SACRAMENTO — The race for California governor couldn’t be much closer. And that’s scary for Democrats.
Only the top two vote-getters in the June 2 primary — regardless of their party — will advance to the November election. And although still unlikely, it’s increasingly conceivable that both could be Republicans.
“Scare tactics,” claim naysaying Democrats of such speculation.
But Democrats should have heeded scary rumblings 10 years ago when long shot Donald Trump was first running for president — and not buried their heads in the sand again two years ago when Joe Biden was feebly seeking reelection.
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They ignored the warning signs and paid the price.
Now, the latest independent poll of likely voters shows that Republican candidates are running in two of the top three places for governor — meaning it’s possible both could qualify for the November ballot, guaranteeing the first election of a GOP chief executive in 20 years.
The best odds are on one Democrat and one Republican finishing in the top two — virtually assuring a Democratic victory in November.
California is too solidly Democrat — and President Trump too despised here — to envision a Republican beating a Democrat to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.
But Democrats could beat themselves if the current field of candidates remains intact. There essentially are eight Democrats and only two Republicans competing in the primary.
If the combined Democratic vote is splintered among the eight Democratic contestants, the two Republicans could end up finishing first and second.
“It’s hard to come up with the math that makes that work,” asserts Mark Baldassare, polling director for the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California. He just completed a survey in which “a lot of things show that a Democrat and Republican [top-two finish] is the likely outcome,” he says.
But political data guru Paul Mitchell has been running primary election simulations and after Baldassare’s latest poll, he calculated the chances of an all-Republican finish at 18%.
That seems like the danger zone.
The solution is for some Democratic candidates who have little hope of winning to drop out of the race — very soon, in fact. They shouldn’t even file their official candidacy papers that are due by Friday. After that deadline, it’s impossible to remove their names from the ballot even if they’re no longer really running.
The PPIC poll, released last week, showed a statistical tie between the top five contenders — three Democrats and two Republicans, all within 4 percentage points of each other.
The breakdown:
Republican former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton, 14%; Democratic former Rep. Katie Porter, 13%; Republican Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, 12%; Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, 11%; Democratic hedge fund founder Tom Steyer, 10%.
Then came five Democratic stragglers.
Former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Betty Yee each had 5%. Trailing them were San José Mayor Matt Mahan with 3% and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond at 2%.
Mahan’s a centrist wild card who jumped into the race while the polling was underway. So, there’s a valid excuse for his poor showing.
Swalwell and Steyer entered late last year and apparently took votes away from Porter and Becerra.
Porter and Yee are the only prominent female candidates, but they aren’t particularly being helped by female voters, the poll showed.
There was good news in the survey for Democrats hoping to pick up more congressional seats in California and help the party seize control of the House of Representatives from Republicans.
Asked whether they’d vote for a Democrat or Republican for Congress, 62% replied Democrat and only 36% Republican. That’s not surprising, since Democrats already hold 43 of California’s 52 seats.
Newsom and the Democratic-controlled Legislature last year gerrymandered California’s House districts with the goal of gaining at least five more seats. Voters approved that move by passing Proposition 50.
The especially bright news in the poll for Democrats was that in the five new House districts considered the most competitive, Democrats had a slight edge in voter preference. That was also true in districts held by Republicans.
Additionally, Democrats are much more enthusiastic than Republicans about voting in the congressional contests.
In the competitive districts, nearly two-thirds of voters disapprove of tactics by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in corralling undocumented immigrants. And 57% disapprove of Trump.
Anti-Trump sentiment is extremely high among all voters — 30% approval and 70% disapproval.
One head-scratcher in the poll was the voters’ denial about their political polarization. They were asked what qualification they considered most important in choosing a governor. Only 6% said it was the candidate’s political party. Rubbage.
“There are very few people who are voting outside their party,” Baldassare notes.
Two-thirds of voters answered that a candidate’s stand on issues is the most important consideration for them. Voters of both parties, plus independents, rated a candidate’s position on “affordability” as “very” important — and it topped their list of concerns.
A majority of voters said California is “going in the wrong direction.” This is a gloomy finding for Democrats who have been ruling state government — and most large cities — for many years.
But a much larger majority believe the country also is headed in the wrong direction. Back at ya, Republicans. It’s the GOP that’s in total control of the federal government.
Both parties in California have reasons to run scared this year.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. The state basketball playoff pairings are out, but let’s look back on quite a weekend of championship basketball.
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Sierra Canyon’s Jerzy Robinson drives against Ontario Christian’s Kaleena Smith in the first half of the Southern Section Open Division championship game.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
For the first time in the history of the Southern Section Open Division, one school swept the boys and girls titles: Sierra Canyon.
The girls final drew the largest individual game crowd at Toyota Arena, with Sierra Canyon and All-American Jerzy Robinson upsetting Ontario Christian and All-American Kaleena Smith 69-62. Robinson scored 32 points. Smith scored 30 points.
“What a battle,” Sierra Canyon coach Alicia Komaki said. “There were a lot of top players on that court.”
The duel between Robinson and Smith, however, was one to remember. The 5-foot-4 Smith was purposely being guarded by the 6-1 Robinson.
“Jerzy is an elite defender and can guard anybody,” Komaki said. “She was going to do whatever she could to win.”
Maxi Adams of Sierra Canyon rises to deliver a dunk against Harvard-Westlake in Open Division championship game.
(Steve Galluzzo)
In the boys final, heavily favored Sierra Canyon saw its lead drop to three points with 19.3 seconds left before prevailing over a stubborn Harvard-Westlake team 59-53. Here’s the report.
In Southern Section Division 1, Crean Lutheran held off JSerra. In Division 2, Bishop Amat routed Hesperia. Here’s the report.
Palisades’ OJ Popoola, right, grabs an offensive rebound during Palisades’ 75-56 win over Cleveland in the City Section Open Division championship game on Feb. 27, 2026.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Palisades won the City Section Open Division boys title, the first upper division title for the Dolphins since 1969. Here’s the report.
State playoffs
The state basketball playoffs begin this week with regional action. The finals are March 13-14 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Here’s the link to pairings.
Sierra Canyon received the No. 1 seed for boys and girls in the Open Division. The teams will host a doubleheader Saturday night, with the boys hosting the winner of Santa Margarita-Redondo Union and girls playing Sage Hills. Redondo Union was once considered to be the strongest challenger to Sierra Canyon but was upset in the Open Division playoffs. That matchup of two pressing teams would be quite interesting if Redondo Union can get past Santa Margarita.
Harvard-Westiake boys will host the winner of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Santa Maria St. Joseph on Saturday. The top girls game will take place Saturday matching Etiwanda at Ontario Christian.
Division 1 boys looks like a strong 16-team field with La Mirada seeded No. 1 and hosting Mater Dei on Tuesday.
Baseball
Star center fielder Anthony Murphy of Corona has added closing duties this season. The Panthers are 4-0.
(Nick Koza)
Last season, Corona had as its closer shortstop Billy Carlson, who became a first-round draft pick. This season, center fielder Anthony Murphy has taken over as a closer, throwing 92 mph fastball for the 4-0 Panthers.
Oaks Christian won the Easton tournament championship and is 5-0. The Sheffer brothers, Carson and Ryan, have been performing well.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame is 4-0 and getting strong hitting from catcher Jacob Madrid, who had two home runs in a win over El Dorado. James Tronstein of Harvard-Westlake has seven hits in 10 at-bats.
El Segundo has several players off the 2023 El Segundo Little League championshp team making major contributions during its 4-0 start. Logan Brooks, the older brother of Loyola freshman Brody Brooks, has 10 RBIs.
No. 1-ranked Norco is 4-0 behind its two college-bound pitchers, Coral Williams and Parker May.
Oaks Christian has started 6-0 and picked up wins over Huntington Beach and Mater Dei last week.
1 am proud to announce that in my junior year l was able to beat my freshman year record by getting 19 strikeouts! This means so much to me because this game was mentally and physically tough, despite the situation I knew my team mates me needed so I continued to work hard! pic.twitter.com/eo7ykL27e7
Granada Hills, one of the top teams in the City Section, will be tested this week with games against Sierra Canyon and Oaks Christian.
Track and field
Servite’s 4 x 100 relay team ran the second-fast time in state history at 40.05 in a stunning display of speed for this early in the track season at the Mustang Roundup at Trabuco Hills. The team was made up of Jorden Wells, Benjamin Harris, Kamil Pelovello and Jace Wells.
Maximo Zavaleta of King ran the 3,200 in 9:07.81 and the 1,600 in 4:09.86. Harris won the 100 in 10.46. Pelovello ran the 200 in 21.19.
Rosary’s girls 4 x 100 relay team won in 45.96 seconds. Maliyah Collins, a sophomore at Rosary, won the 100 in 11.77 and the 200 in 24.13
Best individual mark of the day in California so far is Oak Hills junior Quran Clayton Jr. rocketing to a wind-legal 10.29 for 100 meters at the Saddle Up Invitational! That’s equal #9 in state history and the fastest ever in February!! OHHHH MYYYY!!!
El Camino Real’s boys soccer team celebrates winning the City Section Open Division title for a second consecutive season.
(Eliza Lotterstein)
Rivals El Camino Real and Birmingham had another dramatic City Section Open Division boys final, with El Camino Real winning on penalty kicks. Here’s the report. Cleveland won the girls Open Division championship over Granada Hills.
Mater Dei boys and Santa Margarita girls won Southern Section championships in the Open Division.
The regional playoffs begin Tuesday with the first state championships taking place March 13-14 in Sacramento.
To say the City Section soccer playoffs were a mess would be an understatement.
Six teams were removed from the playoffs via forfeits for having ineligible players who broke CIF rule 600 by playing in an outside competition during their season. The Southern Section had one school forfeit in its playoffs, Calabasas, in Division 3, allowing Los Alamitos to be named champion.
From 2011, longtime Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett talks to De’Anthony Thomas, one of his best former players.
(Robert S. Helfman)
The mysterious absence of Crenshaw football coach Robert Garrett continues. The winningest coach in City Section history with 300 victories was put on administrative leave last August on the eve of the team’s season opener. March marks the eighth month of no action on his case. He sits at home, checks in on his computer, receives full pay and waits.
At the state wrestling championships, among the winners was Birmingham’s Slava Shahbazyan at 165 and two St. John Bosco wrestlers, Jesse Grajeda at144 pounds and Michael Romero at 150 pounds. Here’s the link to complete results. . . .
Chris Williams is the new football coach at Covina. He was head coach at Diamond Ranch. . . .
Ed Hematsiraki, 21, is the new boys basketball coach at Glendale High. . . .
Jeff Bailey is the new Head Football Coach & District’s Asst Director of Strength and Conditioning Coach at Beverly Hills High School. He was board approved and introduced tonight at their board meeting. This video was shown. pic.twitter.com/6nVex23JDe
Jeff Bailey has left Yorba Linda after 16 years as football coach and two Southern Section titles to become head coach at Beverly Hills, which was 0-9 last season. He’ll be making $205,000 a year. Here’s the report. . . . .
Scott Dodge is the new boys basketball coach at Godinez. . . .
Troy has opening for boys basketball coach. . . .
Will Burr is out at Harvard-Westlake after just one season as girls basketball coach. . . .
Anthony Jackson, who had a successful nine-year run as head football coach at Los Angeles High, is the new head coach at South East. . . .
Greg Fontenette has resigned as boys basketball coach at Valencia. . . .
VIDEO: Tara Davis-Woodhall, the amazing young woman and Olympic gold medalist with the multi-million-dollar smile put her money where that smile is, making a tremendous $100K donation to the @AHS_Chargers Agoura HS track and field program at today’s Tara Davis Invitational!… pic.twitter.com/fSMFesh9jb
Tara Davis-Woodhall, an Olympic track and field champion from Agoura who sponsored the school’s invitational Saturday, announced she was making a $100,000 donation to the track and field program. . . .
Freshman golfer William Hudson of St. John Bosco won the Servite Invitational. Here’s the report.
From the archives: Marques Johnson
One of the greatest former City Section high school basketball players, Marques Johnson, celebrated his 70th birthday with his annual dunk. The former Crenshaw High and UCLA player is a beloved basketball legend from Los Angeles. He has a daughter playing basketball for Windward.
His call on radio when UCLA’s Tyus Edney scored on a layup in 1995 during the Bruins’ title run and he yelled, “Yeah baby!” remains something UCLA fans never forget.
Recommendations
From ESPN, a story about the growing concern about street agents in the high school NIL business.
From SI.com, a story on a high school basketball team in Arizona being removed from the playoffs for racial taunts by its fans.
From the Daily Pilot, a story on Sage Hill girls basketball.
Tweets you might have missed
Former Loyola and Stanford kicker Conrad Ukropina is supposed to be on the next Bachelorette. Let’s see if he brings a tee somewhere.
Amalia Holgun, the last high school player from Kobe and Gigi’s Mambas basketball team, was honored with a concrete Kobe mural from the opposing Ontario Christian girls team.
Amalia has committed to the University of Texas where she will wear number 2. 🖤🤍 pic.twitter.com/BRQl7DxVWq
— Kobe Bryant Stories & Motivation (@kobehighlight) February 26, 2026
It’s true the ability to attend high schools with online classes no matter where you live is changing high school sports in California. Palisades basketball is on the verge of winning City title with several key players online outside of their main attendance area.
People in high school baseball still don’t get it. They celebrate a pitcher throwing 90 mph and giving up runs vs. a pitcher throwing 84 mph and giving up no runs. I’ll take the no runs guy every time.
Villeda was the Gatorade & CIF Player of the Year his senior season at Servite after leading the Friars to a Trinity League, CIF and Regional State Championship. He went on play 4 years at UCSB before turning pro. #credo#ForeverAFriarpic.twitter.com/bJaijEpSzL
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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The first European to visit the island was Christopher Columbus in November 1493. Puerto Rico would go on to become an important part of the Spanish Empire. In fact, along with Cuba, Puerto Rico was the last Spanish territory in the Americas.
In 1898, during the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States. After the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded ownership of Puerto Rico and Cuba to the United States.
When America took control, the name of the island was changed to Porto Rico. It was changed back to Puerto Rico in 1932.
On March 2nd 1917, the U.S. Congress passed the Jones-Shafroth Act (commonly known as the Jones Act), which granted Puerto Ricans born on or after April 25th 1898, U.S. citizenship.
The act also created the Senate of Puerto Rico, established a bill of rights, and authorized the election of a Resident Commissioner.
Even though they are American citizens, Puerto Rico’s nearly 3.2 million residents are not allowed to vote in U.S. presidential elections.
March gets its name from the Roman Martius, which was Latin for Mars, the Greek god of war.
In Roman times, New Year was celebrated on March 1st. In addition to his military role, Mars was also an agricultural deity, so having Mars mark the onset of spring and the start of the new year was fitting.
The date of March 1st as New Year is also said to have used by the Dacians, the tribe who were ancient inhabitants of Romania and Moldova, so the customs of Martisor may predate its Roman name.
The most common tradition associated with this festival is the Martisor, which are red and white threads tied in a bow and attached to a small trinket. The Martisor will be on sale in every town and village and they are bought as gifts for the female family members. The red is said to represent summer (heat) and the white is winter (cold) with the combination marking the turning point in the season.
The Martisor is worn by women throughout March as it is believed they bring strength and health in the coming year. At the end of March, the Martisor threads are tied on a branch of a fruit tree as that is supposed to bring wealth and prosperity.
The Brit Awards viewers were left unimpressed by ITV’s decisions on a number of occasions during the ceremony hosted by Jack Whitehall
23:18, 28 Feb 2026Updated 23:18, 28 Feb 2026
Jack Whitehall was censored on a number of occasions(Image: PA)
Viewers of the Brit Awards were left incensed by ITV as they watched the annual ceremony. As many tuned in to see how would be winning the biggest gongs of the year, they fumed as the ITV show kept being censored.
Bosses made the decision to blank out several of Jack Whitehall’s jokes throughout his hosting duties. And as a number of winners used their acceptance speech time to share their views, they also found themselves censored. Among those being bleeped was Geese frontman Cameron Winter.
The singer of the Brooklyn indie rock band took to the stage as the band won their first ever Brit Award for International Group of the Year. During his acceptance speech, he said: “I just want to say, Free Palestine, F–k ICE, go Geese!”
But viewers at home didn’t get to hear his actual speech, with interference played over the top. The same thing happened during Noel Gallagher’s speech after he accepted the accolade for Songwriter of the Year.
After thanking his brother and his bandmates, Noel shouted: “Up the f***ing Blues” in reference to his beloved Manchester City. But the moment was banned from TV, and instead viewers at home just heard the aftermath of boos.
And another getting the bleep button was Angry Ginge as he took aim at London. The Manchester native made his feelings known as he called the country’s capital a “s***hole”.
Fans weren’t impressed with the cuts and on Twitter/X they let their feelings be known. One user ranted: “The buzzing to bleep things out is getting annoying. I’m sure what they’re saying is not that bad to air at 9.30 pm. #Brits2026”
“Free speech and all that. Bleep bleep. #Brits2026,” moan another. A third added: “I’ve never known the Brits bleep out so much stuff? What is happening #Brits2026”
A fourth tried to make light of the situation and create a drinking game for the irritation. “Take a shot every time there is a bleep #Brits2026 #BRITs.” And a fifth simply wrote: “Bleep bleep bleep bleeeeep #Brits2026”
The rage continued when Sharon Osbourne was also censored. A fan ranted: “It’s 23:00 and ITV are censoring Sharon Osbourne accepting an award for her late husband.”
But despite the complaints, one user had a different idea, hitting out at host Jack. “Why do they hire Jack Whitehall to present every year if they’re gonna bleep half the jokes just get someone else #Brits2026.”
Elsewhere at the awards ceremony, in between the awards wins, Jack “let slip” who will be the new Strictly Come Dancing hosts. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down at the end of the last series and ever since speculation over their replacement has been rife.
Speaking to Bez and Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, Jack joked they were ready for the role and “revealed” their secret. Shaun labelled Jack a “grass” as he played along with the joke announcement.
Known as ‘Día de Andalucía’, this holiday commemorates the Statute of Autonomy of Andalucia referendum held on February 28th 1980, in which the Andalusian people voted for the statute that made Andalusia an autonomous community of Spain.
Depending on what day of the week that February 28th falls on, the holiday may be extended to bridge the weekend or moved if it falls on a weekend. While these may not be official holidays, many businesses and shops may close on these days.
With over eight million inhabitants, Andalucia is the largest autonomous community in terms of population and the second-largest in area. The Andalucian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality within Spain.
The word Andalucia derives from Vandalucia, the ‘land of the Vandals’, referring to the German tribe that settled there in the 3rd and 4th centuries AD.
Christopher Columbus left for his famous 1492 journey, which led to the discovery of America, from the Andalusian harbour Huelva.
To mark the Day of Andalucia, many towns are decorated with the flag of Andalucia, and green and white bunting is a common sight. Cultural competitions are often held in conjunction with the day.
A hymn is also sung to mark the day. It is a composition by José del Castillo Díaz with lyrics by Blas Infante, inspired by ‘the Holy God’, a popular religious song that the peasants and day labourers of some Andalusian regions sang during the harvest.
Britain once ruled over the largest empire in history. For many Britons, it remains a source of pride. Others argue its power was built on a legacy of brutality, colonial conquest and the enslavement of millions.
Can Britain reckon with that past and make amends? Some say it shouldn’t have to.
Mehdi Hasan goes head-to-head with author and Oxford professor emeritus Nigel Biggar on Britain’s colonial history, its slavery and the question of reparations.
Joining the discussion: Kojo Koram – Professor of law and history at Loughborough University Lawrence Goldman – Fellow and tutor in modern history, St Peter’s College, Oxford Gurminder Bhambra – Professor of historical sociology at the Department of International Relations, University of Sussex
Following the arrival of Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola on December 5th 1492, the island became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the New World.
The Spanish went on to rule the region known as Spanish Haiti for over 300 years until the Dominican Republic gained independence in 1821. This independence was short-lived as shortly afterwards a military invasion by Haiti unified the island of Hispaniola.
In 1844 Juan Pablo Duarte, along with other leaders, Francisco del Rosario Sánchez and Matías Ramón Mella created a secret society named ‘La Trinitaria’ (The Trinity) to revolt against the Haitian regime. On February 27th 1844, the Trinitaria declared independence from Haiti, with Francisco del Rosario Sánchez raising the blue, red, and white flag of the new republic at Puerto del Conde, he main entrance to the fortified city of Santo Domingo.
President Trump, speaking for well over an hour, shattered the record on Tuesday for the length of a State of the Union address.
Speaking for about 100 minutes, the nation’s leader touched upon a broad range of domestic and international topics, bragged about his accomplishments and awarded the nation’s highest honors to a pilot who participated in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a 100-year-old Korean War veteran, and a 32-year-old goalie for the gold-medal-winning Olympic men’s hockey team.
The previous record-holder was President Clinton, famously known for his Southern-twang verbosity. He spoke for nearly 90 minutes during his final State of the Union address in 2000.
The address is prescribed by the Constitution and calls for the president to apprise Congress about the state of the union. Over time the address has become a vehicle for presidents to address the nation’s residents, claim legislative victories and foreshadow upcoming policy goals.
Just over a century ago, President Harding’s and President Coolidge’s addresses were aired on the radio. In 1947, President Truman’s address was the first to be broadcast on television. As viewership grew, the annual speech has taken on greater gravity, leading to notable and controversial moments in American politics.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) famously shouted “You lie!” during President Obama’s 2009 address to Congress when he spoke about healthcare policy. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) created a viral moment when she tore apart a copy of Trump’s text after he delivered the State of the Union in 2020.
On Tuesday night, Rep. Al Green, a Democrat from Louisiana, was escorted out of the chamber after he held a small sign that read: “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES.”
One viewer headed their 10/10 review: “A Masterpiece of Emotion and Visual Beauty.”
They elaborated: “I’m absolutely in love with this series. After waiting two whole years for the next six episodes, I couldn’t help but binge them all in one go. And wow, it was worth the wait! The actors are phenomenal-so much emotion in their performances that they pulled me into every moment. I cried, laughed, and felt everything in between.”
A second reviewer wrote in their 9/10 assessment: “Like the Crown but much more captivating.”
A third critic awarded 10/10, describing it as “an utterly gorgeous series” and noted: “The Crown wasn’t historically 100% accurate either, but did we absolutely adore every second of it and appreciate how beautifully done the series was? Well, I did at least.”
They continued: “This series had me captivated on every level from the first second it began.”
Another viewer commented: “If you like The Crown, you’ll like this” and explained: “Romantic would be something like Pride and Prejudice or Bridgerton. This was more like Downton Abbey or The Crown, where in the drama is the focus.”
Witches is a fresh series in the works at Netflix, brought to you by the producers of The Empress.
The narrative will unfold in medieval Germany, tracing the lives of three sisters amidst the German witch hunts.
As per Deadline, the drama will delve into a family torn asunder by “suspicion, accusation and betrayal”, their struggle to safeguard loved ones from the “grip of fear and fanaticism”, and the “unyielding resistance” during one of “Europe’s darkest chapters”.
In a statement to the publication, producers Robert and Katharina Eyssen expressed their immense joy at finding a “creative home” at Netflix once again, following their collaboration on The Empress.
The duo affirmed that the streaming giant “truly understood” their artistic vision, having built up “trust” over many years with the platform.
They added: “As with The Empress, we are creating a family story centered on strong, complex, and defiant female characters.
“It is a radically emotional story that explores marginalization and persecution – a series that provokes thought, sweeps you along, and gets under your skin [sic].”
This announcement follows reports that filming has concluded for season three of the International Emmy-winning The Empress in Bavaria, Germany and the Czech Republic.
Production for the third season kicked off in September 2025 and it has been confirmed as the final instalment for the sprawling period drama.
The final series will comprise six episodes, delving into the aftermath of the Sardinian War and Emperor Franz (portrayed by Philip Froissant) returning from the frontlines burdened with trauma and guilt over the loss of thousands of young lives.
Empress Elisabeth von Wittelsbach (Devrim Lingnau) will support him as she battles for her marriage and the empire.
She will also encounter difficulties at court due to her deteriorating health, leading her to depart Vienna and embark on an unforeseen journey.
The Empress season 3 is set to launch on Netflix later this year.
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The Empress season 3 will be released on Netflix later this year
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Kuwait was first established as a small fishing village during the seventeenth century. At the end of the eighteenth century, Kuwait’s strategic position enabled it to flourish and become a key trading post and boat building centre in the region.
In 1756, the Al-Sabah family became the rulers of Kuwait, starting the dynasty that continues to this day.
In 1899, rather than face direct rule from the Ottoman Empire, Sheikh Mubarak ‘the Great’ agreed that Kuwait would become a British Protectorate, with Britain providing naval protection in return for Kuwait allowing Britain to control its foreign affairs.
on June 19th 1961, Kuwait became independent with the end of the British protectorate and the Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah became an Emir.
Normally most countries celebrate their national day on the same date they gained independence. In Kuwait, this would have meant National Day would be on June 19th, marking the date of independence in 1961.
In fact, the first National Day holiday actually took place on this date in 1962. However, it was felt that the holiday should be moved due to the extreme heat in June, and so from 1963, the National Day was moved to February 25th, marking the date that the Sheikh who was in power at the time of independence, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah came to power in 1950.
Wine merchant Zyw explained that injury denied him the able-bodied snowboarding career he had craved since taking up the sport at the dry slope in the north of Edinburgh.
“I’ve been a snowboarder all my life,” he said. “Me and my twin brother, we started on a Hillend dry slope when we were 12 or 13.
“I’ve been obsessed with snowboarding my entire life. A knee injury took me away from the slopes and into a career in wine.
“But the fact my diagnosis of being with an incurable degenerative neurological condition has brought me back to my childhood dream of being a snowboarder.”
Zyw only decided to put himself forward for the Games in winter 2024 and has financed competing through crowdfunding and support of his employer.
“There’s like a tragic beauty in this situation,” he added.
“Above all, what I love about being on my board, being on the slopes, being in that competition mind zone is, you know, the disability, the daily challenges of MND, of living with this disease are gone and there’s so much freedom in there.
“When I’m dropping in, when I’m strapping, when I’m in the starting gate, MND is, it might be the reason I’m there, but it couldn’t be further removed from what I’m thinking about in that moment.
“I’m thinking about the course in front of me and how I’m going to rip down it the best I can.”
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao made boxing history in 2015. More than a decade later, the two legends are hoping to do it again.
The aging greats will have their rematch Sept. 19 live on Netflix in the first boxing match held at the Las Vegas Sphere.
Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision on May 2, 2015 in the “Fight of the Century” at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That fight generated 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and a live gate of $72 million, both of which are records.
It was a long-awaited matchup between two of the biggest names in the boxing world that ultimately earned Mayweather the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Assn. and World Boxing Organization welterweight titles.
“I already fought and beat Manny once,” Mayweather said in a statement released by Netflix. “This time will be the same result.”
The backdrop to this bout is a bit different. Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) will be 49 on Tuesday. He has retired and unretired multiple times but has not fought in a bout that counts since his 10-round technical knockout of UFC star Conor McGregor in 2017.
Although he still has an exhibition against Mike Tyson coming up this spring, Mayweather announced last week he is resuming his professional career.
Pacquiao, 47, is 62-9-2 (39 KOs) and fought for a belt last July, losing by majority draw to then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in an attempt to break his own record for oldest welterweight champion. Pacquiao was 40 when he defeated Keith Thurman for the title in 2019.
Pacquiao recently announced a a 10-round welterweight exhibition against former junior welterweight world champion Ruslan Provodnikov on April 18 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
“Floyd and I gave the world what remains the biggest fight in boxing history,” Pacquiao said in a statement by Netflix. “The fans have waited long enough — they deserve this rematch, and it will be even bigger now that it will be streamed live globally on Netflix. I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him.”
On February 24th 1918, the Manifesto to the Peoples of Estonia was published, declaring an independent and democratic Republic of Estonia, from the new Soviet Russia. This was followed by a war with the Soviets to maintain Estonian liberty.
On February 2nd 1920, the war ended with the Tartu Peace Treaty which guaranteed Estonia’s independence for all time.
The Soviets went on to break this pact, however, and Estonia was under Soviet control for over 50 years.
In August 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The pact’s secret protocol divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence, with Estonia belonging to the Soviet sphere. During this time, the Soviet’s “Russification” policy meant the Estonian flag was forbidden, with Russian was made the country’s official language.
In 1991 Estonia re-established its sovereignty after the peaceful “Singing Revolution” against Soviet rule, which saw music used as a tool of resistance and a declaration of intent.
From the capital city of Tallinn to historic Tartu, from Narva and Pärnu to Kuressaare on Saaremaa island, proud citizens of this northern Baltic state will take time to celebrate their national pride today.
Estonians start their Independence Day at sunrise with the traditional flag-hoisting on Toompea, a hill in the capital, Tallinn, and in other Estonian towns in the morning and progress through the day with the lighting of candles on the graves of state and public figures, and the organisation of ceremonies, services, and speeches. The Defence Forces organise a traditional parade, and the evening ends with a concert ceremony and a reception by the President of the Republic.
In addition to participating in public celebrations, people get together with their families and friends to spend time in nature and enjoy the holiday. Estonian Public Broadcasting offers a special programme dedicated to the holiday.
In honor of Estonian traditions, a classic meal of kiluvõileib, an open-faced sandwich topped with a sprat filet, is served across the nation as citizens reflect on more than a hundred years of statehood.
Tallinn’s Old Town is the most intact medieval city in Europe. It has remained almost completely unchanged since the 13th century.
SACRAMENTO — Every farmer knows there comes a time to thin the crop to allow the most promising plants to grow bigger and reach their potential.
The same is true in politics. And it‘s now time to cull some Democrats from the dense field of candidates for governor.
Put another way, it’s time for some lagging Democrats to step aside and provide more running room for swifter teammates in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom.
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You’d think that Democratic candidates now plodding behind in the race — with little realistic hope of catching up — would want to avoid having that on their conscience. Party leaders, too.
Until recently, this nightmarish scenario for Democrats seemed inconceivable. After all, California hasn’t elected a Republican to statewide office for 20 years. Roughly 45% of registered voters are Democrats. Only 25% are Republicans. About 23% are independents who lean left.
But do the math. There are nine Democrats running for governor with various degrees of seriousness. There are only two major Republican contenders, plus a third lagging practically out of sight.
Remember, California has a “top two” open primary. The top two vote-getters, regardless of their party, advance to the November election. And only the top two. Write-in candidates aren’t allowed.
It’s a matter of arithmetic.
In the primary, about 60% of voters will choose a Democrat, political data expert Paul Mitchell figures. That number of voters split among nine Democratic candidates could result in all sharing smaller pieces of the pie than what the top two Republicans receive. Mitchell estimates nearly 40% of voters will side with a Republican, with just two candidates splitting most of the smaller GOP pie.
Recent polls have shown three candidates — two Republicans and one Democrat — bunched closely near the top. They’re Republican former Fox News commentator Steve Hilton, Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell from the San Francisco Bay Area, and Republican Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County.
Another Democrat, former Rep. Katie Porter of Orange County, has been running close to the top three, followed by Democrat Tom Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund investor.
It’s not likely that two Republicans will survive the primary and block a Democrat from reaching the general election. But it’s a legitimate possibility — and not worth the risk for the Democratic Party.
“How unlikely does it have to be for Democrats not to be worried?” asks Mitchell, who works primarily for Democrats. “Even if the chances are very small, the consequences could be catastrophic.”
He is constantly running primary election simulations. And last week he calculated the chances of two Republicans gaining the top slots at 18%. Most of his calculations have come out at around 10% to 12%, he says.
“I’m not trying to yell fire in a crowded theater,” Mitchell says. “But I’m trying to install a thermostat.”
He adds: “If there was ever a perfect storm when this could happen, we’re experiencing it now.”
The absence of a gubernatorial candidate heading the Democratic ticket in November, Mitchell says, would result in party damage far beyond the governor’s office.
It would lower Democratic voter turnout and probably cost the party congressional and legislative seats, and also affect ballot measures, Mitchell says.
In fact, it could jeopardize the Democrats’ chances of ousting Republicans and capturing control of the U.S. House.
So which candidates should drop out, not only to avoid embarrassment on election night but to save the party from possible disaster?
Four clearly should stay.
Swalwell has some momentum and is the leading Democrat in most polls, although his numbers are only in the teens. He’s relatively young at 45 and many voters are looking for generational change.
Porter is the leading female — with a chance to become the first woman elected California governor — and has been holding up in the polls despite showing a bad temper in a damaging TV interview last year.
Steyer has loads of his own money to spend on TV ads. But he needs a more coherent, simple message in the spots.
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan just entered the race, but shows some promise. He’s a moderate with strong Silicon Valley tech support. And he also has youth at 43.
Five others should consider bowing out.
Xavier Becerra has a great resume: Former U.S. health secretary, former California attorney general and longtime congressman. But he hasn’t shown much fire. And his message is muted.
Antonio Villaraigosa also has an impressive resume: Former Los Angeles mayor and state Assembly speaker. He’s running with a strong centrist message. But at 73, voters seem to feel his time is past.
Former state Controller Betty Yee knows every inch of state government, but lacks voter appeal.
State Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hasn’t shined in his current job and has no traction in the governor’s race.
Former legislator Ian Calderon isn’t even a blip.
What causes some candidates to stay in a race against long, even impossible odds?
“Hope springs eternal,” says longtime Democratic strategist Darry Sragow. “History is replete with races that turned around on a dime.”
And many feel obligated to their donors and endorsers, he adds.
Also, consultants often “have a vested interest” financially in keeping their clients in the game, he acknowledges.
But currently, Sragow adds, “it’s time for the Democratic Party to get its act together and weed out the field.”
“Party leaders should start cracking the whip. There’s something to be said for decisions being made behind closed doors in a ‘smoke filled room.’ The difference today is that it’s in a smoke-free room.”
The filing deadline for officially becoming a candidate is March 6. After that, a name cannot be removed from the ballot. It’s stuck there — possibly drawing just enough votes to rob another Democrat of the chance to be elected governor in November.
During the era of the Soviet Union, it was called Red Army Day or the Day of the Soviet Army and Navy.
In 1918, just after the German had invaded and captured Minsk, the Soviets declared a state of emergency and called for a draft in St. Petersburg. As a result, ten thousand people signed up on February 23rd 1918.
The day was first celebrated in Moscow as “Day of the Birth of the Red Army” in 1922.
It was made an official holiday in 1923 under the name “Day of the Red Army.”
After the Second World War, the name changed again in 1946 to Day of the Soviet Army and Navy.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the holiday’s name was changed several times. In 1995, it became known as the “Day of Victory of the Red Army over the Kaiser troops of Germany (1918) – the Day of the Fatherland Defenders.” Since 2006, it has officially been “Defender of the Fatherland Day”.
In Moscow, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin walls is traditionally held on this day.
Celebrations to mark the Defender of Fatherland Day end with firework displays in cities that were at the forefront of major conflicts such as Kerch, Moscow, Murmansk, Novorossiysk, Sevastopol, Smolensk, St. Petersburg, Tula, and Volgograd, as well as in the cities where the headquarters of the military are situated.
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“That’s my pot dealer!” exclaimed Michelle Phillips in a crowded movie theater in 1977. Months earlier, the Mamas & the Papas singer had only known Harrison Ford as a stoner-carpenter with a few bit parts to his credit. Now he was Han Solo in “Star Wars,” directed by a young upstart, George Lucas. Clearly the world was changing.
How much, though? Conventional wisdom about the Hollywood renaissance of the ‘60s and ‘70s suggests that starting with “Bonnie and Clyde” and “Easy Rider,” a batch of emerging auteurs shook the studios out of a rut and transformed American film. There’s plenty of truth to that: Francis Ford Coppola’s shift in 10 years from a director-for-hire on an old-hat musical, “Finian’s Rainbow,” to the auteur behind “Apocalypse Now” is just one of the era’s most remarkable achievements.
A pair of new books, though, suggest that the overall shift was only so modest, ultimately shoring up not just the old-school studio system but the social norms the interlopers were supposed to be upending.
Paul Fischer’s lively history of the new wave of California directors, “The Last Kings of Hollywood,” concentrates on Lucas, Coppola and Steven Spielberg. (New York contemporaries like Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma are present but relatively off-screen.) Fischer has a gift for highlighting the ways that moments that we now accept as inevitable were often the product of dumb luck, pyrrhic victories and tough decisions. Coppola made “The Godfather” out of financial desperation, averse to adapting a mob novel; Spielberg’s “Jaws” was beset with mishaps, from a foolhardy attempt to train a real shark to its malfunctioning mechanical one; only when Lucas learned that the rights to Flash Gordon were unavailable did he pursue a space-opera concept all his own.
Their brashness and can-do spirit were worth cheering for: As the trio delivered films that broke box office records — ”The Godfather,” “American Graffiti,” “Jaws” and more — there were reasons to believe that big-budget films could operate outside the studio system. Lucas in particular was driven as much by resentment of the old as passion for the new. He never forgot how Warner Bros. manhandled his debut feature, “THX 1138” and was driven to muscle “Graffiti” into existence to spite the suits who said he couldn’t. In 1969, Coppola and Lucas launched their own studio, American Zoetrope, in San Francisco, with a passel of scripts in progress (including “Apocalypse Now” and “The Conversation”) and a $300,000 investment from Warner Bros. But Coppola wasn’t much of a businessman, and he had an easier time putting the office’s fancy espresso machine to work than the suite of state-of-the-art editing bays: “He ran his business like he ran a film set — on vibes,” Fischer writes.
A decade later, both Coppola and Zoetrope would declare bankruptcy, and he would split with Lucas, who’d used the success of “Star Wars” to cut his own path as a Hollywood kingmaker via his own production company, Lucasfilm. It allowed him to indulge his love of classic cliffhanger serials, and he tapped Spielberg to direct “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” But Fischer frames Lucas’ career arc as a disappointment, despite all those dollar figures — Lucas wanted to return to artsier “THX”-style fare, but needed cash flow. “If George was ever going to be independent from Hollywood, he thought he wouldn’t get there by making abstract mood poems,” Fischer writes. By the ‘80s, with two “Star Wars” sequels done, Lucas was out of the mood-poem business entirely.
While “Last Kings” focuses exclusively on directors’ relationship to movie economics, Kirk Ellis’ “They Kill People” considers “Bonnie and Clyde” and the New Hollywood from a variety of angles — filmmaking, the social turmoil of the ‘60s, America’s complex relationship with outlaws in general and guns in particular. It’s a meaty yet accessible book that captures the lightning-in-a-bottle nature of the generation’s ur-text, capturing the unlikely nature of its creation and the somewhat dodgy nature of its legacy.
“Bonnie” was such a provocation — nakedly, almost giddily violent — that its studio, Warner Bros, all but willed it not to exist. It was given a shoestring budget, was mocked by studio chief Jack Warner (who sarcastically referred to director Arthur Penn and producer-star Warren Beatty as “the geniuses”), and initially released largely in Southern drive-ins. “They figured the redneck kids would like the guns,” Penn said.
Everybody liked the guns. A few scolding critics lamented the film’s violence, especially its then-shocking bloody finale, but Beatty and co-star Faye Dunaway were deeply seductive onscreen. (Ellis notes that the two are always the best-dressed characters in the film.) And its outlaw sensibility resonated with young audiences in the late‘60s. Moreover, writes Ellis (a historical-drama screenwriter best known for “John Adams”), it represented the culmination of decades of American culture that equated American gun culture with freedom — a notion that would’ve baffled the founding fathers, who dwelled little on gun-rights matters in the Federalist Papers and other constitutional drafting documents, but gained traction thanks to gun manufacturers. “In the printed legend of American history, guns and freedom have become synonymous,” Ellis writes, but it was a new legend — stoked in part by “Bonnie and Clyde” — not America’s origin story.
It’d be a mistake to reduce the New Hollywood to the filmmakers highlighted by these two books — though, focused as they are on white men, they echo the way women and people of color were largely shut out of the system, or relegated to more marginal blaxploitation work. Artists looking to operate outside the system have plenty of inspiration to draw from in the ‘70s. Yet the books also expose how commerce does what it always does — take provocations and sand the edges off of them, then look for ways to make them profitable. In the early ‘80s, a decade after Coppola and company stormed the barricades, Paramount chief Michael Eisner shared a fresh and contradictory vision, such as it was: “We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective.”
It would take another decade — and auteurs on the East Coast — to launch another attack on that sensibility, via films like “Do the Right Thing” and “sex, lies, and videotape.” They would help usher in the Miramax era — but that’s another story, with its own problematic twists.
Welcome to the Olympic Edition of the Sports Report, an L.A. Times newsletter published every morning during the Winter Olympics. To sign up to receive it via email (it’s free), go here and select the Sports Report. If you’ve already signed up for the Sports Report, you will receive the Olympics edition as well.
Welcome to your daily review and preview of this year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics. My name is John Cherwa and I’m your tour director for the Games as we enter the final day with the U.S. setting a record for golds and closing in on total medals.
Guessing we can call these Games a success for the U.S. after it won its 11th gold medal Saturday — the most ever for the U.S. in a single Winter Olympics. Now the U.S. is hoping to beat or tie its best mark of 34 medals set at Salt Lake City in 2002. With five events yet to be completed, the U.S. is at 33 counting a guaranteed medal in men’s hockey. (A few days ago, we predicted the U.S. would finish with 33.)
There is no chance the U.S. will catch Norway, which has 40 total medals, including 18 golds.
So, with five events remaining does the U.S. have a chance to tie or set a record?
Cross-country skiing. The final event is the women’s 50-kilometer mass start. The podium is likely to be populated by Sweden and Norway, but Jesse Diggins of the U.S. has an outside chance of making the podium.
The U.S. is ninth and 12th heading into the final two runs of the four-man bobsled. Could be another Germany sweep.
The U.S. is out of the women’s curling tournament. Switzerland and Sweden play for the gold.
The U.S. has a guaranteed silver in ice hockey when it plays Canada.
The U.S. will not likely medal in the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe but it could have. One of the favorites is Eileen Gu, who is from the Bay Area but competes for China. Vice president JD Vance criticized her, among other athletes.
Getting them onto the cusp of tying or breaking the total medal record and breaking the gold medal total on Saturday was the U.S. mixed team freestyle aerials group of Kalia Kuhn, Connor Curran and Christopher Lillis, who gave the U.S. back-to-back golds in this event. It was the 11th gold medal.
The U.S. also picked up a bronze when Mia Manganello came in behind the Netherlands and Canada in the speedskating women’s mass start. The men’s mass start was also won by the Netherlands. Three-time medalist Jordan Stolz of the U.S. was fourth.
The U.S. finished the day with a bronze in the two-woman bobsled. Kaillie Humphries and Jasmine Jones were in the sled where, as usual, Germany took gold and silver. Kaysha Love and Azaria Hill finished fifth.
So the U.S needs one more to tie the record. That means either Jesse Diggins or the four-man bobsled have to have career-defining performances.
The big event today is the men’s hockey gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada. The tournament is so much better with the return of NHL players after 12 years.
Here’s a look at NHL players on each team:
United States: Matt Boldy (Minnesota), Kyle Connor (Winnipeg), Jack Eichel (Vegas), Jack Hughes (New Jersey), Jake Guentzel (Tampa Bay), Clayton Keller (Utah), Dylan Larkin (Detroit), Auston Matthews (Toronto), J.T. Miller (NY Rangers), Brock Nelson (Colorado), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), Matthew Tkachuk (Florida), Tage Thompson (Buffalo), Vincent Trocheck (NY Rangers), Brock Faber (Minnesota), Noah Hanifin (Vegas), Quinn Hughes (Minnesota), Jackson LaCombe (Ducks), Charlie McAvoy (Boston), Jake Sanderson (Ottawa), Jaccob Slavin (Carolina), Zach Werenski (Columbus), Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Jake Oettinger (Dallas), Jeremy Swayman (Boston).
Canada: Sam Bennett (Florida), Macklin Celebrini (San Jose), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh), Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay), Bo Horvat (NY Islanders), Seth Jarvis (Carolina), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Brad Marchand (Florida), Mitch Marner (Vegas), Connor McDavid (Edmonton), Sam Reinhart (Florida), Mark Stone (Vegas), Nick Suzuki (Montreal), Tom Wilson (Washington), Drew Doughty (Kings), Thomas Harley (Dallas), Cale Makar (Colorado), Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg), Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia), Shea Theodore (Vegas), Devon Toews (Colorado), Jordan Binnington (St. Louis), Darcy Kuemper (Kings—injured), Logan Thompson (Washington).
Elsewhere on Saturday
Oceane Michelon of France approaches the finish line to win gold in the women’s 12.5-kilometer biathlon mass start on Saturday.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
France picked up gold and silver in the biathlon women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start. There were no U.S. competitors.
The U.S. closed its curling competition by losing the women’s bronze medal match 10-7 to Canada. Canada won the men’s gold, beating Britain, 9-6.
Finland beat Slovakia, 6-1, for the men’s bronze in ice hockey.
The men’s 50-kilometer mass start in cross-country skiing was an all Norway medal stand as they swept the medals and lengthened its lead in total medals. Gus Schumacher of the U.S. was 13th.
The new must-watch sport of ski mountaineering (skimo) finished with the mixed relay, which was won by France. The U.S. pair of Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith was fourth.
Best thing to watch on TV today
The centerpiece of Sunday’s final day is the closing ceremony, which is less of a ceremony than a party. Athletes just flood the zone and the party begins. The event is not in Milan or Cortina d’Ampezzo but Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet fame. (Speaking of Shakespeare, the movie Hamnet is a must watch.) It starts at 11:30 a.m. PST and should last about 2½ hours. But, before all that is the gold medal hockey game between the U.S. and Canada. It starts at 5:10 a.m. PST. The final heat of the four-man bobsled is at 3:15 a.m. PST.
Favorite photo
U.S. speedskater Mia Manganello celebrates after earning a bronze medal in the women’s mass start final in Milan on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Times photographer Robert Gauthier is at the Winter Olympics. Each day, Times newsletter editor Houston Mitchell will select a favorite photo from the many Gauthier has taken.
Sunday’s Olympic TV and streaming schedule
CLOSING CEREMONY 11:30 a.m. — NBC
MULTIPLE SPORTS 2 p.m. — Best of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games | NBC 9 p.m. — “Primetime in Milan” (delay): Closing ceremony, bobsled, cross-country skiing, curling, hockey. | NBC
BOBSLED 1 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, Run 3 | Peacock 3:15 a.m. — 🏅Four-man bobsled, final run | Peacock 3:35 a.m. — 🏅Four-man bobsled, final run (in progress) | USA 4:15 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, final run (delay) | NBC 8 a.m. — Four-man bobsled, runs 3-4 (re-air) | NBC
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING 1 a.m. — 🏅Women’s 50-kilometer mass start classic | USA 4 a.m. — Women’s 50-kilometer mass start classic (re-air) | USA 8:45 a.m. — Women’s 50-kilometer mass start classic (re-air) | NBC
CURLING 🏅Women’s gold-medal match 2:05 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Sweden | Peacock 4 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Sweden (delay) | USA, NBC 10:30 a.m. — Switzerland vs. Sweden (re-air) | USA
HOCKEY 🏅Men’s gold-medal match 5:10 a.m. — United States vs. Canada | NBC 1:30 p.m. — United States vs. Canada (re-air) | USA
In case you missed it …
Check out the following Milan-Cortina Olympics dispatches from the L.A. Times team on the ground in Italy:
That concludes today’s Sports Report Olympic Edition newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email newsletter editor Houston Mitchell at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here and select the Sports Report.
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has declared February 22 a special holiday to honour the peaceful “smile revolution” protest movement that ousted the gas-rich country’s longtime leader last year.
The country’s communications minister had called for February 22nd to be declared “a national holiday of the blessed Hirak” — the Arabic name for the uprising.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika came to power in Algeria in 1999. Bouteflika survived the Arab Spring movement in 2011, by promising constitutional and political reform. He also lifted Algeria’s 19-year-old state of emergency.
In February 2019, Bouteflika announced he would stand for re-election in the forthcoming Presidential elections. This enraged many Algerians and on February 22nd 2019, over 800,000 demonstrators took to the streets, beginning the Hirak.
On April 2nd 2019, Bouteflika resigned from the presidency.
Imelda Marcos’ fetish for fiendishly expensive shoes was a running gag in the 1980s. But did you know that she was also something of a disco queen?
The image of a jet-setting Marcos in her Beltrami pumps boogieing with arms dealers at fashionable New York nightspots is one of the inspirations of David Byrne’s musical about the notorious former first lady of the Philippines, who sang on the campaign trail for her husband, Ferdinand E. Marcos, and ruled with an iron fist alongside him after he declared martial law and plunged his nation into a brutal dictatorship.
“Here Lies Love,” which is having its Los Angeles premiere at the Mark Taper Forum, traces the political power couple’s rise and fall through a series of dance cuts that capture the irrational hold charismatic leaders can have on a public — at least while the music is blasting.
Byrne, the ingenious Talking Heads co-founder, conceived the show and wrote the music and lyrics. Fatboy Slim, a Grammy Award-winning DJ, musician and record producer, contributed to the music. The score, a mix of lush disco and synth pop with hints of island breezes and karaoke camp, brings a club-like energy to the stage.
Aura Mayari and the company of “Here Lies Love” at the Mark Taper Forum.
(Jeff Lorch)
I first saw “Here Lies Love” at New York’s Public Theater in 2013, when the production, directed by Alex Timbers, was staged as an immersive dance party. Audience members moved along a shifting dance floor as the love story between Imelda, a beauty queen from the provinces, and Ferdinand, an ambitious senator accustomed to getting what he wants, sourly played out amid the backdrop of a traumatic national story.
This sung-through musical pulled off something of a coup of its own. As Ferdinand, now president and philandering husband, and Imelda, his embittered wife dripping in compensatory luxury, shore up their “conjugal dictatorship,” theatergoers discovered that, while partying to the seductive beat, a political dystopia was solidifying around them.
Imagine if, in “Evita,” audience members were invited to sing back up on the balcony as Eva Perón belts out “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” accompanying her in her last manipulative hurrah. “Here Lies Love” seemed to want its audience to leave with an aftertaste of cognitive dissonance.
Audiences don’t usually like being duped. But voters need to be continually reminded that when they go to bed with a strongman, they’ll likely wake up without healthcare or voting rights.
“Here Lies Love” at the Taper doesn’t follow the Public Theater’s staging or the similarly immersive Broadway production by Timbers that followed in 2023. It’s a more straightforward presentation that keeps audience members in their seats, except for a moment when uprising is in the air and a few theatergoers are conscripted to join the ecstatic rebellion.
Jeff Lorenz Garrido, from left, Joshua Dela Cruz, and Garrick Goce Macatangay in “Here Lies Love” at the Mark Taper Forum.
(Jeff Lorch)
Snehal Desai’s direction is politically clear-eyed and scrupulous. Corruption, authoritarianism and censorship, as we’re learning firsthand, scandal after constitutional scandal, are no laughing matter. The question is whether “Here Lies Love” can bear the scrutiny of a more traditional musical.
There’s not a traditional libretto, so the story is transmitted mostly through song lyrics. But stump speeches, rallying cries and the theatrical guidance of Imeldific (Aura Mayari, alum of Season 15 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) help flesh out the chronicle.
This emcee figure, a Taper innovation, replaces the DJ role of previous productions and establishes the show’s metatheatrical frame. The opening number, “American Troglodyte,” underscores the American imperial role in the story and provides Imdeldific with a satiric banner that doesn’t let a smiling superpower off the hook.
William Carlos Angulo’s choreography is unfailingly kinetic, but participating in a party is more energizing than watching one at a remove. Yet the political case of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, a tale of celebrity and tyranny marching in lockstep, speaks so directly to our own time that I found myself gripped by the object lesson of this public saga, even if it’s not always easy to connect all the fragments, never mind distinguish between hard fact and fictional license.
I was particularly fascinated by the portrayal of Imelda (Reanne Acasio), whose political character seems to be shaped by personal disappointments and run-of-the-mill humiliations. Imelda is wounded not only by the philandering of Ferdinand (Chris Renfro) but by an even more painful injury inflicted by her first love, Ninoy Aquino (Joshua Dela Cruz), a politician determined to become the voice of his people.
Ninoy recognizes an essential incompatibility between them. Imelda lives for love while he has political work to do. He bids her adieu in the song “Opposite Attraction,” though fate will bring them together after Imelda and her husband gain power and Ninoy, as the leading opposition figure, becomes their prisoner and eventual victim of the chaos unleashed by their regime.
Joan Almedilla and the company of “Here Lies Love” at the Mark Taper Forum.
(Jeff Lorch)
Unfolding under the theatrical auspices of Imeldific, “Here Lies Love” retells the history of the Marcos years as a musical pageant. Imelda’s transformation, from shy, lowly country girl to “Iron Butterfly,” covering up her shame with jewelry from Tiffany and revealing a will every bit as hard as the diamonds she flaunts, is presented with music so catchy and compulsive that it has the force of historical inevitability
The grooves supplied by Byrne and Slim take not just the characters but the audience on a ride through a brutal anti-democratic period. Does the disco spectacle aesthetic treat this history too lightly?
The production seems wary of this criticism. A program note from dramaturg Ely Sonny Orquiza, attuned to the sensitivities of the large Filipino diaspora in Los Angeles, notes that the production, “featuring an all-Filipino cast and majority-AAPI creative team, is not intended as a definitive or comprehensive history, but as an entry point for dialogue and inquiry.”
The scale of damage perpetrated by the regime is still being collectively processed. One victim, Estrella Cumpas (Carol Angeli), makes the mistake of confronting Imelda, a childhood friend, and is taken into custody. She will have to stand in for thousands of others.
The design scheme certainly doesn’t want to spoil anyone’s good time. Arnel Sancianco’s sets, Marcella Barbeau’s lighting and the more glittering of Jaymee Ngernwichit’s costumes seem to place us in a retro Euro-style disco world, where fun is typically a function of the strength of the cocktails consumed.
But there’s a countermovement in the show, the People Power Revolution that gains momentum after the assassination of Nimoy. The funeral speech of his mother (Joan Almedilla) is turned into the galvanizing protest song, “Just Ask the Flowers,” in which something as basic as maternal love wakes the country to the madness around them. Desai, whose directorialwork at the Taper thus far has brought together rave and rebellion, smoothly merges the Dionysian frenzy of the music with the nonviolent revolution that ended Ferdinand Marcos’ protracted dictatorship in 1986.
Dela Cruz’s stirring Ninoy standing tall against the patriarchal savagery of Renfro’s Ferdinand and the petty vindictiveness of Acasio’s well-drawn Imelda is a powerful call to action. Byrne and Slim’s score insists that not even death can stop the beat of this democratic spirit.
The production points out at the end that another Marcos, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Ferdinand and Imelda’s son, is now president. Perhaps the show’s final number can shed light: “God draws straight, but with crooked lines.”
‘Here Lies Love’
Where: Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., L.A.
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 7 p.m. Sundays. (Check for exceptions.) Ends April 5
In 1947, India was partitioned by the British, creating the ‘Dominion of Pakistan’, which was two separate regions to the northwest and northeast of India.
Even though the majority of people lived in the eastern part, where Bengali was the main language, the Dominion was in the control of the western part. In 1947, the western-based government had proposed Urdu as the only state language, and that it would be used exclusively in schools and in the media. This move caused unrest and protests in East Pakistan.
In early 1952, the protests had intensified and the government imposed a law (Section 144), which banned any gathering of more than three people.
On February 21st 1952, In defiance of the law, students began gathering on the University of Dhaka. The police enforced section 144 and arrested several protestors. This further enraged the crowd and when the students attempted to enter the building of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly, the police opened fire and shot dead four protestors.
As a result of the protests, Bengali was recognised as the second official language of Pakistan on February 29th 1956, and the constitution of Pakistan was reworded to “The state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali.”
East Pakistan gained independence from Pakistan in 1971, becoming Bangladesh.
