Month: September 2025

After making a cameo during Shakira and Jennifer Lopez’s 2020 halftime show in Miami, Bad Bunny will return to the Super Bowl stage next year — this time, as the headlining act.

The 2026 Super Bowl LX will take place Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. The Puerto Rican hitmaker’s performance is expected to be the first fully Spanish-language performance on the stage, and he’s the first Latino man to headline.

The announcement came after Bad Bunny, full name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said he would not tour his latest album, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” to the continental U.S. due to the ongoing threat of ICE arresting his concertgoers. “There was the issue of — like, f— ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about,” he told i-D magazine.

Instead, the Grammy-winning artist’s No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí (I Don’t Want to Leave Here) residency — which took place at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan — brought an estimated $733 million to Puerto Rico as 600,000-plus tourists came to the island for his concert.

As an unincorporated territory of the United States, Puerto Rico still has an ICE presence. In June 2025, Benito posted footage on his Instagram stories of an ICE raid in progress in Carolina, showcasing agents arresting alleged undocumented immigrants.

Yet since announcing his Super Bowl halftime show, the singer hasn’t voiced concerns about ICE. His post on X, which strays from his previous remarks on avoiding the States as a stance against ICE, reads: “I’ve been thinking about it these days, and after discussing it with my team, I think I’ll do just one date in the United States.”

As Santa Clara County is a sanctuary jurisdiction, Lina Baroudi, an immigration attorney in San Jose, believes local law enforcement is unlikely to cooperate with ICE. “Federal agents can operate independently. Sanctuary laws don’t prevent them from entering public spaces or executing federal warrants,” she says.

Between January and July in the Bay Area, ICE made 2,640 arrests— a 123% increase compared with 2024. “By June 2025, around 60% of ICE daily arrests in California were of people without criminal charges or convictions,” Baroudi says. The agency has historically had an increased presence in cities hosting the Super Bowl. ICE will likely be prohibited from operating inside the stadium, but ICE can operate in public spaces such as the parking lot, where fans may gather to hear the performance.

Amid an uptick in violent ICE arrests, mass deportations, people dying in ICE custody and the Supreme Court’s approval of profiling people for speaking Spanish, it’s of deep cultural significance that Bad Bunny will perform at the Super Bowl. Still, some fans are speculating that his firm stance against performing in the U.S. due to ICE was performative, now that he has accepted the Super Bowl gig.

And yet, given the Trump administration’s hostility toward immigrants and Spanish speakers in the U.S., it feels especially poignant that the country’s biggest sporting event of the year will showcase a performance sung entirely in Spanish.

“What I’m feeling goes beyond myself,” Bad Bunny said in a statement. “It’s for those who came before me and ran countless yards so I could come in and score a touchdown… this is for my people, my culture and our history. Ve y dile a tu abuela, que seremos el HALFTIME SHOW DEL SUPER BOWL.”

It’s worth noting that Bad Bunny’s appearance at the Super Bowl poses a massive commercial advantage for the NFL. Second to the United States, the largest resale of Super Bowl tickets on StubHub were purchased by fans in Mexico. There are 39 million Latine fans of the league in the U.S., making them the most rapidly growing fan base. Latine viewership of the Super Bowl rose 51% from 2021 to 2024.

The NFL has made a concerted effort over the years to globalize American football, with a special focus on building a fan base in Latin America; it recently enlisted Colombian pop star Karol G to perform at a halftime show in Brazil. Given that the Latine buying power in the U.S. is estimated at $3.6 trillion, tapping Bad Bunny as the headliner is a strategic move toward the league’s international expansion.

The global superstar’s performance will likely boost ratings as well. Bad Bunny broke Amazon Music’s livestream record last week with the most-watched single artist performance on the platform. Upon its release in January, “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” topped the Billboard 200 and maintained Bad Bunny’s place as one of Spotify’s most-streamed artists in three of the past five years.

Year after year, since 2022, artists have broken the record for the highest viewership during a Super Bowl halftime show. During the 2025 Super Bowl, Kendrick Lamar drew the largest audience ever, with 133.5 million people tuning in for his performance, surpassing the actual game’s viewership.

While the Bad Bunny halftime show has the potential to break viewership records, bring in new audiences and educate viewers on the Puerto Rico he loves — it also poses a potential security risk for his Latine fans in attendance, who deserve solidarity and increased institutional support.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Robert Luna, claiming the department violated county gunowners’ 2nd Amendment rights by delaying thousands of concealed carry permit application decisions for “unreasonable” periods of time.

In a statement, the DOJ claimed that the Sheriff’s Department “systematically denied thousands of law-abiding Californians their fundamental Second Amendment right to bear arms outside the home — not through outright refusal, but through a deliberate pattern of unconscionable delay.”

The complaint, filed in the Central District of California, the federal court in Los Angeles, cites data provided by the Sheriff’s Department about the more than 8,000 concealed carry permit applications and renewal applications it received between Jan. 2, 2024, and March 31.

During that period, the DOJ wrote, it took an average of nearly 300 days for the Sheriff’s Department to schedule interviews to approve the applications or “otherwise” advance them.

As a result, of the nearly 4,000 applications for new concealed carry licenses it received during those 15 months, “LASD issued only two licenses.” Two others were denied, the DOJ said, while the rest remained pending or were withdrawn.

The Sheriff’s Department did not immediately provide comment Monday. In March, when the Trump administration announced its 2nd Amendment investigation, the department said it was “committed to processing all Concealed Carry Weapons [CCW] applications in compliance with state and local laws.”

The department’s statement said it had approved 15,000 applications for concealed carry licenses but that because of “a significant staffing crisis in our CCW Unit” it was “diligenty working through approximately 4,000 active cases.”

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi said Monday that the DOJ was working to safeguard the 2nd Amendment, which “protects the fundamental constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to bear arms.”

“Los Angeles County may not like that right, but the Constitution does not allow them to infringe upon it,” Bondi said. “This Department of Justice will continue to fight for the Second Amendment.”

The federal agency’s complaint alleged that the practice of delaying the applications effectively forced gun permit applicants “to abandon their constitutional rights through administrative exhaustion.”

In December 2023, the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. sued the Sheriff’s Department over what it alleged were improper delays and rejections of applications for concealed carry licenses. In January, U.S. District Court Judge Sherilyn P. Garnett ordered the department to reduce delays.

In the new complaint, the DOJ called on the court to issue a permanent injunction.

Gun rights groups heralded the move by the Trump administration.

“This is a landmark lawsuit in that it’s the first time the Department of Justice has ever filed a case in support of gun owners,” Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to see the federal government step up and defend the Second Amendment rights of citizens and hope this pattern continues around the country.”

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN says he is loving his new life in Dubai – and loving the fact he now has a wife.

Snooker’s greatest ever player made two significant lifestyle changes this year and both of them have given him major contentment in his personal life.

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In June, the Rocket got married to long-term partner Laila Rouass, an actress and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant, in a low key ceremony in East London.

Few people knew about it until he announced the news on his Instagram page with a photo from the big day and the caption: “We finally made it official!! Mr & Mrs O’Sullivan.”

And then the couple packed up their belongings and moved to the UAE, which is an easier commute to events in China and his Saudi Arabia snooker academy.

On the benefits of heading to sunnier climes, O’Sullivan, 49, told SunSport: “It’s really good. I’ve got a great practice facility there, which was one of the main reasons for going.

“I was struggling to find somewhere to play. It was either get a train up to Sheffield or try to move to Sheffield.

“But my wife wasn’t too keen on Sheffield. So she said we either go Spain or Dubai.

“And I thought, well, Dubai is nearer China. Obviously it’s in the Middle East.

“All the tournaments that I play and all the work that I do is there. It just made sense to go to Dubai.

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“Really enjoying it out there. Great gyms. I’m enjoying that side of it.

“I had some friends over there before that played snooker and they’ve helped me get into Dubai life.

“I’ve met some really nice friends and fitted in really well. So yeah, it’s great.

“I’m not a sunbather, but I’d much rather the heat than cold, if that makes sense. Spring and autumn are my favourite times.”

Like most newly-married men, using the word ‘wife’ instead of girlfriend or fiancée in conversation has taken some getting used to.

O’Sullivan – who has three children from previous relationships – said: “Everyone just knows where they are a bit more.

“It probably feels a bit more mature, I suppose. It does take a while.

“At first I was like, oh, to say that word (wife), but now it feels pretty normal. It’s nice. Everything’s good. Everyone’s happy, which is the main thing.”

O’Sullivan has pulled out of three consecutive tournaments on medical grounds but his next appearance on the baize will be at the Xi’an Grand Prix, which starts on October 7.

In the meantime, he has thrown his support behind the launch of Pluto Snooker 900, the world’s first 24/7 dedicated snooker channel, which will stream free and on demand on Pluto TV.

The Snooker 900 format consists of 900 seconds (15 minutes) on the table, a 20-second shot clock, ball in hand for fouls and a sudden-death blue-ball deadlock shootout to settle ties.

The channel – which will initially broadcast 18 hours a week of live snooker from Monday to Wednesday – launches on Monday (October 6) with a Legends Week.

This will star golden oldies Jimmy White, Ken Doherty, John Parrott, Tony Drago, Joe Johnson and Tony Knowles.

Over the next 12 months, there is more than £600,000 in prize money pledged for amateur players.

And episodes of O’Sullivan’s acclaimed coaching series, The Rocket Method, will also be screened.

O’Sullivan, the seven-time world champion, said: “I remember filming the masterclass and after day three, having been on my feet for 12-13 hours a day, I couldn’t even walk.

“That was probably the hardest work we’ve ever done because we really had to crash it out.

“You’ll see every bit of advice from beginner to the real advanced stuff.

“I put it all on the table there. It’ll be great for any snooker or pool player or any cue sports player that wants to improve their game. I’ve really gone into big detail.

“Hopefully this new channel launches some snooker ambition in young players. It’s going to be like a bit of talent spotting.

“The 900 format, which sharpens the mind, is going to give people a chance to feel what it’s like to play on TV. Feel what the pressure and that nerve is like.”

Any Rams fans whose attention was diverted Sunday at SoFi Stadium by an aerial assault of bird droppings should know whom to blame.

Not the birds. They were just doing what they do (do).

Blame the thief who stole two trained hawks tasked with keeping the skies above the stadium free of other birds, so that the only airborne objects would be tight spirals off the right hand of Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.

But the hawks — who have names: Alice and Bubba — were stolen at 2:22 p.m. by a suspect the Inglewood Police Department described as a “male Black adult wearing a black jacket with a white stripe going down the shoulder, black pants and black shoes.”

Police said the key was left in the ignition of the Kawasaki Mule UTV that housed the hawks. The thief drove off with the maroon two-seater and hadn’t been caught as of Tuesday morning. The vehicle was last seen in the Village at Century shopping area in Inglewood.

“Affixed to the bed of the UTV were two Harris’s Hawks … housed in green containers,” the police said. “These Hawks are used during the games by a Falconer in order to deter other birds in the area.”

The falconer is Redlands police officer Charles Cogger. The trained birds are Harris’s hawks, also known as the bay-winged hawk, large and lanky raptors that breed from the southwestern United States and throughout South America. They are known for hunting together as a team with vision eight times better than that of humans.

It’s a shame Alice and Bubba weren’t there to see the gorgeous 88-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Tutu Atwell in the fourth quarter that gave the Rams a 27-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Details are key in any peace agreement. Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza is notably lacking in them. Al Jazeera’s Virginia Pietromarchi explains.

A design of a patch for the F-47 System Management Office (SMO) that has been circulating on social media was indeed created by members of that organization, but is still being refined and hasn’t been formalized, the Air Force has confirmed. The patch’s central feature, which appears to be a phoenix or a firebird, raises the question of whether the sixth-generation fighter may already have a nickname.

User @SR_Planespotter on X was first to share a look at the patch earlier this month. In March, Boeing’s next-generation fighter was officially declared the winner of a competition for what had previously been referred to as the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) combat jet or “platform.”

“The patch is an early design concept that was generated within Air Combat Command’s F-47 System Management Office,” an Air Combat Command (ACC) spokesperson told TWZ. “It is still being developed, and there is currently no official patch being worn by anyone in the Air Force.”

In addition to the phoenix or firebird, the circular patch has “ACC F-47 SMO” in white lettering and three yellow or gold-colored triangles/arrows/deltas with trailing lines along the left side. On the right side, there is “FBC” written in black lettering and a white-colored ‘path,’ which we will come back to later on. There are six red stars of equal size, three above and three below the central ‘bird’ motif, as well.

Under the main body of the patch is the Latin “Superamus Perstamus Letamus” written in white lettering. A basic machine translation of this is “We overcome. We Persist. We Rejoice.” The same motto has been seen on other patches and insignias, some dating back many years now, associated with the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) initiative and the Agile Development Office within the Fighters and Advanced Aircraft Directorate of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC). The Agile Development Office evolved from the Program Executive Office for Advanced Aviation, first created in 2019 to serve as a central manager for NGAD efforts, including the work that led to the F-47, which you can read more about here.

Much about the meaning of the various elements of the F-47 SMO patch design otherwise remains unconfirmed.

Triangles, arrows, and delta shapes are often used in Air Force heraldry to symbolize aircraft or subordinate units. The Agile Development Office insignia seen earlier in this story also has three deltas with trailing lines, but in gray. In addition to Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman had also competed in the NGAD combat jet competition, but whether any of this is a reference to that fact is not known. Northrop Grumman had bowed out in 2023, and there are indications that its entrant would have otherwise been cut.

Stars are also common. Six of them together often refers to the top-secret flight test center at Groom Lake in Nevada, better known as Area 51. It is worth noting here that Boeing and Lockheed both built top-secret X-plane demonstrators as part of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) efforts that fed into NGAD and ultimately the F-47. They are understood to have been flight tested at Area 51.

The white ‘path’ on the right side of the patch looks to be an outline of a portion of China’s eastern coastline. The Air Force has framed the F-47 as key to ensuring it can achieve air superiority in future conflicts, especially high-end fights against an opponent like China. The sixth-generation fighters would be at the ‘tip of the spear’ to penetrate through the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) extensive anti-access and area denial ‘bubbles’ in any such scenario in the Pacific.

The central phoenix/firebird motif (which may or may not be tied in some way to the as yet unexplained “FBC” acronym) is particularly interesting to consider in light of what is known about the history to date of the F-47 program and the work that preceded it. Until President Donald Trump’s administration decided to proceed, there was a very real chance of the program being cancelled in favor of other priorities. In April, former Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, who left his post in January, penned an opinion piece questioning the decision to move ahead.

Whether it is the intended symbolism of the patch or not, a phoenix would certainly be appropriate for the F-47 program. A legendary immortal bird commonly associated with ancient Greek mythology, but also found in other traditions, it is often depicted ‘rising from the ashes’ of its own demise.

There is also the mythical firebird found across Slavic folklore, which is both a blessing and a curse to anyone who tries to capture it.

In the same way, phoenix or firebird might be plausible nicknames for the F-47, officially or unofficially. However, phoenix, at least, is unlikely to become the formal name for the jet. The U.S. military just announced in August that Phoenix II is now the official moniker for the U.S. Navy’s future E-130J aircraft. Some kind of double-up (Phoenix III on top of Phoenix II), or a renaming of the E-130J, are possibilities, but seem less likely. The E-130J is a so-called ‘doomsday plane’ that will be tasked with acting as an airborne command and control node for the Navy’s nuclear ballistic missile submarines, including being able to send orders to them to launch strikes while submerged, a mission set referred to as Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) that you can learn more about here.

We already know the F-47 designation is tied to the Republic P-47 of World War II fame, the official nickname for which was Thunderbolt. The Air Force has also said the “47” is a reference to the year the Air Force was founded (1947) and President Trump (the 45th and 47th President). The P-47 was subsequently redesignated the F-47 before the type was retired.

It’s worth noting here that the A-10, better known by its unofficial nickname, Warthog, is also officially dubbed the Thunderbolt II, in homage to the P-47. The Warthogs are set to be retired well before the new F-47s start to enter service, which would free up the Thunderbolt name.

As the A-10 underscores, unofficial nicknames for American military aircraft are also common, in general, and sometimes become more widely used than the official ones.

The formal naming of an aircraft like the F-47, expected to be a centerpiece of Air Force power projection for decades to come, is likely to be the subject of significant debate, whatever unofficial monikers it might pick up along the way. Prime contractor Boeing is now building the first of the jets, and the hope is that a first flight will occur in 2028. When operational units might begin to receive F-47s is unclear.

More details about the F-47 SMO patch’s symbolism may emerge as the program gets more underway. In the meantime, we at least know it is a real design that is still a work in progress.

Howard Altman contributed to this story.

Contact the author: [email protected]

The world’s most famous naturalist will voice landmark series Kingdom and also front a film set in his home city, Wild London

Sir David Attenborough has travelled the globe making wildlife films but to mark his centenary year, the world’s most famous naturalist has turned his attention closer to home.

In Wild London, Sir David explores the wildlife to be found in the city he has lived in for 75 years. Stories include pigeons commuting by tube, snakes along Regent’s canal, parakeets raiding city parks and beavers living next to a busy shopping centre.

Following the fortunes of a pair of peregrines nesting on the House of Parliament and a family of foxes living in the heart of Tottenham, Sir David will celebrate the extraordinary ways animals have adapted to survive in the urban jungle.

Executive producer Tom Hugh-Jones, told the Mirror: “ Wild London captures that Attenborough magic at its very best – presenting in vision throughout the film, having up-close encounters with animals and talking intimately about his own wildlife experiences.”

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The film comes as the broadcasting veteran, who turns 100 in the spring, is confirmed as the narrator of this autumn’s landmark natural history series for BBC1, Kingdom.

The major six-parter chronicles the real-life sagas of four African animal families, in one of the most ambitious projects to date from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit. Filmed across five years, in Zambia, the lives and fates of leopards, hyenas, wild dogs and lions are shown to be inextricably linked as they strive for survival in a remote river valley.

Series producer Felicity Lanchester said: “With David’s commentary the Kingdom series really sprung to life – a wry inflection here, warmth in his voice there and masterful dramatic timing around the action. He tells the story in the clearest, most compelling, and emotional way. We are so grateful for his involvement.”

Other upcoming new natural history shows for BBC1 include Green Planet II, a follow-up to the original series about plant life that aired in 2022, and Tiger Island – a two-parter about an island close to Nepal where tigers are thriving.

On Green Planet II, series producer Scott Alexander said: “For years plants have always been the backdrop to wildlife films but given the chance to put them front of stage and give them they recognition they deserve was one I couldn’t resist. By discovering, and revealing just how clever, cunning, and devious they can be, and the surprising ways they use animals to get what they want, I hope we can begin to look at plants as individuals with lives full of challenges, struggles and dramas all of their own.”

BBC factual boss Jack Bootle said that natural History was at the heart of what makes the BBC special. “No other broadcaster invests so consistently in wildlife filmmaking or covers such an ambitious range of subjects and styles – from David Attenborough exploring the wildlife of his own city, to a team of intrepid filmmakers risking it all to document the secret lives of tigers in Nepal. I’m proud we continue to lead the way at a time of such uncertainty for our planet.”

Other new single films coming soon for BBC2 viewers include Gordon Buchanan: Wild Horses and Me for BBC2. Buchanan’s film is shot in the Canadian Rockies and shows him getting close to wild mustang.

The wildlife presenter said: “My love of horses runs deep – they have grace, strength and spirit in every stride and walking among the wild horses in the breathtaking landscape of the Canadian Rockies made my heart sing. These majestic animals are a lesson in boundless freedom and to film with them was one of the most uplifting and life affirming experiences of my 30- year career.”

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WASHINGTON — For the first time in four years, the federal government plans to begin processing initial applications for DACA, the Obama-era program that grants deportation protection and work permits to immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

The move, outlined in a proposal Monday by the Justice Department, would reopen DACA to first-time applicants in every state except Texas. The proposal was filed in response to an ongoing lawsuit in U.S. district court in Brownsville, Tex.

According to the filing, Texas residents who already have DACA could continue receiving protection from deportation but would no longer qualify for employment authorization.

Lawsuits over DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, have been ongoing since President Trump moved to end the program during his first term.

Under the government’s proposal, DACA recipients who move into Texas would risk losing their legal ability to work, while moving out of Texas could allow them to resume qualifying for a two-year work permit.

The proposal is pending a final decision by U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen.

“These proposals do not limit DHS from undertaking any future lawful changes to DACA,” the filing states.

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.

Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, deputy director of federal advocacy for United We Dream, said misinformation was circulating Tuesday on social media.

“We’ve seen a lot of folks saying initial applications will start right away. That’s not true,” she said. “The status quo stays. If you are a DACA recipient right now, even in Texas, if you can renew you should renew as soon as possible because then you have another two years.”

Other advocacy groups, such as the nonprofit Dreamers2gether, urged DACA recipients and hopeful applicants to leave Texas and file a change of address form with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

More than 525,000 immigrants are currently enrolled in DACA. Texas follows California in the ranking of states with the highest number of program enrollees, according to USCIS.

To qualify, applicants must prove they came to the U.S. before they turned 16 and have graduated from high school or were honorably discharged from the military. Applicants also cannot have serious criminal records.

But for years the program has sat in a state of uncertainty, stoking anxiety for many recipients, amid court battles that stopped applications from being processed and left many younger people who would have aged into qualifying for DACA instead vulnerable to deportation.

In this first term, Trump attempted to shut down the program, but the Supreme Court concluded in 2020 that his administration had acted improperly. The court did not rule on the program’s legality.

Because of the court battle, the program has been closed to new applicants since 2021, though current recipients could still renew their work permits.

Los Angeles resident Atziri Peña, 27, runs a clothing company called Barrio Drive that donates proceeds toward helping DACA recipients renew their applications.

Peña, who also has DACA, said she knows many people in Texas who are thinking about moving out of state. The latest news is another example of how the immigration system breaks families apart, she said.

“A lot of us who are DACA recipients, we don’t necessarily know what it was like to be undocumented before DACA, so most of us have careers that we won’t be able to continue,” Peña said.

United We Dream has recorded at least 19 current DACA recipients detained by immigration agents in recent months. In one case in Texas, immigration authorities have kept Catalina “Xochitl” Santiago detained despite an immigration judge saying she cannot be deported.

“It’s a way of making sure she can’t renew her DACA and then she becomes deportable,” said Macedo do Nascimento. In her view, the Department of Homeland Security’s attitude toward DACA recipients lately has diminished the protections it offers.

“The bigger picture here is DHS is moving onto a new policy on DACA anyway — without having to go through the courts, the rulemaking process or taking DACA away altogether,” she said. “They’re really trying to end the program piece by piece, recipient by recipient.”

Even so, immigrants across the country are looking forward to applying for DACA for the first time.

“While we could still get detained, it’s a little bit of a sense of safety and hope,” Peña said. “I have heard of people who are just waiting for DACA to reopen. But let’s see what happens and let’s hope they don’t use this as a way to catch more of us.”

India staged a brilliant comeback after a middle-order collapse to beat Sri Lanka by 59 runs in a rain-affected opening match of the Women’s World Cup in Guwahati.

The hosts lost four wickets for four runs in the space of 11 balls, including three in the 26th over for spinner Inoka Ranaweera, which saw them slip to 124-6.

But Amanjot Kaur and Deepti Sharma produced a match-winning partnership of 103 for the seventh wicket as Sri Lanka were unable to maintain their initial discipline in the field, with the former dropped four times on her way to 57.

Sneh Rana added some late impetus with 28 from 15 balls and Sharma fell for 53 from the last ball of the innings as India recovered to post a competitive 269-8 from 47 overs, with three overs lost from rain delays.

That saw Sri Lanka’s target revised to 271 from the same amount of overs, and they made a promising start by reaching 82-1 but skipper Chamari Athapaththu’s dismissal for 43 at the end of the 15th over stalled their progress.

Athapaththu’s second-wicket stand of 52 with Harshitha Samarawickrama kept the visitors in the game, but they lacked India’s batting depth and could not recover from a slump to 140-6 and they were eventually bowled out for 211 in the 46th over.

Sharma added figures of 3-54 to her half-century as India entertained a lively crowd of 22,843 – a record for a Women’s World Cup group game – while fellow spinners Sneh Rana and Shree Charani took 2-32 and 2-37 respectively.

The tournament continues with defending champions Australia taking on New Zealand in Indore on Wednesday, while England start their campaign against South Africa on Friday.

Sept. 30 (UPI) — A lot of federal government employees might be laid off after the Senate votes on a continuing resolution to keep the government open while working on a new budget.

The Senate has scheduled a 5 p.m. EDT vote on the continuing resolution that would fund the government for another month while working on a Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

Democrats and Republicans each have introduced resolutions to keep the government open, but neither is expected to pass as the 2025 fiscal year ends at the end of the day on Tuesday, according to The Hill.

When asked how many federal government workers might be laid off, President Donald Trump told reporters: “We may do a lot, and that’s only because of the Democrats.”

“They want to be able to take care of people who come into our country illegally, and no system can handle that,” Trump said.

“They want to give them full health care benefits, [and] they want to open the wall again,” the president added. “They don’t change.”

The president’s contention about free healthcare benefits for illegal migrants is untrue.

Senate Democrats are proposing to keep the government open through Oct. 31 with a continuing resolution that would extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for health insurance premiums that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

They also want to restore $1 trillion in Medicaid reductions that the president said would provide health care for non-citizens, including those who illegally entered the United States.

Congressional leaders met with the president on Monday, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., afterward said the two sides are very far apart on their demands, Roll Call reported.

Schumer said any short-term funding deal must include extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits and that he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., refuse to negotiate an extension separately from a continuing resolution that would keep the government open.

“When they say later, they mean never,” Schumer said of the GOP’s offer to negotiate an extension. “Now is the time we can get it done.”

Senate Republicans favor a “clean” resolution that was approved in the House of Representatives and would keep the government open another seven weeks while Congress continues working on a fiscal year 2026 budget bill.

Either resolution would require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and pass in the Senate.

The House already approved the GOP-proposed continuing resolution that only received 47 votes for versus 45 against in the Senate on Sept. 19.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Thune, R-S.D., intends to hold another vote on the GOP resolution as it was presented on Sept. 19. A vote also is expected on the Democrats’ proposal.

Washington, DC – United States President Donald Trump has addressed hundreds of US generals in Virginia on topics ranging from climbing up stairs to the crisis in Ukraine – often repeating his talking points and bouncing between subjects.

Trump’s self-described “weave” – his tendency to knit multiple stories and subjects into one set of remarks – grew large on Tuesday as he spoke for more than one hour and 10 minutes.

He aired familiar grievances about his political opponents, lauded his own foreign policy and called for improving the appearance of warships.

But the US president’s most consequential message to the generals was that the military will be focusing on missions at home.

Here are five key takeaways from Trump’s speech:

Focusing on the ‘enemy within’

Trump suggested throughout the address that he wants the military to respond to perceived threats at home, including what he sees as riots and unauthorised immigration.

“Last month, I signed an executive order to provide training for a quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances,” he said.

“This is gonna be a big thing for the people in this room because it’s the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.”

Trump has ordered the deployment of military forces in Los Angeles, California; Washington, DC; Memphis, Tennessee; and Portland, Oregon.

On Tuesday, he suggested he will send the military to other major cities, including San Francisco, Chicago and New York, likening the push to war.

“This is going to be a major part for some of the people in this room. That’s a war too. It’s a war from within,” Trump said.

The campaign – which is already facing challenges in the courts – has raised legal questions about the role of the US military and possible violations of the law.

The US Constitution’s 10th Amendment gives all duties not otherwise specified to be federal powers to the states, and that includes policing.

Moreover, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 bars the US military from engaging in civilian law enforcement in the US unless “expressly authorised” by the law.

Ironically, Trump’s Republican Party has long championed state rights against expanding federal powers.

Making a case for the Nobel Peace Prize

The US president sought to portray himself as a peacemaker as he enumerated several global crises that he said he personally solved, including clashes between India and Pakistan in May.

He suggested that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for that effort.

“Will you get the Nobel Prize? Absolutely not,” Trump said. “They’ll give it to some guy that didn’t do a damn thing.”

He added that it would be a “big insult” to the US if he does not receive the award.

In the first nine months of his second term, Trump has bombed Iran and Yemen, intensified drone strikes in Somalia, and he has been carrying out attacks against boats in the Caribbean that he said are carrying drugs.

But his administration has not provided concrete proof that the deadly air raids targeted drug smugglers. Trump and his aides have joked that the waters near Venezuela are no longer safe for fishermen due to the US military campaign.

Plan to end Gaza war

Trump suggested a ceasefire in Gaza is close, saying Israel and Arab and Muslim nations have accepted his peace plan and now Hamas needs to agree.

He suggested that his 20-point plan could settle the entire region.

“I said, ‘How long have you been fighting?’ ‘Three thousand years, sir.’ That’s a long time, but we got it, I think, settled. We’ll see,” the US president said.

In reality, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict started in the early 1900s with the Zionist colonisation of Palestine, and the first Arab-Israeli war took place in 1948.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he is giving Hamas three or four days to respond to his proposal or it will face a “very sad end”.

Disappointment in Putin

Trump said he is still working to end the war in Ukraine, blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for the continuation of the conflict.

Trump also suggested that Russia is struggling militarily in the conflict, saying thousands of soldiers are being killed on each side weekly.

“I’m so disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said.

“I said I thought he would get this thing over with. He should have had that war done in a week. And I said to him, ‘You know, you don’t look good. You’re four years fighting a war that should have taken a week. Are you a paper tiger?’”

Trump held direct talks with Putin in Alaska last month, and he has been pushing for a summit between the Russian president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

But so far, US diplomacy has failed to stop the fighting.

Last week, Trump said Ukraine could win back all of the areas captured by Russia during the war, appearing to reverse earlier assertions that Kyiv would have to give up some territory to secure a peace deal with Moscow.

Biden grievances

Throughout the speech, Trump took digs at his predecessor Joe Biden, claiming that the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan under his watch is what motivated Putin to invade Ukraine.

He repeatedly described the Biden administration as “incompetent”.

“You’ll never see four years like we had with Biden and that group of incompetent people that ran this country that should have never been there,” he told the generals.

Trump said he takes stairs carefully to avoid tripping down as Biden did on a couple of occasions when he was president.

“We have great peace through strength. America is respected again as a country,” he said. “We were not respected with Biden. They looked at him falling down stairs every day. Every day, the guy’s falling down stairs.”

NICOLE Kidman and Keith Urban’s lawyers have a big job ahead of them in splitting the couple’s mammoth property empire after their bombshell split.

Nicole, 58, and Keith, 57, have called it quits after 19 years of marriage, with the Babygirl actress filing divorce papers on Tuesday, September 30.

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The couple, who share two daughters, have reportedly been living separately since the beginning of summer.

Just days ago, Nicole was seen still wearing her wedding ring and in good spirits at Cle de Peau’s event in Los Angeles as she appeared as their new brand ambassador.

The pair will have to spend time dividing their assets after almost two decades of marriage.

They mainly resided with their daughters, Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14, in Tennessee.

Nicole is also mom to Isabella and Connor, whom she adopted during her marriage with her ex-husband, Tom Cruise.

The couple has spent millions on a property portfolio now worth more than $250million, according to online real estate sites.

Their main 20-room mansion is located just outside of Nashville and was purchased in 2008 for $4.89 million, two years after they tied the knot.

They married on June 25, 2006, at Cardinal Cerretti Memorial Chapel, located on the grounds of St. Patrick’s Estate in Manly, a suburb of Sydney, Australia. 

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The lavish abode has seven bedrooms and eight bathrooms, along with a fully-equipped gym, a large tennis court, and a swimming pool, which were installed by the couple.

During the same year, Nicole and Keith also snapped up a Beverly Hills home for $6.77 million that has five bedrooms and five bathrooms.

The estate was built in the 1960s and sits on a 1.25-acre lot with celebrity neighbors Adele and Jennifer Lawrence in the desired neighborhood.

Listings show it has a flat-top roof, a pool, and a second-floor wraparound deck. 

They also bought their Australian farmhouse in 2008 for $6.5million, called Bunya Hill, which is located in the Southern Highlands village of Sutton Forrest.

The 45-hectare black Angus cattle farm features a large Georgian-style house built in 1878.

The home has sandstone verandas, a cedar staircase, and 10 marble fireplaces.

It sits on a private hilltop and includes a guest cottage.

The property has been updated with a swimming pool, tennis court, and gym.

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Two years after buying their main properties, the couple splashed out $13.53 million for a Manhattan duplex in the upscale Chelsea neighborhood.

It’s located in a stainless-steel tower and includes three bedrooms, a “double-height great room with a cathedral ceiling,” and two terraces with views of the Hudson River.

One of its most appealing qualities is its private “sky garage” with an elevator for apartment-level parking.

They also reportedly own two penthouses that were combined in the Latitude Building in Sydney’s Milsons Point. 

The first was bought for almost $6 million in 2009, while the second was around $7 million in 2012.

They also snapped up four more apartments in the same building.  

Last year, they also bought yet another residence in the same complex for $7.7million.

In 2020, they added to their New York portfolio after snapping up a two-bedroom apartment in Tribeca for $3.5 million.

According to the New York Post, there are three separate entrances into the building for added privacy.

The residence offers a 75-foot indoor lap pool, rooftop gardens, and a 2,200-square-foot fitness center.

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban’s Relationship Timeline

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban have been one of Hollywood’s ‘It

January 2005 – Nicole and Keith were introduced by actor Geoffrey Rush during the G’Day LA gala ball.

February 2006 – The couple made their public debut as an item at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

May 2006 – Keith’s publicist revealed that he and Nicole were “very happily engaged.”

June 2006 – The twosome tied the knot at a chapel in Manly, Australia, surrounded by many famous guests.

October 2006 – Keith checked himself into rehab for drug and alcohol issues at the urging of his new wife.

December 2006 – Model Amanda Wyatt claimed that Keith had cheated on Nicole with her multiple times, leading up to their nuptials.

In January 2008 – Nicole’s rep revealed that she and Keith were expecting their first child together.

July 2008 – Keith and Nicole welcomed their first child, a daughter named Sunday Rose.

December 2010 – The duo introduced their second child, Faith Margaret, to the world, whom they welcomed via surrogate.

July 2015 – Nicole confessed to Vogue that she’d wished she’d met Keith earlier in life, so that they could’ve had more children together.

June 2016 – Keith opened up to Rolling Stone about how Nicole helped him get sober by insisting that he go to rehab a decade earlier.

October 2018 – Nicole gushed about her simple, quiet life in Nashville with Keith, and said that was the secret to their happy marriage.

June 2021 – Keith shared a sweet Instagram post, commemorating his and Nicole’s 15th wedding anniversary.

July 2024 – Keith, Nicole, and their daughters were seen enjoying the Gymnastics Women’s Team Final at the Paris Olympics.

April 2025 – Nicole referred to Keith as her “deep, deep love” during an interview with People, and said she was “lucky” to have the musician.

September 2025 – TMZ announced that Nicole and Keith had separated and were no longer living together.

There’s also a wine cellar with its own private dining room.

Since the couple’s split, their two children have been in Nicole’s care, and she is “holding the family together through this difficult time since Keith has been gone,” according to reports.

It is currently still unknown what led to the pair’s separation.

Sources claim that Nicole was “blindsided,” as she had been desperate to save their marriage, one of the longest in Hollywood.

Insiders also said that “Keith has acquired his own residence in Nashville and has moved out of their family home,” although this has not yet been confirmed.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to Nicole and Keith’s reps for comment but did not hear back.

Both Nicole and Keith grew up in Australia, but did not meet until 2005 at a gala.

Keith swooned over his wife in an interview with CBS News in 2016.

Nicole told Ellen DeGeneres in 2017: “I had such a crush on him, and he wasn’t interested in me.

“It’s true! He didn’t call me for four months.”

The actress has spent a considerable amount of time filming in England recently, which may have put strain on their relationship.

She has been shooting scenes for the Practical Magic sequel and reportedly shelled out $87,288 a month to stay at Boy George’s luxurious mansion – without Keith.

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CHRISTIAN HORNER has been warned that a Formula One return with Aston Martin would “not work”.

Horner, 51, was handed a whopping £80million payout for leaving Red Bull Racing after he was sacked as team principal in July and replaced by Laurent Mekies.

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But the ex-F1 chief, formerly the longest-serving team boss in the paddock with 20 years of service which yielded 14 drivers and constructors titles, is already plotting a way back into the sport after it was revealed he was “missing” it.

Horner’s payout was less than the £110m he could have had for the full duration of his deal which had run to 2030.

But SunSport understands taking the lower offer means he is free to return to F1 as early as spring 2026.

A number of teams have been linked to Horner, including Haas, Alpine, Ferrari and Aston Martin, as he looks to also buy into a team as a co-owner.

The latter of these teams recruited Horner’s former Red Bull ally, Adrian Newey, after 19 years working together at the Milton Keynes-based team.

Design chief Newey, 66, is said to be getting “very little sleep” in his new role as Managing Technical Partner at Aston since starting on March 1 this year.

However, former Haas boss and Drive to Survive fan favourite Guenther Steiner has claimed reuniting the pair at the team’s Silverstone base would not work.

Steiner, 60, told Lottoland: “In the last year the problem between Adrian and Christian was one of the reasons why Adrian left Red Bull.

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“So, bringing Christian back, I don’t think that would work at the moment.”

He continued: “I don’t think Aston Martin need Christian right now.

“I think there was a lot of unhappiness internally, and something had to change.

“The change was Christian leaving, and they are just trying to go back to their glory days now.

“With Red Bull, we could see it during the last one-and-a-half years where every race weekend there was drama, and that has gone away.

“I think Aston Martin with the people they have in place are very well set to show what they can do under the new regulations.”

Steiner also joked he had “sent my bank details and asked him to send me some of the money” when speaking about Horner’s mega payout.

Red Bull have enjoyed an upturn in form with Max Verstappen winning the last two races in Italy and Azerbaijan.

With the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend, the flying Dutchman is looking to add the track to his list of wins for the first time in his career.

If Verstappen, who turned 28 today, wins the street race he will have won a race at every circuit on the 2025 calendar across his F1 career.

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Despite missing the last three weeks of the season with a fracture on his right hand, catcher Will Smith was included on the Dodgers’ roster for their best-of-three wild card series against the Cincinnati Reds this week, the team announced ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear if Smith would be able to start Game 1 at Dodger Stadium. Ben Rortvedt was also on the roster, and is expected to start behind the plate if Smith can’t go.

Still, even having Smith’s presence as a potential pinch-hitter will be a boon for the team, which was bracing to begin the playoffs without the two-time All-Star before he made late progress this week in his recovery from his hand injury.

Max Muncy and Tommy Edman, who both missed time last week with minor injuries, were also on the roster as expected.

The other big development from Tuesday’s roster announcement was the absence of outfielder Michael Conforto, the $17 million offseason signing who struggled mightily for much of the regular season but had continued to get playing time through the end of the schedule.

Conforto hit only .199 this season, the lowest mark of any hitter with 450 plate appearances. He also managed just 12 home runs (a full-season career-low), 36 RBIs and struck out 121 times (albeit while drawing 56 walks and keeping his on-base-percentage above .300).

Conforto did finish the season better, batting .228 with a .678 OPS after July 1 and going 15-for-61 (.246 average) in September. As a left-handed hitter, he also appeared to have potential value off the bench.

However, the Dodgers elected to roster trade deadline acquisition Alex Call and defensive specialist Justin Dean (who finished the season in the minors) on their wild card roster. They also kept infielder Hyeseong Kim, who is a speed threat but has been equally inconsistent from the left side of the plate down the stretch.

There were few surprises among the Dodgers’ pitching staff, which included only 11 arms (not including two-way player Shohei Ohtani) for this abbreviated opening-round series.

Rookie phenom Roki Sasaki, who returned from a shoulder injury and impressed in two late-season relief appearances, was on the roster as manager Dave Roberts had hinted the day before.

So too were right-handed veteran Blake Treinen and embattled left-handed closer Tanner Scott, who were major disappointments in late-inning roles this year but flashed some improvement in the final days of the regular season.

The rest of the Dodgers’ bullpen includes converted right-handed starters Tyler Glasnow (who will likely return to the rotation if the team advances to the division series) and Emmet Sheehan, hard-throwing rookie right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, and three other left-handed options in addition to Scott: Alex Vesia, Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski.

Anthony Banda was the only snub from the team’s regular-season roster. Clayton Kerhsaw was also left off the roster as expected, but could have a role in future rounds if the Dodgers advance.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official says the Trump administration plans to deport about 400 Iranians.

An Iranian official says the United States plans to deport hundreds of Iranian citizens in the coming weeks, with the first 120 deportees expected to arrive in Iran within days, as US President Donald Trump continues his immigration crackdown.

Hossein Noushabadi, director general for parliamentary and consular affairs at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told the Tasnim news agency on Tuesday that US immigration authorities plan to deport about 400 Iranians.

Noushabadi said the first planeload of Iranian nationals would arrive “within the next one or two days” after a stop in Qatar. Qatari authorities did not immediately comment on his remarks.

Noushabadi said most of the Iranian nationals targeted had entered the US without documentation, primarily through Mexico, while some faced other immigration issues.

The deportations, which have not yet been publicly acknowledged by the Trump administration, come as tensions remain high between the two countries after the US joined its ally Israel in bombing Iran during a 12-day June conflict.

They also come as part of a wide-reaching crackdown on migrants and asylum seekers in the US, with Trump pledging to carry out the largest deportation operation in the country’s history.

Noushabadi said on Tuesday that US authorities had unilaterally made the decision to deport the Iranian nationals without consultations with Iran.

But the New York Times, citing anonymous Iranian officials, reported that the deportations were “the culmination of months of discussions between the two countries”.

The US news outlet said some of the Iranians had volunteered to leave after being in detention centres for months, while others had not.

A US-chartered flight took off from Louisiana on Monday and was scheduled to arrive in Qatar late on Tuesday so the deportees could be transferred to a Tehran-bound flight, a US official said.

The White House and the US Department of State did not immediately respond to requests from the Reuters news agency for comment.

Since returning to office in January, Trump has set out to deport a record number of people living in the US.

However, his administration has struggled to increase deportation levels, even as it has created new avenues to send migrants to countries other than their own.

In February, the US deported 119 people from different countries, including Iran, to Panama as part of an agreement between the two nations.

Earthquake sends people running into the streets, damages buildings after hitting off Cebu island.

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake has struck off the coast of the central Philippines, sending people running into the streets and knocking power out in some areas.

The quake struck at sea on Tuesday off the northern tip of Cebu island and near Bogo, a city of more than 90,000 people, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said, adding that it expected both damage and aftershocks.

The institute urged residents in the provinces of Cebu, Leyte and Biliran to stay away from the coast due to a “minor sea level disturbance” and told them to “be on alert for unusual waves”.

However, there was no tsunami threat after the tremor, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.

“We are still assessing the damage,” Pamela Baricuatro, the governor of Cebu, said in a video posted on social media.

“But it could be worse than we think,” said Baricuatro, adding that she has been in touch with the president’s office and is asking for aid.

No casualties were immediately reported by the Philippine authorities.

The Cebu provincial government said a commercial building and a school in Bantayan had collapsed, however, while a number of village roads had also sustained damage.

“There could be people trapped beneath collapsed buildings,” provincial rescue official Wilson Ramos told the AFP news agency, adding that he didn’t know how many people are missing.

The US Geological Service also recorded four earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 or higher in the area following the first tremor.

‘Shock and panic’

Cebu firefighter Joey Leeguid told AFP from the town of San Fernando that he felt the quake at his fire station.

“We saw our locker moving from left to right. We felt slightly dizzy for a while, but we are all fine now,” Leeguid said.

Martham Pacilan, a 25-year-old resident of the resort town of Bantayan near the epicentre, said he was at the town square near a church when the quake struck.

“I heard a loud booming noise from the direction of the church. Then I saw rocks falling from the structure. Luckily, no one got hurt,” he told AFP.

“I was in shock and in panic at the same time, but my body couldn’t move. I was just there waiting for the shaking to stop.”

The Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima, a church in Daanbantayan, a town in Cebu province, said the structure had partially collapsed. Power also went out in Daanbantayan.

The Philippines experiences near-daily earthquakes, and a powerful magnitude 7 quake in July 2022 killed at least five people and injured 60 others.

In December 2023, another large earthquake shook the southern Philippines, killing at least one person and forcing thousands to evacuate.

Gustavo Dudamel has begun his tale of two cities.

As Dickens prophetically reminds us, ours is hardly the first age of wisdom and of foolishness, the first epoch of belief and of incredulity. Dudamel’s great challenge is to make his 17th and final season as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic — and his prelude season before taking over the New York Philharmonic (in September he officially became designate music and artistic director) — the best of musical times for both cities.

The opening concerts for the two orchestras were two weeks apart, the Big Apple having come first. The main works on the New York-centric program were by two great 20th century composers, Bartók and Charles Ives, who were treated as outsiders by the city’s musical establishments during their lifetimes.

The performances were impressive. An orchestra that has a reputation for being difficult was responsive. If I read the room right, there was a genuine, if somewhat guarded, sense of optimism from a welcoming crowd.

Following a tradition he started with his first season in L.A., Dudamel opened with a newly commissioned work, Leilehua Lanzilotti’s “of light and stone.” He struck instant sonic gold with this mystical evocation of Hawaii, wondrous in sound, Lanzilotti, a hopeful good start.

Dudamel has a different look these days when he walks out on stage for an L.A. Phil concert after he’s been away for a while. Thursday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, he again seemed ever so slightly hesitant, as if not knowing what to expect now that his leaving has become manifest. But greeted by a full house’s demonstratively embracing thankful enthusiasm, he beamed, the hesitant posture turning into ownership.

The conductor opened his farewell season with Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” a joint commission bridging his two orchestral families.

(Timothy Norris / Los Angeles Philharmonic)

The new work this year is Ellen Reid’s “Earth Between Oceans,” and it is Dudamel’s first effort at bringing together what he calls his two families.

Reid, who is herself bicoastal between L.A. and New York, narrates, through astonishing orchestral properties and powers, an environmental tale of her two cities. The work is a joint commission with the New York Philharmonic; Dudamel will take it east in the spring.

Earth, air, water and fire are Reid’s subject matters, which she translates into four movements that cover a New York winter, an aerial approach to Manhattan’s noise and quiet, the Altadena and Pacific Palisades conflagrations, ending on a sort of surfboard ride over crashing blue waves. With the help of a wordless Los Angeles Master Chorale, Reid tells the story through ever-surprising instrumental evocation.

Nothing, however, sounds like you might expect in Reid’s massive orchestral soundscape capable of holding a listener in tight grip for 30 minutes. Is that percussive pounding in earth the ground moving under our feet and the cello solo snowy Central Park? I don’t know how she does it, but I immediately bought into weird sounds from the chorus indicating something words can’t express about what those New York skyscrapers are up to. The effect of what sounded like ticking clocks going astray felt like an inviting dip in the lake.

Dudamel ended the concert with Richard Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony,” 125 orchestral musicians schlepping up the mountain, finding spiritual ecstasy at the summit and getting drenched on the way down, a self-satisfied drinking in of nature with every step. It is an astonishing, so to speak, over-the-top score, which you either love or abhor for its instrumental vulgarity.

Love was in order Thursday. Dudamel first performed “Alpine Symphony” at Disney in 2008, a year before beginning as music director. He jogged up the mountain and back, full of beans, showing off but also sharing his enthusiasm and demonstrating a skill that gave confidence that this 20-something conductor had the chops.

Dudamel’s performance of Strauss’ “Alpine Symphony” demonstrated the L.A. Phil’s distinctive immediacy compared with his more formal European interpretations.

(Timothy Norris / Los Angeles Philharmonic)

Last summer, I heard Dudamel conduct the “Alpine” with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival. The playing was sumptuous but formal and distant. These were the Alps as seen from a comfortable gondola taking in the view, and what a view, indeed.

The L.A. Phil sound, on the other hand, reveled in being-there, huffing-and-puffing immediacy. A rainstorm was a rainstorm: wet. The pastures replete with cowbells weren’t so much scenic as earthy, the real thing.

The orchestra sounded rapt and ready for ecstasy Thursday. There are two new first-chair players. A member of the orchestra’s second violin section, Melody Ye Yuan, has become her section’s principal. Ryan Roberts is the new principal oboe, and he had a luminous solo in the “Alpine.”

It was only after Roberts, who grew up in Santa Monica, won the L.A. Phil blind audition for principal oboe that Dudamel discovered he had just hired away a rising star in what is about to become his New York Philharmonic. But it’s all in the big new family.