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When the doors opened after Lakers practice on Monday, injured stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves were nearby as their teammates took some final shots after the session.

Doncic, who is back with the team after traveling to Spain to receive treatment for his Grade 2 left hamstring strain, sat out the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Houston Rockets. He also won’t play in Game 2 on Tuesday, but he remained his usual joyful and playoff self after practice, his infectious personality providing a good vibe during a tense time for the team.

But even without Doncic and Reaves, the Lakers still had an “elevated” two days of practice as they prepared to face the Rockets with or without All-Star Kevin Durant at Crypto.com Arena.

Doncic, who sustained his injury against Oklahoma City on April 2, hadn’t been with the Lakers during their final five games of the regular season. Having him back around the team provided the Lakers with a big boost ahead of Game 1.

“It’s amazing. I think people don’t know how much impact Luka has, not only on the court, but off the court,” Rui Hachimura said. “He’s a guy that always wants to be around. … We love him just being around, just hanging out, talking. So, yeah, we’re happy that he’s back finally and he’s doing funny things always. … We missed him for sure.”

Hachimura was asked about the funny things Doncic did during practice.

“Just messing around with the coaches and the players and just the normal things you guys see on the camera, probably,” Hachimura said. “It’s just a normal thing for him.”

The Lakers weren’t messing around during the film sessions or practices.

They were focused on the task ahead, knowing the Rockets don’t want to go down 0-2 in the series.

Lakers coach JJ Redick directs his players during their Game 1 playoff win over the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

“Well, every day requires something different,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “Yesterday required an elevated recovery day. Today required an elevated focus. It was a longer film session. A decent amount of teach [and] talk on the court beyond just the practice session. Tomorrow is going to require an elevated sense of desperation on our part because they’re going to come in with that.”

Durant didn’t play in the first game because of a right knee injury and has been called a game-time decision, Rockets coach Ime Udoka told reporters after practice.

Whatever the case is, the Lakers are expecting a tough game against the Rockets.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s the playoffs. Every team’s got to play desperate,” Jaxson Hayes said. “I mean, if you lose, you go home. So, if you’re not playing desperate, then why are you here at the end of the day? But, yeah, I mean, we played against teams like this all year. I mean, obviously, they’re a very aggressive, very fast-playing, big, long team, and so we just got to make sure we take care of the ball like we didn’t do in Game 1 and just get rebounds and just stay locked in.”

With Doncic and Reaves (Grade 2 left oblique muscle strain) out, the Lakers needed other players to fill that void.

Hachimura did his part in Game 1, and it went beyond his 14 points. He was efficient from the field, going six for 10. He was good on defense, collecting three steals and two blocked shots in 42 minutes.

“It’s the playoffs. You have to make every play matter,” he said. “Every position matters. So, I was trying to make plays and not only offense, but on the defensive side. And rebound, and all that. So, that’s what I was doing.”

During Game 1, Doncic offered advice and encouragement to his teammates from the bench.

But his recent conversations with Hayes have been focused, in part, on what comes after the season.

Doncic has talked to Hayes about playing for the Slovenian national team and the big center has interest.

“Um, we got my Slovenian passport. That’s all he’s been telling me,” Hayes said. “Now he’s been saying, ‘My Slovenian brother,’ every time.”

Hayes laughed, and then was asked if he really did receive a Slovenian passport.

“Yeah,” he said, “it really came through.”

There was a moment during Game 1 when Doncic was playing around with Hachimura, hitting him on the head. But Hachimura didn’t recall it happening.

“Hmm? I don’t remember,” Hachimura said. “He always does that stuff. I probably don’t even think about it. I’m used to it, probably. I don’t remember that.”

For disputed reasons, April 20, abbreviated to 420, has become a day to celebrate marijuana; even if this is nothing you mark on your calendar, the collective culture is bound to remind you.

Weed is not what it used to be, which is to say illegal everywhere. (State laws may differ, but the federal government still disapproves.) Stoners are no longer useful as a comedy device, while pot’s countercultural meaning has dissipated as it’s been absorbed into the mainstream. According to the CDC, some 60 million American reported using it in 2022. Snoop Dogg is a beloved media figure (and, somehow, an Olympics commentator). Seth Rogen co-owns a cannabis company, Houseplant, that also sells coffee, furniture and incense. The paper you are reading has published weed-themed gift guides.

Now, Hulu, wholly owned by the Walt Disney Company, is marking the day (Monday) with “4×20: Quick Hits,” a frisky anthology comprising four 20-minute documentaries on pot-related subjects, with family-friendly figure Jimmy Kimmel as an executive producer. It’s less about the drug itself than the arts, crafts and enterprises it has inspired. Given where we are now, it’s not surprising that there’s a historical bent to the films, a look back to earlier times — certainly worse for some of the people profiled, who were targeted by and battled with the law in pursuit of their businesses and dreams — but one they regard with a kind of amused nostalgia.

All the films are affectionate, most are light-hearted and often comical. One, Todd Kapostasy’s “Bong Voyage,” about the rise and fall and rise of artisanal glassblower Jason Harris, is narrated by one of his creations and includes such dumb puns as “fine piece of glass.” Directed by Brent Hodge, “Highly Unlikely” is an entertaining, straightforward reminiscence of the making of “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,” though it is less about the stoner themes than how the film broke stereotypes in making two little-known Asian actors, John Cho and Kal Penn, the film’s stars. The adorable “The Legend of Ganjasaurus Rex,” directed by Alex Ross Perry, and nearly the premise for a Christopher Guest movie, recounts an act of community filmmaking in the late ‘80s in pot-growing Humboldt County, wherein locals created a monster movie in a proxy war with the authorities, and its inspirational afterlife.

More serious in tone is Kyle Thrash‘s “High Times,” which looks at the history of the pot-centric magazine, its drug smuggling founder Tom Forçade and his suicide. More compelling perhaps is his friend, Yippie co-founder and lifelong cannabis activist Dana Beal, who frames the film; we see him in the nearly present day on trial for drug trafficking, having been stopped in Idaho with 56 pounds of raw marijuana, and also on the streets of New York leafleting passersby with his daughter to “help us legalize weed worldwide.”

Whether or not cannabis itself interests you, each of these mini-docs is capable of holding your attention for 20 minutes — assuming you’re capable from your end — and, being as brief as they are, may well send you to learn more. (I don’t imagine they will send you to smoke pot if you don’t — they didn’t work on me, anyway — and, who knows, might even make one less inclined.) You might finally watch “Harold & Kumar,” or find Garberville on a map, or look to see how things are going for Beal, or discover whether the same John Holmstrom who once edited High Times is the same person who founded Punk magazine and drew covers for the Ramones’ “Rocket to Russia” and “Road to Ruin” albums. (He is.) “Ganjasaurus Rex,” in its 90-minute full length, is itself online to see, and, for those who celebrate, I don’t suppose there’s a better day to watch it.

Airline and travel company has contacted all passengers with holidays booked to inform them of a change to when booking documents are sent out amid Middle East conflict concerns

All Jet2 passengers with holidays booked have been contacted by the operator regarding an important change. Thousands of travellers have received emails notifying them that their holiday documents will be arriving later than originally expected.

This has raised alarm bells among some customers who fear it could be a scam – particularly as Jet2 has recently been warning about numerous fake social media accounts being created in an attempt to defraud passengers.

One passenger wrote on X: “@jet2tweets Hi, I’ve just received this email apparently from Jet2 saying I will now get my holiday documents 14 days before my holiday departure instead of 28, is this true or is it still 28, I’ve a feeling this was a spam email though.”

Another passenger added: “I had the same email. Flying on 25 May with jet2,” A traveller added: “Ive just had the same email !”

The email says: “Just so you know, following a change to when we send out the documents for your holiday, you’ll now receive your documents 14 days before departure, rather than 28 days as stated on your original booking confirmation. You don’t need to contact us or take any action – you’ll recveive your documents 14 days before you travel. Have a lovely holiday!”

Responding on X, Jet2 confirmed it was a genuine message and explained: “Hi there, thanks for reaching out. Yes we can confirm that you will receive your documents 14 days before departure. Should you require any further assistance, then please feel free to send us a DM. “

The shift towards holidaymakers securing their travel documents closer to their departure dates comes amid growing uncertainty sparked by the Middle East conflict. Last week, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), warned there could be flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain restricted by the Iran war.

The head of the world’s energy watchdog also cautioned that Europe has only six weeks’ supply of jet fuel because of the Middle East conflict. Iran continues to have a stranglehold on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz and has fired at several over the weekend.

Worried holidaymakers have been flooding Jet2’s social media channels with their concerns. One wrote: “@jet2tweets Hi there – we are looking to go away for a week to Malaga in June and want to know how concerned we should be about the reporting of lack of airport fuel and what happens to our holiday should something like this happen and impact our holiday. Can you help…?|”

Another posted: “Are holidays going ahead as usual? We’ve booked an all inclusive 10 day to Crete in June. I’m worried about jet fuel prices.” While a further traveller asked: “You guys aren’t planning on last-minute flight cancellations due to potential jet fuel shortages, are you? Family holiday booked in May, FYI” Jet2 responded: “Hi all, flights are planned to go ahead as normal. If anything were to change regarding your booking, we would be sure to reach out to you directly to make you aware and discuss the options available to you. Thanks”

Meanwhile, Javier Gándara, easyJet’s CEO for Spain and Portugal, spoke at the reopening of the airline’s base in Palma, Mallorca, where he gave his assessment of the current fuel supply situation: “What the producers and airports are telling us is that there won’t be any supply problems for the next three or four weeks.

“Beyond that, it’s difficult to see. In Spain, we are in a comparatively better situation than neighbouring countries for two reasons. Firstly, because of all the crude oil that is imported and then refined here, only 11% comes from the Middle East, which is the percentage affected by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz; the remaining 89% comes from elsewhere.”

He went on to warn: “No one will be immune to potential supply problems. Ships that leave and pass through the Strait of Hormuz and come to Europe take an average of 45 days, and they have already been practically out of service for two months. It will take time to recover all of that. It’s difficult to know what will happen, so we’ll react as we go.”

Islamabad talks in limbo as Tehran says it will retaliate after US marines capture an Iranian-flagged ship near the Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump announced on Sunday that a second round of US-Iran talks is to be held in Pakistan on Monday – but Tehran has not confirmed participation, two days before a ceasefire deal expires.

The capture by US Marines of an Iranian-flagged container ship near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday has further clouded the Islamabad talks, as Tehran has pledged to retaliate.

The attack came hours after President Trump announced he is sending a team to Islamabad for talks, while once again threatening to knock out Iran’s power plants and bridges if there is no deal. The ceasefire, which ended more than a month of war, expires on Wednesday.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, spoke on Sunday with Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, as he reaffirmed his government’s readiness to mediate the conflict.

Here is what we know:

In Iran

• ⁠Iran’s top ⁠joint ⁠military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, accused the US of ⁠violating the ceasefire by shooting at ⁠an Iranian ship in the Gulf of Oman and vowed ‌to retaliate.
• President Trump ⁠posted on Truth ⁠Social on Sunday that US Marines ‌captured a vessel that tried to get past ⁠the American blockade on ⁠Iranian ports, adding that ⁠US forces ⁠stopped the ⁠ship by blowing a hole in ‌its engine room.
• Iran ⁠executed ⁠two men convicted of cooperating with Israel’s Mossad ⁠intelligence service and planning attacks inside the ⁠country, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reported on Sunday.
• French ⁠shipping ⁠company, CMA CGM, confirmed on Sunday that “warning shots” were fired at one ⁠of its ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday. 
• ⁠Iran’s ⁠armed forces turned back two tankers attempting ⁠to transit the Strait ⁠of Hormuz on Sunday after issuing warnings. The semi-official Tasnim ‌news agency said that was a result of the continuing US maritime ⁠blockade on Iran.
• International flights from Mashhad airport in northeast Iran will resume on Monday, the civil aviation authority said.

War diplomacy

• Iranian state media reported that Tehran had rejected new peace talks, citing the ongoing blockade, threatening rhetoric, and Washington’s shifting positions and “excessive demands.”
• Iranian state media reported on Sunday that Tehran was not planning to take part in talks with the United States, hours after Trump said he was dispatching negotiators to Islamabad.
• The US president posted on Truth Social ⁠on Sunday that representatives are going to Islamabad “tomorrow night” for Iran negotiations. “We’re offering a very fair and reasonable deal, and ⁠I hope they ⁠take it because, if they don’t, ⁠the United States ⁠is going to ⁠knock out every single power plant, ‌and every single bridge, in Iran,” ‌Trump ‌wrote.
• Pakistan’s Prime Minister ⁠Sharif ⁠said on Sunday that he spoke with ⁠Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian about the conflict ⁠in the Gulf.
  Sharif posted on X that he shared insights with Pezeshkian regarding his recent ‌conversations with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye.
• “I appreciated ⁠Iran’s engagement, including ⁠its high-level delegation to Islamabad for the historic talks, and ⁠recent discussions with Field Marshal Syed ⁠Asim Munir in ⁠Tehran,” Sharif said.
• Turkiye’s Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, said on Sunday he was “optimistic” that a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the United States, which expires on Wednesday, would be extended, allowing more time for talks between the sides.
  

  

In the US

• Trump said on Sunday that the guided-missile destroyer, USS Spruance, fired on and seized the Iranian-flagged cargo ship, Touska, in the Gulf of Oman, and US Marines were “seeing what’s on board!”
• The US president said Iran has committed a “serious ⁠violation” of the ceasefire ⁠but still thinks he can get a peace deal, ABC ‌News reporter Jonathan Karl posted on X on Sunday. Trump added that a peace deal “will happen. ⁠One way or another”.

In Israel

• Argentine President Javier Milei, has reaffirmed his country’s support for the campaign against Iran, citing his government’s earlier decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist organisation”.
• Milei, who is visiting Israel for the third time since taking office, declared on Sunday that the joint US-Israel war against Iran was the “right thing to do”, as he signed on to the so-called Isaac Accords aimed at deepening bilateral ties between Israel and Latin American countries.

In Lebanon

• ⁠The Israeli ⁠military on Monday warned residents in southern ⁠Lebanon not to move ⁠south of a specified line of villages or approach areas ‌near the Litani River, saying its forces remain deployed in the area during a ceasefire ⁠due to what ⁠it described as continued Hezbollah activity.
• The Israeli army also said it had determined that an image circulating on social media showing a soldier in south Lebanon hitting a statue of Jesus Christ is authentic and depicts one of its troops.
• The viral photo of the Israeli soldier hitting the Jesus statue with a sledgehammer has sparked outrage.
• French President Emmanuel Macron is due to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Paris on Tuesday. The announcement follows the killing of a French peacekeeper in Lebanon during the fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
• Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said the military will use “full force” in Lebanon – even during the ongoing ceasefire – should Israeli troops face any threat from Hezbollah.
• Lebanon’s military said it has reopened a road and bridge between Nabatieh and Khardali, which were damaged by Israeli strikes in the south.

Oil prices rise

• Oil prices surged on Monday following the re-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East war However, lingering hopes that a deal to end the seven-week crisis continued to support equities, despite Tehran saying it was not planning to attend peace talks.

Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy analyses how Liverpool’s performance “got better” from a “creative” and “footballing aspect” as The Reds secured a 2-1 victory at Everton in the Merseyside Derby.

MATCH REPORT: Everton 1-2 Liverpool

Available to UK users only.

Match of the Day pundits Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy discuss how “two top players” in Erling Haaland and Gabriel went head-to-head in Manchester City’s 2-1 victory against Arsenal, with the Norwegian striker reaching “unplayable” levels.

MATCH REPORT: Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal

Available to UK users only.

Match of the Day pundits Ashely Williams and Joe Hart analyse Ayden Heaven’s performance against Chelsea after the young defender played a key role in Manchester United’s win alongside strong performances from other senior players.

MATCH REPORT: Chelsea 0-1 Manchester United

Available to UK users only.

HAMPTON Court Palace has everything families need for a fun day out and it’s all within the grounds of an enormous former royal home.

From seeing inside the historic building itself to the pretty gardens, a kids’ playground and there’s even a comic-book themed takeover this summer.

Follow The Sun’s award-winning travel team on Instagram and Tiktok for top holiday tips and inspiration @thesuntravel.

When you’re at a loss with how to keep the kids entertained over the weekend, or the next warm day during the week – head to Hampton Court Palace in London.

Kids in particular will love its enormous playground called the Magic Garden.

It’s aimed at children under 12 and has so much to keep them entertained from climbing up the huge towers to even facing a ‘dragon’.

GO SEA IT

£9.50 holiday spot with shipwrecks, seals offshore & horseshoe-shaped waterfalls

SIGHT SEA

£9.50 holidaymakers’ favourite Skegness activities… away from the beach

There’s a secret grotto with hidden pathways, plenty of slides and a sandpit, while a nearby cafe is the best spot to stop for hot drinks and snacks.

Another popular spot is the maze – which is the oldest surviving hedge maze in the country.

It covers a third of an acre on the grounds of Hampton Court Palace with plenty of twists and turns throughout.

And this summer, a new Beano-themed trail is set to launch.

From July 25 to August 23, kids will be able to see some of their favourite characters like Dennis the Menace and Gnasher.

More information about the trail says “Dennis, Minnie, Harsha, Rubi and Gnasher were late for their Bash Street School trip to Henry VIII’s palace.

“To save the day, Dennis has turned his go-kart into a time machine with Rubi’s flux capacitor – but “whoops”! it has malfunctioned and crash-landed in Hampton Court Palace.

“Now the timeline’s in a right royal muddle and Henry VIII is not amused. It’s utter chaos! It’s up to YOU to help the Beano friends fix their busted time machine.

“Grab your special Hampton Court Palace Beano comic strip story on arrival, packed with clues to track down the missing pieces scattered around the palace.”

There will even be some historic residents like Henry VIII and Elizabeth I dressed in the classic Beano red and black stripes.

During May half-term kids can enjoy The Big Bahooey which has cabaret performances, world-class street theatre and circus workshops.

To step back in time, head back in July to watch knights take on a jousting tournament – families can pick a favourite and cheer them on until the winner is crowned.

The jousting is on during on the weekends of July 11-12 and July 18-19.

If you want to steer clear of chaotic cartoons, head to the Hampton Court Gardens for a more relaxing stroll.

The formal gardens are pruned to perfection with neat hedges, immaculate lawns, ponds and pretty flower beds – especially in the Rose Garden.

During particular days of the year, the gardens are open free of charge with no pre-booking required.

This year these are May 9-10, September 12-13, October 10-11, November 21-22, December 26 (Wilderness garden only).

Then of course there’s the palace itself, which was famously the home of Henry VIII and his six wives.

For those who want to learn even more about Hampton Court Palace, a free audio guide is included in the price of admission.

The tour explores the highlights when it was lived in by Henry VIII and even how the palace has appeared on the back-drop of TV and film since the 1920s.

More recently it was used in Bridgerton as the home of Queen Charlotte, and the gardens are frequently used when characters are strolling around London.

It’s also appeared in Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light, My Lady Jane, The Favourite starring Olivia Coleman, and Lily James‘ Cinderella.

For more on family days out, this adventure attraction is inside the UK’s biggest park huge playground and ‘roller slide’.

And this huge new wooden play attraction is set to open at historic English house with den building, zip lines and racing slides.

April 18 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1506, the cornerstone was placed for St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

In 1775, U.S. patriot Paul Revere began his famous ride through the Massachusetts countryside, crying out “The British are coming!” to rally the minutemen.

In 1906, an earthquake estimated at magnitude-7.8 struck San Francisco, collapsing buildings and igniting fires that destroyed much of what remained of the city. Researchers and historians concluded that about 3,000 people died in the quake and its aftermath, and roughly 250,000 were left homeless.

In 1912, three days after the sinking of Titanic, her survivors arrived in New York City aboard the RMS Carpathia.

In 1923, the original Yankee Stadium opened in New York. The stadium was demolished in 2010 after it was replaced a year prior by the new Yankee Stadium.

File Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

In 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle led a squadron of B-25 bombers in a surprise raid against Tokyo in response to the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

In 1945, U.S. journalist Ernie Pyle, a popular World War II correspondent, was killed by Japanese machine-gun fire on the island of Ie Shima in the Pacific.

In 1949, the Republic of Ireland formally declared itself independent from Britain.

In 1968, McCulloch Oil Corp. paid $2.24 million to buy London Bridge, which was sinking into the Thames under the weight of 20th century traffic. The oil company rebuilt the bridge bloc by block over Lake Havasu in Arizona.

In 1980, Rhodesia became the independent African nation of Zimbabwe.

In 1983, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, was severely damaged by a car-bomb explosion that killed 63 people, including 17 Americans.

In 1992, an 11-year-old Florida boy sued to “divorce” his natural parents and remain with his foster parents. The boy eventually won his lawsuit.

In 2002, former U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., revealed that at least 13 civilians were killed by his U.S. Navy unit in a Vietnamese village in 1969.

File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 2007, more than 125 people were killed in a suicide car-bomb explosion near a Baghdad market.

In 2014, an avalanche on what is known as a particularly dangerous route to the top of Mount Everest in the Himalayas killed 16 Sherpa guides.

In 2018, the first movie theaters in Saudi Arabia opened with a public screening of Black Panther.

In 2024, police arrested more than 100 protesters at Columbia University for refusing to leave a large pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. The incident sparked more protests at the school and other campuses across the country.

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Nearly two years after actor Alec Baldwin was cleared of criminal charges in the “Rust” movie shooting death, a long simmering civil negligence case is inching toward a trial this fall.

On Friday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge denied a summary judgment motion requested by the film producers Rust Movie Productions LLC, as well as actor-producer Baldwin and his firm El Dorado Pictures to dismiss the case.

During a hearing, Superior Court Judge Maurice Leiter set an Oct. 12 trial date.

The negligence suit was brought more than four years ago by Serge Svetnoy, who served as the chief lighting technician on the problem-plagued western film. Svetnoy was close friends with cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and held her in his arms as she lay dying on the floor of the New Mexico movie set. Baldwin’s firearm had discharged, launching a .45 caliber bullet, which struck and killed her.

The Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, N.M. in 2021.

(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

Svetnoy was the first crew member of the ill-fated western to bring a lawsuit against the producers, alleging they were negligent in Hutchins’ October 2021 death. He maintains he has suffered trauma in the years since. In addition to negligence, his lawsuit also accuses the producers of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Prosecutors dropped criminal charges against Baldwin, who has long maintained he was not responsible for Hutchins’ death.

“We are pleased with the Court’s decision denying the motions for summary judgment filed by Rust Movie Productions and Mr. Baldwin,” lawyers Gary Dordick and John Upton, who represent Svetnoy, said in a statement following the hearing. “He looks forward to finally having his day in court on this long-pending matter.”

The judge denied the defendants’ request to dismiss the negligence, emotional distress and punitive damages claims. One count directed at Baldwin, alleging assault, was dropped.

Svetnoy has said the bullet whizzed past his head and “narrowly missed him,” according to the gaffer’s suit.

Attorneys representing Baldwin and the producers were not immediately available for comment.

Svetnoy and Hutchins had been friends for more than five years and worked together on nine film productions. Both were immigrants from Ukraine, and they spent holidays together with their families.

On Oct. 21, 2021, he was helping prepare for an afternoon of filming in a wooden church on Bonanza Creek Ranch. Hutchins was conversing with Baldwin to set up a camera angle that Hutchins wanted to depict: a close-up image of the barrel of Baldwin’s revolver.

The day had been chaotic because Hutchins’ union camera crew had walked off the set to protest the lack of nearby housing and previous alleged safety violations with the firearms on the set.

Instead of postponing filming to resolve the labor dispute, producers pushed forward, crew members alleged.

New Mexico prosecutors prevailed in a criminal case against the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez, in March 2024. She served more than a year in a state women’s prison for her involuntary manslaughter conviction before being released last year.

Baldwin faced a similar charge, but the case against him unraveled spectacularly.

On the second day of his July 2024 trial, his criminal defense attorneys — Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro — presented evidence that prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies withheld evidence that may have helped his defense . The judge was furious, setting Baldwin free.

Variety first reported on Friday’s court action.

Kaylyn “KK” Alves had been talking all day about her favorite moment in any Dodgers game: when Teoscar Hernández greets his teammates at the entrance to the dugout with a shower of sunflower seeds after a home run.

KK, 14, could name Hernández’s favorite flavor of seeds — ranch — and had thought through the potential downsides of throwing flavored seeds instead of original — the seasoning posed a risk for the eyes.

So, when Hernández met KK on the field Tuesday before the Dodgers’ game against the Mets, he had a suggestion for a pregame activity.

“Do you want to be part of the celebration?” he asked, gesturing toward the dugout. “Come on, let’s go.”

KK, her parents and her sister visited Dodger Stadium this week for an experience coordinated by the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. KK, who was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of two, is an avid Dodgers fan from Northern California.

Those at the game Tuesday saw her throw out the first pitch to Freddie Freeman, her favorite player. In addition to the sunflower seed celebration with Hernández, KK’s wish — the 1,000th granted since Make-A-Wish and Fanatics partnered in 2023 — included a tour, field passes for batting practice, and extra time with Freeman before the game.

Kaylyn “KK” Alves throws out the first pitch before Tuesday’s game against the New York Mets at Dodger Stadium.

(Gary A. Vasquez / Los Angeles Dodgers)

“To see my kid meet her hero, basically — it’s indescribable,” said KK’s father, David.

KK inherited her Dodgers fandom from her dad, who was originally an A’s fan but made the switch when infielder Max Muncy did. It became a family passion.

David watched KK light up when they walked out to the field Tuesday and spotted Freeman going through his ground ball routine. And the day kept getting better. Freeman walked over and gifted KK a jersey with his number and her name on the back.

“It was amazing,” KK said. “He’s the sweetest.”

Freeman then led the family to the media room and took a seat next to KK at the podium. She asked him about his growing family — Freeman and his wife Chelsea have three sons and announced in March that they are expecting a baby girl.

Kaylyn “KK” Alves prepares to throw sunflower seeds with Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández to mimic the team’s home run celebration before Tuesday’s game at Dodger Stadium.

(Gary A. Vasquez / Los Angeles Dodgers)

Freeman asked KK about her interests. She grew steadily more talkative, nerves subsiding, as they talked about puzzles and video games. She even ran her thoughts on the seed celebration by Freeman.

“I’ve had sunflower seeds go all the way down my back, and into my shirt, and it’s quite uncomfortable,” Freeman said. “But if you’ve got sunflower seeds down your shirt, it means you’ve hit a home run, so you can take it.”

An hour and a half later, KK experienced just that, walking through a shower of sunflower seeds thrown by Hernández. Then they traded places and she returned the favor, both smiling ear to ear.

The implosion of Eric Swalwell’s gubernatorial campaign and his once-promising political career has left a great many questions rising from the smoldering wreckage.

Questions about his character, judgment and staggering recklessness.

The question — as misguided as it is inevitable — of why his accusers hadn’t come forward sooner. (My columnizing colleague, Anita Chabria, incisively addressed that one, discussing the nature of suppressed trauma and the believability hurdle that many victims of sexual assault unduly face.)

Then there’s the question of how and why Swalwell’s creepy and allegedly criminal behavior stayed hidden from public view for so long — especially when the impossible-to-miss fixture of cable TV embarked on a high-profile campaign to lead the nation’s most-populous state.

Swalwell, 45 and married, had a widely whispered about reputation for showering inappropriate and unwelcome attention on younger women. Rumors — vague, unsubstantiated — were a source of incessant dirt-dishing among political insiders and also circulated extensively online. (Not, however, the more serious allegations of sexual assault.)

The veil was finally pierced last week when the San Francisco Chronicle published a graphic account of a woman alleging sexual encounters with Swalwell while the Democratic lawmaker was her boss. She said he sexually assaulted her twice when she was too intoxicated to consent.

A few hours later, CNN followed up with a report that three other women had recounted various kinds of sexual misconduct. On Tuesday, yet another alleged victim came forth, saying she was drugged and raped by Swalwell in 2018.

The former congressman has flatly and vigorously denied criminal wrongdoing while acknowledging and apologizing for unspecific “mistakes.”

Those vociferous, flat-out denials had been enough to sway the politicians and union leaders who endorsed Swalwell’s gubernatorial bid, until the weight of evidence made Swalwell’s assertions untenable.

If the allegations are true and Swalwell is, in fact, a liar, lecher and sexual assailant, why wasn’t that widely reported up until now? Was it negligence, or gullibility on the part of the political press corps? The short answer is that a wide gulf exists between rumor and fact and Swalwell lurked in that gray space, living and thriving in the shadows between provability and denial.

It’s not unusual for rumors about financial, sexual or other peccadilloes to attend a campaign. They’re often trafficked by political rivals, which automatically raises suspicion and invites particular skepticism.

Much of the chatter never moves past a relatively small, dishy circle of political gossips because the supposed misdeeds, while titillating, can’t stand up to rigorous scrutiny. Or a legal challenge. That’s the baseline for many news outlets to broadcast or publish a story. Call them what you will — legacy, corporate, mainstream, lamestream — many of the largest, most influential sources of news and information won’t pass along allegations they can’t independently verify and, if necessary, defend in court.

The challenge is verifying all that loose talk.

Politicians don’t wear body cams, or broadcast their lives 24/7. (OK, Beto O’Rourke did livestream from a Texas laundromat during his 2018 Senate bid, holding up a soggy pair of underwear when he addressed the “boxers or briefs” question. But he’s an exception.)

Journalists don’t have subpoena power and can’t force people to tell them what they know. A reporter is only as good as his or her sources, their knowledge, truthfulness and credibility.

Reporting on misdeeds of an intimate nature can be especially difficult and complex. There’s rarely black-and-white documentation, such as a money trail leading to a hotel bedroom. It’s hard to find an eyewitness or reliable third party who can vouch for what took place between people behind closed doors. It takes time and trust to develop sources who can substantiate incidents of sexual misconduct, assault or abuse.

Swalwell apparently did an excellent job deceiving those around him, including some congressional and campaign staffers who’d known him for years and worked closely with the seven-term lawmaker, day in, day out. They were shocked by the statements of his alleged victims; the words “double life” have come up many times.

If Swalwell managed to hoodwink those closest to him, it’s easy to see why journalists had a hard time wrangling the firsthand accounts and other facts they needed to make their findings public.

When it comes to reporting on scandal, there is often the question of timing.

In 2003, The Times was widely criticized for publishing an account of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s misconduct — touching women in a sexual manner without their consent — just days before California’s gubernatorial recall election. Despite the report, which Schwarzenegger did not contest, voters kicked Gray Davis out and replaced him with the Hollywood super-duper star.

In 1992, the Washington Post and Portland Oregonian were widely criticized for their failure to publish accounts of Sen. Bob Packwood’s misconduct — unwanted sexual advances and touching women without their consent — until weeks after he was elected to his fifth term. Packwood resigned in 1995 after the Senate Ethics Commission voted unanimously to expel him.

The allegations against Swalwell were revealed well before the June 2 primary. Not soon enough for those asking how he managed to get away for so long with his predatory behavior. But plenty of time to inform California voters before they weighed in on his candidacy.

Public attention will soon shift. But for Swalwell, the legal and other ramifications are just beginning.

Paul W. Downs can’t help it that even on the weekends, his life intersects with “Hacks,” the HBO comedy he co-created and co-showruns with his wife, Lucia Aniello, and their friend Jen Statsky. (He also appears on the show as Jimmy LuSaque Jr., the besieged manager of its two stars, played by Emmy winners Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder.) The fifth and final season of “Hacks” premiered last week, but on Downs’ days off, he often finds himself at its previous filming locations or hanging out with cast members who have become like family.

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

Downs moved to Los Angeles in 2011, but soon after, he and Aniello were hired to write (and for him to act) on the über-New York show “Broad City,” keeping them away from the West Coast for years. Now the couple live in Los Feliz, which they enjoy with their young son.

“I love Los Feliz because it’s a real neighborhood with restaurants and bars, but also feels close to nature with Griffith Park,” Downs says. “Also it’s very central to my Eastside friends and Westside agents.”

And if he had to live at a local mall, like the character Ava Daniels did in the third season of “Hacks,” which would he choose?

“It would be the Americana, obviously.”

Here’s how he’d spend a perfect day in L.A.

10 a.m.: A late rise and a li’l barista

I’m sleeping in if I can, which I can’t because I have a toddler, but let’s say I can sleep ’til 10. That would be insane.

Then I’m making coffee at home. I’m making it with my 4-year-old because he likes to make my coffee now. He always wanted to help, now he really wants to do it on his own. I’m still there to supervise, but he does do a lot of it.

I do batch brew. I’m doing Verve Coffee that I’m grinding there, and then I’m brewing four cups because I need my coffee. I had a Moccamaster for a long time, but I recently got a Simply Good Coffee. There’s no plastic — it’s all glass and metal.

11 a.m.: Chocolate croissants for everyone

We’re driving to Pasadena and we’re going to [Artisanal Goods by] CAR, which is the place to get the best chocolate croissant, I think, in the world. I don’t just think in L.A., I think they’re better than Paris. I’m going there with my wife and my kid and I’m having another coffee and some pastry. We’re ordering three [chocolate croissants]. We’re not doubling up.

11:45 a.m.: The family business

We’re driving to Fair Oaks in Pasadena. There’s a place called T.L. Gurley. We shot “Hacks” there, actually. Not only in Season 1, but also full circle in Season 5. We’re going to shmay around and look at antiques. My kid is going to want to play a vintage pinball machine. We’re going to find a little piece of art for the house or what have you. It’s not necessarily that I’m on the hunt. It’s to pass the time and to have some fun. If I could do anything and have a leisurely day and take my mind off work, that’s what I’m doing.

People love to interact with my kid when he’s there. We’re really training him to appraise things at a young age. My parents are part-time dealers of antiques. My grandmother bought and sold antiques. It’s kind of a family business.

1:30 pm.: Baguettes and books

We’re driving to Larchmont and we’re getting a sandwich at Larchmont Village Wine, Spirits & Cheese. I’m doing prosciutto-mozzarella-basil on a baguette.

Then we’re going to Chevalier’s Books. What’s sad is that I’m often not looking for leisure material. I’m looking for something that I’m interested in learning more about or writing about, or that they’re turning into a show I want to audition for. But we’re also doing Little Golden Books for my son. He’s obsessed. We’re not huge on screen time, so we really encourage the book-buying.

2:30 p.m.: Cast pool party

We’re having some family fun in the pool and we’re doing that until evening. We invite people over all the time. My sister-in-law is a New Yorker, but she actually wrote last season on “The Rooster” and she’s often writing on shows in L.A., so she’s often here and she’ll have a couple friends come over. I know this sounds like a piece of PR or something, but we’ll really literally have Hannah [Einbinder] and maybe Mark Indelicato from “Hacks” come over to swim. Jen, our co-creator of “Hacks,” will come over.

6:00 p.m.: Family dinner

Sometimes we’ll order Grá to the house, which is a pizza place in Echo Park — excellent sourdough crust pizza. But if we don’t do that, an ideal evening is an early dinner at All Time on Hillhurst in Los Feliz. We’re ordering the ceviche and my son is having all of it and not sharing with anybody at the table.

8:45 p.m.: A thrilling ending to the day

After putting my kid to bed, my wife and I, in an ideal world (full disclosure: we haven’t done this in two years), we’ll watch something together that we’ve been meaning to watch. We have a long list of movies and we either want to revisit or that we haven’t seen that we need to watch.

We don’t watch a lot of comedies. It’s a dream to watch a “Black Bag” or a little espionage thriller. We really like that because it’s so different than the stuff that we’re working on in the day.

Often the things we watch are things that we admire. We like deconstructing it as fans of film and television. We do like talking about the making of it, but it’s less of a critique and more of a listing of the things we appreciated about it.

10:30 p.m.: No work tomorrow

And then it’s lovemaking ’til morning on a perfect Sunday. If it’s a perfect Sunday, there’s also a Monday that’s off.

April 17 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1421, the sea broke the dikes at Dort, Holland, drowning an estimated 100,000 people.

In 1521, the Roman Catholic Church excommunicated Martin Luther after he refused to admit to charges of heresy.

In 1790, U.S. statesman, printer, scientist and writer Benjamin Franklin died in Philadelphia at age 84.

File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

In 1912, the sister ship of the doomed RMS Titanic, the Olympic, radioed in that survivors of the ocean liner sinking were rescued and safely on board the RMS Carpathia.

In 1961, a force of anti-Castro rebels began the Bay of Pigs Invasion in an attempt to overthrow Cuba’s new communist government.

In 1964, Jerrie Mock of Columbus, Ohio, became the first woman to complete a solo flight around the world.

In 1969, a jury found Sirhan B. Sirhan guilty of first-degree murder for the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

File Photo by Ron Bennett/UPI

In 1970, with the world anxiously watching on television, Apollo 13, a U.S. lunar spacecraft that sustained a severe malfunction on its journey to the moon, safely returned to Earth.

In 1989, the Polish labor union Solidarity was granted legal status after nearly a decade of struggle and suppression — clearing the way for the downfall of the country’s Communist Party.

In 1993, a federal jury convicted two Los Angeles police officers and acquitted two others of violating the civil rights of Rodney King during his 1991 arrest and beating.

In 2004, the Israeli army confirmed it had killed Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Hamas co-founder and its leader in Gaza, in a missile strike. Two others also died with Rantisi, who had opposed any compromise with Israel.

In 2012, U.S. investor Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest people, said he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

File Photo by Molly Riley/UPI

In 2013, an explosion at a West, Texas, fertilizer plant killed 15 people, injured dozens and caused massive property damage in the community.

In 2018, former first lady Barbara Bush died at the age of 92 after refusing medical treatment for her failing health. Her husband, former President George H.W. Bush, died less than one year later.

In 2024, Russian missile strikes targeting the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed more than a dozen people and injured scores more.

File Photo by State Emergency Service/EPA-EFE

Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison made his case directly to theater owners Thursday, pledging to release a minimum of 30 films a year from the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery company during a speech at the CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas.

“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison said in a brief on-stage speech, adding that Paramount has already nearly doubled its film lineup for this year with 15 planned releases, up from 8 in 2025.

He also said all films will remain in theaters exclusively for 45 days, starting Thursday. Films will then go to streaming platforms in 90 days. The amount of time that films stay in theaters — known as windowing — has been a controversial topic for theater owners, as some studios reduced that period during the pandemic. Theater operators have said the shortened window has trained audiences to wait to watch films at home and cuts into theater revenues.

“I have dedicated the last 20 years of my life to elevating and preserving film,” said Ellison, clad in a dark jacket and shirt with blue jeans. “And at Paramount, we want to tell even more great stories on the big screen — stories that make people think, laugh, dream, wonder and feel — and we want to share them with as broad an audience as possible.”

Ellison’s CinemaCon appearance comes as more than 1,000 Hollywood actors and creatives have signed a letter opposing Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner. Supporters of the letter have said the deal would reduce competition in the industry and “further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape.”

Some theater operators have also questioned whether the combined company could achieve its goal of releasing 30 films a year, particularly after the cost cuts that are expected after the merger closes.

“People can speculate all they want — but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment,” Ellison said. “And we’ll show you we mean it.”

The speech came after a star-studded video directed by “Wicked: For Good” director Jon M. Chu that was shot on the Paramount lot on Melrose Avenue and showcased directors and actors including Issa Rae, Will Smith, Chris Pratt, James Cameron and Timothée Chalamet that are working with the company.

The video closed with “Top Gun” actor Tom Cruise perched atop the Paramount water tower.

“As you saw, the Paramount lot is alive again,” Ellison said after the video. “And we could not be more excited.”

US–Iran talks gain pace as Pakistan mediates, with fresh optimism for a new round of talks in Islamabad.

Efforts to revive US-Iran negotiations are gathering pace, with Pakistan again having an important mediating role as its leaders hold high-level talks in Tehran and the Gulf.

Amid a renewed push to end the war, a Pakistani delegation, led by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir is in Tehran. He is expected to relay messages from the United States, while Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, arrived in Saudi Arabia as part of a regional tour that includes Qatar and Turkiye.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmael Baghaei, said Tehran and Washington have remained in contact since talks in Islamabad ended on Sunday. On Wednesday, Washington signalled optimism about a new round of talks in the Pakistani capital.

But the diplomatic push comes amid increasing tension, as Iran warns it could expand its response to the US naval blockade beyond its own waters.

Divisions in Washington persist, with the US Senate rejecting a measure to limit the war without congressional approval.

Here is what we know:

In Iran

• Hormuz tensions remain high: Adviser Mohsen Rezaei warned that Iran could target US ships, if Washington continues to enforce its naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The warning comes as the US tightens restrictions on vessels linked to Iranian ports, with ships already being turned back amid the standoff.
• Nuclear issue shows potential breakthrough: Analyst Abas Aslani says Tehran is open to nuclear transparency if Washington is serious about a deal, but new US sanctions and the blockade of Iranian ports are fuelling distrust.
• “There is a sense of distrust, and at the moment, Iran is ready for every possible scenario, either progress in the negotiations or returning to the military conflict,” he told Al Jazeera.
• Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned of consequences over US “provocative actions” in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz during a call with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

War diplomacy

• Round two of talks: The US is discussing holding a second round of peace talks with Iran and is optimistic about reaching a deal, the White House said.
• China supports ‘momentum’ of peace talks: China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, told his Iranian counterpart that Beijing “supports maintaining the momentum of the ceasefire and peace talks”.
• Saudi crown prince, Pakistan PM meet: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Shehbaz Sharif met in Jeddah to discuss regional issues, including US-Iran negotiations. Talks hosted by Pakistan were a key focus, said the Saudi Press Agency.
• US and Qatar: US President Trump discussed regional developments and energy concerns, specifically regarding the oil market and gas prices, with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

In the US

• US President Donald Trump has announced that Israeli and Lebanese leaders will hold direct talks later today – their first such contact in 34 years.
• New oil sanctions: US officials targeted more than two dozen individuals, along with companies and vessels linked to the oil transport network of Iranian shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.
• US says 10 vessels blocked from Iranian ports: The US military’s Middle East command (CENTCOM) said 10 ships were stopped or redirected within the first 48 hours of a naval blockade, with none leaving Iranian ports.
• US Congress divisions: The Senate rejected efforts to limit US involvement in the war and blocked measures targeting arms sales to Israel, though growing opposition signals shifting political pressure.

In Israel

• ‘Identical’ goals: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel and the US are fully aligned in their objectives to contain Iran.
• Ceasefire pressure, no halt in fighting: Despite pressure, Netanyahu said Israel would continue military operations.
• End of Hezbollah: The Israeli prime minister said the country’s top priority in Lebanon was to secure the “dismantling” of Hezbollah, in its first direct talks with the country in decades.
• “There are two central objectives: first, the dismantling of Hezbollah; second, a sustainable peace… achieved through strength,” he said.

In Lebanon

• Relentless strikes continue: Air raids and shelling hit southern and eastern Lebanon, including Kafr Sir and Nabatieh, while a “triple-tap” strike in Mayfadoun killed four paramedics. Israeli vehicles and bulldozers remain active.
• Lebanon’s Minister for Administrative Reform Fadi Makki said an Israeli attack that killed four paramedics in southern Lebanon was “a new war crime”.
• Rising toll: Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,167 and injured more than 7,000 people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. About 1.2 million people have been displaced since March 2. Israel has been accused of destroying homes in southern Lebanon, as happened in Gaza.
• ‘Homes that no longer exist’: “Even if a ceasefire is reached, the reality on the ground is devastating.. entire communities along the border have been destroyed,” Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb reported from Beirut. He added that Israel has yet to secure its objective of controlling territory up to the Litani River.
• Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN special rapporteur on the right to housing, has joined other UN human rights experts, calling for Israel to immediately stop its bombing of Lebanon. Rajagopal wrote on social media that the Israeli military is using the “same strategy” in southern Lebanon as in Gaza or the occupied West Bank.
• Diplomatic tensions grow: Hezbollah has condemned US-hosted Israel-Lebanon talks as “shameful,” while a failed Senate vote to block bulldozer sales to Israel highlights increasing concern over civilian harm.

Global economy

• Growing hunger fears: The war could push millions more towards hunger as its economic fallout reverberates around the globe, the World Bank’s chief economist told AFP.
• “You have about 300 million people who suffer from acute food insecurity already,” Indermit Gill said.  “That’ll go up by about 20 percent very, very quickly,” as knock-on effects grow.
• Wall Street records: Major Wall Street stock indices finished at record highs on Wednesday following optimism about an accord in the US-Iran conflict.

Clavicular, the manosphere influencer leading the “looksmaxxing” movement, was rushed to the hospital Tuesday after a suspected overdose in a Miami nightclub.

The controversial internet celebrity, born Braden Eric Peters, was live streaming to his hundreds of thousands of followers from a Miami hot spot Tuesday night when the party took a dark turn. Live stream footage showed Peters hanging with friends outside of the club when he took a swig from a tiny bottle and said he was going to be “done for,” and “that was giga,” meaning that whatever he had taken was a large dose.

Inside the club, with cameras still rolling, Peters found a place to sit down with his friends and started to say “Oh my God” repeatedly and rubbing his eyes. A friend sitting next to him, influencer Androgenic, asked “How f— are you?” and then repeatedly offered him an “addy,” which is short for Adderall, a prescription stimulant used to treat ADHD that’s often sold as a party drug. Peters started to mumble, sway and close his eyes as the camera panned away.

TMZ obtained the audio from a 911 call alerting emergency services to the possible overdose of a 20-year-old man. Additional videos, taken by bystanders, have since made their way online showing Peters being carried out of the nightclub.

A source close to Peters told the Times that he was hospitalized for the overdose and checked himself out Wednesday morning.

“Just got home, that was brutal,” Peters wrote early Wednesday on X. The influencer, who has said he has autism, also posted a selfie with dried blood on his face. “All of the substances are just a cope trying to feel neurotypical while being in public, but obviously that isn’t a real solution. The worst part of tonight was my face descending from the life support mask.”

On his Kick channel Wednesday, Peters live streamed as he played online slots and said that “it could have been worse” and he wouldn’t “do that s— anymore.”

He also said that in the hospital, doctors asked what he planned to do after he was discharged. “Then I was like, ‘Dude, I got the club grand opening,’” he said, adding that doctors advised him to get rest and shouldn’t attend. “I was like, dude, gotta be on the grind.”

The influencer, who rose to fame helming the “looksmaxxing” movement — a subculture hyperfocused on taking extreme measures to perfect one’s physical appearance — has been candid about using drugs, from steroids, peptides and testosterone to methamphetamine and Adderall. He has also said he chisels his face by smashing his bones with a hammer.

Androgenic, the influencer videotaped asking Peters if he needed “an addy” as Peters swayed and lost motor function control, has also been vocal about his own drug use. He recently posted on X that he was on “Walter White’s batch” when someone snatched his wig off his head and ran away. (Walter White is a fictional chemist and crystal meth manufacturer from the show “Breaking Bad.”)

A source close to Peters told The Times that Androgenic was escorted away from the hospital where Peters was being treated for the overdose Tuesday night.

Androgenic has not responded to The Times’ request for comment.

Tuesday’s suspected overdose is the latest in a series of incidents involving the manosphere personality. Last month, Peters was arrested in Florida on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office alleged Peters instigated a fight between his girlfriend, Violet Lentz, 24, and a 19-year-old influencer in February at a short-term rental in Kissimmee, Fla.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched a separate investigation into another of Peters’ videos involving an alligator in the Everglades.

In that video, the influencer appears to come across what is seemingly the carcass of an alligator floating in the water and shoots it repeatedly. Peters has not been charged with any crime in that incident.

According to Peters’ Kick live stream, the influencer is headed back out Wednesday night to celebrate Miami’s Bacara Club streaming launch party.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and today is a very special day, so it’s time for the annual Jackie Robinson newsletter.

On April 15, 1947, Robinson made his major league debut at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field in front of crowd of 26,623. He walked and scored a run in the Dodgers’ 5–3 victory. Thus began one of the most amazing careers in sports history. Robinson broke the color barrier and faced challenges few major leaguers ever had to endure.

Some players on his team didn’t want to play alongside him, starting a petition saying they would rather not be his teammate. Manager Leo Durocher’s response: “I don’t care if the guy is yellow or Black, or if he has stripes like a … zebra. I’m the manager of this team, and I say he plays. What’s more, I say he can make all of us rich. And if any of you can’t use the money, I will see that you are traded.”

Players on other teams called him every racial insult. Some opposing managers were worse. Fans, some of them little kids parroting what their parents were saying, called him vile names. And Robinson had, and could have, only one response: No response. Give in and lose his temper, then the racists would say “See, his kind aren’t strong enough to play in the majors.” It would be used as leverage to kick him out and keep the majors “pure.” For a good example of what Robinson endured, watch “42” starring the late, great Chadwick Boseman.

So, Robinson took it. But he not only had to take it, he also had to play at a high level to prove Black people could play in the majors. He ran the bases with abandon. He excelled as a fielder no matter where they put him. He led the Dodgers to victory after victory, including their first World Series title in 1955.

And let’s not forget his wife, Rachel, who will turn 104 in July. She was a source of strength for Jackie and underwent verbal abuse and threats herself. She is an amazing woman and deserves full credit for her role in all of this. I think it’s safe to say that Jackie wouldn’t have been the same without her.

Robinson was a standout player at whichever position the Dodgers played him. On the bases, he was a terror. He stole home 19 times in his career, tied with Bobby Bragan for the most since 1920.

Robinson was drafted into the Army in 1942. Stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., he was not allowed to play on the segregated camp baseball team. He was appointed morale officer for the Black troops at Fort Riley and later was re-assigned to Ford Hood, Texas. On July 6, 1944 he refused when a white bus driver told him to move to the back of the bus. The base provost marshal and military police supported the driver, and Robinson was subject to court-martial. He won the hearing and the Army decided to kick him out with an honorable discharge.

In 1945, Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League, which is where Branch Rickey found him and signed him. The rest is history.

After he retired from baseball, Robinson became a leader in the Civil Rights movement. He was hired to serve as a vice president for Chock Full O’Nuts, the first Black man to be named a vice president of a major American company. In 1964, he co-founded Freedom National Bank of Harlem, created to financially help Black communities. In 1970, he founded the Jackie Robinson Construction Company, which built housing for low-income people.

In perhaps the most famous steal of home in history, Jackie Robinson steals home in Game 1 of the 1955 World Series. For the rest of his life, Yankees catcher Yogi Berra said Robinson was out.

(John Rooney / Associated Press)

But let’s go back to his baseball career.

Imagine trying to do your job every day with thousands of people surrounding you, hurling racist taunts. Imagine going on the road and not being able to stay in the same place as your co-workers, but being forced to room with someone across town. Imagine having a wife and child who have to go through the same thing. Imagine a policeman coming into your workplace and threatening to arrest you and shut down your business unless you left, because they don’t appreciate “your kind” in their city. Imagine getting death threats every day in the mail.

Most people would not be able to do what Robinson did. He set the example that players such as Larry Doby of Cleveland, who broke the color barrier in the American League, were able to follow.

It’s sad that sometimes I will hear fans of other teams complain that Robinson’s No. 42 is retired and listed alongside the numbers of the legends from their team, because “he didn’t play for their team.”

Even now, some people try to find flaws that Robinson had to cut him down. What they don’t realize is that pointing out whatever flaws he had doesn’t make him seem less impressive — but even more impressive. It shows he was an imperfect man who performed one of the most perfect human achievements of all time.

But words don’t adequately describe what Jackie Robinson did or what he went through. They can’t. It’s embarrassing to even try.

What’s a good way to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day? Find anyone you know under the age of 18 and make sure they know who Jackie Robinson was and what he did. Don’t let his memory be forgotten. Show them the movie “42.” Give them a book on Robinson. Or sit down and talk to them about him. It’s the best gift you can give them.

In his own words

Some of the best quotes from Jackie Robinson:

“Plenty of times I wanted to haul off when somebody insulted me for the color of my skin, but I had to hold to myself. I knew I was kind of an experiment. The whole thing was bigger than me.”

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”

“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me. All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.”

“Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life.”

“There’s not an American in this country free until every one of us is free.”

“During my life, I have had a few nightmares which happened to me while I was wide awake.”

“I’m grateful for all the breaks and honors and opportunities I’ve had, but I always believe I won’t have it made until the humblest Black kid in the most remote backwoods of America has it made.”

“Many people resented my impatience and honesty, but I never cared about acceptance as much as I cared about respect.”

“Negroes aren’t seeking anything which is not good for the nation as well as ourselves. In order for America to be 100% strong — economically, defensively and morally — we cannot afford the waste of having second- and third-class citizens.”

“Blacks have had to learn to protect themselves by being cynical but not cynical enough to slam the door on potential opportunities. We go through life walking a tightrope to prevent too much disillusionment.”

“It kills me to lose. If I’m a troublemaker, and I don’t think that my temper makes me one, then it’s because I can’t stand losing. That’s the way I am about winning, all I ever wanted to do was finish first.”

Jackie Robinson joins a picket line in Cleveland in 1960 to protest discrimination against Black people at southern lunch counters.

(Associated Press)

“When I am playing baseball, I give it all that I have on the ball field. When the ballgame is over, I certainly don’t take it home. My little girl who is sitting out there wouldn’t know the difference between a third strike and a foul ball.”

“Pop flies, in a sense, are just a diversion for a second baseman. Grounders are his stock trade.”

“I guess you’d call me an independent, since I’ve never identified myself with one party or another in politics. I always decide my vote by taking as careful a look as I can at the actual candidates and issues themselves, no matter what the party label.”

“How you played in yesterday’s game is all that counts.”

“I think if we go back and check our record, the Negro has proven beyond a doubt that we have been more than patient in seeking our rights as American citizens.”

“Baseball is like a poker game. Nobody wants to quit when he’s losing; nobody wants you to quit when you’re ahead.”

“The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has, is his personal dignity.”

In the words of others

”A credit to baseball and to America.”
—Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers

“To do what he did has got to be the most tremendous thing I’ve ever seen in sports.”
—Pee Wee Reese, teammate of Jackie Robinson

“The greatest moment in the history of baseball.”
—MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred

“He gave the Black community a sense of hope, a sense of pride.”
—John Lewis, civil rights leader

”I didn’t know baseball from pingpong. But the point was that he had broken in. I grew inches that day. I puffed out my chest. A Black person had made it against the most tremendous odds.”
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu

“Jackie’s character was much more important than his batting average.”
—Hank Aaron

”Jackie Robinson made his country and you and me and all of us a shade more free.”
—Roger Kahn, author of “The Boys of Summer”

“There’s a direct line between Jackie Robinson and me.”
—former President Barack Obama

“He knew he had to do well. He knew that the future of Blacks in baseball depended on it. The pressure was enormous, overwhelming, and unbearable at times. I don’t know how he held up. I know I never could have. He was the greatest competitor I have ever seen.”
—Duke Snider, teammate

”There was never a man in the game who could put mind and muscle together quicker than Jackie Robinson.”
—Rickey

“After the game, Jackie Robinson came into our clubhouse and shook my hand. He said, ‘You’re a helluva ballplayer and you’ve got a great future.’ I thought that was a classy gesture, one I wasn’t then capable of making. I was a bad loser. What meant even more was what Jackie told the press, ‘Mantle beat us. He was the difference between the two teams. They didn’t miss DiMaggio.’ I have to admit, I became a Jackie Robinson fan on the spot. And when I think of that World Series, his gesture is what comes to mind. Here was a player who had without doubt suffered more abuse and more taunts and more hatred than any player in the history of the game. And he had made a special effort to compliment and encourage a young white kid from Oklahoma.”
—Mickey Mantle, on the 1952 World Series

”Jackie, we’ve got no army. There’s virtually nobody on our side. No owner, no umpires, very few newspapermen. And I’m afraid that many fans may be hostile. We’ll be in a tough position. We can win only if we can convince the world that I am doing this because you’re a great ballplayer, and a fine gentleman.”
—Rickey

“Every time I look at my pocketbook, I see Jackie Robinson .”
—Willie Mays

“Give me five players like Robinson and a pitcher and I’ll beat any nine-man team in baseball.”
—former Dodgers manager Chuck Dressen

“He led America by example. He reminded our people of what was right and he reminded them of what was wrong. I think it can be safely said today that Jackie Robinson made the United States a better nation.”
—American League president Gene Budig

”Jackie Robinson is the best I’ve seen. Robinson is the perfect blend of ballplayer. He has creativeness and imagination. Every move he makes from the minute he steps onto the field is designed to beat the other club. He’s constantly asking himself, at bat or on the bases, ‘what can I do to beat the other guy?’ That’s the kind of ballplayer that wins pennants.”
—Fresco Thompson, assistant farm director for the Dodgers when Robinson played his first game

“If I were in Jackie Robinson’s shoes, I probably never would have made it.”
—Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson

”Today we must balance the tears of sorrow with the tears of joy. Mix the bitter with the sweet in death and life. Jackie as a figure in history was a rock in the water, creating concentric circles and ripples of new possibility. He was medicine. He was immunized by God from catching the diseases that he fought. The Lord’s arms of protection enabled him to go through dangers seen and unseen, and he had the capacity to wear glory with grace. Jackie’s body was a temple of God. An instrument of peace. We would watch him disappear into nothingness and stand back as spectators, and watch the suffering from afar. The mercy of God intercepted this process Tuesday and permitted him to steal away home, where referees are out of place, and only the supreme judge of the universe speaks.”
—Jesse Jackson, delivering a eulogy for Robinson

For more on Robinson, I recommend visiting jackierobinson.org, where several of the above quotes and much more can be found.

And finally

Jackie Robinson is interviewed by Dick Cavett. Watch and listen here. And you can watch “42” for free on Youtube. Watch and listen here.

Until next time….

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Since I started DJing nearly a decade ago, it’s been a dream of mine to DJ at a music festival, a place where music lovers of all walks of life converge. So when I got the opportunity to spin at Coachella, the country’s festival of all festivals, I was over the moon.

This was my second time playing at Coachella with Party in My Living Room, a house party concert series founded by Inglewood native Yannick “Thurz” Koffi in 2015. The activation, designed to look like an actual living room with couches and artwork, was a collaboration with GV Black, a group promoting “Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) to be seen at the festival.” For the last four years, Koffi has been inviting DJs and musicians (Ty Dolla Sign, P-Lo, Kamaiyah and Isaiah Rashad, to name a few) to perform at the pop-up, which has quickly become a popular side quest for festivalgoers. So when Koffi asked me to be a part of the stacked lineup during Weekend 1, I was honored.

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After preparing my set for weeks, the moment had finally come for me to spin on Sunday afternoon. I soaked up the entire weekend experience — from the celebrity-packed artist compound to the exclusive pop-ups (Redbull Mirage and the Soho House hideout) and the free dining. Here’s a peak behind the curtain from an artist’s perspective and what I learned about DJing at the festival.

Kailyn Hype played house, hip-hop, jersey club, baile funk and other genres during her high-energy DJ set at Coachella.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

1. Spinning at a daytime desert festival is much different than at a bar

I was in charge of kicking off the activation on the final day of Coachella Weekend 1, which is an underrated job because it means that you get to set the tone for the day.

If I were spinning at a bar, club or flea market, I’d likely ease into my set with more chill songs before getting into bangers. But this was a festival and the crowd was ready to party, so I didn’t waste any of my 45-minute set. (My set was initially scheduled for one hour, but it was cut due to a sound check delay.) However, I left the big hip-hop tracks for the other DJs to play, which is a common DJ courtesy.

With songs like “Tonight” by Pink Pantheress, “Am I Wrong” by Anderson.Paak, “Brighter Days” by Cajmere, “Nissan Altima” by Doechii and several high-energy remixes that I found on Bandcamp, my set was everything I’d hoped for: fun, joyful and liberating. The crowd and I jumped up and down, threw up our hands, sang and danced together. And even if they didn’t know the words to a particular track, they were still open to all of it, which is one of the best feelings you can get as a DJ.

2. The artist wristband was my golden ticket — to a glorious buffet

With so many delicious food vendors like Villa’s Tacos, Prince Street Pizza, Happy Ice and El Moro, I knew that I was going to be eating good at Coachella. What I didn’t expect is for there to be free catering for folks with artist wristbands, like myself. After making my way through the artist compound, past the golf carts that transported performers and celebrities (I spotted Teyana Taylor and Damson Idris) and along a plant-filled pathway, I made it to the elaborate dining area. Inside the room, which was draped with colorful curtains with guitars attached to them, I felt like a kid at a buffet. There were poke bowls, a sandwich station, pizza, steak, ice cream sundae and even a “wrap station,” so you could take your food to go.

“Since I started DJing nearly a decade ago, it’s been a dream of mine to DJ at a music festival,” says Kailyn Brown.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

3. But even if you have an artist wristband, long lines are inescapable

At any major event, be it a music festival or sports game, lines are to be expected. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I expected the bathroom lines in the artist compound — an exclusive backstage area for artists and their crews — to be shorter. I quickly realized that the lines were unavoidable and if I really needed to go, it was usually faster to go to the porta-potties in the general admission or VIP areas.

4. I found respite at exclusive lounges

After running around the festival for hours, it was nice to be able to take a break from the heat in stylish, exclusive areas like the Red Bull Mirage and Soho House’s hideout.

Red Bull invited me to check out their three-story social hub and hospitality destination at Coachella, which included a Nobu omakase dinner on the top floor. Overlooking the Quasar stage, it offered the perfect spot to sip on the energy drink company’s signature cocktails (the Paloma was my favorite) and watch energetic DJ sets from artists like David Guetta, Fatboy Slim and Pawsa. It’s also where “Love Island USA” Season 7 favorite Olandria was serving Red bull mocktails — and looks — from behind the bar.

While Red Bull Mirage provided day club vibes, the energy at the Soho House hideout was a bit more laid-back. Located inside a luxurious air-conditioned tent near the main Coachella stage, invited guests and Soho House members with VIP passes could order from the bespoke bar, grab a bite (e.g., burgers, fries and maki rolls) and enjoy music from a live DJ.

Founded by Inglewood native Yannick “Thurz” Koffi in 2015, Party in My Living Room is a house party concert series.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

With an artist pass in tow, Kailyn Brown explored the artist lounge, dining hall and other exclusive areas at the music festival.

(Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times)

5. Music festivals can be a lot, but there’s a reason we keep coming back

After I was finished with my set, several people came up to thank me including one man, a Mexico-based artist named Memo Wright, who drew a live sketch of me spinning, which made my day. Even some of my Times colleagues took a break from reporting to stop by and say hello.

As I drove back home from the desert the following morning, I reflected on why I love music festivals so much and have been attending them since I was 16. Though events like Coachella get a bad rap for being expensive, crowded and uncomfortable (yes, it’s hot and dusty), this experience reminded me why people keep coming back — for the love of music and being able to commune with others who are just as obsessed with it as you are.

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.”

Receiver Semaj Morgan caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Nico Iamaleava, tight end Brayden Lofton made several fine catches, Troy Leigber rushed for a touchdown, and Donavyn Pellot and Robert Stafford III had interceptions on defense as the squad is motivated to rebound from a 3-9 season (3-6 in Big Ten) — its worst since its debut season under Chip Kelly in 2018.

“Practice six is usually when it dips a little bit,” said Chesney, who led James Madison to the Sun Belt Conference championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff last season. “On defense we did not, on offense we probably slowed down just a little bit. I didn’t feel a dip from the group, which is great, but usually around now is when that starts to happen. [Practices] six, seven, eight are a little bit of a fight and then you gotta come back when you get to nine, 10 and 11. I thought they did a good job today, not a great job, but you have those days. It’s the nature of the beast. I didn’t see any steps backward from anybody, just a little bit of a lull from what they were bringing the other day. ”

One position group that has impressed Chesney since he arrived in Westwood is running back — a unit that returns a number of players.

“Everybody has their pluses and minuses, everyone has things they’re really good at and things they’re mediocre at and our job every day is taking what’s mediocre and turning it into good — and eventually great — and playing to their strengths,” Chesney said. “Each of them has their own running style. I’ve been impressed with them, they’re one of the stronger groups on this team. It’s necessary as a running back for that to be the case. You have to be durable enough, you have to keep your pad level low and keep your body healthy because there’s probably not another position out there that takes as much of a beating … you’re getting tackled by guys who are sometimes much bigger than you.”

Defensive back Scooter Jackson was not at Tuesday’s practice but Chesney expects him to be back Thursday. Offensive lineman Jordan Davis is dealing with a shoulder injury.

“He’s got range, he just doesn’t feel like he has the full strength yet … but he’s close,” Chesney said of Davis. “On Saturday it was a little worse than it is today, so he’s slowly getting better.”

Chesney praised cornerback DJ Barksdale, an All-Sun Belt selection who transferred from James Madison — a player he knows well.

“The nickel and slot corner is important in the bubble game and the screen game,” Chesney said. “You’ve got to be able to fight through some things physically. You’re also tied in a lot as the bonus in the run game and then there’s times when you’re not there and you’re playing straight man-to-man on the other team’s quickest, best receiver so the skillset you’ve got to carry, the confidence you’ve got to carry and the physicality you’ve got to carry is significant. DJ possesses all of those.”

Chesney is excited about the depth in the defensive backfield.

“Rob [Stafford] did a good job,: he said. “In the red zone he’s been really sticky in coverage and he’s done a really nice job. He’s starting to click with his playbook and understand it and that’s kind of where everyone is at this stage of the game, we’re in practice six so everything we’ve done up to this point is six days of full speed stuff. Osiris [Gilbert] made a really big play on a ball that we had trouble with Saturday. To learn and carry that over from the previous practice into the film room and actuality execute it out here was great to see. Jhase McMillan is doing a great job. We’re rotating them through, we put them in different positions to test them in fire and see who can handle all of it. They’re a little more involved in the running game now, Cover 2 things and corner pressures, blitzing off the edge, they’ve done a really nice job.”

Asked who has stood out in the trenches, Chesney cited Aiden Gobaira, Julian Armella and Riley Robell.

“What’s impressed me most about Julian is his passion for this game,” Chesney said. “He’s got to harness that the right way. I’m sure there’s moments when you play with that much emotion and passion it can tip over, but I’ve been impressed with that part. He uplifts a lot of people when he’s out there. There’s never a moment where he’s just out here and it’s not important — it’s all important to him and that’s infectious.”

Pressuring the quarterback is a defensive priority for Chesney and his staff. A year ago the Bruins tied for last in the Big Ten in pass defense, allowing opponents to complete 66% of their passes.

“On the defensive side we have to continue to take bigger steps,” he said. “Our pass rush looks good, the interior pass rush is something we have to work on. A lot of the games that we’re playing inside we’ve got to continue to fine tune things because obviously the offense knows they’re coming and the element of surprise gets defeated The defense is doing a nice job setting them up, then it’s cool watching the chess match go on between both sides.”

Chesney is known for his emphasis on special teams and the Bruins ran drills throughout Tuesday’s practice focused on that phase of the game.

“I don’t want it to be an afterthought — I want to make sure it’s involved in everything we do,” Chesney stated. “I want it to feel like a game as much as it possibly can but I also want our long snapper, our holder, our kickers and our protection guys to know that the whole team is relying on you so when we put them in those situations at the end to pin the ball, they have to know they have to hold up their end of the bargain.”

What has surprised Chesney most in his first few months in Westwood?

“The alums who come out continually and who like being around this program is something I’d hoped for,” Chesney said. “I understood that practices were maybe different and closed and not open to everybody before, but it’s open to all of our alums and to high school coaches. I’d hoped it would happen and to see it actually transpiring day to day is exciting.”

UCLA’s next practice is Thursday on Spaulding Field at Wasserman Football Center.

SACRAMENTO — Eric Swalwell is out — of the California gubernatorial race and Congress, spending time with family, as they say, after allegations of rape and sexual misconduct. That could be considered good news for the slew of Democrats who remain in the running, and even the two Republicans currently polling near the top.

But this muddled campaign season has clearly failed to capture voters’ imagination. This despite a sex scandal, a billionaire spending his millions, a dark horse spending tech-bro millions, a debate where the invitations were so controversial the event was canceled and a sheriff seizing ballots in a failed MAGA-pandering stunt. (President Trump ended up backing his opponent.)

After all that, you’d think Californians would care, at least in a spectacle sort of way.

But they don’t. At least not yet.

So is “undecided” going to remain the leader in the race until voters are forced to fill in their ballots? Even Republicans, with the Trump-endorsed Steve Hilton and Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco as their main choices, can’t make up their minds.

Times columnists Anita Chabria and Mark Z. Barabak ponder why the race is such a hot mess, who benefits from the Swalwell implosion, whether anyone will ever get excited about any of these candidates — and what all that means for the future of California.

Chabria: We are less than 50 days out from the primary on June 2 and somehow this race remains both boring and unpredictable.

There’s lots of talk about whether the two remaining top Democratic candidates, former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire investor Tom Steyer, will scoop up Swalwell’s supporters — or if a second-tier contender such as San José Mayor Matt Mahan, former state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra or ex-L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa may rise from the near-dead with a surprise surge.

With such a short amount of time and candidates who have already proved their lack of charisma, I’m worried that what happens next really comes down to money — which Steyer and Mahan have. Mahan’s tech-industry backers are already said to be lining up millions of dollars in ad buys to blitz his name and image on our consciousness in these final days, like a breakfast cereal we didn’t know we wanted to buy.

Ditto Steyer, though he’s got a much higher profile and backing from several key unions.

Do you think that money is going to rule the finish line in this one, or do any of the other candidates have a shot through sheer determination?

Barabak: Let’s be real.

If Tom Steyer was some schmo named Tom Steinway without a vast fortune buoying his political ambitions, he wouldn’t be remotely in the running, much less talked about as one of the putative front-runners. As it is, Steyer has burned through the equivalent of a small country’s GDP and he’s still not cracking 15% in polls.

That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, notwithstanding all those he’s managed to leverage through his wealth.

California has a long history of rejecting moneybag candidates. In fact, not one has ever been elected governor. That said, we’ve never seen a contest like this one — and that was before Swalwell’s candidacy went up in salacious smoke.

The closest parallel — absent that above-referenced self-immolation — was in 1998. Voters weren’t crazy about the two leading candidates, including a rich guy blasting them with a firehose of TV advertising, so they opted for the colorless guy running far back in the pack. (And yes, dear reader, Gray Davis was eventually recalled, but that came well after the fact.)

There’s a saying in Iowa, around its presidential caucuses. The secret is to organize, organize, organize and then get hot at the end. California, obviously, is not the kind of state you win by holding a million and one kaffeeklatsches. But the principle — lay the groundwork, then count on timing and good fortune — could apply here.

Who might that be? Mahan’s sudden cash gusher can’t hurt. But your guess is as good as mine.

Chabria: The thing about organizing is that for Democrats, much of that work is done by labor unions. They provide the people, the phone banks, the door knockers. The California Labor Federation this time around endorsed basically everybody (Swalwell, Steyer, Villaraigosa and Porter), giving none of the Democratic candidates an advantage.

In a rare move, the California Labor Federation and Service Employees International Union California pulled their endorsement of Swalwell, as have other unions after these allegations came out. But labor remains split among the other candidates (though Steyer seems to be gaining unions’ affections), a real problem when it comes to that kind of organizing.

It’s that division of real people power that makes me worry money will have even more influence this time around.

But also, there is the unknown. There’s chatter online that a famous or strong contender (Kamala? A celebrity?) could stage a last-minute write-in campaign. Although state law no longer allows a write-in for the general election, there’s a tiny window left for one in the primary. What do you think? Could someone new swoop in and excite the voters enough to go rogue?

Barabak: Well, there’s Steve Cloobeck.

Who, you’re probably asking?

He’s a rich real estate developer who quit the race in November after an unsung yearlong campaign. Upon exiting, he enthusiastically endorsed his close friend, Eric Swalwell.

Speaking with our colleague Seema Mehta, Cloobeck said he wished the Legislature would amend the state Constitution so he could file to reenter the governor’s race — a delusion right up there alongside President Trump comparing himself to Jesus.

Seriously, political gossips abhor a vacuum, so they fill it with all sorts of fantastical scenarios of candidates riding in on white horses and rescuing us from … what exactly?

I’ve been the rare voice arguing this governor’s race is not at all boring. Boring would have been Kamala Harris holding a commanding lead for the Democratic nomination and people speculating whether anyone could stop her. While this bunch of candidates won’t send laser light dancing across the darkened sky, there are plenty of quite capable people still in the running, unless you’re looking for someone to entertain and/or offer California four years of distraction and diversion.

And we’ve seen what putting a reality-TV star in the White House has gotten us.

Chabria: At the end of the day, or at least election day, this is a question of whom we trust with the future of California. Ultimately, that’s why this race is a hot mess — none of the candidates, Republican or Democrat, have offered a vision inspiring enough to make voters want to trust them with the next four or eight years.

To me, that’s the real failure here. I don’t think voters would mind boring at all, if it was dolled up with credibility and competence.

I agree with you that we don’t need another reality star in any elected office. And more than one of these candidates has the skills to run the state. But in an era of deceit, arrogance and flashy incompetence, voters do want someone they feel they can trust.

So far, none of the candidates have delivered that sense of security, that they are campaigning as a public servant — instead of the thirsty contender hoping for a rose.

So either someone steps up and earns the rose, or it goes to the top-two least-worst. The June primary is holding on to her secrets for now.

Barabak: You know me; always one to look on the bright side!

If you’re a Republican, the bright side is the long shot, but not impossible, prospect of Bianco and Hilton nabbing both spots on June 2. That would mean one of the two lands in the governor’s office in January, notwithstanding California’s overwhelmingly Democratic leaning.

For an unaffiliated voter and political noncombatant like me, a Californian who deeply cares about my home state, the bright side is this: At least people are finally paying attention to the governor’s race.

So dive in! You’ve got just under seven weeks to make up your mind.

CENTCOM contradicts reports on ships breaking blockade as Trump says US-Iran talks could resume in the next two days.

The Pentagon says no ships “made it past” the United States military blockade in the Strait of Hormuz in its first 24 hours and six merchant ships followed orders to turn around.

The statement on Tuesday from the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) was the first update since US President Donald Trump announced the blockade of the waterway after US-Iran talks over the weekend in Pakistan failed to yield an agreement on ending the war the US and Israel launched on February 28.

CENTCOM said the blockade applies only to vessels “entering and exiting Iranian ports” and other vessels remain free to transit the waterway.

It added: “US forces are supporting freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.”

The Reuters news agency reported at least three vessels transited the strait during the first 24 hours of the blockade, citing shipping data. They included two tankers sanctioned by the US. The three ships were not heading to Iranian ports, according to Reuters.

However, the AFP news agency and several US media outlets, citing data from the maritime tracker Kpler, reported two ships had transited the waterway after leaving Iranian ports on Monday.

CENTCOM said 10,000 US sailors, Marines and airmen were involved in the operation, along with more than a dozen US warships and dozens of aircraft.

Military observers have widely said US forces have the capability to maintain the blockade for the foreseeable future but the continued pressure increases the likelihood of Iranian attacks. That in turn could see a two-week ceasefire that began on Wednesday collapse.

Meanwhile, any efforts to intercept vessels from strategic foes, including China, could create new escalations. The strategy is also likely to continue to roil global oil markets.

Iran has decried the US approach as “piracy” while Trump on Monday promised to “eliminate” any Iranian ships that seek to break the blockade.

Trump says more talks are possible

The update on Tuesday came as both sides signalled they would be open to further talks after failing to reach a breakthrough during 21 hours of negotiations between a US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance and an Iranian delegation led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The talks were the highest-level face-to-face contact between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Key unresolved sticking points include control of the Strait of Hormuz, the future of Iran’s nuclear programme and whether the ceasefire extended to Israel’s ongoing invasion and bombardment of Lebanon.

In an interview with the New York Post newspaper on Tuesday, Trump said “something could be happening over the next two days” in Islamabad as he hailed Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been among the officials shepherding the negotiations.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem said sources stated there are already messages being exchanged regarding what both sides consider to be “bridgeable issues”.

“Iran is open to talks, and it showed that from last week when it went to Islamabad. The main hurdle always is the mistrust, distrust between both sides,” Hashem said.

“For the Iranians, they’ve been repeating that they’re open. If the Americans want to fight, they’re going to fight. And if they want to talk, they can talk.”