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Just north of Magic Mountain’s roller coasters, hidden within the vast, anonymous industrial parks of Valencia, lies the secret lab where the murderous doll M3GAN was born.

“Born” is putting it a touch dramatically — but only a touch. Though she’s taken on a prankish life of her own since the 2022 runaway horror hit made her dance moves iconic, M3GAN is a product of several teams, primarily the animatronic makeup and design company Morot FX Studio, but also a human actor, 15-year-old Amie Donald, several puppeteers and a swarm of technicians performing in concert like a group of modern dancers.

And while the nondescript row of beige offices I pull up to doesn’t scream “secret lab,” that’s not far off either. Just last night, Christian Bale was here, testing out some face-changing prosthetics for his forthcoming role in “Madden,” about the Oakland Raiders football legend. Nicolas Cage dropped in a day earlier. Both will be returning in the days ahead.

“You want a popcorn?” asks Adrien Morot, 54, the shop’s boyish proprietor in a baseball cap. It’s a Saturday in April — the only available time he has in a typically job-crammed week to show us some of the new work he’s done on “M3GAN 2.0,” due in theaters June 27.

There’s a noticeable pride Morot takes in touring me around his geek’s paradise: a two-level office crammed with shelves of scowling latex heads, furry creatures and a pair of giant gators overlooking it all. You see posters for horror movies like Eli Roth’s “Thanksgiving” as well as more elegant, perhaps unlikely gigs: Darren Aronofsky’s “mother!” and the Bale-starring “Vice,” for which the actor was transformed into Dick Cheney. (Morot’s task: turning Steve Carell into Donald Rumsfeld.)

At Morot FX Studio, makeup jobs from the company’s past productions are displayed.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Scattered pizza boxes left on workbenches lend to the air of dorm-room fantasy but Morot is quick to open one up: no leftover slices, only delicate pieces of fabricated skin applications. Pizza boxes are perfect for those.

“I have to admit that, especially for somebody like me that grew up just doing this — this was my hobby, really — there’s never a day where you don’t come into the shop feeling: This is so cool,” Morot says.

Once upon a time, he was a kid in Montreal, horror-obsessed, making his own creations. “F/X,” the deliriously fun 1986 thriller about a special-effects man on the run, is one he watched as a “dumb 16-year-old, very cocky, like a teenager thinking that I was better than everything,” but also a movie he can recount beat for beat.

Also picking her way through the shop is Kathy Tse, Morot’s longtime creative partner and wife. Soft-spoken, with a mind for specifics that complements and protects Morot, her presence immediately makes the space feel more like a serious studio shared by two contemporary artists. She explains that Valencia was “family-friendly” and a better real-estate value.

“Because we have good chemistry — we have trust — we work well together,” Tse, 44, says. “That is so important when you are under duress, under stress. And because of that, they always end up calling us back.”

Morot puts the finishing touches on Brendan Fraser for “The Whale,” work that won his team an Oscar.

(Niko Tavernise / A24)

Hollywood has called back, noticing them in a big way. The Oscar they won for the fleshy organic work they did with Brendan Fraser on “The Whale” is nowhere to be seen. It’s in a closet somewhere, Morot admits, sheepishly.

“Winning an Oscar has never been in the list of accomplishments that I was seeking, truly ever,” he says. “My only goal that I was really dying for was to have one of our creations on the cover of Fangoria magazine. That’s the only thing.” (They line the shop’s business office.)

Tse steers us around to the notion of a certain intimacy they like to work at, a realist aesthetic that might be called the Morot house style.

“What was great about the Oscar that year was how Brendan and Adrien really bonded,” she adds. “They were like brothers, with the constant support and dirty jokes and texts going back and forth. I think that was such a nice, beautiful relationship. To this day, they still text.”

“That’s always how we saw our work,” Morot says. “We’re there to help the actor if we can with what we produce — to help them find the character.”

And with that, the pair take me up to the second level of their shop, followed by their border terrier, Jasper, and there she is, the girl of the hour.

Allison Williams and an animatronic M3GAN in a scene from the movie “M3GAN 2.0,” directed by Gerard Johnstone.

(Universal Pictures)

“M3GAN 2.0” is exactly the sequel fans will be wanting. It embraces the essential ridiculousness of the concept — a vicious AI in the robotic body of a pissed-off tween — as well as the folly of tech bros who would move fast and break things before heeding some fairly obvious warnings.

It’s more of a comedy. The laughs are constant (yes, M3GAN sings another of her awkward songs). Also, reading the room, the filmmakers realize that we’ve come to love her and want to root for her. To that end, she’s been turned into something of a force for good, drafted into doing battle against a military-grade AI called Amelia, also built into the body of a young woman.

For the sake of our visit, Morot and Tse have set up two full-size M3GANs, one from the first movie, another from the upcoming film, the latter more muscular and a good several inches taller. That change was motivated by the realities of their human actor.

“Amie, she keeps growing so quickly and within a year grew over two inches,” Tse says. “The first one she was yay high and then six months later, she grew. We had to readjust all of our dolls.”

Says Morot, “She is such a joy to work with — a real trouper. And I think that everybody was enamored with her and it just made sense to bring her back in the second movie. So I think that the script was altered or adapted to make sure that she would fit within the story.”

One of the several M3GAN masks at Morot FX Studio.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

When M3GAN is running or doing one of her viral swirly-arm dances, it’s performed by Donald, a young actor from New Zealand, wearing a mask designed by Team Morot. He shows me the mold. “That’s her face on the inside,” he says. “That’s a negative impression of her face. It’s quite heavy, actually.”

But when it’s a medium shot or close-up, you’re seeing an animatronic puppet operated by several people. Usually Morot is working the mechanisms in the eyes and lubricating them — he can speak excitedly at length about “eyeball pivot” — while Tse is manipulating arms and doing a fair amount of hand-acting.

“In my naiveté, I never quite understood just how much this was basically an elevated Muppet movie,” says “M3GAN” director Gerard Johnstone, calling from the editing suite at Blumhouse’s post-production facility in Koreatown, where he’s finalizing the sequel’s cut. He remembers learning about Morot and Tse’s skills in 2019 before the pandemic hit and being convinced by their commitment to lifelike illusion.

“I found that hugely inspiring,” the director says. “I thought, Why are we making something that looks like a toy when these guys can make things that look human? Wouldn’t that be really fun if we went further into the uncanny valley than we’ve ever gone before? And Adrien and Kathy were the perfect people to partner up with on that.”

Tse’s M3GAN designs, these days rendered by a phalanx of digital printers (a single head can take up to 50 hours), became proof of concept and helped green-light the first film, not an everyday occurrence.

In the room with us in Valencia, the dolls eyes’ are hypnotic, carrying a trace of malevolence. “There’s a presence,” Tse offers.

“I thought, Why are we making something that looks like a toy when these guys can make things that look human?” says “M3GAN 2.0” director Gerard Johnstone. “Wouldn’t that be really fun if we went further into the uncanny valley than we’ve ever gone before?”

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

Watching them finesse each strand of M3GAN’s hair, every neck tilt and eye motion for our photo shoot, Morot and Tse look like nothing more than devoted stage parents, grooming a promising theater kid. It’s a natural thought that begs an obvious question.

“Oh, for sure,” Tse agrees, owning up to parental affection for her creations. “Look how we care about our dolls. There’s so much pride and you’re protective of making sure that they look good, that they’re well cared for.”

The pair have a 20-year relationship, tying the knot around the time they were working on the first “M3GAN,” a watershed moment for them.

“I was a young flower at the time when we first met,” Tse says without a trace of sarcasm. “He was doing a film and I was just graduating from university. I was working in banking and we met that way. So he was already working in film and he brought me into it, actually.”

“I could have went into banking,” Morot cracks.

Morot and Tse operating animatronics on the set of the first “M3GAN.”

(Geoffrey Short / Universal Pictures)

In each other, they found kindred spirits of perfectionism, going on to corner the Montreal makeup market, which was then booming with Hollywood shoots. Years of work came without days off or vacations.

But they knew a relocation to Los Angeles was inevitable. In the 1990s, Morot had given the town a shot, apprenticing with other designers, learning his craft and drinking in the city until he needed to move back to Canada for family reasons.

“I was really bummed when I had to move back,” he says. “For me, L.A. always felt like home. When I landed here at 21, I was like, oh, my God, everything is here.”

It’s not lost on them that their specialty has come to represent something increasingly rare: an actual craft with an emphasis on real-world tactility in a moment when digital spurts of blood are becoming the norm. Prosthetic makeup effects have become a last stand, a bastion of the old ways.

“This is a massive extinction of the entire movie industry,” Morot says, alarmed. “We’re losing the human process behind it. That’s going to be a tragedy because we’re going to lose the communal experience of movies. We’re already there with all the streaming platforms and YouTube, where people are all on their own, silo-watching. There’s no longer the watercooler discussion about what show is in right now because everybody’s watching their own thing.”

Tse strikes a more pragmatic tone. “I think you have to in a way embrace it,” she says of AI. “Some parts of the industry will unfortunately lose work, but then you’ll have to find your way into another area.”

Morot, right, and Tse prepare a metallic M3GAN for action in “M3GAN 2.0.”

(Geoffrey Short / Universal Pictures)

“M3GAN” and “M3GAN 2.0,” for all their enjoyable sci-fi nuttiness, are expressly about these questions of AI’s prominence. They may be horror movies with training wheels, but they’re also teaching PG-13 audiences to maintain a healthy skepticism about the future. Their lineage goes back to “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the prescient 1970 nightmare “Colossus: The Forbin Project,” about two AIs that take over the world’s nuclear arsenal, a plot that reemerges in the new “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.”

“The reason I did ‘M3GAN’ was out of frustration as a parent,” says Johnstone. “I was bringing my children up in this age of devices and trying to figure out where the balance lies and seeing everyone around me kind of accept it and thinking, Wait, there’s got to be a middle ground here. Why aren’t schools having a conversation?”

If Morot and Tse, both at the bleeding edge of their field, end up making AI palatable for a younger generation, with M3GAN as their mascot, they’re at least doing it the old-school way, with tools that inspired them from the start. They’ve brought out a mechanical head for me to see — it’s actually the first doll they ever built (just without the skin) and it has a rather large speaking cameo in the new movie: an unsettling scene about rebuilding in an underground bunker and saving the world before it’s too late.

“We were lucky,” Tse says — by which she means, lucky that they saved this prototype for the moment. The glistening jawline and lidless eyes are giving unmistakable Terminator vibes. Morot cradles the head, still that boy dreaming of Fangoria covers.

It’s the kind of thing you hold onto in a lab in Valencia.

These are the key events on day 1,175 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Wednesday, May 14:

Fighting

• At least three people were killed in a Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s Kharkiv, an official from the region said.

• At least 16 people were wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks on the region of Belgorod, the governor of the southwestern Russian region said.

• Among the wounded were a doctor and a paramedic, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. Eight people were admitted to hospital, he added.

• Russia’s air defence units destroyed 12 Ukrainian drones overnight, according to Russian news agencies.

Ceasefire talks

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would travel to Turkiye this week for negotiations with Russia on the war in Ukraine and urged President Vladimir Putin to meet him for face-to-face talks.
• Zelenskyy called on US counterpart Donald Trump to help secure a meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkiye on Thursday, while accusing the Russian leader of not seriously wanting to end the war.
• Zelenskyy also said he hopes to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass on Sunday, depending on developments in talks with Russia this week.
• Trump said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio would participate in talks on the Ukraine war in Turkiye, saying he expects “some pretty good results”. A State Department official said Rubio was expected on Friday in Istanbul.
• Brazil’s president said he will press Vladimir Putin to attend negotiations with Zelenskyy in Turkiye.

• French President Emmanuel Macron has declared that he was in favour of imposing new sanctions on Russia in the coming days if Moscow failed to agree to a ceasefire, mentioning financial services and oil and gas as possible targets.

• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier said European allies would roll out “a significant tightening of sanctions” if there was no progress on ending the Ukraine war this week.

• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Moscow was ready for serious talks on Ukraine but had doubts about Kyiv’s capacity for negotiations.

Economy

• The EU is preparing to apply much higher tariffs on imports from Ukraine within weeks, hitting Kyiv’s economy at a crucial time in its fight against Russian aggression, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, quoting diplomats.

This story contains spoilers for “Andor” Season 2, including Episodes 10 through 12.

When Elizabeth Dulau first heard what showrunner Tony Gilroy had planned for her character in Season 2 of “Andor,” she burst out laughing.

“I just couldn’t believe what he was saying,” says the actor, who portrays the aloof and steadfast rebel spy Kleya Marki in the “Star Wars” series. “And then my first thought was: I need to keep this a secret now for years. How on Earth am I going to do that?”

Kleya plays a pivotal role in the final three-episode arc of “Andor.” After Imperial intelligence officers finally uncover Luthen Rael’s (Stellan Skarsgård) ties to the Rebellion, the antiques dealer attempts to kill himself before he can be captured and interrogated. When Luthen fails, it’s left to Kleya to tie up his final loose end and then deliver vital information to the rebels on Yavin.

Dulau, who didn’t even know if she would be called back for Season 2, learned of Kleya’s storyline in 2023 when Gilroy called to tell her he wanted her to return.

“I’m glad he told me then because it gave me a long time to really ponder how to prepare for that scene,” Dulau says. “He said, ‘We want her to be the one that kills him, and we want it to be additionally heartbreaking because she doesn’t have time to say goodbye.’”

“Andor’s” final episodes sees Kleya utilize the skills she’d honed as Luthen’s closest and most trusted associate as she infiltrates a heavily guarded hospital to reach him. But rather than breaking Luthen out to save him, Kleya’s only option is to unplug him from the machines that are keeping him alive. Then, she has to make sure the information Luthen died for is delivered to the Rebellion.

“We do not have a bad moment of film of her in our cutting room,” says Gilroy, comparing Dulau to Meryl Streep. “She’s unbelievable.”

Elizabeth Dulau says it boggles her mind that Kleya’s story ties into “Star Wars’” famous Death Star plans.

(David Reiss)

“Andor” marks Dulau’s first acting job after graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. While the audition came to her as a role in an “untitled Disney+ project,” she’d heard on the down-low that it was for a “Star Wars” project. She has since been cast in shows including “All the Light We Cannot See,” “Gentleman Jack” and the upcoming “House of Guinness.”

“The beautiful thing about Kleya in Season 1 is that she’s such a mystery,” Dulau says. “You can tell that she’s important, but she’s sort of on the peripheries. There’s so many question marks, so it’s such a delight that a lot of those questions get answered this season.”

That Kleya ultimately plays a role in helping the Rebel Alliance get the Death Star plans needed for them to eventually defeat the Empire also “boggles my mind,” she says.

“It’s not lost on me that Tony has literally written me into Star Wars history with that storyline,” Dulau says. “That blows my mind because it’s so iconic and I have a teeny, tiny little corner of that now.”

Dulau, in a conversation edited for length and clarity, discusses Kleya and Luthen’s relationship, her character’s commitment to the Rebellion and working with Stellan Skarsgård.

There is so much that happens in Episode 10, but how did you approach that final moment where Kleya has to unplug Luthen from life support?

Tony made it very clear to me that he didn’t want her to totally break down in that scene. That breakdown, for Kleya, comes afterward because she’s still in action mode. In that scene, I really wanted to connect with all the love that had grown between her and Luthen, against both of their better judgment, but also all the hate. When Luthen and whatever team of men came to the community she lived in and destroyed them when he worked for the Empire, Kleya was not so young. She would remember her mom and dad. She would remember if she had siblings, any best friends. Luthen is not innocent on that day. He was brave enough to save Kleya, but we don’t know what happens outside of his ship.

Then they spend the next 15 years protecting each other and continuing to save each other. So against their better judgment, love grows between them. I think they’re constantly being pulled apart by that. It’s too scary to acknowledge the fact that they’ve come to really care for each other because this awful thing is there. I wanted to try to condense that and make it as clear as possible in that scene when I go to kill him.

I spent a lot of time leading up to shooting on that day daydreaming. I use daydreaming a lot in my process. And I daydreamed about that day — what happened, what Kleya saw and what she did not see when Luther and his men came to destroy her people. I daydreamed completely made-up scenes in my head, like the day when Luthen made Kleya laugh for the very first time, or happy memories between them. I imagined that those actual flashback scenes were memories of hers that just were intrusive thoughts as she was trying to focus on her mission.

Kleya Marki (Elizabeth Dulau) is Luthen Rael’s (Stellan Skarsgård) closest associate.

(Lucasfilm Ltd.)

What was your initial take on Kleya and Luthen’s dynamic?

In Season 1, what really fascinated me was that he sets a lot of importance to Kleya’s words. He really listens to her and trusts her and allows himself to be seen by her in a way that he doesn’t let himself be seen by anyone else. So what’s the power dynamic? It’s not the classic father-daughter thing. It’s not like he’s the boss and she’s just the assistant. There’s a real equality, and that’s quite rare, I think, to see between an older man and a younger woman. I was just fascinated by that and had a lot of fun in Season 1 trying to square up to Stellan Skarsgård and tell him what to do. That was intimidating, but really fun.

Then when I found out their backstory, so much about Kleya made sense. It just really broke my heart. In another life, Luthen would have just been this antiques nerd. In hardening himself to what he has to do, he also hardens this young girl, Kleya. It helped me realize that underneath all that hard exterior, at the very core of who Kleya is, actually is something extremely tender and extremely loving. That’s why she is so tough on the outside because there’s something very painful that she’s protecting deep down. She doesn’t let herself have any friends or fall in love or any of that. She makes herself as lethal a weapon as possible. But against her best judgment, love grows for Luthen, care grows between them, and all of that is what they have to lose. But neither of them are ever willing to admit that.

So much of “Andor” is about the sacrifice everybody makes. But for Kleya, we see that her sacrifice has been ongoing.

Yes. “I don’t have lately, I have always,” she says. She has stripped her life of anything that makes her vulnerable. Joy and love and friendship are some of the the most worthwhile things that a human being can have in their life, but it also makes you vulnerable, in a way. And Kleya just cannot afford to be vulnerable. She tells herself, “I have nothing to lose. Everything is for the Rebellion.” [But] she’s lying to herself. She doesn’t really know until Episode 10 that, actually, Luthen is the thing that she has to lose. And she’s willing to do it. She’s willing to sacrifice.

It seems like the closest Kleya has to a frenemy of sorts is Vel, but how do you see their dynamic?

Vel really gets under her skin. Even though Vel is such a tough character as well, she has those relationships. She allows herself to have that relationship with Mon Mothma, her cousin, and with Cinta. She allows herself to fall in love and Kleya just cannot wrap her head around it. How could you let yourself be this vulnerable? But also, maybe for Kleya, there’s a bit of jealousy there as well that Vel has those things.

Kleya has made herself “as lethal a weapon as possible” for the Rebellion, says Elizabeth Dulau.

(Lucasfilm Ltd.)

How did you see Kleya’s trip to Yavin and seeing what she and Luthen had been working for? Because things aren’t quite over for her yet.

I always thought she sees it as her final job, getting the information about the Death Star to Cassian and just getting that information to Yavin. Because you see Cassian have to convince her to come with him to Yavin. She doesn’t want to go there. I don’t know how much she feels she has left to give at that point. She is overwhelmed by grief for Luthen and that grief makes her realize just how much actually she’s come to love him. So she’s in this place of this immensely painful realization about the man who did this awful thing and wiped out her people. How does anyone reckon with that? That’s the space that she’s in when she’s trying desperately to convince Cassian to go without her to Yavin.

Then, once she’s on Yavin and she sees Vel, that tiny little conversation with her, as short as it was, it’s monumental for Kleya because it helps shift her perspective enough that she maybe starts to see a future for herself there amongst that community.

That final shot actually is her looking at the people of Yavin doing their morning routines and seeing the culmination of all of her and Luthen’s work for all those years. I think it’s a feeling of immense satisfaction and sadness that they pulled it off, but also that he’ll never see it.

What was it like working with Stellan Skarsgård?

My final audition actually was with Stellan. I remember my agent calling me to say, “Your recall went well. The note is, for your final audition, just try not to be too nervous. Walk into that room like you’ve been doing this for years.” Then she said, “Your final audition is going to be at Pinewood Studios. You’re going to be reading opposite Stellan Skarsgård. But don’t let that make you nervous.” And I just burst out laughing. Like, this isn’t real. This isn’t happening.

He met with me for coffee 10 minutes before the audition because it was a chemistry read and he wanted to not do it cold. Stellan has this wonderful magic to him that after 10 minutes of chatting with him for the first time ever, I really felt like I was walking into the room with a friend and that I had someone in my corner that was rooting for me.

Stellan has had such a long and rich career, so I don’t know what this job is for him, but this is such a huge job for me and Stellan has been such a huge part of that. I always looked forward to having another scene with Stellan. It was like going home again, having another scene with him, because he was my anchor throughout the whole thing. He knew that it was my first job, so I could ask him all the questions about what was happening, acting techniques for screen, all of that stuff. I could have those conversations with him and he was always so willing to talk about it. He really took me under his wings big time and I will always be so grateful to him for that.

Gavin Peacock was a regular on the BBC’s football coverage in the 2000s, but he decided to quit television after Euro 2008 to embark on an entirely new career

Former Match of the Day analyst Gavin Peacock has opened up on his drastic career change after leaving the world of television. The former footballer had a successful 17-year stint on the pitch, playing for clubs such as Chelsea, Newcastle and QPR before transitioning into broadcasting post-retirement.

He quickly became a familiar face on TV in the 2000s, regularly appearing on Football Focus, Final Score, and Match of the Day. Peacock also appeared on the BBC’s coverage of major tournaments like the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008. However, when the latter concluded, he chose to retire his microphone permanently and pursue an entirely different career thousands of miles away.

The ex-attacking midfielder has been a devout Christian since he was 18 years old, having started attending church in his early teens. Despite being taunted by rivals who dubbed him a ‘Bible basher’ on the pitch, he has always openly expressed pride in his faith, even hosting an episode of Songs of Praise for the BBC.

Towards the twilight of his career, Peacock, who also had spells at Bournemouth, Charlton and Gillingham, began delivering sermons at his local church. However, following Euro 2008, he made a significant move and relocated to Canada with his family to undertake a three-year Masters course in divinity in Calgary, with the goal to become a minister.

In a subsequent interview, Peacock confessed that the shift had been “the hardest few years” of his life, reports Wales Online. However, he relished being recognised for his preaching rather than his footballing prowess in Canada.

“I became a Christian at 18 when I was at QPR,” he told MailOnline, reflecting on his spiritual journey. “I was living the dream as a footballer with some money in my pocket and a bit of adulation from fans. But, because football was my God, I questioned why I felt good if I played well and low if I’d done badly.

“We weren’t practising Christians at home but one night my Mum said she was going to the local church and I went to keep her company. Afterwards, I went to a youth meeting. I pulled up in my Ford XR3i and had the mullet to match.

“I walked in thinking I was part of the in-crowd, but these other young people had something I didn’t,” he added. “When they spoke about Jesus Christ and prayed, there was a joy and reality I didn’t have. I was saved then and everything fell into place.”

Peacock explained how he no longer felt the pressures of performing on the pitch because his main concern was his relationship with God. As a result, any fears or anxieties with regards to football fell away.

Since being ordained in 2012, he has served as associate pastor at Calvary Grace Church in Calgary. He lived there with his wife of over 35 years, Amanda, and their two children, Jake and Ava.

However, earlier this year, he and Amanda made the move back to England, with Peacock taking on a one-year role as pastor of Bethersden Baptist Church in Kent. Their children are now adults and have chosen to remain in Canada, with Jake making a name for himself in the world of Muay Thai.

Describing his experience in Canada, Peacock said: “Calgary is a cowboy town. They call it the Texas of Canada. When I first met the senior pastor, he walked in with a Stetson and an equally big belt and boots. It’s also an oil town but one where I can see the Rocky Mountains from my window.

“The winters are brutally cold. Snow starts at the end of November and stays until March. Our first home was in a little mountain town called Canmore.

“I’m a boy from suburbia who went from Match of the Day to driving into Calgary to study Hebrew and Greek, driving miles without seeing another car.”

Nowadays, Peacock speaks at conferences worldwide about his religion, and has hosted faith and football evenings across the country. While his days as a pundit may seem like a distant memory for some, the ex-TV star believes his career in broadcasting has been helpful in his new vocation.

“My producer on MOTD2, Mark Demuth, taught me to think about my first line and a line to come out of VT,” he added. “It’s a good way to construct a sermon, a good introduction and conclusion so people are left with the main point.”

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These are the key events on day 1,174 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Tuesday, May 13:

Ceasefire

• Moscow has yet to say whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin will attend direct talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slated for Thursday in Istanbul and proposed by Kyiv over the weekend. The leaders have not met since December 2019.
• United States President Donald Trump said he is “thinking about flying over” to Istanbul to join the potential Putin-Zelenskyy talks.
• “I don’t know where I’m going to be on Thursday – I’ve got so many meetings – but I was thinking about actually flying over there. There’s a possibility of it, I guess, if I think things can happen,” Trump said. “Don’t underestimate Thursday in Turkey.”

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he held a joint call with Ukrainian and European officials to discuss a “way forward for a ceasefire” on Monday.
• Europe will reportedly push the White House for new sanctions on Moscow if Putin either fails to attend the Istanbul meeting, or fails to agree to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire”, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
• Germany said it is also preparing sanctions against Moscow if the talks stall.

Fighting

• Ukraine says that Russia is “completely ignoring” calls for a 30-day ceasefire made over the weekend by the US and Europe. It was due to begin on Monday.
• “Russian shelling and assaults continue,” Zelenskyy said in a nightly address. “Moscow has remained silent all day regarding the proposal for a direct meeting. A very strange silence.”
• Ukraine’s military said that there had been 133 clashes with Russian forces along the front lines up to Monday night.
• The heaviest fighting continues in the Donetsk region on Ukraine’s eastern front and Russia’s western Kursk region. Ukraine’s military said the intensity remains unchanged since the ceasefire was supposed to begin.
• Moscow called the 30-day ceasefire an excuse by Europe to “provide a breather for Kyiv to restore its military potential and continue its confrontation with Russia”.

A number of witnesses have taken to the stand in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is facing allegations of racketeering and sex trafficking during his time as head of an entertainment empire.

Testimony in the trial began on Monday after the final phase of jury selection and opening statement from lawyers. Combs, donning a light-grey sweater, gave a thumbs-up to supporters in the courtroom in New York City in the United States.

“For 20 years, the defendant, with the help of his trusted inner circle, committed crime after crime,” Assistant US Attorney Emily Johnson told the court. “That’s why we are here today. That’s what this case is about.”

A number of witnesses testified that they had experienced physical violence, intimidation, and manipulation by Combs, while the rapper’s lawyers said that he has been charged with the wrong categories of crimes and “his kinky sex and his preferences for sex” were being portrayed as nefarious.

Attorney Teny Geragos told jurors that they may end up thinking Combs was a “jerk” or “kind of mean”, but that he is not being charged “with being mean or a jerk”.

“This case is about voluntary choices made by capable adults in consensual relationships,” Geragos said during her opening statement.

Johnson, the US attorney, said that Combs “viciously attacked” women who refused to participate in the parties that were called “freak offs”.

“They will tell you about some of the most painful experiences of their lives. The days they spent in hotel rooms, high on drugs, dressed in costumes to perform the defendant’s sexual fantasies,” Johnson told jurors of testimony from victims in the case.

‘She was shaking’

The courtroom became audibly silent as a video of Combs beating and kicking his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura in 2016 was shown.

A stripper named Daniel Phillip testified that Combs had thrown a liquor bottle towards Ventura before grabbing her by the hair and dragging her screaming into another room, where Phillip says he heard Combs yelling and beating Ventura.

“She literally jumped into my lap and she was shaking, like literally her whole entire body was shaking. She was terrified,” Phillip testified of Ventura.

Geragos conceded that Combs is prone to jealousy and had committed an act of “horrible, dehumanising violence” in the video shown to jurors, but that it was evidence of domestic abuse, not alleged acts of sex trafficking or racketeering that are at the centre of the case.

Prosecutors say that Combs, who faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted of all five felony counts to which he had pleaded not guilty, pushed women to engage in drug-fuelled parties and then blackmailed them with videos of their encounters.

Combs’s status as a high-profile entertainer has brought substantial attention to the trial, as well as larger debate about how powerful figures in sectors such as entertainment, business, sports, and politics often evade accountability for acts of abuse.

As the case began, the jury and alternates – 12 men and six women – were seated in the courtroom. Opening arguments started after the judge finished explaining the law as it relates to this trial, along with incidentals such as that a light breakfast will be provided to the jury in addition to lunch.

The jury for this case is essentially anonymous, meaning their identities are known to the court and the prosecution and defence, but will not be made public.

“We will keep your names and identities in confidence,” Subramanian told jurors.

It’s a common practice in federal cases to keep juries anonymous, particularly in sensitive, high-profile matters where juror safety can be a concern. Juror names also were kept from the public in US President Donald Trump’s criminal trial last year in state court in New York.

Subramanian urged jurors to judge the case only based on the evidence presented in court. It’s a standard instruction, but it carried added significance in this high-profile case, which has been the subject of intense media coverage.

“Anything you’ve seen or heard outside the courtroom is not evidence,” the judge said. “It must be disregarded.”

A MAJOR change to a motorway used by around 180,000 drivers daily is set to take effect from today.

A reduced speed limit is being introduced on a long stretch of the M60, requiring motorists to slow down.

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The new limit on the motorway is to be set at 50mph – with the road slowed for at least three months.

The change was revealed in the wake of National Highways announcing a key programme of safety work along the motorway.

Work will stretch across several junctions on the busy carriageway, with motorists slowed as a result.

Traffic management will start at junction 16 and end east of junction 17 – with the project set to end in August with the speed limit change in place for the duration of the works.

Drivers have been told to expect delays throughout this period as motorway traffic is significantly slowed.

Work will take place mainly at night to reduce disruption, but the speed limit change will be in effect throughout the day.

Engineers will install a new central reservation between junction 16 and junction 18.

National Highways said: “We’ll mainly work at night Monday to Friday, but some activities will also be done during the day.

“For safety, a 50mph speed limit and narrow lanes will be in place round-the-clock throughout our work in both directions.

“Traffic management will start at junction 16 and finish east of junction 17 near Prestwich.

“Some minor delays are expected, so we’re advising drivers to plan and allow extra time to complete journeys.”

A resurfacing project will be undertaken at the same time to avoid disruption.

This project at junction 17 will require overnight closures for three weeks.

National Highways said: “To reduce disruption, we’re coordinating programmes with nearby resurfacing schemes at junction 17 close to Prestwich.

“This includes our work on slip roads and Bury Council’s project to resurface the junction roundabout.

“Please note, this requires overnight closures for three weeks from Monday 16 June to Friday 4 July.

“During any road closure, please follow the clearly signed diversion.

“We’re working hard to minimise the impact of our work. However, it will generate some delays and noise.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you and thank you for bearing with us.”

According to Highways England, some 180,000 drivers use the M60, as well as the M62, each day.

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DENVER — The Colorado Rockies have fired Bud Black, the winningest manager in franchise history, after a 7-33 start that’s one of the worst in Major League Baseball history.

Colorado promoted third base coach Warren Schaeffer to be the interim manager, the team announced Sunday after a 9-3 win over San Diego. That victory wasn’t enough to save Black’s job after the Rockies lost 21-0 to the Padres on Saturday night. They also fired bench coach Mike Redmond. Hitting coach Clint Hurdle takes over as interim bench coach.

The Rockies have the worst 40-game start since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles, who were 6-34.

“Our play so far this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. Our fans deserve better, and we are capable of better,” said Rockies owner, chairman and CEO Dick Monfort in a statement. “While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary. We will use the remainder of 2025 to improve where we can on the field and to evaluate all areas of our operation so we can properly turn the page into the next chapter of Rockies Baseball.”

Colorado was 19 1/2 games out of first place in the NL West before Sunday’s win. The Rockies have been outscored by 128 runs so far this season. The only team since 1900 with a worse run differential through 40 games was the 2023 Oakland Athletics (-144).

The seventh manager in team history, Black initially found success with Colorado when he led the Rockies to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2017 and ’18. They haven’t finished with a winning record since and are coming off two straight 100-loss seasons. Colorado has a .353 winning percentage since 2023.

Black’s contract was set to expire following the season. He signed a one-year extension in October.

Black was 544-689 in nine seasons while wearing the purple pinstripes. He surpassed Hurdle last season for the team record in both games managed and wins.

The easygoing demeanor of Black seemed to be a good fit for a Rockies team relying heavily on youth. The lineup features a nucleus of Gold Glove winners Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle, along with the recent call-up of highly touted outfielder Zac Veen, who has since been sent back down. On the mound, they’ve promoted prized pitcher Chase Dollander, the ninth overall draft pick in 2023.

But little has gone right for Black and the Rockies. They allowed 10 or more runs in four straight games, culminating in the football-like 21-0 score Saturday.

A team owned by Monfort and run by general manager Bill Schmidt didn’t make any splash moves to bolster a spiraling club. Their payroll this season is listed at $125.7 million and is 20th in the league, according to Spotrac, a site that tracks payroll.

One reason for the Rockies’ free fall has been the health of slugger Kris Bryant, who’s struggled to stay on the field after signing a $182 million, seven-year contract ahead of the 2022 season. He’s currently on the injured list with lumbar degenerative disk disease.

Before taking over the Rockies, Black spent time in charge of San Diego. He was 649-713 in nine seasons with the Padres and was named the NL manager of the year in 2010.

In addition to his managerial stints in San Diego and Colorado, Black spent seven seasons as the pitching coach for the Angels, who made it to postseason three times and were World Series champions in 2002.

Before breaking into the managerial ranks, Black spent parts of 15 seasons on the mound after the left-hander was picked by Seattle in the 17th round of the 1979 draft. He spent time with the Mariners (1981), Kansas City (1982-88), Cleveland (1988-90, 1995), Toronto (1990) and San Francisco (1991-94). He finished 121-116 with a 3.84 ERA over 398 games.

Black was with the Royals when they won the 1985 World Series, making one start and a relief appearance against St. Louis.

Graham writes for the Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has fired the nation’s top copyright official, Shira Perlmutter, days after abruptly terminating the head of the Library of Congress, which oversees the U.S. Copyright Office.

The office said in a statement Sunday that Perlmutter received an email from the White House a day earlier with the notification that “your position as the Register of Copyrights and Director at the U.S. Copyright Office is terminated effective immediately.”

On Thursday, President Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to hold that position, as part of the administration’s ongoing purge of government officials perceived to oppose the president and his agenda.

Hayden named Perlmutter to lead the Copyright Office in October 2020.

Perlmutter’s office recently released a report examining whether artificial intelligence companies can use copyrighted materials to “train” their AI systems and compete in the same market as the human-made works they were trained on.

The report, the third part of a lengthy AI study, follows a review that Perlmutter began in 2023 with opinions from thousands of people including AI developers, actors and country singers.

In January, the office clarified its approach as one based on the “centrality of human creativity” in creating a work that warrants copyright protections. The office receives about half a million copyright applications per year, covering millions of creative works.

“Where that creativity is expressed through the use of AI systems, it continues to enjoy protection,” Perlmutter said in January. “Extending protection to material whose expressive elements are determined by a machine … would undermine rather than further the constitutional goals of copyright.”

The White House didn’t return a message seeking comment Sunday.

Democrats were quick to denounce Perlmutter’s firing.

“Donald Trump’s termination of Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, is a brazen, unprecedented power grab with no legal basis,” said Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee.

Perlmutter, who holds a law degree, was previously a policy director at the Patent and Trademark Office and worked on copyright and other areas of intellectual property. She also previously worked at the Copyright Office in the late 1990s. She did not return messages left Sunday seeking comment.

O’Brien writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Sophia Tareen in Chicago contributed to this report.

These are the key events on day 1,172 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Here is where things stand on Sunday, May 11:

Fighting:

Politics and diplomacy:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, Turkiye, on Thursday “without preconditions” to achieve “lasting peace” and “eliminate the root causes” of the three-year conflict.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russia to confirm an unconditional 30-day ceasefire beginning on Monday, saying Ukraine would then be ready to meet for direct talks with Russia.
• United States President Donald Trump described the talks offer as a “potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine”.
• On Saturday, Zelenskyy received the backing of Europe’s major powers and Trump for the unconditional 30-day ceasefire beginning on Monday.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian and French counterparts that a “historic turning point” has been reached in efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war and Ankara was ready to host talks between the two warring parties, his office said.
• Macron said Putin’s offer to start direct talks with Ukraine is “a first step but not enough”, arguing that an unconditional ceasefire that Kyiv and its allies have called for should happen first. Macron accused Putin of “looking for a way out, but he still wants to buy time”.
• Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Putin’s proposal for direct talks with Kyiv a “serious proposal” that is a step towards “lasting peace”.
• Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said the US and Europe are collectively ramping up pressure on Russia to push through a ceasefire. “I think the American administration is also getting a little bit impatient with these Russian games,” Michal said, accusing Russia of dragging its feet in implementing a truce.