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LAAX, Switzerland — Two-time Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim said Thursday that she dislocated her shoulder in training and doesn’t know whether she will be able to compete at the Winter Games in Italy next month.

Kim posted footage of her fall from earlier this week on the halfpipe in Laax, Switzerland, where the world’s top snowboarders compete later this month in a key pre-Olympic tune-up. She landed a jump cleanly but lost an edge and went skittering across the pipe, face down.

Kim, who did not say which shoulder she hurt, said she is “trying to stay optimistic” about competing at the Olympics but “[doesn’t] have much clarity now.” The 25-year-old said she has an MRI scheduled for Friday that will reveal the extent of the damage.

“The positive thing is, I have range, I’m not in that much pain. I just don’t want it to keep popping out, which has happened,” she said. “I’m just trying to stay really optimistic. I feel really good about where my snowboarding is at right now, so I know the minute I get cleared and I’m good to go, I should be fine.”

Kim’s absence would deprive the Winter Games of one of its biggest stars and one of its best storylines. She is trying to become the first action-sports athlete to win three straight gold medals. Shaun White took home three golds, but they were spread out over five Games.

Kim was the breakout star of the 2018 Olympics, a bubbly teenager taking gold in her parents’ home country of South Korea. Four years ago in China, she won again, with that victory punctuated by her messages about the ups and downs of success and fame.

If healthy, she would be the heavy favorite to win again, but this injury off “the silliest fall,” as she called it, puts all that in question. Qualifying for the women’s halfpipe begins Feb. 11.

The Laax Open is scheduled for next weekend, and even if Kim were to get a clean bill of health, there is a chance she would head into the Olympics without having competed in the final of a contest this season.

Kim qualified for the U.S. team last year and has kept a light schedule. She fell during warm-ups for the final in Copper Mountain, Colo., last month and pulled out after hurting her shoulder then, as well. That injury was not believed to be serious.

From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Playing without LeBron James, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura, the Lakers wilted on the second night of a two-game trip, falling 107-91 to the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center.

With three starters out, Luka Doncic tried to will the Lakers to a victory with a 38-point, 10-rebound, 10 assist triple-double. He played 38 minutes and 20 seconds one night after playing 37 minutes and scoring 30 points in Tuesday’s win over the Pelicans..

James also scored 30 points in Tuesday’s win but sat out Wednesday with right sciatica and left foot arthritis. With him, Hachimura and Reaves out, the Lakers (23-12) had an average of 61 points sidelined.

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Lakers box score

NBA standings

Leonard can’t save Clippers from Knicks

Karl-Anthony Towns had 20 points, 11 rebounds and a season-high seven assists, Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and the New York Knicks snapped their four-game losing streak with a 123-111 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night.

Towns bounced back from a quiet game Monday in Detroit, when he took just four shots and had only six points and six turnovers in the Knicks’ 121-90 loss that gave them their longest losing streak of the season. This time, the center had 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knicks break open the game.

OG Anunoby added 20 points and Deuce McBride had 16 for the Knicks, who had a 24-7 run starting late in the third quarter and extending into the fourth to turn a four-point deficit into a 105-92 advantage.

Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points for the Clippers (13-23), who lost for just the second time in nine games. James Harden had 23 points and nine assists after sitting out Monday against Golden State because of right shoulder soreness.

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Clippers box score

Kings get swallowed by Sharks in overtime

William Eklund scored 3:08 into overtime, Macklin Celebrini had the tying goal and two assists to extend his point streak to 12 games, and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Kings 4-3 on Wednesday night.

Celebrini evened the score at 3 with 1:07 remaining in regulation. He deked his way past Warren Foegele and sent a wrist shot through traffic that beat goalie Darcy Kuemper through the legs for his 24th goal this season. The 19-year-old center has nine goals and 15 assists during his point streak.

Celebrini is tied for the third-longest point streak by a teenager in NHL history — joining Joe Sakic in 1988-89, Jimmy Carson in 1987-88 and Wayne Gretzky in 1979-80 — and the third-longest point streak in Sharks history.

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Kings summary

NHL standings

UCLA scores top transfer in star running back

From Ben Bolch: UCLA has landed a transfer who could hasten Bob Chesney’s rebuilding efforts.

Wayne Knight verbally committed to following Chesney from James Madison to Westwood on Wednesday, giving the new Bruins coach a high-quality running back to pair with quarterback Nico Iamaleava.

Showing what he could do on a national stage last month, Knight ran for 110 yards in 17 carries against Oregon in the College Football Playoff. It was the fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season for Knight on the way to being selected a first team All-Sun Belt Conference player.

Combining excellent speed with the toughness needed to break tackles, the 5-foot-6, 189-pound Knight led the conference with 1,357 rushing yards. He also made 40 catches for 397 yards and averaged 22.3 yards on kickoff returns and 9.5 yards on punt returns. His 2,039 all-purpose yards were a school record, helping him become an Associated Press second team All-American all-purpose player after ranking third nationally with 145.6 all-purpose yards per game.

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From Ben Bolch and Ryan Kartje: A look at all the players who are transferring in and out of UCLA and USC in the NCAA transfer portal ahead of the 2026 college football season.

Recent announcements include UCLA acquiring running back Wayne Knight and wide receivers Semaj Morgan, Landon Ellis, Leland Smith and Aidan Mizell are coming to UCLA.

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Williams Jr., Washington at odds over his exit

From Steve Henson: The decision by Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to enter the transfer portal shocked and angered the Huskies because only days earlier the sophomore breakout star had signed a lucrative name, image and likeness deal to remain in Seattle.

Legal action by Washington would be no surprise two weeks after similar events prompted an exchange of lawsuits involving Damon Wilson II, an edge rusher who transferred from Georgia to Missouri in January 2025, days after signing an NIL contract.

With recruiting strategy reduced to shoveling stacks of NIL dollars at players who jump through the transfer portal seemingly at will, it’s no wonder loyalty and etiquette have given way to opportunity and greed.

And it should surprise no one that the implementation of rules might be done by judges, not NCAA officials or conference commissioners.

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Can Herbert prove MVP in the playoffs?

From Benjamin Royer: Jim Harbaugh listed descriptions of his players as he looked back on the injury-filled route to the postseason the Chargers took to facing the New England Patriots in the AFC wild-card round on Sunday.

Harbaugh, heading into his second postseason as Chargers head coach, coined his team as gladiators, warriors and competitors — grappling the attention off the reporter’s question about what he’d learned from the regular-season strife and onto his roster.

“They’re mighty men,” Harbaugh said Wednesday afternoon.

Harbaugh continued: “It just reconfirms everything that I’ve always thought and want for our team is: ‘Competitors welcome.’ Competitors and playmakers, and we’ve got them. … That bodes really well for our team.”

There’s no doubt who the mightiest of the bunch may be for the Chargers (11-6) in 2025.

Justin Herbert’s 16-game stretch — playing the final five of which with a fractured left hand before sitting out last week — has turned heads with his 3,727 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns despite playing behind a fractured offensive line because of injuries to starting tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt.

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NFL standings

The NFL teams hitting a head coach refresh

From Chuck Schilken: The NFL regular season has ended.

For some teams, the search for a new head coach has begun.

The Baltimore Ravens have become the seventh team that will be seeking a new coach heading into the 2026 season. They fired longtime coach John Harbaugh on Tuesday, less than two days after a missed field goal at the end of regulation against the Pittsburgh Steelers prevented Baltimore from clinching the AFC North and advancing to the playoffs.

The Las Vegas Raiders fired Pete Carroll on Monday morning after a 3-14 season. The Atlanta Falcons fired coach Raheem Morris, as well as general manager Terry Fontenot, on Sunday night after a second straight 8-9 finish. The Cleveland Browns fired coach Kevin Stefanski after six seasons, the team announced Monday morning following a 5-11 finish this season. The Arizona Cardinals announced Monday morning that they’ve moved on from coach Jonathan Gannon after a 3-14 season.

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Is Shula a shoo-in for NFL head coach spot?

From Gary Klein: His late grandfather is the all-time leader in NFL coaching victories.

His father was an NFL head coach.

So, yes, Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula aims to become a third-generation NFL head coach.

Shula, the Rams’ defensive coordinator, is expected to take another step toward achieving that goal next week when assistants coaching in wild-card playoff games this weekend can be interviewed for head coach openings.

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NFL playoffs schedule

All times Pacific
Wild-card round
NFC
Saturday
No. 5 Rams at No. 4 Carolina, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes
No. 7 Green Bay at No. 2 Chicago, 5 p.m., Prime Video

Sunday
No. 6 San Francisco at No. 3 Philadelphia, 1:30 p.m., FOX, FOX Deportes

AFC
Sunday
No. 6 Buffalo at No. 3 Jacksonville, 10 a.m., CBS, Paramount+
No. 7 Chargers at No. 2 New England, 5 p.m., NBC, Peacock, Universo

Monday
No. 5 Houston at No. 4 Pittsburgh, 5 p.m., ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2

Divisional round
Jan. 17 and 18, TBA

Conference championships
Sunday, Jan. 25, TBA

Super Bowl
Sunday, Feb. 8, NBC, Time TBA

Freshmen landing tricks for UCLA gymnastics

From Anthony Solorzano: Her jitters came and went during the first meet of her college career. Now, it’s time for UCLA freshman Nola Matthews to focus on her training and routines.

“How I practice is the standard that I want,” Matthews said, “so now, I just need to implement that into competition.”

The UCLA women’s gymnastics team sent four freshmen (Matthews, Tiana Sumanasekera, Ashlee Sullivan and Jordis Eichman) to the floor during their meet against Washington, California and Oregon State on Saturday.

After earning three wins during the competition in Washington, the Bruins swept the Big Ten Conference weekly awards, including freshman of the week award for Sumanasekera after she placed second on the balance beam and the floor exercise.

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Hall of Famer keeps on against Parkinson’s

From Chuck Schilken: Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre said Wednesday that anyone who says he has thrown in the towel on his battle with Parkinson’s disease is spreading fake news.

“Thank you everyone for your prayers and concerns, but contrary to reports, I have not given up hope in my battle with Parkinson’s!” the 56-year-old Super Bowl champion wrote on X. “Not sure where this came from — but just like I never gave up on the gridiron — not going to start now. I pray there will be a cure one day and I appreciate you all.”

Favre also told TMZ on Wednesday: “I have absolutely not given up and I am fighting till the end. Yes I have progressed a little faster than I would have hoped at this point but I’m extremely thankful and blessed!!!”

The former Packers/Jets/Vikings quarterback revealed his Parkinson’s diagnosis last year but hadn’t gone into much detail about it until last week’s episode of his “4th and Favre” podcast.

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Dodgers, Graterol avoid arbitration with deal

From Benjamin Royer: The Dodgers avoided arbitration with reliever Brusdar Graterol on Wednesday, reportedly agreeing to terms with the Venezuelan right-hander on a one-year, $2.8-million deal before Thursday’s deadline to avoid an arbitration hearing.

Graterol, 27, missed the 2025 season after undergoing surgery on the labrum in his right shoulder in November 2024. The $2.8-million figure is the same as his salary for last season.

After being acquired by the Dodgers in a 2020 trade that sent Kenta Maeda to the Minnesota Twins, he turned into a hard-throwing member of the team’s bullpen.

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THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

1972 — The NCAA announces freshmen will be eligible to play on varsity football and basketball teams starting in the fall.

1973 — David Vaughn of Oral Roberts grabs 34 rebounds in a 123-95 win over Brandeis.

1984 — The Executive Committee of the NCAA votes to expand the championship basketball field to 64 teams starting in 1985.

1984 — Bengt Gustafsson of the Washington Capitals scores five goals in a 7-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

1993 — Michael Jordan becomes the 18th NBA player to reach the 20,000-point plateau when he scores 35 points in the Chicago Bulls’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan reaches 20,000-points in 620 games, faster than anyone except Wilt Chamberlain, who did it in 499 games.

1994 — Dino Ciccarelli becomes the 19th NHL player to score 500 career goals in the Detroit Red Wings’ 6-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

2000 — Eddie House scores 61 points to tie Lew Alcindor’s Pac-10 record and lead the Sun Devils to 111-108 double-overtime victory over California.

2003 — Utah guard Mark Jackson becomes the third NBA player to reach 10,000 career assists in the Jazz’s 99-93 win over the Phoenix Suns. Jackson joins career assists leader and teammate John Stockton (15,425) and Magic Johnson (10,141).

2007 — Second-ranked Florida dominates Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and No. 1 Ohio State for a 41-14 in the BCS National Championship Bowl. The Gators become the first Division I school to hold football and basketball titles at the same time.

2008 — Goose Gossage becomes the fifth relief pitcher elected to the Hall of Fame.

2009 — Tim Tebow wins the matchup of Heisman winners as No. 1 Florida beats No. 2 Oklahoma and this year’s Heisman winner Sam Bradford, 24-14, in the BCS National Championship Bowl.

2011 — The Seattle Seahawks stun the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints 41-36 to open the NFL playoffs. Seattle, the first division winner with a losing record at 7-9, advances behind four touchdown passes by Matt Hasselbeck and a brilliant 67-yard run by Marshawn Lynch.

2012 — Denver’s Tim Tebow connects with Demaryius Thomas on an electrifying 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime and the Broncos stun the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in a AFC wild-card game. The play, the longest to end a playoff game in overtime, takes 11 seconds and is the quickest ending to an overtime in NFL history.

2014 — Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas are elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame, while Craig Biggio fell two votes short.

2016 — Oakland’s Khalil Mack makes history earning a selection at two positions on the 2015 Associated Press All-Pro Team, an NFL first. The second-year Raiders defensive end and outside linebacker draws enough support from a panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league to make the squad both spots.

2018 — College Football National Championship, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta: #4 Alabama beats #3 Georgia, 26-23.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Former vice presidential contender and current aw-shucks Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced this week that he won’t run for a third term, dogged by a scandal over child care funds that may or may not be going to fraudsters.

It’s a politically driven mess that not coincidentally focuses on a Black immigrant community, tying the real problem of scammers stealing government funds to the growing MAGA frenzy around an imaginary version of America that thrives on whiteness and Christianity.

Despite the ugliness of current racial politics in America, the fraud remains real, and not just in Minnesota. California has lost billions to cheats in the last few years, leaving our own governor, who also harbors D.C. dreams, vulnerable to the same sort of attack that has taken down Walz.

As we edge closer to the 2028 presidential election, Republicans and Democrats alike will probably come at Gavin Newsom with critiques of the state’s handling of COVID-19 funds, unemployment insurance and community college financial aid to name a few of the honeypots that have been successfully swiped by thieves during his tenure.

In fact, President Trump said as much on his social media barf-fest this week.

“California, under Governor Gavin Newscum, is more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible??? The Fraud Investigation of California has begun,” he wrote.

Right-wing commentator Benny Johnson also said he’s conducting his own “investigation.” And Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton is claiming his fraud tip line has turned up “(c)orruption, fraud and abuse on an epic scale.”

Just to bring home that this vulnerability is serious and bipartisan, Rep. Ro Khanna, the Silicon Valley congressman rumored to have his own interest in the Oval Office, is also circling the fraud feast like a vulture eyeing his next meal.

“I want to hear from residents in my district and across the state about waste, mismanagement, inefficiencies, or fraud that we must tackle,” Khanna wrote on social media.

Newsom’s spokesman Izzy Gardon questioned the validity of many fraud claims.

“In the actual world where adults govern,” Gardon said, “Gavin Newsom has been cleaning house. Since taking office, he’s blocked over $125 BILLION in fraud, arrested criminal parasites leaching off of taxpayers, and protected taxpayers from the exact kind of scam artists Trump celebrates, excuses, and pardons.”

What exactly are we talking about here? Well, it’s a pick-your-scandal type of thing. Even before the federal government dumped billions in aid into the states during the pandemic, California’s unemployment system was plagued by inefficiencies and yes, scammers. But when the world shut down and folks needed that government cash to survive, malfeasance skyrocketed.

Every thief with a half-baked plan — including CEOs, prisoners behind bars and overseas organized crime rackets — came for California’s cash, and seemingly got it. The sad part is these weren’t criminal geniuses. More often than not, they were low-level swindlers looking at a system full of holes because it was trying to do too much too fast.

In a matter of months, billions had been siphoned away. A state audit in 2021 found that at least $10 billion had been paid out on suspicious unemployment claims — never mind small business loans or other types of aid. An investigation by CalMatters in 2023 suggested the final figure may be up to triple that amount for unemployment. In truth, no one knows exactly how much was stolen — in California, or across the country.

It hasn’t entirely stopped. California is still paying out fraudulent unemployment claims at too high a rate, totaling up to $1.5 billion over the last few years — more than $500 million in 2024 alone, according to the state auditor.

But that’s not all. Enterprising thieves looked elsewhere when COVID-19 money largely dried up. Recently, that has been our community colleges, where millions in federal student aid has been lost to grifters who use bots to sign up for classes, receive government money to help with school, then disappear. Another CalMatters investigation using data obtained from a public records request found that up to 34% of community college applications in 2024 may have been false — though that number represents fraudulent admissions that were flagged and blocked, Gardon points out.

Still, community college fraud will probably be a bigger issue for Newsom because it’s fresher, and can be tied (albeit disingenuously) to immigrants and progressive policies.

California allows undocumented residents to enroll in community colleges, and it made those classes free — two terrific policies that have been exploited by the unscrupulous. For a while, community colleges didn’t do enough to ensure that students were real people, because they didn’t require enough proof of identity. This was in part to accommodate vulnerable students such as foster kids, homeless people and undocumented folks who lacked papers.

With no up-front costs for attempting to enroll, phonies threw thousands of identities at the system’s 116 schools, which were technologically unprepared for the assaults. These “ghost” students were often accepted and given grants and loans.

My former colleague Kaitlyn Huamani reported that in 2024, scammers stole roughly $8.4 million in federal financial aid and more than $2.7 million in state aid from our community colleges. That‘s a pittance compared with the tens of billions that was handed out in state and federal financial aid, but more than enough for a political fiasco.

As Walz would probably explain if nuanced policy conversations were still a thing, it’s both a fair and unfair criticism to blame these robberies on a governor alone — state government should be careful of its cash and aggressive in protecting it, and the buck stops with the governor, but crises and technology have collided to create opportunities for swindlers that frankly few governmental leaders, from the feds on down, have handled with any skill or luck.

The crooks have simply been smarter and faster than the rest of us to capitalize first on the pandemic, then on evolving technology including AI that makes scamming easier and scalable to levels our institutions were unprepared to handle.

Since being so roundly fleeced during the pandemic, multiple state and federal agencies have taken steps in combating fraud — including community colleges using their own AI tools to stop fake students before they get in.

And the state is holding thieves accountable. Newsom hired a former Trump-appointed federal prosecutor, McGregor Scott, to go after scam artists on unemployment. And other county, state and federal prosecutors have also dedicated resources to clawing back some of the lost money.

With the slow pace of our courts (burdened by their own aging technology), many of those cases are still ongoing or just winding up. For example, 24 L.A. County employees were charged in recent months with allegedly stealing more than $740,000 in unemployment benefits, which really is chump change in this whole mess.

Another California man recently pleaded guilty to allegedly cheating his way into $15.9 million in federal loans through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.

And in one of the most colorful schemes, four Californians with nicknames including “Red boy” and “Scooby” allegedly ran a scam that boosted nearly $250 million in federal tax refunds before three of them attempted to murder the fourth to keep him from ratting them out to the feds.

There are literally hundreds of cases across the country of pandemic fraud. And these schemes are just the tip of the cash-berg. Fraudsters are also targeting fire relief funds, food benefits — really, any pot of public money is fair game to them. And the truth is, the majority of that stolen money is gone for good.

So it’s hard to hear the numbers and not be shocked and angry, especially as the Golden State is faced with a budget shortfall that may be as much as $18 billion.

Whether you blame Newsom personally or not for all this fraud, it’s hard to be forgiving of so much public money being handed to scoundrels when our schools are in need, our healthcare in jeopardy and our bills on an upward trajectory.

The failure is going to stick to somebody, and it doesn’t take a criminal mastermind to figure out who it’s going to be.

WASHINGTON — President Trump is not the first president to want more room at the White House for entertaining, says the longest-serving top aide in the executive residence, offering some backup for the reason Trump has cited for his ballroom construction project.

Gary Walters spent more than two decades as White House chief usher to presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and George W. Bush — a role that is akin to being the general manager of the residence.

“All the presidents that I had an opportunity to serve always talked about some possibility of an enlarged area” for entertaining, Walters said in an interview with the Associated Press about his recently published memoir.

Trump has been talking about building a White House ballroom for years, even before he entered the political arena. In July, the White House announced a 90,000-square-foot space would be built on the east side of the complex to accommodate 650 seated guests at a then-estimated cost of $200 million. Trump has said it will be paid for with private donations, including from him.

The Republican president later upped the proposed ballroom’s capacity to 999 people and, by October, had demolished the two-story East Wing of the White House to build it there. In December, he updated the price tag to $400 million — double the original estimate.

Images of the East Wing being demolished shocked historians, preservationists and others, but Walters said there is a long history of projects on the campus, ranging from conservatories, greenhouses and stables being torn down to build the West Wing in 1902, to the expansion of the residence with a third floor, to the addition of the East Wing itself during World War II to provide workspace for the first lady, her staff and other White House offices.

“So there’s always been construction going on around the White House,” Walters said.

Other presidents bemoaned the lack of space for entertaining

When Walters was on the job, the capacity of the largest public rooms in the White House was among the first topics he discussed with the incoming president, first lady and their social secretary, he said. The presidents he served all talked about the limited number of people the White House could handle.

When set up for a state dinner, the State Dining Room can hold about 130 people: 13 round tables each with seating for 10, Walters said. The East Room can accommodate about 300 chairs — fewer if space is needed for television cameras.

Trump complains often that both rooms are too small. He also has complained about the use of large tents on the south grounds, the main workaround for big events such as ritzy state dinners for foreign leaders. Walters said the tents had issues.

“When it rained, the water flows downhill and the grass became soggy, no matter what we tried to do,” Walters said. “We dug culverts around the outside of the tent to try and get the water.” Tents damaged the grass, requiring more work to reseed it, he said.

Walters admitted it was a bit jarring to see the East Wing torn down, and said he had fond personal memories of the space. “I met my wife at the White House and she worked in the East Wing, so that was a joy for me,” said Walters, 79.

His wife, Barbara, was a receptionist in the visitors office during the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. The couple recently celebrated 48 years of marriage.

Broken bones alter usher’s career trajectory

Walters owes his place in history as the longest-serving White House chief usher to the misfortune of a broken ankle.

He was 23 in early 1970, honorably discharged from the Army and looking for a job that would allow him to finish college at night. The Executive Protective Service, a precursor to the U.S. Secret Service, was hiring and accepted him.

But shortly before the graduation ceremony, Walters broke an ankle playing football. He could not patrol out of uniform, wearing a cast and hobbling around on crutches, so he was given a temporary assignment in the White House Police Control and Appointments Center. He stayed for five years.

“This injury also changed the course of my career,” Walters wrote in his memoir, “White House Memories: 1970-2007: Recollections of the Longest-Serving Chief Usher.” He gained an ”in-depth knowledge of the ways and security systems of the White House that would ultimately greatly benefit me in my future role in the Usher’s Office.”

A few months after being promoted to sergeant in 1975, he learned of an opening in the Usher’s Office. He applied and joined as an assistant in early 1976.

A decade later, he was elevated to chief usher by Reagan, who gave Walters the top job in the residence overseeing maintenance, construction and renovation projects, and food service, along with administrative, financial and personnel functions. He managed a staff of about 90 butlers, housekeepers, cooks, florists, electricians, engineers, plumbers and others.

Walters retired in 2007 after 37 years at the White House, including a record 21 years as chief usher. He served under seven presidents, from Nixon to George W. Bush.

In that time, Walters saw a broad swath of presidential history: the only president who ever resigned, an appointed vice president become the only unelected president, a president be impeached and stay in office, a father and son become president and the Supreme Court decide the most closely contested presidential election in U.S. history.

He’s often asked what he liked most about his work and “without hesitation I say it is getting to know and interact directly with the president, first lady, and other members of their family. It was an honor to get to know them with my own eyes and ears,” Walters wrote.

Superville writes for the Associated Press.

Twisting and tying shoelaces into a knot became a formidable task for Justin Herbert in the days following hand surgery.

Every time the Chargers quarterback leaned over to tie his shoes, his cast would nudge in the way, complicating a once-menial task.

For Herbert, it became a constant reminder of the broken bone he suffered during a 31-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 30 — a helmet-to-hand hit from Raiders safety Jeremy Chinn that required surgery on his non-throwing hand the next day.

And while the 27-year-old, who earned his second Pro Bowl honor Tuesday, has been far from perfect since the injury, the Chargers (11-4) have managed to win four consecutive games, including two against last season’s Super Bowl teams.

“The days went on, and as I got better and more mobility with (the left hand), I think it’s become more normal, and it feels a bit better, so that’s also a positive,” Herbert said earlier this week.

Eking out wins against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, Herbert increased his yards-per-pass attempt from 5.3 yards to 7.2 yards. His completion percentage improved from a season-low 46.2% against the Eagles to a respectable 65.5% against the Chiefs.

Against the Dallas Cowboys, Herbert recorded a 132.8 passer rating, his best since December 2021 in Week 14 against the New York Giants. He passed for 300 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-17 win over the Cowboys that led to the Chargers clinching a playoff berth Monday with San Francisco’s win over Indianapolis.

“To me, that’s just a test of the type of person, type of player he is,” said wide receiver Quentin Johnston, who made a spectacular, one-handed touchdown catch and finished with 104 receiving yards against Dallas. “I mean, shoot, still playing and executing at a high level — I’m really happy to be on the team with him. I would rather be with nobody else but him.”

The Houston Texans (10-5) on Saturday at SoFi Stadium will allow Herbert the chance to build on his impressive season, and exorcise at least some of his playoff demons.

Herbert’s nightmare performance against the Texans in the wild-card playoffs last season remains seared into his memory. He threw a career-worst four interceptions in a 32-12 defeat that dropped him to 0-2 in career playoff games.

“No one felt worse than I did,” Herbert said. “I think it’s important to continue to move forward and realize that it’s what happened, and it would be crazy of me to deny the truth of what happened and to live in this reality where, if I tried to block it out, I don’t think that’s gonna be any good.”

Plenty remains at stake for the Chargers. They remain in the hunt for the AFC West title and the AFC’s top playoff seed. If the Chargers beat the Texans and follow with a win over the Denver Broncos in Week 18, they’ll win the division. The Chargers need to win out and hope the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots both lose at least once to secure the No. 1 seed.

While coach Jim Harbaugh says the team is approaching the next two weeks one game at a time, the Chargers’ defense — inspired by Herbert’s efforts — sees the path to continuing their red-hot run.

“It’s a hell of a statement he’s making throughout the building, and everybody can feel it,” outside linebacker Khalil Mack said.

Dec. 24 (UPI) — President Donald Trump’s newly tapped special envoy to Greenland, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, has denied suggestions the United States is “trying to conquer” the island, which belongs to Denmark.

Landry made the remarks Tuesday during an appearance on Fox News’ The Will Cain Show.

He said the United States wants an open dialogue with the people of Greenland, which is self-governing, to understand what they want.

“What are they looking for?” Landry said. “What opportunities have they not gotten? Why haven’t they gotten the protection that they actually deserve.”

He added that the United States “has always been a welcoming party.”

“We don’t go in there trying to conquer anybody and trying to … take over anybody’s country,” Landry added. “We say, ‘Listen, we represent liberty, we represent economic strength, we represent protection.'”

Trump named Landry his special envoy to Greenland on Monday, sparking concern from the Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, who summoned the U.S. ambassador in response. Rasmussen said the appointment showed that the United States has not given up on Trump’s idea of trying to buy Greenland from Denmark.

“We insist that everyone, including the U.S., must show respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Rasmussen said.

Greenland is a territory of Denmark, but controls its own government. Trump has discussed the possibility of annexing the island nation, saying the United States needs it for national and world security.

“I think we’re going to get it, one way or another,” Trump said in a televised speech in March.

Trump announced his appointment of Landry as special envoy in a post on Truth Social on Monday.

“Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our national security and will strongly advance our country’s interests for the safety, security and survival of our allies and, indeed, the world. Congratulations Jeff!” Trump posted.