Ahead of his final season under club control, and with his 2026 salary expected to top more than $6 million through arbitration, reliever Evan Phillips was not tendered a contract for next year by the Dodgers on Friday, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team is still interested in re-signing him as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.
“We had a number of back and forth discussions with Evan and his agent,” Friedman said via text. “It is challenging with him coming off surgery, so he is going to take some time and look to sign after he throws off the mound when his rehab allows. Evan has been a big part of our past success and we will continue the conversation about bringing him back. We respect that he is taking this time to decide what is best for him and his family.”
Friday’s decision — which will make Phillips a free agent — reflects the uncertainty around the pitcher’s status for next season, following the Tommy John procedure he had last June.
Phillips’ recovery process is expected to stretch at least into the early part of next year. How much he will be able to pitch in 2026 remains unclear.
Because of that, the Dodgers faced a decision ahead of MLB’s non-tender deadline Friday: Keep Phillips on the roster and pay him the $6.1 million or so that MLB Trade Rumors projected he would receive through the arbitration process. Or cut him loose and attempt to re-sign him (likely to a lesser salary) this offseason.
The club picked the latter. Now, only time will tell whether Phillips’ productive tenure in Los Angeles will continue.
Phillips, 31, has been a key part of the Dodgers’ bullpen since the team plucked him off waivers near the end of the 2021 season.
In 2022, he was one of the top relievers in baseball, posting a 1.14 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 63 innings. He had a 2.05 ERA and 24 saves the following season, before regressing to a 3.62 mark in 2024.
Despite that decline, the right-hander still played a crucial role in the club’s 2024 World Series run, pitching 6⅔ scoreless innings that postseason before missing the World Series with a shoulder injury.
That injury, which Phillips later said included a tear in the back of his rotator cuff, caused him to miss the early weeks of this past season.
Phillips eventually made his 2025 season debut on April 19, but logged only seven appearances (all of them scoreless) before going on the injured list in early May with forearm discomfort. At the time, Phillips’ hope was that the IL stint was only a “precautionary” measure and that he would be able to return later in the season.
Instead, his forearm pain lingered. And by the end of May, the full severity of his injury had become frustratingly clear.
Phillips underwent his Tommy John procedure, which typically comes with a 12-18 month recovery timeline, on June 3.
“[His arm] wasn’t really responding,” general manager Brandon Gomes said at the time. “We felt like this could be a possibility. So as he got deeper into the process and it wasn’t really getting better, the decision to do it was pretty much evident with our information.”
Phillips did begin throwing again on Nov. 5, he announced on Instagram. The Dodgers would still like for him to be part of the mix in their bid for a World Series three-peat in 2026.
Now, however, it will take a new contract to get that done.
In addition to Phillips, the Dodgers also decided not to tender a contract to 27-year-old pitcher Nick Frasso on Friday. Frasso, a former top prospect who struggled in triple-A in his return from a shoulder surgery this past season, had yet to make his MLB debut.
How you answer may be the key in how much you enjoy the sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” which opens today and is on track to sell more tickets in its first weekend than its predecessor.
Will the new movie once again cast a spell at the Oscars? The answer, for the moment, is confusifying.
I’m Glenn Whipp, columnist for the Los Angeles Times, host of The Envelope newsletter and someone hoping to see a movie at the Village before the Olympics land in L.A. in 2028. Which film should they book to kick off its revival?
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Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande perform at the 97th Academy Awards in March.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Who wasn’t charmed by the first “Wicked” movie last year? Film critics gave it more than a pass, with reviews scoring a respectable 73 grade on aggregator site Metacritic. Audiences loved it, powering the film to a $758 million worldwide box office haul. And Oscar voters fell in line, rewarding “Wicked” with 10 nominations and wins for production design and costumes. Gratitution abounded.
Repeating success is a taller order, our beloved Dodgers notwithstanding. As noted, multiplexes should be full this first weekend and, you’d expect, the lucrative Thanksgiving weekend as well. But the reviews haven’t been as kind this time around. “Wicked: For Good” sits at a 60 on Metacritic. Empire magazine’s review sums up the sentiment: “‘Wicked: For Good,’ sure — but not quite Wicked: For Great.”
Sequels rarely land as well as the original film, so the drop-off isn’t surprising. And, if you’ve seen the Broadway musical, you already knew this was coming. All the best songs are packed into the show’s first act, culminating in the soaring, sustaining final notes of “Defying Gravity.” But you can only beat that gravitational force for so long before you fall flat on the ground.
Which brings me back to the question I first asked you: What are you looking for in a “Wicked” movie? I enjoyed all the spirited dancing and singing and, yes, the bright, candy colors of the first movie. You want a slog? The sequel takes almost an hour to bring together the two characters you truly care about — Elphaba and Glinda.
To get to that moment, you have endure a lot of filler, as if the musical doesn’t have enough material to sustain two movies totaling nearly five hours. (It doesn’t.)
The so-so critical reaction shouldn’t keep “Wicked: For Good” from picking up a best picture nomination, provided the movie’s fans keep showing up at theaters through the end of the year. With so many high-profile festival films — “The Smashing Machine,” “After the Hunt,” “Die My Love” among them — failing to connect with audiences and critics, there’s room at the inn. Academy voters will likely keep the light on.
Equaling the first film’s 10 nominations will be difficult. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande opened the Oscars ceremony last year in spectacular fashion, but a reunion might not be in the cards. The pair were arguably co-leads in the first movie. “For Good” belongs more to Glinda than Elphaba, charting the Good Witch’s journey from complacency and compliance to … less complacency and compliance. Maybe Glinda’s going to learn from all this and take principled stands moving forward, though the movie doesn’t do enough to convince me. Grande’s dimple has more depth.
Still, Grande figures to score another supporting actress nomination and, who knows, she may well win. Voters love big theater-kid energy in this category, giving Oscars to Jennifer Hudson (“Dreamgirls”), Anne Hathaway (“Les Misérables”), Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) and Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”) in recent years.
Erivo, placed in the more competitive lead class, might not be as fortunate, as she no longer centers the movie. She still masterfully conveys Elphaba’s vulnerability and sadness, but she’s also saddled with a chemistry-free love story with Capt. Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey). I won’t count her out. But Erivo could well lead the “snubs” and surprises list come nominations morning.
Repeat nominations in production design and costume design, the two Oscars the first movie won, seem safe bets. Hair and makeup does too, as does sound since voters love movies heavy on music. “Wicked: For Good” might pick up another nomination in the newly created casting category, as it won’t be a spot where voters feel like they’re repeating themselves. And while the first movie didn’t have any new songs, “For Good” sports two. Look for “The Girl in the Bubble,” sung by Grande, to pop.
Eight nominations? That’d be a win. The loss would be if “Wicked: For Good” followed the path of the two “Black Panther” movies. The first, a critical, commercial and cultural sensation, earned seven nominations, including best picture, and won three Oscars. The less-regarded sequel picked up five nods, winning one. It was not nominated for best picture.
The announcement was made Thursday in a move many figured would come later with changes to the Lakers’ basketball operations department after Mark Walter became the majority owner. The sale was at a $10-billion valuation and was approved by the NBA board of governors in October.
According to a person not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, everything with the Lakers is being evaluated and that included firing scouts on Thursday.
It was felt that starting the process now was the best course of action to take rather than wait, according to one person aware of the situation but not authorized to speak publicly.
Joey Buss was an alternate governor and vice president of research and development with the Lakers while Jesse was the team’s assistant general manager.
A Metro committee considered the gondola project Thursday, and Bass just happened to be one of the five voting members of the committee. In front of the hundreds of community members that turned out for the hearing, Bass would have a public opportunity to make her case for whatever position she might choose to take.
From Bill Shaikin: When spring training rolls around, it will be one dozen years since the Angels last appeared in a postseason game and two dozen years since they won their first and only World Series championship. If baseball were scripted, two of the Angels’ World Series heroes would take charge of the team and make it a winner again.
As it turns out, two of those champions are taking charge of a team next year. Not the Angels, though.
Troy Percival has been hired to manage the new Long Beach team in the independent Pioneer League. Percival, the closer who recorded the final out in the 2002 World Series, said his hitting coach would be Troy Glaus, the 2002 World Series most valuable player.
“I made sure that he could hit fungoes,” Percival said, “because I can’t.”
From Bill Plaschke: On the drive up to the Rose Bowl’s front door, underneath the legendary glowing sign, toward the picturesque purple mountains, there stands the most impactful symbol of the school that plays there.
It is a statue of Jackie Robinson in a UCLA football uniform.
He is cradling the ball in his left hand and warding off impending tacklers with his right, a striking bronze symbol of a university’s resilience and strength. The most formidable figure in American sports history is standing where he grew up, where his team lives and where he forever will embody the epitome of the gutty Bruin.
From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: LA28 hopes to sell more tickets for the 2028 Games than any other Olympic organizing committee in history, and the private group launched a fundraising campaign Thursday to help keep those tickets accessible to local fans.
The fundraising effort invites local sports teams, philanthropists and partners to fund ticket donations that will go to local organizations that will distribute tickets within their communities. The Rams are the inaugural partners, donating $5 million to the campaign.
From Kevin Baxter: The women’s national soccer team will return to Carson in 2026 for the first time in nearly two years for its annual January training camp, U.S. Soccer will announce Thursday.
The 11-day camp will run from Jan. 17-27 and will conclude with two international matches. The first, on Jan. 24 against Paraguay, will be played at Dignity Health Sports Park and will include a tribute to two-time World Cup champion Christen Press, who announced her retirement this fall.
The venue and opponent for the second match on Jan. 27 has not been finalized.
Chad Baker-Mazara scored scored a career-high 34 points and Jordan Marsh hit a contested three-pointer at the buzzer to lift USC to a 107-106 win over Troy on Thursday night.
Troy, coming off a 108-107 double-overtime win at San Diego State on Tuesday, led throughout the third overtime but threw the ball away into the front court after rebounding Baker-Mazara’s missed drive with about 10 seconds to go. Rodney Rice got the loose ball and fired it ahead to Marsh, who took a couple of dribbles and hit from almost straightaway.
Rice had 26 points and nine assists for USC (4-0) and Ezra Ausar 22 points, which was outrebounded 63-39, including 25-7 on the offensive end.
Phillip Kusharev scored in regulation and the only goal of a shootout, and the San Jose Sharks held on for a 4-3 win over the Kings on Thursday night.
San Jose’s first player in the shootout, Kusharev skated toward his left then shifted direction toward the net before flipping the puck over the left shoulder of Kings goalie Anton Forsberg. Kusharev also had a goal in the second period.
Ty Dellandrea had a goal and an assist for San Jose. Adam Gaudette scored a goal, while Collin Graf had two assists. Yaroslav Askarov made 31 saves, two during the shootout.
Joel Armia, Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe had goals for the Kings.
Drake Batherson scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:58 to play, and the Ottawa Senators held off a furious rally after the Ducks pulled their goalie in the final minutes for a 3-2 victory Thursday night at Honda Center.
Batherson was camped in front of the net when he deflected a blue-line shot from Jake Sanderson past goalie Petr Mrazek to end the Ducks’ six-game home win streak.
Beckett Sennecke and Mason McTavish scored in the second period for the Pacific Division-leading Ducks. Mrazek, the backup who made his fifth start of the season in place of Lukas Dostal, had 22 saves.
1953 — Notre Dame ties Iowa 14-14 by faking injuries in both halves. With two seconds to go in the first half, a Notre Dame player stops the clock by faking an injury and the Fightin’ Irish score on the next play. With six seconds left in the game and Notre Dame out of timeouts, two players fake injuries and the Irish score on the last play to tie the game.
1965 — The Cotton Bowl is packed with 76,251 fans, giving the Dallas Cowboys their first home sellout. The Cleveland Browns spoil the day with a 24-17 win.
1971 — The New York Rangers score eight goals in the third period of a 12-1 rout over the California Seals.
1981 — Brigham Young’s Jim McMahon passes for 552 yards in a 56-28 victory over Utah. Gordon Hudson sets the NCAA record for yards gained by a tight end with 259.
1982 — The NFL resumes play after seven weeks of the season were canceled when the NFL Players Association went on strike Sept. 23.
1987 — The Columbia Lions extend their Division I-record losing streak to 41 games with a 19-16 loss to Brown. Columbia gives up a touchdown with 47 seconds left in the game.
1987 — Southwestern Louisiana quarterback Brian Mitchell rushes for 271 yards and four touchdowns and passes for 205 yards in a 35-28 victory over Colorado State.
1998 — Villanova’s Brian Westbrook becomes the first player to record 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season and catches two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats to a 27-15 victory over Rhode Island.
2004 — Roger Federer wins a record 13th straight final, beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 in the title match of the ATP Masters Cup. Federer breaks the record of 12 straight finals victories shared by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
2008 — Michigan’s 42-7 drubbing by Ohio State put a merciful end to the worst season in Michigan’s 129 years of intercollegiate football. The Wolverines (3-9) lose the most games in school history.
2010 — Jimmie Johnson becomes the first driver in the seven-year history of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship to overcome a point deficit in the season finale, finishing second to Ford 400 winner Carl Edwards while winning his record fifth consecutive title.
2015 — Brent Burns scores twice and Patrick Marleau gets his 1,000th career point — an assist on Burns’ first goal — to lift the San Jose Sharks over the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1.
2015 — Wes Washpun scores 21 points as Northern Iowa stuns top-ranked North Carolina 71-67 for its first win over the nation’s No. 1 team. The Panthers use a 29-8 run in the second half to turn a 50-34 deficit into a 63-58 lead. The Tar Heels scheduled the trip to Cedar Falls so senior Marcus Paige could play in his home state. Paige doesn’t play because of a broken bone in his right hand.
2016 — Mackenzie Hughes holes an 18-foot par putt from off the green to win the RSM Classic and become the first rookie in 20 years to go wire-to-wire for his first PGA Tour victory. Four players return for the third extra playoff hole at the par-3 17th. Hughes makes his putt and watches Blayne Barber, Henrik Norlander and Camilo Villegas all miss par putts from 10 feet or closer.
2021 — Alexander Zverev of Germany captures his second ATP Finals men’s tennis title defeating world #2 Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 in Turin.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
LA28, the committee behind the Olympic Games coming to Los Angeles, quietly added to its roster of directors some high-profile Republicans with ties to President Trump.
The 35-member volunteer board of directors now includes notable Republican political figures Kevin McCarthy, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Reince Priebus, who was Trump’s chief of staff during his first term. Before his role in the White House, Priebus served as the longtime chair of the Republican National Committee.
Diane Hendricks, a major GOP donor who has given millions to Trump’s campaigns, and Patrick Dumont, who owns the Dallas Mavericks and is the son-in-law of another major Trump donor, were also added to the board. Ken Moelis, an investment banker who worked with Trump in the 1990s and predicted the businessman would win the presidency in 2016, is also listed as a board member.
The Trump-adjacent inflow to the board of directors, first reported by Politico, is the latest sign of the president’s involvement in the major Los Angeles event.
It is not clear why the decision was made to expand the board of directors and how the individuals were selected. A spokesperson for LA28 did not immediately respond to The Times’ questions Thursday about the move.
Kevin McCarthy
(Associated Press)
Los Angeles business consultant Denita Willoughby and philanthropist Maria Hummer-Tuttle are also newly listed as board members.
“We are thrilled to welcome this accomplished group to the LA28 Board who will help create an unforgettable Games for athletes and fans alike,” Casey Wasserman, the chair of the 2028 L.A. Olympics organizing committee, wrote in a statement.
Wasserman could not immediately be reached by The Times for further comment.
Although past presidents have taken a largely ceremonial role in Olympics that have been held on U.S. soil, there are signs that Trump is seeking a more active role in the Games, which will occur in his final year as president.
In August, he signed an executive order naming him chair of a White House task force on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. The president views the Games as “a premier opportunity to showcase American exceptionalism,” according to a White House statement. Trump, the administration said, “is taking every opportunity to showcase American greatness on the world stage.”
Trump at the time noted that he’d be willing to send the military back to Los Angeles to protect the Games. In June, he sent the National Guard and U.S. Marines to the city amid escalating immigration enforcement actions, prompting pushback from Mayor Karen Bass.
Wasserman attended the signing at the White House in August and thanked Trump for “leaning in” to planning for the Olympics, which he said is akin to hosting seven Super Bowls a day for 30 days.
“You’ve been supportive and helpful every step of the way,” Wasserman told the president at the time. “With the creation of this task force, we’ve unlocked the opportunity to level up our planning and deliver the largest and, yes, greatest Games for our nation, ever.”
Bill Melugin, an Orange County native who made his name at Fox News covering the U.S. southern border, is relocating to Washington, D.C. where he will cover Congress for the network.
Fox News announced Thursday that Melugin will begin his new role as congressional correspondent immediately.
“Bill’s dogged dedication to uncovering the story and deep understanding of national issues make him an excellent fit to cover the complex world of Congress,” Fox News President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace said in a statement.
Melugin, 35, has been a Los Angeles-based correspondent for the network since 2021, becoming a regular on-screen presence with his coverage of the undocumented migrants crossing the southern U.S. border. He did 1,000 live shots from the Rio Grande Valley in 2022.
Melugin handled a number of other major breaking news events across the country, including the 2025 California wildfires and the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Melugin’s move to Washington is an indication that Fox News has larger plans for him. He has been brought to Washington several times in recent years for fill-in work at the anchor desk and a permanent role there is likely in his future.
Melugin has been reluctant to leave Los Angeles as he is close to his widowed mother Audrey, who lives in Orange County. But in a 2023 interview with the Times, she gave her blessing to any advancement opportunity.
“I’ve always told him if you have a better opportunity do it, but he is very protective of me,” she said. “I appreciate it. But I don’t want to be the one to hold him back either.”
Before joining Fox News Media, Melugin was an investigative reporter for the Fox-owned station KTTV in Los Angeles, where he was awarded three local Emmy awards for investigative work. He was part of the KTTV team that uncovered exclusive pictures of California Gov. Gavin Newsom dining at French Laundry without a mask at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
He previously held anchor and reporter roles at Fox TV affiliates in Charlotte, North Carolina, and El Paso, Texas.
Last Tuesday, I asked my friend Mish if they’d like to skip our gym trip and instead drive into Angeles National Forest for a chance to view the northern lights.
We decided, for our health, to go to the gym. We arrived around 7:15 p.m., only to realize our gym was closing early because of Veterans Day. Divine intervention or dumb luck? Either way, we left, got our cameras and snacks and headed up Angeles Crest Highway.
We stepped out of the car about 8:45 p.m., and I started shouting a flurry of joyful expletives. The pink glow of the northern lights was visible to the naked eye, shining near Mt. Gleason.
The northern lights as seen from near Angeles Forest Highway on Veterans Day.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
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This was my second time viewing the northern lights from the San Gabriel Mountains. Last May, my buddies and I were out celebrating a friend’s sobriety anniversary when my pal Machiko texted me that — somehow! — the northern lights were visible in dark places around L.A. We quickly left Chinatown and headed onto Angeles Crest Highway.
At first, around 10:50 p.m., we could only see a faint pink glow and only by using our phone cameras. By 11:30 p.m., we’d found a darker place in the forest to park, and our cameras picked up quite the light show.
From there, I quickly became enamored, similar to eclipse chasers, with how I could see the northern lights whenever possible from Southern California.
Below you’ll find my tips on how to do just that. I want you, dear Wilder, to witness the sheer awe that comes with realizing there is so much about our universe we remain blissfully unaware of — until suddenly it’s a brilliant burning pink right before us.
If you’re reading this and getting major FOMO, have no fear! We will likely have another opportunity to see the aurora near L.A. soon enough.
The northern lights illuminate the sky of the North Bay as seen from China Camp Beach in San Rafael last May.
(Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images)
The sun plays a major role in why we have auroras, and it turns out we’re in a season when the sun might be sending more our way.
I spoke to Delores Knipp, research professor in the Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, who explained to me that the sun has an 11-year “solar cycle.”
The sun reached its solar maximum period last year, and as NASA noted last year, “The solar cycle is a natural cycle the Sun goes through as it transitions between low and high magnetic activity. Roughly every 11 years, at the height of the solar cycle, the Sun’s magnetic poles flip — on Earth, that’d be like the North and South poles swapping places every decade — and the Sun transitions from being calm to an active and stormy state.”
Knipp said the sun now goes through a kind of relaxing period, during which the interactions of certain solar particles can create the most geomagnetic storms over a three- to four-year period. Good news? “We are about one year in,” Knipp said.
Why is that relevant to us? Because the aurora is “one manifestation of geomagnetic activity or geomagnetic storms,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And as I will explain below, the stronger the storm, the more likely it is that those of us in Southern California can see the aurora!
If you want to understand more about why auroras happen, consider checking out this presentation by Knipp, where she talks more about the science behind them — including historic auroras that really freaked out the public.
OK, let’s dive in. Here’s how I became an amateur aurora chaser, and you can too!
Mish, a friend of The Wild, sets up their camera near Angeles Forest Highway to capture the aurora visible from near L.A. on Veterans Day.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
1. Sign up for alerts
You can sign up for free updates from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center to view its forecasts for upcoming geomagnetic storms and how intense they’re expected to be. (A simpler option is to view the predicted aurora viewline.)
2. Learn the data points
The first time a space weather alert lands in your inbox, you might have flashbacks to a high school science class where you sat puzzled, wondering if you could still graduate if you failed this class because science had always been your weakest subject. (Maybe that was just me.)
Regardless, in the NOAA Geomagnetic Forecast, you’ll notice a data table with the “Kp index forecast,” which is the planetary K-index and is used to measure the magnitude of geomagnetic storms. Generally to be visible near L.A., the K-index needs to be at 8 or 9.
As Knipp explained to me, “When Kp goes up to 6, 7 and beyond, what that means is the auroral zone tends to extend from its quiet regions around the northern part of Norway and northern part of Canada. It can extend all the way to mid-latitudes … and in our case, the edge of it [on Nov. 11] might have been in the northern tier of the United States. Those of us who are kind of standing off to the equator-ward side can look up into the sky and still see the disturbances that are moving along the [Earth’s magnetic] field lines. And those disturbances are created by particles that are crashing into our atmosphere as they move along the field lines.”
You might also notice in NOAA’s alert a G-scale, ranging from G1 to G5. This is the rating used to gauge a geomagnetic storm’s potential effects on satellites, spacecraft and the power grid, among other things. Meanwhile, the K-index is more of an intensity rating scale.
I start to pay attention when I see forecasts mentioning a possible G3 storm. I keep an eye out as the forecast grows more detailed about whether the storm is expected to intensify and become a G4 storm. And I watch the K-index to see whether an 8 is expected.
Last week, at around 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., the Space Weather Prediction Center emailed alerts noting that the agency expected a three-hour window from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. PST where the K-index could reach 8. Lucky for my friend Mish and me, that’s when we arrived in the forest and found a place beyond the clouds to view the aurora.
3. Find a dark place with a northern view
You must drive beyond L.A.’s light-polluted skies to view the aurora.
There are many different websites dedicated to mapping light pollution. Last week, I found a north-facing turnout off Angeles Forest Highway that, per Dark Sky Map, was close to the “bright suburban sky” range on the Bortle scale, which stargazers and astrophotographers sometimes use to discern where to view celestial bodies.
Photographer Patrick Coyne posted to Instagram a video from Mormon Rock(s), about 12 miles east of Wrightwood in the San Bernardino National Forest, capturing a stunning pink aurora. Photographer Jason Anderson, whom I randomly met in the middle of the woods a few months ago, was among the luckiest, filming a deep red scene in Joshua Tree National Park.
Above the clouds and facing north, the lights from the aurora borealis were visible last May along Highway 2 in Angeles National Forest.
(Jaclyn Cosgrove / Los Angeles Times)
4. Bring a camera, tripod and patience
I have a mobile phone (iPhone 15 Plus) that allows me, when in night mode, to adjust the shutter speed to 10 seconds. This essentially means the camera will take in as much light as possible within that 10-second time frame. The main image for this edition of The Wild was taken with my personal iPhone.
Mish brought their camera and tripod — while I used my iPhone and Canon DSLR — to photograph the aurora. We spent about an hour observing the aurora, and it seemed to pulse in intensity. Twice, it appeared brighter to the naked eye before becoming visible only on our cameras. By 10 p.m., the aurora had disappeared.
We headed back to L.A. hyper and eager for the next time the aurora was visible, with a goal to set up shop in the desert or some other dark corner of Southern California. Staring at the night sky has a way of inspiring you to dream bigger.
3 things to do
A young cyclist works on a bicycle at the CicLAvia Melrose event last year.
(Kirk Tsonos)
1. Watch for “Stranger Things” on a ride through L.A. From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Netflix and CicLAvia will host “Stranger Things 5 One Last Ride,” a special 4-mile open streets event where fans can bike, skate or walk down a car-free stretch of Melrose Avenue in celebration of the show’s final season. The free event will feature Melrose reimagined as Hawkins, the fictional town where the show is based, with photo ops, animations, live entertainment and more. Learn more at ciclavia.org.
2. Witness the warblers of Wilmington Latino Outdoors Los Angeles and Communities for a Better Environment will host a community bird walk from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in Wilmington. Guests will tour local resilience centers and walk through Banning Park. Register and sign a waiver at eventbrite.com.
3. Hike and help others near Pasadena Nobody Hikes in L.A. and Walking Pasadena with host their 10th Will Hike for Food hike at 8:30 a.m. Friday along the Gabrielino trail near Pasadena. Hikers are encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to donate to Friends in Deed’s food pantry in Pasadena. Money will also be accepted for the organization, which provides food, hosts a winter shelter and builds relationships with unhoused people to ease them into housing and other services. Learn more at walkingpasadena.com.
The must-read
A family poses in early October near the west entrance sign of Joshua Tree National Park during the 43-day government shutdown. The park remained open to visitors despite the shutdown.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
If you visited Yosemite or Death Valley national parks during the 43-day government shutdown, you may have experienced more order than you expected. Trash cans were cleared. Bathrooms were cleaned. That’s because, as Times staff writers Lila Seidman and Alex Wigglesworth report, employees who greet visitors and those who work in maintenance and sanitation, law enforcement and emergency functions were kept on during the shutdown, a marked difference from the 2018-19 shutdown. A Death Valley ranger, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of losing his job, said resource damage was rampant then at numerous parks because the guidance “was, like, shutter your doors, skeleton crew, leave the park open.” Continuing to fund visitor services kept up a facade that all was well, but the government’s choice there speaks to a long-simmering fight over our national parks: whether to prioritize the guest experience or conservation more. During the longest shutdown in U.S. history, almost 9,300 of the park service’s total 14,500-member staff, or roughly 64%, were furloughed, many of whom work on their park’s conservation, research and education teams. For example, a firefighter at Joshua Tree National Park said there were once 30 people on the team that protects endangered desert tortoises and Joshua trees, monitors air quality and restores areas after a fire. During the shutdown, none were working regularly. There was one bright spot though: Officials deemed the feeding and monitoring of the area’s pupfish, a chubby little guppy (and one of the world’s rarest fish), essential during the shutdown, a ranger said, because they’re “this star animal of the park.”
Happy adventuring,
P.S.
The Wild is dark next week for Thanksgiving and will return Dec. 4. If you’d like to take a hike, I’d recommend my Wild article from last Thanksgiving outlining treks that make me feel grateful to live here. Or especially if you’re estranged from your family and not going to attend a Thanksgiving meal, consider soothing your soul with a waterfallhike (as long as weather allows). It’ll likely be less crowded at trailheads considering those out celebrating the holiday. Regardless of what you do, may you experience something outside that fills you with goodness and wonder!
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.
From Dylan Hernández: While the game didn’t provide any definitive answers about what LeBron James will do in his record-breaking 23rd season, it offered promising signs about what he won’t do.
The point was made most emphatically by how he played in the 140-126 victory over the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena.
In the 30 minutes he played, James shot the ball only seven times, less than any other Lakers starter.
He didn’t have problems with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves remaining the team’s primary options.
He didn’t mind picking his spots.
He didn’t mind spending most of the game as a peripheral figure on the court.
“Just thought he played with the right spirit,” coach JJ Redick said. “Very unselfish all night. Willing passer. Didn’t force it. Took his drive and his shots when they were there.”
The Rams on Wednesday placed safety Quentin Lake, tight end Tyler Higbee and right tackle Rob Havenstein on injured reserve.
Lake, who had surgery Tuesday for a dislocated left elbow, Higbee (ankle) and Havenstein (knee/ankle) must sit out at least four games before they are eligible to return. The earliest return would be a Dec. 18 game against the Seahawks in Seattle.
From Ryan Kartje: Last month, in the span of a single half, USC’s top two running backs were lost to serious injuries. For Eli Sanders, the knee injury he suffered against Michigan prematurely ended his season. For Waymond Jordan, ankle surgery meant missing most of the Trojans’ critical stretch run.
For USC, it made for a particularly cruel one-two punch. Through the first six games, the Trojans duo had been a top-10 rushing attack in the nation, trending toward the best rushing season USC had seen in two decades. Then, in less than an hour’s time, a promising start had been derailed by injury.
“That could almost be a death sentence,” coach Lincoln Riley said Wednesday.
But with just two games left in the season, the Trojans rushing attack still is very much alive. And USC still is clinging to College Football Playoff hopes because of it.
Ian Moore scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:35 to play, and Lukas Dostal made 36 saves in the Ducks’ 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.
Jansen Harkins. Radko Gudas and Ryan Strome also scored for the first-place Ducks, who have won nine of 12 after sweeping their season series with the Bruins.
The Bruins dominated long stretches of play and tied it with 12:21 left with Morgan Geekie’s second goal on a power play just seven seconds after Harkins took an awful cross-checking penalty.
1934 — Busher Jackson scores four third-period goals to power the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Eagles.
1960 — Jerry Norton of St. Louis intercepts four passes to send past the Washington Redskins 26-14.
1969 — Brazilian soccer legend Pelé scores his 1,000th goal.
1977 — Walter Payton rushes for an NFL record 275 yards, and the Chicago Bears edge the Minnesota Vikings 10-7.
1979 — Red Holzman of the New York Knicks wins his 500th game, a 130-125 overtime victory over Houston at Madison Square Garden. Holzman is the second coach, after Red Auerbach, to reach that mark.
1983 — Seattle’s Dave Krieg passes for 418 yards and three touchdowns, lifting the Seahawks to a 27-19 victory over the Denver Broncos.
1983 — Steve Bartkowski throws a 42-yard desperation pass that is deflected to Billy Johnson at the 5-yard line, and he then fights his way into the end zone to give the Atlanta Falcons a 28-24 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
1994 — Tisha Venturini scores twice and Angela Kelly, Sarah Dacey and Robin Confer add goals for North Carolina, which beats Notre Dame 5-0 for its ninth consecutive NCAA women’s soccer championship.
1997 — A.C. Green breaks the NBA record for consecutive games — his 907th straight appearance in the Dallas Mavericks’ 101-97 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Green surpasses Randy Smith’s mark of 906 set from 1972-83.
1999 — TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson rushes for an NCAA Division I record 406 yards on 43 carries with six touchdowns in a 52-24 victory over UTEP.
2001 — Ball State beats No. 3 UCLA 91-73 in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational, one day after knocking off No. 4 Kansas in the opening round.
2010 — Mikel Leshoure of Illinois rushes for a school-record 330 yards and scores two touchdowns in the Fighting Illini’s 48-27 win over Northwestern at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. All offensive plays are run toward the same end zone because a brick wall, although heavily padded, is too close behind the other one.
2011 — Brittney Griner has 32 points and 14 rebounds while Baylor establishes itself as the clear No. 1 team with a 94-81 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame in the preseason WNIT championship game.
2011 — Landon Donovan scores in the 72nd minute on passes from Robbie Keane and David Beckham, and the Galaxy’s three superstars win their first MLS Cup together with a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo.
2012 — Jack Taylor scores 138 points to shatter the NCAA scoring record in Division III Grinnell’s 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible in Grinnell, Iowa.
2016 — Jimmie Johnson ties Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt with a record seven NASCAR championships when he defeats Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and defending champion Kyle Busch at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Vin Diesel will not face further litigation in Los Angeles in the sexual battery lawsuit a former assistant filed against the “Fast & Furious” star two years ago.
An L.A. County Superior Court judge on Wednesday dismissed the complaint from Diesel’s accuser, Asta Jonasson, citing a technicality.
Jonasson said in her lawsuit, filed in December 2023, that she served as Diesel’s assistant in 2010 during the filming of “Fast Five” in Atlanta and alleged the actor sexually assaulted her in a hotel room.
Her lawsuit raised 10 claims, including sexual battery, retaliation and multiple violations of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. The complaint also sought action against Diesel’s One Race Films production company and its president, Samantha Vincent, Diesel’s sister.
Judge Daniel M. Crowley called Jonasson’s argument “untenable” and in conflict with the intention of the state’s legal code in his dismissal document. Also, since the sexual assault is alleged to have happened in Georgia, the judge said California was not the right jurisdiction in which to file the complaint.
Crowley said that California law could not be “applied to any of Plaintiff’s claims.”
The case was set to go to trial in February prior to Wednesday’s decision. Jonasson’s attorney Matthew T. Hale said in a statement Wednesday that “the Court did not decide anything about the truth of Ms. Jonasson’s allegations.”
“The ruling was based on a legal technicality,” Hale said. “We disagree with the ruling, and we are assessing next steps.”
A legal representative for Diesel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
In her complaint, Jonasson alleged Diesel groped her, pinned her to a wall and put her hand on his genitals without her consent during the hotel room encounter. The 58-year-old actor, through attorney Bryan Freedman, denied the allegations shortly after Jonasson filed her complaint.
“This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13-year-old claim made by a purportedly nine-day employee,” Freedman said. “There is clear evidence which completely refutes these outlandish allegations.”
Los Angeles County’s district attorney has opened an investigation into claims of fraud within the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.
Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman said Wednesday his office has started a wide-ranging probe into claims that plaintiffs made up stories of abuse in order to sue the county, which agreed to the historic $4-billion sex abuse settlement this spring.
The announcement follows Times investigations that found nine people who said they were paid small amounts of cash by recruiters to sue the county for sex abuse in juvenile halls. Four of them said they fabricated the claims.
“They looked at this opportunity to compensate these true victims of sex abuse as an opportunity to personally profit and engage in some of the most greedy and heinous conduct,” Hochman said at a news conference Wednesday morning in the Hall of Justice downtown. “We are going to aggressively go after them.”
All nine plaintiffs had their cases filed by Downtown LA Law Group, a personal injury firm that represents roughly 2,700 people in the county settlement. The firm has denied wrongdoing. The Times could not reach the recruiters who made the alleged payments to plaintiffs for comment.
Hochman indicated his investigation, still in its early stages, showed this was just a small fraction of the “significant number of fraudsters involved in these settlement claims.”
Hochman emphasized the inquiry would focus on those higher up the chain — lawyers, recruiters and medical practitioners who may have submitted fraudulent forms — and not the plaintiffs.
Many of the people The Times spoke with who filed false claims were poor and in unstable housing. They said they desperately needed the cash promised by recruiters, which ranged from $20 to $200. All were flagged down outside county social services offices, where many were on their way to get food assistance and cash aid.
Hochman said any person who contacted his office about filing a fraudulent claim would not have the statements haunt them in a criminal prosecution.
“If you provide us truthful information, complete information, any of the words that you use will not be used against you,” said Hochman, adding the offer did not extend to attorneys or medical professionals. “It’s not something that we offer lightly to anyone.”
Hochman said Downtown LA Law Group was one of the law firms they were focused on, but the probe was not limited to them. He said the investigation would touch anyone who helped fraudulent cases get filed.
“I’m happy to label that entire group as a group of fraudsters conspiring to defraud a settlement where the money should be going to legitimate sex abuse survivors and victims,” he said.
The law group has denied paying plaintiffs and said it only wants “justice for real victims” of sexual abuse. The firm declined to comment further Wednesday.
Shortly after The Times’ investigation, the county supervisors voted to launch their own inquiry into possible misconduct by “legal representatives” involved in the lawsuits. The county set up a hotline for tips from the public, and moved to ban “predatory solicitation” outside county social services offices.
The supervisors also joined a chorus of voices — including California lawmakers, labor leaders and a powerful attorney trade group — calling for the State Bar to investigate. The State Bar does not comment on potential investigations, but has previously said California law generally prohibits making payments to procure clients, a practice known as capping.
Downtown LA Law Group represents roughly 2,700 people suing the county. Hochman said the firm is one of several he’s focused on.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
A flood of sex abuse claims followed the passage of AB 218, a state law that gave victims of childhood sexual abuse a new window to sue that stretched far beyond the previous statute of limitations. The law, which went into effect in 2020, has led to thousands of lawsuits filed against California school districts, governments and religious institutions.
This spring, the county agreed to pay $4 billion to resolve thousands of claims from victims who said they were abused decades ago in county-run juvenile detention centers and foster homes. In October, the county agreed to a second settlement worth $828 million over another set of similar claims.
Hochman noted the first settlement would have massive financial ramifications for decades for the county, which acts as a social safety net for the region. The county will pay the settlement out over the next five years and has asked most departments to trim their budgets to help pay for it. The district attorney’s budget, Hochman said, had been slashed by $24 million, in part, to help pay for the cases.
“Every penny that a fraudster gets is a penny taken away from a sex abuse victim that validly and legitimately suffered that abuse at the hands of someone [in] Los Angeles County,” said Hochman. “It is not free money.”
When you’re a sportswriter covering high school sports in Southern California since the 1970s, you meet lots of sports families who come and go.
It’s going to be the end of an era for one of my favorite families, the Kymans. Bernie was the patriarch. He coached and was athletic director at so many high schools he could have worn a different mascot shirt every day for weeks. He was at Daniel Murphy, Los Angeles, St. Bonaventure, Moorpark, Chaminade (twice), Bishop Alemany, Littlerock, Cal Lutheran and Pierce College (twice).
His son, Coley, became a star in football and volleyball at Reseda in the 1980s, then the starting quarterback at Cal State Northridge and a Hall of Fame volleyball player for the Matadors. Coley’s wife, Michelle, won a national championship playing for UCLA’s women’s volleyball team. They had two sons, Jake and Brayden.
Jake helped Santa Margarita win a Southern Section Division 1 basketball championship in 2019, then spent three years at UCLA before transferring to Eastern Washington.
The last of the Kymans is Brayden, a 6-foot-7 senior at Santa Margarita and a Washington State commit who will get to play on Saturday for the first time where his father, mother and brother once played — UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Santa Margarita faces Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in a 7 p.m. basketball game as part of a daylong showcase.
“Once I saw it on the schedule, I was really grateful and super excited,” Brayden said. “My brother played there, my parents played there. It’s kind of a full circle moment.”
The world lost a REAL ONE Monday! I’m so grateful for my fathers unconditional love. He taught me what giving YOUR WORD truly means. Commitment, Loyalty & Character is how he lived and set an example for me and my boys. pic.twitter.com/xC2D1QsboK
His grandfather died in 2019 at the age of 78. Brayden said he learned plenty from a man who always believed in character and commitment.
“He taught me a lot and my dad, which was passed down to me — working hard and staying focused on what you want to do in life,” he said.
His parents both played professionally in volleyball, so they’ve been good role models and sounding boards for what to expect in the college journey.
“They always give me the best advice, whether it’s about recovery or a game,” he said. “They support me.”
Santa Margarita returns four starters this season and began the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the Southland by The Times. Kyman has already accomplished something few other top players are doing these days — staying from freshman season through senior season.
“It’s gone by super fast,” he said. “I remember yesterday I was a freshman. I’m grateful for the experience to be here all four years. I know that’s not as common now.”
After Brayden graduates, his parents are moving to Montana. It allows them to drive some five hours to his games in Pullman, Wash., while enjoy being away from big-city life. Just don’t expect Brayden to hang out in Montana. He makes it clear he’s a California boy for life.
“I think it’s crazy,” he said. “I’ve lived in the same house [in Aliso Vijeo] my whole life. I’m going to visit for a few days but not a whole week.”
He can also visit his brother, Jake, who’s living in Austin, Texas, and is a filmmaker. Brayden wants to keep playing basketball for as long as he can, then become a coach or trainer.
It’s been wonderful to see the Kymans make their mark in Southern California sports history.
Day session Saturday at Pauley Pavilion
Servite vs. Loyola, 9:30 a.m.
Orange Lutheran vs. St. Francis, 11 a.m.
Crean Lutheran vs. Campbell Hall, 12:30 p.m.
Mater Dei vs. Crespi, 2 p.m.
Night Session
JSerra vs. Sierra Canyon, 5:30 p.m.
Santa Margarita vs. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
From Jack Harris: Just weeks into the offseason, the Dodgers are already thinking 11 months ahead.
Having just finished yet another grueling October campaign, they are bracing for the long road required to get back.
The team’s central focus right now, of course, is on bolstering its roster and supplementing its star-studded core coming out of last week’s annual MLB general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas.
But as they go for a World Series three-peat in 2026, one of their primary challenges will be managing the returning talent — and ensuring the burdensome toll from their previous two title treks doesn’t become a roadblock in their pursuit of another ring.
Taking such a long view has become an annual practice for the Dodgers. Their collection of star talent and organizational depth means they are almost always in position to make the playoffs. It has afforded them leeway to manage players’ regular-season workloads and recovery from injuries with an eye toward having them at full strength come the fall.
From Broderick Turner: LeBron James said his lungs felt like those of a “newborn baby” and his voice was “already gone” after his first Lakers practice Monday as he moved a step closer toward making his season debut after being sidelined by sciatica.
The Lakers listed James as questionable for Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena, and he sounded as if he was close to playing in his NBA-record 23rd season.
“We got a long time,” said James as he wiped sweat from his face while speaking to reporters. “I mean, we’ve been taking literally one minute, one hour, one step at a time throughout this whole process. So, see how I feel this afternoon, see how I feel tonight. When I wake up in the morning. … We’ll probably have [a] shootaround [Tuesday]. So, just gotta see how the body responds over the next 24 hours-plus.”
Tyrese Maxey scored 39 points, Paul George had nine points and seven rebounds in his season debut, and the Philadelphia 76ers rallied for a 110-108 victory over the short-handed Clippers on Monday night.
Quentin Grimes added 19 points and Andre Drummond had 14 points and 18 rebounds while filling in for Joel Embiid.
James Harden scored 28 points for the Clippers, who have lost eight of nine. Harden became the 11th player to eclipse 28,000 career points with a first-quarter layup.
McVay said the Rams were awaiting results from an MRI exam and a consultation with team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache before deciding how long Lake might be out, whether he will be placed on injured reserve or if it is a season-ending injury that would require surgery.
“Not great for our captain and leader,” McVay said during a videoconference with reporters. “Bummed out for him.”
Olen Zellweger scored 1:50 into overtime after Troy Terry tied it with 4.1 seconds left in regulation, and the Ducks dramatically ended their skid at three games with a 3-2 victory over the Utah Mammoth on Monday night at Honda Center.
Terry forced overtime when he tapped in a rebound after Chris Kreider deflected Cutter Gauthier’s shot off the post with an extra attacker on the ice for the Ducks.
An unchecked Zellweger then scored his second goal of the season with ease after a ragged overtime rush left him all alone at Karel Vejmelka’s post.
From Anthony Solorzano: FIFA and the White House announced on Monday a system that will speed up the visa process for ticket holders who hope to attend 2026 World Cup matches in the U.S.
FIFA’s Priority Appointment Scheduling System — or “FIFA PASS” — will help those with World Cup tickets get a prioritized visa interview.
“America welcomes the World,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “We have always said that this will be the greatest and most inclusive FIFA World Cup in history — and the FIFA pass service is a very concrete example of that.”
FIFA is encouraging fans who are traveling for soccer’s biggest event to immediately apply for interview appointments for visas on its website.
1962 — Bill Wade of the Chicago Bears passes for 466 yards and two touchdowns to edge the Dallas Cowboys 34-33.
1970 — Joe Frazier knocks out Bob Foster in the second round to retain the world heavyweight title in Detroit.
1974 — Charley Johnson of the Denver Broncos passes for 445 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-34 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs.
1978 — Vanderbilt’s Frank Mordica rushes for 321 yards and five touchdowns in a 41-27 victory over Air Force. Mordica scores on runs of 48, 30, 6, 70 and 77 yards.
1990 — Monica Seles captures the first five-set women’s match since 1901, defeating Gabriela Sabatini 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the final of the Virginia Slims Championships.
1995 — Iowa State’s Troy Davis becomes the fifth player in NCAA Division I-A to rush for 2,000 yards, reaching that plateau in a 45-31 loss to Missouri.
1995 — Alex Van Dyke sets an NCAA record for most receiving yards in a season, catching 13 passes for 314 yards as Nevada beats San Jose State 45-28. Van Dyke raises his total to 1,874 yards, surpassing the record of 1,779 set in 1965 by Howard Twilley of Tulsa.
2000 — Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El becomes the second player in NCAA Division I-A history to rush for 200 points and pass for 200 points in a career in a 41-13 loss to Purdue.
2003 — American soccer phenom Freddy Adu, 14, signs a six-year deal with MLS.
2006 — Top-ranked Ohio State beats No. 2 Michigan 42-39 in Columbus in the regular-season finale. The Big Ten rivals had the top two spots in The AP football poll since Oct. 15.
2007 — Jimmie Johnson becomes the first driver to win consecutive Nextel Cup championships since Jeff Gordon in 1997 and ’98, wrapping up the title by finishing a trouble-free seventh in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
2007 — Top-ranked Roger Federer wins his fourth Masters Cup title in five years, overwhelming No. 6 David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
2012 — Matt Schaub has a career-high five touchdown passes, completes a franchise-record 43 passes and finishes with 527 yards passing, second most in NFL history, to lead the Houston Texans to a 43-37 overtime win over Jacksonville. Norm Van Brocklin holds the record with 554 for the Rams in 1951.
2014 — The NFL suspends Adrian Peterson without pay for at least the rest of the season. The league informs the Minnesota Vikings running back he would not be considered for reinstatement before April 15 for violating the NFL personal conduct policy.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected]. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
After 14 days, two “College GameDays,” two “Monday Night Footballs” and one election night, the protracted contract dispute between YouTube TV and Walt Disney Co. is finally over.
As my colleague Meg James reported last week, the two sides settled Friday after agreeing on a multi-year distribution deal for YouTube to carry Disney-owned programming.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Both sides touted the agreement as a win for consumers. Disney Entertainment Co-Chairs Alan Bergman and Dana Walden and ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro said in a joint statement that the deal “recognizes the tremendous value of Disney’s programming and provides YouTube TV subscribers with more flexibility and choice.”
For its part, YouTube also noted that the settlement “preserves the value of our service for our subscribers” and “future flexibility in our offers.” The Google-owned platform also apologized to consumers for the “disruption,” saying it appreciated people’s patience during the dispute.
Of course, reaching an agreement is good for customers who had lost access to ESPN, ABC News election coverage and other programming during the two-week blackout.
But this is far from the last impasse that sports fans and other viewers will see — if history is any guide.
In fact, the number of blackouts related to carriage and contract disputes has been increasing over the last decade, particularly as the health of the television business has declined, raising the economic stakes for all sides.
Back in the day, contracts between content providers and distributors would last for five years or more because the industry was more stable and little would change over the course of an agreement.
That’s obviously all different now, with most deals today lasting about two to three years, reflecting rapid changes in a TV business that has been upended by streaming platforms.
In today’s TV landscape — with cable cord-cutters aplenty and many more options to watch your favorite shows and sports teams — negotiations are more fraught.
Traditional pay TV providers like DirecTV and Charter Communications are scrambling to retain their subscribers, while legacy media companies like Disney are trying to support their networks — particularly channels such as ESPN that have invested huge sums for those all-important sports rights that keep viewers engaged.
And in the midst of it all is the growing power of live TV streaming distributors, especially YouTube TV, which has become a much bigger force in the TV business.
The platform’s subscriber base has been quickly growing.
YouTube is approaching 10 million subscribers, making it the third-largest pay-TV distributor, behind Charter Communications and Comcast. Back in February, when it reached a deal with Paramount Global to avert a CBS blackout, that number was reported at 8 million.
Such growth is giving YouTube TV — with the financial backing of tech giant Google — more clout in contract negotiations, making them more willing to push back against fee increases demanded by legacy Hollywood media companies.
Disney sought rates similar to those paid by major distributors, including around $10 a subscriber per month for ESPN, CNBC reported.
“They realize their power,” said Brent Penter, associate analyst at Raymond James. “And they’re trying to use it.”
The Burbank entertainment giant has some of the most popular programming around, meaning it can command the biggest fees from providers. It also owns a competitor to YouTube TV in Hulu + Live TV and its new ESPN Unlimited direct-to-customer streaming service.
But in this dispute, Disney temporarily lost the distribution fees and potentially advertising dollars for any of its programs that a YouTube TV subscriber didn’t watch, making it a costly standoff.
No one wins in a blackout situation. But if you had to pick a winner, analysts say it might be the alternatives to YouTube TV — services like Fubo, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV.
If you’re a diehard Eagles fan who also happens to be a YouTube TV subscriber, and you refused to miss the game against the Packers last Monday, you might have signed up for temporary passes through one of these services. And if you liked it, well, you might choose to keep that subscription instead.
That also goes back to the complicated web of options consumers must wade through to find their favorite teams and shows.
“There is friction out there,” said Ric Prentiss, managing director at Raymond James. “Blackouts raise it to a head, where people say, ‘Wait, I don’t know how to navigate this,’ and they start looking at other alternatives.”
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Samantha Masunaga delivers the latest news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
TV station owner Sinclair Inc. has an eye toward dominating the TV market. The Baltimore-based company, which is known for its conservative bent, has acquired about 8% of rival broadcaster E.W. Scripps, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sinclair also said in the filing that it has had “constructive discussions” with Scripps about potentially combining, though no deal has been reached. Scripps, however, has suggested that it is not interested in a merger.
Welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, where I need a recovery ice bath after all that travel.
The Lakers went 3-2 during an uneven trip that ended on a high note with back-to-back wins in New Orleans and Milwaukee. But after getting thrashed by Oklahoma City in Game 3 of the five-game trip, Marcus Smart said the team was starting to show its fatigue on the road. After packing, repacking and already reaching the next level of hotel loyalty status less than a month into the season, I can relate.
But, similiar to my favorite colleague Brad Turner picking up the travel slack, the Lakers also have reinforcements.
All things Lakers, all the time.
LeBron James is back. Now what?
Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic established themselves as one of the league’s most dynamic duos while powering the shorthanded Lakers to a 10-4 record. With LeBron James officially back on the Lakers’ practice court, he could make this three a real party.
“I’m a ball player,” James said Monday after his first full practice with the team this year. “… There’s not one team, not one club in the world that I cannot fit in and play for. I can do everything on the floor. So whatever this team needs me to do, I can do it when I’m back to myself.”
Despite the encouraging start that has the team fourth in the West, the Lakers are not modern basketball’s statistical darling. They play slowly (19th in pace), take the fourth-fewest three-pointers in the league while making the second-worst percentage and have the third-most turnovers per game. James, who still stopped short of saying he is pain-free from right sciatica, is unlikely to be an immediate solution to any of those problems.
But he is still the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
“It’s LeBron,” Reaves said. “Just his presence and his ability is going to lift the team.”
The team joked during the film session that it got a new player Monday. James introduced himself to his teammates. Reaves and Doncic have become the favorite “bromance” of some niche NBA social media circles, and the Lakers’ chemistry was one of the key talking points from its early season success. Players joke on the bench, trash talk each other in Instagram comments and Doncic’s post-practice half-court shooting competition has expanded to include at least three other teammates.
James observed all the good vibes from afar. He sent congratulatory texts after wins and encouraging texts after losses, but returning Monday felt like “a kid going to a new school again.” He knows fitting with the team will have to come organically.
“He has the ability to lift everybody’s day,” Reaves said. “All these guys grew up loving him. So it’s good to get his voice back in the room and obviously the IQ speaks for itself, as well.”
When asked of what he saw from the team while sidelined, James rattled off a long list of observations. He loved the ball movement. He noted Deandre Ayton’s ability to anchor the back line and commended the 7-foot center as “one of the best screen setters” in the league. James shouted out the 25 critical minutes from Maxi Kleber in the win over Milwaukee, the contributions of Jake LaRavia, Rui Hachimura and Marcus Smart and the way younger players such as Nick Smith Jr. and Bronny James chipped in when the team was shorthanded against Portland on the second night of a back-to-back.
And he loved the dominance from Doncic and Reaves.
Doncic is leading the league in scoring with 34.4 points per game. He’s getting blitzed almost every time he crosses midcourt and still orchestrating an offense that is second in field-goal percentage (50.4).
Reaves is having a career year: 28.3 points, 8.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals are all career-bests. Of course with James out, Reaves’ usage rate is also at an all-time high.
When asked how he expects coverages to change for him with James back, Reaves shrugged. It’ll at least make his life easier, he said, to have who he calls “the greatest player to ever touch a basketball” back on the court.
“I don’t expect it to be perfect,” coach JJ Redick said. “But I also don’t expect it to be like, ‘Oh, these guys have never seen each other and met each other and don’t know each other’s name.’ They know what each of them bring.”
Last year, the Doncic-James-Reaves trio had an offensive rating of 117.8 points per 100 possessions. This year, the Lakers have a 121.6 offensive rating when Doncic and Reaves are on the floor together, the team’s highest mark for any two-man combination of starters.
Redick expects James’ presence will shake things up. He will command roughly 35 minutes when he is healthy, which will naturally disrupt the rotation and rhythm of his teammates. This will take some trial and error.
“There are some little formula of things you got to add,” Redick said. “If you put too much cinnamon in there, cookie’s not that good.”
Just let the Lakers cook.
The rookie will remember his first
Adou Thiero dunks over Milwaukee’s Andre Jackson Jr.
(Morry Gash / Associated Press)
Adou Thiero fought to get back on the court and make his NBA debut. It was only right that his teammates would fight for him to commemorate the moment.
After the second-round pick scored four points in his first NBA action Saturday, including an emphatic two-handed dunk in the final minute of the win, Jarred Vanderbilt made sure to grab the game ball. He clutched it tightly as referee Pat Fraher tried to take it back. LaRavia and Doncic soon joined for backup, explaining they wanted to keep it for Thiero.
Eventually, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who took the ball back from a Bucks staffer and handed it to Doncic, who wanted to deliver the meaningful memento to the Lakers’ rookie.
“I think he can be a great player,” Doncic told reporters. “He’s physical. He can jump out of the gym. And, you know, he’s a fighter.”
Redick and the coaching staff were mindful that the situation could have been difficult for Thiero. He didn’t get a preseason or a training camp. The rookie was coming off an injury and playing in the first half while making his NBA debut.
But Thiero made a good first impression.
He scrambled for an offensive rebound that led to a three-pointer from Kleber in the first quarter. He played a quick two-minute stint in the first half then returned in mop-up duty during the fourth quarter, scoring his first points on two made free throws that had the Lakers on their feet celebrating.
Then his two-handed dunk in transition sent the Lakers’ bench into pandemonium.
“Coming down and seeing everybody flexing all over the bench,” Thiero said, “it was just a good feeling for everybody to be happy for me.”
When Thiero returned to the locker room, it felt like a release. He told teammates he had waited seven months for that.
He suffered a hyperextended knee while playing for Arkansas on Feb. 22 and missed eight games. The Razorbacks’ leading scorer and rebounder returned in the NCAA regional semifinal but played just six minutes off the bench as Arkansas lost to Texas Tech. He got surgery after the college season and said at Lakers media day he was still working through some swelling in his knee.
“You could tell how hard he works,” Reaves said. “The time that he’s in the gym. He’s had some unfortunate injuries here and there, but really good kid, wants to do the right things, always on time. Just good character.”
On tap
By reader request, we’ll include a brief lookahead section previewing the upcoming week’s games. This one is easy: The Lakers host Utah on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in their only game this week.
The Jazz (5-8) lost center Walker Kessler to a season-ending shoulder surgery, but are led by forward Lauri Markkanen’s 30.6 points and 6.2 rebounds. The Finnish forward scored 47 points in the Jazz’s double-overtime win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in which guard Keyonte George hit the game-winning three with two seconds left. The third-year guard is averaging career-highs in points (22.2) and assists (seven).
Favorite thing I ate this week
The Cuban burrito from Cafe Kacao in Oklahoma City.
(Thuc Nhi Nguyen / Los Angeles Times)
I have beef with Oklahoma City. Out of loyalty to my hometown, I will carry this vendetta until at least the NBA expands back to Seattle. But I allow myself to praise precisely one thing in that city and it’s the Cuban burrito at Cafe Kacao. It’s packed with vaca frita (shredded beef with sauteed onions), plantains, black beans and rice. The sweet and savory drizzle of plantain sauce and garlic sauce is the perfect topping.
Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is serving four years in federal prison for using prostitutes in “freak-offs,” is under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in connection with new allegations of sexual assault. A record producer alleges Combs assaulted him on two occasions.
The sheriff’s Special Victims Unit initiated the probe because one of the incidents occurred in East Los Angeles, according to Nicole Nishida, a department spokeswoman. The producer reported the incidents to police in Largo, Fla.
Florida-based music producer John Hay revealed in media interviews that he was the “John Doe” plaintiff from a civil lawsuit filed in July alleging assault.
The producer, who was not named by law enforcement investigating the allegations, alleged he was subjected to sex acts in 2020 and 2021 while working on a remix project of music by Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. Christopher Wallace, which put him into contact with Bad Boy Records and company executive Combs.
A spokesman for Combs did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on the investigation.
The lawsuit states that, in December 2020, the producer was at a warehouse in Los Angeles that housed some of Notorious B.I.G.’s clothing. The items were being donated to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame later that year, when Biggie would eventually be inducted.
Combs “provided drugs to everyone present. Everyone there was running around the warehouse and tripping on the drugs,” the lawsuit alleges. Combs “started watching porn on his cell phone, grabbed one of Biggie’s shirts off a rack, and began to masturbate with it in front of the plaintiff,” the suit states.
Combs subsequently threw the shirt over the producer’s lap and arm, laughed and said “Rest in peace, Biggie” before leaving the room.
In an incident in March 2021, the plaintiff claims that he was set up. He states in the lawsuit he was lured to a meeting by Biggie’s son, Christopher “CJ” Wallace Jr., and music producer Willie Mack.
But upon his arrival, his head was covered, and Combs appeared and began yelling and ordered everyone to leave, the lawsuit alleges. Combs then allegedly attempted “to force plaintiff to perform oral copulation on Combs, while plaintiff’s head was still covered.”
“I’m pushing for criminal charges to be filed against Combs at a state and federal level,” Hay told ShockYa earlier this month in an interview where he stated he was the civil suit plaintiff.
According to a police report first obtained last month by People magazine, Hay reported the allegations on Sept. 20 of this year to Largo, Fla., police.
Gary Dordick, the producer’s lawyer, said “we intend to present out client’s case to a jury in California and we are confident that the truth will prevail.” Dordick said in a message to The Times that he would not comment further given that a defamation lawsuit was filed last week by Wallace.
Wallace, the son of Biggie Smalls and singer Faith Evans, sued Hay for defamation in a Florida federal court last week, calling Hay’s recent interviews “a calculated smear campaign” that included false statements that he attended Combs’ so-called freak-off parties and “conspired to lure Hay to a location where Combs purportedly assaulted him.”
An attorney for Mack could not immediately be reached for comment.
Wallace says in his defamation action that Hay worked on the remix project, titled “Ready to Dance,” with Wallace and Mack in 2020. A single was released, but the remaining songs were not, due to a lack of interest.
According to the suit, Hay was upset over the decision not to release the music he worked on and began accusing Mack of “inappropriate and abusive behavior” in 2021. But Hay never made an assault allegation, the suit claims.
Combs is currently incarcerated at Federal Correctional Institution Fort Dixon, a New Jersey low-security federal penitentiary.
The Trump administration is calling its new immigration sweep in North Carolina’s largest city “Operation Charlotte’s Web.”
But the granddaughter of E.B. White, the author of the classic 1952 children’s tale “Charlotte’s Web,” said the wave of immigration arrests goes against what her grandfather and his beloved book stood for.
“He believed in the rule of law and due process,” Martha White said in a statement. “He certainly didn’t believe in masked men, in unmarked cars, raiding people’s homes and workplaces without IDs or summons.”
White, whose grandfather died in 1985, works as his literary executor. She pointed out that in “Charlotte’s Web,” the spider who is the main character devoted her life on the farm to securing the freedom of a pig named Wilbur.
The Trump administration and Republican leaders have seized on a number of catchy phrases while carrying out mass deportation efforts — naming their holding facilities Alligator Alcatraz in Florida, Speedway Slammer in Indiana and Cornhusker Clink in Nebraska.
Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol official now on the ground in Charlotte, was the face of the “Operation At Large” in Los Angeles and “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago, two enforcement surges earlier this year. As the Charlotte operation got underway, Bovino quoted from “Charlotte’s Web” in a social media post: “We take to the breeze, we go as we please.”
Hundreds of National Guard troops deployed to Chicago and Portland, Ore., are being sent home, and those who will remain will continue to stay off the streets amid court battles over their deployment by the Trump administration, a defense official said Monday.
The withdrawal of soldiers — sent from California and Texas — is part of a larger change to troop deployments after President Trump began his immigration crackdown in various cities with Democratic leadership. The official requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the issue.
U.S. Northern Command said in a statement Sunday it was “shifting and/or rightsizing” units in Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago. Although it said there would be a “constant, enduring, and long-term presence in each city.”
In the coming days, 200 California National Guard troops currently deployed to Oregon will be sent home, and about 100 will remain in the Portland area doing training, the official said. The military also plans to cut in half the number of Oregon National Guard troops on deployment there from 200 soldiers to 100, the official said.
About 200 Texas National Guard troops in Chicago also are being sent home and about 200 soldiers will be on standby at Fort Bliss, an Army base that stretches across parts of Texas and New Mexico, the official said.
About 300 Illinois National Guard troops will remain in the Chicago area, also doing training, but they currently are not legally allowed to conduct operations with the Department of Homeland Security, the official said.
The official said the upcoming holiday season may have played a role in the change in deployments.
Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said Trump “never should have illegally deployed our troops in the first place.”
“We’re glad they’re finally coming home,” she wrote in an email. “It’s long overdue!”
Separately, the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement in Charlotte, North Carolina, expanding an aggressive campaign that’s been spearheaded by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
National Guard deployments have been one of the most controversial initiatives of Trump’s second term, demonstrating an expanded willingness to use the military to accomplish domestic goals.
Troops, including active-duty Marines, were deployed to Los Angeles during immigration protests earlier this year.
The National Guard was also sent to Washington, D.C., where they were part of a broader federal intervention that Trump claimed was necessary because of crime problems.
The deployments later expanded to Portland and Chicago.
Although they don’t play a law enforcement role, members of the National Guard have been tasked with protecting federal facilities, particularly those run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
About 100 troops who have been in Los Angeles will remain on deployment, the defense official said.
Watson writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.
Every college football team with a coaching vacancy wants the next Curt Cignetti. Maybe UCLA can land him.
He’s from the same school that Cignetti took to unprecedented heights before making Indiana a national power, and he’s doing similarly special things.
His name is Bob Chesney, and he was publicly identified by former Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel over the weekend as someone whom UCLA is targeting in a search that appears to be picking up considerable momentum.
If that’s true — and there’s no reason to believe it isn’t, based on Neuheisel’s connections and similar things heard by The Times from others close to the coaching search — then the Bruins might be among the Chesney suitors on the cusp of the coup of the coaching carousel.
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Chesney has a profile similar to Cignetti’s. He won big at the Division III, Division II and Football Championship Series levels before taking over at James Madison prior to last season. All he’s done with the Dukes is guide them to a 9-4 record and Boca Raton Bowl victory in Year 1 before putting them on the fringes of College Football Playoff contention with a 9-1 start in Year 2.
He’s relatively young at 48 and has a dynamic presence. Go watch his introductory news conference at James Madison. Some descriptors that come to mind are driven, compassionate, gracious, humorous and principled.
“Transparency and communication are two very important things that every program needs to have,” Chesney said that day, providing a mantra that all organizations should embrace.
Chesney has the kind of personality that could land recruits, galvanize a fan base and drive donations at UCLA, even as someone who has spent his entire life on the East Coast.
Anyone who thinks that is an automatic disqualifier for the UCLA job doesn’t know history. Ever heard the name Red Sanders?
He was a North Carolina native who came to UCLA from Vanderbilt, going on to such massive success in Westwood that the Bruins still give out the Red Sanders Award to their most valuable player each year.
Chesney has to want to come to UCLA, of course, while also being pursued by others as his profile continues to rise, seemingly by the day. All it takes is one phone call from somebody else for even the best plans to get derailed. The surplus of coaching vacancies at Power Four schools and associated moves will make any pursuit a game of dominoes.
UCLA hasn’t hired a sitting head coach since Pepper Rodgers took the job before the 1971 season, leaving Kansas.
The last three times the Bruins made that move, it paid off handsomely. Rodgers went 19-12-1 over three seasons before departing for Georgia Tech, his alma mater. Tommy Prothro (previously at Oregon State) went 41-18-3 over six seasons before landing a job with the Rams. After leaving Vanderbilt, Sanders went 66-19-1 at UCLA, winning a share of the Bruins’ only national championship in 1954, before dying of a heart attack before the 1958 season.
If UCLA intends to go that route, other candidates that the search committee would be smart to consider include San Diego State’s Sean Lewis, Tulane’s Jon Sumrall and South Florida’s Alex Golesh. Washington’s Jedd Fisch would be another attractive candidate if there was mutual interest, though Fisch’s reported $10-million buyout that doesn’t drop to $6 million until January — long after the Bruins want to have their coach in place — may be prohibitive.
Luke Duncan throws a pass against Ohio State in the second half.
(Jay LaPrete / Associated Press)
With UCLA missing its starting quarterback against the nation’s top-ranked team, a 48-10 loss to Ohio State was entirely predictable.
Quarterbacks: B. Given the circumstances, Luke Duncan filled in admirably for Nico Iamaleava, showing plenty of potential once he was able to sling the ball in the second half.
Running backs: C-. It could have been worse considering the Buckeyes knew the Bruins would rely heavily on the run. Jaivian Thomas, Jalen Berger, Anthony Woods and Anthony Frias II combined for 55 yards and averaged 2.75 yards per carry.
Wide receivers/tight ends: B. Rico Flores II and Kwazi Gilmer each made a big catch, but Gilmer was called for unsportsmanlike conduct at a time his team was losing 27-0.
Offensive line: B+. These guys didn’t give up a sack even with veteran guard Garrett DiGiorgio sidelined by a back injury and right tackle Reuben Unije leaving the game because of another injury.
Defensive line: C+. There’s little shame in getting outclassed by one of the nation’s top offensive lines.
Linebackers: B. Jalen Woods recorded the team’s first sack since the Michigan State game more than a month ago.
Defensive backs: C. Didn’t make much of an impression outside of Cole Martin getting hurdled on a touchdown run.
Special teams: D. Mateen Bhaghani did his thing, making another field goal, but giving up a 100-yard kickoff return was unacceptable.
Coaching: C. Somewhat understandably, Tim Skipper & Co. unveiled a game plan so conservative that it might appear on the GOP ticket for midterm elections in 2026.
Olympic sport the week: Men’s water polo
Frederico Jucá Carsalade looks to pass against USC.
(UCLA)
They got it done.
In a rematch they badly wanted to win, the UCLA Bruins edged rival USC on Saturday to win the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men’s water polo title.
With two goals in the final two minutes, including a go-ahead goal from Ryder Dodd with 1:09 left, the visiting Bruins rallied for an epic 14-13 victory over the Trojans, avenging a loss to their rivals from earlier in the season.
From left, Trey Doten, Max Matthews, Marcell Szécsi, Nick Tovani, and Wade Sherlock cheer against USC.
(UCLA)
Dodd finished with four goals for UCLA (22-1), which earned the top seeding in the MPSF tournament at Stanford’s Avery Aquatics Center. The Bruins will face either eighth-seeded Penn State Behrend or ninth-seeded Connecticut College on Friday afternoon in their opening game.
Opinion time
Which possible football coaching candidate excites you most?
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After a surge in Border Patrol activity in North Carolina’s largest city over the weekend, including dozens of arrests, Gov. Josh Stein said the effort is “stoking fear,” not making Charlotte safer.
The Trump administration has made the Democratic city of about 950,000 people its latest target for an immigration enforcement surge it says will combat crime, despite fierce objections from local leaders and downtrending crime rates. Charlotte residents reported encounters with federal immigration agents near churches, apartment complexes and stores.
“We’ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling, and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks,” Stein said in a video statement late Sunday. “This is not making us safer. It’s stoking fear and dividing our community.”
Stein acknowledged that it was a stressful time, but he called on residents to stay peaceful. If people see something wrong, he said they should record it and report it to local law enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, has said it was focusing on North Carolina because of so-called sanctuary policies, which limit cooperation between local authorities and immigration agents.
Several county jails house immigrant arrestees and honor detainers, which allow jails to hold detainees for immigration officers to pick them up. But Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is located, does not. Also, the city’s police department does not help with immigration enforcement. DHS alleged that about 1,400 detainers across North Carolina had not been honored, putting the public at risk.
Gregory Bovino, who led hundreds of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in a similar effort in Chicago, documented some of the more than 80 arrests he said agents had made in social media posts on Sunday. He posted pictures of people the Trump administration commonly dubs “criminal illegal aliens,” meaning people living in the U.S. without legal permission who allegedly have criminal records. That included one of a man with an alleged history of drunk driving convictions.
The activity has prompted fear and questions, including where detainees would be held, how long the operation would last and what agents’ tactics — criticized elsewhere as aggressive and racist — would look like in North Carolina.
However, some welcomed the effort, including Mecklenburg County Republican Party Chairman Kyle Kirby, who said in a post Saturday that the county GOP “stands with the rule of law — and with every Charlottean’s safety first.”
Bovino’s operations in Chicago and Los Angeles triggered lawsuits over the use of force, including widespread deployment of chemical agents. Democratic leaders in both cities accused agents of inflaming community tensions. Federal agents fatally shot one suburban Chicago man during a traffic stop.
Bovino, head of a Border Patrol sector in El Centro, California, and other Trump administration officials have called their tactics appropriate for growing threats on agents.
Tareen, Witte and Dale write for the Associated Press. Tareen and Dale reported from Chicago. Witte reported from Annapolis, Md.
