WASHINGTON — The U.S. military has built up an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and the waters off the coast of Venezuela since this summer, when the Trump administration first began to shift assets to the region as part of its so-called war against narcoterrorism.
Here is a look at the ships, planes and troops in the region:
Ships
The Navy has eight warships in the region — three destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, a cruiser and a smaller littoral combat ship that’s designed for coastal waters.
The three amphibious assault ships make up an amphibious readiness group and carry an expeditionary unit of Marines. As a result, those ships also have on board a variety of Marine helicopters, Osprey tilt rotor aircraft and Harrier jets that have the capability of either transporting large numbers of Marines or striking targets on land and sea.
While officials have not offered specific numbers, destroyers and cruisers typically deploy with a missile loadout that contains Tomahawk cruise missiles — a missile that can strike hundreds of miles from its launch point.
A U.S. Navy submarine, the USS Newport News, also is operating in the broader area of South America and is capable of carrying and launching cruise missiles.
Planes and drones
A squadron of advanced U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II jets have been sent to an airstrip in Puerto Rico. The planes were first spotted landing on the island territory in mid-September.
MQ-9 Reaper Air Force drones, capable of flying long distances and carrying up to eight laser-guided missiles, also have been spotted operating out of Puerto Rico by commercial satellites and military watchers, as well as photojournalists, around the same time.
It has been widely reported that the Navy is operating P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft out of the region as well.
Earlier this month, the military released a photo of an U.S. Air Force AC-130J Ghostrider, a heavily armed plane capable of firing its large guns with precision onto ground targets, also sitting on the tarmac in Puerto Rico.
There have been a multitude of other military aircraft that have temporarily flown through the region as part of military operations there.
For example, the U.S. Air Force flew a group of B-52 Stratofortress bombers through the region last week for what the Pentagon dubbed as a “bomber attack demo” in photos online.
Troops
All told, there are more than 6,000 sailors and Marines that are now operating in the region based on the ships that have been confirmed by defense officials.
The Pentagon has not offered specific numbers on how many drones, aircraft or ground crew are in the region so their impact on that broader figure is unknown.
Television’s biggest night is here and with it comes some of the best red carpet fashion of awards season.
This year’s Emmy-nominated stars include the always stylish Kristen Bell (“Nobody Wants This”), Quinta Brunson (“Abbott Elementary”), Ayo Edebiri (“The Bear”), Keri Russell (“The Diplomat”), Carrie Coon (“The White Lotus”), Cate Blanchett (“Disclaimer”) and Michelle Williams (“Dying for Sex”). Meanwhile, Adam Brody (“Nobody Wants This”), Jeremy Allen White (“The Bear”), Colman Domingo (“The Four Seasons”), Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”), Sterling K. Brown (“Paradise”), Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”) and Javier Bardem (“Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story”) are among the men who are sure to impress. Here’s hoping that host Nate Bargatze dresses as George Washington at one point in the night to revive his hit “Saturday Night Live” sketch “Washington’s Dream.” Hollywood (and red carpet) veterans Kathy Bates, Jean Smart, Catherine O’Hara, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Harrison Ford, Martin Short and Gary Oldman may school them all on sartorial taste.
The 77th Emmy Awards will be broadcast from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live at 5 p.m. Pacific on CBS. Apple TV+’s “Severance” leads all nominees this year with 27, followed by HBO’s “The Penguin” with 24.
Here are the best looks from the 2025 Emmys, updating live:
Taylor Dearden
Taylor Dearden steps out of “The Pitt” and on the red carpet.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Jackie Tohn
Jackie Tohn wows at the Emmys.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor
Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor are back in black at the Emmys.
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
Jeannie Mai
Jeannie Mai hits the Emmys red carpet.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Krys Marshall
“Paradise” actor Krys Marshall stuns in a strapless Sebastian Gunawan gown.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Walton Goggins and Nadia Conners
Walton Goggins and his wife Nadia Conners share a sweet moment on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Phaedra Parks
“The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Phaedra Parks waves hello.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Zuri Hall
Zuri Hall stuns in a metallic burgundy dress.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Kit Hoover
“Access Hollywood” host Kit Hoover is effortlessly chic on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Haley Kalil
Social media influencer Haley Kalil is serving looks.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Derek Hough
Leave it to “Dancing With the Stars” judge Derek Hough to bust a move on the red carpet.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Justine Lupe
“Nobody Wants This” star Justine Lupe sparkles in Carolina Herrera on the Emmys carpet.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Shanina Shaik
Shanina Shaik looks chic in a black long sleeve Carolina Herrera gown.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Bresha Webb
Bresha Webb, one of the hosts of E!’s Emmys red carpet live show, arrives in style.
There’s already two games in the books for some high school football players, so let’s take a look at the impressive two-game statistical performances.
Quarterback Deshawn Laporte of Burbank has nine touchdown passes with one interception. Ditto for quarterback Cooper Berry of Maranatha. Quarterback Caden Jones of Crean Lutheran has passed for 601 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
Quentin Pacelli of Garden Grove is averaging 11.2 yards per carry with 584 yards rushing and seven touchdowns.
Blake Wong of Norco has six touchdown receptions among his 18 catches. Mahseiah Banks of La Palma Kennedy has caught eight touchdowns.
Kane Casani of Loyola has been credited with 31 tackles in two games. Samu Moala of Leuzinger has 5 1/2 sacks with Khary Wilder of Gardena Serra has five sacks. King Butler of Norte Vista has four interceptions. Ernest Nunley of Western and Tareq Abdul of L.A. University have three interceptions.
Aaron Rivera of El Monte is five of six on field-goals attempts. Parker Wilson of San Marino has six punts with a 49.7-yard average.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected].
I stepped on my bathroom scale the other morning and could not believe the three digits staring up at me.
And I mean that literally — the scale was rigged.
I know this because I’ve been dieting my butt off, and I swear I’ve dropped 20 pounds. So the first thing I did was ask my wife whether she messed with the scale as some kind of prank.
She said no, adding, “Maybe you’re retaining liquids.”
Steve Lopez
Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist.
I threw the scale out immediately. Then I went back into the bathroom, took one look in the mirror, and got another shock.
That couldn’t be me in the reflection. No way.
I’ve got more hair than that. Everybody knows it, and people comment on it. I go onto social media and people are asking one another, almost every day: “How does he maintain such a full mane and youthful glow?”
I called my barber and fired him.
It’s not the barber, my wife said. You should take another look in the mirror.
Our columnist was dismayed when he discovered the Bible ranks higher in book sales than his own works. “That should be on the list of fake miracles, right up there with the loaves and fishes,” he writes.
(Marta Lavandier / Associated Press)
She’s been somewhat out of sorts lately, ever since I went on Nextdoor to wish all my neighbors a happy Independence Day, including “all you scum I wouldn’t speak to IF YOU WERE THE LAST ONES at the picnic.”
Half the time, my wife doesn’t even live with me, and I don’t know where she is. It’s odd, because the marriage is perfect. People ask us what the secret is, and I say it’s hospitality. We open our hearts and our home to others, and we were planning on building a backyard ballroom until our financial advisor told us we were already running up massive debt.
I sued him for negligence and financial fraud.
My wife brought home a couple of refugees sponsored by her church, and I went along with it, even though I think it’s wrong to blame coyotes every time a neighborhood pet disappears. We were having a cup of coffee and a few pastries, and one of them took a second almond croissant. And then, even before he finished it, he reached out and grabbed a bear claw.
There I am, watching it disappear, and between bites, this freeloader starts telling us our country has to offer more help to his country.
I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I wanted the bear claw!” I said. “You didn’t even say thanks for the croissant, and now you want a third pastry? Get out of my house!”
To calm myself, I slipped into the living room to relax with a book. I picked one that was on a shelf next to three books I’ve written, which made me curious about how sales have been going lately.
So I went to Amazon to check the rankings.
The first book I checked was ranked 3,907,369. I swear on the Bible, which, by the way, was ranked 206 on the bestsellers list.
Really?
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have been in the ground for what, a couple of thousand years? Nobody can tell you whether any of them knew a Magi from a Musketeer, not to mention that the Roman Empire they worked under was a failed administration. And their book is selling better than mine by a mile?
That should be on the list of fake miracles, right up there with the loaves and fishes.
A dispute with a neighbor over a property line ? “The boundaries are rigged.”
(A dispute with a neighbor over a property line ? “The boundaries are rigged.”)
My book is a great book. It’s already listed up there with the all-time classics, and it got starred reviews everywhere. At Barnes & Noble, they keep it in the Beautiful Books section. When I was on a book tour, I had the biggest crowds ever. Way bigger than Hemingway. People are still talking about it.
So to cut to the chase, I gave my sales rank a Triple F rating.
Fake.
False.
Fony.
And I fired my book agent.
I checked out some of the books ranked higher than mine — other than the “holy” Bible — and it didn’t take long to figure out what’s going on.
First of all, a lot of the people allegedly “buying” books don’t exist. Somewhere between 30% and 40% of the people who go onto the review section and claim they love Stephen King books are actually dead.
And then you have a lot of people coming into this country illegally, ghastly people, and they are voting in elections and they are voting on books, too, because they’re being put up to it, and being well-compensated, I might add.
Little-known fact:
The vote-counting machines and the book-counting machines are made by the same company.
You know what they should call that company?
RIGGED!
Not to be obsessive, but I’ve heard it said that Stephen King doesn’t care for me much, and that’s fine. Water off a duck’s back. My dog has more talent than that guy. All he does is write stories about killers and horrible, sick people.
He should write a book about my neighbor, if he likes deranged people so much. Most neighbors love me; they’re kissing my you-know-what. But then there’s this guy, whom I’m having investigated. I went out to the curb to throw the bathroom scale away, and what do I see? That jackalope is putting his trash can on my property. I’m the one who’s encroaching, he tells me, and I should go to the county offices and check the property records.
Well, it just so happens that I already checked the records, and they’re inaccurate. It figures, because that last county administration was the worst in history. A bunch of corrupt, evil people. Who should have been impeached. They hired incompetents as surveyors, so don’t stand on the street and tell me where I can and can’t put my trash can, because the boundaries are rigged and I’m having them rewritten.
My lawyers are on it, and we will win this case on Day One, guaranteed, with time left over for a round of golf.
