Kylie Jenner is being sued by a second housekeeper who alleges she suffered cruel and unusual treatment while working for the beauty mogul.
Just a week after one woman on Jenner’s cleaning staff sued her, claiming her co-workers harassed and discriminated against her, another housekeeper has come out with allegations. The woman says the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star didn’t intervene while she suffered abuse from fellow staff, despite the housekeeper slipping the reality star a letter pleading for help.
Juana Delgado Soto filed a lawsuit against Kylie Jenner, Kylie Jenner Inc., staff supervisor Itzel Sibrian, Tri Star Services and La Maison Family Services on Wednesday alleging racial discrimination, harassment, failure to pay wages, failure to prevent or remedy harassment and discrimination, and more.
A representative for Jenner declined to comment Thursday, noting that the reality star had not yet seen the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, obtained by The Times, Soto began working for Jenner in May 2019. She alleges that meal and rest breaks were withheld from her for the first few years of her employment, but that the severity of the abuse and harassment ramped up in late 2023, when Sibrian became her direct supervisor. Soto says that, in 2024, she filed a complaint with Human Resources after Sibrian allegedly mocked and humiliated her for her accent, immigration status and race and called her stupid. Sibrian was temporarily removed because of the complaint and then reinstated, and according to the suit, she set out to retaliate against Soto for filing a complaint by reducing her hourly wage, assigning unreasonable workloads and changing her schedule.
In her lawsuit, Soto says that, as she prepared to leave work on her birthday, Sibrian threatened that she would be fired if she didn’t stay late and told her “no one cares about your birthday, Kylie is having a dinner.” Soto says she missed her own surprise party.
In late 2024, housekeeping supervisors Patsy and Elsy, who are referred to in the first lawsuit against Jenner as well, by their first names only, stepped into their leadership roles. Soto alleges that under Patsy and Elsy, she was denied adequate time off to grieve after the sudden death of her brother, and was told to “report to work immediately.” While she was working, she alleges, staff members “whispered that [Soto] was lying about her brother’s death and kept forcing her to pick up trash they purposely threw on the ground.” She further claims she was harassed when she requested time off to attend her brother’s funeral Mass.
In April 2025, the suit alleges that, after repeated failures by management to address Soto’s concerns, she wrote a long letter to Jenner detailing the harassment, discrimination and retaliation and placed it on Jenner’s massage bed immediately before her massage.
According to the suit, Soto wrote, “I need to express just how terribly I am mentally abused” and “I really apologize for letting you know about all these situations, I know you wouldn’t allow this to happen, if you were aware of it.”
Soto alleges that the following day she was threatened with termination and instructed never to contact Jenner again. “Defendants told her she was no longer allowed to look at Kylie, smile at Kylie and if she saw Kylie she would have to ‘disappear.’”
Soto further alleges that, after she left the letter for Jenner, her supervisors required her to leave the premises when Jenner was present, restricted her restroom access, forced her to clean the doghouse and prohibited her from drinking water at the residence, calling it “Kylie’s water.”
In August 2025, Soto sent a text message to her supervisors, writing, “I am sorry, I cannot do this anymore, every day you guys mistreat me, and I have bitten all my nails off, I cannot sleep at nights, and I always have anxiety because of the way you guys treat me. No matter what I did no one helped me.”
Soto is seeking an unspecified amount of punitive and compensatory damages.
“My client alleges multiple employment & labor law violations by Kylie Jenner and her affiliated companies, and I commend her for the courage to come forward and seek accountability, recognizing that taking the first step is often the most difficult,” Soto’s attorney Della Shaker told The Times. Shaker also represents Angelica Hernandez Vasquez, who filed a suit against Jenner on April 17.
Vasquez’s lawsuit says she was subjected to “severe and pervasive harassment” while employed by the makeup magnate from September 2024 to August 2025.
Vasquez, who states that she is a Salvadoran woman and practicing Catholic, alleges she was humiliated by fellow staff members and belittled because of her race, country of origin, religion and immigration status. Jenner was not personally accused of bullying behavior in the filing brought by Vasquez.
Today I watched as Shohei Ohtani, the day after pitching seven innings, go 0 for 5 with two strikeouts while grounding into a double play. The sample size, at this point, has to be large enough for Dave Roberts and the Dodgers’ management to discuss the elephant in the room with their lead-off batter. He should not bat when he pitches, and he should have a day off after he pitches.
It could also be argued that he should not be the lead-off batter — his average and on-base percentage are lower than, say, Hyeseong Kim, who is also faster and would be a distraction for an opposing pitcher as a threat to steal. It would also give someone for Shohei to drive in if he dropped down the order a spot or two. If baseball is a numbers exercise, then the Dodgers need to do the math.
Peter Maradudin Burlingame
I have seen enough of Kyle Tucker to know the Dodgers lineup of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Tucker, Teo Hernández, Max Muncy, Andy Pages and Hyeseong Kim needs to be changed. Kim has better defense and is a base-stealer. Freeman is not a switch hitter since he can’t hit from the right side. Also, no lefty in the bullpen knows how to throw a screwball?
WASHINGTON — Amid growing national security concerns, the FBI said Tuesday that it has launched a broad investigation in the deaths or disappearances of at least 10 scientists and staff connected to highly sensitive research, including four from the Los Angeles area.
“The FBI is spearheading the effort to look for connections into the missing and deceased scientists. We are working with the Department of Energy, Department of War, and with our state and state and local law enforcement partners to find answers,” the agency said in a statement.
The FBI’s announcement comes after the House Oversight Committee announced that it would investigate reports of the disappearance and deaths of the scientists, sending letters seeking information from the agencies involved in the federal inquiry as well as NASA, which owns the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, where three of the missing or dead scientists worked.
“If the reports are accurate, these deaths and disappearances may represent a grave threat to U.S. national security and to U.S. personnel with access to scientific secrets,” Reps. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the committee, and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) wrote in the letters.
President Trump told reporters last week that he had been briefed on the missing and dead scientists, which he described as “pretty serious stuff.” He said at the time that he expected answers on whether the deaths were connected “in the next week and a half.”
Michael David Hicks, who studied comets and asteroids at JPL, was the first of the scientists who disappeared or died. He died on July 30, 2023, at the age of 59. No cause of death was disclosed.
A year later, JPL physicist Frank Maiwald died at 61, with no cause of death disclosed.
Two other Los Angeles scientists are part of the string of deaths and disappearances.
On June 22, 2025, Monica Jacinto Reza, a materials scientist at JPL, disappeared while on a hike near Mt. Waterman in the San Gabriel Mountains.
On Feb. 16, Caltech astrophysicist Carl Grillmair was fatally shot on the porch of his Llano home. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department arrested Freddy Snyder, 29, in connection with the shooting. Snyder had been arrested in December on suspicion of trespassing on Grillmair’s property.
There is no evidence at this point that the deaths and disappearances, which occurred over a span of four years, are connected.
A spokesperson for NASA, which owns JPL, said in a statement on X that the agency is “coordinating and cooperating with the relevant agencies in relation to the missing scientists.
“At this time, nothing related to NASA indicates a national security threat,” agency spokesperson Bethany Stevens wrote. “The agency is committed to transparency and will provide more information as able.”
Representatives from Caltech did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reed Hastings, who helped launched Netflix from a fledgling DVD mail-order business into a global streaming juggernaut, plans to exit the company after nearly three decades.
Hastings will leave the company he co-founded to focus on philanthropy and other efforts, the streaming company announced said Thursday.
Hastings, who serves as chairman of the Los Gatos company’s board, told Netflix he will not stand for reelection when his term expires in June, Netflix said in a letter to shareholders timed to its fiscal first-quarter earnings.
He said the commitment of Netflix Co-Chief Executives Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters was “so strong that I can now focus on new things.”
Peters described Hastings, 65, as the company’s “biggest champion,” and that he “is a part of our DNA.”
Sarandos called Hastings a “true history maker,” saying in a statement that Hastings’ “selfless, disciplined leadership style” will continue to shape Netflix’s path ahead.
Hastings’ exit was not unexpected as his role in the company diminished after he stepped aside as co-chief executive of Netflix in 2023.
During his tenure, Hastings oversaw the substantial growth of the streaming colossus. Today, Netflix has a market cap of about $455 billion, more than double that of the Walt Disney Co.
“My real contribution at Netflix wasn’t a single decision; it was a focus on member joy, building a culture that others could inherit and improve, and building a company that could be both beloved by members and wildly successful for generations to come,” Hastings said in a statement.
For the first quarter of 2026, Netflix reported nearly $12.3 billion of revenue, up 16% compared to the same time period a year ago. Operating income grew 18% to $3.9 billion for the three-month period ending March 31.
Both figures were ahead of the company’s guidance, a feat the streamer attributed to slightly higher than expected subscription revenue.
The company reported net income of $5.3 billion, up more than 80% compared to the $2.9 billion it recorded during the same period last year. Earnings per share was $1.23, up from 66 cents last year.
Netflix said it continues to expect 2026 revenue ranging from $50.7 billion to $51.7 billion, with an operating margin of 31.5%.
The earnings release and the Hastings announcement came after markets closed.
Netflix shares closed at $107.79, virtually unchanged. After hours, the shares dropped more than 8% to $98.26. They have climbed about 18% this year.
The Los Gatos-based company had previously secured an $82.7-billion deal to buy Warner Bros. studios and streaming services in December but it withdrew from the bidding war in late February after Paramount Skydance offered $31 a share. As part of the switch, Netflix was paid a $2.8-billion termination fee.
“Warner Bros. would have been a nice accelerant for our strategy, but only at the right price,” Netflix said in its investor letter. “We have multiple ways to achieve our goals (including producing, licensing, and partnering) and we’re constantly seeking to allocate our resources to the most attractive opportunities to maximize the value we are delivering to our members.”
Before Reed Hastings revolutionized the global entertainment business, he sold Rainbow vacuum cleaners door-to-door during his gap year between high school and Bowdoin College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
During his sales pitch, Reed would first clean a homeowner’s carpet with their vacuum and then demonstrate how to clean using a Rainbow. The job helped hone his ability to understand customers, a core foundation of Netflix’s user-driven, candor-obsessed culture.
After Bowdoin and before he earned his master’s degree in computer science at Stanford, Hastings served in the Peace Corps (he also did a stint in the Marines) teaching high school math in Swaziland (now Eswatini).
“Once you have hitchhiked across Africa with ten bucks in your pocket, starting a business doesn’t seem too intimidating,” he told Time magazine.
While those experiences helped shape Hasting’s business sense, it was a late fee for a video that became the catalyst for launching Netflix, upending the way viewers consumed content and disrupting how Hollywood does business.
As the story goes, Hastings had misplaced a VHS tape of “Apollo 13” racking up a hefty $40 charge.
It was 1997 and his company Pure Software had just been acquired. It dawned on him that a gym membership offered a better business model, than the average video store — where you paid a set fee for the month and you could work out as much or as little as you liked. He thought, why not apply that to the movie rental business?
Netflix, began in Scotts Valley, Calif., as a mail-order business. Customers paid a tiered monthly fee to rent DVDs online which were delivered by mail.
The business exploded racking up millions of customers as it jettisoned the post office to an internet-based business. As the business accelerated across the world it also expanded, creating original content such as award-winning blockbusters such as “Stranger Things” and “House of Cards.”
The company’s innovation extended internally too. Hastings became known for implementing a unique and controversial culture of radical transparency, where employee evaluations are brutally candid and average performances can be grounds for termination.
The Clippers’ season has come to an end but better than anyone expected. No consolation but a great job by head coach Tyronn Lue for guiding the Clippers from a disastrous 6-21 start and finishing with more than 40 wins.
Coach Lue led the team, overcoming major obstacles throughout the season with a player investigation, injuries, internal strife and major roster changes at the trade deadline. As usual for Clipper fans, wait till next year.
Wayne Muramatsu Cerritos
The Clippers are the NBA’s version of Stealers Wheel’s “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Yes, they have had 15 straight seasons of playing .500 or better, and owner Steve Ballmer has brought them respectability, but for their entire 56-year existence — which has contained many clowns and jokers — they still have never [attained] their goal of winning (or even reaching) the NBA Finals.
Nike has been refused a trademark for Bronny James‘ “b9” logo that appears on shoes have been worn in games by the second-year Lakers player and are being sold by the sports apparel giant.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office notified Nike of its decision with a letter of refusal earlier this week, citing “likelihood of confusion” with an already-registered mark by the Back9 Golf Apparel company.
“Applicant’s mark, B9, is confusingly similar to the registered mark, B9,” the refusal letter states. “The marks are similar in appearance, sound, and commercial impression. In addition, the marks are essentially phonetic equivalents and, thus, sound similar. Similarity in sound alone may be sufficient to support a finding that the compared marks are confusingly similar.”
Nike did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Times.
The James logo features a lowercase “b” with a “9” embedded in the center (where a hole normally would be). The Back9 logo has a capital “B” and a “9” of the same size next to each other. The logos are in different fonts.
In its trademark application, filed on Feb. 27, Nike had indicated the intention of using the logo on seemingly all types of athletic apparel, including footwear, headwear, shirts, pants, shorts and jackets. Polo shirts and golf caps were listed among the many specific examples of possible uses.
The refusal letter notes the use of similar or identical language in the description of goods in Back9’s trademark application, which was filed in May 2021 and approved a year later.
“The overriding concern is not only to prevent buyer confusion as to the source of the goods, but to protect the registrant from adverse commercial impact due to use of a similar mark by a newcomer,” the letter states. “Therefore, any doubt regarding a likelihood of confusion determination is resolved in favor of the registrant.
“Here, because the marks are similar and the goods are related and/or legally identical, there is a likelihood of confusion as to the source of applicant’s goods, and registration is refused pursuant to Section 2(d) of the Trademark Act.”
Nike has until July 13 to appeal the decision.
The Lakers, seeded No. 4 in the Western Conference, start their opening-round playoff series against the No. 5 Houston Rockets on Saturday at Crypto.com Arena.
Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison made his case directly to theater owners Thursday, pledging to release a minimum of 30 films a year from the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery company during a speech at the CinemaCon trade convention in Las Vegas.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison said in a brief on-stage speech, adding that Paramount has already nearly doubled its film lineup for this year with 15 planned releases, up from 8 in 2025.
He also said all films will remain in theaters exclusively for 45 days, starting Thursday. Films will then go to streaming platforms in 90 days. The amount of time that films stay in theaters — known as windowing — has been a controversial topic for theater owners, as some studios reduced that period during the pandemic. Theater operators have said the shortened window has trained audiences to wait to watch films at home and cuts into theater revenues.
“I have dedicated the last 20 years of my life to elevating and preserving film,” said Ellison, clad in a dark jacket and shirt with blue jeans. “And at Paramount, we want to tell even more great stories on the big screen — stories that make people think, laugh, dream, wonder and feel — and we want to share them with as broad an audience as possible.”
Ellison’s CinemaCon appearance comes as more than 1,000 Hollywood actors and creatives have signed a letter opposing Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner. Supporters of the letter have said the deal would reduce competition in the industry and “further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape.”
Some theater operators have also questioned whether the combined company could achieve its goal of releasing 30 films a year, particularly after the cost cuts that are expected after the merger closes.
“People can speculate all they want — but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment,” Ellison said. “And we’ll show you we mean it.”
The speech came after a star-studded video directed by “Wicked: For Good” director Jon M. Chu that was shot on the Paramount lot on Melrose Avenue and showcased directors and actors including Issa Rae, Will Smith, Chris Pratt, James Cameron and Timothée Chalamet that are working with the company.
The video closed with “Top Gun” actor Tom Cruise perched atop the Paramount water tower.
“As you saw, the Paramount lot is alive again,” Ellison said after the video. “And we could not be more excited.”
A constellation of stars are lining up against Paramount’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, expressing fears the blockbuster merger would devastate the industry and shrink production jobs.
The letter was signed by nearly 1,000 artists and movie creators, including such big names as Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, Noah Wyle, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Stewart and Jane Fonda, whose group the Committee for the First Amendment, helped organize the campaign.
“This transaction would further consolidate an already concentrated media landscape, reducing competition at a moment when our industries—and the audiences we serve—can least afford it,” according to the letter. “The result will be fewer opportunities for creators, fewer jobs across the production ecosystem, higher costs, and less choice for audiences in the United States and around the world.”
The Hollywood workforce has shrunk by more than 42,000 jobs between 2022 and 2024, according to a recent study. The economy has not bounced back following shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by the twin labor strikes three years ago.
The strikes prompted studio executives to reset their output after previously spending big to build streaming services to compete with Netflix.
Two other consolidations led to widespread cutbacks: Walt Disney Co.’s acquisition of Fox entertainment assets in 2019, and Discovery’s takeover of AT&T’s WarnerMedia four years ago.
The resulting entity — Warner Bros. Discovery, led by David Zaslav — instituted deep cost cuts and thousands of layoffs to cut expenses because the firm was nearly drowning in deal debt — $43 billion — from the day Zaslav took the helm.
Paramount’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. would result in a significantly higher debt load, $79 billion in debt, prompting concerns from the group and others about further cuts.
Tech scion David Ellison, son of billionaire Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, is leading the effort to buy Warner Bros. Discovery to prop up Paramount, which the family acquired in August. Ellison’s Paramount Skydance prevailed in a nearly six month bidding war in late February after Netflix bowed out when the elder Ellison agreed to financially back his son’s $111-billion deal.
Ellison is pushing to wrap the deal up this summer.
“We are deeply concerned by indications of support for this merger that prioritize the interests of a small group of powerful stakeholders over the broader public good,” the letter said. “The integrity, independence, and diversity of our industry would be grievously compromised. Competition is essential for a healthy economy and a healthy democracy. So is thoughtful regulation and enforcement.”
The group urged California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and his fellow state attorneys general to sue to block the transaction.
Bonta has told The Times that his office is reviewing the transaction to see if it violates anti-trust rules. Two historic movie studios, several streaming services and dozens of cable channels would be brought under one roof.
“Media consolidation has already weakened one of America’s most vital global industries,” the group said, “one that has long shaped culture and connected people around the world.”
Bonta’s office is leading the charge against another merger, TV station giant Nexstar Media Group’s $6.2-billion takeover Virginia-based Tegna. Eight state attorneys general, including Bonta, have sued to block that deal. A judge is expected to rule on whether to issue a preliminary injunction later this week.
Four years ago, at the McDonald’s All-American game, future Bruins Kiki Rice and Gabriela Jaquez stood side by side at the end of the contest, having been named co-MVPs. It was the first time the two MVPs of the annual event were headed to the same college program.
Now, as the only remaining members of UCLA’s 2022 No. 1 recruiting class, they have reached their ultimate goal: an NCAA championship. Their work ethic, their high character, their loyalty, and the pride they take in wearing the four letters on their jerseys will long be remembered and appreciated. With fellow senior and graduate-student teammates — Lauren Betts, Angela Dugalic, Charlisse Leger-Walker and Gianna Kneepkens, all transfers from former Pac-12 teams — they have put themselves into the Bruin record books.
To this awesome group of young women: Thanks for the memories and the joy you have brought to Westwood. You will be missed.
Sandy Siegel Sherman Oaks
After witnessing their first-round victory in person, the UCLA women looked ready to make a run in the NCAA tournament. What we saw was a way to compete in any style of play. There was a little bit of everything. But clearly they were the best team. Congratulations on your first title. I can’t wait to see the banner hanging in the rafters. Being a lifelong fan of UCLA sports, it just looks right when you see it in lights. UCLA BRUINS, NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!
David DeLong Thousand Oaks
As a Trojan alum, it was awkward, but nonetheless, I was elated to see UCLA knock off USC. Party on!
David Marshall Santa Monica
The UCLA women’s basketball team’s first NCAA national championship was especially sweet because they had to defeat USC in the title game!
Nick Rose Newport Coast
Long live the Pac-12 Avengers!
Mark Ryan Fullerton
What a great article on Gabriela [Jaquez] by Mirjam [Swanson.] I just so loved rooting for this UCLA women’s team because they’re such wonderful people as well as players. Having said that, Gabriela would have been my choice for MVP, but I’m fine with Lauren [Betts.]
Michael Reuben Anaheim Hills
It was refreshing to watch the postgame after UCLA soundly defeated the University of South Carolina on Sunday. Everyone was crying — players, coaches, losers because they lost, winners because they won. This was so much nicer than the angry confrontation between coaches at the end of the South Carolina-UConn game on Friday, after which [Geno] Auriemma petulantly stalked off. As in politics, women seem to do it better without men.
Henry A. Hespenheide Hermosa Beach
Remembering Lopes
Growing up in L.A. during the 1970s, the photo of Davey Lopes sliding into second against Dave Concepcion brought back memories of the Dodgers’ rivalry with the Big Red Machine during that decade. Being a huge fan of those Dodger teams, a large color photo of the Dodger infield of [Steve] Garvey, Lopes, [Bill] Russell and [Ron] Cey adorned my DTLA office for many years.
Davey Lopes was the most exciting of that great infield and the inspirational leader of the ‘74, ‘77, ‘78 and ‘81 World Series teams. Not only was he superior at stealing bases — he stole 47 at the age of 40 — but also hit for power, as exemplified by his team-leading three homers and seven RBIs in the ‘78 World Series. RIP, Davey.
Ken Feldman Tarzana
Garvey, Cey, Russell and Lopes. What an infield! I grew up with that group, and they cemented my love for the Dodgers at a young age. Every spring you could count on those four as starters in the infield. Davey Lopes was just superb. A terrific base stealer who had over 500 steals in his career. Always reliable at second base and at the plate. He was an All-Star his last four years with the Dodgers, culminating with the World Series win in 1981 over the hated Yankees. Davey, we will miss you for sure.
Dave Ring Manhattan Beach
Davey Lopes was the heartbeat of those great Dodgers teams — grit, intelligence, and pure excitement every time he reached base. For fans who grew up watching that legendary infield, his passing feels deeply personal, but his legacy will endure.
Steven Ross Carmel
Championing fans
I had the privilege of attending Major League Baseball ownership meetings for a decade. Arte Moreno and his then team president, John Carpino, were the absolute leaders in advocating that MLB needed to be as financially fan friendly as possible. In my opinion, the Angels fully back their desire to have a sustainable and comfortable fan experience by offering a wonderful game-day fan experience.
When I am able to attend an Angels game, I do not hear gripes about parking costs, concession prices or ticket prices. The stadium staff at every level are simply wonderful and always so welcoming. And while I have no stats, the number of families and children in attendance appear significant.
Should the team ever come under different ownership, I hear that one of the under tapped values of owning the Angels is the ability to increase ticket and related revenues. The proven focus on having a sustainable fan game experience is the sole dictate of the owner.
Lew Wolff Los Angeles
Sticker shock
After taking the time to sign up for LA28 with the hopes of getting an opportunity to purchase tickets for the Olympics, including tickets to the opening ceremony, I was gravely disappointed after receiving a time slot for purchases to learn that opening ceremony tickets were “currently unavailable.“ In further checking for other opportunities to purchase reasonably priced tickets, I also was disappointed to see that the cheapest tickets available for some of the high-interest sporting events were in the hundreds of dollars. It doesn’t look like the plan to have locals purchase tickets and fill the seats for the venues is going to work out the way LA28 thought it would. Shame on them.
Ruthanne Rozenek Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
SACRAMENTO — An attorney for Rep. Eric Swalwell, a leading Democratic candidate for California governor, on Thursday sent a cease and desist letter to an unknown individual demanding that they stop accusing the congressman of sexual assault.
Swalwell’s attorney Elias Dabaie of the law firm Dabaie Kelley, in Los Angeles, confirmed Friday that he sent the cease and desist letter, which tells the recipient that they could be sued for defamation. A copy of the letter was posted online by a social media influencer on Friday, and Dabaie confirmed it was authentic.
Swalwell (D-Dublin) and his representatives earlier this week denied allegations made by social media influencers and repeated by political insiders in recent weeks that he behaved inappropriately toward young staffers and others.
Dabaie’s letter sent Thursday states that it “has come to our attention that you have made false statements accusing Mr. Swalwell of sexual assault and non-consensual sexual encounters…”
“We write to demand that you immediately and permanently cease and desist from continuing your wrongful conduct, including by stopping any further publication of such information or allowing it to be disseminated in any form, whether oral, written, electronic or otherwise,” the letter stated.
Dabaie confirmed to The Times that he sent the letter via text. He declined to say whether other cease and desist letters had been sent.
“I can tell you that there have been multiple baseless allegations made against the Congressman and we are attacking them on all fronts,” he said.
A spokesperson for Swalwell’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cheyenne Hunt, a Laguna Hills attorney and executive director of a progressive advocacy group who has said she is helping organize a group of women who allege inappropriate behavior toward Swalwell, posted a screenshot of Dabaie’s letter online on Friday.
“This is the first page of the cease and desist letter from Swalwell’s team — it has has been shared with permission from the recipient,” she wrote on social media.
The name of the individual who received the letter was redacted.
Hunt told The Times on Friday that she was aware of two individuals who received cease and desist letters from Swalwell’s team.
Swalwell earlier in the week denied any inappropriate behavior, including allegations that his office required interns to sign nondisclosure agreements. “It’s false,” he told reporters.
Swalwell said he never behaved inappropriately with female staff members or had a sexual relationship with a staff member or an intern.
Los Angeles officials are expressing growing fears that taxpayers and the city treasury could be hit with a round of crippling costs to support the 2028 Olympic Games if the city doesn’t ink a rigorous deal to assure a “zero–cost” Games.
Some city officials have long been concerned that taxpayers could be left with massive bills if the Olympics don’t generate the income organizers have promised. Delays in finalizing a deal between City Hall and the Olympics committee have heightened those tensions.
The exact costs to L.A. and other local governments remain unknown, as officials wait to hear from LA28 and federal security agencies about exactly what services they will need. Recent controversy over the ties between Casey Wasserman, the head of the L.A. Olympics, and Jeffrey Epstein have added to the uncertainty over the finances in the minds of some city leaders.
City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and Councilmember Monica Rodriguez both issued letters demanding a contract pledging that LA28 cover any of the city’s future costs that arise as the city plays host to hundreds of thousands of athletes and fans.
The contract, more than six months overdue, is needed “to foreclose any scenario in which funds might go back to the wealthy backers and investors of the LA 28 organization without reimbursing taxpayer funded extraordinary costs,” the city attorney wrote to council members.
Rodriguez agreed in a separate letter this week that the city needs a contract that assures that the Olympics organization will pay any excess costs for policing, transportation, trash pickup and more, so that taxpayers are not burdened or “core city services” slashed.
That should take priority over the private nonprofit LA28 building a “Legacy Fund” to bankroll future youth sports programs, public sports facilities and the like, argued the city officials, who are both up for reelection this year.
“Bankruptcy cannot be the legacy of these Games,” Rodriguez wrote, without elaborating on what she meant, though L.A.’s top budget official recently projected a deficit, unconnected to the Olympics, of “several hundred million” dollars.
LA28 officials responded with a statement they issued previously, saying, in part, that “LA28 remains committed to delivering the safest, most secure, and fiscally responsible Games that will benefit Angelenos for decades to come,” adding, “We remain engaged in good faith negotiations and look forward to our continued partnership with the City of Los Angeles.”
LA28 Chief Executive Reynold Hoover said at a press event Wednesday that ticket sales were one vehicle for the host committee to assure that taxpayers didn’t get stuck with a big bill down the road.
The stakes remain high for both sides. The private LA28 group needs the city’s police, fire, sanitation, streets and transportation services to deliver a successful event. The city wants the sports extravaganza to succeed, not only to burnish its image on an international stage, but also to assure there is enough money to pay for all the extra tasks city workers will perform.
The LA28 leaders project the Games will cost more than $7.1 billion. They say that money will come from a variety of sources: nearly $1 billion from the International Olympic Committee, $437 million from international marketing rights, $2.5 billion from corporate sponsors in the U.S., $2.5 billion from ticket sales and hospitality packages, $344 million from licensing and merchandise and $405 million in other revenue.
LA28 reports being ahead of schedule on the revenue front. But city officials worry that unforeseen events — including an economic downturn or natural disaster — could blow up the income model, with one of many wild cards being the willingness of President Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress to follow through with a funding pledge to the Democratic-controlled city.
L.A. officials have long expressed concern that Trump and Congress might belatedly yank away $1 billion already set aside to reimburse state and local governments for security, planning and other Olympics-related costs.
While the two elected officials and some others, including an attorney representing city employees, raised alarms, an individual with knowledge of the talks between the city and LA28 said that a tentative agreement would likely be before the City Council “within two or three weeks.”
The knowledgeable individual, who asked not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the discussion, said negotiators on both sides must bear in mind how a third party, the federal government under Trump, is integral to the financing model.
The source tracking the negotiations said that both sides needed to make sure the pact creates a path to “maximize federal resources, which were dedicated by Congress for the Games,” adding: “The contract needs to avoid saying that LA28 is going to pay, for example, for all of the LAPD’s extra costs in such a way that the federal government says, ‘Fine, then you don’t get any of the federal money.’ We can’t afford to leave a billion dollars on the table.“
City Administrative Officer Matt Szabo, one of those bargaining for the city, struck a positive note.
“We are invested in a successful Olympics. The organizing committee knows that it needs the city and city services to have a successful Games,” said Szabo. “It’s in both the city’s and the organizing committee’s best interest to have a successful Games. We’re joined at the hip and we’ll succeed together, or not.”
The 2028 Games have been designated a National Special Security Event, placing it in the same category as major party political conventions and Super Bowls. The U.S. Secret Service sets the security plan for those events.
Officials in L.A. have said they are still waiting to learn from the Secret Service how broad the security “blast area” should be around each athletic venue. The federal agency will then dictate how many police and federal agents will flood those zones, which include the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and Crypto.com Arena.
Attorney Connie Rice, who represents L.A. city employees concerned about how the city will pay for the Games, said that her clients still had questions. Rice, whose past litigation helped force LAPD reforms, said that employees helping to plan for security said they had estimated that the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, alone, would need at least $1 billion to pay for extra security during the Games.
The current federal allocation would not get the city and county of Los Angeles $1 billion since many other jurisdictions, including Long Beach, Oklahoma City and the state of California also will be competing for U.S. funding. And the federal government has not yet released its “notice of funding opportunity” — laying out the parameters for claiming a part of the $1 billion.
Rice argued that the city gave up its best leverage when it signed an earlier agreement to host the Games. “Who is going to pay the bill, or who are they even going to send the invoices to, when the Games are over and LA28 is dissolved?” Rice asked. “LA28 has no obligation to raise money once the event is over.”
Los Angeles city officials expect to have requests by October from LA28 for the services the Games organization needs at each venue. The Games organizing group has agreed to pay any costs that exceed the city’s typical expenditures. But there is not a clear understanding of what constitutes a customary level of service. The massive event is expected to require an array of services, including trash pickup, bus service, street closures, park maintenance, drinking water stations and building inspections of temporary Olympic structures.
In her letter late last month to City Council members, the city attorney raised a slew of questions about the fiscal contract with LA28. Feldstein Soto contended the Games had a “heightened risk exposure … given the recent claims against LA 28 Chairman Casey Wasserman.”
Wasserman’s name appeared in the files about convicted sexual predator Epstein, with records showing the then-28-year-old sports marketer had gone on a two-week tour of Africa sponsored by Epstein and later exchanged risque emails with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. Though some activists demanded Wasserman leave his post as LA28 chair and called for a Games boycott, there has been no apparent reduction in sponsorships or ticket sales because of the furor.
As city attorney, Feldstein Soto is advising the city officials negotiating the Olympic contract. Her letter says she will insist that “transparent audit rights and procedures” be put into place to assure the city treasury does not take a hit in supporting the Games.
The letter raises the possibility that natural disasters or other emergencies could cut into LA28’s bottom line. It also asks: “What happens if the federal government does not pay the assume $1 billion [or] … [w]hat happens if the city’s actual expenses exceed $1 billion?” Feldstein Soto’s answer: “In either situation, this office believes that all surplus funds must reimburse the city and its taxpayers first, as promised, before any surplus funds are available for a [LA28] legacy or tribute fund.”
Congratulations to all the young athletes and their teams on The Times All-Area high school basketball teams. I do wonder about the choices the seniors are making in their commitments to colleges and I look to The Times to explain why UCLA is seemingly not on the radar for these young players.
It used to be known that the Bruins’ academic requirements were a significant barrier to many high school players. Is that still true? Are the local graduates not the cream of the crop that Southern California was known for in past years? Are NIL deals affecting the choices of these future freshmen? Is UCLA not making a strong outreach effort for the top local talent? Is L.A. so awful for these kids that it isn’t even on their radar to stay close to home?
I am sure I am not alone in seeking clarity around the issue of the exodus of local talent to Missouri, Oregon State, Texas, North Carolina, Nevada, and even more confounding, USC.
David Gerne Echt Torrance
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
REDDING — At a Board of Supervisors meeting in rural Shasta County last month, Clint Curtis dropped a bombshell: A sheriff way down in Riverside was going to confiscate all the ballots from a recent election.
Curtis, the county registrar of voters, was the first to announce the planned ballot seizure. Even the sheriff himself, Chad Bianco, had not publicly revealed his intentions.
Later, as Bianco’s move grabbed headlines — he is a leading Republican candidate for governor — Curtis’ behind-the-scenes maneuvering remained largely unknown. The registrar had worked with the Riverside County citizens group whose fraud allegations had sparked Bianco’s investigation, even traveling 600 miles south to speak on their behalf.
Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis poses last month in the new election observation room at the elections office in Redding.
In his short time in Shasta County, Curtis, whose claims about rigged voting machines stretch back to the early 2000s, has solidified his position as a torchbearer of the election denialism movement, vowing to take his message about untrustworthy machines and potential fraud across California and beyond.
Critics here say he has steadily disenfranchised voters. He has eliminated nine of the vast county’s 13 ballot drop boxes, telling The Times he did not trust ballots in the hands of “little old ladies running all over” to collect them. And he has advocated for a local ballot initiative that would limit elections to one day, eliminate most voting by mail and require voter ID as well as a hand count of ballots.
Curtis also has accused his predecessors in the registrar’s office, without evidence, of election fraud and has called for federal authorities to raid the office he now runs.
“Do I think ballots were stuffed? Yes. Have I contacted the DOJ? Yes,” Curtis said at the Feb. 24 Shasta County supervisors’ meeting just before announcing Bianco’s planned ballot seizure.
Curtis, a 67-year-old attorney, was appointed by the Shasta County supervisors last April. He lived in Florida then, had no previous ties to the area and had never run an election.
He got the job based largely on two stated qualifications: He wanted to hand-count votes. And he had worked with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow chief executive and pro-Trump conspiracy theorist.
In his public job interview, Curtis promised to grill local elections staffers to “find out what they know.”
Now Curtis is running for election himself, trying to keep his job in this Northern California county where a majority of the supervisors were so swept up in President Trump’s discredited election fraud claims that they ditched their Dominion voting machines in 2023 and opted to hand-count ballots (quickly prompting a new state law that banned them from doing so).
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Curtis says he is running to make elections more transparent by questioning the status quo and hanging cameras everywhere to capture election workers’ every move.
“Republicans love me,” Curtis told The Times. “The Democrats are pretty good. And then I have these crazy socialist people that just hate me.”
Beliefs aside, Curtis has quickly become a colorful local character.
He took a lie detector test to attest that he didn’t rig the November election. He chose as his number two a heavy metal guitarist from San Francisco — stage name “Turmoil” — who is a progressive Democrat.
And last September, surveillance cameras captured him pushing an antique metal safe through the Shasta County elections office on a Saturday while his wife assisted with a pulling harness. Curtis wore blue jeans — and no shirt.
He said he moved the safe, which contained odds and ends, on a hot day to make more room for election observers.
Curtis first gained national attention for election skepticism in December 2004, in testimony before Congress.
He had been working as a computer programmer in Florida and was brought in as an expert witness by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, who were reeling over President George W. Bush’s defeat of John Kerry a few weeks earlier and furious about an error with an electronic voting machine that gave Bush extra votes in Ohio.
Curtis claimed that he had written “a prototype” of software that would allow cheaters to alter votes using “invisible buttons” on touch-screen balloting machines. His claims were largely dismissed. But he continues to tout his congressional testimony to cast himself as an expert on election malfeasance.
A woman passes by a “Greetings From Redding” mural on Feb. 25.
After testifying, he unsuccessfully ran for office multiple times in Florida. He refused to concede after one loss, alleging the machines were rigged.
In Shasta County, he saw a chance for redemption.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Supervisors gained a hard-right majority supported by anti-vaxxers, secessionists, members of a local militia and pro-Trump election deniers.
In 2022, someone hung a trail camera — the kind hunters use to track wildlife — behind the elections office to monitor the staff. Some observers yelled at staffers and got in the face of Cathy Darling Allen, the longtime registrar, who installed a 7-foot metal fence to keep them at bay.
Joanna Francescut, who worked in the elections office for 17 years, is running to be county registrar.
Darling Allen clashed with the supervisors as they pushed to hand-count votes, a process she argued would be slow, expensive and prone to error. She retired in 2024, citing health reasons.
Her successor resigned after less than a year. The supervisors appointed Curtis in a 3-2 vote, passing over Joanna Francescut, who had worked in the elections office since 2008 and was Darling Allen’s number two.
Days later, Curtis fired Francescut. She is now running against him in the June 2 election.
David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research and a former senior trial attorney overseeing voting enforcement for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, called Curtis a “nationally known conspiracy theorist.”
“I can’t imagine bringing in someone who is neither an election administrator nor a Californian for a job like that and basically chasing out experienced election officials whose work had withstood scrutiny for decades,” Becker said. “The voters of Shasta County, unfortunately, are paying the price.”
Curtis has accused Francescut and other elections staffers of stuffing ballots to sabotage conservative Republicans.
“I want to laugh because it’s that ridiculous,” Francescut, 43, said of the allegations.
“People that work in this field, they’re doing this work because they care about elections,” she said. “They want the community to be better. They want what both sides want — transparent and accurate elections.”
During her 17-year tenure, the elections office got little public attention. But “once 2020 hit, people went from completely trusting us to, the day after election day, calling and yelling at our staff so much that we couldn’t get the work done to count ballots,” she said.
Curtis was a favorite of then-board chairman Kevin Crye, a hard-right supervisor who enlisted Lindell to support the county’s crusade against Dominion. Crye had survived a 2024 recall effort by just 50 votes.
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1.Carl Bott, co-owner of KCNR 96.5 FM, interviews Joanna Francescut on Feb. 25, 2026, in Redding, Calif.2.Joanna Francescut’s campaign manager, Mary Williams, wears an orange button that reads “Vote for Jo for County Clerk” as Francescut waits in the offices of talk radio station KCNR.
Citing that close margin, Curtis said he believed recent elections were rigged because Republicans were not winning by large enough margins in a county where registered Republicans greatly outnumber Democrats.
In a letter to the U.S. Justice Department, Curtis said he had learned of lax security and potential ballot stuffing in 2024, the year of the attempted recall against Crye. Curtis sent a copy of the letter to Trump and requested a federal investigation because “the destruction of these ballots is nearing.”
In 2019 and 2024, a Shasta County grand jury investigated local election procedures and found no wrongdoing.
“How does it make me feel? Really angry,” Darling Allen, who is advising Francescut’s campaign, said of Curtis’ allegations. “It calls into question the integrity and character of every single person who worked in the elections department.”
To replace Francescut, Curtis hired Brent Turner, the guitarist from San Francisco. He is a longtime election reform activist who has pushed for nonproprietary open-source voting systems with software code that can be examined by anyone.
Turner described their partnership as: “Republican and Democrat team up to fight outdated software for elections. Oh, my!”
“We have to have the adult conversation in the United States that if the systems are loose enough to allow people — in this case, we’re talking about even people internal to the system — to cheat, they might cheat,” Turner said.
Last October, Secretary of State Shirley Weber wrote to Curtis, asking him to detail planned changes to voting procedures. He responded with a 15-page letter.
Election observers, he wrote, were “treated like invaders … corralled behind spiked fences.” And drivers who picked up ballots from drop boxes sometimes left them in their vehicles. Under his watch, he wrote, “no detours or even bathroom breaks are allowed.”
A woman exits the Cottonwood Post Office in Shasta County.
Curtis told Weber that someone had carved death threats on his vehicle and left “antifa” business cards on his windshield wipers.
Weber’s communications team said in an email that her office “continues to monitor new election processes proposed by Shasta (or any county) County to ensure they do not violate state law.”
In his letter to Weber, Curtis promised to take a lie detector test after each election. Answering pre-written questions he had submitted, Curtis said in a January polygraph test that he did not change the results of the November election and believed a predecessor had rigged previous contests, according to a summary obtained by The Times.
The examiner wrote that he “was likely telling the truth.”
Inside the elections office, Curtis created a large room, decked out with American flags, for citizens to observe the vote-counting process.
More than a dozen large TV monitors display close-up video, also streamed online, of election workers’ hands inserting ballots into machines. On June 2, those workers will sit beneath iPhones hung overhead to record them while observers are positioned on barstools a few inches behind them.
The new public observation room at the Shasta County elections office is decorated with American flags.
Curtis has been traveling across California to tout his methods. He told The Times he has spoken about his video setup in Kern and San Joaquin counties and discussed it with candidates for state office.
And he advised the Riverside County citizens group that claimed to have found an overcount of 45,896 ballots in the November election for Proposition 50, which redrew the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats.
Art Tinoco, the Riverside County registrar of voters, has refuted that number — saying it was based on a misunderstanding of raw data that had not been fully processed.
After Bianco last week announced that his office had seized more than 650,000 ballots, Curtis appeared on the social media broadcast of a right-wing election integrity advocate who called him “the stealth behind the scenes in making that happen.”
Curtis smiled and repeated what he has been espousing since the early 2000s: “You can’t really trust a computer.”
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights set a deadline Tuesday that sounds much like two earlier deadlines, giving San José State University 10 days to comply with a list of athletics-related demands or face enforcement action, including the termination of the university’s federal funding.
This is the third 10-day deadline issued by the OCR to SJSU, the first in January and the second having expired last weekend. All three concern the same case, that of a transgender woman who played on the school’s women’s volleyball team from 2022 to 2024.
A federal investigation was launched in February 2025 after controversy over Blaire Fleming disrupted the 2024 volleyball season. Four Mountain West Conference teams — Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State and Nevada-Reno — chose to forfeit matches to SJSU.
The probe concluded that SJSU’s policies “allowing males to compete in women’s sports and access female-only facilities deny women equal educational opportunities and benefits.”
SJSU pushed back, insisting it followed the law in allowing Fleming to play. SJSU president Cynthia Teniente-Matson wrote in a March 6 letter to the campus community that the university “vigorously disputes the conclusions that OCR reached. … Our position is simple: We have followed the law and cannot be punished for doing so.”
SJSU requested that the OCR rescind its findings and close its investigation. Instead, the federal agency redoubled its efforts, with the latest salvo a “letter of impending enforcement” issued Tuesday and accompanied by a statement from U.S. Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey.
“We have provided SJSU with multiple opportunities to resolve its Title IX violations with common sense actions: separating male and female athletes based on their biological sex, keeping men out of women’s locker rooms and bathrooms, restoring rightfully earned titles and accolades to female athletes, and apologizing to the women forced to forfeit competitions to protect themselves,” Richey said. “Yet, SJSU remains obstinate, choosing a radical ideology over safety, dignity, and fairness for its own students.
“With today’s action, the Department is putting the university on notice: comply with the law or risk losing its federal funding.”
SJSU enlisted the support of the California State University system, which sued the Department of Education on March 6 to challenge its allegedly “lawless overreach” and block the federal government from cutting funding to SJSU if the school does not agree to a proposed itemized resolution agreement.
“Whether and under what conditions transgender women should be allowed to compete in women’s athletics has been hotly contested,” the CSU lawsuit said. “But this case is not about that issue. It is about the Department’s attempt to punish SJSU, even though the law in the Ninth Circuit has been and is clear. Under Ninth Circuit law, Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause protect transgender students from discrimination.”
Suing the Education Department “is not a step we take lightly,” Teniente-Matson said. “However, we have a responsibility to defend the integrity of our institution and the rule of law, while ensuring that every member of our community is treated fairly and in accordance with the law.”
An estimated two-thirds of SJSU students receive federal financial aid totaling about $130 million annually, according to Cal State University. Losing federal funds could also disrupt $175 million in research.
The Office of Civil Rights’ proposed resolution agreement, which SJSU dismissed out of hand, contains the following demands:
1) Issue a public statement that SJSU will adopt biology-based definitions of the words “male” and “female” and acknowledge that the sex of a human — male or female — is unchangeable.
2) Specify that SJSU will follow Title IX by separating sports and intimate facilities based on biological sex.
3) State that SJSU will not delegate its obligation to comply with Title IX to any external association or entity and will not contract with any entity that discriminates on the basis of sex.
4) Restore to female athletes all individual athletic records and titles misappropriated by male athletes competing in women’s categories, and issue a personalized letter of apology on behalf of SJSU to each female athlete for allowing her participation in athletics to be marred by sex discrimination.
5) Send a personalized apology to every woman who played in SJSU’s women’s indoor volleyball from 2022 to 2024, beach volleyball in 2023, and to any woman on a team that forfeited rather than compete against SJSU while a male student was on the roster — expressing sincere regret for placing female athletes in that position.
In a related lawsuit, a Colorado district judge this month deferred ruling on motions to dismiss former SJSU volleyball player Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University system. Slusser alleged that she was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with Fleming without being informed that Fleming is transgender.
Judge Kato Crews dismissed the Mountain West Conference as a defendant but said he wants to put the rest of the case on hold until after a Supreme Court ruling in B.P.J. v. West Virginia, which is expected to come in June.
The B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a transgender teen sued West Virginia to block a state law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports.
On a night when my family watched Austin Reaves pull off the miraculous intentional missed free throw put-back basket on the way to a thrilling Laker overtime win against the Denver Nuggets, we talked more about the newest Lakers super fan on the way home. Kudos to Bill Plaschke for recognizing and capturing the power of 6-year-old Jackson Tuyay’s passionate cheering that helped ignite the laid-back crowd and inspire the Lakers to a huge comeback win. As a lifelong Laker fan since the same age as Jackson it was so awesome to see such innocent and authentic passion for the Lakers. In an arena full of stars in the stands and on the court it was the voice of a 6-year-old that reminded us how awesome it is to be a Lakers fan for life!
Paul Stapleton Los Angeles
To quote Jackson Tuyay, “Yeaaaaah!” It looks like the Lakers can play some defense and beat the better teams after all.
Vaughn Hardenberg Westwood
The Los Angeles Times welcomes expressions of all views. Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times. They may be edited and republished in any format. Each must include a valid mailing address and telephone number. Pseudonyms will not be used.
Times columnist Mirjam Swanson is right. Bam Adebayo is an impostor. If ever there was justification for an asterisk next to a record, his illegitimate assault on a scoring record is it. It was contrived and shameful.
Ron Yukelson San Luis Obispo
Agree with Times columnist Mirjam Swanson, Bam Adebayo’s a fraud! It was a total setup once he got close to Kobe’s record-setting 81 points. Both teams … the Heat and the Wizards … conspired with their flopping and intentional fouling to get him to 83. Is this what the NBA has sunk to? Shame, shame.
Marty Zweben Palos Verdes Estates
Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, while impressive, appeared to be a sloppy affair comparable to an All-Star game full of dunks and threes. His field-goal percentage was under 50%. He shot 43 free throws. which was somewhat of an NBA disgrace. Kobe’s 81 took place in a game that was close most of the way, meant getting into a playoff spot, and demonstrated Kobe’s artistry in a majestic display of the entire offensive arsenal he worked so hard to perfect. He was a maestro and savant. I feel like he has been soiled.
Dell Franklin Cayucos
There has already been much complaining about Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game, complaining that his teammates fed him the ball hoping that he would surpass Kobe’s single-game total of 81. Those of us of a certain age know that the exact same thing happened when Wilt scored 100 in 1962. Perhaps the thing to do is not to look to diminish this effort, but to appreciate it for the accomplishment it is. Congratulations to Bam.
The EU’s six largest economies are urging Brussels to accelerate the long-awaited integration of capital markets to “strengthen Europe’s growth potential”, according to a letter sent on Tuesday to the Eurogroup boss and several EU commissioners.
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The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain say that making tangible progress on the rebranded “Savings and Investment Union” has become an “urgent necessity,” pledging to push “this important project forward”, in a letter addressed to EU economy chief Valdis Dombrovskis and Eurogroup President.
“Deeper and more integrated capital markets would strengthen Europe’s growth potential, enhance its economic sovereignty and provide a stronger foundation for financing common priorities,” the letter said.
In particular, the ministers call on EU institutions to reach an agreement among member states by summer on one of the key elements of the capital markets integration agenda: the Market Integration and Supervision Package (MISP).
The MISP is a set of legislative proposals by the European Commission aimed at strengthening the supervision of financial market infrastructures across the bloc and improving how they operate.
“A central purpose of the package is to remove national barriers and to improve cross border distribution of investment funds, so investors have better access to the EU capital markets and companies benefit from deeper pools of capital”, the letter says.
The six countries also ask the EU to advance its digital payments agenda, specifically by promoting private pan-European payment networks that can compete with US-based Visa and Mastercard, and by accelerating the adoption of the digital euro.
Agreement by the summer
Capital markets allow companies and governments to raise funds by selling assets such as shares or bonds to investors.
To strengthen and integrate these markets across the EU, the European Commission has proposed a series of legislative measures under the Savings and Investment Union package.
In recent months, EU countries and institutions have signalled a more ambitious goal, aiming for an agreement among co-legislators on most of the SIU legislation by June.
However, EU countries are not fully aligned on the technical aspects of capital markets integration, causing delays to the broader strategic agenda.
Another key legislative proposal is the revisions of the securitisation framework, which are EU rules introduced in 2019 with the objective of ensuring safer market practices, to avoid other financial crisis such as the 2008 global shock.
The revision, which aims to simplify certain requirements and reduce high operational costs, is to be approved by autumn 2026, according to signatories.
Digital payments
The six EU countries also support the development of additional pan-European private digital payment solutions, viewed as a key pillar of the EU’s strategic autonomy, since most digital payments are currently processed through US-based infrastructures.
According to 2025 European Central Bank data, Mastercard and Visa account for 61% of card payments and nearly 100% of cross-border ones.
In this context, the six countries are also calling for an accelerated rollout of a public digital payment solution: the digital euro. Currently under negotiation, it would be an electronic form of cash issued by the European Central Bank, serving as an additional payment option alongside cash and bank-issued cards.
The project is facing significant delays in the European Parliament. In particular, the leading rapporteur on the file, the Spanish centre-right MEP Fernando Navarrete, is pushing to reduce the scope of the digital euro to offline payments only, in order to avoid competing with other private infrastructure, such as Visa and Mastercard.
“We push for swift conclusions of the legislative process of the digital euro and we invite the European Parliament to follow the Council’s approach to establish the digital euro (in both its online and offline modalities) as a comprehensive, interoperable and sovereign European payment solution for European citizens”, the six countries wrote in the letter.
The co-legislators initially aimed for full adoption of the digital euro by the end of 2026. However, due to delays in the parliament, the six countries have not set a specific adoption deadline.
