Disneyland’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gets kids singing and dancing

• May 14, 2025

The new Mickey Mouse Clubhouse show at Disney California Adventure seeks to give kids a chance to dance, sing and burn off a little nervous energy while their parents cool their heels in air conditioned bliss on hot summer days.

The new “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live” stage show will debut on Friday, May 16 in the Disney Theater in Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure.

Disneyland unveiled the new kids show on Tuesday, May 13 during a media preview of the 70th anniversary celebration.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland’s 70th anniversary celebration — Here’s everything you need to know

Mickey and Minnie have been once again cast as the stars of this brand new Disney Junior stage show with a host of new supporting characters — including Goofy, Daisy and Pluto.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland’s new ‘World of Color’ tugs at your emotional heartstrings

The backstory for the show finds Mickey inviting his friends over to his house for a party. When the guests fail to show, Mickey and Minnie head out in search of their buddies.

Sam the DJ serves as host, plumber and electrician during the journey to find Mickey’s pals and wrangle them together for the house party.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland turns It’s a Small World into a fun treasure hunt with new Coco characters

The house-to-house hunt finds Goofy in a busted shower, Daisy in a blacked out apartment and Pluto’s dog house buried under an avalanche of snow. Fortunately, DJ Sam is able to fix the problems thanks to his handy man day jobs and his hot tunes are able to melt the snow.

Even Sam didn’t seem to understand why it was snowing in Southern California — other than as an excuse to blast faux snow into the theater.

ALSO SEE: Disneyland raises hopes for future Toy Story Midway Mania makeovers

Don’t bother searching for a coherent storyline in “Clubhouse Live.” It’s all about getting to the party, dancing along the way and the obligatory confetti finale when the gang is finally reunited.

The “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live” show is geared toward preschool and young grade school children with songs and scenarios based on the Disney Junior television show.

ALSO SEE: 13 Disneyland anniversary foods that offer nods to park’s past

For the kids, “Clubhouse Live” is a great way to see some of their favorite Disney characters without having to wait in line for meet-and-greet photo ops.

For the parents, the darkened theater is a great way to get off their feet, get out of the sun and enjoy a break during a busy day at the parks.

​ Orange County Register 

Woman orchestrated friend’s execution in car in Fountain Valley, prosecutor tells jurors

• May 14, 2025

On a summer evening in 2021, residents near Slater Avenue in Fountain Valley head several loud bangs, and some discovered Phia Marie Albanese, 26, slumped over in a VW Jetta with the engine running on a front lawn in a cul-de-sac.

A black Mercedes-Benz was seen speeding off by some neighbors. One person leaned into the car to turn off the vehicle before officers arrived.

Albanese had three gunshot wounds in her head.

On Wednesday, May 14, a prosecutor told Orange County Superior Court jurors in Santa Ana that Mary Chavez, then 25, orchestrated the execution of her friend after deciding that Albanese told Chavez’s violent ex-boyfriend where she was staying.

Paperwork in the car pointed investigators to a Tustin motel and an alleged conspiracy to kill the Long Beach resident, which prosecutors say was carried out by accused gunman Oliver Leon, then 27.

During Wednesday’s opening statements for Chavez’s trial, both the prosecution and defense agreed that Leon — a purported gang member from Los Angeles who in a recorded call appeared to refer to himself as “a killer with a smile” — was the actual shooter. He will be tried separately later.

While Chavez is not accused of actually pulling the trigger that evening — just after 6 on July 19, 2021, near Slater and Tradewinds Street — she still faces murder and conspiracy charges.

“Mary Diedra Chavez ruthlessly and viciously conspired and planned and helped carry out the execution of Phia Albanese,” Deputy District Attorney Nick Thomo told jurors. “She was the one who put the whole thing together.”

Chavez’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jessica Ann Sweeny, told jurors that Chavez never intended for Albanese to be killed. Instead, the defense attorney said, Leon “went rogue. … She was along for the ride and things got out of control with the ‘killer with a smile.’ What happened to Phia was out of Mary’s control.”

At the time, Chavez was moving between Airbnb locations to avoid an ex-boyfriend who had repeatedly beaten her, including while she was pregnant, Sweeny said.

Chavez’s new boyfriend had shot and injured her ex-boyfriend, the prosecution said. Her new boyfriend was taken into custody in connection to a carjacking, leaving Chavez on the streets to face potential retaliation from her ex-boyfriend, both attorneys said.

Albanese — who also had a boyfriend behind bars — had reached out to Chavez to hang out. But Chavez suspected that Albanese gave Chavez’s ex-boyfriend her location, the prosecution said, leading the ex-boyfriend to trash her car and show up looking for her.

According to the prosecutor, Chavez — feeling betrayed — reached out to Leon, who was “the guy you bring around when you want someone killed.”

Chavez lured Albanese out of a Tustin motel room she was staying in and persuaded Albanese to drive off with Chavez and Leon in Albanese’s vehicle, the prosecutor alleged. When they reached the Fountain Valley neighborhood, Leon shot Albanese in the back of the head while sitting in the seat behind her, both the prosecution and defense said.

Sweeny, the defense attorney, countered that Chavez had reached out to Leon for protection against her ex-boyfriend, not to kill Albanese.

The day of the killing, Sweeny said, Chavez was trying to find out from Albanese where her ex-boyfriend was staying in order to avoid him. An erratic and angry Leon instead killed Albanese after shooting meth in the car, the defense attorney added.

Prosecutors have indicated in court filings that they intend to pursue the death penalty against Leon for Albanese’s killing and not Chavez. Leon’s trial could end up being the first death penalty case to reach a jury under the current Orange County District Attorney, Todd Spitzer.

​ Orange County Register 

Newark problems and recent crashes put focus on air traffic controller shortage and aging equipment

• May 14, 2025

By JOSH FUNK

The recent chronic delays and cancellations at New Jersey’s largest airport have highlighted the shortage of air traffic controllers and the aging equipment they use, which President Donald Trump’s administration wants to replace.

The Federal Aviation Administration is working on a short-term fix to the problems at the Newark airport that includes technical repairs and cutting flights to keep traffic manageable while dealing with a shortage of controllers. Officials are meeting with all the airlines that fly out of Newark starting Wednesday to discuss the plan.

But even before those problems, aviation was already in the spotlight ever since the deadly midair collision of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above Washington, D.C., in January, and a string of other crashes and mishaps since then. The investigations into those crashes continue while the U.S. Department of Transportation tries to make progress on the long-standing issues of not having enough air traffic controllers and relying on outdated equipment. A U.S. Senate hearing Wednesday morning will focus on the FAA’s efforts.

What happened in Newark?

Twice in the past two-and-a-half weeks, the radar and communications systems that air traffic controllers in Philadelphia who direct planes in and out of Newark rely on failed for a short time. That happened because the lines that carry the radar signal down from another FAA facility in New York failed, and the backup system didn’t work immediately.

So the controllers were left unable to see or talk to the planes around Newark Liberty International Airport for as long as 90 seconds on April 28 and May 9. The lines — some of which were old copper wires — failed a third time on Sunday, but that time the backup system worked and the radar stayed online.

But the first one of those stressful situations prompted five to seven controllers to take a 45-day trauma leave, and that worsened the existing staff shortage at the Philadelphia control facility, prompting the FAA to limit the number of flights in Newark each day.

The FAA currently has 22 fully certified air traffic controllers and five supervisors assigned to Newark in the Philadelphia facility, but the agency wants to have 38 controllers there. Another 21 controllers are in training there, and 10 of them are certified on at least part of the area.

What has been done in Newark?

The FAA quickly limited the number of flights in Newark to between 24 and 28 arrivals and the same number of departures every hour to make sure the remaining controllers could handle them safely. At times when controller staffing is especially lean, like Monday, the FAA is limiting traffic even further. Before the problems, 38 or 39 flights would take off and land every hour in Newark.

The meetings FAA officials are having with all the airlines starting Wednesday are focused on a plan that continues limiting takeoffs and landings to no more than 28 apiece an hour until at least mid-June. By then, a runway construction project should be wrapped up, and the controllers who took trauma leave would be scheduled to return. After that, the FAA has said it might be able to bump up the limit to 34 arrivals and 34 departures an hour.

Meanwhile, the number of flights a day must be cut because the airport can’t handle everyone on the schedule. That’s why Newark has generally led the nation in cancellations and delays in recent weeks. After the FAA meets with the airlines, it will give them a couple of weeks to submit information in writing, so it won’t issue a decision before May 28.

The FAA has been able to install new fiber optic lines at Newark airport and the two other major airports in the New York area — Kennedy International and LaGuardia — but those are still being tested and won’t come online until the end of the month. Officials were able to update some computer software last week that kept the radar from going offline a third time on Sunday when the primary line failed yet again.

Longer-term, the FAA is also planning to build a new radar system in Philadelphia, so that controllers there won’t have to rely on the signal piped down from New York anymore. But that might not be done for months, although officials are working with contractors to speed up that project.

Why not hire more controllers?

The FAA has been working for a long time to hire more air traffic controllers to replace retiring workers and handle the growing air traffic. But it can be hard to find good candidates for the stressful positions, and it takes years to train controllers to do the job.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has made several moves to try to hire more controllers. The FAA is trying to shorten the time it takes between when someone applies to the air traffic controller academy in Oklahoma City and when they start, and the agency is also trying to improve the graduation rate there by offering more support to the students. The candidates with the highest scores on the entrance exam are also getting top priority.

The FAA is also offering bonuses to experienced controllers if they opt not to retire early and continue working to help ease the shortage.

More high-tech simulators are also being used at airports across the country, including Newark, to train air traffic controllers. The FAA said Tuesday that controllers tend to complete training more quickly when they use one of the 111 simulators it has.

“These new simulators give air traffic control trainees a high-tech space to learn, develop and practice their skills,” said acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau.

What about the outdated equipment?

The Transportation Department plans to ask Congress for billions and billions of dollars to pay for an overhaul of the air traffic control system nationwide to replace the 618 radars, install 4,600 new high-speed connections and upgrade all the computers controllers use. The exact price tag hasn’t been determined.

Duffy blames former President Joe Biden’s administration for failing to upgrade the air traffic control system, but Congress first recognized the system was struggling to keep up with the growing number of flights as far back as the 1990s, so the problems go back decades — long before the Biden or first Trump administrations. Biden’s former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has defended their efforts to upgrade some of the technology and expand air traffic controller hiring.

Some of the decades-old computer equipment that controllers rely on was on display at last week’s news conference about the plan, which has drawn broad support from more than 50 groups across the industry. Duffy has used an assortment of colorful metaphors to emphasize how old the equipment is, saying the gear looks like it came off the set of the movie “Apollo 13” and comparing it to a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle.

​ Orange County Register 

Travel: Southern California to give berth to its biggest cruise ships ever

• May 14, 2025

Is bigger really better? When it comes to cruise ships, at least, Southern California is about to find out.

Royal Caribbean International, the cruise line that boasts the seven largest luxury liners in the world — eight come August — is preparing for the news-making arrival of its Ovation of the Seas to the Port of Los Angeles. When the 4,905-passenger, Quantum-class vessel pulls into San Pedro’s World Cruise Center in the early morning of May 31, she will be the biggest ship ever based in the region.

Southern California’s three major cruise ports — Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego — have welcomed plenty of other megaships over the decades, but never has one so titanic been based seasonally or annually in these waters of the Pacific. Royal Caribbean’s decision to go big and go home with the 168,666-gross-ton Ovation of the Seas means that more Southlanders won’t need to stray far from their own homes to enjoy a vacation at sea.

“Southern California is not only a big market for Royal Caribbean, it’s a big drive market,” said Vicki Freed, the company’s senior vice president of sales, using an industry term for a region where a large population lives within driving distance of a cruise port. “It’s easy to get on and off a ship in a drive market, and that’s a big benefit for Royal Caribbean audiences like families and celebrants of weddings, honeymoons, anniversaries, birthdays and, especially big on the West Coast, babymoons, bachelorette parties and bachelor parties. We also see a lot of empty nesters saying, ‘The kids are away — they’re in college or they’re grown, and I just want to go away really easy for a few days.’

“Even the gaming market — we have people that are from Southern California who instead of going to Las Vegas they tell themselves, ‘You know, I can drive down to the port in San Pedro and we can cruise on Royal Caribbean and we can gamble if we want to, have great food and entertainment ….’ It’s really like a Vegas-at-sea in many ways.”

ALSO SEE: What it’s like to sail on the world’s largest cruise ship

Ovation’s inaugural sail as an Angeleno transplant is scheduled for the same day she arrives from Japan after a 16-day repositioning cruise. That first voyage out of San Pedro isn’t open to the general public, but hours after that one returns to port on June 3, Ovation has another three-day getaway to Ensenada that is. Seven more of those Tuesday to Friday jaunts are part of Ovation’s 2025 season along with eight five-night voyages and as many six-night sails that include an overnighter in Cabo San Lucas.

Looking further into the future, Ovation will say ta-ta to La-la Land in the fall for stints in Alaska and Southeast Asia before returning to serve a second and longer SoCal tour of duty a year later. From September 2026 to April 2027, she will do three-, four- and seven-night sails that go to Cabo, Ensenada and Catalina Island, depending on the duration.

Not willing to relinquish regional size supremacy back to the competition — Norwegian Cruise Line’s 168,028-gross-ton Bliss has homeported in L.A. since 2018 — Royal Caribbean is filling Ovation’s salty shoes with a slightly older Quantum sister. While Ovation is doing her thing from Skagway to Singapore, class namesake Quantum of the Seas, built two years earlier, will pretty much take on the junior ship’s schedule from October through September 2026, adding a half-dozen weeklong cruises to the mix next year.

Royal Caribbean, the largest brand in the industry based on annual passenger capacity, is taking more than a Quantum leap during its unprecedented expansion in Southern California. The 4,269-guest Voyager of the Seas, namesake of the fleet’s second-oldest active class, will relieve Navigator of the Seas of her stalwart service to the Southland in October 2026 to make three- to eight-night roundtrips to the Mexican Riviera for at least four months.

Royal Caribbean’s expansion at the Port of Los Angeles means that Navigator won’t be an only child any longer. Since November 2021, when the crown and anchor logo returned to L.A. after a decade-long absence, the 4,000-passenger, Voyager-class Navigator has been the cruise line’s lone ship based not only in San Pedro, but the entire region, San Diego included.

That, too, will change starting in October 2026 when Serenade of the Seas becomes the first Royal Caribbean ship in 16 years to call “America’s Favorite City” home, according to Freed. The 2,476-passenger, Radiance-class ship, coincidentally a sister to the last Royal Caribbean vessel based in San Diego, will make roundtrips of three to seven nights to the Mexican Riviera. Stops will include Cabo, Mazatlán and, for the first time in the cruise line’s history, La Paz, gateway to a unique shore excursion that offers passengers the opportunity to swim with whale sharks.

After watching the likes of Carnival and Princess Cruises make Southern California a stronghold with many ships and sailings over several decades, Royal Caribbean is now flexing as a more competitive swimmer to take on their own sharks. The big question is, why now?

“Why not now?” Freed said. “We’ve had such a great response with Navigator of the Seas that it just made sense to add capacity in California. One ship wasn’t enough. With Ovation coming out in June of this year and Quantum taking over, one of the really strong drivers for us to bring two more ships to San Pedro is that the demand has been so great.”

With demand being yin and yang with supply, Royal Caribbean’s expansion puts added pressure on the Port of L.A. to accommodate projected growth not only in the number of cruise ships making calls, but their swelling girth and passenger capacity.

“We’re going to be at 240 ship calls this year, and we currently have one large berth that can physically handle any cruise ship but one (Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world), and another terminal that can handle ships up to 1,100 feet long,” said port spokesperson Chris Chase. “So, we can handle two ships at a time, but are limited, which is why we’re under RFP for a new Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal that will include berths 46 and 50.”

With a dozen different cruise lines all vying for berth rights in just the next 12 months, alone, it’s going to be as cozy as an at-capacity megaship at the L.A. Waterfront until the new terminal’s ribbon-cutting ceremony, whenever that is. Still, that’s not throwing cold saltwater on Royal Caribbean’s plans that include the landmark and looming arrival of LA’s soon-arriving big kahuna.

“We’re very excited over Ovation of the Seas homeporting here and for Royal Caribbean, a line that hadn’t sailed in Southern California in more than a decade before Navigator of the Seas,” Chase said. “And now having two Royal Caribbean ships sailing out of Los Angeles for the next year or so is amazing, and we’re really appreciative of that. They add to our year-round cruising portfolio, and since they’re the biggest ships ever to be homeported here, the tons of passengers they’ll bring to the city will be above the $1.2 million per ship average we use when estimating the local economic activity.”

Speaking of activity and going beyond the norm, the two Quantum-class ships coming to Southern California are not your usual floating resorts. Ovation and Quantum have an all-star cast of Royal Caribbean exclusives: Flowrider surf simulator, RipCord by iFLY indoor skydiving, North Star glass observation pod that lifts brave guests 300 feet above sea level, and SeaPlex, where a full-size basketball court, roller-skating rink and even bumper cars are housed inside the largest indoor rec center at sea. For the benefit of independence-flexing kids and adult-time-seeking parents, alike, the Adventure Ocean program offers plenty to do for junior cruisers 6 months to 17 years.

Other amenities from bow to stern include pickleball courts, an outdoor movie theater, casino, solarium, spa, gym, four pools, 10 hot tubs, a robotic bartender, specialty restaurants that augment the fee-free fare (yes, that includes the buffet), Broadway-style production shows, stand-up comedy, live music, shopping, water slides and a host of daily fun and games for all ages.

Of course, much of the above can also be found on megaships of other brands. Carnival, Princess, Norwegian and every other cruise line serving Southern California tout which bells and whistles each has on these vacation homes of several days to several weeks and longer. But, for now, Royal Caribbean and its Quantum-class ships can offer the most expansive oceanfront property on the market.

Fares for a three-night getaway to Ensenada on Ovation of the Seas started at $289 per person at press time on royalcaribbean.com. Five-night sailings on Quantum of the Seas were as low as $512 per person. Weeklong trips on Navigator of the Seas started at $571. All prices are based on double occupancy.

​ Orange County Register 

2-year-old girl reunites with her mother in Venezuela after US deportation

• May 14, 2025

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A 2-year-old girl arrived Wednesday in Caracas to reunite with her mother after she was separated from her parents when they were deported from the U.S. in what Venezuela denounced as a kidnapping.

Maikelys Espinoza arrived at an airport outside the capital, Caracas, along with more than 220 deported migrants. Footage aired by state television showed Venezuela’s first lady Cilia Flores carrying Maikelys at the airport. Later, Flores was shown handing the girl over to her mother, who had been waiting for her arrival at the presidential palace along with President Nicolás Maduro.

“Here is everyone’s beloved little girl. She is the daughter and granddaughter of all of us,” Maduro said.

The U.S. government had claimed the family separation last month was justified because the girl’s parents allegedly have ties to the Venezuelan-based Tren de Aragua gang, which U.S. President Donald Trump designated a terrorist organization earlier this year.

The girl’s mother was deported to Venezuela on April 25. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities sent her father to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in March under Trump’s invocation of an 18th-century wartime law to deport hundreds of immigrants.

For years, the government of Maduro had mostly refused the entry of immigrants deported from the U.S. But since Trump took office this year, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants, including some 180 who spent up to 16 days at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been deported to their home country.

The Trump administration has said the Venezuelans sent to Guantanamo and El Salvador are members of the Tren de Aragua, but has offered little evidence to back up the allegation.

Maduro on Wednesday thanked Trump and his envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, for allowing Maikelys to reunite with her mother in a “profoundly humane” act. Grenell met with Maduro in Caracas shortly after Trump took office.

“There have been and will be differences, but it is possible, with God’s blessing, to move forward and resolve many issues,” Maduro said, alluding to the deep divisions between his and Trump’s governments. “I hope and aspire that very soon we can also rescue Maikelys’ father and the 253 Venezuelans who are in El Salvador.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

​ Orange County Register 

Cambodian Restaurant Week returns to Long Beach with traditional, modern flavors

• May 14, 2025

Long Beach’s Cambodian food scene will be under the spotlight this coming week with the return of Cambodian Restaurant Week.

More than a dozen restaurants are participating in the third annual event that’s meant to highlight traditional Cambodian cuisine as well as creative mash-ups of dishes that may be surprising to some.

The event takes place May 18-25 at various locations, including restaurants in the city’s bustling Cambodia Town, a mile-long stretch of street along Anaheim Street roughly between Atlantic and Junipero avenues.

Diners can expect traditional dishes at different price points from places like Sophy’s Cambodian Food & Music, a popular spot with a menu that includes dishes like the beef tuk prahok, featuring a heap of thinly sliced rare meat served with a fish sauce for dipping, and the somlaw machu kreoung. This seafood soup includes mussels, lemongrass and chunks of pineapple.

Another traditional restaurant on the list is Phnom Penh Noodle Shack, which is known for the house specialty, the Phnom Penh noodles. It’s a typical breakfast meal made with shrimp, pork meat and other meaty parts.

But one of the goals of Cambodian Restaurant Week is also about celebrating the future of Cambodian food with innovative chefs like Hawk Tea, the owner of Shlap Muan, which means chicken wings in Cambodian. So yes he focuses on chicken wings made with Cambodian-fusion flavors.

“I’ve always thought that we needed more representation in the Cambodian community when it comes to food and we always represent Cambodian wings and we’re the first ones to do it,” he said.

For Restaurant Week Tea will be creating a lemongrass dipping sauce to go along with his wings.

“Its going to be a little bit sweet, a little sour, a little salty, a little bit creamy,” he said.

Another modern Cambodian fusion restaurant taking part in the event is the Long Beach pop-up Lemongrass Khmer Grill, which makes smash burgers with a Cambodian twist.

Lemongrass owner Rasmey Kom will be serving his burgers, which he makes using a paste that combines lemongrass with other Cambodian ingredients.

“I’ve taken that paste and created a smash burger out of it. It’s very herby, you can taste the freshness and a little tanginess,” Kom said.

“I don’t know how to cook traditional cultural Cambodian food as well as my family does but I understand the flavors. So I wanted to introduce it to people and offer it inside a burger,” he said.

“I feel like Cambodian Restaurant Week is a platform that enables me to show people who I am along with the flavors that I grew up with in our culture,” Kom added.

For more information go to cambodianrestaurantweeklb.com

​ Orange County Register 

In-N-Out Burger announces ketchup upgrade and removes artificial dye from lemonade

• May 14, 2025

In-N-Out Burger has confirmed it removed artificial coloring from its Signature Pink Lemonade and its strawberry shakes.

The news broke Tuesday, May 13 in an article from Nation’s Restaurant News, which cited comments on an X fan account as its initial source.

In-N-Out issued a statement describing the changes as “part of our ongoing commitment to providing our Customers with the highest-quality ingredients.”

“We’re also in the process of transitioning to an upgraded ketchup, which is made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup,” it reads.

In-N-Out serves two lemonades, both pink, Signature and Lite, which was added to the menu at the end of 2023.

In January, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has targeted food dyes in recent months, banning a dye called Red 3 and working to remove eight synthetic food colorings from the food supply, according to an April news release.

In-N-Out is based in Irvine but has announced that it will move its headquarters to Baldwin Park, its hometown, and an eastern hub in suburban Nashville by 2029.

The chain has 420 restaurants in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Colorado and Idaho. Its newest drive-thru opened May 9 in Brighton, Colo.

One Southern California location, at 1210 N. Atlantic Blvd., Alhambra, is temporarily closed for improvements to the parking lot and drive-thru lane, according to representatives. It’s store No. 121 and dates from 1997.

Information: in-n-out.com

​ Orange County Register 

Rights groups say migrant workers are dying on Saudi job sites as kingdom prepares for World Cup

• May 14, 2025

By GABE LEVIN

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Scores of laborers from countries including India, Bangladesh and Nepal have faced preventable deaths from electrocution, road accidents, falling from heights, and more while working in Saudi Arabia, according to a report Wednesday by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch and another rights group, FairSquare, released separate investigations Wednesday detailing preventable deaths of migrant workers from job-site accidents and work-related illnesses.

The reports accuse Saudi authorities of often misreporting such deaths and failing to investigate, preventing families from receiving compensation from the kingdom that they are entitled to and knowing how their loved ones died.

As Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure and development initiatives — including the 2034 men’s soccer World Cup and the futuristic city Neom — rights groups warn of thousands more avoidable deaths in the coming years.

In one case, Human Rights Watch said a Bangladeshi worker was electrocuted on the job. But his employer allegedly withheld the body, telling the family they would be compensated only if they agreed to a local burial.

Another family reported waiting nearly 15 years before they were compensated by the Saudi government.

“It’s very urgent that the Saudi authorities and FIFA put in place basic labor rights protections,” Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch’s director of global initiatives, told The Associated Press, referring to soccer’s world governing body.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia did not respond to a request for comment.

FairSquare, which looked into the deaths of 17 Nepali contractors in Saudi Arabia over the last 18 months, warned in its report that without accountability, “thousands of unexplained deaths” of low-paid foreign workers are likely to follow.

“In some cases, you have families being pursued by money lenders for the loans that their (dead) husband or father took out in order to migrate to the Gulf,” said James Lynch, who co-directs FairSquare.

Saudi Arabia has long faced allegations of labor abuses and wage theft tied to its Vision 2030 project, a big-money effort to diversify its economy beyond dependence on oil.

FIFA shared with the AP a letter it sent Human Rights Watch last month defending the selection of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 World Cup.

The letter cited the Saudis’ commitments to establishing “a workers’ welfare system” and enhancing “country-wide labor protections including through a strengthened collaboration” with the United Nations’ International Labor Organization.

The kingdom is not the only Gulf Arab state to be accused of abusing migrant laborers in the run-up to a World Cup. Rights groups also criticized Qatar, which hosted the competition in 2022, saying they tallied thousands of unexplained worker deaths.

But this time has the potential to be even worse for foreign workers, Worden said, noting that the 2034 World Cup has plans to require more stadiums and infrastructure with more teams competing.

Qatar established an oversight board called the Supreme Committee, which monitored FIFA construction sites and took reports of unsafe work conditions.

“There’s no such committee like that in Saudi Arabia,” Worden said, adding, “In the end, Qatar did have concrete policies like life insurance and heat protection. Those aren’t in place now” in Saudi Arabia.

The details of the investigations from Human Rights Watch and FairSquare come a day after FIFA President Gianni Infantino joined U.S. President Donald Trump on his official visit to Saudi Arabia, where Trump met with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

​ Orange County Register