It’s been 39 years since Hoover High in Glendale last made the Southern Section football playoffs.
The Tornadoes can gain an automatic playoff spot with a win over rival Glendale on Friday.
Leading the way has been senior running back Dveen Aghanian, who has rushed for 1,798 yards and 23 touchdowns.
There should be lots of running against Glendale, which has its own top running back in Arman Papazyan, who has rushed for nearly 1,500 yards.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
The parent company of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders has filed a petition aimed at preventing emo-rock band My Chemical Romance from continuing to use dancers wearing outfits nearly identical to those worn by the iconic cheering squad since the 1970s.
Pro Silver Star filed a document Monday in the District Court of Collin County, Texas, asking for a temporary restraining order and injunction against the band and event promoter Live Nation “to stop them from infringing DCC’s signature cheerleading uniform in a manner that causes confusion, trades off of Silver Star’s decades of goodwill, and degrades the DCC brand.”
A temporary restraining order hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
On Wednesday, My Chemical Romance played the first of five Hollywood Bowl shows scheduled through the end of the month. During the song “Teenagers,” background dancers performed in costumes that the filing states “copied the DCC Uniform’s signature elements: white boots, white shorts, a blue blouse tied above the midriff, and a white vest adorned with blue stars.”
“Defendants left no doubt about who the performers were meant to be,” the filing states. “As the costumed performers cheered across the stage, MCR frontman Gerard Way told the crowd, ‘Thank you, Dallas.’
“Then Defendants handed the performers rifles. The costumed performers armed themselves with semi-automatic rifles and joined a staged firefight, and were then depicted being shot and crawling off the stage.”
Attorneys for Pro Silver Star sent the band a cease-and-desist letter on Thursday, the filing states, and a copy of the petition for the restraining order and injunction on Friday. The causes of action listed in the petition include false designation, false association, false endorsement, trade dress infringement and federal trademark dilution by tarnishment.
“MCR’s performers nevertheless again wore the DCC Uniform” on Friday night during the band’s second Hollywood Bowl performance, the filing states. “Audience members at both shows and online commentators understandably believed that the performers were the real Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and said so in social media posts that continue to circulate.”
Online photos appear to show that the costumes were used again during Saturday night’s show. A representative for My Chemical Romance, which finishes it run at Hollywood Bowl this Friday and Saturday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Silver Star is not litigious, and it takes no issue with MCR’s music, its artistic ambitions, or any message Defendants seek to convey,” the filing states. “Silver Star does not ask Defendants to change their setlist, narrative, politics, choreography, or even their decision to put gun-toting performers on stage. Silver Star asks only that those performers not wear the DCC Uniform while doing it. The universe of alternative costume designs is effectively unlimited.”
One of the most recognizable cheer squads in sports, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have appeared on countless calendars and posters and starred in their own movies and TV series, including Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,” which is currently in its third season.
Last week, after years of fighting for pay increases, the cheerleaders announced that they have unionized, with the Cowboys recognizing the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleading Assn. as the collective bargaining representative for the cheer squad.
A look at the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland after Week 9:
Rk. School (record) result; Next game; last week’s ranking
1. SANTA MARGARITA (9-0) def. JSerra, 36-12; vs. Orange Lutheran at Orange Coast College, Friday; 1
2. SIERRA CANYON (9-0) def. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 63-6; vs. Bishop Amat, Friday; 2
3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (7-2) def. Servite, 54-7; vs. Mater Dei at Santa Ana Stadium, Friday; 3
4. CORONA CENTENNIAL (6-3) def. Chaparral, 41-27; at Murrieta Mesa, Thursday; 4
5. MATER DEI (7–2) def. Orange Lutheran, 52-38; vs. St. John Bosco, Friday; 5
6. MISSION VIEJO (7-1) def. Los Alamitos, 58-7; vs. San Juan Hills, Friday; 6
7. ORANGE LUTHERAN (5-4) lost to Mater Dei, 52-38; vs. Santa Margarita, Friday; 7
8. BISHOP AMAT (8-1) def. Loyola, 7-0; at Sierra Canyon, Friday; 10
9. SAN JUAN HILLS (8-1) def. San Clemente, 16-0; at Mission Viejo, Friday; 24
10. SAN CLEMENTE (7-1) lost to San Juan Hills, 16-0; vs. Huntington Beach Edison, Friday; 8
11. JSERRA (4-5) lost to Santa Margarita, 36-12; vs. Servite, Friday; 9
12. CREAN LUTHERAN (6-2) def. Corona del Mar, 31-17; vs. Villa Park, Friday; 13
13. LA SERNA (8-1) def. Mayfair, 42-14; at Downey, Friday; 12
14. INGLEWOOD (9-1) def. Leuzinger, 41-0; Southern Section playoffs; 14
15. SERVITE (3-6) lost to St. John Bosco, 54-7; at JSerra, Friday; 11
16. PALOS VERDES (8-1) def. Redondo Union, 28-7; vs. Leuzinger, Friday; 15
17. CARSON (8-1) def. San Pedro, 35-0; vs. Mary Star of the Sea, Friday; 17
18. CHAPARRAL (5-4) lost to Corona Centennial 41-27; at Vista Murrieta, Friday; NR
19. CORONA DEL MAR (7-2) lost to Crean Lutheran, 31-17; at La Habra, Friday; 16
20. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (7-2) lost to Sierra Canyon, 63-6; vs. Gardena Serra, Friday; 18
21. CHAMINADE (6-3) def. Gardena Serra, 21-7; at Loyola, Friday; 19
22. CAPISTRANO VALLEY (8-1) def. Villa Park, 30-18; at Tustin, Thursday; 25
23. HUNTINGTON BEACH (9-0) def. Troy, 37-22; vs. Laguna Beach, Friday; 20
24. ORANGE (9-0) def. Irvine, 55-17; at El Toro, Friday; 23
25. GARDENA SERRA (4-5) lost to Chaminade, 21-7; at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Friday; 22
As the intro of his song “Girls, Girls, Girls” poured over the crowd at SoFi Stadium late Friday night, Jay-Z locked eyes (from behind his ever-present shades) with a guy near the stage whose excitement had bubbled over at last.
“Oh, this yo s—,” the rapper observed with a knowing little laugh. “You was waiting for this s— all night long.”
Dude was lucky not to wait even longer: The first of two SoFi gigs, Friday’s show was an almost comically overstuffed display of hits by an aging cultural giant in the middle of a legend-reclamation project; Jay-Z performed parts of three dozen songs over two hours, which was still only a fraction of the 152 entries he’s notched on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart since 1996.
“We got a million of these,” he said after doling out a few verses of “On to the Next One” — not bragging so much as explaining.
Having earlier visited stadiums in London, Paris and his hometown of New York, the 56-year-old is in Inglewood this weekend as part of what he’s calling JAŸ-Z30: a yearlong celebration of himself timed to the 30th anniversary of his debut album, “Reasonable Doubt,” and the 25th anniversary of his commercial high point, “The Blueprint.” Last month, HBO premiered an 8-part docuseries in which Jay-Z combs through the minutiae of his songwriting with the producer Rick Rubin; any day now, the rapper is expected to announce that he’ll return to SoFi in February to headline the halftime show at Super Bowl LXI.
That’s a lot of action for an artist who’s spent much of the last decade in éminence-grise mode — Jay-Z’s most recent solo album, “4:44,” came out in 2017 — but he seemed in fighting trim Friday, moving nimbly through the songs that made him a superstar and helped put hip-hop at the center of pop music. He was backed by a muscular live band (complete with horn players and a string section) that could push the music toward plush soul, sticky funk or crunching hard rock; “99 Problems,” in particular, made you think about how funny it’ll be, if indeed Jay-Z ends up at the Super Bowl, to see a rapper bring big guitars back to an event that rock fans love these days to lament.
Jay-Z’s daughter Blue Ivy joined him to play piano during “The Story of OJ” and “Dead Presidents II”; he beamed as she walked offstage afterward — a moving vision of fatherly pride. He also brought out Scarface, the veteran Houston MC, to do “This Can’t Be Life” and Scarface’s Geto Boys classic “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” A pair of OGs still competing in a young man’s game, the two traded compliments before parting: “Jay-Z is a killer,” said Scarface, whom Jay-Z hailed as “one of the best writers of any genre.”
With a set list that jumped freely among albums and eras, the concert felt a little scattershot; it wasn’t always clear what story Jay-Z was trying to tell about his life and career beyond the glorification of his success. And you have to wonder how a man who’s found work as an event planner — booking the halftime show falls under the purview of his Roc Nation company — could end the night so anticlimactically with an appearance by a past-his-prime DJ Khaled. (It didn’t help that many in the audience were anxiously awaiting Jay-Z’s wife, Beyoncé, who performed with him at Yankee Stadium but didn’t show on Friday.)
The evening’s emotional peak came maybe two-thirds of the way through in “Never Change” and “Song Cry,” two tracks from “The Blueprint” written by a guy in his early 30s struggling with how — or whether — to hold onto his complicated past. That he performed them here as a middle-aged billionaire proved he figured it out; that they were so lush with the pain of nostalgia proved he remains an artist.
With just over a week to go before election day, Nithya Raman’s endorsement for mayor from the Democratic Socialists of America’s Los Angeles chapter is in jeopardy, as members of the local and national branches tussle over the city council member’s bonafides on Palestine.
The local chapter voted to endorse Raman last month, and with that comes teams of eager doorknockers canvassing for her across the city.
The endorsement wasn’t exactly full-throated — the tally was 937 in favor and 484 against — and since then factions within the DSA have argued that she isn’t in compliance with the organization’s stance on Palestine, namely, that she doesn’t support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel.
The DSA’s National Political Committee, or NPC, emailed the local’s leaders saying that they were out of compliance with “R22,” a DSA resolution that requires local chapters to inquire about a politician’s positions on the BDS movement before they are endorsed, DSA-L.A.’s co-chair Leslie Chang told The Times.
Chang acknowledged that the chapter didn’t include a question about BDS on its questionnaire for Raman before it endorsed her.
“This was an oversight,” she and co-chair Sean Wakasa wrote in an email to DSA-LA members. To the group’s national political committee, leadership wrote that Raman “has always supported the right of private citizens to engage in boycotts, including BDS.”
The Raman campaign declined to comment. At a forum last month, Raman called BDS a “legitimate form of peaceful protest” without saying whether she supports the movement.
The DSA’s national political committee, which was originally set to meet on the issue last week, is now expected to meet Monday to mull either suspending the endorsement or asking Raman to clarify her position.
Chang insists the national group has no authority to rescind an endorsement made by the L.A. chapter.
“Our endorsement of Nithya was a democratic decision made by the membership, and the NPC is violating its own bylaws by considering un-endorsement and expulsion without following proper procedure,” she said in a statement to The Times. “So we’re going to continue campaigning for our entire slate and protect our chapter’s vote by all means necessary.”
A spokesperson for the DSA national organization declined to comment.
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‘City of L.A. on steroids’
As voters ready to go to the polls next month, another local race is already looming large in the background: the contest for top dog in Los Angeles County government.
Measure G, approved by a slim margin of voters in November 2024, set in motion the process of creating both a new CEO position with broad executive powers and an independent ethics commission, and it expanded the Board of Supervisors from five members to nine.
But Supervisor Kathryn Barger is now asking her fellow supervisors to take a “pause,” telling the Times in an interview that “haste makes waste” and that she is concerned about that process and the speed of its implementation. She also called into question the ethics of a sitting supervisor running for an office that is expected to pay $558,000 in total compensation.
“This position is going to change the county. We’re going to become the city of L.A. on steroids,” she said Wednesday, a day after the board’s latest meeting devolved into a contentious discussion of the county executive issue and Barger’s intention to slow down the process.
“Once again,” she added, “we are rushing to put something together, I think maybe in the hopes that no one will peel back the curtain and expose what is going on.”
At Tuesday’s board meeting, Barger committed to not run for the CEO position and called on her fellow board members to do the same. Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis have now publicly stated that they too will follow the pledge.
But Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, widely viewed as a potential top contender for the position, has declined to pledge not to run. Instead, she criticized Barger’s approach in an emailed statement to The Times.
“Pressuring others out of an election is political interference, no matter how many times she calls it ethics,” Horvath said, adding that voters “took this power away from politicians like Supervisor Barger because they wanted to make this choice themselves. She doesn’t get to claw it back and dress up a power grab as an ethics crusade.”
Golfing for Gates
Thirty-four years after he left his post, former Police Chief Daryl F. Gates continues to be an unexpected flashpoint in this year’s mayoral contest.
Raman said during an Oct. 13 debate that the LAPD under Gates was “the gold standard” for its noncooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Bass responded by accusing her of romanticizing a chief who presided over the mistreatment of Black and Latino residents.
Raman initially accused Bass of twisting her words. But this week, the council member began issuing apologies, telling CNN she “should not have said it.”
Although Bass has repeatedly denounced Gates’ 14-year tenure on the campaign trail, one of her biggest financial supporters has been keeping his legacy alive.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank and file officers and is backing Bass, has been a long-standing host of a memorial golf tournament named after Gates, who died in 2010. This year’s was billed as one of the union’s “premier fundraising events.” According to the union, proceeds go to its Officer Needs Help Fund, which helps officers and their families in times of need.
Bass’ campaign, asked about the tournament, did not immediately offer a comment. Neither did Raman and the police union.
Times staff writer David Zahniser contributed.
— WILL SHE, WON’T HE: Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath endorsed Raman on Tuesday, giving the City Council member a powerful boost in the battle for votes on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley.
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso, however, declined once again to endorse either Bass or Raman in the Nov. 3 runoff election, but expressed what he called “extreme concern” about Raman’s plans to remove Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
— VALLEY RAIL: Construction is set to begin this week on a 6.7-mile rail line linking Van Nuys and Pacoima. The nearly $4-billion project, which will run along Van Nuys Boulevard, will include 11 street-level stations and is projected to open in 2032, according to L.A. Metro, the Los Angeles County transit agency.
— TOP COP FLOP: Raman’s police chief woes continued this week when she was asked by CNN anchor Elex Michaelson to name a police chief she respects. “I don’t know. I don’t know,” she said, before Michaelson continued with another question.
— GHOST OF GASCÓN: In the homestretch of the mayor and city attorney contests, George Gascón has been conjured as a boogeyman by opponents of progressive candidates Marissa Roy and Raman.
— LET THE GAMES BEGIN? The next mayor of Los Angeles will be in the global spotlight in 2028, when L.A. plays host to the Summer Olympic Games. And if Raman prevails over Bass, that mayor will be someone who didn’t even want the Olympics here in the first place.
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
Meghan Markle is “distressed” following reports that her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. found explicit material involving minors in their father’s possession.
On Thursday, British tabloid the Sun reported that Thomas Jr. claimed he’d found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child pornography images inside four large boxes at the Cebu, Philippines, home of his father, Thomas Markle Sr., and contacted authorities.
Meghan’s team issued a statement to The Times on Friday, writing that she was “deeply distressed” by the news.
“My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” she said.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she continued, adding, “I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them.”
The Duchess of Sussex said that she trusted authorities were “doing the same for other families.”
“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
Meghan’s relationship with her 82-year-old father has been the subject of media scrutiny since 2018, when she and Prince Harry tied the knot. Thomas Markle Sr. did not attend the wedding.
The Met Police told People that they are looking to confirm the passing of a letter in 2018. The FBI did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment, but told People that the agency is aware of the allegations, will investigate any related allegations of federal violations of U.S. law, and “will provide support, as appropriate, to the Philippine authorities.”
Thomas Markle Sr. denied the accusations on Friday, calling them “bulls—” and “lies.” He told the Daily Mail that he was “shocked” and “hurt” by his son’s claims and that he “could never do” what he’s being accused of.
“It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of. … I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.”
Thomas Markle Jr. did not immediately respond on Friday to The Times’ request for comment, and Thomas Markle Sr. could not be reached for comment.
The news comes shortly after Meghan and Prince Harry closed their California chapter and returned to England with their children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5.
Rams receiver Puka Nacua will not practice Friday because of a calf injury and will be listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, coach Sean McVay said Friday.
Nacua took part in the majority of practice on Thursday but did not finish it. McVay indicated that tests revealed “a little minor thing in there,” and that Nacua would be a game-time decision Sunday.
“I don’t think he knows exactly when it occurred,” McVay said, adding, “he felt it where he wasn’t able to have some of the power and full explosion … but i don’t think he was aware of any sort of specific play that led to it.”
Nacua played in the season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers and then sat out two games because of a hip injury that caused abdominal soreness. He returned and produced more than 100 yards receiving in each of the next two games, and then caught six passes for 80 yards in last Sunday’s 18-16 defeat by the Arizona Cardinals.
Nacua, the NFL receptions leader in 2025, has 37 catches for 417 yards and a touchdown, and he also has rushed for a touchdown this season.
Nacua’s injury is the latest in a series suffered by a Rams team that opened the season as the favorite to win Super Bowl LXI at SoFi Stadium, but has lost its last two games to fall to 2-4.
Receiver Davante Adams is expected to be sidelined six to 10 weeks because of a hamstring injury suffered against the Cardinals.
Jordan Whittington, Konata Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell and rookie CJ Daniels are other Rams receivers.
“It’s our job to figure out, all right, what are some of the spots we can put them in that accentuate their skillsets,” McVay said.
Inside linebacker Nate Landman is out because of a concussion, McVay said. So veteran Eric Kendricks, who was signed to the practice squad a few weeks ago, will be activated to the roster against the Raiders.
Cornerback Trent McDuffie, who sat out against the Cardinals because of a groin injury, did not practice this week and will be listed as questionable against the Raiders.
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The S&P 500 (SP500) recorded its largest-ever single-day put options trading volume by dollar notional value last Friday.
The index reached an estimated $3.3T-$3.4T, according to market data.
The surge represented roughly a 330% increase above the 2024 average, with approximately 4.1M
HAVE you been dreaming of that bucket-list Orlando holiday? Well, it’s about to get a whole lot cheaper.
AttractionTickets.com are launching a massive Black Friday sale, where you can save up to hundreds of pounds on visits to Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort and more.
The sale will include theme park and attraction tickets, as well as combo tickets and holiday packages with hotel or villa stays.
And you’ll want in on these Black Friday deals, as this is the website’s biggest sale of the year.
If you pre-register for the sale ahead of time, you’ll score yourself an EXTRA discount, which will land in your inbox on November 5.
This means that those pre-registered for Black Friday will have access to the absolute cheapest holidays and attraction tickets available on the website all year long.
Click here to sign up to the Black Friday sale so you’ll be among the first to know as soon as these deals drop.
Last year’s mega Black Friday sale saw 20% off all Orlando tickets, so theme park fans are already expecting big discounts again this year.
The deals will be for 2027 holidays, with major savings to be had during the school summer holidays.
While the exact offers are tightly under wraps until the big day, Attraction Tickets have revealed that the average customer will save hundreds of pounds on their holiday, based on the website’s typical orders.
So where could you go and what could you do with a holiday booked through AttractionTickets.com?
If you’re looking for a Florida holiday, you will be able to bag discounts on Disney, Universal, the Kennedy Space Centre and more, plus hotels and villas if you want to extend the magic by staying on-site.
The site also offers handy combo ticket deals – which are great if you want to tick off Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort in one trip, for example.
2027 is the ideal time to visit Disney World, with new upgrades including a Muppet takeover of the former Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as well as the brand new Magic of Disney Animation zone in the Hollywood Studios park.
At Universal Orlando Resort, new coaster Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift is set to launch in 2027, and the previews of this coaster have excited theme park fanatics around the world.
And if you’re wanting to visit California, now’s the time to get planning. You’ll also be able to save on tickets for Disneyland Resort California and Universal Studios Hollywood in this sale.
Disneyland Resort California is home to Cars Land, which you won’t find in Orlando, plus you can tick off the world-famous studio tour at Universal Studios Hollywood.
If you prefer a Spain or Tenerife holiday, you’ll be able to bag discounts at PortAventura World, Siam Park and Loro Parque.
Just make sure to pre-register ahead of the Black Friday deal to bag an extra discount to make your trip even cheaper.
Here are some of the top attractions included in the AttractionTickets.com Black Friday sale:
A look at the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland after Week 8:
Rk. School (record) result; Next game; last week’s ranking
1. SANTA MARGARITA (8-0) def. St. John Bosco, 21-7; vs. JSerra, Friday; 1
2. SIERRA CANYON (8-0) def. Chaminade, 41-0; at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Friday; 3
3. ST. JOHN BOSCO (6-2) lost to Santa Margarita, 21-7; at Servite, Friday; 2
4. CORONA CENTENNIAL (5-3) def. Norco, 46-14; at Chaparral, Friday; 4
5. MATER DEI (6-2) def. Servite, 38-15; vs. Orange Lutheran, Friday; 5
6. MISSION VIEJO (6-1) vs. San Clemente, canceled; at Los Alamitos, Friday; 6
7. ORANGE LUTHERAN (5-3) def. JSerra, 48-13; at Servite, Friday; 7
8. SAN CLEMENTE (7-0) vs. Mission Viejo, canceled; at San Juan Hills, Friday; 8
9. JSERRA (4-4) lost to Orange Lutheran, 48-13; at Santa Margarita, Friday; 10
10. BISHOP AMAT (7-1) def. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 48-28; vs. Loyola, Friday; 12
11. SERVITE (3-5) lost to Mater Dei, 38-15; vs. Orange Lutheran, Friday; 11
12. LA SERNA (7-1) def. Cerritos, 57-7; vs. Mayfair, Friday; 13
13. CREAN LUTHERAN (5-2) def. La Habra, 35-28; at Corona del Mar, Friday; 14
14. INGLEWOOD (8-1) def. Redondo Union, 33-7; at Leuzinger, Friday; 15
15. PALOS VERDES (7-1) def. Mira Costa, 34-14; at Redondo Union, Friday; 16
16. CORONA DEL MAR (7-1) lost to Capistrano Valley, 21-17; vs. Crean Lutheran, Friday; 9
17. CARSON (7-1) def. Narbonne, 60-0; vs. San Pedro, Friday; 18
18. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (7-1) lost to Bishop Amat, 48-28; vs. Sierra Canyon, Friday; 17
19. CHAMINADE (5-3) lost to Sierra Canyon, 41-0; vs. Gardena Serra, Friday; 19
20. HUNTINGTON BEACH (8-0) def. Western, 34-14; vs. Troy, Thursday; 20
21. SAN JACINTO (8-0) def. Elsinore, 49-16; vs. Granite Hills, Friday; 21
22. GARDENA SERRA (4-4) def. Loyola, 26-0; at Chaminade, Friday; 22
23. ORANGE (8-0) def. Beckman, 51-14; vs. Irvine, Thursday; 23
24. SAN JUAN HILLS (7-1) def. Yorba Linda, 14-10; vs. San Clemente, Friday; 24
25. CAPISTRANO VALLEY (7-1) def. Corona del Mar, 21-17; vs. Villa Park, Friday; 25
After the L.A. mayoral debate on NBC4 ended Tuesday, reporters rushed downstairs to a courtyard hoping to speak with the candidates or their surrogates.
Speaking for Mayor Karen Bass were Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and State Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Los Angeles). On the other side, speaking for Councilmember Nithya Raman, the sole spin doctor was Controller Kenneth Mejia.
“What Councilmember Nithya Raman did up there was show a better path, a better vision for what this city could be,” Mejia told reporters outside the NBC4 and Telemundo52 studios in Universal City.
Mejia isn’t just listed as Raman’s top endorser on her campaign website. He’s also her biggest cheerleader, and the only elected official at City Hall publicly supporting her mayoral bid. (Raman’s camp has contended throughout the campaign that endorsements are not necessarily a sign of how the electorate is feeling.)
Of all the elected officials out there, Mejia is an obvious ally for a politician like Raman who has been somewhat ostracized at L.A. City Hall since she announced her candidacy in February. Not a single council member — even her three fellow comrades in the Democratic Socialists of America — has endorsed Raman’s candidacy.
“When you’re in office, once you learn how status quo works and how to game it, you don’t want to change it,” Mejia told The Times, referring to the three DSA council members supporting Bass.
As for Mejia, he doesn’t mind being on the outside.
“It’s been lonely since I’ve been here [at City Hall],” he said.
“People have told me, ‘Kenneth you ruined your political career by endorsing Nithya,’” he said. “I’m honored to be the only one endorsing her … Karen Bass said the political establishment doesn’t like Nithya and I said, ‘So? I won by bucking political establishment.’”
Mejia has turned into an attack dog for Raman over the past few weeks. After endorsing her in July, he has showed up at news conferences with her and posts sometimes multiple times per day on social media supporting her or attacking the mayor.
One reason for his endorsement is that Bass declined to consent to Mejia performing an audit into her signature homelessness program Inside Safe.
Raman, meanwhile, has said she’ll open the books to Mejia.
If Raman wins, she will have a formidable City Hall ally in Mejia, who has not been shy about using social media to attack an assortment of political targets in and outside city government. On Friday, he announced that he had issued subpoenas to LA28, the private Olympic organizing committee, demanding financial records on the planning for the 2028 Games.
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Fourteen members of the Los Angeles City Council have endorsed Bass (yes, that includes Raman, who subsequently decided to challenge the incumbent).
The sole holdout on the council, Traci Park, made her allegiances — soft as they may be — abundantly clear Wednesday at a town hall in Pacific Palisades when she said she would be voting for Bass but not endorsing her.
“I want some change too,” Park said, addressing her constituents about the mayor’s race. “But the alternative does not actually get us where we want to be. I think it actually impedes our progress.”
“I have deep concerns about the leadership and effectiveness of both candidates. I have personally been deeply frustrated and angry with our current mayor. We have tangled on some major policy issues. But always respectfully.”
Park said that as difficult as things may be now, they could get worse if Raman were elected.
The council member, who represents a large swath of L.A.’s Westside, said she is “very, very concerned” about a Raman mayoralty.
Park represents the Palisades, where the Palisades fire burned last year, destroying thousands of homes and killing 12 people.
Park told The Times in an interview that an endorsement of Bass would have represented “an affirmative statement of support earned based on agreement with someone’s records or positions or accomplishments.”
But Bass is someone Park can work with, the council member told The Times.
“I cannot say the same thing about Nithya Raman. That’s the problem. She doesn’t work with others. I think that deep frustration with her unwillingness to collaborate with others is reflected in the fact that no other council members at all are endorsing her,” Park said.
Bass went hard after Raman at this week’s NBC4/Telemundo 52 debate, accusing her of neglecting constituents in her district, which stretches from Silver Lake to the San Fernando Valley. She pushed even harder the following morning, appearing with some of those dissatisfied residents and business owners in Sherman Oaks.
Standing outside the Valley Inn Restaurant and Martini Bar, Bass said she reached out to Raman early on as mayor to warn her that some of her Valley constituents had contacted the mayor’s office to voice unhappiness with Raman. Bass said she told Raman she was going to meet with them.
“She essentially said to me that … she knew that they didn’t like her, that it was a feeling that was mutual, and to have at it if I want,” Bass said. “To me, I thought that was a strange way to respond.”
Raman spokesperson Liz Garcia denounced Bass’ comments as “bizarre and simply not true,” saying her boss has maintained positive relationships with her constituents. In a statement, she pointed to recent polling that showed Raman with an 8-point lead in the Valley.
“Nithya’s results in her district help explain why: She has reduced encampments, tents and RVs by 70% in her district over the past three years, helped businesses succeed, protected tenants, installed traffic safety upgrades and improved quality of life for residents,” Garcia said.
Raman has been pushing back against the mayor’s claims in other ways, noting that two-thirds of voters in the June 2 primary chose someone other than the incumbent.
During this week’s debate, Raman criticized Bass for boasting that she had given Sherman Oaks residents her personal cell number, saying it showed that regular government operations are dysfunctional.
Standing outside the martini bar, Bass acknowledged that her own staffers aren’t always happy about her generosity with her cell number. But things were worse when she was a member of Congress, she said.
“My cellphone was on my business card,” Bass said.
— BLOW FOR BLOW: The gloves came off in the final debate between Bass and Raman this week, with the two candidates trading verbal jabs over public safety, the Palisades fire and the fate of Police Chief Jim McDonnell. Meanwhile, here’s who three L.A. Times columnists believe won the debate.
— A MOVING TARGET: Raman has shifted her position on police hiring, public safety spending, the so-called mansion tax and other issues, causing some to question what she stands for. Raman has defended her various policy shifts, saying she made them after receiving new information or recognizing changed circumstances.
— CHIEF AMONG THEM: Raman and Bass have diverged over whether to keep Chief McDonnell. Raman said she would replace the chief if she becomes mayor, although she offered mixed messages on the timing. Bass said that McDonnell’s replacement before the 2028 Olympics could throw the LAPD into turmoil.
— GATES-GATE: Bass denounced Raman for saying the “gold standard” for the LAPD’s noncooperation with immigration enforcement took place during the tenure of former police chief Daryl Gates. Bass suggested Raman is not in touch with the city’s Black community, while Raman said the mayor had deliberately twisted her words.
— HOPE FOR HOUSING: Both Bass and Raman have been talking up their work on housing affordability. Bass said her administration has fast-tracked tens of thousands of units of affordable housing, while Raman has boasted of her success in enacting the strongest tenant protections in L.A. in 40 years.
— FIGHTING FRAUD: Los Angeles County voters are concerned about a host of voter fraud issues that could disrupt the Nov. 3 general election, even though they have a high degree of confidence in local elections officials, according to a new poll funded by the nonprofit California Community Foundation.
That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.
By Los Angeles Times staff
HIGH SCHOOL FLAG FOOTBALL
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
City Section
Eagle Rock 19, L.A. Wilson 0
Lincoln 21, L.A. Marshall 7
L.A. University 14, WISH Academy 8
MSAR 7, Valley Oaks CES 0
Monroe 7, Sun Valley Poly 0
Monroe 13, Sun Valley Poly 6
North Hollywood 52, Grant 0
North Hollywood 31, Grant 0
Panorama 7, GALA 0
San Fernando 16, Sylmar 0
Van Nuys 32, Reseda 0
By Los Angeles Times staff
A look at how the top 25 high school football teams in the Southland fared this week:
Rk. School (record) result; Next game
1. SANTA MARGARITA (8-0) def. St. John Bosco, 21-7; vs. JSerra, Friday
2. ST. JOHN BOSCO (6-2) lost to Santa Margarita, 21-7; at Servite, Friday
3. SIERRA CANYON (8-0) def. Chaminade, 41-0; at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Friday
4. CORONA CENTENNIAL (5-3) def. Norco, 46-14; at Chaparrel, Friday
5. MATER DEI (6-2) def. Servite, 38-15; vs. Orange Lutheran, Friday
6. MISSION VIEJO (6-1) at San Clemente, postponed; at Los Alamitos, Friday
7. ORANGE LUTHERAN (5-3) def. JSerra, 48-13; at Servite, Friday
8. SAN CLEMENTE (7-0) vs. Mission Viejo, postponed; at San Juan Hills, Friday
9. CORONA DEL MAR (7-0) at Capistrano Valley, Saturday; vs. Crean Lutheran, Friday
10. JSERRA (4-4) lost to Orange Lutheran, 48-13; at Santa Margarita, Friday
11. SERVITE (3-5) lost to Mater Dei, 38-15; vs. Orange Lutheran, Friday
12. BISHOP AMAT (7-1) def. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 48-28; vs. Loyola, Friday
13. LA SERNA (7-1) def. Cerritos, 57-7; vs. Mayfair, Friday
14. CREAN LUTHERAN (5-2) vs. La Habra, late; at Corona del Mar, Friday
15. INGLEWOOD (8-1) def. Redondo Union, 33-7; at Leuzinger, Friday
16. PALOS VERDES (7-1) def. Mira Costa, 34-14; at Redondo Union, Friday
17. SHERMAN OAKS NOTRE DAME (7-1) lost to Bishop Amat, 48-28; vs. Sierra Canyon, Friday
18. CARSON (7-1) def. Narbonne, 48-14; vs. San Pedro, Friday
19. CHAMINADE (5-3) lost to Sierra Canyon, 41-0; vs. Gardena Serra, Friday
20. HUNTINGTON BEACH (8-0) def. Western, 34-14; vs. Troy, Thursday
21. SAN JACINTO (8-0) def. Elsinore, 49-16; vs. Granite Hills, Friday
22. GARDENA SERRA (4-4) def. Loyola, 26-0; at Chaminade, Friday
23. ORANGE (8-0) def. Beckman, 51-14; vs. Irvine, Thursday
24. SAN JUAN HILLS (7-1) def. Yorba Linda, 14-10; vs. San Clemente, Friday
25. CAPISTRANO VALLEY (6-1) vs. Corona del Mar, Saturday; vs. Villa Park, Friday
Selma Blair’s team has released a lengthy statement regarding the actor’s recent arrest following an incident while aboard a flight.
“Selma Blair experienced a medical emergency on the flight,” said the statement provided to People on Friday. “There was no attempt to open the door of the aircraft. Selma did not intend to harm anyone.”
The statement is intended to “correct the record on a few points already in public circulation” regarding Blair’s alleged violent conduct aboard a Delta Airlines flight. The Times has reached out to Blair’s reps for comment.
The “Cruel Intentions” star was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport late Sunday after an alleged altercation with staff during a flight from Los Angeles. Upon landing, Blair, 54, was taken into custody, then transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. In addition to her alleged actions aboard the flight, the “Legally Blonde” star has been accused of kicking a Port Authority Police Department officer as she was being transported to the hospital, as well as kicking a nurse.
“Since Sunday night, the public account of what happened to Selma aboard a flight to New York has been built almost entirely on a police statement and a decade-old headline,” Blair’s spokesperson said in the Friday statement to People.
The spokesperson called out the lack of “fair reporting” around the situation, adding that they are grateful for the “handful of journalists [who] have taken the time to report on Selma as a human being rather than a headline.”
Blair was charged with two counts of second-degree assault on Monday for her alleged actions involving the police officer and nurse. Blair pleaded not guilty to the charges. At the hearing, her attorney, Shawn Barnes, reportedly told the judge that “this was not an intentional assault” and that the actor had “missed several doses of … a powerful medication that controls severe neurological symptoms,” per the New York Post.
Blair lives with multiple sclerosis, a chronic neurological disorder and autoimmune disease, which she has been open about since 2018.
The statement also addressed Blair’s medical condition — denouncing any who suggest the actor does not have multiple sclerosis — how and why she travels with a service dog, her activism and her busy schedule as an actor and entrepreneur.
“Selma had never been arrested before Sunday night,” the statement said. “There is much more to this story than has been reported, and we ask to consider the entirety of the facts before rushing to judgment, whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion.”
By Will Weissert and Seung Min Kim
WASHINGTON — President Trump signaled Friday that his embattled new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, may be on her way out — a mere week after he picked her for the post.
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn as he left for a rally in Georgia, Trump said he’d spoken to Zacharia and that he felt she didn’t deserve what he called negative media coverage.
Recounting what was said in that conversation, the president suggested that Zacharia might not stay on the job for long: “I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy.’”
He added: “I said, ‘Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this,’” and that he wanted “her to have a good life” and not be subjected to criticism, which he likened to being “brutalized by the media.”
The president said he’d make a final determination later, perhaps after his campaign travel on Friday and this weekend, adding, “When I get back, we’re gonna talk.”
Zacharia’s short tenure has been defined by questions about her professional background and lack of polish in fielding questions from journalists.
She was a surprise choice when Trump announced her appointment on Oct. 9, as the successor to Karoline Leavitt, the youngest-ever White House press secretary who had been part of Trump’s inner circle for years.
Zacharia came under immediate scrutiny when she appeared uncomfortable during her inaugural briefing, delivering halting remarks touting the president and his accomplishments.
She took questions from just three reporters, all from conservative-leaning or Trump-friendly outlets, and left after only about 14 minutes.
Zacharia has said she wanted to keep her briefing short to ensure Trump had enough time later that morning for his own question-and-answer session with reporters, and that she had not been fully briefed by White House staff beforehand.
She later traveled with Trump when he held rallies on Wednesday and Thursday in Alaska, Arizona and Montana — but did not hold more press briefings.
In an appearance on Fox News Channel earlier Friday, Zacharia was asked if she had the president’s confidence and responded: “I hope to be able to build the trust and confidence of everyone around me.”
But she also wouldn’t say when her next press briefing might be.
Zacharia, a Pepperdine University law graduate, also faced criticism for calling herself a “lawyer” when she had not passed a bar exam or was otherwise credentialed to practice.
She had described herself as such when appearing as a commentator on conservative television outlets. Zacharia said the term was a proper one to use when she was offering legal analysis, and said she had worked as a lawyer in China.
Zacharia said Friday on Fox News that she wasn’t asked about passing the bar before becoming press secretary, and Trump noted in his subsequent comments that she was hired as a spokesperson for the White House, not as an attorney.
Before joining the White House, Zacharia had been working in communications for Trump Media, the company that oversees the president’s social media site, Truth Social. She also briefly worked at the Department of Homeland Security during the second Trump administration.
Weissert and Kim write for the Associated Press.
