By Eric Bradner, CNN

(CNN) — Spencer Pratt has spent months waging a guerilla campaign against incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, riding the buzz generated by AI-generated videos, viral moments and some big-name supporters as he seeks to capitalize on dissatisfaction with the way the city is being run.

He may now have five more months to make his case.

Bass secured a spot on the November ballot and Pratt was running in second place as of early Wednesday morning, ahead of progressive city councilwoman Nithya Raman and 11 lesser-known candidates as more ballots were being counted. No candidate appears likely to exceed the 50% threshold to win outright, which means the top two will meet head-to-head in the November election.

In the overwhelmingly Democratic city, Pratt, a former reality television star and registered Republican, would be the clear underdog against Bass, a former state lawmaker and congresswoman with support from the city’s labor unions.

Still, roughly three in five voters in Los Angeles sought to oust their mayor on Tuesday in the primary, in which candidates don’t have party labels.

“This idea that I don’t represent Democrats and Republicans and independents — anyone that’s just a Los Angeles citizen that wants basic quality of life — I’ll be able to show that in five months,” Pratt told reporters outside his private election night party.

“I’m an Angeleno who said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and I had to step up,” he said. “I’m going to show everybody that I’m their mayor.”

The election night party held by Bass was a show of force, featuring union heads, local Democratic officials and business leaders — a coalition that underscored the political reality now facing Pratt in a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by about a four-to-one margin.

She claimed progress on addressing homelessness, pointing to 42,000 affordable housing units now underway that Bass vowed would be finished by the end of her second term, as well as efforts to improve public safety by fixing sidewalks and installing 60,000 streetlights.

“We can have the city that we know we all deserve,” she said. “We’re going to build a city where parents and kids do not have to navigate tents because in the nation’s second-largest city, there should never be anybody that is sleeping on our streets. We are a city that can deal with this, and we have been doing it, and we are going to continue.”

What Bass did not focus on was last year’s destructive Pacific Palisades fire — which broke out while Bass was in Ghana as part of a US delegation for the inauguration of the country’s president and severely dented her popularity.

It was also fodder for Pratt, whose home burned down in the fire. He made what he described as Bass’ mismanagement of the city’s response a focus of his campaign. And disputes in recent weeks over whether Pratt was living in a 33-foot Airstream he had parked on his Pacific Palisades lot, or spending most of his nights in a luxury hotel, only turned the election’s focus back to the fire, a political vulnerability for Bass.

Pratt has also lambasted Bass and the city’s Democratic establishment for failing to sufficiently address homelessness, drug use and crime. He has pledged a much more aggressive approach to those issues — though details on how he would solve the intractable problems of the nation’s second largest city have been scant.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on CNN Tuesday night that the results reflect frustration with “how slow things are moving” in addressing the city’s long-term challenges.

By Sheena McKenzie, CNN

(CNN) — The world’s most famous blonde bombshell, perched on playground equipment, absorbed in a book. The studio make-up and lighting is gone; as are her shoes. It’s 1955 and a summery glow radiates from her exposed limbs.

The photo is playful — she wears a multi-colored romper in a children’s setting. And simultaneously, serious. The book heavy in her arms is James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” a notoriously hard-going novel. She’s almost finished it.

The woman, of course, is a 29-year-old Marilyn Monroe, captured by American photojournalist Eve Arnold in Long Island, New York. Through Arnold’s lens, the Hollywood icon is quiet, contemplative and natural. Is Monroe aware of the camera? That’s up for debate.

The photo is part of the National Portrait Gallery in London’s new exhibition exploring Monroe’s agency in her own image-making. Opening Thursday, it features dozens of portraits — from the earliest pinups of an all-American gal called Norma Jeane, who would have turned 100 this month, to her last photoshoot on the Santa Monica beach, taken weeks before her death in 1962, aged 36.

Arnold’s photo tells a lesser-known story of Monroe; an avid reader who had a personal library of more than 400 books spanning poetry, plays, philosophy and dense literature like “Ulysses.” And no, the book wasn’t a prop, said Michael Arnold, grandson of the photographer who died in 2012. “Eve was just setting up her cameras, and she saw that Monroe got it out and was reading it, waiting for her to get ready,” he said during a phone call.

Look closer, and Monroe is on the last pages — where the protagonist’s wife in the novel, Molly Bloom, explores female sexuality in an unpunctuated stream of consciousness. “With her choice to be seen reading the end of ‘Ulysses,’ Monroe was clearly making a knowing point,” wrote leading feminist art historian Griselda Pollock in her 2016 essay on the photo, published in the Journal of Visual Culture. It was “an identification perhaps at so many levels with the words, the spoken words of an uneducated woman, allowed to have an inner and a sexual life, and to have the final say,” added Pollock.

Monroe’s image-making

Monroe always had greater agency over her still images than her moving images, which were largely determined by the film studios and directors. “With photography, I think she felt she was more in control,” said Georgia Atienza, assistant curator of the Monroe exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. She pointed to the actor’s veto powers over her photographs, and the way she would go through contact sheets sometimes scratching with a hairpin the images she didn’t want published. “There’s this very conscious idea from her of controlling her image and getting out there the images that she was really happy with,” said Atienza.

In Arnold, Monroe saw a photographer who could help visualize her shift from sex symbol to serious artist. The Long Island snap was taken months after Monroe had left Hollywood to start her own film company. Though she first became aware of the photojournalist years earlier.

In 1952, Arnold had photographed actress and singer Marlene Dietrich in the recording studio, using her signature natural style — no set, posing or tripod. “I simply took her as she was,” Arnold recalled in a 1987 BBC documentary. The Dietrich photos caught the eye of Monroe, who saw Arnold at a party and told her: “If you can do that well with Marlene, can you imagine what you can do with me?” Arnold remembered.

The pair worked together on several photoshoots over a decade, including on the film set of the “The Misfits” in 1960; an emot

By Wayne Chang, CNN

Keelung, Taiwan (CNN) — You can now fall asleep on a ferry in Taiwan and wake up in Japan.

On the surface, the Yaima Maru offers a perfect slow-travel escape — a passenger ferry equipped with saunas, karaoke rooms and a top-deck cafe.

Launched in Taiwan last month to the sound of drums and a traditional lion dance, the 21,000-ton civilian vessel connects the northern Taiwan port of Keelung with the island of Ishigaki, in southwestern Japan’s idyllic Okinawa prefecture.

But as Beijing ramps up military pressure around Taiwan and Japan shores up its own southwestern defenses, the route has drawn scrutiny — not least because the vessel has been officially earmarked by Tokyo to assist in emergency evacuations if regional tensions erupt into open conflict.

For tourists, however, the ferry offers a chance to explore a unique destination far from the Japan most are familiar with. That’s because Ishigaki sits about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away from Tokyo, but only 270 kilometers (168 miles) from Taiwan.

“Many people think Japan is quite far away,” says Tiger Hong, general manager of the Wagon Group, which operates the ferry. “So the moment when they realize how close it actually is, they are really shocked.”

Currently, only one airline in Taiwan operates a direct flight to Ishigaki — which takes just an hour — while others require transferring at Okinawa’s main air hub of Naha.

Ishigaki is renowned for its pristine beaches, sapphire ocean and Wagyu beef. It strategically sits within the Nansei Islands, a 1,050-kilometer-long archipelago in southwestern Japan stretching from Kyushu to nearby Taiwan. The chain of islands has become critical to Japan’s defense in the event of armed conflicts between China and Taiwan.

“Beijing is certainly not pleased to see this development, as the opening of the ferry service could complicate its strategic calculus in the event of a Taiwan contingency,” Chen Yu-hua, an assistant professor in foreign policy at Akita International University in Japan, told CNN Travel.

But officials and executives brushed off regional tensions and security implications, insisting that the ferry is just for tourism.

“This is fundamentally a matter between countries,” Tatsuya Ohama, president of Shosen Yaima, which owns the ship, told reporters. “As a private ferry operator, our first step is to get the service up and running.”

‘Wake up in Japan’

While the boat trip takes eight hours, Hong, the ferry company’s general manager, says it suits budget travelers or those who would like to chill and “take their time.”

“The biggest appeal of this experience is being able to go abroad at low cost and enjoy a slower pace of travel,” he adds.

The vessel runs once every week in June during its trial period, and twice a week from July. Ticket prices range from approximately $63 for the most basic type of accommodation in off-peak times to $334 for the most luxurious suites during peak seasons.

Officials from Taiwan and Japan are optimistic the route will boost tourism, foster trade and deepen bilateral ties.

Yoshitaka Nakayama, mayor of Ishigaki, says the ferry serves as a “new bridge” that will support a wide range of exchanges.

“It is an important route that will connect the future of Japan, including Ishigaki city, and Taiwan,” he says.

As the ferry slowly pulled into the Ishigaki port on May 29, a group of people waved the Taiwan flag and brandished a banner to welcome the first batch of visitors.

CNN Travel spoke with some of the approximately 200 passengers who took part in the ferry’s maiden voyage. They highlighted the novelty of the experience, the relatively low price and flexibility in travel time as the main draw.

“The price was pretty reasonable, and it seemed super

SANTA BARBARA, Calif (KEYT) Even though the race for Second District Santa Barbara County Supervisor is a nonpartisan one, the candidates attended parties hosted by opposing political parties.

Incumbent Supervisor Laura Capps celebrated an early lead at a watch party at the Public Market in Santa Barbara, while her challenger Elijah Mack watched the returns at Longboards on the Stearns Wharf.

Both campaigned until the last minute in the district that includes Isla Vista, UCSB, and parts of Santa Barbara and Goleta.

Elijah Mack, 21, just graduated from college, and appeared confident before the first returns were announced."

"I am feeling great, I am feeling optimistic, I feel like we have gotten an excellent turnout for this campaign, I had great conversations with students in Isla Vista today and great conversations with voters, so may smiles so many waves," said Mack.

Before the returns Capps appeared grateful for the turnout.

"I feel great, I am so proud of our community, people are turning out, they are voting this is Democracy it is really a responsibility and a privilege to be able to vote, " said Capps.

Capps had a healthy lead by the end of the night and appeared to believe the numbers would stay in her favor.

She said she plans to continue to be a good listener.

"We are going to build more affordable housing, we are going to do more things to transition to renewable energy, we are going to stand up for our immigrant communities right now. If anyone is watching this and they have an idea get in touch with me. It is that simple, government is meant to be a two way street," said Capps.

Mack has not given up and wants to give all the votes a chance to be counted.

"It has been great to see what people can accomplish when we work together and push for change on the county level like I said whether we win or whether we lose i believe that we our going to put some influence forth on the county level," said Mack.

The results won't be official until the election is certified.

The post Laura Capps leads Mack in re-election bid appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Análisis por Aaron Blake, CNN

Seis estados, desde California hasta Nueva Jersey, celebraron elecciones primarias este martes por la noche.

Muchos de los resultados de California tardarán en conocerse, dado el cierre tardío de las urnas y la lentitud del recuento de votos en el estado. Pero aquí les presentamos algunas de nuestras conclusiones hasta el momento.

La contienda por el Senado en Iowa no se ha considerado una elección de primer nivel. Pero las primarias demócratas atrajeron mucha atención.

El super PAC demócrata VoteVets gastó alrededor de US$ 10 millones para ayudar al representante estatal Josh Turek.

El senador estatal Zach Wahls intentó contraatacar convirtiendo la contienda en un referéndum sobre Chuck Schumer, el líder de la minoría en el Senado, a menudo criticado, contra quien algunos demócratas se postulan.

Pero por mucho que los votantes de base demócratas no adoren a Schumer, no funcionó. De hecho, Turek obtuvo una victoria aplastante, aventajando a Wahls por 25 puntos con casi todos los votos escrutados.

Turek avanzará a la siguiente ronda de las elecciones generales, donde se enfrentará a la representante republicana Ashley Hinson.

Hinson es el claro favorito en un estado que Trump ganó por 13 puntos en 2024. Pero los demócratas esperan que los aranceles de Trump hagan que este estado, predominantemente agrícola, sea más competitivo de lo habitual.

Además, Turek proviene de un distrito legislativo estatal del oeste de Iowa que apoyó a Trump.

Algunos analistas cambiaron el martes por la noche su pronóstico de una probable victoria republicana a una mera inclinación hacia el Partido Republicano.

Si los demócratas logran ponerlo en juego, sería un gran avance para sus cálculos de mayoría, dado que necesitarán ganar varios estados que Trump ganó en 2024 por un margen de dos dígitos.

A pesar de toda la narrativa sobre cómo Trump demuestra su poder al derrotar a los republicanos en ejercicio en las primarias en las últimas semanas, su historial de apoyos no ha sido impecable, especialmente en contiendas de menor perfil.

Dos candidatos a los que apoyó el mes pasado se enfrentarán en una segunda vuelta en las primarias para gobernador de Georgia y senador de Estados Unidos por Alabama, por ejemplo.

Y el martes por la noche, un candidato respaldado por Trump perdió.

El viernes, Trump decidió respaldar al representante Randy Feenstra en la contienda por la gobernación de Iowa, con la esperanza de que esto le diera la victoria en una competencia muy reñida.

Sin embargo, el martes, Feenstra perdió por un estrecho margen ante el empresario Zach Lahn.

Feenstra se convierte en la primera persona respaldada por Trump a nivel estatal en perder unas primarias en 2026. (Algunos también perdieron en 2022).

Lahn, quien contaba con el respaldo de Turning Point Action y del controvertido exdiputado Steve King, ahora se enfrenta al muy aclamado auditor estatal demócrata Rob Sand en una contienda por la gobernación que podría ser más prometedora para los demócratas que la carrera por el Senado de Estados Unidos.

De hecho, las dos primarias estatales de Iowa resultaron tal como los demócratas esperaban.

No tenemos respuestas definitivas sobre la tan esperada contienda por la gobernación de California ni sobre la elección para la alcaldía de Los Ángeles. Pero sí tenemos algunas pista