American skiing legend Lindsey Vonn crashed hard in the Winter Olympics downhill event, nine days on from rupturing her ACL.

The 41-year-old was the 13th of 36 racers to take to the Olympia delle Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where she has won a record 12 World Cups.

But she crashed hard in the top section of the course after catching her shoulder on a gate, with her injured left leg – which has no functioning ACL – giving way.

Medics attended to her quickly and she was put on a stretcher and airlifted to hospital while the competition was paused.

BBC Sport commentator and former Alpine skier Chemmy Alcott said: “I feel guilty that I am this emotional. I just never believed it would end in a clump at the side of the piece not moving. What we saw that the top of the piece is really hard for a fit athlete, she just had her right knee. It is brutal, think about her family, her team and herself.

“We have to be realistic the risk was really high, the risk she takes when she falls will double that, her body will not be able to take that. There is clapping and there is hope that she would be okay but they have put up some background music because it is uncomfortable.”

Double Olympic champion Tina Maze, speaking on Eurosport and TNT Sports coverage, said: “We all know the difficulties Lindsey was going through in the last days, and I think in the end she risked too much.

“This kind of crash can happen of course, if you are not healthy the consequences are even worse, but Lindsey wanted to do this no matter what. It’s really tough for everyone here to see this especially for her family and teammates and everyone working with her. It’s just terrible. A tough day.”

Teammate and reigning downhill world champion Breezy Johnson set the fastest time of the early starters, 1.36:10.

There have been multiple stories about how the Dog in a Doublet lock got its name

All across Cambs, there are places and pubs with hilarious names, leaving people to question how that name came to be. One such spot is the Dog in a Doublet Lock.

Dog-in-a-Doublet Lock No 38 is a major waterways place at the junction of the River Nene (main river) with the River Nene (tidal section). The tidal section of the River Nene downstream of Peterborough was an important trade route, with improvements for both navigation and drainage being made from at least the 15th century.

This section of the river gradually fell into poor condition and repairs were eventually made as a result of the 1930 Land Drainage Act. A new lock and sluice was then constructed by the Dog in a Doublet pub – and the lock seems to have been named after the pub.

Opened in 1937, this maintained water levels to Peterborough and prevented tidal waters from entering the city. Commercial traffic returned to the lower river and the port of Wisbech was improved to allow access to larger sea-going vessels.

Today, the Dog in a Doublet pub is no longer open, and is set to become a private home. There have been reports that the initial name of the pub was inspired by a former Dutch landlady, who knitted a doublet for her dog when he lost all his fur.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Winning the headlines during free agency in March doesn’t typically lead to success in January and February in the NFL.

This season, that hasn’t been the case.

Two of the most aggressive teams during the free agency period last offseason ended up in the Super Bowl, with the big-spending New England Patriots taking on the Seattle Seahawks.

“We felt like we needed a total culture shift,” New England general manager Eliot Wolf said. “We spent a lot of time doing work on the type of people that we brought in, and it’s crazy to say, but I don’t know that we missed on a person. Not every player has been the greatest free agent signing ever, but all the people that brought in during free agency have been phenomenal.”

The Patriots handed out the most money on the unrestricted free agent market, with more than $364 million in contracts — nearly $100 million more than the next-highest team — handed out to 19 free agents, according to Spotrac. New England also led in guaranteed money spent, with nearly $175 million of those deals fully guaranteed.

The Patriots won a bidding war for star defensive tackle Milton Williams with a four-year, $104 million contract and added several other key defensive players like cornerback Carlton Davis, edge rushers Harold Landry and K’Lavon Chaisson, and linebacker Robert Spillane.

New England also got No. 1 receiver Stefon Diggs on a three-year, $63.5 million deal, along starting offensive linemen Morgan Moses and Garrett Bradbury and receiver Mack Hollins.

“I think you just have to be very intentional with the people that you’re bringing in,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “I think sometimes free agency, you have to be able to use it. People use it in different ways. It’s a part of our business. It’s another way to acquire players and player acquisition. Understand that you have to be convicted on the person that you’re bringing in as a player, and also the impact that they’re going to make in the locker room, around the building and in the community.”

The Seahawks came in fourth in free agency spending at more than $205 million, led by a three-year, $100.5 million deal for quarterback Sam Darnold as well as smaller contracts to edge rusher DeMarcus Lawrence and receiver Cooper Kupp. General manager John Schneider also hit on several budget deals for players, with tight end Eric Saubert and tackle Josh Jones helping Seattle reach the Super Bowl.

While the free agent moves were important, none of this would have been possible without the draft. Schneider has been on a recent draft heater helped by the acquisition of extra picks thanks to the trade of quarterback Russell Wilson in 2022.

The recent run comes after years of poor picks eroded the roster strength as the Seahawks added players like Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon, Kenneth Walker, Charles Cross, Byron Murphy, Riq Woolen and A.J. Barner in recent years before using their top two picks in April on immediate impact players Grey Zabel on the offensive line and versatile defender Nick Emmanwori.

“It was a master class by John and our personnel folks,” coach Mike Macdonald said of his balance of draft and free agency. “A lot of coaches have a lot of input, especially through free agency. … When you have a shared alignment about what type of team you want to have, what type of people you want in your building. I think that streamlines that process.”

Shrewd moves in free agency helped fuel Philadelphia’s title run last season, when the Eagles signed AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley to a three-year, $37.5 million deal and safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a three-tear $27 million contract, and got All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun and key offensive linemen Mekhi Becton on one-year deals.

Philadelphia also handed out a big-money contract to edge rusher Bryce Huff, who made almost no impact, but the Eagles likely wouldn’t have won it all without an aggressive March.

The Patriots needed to be aggressive because of some poor drafting at the end of coach Bill Belichick’s tenure following the 2023 season, but Wolf doesn’t plan to follow this path too often.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a rule for us,” Wolf said. “I don’t want to say it’s unique, but in some ways it is. It’s been really rewarding and I’m just really happy for these guys. They’ve kind of come together and bought into Coach Vrabel’s culture and here we are.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Ingrid Tomlinson and her husband Sean were astonished when the beast from the deep breached the surface in the tidal inlet.

A Scots couple were left in shock after a humpback whale surfaced next to them in a small sea loch. Ingrid Tomlinson and her husband Sean were astonished when the huge animal breached the surface in the tidal inlet.

The nature-loving duo had paddled out into the water in their kayak when the whale popped up to say hello. The breathtaking encounter took place in Loch Ainort on the Isle of Skye.

It’s understood the whale had been feeding in the 1km-wide loch for two weeks in January and had since returned. Ingrid, 58, spent a few days watching from the shoreline with her 59-year-old partner.

On February 1, the pair from the Northwest Highlands decided to get up close and personal with the magnificent animal. The amazing images show the whale crashing out of the sea and spraying water in the air.

The huge humpback was surrounded by a flock of seagulls, who rested on the animal. “The whale surfaced right next to us on a number of occasions, which was an amazing experience,” Ingrid, who is a tree planter, told NeedToKnow.

“We had been seeing reports and photos on Facebook of a juvenile humpback whale in Loch Ainort on the Isle of Skye. It had been feeding in there for over a fortnight in January.

“It’s unusual for a humpback whale to come so close to shore, especially for such a long time. Loch Ainort is a small sea loch, only 1 km wide and the whale was easily visible from the road, so there has been quite a lot of excitement about it and lots of people have been visiting the loch.

“We spent four days last week watching the whale surfacing and occasionally breaching, often followed by gulls, white-tailed eagles and dolphins. Last Sunday, the sea was calm ` my husband Sean and I decided to paddle out into the middle of the loch and hang out there all day.”

Kerie says her condition is ‘invisible’ and she is desperate for help

A mother says she is living with an “invisible” cancer that cannot be treated – because it isn’t developing rapidly enough. Kerie Ivory has small bowel neuroendocrine tumours that have spread to her lymph nodes, liver, spine and rib.

However, the 52 year old Brit mum has been informed she must wait for the tumours to become larger before additional treatment can commence. Neuroendocrine tumours are frequently described as slow-growing and challenging to detect, meaning patients can live with them for years before diagnosis, reports the Mirror.

“It’s hard living with a slow-growing, creeping cancer,” Kerie, from Buckinghamshire, said. “I am constantly waiting for the tumours to grow big enough to get treatment that is appropriate for me.

“It’s devastating knowing I have cancer and we are not treating it. A lot of other cancers have the kitchen sink of treatments thrown at their cancer. I’m forced to live with this disease rather than eradicate it.

“My children have found it hard to accept. They understand it’s never going away and that at times it will grow and need treatment.”

Medical professionals believe Kerie may have been living with the cancer for four to four and a half years before it was eventually discovered in 2012. Kerie’s initial symptom was a persistent cough, which was repeatedly misdiagnosed as rhinitis, asthma, reflux and post-nasal drip.

Despite repeatedly visiting her GP, she was reassured that she did not have cancer. Subsequent blood tests revealed she was anaemic.

As her health deteriorated, Kerie experienced severe bowel symptoms and was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.

She was eventually referred for a colonoscopy. She said: “I kept going back and forth to my GP, who dismissed my symptoms.

“By then I was so fatigued I was on my knees. I had to choose whether to eat or have a shower.”

‘I am a healthy young woman’.

“When they found I was anaemic, I wasn’t convinced this was the only thing wrong with me. I thought, ‘I am a healthy young woman, this cannot be it.’”.

“And then my bowel symptoms got worse. My stomach would be flat in the morning, then over the day it would balloon. I looked five months pregnant by the evening”.

“Finally, I was referred for a colonoscopy, during which the scope couldn’t get through – there was a tumour on the ileocecal valve which caused bowel obstruction. It was a relief to know that something had finally been found.

“The subsequent MRI found enlarged lymph nodes.”

Following her diagnosis, Kerie has endured multiple major operations, including removal of lymph nodes, portions of her small and large intestine, her ileocecal valve and appendix, part of her liver and her gall bladder.

However, recent scans have revealed new lesions appearing in her liver, spine and rib. For the time being, she must undergo regular scans and hope the cancer doesn’t suddenly progress.

In 2022, Kerie was “devastated” to have to leave her job due to the debilitating fatigue brought on by cancer. She said: “I have to prepare myself for more scans and wait to see if these lesions grow.

“I cannot relax knowing there are new tumours forming. I also have to limit what I do every day. Sometimes it may only be one thing in a day. It can catch me unawares, too.

“I went to a spa recently with a group of girlfriends and we all went to the swimming pool but I didn’t put my head under water, because if I get my hair wet it means having to wash my hair which will be exhausting for me. It’s these little things people take for granted.”

Sir David Beckham has posted a tribute to his children, including Brooklyn Beckham, following his eldest son’s explosive tell-all statement.

Last month, the budding chef and former photographer, 26, made a string of shocking claims about his parents, Sir David and Victoria Beckham.

Taking to Instagram with several Stories of text, Brooklyn accused them of ‘controlling’ him and repeatedly ‘disrespecting’ his wife of four years, Nicola Peltz, 31.

What’s more, Brooklyn said his mum pulled out of designing the actress’ wedding dress ‘at the eleventh hour’ before dancing on him ‘inappropriately’, while his footie legend father ‘refused’ to see him unless Nicola was uninvited around the time of his 50th birthday bash.

Vowing to ‘tell the truth’ and ‘stick up for [himself]’ at long last, Brooklyn declared defiantly that he ‘does not wish to reconcile’ with his family, only increasing the distance between them after months of feud rumours.

But now it seems David is reaching out to his son online, posting a picture of his huge collection of football boots.

He shared snaps of his archive with fans, who noted Brooklyn and his siblings’ names, Romeo, Cruz, and Harper, were embroidered onto the boots.

The images seemed particularly poignant, given the recent news that a tattoo of an anchor on Brooklyn’s arm that previously read ‘DAD’ has been covered up by unknown symbols.

Previously, a source told Metro that David is ‘obviously heartbroken’ at this latest snub from his oldest child.

‘David is obviously heartbroken over Brooklyn’s decision to cover up his tribute to him,’ our source shared.

‘It feels like a deep cut, even after everything that was said in his statement.

In his memoir, Sir David said his tattoos were an ‘expression of how he feels about Victoria and the kids,’ and it’s been clear over the years that Brooklyn has used tattoos to express similar sentiments about the people in his life.

A source told The Sun about Brooklyn’s anchor tattoo: ‘Brooklyn’s had laser treatment on the writing. He wanted it gone.

‘There is so much hurt and pain on his side, it would not be genuine to keep such a tribute on his body.’

The timing of David’s sharing of images of the football boots has left many wondering whether he’s trying to make a statement about his ongoing love and support for his son.

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A bit of advice. When highlighting how few footballers are in contention to play for Tottenham, try not to add to the list of absentees. Last Monday, Cristian Romero’s critique of the Spurs board came on Instagram and was liked by a host of his teammates. “We had only 11 players available – unbelievable but true and disgraceful,” he wrote.

And so, as virtually everyone should have predicted, the next Tottenham player to be ruled out was the Premier League‘s serial miscreant. Romero’s straight red card for scything down Casemiro meant he missed two-thirds of their defeat to Manchester United. He incurred his third suspension of the season – he is two bookings away from a fourth – and will miss four games. He cannot play in the Premier League again until Spurs visit Anfield on 15 March; after his utterly needless red card when Tottenham met Liverpool in December, it may be a risky fixture for a return.

So if Tottenham’s powerbrokers have let the team down, so has their captain. Thomas Frank insisted he did not regret making the Argentinian skipper and will not strip him of the armband; there is the possibility, though, that by the time Romero is able to reclaim the armband, there will be a different face in the dugout.

Frank’s explanation for naming Romero captain was unconvincing. “He is one of the most important players,” he said. Which is not a qualification in itself. Arguably Romero is simultaneously Tottenham’s best and worst player; a high-class defender with a penchant for line-breaking passes, a better finisher than some of the forwards and a man with the sense of timing to score two injury-time equalisers this season.

Not that he is much use when sent off or suspended; captain, leader, liability? In the last year, he has been man of the match in the Europa League final against United, as Tottenham won their first silverware in 17 years, and sent off for a dangerous challenge against them. Romero was apologetic in the dressing room, Frank and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario reported; perhaps his next social-media post will not be broadside at the board.

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He has courted popularity with the fanbase with his regular jibes at the powerbrokers. He may want to be more self-critical. The rebel captain may have cult-hero status but, oddly enough, the chorus of “Romero’s right, the board are s***e” was only heard in the first half-hour at Old Trafford.

He isn’t the first captain to sometimes lead by the wrong kind of example – Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Wise had more than their share of early exits – but his disciplinary record borders on the disastrous. “If you look at how many red cards he had, it is not like that he had that many,” claimed Frank. It was a ridiculous assertion from a usually rational man.

In four-and-a-half years since joining Tottenham, Romero has six red cards: it came as news to Frank that is more than any other Premier League player in that time. The centre-back can scarcely complain if he has a reputation as the worst-behaved player in the division.

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His rap sheet could be longer. He might have been sent off in each of the games against Brentford this season. As it is, he also saw red for kicking out at Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate. In 2023, he was dismissed for sliding in on Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez when he perhaps ought to have gone earlier in the same game for kicking Levi Colwill off the ball.

Earlier that year, he got a second yellow card in the Champions League exit to AC Milan for clattering into Theo Hernandez. A month before that, he was on a caution, committed a similarly obvious bookable offence for halting Jack Grealish and saw red against Manchester City.

Romero’s maiden Tottenham red, against Vitesse Arnhem in Antonio Conte’s managerial bow, came for a rugby tackle on Lois Openda when he was already booked. Once again, subtlety was not his forte.

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There is a pattern: of recklessness, of sliding in on opponents, of studs-up challenges, of committing fouls in parts of the pitch where he does not need to, of involving himself in incidents that need not concern him. There is scant evidence Romero is learning his lesson. His tackling technique could be better; so, too, his judgment.

They might be reasons why he is still at Tottenham. They are probably also grounds to strip him from the captaincy, even if that makes him still more outspoken. But a time in the stands ought to offer Romero some time for reflection; whatever the failings of Tottenham’s various imperfect decision-makers, they are not alone in leaving Frank short-staffed. Spurs’ absentees already included defenders Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Kevin Danso and Ben Davies even before Destiny Udogie went off hurt at Old Trafford. Now Romero is banned. Again.

Olivia Colman has revealed for the first time that she has always felt ‘nonbinary’ in a new interview to promote her latest film Jimpa

Oscar award wining actress Olivia Colman has revealed that she has always “felt sort of nonbinary” in an interview to promote her latest film, Jimpa. The film follows the life of Hannah played by Olivia and her nonbinary daughter Frances, played by Aud Mason-Hyde, who travel to Amsterdam to visit her gay grandfather, known by the family name of Jimpa.

During an interview to promote her latest project Olivia, 52, candidly explained that she had never felt comfortable with “rigid gender roles”, which she is equally open about in her marriage to Ed Sinclair.

In the interview, she said: “Throughout my whole life, I’ve had arguments with people where I’ve always sort of felt nonbinary.” She added: “I’ve never felt massive feminine in my being female. I’ve always described myself to my husband as a gay man. And he goes ‘yeah I get that’. And so I do feel at home and at ease.”

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The star of The Roses continued to tell the publication Them: “I don’t really spend a whole lot of time with people who are very staunchly heterosexual… The men I know and love are very in touch with all sides of themselves. I think with my husband and I, we take turns to be the ‘strong one,’ or the one who needs a little bit of gentleness. I believe everyone has all of it in them. I’ve always felt like that.”

She then went on to add: “I’m not alone in saying, ‘I don’t feel like it’s binary.’ And I loved that. I came away from making this film with, Yeah, I knew I wasn’t alone.”

Olivia and Ed tied the knot in 2001 and the pair share three children together, Finn, 20, Hall, 18 and a ten year old daughter. The couple first met during rehearsals for the production of Table Manners.

Ed, who is currently a screenwriter and film producer, was a budding actor at the time they first met. His most recent film, The Roses, was produced by himself and starred his wife alongside Benedict Cumberbatch.

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Casting her mind back to the first time she saw Ed, Olivia told the publication: “I’d gone to two of the rehearsals and there was no one particularly fanciable there. Then I walked in and I saw his left-hand profile. “

“At the time he was smoking a ciggie, his feet were crossed, and he’s got this lovely bump in his nose and I saw his side profile and just went, oh my God, I’m going to marry him. ‘I had proper thunderbolts: that’s him, that’s him! Poor thing, he didn’t know.”

Speaking about her marriage back in 2013, the actress told The Daily Mail: “My husband and I were very lucky. We met when we had nothing and we loved each other then. So we were all right.We were 20 and he was also an actor. If you meet at that age then you’re fine.”

Explaining the secret to her decades long marriage she told the Good Hang podcast: “We’re not big fighters, which apparently isn’t very healthy. We have learned over the years – but really late on actually – to sometimes [think], if that was annoying, just wait.”

She added: “And it doesn’t work for everyone, I know that, but I think it’s much better to wait until the calmer moments to go, ‘Can we talk about that moment? I did find that a little weird and is that OK that I’m saying this and yes I was a bit cross that day’…”

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MILAN (AP) — The 2026 Winter Games are off to a promising start for host nation Italy with gold, silver and bronze on the first day of medal events.

But it was Switzerland’s Franjo Von Allmen who captured the first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics on Saturday.

There were no Americans on the podium, though Lindsey Vonn impressed in her second training run ahead of the women’s downhill on Sunday.

Birthday gold for Lollobrigida

Italian speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida celebrated her 35th birthday by winning the host nation’s first gold medal of these Olympics — in the 3,000 meters. It’s also Italy’s first gold in women’s speedskating at any Winter Games.

Competing in her fourth Olympics, Lollobrigida outskated Ragne Wiklund of Norway for her first Olympic gold after winning silver and bronze in Beijing four years ago.

Her great aunt was the late Gina Lollobrigida, a star actress of the 1950s and ’60s.

Von Allmen strikes gold on Olympic debut

Italy had a strong day on the slopes, as well, with Alpine skiers Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris taking silver and bronze, respectively, in the men’s downhill — the first medal event of the Games.

However, neither could beat Von Allmen’s time of 1 minute, 51.61 seconds in Bormio.

The 24-year-old Swiss skier was the leader after his downhill run, but the wait for his rivals to finish was nerve-racking.

“I tried to enjoy the moment, but I didn’t quite realize what was going on today,” von Allmen said after his first Olympic race.

Paris, 36, was delighted with his bronze after coming away empty-handed in his four previous Olympics.

“It’s my fifth Olympics, and getting the first medal in front of the home crowd, that’s really special,” Paris said.

Lindsey Vonn feeling ‘good’ ahead of women’s downhill

In Cortina, Lindsey Vonn completed another downhill training run and was set for Sunday’s medal race despite tearing her left ACL a little more than a week ago.

The 41-year-old American crossed the line in third position and told The Associated Press “all good.”

She has been wearing a large brace on her injured knee.

Kagiyama stuns Malinin in figure skating team event

Yuma Kagiyama landed near-perfect quads and scored 108.67 points in his short program to help Japan put pressure on the defending champion U.S. in the figure skating team event.

Malinin, the two-time reigning world champion, was second with 98.00.

But a brilliant free skate by Madison Chock and Evan Bates pushed the U.S. score to 44 points — five more than Japan ahead of the men’s, women’s and pairs free skates to decide the medals Sunday.

Disappointment for Jessie Diggins in skiathlon

Jessie Diggins, the most decorated American cross-country skier ever, finished eighth in the 20-kilometer women’s skiathlon in Tesero. She finished more than 2 minutes behind winner Frida Karlsson of Sweden.

“I had a crash on the first lap, where my tip just disappeared in the slush, and unfortunately it was a tough spot where you lose all your momentum,” the 34-year-old Minnesota native said.

JD Vance and Jake Paul attend US women’s hockey game

U.S. Vice President JD Vance sat with influencer and boxer Jake Paul as they watched the U.S. women’s hockey team beat Finland 5-0 on Saturday. Paul’s fiancee, Jutta Leerdam, is a speedskater for the Netherlands.

Finland played two days after the team’s game against Canada had to be postponed because of a stomach virus affecting players. Switzerland played Canada a day after announcing that one of its players tested positive for the norovirus. Canada won 4-0.

Norwegian upsets Slovenian favorite in women’s ski jumping

Norway — the nation with the most medals in Winter Olympics history — got its first gold of the Games in the women’s ski jumping. It was unexpected.

Anna Odine Stroem of Norway won the normal hill competition ahead of Slovenian favorite Nika Prevc, who has dominated the sport this season. Nozomi Maruyama of Japan won bronze.

Gold and silver for Japan in men’s snowboarding

Kira Kimura won Japan’s first gold medal at these Games — in men’s snowboarding big air in Livigno. His teammate, Ryoma Kimata, picked up the silver medal.

Defending champion Su Yiming of China took bronze, keeping 17-year-old American Oliver Martin off the podium.

Big air consists of one single jump off a huge ramp, where the rider varies spins, flips and holds of the board.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is heading into a challenging reelection bid as she continues to suffer fallout from last year’s devastating wildfire and ongoing criticism of City Hall on issues from street paving to homelessness.

The deadline is Saturday for candidates to enter the contest ahead of the June 2 primary election. Bass — a first-term Democrat and the first Black woman to hold the post — already is facing challenges from tech entrepreneur and nonprofit founder Adam Miller; reality television personality Spencer Pratt, who lost his home to the deadly Palisades Fire; and community organizer Rae Huang. A late entry was city council member Nithya Raman, a onetime Bass supporter who will now be trying to oust her.

Although the contest is officially nonpartisan, it is breaking along sharp political lines.

Pratt is a Republican in a heavily Democratic city who was endorsed by Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for governor, and Richard Grenell, an ally of President Donald Trump. Raman was the first council member elected with the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America. Huang has positioned herself to the political left of Bass, who while in the U.S. House was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Homelessness, cost of living to be major issues

Bass greeted Raman to the race with a pointed jab: “The last thing Los Angeles needs is a politician who opposed cleaning up homeless encampments and efforts to make our city safer,” Bass campaign adviser Douglas Herman said in a statement.

The race is unfolding at an unsettled time for the city of nearly 4 million.

Complaints about the cost of living — whether for rent, taxes or groceries — are a constant refrain. Dirty, pocked streets and sidewalks abound. Hollywood jobs have been decamping for years for more affordable locales.

Ongoing Trump administration immigration raids have shaken the city. Despite studies showing a slight decline in the homeless population, encampments remain commonplace. And recovery from the Palisades Fire, which killed 12 people and destroyed much of the tony seaside neighborhood in January 2025, continues at a pace that some say is too slow.

In an upbeat speech this month laying out her vision for the city’s future, Bass talked of the upcoming 2028 Olympics in the city and plans to spruce up busy thoroughfares.

“Even in this difficult chapter in our history, great events, moments of unity, are possible,” Bass said. “And they are coming.”

Los Angeles-based Democratic consultant Bill Carrick sees the race as wide-open. Under California’s primary rules, all candidates appear on the same ballot and the top two finishers advance to the November general election — a system that can lead to unpredictable outcomes. A candidate can win the mayoralty outright by capturing more than 50% of the primary vote, but that appears unlikely with a large field that is also expected to include a string of little-known contenders.

Voters are “kind of unhappy with city government, and I think the Palisades Fire certainly contributed enormously with that feeling,” Carrick said.

Controversy over handling of fire

The mayor, who was on a trip to Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when the fire began raging through the Palisades neighborhood, has been on the defensive for her actions during and after the blaze.

The Los Angeles Times has published a series of reports, based on public records requests, showing that drafts of the Los Angeles Fire Department’s after-action report included deletions and revisions intended to soften the failures of city and department officials.

This week Bass’ office forcefully denied allegations in a Times story, based on anonymous, secondhand sources, that she pushed for changes in the report before publication to shield City Hall from potential legal action. She told reporters that the account was “completely fabricated.”

Officials have said the deadly blaze was ignited by remnants of a Jan. 1 fire that continued to smolder underground. In October, a 29-year-old man was arrested and charged with sparking the earlier fire. The LAFD has faced scrutiny over whether it properly extinguished the New Year’s Day blaze.

On his website, Pratt — who rose to reality-TV fame alongside his wife, Heidi Montag, on “The Hills” — said he watched his home burn “because the system failed us.”

“We don’t need more government programs,” Pratt added. “We need common sense, accountability, and a mayor that shows up for everyone.”

Miller, a Democrat running as an outsider with the ability to invest in his own campaign, poses a new challenge for Bass, who defeated billionaire Rick Caruso in her 2022 election. Miller founded Cornerstone OnDemand, a global education company, and later cofounded the Better Angels nonprofit to address homelessness.

“Los Angeles has extraordinary potential but too often City Hall hasn’t been there for the people who call it home,” Miller said in a statement.

Two potential rivals stay out of the race

Bass also avoided two potential strong opponents in the contest.

Caruso decided not to run again after months of equivocation, and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath announced late Friday that she, too, would not enter the race. Both have been outspoken critics of the mayor’s handling of homelessness and the fire and were widely seen as possible contenders.

“It’s clear you want a different kind of leadership and you are ready to see change in your city,” Horvath said in a video posted on the social platform X, but she added that her work on the county board was not finished.