Zainab Johnson believes in optimism — to a somewhat alarming degree. Not just because she usually presents as smart and happy and sharply dressed on stage or because she’s doing incredibly well in her comedy career, or even just because she’s a millennial. She’s happy in spite of every aspect of life that conspires to bring her down because it’s the ultimate power move. From surviving a near deadly car crash that broke both her legs to fighting for every opportunity to become successful in stand-up only to realize there’s more work at the top of the mountain, Johnson’s attitude towards it all has been to keep smiling. It’s no wonder she named her newly-arrived second special “Toxically Optimistic” (the first stand-up special produced by the Obama’s Higher Ground Productions).

But the unbridled joy is also the byproduct of a weight she’s lifted off herself in this new hour on Netflix — the pressure of always having to keep it real in her comedy. As a Black female stand-up it’s the box she says she’s often put in when she goes on stage and audiences are expecting her to air out her true-life trauma and make it funny as if she’s got nothing else to offer. Those who know her know better. Johnson’s mode as a storyteller has always been to dig for the deeper meaning in things, and in this new special she uses an opossum — her unlikely spirit animal — to get the job done.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity

Having optimism is tough these days, especially for people glued to their algorithms and, of course, watching too much news. Is it a challenge as a comedian to be able to get people out of that and get them into the positive mode of thinking?

It’s not difficult because it’s kind of what they want. People come to comedy shows because they want to feel good. Ultimately, they do want to come to hear you say the things that they can’t say. They want to hear your opinion on the things happening in the world that we’re all experiencing. They want to be affirmed by you. They want to be challenged by you, but ultimately they want to feel good. A comedy club is like a restaurant for the soul. Nobody likes to eat and then not feel good afterwards, right? And so I think that what I do in my comedy is I always like to put medicine in the candy. And “Toxically Optimistic,” is another medicine in the candy.

What were some things that you took from your first special “Hijabs Off” that helped you craft “Toxically Optimistic?”

My first special “Hijabs Off” was me laying the groundwork. I just wanted people to understand my foundation of who I am and know that whatever I give them after that, this is who it’s coming from. I think that “Hijabs Off” taught me to have fun, to really trust myself in the moment. There’s really spontaneous moments that I have in “Toxically Optimistic” and watching at home, you might not know that they’re spontaneous. You might think that I wrote that and I have been performing that all along. Some things in that special that night was the first night I said it… I don’t shy away from things. If anybody watched “Hijabs Off,” one of the most talked about moments was when my hair was like getting unruly because of the temperature in the room, and I can’t see myself, but I could I could feel it, and I called it out in that moment, like comedically. You see everybody on camera all the time, and so it liberated every woman in the room to “OK, good, she knows her hair is going crazy right now.” I was glad that I trusted myself at that moment, and so I just leaned more into that with “Toxically Optimistic.”

Johnson says Black women comedians often face pressure to deliver authenticity and personal meaning, while some white male peers can roam freely into the absurd; her bit nudges audiences to expect more.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

The people that know you now through that special know your story of being one of 13 siblings. If that doesn’t make you funny. I don’t know what will.

A lot of people say “you must be so funny being one of 13.” But I don’t know if that can take responsibility for me being funny.

I think it helps at least when it comes to fighting to be heard. I know because I’m one of a bunch.

How many specifically?

Well, I’ve got four in my immediate group, but my dad had 14 total.

Oh wow, look at papa, a Rolling Stone.

[Laughs] So I understand what it is to like fight for space in the conversation or to do anything. So maybe for you it was something like that?

I definitely think that it is. I can attribute that to being one of 13, being on stage with stand-up. Because with comedy, you could choose improv, you could choose sketch, right? But I think I do like that I’m carving out time almost every night that I get to be the center of attention, whether it’s for 15 minutes at a time or an hour at a time. But yeah I think my family’s so funny. They just don’t have the guts to do it in front of people over and over again, which is why I try to bring them as characters to life on stage. I feel like I might be the messenger.

You talk specifically about one of your sisters in your new special and how close you are with her as well as her mental state.

I think she would be called neurodivergent but I don’t really like that term. Every time I see a movie with “divergent” in it, the divergent is bad. Anytime you see a sci-fi movie and they talking about a divergent, the divergent is like not a good thing.

“I’m not a person that gets on stage and just talks about something for the joke of it,” Johnson said. “I’m always looking not just on stage, but in my life, for the deeper meaning, or the ‘why’ in things.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

I think it’s worth noting that you don’t necessarily treat your sister any different.

Oh no, no. I talk about that on stage a lot. Like any time we have taboo topics or taboo-like scenarios different from the “norm” we get really precious about it. Even in comedy clubs, people get awkward and stuff. The only way to normalize it is we have to get comfortable talking about like it is not something different. My sister is getting roasted like everybody else. She’s having a say like everybody else. She has a voice like everybody else — and we wouldn’t have it any other way. However, that’s inside the house. Now, outside the house, protection is different. I’m not like, “Oh yeah, you could talk to her like you would talk to me.” No, no, no. Talk to her nicely or you’re gonna have 12 other people to deal with.

In comedy specials there’s a difference between storytelling for a cheap laugh and showing us an allegory or something with a deeper meaning within the story. I love that you take that route with kind of an unlikely character.

I love talking about comedy when you’re not trying to give away the punchline.

I’m trying.

You’re trying to save the bit. Like they gotta go watch the bit. Yeah. But you want to talk about the bit!

What was the key for you about going beyond the joke or the story in that particular part of your special?

I am aware of the point that I’m making. The point that I ultimately end up making, I’m hyper aware of that because I’m living in that every day. Eugene, the opossum [the main character of the bit in question], was something that was really happening to me, and so these were like these two simultaneous situations — what does it mean for me to now be on stage as a Black woman every night trying to deliver comedy, but also I got this wild animal in my backyard every night and like, how am I dealing with this? And at some point on stage, I found the connection. I found it because I’m not a person that gets on stage and just talks about something for the joke of it. I’m always looking not just on stage, but in my life, for the deeper meaning, or the “why” in things. And when I found [it], I know it’s a trip to just give the audience this [wild story] but I’m gonna use it to prove a point. I’m gonna use it to illustrate something that I think is really important for the audience to be aware of. And when I figured that out, I felt really good. Watching it, you’re like “Where is she going with this?” And then when you get there, you’re like “it’s a great destination, thank you so much for bringing me here.”

And I think that destination brings up a big issue about what Black women are and aren’t allowed to say or how they’re “allowed” to be comedic. Why was that topic important for you to put out there to the world?

A few reasons. One, I am an observer as much as I am a doer, and I would be doing these really fun shows with really big comedians…I remember Mark Maron put me on a show with him and Zach Galifianakis, who’s hilarious and can speak very deeply about things in the world. I remember he went out in front of this audience, and I mean the stuff he was saying was so wildly imaginative. I was kind of like, “Hold on a second, they’re not even requiring him to be based in reality.” Like they were eating it up, you know?

And I was like, “What would happen if I did that?” That’s just a question that I asked myself… I watch someone who’s fully capable of being accountable not have to be accountable at all and kill in front of this audience. But the moment I went out there [on stage], I felt the pressure. I don’t know if it’s from me or from [the audience]. I can’t tell. But the pressure is there. It’s pungent, for me, like to “Give us something real, give us something valuable. Tell us who you are.” And [Galifianakis] didn’t have to do that. And I was like, “What does it feel like to not have to do that?”

“I don’t know if I should say that, but sometimes I’m watching things, and sometimes I’m up there as a performer, and I want the audience to want more,” Johnson said. “I want the audience to be smarter.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Does the freedom from “being real” as a Black female comedian feel like an unboxing for you?

I think this is an unboxing. I’m naturally so scared to be trapped. It’s crazy because I’m usually not a person that’s trapped, but it’s because I’m so scared to be trapped. But also, the thing that I love about the Eugene [opossum] bit is that I say, you know, that there’s this comedian talking about a horse. A horse is a majestic animal. It’s a respected animal, nobody’s afraid of a horse, people love horses, horses signify beauty. But the opossum? To make an audience love an opossum is very difficult because I would go out on a road, and the moment I would say, “Anybody know what an opossum [is]?” Immediately, the audience would be like, oh, like their reaction to an opossum is like, “Girl, don’t even. I’m not trying to think about that right now. I’m sitting here enjoying some chicken wings at a comedy and you about to make me think about a big a— rat!” So even just to get them to sort of endear an animal that usually gives people a sort of like a reaction of like “ugh,” just that alone is a win for me. But then to turn up the heat and say also, I want you guys to know that I walked you through something that you had no idea that I was walking you through, and here’s why, you know. And I hope that it trains the audience in a way.

I don’t know if I should say that, but sometimes I’m watching things, and sometimes I’m up there as a performer, and I want the audience to want more. I want the audience to be smarter. I want the audience to be more sophisticated. I don’t want them to have less fun. I don’t want them to be less silly. I knew every time I did that bit, I was challenging them without letting them know. Like I’m about to challenge you guys to do something, and when you leave here, I hope that you, you know, I hope that you don’t do it just for me, but every other person that you see that is not a straight cis white male.

I think wanting better for the audience, especially a comedy club audience, is the most toxically optimistic thing I’ve ever heard. But it’s a pursuit I think you’ve achieved. I also walked away with a greater respect and love for possums.

I love that. I think most people do. I was at an event last night, it was an event solely focused on beauty and makeup and that sort of stuff, right? And the amount of women that came up to me and were like, “How’s Eugene?” The special was not out yet at this point, but they saw me working out this bit, And it reminded me of the process. To get up on stage and just do that [bit], it’s not easy. It’s easier to do it once I’ve already given you a full, nice 40 minutes of comedy. Now I’m gonna go into the experiment. But [the women who saw the early version of the bit] reminded me “Yeah, Zainab, you’re bold. You, you’re not doing it the way most comedians do it.”

Tenerife striker Jesus de Miguel is in a stable condition in intensive care after suffering a serious injury during a Spanish second division match on Monday.

The 30-year-old suffered injuries in the region of his head and chest in added time of Tenerife’s home fixture against Andorra, following a collision with visiting goalkeeper Jesus Owono.

Spanish media, including Marca, external, reported De Miguel suffered a cardiac arrest in the ambulance and was resuscitated by paramedics on the way to hospital.

A statement from Tenerife said the Madrid-born De Miguel was admitted to the University Hospital of Nuestra Senora de Candelaria and was “stable despite the severity of his condition”.

Tenerife and Andorra were tied 2-2 and seven minutes into stoppage time when the incident occurred.

Owono had run towards the centre circle to clear a long ball when his knee appeared to collide with De Miguel.

De Miguel lay motionless on the pitch as medical staff treated him before he was taken by ambulance from Tenerife’s Estadio Heliodoro Rodriguez Lopez to hospital.

Players from both teams were visibly distressed by the incident, with a number of De Miguel’s team-mates in tears.

The referee showed Owono a straight red card before abandoning the match.

A statement from Andorra said: “We want to send all our strength and best wishes to Jesus de Miguel after the serious incident suffered during today’s match.

“We hope he recovers soon. A very strong hug to the player, his family and Tenerife.”

Ukraine’s president calls attack in Zaporizhia further proof that Russia does not want any ‌kind of de-escalation or justice.

A Russian ⁠bomb attack on an aid centre in Ukraine has killed 24 people, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported.

The strikes destroyed a school used as a humanitarian centre in the village of Komyshuvakha in the southeastern region of Zaporizhia, Zelenskyy said on Monday. Five other people are reported to have been injured.

“After the first air strike, there was a repeat strike with nine more bombs, ⁠directly on the shelter ⁠where people were gathered,” the president wrote on Telegram.

“The Russians could not have been unaware that ⁠every week residents who have remained in ⁠Komyshuvakha were receiving assistance ⁠aid right there. This is yet further proof that Russia does not want any ‌kind of de-escalation, any real justice.”

Footage posted by Ukrainian emergency services showed a building reduced to piles of smouldering rubble. Rescuers were shown working at the site.

Among those killed were a police officer and two State Emergency Service rescuers, regional Governor Mykhailo Semikin reported on Telegram.

He added that 27 altogether are considered missing.

“After the humanitarian operation in Oleshky, there was a moment when the next steps could have shown that progress toward peace was possible,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “With these killings, Russia is sending an entirely opposite signal: Russia is counting on more killings.”

Elsewhere in Ukraine, emergency services reported that drone strikes injured 12 people in the eastern Kharkiv region and damaged a refrigeration facility, greenhouses and residential buildings.

Five people were also reported injured in the Black Sea port city of Odesa, where a warehouse was targeted and homes were damaged.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said that it shot down 212 Ukrainian drones overnight, while the head of Russia’s Samara region, Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev, reported local air defences had repelled an aerial attack, without giving further details.

The success of Palestinian-led parties – who won 15% of the vote in Israel’s elections – has created a conundrum for Israel’s leadership: partner with non-Zionists or accept political gridlock. While the bloc led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got the most support from Israeli voters, it didn’t win enough seats in Israel’s parliament (Knesset) to build a ruling coalition so far.

Israeli politician Ofer Cassif, a member of one of the Palestinian-led parties, tells host Steve Clemons that the Israeli people “need to understand that the future must be a future of Jewish-Palestinian partnership and not another form of exclusion.”

As a nation, we give thanks this month, and readers can, too, since November’s new releases include several kinds of fiction (sci-fi, climate dystopia and thriller, among them) and nonfiction featuring a memoir from a nonagenarian legend, an octogenarian legend and an almost-septuagenarian legend. Happy reading!

FICTION:

Stations: A Novel
By Louise Kennedy
Riverhead Books: 288 pp., $28
(Nov. 3)

Kennedy (who penned the international bestseller “Trespasses”) is Irish and knows that country’s Roman Catholicism well, which means that her latest book’s title signals differences in class and status — but also has that whiff from the church thurible that signals the Stations of the Cross, or the Way of Sorrows. Roisin, a teen in 1982, falls hard for her friend Tina’s upper-class boyfriend, Red Camelin. She’ll undergo her own sorrows when she finds him again, in London, living in a squat.

A Glacier’s Guide to Dying: A Novel
By Michelle Porter
Algonquin Books: 272 pp., $29
(Nov. 3)

Robbie, a young Métis man, thinks the best way to find his missing father is through his Anglo uncle, Doug, who lives in Montana. When Robbie and his mother travel by bus from Alberta, Canada, they part ways for a time before he discovers raging wildfires threaten her location. Meanwhile, Doug has made a confession that haunts the men as they follow a pregnant bison onto an unstable glacier. It’s an unusual, slightly surreal, meditation on climate change.

Monsters of Ohio: A Novel
By John Scalzi
Tor Books: 272 pp., $30
(Nov. 3)

It’s a familiar scenario: A civil servant gets laid off and moves back in with family, far from Washington, D.C. Scalzi’s latest sees Mike Boyd return to Richland, Ohio, where the town’s major employer might be shutting down, and strange things are happening to mammals both two- and four-legged. As Mike teams up with a few pals, a police officer and an events organizer, a funny and remarkably optimistic story of small-town resistance unfolds.

This Impossible Life: A Novel
By Chinelo Okparanta
Mariner Books: 432 pp., $32
(Nov. 10)

Okparanta’s “Under the Udala Trees” was set during the 1960s Biafran War; her new novel takes place in 1993, as siblings Alohan and Ivie, ages 11 and 4, face a family tragedy that eventually leads to their separation. As the brother and sister forge lives, more tragedies occur. However, the author wants readers to see that displacement of many kinds, malignant or benign, can have far-reaching consequences — and sometimes those can be overcome.

27 Knots: A Novel
By Martin J. Smith
Open Road Media: 334 pp., $26
(Nov. 24)

The title refers to knots tied in a U.S. Navy Riverine force beret, each knot symbolizing what the men in those units believe is “an assassination in the name of duty.” Fifty years ago, the teenage Vance was sent to Vietnam and hunted down Viet Cong forces in the Mekong Delta. Today, he’s headed to Washington, D.C., for the funeral of a comrade — but another of his comrades might threaten his carefully constructed life. A thoughtful and riveting thriller.

NONFICTION:

Just a Shot Away: Martin Scorsese’s Life in Film
By Mark Binelli
Metropolitan Books: 544 pp., $36
(Nov. 3)

“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster,” says Henry Hill in “Goodfellas,” and what better way to be a gangster than to create your own? In this hefty biography of director Martin Scorsese, long-time journalist Binelli leaves no reel unturned as he chronicles his subject’s Little Italy origins, years as a “functioning cokehead,” and rise to fame through films including “Taxi Driver,” “Raging Bull” and “The Departed.”

Take My Word for It: A Memoir
By LeVar Burton
Random House: 352 pp., $32
(Nov. 10)

Burton’s multifaceted roles as Kunta Kinte in “Roots,” as Geordi La Forge in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and as the host of “Reading Rainbow” have affected his life deeply. As he explains in his lovely memoir, Kunta Kinte allowed him to understand Blackness as a cultural phenomenon, while Geordi LaForge lived in a future where Blackness was no longer an issue — and his passion for liberation led to encouraging kids to “Take a look, it’s in a book.”

China Whisperers: The Voices that Have Shaped America’s Views of Its Chief Geopolitical Rival
By Robert D. Kaplan
Scribner: 448 pp., $32
(Nov. 10)

While we watch shows like “The Diplomat” and “Black Doves” focusing on our country’s European allies, another global power deserves attention. As longtime political expert Kaplan explains, our understanding of China has been filtered through the perspectives of groups that include today’s technophiles and linguists, who help our government negotiate a land of great progress and huge differences. Perhaps we should send Jack Reacher to Beijing?

The Last Leaf: Reflections on Late-Life Creativity — and My Longest Love Affair
By Willie Nelson
Penguin Press: 208 pp., $30
(Nov. 10)

Leave it to the tireless singer-songwriter and ganja connoisseur to give his new book such a punny title (and one that also references his song “Last Leaf on the Tree”). Nelson claims he’s slowing down in his old age, but given his prolific touring and recording, plenty of young musicians want what he’s having. His focus on living in the present, his decades-long marriage to wife Annie, and memories of true friends all show Nelson’s wisdom.

Secrets: A Reporter’s Memoir
By Bob Woodward
Simon & Schuster: 592 pp., $35
(Nov. 24)

Since, along with his colleague Carl Bernstein, Woodward once held that most secret of secrets — the identity of the Watergate informant known as “Deep Throat” — it’s fitting for him to use it as the title for this engrossing memoir. He’s covered everything from the White House to the Pentagon; expect a long list of source names, some of whom, Woodward says, permitted him to do so, while others are now a matter of public record.

Patrick is a freelance critic and author of the memoir “Life B.”

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday dismissed a criminal complaint against two former FBI officials accused of making false statements to Congress about Hunter Biden, saying the investigation that produced the charges was rushed, overtly political and dogged by “critical mistakes.”

“What has transpired here cannot be described as anything other than weaponization,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui said in a scathing ruling from the bench that dismissed the case against former officials Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides.

He noted that the investigation was opened a day after a primetime speech by President Trump in which he rehashed grievances over his 2020 election loss and that it was mandated and closely tracked by FBI Director Kash Patel. He also pointed out that the Justice Department could have brought the case, which arises from statements made in 2023, at any time but opted to do so two weeks ago, in the run-up to Tuesday’s midterm voting.

“I will not bury my head in the sand and pretend that I cannot read a calendar,” Faruqui said.

The decision followed a dramatic hearing in which he scolded prosecutors for their unorthodox maneuvers and an FBI agent who worked the case testified that he had been concerned the investigation would be seen as “political.”

The Justice Department may still have an opportunity to pursue a grand jury indictment against the two former officials, whose lawyers had pressed for dismissal of the charges. But the judge’s ruling nonetheless represents an unmistakable setback for the Justice Department, particularly given the difficulty it has had in persuading grand juries in the nation’s capital to return indictments in politically charged prosecutions like this one.

The judge’s concerns about the case were apparent almost immediately, when he raised questions about why the Justice Department had charged the case through a criminal complaint — which is more typically done when investigators have a pressing need to take a defendant into custody — as opposed to an indictment that requires a grand jury’s approval.

Then, at a preliminary hearing last week, he criticized the Justice Department for filing overnight an amended complaint with an additional criminal charge straight to the docket instead of first clearing the new charge with the court — something he said he had never seen before.

The hearing also featured testimony from an FBI agent who worked the case, who said that the investigation had been opened right after Trump gave an election security speech last July and that it had been mandated by FBI Director Kash Patel, who kept close watch on it.

The case accused the two former FBI officials of misleading Congress in 2023 about their involvement in, and knowledge of, efforts to investigate a laptop the Justice Department says was dropped off by Hunter Biden, former President Joe Biden’s son, at a Delaware computer repair shop in 2019.

But it also sought to echo longstanding grievances by Trump and his Republican allies that the FBI attempted to suppress information during the 2020 presidential campaign that was seen as potentially harmful to the Biden family. Candidate Joe Biden, a Democrat, ultimately defeated Trump, the Republican incumbent, in the 2020 election.

The Justice Department’s case noted, for instance, how Floris and Benavides had given lawmakers in 2020 a “defensive briefing” that Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin have said was used to undermine their investigation into the Biden administration and link it to Russian disinformation.

Tucker writes for the Associated Press.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. The football playoff pairings have been announced. It’s prediction time.

Prediction time

Quarterback Thaddeus Breaux of No. 2-seeded Hamilton in City Section Division I.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

It’s that time of year to make football playoff predictions. Let’s start with the City Section because there’s one certainty: Carson will win the Open Division.

Carson worked hard in the off season getting better on the offensive and defensive lines to support quarterback Chris Fields III. If any team wants to get close, they need to control the clock. Cleveland can be that team to at least make the Colts sweat if the Cavaliers reach the final.

In Division I, No. 2-seeded Hamilton has been making progress and its passing attack looks ready to deliver a championship. The others: Division II, watch out for 1-9 Marquez, which had a great strength of schedule. Division III, South East.

In the Southern Section, all signs are pointing toward a Santa Margarita vs. Sierra Canyon final despite lots of obstacles ahead for both teams. If it happens, Santa Margarita’s defense always finds a way to come through.

In Division 2, Chaparral is seeded No. 1 and has the chance to take advantage of being healthy and having played a tough 10-game schedule to take home the title.

Division 3 is wide open. There’s former Division 1 champions Long Beach Poly, Edison and Crespi to deal with. Poly outscored its weak Moore League opponents 199-0, so it’s hard to say if the Jackrabbits have turned things around since quarterback Trevor Scott became eligible. If it’s not an illusion, then the Jackrabbits can win it all.

Division 4: This is about who gets hot. Dana Hills, Cathedral, La Habra and Cajon all have the opportunity to be that team. La Habra went 0-5 in the tough Bravo League, but quarterback DJ Mitchell is capable of a four-game win streak.

Division 5: Mary Star let the cat out of the bag by taking Carson to the very end before losing 45-42. Oaks Christian has started playing like the Oaks Christian of old, so watch out.

Division 6: Quarterback Jack Hurst is back for Laguna Beach.

Division 7: Paramount loaded up on transfers and now gets to win a title.

Division 8: Never choose against Rio Hondo Prep.

Division 9: Lawndale has former Crenshaw coach Robert Garrett as an assistant and is 9-1. Don’t underestimate 1-9 Western. They’ve played much tougher opponents.

Division 10: Top-seeded Nogales is unbeaten for a reason. It can run and pass.

Division 11: Viewpoint is better than people think.

Division 12: Rancho Alamitos will find a way.

Division 13: Rialto is finally healthy and got an ideal division placement.

Division 14: If San Gabriel wins, it will be front page news in the San Gabriel Valley.

Mater Dei’s sideline, led by coach Raul Lara, erupts in celebration after the Monarchs pulled out a 36-35 win over St. John Bosco.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

The final regular-season game between Mater Dei and St. John Bosco had a classic ending to another memorable rivalry game, with Mater Dei winning 36-36 on a successful two-point conversion with 7.5 seconds left. Here’s the report.

Mission Viejo won the Alpha League title over San Juan Hills. Here’s the report.

Valencia rallied to defeat Hart for the Foothill League title. Here’s the report.

Long Beach Poly didn’t allow a single point in Moore League play, outscoring its opponents 199-0.

Hoover earned its first playoff berth since 1987.

Freshman Deon’Dre Smith is having a terrific season for Bellflower at receiver. Here’s the report.

The Coliseum League ended in a three-way tie for first place among King/Drew, Dorsey and Crenshaw after Dorsey upset King/Drew, requiring all three to go to the City Section Open Division playoffs.

Here’s top performances from last week.

Here’s Southern Section playoff pairings.

Here’s City Section playoff pairings.

Here’s the top 25 rankings by The Times.

Coach perseveres

Marshall coach Jose Razo with his 11-year-old son, Adrian. He spent 18 years as a football assistant at Marshall.

(Aida Alrafe)

Rejected twice after interviews for head football coach at Marshall, Jose Razo decided to stay as an assistant coach. When the job opened again in 2025, he was promoted to head coach. Now the team is 10-0 and Northern League champions.

Here’s a look at why he refused to abandon his alma mater.

JSerra quarterback Kate Meier throws while being blitzed by Huntington Beach defender Olivia Quick during the CIF Southern Section Open Division flag football semifinals on Oct. 31, 2026.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Unbeaten JSerra will play Newport Harbor for the Southern Section Open Division flag football title Saturday at Huntington Beach.

JSerra will enter with a 55-game winning steak. Here’s a report from the Lions’ semifinal win over Huntington Beach.

Carson is seeded No. 1 and Eagle Rock No. 2 for the City Section Open Division playoffs that begin on Thursday. Here are the pairings.

Girls volleyball

The top two seeds, Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon, have advanced to play for the Southern Section Division 1 championship Saturday at Cerritos College.

They’ve been considered the top two teams all season.

Mater Dei is 38-1 with its only loss coming to Santa Margarita. It has a tournament win over Sierra Canyon, which is 32-1. Also No. 1 vs. No. 2 in the state. The time will be announced early this week.

Here are the semifinal results.

The City Section will hold its finals at Venice and Birmingham this weekend. In Tuesday’s semifinals, Venice will host Taft and Cleveland is at Palisades.

Palisades wins in tennis

Palisades High freshman Aila Monahan won her three sets at No. 1 singles in the City Section girls’ tennis finals.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Palisades continued its domination in girls tennis with another City Section girls title.

Here’s the report of the Dolphins’ win over Granada Hills.

Notes . . .

Nick Welch Jr, is a senior at Rolling Hills Prep.

(Craig Weston)

Nick Welch Jr., a 6-foot-9 center at Rolling Hills Prep, has committed to TCU, which is coached by former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame star Jamie Dixon. ….

Junior outfielder Dru Wilson of Sierra Canyon has committed to UCLA. He played the last two seasons at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame….

Senior outfielder Griffin Fien from Chaparral has committed UC Riverside….

Pitcher Easton Sarmiento of Ayala has committed to Texas….

Pitcher Ethan Costarella of Arcadia has committed to Azusa Pacific….

Jonah Boyd from Ayala has committed to Cal Poly for baseball….

Pitcher Striker Pence from Corona Santiago has committed to Texas A&M….

Standout junior pitcher Tyler George from Santa Margarita has committed to USC….

Outfielder Messiah White of Mater Dei has committed to UC Riverside….

Richelle Whiting has resigned as girls volleyball coach at Aliso Niguel….

Jaylee Moore of Etiwanda has committed to Hawaii women’s basketball….

Basketball teams from St. Francis, Crespi, Crossroads and Campbell Hall will be competing at the Hoop Hall Classic in Springfield, Mass., in Janaury….

The Southern Section water polo playoffs continue. Here’s an update on results and schedules....

The Southern Section girls’ tennis playoffs begin…

From the archives: Matt Leinart

Matt Leinart (center) in 2019.

(Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Former Mater Dei and USC quarterback Matt Leinart remains heavily involved in sports as a TV analyst and Mater Dei supporter. He won the Heisman Trophy in 2004 and his son, Cole, is a quarterback at SMU.

Here’s a story from 1999 when Leinart led Mater Dei to a comeback win over Servite.

Here’s a story from 2000 and another comeback win over Servite directed by Leinart.

Recommendations

From DaveCampbells.com, a story on Texas making high school football championships on a free TV platform.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story and photos on how Patriot High has become a hotbed for flag football.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.

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The 57-year-old crossed jungles and frozen seas before an emotional homecoming in Hull, northern England.

A British adventurer has completed a 28-year walking journey around the world, arriving at his childhood home after travelling some 50,000km (31,070 miles) across jungles, frozen seas and international borders.

Karl Bushby, 57, was embraced by his mother, Angela, outside her terraced house in Hull, northern England, on Monday, beneath a banner reading “Welcome Home Son”.

Hundreds of cheering supporters had welcomed him in the city centre before he made the final stretch home.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he joked to the crowd. “Is that it, is it done?”

Bushby began what became known as his Goliath Expedition in Punta Arenas, southern Chile, in November 1998, carrying a tent, a few hundred dollars and a cheap plastic camera.

His goal was to reach his home city by an unbroken route, without using motorised transport to advance his journey.

The route took him north through the Americas, across the ice of the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia, and onwards through Mongolia and China. He later swam across the Caspian Sea before continuing towards Europe.

Along the way, he negotiated the dense jungle of the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama, was detained after entering Russia, and faced repeated visa and funding problems.

The global financial crisis in 2008 cost him major sponsors, adding to delays that stretched what he had expected to be a 12-year journey into 28 years.

Last month, he finally swam across the English Channel, clearing the last major obstacle before beginning the final walk home.

“They say it takes a village, but literally it took a world to get me here,” he said as he arrived in Hull. “The kindness of strangers, so many, from individuals to nation-states, to get me back here today. I didn’t do this alone. There was a big team. The biggest team. Earth.”

A feature-length documentary about his journey is in production, while Bushby plans to begin a speaking tour around England in the coming weeks.

Attacks the latest to disrupt electricity supplies; army reports new defections from paramilitary RSF.

Drone strikes are reported to have hit three electricity substations in eastern and northern Sudan, the latest attacks in a concentrated campaign.

The attacks on Monday, which caused widespread power outages across parts of the country, brought the number of strikes reported to target Sudan’s electricity network to 18 over the past week.

Sudan’s military government has claimed that Ethiopia is aiding the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – which it has been fighting since April 2023 – in carrying out the attacks.

Facilities in New Halfa and Aroma in eastern Kassala state were hit early on Monday, while the al-Ghazali substation in Sudan’s Northern State was also targeted, according to local media.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show fires at the facilities, with civil defence teams trying to extinguish the fires. Al Jazeera was not able to immediately verify the footage and reports.

On Sunday, Sudan’s government said it had filed complaints against Ethiopia with the United Nations Security Council and the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, accusing Addis Ababa of involvement in the ongoing campaign of attacks on civilian infrastructure and power stations.

The Sudanese army also reported on Monday that a group of RSF members had defected by surrendering to its forces in Damazin, the capital of southeastern Blue Nile state.

The announcement follows a declaration, in video footage obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera, by senior RSF commander Siddiq Ander that he had defected.

In a statement, the army said that the development was the latest in increasing defections from the paramilitary group in Blue Nile state.

It added that the group’s commander had provided information concerning the management of military operations in Damazin, including “Ethiopian support” for the RSF.

There was a very awkward moment during a BBC News segment which was spotted by viewers

Viewers of BBC News were taken aback by an unexpected error.

Those tuning in to the latest update on the channel were left distracted by the blunder. One of the latest updates which aired from the broadcaster over the weekend, left more than a few people rubbing their eyes in disbelief.

It came during a bulletin which reported on the key midterm elections over in the United States. Americans are set to go to the polls this week as they choose to elect members of Congress.

The results could have a huge impact on Donald Trump’s presidency, of which he has two years remaining in his term. However, during the segment, the channel unintentionally broadcast an unrelated word.

It was pointed out on Tuesday, November 2 by TV critic, and co-host of BBC podcast Must Watch, Scott Bryan. He shared a screengrab of the moment on social media and said: “BBC News errrr… you might want to check the reflection.”

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While the graphic read: “US Midterm Elections” accompanied by a US flag, the reflection of it on the newsreader’s desk made it look very different. The upside down ‘L’ made it look more like an unconventional letter ‘R’.

As a result, it appeared to many watching along that the word ‘erections’ was being plastered over the reflective surface. Scott’s original post gained several responses.

Many of them were from people who just could not help themselves but poke fun at the situation. One person immediately asked: “Will they face stiff competition from Sky News?”

Another added: “They’re going to have to open up a Department for Reflections Corrections at this rate.”

Someone else said: “Is that a seismic shift in Congressional voting intentions, or are you happy to see me?!” Others predicted that the incident could well form the inspiration of a sketch on SNL UK in the near future.

Not everyone was as amused or even convinced that the reflection accurately portrayed what was suggested. Someone argued against the idea and noted: “I’m willing to accept a TOYS”Я”US-style backwards ‘N’, but an upside-down T ruins it for me.”

Mirror has approached BBC for a comment

WASHINGTON  — On the day before the midterm election, Trump administration lawyers asked the Supreme Court to intervene and set aside ballots from 20,000 California voters who the administration says may not be citizens.

Solicitor Gen. D. John Sauer filed an emergency appeal on Monday.

“The Court should issue a limited injunction directing California to stop commingling suspected illegal ballots with legal ones,” he wrote, “pending completion of the United States’ appeal to the 9th Circuit and further review in this Court.”

He said the court should require “California to segregate mail ballots from persons whom the United States has identified as likely non-citizens. The court should also enter an administrative injunction to that effect while it considers this application.”

It’s not clear whether the court will see this as an emergency.

The appeal goes first to Justice Elena Kagan. She could ask for a response from California, which would take days.

So far, the administration has lost before a federal judge in Los Angeles and twice at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Those judges said that Trump’s lawyers were wrong on the Constitution and that their complaint came too late for this election.

In May, more than 23 million Californians were registered to vote, and the majority lean in favor of Democrats. But Trump claimed again last week “there are hundreds of thousands of bad ballots, bad votes, in California. Millions, in my opinion.”

In mid-October, the Trump administration sued and said federal courts should require California and Los Angeles County to “set aside vote-by-mail ballots from persons identified by the federal government likely to be non-citizens.”

Federal law says that within 90 days of an election, officials may not “systematically remove the names of ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters.”

Separately, the Supreme Court also has repeatedly frowned on “late-breaking, court-ordered rule changes” involving elections.

The California court cases have also put a spotlight on the state vs. federal divide in election law.

Usually, federal laws are deemed to be the “supreme law” and override state laws that are in conflict. No one disputes U.S. prosecutors may bring criminal fraud charges against noncitizens who violate a federal law by registering with a state to vote and casting an illegal ballot.

But election rules and procedures are different. The Constitution says “the Times, Places and Manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state,” unless Congress acts by law to “alter” its regulations.

The 9th Circuit judges in Friday’s opinion said that “this clause expressly dictates which sovereign has the authority to prescribe the manner in which congressional elections are conducted.”

“If the United States believes different procedures are necessary for vote-by-mail ballots, we believe it should take that suggestion to Congress, not the courts,” said Judges Mark J. Bennett, a Trump appointee, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, a Biden appointee.

Dissenting Judge Patrick J. Bumatay, a Trump appointee, called the administration’s proposal to separate the 20,000 ballots a “reasonable request” and a “modest remedy” for the problem of illegal voting.

The majority cited a 2013 opinion written by the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

“The Elections Clause functions as a default provision,” he wrote. “It invests the states with responsibility for the mechanics of congressional elections,” unless Congress adopts a different rule.

Scalia spoke for a 7-2 majority that rejected an Arizona law that required voters to show documentary proof of their citizenship when registering to vote. In the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, Congress said voters may register to vote by filling out a form and attesting under oath they are citizens.

California does the same under state law.

Scalia said the federal voter registration law did not allow Arizona to adopt new and stricter rules.

In dissent, conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito said they would go farther to protect the states from federal interference in elections.

“Given states’ exclusive authority to set voter qualifications and to determine whether those qualifications are met,” Thomas said the Arizona restriction should have been upheld.
“The Constitution reserves for the States the power to decide who is qualified to vote in federal elections,” Alito added.

Last month, Trump’s prosecutors brought fraud charges against 28 lawful immigrants in California who are alleged to have registered or voted in the past even though they are not citizens. They did so under a 1996 immigration law which made it “unlawful for any alien” to vote in a federal election.

The notion of segregating potentially suspect ballots is not a new issue for the Supreme Court.

In November 2020, Alito agreed with Pennsylvania state officials and said they should set aside late-arriving mail ballots to be counted separately.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state election officials and the state Supreme Court agreed to waive part of the state’s law and allow for counting mail ballots that arrived up to three days late.

Republicans strongly objected. That led to Alito’s order. But in the end, the small number of late votes made no difference because the Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, decisively won Pennsylvania’s votes and defeated Trump.

The California dispute is different because the state has not changed its voting rules or election procedures. Instead, it is the Trump administration that sought a late change in California’s voting rules and election procedures.

Cameron Norrie progressed to the second round of the Paris Masters with victory over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.

The British number two notched a 6-4 1-6 6-3 against Arnaldi, who is ranked nine places above him in 36th, in one hour and 41 minutes to secure his first ATP Tour win since August.

“I’m just trying to enjoy my tennis. It’s been a difficult year for me and I don’t really care any more – I just want to play, and play to win,” Norrie told Sky Sports.

“I put a lot of expectation on myself to go and win, especially being a favourite [at times]. I was getting stuck a lot and I definitely want to try to change that.

“I really just want to play every point, enjoy every point, use my skills and give myself permission to let go and play to win. Be a bit more grateful to play.”

Norrie, 31, was already a break up against Arnaldi when he lost his serve in the fourth game of the opening set.

However, the Briton immediately broke back before he served out to win it 6-4 in 36 minutes.

Arnaldi broke Norrie three times in the second set to level the match, but the Briton regrouped in the decider and, after securing a break to go 3-1 up, was able to hold his nerve to close out the match.

The Labour Party has pulled out of power-sharing agreements with the Green Party in 11 local councils, after the national party adopted a policy defining Zionism as a form of racism.

Labour councillors will no longer be in coalition with the Greens in areas including Sheffield, Warwick and Lewes.

Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson said: “Labour has been clear from the start that the “Zionism is Racism” policy crosses a line and we cannot work with any party that supports it – at any level of government.”

Green leader Zack Polanski said the move would “backfire” on Labour and accused the party of wanting to “interrupt your local services and impose genocide support from it’s local councils”.

In October, Green Party members backed a motion, entitled “Zionism is racism”, which said Zionism was an ideology that supported an “ethnonationalist Jewish State in historic Palestine”. Israel has denied committing genocide in Gaza.

The motion also backed a “single democratic Palestinian State”, including in modern-day Israel.

Having been backed by party members, the motion became Green Party policy, but it has left senior figures bitterly divided. Jewish groups and opposition political parties have condemned it.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told MPs in October that Labour would not partner with the Greens over the “antisemitic” policy.

Labour then issued an ultimatum from Labour’s head office to Labour-Green councils, demanding that local Greens disown the motion passed by members at their national party conference.

Green groups were also asked to call on their party’s national leadership to reconsider the policy.

Labour said there were local agreements in place in 18 authorities. Of those, Labour said 11 had not met the criteria it demanded.

The areas are:

Labour said its conditions had been met in Broadland, Monmouthshire, North Somerset, Rother, West Oxfordshire and West Sussex. The party said that Coventry City Council does not have a formal arrangement in place and that no such deal will be made in the future.

It will continue co-operating with the Greens in the West of England mayoralty, where the deputy mayor is a Green member.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said the motion was “imperfect” but has defended its central premise, arguing that Israel’s actions towards the Palestinian people are “clearly underpinned by racist ideology”.

The collapse of co-operation at the local level could impact hundreds of thousands of residents through budgets and policy decisions taking longer to get voted through.

Green and Labour councillors in the impacted areas will now have to seek alternative coalition partners or try to govern as a minority administration.

In a joint statement, the Green Party and the Local Government Association Green Group said it was “hugely disappointed” that Labour had forced local leaders into “jeopardising successful progressive partnerships that are delivering benefits for residents”.

ILULISSAT, Greenland — Greenland has opened a new international airport, seeking to lure visitors from around the world as the Arctic island looks toward eventual independence from Denmark.

The inaugural international flight between Copenhagen, Denmark, and Ilulissat, Greenland Thursday was part of the island government’s efforts to grow its tourism industry to boost and diversify an economy still reliant on fishing.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen described the new airport as “one of the biggest investments” in the island’s history. Nielsen was one of 169 passengers on Thursday’s 4.5-hour flight on an Airbus A330neo. An Associated Press journalist also took the flight, operated by government-owned Air Greenland, as part of a trip organized by tourism agency Visit Greenland, for this story.

“If Greenland wants to be independent, we need to have a strong foundation, both economically and in terms of industry and business,” Nielsen told the AP before the plane departed.

The strategic island, home to roughly 56,000 people, has been a focus of President Trump since his first term, when he initially expressed his desire to acquire Greenland. His repeated threats to seize the territory from Denmark, a NATO ally, during his second term prompted months of tensions with other NATO allies. In September, Trump signed an agreement with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland to strengthen security in the Arctic and North Atlantic.

“There’s no doubt that it has been a shadow over the entire Kingdom of Denmark, but especially Greenland,” said Danish Finance Minister Peter Hummelgaard, who also took the inaugural flight. “The opening of this new international airport marks, I think, hope and optimism.”

New international airports seek to lure new visitors

Ilulissat, known as the “City of Icebergs,” sits along the island’s western coast and is home to some 5,000 people. Greenland’s third-largest city is also one of the island’s most-visited destinations. More than 342 miles north of the capital, Nuuk, its tourism offerings range from sled dog tours to icefjord cruises in picturesque Disko Bay, known for its towering icebergs.

Previously, travelers reaching Ilulissat had to arrive by cruise ship, take a small plane from Iceland or fly to one of Greenland’s international hubs and connect to smaller aircraft. There are no road connections from other big towns.

For decades, Greenland’s main international aviation gateways were former U.S. military air bases, distant echoes of World War II, in Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq. Locals and international visitors had to land there before catching smaller aircraft to the island’s major towns, including Ilulissat and Nuuk. That changed in late 2024, when an international airport opened in Nuuk.

United Airlines last year began a new seasonal route between Nuuk and Newark, New Jersey. The inaugural flight was the first direct from the U.S. to Greenland by an American airline.

The Ilulissat airport, meanwhile, has a 53,820 square feet terminal and a new 1.37-mile runway, long enough to accommodate larger passenger aircraft. Air Greenland has committed to as many as six weekly flights between Copenhagen and Ilulissat during next year’s peak summer months, and Icelandair will also fly large jets from its Keflavik hub. Jens R. Lauridsen, CEO of Greenland Airports, said the company is also hoping to lure airlines in the U.S. and mainland Europe to serve Ilulissat.

“It’s quite wonderful that you can go directly right now,” said Kirsten Berthelsen, a 35-year-old Ilulissat resident and student who booked a ticket for Thursday’s flight without realizing it was the inaugural service. “Sometimes it’s quite difficult to travel from Nuuk and to other countries.”

Tourism boom remains elusive

While the number of international visitors to Greenland has grown by at least 65% since 2018, reaching almost 150,000 in 2024, the expected travel boom has yet to materialize. In 2024, tourism accounted for less than 5% of the territory’s GDP. Infrastructure, including hotel capacity, remains limited.

Aalborg University associate professor Carina Ren, who specializes in Arctic tourism, said some U.S. tourists were even deterred from visiting the island because of the recent Trump standoff, with a few canceling their flights.

“I’ve heard of people canceling their bookings, but also others canceling because they were afraid that perhaps they would not be welcomed,” she said, adding that many Americans still visit, particularly on cruise ships.

Even so, there are some local concerns about mass tourism and potential damage to Greenland’s fragile nature.

Palle Jerimiassen, a former regional mayor, said he fears the city’s environment, population and infrastructure may be overwhelmed by too many visitors.

“How many can we invite?” he said. “We are welcoming all the tourists, it’s a possibility to earn some new money.”

He added: “But we have to be careful.”

Brooks writes for the Associated Press.

RHIAN Sugden looked red hot in a plunging bodysuit as fans branded her ‘so gorgeous’.

The model, 40, almost burst out of her lingerie as she posed up a storm in front of the camera.

Rhian left little to the imagination in the red polka dot mesh one-piece with a frill edge.

The star opted for a glam face of make-up and loose curls.

Rhian shared the stunning picture on her Instagram and fans rushed to the comments section to share the love.

One said: “Gorgeous as always.”

PURR-FECT

Rhian Sugden, 40, goes wild in daring leopard print corset & thigh high PVC boots

SEXY SUGDEN

Rhian Sugden shows off her stunning figure in purple lingerie and sequins

Another wrote: “Stunning.”

“Wow,” a third simply added.

A fourth commented: “I think red may be your colour.”

A fifth said: “Unbelievable.”

It comes just days after Rhian went wild in a VERY daring leopard print corset and thigh high PVC boots.

The former glamour model, who recently celebrated her 40th birthday, looked incredible in the sizzling clothes.

She took to social media and shared the snap on Instagram, with the caption: “Happy Hour.”

The stakes in Tuesday’s midterm elections are so high that Shane Dunn voted for the first time in his life, at age 65.

After a career as a cook up and down the East Coast, Dunn moved to the Philadelphia suburbs and voted last week in Levittown. “I was always a busy man,” he said outside his polling place. But now, “I’m learning what’s going on within our country, and this is actually what brought me out.”

Democrats got his vote. “It feels great, to put my word in,” he said, patting the “I Voted” sticker on his black hoodie.

Voters across the United States are getting their word in, too, as they determine which party controls the Senate and the House and takes charge of governors’ offices, legislatures and state leadership posts in the final two years of Republican Trump’s presidency.

What many of them see is that the America they’ve known is slipping away.

They see lawlessness coming from those who create the laws. They see hate stirred by politicians among neighbors, corruption at every turn, billionaires ruling the roost and a culture that doesn’t speak to how they live — in short, American bedrock at risk of crumbling. Not to mention those crazy gas prices.

In dozens of Associated Press interviews with people who cast ballots at advance polling places or drop boxes across the country, the angst was palpable, most sharply from those who oppose Trump but also from many who support him.

A vote is cast to stop the ‘madness’

“I saw my vote today as trying to put the brakes on just the madness,” said Arthur Horner, 59, who runs a food importing and marketing company that has been hurt by tariffs, after dropping his mail ballot at Dauphin County’s election bureau in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He voted for Democrats.

In Sioux City, Iowa, cattle rancher Elizabeth Marlett, 61, voted in Woodbury County’s historic Prairie-style courthouse and walked out stewing about a variety of things — the chemicals in processed food, her son’s struggles to get his veterans’ benefits and, perhaps most of all, what she sees as society’s leftward lurch. Things seem broken to her, too.

“Family values are going by the wayside, and they need to be brought back,” she said. “Our liberties have been stomped all over. Religion has been stomped all over. And I believe we in the majority need to step up and stop being silent.” She voted Republican.

Voters despair at the stoking of anger by Trump and allies

The anger in the air, stirred by a cursing president who abides no slights, is too much for some people.

“He’s just destroying us,” Democrat Linda Markle, 72, said of the president. She spoke outside the Warminster Township library in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

“I am so afraid for this country,” she said. “People used to look out for each other. Not anymore.”

“All people do now is just hate each other,” she said, and Trump “seems to have given them the courage to go ahead and be like that. … The division is horrible, absolutely horrible, and I can’t wait to see the back of him.”

Republican Chris Smith, 27, a Harrisburg software engineer who voted for Trump in 2024, sympathizes with Markle’s sentiment, to a point.

“A lot of people hate him for various reasons, and I can understand why,” he said, noting that ”I think he’s kind of going a bit crazy on a lot of things.” But he likes Trump’s effort to return manufacturing to the U.S. along with the goals of his tariffs, and he voted Republican because he still thinks that party is more fiscally responsible than Democrats.

In Ohio, Lori Wilkinson, a retired home health worker from New Pittsburg, and her husband, David, a janitor, consider themselves independents. David recently wrote to their Republican governor, Mike DeWine, to tell him what a good job he’s doing, and they voted for Republican George W. Bush for president in the past.

Trump? “He’s the worst president in United States history,” David said from the Wayne County election center. “You get up every day, and you’re like, ‘What’s he going to do now?’” Said Lori: “He’s got the hate just so bad, it’s just out of hand. It’s just out of control.” She fears that if Democrats win widely Tuesday, Trump will “go fricking berserk.”

Trump supporter Therese Mennell gets it. “There’s that kind of arrogant vibe about him that people don’t like, and sometimes I shut him off because of the way he talks,” the retiree said from the Wayne County center. “But, I mean, he’s doing the right thing. He is saving our country.”

Some pretend Trump is on the ballot

Despite his striking unpopularity in polls, Trump repeatedly asked supporters to pretend he’s on the midterm ballot, betting that would motivate fans to vote who otherwise might not. But that cuts both ways.

Samontae Mwangi, 20, and his brother, Gathenya Mwangi, 19, voted for the first time, casting early ballots Tuesday at their election center in Topeka, Kansas. Both work at a plant that manufactures trackside buildings for railroads.

They went with their grandfather, Lynn Henderson, 68, a retired Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. worker and a former Marine lance corporal who wore a Marine’s cap. Henderson said he took his grandsons to vote because his own mother died recently and he wanted them to have an event to remember him when he’s gone.

All three are hoping that the election produces Democratic victories and political change. Gathenya said the economy and discontent with Trump could motivate people who’ve voted in the past to show up, as well as those who never have. “It really could change, make a difference, I feel, if a lot of people vote,” he said.

Denise Wunder, a retired sandwich shop manager, pulled up to the center in a van featuring a decorative license plate with an American eagle. The strong Trump supporter is the daughter of Democrats. Illegal immigration is her top issue.

“I think Trump is kind of our last hope, because otherwise this world’s going to go to hell in a handbasket,” she said. “Yeah, he says stupid stuff, but, you know, so do we.”

In the Richmond, Virginia, suburb of Henrico County, voters arrived at a steady clip on a crisp fall afternoon a week from Election Day. The moment of decision found one conservative couple, Joan and Frank Bark, lamenting the country’s direction.

“I’m afraid Trump has gotten so egotistical, it’s affecting his ability to make intelligent or more favorable decisions,” Frank said. But, he said, “I don’t want the decisions that would be generated from that far left side, either.”

Joan, a retiree like her husband, said of Democrats: “I haven’t found very much that they want to change or work with. It’s just mostly, ‘I hate Trump.’” But Trump really isn’t on the ballot. They voted for Republican candidates.

In Nanuet, New York, people streamed into the small room of a community center to vote; some were in Halloween costumes. Primrose D. Sullivan, a nurse, is an independent. She scoffed at Trump’s wish that voters act as if he’s running.

“No, because he’s not,” she said. “When a patient comes into the hospital, you want me dealing in facts, not in, ‘Hmm, let me act like you might have cancer.’ No. Do you or do you not have cancer? We need to proceed based on facts.” She voted for Democrats.

Yet some see a cancer on politics, if not the presidency

Sullivan was among a number of voters who singled out the billionaires Trump has made common cause with and how that might feed into American decline.

“I don’t begrudge any of our wealthy people, Jeff Bezos or, you know, Elon Musk,” she said. “But I do have a certain problem with them wanting more and more and doing things that really don’t help humanity.”

“If we keep going the way these guys are going,” she went on, meaning both the political and CEO classes, “we’re not going to have anything like what we had in the past.” Theirs is a “self-destructive attitude,” she added, “because, honestly, if the whole planet destroys itself, the wealthy go with us.”

Outside the polling station at the YMCA in Fort Mill, South Carolina, Benjamin Updegraft offered a piercing denunciation of the elite as he traced his evolution from a “full-throated young Republican” who voted for Trump as a young man in 2016 to a “lifetime Democrat,” after casting his ballot in the Senate race.

He cited Musk’s throttling of his Starlink satellite internet service in Ukraine, which disrupted a key defense against Russian attacks, and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s ad in the Ohio governor’s race featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Amy Acton among the reasons powerful men must be brought to heel.

“That needs to be cut out from this country like a cancer,” Updegraft said. “We have an incredible responsibility to take back the stranglehold that the worst people in this country have on the reins of power and to inflict punishment on them for their actions.”

In Scottsdale, Arizona, David Lee described his conservative upbringing, his past voting for Republicans and now his decision to turn against that party and vote Democratic in the contested races for governors and the House. He considers Trump’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement to be lawless.

“Nobody wants open borders, but you’re treating these people without due process, sending people to countries they don’t even belong to,” said Lee, 63. “There’s no more rules.”

Then there are those prices. And that war

The Trump supporters interviewed by the AP at the polls signaled their tolerance of the surge of gas prices from the Iran war, in some cases blaming factors other than the actual cause. Nor did they break with him on the war itself.

Among them was David Stouffer, 59, branch manager for a mortgage bank and three-time Trump voter, who spoke outside the Harrisburg elections office. “Iran has been killing Americans for 50 freaking years,” he said. “Yeah, I’ll suffer with some higher gas prices in the interim until they get that nonsense figured out.”

Does that put a crunch on your household budget, Stouffer was asked. “Of course it does.” How to cope with that? “I just keep driving.”

“He’s made the tax cuts real,” Stouffer said. “He has secured the borders. That, to me, is a very, very big deal.”

By the dozens, Democrats, independents and Republicans outside the core of Trump’s support differed with that assessment, even as some of them granted the president his achievements on taxes and immigration.

Horner, the food importer, is going “bonkers” with the tariffs and all the other moves bouncing between the Trump administration and the courts while a “feckless” and now electorally endangered Republican Congress largely stands aside.

“You can’t do business when every month you have to readjust your pricing because the president gets a wild hair on something that he’s not even constitutionally allowed to do,” Horner said. He added, “He’s just playing out the clock on all of this stuff — where you just know he knows it’s wrong.

“And what do we have? Higher healthcare, higher food, higher gas, a business environment that is complete chaos.”

But Jerry Casner, 74, of Mechanicsburg, a suburb of Harrisburg, wants as much of Trump as he can get. Alas, “he can’t run again,” Casner noted.

“Well, technically,” Casner said, “he can’t run again.”

Levy, Catalini, Hanna and Woodward write for the Associated Press. Hanna reported from Topeka, Kan.; Levy from Harrisburg, Pa.; Catalini from Levittown, Pa.; and Woodward from Washington. AP journalists Julie Carr Smyth in Wooster, Ohio; Erik Verduzco in Fort Mill, S.C.; Thomas Beaumont in Sioux City, Iowa; Joseph Frederick in Nanuet, N.Y.; Tassanee Vejpongsa in Warminster, Pa.; Mikella Schuettler in Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Sarah Rankin in Henrico, Va., contributed to this report.

Ireland cricketer Rebecca Stokell said she will “fully accept” responsibility for an inadvertent breach of reporting requirements regarding the use of prescription medication and has begun a “voluntary suspension”.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed the 26-year-old was drug tested and “returned an adverse finding for a specified substance” after her side’s defeat by Sri Lanka at the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup in June.

Although the substance was not performance-enhancing, Stokell has acknowledged she did not adhere to reporting requirements over the use of prescription medication and has started a voluntary period of suspension while waiting for the outcome of an ICC investigation.

“I fully accept my mistake and have voluntarily entered into a period of suspension ahead of the findings being returned,” said Stokell in a statement.

“While this was not performance-related in any way, I understand that I am responsible for following the anti-doping guidelines and I hope that I can be back playing for Ireland as soon as possible.”

Graeme West, the director of high performance at Cricket Ireland, added: “While we feel very sorry for Rebecca and have provided the level of support appropriate in these circumstances, this incident does serve as a reminder to all our international players that the anti-doping rules are in place to protect both the sport and the athletes themselves.

“All players must adhere to the standards and responsibilities expected, and we will continue to educate our players regularly on these matters and why they are important.”

Stokell made her international debut in 2017 and has featured 109 times for Ireland across all formats.