COLUMBUS, Ohio — Alejandro Zendejas scored in the 30th minute, Folarin Balogun added a goal in the 64th and the United States stopped a seven-game winless streak against top-25 opponents by beating a Japan team of mostly second-string players 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night.
The 15th-ranked U.S. was fresh off a 2-0 loss to South Korea on Saturday in the first of eight friendlies before coach Mauricio Pochettino calls in players for training ahead of the World Cup.
No. 17 Japan used essentially a B team, changing all 11 starters from Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Mexico and starting eight players who entered with 10 or fewer international appearances. There were no starters from the group that began the March match against Bahrain when Samurai Blue clinched their eighth straight World Cup berth, though some regulars entered in the 62nd minute.
The U.S. had not beaten a top-25 team since the CONCACAF Nations League final against Mexico in March 2024, including five straight defeats. The Americans dominated throughout before a sellout crowd of 20,192 at Lower.com Field, winning 2-0 for the sixth time in Columbus.
Zendejas took a long cross from left back Max Arfsten and volleyed with his left foot from near the penalty spot for his second goal in 13 international appearances.
Balogun scored his sixth international goal on Christian Pulisic’s through pass, beating goalkeeper Keisuke Osako with an angled shot inside the far post.
Central defender Chris Richards, right back Alex Freeman, midfielder Cristian Roldan, Zendejas and forward Balogun joined the starting lineup in place of Sergiño Dest, Diego Luna, Sebastian Berhalter, Tim Weah and Josh Sargent.
Richards, Tim Ream and Tristan Blackmon started as central defenders in a five-man back line, a formation coach Pochettino switched to in the second half Saturday.
Adams and Roldan had not started together since 2018, and Roldan made his first start in 26 months.
Japan’s Koki Ogawa hit the crossbar in the 70th, as did the Americans’ Jack McGlynn in the 83rd.
Many visitors are left thinking nobody really lives in the village – but locals insist it’s got a strong community spirit
The village has sits struggles(Image: SolStock via Getty Images)
Locals in a picturesque UK village, which sees many businesses shut and homes left vacant during the harsh winter months, have praised its “amazing” and vibrant community.
Polperro, nestled in South East Cornwall, is like something out of a grim fairy tale. With its charming yet not overly twee appearance, it was once a haven for smugglers keen to evade the taxman.
Nowadays, many tourists mistake Polperro for some sort of pirate-themed amusement park. They assume that no one resides in its labyrinth of narrow streets – most of which are too slim for cars – that cascade down a lush valley into the historic harbour.
In the summer, these visitors swarm Polperro like the pilchards that were once landed here, along with other contraband goods.
However, come winter, this influx of tourists dwindles to a mere trickle, leaving the streets deserted and many of Polperro’s galleries, restaurants and gift shops closed.
Yet, the locals who do reside here maintain that there is still a robust sense of community spirit, even if most now live up on the hillsides rather than in the heart of the old village itself.
They insist it’s a fantastic place to live – despite the issues that over-tourism and second homes can bring, reports the Express.
Fran Martin, an employee at the 18th-century Blue Peter Inn overlooking the harbour, has called Polperro home for over two decades. She reveals that the village’s population has decreased by a third during her time there.
Fran Martin says the full-time population of Polperro has fallen by a third(Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)
She said: “There were 300 people living down here in the village when I came here – there’s just 200 now. Nobody can afford to live here.
“I feel very sorry for the youngsters – it’s ridiculous,” she laments, expressing worries that local youth are being priced out. This is a worry mirrored in communities across Cornwall and other areas popularised by mass tourism.
When questioned about the winter season, Fran said: “It’s dead. Some places do try to stay open, but there just aren’t that many people here.”
Kim Thompson, of Ocean’s Studio – specialising in Moorcross pottery and Anita Harris ceramics – for the past four years, after relocating to Polperro from Stoke-on-Trent.
She said that the winters here are “deadly”. “It goes very quiet – and very wet,” she adds.
“It changes dramatically. But that suits certain people, who are looking for a quieter holiday,” Kim continues.
She keeps her pottery studio open until the end of December, then closes from January until the end of March. Kim often retreats to Stoke-on-Trent during these winter months, but she maintains that Polperro still boasts a “great” community.
“It’s a real community – and that surprises people,” she shares. “Living here, you really do get to know everyone in the village.
“Everybody gets along and we all look out for one another. It’s a great community”.
Artist Gina Farrell runs a gallery and painting studio just across the road from Kim’s ceramics workshop.
She has called Polperro home for around 40 years and is adamant the village retains its tight-knit community spirit.
“It is very quiet in the winter,” she acknowledges, revealing she closes shop in January before reopening for February half term and weekends.
Artist Gina Farrell loves living in Polperro(Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)
But Gina says she’d be in her studio creating artwork regardless – so she might as well welcome visitors to her gallery whilst she’s there.
Gina considers herself “very lucky” to have nabbed a housing association property “up on the hill”.
She’s witnessed firsthand the chaos caused by excessive tourism and second-home buyers.
She told the Express: “When my kids were little, we moved from place to place – and they would all be sold by their owners. I think I was a lucky charm for anybody who wanted to sell their house.”
Yet she reveals that second homes are now being offloaded and permanent residents are returning – a shift also seen in nearby Looe, where BBC One’s Beyond Paradise films.
Gina reckons spiralling energy bills – combined with a dramatic drop in holiday rental bookings – are behind (or responsible for) this dramatic turnaround.
“Lots of people do move here,” says Gina.
“I love living here. It’s a real community. We all know each other and help each other.”
Lee Gregory says Polperro is a “great community”(Image: Greg Martin / Cornwall Live)
Lee Gregory, whose family has owned Polperro’s Model Village for nearly four decades, lived above the business in the heart of the old village but now resides on a small holding on the outskirts.
He insists that Polperro “is a great community”.
While he acknowledges that most residents now live up on the hill rather than nearer the harbour, he maintains that it’s “still a good community down here”.
He also notes that the sense of community continues into the winter months. “It still has a community feel – it’s just a lot quieter,” Lee remarks.
“You do see a few more people around at weekends – and you still see people in the pubs!”Some of the holiday cottages have been sold, and that’s been a real boost to the community. “However, Lee still shuts the model village for much of the winter, only opening for the busier Christmas period. Artist Jasmine Rebecca Cave doesn’t even bother with Christmas.
Jasmine only opens her tiny kiosk gallery – which is so small she sits outside of it in the street – for the summer season. Despite living a 40-minute drive away in Carlyon Bay near St Austell, she says that Polperro has an “amazing” community – even during the winter.
Jasmine said: “It’s an amazing community here. I probably know more people here than I do where I live – you just can’t avoid people here, so you get to know everyone.
“The community stays really vibrant, even in the winter. It’s lovely atmosphere – very quirky. I think the locals quite like the winter – they get their village back.”
The security of former Vice President Kamala Harris, once the duty of the U.S. Secret Service, has been thrown into flux, again, days after President Trump canceled her federal protection.
My colleague Richard Winton broke the news Saturday morning that the Los Angeles Police Department, which was assisting the California Highway Patrol in providing security for Harris, has been pulled off the detail after internal criticism of the arrangement.
Let’s jump into what Winton wrote about this quickly-evolving story.
Newsletter
You’re reading the Essential California newsletter
Our reporters guide you through the most important news, features and recommendations of the day.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
What happened to Harris’ Secret Service protection?
Former vice presidents usually get Secret Service protection for six months after leaving office, while former presidents are given protection for life.
But before his term ended in January, President Joe Biden signed an order to extend Harris’ protection to July 2026.
Aides to Harris had asked Biden for the extension. Without it, her security detail would have ended last month, according to sources.
Trump ended that arrangement as of Monday.
How did the CHP and LAPD get involved?
Winton wrote Aug. 29 that California officials planned to utilize the CHP as her security detail. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who was required to sign off on such CHP protection, would not confirm the arrangement. “Our office does not comment on security arrangements,” said Izzy Gordon, a spokesperson for Newsom. “The safety of our public officials should never be subject to erratic, vindictive political impulses.”
Fox 11 broke the story of the use of LAPD officers earlier this week and got footage of the security detail outside Harris’ Brentwood home from one of its news helicopters.
The effort was described as “temporary” by Jennifer Forkish, L.A. police communications director.
Roughly a dozen or more officers have begun working to protect Harris.
Sources not authorized to discuss the details of the plan said the city would fund the security while Harris was hiring her own security in the near future.
Controversy ensued
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, lambasted the move.
The union did not address Harris as a former vice president, nor as California senator or state attorney general, in its official rebuke.
“Pulling police officers from protecting everyday Angelenos to protect a failed presidential candidate who also happens to be a multi-millionaire, with multiple homes and who can easily afford to pay for her own security, is nuts,” its board of directors said.
The statement continued: Mayor Karen Bass “should tell Governor Newsom that if he wants to curry favor with Ms. Harris and her donor base, then he should open up his own wallet because LA taxpayers should not be footing the bill for this ridiculousness.”
What’s next?
The CHP has not indicated how the LAPD’s move would alter its arrangement with the former vice president or said how long it will continue.
The curtailing of Secret Service protection comes as Harris is going to begin a book tour next month for her memoir, “107 Days.” The tour has 15 stops, which include visits to London and Toronto. The book title references the short length of her presidential campaign.
(Illustrations by Lindsey Made This; photograph by Hannah Pilkes)
Going out
Staying in
L.A. Affairs
Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.
Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff writer Andrew J. Campa, reporter Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor Karim Doumar, head of newsletters Diamy Wang, homepage intern Izzy Nunes, audience intern
WASHINGTON — President Trump has revoked former Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection that otherwise would have ended next summer, senior Trump administration officials said Friday.
Former vice presidents typically get federal government protection for six months after leaving office, while ex-presidents do so for life. But then-President Biden quietly signed a directive, at Harris’ request, that had extended protection for her beyond the traditional six months, according to another person familiar with the matter. The people insisted on anonymity to discuss a matter not made public.
Trump, a Republican, defeated Harris, a Democrat, in the presidential election last year.
His move to drop Harris’ Secret Service protection comes as the former vice president, who became the Democratic nominee last summer after a chaotic series of events that led to Biden dropping out of the contest, is about to embark on a book tour for her memoir, titled “107 Days.” The tour has 15 stops, including visits abroad to London and Toronto. The book, which refers to the historically short length of her presidential campaign, will be released Sept. 23, and the tour begins the following day.
A recent threat intelligence assessment the Secret Service conducts on those it protects, such as Harris, found no red flags or credible evidence of a threat to the former vice president, said a White House official who also insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The administration found no reason Harris’ protection should go beyond the standard six-month period for former vice presidents, the official said.
Trump’s vice president from his first term, Mike Pence, did not have extended Secret Service protection beyond the standard six months.
Still, it is not unusual for Secret Service protection to continue well beyond the statutory six-month window, particularly when former officials face credible and ongoing threats. But Trump’s decisions to revoke the protection have stood out both for timing and for targets.
During Trump’s second presidency, he repeatedly has cut off security for adversaries and figures who have fallen from favor, including his onetime national security advisor John Bolton and members of Biden’s family, including the former president’s adult children. Outgoing presidents can extend protection for those who might otherwise not be eligible; Trump did so for his family after leaving office in 2021.
The decision to strip Harris of protection is certain to raise alarms among security experts who view continuity of protection as essential in a polarized climate.
A senior Trump administration official said an executive memorandum was issued Thursday to the Department of Homeland Security ending Harris’ security detail and security services. Those had been extended from six to 18 months by the Biden administration, so they would have ended in July 2026, but now they will be terminated on Monday.
Harris lives in the Los Angeles area. The city’s Democratic mayor, Karen Bass, called Trump’s decision “another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation” and warned that it would endanger Harris. Bass said she plans to work with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fellow Democrat, to ensure the former vice president’s safety, and she and Harris have already been in touch about the issue, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.
While she lost to Trump last November, Harris is seen as a potential candidate for 2028, and she has already announced she will not run for California governor in 2026. Harris is also a former senator, California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney.
Last year was a particularly politically charged environment with Trump facing two assassination attempts, and the Secret Service played a crucial role in protecting the now-president. While questions remain about how the agency prepared for a July 2024 rally in Butler, Pa., a Secret Service counter sniper shot a gunman dead after he fired eight shots, killing an attendee, wounding two others and grazing Trump’s right ear. Trump chose one of the agents who rushed to the stage to shield him, Sean Curran, to lead the agency earlier this year.
The news of the security revocation was first reported by CNN.
Kim and Gomez Licon write for the Associated Press. Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Stability is a thing of the past at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which this past week fired its director of dance programming, Jane Raleigh, as well as two other full-time dance programmers, Mallory Miller and Malik Burnett.
A few days later, the center announced its new dance director — a young Washington Ballet dancer named Stephen Nakagawa, who, according to the New York Times, sent a letter to the center’s president, Richard Grenell, lamenting “radical leftist ideologies in ballet.”
Nakagawa also wrote that he was “concerned about the direction the ballet world is taking in America,” that he was upset by the “rise of ‘woke’ culture,” at various dance companies and that he “would love to be part of a movement to end the dominance of leftist ideologies in the arts and return to classical ballet’s purity and timeless beauty.”
If “woke” is a MAGA dog whistle for diversity, equity and inclusion, then restoring “purity” to classical ballet could lead to a regressive whitewashing of the art form.
“With God, all things are possible,” Nakagawa wrote in a social media post announcing his appointment. “I am excited and honored to begin working with the incredible Kennedy Center and this amazing administration.”
The Kennedy Center did not respond to a request for comment about how its dance programming might change now that Nakagawa has taken over, but a person close to the situation, who declined to be identified said, “The [terminated] individuals were given multiple opportunities to come up with new ideas and failed to offer any.”
In interviews following their dismissal, Miller and Burnett said they had attended a meeting with Grenell in which he told them that they needed to prioritize “broadly appealing” programming in order to attract corporate sponsorship. Grenell reportedly used the reality TV competition “So You Think You Can Dance” as an example of what he had in mind.
What Grenell seems to be missing is that, under Raleigh, dance programming at the Kennedy Center was among the best in the nation — with broad appeal. The current season, which had been programmed before Raleigh and the others were fired, included some of the country’s most vaunted and popular companies including Martha Graham Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.
The Kennedy Center also commissioned great work, including Mark Morris’ “Moon,” which staged its world premiere at the center in April. Times classical music critic Mark Swedcaught the show at an “unusually quiet” venue shortly after President Trump staged his February takeover of the center.
“‘Moon,’” Swed told me, “served as a marvelous example of how [the] dance series already provides what both its audiences and new administration want. It celebrates American greatness, representing the historic Moonshot and Voyager space missions through wondrous dance, sanguine 1930s swing music and cavorting spacemen. There is even bit of cheerful conspiracy theory with the help of a cuddly alien or two.”
It doesn’t take a MAGA apparatchik to know that’s a winning formula.
I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, dancing my way to a better tomorrow. Here’s your arts news for the week.
Best bets: On our radar this week
Newsletter
You’re reading Essential Arts
Our critics and reporters guide you through events and happenings of L.A.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Prince on his 1987 Sign O’ The Times tour at the Palais Omnisports in Paris.
(FG/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images)
Prince – Sign O’ The Times The purple one’s 1987 film featuring live performances of songs from his ninth studio album gets the Imax treatment this weekend. Neither a commercial nor critical success upon its original release, interest in the project has only increased as the artist’s stature continued to rise, even after his death from an accidental overdose in 2016. Ranking Prince’s singles in 2021, Times pop music critic Mikael Wood wrote, “Inspired in part by the bad news he saw splashed across the front page of the Los Angeles Times one summer day in 1986, the title track of Prince’s magnum opus addresses AIDS and the crack epidemic in language as haunted and unsparing as the song’s rigorously pared-down groove.” The movie opens Thursday in limited theatrical release; check theaters for showtimes. www.imax.com/prince
“Villagers on Their Way to Church from Book of Hours,” c 1550, by Simon Bening (Flemish, about 1483 – 1561) Tempera colors and gold paint Getty Museum Ms. 50 (93.MS.19), recto
(J. Paul Getty Museum)
Going Places: Travel in the Middle Ages As we wrap up our own summer excursions, what better time to vicariously explore how it was done in medieval times through this exhibition of Getty Museum manuscripts illustrating the subject, augmented by an interactive component inspired by early 8-bit arcade video games. Times art critic Christopher Knight has described Northern European manuscripts as “one unmistakable strength of the Getty’s collection.” The show opens Tuesday. 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Tuesday–Friday and Sunday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday; closed Monday, through Nov. 30. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive. getty.edu
Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers performs Arturo Márquez’s concerto “Fandango” with the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl in 2021.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Márquez’s Fandango & Shostakovich’s Fifth Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers performs Arturo Márquez’s Latin Grammy-winning composition with the L.A. Phil, conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl. The orchestra will also perform the Mexican composer’s “Danzon No. 2” and Shostakovich’s popular “Symphony No. 5.” When “Fandango,” commissioned by the L.A. Phil and written for Meyers, had its world premiere in 2021, Times classical music critic Mark Swedcalled it “substantial. It is based on the Mexican fandango Márquez grew up with in Sonora. His instrument is the violin, and his father was a mariachi violinist. But Márquez’s goal in the concerto was to use his folk and dance roots in a formal classical way, taking as his example such European composers as Manuel de Falla and Isaac Albéniz. In Márquez’s concerto, he allows Meyers to revel in her virtuosity. He writes melodies that sound old and worth keeping. Dance rhythms do what they’re supposed to, making feet tap and nerves tingle.” The gates open at 6 p.m. with the music scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
The week ahead: A curated calendar
FRIDAY 🎭 Masala Dabba Food, cooking and the titular spice box are central to playwright Wendy Graf’s world-premiere drama about an Indian/African American family directed by Marya Mazor. 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 14. International City Theatre, 330 E. Seaside Way, Long Beach. InternationalCityTheatre.org.
🎭 NOIR! A Hollywood thriller is the milieu for a new immersive theatrical experience from the creators of “It’s Alive” and “The Assassination of Edgar Allan Poe.” 7:50 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Sept. 6, 13 and 20. Heritage Square Museum, 3800 Homer St. downtownrep.com
SATURDAY 🎥 Barry Lyndon The American Cinematheque marks the 50th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s visually sublime adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel about an 18th century English rogue, starring Ryan O’Neal and Marisa Berenson, with the L.A. premiere of a new 4K restoration. 7 p.m. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd. americancinematheque.com
🎥 Drop Dead Gorgeous Actor Denise Richards will be in person for a 35 mm screening of the 1999 small-town beauty pageant mockumentary, a darkly comedic cult favorite written by Lona Williams, directed by the State’s Michael Patrick Jann and co-starring Kirstie Alley, Ellen Barkin and Kirsten Dunst. 7:30 p.m. Academy Museum, 6067 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. academymuseum.org
🎭 Just Another Day “Wonder Years” dad Dan Lauria wrote this romantic comedy on the enduring nature of love and stars with Academy Award nominee Patty McCormack (“The Bad Seed”) as a septuagenarian couple who meet every day on a park bench to verbally spar and reminisce. 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 28, with 8 p.m. Wednesday shows on Sept. 17 and 24. Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com
🎨 Rising Sun, Falling Rain: Japanese Woodblock Prints An exhibition exploring the growth of Edo-period ukiyo-e printmaking and the later shin-hanga movement through more than 80 works from the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts features work by Katsukawa Shunshō, Utagawa Toyokuni, Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Kawase Hasui. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday–Sunday and Tuesday–Thursday, closed Monday, through Nov. 30. UCLA Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood. hammer.ucla.edu
🎨 Martin Wittfooth: Deus ex Terra The Canadian artist examines the repeating patterns of nature and the ways it serves as both muse and a mirror of the human soul in this solo exhibition. Opening reception, 7 p.m. Saturday; noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Corey Helford Gallery, 571 S. Anderson St., Los Angeles. coreyhelfordgallery.com/
SUNDAY
The cast of “One Man, Two Guvnors” at a Noise Within: Trisha Miller, from left, Kasey Mahaffy, Ty Aldridge and Cassandra Marie Murphy.
(Daniel Reichert)
🎭 One Man, Two Guvnors Richard Bean’s swinging ’60s British farce won James Corden a Tony Award and largely introduced him to American audiences. The show, based on “The Servant of Two Masters” by Carlo Goldoni, is directed by A Noise Within producing Artistic Directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott, with songs by Grant Olding. Previews: 2 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sept. 5; opening night: 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6; 2 p.m. Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, through Sept. 28. A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. anoisewithin.org
TUESDAY 🎥 Who Killed Teddy Bear? The Los Angeles premiere of a newly struck 35 mm print presents Joseph Cates’ uncensored director’s cut of his 1965 neo-noir thriller starring Sal Mineo, Juliet Prowse, Jan Murray and Elaine Stritch with footage seen for the first time in six decades. 7 p.m. Los Feliz Theatre, 1822 N. Vermont Ave. americancinematheque.com
WEDNESDAY 🎭 Am I Roxie? Written-actor Roxana Ortega’s one-woman comedy is a wild ride through her mother’s mental decline. Directed by Bernardo Cubría. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday, through Oct. 5. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org
THURSDAY 🎭 Oedipus the King, Mama! Troubadour Theater, a.k.a. the Troubies, applies its brand of commedia dell’arte-inflected slapstick to Sophocles’ classic Greek tragedy, infused with the music of Elvis Presley. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, through Sept. 27. The Getty Villa, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades. getty.edu
🎼 Mozart’s Requiem Conductor James Gaffigan leads the L.A. Phil in the composer’s final, uncompleted Mass, with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, preceded by Ellen Reid’s “Body Cosmic” and Brahms’ “Song of Destiny.” 8 p.m. Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave. hollywoodbowl.com
Culture news and the SoCal scene
Danielle Wade as Maizy, left, and Miki Abraham as Lulu in the North American Tour of “Shucked” at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre.
(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
If you’re a sucker for puns, you’ll love “Shucked,” the musical comedy running through Sept. 7 at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre. The show, writes Times theater critic Charles McNulty, “never met a pun it didn’t like.” But there’s more to the folksy tale of mixed-up love in a place called Cob County — “Shucked” is a “folksy farcical riot, wholesome enough for widespread appeal but with just enough flamboyant oddity to tickle the funny bone of urban sophisticates.” The actors are also top-notch, including Danielle Wade, who plays the female lead Maizy. Wade, writes McNulty, “sounds like an ingenue Dolly Parton, exquisite to listen to, especially when her heart is in play.”
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s annual Art+Film Gala returns for its 14th year. This year’s honorees are filmmaker Ryan Coogler and Light and Space artist Mary Corse. The elaborate dinner — which always attracts a high-powered Hollywood crowd — is co-chaired by LACMA trustee Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio. It’s scheduled to take place on Nov. 1 and will be the last such event to occur before the museum opens its new Peter Zumthor-designed building next spring.
Tyrone Huntley, an usher at the Hollywood Bowl.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Remember the fabulous actor who played Simon in the Hollywood Bowl’s unforgettable “Jesus Christ Superstar”? The one who also served as an understudy for Cynthia Erivo’s Jesus? His name is Tyrone Huntley, and his story is similar to those of countless working actors in L.A. Namely that he also has a day job. Only in Huntley’s case, his day job is working as an usher at the Hollywood Bowl. One day he was onstage in one of the season’s hottest shows, and the next he was showing people to their seats at the very same venue. Read all about it here.
Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times
A scene from the 2022 documentary “¡Viva Maestro!”: Gustavo Dudamel smiles as he wraps up Encuentros performance in Palacio de Bellas Artes.
(Gerardo Nava / The Gustavo Dudamel Foundation)
Gustavo Dudamel is still the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, but he’s already got one foot in New York City, where he is scheduled to become the music director of the New York Philharmonic in September 2026. This week the N.Y. Phil issued a news release highlighting Dudamel’s presence in its 2025-26 season. As the orchestra’s music and artistic director designate, Dudamel will lead six weeks of subscription programs, as well as the season-opening concerts. Next month he will conduct the world premiere of Leilehua Lanzilotti’s “of light and stone.”
Almost two years ago, Holocaust Museum LA broke ground on a $65-million expansion. It is now a less than a year out from opening at its new Jona Goldrich campus, which includes a 200-seat multipurpose theater, a 3,000-square-foot gallery, two classrooms, an interactive theater featuring a virtual Holocaust survivor, a pavilion with an authentic boxcar, a gift shop and a coffee shop, as well as a variety of outdoor community spaces. Designed by architect Hagy Belzberg, it will double the museum’s footprint in Pan Pacific Park.
The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists issued a news release voicing concern “over the recent and evolving casting decisions in the Broadway production of ‘Maybe Happy Ending’,” created and written by Hue Park, with music by Will Aronson. The Michael Arden-directed Broadway adaptation won six Tony Awards this year, including for best musical, direction of a musical and lead actor in a musical (Darren Criss). However, after the award wins, Criss, who is of Filipino descent, took a leave of absence from the show and was replaced by a white actor, Andrew Barth Feldman. “This is not just about one casting decision, even if only momentary. It reflects a longstanding pattern of exclusion, whitewashing, and inequity that AAPINH and global majority artists have confronted for decades in U.S. theater,” the news release said.
— Jessica Gelt
And last but not least
Ojai’s Hotel El Roblar, which first welcomed guests in 1919, has officially reopened. The newest hotel in Ojai is now also its oldest, writes Times Travel writer Christopher Reynolds. See you there!
The ‘de minimis’ import tax exemption helped fuel home delivery and the rise of e-commerce in the US.
Published On 29 Aug 202529 Aug 2025
The US has suspended tariff exemptions for small delivery packages valued at $800 or less, ending a loophole that allowed more than one billion packages to enter the US last year without customs duties.
The loophole is due to end on Friday in the US, followed by a six-month transition period to a new tariff regime.
More than 30 countries, including Australia, Germany, Japan and Mexico, have suspended or partially suspended package shipments to the US in advance of the cost change.
Postal unions around the world say more clarity is needed about how the tariff will be calculated before they resume shipments to the US.
Global logistics giant DHL said it would not ship standard business parcels to the US until “unresolved” questions are answered regarding “how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future”, and “how the data transmission to the US Customs and Border Protection will be carried out”.
A White House fact sheet released on July 30 stated that tariff rates on small packages will be calculated in one of two ways starting August 29.
The first option sets a flat rate of $80 to $200 per item, depending on the country of origin. The second option is based on the value of the package and the “reciprocal” tariff rate set by the White House for individual countries.
The flat rate will only be available for the next six months, after which all small packages will be subject to a tariff of 10 to 40 percent for most countries.
The White House set its “reciprocal” tariff rates in July for most trade partners, although negotiations are ongoing with key trade partners Mexico and China.
The administration of President Donald Trump says that tariffs are necessary to lower the US trade deficit, while ending the “de minimis exemption” – which lets people off on paying import tax on small items – will help slow the movement of narcotics posted across borders.
The de minimis exemption has been in place since the 1930s, but it played a critical role in the US economy after it was raised from $200 to $800 in 2015. The exemption on import tax on items valued less than $800 helped pave the way for international e-commerce by letting retailers ship directly to the customer.
Over the past decade, the number of packages crossing the US border each year rose tenfold from 129 million to 1.36 billion, according to US customs data.
The exemption also previously allowed Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu to avoid paying tariffs set on Chinese goods during Trump’s first term in office.
But the famous couple have rekindled their romance and continue to parent their daughter Bambi, two, together.
Now, it seems Zoe and Tommy’s relationship has improved after Molly-Mae showed them working out in the same gym with Bambi in tow.
She took to her Instagram stories to film Zoe showing her niece how to do a burpee on the gym floor.
In Molly-Mae’s next story, Tommy is running on a treadmill as Bambi looks on sceptically.
“I think she may feel the same about the gym as I do,” she captioned a close-up photo of Bambi’s face.
The three adults then went for a stroll in the town they were in, where Zoe and Bambi watched a local artist do some painting and the Tommy held his daughter on his shoulders.
Molly-Mae admits real reason she’s not filming with Tommy Fury after breaking down in tears on camera
Molly-Mae recently opened up to fans about the real reason Tommy doesn’t appear frequently on her vlog – like he used to prior to their split.
The influencer addressed criticism levelled at Tommy by some fans who accused him of being an absent dad.
In hurtful comments, they claimed that Molly’s sister Zoe, 28, is more of a father figure due to her regular appearance in the videos.
Ex Love Island star Molly explained: “I’ve seen so many comments saying ‘Zoe is more the dad’ I only vlog when I am not with Tommy, I am with Tommy literally 80 per ceent of the week and he is with Bambi the majority of the week.
Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury – Reunion Clues
MOLLY-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury are on holiday in Dubai after splitting in August. Yet have they dropped clues about their reunion before?
“But I vlog when we are here and he is at his because it’s just something that I am not ready to like open up with yet and like flinging the camera around like when we’re a family.
“I just think like we’re not there yet and still figuring out life and living situations. I’m not ready to vlog like we used to.”
6
The couple and Bambi attended Zoe’s wedding before their split last yearCredit: instagram/@tommyfury
The highly anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ended without a ceasefire deal to stop the war in Ukraine. Trump said he would brief Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the talks, but there was no clear plan agreed for the Ukrainian president to meet with Putin for further negotiations. v
Fourth in a series of stories profiling top high school football players by position. Today, Luke Sorensen, Servite tight end.
Wearing size 18 cleats, Luke Sorensen might not be the best candidate to walk across a frozen lake and make it to the other side. Then again, his hands are so large (11 inches wide) he might be able to cling to a piece of ice in an emergency to stay afloat.
What he can do is catch frozen-rope passes from quarterbacks as a 6-foot-4, 255-pound tight end at Servite High. He’s so large you feel sorry for the person who might have to tackle him. Picture his twin sister jumping on his back while pleading for him to fall as what can happen on a football field.
In an era when tight ends at the NFL level are becoming more and more valuable because of their ability to catch and block, Sorensen will provide similar versatility for the Friars. He’s that unique individual with the size and athleticism to create mismatches.
“He’s a unicorn,” coach Chris Reinert said. “There’s probably two or three kids in the country that can do what he does. Most of the time recruiting athletes who are receivers, you need to teach them first how to block. He was reverse. He can physically move people against their will.”
The size 18 cleats of Servite tight end Luke Sorensen.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
This is only Sorensen’s second year playing tight end. He showed up to play football as a freshman at 170 pounds. He was put on the offensive line. Last season as a junior he was switched to tight end. He loves the position because he gets to be Servite’s “Swiss Army Knife.”
“I want to do it all,” he said.
He can be the blocker to open holes at the point of attack or the receiver running over smaller defenders after he makes a catch.
🚨 LUKE SORENSEN – TOO BIG. TOO FAST. TOO STRONG. 6’4” | 230 lbs | TE PROBLEM 💪🏽🔥 @turfwars7v7 Defenders can’t match the size. They can’t keep up with the speed. And they definitely match the strength. @lukesorensen26 is a nightmare matchup 😤🏈#LukeSorensen… pic.twitter.com/aMMuAIcuXU
“In the passing game. he’s become a massive matchup problem,” Reinert said. “He’s a great athlete.”
He can dunk a basketball because of his large hands and leaping skills. He was a baseball player growing up with dreams of becoming a major leaguer. But football is the sport that fits him best with the physicality required and his athleticism.
Even though he turns 17 on Saturday, making him a young senior, he welcomes the opportunity to face older players.
“It doesn’t bother me,” he said. “At the end of the day, they’re a player across from me. I think it’s cool I’m younger. I can have a chip on my shoulder and do good stuff against older guys. It gets me ready for the next level because guys there are really good and really old.”
Servite tight end Luke Sorensen makes a catch in a passing tournament game.
(Craig Weston)
Last season he caught 15 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers figure to increase considerably with his experience, strength and importance in Servite’s offense.
“I expect massive things from him,” Reinert said.
As part of the Trinity League, which already has perhaps the nation’s No. 1 tight end recruit in Mater Dei’s Mark Bowman, the idea of Bowman and Sorensen playing on the same field Oct. 18 will be like being in tight end heaven. They also could face off in the Big Ten, since Bowman is committed to USC and Sorensen to Nebraska.
Now if only someone has an extra size 18 cleats, please give him a call.
“I’m always looking for more,” he said.
Saturday: San Juan Hills offensive lineman Cooper Javorsky.
Tight ends to watch
Mark Bowman, Mater Dei, 6-4, 225, Sr.: USC commit is SoCal’s best since Colby Parkinson was at Oaks Christian
Keawe Browne, Corona Centennial, 6-5, 230, Sr.: Has quickness, athleticism and strength
Jaden Hernandez, Long Beach Poly, 6-3, 235, Sr.: Colorado State commit has reliable catching skills
Beckham Hofland, Los Alamitos, 6-4, 230, Sr.: Boise State commit has size and blocking skills
Max Leeper, Claremont, 6-7, 215, Sr.: New Mexico commit has size to be productive contributor
Jude Nelson, Long Beach Millikan, 6-4, 220, Sr. Colorado State commit is strong, agile
Andre Nickerson, Inglewood. 6-3, 235, Sr.: SMU commit is athletic and tough to bring down
Luke Sorensen, Servite, 6-4, 255, Sr.: Friars intend to build offense around Nebraska commit
A 20-foot-tall take on Rodin’s iconic “Thinker” sculpture pictured Friday outside U.N. headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, as an 8-day effort to agree a global plastic pollution treaty wound down. The art installation featuring plastic waste by Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong was specially commissioned for the meeting. Photo by Martial Trezzini/EPA
Aug. 15 (UPI) — A sixth round of United Nations negotiations on ending plastic pollution broke up in Switzerland early Friday without a deal after disagreements with oil-producing nations pushing for recycling solutions over reducing plastic use.
Delegates from 184 countries worked into the early hours in Geneva to bridge division between more than 100 nations pressing for production limits and oil-rich states, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, arguing that plastic was critical to their future economic health.
The final text did not place restrictions on plastic production but did address other issues like dangerous plastic chemicals, including forever chemicals, and making plastics easier to recycle — but left countries to implement changes as they saw best.
“We have missed a historic opportunity, but we have to keep going and act urgently. The planet and present and future generations need this treaty,” said the Cuban delegation.
Colombia blamed the collapse of what was supposed to be the final treaty negotiations, eight months after countries failed to conclude a deal in Busan, South Korea, on a small group of countries, which it said “simply don’t want an agreement.”
That claim was echoed by Greenpeace’s delegation, saying in a news release that the call was clear for a strong, legally binding treaty that ended plastic pollution from extraction to disposal, protected human health and provided financial help for the clean up
“The plastics crisis is accelerating, and the petrochemical industry is determined to bury us for short-term profits. Now is not the time to blink. Now is the time for courage, resolve and perseverance. And world leaders must listen. The future of our health and planet depends on it,” said the group’s delegation lead Graham Forbes.
The European Union, which along with Britain, had been pushing to cut plastic production and for global plastics standards to boost recycling, was less pessimistic about the outcome, saying it formed a strong basis for further negotiations.
“Plastic pollution is one of the defining crises of our age, and our responsibility to act is clear. While the latest text on the table does not yet meet all our ambitions, it is a step forward — and the perfect must not be the enemy of the good,” said EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall.
“The European Union will continue to push for a stronger, binding agreement that safeguards public health, protects our environment, and builds a clean, competitive, and circular economy. We do this not only for ourselves, but for the generations yet to come,” Roswall said.
The effort looked set to drag into a fifth year, long beyond the 2024 deadline for a comprehensive agreement dealing with the “full life cycle of plastic” mandated in a resolution adopted by the U.N. Environment Assembly in March 2022.
Katie Price and Peter Andre have had many clashes over the years since their shock split – and now their decades-long feud has boiled over with bombshell new statements
11:18, 15 Aug 2025Updated 11:18, 15 Aug 2025
Katie Price and Peter Andre have had a turbulent relationship over the years
Katie Price and Peter Andre’s whirlwind romance began in front of millions on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and quickly turned into one of Britain’s most watched love stories. With a lavish wedding, a growing family and a string of joint TV shows, they became the ultimate reality TV power couple – until it all came crashing down.
Their 2009 split shocked fans and triggered a years-long saga of public rows, barbed interviews and court battles. Now, with Peter hitting out at his ex-wife in a new bombshell statement, their decades-long feud has ramped up again.
Katie Price and Peter Andre split in 2009(Image: Getty Images)
Split announcement – 2009
Following a rocky romance after meeting on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2004, Katie and Peter split in 2009. The TV couple had been married for four years, and had welcomed children Junior and Princess.
A statement from the couple’s management company, Can Associates Limited, said at the time: “Peter Andre and Katie Price are separating after four-and-a-half years of marriage… They have both requested that the media respect their families’ privacy at this difficult time.”
The joint statement marked the last time the exes would ever put on a united front. Katie and Peter, who remained with Can Associates Limited, embarked on multiple public spats as they moved on.
Katie pays Peter libel damages – 2011
Katie was forced to pay libel damages in 2011(Image: Getty Images)
Two years after their split, Katie issued a public apology to her ex-husband, admitting she had been wrong to suggest he had cheated and been insincere about his feelings during their marriage.
Peter had launched defamation proceedings in 2009, soon after their break-up, in response to remarks Katie made during interviews with Heat magazine and on The Graham Norton Show.
She agreed to pay “substantial” damages, which Peter’s solicitor confirmed would be placed into a trust fund for Harvey Price – Katie’s eldest son from her relationship with footballer Dwight Yorke.
Social media spat – 2013
During Christmas 2013, Katie appeared to take a swipe at Peter in a series of tweets. She wrote: “What kind of Dad doesn’t let their children see their mum not even 1 day over Christmas when the children want 2 c their mum #fakefamilyman.”
In another message to a follower, she reportedly added: “From Xmas Eve am to NYE am. I had them last Xmas Day, he had them in the eve onwards. So selfish. Can someone remind him he has a son called Harvey that calls him dad or was that just for show too.”
Katie brands Peter’s new wife Emily ‘disgusting’ – 2022
Katie took aim at Peter’s wife Emily in 2022(Image: peterandre/Instagram)
At the start of 2022, Katie sparked controversy with a quickly-deleted Instagram Story in which she launched an apparent unprovoked attack on her ex-husband’s wife, Dr Emily Andre, who he started dating in 2012.
Sharing a magazine cover featuring the mother-of-three, Katie branded her a “disgusting person.”
“My mouth has been shut for so long but I’ve had enough of people selling stories on me and particularly this so-called woman @dr_emily_official,” Katie began.
She went on to accuse Emily of courting the media despite claiming she didn’t want to be famous, adding: “So cringe she has used my children to make money in photo shoots yet covers her own children’s faces up!”
Writing a year on from her drug-drive crash, Katie also claimed Emily was “jealous” of her relationship with her eldest daughter, Princess.
“She claims to be a doctor who clearly doesn’t have a clue about mental health,” Katie alleged, further accusing Emily of stopping Princess from visiting her at The Priory.
The mum-of-five ended the post by saying: “Emily you are not and never will be my kids’ parent so mind your own business, you’re so two-faced and definitely not the person you portray to the public. I think you’re a disgusting person so stop trying to interfere in my life.”
‘Pete was a nobody’ – 2024
The former couple in happier times (Image: WireImage)
Katie reignited tensions with her ex during an appearance on the podcast Anything Goes with James English, where she claimed Peter’s career had been reignited by their relationship.
“When we did jobs together I’d always get more money, make sure we had separate contracts,” she told the host, suggesting Peter “found that a bit hard.”
“I was like, well hang on, you’ve just turned up in the jungle, I’ve already got a career going on. You had a song like, how many years ago? You need to earn it. This is the truth, I don’t care what anyone says – I made Pete again. I made him,” she continued.
Doubling down on her comments, Katie said: “He was no one before he went in the jungle and that’s the truth, that’s not me being a b****. He done that one hit, like 10 years ago, and I think he forgets where he came from.”
‘Don’t speak to him’ – 2024
During an appearance on the Louis Theroux Podcast in an episode released last year, Katie once again took aim at her ex-husband Peter. She claimed she had been “worth more” than him when they married and explained that the pair had always insisted on separate contracts.
Reflecting on his career before I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, Katie remarked: “Who was he? I was already established. He met me and it was his lucky day. So we always had separate contracts. There’s no way I’m splitting half and half – no thanks.”
When asked about their relationship today, she told Louis: “[I] don’t speak to him.” Pressed further on why, she replied: “Just don’t. It’s all through legals.”
She also alleged that Peter “was quite jealous” of her work commitments during their marriage.
Princess Andre speaks out – 2025
Princess Andre’s new docu-series has stirred up some more drama(Image: princess_andre/Instagram )
Princess Andre has unveiled her very own ITV2 series, The Princess Diaries, chronicling her step into adulthood, exploring the worlds of fashion, beauty, and life under the spotlight.
The fly-on-the-wall series includes footage of her modeling debut in Ibiza and offers a candid look into her personal journey toward independence. Alongside her father Peter Andre, sister Junior, and stepmother Emily, the documentary follows Princess as she carves out her identity in the industry.
Katie has been noticeably absent from the series – something she described as upsetting and hurtful in posts on her podcast and social media.
She alleges her exclusion wasn’t a personal choice, but enforced by producers aiming to preserve Princess’s independent branding and “middle-class influencer” image.
Despite speculation of a feud, Princess herself has pushed back on these rumours, insisting: “The show is not actually about any of my parents. It is about me.” She also clarified that Katie is featured via a voice note in the premiere episode, although filming restrictions kept her out of on-camera appearances.
Bombshell statements – 2025
Just hours after Katie Price appeared to extend an olive branch to her ex-husband by suggesting a ceasefire in their years-long public disputes, Peter Andre responded with a blistering statement that left little doubt he has no interest in reconciliation.
Posting on Instagram, the father-of-five broke what he described as 16 years of silence, writing: “For sixteen years, I have stayed silent in the face of repeated lies from my ex-wife and her family, out of respect for my children and loved ones, but staying silent has been incredibly frustrating. That ends today.
“The latest comments about my children’s welfare and living arrangements compel me to set the record straight. For well-documented reasons, and for their safety, Junior and Princess came into my care in 2018 and remained with me until they reached adulthood. In 2019, the family courts issued a legally binding order to enforce this arrangement. I have never made this public before, out of respect for my children.
“In 2011 and 2015, publicly documented court cases found my ex-wife had made false claims. She was ordered to pay substantial damages and legal costs, and to apologise to me and my management. The same falsehoods are being repeated today. Unfortunately, there are many more lies and baseless accusations I have yet to address. Those will now be dealt with in the coming months.”
In response to the statement, a spokesperson for Katie told the Mirror: “Kate is in a much better and clear headspace and is at peace with the situation. This was in the past and she doesn’t feel the need to bring up tit-for-tat comments, but more importantly, she’s dealing with this the right way and it’s now in her lawyers’ hands. Kate will no longer be gaslighted and bullied as she once was…”
Portable neck fan
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Now on sale with prices starting from £14.99, the handy gadget is essentially a fan that sits around the neck, blowing cold air and cooling down the body.
A MAJOR UK TV provider is scrapping a popular sports app in just weeks, in a major blow to football fans.
Customers will lose access to the service before the end of the Premier League, with Brits urged to upgrade to avoid missing out.
1
Affected devices will no longer show TNT Sports on demandCredit: TNT
From September 22, a number older of EE TV boxes will stop supporting the Discovery+ app, the streaming home for TNT sports content.
You will still be able to watch shows in real-time, but all on-demand content will be removed from your TV box.
That means customers will no longer be able to access Premier League highlights, catch up on missed Champions League matches, or watch any of their favourite Discovery+ reality or entertainment shows on demand.
The EE TV devices that will lose support for the Discovery+ app are:
4K Recordable TV Box
TV Box
Recordable TV Box
The newer devices, TV Box Pro, TV Box Mini, and the custom Apple TV 4K EE Box will continue working as normal.
Following the changes, your subscription won’t be cancelled, and you can still watch Discovery+ and TNT Sports on other devices.
If your TV box is affected, then you will need to upgrade, or find an alternative means of watching.
To upgrade to a newer model, all you need to do is call EE.
The device will typically be sent to you for free, however, you will usually need to begin a new 24-month contract to get the upgrade.
TNT Sports will be broadcasting multiple football games from top compitions in the coming season
However, it is important to note that any recordings on your older device will not be switched over to the new device, so you should make sure to watch them all before making the switch.
If you don’t want to upgrade, you can still watch Discovery+ on your Smart TVs, tablets and laptops and smartphones.
If you’ve got a Smart TV, you can watch TNT sports and Discovery+ using that, and use your EE TV box for everything else.
Alternatively, you could switch to another TV subscription service instead.
EE TV (formerly BT TV) is a service available to BT and EE broadband customers.
It offers various packages ranging from a £20 a month entertainment package to an £80 a month Full Works plan.
After a wave of rushed buying, driven by looming tariffs, US car sales have started to slow, weighing on carmakers.
New car sales fell by 300,000 in June from 15.6 million to 15.3 million, according to data released by Cox Automotive last month.
“Now we’ve got sales slowing because [the pre-tariff buying] surge pretty much pulled ahead a lot of people that might have been in the market this year, who wanted to buy before tariffs hit,” Mark Schirmer, director of industry insights at Cox Automotive, told Al Jazeera.
This will only get harder for carmakers, dealerships and shoppers down the road.
“Price rises together with demand destruction,” Sina Golara, assistant professor of supply chain management at Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business, told Al Jazeera. “If consumers don’t have the resilience to pay for those higher prices, they’ll take a step back.”
United States President Donald Trump’s erratic approach to tariffs, putting some in place and then taking them away, has made it difficult for businesses to plan. In April, car companies, including Stellantis, Ford and Volvo, suspended financial guidance as a result of the uncertainty.
Last month Volvo also said that tariffs will cost it $1.2bn in the second quarter. Ford then announced it expects a reduced annual profits to $3bn after taking an $800m hit from tariffs in the second quarter. GM announced that it expects a $5bn hit, and Toyota said it expects $9.5bn in tariff-driven blows to profits for the year.
In May, Ford also announced it would have to raise prices on some of its cars made in Mexico, including the Mustang Mach-E electric SUV, Maverick pick-up truck and Bronco Sport, in some cases by as much as $2,000, the Reuters news agency reported. Those cars began to reach lots last month.
As a result, consumers are overwhelmingly opting for used cars that are not subject to tariffs, including foreign-made ones, as they are already on US roads.
Used car sales are up 2.3 percent from this time last year, according to Used Car Index report, an auto industry insight platform by Edmunds.
In part, this is because of the limited supply of used cars. Edmunds’s report says that buyers, and sellers looking to upgrade but need the money from sale of a current car, are hesitant about undertaking expenses amid economic uncertainty.
The bigger impact of both those trends is of inventory piling up. On average, dealerships have 82 days worth of cars on the lot, a roughly 14 percent increase between May and June.
An expensive escalation
Cox forecasts prices could rise anywhere between 4 to 8 percent over the next six months as a result of the tariffs. The group expects new car sales of 13 million to 13.3 million this year.
“Tariffs will be inflationary on both the new and used vehicle market,” Schirmer said, adding, the main challenge right now is the unsold inventory that’s piling up.
Analysts believe that prices will continue to rise amid Trump’s tariffs, especially as companies try to move supply chains to the US, as demanded by Trump, an effort that is years in the making.
“The tariff ‘relief’ is like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound with US car companies now dealing with the repercussions moving forward as this Twilight Zone situation will change the paradigm for the US auto industry for years to come,” Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities, said in a note provided to Al Jazeera.
In the meantime, the cost to import a car is expected to increase by $1,000 this year to $5,700, according to Cox Automotive.
“The US imports a little less than half of the new vehicles sold, but dependence on imports varies substantially by segment. The most dependent segments are at the two ends of the price spectrum – the most affordable vehicles and luxury vehicles. Most of the vehicles priced under $30,000 would face added costs that would make them unaffordable,” Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke said in a June conference call shared with Al Jazeera.
EVs hit hard
Trump’s new tax legislation – signed into law last month and which cut the EV tax credit of up to $7,500 – has already led to a significant pullback specifically for the electric vehicle marketplace as demand for the products begins to fall.
“Our forecast had been for approximately 10 percent of new vehicle sales this year to be EV. We slightly lowered that to 9 percent,” Schirmer added.
Volvo reported a 26 percent decline in sales for electric vehicles (12 percent overall). Ford EV sales tumbled by 31 percent. Rivian saw sales decline by 23 percent. Tesla saw a decline of 13.5 percent globally as CEO Elon Musk’s political involvement hindered the brand’s reputation. The cuts to the EV tax credit is expected to cost Tesla $1.2bn every year, JP Morgan forecast.
“Several dealers have also stated that these [EV tax credits] are the main drivers [for consumers]. So without those incentives, there would definitely be a significant hit through EV sales,” Golara added.
General Motors has been the exception to the rule. The Michigan-based auto giant doubled its EV sales in recent months.
Despite the dip in sales, Golora believes that the setback in the EV market is temporary.
“It’s [the EV market] still compelling in the long run because many manufacturers have already reached a decision that this is where the industry is going,” Golara said.
“Investment [in EV production] doesn’t look like a lost one. The payback period will be longer.”
Manufacturing strains
While US manufacturing ticked up overall in June, when it comes to motor vehicle and parts production, it is a different story. Production tumbled by 2.6 percent for the month as demand began to slow.
US auto manufacturing employment is also down. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in auto manufacturing in the United States has tumbled by 35.7 percent since this time last year and down 2.4 percent from this time last month.
Al Jazeera reached out to the United Auto Workers for comment about the effect on car manufacturing jobs, but the organisation did not respond.
“Demand was not growing as fast as needed, and many manufacturers were caught by surprise. That’s a problem, and it is kind of a longer-term, structural issue,” Golara said.
SAN FRANCISCO — Veronica Burton scored 16 points, Cecilia Zandalasini scored 14 before halftime and the Golden State Valkyries moved a game ahead of the Sparks in the Western Conference beating them 72-59 on Saturday night.
Janelle Salaun scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Golden State (15-15). Zandalasini scored 14 points in the first half on five-for-six shooting, including four for five from three-point range and missed her only shot attempt after halftime.
Golden State built a 19-14 lead after one quarter, and the Valkyries took advantage of a nine-point quarter by the Sparks for a 33-23 lead at halftime.
The Sparks started the third quarter with a 7-0 run with a pair of foul shots and a short shot by Kelsey Plum and a three-pointer by Hamby. Golden State extended its lead to 41-32 before the Sparks rallied again to get within 43-40 but never got closer.
Golden State sealed the win outscoring the Sparks 12-5 over the first six minutes of the fourth.
The Valkyries won the regular-season series 3-1 over the Sparks and currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot.
Penalties, then. But the longer that went on, the more likely Palace were to win it.
Credit to Glasner and his side.
They might have caved in with the way Liverpool started, boosted by that terrific Etitike opener.
But they refused to buckle, trusted in their game plan and got stronger and stronger as the match wore on.
Indeed, Mateta, set up by Richards, had a great chance to clinch it.
The disruption of the Jota “silence” was a black mark for the Palace fans. A huge one.
After that, though, they were relentless in creating a wall of noise, backing their team, slaughtering Uefa and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.
It was the palace supporters who created the atmosphere. Then again, Liverpool are used to this place. For Palace, it is still something new.
Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign, which launched in 2013, was supported by all clubs in England’s top flight.
The initiative encouraged all Premier League players to wear rainbow-coloured laces and captains rainbow armbands to show support for the rights of LGBTQ+ people, inspire acceptance among children and young people, and promote equality and diversity.
Ipswich captain Sam Morsy, a Muslim, decided not to wear the rainbow armband last season, with the club saying it was because of his “religious beliefs”.
Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi wrote ‘I [heart] Jesus’ across his armband, while Manchester United abandoned plans to wear a jacket supporting the LGBTQ+ community because a player refused to wear it.
Meanwhile, Premier League players have agreed to continue taking the knee in 2025-26.
But they will perform the gesture, which is linked to the Premier League’s “No Room for Racism” campaign, on just two occasions during October’s Black History Month.
Aug. 6 (UPI) — Russia has announced it is ending its self-imposed moratorium on the development of short- and medium-range nuclear missiles, deepening a nuclear weapons stalemate between Moscow and Washingont.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry made the announcement Monday in a lengthy statement that blamed actions taken by the United States and other nations for its decision.
“Since our repeated warnings in this regard have been ignored and the situation is developing along the path of the actual emplacement of the U.S.-made ground-launched INF-range missiles in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, the Russian Foreign Ministry has to state that the conditions for maintaining a unilateral moratorium on the deployment of similar weapons have ceased to exist,” it said.
“The ministry is authorized to declare that the Russian Federation no longer considers itself bound by the relevant previously adopted self-restrictions.”
INF is the abbreviation for the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the then-Soviet Union in 1987 that required the destruction of ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.
The United States, under the first Trump administration, left the Cold War-era accord in 2019, following years of allegations that Russia had repeatedly violated the deal. Russia has used intermediate-range ballistic missiles in its war with Ukraine.
Russia made the announcement days after Trump on Friday confirmed that the United States repositioned two nuclear submarines in response to Russian Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev informing the American president to be wary of Moscow’s nuclear arsenal.
Following Russia’s Foreign Ministry statement, Medvedev said it was “the result of NATO countries’ anti-Russian policy.”
“This is a new reality all our opponents will have to reckon with,” he said on X.
“Expect further steps.”
Of the nine countries with nuclear weapons, the United States and Russia have by far the most. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Russia has more than 5,500 nuclear warheads and the United States has 5,044, accounting for nearly 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons.
1 of 3 | US President Donald Trump, left, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), who announced the department will pull back from research on mRNA technology, which was used to develop the COVID-19 vaccine. Photo by Eric Lee/UPI | License Photo
Aug. 5 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will begin pulling contracts to develop vaccines for respiratory viruses using mRNA technology, which was used for the COVID-19 shot.
Department Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the move in a video posted to X on Tuesday saying that it will terminate 22 contracts worth $500 million after officials determined the “technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses.”
“Let me be absolutely clear,” said Kennedy. “HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them, that’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA for respiratory viruses and investing in better solutions.”
The announcement follows other actions by Kennedy, a vocal vaccine critic, to reshape the federal government’s approach to public health in ways that have rankled mainstream health experts. Kennedy has replaced members of a vaccine advisory panel with skeptics and stopped recommending COVID-19 inoculations for healthy children, contradicting the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations.
The use of mRNA technology is credited with hastening the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. But its rapid development and the novelty of the technology have left lingering worries over its safety and effectiveness despite reassurances from experts. Like previous moves, Kennedy’s decision to end the contracts has drawn criticism from medical and public health experts.
“I’ve tried to be objective & non-alarmist in response to current HHS actions — but quite frankly this move is going to cost lives,” Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as Surgeon General in the first Trump administration, said in a post on X. “mRNA technology has uses that go far beyond vaccines… and the vaccine they helped develop in record time is credited with saving millions.”
Most vaccines have worked by using a weakened or dead virus to trigger a response in a patient’s immune system. Vaccines that use messenger RNA, or mRNA, instead use a molecule that causes cells to replicate a part of the virus, triggering an immune response. A new flu vaccine developed by Moderna using the technology has shown promise.
Kennedy said in his announcement that mRNA is ineffective and that vaccines using it encourage new mutations of the virus they are intended to target. He suggested the COVID-19 vaccine prolonged the pandemic and that the department would focus on research on “whole virus vaccines and novel platforms.”
Dr. Jake Scott, a clinical associate professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, said in a post on X that “the claim that mRNA vaccine technology poses more risk than benefits is simply false.”
“What poses risk is abandoning the most adaptable, scalable vaccine platform we’ve ever had,” he wrote. “Halting future development undermines pandemic preparedness at a time when we can least afford it.”
Aug. 4 (UPI) — The Justice Department announced Monday its Civil Rights Division would end a decades-old consent decree, which banned the federal government from using civil service exams to hire qualified candidates.
Luevano v. Director, Office of Personnel Management, a 1979 lawsuit filed during the Carter administration, accused the federal government’s Professional and Administrative Career Examination — or PACE — of discriminating against Black and Hispanic applicants.
A consent decree was entered in 1981, making civil service exams obsolete for the next 44 years. In March, the Trump administration filed a motion to terminate it.
“For over four decades, this decree has hampered the federal government from hiring the top talent of our nation,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Today, the Justice Department removed that barrier and reopened federal employment opportunities based on merit — not race.”
Angel Luevano, who filed the case more than forty years ago, said attorneys for both sides met with the U.S. District Court judge for the District of Columbia last week to resolve the issue.
“The Decree has had its usefulness and a tremendous effect on the country,” Luevano said. “Millions of minorities and women hold jobs because of that class action lawsuit. It wasn’t DEI. It didn’t just benefit minorities and women. The alternative Outstanding Scholar Program … was actually used 70% by Whites.”
Luevano said he took the PACE exam, before filing the lawsuit, to get into a federal job and achieved a passing grade of 80, but did not get referred to federal openings because only those with 100 on their tests got jobs.
“I’m extremely proud of the effect that it has had on federal hires and getting minorities and women into federal jobs,” he added. “It affected my decision to join, it was the key for me to join federal civil rights compliance in the Labor Department.”
On Monday, the Justice Department called the federal government’s hiring practices over the last four decades “flawed and outdated theories of diversity, equity and inclusion.”
“It’s simple, competence and merit are the standards by which we should all be judged; nothing more and nothing less,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia. “It’s about time people are judged, not by their identity, but instead ‘by the content of their character.'”
THE SKINT celebrities that are struggling to make ends meet – from Dawn O’Porter to Mischa Barton.
Even if you have made lots of money, it doesn’t always mean you’re not going to run into money problems as these celebrities have found out.
Mischa Barton
8
Mischa Barton even sued her mother over moneyCredit: Rex Features
The OC actress Mischa, 39, has had a widely-publicised battle with her former momager, Nuala Barton, over her money.
In July 2015, she even sued her mother, alleging that she lied about how much Mischa was being paid for a film role and pocketed the rest of the cash herself.
She’s also struggled to make mortgage payments on her home in the past, at one point falling five months behind.
Though she eventually sold the Beverly Hills mansion in summer 2016 for $7.05 million reports The BBC.
The television presenter, 46, who has been married to Bridesmaids actor Chris O’Dowd since 2012, has opened up about her money woes.
She expressed to MailOnline: “I work pay cheque to pay cheque. I’m always broke. My card got declined last week. I’m like, what the f*** is happening? When will this end?”
The Scottish writer and director has had a varied career, presenting several documentaries and shows including BBC’s Super Slim Me and How To Look Good Naked on Channel 4.
Meanwhile, Chris, 45, has starred in some of Hollywood’s biggest productions, including This Is 40, Thor: The Dark World, Gulliver’s Travels and St. Vincent.
The couple have two children, sons Art, 11, and Valentine, who is eight years old.
Wife of Hollywood actor claims she’s ‘always broke’ and ‘lives pay cheque to pay cheque’
Lindsay Lohan
8
Lindsay Lohan had her bank accounts seized in 2012Credit: Getty
The Parent Trap’s Lindsay Lohan had her bank accounts seized in 2012, for reportedly owing $234,000 in tax.
Lindsay apparently sent her 18-year-old sister to haggle with second hand stores to make some emergency cash from her old clothes.
Ali Lohan went to the vintage clothing store Wasteland to flog the singer’s most valuable designer gear.
Ali was seen arriving at the Los Angeles store with bags bursting with shoes, clothes and accessories.
But she was reportedly shocked when she was offered a lot less than she was expecting.
She went through items including a pair of Chanel pumps and a Balenciaga handbag, saying: “These have to be worth more, Lindsay was photographed wearing them, that has to add value.”
But the manager would not be swayed, and Ali had to settle much lower than she had planned.
Her Scary Movie 5 co-star, Charlie Sheen, gave her $100,000 towards the bill and Lindsay now appears to have her finances under control.
50 Cent
8
50 Cent declared himself bankrupt in 2015Credit: Getty
50 Cent declared himself bankrupt in 2015, but said the move was a ‘strategic’ one, and not because he’d spent all of his money.
He made the decision after he was sued for leaking a sex tape of Lastonia Leviston, who has a child with his rap rival Rick Ross, and didn’t want other people to follow suit.
He told US talk show host Larry King in 2015L “It’s a move that was necessary for me to make at this point.
“So I didn’t allow myself to create that big red and white bulls eye on my back, where I become the person that people consistently come to.”
He still had to pay off debts of more than $22 million, though, with $6 million going to Lastonia for invasion of privacy.
Shane Richie
8
Shane Richie had to borrow from friends and familyCredit: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron
Back in 2020, the EastEnders legend said the coronavirus pandemic hit him hard and left him begging friends and family for loans.
Shane revealed how the pandemic and years of daft spending had left him “literally skint.”
At the time he was relying on loans from friends and family, and government help to pay his mortgage.
He told the Mirror at the time: “I was going on tour, doing a TV series and panto but it all got cancelled in March. Now I am literally skint!
“You save for a rainy day but you don’t expect the rainy day to last eight months. Thankfully, I’ve been able to borrow money from mates, my family and the bank.”
He added: “I got rid of my car but only cos I lease a car for my wife for the school run. I can get around on a moped.
“I am alright, I have had a career and if it all finishes tomorrow, so be it. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll do stand-up or resurrect a musical.”
Shane also revealed that he blew thousands on the strangest things, in particular Planet of the Apes memorabilia.
He said: “It was my favourite show as a boy, I couldn’t resist. It harks back to Christmases when mum and dad couldn’t afford much.”
In April 2014, Courtney was hit with a $320,000 tax bill, as well as being ordered to pay $96,000 to a fashion designer she defamed on Twitter.
Later that year, the singer told the Sunday Times, “I lost about $27 million.
“I know that’s a lifetime of money to most people, but I’m a big girl, it’s rock ‘n roll, it’s Nirvana money, I had to let it go.
“I make enough to live on, I’m financially solvent, I focus on what I make now.”
And back in 2021 according to official tax records, theHole lead singerhad five outstanding tax debts that have accumulated from 2017 to 2021.
The iconic artist was hit with three outstanding Internal Revenue Service liens, totaling $1.9 million, while the rest of the debt was owed to the State of California.
The Grammy nominee explained that she was living with her parents for a while in Las Vegas before the situation became unfavourable.
She eventually moved back to Los Angeles after her manager suggested she move in with him for a bit.
But the home was too small so Dawn ultimately resided in a hotel for eight months before deciding to research “car life.”
Following her search, the singer began living in her car in 2022 and said that she “felt free.”
She added: “I felt free. I felt like I was on a camping trip. It just felt like it was the right thing to do.
“I didn’t regret it. You know, a lot of celebrities have lived in their cars.”
The singer admitted that though the experience is sometimes “scary” she’s learned “what to do in my car and how to do it, like, how to cover my windows and you don’t talk to certain people.”
She explained: “You’re careful of telling people that you’re alone, as a woman especially.”
Cat Power had to cancel her European TourCredit: Getty
Charlyn Marie “Chan” Marshall, better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter.
She spent a lot of her own money on recording 2012 album, Sun.
Then, when it came time to tour Sun, she took to Instagram to share some bad news with fans.
She wrote: “I may have to cancel my European tour due to bankruptcy & my health struggle with angioedema.
“I have not thrown in any towel, I am trying to figure out what best I can do.”
The tour was indeed postponed, with Chan later adding: “The American tour has been wonderful and amazing, and with me being unable to afford to bring my show with full production (which i helped create), to Europe.
“Financially, really dumped a huge additional amount of stress on me as I was and still am fighting trying to get tour support.”
