Almost 45 percent of Israelis had cast a ballot by mid-afternoon, but questions have been raised about possible voter suppression in Arab towns.

Almost 45 percent of Israeli voters had cast a ballot by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee, marking the highest election turnout by 2pm (12:00 GMT) in 50 years.

The figure was 6 percent higher than at the same time in the last elections in 2022.

Mitchell Barak, a pollster and former aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Al Jazeera that voter turnout “is really high and that’s good”.

“I think … it will probably pass its historic peak in ‘73 – when Israel was also involved in a huge war – so draw what conclusion from that you will,” he added.

The election is largely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s handling of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and the wars that followed, the most intense period of combat for Israel since the 1973 surprise military campaign by Egypt and Syria.

“Those numbers are going to help the incumbent parties,” Barak said, “as the 3.25 percent threshold a party needs to get into the Knesset remains, the number of votes you need to meet that threshold increases dramatically.”

Israeli officials noted that several polling stations had faced exceptionally long lines, which were attributed to high voter turnout despite rainy and blustery weather in parts of the country, and a flood warning in some areas.

Arab vote

In a message more than five hours after polls opened, Netanyahu urged supporters to vote, saying turnout was high among his opponents on the left and among Palestinian citizens of Israel, about a fifth of the population.

“We need it to be high too. You all need to stream to the polls,” he said. “This is a fateful moment.”

Netanyahu had repeatedly warned supporters of the prospect of high turnout among Palestinian citizens in Israel ahead of the vote, seeking to mobilise his base under the slogan “the right or Palestine”.

Those voters were casting ballots in “unprecedented” numbers, Palestinian candidate Ahmed Tibi said.

Netanyahu and his main rival Gadi Eisenkot have ruled out partnering with Arab parties, citing a lack of shared values, although some possible scenarios envision them propping up a minority government to ensure Netanyahu is removed from office.

Meanwhile, an Israeli rights group has filed a complaint with the country’s election commission warning that widespread delays could be suppressing the vote among Israeli Palestinians.

Though delays could be a result of high voter turnout, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) said in its complaint to the Central Elections Committee that delays had been reported in at least 18 communities. It asked the committee to investigate “whether these delays are deliberate.”

The ACRI also reported “a large presence” of police and National Guard officers at a polling station in the Negev Desert, raising concerns that officers were using crowd control as a pretext to prevent people from entering to vote.

JAMES Bourne’s brother has issued a health update after donating his kidney to save the Busted singer’s life.

We told yesterday how Chris, James’ youngest sibling, helped extend his life by donating a kidney.

Following the revelation, Chris has now shared an old snap of him and James to Instagram and wrote in an update: “When you find out that everything’s going to be ok”.

The picture showed the siblings as children, both beaming with their hands in the air.

The brothers underwent the surgery earlier this month and are now in a six-week recovery period.

Chris said of the op: “I was told that the op was going to happen at some point this year, it was all dependent on James’s wellbeing. Suddenly, we were given a date for early October.”

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James, who has never spoken openly about the illness he is living with, is also said to be recovering well.

James was due to go out and perform on the Busted vs McFly arena tour in Autumn 2025, until he fell ill.

Not only did Chris volunteer to give an organ, but he also stood in for James in the tour.

Chris, who is younger than James, stepped in to play on the 35-date tour without a minute of rehearsals.

While he waited to find out if his kidney was a match to James, Chris started using music as therapy.

With his Call Your Friends bandmates, he started work on a new track, Selfless, which started out as a poem Chris wrote during the hardest moments of his health journey with James.

They have now released the song as a fundraising track, which is helping mental health charity Mind.

YOU might be setting off on that bucket list family trip to Florida sooner than you think…

AttractionTickets.com are about to launch a HUGE Black Friday sale where you can save big on that dream Florida holiday – just make sure to sign up.

Sign up to the AttractionTickets.com Black Friday sale and receive an EXTRA discount

Why? Those signed up to the sale can save EXTRA on top of the discounts that will become available on Black Friday.

The sale will include popular theme park tickets, combo tickets for multiple attractions plus holiday packages with hotel or villa stays.

There will be discounts on popular Orlando attractions like Walt Disney World and Universal Resort, as well as hotels and villas on-site.

After last year’s Black Friday sale knocked 20 per cent off hotels and attractions, holidaymakers are prepared for another round of big savings this year.

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In fact, Attraction Tickets has revealed that the savings this year will be just as big, if not bigger – with the typical customer saving hundreds on their booking.

The deals will be for holidays taken in 2027. The biggest savings are set to be for breaks during the school summer holidays.

If you’ve always dreamed of a Disney holiday, you’ll be able to save on trips to Walt Disney World in Florida as well as Disneyland Resort in California.

2027 is also a great time to visit Universal Orlando Resort, with thrilling new rollercoaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift set to open.

Both Disney and Universal resorts in Florida offer on-site accommodation.

At Disney, you can stay in the Hawaii-themed Polynesian resort with its own beach, or wake up to giraffes strolling past your window in an Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Sign up to the AttractionTickets.com Black Friday sale and receive an EXTRA discount

At Universal, Cabana Bay Beach has a retro 1950’s feel with its own bowling alley, pool and lazy river, while Endless Summer offers surf-themed suites sleeping up to six.

Both Disney and Universal resorts have waterparks, too, perfect for cooling off from the Florida heat. The most popular include Typhoon Lagoon and Volcano Bay.

If you fancy an LA trip, you can tick off the world-famous Universal Studios Tour on a discounted visit to Universal Studios Hollywood.

There will even be savings on Spanish attractions like PortAventura World as well as Siam Park and Loro Parque in Tenerife.

So if you’ve been craving that once in a lifetime holiday feeling, now’s the time to get it booked.

AttractionTickets.com even allow you to split up your payments without any fees or interest, so you can avoid a major dent in the wallet.

To make things even easier, you can also secure your holiday with deposits from as little as £50.

The travel website is an official partner of Disney and Universal, and have sold over 15 million tickets to over five million customers worldwide.

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Prices correct at the time of publication.

The suggestion caught Ross Newhan off guard.

The Angels had just reached the promised land, after more than four decades of wandering through baseball’s wilderness. Who better than Newhan, who had been there since Day 1, to write a first-person account of that long and winding road to their first World Series?

Newhan was reluctant. That would make the story about himself, which he despised. The editors prevailed, and within the story he delivered a sentence that struck deep within the heart of every loyal and long-suffering Angels fan.

“I can’t help but feel a sweep of emotions seep through the cynicism and dispassion that is the byproduct of being present for all or part of every Angel season,” he wrote on Oct. 14, 2002.

To this day, the Angels have one guy in the Hall of Fame: Vladimir Guerrero. The Times has two: Jim Murray, the Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist, and Newhan.

If Vin Scully provided the voice for the first half-century of Major League Baseball in Southern California, Newhan provided the words.

Newhan died on Sunday, at 89, after what his wife Connie called a “cardiac event.” His reporting — first at the Long Beach Independent Press-Telegram, then over 37 years at The Times — distinguished The Times as a national source for baseball coverage.

Ross Newhan, center, interviews Jim McGlothlin, left, and Jim Fregosi of the California Angels during the 1969 season.

(The Sporting News via Getty Images)

He was so renowned within baseball that the Dodgers, MLB, and the players’ union posted condolences.

Bud Selig, the former commissioner and occasional antagonist in Newhan’s columns, told The Times: “I mourn the passing of Ross Newhan. He was an excellent sportswriter, and I always had a great amount of respect for him personally and for his work.”

In his Hall of Fame acceptance speech, he reserved a special mention for a teacher at Wilson High in Long Beach, the one that envisioned a writer blossoming within a student dozing in class.

“If a high school journalism instructor named John Gartner hadn’t hollered my name and pounded my desk one day, I might still be sitting there asleep,” Newhan said, “with no real clue what I wanted to do in my life.”

Ross Newhan, receives the J.G. Taylor Spink Award from Jane Forbes Clark, chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, N.Y., on Aug. 5, 2001.

(Associated Press)

In the 1990s, as a young reporter at the Riverside Press-Enterprise, I was among a small group of writers talking with Tony Gwynn, the San Diego Padres’ Hall of Famer. Newhan was there too, and as the group dispersed, he told me: “You ask good questions.”

Talk about inspiration: It was as if Clayton Kershaw had seen a kid throw a curveball and said, “Not bad.”

Behind a gruff and occasionally intense exterior, Newhan had a heart of gold. Mike DiGiovanna, the longtime Times baseball writer, called Newhan “a security blanket” for colleagues needing a fact check, a phone number or an introduction to someone famous.

“He was a giant without the giant ego,” DiGiovanna said.

Newhan trained former Times colleague Jason Reid on how to cover baseball. Reid affectionately called him “Boss Ross.” The two were such relentless reporters that, amid the wild initial days of the McCourt family ownership of the Dodgers, Reid got co-owner Jamie McCourt so frazzled that she actually said this: “This is bad because you guys remember everything and you write everything down.”

Newhan and Reid had reported on concerns with the McCourt financing before the ownership deal closed, and six years before Frank McCourt’s divorce attorney admitted in court that McCourt had put “not a penny” of his own money into the deal. That did not make Newhan and McCourt the best of friends, but neither did it make them bitter enemies.

“He seemed to take a sort of pride in being the guardian of Los Angeles baseball, for lack of a better term,” said Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch, then the Dodgers’ publicist. “He had an ability to garner respect from people even when he was writing something you weren’t happy about.”

Said Mike Scioscia, on whom Newhan reported as a Dodgers player and Angels manager: “Ross was a true gentleman and had a real matter-of-fact way of asking questions that put you at ease.”

Ross Newhan shares a happy moment with his great granddaughter, Bailey, earlier this year.

(Courtesy of the Newhan family)

There was nothing flashy about Newhan, not in his writing, certainly not in the way he conducted himself. He let his work and its credibility speak for itself.

Newhan is survived by his wife, Connie; his son, David, and daughter-in-law, Karen; his daughter, Sara, and son-in-law, Mike; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The story about David is the one most often recalled Monday, because it really was a story about his father.

David, the kid that tagged along with Newhan when the Angels held spring training in Palm Springs, developed into a major leaguer. He had joked with reporters that he hadn’t been sure if rumors of his call-up were true because “as everyone knows, you can’t believe what’s in the paper.”

In 2004, as Newhan and I covered a game at Dodger Stadium, David appeared as a pinch-hitter for the Baltimore Orioles against the Colorado Rockies, in his first major league at-bat in three years. Newhan was glued to his laptop, where these words suddenly appeared: “In play, run(s).”

Waiting, waiting, waiting … and then I heard one of the loudest screams I have ever heard. Rawitch heard it too. Everyone in the press box heard it.

“Home run.”

The scream was out of character for a professional writer, entirely in character for a proud father. He aced both, and we’ll miss him.

The United Kingdom’s King Charles lll is travelling to the Bahamas on Tuesday, where he will begin a nine-day tour of the Caribbean.

The tour will take him to the Bahamas, Guyana, and Antigua and Barbuda, where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from November 1-4.

This comes as demands for reparations over Britain’s notorious role in the slave trade grow louder, and as the monarchy faces questions about its future in the region.

So what is the significance of this tour? And what does the Caribbean want?

Here’s what we know.

What’s on the itinerary?

King Charles will visit three countries in nine days.

His tour begins on Tuesday with the archipelagic country of the Bahamas, where he will be staying for three days.

Then he will make his way to Guyana, a former British colony that had more than 100,000 slaves when the trade was abolished in 1807.

After two days in Guyana, where he is expected to meet the president and elected leaders of Amerindian villages, he will head to Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The meeting, from November 1-4, is expected to include discussions about the environment and trade and development, although the question of British reparations for slavery is also likely to feature.

What do the countries King Charles is visiting want?

Government officials in the Bahamas and in Antigua and Barbuda – both of which are part of the British Commonwealth with King Charles as their ultimate head of state – have signalled that they want to become republics. Guyana gained independence from the UK in 1966, and has a president as its head of state.

Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said in an interview with ITV News that while Charles “rightfully” recognised slavery as the “darkest days in human history” during a visit to Barbados in 2021 when he was still the prince of Wales, an apology should be his next step.

“You exploited the region. You destroyed lives. You created underdevelopment,” Ali said, in a reference to the lingering legacy of the British Empire and the slave trade.

In 2023, a Lord Ashcroft Poll revealed that 51 percent of surveyed respondents in the Bahamas wanted to become a republic, while 27 percent preferred to retain the British monarchy as head of state.

Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, chair of the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, was critical of the king ahead of his arrival. “Why do we still have a king? What does this person really represent to us? Why is he coming and how will that benefit us?” she asked.

What do other countries in the Caribbean say about slavery?

Jamaica, which is not on the itinerary for this trip by King Charles, made its stance clear in September, when it filed a $10bn slavery reparations petition in London, addressing it to the king.

That was the first time a British Commonwealth state has taken legal action pursuing “the cause of reparatory justice”, as the Jamaican delegation called it.

The petition is due to be heard by a UK privy council in March next year. The UK has, so far, refused to formally apologise or pay reparations for slavery.

Also in September, Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) Secretary-General Carla Barnett said reparations are “fundamentally about justice”.

“It is about recognition, accountability and transformation, and about building a just and equitable future for the descendants of those who, as the chattel of colonial owners, endured untold suffering, loss of life and freedom,” she said.

The transatlantic slave trade was recently declared the “gravest crime against humanity” in a United Nations resolution in March this year.

The last time a British royal visited Jamaica was when Prince William and Kate Middleton, then the duke and duchess of Cambridge, toured the island in 2022 during their Caribbean Platinum Jubilee tour.

The more memorable moment of the trip was when the couple was pictured shaking hands with Jamaican children with a fence separating them, which many criticised for being “tone-deaf”.

What’s likely to happen at the Commonwealth meeting?

The meeting in Antigua and Barbuda is expected to cover climate resilience as well as trade and development.

Leaders and representatives of 56 Commonwealth countries will be attending. Many want an apology for slavery from the king, but Buckingham Palace recently announced that will not be happening.

“The visit programme will…not shy away from ‘the darkest days of our past’, as his majesty has described them, but – in keeping with the wishes of our host nations – ‌it ⁠will principally be oriented to the vibrant present and promising future of each country,” a palace spokesperson said in a statement.

The palace added that it is “important” to acknowledge the “creative” ways that Charles has tried to right “enduring inequalities”.

The chair of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Afrikan Reparations, Labour MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy, said the royal family and the UK government had failed to recognise the demands of those wanting reparations.

“I think it would be wrong to think that we can continue with platitudes. You’ve got ‘atrocity’, ‘deep regret’, ‘sorrow’, and now they’re going to say ‘darkest days’,” she said. “I think the king needs to realise that people wouldn’t keep raising it if what he was doing was anywhere near enough.

“You can tell that the Commonwealth means something to the monarchy, and I’m sure he would not want to be the monarch under which it crumbles.”

Strikes hit a major bridge in the Ukrainian capital as leaders push for ‘direct discussions’ to end the war.

Russia has attacked transport infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital, targeting a major bridge, as the leaders of Finland and Norway held a rare call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a separate one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Officials in Kyiv said the South Bridge was hit in overnight attacks on the city ⁠⁠that included 16 ballistic missiles and more ⁠⁠than 280 drones. Zelenskyy said Russian forces struck again while emergency crews were still dealing with the aftermath of the initial strikes.

“This is a serious escalation in Russia’s campaign targeting our logistics,” he said.

Russian attacks also caused deaths and injuries in the cities of Kharkiv and Pavlohrad.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Telegram that its forces had targeted transport infrastructure in Kyiv and a logistics hub in the Kharkiv region, along with industrial sites and cargo vessels it said were serving military purposes.

Officials in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region said a drone strike on a bus killed one person and injured 30 others.

One person was also killed and six others were wounded in a drone attack on the Russian city of Bryansk, near the Ukrainian border.

The attacks come as the warring sides prepare for talks. On Friday, Kyiv and Moscow said they had agreed to hold United States-mediated technical meetings in Abu Dhabi in early November.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store called Putin from Helsinki on Tuesday to convey messages on future negotiations ahead of the Abu Dhabi meetings, according to a statement from both governments.

Zelenskyy, who spoke to the pair afterwards, said on X that they had told Putin real steps were needed to de-escalate attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities and infrastructure. He said they also discussed preparations for the November talks.

“There must be peace, de-escalation is needed, and Russia must stop dragging out the war,” he said.

In the Finnish-Norwegian statement, Stubb said the war’s outcome would directly affect the security of Finland and Norway, both of which border Russia, and of Europe more widely.

“Ending the war requires direct discussions,” he said.

Store said the two leaders had stressed the importance of de-escalation during the call.

Both leaders said they spoke for their own countries, not Europe, and that Finnish and Norwegian support for Ukraine would continue.

Most Western European leaders have avoided direct contact with Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

The calls come amid a renewed US push to end the war. The two governments described Tuesday’s call, held in consultation with Ukraine, as a follow-up to talks in Oslo on October 20 with Zelenskyy and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.

Witkoff met Putin in St Petersburg the next day, after which the Kremlin said it was ready to resume US-mediated talks with Kyiv that stalled in February.

US President Donald Trump has also credited his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, with securing a localised ceasefire in the southern Kherson region, which took effect on Tuesday to allow aid into the Russian-controlled town of Oleshky.

KATIE Price is continuing to fuel rumours she has secretly got back together with her conman ex-husband, as she flashed her huge engagement ring again.

The couple have been estranged since the summer, with Katie, 48, telling The Sun that she had dumped Lee Andrews, 43, after becoming fed up with his lies.

But over the last few weeks the pair of them have been dropping clues that they have secretly reunited.

While her ex, Lee, has been sharing cryptic messages, Katie has been suggesting they are back together by putting her sparkling engagement ring back on her wedding finger.

The Sun reported last week that the TV star was spotted wearing the huge bling again, and in latest social media posts, the ring has remained firmly on her left hand.

In a video posted on Snapchat from Sunday morning, Katie can be seen flashing the huge diamond rock.

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Then in a new Instagram post of the star wearing a fur coat, the ring is in full view for all to see.

It comes after Lee has also dropped several clues he is back with his famous wife.

Last Friday, the former jailbird was spotted liking Katie’s post about her son Harvey, 24.

Then the next day, Lee posted a cryptic love poem, suggesting they were getting back together.

The Sun previously revealed that Katie ended their marriage via WhatsApp last month.

It came after she found out he had been lying to her and had just £2.22 in his bank account.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez’s reelection bid, once helped by his high-profile fight against President Trump’s immigration policies, is in peril as he tries to recover from allegations of sexual misconduct.

The accusations, which Gomez denies, have left the 51-year-old Eagle Rock Democrat vulnerable to an upstart challenger from Highland Park who earned a reputation for antagonism while serving on the area’s neighborhood council.

Angela Gonzales-Torres, 31, is seizing on Gomez’s issues in the race to represent California’s 34th Congressional District, a Latino-majority territory spanning Koreatown, Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Glassell Park and adjacent neighborhoods.

Gonzales-Torres, who has worked part-time jobs as an academic counselor for formerly incarcerated students and at an affordable housing development, is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and counts support from other national progressive organizations.

Over the last week, she campaigned at UC Berkeley alongside fellow progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), appeared on left-wing streamer Hasan Piker’s show and rallied in Los Angeles with Parkland, Fla., school shooting survivor and activist David Hogg.

Gonzales-Torres has linked the accusation against Gomez to the politician’s onetime ally former Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Bay Area Democrat who saw his campaign for governor derailed when several women came forward with allegations of impropriety. Swalwell has also denied wrongdoing.

“We’re going to take on this apparent culture in Congress in which men appear to abuse their positions of power and abuse women and younger staffers,” she said on Piker’s show.

In August, attorneys representing a woman released a statement accusing Gomez of sexual assault. Days earlier, the House Ethics Committee had announced an inquiry into Gomez, elected in 2017, over alleged “inappropriate sexual contact with a House staffer.”

Gomez denied wrongdoing while acknowledging mistakes outside his marriage — a sharp contrast with his image as the lawmaker who founded the Congressional Dads Caucus to champion family-friendly policies and famously carried his infant son in a baby carrier during the protracted votes for House speaker in 2023.

Gomez has avoided the public eye since the accusations surfaced, declining media interviews and campaign appearances, giving further momentum to his opponent.

“They’re trying to fly so far under the radar to not bring attention to the [allegations] or to me,” Gonzales-Torres said during a get-out-the-vote event in Eagle Rock.

Gonzales-Torres’ history in Highland Park

Gonzales-Torres, who graduated from UCLA, has described a childhood in Highland Park, where she was raised by her mother after her father was deported to Mexico following a domestic violence charge.

Reflecting the anxieties of thirtysomethings like herself, she’s talked about going without health insurance, working multiple low-wage jobs and questioning whether she can afford children.

In 2023, she was elected to the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, on which she served two years advising City Hall on issues and policy matters. She opposed new liquor licenses and took stances against gentrification, a hot-button issue in Highland Park, where some longtime business owners and residents feel squeezed by rising rents.

Her year as president on the area council proved contentious, prompting several former colleagues to issue a statement Saturday criticizing her congressional bid.

Jens Jonasson, a member of the neighborhood council’s board of directors, characterized her tenure as chaotic, arguing that her unwillingness to compromise derailed board initiatives, including a proposed resolution supporting the Gaza Strip.

“She is not ready for the office she is asking voters to entrust to her,” Jonasson and three other board members said in the joint statement.

Darren Gold, who succeeded Gonzales-Torres as board president, alleged that she falsely accused him of shaking her. Gold was briefly removed from the board during an inquiry but reinstated after a city investigation.

In a 2024 podcast interview with Hear in L.A., Gonzales-Torres referred to Gold as a “very Zionist gentrifier man, a white man” and a “threat to my community.”

Gold told The Times he had never publicly staked out a position on Israel or Gaza.

“If she assigned me that label because I’m Jewish, that is antisemitic,” Gold said. “My concern is less about what she called me than whether she can turn her rhetoric into results and treat people respectfully when they disagree with her.”

Another board member, Caroline Aguirre, filed a police report in 2024 accusing Gonzales-Torres of aggressively pointing a finger at her during a meeting. The report did not result in an arrest or charges.

Gonzales-Torres declined to comment on the incidents involving Aguirre and Gold.

In 2025, Gonzales-Torres mounted a bid for one of 13 at-large neighborhood council seats, finishing last in a field of 23.

Her supporters pointed to her dedication to Highland Park and the work she’d done to help previously incarcerated youths.

Jesse Rosas, a Figueroa corridor business leader, echoed her concerns about neighborhood displacement and wants a representative more involved in the area.

“She’s a young lady who can bring change to the community for the better,” Rosas said. “I’ve seen her trying to do the best that she can.”

State Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, a Pasadena-area Democrat who met Gonzales-Torres through her work as an academic counselor, said she’s impressed with her interest in challenging federal immigration laws.

“She’s had a firsthand account into some of the way that the immigration raids are directly impacting our students,” Pérez said.

Gomez runs on anti-Trump record

Despite the abuse allegations, Gomez has the power of incumbency and name recognition in a vast and diverse district.

A spokesperson pointed to his lawsuit challenging the Trump administration over access to immigrant detention centers as well as his advocacy for tenant protections and affordable housing.

If reelected, Gomez said in a statement, he aims to reverse federal healthcare cuts, lower living costs for working families and push for an end to the Iran war.

“Anyone can promise to stand up to Donald Trump, but I’ve proven I can take him on and win, whether it’s in Congress, on the picket lines, or in the courts,” Gomez said.

Both candidates back progressive priorities such as a Green New Deal and Medicare for all. Gomez advocates redirecting funding away from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while Gonzales-Torres calls for abolishing ICE.

Gonzales-Torres is also criticizing Gomez for receiving financial support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. An AIPAC-affiliated political action committee spent more than $1.7 million supporting his 2024 campaign, and the group helped direct donations this cycle.

For some voters in the district, neither candidate is ideal.

Ray Rios, president of the Hillside Homeowners Assn. in El Sereno, wants to see more from Gomez when it comes to federal funding for the district. He also voiced skepticism over the DSA’s anti-policing platform and questioned whether Gonzales-Torres can build the institutional relationships needed to deliver federal resources.

“Her lack of experience is a consideration, a big consideration,” said Rios, who intends to vote for Gomez.

While Gomez beat back progressive challengers in recent election cycles, the local DSA chapter has built momentum across the district, winning City Council seats, noted Fernando Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University.

“Even without the allegations, this would be a competitive race,” Guerra said. “Then you add that, and that really hurts him.”

Welcome back to The Times’ Lakers newsletter, where we’re mapping a new route.

Inspired by the Lakers’ stay at Salt Lake City’s Asher Adams hotel, coach JJ Redick took us on an interview tangent Sunday. The luxurious downtown hotel is named after John R. Asher and George H. Adams, cartographers known for their work mapping railroads, and staying in a repurposed railroad station inspired Redick to look for his latest metaphor.

“As the season starts, you’re mapping sort of who you can be,” Redick said Sunday before the Lakers improved to 3-0 with a win over the Utah Jazz. “Every new game early in the season, you’re discovering something different, combinations that work, lineups that work, whatever it may be, and that’s exciting.”

The Lakers welcomed a critical crew member back into the fold this week, and he’s making his presence on this adventure known immediately.

Full steam ahead

Collin Sexton’s role looks small in a box score. The guard is averaging just nine points in his first two games as a Laker in 18.1 minutes per game. He’s shooting just 25% from three. He has three steals.

The numbers don’t do Sexton’s brand of ball justice. Teammates report feeling his influence on the court the moment he checks in. The free agent acquisition guards like a pesky summer mosquito. He attacks like, well, the well-earned nickname he’s carried since high school.

“They call me a bull for a reason,” Sexton said. “Whenever I get out on that court, it’s go time. It’s no creeping into the game.”

After missing the whole preseason and the regular-season opener, Sexton is making an immediate impact for the Lakers. His energy off the bench helped shift the team’s 132-123 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday when the Lakers overcame a lifeless first quarter.

Sexton has shown his relentlessness since he arrived. During a pickup game on the team’s summer trip to Slovenia, Sexton took a Luka Doncic elbow to the mouth that cut both his top and bottom lips. Instead of backing down, Sexton wiped his mouth with a towel and turned back toward the court with a simple “let’s go.”

“There’s a level of insanity with him,” Redick said. “And I think our team responds to insanity.”

The 27-year-old guard has always had that aspect to his game, he said. He was a scrappy young player. He wanted to keep up with older kids, including his brother Jordan. They used to call him “Young Bull.”

“Now,” Sexton said, “it’s just Bull.”

Sexton’s intense playing style has remained as his career has evolved. The eighth pick in the 2018 draft, Sexton earned second-team all-rookie honors with Cleveland. He teamed with Darius Garland to make a dynamic, high-scoring backcourt duo. But Sexton suffered a season-ending knee injury in November 2021 and he was traded to Utah in a sign-and-trade that involved bringing Donovan Mitchell to Cleveland. The former lottery pick is now on his fourth team in six seasons.

Another injury slowed the beginning of his Lakers tenure. Sexton suffered a right calf strain during training camp. He is still finding his offensive rhythm, but even when he wasn’t on the court, he wanted his teammates to feel his presence.

“One thing I was able to do is just stay present, just continue to be a leader, and continue to use my voice as much as I can,” Sexton said, “and just continue to come in with the right attitude and the right approach.”

Matisse Thybulle already knew of Sexton’s endless energy. But Sexton’s vocal leadership surprised the Lakers’ forward this season. When Sexton made his season debut against the Clippers on Oct. 23, Thybulle noticed how active Sexton was in organizing the team offensively and defensively. Already responsible for bringing defensive energy, Thybulle had no choice but to step up his own effort once Sexton arrived.

There’s no hiding this Bull on the court. And he’s inspiring a stampede.

“It gives us even more energy,” Thybulle said of Sexton. “And I think it’s just one of those things that, like, when everyone else is doing it, you don’t want to be the guy to not be.”

Mr. Consistency

Austin Reaves has been Mr. Consistency on the Lakers.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

With a flurry of three-pointers and defensive stops, Doncic landed body blow after body blow. Then Austin Reaves hit the knockout shot.

After Doncic hit three late three-pointers in the Lakers’ dramatic win over the Jazz, it was Reaves who hit the dagger shot with 32.3 seconds left to put the Lakers up by seven points. Reaves held a finger to his lips. The Utah fans in the crowd streamed toward the exits.

The Lakers have the highest-scoring offense in the league through (less than) one week of games, yet haven’t had all their stars aligned. Doncic needed Sunday’s 52-point, 10-assist outburst to offset what he called a “terrible” performance against the Clippers in which he had 11 turnovers. He shot 38.5% from the field during the first two games.

Walker Kessler had a perfect offensive Lakers debut then was a six-block, three-steal defensive menace in his second game. But the star center disappeared Sunday while battling an emotional return to Utah.

While his teammates still settle into the season, there’s always Reaves. The Lakers’ “Mr. Consistency,” as Redick called him.

The guard is averaging 26.7 points on just 12 shot attempts per game with 6.3 assists per game during the first three games. He is shooting an eye-popping 63.9% from the field. The efficiency, as Doncic put it in a charming mistranslation, is “off the roof.”

Fresh off a massive four-year, $180-million contract extension that solidified Reaves as a legitimate star player, the humble Arkansas native has elevated his game with the same mindset taught to him from his parents and older brother.

“Play the game the right way, the game’s gonna reward you,” said Reaves, who is trying to earn his first All-Star appearance this season. “We have a team that understands roles and what we ask them to do. … The thing about our team is there’s no ego, there’s no anything, just wanna win basketball games and however that happens is the main thing.”

Redick praised Reaves’ patience this season. Kessler marveled at Reaves’ skill and ability to score while also making plays for others.

Doncic, now the unquestioned No. 1 option since LeBron James’ departure, thrives next to another top ballhandler. In Dallas, he began with Jalen Brunson. He went to his first NBA Finals next to Kyrie Irving. The Lakers hope pairing Doncic and Reaves can go even further.

“To have him next to me, leading this team, it’s awesome,” Doncic said. “So, [if] he keeps going like that, he’s going to be really good for us.”

They passed the baton back and forth during Sunday’s gritty win. Reaves shushed the crowd after his dagger shot. Doncic waved goodbye. The only fans left to make noise were the traveling Laker faithful who showered the road team with cheers at the buzzer.

Poll results

Last week, we asked: “Where do you think the Lakers will finish in the Western Conference?”

After 1,222 votes:

Top-two seed: 2.4%

First-round home court (3-4): 33.6%

Safely in playoffs (5-6): 43.9%

Play-in (7-10): 17.3%

Cancun by mid-April: 2.8%

On tap

Records updated before Monday’s games

Tuesday vs. Trail Blazers (2-0), 8 p.m.

This could be one of the most star-studded backcourt matchups of the season. The Lakers have Doncic and Reaves. The Trail Blazers are starting Damian Lillard and Ja Morant. Lillard, returning from an Achilles injury suffered in the 2025 playoffs, is averaging 22 points.

Wednesday at Clippers (1-2), 7:30 p.m.

The Lakers ran away in the second half against the shorthanded Clippers last week. The Clippers were counting on Brandon Ingram to move on past Kawhi Leonard, but the former Lakers draft pick is still out with an Achilles injury.

Friday at Warriors (0-3), 7 p.m.

Luka vs. Yaxel, NBA Cup’s version. The Warriors’ rookie made a bold choice by trash-talking with Doncic during the season opener. With the Warriors struggling, the only bright spots of this fallen dynasty might be the flashes of brilliance from Stephen Curry and what viral content Lendeborg will provide next.

Sunday vs. Raptors (2-1), 6 p.m.

Sandro Mamukelashvili will host his former team as the Lakers begin a second back-to-back in a week. This stretch is one of the busiest the Lakers will face this season, but at least it’s all contained in California.

Monday vs. Heat (0-3), 7 p.m.

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s much-heralded move to Miami has produced big numbers, but no wins. The former Milwaukee star scored 71 points in the first two games combined, but the Heat weren’t even competitive against two playoff hopefuls (Minnesota and Detroit).

Favorite thing I ate this week

Breakfast burrito at Old Cuss Cafe in Salt Lake City.

(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)

There’s a pennant in Downtown Salt Lake City’s Old Cuss Cafe hanging above the cash register that reads “This place sucks.” Don’t let the self-deprecating decor deter you. The breakfast burrito is awesome. It’s got the staples with potatoes, eggs, onions and sausage (or bacon), but it’s the fragrant pesto that takes it over the top. It made me forget to be mad that my hotel room wasn’t ready yet.

In case you missed it

Luka Doncic scores 52 points, hits several late clutch shots as Lakers rally to beat Jazz

‘I miss him.’ Lakers reunite with Rui Hachimura in first game against Clippers

Swanson: Luka Doncic’s trash-talking antics sharpen his edge. Lakers fans need to embrace it

Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler lead Lakers past the Clippers

How the Lakers’ Luka Doncic went from ‘Wonder Boy’ to ‘The Man’

Walker Kessler’s Lakers debut couldn’t have gone much better

Lakers’ new Luka Doncic era opens with rout of Warriors

Lakers center Walker Kessler believes his competitive side will overcome pressure

Until next time…

As always, pass along your thoughts to me at thucnhi.nguyen@latimes.com, and please consider subscribing if you like our work!

Dutch withdrawal is the latest in a number of boycotts by countries unhappy about Israel’s inclusion.

The Netherlands has withdrawn from next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, its public broadcaster NPO has confirmed, citing “sensitivities” over Israel’s participation.

“We have known for some time that Israel’s participation elicits various reactions in society and causes discussion and division,” the NPO’s media director Jurre Bosman said in a statement.

“Therefore, after consultation with the board of broadcasters, the NPO has decided to forgo participation in 2027.”

The announcement follows a decision in August by Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS to boycott the competition. AVROTROS, which usually selects the Netherlands’ entry and broadcasts the show, said the event could “no longer be considered neutral”.

NPO stepped in last month, saying it would take responsibility for the Dutch entry to the competition, before reversing course on Tuesday.

Jet de Ranitz, NPO’s executive chairman, acknowledged that the decision would disappoint fans but stressed that the contest would still be aired on public channels.

“Due to the sensitivities surrounding the themes currently at play, we have decided to take a step back for the time being,” De Ranitz said.

The announcement follows the Netherlands’ boycott of the 2026 edition. Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia all pulled out, with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.

More withdrawals

In August, the organisers announced that countries would be unable to host the competition if “an armed conflict, a sensitive geopolitical situation, or any other situation materially affects the security, safety or stability of their state or immediate region.”

But that has not prevented withdrawals, with Ireland already having announced that it will not be participating in next year’s contest for the second year in a row.

Earlier this month, the Czech broadcaster also pulled out of next year’s event, but cited spending cuts as the reason.

Bulgaria will host next year’s edition of Eurovision for the first time in the Black Sea city of Burgas, after Bulgarian singer Darina Yotova, known as Dara, won this year’s contest in Vienna, Austria, with her catchy floor-filler ‘Bangaranga’. 

Since its first edition in 1956, Eurovision has become the world’s biggest live televised music event. It catapulted Swedish icons ABBA to worldwide fame, as well as boosting artists such as Celine Dion and Olivia Newton-John. 

OLIVIA Attwood has taken a swipe at her footballer ex Bradley Dack with a tongue-in-cheek new post.

The TV personality sparked engagement rumours with her new boyfriend Pete Wicks just last week, and has now dropped another hint that wedding bells are on the way.

Olivia and Pete have been dating since early this year, with the romance coming after she split from husband and partner of a decade Bradley Dack.

Now, Olivia has shared a new picture to Instagram which features a figure in a black cloak calling her – with the phrase: “Your ex the minute he sees you happy” written over the snap.

The swipe implies that Bradley may have gotten back in touch with Olivia after seeing her smitten with new man Pete.

Another snap in the post sees Olivia writing “Mrs Olivia Wicks” in a notepad – convincing fans that a wedding may not be as far off as they think.

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“Stop right now Mrs Olivia Wicks ❤️‍🔥,” commented one fan.

Another said: “MRS OLIVIA WICKS does have a good ring to it though”.

Last week, Olivia put on a stunning display as she took to the Pride Of Britain Awards.

At the bash, she was seen sporting a sizeable ring on her left hand.

This had many curious whether she and Pete – despite only being together around 6 months – were preparing to tie the knot.

In June, while appearing on Celebrity Gogglebox, Olivia revealed she would like to get married.

The star was joined by her mother Jennifer when the topic of marriage came up – and it appeared she has given it some thought.

Olivia jokingly said: “I’ve decided now I am going to get married a few times, or engaged, because I like the ring.”

The star ‘married’ ex Bradley Dack in a ceremony that was televised, but it was revealed this year the couple never actually signed on the dotted line to make things legally binding.

Olivia later admitted she was worried the footballer would take half of her money if they had officially wed.

Olivia told Cosmopolitan: ‘”My sister said to me, ‘If it was a man who was skeptical about their partner’s honesty, and they didn’t legally bind themselves to a person, everyone would be like, good for you, because she would’ve taken half your money’.

“I did the same thing and they wanted to burn me at the f****** stake. Where would I be now [if we had signed?]”.

IF YOU are thinking about where to head off to this winter, then you won’t be short for choice as several airlines are launching new flights from the UK to warm and sunny destinations.

Whether you fancy a city break in the sun or a beach trip to soak up rays, across October, November and December airlines are launching new flights.

And there are both short haul and long haul destinations.

Here’s a roundup of the newest flight routes coming this season from the UK, ideal for a winter sun holiday:

British Airways

British Airways has a number of new winter sun routes, with a couple already launched.

On October 23, the airline launched flights between London Gatwick and Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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The city of Colombo is known for its vibrant temples, such as the Buddhist Gangarama Temple.

Visitors can also visit bustling markets, such as Pettah Market, with local spices and handmade textiles.

Then on October 25, flights were launched between London Gatwick and Bridgetown, Barbados.

Bridgetown is the largest city of Barbados and has heaps of history to explore including the central area which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During December, temperatures reach around 29C.

The same day, flights launched between London Heathrow and San Jose, Costa Rica after being moved from Gatwick Airport.

San Jose is home to a mix of neoclassical architecture as well as sprawling markets and even active volcanoes.

Make sure to have a walk through Mercado Central (Central Market), which is an indoor market dating back to 1880 selling local produce and gifts.

Virgin Atlantic

Earlier this month, Virgin Atlantic launched flights between London Heathrow and Phuket, Thailand.

Phuket is a great destination for beach hopping, with white sand spots and beaches ideal for surfing.

Make sure to visit Phuket Old Town as well where you can spot colourful 19th century houses, as well as shops, cafes and local galleries.

It is also nice and warm in December, with temperatures reaching up to 32C.

EasyJet

Despite being an airline that mainly serves Europe, easyJet is launching three new winter sun routes over the coming weeks.

The first will be between Newcastle and Hurghada, Egypt, with flights taking off on October 27.

Hurghada is surrounded by the Red Sea that is full of coral reefs and colourful fish where you can head snorkelling.

Make sure to visit the Marina too at sunset where you can even see across to the minarets of the El Mina mosque.

This route will be followed by flights between London Luton and Rabat, Morocco, launching on November 5.

The capital of Morocco is known for its historic architecture and has up to just eight days of rain in December.

Then on November 9, Manchester will get a route to Giza Sphinx/Cairo, Egypt.

In Cairo, you can visit the Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx, which is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world with daytime highs of 21C.

Ryanair

Budget airline Ryanair will be launching flights from Birmingham to Marrakech, Morocco in late October.

The city is home to an abundance of souks selling spices and locally crafted items as well as a medieval Medina with hidden courtyards.

Around the same time, the airline will also start flights between Liverpool and Porto, Portugal.

The coastal city of Porto is known for its wine but also has a UNESCO-listed medieval riverfront, where you can stop by an outdoor cafe.

TUI

On October 25, TUI launched flights between the East Midlands and Antalya, Turkey.

The Turkish city is full of narrow cobblestone streets in its Old Town to get lost exploring, with Ottoman-era houses and artisan shops.

You’ll also be able to pick up a cheap pint, with beers costing as little as £3 a pint.

The airline will follow this by also launching flights to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from the airport in early November.

Sharm El Sheikh is great for an adventure holiday with snorkelling and diving in the Red Sea as well as desert activities such as quad biking, dune buggies and camel rides.

Later, in mid-December, TUI is then also set to start flights between Belfast International and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Punta Cana is known for its world-famous, all-inclusive resorts but also jungle adventures and vibrant nightlife.

Temperatures can reach up to 32C in December, which is the ideal weather for sinking a cool pint that will set you back as little as £1.80.

How Angel City turned around

From Kevin Baxter: No one in Angel City history has played in more games or worn the captain’s armband more often than Sarah Gorden. So it’s unlikely any player has enjoyed this season, Angel City’s fifth in the NWSL, more than her.

With Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bay FC, the team extended its franchise record for wins (14) and points (49) with one game to play. It has averaged more goals scored (1.7) and fewer goals allowed (1.07) than any team in franchise history, has the best goal differential (plus-19) in the league and has qualified for the postseason for just the second time.

If Angel City (14-8-7) beats Boston in its regular-season finale Sunday, it could play host to a playoff game for the first time. For Gorden, none of that success is surprising. What is surprising is that it took so long to achieve.

“Did I think we’d get here? Yeah,” she said. “I always felt like we take two steps forward, one step back. Maybe two steps forward, three steps back. But I always felt like strategically, at some point, the right pieces would be here and we’d be doing the right things at the right time.

“The backing was always there, the passion was always there, the vision was always there. For a long time it was just about getting the right pieces together.”

That was the part that took a bit of trial and error, with the team going through 64 players, five coaches, three general managers/sporting directors and two controlling ownership groups since its founding. And Gorden, who became the second player in team history when she was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Red Stars in December 2021 — five months before Angel City’s first game — has been with the team for all of it.

Continue reading here

Kings rout the Rangers

Drew Doughty had a goal and two assists, and Artemi Panarin added a power-play goal and an assist as the Kings beat the New York Rangers 6-3 on Monday night.

The Kings won for the third time in their last four games — all on the road — after going winless over their first six games of the season.

The Kings jumped on New York early, chasing goaltender James Reimer after one period. Reimer was pulled in his Rangers debut after allowing three goals on eight shots. Reimer played just one previous game this fall, a 35-save shutout in the American Hockey League on Saturday night, before signing an NHL contract for the rest of the season.

Taylor Ward opened the scoring 1:15 into the game on the Kings’ first shot. Brandt Clarke made it 2-0 at 4:52 of the first, tipping in a rebound off Joel Armia’s slap shot.

Continue reading here

Kings summary

NHL standings

Valkyries win WNBA Finals Game 5

Kiah Stokes had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots as the Golden State Valkyries moved within one win of a championship in their second season, beating the Atlanta Dream 64-55 in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night.

Angel Reese finished with seven points, 15 rebounds and five assists — a big difference from her two standout performances in the first two games of the series at Chase Center. Reese shook her head when whistled for the second of her three offensive fouls with 7:43 to play.

Fans screamed and clapped thunder sticks following the final buzzer as Stokes spoke from the floor to chants of “MVP!”

Continue reading here

WNBA Finals Game 5 box score

Brewers move one win away from World Series title

Jackson Chourio set the tone at the plate, Brice Turang sparked a historic offensive outburst and Robert Gasser shut the door on the mound.

The Milwaukee Brewers are one victory from their first World Series title after routing the Tampa Bay Rays 10-1 on Monday night thanks to a trio of young players who have shined in October.

Chourio bookended Milwaukee’s eight-run fifth inning with two of his four hits, and Turang’s two-run single opened a barrage of scoring with two outs.

Continue reading here

Game 3 box score

World Series results, schedule

All games at 5 p.m. PT
All game on FOX/FOX Deportes/FOX One

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 1 Tampa Bay
at Milwaukee 3, Tampa Bay 2 (box score)
at Milwaukee 5, Tampa Bay 4 (box score)
Milwaukee 10, at Tampa Bay 1 (box score)
Tuesday at Tampa Bay
*Wednesday at Tampa Bay
*Friday at Milwaukee
*Saturday at Milwaukee

* if necessary

This day in sports history

1967 — New Mexico tight end Emilio Vallez catches 17 passes for 257 yards to tie an NCAA record in a 75-12 rout of Texas El Paso.

1973 — Four players rush for more than 100 yards as Alabama sets three NCAA records during a 77-6 romp of Virginia Tech. Alabama sets records with 823 yards total offense, 743 yards rushing and four 100-yard rushers. Jim Taylor gains 142 yards, Wilbur Jackson 138, Calvin Culliver 127 and Richard Todd 102.

1984 — Washington State’s Rueben Mayes sets an NCAA record with 357 yards rushing, 197 in the first half, and scores three touchdowns in a 50-41 victory over Oregon.

1984 — Iowa’s Chuck Long completes 22 straight passes to set an NCAA record in a 24-20 victory over Indiana.

1996 — After two humbling losses at home, the New York Yankees win their first World Series title since 1978 with a 3-2 victory over the defending champion Atlanta Braves in Game 6.

2001 — Joe Paterno wins his 324th game to pass Bear Bryant for the most victories by a Division I-A coach when Penn State rallies for a 29-27 win over Ohio State.

2002 — Emmitt Smith breaks the NFL career rushing yardage record held by the late Walter Payton on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter. Smith has 109 yards and a touchdown in Dallas’ 17-14 loss to Seattle and ends the game with 16,743 career yards — 17 more than Payton gained.

2002 — Behind rookie pitcher John Lackey and a three-run double by Garret Anderson, the Angels beat Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants 4-1 for the franchise’s first World Series title.

2004 — The Boston Red Sox are World Series champions at long, long last. Johnny Damon homers on the fourth pitch of the game, Derek Lowe makes it stand up and the Red Sox win Game 4 3-0, sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals for their first crown since 1918.

2005 — Curtis Joseph makes 13 saves to earn his 400th NHL victory and Mike Comrie scores twice as Phoenix edges Calgary 3-2.

2006 — The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Detroit Tigers 4-2 in Game 5 to wrap up their first Series title in nearly a quarter-century and 10th overall. The Cardinals had 83 regular-season wins, the fewest by a World Series champion.

2007 — Curlin posts an emphatic victory against his toughest rivals in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Monmouth Park. Ridden by Robby Albarado, Curlin defeats Derby runner-up Hard Spun by 4 1/2 lengths.

2007 — Weber State beats Portland State 73-68 to set an NCAA all-division football record for points in a game. Back in 1916, Georgia Tech beat Cumberland 222-0, but that was before the NCAA kept track of records.

2012 — Matt Scott of Arizona gains 469 total yards and accounts for four TDs in the Wildcats’ 39-36 win over USC. Marqise Lee of USC, catches 16 passes for a Pac-12-record 345 yards and two TDs.

2013 — Matthew Stafford’s 1-yard lunge over a pile of linemen with 12 seconds left and Calvin Johnson’s 329 yards receiving lift the Detroit Lions to a 31-30 comeback win over the Dallas Cowboys. Stafford throws a 22-yard pass to Johnson, who had the second-most yards receiving in NFL history, to set up his winning score.

2013 — Serena Williams ends her best season in style, rallying past Li Na 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 for her second straight WTA Championship and 11th title of the year.

2015 — Alex Gordon hits a tying home run with one out in the ninth inning, Eric Hosmer hits a sacrifice fly against Bartolo Colon in the 14th and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 5-4 in the longest opener in World Series history.

2015 — American soccer star Abby Wambach announces her retirement.

2020 — Dodgers beat Tampa Bay Rays in Game 6 at Globe Life Field, Arlington Texas to win their first World Series title in 32 years.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

The Ballon d’Or is football’s most prestigious individual honour. On Monday, Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane became the first Englishman to win it since Michael Owen in 2001. But his victory also raises a fundamental question about the award: How can individual excellence be fairly assessed in a team sport?

For much of the past two decades, that question has been overshadowed by the extraordinary rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. From 2008 to 2017, one or the other won the Ballon d’Or every year, turning the annual award into a contest between the two superstars. Messi eventually accumulated a record eight trophies and Ronaldo five, together accounting for 13 of the 17 awards presented between 2008 and 2025.

Their rivalry generated unprecedented excitement around an award first presented in 1956, when England’s “wizard of the dribble”, Sir Stanley Matthews, became its inaugural winner. But it also pushed several important questions into the background. Has the growing commercialisation of the Ballon d’Or distracted from its purpose? Why does it overwhelmingly reward attacking players? And why does a supposedly global award remain so heavily focused on European football?

The commercialisation of the Ballon d’Or reflects the transformation of football into a global entertainment industry, in which individual players have become brands in their own right.

“The whole dynamic of the Ballon d’Or has changed because the dynamic of the sports and entertainment industry has changed with the way individual athletes are marketed,” Steve Martin, founding partner of MSQ Sport + Entertainment, formerly of M&C Saatchi, told The Athletic.

“They’ve found a way as an individual athlete or player to build their own profile and their own fanbase, as opposed to relying on their clubs. They control their own destiny, and they market themselves.”

Former Switzerland defender Ramon Vega has been more critical of this development. “The commercialisation and monetisation of this award is not taking it in the right direction,” he told the writer.

The Ballon d’Or has undoubtedly become a bigger spectacle, but the attention surrounding the award should not obscure the question of what constitutes individual excellence. And commercialisation is not its only problem. The award has also long favoured players in attack over those in other positions.

A goalkeeper’s or defender’s performance is as important as that of midfielders and strikers, in a sport where a team is supposed to be as great as the sum of its parts. Yet Russia’s Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have won the award, in 1963, while Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro was the last defender to do so, in 2006, after captaining his country to World Cup victory. Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer were among the few other defenders to have received the honour.

“Goalkeepers and defenders are also part of the spectacle. Attackers don’t just play amongst themselves,” Cannavaro told France Football after winning the award in 2006. “If a goalkeeper has saved 15 or so matches in a year, it’s only fair to highlight him.”

But the Italian’s observations have done little to change the pervasive bias of voters for the award, as strikers and midfielders on the European club and national team stage remain the yardstick for measuring global excellence.

That focus on European football points to another longstanding weakness of the Ballon d’Or: Its failure to adequately recognise outstanding players from elsewhere in the world.

For nearly four decades after the award was established, only European players were eligible to win it. This was a great injustice to exceptional footballers from other continents, even those competing in Europe’s leading leagues. The late Diego Maradona was perhaps the most notable victim of this exclusion.

The restriction was finally lifted in 1995, allowing players of any nationality at European clubs to compete for the prize. It took another 12 years, until 2007, for the award to be opened to players competing anywhere in the world.

It could be argued that when the award began, the club and national team game outside Europe was beyond the close observation and expert knowledge of the Ballon d’Or selectors. But that argument no longer holds water. Knowledge of the global game has grown exponentially, yet recognition of excellence beyond Europe’s leading competitions remains limited.

When Liberia’s George Weah became the first non-European player to win the Ballon d’Or in 1995, following outstanding performances for Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, his victory was expected to open the door for exceptional players from parts of the footballing world that had long been denied recognition.

But 31 years on, the former president of Liberia remains the only person outside Europe and South America to have won it.

“When I started playing football, I never thought I would ever win the Ballon d’Or and emerge as the best player in the world. I just had a passion for the game and I worked hard. Every day. I would rather train than eat or sleep,” Weah told the writer in Monrovia.

“I am surprised that no other African player has won the award since I did so. I think there have been others that deserve to win. But it is down to those who select the winners.”

Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o, the former Barcelona and Inter striker, now president of his country’s football federation, is one person with a right to feel aggrieved that he didn’t win the award before retiring in 2019.

“It’s difficult to understand how Samuel Eto’o never won the Ballon d’Or with the impressive career he had,” Jose Mourinho, who managed Eto’o at Inter, said in a 2019 interview with Cameroon Radio.

“He played in three Champions League finals, winning two with Barcelona and scoring in both finals. He also won one Champions League at Inter and won many league titles. He was the best striker in the world for several years, and I think he deserved a Ballon d’Or, but these are things out of our control.”

Eto’o’s omission, like Weah’s continued status as the only African winner, raises questions about how the award’s selectors and voters assess the achievements of players from outside football’s traditional European and South American powerhouses.

The Ballon d’Or already has an international voting panel, with journalists from 100 countries selecting the winner from a shortlist of 30 players. But geographical representation among voters does not necessarily translate into recognition of the world’s footballing talent.

France Football, the award’s organisers, should ensure that the process of selecting nominees and winners draws on a genuinely global understanding of the game and gives due recognition to exceptional players, regardless of nationality or where they compete.

The award must also address its other shortcomings. Football is a team sport in which goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers all contribute to success, and individual recognition should reflect that. Nor should the growing commercial appeal of the Ballon d’Or distract from the footballing achievements it was created to honour.

The Ballon d’Or should be a celebration of individual excellence across all positions and all continents, not an award dominated by football’s biggest stars and Europe’s leading competitions. Only then can it truly claim to recognise the best footballer in the world.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

A HUGE new airport is coming to Turkey and it will be built directly on the sea.

The new airport in the Black Sea province of Trabzon in Turkey will be the country’s third airport built on the sea and is set to cost £732million.

The airport will eventually have a 3,000 metre runway that will be 45 metres wide, meaning it will be able to handle larger planes.

There will also be a taxiway next to the runway of the same width and length.

As for the terminal, it is set to span 110,000-square-metres and will be able to handle up to 10million passengers a year.

There will also be a new air traffic control tower.

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Currently, the airport has one runway that is 2,640 metres long and handles around three million passengers a year.

In order to build the new airport, more than 100million tonnes of ‘fill’ will need to be dumped into the Black Sea to create the airport.

A 6,000 metre breakwater will also need to be built.

Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that the current runway is not suitable for the growing passenger numbers at the airport.

According to Daily Sabah, Uralogu added: “We will give Trabzon a new, higher-capacity, modern airport that meets international standards.”

The airport is set to be completed by the early 2030s.

The city of Trabzon is home to around one million people and is known for its cliffside monasteries as well as rolling green hills.

Zoe Ball’s dad Johnny has accused the BBC of ‘ageism’ following her exit from Radio 2. She left the Breakfast Show after six years and returned later in a different slot but left after seven months

Zoe Ball’s dad Johnny has accused the BBC of ‘ageism’ after his daughter’s exit from Radio 2.

The radio star and presenter left the station’s Breakfast Show after nearly six years at the helm. At the time, she was believed to be earning £950,000. Following her exit from the show, she returned in a different slot.

She went on to present an afternoon Saturday slot in May 2025 but after seven months, she handed the show over to Emma Willis but continued to present special shows for the broadcaster.

Zoe’s dad Johnny – who also worked for the BBC – has now claimed that Zoe’s age had an impact on her exit, he shared: “I did Play School for 17 years, I wrote nearly all of Play Away then I did Think Of A Number and Think Again.

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“I loved every minute of it. But what happens when you are 50 at the BBC? Gone! Zoe was 54. Gone! You cannot believe it because we gave so much to the BBC.”

The Mirror has contacted the BBC for comment.

Zoe has also talked openly about how she missed out on the Strictly role and how it impacted her thoughts about work. It was later confirmed Emma Willis, Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe as the new host.

Speaking at the Dorchester Literary Event, Johnny gave his verdict on the new presenters, adding: “Josh is not a Bruce Forsyth. He is a lovely bloke and I have met him a couple of times but he is not a domineering comedian as some comedians like Bruce Forsyth were. When I did Strictly, and I only did three shows.

“On each show I gave Brucie a joke and he used them and he said to me ‘I have got a writer here and he does b****r all so thanks very much’. And he said to me ‘You should never have gone out’ but that’s another story.”

Zoe had previously shared how she had to think about work once she realised she didn’t bag the Strictly role.

Speaking about her preparations for the “scary” next chapter of her career, she said: “I’m so excited. You know how it’s been, I lost my mum and I was like, ‘I want to take some time to be there for my girl’ because I’ve always worked and never been around.

“And, as I’ve sort of said on the podcast actually, I’ve been around and she’s a bit like, ‘What are you still doing here?’ And she’s finished her GCSEs now, she’s loving her freedom and I think also when the Strictly thing didn’t happen as well, I was a bit like, ‘Right, what am I going to do?’ I mean that was a long shot but having not worked, you suddenly start thinking, ‘Okay yeah I do need to go to work.'”

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A NIGHT away in the UK can get expensive surprisingly quickly, once you’ve factored in fuel, dinner, drinks and expensive hotels.

So, I’ve been looking at what happens if you stick a flight on either end and head somewhere with a bit more va-va-voom – and found it could actually be CHEAPER.

One night away isn’t just a crazy idea – our booking figures at On The Beach show people are already choosing to head away for just one night, spending an average of around £200pp on flights and a hotel.

A quick change of scenery, dinner somewhere different and a night away from the usual routine – there’s a lot to like about that!

But you can actually do it for considerably less than that average; I’ve found seven one-night getaways from £75pp, including Dublin, Paris and the Algarve, but as you’d expect, the secret is in the flight times.

Leave in the morning and fly back the following evening, and one night away can give you a decent chunk of two days to explore – here’s how I’d do it.

1. Dublin one-nighter from £100pp

Dublin makes a very convincing case for the one-night holiday: good pubs, plenty to wander around and an evening that can start with “just the one” and develop its own itinerary from there.

The one-night wonder-deal I found is at easyHotel Dublin City Centre in Smithfield, a simple base for a trip where the city is the main attraction.

And at £100pp for flights and a night away, I can happily live without a pillow menu.

You leave Stansted at 6:35am on November 30, landing at 7:55am, then the flight home leaves Dublin at 8:35pm the following day.

I’d start day one with breakfast, then have a walk along the Liffey and across the Ha’penny Bridge.

Spend the afternoon exploring the centre, with a look around Grafton Street and a coffee stop whenever the early start catches up with you.

That evening, book somewhere for dinner, then find a pub with live music or wander through Temple Bar if you fancy it, but don’t feel obliged to spend the entire evening there.

After a night’s sleep, get a proper breakfast and take your time over the bits you missed with some more shops and a lazy lunch – before getting back in time for own bed.

2. Belfast one-nighter from £75pp

Seventy-five quid each for flights and a hotel – that’s just £150 for two people to have an actual night away, which is a very pleasing place to start before you’ve even chosen where to eat.

The deal I found is at The 1852, which has an on-site restaurant and two bars – handy if the plan for the first drink is simply “as soon as we’ve put our bags down”.

You fly from Manchester at 6:15am on November 18, arriving at 7:15am, then the return leaves Belfast at 5:20pm the next day.

I’d spend the first day getting a feel for the city centre, taking in City Hall and stopping for lunch before having a look around the Cathedral Quarter.

Come back here for dinner and drinks too.

The next morning, have breakfast and head towards Queen’s University for a wander around the university area.

Or, if you fancy something indoors, make the Ulster Museum your main stop.

Finish with lunch and one last Guinness before it’s time to head home.

3. Albufeira one-nighter from £80pp

This is the one that made me check the price twice.

A night in the Algarve, including flights, for £80pp – just £160 for two of you to go and have dinner and a night out in Portugal. Very, very tempting.

The deal I found is at Paladim & Alagoamar on a Self Catering basis, giving you the option to sort breakfast yourself.

The flight leaves London Stansted at 9:35am on November 29 and lands in Faro at 12:25pm, before you fly home at 7:15pm on November 30.

I’d keep the first afternoon simple: have a wander around Albufeira’s old town, make your way down towards the beach and stop for a late lunch or a drink with a view, before getting ready for dinner out together.

The following morning, have breakfast and head out for another seaside walk before finding somewhere for lunch.

It’s late November, so I’d make the trip about the coast, the food and the change of scenery – any sunbathing weather is a bonus rather than the thing the entire holiday depends on.

But Albufeira is still busy, with a decent amount of sunshine and looks gorgeous around this time of year.

4. Paris one-nighter from £125pp

“I’ve booked us a night in Paris” is a fairly efficient way of making a date night sound like you’ve put some serious effort in – but this deal is just £125 each, so won’t break the bank.

The deal I found is at hotelF1 Paris Porte de Montreuil, a straightforward budget base.

You leave Birmingham at 5:55am on November 15 and land at Paris Beauvais at 08:05am, with the return departing at 4:45pm the next day, getting you back for teatime.

I’d build the first day around a walk along the Seine, a look at the sights and a good lunch.

Choose one landmark you really want to see, rather than trying to collect the entire city before dinner.

Then spend the evening over a meal and a wander through Paris after dark – that’s plenty of romance for one day.

After a night’s sleep, find a café for coffee and breakfast, then have a final look around before heading home.

I’d keep the second morning nice and easy – there’s no need to make the last memory of your romantic break a furious speed-walk.

5. Amsterdam one-nighter from £135pp

Amsterdam is a good choice for a break where you don’t need to book something every hour, because this is the perfect place for wandering the streets and accidentally finding something unexpected to do.

The deal I found is at New West Inn in Nieuw-West – it’s a little out from the centre but has an on-site pizza corner, handy for a first or last meal in the city.

The flights give you plenty to work with: leave London Gatwick at 6am on November 30 and land at 8:25am, then fly home at 9:25pm the next day, getting back before 10pm.

One hotel night, with room to enjoy both days.

I’d spend day one exploring the canals, browsing the independent shops around the Nine Streets and stopping for lunch.

In the afternoon, carry on into the Jordaan, then find somewhere for dinner and settle into the evening – a couple of good food stops and a few miles of canal-side strolling make a very lovely first day.

The next morning, choose one bigger activity: a canal cruise or a museum you’ve been wanting to visit.

Book ahead where needed, then leave yourself time for a late lunch and another wander before the flight home.

6. Benidorm one-nighter from £120pp

A one-night Benidorm trip sounds like the kind of suggestion someone makes three pints into a Friday (speaking from experience).

But at £120pp including flights and a hotel, it actually deserves a sober second look.

The deal I found is at Benidorm City Olympia in the Old Town, with two beaches within walking distance and, for a short trip, having things you want to do close to your hotel is a big plus.

You leave Manchester at 7am on November 26 and arrive in Alicante at 10:50am, with the flight home leaving at 11pm the next day (landing around 1am on November 28) so loads of time to explore on your second day.

Worth remembering when you’re deciding what time to set the alarm the following morning.

I’d spend the first afternoon exploring the Old Town, stopping for tapas and taking a walk along the seafront.

Then get ready for the evening and take your pick of somewhere lively or a longer, quieter dinner – if you’ve ever been, you’ll know that Benidorm can accommodate both with ease.

After breakfast the next day, head out for another promenade walk, a coffee and a leisurely lunch or, if the weather‘s kind, have some time by the beach.

7. Copenhagen one-nighter from £145pp

Copenhagen sounds pretty far away, right? Well, with a flight time under two hours it’s one of the most logical one-nighters on this list.

The deal I found is at a&o Copenhagen Norrebro, a decent base with a bar on site and room upgrades available if you wanted to splash out a little more.

You leave Stansted at 8:15am on November 22 and land at 11am, then the return departs Copenhagen at 8:40pm the following day, giving you plenty of the second day to enjoy.

I’d start with lunch and an afternoon exploring the centre, including a wander around Nyhavn’s waterfront.

Have a look around the shops, stop for coffee and make dinner your main evening plan – you don’t need to fit a second city break in after dessert.

The next morning, find a bakery and give breakfast the attention it deserves.

Then spend some time around Norrebro’s independent shops and cafés, or take a walk through the King’s Garden by Rosenborg Castle.

I’d then finish up with lunch and one final coffee before heading home.