club

SEATTLE — Logan Gilbert struck out eight in four no-hit innings and five Seattle pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts as the Mariners beat the Angels 7-3 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

The Angels finish 2026 with a record of 62-100, the first 100 loss season in franchise history. It was a 10-game slide for the Angels, who had a 72-90 record in 2025.

Gilbert retired the first 12 batters he faced and, after walking Moisés Ballesteros at the start of the fifth inning, was lifted and left to a standing ovation from the Mariners fans.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Weston Wilson drove in Cole Young with a grounder to third base.

Seattle scored two more runs in the third on Cal Raleigh’s RBI single off Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi, and Dominic Canzone scored on a groundout by Josh Naylor to make it 3-0.

Kikuchi (1-7) gave up three runs and six hits over five innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Bryce Teodosio scored for the Angels on a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth inning, but the Mariners responded with three in the bottom half when Young scored on an Angels throwing error and Randy Arozarena drove in two with a double to make it 6-1.

Jose Siri hit a two-run homer for the Angels in the eighth, and Leo Rivas scored for the Mariners in the bottom half on a wild pitch.

Cooper Criswell pitched the ninth for the Mariners. Eduard Bazardo (4-4) got the win.

After finishing the 2025 season with a 90-72 record and advancing to the seventh game of the ALCS against Toronto, the Mariners missed the playoffs with a disappointing 76-86 record this season. Despite that mark, the Mariners drew 2,883,798 fans in 2026, the team’s highest total since 2004.

Premier League clubs are seeking legal advice about compensation from Manchester City over the case.

One source, who held a senior executive position at two Premier League sides, said they expected clubs to submit individual compensation claims against Manchester City.

Another leading lawyer told the BBC that process could even be centralised by the league.

Premier League rules allow clubs to seek legal action against each other for compensation.

In June, Everton were told they must pay Burnley £35m after they broke PSR over a three-year period.

Burnley argued the breach impacted their chances of staying in the Premier League, and sought compensation for the losses associated with being relegated.

Everton are appealing, with sources previously saying they would “robustly and thoroughly” contest the ruling, but it provides an interesting backdrop to the Manchester City case.

There is uncertainty over a statute of limitations, which would set a cut-off point for claims.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly preserved their rights to claim compensation two years ago.

This is not just about Manchester United (twice) and Liverpool, who finished as runners-up to City in their title-winning seasons.

It is about those clubs who just missed out on the Champions League, or failed to make Europe, or even those who were relegated.

And it could even result in claims over the prize money for each Premier League place, or the potential commercial earnings lost by rival clubs.

Kieran Maguire, professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, told BBC Sport it would be considered a “denial of an opportunity” by complainants.

Maguire explained that the “statute of limitations is not referenced” in the Premier League’s traditional handbook, though that could be subject to a legal challenge from City.

But what of the compensation? Just looking at Champions League qualifying could bring huge financial claims.

“The Champions League in those days was worth a minimum of £30m,” Maguire said. “I think by the time we got to 2018, it was probably worth £60m or £70m, and that’s in prize money.

“On top of that, you could claim for loss of gate receipts, loss of sponsor bonuses. This is highly unlikely, but it’s certainly being discussed.

“Players get bonuses for qualifying for the Champions League. Those bonuses, if you talk to people connected to the elite clubs, are normally in the region of 25%.

“An average salary in those days would probably, if you go back to 2012, be in the region of £80,000 or £90,000 a week. Twenty-five percent of that is four or five million pounds a year. That’s how the issues stack up.”

Points deductions, fines, and compensation claims.

This is an extremely messy situation for the Premier League, and it does not look like being resolved anytime soon.

La Liga president Javier Tebas says claiming there is a refereeing conspiracy against Real Madrid is like “living in another galaxy”.

Real manager Jose Mourinho accused officials of making key errors after his side were beaten 2-1 by rivals Atletico Madrid last week.

Mourinho brought printouts of screenshots to the post-match news conference, claiming Atletico should have been given two red cards in the first half.

Writing in response to an article in the Spanish media which claimed there is a “conspiracy” against Real, Tebes dismissed the allegations.

“Claiming that referees are directed against Real Madrid is living in another galaxy,” Tebas said on social media.

“That narrative serves as an excuse to cover up other shortcomings that are plain to see in these first matches of the season.

“It’s more comfortable to point to a conspiracy than to explain what’s happening on the pitch.”

Real are fourth in La Liga, six points behind Barcelona who top the table on 21 points after winning all seven of their league games this season.

After defeat by Atletico, where Real went down to 10 men in a feisty encounter after defender Dean Huijsen was sent off, Mourinho blamed the officiating.

“We can skip the press conference because the story of the match is right here,” Mourinho said as he showed media the printed images.

“Those were two clear red cards. Given the difficulties we faced afterwards playing 11 against 10, we can only imagine what 50 minutes of 11 against nine would have been like.”

Tebas has been critical of Real and its president Florentino Perez in previous years after disagreeing with their plans to join a European Super League in 2021.

In 2025 he said Real had “lost their head” after the club sent a formal letter of complaint to the Spanish FA about officiating in the league.

Published on
22/09/2026 – 7:00 GMT+2

US chipmaker AMD has become the latest company to join the $1 trillion (€850bn) valuation club, as investors pile into stocks benefiting from the massive investment boom in artificial intelligence.

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At around 5:10 p.m. CEST on Monday, AMD shares were up 9.4% at $612 (€520), extending a surge that has added some $200 billion (€170bn) in valuation to the semiconductor company in a week.

The California-based group, which has announced ventures with both OpenAI and Anthropic, notched a 50% jump in second-quarter revenues over the year-ago level to $11.5 billion (€9.8bn), thanks to a more than doubling of data centre revenue.

In releasing results in early August, AMD said it expects data centre sales to accelerate in the second half of 2026.

Even with the latest surge, AMD’s valuation significantly trails rival chip company Nvidia, considered the pace-setter in artificial intelligence.

Nvidia’s valuation currently approaches $5.5 trillion (€4.7trn).

Additional sources • AFP

Every so often, an aspiring screenwriter wanders into the dim red glow of Jumbo’s Clown Room hoping to interview one of the dancers. “They’re like: ‘I’m writing a screenplay. Can I interview you?” says Cecilia Fairchild, one of the longtime dancers at the renowned East Hollywood bikini bar.

Her response is usually some version of this: “I’m like, ‘Why are you writing about that? Don’t you know we are all writing that too? Leave us alone,’” Fairchild says with a mischievous laugh. What bothers Fairchild is the assumption behind it — that the dancers are voiceless and helpless. Worst of all, they’re presumed to have stories worth mining but not the ability to produce literature themselves.

Jumbo’s has a longstanding reputation of being part of L.A.’s literary lore.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Charles Bukowski — L.A. nightlife’s debaucherous poet laureate — was rumored to haunt the bikini bar in its early days. David Lynch wrote his classic screenplay “Blue Velvet” at the bar. (According to local legends, the iconic opening shot of “Blue Velvet” came to Lynch when he spotted a dancer with only one ear.) Writer and director Quentin Tarantino reputedly wrote at the bar. But while Jumbo’s has garnered a mythology as a magnet for filmmakers, writers and musicians who collect impressions, the dive’s dancers have shifted from being the subject to the artists.

Many of Jumbo’s dancers write fiction and memoir, host literary salons across Los Angeles and find ways to tell their own stories rather than serve as muses. “It’s funny because I wish that male auteurs would tell the story of customers. I want a sniffer’s memoir. I think that’s a real point of view,” Fairchild says. (Speaking of alienation and horniness, the dancer has been meaning to crack the Marcel Proust canon.)

Honey Ryder (Claudia Musikul) types on the bar inside Jumbo’s Clown Room. (Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Fairchild is a playwright, poet and memoirist. Her recently completed memoir, “The Poison + The Spit,” traces a life of tumultuous love affairs and a stint dancing in New Orleans, rendered in prose that is whimsical, surreal and deeply emotional. The dancer also hosts the Downpour, a popular monthly literary salon at Bar Covell, and recently directed “Fool in the Pool,” a play that premiered at El Condor in Silver Lake this summer.

Her writing style mirrors her dancing: kinetic, wild and unpredictable. She sometimes takes the stage in roller skates, dancing to David Bowie. Her memoir achieves that same sense of hypnotic motion. “The memoir is so heavy,” she says. “Everything was so sad that I needed some lens to look at it that was fun, zippy and crazy.”

For Fairchild, dancing and writing possess the same need to expose oneself. “Vulnerability is one of the most interesting things about dancing,” she says. “There really is the potential to look into people, and they look into you, and you wordlessly share something with them that is half sexual and half this other thing.”

Meanwhile, Danielle Henderson — another dancer and aspiring novelist at Jumbo’s who writes under the pen name D.M. Faulk — has been working on a science-fiction novel titled “Meridian.” The book imagines a dystopian American wasteland where pregnant women are surveilled and controlled. She has been a longtime science-fiction fan since she and her father watched “Jurassic Park” and “Planet of the Apes” when she was a child.

Long treated as passive muses by visiting writers, Jumbo’s dancers — from left, Caroline Blaike (Caroline Moyer), Honey Ryder (Claudia Musikul), and Cecilia Fairchild — are reclaiming the narrative as active poets, memoirists and screenwriters.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

Unexpectedly, the Jumbo’s comically tiny dressing room became the inspiration for her novel. In 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, conversations between dancers about reproductive rights ignited in the dressing room, which in turn informed her novel.

“A lot of those conversations happen in the dressing room. I’m incredibly inspired by the women I’m with who are incredibly sex positive and strong.” That ethos informed Henderson’s protagonist, Zayla.

In recent years, the bar has become a local author hangout. Allie Rowbottom, the author of the recent buzzy adult film novel “Lovers XXX,” discovered the bar in 2011 on the occasion of writer Elizabeth Hall’s birthday party. “I recall sitting front row on novelist Jon Lindsey’s lap, raining dollar bills on dancers performing intricate, beautiful athletic feats,” Rowbottom says. “I spent more than I could afford that night and have been back often since.”

Increasingly, Jumbo’s has cemented itself as a watering hole to the local writing scene. “Two years ago, I rented out a few tables for Jon Lindsey’s birthday, attended by Los Angeles literati like Tea Hacic-Vlahovic, Sammy Loren, Morgan Krantz, Tex Gresham and Nada Alic,” she adds.

According to Rowbottom, Jumbo’s is rife for literary inspiration. “To me, Jumbo’s feels uniquely dedicated, as a venue, to intersecting sex and art, despite the obvious dissonance of selling either,” she says. “I suspect such is what has historically made it a rich spot for writers, dissonance and tension being of utmost importance to good literary work.”

From left, Caroline Blaike (Caroline Moyer), Honey Ryder (Claudia Musikul), Cecilia Fairchild and Stephen (Aaron Laughton) inside Jumbo’s Clown Room.

(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)

A charged scene in L.A. writer Aiden Arata’s critically-acclaimed 2025 essay collection, “You Have a New Memory,” features a night out at Jumbo’s Clown Room. “The dancers are starlets, athletes, artists; the theme is clown, and also longing — longing is a high form of physical comedy,” says Arata. “It possesses that heady mix of scuzz and glamour that can trick you into thinking your life is about to change.”

Jumbo’s burgeoning literary interest revives a hotly debated question: Who gets to tell the stories of sex work? For decades, the club has inspired celebrated writers and filmmakers, but Claudia Musikul — a dancer at Jumbo’s and a screenwriter herself — hopes its literary legacy will increasingly belong to the people at its core: the dancers.

“I hope that everybody can actually get their work out there because I feel it’s much deserved,” says Musikul. “You’ve probably heard about Bukowski, David Lynch doing ‘Blue Velvet’, or Anthony Bourdain. That’s all really cool, but in a way, it’s the actual dancers’ turn to have that kind of recognition.”

Musikul primarily writes screenplays about strippers, a subject she believes is seldom represented authentically. She has been in writing partnerships and workshops while developing scripts centered on dancers. In a sea of films depicting sex work, she cites Paul Verhoeven’s “Showgirls” as a film that resonates with her experience.

“‘Showgirls’ is my very favorite movie,” she says. “It’s my very special place in my heart movie.”

For Caroline Blaike, a poet and dancer at Jumbo’s, the connection between dancing and writing lies in observation. Years of performing have made her acutely attentive to the people who pass through the club, a voyeuristic habit that carries over into her poetry.

“When you’re a dancer, you’re very observant. You watch every person that walks in,” she says. “I feel like the way dancing makes you observe people helps you write from a perspective that other people can then relate to.”

Blaike has been working on a poetry collection that explores love, queerness, desire and personhood. “It’s gotten a little sexier over time, which is kind of fun,” she says. “I also just write about love, being gay, just existing. It can be a little aggressive, but people seem to like it, so that’s good.” She writes these poems from her prized typewriter — a “1951 Olympia typewriter that is my child.”

Among Blaike’s earliest literary touchstones was Maya Angelou. She still remembers encountering Angelou’s line in her poem “Still I Rise,” “I dance like I have diamonds at the meeting of my thighs,” and being stunned by it.

“I was like, ‘Oh, you can write that? That’s amazing,’” she says.

The literary ambitions at Jumbo’s extend well beyond the stage. Stephen Laughton, one of the club’s security guards, jokes that he leads a double life. By night, he keeps watch at the door; by day, he is an award-winning playwright. He’s recently been named the new associate artistic director of the Echo Theater in Atwater Village, and Laughton’s served as the writer-in-residence in the astrophysics department at the Natural History Museum in New York. Last November, his latest play became the first in the world to be staged in a planetarium.

“It’s this crazy, beautiful science play about two guys who meet in a club that explores mental health in the LGBT community, human interaction, time and astrophysics,” Laughton says.

Like many of his co-workers, Laughton has found himself turning Jumbo’s into copy. The club, he suggests, has a way of compelling everyone who works there to write about it.

“I think that probably what we’re all going to realize is that we’re all writing a version of the exact same story,” Laughton jokes.

Blaike argues that the dancers’ diverse talents are a key reason why Jumbo’s Clown Room has become such a beloved institution in the city. “It attracts confident, creative women who work there,” says Blaike. “Our community of women is supportive of each other and each other’s endeavors. … It really does facilitate that.”

A MEMBERS club loved by the Royals is opening a new location in a historic English town.

It will feature restaurants, bars, a 25-metre pool, racquet courts and even direct access to the River Thames.

A new “reimagined” country club from the Soho House brand is set to come to Windsor, situated directly along the River Thames from next year.

Located less than 45 minutes from central London, Soho River House will also be home to a Health Club, riverside restaurant and Vinyl Bar.

The main house, a Victorian mansion within 35 acres of land, will feature 93 bedrooms designed for members who wish to extend their stay overnight.

The Health Club comes with a gym dedicated to all members’ fitness needs as well as a novel Lazy River feature, which offers cold plunges designed for muscle recovery.

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The location will also hold the first Soho House Racquet & Rowing Club with padel, tennis and pickleball courts.

For those wishing to try their hand at rowing, the site will come with boat storage, a dedicated staging area, and direct access to the river through a launching ramp.

The Lazy Lawn overlooking the Thames also provides the perfect lounging spot to catch some much-needed sunrays.

Every week, the club is set to host a number of events for members – including live performances and “One Night Only” dinners with well-known chefs.

Expected to arrive in 2027, those interested are able to register their interest online to keep an eye out for upcoming applications.

Soho House has 14 other locations in the UK, including sites in Manchester, Somerset and East Sussex.

The brand is loved by both Royals and celebrities, with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry having their first date at 76 Dean Street, a Soho House location in London back in 2016.

Senior U.S. Air Force leaders in Europe say NATO allies are increasingly looking to participate in the development and employment of collaborative combat aircraft (CCAs), even as several of those same countries pursue their own indigenous fighter and drone programs. American commanders say they are looking forward to CCAs expanding the alliance’s overall capacity, and are already pushing for such systems to work together from the outset.

Speaking yesterday at the Air & Space Forces Air, Space and Cyber Symposium that TWZ is attending, Lt. Gen. Jason T. Hinds, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe, U.S. Air Forces Africa, and NATO’s Allied Air Command, and Chief Master Sgt. Joshua J. Wiener, USAFE-AFAFRICA’s command chief, discussed how the command is preparing for an eventual European role in the U.S. Air Force’s planned fleet of hundreds of CCAs.

The issue is particularly significant for USAFE, which operates a fraction of the fighter force it maintained in Europe during the Cold War, even as many of its NATO allies contend with shrinking fleets of crewed combat aircraft. This comes against a backdrop of deepening tensions with Russia and the emergence of new kinds of threats. Autonomous aircraft that can augment crewed fighters could provide the alliance with additional combat mass without requiring a corresponding increase in the number of crewed aircraft and personnel permanently based in Europe.

“I’m excited about what CCAs have in store for the Air Force,” Hinds said, pointing to recent comments from the Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, including the aim of having at least 500 CCAs in service by 2032.

He added that European interest in these kinds of platforms is already growing.

“I think you’re going to see a lot more interest from other nations inside Europe about what is America doing with CCAs and how they can join this party, if you will,” Hinds said.

Germany is “heavily involved,” he said, while Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands are also showing interest.

In the case of Germany, we have previously explored how that country is looking to procure CCAs by 2029. Sweden, too, recently unveiled a concept for a high-end, stealthy CCA-type drone, while the Dutch are looking to become more closely alligned with U.S. Air Force CCA efforts.

USAFE is currently using two broad operational scenarios to explain to allies how CCAs could fit into NATO’s force structure.

The first is defensive. A CCA could operate as part of an integrated air and missile defense network, potentially engaging one-way attack drones or cruise missiles without the need for expensive crewed fighters.

The second is offensive. In that scenario, autonomous aircraft could help suppress or destroy integrated air defense systems and potentially attack fielded forces during an effort to repel a hostile incursion into NATO territory.

Allies are interested in both missions, Hinds said, and want the ability to incorporate CCAs into their own force designs. Interestingly, only yesterday, Anduril shared photos of its YFQ-44A Fury configured with air-to-ground weapons, underscoring the fact that the CCA could take on an air-to-ground role in the future in addition to its current air-to-air focus.

That kind of interest has already prompted work at the NATO level. Hinds pointed to a study by the Joint Air Power Competence Center, the alliance’s airpower think tank based in Kalkar, Germany, examining how NATO members could employ CCAs in a modular fashion, including issues such as sustainment, training, and exercises.

“It was a pretty long paper, but the nations wanted it,” Hinds said.

Initial experimentation is expected to take place in the United States, but European experimentation could follow, including by Sweden and potentially other NATO members.

At the same time, European countries are not simply waiting for an American CCA to arrive.

The United Kingdom has launched its own Storm Fighter CCA program. Germany is pursuing a separate loyal-wingman effort, while the United Kingdom, Italy, and Japan are meanwhile jointly embarked on the Global Combat Air Program, or GCAP, which is intended to produce the Tempest next-generation crewed fighter and associated uncrewed systems.

The proliferation of national programs raises an obvious question: How does NATO prevent a growing fleet of autonomous aircraft from becoming a collection of incompatible national systems?

Hinds said the answer starts with commonality.

“The first and foremost thing is we want to strive for commonality,” he said. “Commonality means we don’t even have to worry about interoperability.”

Where common equipment is not possible, however, USAFE wants interoperability built into national systems from the beginning.

“Interoperability by design” is the preferred approach, Hinds said, with NATO data standards and other requirements incorporated before a system enters service rather than retrofitted later.

The good news for USAFE is that NATO already has extensive experience establishing common standards for interoperability, covering everything from tactics and procedures to communications, datalinks, weapons employment, and other technologies. That existing framework gives the alliance a foundation for integrating increasingly diverse national systems without requiring every member to field identical equipment.

Hinds did warn that some countries have previously acquired equipment that was not compatible with NATO systems, leaving them with the choice of paying to modify their own equipment or forcing the alliance to adapt its systems around it.

That problem becomes particularly important as autonomous aircraft are connected to increasingly complex sensor and weapons networks. Even more important is the requirement for a baseline command-and-control network for CCAs themselves, allowing different platforms to manage them seamlessly.

The ability to share and control CCAs across a complex battlespace is already emerging as both a major opportunity and a significant integration challenge. The U.S. Air Force and Navy, for example, have made clear that their respective CCAs are being developed with the ability to be controlled seamlessly across services, pointing toward a future in which autonomous aircraft need not remain tied to the service or platform that launched them.

Hinds described a potential kill chain in which an F-35 detects a target, passes the information to another node in the network, and a ground-based system operated by another NATO country ultimately launches the weapon.

In such an architecture, the aircraft, sensor, command-and-control network, and weapon do not necessarily have to belong to the same country.

As an example, Dutch F-35s, operating in Europe, have used a data-exchange system to transmit targeting coordinates to Israeli-made PULS (Precise and Universal Launch System) rocket artillery. The system, developed by Lockheed Martin is known as Keystone, and you can read more about it here.

USAFE is making “significant advances” in areas including cross-servicing, cross-loading, and cross-flying allied aircraft, Hinds said, all of which are intended to make multinational operations more seamless.

The same philosophy applies to weapons.

“We want to have all the fires, right? Whether it’s U.S. built or built inside European nations,” Hinds said.

That could prove increasingly important as European countries expand domestic production of missiles, drones, and other weapons alongside their aircraft programs.

The growth of GCAP and other European defense programs comes amid broader debate over how much Europe should depend on U.S. military equipment.

But Hinds rejected the idea that allies developing indigenous aircraft and autonomous systems necessarily signals a move away from American equipment.

“No, I don’t,” he said when asked whether allies were moving away from U.S. systems.

Instead, Hinds characterized the trend as an expansion of the transatlantic defense-industrial base.

Sweden was one example he cited. The country, which recently joined NATO, continues to produce new military equipment, including Gripen fighters, while those aircraft are already being operated by NATO members.

Swedish Gripens are currently leased to Hungary, and other countries are considering the aircraft, Hinds said.

The broader trend toward co-manufacturing and co-production is also something he welcomed.

“I’m seeing a lot of discussions about co-manufacturing and co-production, and I welcome those discussions as well,” Hinds said.

That approach could become increasingly important as NATO tries to expand its available combat power without relying exclusively on additional U.S.-built platforms.

For USAFE, the objective is to ensure that whatever aircraft NATO countries develop or purchase can plug into a common architecture, sharing data, receiving targeting information, drawing on common logistics networks, and contributing weapons effects across national boundaries.

For a U.S. Air Force command that has spent decades trying to cover Europe with far fewer fighters than it once had, hundreds of autonomous wingmen, whether American-built or allied, could provide a significant way to generate additional combat mass.

Senior U.S. Air Force officials are now working to ensure that the networking, weapons integration, logistics, and command-and-control architecture will be in place once those aircraft start to come online.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

LONDON — Todd Boehly and fellow co-owner Mark Walter have sold their stakes in Chelsea, handing full control to Clearlake Capital, the English Premier League club said on Wednesday.

“Chelsea Football Club today announced affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group will acquire the ownership interest of Todd Boehly,” it said in a statement.

“As part of the transition, Clearlake will also acquire Mark Walter’s ownership interest and therefore acquire full control of the club.”

Boehly, Walter and Swiss investor Hansjorg Wyss all purchased a 12.8% share alongside the private equity company Clearlake, which had owned 61.5% ahead of Wednesday’s announcement. The Financial Times reported that Walter and Boehly will receive £950 million ($1.3 billion) for their combined stake in a deal that values the club at £5 billion ($6.7 billion) including debt.

Walter’s companies are the subject of multiple investigations that center on how much life insurance companies he owns were invested in the Dodgers and Lakers and why the investments weren’t accurately disclosed. Walter sold his majority share of the Lakers last month for a record $12.5 billion valuation, but Walter’s TWG Global said the decision to sell was not forced by the investigation. People with knowledge of company operations but not authorized to speak publicly told The Times Walter was open to selling his Chelsea share for the right price, but he has no intention of selling the Dodgers and other sports investments.

Boehly has worked with Walter at Guggenheim Partners since 2001 and played a significant role in the purchase of the Dodgers and Lakers, among other Walter owned properties.

In 2022, Clearlake and Boehly combined to take over the club from Roman Abramovich when the Russian billionaire was forced to sell the club after being sanctioned by the U.K. for his connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Boehly now stands down in his role as Chelsea chairman. Fans protested Boehly’s tenure as the club struggled to keep pace in the Premier League title chase amid erratic leadership, unusual player acquisitions and chaotic relationships with managers.

“It has been an honor to serve as chairman of Chelsea Football Club,” Boehly said. “I would like to thank the many who helped secure a bright future for the club, including the English Premier League, the coaches and players, the talented leadership and staff at Chelsea, and the legions of dedicated fans.

“I have valued my partnership with Clearlake and the wider ownership group, and the collective decisions and investment we have made to support the immediate and long-term success of the club. I am confident that Chelsea is well positioned for continued success under Clearlake’s leadership.”

Behdad Eghbali and José E. Feliciano, co-founders of Clearlake Capital, lauded Boehly in the Chelsea statement. Feliciano also recently acquired Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres.

“Todd has been an important partner throughout our ownership of Chelsea, and we thank him for his time and contribution as chairman,” Eghbali and Feliciano said. “He will always be a part of the Chelsea story and family.

“Clearlake has served as Chelsea’s majority owner since 2022, and as we move to full control our focus is to continue investing in the club’s infrastructure, sporting performance, player development and delivering long-term success for Chelsea and the club’s supporters.”

The statement also said Wyss would “remain an important stakeholder and partner in the ownership group”, and that there would be “no changes to the day-to-day operations, leadership or strategy at the club.”

Chelsea, which is sixth in the Premier League standings, next faces London rival Brentford on Friday.

Jimenez writes for the Associated Press.

JJ Gabriel is already the youngest person to play for Manchester United’s Under-18 team.

He is also the youngest person to play in an unofficial game with United’s first team.

The 15-year-old striker appeared set to become the youngest person to play in an official game with United’s first team. The club plays Brighton in an English League Cup game Wednesday.

But seems unlikely to happen at this point — not after Gabriel has requested to be let out of his youth registration with the club immediately to become a free agent. Gabriel is under contract with United until the end of the current season in May.

United remains hopeful it can retain the young star, a person with knowledge of the situation but unauthorized to comment told the Associated Press.

According to the BBC, Gabriel did not train with the team late last week “amid issues in the relationship between the player’s family and United.” The publication also states that chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox “are directly involved in discussions with the player’s family, which underlines how seriously the club [regards] the situation.”

If United declines Gabriel’s request, the matter could ultimately be decided by the Premier League.

Gabriel’s father, Joe O’Cearuill, was a defender who played for Arsenal, mainly in the lower leagues, and briefly for Ireland’s national team.

Born in London on Oct. 6, 2010, Gabriel first gained wide attention — and the nickname “Kid Messi,” after global soccer legend Lionel Messi — as an 8-year-old youth player showing his skills in a YouTube video posted by SV2 in 2019. It has been viewed more than 5 million times.

After playing for youth academies such as Arsenal, West Ham United and Chelsea, Gabriel signed with Manchester United at age 11. He was 14 years, 6 months and 1 day old when he scored two goals in his U-18 debut, a 13-1 victory against Leeds on April 5, 2025.

Gabriel went on to score 20 goals in only 21 appearances and was named the U-18 Premier League player of the year. He also became the youngest player to be named Manchester United’s academy player of the year. Making his UEFA Youth League debut last week, Gabriel netted a hat trick during a 5-0 victory over Sabah.

On Aug. 1, Gabriel made his first appearance with United’s first team, playing eight minutes during a preseason game against Atlético Madrid. He was 15 years, 9 months and 26 days old. The youngest Manchester United first-team player in an official game is David Gaskell, who was 16 years and 19 days old when he first appeared for the club on Oct. 24, 1956.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As an astronomer who studies how stars develop over tens of millions of years, Ben Zuckerman instinctively takes the long view. What he sees in regard to future U.S. population numbers troubles his environmentalist’s heart: As many as a billion people on the American landscape by 2100, as many as 100 million in California, courtesy of liberal immigration policies.

Zuckerman, a 58-year-old UCLA professor given to running shoes and organic rice cakes, believes environmentalists should be loudly demanding curbs on legal immigration and an end to illegal immigration, which are fueling the country’s surging population growth. The influential Sierra Club, to which he has belonged for more than three decades, ought to be especially vocal on the matter, he thinks.

Zuckerman’s views conflict directly with the club’s official neutrality on immigration reform. Nonetheless, he recently was elected to the club’s board of directors with the most votes, 36,383, among the five successful candidates, despite not being anointed by the organization’s nominating committee.

His victory, he says, is a vindication of keen-eyed Sierrans who see that “the No. 1 environmental problem–and it’s not even close–is overpopulation. A billion Americans is a disaster. I don’t know how my colleagues in the Sierra Club can save species and wetlands and so on when there are a billion Americans.”

At the time of the first Earth Day celebration in 1970, with American fertility rates reaching replacement levels, environmentalists foresaw the U.S. population being stabilized within a single generation.

Then the immigration freight train came roaring down the track. By the time it barreled through the 1990s, it had quadrupled traditional figures for legal immigration, which has reached 1 million-plus per year. Illegal immigration is estimated to be an additional 200,000 to 500,000 annually. From 1990 to 2000, the U.S. population swelled by 13%, its largest 10-year increase ever (in the rest of the developed world, population grew by 2.5%). According to government demographers, immigration and immigrant fertility accounted for about 70% of the national increase, and 90% of California’s.

Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s, the Sierra Club supported immigration curbs. In the 1990s, however, the club’s leadership grew shy of the issue as it waxed in controversy. In 1998, Sierrans for U.S. Population Stabilization, a group co-founded by Zuckerman, forced a club referendum on the matter. The leadership pushed for neutrality, Zuckerman’s faction for support of immigration curbs. The leadership’s position won, but Zuckerman faction’s received 40% of the vote.

Now the club’s official posture is to focus on global, as opposed to U.S., population stabilization and to work for improved conditions in immigrant-producing countries.

What really motivates the club leadership, Zuckerman says, is fear. Fear of being called racist. Fear of losing minority-group members and fear of forfeiting financial support from big business and foundations.

Pro-immigration forces–including Latino politicians, the AFL-CIO and corporations, which covet both cheap labor and more consumers–are quick to swing the racism bludgeon. Zuckerman, a lifelong liberal and civil rights advocate, has borne such accusations painfully. “But the average person is overwhelmingly in favor of reduced legal immigration and an end to illegal immigration, and this cuts across every racial line,” he says. “How can it be racist to agree with a majority of every ethnic and racial group in the country?”

The Sierra Club’s timidity on the issue muddies its integrity. (How, he asks, can the club rail against polluters for breaking environmental laws but keep silent about immigrants who break immigration laws?) To save itself, he says, it must refocus on protecting the American environment and opposing growth for growth’s sake, which he calls “the ideology of a cancer cell.” Emboldened by Zuckerman’s victory, more Sierrans of his persuasion are certain to run in next year’s annual election for five of the 15 board seats.

The Sierra Club is headquartered in San Francisco. Presumedly, the people who run it have to commute every day through the congestion of the Bay Area. I have to wonder, do they ever ponder the discomfort of it? Do they really imagine, with residential development devouring space and wildlife habitat from San Diego to Sacramento, that natural California can survive the 50 million residents that demographers are projecting for 2025, much less the 100 million that could be living here by the end of the century if current patterns hold?

Bruce Hamilton, the Sierra Club’s national conservation director, says the organization remains committed to its long-standing goal of population stabilization. It just takes a global approach now rather than a national one. Immigration to the U.S. will dwindle, the club believes, when conditions in immigrant-producing countries no longer compel people to leave home.

Or, I might point out, when conditions here become equally bad, the swollen masses just as poor, the environment just as degraded.

Aged 18 years and 341 days, Ayyoub Bouaddi became the fourth-youngest player to start a Champions League match for City.

Question marks were raised around the size of the fee for a position on the pitch where players can be exposed, but Bouaddi seems to have settled in immediately and showcased why he will be a valuable option this season.

“He is very good,” said manager Enzo Maresca. “Against Coventry, he lost two balls and after that he was inside our box and calm. Other players may have panicked but at 18, he is a fantastic player.

“Tonight, he was very good. He speaks French, English, Spanish perfect. He is different in how mature he is. This is why the club has made the effort for him to be with us.”

BBC Sport reported City’s interest in Bouaddi in June and, contrary to reports, sources said signing him and then loaning back to Lille for a season was not on the agenda.

The performance in Portugal highlighted why those in power at City believe he has all attributes to “develop into a world class talent” and he clearly enjoys playing on the biggest stage.

Two years ago, Bouaddi earned a standing ovation from Lille supporters after helping his side to a shock group phase victory over holders Real Madrid and the travelling City fans will have been doing the same in Portugal on Tuesday evening.

Bouaddi completed 54 of his 55 passes, while he also topped the metrics across players of both sides for most dribbles (4), most times possession won (7) and contesting more duels (13).

“He did a really good game,” said Haaland. “The last couple of weeks in training, he has been amazing. I think we have got a gem there, to be honest.”

Though it was only Bouaddi’s 10th appearance in the competition, the Norwegian sent a playful yet pointed message to his team-mate about needing to be perfect all of the time.

The striker added: “I think he should’ve played me through in the second half so I was a bit angry.

“But he played a good game… except for that pass.”

NOW is the time to get booked in for your winter holiday, as Club Med has launched their mega September Winter Sale.

In the Club Med September Winter Sale, you can save up to £600 on a glamorous ski holiday.

Not only can you bag major savings, but you can secure yourself a getaway before all the popular Christmas, New Year and December dates get snapped up.

Even if you’ve never skied before, Club Med makes skiing getaways remarkably easy. There are ski lessons available for everyone, from kids and adult beginners all the way to seasoned pros.

All of their ski holidays are all inclusive, packaging ski-in, ski-out access, ski passes, lessons for all levels, accommodation, dining and activities all into one price. Once you’re all booked, there’s truly nothing left for you to think about.

And when you’re not out on the slopes, there’s plenty to do at these gorgeous winter resorts – from soaking in steaming spa pools to singing your heart out at the apres-ski party events.

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The flash sale is only on for two weeks, from September 1 – September 15. So if you want to bag an all inclusive bargain, make sure to do it fast!

Here’s a selection of jaw-dropping ski holidays you can save hundreds on in the Club Med September sale.

Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon

Perched at a height of 1,600 metres with 360° views over the Giffre valley, Club Med Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon is the ultimate ski-in, ski-out playground for families.

While the slopes here are epic, there’s plenty more to see and do in this glam resort.

Food here is a massive step up from your standard mountain buffet. You can tuck into dishes crafted by a Michelin-starred chef at the Skyline Gourmet Lounge, or head to the fun Bread & Co family restaurant where kids actually get to play chef and help make dinner.

You can also join guided snowshoe hikes through the mountains, take a dip in the indoor freshwater pool, and warm up in the sauna.

Book a stay at Club Med Grand Massif Samoëns Morillon

Val d’Isère

Spend your mornings at Val d’Isère cruising down beautifully wide, rolling blue runs, or if you are feeling brave, test your nerves on the steep ‘La Face’ – a black run built for the Olympic downhill.

Once you’ve taken to the slopes via ski or snowboard, you can thaw out with some swimming in the heated indoor pool or sink into the steamy outdoor hot tubs.

Or, if you want to work up more of a sweat, you can hit the fully equipped gym, join in with aqua aerobics, or stretch those aching muscles with group Pilates and yoga sessions.

When it’s time to seriously switch off, the Club Med Spa by Cinq Mondes is waiting. Outside of the tranquil treatment rooms, there’s a hammam, a polysensorial bath (which uses colours and smells to promote relaxation) and even a hair salon to keep you looking great for the nightly apres-ski DJ sets.

Book a stay at Club Med Val d’Isère

Arcs Panorama

Club Med Les Arcs Panorama puts a massive 264 miles of runs perfect for all abilities on your doorstep.

When you’re ready to hang up your ski boots, you can enjoy a massage at the on-site spa, or simply curl up with a book in the relaxing ‘la Cachette’ lounge.

Those chasing more thrills can strap on snowshoes and explore the peaceful, pine-filled trails winding through the surrounding alpine forest.

Come evening, you can sip some well-deserved drinks on the sun-drenched panoramic terrace overlooking the Tarentaise valley, before getting stuck into the nightly entertainment with live bands and shows.

Book a stay at Club Med Arcs Panorama

Tignes

Club Med Tignes brings a serious dose of modern luxury to the mountains.

While the ski-in, ski-out access to the 186-mile Tignes-Val d’Isere domain is epic, the off-slope scene here is just as impressive.

Here you can take a dip in the heated indoor pool – the largest of its kind in the Alps – complete with jaw-dropping mountain views and a dedicated children’s pool.

If you’re an adrenaline junkie looking for more activities, you can even book extras like paragliding over the peaks or ice diving beneath the frozen Lake Tignes.

When it comes to chill time, you can grab a chilled beer or cocktail on one of the four sunny, south-facing terraces, or head to the massive ‘Energy’ outdoor bar for lively BBQs and DJ sets.

Fitness fans are totally covered too, with a top-tier gym, spin classes, and yoga sessions to stretch out tired ski legs.

Book a stay at Club Med Tignes

Val Thorens

If you’re looking for high-altitude thrills mixed with a serious party atmosphere, Club Med Val Thorens is your best bet.

Sitting at a dizzying 2,300 metres with direct access to the colossal Three Valleys domain, this resort ditches traditional wood cabins for sleek, modern glass architecture.

Right in the middle of the massive four-storey atrium, you’ll find a 10-metre indoor climbing wall to tackle.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite, you can head to the Epicurious Gourmet Lounge for daily wine tastings and a menu designed by a Michelin-starred chef.

The apres-ski scene here is legendary – you can grab a cocktail at the glowing pink Oxygen bar, soak up the sun on the huge panoramic terrace, or party late into the night.

Plus, if you want a different kind of outdoor adrenaline rush, you are perfectly placed to try out the Cosmojet, France‘s longest toboggan run.

Book a stay at Club Med Val Thorens

Prices correct at the time of publication.