PHOENIX — Jordan Goodwin scored 18 points in his return from a calf injury, Devin Booker added 17 and the Phoenix Suns cruised past the Clippers 133-110 on Tuesday night.

Phoenix shot 22 of 43 (51%) from three-point range and had seven players score in double digits, including five who came off the bench. Luke Kennard had 14 points, Jalen Green scored 13 and Collin Gillespie added 12 points and eight assists while Khaman Maluach contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Suns had a 17-point halftime lead and pushed the advantage to 91-59 with four minutes left in the third quarter. They have a 3-2 record so far on their season-long, seven-game homestand.

Goodwin — who signed a $19 million, three-year deal to return to the Suns during the offseason — made six of seven shots from beyond the arc in just 14 minutes. He missed the last three games.

The Clippers were coming off their first win in more than two weeks, but have now lost eight of their last nine games. Rui Hachimura, Baba Miller and Darius Garland all scored 13 points while Max Strus had 12.

Gillespie hit a three-pointer from 39 feet just before the halftime buzzer to give the Suns a 64-47 lead. Phoenix made 11 of 22 (50%) shots from beyond the arc before the break.

Walliams rose to fame alongside Matt Lucas in the early 2000s with BBC sketch comedy Little Britain, served as a judge on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent, and launched a best-selling series of children’s books.

A BBC spokesperson described the allegations as “serious” and the corporation has removed Little Britain from BBC iPlayer.

Several women have spoken to the Guardian and ITV News as part of a joint three-year investigation by the media companies, accusing Walliams of “grooming” them when they were teenagers. The investigation was published after Walliams lost a legal bid to stop the claims against him being made public.

One of the women now characterises her alleged encounter with Walliams at 15 years old as a “sexual assault”.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Lilly Creightmore, who has alleged Walliams “groomed” her as a teenager, said she was “angry” at his behaviour.

She said that Walliams invited her to move in with him while she was “in between living situations”. She was 18 at the time. She “felt instantly pressured to share a bed with him” but told him she was not interested in him in a romantic way.

After about a week of refusing Walliams’s advances, Creightmore said “he started to become very moody and rude and cold”.

According to ITV, Walliams says he did not act inappropriately and did not “target” her because she was “vulnerable” or “young”.

TV agent Dermot McNamara, who has represented someone allegedly groomed by Walliams, told BBC Newsnight he had informed “authorities and broadcasters” about Walliams’s alleged “inappropriate behaviour” but no action was taken.

Walliams denies all allegations, and in a statement to journalists shared by the Guardian said he was “not a sexual predator” and had not “broken the law”.

He acknowledged that “at times I behaved thoughtlessly towards other people I had casual sexual relationships with” and said he regretted not always taking “people’s feelings properly into account”.

Actor Stacy Keach, best known for his title role in the 1980s television series “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer,” has died. He was 85.

Keach died at home Tuesday in Magdalenka, Poland, after a long battle with a heart condition and heart failure, his wife, Malgosia Tomassi Keach, told the Hollywood Reporter in a statement.

“Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever,” Malgosia Tomassi Keach wrote.

Stacy Keach was born on June 2, 1941, in Savannah, Ga., and soon moved to Los Angeles, where his father, Walter Stacy Keach Sr., joined the Pasadena Playhouse as an actor and director. Inspired by his father’s work, Keach started acting as a teen at Van Nuys High School and UC Berkeley, where he studied English and dramatic arts.

He attended the Yale School of Drama in 1966 and was a Fulbright scholar to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Throughout his career, Keach balanced his work in television and movies while continuing classical and Broadway stage performances, with Shakespearean roles including Hamlet, Henry V, Coriolanus, Falstaff, Macbeth, Richard III and King Lear.

In 2015, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and was a founding member of L.A. Theatre Works. The Times wrote in 2003 that he would appear in the group’s radio plays whenever he felt a need to flex his acting muscles.

“You get to sort of dip your foot in the water of great theatrical art. You get to wade in the pool. Most working actors in Los Angeles have other lives. They have a series or are doing a movie and they don’t have the time to devote [to a traditional theatrical production],” he said at the time.

Keach played Ken Titus on the sitcom “Titus,” Warden Henry Pope in “Prison Break” and served as the long-running narrator of CNBC’s crime documentary series “American Greed.” He also starred in the 1972 boxing drama “Fat City,” “The Long Riders,” “American History X” and “The Bourne Legacy.” His performance as writer Ernest Hemingway in the TV movie “Hemingway” in 1988 earned him a Golden Globe.

But his most well-known role was the tough guy private eye Mike Hammer in “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer,” also known as “The New Mike Hammer,” which debuted in 1984 and ran for three seasons. Keach reprised the role for a syndicated series that lasted one season in 1997.

In 1984, Keach was arrested in Heathrow Airport in London on charges of cocaine possession. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine months in prison. He told the judge at the time that he had been addicted to cocaine for about a year, using the drug “as a means of trying to alleviate exhaustion.”

Keach wrote about his struggles with cocaine in his autobiography, “All in All: An Actor’s Life On and Off the Stage.”

SACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom left the state Tuesday to join international leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Antalya, Turkey.

Newsom framed his attendance as an opportunity to tell the world that California’s climate leadership is delivering results as he criticized President Trump as a “no-show” for declining to send a delegation on behalf of the United States.

“While Donald Trump sells out America’s economic security to his fossil fuel donors, California isn’t backing down from the climate fight,” Newsom said in a statement. “Trump is temporary. California’s partnerships around the world are not.”

Trump’s absence on the international stage has created an opening for California governors to contrast their climate policies with the federal government’s attempts to reverse the nation’s progress.

Then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017 sharply condemned the president’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. On a 10-day trip to the Vatican, Brussels, Oslo and a U.N. Climate Conference in Bonn, Germany, later that year, Brown was labeled America’s “anti-Trump” as he warned that humanity was on the chopping block unless world leaders took action to reduce global emissions. Brown also hosted his own international climate summit in San Francisco in 2018 to recommit countries to the ideals of the accord that Trump disavowed.

Since taking office, Newsom has appeared at several annual Climate Week events in New York and used his speaking opportunities to blast Trump in traditionally apolitical forums, often garnering international applause.

In 2019, he burst onto the climate scene when he told foreign leaders he was “absolutely humiliated” by Trump’s efforts to walk back the nation’s climate policies as the state and the federal government were locked in a battle over vehicle emission standards.

Newsom’s voyage to Turkey follows a trip to Brazil last year to attend the U.N. conference, where he similarly cast California as a proxy for the Trump administration.

As he considers a run for president in 2028, Newsom is framing his remarks in Antalya, a tourist city on the Mediterranean coast, around his work to reduce greenhouse gases, encourage the use of zero-emission and electric vehicles and increase his state’s reliance on clean energy.

Newsom is expected to meet with other world leaders and sign pacts to address climate change together.

The governor’s envoy in Turkey includes First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and his top climate confidants: Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, and Lauren Sanchez, chair of the California Air Resources Board, among others.

LAS VEGAS — Standing outside of a packed conference room, half a day into General Managers meetings, Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said none of his conversations leading up to or since arriving in Las Vegas had painted a clear picture of how the free agent or trade markets would play out over this month.

The Dodgers are going to take a “business as usual” approach to the offseason, prepared to react whenever those markets reveal themselves. But even if Gomes and president of baseball operations Andrew Freidman aren’t ready to predict how threat of a lockout — expected to go into effect when the current CBA expires on Dec. 1 — will affect their offseason, it will surely color this transaction window.

The Dodgers don’t have any gaping holes to fill this winter, but they still need to fortify their roster if they hope to reclaim their spot at the top of the league.

The Dodgers have already hired former Marlins hitting coach Pedro Guerrero to fill the only opening on their coaching staff, and made their first offseason acquisition, claiming infielder Christian Cairo off waivers from the Mets on Monday.

Their most pressing needs are their bullpen and bench, areas that often draw less fanfare. But the Dodgers also have a track record of splashy offseason moves.

Here are takeaways from Gomes’ media availability Tuesday:

Dodgers engaged with Tarik Skubal’s camp

Tarik Skubal during Game 1 of the NLCS.

(Ashley Landis / AP)

As Freidman said they would, the Dodgers have remained in contact with southpaw Tarik Skubal’s camp, Gomes confirmed Tuesday. And they expect to have a meeting “at some point,” Gomes said.

Skubal is the top free agent available this offseason and is sure to garner interest from all the heavy hitters. The Mets have a meeting scheduled with him next week, according to multiple reports.

The Dodgers’ pitch started when they acquired him at the trade deadline this year. But it’s unclear just how aggressive they will be in pursuit of a reunion.

“I think a lot of it is continuing to see what this all looks like,” Gomes said. “He was awesome getting to know. He fit in great into the clubhouse. Obviously, we know what kind of pitcher he is. So for us, it’s understanding what this all looks like, as far as what does our team need? What does the contract look like? Where does he end up? I don’t know.

“We know we love the player, we love the human, and you kind of have to let things play out to understand what that looks like, and if it’s something that we’re gonna ultimately execute.”

Japanese phenom Shoki Oda on the Dodgers’ radar

Oda, 18, plans to go straight from high school baseball to the United States, foregoing a stint in Nippon Professional Baseball. He’s begun meeting with major-league teams.

“He’s super talented, really projectable, fun to watch him throw,” Gomes said. “I know our international guys have watched him closely, and you know, I’m not sure how that all shakes out exactly. But we think really highly of him.”

Asked if he’d had a visit with the Dodgers, Gomes said with a smile: “Potentially.”

Dodgers looking for Miguel Rojas replacement

Who can fill Miguel Rojas’ shoes?

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Rojas has already begun the transition into his player development role with the Dodgers, working with Dodgers prospects in the Arizona Fall League. But now the Dodgers have to fill the hole his retirement left on the roster.

New-addition Cairo adds depth to the infield group and like Rojas is a right-handed hitter.

“He has really good bat-to-ball (skills), good defensively in a bunch of different spots,” Gomes said. “Our scouts have flagged him as somebody that they really liked, and makeup was really strong.”

Veteran utility player Kiké Hernández also entered free agency. But in a similar situation last year, the Dodgers brought him back on a one-year deal.

“Kiké’s been such a huge part of what we’ve done in the past, and we’ll continue to have those conversations,” Gomes said. “But what that looks like right now, I have no idea.”

At the beginning of the season, with switch-hitting utility player Tommy Edman on the IL, the Dodgers had two young second basemen competing for the left-handed-hitting side of the platoon. Alex Freeland won the job, and Hyeseong Kim, in his second year of a three-year contract worth $12.5 million, made nearly three quarters of his plate appearances in Triple-A.

“Comet did not have the year that he was expecting offensively, but he has so many skills that fit us well,” Gomes said. “Diving in this offseason, to continue to chip away at the potential swing changes, and he worked on some stuff at the end of the year that he felt pretty good about after presenting a plan. He’ll continue to work through those things and hopefully he’ll take a step forward on the swing mechanics and get him into a really good place offensively.”

Important offseason for Josue De Paula

Josue De Paula warms up before Game 2 of the NLDS.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

De Paula not only proved that his offensive skills were major-league ready last season, but also earned a spot on the postseason roster with a mature approach in high-pressure situations.

For him to claim a regular role next year, however, he’ll have to continue to progress on defense.

“He is dead set on proving that he’s going to be a really good defender,” Gomes said. “And he has a good setup in the off season with people around him that he’s going to go out and you know really get after it. And we have full confidence that he’s going to put the work in to really continue to take those steps forward and be the complete player that we all know he can be.”

The lockout will add another wrinkle. Because he’s on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers won’t be able to communicate with him during the lockout, as he works through his offseason program.

“We’re going to make sure that we’re set up in a way over this next month to continue to communicate with guys like we we normally do,” Gomes said. “And if things shake out in a way that we can’t, we’ll make sure that those conversations on the front end are had to kind of everybody put everybody on the same page moving forward.”

Kennedy dynasty has filed a motion to stop Trump’s arch from obscuring JFK Eternal Flame and slain family gravesites.

Members of the prominent Kennedy family have filed a legal motion to halt the construction of US President Donald Trump’s 76-metre (250ft) “triumphal arch” in Washington, DC, arguing it mars the area near the graves of the family’s famous forebears.

On Tuesday, the nine plaintiffs, children and grandchildren of former Senators Robert F Kennedy and Edward M Kennedy, filed a motion to intervene and an accompanying complaint in two existing federal lawsuits to block the arch’s construction.

The project would sit near the final resting places of the late senators, buried alongside their brother, former President John F Kennedy, and the Eternal Flame commemorating him at Arlington National Cemetery.

Plaintiffs argued the proposed arch would “fundamentally alter the experience of visiting the gravesites”, a site that draws millions of visitors each year.

The intervention motion was filed by veteran Washington lawyer Norm Eisen and Democracy Defenders Fund, a centre-left legal advocacy group.

It contends that the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior authorised the granite, gold-ornamented structure, dubbed the “Arc de Trump” by critics, without required congressional approval.

The plaintiffs also argue the megastructure would destroy the intentionally designed, century-old line of sight between the Lincoln Memorial and the cemetery’s Arlington House across the Memorial Bridge.

Many plaintiffs

The high-profile intervention adds to an already sprawling roster of plaintiffs who have launched legal challenges against the polarising monument, including Vietnam War veterans, a historian, and the governments of the District of Columbia, Virginia and Arlington County.

Last week, District Judge Tanya Chutkan prohibited the Trump administration from breaking ground on the structure for another 14 days following the string of lawsuits.

Building the arch would be a “permanent denigration” of the gravesites, and the Kennedy offspring “would never again be able to appreciate both sites as they always have before, and as the Kennedy family always intended”, lawyers for the relatives wrote on Tuesday.

The project is just one component of the president’s effort to remodel much of Washington, DC, alongside a historic golf course renovation and threats to demolish the Kennedy Center.

But with Democrats seizing control of Congress in last week’s midterm elections, the overhauls may be set for heightened scrutiny.

Speaking on behalf of the Kennedy family, Rory and Maxwell Kennedy, children of the late senator Robert F Kennedy, said the action is about “protecting sacred spaces that belong to the American people”. They said several members of their slain family are “among the more than 400,000 veterans and family members buried or honored on this hallowed ground”.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a Trump appointee who is estranged from much of his family,  did not join the litigation.

This summer, I cheered — and at times, secretly sneered — in crowds of Angelenos cheering for the Mexican national team during the World Cup.

Friends, colleagues, strangers who had grown up in Southern California arrived at watch parties prepared with the players’ names, stats and even deep lore on what the World Cup meant to each country. Such was the beauty of shared diaspora with other countries in my city of Los Angeles.

Then, it occurred to me: As a Mexican-born immigrant, I should know the players’ names too, right? Should I know the national anthem and maybe even shed a tear as it plays? Maybe I’ve grown cold, maybe bitter, annoyed even, at the fervor, I thought.

But it wasn’t until Mexico was eliminated in its match against England (curse you, Jude Bellingham) that I, on the drive home, sobbed into the steering wheel.

I realized many questions then, which led me to investigate this piece: Why did I finally feel what everyone had been feeling? Why did the World Cup piss me off? Was it only the corruption? Or was there something stranger inside me? There’s no simple answer, but I will start with one word: nationalism.

Suited up in the cardigan of excess privilege, which is my UCLA education, I can easily be trapped in my own musings to identify, assess and even profess what I think should be the truth about what “country” is to me. My “undocumented-ness,” too, however, is not a golden ticket to absolute genius in my country, nationalism, or cross-border identities. For the Chicano Studies-initiated, there are libraries full of books to help answer this question; but here, I posit a few things to chew on.

Mexican teammates toss goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa into the air after their 3-0 victory over Czechia in Group A.

(Molly Darlington / Getty Images)

After the deluge of 2026 World Cup tequila brand activations, and the more recent midterm elections in the U.S. — which, with the help of Latino voters, resulted in a “blue tsunami” of Democratic wins — we’re reaching the end of two very rousing years for Latinas/os. As the summer of 2025 was hallmarked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that have continued to wreak havoc, especially in California, this time has called for a reckoning with our own conservatism, as well as the need for stronger leadership.

When I look back on the times I felt angry in gatherings to celebrate Latinidad — or even my own Mexican identity — I realize that I just want more from us and for us.

The answer to my questions, then, must not come from just ruminating; I must talk to people who know more than I do.

Over the years, I’ve known Rudy Mondragón as a key expert in the intersection of boxing, race and culture, particularly in the ways fighters use the ring to perform identity, belonging and resistance. As an assistant professor at Loyola Marymount University, he asks us to take seriously the few minutes before the bell goes off in the boxing ring: Notice what flags are draped over the athletes’ shoulders, what kind of music booms through the arenas, the colors stitched into their trunks. These were all the things I had been trying to understand as merely symbolic.

Mexico national soccer team fan Hector Chavez, also known as Caramelo, poses with a replica of the World Cup trophy in Iztapalapa, a Mexico City neighborhood, in 2022.

(Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)

For many Mexicans, both here and in our home country, boxing is one of the main sports we grow up watching — whether we wanted to or not. When I arrived here, I became a huge fan of the L.A. Lakers and Dodgers, but the only times my family would gather around a TV or have carne asadas would be for the big boxing matches. As I grew older, I began to cheer for key fighters, many of whom are working class; and I can profoundly appreciate the greater legacy that the sport carries in our communities.

One of the key things I wanted to deeply understand, however, was why this impact was so huge for our community. Cynically, I’ve asked: Why do so many fighters say “Viva Mexico,” but don’t give back to Mexico? What do they stand for?

“You’re not saying that you support the federal government, the nation-state,” explains Mondragón over a Zoom call, with a framed Muhammad Ali photograph behind him. “It’s their way of expressing their version, their definition, which is infinite in terms of how we can express and socially construct being Latino, being Mexican.”

When Canelo wins and says “Viva Mexico,” it becomes our victory. Many of his high-profile fights have been with non-Mexicans too, thus creating a sense of cultural representation among other Latinos who may be forced to see his fights, but can appreciate the intense passion and joy when he wins.

But the same people who create that sense of belonging can also police its boundaries. Mondragón points to Canelo distinguishing Ryan Garcia as Mexican American, rather than Mexican. That matters, because someone with Canelo’s cultural power can help define who the public understands as authentically Mexican.

Mondragón warns, however, against expecting athletes to communicate politics in exactly the vocabulary that activists or academics might prefer. Public gestures can carry political meaning, even when they don’t resemble conventional activism. Their contributions are still impactful and meaningful, but we don’t need to look far to also see how others are expanding what belonging can be.

A portrait of professional fighter and actor Kali Reis.

(Justin J Wee / For The Times)

Kali Reis, a former world champion boxer and actor who identifies with the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe, offers a different kind of entrance.

Mondragón told me that when Reis fights, she reaches out to Native communities whose lands she is fighting on and invites them to help create her walk to the ring. Rather than simply arriving with her own symbols and asking an audience to recognize them, she has invited members of those communities to walk alongside her — even allowing them to choose music culturally specific to their nation.

In Reis’ telling, Mondragón says, the entrance borrows from the opening of a powwow: The people walking with her are not for decoration; they are helping bless the space before she enters it.

I keep coming back to that distinction: Reis is still performing belonging. She is still using music, clothing and ceremony to tell thousands of people who she is. But she is not necessarily drawing a circle around herself and declaring who belongs inside it — she is asking the people whose land she enters to help draw the circle with her.

In a sport so often expensively sold through flags, borders, and at times racist and xenophobic rivalries, her entrance offers another possibility: What if pride did not require making the borders of belonging smaller but invited more people into its making? What if nationalism alone isn’t what creates community?

Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl LX halftime show in February. His powerful performance illustrated the complexity of the Latino community.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Vanessa J. Díaz, who recently appeared on the De Los podcast, pushes the argument further: Art, music, dance and cultural expression are not necessarily separate from material resistance, but they help us imagine what community can truly look like for Latinos.

Also a professor at LMU, Díaz has become the leading chronicler of Bad Bunny’s relationship to Puerto Rican identity and resistance. She is the co-author, with Petra Rivera-Rideau, of “P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance,” a book that places his music and political expression within a much longer history of Puerto Rican cultural resistance.

“If we are talking about resistance in comprehensive terms, then we make room for lots of different kinds of resistance,” Díaz tells me in a series of phone calls.

For her, the symbolism is the material; it is the powerful arm to meet the ends of empowerment and healing for our community. Beyond all the anthems Bad Bunny played during his halftime show — songs that carried me from my 20s into my 30s — it was him literally painting a picture of how complex our Latino community is at the Super Bowl, which in my opinion, remains the most powerful Latino cultural moment in recent times. (And, yes, this means I count Gaga as an honorary Latina now. Deal with it.)

Bad Bunny, to some, has campaigned for candidates, funded political billboards and unequivocally impacted his Puerto Rico — extending the idea of what nationalism is. He also shows how expanding it can be a more impactful form of pride, rather than just touting your country’s name.

“[But] can one person do everything?” asks Díaz. “Is one person responsible for all of the different components of a movement? I don’t think so.”

However, she adds: “Every movement has [to have] a soundtrack.”

In Puerto Rico, she argues, music has never simply accompanied resistance; it has been one of the ways people practice it. From bomba carrying messages of revolt and abolition to reggaetón emerging from poor Afro-Puerto Rican communities and narrating experiences of racism, poverty, and policing, culture has long been one of the places Puerto Ricans make politics.

And perhaps that is what I had been missing when I first started asking what comes after “¡Viva México!” — the song, the dance, the flag, the entrance, even the cry itself do not have to be the thing that comes before political action. Sometimes they, the universal one, are already doing something: preserving memory, teaching history, finding one another, or simply giving people enough joy to imagine themselves as a people worth fighting for.

Puerto Rico, to some, is a modern colony, a settler colonial state to the U.S. But though its political context is different from that of Mexico, it can offer a deeper imagination of what is possible. Benito did not need to include Chicanos, or any other Latin American flag at the Super Bowl — but choosing to display those visuals alone are what truly got our community together in ways a simple gesture just can’t.

The anger I felt during the World Cup, I know now, was just a yearning for more. In an ideal timeline, Mexico would have made it to the finals and won. Los Angeles would have erupted into a parade — and I would have marched across the border to reunite with my family. In this world, there are no ICE agents; there is only music; there are only long hugs.

Maybe that is why I still feel angry, but that is also why I will keep returning to music and gatherings — because what I long for is not the validation of the nation-state. What I really long for is community.

SACRAMENTO — Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) has successfully defended a challenge from fellow Democrat Mai Vang to continue representing California’s 7th Congressional District.

The Associated Press declared Matsui the winner Tuesday afternoon over Vang, a Sacramento City Council member who entered the race pushing for a new generation of Democratic leadership.

Matsui, 82, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2005, succeeding her late husband, Robert Matsui, who had served in Congress since 1979. She ran on her congressional experience and record of delivering federal funding for projects in the district. She lent her campaign more than $5 million this cycle.

“The votes have been counted and voters have spoken,” Matsui said in a statement. “I believe their mandate was clear: They want someone who shows up to work every day, seeks common ground, and who listens to their concerns. The voters of this new district chose the steady solutions I’ve delivered throughout my service as their representative. I promise to keep delivering for them.”

Vang, 41, is the daughter of Hmong refugees and previously served on the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education, where she helped establish the Sacramento Children’s Fund for young people affected by poverty, violence and trauma.

The solidly Democratic district encompasses Sacramento, Elk Grove, Galt, Lodi, Placerville and El Dorado.

Proposition 50’s redistricting added conservative voters in the Sierra foothills to the district. In an effort to win over those voters, Matsui attacked Vang for appearing on left-wing streamer Hasan Piker’s platform and fundraising with him.

Matsui previously served as one of eight members of former President Clinton’s transition board. She later served as deputy assistant to the president in the White House Office of Public Liaison.

Two of California’s congressional races remained too close to call Tuesday evening: In Northern California’s 4th District, Democratic challenger Eric Jones led incumbent Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) by about 5 percentage points. In the 23rd District, which was considered to be a safe Republican seat, Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) narrowly led Democratic challenger Tessa Lynn Hodge by less than 2 percentage points.

It’s baseball awards season, with the Baseball Writers’ Assn. of America announcing award winners for four straight days.

Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle was named the American League rookie of the year and Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart was honored as the National League rookie of the year on Monday.

Manager of the year awards will be revealed Tuesday, Cy Young and reliever of the year on Wednesday, and finally MVP on Thursday.

Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is a finalist for National League MVP. But Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is the favorite to win it, which would end Ohtani’s three-year MVP streak. Ohtani has won four MVP awards in all, two in the AL and two in the NL.

On Wednesday, MLB will also hold its own awards show, announcing All-MLB teams, and awards such as the Hank Aaron Award, the comeback players of the year, the Mariano Rivera & Trevor Hoffman Relievers of the Year, the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter of the Year and the MLB executive of the year.

The men, including one who is already in prison, face ‘terrorism’ charges over alleged plot at UK air base used in US war on Iran.

Prosecutors in the United States have charged three men they describe as Iranian-backed operatives over their alleged role in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks across the US and Europe, including a plot targeting the United Kingdom’s Fairford air base.

The Department of Justice said on Tuesday that the three men acted in support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah.

It identified the men as Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani, who face what it called “terrorism-related offenses”.

Al-Saadi is already in jail in New York. Prosecutors did not disclose the whereabouts of Mohajeri and al-Hassani.

The charges announced on Tuesday centre on RAF Fairford in southwest England, where US forces and bombers had been stationed. The US had used the base to deploy bombers in its war against Iran.

Police were called to the Fairford site in September after a local farmer reported seeing a group of men with several white vans engaged in “suspicious” activity.

Six men were arrested in connection with the episode, and all were released on bail. Two were subsequently re-arrested on suspicion of assisting Iran’s intelligence service and charged under the National Security Act.

Iran has strongly denied any involvement in the incident.

Days after the incident, the US withdrew all of its B-1 bombers from Fairford.

A US charging document said that al-Hassani, a 35-year-old Iraqi national, directed others to drive to the base in the vans, some of which carried barrels of fuel. Prosecutors say he had earlier paid the group to buy metal objects that could serve as shrapnel and to disguise the vans as fuel delivery vehicles.

Prosecutors said al-Saadi, 32, who holds Iranian and Iraqi citizenship, passed coded messages to al-Hassani and Mohajeri, a 48-year-old Iranian, to coordinate the plot.

Al-Saadi did so, they said, in phone calls to his mother and sister in Iraq, using coded language.

“These defendants helped orchestrate a campaign of terror on behalf of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran that targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, and the British military base, RAF Fairford, housing American service members,” said Manhattan US Attorney Jamie McDonald.

“The threat presented by Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups to America and our allies is not hypothetical – it is very real.”

There was no immediate comment from Iran on the charges.

US authorities first detailed the charges against al-Saadi in May, accusing him of directing others to attack US, Israeli and Jewish targets and to kill Americans, in retaliation for the US-Israel war on Iran.

Those attacks included the nonfatal stabbing of two Jewish men in London in April and arson attacks on synagogues, Israeli businesses and Jewish schools elsewhere in Europe.

Al-Saadi has been in US custody since May.

In June, he pleaded not guilty to those charges and called himself a “prisoner of war”. He has been held without bail since his arrest.

The indictment on Tuesday added his alleged role in the Fairford plot and charges the other two men.

Flight-tracking data showed on Tuesday that the US military had removed at least a dozen aircraft from a second UK airbase, RAF Mildenhall, following what the Wall Street Journal said was a threat from Iran.

Meghan Markle‘s estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., allegedly cut off his ankle monitor following his arrest on child pornography charges.

Four days ago, Markle Sr., 82, was ordered to wear a location monitoring device after a federal judge allowed him to remain out of custody pending his trial, according to Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. Markle Sr. was arrested in Florida and is charged in the Central District of California with possession of child pornography.

“He allegedly cut the bracelet off at 1:45 a.m. last night,” Essayli posted on X on Tuesday. “Release conditions are court orders, not suggestions. We are asking the court to revoke his release and detain him pending trial, and we will continue to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsay Saxe Griffin has since ordered Markle Sr. to be jailed without bond at a hearing in Tampa, representatives from Essayli’s office told The Times.

Markle Sr. was arrested after federal authorities searched two storage units he allegedly rents in California. The storage units had been registered to Markle Sr. since 2008, with his most recent payments on both made in October via auto-pay.

Inside the storage units, agents say they found approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives and books that contained suspected child pornography. The affidavit describes two images that show an adult man with a nude prepubescent girl. A third image depicts a nude prepubescent girl what appears to be a motel room in the Philippines. A witness who has known Markle Sr. since the 1970s identified him as the man in at least two photographs with a minor, according to the complaint.

An external view of the Sean M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse in Tampa, Fla. Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle Sr., is facing charges of child pornography possession.

(Mike Carlson / Getty Images)

The affidavit further describes additional photographs that appear to show Markle Sr. with children in various stages of undress.

Last month, Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. claimed he’d found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child pornography images inside four large boxes at the Cebu, Philippines, home of his father, Markle Sr., and contacted authorities, according to the British tabloid the Sun.

Meghan’s team issued a statement to The Times following reports of the news, writing that she was “deeply distressed.”

“My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” she said.

“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she continued, adding, “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them.”

The Duchess of Sussex said that she trusted authorities were “doing the same for other families.”

“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children,” she said.

Meghan’s relationship with her father, a former Hollywood lighting director, has been the subject of media scrutiny since 2018, when she and Prince Harry tied the knot. Markle Sr. did not attend the wedding.

Last month, Markle Sr. denied the accusations, calling them “bulls—” and “lies.” If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion Tuesday aimed at improving the county’s restraining order system in order to better support and protect victims of domestic violence and stalking.

The measure, which was co-authored by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis, also begins the process of officially making gender-based violence and intimate partner violence a “Board-directed priority” and calls on county agencies to identify millions of dollars of funding to help bolster the efforts.

The motion cited an investigation published by The Times in September that examined L.A. County’s restraining order system and the ways it often fails to support people who seek protection through the courts.

“These are signs that systems aren’t doing enough to help people,” Horvath said Tuesday. “A survivor should never have to fight the system while fighting to survive.”

The motion calls on the county’s chief executive officer to identify millions of dollars in new funding for self-help legal centers, courthouse domestic violence clinics, and the launch of a hotline to help connect the public with services.

The motion also calls on the county’s chief executive, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and other agencies to assess their current efforts, plans for improvement and opportunities for additional funding and present their findings to the board.

Sheriff Robert Luna told The Times in an interview last month that he thinks his department is “going to be able to figure out” how to improve how it handles serving restraining orders and responds to reported violations. The Times reported in September that in 2025, sheriff’s deputies failed to locate targets of restraining orders 49% of the time.

“This motion,” Luna said, “is causing my entire staff and different parts of the department to really look in the mirror and say, ‘What are we doing, and what could we do to improve?’”

Supervisor Janice Hahn said she supported the motion because it’s critical that “survivors are able to get the help they need without hitting any additional barriers.” Like Horvath and Solis, Hahn thanked The Times during the meeting for exposing problems with the restraining order system and for compiling and publishing data that quantified the difficulties people face when trying to obtain protection from abusers and stalkers.

The September investigation found that only 21% of restraining orders requested in L.A. County are granted. The Times also found that in 2025, the county’s courts dismissed 57% of the nearly 15,000 petitions for domestic violence restraining orders they received, nearly double the 29% statewide dismissal rate in the same types of cases.

The Times reported that at least 63 homicides in L.A. County in 2024 and 2025 involved a woman with a former partner or close relative who was arrested or charged in connection with their killing. At least 10 of the slain women had filed for restraining orders.

The reporting highlighted the experiences of Nora Villanueva Campanor, who was killed by her estranged husband in Lancaster in 2024 after she struggled for months to get L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies, prosecutors and other stakeholders to take her fears seriously.

Her sister, Jazmin Villanueva, addressed the board on Tuesday to advocate on behalf of the motion, which she said will address issues with the county’s system — implementing changes that could have benefited Nora and potentially helped keep her alive.

“We need funding for navigators inside the courts to help victims directly with paperwork and the process,” she said. “I have young daughters and I don’t want them standing here 30 years from now asking for the same changes. This needs to change now.”

The motion directs county officials to develop a plan for peer navigators to support domestic violence victims and recommend ways to help them navigate restraining order service and court delays. It also calls for an assessment of the resources needed to provide emergency housing to all people fleeing gender-based violence who seek it.

An earlier version of the motion came before the board on Oct. 6. Since then, the Board of Supervisors collected input about how to improve the measure.

One key change since October was the addition of language directing county officials to recommend ways “to better support survivors seeking civil protection restraining orders due to physical or attempted violence, stalking, a credible fear of violence, or a pattern of behavior that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses and causes substantial emotional distress,” broadening the scope beyond cases of domestic violence and stalking.

A key goal of the motion and the board’s efforts is to “acknowledge where failures exist and where we need to do better,” Horvath said Tuesday.

“Often we are asking our survivors to go to multiple different places to get the resources and support they should get through one unified response … Public safety means more than responding after violence occurs.”

Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova dismantled Coco Gauff to become the first player to reach the last four of the WTA Finals.

Czech Noskova played with controlled aggression and served brilliantly to beat the American 6-3 6-3.

World number eight Noskova was composed throughout and broke Gauff’s serve four times in the first set alone.

She sent powerful winners to all corners to outmuscle her opponent, who is one of the best movers on the WTA Tour, and committed only one unforced error in a dominant second set.

The 21-year-old fittingly sealed victory with an ace to secure a place in the semi-finals on her tournament debut.

“Thank you guys for the cheers I’m getting now – but it was a little weaker in the match, guys, I’m not going to lie,” Noskova joked to the California crowd afterwards.

“I feel like I stayed in the match through every moment, from beginning to end.”

It is a sixth top-10 victory of the season for Noskova, who won her maiden Grand Slam at Wimbledon in July.

Gauff, who won a thriller against compatriot Jessica Pegula on Sunday, had a poor day on serve.

She hit the same amount of aces and double faults – eight apiece – and won only six of 24 points behind her second serve.

Fourth-ranked Gauff can still qualify for the last four, as can Pegula.

Earlier in group one, Pegula claimed her first win since September to eliminate alternate Marta Kostyuk.

American Pegula won 6-2 7-5 in a scrappy match that saw seven breaks of serve.

Ukraine’s Kostyuk, who has been dealing with a wrist injury since August, only found out she would be playing on Saturday after world number one Elena Rybakina withdrew.

She lost her opener to Noskova on Sunday and struggled for rhythm and consistency in a low-quality match against Pegula.

Pegula made only five unforced errors to Kostyuk’s 17 as she took the first set, and the home favourite quickly went up a break in the second.

However, four breaks of serve then ensued, with Pegula eventually sealing the decisive break at 5-5 before serving out victory.

Elsewhere, Britain’s Toby Samuel fell 6-1 6-4 to world number 25 Lorenzo Musetti in the Basel Open second round.

Despite bipartisan opposition to the war, efforts to impeach Hegseth were squashed as Iran denies US, Tehran talks

Abi Adi, Tigray, Ethiopia – Classrooms that once echoed with the voices of students have become homes for families displaced by the war in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.

At a former high school in Abi Adi, families who fled Western Tigray have spent years waiting to return home. Mattresses, cooking utensils and personal belongings have replaced school furniture as families share rooms originally designed for students.

What was supposed to be temporary shelter is now where children are growing up far from home.

“We thought we would stay here for a few months before returning home. It has been years now. Our children are growing up in this school, and we still don’t know when we will be able to go back,” said Tewolde, who was displaced from Setit Humera in Western Tigray.

His hopes of returning have been further undermined by renewed fighting, four years after Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed an agreement to end their devastating war.

The Pretoria agreement, signed in November 2022, ended two years of war that left an estimated 500,000 people dead, including from violence, famine and the collapse of healthcare, and displaced millions. But it left major political and territorial disputes unresolved, particularly over Western Tigray, where Amhara forces took control during the war.

The area remains disputed, and the return of displaced Tigrayans has been one of the most contentious outstanding issues.

Disagreements over the withdrawal of non-federal forces, disarmament and the region’s political administration further complicated implementation. Relations between the federal government and Tigray’s authorities deteriorated, while divisions within the region deepened.

Fighting escalated on September 22, 2026. TPLF forces launched an offensive the following day and seized Mekelle’s airport. Both sides disputed responsibility for the escalation, the most serious since the 2020–2022 war.

Federal forces and allied fighters counterattacked, retaking Mekelle on October 4 as Tigrayan fighters withdrew. Fighting continued elsewhere in the region, however, underscoring the fragility of the security situation.

The federal government subsequently established a six-month caretaker administration to govern Tigray, restore public services and prepare the region for elections. But the change in regional leadership has not ended the fighting, and the underlying political disputes have remained.

In an October 8 letter published the following day, Human Rights Watch and other organisations warned the United Nations Human Rights Council that renewed hostilities threatened to undo the Pretoria agreement. They cited reports of drone strikes, mortar fire and artillery attacks, including in populated areas and near camps for internally displaced people, and called for international scrutiny of violations by all parties.

The renewed fighting has exposed how little the agreement did to resolve the heart of the conflict.

Displacement with no end in sight

For families in Abi Adi, the unresolved status of Western Tigray has meant years of uncertainty.

Many fled their homes when the war broke out in 2020 and have struggled to rebuild their lives. At the displacement site, families say they face shortages of food, clean water and essential medicines. Overcrowding has made daily life particularly difficult for children, older people and those with chronic illnesses.

Selass, an internally displaced mother of two from Humera, said the lack of affordable medicine was a constant worry.

“Sometimes, we take our children to the clinic, but the medicines they need are not available. We are told to buy them from private pharmacies, but we have no money,” she said.

For families who have already spent years away from home, renewed fighting has brought renewed fears that their displacement could become permanent.

Hospitals struggle to treat patients

The crisis has also left Tigray’s health facilities struggling with shortages of essential medicines and medical supplies.

Doctors at Ayder Referral Hospital in Mekelle, who spoke to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, said the facility lacked sufficient supplies of essential medicines.

Patients were increasingly being asked to buy prescribed drugs from private pharmacies, where prices were often beyond their means.

“Patients have to go outside the hospital and buy the medicines they need from private pharmacies. But not everyone can afford them, and this makes it difficult for patients to get the treatment they need,” one doctor said.

Although humanitarian organisations have continued to provide medical assistance and some hospitals have resumed operations, significant gaps in healthcare remain.

Years of conflict have damaged health infrastructure and depleted medical supplies. The recent hostilities risk further disrupting services that have yet to recover.

Former fighters seek a way out of war

While displaced families wait to return home, thousands of former fighters are beginning the process of leaving military life behind.

On November 5, Ethiopia’s National Rehabilitation Commission said about 5,500 former Tigrayan fighters were receiving rehabilitation training at a centre in Mekelle. The programme aims to help former fighters return to civilian life through education, vocational training and employment opportunities.

Alem, a 28-year-old former fighter from Mekelle, said she wanted the chance to build a future beyond the conflict.

“I want to have a future and build a life for myself. I want to get married and have children, like any other woman. I survived the last war, and I do not want to go through the same experience again. I have spent enough time living with uncertainty. I want to leave that life behind and have the chance to plan my own future,” she said.

Atsbeha, another former fighter, joined the military in 2020, abandoning his university studies. He now hopes to return to civilian life and find work.

“I left my university studies and joined the military in 2020. But now I want to leave that life behind. I want to work, earn a living and rebuild the future I put on hold. I do not want to keep fighting. I want to have a chance to live a normal life,” he said.

But renewed fighting threatens to undermine a programme that depends on security and practical support to help former fighters make a lasting transition to civilian life.

There are also concerns about whether young people in Tigray can freely choose to remain civilians. In a September 25 statement, UN human rights chief Volker Turk condemned reports of forced recruitment by the TPLF, including of children and previously demobilised fighters. He also raised concerns about arbitrary conscription by government forces.

The allegations highlight the environment in which former fighters are trying to leave military life behind – voluntary disarmament cannot succeed if people continue to face pressure to join armed groups.

For those entering the rehabilitation programme, access to education, employment and lasting security will be essential to building a life outside the military.

In Abi Adi, displaced families are still living in classrooms. At hospitals, patients struggle to find medicines. Former fighters are trying to leave military life behind, but renewed fighting threatens to pull the region back into war.

For Selass, the years of displacement and the prospect of another war have left one wish above all others:

“We survived one war and lost almost everything. We don’t want our children to experience another one. All we want is to return home and live normally.”

Gavin and Stacey legend Joanna Page has revealed how her four kids really feel about her signing up for I’m A Celebrity – and the one thing they can’t wait for

Gavin and Stacey legend Joanna Page says her four kids are thrilled to see her on I’m A Celebrity – but only for Ant and Dec.

The ITV jungle show is back with a string of famous faces, including football legend Wayne Rooney. Actress Joanna has left her four kids behind to experience the jungle first hand, and whilst most kids can’t wait to see their mum taking on the trials, her kids are excited for another reason.

“They can’t quite believe that I’m doing it, because we are huge fans of the show. But at first, they were a bit worried, saying, ‘Oh my gosh, mummy, you won’t be able to do the trials.’ I assured them I would be ok and I’m hoping I will make them proud,” she said.

“I know they’re going to be tuning in every night. They are also very excited, because they want me to get Ant & Dec’s autographs! I am just an inroad to get them to Ant & Dec!”

For fellow campmate and Love Island star Chloe Burrows, the jungle will be worlds away from her reality TV past. Asked if she might take a dip in the infamous jungle shower, she said: “No, I’m done being in a bikini. I am so looking forward to this. It’s going to be like a digital detox and I think I’m going to come out zen!

“I’m so excited to do a show where it’s just about coming together, getting through it and making loads of friends. No dating, no bikinis – just massive rats, spiders, and snakes!”

Kaiser Chiefs singer Ricky Wilson is good friends with Tony Blackburn, who won the first series, and said the radio star was instrumental in him finally signing up for the show.

“Everyone I know has always said it has been a life changing and brilliant experience. I am good friends with Tony Blackburn (who won the first series) and he kept telling me I should do it,” he said.

TV star Ade Adepitan has confessed he feels slightly overwhelmed to making history as the first wheelchair user on the show. “For me, this is a moment in time. Even if I go out in the first week, I will always be remembered as the person in a wheelchair. I am slightly overwhelmed. It’s never been done before, and it never crossed my mind I would be the first,” he said.

Content creator and Beta Squad star Sharky is ready to take on the jungle. Despite him not necessarily being known by the wider audience, he has a huge following online – but he knows his fellow YouTube stars will be calling everyone to vote for him.

“They will be leading the charge online. They are all really excited for me to go on this show. But I am actually looking forward to doing a trial. They are the funniest moments on the programme,” he shared.

He’s hoping to emulate the success of last year’s winner Angry Ginge. He said: “It is big boots to follow. But Ginge is a great guy and he was made for something like this. I am not surprised he won, but I don’t feel any pressure. I want to do my own thing and be myself.”

Big Brother star and TV presenter AJ Odudu – who is heading to the jungle just days after ITV reality show Big Brother ended – is excited about having the tables turned on her for once.

“It is definitely going to be my scariest TV project I’ve ever taken on. It also feels quite weird the tables have turned on me. One minute I’m watching all the housemates and people unravel, now I’m the one out of my comfort zone!” she said.

Whilst most celebrities would want to avoid the eating trials, stand-up comedian Jack Skipper is quite literally chomping at the bit! He said: “I would most like to do the eating trial. I am never going to have another opportunity to eat testicles, so let’s do it!”

Model Leomie Anderson isn’t looking forward to camping after lasting just one day at Glastonbury. “I went to Glastonbury once and I was going to stay there for five days. After day one, I had to drop out. It rained so much, the water spoiled my glamping tent!” she said.

However, she has been preparing for the show in a unique way – by going skydiving. She said: “I have done some indoor skydiving just in case. You never know what is going to happen. Mind you, it didn’t go very well!”

Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney said she signed up to the show after some encouragement from fellow soap star Alan Halsall, who plays her on-screen son Tyrone. A super fan of the show, Claire has wanted to do it for years. “I’ve got loads of mates who have done it before. Alan said it was one of the best things he’d ever done,” she said.

Loose Women star and journalist Mariella Frostrup wants to fly the flag for the older women by facing her fears and signing up for the show – and feels now is finally the right time.

“A good 50% of the reason that I am doing this is I am constantly telling other women we should grab our chances. We shouldn’t allow ourselves to be written off at a certain age,” she said.

“So, I think this is me having a taste of my own medicine! I am putting myself through something I am frightened of. I have been wary in the past but this time is right. I want to test myself.”

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