.”
“They’re a very important part of what the values of the Portland Fire are,” he said. “I know our organization is going to be intentional in making sure our fans feel comfortable and supported when they come here to the fire pit.”
Earlier last week, Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton was banned by the WNBA from attending her team’s next five home games after she allegedly cursed at two teenage girls who were holding a sign in support of Cunningham when the Storm was playing the Fever on Tuesday.
Travelling by plane is considered the easiest option if you’re going abroad. But one woman showed how it’s a lot simpler than you think getting to the Mediterranean island without a plane
Palermo is the capital of Sicily island(Image: Getty Images)
The idea of travelling is fun, no matter what form it comes in. Recently one woman travelled from the UK to Spain without flying and people couldn’t quite believe how much it cost her.
Now the same traveller has tried a different route abroad – and it’s a lot easier than you think. Known as Claire’s Footsteps, the adventure-seeker embarked on the trip from the UK to Sicily and decided to do it completely without jumping on a plane. Although the trip might seem a little bit more complex than one flight, it was an experience Claire would never forget.
The traveller began her TikTok post: “You can easily travel from London to Sicily by train and this is exactly how much it costs.” Claire revealed it’s an average £100 on the Eurostar from London to Paris then you can take a £80 high-speed train to Milan.
She added: “You’ll need to stay in Milan for a night and the best deal I found is £107 then it’s £102 for a sleeper train all the way to Sicily and this includes your own private cabin.
“The craziest part is that this train goes straight onto a ferry, you don’t even need to get off the train, although I definitely would recommend to see the views.”
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London to Sicily Train Route & Cost Breakdown
Claire revealed it takes about three hours to Palermo, the vibrant capital city of Sicily. Otherwise you can get off at Syracuse, the historic coastal city famous for its ancient Greek ruins.
She concluded: “And you’ve arrived in Sicily without flying.”
In total, Claire roughly estimated the trip cost her £389, based on average prices at this time.
The travel from London to Sicily without a plane is not easy. It’s a very long journey taking about 28 to 48 hours across multiple trains and a ferry. Also it requires multiple connections, including the Eurostar and Italian sleeper trains.
People weren’t completely set on the idea of travelling to Sicily without any planes.
One wrote: “I don’t know why anyone would do this trip over a cheap flight!! Just why?!” Another added: “Or £50 on Ryanair.”
Is No-Fly Travel Worth It? Costs, Durations & Highlights
Travelling to Sicily from the UK without flying is a highly scenic and eco-friendly adventure. It would feature a rare train-on-a-boat ferry crossing, making it an incredibly unique experience.
While the cost is significantly more than a flight, it can also be stressful as delays on one leg could lead to missed connections. It also requires careful timing when booking separate tickets across multiple rail operators.
Sicily is the largest Mediterranean island and a popular travel destination for many. Located just off the “toe” of Italy’s “boot”, its rich history is reflected in sites like the Valley of the Temples and in the Byzantine mosaics at the Cappella Palatina.
Meanwhile towards the eastern edge is Mount Etna, one of Europe’s highest active volcanoes.
MINNEAPOLIS — A crowd of critics and supporters of Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham’s stance on transgender participation in women’s sports gathered around and inside Target Center on Sunday as the Fever faced the Lynx in Minnesota.
Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a light blue shirt under her jacket that said “Trans kids belong” as she directed her team — the top team in the WNBA — to a 108-100 win over the Fever. There were fans in the stands wearing T-shirts that read, “Trans kids belong in sports.”
It’s the third straight Fever game that drew a rally after Cunningham recently voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports in an ESPN article published last week.
Before the contest, Cunningham and Reeve held a conversation at midcourt. Reeve didn’t want to share the exact nature of their talk.
Lynx guard Olivia Miles shoots over Fever guard Sophie Cunningham Sunday in Minneapolis.
(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
“Both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about wanting to, more than anything, educate,” Reeve said. “There are some things that we have in common, and maybe some things you differ on, just like any issues. I think it’s how you handle things. It was nice to be in person, for sure.”
Cunningham was booed by the crowd on her first touch of the game and throughout.
Asked how she and the team are navigating the outside conversations, Caitlin Clark said after the game, “I think we’re excellent.
“I think it’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions,” Clark said. “Our focus is on basketball. That’s what we talk about and how we can get wins and obviously we didn’t do that tonight. So we need to find an area to improve in that way.”
Any reaction?
“I just answered,” Clark said.
Cunningham said Friday in Portland that she wasn’t concerned about rallies against transgender participation in women’s sports becoming a distraction for the Fever.
“I think everyone who knows me personally, they know that I’m full of love. I’m bubbly. I love the people around me,” Cunningham said Friday. “I love basketball. I love inspiring the next generation and doing that in a positive light. And so that doesn’t even cross my mind. Doesn’t cross my teammates’ minds.”
Minnesota rookie sensation Olivia Miles spearheaded an efficient offense with 28 points and Courtney Williams added 27 points, helping the Lynx win their 10th straight game despite the controversy surrounding the contest.
People hold signs and point in defense of and opposed to trans athletes in women’s sports before a Lynx-Fever game Sunday.
(Abbie Parr / Associated Press)
Minnesota had a 96-82 lead with 6:41 to play before the Fever, who had scored 100 in a record sixstraight games, pulled within 100-98 with more than 2 1/2 minutes to go. Miles and Williams both came up with big baskets as the Lynx won their 10th straight for the first time since 2016.
The league’s No. 1 offense definitely made life difficult for the league’s No. 2 defense, but the Fever, who played in Portland on Friday night, couldn’t stop the Lynx on the offensive end. Both teams shot 57% with 11 three-pointers and went 11 of 15 from the foul line with a combined 55 assists. The big difference was Indiana had 12 turnovers compared with six for Minnesota, which had an 11-5 advantage in offensive rebounds.
Napheesa Collier had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Lynx (25-6). Natasha Howard scored 13 points and Kayla McBride had 10.
The Fever (19-11), who had their five-game winning streak halted, were led by Kelsey Mitchell with 37 points, her fifth 30-point game of the season and 14th straight 20-point game, second in league history behind A’ja Wilson’s 15 straight in a single season. Clark added 19 points and 10 assists and Aliyah Boston had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
It had been five years since she played competitive baseball, and at age 24, she wasn’t sure if a comeback was in the cards.
Then, she decided, why not? After playing flag football last summer, she felt the competitive juices start to flow again, so she entered her name in the Women’s Pro Baseball League draft and became one of the first members of the Los Angeles Queens.
Mo’ne Davis hits during a Women’s Pro Baseball League exhibition game in Fort Myers, Fla.
(Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)
“I just wanted to try it out,” she said from the warning track at Robin Roberts Field in Springfield, Ill., where the league was set to play its first games this weekend. “I don’t like to go through life regretting anything. I want to make sure I can look back and be like, ‘Hey, I tried it out.’”
Davis won’t be looking to rediscover what made her a sensation all those years ago.
“No matter how many times anyone asks, the answer is gonna stay the same: I’m not pitching,” she said. “I am doing what I want to do. I’m not doing what everyone else wants me to do. So whether you like it or not, I’m still gonna live my life, but I just want to show people, like, I’m gonna go out there and have fun.”
In the 2014 Little League World Series, Davis fired a 70-mph fastball and became the first female pitcher to win a game in the tournament when she tossed a shutout with eight strikeouts in Philadelphia’s opening game against Nashville.
Philadelphia’s Mo’ne Davis pitches against Nashville at the Little League World Series on Aug. 15, 2014.
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
She played center field for the Hampton University softball team and where she posted a career batting average of .225 with 34 hits, 24 runs and 16 RBIs over two seasons.
Baseball hadn’t been on her radar since she started playing softball in college, but the WPBL changed everything. She said she was “still mad” that she didn’t hit well in the Little League World Series and wants to show off her skills in the batter’s box.
“If I did go pitch more, I would get compared to my younger self more,” she said. “My goal is to do what I want to do, not to be compared to my 13-year-old self, and let people know that I’ve grown. I’m an adult woman now, so you have to separate the two.”
That Little League run led to her being on the cover of Wheaties boxes and Sports Illustrated and becoming one of the most well-known female athletes of her era. She grew up wanting to play basketball and dabbling in football, but she has been the de facto face of women who play baseball without picking a bat up for a half-decade.
Mo’ne Davis throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a Dodgers game on Nov. 17, 2014.
(Mark J. Terrill/AP)
Though some of the attention on her is “annoying,” channeling her competitiveness into a professional sport was an opportunity she wouldn’t miss.
“She’s been in the spotlight most of her life,” Queens third baseman Ashton Lansdell said. “People kind of expect her to be this celebrity person, and she’s honestly just such a chill girl. Like she just wants to be a normal person. It takes her a little bit to warm up to people, I think because she’s been in the spotlight her whole life, so maybe she can be a little shy at times. But when she starts breaking out of her shell, she’s awesome.”
The Queens selected Davis with the 10th pick in December’s draft after she participated in the league’s tryout last August.
In April, Davis signed with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Banana Ball League, where she got in some innings as a relief pitcher. The Clowns are a revival of a 1940s and 1950s barnstorming Negro League team that included Toni Stone, the first woman to play in a professional men’s baseball league.
Former MLB center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. has been a mentor for Davis, and she said working with him and other Banana Ball players helped her develop her “baseball IQ.”
“It’s such an honor to be able to learn and soak up how she carries herself and, like, what she’s learned from her careers,” Queens outfielder Brittany Apagar said. “The exposure she’s gotten exposes us as well.”
Davis, who has degrees from Hampton and Columbia, became the third person from that Little League team to be drafted professionally, joining Scott Bandura (San Francisco Giants, now in triple A) and Jared Sprague-Lott (Athletics, now in class A).
But once again, Davis finds herself in the middle of history. This time, she’s not alone in making it.
“I try to protect my peace,” she said. “I don’t want my teammates to look at me any differently. … I don’t want them to look at me as like, ‘Oh, she’s only here for this.’ … I want them to know I’m here for you guys. I’m here to, you know, win games with you guys, and I’m here for the team.”
