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CHICAGO — Ryan Donato scored from the edge of the crease at 2:58 of overtime and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Ducks 2-1 on Sunday night in Ducks coach Joel Quenneville’s first game at United Center since being banned in a sexual-assault scandal.

The ban stemmed from the scandal involving his 2010 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks squad that surfaced in October 2021. Quenneville was forced to resign as Florida’s coach, then banned from the NHL for nearly three years before taking over the Ducks in May. He won three titles in 10 years with the Blackhawks.

Donato had his third goal in three games. Connor Bedard set up it from behind the net to cap a 3-on-1 rush. Frank Nazar also scored to help Chicago improve to 3-0-1 in its last four.

Spencer Knight made 38 saves and was beaten only on Mason McTavish’s power-play goal from a sharp angle with 35.8 seconds left in the third period.

McTavish scored on a rising shot from low in the right circle for his first goal of the season on Anaheim’s 36th shot and fifth manpower advantage. Wyatt Kaiser had been sent off for delay of game with 1:47 left after lifting the puck over the glass.

Knight outdueled Lukas Dostal, who stopped 28 shots in the Ducks’ second straight loss.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Chargers leaned on a lot of backups Sunday, but with the game against the Miami Dolphins on the line, they turned to Mr. Reliable.

Cameron Dicker kicked a 35-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to lift his team to a 29-27 win, the final points in a game that included six lead changes.

It was the fifth field goal of the day for Dicker, who has never missed from 40 yards or closer.

Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. clinched the win with an interception on the final play, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s third pick of the day.

The sparse crowd had erupted minutes earlier when Tagovailoa hit Darren Waller for a seven-yard touchdown, reclaiming the lead with 46 seconds on the clock.

But Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert answered with a lightning-quick drive downfield to set up the winning field goal.

The Chargers, ravaged by injuries, effectively leaned on their reserves to help pave the way for their first victory in three weeks.

Reserve running back Kimani Vidal rushed for 124 yards and turned a short pass into a touchdown. He was promoted from the practice squad last Wednesday after the Chargers lost rookie first-round pick Omarion Hampton to an ankle injury. Earlier this season, the team lost veteran running back Najee Harris to a torn Achilles tendon.

Chargers running back Kimani Vidal scores a touchdown in the third quarter Sunday against the Dolphins.

(Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)

The performance marked the first 100-yard game by Vidal, drafted in the sixth round out of Troy University by the Chargers in 2024.

It was the second consecutive week the 1-5 Dolphins were burned by a little-known running back, as Carolina’s Rico Dowdle trampled them for 206 yards in Week 5. Miami came into the game with the NFL’s worst run defense.

On Sunday, the Chargers made seven trips to the red zone but failed to make the most of those, with two touchdowns and five field goals.

Giving the visiting defense all it could handle was Miami’s De’Von Archane, who had a 49-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a four-yarder in the fourth. The Dolphins repeatedly fed him the ball down the stretch and scored on the touchdown catch by Waller, but they couldn’t hold off Herbert’s final drive.

Stopping the run has been an issue for the Chargers, too, as Washington’s Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns against them the week before.

The Chargers won their first three games of the season, running the table against AFC West opponents, but lost the next two games at the New York Giants and home against the Washington Commanders.

Not only had the Chargers lost their two top running backs, but they have had to reshuffle their offensive line multiple times because of injuries. They have designed their offense to get the ball out of Justin Herbert’s hands quickly, as he has been hit more than any quarterback in the league this season.

That was the case in the first half of Sunday’s game as well, as Herbert was hit four times — and sacked once — by the Dolphins, who registered just 18 quarterback hits in the first five games combined.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert scrambles during the second half against the Dolphins.

(Lynne Sladky / Associated Press)

But the Chargers came alive in the second half, overcoming a 13-9 halftime deficit, with a five-yard touchdown reception by Ladd McConkey, a seven-yard scoring catch by Vidal, and a fourth field goal by Dicker.

The Chargers, without injured receiver Quentin Johnston, leaned more heavily into rookie tight end Oronde Gadsden II, whose father played receiver for the Dolphins for six seasons.

The younger Gadsden caught seven passes Sunday but also had a fumble that set up Achane’s first touchdown.

Trump had imposed a 40 percent US tariff on Brazilian goods in July on top of a 10 percent one earlier even though the United States has a trade surplus with Brazil.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has asked United States President Donald Trump to lift the 40 percent tariff imposed by the US government on Brazilian imports.

The leaders spoke for 30 minutes by phone on Monday. During the call, they exchanged phone numbers in order to maintain a direct line of contact, and President Lula reiterated his invitation for Trump to attend the upcoming climate summit in Belem, according to a statement from Lula’s office.

Shortly after, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he had had a good conversation with Lula.

“We discussed many things, but it was mostly focused on the Economy, and Trade, between our two Countries,” Trump said.

He added that the leaders “will be having further discussions, and will get together in the not too distant future, both in Brazil and the United States”.

The Trump administration had imposed a 40 percent tariff on Brazilian products in July on top of a 10 percent tariff imposed earlier. Lula reminded Trump that Brazil was one of three Group of 20 (G20) countries with which the US maintains a trade surplus, according to the Brazilian leader’s office.

The Trump administration has justified the tariffs by saying that Brazil’s policies and criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro constitute an economic emergency.

Earlier this month, Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting a coup after losing his bid for re-election in 2022, and a panel of the Supreme Court sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison.

In September, Trump and Lula had a brief encounter at the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, with Trump hailing their “excellent chemistry”.

During Monday’s call, Lula also offered to travel to Washington to meet with Trump, his office said.

Published on
24/09/2025 – 9:33 GMT+2

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Shares in Alibaba rose around 9% in Hong Kong on Wednesday afternoon after CEO Eddie Wu said that he would lift the firm’s AI budget.

The e-commerce giant had already pledged to invest 380 billion yuan (€45bn) in AI-related infrastructure over the next three years, seeking to stay ahead as firms race to develop new models. Wu did not give details on the additional expenditure.

The pledge came as Wu was launching Alibaba’s most powerful AI model during a company conference in Hangzhou, China. The firm’s chief technology officer, Zhou Jingren, said that the Qwen3-Max model contains more than 1 trillion parameters. These are learnt values that determine how the system processes information and makes predictions.

In certain metrics, Alibaba claimed that its Qwen3-Max model outperformed rival offerings like Anthropic’s Claude and DeepSeek-V3.1, citing third-party benchmarks.

“The industry’s development speed far exceeded what we expected, and the industry’s demand for AI infrastructure also far exceeded our anticipation,” Wu said on Wednesday. “We are actively proceeding with the 380 billion investment in AI infrastructure, and plan to add more.”

Stressing that Alibaba must push ahead, Wu estimated that total global investment in AI will exceed $4 trillion (€3.4tn) in the next five years. Chinese rivals such as Tencent and JD.com, as well as US tech firms, have invested heavily in AI over the past year.

Complicating Alibaba’s progress, however, are access restrictions on AI processors from Nvidia.

Last week, China’s internet regulator banned the country’s biggest tech firms from buying Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips, according to the Financial Times.

The reported ban comes as China seeks to boost its homegrown chip industry and wean itself off dependence on the US.

In August, Chinese firms had previously been advised not to buy Nvidia’s H20, a chip designed specifically for China, with officials in Beijing warning of perceived security risks to national data and systems.

The warning arrived after the US lifted its own ban on the export of H20 chips to China, imposed in April amid a trade spat.

Investors in the Polkadot (DOT -3.88%) cryptocurrency have been craving game-changing news for a while now. The crypto market is having a great summer overall with fantastic returns on leading names like Bitcoin (BTC -0.57%), Ethereum (ETH -1.18%), and Solana (SOL -0.89%). But nobody told Bitcoin where the party was happening. As of Sept. 12, it gained less than 5% over the last 6 months:

Polkadot Price data by YCharts

Forget the chart for a moment, though. App builders, not price charts, ultimately drive durable value in most cryptocurrencies, and especially the developer-friendly Polkadot. And I have good news: Polkadot is readying two builder-centric platform upgrades that could change the trajectory of this lagging cryptocurrency. Say hello to the JAM scaling upgrade and a ready-to-code DevContainer.

Here’s what changed — and why it could matter for DOT investors.

Header JAM: Faster blocks, flexible projects, and elastic scaling

The chain-spanning connector package known as Polkadot is about to get a massive makeover. The incoming technical changes are so powerful, Polkadot’s backers in the Web3 Foundation call it “Polkadot 3.0.”

I could get all up in the nerdy weeds with the changes, built around the Join Accumulate Machine (JAM) upgrade. Trust me, I’m tempted to go there. But you’re not here for that geekery, so let’s keep it simple: Polkadot is about to get much faster, more flexible, and easier to use.

The global network of computing nodes that validate Polkadot transactions and execute code in its smart contracts is already one of the fastest blockchains on the market. JAM will multiply the computing power of this platform by 10, by some estimates. Polkadot co-founder Gavin Wood calls it “a supercomputer on the blockchain,” with easy and instant access to exactly the number-crunching resources your app needs.

Gone are the unpredictable auctions for computing time, in comes a new project funding system. Parachains are still a thing, and existing Polkadot projects will be fully compatible with the new JAM core. It’s just going to be much easier to get your hands on the right resources at the right time. There’s a price list now; just pay for your computing power and you’re good to go. Easy as Polkadot pie.

Image source: Polkadot.

DevContainer: One-command setup makes it easy to get involved

The new DevContainer feature may not feel as important, but anything that attracts more developers to the Polkadot platform should also be good for the tightly integrated cryptocurrency in the long run.

The Polkadot Smart Contracts DevContainer does exactly that, at least in theory. Getting started as a Polkadot developer has never been easier. Traditional setups of a new development system can be a slow and frustrating process. Now, the manual setup and configuration is replaced by one command and lots of automation.

I can’t promise that this system will be popular with new or existing Polkadot app builders, but it sounds pretty good to my (non-developer) ears. Instant setup and then you’re dealing with the power-packed JAM system — where do I sign up?

Why this matters for DOT holders (and what to watch)

The DevContainer package is already available and JAM should take over as the main Polkadot engine before the end of 2025. These helpful upgrades coincide with rising interest in Web3 apps, giving more control to app users and less of it to massive social network corporations.

Polkadot’s chart has actually been lagging behind other cryptocurrencies for years:

Polkadot Price data by YCharts

And it’s kind of funny. Using Polkadot in an app project, you can connect to many other cryptocurrencies and move data, monetary assets, or code from one blockchain to another. If Web3 is the blockchain-based foundation of the next internet epoch, then Polkadot is the digital glue that holds it together.

Will people actually use it?

JAM replaces clunky auctions with pay-as-you-go capacity, and the DevContainer gets builders going in minutes. If people show up, it could turn into a real block party for DOT holders as usage drives demand.

I think it’s time to connect the DOTs between better tech and investor value. Polkadot has been struggling in the shadows for too long, letting the likes of Ethereum and Solana have all the headline-inspiring fun. That could change when JAM rolls out.

I don’t expect a sudden spike in DOT prices, but a lucrative rise over time as developers and app users (i.e., pretty much everybody) adopt this technology in real-world smartphone apps and cloud platforms.

In his 36th season coaching, Angelo Gasca has been known for his quarterbacks and passing the ball at Venice High. Well, Air Gasca is taking a back seat to defense this season.

Last week, the Gondoliers improved to 2-1 with a 17-3 win over Harvard-Westlake that featured six tackles for losses by Jon Sharp and 11 tackles by Donner Livingston. Donte Ross had two interceptions. Gasca also points out Joseph Iwunze, Nicholas Stratman, Will Oeser, Joshua Aaron and Hector Lopez.

The team’s defensive coordinator, Iggy Porchia, is a Venice grad, so Gasca is enthused that his defense can make Venice a Western League title contender.

Most of the defensive players have grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher, which helps give options to the coaches because of their intelligence.

“Hard workers and very fast,” Gasca said.

Why does Gasca keep coaching?

“It’s taking your guys, a group of kids every year, and shaping them, developing them, on and off the field,” he said. “While ultimately helping them live out their dreams on the football field. All of this while they are navigating growing up. It’s everything and more, way more, than I could have ever imagined it being. That’s what being a part of this for so long has been. I am very grateful, to say the least, and also very proud.”

Venice plays at Norwalk on Friday night.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Alcaraz returns to number one spot after winning his sixth Grand Slam title and second of 2025 in four sets in New York.

Carlos Alcaraz pulled off a calm yet ferocious performance to end his great rival Jannik Sinner’s reign and win the US Open men’s singles final in four sets in front of a sellout crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.

Alcaraz claimed his second US Open title with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win on Sunday as United States President Donald Trump watched along with his entourage. Trump’s presence delayed the match start time due to the extensive security checks for the spectators.

In a perfect echo of the triumph that first propelled him to the number one spot in 2022, Alcaraz’s second New York title lifted him back to the top of the world rankings, as the 22-year-old Spaniard displaced Sinner and took his Grand Slam trophy haul to six.

“I want to start with Jannik. It’s unbelievable what you’re doing the whole season; great level during every tournament that you’re playing… I’m seeing you more than my family,” said Alcaraz, who took his win-loss record with Sinner to 10-5.

“It’s great to share a court, to share the locker room, to share everything with you.

“I’m just really proud about the people I have around. Every achievement I’m having is because of you, thanks to you… This one is yours.”

As grey clouds hovered over the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium, Alcaraz continued to deliver the sunshine tennis that has lit up Flushing Meadows over the last two weeks, consolidating an early break by faking a drop to hit a winner that wrong-footed Sinner.

He beamed after pulling off an outrageous half-volley at the net, and wrapped up the opening set shortly afterwards, finishing it off with a big serve, which Sinner crashed into the net as the Italian’s metronomic precision briefly deserted him. But Sinner hit back to take the next set after saving an early break point.

It was the third straight Grand Slam final between the duo this year.

After missing a few steps to drop his first set of the championship, Alcaraz blasted his way to a 5-0 advantage in the third set before Sinner got on the board, and the Spaniard closed it out with a monster serve.

Sinner conjured up two breathtaking volleys in the opening game of the fourth set to roaring applause and held serve after being pushed to the limit again. But he cracked under the pressure and handed the crucial break to Alcaraz in the fifth game.

Resembling a flamingo in full flight in his bright pink vest, Alcaraz soared ahead to secure the victory on his third match point, and celebrated by raising his fists before a warm embrace with his rival and wild celebrations with his team.

A dejected Sinner was left to contemplate another Grand Slam final loss to Alcaraz this season after coming up short in their French Open epic in June. Although, he beat the Spaniard to take his Wimbledon crown the following month.

“A lot of big stages and matches we played this season,” Sinner said, after quickly composing himself.

“I tried my best today. I couldn’t do more.”

The Slye brothers at Salesian High, Jordan Jr., a sophomore defensive back/receiver, and Marty, a freshman quarterback, certainly have the genes to succeed.

Their mother, Dena, a counselor at the school, was a softball standout at Washington. Their father, Jordan, was a receiver at Washington.

Now the boys have helped Salesian to a 2-1 start. Jordan Jr. is a 6-foot-1 cornerback with big-time potential. Marty got the size in the family at 6-4 and 235 pounds. He’s been the starting quarterback in three games, asked to contribute immediately as a freshman.

Jordan Jr. said it’s fun playing together on the same team. Jordan caught a touchdown pass from Marty on Thursday night against Bishop Alemany, but it was called back because of a penalty.

“It’s amazing having them, and a third one is on the way,” coach Anthony Atkins said.

Yes, a third Slye brother, Michael, will be a freshman next fall, so prepare for the era of the Slye brothers at Salesian.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].

Alyssa Thompson scored in the 86th minute and Angel City snapped an eight-game winless streak with a 1-0 victory over the Orlando Pride on Thursday night at BMO Stadium.

Angel City (5-7-5) had not won a match since May 9. Thompson’s goal was her sixth of the season, second most on the team.

It was Alex Straus’ first win as Angel City coach and the franchise’s first win against the Pride since 2023.

“It felt really good. I feel like I haven’t had a goal in a while,” Thompson said. “So being able to get those goals that I’ve been working on, and just the positions that I’ve been in, in training. It was really nice.”

Orlando (8-5-4) is winless in its last five matches. The Pride were without top scorer Barbra Banda, who injured her hip in the team’s scoreless draw with the Kansas City Current last week. Banda has eight goals this season.

Orlando announced earlier Thursday that they had signed Lizbeth Ovalle from Mexico’s Tigres UANL for a record transfer fee. Ovalle, known as Jacquie, is set to play in the Liga MX Femenil All-Star game this weekend before joining the Pride.

Angel City welcomed back defender Ali Riley, who was available on the bench for the match. Riley was placed on the season-ending injury list midway through the 2024 season because of a chronic leg injury that threatened her career.

Less than 10 days ago, the Seattle Storm and the Sparks battled deep into a second overtime — the first of the 2025 WNBA season — wringing every drop of drama out of Climate Pledge Arena. On Sunday night, the same stakes were at play as the teams tried to strengthen their playoff chances.

The intensity didn’t let up till the final horn. With 5.6 seconds left, Dearica Hamby roared into the paint and scored on a driving layup to put the Sparks ahead for good. After the Storm missed their final chance to win, pandemonium spilled onto the floor — Sparks players leaping into one another’s arms, fans hollering over the hardwood, chanting “Hamby” in celebration of the Sparks’ 94-91 victory.

In addition to Hamby’s last-minute heroics, Kelsey Plum proved vital to helping the Sparks win for the ninth time in 11 games. She finished with 20 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Sparks coach Lynne Roberts has painted Plum as a shape-shifter — able to twist her game into whatever the game demands.

“That’s what your best players should do — get everybody else involved and make sure we’re flowing,” Roberts said before the game, “and then when they need you, you step up. She’s done a tremendous job.”

Trailing the Storm (16-16) by 17 in the first quarter, Plum, who still hadn’t scored yet, tore into a one-on-five fast break, freezing the defense with a hesitation at the arc and a glide into the basket for an and-1.

Seconds later, Plum created another opportunity off an extended right elbow, drilling a three-pointer in Erica Wheeler’s face.

Sparks guard Kelsey Plum, right, drives against Seattle guard Brittney Sykes in the fourth quarter Sunday.

(Luke Hales / Getty Images)

It was the spurt of momentum the Sparks (15-16) needed to overcome a sputtering start.

Playing the entire first half, Plum went from the table-setter to shot-maker in the second quarter — springing Rae Burrell for a corner three before splashing a triple to tie the score 29-29 early in the second quarter.

Azurá Stevens and Cameron Brink were strong in the key early, but the Sparks clanked jumpers, dribbled into traffic and watched offensive possessions die on the rim in addition to committing eight first-quarter turnovers. So Roberts rolled the dice on a smaller look — swapping her paint patrol of Stevens and Brink for guards Julie Vanloo and Burrell.

Plum and Julie Allemand kept the smaller unit in constant motion, whipping passes from wing to wing and slicing open lanes for Burrell and Rickea Jackson, while Vanloo, Allemand and Plum cashed in from beyond the arc. Roberts rode that group into the second quarter, and they eventually whittled the deficit.

When the final buzzer faded, players were still grinning through hugs, and the crowd’s enthusiasm continued — excitement for a Sparks team that had yanked itself out of the fire.

DETROIT — Matt Vierling hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning and the Detroit Tigers beat the Angels 6-5 on Friday night.

With the Angels leading 5-3, reliever Reid Detmers (3-3) walked pinch-hitter Jahmai Jones and Gleyber Torres to start the inning. Vierling batted for Kerry Carpenter and hit his first homer of the season over the Detroit bullpen in left.

The Tigers avoided their third straight loss on a night when Tarik Skubal gave up back-to-back homers for the first time this season.

With one out in the fifth inning and the Tigers leading 3-1, Gustavo Campero hit a two-run homer to left. Two pitches later, the Angels (55-61) took the lead on Zach Neto’s second homer against Skubal this season.

Skubal struck out Nolan Schanuel, but Mike Trout ended Skubal’s shortest start of the season with an infield single.

Troy Melton (2-1) picked up the win with 2⅓ innings of relief. New Tigers closer Kyle Finnegan pitched the ninth for his 23rd save.

Logan O’Hoppe gave the Angels a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the second, but Detroit (67-50) scored three times in the bottom of the inning.

Spencer Torkelson led off with his 25th homer, Riley Greene singled and took third on Zach McKinstry’s double. Javier Báez followed with a two-run bloop single to left.

Jo Adell’s 24th homer put the Angels ahead 5-3 in the eighth inning.

The game was delayed briefly in the third inning when Angels center fielder Bryce Teodosio stumbled catching a fly ball and hit his head on the fence. He stayed in the game but was replaced by Campero for the fourth inning.

Key moment: With one out and a runner on first in the seventh, Neto hit a 106.7-mph line drive to left, but Greene made a diving catch to help Melton escape the inning.

Key stat: Skubal hadn’t allowed back-to-back homers since Salvador Perez and Jorge Soler did it in the first inning of a 6-1 win for the Kansas City Royals on July 25, 2021.

Up next: The teams face each other again on Saturday evening, with Detroit RHP Charlie Morton (7-9, 5.20) making his second Tigers start against LHP Yusei Kikuchi (5-7, 3.22).

The Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court to free up its mass deportation efforts across Southern California Thursday, seeking to lift a ban on “roving patrols” implemented after a lower court found such tactics likely violate the 4th Amendment.

The restrictions, initially handed down in a July 11 order, bar masked and heavily armed agents from snatching people off the streets of Los Angeles and cities in seven other counties without first establishing reasonable suspicion that they are in the U.S. illegally.

Under the 4th Amendment, reasonable suspicion cannot be based solely on race, ethnicity, language, location or employment, either alone or in combination, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong of Los Angeles found in her original decision.

The Trump administration said in its appeal to the high court that Frimpong’s ruling, upheld last week by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, “threatens to upend immigration officials’ ability to enforce the immigration laws in the Central District of California by hanging the prospect of contempt over every investigative stop.”

Lawyers behind the lawsuits challenging the immigration tactics immediately questioned the Trump administration’s arguments.

“This is unprecedented,” said Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel, part of the coalition of civil rights groups and individual attorneys challenging cases of three immigrants and two U.S. citizens swept up in chaotic arrests. “The brief is asking the Supreme Court to bless open season on anybody on Los Angeles who happens to be Latino.”

The move comes barely 24 hours after heavily-armed Border Patrol agents snared workers outside a Westlake Home Depot after popping out of the back of a Penske moving truck — actions some experts said appeared to violate the court’s order.

If the Supreme Court takes up the case, many now think similar aggressive and seemingly indiscriminate enforcement actions could once again become the norm.

“Anything having to do with law enforcement and immigration, the Supreme Court seems to be giving the president free reign,” said Eric J. Segall, a professor at Georgia State University College of Law and a prominent scholar of the country’s highest court. “I think the court is going to side with the Trump administration.”

The Department of Justice has repeatedly argued that the temporary restraining order causes “manifest irreparable harm” to the government. Officials are especially eager to see it overturned because California’s Central District is the single most populous in the country, and home to a plurality of undocumented immigrants.

In its Supreme Court petition, the Justice Department alleged that roughly 10% of the region’s residents are in the U.S. illegally.

“According to estimates from Department of Homeland Security data, nearly 4 million illegal aliens are in California, and nearly 2 million are in the Central District of California. Los Angeles County alone had an estimated 951,000 illegal aliens as of 2019—by far the most of any county in the United States,” the petition said.

President Trump made mass deportations a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign, and has poured billions in federal funding and untold political capital into the arrest, incarceration and removal of migrants. Though DOJ lawyers told the appellate court there was no policy or quota, administration officials and those involved in planing its deportation operations have repeatedly cited 3,000 arrests a day and a million deportations a year as objectives.

District and appellate courts have stalled, blocked, and sometimes reversed many of those efforts in recent weeks, forcing the return of a Maryland father mistakenly deported to Salvadoran prison, compelling the release of student protesters from ICE detention, preserving birthright citizenship for children of immigrant parents and stopping construction of Alligator Alcatraz.

But little of the President’s immigration agenda has so far been tested in the Supreme Court.

If the outcome is unfavorable for Trump, some observers wonder whether he will let the justices limit his agenda.

“Even if they were to lose in the Supreme Court, I have serious doubts they will stop,” Segall said.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The United States and Argentina on Monday announced that they are working on a plan to allow Argentine tourists to again travel to the U.S. without a visa.

It probably will take two to three years before visa-free travel becomes a reality for Argentine passport holders, but the Trump administration’s move to kickstart the process marked a show of support for President Javier Milei, its staunchest ally in South America and a darling of conservatives around the world.

The gesture coincided with a visit by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, for closed-door meetings with Milei and his officials. Noem signed the statement of intent alongside Security Minister Patricia Bullrich in Milei’s office.

Noem, on horseback at the country’s sprawling Campo De Mayo army base and donning a cowboy hat and jeans, told reporters that the Trump administration would put Argentina on an “expedited path” to enrollment in the Visa Waiver Program.

Still, she cautioned that securing approval within the next year “would be very difficult,” according to a White House pool report.

The Department of Homeland Security praised Milei for reshaping Argentina’s foreign policy in line with that of the U.S.

“Under President Javier Milei’s leadership, Argentina is becoming an even stronger friend to the United States — more committed than ever to border security for both of our nations,” the statement said.

This first step toward waiving visa requirements for Argentines, it added, “highlights our strong partnership with Argentina and our mutual desire to promote lawful travel while deterring threats.”

The department cited Argentina as having the lowest visa overstay rate in the U.S. of any Latin American country.

Trump’s loyal ally in South America

The removal of rigorous U.S. visa requirements — particularly at a time when President Trump is tightening restrictions for foreign nationals — would offer a symbolic victory to Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” who rose to power as a far-right outsider mimicking Trump’s war-on-woke rhetoric and skillful use of social media.

When he became the first world leader to visit Trump after the U.S. election, Milei pranced around Mar-a-Lago like an excited school boy.

At the Conservative Political Action Committee convention in Washington in February, he gifted billionaire Elon Musk a bureaucracy-slashing chainsaw to support his DOGE campaign to eliminate government waste.

When not riding the far-right, pro-Trump speaking circuit, Milei is focused on straightening out South America’s second-largest economy after years of turmoil under left-wing populist rule. Through tough budget cuts and mass layoffs, Milei has succeeded in driving down Argentina’s notorious double-digit inflation.

The last time Argentines didn’t require a visa to enter the U.S. was in the 1990s under another free-market devotee, the late former President Carlos Menem.

Menem’s neo-liberal reforms and pegging of the peso 1 to 1 to the U.S. dollar destroyed Argentina’s industry, exacerbating poverty in what a century ago was one of the world’s wealthiest countries.

In the crisis that followed, the U.S. reimposed visa restrictions in 2002 as young Argentines seeking to flee misery lined up at European embassies and began to migrate illegally to the U.S.

“Argentina has had the advantage of the program before, and they’re looking to get back on track and reenrolled,” Noem, who grew up on a farm in rural South Dakota, said while feeding sugar cubes to a dark brown horse named Abundance, according to the pool report.

When pressed about her talks with Milei, she was short on specifics, saying they discussed security partnerships and “the business we could be doing together.” She said she appreciated Milei’s “embrace” of Trump’s policies.

The Argentine presidency described Monday’s preliminary agreement as “a clear demonstration of the excellent relationship, based on trust” between Milei and Trump.

After riding Abundance through the grassy fields of the army base, Noem rejoined U.S. and Argentine officials for asado — the traditional meat-centric barbecue and a national passion.

She is the third member of Trump’s Cabinet to meet Milei in Buenos Aires this year, after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Tough limits on travel to Trump’s America

More than 40 mostly European and wealthy Asian countries belong to the exclusive club that allows their citizens to travel to the U.S. without a visa for up to three months. However, border officers have the power to turn anyone away.

About 20 million tourists use the program each year. Currently, Chile is the only Latin American country in the program.

Overseas travel to the U.S. plunged in the early days of Trump’s return to the White House as tourists, especially from Latin America, feared being caught in the administration’s border crackdown. Some canceled travel plans to protest his foreign policy and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

But those numbers began to rebound in April, with more than 3 million international arrivals — 8% more than a year earlier — from countries other than Mexico or Canada, according to the International Trade Administration, an agency under the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In addition to clamping down on the southern border, Trump has put up additional obstacles for students, tourists and others looking to travel to the U.S.

His recently passed “big, beautiful” bill of domestic priorities calls for the enactment of a new “visa integrity fee” of $250 to be charged in addition to the cost of the visa itself.

Travel industry executives have expressed concern that the charge could drive away tourists who contribute more than $2 trillion annually and 9 million jobs to the U.S. economy, according to the International Trade Administration.

About a quarter of all travelers to the U.S. come from Latin America and the Caribbean, the agency says.

Arrivals from Argentina have jumped 25% this year — a bigger increase than from any other country.

Debre and Goodman write for the Associated Press. Goodman reported from Medellin, Colombia.

The Trump administration asked a federal appeals court Monday to allow immigration agents to resume unfettered raids across Southern California, seeking to overturn a federal judge’s order in Los Angeles that barred “roving patrols” in seven counties.

The order “is inflicting irreparable harm by preventing the Executive from ensuring that immigration laws are enforced, severely infringing on the President’s Article II authority,” Department of Justice lawyers wrote in a motion asking for an emergency stay on Monday. “These harms will be compounded the longer that injunction is in place.”

After weeks of aggressive sweeps by masked and heavily armed federal agents, the operations seemingly ceased in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties following a temporary restraining order granted Friday night by U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong.

A coalition of civil rights groups and private attorneys sued the federal government, challenging the cases of three immigrants and two U.S. citizens swept up in chaotic arrests that have sown terror and sparked widespread protest since June 6.

“It should tell you everything you need to know that the federal government is rushing to appeal an order that instructs them only to follow the Constitution,” said Mohammad Tajsar, an attorney with ACLU of Southern California, who argued the case. “We look forward to defending the temporary restraining order and ensuring that communities across Southern California are safe from the federal government’s violence.”

Despite arguments from the Trump administration that its tactics are valid, Frimpong ruled that using race, ethnicity, language, accent, location or employment as a pretext for immigration enforcement is forbidden by the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. The judge found that preventing detainees from meeting with lawyers violates the right to due process guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.

“What the federal government would have this court believe — in the face of a mountain of evidence presented in this case — is that none of this is actually happening,” she wrote.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem incorrectly referred to Frimpong as a man when responding to the order during a news conference Saturday, saying of the judge’s order: “He’s an idiot.”

“We have all the right in the world to go out on the streets and to uphold the law and to do what we’re going to do. So none of our operations are going to change,” Noem said. “We’re going to appeal it and we’re going to win.”

In addition to blocking roving patrols, the judge also ordered the Department of Homeland Security to open part of its detention facility in Downtown Los Angeles to attorneys and legal aid groups.

“While the district court injunction is a significant victory for immigrants, the whiplash of court orders and appeals breeds uncertainty,” said Ming Hsu Chen, a professor at UC Law San Francisco. “That form of real-world insecurity weakens communities and undermines democratic values in places like LA.”

The Trump administration did not immediately contest the 5th Amendment portion of the ruling. Instead, its attacked the 4th Amendment claim, seeking a stay that would immediately restore the status quo for immigration agents across Southern California while the case is heard by judges from the higher court.

“It is untenable for a district judge to single-handedly ‘restructure the operations’ of federal immigration enforcement,” the appeal argued. “This judicial takeover cannot be allowed to stand.”

But some experts say that’s unlikely.

“Their argument [is] the sky’s falling,” said professor Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond. “They make very extreme arguments, and that doesn’t necessarily help their case in the 9th Circuit.”

The appeal escalates an already fierce and sprawling legal battle over Trump’s promised mass deportations and the means used to achieve it.

After the president deployed troops to quell anti-ICE protests in June, California sued and won a temporary restraining order that would have stripped the president of command.

The appellate panel swiftly blocked that decision, before overturning it in mid-June, leaving thousands of soldiers in Trump’s hands.

But the Trump appointee who authored the June 19 ruling, Judge Mark J. Bennett of Honolulu, also bristled at the government’s argument that the president’s actions in the case were “unreviewable.”

“Some of the things they say are unorthodox, arguments we don’t usually hear in court,” Chen said. “Instead of framing this as executive overreach, they’re saying the judiciary’s efforts to put limits on executive power is judicial overreach.”

Last week, another 9th Circuit judge challenged that June decision, petitioning the court to rehear the issue with a larger “en banc” panel — a move that could nudge the case to the Supreme Court.

“Before [courts] became so politicized, many judges would often defer to the 3-judge panels that first heard appeals, because they trusted their colleagues,” Tobias said. “Increasing politicization of most appeals courts and somewhat decreased collegiality complicate efforts to predict how the Ninth’s judges will vote in this case.”

Meanwhile, California is gathering evidence to bolster its claim that Marines and National Guard forces participating in immigration enforcement run afoul of the Posse Comitatus Act, which forbids using soldiers to enforce civilian laws.

Compared to those questions, the legal issues in the L.A. appeal are simple, experts said.

“What makes this case different is how much it’s based on facts,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law. “It’s much harder for an appellate court to overturn a trial court finding of fact then it is with regard to legal conclusions.”

English Premier League side Chelsea beat European champions Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 in FIFA’s club showpiece final.

Cole Palmer scored twice and fed Joao Pedro for a goal as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 in the final of the first expanded FIFA Club World Cup.

Palmer had almost identical left-footed goals from just inside the penalty area in the 22nd and 30th minutes on Saturday, and then sent a through pass that enabled Pedro to chip goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 43rd for his third goal in two starts with the Blues.

“It’s a great feeling. Even better, because everyone doubted us before the game. We knew we had to put up a fight against a great team,” player of the match Palmer said afterwards.

A 23-year-old who joined Chelsea from Manchester City two years ago, Palmer scored 18 goals this season.

PSG finished a man short after Joao Neves was given a red card in the 84th minute for pulling down Marc Cucurella by his hair. After a testy final few minutes, the teams needed to be separated as PSG coach Luis Enrique and Donnarumma pushed Pedro near the centre circle.

A heavy favourite who had outscored opponents 16-1, PSG had been looking to complete a quadruple after winning Ligue 1, the Coupe de France and its first Champions League title.

Before a tournament-high crowd of 81,188 at MetLife Stadium, which included United States President Donald Trump, Chelsea showed the energy of a fourth day of rest after its semifinal, one more than PSG.

Chelsea had finished fourth in the Premier League and won the third-tier UEFA Conference League. The Blues took the world title for the second time after 2021, when it was a seven-team event. The Blues earned $128.4m to $153.8m in prize money, the amount depending on a participation fee FIFA has not disclosed.

PSG had not lost by three goals since a 4-1 Champions League defeat at Newcastle in October 2023.

Chelsea went ahead in the 22nd after goalkeeper Robert Sanchez kicked the ball downfield and Nuno Mendes mis-hit his header 15 yards past the midfield stripe towards his own goal. Malo Gusto’s shot was blocked by Lucas Beraldo, and rebounded to Palmer, who ended PSG’s streak of 436 minutes without conceding.

Palmer doubled the lead in the 30th when he ran onto a long ball from Levi Colwill, and cut inside before shooting.

Chelsea heads into the 2025-26 season, which starts in less than five weeks, believing it can challenge Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal for the Premier League title.

Denis Bouanga scored on a penalty kick and assisted on Nathan Ordaz’s goal as LAFC defeated FC Dallas 2-0 at BMO Stadium on Saturday night.

Hugo Lloris made one save as LAFC (9-5-5) recorded its second straight shutout and won for the second time in three games since it went winless during the Club World Cup.

LAFC put 10 shots on goal.

Ordaz took a pass from Bouanga in the penalty box, spun and booted a right-footed shot into the right side of the goal in the 31st minute.

Bouanga made it 2-0 when he converted into the right side in the 45th minute, after he was fouled by Shaq Moore.

LAFC captain and defender Aaron Long was carted off in the 76th minute for an apparent leg injury.

Elijah Asante, the football coach at Hamilton High who’s never been shy about making predictions, wants it to be known that he believes freshman quarterback Thaddeus Breaux is a future first-round NFL draft pick.

He calls him “the Franchise,” and has plans to let him throw 50 passes a game.

Breaux, who is 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, welcomes the challenge of living up to high expectations. Working out with the Yankees on their new grass field with lights earlier this week, Breaux stood out with his size. On Saturday, he’ll get to show off his arm in the Culver City passing tournament.

Last season, the Yankees went 2-9 in Asante’s first season after taking over just a few weeks before practice began. He’s ambitious, having tried to schedule Mater Dei this season but settling for a season opener against Gardena Serra on Aug. 28. Doubt him at your own peril because he twice had teams beat Mater Dei when he was head coach at Carson and helped quarterback James Boyd become City player of the year at L.A. Jordan.

The Yankees appear to have more depth and talent this season. Besides Breaux, Miles Manilay is a returning safety, Jacob Riley has shown promise as a receiver and Micah Butler is an imposing 6-3, 275-pound junior lineman.

Asante is bringing back his best one-liner, “We will shock the world.” The big question is what is Asante referring to.

Manilay, with a 4.38 grade-point average and a sister who attends Harvard, is one of the captains. He sees a much improved team but also isn’t about to let Asante off the hook.

“I don’t know what world he’s talking about,” he said when asked about “shocking the world.”

Stay tuned.

Travis d’Arnaud knows Jacob deGrom better than any other catcher in baseball. He caught the hard-throwing right-hander 60 times when they played together with the New York Mets, the most frequent backstop the former Cy Young Award winner has thrown to in his career.

That familiarity did d’Arnaud and the Angels well en route to their 6-5 victory over the Rangers (44-47) on Monday night, in which Nolan Schanuel walked off their American League West foes in the ninth inning by drawing a bases-loaded, RBI walk.

The veteran catcher ambushed deGrom in the second inning for a two-run home run, just hitting the ball hard enough — 97.4 mph — over the left-field wall.

D’Arnaud’s home run broke deGrom’s Rangers franchise-record streak of 14 consecutive starts with two or fewer runs given up — and provided the Angels (44-46) with an early 3-2 lead.

“Getting lucky to hit a homer against any Cy Young winner is really special,” said d’Arnaud, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

Later, with deGrom in line for the win, d’Arnaud tied the score during a two-out rally in the sixth against relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong, lining a double to deep left-center field to score Luis Rengifo, who reached base on a single.

The Angels’ Logan O’Hoppe douses Nolan Schanuel with a cooler of sports drink after he delivered a walk-off walk against the Texas Rangers Monday at Angel Stadium.

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Associated Press)

“We were in every game right till the end, in every single game in Toronto, and so it showed we were still going to fight to the last out,” d’Arnaud said, when asked about not being able to come through as a team with three, one-run losses against the Blue Jays, “and today we were able to prevail, which is a huge step for us.”

A batter later, pinch-hitter LaMonte Wade Jr. channeled the “Throwback Week” theme at Angel Stadium, reverting to the clutch hitting that earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” in San Francisco. The 31-year-old, wearing the ‘70s-style Angels uniform, singled to center to give the Angels a 5-4 lead.

Interim manager Ray Montgomery, who was ejected in the seventh innings arguing balls and strikes after Mike Trout looked at an inning-ending strike three call, said Wade waited for his opportunity to make an impact — even with limited at-bats after Jorge Soler’s return from injury creating a log jam in the outfield.

“Anytime off the bench you can get some sort of feeling and get some reps, it’s good, and you hope it carries over,” said Montgomery, who watched the remainder of the game from the clubhouse. “Huge at-bat by him.”

DeGrom didn’t flex the ace-caliber stuff he often tests foes with. On Monday, he gave up three earned runs and five hits across five innings, striking out five and walking two.

Yusei Kikuchi, coming off Sunday’s announcement that he earned an All-Star berth (his second of his career), didn’t live up to the pitcher’s duel billing either. The Japanese southpaw labored through an almost-20 minute first inning — in which he gave up a two-run home run to Corey Seager — and never settled down during his five innings.

“I didn’t have my best stuff, but the team really picked me up today,” Kikuchi said in Japanese through an interpreter.

Before d’Arnaud’s tying double, Kikuchi was bound to be the losing pitcher, giving up four runs on six hits, struggling to accrue the same strikeout success he’d achieved as of late. He struck out just four, tied for the second-fewest he’d tallied in 2025 and the first time he’d done so since late May against the Yankees.

But none of that mattered when Schanuel came to the plate with the bases loaded, after Zach Neto was intentionally walked, washing away an 0-for-4 night with his walk-off walk.

“I didn’t need a hit,” Schanuel said. “I put my pride aside.”

Reliever R&R

The Angels placed veteran right-handed relief pitcher Hunter Strickland on the 15-day injured list with right-shoulder inflammation on Monday afternoon. Strickland, who had pitched 22 innings in 19 games to the tune of a 3.27 earned-run average for the Angels, said he felt his arm get stiff before pitching against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

During his outing, in which Strickland struck out one batter in a scoreless inning, the 36-year-old said the stiff sensation in his arm got worse, causing the IL stint. Cuban righty Víctor Mederos was called up from triple-A Salt Lake City in his place.

“We’re just hoping for the best and see what they say,” Strickland said, adding that he will get an MRI on Tuesday.

Robert Stephenson (stretched nerve in right bicep) said he began throwing again on Monday — soft toss — after soft-tissue recovery helped “fully heal” the nerve.

“I don’t think it’s gonna be a quick process, but at least I can start building up,” said Stephenson, who is in the second year of a three-year, $33 million contract with the Angels.

Stephenson has thrown just one inning as a member of the Angels, hurting himself in his second appearance back from Tommy John surgery on May 30.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order lifting US sanctions on Syria and requesting a review of terrorism designations related to the nation. Al Jazeera’s Mike Hanna looks at how the decision aims to facilitate rebuilding post-war Syria.

FX on Hulu has asked that a spoiler alert head any detailed reviews of the new, fourth season of “The Bear.” And while this review is not really detailed, everyone has their own idea of what constitutes a spoiler. So, read on, if you dare.

Most television series, and not just the best ones, are organic. You can plan in a vague way, but you learn as you go along — what the actors can do, what characters are going to demand more screen time, what unexpected opportunities present themselves, what the series is telling you about itself. This can make a show feel inconsistent across time, but often better in the end, as much as it may irritate viewers who liked how things were back at the beginning.

Early in the fourth season of “The Bear,” premiering Wednesday on FX on Hulu, the staff of the series’ eponymous restaurant finally sees the Chicago Tribune review they were anticipating throughout much of Season 3, and when it comes, it contains words like “confusing,” “show-offy” and “dissonant.” (It’s beautiful to see the review represented in a physical newspaper.) The show’s third season was accused by some fans and critics of similar things, and whether or not creator and showrunner Christopher Storer is drawing a comparison here, it’s true that “The Bear” doesn’t behave like most series — the recent shows it most resembles are “Atlanta” and “Reservation Dogs,” both from FX, and going back a little, HBO’s “Treme,” which, like “The Bear,” are less invested in plot than in character, place and feeling.

For all the series’ specific detail and naturalistic production, the eponymous Bear is a fairy-tale restaurant, staffed by people who not long before were hustling to get beef sandwiches out the door but, encouraged by Jeremy Allen White’s brilliant chef Carmen, have revealed individual superpowers in relatively short time. (Carmy asks Marcus, a genius of dessert played by Lionel Boyce, how he achieved a certain effect in a new sweet; “Legerdemain,” Marcus replies.) If you want to see real restaurants in operation, there are plenty of options, from Netflix’s “Chef’s Table,” to Frederick Wiseman’s “Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros,” a four-hour film about a Michelin three-star restaurant in central France. (It streams from PBS.org; you have until March 2027 to catch it there, and should.) But this invented place, which is real enough for its purposes, is primarily a stage for human striving, failure and success — and love. Come for the food, stay for the people.

After the first two seasons, which involved transforming the Beef, the sandwich shop Carmy inherited from his late brother Mikey, and creating the Bear, the third looked around and over its shoulder, flashing back and stretching out and developing themes that are taken up again in Season 4, which begins so hot on the heels of three they might as well be one. (They were filmed back-to-back.) The chaos and expense created by Carmy’s “nonnegotiable” decision to change the menu every night; the prospect of the Tribune review; and a participation agreement for sous-chef-turned-creative partner Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) are still working their way through the story. It begins more prosaically, certainly when compared with the impressionistic montage that occupied the whole of last season’s opening episode. And, apart from an opening flashback in which Carmy tells Mikey (Jon Bernthal) of his vision for a restaurant (“We could make it calm, we could make it delicious, we could play good music, people would want to come in there and celebrate … we could make people happy”), it stays in the present, facing forward.

Once again, we get a ticking clock to create pressure; installed by the “uncle” they call Computer (Brian Koppelman), it’s timed not as before to the opening of the restaurant but to the point at which backer Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) will pull out and the Bear will “cease operations.” (It’s set to 1,440 hours, or 60 days.) But deadlines come and go on this show, and though we’re treated to repeated shots of the countdown clock, it doesn’t create much actual tension. There is always something more immediately concerning, in the kitchen or out in the world.

Ticking clocks remain a motif in Season 4 of “The Bear.” Ayo Edebiri, left, with Liza Colón-Zayas in a scene from this season.

(FX)

For all his messing with the menu in search of a Michelin star, Carmy is stuck in a rut — cue clip from “Groundhog Day” — and has also become maddeningly inarticulate, almost beyond speech; much of what White does this year is listen and react, doing subtle work with his face and fingers, interjecting an occasional “Yeah,” while family or colleagues unburden themselves or take him to task. “Is this performative?” Richie asks a moping Carmy. “You waiting for me to ask if you’re OK?”

Some of his self-flagellation feels unearned — which I suppose is often the case with self-flagellation. (“You would be just as good … without this need for, like, mess,” says Syd.) Carmy can be a handful, but he’s led his team into this land of milk and honey, and if the Bear is dysfunctional, it nevertheless manages to put food on the table, create delight and pay its people. Still, this is a season of apologies — even Uncle Jimmy is saying he’s sorry, through a closed door, to his teenage son — and reconciliations. (You didn’t suppose you’d seen the last of Claire, Carmy’s on-again, off-again romantic interest, played by Molly Gordon?)

Some developments can seem abrupt, possibly because so many of these characters are bad at communicating or lie about how they’re feeling, saying that everything is OK when everything is not OK. But in the long view, the view that extends even beyond the end of the series, whether it comes sooner or later, everything will be OK. Whatever Emmy nitpickers might have to say about its category, “The Bear” is most definitely a comedy; there’ll be obstacles, but everyone’s on a road to happiness. A double-wide episode, set at the wedding of Richie’s ex-wife, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), mirrors the calamitous “Fishes” Christmas-dinner episode from Season 2, with most of that extended cast present again. But here, there is dancing.

Richie, running the front of the house, continues on his journey of self-improvement, crafting inspirational addresses to the staff, meditating on a photo of a Japanese Zen garden and dealing in an adult way with his soon-to-be-remarried ex-wife and daughter; the Bear has become his lifeline. Gary (Corey Hendrix, getting some deserved screen time) is being educated as a sommelier; Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) is working to put pasta on the plate in under three minutes; Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson) is killing it at the sandwich window and looking to “create opportunity” with a new delivery app, a robot called Chuckie and a business mentor (Rob Reiner). Come for the food, stay for the people.

Above all, this is Syd’s year, which is, of course, also to say Edebiri’s. She’s got decisions to make and has been given long, often intense, two-person scenes, not only with Carmy but with Jimmy and Claire and an 11-year-old girl she suddenly finds herself babysitting, and with whom she spends most of an episode; Syd describes her dilemma in terms an 11-year-old might understand and receives the blunt advice an 11-year-old might give.

Carmy, for his part, thinks he knows how to fix things, which he will finally get around to sharing. Is it a good idea? Will it work? Will we ever know, and do we need to know? Is this the final season? (No one has said.) It closes on what is not quite an end — that not everything ties up feels very on brand for the series, and like life, which doesn’t run on schedule — and a sort of beginning. (I would just point out that R.E.M.’s “Strange Currencies,” or as I have called it, “Love Theme From ‘The Bear,’” playing very quietly in a scene behind Richie and highly evolved Chef Jessica [Sarah Ramos] may be a gentle nod to their unseen future.)

It can be corny, it can be obvious. It indulges in gestures as grand and unlikely as creating snow for a guest, and as small as a sandwich being cut to make it a little more friendly, a little more fancy. Both are moving.

Good restaurants serve a reliable version of familiar food, food anyone can like. Great ones do something peculiar that won’t be to everyone’s taste, won’t even make sense, but might inspire love. So it is with television shows.