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Torrential downpours cause deadly mudslides in southern Peru, while more than 300 districts across the country declare states of emergency.

Peruvian authorities say they have recovered the bodies of a father and son who died in a mudslide triggered by heavy rains, which have battered the country’s southern regions of Ica and Arequipa, affecting an estimated 5,500 homes and forcing many people to evacuate.

Authorities in Arequipa have called on the country’s interim president to declare a state of emergency in the region as the governor announced that multiple shelters were being opened to house those fleeing the floods.

Peru’s Council of Ministers said on Monday that more than 700 districts nationwide have been declared in emergency status.

In Cayma, Arequipa, a vehicle was seen semi-buried under mud, and homes teetered on the verge of collapse after flash floods swept away the earth and destroyed roadways, the Reuters news agency reported.

According to the Associated Press news agency, the bodies of a father and son were recovered after being swept away by a landslide.

The recovery came a day after 15 people were killed when a military helicopter crashed while providing rescue services during the flooding.

Rescue teams found the wreckage of the helicopter in the Chala district, officials said. Seven children were among the 11 passengers and four crew members who died, according to the AFP news agency.

Torrential downpours have caused widespread damage across southern Peru, affecting about 5,500 homes and forcing many residents to evacuate.

Images shared by Peruvian media showed streets torn up in the affected areas and vehicles buried deep in the mud slides as rescue workers attempted to clear streets using mechanical earth movers.

The El Niño Costero (coastal) climate phenomenon has been the cause of the recent weeks of heavy rain in Peru, weather forecasters report, and is expected to strengthen slightly next month, threatening more heavy rain.

While El Niño is a natural cycle that has existed for millennia, scientists increasingly link its severity to climate change. Rising global temperatures provide a warmer “baseline” for the ocean, making it easier for these extreme heating events to reach record-breaking thresholds and increasing the atmosphere’s capacity to hold the moisture that fuels torrential rain and catastrophic flooding.

Two years after Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, Aidan Martinez returned to the mound for Birmingham High on Monday in the closer’s role and responded with three strikeouts and three walks and no hits in 1 1/3 innings in the Patriots’ 7-4 win over Ventura in the Easton tournament.

It’s another positive development for a Birmingham team that already has two productive starters in sophomores Carlos Acuna and Nate Solis. Freshman Ivan Rivera started on the mound for Birmingahm against Ventura.

“He’s getting better every day,” coach Matt Mowry said of Martinez. “He looked good. He was just a little rusty. He has a good arm and is going to help us out.”

There was a brief delay before the game when Ventura High went on lockdown when a police chase of a possible stolen vehicle ended outside of the school, with suspects getting out and running into the school before being captured.

Villa Park 12, Downey 3: Aiden Young had an RBI double and Gunner Santillo had three hits for Villa Park.

Bishop Alemany 1, Culver City 0: DC Ravago threw a one-hit shutout with seven strikeouts for 3-0 Alemany, which hosts Oaks Christian in the Easton tournament semifinals Wednesday.

Calabasas 5, Rio Mesa 4: Connor Kingston got out of a bases loaded situation in the seventh to pick up the save for Calabasas, which faces host St. Francis on Wednesday in the Easton tournament semifinals. Evan Barak had two hits and two RBIs.

Cleveland 6, Camarillo 4: Josh Pearlstein had two hits and two RBIs for Cleveland.

Agoura 4, Mira Costa 3: Tyler Starling contributed two hits for the Chargers.

Valencia 2, Oxnard Pacifica 1: Dexton Otton threw four scoreless innings for the Vikings.

Dos Pueblos 9, Granada Hills 3: Liam Shea gave up one hit and no runs in five innings for Dos Pueblos, which had a six-run second inning.

Simi Valley 6, Highland 4: Andrew Nicklaus had two doubles and three RBIs for Simi Valley.

North Hollywood 7, Taft 6: Despite scoring five runs in the seventh, Taft couldn’t come back from a 7-1 deficit.

Westlake 9, Chatsworth 1: Holden Backus finished with three hits and three RBIs for Westlake.

Arcadia 6, San Dimas 2: Peter Cuoco struck out eight in five innings and Damian Catano had two RBIs for the Apaches.

Thousand Oaks 11, Saugus 5: Dylan Sax had two hits and three RBIs for the Lancers.

IT’S FAIR to say that Robbie Williams’ iconic song Angels is the most famous of his back catalogue and always gets everyone singing.

However, the man who claims to have originally wrote the song almost 30 years ago has reignited the decades old feud this week as he gave fans the inside story in a slew of new TikTok videos.

Irish singer-songwriter Ray Heffernan has always maintained that he wrote the first version of Angels in 1996.

However, although former Take That star Robbie confirmed that he recorded a demo with Ray, he has maintained he rewrote it significantly with Guy Chambers.

The singer also bought the rights to Angels from Ray for £7,500 before it was released in 1997.

However, over the years there has been a lot of bad blood between the two men concerning the song, and this week the feud over the iconic tune was reignited.

Read more on Robbie Williams

ROB THE MENTOR

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PRECIOUS MEMORIES

Robbie Williams and Ayda Field share rare family snaps for son’s birthday

It came when Robbie appeared on Radio 2 to talk about his debut album, and said: “I spoke a lot about the album I wanted to make, but the one I did make was Life Through A Lens.

“My memories of making it are, it took me less than two weeks with Guy Chambers to write the whole album.

“That didn’t necessarily mean that it was going to be a success. My album came out and it sold 33,000 copies in three months and that is not what EMI expected to do.”

Continuing with his story, the singer said: “I was about to be dropped and then fortunately I dropped The Angels, didn’t I?

“And it gave me the career that I’ve got today. I’m incredibly grateful for that song.”

But it was this last comment that appeared to really annoy Ray.

Sharing a POV video, the songwriter was seen on his couch reacting in response to Robbie’s comment about Angels, as he wagged his finger at the video and tutted with disapproval.

Since then, Ray has been dropping videos on TikTok, where he has been talking about Angels and how he “signed his rights away” to the song.

He also posted a throwback video of Robbie from 1997 where the singer talked about how he “wrote Angels in a couple of hours”.

Ray captioned the short clip with: “Body language never lies.”

The Sun has reached out to representatives of Robbie Williams for comment.

The last time the pair’s Angels feud was reignited was three years ago – again following Rob’s comments about writing the song.

It came after Ray was left incensed after listening to a Gary Barlow podcast in 2023 where the subject of who wrote Angels popped up again.

Robbie told his former Take That bandmate: “I was off my head basically, the record company has spent a lot of money signing me.

“I made a big song and dance about leaving Take That and wanting to do my own thing, and I hadn’t done anything.

“I thought I’d better get down to it, figure out my voice, and whether I can actually do this … I was at my sister’s house in the garden with a pen and a paper and I thought, right then, I’d better come up with something..(so I wrote) ‘I sit and wait .”…

Robbie then reportedly branded Ray a “fantasist” in the comments section of the podcast, after the songwriter revealed he was unhappy with what had been said.

Ray told The Irish Sun at the time: “How can Robbie Williams call me a fantasist?

“I have always maintained that as a young man, I wrote a song with Robbie, that went on to become his hit song Angels and my story of how that came about has never changed.

“Robbie now says publicly that I’m a fantasist. My question is what part of this am I making up?”

Ray also previously shared with The Irish Sun a picture featuring himself, Robbie and his family on the day he says they wrote the song together.

It was during Christmas 1996 when he met the singer in Dublin’s Globe pub.

Later the same evening, Ray claims that he invited Robbie around to his mum’s place to hear a song he’d just written.

Ray recalled: “We didn’t waste any time, starting that night where I got the guitar out in my mum’s house and played him this song I had been working on.

“This picture was taken the next night day when we played this new song. Robbie loved the song so much, he booked a studio to record his own version the next day.”

A few months later, Ray found out that Robbie was going to record Angels for his next album.

“I contacted Robbie’s management and his people said they would give us an amount of money if I signed a waiver denouncing any rights I had to the song,” he told us.

Robbie later worked on the song Angels with songwriter Guy Chambers.

The song went on to become the singer’s biggest selling single to date AND one of the biggest songs of the 90s.

Speaking about selling the rights to the song, Ray said: “I accepted a deal worth £7,500 to pay me for ‘all and any creative input’ into the song.

“I have the legal documents to prove it. So I am not making this up. You could certainly call me a dreamer in life but not a fantasist. I have never lied about this story, and every part of it is true”.

Back in 2017, Robbie defended the decision to pay Ray for Angels.

“We could have gone to court, and it all would have been down to whether what way the judge wakes up that day out of bed … So I gave him some money, and he went away,” the singer said.

There is an adage in sports that it is harder to defend a championship than to win it. That is the challenge that coach Rick Robinson and the Norco High softball team face this season, but the Cougars have the skill to make a run at back-to-back titles after winning 29 of 32 games en route to the Southern Section Division 1 crown last spring.

Robinson entered the 2026 campaign with 728 career wins and has added three to that total as his team won its own showcase last week at Big League Dreams in Chino Hills.

In the final, junior pitcher Coral Williams fanned 11 Orange Lutheran batters in a 2-1 victory, picking up where she left off last spring when she was named the Southern Section Division 1 player of the year after going 17-0 with 10 complete games, a 0.59 earned run average and 147 strikeouts while giving up only nine earned runs in 106 innings. In the semifinals, Oklahoma State signee Peyton May threw a no-hitter and struck out 12 in an eight-inning 3-0 win against Aliso Niguel. She was 10-3 last year with a 1.49 earned run average and 132 strikeouts in 80 innings.

Offensively the Cougars are led by junior shortstop Leighton Gray, a Texas A&M commit who was All-Southern Section as a sophomore after batting .435 with 40 hits, eight home runs and a 0.793 slugging percentage. Add to the mix London Potter, who follows in the footsteps of sisters Riley and Dakota (Norco alums now playing at Quinnipiac and South Carolina, respectively) and catcher/first baseman Camryn May, Peyton’s younger sister.

Since taking over the program in 2000, Robinson has guided Norco to section titles in 2003, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2025 (all but the first in the top division). He also won the Division IV title in 1996 in the second of his five years at Corona Centennial —giving him a Southern Section record of eight.

Among the teams capable of dethroning Norco is Orange Lutheran, No. 2 behind the Cougars in Cal-Hi Sports’ preseason Southland top 20 rankings. The Lancers will miss star center fielder Kai Minor (now an Oklahoma Sooner) but returning are second baseman Sierra Nichols (40 hits), shortstop Madelyn Armendariz (32 hits, 29 RBIs) and pitching aces Rylee Silva (135 strikeouts as a freshman) and UCLA signee Jo Marsh.

Battling the Lancers for Orange County supremacy could be Trinity League rival JSerra, which is off to a 2-0 start behind Florida-bound pitcher Liliana Escobar and sophomore sensation Annabel Raftery, who led the team with 36 hits, 21 RBIs and five homers a year ago.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has one of the section’s best all-around players in Oklahoma State commit Aliyah Garcia and starts out as the team to beat in the San Fernando Valley. The senior pitcher/shortstop had one run, two hits, an RBI and drew two walks while recording five strikeouts in three innings in the Knights’ season-opening win.

Fullerton has one of the most formidable one-two pitching combos in California Baptist commit Katelynn Mathews and Analise Barrios (both also play second base). Mathews had a 15-3 record with 185 strikeouts in 115 1/3 innings and Barrios had a 0.72 earned run average last season when the Indians won 21 games and played Norco tough in the third-place game of the Michelle Carew Classic in April. Utah State-bound outfielder Hayley Brock batted .393 with 38 hits and 24 RBIs.

Fullerton pitcher Analise Barrios compiled a 0.72 earned run average as the Indians went 21-8 last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For the Times)

Despite its loss to Norco in the second round of the playoffs a year ago, Oaks Christian is the cream of the crop in Ventura County as most of its key contributors are back — Utah State-bound shortstop Gianna Garcia, Brigham Young-bound outfielder Terrianna Kelley (33 hits, 27 RBIs, nine doubles, five homers and a .750 slugging percentage in 2025); shortstop Trystyn Crutcher, pitcher Sophia Debs, outfielder Reagan Beck and catcher Giabella Otani.

Other Southern Section programs that should continue their success from last year include Division 1 runner-up El Modena and semifinalist Temescal Canyon, Division 2 champion Los Alamitos and Division 3 champion Marina as well as La Mirada, Ayala, Chino Hills and Long Beach Poly.

In the City Section, Granada Hills finished 28-3 last season and beat nemesis Carson 11-2 in the Open Division final behind player of the year Addison Moorman (now a freshman at Lehigh) but back to help the Highlanders defend their title are All-City senior co-captains Zoe Justman (who slugged .802 as a junior) and Elysse Diaz (47 hits, 12 doubles, seven stolen bases and an .865 slugging percentage).

Players to watch

Name; School; Year; Position

Coral Willams; Norco; Jr.; Pitcher

Leighton Gray; Norco; Jr.; Shortstop

Emoni Lam Sam; LB Poly; Sr.; Third Base

Kale’a Tindal; Harvard-Westlake; Sr.; Outfield

Aliyah Garcia; Notre Dame; Sr.; Pitcher/Shortstop

Rylee Silva; Orange Lutheran; So. Pitcher

Katelynn Mathews; Fullerton; Jr.; Pitcher

Dailynn Battee; Etiwanda; So.; Third Base

Mia Valbuena; Marina; Sr.; Pitcher

Alison Ortega; La Mirada; Jr.; Pitcher

Koa Puppe; Bonita; Jr.; Third Base

Terrianna Kelley; Oaks Christian; Sr.; Outfield

Annabel Raftery; JSerra; So.; Catcher

Alivia Magallanes; Los Alamitos; Sr.; Outfield

Bree Carlson; Huntington Beach; Jr.; First Base

Nia Hall; Temescal Canyon; Jr.; Third Base

Brett Lambrecht; Chino Hills; So.; Utility

Eliana Corona; La Habra; So.; Catcher

Zoe Justman; Granada Hills; Sr.; Utility

Ashannalee Titialii; Carson; Sr.; Shortstop

Zoe Justman slugged .802 to help Granada Hills claim the City Section Open Division title last season.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

TEMPE, Ariz. — Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto toed the rubber Saturday for the team’s Cactus League opener against the Angels at Tempe Diablo Stadium with the expectation that it would be his only start before joining Team Japan for next month’s World Baseball Classic.

Even manager Dave Roberts believed that was the case as he came out to lift his star pitcher with two outs in the bottom of the second inning.

“Doc came to the mound, and he said, ‘Good luck in the WBC,’” Yamamoto said via interpreter Yoshihiro Sonoda. “But actually, I have one more game to pitch.”

After giving up one earned run, three hits and striking out three in his 30-pitch outing, Yamamoto said he believes his next start will be on Friday against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium.

Yamamoto cruised through the first inning, striking out third baseman Yoan Moncado swinging and getting shortstop Zach Neto to look at a called strike three on a darting sinker.

But then the Dodgers, who had scored three runs in the top of the first, sent 11 men to the plate, scoring six runs on five hits, two walks and a hit batter in a half-inning that took nearly 30 minutes. Yamamoto believes the long break between innings may have disrupted his workflow, contributing to a messy second inning.

A dropped fly ball on the warning track in left field by Teoscar Hernández spelled trouble for Yamamoto, scoring a run and allowing Jo Adell to reach second base with nobody out. Yamamoto struck out the next hitter, getting left fielder Josh Lowe to swing through a splitter, before allowing back-to-back outfield line drives to catcher Logan O’Hoppe and second baseman Christian Moore. After Bryce Teodosio flied out for the second out of the inning, Yamamoto’s day was done.

Yamamoto reached into his five-pitch repertoire Saturday, mixing in six fastballs, eight splitters, five sinkers, four cutters, four curveballs and three sliders. His fastball sat between 91 and 93 mph, topping out at 94.9 mph.

“I was looking for some stuff I needed to get back before I go back to Japan and join the team,” Yamamoto said. “I was looking forward to the feeling, the delivery and those things.”

Fans pack Diablo Stadium for Saturday’s game between the Angels and Dodgers.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

He added: “Yesterday’s practice, I was already feeling good. And then, somehow I was able to carry that to today’s game, especially the first inning. I think I was great, but due to the gap between innings, that affected me a little bit.”

With Yamamoto’s time being limited with the Dodgers before the WBC, Roberts spoke pregame Saturday about what he hopes to see from his star pitcher in the time leading up to the event.

“I think that obviously, him going and pitching for Team Japan, he’s going to be trying to ramp it up and get prepared,” Roberts said. “So, I think it’s just more of what he does [on] strike one, [how he] uses secondaries, and be efficient and get some outs.”

Though Yamamoto will pitch once more before leaving for the WBC, Roberts told reporters that he isn’t concerned about the WBC interrupting Yamamoto’s preparation for the regular season.

“I think I’m confident because there’s no exact science on ramping up early and success, or being methodical and not participating to result in success during the season,” Roberts said. “There’s just no exact science. For me, and for all of us, you’re just believing in the player, knowing that he knows what it takes to be ready for a season and he takes care of himself, so I think for me, it’s an easy way to think and wrap my head around, just kind of believing in him, trusting him.”

Etc.

Dodgers right fielder Teoscar Hernandez hugs Dodgers manager Dave Roberts after scoring in the first inning.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Just over a week into camp, utilityman Hyeseong Kim has already made a strong first impression, as he vies for more playing time in his second season. On Saturday, he went two for three with three RBIs to help spark the Dodgers’ offensive outburst. Elsewhere, the top three hitters in the lineup — Shohei Ohtani, Hernández and Andy Pages — combined for six hits in nine at-bats with two RBIs. … The Dodgers claimed outfielder Jack Suwinski from the Pittsburgh Pirates. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers transferred utilityman Kiké Hernández to the 60-day injured list.

The duo of pitcher Jordan Ayala and shortstop Dylan Seward is going to do big things for Norco High baseball.

A little peek into their potential could be seen on Saturday against Great Oak. Ayala, a sophomore, gave up one hit in six innings striking out five and walking none. Seward, a junior committed to Tennessee, had three hits as the leadoff batter. Norco won 9-0. Jayden Serna had a three-run home run.

Bishop Alemany 9, El Camino Real 1: Brody Thompson and Daniel Aceves each had two hits for the 2-0 Warriors.

Loyola 9, West Ranch 5: Bobby Rapp, Mac Taw, Matthew Favela, Brandon Bendel each had two hits for Loyola.

Huntington Beach 3, Servite 0: Four pitchers combined for the shutout, striking out nine for Huntington Beach.

Garden Grove Pacifica 3, Corona Centennial 1: Pitchers Cade Tessier, Cash Matlock and Brody Jakel combined for eight strikeouts for Pacifica.

Oaks Christian 8, Buena 2: The Lions (3-0) two hits each from Ryan Sheffer and Jack Brinkman. Christian Ipsen had eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Calabasas 2, Cleveland 1: Jayden Singer had no walks in five innings and Harrison Beck contributed three hits for 2-0 Calabasas.

Simi Valley 8, Granada Hills 2: Evan Rodriguez had two hits and two RBIs for the Pioneers.

El Dorado 6, Sierra Canyon 3: Julian Rodriguez struck out six in five innings for 2-0 El Dorado.

Long Beach Millikan 10, Murrieta Valley 0: Daunte Bell had 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Fullerton 11, La Palma Kennedy 1: Noah Wise recorded six strikeouts in three innings for Fullerton.

Quartz Hill 3, Camarillo 1: Parker White threw six scoreless innings and Cole Gregory had three RBIs for Quartz Hill.

Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus 6, Cypress 5: The Centurions dropped to 1-1.

Mira Costa 3, Crossroads 2: Emmett Maloney struck out four and gave up one hit in three scoreless innings of relief for Mira Costa. Ace Tarango had three hits.

Paraclete 10, Valencia 1: Mason Jacobo threw six innings to pick up the win for Paraclete.

Carson 11, Hawthorne 0: James Markel had two hits and two RBIs.

Foothill 8, Long Beach Wilson 7: Presley Gaborno had the game-winning sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for Foothill, which rallied from a 5-0 deficit. Evrett Rycroft had three hits and two RBIs. James Mirabile had three hits and four RBIs for Wilson.

Westlake 21, Oxnard Pacifica 2: Dylan Lee hit two home runs for the Warriors and finished with four hits and seven RBIs. Blake Miller had five RBIs.

Softball

Long Beach Millikan 7, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 0: The Rams scored seven runs in the seventh inning. Two doubles and two RBIs from Abby Everrett were key. Riley McAndrew threw the shutout. Earlier, Notre Dame defeated Huntington Beach 13-1. Keira Luderer had four hits, including a home run.

Granada Hills 15, Irvine Valley 0: Zoe Justman contributed four hits and five RBIs for Granada Hills.

WASHINGTON — Even while the Warren Commission was preparing its report on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, there were disagreements over whether the same bullet had struck Kennedy and John B. Connally. Among the dissenters: President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Besides, Johnson asked Warren Commission member Sen. Richard Russell (D-Ga.), “what difference does it make which bullet got Connally?”

Arguments over the same-bullet theory continue more than 30 years after the attack in which Kennedy was killed and Connally, then the governor of Texas, was wounded.

Johnson’s conversation with Russell was included among tapes released Friday by the National Archives and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library in Austin, Tex.

The tapes reviewed in Austin disclosed that Connally called Johnson on March 2, 1967, to discuss claims that Cuba was involved in the assassination. In other phone conversations, Johnson told aides to keep up with New Orleans prosecutor Jim Garrison’s investigation into the slaying.

Garrison’s theories and writings about the assassination formed the basis for Oliver Stone’s 1991 movie, “JFK.”

Johnson, however, said he did not believe the CIA-Cuba theory. In a Feb. 18, 1967, conversation with then-acting Atty. Gen. Ramsey Clark, Johnson said the Cuban theory was as preposterous as if he were told that his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, “was taking dope.”

Johnson’s conversation with Russell, about the bullet that hit Connally, occurred on Sept. 18, 1964. They discussed progress in preparing the report on Kennedy’s slaying.

The senator noted some members of the commission headed by Chief Justice Earl Warren believed that “the same bullet that hit Kennedy first is the one that hit Connally.”

Responding to Johnson’s musing, Russell said, “Well, it don’t make much difference.” He added: “Well, I don’t believe it. . . .”

“I don’t either,” Johnson responded.

Russell said the differences among the commission members were to be noted in the report.

Connally, riding in the front seat of the presidential limousine, was wounded when Kennedy, in the back seat, was slain in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963.

Investigators agree that three shots were fired, but through the years conspiracy arguments have turned on whether the same bullet could have passed through Kennedy’s upper back and hit Connally.

The two were struck almost at the same instant. If the same bullet could not have wounded both men, there had to have been a second bullet–and therefore a second gunman, according to those who believe in a conspiracy.

When Connally died last summer, researchers asked to recover bullet fragments from his body to help resolve the issue, but the request was turned down.

This is not where you would expect an article about one of the Mediterranean’s most beautiful islands to start. It’s the tail end of winter, 2021. Kensal Green Cemetery in west London: the imperial mausolea canted and crumbling, low clouds dissolving into rain. We are still  in that  strange phase of the pandemic when we are masked, newly aware of our bodies and the space around them. We are here to bury Nikos, a man who for me, for many, was the incarnation of Corfu.

I had spent my 20s trying to find the perfect Greek island, hopping from the well-trodden (Mykonos, Santorini, Cephalonia) to the more obscure (Kythira, Symi, Meganisi). None quite matched the vision I had dreamed into being as a child, when I segued from Robert Graves to Mary Renault, then to Lawrence Durrell and John Fowles. Greece was an idea before it was a place: freedom and deep thought, a constellation of sand, salt and thyme.

In his varsity debut, sophomore second baseman Auron Blackledge of Calabasas made quite a first impression on Friday. On the seventh pitch of his first at-bat, he hit a home run.

He finished with three hits and three RBIs in the Coyotes’ 7-0 win over Castaic.

Luke Szymanski struck out five with no walks in five innings.

Gahr 16, Santa Margarita 3: Andres Gonzalez and Bryce Morrison each had three hits for Gahr.

Harvard-Westlake 8, Texas Marcus 5: Ira Rootman hit his second home run of the season and finished with two hits and three RBIs for the 2-0 Wolverines.

Mira Costa 4, Westlake 1: Three pitchers combined on a four-hitter for the Mustangs (2-0).

El Camino Real 9, Culver City 1: Shane Bogacz had four RBIs and Andrew Katzman threw 4 1/3 innings of no-hit relief for the defending City Section champions.

Bishop Alemany 7, Newbury Park 1: Brody Thompson hit a two-run home run and Noel Barrientos threw five scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the Warriors.

Chaminade 4, Hart 3: A three-run rally in the seventh lifted the Eagles to victory. Robby Morgan finished with three hits.

Mission Viejo 5, Corona del Mar 1: Aiden Chapuis struck out seven in five innings and Joey Pallone had two hits for the Diablos.

Oxnard Pacifica 3, Chatsworth 1: Isaiah Sanchez struck out four in six innings for Chatsworth.

Anaheim Canyon 4, Redondo Union 2: Logan Adams had two hits and two RBIs for Canyon.

Oaks Christian 4, Paraclete 3: Carson Sheffer hit a home run and Dane Disney had two hits for Oaks Christian (2-0).

Rio Mesa 3, Cleveland 2: A bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning lifted Rio Mesa to victory. Grant Oh had three hits for Cleveland.

Narbonne 3, Palos Verdes 2: Joshua Minor had an RBI single during a two-run sixth for Narbonne.

Valencia 8, Buena 3: Tyler Wertz had two hits, including a home run, and Evan Conrad added three RBIs for Valencia.

Camarillo 4, Sun Valley Poly 1: Turner Hothan gave up one hit in four innings for Camarillo.

Granada Hills 4, Highland 1: Cayden Lazar struck out seven and gave up one hit in six innings for the Highlanders.

St. Francis 6, Santa Barbara 1: Daniel Izaguirre went three for three for 3-0 St. Fancis.

Softball

Norco 3, Aliso Niguel 0: Peyton May struck out 12 and threw an eight-inning no-hitter.

JSerra 2, Chino Hills 1: Annabel Raftery had a walk-off sacrifice fly in the eighth for the win.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 18 (UPI) — The United States is tightening the noose on Iran-backed Hezbollah, stepping up pressure with new sanctions aimed at cutting it off from the global financial system and hindering its efforts to regroup and secure new funding sources.

Severely weakened by the recent war with Israel, the group is seeking to recover after losing much of its military capacity, senior leadership and key funding channels that once enabled it to become a powerful regional actor.

With the loss of Syria as its primary supply corridor from Iran after the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and of Venezuela as a suspected financial safe haven amid allegations of drug trafficking and money‑laundering operations, Hezbollah’s financial strains have emerged as one of its most pressing challenges.

Gone are the days when Hezbollah could generously support its popular base, paying reconstruction grants, salaries and stipends that helped it secure loyalty and maintain influence.

Today, the group is increasingly forced to prioritize its financial obligations, redirecting scarce resources to maintain core operations.

Limiting housing allowances or delaying payments to villagers whose homes were destroyed or damaged during the recent war in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, illustrates Hezbollah’s growing inability to meet its regular financial obligations.

Its efforts to secure funds, generate revenue and evade international sanctions were again targeted by the U.S. Treasury Department, which last week sanctioned Jood SARL, a Lebanon-based company linked to the group’s gold trading network.

The firm is accused of creating a chain of businesses to trade gold within Lebanon and potentially abroad, converting Hezbollah’s gold reserves into liquid funds.

The sanctions also extend to an Iran-based shipping network with connections involving Turkey and a Russian national based in Moscow, underscoring the global reach of Hezbollah’s revenue-generating activities.

According to Mohammad Fheili, a risk strategist and monetary economist, the U.S. Treasury is attempting to “pollute the ecosystem” Hezbollah uses to convert assets into operational cash.

“The immediate effect is less about ‘zeroing funding’ and more about raising the friction cost of money,” Fheili told UPI, explaining that the sanctions increase counterparty caution among dealers, shippers and intermediaries, and can effectively freeze access to “clean” trade channels.

He pointed out that procurement then becomes slower and more expensive. When networks are exposed, replacement channels tend to be costlier, involving more intermediaries, greater leakage and a higher risk of interception.

“Even when Hezbollah can move value through cash-heavy channels, everyone around it — licensed exchange houses, logistics firms and commodity traders — faces higher compliance and reputational risks,” Fheili said. “This, in turn, shrinks the pool of ‘willing’ facilitators.”

Some Lebanese businessmen, who have long acted as Hezbollah’s facilitators both in the country and across the diaspora, are reportedly becoming more cautious, fearing they could be targeted by U.S. sanctions and face civil or criminal penalties.

Ali Al-Amin, who runs the “Janoubia” website from southern Lebanon, which focuses on the Shiite community and Hezbollah, said those businessmen were initially drawn to Hezbollah’s rising power — not its ideology — for financial gain.

Al-Amin said that some people, particularly those with established operations in African countries, worry they could face pressure or become targets of the new financial restrictions on Hezbollah in the coming phase.

“They are distancing themselves and keeping away from Hezbollah to protect themselves,” he told UPI. “Being close to the group has become more costly than rewarding.”

He contended, however, that if the Americans had wanted to put Hezbollah — which he said has long enjoyed freedom of movement in Europe and Africa — in check, they could have done so a long time ago.

“It gave facilitators the impression that they had some kind of cover, even internationally,” he said.

Although Hezbollah has long been under U.S. and international sanctions as a designated terrorist organization, U.S. Treasury officials say the group has managed to evade many of these restrictions by maintaining a complex global financial network and using front companies to launder funds.

At the height of the Hezbollah-Israel war, Lebanon tightened security at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport and indefinitely suspended flights to and from Iran to prevent Israeli strikes on the country’s main air and sea gateways, which Israel claimed were being used to smuggle funds and weapons to Hezbollah.

Rigorous security checks have been implemented at the airport, with stricter inspections on flights from Iraq and other designated destinations and thorough screenings of passengers and baggage. Even diplomatic pouches carried by visiting Iranian officials were denied clearance.

The measures forced Hezbollah to seek new smuggling methods, including passengers or pilgrims to Iraq’s holy sites in Najaf and Karbala carrying back cash money , or concealing funds in parcels from various countries.

Even if some of these attempts were successful, the smuggled funds remain limited and insufficient to meet Hezbollah’s actual needs, according to al-Amin, who said the group has “100,000 salaries to pay every month” and has shifted to dealing in gold and digital currencies.

He said that although Hezbollah’s followers are “worried and cautious,” they still view the group as a safety net, capable of leveraging its power and influence within public institutions “to secure government compensation, a hospital bed, or a school seat.”

“But the Shiites [in Lebanon] also realized that Hezbollah led them into disaster, leaving them without allies in Syria, Lebanon, or the wider world,” al-Amin said.

In a surprise move early this month, Kuwait placed eight Lebanese hospitals on its terrorism sanctions list, citing suspected involvement in or facilitation of terrorism — a move aimed at Hezbollah.

“This is significant because it extends ‘pressure targeting’ from financiers and front companies to service institutions such as healthcare, which are socially sensitive and politically symbolic,” Fheili said.

To confront the challenges stemming from the Israeli war, Hezbollah’s new leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, has embarked on what appears to be a comprehensive restructuring of the group, sidelining some figures, promoting others and dissolving or merging units.

The resignation of Wafic Safa, head of the Liaison and Coordination Unit — a post that allowed him significant influence and interference over security, political and judicial authorities — was a clear sign of structural change within Hezbollah.

Safa, who survived an Israeli assassination attempt during the war, will be reassigned as part of the group’s internal restructuring that began after the cease-fire agreement, according to Kassem Kassir, a political analyst who specializes in Islamic movements and is close to Hezbollah.

With Safa gone, reports suggest that merging the group’s security units under a central authority has limited its dealings with the Lebanese state to political intermediaries.

Kassir said a new media unit, consolidating all the party’s outlets, has been set up under Ibrahim Mousawi, a Hezbollah deputy in parliament. Former minister and MP Mohammad Fneish was appointed to oversee political relations and preparations for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May.

“Hezbollah is preparing more measures for the post-war phase to showcase its stability and evolution, highlighting its civil society organizations — from scouting and cultural groups to women’s and educational institutions,” he told UPI. “This is intended to reaffirm its commitment to the state option, to political engagement, and to the decline of its military role.”

However, that commitment may not be enough.

“Hezbollah knows its military role is over, but still cannot admit it,” al-Amin said. “Moving from being a resistance and a regional power to something else requires courage.”

He said the group is evading “difficult questions” and has failed to reassess its relations with Iran and Lebanon now that it is no longer a regional power.

“It seems there is confusion within Hezbollah, and much of it is tied to Iran and what its future holds — whether there will be a [U.S.-Israeli] war against Iran or not,” he said.

VOGUE Williams has hit back at an online troll who made cruel claims about her.

The troll claimed Vogue, 40, “leeches off men for money and exposure” in a cruel attack.

The TV personality took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a screenshot of the cruel comment which was left underneath one of her posts.

The comment was left under a post Vogue shared about becoming Grand Marshall for the St Patrick’s day parade.

Under the post she had shared, the troll wrote: “The brain to leech off men for exposure and money while p***ing on everyone around me?

“Nah thanks, I’d rather be a nice person that doesn’t use others around her. But carry on.”

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Vogue, who was seemingly angered by the comment, responded: “Well you’re certainly not doing well on the nice front! 

“Go check MY company accounts and then come back and tell me I’m leeching off men. See you at the parade hun!”

Sharing the interaction to her stories on Instagram, Vogue penned: “I’m never sure of the motive or need for people to publicly scrutinise someone they know nothing about.

“It’s so s**t.”

She added: “I’m sick of seeing horrible cr** on the internet and people just abusing other people because they feel like it. 

“This person should practice being a nice person a bit more…”

This comes after Vogue’s son Otto, whom she shared with husband Spencer Matthews, was rushed to A&E at the weekend.

The ITV star, who featured in the 2025 instalment of the jungle reality series, documented the three-year-old tot’s woe in a series of candid Instagram snaps.

She told how brave son Otto had been rushed to A&E after breaking his collarbone.

She started her grid post with an image of the adorable youngster with his right arm in a sling, attempting to flash a smile.

The Lorraine host wrote in her caption: “What a weekend ended up in A and E with Otto and a broken collarbone.

“Otty keeps telling us it’s not broken it’s better!

“Staff at Chelsea Westminster are amazing and flew through everyone… v impressive and thankful to them.”

Referring to her subsequent images, which showed her kids playing at home, she added: “Play Doh fixes all!”

Vogue shared three children with her husband Spencer.

Theo was born in 2018, Gigi arrived in 2020 and youngest Otto was born in 2022.

The island has seen a number of anti-tourism protests in recent years, with locals demanding caps on visitor numbers, and summer 2026 could potentially see more people taking to the streets

Visitors to a Spanish island that welcomes millions of British tourists each year could be facing disruption over the summer with fresh waves of protests planned.

Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), a group behind protests across the popular island of Majorca, are set to hold an assembly on Friday (February 20) to potentially plan further actions such as protests.

The meeting is planned due to the perceived failure of the Balearic Government’s sustainability pact, and inability to control overcrowding on the islands. A press release stated: “the constant increase in overtourism in Mallorca can only be confronted through grassroots organisation”.

Speaking to Majorca Daily News , Margalida Ramis of environmental group GOB (Grup Balear d’Ornitologia i Defensa de la Naturalesa), claimed that the government “has not done anything and will not do anything” to tackle overtourism.

Visitor numbers to the Balearic Islands have been steadily rising, and are expected to follow the same pattern in 2026. 2024 saw the number of visitors hit 18.7 million, then rising to over 19 million in 2025. In total, the Balearic Islands has a population of just 1.2 million, which includes around 18,000 British expats.

Opposition party PSOE recently took to the Balearic parliament to present a motion arguing that tourist numbers should be capped at 17.8 million a year. However, in a relief for UK travellers, the motion was rejected this week.

Groups such as Menys Turisme Més Vida have been involved in a number of protests in Majorca in recent years, alongside protests against overtourism across Spain. In May 2024, around 10,000 protestors took to the streets of Palma, while in July 2025, numbers reported as high as 50,000 people joined the protests. The 2025 protest was timed to coincide with the start of the school holidays in England and Wales, when many families would be arriving on the island.

Menys Turisme Més Vida’s Instagram account sets out a manifesto with their demands including a ban on tourist rentals across Majorca, a 50% reduction in rental prices for locals, and more stable jobs in what has become a precarious labour market.

However, in recent weeks there has been concern across the hospitality industry over a reduction in customer numbers, with a discount voucher scheme being considered to get more people to eat at local restaurants.

READ MORE: Spain’s ‘ghost islands’ deliberately cut off from the mainland to keep tourists outREAD MORE: TUI launches new route to gorgeous city that looks like nowhere else in Spain

In 2025, Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy warned that “anti-tourism protests and derogatory comments from local administrations make tourists feel unwelcome” amidst rising tensions in the Canary Islands, which included a number of protests, and signs appearing in some hotspots asking tourists to stay away.

At the time he added: “People don’t come to the Canaries to be mistreated or to witness protests. Such incidents tarnish the region’s image, pushing tourists toward destinations like Turkey and Morocco, where they feel valued.”

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Jesse Jackson’s overwhelming victory in the recent Michigan Democratic primary may well have “blown the minds of party leaders,” as Dan Rather put it on the evening news. But it clearly didn’t do much for their understanding. Party professionals and political pundits continued to use words like “weird” and “wacky” to describe Jackson’s growing support. In fact, Jesse Jackson represents a vintage American phenomenon consistently overlooked and misunderstood by the experts: He is an authentic populist. His appeal is far broader–and different–than can be summed up in labels like “liberal” or “left wing.”

Put simply, as his message has matured this year, Jackson combines protests against what is happening with a positive and hopeful vision of what America can become. “Populism” is a term that has been much bandied about this election season, used to cover everything from Richard Gephardt’s call to “get tough” with trade competitors to Albert Gore’s declaration that he “stands with working men and women.” Populism as a fashionable label means “us against them,” the little guy against the big shots.

But Jesse Jackson’s populism is far from simple-minded complaint. The first Populists were black and white farmers who made an alliance in the 1880s to save rural communities and their ways of life from the stranglehold of banks, railroads and merchants. Like theirs, Jackson’s protest goes to the heart of what America stands as a society. Drawing on the rich black church tradition that has always had the pathetic prophetic capacity to point to the clash between American ideals and realities, Jackson speaks to people’s anxiety that America has begun to abandon crucial, defining values.

Here, his challenge to the violence of drugs and unemployment is reinforced by his campaign itself, a low-budget “people’s alternative” to politics as the marketing of slickly packaged personalities. When Jackson says his victories represent “flesh and blood” winning out over “money and computers,” he connects not only with people who have been economically left behind in the Reagan years. His message also resonates with millions who worry that local communities and ordinary citizens are endangered by a high-tech culture that idolizes the rich and famous.

Further, Jackson, like the first Populists, does not simply protest. He also issues an empowering call for responsibility. In the face of a good deal of initial resistance from some black groups, Jackson this election season has preached that the preeminent issue today is not racism, but economic justice that calls for corporations to be accountable for actions that affect workers and the community welfare. He calls upon black and white youths to take positive action against drugs and teen-age pregnancy. He challenges his audiences to act to overcome racial hostility. Moreover, Jackson emphasizes not only increased personal responsibility but also the need for a renewed sense of collective economic responsibility as well.

The Populists of the 1880s and 1890s envisioned a “cooperative commonwealth” in which private property would be seen as a civic obligation and where citizens would commonly assume responsibility for the foundations of economic life like basic utilities, transportation and communication systems. This tradition continued in the 20th Century, in the arguments of Presidents like Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, that property is a “public trust” beholden to the commonwealth.

Jackson stands clearly in this tradition. His cause for “economic power-sharing” and “reinvestment in America” are given specific meaning in his proposals to repair America’s basic economic infrastructure. Indeed he has been the only candidate to date to talk about what the National Council on Public Works Improvement recently documented in its report to Congress and the President: Our roads and waste facilities and waterways and other essential foundations have been gravely jeopardized in recent years by a spirit of neglect and careless “privatization”.

Thus Jackson’s populism points out a widespread uneasiness about what’s wrong today and offers some concrete and constructive things to do about it. Whatever the outcome of the nominating process, he has broken fresh ground and revitalized an old vibrant tradition. American politics will never be the same.

ATHENS, Greece — Israeli producer Dana Eden, best known for co-creating the International Emmy-winning espionage thriller “Tehran,” has died suddenly in Greece, Israeli public broadcaster KAN said Monday.

Eden, 52, was found dead in a hotel in the Greek capital, Athens, a Greek police official said, adding that initial indications suggested she had taken her own life and there was no suspicion of foul play. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as Greek police do not comment publicly in such cases.

KAN said Eden was in Greece for the filming of the hit series’ fourth season.

“Dana was among the leading figures in Israel’s television industry and played a central role in the creation and leadership of some of the most prominent and influential productions within the corporation,” KAN said in a statement. It did not give a cause of death.

“Her professional work, uncompromising dedication, and love for creation left a deep mark on the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. KAN shares in the deep sorrow of her family, friends and colleagues,” the broadcaster said.

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, Eden’s production company, Donna and Shula productions, sought to dispel rumors that the producer had been killed.

“The production company wishes to clarify that the rumors of a criminal or nationally motivated death are false and unfounded,” it said.

“This is a moment of great pain for the family, friends and colleagues. We ask that Dana’s dignity and the privacy of her loved ones be respected,” the production company said.

Israel Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, in a social media post on X, said it was “with great sadness” that he had received the news of Eden’s death, describing her as “one of the most prominent and influential producers in the Israeli television industry.”

“Dana left a deep mark on Israeli creation and brought our story to international stages with pride, talent and courage,” Zohar said.

“Tehran,” which premiered in Israel and on Apple TV in 2020, tells the story of Tamar Rabinyan, a young Mossad operative tasked with hacking into and disabling the Iranian nuclear reactor so the Israeli military can carry out an airstrike. The show was named best drama series at the 49th International Emmy Awards in November 2021.

Eden started working in TV production in Israel in the 1990s, working on shows including comedy “Yom Haem” and crime drama “Magpie,” before finding international success with “Tehran.”

In 2018, her show “Saving the Wildlife” won best TV magazine for children and youth at the Awards of the Israeli Television Academy.

Kantouris and Becatoros write for the Associated Press. Kantouris contributed from Thessaloniki. Matt Kemp in London contributed.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. At last, our long, national nightmare is over. The Dodgers re-signed Kiké Hernández.

Well, the first spring training game is Saturday against the Angels. Opening day is March 26 at home against Arizona. So what better time to look at a potential opening day roster? After all, it’s not like there will be injuries and roster moves before then, right? This will definitely be the roster.

But first, a couple of notes to catch up on:

—They are splitting up the raising of the World Series flag and the ring ceremony again. The ring ceremony is March 27.

—The Dodgers re-signed Evan Phillips to a one-year, $6.5-million deal. The Dodgers originally acquired Phillips off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays near the end of the 2021 season. Since then, he has gone 15-9 with a 2.22 ERA and 45 saves in 201 games (195 innings). His injury last season threw the bullpen into disarray. He had Tommy John surgery in June and won’t be back until the All-Star break.

—To make room for Phillips on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated Ben Rortvedt for assignment, probably hoping again that Rortvedt will go unclaimed and they can send him to the minors. However, the New York Mets claimed Rortvedt, and he will compete for a backup spot with, among other, former Dodger Austin Barnes, who signed a minor-league deal with the Mets on Jan. 29

—The Dodgers re-signed Kiké Hernández to a one-year, $4.5-million deal. He had elbow surgery in the offseason and won’t be able to play until probably the All-Star break, so expect him to be put on the 60-day IL soon. To make room for Hernández, the Dodgers put Phillips on the 60-day IL.

—The Dodgers traded Anthony Banda, whom they designated for assignment last week, to the Minnesota Twins for $500,000 of international bonus pool space.

—The Dodgers signed Max Muncy to a contract extension, giving him $7 million for the 2027 season with a $10-million team option for 2028. Muncy has said he wants to remain with the Dodgers the rest of his career, and he will be 38 when the 2028 season ends.

—In this era of high contracts, you have to look at Muncy and Will Smith, who has a 10-year, $140-million contract, and marvel. They both have left a lot of money on the table to remain with the Dodgers. Especially Smith, who is arguably the best catcher in baseball, and definitely in the top three.

Why are the Dodgers so good at getting players for under market value? Muncy said this last week to reporters:

“Part of me and who I am as a person and how I was raised, I like to be loyal to people. This organization took a chance on me when I was out of baseball, basically. That meant a lot to me. They stuck with me when things were going bad. They’ve never wavered on me at all. That means a lot to me in itself, and it’s just a place I’m very comfortable. My family’s comfortable here. We have a chance to win every single year. That’s why I play this game. I want to win. Obviously you make money in this game, but that’s not why I play. I play because I want to win. It’s the competitive fire that I want to go out and win as much as I can. That to me is worth more than money.

“I know I’m leaving money on the table, but I’m more than OK with that because I wouldn’t be OK with myself trying to chase money somewhere else watching this team win and I’m on the sidelines. That’s just not who I am. I would rather win. Another component to it is just the relationships I’ve built here. Like I was just saying, I like to be loyal and my relationships mean a lot. I’ve created such a relationship with the staff, the front office, the coaches, the medical and training staff, the clubhouse guys. I just don’t want to create that somewhere else. Being here for my entire career at this point would mean the world to me, and this gives me the chance to do that.”

So, with that out of the way, let’s take a look at the 40-man roster.

Pitchers
Ben Casparius
Edwin Díaz
Jack Dreyer
Paul Gervase
Tyler Glasnow
Brusdar Graterol
Edgardo Henriquez
Kyle Hurt
Will Klein
Landon Knack
Ronan Kopp
Bobby Miller
Evan Phillips-*
River Ryan
Roki Sasaki
Tanner Scott
Emmet Sheehan
Blake Snell
Brock Stewart
Gavin Stone
Blake Treinen
Alex Vesia
Justin Wrobleski
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Two-way players
Shohei Ohtani

Catcher
Dalton Rushing
Will Smith

Infielders
Mookie Betts
Tommy Edman
Alex Freeland
Freddie Freeman
Kiké Hernández
Hyeseong Kim
Max Muncy
Miguel Rojas

Outfielders
Alex Call
Teoscar Hernández
Andy Pages
Michael Siani
Kyle Tucker
Ryan Ward

*-on 60-day IL so doesn’t count as part of the 40-man limit.

So, let’s assume the Dodgers go with 13 pitchers and 13 position players as usual. And, Dave Roberts reiterated Thursday that they will go with a six-man rotation, at least for the first part of the season. Where does that leave us?

Starting pitchers (6)
Tyler Glasnow
Shohei Ohtani
Roki Sasaki
Emmet Sheehan
*Blake Snell
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Bullpen (8)
Edwin Díaz
*Jack Dreyer
Brusdar Graterol
Will Klein
*Tanner Scott
Blake Treinen
*Alex Vesia
*Justin Wrobleski

*-left-handed

—Henriquez also could slip in here, it just depends on how everyone looks in spring training. Plus, knowing Dodgers history, one of these guys probably will start the season on the IL.

—Stewart is expected to miss part of the season, and there are questions about Snell, who says he slowed his process of getting ready for the season, and Graterol, who didn’t pitch last season.

—Remember, Ohtani counts as a two-way player, so he is a pitcher and designated hitter but takes only one roster spot, allowing the Dodgers to carry 14 pitchers when the official roster says 13.

Two-way player (1)
Shohei Ohtani

Catchers (2)
Dalton Rushing
Will Smith

Infielders (6)
Mookie Betts
Tommy Edman
Freddie Freeman
Hyeseong Kim
Max Muncy
Miguel Rojas

Outfielders (4)
Alex Call
Teoscar Hernández
Andy Pages
Kyle Tucker

—There’s a chance Edman starts the season on the IL.

—The odds that this is the actual opening day roster are very long. Remember, this is just a guess, not a prediction, so please, no wagering.

—This is just to give you a sense of where the Dodgers stand. Dave Roberts already said it is the best team he has had. But, as I’ve said before, here is what will happen: People will say they are going to set the record for wins. Expectations will be sky high. Injuries will hit the pitching staff. Slumps will happen. Some fans will wonder what happened and say the Dodgers stink and Roberts couldn’t manage his way out of his own house. The Dodgers will end the season with around 95 wins. And then anything can happen in the postseason.

In case you missed it

Plaschke: Yoshinobu Yamamoto must remain the calm in the Dodgers’ storm

Edwin Díaz responds to Steve Cohen comments, settles into Dodgers’ ‘really good clubhouse’

Why Dave Roberts expects Shohei Ohtani to be ‘in the Cy Young conversation’

Plaschke: Alex Vesia opens up about unimaginable loss: ‘Life can change in an instant’

Plaschke: Start talking three-peat! Dave Roberts believes these Dodgers can be better than ever

Kiké Hernández is back with the Dodgers, agreeing to terms on eve of spring training

And finally

Yoshinobu Yamamoto talks about pitching and other topics with José Mota. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

BRITS flying to or from a popular holiday destination in Europe will face delays and cancellations today.

Major flight disruptions are expected today on Lufthansa Group flights which includes Lufthansa and short-haul carrier CityLine, as pilots and cabin crew strike.

While Lufthansa has not provided cancellation numbers, German airport association ADV estimated that more than 460 flights will be cancelled – affecting 70,000 passengers.

Sun Travel found that 14 flights from Frankfurt Airport to the UK today have been cancelled from Frankfurt Airport.

Lufthansa often uses aircraft for these routes that have between 150 and 180 passengers.

If 165 passengers are travelling in each flight, then the total number of people impacted by the cancellations could be more than 2,000.

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Ten flights from London Heathrow to either Frankfurt or Munich have been cancelled.

One flight to Munich and one flight to Frankfurt have been cancelled from Birmingham Airport.

Two flights to Frankfurt have been cancelled from Manchester Airport.

German pilots’ union VC (Vereinigung Cockpit) called the 24-hour strike on Tuesday, to demand more generous retirement benefits.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa said the announcements were “extremely short-notice” and “disproportionate”, adding that they would hit passengers hard.

The spokesperson continued: “Sustainable solutions can only be found through dialogue; strikes must always remain a last resort.

“We therefore call on the unions to resume talks with us.

“We are ready to do so at any time.”

The spokesperson also said that passengers would be notified if the strike impacted their flight.

The strike action comes just three days after Lufthansa City Airlines officially commenced flight operations from Frankfurt Airport, which is also the Lufthansa Group’s largest hub.

Sun Travel has contacted Lufthansa for comment.

Flight compensation rules

A look at your rights if a flight is delayed or cancelled, when your entitled to compensation and if your travel insurance can cover the costs.

What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?

Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.

If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.

You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.

So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.

But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.

When am I not entitled to compensation?

The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.

Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.

Some airlines may stretch the definition of “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?

If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.

Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.

Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.

If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.

In other aviation news, there are 37 new flights launching from a major UK airport this year including budget routes to Asia and Jet2’s first ever.

Plus, a woman’s plane was hit by birds – blood splattered the windows and it had to do an emergency landing.

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell and pitchers and catcher have their first workout Friday!

Last month I asked you to vote from a list of candidates in our annual Dodgers Dugout Dodgers Hall of Fame. And, proving that you are the best newsletter readers in the universe, I received 29,213 ballots, the most we have gotten. Some cities don’t get that many votes in elections.

And after all the ballots were counted, one person was named on more than 75% of the ballots and are inducted into the 2026 class.

Remember, there was a players list, where you could vote for up to 10, and a nonplayers list with a limit of three votes.

So, without further ado, let’s look at the results. The number in parentheses is what percentage of ballots the candidate was on last year.

Elected

x-Clayton Kershaw, 94.7%: A no-brainer selection. I’m just surprised so many people left him off the ballot.

Just missed (50%-74.9%)

Jaime Jarrín, 71.8% (65.8%): Really, should have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. A big oversight.

Peter O’Malley, 63.5% (65.1%): The last owner who cared about keeping prices down for fans.

Steve Garvey, 60.9% (64.4%): Either Garvey or Gil Hodges is the best first baseman in Dodgers history. Freddie Freeman is closing fast though.

Ron Cey, 58.3% (61.6%): One of the most underrated players in baseball history.

Don Newcombe, 52.9% (62.1%): His work to help Dodgers struggling with substance abuse is almost enough to get him in before you even consider his greatness as a pitcher.

Best of the rest (30%-49.9%)

Red Barber, 42.1% (45.4%): Vin Scully before there was a Vin Scully.

Mike Piazza, 41.5% (50.3%): What would Dodgers history look like if he hadn’t been traded?

Manny Mota, 39.3% (46.7%): Best pinch-hitter ever. He would stay on the roster the whole year and only pinch-hit.

Davey Lopes, 38.1% (47.1%): Best base stealer in Dodgers history.

Kirk Gibson, 37.4% (40.6%): One amazing season gets him almost 40% of the vote.

Dusty Baker, 35.4% (47.7%): Remember throwing bubble gum to him in left field? His support declined a great deal this year.

Jim Gilliam, 34.4% (40.5%): Jack of all trades who hated his “Junior” nickname.

Mike Scioscia, 32.5% (39.7%): Another what if: What if he had been named Dodgers manager instead of Angels manager?

Ross Porter, 32% (35.3%): Pioneered using more obscure stats before it became popular.

Tommy Davis, 31.9% (42.5%): Last Dodger to win a batting title before Trea Turner, and I’m not sure Turner counts.

Zack Wheat, 30.1% (28.9%): He should be in. The first truly great Dodgers position player.

Everyone else

Willie Davis, 28.2% (33.9%): People seem to prefer Tommy Davis.

Bill Russell, 28% (29.5%): Longtime Dodger draws the least support among “The Infield.”

Eric Karros, 25% (34.1%): This is all you get after hitting the most homers in L.A. history?

Johnny Podres, 24.9% (36.7%): The 1955 World Series MVP.

Carl Furillo, 23.2% (27.9%): Best arm in team history?

Eric Gagne, 22.8% (28.2%): Would he receive more support if not for his PED use?

Dazzy Vance, 21.5% (23.3%): Another guy who should be in. The Drysdale of his era.

Jerry Doggett, 21.8% (29.8%): Complemented Scully beautifully on radio and television.

Bottom 10, removed from ballot for at least two years

Buzzie Bavasi, 21.4% (32.1%): GM of Dodgers’ first four World Series title teams.

Rick Honeycutt, 20.9% (26.7%): Longtime pitching coach (and pitcher).

Carl Erskine, 20.2% (23.7%): Key member of 1955 title team.

John Roseboro, 19.5% (26.1%): The key catcher for Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

Tommy John, 18% (23.3%): He should be in the real Hall of Fame.

Andre Ethier, 17.7% (23.1%): Doesn’t look like many from Ethier’s prime era will make it.

Pedro Guerrero, 16.6% (25.3%): You could argue that he is the best hitter in L.A. history.

Steve Yeager, 14.8% (20.6%): He blocked the plate as well as anyone ever.

x-Joe Kelly, 6.8%: I guess wearing a Mariachi jacket can get you only so far.

x-Alex Wood, 0.9%: He’ll have to settle for his World Series ring instead of our Hall honors.

x-first time on ballot.

The Dodgers Dugout Dodgers Hall of Fame

People inducted, with year (and percentage of vote)

Walt Alston, 2022 (86.5%)

Roy Campanella, 2021 (84.7%)

Don Drysdale, 2021 (90%)

Orel Hershiser, 2021 (75.1%)

Gil Hodges, 2022 (75.3%)

Clayton Kershaw, 2026 (94.7%)

Sandy Koufax, 2021 (95.6%)

Tommy Lasorda, 2022 (87.7%)

Walter O’Malley, 2024 (79.4%)

Branch Rickey, 2022 (72.1%)

Pee Wee Reese, 2024 (76.3%)

Jackie Robinson, 2021 (88.9%)

Vin Scully, 2021 (92.7%)

Duke Snider, 2021 (78.2%)

Don Sutton, 2025 (75.7%)

Fernando Valenzuela, 2022 (80.6%)

Maury Wills, 2022 (76.6%)

Listed in order of percentage:

Sandy Koufax, 2021 (95.6%)

Clayton Kershaw, 2026 (94.7%)

Vin Scully, 2021 (92.7%)

Don Drysdale, 2021 (90%)

Jackie Robinson, 2021 (88.9%)

Tommy Lasorda, 2022 (87.7%)

Walt Alston, 2022 (86.5%)

Roy Campanella, 2021 (84.7%)

Fernando Valenzuela, 2022 (80.6%)

Walter O’Malley, 2024 (79.4%)

Duke Snider, 2021 (78.2%)

Maury Wills, 2022 (76.6%)

Pee Wee Reese, 2024 (76.3%)

Don Sutton, 2025 (75.7%)

Gil Hodges, 2022 (75.3%)

Orel Hershiser, 2021 (75.1%)

Branch Rickey, 2022 (72.1%)

Note: In 2022, you had to be named on only 65% of the ballots to be inducted. It has been 75% all other years.

Ben is back

Remember Ben Rortvedt, who became a fan favorite as the backup catcher to Will Smith at the end of last season? The Dodgers signed him to a $1.1 million deal after the season, then soon after removed him from the 40-man roster. That meant other teams could claim him, and the Dodgers apparently hoped the $1.1 million price tag would scare teams off. It didn’t scare Cincinnati, which took him.

Last week, the Reds signed Eugenio Suárez, and to make room for him on the 40-man roster, they removed Rortvedt. And the Dodgers snatched him up quickly.

So Rortvedt is back with the team, and will compete with Dalton Rushing to be the backup catcher.

To make room for Rortvedt, the Dodgers removed left-handed reliever Anthony Banda from the roster. They signed Banda to a $1.625-million deal last month, so perhaps they are hoping no team will take him. In two seasons with the Dodgers, Banda is 8-3 with a 3.14 ERA and two saves in 119 games, including 71 games last season, so he was a workhorse. However, his strikeout rate declined last year while his walk rate increased, a troubling sign. The Dodgers have a lot of left-handed options, so he was the odd man out this time.

Bad news for Yasiel Puig

Former Dodger Yasiel Puig was found guilty Friday of obstruction of justice and making false statements to investigators. Puig was alleged to have lied about gambling on sports.

Puig faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. At one point, he was offered a plea deal where he would plead guilty to one count of lying to federal authorities and would have served no jail time while paying a $55,000 fine. He accepted the deal, then backed out of it because “I want to clear my name.”

In case you missed it

Yasiel Puig found guilty in gambling case, faces up to 20 years in prison

Terrance Gore, former Dodgers player and three-time World Series champ, dies at 34

Plaschke: Just say no! Dodgers players should decline White House visit

Dodgers plan to visit White House to celebrate latest World Series championship

And finally

Miguel Rojas discusses his memorable World Series moments. Watch and listen here.

Until next time…

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

WASHINGTON — Public health experts warned Tuesday that $600 million in cuts to federal public health funding announced by the Trump administration would endanger one of California’s main early-warning systems for HIV outbreaks, leaving communities vulnerable to undetected disease spread.

The grant terminations affect funding for a number of disease control programs in California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, but the vast majority target California, according to congressional Democrats who received the full list of affected programs Monday. The move is the latest in the White House’s campaign against what it called “radical gender ideology” at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“These cuts will hurt vital efforts to prevent the spread of disease,” said Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). “It’s dangerous, and it’s deliberate.”

Under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC has increasingly turned away from evidence-backed HIV monitoring and prevention programs, claiming they “undermined core American values.”

The stoppage will derail $1.1 million slated for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Project, according to the president’s budget office.

The program is a “critical” tool used to detect emerging HIV trends, prevent outbreaks before they spread and reduce HIV incidence, said Dr. Paul Simon, an epidemiologist at the UCLA Fielding School and former chief science officer for the county’s public health department.

“Without this program, we’re flying blind. The first step in addressing any public health threat is understanding what’s happening on the ground,” Simon said. “With HIV in particular, people often have no symptoms for years and can unknowingly spread the virus.”

The White House gave little explanation for the move but claimed the programs it targeted “promote DEI and radical gender ideology.”

Simon pushed back on the claim, calling the move “dangerous” and “shortsighted.”

“It’s particularly dangerous to put your head in the sand and pretend there’s not a problem,” Simon said. “The success we’ve had over the past decades comes from finding cases early. … By treating people early, we can prevent transmission.”

Several local front-line service providers were targeted for cuts including the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which is set to lose $383,000 in investments for community HIV prevention programs.

The LGBT Center has not received official notice of the elimination but said the cuts would disproportionately affect LGBTQ+ communities and other underserved populations.

“These decisions are not guided by public health evidence, but by politics — and the consequences are real,” said LGBT Center spokesperson Brian De Los Santos. “Any reduction in funding directly affects our ability to provide care, prevention and lifesaving services to the people who rely on us.”

The Trump administration’s announced cuts are likely to face challenges from states and grant recipients.

The LGBT Center succeeded last year in blocking similar grant cancellations stemming from the president’s executive orders. A federal judge in San Francisco issued a preliminary injunction ruling the administration could not use executive orders to “weaponize Congressionally appropriated funds” to bypass statutory funding obligations.

“We stand ready to bring more litigation against this administration if it is required in order to protect our community,” De Los Santos said.

The White House has repeatedly pushed to halt the flow of billions of dollars to California and other states led by Democrats, a strategy that has sharpened partisan tensions and expanded the scope of California’s legal fight against the administration.

In January, administration officials said they would freeze $10 billion in federal child care, welfare and social services funding for California and four other states, but a federal judge blocked the effort.

Trump later said he would begin blocking federal funds to “sanctuary” jurisdictions such as California and Los Angeles, which have long opposed cooperation with federal immigration agencies.

Last year, the administration made broad cuts to federal funding for minority-serving institutions, leaving California colleges scrambling to figure out how to replace or do without the money. Federal officials argued that such programs were racially discriminatory.

In June, California congressional Democrats demanded the release of $19.8 million in frozen HIV prevention grants to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. That freeze forced the county to terminate contracts with 39 community health providers and nearly shut down HIV testing and other services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

The administration reversed course after sustained pressure from Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Burbank) and 22 fellow House Democrats.

“These grants save lives,” Friedman said of recent terminations. “They connect homeless people to care, they support front-line organizations fighting HIV, and they build the public health infrastructure that protects my constituents. Just like I did last time the Trump Administration came after our communities, I won’t stop fighting back.”

In a letter to Kennedy last year, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) said that the Cabinet secretary has a history of peddling misinformation about the virus and disease.

Kennedy’s motivations are “grounded not in sound science, but in misinformation and disinformation you have spread previously about HIV and AIDS, including your repeated claim that HIV does not cause AIDS,” Garcia wrote.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called President Trump’s latest threats to public health funding “a familiar pattern,” and shed doubt on their long-term legal viability.

“The President publicly claims he will rip away public health funding from states that voted against him, while offering no details or formal notice,” Newsom said. “If or when the Trump administration takes action, we will respond appropriately. Until then, we will pass on participating in his attempt to chase headlines.”

COMING back from your holiday should be straightforward – but for one British couple, a recent easyJet flight turned into a nightmare.

Olly Andrews, 36, and Lucy Andrews, 32, from South East London were less than 10 minutes into their flight from Amsterdam to London Luton Airport when disaster struck.

The couple had been in the Dutch capital for a four-day mini-break to see their best friend get married.

But just after taking off to return home to London, the couple heard something ominous.

Lucy said: “I heard a massive thud and I looked at Olly and I was like what was that?

“Not only that but the air stewardesses suddenly went quite quiet at the back.

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“We were in the back seats, so we could hear everything and people started looking around in confusion.

“Then we were flying really low – we were going over the sea and I could see the wind turbines looked really close up.

“I was like something’s wrong, why are we flying so low to the sea and something just felt off.”

There was then an overhead message from the pilot to say that the plane had been hit by a bird and that they needed to return to Amsterdam Airport.

Lucy added: “[The pilot] was quite calm and said there’s nothing to worry about.

Olly said: “The pilot said we’d hopefully be landing in 10 minutes – that actually turned out to be like 25 minutes.”

Lucy continued: “I’m quite a nervous flyer, so I was like ‘oh my god’.

“You know it must be pretty bad if we had to do an emergency landing back in Amsterdam.

“The captain said it was most likely a seagull we hit.”

Despite being told to stay put, when the plane landed a collection of curious passengers flooded to the front of the plane to find out what happened.

She said: “As we got off the plane we could see there was gore and blood splattered all over the cockpit window and blood smeared everywhere.

“The pilot wouldn’t have been able to see out properly – it was everywhere.”

It became clear that the bird had hit the windscreen and then also hit other parts of the plane as blood was splattered over the tail, Lucy explained.

After getting off of the plane, the couple spent the following two and a half hours in the airport waiting for the next available flight.

During this time, there were no easyJet reps or staff around and the couple kept checking for updates via the easyJet app.

“We could only see the Gate G section and Amsterdam is a silent airport, so they didn’t announce updates.

“There was one update, but we couldn’t hear it.

“We kept refreshing the app and we couldn’t see anything, but they were giving quite regular updates such as there weren’t any sandwiches on board.

“We just wanted to go home.

The update said: “We’re sorry that we won’t be able to offer you any sandwiches on your flight today.

“We’ll still have a selection of snacks as well as hot and cold drinks on board.”

EasyJet did give all passengers a £6 voucher for food and drink at the airport though.

They also received a message to explain what had happened, saying: “There has been an additional delay because the plane that was scheduled for your flight today experienced a bird strike.

“Because the issue could not be resolved, we’ve decided to arrange a new plane to fly you to your destination today.”

EasyJet had to then send a plane from London Luton to collect the passengers and crew – although Lucy said they nearly missed it.

She explained: “We wouldn’t have got on the plane if we hadn’t seen a passenger who we recognised heading towards a gate and asked if there had been an announcement, which they had been.”

The couple then had to run through the airport to make their flight.

Lucy added: “We were really scared for other passengers because we recognised one passenger who was asleep and we had to wake them up and be like you’ve got to go the flight is here.”

Directly next to Lucy and Olly, the seats were empty despite a couple sitting there in the previous flight.

It wasn’t clear if this couple made the flight or not.

“The app updates were quite poorly handled because we really should have been given like regular updates.

Looking back on the incident, Lucy added: “It was described by easyJet as a ‘exceptional circumstance’ which I agree with, it was a freak incident and not the fault of easyJet.

“It was the fact that the updates for the flight weren’t communicated with the passengers.

“They have an app which gives updates and they chose to send us a message apologising that there would not be sandwiches served to us on the flight, but failed to tell us when the next flight actually was.

“It left several passengers in the lobby not knowing that the plane was being boarded.”

EasyJet has been contacted for comment.

In other aviation news, here’s what business class is like on one of the world’s best airlines – but the pre-flight lounge is even better.

Plus, a budget airline is scrapping six routes from Europe – including a mega-cheap UK flight.

BRITAIN’S busiest station will be hit by a string of closures which will impact millions of passengers for the whole of next month.

Network Rail explained the closures will enable vital maintenance, renewals and repairs to be undertaken.

Rail bosses have revealed plans for an entire month’s worth of major disruption at Liverpool Street Station.

All routes and services to and from the station will be impacted by works throughout the month of March.

Liverpool Street’s mainline station along with its concourse will close for a total of five days but these will be spaced out throughout the month.

The closures will impact Elizabeth line, London Overground and National Rail services, including Greater Anglia and c2c.

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However, the closures are planned for the weekends only and should not affect week day journeys.

On March 15th the whole station will be closed and London overground services will run from London Fields.

There will therefore be no access to the main concourse. but the Elizabeth line services will be running.

On March 21-22, the Elizabeth line services will again be running, but again there will be no access to the main concourse as the station will be closed.

There will be no Overground Weaver line trains on both of these days and on March 22 there will be no Elizabeth line trains.

The whole station including the concourse will be closed once more during March 28-29 and there will be no Overground Weaver line trains on both days.

Although the Elizabeth line trains will continue to run – there will be no access to the station on those dates.

Last year it was confirmed that Liverpool Street is the busiest train station in the UK.

Some actors who appear right on the edge of becoming household names and who happen to be hosting “Saturday Night Live” for the first time might be leery of letting a famous relative steal their spotlight.

Alexander Skarsgård let it happen twice in the same “SNL” episode when his father Stellan Skarsgård appeared in a returning sketch about immigrant fathers (in which Cardi B also appeared) and one about a Scandinavian film’s giggly production. To be fair, though, his dad is currently Oscar-nominated in the supporting actor category for “Sentimental Value.”

If the Alexander of the Skarsgård was bothered, it sure didn’t show; the first-time host of the 1,000th episode of “SNL” was loose and committed throughout, even if not all the sketches hit. And yes, before you go racing to Peacock to confirm, Alexander gave his father Stellan a big ol’ hug in the closing goodbyes. Aww.

If “SNL” shied away last week from directly addressing the quickly devolving situation in Minneapolis last week, it found its footing with a cold open about ICE that didn’t rely on James Austin Johnson’s impression of President Trump. Instead, it featured former cast member Pete Davidson as border czar Tom Homan taking over command of clueless ICE officers. This was followed, after the monologue, by a well-executed sketch about a mom (Ashley Padilla) slowly changing her mind about the Trump administration.

Elsewhere, the guest host played a coach to a skittish Olympics luge athlete (Jane Wickline), a preteen girl with aggression issues, a Viking who feels like everyone is forming cliques during a bloody raid, a guy who uses Cards Against Humanity jokes to make himself seem funny, and Tarzan trying to get out of a relationship with Jane (Sarah Sherman).

As the younger Skarsgård’s career has shown (“Murderbot,” “True Blood,” “The Northman”), he’s used to playing odd, extreme characters and “SNL” was a nice fit.

Musical guests Cardi B performed “Bodega Baddie” and “ErrTime.” A tribute card for Catherine O’Hara, who died on Friday, was shown before the goodbyes. O’Hara hosted “SNL” in 1991 and 1992 and appeared in a short “SNL” film (with Laurie Metcalf!) in 1988.

For the first time in a while, Trump didn’t dominate the cold open of the show; instead, Davidson came back to the show, wearing a bald cap to portray Homan. Homan points out the irony that things have gotten so bad in Minneapolis with ICE that he’s now considered the voice-of-reason adult in the room. ICE commanders (Kenan Thompson, Andrew Dismukes, Johnson, Ben Marshall, Mikey Day and Jeremy Culhane) claimed their orders were “wildin’ out” and wondered if they’re supposed to be releasing the Epstein files. As Homan pointed out, the ICE raids were to distract from those, but now the Epstein files are being released to distract from ICE. Davidson is remembered more for his “Weekend Update” segments and his Chad character on “SNL,” but he does some nice work here even if he breaks character at one point.

Skarsgård’s could have spent his monologue discussing his TV and movie roles, like his upcoming film “Wicker” or his role in the new Charli XCX mockumentary “The Moment,” but instead he focused on the band members who appear on stage but rarely get to speak on the show. He interviewed some of the band members, poorly, and then grabbed a saxophone to do some inspired fake playing. It was silly and fun, a nice start to Skarsgård’s night.

Best sketch of the night: Mom’s having a change of heart, but you can’t say anything

For most of this season you can count on at least one sketch to feature a standout performance from featured player Ashley Padilla, who has become a ringer for playing women who are either very deluded and are trying to pretend they’re not, or who are trying to manage other people’s reactions to her odd behavior. For this sketch, she gets to do both, playing a mother who, after a lengthy preamble, reveals to her adult children and husband (Skarsgård) that she’s starting to change her opinion about Trump’s policies, from immigration to guns to trans people. As her kids struggle to hold back their reactions, lest she swing back the other way, her husband just wants to go to Red Robin for his birthday scoop. Best line: “If I hear a single ‘I told you so,’ I will go see the ‘Melania’ movie tonight!”

Also good: Having the right body shape for Olympics-level luge, even if it’s a corpse

Wickline, another featured player, has become a polarizing cast member among fans, some of whom simply don’t get her humor or appreciate her performances, while others love her quirky songs and see her as bringing a unique vibe to the show. For this Olympics-themed pre-taped piece, she gets to have a lot of fun as a reluctant luge competitor who is terrified to go down the mountain and tries to fake being sick to avoid going to Milan. This might remind you of Patti Harrison’s perfect performance in the “Capital Room” sketch on “I Think You Should Leave,” but Wickline manages to make the character her own.

‘Weekend Update’ winner: They scored again ahead of the Super Bowl

Sherman was promoted to “Weekend Update” weather correspondent in a segment that included a surprise appearance from “30 Rock” star Jack McBrayer, but it was Dismukes and Padilla as a couple who just had sex winning the week with their awkward, infatuated banter, which tied in nicely to a discussion about next week’s big game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. The couple predict that the Patriots will be on top the first half, but at some point the Seahawks will come from behind and dominate the Patriots for a little while. “Maybe the Patriots get tired and ask the Seahawks to play themselves for a while,” Dismukes suggests. Things go off the rails when he says no matter what happens, someone’s getting a ring, which puts tension on the budding relationship. “I didn’t say that night!” he explains to a disappointed Padilla. The two previously hooked up for the first time in the Glen Powell episode.

ORLANDO, Fla. — President Trump’s crackdown on immigration contributed to a year-to-year drop in the nation’s growth rate as the U.S. population reached nealry 342 million people in 2025, according to population estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The 0.5% growth rate for 2025 was a sharp drop from 2024’s almost 1% growth rate, which was the highest since 2001 and was fueled by immigration. The 2024 estimates put the U.S. population at 340 million people.

Immigration increased by 1.3 million people last year, compared with 2024’s increase of 2.8 million people. The census report did not distinguish between legal and illegal immigration.

In the past 125 years, the lowest growth rate was in 2021, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when the U.S. population grew by just 0.16%, or 522,000 people, and immigration increased by just 376,000 people because of travel restrictions into the U.S. Before that, the lowest growth rate was just under 0.5% in 1919 at the height of the Spanish flu.

Tuesday’s data release comes as researchers have been trying to determine the effects of the second Trump administration’s immigration crackdown after the Republican president returned to the White House in January 2025. Trump made the surge of migrants at the southern border a central issue in his winning 2024 presidential campaign.

The numbers made public Tuesday reflect change from July 2024 to July 2025, covering the end of President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and the first half of Trump’s first year back in office.

The figures capture a period that reflects the beginning of enforcement surges in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., but do not capture the impact on immigration after the Trump administration’s crackdowns began in Chicago; New Orleans; Memphis, Tenn.; and Minneapolis, Minn..

The 2025 numbers were a jarring divergence from 2024, when net international migration accounted for 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million-person increase from the year before. The jump in immigration two years ago was partly because of a new method of counting that added people who were admitted for humanitarian reasons.

“They do reflect recent trends we have seen in out-migration, where the numbers of people coming in is down and the numbers going out is up,” Eric Jensen, a senior research scientist at the Census Bureau, said last week.

Unlike the once-a-decade census, which determines how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets, as well as the distribution of $2.8 trillion in annual government funding, the population estimates are calculated from government records and internal Census Bureau data.

The release of the 2025 population estimates was delayed by the federal government shutdown last fall and comes at a challenging time for the Census Bureau and other U.S. statistical agencies. The bureau, which is the largest statistical agency in the U.S., lost about 15% of its workforce last year due to buyouts and layoffs that were part of cost-cutting efforts by the White House and its Department of Government Efficiency.

Other recent actions by the Trump administration, such as the firing of Erika McEntarfer as Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, have raised concerns about political meddling at U.S. statistical agencies. But Brookings demographer William Frey said the bureau’s staffers appear to have been “doing this work as usual without interference.”

“So I have no reason to doubt the numbers that come out,” Frey said.

Schneider writes for the Associated Press.