In his new role as a special contributor to NBC’s coverage of the NBA — which returned to the network Tuesday night after a 23-year absence — Jordan was interviewed by Mike Tirico in a segment called “MJ: Insights to Excellence.”
In it, the six-time NBA champion who is still the league’s all-time leader in points per game made a somewhat startling admission.
“I haven’t picked up a ball in years,” Jordan said.
Pressed on the matter by a stunned Tirico, Jordan said he was last persuaded to shoot a ball when he was renting a house during the Ryder Cup (he did not specify that it was the most recent edition of biennial event that took place last month in Farmingdale, N.Y.).
The house had a basketball court, and the home owner wanted his grandchildren to see the legendary player in action. Jordan agreed to attempt one free throw.
“When I stepped up to shoot your free throw, it’s the most nervous I’ve been in years,” Jordan said. “The reason being is those kids heard the stories of the parents about what I did 30 years ago. So the expectation is 30 years prior, and I haven’t touched the basketball.”
But this is Air Jordan we’re talking about.
He swished it, right?
Right???
“Absolutely,” Jordan said. “The most gratifying event that made my whole week is that is that I was able to please that kid, not knowing if I could.”
Jordan retired as a player for the third and final time in 2003. Since then, he has become a highly successful businessman — he was the controlling owner of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets from 2010-2023 (he still retains a minority ownership in the team) and is the controlling owner of the NASCAR Cup Series team 23XI Racing — with a net worth of close to $4 billion.
In addition to his business pursuits, Jordan told Tirico, he strives to spend as much time as possible with his family.
“You never really know when you in the prime of your career how much time you really do not have for family,” Jordan said. “That’s what I have time to do now. I mean, the most valuable asset I have is time. So that’s probably why you don’t see enough of me, because that time I’m trying to spend with family members and things that I’ve been missing out on for such a long time.”
All that said, however, Jordan admits he still loves basketball and does wish he could be out there on the court playing at his peak.
“In all honesty, I wish I could take a magic pill, put on shorts and go out and play the game of basketball today,” Jordan said. “Because that’s who I am. That type of competition, that type of competitiveness is what I live for, and I miss it. I miss that aspect of playing the game of basketball, being able to challenge myself against what people see as great basketball.
“But it’s better for me to be sitting here talking to you, as opposed to popping my Achilles and I’m in a wheelchair for a while, but it’s nice to be able to share the things that can still make the game great going forward.”
1 of 3 | Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks with members of the press outside the House chamber ahead of the last votes before August recess at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in July. Jordan on Tuesday demanded that former Special Counsel Jack Smith testify about his criminal probes of President Donald Trump. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Oct. 14 (UPI) — House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan on Tuesday demanded that former Special Counsel Jack Smith testify about his criminal probes of President Donald Trump that were ultimately dropped after the 2024 election.
Jordan, a Trump loyalist, made the demands in a letter to Smith, who had been appointed by the Biden-era Justice Department to oversee sprawling investigations into allegations Trump mishandled classified documents and tried to overturn the 2020 election.
The letter follows recent revelations that Smith’s team had obtained the cell phone data of nine Republican members of Congress, showing who they called in the days leading up to and immediately after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Trump and his allies have accused Smith of leading politicized investigations into the president meant to damage him politically as he was campaigning to return to the White House in 2024.
“As the Committee continues its oversight, your testimony is necessary to understand the full extent to which the Biden-Harris Justice Department weaponized federal law enforcement,” Jordan wrote in his letter, accusing Smith of prosecutorial overreach and manipulating evidence.
Before resigning from his position in January just as Trump was about to be sworn into his second term, Smith issued a report to Congress stating that Trump would have been convicted of trying to overturn the 2020 election had he not been elected president in 2024. The Justice Department has a long-standing policy of not indicting sitting presidents.
Smith alleged that Trump had mounted a pressure campaign on state officials to throw out legitimate vote results in a scheme to have Trump certified as the winner of the 2020 election. As part of the effort, Trump directed a mob of his supporters to storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress was certifying the election results, Smith alleged.
Jordan wrote that his committee has already deposed several people who worked on Smith’s team and obtained FBI documents showing the surveillance of U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, who later had his cell phone seized. However, Jordan wrote that former Senior Assistant Special Counsel Thomas Windom refused to answer key questions from the committee. Jordan also demanded that Smith turn over documents.
Smith currently does not face any charges.
After leaving his position, the Office of Special Counsel, which is designed to operate with some independence from the Justice Department, began investigating Smith in August.
England midfielder Jordan Henderson says he has had “tough moments” since leaving Liverpool for Saudi Arabia and could “have made different decisions”.
The 35-year-old was roundly criticised for leaving Liverpool in 2023 to play for Al-Ettifaq in a country where same sex-relationships are illegal.
Henderson had been a high-profile supporter of LGBTQ+ rights and apologised for letting down or hurting anyone in the community when he left Saudi Arabia to join Ajax six months later.
Henderson missed out on Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad but is back in the Premier League with Brentford and the England squad under Thomas Tuchel.
“I don’t think it was the reason why I missed the Euros,” Henderson said. “When I was in Saudi I think I was in every camp prior to the Euros.
“Timing, with everything in hindsight, yes – maybe I would have made different decisions.
“But at the time that’s how I felt and the decision I made was for many different reasons and only I know them reasons.
“I am not going to lie, over the past couple of years I have had some tough moments. It felt like a break-up when I left Liverpool.
“Of course I’m not perfect and I’ve made mistakes in the past. Of course I will have throughout my career.
“But all I’ve ever tried to do is the right thing.”
He is in Tuchel’s squad to play Wales and Latvia this week and feels he still has plenty to offer on the pitch.
“The most important people are the manager, the coaching staff and the players and what they think,” said Henderson.
“Ask them what they think, if I am a cheerleader when I am here. I don’t think one of the best managers in Europe would be choosing me just to do that.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah II told the 80th United Nations General Assembly that Israel is “burying the very idea of a Palestinian state,” while blasting decades of international inaction. He urged recognition of Palestinian statehood as “an indisputable right, not a reward.”
Syria, Jordan and the United States have announced plans to restore security in Suwayda, where sectarian violence in July claimed the lives of more than 250 people.
“The roadmap for a solution in Suwayda includes holding accountable those who attacked civilians, continuing humanitarian and medical aid, compensating those affected, ensuring the return of displaced persons, restoring basic services, deploying local Interior Ministry forces to protect roads, uncovering the fate of missing persons and returning abductees,” Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said in a news release on Tuesday after meeting with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi and US Syria’s envoy Tom Barrack in Damascus.
Al-Shibani also said the government was working on a plan for the return of those displaced by the violence, who number more than 160,000, according to UN figures. He did not give details on how these steps would be achieved.
The new plan includes proposals to launch an internal reconciliation process. Violence erupted on July 13 between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze factions in the southern Syrian province.
Safadi, for his part, said the parties agreed on a Syrian-Jordanian-American plan “to overcome the events in Suwayda under the framework of Syria’s unity and stability.”
“We want Syria to stabilise, recover and rebuild after years of destruction and suffering, and to start practical steps toward a brighter future for all Syrians,” he added.
Jordan borders Suwayda province and has spent years fighting drug and weapons smuggling from its northern neighbour.
Sectarian violence
The fighting broke out in July following the abduction of a Druze truck driver on a public highway, and later drew in Bedouin tribal fighters from other parts of the country. A ceasefire was established after a week of violence in the Druze-majority province.
The government forces were deployed to restore order, but were accused of siding with the Bedouins.
Israel launched dozens of air attacks on convoys of government forces in Suwayda and even struck the Syrian Ministry of Defence headquarters in the capital Damascus. Israel has pledged to protect Syria’s Druze minority, which it sees as potential allies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in August that his country was engaged in talks to establish a demilitarised zone in southern Syria.
Suwayda witnessed deadly clashes between the Druze and Bedouin tribes in July. The region has since remained calm [File: Getty Images]
After opposition fighters toppled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December, Israel deployed troops to the buffer zone on the Golan Heights. Israel still occupies the Golan Heights, recognised as Syrian territory.
Israel has also repeatedly bombed Syria since al-Assad’s fall.
Meanwhile, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Damascus and Washington were working to reach security understandings with Israel as part of a plan for stability announced earlier in the day with US and Jordanian support for violence-hit Suwayda province.
“The United States, in consultation with the Syrian government, will work to reach security understandings with Israel concerning southern Syria that address the legitimate security concerns of both Syria and Israel while emphasising Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement outlining the roadmap.
Confidence-building
No concrete steps were released Tuesday for how the goals discussed between Jordan, Syria and the US would be accomplished.
“Suwayda belongs to all its components, and it is the state’s duty to restore trust among them, return the displaced, and there is a determination to restore normal life to the governorate,” al-Shibani said in the news release on Tuesday.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Safadi said Syria’s security is an extension of Jordan’s security, adding that “all Syrians are equal citizens in rights and duties within their state”.
He stressed the need to hold perpetrators of human rights violations accountable and deliver humanitarian assistance.
The US envoy Barrack said he came to Syria “as a representative of the president of the United States and the secretary of state in a difficult moment in the region and the world.”
Barrack said confidence-building “takes inches, centimetres and decades to build and can be lost in an instant.”
“We are going to hit speed bumps or we are going to have bus stops along the way,” he added.
Tuesday’s discussions build on earlier rounds hosted by Amman in July and August that focused on consolidating a ceasefire in Suwayda and finding a resolution to the conflict there. Suwayda has observed a ceasefire since July 19.
From Ryan Kartje: When he first started spreading the word about Waymond Jordan, Mike Bennett figured the film would speak for itself. The Escambia High coach had been in the South Florida preps scene long enough to know what he was seeing from his new running back.
“Just watching him run the football for the first time, he was amazing,” Bennett said. He figured scholarship offers would roll in soon enough.
Jordan had similar expectations. Since he first picked up football, at 4 years old, he’d always told himself that he’d play at a big school, on the biggest stage. He’d come to Escambia as a senior with that in mind.
But in 2021, four years before Lincoln Riley and USC would see that same star potential, other college coaches, for whatever reason, weren’t paying much mind.
Given where Jordan stands today — the top running back on one of the nation’s top rushing offenses through two weeks of the college football season — plenty of them probably regret that now.
“Every coach in the country, I sent stuff to,” Bennett said. “I mean, everybody. I sent it out to everybody.”
Some smaller schools monitored Jordans’ senior year at Escambia, keeping a close eye as he rushed for 1,225 yards and 12 touchdowns. A few schools said he could walk-on. But none of them extended a scholarship offer. Jordan couldn’t understand why.
Hutchinson Community College, a junior college in Hutchinson, Kan., was one of the only places to give him an opportunity. Hutchinson was a thousand miles from his hometown of Pensacola, and a world away from the major college football he thought he’d be playing. But the staff there knew Escambia well, and they believed in what they saw in Jordan’s tape.
Get the latest on L.A.’s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
NBA
Former NBA and UCLA basketball star Reggie Miller rides along a road in the Gypsum Canyon Wilderness.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
From Kevin Baxter: Early on a muggy Saturday morning, seven dozen riders lined up five and six abreast and aimed their mountain bikes toward a narrow, rocky trail leading away from the 91 Freeway and into the wilderness of Anaheim’s rugged Gypsum Canyon.
In their white helmets and monotone synthetic racing kits, the riders were more an indistinct mob than a collection of individuals. But in the middle of the pack, perched on a pricey, Santa Cruz Blur XL, one cyclist stood out if for no other reason than, at 6-foot-7, Reggie Miller was a foot taller than most of the people around him.
Miller is also, it should be noted, a basketball hall of famer and five-time NBA All-Star who seamlessly transitioned into a career as one of the sport’s most-respected TV analysts. He has earned fame and riches most will never know and competed at a level few have ever achieved.
Yet on the day before his 60th birthday, he was about to pedal his way along 19 miles of treacherous trails, swallowing the dust kicked up by cyclists a third his age. And he couldn’t have been happier because bike racing has not just given Miller a competitive outlet, it’s provided an avenue for addressing issues of importance to him, among them equality, inclusion and social justice.
“You see so many retired football, baseball, basketball players turn to golf. That’s their vice,” he said. “Mine is cycling.”
Except, perhaps, fantasy football players who drafted Adams.
“That’s not in the forefront of my mind,” Adams, chuckling, said this week. “I know they think it is. I’m just out here trying to win games and contribute and make plays when I can.”
Nacua brushed off a cut above his eye that required stitches and caught 10 passes for 130 yards. Adams, making his Rams debut, caught four passes for 51 yards.
Exhausted to the point of collapse and parked in the driveway of his Oakland Hills home, he briefly allowed himself to close his eyes — was it for a minute? An hour? — before jolting awake at 4 a.m. in a foggy panic. Had he just returned from his round-the-clock job with the Oakland Raiders, or was he supposed to be on his way back?
Here he was, a first-round pick from Michigan, a 15-year NFL veteran, and now a coaching grunt for the Silver & Black, ready to do whatever was asked.
“I always remember him with the hair all over his head going everywhere,” recalled receiver Tim Brown. “The veteran guys on the team were saying, ‘Jimmy, you don’t have to do this, bro. There’s other ways you can make money. You don’t have to be in here.’ Because he was literally the guy printing the papers, working the copiers. We were like, ‘All right, if that’s what you want to do with your life then OK.’”
Angels star Mike Trout hits a solo home against the Seattle Mariners on Thursday night.
(John Froschauer / Associated Press)
From the Associated Press: Rookie pinch-hitter Harry Ford drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the 12th inning and the Seattle Mariners beat the Angels 7-6 on Thursday night to move into a tie with Houston atop the AL West.
It was the second straight walk-off victory in extra innings for the Mariners, who extended their win streak to six games. Leo Rivas hit a two-run homer in the 13th inning Wednesday night to complete a series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Mike Trout launched his 399th career home run for the Angels, tying it 4-4 in the fifth inning after they fell behind 4-0 in the second.
Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, right, tries to shoot over Las Vegas center A’ja Wilson during the Sparks’ loss on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.
(Harry How / Getty Images)
From Anthony De Leon: Being out of postseason contention didn’t make the Sparks’ season finale meaningless.
It was a chance to avoid finishing with a losing record for the first time since 2020. An opportunity to foil the Las Vegas Aces’ push for the No. 2 seed in the playoffs while derailing a 15-game winning streak. And, above all, a matter of pride.
But just as with their season-long goal of reaching the playoffs, the Sparks fell short of their goal, as A’ja Wilson and the Aces dominated in a 103-75 victory at Crypto.com Arena.
From Chuck Schilken: Retired NBA player and former Harvard-Westlake star Jason Collins is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor, the NBA said Thursday in a statement released on behalf of Collins and his family.
“Jason and his family welcome your support and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as they dedicate their attention to Jason’s health and well-being,” the league said.
A 46-year-old native of Northridge, Jason Collins and twin brother, Jarron, led Harvard-Westlake to state Division III titles in 1996 and 1997, with the former being named the state Division III player of the year both seasons. His 1,500 career rebounds stood as a CIF state record until 2010, when Hemet West Valley’s Joe Burton finished his career with 1,721 rebounds.
1895 — Defender wins three straight matches from the British challenger Valkyrie II to defend the America’s Cup for the United States.
1936 — Fred Perry becomes the first foreign player to win three U.S. men’s singles titles when he defeats Don Budge, 2-6, 6-2, 8-6, 1-6, 10-8. Alice Marble ends the four-year reign of Helen Jacobs as U.S. women’s singles champion, with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.
1955 — Tony Trabert wins the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships with a victory over Ken Rosewall. Doris Hart wins the women’s title.
1966 — Australia’s Fred Stolle beats countryman John Newcombe to win the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. Stolle wins in four sets, 4-6, 12-10, 6-3, 6-4.
1976 — Jimmy Connors beats Bjorn Borg in four sets to win the U.S. Open.
1979 — Carl Yastrzemski reaches 3,000 hits off of NY Yankee pitcher Jim Beattie.
1981 — Tracy Austin wins her second U.S. Open singles title, edging first-time finalist Martina Navratilova, 1-6, 7-6, 7-6.
1982 — Jimmy Connors wins the U.S. Open, defeating Ivan Lendl, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
1984 — N.Y. Met Dwight Gooden sets rookie strike out record at 251.
1988 — 1st NFL regular-season game played in Phoenix; Dallas beats Arizona.
1995 — The Harlem Globetrotters’ 24-year, 8,829-game winning streak is stopped. It ends in a 91-85 loss to a team led by basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scores 34 points in a competitive, unscripted game in Vienna, Austria.
1998 — Lindsay Davenport captures her first Grand Slam tournament singles title, defeating Martina Hingis, 6-3, 7-5 at the U.S. Open.
1999 — Andre Agassi comes back from two-sets-to-one down to win his second U.S. Open singles title. Agassi, who never loses his serve, defeats Todd Martin, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2. It’s the first five-set U.S. Open final in 11 years.
2004 — Roger Federer becomes the first man since 1988 to win three majors in a year, thoroughly outclassing Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0 to add the U.S. Open title to those he took at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
2005 — Mark Messier announces on ESPN radio that he will retire from the NHL.
2010 — Houston running back Arian Foster rushes for a franchise-record 231 yards and three touchdowns in the Texans’ 34-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. Foster is the first player in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards and three touchdowns for an opening weekend.
2011 — Tom Brady passes for a team-record 517 yards and four touchdowns, including a 99-yarder to Wes Welker, and the New England Patriots beat the Miami Dolphins 38-24.
2011 — U.S. Open Men’s Tennis: Novak Djokovic wins his first US title; beats Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
2014 — Diana Taurasi and Candice Dupree score 24 points each and the Phoenix Mercury, playing without star center Brittney Griner, beat the Chicago Sky 87-82 to complete a three-game sweep of the WNBA Finals for their third championship.
2015 — Kent State dominates Delaware State in the Golden Flashes’ home opener, 45-13, but it’s overshadowed by a single point-after kick in the second quarter by April Goss. Goss, a four-year member of the Kent State team and a former high school soccer player, becomes the second female to score in a Division I game in NCAA history. Katie Hnida kicked a pair of extra points for New Mexico in 2003.
2015 — David Ortiz homers twice to become the 27th player in major league history to reach 500 homers, and Boston beats Tampa Bay 10-4.
2018 — Breanna Stewart leads the Seattle Storm to their third WNBA title, scoring 30 points in a 98-82 victory over the Washington Mystics in Game 3 of the best-of-five series.
2020 — Naomi Osaka of Japan wins her second US Open title beating Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
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 [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
When he first started spreading the word about Waymond Jordan, Mike Bennett figured the film would speak for itself. The Escambia High coach had been in the South Florida preps scene long enough to know what he was seeing from his new running back.
“Just watching him run the football for the first time, he was amazing,” Bennett said. He figured scholarship offers would roll in soon enough.
Jordan had similar expectations. Since he first picked up football, at 4 years old, he’d always told himself that he’d play at a big school, on the biggest stage. He’d come to Escambia as a senior with that in mind.
But in 2021, four years before Lincoln Riley and USC would see that same star potential, other college coaches, for whatever reason, weren’t paying much mind.
USC running back Waymond Jordan carries the ball during a win over Georgia Southern at the Coliseum on Saturday. Overlooked earlier in his career, Jordan has become a key piece of the Trojans’ offense.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Given where Jordan stands today — the top running back on one of the nation’s top rushing offenses through two weeks of the college football season — plenty of them probably regret that now.
“Every coach in the country, I sent stuff to,” Bennett said. “I mean, everybody. I sent it out to everybody.”
Some smaller schools monitored Jordans’ senior year at Escambia, keeping a close eye as he rushed for 1,225 yards and 12 touchdowns. A few schools said he could walk-on. But none of them extended a scholarship offer. Jordan couldn’t understand why.
Hutchinson Community College, a junior college in Hutchinson, Kan., was one of the only places to give him an opportunity. Hutchinson was a thousand miles from his hometown of Pensacola, and a world away from the major college football he thought he’d be playing. But the staff there knew Escambia well, and they believed in what they saw in Jordan’s tape.
If all went well with junior college, he could still get the Power Four offers he was looking for.
“He believed in himself. And he bet on himself,” said Greg Cross, the Hutchinson running backs coach. “And I would say he bet right.”
Cross figured it was a worthy bet then, before most anyone else. He could see on film that Jordan had a rare instinct for making defenders miss. In the open field, not many people could bring Jordan down on their own either. In some ways, his skillset reminded Cross a little bit of Alvin Kamara, who played the 2014 season at Hutchinson.
“But that wasn’t going to happen for him overnight,” Cross said.
USC’s Waymond Jordan stretches out to score a touchdown against Georgia Southern at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
Jordan was by no means a finished product on arrival at Hutchinson. He hadn’t really learned yet how to take care of his body. He was out of shape. He needed to add muscle and change his diet. Plus, he struggled early on with pass protection.
Then his hamstrings started bothering him.
“I knew it was in the best interest for him to redshirt,” Cross said.
Hutchinson could afford to be patient with him. But it was a tough pill to swallow for Jordan.
“He went through a phase where he was kind of down,” Cross said. “We had a lot of talks. We would talk every day. I just wanted to keep him focused, keep him locked in, keep him motivated.
“So, me and him had a talk about it, and I said, ‘You can either let it get the best of you, or you can stay motivated and work 10 times as hard.’”
It was a formative chat for Jordan. Cross implored him to get serious about taking care of his body. He wanted him in the training room every day. They started tracking his meals. He began using the head coach’s YMCA membership.
From then on, Cross says, “I was grilling him, 24/7.”
He came back that second season looking like an entirely different player. He lost weight. He was stronger and more explosive. He had a full recovery routine.
But his hamstring was still acting up. Then, after appearing in two games as a redshirt freshman, Jordan suffered a minor fracture in his foot.
“It felt, to him, like he couldn’t catch a break,” Cross said.
He wore a boot for a couple of weeks. When he came back, he had to play through pain.
Even still, there were glimpses of what Jordan could be. Late in the season, in a game against No. 2 ranked Iowa Western Community College, Jordan broke out with two fourth-quarter rushing scores, one from 47 yards out, the other from 16, that helped put Iowa Western away. He finished with four carries for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Hutchinson lost its next game to East Mississippi Community College and fell short of an NJCAA national title in 2023. But for Jordan, everything was trending upward that offseason.
“You really saw him take that next step,” said Drew Dallas, Hutchinson’s head coach. “It was just how quickly he was hitting the hole, how fast and confident he was playing. He’d trimmed down his body fat to hardly any at all. He was just this rocked-up ball of muscle who could see the field really well.”
That spring, as word got around, some smaller schools like Florida Atlantic and Florida International started asking about him.
By the end of that spring, Jordan had the scholarship offers he’d been waiting for.
Cross figured he would take the opportunity and run with it. And he wouldn’t have blamed him for doing so. In fact, he couldn’t remember anyone in his time at Hutchinson turning down an FBS opportunity to return to junior college.
But in Jordan’s case, he believed bigger offers could come.
“He told me that if I stayed, I would be able to come to places like [USC,]” Jordan recalls. “That it would all pay out in the end.”
USC running back Waymond Jordan cuts and changes direction while carrying the ball against Georgia Southern at the Coliseum on Saturday.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)
Jordan called Cross back with a decision just a few minutes after their conversation.
“When you leaving?” Cross remembers asking him.
“He says no, ‘Coach, I’m gonna stay. I know what I can be.’”
Cross was stunned at the time. Thinking back on that conversation, he laughs.
“He put it all on red, I guess,” he said.
But it took all of one week that season for Jordan’s bet to be vindicated. He rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns during Hutchinson’s season opener on just 14 carries. That Sunday, Cross got a call from a coach at Michigan State. Was Jordan for real? Because, he said, they were watching closely.
It was “one phone call after another, every week after that,” Cross said. Jordan rushed for 174 yards the following week, then 175 yards and four touchdowns on just nine carries in Week 4. Over a two-week stretch in November, Jordan exploded for 348 yards and four touchdowns, prompting Missouri and Central Florida, two Power Four schools, to offer him scholarships.
He finally had the opportunity he’d been waiting for. So in December, just before the NJCAA playoffs, Jordan committed to Central Florida.
USC didn’t come into the picture until later that month, just as Jordan was named the junior college national player of the year. Other Power Four schools, like North Carolina and Mississippi, were already making their cases to Jordan. But USC had a connection to Cross through Doug Belk, the Trojans’ secondary coach.
USC didn’t necessarily have a need at running back, having already added explosive New Mexico transfer Eli Sanders to its class. But when Anthony Jones, USC’s running backs coach, spoke to Jordan on the phone, he came away convinced that “USC needed this young man.”
“Waymond checked all the boxes that we were looking for,” Jones said.
Hutchinson beat Iowa Western to win the NJCAA national title in spite of Iowa Western’s all-out efforts to bottle up the Blue Dragons’ star running back. Two weeks later, he was on USC’s campus.
As soon as Jordan called him during his visit to L.A., Cross knew he was committing to USC.
Nine months later, the same running back who didn’t have a single Division I offer as a high school senior was bursting out of the USC backfield, weaving through a crowd of defenders on his way into the Coliseum end zone, just like Reggie Bush, Marcus Allen and O.J. Simpson once did.
As he scored his first touchdown as a Trojan, Jordan looked up into the stands and saw his family.
He’d waited four sometimes-frustrating years for that moment.
“His patience, his perseverance really built him into something a lot bigger and better,” Dallas said.
“I think that’s as big of a part of his journey as anything.”
We are now two weeks into the college football season, and here at the Times of Troy newsletter, we can confidently say that … we’re not really sure what to think of USC’s football team. The Trojans are an emphatic 2-0, having outscored their first two opponents by a combined margin of 99 points. They put up more yards against Georgia Southern (755) than they had in a game since at least 1972, when statistical records were first available.
(History lesson: That was still well off the program record of 978 yards, set almost exactly 100 years ago, when USC pummeled Pomona College 80-0 at the start of the 1925 season.)
And yet, for all the fireworks, I still have most of the same questions that I did before the season. Has Jayden Maiava taken a leap? Will the offensive line hold up? Is the defensive line better? Has the pass rush improved? All are trending in a positive direction at this point, but we still can’t answer any definitively. Not after two wins over completely overmatched opponents.
Newsletter
Fight on! Are you a true Trojans fan?
Get our Times of Troy newsletter for USC insights, news and much more.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
But for all my skepticism, I feel certain about one thing from the last two weeks, no matter how small the sample size: USC’s clearest path to the Playoff this season is through its backfield.
Through two games, USC leads the nation in yards per carry (8.6). It ranks second in the country in rushing touchdowns (10) and ninth in 20-plus yards runs (six), while exactly one in every three rush attempts by USC this season has gone for a first down.
None of those insane statistics are sustainable, of course. But Lincoln Riley told us that this was “the most talented backfield” of his tenure at USC, and so far, regardless of the competition, it seems clear that’s the case. What we don’t know for sure yet is how Riley will deploy his backfield through the Big Ten gauntlet that awaits at the end of this month.
He certainly shouldn’t need much more convincing that Waymond Jordan is capable of carrying USC’s offense. The junior college transfer’s ability to elude tacklers and change directions on a dime is truly unlike any back Riley has had at USC.
Early in the third quarter on Saturday, Jordan burst from the backfield like he was shot out of a cannon, stutter-stepped just enough to shake off two defenders, then turned on the jets. What might have otherwise been a seven- or eight-yard gain, instead became a 36-yard score.
Jordan isn’t alone in his explosiveness. Senior Eli Sanders is just as capable of breaking off a big play, like he did in Week 1, when he caught a screen pass and took it 78 yards to the house, sprinting at one point at a speed of 21 mph. Jordan served as more of a bell cow against Georgia Southern, but he still had three plays of his own of 10-plus yards.
Together, they appear to be a perfect duo in Riley’s offense. So will he let them lead the way?
Riley’s history might suggest otherwise. He has irritated fans for his reluctance to lean on the run, and rightfully so. You could make the case better clock management could have flipped a few of the one-score losses USC suffered a year ago.
This season, that could be even more important. The more Maiava throws the ball, the more likely he is to make the sort of big mistakes that could swing the game.
It happened more than once last season with Miller Moss. In three of USC’s six losses, Moss threw the ball 50 times. Enough that even Riley recognized that he should have run the ball more.
That can’t happen this season. Not with all that USC now has to work with in its backfield. And not with a season of experience in the Big Ten under Riley’s belt.
Riley has seen what it takes to make it through a Big Ten slate. Now it’s time to apply what he’s learned …
… and run the damn ball.
Tyran Stokes celebrates after a slam dunk earlier this year while playing for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
( Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
—Micah Banuelos got the start at right guard over Alani Noa. Banuelos was in the thick of the competition to start at one of the guard spots, so this is less of a surprise on his end. But Noa being bumped after one week could be an interesting development. When Riley was asked about it, he only said that it was an “inside-the-walls decision”. Could this be Banuelos being the guy going forward? I didn’t think either really separated from the other at the position.
—Jahkeem Stewart lined up all over the defensive line in his first game action. The five-star freshman only played in a dozen football games at the high school level — and hadn’t played one in a while before Saturday. So Riley expected some rust. But even in his first game back, USC didn’t hold back on moving him around. Stewart played pretty much every position on the defensive line, including nose tackle. He played 23 snaps, fifth-most among USC linemen, and tallied two tackles. “He’s a really talented guy that I think is going to really impact our defense positively this year and in the future,” Riley said.
—A one-time transfer portal window is imminent. But there’s no perfect option. The NCAA Football Oversight Committee voted last week to get rid of the spring window, and while the change hasn’t been formally adopted, it’s heading in that direction. I agree with Riley that it’s ultimately progress. But if the 10-day window opens on Jan. 2, as Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reported, that means coaches in the final four of the College Football Playoff will have to contend with players hopping into the portal mid-playoff run. Opening after the Playoff, meanwhile, might mean missing the beginning of an academic semester. “I don’t know that there’s a right answer,” Riley said. “You’re going to give up something either way.”
—The No. 1 basketball recruit in the country just visited USC. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame star forward Tyran Stokes took his official visit with Eric Musselman and Co. over the weekend. Stokes has already visited Kentucky, Kansas and Louisville, but USC is still in the thick of the race. He’s not the only top prospect who’s visited with the Trojans recently, either. Bellflower St. John Bosco stars Christian Collins (eighth overall) and Tajh Ariza (14th) had official visits at USC the weekend before Stokes. There’s no denying USC’s hustle on the recruiting trail during an absolutely critical year for recruiting in L.A. Now they just need to close with one of these top recruits.
—Tennessee and Penn State both just signed massive apparel deals to switch from Nike to adidas. Could USC follow? USC’s previous long-term deal with Nike is up next year, and the school is looking into all of its options. When Mike Bohn was athletic director, he complained to me multiple times about how bad USC’s current deal was with Nike. That’s not to say USC is looking to leave. But you can count on the size of the next deal making a much bigger difference, and adidas has shown a willingness to take big swings. For what it’s worth, in 2018, current USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen negotiated an identical switch, signing a huge apparel deal to flip Washington from Nike to adidas.
Big Ten travel tip
The most critical thing to know when traveling to Indiana from Los Angeles is that there are no direct flights into Indianapolis. So you can catch me flying into Chicago for each of the Trojans’ next three road trips.
But when it comes to fueling up before USC’s Big Ten opener in West Lafayette, Ind., next weekend, I’ll be checking out Triple XXX Family Restaurant. Once you get over the confounding/awesome name, it looks like just the sort of Midwestern diner that shouldn’t be missed. I’m a sucker for a diner burger. Especially when it’s named after a famous alum.
I was skeptical when I heard that NBC was making a spinoff of “The Office” based on a Midwestern newspaper. I didn’t want it to sour my deep adoration for the original. But given the fact that it fits my algorithm to a frighteningly precise degree, of course I was going to give “The Paper” a shot.
And predictably, the plight of the newspaper — let alone one set 45 minutes from my hometown — was enough to get me hooked. It’s not a perfect show yet by any means, but neither was “The Office” when it first started. What I do know is Domnhall Gleeson is a joy, and there’s a kernel of something that could work here. I’ll subscribe.
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 [email protected], and follow me on X at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Montell Jordan, the son of South L.A. who shot to fame in 1995 with the hit “This Is How We Do It,” says his prostate cancer has returned despite having a radical prostatectomy last year.
“We thought [the cancer] was all confined, isolated to the prostate,” he said Wednesday on “Today.” “Apparently, that was not the case.”
Jordan said that after his nine-month follow-up exam and testing, doctors noticed a “tiny amount” of cancer cells in the prostate bed — the former site of the gland that was removed — and in some lymph nodes on the left side of his body. He is opting for proton radiation therapy to target the cancer and hormone blockers to reduce or eliminate production of testosterone, a hormone that the Mayo Clinic says is needed for most prostate cancer cells to grow.
The five-day-a-week radiation treatments will be “a 7½-week interruption of life to make sure that I have a longer life,” said the 56-year-old Pepperdine University graduate, who is now a pastor based in Georgia, in addition to continuing to work in the music industry.
After getting prostate exams regularly since he turned 40, he knew his doctor suspected he had cancer when his PSA test results came back elevated. Still, he said, getting the official diagnosis early in 2024 was a shock.
“I still go numb a little bit,” Jordan told “Today.” “I’m the type of person that tries to live a life of moderation in what I eat and what I drink and how I work out. I don’t do alcohol or smoke or any of those things.” He noted that his quality of live has been “fantastic” since his surgery.
However, the biopsy that came back after his prostatectomy showed that his cancer was likely Stage 2, not Stage 1 as originally thought, he said. Stage 2 means that the cancer has grown larger and has possibly spread to nearby lymph nodes. The most recent exam appears to have confirmed that diagnosis.
Jordan said he is talking about his journey because the way that prostate cancer and notions of manhood and masculinity are interwoven means men don’t like to talk about the disease — Black men especially.
The minister, who with his wife, Kristin Jordan, formed the “100% virtual” Master Peace Church operating out of Dacula, Ga., northeast of Atlanta, is also filming a documentary about his experience.
“I’m trying to give a template for people that get diagnosed with this to, one, know they have options available to them,” Jordan said. “And, two, in the mix of what that looks like, it’s OK to cry. It’s OK to shake your fist at God. It’s OK to navigate and do what you need to do, but doing nothing is not an option.”
As a young man, he stood next to Martin Luther King Jr. as he delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech. As a college basketball coach, he blazed a trail for Black coaches and players. As an executive, he was instrumental in signing Michael Jordan to his groundbreaking endorsement deal with Nike.
George Raveling had an impact that stretched far beyond basketball, the sport which he last coached three decades ago at USC. He became a revered figure in the game, not for the number of wins he accumulated over his career, but for his role as a mentor to many.
Raveling, 88, died Monday after a battle with cancer, his family announced.
“There are no words to fully capture what George meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players, and assistants — and to the world,” the family said in a statement. “He will be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence, and timeless wisdom live on in all those he touched and transformed.”
Raveling coached at USC from 1986 to 1994, the first Black coach to take the helm of the Trojans basketball program. Over his first four seasons at the school, Raveling didn’t experience much success, winning just 38 of USC’s 116 games over that stretch.
Raveling found his stride in the second half of his tenure, taking the Trojans to two straight NCAA tournaments and two NITs after that. But his overall record at USC never broke .500 (115-118). In September 1994, Raveling was in a serious car accident that eventually led him to retire. He suffered nine broken ribs and a collapsed lung and fractured his pelvis and collarbone.
After his coaching career, Raveling joined Nike as the director of grassroots basketball, later rising to the role of director of international basketball.
But his biggest contribution at Nike came out of his relationship with Jordan, whom Raveling had coached as an assistant with the U.S. national team at the 1984 Olympics. Jordan, whose deal with Nike sent the brand into a new stratosphere, credited Raveling for making it happen. In the foreword for Raveling’s book, Jordan called him “a mentor”.
“If not for George, there would be no Air Jordan,” Jordan wrote.
Across the basketball world, similar plaudits came pouring in Tuesday in light of Raveling’s death.
Eric Musselman, USC’s current basketball coach, said Raveling was “not only a Hall of Fame basketball mind but a tremendous person who paved the way on and off the court.”
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright wrote on social media that Raveling was “the finest human being, inspiring mentor, most loyal alum and a thoughtful loving friend.”
Raveling grew up in Washington D.C., during a time of segregation and hardship. His family lived in a two-room apartment above a grocery store, where they shared a bathroom with four other families on the same floor. His father died suddenly when he was 9. His mother suffered a mental health crisis a few years later and spent most of her remaining years in a psychiatric hospital. Raveling left home at 14 to attend a boarding school.
It was at St. Michaels, a mostly white boarding school in Pennsylvania, that Raveling first started playing basketball. He earned a scholarship at Villanova, where he became a captain and later an assistant coach.
But the college experience, he later said, had an even more profound impact on Raveling.
“I’ve always felt like a sprinter who’d slipped at the starting box and was 20 yards behind everybody — I’ve been in a mad dash to catch up with everybody ever since,” Raveling told The Times in 1994. “My mom worked two jobs when I was a kid. There were no books in our house. Nobody envisioned that I’d graduate from college. No one even encouraged me to go to college.”
He’d spend the rest of his life, it seems, trying to make up for lost time.
Raveling was standing just a few feet away from King on the National Mall in Washington D.C. in 1963 as he delivered his famed “I Have A Dream” speech. King actually handed Raveling his copy of the historic speech immediately after he finished.
For decades, Raveling kept it tucked inside of a book, before recounting the story to a journalist. According to Sports Illustrated, a collector later offered Raveling $3 million for his copy of the speech. But he declined and donated it instead to Villanova.
George Raveling was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., in 2015.
(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)
Raveling pioneered a path that few Black coaches ever had through his career. He was the first Black coach in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference when he started as an assistant in 1969. Three years later, at Washington State, he became the first Black coach to lead a Pac-8 (now Pac-12) Conference basketball team.
He coached at Iowa from 1983-86 before being hired at USC. At the time, the Trojans had a roster that included Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, who were coming off their freshman season. Raveling gave the players a firm deadline to tell him if they planned to remain on the team and when they didn’t he revoked their scholarships. Both went on to star at Loyola Marymount.
Raveling was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. But as a “contributor”, not as a coach. Even while he was coaching, Raveling seemed to understand that his role meant more than that.
“Winning basketball games just helps you keep your job,” he told The Times in 1994. “But keeping your job helps you work with these kids about the real challenges of life, which all happen away from the court. I know there’s an enormous demand around here to win. But I don’t want someone to ask me what I accomplished in my life and for me to say that I won this amount of games or took a team to some tournament.
“If all I can say is that I taught a kid how to shoot a jump shot, well, that’s not good enough. These kids come out of underprivileged, inner-city areas, and I’m just wasting my time if I haven’t put something of substance into their lives.”
The record for the amount paid for a basketball card is about to be broken by Kobe Bryant on what would have been his 47th birthday … with some help from his “big brother,” Michael Jordan.
The 2007-08 Upper Deck Exquisite Collection Dual Logoman Autographs card featuring Bryant and Jordan is up for bid online at Heritage Auctions. Bidding closes Saturday at 8 p.m. PDT, with extended bidding available at that time.
As of early Friday afternoon, bidding for the one-of-one card had reached $7.015 million, including the 22% buyer’s premium added to the successful bid. That already shatters the current record price garnered by a basketball card — the $5.9 million paid for the 2009-10 Panini National Treasures Stephen Curry Logoman Autograph card in a 2021 private estate sale.
With more than a day still remaining for bids, it’s still tough to tell what the new record might end up being.
“Most likely, it’ll end up somewhere in the $8-million range,” Heritage director of sports collectibles Chris Ivy told The Times late Friday morning, although he added that he “wouldn’t be shocked” if it went for $10 million or more.
The most anyone has paid for any sports card is $12.6 million for a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card in a 2022 Heritage auction. The Curry card currently sits at No. 4 among all sports cards.
The Dual Logoman Autographs series of cards features the images and signatures of two iconic players, as well as NBA logo patches from a game-worn jersey from each player. Jordan appeared on eight such cards and Bryant was on 11, but this is the only one that paired the two of them.
“It’s the only one that has Kobe and Jordan on it, and it has both their Logoman logos, and it’s signed by both,” Ivy said, “and so kind of all those factors combined together to make this the top card for modern card collectors. And we’re seeing that in the price that it’s generating right now.”
Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan eyes the basket as he is guarded by the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant on Feb. 1, 1998, at the Forum.
(Vince Bucci / AFP via Getty Images)
Cards featuring Jordan and Bryant individually haven’t brought in nearly as much cash, with Jordan’s top seller going for $2.93 million in 2024 and Bryant’s going for $2.3 million earlier this month.
Ivy said it is a coincidence that the auction is ending on Bryant’s birthday.
The beloved Los Angeles icon and daughter Gianna were among the nine people who died in a Jan. 26, 2020, helicopter crash in Calabasas. Jordan was one of the speakers at the father and daughter’s public memorial held on Feb. 24, 2020, at Staples Center.
“Maybe it surprised people that Kobe and I were very close friends,” Jordan said. “But we were very close friends. Kobe was my dear friend, he was like a little brother.”
He added: “What Kobe Bryant was to me was the inspiration that someone truly cared about the way that I played the game or the way that he wanted to play the game.
“He wanted to be the best basketball player that he could be. And as I got to know him, I wanted to be the best big brother that I could be. To do that you have to put up with the aggravation, the late-night calls or the dumb questions. I took great pride as I got to know Kobe Bryant that he was just trying to be a better person, a better basketball player.”
Spectacular fifties from Jordan Cox and Sam Curran fired Oval Invincibles to a thrilling six-wicket victory over Trent Rockets in a table-topping clash in The Hundred.
Cox hammered an unbeaten 58 from 32 balls and Curran struck 54 from 24, as the Invincibles hit a remarkable 103 runs from 28 deliveries to drive to victory with 11 balls to spare.
Opener Joe Root struck a season-best 76 as Rockets reached 171-7 and the visitors looked well-placed in their reply when they had their opponents 70-2 after 60 balls.
However, Cox and Curran launched a superb turnaround from that point, adding 51 from the next 10 legitimate deliveries.
The pair smashed six sixes and a four between them as they took 19 off David Willey and 32 from Sam Cook, who bowled the most expensive five-ball set in men’s Hundred history.
Curran reached his fifty from 22 balls, but fell before the close, caught on the ropes off Rehan Ahmed.
Cox pushed on, reaching his own half-century from 30 deliveries, guiding his side home alongside Donovan Ferreira and Sam Billings.
The win near guarantees Invincibles a play-off spot and offers further evidence as to why the two-time defending champions remain the team to beat in the men’s competition.
President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s new government is trying to attract foreign investment as Syria’s economy lies in ruins.
Jordan will host a Jordanian-Syrian-American meeting on Tuesday to discuss ways to support the rebuilding of Syria, its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates says, as Damascus seeks investment deals with international companies to revive its war-ravaged economy.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani and United States envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack are expected to attend, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s fledgling government has been grappling with the fallout from sectarian violence between Bedouin and Druze fighters in the southern province of Suwayda as well as Israeli strikes on Syrian soldiers and the capital, Damascus.
Jordan made its announcement after Damascus signed 12 agreements worth $14bn on Wednesday, including a $4bn agreement with Qatar’s UCC Holding to build a new airport and a $2bn deal to establish a subway in Damascus with the national investment corporation of the United Arab Emirates.
The projects “will extend across Syria and represent a qualitative shift in infrastructure and economic life”, Talal al-Hilali, head of the Syrian Investment Authority, said during a ceremony at the presidential palace in Damascus.
He described the agreements as “a turning point” for Syria’s future.
Al-Sharaa and Barrack were both present at the signing ceremony, according to Syria’s official SANA news agency.
The United Nations has put Syria’s post-war reconstruction costs at more than $400bn.
Syria’s new authorities have worked to attract investment for the reconstruction of infrastructure across the country after the US and the European Union lifted sanctions on Syria in the wake of al-Assad’s ouster.
Other major developments on the investment front include the $2bn Damascus Towers project for residential high rises, signed with the Italian-based company UBAKO; a $500m deal for the Baramkeh Towers project, also in Damascus; and another $60m agreement for Baramkeh Mall.
Last month, Saudi Arabia said it would invest about $3bn in real estate and infrastructure projects in Syria.
In May, Damascus signed a $7bn energy deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US companies as it seeks to revive its crippled power sector.
Israeli settlers attacked an aid convoy for the second time in days, delaying 30 trucks from Jordan on their way to Gaza. Video shows settlers chanting “May Palestine’s name be wiped out”. Jordan condemned the assault, accusing Israel of failing to stop repeated settler attacks.
Israeli forces have killed at least 63 people across Gaza, hours after the military announced it would begin “pausing” attacks for 10 hours daily in some areas to allow humanitarian aid to pass through.
On Sunday, the Israeli army said it would temporarily halt military activity each day from 10am to 8pm (07:00-17:00 GMT) in parts of central and northern Gaza, including al-Mawasi, Deir el-Balah and Gaza City. It also pledged to open designated aid corridors for food and medical convoys between 6am and 11pm.
But hours into the first day of the “humanitarian pauses”, Israeli air raids resumed.
“There was an air strike on Gaza City, and this is one of the areas that was designated as a safe area, and where the Israeli forces are going to halt their military operations,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported from Deir el-Balah.
“According to Palestinians in that area, a bakery was targeted.”
The bombardment comes as global outcry grows over the worsening humanitarian disaster in Gaza inflicted by Israel.
Famine deaths rise
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that six more Palestinians, including two children, died from hunger-related causes in the past 24 hours, pushing the number of starvation deaths to 133 since October 2023.
Among the dead was five-month-old Zainab Abu Haleeb, who succumbed to malnutrition at Nasser Hospital.
“Three months inside the hospital, and this is what I get in return, that she is dead,” said her mother, Israa Abu Haleeb, as the child’s father cradled her small body wrapped in a white shroud.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said on Sunday that one in three Gaza residents has gone days without eating, and nearly 500,000 people are suffering from “famine-like conditions”. The World Health Organization also warned last week that more than 20 percent of pregnant and breastfeeding women are malnourished.
Falestine Ahmed, a mother in Gaza, told Al Jazeera she lost one-third of her body weight.
“I used to weigh 57kg [126 pounds], now I weigh 42kg [93 pounds], and both my son and I have been diagnosed with severe malnutrition,” she said. “We barely have any food at home, and even when it’s available, it’s far too expensive for us to afford.”
Israel has authorised new corridors for aid, while the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have airdropped supplies into the territory. However, deliveries have been fraught with danger and are far too few.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reported that one aid drop injured nearly a dozen people. “Eleven people were reported with injuries as one of these pallets fell directly on tents in that displacement site near al-Rasheed Road.”
Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP]
Despite the mounting evidence of extreme hunger, Israel continues to deny that famine exists in Gaza. The Israeli military insists it is working to improve humanitarian access.
But scenes of desperation contradict official claims. “I’ve come all this way, risking my life for my children. They haven’t eaten for a week,” said Smoud Wahdan, a mother searching for flour, speaking to Al Jazeera. “At the very least, I’ve been looking for a piece of bread for my children.”
Another displaced mother, Tahani, said that her cancer-stricken child was among those suffering. “I came to get flour, to look for food to feed my children. I wish God’s followers would wake up and see all these people. They are dying.”
Aid groups overwhelmed
Liz Allcock, the head of protection for Medical Aid for Palestinians, told Al Jazeera that she has never seen Gaza in such a state. “The scale of starvation and the number of people you see walking around who are literally skin and bones [is shocking]… Money really has no value here when there is nothing to buy,” she said.
“All of Gazan society – no matter who they are – is suffering from critical food shortages,” she added, warning that one-quarter of the population is at risk of acute malnutrition.
The United Nations says aid deliveries can only succeed if Israel approves the rapid movement of convoys through its checkpoints.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher noted that while some restrictions appeared to have eased, the scale of the crisis required far more action.
“This is progress, but vast amounts of aid are needed to stave off famine and a catastrophic health crisis,” he said.
Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]
Diplomatic pressure builds
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday that he discussed the Gaza situation with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts and plans to co-host a conference in New York City next week focused on securing a two-state solution.
“We cannot accept that people, including large numbers of children, die of hunger,” he said.
Macron confirmed that France would soon recognise Palestinian statehood, joining more than 140 UN member states.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in an interview that Israel’s blockade of aid amounts to a violation of “humanity and morality”.
“Quite clearly, it is a breach of international law to stop food being delivered, which was a decision that Israel made in March,” he told ABC News. However, he added that Australia was not ready to recognise Palestinian statehood “imminently”.
In the United States, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that ceasefire talks led by President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, are making “a lot of progress”.
“We’re optimistic and hopeful that any day now, we will have a ceasefire agreement,” Rubio told Fox News, suggesting that half of the remaining Israeli captives may be released soon.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said that 88 Palestinians were killed and 374 wounded in Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours alone.
Since Israel’s war on Gaza began in October, at least 59,821 Palestinians have been killed and more than 144,000 injured.
Despite talk of pauses and diplomacy, the violence continues to escalate.
Minnesota Vikings receiver Jordan Addison will avoid jail time for his 2024 DUI citation after pleading no contest to a lesser charge Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The former USC standout was arrested in July 2024 when a California Highway Patrol officer found him sleeping behind the wheel of a Rolls-Royce that was blocking traffic near Los Angeles International Airport.
Addison pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor drunk-driving charges in December; those charges were dismissed Thursday after Addison entered a no-contest plea to the charge of “wet reckless driving upon a highway.”
“While Mr. Addison’s case would have made for a great trial, I admire him for taking responsibility by accepting the City Attorney’s ‘wet reckless’ offer,” Addison’s attorney, Jacqueline Sparagna, said in a statement. “Now he can put this incident behind him and solely focus on his promising career.”
Addison was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and is required to pay a $390 fine and complete two online courses. In a statement posted to X, Addison’s agent Tim Younger said the expectation was that “his probation will be terminated early in six months.”
“Over the past year, he voluntarily participated in MADD events and programs and, after reflection, decided to enter this plea understanding the ramifications of this decision,” Younger wrote. “He has kept the organization apprised throughout these legal proceedings, and will continue in his full commitment to being a valuable member of his team.”
Had Addison been convicted on the charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with 0.08% blood-alcohol level, he could have faced up to six months in jail, been fined up to $1,000 and had his license suspended for as long as 10 months.
According to the NFL’s policy and program on substances of abuse, Addison still could face a three-game suspension without pay, with some “aggravating circumstances” allowing for a harsher penalty. The league said in a statement Thursday that the matter “remains under review.”
Addison spent the first two years of his college career at the University of Pittsburgh, winning the Fred Biletnikoff Award for best receiver in the country after catching 100 passes for 1,593 yards and 17 touchdowns during the 2021 season.
After catching 59 passes for 875 yards and eight touchdowns at USC the following season, Addison was selected by Minnesota at No. 23 overall in the 2023 draft. He has 133 catches for 1,786 yards and 19 touchdowns in two seasons with the Vikings.
Brentford have completed the signing of England midfielder and former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson on a two-year contract after his recent departure from Ajax.
Henderson, 35, spent 12 years with Liverpool, where he won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, two League Cups, Community Shield, Super Cup and Club World Cup.
In July 2023, he joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq, managed by former Liverpool team-mate Steven Gerrard, but six months later his contract was cancelled and he joined Ajax.
Henderson was handed an England recall in March by new manager Thomas Tuchel, having not played for the Three Lions since November 2023. He has 84 England caps.
Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule, known as the duo Rizzle Kicks, performed on the Other Stage at Glastonbury today with Jade Thirlwall among those in the crowd
23:28, 27 Jun 2025Updated 23:29, 27 Jun 2025
Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens had a message for fans prior to their set at Glastonbury this afternoon(Image: Harry Durrant/Getty Images)
Fans of duo Rizzle Kicks shared their disappointment with the BBC earlier over their set at Glastonbury Festival. The reaction came after bandmate Jordan Stephens had himself issued a message about filming at the festival.
Jordan and his bandmate Harley Alexander-Sule, both 33, performed together as Rizzle Kicks on the Other Stage at Worthy Farm in Somerset this afternoon. It marked the duo’s return to the festival after making their Glastonbury debut on the BBC Introducing Stage back in 2013.
Prior to their latest set, Jordan announced yesterday that the BBC, the “exclusive broadcast partner” of Glastonbury, would not be filming it. He shared the news in a statement issued to fans on Instagram ahead of their return today.
Jordan Stephens (left) and Harley Alexander-Sule (right), known collectively as Rizzle Kicks, performed at Glastonbury this afternoon(Image: Harry Durrant/Getty Images)
Jordan wrote: “The BBC are not filming our Glastonbury set. If you’re not there you will not be able to watch it back. It might well be once in a lifetime. Who knows.” He added at the time: “The set is [fire emoji] and we’re buzzin for it.”
His partner Jade Thirlwall, 32, later expressed disappointment over the situation. The Little Mix member, who is set to play the Woodsies Stage tomorrow, referenced the news on her Instagram Story whilst sharing her excitement over getting to see him perform at Glastonbury.
Alongside a selfie, she wrote this afternoon: “What du mean I’m about to watch my bf at glasto when we were dreaming about it this time last year. Rizzle Kicks set isn’t televised (booo) so get into it and get here to the other stage lol.”
Prior to their set, Jordan had told fans that it wouldn’t be filmed by the BBC(Image: @jordanfstephens/Instagram)
Jade isn’t alone in her disappointment, with a number of fans having expressed frustration over Rizzle Kicks’ set not being available on BBC iPlayer. Several other acts who performed on the Other Stage today, like Franz Ferdinand and Gracie Abrams, were livestreamed. The livestream for that stage however began at 2.15pm, which was after Rizzle Kicks’ set.
One fan wrote on X: “Rizzle Kicks not being broadcast at Glastonbury is a travesty, especially compared to some of the s**t that they are showing.” Another wrote: “@BBCiPlayer why can’t I found Rizzle Kicks. I’m really disappointed.”
A third person, who had previously requested a livestream be available for the set, later posted: “Thanks guys missed Rizzle Kicks great job.” Another said shortly after the duo’s set began: “No Rizzle Kicks on iPlayer, sort it out lads.”
His partner Jade Thirlwall was among those who expressed disappointment over the duo’s set not being televised(Image: @jadethirlwall/Instagram)
Approached for comment, a spokesperson for the BBC told the Mirror tonight that the broadcaster will be providing more than 90 hours of performances. They said: “The BBC, Glastonbury’s exclusive broadcast partner, brings audiences a two-month celebration of the festival this June and July.
“Our BBC iPlayer coverage provides over 90 hours of performances, with live streams of the five main stages, in addition to The Glastonbury Channel and over 90 sets to watch on demand throughout July. There is also extensive coverage on TV, radio and BBC Sounds – including over 30 performances and DJ sets that will be available to hear on demand on BBC Sounds throughout July.”
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has issued fresh travel guidance following hostilities between Israel and Iran, and it says visiting certain nations could invalidate your travel insurance
People queue in departures (file image)(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
Brits are warned not to travel to Jordan and Israel amid the latter’s conflict with Iran, which saw Iran fight back on the weekend. Brits already in these countries should follow local authorities’ advice, the FCDO stressed.
With reference to Jordan, it added: “Ongoing hostilities in the region and between Israel and Iran could escalate quickly and pose security risks for the wider region. There are reports of military debris falling in various locations.
“Travel disruption, including flight cancellations and airspace closures may occur. Demonstrations and protest activity may take place. Jordanian airspace is open but airports and airspace may close at short notice.”
Due to this, the FCDO says Brits should not travel to Israel too. Airspace there has been closed since the violence ramped up on Friday morning. The FCDO continued: “Following Israeli strikes against targets in Iran, Iran has launched multiple rounds of missile and drone attacks against Israel. On 13 June, a nationwide state of emergency was declared in Israel. Israeli airspace remains closed and Ben Gurion Airport is currently closed. No travel can be guaranteed safe.”
Ignoring any advice from the FCDO may invalidate your travel insurance, the agency added. Those planning trips to Jordan or Israel should monitor local and international media for the latest information, and be vigilant and follow the instructions of local authorities.
The FCDO’s new advice comes amid the fast-moving situation which poses significant risks as it could deteriorate further, quickly and without warning. Mr Trump acknowledged this late on Monday UK time (6.30pm in Washington).
The US President posted on Truth Social: “Iran should have signed the “deal” I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.”
The Israeli Air Force yesterday sent fighter jets over central Iran on the fourth day of its military operation to strip away Iran’s capacity to produce nuclear weapons. Among the targets hit by Israel was a building used by Iran’s state TV – and the attack was caught live on air.
Israeli officials put the death toll from Iran’s overnight strikes at eight people after the Islamic Republic punctured Israel’s Iron Dome defence system, hitting targets in Tel Aviv and Haifa. In total, 24 Israeli civilians have died as a result of Iranian strikes. Meanwhile, in Iran, the country’s health ministry reported that the death toll has climbed to 224 people in the 72 hours since the war began.
![Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen, in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, July 26, 2025 [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]](https://www.occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/AP25207438726734-1753623386.jpg)
![Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza through Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, July 27, 2025. [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]](https://www.occasionaldigest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-07-27T074350Z_529668594_RC2VUFAEGUPF_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-GAZA-1753608681.jpg)
