MANAMA, Bahrain — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday that relations between the United States and its gulf Arab partners are rock solid, despite fears by some of them that they might be left out of discussions aimed at ending the war with Iran.

Rubio used a three-day, three-nation trip to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain this week to try to convince all the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council that the Trump administration does indeed have their backs in negotiations to end the war President Trump and Israel launched on Feb. 28.

That conflict sharply curtailed the region’s oil exports and saw several gulf countries take direct retaliatory Iranian missile and drone hits.

“They’ve shared with us some very concrete concerns, ideas,” Rubio said in Bahrain, the last stop on the trip. “And when I say concern, the biggest concern is that they really just want to be informed every step along the way as we enter these negotiations at both the technical and political levels.

“We want them to be involved and we want the views of all these countries to be reflected,” he said. “We don’t want to and will not be making any decisions or commitments that in any way undermines the prosperity, stability or security of our gulf partners.”

Although the U.S. and the gulf council members — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — eventually released a joint statement after the meeting that extolled areas of agreement about the end goals of the Iran deal, there were small signs of potential discontent.

The joint statement said the two sides “stressed the need to maintain momentum and unity as negotiations proceed toward a more permanent end to hostilities and the shared objective of preventing Iran from ever developing or otherwise acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

They also expressed opposition to any attempt by Iran to impose tolls or fees, or assert control over the Strait of Hormuz. They welcomed an Omani initiative to create a safe lane to evacuate stranded sailors from the waterway and stressed that any economic benefit Iran might realize “is conditional and reversible, contingent on Iran’s compliance” with the temporary agreement and a final deal.

The joint statement painted a rosy picture, yet the council secretary, Gen. Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, suggested in a statement that doubts remain.

He said it was emphasized during the meeting that any future understandings or arrangements must incorporate the requirements of the gulf council countries to safeguard their interests and ensure “their security and stability.” His statement, released by the group, hinted that the gulf council members felt snubbed in the earlier talks.

“Such arrangements must be based on the principles of international law, respect for state sovereignty, good neighborliness, and non-interference in internal affairs, thereby contributing to the consolidation of regional security and stability,” he said.

Before Rubio spoke to the group, the meeting host, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, said that although the memorandum of understanding is welcome, many questions remain outstanding.

“While this progress is encouraging, it is critically important that Iran fully adheres to its obligations,” including under the memorandum, he said.

He said that means preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, preserving freedom of navigation, ending all missile and drone attacks, halting support for proxy groups and abandoning attempts to interfere with Iran’s neighbors.

Lee writes for the Associated Press.

Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold has been arrested in connection to an alleged armed attack on a group of men in Tampa, Fla., in February. He faces eight felony charges of kidnapping and robbery that could keep him in prison for life if convicted.

Investigators believe Arnold was the “primary conspirator” in an alleged plot that left three young men with “visible injuries from being battered, held at gunpoint, and pistol-whipped before their personal property was stolen and they were ordered to leave,” the Tampa Police Department said Wednesday in a news release.

Six other suspects previously were arrested. Two women already pleaded guilty and agreed to help authorities prosecute Arnold, police said.

The second-year player turned himself in Wednesday night and was held in a Hillsborough County jail without bond before his arraignment hearing Thursday afternoon.

Arnold appeared remotely during the brief hearing, where he was charged with three counts of robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon for less than $750 and three counts of kidnapping to harm or terrorize, all of which are first-degree felonies. He was also charged with two second-degree felonies for conspiring to commit those crimes.

“He’s absolutely denying these allegations,” defense attorney R. Timothy Jansen said during Hillsborough County court proceedings.

Arnold will be held without bond until a pretrial detention hearing Monday, where the Hillsborough County state attorney’s office will argue for him to remain behind bars until trial.

According to Tampa police, several items belonging to Arnold and others were stolen Feb. 1 from an Airbnb rental property in Largo. They reported to Largo police that the items were worth more than $250,000.

The alleged incident that led to Arnold’s arrest occurred early Feb. 4. It was plotted, Tampa police said, because Arnold suspected that two of the three men were responsible for stealing the items. Investigators later determined those men were not involved, police said.

Police said the victims were lured to an apartment, where they were held at gunpoint and hit by suspects who were streaming the alleged attack to Arnold, who is accused of helping coordinate the plot and giving orders to the alleged attackers on a group chat during the incident. He later arrived at the apartment and drove some of the suspects away, police said.

“Fame doesn’t get you out of criminal charges or our pursuit of justice and holding criminals accountable,” Tampa police chief Lee Bercaw said in a statement posted to X. “Our victims now have some closure thanks to the great work of our detectives and our strong partnership with State Attorney Suzy Lopez.”

The head of the management agency that represents Arnold said in a statement that the former first-round draft pick “categorically denies any involvement in the matters unlying the allegations made against him and maintains his innocence.”

“There is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations,” EAG Sports Management CEO Denise White said. “Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences.”

Arnold has played in 24 games for the Lions. He had 31 tackles and an interception last season before going on injured reserve with a shoulder injury on Dec. 1.

The Lions said they are aware of Arnold’s situation but have no further comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

June 25 (UPI) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaiian law that required people to ask permission to carry a concealed firearm onto a private property.

The Court’s majority, in a 6-3 ruling, said that Hawaii cannot block a properly licensed person from carrying a concealed weapon on private properties that are open to the public.

Hawaii was one of five states that enacted similar laws after the Court in a 2018 ruling said that states could not limit gun licenses to “exceptional cases” because it violated the 2nd Amendment right to carry a firearm.

The law required people who wanted to carry their firearm in places such as gas stations, restaurants, grocery and other stores, dry cleaners and other properties that are “open to the public” to get permission to carry their gun.

“Under the new Hawaii law, no one carrying a firearm may enter without the property owner’s express authorization,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote in the majority opinion.

“The effect of this new rule is to impose severe restrictions on the daily activities of residents who have satisfied the State’s rigorous requirements for the issuance of a carry permit,” Alito wrote.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disagreed with the majority that the Hawaii law is an “attempt to end-run our Second Amendment precedents,” suggesting instead that it applies the first principle of property law, the right to exclude.

In addition to noting that Hawaii has a long history of restrictive gun laws, Brown Jackson said it enacted the permission law in order to prevent confusion among property owners that federal law had affected traditional expectations in the state.

“The public might well have an implied license to enter private property open to the public, and such permission might generally include the ability to enter armed,” she wrote in the dissent.

“But,” she wrote, “any such license is not a matter of right — a license is a creature of state law and custom, and it can vary accordingly.”

Both players were on the floor when Thomas pushed her fist into Clark’s throat before getting up and stepping over her.

Phoenix Mercury star guard Alyssa Thomas has been given a flagrant foul 2 by the WNBA office and suspended one game for “recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area” of Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark during Wednesday’s game between the teams.

The incident occurred with 6:52 left in the second quarter of the Mercury’s 111-109 triumph over host Indiana. No foul was called.

Thomas will serve the suspension Saturday when the Phoenix visit the Toronto Tempo.

The WNBA office said it has the option to review games and “classify as flagrant any foul not called as such during a game.”

In this instance, Clark drove into the lane and fell on her side following contact with Phoenix defender Lexi Held. In the ensuing scramble for the ball, Thomas pushed her fist into Clark’s throat before getting up and stepping over Clark.

Fever coach Stephanie White was upset after the contest that Thomas wasn’t called for a foul.

“Number one, you’ve got to call it. It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful,” White said.

The teams also had played a testy contest two nights earlier in which a combined six technical fouls were called during Indiana’s 86-77 victory.

Thomas, 34, is a six-time All-Star. She is in her second season with the Mercury after playing 11 campaigns with the Connecticut Sun.

Thomas is averaging 14.7 points, 8.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds in 18 games this season.

Clark exited Wednesday’s game with 5:15 left in the third quarter due to back issues.

Clark, 24, is averaging a career-high 21.2 points, 8.2 assists and 4.0 rebounds through 17 games this season. She’s a two-time All-Star.

The Fever host the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday.

As La Cruz continues to break down barriers for the LGBTQ+ community in reggaeton, the rising Venezuelan star enjoys living out his gay fantasies in his music videos. Take the sultry video for his 2023 breakthrough single, “Quítate La Ropa,” which sees shirtless men perreando (twerking) before him in a locker room.

But at the same time, La Cruz has come to understand that his platform as a gay reggaeton artist coincides at a time when conservatism is sweeping the globe — and queer rights are receding.

“It fills me with happiness to represent a community that has been denigrated, treated badly and pushed into a corner for many years,” a bedheaded La Cruz says over Zoom from his New York City hotel room. (He had just performed at a Pride event the night before.)

“It’s a fact that [LGBTQ] rights are becoming progressive, but they’re rolled back even faster than they advance,” he adds. “This is very painful and concerning. This is happening in every country in different ways. During these difficult times, I’m going to keep putting my heart into my music more than ever.”

La Cruz is the stage name of Alfonso La Cruz. The native of La Guaira, a coastal city in Venezuela, pursued a music career after relocating to Spain in 2015. Following a brief stint on the singing competition “Operación Triunfo” three years later, La Cruz was closeted and found his momentum stifled. In 2022, he took the brave step of singing about his affection and lust for other men in his debut album, “Hawaira.”

Venezuelan reggaeton singer La Cruz released his new EP, “El Nene, Vol. 2,” on June 11.

(Maria Camila Pinzon)

Backed by the beats of reggaeton, a genre that had historically excluded the LGBTQ+ community, La Cruz found both his groove and his tribe with hits like “Te Conocí Bailando” and “Quítate La Ropa.” Early supporters included Colombian superstar Karol G, as well as Mexican American R&B singer Omar Apollo.

Alongside Puerto Rican provocateurs like Young Miko and Villano Antillano, La Cruz has continued to queer the heteronormative urbano space. He has also pushed his sound to broader horizons in his new EP, “El Nene, Vol. 2,” which includes “Sírveme,” a Brazilian funk banger with drag pop star Gloria Groove — and “Te Perdí,” a touching tribute to the victims and survivors of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Fla.

La Cruz’s EP dropped on June 11, the day before the 10th anniversary of that tragedy, which largely impacted the queer Latino community. In an interview with The Times, he opened up about being a gay reggaetonero and “Te Perdi,” his tribute to the 49 people lost at Pulse.

It’s been three years since you first went viral with “Quítate La Ropa.” What have you learned about yourself during that time?
There are songs that have brought me a lot of love and I’m thankful to my fans that consider that song to be a classic. It’s brought me a lot of blessings. At this moment, I feel like I have the best opportunities in my life. However, I feel like the industry is a bit uncomfortable with an artist that’s openly gay and wants to be a part of this. That hasn’t stopped me at all. It’s the gasoline in my motor. It’s what pushes me to keep working hard. My fans are what’s building my career and I won’t let them down. I’m sticking with this until the end.

You connected with Karol G early in your career. Did she give you any advice when you met her?
I want to say publicly that I would love to open for her concerts on her Viajando Por El Mundo Tropitour. I’m very close to her. I love her so much. She has always treated me with so much love. I hope that something between me and her can happen sometime. I know everything happens in due time. I told her that I love the way she is and how she connects with her fans. When I see her singing and performing, I feel like she’s a sister to me. A big piece of advice that she gave me and that I’ll always carry with me is to never lose the humility and closeness that I have with my fans. The key to success is humility. I never want to be out of reach. I want people to see me and say, “I want to achieve my dreams like he has.”

How did your collaboration “Sírveme” with Gloria Groove come together?
I love her so much! I’ve always been a big fan of hers. I’ve gotten close to a lot of artists in Brazil and Gloria has been one of them. We didn’t think twice about making this song. Gloria was coincidentally traveling to the amusement parks in Orlando. I told her: “Baby, let’s go! I’m ready for you in Miami.” She told me: “Baby, I’m going to Miami!” We met one afternoon to create this song. She paused her vacation to go to the studio with me. It was very beautiful. I love my Brazilian fans.

With “El Nene, Vol. 2,” why was it important for you to also shed a light on the 10th anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting?
In 2016, when I recently arrived in Spain and my brother recently arrived in the U.S., we had a call with our family. My brother said, “There was a shooting close to where I live and it was in a gay club.” My family has supported me since I first told them about my sexuality. I thought that that could’ve happened to me.

I’m following up on this tragedy because it shaped my life. As the years go on, information about this attack has faded away. Each day people are talking less about it. It’s a tragedy that’s super important to remember, like 9/11 and the [2017] Las Vegas shooting, because it’s one of the worst attacks in U.S. history. Why are we not talking about it anymore? We have to keep talking about things so that they don’t happen again.

What inspiration did you pull from the Pulse tragedy for your song “Te Perdí”?
On this path, I’ve gotten to know the stories of people that survived that shooting. For example, there was a boy with his mother that lost her life and he survived. There’s a lot of stories of love from that club that have [since] come out. When I went to the studio, I was inspired by loss, or a love that’s gone away, with respect and love for the community that supports me. It is my gift, to be a voice for this situation that should never be repeated. There are people that don’t know about this tragedy and I want to let the world know that this happened. I hope that the victims’ families and the people that survived are living lives of peace and calm.

WASHINGTON — California’s two Democratic senators on Thursday criticized the Trump administration after it requested $87.6 billion from Congress to address some of the nation’s most “urgent needs” but omitted funding for victims of last year’s Los Angeles wildfires.

“Donald Trump’s desire to punish Los Angeles and the state of California for not voting for him, means once again that thousands of Angelinos are left watching this administration fight for anything but them, their businesses, and their communities,” Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff said in a joint statement.

“These fires did not discriminate based on party or political preference. Neither should this administration,” they added.

The omission is the latest strain in a yearlong standoff between California leaders and the Trump administration over federal disaster aid, and it comes after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met with President Trump at the Oval Office in April to request the funding.

At the meeting, Trump signaled his commitment to working with local officials to help with disaster recovery efforts. The officials asked for $16 billion that would be split between the city and county. The money would consist primarily of disbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency flagged for communities hit by the fires, part of a $33.9-billion wildfire relief funding request made by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Two months later, those talks have yet to yield results sought by local leaders.

The budget request, submitted by the Office of Management and Budget on Wednesday, mostly seeks funding for the Pentagon to address costs related to the Iran war. It also includes $11.1 billion in economic assistance for American farmers, $1.4 billion to address the Ebola virus outbreak in Central Africa, $500 million to support “ongoing efforts to complete restorations and construction projects” across the nation’s capital and $1 billion to boost the pensions of workers at General Motors that were cut as a result of the automaker’s bankruptcy.

“I urge the Congress to take action on these important and urgent requests as soon as possible,” White House budget director Russell Vought wrote in a letter addressed to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

Vought said the administration was open to discussing “additional relief for other urgent matters.” The White House did not immediately respond when asked why the budget request did not mention the Eaton and Palisades disaster relief funds.

State leaders, including Newsom, have repeatedly accused the Trump administration of stonewalling billions in wildfire aid. The governor visited Washington in December to meet with lawmakers, including three who serve on the Senate and House appropriations committees, to push for the funding.

The governor also attempted to meet with FEMA about the matter, but said his request was denied. Newsom, a political foe of Trump’s, would not say whether he had attempted to meet with Trump to talk about the recovery efforts.

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, Group 2, Old Trafford

Bangladesh 136-8 (20 overs): Ferdous 33 (31); Yadav 3-28

India 139-5 (16.5 overs): Shafali 53 (34); Ritu 2-29

India won by five wickets

Scorecard, Table

Wins for India and South Africa at the Women’s T20 World Cup ensured the fight for semi-final qualification will go to the final day of the group stage.

India beat Bangladesh by five wickets and face Australia, who are top of Group Two, in the final fixture at Lord’s on Sunday knowing they will likely need to beat the six-time champions to qualify.

South Africa thrashed winless Netherlands by 88 runs and will need to beat Bangladesh in their final game and hope that India lose, otherwise it will go down to net run-rate. Bangladesh also retain a slim chance of progression.

In Thursday’s first game, India chased a below-par 137 at Old Trafford as opener Shafali Verma struck 53 from 34 balls, and they reached their target in 16.5 overs.

But if they are to overcome the unbeaten Australians, India’s fielding will need to improve significantly. A sloppy performance saw them drop four catches in the first five overs and the innings was littered with misfields.

Despite that, there was a glaring difference in quality between the teams as Bangladesh were unable to punish the mistakes as they scraped to 136-8.

Juairiya Ferdous top-scored with 33 while captain Nigar Sultana Joty added 32, but India’s spin-heavy approach prevailed once more as Radha Yadav took 3-28 and Sree Charani 2-21.

India lost Smriti Mandhana early before Shafali took charge and the chase slowed after her dismissal in the ninth over, but Jemimah Rodrigues’ 26 from 15 helped them over the line.

Kibiwott Kandie initially faced an eight-year ban split evenly across two violations, but received a one-year reduction.

Former half-marathon world-record ‌holder Kibiwott Kandie has been banned for seven years by the ⁠Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) ⁠for two anti-doping violations, the body has said.

The 30-year-old Kenyan, a 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, was provisionally suspended in ⁠March 2025 for refusing to provide a sample and was later charged with an additional violation of tampering or attempted tampering with doping control.

“This ⁠case serves as a reminder that no athlete is above the rules in the sport of athletics. If an athlete refuses a test, it places the integrity of the sport at risk,” AIU head Brett Clothier said in a ‌statement on Thursday

“The AIU has a strong forensic capability and will thoroughly investigate such cases to ensure the truth comes out,” he added.

Kandie, who initially faced an eight-year ban split evenly across the two violations, received a one-year reduction after accepting the sanctions early.

His ban is backdated to March 14, 2025, the date of his provisional suspension, and ⁠will run until March 13, 2032, when he ⁠will be 36.

On March 1, 2025, Kandie delayed and ultimately refused an out-of-competition test at his home in Kenya, citing an urgent payment before leaving despite being warned of ⁠the consequences.

AIU analysis of his phone and financial records showed multiple calls and payments linked to a ⁠nurse, with 11 transfers identified in the 12 ⁠months prior to the test, after coordination with the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya.

Kandie’s initial explanations for refusing to provide a sample were later found to be false, while Kenyan authorities ‌confirmed that documents he submitted were fake.

Kandie, a three-time Valencia Half Marathon champion, set a then-world record of 57:32 in 2020 and ‌remains ‌the third-fastest man in history over the distance, with two of the six quickest performances of all time.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israeli forces will maintain a presence in southern Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza for “as long as required” at a graduation for combat officers in southern Israel.

At only 24, Samuel Kim Arredondo, better known as Samuel, has lived through nearly every iteration possible in a K-pop idol’s career.

As a child growing up in L.A.’s Koreatown, he attended Wilshire Park Elementary School — but by the fifth grade he had moved to South Korea with his mother, Kyung-ju, with dreams of K-pop stardom. There, he became a trainee under Pledis Entertainment.

Now a subsidiary label of Hybe — parent company of K-pop superstars BTS — Pledis was forming what became one of the most successful “third generation” K-pop groups of all time: Seventeen. Samuel, who was in the running to debut with the group, is even captured in early footage from their “Seventeen TV” variety show.

Though he didn’t make the cut, he remained close with the members and helped write lyrics for their 10-year anniversary album. Just last week, he filmed a dance challenge with singer-MC Mingyu for the reggaeton-infused pop number “Zigi Zigi Zigi” — the lead single off of his new EP, “Samuelito,” which dropped June 8.

After leaving Pledis, Samuel — who is fluent in both English and Korean — signed to a new agency, Brave Entertainment, then formed one half of a short-lived hip-hop duo, 1Punch. (He was Punch, the other kid was One.)

In 2017 he competed on the second season of Produce 101, a globally popular Korean competition franchise, where he made it to the penultimate episode before the debut of the group Wanna One. That same year, he released his first solo album, “Sixteen,” fully showcasing his outstanding dance ability, youthful swagger and velvety tenor.

Yet before he could finally make headway, he suffered a devastating loss.

Samuel’s father, José Arredondo, who came to the U.S. from Michoacán as a child, died tragically in a 2019 case that made national and local headlines. After having spent years apart from his father while living in Korea, Samuel spent quality time with him shortly before his death.

José was a pillar of his community; he rose from washing cars to owning his own car dealership, alongside other businesses in Bakersfield. A precocious young Samuel can still be found showing off his dance and Spanish skills in an old commercial for the dealership. (“Volkswagen me hace bailar,” he says before busting a move.)

The loss of his father was made more harrowing when the news went public, Samuel recalls over a Zoom interview from Seoul, where he is promoting his new album.

“The articles went out first,” he explains. “It was everywhere before I even wanted to talk about it, so I had no choice to keep it private … of course it’s definitely hard for me.”

In the aftermath, Samuel went under the radar — but after a year or two, he started to pave a way forward. After getting out of the contract with his former label, and with the support of his mother, he launched his own company, Samuel Music Group.

“If I kept on staying in the past, I think no one would like it — even my dad wouldn’t like it,” he says. “I learned a lot through that emotion as well. Always be grateful, always be thankful every time, and try to say ‘thank you’ always, especially to parents.”

Composed of three songs and one interlude, “Samuelito” takes its name from the childhood moniker some know him by today. As the follow-up to his 2024 EP, “Now,” it is his second record release since he became independent. It’s also his first record sung predominantly in Spanish — along with the occasional sprinkle of English and Korean. (Take the onomatopoeic “Ddook Ddak,” which is Korean slang for “just like that.”)

Singing in Spanish for the first time, he tells me, to music he created himself, made his “heart race.”

“Samuelito” is not so much an exploration of Mexican musical traditions, but of Latin-influenced rhythms and sounds filtered through his uniquely multicultural lens. In the future, he dreams of working with genre-spanning Latino pop artists who crossed over culturally, like Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello and Rauw Alejandro.

In an Instagram reel from earlier this year he described his efforts as “K-tone” — a Latin and reggaeton fusion, powered by K-pop discipline. The comments below were peppered with encouraging responses from fans in multiple languages.

Wrote Liz Zeledon, from Oceanside: “As a Korean-Nicaraguan who grew up with exposure to both cultures, I love hearing Latin influences in K-pop… Korean Latines are so underrepresented in the Korean music industry.”

Reached by phone, Zeledon is a K-pop fan who has kept tabs on Samuel since his Seventeen trainee days; she is also a child of immigrant parents.”Representation is so important, because existence and visibility are not the same thing,” she says.

In the lead-up to the album’s release, Samuel posted photos and videos of himself as a young child. In one, his dad holds him up as a baby, dressed in all-white with a tam hat. Though Samuel says the EP is not an on-the-nose tribute to the elder Arredondo, his spirit resonates through the lyrics of the poignant downtempo track, “Never Say Goodbye.”

“Gritos que yo sé/Que llegan hasta El Cielo/Gotitas en el suelo/Y se me cae el mundo entero,” he sings. (“Cries that I know/Reach all the way to Heaven/Little drops on the ground/And my whole world comes crashing down.”)

“I used to listen to a lot of Spanish music while I was growing up … I used to eat a lot of Mexican food too,” he says. “While I was in the studio last year, I had [this] big vision: [‘What if] I bring back my roots and just be the true me and call this album “Samuelito?”’ It just felt fresh.”

Samuel started songwriting and producing for himself in the making of “Now.” On his new album, only three writers are credited, including himself — which is somewhat of a rarity these days in K-pop. One of them is Canadian Mexican singer-songwriter Andrea Rocha.

From her new home in L.A., Rocha said the main goal was to seamlessly blend two distinct musical cultures. Although Samuel came to the studio with the structure for his songs already in place, they worked on melodies and writing in Spanish together, since this was his first time penning lyrics in the language.

Rocha says she was taken aback by Samuel’s professionalism. “I’d be like, ‘Oh, what about this melody?’ And then he would sing it perfectly,” she says. “I did ask him about his K-pop training, because it sounds really intense. I think it shows how hard he’s worked in those years because he’s got all the star qualities. Compared to a lot of newer artists that I work with, I’m like, ‘Ooh, they’ve [done] a lot of work to get to that level.’”

These days, Samuel splits his time between Seoul and Los Angeles — once again calling Koreatown his permanent home. He also continues to spend time with his dad’s side of the family in Bakersfield.

“I think the biggest thing that I am happy about is getting back to my roots, where I started,” says Samuel.

For as long as I’ve been a journalist, which is a really long time, public entities have hated public records requests, even while claiming they don’t.

Ask your typical elected or hired official, from the governor to the animal control folks, and they’ll tell you transparency is vital and sunshine in government a key value.

Then turn in the most benign of public records requests — access to a calendar, for example — and prepare for weeks of delays and excuses. Want emails or financial records or, heaven forbid, anything from the police? Months or even years may pass before a single page is delivered, no joke.

That’s why I am deeply concerned about a bill winding its way through the California Legislature that would definitely slow down public records requests and likely make them more difficult and expensive. At its worst, it could push people into costly court battles just for having the audacity to ask for information.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 1821, is authored by Democratic Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, whose district includes Norwalk, Downey and Bell, where legendary scandals are Example 1 of why public records matter.

Pacheco’s office told me Wednesday that the troubles with the bill are far from what Pacheco set out to do.

“It was never the author’s intention to take away people’s rights to a [Public Records Act] request,” said her chief of staff, Nikki Johnson.

Johnson said the bill was meant to curtail malicious records requests, which do happen, where a citizen goes after copious amounts of records just to be a jerk and cost the government time and money.

It was also meant to address the growing problem of artificial intelligence and other for-profit businesses requesting thousands of records with the intent of using the information to create money-making products — think of sites that already sell publicly available personal information as “background checks.”

I believe Johnson on the good intentions of the bill in addressing those real if nebulous difficulties, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans.

The bill passed through the Assembly recently with ease, largely because most of its problematic portions (I’ll get to those in a minute) were removed — though not all. Even in a watered-down form, which basically gave government more time to answer requests, I found myself in the unlikely position of agreeing with conservative Republican Assemblymember and Trump supporter Carl DeMaio of San Diego, who offered some of the only opposition from elected leaders during the Assembly vote.

“We cannot police the public’s right to know, and we want to err on the side of transparency in how government agencies operate,” DeMaio said.

Amen, brother.

But the Democratic-controlled Assembly erred on the side of secrecy and slowdown instead, and the measure sailed to the Senate, where seemingly out of the blue, a bunch of new provisions were added that fill it with loopholes, vague language and tons of room for abuse.

David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, said the bill as written now was “comprehensively bad for transparency and therefore for government accountability.”

Sean McMorris, transparency, ethics and accountability program manager for the advocacy organization California Common Cause, put it even more forcefully. He pointed out that “public records are the public’s records.”

“They’re not owned by the government,” he said. But this bill would shift that paradigm and make the public “prove why you need them.”

“It’s going to chill people who want to make requests, and it’s going to complicate the process, and it’s just wrong,” McMorris said.

In its new form, the bill basically allows government entities to decide if they feel a public records request is malicious or for commercial gain. If they do, they can petition a court to intervene — potentially sparking both legal costs and new fees associated with fulfilling the request.

It would also, Snyder said, force a requester to explain why they wanted the records — something California law has repeatedly avoided because it gives power to government to treat those it perceives as enemies differently.

In this age of fairness and reason, it’s hard to imagine a government official misusing power to keep secrets, but I’m told it happens. That makes it all the more crucial that people not be forced to explain why they want information, or if they will use it to, say, expose corruption — be it wrongdoing by a single individual or the entire system.

Faced with unintended consequences, Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco (D-Downey), shown in 2023, will seek to scale back the bill to its original form, according to her chief of staff.

(Rich Polk / Getty Images for Equality California)

“I have little doubt that some agencies will use that provision to overburden requesters that they view as political opponents, requesters that they view as just a hassle, requesters that ask for things the government doesn’t want to disclose,” Snyder said. “They can bring the requester into court, and at a minimum, slow down the process, and probably more likely get the requester to simply withdraw.”

As written, the bill also gives a shoddy carve-out meant to protect journalists, but which in reality could be used to curtail requests from freelancers, student journalists and more.

McMorris said access to public records is a “moral issue,” and fixing any problems with the current law requires “a scalpel, not a meat ax.”

This bill, he warned, is a meat ax.

“I don’t discount that there are abusive requests, and that there are requests that really are a burden on government agencies, but the law right now has ways for government agencies to address that,” he pointed out. “Once these laws go into place, they’re going to be hard to roll back.”

It could “fundamentally change” our access to public records, he said.

Johnson, Pacheco’s chief of staff, told me that faced with all these unintended consequences, the Assembly member is going to ask for the amendments to be removed, and for the bill to progress as it was written when it passed the Assembly. That could happen as early as next week, when the bill with the new provisions is scheduled to come up again in a Senate committee for debate.

Reverting to the bill the Assembly voted on would be better, but slowing down public records is in government’s best interests, not the people’s. The bill does nothing to address the problems it seeks to fix, but stretches out the time officials have to simply tell a requester if any records do exist — never mind delivering them.

So even back to its watered-down form, the bill remains a meat ax for a scalpel problem, chopping up transparency with good intentions.

The Dodgers won the World Series last year, and the year before that. Their lead is the largest in any division this year. That success, and the money that nourishes it, has battalions of fans beyond Los Angeles all but marching outside ballparks with picket signs reading “SALARY CAP NOW.”

It’s a reasonable thought: The Dodgers can’t possibly keep winning if they can’t keep outspending the competition.

Or can they?

“There are a lot of little things that happen behind the scenes that people don’t see,” pitcher Will Klein said. “I understand where people are coming from. It’s easy to be a fan of a smaller team and get mad at other teams outspending you.

“But I think there’s a level of care here, and wanting to win, that exceeds other groups.”

The obvious disclaimer: Any team would be better with Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, at a combined price of $1.6 billion. The counter argument: The Angels had Ohtani and Mike Trout and, well, you know.

It takes a roster. In Klein and pitcher Eric Lauer, the Dodgers have done something they do well besides spend: develop valuable contributors out of players discarded by other teams.

The Dodgers grabbed Lauer last month, desperate to fill a hole in their starting rotation. The Toronto Blue Jays had cut him, and he would be joining his seventh major league organization. The logical thought: The Dodgers had found a healthy arm to eat up some innings until they could find someone better.

That still might happen. But Lauer, who is set to pitch Monday, has put up a 3.22 earned-run average in four starts with the Dodgers. Four starts is a small sample size, but in that time, Lauer is a career league-average pitcher performing 28% above league average.

“They got me immediately,” Lauer said. “They figured me out right away, and they knew exactly what was going to help me.”

For Lauer, the changes affected his delivery, but the specifics were not as important as finding a kindred spirit in Connor McGuiness, the Dodgers’ assistant pitching coach.

“I’ve always had a really hard time explaining myself and what I do, because I think a little differently,” Lauer said.

“When I was with the Brewers, it was running joke that it was ‘the language of Lauer,’ because I would describe things so differently and feel things so differently that, if you weren’t close to me and you didn’t know how I operate, it was very hard to understand what I was trying to do.

“Connor just immediately got it. It was like he’s been speaking it forever.”

At one point in his career, Lauer said, he struggled to explain the sensation of catching his heel on the mound as he completed his delivery toward home plate.

“I would describe it as, ‘I was falling backwards and I would catch myself,’ and it’s a really weird concept to think somebody was falling backwards when it doesn’t look like you’re falling at all,” he said. “It looks like you’re just moving forward.

“So they were like, ‘That’s not what you’re doing’ and I was like, ‘That’s what I’m feeling.’ We have to make the connection between the feel and the real so that we can understand each other.”

Klein, who joined his fourth organization when the Dodgers acquired him in a minor league trade last June, is in his first full major league season. He has a 2.37 ERA, and his 0.7 wins above replacement is better than any Dodgers reliever besides veteran closer Tanner Scott.

Klein said other teams had made suggestions on how to improve his game, and with the Dodgers, he has added a sweeper and dumped a slider. But what he needed to do most was throw more strikes, trusting that his lively fastball and curve were good enough to beat the best players in the world.

In the minors, Klein issued 6.9 walks per nine innings. This season, he has issued 3.6 walks per nine innings.

The credit, he said, should be shared with the Dodgers’ mental skills coaches.

“It’s easy to see the guys in the batter’s box — especially when you come up watching baseball and being fans of these guys, it’s easy to see them being above yourself,” Klein said.

“But you’re on the mound with them, so you have to see that too. There’s a lot on the mental side that’s helped me here.”

Dodgers pitcher Will Klein delivers against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium on June 16.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers did not include Klein on their postseason roster for the first three rounds last year, but he said coaches at all levels — in the majors, at triple-A and at the Arizona training complex — never stopped checking in on him, during the season and throughout October.

“When you’re down there, they don’t forget about you up here,” he said. “That kind of commitment and care was levels above what I had experienced.”

When the Dodgers added him to the World Series roster, Klein saved the season, with four scoreless innings to close out an 18-inning victory in Game 3.

Lauer called the communication in the Dodgers’ organization “miles ahead” of any other organization in which he has played.

“The training room, the weight room, the coaching staff, the players to each other,” he said. “Every form of communication is so seamless. Everybody knows what’s going on all the time. There’s no gray area.

“It’s all: ‘This is the plan, this is what we want to happen, this is how we’re going to make it happen,’ instead of: ‘This is the plan, this is what we want to happen, figure out a way to make it happen.’”

Klein raved about how the Dodgers treat player families, and about a high-tech pitching machine so lifelike that he could see what it would be like to bat against him. Lauer reflected on his experience as a first-round pick turned journeyman who went to South Korea to revive his career.

“I have a hard time saying anybody has done a better or faster job of helping me than the Dodgers,” Lauer said.

What Lauer and Klein say substantially echoes what Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at last year’s World Series about turning the team into a preferred destination for players, and not just because the team wins and spends.

“Communication, being honest, having a really strong player development group in place at the major-league level, and how you treat families and treat the players,” Friedman said then, “I think matters a lot in that.”

To be clear: There is no indication the players’ union is willing to consider, let alone approve, a salary cap.

But, if that were to happen, Klein believes the Dodgers would be just fine.

“Our owners want to win, so they want to get the best product on the field, so they go and spend money,” he said, “and then everyone is mad that they want to win.

“I think they’ll find ways to win more if they can’t spend as much money. Friedman was with the Rays when they weren’t spending as much money and still had success there.

“I think they’re just better at wanting to win than some other people.”

June 25 (UPI) — The European Union released $3.6 billion in funds of the Ukraine Support Loan for budget and defense needs, the bloc said Thursday.

The funds were released at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, where European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced the funding, which is the first instalment of the new macro-financial assistance. The MFA is a segment of the Ukraine Support Loan, under which $102 billion will be offered to Ukraine in 2026 and 2027.

“As a country at war, Ukraine’s capaicty to defend its territory depends on the rapid availability of critical products in the required quantities and within very short timeframes,” a press release said. “The first instalment of the [$6.8] billion defense package to support drone procurement will be disbursed in the coming days.”

“This is indeed solidarity in action,” Von der Leyen said. “It shows Europe’s support for Ukraine is here to stay.”

The original plan in December was to use Russia’s frozen assets to fund the loan, but the Russian Central Bank sued a Belgian bank over the plan, so the EU had to find a new way to finance the loan.

Instead, they agreed to create the loan through joint debt. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic negotiated an exemption.

The payments are conditional on Kyiv’s reforms. If Ukraine reverses its ongoing fight against corruption, the EU could suspend the funds, Euro News reported.

The loan also requires Ukraine to buy weapons and ammunition made in Europe, with some exceptions depending on availability.

“Ukraine has the opportunity to analyze the situation on the battlefield and identify the range of products that they need, and then they have to inform us in the form of product schedules,” a Commission spokesperson told Euro News. “The priority remains to make purchases within the EU and Ukraine.”

“We continue to call on all our partners to maintain their support, because a strong and independent Ukraine is in all our interests,” Von der Leyen said Thursday. “Our ambition is not only to help Ukraine endure, it is also to help Ukraine grow and prosper as a free and European country.”

The United States is not expected to contribute funds to the loan.

Demonstrators mark the second anniversary of a 2024 protest where 60 people were killed by security forces.

Kenyan police have dispersed protesters in the capital and detained others who took to the streets in memory of the demonstrators who were killed in anti-government rallies against tax rises two years ago.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on Thursday that a total of 355 people were arrested in various parts of the country. He called those detained “criminals” and apologised for the use of barricades and other security measures aimed at containing the protests.

“We regret the inconveniences occasioned by these measures, and at the same time appreciate their effectiveness in securing the city and other parts of the country,” Murkomen told reporters.

A correspondent for the Reuters news agency also saw police fire tear gas to disperse people who were gathering peacefully outside of Nairobi’s police station after forces detained six people outside parliament, where they had laid flowers.

According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, organisers had planned to mark the second anniversary of the demonstrations that had left at least 60 people dead after protesters had breached parliament grounds in 2024.

But in Nairobi, shops and restaurants in the central business district remained closed as police set up roadblocks with water-cannon trucks.

Reporting from Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcom Webb explained that the heavy police response to the protest was due to the government’s desire to avoid a repeat of the events two years ago.

“This comes following a series of different protests in recent weeks, some led by [President William] Ruto’s political opponents, others by transport unions over increases in fuel prices and a state of simmering discontent that hasn’t really recovered since that day two years ago when dozens of people were killed,” he said.

Opposition leaders joined the victims of alleged police brutality and families of protesters who were killed in the crackdown before they headed to parliament.

“As parents, we sought permission just to come here … to mourn and lay flowers for our children. But when we arrived, we were shocked because the police blocked us,” said Edith Wanjiku, whose 19-year-old son Ibrahim Kamau was killed in 2024.

“That is very shameful,” she continued.

“And one thing I would ask of President Ruto: those police officers who killed the children – because they are known – I am only asking for justice for those children and also compensation,” she added.

Protest organisers have said that they want a credible investigation into past police conduct and guarantees against the use of excessive force.

While Ruto has acknowledged what he called “instances of excessive and extrajudicial actions by members of the security services” and said last week that two billion Kenyan shillings ($15.5 million) had been set aside for victims of protest-related abuses, some activists have said it was not enough.

Veteran broadcast journalist Katie Couric has leveled sharp criticism at CBS’ “60 Minutes,” detailing a culture of systemic sexism and marginalization she says she experienced during her tenure at the prestigious newsmagazine.

On this week’s episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Couric, 69, described incidents during her time at “60 Minutes” when her story ideas were reassigned to her male counterparts. She described the circumstances as “really tough situations.”

The Emmy-winning journalist said she suspected early on that Jeff Fager, the “60 Minutes” executive producer at the time, didn’t take a liking to her.

“I think maybe because he wasn’t really consulted about bringing me over,” said Couric. “I was sort of seen as somebody from a different network coming in and sort of muddying the waters. I hadn’t come up in the CBS system. So I don’t know, he just didn’t like me.”

Couric started her run at the newsmagazine as a correspondent and as an anchor at CBS News in 2006, after spending 15 years co-hosting NBC’s “Today” show. Her role at CBS made her the first female solo anchor of a national weeknight news broadcast. She stayed with the network for five years before taking on a new role as special correspondent for ABC News.

Fager remained at “60 Minutes” from 2004 to 2018. He also served as the chairman of CBS News. He was eventually fired for allegedly sending a “harsh” message to a CBS reporter. At the time, he was also facing accusations of ignoring inappropriate behavior at “60 Minutes.” He previously denied the claims. CBS could not be reached for comment.

Trouble first came to a head when Couric pitched a profile of the rising pop star Lady Gaga. Fager had initially turned down the idea until he decided to pursue the story a year later, as Gaga had gained more notoriety.

Couric said she had proposed a fresh angle on Gaga’s Catholic school upbringing, but when she arrived for the interview, she discovered her name had been replaced with Anderson Cooper’s. His interview with Gaga aired in February 2011.

“It made me crazy,” Couric said.

A similar situation occurred once again when Couric was set to interview then–Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The confusion began when the State Department reached out to Couric, wondering why fellow correspondent Scott Pelley’s team was inquiring about Clinton.

“So I go to Jeff Fager, and I say, ‘I thought you wanted me to do Hillary. You told me explicitly that you wanted to assign that story to me,’” Couric said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, we decided to change things up.’”

Couric said she was frustrated with Fager, for repeatedly going “behind [her] back.”

“Like, without even the decency to call me and say, ‘Guess what? We decided to reassign the story, and this is why,’” she said. “Talk about getting gaslit. I mean to me, that is the definition of it.”

Couric isn’t the only former “60 Minutes” to call out sexism at the newsmagazine. Meredith Vieira, who worked as a correspondent in the late 1980s and early 1990s, said in 2018, that she’d experienced sexism at CBS.

In the last few months, “60 Minutes” has undergone a massive upheaval. Under CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, several correspondents, including Scott Pelley, and the program’s top producers were fired. Anderson Cooper also recently resigned from his post at the newsmagazine. With the upcoming season slated to begin in September, the program is currently under pressure to replenish its ranks.

WASHINGTON — Asylum seekers may be turned away without a hearing at the southern border, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a historic retreat from the promise of relief for those who say they are fleeing persecution.

The justices split over whether this was a simple dispute over legal wording or a moral question involving desperate families.

Siding with the Trump administration, the court’s conservatives said the Refugee Act of 1980 offers a right to seek asylum to migrants who “arrive in the United States” but not those who are turned back when they approach a border crossing or a port of entry.

“This case presents a straightforward question” that turns on the word “in,” said Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. “In ordinary speech, no one would say that a person ‘arrives in’ a place — for example, a house, a city, or a country — before the person enters that place.”

The liberal dissenters agreed with immigration rights lawyers who saw this as a nonsensical reading of the law.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the asylum law arose from the “international moral reckoning that followed the Holocaust and World War II.”

She cited the infamous voyage of the MS St. Louis in 1939. More than 900 Jewish refugees attempted to flee persecution in Nazi Germany by setting sail aboard the ship, which was turned away from Cuba and the United States.

Most of the passengers were returned to Europe, and several hundred died in the Holocaust, she said.

“Congress passed the Refugee Act in 1980 because it did not want this country to repeat the mistakes of its past. Yet if the refugees on the M.S. St. Louis were to walk up to a port of entry on our southern border today, the majority’s interpretation would allow immigration officers to refuse even to consider their asylum applications by physically blocking them from stepping foot onto U. S. soil,” Sotomayor wrote.

Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson agreed.

The decision upholds a turn-back policy that began in 2016 as an emergency response to a surge of Haitian immigrants at the San Ysidro border crossing.

The Department of Homeland Security said these asylum seekers must wait on the Mexican side of the border until they could return for a scheduled interview. The policy was extended to other border crossings, but it was challenged as illegal in federal court in San Diego.

Last year, a divided 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that those restrictions were illegal if they prevented migrants from applying for asylum.

“To ‘arrive’ means ‘to reach a destination,’” wrote Judge Michelle Friedland. “A person who presents herself to an official at the border has ‘arrived.’”

She said the “government’s reading would reflect a radical reconstruction of the right to apply for asylum because it would give the executive branch vast discretion to prevent people from applying by blocking them at the border.”

The 2-1 decision upheld a federal judge in San Diego who ruled for migrants who had filed a class-action suit and said they were wrongly denied an asylum hearing.

But Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer urged the Supreme Court to review and reverse the appellate ruling, noting 15 judges of the 9th Circuit joined dissents that called the decision “radical” and “clearly wrong.”

The administration argued federal immigration law “does not grant aliens throughout the world a right to enter the United States so that they can seek asylum.”

From abroad, they may “seek admission as refugees,” Sauer said, but the government may enforce its laws by “blocking illegal immigrants from stepping on U.S. soil.”

Defenders of the asylum system denounced the decision.

“We believe that today’s ruling violates international law, as well as the express intent of Congress,” said Erika Pinheiro, executive director of the migrant support organization Al Otro Lado, which led the legal fight. “For decades, the United States has allowed individuals and families who are fleeing persecution, torture and death to ask for protection at U.S. borders.”

“Cruelty is not a substitute for real solutions. Blocking people from seeking asylum at official ports of entry will do nothing to fix our broken immigration system, said Rebecca Cassler, senior litigation attorney at the American Immigration Council. “It only makes things more chaotic and dangerous for vulnerable families.”

The Federation for American Immigration Reform applauded the decision.

“Our immigration laws are written to be pro-enforcement, not-anti-enforcement,” said Christopher J. Hajec, deputy general counsel of FAIR. “Because of this, courts that hamstring enforcement are often forced to violate basic logic, as the 9th Circuit did here. We are pleased the Supreme Court saw that the lower court’s reading would make immigration law incoherent, and reversed.”

I rose from my living room couch before Mexico’s World Cup match against Czechia when the Telemundo announcer stated it was time for the Mexican national anthem.

The public address system at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City played a short string intro. My back straightened. I pressed my right hand against my chest horizontally in the traditional gesture that accompanies the tune. And then I recited the opening lyrics to a song I’ve heard all my life but that I only began committing to memory this month:

Mexicanos al grito de guerra/El acero aprestad y bridón/Y retiemble en sus centros la tierra/Al sonoro rugir del cañon

Those florid 19th century words — “Mexicans, at the cry of war/Ready the steel and the bridle/and may the Earth tremble to its core/at the cannon’s resounding roar” — make “The Star-Spangled Banner” seem as anti-war as “Give Peace a Chance.” My kumbaya heart nevertheless jumped as the anthem continued.

Goosebumps blossomed on my skin as Mexico’s head coach Javier Aguirre, he of a stern face and gray haircut worthy of a drill sergeant, beamed while singing. My eyes watered as the camera panned over his arm-in-arm players as they shouted the line, “Think, o beloved homeland! That heaven/gave you a soldier in each son.”

Millions of Mexican Americans like myself have stumbled through the himno nacional during this World Cup, whereas in previous years, we might have just hummed some bars or stayed silent. It’s a boisterous way to connect with one half of our hyphenated lives and get in the right mindset to root for El Tri, but otherwise something we don’t really have to know all the way through given we’re in the U.S.

Yet seeing stadiums and bars packed with Latinos wearing the jerseys of their ancestral homes and warbling their national anthems during this World Cup has been a jolt of inspiration I wasn’t expecting. Those few minutes before each match have become a reminder of what we’re up against at this moment in the Western Hemisphere, as President Trump thirsts to smash Latin America into submission while persecuting too many of us stateside.

In downtown Santa Ana earlier this week, Alicia Rojas quietly recited Colombia’s national anthem word for word before a game against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, even though she was just one of a handful of Colombian fans at Chapter One: The Modern Bistro.

“It reconnects me to my roots, my family and the memories of home,” said Rojas, who was born in Bogotá and moved to the U.S. at age 12. The artist has helped to organize against federal immigration raids in Orange County and volunteers for local political races. “Those few minutes remind me that beyond our differences, we share a history, a culture and a love for the land that made us who we are.”

Latinos are a famously divided bunch, to the point that we don’t even like a catch-all label for “us.” A 2024 Pew Research Center survey found that 52% of Latinos prefer to refer to themselves by their family’s country of origin, while only 30% identify as Hispanic or Latino and just 17% use plain ol’ American.

One thing that can unite us all — and all lovers of liberty, for that matter — is those Latin American national anthems. Many were written in the aftermath of wars for independence. Most are bright, rousing listens, even if you don’t understand Spanish, because their chords reflect the Romantic classical music popular at the time of their composition in the 19th century. All call for their countrymen to fight against tyranny.

Fans cheer after Lionel Messi scores a goal against Algeria during a World Cup watch party at Mercado Buenos Aires on Tuesday, June 16 in Van Nuys.

(Ronaldo Bolaños/Los Angeles Times)

Cue up this soundtrack for your summer:

Paraguay’s national anthem starts by stating that the people of the Americas were “oppressed for three centuries” until they rebelled. Ecuador’s recalls how its founding fathers “cried out a holy voice to the heavens/that noble voice of a unbreakable pledge/to defeat that [Spanish] monster of blood.” Colombia’s similarly doesn’t shy away from how violent its fight for independence was, but takes solace that “in furrows of pain/good now germinates.”

On and on, these songs stir the soul. Argentina: “Hear the sound of broken chains/See noble equality enthroned.” Uruguay: “Tyrants: Tremble!/We shall cry out ‘Liberty’ in battle!” — a boast backed by flutes and violins that make it sound like a Rossini overture. I especially like how Panama’s national anthem concludes by urging “shovel and pick/to work without delay” — a reminder that the job of creating a better society is never done.

Conservatives have, unsurprisingly, long railed at the very idea of singing the national anthems of other countries on American soil. But that just reinforces Samuel Johnson’s adage that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from the clarion calls of other countries. “O Canada” is as soaring as “God Save the King,” while revolutionaries across the world have chanted “La Marseillaise” for centuries. And yes: I sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” with all my heart as well — and I definitely know the words to it.

But the message of the U.S. national anthem isn’t enough for Latinos right now. Hailing survival against an invading force is important, but it’s a mindset too many of us have resigned ourselves to under Trump.

The theme of Latin America’s national anthems is the demand that we stand against despotism and push for a better world through sacrifice and valor. They should be a wake-up call, especially for Latinos, to lead the electoral charge against Trump this November. We helped put him in the Oval Office in 2024, and we have the power to take Congress away from his GOP vassals.

Alas, all those paeans to freedom have played out better in song than in real life. Latin America is swinging rightward again, electing presidents who promise to channel the strongmen of yore and rule the region through might, not right.

On the same night that Rojas was cheering on Colombia, she was bemoaning that her homeland had elected Abelardo de la Espriella, a millionaire criminal defense lawyer and political novice who earned Trump’s endorsement for his “tremendous accomplishments in life” — which include claiming that female voters would pick him because of the supposed size of his genitals.

We must channel the hopes and dreams of Simón Bolívar, Emiliano, Zapata, José Martí and other heroes of the Americas who fought for freedom for their countrymen, sought to cast off the long reach of colonialism and imperialism and urged pan-American alliances over forever wars.

Nothing like the World Cup’s unofficial pre-game soundtrack to reinforce this eternal, universal message.

Mexico dominated Czechia 3-0 and finished first in its group. When El Tri plays again on Tuesday in the first round of the knockout stage, I will stand at a packed Chapter One with other fans and so many more across the U.S. and sing again Mexico’s national anthem.

I will hope to have it all memorized by then instead of reading off my smartphone — the thing is hard! The Spanish is archaic, the intonations are complicated, and the words tumble over themselves like a hard charge toward the goal posts.

But I will do it — a little victory in the long battle for freedom that never ends.

Doha, Qatar – Gulf states have welcomed a breakthrough agreement between the United States and Iran to end a war they never wanted.

Six countries – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman – form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which was created in 1981 following fears of the perceived expansionist ambitions of the new Iranian government.

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Israel has attempted to isolate Iran and its wide network of regional proxy groups. But in a twist of irony, Israeli aggression in this pursuit has pushed some Gulf states closer to Tehran.

When Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran on February 28 – and Tehran responded by attacking Gulf states – they were again forced to reassess their relationship with their neighbour.

Gulf relations with Iran, at present, appear more shaped by realism than reconciliation, but this approach could help them navigate the uncertain road ahead.

“The ongoing conflict … compelled the Gulf states to pursue a more pragmatic relationship with Tehran, one that will include enhanced dialogue to deter conflict,” Farah al-Qawasmi, a researcher at the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera.

Embracing de-escalation – not Iran

All six GCC member states have welcomed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Iran and the US last week. But this is shaped more by the Gulf states wanting the war to end rather than a newfound trust of Iran.

“An agreement between the two parties is being [highly] advocated by the Gulf states in [an] attempt to prevent and contain regional conflicts,” al-Qawasmi said.

Shortly after the US and Iran agreed in 2015 to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – putting guardrails on Tehran’s nuclear programme – Gulf states remained sceptical about their neighbour.

The current war has only heightened these suspicions, but it has also seen regional states seek diplomacy with Tehran rather than military confrontation, despite Iran directly attacking Gulf cities.

“The Gulf states still feel like diplomacy is better than using force to get a deal … to change Iran’s behaviour and to insulate them from Iran’s destabilising actions,” Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer on security studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.

Pinfold points out that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz via drones and missiles, not nuclear weapons, making dealing with that threat a priority for Gulf states rather than Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Gulf states will want a more comprehensive agreement between Iran and the US, rather than the nuclear-focused JCPOA, said Pinfold.

“If you talk to people in Gulf capitals, they will tell you that the nuclear programme is a tomorrow problem for them,” he said.

“The today problem is Iran’s use of drones and proxies to destabilise and undermine the sovereignty of Gulf states, but also states throughout the region.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s three-day tour of the Gulf, which ends Thursday, is seen as a way of allaying these fears and assuring the GCC that Tehran will not be strengthened by the agreement.

Seat at the table

Mehran Haghirian, the director of research and programmes at the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation, believes Gulf states are in a better position to guide the outcome of the current US-Iran talks than in 2015.

“They are at the heart of the negotiations,” Haghirian said regarding the Gulf states’ role in the current talks.

In its role as a co-mediator, Qatar is essentially representing the GCC and their interests during the talks, while articles five and six of the Iran-US MoU place Gulf states at the centre of the agreement.

Among the biggest concerns for the GCC are the future of the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran demanding tolls on shipping, and calls for the creation of a regional investment fund for Iran.

“There really cannot be any new Hormuz authority by Iran that would not include other GCC countries,” Haghirian told Al Jazeera.

US Vice President JD Vance claimed last week that the investment fund would be financed by the Gulf coalition, but Rubio said this week that regional allies would not be asked to contribute to any reconstruction fund for Iran.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani has described the reported $300bn figure as “aspirational” in an interview with the Financial Times, while no Gulf state has yet said if it will contribute to the fund.

‘Maximum pressure era’

The analysts stress that the GCC is not a monolith – with Gulf states having contrasting and changing approaches towards Iran.

Oman, Qatar and Kuwait were broadly supportive of the JCPOA. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain were more sceptical, but even these states publicly backed the agreement, said Haghirian.

When Trump pulled the US out of the JCPOA in 2018, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain believed they had “found a partner in DC”.

That led to a “maximum pressure era” that brought a period of brinkmanship in the region, said Haghirian.

Suspected Iran-linked attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq-Khurais oil facilities and vessels off the coast of Fujairah in 2019 were “the initial reaction by the Iranians to that maximum pressure” campaign, he added, but paradoxically, this also triggered a recalibration of relations.

The UAE and Iran restored ties in 2022, and a China-brokered Saudi-Iran agreement took place in 2023.

“That was enough of a reason for Saudi Arabia [and] the UAE, particularly, to basically restructure their approach towards Iran,” Haghirian said.

The war and accelerated pragmatic rapprochement

While Israel has used war to attempt to increase its presence in the Gulf region – reportedly sending an Iron Dome battery to the UAE – other Gulf states view both Iran and Israel as unsettling forces in the region.

“Israel started the war, which was a destabilising act, and then Iran escalated by targeting the Gulf states, which was in turn a destabilising act,” Pinfold said.

Despite this, the Gulf states targeted by Iran still demonstrated patience and pragmatism in dealing with their neighbour.

Qatar, for example, has played a leading role in mediating between the US and Iran, even after being on the receiving end of Iranian drone and missile attacks.

“All six got attacked, and that’s really a level of foreign policy decision-making that is very difficult for any state to be able to really undertake, considering the fact that it was a military attack,” Haghirian said.

“But again, this pragmatism came out within this context to engage Iran and to actually speak for themselves at these negotiations. This war has really initiated a complete rebalancing of the entire region.”

FIFA’s inaugural U-15 World Cup in October has been opened to all of its member associates, paving way for Russia’s return.

A ‌Russian team may be allowed to participate ⁠in ⁠a FIFA event for the first time since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine after ⁠football’s global authority said its inaugural U-15 World Cup and Festival, set to be ⁠held in Azerbaijan in October, is open to all FIFA member associations.

FIFA banned Russia from international competition in February 2022 after it invaded ‌Ukraine, but it lifted the suspension from the country’s U-17 boys’ and girls’ teams the next year.

However, Russian teams have remained absent from U-17 tournaments organised by FIFA and UEFA as several European countries, including Ukraine ⁠and England, continue to boycott ⁠Russia over its ongoing invasion of its neighbour.

“The first edition will be open to boys’ teams from all FIFA ⁠member associations, the second instalment in 2027 will feature girls’ ⁠teams only,” FIFA said on ⁠Wednesday about the U-15 World Cup and Festival.

“From 2028 onwards, all member associations will be invited to participate with ‌both their boys’ and girls’ U-15 teams in two separate competitions.”

The U-15 event will kick ‌off ‌on October 22 and conclude nine days later.

The One Show presenters Alex Jones and Roman Kemp addressed an expletive on the programme.

The One Show presenter Roman Kemp issued an apology after a guest swore live on air.

The programme returned on Thursday, June 25, with Roman joining Alex Jones on the sofa.

They welcomed guests Kate Humble, Ben Fogle and Martin Clunes to the show, before it was thrown into chaos.

The Doc Martin star had been talking about the US version of the beloved programme emerging, starring Josh Charles in the leading role.

As a preview clip of it aired, Martin was asked about Josh’s spin on playing the grumpy doctor.

He replied: “He’s completely done his own thing, much nicer than me, less awkward and abrasive… he’s warm and better-looking.”

Martin then responded to a moment he just saw from the preview, adding: “I was just looking at that bit… they wouldn’t let me call the dog the son of a b***h, which I thought was funny.”

As the studio erupted into laughter, Roman rushed to apologise, saying: “I have to apologise quickly.”

Alex jokingly chastised Martin, adding: “You’ve been on a hundred times!”

Martin then turned to Ben, arguing: “He’s a vet… it’s a female dog!”

Continuing about the programme, Martin went on to address the future of the show, saying: “They’re going again, they’re doing another series.”

The Good Wife actor Josh will be starring in Best Medicine, with Sky previously teasing: “A US remake of UK television favourite Doc Martin, Best Medicine is a heartwarming new comedy-drama about a physician who moves to a small coastal town in the hopes of a quiet life.

“Dr Martin Best packs up his surgical career in Boston, Massachusetts and heads to start a new life as a physician in the coastal fishing town of Port Wenn in Maine. His aunt, a local lobster merchant, is nearby, and his new private practice is perfect for a simple life. Or so he thinks.

“Soon he’s introduced to Port Wenn’s community, filled with quirky but loving characters with no end of ailments for him to figure out and diagnose. However, as someone who is quite introverted and likes to keep himself to himself, he struggles with the adjustment.

“He’s also got a huge blood phobia – which doesn’t help his abilities as a doctor who may need to tend to wounds from time to time.

“But behind his brusque attitude and no-nonsense approach to a bedside manner, Dr Martin hides his own personal pain that he is hiding from the world which explains why he is the way he is. Will this little town bring him out of his shell?”

The One Show airs weeknights from 7pm on BBC One and iPlayer.