Latest news with #FirstChoice
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Europe's budget F1-city has £2.50 beer and a ghost racetrack
Monza, Italy's Grand Prix home since 1949, offers year-round F1-fuelled attractions at a fraction of the cost. The capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza is about 15km from Milan. Italian glamour, local history and cheap drinks are all part of the charm in the home of Ferrari. Whether you're a long-term F1 fan, are inspired by next week's F1 film premier, or just have an appreciation of Charles Leclerc, Monza is a good summer holiday spot for racing and non-racing fans alike. It also happens to deliver a lot of trackside vibes, without the eye watering prices. With the average cost of a Grand Prix ticket costing upwards of £360 and flights, accommodation and expenses bringing the average for travelling to watch a race up to around £790, increasingly popular F1 tourism remains out of reach for many. Monza, Italy's Grand Prix home since 1949, offers year-round F1-fuelled attractions at a fraction of the cost. According to travel company First Choice, a two-night trip to Monza starts from £150 for flights and accommodation. The capital of the Province of Monza and Brianza is about 15km from Milan, with a similar sunny climate and the same Italian charm, but with less of the tourists and a much more relaxed vibe. Compared to the high-energy, fashion-meets-finance, high-flying feeling of Milan, Monza offers a much more laid back, off-the-beaten-track approach. During race weekend, the city is a hive of F1 activity, but the home of Ferrari is just as motor-mad throughout the year. The Autodromo Nazionale Monza, or the 'temple of speed' as it's locally known, is set in the woodland park of the Royal Villa of Monza and is the oldest purpose-built racetrack in Europe, having been built in 1922. The track is part of F1 lore, hosting the Italian Grand Prix almost every year since the championship began in 1950. The track offers year-round tour experiences of the paddock, control room, podium, and track for €20 (£17), while on Sundays, you can rent bikes and cycle the track yourself for €10 (£8.50). For an alternative track experience, the Old Monza Oval, an abandoned high-speed race track from the 1950s, still exists in the Parco di Monza. The Old Oval was constructed in 1955 and operated until 1961 when it was abandoned following a series of deadly crashes caused by the dangerously steep banked track floor which reaches a gradient of 80%. The track still exists as an overgrown silent homage to Monza racing history, and in 2014 opened to pedestrians and cyclist keen to experience this eery part of F1 history up close. For a more up-to-date immersive experience, Saint Georges Premier restaurant is a firm favourite of F1 drivers and team-mates as the official hospitality partner for the race. Outside of race weekend, it's open to the public, with a high-end premium menu of dishes ranging from €18 - €35. But Monza isn't all about high price tags. In fact, there are plenty of places to secure a very cheap deal. Speedy Pub is a casual spot, with sandwiches, deli goods and a large range of international beers starting from €3 (£2.50), while Solobirra is a dedicated beer bar with a big local reputation for the owner who knows a thing or two about draft. For a fully immersive F1 drinking experience, Pit Stop Café is located near to the race circuit, with signed F1 cars on the wall, amazing food, beers and cocktails. A few days is probably all you'll need to soak in Monza's charm, but those looking to stay a little longer can take a day trip to Milan where you'll find the Ferrari flagship store as well as the Alfa Romeo museum; or an hour train to Maranello which is home Ferrari Factory, Fiorano test track and the Museo Ferrari Maranello. Trips to Monza with First Choice start at £150 per person, staying at the BandB Hotel Milano – a modern, clean B&B a 15-minute drive from the racetrack. Price is based on two adults sharing a double standard room, on a room-only basis for two nights, flights departing from London Stansted airport on 29 July 2025. Hand luggage only and transfers not included. For more information check out First Choice.
UPI
5 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Supreme Court to hear New Jersey pro-life free speech case
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a faith-based pregnancy center's request, challenging New Jersey over its claim the pro-life group misled women about offering abortion services. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for October. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI. | License Photo June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a Christian-based pregnancy center's request, challenging New Jersey over its claim the pro-life group misled women about offering abortion services. The Supreme Court will decide later this year whether First Choice Women's Resource Centers can use federal courts to block the state's attorney general from investigating its donor, advertising and medical personnel records. First Choice, which provides parenting classes and free ultrasounds to women facing unplanned pregnancies, claims a 2023 subpoena violated its free speech rights. Attorney General Matthew Platkin "has made no secret of his hostility towards pregnancy centers," the pro-life group wrote in its petition to the Supreme Court, as it called Platkin's subpoena "invasive" for demanding access to records. "State attorneys general on both sides of the political aisle have been accused of misusing this authority to issue demands against their ideological and political opponents," lawyers for First Choice wrote. "Even if these accusations turn out to be false, it is important that a federal forum exists for suits challenging those investigative demands." Platkin argues that the subpoena he issued has yet to be enforced in state court. He also said the donor information he sought was from two websites, which he claimed may have misled people into thinking First Choice provided abortions. "Nonprofits, including crisis pregnancy centers, may not deceive or defraud residents in our state, and we may exercise our traditional investigative authority to ensure that they are not doing so -- as we do to protect New Jerseyans from a range of harms," Platkin wrote in a statement. The Supreme Court will focus on whether First Choice sued prematurely, not whether New Jersey's subpoena was valid, according to Platkin. "First Choice is looking for a special exception from the usual procedural rules as it tries to avoid complying with an entirely lawful state subpoena," Platkin added. "No industry is entitled to that type of special treatment -- period." Lawyers for First Choice said the group is not seeking special treatment and believes their free speech rights are being targeted. "New Jersey's attorney general is targeting First Choice simply because of its pro-life views," Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Erin Hawley said in a statement. "The Constitution protects First Choice and its donors from unjustified demands to disclose their identities, and First Choice is entitled to vindicate those rights in federal court." Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for October. "We are looking forward to presenting our case to the Supreme Court and urging it to hold that First Choice has the same right to federal court as any other civil rights plaintiff," Hawley added. "The First Amendment protects First Choice's right to freely speak about its beliefs, exercise its faith, associate with like-minded individuals and organizations, and continue to provide its free services in a caring and compassionate environment to people facing unplanned pregnancies."
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
US supreme court to hear case involving anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center
The US supreme court agreed on Monday to consider reviving a New Jersey anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center operator's bid to block the Democratic-led state's attorney general from investigating whether it deceived women into believing it offered abortions. The justices took up an appeal by First Choice Women's Resource Centers of a lower court's ruling that the Christian faith-based organization must first contest Attorney General Matthew Platkin's subpoena in state court before bringing a federal lawsuit challenging it. The justices are expected to hear the case in their next term, which begins in October. Crisis pregnancy centers provide services to pregnant women with the goal of preventing them from having abortions. Such centers do not advertise their anti-abortion stance, and abortion rights advocates have called them deceptive. The case provides a test of the ability of state authorities to regulate these businesses. First Choice, which has five locations in New Jersey, has argued that it has a right to bring its case in federal court because it was alleging a violation of its federal rights to free speech and free association under the first amendment of the US constitution. First Choice is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that has brought other cases on behalf of anti-abortion plaintiffs including an effort to restrict distribution of the abortion pill that has since been taken over by Republican states. New Jersey is targeting First Choice because of its views, Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer Erin Hawley said. 'We are looking forward to presenting our case to the supreme court and urging it to hold that First Choice has the same right to federal court as any other civil rights plaintiff,' Hawley said in a statement. Platkin said that his office may investigate to ensure nonprofits are not deceiving residents and that First Choice has for years refused to answer questions about 'potential misrepresentations they have been making, including about reproductive healthcare'. 'First Choice is looking for a special exception from the usual procedural rules as it tries to avoid complying with an entirely lawful state subpoena, something the US Constitution does not permit it to do. No industry is entitled to that type of special treatment – period,' Platkin added. First Choice sued Platkin in New Jersey federal court in 2023 after the attorney general issued a subpoena seeking internal records including the names of its doctors and donors as part of an investigation into potentially unlawful practices. First Choice argued that there was no good cause for the subpoena, which it said chilled its first amendment rights. Platkin moved to enforce the subpoena in state court. Essex county superior court Judge Lisa Adubato granted that motion, finding that First Choice had not shown that the subpoena should be quashed at the outset of the investigation, but ordered the parties to negotiate a narrower subpoena and said that the constitutional issues could be litigated further going forward. The US district judge Michael Shipp then dismissed the federal case, finding that First Choice's federal claim was not ripe because it could continue to make its constitutional claims in the state court and did not face any immediate threat of contempt. The Philadelphia-based third circuit court of appeals in a 2-1 ruling in December 2024 upheld Shipp's ruling, prompting First Choice to appeal to the justices. In asking the supreme court to hear the case, First Choice argued that federal civil rights law is intended to guarantee parties a federal forum to assert their constitutional rights. It said that forcing it to litigate in state court would effectively deny it that forum, since the constitutional claims would be decided before a federal court could ever hear them. Crisis pregnancy centers have also drawn the attention of the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who in 2024 sued 11 centers for advertising abortion pill reversal, a treatment whose safety and effectiveness is unproven. That case remains pending. Several New York crisis pregnancy centers sued James and in August won an order allowing them to continue touting abortion pill reversal.
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Supreme Court to hear case over probe of antiabortion pregnancy center
The Supreme Court will hear a case next term that deals with an investigation by New Jersey's attorney general into a chain of pregnancy centers that seek to dissuade women from having abortions. The justices said Monday that they will weigh whether First Choice Women's Resource Centers Inc., which operates five clinics in the state, can go to federal court to fight a state-level subpoena from New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin that seeks a list of its donors.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Supreme Court to hear dispute involving anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center
By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider reviving a New Jersey crisis pregnancy center operator's bid to block the Democratic-led state's attorney general from investigating whether it deceived women into believing it offered abortions. The justices took up an appeal by First Choice Women's Resource Center of a lower court's ruling that the crisis pregnancy center must first contest Attorney General Matthew Platkin's subpoena in state court before bringing a federal lawsuit challenging it. The justices are expected to hear the case in their next term, which begins in October. Crisis pregnancy centers provide services to pregnant women with the goal of preventing them from having abortions. Such centers do not advertise their anti-abortion stance, and abortion rights advocates have called them deceptive. The case provides a test of the ability of state authorities to regulate these businesses. First Choice, which has five locations in New Jersey, has argued that it has a right to bring its case in federal court because it was alleging a violation of its federal rights to free speech and free association under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. First Choice is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that has brought other cases on behalf of anti-abortion plaintiffs including an effort to restrict distribution of the abortion pill that has since been taken over by Republican states. First Choice sued Platkin in New Jersey federal court in 2023 after the attorney general issued a subpoena seeking internal records including the names of its doctors and donors as part of an investigation into potentially unlawful practices. First Choice argued that there was no good cause for the subpoena, which it said chilled its First Amendment rights. Platkin moved to enforce the subpoena in state court. Essex County Superior Court Judge Lisa Adubato granted that motion, finding that First Choice had not shown that the subpoena should be quashed at the outset of the investigation, but ordered the parties to negotiate a narrower subpoena and said that the constitutional issues could be litigated further going forward. U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp then dismissed the federal case, finding that First Choice's federal claim was not ripe because it could continue to make its constitutional claims in the state court and did not face any immediate threat of contempt. The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 ruling in December 2024 upheld Shipp's ruling, prompting First Choice to appeal to the justices. In asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, First Choice argued that federal civil rights law is intended to guarantee parties a federal forum to assert their constitutional rights. It said that forcing it to litigate in state court would effectively deny it that forum, since the constitutional claims would be decided before a federal court could ever hear them. Crisis pregnancy centers have also drawn the attention of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who in 2024 sued 11 centers for advertising abortion pill reversal, a treatment whose safety and effectiveness is unproven. That case remains pending. Several New York crisis pregnancy centers sued James and in August won an order allowing them to continue touting abortion pill reversal.
