Lincoln

Nov. 6 (UPI) — On this date in history:

In 1860, Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th president of the United States.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America.

In 1869, in the first formal intercollegiate football game, Rutgers beat Princeton, 6-4.

In 1928, Republican Herbert Hoover was elected 31st president of the United States, defeating Democrat Al Smith.

In 1956, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was re-elected by a wide margin.

In 1965, a formal agreement between the United States and Cuba allowed Cubans who wanted to leave the island nation for America to do so. More than 250,000 Cubans had taken advantage of this opportunity by 1971.

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan was elected to a second term, winning 49 states.

File Photo by Mal Langsdon/UPI

In 1985, members of the 19th of April Movement took over the Palace of Justice in Bogota, Colombia. The leftist guerrillas would kill more than 100 people (11 of whom where Supreme Court Justices) by the time the siege ended.

In 1991, Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued a decree banning the Communist Party, nationalizing its property and condemning its activities.

File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI

In 2012, U.S. President Barack Obama defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney to win a second term. Federal finance reports showed campaign expenditures broke the $2 billion mark, making the election the most expensive in U.S. history at the time.

In 2013, Avigdor Lieberman, who had resigned as Israel’s foreign minister because of an investigation of alleged corruption, was acquitted and said: “This chapter is behind me. I am now focusing on the challenges ahead.” Lieberman became foreign minister again five days later.

In 2019, the U.S. midterm elections saw a number of milestones and firsts — Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., were the first Muslim women elected to the House; Sharice Davids, D-Kan., and Debra Haaland, D-N.M., were the first Native American women elected to the House; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was the youngest person elected to the House in nearly three decades; and Jared Polis became the country’s first openly gay male governor, in Colorado. Democrats also took back control of the House, while Republicans held onto the Senate.

In 2024, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Finance Minister Christian Lindner, resulting in the collapse of his three-party coalition government. A month later, Scholz lost a confidence vote in parliament, triggering an election in February that saw conservative Friedrich Merz put into power.

File Photo by Leo Correa/UPI

The Lincoln Lawyer season four is on the way but won’t be back on Netflix until 2026 so here are five shows to watch in the meantime

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Lincoln Lawyer.

The fourth series of The Lincoln Lawyer is currently in the pipeline, but what can fans watch to fill the void in the meantime?

Manuel Garcia-Rulfo will be reprising his role as the charismatic Mickey Haller in the fourth instalment of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, which is now in post-production.

In the last episode we saw of Mickey, he was in a world of trouble after the body of Sam Scales (played by Christopher Thornton) was found in the boot of his car. But who could have framed him?

It’s believed that The Lincoln Lawyer won’t return until sometime in early 2026, so here are five Netflix shows fans can immerse themselves in while they wait for its comeback, reports the Daily Record.

Bodyguard

The gripping political thriller Bodyguard, which first premiered as a BBC drama in 2018, centres on Police Sergeant David Budd (portrayed by Richard Madden) who is tasked with protecting Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes).

Despite their political differences, the sexual tension is undeniable, but can the married British Army veteran avoid crossing the line between their personal and professional relationship?

With its unexpected plot twists and standout performances from Line of Duty’s Keeley Hawes and Game of Thrones star Richard Madden, Bodyguard is a must-watch.

The Diplomat

Another political thriller not to miss is The Diplomat, which has an impressive 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Following an attack on a British aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, newly appointed United States ambassador to the UK Kate Wyler (Keri Russell) must do everything possible to prevent war from erupting.

Hailed as “one of the most intelligent series put out by Netflix” by a viewer, The Diplomat is a captivating drama offering three series worth binge-watching.

Suits

For Lincoln Lawyer enthusiasts, the legendary Suits absolutely deserves a spot on your viewing schedule.

Spanning nine seasons, gifted university dropout Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) ends up employed as a legal associate at a prestigious law firm despite never attending law school.

These days, Suits is perhaps most famous as the show that kickstarted Meghan Markle’s acting journey when she played one of its leading characters, Rachel Zane.

In contrast to The Lincoln Lawyer, Suits’ storylines unfold over extended periods with each season featuring approximately 16 episodes, making it more of an investment but essential viewing for drama enthusiasts.

Pedro Paramo

Should The Lincoln Lawyer’s star Manuel Garcia-Rulfo be what draws you to the legal series, then this film showcasing the actor is perfect.

Adapted from the legendary Mexican novel by Juan Rulfo, Pedro Paramo chronicles Juan Preciado’s journey to the haunted town of Comala searching for his father Pedro Paramo (Garcia-Rulfo).

However, he quickly learns that the settlement is actually inhabited by spirits from its history, creating confusion between the living and the dead in this otherworldly 2024 film.

Unbelievable

One standout series from 2019 is a true crime drama featuring Toni Collette and Merritt Wever as Detectives Grace Rasmussen and Karen Duvall, respectively.

In 2008, Marie Adler, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever in the series, was sexually assaulted in her flat by a masked man bearing a birthmark on his left calf.

However, after being coerced into repeatedly recounting the traumatic event, two male detectives begin to doubt her story and pressure her into retracting her statement.

Fast forward three years, and Rasmussen and Duvall are collaborating to bring this masked perpetrator to justice.

Unbelievable may be a hard watch but it’s a worthwhile one with the 2015 article An Unbelievable Story of Rape winning a Pulitzer Prize.

The Lincoln Lawyer is available to watch on Netflix.

Through four games this season, Jayden Maiava has done just about all he could to dispel any lingering doubts about him as USC’s starting quarterback.

Maiava is averaging 12.7 yards per pass attempt this season, higher than any other quarterback in college football. His completion percentage has risen more than 11 points since last season (to 70.8%). He has thrown nine passing touchdowns, plus added four on the ground, and has yet to turn the ball over after throwing nine picks during the same number of starts in 2024.

Granted, during the Trojans’ 4-0 start, Maiava has yet to face a pass defense that ranks inside the top 100 in passing yards allowed per attempt. Nor has he or anyone on USC’s offense faced much in the way of adversity. The Trojans have scored more than 52 points per game and won their first four by an average margin of 32.

But the level of competition ratchets up this week. Each of USC’s next three opponents are ranked in the top 25, while three of its next four games come on the road, beginning Saturday with No. 23 Illinois, which was ranked in the top 10 before it was trounced by Indiana last weekend.

If USC has any hope of making the College Football Playoff, it’ll need Maiava to prove his fast start in September wasn’t a fluke. USC coach Lincoln Riley doesn’t want Maiava to change much from his first four weeks.

“Just keep doing what you’re doing,” Riley said.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava evades a tackle attempt by Michigan State defensive back Armorion Smith at the Coliseum on Sept. 20.

(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times)

“He’s been steady. He’s been in a good head space. There will be different challenges. You’re gonna have mistakes here and there. That’s where your experience is going to show up. We just need him to be the steady, efficient leader he’s been and keep playing really good, efficient ball. I think he’s in a really good head space to do that.”

Illinois hasn’t had much success rattling capable quarterbacks this season. Duke’s Darian Mensah threw for 356 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2, while Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza dropped five scores on the Illini secondary last Saturday. Injuries have only made matters worse for the Illini secondary as it lost All-Big Ten slot corner Xavier Scott to a potential season-ending injury, have one safety in concussion protocol and another cornerback in a walking boot. Two other defensive backs also exited Illinois’ last game with some sort of injury.

The stage is set for Maiava to make a major statement Saturday, in one of the marquee matchups of the week. Here’s what else you should watch for when USC plays to Illinois.

Walker Lyons took his place in the slot and looked right. Lake McRee crouched on the opposite wing and looked left. The two Trojan tight ends had spent all last Saturday night moving around USC’s formations — split out wide, in the backfield, on the line of scrimmage — paving rush lanes and creating mismatches wherever they went.

Now it was third and short, early in the third quarter of USC’s win over Michigan State, and the two of them were on the field together again, forcing the Spartan defense to decide in a hurry just how Lincoln Riley planned to deploy them.

That unpredictability was precisely the point of the position. It’s why the tight end has been a critical tenet of his Riley’s offense since he started as Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator in 2015. No other position, Riley has come to believe, adds more versatility to an offense.

“It’s the one piece that really can truly do everything,” Riley said. “But it’s also the hardest piece to find.”

During his first three seasons as the Trojans coach, Riley struggled to find that unicorn for his USC offense. Let alone two — or even three — at the same time.

In his first season, in 2022, tight ends accounted for just over 3% of the Trojans’ receiving yards. That number rose to 6% in 2023, then 8% in 2024.

But through a spotless first third of this season, tight ends — and Lyons and McRee, primarily — have contributed 20% of USC’s total passing output in 2025. One reason being the availability of McRee, who has battled a multitude of injuries over his college career. Another being that Riley has used more 12 personnel, with two tight ends on the field, this season than he has before at USC.

“It keeps defenses on their toes,” McRee said. “You don’t really know what we’re going to do, run, pass, or do all of the above out of it.”

The use of 12 personnel has generally been on the rise across all levels of football, including in the NFL, where teams have used two tight end sets nearly 24% of the time through three weeks, according to ESPN. At USC, Riley has gone even further than that, utilizing two-tight end sets at least 35% of the time through four games.

It wasn’t hard to see last Saturday night why he’d lean on that particular scheme, as Lyons took off in motion from the slot. The sophomore tight end slowed just before the third-down snap, as if to prepare to run block, then took off sprinting into the flat. At the same time, McRee sprinted through the seam, taking a linebacker with him.

In the backfield, quarterback Jayden Maiava faked a handoff, forcing another linebacker to bite on the run, while Lyons sprinted into the open space the play design had created. Riley’s modern variation of a triple option would work precisely as planned, as Maiava lofted an easy pass to Lyons, who ran 10 yards for his second touchdown in three weeks.

USC tight end Walker Lyons (85) heads onto the field after talking to coach Lincoln Riley.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

It was just the sort of play that reminded what Riley was capable of as a playcaller with two talented tight ends at his disposal.

“I’ve missed it,” Riley said. “Because I love the matchups, I love what it creates. I’m excited about what that room has become for us. I think that room is just going to get better.”

When he first started as a college football coach, tight ends weren’t so much on Riley’s radar. Mike Leach, his mentor at Texas Tech, didn’t seek out or use a tight end unless he happened to have one on his roster.

It wasn’t until Riley left for East Carolina that he started to tinker more with the position.

“We started to get more creative, especially in the run game and some of the different things we could do off of it,” Riley said.

Those innovations accelerated at Oklahoma, where, as offensive coordinator, he was fortunate to inherit redshirt freshman Mark Andrews in 2015. By 2017, Sooner tight ends contributed more than 31% of the team’s passing offense. Andrews had 958 yards and eight touchdowns that season, the most of any tight end in college football. He now stars for the Baltimore Ravens.

“We started building more [at Oklahoma],” Riley said. “We started studying people. And, yeah, we got to the point where we were playing with tight ends, so much in so many ways, it became a comfort.”

He wouldn’t have the same security blanket at USC. The tight end room he took over was totally depleted of talent.

The Trojans two most productive tight ends from 2021, Malcolm Epps and Erik Krommenhoek, were out of eligibility. Their promising freshman, Michael Trigg, had transferred. McRee was the only returner with any real experience, and he’d only played in four games before redshirting.

“That room was a ways off, in terms of the depth and skillset and talent we had,” Riley said. “It’s definitely taken some time.”

Lyons’ arrival would be a major inflection point. A four-star recruit, he’d come to USC from a high school offense that regularly utilized two tight ends. He was used to having his hand in the dirt, as well as working as a receiver on the perimeter.

During his recruitment, Riley showed clips of all the different ways he used Andrews at Oklahoma. He felt Lyons could fill a similar role.

“All the things that he did with [tight ends] was definitely intriguing,” Lyons said, “and it definitely made an impact.”

The sheer amount that Riley asks of tight ends in his offense would add another hurdle in actually making that two-pronged role a reality. McRee, for instance, has technically lined up in 16 different spots through four games, according to Pro Football Focus.

“You’ve got to know protections, route concepts, run game — like, you really have to know it all,” Riley said.

Lyons admits it was overwhelming at first.

“But it’s great now,” he says.

The feeling is mutual for Riley, who knows how rare it is to have two tight ends to build an offense around.

“But when you get it,” he said, “it could be really powerful.”

This week’s top high school football games in the Southland:

FRIDAY

Mater Dei (2-0) at Corona Centennial (2-1), 7 p.m.

This is the third Trinity League team the Huskies have played in their tough nonleague schedule. They’ve beaten Servite and lost to Santa Margarita. They have a history playing Mater Dei and must find a way to run the ball effectively. Mater Dei has been surprisingly inconsistent on offense. New quarterback Ryan Hopkins has a great group of receivers but the Monarchs need improvement with a game against Bishop Gorman looming next week. The pick: Mater Dei.

Mission Viejo (3-0) at San Diego Lincoln (3-0), 7 p.m.

Prepare for an offensive shootout on Lincoln’s new turf field. Lincoln has scored 57, 36 and 50 points. Mission Viejo has scored 58 and 53 points in its last two games. Lincoln is the best team in San Diego. Mission Viejo, led by quarterback Luke Fahey, could complete one of the best starts in school history with a victory considering it already owns wins over Santa Margarita and Folsom. The pick: Mission Viejo.

A Philadelphia Phillies fan secured a home run ball hit by Harrison Bader and proudly placed it in the glove of his 9-year-old son Lincoln.

Moments later, the same fan removed the ball from his son’s glove and gave it to a woman who claimed that it rightfully belonged to her.

Days after the now-viral incident occurred during the fourth inning of the Phillies’ 9-3 win over the Marlins on Friday in Miami, Drew Feltwell explained to NBC-10 in Philadelphia that he decided in the moment to “be Dad and show him how to de-escalate the situation” — something he determined was more important than providing Lincoln with a really cool game souvenir.

“We were there to get a home run ball,” said Feltwell, a Florida resident whose wife and daughter were also at the game. “So I thought I had accomplished this great thing. And putting it in his glove meant a lot. She was just so adamant and loud and yelling and persistent, and I just didn’t want to deal with it anymore.

“There was hundreds of people just staring. And like I said, she was very, very, very close, and I’m Dad of the family, so I didn’t want to do something I’d regret. And that was the choice I made, just hand the ball back and tell her go away.”

Feltwell said he was the first to get to the ball after it landed in an empty seat “down a couple seats” to his right. He said he was starting to walk away with the ball when other people, including the woman who eventually confronted him, started grabbing for it.

“I guess she just thought that that was her ball, because it was in front of her,” Feltwell said. “That’s fine, but she was too slow.”

Lincoln didn’t leave the game empty-handed though. A Marlins representative visited the family at their seats and presented the boy with a bag full of souvenirs. Then a Phillies representative invited the family to meet Bader outside the team clubhouse after the game. There, the nine-year veteran who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline signed a bat for Lincoln and posed for pictures with the group.

Lincoln told NBC-10 that although he was unhappy to have to give away the home run ball, “I’m happy that I got to get something else.”

And, he added, “it was very, very fun getting to meet Bader.”

Feltwell said he holds no ill will toward the so-called Phillies Karen who ended up with the home run ball.

“I don’t wish any harm to her. I would love to have that particular ball to put on the wall next to his bat, and got about 500 promises that they’re going to get the ball.”

Even so, he said, “I hope nobody does anything stupid to get it.”

The metaphor feels almost too obvious, the iron-and-brick facade of a half-finished, $200-million football palace looming over Howard Jones Field. A chorus of construction equipment cuts through the chaos of a preseason football practice, the whole scene a reminder that USC, in Year 4 of the Lincoln Riley era, is building toward something.

Where USC’s football program stands in that building process is a bit more complicated to capture. After winning 11 games in Riley’s first season as USC’s coach, the Trojans’ win total has declined in each of the two seasons since. Riley, through 40 games at USC, now has one fewer win (26) than his predecessor, Clay Helton (27), did at the same point during their tenures.

But in recent months, a groundswell of momentum has been building at USC. During the offseason, the Trojans retained top-tier defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn in spite of serious advances from his alma mater, Penn State. They added a rising star in general manager Chad Bowden, who has been an adrenaline shot to the entire program. They surged to the top of the recruiting rankings for the class of 2026 and finally began setting the pace in the NIL space, where they once lagged far behind other programs of their stature.

The only pressing questions now for USC, it seems, are on the field. Even as enthusiasm builds for 2026 , when the football facility will open and the top recruiting class lands, the upcoming season is a critical one for Riley. A third consecutive disappointing campaign would force USC to face some uncomfortable truths, some of which the school can’t afford to confront.

“I just feel great about the progress that’s been made,” USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen told The Times. “And now we’re now in a position where our expectations are high. We all know what they are and that’s to win.”

The Times spoke to Cohen ahead of the Trojans’ season opener against Missouri State to discuss that progress and the expectations that come with it, for Riley and the program.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Where would you say the football program stands right now?

“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of momentum, in particular this offseason, with a combination of moves and investments on the retention side of the coaches that we already had that were doing a great job within our program and culture. Just the quality of coaches overall is at an all-time high in my opinion. So that’s one big piece that’s helped with the momentum.

“The second is the front office development and just the hiring of [general manager] Chad [Bowden]. Chad being able to restructure his team and also restructure how all of our coaches work, how he supports Lincoln, how he supports the assistant coaches — he’s more than just somebody that’s developing a roster. He’s really a culture guy, and he’s been a great partner for Lincoln and the staff in football, but he’s really been a great partner for all of us, and he’s done a lot of bridging of relationships, both internally and externally. And top of all that, obviously, we’ve seen the specific momentum of their skill set from a recruiting standpoint coming to fruition in this ‘26 class.

“So that’s huge progress and has really moved us in a direction that we really needed to go in. The facility investment has obviously been exciting. Watching Bloom grow that quickly and the fact these guys know now that it’s real and they’re gonna be in it this time next year, I think that’ll help us from a retention standpoint. We’ve made so much progress this past year in NIL and how we invest in our student athletes in football, and then obviously being in this new era now where we’re entered into NIL agreements directly with students, I just feel great about the progress that’s been made, and now we’re in a position where our expectations are high. We all know what they are, and that’s to win.”

USC football general manager Chad Bowden, left, speaks with coach Lincoln Riley during a team practice.

(USC Athletics)

We’re entering Year 4 with Lincoln Riley. In each of those seasons since he’s been here, his win-loss record has declined. What is your confidence level with him as coach as we start the season?

“We’re both aligned on the expectations that we have, and that’s to win. And Lincoln knows that. I know that. You know that. Our fans — everybody knows it. I would just say we’re really embracing those expectations together. I feel really good about the support and the infrastructure and the resources that he’s been provided. I know he’s energized by it. He’s motivated by it, and there’s nobody that wants to succeed more than Lincoln. I’m really excited for us to get behind him and the guys and the staff and see those results.”

What sort of tangible results do you need to see from Lincoln and the program to maintain that confidence?

“The whole idea here, right, is that we’re going to win. Our goal and our standard here is that we win championships. That’s what we’re working towards, and that’s what we’ve invested in, and that’s what my expectation is, his expectation is, our collective expectation is as a Trojan family. We haven’t even played a game yet. My focus right now is on supporting him, supporting our coaches, supporting our student athletes and really just moving this program forward — moving this whole athletic department forward. This is a completely different era that we’re in, and we’re laser focused. And I’m laser-focused on pulling every lever that I can and we can for this program to succeed and for all of our programs to succeed.”