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Two Men Die Within 24 Hours at Burning Man as Crowds Gather in Nevada Desert

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Two men died in the span of about 24 hours at Burning Man, as tens of thousands of “burners” filled Nevada’s Black Rock Desert for the closing days of the renowned festival.

Festival organizers said one of the men, 60-year-old Craigh Mann, was discovered dead by his campmates on Saturday afternoon. A second participant, described as a man in his mid-50s, died a day earlier after experiencing a medical emergency.

According to the Burning Man Project, Mann was found at his camp in Black Rock City at about 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5.

Burning Man attendees sample art during a dust storm at Black Rock City.

Burning Man 2026 attendees watch as the Man structure burns during the annual gathering in Black Rock City, Nevada, on Sept. 5, 2026. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)

“Burning Man Project is saddened to share that a second Black Rock City participant, Craigh Mann, a 60-year-old man, was found deceased by campmates in his camp,” organizers said in a statement.

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss,” the statement said.

Festival organizers announced the first death Friday evening.

Burning Man attendees sample art during a dust storm at Black Rock City.

Burning Man 2026 attendees sample the art at Black Rock City during a dust storm on Sept. 2, 2026. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)

The man who was in his mid-50s suffered a medical emergency and received lifesaving measures before being taken to the festival’s onsite emergency care center, according to the Burning Man Project.

He was pronounced dead at the center. Organizers did not provide further details about the type of medical emergency.

His name was not released because his family had not yet been notified.

“The safety and well-being of our community and staff remain our highest priority,” organizers said after the first death. They said support resources were available around the clock for people in Black Rock City, the temporary city built each year to host the event.

Satellite image shows the Burning Man festival site in Black Rock City, Nevada.

A Vantor satellite image shows the center of the Burning Man festival site in Black Rock City, Nev., on Aug. 31, 2026, with its distinctive circular layout and numerous temporary structures. (DigitalGlobe/Getty Images)

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to News Media’s request for comment.

The annual Burning Man festival began Aug. 30 and was scheduled to conclude Monday.

The sprawling desert gathering draws as many as 80,000 people, known as “burners.” The festival is best known for the burning of a large wooden effigy.

Disturbing Karmelo Anthony Texts and Videos Surface in Newly Revealed Trove

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Donna Mills Reveals the Fitness Routine Behind Her Abs at 85

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Donna Mills is proving that dedication has no age limit, with the Knots Landing icon sharing the routine behind her fit physique at 85.

The veteran soap star, who recently made headlines by joining OnlyFans, told Fox News that staying in shape comes down to a demanding mix of daily exercise and disciplined eating.

Mills said her sculpted abs and toned legs are the result of a rigorous workout schedule that includes 100 sit-ups every day, 50 leg lifts and a high-energy cardio session on her Peloton bike.

She also keeps active on the tennis court, playing as often as five times a week, and says her background in ballet helped instill the focus and stamina needed to stick with such a demanding fitness plan.

“I have a ballet barre in my little gym,” she said, adding that she rides the bike for “about 45 minutes or an hour.”

Mills is completely ‘anti-sugar’ and has avoided it her entire life, but there is one snack food that she can’t resist.

Knots Landing legend Donna Mills has revealed how she maintains her enviable figure and incredible abs at age 85

Knots Landing legend Donna Mills has revealed how she maintains her enviable figure and incredible abs at age 85

‘I’m a Doritos addict,’ she confessed. ‘I mean, it’s not good for you. It’s not. I know I shouldn’t do it.’

In addition to ditching sugar, Mills avoids carbs and instead focuses on vegetables and proteins. 

Mills also says that she’s loosened up her eating habits with age, previously revealing that she wouldn’t even eat pasta and bread during her time on Knots Landing and rarely ever drank more than ‘half a glass of wine’. 

These days, the bombshell actress is earning six figures selling content on OnlyFans.

Discussing her spicy page on the official Creators Inc. podcast last month, Mills admitted that she has received some strange requests from her subscribers – including ‘foot kink’ videos of her ‘stomping on grapes’.

‘I am gonna do it,’ she said. ‘I tried to shoot it myself but you can’t shoot something while you’re stomping, it just doesn’t work.’

She added, ‘I’m gonna do that very soon and do it right so people can really enjoy it. I think it’s really funny and fun… it’s a pleasure for me.’  

The star also said that her subscribers love to see photos of her without makeup along with other glimpses into her personal life.

Mills does 100 sit-ups each day, along with 50 leg lifts, an hour on her Peloton bike and tennis five days a week

Mills does 100 sit-ups each day, along with 50 leg lifts, an hour on her Peloton bike and tennis five days a week

Mills credits her early years as a ballet dancer for giving her the discipline to persevere with her grueling workouts

Mills credits her early years as a ballet dancer for giving her the discipline to persevere with her grueling workouts

The Daily Mail recently signed up to the grandmother’s OnlyFans account to take a look at what she’s got on offer, and it turns out that she definitely isn’t shy about flaunting her sexy side.

While Mills isn’t doing any nude or sexually-explicit content just yet, that hasn’t stopped her from getting pretty suggestive with her subscribers.

In one image posted to her page, Mills stares seductively into the camera while wearing skin-tight black activewear at the gym.

‘In case you needed to test your stamina,’ she cheekily captioned it.

Other seemingly more suggestive videos and images are hidden behind pricey paywalls.

These days, the bombshell actress is earning six figures selling content on OnlyFans

These days, the bombshell actress is earning six figures selling content on OnlyFans

‘At my age I have a couple tricks up my sleeves,’ she captioned one, while another reads, ‘Giving you the ol razzle dazzle’ followed by a blushing emoji.

In one paywalled post sent directly to subscribers, Mills said, ‘I may be an older lady now but I’m still quite limber if you can’t tell.’

Mills got her first break on the soap opera Love Is a Many Splendored Thing in 1967 and then spent the next decade doing random TV shows and telemovies.

In 1980, she landed what would become the defining role of her career as Abby Cunningham on Knots Landing. 

She remained on the series until 1989 and then went on to have a few more memorable roles throughout the ’90s and 2000s, including a guest stint on Melrose Place in 1996.

TikTok Messages That Shattered Kysaiah Pickett’s Relationship

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First Responders Recover Victims After Deadly Amazon Cargo Plane Crash

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Newly released dispatch audio has captured the chilling moments after an Amazon cargo plane crash at Miami International Airport, as first responders assessed the wreckage and reported multiple victims.

Emergency crews were sent rushing to the airport on Sunday afternoon when a Boeing 767 cargo jet ran beyond the runway, crossed into traffic and collided with several vehicles.

In the radio traffic, one responder described the devastating path of the aircraft, saying it had “overran the runway,” crossed 67th Avenue and hit a truck.

The responder then reported that at least one victim was on the ground, while crews continued searching the surrounding area for anyone else who may have been hurt.

A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue worker later updated the scene, stating over dispatch that there were three patients in total, with triage indicating “two black and one red.”

First responders use color codes during triage to help sort patients quickly. Black means the person is deceased, while red means they have suffered critical, life-threatening injuries.

The cargo plane overran the runway around 2pm after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses that surround the airport. 

Five people died, three were critically injured and two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries, officials said. 

Fire crews rushed to Miami International Airport Sunday afternoon after a Boeing 767 jet barreled off a runway and crashed into several vehicles

Fire crews rushed to Miami International Airport Sunday afternoon after a Boeing 767 jet barreled off a runway and crashed into several vehicles

The cargo plane overran the runway around 2pm Sunday after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses that surround the airport

The cargo plane overran the runway around 2pm Sunday after arriving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and plowed across a road used by warehouse workers and other businesses that surround the airport

When the emergency call initially came in, a first responder could be heard telling his crew: ‘Guys, the plane’s on fire, the plane’s on fire, put your game faces on.’ 

As officials arrived on the scene, it became evident just how dire the situation was. 

Firefighters ran out of water and requested backup as the plane continued to burn, the audio revealed.

Crews also had to rescue a person who was trapped under a vehicle, with one emergency responder telling dispatch that they were ‘going to need extrication.’

A ‘green’ patient, someone who suffered minor injuries, was found ‘off to the side,’ according to the audio.

Authorities kept working the scene, leading to the discovery of further victims.

‘Rescue 12. So far we have four black, two reds,’ one rescuer updated.

Some 200 emergency personnel responded to the runway, finding the plane with heavy flames and smoke from a complex engine compartment fire.

Smoke billowed into the sky after the Prime Air cargo plane crashed into a busy road after overrunning the runway in Miami on Sunday

Smoke billowed into the sky after the Prime Air cargo plane crashed into a busy road after overrunning the runway in Miami on Sunday

Officials investigating the runway incursion on Sunday evening

Officials investigating the runway incursion on Sunday evening

Firefighters used foam from specialized airport firefighting units to extinguish the fire, and crews were still dealing with a fuel leak on the plane hours later.

‘The fire appears to be under control, almost out,’ one firefighter told dispatch once the blaze was nearly extinguished.

‘We’re working on replenishing our vehicles, water and foam. And we’re going to also search the plane for souls on board, for the pilots.’ 

Video of Sunday’s landing appears to show the Boeing 767 remaining airborne well down the runway before touching down. 

The jet had been traveling at 129mph as it exited the ‘usable runway’ amid thunderstorms and gusting winds, according to data from flight tracking site Flightradar24.

It then came to a rest near a parking lot that services an Amazon warehouse and other businesses, with photos from the scene showing the plane largely intact behind two semitrucks.

The crash, which sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky, trapped the pilot and copilot in the cockpit and some occupants in cars, said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the pilots were among those killed. 

Five people died in Sunday's crash, officials said. Three were critically injured and two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries

Five people died in Sunday’s crash, officials said. Three were critically injured and two others were hospitalized with less severe injuries

Miami-Dade County firefighters and EMS workers rushed to the airport on Sunday

Miami-Dade County firefighters and EMS workers rushed to the airport on Sunday

Automatic Dependent Surveillance broadcast data also showed the plane touched down on Runway 30 at about 167 knots, or about 192mph, and went off the runway at over 120mph.

Meanwhile, Miami’s own Automated Surface Observation System reports that the plane had tailwinds of 20 knots to 30 knots amid thunderous conditions.

Aviation experts said investigators will seek to determine exactly where the plane landed and, if it was beyond the normal touchdown zone, why the pilots did not abandon the landing and circle back for another attempt.

Investigators will also examine the plane’s speed and braking, weather and wind conditions, the aircraft’s mechanical condition and other factors that could have contributed to the deadly overrun. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed that the airport is not equipped with the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) that has been installed at more than 120 airports nationwide.

The system places beds of lightweight, crushable material at the end of a runway to help bring planes that overshoot the tarmac safely to a stop, the FAA said.

Federal aviation officials for years have recommended that airports utilize the safety system, which has been credited by the FAA with helping save at least 497 lives.

DWTS’ Julia Stiles, Ezra Sosa React to Juilliard’s Shady Post

It seems Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa won’t be taking their final bow at Juilliard after all.

Following news that the actress has been teamed with the professional dancer for Dancing With the Stars season 35, fans wasted no time revisiting clips from her iconic 2001 film Save the Last Dance. In the movie, Stiles played Sara Johnson, a teenage ballerina with dreams of earning a spot at The Juilliard School.

But as the throwback dance moments made the rounds online, Juilliard stepped in with a quick reality check: Stiles was never actually a student there.

“*Checks registrar* No, Julia Stiles did not, in fact, attend Juilliard. But we love her anyway,” the school wrote on Instagram Sept. 3. “You can see ~actual~ Juilliard dancers (and musicians and actors) on Opening Night of the Juilliard Fall Festival Sept 16.”

Juilliard did soften the playful clarification with a supportive note, adding, “P.S. Good luck on DWTS, Julia… we’re cheering you on.” Still, Stiles and Sosa didn’t appear entirely moved by the shoutout.

“I heard about it, because I think that Juilliard actually posted saying, ‘For the record, she did not go to our school,'” Stiles exclusively told E! News at the 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 6, with Sosa adding, “which was kind of shady, but honestly, really funny.”

Why Men Should Avoid the Pheromone-Maxxing Trend

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Men, it’s time for a quick intervention.

Yes, dating is a mess. The apps are exhausting, signals are impossible to read, and half the time no one can tell whether they’re dating, “talking,” casually hanging out, or trapped in a six-month emotional study conducted via Instagram Stories.

But it has come to my attention that some of you are attempting to solve this chaos by giving up on showers, and let’s be very clear: that is not the breakthrough you think it is.

The trend is called “pheromone-maxxing,” the newest entry in the internet’s growing catalog of ways men are told they can hack themselves into becoming irresistible. The theory claims that avoiding showers, skipping deodorant, and in some cases rewearing sweaty clothes helps preserve a man’s natural scent — and the supposedly powerful pheromones within it — making him biologically magnetic to women.

At the more extreme end, some versions of the trend reportedly include drinking urine.

Gentlemen.

We have lost the plot.

Of course, if any state was going to understand the impulse to optimize oneself into romantic perfection, it was going to be California.

Here in Los Angeles, we do not simply exist inside our bodies. We manage them like startups.

We monitor our sleep. Track our glucose. Cold plunge. Red-light. Supplement. Strength train. Count protein. Discuss cortisol with people we met 11 minutes ago. There is probably a man in Venice right now wearing a continuous glucose monitor while drinking an $18 smoothie and explaining mitochondrial function to a woman who desperately wishes she had ordered it to go.

Optimization is practically our municipal religion, so I understand how we got here.

Dating is uncertain. Attraction is mysterious. Rejection hurts. Then the internet comes along and says, “Hey, what if there were a system?”

Suddenly you don’t have to wonder whether she likes you. You just have to perfect your jawline, your haircut, your wardrobe, your workout, your text response time, and, apparently, the bacterial ecosystem flourishing beneath your armpits.

Except women are not combination locks, and there isn’t a sequence of inputs that makes us open.

While scent absolutely can be sexy, “natural scent” and “I haven’t showered since Tuesday” are not synonyms.

There is something intoxicating about the way a person you already desire smells. Anyone who has ever buried their face in somebody’s neck knows this. I’m currently obsessed with the way my situationship’s skin smells, and yes, that includes after jiu-jitsu. But then we get in the shower.

Here’s the important part:

I already want him.

I have never encountered a stranger emitting such extraordinary biological signals that I thought, “His shirt appears capable of standing independently, but my ovaries have spoken.”

Human attraction is messier than that.

It’s a smile. Eye contact. Humor. Kindness. Confidence. The way someone listens when you’re speaking instead of waiting for his opportunity to tell you about crypto. It’s chemistry, timing, and the inexplicable fact that one person’s face does absolutely nothing to you while another person’s makes your brain briefly forget how chairs work.

You cannot maxx that, and I think that’s what makes this trend less disgusting and more sad.

Underneath all these increasingly elaborate strategies for becoming desirable seems to be a generation of men desperately asking the same question humans have always asked:

How do I make someone want me?

I wish there were a hack, but the answer may be horrifyingly analog.

Take a shower.

Put on deodorant.

Wear a clean shirt.

Leave your house. Explore LA. Talk to a woman.

Not as a target. Not as a demographic whose preferences you have reverse-engineered from TikTok. Talk to her like she’s a strange, funny, complicated person you might enjoy knowing.

Ask her something and listen to the answer. Then, and I realize I am proposing something radical here, ask a follow-up question. 

Make her laugh.

Let her make you laugh.

Risk being awkward, risk being rejected, and if you’re lucky, eventually somebody will get close enough to put her face against your neck.

Then you can find out whether she likes how you smell.

Los Angeles already has enough strange aromas. We have hot asphalt, wildfire smoke, ocean air, dog urine on sidewalks, and whatever is happening inside the parking garage at Whole Foods.

We do not need sexually frustrated men adding artisanal body odor to the ecosystem.

You don’t need to pheromone-maxx.

You need to shower and let a woman hug you.

Mary Kay Holmes is a Los Angeles writer covering dating, relationships and the increasingly absurd business of being a person.

Menendez Brothers Get 2027 Parole Hearing, One Year Earlier Than Expected

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Erik and Lyle Menendez are now set to appear before a parole board next year, moving their hearing up by more than a year from the date previously anticipated.

The Menendez brothers, convicted in the Aug. 20, 1989, shotgun killings of their parents, Jose and Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez, inside the family’s Beverly Hills mansion, are scheduled for a parole suitability hearing in March 2027 rather than August 2028, Fox News has confirmed.

The earlier hearing date is tied to two provisions under Proposition 9, which permit officials to advance an inmate’s next parole review when new information or changed circumstances suggest the person could be eligible for parole, The Orange County Register reported.

Menendez brothers one step closer to seeing life outside prison walls.

Erik and Lyle Menendez are expected to go before the parole board in March 2027, one year earlier than initially projected. (Getty Images)

“For almost 40 years, Erik and Lyle have worked to take responsibility for their actions, confront and heal from the unimaginable abuse and trauma they endured, grow as individuals, and dedicate themselves to serving others,” family members said in a statement.

“Through efforts such as helping to establish a hospice program and creating Green Space, they have sought to build an environment that reminds people serving life sentences that their lives still have meaning and that, regardless of their circumstances, they can choose each day to grow, heal, accept accountability, and contribute something of value to the world around them,” they added.

Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez

Lyle, left, and Erik Menendez leave a courtroom in Santa Monica, Calif., Aug. 6, 1990, after a judge ruled that conversations between the brothers and their psychologist after their parents were slain were not privileged and could be used as evidence. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

The brothers were handed life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders, which drew widespread media attention. However, they were resentenced to life in May 2025, making them eligible for parole.

The new sentencing came amid a push by supporters following a Netflix series on the case that resurrected calls for their freedom. They were denied parole last year.

Parole hearing attended by Erik Menendez from a desktop computer.

Erik Menendez appears remotely for a 2025 parole hearing. (CDCR)

The brothers have said the murders were committed after years of sexual abuse by their father. However, prosecutors have contested the claims, arguing the pair killed their parents out of greed.

“Erik and Lyle were once sentenced to life without the possibility of parole,” the family statement said. “We will always be profoundly grateful that they have been resentenced and that our family can now imagine a future in which they are once again part of our everyday lives… We are incredibly proud of the men they have become and deeply grateful to the Parole Board for recognizing their efforts and allowing them to advance their parole hearing.”

The Menendez Brothers attend a hearing regarding a possible resentencing for their life sentences for killing their parents.

A sketch depicts (l-r) Erik and Lyle Menendez as they appear remotely at superior court in Van Nuys, California, Friday, April 11, 2025. (Bill Robles)

Lyle Menendez, 58, and Erik Menendez, 55, are both incarcerated in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.

Baby Dies After Family Joins Grandfather for Night Fishing

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Relatives of a three-month-old baby girl who died during a family camping trip have said the tragedy unfolded after children and parents spent the night fishing with the baby’s grandfather at a pond.

In a statement, the family urged people not to speculate about the “traumatic” incident in Staffordshire, which has led to the arrest of two men and two women on suspicion of murder, saying they still “don’t even know the details or circumstances ourselves”.

The infant had been camping with relatives in Great Wyrley when she suffered a cardiac arrest at about 8.45am on Saturday. Paramedics attended but she was pronounced dead a short time later.

Speaking to Chase TV, the family said: “We as a family appreciate the community concerns and well wishes for this tragic event that happened where the children and parents joined grandad for a night fishing at the pond.

“As everyone can understand it is a traumatic time for everyone involved and we would ask for some privacy at this difficult time without speculation while Staffordshire Police do their job, as we as a family don’t even know the details or circumstances ourselves.”

Earlier today, a woman claiming to be the baby’s grandmother visited the scene with two relatives and said that the infant and her parents had only been staying in the tent for one night.

She added that the family were joining the child’s grandfather who had been camping in the area for several nights by that stage.

The police cordon around the scene was lifted today and flowers and a toy bunny rabbit appear to have been left by relatives at the foot of a nearby tree.

A tent was set up in a wooded area near a pond off Strawberry Lane, near the village of Great Wyrley in Staffordshire

A tent was set up in a wooded area near a pond off Strawberry Lane, near the village of Great Wyrley in Staffordshire

Officers and an air ambulance were called following reports that a child had gone into cardiac arrest at around 8.45am on Saturday

Officers and an air ambulance were called following reports that a child had gone into cardiac arrest at around 8.45am on Saturday

One attached note read: ‘Baby girl, I’ll look for the brightest star in the night sky. Nanna loves you.’

Police confirmed earlier that a 42-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman from south Staffordshire, a 20-year-old woman from Wolverhampton and an 18-year-old man from Walsall have been arrested. All four have since been bailed with conditions.

Over the weekend, a fishing lake in the Wyrley and Essington canal nature reserve was cordoned off and investigators remained there today.

Drone images from the scene showed at least four tents and camping chairs positioned next to each other, close to fishing platforms. 

Police appeared to have removed the tent where the family were staying, but just feet away the burnt-out husk of another tent – apparently pitched overnight – had been abandoned alongside a pile of litter.

One witness said she had directed paramedics towards the area over the weekend. Another local, who regularly cycles through the area, told the Daily Mail that he believed some people had been camping by the fishing lake for several days.

The grass below where a tent had been pitched appeared to be faded, suggesting it had been covered for some time.

Detective Inspector Josh Lee, from Staffordshire Police’s child protection team, said: ‘I want to assure the local community that we are working around the clock to investigate the circumstances of this tragic incident, which has understandably caused concern.

‘While we can confirm that all four people have been arrested on suspicion of murder, we are still working hard to obtain further evidence and we are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of the death at this very early stage, which we are treating as an isolated incident.

‘All four people were arrested at the scene of the incident and have been released on bail.

‘While we fully understand that speculation into the nature of this incident is likely to take place, we’d ask people to follow this page for factual, accurate updates as our investigation unfolds and to avoid sharing unconfirmed and speculative claims online.’

Previously Robert Duncan, district councillor for Cheslyn Hay, said: ‘I know how deeply upsetting news like this is for our community. 

‘It’s important that we allow the emergency services the space they need to complete their work with dignity and care.

‘As soon as the full and confirmed details are formally shared with me, I will provide a further update to residents. 

‘Until then, please avoid speculation and allow the family and responders the privacy and respect they deserve.’

Aboriginal Elder Breaks Ranks Over Indigenous Land Claims

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A Wiradjuri elder has criticised an Aboriginal land council, claiming it is using land rights laws as a “weapon” after several well-known Sydney landmarks were drawn into Indigenous land claim disputes.

Roy Ah-See raised the concerns on Monday while speaking with 2GB Breakfast presenter Ben Fordham.

“Weaponising the legislation doesn’t help anyone. It doesn’t help people, it doesn’t help our communities,” he said.

The remarks came after it emerged that Sydney’s famous Bondi Icebergs had become the subject of a land claim, with the radio program later reporting that three other major sites across the city were also facing similar claims.

Mr Ah-See said the claim connected to the landmark Bondi pool and hospitality venue was of particular concern to him.

‘To hear that these places have been subject to a land claim is really concerning for me as the former chair of the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, because that was never the intent,’ he said.

Club Rose Bay, St Michael’s Golf Club at Little Bay and Matraville RSL, also known as Club Matto, are among the well-known sites across Sydney that are reportedly subject to claims.

A Wiradjuri elder, Roy Ah-See has accused an Aboriginal land council of 'weaponising' land rights legislation

A Wiradjuri elder, Roy Ah-See has accused an Aboriginal land council of ‘weaponising’ land rights legislation

The La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council confirmed on Friday that it had submitted a land claim over the iconic Bondi Icebergs pool

The La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council confirmed on Friday that it had submitted a land claim over the iconic Bondi Icebergs pool

The La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council confirmed on Friday that it had lodged a claim over the world-famous Bondi Icebergs pool and licensed club in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Located at the very southern end of Bondi Beach, the four-storey venue is one of Sydney’s best-known landmarks and operates throughout the year.

Under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, Aboriginal land councils can lodge claims over Crown land if they believe it meets the legal definition of ‘claimable Crown lands’.

To qualify, the land must be legally available for sale or lease, not lawfully used or occupied, not needed for an essential public purpose, and not subject to native title claims.

The claim does not mean the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council will automatically be granted the land.

The claims are part of a broader backlog of about 44,000 outstanding Aboriginal land claims in NSW. 

However, Mr Ah-See, the former chair of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, slammed some of the latest claims as ‘exploitative’ and argued they did not reflect the original purpose of the legislation. 

Mr Fordham claimed the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council has most of the iconic venues along Sydney’s eastern beaches in its sights.

St Michael’s Golf Club at Little Bay (pictured) is among the sites named in the latest land claims

St Michael’s Golf Club at Little Bay (pictured) is among the sites named in the latest land claims

Roy Ah-See said the latest claims exploit legislation that was intended to compensate Aboriginal people for the loss of their traditional lands

Roy Ah-See said the latest claims exploit legislation that was intended to compensate Aboriginal people for the loss of their traditional lands 

Join the discussion

Should landmark sites like Bondi Icebergs be subject to Aboriginal land claims, or is that unfair?

‘So we now know, Roy, that the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council has lodged claims on every surf club on the eastern beaches of Sydney,’ Mr Fordham said. 

 Mr Ah-See said he was shocked by the extent of the claims.

‘Oh, look, that’s just not good enough. That really, really surprises me,’ he said.

He said the NSW Aboriginal Land Council should encourage the local body to discuss the claims.

‘Whilst they have no control over a local Aboriginal Land Council, surely the New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council can reach out and just say, ”Look, come on, let’s have a conversation about this. This is not good,”’ he said.

The Daily Mail has approached La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council and NSW Aboriginal Land Council for comment.

HOW ABORIGINAL LAND CLAIMS DIFFER FROM NATIVE TITLE

Aboriginal land rights legislation was established before Native Title, with the Northern Territory government the first to make it a law in 1976, followed by other states, including NSW in 1983.

Designed to compensate for historic removal from the land.

Claims are typically made by Aboriginal Land Councils and assessed under state and territory law by government ministers.

If granted, it gives the claimant, such as an Aboriginal Land Council, freehold title to specific parcels of land, making it the legal owner.

Native title followed later in 1993 under the Commonwealth Native Title Act.

It acknowledges a groups’ traditional ownership of the land.

Claimants must apply to the Federal Court and provide evidence of a significant connection to that area. 

It does not grant outright ownership, but rather a bundle of rights including to fish, hunt, conduct ceremonies, and have a say in how the land is used.