indiana

Indiana’s state governor says that US government has promised assistance after a week of heavy rainfall.

Authorities in the Midwestern United States have reported at least five deaths in Indiana after the state was struck with fierce storms and flooding.

Rescue workers continue to seek out those stranded by the storms, which drenched Indiana over the past week.

Governor Mike Braun had called for a presidential emergency declaration on Friday, in order to access greater resources for the state.

On Saturday, he issued a public statement announcing that the federal government had pledged assistance.

“I spoke with President [Donald] Trump today about the severe storms and historic flooding impacting Indiana, and he informed me that he intends to approve our request for a Presidential Emergency Declaration,” Braun, a Republican, wrote in a social media post.

“I’m grateful to President Trump for his commitment to getting Hoosiers the federal assistance we need as we continue responding and recovering.”

Emergency workers have used boats to rescue people from homes inundated by rising waters.

The White River in Indianapolis, Indiana, was among the waterways that overflowed its banks over the last week, causing dangerous flooding.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said that the area is experiencing its worst flooding in more than 30 years. The National Weather Service has reported that more than 280mm (11 inches) of rain fell over two days in some areas.

Sheriff deputies in Delaware County said on Friday that they had found the body of a deceased 58-year-old woman, whom they believe died trying to drive her vehicle through floodwaters.

Authorities caution against attempting to cross flooded areas in a car, warning that vehicles can become stranded.

A four-year-old child also died after a tree fell on a home in Jennings County this week, and law enforcement found the body of a teen who was reported missing on Wednesday after jumping into a river.

“My heart is with the families and loved ones of the five Hoosiers we have lost and every family whose life has been changed by these storms,” Braun said on Saturday. “Please continue to take flooding seriously and stay away from floodwaters.”

INDIANAPOLIS — The Republican leader of the Indiana Senate announced Friday that he would give up his position after six GOP incumbents who opposed President Trump on his congressional redistricting push in the state lost their primaries.

Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray drew the ire of Trump in December when he voted against the redistricting plan after saying for weeks that it didn’t have enough support to pass. The rejection came after intense lobbying from Trump, Vice President JD Vance, national conservative groups and others.

Bray, who has held his leadership position since 2018, said in a statement Friday that he would not seek reelection to the post when Senate Republicans choose their leaders in November. His current Senate term runs through 2028 and he will remain in office, albeit not as the Republican Senate leader.

Trump reacted to the news in a social media post by saying Bray had “foolishly led” the state Senate, noting the May primary defeats of those who defied him on the redistricting plan.

Bray did not mention Trump or the redistricting fight in his statement announcing his position to step down from the leadership position. Bray said holding the job “has been among the most significant honors of my life, but it’s time for the Senate to choose another leader.”

For Seattle, Awa Fam carved out a slice of history for herself, becoming the youngest player ever at the age of 20 to hit four three-point shots in a single quarter.

Dominique Malonga scored 28 points, the second most in her career, and 14 rebounds – but it wasn’t enough for Seattle, who set a team record for points scored in a normal-time loss.

Clark’s record-breaking night came a day after she was labelled a “political football” by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

The star point-guard has become one of the biggest draws in the WNBA since being drafted by the Fever in 2024, and there has been a lot of attention paid to the way she is treated by opposing teams and the tactics they employ to try to limit her impact during games.

Last month, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas received a retrospective one-game ban and a $1,000 (£743) fine for appearing to knee Clark in the groin and push her fist into her neck during a tussle for possession.

A group of 11 Republican lawmakers then sent a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert asking the league to take “accountability”, and expressed concern that “attacks against Clark may be racially motivated”.

Political commentators on the right have also weighed in, suggesting the treatment of Clark is rooted in racism and jealousy.

Speaking as part of a panel at an event in New York on Thursday, Silver said the debates surrounding Clark had become about broader political and cultural issues in the United States rather than basketball alone.

“That particular incident is not about whether a foul should have been called at the time of the game or whether that was ultimately a flagrant non-review,” said Silver.

“I’ve come to know Caitlin really well. She’s an incredible player and also an incredible person.

“And she wants to focus on being the best player she can. And she’s become a bit of a political football in this country, and I think it’s incredibly unfair to her.”

For the first time in more than two weeks, the Sparks won a game.

Nneka Ogwumike scored 24 points with eight rebounds, Rae Burrell added 22 points and Dearica Hamby had 21 in what felt like a near must-win game against Indiana on Wednesday night to snap a three-game losing streak, 106-92.

“I think people were tired of how we were losing,” Ogwumike said. “Not just losing, but how we were losing, and we knew that there was more that we could give. … I think we all individually held ourselves accountable to be able to do more, to pour more into what we got going on. I took it upon myself to try my best to like, you know, play harder in possessions.”

The Fever committed 17 turnovers, which the Sparks (9-11) converted into 22 points, and All-Star Caitlin Clark scored her second-fewest points this season with just nine in limited minutes while returning from injury. Kelsey Mitchell scored 29 points for the Fever, but the Sparks seemed to have an offensive answer each time.

Indiana (12-9) was without star center Aliyah Boston (lower right leg), who Fever coach Stephanie White said would play in the second game of a back-to-back set Thursday in Phoenix. Clark, in and out of the lineup because of a back injury all season, never got going and was an abysmal minus-16.

Coming off an 18-point loss to Seattle at home on Monday, Ogwumike said that injured All-Star guard Kelsey Plum gave the team an inspired speech Tuesday.

“Everyone had a little bit of feedback that she gave, both encouragement and also points of improvement for each person, and I think it was received,” Ogwumike said. “It was received in a way that not only did we want to change how we, you know, approach today, but also to familiarize ourselves with sustaining the way that this feels moving forward.”

“KP lit a fire under our ass,” Burrell added.

All five Sparks starters scored in double digits, and the 106 points were the most the franchise has scored in a home game.

Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever talks with teammates during the second quarter.

(Katelyn Mulcahy / Getty Images)

“I’m happy we won, obviously, but I’m more happy with how we played,” coach Lynne Roberts said. “The response that we showed from just laying an egg on Monday to coming back and, you know, we talked about playing more connected, having a little more smarts out there, defensively emptying the tank, getting out and running and playing with pace.”

The Sparks rode a 16-2 run midway through the second quarter to lead by as many as eight before the half.

They didn’t slow down going into the third frame, opening with 18 points in the first five minutes to take a 13-point lead. Burrell and Kiana Williams hit consecutive threes late in the third after the Fever cut the lead to eight points, and it was never close again.

Plum (lower left leg) and center Cameron Brink (left ankle) remained out of the lineup, and the Sparks extended their bench to give significant minutes to Alissa Pili, Jihyun Park and Williams.

Pili, signed to a developmental deal this week, scored four points with five rebounds in her first WNBA action since last September because of a right ankle injury.

Wednesday’s win also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Fever dating to last season.

The Sparks will complete their three-game homestand against Chicago (7-14) on Friday.

“We wanted to play harder,” Ogwumike said. “We wanted to own each possession and to compete at every level for the full 40 minutes of play. It’s really that simple. I think when you put your heart into playing that hard, the schemes, the plays, the execution, it comes to fruition. And tonight, it felt good. It felt good emptying the tank.”

Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

Recently, I don’t exactly know why, I was overtaken by a concern that because of the impending merger of Paramount and Warner Bros., Olivier Assayas’ 2022 series adaption of his own film “Irma Vep” would be removed from the HBO Max streaming platform. With no official physical release, the series — starring Alicia Vikander as a Hollywood movie star making a project in Paris — could be effectively vanished from existence.

This is sadly inevitable, though some superfans have gone to extra-legal measures to ensure otherwise (not that we would ever endorse this). Most famously it’s happened with the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Billed as the “Grindhouse Edition,” these are discs of the first three “Star Wars” films sourced from scans of original film prints before the digital fixes and polish of the more recent official releases. Reengaging with these works in this way, scratches and all, is (I’m told) a strong reminder of why they hit so hard in the first place, similar to how it might be to reread a text in the original language instead of a more recent translation.

‘Indiana Jones’ marathon

Harrison Ford and Karen Allen on the set of 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

(Lucasfilm Ltd.)

The same deep understanding of genre filmmaking that went into the original “Star Wars” also went into “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the first adventure of the character of Indiana Jones. Directed by Steven Spielberg from a script by Lawrence Kasdan and story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, the film is playful, thrilling and self-aware. It is made with such care, attention to detail and sense of fun that I remember how disappointed I was to discover not all movies would be like this.

There have of course been diminishing returns with the more recent run of Indiana Jones sequels, but the first three installments all have a real spark. And so the Secret Movie Club will present “Raiders,” 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and 1989’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” all on 35mm at the Million Dollar Theater in DTLA on Sunday in celebration of Father’s Day.

In her original review of the first film, Sheila Benson described that while watching it, she felt “a rush of gratitude which almost brought tears of contagious joy and — not to be corny about this — the strength of the film’s positive vision. If this is an era in which the heroic is lacking and the mediocre threatens us from every side, then ‘Raiders,’ which has no pretensions to importance, which is unabashedly wide-eyed and exaggerated and true blue but somehow cherishes the best in life and filmmaking — is a high-water mark.”

Plenty of jokes could be made about the movies having settled into what might be thought of as part of the dadcore canon: action-adventure movies that play well on TV and maybe you can take a short nap and not miss anything. So be it.

From one master to another

Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller “North by Northwest.”

(Sunset Boulevard / Corbis via Getty Images)

Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has been making waves of late for his strong public stance against the use of AI in feature filmmaking. But it is worth remembering that he is also a deep and incisive thinker about older movies, a true fan, which makes his upcoming appearances at the Academy Museum a special occasion.

Del Toro will present five films by Alfred Hitchcock — 1946’s “Notorious,” 1943’s ‘Shadow of a Doubt,” 1959’s “North by Northwest,” 1953’s “I Confess” and 1972’s “Frenzy” — along with delivering a lecture on each of them. To see one great filmmaker reflect with such depth into the work of another is just remarkable. This is some genuine only-in-L.A. type stuff.

Comedy + politics = good fun

A scene from the 1976 movie “Car Wash.”

(Margaret Herrick Library / Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)

A raucous comedy set around the location of the title, “Car Wash” is also a sharp, politically minded satire about labor and money. Directed by Michael Schultz from a screenplay by Joel Schumacher, the film has an extended ensemble cast that includes Richard Pryor, Franklyn Ajaye, George Carlin and many others.

In his original review Charles Champlin compared “Car Wash” to films such as “American Graffiti” and “Nashville” and called it “light but not foolish. … The experience is exhilarating.”

A 50th anniversary screening at the Academy Museum on Saturday of a new 4K restoration will include a panel with Schultz and actors Bill Duke, Antonio Fargas, Melanie Mayron, Garrett Morris and Pepe Serna.

Collision report

James Spader in the 1996 movie “Crash,” directed by David Cronenberg.

(Jonathan Wenk / Fine Line Features)

The controversy that surrounded David Cronenberg’s “Crash” when it premiered at Cannes in 1996 and received a U.S. release in 1997 tended to overwhelm the actual movie. Shockingly explicit, the film is about a secret underground world of people who create a sexual fetish out of car crashes. An adaptation of the novel by J.G. Ballard, Cronenberg’s movie explores the cinematic obsession with sex and violence.

Over time, “Crash” has been evolving from a seemingly cursed object dogged by scandal into something that audiences can come to appreciate and admire — even if it is not a movie you can ever exactly fully understand. Part of Cronenberg’s brilliance is how enigmatic and unknowable his work can be: strange, inviting and enveloping while refusing easy or direct analysis.

The movie is playing twice locally this week, on Saturday at Vidiots in partnership with the Cinegogue, with special giveaways and exclusive merch, and again on Monday at the Academy Museum in 4K. Who will be brave (or perverse) enough to go twice?

A different view of Rio

Milton Gonçalves, center, in the 1974 movie “The Devil Queen.”

(Kino Lorber)

A drag queen (Milton Gonçalves) rules the criminal underworld of Rio de Janeiro in Antonio Carlos da Fontoura’s 1974 gangster drama “The Devil Queen,” an unlikely mix of camp aesthetics and gritty violence. Among the film’s many fans is Kleber Mendonça Filho, the filmmaker behind the recent Brazilian hit “The Secret Agent,” who referred to “The Devil Queen” as “bloody, nasty and full of personality.”

The movie is playing in a new 4K restoration at the Lumiere Cinema in Beverly Hills.

A musical melodrama returns

Raul Julia, left, and Teri Garr in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1981 movie “One From the Heart.”

(Rialto Pictures / American Zoetrope)

We have talked before about Francis Ford Coppola’s “One From the Heart,” a movie of such delirious audacity that it nearly ruined the filmmaker‘s career. A throwback musical about two lovers who break up in search of more excitement, the film stars Teri Garr, Frederic Forrest, Nastassja Kinski and Raul Julia.

On Saturday the film will screen at the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theater in a 70mm print for the first time in L.A. since 1990. The event is being dedicated to Dean Tavoularis, Coppola’s longtime production designer, who died in April. For “One From the Heart,” Tavoularis re-created the Las Vegas Strip on a studio back lot.

New this week

• Amy Nicholson is not a fan of the new “Toy Story 5,” writing in her review, “Pixar has continued adding shades to the same plot outline like a child with a box of 128 crayons (or a company clinging to its billion-dollar idea).”
• Glenn Whipp cast back into the “Toy Story” universe for a highly personal ranking of his 10 favorite “Toy Story” toys.
• Two gay teenage boys attempt to survive a supernatural entity and conversion therapy in Adrian Chiarella’s debut feature “Leviticus.” Jen Yamato spoke to the filmmaking team.
• I spoke to writer-director Michael Sarnoski about his new “The Death of Robin Hood,” starring Hugh Jackman in a subversively revisionist telling of the last days of the medieval bandit.

WASHINGTON — President Trump has issued a pardon to Stephen Buyer, a Republican former congressman from Indiana who served nearly two years in prison for making illegal stock trades based on inside information after he left office.

Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades made while working as a consultant and lobbyist. He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025.

The Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer’s appeal without comment or noted dissent.

In granting “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” Trump cited Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was “distinguished and highly productive.” The pardon was dated Thursday and released by the White House late Friday.

Buyer asserted that the pardon “corrects a politically motivated prosecution” and that it was “horrific to be imprisoned for a crime that I did not commit.”

Trump used his social media platform May 31 to share a pair of letters requesting a presidential pardon for Buyer, a lawyer and Persian Gulf War veteran who left office in 2011. He was a House prosecutor at President Clinton’s 1999 impeachment trial and in 2016 he served on Trump’s transition team focusing on veterans issues.

A letter signed by more than 40 Republican former members of Congress said Buyer was “targeted by the deep state” because of his involvement in Clinton’s trial a generation ago.

A second letter, from five current House Republicans, including Ken Calvert of Corona, said pardoning Buyer would bring justice to his case. The June 2025 letter was also signed by Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Marlin Stutzman of Indiana, Jack Bergman of Michigan and Pete Sessions of Texas.

Buyer, 67, was convicted in connection with insider trading involving the $26.5-billion merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, announced in April 2018, and illegal trades in the management consulting company Navigant when his client Guidehouse was set to acquire it in a deal publicly disclosed weeks later.

The Constitution gives a president broad power to grant pardons for federal crimes. The pardons do not erase a recipient’s criminal record but can be seen as an act of mercy or justice.