case

Aug. 4 (Asia Today) — More than half of the unresolved cases at South Korea’s anti-corruption agency have been pending for more than three months, raising concerns that chronic understaffing is undermining its ability to investigate alleged crimes involving senior government officials.

Data submitted by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials to People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook showed that 646 of its 1,243 unresolved cases had been pending for more than three months as of July 22.

The figure represented 52% of the agency’s unresolved caseload. The agency generally classifies cases pending for more than three months as long-running investigations.

The data showed that 597 cases had been pending for three months or less. An additional 252 cases had been pending for more than three months but less than six months, while 248 had been unresolved for six months to less than a year.

Another 146 cases had remained unresolved for at least one year.

The agency attributed the backlog primarily to a continuing increase in criminal complaints and accusations, along with a chronic shortage of personnel.

Under the law establishing the agency, it may employ 25 prosecutors, including its chief and deputy chief. It currently has 23 prosecutors, meaning it has not filled even its legally authorized staffing level.

The agency operates four investigative divisions, but only 18 prosecutors, including four division chiefs, are assigned directly to investigative work. Based on the total backlog, that is equivalent to more than 300 unresolved cases for each division.

The agency was launched in 2021 under the administration of former President Moon Jae-in to investigate alleged abuse of authority, bribery, violations of political funding laws and other crimes involving senior public officials and their family members.

Its creation was intended to strengthen oversight of powerful officials and root out corruption in government. Staffing shortages, however, have repeatedly been cited as a major limitation on the agency’s operations.

Legal experts said a prolonged backlog could damage public confidence not only in the agency’s investigative capabilities but also in the institution itself.

Cases involving high-ranking officials frequently involve complex facts, extensive questioning of witnesses and time-consuming efforts to obtain evidence. Excessive delays, however, can weaken the effectiveness of an investigation.

Concerns about South Korea’s overall ability to process criminal cases are also likely to increase as prosecutors face a growing number of unresolved investigations while long-pending cases accumulate at the anti-corruption agency.

“The number of long-running cases has increased because of the continuing rise in criminal complaints and accusations and the chronic shortage of personnel,” an agency official said.

“All members of the agency are making every effort to process cases promptly,” the official said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260803010000486

Four years ago, Knott’s Berry Farm was faced with a decision.

Its 1978 ride Montezooma’s Revenge was the first-ever coaster built with a flywheel launch system — a large, highly visible, circular drum-like mechanism with a cable attached to it — and an important piece of the theme park’s history.

But the coaster was in need of refurbishment and they don’t make things like they used to. The flywheel design, once an advanced piece of machinery that allowed Montezooma’s to go from zero to 55 mph in less than five seconds, was no longer in vogue. Replacement parts weren’t going to be easy to come by, if possible at all.

So would they attempt to reimagine Montezooma’s Revenge, or use its footprint for another attraction?

“Nobody else really attempted a full-speed, ground-level launch until later in the ‘90s,” says Jeremy Thompson, who writes coaster analysis on his website Roller Coaster Philosophy and worked for a decade at theme park design firm Thinkwell. “It was way ahead of its time.”

It would have been a shame, roller coaster historians argue, to lose Montezooma’s Revenge. Thankfully, Knott’s Berry Farm agreed, and after four years and a $20-million investment, Montezooma’s, now rebranded as Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress, is set to soft open in the coming days. A grand opening media event, postponed from last month, is slated for Aug. 14.

The entrance to the newly remodeled Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress.

(Jess Boyer / Knott’s Berry Farm)

“We thought quite a bit about, ‘If we take this out, what would we put in there?’” says Knott’s Berry Farm Park President Raffi Kaprelyan. “But the answer we always came back to was, ‘Why would you do that?’ This is a perfectly unique ride.”

He adds: “An iconic ride like this, you want to maintain as long as possible.”

The coaster was planned to be named Loco Motion, but it was rebranded as Montezooma’s Revenge after a popular band with the same name that would regularly perform at the park, says Nicholas Laschkewitsch, a coaster historian and documentary producer with nonprofit American Coaster Enthusiasts. At the time of its opening, it was the tallest roller coaster in the world, thanks to 148-foot spikes. It’s also the oldest looping shuttle coaster in its original location, a shuttle coaster being a ride without a complete circuit, meaning here guests are propelled out of the launch station in a linear path through a loop and then backward through the whole course.

The loop on Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress.

(Jess Boyer / Knott’s Berry Farm)

”A shuttle coaster is certainly not as novel as it once was,” says Laschkewitsch, who also works as a designer at experiential art firm Meow Wolf. “But I think it’s very much a part of the DNA of Knott’s Berry Farm. It’s most people’s first looping coaster who grew up in Southern California. They deserve a lot of credit for investing in [a type of] ride a lot of other parks have thrown out.”

Designed by coaster mastermind Anton Schwarzkopf, Laschkewitsch says there’s only one remaining Schwarzkopf-created flywheel coaster using its original launch system in existence, and it’s in Japan at Nagashima Spa Land. Schwarzkopf was also behind the Great American Revolution at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which opened in 1976 as the world’s first modern vertical looping roller coaster.

“He was a genius as far as how to bank track, and how to physically manufacture track,” Laschkewitsch says. “His rides were as smooth as glass. The fact that he was able to do this without computer technology is incredible.”

The Knott family rides Montezooma’s Revenge on its opening day in 1978.

(Knott’s Berry Farm)

So what’s changed in the refurbishment? Montezooma’s has been remade with new cars, enhanced thematic touches lightly inspired by Maya designs, and boasts both a brand new track as well as a refreshed launch system. It now blasts out of the station with electromagnetic propulsion, technology, says Thompson, that is found on virtually all modern launch coasters (see Disney California Adventure’s IncrediCoaster, which also jolts from zero to 55 mph in five seconds).

That means there will be a difference in “feel” at the launch. Thompson compares it to riding in a modern electric vehicle versus, say, a 1970s hot rod. “You’re losing something there,” he says.

Namely the instantaneous tension, says Laschkewitsch, which will now be smoothed out. “There’s just something special about how that flywheel launch really kicked you in the face,” he says.

A look at the reimaged Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress.

(Jess Boyer / Knott’s Berry Farm)

The coaster in its initial form lasted just 38 seconds. That won’t necessarily change with Montezooma: The Forbidden Fortress, but Kaprelyan says the new ride system will allow the park to offer different ride profiles. The electromagnetic track, for instance, can jolt guests forward, and then tease them by reversing course, lending a linear coaster a sense of surprise.

Those changes are coming down the road, but probably not until the ride has been open for about a year. “The ride will maybe take you up to the front a little bit, and then shoot you back up the hill, and then shoot you forward again,” Kaprelyan says. “There will be different sequences.”

And overall just a different tone. When all is working properly, the coaster will launch through a haze of fog effects. And it’s blessedly no longer associated with an unsavory name that potentially had some negative cultural implications. Understandable, and the right call says Thompson, but “it kind of loses that zany ‘70s humor.” Prepare to hear fewer potty jokes at Knott’s Berry Farm.

This week in SoCal theme parks

A dementor puppet moves through the train in “Harry Potter: A Hogwarts Express Adventure.”

(David Fouts / For The Times )

• ‘Fast & Furious’ coaster watch, 2026. The big theme park story last week was the unexpected soft launch of Universal Studios Hollywood’s Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift. The ride is operating in “technical rehearsals,” meaning it doesn’t yet have a formal opening date. Think of it as a final testing phase. Wait times have often stretched beyond two and a half hours, with some reporting lines closer to four hours. Heads-up, though, if you’re thinking of heading to the park this week, as according to notices given to park neighbors in Toluca Lake, the coaster is not expected to be welcoming guests Tuesday through Friday.
• Take a magical train ride. The Southern California Railway Museum in Riverside County is now allowing guests to experience history with a bit of mysticism, as it has temporarily turned into Platform 9 3⁄4 to host “Harry Potter: A Hogwarts Express Adventure.” A one-hour theatrical experience, expect wands, house sorting and, instead of a drink cart, a larger-than-life demonic puppet. Like all things Potter in 2026, the event has attracted some detractors due to J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans rhetoric and political funding. The Times’ Emily Tarinelli has the details.
• Changes afoot at Knott’s Soak City. The Orange County water park is welcoming two brand new attractions next year that will be replacing the current Shore Break slide complex. Look out for Coral Craze, a saucer-like attraction that boasts five riders per slide and is designed to mimic a ski course. Joining it will be Kelp Kraze, also a five-person experience, but this one more of a raft-like slide.
• The ‘Prince of Darkness,’ resurrected. Universal Studios Hollywood has rounded out its haunted house lineup for Halloween Horror Nights with a maze dedicated to the late Ozzy Osbourne. Dubbed Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness, the haunt will focus on bringing to life imagery from Osbourne’s solo career. The park has previously created a house inspired by the work of Osbourne’s Black Sabbath. Halloween Horror Nights begins Sept. 3.
• ‘It,’ reimagined. Inglewood’s Cosm is embracing horror for its next all-encompassing, wrap-around production. The venue, which boasts a high-definition spherical screen that stretches above, below and ever-so-slightly behind viewers, will on Aug. 28 begin showing 2017’s “It,” the Andrés Muschietti film based on the novel by Stephen King. Like past Cosm screenings, the venue will create CGI imagery to complement the core film.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

My least favorite theme park topic to cover is price increases, as parks are already an investment to visit. Yet the Disneyland Resort keeps making affordability a story. Even more food price hikes have hit the resort, after an earlier round just a couple weeks ago. I’m sad to say they’re increasingly egregious, including, as Disney Food Blog noticed, a $3 increase to $31 on a so-so cheeseburger at Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar. Sigh.

There’s head-scratching high prices throughout the resort, including a bump on a relatively small square of churro toffee, which now sells for nearly $10. It’s tasty, but I’m here to tell you it’s not worth it. I stopped buying the delectable when it topped $8, as it was no longer a respectable value at that price point. Instead, support a local bakery.

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing that information provided since the indictment of David Hearn shows that the damage was the result of a “flawed installation by the contractor” as well as “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.”

“Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt,” said the filing from U.S. Atty. Jeanine Pirro.

Hearn’s lawyers said in a statement that the case against him should never have been brought.

“Its dismissal today does not erase the abuse of government power in arresting and charging a patriotic American who did nothing wrong. The government’s approach was ready, fire, aim. The administration owes Mr. Hearn an apology,” the lawyers said.

Hearn pleaded not guilty earlier this month to one felony count of property destruction and has a trial scheduled to start Sept. 28 in D.C. Superior Court. The charge, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years upon conviction, accuses Hearn of causing at least $1,000 in damage to the pool.

Hearn told the Associated Press he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a bike ride on June 19. He said he reached in to examine the pool’s newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool, but said he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

Hearn, 67, of Bethesda, Md., competed in three Summer Olympics, earning his best finish, ninth, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says on its website.

He and his supporters have said the prosecution is a politically motivated attempt by the Trump administration to deflect blame and scapegoat others.

Tucker writes for the Associated Press.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dealt another blow to the Trump administration’s mass deportation project Thursday, ruling alongside the 7th Circuit that most immigrants cannot be held without bond while fighting to remain in the U.S.

The rulings will apply to jurisdictions that stretch across much of the southern border, affecting states where large numbers of immigrant detainees are held in federal custody. Unless immigrants are caught while crossing the border or soon after, they will now be entitled to a bond hearing, where a judge will decide whether there is enough evidence to justify their indefinite detention.

The twin decisions come little more than a year after the Department of Homeland Security ordered “mandatory detention” for all immigrants picked up by its agents — a policy that had previously only applied to those caught at the border.

The policy shift sowed chaos in federal courts, as thousands of immigrants began suing for bond hearings that had long been automatic. California’s district judges were overrun with emergency petitions for writs of habeas corpus, a legal maneuver rarely used outside death row appeals.

“Versions of this case have played out in federal courts across the country,” Judge Daniel A. Bress wrote for the 9th Circuit on Thursday. “The vast majority of the district courts to confront the issue have concluded that [mandatory detention] is limited to the border.”

Those district court battles have grown increasingly heated as caseloads have swelled.

This spring, Eastern District of California Chief Judge Troy Nunley took the rare step of sanctioning a government lawyer over failing to tell the court if and when a man he’d ordered released had actually gone free.

The attorney told Nunley he was drowning in nearly identical cases and had fallen behind with the paperwork. In an interview, Nunley said he and other judges were “up all night” ruling on emergency petitions and ensuring those orders were followed.

The sanction was later transferred from the lawyer to the U.S. attorney’s office, though Nunley warned that he would issue more if he didn’t see proof immigrants had been set free as ordered.

“A pattern of unchecked and unaddressed mistakes in complying with court orders will be viewed as a deliberate and strategic choice,” he wrote in his order.

The majority of appellate courts have now also sided against the administration. As of Thursday, two circuits have affirmed the government’s position and six opposed it, teeing up what experts call an inevitable Supreme Court challenge.

Both of Thursday’s decisions invoked the high court’s future stake in the case. The 9th Circuit wagered that only two justices were likely to side with the administration, while the 7th merely implored the high court to weigh in.

“At this point, only the Supreme Court can bring uniformity and settle this question once and for all. I anticipate that it will do so soon,” Judge Diane S. Sykes wrote in her dissent.

“We share the dissent’s hope that the Supreme Court will settle this matter,” Judge Joshua P. Kolar wrote for the majority.

Sources close to Mudryk say he is confident of returning to his best form, citing the work he has put in to maintain his fitness during 20 months on the sidelines.

They also point to the support Chelsea have provided throughout the process, while adhering to the restrictions imposed by his suspension and respecting the legal proceedings.

The Ukrainian received backing from the club from afar, while also being given the space to navigate what those close to him describe as an extremely difficult period.

Under the terms of the suspension, Mudryk was unable to access Chelsea‘s training ground or work with club staff. His only known public interaction with members of the first-team squad came at the Conference League final celebrations in May 2025.

To maintain his fitness, Mudryk paid for private coaching and hired goalkeepers for individual sessions while using a pitch at non-league club Uxbridge FC in London. He also organised a training camp in Austria, with videos from those sessions showing him scoring goals and taking part in attacking drills.

However, those close to Mudryk acknowledge there is no substitute for training and competing alongside elite players on a daily basis. Mudryk is understood to be realistic about the challenge ahead, but believes he can overcome it.

Chelsea are prepared to provide a pathway back into professional football. Whether that involves reintegration into the first team, a loan move – potentially involving sister club Strasbourg – or a permanent transfer remains to be seen.

Whatever the outcome, the resolution of the case represents a significant moment for Mudryk. He now has the opportunity to resume his career and determine what the next chapter looks like.

Having joined Chelsea in one of the most closely watched transfer sagas of 2023, his story at Stamford Bridge is not over yet.

WASHINGTON — President Trump and the Justice Department are asking the Supreme Court to toss an $83 million defamation verdict won by writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of sexual assault, saying he can’t be sued for comments he made while he was president.

It’s the second time Trump has asked the justices to nix damages awarded by a jury to Carroll, a longtime advice columnist and former TV talk show host. The Supreme Court refused in June to hear his appeal of another verdict, for $5 million, that found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

The latest case centers on comments Trump made during his first term as president. The Justice Department wants to invoke the Westfall Act, which shields government employees from being sued for doing their jobs.

“Absent this Court’s intervention, the sitting President is facing nearly a hundred million dollars of personal liability for conduct that was well within the scope of his federal office,” federal attorneys wrote. “That alone deserves this Court’s attention.”

The appeal was filed electronically and is expected to be formally docketed with the court Wednesday.

Trump’s lawyers, meanwhile, argued that an appeals court “engaged in procedural contortions” to avoid addressing Trump’s claims that presidential immunity protects him from the $83 million award because he made the statements in question in 2019 while he was president.

The lawyers argued that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled in a manner that “cries out for this Court’s review in this unprecedented case” and called the damages “grossly excessive.”

“This is the first case in our nation’s history in which a court has imposed damages liability on a president for his conduct in office,” the lawyers wrote.

Carroll’s lawyers have declined to comment on the latest Trump filing.

Trump has long argued he cannot be sued over comments he made about Carroll during his first term where he disavowed knowing her and attacked her motivations for going public with her story in a recent memoir. He’s also asking the Supreme Court justices to reconsider their rejection of his appeal in the $5 million verdict.

The appeal comes about two years after the Supreme Court granted Trump broad immunity from criminal prosecution as a former president.

Carroll testified twice before New York juries that Trump sexually assaulted her in spring 1996 in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury retailer across the street from Trump Tower. She first went public with the claims in a 2019 memoir.

She sued Trump for defamation after he accused her of making up the allegation to help book sales, adding that he’d never met her and “she’s not my type.” He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

A Manhattan jury awarded her $83 million in damages in January 2024. Lower courts have so far rejected Trump’s appeals to overturn the verdict, though the New York-based appeals court split over the decision and agreed to delay that payout until the Supreme Court weighs in.

In 2023, another jury said Carroll was entitled to $5 million after concluding that Trump had subjected her to sexual abuse in the department store encounter and for defamation for remarks he had made after his first term ended. That judgment has been paid.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Carroll has done.

Whitehurst and Neumeister write for the Associated Press. Neumeister reported from New York.

Halfway through a ride on Universal Studio Hollywood’s new coaster, I didn’t know whether to laugh or scream.

The track turned, angled so my car was completely vertical to the ground, a cliff below me. And then my ride vehicle ever so slightly started to twist, to drift as if banking around a tight curve in a video game. Straight down from me was rocky terrain, but if I looked up and beyond the tracks, I had perhaps the best view of the Valley I’ve ever seen.

Granted, it was fleeting. But I was alternately in awe and fearful of what Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift was presenting before me. I held onto my lap bar, gripping it tighter as I lifted out of my seat, and I couldn’t help but smile at my predicament. I was in a mini, expertly re-created Toyota Supra, hanging over a bluff. I was soaring, the sensation of a car careening off a canyon, only here, my life, thankfully, wasn’t at risk. And I didn’t want it to end.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is intense, yes, but more important, it’s a delight. It’s a roller coaster not just full of thrills but of surprises, of wondering where and when a coaster vehicle will be spin, careen or accelerate. Every turn, twist, flip will leave you guessing. And it’s the smoothest coaster I’ve ever been on, a feeling that lends it a sense of approachability not typically found in rides of this speed and unpredictability.

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It is also a ride that will forever change the tone and tenor of Universal Studios Hollywood, a destination that just two decades ago was largely a behind-the-scenes showcase dedicated to movie-making magic. No more. Universal Studios Hollywood is one of the foremost theme parks in the nation, home to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World and now one of the strongest thrill rides in Southern California, changes that haven’t always been met with approval by the park’s neighboring Toluca Lake residents.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift surprise-opened to guests Monday afternoon. The ride is in technical rehearsals, a soft opening, more or less. That means it’s still in a testing phase and may not always be running. If getting on the coaster is a priority for you, it’s best to wait until Universal gives it a grand opening.

A look at Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift careening over the park’s escalators.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

The coaster — designed by Universal, manufactured by Intamin — has long been circled as the most important theme park attraction of 2026, a feat of engineering nestled on a steep hill between the park’s upper and lower lots that was 10 years in the making. Boasting 4,100 feet of track, two towering inverted loops as well as a pretzel loop and the ability to reach 72 mph through four individual launches, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is full of unique attributes, including its ability to go above and under the park’s famed escalators.

But those not attuned to coaster speak need not be overwhelmed. Know only that at times you’re upside down, at times you’re on your side, some moments you’re facing the ground, others you’re glancing at the horizon, and then you may suddenly be flipped backward. And before you have time to worry about it, you’ll be rocketing forward.

The four cars, all expertly themed to storied vehicles from the film franchise in which the coaster takes its name, can rotate 360 degrees. The choreography is sudden, but not jolting and never gratuitous. I’ve gotten motion-sick on other coasters that can rotate, ones specifically in which designers have opted to move the vehicles in time to a soundtrack, but here, the movement is cleverly attuned to the track. If we spike upward at an angle, the cars twirl as if taking off in flight. A dive downward, and we may hear braking noises as the cars lock in a side-facing position. In short, the vehicles feel forever aligned with the designed course. I rode Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift twice with no issues.

Unversal Studios’ Hollywood’s Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift features expertly created mini cars.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

And those cars! They are not small. I’m 6-foot-2 and more than 200 pounds and I had ample leg room. And I know those bigger than I am have had no issues riding this new coaster, which seats four per vehicle. Modern coasters aren’t always known for their accessibility, but Universal has created a ride that should be accommodating for many. The ampleness of the cars, coupled with the smoothness of the track, allows Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift, I believe, to alternately appease those seeking high thrills while not freaking out those who may be more coaster cautious. The goal here is fun, not to terrify.

Universal has crafted some spectacular coasters in recent years: Florida’s Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Stardust Racers and Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, among them. Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is not just a worthy addition to that portfolio, but a ride that many, I bet, will declare their favorite. Universal Creative, the division of the company responsible for theme park experiences, and especially the Universal Studios Hollywood team led by Jon Corfino, have accomplished what, just 10 years ago, would have been unthinkable. A high-speed outdoor coaster, in a landlocked studio tour park? Far-fetched, at best.

But instead, it’s a reminder that theme parks are where we go to imagine the impossible.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride typically comes out every Tuesday, but we occasionally publish special editions (like this one!) when we have breaking theme park news. Make sure you’ve signed up to be the first to know.

Universal Studios Hollywood surprise-opened its flashy new high-speed roller coaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift on Monday. After much hype and anticipation — and even some unfounded rumors that the coaster would not hit its promised summer launch — Hollywood Drift is at last ready for its close-up.

Billed as one of the most intense roller coasters in Universal Studios’ global ride portfolio, Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift can reach speeds of 72 mph while taking guests through multiple inversions in vehicles that can rotate 360 degrees. It is the fastest coaster that Universal Creative, the division of the company responsible for theme park experiences, has designed.

There is some fine print.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift has still not announced its official grand opening. The ride is operating in what Universal is calling “technical rehearsals.” Think of this as a soft opening.

What that means: Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is not guaranteed to be running if you visit the park. It’s still, for all intents and purposes, in a testing phase, and can be closed down at any time. If you’re thinking about rushing to the park to be one of its first riders, proceed with caution. Until Universal gives the coaster a proper opening — and expect some sort of gala to go with it — Hollywood Drift may not be fully operational.

Technical rehearsals help ensure that when a ride does receive a formal opening, it can operate, in theory, without any issues or prolonged downtime. My advice: Visiting a theme park is an investment, and if experiencing Hollywood Drift is vital to your day at Universal Studios, it would be safest to wait until the coaster gets its date. At this point, it should be a matter of weeks, if not days.

A view of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift when it was still in testing mode.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

But I certainly understand that theme park FOMO.

Hollywood Drift has long been circled as the most important theme park attraction opening in North America in 2026. The ride has been about 10 years in the making, and has many unique attributes. Not the least of which is its location, as the coaster is built on a steep hill between the park’s upper and lower lots, meaning at times it will go over and under its famed escalators.

“It wouldn’t be your first choice,” says Jon Corfino, Universal Studios Hollywood’s lead creative, of the topography. “But in a way, it makes it more dynamic that we were able to do it.”

Meanwhile, the ride has also raised eyebrows among the community surrounding Universal Studios Hollywood. The park’s neighbors in the adjacent Toluca Lake neighborhood have been none too pleased with some of the rider screams that emanated from the coaster on a day of testing earlier this summer. I talked to several residents as well as Universal and representatives from Los Angeles County for a story published last week, “Fast & Furious’ coaster screams rattle quiet neighborhood: ‘Like someone is getting murdered.” Whether those concerns fade, or how that issue is ultimately resolved, will be but one of the storylines that will follow the attraction.

Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift on a test-run. The coaster has been the most anticipated theme park opening of 2026.

(Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times)

Yet most guests will simply be concerned with how it rides. While other coasters can rotate 360 degrees, they don’t do it at this speed and through this many twists, turns and loops. And then there’s the design. Hollywood Drift puts riders in mini cars, each one heavily detailed and with unique engine and breaking noises. Of course, the ride may simply move too fast to pay attention to all that.

“It’s a high level of intensity, absolutely, for sure,” Corfino says.

Stay tuned to Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride for detailed impressions of Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift.

This week in SoCal theme parks

A glass slide from the Medusa portrait in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion is going up for auction.

(Matt Roppolo / HA.com)

• Bid on a piece of Disneyland history. I have mixed feelings on auctions involving Disneyland artifacts. And by mixed, I mean mostly negative, as they tend to inflate prices for the fans who care about the items most, and many of these treasures belong in a museum rather than someone’s private collection. But if you’ve ever wanted a mummy prop from Indiana Jones Adventure, or — gasp — an original glass slide from the Haunted Mansion’s changing Medusa portrait, now’s your chance. The Disney Experiences Auction — Rare and Remarkable Finds is part of next month’s all-things Disney fan convention D23, and is hosted by Heritage Auctions. The live auction is Aug. 16, but online bidding is open.
• A Halloween Horror Nights original. Spooky season is now just a few weeks away, and Universal Studios Hollywood’s lineup for Halloween Horror Nights is mostly set. The latest addition to the event, which begins Sept. 3, is an exciting one, as it’s a brand new haunted house not based on any existing film or television properties. The maze, Dead, Deader, Deadest, is set in a funeral home, based on a plot involving a “miracle drug” that can restore the features of the deceased without embalming. Halloween Horror Nights mastermind John Murdy revealed on socials that it connects to past original haunted houses at the park, for those deep into Halloween Horror Nights lore.
• Hope you like Kraft Mac & Cheese, Disney fans. Times Business writer Samantha Masunaga reports on a deal between the Walt Disney Co. and Kraft Heinz. As part of the agreement, more Kraft Heinz products will be available in Walt Disney Co.’s U.S.-based theme parks and on cruise ships, including Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

WASHINGTON — In its latest move to restrict the legal immigration system, the Trump administration announced a sweeping change Monday that could lead to the deportations of thousands of asylum seekers.

The change from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allows asylum officers to bypass the need to interview certain applicants and instead refer them directly to immigration judges for removal proceedings.

The agency estimates that up to a third, or 444,000 of the more than 1.4 million asylum cases in its backlog, could be affected by the rule.

The administration framed the move as an effort to streamline the process and reduce the backlog of cases. The interim final rule takes effect Tuesday and is subject to a 60-day public comment period.

“For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in a news release.

“America’s asylum system exists to protect individuals who genuinely fear persecution and this rule will help ensure that resources are directed to the timely adjudication of those claims instead of to those seeking to use the system as a loophole,” Edlow added.

But advocates for immigrants said the change leaves asylum seekers who tried to follow the law vulnerable to deportation.

Migrants can apply for asylum two ways: affirmatively or defensively.

Those who entered the country legally, such as on a visa, and still have lawful status apply with USCIS and have their cases decided by an asylum officer. Those who crossed the border illegally or who are undocumented can apply after being placed into removal proceedings, where they make their case to an immigration judge.

Immigration courts are not an independent system — they are housed under the Department of Justice and judges are federal employees.

That shift is significant because the Trump administration has fired more than 100 immigration judges and replaced them with military lawyers and former prosecutors for the Department of Homeland Security. Many of the fired judges were appointed during the Biden administration or previously worked as lawyers representing immigrants.

In recent months, immigration courts have approved a dwindling percentage of asylum claims as judges face pressure to approve more deportations. After immigration agents began arresting people in courthouses, many immigrants grew wary of showing up for court proceedings, which has aided the increase in removal orders.

USCIS refers thousands of cases to immigration courts each year, federal data shows. During the first half of this fiscal year, the agency transferred 31,454 cases to immigration courts — a number that was already on track to be higher than the 2025 yearly total of 40,932. The highest yearly total was 61,729 cases in 2019, during Trump’s first presidency.

USCIS said the current policy, which requires an asylum officer to first interview an applicant before deciding whether to send the case to an immigration judge, “essentially allows an alien to get a second chance at asylum.”

Todd Schulte, president of the immigrant advocacy organization FWD.us, noted that the rule change comes just after the Trump administration terminated temporary legal protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians and others, many of whom entered the U.S. legally and applied for asylum the “affirmative” way. On X, Schulte called the move “a terrible harbinger.”

The Indianapolis Colts took a flyer on an impressive athlete from Kenya 13 years ago, but a story that began with an inspirational backdrop has taken an increasingly familiar turn: Daniel Adongo was deported from the United States last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed.

According to ICE, Adongo, 37, overstayed his visa after his brief NFL career ended in 2015 and he remained in Indiana. The former linebacker and African rugby star was arrested several times over the past nine years for crimes including felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct. He also showed signs of mental illness, according to court records.

“This dangerous individual was clearly a threat to the community, which is now safer since he’s been removed,” ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson said in a statement. “Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable, including former professional athletes.”

Adongo was released by the Colts after playing in two games in 2013 and three in 2015, mostly on special teams. The team cut ties with him after police were called to a home in Fishers, Ind., to check on a woman who lived with Adongo.

According to a police report, the woman’s friend contacted law enforcement. Adongo was not at the residence at the time, and the woman declined medical assistance. The Hamilton County prosecutor’s office reviewed the case and did not charge Adongo.

However, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound Adongo began exhibiting increasingly erratic behavior. In 2017, an Indiana judge found him mentally incompetent to stand trial in a criminal case in which he was charged with intimidation and criminal mischief and ordered him committed to a state psychiatric hospital for evaluation and observation, according to the Indianapolis Star.

The only crime Adongo has been convicted of is a criminal mischief misdemeanor in 2020 for which he was sentenced to 364 days in jail, according to ICE. Other charges for intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct were dismissed.

Judges twice found Adongo incompetent to stand trial, according to court filings, including one case in which an expert witness testified that Adongo was acutely psychotic and possibly suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy — brain trauma — from playing football and rugby.

Members of Adongo’s family described in court filings a dramatic personality change in him after his playing career ended and expressed concern that he struggled to access mental health treatment.

ICE held Adongo without bond for several months under the Laken Riley Act, a federal law signed Jan. 29, 2025, that requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain undocumented immigrants without bond when arrested for specific crimes. He was deported one month ago.

Adongo was the first of two Kenyans to play in the NFL. The second was guard Rees Odhiambo, who played in 16 games from 2016 to 2018 for the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals.

WASHINGTON — Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Supreme Court’s most influential member prior to his retirement, has watched quietly for eight years as a new conservative majority took charge.

He was troubled by partisan gerrymandering, but a year after he stepped down, a 5-4 ruling closed the federal courts to challenges to state voting maps that allow one party to rig the elections in its favor.

Though he believed abortion was a moral wrong, he cast the crucial vote in 1992 to uphold Roe vs. Wade and the principle that a woman, not the government, had the right to decide on ending an early pregnancy.

Four years ago, that decision was overturned on a 5-4 vote.

While Kennedy has refrained from commenting on the current court or President Trump, he has written a memoir that tells his life story and explains the reasoning behind the major decisions of his era.

It has become common for the justices to write books, but they steer clear of writing about the work of the court. Kennedy’s book, “Life, Law & Liberty,” is, like the justice, the exception to that rule.

An Irish Catholic from Sacramento and a Reagan Republican, Kennedy had a generally conservative voting record over 30 years on the high court. But he had a distinct view of liberty and justice.

“The nature of injustice is that we may not always see it in our own times,” he wrote in 2015.

Kennedy rejected the “rigid” view that the Constitution’s promises of liberty and equal protection of the law, as well as the protection against cruel and unusual punishment, were limited to their “original” meaning in the Bill of Rights of 1791 or the 14th Amendment of 1868.

After all, slavery and segregation were legal for much of American history, and women were not protected from discrimination by the promise of “equal protection” in the 14th Amendment.

Kennedy remained open to new rights and liberties. The goal, he wrote, was “a decent society in which the Constitution and the rule of law treat all with dignity and equality.”

He was the justice who made the difference in several areas of law, none more significant than in LGBTQ+ rights.

He wrote the court’s four major rulings rejecting discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2015, he spoke for the 5-4 majority to uphold same-sex marriages nationwide.

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family,” he wrote. “Many same-sex couples provide loving and nurturing homes to their children, whether biological or adopted. And hundreds of thousands of children are presently being raised by such couples.”

They “ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right,” he concluded in Obergefell vs. Hodges.

He also believed that teenagers who commit crimes are not as culpable as adults. He wrote a court opinion in 2005 ending executions for murderers who were under age 18 at the time of their crime.

Five years later, he wrote the court’s opinion holding it was cruel and unusual punishment for judges to impose a sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole for a teenager’s crime that did not involve homicide. In the case before the court, a Florida teen was given a life term for committing an armed robbery and a home burglary prior to his 18th birthday.

Kennedy marked his 90th birthday on Thursday and says his favorite topic of conversation is not the nine justices but his nine grandchildren. He still goes to the court some days and says he is worried by the tone in Washington and around the country.

“It is too partisan and confrontational,” he said in a recent interview with The Times. “I’m concerned that the divisiveness may be reflected at the court.”

Democracy requires “reasoned and respectful debate,” he said, not personal attacks and name calling.

Kennedy may be the last justice of his kind, said Washington University law professor Daniel Epps, a former Kennedy clerk.

“I don’t think we’ll see another justice who is so ideologically unpredictable and who votes against his party of appointment in some of the hugest cases in our lifetimes,” he said. Kennedy emerged from “an appointments process that was less polarized, where there were conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans and a Senate filibuster, which all made it possible for moderates to be appointed.”

While Kennedy describes himself at times as a small-town lawyer from Sacramento, he knew the two California governors, both Republicans, who reshaped the Supreme Court.

Kennedy’s father was a friend of Gov. Earl Warren, and young Tony played with Warren’s children. He also worked as a young page in the state Capitol when Warren was governor.

He was a high school senior in 1954 when Warren, the new chief justice, spoke for a unanimous court to strike down racial segregation in the case of Brown vs. Board of Education.

He and his father agreed the ruling was long overdue. It also provided an early lesson in how justices can uphold the fundamental principles of the Constitution despite intense opposition in much of the nation.

He said he later learned a second lesson. The Brown decision was “a historic step forward” but it “just a beginning” in the fight against entrenched racial injustice.

In writing the same-sex marriage case, Kennedy cited Warren’s opinion in the 1967 case of Loving vs. Virginia which struck down the bans on interracial marriages in 16 states.

As as young lawyer, Kennedy worked on special projects for Gov. Ronald Reagan and admired him greatly. He was just 38 years old when, at Reagan’s behest, he was appointed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

As president a decade later, Reagan had appointed Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Antonin Scalia to the Supreme Court and elevated William Rehnquist to be the chief justice. But his third nominee — Judge Robert Bork — was voted down as too conservative by the Senate.

Reagan invited Kennedy to the White House and offered him the nomination. Kennedy recalled telling Reagan that he and his wife Mary were happy in Sacramento where all their friends and family lived. We don’t know anyone in Washington, he said.

President Reagan gestures toward Judge Anthony M. Kennedy’s family after nominating Kennedy to the Supreme Court in 1987.

(Dennis Cook / Associated Press)

In his best imitation of Reagan’s voice, he recounted the president’s response: “You know me. And you know Nancy.”

Kennedy accepted the nomination and was confirmed in February 1988 by a 97-0 vote, the last justice to win unanimous approval from the Senate.

His three decades on the court were shaped in part by his relationship with Scalia.

Kennedy and his wife bought a house in the same northern Virginia neighborhood where Scalia lived. In their early years on the court, they appeared to be friends and allies.

They broadly supported freedom of speech. To the surprise of many, they cast the deciding votes in 1989 to rule that the 1st Amendment protects the right to burn an American flag in protest.

A year later, Kennedy and Scalia dissented vehemently when the court ruled the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and its corporate supporters could be barred from advertising their support for state candidates.

The decision triggered a decades-long dispute that ended with the Citizens United ruling in 2010. Kennedy spoke for a 5-4 conservative majority to rule that corporations, unions and other groups were free to spend money independently to oppose or support candidates.

But when the court was closely split in major cases, Kennedy was likely to be in majority while Scalia wrote scathing and increasingly personal dissents.

“I would hide my head in a bag,” Scalia wrote in dissent in the same-sex marriage case, rather than join an opinion “couched in a style that is as pretentious as its content is egotistic.”

Kennedy was put off by a different jab. Scalia said the justices do not represent the full country. For example, the court lacks a “genuine Westerner (California does not count),” he wrote.

Since Scalia’s death, his influence has grown especially with the younger generation of conservatives.

Two of Trump’s appointees — Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh — were clerks for Kennedy in 1993, but they are far more likely to cite Scalia and his views on interpreting laws or the Constitution. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s third appointee, was a clerk for Scalia.

While Kennedy did not respond to Scalia’s harsh dissents, they hung over their last year together on the court.

One day in early February of 2016, Scalia stopped by Kennedy’s office to talk.

“Nino said he had come to regret deeply the tone of his Obergefell dissent and its personal references. He apologized for being intemperate,” Kennedy wrote. “Neither of us is big on hugging, but we hugged, both of us smiling.”

They agreed to get together for dinner with their wives when he returned from a hunting trip to Texas.

A week later, Scalia’s wife Maureen called to tell them of his death.

“Nino and I spent 28 years on the court together,” Kennedy wrote. “We sometimes agreed and sometimes disagreed, but I respected him and miss him very much.”

Tech scion David Ellison for months projected confidence that his blockbuster Hollywood merger was on a glide path to completion.

His media company Paramount Skydance’s pitch early this year was that its proposed $111-billion acquisition of rival Warner Bros. Discovery could easily clear regulatory hurdles — unlike Netflix’s competing bid.

Ellison has heavyweights in his corner: his billionaire father Larry Ellison, co-founder of software giant Oracle, is bankrolling the deal, and President Trump is eager for the Ellison family to own CNN and other Warner assets, including HBO and the Burbank film and TV studios behind “Batman,” Harry Potter, Wile E. Coyote, and “The Pitt.”

“We could technically close [the deal] tomorrow,” Ellison told business new channel CNBC during a March interview. “There is nothing in this transaction that trips anything that would create cause for concern.”

But Paramount made a dramatic retreat Friday after two weeks of legal setbacks. The firm had been aiming to close the deal by September but agreed to table its takeover — perhaps until next spring — to allow a fiercer than expected challenge from California Atty. General Rob Bonta and 11 other Democrat state attorneys general to advance to trial before an Oakland-based federal judge.

The state prosecutors allege Paramount’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. violates a century-old antitrust law by giving the combined company too much heft in theatrical movie distribution and cable television.

The delay could saddle Paramount, the smallest of the major media companies, with substantial legal fees and hundreds of millions of dollars in added deal costs. In February, Paramount offered Warner investors a sweetener, so-called “ticking fees,” to win the auction.

Those fees, which begin accruing in October, will cost Paramount an extra $7 million a day — until the purchase is finalized. And if Paramount fails to close the merger, it would owe Warner Bros. Discovery a $7-billion breakup fee.

“Anyone who thinks they know how this deal ends should think again,” Forrester Research analyst Mike Proulx said in a statement. “This deal may still close or it may not. … The path to either outcome just got longer, messier, and likely more expensive.”

Paramount now must strengthen its case for a high-stakes trial while fortifying Paramount’s existing businesses and holding together a coalition of financiers, which includes the royal families of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar which jointly agreed to contribute $24 billion for equity stakes in the combined company.

Paramount reversed course after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín dealt the company a blow on Monday when she temporarily blocked Paramount from finalizing the acquisition until mid-August. Looming was a key Aug. 3 hearing for the judge to determine whether the moratorium should be extended.

Paramount was concerned the judge would block the deal for the foreseeable future.

“They saw the writing on the wall,” Bonta said in an interview.

Columbia Law School business professor Eric Talley added: “This doesn’t constitute Paramount Skydance coming out and waving a big white flag — but it is a small white flag of surrender.”

Paramount, in a statement, said heading straight to trial would prove advantageous.

“This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators,” Paramount said. “We look forward to proving our case at trial.”

Last week, the Writers Guild of America separately filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the merger, alleging that writers would encounter less work and lower pay should Paramount buy Warner Bros.

Now the merger won’t close until after a resolution in the litigation or by June 1, 2027, whichever date comes first.

“This is what we’ve been asking for from the start,” Bonta said. “We just wanted the court to have sufficient time to review our case without the threat of the companies merging.”

Ellison, through a Paramount spokesperson, declined an interview request.

The delay brings a different set of challenges, Talley said, including pushing the date of the takeover until after November’s pivotal mid-term elections when control of Congress might change hands.

“That itself could be disruptive,” Talley said. “Suppose we get a flip of the House of Representatives or the Senate, then we may see testimony in Congress.”

Prominent Democrats, including Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) have expressed alarm over the potential consolidation, which would shrink the number of legacy film studios and bring CNN in addition to CBS News under Ellison control.

Attempts to get Ellison to testify in Congress have fallen short. The Paramount chief declined an invitation to appear before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights in February, as well as a subsequent request from Booker to appear during an April spotlight hearing.

“To what extent was the rush to get the deal done related to the midterms, and what press coverage was going to look like in the upcoming election season?” Talley asked. “CNN is not a huge money-making asset but it is a prominent asset of Warner Brothers Discovery.”

On Friday night, Trump extolled his friendship with the Ellison family during the White House Correspondents Assn. dinner while also criticizing prominent CNN anchors.

David Ellison is “going to make, I think, fantastic changes and keep some of the great stuff going,” Trump said.

CBS News has been roiled since shortly after the Ellisons acquired Paramount in August, and installed Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News. She has overseen a series of controversial moves, including shaking up the evening news and sacking several “60 Minutes” correspondents.

Paramount scored one victory: the European Commission gave its blessing for the merger to go forward in the European countries it represents. The company now has gained clearances from more than 60 jurisdictions, including from the U.S. Justice Department, which found the merger would likely boost competition — not harm it.

Now, Paramount’s biggest obstacle is winning the case against Bonta and the other state attorneys general.

The states plan to request a trial in 2027, after the two sides conduct months of discovery to prepare their cases.

“We want to take depositions of employees. We want to take depositions of customers and competitors in these marketplaces that are impacted [and] we want documents,” Bonta said.

“We want to depose their experts and probe and test their experts’ opinions,” he said. “That all takes time.”

Bonta and the other state attorneys sidestepped the political landscape in making their lawsuit arguments.

“This is just a straight-up meat-and-potatoes antitrust case,” Bonta said. “The main point here is that antitrust enforcement is important because monopolies that lessen competition hurt everyday people.

“Once we have a trial, we’re going to win,” Bonta said. “So we think and we hope there will never be a merger.”