ISNT

Democrats, election officials and voting rights groups have long wondered whether President Trump, upon his return to the Oval Office, would again attempt to overturn an election when his party is trailing.

It’s no longer hypothetical.

Late last week, the president directed his Department of Justice to preemptively contest a potential Republican loss in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska. The department is demanding a court hold up certification of a possible Democratic win until it’s determined whether voters were confused by having two candidates with the same name on the ballot.

Trump followed that by calling for the prosecution of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, based on a New York Times report that her campaign helped recruit someone named Dan Sullivan to siphon away votes from the Republican incumbent, also named Dan Sullivan. The governor has ordered an investigation.

Academics believe the lawsuit is the first time since the Civil Rights era that the federal government has sued to halt certification of an election, a duty the Constitution places in the hands of states.

Trump, for years, has claimed elections are rigged when he or his party loses, and this time is no exception. He has used his midterm rallies to say Democrats cheat, criticize election officials by name and call the ranked choice voting system in Alaska, which might hold the key to Senate control, a scam.

But the certification lawsuit elevates Trump’s crusade beyond mere rhetoric, indicating that he is preparing to use the power of the presidency to try to reverse a possible loss as his party struggles to hold its control of Congress in Tuesday’s elections.

Earlier this week, the president also announced a $1 million bounty for anyone who provides proof of prior or current voter fraud in the country. It wasn’t clear whether or how he planned to follow through.

“For at least the last year and a half, they’ve been laying that groundwork,” said Theresa Lee, a senior attorney with the ACLU. “We’ve been preparing for just as long, if not longer.”

Trump says he’ll accept results if the election is ‘honest’

Trump told reporters this week that he would accept the election results, but with his typical caveat: “If they’re honest elections,” he said.

That follows a pattern. Trump has preemptively claimed that upcoming elections will be rigged and labeled elections he’s lost as stolen. It started with the 2016 Republican Iowa caucuses, when he came in second to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

“Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa,” Trump said at the time. “He stole it.”

Democrats and other groups that oppose Trump have been concerned that his words would turn into directives to have his administration interfere in the midterms. They have been running exercises for months and have lawsuits pre-written. They also plan to have tens of thousands of people monitoring the polls on Election Day.

So far, early voting has been quiet, with about 35 million people already casting ballots without any notable disruption.

In that respect, this year’s election so far resembles 2025’s off-year elections in New Jersey, Virginia and a handful of other states. Democrats braced for possible Trump action then, but the election proceeded with no major issues. But the Justice Department’s more aggressive actions this month already make 2026 different from any election in recent memory.

It has sued California to block it from counting ballots after it alleged the state had 20,000 noncitizens on its rolls and made a similar demand of Washington related to about 400 voters in that state. Both states said the demands came too close to the election to fulfill, and a federal judge Wednesday rejected the federal government’s California demands.

Earlier, the Justice Department seized ballots and election records related to the 2020 presidential election in Georgia’s Fulton County, and the administration launched a sweeping investigation of that vote, though it has yet to turn up evidence supporting Trump’s false claims of fraud.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department does not want to intervene in elections, but had no choice in Alaska.

“We are not doing anything improper,” Blanche said Sunday on CNN. “But I do think it’s important for the American people to understand that we are not — (and) President Trump is not — trying to take over a state election in any way, shape or form.”

After the lawsuit was filed, Trump told reporters he was the one who pushed for it: “I’m the one that said do it,” the president said.

Lawsuits seem more ‘impulsive’ than strategic

Though the Trump administration claimed to be acting on behalf of Alaska’s voters in its lawsuit to hold up certification, the president’s Republican allies in the state didn’t appear happy.

Sen. Sullivan would not say whether he supported the lawsuit. Alaska’s Republican-controlled state government filed court papers to try to have it dismissed. The state’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, said the administration “should never have filed” it.

While controversial, the situation in Alaska is not that unusual. Political parties often support extra candidates on the ballot to try to pull votes from their rivals. If state courts allow it, legal experts say, the federal government has no role challenging the results.

Derek Muller, a Notre Dame law professor, wrote that the Alaska lawsuit’s legal argument was “one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen.” He said that should reassure the public that Trump won’t be able to change election outcomes.

“The notion that there’s going to be something systemic that’s going to thwart the will of the voters seems much more speculative,” he said. “A lot of the conduct seems impulsive rather than strategic and planned.”

The courts have repeatedly rebuffed the administration, in many cases because the Constitution gives the president no direct power over how elections are run. Courts put on hold two Trump executive orders seeking to change voting procedures. The administration also has lost more than two dozen cases trying to get detailed voter information from the states.

That resembles 2020, when Trump and his allies tried to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden and in the process lost dozens of lawsuits.

Can the institutions hold?

Pat McCrory, a former Republican governor of North Carolina, is part of Right Count, a group of conservatives pushing back against election conspiracy theories and intervention in local elections. He said he’s confident the system will hold.

“The only thing that protects us from anarchy is this thin piece of paper called the Constitution,” McCrory said. “That thin piece of paper is, to me, a cement wall.”

It’s one that many analysts expect will continue to stymie Trump in the courts.

“The courts are likely to throw most, if not all, of these charges out,” said Matt Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University. “But this is a way of intensifying the signal to Trump’s supporters that the elections are rigged.”

The Justice Department in 2020 refused to join Trump’s allies in litigation. In his second term, Trump has pushed out career staff and stocked his administration with people who helped him challenge the 2020 election. That’s led to mounting concern he could deploy immigration agents, the FBI or even the military to the polls or seize ballots or voting machines, although multiple administration officialshave denied they have such plans.

All of that could happen before courts even have a chance to weigh in, said Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth political scientist.

“The threat is that he’ll take actions that can’t be undone,” Nyhan said.

Riccardi and Swenson write for the Associated Press.

The touring production of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man” that opened Tuesday at the Ahmanson Theatre isn’t an Actors’ Equity Assn. production. When I listed the revival, directed by Matt Lenz, among my fall preview highlights, I assumed it would be of the caliber we have come to expect from Center Theatre Group.

I attended Tuesday’s opening and was disappointed to find a community-theater-level production beneath the superficial sheen of a commercial national tour. The costumes (by Santo Loquasto from the 2022 Broadway revival starring Hugh Jackman) are stunning. The painterly, storybook scenic design by Ann Beyersdorfer, engineered for maximum efficiency, is also lovely and blends beautifully with the Loquasto’s color palette.

The singing is robust, full-throated and spirited. Elizabeth D’Aiuto, who plays Marian, the librarian of this small Iowa town who captures the roving eye of traveling salesman and con man Harold Hill (Elliott Andrews), has a piercing soprano that many an opera singer would envy.

The barbershop harmonies spin an alluring web. The ensemble fills the Ahmanson with blazing, amplified sound. But the strong singing seems disconnected from the actual story. The music has little character. We might as well be watching a concert version of the show.

The problem is the acting, which is broad, detached and, frankly, often amateurish. I felt as if I were watching a polished troupe of semi-amateurs. The less said about the supporting cast, the better. The characterizations are unsubtle across the board. And how could it be otherwise when the actors seem more intent on impressing the audience than relating to one another?

Andrews seems particularly guilty of this sin. But then his character is meant to be smugly self-congratulatory. Harold Hill has come to River City to pull off another swindle. He’s selling musical instruments and costumes to a town that doesn’t yet even have a children’s marching band.

A wiry presence with a capering physical comedy spryness reminiscent of Dick Van Dyke (who starred in the 1980 Broadway revival of “The Music Man” that had a pre-Broadway run at the Pantages Theatre), Andrews makes a rather dashing and daring Harold Hill. He’s no Hugh Jackman, who had the Broadway audience in the palm of his hand when he essayed the role. But Andrews handsomely fills out the part and can sing appealingly when not too much emotion is required. But his theatrical self-absorption makes it hard to care about Harold and even harder to understand why Marian would fall for this transparent fake.

The magic of Marian’s love turning Harold into an upstanding man fizzles. Neither performer seems able to connect. Both are acting in their separate bubbles. It’s like we’re watching a pantomime of “The Music Man” with some glorious, blaring music.

For those who want to scratch an itch for golden age musical nostalgia, this sparkling yet empty production might suffice. But we should expect more from CTG, which is touting that this is the first major production of “The Music Man” to be done in Los Angeles in 46 years.

When I learned that this was a non-Equity production, I was disappointed that CTG was damaging its stature as a nonprofit theater leader by offering such an important showcase to this second-tier touring production. But now having seen the production, I’m more disappointed that audiences are being bamboozled as badly as the good people of River City.

Theatrical gimcrack is being palmed off as a precious stone. Yes, the score still shimmers, but not everything that glitters is gold.

Actor and singer Cheyenne Jackson, who has starred on Broadway and held roles on dozens of television series including “American Horror Story,” “30 Rock” and “Glee,” had never considered that he might lose his health insurance.

But in a grim moment last year, he realized he was several thousand dollars short of the roughly $28,000-annual minimum to qualify for healthcare through actors union SAG-AFTRA. Otherwise, he would lose the plan that also covered his husband and their 11-year-old twins.

“Auditions weren’t coming in. It was just a really lean, lean time,” Jackson said. “I think I just took my insurance for granted. I thought it would always happen.”

Jackson and other actors are speaking openly about struggles qualifying for SAG-AFTRA healthcare amid declines in film and television production in Hollywood, an exodus of film jobs abroad, job loss from industry consolidation and concerns of AI incursions.

Jackson reflected on the experience while on a layover Sunday in Atlanta’s airport for his one-man musical act, “Midlife Torso Tour.” He decided to offer to spotlight other union members on social media who were short on their earnings. Within 24 hours of posting about the project idea on Instagram, he had received hundreds of messages, he said.

Jackson credited his friend Kathy Bates, the Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor he worked with on four seasons of “American Horror Story,” for helping him pull through last year. He had texted her describing his plight. She called him back within five minutes and told him, “I have good news and bad news,” he recalled.

The good news, she explained, was that she got him a part on “Matlock,” the CBS reimagining of an ’80s legal drama where she stars as a brilliant criminal defense attorney. The bad news was that he would have only four lines and his character wouldn’t have a name.

“I was like, ‘Sign me up!’” Jackson said. “I was grateful, and I showed up and did my four lines.”

Bates had “really paid it forward,” he said.

Actors’ health insurance plans are typically managed by performing arts unions rather than dispensed by a single corporate employer. Producers and studios contribute to a shared health fund based on union contracts, wages and hours worked. If workers accumulate a preset number of hours or pay, they can qualify for up to a year of coverage.

But dry spells and uncertainty in the industry because of the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown and industry strikes have shed light on actors’ struggles to keep insurance as work dwindles. Several years ago, stories proliferated of performers losing health insurance as they contended with heart problems or underwent cancer treatment, and in recent months, actors have again aired concerns.

“I Saw the TV Glow” star Jack Haven posted a video on YouTube in September saying they were “in a bit of an emergency situation.” Haven said they needed to earn $4,000 by the end of the month to keep their insurance. In the video, Haven said they would do “pretty much any job.”

This month, former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell of “Drake & Josh” posted a screenshot of SAG-AFTRA’s health plan website showing that he needed to earn about $11,450 more to qualify.

“Do not become an actor. Do not join SAG,” Bell wrote, using a middle finger emoji and tagging the union’s president, Sean Astin, in the post.

SAG-AFTRA spokesperson Pamela Greenwalt did not respond to a request for comment. But the union has long been open about the financial effects of the pandemic and other industry headwinds that have led to lower employer contributions.

In December 2020, a group of SAG-AFTRA members sued the union’s board of trustees over changes to the health plan. Actors 65 years and older who vested their pensions could no longer count their earnings from residuals in the annual threshold. A provision allowing actors older than 40 with a decade of credits to qualify for coverage at a reduced level of $13,000 in annual earnings was also eliminated.

The union acknowledged renewed challenges during the SAG-AFTRA strike in 2023. The union’s national executive director, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, told The Times that year that earning enough to qualify for health coverage had become a “real source of anxiety and concern for many members.”

At a meeting of the union’s national board over the weekend at its Miracle Mile office, Astin in a recorded speech addressed members’ frustrations about economic pressures, saying that the union is using “every bit of leverage we have to make sure working performers have a place in whatever this industry becomes.”

It can take years for members to build up enough union work to qualify for the health insurance. Some who have worked in the industry for years never do. Reportedly only about 14% of the union’s 160,000 members qualify for the union’s healthcare. Of SAG-AFTRA’s membership, which also includes dancers, DJs, journalists and radio program hosts, more than 100,000 members are actors and performers.

Miller Tai, a voice actor on the new Paramount+ animated film “Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender,” said he joined the union in 2017 and had not struggled in recent years to meet the earnings minimum, having qualified for the last seven years. He feels that the noise on social media obscures the actual problem: a broken healthcare industry that is hurting people beyond just actors.

“We have a greedy system raising prices by the second,” Tai said. “This is a problem for any sector where we rely on our employers for healthcare.”

In 2027, the earnings minimum will rise to $28,933. Quarterly premiums will rise from $375 to $390 for one participant, with higher amounts for added dependents. Actors with certain credits who lose their eligibility can temporarily keep their health coverage at a reduced rate for up to 18 months through the federal program known as COBRA, according to the union’s website.

Jackson said starting over every year is tough and unpredictable even for people like him who have been in many television shows and make “OK money on residuals.” He said that although one year he might make $300,000 from acting, the next he might make closer to 5% of that amount. He said that he scraped together his minimum earnings this year by taking on more commercial gigs and acting in a vertically filmed microdrama.

“I ended up doing a few things that I have never done before and never thought I would,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s social media project now has a home on Instagram called One Job Away, and he began posting Tuesday morning. His manager’s assistants and others on his team are combing through requests, he said. More than a dozen photos of actors have already been posted, with captions listing the amount they need to make to hit their earnings minimum and describing their past credits.

“To me, it didn’t seem that big of a deal to say I’m struggling and I need to find that next gig,” he said. “But I understand why for a lot of people they don’t want to say that. They don’t want to look needy or look whatever. I do get it, but I think the more we talk about it, the less shame and the less stigma there will be around it, because it just is happening.”

WASHINGTON — U.S. Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche on Sunday defended the Trump administration’s lawsuit to block certification of Alaska’s Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses the race, arguing that the legal challenge was a necessary step to avoid confusing voters in the closely watched midterm race.

Some election experts have said the move is another attempt by the Trump administration to meddle in the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the event Republicans don’t fare well. Democrats as well as some Republicans have criticized it.

Blanche, however, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that President Trump — who said Friday in reference to the lawsuit that he was “the one that said do it” — is not trying to overturn state election results “in any way, shape or form.”

“We wish that we didn’t have to do this. We hope for a resolution that works,” Blanche said.

Republicans fear that a second candidate on the ballot who is named Dan Sullivan — a retired teacher and school administrator from the tiny fishing community of Petersburg — could siphon away votes from the GOP senator and tip the outcome in favor of Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman. Because Alaska has ranked-choice voting, there are more than two candidates on the general election ballot.

A day after the lawsuit was filed Thursday, Peltola called it “just flagrant, flagrant corruption, in my opinion,” and a diversion tactic by Republicans. Alaska’s other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, also criticized the lawsuit in a social media post.

Trump told reporters Sunday that he believed the ballot was illegal because it was unfair and that Sen. Sullivan should be identified to voters as the sitting senator. Courts, however, have ruled otherwise, upholding both Sullivans’ spots on the ballot.

“At least let him use the name Sen. Dan Sullivan as opposed to incumbent, because a lot of people don’t know what incumbent means,” Trump said.

Alaskan voters will see “Dan S. Sullivan” identified as a “registered Republican” and “incumbent” on their ballots, while “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” is listed without party affiliation.

Blanche represented Trump as a personal attorney — including the case in which Trump was convicted of felony fraud — before the Republican president appointed him to lead the Department of Justice, which filed the lawsuit in Alaska. Blanche defended Trump in his election inference case before voters elected Trump to a second White House term, effectively ending the criminal prosecution.

Blanche told CNN host Dana Bash that it was “crazy” for her to ask him if Trump was trying to lay the groundwork for the same sort of election challenges that occurred before a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — the source of the election interference case, in which Trump was indicted on felony charges, and for which he was impeached.

“We are not doing anything improper. We’re not doing anything we’re not allowed to do. And we have to let the process play out,” Blanche said. “But I do think it’s important for the American people to understand that we are not — [and] President Trump is not — trying to take over a state election in any way shape or form.”

The lawsuit, Blanche said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” is meant to “put guardrails in place” to preserve possible evidence of voter confusion at the polls.

“It’s not saying, ‘Don’t certify.’ It’s saying, ‘If a court ultimately determines that it was decided because of confusion and not the will of the voters, then we do not think the states should certify.’ And that’s consistent with federal law and consistent with even Alaskan law, if that happens,” he said.

Kunzelman writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

SAN FRANCISCO — Nancy Pelosi is, beyond doubt, a figure who will long endure, her name forever pressed into the pages of the nation’s history books.

She is the first — and, so far, only — woman to wield the gavel as speaker of the House. She was indispensable to passage of the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. Working with presidents of both parties, she twice helped keep the American economy from tanking.

She played political field marshal through numerous election cycles, raising astronomical sums to help push Democrats into the majority. When a doddering Joe Biden threatened the party’s hold on the White House and foreshadowed a 2024 congressional wipeout, Pelosi used her considerable influence to not so gently ease the president aside as Democrats’ nominee for the White House.

Why, then, with so much at stake in November, would one of Pelosi‘s last acts before retirement be mucking about in the elbow-throwing, bone-crunching race between the two San Francisco Democrats vying to succeed her in January?

Is it a grudge she holds against Scott Wiener, the prolific and prolifically ambitious state senator, who boldly launched his candidacy last fall before Pelosi had even announced her plans to retire?

Is it resentment that Wiener’s years-long maneuvering blocked the ascension of Pelosi’s daughter, Christine, who’d been widely talked about as her mom’s name-brand successor? (Instead, she’s running for Wiener’s seat in 2028, or sooner if he makes it to Congress.)

Is it Pelosi once more leaning into her long-standing role as a champion of women and women in politics, which drew her to support Supervisor Connie Chan?

Perhaps it’s a bit of all three.

Pelosi, for her part, told reporters that “nobody knows Congress better than I do” and she believes, simply enough, that Chan “would be the best member of Congress.”

But maybe there’s something more elemental.

“Pelosi is the daughter of a machine politician,” said Eric Jaye, a strategist who’s spent decades working in and around San Francisco politics. “She moves from Baltimore” — where her father was a congressman and mayor — “and becomes initially a lieutenant in the political machine here and, ultimately, the general of it.

“She’s playing by the classic rules of machine politics,” Jaye said, “which is the machine has the prerogative of choosing the line of succession…. Nancy Pelosi wanted to be able to make that choice.”

Peas in a pod

Chan, a leader of the city’s progressive wing and a favorite of organized labor, was languishing until Pelosi delivered her endorsement in the final stretch of the primary campaign. Her imprimatur sent Chan surging past tech millionaire Saikat Chakrabarti to place second behind Wiener.

With less than two weeks until election day, the November runoff appears too close to call, though many give Wiener the edge.

There is little that substantively divides the two candidates, both liberals in good standing. Wiener is considered the more moderate of the two, graded on San Francisco’s very-left curve.

“Connie Chan and Scott Wiener are going to vote the same way 99.9% of the time,” said Jim Ross, another longtime San Francisco political strategist. Further, he noted, it’s going to be years before either acquires the clout needed to be a significant force on Capitol Hill. “That’s just the reality of how Congress works.”

Which makes Pelosi’s heavy involvement in their fratricidal fight all the more striking.

She’s put her hefty fundraising muscle behind Chan, helping narrow Wiener’s financial advantage. She’s appeared in pro-Chan advertising — striding in her trademark stilettos — and lent her Washington communications director to the campaign.

She’s also collared Chan a list of glossy endorsements, including Sen. Adam Schiff, former Sen. Barbara Boxer and San José Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chair of California’s Democratic congressional delegation. Wiener has Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and several Democratic House members in his corner.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, a former San Francisco mayor and longtime Pelosi ally, has not endorsed either candidate.

A house divided

San Francisco politics have long been personal, nasty and brutish. The city’s close quarters and intraparty rivalries help make it so, and Pelosi’s intervention has further frayed old ties and strained deep-seated alliances.

Susie Tompkins Buell, a San Francisco philanthropist and one of the Democratic Party’s most influential donors, told Politico she couldn’t understand why Pelosi would use her final months in office to torpedo Wiener’s campaign. She’s spoken to other prominent Democrats, Buell said, who felt pressured to endorse Chan because the speaker emerita hit them up.

“All you do is say, ‘Why, why is this happening?’ ” Buell wondered aloud.

It’s been nearly 40 years — going back to when Pelosi was first elected in 1987 — since San Francisco had an open congressional seat. Winning here is tantamount to a lifetime appointment; since 1964, just three people have held the seat Pelosi is vacating.

Both Wiener, who is gay, and Chan, who immigrated to San Francisco from Hong Kong, are bidding to write their own bit of history. Wiener, 56, would be the first out LGBTQ+ person to represent San Francisco in Congress. Chan, 48, would be the first Asian American.

As for Pelosi, her aggressive intervention in the contest won’t even merit “a footnote in her biography,” Jaye said.

Her place in posterity is sealed, regardless of who wins or loses Nov. 3.

What else you should be reading

Get smart: Becerra’s muted gubernatorial campaign comes to life in home stretch
The deep dive: In tight Texas Senate race, Trump’s immigration crackdown tests Republicans’ hold on voters
The L.A. Times Special: California residents accused by feds of voter fraud react with shock, confusion and anger

Until next time,
mzb
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President Trump has recently developed a renewed appreciation for the importance of elections. Unfortunately for Venezuelans, he seems to have discovered it in Ukraine. Last week, he called for Volodymyr Zelensky to face voters, apparently unconvinced that an ongoing Russian invasion and martial law constitute sufficient reasons to postpone an election. In Venezuela, where his administration removed Nicolás Maduro nine months ago, elections would apparently be premature.

There are legitimate reasons to prepare carefully for elections, particularly given the condition of Venezuela’s electoral institutions. But nine months into the transition, the more interesting question is no longer simply why Delcy Rodríguez and Washington might prefer to postpone them. It is whether other actors, including some of those who have spent years demanding political change, are developing reasons to prefer the current arrangement as well.

Results amid uncertainty

Every additional month gives the ruling elite more time to influence the terms under which its own future will be decided. Cooperation in the oil industry is advancing, economic relations are being restored, and American companies have opportunities that were largely unavailable before Maduro’s removal. An election would introduce uncertainty into a relationship that has become increasingly useful to the Trump administration. That does not mean Washington has abandoned the idea of elections, but it does mean that postponing them carries fewer immediate costs than it otherwise might.

The calculation is not limited to governments and foreign investors. Venezuelan businesses are also beginning to see opportunities in the new environment. The prospect of renewed oil production, investment in electricity infrastructure, fewer financial restrictions, and improved international connections offers reasons to invest in a country that many had spent years trying to leave.

What happens if Venezuelans begin to associate the present arrangement with the prospect of economic recovery?

For a sector of Venezuelan society, the appeal may be even simpler. After years of economic collapse, shortages, political confrontation, and mass emigration, the possibility of a more normal life matters enormously. People want reliable electricity, decent wages, functioning businesses, and the ability to travel, save, and plan for the future. 

What happens if Venezuelans begin to associate the present arrangement with the prospect of economic recovery? A Venezuelan can continue supporting María Corina Machado while becoming increasingly reluctant to jeopardize the economic opportunities that Washington’s accommodation with Delcy appears to offer. And those opportunities do not even have to materialize fully for the calculation to change. Businesses make investments based on expectations, families make plans around the possibility of better incomes, and people who have spent years waiting for conditions to improve may be understandably hesitant to embrace another period of uncertainty. Their political preferences may remain exactly where they were, even as their willingness to bear the costs of political change begins to diminish.

The model of a tolerable status quo

This creates a peculiar possibility for Venezuela’s transition. The government could become more difficult to dislodge without becoming more popular. Economic normalization could make the existing arrangement increasingly tolerable to people who would still vote to replace it if given the opportunity. And the longer elections are postponed, the more time those expectations have to develop into economic interests that depend, or appear to depend, on the continuation of the status quo. Supporting political change and accepting the practical benefits of the present arrangement are not mutually exclusive.

This distinction matters because Delcy does not need to become popular for her government to become easier to live with. Nor does chavismo need to recover the support it enjoyed under Hugo Chávez. It may be enough that Venezuelans who would prefer a different government become increasingly reluctant to risk the improvements they are beginning to anticipate.

For traditional opposition parties, parliamentary, regional, and municipal elections offer opportunities that a presidential contest does not.

That creates a problem for the opposition. Machado may retain considerable popular support, but popular support does not automatically translate into pressure for an election. People can agree about who they want to govern them while disagreeing about how urgently the question needs to be settled, particularly when the alternative appears to involve another period of uncertainty.

The negotiating opposition may have reasons of its own to be comfortable with a slower timetable. For traditional opposition parties, parliamentary, regional, and municipal elections offer opportunities that a presidential contest does not. These are elections in which established party organizations, local networks, and political machinery matter considerably more than the popularity of any single national leader. Holding them before a presidential election could allow those parties to rebuild their institutional presence and strengthen their negotiating position within the opposition, including in relation to Machado. That does not mean they necessarily oppose her becoming president, or that they are deliberately working to postpone an election. But the order in which elections are held could have significant consequences for the balance of power within the opposition itself.

A frozen trip to democracy

There is, of course, another possibility. Economic recovery could strengthen civil society, give independent businesses more room to operate, and make a democratic transition easier. The return of investment and international connections need not come at the expense of political freedom.

The trouble is that nothing about economic normalization guarantees democratization, particularly when the institutions that determine whether elections take place remain under the control of the existing government.

Today’s Venezuelan authorities have taken a different approach. Elections are something to be held after the necessary reforms, agreements, and guarantees have been secured. Some of those conditions are reasonable, but without a deadline there is little to prevent the process from continuing indefinitely. The government can always identify another problem to resolve, Washington can always find another reason to prioritize stability, and some businesses and private sector leaders can always argue that the country needs more time to consolidate its recovery.

The danger is not necessarily that Delcy Rodríguez herself intends to remain interim president forever. It is that an arrangement nobody originally expected to last may become sufficiently useful, or simply tolerable, that ending it stops being an urgent priority.

Venezuelans do not have to choose between economic recovery and democracy. But unless elections become a concrete part of the political process, they may find themselves enjoying some of the benefits of a transition without ever reaching its intended destination.

Coronation Street’s Bethany Platt is pregnant after her fling with Kit Green, but some viewers are predicting a twist on the ITV soap involving another character

Bethany Platt’s baby news on Coronation Street has led to some predictions about who the father is.

While Bethany actress Lucy Fallon appeared to confirm the dad’s identity, it hasn’t stopped theories curculating about it being somebody else. Bethany learned she was pregnant this week, and she has yet to decide if she will have a termination.

Bethany had a fling with her mum’s ex Kit Green recently, with her mum Sarah Platt currently in prison. The betrayal and now the pregnancy has left her struggling in secret, but fans wonder if a twist will see another character confirmed as the father.

Amid a blossoming romance with Ryan Connor, fans are desperate for the soap to confirm that Ryan is the father of Bethany’s baby. It’s not thought that Ryan and Bethany have slept together, but fans still hope the soap will end up making Ryan the dad.

One fan said on social media: “It’ll be the same as EastEnders, she will tell Kit it’s his, have a DNA test and it ends up being Ryan’s then she just leads Kit on to believe its his.” Another fan said: “I think Ryan would be a great dad.”

A third fan posted: “Hope it’s Ryan’s but doubt that,” as a fourth commented: “I do hope it’s Ryan’s and they get together.” Another viewer said: “I hope it’s Ryan’s would be awful if the baby was Kit’s.”

One more prediction read: “My money is on Ryan,” as a final comment said: “Let’s hope it’s Ryan.” It comes as Lucy, who plays Bethany, appeared to confirm who the dad is.

According to her, Kit is the father, with this also hinted at in scenes this week. She shared: “It’s not going to end well, because it’s her mum’s ex-boyfriend’s baby!”

Lucy is expecting some fan backlash over the betrayal too. She explained: “I think they’re going to be annoyed at her and think that she’s just really stupid, which she is for what she’s done. But there was two people involved here so I’m hoping she doesn’t get all the blame.”

Bethany’s mum Sarah could soon find out about the betrayal too, while Lucy shared that Bethany will not want to tell her mum the truth. Lucy said: “[She feels] really, really, really guilty. Bethany and Sarah have a really good relationship, she’s been such a support to her, she’s basically been a mum to Harry while Sarah’s been in prison.

“They’re almost like best friends because they’re not so far apart in age. So she’s not feeling great about it, and I think it’s going to eat away at her until one day she can’t take it anymore.”

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MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers have a big hole in the middle of their batting order, and it’s not Shohei Ohtani.

If anything, Ohtani has reemerged as an offensive force in the cleanup spot, singling, walking and scoring the Dodgers’ only run Sunday in a 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series.

The problem is with the guy hitting in front of Ohtani.

Will Smith walked in four plate appearances, marking just the second time he’s reached base in the postseason. In the four division series games against the Atlanta Braves, he had a single in 16 at-bats, striking out seven times. He’s hitting .053 in the playoffs — only Cleveland’s Ángel Martínez has a lower average among players with at least nine at-bats.

But there’s not much the Dodgers can do about it. They are built to win with pitching and Smith, the catcher, is the guy they rely on to guide those pitchers through games.

Dalton Rushing, who started just five fewer games behind the plate than Smith this season, is injured and not on the roster. Hunter Feduccia, who did make the team, caught just 15 complete games this season and isn’t an option to start in the playoffs.

“I’m not going to put Feduccia in place of Will Smith,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s just not going to happen.”

So Roberts and the Dodgers are left to muddle on with Smith regardless of how much he struggles offensively. That’s because he’s far more valuable crouching behind the plate than standing next to it.

“I don’t even know how he’s performing offensively,” said Tarik Skubal, who took the loss Sunday. “Catchers, I think it’s the most important position on the field. They’re the ones calling pitches, dictating game flow, rhythm, all that type of stuff. I’m going to trust those guys always.”

Smith appears to be executing his catching duties very well, since opponents have scored just 10 runs and are hitting .160 against the Dodgers this postseason. Only Tampa Bay, which has played two fewer games, has done better.

As for what Smith thinks, that’s unknown because the Dodgers did not make him available to the media Sunday. But since he’s not coming out of the lineup, the next-best solution might be moving him to another spot in the order.

That worked with Ohtani, who had as many strikeouts as hits in the first two games of the division series, when he batted second. Since being dropped in the order, he has reached base four times in three games, stolen a base and scored twice.

“There’s always lineup construction. I can think it through. He’s not swinging the bat well,” Roberts said of Smith. “It’s hard because of the body of work, he just has that knack to get a hit, to get a big hit.”

That’s exactly what happened last fall when Smith’s two-out, 11th-inning home run in Game 7 of the World Series helped the Dodgers win a second straight title.

Smith was on the injured list for 86 days this summer because of neck disk inflammation, returning for the final month when he slashed .290/.400/.548. He has cooled off considerably in October, just as he did last year, when he returned from a right hand contusion three games into the playoffs and got just two hits in his first 14 at-bats.

He recovered to bat .400 in last year’s NLCS win over Milwaukee, then broke a 4-4 tie with his winning homer against the Toronto Blue Jays. Just as important, though, Smith caught all but 11 innings in the Dodgers’ final 15 postseason games — including two 11-inning games and another that lasted 18 innings.

Smith rarely has hit well in the postseason, batting just .206 in 18 series, which may explain Roberts’ lack of panic. Plus, Roberts knows his All-Star catcher has helped him win three World Series rings, and if the Dodgers are to get another, it will be on the strength of their pitching, not their hitting.

And that side of Smith’s game is as strong as ever.

“To be honest, that’s not where my focus is with Will,” Skubal said of his catcher’s hitting. “My focus is what he’s doing behind the dish and he’s very important. He’s very important to the entire pitching staff.”

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava has been playing above-average football, but the signal-caller’s deep throws have not been as sharp lately and he has shied away from some contact after taking a big hit to his shoulder during a 39-0 shutout of Fresno State on Sept. 4.

When asked about his quarterback on Tuesday, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley quickly replied that Maiava is not injured.

“Jayden has been pretty healthy,” Riley said. “They’ve kept him upright all season long.”

Maiava has adapted to shifting receiving options, calling it a learning experience as he connects with new pass catchers. USC freshman Trent Mosley was an early breakout star, but Maiava has had to look to others with Mosley out the past two games because of injury.

“I’ve been trusting myself, trusting the plan and trusting those guys on the perimeter,” Maiava said

He credits co-offensive coordinator Dennis Simmons for having his receivers ready whenever their names are called.

“It’s the next-man up mentality and we are all going to do the same thing,“ Maiava said.

A key building block

USC coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sideline during the fourth quarter of a win over Washington at the Coliseum on Oct. 3.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

As USC chases the program’s first win over Penn State in Happy Valley, Riley said he expects the Trojans to draw on the resilience they showed against Washington.

He called the rally for a victory over the Huskies a potential turning point for a program that can’t afford another loss if it hopes to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time during Riley’s tenure.

“It wouldn’t shock me if six to eight weeks down the road you’re going to look back at us and see that’s the game that was critical in the season,” Riley said of the Washington win. “Those are important. It helps develop the personality of your team. Most importantly, the biggest thing it shows is the brotherhood within our locker room right now.”

Supporting the defense

USC cornerbacks Chasen Johnson and Prophet Brown break up a pass intended for Washington receiver Dezmen Roebuck in the end zone to secure the Trojans’ win at the Coliseum on Oct. 3.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Hiring College Football Hall of Fame coach Gary Patterson was supposed to turn the Trojans into a potent Big Ten defensive team.

Through six games, the Trojans have allowed an average of 25.5 points per game, ranking 89th in the country, and have given up 348.8 yards.

“[Patterson] is one of the best coaches of our generation. One of the best defensive minds in college football history,” Riley said, backing up his coordinator when asked about his progress.

Riley, however, did not defend poor tackling on Washington’s final touchdown drive that put the Trojans on the brink of a loss.

When asked whether the mistakes were addressed with the players, Riley responded, “Oh yeah. … It was a bad play. Not near our standard.”

He later added, “I bet we don’t see it again.”

While the Huskies’ scoring drive exposed some problems, the defense held its ground late in the fourth quarter to seal the win.

The Trojans’ secondary got a boost from Ta’Mere Robinson, who played well in place of suspended defensive back Desman Stephens II.

Stephens served a one-game suspension for a late hit to the head on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and his behavior celebrating as Moore was being treated by medical staff before leaving the Coliseum in an ambulance.

USC released an apology from Stephens a day after the game. Riley was asked Tuesday whether Stephens would get his starting job back after Robinson’s strong play. While he didn’t specifically address the starting role, Riley did suggest Robinson earned more snaps.

“It was an opportunity for some other guys to step up and they did. … When you see guys that are there for that opportunity and rise to the occasion, it’s going to create more opportunities for some of those guys, there’s no question about it,” he said. “But Des is a good player and an important part of this football team. We view this a lot like just we’re coming back off any normal football game, like nothing else happened. … I think what we learned this week is we have a handful of guys who can go out there and play really, really well. … We look at it as a positive.”