In early results from the special election runoff to complete the congressional term of disgraced former Rep. Eric Swalwell, state Sen. Aisha Wahab was in the lead late Tuesday by a narrow margin.
Wahab (D-Hayward) is competing against Melissa Hernandez, president of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board and the former mayor of Dublin.
According to Associated Press results, Wahab had 51.0% of the vote to Hernandez’s 49.0% as of 10:11 p.m. with 62% of votes counted.
Swalwell’s District 14 seat has been vacant since he resigned in April amid sexual assault allegations, which he has repeatedly denied.
Wahab and Hernandez were the finalists in the June 16 special primary, in which the top two finishers regardless of party affiliation advanced to Tuesday’s special election.
The two also will compete, once again, in the fall in a slightly redrawn district for a full term that begins in January 2027.
Both versions of the district are contained entirely within Alameda County in the East Bay. The current district includes Hayward, Livermore, Pleasanton and Union City, as well as parts of San Leandro, Fremont and Dublin.
The two candidates are both Democrats, but Wahab leans more progressive, while Hernandez is generally considered the more moderate candidate.
Earlier this summer, Wahab initially emerged as the clear front-runner. She placed first in both the June 16 special primary for the partial-term seat and the June 2 primary for the full-term seat — leading Hernandez by more than 20 percentage points in both races.
But the race became much more competitive after the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee funneled millions into campaign materials designed to defeat Wahab, who has publicly criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza and called the humanitarian crisis there a genocide. Hernandez has said she supports Israel’s right to defend itself, but neither candidate has made the conflict a core part of their campaign.
United Democracy Project, a super political action committee backed by AIPAC, spent $1.2 million on the race in August in support of Hernandez and in opposition to Wahab, according to Federal Election Commission records. Another group, Bold America, which has received funding from United Democracy Project, has recently spent about $1.7 million supporting Hernandez.
In total, around $3.7 million in outside funding has been spent to promote Hernandez’s campaign since mid-July, compared to around $400,000 spent in support of Wahab’s campaign during the same time frame.
Over the course of the campaign, Hernandez has more than doubled Wahab’s fundraising and spending. However, both candidates ended July with roughly even amounts of cash in the bank.
Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
The director’s first two docuseries — “Tiger King” and “Chimp Crazy” — were smash hits about larger-than-life characters engaging in questionable and illegal activity surrounding the care and ownership of animals. Both had an underlying conservation message but drew viewers in with the colorful and chaotic worlds they depicted.
Goode’s third, “Monsters of God,” premiering Thursday on HBO, is both a direct descendant and forges a new path. While it also features a hugely entertaining menagerie of criminals, who speak frankly about many of their illegal acts and how much they dislike each other, “Monsters” is largely a historical look at reptile smuggling going back more than half a century — unlike the contemporaneous stories in “Tiger King” and “Chimp Crazy.”
Goode had opportunities to bring in current events — one dealer was rearrested shortly after being filmed and there were major smuggling arrests in California in recent years — but realized he couldn’t keep piling on more stories. “We’re just setting the tone of this multibillion-dollar reptile-smuggling industry that you’ve probably never heard of,” says Goode’s producing partner Jeremy McBride.
But the other difference is that Goode has spent his entire life immersed in the world of reptiles, starting long before he even contemplated making a documentary. Goode had a pet tortoise when he was 6 and slept with a tegu lizard in his bed as a teen. He also saw the industry underbelly up close and personal. “In the ’70s and ’80s, I even bought reptiles from some of the very people that I chronicle in ’Monsters of God,’” he says.
“I had personal connections in these worlds, which helped us go much deeper than in my other stories,” he says. “I don’t know if it’ll be anywhere near as successful, but in terms of investigative journalism, we went much further.”
An archival photo of director Eric Goode with a southwestern pond turtle. In addition to filmmaking, he created the Turtle Conservancy in Ojai.
(A24 / Goode Films / HBO)
(He also acknowledges that his earlier series could tilt toward sensationalism and be exploitative. “I was naive when I started all this and learned a lot from ‘Tiger King,’” he says, adding that there was internal friction about what direction to go with the material. “Now we’ve refined the like-mindedness of what we were trying to do.”)
He credits his mother with opening his eyes to the larger issues when he was younger. “She struggled with me keeping things in captivity and would say, ‘You can’t play God, these animals belong in the wild.’”
That said, while he is proud the Big Cat Public Safety Act passed in the aftermath of “Tiger King” and believes people should be banned from raising chimps at home, he views reptiles differently. “Kids should be able to have a bearded dragon or a leopard gecko or ball python. It nurtures a love for nature and for reptiles,” he says, adding that he’s focused more on the harm caused by smuggling.
Despite his love of animals and a high school obsession with making Super 8 film, Goode was not, for much of his life, a likely candidate to be directing these documentaries. “My whole trajectory doesn’t make a lot of sense on paper,” he acknowledges.
After attending the School of Arts and Sciences, which his father founded in Marin County, Goode moved to New York. He worked as a production assistant on big films. “I hated it,” he recalls. “I hated being a cog in a wheel, just moving things around.” (Today, even as his productions have grown more elaborate, he still goes into the field with a small team. “I like that intimacy.”) He also went to art school but was largely bored there.
“I saw the creative energy in New York in the nightlife there,” he says. So while Goode was working as an artist, he also created Area, one of the city’s biggest nightclubs of the 1980s, where he brought in collaborators like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, David Hockney and Kenny Scharf, with rotating themes like a carnival or natural history (which featured snakes and lizards). “Everyone came from somewhere else or were misfits and I was bringing in these interesting characters, which is very similar to what I’m doing in these films,” he says. “I like lifting up the rocks and finding the eccentrics out there.”
Area’s success led to a big career in nightclubs, restaurants and hotels. Then 20 years ago, he took his profits, along with his passion for reptiles, and created the Turtle Conservancy in Ojai. “I realized that the two most endangered groups of vertebrates in the world were primates and turtles,” he says, adding that nearly half of the smuggled animals seized at LAX in the last three years were turtles. When officials recently confiscated 350 turtles there, they brought them to the conservancy to care for them. “I’m going to go feed them after this interview,” Goode says.
The conservancy now has a worldwide reach in protecting turtles and their habitats and has become a leader in trying to stave off extinction for the ploughshare tortoise, whose fate is a major storyline in “Monsters of God.”
Tom Crutchfield, one of the reptile smugglers featured in the docuseries, with a monitor lizard in a photo taken circa 1970s.
(Photograph by Bill Love. Courtesy of Goode Films / HBO)
As filming was finishing, the conservancy became home to the first ploughshare births in captivity. “It was such a coincidence but really meaningful,” McBride says. “It anchors the film’s purpose and gives a little bit of hope in what otherwise feels bleak.”
This docuseries has been in the works for nearly 20 years, since Goode read Brian Christy’s “The Lizard King” in 2008 and tried to option it. “I even filmed him badly back then — the sound was terrible and the camera fell off the tripod during the interview,” he recalls. (Christy appears in the docuseries.)
In 2014, he finally got started but it was always on and off again as other projects got in the way. In “Tiger King,” Goode shows he’s first drawn to that story when he sees a guy with a snow leopard in his van, which happens while he’s filming Tom Crutchfield, one of America’s most notorious reptile smugglers. “But while I was making these other stories, I was always opportunistically filming reptile people,” he says, adding that they interviewed not only the criminals but federal law enforcement and others, seeking a broader scope than his previous films. “It was critical for us to get all sides of the story. Part of the reason it took so long was it sometimes took years to get someone to agree to talk.”
McBride says they finished with 1,500 hours of footage and interviews with a hundred different people, including the most notorious smugglers (some of whom were also murderers and drug dealers) and the law enforcement officials who dedicated years of their life undercover to catch them.
It’s a true crime story on some level but Goode says the series is more layered and complex than his previous projects.
“I don’t want people to think we’re the animal police,” Goode says. “Law enforcement has good intentions but they sometimes backfire with unintended consequences. Often, the more laws you create to prevent people from having a reptile, the more they want them. But sometimes prohibition does work.” (In Asia’s wet markets, the most endangered animals sell for more money with their protected status used as a marketing tool.)
“Hopefully, people come away recognizing that we have to think about doing things differently than maintaining the status quo, because a lot of what we’re doing is not working,” Goode says. “It’s a messy story without easy answers.”
When I moved into my Leimert Park apartment about two years ago, an older woman rushed downstairs to greet me.
“I’m so excited,” she said, introducing herself as Cassandra. She had lived in the tight-knit apartment building for more than 20 years and watched plenty of people come and go. “I was worried about getting a crazy neighbor, but you seem great,” she added, hugging me tightly and handing me a tray of sandwiches to share with my friends who were helping with the move.
Over the next few days, I met my other neighbors, including Miss Rosita and Mr. Art. After a few shared meals, long conversations and traded favors, all of them became more than just the people next door — they became family.
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There’s a quiet comfort in knowing your neighbors, especially in a sprawling, sometimes lonely city like Los Angeles. That kind of connection is fading. A study by the Stanford Center on Longevity showed that the percentage of Americans who frequently interact with their neighbors — meaning they spend time with or talk to their neighbors more than once a week — declined among all age groups from 2017 to 2023.
We wanted to find people who are bucking the trend, so we asked readers to nominate the neighbors who make their corners of Southern California feel like home. The stories that folks shared are poignant, inspiring and might just make you want to walk over to the porch next door (or welcome mat across the hall) and introduce yourself immediately.
One of my favorite neighbors, Mr. Art, died last fall. He was a sweet retiree who’d tell me about his weekly fishing adventures and close my garage whenever I was in a hurry and would forget. Another neighbor called me the day he died, and we cried together, sharing our favorite memories of him. I’ll always be grateful to Mr. Art, who made my life better all because he once took the time to meet his new new neighbor.
Here are some of our favorite reader responses, edited for length and clarity. Each of the neighbors featured in this story will receive an L.A.’s Most Neighborly Neighbor certificate, illustrated by Cristina Spanó, whose art is shown above. Do you have a neighbor who goes above and beyond? Download and print your own certificate (PDF) and share it as a token of your appreciation.
He’s saved us from many, many parking tickets. She hosts the sweetest front porch chats.
Bill and Linda Melber.
(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
Neighbor: Bill and Linda Melber
Nominated by: Corrinne Harol
When were you neighbors? 1994 to now
What neighborhood did you live in? Santa Monica
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Corrinne, on how Bill and Linda show up as neighbors:
Linda and Bill are the most generous neighbors imaginable. Bill has taken out my trash bins for decades. It started when I was living in Canada for most of the year, but he still insists on doing it. He makes it his personal mission that no one gets a parking ticket for street cleaning on our block, going up and down the block twice a week to remind anyone who forgot. One time he called me about my car, but I was too far away to get back to move it. Bill had a key to my house, but the gate was locked. He climbed over the fence, got my car keys and moved my car for me! He also makes children’s toys that he distributes to any children on the block or that he encounters out and about.
His wife, Linda, is equally neighborly, hosting regular chat sessions on their lovely front porch and checking in on me whenever I have been ill, as she does to anyone in her orbit. They are truly a gift to the neighborhood.
He made me feel welcome when I was in culture shock
Tommy Bui and Hector Chavez.
(Tommy Bui)
Neighbor: Hector Chavez
Nominated by: Tommy Bui
When were you neighbors? 1996 to 2022
What neighborhood did you live in? Pacoima
Tommy, on how Hector has shown up as a neighbor: The greatest neighbor I ever had was my childhood friend, Hector. I’m the child of Vietnamese refugees, and when they claimed asylum in Los Angeles, we were plonked into the cultural collision that was Spanish-speaking Pacoima. I was seemingly the only Asian child in a five-mile radius. I certainly stood out among the perfectly creased khaki pants and palm combs and top-buttoned flannels contrasted with my clueless bowl haircut and Ninja Turtle suspenders.
Confounding the astronomical unlikeliness, we got along like two peas in a pod. I got a crash course on Angeleno aesthetics and the ins and outs of the rough and tumble San Fernando Valley hurly-burly. I was a regular staple at his welcoming household. Simpatico and simply siblings by circumstance. Sunday dinners and holidays and “Sandlot”-like weekend street shenanigans. My youth was alarmingly idyllic with the hopped fences, bicycle slaloms through traffic and occasional near-misdemeanor mischief. Shoulder to shoulder alongside Hector, I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it.
Though no longer neighbors, we’re still navigating life’s milestones in our own corners of Los Angeles. We’re both new fathers and hurtling toward middle age completely agog at how quickly the time gallops by.
She gave me a gold turtle to make me feel better after my breakup
Fatine Ait-Haddou and Raynette Syfu.
(Fatine Ait-Haddou)
Neighbor: Raynette Syfu
Nominated by: Fatine Ait-Haddou
When were you neighbors? Since 2021
What neighborhood did you live in? Historic Filipinotown
Fatine, on how Raynette has shown up as a neighbor:
I had just moved into my new apartment after breaking up with a long-term ex. I was sobbing every single day. During my first intro with Raynette, she gave me a little gold turtle and said it would bring me safety, luck and calmness. I named it Lucky and I still have it. Raynette brings me meals all the time and checks on me whenever she hasn’t seen me for a few days. She even gave me a huge bag of her vintage clothes. One of the most insane things she’s done for me is give me a fake baby, one that was heavy and realistic. She said that because I lived alone and didn’t live near family, it could be nice to have additional family. [Laughs] Honestly, it was a very “her” move. She’s truly amazing and looks out for me. I couldn’t be more grateful.
He taught me new chess strategies — and life lessons
Ali Ras and Jemimah Yamamoto.
(Jemimah Yamamoto)
Neighbor: Ali Ras (born Fitz Albert Thomas)
Nominated by: Jemimah Yamamoto
When were you neighbors? From 2021 until his death in 2025
What neighborhood did you live in? Arlington Heights
Jemimah, on how Ali showed up as a neighbor: I moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2021. I was in my late 20s, and I was a bit unsure of my move. Even more so, I was unsure of the neighborhood I ended up in thanks to Facebook Marketplace. But as fate would have it, it revealed to me that I was destined to be there. I’d see an old man with his gray dreads and sing-songy voice as I would walk from parking my car on the street. One day, he introduced himself and over time we developed a relationship. Him, as my chess teacher, and me as his eager student. I’d bring over my chessboard and we’d play for hours on his porch. He’d always say I was too aggressive with my pawns and that I wasn’t afraid to lose them. He’d play slowly and deliberately. I never won a single game against him. I’d like to think that that itself was a lesson.
During my Saturn return, I was depressed and felt a bit lost. On days that felt the darkest, he would call. He would ask me how I was doing, and it would cut through all the facade of “I’m good.” It was the tone of his voice that made you want to be honest. His way of caring felt like a miracle because you don’t even have to explain anything to him, he would just know. At the time, his presence was exactly what I needed.
He was the only person I gladly let walk into my house unannounced
Eric Pendleton
(Kim Quitzon)
Neighbor: Eric Pendleton
Nominated by: Kim Quitzon
How long were you neighbors? More than 20 years
What neighborhood did you live in? San Fernando
Kim, on how Eric showed up as a neighbor: “Uncle Eric” was more than just a neighbor; he was family. Walking through the door unannounced yelling “Hi, family!” across the living room. “I came to check on the backyard.” Every week he would mow the yards after he lost his job and took pride in landscaping the grass, but that was just the surface of what he meant to us. On the popular street of Orange Grove in San Fernando where crowds line up during Halloween, Uncle Eric was our honorary neighborhood watch. Rolling up and down the street on a new bike every day, checking in on every neighbor that would give him the time of day.
From watching the dogs when we were away to helping set up family parties, he was one of us. He just happened to live three doors down. Unfortunately, Eric passed away from cancer last year. The whole block was devastated, and we all held a potluck in his honor. We will miss him, and he truly is the epitome of an amazing neighbor.
She sat with me after my mom died while I cried
Pamela Yeh and Hilah Johnson.
(Pamela Yeh)
Neighbor: Hilah Johnson
Nominated by: Pamela Yeh
When were you neighbors? From 2017 until mid-2020 when she and her family moved to Austin, Texas. Over the years, we’d become close friends, so I was gutted by their move. The most amazing thing happened, though. In 2022, they moved back to L.A., just a few blocks away from us. They live about 10 minutes away from us now, but we still see each other all the time.
What neighborhood did you live in? West L.A.
Pamela, on how Hilah has shown up as a neighbor: Hilah has shown up for me and my family in hundreds of ways over the years, but I want to tell you this one story. In September 2025, my mom, who had been living in an ADU we built in our backyard, died. She was my heart, and I was utterly crushed. I lived in a fog of grief and shock. Hilah came over and just sat with me while I cried and cried. She made the video montage of my mom for her memorial, which was extra difficult because a family member had all sorts of unreasonable demands. Eventually, she got me to go to a dance class, and we’re still dancing, one step at a time, at the wonderful local Flow Motion.
He’s the beloved ‘Fairy-Car-Father’ on our street
Rodrigo Mangrobang
(Leigh Ann Jackson)
Neighbor: Rodrigo Mangrobang
Nominated by: Leigh-Ann Jackson
How long have you been neighbors? Since I moved to Northeast L.A. 15 years ago
What neighborhood did you live in? Northeast L.A.
Leigh-Ann, on how Rodrigo has shown up as a neighbor: Rod, as most of the block calls him, is a retiree who lives with his wife across the street from me. He spends a lot of time outside gardening and working on his cars and can seemingly sense whenever a neighbor is having car trouble. He’ll stop what he’s doing, bring over his tools and get to work, no questions asked. He’s not very chatty, but he speaks auto fluently! He saw me pull out of my driveway once and flagged me down to tell me I was headed for a blowout soon. He then instructed me to pull back into the driveway and patched the tire for me on the spot. I even watched him go outside to help a stranger whose car had broken down in the middle of the road. He’s our street’s Fairy-Car-Father.
She had the best local recs. Yelp couldn’t come close.
Sofie Ringold and Eileen Ogle
(Sofie Ringold)
Neighbor: Eileen Ogle
Nominated by: Sofie Ringold
When were you neighbors? From 2020 to 2025
What neighborhood did you live in? Sherman Oaks
Sofie, on how Eileen showed up as a neighbor: When my husband and I bought our first home, the COVID vaccine hadn’t been released yet, and we didn’t meet any of our neighbors. A few days later, an older woman wearing a mask knocked at our door. She said that a package had been delivered and she didn’t want it to get stolen. The package had arrived only minutes earlier, so it was pretty clear she wanted to scope out her new neighbors, and during a time of social distancing, this was the perfect excuse. She introduced herself as Eileen. She lived next door with her partner, Judith. We exchanged numbers and said a friendly goodbye.
As the world slowly became more comfortable with social interaction, Eileen began introducing us to everyone on the block. Soon, while we were walking our dog around the neighborhood, people would stop us and ask if we were new. When we told them we lived next to Eileen and Judith, their eyes lit up. It was clear they were local legends. Like all first-time homeowners, we quickly ran into our share of problems. But who needs Yelp when you have neighbors who have already vetted every home service you could possibly need? Need a gardener? Call Eileen. HVAC needs maintenance? Call Eileen. Going away for the weekend and need someone to check on your cats? Call Eileen.
Sadly, Eileen passed away in December. A cloud hung over our street for weeks. Then on Christmas morning, the sun broke through and a rainbow appeared. My husband took it as a sign from Eileen.
He went from my flirty neighbor to my husband of 16 years
Brett Boyd and Sara Mortimer-Boyd.
(Sara Mortimer-Boyd)
Neighbor: Bretton Boyd
Nominated by: Sara Mortimer-Boyd
When were you neighbors? We became neighbors in 1996 until 1997, when we moved in together
What neighborhood did you live in? Silver Lake
Sara, on how Bretton has shown up as a neighbor: Bretton would come to my door asking for things (cigarettes, food, etc.) while trying to flirt. I was very intrigued by him, but I didn’t think he was “my type” at the time. It was confusing at first. One day, he invited me upstairs to his apartment for coffee and breakfast, which became a regular thing. He got me addicted to coffee and to his amazing cooking. He started coming over to my apartment more and we became really close friends before becoming romantic. I remember one time he left for a few weeks to visit his parents, and I realized in his absence that I loved him and wanted to spend every day with him. We moved in together in 1997, got engaged in 2002 and have been happily married with children for the last 16 years. He still cooks dinner for our family every night at our home in Highland Park.
He helped organize a food train when my son was diagnosed with leukemia
Scott Marshall-Miller
(Scott Marshall-Miller)
Neighbor: Scott Marshall-Miller
Nominated by: Mev Blount
When were you neighbors? From 2006 to 2017
What neighborhood did you live in? Studio City
Mev, on how Scott has shown up as a neighbor: My husband and I moved next to Scott and his husband when I was pregnant with our first child. Scott welcomed home his daughter nine months after mine was born, so we were new stay-at-home parents together. His husband is an incredible baker, and he and Scott were always bringing over plates of deliciousness. The chocolate croissant bread pudding is legendary! I was raised that you never return a plate empty so I’d bake something or add some homegrown veggies to the plate. That plate went back and forth through the hedges between our houses for years.
Both of our husbands traveled for work a lot, so Scott and I spent hours together, especially before bedtime and during the “witching hour” with our little ones. We’d sit on my front lawn, nursing half-glasses of Trader Joe’s finest Two Buck Chuck wine while his daughter and my two kiddos rolled around, wearing themselves out. Scott and I would knock on each other’s doors when the parenting was too much. He and I would always answer the door with an “Oh, it’s you. Come in. No one else can see me as a hot mess.”
When my youngest got leukemia at 7, Scott was part of my core group who ignored me when I said we didn’t need help. They organized a food train, and Scott was the one who set up a cooler on my front porch and insisted people drop food without knocking, knowing we were overwhelmed. He was always there when I needed to laugh or cry, and he made our L.A. suburb feel like the small Ohio town where I grew up. I still find glitter ground into our kitchen tiles from the Halloween when he made his daughter a purple witch costume. Sadly, Scott died suddenly in his sleep a few years ago. Tiny bits of glitter are embedded in our tiles, a bright reminder of Scott and the beauty and joy he brought to even the most mundane tasks. He made L.A. feel like home.
The son of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy has been arrested and charged under suspicion of shooting a woman who is reportedly his mother in Virginia on Sunday night.
The victim was not identified by name in a Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office news release but has been reported by multiple media outlets to be Mia Bieniemy, wife of the Chiefs’ coordinator and mother of their two adult sons. She suffered multiple gunshot wounds and has been hospitalized for treatment of serious injuries but is said to be in stable condition.
Elijah Zion Bieniemy, 27, was arrested and charged under suspicion of malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside of a dwelling, the sheriff’s office said Monday. He is being held without bond at the county’s adult detention center.
This booking photo of Elijah Zion Bieniemy was released July 27 by the Loudoun County, Va., Sheriff’s Office.
(Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Via Associated Press)
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to a report of a shooting at around 7:32 p.m. on Sunday. Public records show that Eric, Mia and Elijah Bieniemy currently reside at a house with an address on the block where the incident allegedly occurred.
Eric Bieniemy, who was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at UCLA in 2024, was with the Chiefs for the second day of training camp in St. Joseph, Mo., earlier Sunday but was not present for Monday’s practice.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid addressed the matter on Monday.
“Our hearts go out to Eric Bieniemy and his family. Thoughts and prayers are with them,” Reid told reporters. “I can’t get into details on it, but things happen sometimes, and Eric will work through it. He’s got a great support group here, as does his family as needed, and then we’ll just let time take care of it from there. Mia is stable, which is a plus.”
Reid said he has known Mia Bieniemy for a long time, as her husband served on his staff from 2013 to 2022, first as the running backs coach and then as offensive coordinator, before returning this offseason.
“She’s a saint. We all know that, the people that know her,” Reid said. “One of God’s good blessings, really a special person.”
“Top Chef” alum and popular Food Network host Eric Adjepong has been ordered to stay away from his 7-year-old daughter following an investigation into abuse claims.
According to the Washington Post, a Maryland judge found that “there is a preponderance” of evidence to believe Adjepong physically abused his daughter, leading to a protective order that bars the celebrity chef from contacting or being alone with his daughter until he completes parenting courses and reunification therapy with the child.
Adjepong’s former wife, Janell Davis-Mack, posted a screenshot of the case information on Instagram last week, writing that she and her daughter had been quiet long enough.
“My daughter has watched me rebuild our life focused on our safety after I divorced her father four years ago,” she wrote. “I’ve also taught her about body autonomy, consent, boundaries, and to tell the trusted adults around her when she feels unsafe.
“My daughter was just granted a protective order against her father because she was brave enough to speak up against who should have been one of the most trusted adults in her life.
“Unfortunately for him — I’ll never stop believing her, protecting her, or reminding her that her voice matters.”
Judge Maurice C. Frazier issued the protective order against Adjepong on July 10; it will remain in place until July 10, 2027. The James Beard-nominated chef is mandated not to contact, harass, abuse or threaten to abuse his daughter or former wife. While the order is in place, Adjepong can have supervised visits with his daughter.
In May, Davis-Mack filed a petition in Howard County, Maryland, seeking protection for her daughter from Adjepong, citing alleged child abuse. Per the Washington Post, Davis-Mack claimed that a nurse who examined their daughter filed a report with the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency, which launched an investigation by D.C. police.
A spokesman for D.C. police told the Washington Post that its Youth Investigations Branch was prompted to investigate claims of “sexual abuse” but that detectives found no probable cause that sexual abuse had taken place and referred the case back to Child and Family Services. On Wednesday, Adjepong posted what appeared to be a screenshot of email correspondence from the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency stating that, on April 29, they received a report of potential neglect or abuse, investigated the claims and found sexual abuse claims “unfounded.”
“I am aware of recent media inquiries concerning a protective order entered on July 10, 2026,” the chef wrote alongside the screenshot. “Because this matter involves my young daughter, whom I love deeply, I intend to protect her privacy and will not discuss the underlying allegations or other sensitive family matters publicly other than to say that these allegations arose in the context of a long running divorce and custody proceeding, which finally concluded on June 2, 2026.
“The Court’s protective order followed careful reviews by law enforcement and the District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency (‘CFSA’). The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department closed its investigation without filing charges. CFSA concluded its investigation with an ‘unfounded’ disposition, which its report defines as not true.
“I have the utmost respect for the Circuit Court that issued the protective order and am strictly complying with every facet of the order, which is designed to ensure that my daughter is safe and treated respectfully, and to ensure her reunification with her father. The Judge eloquently described the nature of my relationship with her at the hearing. My foremost concern is my daughter’s well-being. It is my fervent hope that in the future my ex-wife and I can resolve these matters privately and through the proper legal channels, rather than in the press, if only for the well-being of our daughter.”
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where we’re just one month out from fall camp and the start of Lincoln Riley’s fifth season at USC. Soon enough, we’ll have actual football to discuss and not just the existential crises surrounding it.
But while the college sports calendar remains dormant for the moment, summer basketball practice is in full swing at USC. The Times was there at Galen Center last week to get an idea of where the Trojans stand heading into a critical third season for Eric Musselman as coach. And I came away feeling like this is the most talented team the Trojans have had in quite some time.
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What that will mean come March, I wouldn’t even attempt to speculate at this point. It’s June. This team has been together only a couple of weeks. Plans are bound to change. And injuries are bound to happen.*
*I do feel safe in assuming whatever ancient curse or voodoo hex was cast long ago on USC basketball can’t possibly derail another season like it did the last one.**
**OK, so transfer center Eric Reibe aggravating an injury in June and sitting out the summer isn’t … ideal. And sure, neither is the fact that transfer guard KJ Lewis won’t be cleared from the ankle injury he suffered in February until “hopefully mid-to-late September,” per Musselman. But still no freak car accidents, sudden cardiac incidents or bizarre player dismissals to date …
But Musselman has all the makings of a roster that should — read: must — make it to March.
The difference isn’t so much in what USC added to its roster, but rather in who Musselman and his staff managed to retain from the previous one. That was USC’s primary focus coming into the offseason.
Instead of having to rebuild an entire team from scratch like in Musselman’s first two seasons, which proved much more difficult than expected, the Trojans brought back their three top returning players: Rodney Rice, Alijah Arenas and Jacob Cofie.
“Those three are a great start for us,” Musselman said last week, and alluded to losing two transfers last year. “We learned with Wes [Yates] and [Desmond Claude], that hurt us.”
The continuity is significant. At least two of those returners will be starters, with a full year in Musselman’s system, and all three could be drafted next spring if they have strong seasons.
It starts with Rice, the guard who through six games last season looked like a bona fide rising star. His shoulder injury ended up totally changing the Trojans’ trajectory. His return should be equally impactful.
“I can play at a high level, an All-American level,” Rice said. “I have all the confidence in the world still.”
Musselman and his staff feel the same way. And all parties involved concur that the makeup of this roster will better maximize Rice’s skills. He’ll be able to play more off the ball, with other options like lightning-quick Colgate transfer Jalen Cox able to handle more of the load as a floor general.
Rice won’t return to full go until after summer practice, but that’s more of a precaution than anything. He could be on the brink of a big season, if all things break right.
I’m less confident in the spring emergence of Cofie, the forward who played his way into an NBA scouting combine invite in May. When he first signed with USC, Musselman told me he thought Cofie was a future first-round pick. But considering the expectations, I thought his first season as a Trojan was mostly underwhelming.
Musselman thought Cofie “didn’t really have a stamp on the roster” last season. But so far this year, “He’s kind of a different guy.”
Cofie has made a point to expand his game to the perimeter. Just 27% of Cofie’s shots last season came from behind the arc, and he made just 31% of them. But any added spacing would be welcomed on a roster with potential to get bogged down inside the arc.
“You’ll see me shoot a lot more threes,” Cofie said last week. We’ll see how that factors into the lineups that USC is able to deploy this fall.
The most intriguing of the Trojans’ trio of returners is Arenas, given the wide range of possible outcomes in front of the guard this season. After arriving last year as one of the most-hyped hoops prospects in school history, he returns with a chance to basically redo his ill-fated freshman year.
The challenge for him as a sophomore is to be a more efficient player, after shooting just 34% from the field and 21% from three-point range. Arenas also uncharacteristically struggled finishing at the rim and with his shot selection, two skills that previously were seen as strengths.
He has all the tools to bounce back. Arenas’ ability to create space and find his own shot, in particular, is special. The question is how those tools best fit USC with so many more options around him.
When he debuted in January last season after missing the start because of knee surgery, Arenas immediately shouldered the load and dominated the ball. It was too much to ask of a freshman in that situation. But that’s no longer necessary with Rice healthy and Cox able to handle the point. Arenas will benefit from being off the ball more often.
Adding three McDonald’s All-Americans should go a long way with this team as well, if only because there will be real talent at the back end of the rotation. And unlike last season, USC should be able to bring its freshmen along at their own pace.
The potential is obvious with Darius and Adonis Ratliff, but both presumably would benefit from that time. Christian Collins, on the other hand, looks primed to make an impact right away, if needed. Watching him knife through the lane on his way to the hoop last week, I found myself wondering if he might be a lottery pick by next spring.
“Christian has been very impressive,” Musselman said. “We knew the intangibles and the length and the reaction to loose balls, but he has scored the ball, you know, [really well] for a freshman at this early stage.”
It’s far too early to draw any conclusions about the upcoming season. But after watching just one practice, it’s not hard to see why Musselman and his staff are feeling especially sunny this summer.
New eligibility rules
Back in October 2024, days after two USC defenders announced they were sitting out the football season to preserve their eligibility, a frustrated Riley offered what he felt was a reasonable solution to a growing problem.
“Guys should have five years to do whatever you want,” Riley said. “I think it should be that plain and simple. Then nobody has to worry about any of this other crap like how many games you’ve played.”
Almost two years later, the NCAA is finally on board with the coach.
The Division 1 Cabinet voted last week to implement major changes to the NCAA’s eligibility rules, giving athletes five years of eligibility to play five seasons. That means no more redshirts, no more medical waivers, no more eligibility questions. All eligibility clocks start the academic year after an athlete’s 19th birthday, and the only exceptions, per the NCAA, are for pregnancy, active-duty military service and religious missions.
Any athlete who wants to state their case for an extra year of eligibility has until the end of next month. But after that, the word “redshirt” officially can be retired from the college football vocabulary.
USC pitching coach Sean Allen talks to Gavin Lauridsen during a Super Regional game last season.
(Kara Durrette / For The Times)
—Musselman has yet to have one of his USC players selected in the NBA draft. But that will change next season. I’d expect, by next spring, we will be talking about as many as three Trojans who could be selected in 2027. Collins and Arenas are five-star talents, and while Collins’ stock is higher at the moment, Arenas easily could return to draft darling status with a strong start to the season. Then there’s Cofie, who balled his way into a draft combine invite this spring, and Rice, whose name will be known in draft circles soon enough.
—Fourteen USC baseball players entered the transfer portal. That group includes two promising young pitchers in Diego Velazquez (who also plays infield) and Gavin Lauridsen. Both were highly touted prospects and looked slated for bigger roles next season. USC also lost its starting catcher to the portal again, with Isaac Cadena committing to Clemson. Losing the young pitchers is a blow, but without the backing to match the name, image and licensing offers of some ACC and SEC teams, this sort of exodus is just inevitable.
What I’m Watching This Week
Tatiana Maslany in “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.”
(Apple TV)
Apple has been on an absolute heater, and “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” is yet another unique and worthy entrant into its growing library of prestige TV. It stars Tatiana Maslany as Paula, a divorced mom and magazine fact-checker whose only solace is returning to a webcam boy who turns out to be scamming her. Her life is unraveling, but when she takes matters into her own hands, it only descends further into chaos.
“Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed” is an absolute thrill ride and one of the more surprising shows I’ve seen this year.
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at ryan.kartje@latimes.com, and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
NEW YORK — A chief of staff to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with accepting more than $100,000 in bribes to steer a lucrative migrant shelter contract to a Queens hotel, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Frank Carone’s arrest Wednesday was the latest in a string of corruption allegations that have rocked the one-term mayor and his inner circle. And it came the same day federal authorities executed search warrants related to a separate bribery investigation involving high-ranking police officials under Adams, the latest sign that prosecutors are continuing to hone in on the previous administration.
In the indictment, returned June 12, prosecutors accused Carone of leveraging his position as Adams’ chief of staff to commit multiple acts of bribery, wire fraud and money laundering. His brother, Anthony Carone, as well as the Queens hotel owner, Yan Po Zhu, and Crystal Chen, an employee of the hotel, were also charged.
They were expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon.
Prosecutors said Carone accepted a series of bribes from Zhu and Chen in order to steer a multimillion dollar shelter contract to their hotel, which city officials had said was smaller than two other proposed hotels and could house fewer migrants. The contract was awarded amid an influx of migrants to New York that overwhelmed the city’s homeless shelters.
Frank Carone’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, called the new indictment “not worth the paper upon which it is printed.”
“Today’s indictment is a sad day for our criminal justice system,” Aidala said in a statement. “It epitomizes the government first finding a target and then spending three years and enormous taxpayer resources to find a crime.”
Frank Carone known for link to Sabrina Carpenter church controversy
Carone, a longtime Brooklyn power broker, is widely credited as one of the architects of Adams’ political rise. Among the wider public, he is perhaps most notorious for his role in an episode that led to a Brooklyn pastor being stripped of his duties partly for allowing pop star Sabrina Carpenter to film scenes for a provocative music video at his Roman Catholic church.
The church was later subpoenaed by federal investigators seeking information about business dealings between Monsignor Jamie Gigantiello, who approved the video, and Carone.
Adams himself was indicted on bribery charges in 2024 for allegedly accepting illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials and others in exchange for political favors. The case was tossed by the Justice Department, which said it was distracting Adams from assisting in President Trump’s immigration crackdown. Adams has denied wrongdoing but abandoned his campaign for a second term last year.
The former mayor was not accused of wrongdoing in Carone’s indictment.
A lawyer for Zhu, Stephen Scaring, said the hotel owner “will be entering a plea of not guilty and is anxious to establish his innocence.”
Chen’s lawyer declined to comment. Messages were left for Anthony Carone’s lawyer.
Hotel at center of alleged bribery had been rejected by city
In total, Frank Carone was paid around $120,000 by Zhu and Che for the emergency shelter contract, prosecutors said. The money was passed through a law firm owned by his brother, Anthony Carone, according to the indictment.
The city’s Social Services Department had initially rejected the hotel’s application to house migrants due to growing resistance to the high number of shelters already operating in the neighborhood, the indictment said.
Carone then interceded on the hotel’s behalf, prosecutors allege. In one text exchange in September 2022, Zhu wrote: “Thank you my big guy,” according to the indictment.
The Carones and Zhu socialized frequently and attended gatherings at Zhu’s Long Island home, the indictment said.
In a separate statement, Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for Adams, said Frank Carone “dedicated decades of his life to public service, the legal profession, and helping countless individuals, businesses, and charitable organizations throughout New York.”
Carone played a key role in Adams’ campaign for mayor in 2021 and served as Adams’ chief of staff in 2022. In 2023, he formed a political consulting firm. He also was a one-time lawyer for the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
Separately Wednesday, federal agents searched the homes of current and former New York Police Department leaders as part of a bribery investigation that grew out of an inquiry into Jeffrey Maddrey, the chief of department under Adams, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the searches.
As part of that inquiry, the FBI and the NYPD executed warrants on the home of NYPD Chief of Manhattan South James McCarthy and former Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, according to the person, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
Maddrey’s home was also searched by federal agents, the person said.
The searches were not related to the arrest of Frank Carone, according to another person familiar with the matter who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the case. There is no public indication of any arrests as part of those searches.
Once the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the department, Maddrey resigned in late 2024 over allegations that he demanded sex from a subordinate in exchange for opportunities to earn extra pay.
An inquiry to his attorney was not immediately returned. Attorney information for Sheppard and McCarthy was not immediately available.
Collins, Offenhartz, Sisak and Richer write for the Associated Press. Collins reported from Hartford, Conn., and Richer reported from Washington.
For a 20-year-old Eric Lauer, fresh out of Kent State University in 2016, talking pitching with Mark Prior made the big leagues feel closer.
“We were so young,” Lauer said in a conversation with The Times, “that it was kind of funny, because everybody was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s Mark Prior.’ ”
Prior, the beloved former Cubs All-Star, finished third in NL Cy Young voting when Lauer was 8 years old.
“He was one of the first experiences I had where I was like, ‘OK, like, these elite big leaguers are just normal guys. They’re just like us.’ ”
Prior was a “high-level thinker,” as Lauer put it, who steered Lauer toward in-depth self-evaluation. But he also was just “a normal dude.”
The two have reunited with the Dodgers. Lauer — who held the Rockies to one run and four hits in his six-inning Dodgers debut Tuesday — was a midseason addition as injuries thinned the team’s starting pitching depth. Prior has been on the Dodgers’ coaching staff since 2018, serving as the pitching coach since the 2020 season.
But when they first met, Lauer was a Padres 2016 first-round draft pick and Prior was the minor-league pitching coordinator.
“He’s always been an uber-competitor, obviously pitched off his fastball, sneaky,” Prior said. “And then I saw him, obviously, when he got called up with the Padres. And he’s pitched well against us at various times, and it’s been a really good career together.”
When they connected last week — at the Padres’ Petco Park, as fate and the Dodgers’ schedule would have it — they had a whole range of career phases to catch up on.
Lauer has gone through delivery adjustments and career leaps. He debuted with the Padres in 2018, was traded to the Brewers ahead of 2020, revived his career with a 2024 stint in Korea, returned to MLB and won the American League pennant with the Blue Jays.
“I would say I’m much more mature now,” Lauer said. “But as a pitcher, I’ve gone through mechanical changes, arm action changes. And [Prior] knew me when I was really, really long.”
On their first day back in the same organization, Lauer said to Prior: “I’m not comping with [Madison] Bumgarner anymore.”
Bumgarner famously would reach way back at the beginning of his motion. Lauer at one time had a similar arm path.
“I used to be really, really long,” Lauer said, “and then I got really, really short, and now I’m kind of in between. And so we just talked about that, and what caused that, and what the process was to do all that, and then kind of where I want to be now.”
They landed on shorter arm action, but the trick will be syncing that up with the lower half of his delivery. And the Dodgers have dug into his pitch usage and arsenal.
“I haven’t been involved in Lauer’s path for eight years, so I don’t know all the iterations,” Prior said. “… But at least there’s a relationship there to some degree, it’s a friendly face.”
That was one of Lauer’s first thoughts when he found out the Dodgers had traded for him after the Blue Jays designated him for assignment.
“I was like, ‘Oh shoot, Prior’s the pitching coach there,’” Lauer recounted. “I know this guy, I can talk to him right away, it’s not somebody that I have to learn how they operate. … It was nice to [have a] full-circle moment and just happened to be in San Diego.”
Lauer had climbed through the Padres’ system, with Prior overseeing the minor-league pitching department, as part of a group that would inspire the “hot talent-lava” motto — a phrase originally coined by baseball superagent Scott Boras. Though Lauer’s career has taken twists and turns since, those were formative years.
“They taught us that you’re never done really learning to pitch,” Lauer said. “It’s a constant adjustment. As you get older, you have to change some things, and you have to tweak some things when your body doesn’t move the same as when you’re 21 compared to 28. So that idea stuck with me throughout.”
It’s been clear in Lauer’s short time with the Dodgers that he’s still evolving.
The former Toronto Blue Jay, who shoved against the Dodgers in the World Series, warmed up on the Dodger Stadium mound to “squabble up” by Kendrick Lamar, a Compton native who famously torched Toronto native Drake in their 2024 feud.
After a clean first inning with two strikeouts, Lauer missed down the middle with a fastball to Hunter Goodman, who hit it out for the 12th homer Lauer has given up this season.
On a night littered with Dodgers home runs, however, that was the only run Lauer gave up, as he mowed down the Rockies for the next four innings.
MILWAUKEE — Left-hander Eric Lauer strode up the bullpen mound at Petco Park as the Dodgers-Padres series finale Wednesday transitioned into the late innings.
He had been available to provide length as a reliever, but the plan had been for him to throw either way, he said.
The Dodgers didn’t end up needing him to cover innings, so he tossed a side session. And now Lauer has the weekend to address the mechanical issues that plagued his bumpy first six weeks of the season with the Toronto Blue Jays before making his Dodgers debut Tuesday as a starter against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.
“It’s nice having a little change of scenery, because it gives me a nice full-blown reset,” Lauer said. “I can get my feet back under me, I can get out of my head a little bit more, understand what makes me good and what’s got me to this point, and run with that.”
Lauer, who landed on waivers at a convenient time for the Dodgers, is their immediate answer to a sudden rotation depth problem.
They don’t expect him to save the day in the absence of Blake Snell (elbow surgery to remove loose bodies) and Tyler Glasnow (back spasms). But the Dodgers saw an opportunity to fill a hole in their roster and ideally help him reverse his early-season regression.
“We’ve had our guys take a look and we’ll sit down and talk through some stuff, see how much we can do on the fly, how much of it is not just subconscious,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. “But we know the makeup is really good, and we’re looking forward to getting our hands on him and helping him be as successful as he’s been in the past.”
As long as Lauer gradually improves, his presence allows the Dodgers to keep their starters on a six- to seven-day rotation, without taxing their relievers with regular bullpen days, at least while they wait for other pitchers to return to health and/or build up their workloads.
Lauer’s only months removed from success. He owned a career-best 3.18 ERA last season and was even better in the postseason, authoring 5 ⅔ scoreless innings against the Dodgers in the World Series.
Dodgers reliever Will Klein, who threw opposite Lauer in the 18-inning Game 3 of the World Series, was one of the first people he met when he joined the team in San Diego.
“He introduced himself, and I was like, ‘All right, I know you, I remember you,’” Lauer said.
Coming off of winning the pennant, Lauer’s ERA ballooned this year to 6.96 ERA. In mid-April, the Blue Jays tried using an opener in front of Lauer when he faced the Diamondbacks. And his reaction made headlines.
“To be real blunt, I hate it,” he told reporters then. “I can’t stand it. But you work with what you got.”
This week, surrounded by different set of reporters in the visitors dugout at Petco Park earlier this week after joining the Dodgers, Lauer gave a knowing smile when the topic of usage with Toronto came up.
“There was no ill will there, there was no hurt feelings,” he said of his comments on openers. “It was a very simple question, I thought, how do you feel about an opener? I think if you ask most starters in the league, they would probably have the same response, that they don’t like it. But it doesn’t mean that I’m not willing to do it. It doesn’t mean that I’m not a team player.”
He said he cleared it up with Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker and manager John Schneider right away.
“I’m not going to have a problem if there is somebody in front of me,” he said. “It’s part of the game, it’s become part of the game. And we’re all here to win ballgames. It’s not about any individual player. So that was a lot more than I expected that to turn into.”
So far, Lauer has praised the Dodgers’ communication. And he’s been reunited with pitching coach Mark Prior, who was the Padres’ minor-league pitching coordinator when Lauer began his professional career in San Diego’s system.
When Lauer diagnoses his season, he sees two sets of issues working in concert.
“A couple things had compounded for me, and it was just kind of eating at me a little bit too much,” Lauer told The Times. “And I work with a mental skills coach and stuff, to where that shouldn’t happen. But I wasn’t mentally my best, which was making me not my best physically, which made me start to want to tinker.”
Lauer feels like he has a hold on the mental side. Now it’s working from the ground up to get his delivery back in sync. The goal, as Lauer explains it, is to find positions that create tension in his delivery, and pattern them until they feel like second nature.
Making mechanical adjustments during the season, however, tends to be two steps forward, one step back.
Lauer isn’t expected to have it all figured out for his start Tuesday. The Dodgers just want to see him compete with whatever he has that day.
“We compete, and then we go back to the process,” Lauer said. “…Then hopefully the process over time becomes more patterned, more grooved. And then it becomes less process, more just fine-tuning to compete.”
