Lebanon’s military is urgently working to meet a year-end deadline to disarm Hezbollah in southern Lebanon under a ceasefire deal with Israel. The operation marks a dramatic shift in Lebanon’s internal power dynamics, as the army takes on a role that would have been unthinkable during Hezbollah’s peak influence.
Two sources told Reuters that the army has blown up so many Hezbollah weapons caches that it has run out of explosives, forcing troops to seal off sites instead of destroying them until new U.S. supplies arrive.
Why It Matters
This campaign could redefine Lebanon’s sovereignty and reshape the balance between state and militia power. Hezbollah’s disarmament is a key demand from Washington and Israel, and its success could bring stability or trigger fresh unrest. However, moving beyond the south risks sectarian tensions and could fracture the army, reviving memories of Lebanon’s civil war.
Lebanese Army: Leading disarmament under U.S. and international pressure, but facing shortages of explosives and political risks.
Hezbollah: Weakened by Israel’s war last year but still influential, especially in the north and Bekaa Valley, where disarmament remains uncertain.
United States: Providing millions in aid and demolition equipment to “degrade Hezbollah.”
Israel: Supplying intelligence through the truce mechanism but complicating operations with cross-border fire incidents.
UNIFIL: Supporting inspection and clearance operations in southern Lebanon.
Current Progress
Nine arms caches and dozens of tunnels have been uncovered in the south.
The army expects to complete southern operations by December.
Explosives depleted by June, with six soldiers killed during dismantling efforts.
$14 million in new U.S. demolition aid is expected, though delivery may take months.
Challenges Ahead
Hezbollah has agreed to ceasefire terms in the south but refuses to disarm elsewhere without a political deal.
Lebanese officials fear civil strife if the army expands disarmament north without consensus.
Israeli air strikes and occupation of five border hilltops threaten to delay progress.
What’s Next
The U.S. and allies are pressing Beirut to meet the year-end target and expand efforts beyond the south in 2026. But Hezbollah’s warning against confronting the Shi’ite community, and ongoing Israeli pressure, mean Lebanon’s army must walk a political and military tightrope.
As one Lebanese official put it:“The army if betting on time.”
In a sign of California’s rising status as a major hub of Democratic politics, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday he’s considering a run for president in 2028 — just a day after former U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris made the same pronouncement.
Newsom, a Democrat who has won national prominence this year pitching himself a leader of the resistance to President Trump, admitted for the first time publicly that he is seriously weighing a 2028 presidential run.
In an interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning,” Newsom was asked whether he would give “serious thought” after the 2026 midterms to a White House bid.
“Yeah, I’d be lying otherwise,” Newsom replied. “I’d just be lying. And I’m not — I can’t do that.”
Harris said this weekend in an interview with the BBC that she expects a woman will be president in the coming year. “Possibly,” she said, it could be her.
“I am not done,” she said. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones.”
It’s still more than three years until the November 2028 election, and entirely possible only one or neither of the two California politicians could throw their hat in the race.
But the early willingness of Newsom and Harris to publicly consider a White House bid shows that the Golden State is still a major hub of Democratic politics. It also sets up a potential 2028 political showdown between two of California’s weightiest political figureheads.
For years, Newsom has denied presidential ambitions. But since Trump defeated Harris in the November 2024 election, the California governor has emerged as a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s agenda.
Under Newsom’s leadership, California has filed dozens of lawsuits against Trump — most noticeably against the Trump administration’ deployment of National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles. The governor has also become more aggressive on social media, taking to X to taunt and troll Trump.
Still, Newsom, whose term ends in January 2027 and who cannot run again for governor because of term limits, cautioned that he is not rushing into a 2028 presidential campaign.
“I have no idea,” Newsom said Sunday of whether he will actually decide to run.
After Trump defeated Harris in November, Harris was viewed as a possible candidate for California governor. But in July she announced that, after “serious thought” she would not run for the top California office.
“For now, my leadership — and public service — will not be in elected office,” Harris said in a statement. “I look forward to getting back out and listening to the American people, helping elect Democrats across the nation who will fight fearlessly, and sharing more details in the months ahead about my own plans.”
Newsom’s interest in the White House raises the stakes for passing Proposition 50, a California ballot measure he has pushed — in response to a similar initiative in Texas — that would allow state Democrats to temporarily change the boundaries of U.S. House maps so that they are more favorable to Democrats. California voters will vote on Prop 50 in a special election next week.
Newsom has cast his effort as a response to Trump’s push to redraw maps in Republican-controlled states to make them more favorable to the GOP.
“I think it’s about our democracy,” Newsom said in the CBS interview. “It’s about the future of this republic. I think it’s about, you know, what the founding fathers lived and died for, this notion of the rule of law, and not the rule of Don.”
If Newsom is successful and Proposition 50 passes, the move could potentially help future Democratic candidates for the White House.
But either way, both Newsom and Harris would face high hurdles in battleground states if they ran for president.
Just being a Californian is a liability, some argue, at a time when Republicans depict the state as a bastion of woke ideas, high taxes and crime.
While California boasts the world’s fifth-largest economy and is home to the massive tech powerhouse of Silicon Valley and the cultural epicenter of Hollywood, it has struggled in recent years with high housing costs and massive income inequality. In September, a study found California tied with Louisiana for the nation’s highest poverty rate.
Newsom, 58, a former San Francisco mayor who was born to a wealthy and well-connected San Francisco family, suggested in the CBS interview that he had already surmounted significant obstacles. Early on, Newsom struggled in school and suffered from dyslexia.
“The idea that a guy who got 960 on his SAT, that still struggles to read scripts, that was always in the back of the classroom, the idea that you would even throw that out is, in and of itself, extraordinary,” Newsom said. “Who the hell knows? I’m looking forward to who presents themselves in 2028 and who meets that moment. And that’s the question for the American people.”
Harris, 61, who served as a U.S. senator and California attorney general before she became vice president in 2020 and then the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2024 presidential election, received criticism last year after losing to Trump by more than 2.3 million votes, about 1.5% of the popular vote. Some Democrats accused her of being an elite, out of touch candidate who failed to connect with voters in battleground states who have struggled economically in recent years.
“I wrote the book for many reasons, but primarily to remind us how unprecedented that election was,” Harris said.
“Think about it. A sitting president of the United States is running for reelection and three and a half months before the election decides not to run, and then a sitting vice president takes up the mantle to run against a former president of the United States who has been running for 10 years, with 107 days to go.”
Newsom has already raised eyebrows this year by traveling to critical battleground election states.
After Newsom spoke in South Carolina, Rep. James Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black member of Congress and renowned Democratic kingmaker who rescued former President Biden’s 2020 campaign, told The Times that Newsom would be “a hell of a candidate.”
“He’s demonstrated that over and over again,” Clyburn said, stopping short of endorsing him. “I feel good about his chances.”
But other leading South Carolina Democrats voiced doubts that Newsom could win over working class and swing voters in battleground states.
Richard Harpootlian, a South Carolina attorney, former state senator and former chairman of the state Democratic Party, called Newsom “a handsome man with great hair.”
“But the party is searching for a left-of-moderate candidate who can articulate blue-collar hopes and desires,” Harpootlian told The Times.
“If he had a track record of solving huge problems like homelessness, or the social safety net, he’d be a more palatable candidate,” he added. “I just think he’s going to have a tough time explaining why there’s so many failures in California.”
President Donald Trump frowned on Ontario, Canada, running an anti-tariff ad featuring edited comments by President Ronald Reagan during the World Series opener on Friday night and announced an additional 10% tariff on Canadian goods. Photo by Francis Chung/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 25 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Saturday said he will add a 10% tariff to Canadian goods after the airing of a controversial ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan during the World Series.
As the Toronto Blue Jays were on their way to winning the opening game by an 11-4 score over the Los Angeles Dodgers, an anti-tariffs ad featuring edited comments made by Reagan regarding his tariffs on Japanese goods.
The ad spurred Trump to follow through on an earlier threat to increase the tariff on Canadian goods exported to the United States.
“Canada was caught red-handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s speech on tariffs,” Trump said Saturday in a Truth Social post.
“The sole purpose of this fraud was Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their ‘rescue’ on tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States,” the president said.
“Ronald Reagan loved tariffs for the purpose of national security and the economy, but Canada said he didn’t,” Trump added.
The president said Canada was supposed to immediately cease airing the ad and remove it, but “they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a fraud.”
“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts and hostile act, I am increasing the tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now,” Trump added.
Reagan made the comments during an April 25, 1987, radio address to defend his tariff policy, but the Ontario government used and edited them without permission from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.
The Ontario ad runs for a minute and edits the former president’s comments, which Trump and others have called “misleading.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the ad’s intent is to “initiate a conversation” with U.S. officials and to reach “U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” CBS News reported.
The U.S. imposes a 10% tariff on Canadian energy, energy resources and potash and 35% for all other products that are not exempted by the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, according to the ReedSmith Trump 2.0 Tariff Tracker.
England rallied to secure their semifinal spot at the World Cup while India’s defeat jeopardises their last-four chances.
England dug in for a four-run victory over India to clinch a semifinal spot at the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup on Sunday, leaving the tournament co-hosts in a five-way contest for the remaining place in the final four.
Chasing a winning target of 289, India stumbled from a position of strength to fall just short as they were restricted to 284-5 in their 50 overs.
India were on course for victory for much of their innings – Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 88, while skipper Harmanpreet Kaur hit a run-a-ball 70.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt picked up 2-47 and left-arm spinner Linsey Smith bowled a tight spell of 1-40 in 10 overs, including the key wicket of Mandhana, to apply the brakes on the home team and help pull off a stunning win.
It was India’s third straight loss – following defeats to Australia and South Africa – and stunned the home crowd at Holkar Stadium.
This was after England opted to bat first and posted 288-8, with Heather Knight contributing 109 off 91 balls.
England joined defending champions Australia and South Africa in the semifinals with a fourth win in five games. The four-time champions next play Australia on Wednesday at the same venue.
India are still fourth with four points from five games and need a massive turnaround in form against New Zealand on Thursday and Bangladesh on Sunday in their remaining two group games.
“Smriti’s dismissal was the turning point,” Kaur said. “We had sufficient batting to finish the game, but I don’t know how things went the other way. Credit to England – they kept bowling well and kept getting wickets.”
Co-hosts Sri Lanka take on Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai on Monday.
England’s Linsey Smith, right, celebrates after taking the key wicket of Mandhana for 88 during the India run chase [Ajit Solanki/AP Photo]
India come close
The chase did not get off to the best start. Pratika Rawal was caught behind for six, while Charlie Dean trapped Harleen Deol leg before wicket for 24.
Mandhana and Kaur then combined at 42-2, and the pair added 125 runs off 122 balls for the third wicket, with India seemingly cruising on a batting-friendly surface.
Kaur reached her half-century off 54 balls, while Mandhana was content with playing an anchoring role. She reached her second consecutive fifty off 60 balls.
Sciver-Brunt got the breakthrough to dismiss Kaur, but India were still favourites to win.
Deepti Sharma hit 50 off 57, and put on 67 off 66 with Mandhana.
India needed 62 off the last 60 deliveries, but momentum swung when Mandhana went for a big shot against Smith in the 42nd over and was caught on the boundary.
India slipped from 234-3 to 262-6 in 33 deliveries with Sharma out caught off Sophie Ecclestone (1-58) in the 47th over.
England piled on the pressure as Amanjot Kaur (18 not out) and Sneh Rana (10 not out) were unable to finish off the chase.
India’s Amanjot Kaur, left, and Sneh Rana react after losing the match against England at Holkar Cricket Stadium [Surjeet Yadav/MB Media via Getty Images]
Knight shines
Knight scored her third ODI hundred to lead England’s innings.
England made a good start with openers Tammy Beaumont (22) and Amy Jones putting on 73 runs. Jones scored 56 off 68 balls.
Off-spinner Sharma accounted for both openers before Knight took over the innings, including a 113-run third-wicket stand with Sciver-Brunt (38 off 49).
“I got myself in and put down the accelerator. It felt like we needed 300 on that pitch, but it was frustrating to not get there in the end,” Knight said. “I was desperate to put in a statement performance for my 300th [international game] and I am pleased to do that.”
Knight reached her century off 86 balls, including 14 fours and a six. She was run out in the 45th over as England slipped towards the end, conceding five wickets for 31 runs across 5.1 overs.
Sharma returned figures of 4-51 in 10 overs and followed up with a half-century, but it was not enough on the day.
Heather Knight’s blistering 109 runs off just 91 balls set the tone for the England win against India [Ajit Solanki/AP Photo]
Bangladesh crumble as Pakistan’s Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf take three wickets each in Super Fours match in Dubai.
Pakistan have set up a blockbuster Asia Cup 2025 final against archrivals India after defeating Bangladesh by 11 runs in a thrilling Super Fours match in Dubai.
Chasing 136 to win in a winners-take-all match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, Bangladesh’s batting collapsed dramatically in front of Pakistan’s pace bowling attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
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Once Pakistan took the field after posting a meagre total of 135-8 in 20 overs, Afridi put on an authoritative display of fast bowling by picking up two wickets in his first two overs and ended with match figures of 3-17 in four overs.
Fellow pacer Haris Rauf contributed with three wickets of his own, two of which helped wrap up Bangladesh’s innings, while part-time, left-armed slow bowler Saim Ayub bowled a tidy spell of 2-16 from four overs.
Bangladesh opener Saif Hasan (18) formed brief partnerships with Mahedi Hasan (11) and Nurul Hasan (16), but none of the batting stands lasted long enough to see the team through.
Some late resistance by lower middle order batter Shamim Hossain (30) briefly raised the hopes of Bangladeshi fans, but once Shamim became Afridi’s third victim in the 17th over, Pakistan became clear favourites to wrap up the win.
Rishad Hossain, who had an excellent outing with the ball and in the field, hit two fours and a six in his innings of 16 but kept losing batting partners as Bangladesh’s innings came to a close on 124-9 in 20 overs.
Earlier, when Pakistan were sent in to bat by Bangladesh’s stand-in captain Jaker Ali, the decision paid off almost instantly as the Pakistani openers struggled to score runs.
Taskin Ahmed’s disciplined opening spell led to the dismissal of Sahibzada Farhan on the fourth ball of Pakistan’s innings while one-down batter Ayub fell in the next over to Mahedi.
Fakhar Zaman (13) and captain Salman Agha (19) formed a brief and sluggish partnership but could not hit a single six.
Rishad, who took two catches before coming on to bowl, dismissed Zaman in the seventh over and then sent back Hussain Talat in the ninth. Agha fell to Mustafizur Rahman between the two Rishad wickets as Pakistan were reduced to 49-5.
A lower order flourish from Mohammad Haris (31 off 17), Muhammad Nawaz (25 off 15) and Afridi (19 off 13) took Pakistan to 135-8 on a tricky Dubai pitch.
Afridi was named player of the match for his all-round heroics.
Pakistan will be especially delighted to see their premier pace bowler return to wicket-taking form before the final against bitter rivals India on Sunday.
The South Asian neighbours have already met twice in the tournament, and India recorded thumping wins on both occasions.
Sunday’s match, also to be played in Dubai, will be the first India-Pakistan clash in the final of the Asia Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1984.
Tensions have run high, and political standoffs have spilled onto the cricket field in both of the previous two meetings between the teams this month.
Fans can expect another politically charged match, especially with the trophy on the line.
Pakistan will hope it will be a case of third time lucky while India will look to complete a 3-0 drubbing in the tournament.
England all-rounder Chris Woakes was not considered for the upcoming Ashes series on fitness grounds and seems likely to miss out on a new central contract.
That may mean the end of a fantastic 12-year Test career, so we thought we’d mark it with a delightfully difficult quiz.
Woakes is one of 72 players to have scored 1,000 runs and taken 100 wickets in men’s Tests since World War Two. Can you name the other 71?
We’ve given you each player’s nationality, Test career span, total Test wickets and total Test runs as a hint. You’ve got 30 minutes, good luck!
Mike Trout introduced himself to Angels fans at the 2010 Futures Game. In his first performance at Angel Stadium, his magic was on display: beating out an infield single, turning a routine single into a double on sheer hustle, forcing two errors with his speed on ground balls that could have been scored as hits.
He was not selected the most valuable player of the game. Fifteen years later, does he remember who was?
He thought about it for a second. Then his eyes lit up.
“Hank Conger,” Trout said.
The Angels had drafted both in the first round: Conger, a catcher, in 2006; Trout, an outfielder, in 2009. Before the 2010 season, Baseball America ranked Conger as the 84th best prospect in baseball, Trout as the 85th.
Of the 29 position players in the 2010 Futures Game, Trout is the only one still playing. Conger, now a coach for the Minnesota Twins, last played in the major leagues nine years ago.
In 2012, when he and Trout each started the season at triple-A Salt Lake, Conger realized there were top prospects, and then there was Trout.
Trout was 20. He played 20 games, batted .403, and the Angels summoned him to the major leagues for good.
“He goes off, gets called up, misses almost a month,” Conger said, “and still becomes the rookie of the year.”
That vote was unanimous. Trout also finished a close second for American League MVP to Miguel Cabrera, who won the Triple Crown. He went on to win three MVP awards — only Barry Bonds has won more — and finish in the top five in MVP voting every year for nine consecutive years.
On Saturday night, Trout hit his 400th home run, a milestone the oft-laconic Trout readily put into perspective.
“Definitely one to sit on, just to look back and reflect how quick it’s gone,” he said last month. “It seems like yesterday I just got drafted. Now I have two kids, and I’ve been here 14 years.”
Trout is 34, deep into the second half of his major league days. The mere mention of his name commonly triggers twin laments from fans: how injuries have hampered his career, and how the Angels have hampered his career.
In the first nine seasons of his career, the Angels put Trout on the injured list twice. In the five seasons since, this one included, the Angels put Trout on the injured list six times. He has not played 130 games in a season since 2019.
“Is this our modern-day version of Mickey Mantle?” asked Tim Salmon, who ranks second on the Angels’ all-time home run list at 299. “They talk about Mickey Mantle: if he didn’t blow out his knee, what could he have been? Are we going to look back on Trout’s career and say the same things?
“He’s obviously a Hall of Famer in so many ways already, but will he get the typical benchmarks? Will he be in that category like (former Angels teammate Albert) Pujols? He could have been.”
If Trout had played as often since the pandemic as he did before it, he already would have topped 500 home runs.
He still hits for power. He still gets on base, tied for third in the AL in walks. He hits the ball hard, when he hits it.
However, of the 144 major leaguers with enough at-bats to qualify for a batting title, Trout has struck out the second-most (.320 strikeout percentage). After hitting his 398th home run on Aug. 7, he did not hit his 399th until Sept. 11.
With 400 home runs, Trout ranks among the top 60 all-time. Dan Szymborski of Fangraphs projects Trout will finish his career with 503 home runs. That would get Trout into the top 30.
With good health, Trout might well have gotten to 600. That could have put him into the top 10, ahead of Frank Robinson, looking up at the likes of Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr. and Willie Mays.
“I’ve always told myself everything happens for a reason,” Trout said. “I did everything I could to be on the field.
“If I look back, I can say, ‘It sucks I’ve been banged up,’ but I’m here now, and I’ve still got a lot of time left to enjoy.”
The first two names former Angels manager Joe Maddon dropped in a comparison with Trout: Bonds and Griffey.
“He’s just among the best athletes ever to play the game,” Maddon said. “He has strength and speed and agility and everything.
“If you’re going to scout the perfect player, it would be Mike Trout.”
Bonds did not win a World Series; the Angels denied him. Griffey did not play in a World Series.
No one denies their greatness. No one should discount Trout’s, no matter how interrupted his half-decade has been. He was the dominant player of the previous decade, all of it.
Joe Maddon, left, who was Mike Trout’s manager from 2020-22, said, “If you’re going to scout the perfect player, it would be Mike Trout.”
(Ashley Landis / Associated Press)
“He was the best player in the game for, what, eight, nine, 10 years?” Dodgers Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting Clayton Kershaw said. “We’re not just talking about being an all-star. It was unanimous.
“If you ever asked anybody who the best player was, they’d say Trout. It’s like right now with Shohei (Ohtani) or (Aaron) Judge. It’s pretty obvious that Trout was the best player back then, and it’s not like he’s bad right now.”
“Player marketing requires one thing for sure: the player,” Manfred said.
The Angels shot back with a scathing public rebuke of the commissioner and a hearty endorsement of Trout — crafted in part by owner Arte Moreno — that ended thusly: “We applaud him for prioritizing his personal values over commercial self-promotion. That is rare in today’s society and stands out as much as his extraordinary talent.”
The adult in the room was Trout, who followed the Angels’ statement with his own. It ended this way: “Everything is cool between the Commissioner and myself. End of story. I am ready to just play some baseball!”
The first two questions Conger always gets: You played with the Angels? What’s Mike Trout like?
Conger might not tell them about the group texts with long-ago teammates in which Trout still participates, or the random videos Trout sends, like the one of Conger breaking his bat and popping up. He will tell them about the one player that, even on a team with Pujols and Torii Hunter, got inundated with requests to go somewhere or meet someone or sign something.
“Seeing him do almost everything like that, with a smile and really making an effort, was the most impressive thing for me to see as a person,” Conger said.
“You hear the saying, ‘Don’t meet your heroes.’ He’s the complete opposite. I know he’s not outspoken or super flashy so people are like, ‘We need him to be more marketable.’ But, in this day and age, he is the role model citizen of what everybody should strive for in Major League Baseball.”
The private group chats with teammates past and present are what Trout is about, not commercial shoots or talk shows, not podcasts or YouTube channels. He’d rather be cheering on his Philadelphia Eagles.
“The story is, honestly, that he is who he is based on where he came from,” Maddon said. “He’s not been infiltrated by social media and any other new-age, new-wave method of expressing yourself.”
Trout came from Millville, N.J., a blue-collar town of not even 30,000 people, some 40 miles south of Philadelphia. His high school could have retired his uniform number, except that Trout returns to the school every year to present a jersey with his number — 1, of course — to the new team captain.
Salmon has spent his adult life around the Angels, as a player and broadcaster. Fans often press him for the scoop on Trout, he said, with some version of this line: “You guys share the same fishy last name, and he’s Mr. Angel just like you.”
Salmon would be a logical guy to ask. He chose “friendly” and “cordial” as adjectives to describe his relationship with Trout.
“Everybody expects me to know him,” Salmon said, “and I don’t, really.”
Said Kershaw: “I’ve always appreciated the way he goes about the game. There’s not a lot of flash. It’s just good baseball.”
The Angels have not played good baseball. Trout has played three postseason games, all 11 years ago, and the Angels lost them all. The Angels had Trout and Ohtani together on the roster for six years and never once managed a winning record.
That has led to a long, loud and frankly tiresome chorus of well-meaning fans across America crying to liberate Trout, so a great player could take the postseason stage. Come home and play for the Phillies! How about the Yankees? Demand a trade, at least!
“He’s never made a stink in a headline about being disgruntled,” Conger said.
“He’s never going to walk into Arte’s office and say, ‘Listen, we need to do better, what’s going on?’ ” Maddon said. “He wants to win, but he’s never going to influence or persuade anybody who is in charge, because that person is in charge, and his job is to be Mike Trout, the player.”
Even if Trout ever did ask to be traded, at this point Moreno might have to throw in $100 million or so to induce another team to assume the contract, and Moreno isn’t about to pay Trout to play elsewhere when the home fans still love him. And, really, should we not celebrate a star who honors his commitment rather than lobbies to escape it?
Trout has expressed measured frustration over the Angels’ poor performance, but loyalty is his north star. The Angels have treated him well, and he has returned the favor.
One year, the Angels gave every kid at their game a Trout T-shirt — every Sunday, all summer long.
Hank Conger, right, now a coach with the Minnesota Twins, played in the same Futures Game as Mike Trout in 2010 and last played in the majors in 2016.
(Matt Krohn / Associated Press)
He, not Salmon, is Mr. Angel now. I asked what being an Angel means to him.
“There’s a lot of teams that had a chance to get me, and a lot of teams passed on me,” Trout said. That draft was 16 years ago, and still it was the first thing he mentioned in his answer.
“The Angels took a chance on a kid from a little town in southern New Jersey. I enjoy putting the uniform on. I don’t take it for granted.
“They trusted me when they offered the deal — two of them.”
Trout twice passed up free agency to stay with the Angels. In 2014, three years before he could try free agency, the Angels guaranteed him $144.5 million. In 2019, two years before he could try free agency, they tore up the final years of the first big deal and guaranteed him a then-record $426.5 million through 2030.
Moreno celebrated that deal with more of a pep rally than a news conference, in front of a giddy gathering of fans, with Trout and his wife on a dais beneath an enormous red banner that said “LOYALTY,” with a halo adorning the A.
Tony Gwynn never won a World Series, but no one discounts his greatness, or his loyalty to the Padres. His statue, with the inscription “Mr. Padre,” looms beyond right field at Petco Park.
To the loyal and long-suffering fans of Orange County, Trout is their Gwynn.
The Angels have put up two statues at Angel Stadium: one in honor of founding owner Gene Autry, the other in memory of Michelle Carew, the daughter of Hall of Famer Rod Carew, who lost her life to leukemia at 18.
Trout has five years left on his contract. Even so: The first player in the history of a 65-year-old franchise to earn a ballpark statue is Mike Trout.
Times staff writer Jack Harris contributed to this column.
Watch: Charles Mwesigwa – known locally as Abbey – says his women are “open-minded”
Warning: Contains disturbing content and graphic descriptions of sexual acts
A man running a sex ring operating out of Dubai’s most glamorous neighbourhoods, and exploiting vulnerable women, has been identified by a BBC investigation.
Charles Mwesigwa, who says he is a former London bus driver, told our undercover reporter he could provide women for a sex party at a starting price of $1,000 (£740), adding that many can do “pretty much everything” clients want them to.
Rumours of wild sex parties in the UAE emirate have circulated for years. The hashtag #Dubaiportapotty, which has been viewed more than 450 million times on TikTok, links to parodies and speculative exposés of women accused of being money-hungry influencers secretly funding their lifestyles by fulfilling the most excessive of sexual requests.
Our BBC World Service investigation was told the reality is even darker.
Young Ugandan women told us they had not expected to have to undertake sex work for Mr Mwesigwa. In some cases, they believed they were travelling to the UAE to work in places like supermarkets or hotels.
At least one of Mr Mwesigwa’s clients regularly asks to defecate on the women, according to “Mia”, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, and who says she was trapped by Mr Mwesigwa’s network.
Mr Mwesigwa denies the allegations. He says he helps women find accommodation through landlords, and that women follow him to parties because of his wealthy Dubai contacts.
We have also discovered that two women linked to Mr Mwesigwa have died, having fallen from high-rise apartments. Although their deaths were ruled as suicides, their friends and family feel the police should have investigated further.
Mr Mwesigwa said the incidents were investigated by the Dubai police and asked us to contact them for information. They did not reply to our request.
One of the women who lost her life, Monic Karungi, arrived in Dubai from western Uganda.
She found herself sharing a flat with dozens of other women working for Mr Mwesigwa, according to one of the women, who we are calling Keira, who says she lived with Monic there in 2022.
“[His] place was like a market… There were like 50 girls. She was not happy because what she expected is not what she got,” Keira told us.
Monic thought the job in Dubai was going to be in a supermarket, according to her sister Rita.
“He [Mr Mwesigwa] was violent when I told him I wanted to go back home,” says Mia, who also knew Monic in Dubai. She says that, when she first arrived, he told her she already owed him £2,000 ($2,711) and that within two weeks that debt had doubled.
“Money for air tickets, for your visa, for where you’re sleeping, food,” says Mia.
“That means you have to work hard, hard, hard, pleading for men to come and sleep [with] you.”
Monic owed Mr Mwesigwa more than $27,000 (£19,918) after several weeks, according to what a relative of hers we are calling Michael says she told him. He adds that he received tearful voice notes from her.
Family handout
Monic grew up with 10 siblings in rural Uganda
Mia told us that clients were mostly white Europeans, and included men with extreme fetishes.
“There’s this one client, he poops on girls. He poops and he tells them to eat the shit,” she explained quietly.
Another woman we are calling Lexi, who says she was tricked by a different network, echoed Mia’s story, saying “porta potty” requests were frequent.
“There was a client who said: ‘We pay you 15,000 Arab Emirates Dirham ($4,084, £3,013) to gang-rape you, pee in your face, beat you, and add in 5,000 ($1,361, £1,004)'” for being recorded eating faeces.
Her experiences have led her to believe there is a racial element to this extreme fetish.
“Every time I said that I wouldn’t want to do that, it seemed to get them more interested. They want somebody who is going to cry and scream and run. And that somebody [in their eyes] should be a black person.”
Lexi says she tried to get help from the only people she thought could intervene – the police. But she says they told her: “You Africans cause problems for each other. We don’t want to get involved. And they would hang up.”
We put this allegation to the Dubai police and they did not reply.
Lexi eventually escaped back to Uganda and now helps to rescue and support women in similar situations.
Warsan Tower in Dubai, from which Monic Karungi fell in May 2022
Finding Charles Mwesigwa wasn’t easy. We could only find one picture of him online – and it was taken from behind. He also uses multiple names across social media.
But through a combination of open-source intelligence, undercover research, and information from a former member of his network, we traced him to a middle class neighbourhood in Dubai – Jumeirah Village Circle.
To corroborate what sources had told us about his business – supplying women for degrading sex acts – we sent in an undercover reporter posing as an event organiser sourcing women for high-end parties.
Mr Mwesigwa appeared calm and confident when speaking about his business.
Mr Mwesigwa showed us his UK driving licence and said he was a former London bus driver
“We’ve got like 25 girls,” he said. “Many are open-minded… they can do pretty much everything.”
He explained the cost – from $1,000 (£738) per girl per night, but more for “crazy stuff”. He invited our reporter for a “sample night”.
When asked about “Dubai porta potty” he replied: “I’ve told you, they are open-minded. When I say open-minded… I will send you the craziest I have.”
In the course of the conversation, Mr Mwesigwa said he used to be a London bus driver. We have seen evidence he put that occupation down on an official document in east London in 2006.
He went on to tell our reporter that he loved this business.
“I could win the lottery, a million pounds, but I would still do it… it’s become part of me.”
Troy, a man who says he used to act as operations manager for Mr Mwesigwa’s network, gave us more information about how he says it is run.
Troy says he used to work as a driver and then an operations manager for Charles Mwesigwa
He says Mr Mwesigwa pays off security at various nightclubs so they will let his women in to find clients.
“I’ve heard about types of sex that I’ve never seen in my life. It doesn’t matter what you go through as long as his rich men are happy… [the women] have no escape route…They see musicians, they see footballers, they see presidents.”
Mr Mwesigwa has been able to get away with running this operation, Troy claims, because Troy and others are not just used as drivers. He says their names are also used by Mr Mwesigwa to hire cars and apartments, so that his own name never appears on the paperwork.
On 27 April 2022, Monic posted a selfie from Al Barsha – a residential neighbourhood popular with expats in Dubai. Four days later, she was dead. She had been in the emirate for just four months.
According to Mia, Monic and Mr Mwesigwa had been regularly arguing in the period before she left. Mia says Monic had been refusing to comply with Mr Mwesigwa’s demands and had found a way out of his network.
“She had got some kind of job. She was very excited. She thought she was gonna get free, she was going to get her life back because now that was a real job, no sleeping with men,” Mia says.
Monic moved out to a different apartment about 10 minutes’ walk away. It was from this apartment’s balcony that she fell on 1 May 2022.
Instagram
The final selfie Monic posted before she died
Monic’s relative Michael, who was in the UAE at the time she died, says he tried to get answers.
Police told him they stopped their investigation, having found drugs and alcohol in the apartment Monic had fallen from, and only her fingerprints on the balcony, he says.
He obtained a death certificate for Monic from a hospital, but it did not say how she had died. And her family were unable to obtain a toxicology report for her.
But a Ghanaian man living in the apartment building was more helpful, he says, taking him to another block to meet the man he said was Monic’s boss.
Michael describes the scene when he got there and saw where the women were housed.
He says through the cloud of shisha smoke in the living room, he made out what looked like cocaine on the table and women having sex on chairs with clients.
He claims he found the man we had previously identified as Charles Mwesigwa in bed with two women, and that when he tried to drag him to the police Mr Mwesigwa replied: “I have spent 25 years in Dubai. Dubai is mine… There is no way you are going to report me… Embassy is me, I’m the embassy.
“[Monic’s] not the first to die. And she won’t be the last,” he added, according to Michael.
Mia and Keira both independently say they witnessed this conversation and both confirm its wording. When we asked Mr Mwesigwa what he meant by this, he denied having said it.
Monic’s death shares haunting similarities with that of Kayla Birungi, another Ugandan woman who lived in the same neighbourhood as her, and died in 2021 after falling from a Dubai high-rise apartment which we have evidence to suggest was managed by Charles Mwesigwa.
The phone number for her landlord, shared with us by Kayla’s family, turned out to be one of Mr Mwesigwa’s numbers. Troy also confirms that Mr Mwesigwa managed the apartment, as do four other women we spoke to for this investigation.
Instagram
Kayla Birungi, another Ugandan, also died after falling from a Dubai high-rise building
Kayla’s relatives say that they – like Monic’s family – heard Kayla’s death had been linked to alcohol and drugs. But a toxicology report seen by the BBC shows none were present in her system at the time of her death.
While Kayla’s family was able to repatriate her body and hold a burial, Monic’s remains were never returned.
Our investigation found she was likely buried in a section of Dubai’s Al Qusais Cemetery known as “The Unknown”. It features rows and rows of unmarked graves, typically thought to belong to migrants whose family couldn’t repatriate their bodies.
Monic and Kayla were part of a wider, unofficial pipeline connecting Uganda to the Gulf.
As Uganda wrestles with rising youth unemployment, moving to work abroad – mainly in the Gulf states – has become a huge industry that contributes $1.2bn (£885m) of tax revenue to the country each year.
But these opportunities can carry a risk.
Mariam Mwiza, a Ugandan activist against exploitation, says she has helped rescue more than 700 people from around the Gulf.
“We get cases of people who have been promised to work, let’s say, in a supermarket. Then [that person] ends up sold as a prostitute,” she told us.
Monic’s family in rural Uganda say Monic always had the ambition to seek a better life
For Monic’s family, grief is now tangled with fear. Fear for other families who could suffer the same loss they have, if nothing is done.
“We are all looking at Monica’s death,” her relative Michael told us. “But who is there for the girls still alive? They’re still there. Still suffering.”
The BBC asked Charles “Abbey” Mwesigwa to respond to all the allegations made in our investigation. He denied running an illegal prostitution ring.
He said: “These are all false allegations.
“I told you I am just a party person who invites big spenders on my tables, hence making many girls flock [to] my table. That makes me know many girls and that’s it.”
He also said: “[Monic] died with her passport meaning no-one was demanding her money for taking her. Prior to her death, I hadn’t seen her for over four to five weeks.
“I knew [Monic and Kayla] and [they] were renting with different landlords. If no-one in both flats was arrested or any of the landlords, then there was a reason. Both incidents were investigated by the Dubai police and maybe they can help you.”
The BBC contacted Al Barsha Police Station to request to see the case files for Monic Karungi and Kayla Birungi. It did not respond to that request or to allegations Monica and Kayla’s deaths had not been properly investigated.
The BBC was unable to see any toxicology reports in relation to Monic Karungi, or speak to the landlord of the apartment in which she was living when she died.
If you have any information to add to this investigation please contact [email protected]
Details of organisations offering information about or support after sexual abuse or with feelings of despair are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.
Erling Haaland struck twice for Manchester City as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Manchester United in English football’s Premier League, giving Pep Guardiola’s side bragging rights in the latest edition of the derby.
Phil Foden also scored for City in his first start of the season on Sunday, heading in Jeremy Doku’s cross in the 18th minute. Doku squeezed brilliantly through United’s defence and had his first cross blocked, but dug out a second that Foden leapt to guide in.
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Haaland scored his first of the afternoon in the 53rd minute, when Doku muscled past Lenny Yoro before sliding a pass to the big Norwegian, who chipped the ball over goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
The 25-year-old, who charged at United’s defence like a bulldozer all day, completed his double in the 68th when the visitors lost the ball. Haaland, lining up at the centre circle, easily outpaced Harry Maguire to Bernardo Silva’s ball forward for another one-on-one with Bayindir.
The match lacked the intrigue of derbies past, with both teams going into the game mid-table after sputtering starts.
City climbed to eighth with their second win from four, while United are at 14th with just one victory.
Haaland almost had a hat-trick, thanks to United’s shambles at the back. He had Bayindir beaten, but missed a sitter to hit the post. Guardiola was already celebrating, but then held his head in disbelief.
The victory capped quite a week for Haaland, who scored five goals on Tuesday when Norway pummelled Moldova 11-1 to maintain their perfect record in men’s World Cup qualifying.
He also scored his 50th goal in his 50th home Premier League game for City. In the competition’s history, only Alan Shearer required fewer home appearances, 47, to hit 50 goals.
He nearly set up Tijjani Reijnders for a fourth City goal late in the game, but Reijnders chipped the ball just wide.
City had six shots on target to United’s two, but Guardiola’s new goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma quickly proved his worth, diving to push away an early shot from Benjamin Sesko and then making a brilliant diving save from a second-half shot by Bryan Mbeumo.
Foden told Sky Sports that he was pleased to score after receiving some criticism this season.
“There’s been a lot of talk, everything I see at the moment is quite negative, but that is the world we live in when you play at the highest level,” he said.
“It’s about reading the comments and trying to react as best as I can and come back to my level.”
He also praised Haaland’s performance.
“A complete performance, especially the way he held up the ball. He did everything today: defending, attacking, running in behind, doing the dirty work,” he said.
Haaland, meanwhile, told Sky Sports that City “needed” that win after a difficult start to the season.
“You could feel it as well from the fans,” Haaland said. “We needed [the win], you could feel a bit extra today, and I am so relieved and so happy that we managed to do this all together.”
United captain Bruno Fernandes said his side should have done much better, but said there were positives from the game.
“The result is very bad and bad on us, but I think there are two ways of looking at this game as the goals could have been avoided. On the ball, we were positive, brave and playing the ball forward,” he said.
“City were smart to get the goals the way they did and have a very good team and very good players.”
Elsewhere in the Premier League on Sunday, Mohamed Salah’s stoppage-time penalty ensured Liverpool maintained their winning start to the season with a 1-0 victory at promoted side Burnley.
With British record signing Alexander Isak forced to wait for his Liverpool debut, having been left out the squad for the trip to Lancashire, the champions struggled to break down a dogged home side in the first half.
After a regroup at the break, the visitors upped the ante in the second half, with Dominik Szoboszlai finally forcing a fine save from Martin Dubravka in the Burnley goal.
Burnley were holding on for a well-earned point with ease, before the ball agonisingly struck substitute Hannibal Mejbri’s arm in the penalty area and Salah slotted the spot kick into the net in the 95th minute to break home hearts.
Jacob Bethell scored his much-anticipated first professional century before Jofra Archer ripped through South Africa as England thrashed the Proteas by a record 342 runs in the third one-day international in Southampton.
With the series gone, 21-year-old Bethell, long tipped for a huge future despite his meagre county experience, delivered on all of his promise by elegantly hitting 110 from 82 balls in England’s cruise to 414-5.
The left-hander put on 182 with Joe Root, who himself stroked a 96-ball 100, to lay a platform before Jos Buttler took on the scoring with a destructive 62 not out from 32 balls.
It was England’s highest total in ODIs for three years and their best effort at home since 2018, while Bethell’s ton, in his 33rd international innings, made him England’s second-youngest ODI centurion after David Gower.
South Africa were well below the standards set in their impressive wins at Headingley and Lord’s which had already secured the series with a game to spare.
They dropped Bethell on 44, gave away 19 wides and were 72-9 in 20.5 overs when the players shook hands with Temba Bavuma unable to bat – England’s winning margin the largest in the history of men’s ODIs in terms of runs.
Archer took four wickets in a fast and hostile new-ball spell, reducing the Proteas to 7-4 and 24-6 from which they never recovered. He finished with 4-18 and Adil Rashid 3-13.
Though the series was already gone, this was a morale-boosting win for England after a difficult run in the 50-over format.
The same sides now play a three-match T20 series starting on Wednesday in Cardiff.
JJ Bleday hit a three-run homer during a seven-run third inning, Mason Barnett recovered after giving up four runs in the first inning, and the Athletics beat the Angels 10-4 on Friday night.
Barnett (1-1) hit a batter and walked three — two with the bases loaded — during a shaky first inning, but the 24-year-old right-hander blanked the Angels on one hit and struck out eight over the next four innings to earn his first win in his second big league start.
Angels right-hander José Soriano (10-10), who threw 12⅔ scoreless innings in his previous two starts, was rocked for eight runs and six hits in 2⅓ innings, with five strikeouts and four walks.
The Athletics (65-77) trailed 4-2 when Shea Langeliers opened the third with a single and Tyler Soderstrom hit a one-out single. Jacob Wilson walked to load the bases, and Lawrence Butler drove in a run with an infield single.
Zack Gelof’s RBI single made it 4-4, Wilson scored on a wild pitch for a 5-4 lead, and Bleday’s opposite-field shot made it 8-4. Brent Rooker was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded for the final run.
A’s relievers Justin Sterner, Elvis Alvarado and Michael Kelly combined for four hitless innings, and Butler capped a three-hit night with a solo homer in the ninth.
José Ureña gave up two hits and struck out six in five scoreless innings for the Angels (66-75).
Key moment: Bleday turned a 5-4 A’s lead into an 8-4 cushion in the third when he drove a full-count sinker from Soriano 353 feet to left for his 13th homer.
Key stat: Soriano and Barnett combined to throw 63 pitches, walk six, hit a batter and give up six runs in an ugly 30-minute first inning.
Up next: Athletics RHP J.T. Ginn (2-6, 5.17 ERA) opposes Angels LHP Yusei Kikuchi (6-10, 3.83) on Saturday night.
Philadelphia slugger Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs Thursday night against Atlanta to become the fourth Phillies player and 21st major leaguer to accomplish the feat.
Schwarber was four for six with a franchise record nine RBIs in the 19-4 victory. He broke a tie with Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani for the National League homer lead with 49 and moved within one of Seattle’s Cal Raleigh for the major league lead. Schwarber leads the majors with 119 RBIs.
Mike Schmidt was the last Philadelphia player to hit four homers in a game, doing so against the Chicago Cubs in April 1976. Schwarber had the third four-homer game of the season, following Eugenio Suárez and Nick Kurtz.
Kyle Schwarber high-five teammates after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning Thursday.
(Matt Slocum / Associated Press)
The Philadelphia star started the power surge with a solo shot in the first off Cal Quantrill, sending a 2-1 curveball into the seats in right field. Scharber hit a flyout to center in the second.
After Quantrill was lifted with one out and a runner on base in the fourth, Schwarber greeted lefty Austin Cox by sending a 3-2 curveball over the wall in right for his fourth multi-homer game of the season.
With “M-V-P! M-V-P!” chants ringing down from Phillies fans in the fifth, Schwarber launched a three-run, opposite-field drive off Cox to put Philadelphia ahead 15-3. In the eighth, Schwarber hit a three-run shot to right off Wander Suero to make it 18-4.
Australia thrashed South Africa by 276 runs in the final one-day international in Mackay to avoid a first whitewash in an ODI series on home soil.
The hosts amassed their second-highest ODI total as they finished on 431, with their top three all scoring centuries.
They went on to secure their second-biggest ODI victory, with South Africa all out for 155 in 24.5 overs as Cooper Connolly – two days after his 22nd birthday – took five wickets for just 22 runs.
South Africa, who suffered their heaviest ODI defeat in terms of runs, had already clinched the series by winning the first two contests.
“A pretty crazy day, wasn’t it?” said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh.
“A full performance from the lads. Shame it was a little bit too late but full credit to South Africa. They played outstandingly well in the first two games.”
Marsh, Travis Head and Cameron Green each scored hundreds for Australia – with Green’s ton coming off only 47 balls.
In response, South Africa fell to 50-4 in the ninth over and were unable to recover.
“We were under the pump from the first ball,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said.
“They put us under pressure. They made it look like a very good surface, and they were far better than us today.”
South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj was awarded player-of-the-series for his six wickets.
Australia’s highest ODI total came against South Africa in 2006, when they scored 434.
HELEN Flanagan was flooded with praise as she shared her struggle to get her four-year-old off to bed.
The former Coronation Street actress was given a boost by her Instagram followers who gushed she was doing an “amazing job” and making little Charlie “feel safe” despite the night-time mayhem.
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Helen Flanagan has been praised as she struggled to calm down son Charlie, four, as he ran riot at 11.30pmCredit: Instagram
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The little boy was seen charging around the bedroomCredit: Instagram
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Helen, 35, told her son how much she loved himCredit: Instagram
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Helen shares three kids with ex fiance Scott SinclairCredit: instagram/hjgflanagan
Helen, 35, who shares three kids with her footballer fiancé exScott Sinclair, uploaded a video showing their hectic night time routine.
Their third child, son Charlie, was born on March 25, 2021, and was the centre of attention in the clip which saw Helen attempting to call him over as she said: “Charlie I love you, can you come over to mummy please.”
He could be heard playing in the background before he sprinted across the screen.
Helen, dressed in her pyjamas and nightwear, tried to emphasise her point and said: “Charlie can you listen please because I love you and want to give you a cuddle.”
She then suggested he. go to bed in the cot which prompted him to come over for a hug.
She asked him: “Do you love your mummy?” to which he replied: “Yes.”
The ITV soap star then placed his little hand on her heart and said: “I am calm, I love my mummy,” words which he then repeated.
Helen then told him they were going to stop “bouncing around” and go to sleep with “cuddles and kisses.”
Helen Flanagan shamed over outfit as mums say their ‘son would be mortified’
She conceded they could watch a film but needed to “relax” – in order to then “go crazy” in the morning.
Helen, who successfully kept the youngster chilled, then let out a sigh before turning the camera off.
MUM BATTLES
In her lengthy caption, the proud mum explained the toddler’s behaviour in more detail.
She wrote: “Took this video a few weeks ago of me trying to get Charlie to bed and I think it’s cute.
“Think it was about 11.30pm and he’s still bouncing around the room.
“Love my little boy to death he’s so beautiful, he just has SO much energy. I wouldn’t want him any other way though as I know he’ll be an amazing boy.
“I have to take him to soft play or the park every day to burn off some energy less he’d be swinging from the ceiling. Boys are so different to girls, is it the testosterone?
“I feel like he looks like his dad but personality wise is a boy version of me.”
Helen, who played Rosie Webster in Corrie, added: “I don’t like to label children as I think we can over label now and children can play up to it but I suppose I’m neurodivergent and I’m his mummy.
“I also get very triggered by too many sounds all at the same time and struggle to keep calm, I also get really touched out.
“I still co sleep with my kids. Matilda’s too big now but we all just sleep in the same room, it’s what works for us and I’m that exhausted by the end of the day that I just want to sleep.
“Matilda cuddles up to her brother and Delilah sleeps next to me. I’ve tried to get them into their own rooms but they just get really upset and anxious so I don’t bother as they will naturally grow out of it.
“It can be really hard when they are little but also I know that I’m going to want these times back one day too.”
Referring to her plush cream room featured in the video she added: “All I do is tidy up and my house is always a mess and it’s always chaos.
“Charlie’s pulled down these curtains before and smashed my window with a football.
“He’s a different boy for his dad than he is with me. I do feel like with a boy having a constant male presence really helps. When he’s naughty I get too tired and he’s too heavy for me to carry and too fast to catch.
“I also really struggle with car journeys with Charlie, he thinks it’s a game to unbuckle his car seat, so I try and drive when he’s sleeping.
“I think reception and starting school for Charlie will be really good for him, I haven’t done phonics or practised writing his name, it will be a task in itself to get him sitting on his bottom.”
FAN PRAISE
Helen was inundated with messages of support from her famous mates as well as fans.
RHOC alum Tanya Bardsley said: “He reminds me of my Ralphi a beautiful energy.”
MTV’s Charlotte Dawson added: “This is so cute and chaotic at the same time … wouldn’t have it any other way.”
One fan then wrote: “Think this is amazing. You kept calm and in turn that helped him it’s called Co regulation for the uneducated out there who are saying show him who is in charge.”
Another wrote: “Adorable @hjgflanagan you’re doing amazing job.”
A third put: “Well done mumma. This is beautiful. You’re making sure he feels safe and loved.”
One simply added: “Thank you for posting this. So real.”
The Athletics (55-69) snapped an eight-game losing streak, which included seven this season, against the Angels.
Thomas and Kurtz each had three hits and drove in three runs. Thomas, a 24-year-old rookie, hit a three-run homer in the third inning and Kurtz hit a three-run shot that capped the scoring in the eighth.
Perkins (2-2) made his third career start and allowed three runs on five hits with three walks. He allowed three runs on three hits in six innings to beat Orioles 11-3 for first win as a starter his last time out.
Langeliers hit solo homer off Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi (6-8) and added an RBI single. Kikuchi gave up five hits and four runs in four innings.
Travis d’Arnaud doubled to drive in Yoán Moncada in the second for the Angels (59-63). Zach Neto homered after Bryce Teodosio walked on four pitches to lead off the fifth to trim their deficit to 4-3.
Key moment: Brent Rooker doubled to lead off the third and moved to third on a single by Kurtz before Thomas hit a first-pitch curveball over the wall in left center field to make it 4-1.
Key stat: The Athletics were six for nine with runners in scoring position while the Angels were one for seven.
Up next: Angels LHP Tyler Anderson (2-7, 4.63 ERA) starts Saturday opposite Athletics RHP Luis Morales (0-0, 1.93).
ROYAL DUBAI landed a cosy Listed win at Newbury last time and looks ready for this stronger company. He enjoyed every yard of this trip there and has solid placed form at a high level.
TOPTEAM (3.55 Ascot, nb)
TOPTEAM has become a top horse since stepping up in trip and adopting positive tactics and the way he battled to score at Thirsk last time suggested there’s still more in the locker.
VENETIAN LACE (3.40 Newmarket, treble)
Venetian Lace can stamp her class on an open Sweet Solera. The Charlie Johnston-trained filly ran a blinder in the Superlative here last month, making the running before wandering across the track in the closing stages. That was a sign of greenness and she should have learned plenty from the run.
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1 of 2 | Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, arrives to speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in 2024. Mace announced today that she will run for governor of South Carolina. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 4 (UPI) — United States Representative Nancy Mace, R-S.C., announced her run for South Carolina governor Monday morning to succeed Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.
“This morning, I’m making it official. I am running to be your governor of the great state of South Carolina,” Mace said in an announcement Monday morning at The Citadel, where she became the first woman to graduate from the Corps of Cadets program in 1999.
Mace, 47, first came to Congress in 2021. She has developed a reputation as a GOP firebrand in recent months.
Mace told Fox News last week that she was leaning toward running for state-wide office, citing economic issues, crime and “gender-bending ideology” at colleges in the state.
Mace will run against fellow Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., state Attorney General Alan Wilson, R, state Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, R, in the primary.
Mace told Fox News that if she launched a gubernatorial bid, she and Wilson would run a “two-man race.”
“If I get in, I will fight to the finish, and I will take out South Carolina’s attorney general, because he’s turned a blind eye on women and on children and on the state for a lot of reasons. He might force me to do this,” Mace said.
“South Carolina is tired of the politicians who smile for the cameras, lie to your face, and then vanish when it’s time to lead,” she said.
A poll released by the South Carolina Policy Council showed Mace narrowly leading Wilson in the primary among Republican-identifying voters.
At 106-3 on Sunday morning, England were toast, only for Yorkshire’s finest to find individual inspiration to make the unlikely seem probable.
On this ground 20 years ago, another epic series was on a knife edge. On that occasion, it was Kevin Pietersen belting Brett Lee into the stands that secured the Ashes for England. Two decades on and Harry Brook, the modern day spirit of KP, decided attack was the only was to go.
For Joe Root, this Test was always likely to be emotional, a celebration of the life of his mentor Graham Thorpe. How fitting that Root would play with Thorpe-like cool at the home of the great left-hander. Even a heart of stone would have been moved by Root celebrating his hundred by pulling on Thorpe’s trademark headband.
Two contrasting centuries, a tired India attack flogged to all parts. Siraj treading on the boundary rope to reprieve Brook evoked memories of Trent Boult doing the same for Stokes in the 2019 World Cup final – another nerve-shredding Sunday.
When Root and Brook were together, 200 runs to win seemed like a doddle. After they departed, 35 seemed impossible.
India must wonder what they have to do to beat this England team. It was India on the wrong end of a chase of 378 at Edgbaston in 2022, then 371 at Headingley in June.
But something stirred in Siraj, Krishna and Akash Deep. Perhaps it was the beat of the dhol drum that provided the soundtrack to India’s last push.
Brook’s bat went further than the ball when he was caught at mid-off for 111. Bethell looked like what he is – a 21-year-old in his first home Test with only one first-class match since December – in scratching around for five off 31 balls. A wild hack and middle stump removed.
Even the tension got to Root. Play and miss, play and miss, lbw review, edge behind. The Oval came unglued.
It is hard to see how England would have won had the weather not intervened. Smith and Overton, the only Jamies to play Test cricket for England, were left with the task of resisting the touring pacemen and what felt like every Indian in London.
The home side were the happier to scurry to the dressing room. The boos of the crowd when the close was confirmed probably sounded like sweet music.
Palestinian mothers in the Gaza Strip are desperately trying to feed their newborns as Israel’s punishing blockade on the besieged enclave has led to dire shortages of infant formula, with some resorting to filling bottles with water and whatever food they can find.
Dr Kahlil Daqran told Al Jazeera on Thursday that as supplies of formula run out, many mothers are often too malnourished to breastfeed their infants.
“In the Gaza Strip, we have thousands of children being starved because there is no milk for children under the age of two,” Daqran said.
“These children, their mothers also have malnutrition because there is no food, so the mothers cannot produce milk. Now, our children are being fed either water or ground hard legumes, and this is harmful for children in Gaza.”
Azhar Imad, 31, said she has mixed tahini with water in hopes of feeding four-month-old Joury. But she said she fears the mixture will make her baby sick.
“I am using this paste instead of milk, but she won’t drink it. All these can cause illnesses,” Imad said. “Sometimes, I give her water in the bottle; there’s nothing available. I make her caraway and herbs, any kind of herbs.”
Israel’s blockade on Gaza, which has been under Israeli military bombardment since October 2023, has led to critical shortages of food, water, medicine and other humanitarian supplies.
Local hospitals said on Thursday that at least two more deaths from Israel’s forced starvation were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of hunger-related fatalities since Israel’s war began to 159, including 90 children.
The United Nations has warned that Palestinian children are especially vulnerable as hunger grips the coastal territory, and UN officials have repeatedly called on Israel to allow an uninterrupted flow of aid supplies.
Israel has blamed the UN for the starvation crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip, saying the global body had failed to pick up supplies.
UN officials, and several nations, have rejected that claim as false and stressed that Israel has refused to offer safe routes for humanitarian agencies to transport aid into Gaza.
Airdrops of humanitarian supplies, carried out in recent days, have also done little to address the widespread hunger crisis. Experts denounced the effort as dangerous, costly and ineffective.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Thursday that the UN and its partners “continue to seize every opportunity to collect supplies from the Israeli-controlled crossings and replenish those platforms with new supplies”.
“Our colleagues say that, despite Israeli announcements regarding the designation of convoy routes as secure, trucks continue to face long delays that expose drivers, aid workers, and crowds to danger,” Haq said.
“The long waits are because a single route has been made available for our teams exiting Kerem Shalom [Karem Abu Salem crossing] inside Gaza, and Israeli ground forces have set up an ad hoc checkpoint on that route.”
As starvation continues to grip Gaza, more Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military while seeking aid at distribution sites operated by the controversial Israeli- and United States-backed GHF.
A source at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital told Al Jazeera that at least 23 people were killed after Israeli forces opened fire at them on Thursday morning as they waited for aid near Netzarim junction in central Gaza.
The deadly incident came just hours before the White House announced that US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are expected to enter Gaza on Friday to inspect the aid distribution sites.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the US officials also would meet with Palestinians to “hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground”.
Reporting from the Jordan capital, Amman, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh explained that the trip comes amid growing concern in Washington that US contractors may be found liable for the deaths of more than 1,000 Palestinians killed while trying to reach GHF sites since May.
“There is a lot of pressure and insistence in Israel that those sites must continue to operate even if Israel allows more aid into Gaza,” Odeh said.
“This organisation was set up to bypass the United Nations, and Israel is not ready to let it go despite the resistance from the international community to engage with it in any way because it is accused of violating humanitarian principles.”
Hamas said in a statement released via its Telegram channel late on Thursday that it is ready to “immediately” engage in negotiations to end the war in Gaza “once aid reaches those who deserve it and the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza are ended”.
Nehma Hamouda said she has struggled to keep her three-month-old granddaughter, Muntaha, alive amid the shortage of infant formula.
Muntaha’s mother was shot by Israeli soldiers when she was pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter prematurely but died weeks later.
“I resort to tea for the girl,” said Hamouda, explaining that her granddaughter cannot process solid foods yet.
“She’s not eating, and there’s no sugar. Where can I get her sugar? I give her a bit [of anise], and she drinks a bit,” she said. “At times, when we get lentil soup from the soup kitchen, I strain the water, and I try to feed her. What can I do?”
