Point guard Stephen Curry went for a game-high 36 points, and the Golden State Warriors, despite missing injured Jimmy Butler III, rallied past the visiting Houston Rockets 104-93 to take a 2-1 lead in their National Basketball Association (NBA) first-round playoff series in San Francisco.

The Warriors’ Gary Payton II saved nine of his postseason career-high 16 points for a late run, and Buddy Hield bombed five 3-pointers to account for a majority of his 17 points. Rookie Quinten Post, making his first postseason start, snatched a game-high 12 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Warriors, who can go up 3-1 in the Western Conference best-of-seven series with another home-court win on Monday.

“This series, no game is going to be pretty,” Curry said on Saturday night after the game on the ABC broadcast. “You just kinda have to grind it out. We had 22 points halfway through the [second quarter]. You wonder, how are we going to score? You just stick with it and make the right plays.”

The Warriors learned after the pregame warmup that Butler would not be able to go because of a glute contusion suffered in the Game 2 loss at Houston.

“Everybody just stepped up and played for Jimmy,” Curry said. “Hopefully, he’s back soon.”

After the Rockets held the Warriors to 18 points in the first quarter, Golden State scored the final 9 points of the second quarter to get within 49-46 at the break and set up a tightly contested second half.

A 3-pointer by Dillon Brooks with 5:47 minutes remaining in regulation gave the Rockets their last lead at 84-83 before Payton, who went scoreless in the Warriors’ Game 2 loss, shockingly took over the game.

With his Hall of Fame dad watching from the stands, Payton gave Golden State the lead with a layup, with 5:27 to go, then added another layup, a 3-pointer and a dunk in a personal 9-point run that opened a 92-86 lead with 3:42 to go.

“Everybody has confidence. That’s the beauty of our team,” Curry said. “Gary was unbelievable – taking advantage of the double-teams up top, getting into the paint, finishing at the rim, the big three in the corner, obviously the defence … He’s been around, too. He was part of the championship team in 2022. He knows what it takes.”

Curry bottomed his fifth 3-pointer of the night, and Payton added a dunk down the stretch to help Golden State hold the visitors at bay.

Curry’s 30-point night was the 60th of his postseason career. He also found time for seven rebounds and a game-high nine assists.

“We’re not going to hold him to 3 points every time we play him. We have to understand that,” Houston’s Fred VanVleet said. “He’s one of the all-time greats. I thought our coverages were a little slow tonight. Some of the switching, some of the physicality, was a touch down from what we had it ramped up to last game.”

Curry and Hield each drilled five 3-pointers, helping Golden State outscore the Rockets 42-33 from beyond the arc.

Draymond Green contributed 7 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks to the cause, while Brandin Podziemski added 10 points.

VanVleet paced the second-seeded Rockets with 17 points, and Alperen Sengun had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Brooks scored 13 points, Jabari Smith Jr scored 12 and Amen Thompson scored 11. Jalen Green chipped in with 9 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.

Nuggets slam dunk Clippers at the buzzer

In earlier games on Saturday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder, fuelled by 38 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, held off the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 to complete a 4-0 sweep in their NBA Western Conference playoff series and become the first team to reach the second round.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the brink of advancing, taking a 3-0 stranglehold on their Eastern Conference series with a 124-87 blowout of the Miami Heat.

The Denver Nuggets levelled their Western Conference series with a stunning 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, sealed by Aaron Gordon’s put-back dunk at the final buzzer.

Nikola Jokic air-balled a 3-pointer as the clock wound down, and Gordon leaped to catch the ball and released his dunk just before the red light came on the backboard. A replay review upheld the ruling and the basket allowed Denver to even the best-of-seven Western Conference series at two games apiece.

“You could say it was a lucky play, but Aaron is a big athletic man,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “He met the ball early. I couldn’t tell if it was good or not. I was preparing for overtime…

“That’s going to be on NBA TV someday and I’m glad we won the game. I’m glad it will be on Nuggets Day and not Clippers Day.”

Jokic had 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists as the fourth-seeded Nuggets bounced back from a 117-83 pummelling in Game 3 on the road.

Kawhi Leonard registered 24 points and nine rebounds, and Norman Powell scored 22 for the fifth-seeded Clippers.

“This was really big for us,” Gordon said. “We did what we came here to do, and that was get home-court advantage back.”

Game 5 is on Tuesday in Denver.

As the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books kicked off Saturday across the sprawling campus at USC, the event once again became a magnet for a mix of celebrity authors from across the entertainment world and beyond.

Special guests such as poet Amanda Gorman, actor Wil Wheaton, singer JoJo and comedian Hannah Berner popped by our photo studio to pose for portraits between their busy schedules speaking at panels in front of crowds at the festival.

Here are some of our favorite portraits of our special guests from this weekend:

Amanda Gorman

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Amanda Gorman, author of the 2025 picture book “Girls on the Rise,” is the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history. The award-winning writer, who graduated cum laude from Harvard University, came to prominence after her recitation of “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration of President Biden.

Nikki Toscano

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Nikki Toscano is a writer, producer and showrunner for television who served as co-showrunner and executive producer of the show “Hunters” on Amazon Prime and as showrunner and executive producer of Paramount+ miniseries “The Offer.”

Andrew Plotkin

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Andrew Plotkin is executive vice president of drama development at Sony TV.

Liz Moore

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Author Liz Moore is the author of the 2024 New York Times bestselling novel “The God of the Woods.”

Wil Wheaton

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Actor Wil Wheaton is known for his role as Wesley Crusher in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and other classic roles including Gordie Lachance in the film “Stand by Me,” Joey Trotta in “Toy Soldiers” and Bennett Hoenicker in “Flubber.”

JoJo

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Singer JoJo (Joanna Levesque) launched her career in music releasing chart-topping R&B and pop music, including breakout hit “Leave (Get Out).” She gained prominence as a young artist, made a name for herself in acting and released a book in 2024 titled “Over the Influence.”

Rebecca Yarros

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Rebecca Yarros, author of the 2025 novel “Onyx Storm.” She is best known for the Empyrean fantasy book series, which will be adapted into a television series with Amazon.

Krysten Ritter

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Actor Krysten Ritter is known for her leading role in the Emmy-winning Netflix series “Jessica Jones” the cult favorite, “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23,” and AMC’s “Breaking Bad.” In 2025 she published the novel “Retreat” on Harper Books.

Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner

(Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Actor Paige DeSorbo and comedian Hannah Berner are the co-authors of the 2025 book “How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously.”

Jason De León

Anthropologist Jason De León is the author of 2024’s “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling.” León is a professor of anthropology and Chicana/o studies and director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA.

The Siam Park water attraction could face a lengthy delay that will be a blow for visitors to Gran Canaria who want to enjoy a cooling and exhilarating experience

A long-awaited water park in the Canary Islands has suffered a major blow with its anticipated opening facing a lengthy delay.

The Siam Park water park planned for the Spanish island of Gran Canaria has hit a temporary delay, according to Alejandro Marichal, the councillor for Urbanism and Tourism in San Bartolome de Tirajana. The two-year delay is due the required approval of a modernisation plan by the Canary Islands Government, which is needed to advance the project. Should the water park be completed, it would serve as a major tourist destination for the islands.

“The Canary Islands Government is processing the modernisation plan, and once approved – we hope before the end of the legislative period – the City Council will automatically and expeditiously process the development project and grant corresponding license, Marichal said, according to local outlet Maspalomas24. While speaking on the programme A buenas horas, he argued the council had the “political will” to quickly see the project to completion but said the timing rested with the regional government.

“Therefore, if the government meets the planned deadlines, there are still at least two years of processing time before the start of construction on Siam Park in San Bartolome de Tirajana becomes a reality.” The Mirror has contacted Siam Park via its website.

Siam Park already operates one water park on the island of Tenerife. According to its website, the water park has been named the best in the world for the 10th consecutive year and lists numerous TripAdvisor awards. The water park, inspired by Thailand, offers “thrilling” attractions, “serene” landscapes as well as “heart-pounding” slides such as the Tower of Power and the Wave Palace wave pool.

While the project would bring more revenue to the islands, residents on the Canary Islands have voiced concerns about over tourism in the region and have demonstrated against the status quo. They have repeatedly argued that over tourism on the Canary Islands has led to spiralling housing costs, competition to find somewhere to live as well as money not reaching everyone who needs it.

According to the Canarian Weekly, the archipelago has seen its population explode over the past two decades. In the past 20 years more than 500,000 people have been added to its population with some 2.2 million now being estimated to live on the islands.

But it is a delicate balance that officials need to find that satisfies the concerns of locals while not impacting the islands’ economy. The Canary Islands’ economy is highly dependent on the tourism sector as reported by Caixa Bank. It is estimated the tourism industry accounts for about 37.8 per cent of the region’s GDP compared to 28.4 per cent for Spain as a whole.

SACRAMENTO — The huge sums that billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg is dumping into ads for his presidential campaign have impressed Leslie Chiles of Sacramento. It’s not just that she agrees with him. It’s also that the money he’s devoting to oust President Trump seems limitless.

“Otherwise, he would be a nobody,” said Chiles, a retired social services worker who went to see the former New York City mayor speak Monday at a coffeehouse near the state Capitol. “Like every other Democrat, I’m looking for someone who can win.”

With Californians starting to vote by mail this week in the March 3 presidential primary, Bloomberg has already plowed $35 million of his personal wealth into television, radio and digital ads in the state, according to Advertising Analytics, an ad-tracking firm. It eclipses those of all of his opponents combined.

As much as his stands on climate change and other touchstone issues for Democrats, the extravagant spending itself is starting to convince some that Bloomberg, one of the richest people in America, might have the best shot at unseating Trump.

“It certainly helps,” said Chris Look, another Sacramento Democrat at the coffeehouse. The retired business manager supports Bloomberg and says he sees Trump as a liar with dangerous autocratic tendencies. “It’s quite a scary situation,” he said.

As the rest of the Democratic field focused on the Iowa’s caucuses and pivoted to next week’s New Hampshire primary, Bloomberg campaigned Monday in Sacramento, Fresno and Compton.

Not everyone was impressed. “No more billionaires,” a man carrying a “Billionaires Should Not Buy Elections” sign shouted at Bloomberg as the candidate posed for news cameras in front of his campaign bus in Compton.

Bloomberg joined the race so late — on Thanksgiving weekend — that it was in effect impossible for him to compete in Iowa and the other three states with contests in February: New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. But he has spent $304 million on advertising in more than two dozen other states that hold contests in March and beyond, according to Advertising Analytics.

California’s 415 delegates are the biggest prize at stake on Super Tuesday, when Texas and 12 other states will also hold Democratic contests.

In remarks to a few hundred people in the courtyard of a community center in Compton, Bloomberg said his rivals had “spent virtually all of the past few months in Iowa and the other early primary states and almost no time in California.”

“California’s population and economy are the largest in the nation, so if you ask me, voters here deserve to hear from the candidates,” he said.

It appears Bloomberg has spared no expense. He has put 220 people on his payroll in California and plans to hire an additional 580 by next week, a top aide said.

The size of his logistics, communications and political staff scurrying among events Monday resembled the campaign machinery that surrounds major-party presidential nominees in the final weeks before a general election.

The California spending has begun to pay off. A poll conducted for The Times last month by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies found 6% of likely voters favored Bloomberg in the March 3 primary, behind Bernie Sanders, 26%, Elizabeth Warren, 20%, Joe Biden, 15%, and Pete Buttigieg, 7%.

Ace Smith, a California Democratic strategist who was a senior advisor to Sen. Kamala Harris in her White House run, said Bloomberg’s fate depends on Biden faltering in the first four contests. If the former vice president gains momentum with victories before Super Tuesday, he said, Bloomberg will lose his opening to emerge as the alternative to a more liberal candidate like Sanders, the democratic socialist senator from Vermont.

“Bloomberg rises or falls based on Biden,” Smith said.

In California on Monday, Bloomberg emphasized his plans to reverse Trump’s policies on immigration, gun control and climate change.

Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg campaigns Monday at Fresno City College.

(Michael Finnegan / Los Angeles Times)

“How can you look at television and not see the California fires, and the floods in Texas and what happened in Australia, and not understand that we’re living in very dangerous times, and if we don’t do something, we might not have a future at all?” Bloomberg asked the crowd in Sacramento.

Bloomberg also took pains to appeal to the state’s diverse coalition of Democrats. He billed his Fresno City College stop as a Latino event, headlined by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The campaign brought in taco trucks to offer students free food. In Compton, one of the speakers introducing Bloomberg was Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, an African American.

A federal judge found that New York police stop-and-frisk tactics on Bloomberg’s watch as mayor violated the constitutional rights of African Americans and Latinos. Days before he announced he was running for president, Bloomberg apologized for mandating stop-and-frisk.

After a weekend of weathering insults from Trump, Bloomberg also argued Monday that he was a tough New Yorker who could stand up to the “bully” if he were to win the Democratic nomination.

“There is nothing that Trump can do or can say that will hurt me,” he told the crowd in Fresno.

SATURDAY’S SCORES

BASEBALL

Southern Section

Citrus Valley 14, Bloomington 0

Claremont 3, Ayala 1

Cornerstone Christian 4, Elsinore 3

El Segundo 9, Wiseburn-Da Vinci 4

Hesperia 8, University Prep 0

Mira Costa 4, Los Alamitos 1

Moreno Valley 8, La Sierra 1

Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 10, Santa Fe 1

Paraclete 1, South Pasadena 0

Pasadena 6, Glendale 0

Rio Mesa 4, St. Bonaventure 0

St. Monica 7, Pacific Grove 6

Tahquitz 14, Riverside North 7

Tustin 10, Sunny Hills 9

Valencia 14, Camarillo 5

Westlake 4, San Luis Obispo 1

West Valley 14, United Christian Academy 5

Intersectional

Caruthers 13, SLOCA 3

Corona 13, Stockton St. Mary’s 3

Gardena Serra 13, Van Nuys 2

Turlock 14, La Quinta 4

Venice 12, Loyola 2

SOFTBALL

Southern Section

Thousand Oaks 8, Righetti 2

Intersectional

Tracy 8, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0

A number of people have been killed and multiple others injured in Vancouver after a driver drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the western Canadian city, police say.

Police said the incident happened shortly after 8:00 pm Saturday (0300 GMT Sunday) in the city’s Sunset on Fraser neighbourhood and the driver has been taken into custody.

Vancouver’s Mayor Ken Sim said, “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event.”

The festival commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” Sim wrote.

One witness told CTV news on Vancouver incident, he saw a black vehicle driving erratically in area of the festival just before the crowd was struck.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he “I am devastated to hear about the horrific events at the Lapu Lapu festival.”

“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you.”

Carney added that the federal government was closely monitoring developments as the investigation continues.

More to come…

This diminutive airport on a Channel Island captures the charm of a bygone era, but without urgent upgrades it could soon result in a ‘tailspin’ for Alderney’s economy

Alderney is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands, with direct flights from the British mainland and a neighbouring isle serving as its primary economic lifeline.

Part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the tiny island’s only airport is often described as being ‘frozen in the 1970s’, but it faces an uncertain future — plans for a much-needed £24 million overhaul have been put on hold due to spiraling costs and political wrangling.

With its 1960s-era terminal and ageing runway, Alderney Airport currently handles around seven flights a day, with Aurigny Air Services connecting its 2,000 residents to Guernsey and Southampton in 10 and 40 minutes respectively.

READ MORE: Sundrenched oasis feels like it’s on the equator but is 60 miles from UK

It was the first airport to be built in the Channel Islands, and to this day offers just a single café and solitary shop where passengers can stock up on refreshments and supplies. However, decades of temporary repairs, costing an estimated £400,000 a year, are no longer enough to keep the runway up to the required safety standards.

Recent warnings from the Civil Aviation Authority, as well as Alderney representatives Alex Snowdon and Edward Hill, have highlighted the “very high risk” that the runway could soon fail to meet licensing conditions, potentially forcing a long-term closure. Such a scenario, the deputies warn, would quickly trigger a “serious downturn” in Alderney’s social and economic wellbeing.

They told the Guernsey Press: “Despite the twice-yearly significant patching and repair work undertaken by specialist contractors in recent years, Alderney Airport now faces a very high risk in the near future that it will not meet the necessary licensing conditions – primarily relating to safety factors — resulting at best in the introduction of more stringent and restrictive operating limitations, or perhaps more realistically a long-term closure of the airstrip.

“We cannot stress enough that any long term closure of Alderney Airport would rapidly lead to a serious tailspin of both Alderney’s social and economic well-being — neither of which would be acceptable to the States.”

Work due to start in 2028

The States of Guernsey approved an ambitious £24 million redevelopment in 2022, aiming to extend the runway for larger aircraft and replace the outdated terminal and fire station. But when the project went to tender, the lowest bid came in at £37 million — far above the agreed budget.

As a result, the project has been paused while officials scramble to find a more affordable solution, with some estimates for even a “do-minimum” option now ranging from £25 million to £55 million.

This delay means work that was supposed to start in the spring of 2024 may not begin until as late as 2028, leaving Alderney’s only airstrip in limbo. The States of Guernsey have committed to urgently reassess the project, with a new plan expected by the end of 2025, but the focus may shift to a more modest upgrade suitable for smaller planes.

Long celebrated for its blend of charm and tranquility, Alderney’s unique character is part of its appeal. Just three miles long and one and a half wide, it is known for its safe and peaceful atmosphere, where children can roam free and life moves at a slower, friendlier pace.

But without a functioning airport, Alderney risks isolation, especially in winter when ferry services are unreliable. As the States of Guernsey debate the future of the isle’s airport, the outcome will determine whether this time-capsule island can remain connected to the outside world, or whether it risks being frozen in time for all the wrong reasons.

An influential series often dubbed the best show ever made has found a new streaming home in the UK

One of the most groundbreaking television shows ever made has found a new streaming home in the UK – and you’ll be able to watch it for free for a limited time.

Originally released in the 1990s, the first two seasons of this beloved and surreal drama created by one of Hollywood’s most innovative filmmakers is going to be released on Mubi.

To celebrate the show’s 35 year anniversary, cult classic mystery drama Twin Peaks will be coming to the service on Friday, 13th June.

All 30 episodes of the classic series will be available to stream, as well as the critically acclaimed 2017 follow-up, Twin Peaks: The Return. Mubi subscriptions can be added as a Prime Video channel for £11.99 per month, but you can also sign up for a seven-day free trial – just enough time to binge the series at no extra cost.

Created by the late iconic filmmaker David Lynch and Mark Frost, the series stars Kyle MacLachlan as FBI Agent Dale Cooper investigating the strange death of Laura Palmer (played by Sheryl Lee) in a small town with huge secrets.

It’s widely regarded as one of the best shows ever made, with Sight and Sound even naming The Return one of the best ‘films’ of all time.

Empire put it at number 15 on their list of the best shows of all time, while Variety has it at number 27.

Twin Peaks’ passionate cult following has continued to sing its praises over the decades, with one die-hard fan on X (formerly Twitter) writing: “Twin Peaks is the best show ever made. By a large margin. Nothing will change my mind.”

One newcomer to the series made a bold claim: “Watched 1 episode of twin peaks and i’m already convinced it’s the best show ever made.”

Another viewer posted: “twin peaks is the most beautiful television show ever made.”

Someone else maintained: “If you could only watch one TV show in your whole life I’d say you should watch twin peaks and the movie. It’s the greatest thing ever made.”

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TV lovers can get 30 days’ free access to binge tantalising TV like The Handmaid’s Tale by signing up to Amazon Prime. Just remember to cancel at the end and you won’t be charged.

And a final fan lamented: “it actually f***ing blows knowing that i’ve already watched the best tv show of all time and nothing will ever live up to it.

“I have a giant twin peaks shaped hole in my heart that no other show could possibly ever fill.”

After acquiring the rights to the iconic mystery series, Mubi’s VP Global Head of Programming Katharina Feistauer said in a statement: “Launching Twin Peaks is a dream for Mubi, bringing one of the most loved and discussed series in TV history to the platform.

“Whilst this launch has been months in the making, the sad news of David Lynch’s death only a few weeks ago makes this opportunity to show his iconic work even more special.

“We are excited for the Lynch fans in our membership to revisit the episodes comprehensively, as well creating an opportunity for new audiences to discover it for the first time.”

Twin Peaks and Twin Peaks: The Return will be released Friday, 13th June on Mubi.

MILWAUKEE — Protesters chanted and marched Saturday outside the FBI office in Milwaukee after agents arrested a local judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities.

The case has escalated a clash between the Trump administration and state and local authorities over the Republican president’s sweeping immigration crackdown.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan is accused of escorting the man and his lawyer out of her courtroom through the jury door Friday after learning that immigration authorities were seeking his arrest. The man was taken into custody outside the courthouse after agents chased him on foot.

President Trump’s administration has accused state and local officials of interfering with his immigration enforcement priorities. The arrest also comes amid a growing battle between the administration and the federal judiciary over Trump’s executive actions over deportations and other matters.

On Saturday, protesters chanted, “Immigrants are here to stay,” and held up signs saying, “Liberty and Justice for All” outside the FBI’s Milwaukee division.

“The judiciary acts as a check to unchecked executive power. And functioning democracies do not lock up judges,” Democratic Wisconsin state Rep. Ryan Clancy told the crowd before it marched around the area.

Dugan was taken into custody by the FBI on Friday morning on the courthouse grounds, according to U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Brady McCarron. She appeared briefly in federal court in Milwaukee later that day before being released from custody. She faces charges of concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest, and obstructing or impeding a proceeding.

“Judge Dugan wholeheartedly regrets and protests her arrest. It was not made in the interest of public safety,” her attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said during the hearing. He declined to comment to an Associated Press reporter following her court appearance.

Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, in a statement on the arrest, accused the Trump administration of repeatedly using “dangerous rhetoric to attack and attempt to undermine our judiciary at every level.”

“I will continue to put my faith in our justice system as this situation plays out in the court of law,” he said.

Court papers suggest Dugan was alerted to the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the courthouse by her clerk, who was informed by an attorney that they appeared to be in the hallway.

The FBI affidavit describes Dugan as “visibly angry” over the arrival of immigration agents in the courthouse and says that she pronounced the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers. It says she and another judge later approached members of the arrest team inside the courthouse, displaying what witnesses described as a “confrontational, angry demeanor.”

After a back-and-forth with officers over the warrant for the man, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, she demanded that the arrest team speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom, the affidavit says.

After directing the arrest team to the chief judge’s office, investigators say, Dugan returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of “wait, come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through a jury door into a non-public area of the courthouse. The action was unusual, the affidavit says, because “only deputies, juries, court staff, and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door. Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.”

A sign that remained posted on Dugan’s courtroom door Friday advised that if any attorney or other court official “knows or believes that a person feels unsafe coming to the courthouse to courtroom 615,” they should notify the clerk and request an appearance via Zoom.

Flores-Ruiz, 30, was in Dugan’s court for a hearing after being charged with three counts of misdemeanor domestic battery. Confronted by a roommate for playing loud music on March 12, Flores-Ruiz allegedly fought with him in the kitchen and struck a woman who tried to break them up, according to the police affidavit in the case.

Another woman who tried to break up the fight and called police allegedly got elbowed in the arm by Flores-Ruiz.

Flores-Ruiz faces up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine on each count if convicted. His public defender, Alexander Kostal, did not immediately return a phone message Friday seeking comment.

A federal judge, the same one Dugan would appear before a day later, had ordered Thursday that Flores-Ruiz remain jailed pending trial. Flores-Ruiz had been in the U.S. since reentering the country after he was deported in 2013, according to court documents.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said victims were sitting in the courtroom with state prosecutors when the judge helped him escape immigration arrest.

“The rule of law is very simple,” she said in a video posted on X. “It doesn’t matter what line of work you’re in. If you break the law, we will follow the facts and we will prosecute you.”

White House officials echoed the assertion that no one is above the law. Ironically, Democrats and many Republican critics have cited the same principle in regards to Trump, a convicted felon who faced other criminal indictments that were dismissed only after he was elected again in November.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat who represents Wisconsin, called the arrest of a sitting judge a “gravely serious and drastic move” that “threatens to breach” the separation of power between the executive and judicial branches.

Emilio De Torre, executive director of Milwaukee Turners, a progressive activist group, said during an earlier protest Friday afternoon outside the federal courthouse that Dugan was a former board member for the group who “was certainly trying to make sure that due process is not disrupted and that the sanctity of the courts is upheld.”

“Sending armed FBI and ICE agents into buildings like this will intimidate individuals showing up to court to pay fines, to deal with whatever court proceedings they may have,” De Torre added.

The case is similar to one brought during the first Trump administration against a Massachusetts judge, who was accused of helping a man sneak out a back door of a courthouse to evade a waiting immigration enforcement agent.

That prosecution sparked outrage from many in the legal community, who said the case was politically motivated. Prosecutors dropped the case against Newton District Judge Shelley Joseph in 2022 under the Biden administration after she agreed to refer herself to a state agency that investigates allegations of misconduct by members of the bench.

The Justice Department had previously signaled that it was going to crack down on local officials who thwart federal immigration efforts.

The department in January ordered prosecutors to investigate for potential criminal charges any state or local officials who obstruct or impede federal functions. As potential avenues for prosecution, a memo cited a conspiracy offense as well as a law prohibiting the harboring of people in the country illegally.

Dugan was elected in 2016 to the county court Branch 31. She also has served in the court’s probate and civil divisions, according to her judicial candidate biography.

Before being elected to public office, Dugan practiced at Legal Action Wisconsin and the Legal Aid Society. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 with a bachelor of arts degree and earned her Juris Doctor degree from the school in 1987.

Richer, Shastri and Bauer write for the Associated Press. Richer reported from Washington. AP writers Eric Tucker in Washington, Corey Williams in Detroit and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed to this report.

Jo Curtis is preparing to run the London Marathon to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK in memory of late husband Stewart Curtis.

Watch the London Marathon from 8.30am on Sunday 27 April on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. Listen to all the action throughout the day on BBC Sounds.

April 26 (UPI) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has dismissed the members of DOD advisory committees, the department confirmed in a statement on its website.

“Secretary Hegseth appreciates the members’ efforts on behalf of the department and the United States of America, but changes are needed to support the new strategic direction and policy priorities of the department and to ensure departmental resources are used efficiently,” the Defense Department statement reads.

The Pentagon also announced four promotions to senior advisor roles.

Hegseth has been under fire after allegations surfaced that he shared secret military plans with his wife and brother using a personal phone.

The 44-year-old blamed the media and “disgruntled” former employees for revealing posts on the encrypted Signal app.

Last month, Hegseth made headlines after accidentally leaking confidential military plans related to a then-pending military strike by accidentally including The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal group chat.

The Pentagon inspector general is now investigating that incident.

Hegseth did not mention the leaks in announcing the discharges of the advisory committees this week, instead pointing to the end of a 45-day review window.

“To support the new strategic direction and policy priorities of the Department, we require fresh thinking to drive bold changes,” Hegseth wrote in a memo Friday.

“The Deputy Secretary of Defense may retain individual members on a case-by-case basis upon determination that the member is required for uninterrupted committee operations necessary for national security reasons.”

President Donald Trump‘s administration has been searching for ways to address the leak issues related to Hegseth by finding a way to “right the ship,” NPR reported, citing a former White House official.

In the recent weeks there are various reports that mention the recent advances made by Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). During the last two years, Sudan was in news headlines for its ongoing brutal civil war. While there are various institutional and ethnic dimensions to the ongoing civil war, it is important to observe that the role of many foreign players in the wider region and their cold geopolitical calculations are adding to the complexities and destructiveness of the ongoing conflict. The various foreign players that are taking part in the ongoing conflict in Sudan include the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. Their intertwined interests as well as clashes add to the complex geopolitics of the wider region.

Sudan’s role in the Iranian Axis of Resistance

Located at the crossroads of Arab-Islamic civilizations and Africa, Sudan shares a long border with Egypt and a long coast across the Red Sea. This geography is used by Iranian arm smuggling networks to smuggle arms and ammunition to Gaza. Iranian arms supplies, which reach Sudan through the Red Sea, are transferred by land via Sudan and Egypt and from there through Byzantine tunnel networks of Hamas to Gaza. In the list of ‘axis of resistance’ involving “3H” (Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis), Hamas remains an ideological and close ally of the Islamic Republic, and it is evident from the nature of aid, including arms and ammunition, including guns, missiles, and rockets, of Hamas, which shows the deep role of Iran. While the Gaza Strip shares a border with Israel, which is under heavy surveillance across land and sea borders, its border with Egypt remains a soft spot for Iran to smuggle arms and ammunition to the militant group. In this network of arms transfer lies the indirect role of Sudan. Iran’s long-standing relations with regimes in Sudan that are Islamist in orientation, like Al-Bashir, allowed this to flourish. Thus, Sudan under Al Bashir was an unofficial de facto link of the Iranian Axis of Resistance in the wider region. While the Bashir regime took a change in sides during the 2015 war in Yemen, the geographical importance of Sudan as a link to the wider Axis of Resistance remained. In 2009, Israel even bombed such a convoy in Sudan, and this shows how Sudan forms a wider part of the ongoing Iranian-Israeli proxy war.

Israel’s interests in the region

Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has always strongly identified itself closely with the wider Arab-Islamic cause, and this has made various Sudanese governments firm supporters of the Palestinian cause. Since its formation, Israel was always in search of partners, preferably non-Arab or non-Islamic. Situated in the heart of the hostile Arab world, Israel had an “Alliance of the Periphery,” which made overt and covert relationships with various non-Arab and non-Islamic regimes and groups across the region. While Khartoum remained a firm supporter of the Arab cause during both Sudanese civil wars, Israeli “Peripheral Alliance” policy manifested in Israeli aid to non-Arab, non-Muslim Southern Sudanese rebels who were waging war against Khartoum. Since 2011, when South Sudan gained its independence , it has resulted in the establishment of relations between Israel and South Sudan. The antipathy towards the Islamist Khartoum regime made Israeli-South Sudan relations strong. Since the independence of South Sudan in 2011 , Israel’s relationship with the regime in Juba has remained strong. It was seen in Israeli assistance to Juba in the Heglig crisis in 2013 and Israeli support to the regime of Salva Kirr in the following South Sudanese Civil War. As the youngest country in the world, Israeli investments in South Sudan are across various sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, and security relations. As an immediate neighbor of Sudan, South Sudan is strategically important to Israel, and it is related to Israel’s wider security perception across both Sudans.

United Arab Emirates in the region

The history of UAE-Sudanese relations can be traced to many decades, and throughout the period, the UAE has developed deep stakes in the economy of Sudan. UAE investments in the Sudanese agriculture and gold mining sector are huge. The relations deepened as the UAE enrolled mercenaries from the RSF into its Yemen war in 2015. The relations between Emirates and paramilitary leader Hemeti deepened, which is evident from Sudanese illegal gold exports to the UAE. During the onset of civil war, the UAE took a stand to assist the RSF, which was accused of various atrocities like genocide and other war crimes. The UAE’s interest in South Sudan has also grown and is evident from its US$ 13 billion investment in South Sudan. In totality, both Sudan(s) hold billions of dollars worth of UAE investment across various sectors like energy, agriculture, and gold, as well as its dependence on mercenaries from Sudan. This makes the UAE an important player in the political economy of both of these countries. The United Arab Emirates is now stepping up its role in Africa as an investor. This is also underlined by its intervention in supporting various non-state actors across regions like Libya, Somalia, and now Sudan to protect its various business and strategic interests. 

How the Iran-Israel-UAE proxy war is shaping the geopolitics of the region

For the last three years, Sudan has been facing a civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Burhan. The rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is led by Muhammed Hamdan Dagolo (Hemeti). While the SAF consists of many members and sympathizers of earlier regimes that are Islamist in political orientation. Throughout the civil war, the SAF has received aid from countries such as Iran and Türkiye. Iranian assistance is manifested by the transfer of arms and ammunition, including military drones. Iran’s interests in Sudan include the survival of the SAF as well as acquiring ports in the Red Sea. With the fluidity of alliances, there are reports that Israel is aiding rival RSF through the sale of arms and other assistance. Geopolitical pragmatism had made Israel assist an “Alliance of Periphery 2.0” in the region, which included actors such as RSF and South Sudan, as a counter to the Iranian “Axis of Resistance.” In their public statements, RSF has removed its anti-Israeli stance and even sympathized with Israel during the war in Gaza in an indirect manner. In its public statements, RSF has condemned the “Islamist elements” in SAF. Another major supporter of RSF is the UAE. This is evident from the massive assistance provided by the UAE to the RSF through countries like Chad. Recent reports showing the support of the South Sudanese regime for the RSF using its territories underscore this. This is evident from the reports of UAE-constructed airstrips in South Sudan, which provide logistics to the RSF. This could be interpreted as an unofficial alliance between the UAE, Israel, South Sudan, and the RSF to thwart the success of the SAF-led regime. While there are reports of SAF successes in the recent weeks, RSF, despite being beaten down, is land-linked, not landlocked, with various countries like Chad, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, which act as sources of fortune-searching mercenaries as well as piles of arms and ammunition.

Conclusion

While war is continuing in Sudan and tensions are brewing in South Sudan, it is pertinent to understand that these wars are connected and each country aids rebels in the other. While these porous borders and instability are used by various outside actors to foment ongoing instability. The major factors that keep on inflaming the third Sudanese civil war are the West Asian proxy war, as explained in previous paragraphs, and how regional countries like Chad and South Sudan become launching pads for foreign interests in the wider region. It is pertinent to end hostilities and to create conditions for the return of millions of uprooted people and to start efforts for reconciliation and reconstruction.

The 10 most rundown British seaside towns have been named by tourists, in a survey of thousands of holidaymakers.

Which? Travel surveyed feelings about their visits to 120 British seaside towns, aggregating the scores on the quality of beaches, food and drink offerings, tourist attractions and value for money. 

The best-reviewed British town, Bamburgh in Northumberland, got rave reviews and scored a solid 86%, averaging five stars across all categories. 

Visitors were blown away by the  “spectacular views” of its medieval fortress, Bamburgh Castle, which crowns a rocky outcrop that stretches into the sea; other towns had more lacklustre responses. 

But at the bottom of the pile, Wales’ oldest town, Bangor, scored a measly 42%, receiving one lonely star for food, tourist attractions and shopping. 

In reverse order, these are the 10 most dismal seaside towns according to Which? Travel.

10. Southend-On-Sea, Essex

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Despite being one of the few coastal UK towns boasting an airport, the Essex town managed an overall score of just 53%.

Southend locals described how the spot had become a “warzone”, as gang tensions have fuelled physical and sexual violence between local youths and those travelling down from London.

The raucous antics of the gangs may explain why it was only given one star for its peace and quiet and shopping. 

Last July, horrific footage showed hooded thugs wielding machetes fighting near Adventure Island- a scene that would put a dampener on anyone’s day out. 

On the other hand, the town is due a TOWIE-style makeover to the tune of £10million. 

Roslin Beach Hotel plans to add seven bedrooms to its current 27, a spa, a new wedding venue and outdoor restaurant facilities. 

The town promises potential with Times writer Cathy Adams, dubbing the spot a “Slice of Miami”, and lots of celebs have been spotted visiting in recent months.

A Lister, Michelle Keegan, spent her first Mother’s Day there, and visited with her new baby and husband Mark Wright on Sunday, 20 March. 

Gary Barlow, Tyson Fury, Denise van Outen and Frankie Essex have all popped by as well. 

9. Fleetwood, Lancashire 

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The Lancashire town tried to rebrand itself out of what its own mayor admitted was a “terrible reputation” by doing up its seafront into a “slick promenade” with modern infrastructure. 

However, survey respondents remained unimpressed, giving it just one star for its tourist attractions and shopping. 

On the upside, its low footfall means it’s very easy to find a parking space, for which it scored four stars. 

Hotel prices are also a steal at £73 a night. 

The former fishing village was filleted in the 1970s during an industrial dispute with Iceland, nicknamed the “cod wars.”

The industry all but evaporated, and almost all the jobs were jettisoned. 

Terry Rogers, a former mayor and chairman of Fleetwood Town Council, admits some still have “unwarranted” views of the town’s infamous drinking culture.

But he hit back, telling  LancashireLive: “Post-COVID, people were so impressed by our beach areas and promenade and how cheap everything is in comparison to other towns, they’ve come back.”

8. Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

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Technically, in joint place with Fleetwood, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk also scored a scant 51%. 

To be fair, it scored a respectable three stars for its beaches and tourist attractions, perhaps in part due to its iconic snail ride.

Ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe even hopped on the fluorescent green ride for a photo-op. 

However, it only got one star for peace and quiet.

Designed and built by Horace Cole, the snails have been chugging along the beachfront since 1949. 

Sun reader Daryl Smith said: “If you don’t ride the snails when you visit, then you haven’t had a proper Great Yarmouth experience.” 

The constituency also boasts the boat that brought Willy Wonka to England in the Hollywood blockbuster. 

The childish excitement at popping on the free boat may explain why the spot only got one star for peace and quiet. 

7. Blackpool, Lancashire

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The famous seaside town clocked just 49%, but have no fear, the hotels are the cheapest of the lot, costing an average of £80 a night. 

The enormous, incredibly famous Blackpool Pleasure Beach wasn’t enough to impress tourists, with the area’s attractions earning just three stars. 

However, it was the shopping and the scenery that really floored its score at one star each. 

Erosion has been nibbling away at its iconic beach for years, but a new £30million investment plan is in the works, funded by the Environment Agency. 

Five new rock groynes, which are long, narrow structures, will maintain the spot.

The quaintly coloured houses still attract tourists, locals say, but the wrong kind of tourists. 

Swarms of badly behaved visitors, fuelled by the boom of short-term Airbnb lets, have created a plague of all-night partiers, and even encouraged prostitution, according to locals. 

6. Clacton-on-Sea, Essex

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Visit Essex promotes its local Clacton on Sea as a “bustling but affordable seaside resort,” but a score of 48% calls that into question. 

Dubbed the “worst place to live in the UK”, Farage’s constituency is one of the poorest spots in the country. 

Tourists shot down its “crumbling” scenery and “dying” city centre with a shocking one rating. 

One even said: “I spend as little time in the town as possible.”

This marks a dramatic fall from grace, since it was named Pier of the Year in 2020. 

But locals shouldn’t lose hope, as it may soon have £20million injected by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to rejuvenate the town’s “horrible atmosphere.”

The cash is set to be used for a series of projects, including a £3million investment into a leisure centre, seafront art, a community micro venue and improved shopfronts- so watch this space. 

5. Skegness, Lincolnshire

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Although Skegness didn’t even manage a 50% approval rating, scoring 48%, it is coming up in the world. 

In 2023, the town, which has been described as a “vulgar hellhole” with “brown sea,” earned the macabre title of the worst seaside town in the country. 

However, a new rail upgrade by East Midlands Railway, worth £60million, is predicted to bring a wave of investment into the rundown area. 

An astonishing £23million has been pegged to spruce up the ”terrible place.”

Enhancements planned include brand-new seats, tables, as well as modern power and charging facilities. 

Regardless, Sun reporter Catherine Lofthouse found the town, as is, “no-frills fun in the sun.”

4. Bognor Regis, West Sussex

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Ranked the fourth worst seaside town in the country, with an average score of just 47%, the town’s pier and shopping were given just one star by Brits. 

But some locals poked holes in the survey, after coming bottom of the list in 2019. 

Jo Millen, the owner of Bognor ice cream shop Rainbows, told The Guardian: “Which? should just keep advising us about the washing machine that we should buy, rather than grade the negative views about Bognor from people on the internet.”

However, Sun journalist Catherine Lofthouse tried out the new £1.8million soft play area and her kids “loved it.”

A breaking bad style stash of crystal meth was discovered in its Grade II Picturedrome in 2021- but it does boast a Butlins and a Centre Parc- and even on a bank holiday hotels can cost you just £69. 

3. Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset

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Astonishingly, Burnham on Sea also scraped 47%, which although dismal is quite an achievement considering the “once beautiful town has become plagued with poo.” 

More shockingly, although the turd infested waters has literally turned Brown, the hotels are quite spenny at £106 a night. 

Despite being slammed with one star for tourist attractions, food and drink, and shopping, it’s not that cheap. 

Locals weren’t surprised at the shockingly low score, citing graffiti, dog poo and a generally rundown feel. 

But once again, piles of cash may spell a brighter future, as Unity Beach resort has just undergone a £ 15 million renovation, sporting a new pub and sports bar on site. 

The Wonky Donkey pub will serve family meals until late, while the Sports Caf streams live matches, whilst punters can play futuristic virtual reality gaming. 

2. Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire

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With a miserly 46%, Maplethorpe’s run down fell earnt it the second lowest spot on the list. 

Scoring just two stars for value for money, peace and quiet, its seafront, and just one star for food and drink, tourist attractions and shopping, which respondents were not impressed. 

Locals were shocked at the result, having received the same score last year. 

They cited their “award-winning beach” and popular seaside cafes, along with their funky Aqua Park.

One praised:” It’s lovely, an enormous, clean beach and traditional atmosphere.”

Claire Arnold, Maplethorpe’s mayor, argued that the survey was not a “true reflection of what our town has to offer.”

“We have a beautiful promenade where people can walk from the coastal town of Mablethorpe right over to Sutton and back again, we’ve got a free public paddling pool, and we’ve got blue flag beaches.”

Sun readers also said the town is home to their favourite “North East Seaside Eats”, loving the beach bar in a boat to the pirate-themed fish and chip shop.

1. Bangor, Gwynedd

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At the top of the depressing list was Wales’ oldest city, Bangor, voted the worst seaside town for the second year in a row. 

At 42%, it got just one-star ratings for food, tourist attractions and shopping, and two stars for everything else. 

Labelled “drab” and “run down” despite being perched next to the beautiful natural landscape of the Menai Strait, the town doesn’t have a huge amount to do. 

Its Grade II Victorian pier is not geared for tourism and doesn’t have a proper beach. 

The closure of Debenhams in 2021 signalled another blow to the struggling town, and the local retail park has hit the high street hard.

Bangor City Council said in a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It’s disappointing to see Bangor City named as one of the UK’s worst seaside towns. Such rankings often fail to capture the full picture and the unique charms that make Bangor City so special.”

A SUSPECT has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a man was brutally attacked in a Morrisons petrol station.

Emergency services raced to the Penine Service Station in Huddersfield on Saturday after reports of a serious assault.

Horrified witnesses said they saw a man being carried to an ambulance “drenched in blood”.

Cops declared they found the victim with “life threatening injuries” before he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

Police are now appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “Kirklees District CID would like to speak with anyone who saw or has information about an incident at a petrol station on Bradley Road.

“Officers were called at about 1.27pm on the 26^th of April 2025 to a report of a serious assault at Pennine Service Station, Bradley Road.

“An adult male was located with life threatening injuries. He was transferred to the LGI where he remains in a critical condition.

“A 32 year old male was located at the scene and he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.”

A scene is currently in place with an enhanced police presence in the area.

Anyone with information is urged to contact WYP on 101 referencing police log reference 763.

Information can also be given online at www.westyorkshire.police.uk/livechat or anonymously to the independent Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.

Morrisons and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service have been approached for comment.

WASHINGTON — The wife of an active-duty Coast Guardsman was arrested this week by federal immigration authorities in the family residential section of the U.S. Naval Air Station at Key West, Fla., after she was flagged in a routine security check, officials said Saturday.

“The spouse is not a member of the Coast Guard and was detained by Homeland Security Investigations pursuant to a lawful removal order,” Coast Guard spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Steve Roth said in a statement confirming Thursday’s on-base arrest. “The Coast Guard works closely with HSI and others to enforce federal laws, including on immigration.”

According to a U.S. official, the woman’s work visa expired around 2017, and she was marked for removal from the United States a few years later. She and the Coast Guardsman were married early this year, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an enforcement incident.

Though the Trump administration has made immigration arrests a top priority for federal law enforcement, it did not immediately appear that the on-base arrest of the military spouse was part of a broader sweep.

The official said that when the woman and her Coast Guard husband were preparing to move into their on-base housing on Wednesday, they went to the visitor control center to get a pass so she could access the Key West installation. During the routine security screening required for base access, the woman’s name was flagged as a problem.

Base personnel contacted the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which looked into the matter, said the official. NCIS and Coast Guard security personnel got permission from the base commander to enter the installation and then went to the Coast Guardsman’s home Thursday, the official said. They were joined by personnel from Homeland Security Investigations, a unit within Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

HSI eventually took the spouse into custody, and the official said they believe she is still being detained. Officials did not give the name of her native country.

The Coast Guard referred questions about the woman’s identity, immigration status and charges to ICE, which did not respond to a request for comment Saturday. The Department of Homeland Security also did not respond to a request for comment.

The husband of the arrested woman is a Coast Guardsman assigned to the USCGC Mohawk, a cutter based at Key West. The couple were moving into U.S. government housing at the nearby Naval Air Station.

An online database that tracks ship movements shows the Mohawk has been docked in its home port since mid-March. A March 16 media release says the ship had recently returned following a 70-day deployment to the Eastern Pacific on a mission to intercept shipments of illegal drugs.

In a statement, the Navy said that it “fully cooperated with federal law enforcement authorities on this matter. We take security and access at naval installations seriously.”

Biesecker and Baldor write for the Associated Press. AP writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

\The Dodgers entered Saturday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on a three-game losing streak with hits and runs increasingly difficult to muster.

Home runs, however, are a different matter, especially when they come from batters named Hernández.

A blast by Teoscar Hernández to begin the eighth inning put the Dodgers ahead and a pinch-hit, three-run shot by Kiké Hernández later in the inning were the difference in a 8-4 victory at a sold-out Dodger Stadium.

How bad had it become? The Dodgers came in batting .230 — 21st in baseball — with a subpar with a .308 on-base percentage. Yet they ranked fifth with a .421 slugging percentage because they lead baseball with 43 home runs.

Most years, a healthy portion of the long balls would be courtesy of Max Muncy. But the malady afflicting much of the Dodgers lineup seems to have infected the third baseman with a particularly virulent strain. If antibiotics were the cure, he’d be taking a handful. Rest isn’t really what he’d prefer.

How bad is it for a slugger who hit 35 or more home runs in four of his previous seven Dodgers seasons? Another Max Muncy, a promising rookie infielder with the Athletics from Thousand Oaks High, was sent back to triple-A a few days ago after batting .176 with one home run in 68 at-bats.

That’s better than the Dodgers’ Muncy, who has zero homers and four runs batted in while batting .167 over 78 at-bats. His characteristically low batting average — career mark: .225 — normally is palatable because he walks a ton, sporting a .350 career on-base percentage. But this season, seemingly emboldened by his power outage, opposing pitchers have walked him only 12 times in 25 games.

“You know what it’s interesting is, there’s some balls that are barreled, that aren’t going out, but also there’s still a lot of swing and miss,” manager Dave Roberts said. “So it just, it’s all sort of, right now, pretty puzzling, but I know he’s trying to find his way out.

“But yeah, I mean, to think through April he hasn’t hit a homer, I think that surprises everyone.”

A couple of other Dodgers seemed to get well quick against Pirates pitching. Shohei Ohtani hit two doubles and a triple. Andy Pages had three hits for the second game in a row. L.A. outhit Pittsburgh 11-8.

Dodgers rookie Roki Sasaki, in his sixth start, recovered the velocity that diminished in his previous outing, consistently throwing his fastball 96 mph. The right-hander pitched a creditable 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs and two hits while striking out four and walking two, leaving with the score tied 3-3.

ONeil Cruz crushed the Japanese right-hander’s first pitch, an elevated fastball, over the center field wall, but Sasaki retired 11 of the next 14 batters before the Pirates added two runs in the fifth on three hits. Sasaki retired the next four batters before hitting Ke’Bryan Hayes with a pitch, prompting Roberts’ hook.

It marked the third consecutive start of five or more innings for the 23-year-old Sasaki, who is still seeking his first Major League victory after posting a 30-15 record for Chiba Lotte of the Japanese League.

The Pirates took a 4-3 lead in the seventh against left-hander Jack Dreyer, who gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases with none out. Bryan Reynolds drove in the run with a fielders choice ground ball to first baseman Freddie Freeman before right-hander Evan Phillips came on the retire the next two batters.

The third out came on a diving play by Freeman, the third notable play made by the Dodgers. Center fielder Pages robbed Reynolds of a home run in the fifth inning and Teoscar Hernández threw out Joey Bart at the plate after charging a fly ball and throwing on the run in the second.

The Dodgers scored two in the first when Ohtani and Teoscar Hernández both doubled and Hernández scored on a throwing error by second baseman Todd Frazier. They tied the score 4-4 in the seventh on Ohtani’s ringing double to left center that scored Pages.

Ohtani and Pages had been among those struggling until recently. Roberts delivered a message that several slumping Dodgers seemed to heed at just the right moment.

“It’s not about the number of pitches you see, it’s about getting your pitch and doing something with it,” he said. “That’s the message for everyone. Not trying to chase how many pitches you can accrue in an at-bat.

A quality at-bat for me is, you get a good pitch to hit, your pitch, and you hit it hard. And we’ll take whatever results from that.”

All the better when the result is eighth-inning home runs by Hernández and Hernández.

Tony Gonsolin ready for season debut

It’s been a long wait for Tony Gonsolin, who is expected to start for the Dodgers on Wednesday against the Miami Marlins. Gonsolin has been sidelined with a litany of injuries since August 2023, when he was shut down because of an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow that required Tommy John surgery.

Gonsolin missed all last season and might have opened this season on the active roster but he tweaked his back while lifting weights near the end of spring training. In four triple-A rehab appearances, he has a 3.86 ERA over 14 innings while striking out 16, giving up 12 hits and six walks.

Roberts said Gonsolin threw a bullpen Saturday and that making his first start Wednesday “makes a lot of sense.”

Few pitchers have shown the knack for notching wins that Gonsolin has since debuting with the Dodgers in 2019. He is 34-11 (.756 winning percentage), including a sparkling 16-1 mark in 2022 when he sported a 2.14 ERA and gave up only 79 hits in 130 1/3 innings over 24 starts.

The Dodgers would welcome a return that even an approximation of that effectiveness. The fifth spot in the starting rotation has been a problem all season, with young starters Landon Knack (7.27 ERA), Justin Wrobleski (14.40) and Bobby Miller (18.00) pitching poorly.

April 26 (UPI) — A federal judge wants to straighten out the deportation to Honduras on Friday of a 2-year-old U.S. citizen with her mother and sister.

U.S. District Court of Western Louisiana Judge Terry Doughty scheduled a May 16 hearing at the Monroe (La.) Federal Courthouse after the child, who is identified as “VML,” was deported.

“The government contends that this is all okay because the mother wishes that the child be deported with her,” Doughty wrote Friday in a memorandum order scheduling a hearing on the matter.

“The court doesn’t know that,” Doughty said. “Seeking the path of least resistance, the court called counsel for the government at 12:19 p.m. CDT, so that we could speak with VML’s mother and survey her consent and custodial rights.”

Doughty said he was aware the plane carrying VML and the child’s mother was above the “Gulf of America” when he placed the call and referred to the mother as an “illegal immigrant.”

An attorney for the federal government called at 1:06 p.m. and told Doughty it would be impossible to arrange a phone conversation because the mother and child already had been released into Honduras.

Doughty said prior federal court rulings affirm it is illegal and unconstitutional to deport a U.S. citizen, and the court on Thursday received a writ of habeas corpus and an emergency petition for a restraining order to halt the deportation of VML.

He scheduled the May 16 hearing “in the interest of dispelling our strong suspicion that the government just deported a U.S. citizen with no meaningful process.”

VML, her mother and her sister were detained on Tuesday while checking in with immigration officials in New Orleans as required by her mother’s participation in ICE’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, NPR reported.

The child’s father and her mother’s partner dropped off the pair and her sister at the location for the ISAP process.

About an hour later, he learned they were detained and subject to deportation.

The child’s father contacted his attorney, who then called immigration officials to tell them VML is a U.S. citizen, ABC News reported.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer called the father at 7:30 p.m. that same day to tell him they were going to deport the child and her mother.

The father contacted another ICE officer afterward and was told he could try to pick up his daughter, but he also would be taken into custody.

An attorney of a family friend obtained temporary provisional custody of VML on Thursday and filed the writ of habeas corpus and emergency petition seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the deportation process.

Doughty, who was appointed to his judicial position by President Donald Trump, did not receive the petition in time to stop the girl’s deportation.

Tens of thousands of people gathered Saturday at the 30th Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC, packing sold-out panels and waiting in huge lines to get the signatures of their favorite authors.

The annual festival features readings, screenings and panels with authors and other speakers. The two-day event is expected to bring together more than 550 storytellers across seven outdoor stages and 15 indoor venues.

It was too soon to know how many people attended the first day of the event, which is billed as the country’s largest literary festival. But the sun was shining following a rainy morning, and an organizer said the fest looked “super crowded,” estimating upward of 85,000 people would attend by the end of the day.

Among Saturday’s presenters were Matthew Specktor and Griffin Dunne, both authors of memoirs that explore growing up in Hollywood. They spoke with former Times book editor and critic David L. Ulin before a crowd of more than 150 people in USC’s Town and Gown ballroom.

Specktor is the author of several novels and nonfiction books, including “The Golden Hour: A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood.” In “The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir,” Dunne describes intimate moments throughout his life, telling stories of his late father, journalist Dominick Dunne, and his late uncle and aunt, the celebrated writers John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion.

During the noon panel, Dunne addressed a more recent family affair: the posthumous publication of Didion’s “Notes to John,” which features journal-like entries written for her husband, in which she describes her conversations with a psychiatrist about their daughter’s alcoholism and possible suicidal tendencies.

Dunne said he learned of the publication of the deeply personal work only a day before it was announced publicly.

“I could make an argument for how she would have felt about it for both sides,” he said. “She was a reporter on her own life.”

Also at noon, more than 100 people gathered inside the Eileen Norris Cinema Theatre to hear authors E.A. Hanks, Laurie Woolever, Sloane Crosley and Kareem Rosser discuss writing and processing grief with moderator Elizabeth Crane.

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The authors reflected on the nature and stages of grief during the hourlong panel. Many experienced dual losses — entering their writing process thinking they would be reflecting on one loss, only for another to occur.

“Even if those five stages do exist, it’s so nonlinear,” said Crane, who has written numerous works of fiction as well as a debut memoir.

There were humorous moments amid the writers’ accounts of tragedy. The crowd laughed as Crosley and Hanks bantered about good Spotify playlists to listen to when writing about suicide.

In “Grief is for People,” Crosley grieves the jewelry she loses in a burglary, until she is forced to also reckon with the loss of her best friend and mentor to suicide.

Hanks is the author of “The 10: A Memoir of Family and the Open Road,” which follows her journey traveling alone on Interstate 10 as she tries to process the life and death of her mother, as well as the death of a close friend. She is the daughter of Tom Hanks and his first wife, the late Susan Dillingham, who used the stage name Samantha Lewes.

Hanks also shared some insight into her process writing about grief.

“If anyone is out there and is trying to write, know that it gets better,” Hanks said of “choking” after receiving her first book deal. “This book took a decade, so the catharsis of publishing… was about my creative recovery.”

Paige DeSorbo and Hannah Berner, co-hosts of popular podcast “The Giggly Squad,” brought a lighthearted yet candid conversation to the festival’s main stage early in the afternoon. The comical duo this month released, “How to Giggle: A Guide to Taking Life Less Seriously,” an advice book that resembles an early-2000s teen magazine filled with quizzes, exclusive pictures of the famous best friends and heartfelt relationship advice.

“I didn’t know we had so many smart ones,” Berner said, as she greeted a standing-room crowd of fans, known as “Gigglers.”

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During a conversation moderated by Times wellness editor Alyssa Bereznak, DeSorbo and Berner opened up about the beginning of their friendship, experiences on reality television and how they deal with anxiety. As they made fun of themselves and shared hot takes, their jokes were met with laughs and snickers.

Asked how to find a close friendship like the one they share, DeSorbo replied: “You have to find the person who you can truly be yourself with.”

The festival kicked off Friday evening with the 45th Los Angeles Times Book Prizes ceremony at USC’s Bovard Auditorium. The prizes recognize outstanding literary achievements and celebrate the highest quality of writing from authors at all stages of their careers.

Winners were announced in 13 categories for works published last year. Find a full list of winners here.

Additionally, award-winning author Pico Iyer received the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, and celebrated poet Amanda Gorman received the Innovator’s Award for her work promoting literacy, empowering youth and raising awareness on important issues.

The ceremony opened with remarks by Times Executive Editor Terry Tang and was emceed by Times columnist LZ Granderson.

“In a world that is now feeling so confusing and distressing, this weekend gives all of us a chance to find a sense of unity, purpose and support,” Tang said.

The book festival runs through Sunday. More information, including a schedule of events, can be found on the festival’s website.