Closes

Reports of Iranian gunboats opening fire on a tanker in strait, after Tehran said it is closing the waterway until the US lifts the blockade of its ports.

Iran says it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, calling the decision a response to a continued blockade of its ports by the United States.

The Iranian military on Saturday said control of the strategic waterway, through which 20 percent of the global oil flows, has “returned to its previous state”, with reports saying Iranian gunboats fired at a merchant vessel as it attempted to ‌cross.

The closure of the strait came hours after it was reopened, with more than a dozen commercial ships passing through the waterway, after a US-mediated 10-day ceasefire deal was reached between Israel and Lebanon.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Saturday said in a statement, cited by the Iranian media, that the ongoing US blockade of Iranian ports represented “acts of piracy and maritime theft”, adding that the control over Hormuz is “under the strict management and control of the armed forces”.

“Until the US restores full freedom of navigation for vessels travelling from Iran to their destinations and back, the status of the Strait of Hormuz will remain tightly controlled and in its previous condition,” it said.

By 10:30 GMT on Saturday, no fewer than eight oil and gas tankers had crossed the strait, but at least as many ships appeared to have turned back, having begun to exit the Gulf, the AFP news agency reported.

The toing and froing over the strait cast doubt on US President Donald Trump’s optimism the day before, that a peace deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran was “very close”.

Trump had celebrated the reopening of the strait on Friday, but warned the US attacks would resume until Iran agreed to a deal, which included its nuclear programme.

“Maybe I won’t extend it,” Trump told reporters on board Air Force One about the temporary ceasefire agreement in place. “So you’ll have a blockade, and unfortunately we’ll have to start dropping bombs again.”

Asked whether a potential deal could be made in this short timeframe, Trump said: “I think it’s going to happen.”

But Iran says no date has been agreed for another round of peace talks, accusing the US of “betraying” diplomacy in all negotiations.

The conflicting and changing reports about the strait and how much freedom ships have to transit through it have deterred many vessels from crossing, according to John-Paul Rodrigue, a maritime shipping specialist at Texas A&M University.

“Ships have been attempting transit since the announcement, but it looks like many of them are heading back because the situation is unclear,” Rodrigue told Al Jazeera. “There is contradictory information being issued by all parties.”

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said “uncertainty is the name of the game” as far as the Strait of Hormuz is concerned.

“Iran is looking for a comprehensive end to the war across the region, security assurances, sanctions relief, the unfreezing of frozen assets, regional relations – and on top of all of that – the nuclear dossier and Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium,” he said.

“But right now, uncertainty is the name of the game. The fragile situation makes it hard to talk about the possibility of successful negotiations down the road.”

Emotional night for Alex Vesia

From Maddie Lee: As left-hander Alex Vesia emerged from the Dodgers bullpen, heard the electric guitar riff of Seether’s “Gasoline,” and felt his adrenaline spike with the roar of the crowd, he knew 27 of those cheering fans had helped him and wife Kayla through a devastating loss just months prior.

He and Kayla had chosen the Dodgers’ game against the Mets on Tuesday, Healthcare appreciation night at Dodger Stadium, to celebrate the hands-on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who had cared for them last October, through the death of their newborn daughter Sterling Sol.

He’d spotted their suite by shirts Kayla had customized for the group, bearing the initials SV with a heart, and signed by Alex.

“Today was the first time I’ve seen pretty much all of them since everything,” Alex Vesia said after earning the save in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Tuesday. “So it was very special, very emotional. … I couldn’t have written it any better.”

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Dodgers box score

MLB standings

Angels hit five homers to beat Yankees

Mike Trout homered for the third time in two games, combining with Jo Adell and Jorge Soler for three consecutive long balls in a five-pitch span against Ryan Weathers in the first inning, and the Angels beat the New York Yankees 7-1 on Tuesday night.

Trout hit a 2-and-1 fastball to the loading dock adjacent to Monument Park in center field and Adell hit another fastball on the next pitch into the visiting bullpen in left-center field. Three pitches later, Soler drove a 2-and-0 fastball into the left-field seats

Trout homered for the third straight at-bat after connecting in the sixth and eighth innings in Monday’s 11-10 loss.

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Angels box score

MLB standings

Kings lose to Canucks in OT

Jake DeBrusk scored his second goal of the game in overtime and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Kings 4-3 on Tuesday night.

DeBrusk collected a pass from center Elias Pettersson and tapped a shot in to seal the victory 2:58 into the extra period.

Defenseman Elias Pettersson opened the scoring for the Canucks (25-48-8), and DeBrusk and Zeev Buium added goals in the second period. Elias Pettersson had two assists. The Canucks won their third straight game for the first time since Dec. 14-20, when they took four straight road victories.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

Playoff-bound Ducks lose to Wild

Hunter Haight got his first career goal and rookie Jesper Wallstedt auditioned for action in the playoffs with 35 saves as the Minnesota Wild finished their regular season by beating the Ducks 3-2 on Tuesday night.

Danila Yurov and Robby Fabbri also scored for the playoff-bound Wild, who have won 21 of their last 22 games against the Ducks, including eight in a row.

Wallstedt, who is second in the NHL in save percentage, went 18-9-6 in his debut and has given the Wild plenty to consider for a potential postseason goalie rotation with Filip Gustavsson. Wallstedt allowed only 12 goals over his last six starts.

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Ducks summary

NHL standings

Bob Chesney pleased with UCLA’s progress

From Steve Galluzzo: Spring practice continued for the UCLA football program Tuesday morning at Spaulding Field and for the most part head coach Bob Chesney was pleased with his team’s progress.

It marked the sixth of 14 practices leading up to the annual spring game on May 2 at the Rose Bowl.

“The defense took strides today,” said Chesney, who was hired as the Bruins’ 20th head football coach on Dec. 26, replacing DeShaun Foster (fired after an 0-3 start in 2025) and interim coach Tim Skipper. “There were a couple turnovers in there. This was our second day with the officials, it was a different group and they were throwing some flags today. We just have to understand the game we’re in. As you get further along the referees step aside, but early in the season they’re excited to do their jobs and we gave them enough to throw laundry at so we’ll go back and check it all out.”

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Do World Cup tickets cost too much?

From Kevin Baxter: Aaron Levinson wanted to go to a World Cup game this summer, but he didn’t want to take out a second mortgage to pay for that. So after winning a chance to spend $560 for individual tickets in a FIFA lottery last fall, Levinson backed out.

Then he backed in again this spring.

“Maybe the sticker shock kind of started wearing off,” he said Sunday. “I got caught up in the excitement.”

So Levinson decided to pluck down $850 for two Category 3 tickets — among the cheapest available — for he and his wife to go the final U.S. group-play game at SoFi Stadium in June. When his wife reminded him that his two sons would be visiting then, he bought two more tickets, bringing his investment to $1,700, more than double the price of a seven-day cruise.

And that doesn’t include the nearly $250 it will cost to park near the stadium.

“That’s really steep,” said Levinson, a Galaxy season-ticket holder for more than a decade.

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Lakers focus on rebounding

From Broderick Turner: Rebounding was not a strength of the Lakers over the course of the regular season. Rebounding was a strength of the Houston Rockets during the 2025-26 campaign.

So, on their first day of practice Tuesday for Game 1 of the first round Saturday at Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers worked diligently on rebounding drills, knowing full well that will be one of the keys against the Rockets.

The Lakers were the fourth-worst rebounding team in the NBA, averaging 41.0 per game. The Rockets were the top rebounding team in the league, getting 48.1 overall and 15.0 on the offensive end.

And one of the Lakers’ better rebounders, Luka Doncic, won’t be available because he’s dealing with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain that he went to Spain for treatment. Doncic is second on the Lakers in rebounding at 7.7 per game. His starting backcourt mate, Austin Reaves, also is a good rebounder but he also won’t play because of a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Reaves is averaging 4.7 rebounds per game.

“They’re out indefinitely,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said about Doncic and Reaves.

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Lakers playoff schedule

First round
All times Pacific

Saturday: Houston at Lakers, 5:30 p.m, ABC
Tuesday: Houston at Lakers, 7:30 p.m., NBC
Friday, April 24: Lakers at Houston, 5:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Video
Sunday, April 26: Lakers at Houston, 6:30 p.m., NBC
*Wed., April 29: Houston at Lakers, TBD
*Friday, May 1: Lakers at Houston, TBD
*Sunday, May 3: Houston at Lakers, TBD

*-if necessary

Clippers playoff schedule

Wednesday vs. Golden State, 7:30 p.m., Amazon Prime Video

Loser is eliminated, winner advances to second play-in game on Friday, where they will play the loser of the other play-in game. Winner of that game becomes the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

This day in sports history

1901 — Boston Marathon won for second straight year by Canadian Jim Caffrey.

1907 — Boston Marathon won by Canadian Tom Longboat.

1937 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the New York Rangers 3-0 to take the Stanley Cup in the fifth and final game.

1952 — The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 to capture the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings holds the Canadiens to two goals in the four-game sweep.

1979 — 43rd US Masters Tournament, Augusta National GC: Fuzzy Zoeller wins his only Masters with a birdie on the 2nd hole of a playoff with Ed Sneed and Tom Watson.

1984 — Ben Crenshaw wins the Masters by two strokes over Tom Watson.

1985 — Marvin Hagler retains his world middleweight title by stopping Thomas Hearns in the third round at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Both slug it out with reckless abandon for eight minutes, which many consider the most electrifying three rounds in boxing history.

1990 — PGA Seniors’ Championship Men’s Golf, PGA National GC: South African Gary Player wins his third event title by two strokes.

1991 — Magic Johnson sets an NBA record for career assists in a 112-106 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Johnson, who needed nine assists to break Oscar Robertson’s record of 9,887, gets 19.

2000 — NFL Draft: Penn State defensive end Courtney Brown first pick by Cleveland Browns.

2005 — Top-ranked Roger Federer’s 25-match winning streak ends when French teenager Richard Gasquet saves three match points before capturing a third-set tiebreaker at the Monte Carlo Masters. Federer’s 35-1 record this year is the best start on the men’s tour since John McEnroe was 39-0 in 1984.

2005 — Two-time Olympic champion Steven Lopez of the United States wins his third world taekwondo title, capturing the welterweight gold medal with a 3-2 victory over Ali Tajik of Iran.

2018 — Victor Oladipo scores 32 points and the Indiana Pacers hold off Cleveland’s second-half rally for a stunning 98-80 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference series, handing LeBron James and the Cavaliers’ their first loss in the opening round in eight years.

2019 — The Clippers overcome an NBA record 31-point deficit to score an improbable 135-131 Game 2 playoff victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1909 — Leon Ames of the New York Giants pitched a no-hitter for 9 1-3 innings on opening day, but lost 3-0 to Brooklyn in 13 innings.

1915 — Rube Marquard of the New York Giants no-hit the Brooklyn Dodgers, winning 2-0.

1947 — Jackie Robinson played his first major league game for the Dodgers. He went 0-for-3, but scored the deciding run in a 5-3 victory over the Boston Braves in Brooklyn. He was the first Black man to appear in the majors since 1884.

1957 — President Eisenhower officially opened the 1956 season by tossing out the first ball at Griffith Stadium in Washington D.C. The ball was the 10 millionth Spalding baseball to be used in major league play.

1958 — Major league baseball came to California as the transplanted Giants and Dodgers played the first game on the Pacific Coast. Playing in Seals Stadium in San Francisco, Ruben Gomez blanked Los Angeles 8-0.

1968 — Houston and the New York Mets played 24 innings in a night game in the Astrodome before the Astros won 1-0. The game lasted more than six hours.

1976 — New York opened the refurbished Yankee Stadium with an 11-4 rout of the Minnesota Twins.

1977 — Hank Aaron becomes the first player to have his uniform number retired by two teams. The Atlanta Braves retire his No. 44 during a pre-game ceremony. The Milwaukee Brewers had previously retired Aaron’s number.

1987 — Juan Nieves threw the first no-hitter in Brewers history as Milwaukee beat Baltimore 7-0.

1993 — Sparky Anderson earned his 2,000th victory as a manager as the Detroit Tigers rallied to beat the Oakland Athletics 3-2.

1993 — Andre Dawson became the 25th player to hit 400 home runs as the Boston Red Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 4-3.

1997 — The 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breaking the color barrier in major league baseball is celebrated before 54,047 at Shea Stadium during a game between the Mets and the Dodgers. MLB retires Robinson’s No. 42 for all of major league baseball.

1998 — The first-ever AL-NL doubleheader is held in New York’s Shea Stadium as the New York Yankees beat the Angels 6-3 and the New York Mets edge the Chicago Cubs 2-1. The Yankees draw a crowd of 40,743, a dramatic contrast to the gathering of 16,012 who show up for the Mets game at night.

2000 — Cal Ripken became the 24th player to reach 3,000 hits when he lined a clean single to center off Twins reliever Hector Carrasco. He reached the milestone with his third hit in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins and became the seventh player in major league history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.

2004 — Fifty-seven years after the historic event, major league baseball begins the tradition of Jackie Robinson Day, an annual celebration marking the day the color line was broken.

2006 — Eric Chavez, Frank Thomas, and Milton Bradley all homered on consecutive pitches in Oakland’s 5-4 victory over Texas.

2008 — Jose Lopez became the 12th player in major league history to hit three sacrifice flies in a game, and the Seattle Mariners tied the team record for five sac flies in an 11-6 victory over Kansas City.

2009 — Every player in Major League Baseball wears number 42 today on Jackie Robinson Day, in honor of the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line.

2009 — Ian Kinsler of Texas became the fourth player in team history to hit for the cycle, and was 6-for-6 in Texas’ 19-6 win over Baltimore.

2010 — Florida’s Jorge Cantu extended his major league season-opening record to 10 games with a hit in a 10-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

2011 — Texas tied an AL record by turning six double plays and the Rangers picked up where they left off last October, beating the New York Yankees 5-3. This was the 15th time an AL team made six DPs in a game. The major league mark for double plays in a game is seven by San Francisco in 1969.

2011 — Brennan Boesch hit a go-ahead two-run double with the bases loaded in the 10th inning and Detroit rallied to beat Oakland 8-4 for manager Jim Leyland’s 1,500th win. Leyland became the 19th major league manager to reach 1,500 wins.

2012 — Vin Scully is back in the broadcast booth for a record 63rd season after missing a week with a bad cold.

2022 — Jackie Robinson Day is celebrated across North America on the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color line in Major League Baseball.

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.

As left-hander Alex Vesia emerged from the Dodgers bullpen, heard the electric guitar riff of Seether’s “Gasoline,” and felt his adrenaline spike with the roar of the crowd, he knew 27 of those cheering fans had helped him and wife Kayla through a devastating loss just months prior.

He and Kayla had chosen the Dodgers’ game against the Mets on Tuesday, Healthcare appreciation night at Dodger Stadium, to celebrate the hands-on staff at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who had cared for them last October, through the death of their newborn daughter Sterling Sol.

He’d spotted their suite by shirts Kayla had customized for the group, bearing the initials SV with a heart, and signed by Alex.

“Today was the first time I’ve seen pretty much all of them since everything,” Alex Vesia said after earning the save in the Dodgers’ 2-1 win Tuesday. “So it was very special, very emotional. … I couldn’t have written it any better.”

Vesia authored the ending to what manager Dave Roberts called an “old school” pitcher’s duel. Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Mets starter each yielded only one run apiece, both in the first inning.

Yamamoto retired 20 straight after surrendering a leadoff home run to Francisco Lindor. And he came back out in the eighth, with right-hander Blake Treinen and Vesia preparing for the call.

When Yamamoto allowed back-to-back two-out singles, just his third and fourth hits allowed, Roberts brought in Treinen to face Luis Robert Jr. Treinen struck out Robert on a sweeper that caught the bottom of the strike zone and withstood an ABS challenge.

“Not having [closer Edwin Díaz] available, I felt very confident to use Blake to get out of that inning, to get Robert,” Roberts said, “and to have Vesia take on some righties in a close situation.”

Díaz hadn’t pitched since last Friday, when he didn’t feel quite right and his velocity dropped during a blown save. Though he insisted over the weekend that he felt good physically, the Dodgers proceeded with caution.

Because of the time off, Roberts said, the training and coaching staff wanted Díaz to throw a bullpen Tuesday before returning to game action. As long as he responds well, Roberts said, Díaz will be “ready to go” Wednesday in the series finale.

Kyle Tucker singles in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning Tuesday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

On Tuesday, a clutch swing from Kyle Tucker in the bottom of the eighth created a save situation with Díaz down.

With runners on first and second, Tucker fell behind in the count against Mets left-handed reliever Brooks Raley. Then, shaking off his slow offensive start to the season, Tucker sent a 1-and-2 cutter into shallow left field.

“He’s going through it right now,” Roberts said. “But for him to stick his nose in there against Raley and find a way … to just flare a ball to get a game-winning hit, he helped us win a baseball game.”

Then it was Vesia’s time.

The heart of the order was coming up for the Mets: Jorge Polanco, Bo Bichette and Francisco Alvarez.

“Doc trusting me to get those three hitters out, those are no-joke hitters right there,” Vesia said. “So I definitely knew I needed to be on my game.”

A top-rail fastball got him a called first strike against Polanco. Then Vesia, who mostly throws fastballs and sliders, got Polanco to whiff on an outside changeup.

“I think even Will [Smith] and I surprised each other with the changeup that I threw,” Vesia said.

He went above the zone with a fastball, and Polanco chased it to complete a three-pitch strikeout.

Vesia then only needed four pitches to strike out Bichette on a slider in the dirt. Three straight sliders to Alvarez finished the job.

Vesia hopped and fist-pumped as the Dodgers (13-4) formed their handshake line. He met SportsNet LA’s Kirsten Watson outside of the dugout for the on-field interview and choked back tears after waving to the Cedars-Sinai suite.

“That’s what I do it for, man,” he said later in the clubhouse. “I wear my heart on my sleeve when I’m out there. So I was pretty fired up to be put in that spot.”

Saudi Arabia has ordered schools to close after severe flooding swept through parts of the country. Heavy rain swamped roads around Riyadh and in the Al Ahsa governorate.

A POPULAR ride at Thorpe Park has closed after nearly 40 years.

The Chertsey-based theme park’s Rumba Rapids was a river rapids ride where passengers would board a boat able to carry up to eight people at a time.

The ride originally opened back in 1987 as ‘Thunder River’ and was Thorpe Park’s first thrill ride, but has not been running since the end of the 2025 season.

Jack Silkstone, a theme park vlogger, posted a reel on Instagram announcing the news.

The post states: “After 39 years of soaking thrill seekers, Rumba Rapids at @thorpeparkofficial has now permanently closed.

“Join me as I take a trip down memory lane to look back at the history, rethemes and memories of one of Thorpe Park’s longest-running attractions.”

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Thorpe Park has shared the video to its Instagram story, as well as commenting on the video: “Thank you for helping us pay tribute to such an iconic ride!”

In an official statement, a Thorpe Park spokesperson told Sun Travel: “After nearly four decades of making a splash, Rumba Rapids at Thorpe Park has permanently closed.

“First opening as Thunder River in 1987, the iconic water raft ride has been soaking generations of thrillseekers ever since.

“While we don’t have plans to share just yet on what’s next, we’re always reviewing our line-up of world-class rides and attractions to make sure Thorpe Park remains the UK’s most thrilling theme park.”

Riders would begin at the highest point of the ride on a turntable belt before turning sharply and heading down a curve to make the boat spin.

The boat would then head into a tunnel with a waterfall effect, before exiting the tunnel and entering the wave section of the ride.

The riders would then pass under a bridge and pass a photo opportunity.

The Rumba Rapids was the park’s second-oldest ride at the time of its closure.

Taking to social media, several fans have expressed their sadness at the news.

One person commented: “Sad times. I always enjoyed going on this to have a break and a chill from all the coasters.”

Another person said: “End of an era, the soundtrack alone was ICONIC.”

Over the years the park has been rebranded a few times, including in 2002 becoming Ribena Rumba Rapids with the colour theming changing from yellow to purple and the ride got its own soundtrack.

In 2007, the partnership with Ribena ended and the ride became Rumba Rapids.

A decade later the ride was re-themed to fit in with the design of the Jungle area of Thorpe Park.

Thorpe Park also recently announced that they would be closing the waterpark after more than 35 years.

Instead, Amity Beach pool will be replaced with a new attraction called The Launchpad, which will be a recharge zone.

In other theme park news, an English seaside theme park has scrapped its entry fees and will soon have a huge new ‘showstopper ride’.

Plus, the European theme park you won’t have heard that’s revealed a huge £78million expansion plan and you can fly there for £14.