first day

With an ever-present smile, infectious spirit and larger-than-life personality, defensive back Cole Martin is always undeniably himself.

And that was evident when he introduced himself — alongside defensive backs Rodrick Pleasant and Scooter Jackson — to Bob Chesney during the head football coach’s first day in the UCLA facility.

“That’s him from Day One,” Chesney said, noting Martin has never changed the high energy he brought to the program on the day they met.

Martin is no stranger to the Bruins.

The Pasadena native grew up around the program and attended UCLA games at the Rose Bowl, where his dad, Demetrice Martin, was the defensive backs coach from 2012-2017.

“Growing up as a kid running around here, I just want to see this university back on top,” Martin said during UCLA spring workouts.

And while Cole Martin spent his first two seasons at Oregon and Arizona State, the defensive back followed his father back to Westwood ahead of the 2025 season.

During his inaugural year as a Bruin, Martin was one of three players to start all 12 games and ranked fourth on the team in total tackles with 65.

But after a 3-9 season, during which former head coach DeShaun Foster, defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri departed the program, Cole entered the transfer portal.

And while his father left for Arizona State to become a defensive analyst, Martin, alongside Jackson and Pleasant, ultimately decided to stay after meeting Chesney and hearing his vision.

“California boys, we are all here after coaches parted and we were up here, and Chesney came and we had a conversation with him and we all got together after and we were like, ‘He’s different,’” Martin said. “Being able to have that conversation and be genuine with your brothers who you had a hard season with, and you got a coach that is trying to change the whole trajectory. You have got to believe in somebody, and he’s somebody you can believe in.”

UCLA defensive back Cole Martin lines up on the field during the Bruins’ 2025 spring game.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

After his first meeting with Chesney, Martin withdrew his name from the portal and got to work in Westwood.

While 10 transfers Chesney brought with him from James Madison know his system, Martin has demonstrated a natural understanding of the coach’s values.

Chesney selected Martin to be one of his first ambassadors to regional and national media outlets covering Big Ten football media days in Chicago, joining linebacker Sammy Omosigho and quarterback Nico Iamaleava representing the Bruins. Chesney called Martin an unbelievable leader and said that his energy will give people a window into what his program strives to look like.

“You just felt Cole’s personality and his infectious positivity, and I just said, ‘Man, we need this kid to stay. This kid is what I feel like our team should be like on a day-to-day basis,’ and he’s done a really good job of that,” Chesney said Monday while recalling his first impression of Martin.

Martin said Chesney’s focus on a family culture and competition has helped him thrive in a deep, experienced defensive back group.

“It’s a brotherhood. He does a great job of making sure that everybody buys into building that relationship with your brother next to you, the little things, such as more talking in the locker room, or doing things extra,” Martin said of Chesney. “He’s done a great job at doing that and it feels like a full brotherhood here.”

Chesney said that Cole is recovering from a minor injury during preseason camp, but he refuses to let his absence on the turf affect his impact on the squad.

“He’s been out for a little bit here, working through a muscle thing, but he’s still present,” Chesney said. “You watch him move around; he’s really close right now, and he’ll never stop being himself, which is great.”

You compete.

Or you complain.

UCLA head coach Bob Chesney coined it at the beginning of preseason camp last year in Harrisonburg, Va., before leading James Madison to a 12-2 record, a Sun Belt championship and its first College Football Playoff appearance.

“You either compete or complain, you can’t do both,” Chesney said on Aug. 5, 2025. “You are either full of pride and won’t allow yourself to have mental, physical and emotional lack of discipline and toughness, or you fill yourselves with pity and you have a lack of all three of those things.”

Chesney carried that same tune on his first day of fall camp in Westwood, leading his new team.

The Bruin faithful got its first taste of their newly minted head honcho at his introductory news conference on Dec. 9, where he made promises of turning around the football program, elevating it to its height of the past, and reengaging the Bruin community.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava looks to throw a pass during the first day of preseason camp at Spalding Field on Thursday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

And Chesney has not wavered since.

From his halftime speech at a UCLA men’s basketball game versus Indiana — where he proclaimed that the Bruins would be Big Ten champions — to throughout spring practice and all through Big Ten media day last week, Chesney has stayed consistent.

And that consistency includes the way he is training his players leading up to UCLA’s opener against California, where the former Pac-12 rivals will meet for a night game between two first-year head coaches.

Chesney has emphasized, throughout his short tenure in Westwood, that while physical development is imperative in the offseason, the mental side of the game carries the same weight. Central to that, is putting players in adverse situations in the offseason to get them battle-tested come game day.

“Those are the moments that test you. Pay no attention to a virtue that’s not been tested in fire, and that’s ultimately something that we got to be able to do is put them in situations where we’ve tested them in fire,” Chesney said. “We know how they’re going to react and how they’re going to respond. We know when the moment’s on the line. That’s the most important thing that we can do out here. That’s what this whole entire camp is ultimately about.”

In order to test his players’ resiliency, Chesney has implemented “compete periods” throughout his time in Westwood to emulate the speed and intensity of live reps.

Alongside competition has been grading everything a player does, so there is no ambiguity as to where a player stands on the depth chart or in the program.

Outside of the actual drills and exercises Chesney implements, the coach has also purposefully scheduled some of his practices in the afternoon to expose his players to the intense Los Angeles heat — his version of throwing his players into the fire to help get them acclimated and test their mental toughness.

Chesney’s mental training ultimately serves as a litmus test in discovering who is cut from a different cloth.

“Procedural discipline was a big part of what we want to make sure that we’re constantly talking about,” Chesney said. “And then, how quickly can I get to the next play? How much do I love being coached, and how hard am I going to be coached and accept that coaching and make myself get better?”

With passion and excitement emanating from players on the first day of fall camp, and less than a month away from the first game of the season, Chesney highlighted that it is about striking a balance: testing his players’ resolve but also not being reactionary.

The new head coach underscored that it can be easy for impulse and emotion to take over, but uplifting one another and letting mistakes refine you rather than define you is integral to success.

UCLA defensive linemen Jacob Busic (97) and Anthony Jones (15) run drills during the first day of preseason camp at Spalding Field on Thursday.

(Ronaldo Bolanos/Los Angeles Times)

Central to that is teammates, particularly within the same position group, celebrating the success of one another rather than letting the depth chart dictate morale.

“If someone’s above you and perceived to be above you, what are you doing? Are you trying to elevate your game and compete with them, or are you trying to knock them down and pull them back towards you?” Chesney asked.

“The best teams in the world love that that guy above him is a little better, and they are chasing him every single day. We have a good amount of that on our team, and it’s got to continue because we are going to need everybody, whether they know it or not,” he said.

UCLA will not play its first game until Sept. 5.

However, battles will be won and lost within the team along the way.

But to Chesney, it is how you respond to those successes and failures that prevail.

WASHINGTON — President Trump is trying again to limit the number of people born in the country who can become American citizens, in a sign that even after his first attempt at limiting birthright citizenship was rejected by the Supreme Court, he’s ready to renew his efforts.

The president said he was signing two executive actions on immigration, including one limiting the number of people eligible for citizenship after being born in the United States. The written executive order released Thursday was narrower in scope than the previous one shot down by the Supreme Court and appeared to focus on restricting automatic citizenship to specific categories of people, including children born to adults with connections to foreign embassies or organizations as well as anyone considered an “alien enemy” of the United States.

It also aimed to restrict birthright citizenship to anyone whose parents “engaged in fraudulent activity to obtain citizenship.”

A second order seeks to curb what Trump called “birth tourism” by increasing restrictions on visitors to the U.S. who want to obtain visas to give birth while in the country.

Trump said he thought his latest actions would be constitutional.

“I thought we were going to win it at the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, we had a bad decision, very unfair decision. Our country suffers because of it and we’re ending it a different way,” Trump said.

In June, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s previous efforts to declare that children born to people in the U.S. illegally or temporarily aren’t American citizens, and upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship.

On the first day of Trump’s second term, he signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, which allows anyone born in the United States to automatically become an American citizen.

Trump’s administration immediately was sued by opponents who said the executive order went against the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, which makes anyone born in the country a citizen, with very limited exceptions.

The executive order was blocked by several lower courts and never took effect.

In June, the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order by a 6-3 vote. But the vote was too close for many immigration advocates and legal observers who felt the legal question of birthright citizenship was a long-settled issue.

Weissert and Santana write for the Associated Press.

In a sign of how high school football practices in Southern California have changed over the last 20 years, Crespi athletic director Brian Bilek was holding a beeping device on Monday to determine what modifications might be needed to practice in heat.

It was 100 degrees in Encino, but the reading from the wet-bulb device measuring heat and humidity gave out a number that allowed for practice to take place with precautionary measures.

Southern Section players were in shorts and wearing helmets around the Southland. City Section teams began five days of mandatory acclimation periods to get players into shape.

It’s an annual ritual that once had programs practicing twice or even three times a day. CIF rules that restrict tackling to two days per week and a maximum of 45 to 90 minutes a day were adopted in an effort to protect players from concussions and injuries.

By the weekend, when the shoulder pads come on, coaches will be breaking out in smiles watching their freshmen players trying to figure out the routine for the first time.

Crespi coach Brad Vonnahme grew up in the Central Valley and coached at Fresno State. He described the weather from those days as “toasty.” Monday’s environment, though, was probably the hottest opening day in his four seasons at Crespi.

It’s a big year for the Celts. They’ve improved each season after Vonnahme was put in charge of a rebuilding project following Crespi’s 0-10 season in 2022. The Celts have responded with records of 2-8 and 5-6 before their 10-1 mark last season.

This year, they’ve upgraded their schedule, adding rival Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for a season-opening nonleague game Aug. 21.

Asked if his team can continue to climb, Vonnahme said, “I think we can. But most importantly, we have to try. Everybody wants us to continue to elevate.”

Crespi’s Russell White carries the ball during a game against St. John Bosco on Nov. 7, 1986.

(John McCoy / Los Angeles Times)

This season marks 40 years since Crespi’s greatest team, led by running back Russell White, won the Division 1 championship over St. John Bosco in 1986. It remains the only San Fernando Valley team to win a Division 1 football title. Many of the players are expected to attend the Notre Dame game for a recognition ceremony.

Crespi returns a number of players who were standouts as sophomores, led by quarterback Chase Curren. They’ll need to be bigger, faster and stronger. If all goes well, they will play Salesian on Oct. 30 to decide the Del Rey League title.

A strong group of teams will be traveling to Hawaii next month, so they’ll be getting ready a little faster for football and surfing. Chaminade, Edison, Beaumont, San Clemente, San Juan Hills, Newport Harbor, El Camino Real and Villa Park are among the teams with Hawaii trips.

Athletic directors are back from vacation and will be busy trying to clear players who transferred. Making sure paperwork is correct is one of the most important tasks, because one mistake can lead to forfeits.

Tom Holland is officially the first “Hot Ones” guest to really spill his guts during a spicy interview.

During a Thursday appearance on the popular talk show — where guests answer questions while eating chicken wings with increasingly spicy sauces — the actor struggled to keep his composure.

Host Sean Evans cranked up the heat with each burning question to Holland and fellow actor Jon Bernthal, his co-star in not one but two of the biggest cinematic events of the summer, “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” While Holland began the interview with an eloquent discussion of his two blockbuster films, Evans’ lineup of 10 hot sauces, each hotter than the one before, had the “Uncharted” star on the verge of blacking out.

After Holland bit into his chicken wing slathered with the second sauce — Hot Bergine, a roasted eggplant and tomato sauce with a 3/10 heat level — the actor described his first day on the set of Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”

“I wanted to get a bit of a jump on how Chris likes to work and just watch from afar,” he said, noting that he wasn’t filming any scenes that day, but watched his colleagues working from the beach. “I arrived at the beach, and I could not see a single crew member. You just see miles and miles of ships and extras and warriors and horses, and you’re asking yourself, ‘Where is the crew?’”

“So then they asked me to walk down this beach, and every 10 minutes you’d hear ‘Rolling!’ and I’d have to lie down and hide behind these dunes. And I kept asking myself, where are they rolling? I can’t see the crew anywhere. Then eventually I got down to where Matt [Damon] was and his men, and it really felt at that moment like we were a part of something that had never been done before.”

By sauce No. 4 — Chickpotle, a creamy chickpea sauce with smoky chipotle and ghost pepper with a 4/10 heat level — Holland and Bernthal were loosening up and trading barbs. Holland discussed how speaking in an American accent (rather than his native British) is almost like having a disguise, which makes his job as an actor easier.

“But I would love to explore some more British accents because you know, as an island, we have some of the most interesting, unique, and fun accents,” he told Evans. “I think there’s more accents in Britain than any other country.”

Bernthal, visibly uncomfortable from the heat of his own chicken wing, quipped, “Why does it always got to come to competition … I would go out on a on a limb to say there are more accents in America than there are in Britain.”

Holland said he would “drink a shot of that hottest hot sauce” to prove he’s right. After some quick fact checking, “Hot Ones” production confirmed that Holland was correct — among English-speaking countries, anyway.

By hot sauce No. 10 — The Last Dab: Thermageddon, described as a slow-building superhot sauce forged with Pepper X, Apollo, Carolina Reaper and Scorpion peppers, ranked at a heat level of 11/10 — the two actors had completely lost their composure and appeared nearly drunk on hot sauce.

Eyes red, cheeks tear-stained and foreheads pouring sweat, the two squirmed in their seats and Bernthal said he was going to be sick. Still, the “Odyssey” star appeared to have made it through without spewing any body fluids.

Then Holland got up to snap a photo with Bernthal and Evans and barfed on the floor. While the actor may have been embarrassed, Bernthal cheered and Evans crowned him the first guest to lose his lunch.

Last year, Evans told The Times that the interview format, with its squirm-inducing sauces, was a tactic to turn what might otherwise be a typical press tour interview into something raw and real.

“On ‘Hot Ones’ you have those moments of people who are struggling, who are vulnerable, who are in a borderline state of panic. You have emotions that are real, and all of these things are so hard to get to in a traditional interview setting,” he said. “The fact that we can create these moments, and then combine it with this thoughtful career-spanning interview, all of those elements working together, it just gives you a unique look at the celebrity guests … What we’re doing is knocking them off of that pedestal down to a level that everyone can relate to. It’s very human.”

Theo Burrell, an “Antiques Roadshow” star and cancer research advocate, has died. She was 39.

A family member announced Burrell’s death on Instagram on Saturday, writing, “It is with great sadness that I share the news that Theo passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Wednesday afternoon. Neither she nor her medical team foresaw this happening quite so quickly.

“She was an incredible person who fought hard for her family, friends and raising awareness of this cruel disease,” the post continued. “She saw life events like her son’s first day at school and her wedding that a little over 4 years ago we thought she’d never see.”

Burrell, born Theodora Helen Burrell on Sept. 1, 1986, was a ceramics and decorative arts specialist on the BBC’s “Antiques Roadshow,” a reality series that features antiques experts appraising family heirlooms, garage sale gems and more. Off screen, she worked as a specialist and auctioneer at Lyon & Turnbull, the oldest auction house in Scotland.

“One of the things I love about antiques is that they have survived so many years, witnessing life changing events such as coronations & world wars,” Burrell wrote in the caption of an 1840s-era white marble bust.

In June 2022, Burrell was diagnosed with an incurable, aggressive Grade 4 brain tumor, and was told she had a year to a year and a half to live. She subsequently underwent brain surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy in an effort to keep the cancer at bay. In June 2023, she organized a star-studded auction to raise money for the British cancer research nonprofit the Brain Tumour Charity and raised the equivalent of about $93,500. She also became a patron of the charity Brain Tumour Research.

“We are heartbroken that we have lost the phenomenal, determined and truly inspiring Theo to this devastating disease,” Dan Knowles, chief executive of Brain Tumour Research, said on Instagram. “She constantly inspired us with how big her heart was and we will continue on our mission, driven by everything she taught us. Our thoughts are with her family, her friends and with all those who had the privilege of knowing her.”

During a January 2024 BBC “Morning Live” appearance, Burrell said that six months before she was diagnosed, she started to get unusual symptoms including headaches, nausea, feelings of pressure in her head and issues with her vision. After multiple trips to various physicians and a CT scan, doctors found an about 2-inch-diameter brain tumor in the right side of her brain.

She spoke candidly about her battle in the media and across social platforms, telling BBC, “I really felt that with a small public profile which I had from the ‘Roadshow’ that if I could do something good with that, then I should. And I have watched other people, such as Tom Parker, who sadly lost his life to a glioblastoma, really work so incredibly hard when he was so ill to try and make a difference for people like me.”

Burrell’s family said in the statement announcing the antiques enthusiast’s death that the cancer community provided “so much comfort and strength to her in her darkest moments.”

“But most of all it provided hope and I think what she would want most of all is for other people to find hope in her story. Hope that the statistics aren’t gospel and that one day they’ll be very different.”

ARLINGTON, Texas — Wyatt Langford lined a shot off the wall in left field to bring home Alejandro Osuna in the ninth inning, lifting Texas to a 7-6 victory over the Angels after the Rangers blew a five-run lead Thursday night.

Langford struck out three of his first four times up as the designated hitter after getting activated from the 10-day injured list in his return from a left hamstring strain.

Osuna led off the ninth with a single and went to second on pinch-hitter Nicky Lopez’s sacrifice bunt. Langford lined a 1-and-1 fastball from former Texas closer Kirby Yates (0-4) over Jose Siri’s head for the winning single.

Jo Adell had a tying, pinch-hit single to cap a five-run seventh a night after homering twice in the Angels’ 13-1 victory.

Cole Winn (4-2) got Adell on a sharp liner to center field to end the ninth with the potential go-ahead run at third after replacing All-Star closer Jacob Latz, who went 1⅔ innings in his first outing in nine days.

Nathan Eovaldi struck out a season-high 10 for Texas but failed to get his 10th win for the fifth consecutive start. He exited with no outs in the seventh after Dezner Guzman reached on catcher’s interference, Logan O’Hoppe walked and Wade Meckler’s single scored Guzman.

Peyton Gray replaced Eovaldi and gave up a two-run single to Nolan Schanuel, who had four hits, and an RBI single to Jorge Soler.

Brandon Nimmo, Ezequiel Duran and Justin Foscue homered for Texas in the first four innings against Reid Detmers. The left-hander hadn’t given up more than one long ball in any of his first 18 starts.

Up next: Neither team announced the rotation for its final series before the All-Star break. Indications are the Angels will go with RHP Grayson Rodriguez (2-2, 8.06 ERA) on Friday at Minnesota. He has been on the injured list since mid-June because of lower back tightness. Texas is home against Houston.

SAN FRANCISCO — He needed one shot to warm up. Then almost nothing could stop Cameron Carr.

In his unofficial NBA debut, the first-round draft pick flashed the type of three-point shooting that could turn him into a valuable player for the Lakers, scoring 19 points on seven-of-15 shooting in the Lakers’ 104-72 summer league loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Carr missed his first shot, a nearly straight-away three-pointer. But he bounced back quickly by hitting a catch-and-shoot three from the wing on an offensive rebound. He knocked down the next one. He held his thumb and forefinger in a circle over his eye in celebration.

The Lakers spent the first days of free agency addressing their shooting deficiencies. While Luke Kennard signed a two-year contract with Phoenix, the Lakers reloaded with guards Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton and versatile power forward Sandro Mamukelashvili. The three free-agent additions came in a flurry Wednesday after the Lakers pulled off an aggressive sign-and-trade for center Walker Kessler.

The moves were meant to reshape the roster to maximize superstar Luka Doncic, who will take the reins with the departure of LeBron James.

After leading the offense at Baylor, Carr knows his assignment supporting Doncic with the Lakers will be simpler: cut, run and dunk, he said at his introductory news conference.

And, for the guard who shot 37.4% from three at Baylor last year, his job is to knock down shots.

“If you can shoot the ball,” Carr said with a slight smile in New York the day before the draft, “you’re wanted by a lot of people.”

The Lakers wanted the 6-foot-5 guard so badly that they executed a draft-day trade with the New York Knicks to grab the 24th overall pick. Carr was projected to be a mid first-round pick, but slipped down the board in what many projected to be the deepest draft in a generation.

Lakers rookie Cameron Carr shoots a three-pointer over Golden State’s Lachlan Olbrich during the first half of the California Classic on Friday.

(Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)

Any of the top three picks of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Carlos Boozer could have been No. 1 picks in other seasons, analysts predicted. Eleven guards were taken before Carr, who was named third-team All-Big-12 last year after averaging 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists with 45 total blocks at Baylor last year.

But ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla estimated that Carr could be the best athlete out of the entire draft.

His 7-foot wingspan was the best among guards at the NBA combine and his 38-inch standing vertical and 10.46-second lane agility test ranked first for his position.

Carr said his top objective is to put on weight. Weighing 184 pounds at the NBA combine, Carr would have been the third-lightest, 6-5 player in the league last year, ahead of only Sacramento’s Nique Clifford (6-5, 175 pounds) and Dallas’ AJ Johnson (6-5, 160 pounds). He may be joining the Lakers at the exact right moment as the team — with the investment and guidance from big brother organization the Dodgers — will expand weight room, treatment and sports science resources in its facility. The 21-year-old guard said he plans to make the weight room his new home.

Building up his strength to handle the NBA will be critical for Carr as he hopes to show “that I’m the best defender here,” he told reporters. Adding another defender became even more important after guard Marcus Smart signed a contract with Western Conference rival Houston.

The Lakers, after trading Deandre Ayton on Friday for guard Jaden Hardy and two second-round draft picks, could still look for a wing defender and back up center to round out their roster that currently stands at 13.

Lakers re-sign Chris Mañon

The Lakers re-signed guard Chris Mañon to a two-way contract, the Lakers announced. The second-year guard appeared in nine games for the Lakers last year and also played in 33 G League games for the South Bay Lakers, averaging 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. With a team-high 1.9 steals per game, Mañon was named to the G League all-defensive team and finished second in defensive player of the year voting.

In need of three-point shooting, the Lakers lost the league’s best sharpshooter on the first day of free agency.

Guard Luke Kennard has agreed to a two-year, $13-million deal with the Phoenix Suns, The Times confirmed Tuesday.

Kennard was an unrestricted free agent after he was traded to the Lakers last February from the Atlanta Hawks. His arrival coincided with a dramatic offensive uptick for the Lakers, who went from 34.9% shooting from three in games before Kennard and 37.7% in games after. Kennard was on a one-year, $11-million contract last season, his ninth year in the NBA.

The former Duke star averaged nine points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Lakers while shooting 44.8% from three-point range. He showed his influence beyond just shooting when he took on more ballhandling duties late in the season to fill in during injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. In a starting role during the last six games of the regular season, Kennard averaged 6.4 assists.

The Lakers already lost LeBron James on the first day of free agency after the 22-time All-Star informed the team he intended to sign somewhere else for his NBA-record 24th season. Kennard could have provided a critical floor-spacing piece around Doncic, who thrives when surrounded by lob-catching centers, athletic wings and knockdown shooters.

WASHINGTON — The question hangs in the halls at the Capitol: Was it worth it?

Congress, which never authorized the war against Iran yet never fully objected to it, now must grapple with the consequences of President Trump’s nearly four-month conflict: the lives lost, the billions spent and the national security fallout that has reordered the political dynamics in the Middle East.

Ask senators what they think about the deal Trump struck to end the war, and they do not search too far for words.

“Pathetic. Failure. Inevitable conclusion of a combination of never making the case to the American people, flawed strategic vision, lack of grasp of the regional dynamics,” said Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“How many ways, can I say, bad, bad, bad?”

Many Republicans too have been critical. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said it’s hard to see what leverage the U.S. gained to force Iran to a better negotiation.

“You want to be able to give the benefit of the doubt,” she said. But, she said, “I think we’re in a place where there is a deal that has been signed, but it doesn’t appear to me that it puts us in that much of a different position than prior to the beginning of the war.”

Others in the GOP remain supportive of Trump’s efforts. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, a past chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said that because of the president’s actions, “We are safer today.”

“You can criticize — oh, he didn’t totally win,” Johnson said. “Well, that was always going to be very difficult.”

As Trump moves on to the next phase, it is left to the Congress to pick up the pieces: explaining the war to voters back home, restocking the military arsenal that has run low from bombing runs and trying to ensure the fragile ceasefire holds as the United States seeks to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions and work toward an uneasy peace.

More money for the Pentagon

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the rounds on Capitol Hill last week as lawmakers consider Pentagon funding as part of the Republican majority’s next big budget package.

The White House has asked for a remarkable $1.5 trillion for the Defense Department this year, on top of the extra money the GOP delivered as part of the Trump’s tax cuts package last year.

Republicans are considering a sizable, $350-billion-plus increase in Defense spending on par with the White House’s budget request that the GOP could pass on its own, through the reconciliation process that allows Senate majority rule over potential objections from Democrats.

Senators, meanwhile, are seeking to set some guardrails on Hegseth with a provision to block a portion of his travel fund until the Pentagon delivers various reports. One such report is on an investigation into the strike on an elementary school in Iran that killed more than 165 people on the first day of the war, most of them children.

Officials have acknowledged that they believe the U.S. was responsible for the strike and say it was based on faulty intelligence.

What’s next in Iran?

Lawmakers are still processing what just happened after Trump swiftly signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran and opened a window of 60-day talks toward ending Tehran’s nuclear program, which got underway Sunday in Switzerland.

“I understand the president’s trying to find a peaceful solution to this,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who serves on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees. “I commend him for that. But we’ve got a lot of questions.”

Senators are particularly concerned about the tentative deal’s provision for a potential $300-billion fund for the “reconstruction and economic development” of Iran.

To many skeptical Republicans, that money sounds similar to the “planeloads of cash” narrative they used against the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, which offered a slim fraction of that amount, some $1.7 billion overall. To this day, Trump tells an exaggerated story of how that payment to Iran, for U.S. military equipment it never received, was made.

“The only concerns I have are the money and the conditions,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).

“If we send a trainload, a shipload, it’s gonna age as well as that,” he said, referring to the Obama-era issue.

What was gained and lost

Over and again Congress tried and failed to exert its authority under the war powers act to halt the U.S. military action in Iran.

The House ultimately passed a war powers resolution that sought to force an end to the war after a small number of Republicans joined the Democratic measure last month. The Senate has voted nine times, including last week, but failed to reach the majority needed.

At the same time, Congress did not affirmatively authorize the war with a use-of-force resolution, as has been done in certain other conflicts, including the Iraq war.

“I’m glad that the conflict has finally ended and hope the ceasefire holds,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

But she said the country must be clear-eyed about what has come about. Not one of the president’s objectives has been achieved, she said, and Iran won significant concessions.

“The American people are paying the price with higher costs in every aspect of life and tens of billions in tax dollars spent,” she said.

Mascaro writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

Daiki Kaneko had only 24 hours before his World Cup journey took him to Dallas, where his home country’s squad will take on Sweden.

The Japanese soccer fan was making the most of it on Tuesday in Inglewood, snapping pictures of SoFi Stadium before taking in a different kind of monument: a space-age, two-story branch of the chicken chain Raising Cane’s, complete with a 308-square-foot screen, a mirrored dog sculpture and a massive halo hovering around the exterior.

For Kaneko, 25, who lives in the Tokyo suburbs, it was the perfect encapsulation of American grandeur.

“All this for chicken,” he said. “I love America.”

Inglewood is already diverse — most residents are Latino or Black, and nearly a third are immigrants. But during the World Cup, it’s looking more like the United Nations. English, Japanese, Swiss, Iranians, Paraguayans, Bosnians, Belgians and others are flocking to the city of about 102,000, where eight matches are being played at SoFi Stadium.

Though visitors from abroad may not have heard of Inglewood until now, they’re soaking up the vibes of a city that has long been a major sports and entertainment hub, home to venues such as the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, and a crucible of Black culture, immortalized in hip-hop songs by artists such as Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre.

“We’re an international city now,” Mayor James Butts said.

Butts said locals were already proud of what the city has become, but the World Cup has put the celebratory feelings over the top.

“We have people from so many different countries migrating to Inglewood, and there’s an explosive sense of community pride,” he said.

Bartender Elijah Gonzalez, left, mixes a drink at the Nile Bar in Inglewood while customers watch a World Cup soccer preview.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

City officials are doing everything they can to embrace the spirit of the tournament, including speeding up permits so small businesses and neighborhoods can hold World Cup gatherings and watch parties, Butts said. During the U.S.’s opening match against Paraguay on June 12, the city hosted the Wood Cup, a block party on Market Street that brought in more than 5,000 people.

Businesses across the city are embracing the tournament as well, vying for a piece of the roughly $17 million the city expects to haul in. For a few weeks, concerns about skyrocketing housing costs and gentrification, brought on by the city’s increasing popularity as a place to settle down, are taking a back seat to the sheer fun of international soccer.

The supersized Raising Cane’s had its grand opening on June 11, the first day of the tournament. During the USMNT’s opening match, Cinepolis, a luxury movie theater down the road from SoFi Stadium, turned into a global sports hub, according to CEO Luis Olloqui.

Maddy Daversa, a bartender at the Meeting Spot, a restaurant near the stadium, said 2,000 people poured in when the Americans played Paraguay.

“I was selling beers for five hours straight,” she said. “It was crazy.”

Daversa said the restaurant is usually closed on Mondays but opened in hopes of getting some spillover fans from the Iran-New Zealand game at SoFi.

“Every table was full,” she said. “We’re taking advantage.”

Tuesday was an off day for Inglewood, with no games at SoFi. But the energy was still palpable, with locals sporting soccer jerseys and tourists popping up across the city.

“I just want to be where the fans are,” said David Meier, a Swiss fan in town for his home country’s match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday.

Meier, 45, plans to explore L.A. via bars, restaurants and watch parties, taking in every game that his schedule will allow before heading north of the border to Vancouver, where Switzerland will face Canada on June 24.

“Everyone has been so kind,” he said. “Soccer and beer turns strangers into friends.”

Flags from countries competing in the World Cup are on display at Manchester Boulevard and South Market Street in Inglewood.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The energy carried over to Market Street, a historic shopping district about a mile from SoFi Stadium. Businesses set up signs, posters and international flags to lure locals and tourists alike, while the Miracle Theater hosted a watch party for the match between France and Senegal.

Owen Smith, who co-owns the theater with his wife, Mariana, said a Senegalese friend who grew up in France asked if he would be willing to show the game on the big screen. A day later, fans of both teams assembled inside, snapping photos in front of a giant inflatable World Cup trophy in the lobby.

“The Miracle is a cultural event theater. It’s about accommodating the community,” Smith said.

Benyam Woldegiorgis, who co-owns the Nile Bar on Market Street, is showing every single World Cup match — all 104 of them.

“It brings in business,” he said. “Usually it’s just football, basketball and baseball, but now we’re adding soccer to the mix.”

Dionte Johnson, owner of the streetwear store Kingsrowe, partnered with Adidas to hold a watch party for the U.S. team’s opener and said the turnout was massive, bringing in loads of Mexico fans who are local residents, even though their team had already won their opener the day before.

“The downside of the World Cup is that tickets are so expensive, so a lot of locals can’t go check out the games themselves. That’s why we’re hosting events,” Johnson said. “The games are in our backyard, so this is something people have had on their calendar for a long time.”

Homeowners are cashing in as well, with some renting out their places on Airbnb for a small fortune, figuring that crashing on a friend’s couch or booking a hotel room elsewhere is well worth the lofty payouts brought by World Cup demand.

Across L.A., hotel demand lagged compared with initial expectations, but short-term rental prices still jumped 56% compared with typical rates, and more than 70% of rentals were booked by December 2025.

In Inglewood — especially for rentals walkable to SoFi Stadium — prices became dizzying.

David Orenstein and his wife, Peggy, run an Airbnb across the street from SoFi Stadium. It usually rents for $400 per night, but for the U.S. team’s opening game, it went for $3,000.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Peggy Orenstein and her husband, David, own a home steps from the stadium that typically rents for $400 a night on Airbnb. For the U.S. team’s opener, the nightly rate shot up to $3,000.

For other matches, the four-bedroom house is going for $1,200 to $1,500 a night. Orenstein said the high demand and international crowds are a teaser for what’s to come.

“Next up is the Olympics,” she said. “This is a great learning lesson for what we can expect.”