With his players in need of a refreshing change that would still allow them to compete, UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper took the Bruins to a bowling alley last week on one of their days off from practicing.
“I also wanted to get out of the [football practice] building, to be honest, even for me and the coaches’ sake,” Skipper said Monday. “We’ve been locked in working and grinding and all that stuff, so we needed to get away and just kind of take a deep breath and compete in a different way.”
While it was the sort of team bonding exercise usually carried out in the offseason or during training camp, throwing a few strikes together could be the thing to help spare players from walking out on the rest of the season after an 0-3 start that led to the dismissal of their coach.
A week into the 30-day transfer portal window that opened for players, Skipper said no one had left the team. Additional incentive to stay could come Saturday.
A victory over Northwestern (1-2 overall, 0-1 Big Ten) in UCLA’s conference opener at Martin Stadium in Evanston, Ill., could be doubly important for a team that needs a confidence boost — and reason for players with an available redshirt season to keep playing after the four-game cutoff for preserving eligibility.
“I think the discussions might come up a little bit more after the game,” Skipper said of redshirting. “But, to me, it’s always good to win for everything, just morale and every single area that you’re in. You deal with that as it comes, but right now the guys have been attacking and everybody seems like they want to play and are eager to do that.”
Skipper said coaches have commenced a deep dive into the roster to search for players who could provide additional help after the team struggled so mightily in its first three games. As the Bruins shift from what Skipper labeled a mini-training camp last week into game mode, they will see if those new discoveries can handle the opportunity to make a bigger contribution.
UCLA interim coach Tim Skipper is trying to keep his players motivated amid the Bruins’ 0-3 start.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Nobody appears to be giving up given the energy and personal pride Skipper has seen from his players.
“Everybody has a number out there, but you also have a last name on the back of your jersey,” Skipper said. “So, that last name needs to matter and you need to represent it in a positive way, and that’s what this is all going to come down to. I don’t care what we’re doing, whether we’re bowling or playing football, whatever — compete to win.”
A senior defensive analyst with the Orange who is expected to serve in a similar capacity at UCLA after the Bruins persuaded him to make a cross-country move early in the season, Coyle has been a longtime mentor to his new boss.
Coyle, 69, was Fresno State’s defensive coordinator when Skipper was a star middle linebacker for the Bulldogs from 1997 to 2000. The duo also worked together last season at Fresno State when Skipper was the interim head coach.
Now Coyle will boost a UCLA staff that needs help after the departure of defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe last week in what was termed a mutual parting of ways.
“He is kind of like ‘The Godfather’ to me for football,” Skipper said of Coyle. “Did a lot of teaching me the game. It’s where I originally first started learning how to play sound, good defense. So to have the opportunity to get him here is major.”
Without offering specifics, Skipper said the UCLA defensive staff had simulated the way it would call games as part of a new collaborative approach.
WASHINGTON — President Trump has abruptly canceled this week’s planned meeting with congressional Democratic leaders, refusing to negotiate over their demands to shore up health care funds as part of a deal to prevent a potential federal government shutdown.
In a lengthy Tuesday social media post, Trump rejected the sit-down the White House had agreed to the day before. It would have been the first time the Republican president met with the Democratic Party’s leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, since his return to the White House.
“I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive,” Trump wrote in the post.
The president complained the Democrats “are threatening to shut down the Government of the United States” unless the Republicans agree to more funding on health care for various groups of people he has criticized. Trump did not close the door on a future sit-down with the Democratic leaders, but he warned of a “long and brutal slog” ahead unless Democrats dropped their demands to salvage health care funds.
Earlier Tuesday, Schumer and Jeffries had issued a joint statement saying that after “weeks of Republican stonewalling” the president had agreed to meet in the Oval Office. But after the Republican president canceled the meeting, the Democratic leaders accused him of throwing a tantrum and running away. Jeffries posted on X that “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
“Donald Trump just cancelled a high stakes meeting in the Oval Office with myself and Leader Schumer,” Jeffries wrote on X. “The extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.”
In a post on X directed at Trump, Schumer said Democrats will sit down and discuss health care “when you’re finished ranting.”
Schumer said Trump “is running away from the negotiating table before he even gets there” and would “rather throw a tantrum than do his job.”
With Congress at a stalemate, the government is headed toward a federal shutdown next week, Oct. 1, if the House and the Senate are unable to approve the legislation needed to fund offices and services into the new fiscal year. Lawmakers left town amid the logjam, and they are not due back until Sept. 29.
Trump has been unafraid of shutting down the government and, during his first term, was president over the nation’s longest federal closure, during the 2018-19 holiday season, when he was pushing Congress to provide funds for his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.
The president insisted over the weekend that essential services, including for veterans, would remain open.
Republicans, who have the majority in both the House and the Senate, have been trying to avoid a shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson led passage late last week of a temporary funding measure, which would have kept government offices running into November while talks get underway.
That’s the typical way to buy time during funding fights, but the measure failed in the Senate. Democrats refused to support the stopgap bill because it did not include their priorities of health care funds. A Democratic proposal, with the health care money restored, was defeated by Senate Republicans.
Schumer and Jeffries have demanded a meeting with Trump to work out a compromise, but the Republican president has been reluctant to enter talks and instructed GOP leaders on Capitol Hill not to negotiate with the Democrats.
Thursday’s scheduled meeting would have potentially set up a showdown at the White House, reminiscent of the 2018 funding fight when Trump led an explosive public session with Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi.
Democrats are working to protect health care programs. The Democratic proposal would extend enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus reverse Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans’ big tax breaks and spending cuts bill enacted earlier this year.
Republicans have said the Democrats’ demands to reverse the Medicaid changes are a nonstarter, but they have also said there is time to address the health insurance subsidy issue in the months ahead.
From Ben Bolch: One UCLA football legend sat across from the other, lamenting how far their beloved program had fallen.
On one side was Rick Neuheisel, a onetime Rose Bowl most valuable player and Bruins head coach, wondering aloud whether his alma mater had put itself in position to pick a strong successor to the recently dismissed DeShaun Foster.
“Is there confidence in the current athletic director when there’s been swing-and-misses,” Neuheisel asked, “or do you need to go find somebody else?”
On the other side of the CBS Sports studio roundtable was Randy Cross, a former All-America offensive lineman and three-time Super Bowl champion so angry about the state of the Bruins that his voice rose as he spoke.
“UCLA is clueless, they’re rudderless, they’re leaderless and it’s been decades since they had anybody there that had a freaking clue as to, A, what they want to do and, two, how they’re going to do it,” Cross said. “It sounds simple — there isn’t a better school in America to go to than UCLA — but that athletic department is a joke led by the football team.”
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UCLA UNLOCKED
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Almost every week in UCLA Unlocked, there is a poll for readers to give their opinion on UCLA athletics. This week’s poll:
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An exciting lower-level coach such as Tulane’s Jon Sumrall?
A rising star such as Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein?
An existing Power Four coach such as Arizona’s Jedd Fisch?
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DODGERS
From Dylan Hernández: There’s desperate, and there’s desperate to where you’re looking for Roki Sasaki to be the answer to your team’s late-inning problems.
The same Roki Sasaki who hasn’t pitched in a major league game in more than four months because of shoulder problems.
The same Roki Sasaki who posted a 4.72 earned-run average in eight starts.
The same Roki Sasaki who last week in the minors pitched as a reliever for the first time.
The Dodgers’ exploration of Sasaki as a late-inning option is a reflection of the 23-year-old rookie’s upside, but this isn’t a commentary of Sasaki as much as it is of the roster.
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CHARGERS
From Anthony De Leon: On a play-action pass, Chargers running back Najee Harris crumpled to the turf before the fake handoff could fully develop, immediately grabbing his left ankle and tossing aside his helmet in pain.
Needing assistance, trainers helped Harris to the sideline, as he was unable to put any weight on his leg, before he was carted to the locker room in the second quarter of a 23-20 win over the Denver Broncos at SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
Harris, who spent the lead-up to his first season in L.A. recovering from an offseason eye injury in a fireworks accident, was expected to be a key piece of a one-two punch with rookie Omarion Hampton.
Now, he will be sidelined for the rest of the season with a torn Achilles tendon, coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday.
“It’s unfortunate that that occurred … a rough start. He was playing good. I mean, he’s really good,” Harbaugh said. “We got good football players … guys will step into roles and, you know, be at their best when their best is needed most.”
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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
1926 — Gene Tunney beats Jack Dempsey with a 10-round decision to retain the world heavyweight title.
1952 — Rocky Marciano knocks out Jersey Joe Walcott in the 13th round to retain the world heavyweight title.
1979 — The Houston Oilers overcome a 24-0 deficit to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 30-27 in overtime.
1983 — Gerry Coetzee knocks out Michael Dokes in the 10th round to win the WBA heavyweight title in Richfield, Ohio.
1992 — Manon Rheaume becomes the first woman to play in one of the four major pro sports leagues when she takes the ice in the first period for the NHL expansion Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game. The 20-year-old goalie faces nine shots and allows two goals in St. Louis’ 6-4 victory.
2000 — Ben Matthews ties an NCAA record with five interceptions as Bethel beat Gustavus 14-13. Matthews ties the all-division record shared by eight players.
2007 — For the first time in NFL history, two players have 200-plus yards receiving in the same game — whether they were opponents or teammates — in Philadelphia’s 56-21 rout of Detroit. Philadelphia’s Kevin Curtis has 11 receptions for 221 yards and Detroit’s Roy Williams catches 9 passes for 204. Detroit’s Jon Kitna sets a franchise record with 446 yards passing.
2012 — The Tennessee Titans become the first team in NFL history to score five touchdowns of at least 60 yards in a game in their 44-41 overtime win over Detroit. The scorers are Tommie Campbell with a 65-yard punt-return; Jared Cook’s 61-yard reception from Jake Locker; Darius Reynaud’s 105-yard kick-return; Nate Washington’s 71-yard reception from Locker; and Alterraun Verner’s 72-yard fumble-return. The Lions also become the first team in NFL history to score two touchdowns in the final 18 seconds of regulation to either take the lead or force overtime.
2012 — Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles rushes for 233 yards, including a 91-yard TD run in the Chiefs’ 27-24 overtime win over New Orleans. Ryan Succop kicks six field goals, one to force overtime in the final seconds and a 31-yarder in overtime for the Chiefs.
2017 — The St. John’s-St. Thomas rivalry game obliterates the NCAA Division III attendance record with a crowd of 37,355. The Tommies use a stingy defense to hang on for a 20-17 win over the Johnnies at Target Field, the home of the Minnesota Twins. The previous mark was set on Oct. 8, 2016, with 17,535 fans watching Wisconsin-Oshkosh play at Wisconsin-Whitewater.
2017 — Juwan Johnson catches a seven-yard TD pass as time expires and fourth-ranked Penn State rallies to stun Iowa 21-19 in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Saquon Barkley has 211 yards rushing and 94 yards receiving for the Nittany Lions, who outgain Iowa 579-273 but nearly blew the game. With the Hawkeyes leading 19-15, Penn State goes 80 yards on 12 plays to close out the game, and Trace McSorley finds Johnson in a crowded end zone on fourth down.
2018 — Tiger Woods caps off one of the most remarkable comebacks in golf history. Woods ends his comeback season with a dominant victory at the Tour Championship. He taps in for par and a 1-over 71 for a two-shot victory over Billy Horschel. It’s the 80th victory of his PGA Tour career and his first in more than five years.
2018 — Drew Brees sets the NFL record for career completions while passing for 396 yards and three touchdowns and running for two scores to lift New Orleans past Atlanta 43-37 in overtime. Brees breaks the record of 6,300 career completions set by Brett Favre.
2022 — Tennis great Roger Federer plays his final professional match during Laver Cup in London; teams with friend and rival Rafael Nadal but loses to Americans Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1908 — In a crucial game with the Chicago Cubs, Fred Merkle of the New York Giants failed to touch second base as the apparent winning run crossed home plate. This resulted in a great dispute and the game was eventually declared a tie and played over on Oct. 8 when the Cubs and Giants ended the season in a tie.
1939 — Brooklyn’s Cookie Lavagetto went 6-for-6 to lead the Dodgers’ 27-hit attack in a 22-4 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies. Lovagetto had four singles, a double and a triple and scored four runs. He was the only Dodger without an RBI. Dixie Walker, Gene Moore and Johnny Hudson each drive in three runs.
1952 — The Brooklyn Dodgers clinched the NL title, the first time since 1948 that the pennant wasn’t decided in the season’s final game.
1957 — Hank Aaron’s 11th-inning homer gave the Milwaukee Braves a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals and the NL pennant. It was the first time since 1950 that a New York team hadn’t finished first.
1979 — Lou Brock stole base No. 938, breaking Billy Hamilton’s record, as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Mets 7-4 in 10 innings.
1983 — Steve Carlton of Philadelphia recorded his 300th career victory with a 6-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
1984 — The Detroit Tigers beat the New York Yankees 4-1, making Sparky Anderson the first manager to win more than 100 games in a season in each league.
1986 — Rookie left-hander Jim Deshaies set a major league record by striking out eight batters to start the game and finished with a two-hitter and 10 strikeouts to lead the Houston Astros past of the Dodgers 4-0.
1987 — Albert Hall of the Atlanta Braves hit for the cycle in 5-4 win over the Houston Astros.
1988 — Jose Canseco became the first major leaguer to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in one season as the Oakland Athletics beat the Milwaukee Brewers 9-8 in 14 innings.
1992 — Bip Roberts tied the NL record with his 10th consecutive hit, then grounded out against Pedro Astacio to end his streak in the Cincinnati Reds’ game against the Dodgers.
1998 — Houston’s Craig Biggio became the second player this century to have 50 steals and 50 doubles in a season, joining Hall of Famer Tris Speaker.
2001 — Sammy Sosa became the first player to hit three home runs in a game three times in a season, but Moises Alou’s two-run shot rallied Houston to a 7-6 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
2008 — The New York Yankees’ streak of postseason appearances ended. Boston beat Cleveland 5-4, minutes before the Yankees’ win. The Red Sox victory clinched at least the AL wild card and eliminated New York, which had made 13 straight postseason appearances.
2013 — Alex Rios of Texas hit for the cycle in a 12-0 rout of Houston. Rios finished off the cycle with a triple to right-center field in the sixth inning.
2016 — David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the first inning to set the RBIs record for a player in his final season, and the AL East-leading Boston beat Tampa Bay 2-1 for its ninth straight victory. Ortiz’s 37th homer came off Chris Archer and raised his RBIs total to 124, one more than Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1920. The 40-year-old’s 540th homer, his 300th on the road, struck an overhanging catwalk above the right-field seats.
2022 — Albert Pujols, who has announced his retirement at the end of the season no matter what happened, becomes the fourth player to reach the 700-home run mark, after Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. He does so by going deep twice, first off Andrew Heaney in the third inning and then off Phil Bickford in the fourth for No. 700. The Cardinals win handily, 11-0, over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
With great power comes a great risk of injury, it seems.
Tom Holland, 29, who plays Spider-man in the most current iteration of the web-slinger film franchise, suffered a mild on-set concussion that has resulted in a one-week production pause on “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” Variety reported Monday.
Filming is expected to restart Sept. 29, the trade said, and the delay shouldn’t keep the fourth Holland-as-Spidey movie from swinging onto the big screen on its scheduled release date.
Holland is taking it easy “out of an abundance of caution,” a source close to the production told the outlet.
Since production began in early August, the actor has been sharing his experiences on his Instagram, hyping fans before the film is released.
“Someone is cooking … again,” chef and fan Gordon Ramsay commented on one post, adding a winking emoji to capture his excitement.
Holland posted a video last month where he revealed the film‘s release date while wearing the iconic Spidey suit. A few days later, he posted behind-the-scenes footage where he was interacting with fans on set. It was the first time, he wrote, that fans were on set on Day One of filming.
The fourth film in Peter Parker‘s Holland era will reunite him with his on-screen girlfriend and offscreen fiancée, Zendaya, and actor Jacob Batalon, who plays his friend Ned Leeds.
The Rams blew a 19-point third quarter lead, were set up to possibly win with a last-second field goal and then had that kick blocked and returned for a touchdown in a 33-26 defeat at Lincoln Financial Field.
They dispatched of the Denver Broncos on Sunday, after beating the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders in the previous two weeks.
If you’re keeping a scorecard, those are wins over Andy Reid, Pete Carroll and now Sean Payton, all Super Bowl winners, in a historic start for Jim Harbaugh, who is quick to remind people not to “put me on that dance floor” because he has yet to win a ring.
But Sunday’s 23-20 triumph might have been the most impressive considering the Chargers were flat as day-old soda for a considerable stretch yet still found a way to come back and win.
From Kevin Baxter: Half-filled duffle bags littered the floor of the Dodgers’ clubhouse Sunday afternoon while a jumble of suitcases stood inside the locker room door.
Sunday’s 3-1 matinee loss to the San Francisco Giants, a game which featured another late-inning bullpen meltdown, was the last chance to see the Dodgers at home during the regular season and 46,601 people brought tickets to mark the occasion, pushing the team’s attendance above 4 million for the first time.
But the vibe wasn’t so much “goodbye” and it was “we’ll be right back,” since the team and its fans are expecting to return to Dodger Stadium to open the National League playoffs next week. Even the retiring Clayton Kershaw made that point when he briefly addressed the crowd before the game.
Kyle Freeland pitched six solid innings, Blaine Crim homered and drove in two runs, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Angels 3-1 on Sunday in their final home game of a miserable season.
Victor Vodnik got three outs for his 10th save as the Rockies improved to 43-113 with six games remaining, ensuring they won’t tie the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in one season by a National League team since 1900. Those expansion Mets finished 40-120-1.
Mike Trout doubled leading off the game after hitting his 400th career home run Saturday night. He scored the only run for the Angels (70-86), who went 1-9 on their last road trip of the year.
From Ben Bolch: Tim Skipper is tapping a trusted ally to help him steady UCLA’s football team for the rest of the season.
The interim coach is finalizing the hiring of veteran assistant Kevin Coyle as a member of his defensive staff in a move that could bolster the team after the departure of defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe, according to one person close to the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly because the hiring has not been completed.
The hope is that Coyle could join the Bruins before they open Big Ten Conference play at Northwestern on Saturday.
Denis Bouanga scored three goals, his second hat trick in the last three games, and LAFC beat Real Salt Lake 4-1 on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.
Bouanga, who has scored in four consecutive games, has 22 goals this season, tied with Lionel Messi for the most in MLS. Bouanga had 20 goals in each of the last two seasons and is the first player in MLS history with at least 20 goals in three consecutive seasons.
The 30-year-old Bouanga, who also had three goals in a 4-2 win over San José on Sept. 13, has a club-record four career hat tricks in the regular season, one more than Carlos Vela.
1905 — Willie Anderson wins the U.S. Open for the fourth time in five years, beating Alex Smith with a 314-total at the Myopia Hunt Club in South Hamilton, Mass.
1927 — Gene Tunney wins a unanimous 10-round decision over Jack Dempsey at Soldier Field in Chicago to retain his world heavyweight title. The fight is marred by a long 10-count in the seventh round. Dempsey knocks Tunney to the mat, but Dempsey doesn’t go to a neutral corner. The referee doesn’t start counting until four or five seconds after Tunney is down. Tunney regains his feet and goes on to win.
1974 — The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Denver Broncos are the first teams to play to a tie, 35-35, with the new overtime rule in effect.
1984 — Mississippi Valley State’s Willie Totten passes for 526 yards in a 49-32 victory over Jackson State. Wide receiver Jerry Rice has 285 yards receiving.
1987 — The 1,585-member NFL Players Association goes on strike after the New England-New York Jets Monday night game. The strike lasts 24 days.
1990 — Illinois’ Howard Griffith sets an NCAA record when he scores eight rushing touchdowns in a 56-21 rout of Southern Illinois. Griffith gets touchdowns on three consecutive carries in the second quarter and ties an NCAA record with four touchdowns in the third quarter. Griffith doesn’t play in the fourth quarter. It’s the most points scored in an NCAA game by a player other than a kicker.
1991 — Miami coach Don Shula gets his 300th career victory in the Dolphins’ 16-13 win over Green Bay.
2002 — New England’s Tom Brady completes 39 of 54 passes for 410 yards and throws touchdown passes to four different receivers, leading the Patriots to a 41-38 overtime victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
2007 — Graham Harrell of Texas Tech completes 46 of 67 passes for 646 yards, the fourth-best total in major college history, in a 49-45 loss to Oklahoma State.
2007 — Kentucky’s Andre Woodson sets a major college record for consecutive passes without an interception, breaking the mark of 271 held by Fresno State’s Trent Dilfer.
2012 — Cobi Hamilton of Arkansas has 10 catches for a Southeastern Conference record 303 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-26 to Rutgers.
2012 — Old Dominion’s Taylor Heinicke smashes NCAA Division I records by throwing for 730 yards. He completes 55 of 79 attempts without being intercepted and leads the Monarchs back from a 23-point, third-quarter deficit to a 64-61 victory against New Hampshire.
2018 — Anthony Joshua retains his IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles by stopping Alexander Povetkin in the seventh round at Wembley Stadium.
2018 — Jess McDonald scores two goals and the North Carolina Courage win the National Women’s Soccer League championship with a 3-0 victory over the Portland Thorns.
THIS DAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
1911 — Cy Young, 44, beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 for his 511th and final major league victory.
1936 — The Detroit Tigers swept the St. Louis Browns 12-0 and 14-0 to record the biggest double shutout in major league history.
1954 — Karl Spooner of Brooklyn became the first pitcher in the majors to strike out 15 in his first game as the Dodgers beat the New York Giants 3-0.
1966 — The Baltimore Orioles clinched their first AL pennant in 22 years with a 6-1 victory over the Kansas City A’s. Their last pennant came in 1944 when they were the St. Louis Browns.
1968 — Cesar Tovar played one inning at each position for the Minnesota Twins, becoming the second major leaguer in history to do it. Bert Campaneris of the Oakland A’s was the other.
1969 — Willie Mays of the San Francisco Giants became the second player to hit 600 career home runs — joining Babe Ruth. The two-run shot off San Diego’s Mike Corkins in the seventh inning, gave the Giants a 4-2 win.
1973 — Baltimore’s Al Bumbry tied the major-league record with three triples as the Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 and clinched the American League East title.
1977 — Bert Blyleven tossed a 6-0 no-hitter for Texas against the Angels at Anaheim Stadium.
1986 — Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers became the first Mexican to win 20 games, beating the Houston Astros 9-2 while giving up two hits.
1990 — Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs stole his 300th base in an 11-5 loss to the New York Mets, to become the second player with 300 homers, 300 steals and 2,000 hits. Willie Mays was the other.
1993 — Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers faced three Seattle batters before hurting his right elbow. Ryan finished his career with 324 wins, 5,714 strikeouts and seven no-hitters.
2000 — Houston’s Jose Lima set an NL single-season record by allowing his 47th homer in the Astros’ 12-5 loss to Cincinnati. The major league record for home runs allowed in a season is 50, set by Minnesota’s Bert Blyleven in 1986.
2003 — Detroit set an AL record with its 118th loss, falling 12-6 to Kansas City. The 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117) set the record.
2003 — Second baseman Alfonso Soriano broke a major league record by hitting his 13th leadoff homer of the year in the New York Yankees’ 10-inning loss to the Chicago White Sox.
2006 — Alfonso Soriano became baseball’s first 40-40-40 player in Washington’s 3-2 win over the New York Mets. Soriano hit his 40th double and stole his 41st base. With 45 homers, he already was only the fourth major league player with 40 homers and 40 steals in a season.
2018 — The Atlanta Braves capped a most surprising season by clinching their first NL East crown since 2013, with Mike Foltynewicz taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. A year after going 70-92, manager Brian Snitker and his Baby Braves surged back into the playoffs.
2023 — By hitting his 40th homer of the season, Ronald Acuña Jr. becomes just the fifth member of the exclusive 40-40 club consisting pf players whp have hit 40 homers and stolen 40 bases in the same season. He already has over 60 steals, the first player to ever combine the two totals, and has a chance to reach 70. The Braves defeat the Nationals, 9-6. For the second time in a month, Aaron Judge hits three homers in a game to lead the Yankees to a 7-1 lead over the Diamondbacks. Judge had never had such a game before this year, and becomes the first player in Yankees history to have two in one season.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
A defining image of the horrors of slavery has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the Trump administration’squest to root out what Trump has called “divisive, race-centered ideology” from the nation’s museums and national parks.
Earlier this week, the Washington Postbroke the news that the administration had ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, “including a historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back.”
The photo in question — “The Scourged Back,” 1863 — is among the most famous images of the Civil War era and has been credited with driving home the brutality of slavery to the masses in what would become a turning point for the abolitionist movement. The image, which appeared in the political magazine Harper’s Weekly the day after the battle of Gettysburg, showed the deeply scarred back of an escaped slave-turned-Union soldier referred to as “Gordon,” but whose real name may have been “Peter.”
The photo was copied and distributed far and wide in pamphlets and on cards, eliciting shock and raising awareness wherever it appeared. Today, the image is housed in the collections of major museums including the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Art, as well as at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The New York Timesreported that the copy of the photo the administration has targeted for removal is on display at Georgia’s Fort Pulaski National Monument, which was a Union-captured Confederate stronghold that served as a prisoner-of-war camp. The story notes that a spokeswoman for the Interior Department wrote in an email that “all interpretive signage in national parks is under review”; she also “accused media outlets of spreading ‘false claims’ and ‘misinformation’ about the review, although she did not specify what information was incorrect.”
The review of signage, monuments and display materials at national parks, as well as at the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, stems from a March executive order titled “Restoring truth and sanity to American history.” In the order, Trump wrote that the Secretary of the Interior would work to identify “improper partisan ideology” at properties within its jurisdiction.
In August, Trump made it clear in a post on Truth Social that focusing on the country’s history of slavery was unacceptable. He criticized museums for being the last bastions of “woke” in the country, and zeroed in on the Smithsonian in particular for exhibits that discuss “how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”
It’s unclear if the indelible photo of Peter will remain on display in national parks, but one thing seems certain: The controversy surrounding the way we engage as a country with our shared history is likely to rage on for quite some time.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, looking back to make sense of the present. Here’s your arts news for the week.
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Lee Byung-hun in the movie “No Other Choice.”
(Neon)
Beyond Fest The event “proves once again why it has become much more than a genre festival and is now the best film festival in L.A.,” says Times film writer Mark Olsen, ”playing movies straight from Sundance, Cannes, Venice and Toronto with guests including Conan O’Brien, Al Pacino, Luca Guadagnino and John Carpenter.” The award-winning “No Other Choice,” Park Chan-wook’s adaptation of the Donald Westlake thriller “The Ax,” opens the festival, 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Aero. Through Oct. 8. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica; Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.; Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave. americancinematheque.com
Gustavo Dudamel performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall in April.
(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)
Gracias Gustavo Gustavo Dudamel’s farewell season as the Los Angeles Philharmonic‘s music and artistic director begins as all his 17 seasons in Walt Disney Concert Hall have begun — with a world premiere. Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” a co-commission between the L.A. Phil and New York Philharmonic (which Dudamel will take over in 2026), evoking nature’s command of the four elements (earth, air, fire and water) as they operate in both cities. In our case, that involves contending with fires and our swelling oceans but also the promise of a future of unity through celebration of our multicultural communities. The opening program also includes Richard Strauss’ nature-saturated “Alpine Symphony.” — Mark Swed 8 p.m. Thursday-Sept. 27 and 2 p.m. Sept. 28 Where: Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Francesca Zambello’s staging of “West Side Story.”
(Todd Rosenberg / Lyric Opera)
West Side Story L.A. Opera turns to Broadway for this Leonard Bernstein-Stephen Sondheim-Jerome Robbins masterwork, which was originally conceived as an opera. James Conlon conducts the orchestra in such classic songs as “America,” “Somewhere” and “I Feel Pretty” as director Francesca Zambello utilizes Robbins’ original choreography in a “maximalist” production. Through Oct. 12. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY
The cast of South Coast Repertory’s production of ”Million Dollar Quartet,” includes Chris Marsh Clark as Johnny Cash, JP Coletta as Jerry Lee Lewis, Armando Gutierrez as Carl Perkins and Rustin Cole Sailors as Elvis Presley.
(Scott Smeltzer / SCR)
🎭 🎶 Million Dollar Quartet On a December night in 1956, music legends Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins gather to jam on “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “I Walk the Line,” “Who Do You Love?” and more in this jukebox musical written by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. Through Oct. 11. South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. scr.org
🎥 Mysterious Skin The Academy Museum presents a 4K screening of Gregg Araki’s haunting 2004 coming-of-age drama. In his review, Times critic Kevin Thomas wrote, “It’s hard to imagine a more serious or persuasive indictment of the horrors inflicted on children by sexual abuse.” Oscar-winning filmmaker Sean Baker will moderate a Q&A with Araki, actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and novelist Scott Heim. 7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
SATURDAY 🎥 Born in East L.A. Cheech Marin’s 1987 comedy about a third-generation Chicano who is inadvertently deported following an immigration raid is a chilling reminder that this type of behavior from the government isn’t new, just more flagrant. Filmmaker Jorge R. Gutierrez will moderate a Q&A with Marin. 7 p.m. Academy Museum, David Geffen Theater, 6067 Wilshire Blvd. academymuseum.org
Derek Fordjour “Nightsong,” a solo exhibition that combines painting, sculpture, live performance and video to create an immersive, multifaceted experience. 6-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Oct. 11. David Kordansky Gallery, 5130 W. Edgewood Place. davidkordanskygallery.com
🎭 Go Play! Three strangers meet for the first time at a dog park, while their four-legged companions — a flamboyant show poodle, a pampered Yorkie and a scrappy rescue — offer a running commentary in writer-director Barra Grant’s new stage comedy. 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 2. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. GoPlayOnStage.com
🎨 Habitat: Making the California Environment Period landscape paintings depict the radical change in the region between the state’s late-19th century genocide of Indigenous people and the urbanism that erupted in the 1920s. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Langson Institute and Museum of California Art, UC Irvine, 18881 Von Karman Ave. imca.uci.edu
🎥 🎶 La La Land in Concert Moonlit screening of Damien Chazelle’s Oscar-winning 2016 romantic musical starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling with a live concert conducted by the film’s composer Justin Hurwitz. Food trucks and local vendors offer gourmet fare, and themed cocktails will be available from a full bar. 7:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, door opens 4:30 p.m. Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1245 N. Spring St. streetfoodcinema.com
💃 San Pedro Festival of the Arts Eighteen dance companies perform a wide variety of styles including modern, ballet, Indian, jazz and flamenco. 1 p.m. Peck Park near the Community Center, 560 N. Western Ave. triartsp.com
🎨 Manoucher Yektai A survey of early paintings of the Iranian-born artist and poet, “Beginnings” charts the first decades of his career and early experimentation with genre, color, shape and form. 6-8 p.m. Saturday, opening reception; 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, through Nov. 1. Karma, 7351 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. karmakarma.org
THURSDAY Carol Bove The industrial heritage of Cold War-era Los Angeles is evoked in “Nights of Cabiria,” a new exhibition that incorporates the artist’s sculptures into the architecture of the gallery. 6-8 p.m. Thursday, opening reception; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday, through Nov. 1. Gagosian Beverly Hills, 456 N. Camden Drive gagosian.com
🎨 The Other Art Fair Larger than ever, the quirky event presents affordable works from more than 150 independent artists alongside immersive installations, performances, DJs and and a fully stocked bar. 6-10 p.m. Thursday; 5-10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. 7 p.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Barker Hangar, 3021 Airport Ave., Santa Monica. theotherartfair.com/la/
📷 Paul Outerbridge The exhibition “Photographs” celebrates the work of the provocative artist (1896–1958), presenting a rare selection of Carbro prints, silver gelatin photographs and platinum prints. 7-9 p.m. Thursday, opening reception; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Nov. 8. The Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Ave..faheykleingallery.com
📷 Matthew Rolston A multi-venue Los Angeles exhibition of the photographer and artist’s latest series “Vanitas: The Palermo Portraits,” in which he uses “expressionistic lighting” to document dozens of 500-year-old mummified remains in Sicily’s Capuchin Catacombs, accompanying the release of a special limited-edition monograph from Nazraeli Press. 7 p.m. Thursday, opening reception; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Nov. 8. Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 N. La Brea Ave. faheykleingallery.com; 6 p.m. Saturday, opening reception; 8 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Nov. 9. ArtCenter College of Design (South Campus), Mullin Transportation Design Center – Oculus Space, 2nd Floor, 950 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. artcenter.edu; 1 p.m. Oct. 26, Opening reception, artist talk and book signing; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-5 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 2. Leica Gallery, 8783 Beverly Blvd., West Hollywood. leicagalleryla.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Roxana Ortega in “Am I Roxie?” at Geffen Playhouse, directed by Bernardo Cubría.
(Jeff Lorch)
The fall theater season is in full swing and Times critic Charles McNulty has been busy seeing as much as possible. First up this week: his review of the world premiere of Groundlings Theatre alum Roxana Ortega’s world-premiere, one-woman show, “Am I Roxie?,” which has the actor exploring what it was like being the caregiver for her mother as she suffered from the increasing effects of dementia. “The show is more of a personal essay composed for the stage than a deeply imagined performance work. Ortega’s approach is friendly and wryly conversational,” McNulty writes.
McNulty was effusive in his praise for the concert version of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s production of “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish, which staged its West Coast premiere at the Soraya. He begins his review with one word, “Magnificent,” and the plaudits keep coming from there. If you were not in the audience for the show’s three performances, reading McNulty’s words will make you very sorry indeed.
“Eureka Day,” a comedy that skewers the vaccine-mandate debate at a liberal private school in Berkeley, is making its L.A. premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse. In many ways, the play is more topical than ever given the current “anti-science” moment of the Trump era, but it was first performed in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. “The production, directed by Teddy Bergman, has a field day with the woke-run-amok ethos of Eureka Day, where kids at the school cheer the other team’s goals at soccer games,” McNulty writes.
Gustavo Dudamel officially stepped into his role as the New York Philharmonic’s music and artistic director designate on the 24th anniversary of 9/11, and Times classical music critic Mark Swed was there to take stock. The New York orchestra, Swed writes, “is basically his baby now.” From here on out, Dudamel will increase his presence on the East Coast while winding down his work with the Los Angeles Philharmonic during his final season in L.A. Read Swed’s review of Dudamel’s inaugural performance, here.
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Big news for L.A.’s gallery scene as Venice Beach’s L.A. Louver, established in 1975 by Peter and Elizabeth Goulds, announced that it’s winding down its public exhibition program in order to “shift to a new model that embraces private art dealing, artist support, consulting, and projects.” As part of that move, the gallery said it is donating its archive and library, including correspondence, photography, publications, records, objects, graphics and related ephemera, to the Huntington by 2029. “Until that time, L.A. Louver and Huntington archivists and librarians will collaborate to process and prepare the collection to facilitate its transfer, and optimize access and use,” L.A. Louver said in a news release.
School children’s access to the Getty Museum received a significant boost with the establishment of the Mia Chandler Endowment for School Visits — a $12-million gift from the Camilla Chandler Family Foundation in support of the Getty Museum’s Education Department and its engagement with the city’s students and educators. The money will go toward the Getty’s free bus service for field trips to both the Getty Center and the Getty Villa. The gift is the largest financial contribution received by the organization since J. Paul Getty’s original bequest, the Getty says. Camilla “Mia” Chandler Frost died in 2024 at the age of 98; she was the granddaughter of Harry Chandler and daughter of Norman Chandler, former publishers of the Los Angeles Times.
A new one-hour PBSdocumentary on theGetty’s 2025 PST: Art and Science Collide, which, according to a news release, “highlights collaborations between artists and scientists in Southern California to address some of humanity’s most urgent challenges, from climate change and space exploration to biodiversity and environmental justice,” is scheduled to air Friday, Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. on PBS SoCal and at 10 p.m. on PBS stations nationwide. It will also stream on PBS.org and the free PBS App.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Spooky season is just beginning, and features columnist Todd Martens checks in with a creepy séance at Heritage Square Museum called “Phasmagorica.”
Cheese is the star at one of the world’s most enchanting restaurants in a Puglia forest. Plus, cold noodles to obsess over … how fish sauce caramel transforms instant noodles … the sexy steak videos transforming an Armenian meat shop … losing Birdie G’s pickle chicken … 6-to-1 grocery shopping … and an Angeleno’s connection to Mexican Chicago. I’m Laurie Ochoa, general manager of L.A. Times Food, with this week’s Tasting Notes.
Slinging the blues
Cheesemaker Vito Dicecca, who built Baby Dicecca, a cheese bar in the Mercadante forest close to Altamura in Puglia, Italy.
(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)
It’s been more than 15 years since I stumbled into Caseificio Dicecca, the shop of the famed cheesemaking Dicecca family in the Puglia city of Altamura, and bit into a round of freshly made burrata, the rich, oozing cream still warm. No burrata I’ve had since has equaled that first bite.
I had come to the region with chef Nancy Silverton, who was poking her head into the doors of the city’s many bakeries, sampling focaccia and the local bread that has a tradition so old the ancient Roman poet Horace called Altamura’s crusty loaves “by far the best bread to be had.”
Burrata is a much younger food. It wasn’t established in the region until the 1920s and Caseificio Dicecca is just one of several family-run operations in the area making the cheese that is now ubiquitous around the world — thanks in part to Silverton, who first started serving burrata in the 1990s at L.A.’s Campanile before she later opened her many Mozza restaurants.
The phenomenon got so out of hand that a burrata backlash was sparked, led by author Jeff Gordinier‘s 2019 Esquire story titled “F*** Your Burrata,” in which he argued that the appearance of the cheese on a menu “is like a billboard announcing, ‘The chef at this place has never had an original idea in his life …’”
Meanwhile, burrata sales continue to grow, with one estimate valuing the global market at more than $2 billion this year.
Last week, I returned to Puglia with Silverton, this time with author Alec Lobranoand several food-obsessed travelers. Silverton, who is a fan of Gordinier’s writing, read parts of his story aloud to the group even as she extolled her love for the maligned cheese. Especially when it is made by expert cheesemakers like the Diceccas.
And no one would ever accuse the Dicecca family of being unoriginal.
The cheese operation is now in the hands of five siblings — Vito, Paolo, Angelo, Vittoria and Maristella — who are the fourth generation to run the caseificio. At various points, the siblings left Altamura to travel the world and, in some cases, make cheese in places far away from Italy. But Altamura is their lodestar and several years back Vito Dicecca, who spent time in Japan, Thailand, Mexico, Australia and even lived for a bit in Southern California, not only brought back new cheesemaking ideas (the siblings make more than 300 varieties) he created one of the world’s most enchanting restaurants in the Mercadante Forest not far from Altamura.
Focaccia with fresh stracciatella at Baby Dicecca in Puglia’s Mercadante Forest.
(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)
You may have seen an earlier version of the restaurant — which then was more of a kiosk — in the Puglia episode of Stanley Tucci‘s CNN series “Searching for Italy.” A few months ago, Vito Dicecca relocated and expanded his restaurant, Baby Dicecca, but it is still a very simple spot where the majority of diners eat outside surrounded by the trees of the forest.
“Proudly, we serve mostly cheese and some vegetables from our friends close to here,” Dicecca said as he welcomed the group. Even his wines are usually made by friends of his, he explained, as he poured “a natural, biodynamic sparkling wine” made with the Puglian Marasco grape from the producer L’Archetipo.
“I don’t buy the brand,” he said. “I like the people and then I’ll like the wine.”
What followed was a cheese lover’s feast, including focaccia draped in fresh, almost liquid stracciatella (or the “heart of mozzarella” as Dicecca put it on the menu) and “calzoncello alla Vito,” a handmade type of raviolo sauced with mozzarella whey and topped with a fresh grating of the aged cheese the family calls Dicecca Gold. To break up the richness, there was an heirloom tomato salad plus Vito’s take on a Caesar salad with seasonal greens mixed with fennel and celery plus a bit of honey and aged Pecorino. It may not have been a true Caesar, but it was delicious.
At one point Dicecca broke out a charcoal-colored loaf of bread made with grano arso, the burnt flour that also is used in some of the region’s pastas. He sliced the bread, drizzled it with local olive oil and then took a bundle of dried, wild oregano grown in the forest nearby and shook some of it on top of the slices.
Wild oregano is shaken on olive-oil-drizzled slices of bread made with grano arso, or burnt flour, at Baby Dicecca, a restaurant in Puglia, Italy.
(Laurie Ochoa / Los Angeles Times)
Dessert was two kinds of gelato, including one with goat’s milk, oregano and honey, made on the spot by Dicecca’s friend — “a genius” — Maurizio Bonina.
But the climax of the meal was, of course, cheese. And it wasn’t burrata.
Amore Primitivo is Vito Dicecco’s fever dream of a cheese, a blue, aged variety that is soaked in local Primitivo wine for 100 days, turning the exterior deep purple. He places the whole cheese on a cake stand and then loads the top with macerated cherries. Once the group admires the cheese’s beauty, he slices and serves it atop guests’ hands like a caviar bump.
Only when you taste the cheese and its beautifully mellow funk does it become clear that this is not just a cheese for Instagram. This aged blue created in the land of fresh mozzarella exemplifies the best of the Italian spirit — a healthy respect for tradition infused with a risk taker’s desire for innovation.
“For the first three years, I didn’t sell one piece,” Dicecca told us. “My family was very mad at me. Friends of my dad, they said to him, ‘Tell your son, this is not a pastry shop, it’s a cheese shop.’”
For a time, he added, “I pretended to sell the cheese — I was giving it as a gift to friends. But now it’s one of the best sellers.”
These days, Caseificio Dicecca is almost as well known for its blue cheeses as it is for its fresh burrata and pasta filata family of stretched curd cheeses. They’ve experimented with more than 60 types of blue, including an ultra aged cheese, golden yellow on the inside, that Vito Dicecco named Surfing Blu. Who knows what he’ll think of next?
More generational innovation, this time closer to home, as our favorite Grocery Goblin Vanessa Anderson reports in her latest dispatch on the social media ideas transforming an Armenian meat shop: “Sevan Meat Market’s social media videos — conceived by owner Hrach Marukyan, his son Serop and manager Norvan Simonian — tell an Armenian American story built on beef, a story of the old and new, of adaptation to a rapidly changing world. And their growing audience of now nearly 60,000 Instagram followers is eagerly tuning in.”
In a pickle
The “pickle chick” cutlet, front, plus the relish tray and knife-and-fork tomato sandwich at Jeremy Fox’s Birdie G’s, which will close in December.
(Shelby Moore / For The Times)
Last month, when I was at Birdie G’s in Santa Monica for a family get-together — and a taste of the restaurant’s famed “pickle chick” fried chicken cutlet — the place was packed, with the crowded valet station just one indication that this was a place people wanted to be. It seemed that chef and partner Jeremy Fox‘s vision for a chef’s take on a chain restaurant was ready to spread to other locations.
But as Fox told Food’s Stephanie Breijo this week, business has been inconsistent since the Palisades fire in January. “One month the sprawling restaurant’s seats would all be filled,” wrote Breijo, “the following, sales would drop by 40%.” And in the days right after the fire, Fox estimated that the restaurant’s revenue fell by 80%.
“That was a bloodbath,” Fox told Breijo, explaining his decision to close the restaurant on Dec. 31.
Until the end of the year, Fox and Birdie G’s co-owners, Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan, owners of the Rustic Canyon Family restaurant group, are planning more daily specials, ambitious large-format dishes, guest chefs and “one final run,” Breijo writes, “of the restaurant’s fan-favorite Hanukkah series, 8 Nights.”
“What’s the worst that could happen,” Fox said, “we go out of business?”
The great holiday cookie bake-off returns
(Leslie Grow / For the Times)
Here at L.A. Times Food we decided it had been too long since our last Los Angeles Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off — a tradition that began in 2010 and allowed us to connect with you, our readers, and your recipes. As Deputy Food Editor Betty Hallockwrote in our recipe call, we are accepting recipe submissions until Monday, Oct. 13. If you’ve got a great holiday cookie recipe we want to hear from you.
Noodle cool-down
A bowl of Beijing Yanji cold noodles from Bistro Na’s restaurant in Temple City.
(Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )
Columnist Jenn Harris’ latest obsession is Bistro Na’s Beijing Yanji cold noodles. “It’s a tangle of buckwheat noodles in an ice-cold broth,” she writes, “with sliced beef shank, beef tongue, kimchi, watermelon, boiled egg, shredded cucumber, pickled radish and chile sauce all arranged over the top like a color wheel.” I think I need to return to the Temple City restaurant very soon for a bowl of my own.
Mexican as Chicago
Marcos Carbajal, left, and his father Inocencio Carbajal at their Little Village location of Carnitas Uruapan in Chicago.
(Carnitas Uruapan)
With so much of the Trump administration’s focus on Chicago, Food Editor Daniel Hernandez wrote about the city’s deeply established Mexican roots as seen in its restaurants from the perspective of a visiting Angeleno: “Los Angeles may have more Mexican residents in total numbers, but in terms of who makes up each city’s Latino population, Chicago is as Mexican as Los Angeles.”
Instant classic
Holy Basil’s chef and owner Deau Arpapornnopprat holds his ‘Yum Mama’ Instant Noodle Salad With Lime And Fish Sauce Caramel in the Times Test Kitchen.
(Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times)
Have you ever made fish sauce caramel? It could become your next kitchen essential. For our most recent “Chef That!” cooking video, Deau Arpapornnopparat, chef-owner of the Thai restaurants Holy Basil, came to the Times Test Kitchen to show us how he elevates instant noodles with easy-to-make fish sauce caramel and more toppings. As Deputy Food Editor Betty Hallock wrote, the “dressing is classically sweet, sour, salty and spicy all at once.” Find the recipe here.
Curtis Stone’s ‘Field Trip’
To cap off the weekend of The Times’ Food Bowl Night Market, presented by Square, we’ve added a free Sunday evening screening, reception and conversation on Oct. 12 featuring L.A. chef Curtis Stone with Michelin-starred chef Vicky Cheng of the acclaimed Hong Kong restaurants Wing and VEA. I’ll be talking with Stone and Cheng about the Hong Kong episode of “Field Trip With Curtis Stone” and more. It takes place at the Fowler Museum at UCLA. To sign up for free tickets, click here.
And although VIP tickets (allowing early entry) to The Times’ Food Bowl Night Market are sold out, general admission tickets remain for the two-night event taking place Oct. 10-11 at City Market Social House in downtown L.A. More than 40 restaurants are participating, including Holbox, Baroo, the Brothers Sushi, OyBar,Heritage Barbecue, Crudo e Nudo, Hummingbird Ceviche House, Rossoblu, Perilla L.A., Evil Cooks, Villa’s Tacos, Holy Basil and Luv2Eat Thai Bistro. Check lafoodbowl.com for tickets and info.
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Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace): He was excellent in the win over West Ham, not only his goal – which was a wonderful finish – but also his ability to go up and down the pitch for 90 minutes and never stop, never complain. Arguably one of the best one-on-one defenders in the country. Really impressive.
Marcos Senesi (Bournemouth): Both of my centre-backs get in because they are from the only teams who kept clean sheets this week. Senesi is developing into a wonderful player, especially when we look at who Bournemouth sold this summer. There was a lot of talk about their defenders who moved on to Real Madrid, PSG and Liverpool for £150m-odd combined – and then Senesi who was there last season steps up and is a massively important player for them.
Sven Botman (Newcastle): I was at Newcastle’s game against Barcelona and Botman looked frustrated and a bit disenfranchised when he didn’t come on. However, to get a start in the next game, play 90 minutes, and get a clean sheet with the amount of injuries he’s had was a massive show of character. He’s Newcastle’s best centre-half, he just struggles to stay fit.
Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest): Yes he scored but I also think under Ange Postecoglou – with a more attacking style and flair – we’re going to see another level to his game. He had a couple of shots that Dubravka saved. He could be one to keep an eye on going forward.
Welcome to Screen Gab, the newsletter for everyone who wasn’t expecting to hear this much about “Celebrity Family Feud” in 2025.
The talk around Hollywood on Wednesday — and beyond — has centered on late night after Walt Disney Co.-owned broadcaster ABC said it was suspending “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely over the host’s remarks about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and his accused killer. (Airing in its place so far? You guessed it, “Celebrity Family Feud.”) Let us help you get up to speed on the situation. Media reporters Stephen Battaglio and Meg James have an inside look behind the decision to bench Kimmel. The decision, of course, has rocked the late-night circuit, and Kimmel’s colleagues didn’t shy away from using their own platforms to address the matter — here’s what they had to say. And does Kimmel’s suspension have echoes to ABC’s firing of Roseanne Barr? Culture and representation reporter Greg Braxton explains the parallels and differences here. Our reporters were also at the demonstration that took place outside the El Capitan Entertainment Centre in Hollywood, where Kimmel tapes his show.
For the record:
3:09 p.m. Sept. 19, 2025An earlier version of this newsletter said ABC’s “High Potential” airs on Wednesdays. It airs on Tuesdays.
That wasn’t the only shocking news to hit Hollywood this week. Robert Redford, a generational movie star and titan of filmmaking, died Tuesday at the age of 89. If you haven’t already, take a moment to read our obituary that captures why he was one of Hollywood’s most influential figures. Film reporter Mark Olsen also dives into the legendary actor’s impact on independent cinema through the Sundance Institute. And members of the film team explain Redford’s legacy through 10 essential films.
Also in this week’s Screen Gab, Judy Reyes stops by Guest Spot to discuss her role as tough but compassionate Lt. Selena Soto in ABC’s hit “High Potential,” which returned for Season 2 this week, and how she’s feeling about reprising one of her most well-known characters, Carla Espinosa, in the upcoming “Scrubs” reboot. Plus, our streaming recommendations include a documentary telling the remarkable true story of four Colombian children who survived a plan crash and 40 days alone in the Amazon rainforest, and a Redford classic.
ICYMI
Must-read stories you might have missed
Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson is poised to release his latest film, “One Battle After Another,” an action thriller starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti.
Recommendations from the film and TV experts at The Times
A scene from “Lost in the Jungle.”
(National Geographic / Anit)
“Lost in the Jungle” (Disney+, Hulu)
If you haven’t canceled your Disney+ and/or Hulu subscriptions yet, I highly recommend this riveting, complex, exquisitely made documentary about the survival of, and search for, four Indigenous children in the Colombian jungle after the crash of a small plane that killed their mother and the pilot — and the fraught family history that brought them there. Proceeding with the force of a fairy tale, including an evil stepfather, incidentally helpful monkeys and confounding forest spirits, it on the one hand focuses on a resourceful 13-year-old who keeps three younger siblings, including a baby, alive in a dangerous world for 40 days, and on the other, the military and Indigenous searchers who learn to cooperate as they navigate weather, illness, “things that can’t be seen, not with human eyes” and a history of distrust marked by narco-guerillas, industrial exploitation and state neglect. Directors E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin and Juan Camilo Cruz combine interviews with family members, searchers and soldiers, with footage from the forest and line animations illustrating the children’s experience into something suspenseful, strange and beautiful. — Robert Lloyd
Robert Redford, right, with Dustin Hoffman in a scene from “All The President’s Men.”
(Sunset Boulevard / Corbis via Getty Images)
“All the President’s Men” [VOD]
It’s stands as one of the most discerning and potent films ever made about the crucial and essential role of journalism as a public watchdog in holding political leaders accountable and protecting democracy. Based on the book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the 1976 film chronicles the unearthing of the Watergate scandal, tracking the duo’s time as Washington Post reporters — with Robert Redford as Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Bernstein — trying to pin down the connection between Robert Nixon’s reelection campaign and the burglary and wiretapping at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex that ultimately brought down Nixon’s presidency. It plays as a deeply engrossing thriller, and every scene between Redford and Hoffman, as dogged journalists whose work became enormously consequential and a turning point in American history, is gripping to watch. It’s a fitting film to screen this week — to reflect alone on one of Redford’s most powerful performances. — Yvonne Villarreal
Guest spot
Judy Reyes in a scene from Season 2 of “High Potential”
(Jessica Perez / Disney)
A weekly chat with actors, writers, directors and more about what they’re working on — and what they’re watching
Every genius needs a little structure and guidance to keep them on course. In “High Potential,” Morgan Gillory (Kaitlin Olson) is a single mom with an exceptional mind who works as a cleaner at the police department and finds her way into detective work after successfully examining some evidence during her shift. But putting her unique talent to effective use couldn’t have happened if Lt. Selena Soto, the head of the major crimes division played by Judy Reyes, didn’t see Morgan’s potential and nurture it.
The quirky crime procedural has been a breakout hit for ABC since its launch last year and it returned this week for its second season; new episodes air Tuesdays, and are available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the next day. Here, Reyes discusses how Soto’s approach as a boss came into focus this season and how she’s feeling about revisiting “Scrubs” 15 years after the comedy ended its run. — Yvonne Villarreal
How has Selena Soto come into focus for you this season? And can you share an anecdote of a boss looking out for you — however small or big — that has stood out to you during your time in the industry?
I think Soto saw herself in Morgan: someone for whom truly being themselves takes a lot of risks. She can’t be anything else, and the expectations from the world create a lot of problems with others who can’t handle the burden of those being completely unique.
My first manager took a huge chance on me at the restaurant I worked in as a hostess for years in NYC. She and her husband were regulars, and her husband chatted me up one night, and when I confessed that I was an actor, he convinced his wife to take a meeting with me, and she convinced her associates to give me a chance, and the rest is history.
Morgan is a cleaner with an exceptional mind who found her way into detective work after examining some evidence during her shift at the police department. What’s a career you’d love to pivot to if given the chance?
I always wanted to be a gymnast. Or some kind of athlete … tennis! You asked …
You’ll be reprising your role as Carla in the new “Scrubs” series. What does this moment bring up for you? What intrigues you about revisiting this character 15 years later?
I’m filled with gratitude and appreciation. I recognize how in my youth I took for granted the adventure and opportunity. I’m moved by how much people love the show and Carla, and how much all of it mattered to fans in different stages of their lives. I’m overwhelmed with the gift of being part of a magical moment in TV, and to get to revisit it as adults with the same folks is exciting because Bill and the writers are so daring with their humor and drama. I just know Turk and Carla keep going strong in their marriage and continue in their friendship. I’m honored by what this character continues to mean to Latinos, especially in this time.
What have you watched recently that you are recommending to everyone you know?
I’ve watched “Hacks” [HBO Max] because I’m obsessed with Jean Smart. I’ve watched “The Summer I Turned Pretty” [Prime Video] because I need to connect to my teenager and it’s a fun love/hate watch. I watch “Abbott Elementary” [Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max] because it’s f— funny and you can’t go wrong with it; it reminds me of “Scrubs” [Peacock, Hulu, Disney+] in a lot of ways. I just started watching “Severance” and “Shrinking” [both Apple TV+]. “Severance” because it’s so original and “Shrinking” for the same reason; it also feels so familiar … and Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams.
What’s your go-to “comfort watch,” the movie or TV show you go back to again and again?
“The Devil Wears Prada” [Hulu, Disney+], “Girls Trip” [Tubi, Prime Video], “Bridesmaids” [Netflix], “Love & Basketball” [VOD] [and] any of “The Matrix” movies [VOD].
There’s no guarantee the Chargers will pass through the gate of golden opportunity, but this 2-0 team has sawed the lock off the latch.
With Sunday’s home opener against Denver, the Chargers have the chance to go 3-0 in the AFC West with a week to go in September. That’s unheard of. The last time this franchise opened the season with three consecutive division games was 1988, and those Chargers stumbled to a 1-2 start.
These Chargers could be 3-0 for the first time since 2002 and are heading into a softer part of their schedule.
But how did it happen? Why did the NFL set up the Chargers schedule to go Chiefs, Raiders, Broncos when that kind of rollout is so rare?
Let’s rewind the tape.
Why did the Kansas City game wind up in Brazil?
The league had the Chargers hosting a game in São Paulo, and because of the distance, it only made sense to make it an opener. (Just as the Rams will open next season in Australia.) The team can “protect” two home games and the league won’t touch those, so the Chargers chose Washington and Minnesota. Pittsburgh couldn’t go to Brazil, because the Steelers already have an international game in Dublin, and it couldn’t be Philadelphia, either, because the Eagles opened in Brazil last season.
The NFL wanted to follow up that Packers-Eagles matchup with something similarly spectacular, so they needed the biggest opponent to pair with the Chargers, especially with this being the first YouTube game. No one has more sizzle these days than Kansas City.
From the Chargers standpoint, they got the Chiefs on a neutral field — SoFi Stadium is pretty much a neutral field anyway — and they were making their biggest division rival fly 12-plus hours to and from. Not an ideal way for anyone to start the season.
Jim Harbaugh’s team played a tremendous game, beating the Chiefs for the first time since 2021 and putting a spotlight on quarterback Justin Herbert, who was phenomenal. Not only that, but they handed Kansas City an unimaginably long flight home to prepare for a Super Bowl rematch with Philadelphia, which they lost.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert fist bumps coach Jim Harbaugh before a win over the Raiders on Sept. 15.
(Ian Maule / Getty Images)
Objective 1: Check.
The NFL would rather not have a team make a long flight back from an international game only the hit the road again the following week, but that’s what the Chargers had to do. There was a Chris Brown concert at SoFi Stadium on the Sunday of Week 2, so it worked out better to have the Chargers back on the road.
The fairest solution was to give the Chargers their shortest road trip, to Las Vegas, plus give them an extra day to prepare by making it the second half of a Monday night doubleheader. Allegiant Stadium, home of the Raiders, was in use that weekend for the Terence Crawford-Canelo Álvarez fight.
Again, Harbaugh had his team prepared and the Chargers assembled a defensive masterpiece against the Raiders, breaking up 15 passes and putting Geno Smith under near-constant pressure.
Objective 2: Check.
Now comes Denver, a club a lot of people see as one of the league’s surprise teams. There’s an interesting connection between Harbaugh and Broncos coach Sean Payton, and not just that they were born six days apart. Harbaugh, a star quarterback at Michigan, was a first-round pick of the Chicago Bears in 1987, a year when NFL players went on strike. Chicago’s replacement team was nicknamed the “Spare Bears” and Payton was the quarterback of that fill-in squad.
It was more random that the Broncos wound up being the opponent in Week 3, except that the league wanted to put the Chargers’ games against Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in prime time. So that limited the choices.
Nobody at The Bolt is complaining now. What looked to be a treacherous start could be a turbo boost for a franchise heading into a stretch that includes the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans, who are combined 0-6. Anything can happen and fortunes of franchises can flip in an instant — oft-struggling Indianapolis is 2-0, for instance, and has yet to punt once — so looking too far in the future is foolish. But that’s what networks have to do, and there’s a lot of buzz right now that the Chargers are going to be a team to watch as we get deeper into the season.
That fits Harbaugh’s profile, too, because his teams have a history of improving in his second season.
With the new Nielsen methodology, which takes a far more comprehensive sampling of what Americans are watching, it’s increasingly important for the NFL to do well in big markets. The league has to be delighted, then, that both the Chargers and 2-0 Rams are playing so well. The only other season when both franchises were 2-0 at the same time was 2001, when the St. Louis Rams made it to the Super Bowl before losing to a young quarterback named Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Both the Rams and Chargers have outstanding quarterbacks, and interestingly, Matthew Stafford went 12 seasons in Detroit before finally winning a playoff game, in his first season with the Rams. Herbert, in his sixth season, has yet to win a playoff game.
Both teams have top-notch defenses.
It’s absurdly early to make end-of-season predictions but this much is set: SoFi Stadium will play host to its second Super Bowl next season.
Is a colossal turf war in the cards?
With that in mind, maybe the Chargers and Rams are peaking too early. They certainly hope so.
There are now just two City Hall incumbents who remain unopposed in their bids for reelection.
So how did Councilmembers Tim McOsker and Hugo Soto–Martínez get so lucky, at least for now? And what do they have in common?
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At first glance, not a ton. One is a boomer grandfather who has forgotten more about City Hall machinations than most of us will ever know.
The other is a millennial leftist who ousted an incumbent three years ago.
McOsker, the City Hall veteran and proud son of the San Pedro docks, hails from one of the more conservative districts in the city, which stretches from Watts through Harbor Gateway down to San Pedro. Soto-Martínez, the democratic socialist former union organizer, represents what is arguably the most progressive (and hippest) district in the city: a densely packed collection of neighborhoods that includes Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater and Hollywood.
In our new era of L.A. city politics, where incumbents are far less inviolable than they once were, it’s rare to see two go entirely unopposed.
Of course, it’s very possible that one or both of the men get opponents before the June primary, which is still more than eight months away. But in the meantime, let’s explore a few factors that may be keeping the wolves at bay:
Both council members are heavily backed by labor, one of the most powerful forces in Los Angeles politics. (A dozen different union locals and labor groups have already contributed to McOsker’s reelection campaign; Soto-Martínez previously worked at Unite Here Local 11, a group with deep influence on the council.) That could be one component of what’s discouraging potential challengers, particularly because labor groups would be all but guaranteed to go hard in either race.
Four members of the current council, including Soto-Martínez, won their seats by ousting an incumbent. All four hit their opponents from the left, with digital organizing savvy and the support of grassroots progressive groups.
Sure, someone could technically oust an incumbent without being a millennial endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. But no one’s done it in a couple of decades. Which brings us back to Soto-Martínez’s race: There’s not much room to challenge him from the left, given that he’s already been endorsed by the rest of the council’s left bloc. A more moderate challenger is arguably the likelier option, and there has been plenty of talk about a potential business-backed candidate. No takers yet, though.
Moving our theorizing south to the harbor area, San Pedro doubles as the financial and power base of the 15th council district. It’s also a place where the McOsker name is ubiquitous — second, perhaps, only to Hahn in terms of local clout. The councilman also appears to be genuinely well-liked on his home turf.
It’s certainly possible that an opponent could arise from Watts, Harbor Gateway, Harbor City or Wilmington. But it’s hard to imagine a San Pedran with the muscle necessary to wage a serious City Council campaign going against McOsker (and, by extension, the local San Pedro political machine).
All of which is a very long way of saying that anything could happen in the months to come. But for now, Soto-Martínez and McOsker are both on a glide path to another term.
“Since we took office, we’ve worked to grow our coalition to build a city that works for working people. We’ve proud of our first three years, but we know there’s so much more work ahead,” Soto-Martínez said Friday.
McOsker said he remained focused on bringing resources to every corner of the district, from Watts to the waterfront.
“Representing the people of the One-Five has been one of the greatest honors of my professional life, and, for as long as I’m entrusted with this responsibility, my focus will be on lifting up our neighborhoods and delivering as much as we can for our residents,” he added.
State of play
—CONVENTION CONTENTION: L.A.’s political leaders took what is, in the view of their own policy experts, a risky bet: pour billions of dollars into its aging Convention Center in the hope that it will breathe new life into downtown and the region’s economy. As my colleagues David Zahniser and Noah Goldberg report, the City Council approved a $2.6-billion expansion plan Friday in an 11-2 vote, despite warnings from their own advisors that the project will draw taxpayer funds away from city services for decades to come. There was huge pressure from labor to support the project. Only Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Katy Yaroslavsky opposed.
— MEJIA PLAYS DEFENSE Former state legislator Isadore Hall announced his bid for city controller this week, meaning Controller Kenneth Mejia may have an actual race ahead of him.
— WHITHER, MONICA? After whipping up a frenzy about her 2026 intentions, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez finally filed paperwork to fundraise for her council reelection. She did not answer when asked if this means she has ruled out a bid for controller or mayor.
— BILLABLE HOURS: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s hefty legal bills submitted to the city on a high-stakes homelessness case drew the ire of some members of City Council. But despite those concerns, the council still approved a fivefold increase to its contract with the law firm this week.
— STILL NO PERMANENT FIRE CHIEF: The council voted Tuesday to extend interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva‘s contract for another six months.
— MUZZLING CRITICISM? A new policy requires L.A. County oversight officials to have many communications “reviewed, approved and coordinated” before going public. As my colleague Connor Sheets reports, critics are raising concerns about the policy and its implications.
— VALLEY BATTLE: Encino Neighborhood Council member Josh Sautter announced Friday that he’ll challenge Rep. Brad Sherman in next year’s election. Jake Levine, a one-time special assistant at the National Security Council, is also trying to unseat the 70-year-old incumbent.
— COMPETITION INCOMING: We’ve learned a little more about the New York Post’s westward expansion in recent days, as they’ve dropped a number of job listings. The list includes a full-time reporter slated to cover Los Angeles City Hall.
— TAKE A SEAT: After a year of virtual meetings, the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council will return to in-person meetings at Boyle Heights City Hall beginning next week, the Boyle Heights Beat reports.
QUICK HITS
Where is Inside Safe? Bass’ initiative addressed an RV encampment in Harbor City, according to the mayor’s office.
On the docket next week: City Council will be on recess Tuesday and Wednesday. Friday’s meeting will be in Van Nuys.
Stay in touch
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to [email protected]. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
At the same time that federal immigration enforcement ramped up across the Los Angeles area this summer, calls for help to local police plummeted.
Emergency dispatch data reviewed by The Times show a major decrease in LAPD calls for service in June, during the weeks when sweeps by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies were met by large street protests in downtown Los Angeles.
In a city where roughly a third of the population is foreign-born, the steep decline in calls adds to long-standing concerns from advocates that aggressive immigration enforcement leads to domestic abuse and other crimes going unreported because victims fear triggering deportations.
In the two weeks after June 6, when the immigration raids kicked off, LAPD calls for service fell 28% compared with the same period last year — an average of roughly 1,200 fewer calls per day.
LAPD officers responded to roughly 44,000 calls for service in that two-week span — versus nearly 61,000 calls during the same days in June 2024.
The calls include reports of serious crimes, such as home break-ins and domestic disputes, along with instances when the public has sought help with noisy neighbors, loud parties and other routine matters.
The data analyzed by The Times do not include all 911 calls — only LAPD calls for service, which are typically registered when a squad car is dispatched. Though multiple people may call 911 in connection with a single incident, in most cases only one LAPD call for service is recorded.
The decrease was especially noticeable for LAPD calls responding to suspected domestic violence and other incidents related to family disputes, which fell this year by 7% and 16%, respectively, after the ICE activity increased. Although family-related calls later began to creep back to 2024 levels, those for domestic incidents kept declining.
National experts said the findings reflect a crisis of public confidence that has followed other controversial incidents. Similar downturns in calls to local police occurred during the first Trump administration, after the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and following the fatal shooting six years earlier of Michael Brown, a Black 18-year-old, in Ferguson, Mo.
It’s hardly surprising that the same thing could happen even in a city where the police force is majority Latino and whose leaders have reaffirmed the city as a sanctuary for immigrants, said Vida Johnson, an associate law professor at Georgetown University.
“You’re going to see fear of law enforcement that is going to last generations,” Johnson said. “And that has the biggest impact on women, because women often are more likely to be victimized, and then more afraid to call for help than men.”
At least some of the decline during the initial two-week period can be explained in part by LAPD going on citywide tactical alert, which allowed the department to have more officers and resources at the ready to deploy to the front lines of the protests. During that time, the department prioritized responding to serious crimes such as shootings and robberies, leading to many other less urgent calls going unanswered.
But that doesn’t explain why calls for service remained down after the department returned to its normal operations. While police call levels began to rise again later in June and early July, they still remained down roughly 5% from the same period in 2024.
The decrease in calls was less pronounced in the nine police districts in South L.A., the San Fernando Valley and the Eastside where Latinos make up the majority of residents, but the data show a persistent dip in domestic violence calls in those areas that remained in the weeks after the immigration enforcement campaign began.
Police calls for service have been on a slow decline for years, a phenomenon that has coincided with a drop in overall crime. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell and other leaders have tried to emphasize in public remarks that local cops are not allowed to enforce civil immigration laws and only work with federal agents to arrest criminal suspects or quell unrest that threatens public safety.
But Carlos Montes, a longtime organizer with the Boyle Heights-based immigrant advocacy group Centro Community Service Organization, said the sight of LAPD officers standing alongside the feds during recent operations has ensured that even more Angelenos will think twice about calling the police for help.
“In general, in the neighborhood we don’t want to call the cops because they’re not going to solve anything or they’re going to arrest someone, or beat someone or shoot someone,” he said.
LAPD Assistant Chief German Hurtado, the department’s immigration coordinator, acknowledged that it has been a struggle to reassure the public it’s safe to call the police.
“Police are also the most visible form of government, and right now people are not trusting the government,” Hurtado said in an interview last month. “People [are] scared to be deported, and that’s totally understandable. That’s something that we’re going to have to deal with and figure out a way to heal with the community.”
In response to what he called “negative publicity” around the LAPD’s actions in recent weeks, he said the department was stepping up its outreach efforts in various immigrant neighborhoods, with a series of planned listening sessions and other events aimed at educating the public.
The department recently launched a citizens academy for Spanish speakers, and senior lead officers have been out meeting with faith and community leaders trying to get them to reinforce the message that police need victims to cooperate in order to solve crimes.
Marielle Coronel, 24, co-owner of a boxing gym in Sylmar, said she worries about being profiled while being out and about, which has also made her think twice about calling police.
Even though she believes that at least some police officers are trying to help, she said the last few months have been unnerving. She recalled how her parents recently gave her a version of “the talk” that many parents of color have with their children about how to deal with police. Their fears have grown to include unidentified masked men posing as ICE agents, Coronel said.
Her parents insisted that she start carrying her passport with her everywhere she goes and that she not lower her window to anyone unless they clearly identify themselves. Tending to her gym’s front desk one recent afternoon, she said she has taken the advice to heart.
“Even if I am a U.S. citizen, you just don’t know,” she said. “We don’t feel like we have backup from the government.”
Like most aspects of her life, Lilly Singh approaches the end of the weekend with a clear intention. “Sunday is a big deal to me,” she says. “Sunday is my self-love, reset day.”
The comedic actress and personality began a career in her native Toronto as an early YouTube star. She moved to Los Angeles in 2015, first landing at a spot near the La Brea Tar Pits before relocating to a house in the San Fernando Valley that she shares with her dogs, Scarbro and Soca.
In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
“I moved to L.A. to be warm and the Valley is very warm,” Singh says. “When people are complaining it’s too hot, I am thriving.”
She previously hosted the NBC talk show “A Little Late With Lilly Singh” and led the Disney+ sitcom “The Muppets Mayhem.” Most recently, she co-wrote, produced and starred in the film “Doin’ It,” playing an app-maker who is hired to teach a sex-ed class and decides she needs her own hands-on education in the subject. It opens in theaters Friday.
Singh was a night owl for most of her life, often staying up until the early morning hours and waking at noon. To improve her mental health, she’s adjusted her approach and now gets up during the week at 7 a.m. so she has two hours to mentally and physically prepare herself for the day.
There is a day of the week, however, where she shows herself compassion and makes an exception. “I’m probably not going to set an alarm on a Sunday,” she says.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
9 a.m.: Daily routine Every morning, I have certain mental health routines. I always am going to have journaling on my front patio, and I’m always going to stretch and do breath work. Those are nonnegotiables.
9:30 a.m.: Market essentials After I deal with and feed the dogs, the No. 1 stop is the Studio City Farmers Market. I will die on the hill of saying it is the best farmers market. I take one thing at the farmers market very seriously, which is the kefir yogurt. I literally have a yogurt dealer, Orlando. I have to text him on Saturday night to be like, “Hold these flavors for me.” If you go there and you don’t text them, they’re sold out. When the Alphonso mango is in season, you have to get there at 7 a.m. to get it.
I walk both ways, so I’m basically a fit legend because, come on, it’s usually really hot.
10 a.m.: Flower power I get florals every Sunday. If I don’t get them from the farmers market, I’ll get them at Trader Joe’s. Every Sunday, I reset my house in terms of flowers. I put flowers in every corner of my house. I spend an hour just making little bouquets and putting them on my desk and in my kitchen and in my bathrooms because it’s an easy dopamine-hit hack and it makes me happy throughout the week.
11 a.m.: The best brunch date Almost every Sunday, I take myself on a solo brunch. No one is allowed to come with me. This is me taking myself on a date.
I go to the same spot every single time: Sweet Butter Kitchen. It’s just down Ventura. I get a two-sunny-side-up egg breakfast with sourdough toast. I get my bacon. Depending on how much I’ve worked that week and how much I want to spoil myself, I will also get pancakes.
I love the ambience. I’ll take my journal or sometimes I’ll just vibe out and enjoy my own company.
Noon: Planning session Every third Sunday, I do a monthly reflection. I track my last month against my yearly goals.
I’ll also plan my social activities for the next month. Almost every month, I host a poker night. Almost every Thursday, I do a dinner. I’ll make sure my social calendar is full for the next month because in L.A., if you don’t do that, you won’t have friends and you’ll be alone.
I’m very about my journal. It’s a hard-covered journal that is smooth to the touch, with a specific Sharpie 1.0 pen. It’s the only pen I want to use. And the journal has a pen holder, which is also crucial. And it has the string that saves your page — also crucial. And it has lines. I don’t want a journal that doesn’t have lines. It has to have a little flap in the back that will hold all my documents.
In my adult life, I’ve always been this organized. Perhaps not in university or in high school, but as I’ve become a career woman, I like to be very, very organized.
1 p.m.: Tastes from home I’m ready to eat again because Sundays are for eating. I love Smorgasburg LA. Coming from Toronto, I’m really used to Caribbean food and Asian foods. In L.A., I feel like the best international food I have found is at Smorgasburg.
If I want to hang with the friends or if someone’s in from out of town and I want to show them a good time, we’ll go there.
3 p.m.: Sunshine state I think sunshine time is so important and nature is so important. Throughout the week, I don’t always get to spend time outside, so I spend as much time as humanly possible outside, and that’s either lying on the grass with my dogs or it’s in my pool.
5 p.m.: On the A-List I don’t want you to think I’m a loner, but if I’m ever doing things alone, it’s more often going to be on a Sunday. I love going to the movie theater. For me, it is AMC at Universal [CityWalk]. My greatest quality — this is not even an ad — is that I am an AMC Stubs A-List member. I take it very seriously.
I’d probably go to dinner and then a movie. So I don’t have popcorn solely for dinner, which I’ve done many times, but I try to avoid, I’m going to go to Kiwami by Katsu-Ya, which is on Ventura. It’s one of my favorite sushi spots. It feels very small and intimate. They have the best lychee martinis, and I’m a big lychee martini girly. The staff knows me because I go so often and they’re just so fast with the service.
It’s crucial for me to tell you that one of the reasons I go to the movies by myself is I am crazy about watching the previews. My friends always make me miss the previews. I love getting there early and I love being seated for the previews. I’ve gone to the theater sometimes 10 minutes before anything is even on the screen.
I like Universal because it is full of tourists. As someone who was not born and raised in L.A., I love seeing people experience L.A. When I’m walking from the parking lot to the theater, people have their Super Nintendo World stuff and they have their Universal merch. They’re so excited to be there, and it reminds me, like, oh yeah, this is a really exciting place for people.
10 p.m.: Ready for the week ahead I’ll come home, cuddle the dogs, then I make sure I’m ready for the week. I make sure my house is in a good spot. I make sure my flowers are popping. I probably will do a hot tub or sauna moment, then do my skincare routine.
11 p.m.: One last journal entry I don’t like to watch anything in my bedroom because sleeping is a huge thing for me. I have a little bit of insomnia, so I really try to wind down. On my night table, I have my nighttime journal and I do a little self-compassion journaling.
L.A. political leaders on Friday took what their own policy experts called a risky bet, agreeing to pour billions of dollars into the city’s aging Convention Center in the hope that it will breathe new life into a struggling downtown and the region’s economy.
In an 11-2 vote, the City Council approved a $2.6-billion expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, despite warnings from their own advisors that the project will draw taxpayer funds away from essential city services for decades.
The risks don’t stop there. If the Convention Center expansion experiences major construction delays, the project’s first phase may not be finished in time for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, when the facility is set to host judo, gymnastics and other competitions.
That, in turn, could leave the city vulnerable to financial penalties from the committee organizing the event, according to the city’s policy analysts.
Those warnings did not discourage Mayor Karen Bass and a majority of the council, who said Friday that the project will create thousands of jobs and boost tourism and business activity, making the city more competitive on the national stage.
“If we’re not here to believe in ourselves, who’s going to believe in us?” said Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, who represents part of the San Fernando Valley. “If we don’t invest in ourselves today, how are we going to be able to go and ask the major investors around the world to come in and invest in us?”
Councilmember Traci Park, who heads the council’s committee on tourism and trade, voiced “very serious concerns” about the city’s economic climate. Nevertheless, she too said the project is needed — in part because of the looming 2028 Games.
“This project will be transformative for downtown, and I truly believe the catalyst for future investment and redevelopment,” she said. “We need to bring our city back to life, and with world events looming, we don’t have time to wait.”
Foes of the project say it is too expensive for a city that, faced with a daunting budget crisis, eliminated 1,600 municipal jobs earlier this year, and has also slowed hiring at the Los Angeles Police Department.
On the eve of Friday’s vote, City Controller Kenneth Mejia came out against the project, saying on Instagram that it won’t generate positive income for the city budget until the late 2050s.
“Due to the city’s consistent budgetary and financial problems with no real solutions for long-term fiscal health … our office cannot recommend going forward with the current plan at this time,” he said.
The price tag for the Convention Center expansion has been a moving target over the last four weeks, increasing dramatically and then moving somewhat downward as the city’s budget analysts sought to assess the financial impact.
On Friday, City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo said the cost had been revised downward by nearly $100 million, which he largely attributed to lower borrowing costs, additional digital billboard revenue and a less expensive construction estimate from the Department of Water and Power.
The project is now expected to cost taxpayers an average of $89 million annually over 30 years, even with the additional parking fees, billboard income and increased tax revenue expected as part of the expansion, he said.
The financial hit will be the largest in the early years. From 2030 to 2046, the project is expected to pull at least $100 million annually away from the city’s general fund, which pays for police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other basic services, according to the newest figures.
Szabo, while addressing the council, called the decision on the expansion “the ultimate judgment call that only you can make.”
“Will it provide substantial economic benefits? Yes. Can we afford it? Yes, but not without future trade-offs,” he said. “We will be committing funds not just in 2030, but for 30 years after that to support this expansion.”
Earlier this week, opponents of the Convention Center expansion attempted to seek a much less expensive alternative focusing, in the short term, on repairs to the facility. The council declined to pursue that option, which was spearheaded by Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky, the head of the council’s budget committee.
Yaroslavsky called the project unaffordable and unrealistic, saying it would lead to a reduction in city services.
“If you think city services are bad now — and I think all of us would agree that they suck — and you thought maybe one day we would have funding to restore service, I have bad news: It’s going to get worse,” she told her colleagues. “We aren’t going to be able to afford even the level of service we have right now.”
Yaroslavsky and Councilmember Nithya Raman cast the only opposing votes, saying the city is already under huge financial pressure, both at the local and the national levels. L.A. is already at risk of losing state and federal funding that support housing for the city’s neediest, Raman said.
“What I fear is that we’re going to have a beautiful new Convention Center surrounded by far more homelessness than we have today, which will drive away tourists, which will prevent people from coming here and holding their events here,” Raman said.
Friday’s vote was the culmination of a start-and-stop process that has played out at City Hall for more than a decade. Council members have repeatedly looked at upgrading the Convention Center, planning at one point for a new high-rise hotel attached to the facility.
Officials said the expansion project would add an estimated 325,000 square feet to the Convention Center, connecting the facility’s South Hall — whose curving green exterior faces the 10 and 110 Freeway interchange — with the West Hall, which is now an extremely faded blue.
To accomplish that goal, a new wing will be built directly over Pico Boulevard, a task that makes the project “extraordinarily complicated and extraordinarily costly,” Szabo said.
Southern California’s construction trade unions made clear that the Convention Center was their top priority, pressing council members at public meetings and behind the scenes to support it. The project is expected to create about 13,000 construction jobs, plus 2,150 permanent jobs.
Sydney Berrard, a retired member of Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 105, directed his testimony to Park — who had been undecided on the project for several weeks — telling her she needed to stand with her district’s construction workers.
“The only reason I was able to raise my family, buy a home and retire with security in your district is because of major projects like this,” he said.
Business and local community groups also backed the project, saying it will help a downtown that has struggled to recover since the height of the pandemic. By increasing the amount of contiguous meeting space, L.A. will be able to attract national events, accommodating tens of thousands of visitors at a single convention, they said.
“This is a model that can work,” said Nella McOsker, president and chief executive of the Central City Assn., a downtown-based business group.
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who missed Friday’s meeting because of an out-of-state trip planned several months ago, said he remains worried that the project won’t be finished in time for the 2028 Games.
“If that happens, not only is that a shame and embarrassing for the city of L.A. … but the financial risk of that is tremendous,” he said.
Earlier this week, Blumenfield joined Yaroslavsky and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in recommending the less expensive alternative plan. On Friday, Hernandez shifted her position to support the expansion.
Hernandez said she too is frustrated with the quality of city services, and will work on finding additional funding to pay for them.
“I know that we will find new money. And it will be OPM — other people’s money,” she said. “Because we can’t keep funding this on the backs of our constituents.”
Because of the tight timeline, construction is expected to begin almost right away, with crews starting demolition work next month.
Ernesto Medrano, executive secretary of the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, said the project will be an investment in L.A.’s workers.
“Our members are ready to don their hard hats, their work boots, their tool belts and start moving dirt,” said Medrano, who began his career loading and unloading trucks at the Convention Center.
After years of weathering the #AfterDark absurdity of the Pac-12 Conference, USC hoped moving to the Big Ten might help kick most of those bizarre midnight romps from its calendar.
Of course, geographic sense only matters so much in college football when there’s millions to be made from broadcast rights. Fox had the third choice this week among the networks and chose the best available game. That’s why USC and Michigan State will kick off at 8 p.m. Saturday. Which means, in East Lansing, Mich., the game should wrap somewhere around 2:30-3 a.m.
There were two such kickoffs in the Big Ten last season, and only one that included a team hopping three time zones to the west. USC won that 8 p.m. game against Rutgers in quarterback Jayden Maiava’s debut.
The Spartans arrived in L.A. on Thursday to give them plenty of time to acclimate. Jonathan Smith, who previously coached at Oregon State, understands what such a late kickoff requires. Still, you could understand why Michigan State might not be thrilled at the prospect of playing so late.
USC will have its own time-zone trouble to deal with next week, when it kicks off at 9 a.m. PDT in a road matchup with Illinois. This weekend, the bigger question for USC will be if the fans arrive well-rested — or at all.
“Both teams gotta deal with it,” coach Lincoln Riley said. “We gotta handle it well, our crowd needs to handle it well. At the end of the day, it’s a game, it’s being played, it’s being played in the Coliseum, and we expect to win and we expect to have a really good crowd behind us. We’re not going to make excuses about it.”
Here are four things to watch as USC takes on Michigan State:
Trojans take to the air
Few quarterbacks in college football have started the season at the breakneck pace that Jayden Maiava has managed through three weeks. Maiava is averaging more than 14 yards per attempt — the most of any quarterback in the nation by three full yards — while completing 68% of his passes, almost a 10% improvement from last season.
There’s no reason to think that trend won’t continue against Michigan State.
The Spartans rank 118th in the nation — and worst in the Big Ten — in pass defense, and that’s after playing teams like Youngstown State and Western Michigan. They haven’t seen anything yet like USC’s passing offense, and especially receiver Makai Lemon, who ranks behind only Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith in receiving yards (315-311) this season in the Big Ten.
Michigan State has been stingy this season against the run, so it could be tough to find much of a rhythm on the ground. That means a potential big game for Maiava.
Will USC’s pass rush keep rolling?
Through three games, USC’s rejuvenated pass rush actually leads the nation in sacks with 14. Michigan State, meanwhile, has allowed the second-most sacks of any Big Ten team this season.
That formula could mean a long afternoon for Spartan quarterback Aidan Chiles, who Riley said this week poses “the biggest challenge we’ve faced up to this point” at the position. The Long Beach native appears to be putting it all together as a passer, but it’s Chiles’ dual threat ability that could be especially dangerous against a front four that’s been aggressive early in the season..
He’s tied for the conference lead in rush attempts among quarterbacks at 10 per game.
“When you add in Chiles’ athleticism, that definitely adds an entirely new element,” Riley said. “So it’ll be a big focus point for us to be able to keep him in the pocket, to contain him in there.”
When under heavy pressure, Chiles has been much less effective. His completion percentage drops from 79% in a clean pocket to 48% in a pressured one.
Stud receiver status
Both teams could be without their most dynamic pass catcher on Saturday.
USC wideout Ja’Kobi Lane, last year’s Big Ten leader in touchdown receptions, is questionable after he sat out practice on Wednesday. Riley wouldn’t comment on whether he’d be available for the game.
Similarly, the status of Spartan receiver Nick Marsh was up in the air as of Friday. Marsh made the trip to L.A., in spite of dealing with a lower leg injury. He’s by far Michigan State’s most dynamic weapon on offense and his absence would be significant, if he’s unable to go.
Tanook Hines breakout game incoming?
With Lane hobbled, keep a close eye on freshman Tanook Hines, who pulled down a stunning acrobatic catch last Saturday at Purdue.
Riley raved about the freshman earlier this week.
“He goes after the ball with a unique mindset for a freshman,” Riley said. “You talk about a guy who really attacks the ball. He’s played physical. He’s a really good blocker. He’s done a good job of picking up our system. … He’s an all-ball guy. There’s no fluff to this guy. He’s an edgy, tough competitor.”
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
With the Air Force Association’s conference next week, we went a little lighter on content today. We will have three reporters there. It’s the toughest week of the year for the team (outside of rolling coverage on conflicts) but also the most exciting. Stay tuned for many reports!
Welcome to Bunker Talk. This is a weekend open discussion post for the best commenting crew on the net, in which we can chat about all the stuff that went on this week that we didn’t cover. We can also talk about the stuff we did or whatever else grabs your interest. In other words, it’s an off-topic thread.
The caption to this week’s top shot reads:
A view inside the bunker in the Chernobyl Nuclear power plant during a press tour of the locations depicted in The Chernobyl Series (HBO), in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on 7 June 2019. The Chernobyl Series (HBO) , which depicts the Chernobyl nuclear power disaster’s aftermath, including the clean-up operation and subsequent inquiry, drives boom in tourists travelling to see the site of nuclear disaster. Tour agencies have reported up to a 40 per cent increase in bookings since the miniseries aired May 2019. On 2019 Ukraine marked the 33rd anniversary of Chernobyl nuclear disaster. The Chernobyl accident occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Pripyat, and regarded the biggest nuclear accident in the history. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator Chip Kelly told reporters Thursday that he does not game plan with team minority owner and Fox NFL broadcaster Tom Brady — at least not “on a weekly basis” — despite a report during “Monday Night Football” this week that suggested otherwise.
During the first quarter of the Chargers-Raiders game at Allegiant Stadium, ESPN’s Peter Schrager reported from the sideline that “Chip Kelly told us that he talks to Brady two to three times a week. They go through film. They go through the game plan.”
After the game, Raiders coach Pete Carroll called the report “not accurate” and said that while he and Kelly speak with Brady “regularly,” those conversations are “about life and football and whatever.”
Kelly was asked about the ESPN report during media availability Thursday. His response echoed Carroll’s.
“I’ve spent a lot of time just talking football with [Brady], but it’s not on a — we don’t talk about game plans,” the former UCLA coach said. “We spent a lot of time over the summer, a couple Zooms … and we would just talk ball, you know, ‘What did you like against this?’ So really, when I use Tom, and I just use him as a resource of, ‘Hey, you know, when you faced a Mike Zimmer-type defense, what did you like protection-wise and play-wise?’
“But on a weekly basis, he’s not game planning with us or talking to us.”
Kelly later added: “In terms of weekly game plans, like, that’s not a collaboration that we do. I mean, he’s also a busy guy, so I haven’t even thought of using him to do that, and I don’t think you can, so — you know, our staff does all that.
“But he’s been a guy that I could talk football with, just shooting it about, ‘Hey, have you ever faced a two-trap defense?’ and, ‘With the inverted, Tampa two that everybody’s running now, what was your best thoughts about that?,’ things like that. But we don’t talk game plan at all or any of that stuff in terms of on a weekly basis.”
The Times reached out to ESPN for comments from Schrager or the network on the matter. A network representative declined to comment.
During Schrager’s report, “Monday Night Football” showed a live shot of Brady sitting in the Raiders coaches’ booth and wearing a headset. Kelly told reporters Thursday that he thinks Brady did the same thing during the Raiders’ preseason game last month against the San Francisco 49ers, also at Allegiant Stadium.
“But he doesn’t talk to the coaches when he’s up there,” Kelly said. “I think he just — he’s watching football.”
NFL chief spokesperson Brian McCarthy said in a statement Tuesday that Brady was doing nothing wrong.
“There are no policies that prohibit an owner from sitting in the coaches’ booth or wearing a headset during a game,” McCarthy said. “Brady was sitting in the booth in his capacity as a limited partner.”
Brady faces a number of NFL-imposed restrictions on what he’s allowed to do as a broadcaster given his dual status as a team minority owner. Last season, Brady’s first in both roles, he was prohibited from attending the weekly production meetings during which the Fox crew meets with coaches and players ahead of that week’s game.
“Tom continues to be prohibited from going to a team facility for practices or production meetings,” McCarthy said in his statement. “He may attend production meetings remotely but may not attend in person at the team facility or hotel. He may also conduct an interview off site with a player like he did last year a couple times, including for the Super Bowl.
“Of course, as with any production meeting with broadcast teams, it’s up to the club, coach or players to determine what they say in those sessions.”
