concerns

US stocks have continued to slide as concerns continue to intensify over the increasing costs of the artificial intelligence (AI) build out.

Shares in Intel continued their overnight slide into early trading on Friday, falling as much as 30% after the chip maker warned of a weaker computer market even as it plans to increase spending on AI.

Amazon shares fell as far as 6% before recovering after its reported earnings on Thursday evening fell short of investors’ expectations.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq stock exchange opened on Friday at its lowest level in more than two months, down 2.5%, as other tech stocks including Reddit and Roblox continued to fall.

The losses follow the value of Google owner Alphabet plunging by more than $500bn on Thursday after it revealed its own AI summaries were affecting its core search advertising revenue.

Alphabet stock continued to fall in early trading, down 1% after Thursday’s massive slide.

The bigger losses on Friday were elsewhere, with Intel on track to lose more than $130bn in value after its earnings update rattled investors.

On Thursday, Intel’s finance chief David Zinsner said the firm did not expect positive cash flow this year, and forecast lower-than-expected revenue for its fourth quarter.

“Looking ahead, we see the PC slowdown continuing at least through the first half of next year,” he said in the chip maker’s third quarter earnings report.

In the earnings call, he said the firm had significantly ramped up investment in equipment in the third quarter and expected that to be “even more significant” in the following three months.

On television, ads for UCLA Health show up behind the Dodgers’ home plate and in the background when Justin Herbert, the Chargers’ quarterback, speaks after a game.

At the Lakers’ training facility, the health system’s logo appears on the court and throughout the building, under a marketing partnership that cost the university tens of millions of dollars.

The ads are part of the public university health system’s strategy to increase the number of Southern Californians using its providers at its fast-growing number of clinics and hospitals.

University officials say its expansion to five hospitals and 300 clinics — up from 150 locations a decade ago — has given more Southern Californians access to its academic medicine.

Lakers championship banners hang from the rafters and trophies are on display in an office overlooking the news conference as Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, left, speaks while Lakers coach JJ Redick listens at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Last year, the system’s clinics and hospitals recorded 4.2 million outpatient visits — more than five times the number in 2015.

“As a public institution, we’re trying to make sure that patients within our community have access to care,” said Dr. Robert Cherry, UCLA Health’s chief medical and quality officer. “That’s the primary and overriding concern, because there’s an acute demand for our services.”

Yet healthcare economists point to repeated studies showing that hospital consolidation — where health systems expand, take over competitors and hire more of a region’s physicians — has become a leading driver of escalating health costs and insurance premiums, while doing little to raise the quality of care.

Glenn Melnick, a USC professor of healthcare finance, has documented how hospital consolidation in Northern California caused health costs to escalate. He said the mergers and acquisitions have continued, including with UCLA Health and other hospital systems in Southern California. UCI Health acquired four community hospitals in 2024.

One consequence, Melnick said, is surging insurance premiums for employers, which leave companies with little money for wage increases, while employees end up paying more for their health insurance and out-of-pocket medical costs.

“We’re now, I think, at a breaking point,” he said.

UCLA executives said the aim of the expansion was not to increase revenues the health system receives from commercial insurers. And they say they don’t believe UCLA Health is large enough to influence health costs.

“We actually represent only a small fraction of the inpatient capacity, physicians, clinics and resources available across the large and complex healthcare market in L.A.,” said Johnese Spisso, UCLA Health’s president, in an interview.

Nonetheless, the system’s expansion and its other recent financial decisions have led to protests by some of the university’s own staff and faculty, who point out the new clinics have been added mostly in wealthier neighborhoods, including Malibu and Montecito, where the majority of families have commercial insurance.

None of its clinics are in South or East Los Angeles, where more residents are covered by Medi-Cal, the state program for low-income people.

Cameron Carr during a news conference at the UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo.

(Arwen Clemans/Los Angeles Times)

University of California system officials say Medi-Cal’s reimbursements are so low that they don’t cover the cost of care at the state’s five UC medical centers. Those losses, they say, must be covered by charges to those with commercial insurance.

Last month, dozens of medical residents and interns protested outside a UC Regents board meeting after UCLA Health failed to renew a Medi-Cal contract that had covered thousands of low-income patients. The doctors waved signs with slogans “Corporate Greed” and “Keep UCLA Health public.”

Dr. David Schriger, UCLA professor emeritus of emergency medicine, said that given the mission of the state’s public university, he questioned why the expansion had not included neighborhoods such as South Central L.A.

“The public should be making these decisions,” Schriger said. “It should not be at the whim of some executives.”

Santiago Munoz, UCLA Health’s chief strategy officer, said officials don’t consider neighborhood income levels when deciding where to open clinics. Instead, he said, the system has been adding clinics along freeways running north and south.

“We’re staying close to the 405 and the 101 because driving to locations in Los Angeles is inevitable, and it’s very difficult to get to Westwood,” he said.

Munoz noted that UCLA had recently leased a 20,000-square-foot space for a clinic in Inglewood, has locations in downtown Los Angeles, and provides physician services at two of L.A. County’s public hospitals.

“We are trying to go to where patients are,” Munoz said.

Worries about crowding

Nurses at the university’s flagship hospital Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood say the expansion has created crowding that has caused what they describe as an ongoing, daily crisis in the emergency room.

Patients coming from the 300 clinics for hip replacements, heart surgeries and other procedures at Ronald Reagan often wait one or two days in the emergency department until beds become available upstairs in the hospital, according to UCLA officials.

To accommodate those patients who’ve been admitted but don’t have a room, the hospital has installed dozens of beds in what was once the emergency department’s waiting room and in adjacent spaces. That has forced people waiting for emergency care into a large white tent outside, which was put up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“How do you do a good exam in a tent? It just doesn’t work,” said Dianne Sposito, a nurse who works in the emergency department. “I feel patients are in grave danger right now. Accidents are bound to happen.”

LeBron James has fun with his daughter, Zhuri, as son, Bronny, looks on during a G League game at UCLA Health Training Center in El Segundo.

(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

A university spokesperson said the system has “extensive strategies to keep patients safe and decompress our emergency departments.”

At the September Regents committee meeting, Spisso, UCLA Health’s president, told board members that the system needs to add as many as another 400 hospital beds so that newly-admitted patients no longer have to wait.

For months, rumors have circulated that UCLA will soon buy Providence St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, which would make the university the only hospital operator in that city. UCLA bought the city’s other hospital in 1995.

UCLA officials declined to say whether they were talking about acquiring the hospital. “We’ve found it’s best not to talk about discussions we may or may not be having unless or until we have something to announce,” Phil Hampton, a university spokesperson, said in a statement.

Consolidation hikes costs

The California Health Care Foundation found in a 2021 study that hospital markets were reaching “monopoly levels” in many of the state’s counties. The consolidation was increasing prices with “little to no improvement in quality” of care, the report said.

The study also detailed how physicians often change their referral and prescribing patterns after their practices are acquired by hospitals, sometimes requesting imaging or other procedures that are not needed.

Melnick, the USC professor, noted that when UCLA acquires physician practices and “re-designates them as hospital-outpatient departments,” the clinics can begin billing insurers for an additional “hospital facility fee” for routine office visits, imaging and minor procedures.

He added that insurers often consider UCLA as a “must-have” network, allowing it to negotiate higher reimbursement rates. When the insurer folds UCLA’s new hospitals and clinics into their plan, he said, it often agrees to raise rates at the newly-acquired providers to match what UCLA is receiving as an academic system. Patients get the same care, he said, “but there is a new name on the door.”

Munoz said that UCLA Health was adding facility fees to some bills, including for imaging, but not for physician care. “We’re running a fairly lean operation in the community when it comes to physician services and not collecting the facility fees that others are,” he said.

More income from patient charges

UCLA is not the only hospital system expanding in the L.A. region. For example, Cedars Sinai has also been adding clinics and buying hospitals.

Price data shows that insurers and patients often pay more for care at UCLA Health and Cedars.

Anthem, Southern California’s largest commercial insurer, this year is paying $20,265 to UCLA for a total knee replacement at Ronald Reagan, according to data gathered by Serif Health, a San Francisco firm that collects data from hospitals and insurers. That price is 9% higher than last year and doesn’t include physician fees, the implanted device or anesthesia.

Anthem pays Cedars more than twice as much for a knee replacement, according to Serif’s data, while it pays Providence St. John’s 22% less. Cedars’ current negotiated reimbursement is $42,559 — an increase of almost 17% over last year.

University executives said that because UCLA Health is an academic health system it provides a high volume of complex care that is more costly than care at non-academic hospitals.

UCLA’s expansion strategy has been financially successful, according to the health system’s annual report.

Last year, UCLA Health operating revenues grew by nearly 20% to more than $5 billion. After paying for expenses, its operating income was $793 million, a margin of almost 16%. That compares to the median operating margin of 1.5% for 45 academic medical centers across the country, according to a 2024 study by McKinsey & Company.

UCLA officials said the operating margin was not a good comparative measure because it doesn’t include a $496-million transfer to the university’s medical school to cover other operations including the training of physicians.

“Education, research, and clinical care are all part of our mission and our responsibilities to really train that next generation of healthcare professionals,” Spisso said.

Expansion continues

The university is now spending nearly $300 million to renovate a 170,000-square-foot building that sits on nine acres near Los Angeles International Airport. Purchased in 2024, the campus’ many offerings will include a sports medicine institute with physical therapy and advanced imaging, as well as an ambulatory surgery center with 10 operating rooms.

The university also plans to soon open a new 119-bed psychiatric hospital in L.A.’s Mid-Wilshire neighborhood. The facility was once the 204-bed Olympia Medical Center, where most patients were Black, Latino and underinsured. Olympia shut down after the university purchased it in December 2020.

The renovated hospital allows UCLA to relocate and expand the 74-bed Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital, which is currently on the fourth floor of Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

“We have patients waiting for mental healthcare so we made a $650-million investment in this new facility,” Spisso said. “We will probably lose around $50 million a year just operating it, but we saw it as one of the most underserved areas.”

UCLA then plans to add 103 beds to Ronald Reagan by renovating its fourth floor, increasing the medical center’s capacity by 23% to ease the overcrowding.

In 2024, the university bought the 260-bed West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley from HCA Healthcare.

Last month, Spisso told the Regents committee that the hospital, now known as UCLA West Valley Medical Center, and its surrounding clinics, were making more money than officials had expected.

Law firm Eversheds Sutherland, which carried out the independent investigation, said there were “high levels of stress and concern” within NESO’s Electricity National Control Centre over the “current state of the energy industry generally” and the longer-term ability to keep it balanced.

It said this was, according to evidence gathered from staff, due to the fact that traditional methods of electricity generation such as gas were “easier to manage”, compared to renewables, which were “less flexible”, and were making the job of ensuring supply meets demand “more difficult”.

The probe also found there to be a “significant disconnect” between those working in the control room and NESO’s leadership.

Multiple witnesses expressed the view that those in senior leadership and executive positions “do not fully appreciate or understand either the way in which the control room works, or the reality of the pressures faced by those on the frontline who are responsible for ‘keeping the lights on'”, Eversheds’ report said.

The investigation was prompted after Conservative shadow energy secretary Clare Coutinho said in July she had been contacted by a whistle-blower alleging that NESO had been “hiding information about how securely our grid is being run”.

One of the claims was that control room staff were encouraged to conceal or alter records to avoid leaving a paper trail linked to efforts to stabilise the grid during a period of extreme heat in June.

This was done in order for NESO, which is owned by the government, to avoid public scrutiny or reputational damage, according to the allegation.

Eversheds said its investigation did not substantiate any of the allegations from whistle-blowers but did identify “cultural, governance and control issues” that it said were “significant findings in their own right”.

Fintan Slye, chief executive of NESO, said the investigation identified “areas where we could improve how colleagues can raise concerns and how we respond to them”.

“I want all colleagues at NESO to feel heard. We will act on the recommendations, working closely with our trade unions, and be open with colleagues about the progress we make,” he added.

And the DRC’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Therese Kayikwamba Wagner said in a statement last week that “giving (Rwanda President) Paul Kagame this platform would help polish the image of an authoritarian leader whose government has helped fuel a devastating war in our country”.

She pointed out that the US had sanctioned the Rwandan army and four senior officers for their role in destabilising the region, conducting military operations inside the DRC and supporting, training and fighting alongside the M23 rebel group.

She added that F1 “should require credible, independent guarantees that no money used to host the race comes from conflict-linked minerals or the exploitation of Congolese resources”.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton said: “Africa is a place that deserves to have a grand prix. It’s about more than just one country. It’s about the continent itself, and there are so many beautiful countries within it.

“The people are so lovely. The culture is so rich, and I think it’s important that we get to show that to the world. We get to do that with our sport. We get to go to all these different countries, and people see some of these countries they didn’t really know too much about.

“All of a sudden, it becomes something that’s on the screen, and kids are talking about it. They go to school talking about it. So, I’m really, really hopeful for that grand prix.”

However, the Ferrari driver added: “Going there doesn’t mean that you neglect the things that are happening there.

“So hopefully many people start to educate themselves a little bit more about what is happening there and what has happened there for hundreds of years. I hope that does spark the conversation.

“And then I guess I’ll finish it off with this: I think we need to make sure we’re pushing to free Congo, free Sudan, free Syria, free Palestine. I think there’s a lot of peace that I’m hoping we get to at some stage.”

ITV have issued a statement after a furious backlash from fans in the way Omar has been treating fellow housemate Rhianna.

ITV has issued a statement after furious Big Brother fans voiced their concern about Omar’s behaviour towards Rhianna on Monday night’s episode.

Fans were quick to rush to social media to complain about his actions and some even called for producers of the show to “step in” after the altercation left Rhianna in tears. Others insisted he needed to be removed immediately.

ITV today released a statement pointing to their strictly-enforced welfare protocols. It said: “All Housemates receive Respect and Inclusion training and an extensive briefing from the Big Brother Senior team to prepare them for living in the House and to set out Big Brother’s expectations for appropriate behaviour and language.

“Housemates are monitored 24 hours a day and any instances of inappropriate behaviour are responded to appropriately.

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“Welfare and safeguarding are prioritised throughout the production, with a dedicated welfare team available to support Housemates before, during and after their time in the House.”

The issue arose as viewers watched on as Rhianna appeared to end her relationship with Omar. She questioned his maturity in conversation.

Rhianna was later called to the Diary Room. She was asked by Big Brother if she was okay and she told them: “I’m not that good but I’ll be fine. Obviously me and Omar have not been good over the last few days and sometimes I don’t like the way he speaks to me.”

She added: “I wouldn’t let a boy speak to me like that outside of here so why am I letting him speak to me like that… If it keeps going in circles, we can just be friends.”

Fans quickly shared their views on social media and said the viewing was “uncomfortable”. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “Big Brother really needs to intervene between Omar and Rhianna and call out the abhorrent actions of Omar.

“The way he speaks to her, the double standards and all the red flags are so concerning for her and any other potential future partners.”

Former I’m A Celebrity Star and regular guest on Big Brother companion shows Dean McCulloch shared a TikTok and captioned it: “Omar needs to be removed from the house with immediate effect.”

He said: “Those scenes that we had to watch tonight and that behaviour that Rihanna had to endure is completely unacceptable. That’s not even good TV. That’s not even close to being good TV.

“The way that he has spoken about her and to her and the way he is treating her . . . should not be tolerated in any way shape or form. He needs to be made an example of. The way he leaned over her, spoke to her in her ear, the way he told her she needed to fix up, the way he said look at me…we’ve moved into a dark place and Rihanna needs to be protected.”

ITV’s comment comes after Women’s Aid also responded to the scenes. On Instagram, they said: “We’re seeing coercive and controlling behaviours being given a platform in popular media like Big Brother. We’ve been contacted by many viewers who have expressed concern. Not only does Big Brother risk minimising survivors’ experiences, it also risks presenting abuse as a form of entertainment.

“Producers should understand their responsibility to keep contestants emotionally and physically safe. The women in these programmes are real people and need real support. We continue to urge television companies such as ITV to engage with experts like Women’s Aid to understand the nature of abuse and how they can do better to protect contestants.”

For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk

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A 24-year-old man, who was already being held in quarantine, is the latest to test positive, according to the Health Ministry.

⁠Kenya has confirmed ⁠a new Ebola case, bringing the total ‌number of infections in the country to ⁠nine, amid an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising concerns about a regional spread.

A 24-year-old man, who was already being held in quarantine, is the latest to test positive, Kenya’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday.

“He was isolated at the first sign of illness, tested and started on treatment immediately upon confirmation of his positive test result,” it said, adding he “was already in quarantine when he fell ill”.

The man was a close family member of Kenya’s first Ebola patient, who had travelled from the DRC, through Uganda and before arriving in Kenya and dying at a Nairobi hospital on ⁠October 5.

“All nine cases belong to one cluster, and as of ‌today there is no evidence of transmission outside this group,” Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Eight patients are stable and responding well to treatment, while 134 of 135 contacts have been traced and quarantined,” Amoth said.

Amoth said a milestone was in sight for the majority of the contacts in quarantine as they had remained well for the 21-day monitoring period and could return home from October 25.

It appealed to communities to welcome them back, saying they “pose no risk of infection”.

The ministry said no infections had occurred within quarantine facilities and that it was continuously monitoring infection-prevention measures to protect health workers.

Despite the nine infections, Kenya has not imposed restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings, with authorities saying the country remains open for business.

In the DRC, there have been more than 9,000 Ebola cases and 4,000 deaths since May.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says it’s the second-largest epidemic on record.

It has been difficult to contain because there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

For more than 40 percent of US presidents, the fraternity hall was an early stop on the road to the White House.

Fraternal organisations, more commonly known as fraternities or frats, have a long and storied history on college campuses in the United States.

One industry group, the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), represents 58 fraternities spread across 600 schools. It claims nearly 200,000 undergraduate students as active members and an alumni population of 4.2 million.

The draw for college-aged men is the promise of brotherhood, a bond that transcends keg parties and late-night revelry. Like sororities and other members-only student organisations, fraternities are often touted as pathways to personal, academic and professional success.

But critics argue that some fraternities have leveraged their exclusivity to encourage and normalise violence, dangling social acceptance as a reward for compliance.

“This isn’t [some sort of] a hobbyist club,” said anthropologist Aldo Cimino, a Kent State University professor who studies fraternity hazing. “It is the seriousness of the affiliation that has generated the intensity of these induction rituals.”

In recent weeks, one case has renewed debate over fraternity culture and whether the campus organisations use their exclusivity to shield bad behaviour.

In September, an anonymous woman known as Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit against the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University and seven of its members, accusing them of gang raping her during a party on the night of October 19, 2024.

Doe’s sorority, Delta Delta Delta, and Cornell itself are among the co-defendants.

Her lawsuit raises questions about fraternity and sorority culture at US schools, collectively known as “Greek life” for the groups’ use of Greek lettering and symbols.

Upon her admission to Cornell, Doe argues she encountered a “glorified – yet materially false and misleading – facade” for Greek life.

“She arrived on a campus where the University actively promoted Greek membership as a ‘vital’ part of the campus community and endorsed these organizations as well-managed, worthy pathways to new friendships and improving one’s educational and professional opportunities,” the lawsuit said.

The complaint accuses the fraternities of instead perpetuating a pattern of sexual assault and abuse.

What are fraternities?

Now a multibillion-dollar industry, fraternities in the US trace their origins to men-only clubs established at some of the country’s oldest universities.

The tradition began at the College of William and Mary in 1776, when Phi Beta Kappa was founded as a secret society for debate and scholarly exchange.

Its adoption of the Greek alphabet, oath of secrecy, and arcane membership rites helped establish a blueprint for future fraternities and sororities. Often with houses of their own, fraternities eventually grew into informal extensions of the campus residential system.

Historian Nicholas Syrett wrote about the origins of such groups in his book The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, he explained that fraternities have long embraced so-called masculine ideals. But those ideals have changed from generation to generation.

In the past, fraternities sought to position themselves in “opposition to boyhood” by embracing “independence, strength of character, handsomeness and loyalty”, Syrett explained.

But their modern iteration has shifted to include a greater emphasis on “athleticism, sexual success with women, and recklessness” as well as alpha-male posturing.

Syrett argues that the fraternity system’s cult of toughness reflects a wider matrix of gendered expectations and social hierarchies.

Early fraternity men, Syrett says, prized intellect and academic distinction, provided neither betrayed too much effort. But “this has largely taken a backseat in contemporary fraternities”, he explained.

“When [men] are initiated, they are taught that loyalty to the brotherhood is of the utmost importance,” Syrett said of fraternities today. “This leads to the keeping of all kinds of secrets, including things that are against the rules and/or the law.”

A mark of elite status

In the two and a half centuries since the first fraternities were formed, Greek life has expanded to include different races and identities outside of white men.

Some Greek groups have even eschewed the traditional gender divide altogether to better embrace transgender and non-binary members.

But fraternities and sororities overall tend to act as “microcosms of the larger society”, according to Elizabeth Allan, a professor at the University of Maine and director of its Hazing Prevention Research Lab, “with race, pretty privilege and economic segregation helping shape the system”.

“The [social] stratification that we see in the larger society is going to be reflected, in large part, in many of these organisations, unless they’re actively working to disrupt it,” she added.

Between membership dues and rent at fraternity chapter houses, Greek organisations can price out all but the more affluent students, according to Allan.

“Pretty privilege” – the social bias in favour of those deemed conventionally attractive – can add to the pressure, with sorority applicants in particular shelling out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for cosmetic treatments and outfits.

Experts say the sense of exclusivity that many fraternities and sororities cultivate is a powerful draw for incoming students, who see membership as a path to upward social mobility.

That perception is reinforced by the groups’ internal dynamics. Many sororities and fraternities encourage networking among members.

A 2021 Gallup survey commissioned by the NIC and the National Panhellenic Conference found that 42 percent of fraternity or sorority alumni said a fellow member had helped them find an internship or job.

Meanwhile, 51 percent of Greek members reported having a job waiting at graduation or found employment within two months. The rate was much lower among those who were not members of such fraternities or sororities, at 36 percent.

How hazing shapes fraternities

Critics often point to hazing rituals in particular as shaping a culture of violence at some fraternities and sororities.

Hazing is a process through which prospective Greek life members undergo humiliating and sometimes perilous tasks to secure admission.

The phenomenon is prohibited by law in most US states, though the definitions, penalties and scope of such laws vary. The consequences, however, can be deadly.

One of the earliest recorded deaths associated with fraternity hazing took place at Cornell in 1873.

At the time, a group of “pledges” – would-be fraternity members – were blindfolded and led far from campus at night, with instructions to make their way back on their own.

In the dark, one of the pledges, Mortimer M Leggett, and two fraternity members stumbled over a cliff and plunged into the gorge of Six Mile Creek. The two fraternity members survived. Leggett, however, did not.

Secret initiation rituals can forge an “informal psychological social contract in which members feel obligated to protect the organisation”, according to Pietro Sasso, who studies college student experience at Old Dominion University.

Some members may feel the need to rally around the fraternity even when “doing so conflicts with their personal values or responsibilities to others”, Sasso added.

“My research on fraternity cultures suggests that organisational socialisation can normalise behaviours that individuals might otherwise question, making the environment itself an important part of prevention,” he explained.

Inside Doe’s lawsuit against Chi Phi

Doe’s case cites some of the social pressures and incentives that lead young men and women to Greek life on campus.

“She was drawn to the sorority and its promises of sisterhood and lifelong friendships, the status it conferred on its members, and the community it provided on campus when she was over 1,000 miles away from home,” the lawsuit said of Doe.

But Doe said she joined Cornell’s Greek community without being fully aware of the pattern of sexual assault associated with the local fraternities.

During Doe’s first semester, in 2022, there were at least five reported cases of victims at Cornell being drugged, and two alleged cases of sexual assault. All of those cases, according to her lawsuit, took place at fraternities.

Two years later, on the night of the alleged gang rape, Doe claims she was pressured by fraternity members to take drugs like ketamine, marijuana and alcohol. After agreeing to a threesome, she said she found herself in a “room full of predatory, fraternity men” who raped her while she was incapacitated.

A photo of a group chat included in her lawsuit shows one Chi Phi member informing his fellow fraternity brothers that there was “free pussy” in an upstairs alumni room. A member of the chat replies, “I f***ing love chi phi.” Another chimes in, “Like you can walk in and whip it out.”

Several of the men have denied any wrongdoing.

But the case has sparked questions about whether the culture of Greek life contributes to a high rate of sexual assault in fraternities and sororities.

One 2021 survey published by the American Psychological Association tracked male students from high school through their second year of college. It found that fraternity members were 62 percent more likely to report sexual aggression during their first two years of college.

Separately, a 2009 study published in the journal Violence Against Women estimated that 29 percent of sorority members reported suffering sexual assault during college, roughly four times the rate of non-members.

Reforming Greek life

After the alleged gang rape in 2024, Cornell’s Chi Phi chapter was closed, and the fraternity remains barred from campus. Two male defendants in Doe’s lawsuit were expelled, while another two were suspended.

But some student activists say too little is being done to reform Greek life in the wake of Doe’s case. They want stronger measures to enforce accountability within private, members-only groups where secrecy often reigns.

CJ Barles, a junior at the University of California, Davis, is one of the students across the US organising protests in support of Doe. She told Al Jazeera she understands the appeal of the fraternity and sorority systems.

“Affiliated students say it looks good on their resume,” Barles explained. “They see it as a built-in cult, a seat at the table and a crew to call their own.”

But Barles said she has heard troubling reports. Some fraternities, she explained, hold parties “requiring every man” to arrive with several women in tow. That requirement says “a lot about the culture some of these spaces cultivate”, she added.

At a rally last week, Barles and other protesters called on the University of California system to implement new measures to hold fraternities accountable for sexual assault, including enshrining students’ right to withdraw consent during sexual encounters.

But Barles said she left feeling dumbstruck by the accounts of sexual violence shared by women on campus, many of whom spoke from personal experience.

“It’s unbelievably upsetting, the amount of stories I heard,” said Barles. The litany of grievances has fanned her scepticism of the Greek system: “I wouldn’t step within a mile of most of them.”

Murphy is a baseball lifer who paid more dues than a union plumber before finally pulling on a big-league uniform for the first time when he was 56. Murphy pitched in the low minors for two organizations and for two independent teams before retiring to become a college coach at Maryville, Claremont-Mudd, Notre Dame and Arizona State. He also managed the Dutch national team to a European championship and a spot in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

His big break came in 2015, when the Padres promoted him from their triple A team in El Paso to take over for Bud Black as interim manager. A year later Craig Counsell hired him as bench coach for the Brewers, and when Counsell took the Cubs’ managerial job ahead of the 2024 season, Murphy, now 67, was named his replacement.

Two-hundred and 93 regular-season wins and three playoff trips later, the baseball lifer is four wins away from the World Series, which would be the trip of a lifetime.

“I think it was just the relentless pursuit of something,” Murphy told Yahoo Sports of his long journey. “I wanted to be somebody. I wanted to be special.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Football forfeits have been happening. Athletic directors and coaches have been scrambling to make sure players are eligible and parental paperwork is accurate. That’s just a small part of the ethical dilemmas taking place in the high school sports world.

Let the debate begin on ethics

Nobody likes to be told what to do. Nobody likes to be told they are wrong. Nobody likes bureaucracy because it moves slowly. Everybody likes to find shortcuts and to be told they are right. It’s almost a daily experience working in the high school sports world, figuring out ethical dilemmas and how to proceed.

Coaches are supposed to tell their players every season that hazing is wrong and won’t be tolerated. Then hazing happens, and the coach is the one held accountable, sometimes even losing their job.

There always are internal politics at play. A winning coach will be treated differently from a losing coach. That’s a fact. In my job as a sportswriter, I’ve been monitoring decisions on ethics for decades. I was around when the California Interscholastic Federation adopted lessons from the influential Michael Josephson, who created the Character Counts coalition. Awards continue to be given out to those who hold their ground and choose the ethically right decision to make.

Do you go out and check the address of transfer student or trust the paperwork submitted? Do you report another team using an ineligible player immediately or hold it back until right before the playoffs, causing the entire team to lose out on the playoffs because of forfeits?

Here’s a look at some of the challenges.

Tahj Skinner of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame accounted for four touchdowns — throwing for three and returning an interception for another— in a 28-21 win over Chaminade.

(Craig Weston / For The Times)

Tahj Skinner of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame intends to play safety for UC Davis. But he’s been doing such a fantastic job playing quarterback for the unbeaten Knights that being a wildcat quarterback could be in his future. He had three touchdown passes and returned an interception for a touchdown in a win over Chaminade. Here’s the report.

In a battle of very good defenses, Santa Margarita defeated Mater Dei 14-7. Here’s the report.

Another week, another historic win for unbeaten Cleveland in the City Section. The Cavaliers defeated longtime power Birmingham 14-9 in the West Valley League opener. Here’s the report.

In a battle of unbeaten teams, Corona del Mar got past Villa Park, 24-10. Here’s the report.

Granada Hills Kennedy (6-0) has won 20 consecutive Valley Mission League games.

Ceasar Reyes of Garfield continues to pile up rushing yards. He had 374 yards in 39 carries and scored five touchdowns in a 42-28 win over Bell. He‘d better bring doughnuts to his offensive linemen on Monday mornings.

Quarterback Shawn Sanders of Paracete had a game for the ages in a 56-36 win over St. Paul. He was 14 for 15 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He kicked seven PATs and seven balls into the end zone for touchbacks. Did he bring out the water bottles too?

Corona Centennial has nine players in its football program with variations of the same first name. Here’s the report.

Here are this week’s top 25 rankings by The Times.

Here’s a look at top individual performances from the past week.

Here’s the schedule for this week’s games.

Here are this week’s top 10 rankings by The Times.

One of the great teams from the 2026-27 school year is going to end up being JSerra flag football. The Lions won the Southern Section Division 1 title last season and are even better this season with 21 consecutive victories. If any opponent gets close, that will be news.

You need to go watch the duo of quarterback Kate Meier and receiver Tessa Russell.

Carson has taken over as No. 1 in the City Section.

Girls’ volleyball

There’s a clear pecking order in the Southern Section. Mater Dei and Sierra Canyon have been the top teams all season. Mira Costa, Los Alamitos and Marymount are right behind.

Here are the latest Southern Section rankings.

Sierra Canyon, at 26-1, plays host to Marymount on Tuesday in a huge Mission League matchup.

Venice, Cleveland, Palisades and Chatsworth hold down the top spots in City Section rankings.

Notes…

Left-handed pitcher Joe Bell of La Cañada has committed to the Naval Academy….

Pitcher Ricky Aguilar from Gahr has committed to Cal State Bakersfield….

Sean Compton of Bonita has committed to play baseball at UC Riverside….

Offensive lineman Adam Fogleson of Mater Dei has committed to UC Davis….

Junior softball standout Scarlett LaBriola of Santa Margarita has committed to Stanford….

Junior softball standout Anna Plotke of Santa Margarita has committed to Maryland….

Gunner Welch is the new boys’ volleyball coach at Campbell Hall….

Senior basketball guard Cole Holden from Harvard-Westlake has committed to UC Riverside….

Defensive back Dean Gibson from Corona Centennial has committed to San Diego….

Leah Reynolds of Bonita has committed to play softball at Colorado State…..

Junior catcher Annabel Raftery of JSerra has committed to Stanford for softball….

It’s strange times at Van Nuys High, where baseball coach Andres Sepulveda was dismissed for building an illegal batting cage. The softball program also faces scrutiny for an unapproved fence and dugouts…

Yorba Linda’s football team has been forced to forfeit four victories, which means its record is 0-6 and making the playoffs would require earning an automatic berth from the Alpha League. The school district indicated there were violations involving bylaws 503.B (1) and 510, which involve administrative oversight and undue influence….

Todd Therrien, a former football coach at St. Bonaventure who won two state Division III championships, died on Sept. 30, the Ventura County Star reported. He was 47. He recently had a stroke and was a quadriplegic after a spinal cord injury from a car accident in 2022. He succeeded Jon Mack in 2007….

Newport Harbor is No. 1 in the first Southern Section boys’ water polo rankings….

Freshman Emiliano Plascencia of Whitter has more than 100 goals for his water polo team this season.

(Los Angeles Times)

Whittier has a freshman water polo player scoring goals in bunches. Here’s the report. …

JSerra made it to the championship game in water polo at the Elite 8 tournament before losing to Cathedral Catholic….

The Southern Section football playoff pairings will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. That’s also the end of daylight savings time when the clocks move back one hour, so no sleeping in for coaches, parents or players….

The Luderer twins, Keira and Kelsey, from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame committed to Florida State for softball. Here’s the report….

Chaminade has begun construction of a $66-million project that will include new baseball and softball diamonds. Here’s the report.

From the archives: Jamie Dixon

Jamie Dixon was a star guard at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, went on to Texas Christian, became a top assistant to Ben Howland at Northern Arizona, then an assistant at Pittsburgh before becoming coach. He has been TCU’s coach since 2016.

Here’s a story from 2019 when Dixon was being considered for the UCLA coaching opening.

From Pittsburgh Magazine, a story on Dixon’s past in 2015.

Recommendations

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Inglewood football coach Mil’Von James saying he played three ineligible players in Texas because he didn’t know they were ineligible outside of California.

From the Los Angeles Times, a story on how unbeaten Sierra Canyon’s football team has found a top sophomore linebacker in Eli Zamorano, who spent nearly three months living on Easter Island when he was 15.

From Yahoo, a story on former Mater Dei receiver Cooper Barkate having a breakout performance for Miami.

Tweets you might have missed

Until next time….

Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @latsondheimer.

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