penalty

Aston Martin committed a procedural breach of Formula 1’s cost-cap regulations through a late submission of their documentation for the 2024 season.

The offence happened because the person at the independent company used by Aston Martin who was required to sign the submission was unwell at the time of the deadline on 31 March 2025.

The accounts were finished at the time, and the team did not exceed the cost cap.

Aston Martin have received no punishment from the FIA, but have been required to meet the costs incurred by F1’s governing body in preparing the team’s “accepted breach agreement”.

An FIA statement read: “Although Aston Martin Racing has been found to be in procedural breach, it has not exceeded the cost-cap level, and the procedural breach was of a very minor nature, originated by unpredictable circumstances outside the control of the F1 team.”

It added: “Aston Martin did not gain or seek to gain any advantage from the commission of the procedural breach at issue.”

Aston Martin submitted its draft documentation before the deadline, just not the finalised signed papers.

All nine other teams were found to be in compliance with the cost cap, as were all five engine manufacturers.

The 2024 cost-cap regulations defined a maximum spend per team of $135m (£106.375m).

A number of costs are excluded from the cap, including the salaries of drivers and the three top executives, and marketing spending.

In a continuing crackdown by the Southern Section against against students and parents who are supplying inaccurate information on transfer paperwork, Orange Lutheran High announced Tuesday that it has declared a football player ineligible and will forfeit its first two games of the season. The school self-reported the violation after an investigation that lasted for weeks.

More than 40 students this fall have been given penalties of two years without being able to play for violating CIF rule 202, which involves providing false information. In September, the Southern Section disqualified 19 players from the Bishop Montgomery football program for a total of 24. The school canceled its varsity season.

Players at Long Beach Millikan, Long Beach Poly, Compton, Victor Valley and Bellflower have also been hit with two-year penalties.

The Orange Lutheran student will be ineligible only until next season because the transfer did not submit fraudulent paperwork.

The Southern Section has deployed new investigative techniques to checker transfer paperwork submitted by schools.

Orange Lutheran principal Jack Preus and football coach Rod Sherman informed players and parents on Tuesday. Preus said as a result of this experience, his school will institute a “more rigorous process” of reviewing bills and visiting homes of transfer students before sending in paperwork for a valid change of residence.

Schools have started to submit transfer paperwork for basketball players, with the season beginning on Nov. 17, and that will be a good indication whether athletic directors and parents have learned lessons from what has been happening to football players.

A big change is that the Southern Section has been declaring players ineligible after accepting a school’s decision declaring the athlete eligible with a valid change of residence. If additional information becomes available, whether the student was cleared for a valid change of residence, they can be switched to ineligible. Same with students cleared after sit-out period athletes.

“We’re going to be different and do it right,” Sherman said.

Southern Section commissioner Mike West said last month, “We’ve had a real influx of fraudulent paperwork. It’s been significant and very disheartening.”

Orange Lutheran drops to 2-6 overall but is still considered a likely Division 1 playoff participant with its strength of schedule. It forfeited wins to Miami Northwestern and Rancho Cucamonga.

A Texas court has issued a stay of execution for Robert Roberson, a man whose 2003 murder conviction has raised serious questions about the validity of “shaken baby syndrome” as a medical diagnosis.

Thursday’s decision arrived with only a week remaining until Roberson’s scheduled execution date on October 16.

Roberson, a 58-year-old autistic man, was accused of having killed his two-year-old daughter Nikki Michelle Curtis in January 2002, after he brought her to a hospital emergency room unconscious.

He has maintained that Nikki had been sick and fell from her bed overnight. But prosecutors argued that her head trauma must have been caused by “shaken baby syndrome”, a diagnosis popularised in the late 1990s as evidence of physical abuse in infants and toddlers.

But that diagnosis has been increasingly rejected, as doctors and medical researchers point out that the symptoms of “shaken baby syndrome” — namely, bleeding or swelling in the eyes or brain — can be caused by other conditions.

Roberson’s defence team has argued that Nikki suffered from chronic pneumonia in the lead-up to her death, and the medications she was given, including codeine, contributed to her death.

In Thursday’s decision, the judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to pause his execution in light of a similar case being overturned in 2024.

Judge Bert Richardson contrasted the shifting nature of the medical research with the finality of execution in his concurring opinion.

“There is a delicate balance and tension in our criminal justice system between the finality of judgment and its accuracy based on our ever-advancing scientific understanding,” Judge Richardson wrote.

“A death sentence is clearly final and, once carried out, hindsight is useless. Thus, when moving forward in such a way, we should require the highest standards of accuracy so that we can act with a reliable degree of certainty.”

But the court limited its judgement to reopening Roberson’s petition for habeas corpus, which questions the constitutionality of a person’s imprisonment.

It declined to reconsider Roberson’s case as a whole. That prompted some of the judges on the court to issue a partial dissent.

Judge David Schenck, for instance, argued that “a new trial is necessary and mandated by our Constitution”, given the new evidence that has emerged in the two decades since Roberson was sentenced to death.

“The merits of Roberson’s claims and the cumulative effect of the evidence Roberson presents — in his fifth application as well as his previous and subsequent applications — would be more properly and more swiftly assessed at this point by a jury in a new trial,” Schenck said.

He added that a new trial would also offer the state of Texas “an opportunity to present this case on its merits”.

Still, some judges on the panel said they were opposed to reopening the case, arguing that the shift in medical consensus did not rule out an act of violence in Nikki’s death.

“Arguably credible and reliable scientific evidence still exists to suggest that shaking a child can cause serious injury or death,” Judge Kevin Yeary wrote in his opinion.

This is not the first time that Roberson’s case has been delayed. He has spent nearly 23 years on death row and was also slated to be executed a year ago, in October 2024.

But that execution date was scuttled in an extraordinary series of events. With his execution scheduled for October 17 of that year, a bipartisan group of legislators in the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence agreed to issue a subpoena for Roberson on October 21 — effectively setting up a battle between the legislature’s will and the court’s.

The subpoen sparked a court case about the separation of powers in Texas: A witness could not answer a legislative subpoena if the justice system executed him first.

Further, the members of the Texas House committee had argued that a 2013 state law barring the use of “junk science” in court cases had failed to be applied in Roberson’s case.

The case reached the Texas Supreme Court, which halted Roberson’s execution while the matter was resolved. Execution dates are set with at least 90 days’ notice in Texas, resulting in a prolonged pause.

On July 16, after appeals from Roberson’s defence team, a new execution date was set for this month.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has accused critics of Roberson’s sentence of “interfering with the capital punishment proceedings” and has repeatedly pledged to push forward with the execution.

But even those involved in Roberson’s original capital murder trial have sought to see his sentence overturned.

Brian Wharton, the lead investigator in Roberson’s case, had once testified in favour of the prosecution. But last year, he told the Texas House committee that he supported Roberson’s appeal, given the new evidence that has come to light.

“He is an innocent man, and we are very close to killing him for something he did not do,” Wharton said.

On Thursday, one of the jurors who helped convict Roberson also published an opinion column in the Houston Chronicle, asserting that she was “wrong” to side with the prosecution.

“If we on the jury knew then what I know now — about the new evidence of Nikki’s missed pneumonia, how her breathing would have been affected by the Phenergan and codeine doctors gave her that last week, the signs of sepsis, and all the things that were wrong with the version of shaken baby syndrome used in the case — we would have had a lot more to discuss,” Terre Compton wrote.

“Based on all that has come out since the trial, I am 100% certain that Robert Roberson did not murder his child.”

Texas has executed 596 people since 1982, the most of any state.

ROME — Pope Leo XIV has intervened for the first time in an abortion dispute roiling the U.S. Catholic Church by raising the seeming contradiction over what it really means to be “pro-life.”

Leo, a Chicago native, was asked late Tuesday about plans by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich to give a lifetime achievement award to Illinois Senator Dick Durbin for his work helping immigrants. The plans drew objection from some conservative U.S. bishops given the powerful Democratic senator’s support for abortion rights.

Leo called first of all for respect for both sides, but he also pointed out the seeming contradiction in such debates.

“Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty’ is not really pro-life,” Leo said. “Someone who says that ‘I’m against abortion, but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life.”

Leo spoke hours before Cupich announced that Durbin had declined the award.

Church teaching forbids abortion but it also opposes capital punishment as “inadmissible” under all circumstances. U.S. bishops and the Vatican have strongly called for humane treatment of migrants, citing the Biblical command to “welcome the stranger.”

Pope Leo says mutual respect is needed

Leo said he wasn’t familiar with the details of the dispute over the Durbin award, but said it was nevertheless important to look at the senator’s overall record and noted Durbin’s four-decade tenure. Responding to a question in English from the U.S. Catholic broadcaster EWTN News, he said there were many ethical issues that constitute the teaching of the Catholic Church.

“I don’t know if anyone has all the truth on them but I would ask first and foremost that there be greater respect for one another and that we search together both as human beings, in that case as American citizens or citizens of the state of Illinois, as well as Catholics to say we need to you know really look closely at all of these ethical issues and to find the way forward in this church. Church teaching on each one of those issues is very clear,” he said.

Cupich was a close adviser to Pope Francis, who strongly upheld church teaching opposing abortion but also criticized the politicizing of the abortion debate by U.S. bishops. Some bishops had called for denying Communion to Catholic politicians who supported abortion rights, including former President Joe Biden.

Biden met on several occasions with Francis and told reporters in 2021 that Francis had told him to continue receiving Communion. During a visit to Rome that year he received the sacrament during Mass at a church in Francis’ diocese.

Durbin was barred from receiving Communion in his home diocese of Springfield in 2004. Springfield Bishop Thomas Paprocki has continued the prohibition and was one of the U.S. bishops who strongly objected to Cupich’s decision to honor the senator. Cupich claims Durbin as a member of the Chicago Archdiocese, where Durbin also has a home.

Senator Durbin declines his award

In his statement announcing that Durbin would decline the award, Cupich lamented that the polarization in the U.S. has created a situation where U.S. Catholics “find themselves politically homeless” since neither the Republican nor the Democratic party fully encapsulates the breadth of Catholic teaching.

He defended honoring Durbin for his pro-immigration stance, and said the planned Nov. 3 award ceremony could have been an occasion to engage him and other political leaders with the hope of pressing the church’s view on other issues, including abortion.

“It could be an invitation to Catholics who tirelessly promote the dignity of the unborn, the elderly, and the sick to extend the circle of protection to immigrants facing in this present moment an existential threat to their lives and the lives of their families,” Cupich wrote.

Paprocki, for his part, thanked Durbin for declining the award. “I ask that all Catholics continue to pray for our church, our country, and for the human dignity of all people to be respected in all stages of life including the unborn and immigrants,” Paprocki said in a Facebook post.

The dispute came as President Donald Trump’s administration maintains a surge of immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.

Winfield writes for the Associated Press.

VIKTOR GYOKERES’ penalty should not have been overturned. The Arsenal forward went through on goal and was fouled by Nick Pope.

Newcastle goalkeeper Pope got a touch on the ball but he did not win the ball. The touch does not negate the award of a penalty.

2

2

Why did VAR get involved? It was not a clear and obvious error from referee Jarred Gillett. The on-field decision should have stood.

Gyokeres played it onto Pope, that is how he got the touch and then there is a late challenge and brings him down.

How many times do you see a foul given for a player that wins the ball and follows through?

The touch does not mean it is not a penalty. VAR should not have got involved.

We saw this last season at Brighton when William Saliba was adjudged to have committed a foul on Joao Pedro after he headed the ball.

Newcastle then wanted a penalty of their own late on after Anthony Elanga’s cross struck Gabriel’s arm inside the box.

But Gillett got this right. It was not a penalty.

It was a blocked tackle, it came back off Elanga and hit Gabriel’s arm, which was in a natural position.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

When you go to ground, where else can your arm go? Your arm has got to be in the air.

And look at the pace of the ball and the close proximity.

I would have been amazed if Gillett would have recommended a review.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The loose ball tumbled through the end zone, slipping through one set of fingertips, then another, blue-and-orange bodies clawing desperately aside cardinal-and-gold ones. So much had gone wrong for USC all afternoon, from its struggling secondary to its stifled pass rush to its inconsistent quarterback, but at the most critical moment in its season thus far, here was a particularly fortunate twist of fate, as linebacker Eric Gentry punched out a fumble and, somehow, some way, Christian Pierce had recovered it.

After a seamless 4-0 start to its season, the deck had seemed stacked against the Trojans all afternoon. Their starting left tackle was out. Their starting center soon joined him. Their top red-zone target was limited, and their defensive leader, Kamari Ramsey, was up all night puking.

For a while, that seemed to be the least of the problems facing USC on Saturday. The rushing attack couldn’t find room. Both lines were being blown off the ball, and the secondary was struggling to stop the bleeding. Then there were the self-inflicted mistakes, the very same ones that had marred the season to date.

All that, however, would be washed away with that loose ball in the end zone, the second fumble Illinois had coughed up that close to the end zone. A sliver of hope immediately turned to ecstasy as quarterback Jayden Maiava launched a rope to the corner of the end zone that found Makai Lemon for a go-ahead score with under less than two minutes remaining in the game.

But that hope was erased just as quickly, fading once again into the frustration, as Illinois drove the field for a game-winning field goal as time expired, beating USC, 34-32.

Illinois (4-1, 1-1 in Big Ten) gave the Trojans (4-1, 2-1) opportunities to take over the game. It fumbled on the goal line the first time just before halftime, and struggled to move the ball to start the third quarter.

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) rushes for a touchdown during the first half in a win over USC.

(Craig Pessman / Associated Press)

But back-breaking mistakes continued to mar the Trojans on both sides of the ball. Driving with a chance to tie the score in the third quarter, Maiava threw an ill-advised pass over the middle that was intercepted.

USC’s defense forced a rare three-and-out on the next drive, only for its own offense to go three-and-out in response.

Illinois wouldn’t waste its opportunity after that, as Kaedin Feagin caught a swing pass, shook one USC defender, turned the corner and saw nothing but open field in front of him. His 66-yard touchdown would secure Illinois’ lead until that late fumble gave USC life.

The Trojans might have been in better shape before that if it weren’t for their defense, which struggled mightily throughout Saturday. USC gave up 502 yards and was generally picked apart by Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, who had 331 passing yards and two touchdowns.

The Trojans also struggled again with penalties, committing eight for 69 yards. The most crucial came on the final drive when cornerback DJ Harvey was called for a critical pass interference penalty.

USC’s quarterback was not exactly at his best on Saturday. Under more pressure than he’d faced all season, Maiava sailed several passes and missed multiple open receivers. He also threw his first interception of the season.

But he did make his share of eye-popping passes downfield, including hitting Lemon in the corner of the end zone for that 19-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown. Maiava finished with 364 yards and two touchdowns.

Lemon did his best to carry USC on his own, especially with Ja’Kobi Lane out because of an injury. He caught 11 passes for 151 yards.

From the start, it was a difficult day for the Trojans.

Just as USC started to find its stride early, Waymond Jordan burst through a hole on second down and lost control of the ball. The fumble, his second on an opening drive in three weeks, bounced right into the arms of Illinois defensive back Jaheim Clarke, and the Illini mounted a 10-play touchdown drive from there, striking with a 10-yard touchdown run from Altmyer.

In spite of the fumble, USC went right back on the ensuing possession to the rushing attack and Jordan, who punched in a one-yard score. But Illinois punched back with an even longer drive, capped by a trick-play touchdown from Altmyer.

USC pulled out a trick play of its own a few minutes later, as Jordan, running toward the sideline, tossed the ball to Maiava for a perimeter flea flicker. He immediately launched a pass downfield to Lemon, who juked two defenders out of their shoes on his way into the end zone.

But the 75-yard score was ultimately called back on account of backup center J’Onre Reed being too far downfield.

The penalty was nearly a devastating one. USC’s 13-play drive stalled just past midfield, as Maiava threw three consecutive incompletions, and the Trojans turned the ball over on downs. Illinois proceeded to march down the field, all the way to the USC two-yard line.

In desperate need of a break just before halftime, USC got a gift at the goal line. As Feagin tried to force his way through traffic, the ball came loose, and USC recovered.

The sequence was significant. Without enough evidence to overturn the call, the Trojans charged down the field in time to secure a field goal. What perhaps should have been a two-score lead for the Illini coming out of the half was instead just four.

Still, it proved too much for USC to overcome.

Former UCLA quarterback Dante Moore warmed up amid windy conditions when Oregon played at Northwestern on Sept. 1 in Evanston, Ill.

(Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

Northwestern’s lakeside stadium might qualify Evanston, Ill., as the Windy City given the strong gusts that have changed the trajectory of passes.

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, who spent his freshman season with the Bruins, compared the experience to his high school stadium in Detroit, which also bordered the Great Lakes.

“Coming out in warm-up was like, ‘Holy s—, it’s windy,’ ” said Moore, who completed 16 of 20 passes for 178 yards and one touchdown with one interception during the Ducks’ 34-14 victory over the Wildcats earlier this month. “I am looking at Coach [Dan] Lanning, and Coach Lanning said, ‘It’s time to let it rip today.’ ”

So what’s a Southern California native like Iamaleava supposed to do to get ready?

“I don’t really think you can do anything to prepare for it when you’re out here,” cracked Iamaleava, alluding to warm temperatures and calm winds. “I played in a lot of windy games, for sure, and making sure to leave about ball speed and making sure that spiral is right, you know, to spin through the wind.”

A look at this week’s top high school football games in the Southland:

THURSDAY

Oxnard Pacifica (4-0) at Hamilton (2-2), 4 p.m.

It’s a last-minute game put on the schedule after both schools had opponents drop out. But what a quarterback matchup it features. Pacifica’s Taylor Lee vs. Hamilton freshman Thaddeus Breaux. Lee has 15 touchdown passes in the last two games. The pick: Pacifica.

FRIDAY

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (2-2) at Culver City (3-1), 7 p.m.

Basketball standout Tyran Stokes came out last week to play receiver and he has been cleared to make his football debut. Also expected to play is USC commit Luc Weaver, another receiver who has been sidelined because of a leg injury. The Knights want to challenge for a top-three spot in the Mission League and Culver City offers a good challenge. The pick: Notre Dame.

SATURDAY

Bishop Gorman (4-1) vs. Santa Margarita (3-1) at Tesoro, 7 p.m.

Bishop Gorman, after losing to Mater Dei last week in Las Vegas, travels to face another Trinity League opponent. The Eagles are trying to stay healthy before the grind of league play. The pick: Bishop Gorman.

Makai Lemon came screaming across the center of the field, gliding past one Michigan State defender, then another, moving as if the world around him were in slow motion.

USC’s top receiver had presumably been a top-line focus of the Spartans’ game plan — and even more so after fellow wideout Ja’Kobi Lane was ruled out Saturday with an injury. But here was Lemon slicing his way through Michigan State’s secondary as if no one had bothered to tell him as much, sprinting free as a deep pass soared in his direction and hit him in perfect stride.

Most of Saturday night’s 45-31 win over Michigan State felt that seamless for USC, which moved the ball with ease on offense, racking up 517 yards in the process. But in a swirl of penalties and poor discipline from its defense, USC inexplicably found itself clinging to a one-score lead in the fourth quarter.

It was the sort of stumble that might’ve prompted flashbacks from the Trojans’ previous conference, when #Pac12AfterDark derailed more than a few seasons while the rest of America slept. Though, as late as Saturday’s game ran — with its conclusion coming just before 3 a.m. Eastern time — there would be no such comeback from Michigan State.

“We were dominating the football game,” USC coach Lincoln Riley said. “But our ability to separate back out, I thought, was just as impressive.”

USC mounted a 13-play drive with its back against the wall in the fourth quarter, at one point even converting a critical fourth down near midfield, before Lemon pushed the pedal to the floor. He went sprinting on a jet motion, took the handoff and flew into the end zone for a score the Spartans couldn’t counter.

“Any time the ball is in his hands, something big is about to happen,” USC quarterback Jayden Maiava said.

With Lane out, Lemon accounted for more than half of the Trojans’ passing output, as he finished with eight receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown, the vast majority of which came in the first half.

Maiava didn’t need to do much more through the air after halftime. He finished with a season-low 234 yards, but completed 20 of 26 passes and added three passing touchdowns, to go with another on the ground.

USC’s rushing attack ultimately made the difference, despite facing a defense that hadn’t allowed any of its opponents to rush for 100 yards.

USC running back Eli Sanders runs with the ball during a win over Michigan State on Saturday night.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Jordan bested that total himself, running for 157 yards on 18 carries, while Eli Sanders added 84 rushing yards of his own.

But once again, the Trojans paid a serious price for their propensity for penalties.

On one third-quarter drive, USC ran into Michigan State’s kicker on a punt, was flagged for an illegal substitution and then was called for pass interference, all within a four-play stretch. For a while, it seemed the sequence might turn the tide towards the Spartans.

“Obviously we haven’t done enough,” Riley said of coaches’ efforts to reduce USC’s penalties.

That message was reiterated after the game by linebacker Eric Gentry, who stood up in front of the team to belabor the severity of their penalty problems. The Trojans were called for 10 total penalties on Saturday for a loss of 88 yards, making it three consecutive games of at least eight penalties.

Fortunately for USC, its defensive front was also able to impact the game in other ways, namely by keeping Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles uncomfortable in the pocket.

But where the pass rush continued to look improved, USC’s secondary didn’t exactly soothe concerns Saturday. Chiles only threw for 212 yards, but 169 of those yards — almost 80% — came on just four pass plays.

Through four games, USC now ranks worst in the Big Ten in plays allowed of 10 yards or further (17).

“We’ve had about one of them a game,” Riley said, “and we’ve got to put a lid on it.”

The road only gets harder from here for USC (4-0). The Trojans’ next three games (Illinois, Michigan and Notre Dame) come against ranked opponents, and two of those games (Illinois and Notre Dame) are on the road. And while the Irish are 1-2, and the Illini were just steamrolled by Indiana on Saturday, both should provide much tougher tests than the Trojans have faced thus far.

Whether USC will have one of its top receivers back for that stretch remains to be seen. Lane, who was listed as questionable on Saturday, came out with the team for early stretches. But when the team reemerged in full pads for warm-ups, the Trojans stud wideout was wearing sweatpants.

Riley said after the game that the severity of Lane’s injury is still “inconclusive,” but his absence could extend multiple games.

“I don’t think it’ll be super long,” Riley said. “But at the same time, I certainly can’t sit here today and say for sure he’s going to play next week or in the coming weeks.”

Without one of their top targets, USC tried to lean on its backs early. Twelve of the Trojans’ first 16 plays went to either Waymond Jordan or Eli Sanders. But it was Maiava who punched in USC’s first score after he faked a handoff and sprinted 15 yards to paydirt.

Michigan State (3-1), meanwhile, took to the air to challenge the Trojans’ struggling secondary. On the Spartans’ first possession, Chiles found Chrishon McCray wide open for a 42-yard touchdown, and Michigan State took an early lead.

Chiles completed each of his first seven passes. But with their run game completely grounded, the Spartans offense came to a halt. Their next three drives accumulated a combined 66 yards.

USC started humming in the meantime, gaining at least that many yards on four of its five first-half drives. The rushing attack found a rhythm, with seven rushes of 15-plus yards in the first half alone, while Maiava moved the ball with ease through the air.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava scores a touchdown in the first quarter against Michigan State.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Still, despite being outgained by almost 200 yards before halftime, Michigan State was within a single score — and set to receive the second-half kick — as USC drove 88 yards down the field before half. With 37 seconds left, Maiava lofted a pass to the corner of the end zone for freshman Tanook Hines, who reeled in the well-timed, seven-yard score.

USC looked ready to speed past Michigan State in the second half as it took just four plays and less than two minutes to drive the field. Maiava hit tight end Walker Lyons for a touchdown, his second in two weeks, to make it 31-10.

But Michigan State mounted an 11-play drive, and USC’s defense chipped in with four back-breaking penalties to keep it moving. Eventually, Chiles punched in a touchdown himself, cutting the lead to two scores.

The momentum swung suddenly after that. On the first play of USC’s ensuing possession, wideout DJ Jordan lost a fumble deep in the Trojans’ territory. The turnover opened the door for Michigan State, which needed eight plays to reach paydirt and cut the lead to a single score.

But USC slammed that door shut on its next drive. And while Saturday night’s win wouldn’t go down as the most seamless of the Trojans’ season, it was still just as satisfying to Riley.

“If you’re learning lessons as you win, it’s hard not to be excited about what you see out of this football team,” Riley said. “And everything I see makes me believe that we’re going to continue to grow, learn from some of the mistakes, because there are so many positive things happening out there.”

In a town where you can make your own luck or can sink further into an abyss, Mater Dei High dug deep, wiped away memories from a loss last week and answered a gut-check call to come away with a 27-24 road victory over Bishop Gorman on Friday night. Coach Raul Lara brought up the word “resurrection” during a postgame huddle with his players.

The win surely resurrects Mater Dei’s season. It was doom and gloom one week ago when the Monarchs fell behind 28-0 to Corona Centennial, then rallied but lost 43-36. Seven turnovers left everyone wondering if the Monarchs were no longer a top team after being ranked No. 1 in the nation by several organizations.

Friday’s performance against an unbeaten Bishop Gorman team saw Mater Dei turn to two of its preseason All-Americans on offense, tight end Mark Bowman and receiver Chris Henry Jr. Bowman had touchdown catches of 29 and 36 yards. Henry had two touchdown catches, including the game-winner with 6:06 left from 37 yards.

Quarterback Ryan Hopkins, bouncing back from turnovers last week, kept firing away against a strong Bishop Gorman defense, getting the ball to his outstanding receivers and not letting penalties or an interception reduce his confidence.

“It’s facing adversity,” Hopkins said. “Last week was a tough one. This is a step forward. It’s next-play mentality.”

There were ominous black clouds passing above that let out a dose of rain more than three hours before kickoff, but the weather cleared and the Monarchs didn’t have to put up with the downpour and lightning delay that St. John Bosco endued in 2014 during a 34-31 loss to Bishop Gorman.

It was an entertaining first half that ended in a 14-14 tie. Both teams missed scoring opportunities. Mater Dei blocked a Bishop Gorman field-goal attempt that was returned by Aaryan Washington to the 13-yard line, then had to settle for a 30-yard field goal by Jerry Shifman. Bishop Gorman forced a fumble by Hopkins, and Prince Williams returned it for a touchdown that was nullified by defensive holding.

Soon Hopkins connected with Henry on a 54-yard pass to the one-yard line in the final seconds. But a Mater Dei illegal procedure penalty and little time left the Monarchs to settle for a 23-yard field goal to tie the score.

Mater Dei (3-1) had zero penalties in the first quarter, a major improvement from previous games, but the Monarchs went back to making mistakes after that. There was an offsides on a fourth-and-short play. There was a five-yard penalty before kicking off the ball. Through all that, the Monarchs persevered.

“Great game,” Lara said. “Two great teams and great programs. We knew it was going to be a fight. I’m proud of my guys.”

Bishop Gorman quarterback Maika Eugenio was effective moving in the pocket to get the ball to his top receivers and passed for two touchdowns. Massiah Ming had receptions of 62 and 38 yards.

Mater Dei hasn’t lost more than one game in season since 2014, so the pressure was on.

“It’s finding that chemistry and continuing to grind,” Lara said. “I think all the games are going to be like this. Everyone is gunning for us.”

Bowman, the USC commit who reclassified from junior to senior to begin his college career next year, finally got the opportunity to show off his receiving skills. He came in with only seven catches in three games but was left open several times, and Hopkins made Bishop Gorman pay. Hopkins said Bowman has been making an equal impact with his blocking.

“He’s putting everything on the line every play,” Hopkins said.

One of the stars on defense for Mater Dei was linebacker Ezekiel Su’a. He had a sack and also deflected one of Eugenio’s passes in a key second-half play.

The Monarchs are off next week before opening Trinity League play against Orange Lutheran on Oct. 3. Bishop Gorman comes to Southern California next Saturday for another Trinity League matchup against Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills.

This win means the mojo is back for the Monarchs. This was an improved performance that needs to be sustained for their regular-season finale against St. John Bosco on Halloween and possible matchup against unbeaten Sierra Canyon or a rematch with Centennial in the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

They’re bad.

They’re really bad.

They’re, like, 0-12 bad.

The Bad News Bruins are a quarter of their way to completing a winless season, and who’s to say they won’t do what no UCLA team has done in more than a century and lose every game they play?

New Mexico tight end Simon Mapa (85) scores in front of UCLA linebacker Isaiah Chisom (32) on fourth down during the first half at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Friday night.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

They lack discipline, they can’t tackle, they can’t score and their coach sounds as if he has no idea how to extract them from what he acknowledged was the lowest point in his decades associated with their program.

DeShaun Foster once again looked completely out of his depth on Friday night when UCLA was humiliated in a 35-10 defeat to 15 1/2 -point underdog New Mexico, and now the question isn’t if the second-year coach will be fired but when.

Foster said he “most definitely” still felt he was the right coach to lead the program but he failed to make a persuasive case as to why that was the case.

“Because I can get these boys to play,” Foster said.

Did Foster feel as overmatched?

“Nope,” he replied. “Not at all.”

Except Foster looks overmatched. He sounds overmatched.

He has preached discipline to his players, but he either doesn’t know how to effectively deliver the message or teach them to exercise greater self-control. The Bruins committed 13 penalties during their loss to New Mexico, which cost them 116 yards. A week earlier in a defeat to UNLV, the Bruins were flagged for 14 penalties.

Foster didn’t sound as if he had any solutions.

UCLA coach Deshaun Foster leans over with his hands on his thighs while standing on the sidelines during the final moments of the Bruins’ loss to New Mexico at the Rose Bowl on Friday.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“It blows my mind,” he said.

UCLA’s run defense, or lack thereof, was equally mind blowing. New Mexico rushed for 298 yards, and that was with starting running back Scottre Humphrey playing only the first quarter because of an injury.

Foster pointed to how the Bruins won four of their last six games last year as a reason he believed they would turn around their season.

However, racking up personal fouls and allowing opponents to run all over you aren’t trademarks of winning football, and considering the magnitude of the problems this year, it’d be naive to think they could be remedied any time soon.

Of course, ultimately responsible for this entire mess is Martin Jarmond, UCLA’s bumbling athletic director.

Jarmond was the one who refused to fire the Bruins’ previous coach, Chip Kelly, after several mediocre seasons. Jarmond was the one who set a self-imposed 96-hour deadline to find a new coach when Kelly suddenly departed the program to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator. Jarmond was the one who hired the inexperienced Foster, who could end up being to UCLA what Gerry Faust was to Notre Dame.

Jarmond hasn’t just failed to revive UCLA football. He’s bludgeoned the program to the brink of death.

Jarmond didn’t attend the postgame news conference on Friday, leaving it to Foster to tell fans why they should return to the Rose Bowl for future games.

UCLA offensive lineman Garrett DiGiorgio (72) walks toward the sideline as New Mexico defensive end Darren Agu (10) celebrates stopping the Bruins on a fourth down play in the fourth quarter at the Rose Bowl on Friday.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

“If you’re a real Bruin,” Foster said, “you’ll still be a fan.”

UCLA can buy out the remaining three-plus years of Foster’s contract for upwards of $5 million, and Jarmond might as well be swept out with him whenever that happens, whether it’s during this season or after. With his track record, who could count on Jarmond to find the coach who will elevate the Bruins from college football purgatory?

By now, it’s clear Foster won’t be that coach.

The Bruins have not led at any point of any game this season. They were never ahead of Utah, which blew them out in their season opener. They were never ahead of the two Mountain West Conference teams they played in their two most recent games.

UCLA remains the only Big Ten team without a win, and the Bruins very well could have an 0-fer season.

Foster’s team has a couple of extremely beatable opponents on its schedule in Northwestern and Maryland. Then again, as these early-season games have proven, UCLA is also extremely beatable — maybe even historically beatable.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California energy regulators Friday put the brakes on plans requiring oil companies to pay a penalty if their profits climb too high, a temporary win for the fossil fuel industry two years after the governor declared the state had “finally beat big oil.”

The postponement by the California Energy Commission until 2030 comes after two oil refineries accounting for roughly 18% of the state’s refining capacity announced their plans to close in the coming months. The commission has the power to implement a penalty but has not done so since it was given that authority in 2023.

The penalty was considered a landmark piece of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s government and the state’s ambitious goals to curb climate change. The state faces challenges in its efforts to take on the oil industry while ensuring a stable and affordable fuel supply. His administration is also proposing to temporarily streamline approvals of new oil wells in existing oil fields in an effort to maintain a stable fuel supply.

Siva Gunda, the commission’s vice chair, said the state is not “walking back” its efforts to wean itself off fossil fuels but must prioritize protecting consumers at the gas pump.

“I personally truly believe that this pause will be beneficial to ensure that this mid-transition is smooth,” he said.

The commission still plans to set rules that would require oil refineries to keep a minimum level of fuel on hand to avoid shortages when refineries go offline for maintenance.

Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog who supported the law, said the energy commission’s vote is “basically a giveaway to the industry.”

“I’m really disheartened and disgusted by Newsom,” he said. “I feel like this is just a total about-face. And in the end it’s going to result in greater price spikes.”

But the Western States Petroleum Association recommended that the state postpone a penalty for 20 years.

“While today’s action by the CEC stopped short of a full statutory repeal or a 20-year pause, it represents a needed step to provide some certainty for California’s fuels market,” CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd said in a statement. “The vote demonstrates the CEC’s understanding that imposing this failed policy would have likely exacerbated investment concerns contributing to California’s recent refinery closures.”

In 2022, Newsom called the Legislature into a special session to pass a law aimed at holding oil companies accountable for making too much money after a summer of record-high gas prices in California. The governor signed a law the following year authorizing the energy commission to penalize oil companies for excessive profits.

The law also required oil companies to report more data on their operations to the state. It created an independent division at the commission to oversee the oil and gas industry and provide guidance to the state on its energy transition.

Newsom’s office thanked the energy commission for voting to postpone implementing a penalty, saying it was a “prudent step” toward stabilizing the oil market.

“When Governor Newsom signed this legislation two years ago, he promised that we would utilize the new transparency tools to look under the hood of our oil and gas market that had been a black box for decades,” spokesperson Daniel Villaseñor said in a statement. “We did exactly that.”

Julia Stein, deputy director of a climate institute at UCLA School of Law, said state officials are still intent on advancing their efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.

“But I think there is also a sense at the state level that we’re entering a different phase of the transition where some of these problems are going to be presented more acutely,” she said. “And folks are kind of now trying to understand how they’re going to approach that in real time.”

California has the highest gas prices in the nation, largely due to taxes and environmental regulations. Regular unleaded gas prices were $4.59 a gallon Friday, compared to a national average of $3.20, according to AAA.

The commission has not determined what would count as an excessive profit under the policy.

Setting a penalty could be risky for the state because it could unintentionally discourage production and drive prices up, said Severin Borenstein, an economist and public policy professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

“It’s pretty clear they are shifting towards more focus on affordability and recognition that the high prices in California may not be associated with the actual refinery operations,” he said of state officials.

Austin writes for the Associated Press.

President Trump declared Tuesday that federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., should seek the death penalty for murders committed in the capital, claiming without explanation that “we have no choice.”

“That’s a very strong preventative,” he said of his decision. “I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have it.”

Trump’s pronouncement is about much more than deterring killings, though. With speed and brazenness, Trump seems intent on creating a new, federal arrest and detention system outside of existing norms, aimed at everyday citizens and controlled by his whims. The death penalty is part of it, but stomping on civil rights is at the heart of it — ruthlessly exploiting anxiety about crime to aim repression at whatever displeases him, from immigration protesters to murderers.

This administration “is using the words of crime and criminals to get themselves a permission structure to erode civil rights and due processes across our criminal, legal and immigration systems in ways that I think should have everyone alarmed,” Rena Karefa-Johnson told me. She’s a former public defender who now works with Fwd.us, a bipartisan criminal justice advocacy group.

Authoritarians love the death penalty, and have long used it to repress not crime, but dissent. It is, after all, both the ultimate power and the ultimate fear, that the ruler of the state holds the lives of his people in his hands.

Though we are far from such atrocities, Spain’s purge of “communists” and other dissenters under Francisco Franco, Rodrigo Duterte’s extrajudicial killings of alleged drug dealers in the Philippines (though the death penalty remains illegal there) and the routine executions, even of journalists, under the repressive rulers in Saudi Arabia are chilling examples.

What each of those regimes shares in common with this moment in America is the rhetoric of making a better society — often by purging perceived threats to order — even if that requires force, or the loss of rights.

Suddenly, violent criminals become no different than petty criminals, and petty criminals become no different than immigrants or protesters. They are all a threat to a nostalgic lost glory of the homeland that must be restored at any cost, animals that only understand force.

“We have no choice.”

The result is that the people become, if not accustomed to masked agents and the military on our streets, too scared to protest it, fearful they will become the criminal target, the hunted animal.

Already, the National Guard in D.C. is carrying live weapons. With great respect to the women and men who serve in the Guard, and who no doubt individually serve with honor, they are not trained for domestic law enforcement. Forget the legalities, the Constitution and the Posse Comitatus Act, which should prevent troops from policing American citizens, and does prevent them from making arrests.

Who do we want these soldiers to shoot? Who have they been told to shoot? A kid with a can of spray paint? A pickpocket? A drug dealer? A flag burner? A sandwich thrower?

We don’t even know what their orders are. What choices they will have to make.

But we do know that police do not walk around openly holding their guns, and certainly do not stroll with rifles. For civilian law enforcement, their guns are defensive weapons, and they are trained to use them as such.

Few walking by these troops, even the most law abiding, can fail to feel the power of those weapons at the ready. It is a visceral knowledge that to provoke them could mean death. That is a powerful form of repression, meant to stop dissent through fear of repercussion.

It is a power that Trump is building on multiple fronts. After declaring his “crime emergency” in D.C., Trump mandated a serious change in the mission of the National Guard.

President Trump with members of law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington on Aug. 21, 2025.

(Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

He ordered every state to train soldiers on “quelling civil disturbances,” and to have soldiers ready to rapidly mobilize in case of protests. That same executive order also creates a National Guard force ready to deploy nationwide at the president’s command — presumably taking away states’ rights to decide when to utilize their troops, as happened in California.

Trump has already announced his intention to send them to Chicago, called Baltimore a “hellhole” that also may be in need and falsely claimed that, “in California, you would’ve not had the Olympics had I not sent in the troops” because “there wouldn’t be anything left” without their intervention.

Retired Maj. Gen. Randy Manner, a former acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau, told ABC that “the administration is trying to desensitize the American people to get used to American armed soldiers in combat vehicles patrolling the streets of America. “

Manner called the move “extremely disturbing.”

Add to that Trump’s desire to imprison opponents. In recent days, the FBI raided the home of former National Security Advisor John Bolton, a Republican who has criticized Trump, especially on his policy toward Ukraine. Then Trump attempted to fire Lisa D. Cook, a Biden appointee to the Federal Reserve board, after accusing her of mortgage fraud in another apparent attempt to bend that independent agency to his will on the economy.

On Wednesday, Trump wrote on social media that progressive billionaire George Soros and his son Alex should be charged under federal racketeering laws for “their support of Violent Protests.”

“We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more, never giving it so much as a chance to “BREATHE,” and be FREE,” Trump wrote. “Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!”

Consider yourselves threatened, West Coast friends.

But of course, we are already living under that thunder. Dozens of average citizens are facing serious charges in places including Los Angeles for their participation in immigration protests.

Whether they are found guilty or not, their lives are upended by the anxiety and expense of facing such prosecutions. And thousands are being rounded up and deported, at times seemingly grabbed solely for the color of their skin, as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, arguably the most Trump-loyal law enforcement agency, sees its budget balloon to $45 billion, enough to keep 100,000 people detained at a time.

Despite Trump’s maelstrom of dread-inducing moves, resistance is alive, well and far from futile.

A new Quinnipiac University national poll found that 56% of voters disapprove of the National Guard being deployed in D.C.

This week, the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. for a second time failed to convince a grand jury to indict a man who threw a submarine sandwich at federal officers — proof that average citizens not only are sane, but willing to stand up for what is right.

That comes after a grand jury three times rejected the same kind of charge against a woman who was arrested after being shoved against a wall by an immigration agent.

Californians will decide this in November whether to redraw their electoral maps to put more Democrats in Congress. Latino leaders in Chicago are protesting possible troops there. People are refusing to allow fear to define their actions.

Turns out, we do have a choice.

United States President Donald Trump has announced his government will seek the death penalty in every murder case that unfolds in Washington, DC, as part of his crackdown on crime in the country’s capital.

Trump made the announcement in the midst of a Labor Day-themed meeting of his cabinet on Tuesday as he discussed a range of issues, from weapons sales to the rising cost of living.

“Anybody murders something in the capital: capital punishment. Capital capital punishment,” Trump said, seeming to relish the wordplay.

“If somebody kills somebody in the capital, Washington, DC, we’re going to be seeking the death penalty. And that’s a very strong preventative, and everybody that’s heard it agrees with it.”

Trump then acknowledged that the policy would likely be controversial, but he pledged to forge onwards.

“I don’t know if we’re ready for it in this country, but we have no choice,” Trump said. “States are gonna have to make their own decision.”

Federal prosecutions in DC

Washington, DC, occupies a unique position in the US. The US Constitution defined the capital as a federal district as opposed to a state or a city within a surrounding state.

Elsewhere in the country, most murder cases are prosecuted by state or local authorities unless they rise to the level of a federal crime.

But in Washington, DC, the US Attorney’s Office – a federal prosecutor’s office under the Department of Justice – prosecutes nearly all violent crimes.

The administration of former President Joe Biden had backed away from the death penalty. Under the Democrat’s leadership, the Justice Department ordered a moratorium that paused capital punishment as it reviewed its policies.

Biden himself campaigned on the promise that he would “eliminate the death penalty”, arguing that more than 160 people who were executed from 1973 to 2020 were later exonerated.

“Because we cannot ensure we get death penalty cases right every time, Biden will work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example,” Biden’s team wrote on his 2020 campaign website.

While Biden ultimately did not eliminate the federal death penalty, in one of his final acts as president, he commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row.

In a statement in December, he anticipated that a second Trump administration would pursue the death penalty for federal cases.

“In good conscience, I cannot stand back and let a new administration resume executions that I halted,” Biden wrote.

A reversal of policy

But when Trump took office for a second term on January 20, one of his first executive orders was to “restore” the death penalty.

“Capital punishment is an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes and acts of lethal violence against American citizens,” Trump wrote in the order.

“Our Founders knew well that only capital punishment can bring justice and restore order in response to such evil.”

The Republican leader had campaigned for re-election on a platform that promised a crackdown on crime and immigration, sometimes conflating the two despite evidence that undocumented people commit fewer crimes than US-born citizens.

In the days leading up to his inauguration, Trump doubled down on that pledge, denouncing Biden for his decision to commute the majority of incarcerated people on federal death row.

“As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters,” Trump wrote on his platform Truth Social. “We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!”

Trump has repeatedly pushed for the increased use of the death penalty in the seven months since, including during an address to a joint session of Congress in March.

In that speech, he called on Congress to pass a law to make the death penalty a mandatory sentence for the murder of a law enforcement officer in the US.

During his first term, from 2017 to 2021, Trump gained a reputation for accelerating the use of capital punishment on the federal level.

While federal executions are rare, the first Trump administration conducted 13 of the 16 executions that have taken place since 1976, the year the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty.

The only other president to carry out capital punishment during that time was a fellow Republican, George W Bush. His administration oversaw three federal executions.

Critics fear a similar uptick in death penalty cases during Trump’s second term.

Public support for capital punishment has been steadily declining over the past decade, according to surveys. The research firm Gallup found that, as of 2024, a narrow majority of Americans – 53 percent – were in favour of the death penalty, down from 63 percent a decade earlier.

A DC crime crackdown?

Trump’s call to apply the death penalty to all murder cases in Washington, DC, coincides with his controversial push to crack down on crime in the capital city.

That comes despite data from the Metropolitan Police Department that show violent crime in the capital hit a 30-year low in 2024, a statistic shared by the Justice Department in a statement in January.

Homicides, it added, were down by 32 percent over the previous year.

But Trump has maintained that crime fell only when he deployed more than 2,000 armed National Guard troops to patrol the city this month.

“Crime in DC was the worst ever in history. And now over the last 13 days, we’ve worked so hard and we’ve taken so many – and there are many left – but we’ve taken so many criminals. Over a thousand,” Trump said at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

He also claimed – without evidence – that the local government in Washington, DC, gave “false numbers” in its crime reporting.

“What they did is they issued numbers: ‘It’s the best in 30 years.’ Not the best. It’s the worst. It’s the worst,” Trump said. “And they gave phoney numbers.”

Just a day before, Trump signed an executive order to develop a new unit within the National Guard “to ensure public safety and order in the Nation’s capital”.

But under the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the federal government is largely prohibited from using military forces for domestic law enforcement except in cases of disasters or major public emergencies.

Trump has described crime in Washington, DC, as a national emergency although local leaders have disputed that assertion.

At several points during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, he defended his strong-arm approach to law enforcement as necessary, even if it earns him criticisms for being a “dictator”.

“The line is that I’m a dictator, but I stop crime. So a lot of people say, ‘You know, if that’s the case, I’d rather have a dictator.’ But I’m not a dictator. I just know to stop crime,” Trump said.

NEW YORK — An appeals court has thrown out the massive civil fraud penalty against President Trump, ruling Thursday in New York state’s lawsuit accusing him of exaggerating his wealth.

The decision came seven months after the Republican returned to the White House. A panel of five judges in New York’s mid-level Appellate Division said the verdict, which stood to cost Trump more than $515 million and rock his real estate empire, was “excessive.”

After finding that Trump engaged in fraud by flagrantly padding financial statements that went to lenders and insurers, Judge Arthur Engoron ordered him last year to pay $355 million in penalties. With interest, the sum has topped $515 million.

The total — combined with penalties levied on some other Trump Organization executives, including Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Jr. — now exceeds $527 million, with interest.

“While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” Judges Dianne T. Renwick and Peter H. Moulton wrote in one of several opinions shaping the appeals court’s ruling.

Engoron also imposed other punishments, such as banning Trump and his two eldest sons from serving in corporate leadership for a few years. Those provisions have been on pause during Trump’s appeal, and he was able to hold off collection of the money by posting a $175 million bond.

The court, which was split on the merits of the lawsuit and the lower court’s fraud finding, dismissed the penalty Engoron imposed in its entirety while also leaving a pathway for further appeals to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.

The appeals court, the Appellate Division of the state’s trial court, took an unusually long time to rule, weighing Trump’s appeal for nearly 11 months after oral arguments last fall. Normally, appeals are decided in a matter of weeks or a few months.

New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James, who brought the suit on the state’s behalf, has said the businessman-turned-politician engaged in “lying, cheating, and staggering fraud.” Her office had no immediate comment after Thursday’s decision.

Trump and his co-defendants denied wrongdoing. In a six-minute summation of sorts after a monthslong trial, Trump proclaimed in January 2024 that he was “an innocent man” and the case was a “fraud on me.” He has repeatedly maintained that the case and verdict were political moves by James and Engoron, who are both Democrats.

Trump’s Justice Department has subpoenaed James for records related to the lawsuit, among other documents, as part of an investigation into whether she violated the president’s civil rights. James’ personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, has said that investigating the fraud case is “the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”

Trump and his lawyers said his financial statements weren’t deceptive, since they came with disclaimers noting they weren’t audited. The defense also noted that bankers and insurers independently evaluated the numbers, and the loans were repaid.

Despite such discrepancies as tripling the size of his Trump Tower penthouse, he said the financial statements were, if anything, lowball estimates of his fortune.

During an appellate court hearing in September, Trump’s lawyers argued that many of the case’s allegations were too old, an assertion they made unsuccessfully before trial. The defense also contends that James misused a consumer-protection law to sue Trump and improperly policed private business transactions that were satisfactory to those involved.

State attorneys said the law in question applies to fraudulent or illegal business conduct, whether it targets everyday consumers or big corporations. Though Trump insists no one was harmed by the financial statements, the state contends that the numbers led lenders to make riskier loans than they knew, and that honest borrowers lose out when others game their net-worth numbers.

The state has argued that the verdict rests on ample evidence and that the scale of the penalty comports with Trump’s gains, including his profits on properties financed with the loans and the interest he saved by getting favorable terms offered to wealthy borrowers.

The civil fraud case was just one of several legal obstacles for Trump as he campaigned, won and segued to a second term as president.

On Jan. 10, he was sentenced in his criminal hush money case to what’s known as an unconditional discharge, leaving his conviction on the books but sparing him jail, probation, a fine or other punishment. He is appealing the conviction.

And in December, a federal appeals court upheld a jury’s finding that Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her, affirming a $5 million judgment against him. The appeals court declined in June to reconsider; he still can try to get the Supreme Court to hear his appeal.

He’s also appealing a subsequent verdict that requires him to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamation claims.

Peltz and Sisak write for the Associated Press.

The court’s ruling delivers a major victory to the US president, who has rejected accusations he inflated his assets.

An appeals court in New York has thrown out a civil fraud penalty that would have cost United States President Donald Trump and his business associates nearly half a billion dollars, calling the fine “excessive”.

On Thursday, a five-judge panel in New York’s Appellate Division rendered its decision after weighing Trump’s appeal for nearly 11 months.

In its ruling, the panel cited the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits the government from levying unduly harsh penalties on its citizens.

The case stems from a civil suit brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who argued that Trump had inflated his financial records in order to secure advantages with insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions.

In February 2024, a lower court had ordered Trump to pay $355m in penalties, an amount the appeals court called into question. That amount has since grown to about $515m due to accumulating interest.

“While the injunctive relief ordered by the court is well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture, the court’s disgorgement order, which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” two of the panel’s judges, Dianne T Renwick and Peter H Moulton, wrote in one opinion.

While the court did dismiss the penalty in its entirety, its judges were divided over the merits of the lower court’s ruling, finding that Trump and his co-defendants had misrepresented their wealth in “fraudulent ways”.

The judge who issued that initial decision, Arthur Engoron, a Democrat, explained in his initial decision that “the frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience”.

In his 92-page decision, Engoron expressed particular frustration over Trump’s refusal to answer questions before the court and his refusal to acknowledge the misrepresentations in his financial documents.

“Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin,” Engoron wrote.

“Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways.”

Trump and his co-defendants — who include his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr, as well as other Trump Organization leaders — were dealt a combined financial penalty that currently totals to about $527m, with interest.

While Engoron’s ruling left the Trump Organization intact, it did bar Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr from serving in executive roles for two years.

Everton manager David Moyes says he’s disappointed by the crucial video assistant referee decision that gave Leeds a 1-0 win, insisting James Tarkowski did everything he could to avoid conceding a late penalty.

WATCH: Match of the Day highlights: Leeds 1-0 Everton

Available to UK users only.

England beat Sweden on penalties in the Euro 2025 quarterfinal before going on to beat Spain in the final.

England defender Jess Carter said she felt a sigh of relief when her non-Black teammates missed penalties during their shootout win over Sweden in the Women’s Euro 2025 quarterfinals, fearing Lauren James would suffer “astronomical” racist abuse if the forward had been the only player to miss her spot-kick.

England overcame a two-goal deficit to force penalties in Zurich, eventually triumphing 3-2 in a dramatic shootout that featured 14 attempts.

Sweden goalkeeper Jennifer Falk saved four England penalties, including James’ second effort. Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton, who are all white, also missed their spot-kicks for England.

“It’s horrible to say but it’s almost like a sigh of relief when other players that weren’t Black missed a penalty, because the racism that would have come with LJ (James) being the only one that missed would have been astronomical,” Carter told United Kingdom broadcaster ITN on Monday.

“It’s not because we want them to fail – it’s about knowing how it’s going to be for us (England’s Black players) if we miss.”

Carter said in July that she had been the target of online racist abuse since Euro 2025 began in Switzerland and announced that she is stepping away from social media for the duration of the tournament.

“It makes you feel really small. It makes you feel like you’re not important, that you’re not valuable,” the 27-year-old said about the effect the abuse had on her.

“It makes you second-guess everything that you do – it’s not a nice place to be. It doesn’t make me feel confident going back on to the pitch. My family was so devastated by it as well and so sad.”

England, who traditionally take a knee before matches as a gesture against racism, opted not to do so before their semifinal against Italy, following Carter’s revelations about the abuse she faced.

She also admitted to feeling fear when England manager Sarina Wiegman informed her she would be playing in the final against Spain, which England won 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been scared – too scared to play,” Carter said.

“I think it was a mixture of such a big game, but then on top of that (I was) scared of whatever abuse might come with it, whether it’s football-based or whether it was going to be the racial abuse that was going to come with it because I did something wrong.”

Federal authorities in the United States revealed Tuesday that they will not seek the death penalty against three reputed Mexican drug cartel leaders, including an alleged former partner of the infamous “El Chapo” and the man accused of orchestrating the killing of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

Court filings showed decisions handed down in the trio of prosecutions, all being held in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The cases involve drug and conspiracy charges against Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 75, charged with running a powerful faction of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel; Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, who allegedly masterminded the DEA agent’s torture and murder in 1985; and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, 62, also known as El Viceroy, who is under indictment as the ex-boss of the Juarez cartel.

Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York filed a letter in each case “to inform the Court and the defense that the Attorney General has authorized and directed this Office not to seek the death penalty.”

The decision comes despite calls by President Trump use capital punishment against drug traffickers and the U.S. government ratcheting up pressure against Mexico to dismantle organized crime groups and to staunch the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across the border.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s rare for the death penalty to be in play against high-level Mexican cartel figures. Mexico long ago abolished capital punishment and typically extradites its citizens on the condition they are spared death.

In Zambada’s case, the standard restrictions did not apply because he was not extradited. Zambada was brought to the U.S. last July by a son of his longtime associate, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Zambada alleges he was ambushed and kidnapped in Sinaloa by Joaquín Guzmán López, who forced him onto an airplane bound for a small airport outside El Paso, Texas.

Zambada has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and remains jailed in Brooklyn while his case proceeds. A court filing in June said prosecutors and the defense had “discussed the potential for a resolution short of trial,” suggesting plea negotiations are underway.

Frank Perez, the lawyer representing Zambada, issued a statement Tuesday to The Times that said: “We welcome the government’s decision not to pursue the death penalty against our client. This marks an important step toward achieving a fair and just resolution.”

Federal authorities announced in May that Guzmán López, 39, an accused leader of the Sinaloa cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos,” would also not face the death penalty. He faces an array of drug smuggling and conspiracy charges in a case pending before the federal court in Chicago.

Another son of El Chapo, Ovidio Guzmán López, 35, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charge last month in Chicago. Court filings show he has agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities in other investigations.

Caro Quintero and Carrillo Fuentes were two of the biggest names among a group of 29 men handed over by Mexico to the U.S. in February. The unusual mass transfer was conducted outside the typical extradition process, which left open the possibility of the death penalty.

Reputed to be a founding member of Mexico’s powerful Guadalajara cartel in the 1980s, Caro Quintero is allegedly responsible for the brutal slaying of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena 40 years ago.

The killing, portrayed on the Netlfix show “Narcos: Mexico” and recounted in many books and documentaries, led to a fierce response by U.S. authorities, but Caro Quintero managed to elude justice for decades. Getting him on U.S. soil was portrayed a major victory by Trump administration officials.

Derek Maltz, the DEA chief in February, said in a statement that Caro Quintero had “unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA’s most wanted fugitives list.”

Carrillo Fuentes is perhaps best known as the younger brother of another Mexican drug trafficker, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the legendary “Lord of the Skies,” who died in 1997. Once close to El Chapo, El Mayo and other Sinaloa cartel leaders, the younger Carrillo Funtes split off to form his own cartel in the city of Juárez, triggering years of bloody cartel warfare.

Kenneth J. Montgomery, the lawyer for Carrillo Fuentes, said Tuesday his client was “extremely grateful” for the government’s decision not to seek the death penalty.”I thought it was the right decision,” he said. “In a civilized society, I don’t think the death penalty should ever be an option.”

Trump has been an ardent supporter of capital punishment. In January, he signed an order that directs the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Trump’s order directed the attorney general to pursue the death penalty in cases that involve the killing of law enforcement officers, among other factors. For years, Trump has loudly called for executing convicted drug traffickers. He reiterated the call for executions again in 2022 when announcing his intent to run again for president.

“We’re going to be asking [that] everyone who sells drugs, gets caught selling drugs, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts,” Trump said.

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi lifted a moratorium on federal executions in February, reversing a policy that began under the Biden administration. In April, Bondi announced intentions to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man charged with assassinating a UnitedHealthcare executive in New York City.

Bonnie Klapper, a former federal narcotics prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, reacted with surprise upon learning that the Trump administration had decided not to pursue capital cases against the accused kingpins, particularly Caro Quintero.

Klapper, who is now a defense attorney, speculated that Mexico is strongly opposed to executions of its citizens and officials may have exerted diplomatic pressure to spare the lives of the three men, perhaps offering to send more kingpins in the future.

“While my initial reaction is one of shock given this administration’s embrace of the death penalty, perhaps there’s conversations taking place behind the scenes in which Mexico has said, ‘If you want more of these, you can’t ask to kill any of our citizens.’”

Tennessee’s Supreme Court says Byron Black’s execution can proceed amid worries that a medical device may prolong his death.

A court in the United States has ruled that the southern US state of Tennessee can move forward with the execution of a man with an implanted defibrillator, despite concerns that the device could result in a botched execution.

The case before the Tennessee Supreme Court on Thursday concerned Byron Black, currently on death row after his conviction in a 1988 triple murder.

Black’s execution has been delayed multiple times, but a date was set on August 5 for him to receive a lethal injection.

However, in July, his defence team argued the execution could not proceed without first deactivating Black’s defibrillator, for fear it would continuously shock his heart as he passed away, resulting in an unnecessarily painful and prolonged death.

Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Russell Perkins previously ruled that Black’s defibrillator would have to be removed prior to execution.

But the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned that decision, arguing that removing the defibrillator in advance would amount to a “stay of execution”.

The state justices added that the lower court’s order was invalid because it had exceeded its authority.

Kelley Henry, one of Black’s attorneys, said that she is looking at the opinion before making a decision about next steps.

Lawyers for the state said on Wednesday that healthcare workers, many of whom view participation in the execution process as a violation of medical ethics, were not willing to facilitate the defibrillator’s removal.

The court did not address concerns over whether possible complications to the execution caused by the device could violate Black’s constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment. It also left open the possibility that Black could still win a reprieve against his execution.

Botched executions have been a subject of debate for years in the US, one of the few Western countries that still uses capital punishment.

Capital punishment carried out through methods such as lethal injection and electrocution can be frequently error-prone, sometimes resulting in painful, drawn-out deaths for prisoners.

A 2022 report by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) found that seven out of 22 attempted executions in the US were “visibly problematic” and included “executioner incompetence, failures to follow protocols, or defects in the protocols themselves”.

According to Amnesty International, the US executed 24 people in 2023, the third-highest number of confirmed executions in the world after Iran and Saudi Arabia. The US also had the fifth-highest number of death sentences, after China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Somalia.

A 2024 Gallup poll found that 53 percent of people in the US still support the death penalty, while 43 percent disapprove. Those figures, however, represent some of the lowest levels of support on record, with favour dropping sharply over the last several decades.